#I am not even anti my favorite character dying

[boysnberriespie]

Managed to stave off tears all through class but got home and immediately started crying

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

It is not even that Mlvns are homophobic. I mean, many of the toxic ones are. We’ve all seen them and interacted with them and received hate anons from them. When Noah’s article officially confirming Will’s sexuality dropped during the summer, people were literally tweeting slurs and fantasizing about him being hate-crimed or dying from AIDS. (It’s probably unfair to group Mlvns in with these people, as lots of them weren’t even Mlvns, just bigoted GA members and trolls). But still. It was bleak. There’s a deep darkness within the ST fandom undeniably.

But I’m sure many Mlvns/Byler-antis are the types of people who genuinely have no problem with queer people in real life. When we call them out on their bigotry and homophobia, they get confused and say, “But I have gay friends! How am I homophobic for not liking Byler?” And they mean it 100%. They really do have gay friends. They probably consider themselves allies and yada yada.

The issue is that A) they are deeply heteronormative without realizing it, and B) they simply aren’t the target audience for the show, and as such, they don’t really understand or connect to the themes of the show. The thing is, lots of people, many Milkvans included, are simply normies. Now I love Steve as a character, so this is literally no hate to Steve, but lots of people are Steves. And people who are like Steve: popular, straight, attractive, used to dating the types of people they want, into ‘normal’ interests like sports (not that Steve is hyper into sports, but you know what I mean), likely to go down ‘normal’ paths and live fairly conventional lives like their parents, etc. are simply not the target audience for the show.

Obviously, the show centers on outcasts, nerds, queer characters, characters with disabilities, black characters, etc. Most people recognize this on some level, but they recognize it in more of a general sense like, “Of course the protagonists are nerds/outcasts, just like all the classic 80s teen protagonists. I just love how nostalgic ST is!” And they leave it at that. Because they are normies, they don’t really connect to the themes of the show other than a surface-level, power of friendship sense. They don’t see how Byler is more aligned with the show’s message than Milkvan at this point. They don’t see that the outcast status of most of the characters is more than just a throwaway personality trait… its deeply integral to the point of the show itself and closely connected to the supernatural storyline.

This is because nerd culture is somewhat mainstream now, and lots of “normies” like it too. Star Wars, Marvel, LOTR, Harry Potter, etc. These are all major parts of society and billion dollar franchises, even more so than they were in the 80s. Because of this, people don’t realize that in the context of the world of the show, they wouldn’t have been friends with the Party most likely. It is far more statistically likely that they would’ve rolled with Angela’s friend group or joined Jason’s human hunting squad. Or even if they weren’t outright bullies, it’s far more likely that they would’ve been one of the nameless background characters in Hawkins High, just kind of floating by in a conventionally comfortable existence, entirely oblivious to government lab conspiracies and alternate dimensions. The characters in ST are outcasts in a deeper, existential sense. Society is against them.

And so many people can’t relate, especially to the queer themes. They can’t even see the queer themes. Because the show is not for them. That’s why you see so many baffling takes on the show:

“Will is so whiny all the time, and I don’t like him!”

“Mike was right in the rain fight! S3 is about growing up, and Will was acting like a baby.”

“Tbh I don’t care that much about the Party dynamics. My favorite part of the show is Steve and Dustin being funny together. And my second favorite part is Hopper being a cool action hero.”

“B*lly is overhated! I mean, he’s so hot and misunderstood! He could’ve redeemed himself.”

“I don’t get Byler. It barely seems like Mike and Will are even friends.”

To be clear, it doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy the genre of the show. Being horror/sci-fi, its core fans are a smaller pool of people than, say, fans of The Office or Friends or other popular sitcoms. So the Mlvns who watched it since the beginning probably do have some avant-garde tastes in terms of genre-preferences, since lots of people wouldn’t touch horror with a ten-foot pole. But it does mean they don’t pick up on the themes of the show and the arc of the characters.

(Of course, many newer fans now are just watching it cause it’s popular, regardless of which genres they typically prefer. This opens the show up to lots of people who don’t connect to anything about the show, not just its themes but also its darker content. A lot of newer fans sound like this: “Like, I just love that Mike was in love with El from the day he found her in the woods, and it’s so cute that El is Mike’s superhero, and Eddie is so cool and badass; I wish he could’ve told Chrissy how he felt, and I’m anxiously awaiting S5 to see who Nancy chooses but I hope she chooses Steve… Stancy 4ever!” This is because Stancy is like every other conventionally attractive couple in media).

I’m rambling, but a lot of people are into Milkvan because of their expectations that “pretty boy and pretty girl go together,” and that’s all there is to it. Finn is attractive and Millie is attractive, and they play the protagonists, so of course Mike and El are endgame. Why wouldn’t they be? This is true for the girls who project themselves onto Millie and see Finn/Mike as a dream boyfriend, and it’s true for the guys who project themselves onto Finn and who would want nothing more than to have a cool, superpowered girlfriend.

This is the way of nature. In a normie worldview, there’s no deviation from this path. A lot of fans basically take The Kissing Booth/To All the Boys I Loved Before and slap a sci-fi/horror filter on it, and they think that’s what Stranger Things is. It’s a cool show where kids fight monsters, and there are normal, heterosexual romances like Mlvn to root for, and there’s a badass superhero main character at the center.

Oh, there’s a gay character too? Well, that’s weird. I mean, y’all already have Robin, but whatever. I’m not homophobic! I’m cool with Will being gay… as long as he stays over there. Oh, he’s in love with Mike? Well, that’s even weirder. Why would the writers do that? I suppose that’s fine, as long as it’s just a little crush, and as long as it doesn’t get in the way of “the main storyline” and my OTP. I’m not homophobic, I swear! I have gay friends!

And they do. And they might not actively be against LGBTQ+ people in real life. They may really be telling the truth. But because they are Steves, this is where heteronormativity comes into play and blinds them. Main couples in shows are always straight, so the cool sci-fi, monster show they love must also be. They’re fine with Kevin Kellers, but queer Mike doesn’t fit the box that they allot to gay characters. So Mike must be the straightest character of all time to fight back against “weird delusional Byler theories” that would “come out of nowhere.” It’s not that they’re actively anti-gay; it’s that they are profoundly closed-minded and have a very myopic view of sexuality/storytelling/their favorite characters/their favorite shows. This is very similar to the XO, Kitty situation and people who were upset that Kitty was ‘suddenly’ bi and had a crush on Yuri.

WHAT?! Where did this come from? I thought I was watching a normal rom-com! I was fine with the gay characters on it who were clearly televised from the beginning! But Kitty? No! Kitty’s my self-insert. How can she like girls too? It must be a phase and be “less real” than her male love interests. This isn’t Heartstopper. The same weird energy is present in the ST fandom.

Byler being semi-canon isn’t seen as confirmation of a love triangle; it’s seen as a disruption to the norm and the foregone conclusion that Mike and El will be together forever and get married and have telekinetic children because the show owes that to them for all they’ve been through. “But why is Will inserted into their scenes?” we ask them, begging them to see reason. “Idk, but he should know his place and stop being a homewrecker and go find a new boy to like. Just leave the soulmates alone. Mike has already made clear he’s straight and that Will is nothing more than a friend. He said it in the roller rink!” This is how heteronormativity works.

That’s why Byler endgame will be so important because it will shatter preconceived notions and open people’s eyes to the beautiful tapestry of humanity. And they will see that this powerful, queer, coming-of-age, love story was right there, under their noses, in their “fun sci-fi monster show” this whole time. *Mind Blown*

[the-badger-mole]

In the debate between pro-aang-kill-ozai and anti-aang-kill-ozai. Which side are you on and why? If it's the anti then did you like how it was done or do you picture something else?

I think I've mentioned before, but I am not inherently against Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. Some of my favorite heroes have a no-kill policy. I don't even mind the lionturtle solution itself. What I didn't like was how it was handled. There was plenty of time to address Aang's reluctance to kill before the second to last episode. I can think of three points in particular where it would've been thematically appropriate and given Aang's bland, two-dimensional character some depth.

First, right after the siege at the Northern Tribe. Aang may not have technically been the one who killed all those Fire Nation soldiers, but it couldn't have happened without him. You would think that someone who is both committed to pacifism and also the one the entire world is relying on to end a war that people have been fighting and dying in for a century wouldn't just be able to shrug off what happened. Aang did, though. Didn't even cross his mind when he was whining about people expecting him to kill Ozai.

What should have happened was the next season should've opened with Aang grappling with what happened and his part in it. He should feel guilty about it, not because he was actually wrong, but because it should feel wrong to him. Then, Katara and Sokka should comfort him and tell him he did nothing wrong. Build it up that their word are comforting him a little, then drop the bomb when they start talking about how cool it was. How amazing it was to see all those soldiers running in fear for once. How relieved they are that so many of them died. Then have Aang snap on them about the sanctity of life. He needs to be angry and hurt, and this should be the point where he decries the powers of the Avatar. He'd call himself a monster, and maybe he would call Katara and Sokka monsters, too. Then they (probably mostly Sokka) would argue with him that they aren't monsters, they're just trying to survive, and the Fire Nation is a threat to be taken out. This would be the first time it's brought up that Katara, Sokka...the entire world expect Aang to kill Ozai. I think it would be perfect as a season 2 opener. Season 1 was light and goofy, and Zuko was their biggest immediate threat. The siege raised the stakes, and season 2 should continue on that rising. Aang should also have started looking for another solution here. In the library, Aang should've asked Wan Shi Tong if it was possible to end the war without more violence. We should've seen Aang coming to terms with the fact that the world is suffering and he is the one they are looking to to save them. One thing I think the Harry Potter movies in particular did well was that shift from goofy and whimsical to darker and more frightening (as far as kids movies go) as the story went on and the stakes got higher, and the danger felt more real to the characters. Aang never gets that realization. He has moments when the danger feels real, but he's goofy and whimsical for pretty much the entire series until the plot of an episode needs him not to be.

The second place they should have brought up his reluctance to kill was DoBS. This really should've been a no brainer. Aang was loosing sleep over facing Ozai. He had his anxiety about losing- though not really what losing would mean for his friends and the world- but he didn't even consider what winning would take. If DoBS had been successful, there's no way Ozai would've been able to be taken alive. Logistically, killing him would've been the easiest, safest option. You mean to tell me no one brought it up? No one asked Aang how he was planning to take Ozai out? No, instead we get Aang proving he knows what enthusiastic consent looks like and taking away his excuse for what happened later, but nothing about Aang weighing his personal beliefs against the needs of the world. That training montage and confrontation that he has with his friends in the second to last episode should've happened here. This should've been when his tendency to run away should've been challenged, too, because half a season before he was crying about how he abandoned the world again. Now his instinct would be to run, but his friends would challenge him, calling back to that moment. They could demand that he present an alternative to killing Ozai. I don't think any of them would object to him living to stand trial, but Ozai is a rabid dog, essentially. He needs to be put down. Aang's got nothing, but not for lack of trying. When he tells his friends about all his efforts to find a non-lethal way to defeat Ozai, they are unmoved. They are at the doors of the Fire Nation, and now is not the time to be indecisive. He has to go face Ozai. And he's probably relieved when the plan fails. This whole situation would have the added bonus of skipping that first Kataang kiss because no way would Aang want to kiss Katara after her insisting he terminate Ozai with extreme prejudice.

The third place Aang's no-kill policy should've come up is TSR when Zuko asks him what he's planning to do when he faces Ozai if he's so against killing. This should scare Aang, and it should be his focus for the rest of the season. He should be more withdrawn from his friends, because with all the training he's doing (and he would still be training on all the elements because he's not that good at any of them), talks about the most efficient way to kill would be unavoidable. Katara might actually try to teach him bloodbending. Toph would just tell him that a big rock is just as effective as some fancy bending move. Zuko would be warning him about his father's ruthlessness and cunning. This would be where Aang looses his patience with his friends and insists that he's a pacifist and Ozai doesn't deserve to die. This would piss Katara in particular off because by this point, Aang knows what happened to her mother. He would get an earful about how Ozai's plan is to do to the Earth Kingdom what his grandfather did to the Air Nomads and how he's going to let millions of people die because of his refusal to kill one. Now, Aang can take off, only instead of just running away from his friends because he doesn't want to hear them anymore, he could be making one desperate last ditch attempt to find a solution that both ends the war and keeps him from having to kill Ozai. EIP could still happen in this circumstance, but instead of getting mad that he's being played by a girl, he would focus more on how eager for his death the Fire Nation is. That would come up in the argument about killing Ozai.

Now, for the lionturtle. I'm about to blow some minds. I have been vocal about my hatred of the Lionturtle/Rock of Destiny desu-ex-double team, and I do still hate it with a passion. However, as a concept, I don't mind the lionturtle. This is a fantasy adventure. You expect a bit of magical intervention. What I wanted was Aang grappling with this problem for more than half an episode. I wanted him working on a solution the entire time, starting from right after the siege. I wanted to see him take initiative. To actually think about the problem. Maybe have him specifically looking for the lionturtle. Then when it shows it, it could be because it knew Aang was looking and decided he was worthy of a meeting. Aang could still have his meeting with his past lives, and that could still go the way it did. Then the lionturtle could speak up. Instead of poo-pooing the idea of killing Ozai, it could agree that it was the most effective way to make sure that the war would end. Then, when Aang is despairing that he'd wasted all that time trying to find a different solution, the lionturtle could offer the spirit bending. But it would have to come at a cost, and it might not work the way that Aang hoped. Now Aang has to make a choice. Sacrifice something for this spiritbending ability (I'm thinking he loses his airbending, because it seems poetic) that might not have the outcome he's hoping for, or give up his pacifism- one of his few connections to his heritage- and kill Ozai. He chooses the spiritbending. Instead of the conveniently placed rock, Aang would actually have to give up his attachment Katara. I think he would be half-way there, having finally realized how little he understood her. He "loved" her because she was pretty and took care of him, but he's come to realize there's a lot more facets to her that he hasn't gotten to see because they don't fit his narrow view of her. He also understands what Guru Pathik was trying to tell him about one person not being able to replace everything Aang has lost, and he realizes how unfair to her he had been. He still loves her, but as a friend and caretaker. This will actually lead to a deeper friendship between them. Aang defeats Ozai without killing him, but now he has to deal with the loss of his airbending, which only now does he realize was a much of a connection between him and his people as his beliefs. He still has spiritbending. He can still airbend in the Avatar State, but he's effectively cut off a limb to keep his integrity. He will go the rest of his life wondering if it was worth it, especially after Ozai goes to trial and is sentenced to execution anyway. The effects of that on his children could be explored in LoK.

TL;DR I don't have a problem with Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. I just wanted to see him deal with it before the last minute. I think the show would've been better for it, and Aang would've been a more interesting character.

[lavalais76]

Jon & Sansa | Winter in my Heart

I am simply obsessed with these 2. All the Metas and Fan Fiction from you beautiful kindred souls makes me feel so alive! I appreciate each and everyone of you. @istumpysk and @esther-dot @starwarsprincess1986 @sherlokiness @stormcloudrising , you guys give me LIFE with your Metas.

I'm more of a book fan because the show did these characters no justice. We all know WHY. I hope you guys are ok with me posting all these sappy videos. Im sort of new to Tumblr, and I love it here. When I heard about the Kit and Sofie movie set at the time of "war of the roses" I became even more obsessed with Jon and Sansa.

They are obviously giving it away with this movie and trying to get the "Anti's" to get comfortable with the fact that these 2 are inevitable. Before Sansa appeared at Castle Black and even before the show begin I always wondered what the deal was with these 2. It just didn't make any sense, or as someone else put it: "Jon and Sansa are the LOUDEST SILENCE". I ALWAYS had that feeling that the girl in grey would be her. There isn't a single doubt in my mind.

I think something horrible will go down in the Vale and the Blackfish will help Sansa some sort of way to get to Jon. I read many Metas where they say Jon will come back from the dead a mindless beast, and he will have no POV. That's just impossible. Our main character/HERO a mute stuck in a wolf.

First of all I don't think Jon is dead AT ALL. I believe he is hanging on by a string due to blood loss and shock and possibly in a coma like Bran was at the beginning of the series. He will warg Ghost and find out many things about himself through Ghost while his friends (the wildings) nurse him back to life. Though VAL is not one of my favorite characters, some say she is a healer. That could be good for Jon.

Melsandra will probably burn Shrinee anyway because she thinks Stannis is dead. I also think Jon was drugged before the stabbings. The way he spoke of clumsily trying to retrieve LongClaw, and he just gave me a weird vibe. I DO NOT TRUST Satin guys. I know everyone loves him but if Jon were drugged, Satin always provided the drinks. Maybe I'm reaching too far, but that's just my gut feeling. Satin is Judas.

Cerci Lannister had plans on taking Jon off the Chess Board as well, so there is no telling if she orchestrated the whole thing or not. Whatever happens, it's gonna be real UGLY when Jon wakes up. Jon Snow as we knew him is definitely DEAD and died in the snow. The real BEAST is what we will have left of Jon. He will make the Hound look like a little poodle dog.

I do also believe he will be in those woods as Ghost while Sansa is being chased by Ramsay's hounds. He will definitely kill them all including whomever is with the dogs. There was a passage in the books if I remember correctly how when Ghost was a pup, and he was eating. A dog approached to try and steal his prize. Jon said the Dog was much bigger than Ghost, but all Ghost had to do was look at her and she ran away. Ghost got right back to his prize.

I've always wondered if that was a foreshadowing for Ghost fighting the hounds. Another thing, WHERE do Ghost go when Jon wonders of his whereabouts? Well, I'm almost done here Jonsa family. I hope I'm not boring you guys to death with this long book of a post I am writing.

I DO believe Sansa is the Girl in Grey and I'll die by that. I also think that after Ghost!Jon saves her, Brianne and Jamie or Brianne and Company will get her to Castle Black. The dying horse in my opinion is not a real Horse. It could be a person. We've already had the real dying horse with Alyas. Sansa doesn't have to be dressed in Grey either because so many other things links her to Grey.

I remember she had a green cloak in Kings Landing that belonged to the hound and if I'm not mistaken she also got on the boat with LF with that cloak on. Where is it? I do not know.

Anyway, Sansa will arrive at Castle Black shortly after Jon wakes up from his coma (refuse to believe he died and actual death) People will SAY he rose from the dead as they did Sansa when she left Kings Landing. It will be a myth, but people will believe it. Jon will NOT be the same. I believe he will have all of his memories which preserved in Ghost but he will become "THE BEAST" After he has "killed the boy." He would have tapped into his powers and possibly converse with Bran and Bloodraven.

Jon will probably forget what happened in the woods and in his wolf dreams but he will have the shock of his life to see Sansa Stark of ALL people come through those gates. She's come to the end of the world to seek HIM out. He will realize it was the wrong sister he almost got murdered behind.

Everyone will fear him at Castle Black. He will be a cold blooded killer with no humanity left until she walks through those gates. It's a craving Jon had (to see her again) but he kept that to himself. We know this from Ygritte, Alays and Val. He was looking for Sansa in all these women, and now the real deal stands right before him.

I'm not saying it's going to be an easy journey, but she will be the ONLY ONE to calm the beast. Jon will protect her of course (or steal her) but he will be mean to Sansa at first. He will eventually fall madly in love with her and vice versa. She will sing to him, annoy him, anger him, pacify him and Jon won't know what hit him.

They will fall in love because of what they both endured. Jon will be OVER protective of Sansa in the books, possibly locking her up in a tower like Stannis has Val, but this time there is a real princess in the tower that Jon WANTS to steal. I know I've reached my limits here. I am sorry for rambling or any errors, I'm just so happy to have ran across you fine people. If I didn't tag someone is because I don't remember the names and I'm still fairly new on Tumblr.

You guys are the BEST!

[gumy-shark]

Mob psycho 100 for the thingy?

my favorite female character: MEZATOOOOO. if mezato ichi has no fans it is because i am no longer on this earth. girl why the FUCK did you do any of that!!!

my favorite male character: skye do i even need to answer this one.. it’s ritsu. of course it’s ritsu. i am nothing if i am not predictable. (although shou is definitely a dark horse candidate for second favorite)

my favorite book/season/etc: i think i gotta say season 2. BIG fan of ep1, ep3, mogami arc, and WORLD DOMINATION ARC. I LOVE WORLD DOMINATION ARC!!!

my favorite episode: I DONT KNOWWWWW TJIS ID SO HARD. im gonna say s1 ep6 i love watching ritsu destroy his life for no reason. WAIT MARATHON EP IS ALSO REALLY GOOD. etc etc

my favorite cast member: i don’t really give a shit about the actors tbh. rpf is a mcyt only pasttime for me

my favorite ship: ritshou but this is with a HEAVY dose of aromanticism. i get so pretentious about this one bc very few people Get both of them.

a character I’d die defending: shigeo (he’s just. AUGH HOWLS IN AGONY). shou (YES he is a poor communicator but he probably would have ASKED mob if MOB HAD BEEN AT THE FUCKING HOUSE!!!). and ofc ritsu but ESPECIALLY mogamiland ritsu (with the setup provided he. really did have no reason to stop and help. ESPECIALLY in the anime. idk if anyone is hating on him but i will fight to defend him nonetheless). AND EVERY WOMAN

a character I just can’t sympathize with: that jodo guy. also mogami bc he’s just. loser behavior. skill issue. etc

a character I grew to love: i didn’t like shou on my first watchthrough. i didn’t really get him and didn’t really care about him at all. however he has grown on me like black mold and brother? im dying of a metaphorical lung infection

my anti otp: SERIREI. i am a serirei hater for really no other reason than pointless bitching and i think ive posted abt it before but. ITS JUST. WHY IS IT SO POPULAR. serirei would be good if it was a minor rarepair shipped by like 20 insane aromantics and multishippers. but instead its one of the most popular ships in the whole fandom

(ask game)

[coraniaid]

Last post on this topic for a while, I promise.

I saw that somebody tagged my recent post about Helpless as ‘anti-Giles’, and – while I can see how you might get that impression (I mean, to be fair, I did use the phrase ‘unambiguously evil’) – it’s not really what I was trying to drive at.  My problem is with the way that particular episode depicts Giles (and to a lesser extent with the broader fandom attitude towards Giles) not with the character of Giles more generally.

What I mean is: I think the version of Giles that exists in Helpless is basically impossible to reconcile with the character we’ve seen in the first two seasons of the show. The Giles of Prophecy Girl who was so appalled by the thought of Buffy dying that he wanted to “defy prophecy” and fight the Master himself surely wouldn’t have taken so long to stand up to Quentin Travers.  The Giles of Innocence who told Buffy that “all you will get from me is my support and my respect” certainly wouldn’t repeatedly drug her and lie to her face about it.  The Giles who spent all summer chasing down possible sightings of Buffy across the country after she ran away at the end of Becoming would not be so willing to risk her life again just to follow orders from a group of people he openly despises. 

And – because the show doesn’t ever come back and address what he’s shown to do in this episode – it’s also impossible to reconcile Helpless with subsequent episodes.  Nobody ever talks about it, at all, and so the impression is that it either didn’t happen or just wasn’t a big deal.  Giles was unfairly sacked, for some reason, by the Bad Watcher’s Council, and that’s all there is to remember.  (The fact that Giles worked for years for the Bad Watcher’s Council and would’ve happily kept on doing so if they hadn’t fired him goes similarly unremarked on.)

But I don’t think a Buffy who had been betrayed by Giles this fundamentally would go back to trusting him as quickly as she does.  If ever.  I don’t think that only a few episodes later she’d be in any hurry to talk to him about the manslaughter she’d unwittingly been involved in, or that she’d so readily listen to him as her unofficial Watcher when Wesley arrives.  As it is, she spends more time being upset by the fact Giles had sex with her mother this season than she does caring about the fact he almost got her and her mother killed.  That just doesn’t make any sense to me.

And, just to be clear: I really do like Giles a lot.  He is one of my favorite characters in the show.  I think the evolution of his semi-parental relationship with Buffy is really well done; I like his connections with Jenny and Ethan and the way he gets to play off of other characters like Snyder and Joyce and Wesley. I think he is generally a very good deconstruction of the trope of the wise and patient mentor.  I think that ASH’s performance as Giles in Season 1 is probably a large part of what got the show renewed for a second season.  I am, in fact, firmly pro-Giles.

What I don’t like is the collective willingness of the fandom to overlook all of his faults. To strip away everything that makes him interesting until he’s just “Buffy’s Nice Dad”. To afford him a level of tolerance and understanding that somehow never seems to extend to any of the women in Buffy’s life. To pretend that Joyce Summers is being ridiculous or unreasonable for blaming him for her daughter running away, even though it is explicitly Buffy’s calling as a Slayer – and the fact that Giles himself insists she keeps this secret from her loved ones – that makes the events of Becoming possible.  [No, Buffy doesn’t just run away because of what Joyce said to her: if that was the only reason, why did she also cut off all ties with Giles and Willow and Xander and her other friends?]  And, yes, to act as if the fact that Quentin Travers, of all people, tells us that Giles has “a father’s love” for Buffy is the only takeaway from Helpless, and to pretend that his actual actions in that episode don’t undermine that reading at all.

Joyce Summers can tell Buffy not to come back home if she leaves the house without permission – in the heat of the moment, during an argument, clearly regretting it the second she says it – and twenty-five years later the internet is still full of posts calling her a bitch and a terrible mother and claiming she wanted Buffy to leave.  Joyce can be compelled to burn Buffy at the stake because she’s possessed by a demon and this is still a running joke in the fandom two decades later (nevermind the time the season before when Giles was similarly possessed by a demon that tried to kill Buffy: that one doesn’t count, apparently).  Buffy can literally tell Giles that she doesn’t “see the point” of living in the world anymore after her mother’s gone and you all act like it’s a complete mystery why she might be depressed after The Body.  Buffy tells her mother she loves her every season, starting from the third episode of the show – the first episode we see her tell anyone she loves them – and you all pretend that it’s somehow a huge retcon when she still loves her mother four seasons later and that she misses her when she dies.

But Giles goes along with a plan that seems all but designed to get Buffy killed, hypnotizes her, drugs her, and lies to her face about it – not because he’s possessed, not because he’s not in control of his actions, but because the people who employ him tell him he has to – and … nothing.  There’s no outrage at all.  The fandom and the writers alike all agree to pretend it just never happened.  I look for any discussion of this, but you’re all just talking about how much more consistently written a character Giles is than Joyce (which … no, sorry, that’s obviously nonsense; the Season 2 Ripper retcon alone is evidence enough of that), and how he should’ve gotten to adopt Buffy after Joyce died (when … uh, Buffy was legally an adult??), and writing  fanfic after fanfic in which Buffy tells Giles he was more of a parent to her than Joyce ever was (nevermind that she says almost literally the opposite in Season 6, or that she didn’t even meet Giles until she was sixteen, after Joyce explicitly uprooted her whole life to try to find somewhere for Buffy to have a fresh start) and … honestly, I don’t get it.

I just don’t get why you all hate Joyce this much, or why the fandom collectively seems to judge her by standards it never ever applies to Rupert Giles.  When did we decide that the times Joyce hurts Buffy are a fundamental part of her character and that the times Giles hurts her can be safely hand-waved away and ignored?  Why was I not at that meeting?

Like I said, I don’t know.

But what I do know is that Joyce is practically the only recurring character on the show who was played by a woman in her forties.

[For reference, Buffy’s recurring female cast includes two centuries old vampires, a thousand year old ex-vengeance demon, her friend the still-active vengeance demon whose exact age we don't know but was active in the 19th cenutry at least and probably for centuries before that, an ancient and immortal hell-god from another dimension and a centuries old ball of green energy that takes human form.  Not one of these characters is played by a woman over 35.  In fact, only one of them -- in-universe, quite possibly the youngest one of them -- is played by a woman over 30.  

The adult woman with the most screen time after Joyce is Jenny Calendar, who is played by a woman who was 27 years old when her character was killed off. A year later, Giles starts a relationship with another woman called Olivia Williams (who the show and the fandom are both profoundly uninterested in: at the time of writing there are more fics on AO3 shipping Giles with Oz than there are fics shipping him with Olivia.). Olivia is played by a woman who was also 27 years old in the only season she appears in, the same season that ASH turned 46. She's also introduced by Giles as an "old friend", which is probably something it's best not to think too hard about.

The one other woman over forty to appear in more than one episode of Buffy was Lindsay Crouse, who plays Professor Maggie Walsh in Season 4.  She appears in eight episodes, anticipates fandom by calling herself an ‘evil bitch’, then dies in an incredibly stupid and pointless way.  That’s literally it.]

So maybe I do get it.  And frankly, it sucks.

[sillytriumphdragon]

Haunting Adeline

Book by H. D. Carlton

Genre: Dark erotic romance, Thriller, Suspense, Erotic literature

My ratings: 100/10 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

My thoughts:

"Haunting Adeline" by H.D. Carlton is a dark and captivating romance that left me utterly spellbound, earning a well-deserved 5 stars. I can't believe it took me this long to finally dive into this gripping tale, but from the moment I started reading, I was completely hooked.

The story follows Adeline as she finds herself drawn into the enigmatic world of Zade, a man with all the red flags and a morally gray demeanor that should send anyone running in the opposite direction. And yet, despite his flaws, or perhaps because of them, I found myself irresistibly drawn to him, unable to resist the pull of his dark charisma.

 

I am totally and utterly obsessed with Zade!

Like, seriously, I've been

I was dying to get my hands on this book forever, and let me tell you, it was worth every single second of the wait! From the moment I cracked it open, I knew I was in for a wild ride, and boy, did it deliver!

Every word that Zade utters is like pure gold to me, so you bet I highlighted every single one of them! And let's not even get started on his smoldering looks and intense charisma—talk about swoon-worthy! I mean, if a guy like Zade ever crossed my path, I'd probably forget how to form coherent sentences, let alone resist his charm. Zade comforts me because he is just my ultimate book boyfriend. And I am learning that I have a type. Zade loves hard—like HARD. When he wants something, he does everything in his power to get it. I love that he has a whole life with Addie planned early on. He is a man who is comfortable with himself and fights for what he believes in. He gives Addie time to grow and conquer her trauma.

I know these books aren't everyone's cup of tea, but this is my ultimate favorite.

Adeline is an absolute queen; I'd be swooning on the spot!

This book had me smacking my forehead and clutching my heart so many times, I lost count!

But OMG, reading about him and Adeline was like setting off fireworks in my brain!

The chemistry between them was off the charts, and I swear, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what they'd get up to next! And can we talk about the steamy scenes? Like, hello, instant blush alert! The chemistry between Adeline and Zade crackles with intensity; their interactions are fraught with tension and longing.

Zade, honey, you're the anti-hero of my dreams! My heart may no longer work properly, but it's okay because of Zade. That is all. Just Zade. I just love Zade, and I even imagine a guy like him in my mind. Zade is everything. Just the right mix of good and bad, but mostly bad, in a good way. He is my new favorite fiction hero.

 I know this is a controversial book. Everyone should read the triggers before reading. But I just love this DARK ROMANCE BOOK. "Haunting Adeline" is a masterfully crafted story that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page. It's a rollercoaster of emotions that will leave you breathless and begging for more. I highly recommend it to fans of dark romance and morally complex characters.

In conclusion, "Haunting Adeline" is a captivating and unforgettable read that will leave you haunted by its beauty and complexity. For me, it’s a masterpiece that I can read 100 times and definitely give it 100 stars out of 5. Don't miss out on this darkly enchanting tale.

Favorite character:

Definitely one and only ZADE

Favorite dialogue:

"When you make someone fall in love with the darkest parts of you, there’s nothing you can do that will scare them away. They will be yours forever because they already love all the fucked up bits and pieces of you."

*"I’m going to make her fall in love with every single fucked up part of me. I want this girl to see me at my most depraved. I want her to experience the true darkness residing in my soul"*

H.D. Carlton, Haunting Adeline 

[dr-lizortecho]

I'm a delena lover too and wanted to know any delena UOs you have? A few of mine if you promise not to make fun of me - 1. I honestly don't think delena is nearly as "toxic" as it's made out to be? I mean, context matters, and this is a show about screwed up monstrous vampires, so no ship is going to be the epitome of 'healthy' lol. But I actually find delena a lot more honest and real than stelena was and a lot less toxic than klaroline. They communicate and adapt much more than antis give them credit for and are genuinely loving and supportive. I'm dying on that unpopular hill :) 2. I actually think s5 is my favorite delena season? It leaned in to the "but they're not healthy!" stuff too much, but it also showed them at their best, most loyal and passionate and adoring, without the icky shadow of the 'sire bond' crap that ruined s4 for me. And Elena is so...free that season? I don't know, I just love it. S6 has great domestic moments but yet another unpopular opinion is that something about the 'falling in love all over again with no memories' storyline felt really inauthentic and rushed to me. I like it in theory, just not the execution. 3. Delena is NOT just about physical attraction. At all. Like I truly believe that even if they could never have sex again they'd be very happy together. They connect on a much deeper level imo, seeing each other for who they truly are. 4. I do not in any way buy Elena as a doctor or even a science person---in my mind she became a teacher or a counselor :) 5. Elena is thought to be similar to Stefan but imo in actuality she's more like Damon imo---super passionate, follows her heart and instincts to a degree that some see as selfish, reacts in the moment rather than focusing on the past or future etc. 6. I actually think Damon has a better, softer heart than Stefan. He's crazy and impulsive and self-destructive and a whole bunch of other things, but he's also a lot softer and more willing to acknowledge his flaws and try to change than Stefan is. Again, these are all just my very UOs! Can't wait to read yours too!!

Hi anon! I adore them- like there’s three ships that I really feel encapsulate romantic love for me, that taught me what it is and how it works, and Delena was the second of those ships so it means a lot to me personally

So I am so far removed from fandom I barely know what counts as popular opinions and unpopular opinions, but feel free to ask me specific questions at any time! Though my two fav characters are Tyler and Bonnie if that counts <3 I’ll start by kinda saying my thoughts on the things you mentioned as your unpopular opinions- which I fully understand even when we slightly disagree! Below the cut so it’s easier for my non-tvd followers

On Delena being called toxic- I talked about it in part before (but alas I can’t find the post) and contrary to popular belief I think they’re not toxic (granted after they get together) outside of the regular amount you should expect in all teen dramas regardless of supernatural elements or not. Unlike a lot of the other relationships they have a lot of communication and consent involved from the start, because they have to with the precarious Stefan ties and the sire bond. On top of that they both acknowledge the parts of their relationship that aren’t the best and actively work towards making them better, however, with the flaws and missteps afforded for drama ✨

I can’t be impartial about s5- definitely not enough to be able to decide about Delena in it. I wasn’t a fan of that brand of angst tbh (sorry anon I do get the appeal) and the racism throughout just hurt my heart too much- but they definitely had some top tier sexy moments. Personally, I loved season six because of the approach of them sharing a best friend and all the little moments and musical beats. Like- watching Damon want to live became something so important to me and really felt like the conclusion for his character arc.

As for the sexual aspect- I do think it plays a part (as with every relationship that involves sex) but it definitely isn’t the peak of it or the draw, it’s a perk. Because if it was the sex they’d have been done with each other after that long hot summer. But there is a tendency in fandom to try and remove all romance and depth to relationships they don’t like- because if it’s shallow they can be rude and dismissive to shippers.

In regards to Elena- I don’t think she’s too similar to either Salvatore, I think she shares common traits with both. But at the end of the day it wa she’d similarities to Stefan that drew them together and her differences to Damon that drew them together. Which is why Stefan was a relationship that let her heal and come back to herself and Damon was the relationship that pushed her out of her comfort zone and helped her grow.

As for Stefan and Damon I don’t think there’s anything to be gained from claiming any one character is “softer” or more “moral” than another. It’s all about action and reaction and growth. However, I think you might be catching onto the sensitivity of their triggers, which Damon’s trauma responses are way more easily triggered throughout the series because unlike Stefan he hasn’t sat with them and worked through near as much of his traumatic experiences. Which is why his healing process through Elena learning of and reminding him to be kind to himself you watch him heal and grow. Which isn’t to be confused with him being “defanged” for a romance- because it was happening regardless of if he and Elena stayed friends or not.

[yuratheicequeenn]

• How The Obey Me Brothers Meet Paimon From Genshin Impact •

Lucifer ❤

When he met Paimon, he was absolutely shocked and confused, he's never seen a child floating before, he was examining her to see if she was a human or not

"U-umm... what are you doing with Paimon...?" "My apologies, i am just looking if you are a human or not"

He was wrong.

Paimon's not a human, she's a fairy

He was even more confused, if she is a fairy, aren't fairies supposed to be very tiny like a fly? and have wings?

Paimon's body had the size of a child and she can float without wings

He later understands when Paimon explained to him

But after that, he thought of her as a cute little girl

Whenever Paimon is angry, he just smiles and pat her head, it's just too cute, ecspecially when she stomps on the mid air when she's floating, he can't help but treat her like a child, because she IS one

She's a Luke 2.0

He teases her calling her "Emergency Food" and also other names that annoy her just like he teases Luke calling him a chihuahua

But overall, he treats her like a daughter

Number 1 dad

He also treats her with her favorite food whenever she is in her "Paimonial Wrath"

"My daughter" Lucifer smiled "Hmph... Paimon's still not forgiving you for calling me emergency food!" Paimon replied crossing her arms with a cute pout on her face, but she received alot of pats and food from her new father :)

He's also kinda annoyed whenever she gives him an ugly nickname

"Ugh...! you deserve an ugly nickname for that! ohh~! Paimon knows! from now on you'll be known as "Diavolo Simp"!"

...What did she just call him...?

Satan and Belphie are dying right now, that nickname was perfect, she is now part of "The Anti-Lucifer League" satan and Paimon are siblings now, since Lucifer is Satan's father, and Paimon is adopted by Lucifer, they are both now siblings.

They also hate their father

Now they pull pranks on him, they all hide in Belphie in the attic

Belphie cast 666 spells and curses near the door where lucifer will come in

Mammon 💛

OK OK HE'S LOSING MORE OF HIS NON-EXISTEN BRAIN CELLS

HE'S NEVER SEEN A FLOATING CHILD

"What are ya?! a floating child?!" "HEY HOW DARE YOU MY NAME IS PAIMON"

Aaaannnddd they both start arguing

Though Yura calms both of them down

After that, he actually like her like his little sister

Ehem, he also helps her gamble

They are now besties

Their names end with a "Mon" "PaiMON" "MamMON"

Paimon likes mora, and mammon likes grimm

They also steal.

And they literally have white hair and are both dumb

Now Lucifer has to catch them

When he hears that Paimon hates the nickname "Emergency Food"

BOOM he oficially annoys her with it

He adores her adorableness

How is she floating btw???

"Oi! emergency food! how are ya floating?"

"OH MY ARCHON IT'S "PAIMON"!! and to answer you're question, i'm a fairy!"

Oh. Ok ok a fairy

Wait a FAIRY?!

He always thought fairies are supposed to be tiny as a bug and have wings to fly

He then later on understands when Paimon explains to him

Mammon and Paimon give each other ugly nicknames non-stop for a day

Her nickname for him was "Stupid Greedy Gambler"

She reminded him of Luke now

But he overall loves Paimon like a little sis

And she loves Mammon as her big brother

Leviathan 💙

Levi's surprisingly interested in her

She reminds him of an anime character

"Oh my diavolo!! you look like that one anime character from "I found out my brother's secret, then one day i traveled the multiverse to find out the truth: The Harmony Spirit"!

"...What...?"

He usually guides Paimon to his room and says all of his favorite anime, manga and video games and he explains every plot of it to her

Paimon is super sleepy when he keeps on talking and talking about his anime thing

She's also surprised he's never tired of talking about it

Sure she talks alot but talking that long and fast is very indimidating

Levi's nickname from Paimon is "Water Otaku" since Levi's room is like an aquarium and he is an otaku

Levi loves it.

She's like a little sister to him

Levi is dying whenever Paimon gives his brothers ugly nicknames IT'S TOO ACCURATE FOR SOME REASON HELP

"LMAOOO LUCIFER JUST GOT ROASTED BY HIS OWN DAUGHTER LOLL"

You better run Levi :)

Levi likes teaching her how to play a video game

When he found out about she is a fairy

HE IS SHOCKED AND AMAZED

A little fairy?! HOW COOL IS THAT?!

He was still surprised she is a fairy, but it didn't matter to him, she is so adorable for a normie ^^

Absolutely loves to hear how Paimon is a fairy when she doesn't look tiny or have wings

He'll usually dress Paimon up as Ruri-chan

Paimon gladly accepts

She also dresses up as other magical girls Levi watches

"Mew mew style, mew mew grace, mew mew power in you're face~!"

Yes. Levi watches "Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power"

And "Sailor Moon" of course

Levi adores his little fairy sister

Satan 💚

Oh? what is this?

A floating child? interesting.

"Huh, a floating child, interesting" "H-hey! i have a name you know!"

He was a little surprised that her name is "Paimon" because the name is one of the kings of hell, and is loyal to Lucifer

Also double surprised she's a fairy and later understands when Paimon explains

He was first a little annoyed at her, not because of her name and the origin of it, but it was also because she keeps on talking about some dumb stuff, and her voice was.... intimidating...

But even though he is the avatar of wrath, he is patient with her

He once got to know Paimon and then they became siblings

Paimon and Satan are now making Lucifer suffer even more

He immediately knew she was a fairy, and he was fascinated that she her body was a size of a child and she can float without wings

He would like to learn more about her.

He simply enjoys reading Paimon story books

Paimon enjoys petting and playing with the cats that Satan has

He has a secret base where he is the king of cats (Where Lucifer doesn't know about ofc)

Satan has a cute friendship with his new little sister

Satan literally burst into laughter when Paimon gives lucifer an ugly nickname

When he found about the nickname for Paimon he immediately wouldn't stop using it, it was too funny and adorable

Annndddd her nickname for Satan was "Bookworm Cat"

He loved it.

Whenever Satan reads a story for Paimon she usually falls asleep on him

HIS HEART CAN'T TAKE HOW MUCH SHE IS SO CUTE

Will do anything for his little sister

Even that means killing them....

Asmodeus 💖

Oh my. What's a little cute floating child doing here?

"Uwahhh~! you are so cute!"

"Hehe thank you! Paimon appreciates it!"

Asmo will literally play dress up with her

She is just so cutee!!! 💖💖💖

Asmo and Paimon will literally post so many pictures for devilgram about him and Paimon

Asmo enjoys the ugly nicknames paimon gives to his brothers

His nickname was "Beauty Queen"

HE LOVES IT OMG

He was not expecting that she was a fairy, she looked like a floating child

He didn't care that she was floating before and he later understands how she doesn't look like other fairies like in the fairytales

Her hair was so cute and fluffy

Her unique choice of outfit

Her voice

Those squishy chubby baby cheeks

TOO CUTE WHAT

This child is giving him a heart attack rn

Asmo is usually the one hugging and golding her around just in case if she ever feels tired of floating

Asmo will get her nails painted

Her nails are pink, purple, white, dark blue and peach color

Now they both slay

"Aww~ you're just so cute my dear little sister Paimon~ but not as cute as me tho~"

Sigh

Annnddd he still says that

Paimon was done with his narcissist-ness, it was too much

She almost felt disgusted tbh

But she overall loves him as a beautiful big brother

He kinda reminds her as Xingqiu and Lisa a little

Asmo does her makeup sometimes, only a little tho

He knows she's still a child, so not that heavy make up

Just some lip gloss, light pink smooth blush and a little purple eye shadow

He loves his new sister!

Paimon is sometimes disgusted by Asmo's actions it makes her want to puke

I mean... can you blame him? he IS the avatar of lust so it's kinda common

But they are still wholesome besties

Squish those cheeks

Protect this baby fairy at all cost

Beelzebub 🧡

A child.

A floating child.

"You look like a cute floating marshmallow"

"NOOOO PLEASE"

Beel was actually the nicest person to share his food with Paimon

But he sometimes has to control himself because Paimon looks like a floating marshmallow

He sometimes nibbles her hair like it was marshmallow

But Paimon didn't mind it, it never bothered her actually

Beel is one of Paimon's favorite brother rn

Beel is so sweet to her

He will have to protect her from Lucifer whenever he is in his mad aura and i'm telling you, this baby is a material big brother

She reminds him of Luke

His nickname was "Food Lover"

He approves it :)

He loves his new little baby sister

A little bit shocked when he first met Paimon who was floating. He never met a child floating before

When he found out she was a fairy, he was shocked

"I thought fairies we're tiny and have wings?"

"...It's complicated but... paimon will tell you"

Beel understands.

Paimon loves food as much as beel does

She'll usually bring back food with Lumine and Aether from teyvat

When he tried it

HE LOVED IT INSTANTLY

Cute brother and sister moment

When he heard about her nickname

Ohhh boyy

He can't take it. He wants to eat her

But his brothers will stop him

He'll eventually apologize to Paimon if he ever tries to actually eat her :<

But Paimon is ok with it, even if she hates being called food, she can NEVER stay mad at Beel

He chokes on his food when Paimon calls his brothers ugly nicknames, he wasn't expecting that XD

Food babies

He enjoys her company ^^

Belphegor 💜

A human? a human child?

Wait no.... A FLOATING ONE?!

How is she floating?

Never thought he would see a child floating in mid air.

"Why are you floating...? are you a ghost or something?"

"What the- no! I'm Paimon!"

A little surprised she was a fairy.

At first he was a little hesitant, since she was too energetic and had a loud obnoxious voice

But of course, she's still a child after all

But he got used to her company

She's kinda cute

Belphie helps her sleep singing a lullaby while Beel pats her head

When she hears Paimon giving Lucifer ugly nicknames he laughs so hard

His nickname was "Sleepy Belphie"

He liked it, it was accurate

Whenever Belphie falls asleep, Paimon will get a blanket because she is worried that he might get cold

When Belphie wakes up, he feels warmth in his heart whenever Paimon does this

She was a pure soul

She deeply cares about him

And Belphie cares about her too

Will plan pranks on Lucifer 24/7

Cuddle Sibling Buddies 💕

PRANK BUDDIES

Brother and sister bonding ^^

If someone EVER tries to hurt Paimon, just know, they will be sleeping... forever :)

[bloodsweatandpotato]

So tired of the “proship” “anti ship” discourse. Like. Fuck, guys. In the nicest possible way, go outside and interact with some people who aren’t on the internet. I’ve seen people being like “any age gap over two years is problematic”. My parents have a ten year age gap. We need to put the word “problematic” on a shelf until everyone learns critical thinking.

Fictional characters are not real people and cannot feel anything. Content you write/consume of fictional characters does not “show what you want to do irl”. If it did, every person who has ever watched or made a horror movie would be in jail right now.

People are fucking dying every day from war. Whether the relationship of the pixels on the screen would be “morally correct” if they were suddenly somehow real people is not important.

It’s okay to have weird kinks and fetishes. People with kinks and fetishes understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Consenting adults having sex irl is none of anyone’s business. And if those adults make/consume content of their sexual fantasies, who fucking cares?

Fiction about problematic things doesn’t fucking “normalize” it. If someone writes a story where a 15 year old character and a 30 year old character are in a relationship, it’s still going to be illegal irl. No judge is going to accept “well your honor I read it in a fanfic so I thought it was okay”, and no person with any modicum of common sense or morals would be driven to do criminal acts by a work of fiction.

Am I going to be fucking sus of the guy who draws exclusively “loli” porn and stay as far away from him as possible. Yes. God yes. Am I going to harass the person who fantasizes about their favorite character “overpowering them and corrupting their innocence”. No? Why the fuck would I harass someone who is just minding their own business.

Will I gag at the person who draws ship art of siblings? Yes! I fucking will. I don’t ship those characters. I don’t like that ship. I think it’s disgusting. Will I call them slurs and tell them to seek help?? No! It’s fucking fiction. If they find the idea hot then who am I to care. As long as they tag it properly, keep it away from me, and don’t hurt real people there is literally no reason for me to care.

I’m not using the “proship” label because god that’s a can of worms and I don’t particularly ship anything “problematic”?? Or even like “problematic” ships. But I’m definitely not an “anti shipper” because god what the fuck chill out ya’ll. What if we dropped this whole “pro/anti” thing and just like…. Used critical thinking. And stopped being mean to each other.

This is a personal vent/rant that is not targeted at anyone. I just got angry while scrolling Pinterest. If you disagree with my points, ignore me. I am not in the mood for an argument.

[eccentric-nucleus]

i think the thing with all these 'cozy' 'wholesome' games with a focus on afforestation/terraforming/gardening is that they end up being structured by anxieties about climate change. climate change is too something one person can solve! b/c this is a single-player game.

but more than that, b/c most games have a fairly shallow mechanical depth the gardening mechanics end up completely sapping nature of its nature. like, i have a bunch of houseplants. by and large the way you interact with a houseplant is you figure out what the plant wants (mostly by determining by trial-and-error with dying plants and/or looking things up online) and then try to figure out how to give that to them. and then you leave them alone b/c plants don't like changes. there is a certain humility and grace in accepting that a plant grows at its own pace, that you can take cuttings and fertilize and aerate the soil but ultimately you are at the mercy of another living thing. if i see one more cozy-ass gardening game where you can magically fertilize a plant by singing to it i am gonna fucking lose it. the arrogance!! keeping plants means understanding that some of your plants are gonna die. maybe you bought them from the store and they came with root rot, or infested with bugs, and it's through no fault of your own. sometimes it's b/c you killed it by overwatering or neglect. but there's gonna be some death.

i was talking about this w/ my boyfriend and he was like 'did you watch that cuck philosophy video about myazaki and heidegger' and i was like 'no' but now having watched it, yeah basically. i meani also feel like a lot of the anti-technology, loving rural living stuff is kind of facile &, you know, exactly why heidegger ended up a nazi. but yeah the parts where these games talk a big talk about 'living in harmony with nature' but then as you play them you realize that their idea of 'nature' is a nature that's obedient and infinitly pliable and endlessly full of extractable resources. non-demanding, non-stressful, where you never have to live with the consequences of killing a plant. a nature that exists to partake in a mechanical loop where you can extract useful items forever.

you know that one bit from the lord of the rings where the ring is trying to tempt sam to put it on, and sam is like, i'd just like a nice little garden, and the ring is like, you can turn the entire world into your garden!! and sam is like, what would you even do with a garden that big? no, that's silly. these games are about absolutely wanting the whole world to be your garden.

(in wildmender dead plants don't decay; there's no composting. and you can bring dead plants back to life. grow: song of the evertree makes and enormous point of specifying how catching bugs and fish don't hurt them. hell even stardew valley cut out the meat animals. people don't like thinking about death. but it's half of nature!!)

in playing grow song of the evertree i've been thinking a lot about legend of mana, b/c uhhh giant tree, source of all life. but the thing with legend of mana is that it really embraces the mess that is, you know, the source of all life? the mana tree represents decay and death as much as it represents birth and life. the game starts with a little text blurb about how the mana tree was burned to the ground centuries ago and that maybe was better for a lot of people. when you actually go to the mana tree at the end of the game, its insides are full of huge fungi growing through rotting deadwood. the first, and really only thing anybody says to you on reaching it is 'don't detest the darkness' (man pokiehl is like my favorite character. god all the characters in legend of mana are great. i'm assuming it was deeply influenced by MOON given its release date & the people who worked on it but i don't actually have any certainty of that, just, i saw somebody play the moon english release and was immediately like "oh wow this is so much like legend of mana" "wait legend of mana would have to be like this"). the mana goddess is the last boss!! b/c she represents, you know. death and life. the fundamental truth that the world is not there just to be pleasant to you.

meanwhile grow: song of the evertree is like, oh no the evil purple/black thornvines represent DISHARMONY and the nice green tree represents HARMONY and so true harmony is when you destroy all the gross thornvines. b/c they're inconvenient to you. like. sure, sure, it's a game for kids. but so is legend of mana!!

just, idk, every time i see something espouse some kind of ideal about "harmony" and then rapidly follow it up apparently genuinely by elaborating that harmony is when everything is laid out exactly the way you specifically want it with no other considerations it feels kind of grotesque

[beevean]

Im also starting to like n!Trevor out of spite. He cant be compared to canon Trevor (he'd get kicked into the sunset) in any way but as his own character he is a decent dude with a tragic past. And both his "friends" and the narrative keep treating him like a joke and a punching bag even when he's demonstrating genuine camaraderie by letting them in his childhood home.

And i cant believe how trevorcard turned into the main ship of this sewer of a show. I want the games duo to be all lovely n affectionate w eachother while i want n!Trevor to punch n!Alucard's fangs in

And honestly im glad he got pushed to the side by the show i cant imagine what s3 would have done to him if the writers thought he was pretty enough for the sexual abuse treatment

No joke, I think N!Trevor is my second favorite character in the show, right behind Dracula. Third if I count N!Hector in S2 and S2 only. Definitely one of the few I don't despise.

Like. He's not great. He's a generic anti-hero down on his luck and with hehe funny alcoholism, and largely inferior to Trevor who despite popular conception has a solid character, strengths and weaknesses. But he's perfectly inoffensive? He has a decent character arc, a decent backstory that explains his flaws, good intentions, and the story doesn't need to tell you that he's good deep down despite his rough exterior: it is shown when at first he walks by a Speaker getting harassed, but then he reluctantly intervenes. I like how in the finale of S1 he directs the mob to defend themselves against night creatures, showing that, when push comes to shove, he's a great leader. I like how, while he's not an expert in magic like Sypha or intimately familiar with Dracula like Alucard, he's genuinely knowledgable about monster lore and proud of his heritage: he's so happy when he finds the Morning Star! Also yeah, lines like "I am Trevor Belmont, and dying has never frightened me" are pretty cool.

He's a cool guy! And the story just hates his guts for no reason??? I am appalled by the amounts of abuse this dude gets put through by his friend and girlfriend?? And then the story who just gets tired of him halfway through????

Trephacard as a ship makes zero sense to me. Trepha, I can kind of understand because, while she is an utter prick to Trevor in S1 and 2 (oh no she learned to swear thanks to him! this is the same girl who wanted to make him drink her piss because he was "rude"), at least the two genuinely bond more in S3 and 4, although in the most useless excuse of a subplot conceivable. But adding Alucard into the mix is like poisoning a well. He's unpleasant, I have really no other word for him. He's mean, cruel, dismissive, insulting, petty, disrespectful... to a guy that did nothing to deserve this constant barrage of insults, in fact Alucard should be more than grateful that this dude wants to help him in this emotionally devastating mission... and Sypha defends him because his Depression™ is worse than Trevor's Depression™.

"yeah you're sad but i can make fun of you and you react to me, yay! he's just a poor uwu baby who is too Sad to feel anything other than Sad, feel sorry for him" no, I don't think I will :)

Petition to save N!Trevor and N!Hector and put them in a story that actually treats them as characters and not as chew toys pls

[bookishfeylin]

I don't want to accuse Sjm of Zionism, there is simply not enough evidence and it is a severe accusation because of the state of Palestine right now and can very easily be blatantly Anti-Semitic. But I do want to say with her track record of being racist, misogynistic, homophobic and with a tendency to write her white main characters as conquerers and colonizers (Its not confirmed but we can all get a picture of Feysand being primed for High King and Queen) it does rub me wrong.

Not to mention a lot of ToG has that same undertone. There's a conversation between Aelin and Rowan where they talk about conquering more lands after taking back Terrasen and she says that if she gets “bored of being queen she will conquer and gain more land to be empress". And once again I'm not saying this to accuse her of Zionism, but it doesn't feel right and Sjm is known to write in a way that mirrors her personal beliefs. I say this with only regards to her actions (through her writing) and not her beliefs as a Jewish woman.

There's nothing wrong with visiting her family in Israel, or even having a grandmother that still volunteers at a military base because that's her grandmother's actions and not hers. There is something wrong with the fact that she wrote Aelin as someone who's "taking back" her country and then contemplating conquering more. And Feysand possibly being High King and Queen when they treat PoC coded Illyrians like they're savages and you don't see them outside of the Mountains unless they're dying for Rhysand on the battlefield. It just all feels very colonizer to me.

I hope I'm not coming off as rude, the issue of Palestine is very close to my heart and reading ToG and Acotar and seeing some things mirrored in them has always kind of remained unsettled with me and I would love to hear your opinion on it.

Hi anon! Nope, you’re not rude! :) So a big disclaimer: I am a Black American. Any analysis I can offer on this is through that lens, fortunately or unfortunately. That being said:

While the pro-imperialist, pro-colonialist, and pro-"both sides" themes PERMEATING Sarah's writing do likely point to her beliefs or biases (even unconscious, internalized ones she has), so do the artistic works of many white creators, often in way worse and way more blatant ways than Sarah's books. How many of tumblr's beloved “children’s shows” feature the imperialist/colonizers/genocide committing villains be shown as redeemable, as sympathetic, and worthy of redemption while simultaneously declaring any victims of colonization/genocide who have the audacity to fight back as the REAL bad guy, or just as bad as their oppressors? And not just children’s shows—so much media in general has this same theme, where the colonizers are more redeemable than the colonized, often including a cautionary tale warning oppressed peoples to “be careful” in our liberation efforts so we don’t become “just as bad.” (See my on media tag for a lot of discussion on this, among other things.) Our media—our books, our television shows, our movies— are, unfortunately, FULL of colonizer/imperialist apologia. Full of some “they’re human too!” nonsense that I am TIRED of having shoved down my throat. My point is, Sarah's writing is more likely due to her being a white woman in western society rather than any support of what’s happening to Palestinians. She’s one white creator among many, and merely exists as a symptom of a greater problem in our society and white fans who argue that pointing this out and critiquing this disgusting trope of “oppressor is redeemable and sympathetic and HUMAN but oppressed aren’t” in their favorite cartoon is being a ~toxic anti puritan~ make this worse. So does her writing point to her own biases about the nature of oppression? Yes, but in a way that appears to be no different than most media made by white people in the West, and unrelated to her thoughts on the Israel-Palestine conflict specifically. But yes please be unsettled because these ideas are ALARMINGLY present in media.

[jerzwriter]

List of Your Ten Childhood Ships

Thanks @thefirstcourtesan for tagging me. I'm so showing my age here, lol I'm going to count "childhood" right up through the end of high school for these purposes. God, I'm straining my brain. lol What's sad is, outside of Jodie Dallas on Soap, I cannot even recall a queer character, much less pairing, from my childhood. How sad is that? So this list is def hetero as it comes.

This is in no order - not really...

Princess Leia and Han Solo - Star Wars: OK, this was THE couple of my childhood. I was OBSESSED and still am. There was NO better movie than The Empire Strikes Back. The "I love you." "I know." sequence. Goddamn, I've always had a type; it goes back to childhood. I'm ashamed (not really).

Lando Calrissian & Princess Leia - Star Wars: OK - this is bringing back memories - and this is fucking crazy - I did write fanfic as a kid, and it was a Han/Leia/Lando triangle (as good as a 5th grader can write...). God, I'd kill to have that notebook now, and OMG, what a predictor for DTI. 😂😂😂 Even as a tween, I knew that would have been some juicy triangle that never came to be. lol

Sandy & Danny - Grease: Some asides. I was WAY too young to be watching this when it was out (my Mom was insane). Most of it went over my head, and in retrospect, I am so anti-most messages in Grease - but that doesn't mean I don't still love it. I do. And OMG How I loved Sandy & Danny and danced around my living room pretending I was them. lol

Jessie & Angie - All My Children: I was a soap junkie, so I have a lot of soap ships - but this is one of my all-time favorites. A modern-day Romeo & Juliet, and the soap world's first true black super-couple. Angie's well-to-do family forbade a relationship with her obvious soulmate, Jesse. They eventually got together, but in true soap fashion, that didn't last. A death that wasn't really a death, among other things, impeded. But how I remember watching those summers and rushing home from school to check the VCR and pray it recorded. lol OLD SCHOOL!

Kevin & Winnie - The Wonder Years: This was the sweetest show and first love story. The ending was so poignant and probably led to my penchant for beautiful but heart-wrenching endings. I need to rewatch this sometime.

Maddie & David - Moonlighting: This one makes me sad, thinking of Bruce Willis's current condition. 😢 These two drove each other crazy, but the sexual tension radiated from the TV screen. They were the ultimate "will they???" couple, and even when they did, they still never really got it together, but that didn't mean I stopped rooting for them. Sadly, this show is just about completely not available on streaming/reruns due to musical copyright issues.

Nina Cortland & Cliff Warner - All My Children: Told you. I was a soap addict, and AMC will forever be my favorite show. I don't remember how old I was, but I remember that their wedding took place THE DAY that we went back to school, and my prepubescent little girlfriends and I LOST OUR SHIT. This wasn't the days of reruns, this wasn't the days of DVR, this wasn't even the days of Soap Central (y'all don't even know what that is). These were the days of "You missed it, bitch - so sad." And I was...I was...

Maria & Georg - The Sound of Music: OK - I loved musicals from a very young age, and I am forever obsessed with The Sound of Music. I had a mad crush on Georg as a young girl, proof that assholes with a heart underneath it all have ALWAYS been my thing. lol

Dwayne & Whitley - A Different World: It was not a pairing I liked the idea of - initially. Whitley was such a spoiled, obnoxious, rich princess at the start, and Dwayne didn't seem like he'd ever have a chance, but as time moved on, they made it work, and I tuned in each week, dying for them to finally get together.

John & Claire: The Breakfast Club - What can I say - I have a type? lol This was the iconic couple of my teen years, and if had been writing fanfic at that time, I would have had a treasure trove for them.

Tagging @jamespotterthefirst @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @genevievemd @angelasscribbles @icecoffee90 @cariantha @doriopenheart @peonierose @potionsprefect @coffeeheartaddict2 @lilyoffandoms @storyofmychoices @annoyingmillenialnewbie @utterlyinevitable and anyone who wishes to jump in and play!

[bepractical]

Daredevil Character List

Hello! Welcome to my rambling recaps for the show formerly known as Netflix’s Daredevil! Before I get this puppy off the ground I thought I’d do a little table setting for you. Context matters, in the world of recaps and life. 

These recaps are the byproduct of another set of recaps I just finished for the RTÉ/AMC+ show Kin. It stars Charlie Cox as a fuzzy hitman. If you like family melodrama and Irish accents, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Unlike Kin, a tiny show with a tiny fandom, Daredevil has an expansive audience and canon. Even as far as recaps are concerned, this is well trod ground. In an effort to simplify things and keep myself happy, I’ll be sticking to the Netflix/Disney+ universe and willfully ignoring everything else.

While I try not to editorialize too much it does happen, and I’m not shy about making my opinions known. I love everybody in this bar but I do have my favorites. What I’m trying to say here is, if you don’t love Matthew Murdock with the fire of a thousand suns, these may not be the recaps for you.

These recaps, and everything else in this post, may include spoilers for the entire Daredevil series, along with The Defenders and Matt’s appearance on She Hulk. Please don’t spoil yourself.  

Now, a brief introduction to some of the show’s key characters from season 1, as determined by me. I reserve the right to edit at will. 

Nelson & Murdock

Matthew Murdock/The Man in Black/Daredevil- Crime fighting catholic lawyer with anger issues; son of a boxer; blinded by accident, orphaned on purpose; earnest past the point of reason; believes in redemption; looks good bloody; looks like Charlie Cox

Franklin ‘Foggy’ Nelson- The practical half of Nelson & Murdock; Matt’s former college roommate, partner in law and life; good lawyer; anti-vigilante; snarky softy; he just wants to make some money honey

Karen Page- Nelson & Murdock client turned office manager; professional nosey parker;  does a good job getting into bad shit; pro-vigilante; mysterious past; looks like Jessica from True Blood but blonde

Other Good Guys

Claire Temple- Matt’s nurse on call; snarky and practical; pro-Daredevil, anti-Matt dying young; magnet for vigilante superheroes and/or hot dudes going through a bad time

Ben Urich- Seasoned old-school reporter; loves the truth, hates fluff pieces; knows where all the bodies are buried; good husband and mentor; pro-vigilante; strangled to death by Fisk

Brett Mahoney- The only honest cop in Hell’s Kitchen; Foggy’s childhood nemesis; loves his mama; re: vigilantes, it’s complicated

Father Lantom- Matt’s priest; loves a good latte; excellent secret keeper; unwittingly feeds Matt’s redemption kink; neutral on vigilantes but believes in God’s justice 

Bad guys

Wilson Fisk- My/your/our employer; here to save his city and do some crime; will beat you to death with his bare hands; loves his momma, Vanessa, Wesley, patricide and French omelettes; pro-loyalty and decorum, anti-anyone not doing exactly what he wants  

James Wesley- Fisk’s number one flunky; the face of the operation; killed by Karen/hubris

Vanessa Marianna- Art dealer with flexible morals; loves giant men with questionable business practices

Madame Gao- The Best; head of the Chinese criminal faction; immortal finger of The Hand (we’ll get to it); she’s just here to kick ass and mess folks around 

Leland Owlsley- The smarmy money guy; can’t resist a one-liner; killed by Fisk 

Nobu Yoshioka- Representative of The Hand; beats the snot out of Matt; accidentally burns himself to death (I said what I said)

Anatoly and Vladimir Ranskahov- Russian mob brothers; ‘I am the Demon Wolf!’; beaten and beheaded by Fisk and shot to death by dirty cops, respectively

Part 1 of the first recap is now available here! If you like long, rambling recaps full of spoilers for a show that was cancelled almost 5 years ago, check it out.

[sweetrays]

About me: 

Just call me by my username I don't like using real names anymore

(bisexual transsexual male & 2 yrs on T) 

I write novels, short stories, and fanfiction

I draw novel illustrations and favorite characters

I'm autistic and therefore can be perceived  a little bit strange 

My dominant special interest fandom wise is Peter Pan stories. (Hook is my absolute favourite Peter Pan movie. You'll mostly see me talking about the character Rufio) 

I liked OUAT Peter Pan for a little while last year but it's not my thing anymore 

My other special interest is historical (mostly 19th century) fashion

A quick heads up:

I enjoy NSFW art, but I don't post any. There might be some reblogging of that here occasionally. 

A lot of the fanfictions I post are openly based off- have some sort of connection to my somewhat disturbing fetishes that involve characters dying or being hurt

I know some might not be comfortable with that.

If you'd like to be my friend please just skim through the readmore just in case you find my opinions distasteful. If you do, just block me I don't want trouble

My Internet Discourse Opinions

Stupid but very important in order to avoid ugly confrontations nowadays 🙁

"Proshipping" 

-the good pure holy shipping vs. icky yucky nasty evil creepy freak shipping stuff is bullshit. If you give me/a mutual shit over FICTIONAL ship your ass is getting blocked cause that's just a whole nother level of ridiculous. I do not condone the bullying and harassment that is so common in 'woke' fandom culture nowadays. It is disgusting that people are throwing around paraphilic accusations and words like p**o at innocent fanfiction authors who are just enjoying characters with no real malicious intentions. 

I come across ships on ao3 that absolutely disgust me on a day to day basis, even so, the last thing I'd want to do is be mean to the author/anyone who enjoyed that ship. That's because the author has just as much a right to write about just as I have the right to be uncomfortable. No character ship is illegal and people are allowed to be as gross or weird as they like as long as it remains fictional (which in 99.99% of cases no one is actively trying to encourage and/or normalising pairing that would be illegal irl) That's never how fandom, art, or fiction has ever worked. If you think otherwise, all I'm saying is you have some serious issues and you need help. 

When I write an age gap pairing I don't parade my fic around going "EVERYBODY START DATING YOUR FATHER!!" I tag with many warnings to avoid upsetting people who would be opposed to reading it + add a disclaimer explaining how I do not support such things in real life situations because I don't and neither does anyone else who ships 'problematic' things. 

Transgender discourse (neopronouns, etc) 

As a transgender male myself, I don't care what pronouns someone uses or what gender they claim to be. I am pro-block anti-harassment when I see someone I disagree with. 

However, I do block quite liberally when I see people saying that transgenderism is possible without dysphoria. Because it is not. Being trans is not a choice. Dysphoria is the cause of being trans. Even if it's just a tiny bit of dysphoria you are still valid. If you're a feminine presenting trans male, that is fine, if you're a masculine presenting trans female, that's fine too because even if you're trans you absolutely do not have to abide by society's confining gender stereotypes. 

But, if you are feminine presenting non-dysphoric afab going by he/him or a masculine presenting non-dysphoric amab going by she/her. That is not transgender. You just picked different pronouns. Which again, I don't care about the pronouns thing so whatever, but just please don't call that transgender because my brother in Christ, we are not the same. 

Therefore please leave me alone if: 

You have some sort of weirdly obsessive morality/legality bias against people minding their own business with character shipping in fandom

OR

Think that being trans is a choice. 

Thats all, have a nice day. Don't forget to block if you don't like me lol.