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celtrist · 7 months ago

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I really want to see a more fucked up version of Charlie in canon. Like, okay, I am a die-hard for sweet bubbly girls in media. But I always see how some people make Charlie actually, oh I dunno... demonic? And it's so refreshing for her type of character. I could honestly see her having low empathy (and we kinda see this with how she handled Angel's situation or even Vaggie's nervousness about taking control on an activity). An exploration of that trait (if it was intended) would be interesting to see for a protagonist, especially when her main goal is about helping others. I would love to see her actually have a level of difficulty in understanding others' feelings from the other residents, sinners, and even her father.

But give her a fucked up side. Not a "she gets more power when she's angey uwu", but a "oh, she's a little fucked in the head". It would give so much to her character that she just doesn't have.

@/murmurmurena (don't wanna bother them so slash there we go) has some fun ideas with Charlie. I highly encourage people to check their stuff out! So many fun dark ideas with her character while also still keeping to her canon personality pretty well! Personally, I think Charlie being a bit more naive to her own messed up traits would work best but her also being aware of these traits can make for some interesting character for her.

THIS FIC, "A Game Between You and I". RIGHT HERE WITH THE FIRST CHAPTER. A bit of spoil for the fic here: but I love how they handled Charlie’s absolute ignorance as to why the idea of Russian roulette is horrifying to Angel Dust. It doesn't feel like her being intentionally malicious or aware that she's the odd man out here. This is also a pretty old fic going by only the pilot, but the point still stands that it was such a fun take for her character!

Charlie is one of my favorite characters in the show in part of the POTENTIAL she could have as being the most bubbly sweetheart character while also being the most messed up character in the show. I can't say I have strong confidence with the show's writing and fully expect them to stick with Charlie being the "nice girl but oh no, don't get her angry or she gets scarwy". Which isn't bad for a character mind you, there's just so much more potential to Charlie outside of that trope, especially when you get into the theories of her either being a doll, Roo's biological daughter, or what have you. And for the MAIN CHARACTER of the show, it would be not only interesting but also bring the spotlight back to her.

There's really no question that the side characters steal the show, particularly all the male characters. If I'm honest, Charlie does not feel like she gets a lot of love from the show itself when she's supposed to be the main character. She feels far more flat compared to the rest of the characters (again, the male cast in this "female-lead" show has more depth than most of the female cast currently. I wouldn't be pointing this tidbit concerning the genders of characters if it weren't for the fact Viv defended Helluva's lack of development with their female cast by saying "Hazbin is a female-lead show and Helluva is a male-lead" and Hazbin ended up with it not feeling female lead (to me) and the male cast just completely stealing the show. I don't normally care about gender stuff, especially since I do personally lean interest towards male characters. But using one show as a defense for poor development of the female characters, and then that show not really holding up with no very interesting well-developed feeling female characters irritates me. It's just very clear that these shows don't seem to care much about the female cast :/)

If you like how Charlie is written that's totally fine. PERSONALLY, I just think they're missing so much opportunity with her character by just making her the standard female character type. I honestly don't have a lot of faith they'll actually do something with Charlie's character though. She's a pretty static character in S1 being the same from start to end. Not changing or learning anything to create any development. What does the end of season Charlie do that start of season Charlie wouldn't do? Fight back? Because we see with the pilot (which is the “first episode”) that Charlie does fight people if pushed like with Katie Killjoy and even Valentino. Static characters can work in media depending on the show or their role. But Charlie is the MC of a show about “bettering one's self”. So to have her as a static with not a lot of strong dilemmas for herself (like we see with Angel Husk Al and even Vox) seems silly. Plus, considering Hazbin is telling a whole story and it's not a fun episodic thing, characters are expected to grow on some level. Or else, what was the point of their hero's journey?

#I honestly have a lot of problems with Hazbin's storytelling #That the limited time of doing plot doesn't even help it and shouldn't be used to shield the show from criticisms #Especially when you can find the same issues in Helluva Boss that has no excuse with the writing (though it's getting a bit better)#I love this show but goodness gracious it makes me have a tangent about it #Charlie's unimpactful character writing just being one of MANY issues #Hopefully the crew take all the criticisms into account for S3 #S2 if possible would be nice but they probably had it all scripted by the time S1 was airing.#No shame on the female cast either they're fine. But when you compare them to the given depth of characters like Angel Husk Alastor and Vox #They're pretty lackluster. Vaggie's probably the closest to a female character with a lot of layers we've seen in the show #And she wasn't done very well with being essentially just “Charlie's GF” with not much identity outside of that explored much #Some of this may be more personal takes but it's frustrating. Again I don't normally care about gender stuff in media #It was just the excuse to Millie and Loona lacking development that bothers me #Like Hazbin is supposed to make up Helluva's poor writing of their main female leads #Loona got a bit of love with the Bee ep and Verosika and Octavia are pretty good. Particularly V with her relationship with Blitz #Whenever I start talking about aspects of Hazbin's writing I always end up ranting a bit (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄#Celtrist #cel rambles #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel charlie #charlie morningstar #hazbin critique #hazbin criticism #hazbin critical #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #hazbin hotel critique #hazbin hotel rant #You can really love something and still be critical with it #I do it out of love I swear #You're not in the Sonic fandom for like 22 yrs and don't learn to be critical of the media you enjoy lol

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sukibenders · 1 month ago

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Me, waking up and remembering how Condal and Hess made Laena into the disposable black girlfriend (wife in this case, not that they even bother to mention it more than once) and had her die more horrifically than in the books (possibly to boost the yte characters), had Daemon and Rhaenyra sleep together during her funeral, have her two daughters be ignored by their father for his second wife's kids, had all three of them become shells of their book counterparts and given less grace by the fandom than in similar regards to the majority yte characters, only for those who called out these actions to be deemed simply "anti Rhaenyra" or just be told they lack media literacy:

#house of the dragon #hotd #anti hotd #hotd critical #like ill never forget how some of yall in this fandom were cheering daemyra sleeping together during laena's funeral #and the discussion around laena during that episode (and leading up to it) were so misogynistic and anti black over a ship where an uncle #has been grooming his niece since she was a child #(and yes laena and daemon's relationship also had grooming patterns too but hotd loves to pick and choose when that matters or not at all)#even with laena's lost child fandom doesn't even mention them but visenya can be given a personality and life of her own? why not both?#baela and rhaena being given little to do and while s3 still has a chance idk if i trust them #they already made daemon a deadbeat dad to them and are erasing another black character's story (probably to prevent conflict with rhae)#just to give it to rhaena even tho she had her own storyline that was just as important #this is my big gripe with (yte) team black fans bc when you point out flaws in the nsrrative rhae has regarding the black characters #it's automatically assumed that you hate her or our team green when it's just trying to point out how dirty the black characters are done #laena who has a hinted at relationship with both daemon AND rhae can't even be viewed as more than disposable to not even these two her #partners but also to rhaenicent bc the show and fans hold her as lesser than to the drama between a homoerotic friendship or pair rhae with #mysaria over her like so you know there was an opportunity for laenyra the show was just too much of a punk to do it #laena valeryon #baela targaryen #baela the brave #rhaena targaryen #rhaena of pentos

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madsway · 6 months ago

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now that i've taken in the entire show and am about to rewatch simply because i can............... i'm so pissed that dave erickson got fired because damn........

#i just think that s4 would have been insane.#i presume frank still would have wanted off the show and so naturally that chasm dave built between maddie and nick would've been... yea #idk- i think it would've been good tv. maybe. he doesn't talk too much on it but he says enough to give an impression.#i'm also inherently biased because he also said madison was the one character he saw making it all the way to the series finale #which ultimately. she does. but the story would have been much different for her. she would've felt More Madison #additionally.. of course there are characters born from the switch of writers that i'm glad we got and may otherwise have not got but....#i'd pay a pretty penny to have been able to see what dave had in store for the characters we had with us at the end of s3.#and to see what he would have done with 3b had he not wanted to wrap up certain loose ends of his creation before his departure.#the first 3 seasons of fear are the best ones. imo. for so many reasons. which i think had a lot to do with dave.#he separated ftwd from twd in big ways that i'm not going to get into but so much got jammed in s4-s8 that. it felt like the new writers #were mostly trying to pay homage to twd than to the characters and the story lines that made fear what it was. y'know.#the entire tone seemed to shift in the show. they subjected it to all the crazy time jumps. etc etc etc. which works in some ways on twd bu #they didn't do the same service to ftwd.#maybe that's just me.#dave Got the vision.#and i think it would've been really beautiful to get to see him ride it out (even if for another season or two)

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sisterdivinium · 1 year ago

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Sometimes I wonder whether the cancellation wasn't positive in its own way.

We went out on a high, so there were chances that whatever came next might not match those expectations; we were left with quite a few unanswered questions, which can be inspiring both for those of us who write fic as well as those who try to read more deeply into the show; there are blanks that facilitate a fic writer's making use of them which might have been filled in less satisfying ways should canon have failed to live up to what we each wanted of it...

But I suppose it's easier to look at it like this from the point of view of someone who is invested in creating her own little versions and what-ifs concerning her favourite characters in the show. For someone who is just a reader or who just appreciates all the ways in which fan creativity manifests itself without much taking part in it, I guess there's a bit more dependence on canon.

#to be entirely honest with you i prefer it stays cancelled if getting it back in any way pointed at my faves being anything but gay lol #i'd rather have the total ambiguity and all the open possibilities i have now than see canon even suggest men in their lives #(me? never forgiving the show for having lilith kiss adriel like that? it's more likely than you think)#i know some people would be overjoyed but to me it's like. i never get to have my faves as lesbians in media. ever.#so having no confirmation but also NO shred of canon suggestion they might be anything else is pretty satisfying TO ME.#it's so much better to not have to acknowledge some random bloke from a woman's past for once #(lol i remember getting in an argument with an ex about borias in xena this one time. that was... wild.)#of course i'm CURIOUS as to what they would have done if we had had s3 and beyond #but who knows what might have happened?#i'm not tagging this because i don't know what sort of response it might get lol. please be thoughtful if saying anything #do feel free to TALK though. me not wanting this to blow up doesn't mean i don't want a conversation lol!#meta fandom talk i guess

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bagheerita · 1 year ago

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DS9's "Second Skin" once again shaming the Stargate Atlantis writing team by doing an episode they wrote but over 10 years earlier and 50 times better. I went on a rant about "Sunday" vs "Lessons" a couple years ago, but watching "Second Skin" is like seeing what "Michael" could have been if written by people who understood drama instead of only being acted by people who did. There are definitely differences, like we start out having a relationship with Kira which we don't with Lt Kenmore, but with the whole fake identity plot having the person's actual parent there makes it sooooooo much more emotional. (This is what I wanted from "Michael"!! Not just handing him a stock photo that literally looks like it came with the frame and telling him "These are your parents." But an actual emotional connection, any tie for him to cling to to believe your bullshit and not just Teyla being quietly agreeable like whoring her out is the only way you can sell your lies. Because, here in DS9 as well, the lies are so obviously bullshit.) But making it a double blind also, where you lied to the parent as well to make sure you manipulated that honest emotional connection into existing, fantastic, exquisite, Stargate wishes. And in the end the point of the episode is different, as Lt Kenmore is the focus of his episode and Kira is really just the excuse to expose the Legate by having him try to protect his "daughter," but (and as much as I love "Michael") the emotional content here is so much deeper and sweeter. Maybe SGA writers are allergic to honest emotions, or maybe the writers were trying to hedge their bets with not portraying their main cast as being as evil as the Obsidian Order... though if you're going to go with the war crimes go whole hog with the war crimes come on.

#mini rant #ds9 s3 second skin #not to say that star trek doesn't also have a whole HISTORY of issues with non-consensual body modification and their female characters #looking at you tng. Kira wakes up as a cardassian and I was literally like wait I already saw this but with troi and romulans #lmao it's okay SGA you trash show i rag on you but i still love you #can you imagine if Michael Kenmore was an actual soldier who died on the mission but he had a mother or a brother who was also military and #they get read into the stargate program and come to atlantis and get told 'hey here is your loved one. a building fell on him so he has #no memory and also looks different.' And Michael actually had an honest connection with someone and honest affection #AND THEN when it all comes out that he's a wraith with this violent nature (or whatever i think that's bullshit and his anger was about #the lies) he and this relative have to go through this whole heartbreaking realization that they thought they loved each other but #they're on opposite sides of this conflict and are going to probably kill each other. like it doesn't even have to end any differently #just give me deeper drama #my star trek (re)watch

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drdumaurier · 1 year ago

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I started writing a headcanon about Bedelia and closure and I made myself sad.

#;Behind the Veil [ooc]#(i'll finish writing it tomorrow because it's past midnight)#(the lights outside got turned off)#(which means it's really time for me to go to bed)#(but i have so many thoughts about this)#(i'm writing specifically about s3)#(and how the events that had taken place before and during the show affected her)#(it truly messed her up and she never got closure)#(even hannibal being in prison for a while doesn't help her)#(and if i take into account the post-credits scene at the end of s3)#(then it's even worse and i could probably write a whole thesis on it)#(but i'll limit myself even if i'll talk specifically about closure in that verse)#(i still doesn't consider it as 'canon' for my bedelia)#(but i do have a verse for it so)#(and then otherwise even without that scene she has a lot to deal with)#(and she doesn't cope well)#(and she never gets closure)#(i have many thoughts about not getting closure actually)#(because i haven't gotten closure either)#(some stuff happened and trauma and all that and i haven't managed to get closure)#(maybe one day i will but it hasn't happened so i can see bedelia just never getting it)#(anyhow i'm gonna stop monologuing in the tags)

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neriyon · 5 months ago

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Nothing quite like taking an intrest in a show with 3 seasons, and then the show just kinda faceplants on its own plot mid-season 2 and you have to sit there wondering if it goes back to being good during the last season or not

#neri.txt #answer is no. no it did not #season 3 had some interesting moments at the start #but the ending was super rushed and janky #if you have a villain in your story #introduced in the first season #you can't just fucking... make the final confrontation take like 10 minutes #all that build-up for literally nothing #and two new characters in s3 that story kept telling you are super duper special #and then they don't even get to really do anything #i'm gonna censor it so this doesn't show up in the main tag by accident but i'm talking about sw/eet h/ome #wonder if the original webcomic is better #or if that too tripped on it's own proverbial sholaces close to the finishing line

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mimpinightmare · 3 months ago

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VERY HEAVYILY ON WHAT HAPPENED TO JOMO-

(I'm still waiting for that next season, MoonBug. /HJ & Half Delusional-)

never ask a man his salary. never ask a woman her age. never ask a supa strikas fan about:

early season dingaan (i still shiver to this day)

early season el matador (yeah this one's also REAL bad)

LITERALLY ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING FROM S1-2

why klaus is still not a starter... sigh its tiring out here

fc nakama. bc we'll be here all day

where the banger minor characters went!!!!!

the show's timeline. seriously i thought cognito was a new team but as rookie season goes... it's apparently NOT??

how old any of them are

WTF HAPPENED TO JOMO (MOONBUG IM LOOKING AT YOU!!!)

speaking of which. never ask me how tf invincible united got away w hiring an actor to play shakes' supposedly dead dad. that HAS to be a federal offense

sp*ke d*ws*n

s7 finale "game over"

the youtube thumbnails

which voice actor voices who exactly

how the fuck these guys keep falling for inyo's trap

dooma's debut

the show's obsession w feet

the characters' casual clothes... yikes

shakes/skarra. you don't wanna open that can of worms

HOW THESE GUYS ARE STILL ALIVE

what the show is about. DON'T EVER ASK ME THIS. I DO NOT KNOW

#supa strikas #supastrikas #supablr #SKSKSJD Yeah Dingaan in S1&2 act very differently- Is Until (I think) S3 or S5 we got the Dingaan we now and love. But that doesn't matter~#He's my precious boy! And I love him regardless~ :) ✨💛💜💛💜💛💜💛✨#Early Seasons El Matador to me feels less self absorbent but would get in BIG trouble for what he would say coming from his mouth....#....because he doesn't think before he talks- *Looks at "No El in Team S1E10* 😭😭#“why klaus is still not a starter...” Asking the REAL Question. Especially the later seasons we see Klaus becomes even better in footie...#...and regaining confidence in himself! COACH!! LET KLAUS BE IN THE STARTING LINE UP!!!#“fc nakama. bc we'll be here all day” *Sigh* So is it about how underutilize they were in the show?#Or is it the questionable character design choices for them???#“where the banger minor characters went!!!!!” GIVE US HACK AND ALEX BACK! GIVE US LUIZA BACK! GIVE US JOAO BACK! MOONBUG! GIVE US KAT BACK!#“i thought cognito was a new team but as rookie season goes... it's apparently NOT??” OHHH BUDDY I HAD BEEF WITH THAT-#I literally use Headcanons to fix the timeline and Lore consistence in Rookie Season- 😭😭😭#What are the players EXACT ages are very much a mystery- We only know Shakes is the youngest in the Super League #And big Bo is oldest next to Rasta. And apparently North and El Matador are the same age if I'm not mistaken- (Not Sure about the other)#(STILL VERY MUCH MANISFESTING AND PRAYING SUPA STRIKAS HAVING ANOTHER SEASON SO MY QUESTIONS ABOUT JOMO WILL BE ANSWERED 🙏🙏🙏)#Alot of people in the fandom kinda headcanon the reason how IU get away SO MUCH is because Vince is a Mafia Boss- And I think that's funny-#THANK YOU FOR CENSORING SP*KE D*WS*N~ I don't like him~ 🙏🙏🙏#“s7 finale ”game over“ *Restraining myself to write an essay about it*#“which voice actor voices who exactly” THANK YOU!! THAT ALWAYS BOTHERED ME-#LIKE?!?!? WHAT MADE THE DESICION TO NOT AT LEAST TELL US WHO VOICE WHO?!??!?!?!?#“how the fuck these guys keep falling for inyo's trap” Either the woman is a master in disguises or the Supa Strikas Team is super dumb-#(HUH??!?! I wasn't aware the show's obsession with feet?!?!? 😭😭) (The show being mostly about football is not helping-)#“shakes/skarra” HEAVILY ON THEM!!! ESPECIALLY AFTER ROOKIE SEASON- 😭😭😭#“HOW THESE GUYS ARE STILL ALIVE” I've been asking this question ever since I re-watched the show back in May 2024-#“what the show is about. DON'T EVER ASK ME THIS. I DO NOT KNOW” I guess mostly about football. But even that is pretty vague-

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shrimpybbq · 6 months ago

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rafe, his fiancée and their family in the 18 month gap between s3 and s4

“What do you think about another baby?”

rafe is ecstatic about the prospect of another kid, and he shows it. he’s constantly spoiling his girl, always doting on her and helping her around the house. he makes sure to hire staff around tannyhill and ensure she doesn’t have to stress, making sure to spend time each night with his family despite the chaos of his day. rafe knows her first pregnancy wasn’t the best (bc of him) and he wants to give her a whole new experience

high school gf was worried about telling him she was pregnant again, knowing how badly it all went the first time. she knew rafe had grown to love his son and his family, but she was still apprehensive about his reaction, knowing he was in a stressful period of life rn. she didn’t have anything to worry about however, seeing straight away how different rafe was with her now. he loved being a father and was so keen to have another baby, especially now everything is his, and he can provide for his family the way he wants

baby no. 2 was a girl, just as rafe wanted. he already has little charlie, who is a carbon copy of himself, but he wants a little girl who looks just like her mother. rafe already loved to stare at his fiancée’s face, but imagining her looking after a mini version of herself - rafe thinks he might die.

as his fiancée and mother of his child, high school gf is living good. rafe is struggling with his father’s death, but mostly, they’re happy - really, really happy. charlie is starting to speak, and he is so excited to have a baby sister

oh you know the jokes are going around the OBX about how rafe just can’t keep it in his pants (but who could blame him when his girl is just so hot)

rafe doing the absolute most to have his fiancée relaxed and resting at all times - he loves to take her out on the boat and let her lay in the warm sun, especially because she gets so clingy when she’s sleepy and calm

rafe who begins to secretly hunt for a new house for the family to move into, wanting a new space just for themselves. tannyhill had too many bad vibes and rafe wants to start fresh

the family are often seen out and about the island with little charlie either toddling in front of his parents, or being swung in between their outstretched arms

charlie becoming known by those on the island as a cheeky little boy, always pulling faces and trying to play with everyone

rafe watching his girl get closer and closer to her due date and growing more and more anxious - he was so coked up the first time that he never really worried, but now he is always hovering and checking in on their baby

rafe is there for this delivery!! he's 100% holding his fiancée’s hand and brushing her sweaty hair out of her face, whispering "you can do this, baby, you've got this"

the nurses let him cut the cord once his daughter is born and he is definitely crying and trying to subtly wipe away his tears

the whole family spending the next few weeks hiding in their new house enjoying their first moments with their new little girl

rafe picks her name and decides to call her emmeline, emmy for short

if any family ever gave off rich vibes, it's the cameron's. rafe has his kids dressed to the nines, nice cars in the driveway of his new house and his fiancée wearing the nicest jewellery

all the women on kildare being so jealous once they see sexy muscular rafe cameron fussing over a tiny little baby, emmy clutched tightly in his arms as his fiancée holds charlie's hand

rafe would never admit it, but he loves the looks he gets when he walks around his little girl - he might be loyal but he still likes to be reminded he's hot sorry not sorry

wedding time!!!!

i think their wedding is actually very casual, maybe even a holiday elopement

rafe doesn't really like the people in the obx that much and so when his girl suggested getting married somewhere quiet, just the two of them, he was like "mmm, why not?"

the pair get married on a private beach in hawaii, rafe in a loose white shirt and a pair of linen trousers, his girl in a silky dress (this is so serious to me)

they hire a photographer and definitely put a big wedding pic on their hallway wall

everyone in the obx knew it was coming (bc they were engaged) but people are still a little shocked that the high school couple actually got married?

i see them settling into a nice routine once back, really just wifey looking after their little family, rafe running cameron development and the family spending all their time together happily

idk i'm just very passionate about the concept of rafe being loved and giving love in return bc it's clear he's capable of it, he just needs to feel safe and nurtured

click here for pre-season 1 rafe, gf & their unborn son

click here for season 1 rafe, gf & their son

click here for season 2 rafe, gf & their son

click here for season 3 rafe, gf & their son

click here for season 4 part 1 rafe, gf & their son

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callahanisms · 21 days ago

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yellowjackets i know your writer's room is mostly, if not all, white people.

mari being pit girl? okay fine. full circle moment. i have accepted and liked this theory since i saw the pilot.

but season 3? is such a fucking shit storm that reinforces everything non-white fans have been saying for such a long time. treating non-white characters as disposable and sidelining these characters for white ones.

and also. did NO ONE think it would be weird if shauna was the antler queen and then the hair she's collected is mari's? is that not WEIRD when you consider the VERY LONG history of white people using the parts of non-white people as war trophies, as decorations, as literal objects?

i stopped watching when i heard lottie died because i'm just fed up with the way the non-white people are treated in this show. treated as plotlines, as disposable, as trophies. never as people. doesn't even get into how this bleeds into fandom discourse. and yellowjackets has always been racist, but s3 really is just mask off about it. and i feel like we should sit down and actually talk about it.

#yellowjackets #yellowjackets s3 #yellowjackets spoilers #yj s3 spoilers #shauna shipman #mari yellowjackets #lottie matthews #travis martinez #fandom critical #fandom discourse

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henry-fox-biggest-stan · 3 months ago

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That fucking bike. It’s haunting him, isn’t it.

The bike is a symbol of his disappearance, he was riding it when he went missing.

What other times do we see him riding the bike? In s2 none, yet it’s still on the poster. In s3 after the rain fight, once, also in the poster, and in s4 none, yet it’s still in the poster. That means it’s important, that means it means something. Oh and also we see a bike in Lonnie’s house, child-sized, not suspicious at all.

The bike is, to him, a representation of the trauma the upside down left on him, and to others, the symbol of his absence, his disappearance.

When hopper finds his bike he realizes something wrong is going on, his disappearance is not longer Joyce worrying to much but something serious, “a bike like this is like a Cadillac to these kids. Doesn't make sense he'd leave it out here. He'd walk it home. He was in hurry.” At Lonnie’s house, there’s a bike, a bike in between Jonathan and Lonnie. Why is Jonathan there in the first place? Why is Jonathan talking to Lonnie, who is the (unknowing) creator of that situation? Will’s disappearance. That’s the whole reason Jonathan is there, and Jonathan feels Will’s absence so that’s why he goes looking.

In s2 he never rides it, not even when the rest of the party does, the show makes it clear. Unless the bike in the background is his, but even then, he’s not shown riding it.

In s3, the only moment I remember with Will riding his bike, is after the rain fight. So a scene where he’s sad. But also he lost so much of his childhood, he wants to continue it, make up for it, and his friends refuse, they insist on growing up and Will can’t keep up, he grabs his bike and destroys castle byers, destroys his childhood. Part of the reason he’s sad is definitely mike’s “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” (although Mike didn’t mean it in a homophobic way), but I think it’s more the fact that Mike made it very clear, they’re not kids anymore, they have to grow up and get girlfriends and let dnd aside. Their friendship is no longer their priority, they’re not children. And yet will still feels like one, their friendship do is his priority and he does wanna spend time with them having fun. He lost his childhood, he wants to enjoy the rest of it while he can, but it’s over, apparently. Another thing the upside down took from him.

However here’s the interesting part, we’ve seen him riding it in s5. In a (as it seems to us rn, without context) happy moment. Will healing from his trauma?

#will byers #stranger things theory #stranger things analysis #byler #< target audience #byler nation #stranger things 1 #stranger things 2 #stranger things 3 #stranger things 4 #stranger things 5

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writerformanymuses · 10 months ago

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The heartbreaking thing about a lot of viewers who haven't consumed the books is they don't completely see is WHY Lestat is near sobbing when he asks "Did you hurt yourself?"

Yes, for general reasons like he loves him and what not. But, don't forget, he also said, "I gave you to Armand. You tell me if that is saving."

In TVL, you get ALOT more of the Lestat/Nicky relationship. You see them bond, fall in love, and then Lestat have to contend with that love once he's kidnapped and turned.

Nicky does not take the vampirism very well. Nicky is a very desolate sort of character. Religious trauma to the max, and then throw in family trauma, gay repression, and then vampirism.

When Lestat leaves Paris with Gabrielle in TVL, he essentially leaves Nicky with Armand. He entrusts him into his care in a way, and Nicky chooses the fire. He can't endure as they call it. Naturally, it breaks Lestat's heart.

One of Armand's jobs as coven leader was to cull weak vampires who can't survive on their own or endure. So there is definitely room for S3 for them to show Armand pushing for Nicky to accept the flame.

With Louis, Lestat doesn't fight back in Paris and lets Louis go with Armand. Once again, he's entrusting someone he loves to Armand. Even if it's very much unwilling, but I'll give it to him for once for respecting a choice.

When Armand calls out to him in San Francisco, it's Lestat's worst nightmare. Louis is hurt, Lestat can't get to him. Armand either has allowed him to be hurt, hurt him himself, or did not protect him as Lestat wants him protected.

It is heavily implied Lestat thinks Louis died in San Francisco. In the books, Armand tells both of them the other died to keep them apart. Once again, the person Lestat loves is dead because of Armand.

Lestat, in his mind, has ultimately failed Louis, and so he falls apart as we see him do in 2x08. When Louis shows up, he cannot believe he's there initially. It's very clear he's only half there mentally. He has to ask him if it was all real and if he'd really been hurt because he has to know if it is really Louis. It's a question you'd ask the ghost of the person you love, but Louis CAN answer him.

Needless to say, please read the books if you're up for it. They are a riot.

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willbyersabyss · 5 months ago

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It's calling you...

El saw Will in the void when she opened the 1983 gate. He was the one calling to her the whole time.

Brenner told El that the demogorgon was calling her, but what if it wasn't the demogorgon at all... what if it was Will.

The lines are constantly blurred between the demogorgon and Will in s1. Will talks through the lights, the demogorgon comes through the wall. They follow the demogorgon's blood trail, they find Will instead. Will calls Joyce, the demogorgon intercepts. We can never really tell whether it's Will or the “demogorgon.” This blur could carry over to the opening of the gate.

Speaking of phone calls, almost every missed phone call in the show is related to Will in some way. When people try to reach him, they fail. Only when Will calls them does it go through.

I can't even give all of the examples because there are too many, but Will is always associated with phone calls. Will called Joyce in s1, Mike has had multiple missed calls to Will, Nancy tried calling Will in s3, etc. Will has to call, he has to reach out.

When Max calls the Byers, it doesn't just go to voicemail, it's busy. Someone is using the phone despite no one being there. That someone is Will. One of the first scenes we see is Will calling the police, but he doesn't call them, he calls... someone else. Whoever it was, they picked up. But there's no sound other than screeching. Who was screeching? We'll get to that in a bit...

El was called to. The "demogorgon" wanted her. So we have Will who is constantly associated with phone calls, but he's also mixed up with the demogorgon. Why? El answered his call.

The phone call Bob tells Joyce to let go is immediately followed by the lab's lights going haywire, then a door to the Upside Down opens for Will. They also cut to a faucet dripping and a clock going unusually fast. El's void is made of water and there's a clock ticking sound just before she opens the gate. These scenes parallel. The 1983 gate was opened for Will. He was calling out to her, just like the phone.

"All I needed was someone to open the door. And you did that for me without even realizing it." Ok Vecna I'm pretty sure El noticed the giant gate in the wall. So what didn't she realize? El didn't know Will was the one calling to her.

When Mike asked if El saw Will, she flipped the DnD board to the back. We assume she means the Upside Down, but what if that's not what she meant. What if she meant she saw him in the void? The back of the board is pitch black just like her void.

She places Will's character right next to the demogorgon. How does El know that Will is where the demogorgon is? She had to have seen him NEXT TO IT. This is the first time in the story where we see El sensing Will, so why would we assume she saw him in the UD before this point? She hasn't used her tracking power since she opened the gate. There's only one time she could have seen him. When she contacted the demogorgon, there might have been someone else there, lurking behind. Will!

When El puts Will over the walkie, Lucas says this. The name Blackburn means "black stream." The void is black and made of water. Could this be hinting at El tapping into the neighbor of the demogorgon in the void? Mike follows this with "Did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will." Hm that's interesting because we can actually hear Will in the void when El sees the demogorgon for the first time.

Yeah, that's right. You can hear him.

I can only add one video to this post so the number in the corner will align with the text accordingly!

I'm going to sound like a broken record because I've talked about this a few times already, but I think I finally put all the pieces together:

1 - When it cuts to the speaker, you can hear a faint voice come through. This sounds just like Will when he tells El to hurry. So we have a real "Did that sound like a demogorgon to you? That was Will!" moment. If you line up the hurry clip with the speaker video (not pictured), Will starts to disappear in Castle Byers at the exact time El breaks out of the void in the other clip. They're connected.

We don't actually see what's making the noises in the void the first round, we only hear it. What would the reason for this omission be?

I think the moment we see Will in the Upside Down Castle Byers is the beginning of everything. That's when the gate opened.

2 - The scream we hear when El opens the gate is the same scream that breaks Castle Byers. While this is just a demogorgon sound, it's interesting that they used the one that sounds the most human. Especially when this is the least common sound it makes. It has the same cadence and length in both clips!

I would also like to note that this sound has played when a demogorgon wasn’t directly seen. When Nancy emerges from the tree gate, we hear this weird scream too even though the demogorgon clearly wasn’t coming through with her. Gate, scream, invisible demogorgon.

The egg the demogorgon is eating when she touches it is about 20 feet away from Castle Byers. It can't be a coincidence that they placed them so close. They could've had Hopper come across that egg anywhere, why Castle Byers?

Dustin used an egg to test if the deprivation bath was ready. El then found Will in UD Castle Byers using this bath. Eggs are associated with the gate opening, they used an egg just before she finds Will, and THE egg is outside Castle Byers. Will being in Castle Byers is related to the gate opening.

So what if the scream Will hears was the same scream from the gate opening? We don't see a creature on the other side of the blast, just white fog, so can we be sure it was the monster opening the door? Maybe the force of El opening the gate is what broke it. When people disappear from the void, they leave behind the fog we see outside of Castle Byers after the blast. This fog doesn't usually appear in the UD.

Most people don't sense El when she reaches out to them in the void, but Will did. He was reaching out to her. When El opens the gate, Will was already in Castle Byers in the UD. There's time shenanigans here. Time doesn't really flow how it should in the void. El was able to see a pregnant Terry in there before she was swept into her memory loop. Time also is weird in the UD. It wouldn't be crazy for El to be able to open the mother gate after Will got kidnapped in a weird paradox way.

3 - Coming back to phone call weirdness for a second, Will hears screeching over the phone. This may be a stretch, but it kind of sounds like a distorted version of El's screams when she opens the gate? Then Will's phone call was interrupted by the creature unlatching the door. So when Will's call goes through, a door opens. And he's met with the answer to his most fateful call. He hears El screeching as she opens the gate because that was the result of him reaching out.

In their respective universes, both Will and the demogorgon destroy Castle Byers. So that's another mix up between the two. If Will really was the one calling out to El before she opened the gate, his destruction of Castle Byers is not only a physical representation of how he inadvertently destroyed it, but also an emotional representation. Will accidentally created his own kidnapping by asking El to open the gate. He created the trauma that led to his childhood destruction. The rod imagery at the end of this scene proves that.

Another possible reach, but we know that it was raining the night Castle Byers was built and the night Will destroyed it. If El's journey through the watery void also indirectly caused the destruction and creation of the UD Castle Byers, there's more water connections there. The UD isn't just mirroring visuals, but scenarios too.

When Hopper inspects the remains of Castle Byers, he finds a lion plushie. El was cuddling a lion plushie when Brenner told her she was going to make contact with whatever was calling her. The lion causes Hopper to flashback to Sara and El was in a flashback when we see her with her lion. So what if UD Castle Byers is a "flashback" to when the gate opened?

Just before UD Castle Byers was destroyed, Will was singing Should I Stay or Should I Go. While these were not the lines he was singing, the song makes references to time weirdness. "I'll be here till the end of time" implies that Will is stuck in a time loop when he's in the UD. This song being sung during this scene may hint at its significance in the time loop.

Then there's lines alluding to kneeling in a black void with something on your back. Interesting how the demogorgon was crouched down in the void when El touched its back.

Speaking of kneeling, El approaches Billy in the void the exact same way she does the demogorgon. Billy, who is literally named William. I'm telling you the Will demogorgon mix up never ends. Billy makes himself disappear the same way Will does in the void scene. Oh and when El is looking for the source in Billy's mindscape, the song "William" plays. Very subtle (sarcasm). Will is the source.

Ok but how did the gate open?

Will died.

In s4, we find out that gates can be created by killing people. We also find out that music can open gates in the mind. Interesting how both of those things happen to Will around the UD Castle Byers scene. Will was singing to himself, then he got taken to the library where he died.

The big boy gates all meet at that library where there's a giant clock. Will was the fifth and final sacrifice. But wait! The original gate opened at the lab, not the library. Perhaps Will died twice... once at Castle Byers for a split second, then again at the library. The Castle Byers death opened mother gate, but the library death had delayed effects.

Or Will didn't die twice and it was just a joint effort between El and Will.

El and Will have opened a gate together before. Every time El contacted Will up to this point, it didn't open a gate. Only when Will reached out himself did a gate open. We're right back to Will being the one calling out. He had to try for it to work.

Will was on the brink of death in Castle Byers. Maybe he wanted a gate to open right then and there so he could be saved. But time had different plans. So when Will called out to El in the void, she answered, and they opened the gate together, not knowing that this actually causes his suffering rather than heal it.

In s2 when they figure out that Will spelled out "close gate," the phone rings. They rip the phone off the wall. Another missed call associated with the gate. But this time, it was Will telling them to close it. He had to tell them to ignore the call. They destroy the call, they close the gate.

It's also possible that Will's call for help was manipulated by Vecna. Maybe Vecna showed El the demogorgon to hide his true intentions. Will has something Vecna needs to open the gate. Not to make everything about Will's mind theory, but if the UD is Will's mindscape, it could explain why Will’s call for help resulted in a gate. Max's call for help through music opened a gate to her mind. So is it really that far off to say that Will's did the same?

Alright lets get a run down of the timeline:

El reaches out to Will in Castle Byers, Will tells El to hurry. This aligns with the first call El hears in the void.

A bit later, El revisits the call, assuming it was the demogorgon. In a startled scramble, she accidentally makes contact with Will who was on the brink of death about 20 feet away. Their joint energy opens the gate and destroys Castle Byers.

This energy attracts whatever took Will to the library. Will is kidnapped once more and dies. This joins the gates in 1986?

We know that the scene of Will getting taken from Castle Byers to the library is the opening scene of s5. Both s3 and s4 begin with a gate opening. Wouldn't it be fitting for the s5 opener to be the gate that started it all?

#stranger things theory #will byers #el hopper #byler

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elysiality · 1 month ago

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yandere alphabet — shauna shipman, the butcher.

I don't even know where you end and I begin .

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-> pairing/s - yandere ! con-wilderness ! shauna shipman x reader

-> warnings ! - canon-typical violence, mentions of cannibalism, starving, manipulation tactics, mentions of bl00d, infidelity, actually Shauna herself is a warning , violence inflicted on r!, yandere-typical antics (she's just a girl chat), spoilers for yj S3 up to ep 6!!

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

shauna is discreet about her love in the wilderness . or at least, she's deluding herself into thinking she's disguising the crazy . (spoiler alert: she's not .) still, her love language is more acts of service . giving you extra meat in your food . making sure you always have warm clothes . popping into your hut at least eight times a day (much to mari's annoyance— boohoo . she shouldn't have roomed with you then .) to make sure you're hydrated . I don't believe her affection would go as far as serving you a literal head on a silver platter (moreso due to the lack of silver platters in the middle of buttfuck nowhere than anything else) but she's not against the sentiment .

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

v. veeery messy . she's the girl who accidentally became important at work and she hates it— but that doesn't necessarily mean she sucks at the work itself . it's a lot more grisly to gut humans than it is to gut bears and deers but for you, she pushes through . she doesn't immediately resort to murder— not under nat's watchful eye, to her credit . there's strength in numbers, after all . still, she has no problem serving up soccer-player-soup as the main course the day after she catches one of the more unimportant, npc survivors shooting their shot with you .

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

well there's not much abduction happening, truth be told . you're trapped in the middle of nowhere with not a fast food restaurant in sight and a need for a piss bucket with the knowledge that attempting to leave means either getting hunted down for your meat or dying to 'natural causes' (falling off a steep cliff) . but if she moves you into her hut, expect some daily taunting .

"do you think you'll survive out here without me ?"

"you know that if you run away, I'll hunt you down, right ?"

just general stuff like that . enough to make sure you're not considering moving back in with mari anytime soon .

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

oh hell yes . shauna has no concept of 'drawing a line', because that's just what her relationship with jackie was like . the lines between her becoming jackie and wanting to be with jackie were lines that were virtually non-existent . you're the shauna to her jackie . she does love you . she does . but she thinks more of you like a pet, even though she's in love with you . and well, pet owners don't generally ask their pets what their boundaries are, right ?

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

depends on how far your relationship gets . before you lose your sanity and give in anyway . shauna was always a closed off person . even with jackie, little miss communication issues could never confide what she felt to her . since you're the shauna in this relationship, she's a bit more loose, mostly because she's the one in control . shauna is most comfortable when she has full control over something . she'll only truly start to express herself around you when she sees that you're starting to crack .

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

no . just no . fighting back is not something shauna allows . the very first time you act out, she starves you, refusing to serve you anything other than plain water . not even nat could cooerce her into feeding you . she sits near to the door of the hut, sharpening her knife and glaring at anyone who looks like they might be plotting to, y'know, keep you alive . you only get your eating privileges back when you apologise to her, and then she'll feed you herself, placing gentle kisses to your forehead . and you will apologise to her . don't fuck with the girl who makes your food, after all .

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

yes, this is a game to her . you're the lamb very wittingly stuck in the slaughterhouse but unable to do anything about it . she wasn't the best at maths, but she knows how to calculate simple equations . there's nowhere to run . no one among the girls is willing to help you and coach scott has long since fucked off . no one wants to piss off the person butchering their meat so everyone keeps their trap shut, treating you like a normal person and occasionally offering a sympathetic look . watching you plot your escape is something she likes to do to pass time in the evening because she knows you're not going anywhere . it's like listening to a child describe their plans to fly to the moon . you literally can't .

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

her to-do list currently goes something like:

1. dethrone nat and become antler queen

2. kill benjamin scott

3. break you in and make you love her so that you're by her side as her consort when number 1 is fulfilled

(van once found this messily scrawled list in a loose page of shauna's journal and immediately dnf'ed.)

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

guys . this is shauna shipman . if she gets even slightly jealous— just over simple things like lottie letting you rest your head on her lap, or nat taking you out to teach you out to hunt, she goes nuclear . stakes out mel and sleeps with her very loudly, just to fuck with your head . if you don't give a shit, her next resort is violence . she has a knife and she's not afraid to use it to see if your blood is red like hers too .

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

she's big on physical touch but she won't be soft about it . she likes to trace your face with her calloused hands, hold onto your waist from behind and tuck her head into your neck but she'll be harsh about it . more dog trying to protect her favourite toy than anything . she holds onto you like a wolf is gonna emerge from nowhere and try to drag you away (a lot more likely than it would be in a usual setting). she likes kissing you more than anything else . expect her to descend on you atleast thrice a day to taste your lips and make sure it's only her that she can taste on them .

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

she's upfront about it . if she likes you, after the whole jackie situation, she just tells you immediately . again, in terms of courting, she just gives you a lot more portions of food and resources than the others get and shuts down nat's protests by just dropping her knife and refusing to carve up the meat— which is a problem since no one else learned how to do it . so everyone sucks it up and ignores the blatant favouritism . once again, do not fuck with the one making your food . or you might find a kneecap floating in your venison stew .

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

nope . as afore mentioned, shauna does literally nothing to hide the crazy— in the teen timeline anyway . we are not gonna get into the level of self-gaslighting she does as an adult . she's just as crazy on the outside as she is on the inside . she's the girl nobody wanted to sit next to in class because there was a chance she'd bite your ear off if you tried copying her answers .

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

she cheats on you, simply put . if she thinks you haven't reached the point of toxic codependency to where you'd be upset by her cheating, she just pulls out her knife and starts cutting till you apologise . once more, starving is also a common punishment .

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

basically all and any . it's not like you have many rights in this justice system you and the other girls with incomplete high school education have set up, since there's virtually nothing to worry about save for the possibility of wild predators but shauna controls all of the rights you do have— the clothes you wear, what you eat, who you talk to— she even convinces nat to put you on butchering duty with her where she just sits you down on a cut log and keeps an eye on you as she prepares the meat . since she doesn't think of you as her personal Jax doll like show-canon shauna thinks of mel, she absolutely refuses to let you wear jackie's clothes . she will lose her mind if you do and the first time you accidentally pulled on one of jackie's shirts, you ended up with so many cuts on your body that you just let shauna pick out your clothes now . spoiler alert: she makes you wear hers most of the time .

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

little to no patience . if you don't accept her love immediately, she resorts to the only other thing she knows how to do— violence, non-compliance and just generally making everyone else's humdrum, culty life hell . oh and yours, of course .

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

you're the only person she ever 'loved' after jackie died . if you died or somehow escaped into the wilderness, shauna would just spiral into depression and completely give up on everything . she doesn't eat, she doesn't sleep— she only butchers the meat she has to and slowly dies from exhaustion and just a general lack of a will to live .

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

there might be a few times that she softens up— when she sees you crying silently at night, or when she sees you flinch when she reaches out to stroke your face— and then she feels a little guilty for hurting you . she doesn't want to be a monster...but then she remembers that if she doesn't keep you safe, no one will, so she shoves her guilt aside and continues with her toxicity . she's fickle like that .

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

the whole i-got-stranded-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-with-the-soccer-team-i'm-on-and-had-to-eat-my-dead-bestfriend-slash-situationship-who's-death-was-kinda-my-fault-to-survive-and-then-lost-her-boyfriend's-baby-that-i-was-pregnant-with-thing didn't exactly do wonders for her sanity much to everyone's surprise— for some reason .

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

she hates it because it reminds her that she's not a good person . she doesn't like having her shit reflected back on her though she doesn't try to hide it . she definitely stops mid-punishment to tell you to quit the crying— when you start sobbing she just completely stops and leaves the hut till she's sure you're done . she usually tells misty or gen to go check up on you and treat your wounds and gets updates on your health (along with nasty glares on mari's side) so she knows when to go back and awkwardly cuddle you in silence till you go to sleep .

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

when I said she likes to spill blood, I mean that she makes you do it . she forces you to do it while she holds a knife to your throat, telling you that if you don't kill whoever got on the wrong side of her knife, she'll just kill you both— or kill them and keep you alive to torture you. she's malicious enough to you that you do it in fear of your life but kind enough that she'll give you a blindfold and mushroom ear plugs so you don't have to look at them or hear their dying screams . she knows what it's like to carve up a human after all— it's not pretty .

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

she has two:

1. telling her you love her (bonus if you're crying and/or bleeding while doing so) .

2. anything to do with jackie . she turns into a complete basket case when she sees you in jackie's clothes or wearing her necklace, god forbid . don't even try to taunt her about jackie's death— you won't survive . after she inflicts your punishment on you, she goes off to have a good long cry and shit-talk to that weathered journal of hers .

if you can still move your body after what she does to you, there's a high chance she won't notice you sneaking away from the village . but then again, you will also have highly trained soccer team members hunting you down— whether for your meat or to rescue you you're unsure— and to reiterate, the canadian wilderness isn't an ideal place to be when trying to escape the only 'civilization' (if you can call the village consisting of girls who are cannibals and definitely cult members as much as they try to deny it 'civil') and your crazy ex .

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

yes . next question .

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

when shauna loves, she loves deep . for heaven's sake, she still wasn't over the death of her best friend/situationship like— 25 years after she died . if she loves you to the extent of killing for you (read: making you kill for you— and occasionally her when she's feeling vicious), she worships you like a god . and yes, she hurts you though she reveres you . her god bleeds and she loves to be reminded of your mortality because it reminds her that even death can't take you from her .

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

she's had enough pining for a lifetime, thank you very much . the second she realises she's in love with you, it's over for you . your life is over because she immediately unloads it on you— she's not making the same mistake twice .

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

yes . that is one of her life goals, as previously stated, to the point where she wrote it in her journal that she leaves out in the open with the confidence that no one will want to touch it . she wants to break you in so you love her as deeply as she loves you . you're not as fucked up as she is so you can't love as strongly as she does— and she can't have that . this unrequited love bullshit is just not doing it for her .

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a/n: mm save me evil shauna, save me . I'm obsessed with whatever is wrong with this absolute nutcase of a girl . inbox reqs for yellowjackets girls (both dead and alive) are open ! be sure to check my rules before requesting anything and note that I'm open to just talk if you're into that !

#— airi's works : 𓏲🐚 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖✩࿐࿔#shauna shipman x reader #shauna shipman #yellowjackets #yj show #yj s3 #yj s3 spoilers #yj spoilers #yellowjackets x reader #yandere headcanons

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bucky-murdock-moans · 2 months ago

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on the portrayal of grief and depression in daredevil: born again

so I don't think it's a secret that I am so far loving the new daredevil show. I want to preface that it's also completely fine to not like it. but I like the different approaches, the darker tone focusing more on the emotions of the human soul rather than the physicality (for now, at least) and yes, I can't write this without praising charlie cox for his acting. bite me. just like with any other medium, movies and tv shows often have a set mould in which they portray grief and depression. they tell or show us how it's supposed to be, what we are supposed to feel, the characters say the same old lines... the new direction is a lot more heavy on the show-don't-tell side and as someone who had to face grief at a young age while completely abandoned, I feel very strongly about this and I don't want to step around it without praise.

foggy neslon is the closest thing matt has ever had to a family, and the show opens up with him being violently murdered and matt's biggest fear coming alive. someone he loves, someone innocent getting hurt as collateral damage.

I love and adore foggy nelson with all my being not just in the netflix show but in the comics too. elden did an incredible job bringing him to life and showing that potential in the character that is often underestimated in the comics, too. he gave us foggy nelson filled with endless love, kindness, compassion and someone who is incredibly smart - even in the comics, matt admits that himself is more of a master of great speeches and bravado in the courtroom, while foggy is the one with an immense well of knowledge not just about the law but about specific cases that could grant them leverage. as foggy himself pointed out in s3, everybody abandoned matt in his life. his mother left the family (yes, she had ppd, but she abandoned a child nonetheless), his father did his best to raise a kid as a single dad but ultimately, he chose his pride of not willing to lose over staying alive and actually raising his son. stick abandoned matt for a lot of reasons depending on whether you look into the comics or the show. and in s3, while struggling with her own grief and anger karen was considering abandoning matt too. which is a very human emotion to feel on her side, to be fair. as for foggy, that was not gonna happen. foggy nelson loved matt murdock undonditionally. that was the single most powerful, the most priceless thing he could ever give to him. and after his death, we jump a year ahead in time and a lot of people are complaining about bad pacing but please, I am begging you to believe me when I say this was a concious choice to not give us closure the same way matt is not giving himself a chance at closure.

we see a matt murdock who is in survival mode. he moved away from hells kitchen (a palce he never imagined he could abandon), he is now at a new firm, adapting to changes and as you watch him get ready before that court hearing, it is clear to see that he is simply going through the motions. this man is on autopilot. he wants to get the thing done for the sake of being able to say he did it, he finished that task, that chore of making breakfast, getting dressed... and then you see him reaching for foggy's prayer card and you immediately clock in on how worn the edges are. he puts it in a pocket above his heart. at the end of the day, he takes it out, and the next day, picking it up again. he doesn't put it in his wallet, or a pocket permanently to carry it around passively like you would do with a photograph. it is a concious choice that he makes every day to touch it, to handle it, to not allow himself to forgive or forget. he is depressed, he is not letting himself process his own grief and it goes to show just how great of an actor charlie is to convey all that in the posture, in the body language, the way matt seems to stop dead in his tracks when met with inconveniences (sitting down, slumped over when he larns fisk running for mayor while while he ignores the smoke detector for example). we also see him (as of episode 2) abandoning his faith which happens often when people go through intense trauma. especially if religion is a big part of your identity, it's a connection that gets damaged along with your self image. just another sign that goes to show what kind of impact foggy's death had over matt. bottom line is, I love how matt is portrayed with a more high functioning depression (where even karen thinks that he is "doing well" on the outside) while on the inside, he is absolutely falling apart. grief is an extremely complex human experience that never really goes away. it is a long, hard journey that is different for everyone. and yeah, I'm not happy foggy died. I wish he didn't have to. but you could not have picked a better catalyst for matt's life to fall into nothing. and I think in a twisted way it is the most beautiful legacy you can give to foggy. that he was so incredibly, undeniably, unimaginably important and loved.

#daredevil #daredevil born again #ddba #charlie cox #matt murdock #elden henson #foggy nelson

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