#Their abusive relationship I mean

[samd1o1]

"If you value humanity, don't succumb to Dracul

He'll abuse you, he'll misuse you, he'll raise Hell on Earth to subdue you

Till not even death can undo you"

-Renfield in Wilhelmina Waltz by Chonny Jash

Damn these lyrics hit different after watching Renfield lmao

[amu-says-hav-says]

I can’t believe I went through all of Season 2 assuming Nina was the stand-in for Crowley when you actually pay attention it’s so CLEAR that she’s Aziraphale. I was tricked by her spiky, sarcastic, cynical outer shell and lulled into a false sense of security by Maggie’s bubbly optimism and wholesome goodness, because on the surface they reflect the ineffable husbands perfectly, in their personalities, their aesthetics, even many of their actions and morals. but not, and this is the real key, when it comes to their “relationship”. but those first impressions really had me damn fooled. 

I missed the blatantness of Nina’s “we’re just friends. actually we’re not friends. we barely know each other.” the same thing Aziraphale said in season 1.  the way he still struggles to quantify their friendship when Nina asks. Nina’s sarcasm when Crowley asks about rain and awnings because it worked for him (we all know it LMAO). hell, that whole convo the girls have in the rain is so AziraCrow (“I know. I’m not your type” “...You have no idea” hits so much harder the second time, help meeeee.) “Lindsay” maybe being symbolic of Heaven and Aziraphale’s toxic relationship with them and their abuse? (the handwritten text messages in red pen make me think of angry notes on paperwork, anyone else?) because Crowley has never actually cared about what Hell thinks of him, just not getting into trouble (or him or Aziraphale getting hurt). Maggie is always chasing Nina. NINA NEVER GOES IN THE RECORD STORE. Just like Crowley always goes to the bookstore, to Aziraphale, Zira NEVER WENT TO THE FLAT (apart from The Swap but that doesn’t count imo). Crowley has always chased Zira, not the other way around. Always there to rescue him, always going to him for company, always relying on their shared connection, always US. OUR SIDE. All through season one, he comes to Zira every time to work together, never trying to work alongside Hell in any way that isn’t to save their skins or Earth, while Zira hides things from Crowley because he STILL thinks Heaven is ultimately good and will do the right thing if he can just show them. fix it from the inside. 

Maggie working up the courage to finally say something, to put herself out there, while Nina is utterly oblivious and then when she does realise Maggie has feelings, becoming standoffish, putting up that barrier, fighting it, denying it, ITS SO CROWLEY AND AZIRAPHALE IN THAT ORDER. the way I was fooled into thinking Nina’s trust issues are Crowley because he does have trust issues ofc he does BUT Crowley has ALWAYS TRUSTED AZIRAPHALE. has always relied on him. has always been hurt when Aziraphale doesn’t immediately reciprocate the way he expects (the holy water request, the bandstand, the “off in the stars” etc). he’s always the one putting himself forward. Aziraphale has always been the one to second guess everything, to fight their connection, their similarities, their friendship. the girls really made me think it was going to be okay when they sat Crowley down, even as my inner sirens were going haywire about Metatron interfering, they were telling Crowley he just needs to open up and it’ll all work out BUT HE’S ALREADY AT THAT POINT. he may not say it, and by gosh is that part of their damn problem, but he’s always SHOWN IT. he’s not Nina who needs time to heal and recover from her broken trust, he’s always been Maggie believing it doesn’t matter, they’ll end up together in the end anyway AND I WALKED RIGHT INTO THE TRAP THAT THIS MEANT THEY WERE GOING TO BE OKAYYYYYYYYYYY

[frogs-in3-hills]

can i be real with yall i kind of hate fandom assigned siblingisms because often it’s just used as a signifier of closeness rather than an exploration of any of the things that make siblings narratively interesting imo. and i think a lot of that comes down to the fact that people enjoy the fantasy of relationships that are “naturally” eternal, ie, intimacy without having to do The Work. and i will never shame anyone for indulging a fantasy through fiction, this is just not something that really works for me. where siblings become compelling, imo, is within that unique “eternity” (whether societally imposed or genuinely forged in childhood and blood) and its power to trap and hurt. where the people involved don’t do The Work, or The Work they do isn’t enough. they’re tied together but some wounds take a long time to heal—if they ever do. wounds that they share, or wounds that they inflict on each other

[nashvillethotchicken]

I stand with Louis no matter what. If either lestat or armand did that shit to me and people talked about me the way they talk about louis on here and on twitter you're gonna see me in history books

[jesuistrestriste]

codependent!art donaldson who’s scared to make you mad.

he’s actually afraid of making you feel any sort of negative emotion at all, actually. and it’s not the kind of ‘afraid’ that he can laugh off.

no, no, no; it’s the kind that motivates him to shrink himself down into something more digestible for you. something that you can chew up and spit out and discard repeatedly, over and over again—like gum. it’s a sickening cycle that he enables, even if he won’t admit it.

he lets you suck the flavor and enjoyment out of his life in favor of making you happy. he’ll always make himself smaller for you if it makes you feel powerful and in-control.

so when you yell at him after he’s done nothing but try to make you feel worshipped all night in front of your friends, he can’t help the tears that well in his eyes. his entire expression crumples.

he whimpers and paws at your hips, big drops of sadness rolling down his flushed cheeks as he sniffles, and then pushes his hips into yours.

“i’m sorry,” he breathes out, his voice breaking, “i’m sorry, baby, i’m so sorry… please…”

when you don’t budge, he steps back with a sense of frantic urgency and begins stripping off his clothes. his shirt falls down to the bedroom floor, then his sneakers are kicked off, and then his pants. he’s tenting achingly in his boxers with the need to make everything better.

art reaches out again, but for your wrist this time. his thumb brushes your soft skin. he hiccups wetly. he slides his touch to rest over the back of your hand, and then directs it down to press against his pelvis. his fingers curl over the backs of yours, silently encouraging you to grope at him.

he’s taller than you, but you can feel the way he’s mentally curling into himself. it’s pathetic and it’s sad and it’s doing nothing but making you feel guilty. you don’t want to have sex with him, you want to shut him out.

“touch me,” he gasps, his clothed boner pressing into your palm desperately as he steps closer, “please, touch me… use me.. you can fuck me however you want.. i need—i love you..”

he buries his face into your neck, his arms both moving to wrap around the back of you, before his strong legs go shaky and he’s slowly sliding down onto one knee. and then the other goes. he cries into your frame, his cock bobbing and leaking in his briefs.

it takes another minute or two of your continued silent treatment for him to look up from his seat on the floor, fingertips digging into the meat of your thighs. his eyes meet your own; all wet lashes and puffiness over his lids.

“please don’t leave me.”

[wszczebrzyszynie]

What i find most interesting about secret life is that this is the first season i feel comfortable saying didnt end in a win for Scott or his ally. Scar calls him and Pearl the closest he has to an allyship early on, yes, but then betrays him and fights... on Pearls side. Pearl, who has been rejected by Scott two seasons ago, who has been lonely and regarded as the seasons villain, who, despite everything, still fought and won. Pearl, who asked Scar to kill her, to take her hearts, so he could win too (almost like Scott did to her before; without asking and begging, leaving her with his decision, his death as alone as she was before, before she too dies, linked to him). And yet Scar didnt; Scar treated her with honour, fighting with her until they were the only ones left, and then killing her in a proper, fair battle. Scar rejects Scott, who has been considered the omen of victory up to this point, teaming up with the person Scott has arguably hurt the most in the series, who used to be just like Scar is now, and still wins. And he wins alone

[stagefoureddiediaz]

The Helena diaz of it all has me fascinated. I’ve said for a long while that Eddie’s real issues are his mommy issues and this episode just cemented for me that we’re gonna explore that and deal with it.

Because it’s Helena who forced Eddie to grow up to fast - because her husband wasn’t around much - so she pushed Eddie into de facto parent and husband role ls - selfishly filling her needs and ignoring the damage it was doing to her son (it is a form of abuse in my book).

Eddie then had the audacity to fall in love with and marry Shannon and get her pregnant. It’s why Helena was always so off with Shannon - she was punishing her. She is also punishing Eddie for all of this and his refusal to return to El Paso only cemented further her bitterness and resentment.

Now she does have Ramon back she doesn’t need Eddie any longer to fill that role so she is still punishing him and part of that is tied into her glee over now getting to parent Christopher - something she has always been intent on doing the doppelgänger just gave her the opportunity- as well as allowing her to further punish her son and his love of Shannon.

Her barbed comments about building a pool were all about showing what she can provide Christopher - how she is parenting him better than Eddie - it’s part of her mind games - making Eddie feel like more of a failure as a parent to his son.

The reality of course is that the reverse is true - Helena’s parenting is all superficial, flash and showy - it isn’t the hard day to day parenting when things get tough and you have to be the bad guy. While Eddie has made mistakes, there is nothing superficial, flash, or showy about his parenting. It’s why bucks comments about Eddie being a great dad are so important.

Eddie feel like a failure right now and that he is entirely to blame for everything. But in reality, while he does bear a bit of the responsibility, the truth of the matter is that he needs to learn and deal with the fact that all of it actually stems from Helena and her abuse of her young son - Shannon never stood a chance just like Eddie never has.

[ardentpoop]

you guys really don’t get him tbfh

[samble-movedd]

madohomu isn't "toxic".

madohomu isn't "abusive".

the behaviors they exhibit that are labeled this way only seem such because they are out of context.

for example. pre-rebellion, there were "homura antis" who called homura an abuser (no, i am not making this up, check out @/magicalgirlfanproblems' pmmm tags) for things like her yelling at madoka. out of context, ofc this sounds mean and malicious. but in context, 99% of the time she says something "mean" to madoka in the main series or raises her voice is because madoka is about to make a literal canon deal with the devil that would lead to her dying in horrifying ways. it's the same way you shouldn't normally yell at a child, but yelling "don't touch that!" in panic if they're about to touch a hot stove makes sense and isn't "bad" with the context.

during and post-rebellion, this "homura is an evil abuser, madohomu is toxic" issue only got worse, because again, without context, homura seems to be controlling and malicious.

...but the "proof" that's used to prove this, again, lacks context.

"homura forces madoka out of godhood against her will". yes. but she is doing this because when she previously spoke to madoka (who had her memories of being a goddess gone, unbeknownst to homura), madoka said that being such would distress her, and she couldn't imagine bearing it. that she wouldn't ever want to do this. ofc, memories restored madoka wanted to stay a goddess, but homura didn't know this — it's also heavily implied that what she said while without memories were her true thoughts on the matter, and any "no, i love doing it" statement is mostly posturing.

related to this is the plot point a lot of people also miss, where being this goddess figure puts madoka in constant danger of being captured or controlled by the incubators, a species that canonically have caused the deaths of billions of children, and who do not care about human morals regarding this. it's openly stated that, even if homura had allowed madoka to save her and not acted, the incubators would have just done the same labyrinth experiment with literally any other magical girl they could get their hands on, over and over, until they were able to end up controlling madoka. but even them just seeing her towards the end of rebellion was a massive danger, as they now know madoka is a person and not just a concept, and can be manipulated and caught.

homura's new world is also often used as "proof" homura is controlling and evil. but...her "new world" is one where all her friends are happy, and everyone has a nice time except her. madoka has her family and friends. mami isn't alone, because she has bebe/nagisa. nagisa, a girl she knew for maybe a week and had no prior connections with, is alive, and has a happy life with mami. kyoko and sayaka live together so that sayaka isn't an implied latchkey kid, and kyoko isn't constantly alone and isolated anymore.

homura did not have to do these things. if she just wanted madoka safe, she could have put her in a lonely world with literally no one else. homura doesn't even much like sayaka — she could have easily erased sayaka from the world, or made her miserable. but she doesn't do these things. she genuinely wants her friends (especially madoka) to be happy.

"but the new world is dangerous and unstable, homura is also putting madoka into danger!" madoka's world is also unstable, if you really want to split hairs. the big danger with homura's is someone (esp madoka) could remember the previous world and their roles in it. madoka's world...had homura fully remembering madoka and the previous world, even though this isn't meant to be possible. madoka's brother also remembered her on some level. if you want to get super technical, madoka also made an unstable world that put people in danger, as homura remembering madoka directly led to the incubators knowing about madoka and the previous witch system.

this isn't even going into the background. homura doesn't act cold because she's bored and wants to, she's seen her friends die literally a hundred times or more in various horrifying ways. if you're going to complain about her personality while ignoring canon and context, you really need to channel every single pmmm character hate post i saw from the 2010s and hate all of them, because none of them are as flawless as people seem to want homura to be. madoka cries a lot and has a tendency to do things without thinking. sayaka "died over a dumb crush" if you really want to emulate posts from 2015. mami is a useless character only there for shock value. kyoko is an overly aggressive weirdo. if you're going to hold the same beliefs about homura as people did a decade ago, you can't be this choosey. and yet 99% of modern character hate for pmmm nowadays is directly almost solely at homura, as though she's the only flawed character in the show.

there are still posts made in this very year about this. here's one my mutual @angelroute found (yes, posted in 2024):

and not only is it deeply ironic (seeing this person had a madoka icon while being so hateful), ignorant of canon (with being a magical girl portrayed as a positive in the show where it leads to dying horrifically), and weirdly vindictive (op is thirty and this mad at a fictitious middle schooler), but it shows how strange and backwards 90% of "anti homura" arguments are at their core. they're perfectly fine spitting on canon and all context to call homura and homura alone an evil character while covering their ears to anything that may suggest otherwise.

ive seen homura called a rapist and a predator, though there's nothing even remotely sexual in canon and nothing that ever even implies this is a possibility. homura being a creep is/was a major fanon trope. homura being an abuser as a fanon belief is so prevalent that people believe it when most of canon points to the opposite —

she's not actually evil or abusive, she's a child who never got help for trauma, and genuinely believes she's following what her best friend would have wanted. she's not doing what she does in rebellion because she got bored and decided she just wanted to control madoka, she is trying to protect her and is misguided from what memory-less madoka said, so believes she's following madoka's actual desires.

she's not evil. she needed help desperately and never got it, and half the fandom falls for the facade of "im sick and twisted" put up by a middle schooler.

[miithriin]

[zzoupz]

saw a take on twitter that's like "toxic yaoi means an imperfect relationship, not abuse" and I

[lionpointe]

Amazing things are happening on iwtv twitter..

[alicentsaegon]

'Moon is goddess, wife of sun'

[tacagen]

one of the things that fascinate me about thawne: yes, he CAN be normal with kids! surprisingly normal!

((not at all times, though. his mental illness still spills through and as usual he, in trying to manipulate or hurt others, spits out at them the exact stuff that would hurt him (or have in his childhood/barry's rejection interpretation) the most in the first place lmao))

but at the same time. his like second instinct when doing his bullshit is FUCK THEM (as) KIDS

(and, well. whatever this classifies as)

[tequiilasunriise]

I love when the toxic yuri is absolutely DOOMED by the narrative and they’re so in love they’re going through a divorce they are seeing each other in full for the first time they’re each other’s first (and last) love they’re gay and kissing and gay they’re still signing those divorce papers and yeah these is all happening at the same time

[dreadfuldevotee]

Carol Cutshall I know your game, Rolin & Co. I've got you beat. Color (in terms of wardrobe, specifically) in IWTV so far has been representative of a kind of vibrant inner life and honesty in characters. It's the reason why it's so jarring go from seeing Louis in his beautiful multicolored array of stylish clothes in New Orleans to his solid, un-broken string of Couture Minimalism All-Black Ensembles in Dubai. Even in just comparing his unassuming browns and muted tones of Paris next to Claudia's self discovery in pastel. So, to then turn your eye to Armand; always in black, white, greyscale and browns so dark that in most lightings- they end up functionally black.

And then I think about how his rare pops of color, outside of his green shirt in Just Start The Tape, are orange and red. Adoration of the Shepherd continues to be a interesting painting to tie to Armand, this time in the detail that our only image of Armand before his turning is him in a bright blue gown. And in thinking of all these things at the same time, mentally, I am whacked in the face by a piece of trash on the wind which has this The Vampire Armand quote plastered to it

Anyways, anytime someone goes "Oh I hope to see Armand in color in S3" I think the monkey's paw curls