#I don’t even fully know what’s going on I just know it’s discourse I think

[unknownarmageddon]

really fucking hate the discourse about jakei and them that’s been circulating recently

[scarrletmoon]

okay i know the Discourse™️ has been going on for way too long at this point, but

i think some people outside of the OFMD fandom don’t actually get why we’re particularly annoying about this show

OFMD is not the first queer show to ever exist. if anything, it's a late entry in decades of queer media. over a year and a half since the first few episodes aired, everyone knows that OFMD is queer. that doesn't make it particularly special

but back in March? this is the trailer that dropped in February of 2022, 2 weeks before the premier. if you're used to seeing queer chemistry in shows that aren't intended to be queer, you might see the hints between Ed and Stede here. but to most people? it's just a silly little pirate comedy. just guys being dudes. the trailer doesn't even hint at the other 2 canonical queer relationships in the show -- the closest it gets suggesting romance is the music and the pink in the poster

so when people watched this show in March 2022, they went into it expecting subtext and nothing else. to them, it was like watching Sherlock or Supernatural or Merlin in the 2010s. if you were in any of those fandoms -- especially Sherlock and Supernatural -- you know what it was like; constant jokes at our expense, being mocked for creating explicit fanwork, made fun of by the creators and within the show itself. if we saw queer subtext, that was our problem. this was a time when you pretended NOT to be in fandom, for fear of ridicule. we kept our fanwork to ourselves, we DID NOT share it with the cast, and we accepted that our favourite ships would probably never be canon. maybe one day, if we were lucky, we'd have a show where the subtext wasn't mockery as much as deliberate foreshadowing -- but that had to be YEARS away

right?

OFMD was never billed as a queer show, not in the beginning. there was no LGBTQ+ tag on (HBO) Max, it wasn't on anyone's list of upcoming queer shows in 2022, it flew under the radar through most of its first season. this was a show about pirates, and sure, some of them were queer. but not the LEADS. if you think they're romantically involved, that's must be fandom brain poisoning

except the 9th episode aired, and they kissed. and the show said "you're not crazy for thinking they have chemistry because they really do. it's been a romance this whole time". and in the 10th episode, Stede realizes that he's in love

(not mandating you watch this clip if you don't care for the show, but there's something that feels particularly earth shattering about no one saying the word gay but knowing that Stede's realizing he is, that it's completely unambiguous and explicit in a way that only straight romances are usually allowed to be)

this is why people freaked out about this show. no one knew. even the creator, David Jenkins, was surprised when WE were surprised that it was gay for real -- he set out to write a love story, using all the tried and true beats of a rom com. he'd never even heard of the term queerbaiting. he looked at historical Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet and thought "oh, there's something here" and just...wrote that, with very little fanfare, like it was inevitable. like it was obvious. of course Jim and Pam end up together. of course Buttercup and Westley end up together. what kind of disappointing ending would it be if You've Got Mail ended with the main characters just going their separate ways?

so of course Ed and Stede are in love

look, i get it. we're annoying and won't shut the fuck up about this show that seems mediocre at best. i watched the whole thing back in march, thought "huh, that was cool" and was sure that i'd forget about it in a few days

an hour after looking at fanart on twitter, i was lost in the fucking sauce

there's just so much to unpack from a mere 10 episodes. it covers racism, toxic masculinity, gender expression, sexuality, trauma and abuse. and i don't think we should overlook the fact that the non-white characters in this show get to be fully human in a way i haven't seen in my favourite shows in recent memory

additionally, most OFMD are 25 or older. we're not people who've been spoiled by queer rep, who don't get how hard it used to be, how you'd have to grovel for scraps, how shipping and fanfiction was a way to find queer rep where we thought there never would be. we've been here. we're annoying about this show because for a lot of us, it's the first time we've been treated like our queerness isn't an anomaly that needs to be relegated to its own section, that needs to be praised for the bare minimum of acknowledging that we exist. it's not pulling punches to avoid scaring away a straight audience. it just is.

OFMD for me is like when i watched Black Panther for the first time and realized that this is what white people felt all the time. have there been other black superhero movies? of course! does Disney fucking suck? BOY does it. but that was the first time i got to sit in a movie theater and watch a mainstream film that looked at Africa and said "look at how beautiful you are, exactly as you are"

and idk. i think that's really cool

[serpenera]

One of the things that most irks me in the HP, and especially Snape discourse, is the misinterpretation of the meaning of the patronus. The general consensus seems to be that the shape of the patronus indicates one’s true love but that is a massive oversimplification that creates numerous inconsistencies. In other words, when we look at it like that, the patronus makes NO SENSE. Except the patronus makes PERFECT SENSE. Just let me explain.

The patronus, as we know, is a charm that repels Dementors - an anthropomorphized representation of clinical depression. Keep that in mind as this is important. You conjure it by focusing on a happy memory or should I rather say a happy thought.

Memory is the word Lupin uses when he first explains the patronus to Harry and I’d argue this is the reason why Harry initially fails at conjuring one. He remembers his first time on a broom and winning the house cup. Both happy memories to doubt but “not powerful enough” as Lupin puts it. So what makes a powerful memory?

Harry tries again and succeeds by focusing on the memory of finding out he was a wizard and would be leaving the Dursleys and going to Hogwarts. What makes this memory different than the other two is that it wasn’t just that of a fleeting moment of glee but of an event that marked a major change in Harry’s life, a change for the better. Yes, it was a moment from the PAST but one that influenced Harry’s PRESENT and FUTURE.

See, this is the key to understanding the patronus. The trick is not to remember a happy past long gone, it’s to find something in the past that gives you a reason to move forward. Anyone, who’s ever been depressed to the point of wanting to off themselves will know what I’m talking about here. And those who don’t, good for you.

Anyway, back to Harry. When he conjures his first fully corporeal patronus at the end of PoA, he thinks of going to live with Sirius. And when he uses the spell again in GoF he thinks of celebrating the end of the Tournament with Ron and Hermione. In both cases, he doesn’t even recall an event of the past but projects into the future. And note that regardless of whom or what he thinks of (and not once does he think of his dad), his patronus stays a stag. Even after his love and admiration for James falters due to the discovery of SWM, his patronus stays a stag. This is because the stag, while visually traceable back to James, does not represent James as a person but rather a concept that James himself is a representation of. The stag stands for family, legacy, and a sense of belonging. What keeps Harry moving forward despite all the obstacles is not the mere memory of having had a dad once, it’s the realization that he’s not alone in the world, that he has friends who care about him, and that he’s part of a community.

If we look at the patronus through this lens we can logically explain the shape and origin of all the major ones present in the books.

Snape is often accused of being a stalker incel and whatnot because (apparently) his doe patronus is the same as Lily’s.

First of all, did you pull that information out of your ass? ‘Cause I checked and nowhere in the book(s) does it say what shape her patronus was. The same goes for James. He was a stag animagus. We don’t know what shape his patronus was. That, assuming they both even knew the charm. Although, as Order members, they probably did. If they hadn’t learned it at school, Dumbledore or another Order member would’ve taught them.

Okay, for the sake of this argument, let’s assume that James’ patronus was in fact a stag and Lily’s was a doe and also that the animals represent them respectively. People will argue that the fact the patronuses match (they don’t actually cause they’re two different species of deer but never mind) implies they were each other’s soulmates. To back that argument they will cite Tonks’ patronus which changed into a wolf after she fell in love with Lupin. At the same time, they will argue that Snape’s doe indicates an unhealthy obsession with Lily. Can you spot the issue with this reasoning?

Snape’s and Tonks’ cases are analog: their patronuses turn into animals related to the other person. And yet in Snape’s case, it’s obsession, and in Tonks’, it’s love?

Lily/James and Tonks’ cases are opposite: Lily/James patronuses turn into animals related to themselves while Tonks’ turns into one related to her love interest. But in both cases, it’s true love?

If Snape’s obsessed with Lily then Tonks is obsessed with Lupin and Lily and James are just obsessed with themselves. Contrarily, if Tonks loves Lupin then Snape loves Lily, and Lily and James, again, just love themselves respectively. Moreover, if you follow either logic, Harry is obsessed / in love with James and Dumbledore with Fawkes.

See how none of that makes ANY SENSE whatsoever? Also, no, it’s not a plothole. Y’all are just looking at it wrong. Now let’s rewind and analyze all of these the same way we did with Harry’s at the beginning of this rant.

James’ case is very straightforward. Similarly to Harry, James finds meaning in the traditional idea of family, clan legacy, and belonging. Remember how on the train to Hogwarts he says he wants to be a Gryffindor just like his dad? That, in my opinion, is already very telling, and considering that right after school James marries the girl he decided would be the future mother of his children and promptly gets her pregnant we can easily deduce what he values and what he believes his higher purpose to be. When facing a Dementor and being consumed by despair, perhaps remembering the loss of his parents and perceived betrayal of his best friends, in order to push through he certainly focuses on his wife and especially his son.

Lily’s doe patronus has nothing to do with Snape. Or with James for that matter. Instead, it has everything to do with Harry. See, many real-life women who find themselves at the edge of despair for one reason or another declare they only push forward because of their children. I think Lily is no different. I mean, she did die trying to protect her child. So I think that facing a Dementor, she thinks of Harry. Her wish to be there for her son and protect him is what keeps her going forward despite everything. She has to be strong because she is needed and that is what her doe stands for.

The doe and the stag, somewhat complementary animals, both symbolize family-related but very different concepts. The stag carries a distinctly masculine meaning, that of the passing of legacy and prolonging the bloodline. The doe has a more feminine feel, that of nurturing and protecting.

Snape’s patronus is the same animal as Lily not because he loves her or is obsessed or even just friends with her. It’s the same because both these characters find purpose in the same thing: being needed.

While for Lily this mindset seems to stem from her motherhood, for Snape it seems to have always been there and for very a different reason. The severe neglect he experienced in his early childhood conditioned him to always seek external validation. It’s as if he couldn’t find value in himself unless someone else found it in him. This is why he was trying so hard to be useful to Lily when they first became friends. This is why he got himself groomed by the Death Eaters. This is also why he was so easily manipulated by Dumbledore.

Speaking of Dumbledore, he has to have taught Snape the patronus charm and it must have happened sometime between his defection and the Potters’ death. Now imagine what that might have looked like.

Dumbledore explains how the patronus works. Snape tries, recalling one of his happy childhood moments with Lily, and fails. He chooses another memory and fails again. Dumbledore tells him it has to be something really powerful. Snape is out of ideas, the only happy memories he has are of his childhood friendship with Lily but that friendship is over, it has been for a while, she’s married to his bully and having his child, and on top of that, she’s being targeted by Voldemort and it’s all his fault. Reminiscing their past together is nowhere near enough to fuel the patronus. Then Snape projects into the future in which thanks to him, Lily is safe, she forgives him for his past mistakes and they make up. This time he successfully conjures his trademark doe.

I imagine that, after Lily died, Snape would have had trouble producing a patronus. That would be until Dumbledore pointed out how even in death she still needed him to protect her child. He would then focus on a future in which Voldemort is defeated, Harry is safe, his debt with Lily is paid and his sins are redeemed.

Dumbledore knows that Snape’s doe patronus is related to Lily but it’s probably because he taught him the charm himself and in doing so he learned that it was thoughts and memories of her that fueled it. Not because it was (presumably, mind you) the same shape as hers.

That said, I’m firmly convinced that if Snape had survived the war he would again have had trouble producing a proper patronus, not because of any change in his feelings towards Lily but rather because with Harry safe and Voldemort gone, he’d find himself lacking a purpose. If, for example, he got himself involved with someone else, someone who would make him feel needed, he might be able to produce a patronus again but it would most certainly remain a doe.

Tonks’ patronus is an interesting one because it actually changes its shape in the course of the narrative. We know it became a wolf after Tonks fell in love with and started dating Lupin.

Yes, it’d be easy to assume that the wolf represents the character whose name is literally Wolfy McWolf and who’s also a werewolf but that would be both shallow and inaccurate.

Tonks’ wolf, not unlike Lily and James’ stag and dear, is symbolically tied to the concept of family and friendship. We don’t know what drove Tonks forward before she became involved with Lupin but we can easily deduce that what drives her afterward is the thought of being with him. When she conjures her patronus, she probably thinks of a future in which they have a proper relationship or perhaps start a family. When Snape makes a dab at her patronus he isn’t just being mean. Knowing Lupin, he probably expects him not to take responsibility for his actions towards Tonks and wiggle out of the relationship the moment things get a little bit too serious for his liking. In saying her patronus is weak he’s trying to warn her not to put her faith in Lupin.

In the end, I’d like to mention Dumbledore’s patronus. Just like a phoenix is reborn from its ashes, Dumbledore rises up from the pit of his troubled youth. When in the vicinity of a Dementor, he must be plagued by thoughts of his misplaced aspirations, of Ariana’s death, and his fall out with Grindelwald. The thought I believe he focuses on in those moments is that of having rehabilitated himself in the eyes of society, and having ultimately become a champion of the light.

[foxglovefaun]

for our tenth wedding anniversary my husband and I got food poisoning.

I’m still pretty upset but I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and tbh I don’t hate this concept as much as I did when we left the restaurant.

When you know someone for a long time, and you go through Some Stuff together a number of times, things like getting food poisoning on your tenth wedding anniversary is sort of like

any other day.

like

The special days are special because special things happen, not because the date scheduled a stand-out importance, you know?

our tenth anniversary is absolutely a massive milestone to be recognized! But we’re at a point where any day can be as special as any landmark date.

Like last week we went to the riverside beach on a Wednesday. I haven’t seen my spouse look so relaxed in months. The water was cool and and we stood in the river and looked at the clouds and I was happy to be alive. He couldn’t stop flirting with me and i felt so fuckin pretty.

It was just a random weekday trip, but it was spent with him, and it was one of the most beautiful days in my life. No fanciness whatsoever. Walmart water shoes, fried chicken from home, strawberries, chips and horrible shelf-stable dip, and the experience of returning a beach stand burger because they forgot to cook it.

One of the best days of my fucking life.

So do you see what I mean?

When you spend so much time with a person, dates sorta stop carrying the weight they used to. You stop putting significance on days as a number in a specific order. You start to put significance on the days that hit different, the ones that feel special, the ones where you watch yourself fall in love with that person over and over.

So last night, grieving our horrible meal and punishment for our poor choice of eating there, faced with the depressing fact that we were food poisoned for our tenth anniversary, we sat on the couch playing bathroom relay, and while the cannabis worked to settle our bellies, we laughed to the point of tears philosophizing about the Pixar Cars universe. The fact that car pope implies car crucifixion, which implies car Roman Empire, which implies car Caligula. There are tiny Volkswagens, what are they pollinating? The controversial car discourse about car Adam and car Eve and how it is a concept being dethroned by the discovery of the first wheel. The evolutionary path where some wheels evolved to be mills and other wheels evolved to be chariots, and the cartholic concept of fully-formed Italian cars being the birth of car existence.

It was so great lmao

This is marriage, if you do it right, if you’re lucky.

You can spend an important number day like your tenth wedding anniversary writing a bitter restaurant review on the toilet, relay racing between the couch and the bathroom, and talking about bullshit meme philosophy while replenishing fluids and waiting for the Imodium to kick in. And despite all those miserable activities, you still have a good time.

Because even the shittiest days feel kind of okay when you’re with your favorite person. Our wedding anniversary wasn’t “ruined.” My risotto was ruined. His pieuvre grillé was ruined. Our relationship with the restaurant was ruined. But our day wasn’t ruined. We spent it together, and we spent it laughing.

The tenth wedding anniversary material is tin, describing the resilience, durability, and flexibility of the relationship, and i think last night was a perfect lived example to why that is.

My husband and I were food poisoned for our tenth wedding anniversary, and it was just another kind of good weather.

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Interpetation of The Southern Raiders: Part 2 – Zuko

Warning: The views expressed in this analysis will be somewhat uncritical of Zuko. If you aren't likely to agree, you aren't going to enjoy this post. This is your chance to leave. I probably won't have a debate for personal reasons.

——————

This is the second part out of a three part series trying to answer every question posed by the discourse on The Southern Raiders. If I take some things for granted, it's because I discussed them in part 1, in which I delve into A\ang's role in the episode. Today, I'll set my sights on Zuko.

——————

1. Was Zuko a negative influence on Katara?

No, he did not. When Zuko merely presents the possibility of tracking her mother’s killer, it cuts through her reply right to her already leaving. In literature, what isn’t in the text holds no relevance and is to be disregarded as mere speculation. We don’t see Zuko convincing her, therefore he had no influence on her, and that she made the choices she did because she wanted to.

All Zuko did later on was defend a decision Katara already made on her own. And in both the first and second disagreements with Aang she had the last word. Ergo she was making her own choice.

Additionally, before they enter the room of who they think was her mother’s killer, Zuko asks her if she’s ready. And when she finally spares Yon Rha, he supports her decision. If he were to influence her, he wouldn’t have done either of these things. He only wanted to help Katara heal and never brought up anything that wasn’t already there.

——————

2. Was Zuko being too harsh on Aang?

(1) That's cute, but this isn't air temple preschool. It's the real world.

(2) [Forgiveness]'s the same as doing nothing!

(3) Okay, we'll be sure to do that, guru goody-goody.

He was definitely disrespectful towards Aang's culture, although his disrespectful remarks are a response to Aang’s own disrespect, imposing his beliefs onto Katara. And he didn’t say that until after Aang compared Katara to Jet. It was still wrong to come after the Air Nomad teachings, but they’re not as insulting as people paint them to be.

And it’s not like he didn’t take them back by the end of the episode. Zuko had good intentions, made a mistake and learned from it. That’s how characters grow, through mistakes. (More on that later).

——————

3. What motivated Zuko to find Yon Rah?

He wanted to earn Katara’s trust. The show makes it explicitly clear.

Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you?

And so later:

Zuko: Katara mentioned it before when we were imprisoned together in Ba Sing Se, and again just now when she was yelling at me. I think somehow she's connected her anger at that to her anger at me.

I’ve seen many describe this motive as selfish or manipulative, but I have to disagree. He has no reason to do anything to earn Katara’s trust. He saved her life on that very day, is fully accepted into the GAang, and in this episode he found out that some of her anger at him is rooted in projection. But he still goes out of his way to do the impossible, to give Katara the closure she needs in order to put faith in him.

——————

4. Why did Zuko think revenge\murder would help Katara?

Katara is a kind soul and murder wouldn’t have helped her heal, but Zuko had good reasons to think it would have. He didn’t know Katara’s soul, she didn’t even consider him a colleague, at that point she hated him. However, he did see Sokka killing Combustion Man in The Western Air Temple. So he has no way of knowing whether revenge would help, but he’s under the impression that murder isn’t a big taboo at least for some of the GAang. (Edit: Katara threatened to take his life 3 episodes ago. He had every reason to believe murder could help her).

Moreover, he knows that the person who took his mother away from him will receive justice, and that it helps him sleep at night. Katara doesn’t have that, Yon Rha retired in peace. So he offers her the justice he knows helps him.

But the main reason why he thinks revenge would help Katara, is that she told him it will. Zuko plays a largely passive role in the episode, simply assisting Katara in whatever way he can.He’s only fulfilling Katara’s wishes, and she told him that her wish is to seek justice on “the monster”.

——————

5. Did the trip have an effect on Zuko?

It did. By the end of the episode, Zuko delivers the following line:

This is an important part of his arc of unlearning the Fire Nation’s black and white philosophy that values aggression above all else. He comes around to Air Nomad pacifism and non violent solutions from seeing them work first hand. And as the good (redeemed) person that he is, he admits he was wrong and changes his views. He grew as a character to become a better version of himself.

Edit: As I stated previously, Zuko didn't really know Katara until they went on the trip, which is part of why he thought murder could be of help. Now that he'd seen her journey in the episode, he knows her quite well (and won't make such offers again).

——————

In conclusion, despite the somewhat questionable nature of Zuko's actions in "The Southern Raiders", his underlying good intentions shine through. His role was not a devil on Katara’s shoulder, but a natural force backing up whatever decision she makes. And this allows him to emerge with a valuable lesson learned.

Continued

[wenellyb]

Eddie Diaz is a white Latino. Did people learn nothing from the Pedro Pascal discourse? And does the fandom *not* remember that episode where the funeral protestor refuses to be tended by Hen and Chim, so he asks Eddie to give him care— fully seeing he’s white— until Eddie says his last name is Diaz and his father’s Mexican, but he can channel his mother’s Swedish heritage for the man’s comfort? White people are not members of the global majority, but they do live and exist outside Western Europe and the U.S. (like Mexico).

It’s so weird how parts of the fandom are making any positive reaction to a m/m relationship in this show (that isn’t their yaoi ‘buddie’ fanfiction) into something about loving to see white men kiss. Y’all would still be getting that with canon buddie! Y’all couldn’t even support Michael and Glenn (calling them “homewreckers”). Y’all constantly ignore Hen and Karen with your complaints of “queerbaiting.” Y’all also called TK & Carlos’ (911 Lone Star) relationship “toxic” because it began with sex and because y’all fanon Carlos as some aggressive control freak. Like… c’mon!

I don’t think anyone who is supportive of Buck’s new relationship is arguing that Tommy is perfect. He’s was a fucking dick to both Hen and Chim when they joined the 118. His “delivery man” comment to Chim was wildly unacceptable. No one has forgotten this. Yet both Hen and Chim are *NOW* good friends with him…? Why? He changed. And the show shows the audience this. They show that he developed a great camaraderie with Hen and Chim. They show how he— unlike Sal and Gerrard— shifted his behavior and worldview to accept, embrace, and enjoy change.

Tommy could have been Sal. He could have been Gerrard. He had a good working relationship with both men and both men encouraged bad behavior in the 118. Yet he didn’t. He stayed on and befriended Hen and Chim (when most of the other guys still refused). Because he chose to learn and change and open himself to people’s differences (which likely also helped him come to terms with his own “differences”).

Tommy’s arc is meant to show how someone can make amends, repair relationships, and become a better person (y’know… learn, grow, and reform himself). The general audience for this show is straight and white. They *need* to see white people changing and learning to be better. They *need* to see queer people coming into themselves. These are important story lines.

Fans like Buck and Tommy together because they like Buck and Tommy together, because they like what this means for them and what might happen going forward. That’s literally it. We’re all just overjoyed by having more queer representation, including Bi representation. That’s it.

But there are a lot of “buddie” shippers in people’s inboxes hating on Buck and Tommy together for no reason other than it stands in the way of their ideal porn fantasies (“buddie”). And they’re being weirdly queerphobic about it, too.

Hi Anon!!!! So much to unpack here. I'll post this and let anyone comment their thoughts because this is an interesting conversation.

I'll start by saying that it never occurred to me that Ryan Guzman was not White, until Bucktommy became more popular and some Buddie shippers said that Bucktommy shippers were preferring the White MM pairing and I was like "Hmm.... both Buddie and Bucktommy are White MM pairings"???? Like it never even occured to me.

I'm not here to debate Ryan Guzman's ethnicity, he knows that better than us, but as you mentionned people seem to forget that there are White latinos.

I should add that Americans will maybe have a different perspective but in Europe, there is racism, and there is also xenophobia both are bad, but not the same.

If I'm talking about someone who is White and Latino being a victim of prejudice, I would never say that they're victim of racism, I would say that he's victim of xenophobia.

Believe it or not there are a lot of Europeans are xenophobic but not racist and vice versa.

With that being said, I agree with the rest of your ask..

I love 911 Lone Star and watched 911 casually but I never got the Buddie shippers, especially the ones who said they shipped Buddie as a form of activism, or because there was a lack of Queer representation (which is true) but Henren are there, TK and Carlos are right there and it's the same franchise.

They never cared about Henren, they even erased them whenever they accused the show of Queerbaiting even thought it has several Queer characters.

I remember when they started complaining that Bucktommy had more fics that Henren after one kiss.... but never said anything about Buddie having over 20 000 fics after 6 years of nothing even thought Henren was canon.

A lot of their takes are rooted in hypocrisy, it's like they're taking all the arguments that have been thrown at them and throwing them back at Bucktommy shippers without even thinking about it.

It's very important to have discussion about fandom racism, because it's a huge issue especially in the biggest fandoms but I do feel like some of them are bringing the issue in bad faith. This discussion is so important but it needs to be had with the Bucktommy fandom AND the Buddie fandom. So far the Buddie shippers only want the Bucktommy shippers to have it.

Why don't they take a look at the mirror first and ask themselves why they never cared about a Black Lesbian couple when one of them was a Main Character. Why don't they ask themselves why a ship with 2 best friends has over 20000 fics and a canon ship that is TK and Carlos only have 7000.

And why do they find the weirdest excuses to hate on Carlos (as you said), who's clearly not White and never give him the same courtesy they give their fave White chatacters.

When Buddie shippers talk about fandom racism, all I can think is: the call is coming from inside the house.

[adayladoorwalt]

This is a bit of a rant. Something that feels so wrong to me on twitter is the fact that people genuinely think that the end of the dsmp meant the end of anything related to the series, when the dsmp ended people left because of their own personal issues and feelings. The fans moved on and then the stories that could have happened were lost. Think about the stories that because of the fandom’s response to even seeing dsmp, were lost. I think back to how when Ponk expressed interest in doing projects on the dsmp, her fans fucking freaked, thusly they stopped any mention of a new dsmp project.

The DSMP isn’t lost media because of lost streams or lack of content, it’s lost media because the streamers never came back to something that they enjoyed doing.

I think of the creators who actually credit their time in the dsmp as a way to grow their audience and now don’t mention it because it’s not a project that is still happening. I think of Eret just occasionally talking about the fun they had on the server, what their plans for their story and them actually acknowledge the existence of their time on the dsmp. Fundy had an interview a few months back and he fully acknowledged that he used clickbait to make it in the mcyt bubble. There are former dsmp creators who acknowledge, express admiration for being on the project and then leave it be. They are few and far between.

More and more I see creators who were in the space are stupidly trying to get the high of 2020-2022. Trying to get to those extreme heights and now they figure that dissing the dsmp as it’s no longer ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ to have any positive thoughts on it. Philza in particular is the one that comes to mind with the ‘i’d rather gauge my eyes out then ever go back the dsmp’ comment which he later went back on like ‘oh I actually had a good time’. I never have appreciated any of the comments considering my favorite person from the dsmp often talked about how much he enjoyed playing on it. How he died not thinking he wouldn’t be able to finish his storyline but he did. The storyline he started became buried in the sands of the dsmp.

Techno’s legacy as a member of the dsmp is one that had a great impact on so many people who now don’t even have that. The creators who decided clout was worth more than being able to be able to communicate with each other.

Complain all you want about Dream’s ‘lack of communication’ but it seems now knowing about the fuck show that has been about any fucking drama that has happened in the past year, everyone of these fuckers can’t fucking communicate.

Now creator want come back pretending to have enjoyed the project and now their fans are being annoying about how much they thought it ‘could have been so much better if x,y,z’ and really it’s their creator’s fault. It’s their own fault for not just realizing that they may have not actually enjoyed the dsmp. The fans are the reason the dsmp was dead. Because to dteam+munchymc fans we desperately miss the dsmp. Techno fans do too. The fans of the dsmp are not the ones that are coming back, it’s the ones that stayed.

I just am having so many issues with the current ‘dsmp discourse’ and it stems from idiots being idiots.

[starlightseraph]

stream-of-consciousness regarding fandom discourse here:

i really don’t understand some of the posts i’ve seen lately.

david and michael are obviously drawn to each other like magnets, but such wild speculation about their most personal relationships is really just in bad taste. i know that if someone was saying these things about my private life, i’d be incredibly disturbed and honestly disgusted by it, no matter how untrue or ridiculous the claims were.

i’m really not sure how people can come up with such an expansive mythos from the tiny bits of their lives that we see. lots of the “evidence” i’ve seen really doesn’t add up. people get dates wrong and mismatch timelines, are missing (or deliberately ignoring) things that counter their beliefs, and completely misinterpret (i think) behavioural patterns to work in their favour.

now i’m not saying these claims are wrong. they could be completely correct, but people really have to be reaching to get to these conclusions with this information. i’ve half the mind to call it wishful thinking, that people want georgia to be messed up because she’s married to david (which might make her both the object of envy and an obstacle to other relationships) and try to antagonise anna because she’s “stifling” michael. i’d be lying if i said that anna has good chemistry with the others, but that is no reason to make these assumptions.

while i find all of this unfounded, i’m not gonna tell anyone what they can write on their blog, but i will say this: spreading these ideas about people can hurt them. even if everything theorised about is true, david and georgia and michael and anna will tell us if/when they want to. their identities, motivations, and dynamics with each other are theirs and theirs alone, and they do not need us to be scrutinising their every move and dissecting their relationships. we have no place in their lives other than to support their work and admire their accomplishments. if they don’t share something, it’s no one else’s story to tell. no matter how used to the rumours they are, no matter how many people are gossiping, why would you pile on? why would you say things that might be upsetting to someone that you admire? i’m certainly not naïve; i fully acknowledge that these people could be in the most convoluted and difficult relationships in all of britain (really saying something lol), and i’m not going to be all happy-smiley and act like they can’t possibly have imperfect lives, but it’s not my place to say. i can talk about whatever i want, but i simply don’t want to do something that might be hurtful to (or, at the very least, uncomfortable for) people that i look up to.

anyways, i hope i’ve stayed civil and level through this random rant; i’m not even irritated by this stuff, just genuinely baffled as to how people reach these conclusions lol

[preyofolympus]

People who say Tim annoyed/ bullied/ tricked his way into being Robin, especially when bitching about comics canon vs fanon, genuinely make me lose my mind.

Like.

How thick can you be?

Tim didn’t even want to be Robin (I heard New 52 was a bit wacky but I’m not looking up his history in that continuity for a quick Tumblr rant). Like, he straight up asked Dick to be Robin, tracked his apartment down and tried to argue his case that Batman needed a Robin, and Gotham needed Batman.

He became Robin because he saw no one else was going to step up to the role, and Batman was spiralling after Jason’s death. Gotham gained a sense of hope with the Batman, and he was a symbol to them of something at least close to good in their messy city. Tim saw that the light Robin brought to the duo helped keep Batman in check to a degree, when his self-restraint wasn’t enough, and with this being so abruptly taken away with Jason death, Batman stopped pulling punches, began to lose sight of being that symbol of hope/ good Gotham needed. He was becoming a force of fear, like there wasn’t already enough fear in Gotham.

So Tim stepped in. He wasn’t instantly Robin after wrestling his way in. He earnt the Robin mantle, and worked bloody hard before Batman finally let him take it on.

I love Tim as a Robin, because he came from a privileged background, had his whole life basically set for him, and he could have easily sat back in Drake Manor, becoming nothing and having everything. But he saw that good needed to be done. He saw no one else was stepping up to do it. And he stepped up to the task.

He is selfless, embodies that optimism/ hope that the Batman symbol is meant to represent (at least at the start, before he loses the mantle). Tim’s Robin is the symbol of doing what is right, even when you don’t have to. Simply because it’s the right thing to do.

It’s two am, and I’m pretty much definitely not saying all my thoughts, and I’m sure I’ll notice a hundred typos when I wake up tomorrow, but goddamn Tim haters irritate me when they act like he is just some rich kid that wanted to be Robin. Like I hate being in drama/ discourse so usually I just shut up, but this recent canon be fanon shit has had me so riled on so many fronts (tbh I think this rant is just blowing off steam at a smaller issue, because I’m sick of seeing idiots on Twitter rag on my friend).

I haven’t fully read Tim’s Robin comics run, as I’m saving that for next Summer, but I’ve still read enough extracts to know this line of argument is just plain stupid, no other word for it.

Also, give up on the fanon vs canon shit. Seriously. It’s embarrassing.

Tldr; Tim didn’t want to be Robin. He stepped up because he saw no one else was doing the right thing. He worked hard before officially taking on the mantle. He saved Batman and Nightwing from the scarecrow, earning their trust to train him. Tim Drake is a hero because he could have easily lived life on the backs of his rich parents and kept his nose out of it, but he didn’t because he cared about Gotham and it’s people. There is no best or worst Robin, and Tim certainly doesn’t deserved to be considered the latter by some idiots who dumb down his journey to becoming Robin to “rich kid who wanted to play hero.”

[mazzystar24]

They are crazy thing that b/t fans When they say it's endgame!Are they really crazy? Is it because they shared two scenes and a surprise kiss?

ANON BABES WHY YOU FORCING ME TO BE A LITTLE DISCOURSE-Y

YOU KNOW I HATE IGNORING ASKS SO I HAVE TO ANSWER THIS

Okay time for my very complicated answer:

me personally I’m a firm believer in not icking someone else’s yum (a phrase y’all have probably heard on my blog like 20 times, that I am pretty sure only stuck out of nowhere after me and my friend where bullying eachother’s taste in men and now I can’t stop saying it) so if people wanna ship them and like believe they’ll be endgame then I’m like woohoo great for you guys but that’s not my beat

The only ones I dislike are those who are being very toxic about it and I’m like.. okay blocked

But as for whether I think what we’ve seen so far warrants the reaction of thinking they’ll be endgame?

I think that Tim is writing the new relationship vibe perfectly- I’ve said this a few times so feel free to tell me to shut up but- the audience is meant to feel what Buck is meant to be feeling, you don’t go into a relationship thinking it’s not gonna last you go in with the feeling of 50/50 chance, you have butterflies and you think that this could be really good and Tim and Oliver communicated that really well

But I will say that some fans (mostly on the toxic side) have kinda made this really elaborate and like deep and very devoted sorta romanticism of what we’ve seen- like again fully have your own headcanons and ship what you want but I’m just acknowledging that some people are kinda blowing it out of proportion rather than enjoying what it is and what could be like as you’ve said they had a handful of scenes together, two dates and two kisses which people can fully enjoy and ship and do whatever with and hell even I enjoy seeing their relationship and it’s little new shiny vibe and seeing their scenes (eventhough I’m a buddie shipper and have a few mixed feelings- no I don’t hate him or anything I actually am like mostly neutral to him- about tommy) but it’s those small minority that kinda just wanna act like their idealised version of their relationship is what we’ve seen on the show rather than what it could be (does that make sense)

Edit:

Also my opinion on why I think they won’t be endgame I think I wrote about a couple of times but summary:

I think the writing would be different if they were planned to endgame, I think tim is very intentional with things and I also go based off what Tim and Oliver said in interviews

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Light Yagami from Death Note vs Edelgard von Hresvelg from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. please be normal in the notes, i will not hesitate to block if you harass people)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

Light Yagami:

LOVE: - "He does some messed up things but have you considered: fucked up protagonists rock :)" HATE: - "this man makes me sick. ive genuinely had manic episodes over hating him. i have trauma from his existence in general. not even because of the murder. because hes a sexist cheater :(" - "My cousin and I frequently debate this. I think despite his 'intentions' he's ultimately a despicable character who cares for nobody but himself. She disagrees and says that he is just trying to do the right thing and making a difference in the world (she still thinks his actions are wrong, but she doesn't think he himself is despicable)" BOTH: - "I mean cmon man"

Edelgard Von Hresvelg:

LOVE: "People either claim she's the hero or the irredeemable villain with no in between. She's also my lovely wife who has never done anything wrong in her life." "I never even finished her route and remember nothing of what happens in that game but I DO remember the absolute warzone the fandom turned into because of her. She staged a coup and overthrew the head of the government/church and I think that's pretty cool of her. "But she committed war crimes!" God forbid women do anything." "I lied in the previous question. I don't hate her or love her in fact I have never even played this game. But I keep finding people making up Discourse™ featuring wild accusations of bigotry towards both Edelgard fans and Edelgard haters so I feel that she belongs here. (Also my friend hates her. but HER friend loves Edelgard. So even in my small social circle there is a clear polarization.)" "ok I don't have any solid propaganda because my opinion of her is more positive-neutral, but. she fits the spirit of this poll. trust me." "[three houses spoilers] Yes she started a war but it was the only apparent way to break the chokehold the church had over everyone in Fodlan. Also she’s the only lord you can gay marry so I’m hopelessly biased" "every time i go into the tag its either "edelgard is perfect no notes!!" or "edelgard is literally a fascist!!!". ive never seen someone with a neutral opinion of her. i yearn for battle." "I know very little about her to be quite honest! But good god. As a fire emblem fan for the GBA and engage. I have NEVER seen such a decisive character like Edelgard. Jesus Christ. I still find stuff in those tags. What the hell!!!" "I don’t even go to Fire Emblem but even I know that Edelgard has never done anything wrong, ever, in her entire life, and that if she did any war crimes they were a SUPER effective use of girl power. source: I am a lesbian. (realtalk I genuinely love a noble-minded extremist revolutionary and think Edelgard is a great character, so it’s kind of a shame that opinion on her seems to simply split down the line of “whether the person wants to kiss Edelgard or Dimitri more.”)"

HATE: "So on the one hand, she's fully willing to kill and burn and murder her way to a "better future" at the expense of the present, but on the other hand she's pretty cool and #girlboss. She's also a canon gay romance option, but idk if that makes her more or less problematic." "I just. I understand why people like her. I really do. And I don't have anything new to say for why I dislike her. Edelgard fans and stans have heard everything. She has great points and motivation, but her methods are wrong. She hitches her ideals to the first good opportunity and never reconsiders her allegiance when things go off the rails. She hates the church for "lying to people" and proceeds to lie to her own populace herself in her own route. She gives Claude an opportunity to live because she knows he believes in her goals. But Dimitri and his Kingdom are too beholden to the church to ever be offered such mercy. She herself acknowledges that the change she wants to see is more quickly enacted through war than subtle and slow societal change. She recognizes the human toll of her actions, but she justifies it through flowery language and an insistence that the change needs to happen now or it never will. I honestly find her so interesting, and I agree with a lot of her thoughts about the need for societal change in the world of FE:3H. But people latched onto her and propped her up as someone who can do no wrong. And that just never sat right with me. I just think she’s a hypocrite who got put in front of a shiny means to her end and was immediately blind to every other opportunity around her." BOTH: - "I dont even play fire emblem but I cant escape people not shutting up about how much they love or hate her" - "You said there were no hate answers for her...and I don't really hate her so it wouldn't be right but I wanted to balance things out some. She's the perfect storm of a character who sounds right and progressive and has a route all to herself that doesn't contradict that...but once you play other routes, it becomes clear she's kind of. full of misinformation. And attacking people who don't deserve it. Also a LOT of the divisiveness I'm willing to blame on the writers rather than her, for having her both be Evil Tyrant we NEED to take down and Sad Uwu Baby who just wants to eat cake and laze around and loves You the Player SO MUCH."

[helloimsoverybored]

A Pretty Long Rant on RPF shippers in the context of David Tennant and Michael Sheen

the entire georgia/anna discourse is so. bullshit. because those are actual, real people, with real lives and real relationships with those around them

Regarding dt and gt, just saying, no one has five children together as part of a pr stunt. Same with Michael and Anna.

And the fact that rpf people fail to realise this is concerning- taking the "my wife" jokes quite literally. News flash, it's a fucking joke. It's not something gt and al are making up to cover up for the fact that their respective partners fell in love with each other (yes, this is an actual take i've seen on this matter)

And idk if the rpf people are just dumb or are fully aware of what they're doing, despite the fact that they're completely tearing apart the lives of real people.

Another retort I've often seen is that fans have the right to criticize celebrities. Yes, yes they do. But breaking down a marriage spanning over a decade isn't criticism! You're creating fake problems out of thin air and for what? Genuinely, for what?

Rpf shippers just automatically assume the worst in both Georgia and Anna, and you know what? God forbid women do anything. Because that's exactly what this is.

They're completely vilifying gt and al because... they're in a relationship with their "blorbo actors?" They're acting like gt/dt and al/ms are fictional characters that you can play around with like dolls but you can't play around with real people's lives! Simply put, it isn't ethical.

I feel like the rpf people just fail to understand the meaning of “real”, because I don’t even know how one can feel so alright and happy by tearing apart the lives of real people. The fact that people are finding every possible way to find problems in their current relationships to suit their fantasies is so fucking disgusting.

Okay now if you're with me so far, I'm impressed. Stay with me because I'm not done yet.

Regarding Georgia, don't rpf blogs just love to criticize her and her parenting methods? That Georgia's just lazy and only wants to drink wine, but omfg. wtf. She has fucking 5 children. I don't care what you think, managing those many kids is NOT an easy task. But also... posts I've seen on this matter never seem to bring up David? Why? Isn't he a parent? Shouldn't he also have a role in parenting? Whatever Georgia does surely won't be against what David believes, right? Wake up, rpf shippers, wake the fuck up.

David almost definitely does have a role in the parenting (anyone willing to fight me on this, come off, I'll give you the reasons) but since he’s all over London at the moment, he probably doesn’t have much time. Which means that gt has to manage 4-5 kids all by herself. So she does actually deserve a break, more than anyone else. But she doesn’t because wahoo god forbid women do anything.

And putting all that aside, what the hell gives rpf people the right to hate on her as if they know her irl. Their default behavioral status is set to mean and bitchy and that’s just. concerning. rpf people need to understand the difference between real life and fiction istfg.

Okay, i swear I'm nearing the end of this rant, please don't go yet.

Sometimes fans do have the right to speak up against an UNHEALTHY relationship. There are multiple examples all over the place where one person has expressed dissatisfaction but no one took them seriously. Except… neither gt/dt nor ms/al have expressed dissatisfaction. At all. It’s actually the exact opposite where they keep fawning for each other. There’s 0 suggestions of any of them being unhappy in their respective relationships apparent from yall overanalyzing their body language to the point where it becomes false.

Do Georgia and Anna ship themselves with each other and ship David with Michael? Yes. But that's a fucking joke. Learn to take a joke, yalls, it will get you a long way. And even if they are the ones doing the shipping, so what? That doesn’t give you the right to. It’s their lives. You’re just a person viewing their lives from a small peep hole known as Instagram.

[noddytheornithopod]

I'm aware of this sudden spike of discourse around The Good Doctor, and while I have never seen the show and I think many Autistic people are right to feel uncomfortable about how it portrays them, the way people are treating it with memes and stuff to criticise it bothers me?

Like I'm seeing even Autistic people instead of engaging in thoughtful critique just share memes and mock the character in it. And like, you can say it's "bad acting" or an "inaccurate portrayal", but I still think there's something uncomfortably ableist in how people are acting?

Like, the way people are acting is like when people act like bullying "weird" people or people who don't have friends is fine, but suddenly you find out they're Autistic and then you find out it's all bad to do that now but only because they have that formal label.

That's what this whole Good Doctor thing reminds me of. Thing is, even if it might not be true to you... I know other Autistic people who watch the show and even relate to the character. It might be problematic or not fully authentic, and you have every right to feel that way, but the thing is, not every Autistic person is the same. Some of us DO respond in ways many of us would write off as stereotypical. Some of us DO act in ways that might make us uncomfortable, and are not what we want to think of ourselves as.

Like, it feels a lot like there's a lot of respectability politics going on, deciding what the "right" way to show us is like, which is ironic given we're trying to fight a lot of stereotypes in the first place, which TGD sounds like it does fall into.

I might even go as far as calling it purity politics, in that we're so concerned with how people see us that anything uncomfortable is making people react poorly and lashing out as a result.

I will reiterate, I have not seen the show. I've heard mixed opinions from the friends I've spoken to, their relationship with it is complex. It doesn't sound like something I'd care for, especially with the neurotypical lens it's created through.

But my ultimate point is... no one of us is the same. We're not a monolith. Even if the show does suck hard, some of us might still relate, and they're not bad people because of it. Deciding who is and isn't a "good" Autistic is gatekeeping bullshit we don't need.

So yeah, you don't have to like The Good Doctor. You can hate it. But the way people are mocking it instead of having serious nuanced, empathetic discussions feels just like one step away from giving Allistics permission to mock us.

You can go "oh it's from us so it's fine!" but people still can internalise bigoted beliefs about themselves. Look at the purity politics in queer communities, for example. To act like your actions have no consequences is pure arrogance.

Also, think of how it looks out of context. I know I just whined about respectability politics but seriously... random person making fun of an Autistic character? Even if you make excuses, it still looks shitty, even if your reasons ARE valid.

I'm not defending this show. I do not have interest in doing so. What I'm concerned is that Autistic people have given in to internet toxicity and the need to appear perfect to the point we're willing to throw anyone who doesn't fit the "good" narrative under the bus.

And lastly, if you see me not uncritically mocking the show in a way that would be identical to a neurotypical bully at work or school and think that makes me your enemy, you're exactly who I'm talking about. Take a breath, step back, shut up, and reflect on yourself. You're really going to give into petty infighting over a show that some people have more complex feelings about than just pure hate when there's groups like "Aspie Supremacists" and the "Autistic Dark Web" out there?

You're not making our lives better by putting people who have diverging opinions about a questionable show on twitter or whatever. If you genuinely want better, more nuanced representation (I do too!), start by not putting each other down in the first place.

[thatastrobae]

A ‘what if’ for y’all on this beautiful Tuesday morning

I really don’t wanna start no shit, but I just have to know…how would the fandom react if Miles and Gwen had traded places? The movie would still be amazing, but how would the discourse look if things went like this…

It was Miles that was forced to leave his universe because he messed up so bad; and in turn, the citizens of 1610 labeled him as a criminal. There is a warrant out for his arrest and when Jeff and Rio find out his identity, they don’t fully trust him because he's been lying about being Spiderman for so long. Jeff thinks he’s fallen down the same path as Aaron and Miles’ defenses fall on deaf ears.

Then in comes Miguel and Jess who give him the opportunity to join the Spider Society, build on his skills, and see all of the spider people he'd missed in the past year- everyone except for Gwen because in this "what if" she's the anamoly. Peter Parker was supposed the be Spiderman of Earth-65, not his love interest who was destined to 🎲 in said reality. So now Miguel refuses to even touch that dimension cause if she still ends up 🎲ing like the others, then Earth-65 will have no Spiderman to protect it. Otherwise things are pretty chill there; GhostSpider isn’t demonized but Gwen is still having trouble making friends. She’s missing Miles and is struggling to cope with Peter’s death.

Situation presents itself where Miles gets to go on a mission on Earth-65 to keep tabs on a villain. The only condition being that he can’t visit Gwen- which he disregards of course. They swing around Chelsea, NY, share a moment on the GWB…yada yada yada. The thing is, Miles is lying to Gwen by omission. He knows that Captain Stacy is running on borrowed time and he knows that Gwen is an anomaly who was never supposed to be Spiderwoman and she might 🎲 if they fall in love. The evening goes on and he chums it up with her dad (who he knows will end up on a mural soon) then takes his leave. Gwen- who’s curiosity is piqued at the mention of the Spider Society-knows Miles is hiding something so she gets the ‘ok’ from George (who is the best dad in this au) to follow him and she wastes no time.

Shit pops off in Mumbattan and because she’s ignorant to canon events, she saves Gyatri and Captain Singh and ASM-90 is interrupted. Jess is pissed, but Gwen’s not worried cause she knows she did the right thing and if this ‘Miguel O’Hara’ guy has a problem he can say it to her face. So despite Miles’ discomfort and Hobie’s dissuasion, she follows Jess to the SS anyway (low key excited she finally gets to see what Miles was talking about).

At Nueva York, she meets some more cool Spider people and bumps into old friends(it’s kinda weird how they’re all a part pf this taskforce except for her, but whatever). Miles is shitting bricks right now cause he has an idea of how things are gonna go down- still he says nothing, and tries move the group along.

The time comes for Gwen to finally meet Miguel and he holds nothing back when telling her why she shouldn’t have saved those civilians. Gwen stands ten toes down on her actions until Miguel debriefs her on ASM-90. Now knowing that her father’s life is in danger, she refuses to accept the fact that she can’t save him. She looks around the room for support from her friends: Peter, Peni, Ham and gets nothing but guilt ridden glances and silence. What stings a bit more is the fact that the boy she cares about the most isn’t 100% on her side here. Even as she finds herself running for her life from a mob of Spider people trying to detain her, Miles is still on the fence- yet leaning more towards Miguel’s side. He even gives Jessica an advantage by pulling her motorcycle up to speed with her. He catches her as she's falling, eyes filled with sorrow and remorse, but it changes nothing. Her instinct tells her to cut the web. Gwen didn't know if he was helping her or capturing her and she’s pretty sure Miles didn't know either. As said before, it changes nothing.

Suddenly, they’re on a high speed tram and an irritated, adrenaline filled Miguel finally catches up to Gwen. He choke slams her onto the tram and Miles and Peter are right behind them telling him to calm down, they don’t do much else to stop Miguel. They don’t want her to get hurt, but that doesn’t mean they’re on her side. As Gwen struggles against Miguel’s hold, he drops another bomb on her. ASM-121:

“That spider shouldn’t have bit you! Your friend, Peter was supposed to be Spiderman. He wasn’t supposed to die, that was your destiny! If you disrupt one more canon event, your universe will collapse and i’ll have to pick up the pieces”

This knowledge nearly destroys Gwen and the fact that all her friends knew about it, stings more. “Gwen, this if for your own good!” Miles calls out. For her own good? How? Who decides that? Gwen had no idea. In fact, Miles has been all over the place since he came to visit her. Lying about the smallest things, apparently it’s because he was hiding this from her. She knows about his situation at home, but the matter of fact is that she can’t trust him like she thought she could.

Gwen is able to fight Miguel off and escape, but not before giving Miles one last “goodbye”. Tears in her eyes and faith in him and their relationship crumbled to bits.

Film ends kind of the same way, Miles bands together a team of Spider people to right his wrong and save Gwen. Gwen is trapped in a dimension where she and her father are memorialized.

I skipped a lot but you get the gist. So with that image in your mind, how inclined do you feel to defend Miles’ actions? Would you confidently say he did nothing wrong? He didn’t mean for things to get this far, he didn’t wanna hurt her, he just didn’t want to face what was waiting for him back home. Are you defending him within an inch of your life? Is he a victim? Do you think that Gwen should just swallow her feelings of hurt and betrayal to understand where he’s coming from? The trust is gone, but is she obligated to give him the opportunity to rebuild that trust? Is he still entitled to her affections? Can you see how her feelings for him would change (even just a little)? Would you be disappointed in her if she decides not to be in relationship with him after everything is said and done? Please contemplate this and be honest. What if the roles were reversed? 🤔

[myfairkatiecat]

hi! Sorry idk if you posted something about this when the discourse was first starting, but I’ve been reading the-way-astray’s anti Keefe posts, and I’d be interested to see your opinion on some of the things she mentions. Especially the idea that Keefe infantilizes Sophie.

I’m neutral on this topic, but willing to be convinced either way.

I have a post in response to the essay in the works, it’s just taking me a very very very long time to complete. I have a lot of thoughts on that stuff.

Many of the thoughts are simply, “…well yeah. He does that. That’s a very consistent part of his character.” Like I’m not going to fight the fact that Keefe has character flaws. He’d be pretty boring otherwise. Many others yet are very :// about the interpretation of a scene (calling Keefe out for not apologizing in a scene when two lines after the quoted text, he gives her an apologetic glance and Sophie let’s him know it’s okay because that was enough of an apology for her) and a lot of it I say not too much about because it’s… VERY subjective? (Which the-way-astray is fully aware of and warned us of in the post. Those parts aren’t presented as objective, but they also aren’t necessarily reasons that everyone should dislike him, just specific pretty innocuous icks this one person gets from him) but yeah I do have a lot of thoughts on them. I actually love a lot of parts of the essay, though if anything about it frustrates me, it’s the idea that keefe’s character flaws and worst moments define him as a person when he has MANY good moments and good traits. I wouldn’t find him very interesting without the flaws, but with all of these moments compiled into one place, I worry it’s too easy to forget that Keefe does a lot of really thoughtful stuff. He’s not perfect for sure, and he definitely has a lot of issues, but characters having both good moments and bad moments is part of what humanizes them (even though he’s not human).

I think there are a lot of issues with a lot of nuance and a lot of objectively bad moments this guy has, and I don’t think anyone is obligated to enjoy Keefe’s character. But I will say: he does not flipping infantilize Sophie and to say so is a GROSS misrepresentation of his character. That’s the one thing I feel VERY strongly about. I have reasons for that too and I think I left a few of them in the replies of that post.

Anyway. Full detailed post coming soon. I have a lot of thoughts. I don’t disagree with a lot of the points. The only take that makes my blood genuinely boil is the idea that Keefe infantilizes Sophie. It’s just… NOT true, and there’s SO MUCH evidence against it, and even the evidence FOR it is REALLY weak when contextualized.

So yeah. I know I don’t actually support any points in this response but that’s again bc I have a full post in the works, which WILL have arguments/evidence.

[willowisapillow]

🐺❤️ He Ate My Heart Out ❤️🐺

*Rock eyebrow raise and Vine boom sound effect intensifies*

Sharandy my beloved,, oh how I’ve missed drawing these two together again (even though it wasn’t that long since I’ve last drawn them). Guess I just can’t quit these two.

Had the urge to draw these two again because I'm so sick and tired of seeing so much discourse and detractors about them as a couple on TikTok and YouTube. I’ve recently stumbled onto some edits of them getting a divorce, and while I respect others opinions on Sharon settling with a better man- y’all acting like Randy can’t get his act together and act like a normal husband towards her, which he’s done during the series like multiple times 💀

Though for the most part, I kinda blame the flanderization of him in recent years for this, especially with that one recent special where he bodyshames her, like, what the literal hell was that nonsense? I hate it sm, Randy would never do that 😣

My apologies if I sound like a broken record for saying this for the 200th time, Ik these two are an imperfect couple, but that’s what I like about ‘em. They don’t always act like a mushy, lovey-dovey, squeaky-clean, Disney-esque couple (not a jab at Disney couples, I live and breathe them, but you get my point). Both of them have their flaws like quarreling and bickering and that’s what makes their relationship realistic, because, newsflash, some irl couples act like that too. If their relationship were sunshine and rainbows all the time, then it would just be boring to watch. They’ve had plenty of moments to prove that they have a decent marriage. One of my DA friends said this a while back and I fully agree with them; a couple with their ups and downs is a lot better than a toxic marriage happening every single episode.

And at least Randy doesn’t treat Sharon awfully 24/7, cheats on her with other people, married her solely for her looks, or told her that he hates being with his kids. And imo they’re a healthier couple then the other parents like Staurt and Carol and Stephen and Linda don’t @ me plz-

So sorry if I went off on yet another tangent, I’m just your average online yapper who gets unnecessarily defensive over my fav fictional characters 💅🏾✨

My silly rant out of the way, when I was younger I had this habit of inserting my favorite franchises into random fairytales. I don’t know why I did it so much, I just liked the concept of it. I’ve done it with Mario, Banjo-Kazooie and Cuphead, now I’m doing it with South Park. The theme I wanted to go for was Red Riding Hood after binge watching those “Dark origins of your childhood fairytales” videos, bumping into some other fairytale AUs on here for some inspo, and listening to Monster by Lady Gaga and Won’t Bite by Doja Cat one too many times.

Wanted to go for a stylish but sultry look for Riding Hood!Sharon, and as for Werewolf!Randy I definitely went full on furry on him in this picture. I am not sorry at all. Now I just kinda picture some scenarios where he acts like an actual dog. Like, Sharon has him on a leash and takes him on walks, sprays him with a spray bottle anytime he starts actin’ up, or giving him some weed to calm him down when he enters feral mode. Randy is also very loyal and protective of his wifey, and will not hesitate to bite, scratch (and probably kill) you if you lay a finger on her. Also like the idea of him enjoying being scratched behind the ears and getting belly rubs haha

And I had a thought of having Stan playing the role of the huntsman, ‘cause I think it would be adorbs for him to help out his mama <3

🌲 🐺 ❤️ 🐺 🌲