#and my dad has never dated or shown interest in anyone. he only engaged my mom after 3 months of knowing her bc they were both getting old a

[dancedance-resolution]

i am quite certain that both of my parents are aspec.

[startwithbrooklyn]

THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / OCTOBER 3, 2019 // the trial

(TW SUICIDE)

it's the reveal!!!! love that for her hope shes thriving (shes not) again w the two minutes of the next episode to sync the dates

-lmaoooo so i honestly wonder why they went for the full pulling-it-out-the-throat thing but idk (an interesting foil to her getting sick for more stereotypical reasons ie s2 "people find out theyre grandparents every day"

-I LOVE THIS GEORGE HAIR

-"i'd do anything for nancy" okay but....why 👀bit of an odd reaction imo

-bess with spilling the truth again 😂and gets shot down. tragic #shetried

-wait sooooo nobody tested the fingerprints on the knife when this shit happened?? or that tech didnt exist in 2000? i mean without a body how could they even call it murder? and who told the police?? like if the drews took the baby, the dress, and said nothing, who tells the cops shes missing or even dead? how did they know to search the bluffs? who told the media/public? it had to have happened that same night because ryan said when he got there later there were already rumors she was killed. after the baby and bloody dress, only her crown, a knife, and tire tracks were left. how did anyone find anything at this remote bluff without some kind of tip off? and why on earth would they think murder and not suicide with so little evidence?? thats gotta be like suicide central, sorry for the trigger

-"a little help, lucy?!" lucy seems unable to disobey a direct request from nancy (ie "lucy, stop" from later in the ep) when nancy speaks directly to her. so maybe if nancy had spoken aloud/engaged more lucy could have appeared more? nancy said she only comes around when she wants to but what if nancy herself could do a bit more, being the last thing lucy touched and all

-so in ep 2 when nancys in jail carson says "great grandma rosalind buried her valuables in the trunk" including the knives shown here. did carson and kates families even know about nancy? how did they explain not announcing a pregnancy or birth?

-"oh." john lmfaoooo

-BESS lmaoooo and ace's looks in the background and then at seeing nick approaching lmfaooo oh no / also why on earth is she apologizing?? he dumped her but she has to be sorry he found out she fucked someone else? someone nicer pls explain to me bc i dont get it. she dont owe him shit

-george is SO CUTE lmfaoooo and so forward and he was so shook but then he was like "oh hell yeah"

-"is he a vampire?!" ik nobody i knew got that reference 😂

-this entire search of the claw is a sham. what are they even looking for. clearly a set up by tamura but why/what does he suspect them of. esp w karen as accomplice, story should be airtight so why are they still investigating?

-john + ace dream team ���

-god ace is such a yes-man. why is he so fucking loyal?? people like him are insane. how are they real. i suspect they arent. and no matter what you do you are never worthy of their unending loyalty anyway.

-so in the Good Place nancy was the one who had the key but in reality its ryan

-wonder if lucy's listening to ryan here talking about his love and grief for her

-"you were throwing away your future on a nothing girl" - nancy & ryan - their fathers dont want them to see "troubled" kids, want them to focus on school instead --> which they both struggle with and eventually do not achieve (maybe bc they want their kids to leave horseshoe bay?) for nancy its an interesting vice for someone whos really a goody two shoes/for ryan its subverted bc karen actually did worse than him ie committed real crimes

-"stay away from my family" surprise bitch bet you thought youd seen the last of me 😉

-interestingly, ryan probably would have agreed with karen about switching the ballot boxes but he wouldnt have really understood the social consequences. both josh and karen are determined to see ryan as the bad guy when actually he didnt do anything, they did. 🤔

-karen is such a ride or die friend. again w the loyalty. if someone swapped ballot boxes for me i'd be touched. im sure going into active labor made lucy a bit upset but damn. what a friend.

-wonder when nancy starts calling her "Lucy" instead of "dead lucy"

-lucy primarily haunting her own house/love seeing this house overtaken by nature

-the concept of writing things down : starting from the first ep, nancy's journal (then and now), writing out simon cards, similar cemetary cards in the Good Place, "beautiful minding it," culminating in lucy's journal / writing it down to help figure it out/when theres too much going on to keep it inside

-"i'll make a salad" NICK LMAOOO

-wonder what happened to carson's old lawyer?

-"my testimony begins in the summer of 1999" because your story always starts with your mother's story

-lmfaoooooo this shit taking the stand is soooo never allowed but oh well

-"she stole a knife" and carson's face lmfaooooo he knows its not true but what could he fucking say?? no?

-"i love you mom, i hope you never find this." ironic bc nancy didnt want her dad to find her journal either

-lucy never wanted anyone to find out how she died d/t shame- but she didnt want carson to go to jail for it so she finally allowed it (or just couldnt refuse nancy asking)

-"i'm sorry for what you lost"/"i'm never gonna be free from them"

-awww ace/mcginnis goodbye / i wonder if ace is nervous thinking about tamura --> ace's dad since chief mcginnis covered for ace out of respect for his dads sacrifice but tamura would throw both ace and his dad under the bus just to get at nancy (get at her via ace? since he was already used as the blackmail plot device? they kinda touched in this in s2 but not fully)

-okay sooo why are they still doing this forensic analysis thing? like the whole things over so whats the point. i wonder if john had packed up and gone home what coulda happened

-nancy/carson - interrupted moments:

•family dinner interrupted by nancy's accsations

•being home after finding ted interrupted by carson's arrest

•celebration of dropped charges interrupted by nancy discovering the truth about her parentage

-"i cooked your favorite to celebrate" ironic bc shes upset that hes not her "real" dad but he IS because he knows her best. like theyre literally proving it right in front of her. vs ryan whom she doesnt really want anyway AND rejects requests to get to know her. like come on sis. his 20 years of parenting you arent going away, ever. deal w it.

-carson's little smile before he said "'mom never hurt lucy" like he knows this is the end / scott's acting here just kills me

~~~~~~~~~

-why did the drews come back at all? and why did kate really keep the dress? carson says she did it as a link to lucy, but did kate want to keep it to be connected to lucy? or did she bury it to keep lucy repressed? is this a positive or a negative? +keeping in attic - did lucy start to haunt kate, so she unburied the dress?

and lastly:

-why doesnt lucy haunt everett and celia hudson? she kind of does ie painting but only when nancy visits bc shes actually haunting nancy. isnt everything the hudsons' fault?

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Heads up that I will be posting a Dad!Spencer fic (The Prodigy Path) tomorrow at 5PM EST. 

Now it’s time for super late Anon Answers!

(thank you so much for your patience)

1. Hi friend! Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here ☺️ I never really close my requests because I find that closing them doesn’t really stop people from sending them, anyway. That being said, please read my Requesting Guidelines before requesting anything. They are also linked in my Masterlist and Bio in case you lose this post.

I look forward to hearing your ideas!

2. This is too complicated of a question! I usually envision Post-Show Spencer when I write because I am one of those people who struggles to change canon events, BUT - I do genuinely love early seasons Reid. If I had to pick my top seasons, I’d say 2, 5, 7, and 12 (in no specific order). I really do love all of his character, though.

3. You’re my favorite. Thank you to everyone who sent me a star! It made my day ���� This is also an excuse for everyone to send their favorite blog the same message.

4. Awwwe thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed Play Dates! Also, do not ever worried about me being too good for you. I am a literal fucking worm and I appreciate that anyone is willing to talk to me at all. I often forget that things I say are being broadcast to thousands of people and I would prefer to not think about it 😂

As for the line I’m referencing, it’s up for interpretation. I don’t remember the exact context because I hate that arc and usually skip it, but it is essentially when Spencer is talking to Alex and he confides in her about the last message Maeve gave him. Some people have speculated that Alex’s response (something along the lines of “She used Merton to say goodbye”) was her way of sympathizing with Spencer about Maeve planning leaving him. In the very least, we know that Spencer was worried about her leaving him, which means that he was insecure enough in their relationship that it was a possibility.

Of course, we find out that Maeve didn’t necessarily want to leave him, but was forced into hiding. But I see where some people get that idea. After all, she clearly had no problems with dumping her fiance. Girlfriend barely even cried when he was murdered in front of her. Whack. That part always confused the shit out of me. Why wouldn’t she say she was engaged? Why did they break up? Why did she think this would end any differently? Why was she willing to risk Spencer’s life, but not his? He seemed like a solid dude. I felt so bad for him.

Also - ayyye! Shoutout to my fellow disabled people! You are the best and I hope you feel loved today.

5. Honestly. I’m so tired of the fridged woman. So, so tired. Thanks for reading!

6. This was just too much work for me to not post for others to see! I definitely agree with everything you said, especially about the fact they consistently tell us that JJ and Reid were besties, but he has more developed relationships shown on screen with Derek, Elle, Gideon, Emily, Hotch, Alex, Kate, Luke, and Penelope. I’m also forever upset they didn’t give us Reid and Tara bonding. They have so many compatible traumatic experiences that I think they really could have been good for each other. But, sadly, we didn’t get to see it.

The two girls you described are Austin and Loker! I wasn’t a fan of Loker purely because I felt like she was written to be a stereotypical autistic person (because we can only like each other, naturally), but I also don’t think there is any real character-based reason to dislike her! She was definitely interesting in the least.

Also, don’t worry about an apology. I love reading people’s thoughts! Thank you for sharing them with me and finding my opinions interesting enough to ask in the first place. It really was fun to talk about (and as you can see above, other people enjoyed it, too)!

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Were we Gay-Baited? The Issue of Will and Byler/Byeler, a Discussion of Apophenia, Identification, and Empathy

I’ve been struggling with my own feelings since finishing Stranger Things 3. Curiously, I find myself being overcome with rage and disappointment, which isn’t how one is usually meant to feel about a TV show. It wasn’t a bad season by any means, though I do think it was the weakest of the three so far. The one biggest point I find myself stuck on is the treatment of Will Byers, not just as a character, but as a reflection of my own experiences and feelings. Identification happens all the time when we engage with fiction. Sometimes we are meant to do so, while other times it is due to how we interpret otherwise ambiguous aspects of a character or story. It’s an aspect of empathy, as we’re feeling the emotions (or at least what we believe to be the emotions) of a character.  I identified with Will back in Season 1. It looked like they were building, slowly, but surely, towards Will being gay, and I let myself build this idea that his struggles with the Upside Down and the Mindflayer were a metaphor for him coming to terms with these feelings he had for his best friend. I saw the Upside Down as an allegory for being in the closet. A dark, lonely, scary version of the real world. I don’t know if Barb was meant to be seen as a lesbian, but I latched onto that as support for my theory. It was after being left alone by Nancy that she is captured and killed by the Demogorgon. She felt alone and rejected, and subsequently was consumed by the despair that comes with hiding. Will, however, was able to get out due to the overwhelming love and support of his friends and family. Was I wrong to make this assumption? Possibly. Then Season 2 happened, and I don’t know what else we were meant to think.

For reasons we never really find out, at least in the show itself, Will finds himself being stalked by the Mindflayer roughly a year after escaping the Upside Down. This creature wants Will, and apparently only Will. The simple explanation, I suppose, is that it wants what it sees to be his. Will got away, the Mindflayer isn’t ok with that, and this all ensures that our main cast are at the center of the story. I read into it deeper though, which was probably a mistake. This happens during an election year, and Reagan signs are prominently displayed. The AIDS crisis was in full swing, and still mainly seen as a gay disease. Will still doesn’t feel safe, and doesn’t even fully understand how he feels. He flashes back into the Upside Down, feeling targeted and watched. Mike is generally able to pull him back out, and Will seems to seek out the safety of his best friend. Mike is the only one he trusts. Mike is safety, comfort, and unconditional love. He’s special, at least to Will. 

It is again love that saves Will. Joyce, Johnathan, and Mike get through to Will by sharing stories meant to express how they feel about Will. Joyce loves her son, and is proud of his rainbow ship. This was unnecessarily specific if it wasn’t meant to be gay coding. Johnathan shares the building of Castle Byers, Will’s safe haven, after their dad left, The same dad who would call Will a fag. We see Will start to waver, ever so slightly, as they start to reach him, but the kicker is when Mike starts. Mike shares the story of when they first met. He remembers it in surprising detail, and it’s the oldest memory out of the three so far mentioned. Mike is barely keeping himself together as he relates walking up to Will on the first day of kindergarten. He’s so overwhelmed by the memory himself, repeating that Will said yes to being his friend, as if he cherished it immeasurably, and goes on to say it was the best thing he’s ever done. Despite the Mindflayer’s control, Will himself is barely holding back tears at this moment and we see emotion on his face for the first time since being fully possessed. He’s able to start with the morse code. Mike is the one who ultimately broke through. I read this as him being the single most important person in Will’s life, but was it that, or was it simply that he was the last to speak? It’s hard to tell the intent here, especially as Mike’s attention leaves Will as soon as Eleven returns shortly thereafter. All we’re left with is a look at Mike when Will is asked to dance, and his fake smile faltering as he glances at Mike dancing with Eleven. More curious decisions that could be something, or may be nothing.

This brings us to Season 3, where my confusion, annoyance, and anger boil over more with each episode. We start with scenes that I felt did a good job showing an emotional conflict set up by the end of Season 2: how does Mike find room for both Will and Eleven? Mike is shown obsessively attached to Eleven, which is reasonable given his age and his fear of losing her again, and we also see him going to the movies with Will, Lucas, and Max. The latter scene is oddly double-date like, to the point where they don’t sit together, putting Mike and Will separate from Lucas and Max as if to highlight the two separate couples. Lucas and Max get some playful banter in (pretty much the last we see of their relationship this season), and Mike is shown still harboring concern for Will. I found it odd when Mike asked if Will was ok, as Will hadn’t really done anything unusual. The suggestion, at least to me, was that Mike is still paying close attention to Will, and this made sense, as he would have a fear of losing Will the same as he does with Eleven. After this we see Will mope over the amount of time Mike spends with Eleven, but he has no complaints about his other friends. His obsession over D&D is over the top and jarring, and very much out of character. He’s a fully fleshed out character with multiple interests, but all he wants to do is D&D, why? I don’t really have a great answer for that beyond it being bad writing just to set up a later scene. That brings us to their fight, which fully ignited my hopes that they’d continue this build-up.

Will loses it when Mike and Lucas seem to mock his campaign. They don’t really dislike it, they just aren’t engaged due to girl troubles. His anger, though, seems focused on Mike. Will feels betrayed, and laments his loss of the Party due to girls, but he never blames anyone but Mike, even though Lucas and Dustin are similarly focused on girls. He calls El a “stupid girl”, and that wouldn’t be unusual given the situation had we been shown any interactions between El and Will or given exposition to inform us that the two of them get along. Indeed, I got the impression that Will still hasn’t had any meaningful interactions with her, since it’s implied she’s constantly with Mike and only Mike. The only time we see her out with the Party, before the crisis begins anyway, Mike bails with her very quickly. Will resents El. She’s stealing Mike away from him. That’s how I saw it anyway, and I remember feeling that way many a time at that age. At this point, you might still be able to argue it was just Will mad he’s losing his best friend, but then that one line comes. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” 

This line could have been done in any number of other ways if the implication was anything other than Will is gay and has feelings for Mike (any maybe thought Mike might like him as well). Mike could have told Will he needs to grow up or that it’s not his fault Will doesn’t have a girlfriend. But, no, Will simply doesn’t like girls. Will’s reaction speaks volumes, despite him not being able to talk. Up to that point, Will had been jabbing Mike with accusations, but as soon as Mike says this he’s stone silent. Lips quivering and eyes watering, he stares at Mike in disbelief and fear. To his credit, Mike immediately realizes he crossed a line and softens his approach, something we never see him do when he fights with anyone else. The damage is done, however, and Will’s final words “I guess I did. I really did.” screamed of a breakup to me. Will thought it’d be him and Mike forever. He destroys Castle Byers in a rage, berating himself for being stupid. It’s no longer a safe haven for him, as it is filled with memories of his childhood. A childhood spent with Mike.

This whole scene is never addressed again by the two of them. Lucas is shut down in an attempted apology, and I saw this as Will not wanting an apology from him and not willing to discuss the situation. It still felt very aborted, as if that quick scene with Will and Lucas was meant to tell the audience that, nope, we’re not getting into that. He and Mike have no real significant interactions throughout the rest of the season, though Will is shown reacting negatively anytime Mike expresses his feelings for Eleven. Our attention is never really drawn to it, but it’s there. This takes us to the finale, where Mike’s goodbye to Will is oddly quick for friends as close as they were supposed to be. Mike expresses worry that Will would move on and replace him, and Will reassures him that such a thing would never happen. I like how they had Mike smile perhaps his most genuine smile of the season here, but it still felt odd. When they hug outside right before the end, it’s again quick and not indicative of the emotion that should be there. Will seems to linger in the hug a bit, but Mike staggers away to Eleven. Mike’s attention seems to be solely on Eleven as the Byers leave, though he glances back at the house that he shouldn’t really associate with her. The final scene is a near perfect mirror of Season 1 when he thought Will was dead. It was confusing, possibly intentionally so, but why? 

Mr. Clark brings up apophenia when speaking with Joyce. It’s the tendency for humans to spot patterns where there are none. As humans, we like for there to be explanations for everything. There are no coincidences, we just haven’t figured out how things fit together. Part of me wonders if this whole line of conversation was targeted at fans, such as myself, who read too deeply into Mike and Will’s relationship, and possibly Will’s possibly homosexuality. I could understand how it could be used to cast doubt on Joyce’s fears. However, it ends up having no real bearing on the plot, as Joyce is relatively quickly shown to be correct in her suspicions. 

In the end, I’m left to wonder if this whole idea of Will being gay, and possibly Mike and Will being subtextually written as a couple, was simply a case of apophenia. My empathy for Will and identification with him could have caused me to misinterpret things to fit my own personal experiences and unfulfilled adolescent wishes. The dissonance caused by what I thought and what I’m now seeing is what is causing my anger and disappointment. It’s having me relive what I felt so long ago where all I wanted was to see a boy like me happy on TV or in movies. I thought this was going to be what I never had, but, though we still have Season 4 yet to come, it looks like it was simply a case of seeing what we wanted to see. Still, the way they did it reeks of gay-baiting, and I feel used.

[stickykeys633]

The other day an anti was yelling at me because I criticized the intention of their fic. It was tagged as Sterek, but then proceeded to make Stiles and Derek woefully out of character while Scott became the protagonist. I pointed out that this is what antis do and made a list of ways to spot a scott stan fic that’s labeled as Sterek for hits. 

The author was upset, which, understandable, but instead of just saying they were offended, they decided to pull the tactic of presenting new information like it was a) known, and b) had anything to do with the context of what was said. 

He mentioned that it wasn’t right to criticize his writing (which I didn’t do) because he was recovering from a brain injury and how DARE I abuse the mentally and physically incapacitated?!He expected me to feel shame, but what he forgot is much like every Craigslist scam, his ploy is over-saturated. 

The need of antis to say “Well I don’t like X, so… IF YOU DO LIKE X YOU ARE A TERRIBLE PERSON!” is so played and they all do it across the board. “Well, I’m not saying you can’t like Sterek, Stiles, Peter, etc. Heck, I like them! Just know that if you prioritize them over Scott (read, acknowledge them in any way and you know… like them) then that’s indicative of being complicit in racist, homophobic and misogynistic tropes (read: you suck)” *shrugs*

And because we internalize everything, we really do take the time to consider if we’re racist and in that time they’ve shamed four more people into their way of thinking that’s ultimately wrong and certainly not universal.

Which leads me to this post^^. 

The idea of Scott being “stupid” has always been a fun trope. His little slip-ups were reminders that he was still human, still a kid. He was an underdog trying to be a hero despite his hormones, his reluctance and his lack of general knowledge on the Supernatural. We’re not expecting Scott to be a Rhodes scholar, he doesn’t need to be, THAT’S WHAT HE HAS STILES AND LYDIA FOR!

The idea that Scott has to be a genius has never been present in anyone’s minds except the antis, who also seem to be the only ones who take umbrage with the fact that he’s not a genius. He was never meant to be, doesn’t he have enough on his plate? So to try and push the idea that a) he’s a genius and b) you’re racist if you think he’s not, when canon rightly shows us the opposite, is hypocritical. 

Sure, go ahead and write your AU’s where super scientist Scott saves the day, but know that it will be an AU and again, the only one offended is you. 

Let’s take a look at this post:

Seriously, nothing pisses me off more than the taken for granted assumption that Scott is stupid when we have nothing BUT evidence to the contrary.

I will point out that many of the examples reach so far as to credit villains who sarcastically think Scott is smart. Like… nagl sis. 

1) His vocabulary in the PILOT has him casually dropping words like ‘litigious’ in the appropriate context.

His dad is in the FBI and Stiles dad is a sheriff, I’m sure he’d know the word litigious. But okay, vocab, it’s a good indicator, I hope not ephemerally. 

2) His teachers are concerned his grades SLIPPED dramatically after he was bitten. Grades can’t slip unless they were higher to begin with.

I mean, high C’s to are a thing? I don’t know that we ever know his grades, and I know people that will fight him being in AP bio (apparently freshman were in the same class as college level seniors? Mmkay), but it’s canon they slipped. HE WAS FIGHTING MONSTERS! I think the biggest indicator in this point is the fact there never seemed to be any proactive planning. McCall pack was very reactionary where Hale Pack was a bit more proactive. I don’t know if that is an indicator of intelligence, at least not entirely.

3) Peter (freaking PETER) says ‘I continue to be impressed by your ingenuity Scott’ after Scott engineers an interruption of his date with Melissa, sets off Allison’s car alarm to get her away from him, etc.

Yeah, this one… nagl, lol!

4) Figures out Gerard is sick, expects betrayal from him and takes countermeasures.

Now, maybe I don’t remember this, but… didn’t Gerard cough up blood? And the countermeasures were a long drawn out plan to kill him using Derek so… I don’t know how smart any of that is, but sure. He’s a long form strategist. On his own. 

5) Sees his grades visibly rise the second he sets them as a priority again.

Like literally everyone ever? And this only lasted until the next monster. He has an innate inability to multitask.

6) He’s half dead on a bus in 3A, literally DYING from self-imposed guilt negating his ability to heal, and he’s still acing his SAT vocab prep questions.

Scott’s guilt thing made zero sense, especially since y’all don’t subscribe it to him using Derek to try and kill Gerard, but whatevs, sure, this is smart. I didn’t study for my SAT’s (still got 1490/1600 w00t!) but I’m sure distracting yourself from your guilt really helps you focus. 

Maybe though, and this is just a thought, even going on the trip knowing he has a lot of loose ends to tie up wasn’t such a good idea? 

7) As a sixteen year old, is shown being familiar with even advanced veterinary techniques, and wearing gloves and in front of an array of beakers and test tubes is shown examining a dog’s stool and finding the source of his illness (the mistletoe he ingested). Like, consider that for a second - Stiles connects threads on his whiteboards and is a detective. Scott whips out some forensic investigation shit and is stupid. LOL like what even? CHECK YOURSELF FANDOM.

That’s his job, he was trained. Stiles’ is his hobby. But again, you’re the only one making this comparison. The inability of Scott stans to just like Scott for Scott is kind of bewildering. And yeah some people are more science minded so there’s something to be said for his diagnostic skills. I don’t see Stiles as having an keen interest in actual medical sciences so sure, Scott has that up on him. 

But again, book smarts and street smarts aren’t the same. Scott has one and Stiles has the other, this is why they’re partners. They’re not opposites though, they’re yin and yang. Stiles has the tactical and strategic skills while Scott is the braun and the leadership. He assesses threats and then delegates others to take action. That’s what a leader does. 

8) Actually DOES his assigned reading, and quotes Heart of Darkness, rattles off about Greek myths and monsters, etc.

I mean… he’s a student, but ok. 

9) Gets a B in AP Bio before shit starts going down in 5A and only considers dropping it because he’s back to prioritizing staying all night at the school to try and stop mad scientists from killing a teenage girl instead of studying at home.

But some of his protection methods and ideas (like using said teenage girl as bait without telling her) are not the smartest. 

And again, they’re not supposed to be, because Scott McCall is not infallible. He’s a teenager and still human. He’s trying to make due with what he has. The problem is you see “Scott is stupid” and then you turn tail and run. You miss all the things about how he has a big heart and rises to action despite constant obstacles. 

Nope, you look at one thing and then you call anyone who would dare… not even to disagree with you, but not agree with you 100%, a racist? How is that acceptable or ok? Why do you get to make the rules for everyone’s experience? 

I always say, be the change you want to see. If you and your buddies spent more time creating content that wasn’t petty and vindictive, you’d see your numbers rise. But no one wants to be a part of a group whose sole existence relies on pouring hateful energy into a white boy. Scott fans love Scott. And if you did too, maybe you’d be able to engage more. But this idea that Scott fans have to love only Scott and the way that you say to love them is outlandish. And -not to invoke Godwin’s law too strongly- kinda totalitarian. 

Get it together, y’all. 

[theblovel]

The Blovel Season 3: Episode 3

As a young man, Buxton was a bit of a dreamer and loved fantastical ideals about life. He often would visualize and immerse himself in places and experiences. Most of the places he would visit in his mind were conjured through the books Buxton read. Buxton’s parents were both highly educated professionals. His dad was an engineer and his mother was a teacher. Both were proponents of an enriched vocabulary that could only be expanded through the exploration of literature. One of the most interesting things that peaked Buxton’s interest in the books he read was the idea of romance. He loved seeing the protagonist find ways to woo his love and whisk them away from the dangers or opposition they faced and lead them towards happiness and abundant Love for eternity. Buxton wanted to be that character in his own story; he wanted to be Prince Charming.

Though Buxton was not given the time of day by many of the girls he found attractive at his school’s throughout his childhood, he never lost hope of one day finding the true love he knew existed for him. Rejection would ordinarily diminish most people’s hopes of finding that which they seek, but because of the many stories Buxton read about a guy finding his true love against all the odds stacked against him, he never saw rejection as a final straw. It was more of a relief than a frustration; he knew who wasn’t the one which narrowed the possibilities of who could be. The biggest hold on Buxton that would encapsulate him every time he thought he found his counterpart was her beauty.

Buxton was in awe of how beautiful women are. He was fascinated with the female form. It wasn’t in a perverse, obsessive kind of captivation but rather an admiration for the simplistic yet flawless creation a beautiful woman is. When he found a girl he thought was beautiful he would assume the roll of her Prince Charming. Often times Buxton was met with rejection but when he met Amber she didn’t push him away. Buxton believed Amber could be his true Love!

After their initial interaction in the school cafeteria, Buxton and Amber were nearly inseparable. They didn’t have the same class schedule but had classes near each other’s because they were both seniors. They would wait for the other to get out of class at the other’s door if they left class early. The walked through the halls holding hands. Buxton didn’t sit with his friends at lunch; he sat in the middle of the cafeteria with Amber and everyone was able to see it and neither Amber nor Buxton cared about what anyone thought. It was a beautifully orchestrated middle finger to the expectations of others. On the outside Buxton and Amber were the ideal couple.

Buxton would do any and everything he could to make Amber aware of his devotion to her. He needed for Amber to know that he was genuine and there was nothing that could keep him from Loving her with every part of his being. Amber was however not as enthusiastic about Buxton’s devotion. Through the seven months they dated, Buxton never let a day go by without telling Amber she was beautiful. Amber never really accepted Buxton’s exclamations of her beauty. She didn’t see herself as beautiful; Amber was never told by her father she was beautiful or even pretty because he never got the chance to. Both of Amber’s parents were killed in a car crash when she was just a baby. She never knew her parents. Amber was adopted by a white family and was raised in a household vastly different than Buxton’s.

Amber endured quite a bit of ridicule from her brothers and sisters in the home she grew up in. Amber was not the only adopted child. She was one of six adopted children that were taken in by the older, rich, white couple. They were generous with their home and money but not as caring and loving as those children they adopted needed them to be. Amber was one of two girls that were adopted and the other was Asian. Amber and one other boy were the only Black kids in the home and they weren’t the best of friends. Amber often felt alone and like no one understood what it was like to be in her shoes. She became callous to kindness and saw her welcoming of new people into her life as a way of showing weakness. She had to be hard to endure the pains of being unlike everyone else and making it through such a difficult ordeal meant she couldn’t just attach herself to anyone. When it came to Buxton she felt a different energy. He wasn’t judgmental. He was honest and forthright about how he felt about her. He didn’t try to engage with her sexually in a selfish, egotistical manner. He never made her feel as if she wasn’t the most important thing in the world to him, but somehow that wasn’t enough.

Their seven month anniversary was approaching and Buxton had already planned to give Amber a poem he wrote for her and a bottle of perfume he bought from a department store. It was pretty expensive bottle that Buxton had saved his allowance and birthday money to purchase this bottle of perfume just for Amber. Buxton wanted to make a big deal out of this anniversary because it was the longest relationship he has ever had, it was the only relationship Buxton ever had, but still the longest nonetheless and he believed they were doing well and on the right path. Their anniversary was only one day away and Buxton couldn’t be more excited about surprising Amber with the gifts he would present to her.

On the morning of their seven month anniversary Buxton woke up before his alarm went off. He woke up nearly three hours before he needed to because he couldn’t sleep. He was too overwhelmed with joy and happiness and a bit of anxiety about how Amber would respond to the gifts he had to give to her. He got up and turned the alarm of. He rushed to shower and get dressed to meet Jeremy downstairs so that he could hop in Jeremy’s car to ride to school. Even though Buxton and Jeremy didn’t sit at lunch together anymore they were still the best of friends. Once they got to school Buxton hoped out of the car before Jeremy could turn off the ignition. He ran through the entrance to the school and jetted upstairs to his locker. He kept Amber’s gifts there so that he wouldn’t lose them or forget them somewhere else. Once he got to his locker he put his book bag, jacket and hat in his locker and grabbed the poem and gift-wrapped perfume for Amber and waited in the cafeteria for her to arrive. They always met in the cafeteria before school to see each other. Buxton waited for Amber. He waited and waited for Amber. Everyone else cleared the cafeteria to go to homeroom but Buxton sat their waiting for Amber. The bell rang for homeroom and there was no Amber. Buxton walked into the hallway believing he would see her once he turned the corner and Amber would be right there and he would run to her and hug her and present her with the gifts for their seven month anniversary and they would be so much in Love and kids passionately without any fear of whomever could see them; Amber wasn’t there when he turned the corner. Buxton didn’t know where she was. Buxton went to homeroom hoping he would see Amber soon after like always. Following the longest homeroom in Buxton’s life, he walked into the hallways and still no Amber. Buxton went to her homeroom teacher and asked her if she had seen Amber but she hadn’t. Amber was not at school. Buxton concluded that maybe she was late to school and that he would see Amber at some point throughout out the day.

Buxton ran immediately to the door at the end of each class and sped down the hall to wait outside each of Amber’s classes eagerly awaiting to see her. She wasn’t at any of her classes prior to lunch. Buxton couldn’t understand why Amber wasn’t where she would have normally been. Buxton walked over to the attendance office and asked if they saw Amber walk in today. The office attendant said that Amber was not in school but left a note specifically for Buxton. Buxton picked up the note and walked out towards the bleachers at the football field. He often sat there and contemplated things that required focus and sorting through. He opened the letter and began reading,

“Dear Buxton,

I’m not going to be at school today or any other day here after. Both of my adoptive parents have past away just like both of my biological parents passed away. It wasn’t in an accident but the both died from carbon monoxide poisoning. As a result, I’m being sent to live with their closet family member who is a niece that I’ve met before but lives in Chicago. It seems like it’s going to be a better living situation but it will require me to have to be apart from you. I didn’t know how to tell you and I wasn’t sure how to face you knowing I would have to leave you on our anniversary. I’m so sorry I have to leave but it’s out of my hands. Please know that you have shown me something that I never knew before; you showed me how to Love. I will forever be grateful for you. I Love You. Maybe one day our stars will align again. Peace My Love.”

[msmovingforward]

Proud Mama

We open with triumphant Mormon choir music to establishing shots, informing us we are back in Salt Lake City. I’m shocked and betrayed that we didn’t get anymore footage of Kimberly the Hypnotist, but c’est la vie; it’s not as if we had an extra-long episode this week. Whitney is meditating in her home. Lisa is at her office at Vida Tequila (LOVE THAT!). We see several flashbacks to Jen screaming at Whitney to shut the fuck up, and Kimberly the Hypnotist asking Lisa to take a good hard look at her friendship with Jen. Heather thinks back to Jen raising her hand when asked if anyone doesn’t trust Heather. We head back to see Belle from Beauty and the Beast still trapped in a high castle by her misunderstood captor, or I mean Mary the grandfather fucker in her 8,000 square foot home, thinking about how she warned everyone Jen would ruin this trip! SHE BLINKED SO MANY TIMES! CAN SOMEONE HELP HER?! BLINK IF YOU NEED HELP, MARY! BLINK IF YOU NEED HELP! Needless to say, this was a trip from HELL! These women may have left Vegas and checked out of the Hotel Nomad, but what happened there certainly didn’t stay there.

More choir music, and we’re at Heather’s new Beauty Lab and Laser location, complete with 15-minute Botox parking spots. So if you’re just at this strip mall to get a Diet Coke from a 7-11 on the GOOD side of the tracks, you better find parking elsewhere! Between seeing Lisa’s office and Heather’s new Beauty Lab location, we’ve now officially doubled the number of filming locations for this show! The new location looks like the set of a reboot for Xanadu. Everything is pink and white. Pink angel wings adorn the wall, symbolizing Heather’s ascent into independence from her ex husband. Heather tells us in a confessional this has to look great. She can’t just light a candle and say it’s done! I mean Sheree did this for her housewarming on Atlanta, but this is Salt Lake City, the land of integrity!

Heather addresses her team, saying that she’s had a rough weekend in Vegas, so if she’s short with people that’s why. Such great management skills! Remind your entire team that while they were probably working to make your vision a reality, you were away on a girls’ trip, filming a TV show less than a week before your grand opening! An employee tells Heather something about her stanchions, a word Heather had never heard before. Whitney shows up and remarks how pretty the stanchion ropes are. Thank God Whitney could remember her lines this week!

Heather and Whitney discuss the fact that neither of them have spoken to Jen since the trip, and Whitney informs us in her testimonial that she would uninvite Jen to the grand opening if it were her. “Is Heather addicted to toxicity?” She asks. Well, let’s see! Beyond the fact that Heather and Whitney are both ex Mormons who are on a reality show about women yelling at each other, Heather is literally opening a second location for a business that shoots toxins into middle-aged women’s foreheads and eye sockets, so they can’t express emotions or look old. Heather’s livelihood LITERALLY depends on the availability of toxicity.

In the next scene, we see Lisa touching a fabulously green handbag and heading into a bar called Lake Effect. Before we cut to commercial, it is revealed that she is there to meet up with none other than Jen Shah herself! Now I’m excited. It seems like Lisa is living up to her Lisa Housewife ancestors (Vanderpump, Rinna, Et Al.) and has sensed that Jen is weak and malleable. You need a friend, don’t you, Jen, darling? Lisa informs us that when leaving Vegas she saw Jen in tears on the elevator, and the human in her just had to ask what the real story was. She informs Jen that she’s just like her. She wants to be loyal to her friendships and her word. Hmm.. interesting because I’m pretty sure Jen was literally JUST spreading rumors about your other best friend’s marriage. Even I’m a little bit confused, falling for this classic manipulative trap. My heart really does break a little bit for Jen, who I think is truly losing her mind. I’m brought back to reality, though, when Lisa tells Jen that she can’t threaten to drown Whitney in her pond after Jen says she feels like her words are constantly taken out of context. Jen tells Lisa that she only talks like that because she felt like she constantly had to be ready to fight growing up in Salt Lake City, which is predominantly White.

We head to Meredith’s house where we are treated to a vomit-inducing scene of Meredith slicing half a banana for Seth. Seth informs her that he likes quarters instead of halves. Meredith fills Seth in on the happenings in Vegas, which Seth refers to as “Toxic city cicity.” Meredith can’t handle all the volatility in this group of friends. She repeatedly disengaged in Vegas, and obviously Vegas is really a city where you want to dis-disengage. You want to be so engaged in Vegas, and it’s unengaging when you have to disengage. It’s like the Blackjack dealer asks, “Do you want to hit or stay?” and Meredith just has to disengage. Meredith tells us that her marriage has been just so wonderful lately, and it’s all positivity. She throws shade at Jen in her confessional, saying that some of the other women are probably just jealous of how successful her marriage is, which is why they need to spread rumors about it. Right, Meredith, we’re all super jealous of the fact that your husband can sleep with his eyes open at dinner and simultaneously accuse you of cheating because you won’t let him go through your phone.

Whitney informs us that her father is 90 days sober, so she’s going to let him near her head with scissors in a room full of aspiring Mormon hairdressers. He does absolutely nothing to Whitney’s hair and makes several dad jokes, and the audience is led to believe that his audition for this hairdressing school went well. My heart breaks for a second time this episode when Whitney says, “I feel like a proud Momma,” even though she’s the daughter in this relationship.

Meredith visits Heather at Beauty Lab. Meredith informs Heather that she’s sure Jen does have shit she’s dealing with, but she’s angry because Jen has hurt her family and marriage with her lies. Heather says that she needs to be strong and not “put up and shut up” like she did for years in her marriage. If her daughters were in a friendship like this, she would advise them to stay away.

Lisa, her husband, and her kids, Jack and Henry, are at a meeting with Sydney, who is either high up at Vida Tequila or low on the totem pole and was able to be convinced to be on TV. Either way, she has to sit through fifteen year old Henry’s Fresh Wolf business proposal. Lisa continuously reminds her kids, who are almost as disengaged as Meredith, that they can have anything, including Land Rover Defenders and McClarens, if they “What?” “Work for it!” Lisa says that Henry will be the first 9 year old with a McClaren (”I love that! I love it.”) I remember visiting my mom at work and being given the money to start companies and buy luxury cars in front of assistants who probably make $15 an hour. Pretty standard reward for getting a B+ on a report card. Jack starts his business proposal. “Yeah so Fresh Wolf is a company.” Henry interrupts from the white board on which he is writing Fresh Wolf over and over again. “I came up with the name! How smart are these straws!?” Henry has a brain fart and has to start over after Lisa reminds him that it’s always important to hold up a picture of the product when you’re pitching it, especially if you’re wearing your best backwards hat and bright yellow-green hoodie. I love that. That I love. I love it. Touch the picture, Jack. Jack’s full proposal is as follows: “The ingredient you need most, Dad, is turmeric because it restores hair or stimulates hair growth or something.. so uh yeah that's Fresh Wolf.” Sidney pretends to be truly impressed. John says, “Wow,” and Lisa informs us via confessional that Fresh Wolf has really given them the opportunity to reconnect as a family  Even though Lisa has just chugged a liter of Diet Coke from the 7-11 next to Beauty Lab, she’s starving, so they all head to Taco Bell, then Burger King, then Checkers for lunch. Everyone that is, except Henry, whom they forget. It’s ok. He’ll get there if he works hard.

We head to Mary’s church, where we are shown an actual photo of Jesus with Mary’s grandmother/husband’s late wife. Mary is dressed in Beyonce at Coachella realness. It’s time for choir practice, which Mary informs us in her testimonial is not going well. They need to practice every day, but they can only practice once a week. It’s hard as a viewer to make a judgment on this though because Mary stops their singing every few seconds to ask how much they love her, criticize someone’s weight gain, (“Do me a favor. Eat healthy. Drink water!”), or tell someone they’re daydreaming. I wonder... if these people weren’t probably working two full-time jobs to afford the second mortgages they took out to be members of Mary’s church, could they have choir practice more often?

Next the audience is again reminded of what a wonderful husband Sharrieff is, as he sets up a table of chocolate-covered strawberries inside a dance studio for date night, which is a salsa dancing lesson. He informs us that Jen has always begged for him to bring her to salsa lessons. I have to say, while I imagine not having your husband around most of the year must be a struggle, it’s not as if Sharrieff doesn’t make the most of his limited time with Jen. This date is extremely thoughtful and romantic. Jen walks in, and she’s clearly very impressed and excited. She sees the trophies, and asks, “Am I going to get a trophy?” Sharrieff replies, “No, honey.” In the same tone I might use to tell a child that Grandma isn’t coming over for dinner anymore. This tiny moment made me realize again just how much people in Jen’s orbit must have to walk on eggshells. Sharrieff probably saw an opportunity for crazy Jen to come out and throw a tantrum after realizing she wasn’t going to get a trophy for her one salsa dancing lesson. God, I love this show! The couple salsa dance, and both of them are actually very good. Naturally, as Jen informs us that Sharrieff WAS in a dance group in junior high school. Jen again laments to Sharrieff about how misunderstood she is by the other women, and Sharrieff once again very patiently therapizes her. I was shocked to find out that they have been married 26 years. Can someone please tell me if that’s a record for a marriage that Bravo has ruined? That’s got to be a record! There’s no way they’ll still be married if Jen makes it to a season three...

At last the moment we’ve been waiting for all season arrives! Heather is FINALLY opening her second Mormon purification center. This one used to be a Quiznos! Meredith asks Brooks what she thinks of her outfit, a leather tuxedo with a sparkling lapel. He says it’s “Beyond,” but she decides she’s going to take off her pants entirely, and just make it a “blazer dress.” Lisa informs her husband that she’s going to wear Versace because who doesn’t love Versace. I think he’s just excited that his kids have piano lessons, so he doesn’t have to get an experimental chemical peel. The party is pink, and Heather is serving us Frenchie’s trouble in tinting class. This party has everything: buff gay bartenders with judging eyes, napkins that say messy af (Mary: “What does AF stand for? After the fact?”), wing-shaped cookies, stanchions! Meredith arrives wearing a mask that looks like it came from a very expensive piece of medical equipment, which she informs us is high fashion, and she wouldn’t expect anyone who isn’t as elegant as she to understand it. Mary looks like a cross between an Olsen twin and an extra from Gossip Girl. Lisa arrives, asking, “Does X marks the spot?” before posing in front of the step and repeat. Heather has invited her ex husband, who says he approves, calling the event “next level.” It must be pretty impressive if he got out of his hot tub for it! Heather introduces Meredith to a friend, saying Meredith is a burn victim. The friend says she should wear the mask all the time... Whitney really does a big Whitney zing on Meredith’s mask, putting on two surgical masks in her confessional. Boom! We learn that Meredith’s dress was designed in part by Brooks, which means it must be one of a kind. Mary says something about chicken turkeys as Meredith sips a straw right through her mask. Everyone at this party is basically wearing very shiny pajamas. Lisa reveals to Meredith that she and Jen met up after Vegas, to which Meredith says she can’t control whom Lisa is friends with, but she definitely needs some space from the situation. Mary joins Whitney at the oxygen bar (Mary: “I need oxygen, doxygen, estrogen, YEStrogen!”). Whitney tells Mary she was right; after Mary was out of Jen’s line of fire in Vegas, Whitney just became her next target. 

Enter Jen...

Whitney tells Jen she felt like Jen’s punching bag in Vegas. Jen offers a very sincere apology that offers no excuses, which Whitney seems to accept. It’s like Jen is wearing a wire with Sharrieff in her hear telling her exactly what to say all night. In her confessional, Jen reveals that she was just being nice at the time, and she wasn’t really sorry at all because she saw some wing-shaped cookies across the room, and she was hungry. This makes much more sense with the other things I’ve seen across this franchise. Good housewifing, Jen! Heather gives her thank you speech, which again affirms Heather as an independent woman who blah blah blah. We are shown footage of Meredith telling a closet case Mormon man that it’s always a bad idea to ignore bad energy, when Jen walks over to tell Meredith how unacceptable it is that Jen was talking about Meredith’s marriage. Meredith says, “No. It’s not,” and we are treated to a sonic boom sound effect. Meredith again says she needs to “protect her positive space”, but hopefully if Jen proves that she can be trustworthy, the two can move forward. Jen says to Meredith’s face that she respects that decision, but says in her confessional that she thinks Meredith is crazy. Heather walks over, and Meredith gives the two their own space, so she and her Tron mask can continue to protect their positive energy pod elsewhere. Jen and Heather get into a heated discussion, which upsets Lisa Barlow, Queen of Sundance, to the point where she thinks she may have to call security, and of all the parties she’s thrown, she’s never had to call security. She insinuates herself into the situation, saying “Can you guys whisper?” Jen gives her worst apology of the night, and Heather once again forgives her after Jen says the words that Heather literally has to tell her to say.

What a season! We learn that Jen has bought another friend, Heather has learned that she’s her own person, Whitney has a skincare line, Mary is reorganizing her closet, Lisa is taking a family vacation to Mexico, and Meredith and Seth are back in Couples counseling.

What a long episode!

[releasing-my-insanity]

Dear Chocolatier Letter

Hey guys, I’m participating in the chocolate box fic and art exchange and this is my letter. (Also good if anyone really wants to write me a fic. Haha) Under the cut ‘cause it’s LONG.

Hi author. I’m glad you decided to join this challenge. I’m sure I’ll love anything you want to write for me. Feel free to ignore any of my suggestions. I actually had some trouble thinking up any prompts for some pairings so if you’ve got an idea you really want to write, I can’t wait to read it.

General fic likes:

Stuff that applies to both romantic and platonic:

Fluff.

Humor.

Kindness and helping others.

Cuddles and snuggles.

Cozy scenes.

Bedsharing.

Casual touching.

Little soft and/or quiet moments between friends or significant others.

Characters sharing a love of music or movies or books or hobbies.

Pet owners.

Cute kids when those kids are canon children of requested characters.

Living together, either platonically or romantically.

People being really good at what they do and their friends/partners being impressed.

Characters who speak languages other than English slipping into those languages occasionally.

Teaching each other.

Communities supporting each other.

Everyone being accepting of the characters and their differences and/or relationships.

Women who get stuff done.

Bi and Ace-spectrum Headcanons.

Shippy stuff:

Soulmates (both common and creative varieties),

The Soulmate Goose of Enforcement,

Polyamory.

Friends to lovers.

Rivals to lovers.

Annoying each other constantly to lovers.

Established relationships.

Couples knowing each other really well and doing things the other one likes just because.

“Man I really love my wife” guys.

Asking before kissing someone.

Stopping a kiss or a touch immediately when asked.

Surprise kisses in an established relationship.

Weddings.

Platonic/familial stuff:

Becoming friends.

Insta-friends,

Friends who stay friends (they don’t become romantic and they don’t stop enjoying each other’s company).

Found families.

True companions.

Healthy families of origin.

DNWs:

Any sort of death (Exception under Highway to Heaven.)

Abuse of any sort.

Anything that AO3 has under major warnings.

Unhealthy relationships.

Character bashing.

Explicit sex (implied or referenced sex between consenting adults is fine).

Mpreg.

Non-canonical pregnancy.

Discrimination or bigotry unless in the context of characters working to end it.

Unhappy ending.

-

Fandom Specific:

Enchanted Forest Chronicles:

Pairings Requested: Cimorene/Mendanbar, Daystar/Shiara, Morwen/Telemain

Tumblr Tag for Fandom: Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Fandom Specific Likes: Mentions/Appearances of Alianora. Morwen’s cats being snarky.

Fandom Specific DNW: A story where the focus is on the time between Calling On Dragons and Talking To Dragons.

Optional Prompts by pairing:

- Cimorene/Mendanbar: We don’t get to see very much of their married life so I would love to see some fluff taking place after their wedding but before Book 3.

- Daystar/Shiara: I nominated these two specifically so I could suggest this prompt. In an AU where they found some way to rescue Mendanbar sooner and Daystar grew up as the prince knowing both of his parents, how does this effect his and Shiara’s first meeting? Do they get along better or worse? Why is Daystar out in the forest at the right time to find her?

- Morewen/Telemain: I am down for basically anything with these two as long as it’s fun. Growing up together. Being classmates in magic school. Quests/adventures. Spending time together between adventures. Married life. Anything that appeals to you.

How exactly did they manage to get engaged? I would love to get the story of what conversations happened that we aren’t shown.

-

Harry Potter:

(I put ship names on these so it’s easier to read)

Pairings Requested: Ginny/Harry/Hermione/Luna/Neville/Ron (Sixpack), Alicia Spinnet/Angelina Johnson/Fred Weasley/George Weasley/Katie Bell/Lee Jordan/Oliver Wood (Quiddich OT7)

Tumblr Tag for Fandom: Harry Potter

Fandom Specific Likes: Everybody lives. The Room of Requirement being a romantic place. I didn’t request her, but I kind of love the idea of Katie’s friend Leanne dating Katie and one or more of her partners as well.

Fandom Specific DNW: Not exactly fandom specific but no incest. The siblings in these relationships are just dating the same people.

Optional Prompts by pairing:

- Sixpack: Helping each other recover from everything that happened to them after the end of series.

The six of them having some nice downtime when there’s nothing they need to be doing right that moment and just enjoying each other’s company.

Trying to work out parenting when there’s six parents.

- Quiddich OT7: I am so starved for content for this ship that I don’t even have interesting prompts, I just want content. But here are my thoughts:

Celebrating after a win.

Hanging out playing Exploding Snap or something. Studying together.

Feeling down after a loss and Fred and George decide to cheer up their partners by doing silly things and maybe the others joining in.

- Applies to either or both: Trying to visit the Burrow with all of their partners and things getting crowded.

-

Highway to Heaven:

Pairings Requested: Jonathan/Jane | Jennifer, Jonathan & Mandy

Fandom Specific Likes: Jonathan is an angel but sometimes he’s still painfully human. (E.G. Getting too emotionally involved with an assignment, his crisis of faith in We Have Forever, his reaction to Mark getting hurt in Going Home, Going Home.) I just really like that Jonathan isn’t perfect and makes mistakes and has strong emotions just like the rest of us.

Exception to no character death: I’m okay with it in relation to Jonathan and Jane, but I don’t want it to be the focus or the ending. I need to see them as angels afterwards if their deaths come up.

Fandom Specific DNW: Not a hugely important thing, but I would prefer Jonathan and Jennifer not sleep together (except literally) since he doesn’t know that she’s Jane.

Optional Prompts by pairing:

- Jonathan/Jane: I am down with basically any story for these two that you want to tell.

How they fell in love. Scenes from their marriage. Missing scenes between the two in Keep Smiling.

What it was like for Jane to become Jennifer and be given the first assignment of helping her husband regain his faith? A missing scene from their two months together.

Something where they meet again later, either between assignments, sharing an assignment, or being reunited in heaven when they’ve both earned their wings.

- Jonathan & Mandy: Arthur | Jonathan being a good father to Mandy. Reading to her, playing with her, singing to her, whatever you like. Just all around being a good dad.

What was going through Jonathan’s mind when the only opportunity he had to interact with his daughter in 40 years was by being as obnoxious and dislikable as he could?

What was going through Mandy’s head when she thought that her mother, who had never moved on from her father, was planning to marry a much younger drummer who would probably spend all her money? Does Mandy remember her dad at all? What sorts of stories has Jane told her about him?

-

I Dream of Jeannie:

Pairings Requested: Jeannie/Roger/Tony, Amanda Bellows & Jeannie

Tumblr tag for fandom: I Dream of Jeannie

Fandom Specific Likes: Roger and Jeannie both being bi, Tony being biromantic and demisexual. Amanda being the voice of reason. The Bellowses’ marriage being built more on steady love than passion.

Fandom Specific DNW: None.

Optional Prompts by pairing:

- Jeannie/Roger/Tony: I’ve pretty well written all of my ideas for this pairing myself, I just want content not written by me. Maybe some established relationship fluff.

Or something where Roger and Tony are together first and then Jeannie joins their relationship. Maybe Jeannie realizes that Tony and Roger have feeling for each other and decides to set them up, and then they fold her into their relationship after she succeeds.

- Amanda & Jeannie: I just really want to see more of Amanda being a mother figure to Jeannie. Amanda helping Jeannie pick out her wedding dress would be delightful.

If you wanted to write something more involved, I keep imagining something where after "Ride 'Em Astronaut," Amanda helps Jeannie take the organizers of the rodeo to court for trying to use her as a prize for the winner.

-

Magic School Bus:

Pairings Requested: Arnold & Carlos & Dorothy Ann & Keesha & Phoebe & Ralphie & Tim & Wanda, Ms. Frizzle/Mr. Seedplot

Tumblr tag for fandom: Magic School Bus

Fandom Specific Likes: Ms. Frizzle being open to dating many different people, not just Mr. Seedplot. The kids all being close friends and no matter how many arguments they have they always make up quickly. Appearances by Mikey.

Fandom Specific DNW: Romances between the kids. I don’t mind occasional references to crushes, but I don’t want shipping with them.

Optional Prompts by pairing:

- The Kids: How did they first become friends? Phoebe transferred in, but have the other seven always been classmates? Was it hard for Phoebe to fit in at first or did they all make her feel welcome? Did they used to have other classmates before Ms. Frizzle’s class? What do they like to do for fun when they’re not in school or doing science?

A favorite headcanon of mine is that after college, the eight of them chip in and buy a house to use as home base. And they all travel around researching in their respective fields, but sometimes they just stay right there and do science. I would love any sort of story set in that world.

- Ms. Frizzle/Mr. Seedplot: How did they first meet? What happens after Liz brings Ms. Frizzle the flowers and note? Do they go on a date? Do the class ship them?

-

Sesame Street:

Pairings Requested: Bob/Linda, Linda/Maria, Harriet/Mr. Hooper, Gordon/Susan, David/Luis/Maria, Bob/Susan/Gordon, Bob/David/Linda/Luis/Maria/Olivia

Tumblr Tag for Fandom: Sesame Street

Fandom Specific Likes: Mr. Hooper lives. The characters making sure to sign for Linda so that she knows what’s going on. Miles and Gabi being best friends. Bob and Maria being metamours and having a very sibling-like relationship. Mr. Hooper refusing to tell anyone what his orientation is. Big Bird basically being everyone’s child. Bob being in both of the above polyamorous relationships at the same time.

Fandom Specific DNW: Anything involving the death of Mr. Hooper. Making Linda hearing instead of Deaf.

Optional Prompts by pairing:

All of these pairings I’d be happy with anything you want to write but here are a few thoughts.

- Bob/Linda: If they had gotten married, what would their wedding look like?

What kind of dates do they go on?

According to episode summaries on The Muppet wiki, Bob writes songs for Linda and she teaches him American Sign Language. I would love to see either or both of those things.

- Linda/Maria: When Linda first arrives on Sesame Street, Maria is the person who’s the most fluent in ASL and that leads to her and Linda becoming friends quickly.

Linda learning some Spanish sign language so she and Maria can both speak Spanish.

- Harriet/Mr. Hooper: Based on reading the Muppet wiki, I got the feeling that David’s Grandma Harriet and Mr. Hooper are quietly dating and I would love to see more of that.

In season 11 Mr. Hooper and his friends Mr. Macintosh and Willy took Harriet to a dance. How did that go? Did they start dating after that?

- Gordon/Susan: I would dearly love some fic about how they met and fell in love.

Or a fic about how they decided that they were ready to be parents and that they wanted to adopt.

Maybe something with them geeking out together over science.

- David/Luis/Maria: The only logical solution to the Maria/David, Maria/Luis relationships. I actually shipped David/Luis before I shipped Maria/David, so I definitely view this as a full triad.

How do they get together? Are two of them together first and then the third joins them? Or do they become a triad all at once?

What do their dates as a triad look like? Do the three of them ever go dancing?

How do they decide to get married? To become parents? Does it matter which of Maria’s husbands is Gabi’s biological father or do they only know for medical history reasons?

- Bob/Susan/Gordon: Did they know each other before Sesame Street or did they meet there? When did they get together?

One thing I really like is the idea of them having gone to college together and getting up to hijinks. I would love to see some of that.

How involved is Bob in parenting Miles?

- Bob/David/Linda/Luis/Maria/Olivia: The ship of my heart. My personal perspective is that every part of this relationship is romantic except for Bob and Maria. Bob and Maria adore each other but their relationship with each other is platonic.

Do they ever manage to all share a bed comfortably or are there too many of them and someone ends up on the floor?

The six of them go out on date and are mistaken for being three couples so they try to see how obvious they can make it that it’s all six of them.

Is it ever hard to parent Gabi when there are six parents?

-

Star Trek: The Original Series:

Pairings Requested: Chekov/Sulu, Chekov/Sulu/Uhura, Scotty/Uhura, Chekov/Sulu/Scotty/Uhura

Tumblr Tag for Fandom: Star Trek TOS

Fandom Specific Likes: Raising a family on the Enterprise. Demora being from a surrogate mother rather than a one-night-stand. Annie Rand living. Scotty and Uhura having the kid from this art (I named him Mzuzi). Random future tech. Using the hollodeck/recreation deck for dates.

Fandom Specific DNW: Anything that involves people’s consciousness being separated from their body. Anything that could be considered possession.

Optional Prompts:

I don’t really have any specific prompts for any of these pairings. I would love to see anything with Chekov and Sulu raising Demora together. And I LOVE Uhura being showered with affection by her partners. I also really like seeing people learning each other’s first languages so they can talk to each other in them.

-

The West Wing:

Pairings Requested: Abby/Jed/Leo

Tumblr Tag for Fandom: The West Wing

Fandom Specific Likes: The three of them basically being parental figures to the senior staff. Mallory thinking of the Bartlett daughters as her sisters and vice-versa.

Fandom Specific DNW: Smoking. Health problems, canon or not.

Optional Prompts: I love fic where Leo finds excuses to spend the night in the residence (AKA Jed and Abby’s bed).

An AU like Triad Verse in which Jed is literally married to both Abby and Leo and its known by everyone.

Fic where Leo lives and the three of them just retire to the farm in New Hampshire together.

-

WordGirl:

Pairings Requested: Becky/Tobey/Scoops/Violet, Johnson/TJ

Tumblr Tag for Fandom: WordGirl

Fandom Specific Likes: Tobey realizing that he’s loved. Tobey’s robots being sweet.

Fandom Specific DNW: Angst. These are children so I’d prefer they not show affection with anything more than a handhold or maybe a kiss on the cheek, unless they’re aged up.

Optional Prompts: I’m happy with any kind of cute content for either of these pairings. I would especially like to see a get together.

I also read a fic once where Becky and TJ were allowed to invite their friends on a Botsford family trip to a cabin on a lake. Scoops and Violet couldn’t go in the fic, but I keep wondering what it would be like if they did and Becky was there with her mutual crushes and TJ was there with his.

[windofderange]

Let’s talk about gender in Stranger Things 2!

So there’s a bunch of stuff happening in my life and I keep meaning to post something about that, but it’s serious and scary and stuff, so instead, I’m going to ramble a while about why I really love some of the subtle gender role reversals in season 2 of Stranger Things!  Like a normal, well-adjusted person!

Also, no major spoilers ahead, but I will talk about things that happened in Season 2, so if you want to come to it totally fresh, please skip this.

So I’m still a little sad that there’s no queer representation in this show.  Yes, I know it takes place in the 80s and queer people hadn’t been invented yet, but still.  (I was SOOO hoping that the big reveal at the dance would be that Dustin was building himself up to ask Will to dance, but I guess that probably would have been genuinely too much for an 80s middle school to handle.)  However, despite that, I was actually really impressed by some of the smaller ways the story undercut traditional gender stereotypes this season, and some of the improvements to how the girl and women characters were written.

That’s not to say that I thought they were poorly written last season - I just thought they were a lot more one-dimensional.  Emotional mother.  Brainy, goody-two-shoes girl exploring her sexuality.  Even Eleven, who was by far the female character with whom we spent the most time, was sort of scattered - the writers clearly couldn’t decide how unaware of the world she should be, and in turn, what things about gender she should care about (ie, she didn’t know what ‘pretty’ meant, but she still wanted to be it), a problem I don’t think they’ve entirely corrected (more on that in a sec).  The male characters were similarly archetypal - the drunk, broken-down town sheriff, the maniacal scientist, the lovesick teen, etc.

This season, I feel like the characters all got a lot more flushed out, but more than that, the way they did so also made some really interesting choices about gender and gender roles.  Also, I’m occasionally going to refer to the characters as sets because that how some of the storylines run - the adults (Joyce, Hopper, and Bob), the teens (Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Billy), and the kids (Eleven, Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max).

1. Joyce and Bob: Okay, so I know I’m apparently the only person in the universe who doesn’t ship Joyce and Hopper, but I loved Joyce and Bob.  Bob is a ‘beta male’ - he’s fat, short, into electronics, likes Kenny Loggins, makes corny jokes, and is too much of a scaredy-cat to watch scary movies.  However, it’s made immediately clear that Joyce isn’t just dating him because she needs a man or in order to fill some hole in her life - the first scene we see of them is the two of them adorably flirting, and then hard-core making out.  Bob is also consistently shown to be the less driven of the pair (a theme that will actually come up a lot in this post).  Joyce is a fighter.  It’s an important aspect of Joyce’s character, one that was established last season, but in the context of her frantically fighting to get her son back.  In the grand tradition of the Aliens franchise and Poltergeist, Stranger Things holds that mothers are the toughest fighters, and this season makes it clear that that’s always been true of Joyce Byers - it wasn’t just the panic of losing Will that drove her; she’s always been like this.  Bob knew her in high school, and makes it clear that he’s always admired her for it.  However, the story doesn’t present Bob as emasculated (a term I hate!) - he’s jazzed as all hell to finally be dating Joyce Byers!  

In setting up their relationship in these terms, the story gives us something we don’t often see - Bob is a boy-gal Friday.  In fact, he’s Joyce’s boy-gal Friday.  He’s competent, with a complementary skill set; he’s valuable, and Joyce clearly values him, and he makes a lot of connections and discoveries on his own, but he’s not capable of turning those connections into actions that drive the plot forward until he turns them over to Joyce.  And he’s perfectly happy in his role - even when he shows up in her house covered in Will’s bizarre tunnel drawing and is told he can’t ask questions, he’s clearly having the time of his life, solving a cool puzzle with a woman he loves.  Like every gal Friday, he can’t conceive of a world in which he could be the protagonist - he’s a superhero, but he’s not the Hero.  That’s Joyce

2. Hopper and Eleven: Off the bat, I have to admit that I think the writers are still doing the worst with Eleven when it comes to writing gender, just because they have the most room to play with and they’re not making use of it.  There’s no reason for Ele to have a concept of gender performance - she’s a lab rat. We know that the mad scientist raised her to think of him as her “Papa” (whether he was biologically or not), but we’re given no evidence that she had any concept of being his “daughter” or a “girl.”  Again, I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but it’s part of the reason I actually really liked the episode with her and Eight (also because I’m a sucker for a coming of age story) because I think pairing her gender development with the punk scene is a potentially brilliant way to play with some of these ideas in a culturally-contemporary way (since gender non-conformity was a big part of punk), and it’s something I really hope the writers come back to next season.

That being said, I did really enjoy the relationship between Ele and Hopper, and in particular, the fact that Hopper is clearly raising a kid, not a girl.  We never see Hopper force any gender norms on Ele (even though he had a daughter of his own and could potentially have those kinds of expectations for her), we see them sharing in not traditionally feminine things (building traps, eating garbage, watching scary movies - all things dads usually do with their sons in movies and TV), and even though it’s clear that Hopper knows about Mike’s and Ele’s feelings for each other, we never get any weird matchmaking or overbearing overprotectiveness from him - his overprotectiveness of Ele is always about keeping her safe from Hawkins, not keeping her away from boys.  He even embraces her “bitchin’” new look, but clearly also helps her get ready for the dance.

3. Mad Max and the AV Club: So I love Max.  I love Max so much.  And I still love the AV Club.  I do get the point of articles like this one that part of the nostalgia of Stranger Things is a nostalgia for nerds who are actually bullied and oppressed, but I think that’s over-simplifying things.  To start with, Lucas is black, and this season they finally managed to engage with that a little, in the same way they managed to engage with Dustin’s disability a little last season.  Also, I think the way that the AV club’s masculinity is presented is important.  This is not the adorkable misogyny of the Big Bang Theory.  They are not traditionally masculine and they are absolutely fighters, and those two things are never presented as being in conflict in any way.  Indeed, the constant references to D&D, including their own nickname for their group as “the party,” sort of reaffirms this - for people who know the game, they know you need a balanced party.  You don’t want all muscles, or all magic, or all rogues.  In many ways, Will becomes the ultimate symbol of this in Season 2 - he is absolutely a soft boy (Hopper even asks if he’s gay in Season 1, to which Joyce rightly replies, “why would that matter?!”), and yet, he is both the major villain AND the one fighting hardest against that villain in this season.  His strength to fight the mind flayer stems from his nontraditional masculinity - from his art, and ultimately, from his empathy, being kept in control of his body by the stories of love and affection from his mother, brother, and best friend.

Max is similarly nontraditional - we’re introduced to her by the traditional nerd trope of “girls don’t play video games!,” “girls don’t skateboard!;” however, if we’re really supposed to read the AV club as models for nerd culture, then the important element surely comes in their immediate reversal in meeting Max and seeing that she does indeed play video games and skateboard.  Not only do they not gatekeep or question her love of these things, they are immediately more impressed by her because of them.  They want to be friends with her because she’s a girl who skateboards and plays video games, and it’s clear that this is the root of Dustin’s and Lucas’ attraction to her, as well.  Even Mike’s resistance to bringing her into the party is never presented as her being a girl or a “fake gamer girl” - the show does a good job of showing that he doesn’t like having her around because she can’t know about Ele, and that having her there without knowing means that things are moving on and the others might move on, as well.  As soon as Lucas spills the beans and Max is fully on board, Mike’s resistance disappears.

4. Nancy and Jonathan: So I think the teens’ stories are where Stranger Things does the best with undercutting gender roles because these stories are so ingrained and so formulaic normally.  These are also the ones that I noticed the most while watching it.  Also, full disclosure - I don’t really ship Nancy with anyone, and was sort of disappointed that last season had a teen girl, two love interests, love triangle story line.  However, I do think the lovestory between Nancy and Jonathan has some of the best gender reversals.  To start with, Nancy is absolutely the Protagonist of their story.  Nancy causes everything to happen in their story.  It’s her acts that inadvertently bring them together (by getting drunk), but she decides that they’re going to do something to get justice for Barb, she takes them to find the journalist, she comes up with the plan to blackmail Hawkins.  Even in the scenes of them getting together, we see her sitting up in bed, trying to decide what to do.  She goes to the door, and Jonathan is there.  All of the focus is on her as the decision maker.

This role reversal comes to a head in the final showdown with the mind flayer.  I loved the call back to the last season when Hopper asked Jonathan if he could shoot a gun, and Nancy took it instead - they had already established that she was the better shot, and again, this scene wasn’t presented as her emasculating Jonathan in any way (and Hopper doesn’t hesitate for a second in handing over the riffle) - it’s clearly just that their lives are at stake, and of the pair, she’s the better shot. But the best is the scene in the cabin - this could have so easily been the teary-eyed girlfriend hanging off her stoic boyfriend (which, to be fair, was a lot of how Jonathan was written last season).  Instead, we got Joyce, raging and holding down her son, who was clearly in pain, as Jonathan screamed hysterically and cried, trying to stop her, being held back and finally comforted by Nancy.

Let me be clear - this scene only makes sense this way, given what we know about these characters.  Joyce is driven and direct - she’s going to make a plan and stick to it, come Hell or high water.  Jonathan has already been shown to be way too invested in Will and his well-being, and it seems completely believable by now that he would even fight his mother if he thought Will’s life was in the balance.  Nancy is an outsider - she’s not family, and her concern is mostly for Jonathan.  However, even as exciting as this scene was, I couldn’t help but step out of it a bit as I was watching it and realize how weird it was to see a young man portrayed as hysterical, rallying against a woman with a plan, and then being comforted by another woman, who was relatively calm and unaffected.  It works so much better this way, but there are so many show where this scene would have had Nancy freaking out for no other reason than because women are hysterical.

5. Steve: Oh, Steve. heart eyes  I am so in love with Steve after this season.  Obviously Stranger Things is a show that loves its parallels, and Steve’s stories move increasingly into roles played by women in the original as the season goes on.  The initial story with him and Dustin have parallels to Stand By Me and Gremlins, but by the big showdown with the mind flayer, Steve opens embraces his role as “the babysitter,” a role that actually has some decent echoes in 80s movies - Adventures in Babysitting would be the obvious, but Steve’s role in the group also directly parallels Mary Plimpton’s character in the Goonies, as the third wheel to the big brother and girlfriend (except in this case, those two had buggered off to go do The Omen instead), who also delivers the incredibly quotable line, “I feel like I’m babysitting, only I’m not getting paid.”

However, again, we’re not given any hint that Steve has any problems with his new role.  After the rest of the adults and teens leave, he directly parallels Mr. Mom, the movie the Byers were watching earlier, wearing an apron and slinging a kitchen towel over his shoulder after doing the washing up.  But whereas the entire premise of that movie is how embarrassed Michael Keaton’s character feels to be a stay-at-home dad and how bad he is at household tasks, Steve seems genuinely proud of himself for tidying up the Byers house, and proud to serve as guiding voice to the remaining kids left in his care.  Even his use of a traditionally-masculine sports metaphor to explain why they have to stay put reaffirms how much he’s internalized his role - he clearly means for it to be rally speech, as he’s presumably delivered to his teammates, and he shows his own confusion when it concludes with, “and that’s why we’re on the bench.”

The episode briefly looks as though it’s going to offer Steve a redeemingly masculine role of protector with the arrival of Billy, Max’s big brother.  We get some macho posturing and a fist fight, and although Steve does get to come to Lucas’ rescue, he’s still soundly trounced by Billy. Again, this is completely in keeping with the characters - we’ve already seen that Billy isn’t just up for a fight, but abusive and dangerously violent.  However, it’s Max, the only girl in the room, who puts down Billy, again in a series of gender undercuts - first, she beats him subversively by drugging him (poison being a woman’s weapon and all that), but then, in another reversal, she takes the opportunity as he’s weakened and blacking out to threaten him with Steve’s baseball bat, extracting protection for her and the AV club using the same oath as we’ve seen used previously by Billy’s abusive father.  The rest of the episode is clearly The Goonies, with Steve-as-Mary-Plimpton and the kids running around underground, and Steve reiterating that he’s there because he’ll be held responsible if anything happens to them.

Even in the final denouement at the dance, Steve gets the same final appearance as Joyce and Hopper, the other two caregivers, dropping off his ‘kid’ and driving away.  (Interestingly, of the teens and adults, only Nancy gets a denouement at the dance - Jonathan is also there, but just gets to smile and wave from the sidelines, the same ending as basically every supporting girlfriend from every teen movie, again highlighting that it’s Nancy who is the Protagonist.)

So why do I care about all of this?  Well, one of my biggest frustrations with a lot of TV and films is that I feel like writers still suck at writing women - in particular, women as protagonists.  It seems like way too many writers can’t understand how women can make choices that drive the story forward, and that means way too many stories fall back on traditional tropes where women are the backups and support.  It’s cool to see so many of those tropes not only avoided, but directly reversed, and so effectively.  Bob, Jonathan, Steve, and the AV club are cool, interesting, likable characters.  They’re not diminished by not being the protagonists, or not being traditionally masculine.  Like I said, I would love to see the writers do more with Ele because there is so much opportunity there for a truly agender character, which is something else sorely missing from modern TV, but I also hope they continue to present women who are ambitious and driven, and men who are emotional and empathetic because it’s super cool to finally get those kinds of stories.

[thebachelordiaries]

‘Corinne’s Dad Needs His Own Show‘ The Bachelor Ep. 8 Recap

Monday night’s hometown dates apparently set a viewer record. I think a “thank you” to Raquel is in order. That woman deserves an appearance fee.

Each of Nick’s final four hometown dates brought something very different to the table. If we didn’t know Rachel was going home, I’d say it would be extremely difficult to guess who makes it to the fantasy suites.

Too freaking bad we already know what happens. One day I hope to be surprised again.

I remember Ben’s hometown dates had me thinking the show only casts upper class women who grew up living in mansions. Upon seeing the homes of the women on Nick’s season, maybe Ben just had a thing for future trophy wives.

Nick’s women came from more realistic homes. Well, Rachel’s house was pretty YUGE and Corinne’s family does live in a luxury condo….never mind. Let’s meet their families.

Hoxie, Arkansas

I drove through Arkansas once. Little Rock seemed normal but when I pulled off the interstate in the middle of nowhere, I felt like I was transported into an alternate universe. That’s probably how Nick felt when he arrived in Raven’s hometown.

Just in case you were wondering where the hell Hoxie is. (Little Rock is right by the “N” in Arkansas)

Raven whisks Nick away on an ATV and they arrive at a grain bin, which is where all the kids go to “make out” in Hoxie, which explains why half of America has an intolerance to gluten.

While they are climbing the grain bin, the police arrive on the scene. Leave it to a small redneck town to have a cop spoil all the fun. Actually, the cop turned out to be Raven’s big brother. If you don’t pull this prank on hometowns, is your brother even a cop? (the answer is no)

Nick and Raven go riding on ATVs and stop to frolic in a swamp area, which leads them to wrestling each other in the water. It felt…..dirty.

I believe you can watch an extended version of this scene on PornHub.

We later arrive at Raven’s childhood home. At this point my mind starts estimating how much her family must pay for their home. Probably next to nothing. I’m just going to cry silently for how much it costs to pay rent near me.

And we’re back, but my tears are here to stay because we get the announcement that Raven’s dad, who has been fighting lung cancer for the past 1.5 years, is now cancer free.

And now I’m legitimately sobbing because Raven said she would rather walk down the isle alone than walk down with anyone else.

When Nick told Danielle L. what kind of relationship he was looking for (raw, adventurous), I think it summed up what a life would be like with Raven. Just don’t cheat on her cause she will eff you up.

Dallas, Texas

Rachel took Nick to church. A predominantly black church that is.

Maybe if I grew up going to church like that (lively, upbeat) I would be religious, or at the very least enjoy going to church.

I think my favorite part of this episode was that Rachel’s dad Hon. Lindsay is too important to be on this show. The show said he had work obligations, but a People article said Nick later met the federal judge off camera.

Rachel’s home is so stately. Definitely a home that belongs to a judge.

Meeting the rest of Rachel’s family felt a bit tense, but that was mostly due to ABC just showing the conversation about how Rachel and Nick would deal with the racism of being an interracial couple. It was an important conversation, but I’m sure less tense conversations were not shown.

Overall, I thought it was adorable how nervous Nick was to meet her family. But that just makes me even more confused about the outcome. 

This was my favorite part of the episode. Their dinner time banter just felt so real. “Do you know what everything is?” Rachel’s sister questions Nick about his dinner plate, specifically the okra. “I’m not from Mars,” he replies.

I spent this entire hometown date looking for signs that would let us know Nick would be sending Rachel home. I found none. Without knowing Rachel will be the Bachelorette, I feel like her and Nick have the strongest connection.

ABC continues to fuck with my cognitive thinking. At least they’re consistent. 

Miami, Florida

Corinne is a material girl living in a material world and doesn’t care who knows it. She takes us to a shopping center and we watch her blow my 6-month paycheck at a single store. 

I think Corinne likes to live an expensive lifestyle, but it was totally exaggerated on the show. Even though Nick was out of his element, you can tell he was having a ton of fun hanging out with Corinne; he couldn’t stop smiling!

Next we get to meet the famous Raquel. Raquel cares a lot about Corinne and vice versa. Yes, it’s a privilege to have a nanny, which is really just a more respectful term for housekeeper, as Corinne said, but that doesn’t make Corinne a bad person.

Despite all the Raquel hype, I personally felt that Mr. Olympios stole the show. 

Mr. Olympios: So, do you really like this guy?

Corinne: Absolutely.

Mr. Olympios: Do you have feelings for him?

Corinne: I told him today that I loved him.

Mr. Olympios: Wow. My god. REALLY?!

Corinne: *nods* We’ve been dating for a month and a half.

Mr Olympios: That’s only six weeks.

Mr. Olympios after Corinne says Nick will be able to make enough money to keep her happy. He’s so animated.

I’m not sure he’s convinced.

Firstly, I need to find me a man who looks at me the same way Corinne’s dad looks at his world famous marinated Greek olives. Secondly, this may be the first time where the show discusses post-show financial opportunities of the Bachelor as a bad thing. Yes, there are plenty of advertising opportunities, but it’s not a sustainable, longterm career. Corinne’s dad was like, “Corinne, what if he can’t afford you?” and Corinne replied that she would have no problem being the breadwinner. If you don’t love Corinne for that, you are just bitter. 

At the end, Mr. Olympios (Jim) said he ended up liking Nick more than he thought and he thinks Nick is the “lid to Corinne’s pot.”

Corrine thinks so too. Except there are three obstacles in her way.

“I love Nick. I’m in love with Nick. I just hate that he’s dating three other girls. Ew.”

Hey, at least she knows other women are involved, unlike that one Canadian.

Montreal, Canada

I find it strange that a family of die-hard Italians live in a French-Canadian city. Of all the places…

We visit Vanessa’s special needs students and get to see what she does every day. I really do admire her for her chosen career path.

Vanessa gets surprised by teachers and students while she and Nick were exiting a classroom. The edit made it seem like they were just entering the building. Fooled me the first time…interesting.

Vanessa’s family is like every stereotypical Italian family I know: dramatic AF. But I do have something in common with her. Our parents are divorced and we’re equally close with our mom and dad. Because of this, we get to visit two homes on this hometown visit.

I have to say Vanessa seems to act like she’s the only girl dating Nick. Her friend asked if they knew where they were going to live after the show. Her sister told Nick she would “never forgive” him if he broke her heart. Dude, you guys just met. Vanessa’s brother started getting emotional saying how he doesn’t want to see her get hurt again. Vanessa must really be dramatic if her entire family is scared for her to get her heart broken.

When it came to asking for a father’s blessing, Mr. Grimaldi questions Nick if he asked other fathers if he could marry their daughters. He said yes. It was so awkward, but I loved it.

Vanessa then finds out that Nick asked her dad about getting engaged and she just assumes her father is the only dad he asked. Her burst of happiness is soon put out as she finds out Nick asked the other fathers as well.

Vanessa, this is what you signed up for. You aren’t entitled to special treatment. Despite her inability to realize she is not the only woman in Nick’s life, I still think they have the strongest connection, especially since, ya know, the show already told us Rachel will not be chosen. (never getting over it.)

I just need ABC to rip the bandaid off and send Rachel home.

Which hometown date was your favorite? Mine was Corinne’s.

The rose ceremony is in New York so of course, because we all know who lives in New York, we get a cameo from Andi. I’m here for it. Nothing important is going to happen between them romantically. That ship has sailed farrrrrr away.

I just want to remind everyone what Andi said in her book about Nick real quick: he told her he would rather fuck the first few times and then make love. Despite saying he prefers to “fuck,” he then confronts Andi on After The Final Rose and asks "why did you make love to me if you weren't in love with me." 

Andi isn’t interested in him anymore. She’s too busy being a G. And the “G” stands for Gucci loafers.

Oh you fancy, huh? (Image via Andi’s IG)

Still excited to see her, though.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 8/6/18

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 1 | By Koyoharu Gotouge | Viz Media – Well, that escalated quickly! Tanjiro, an earnest young man helping to support his loving but struggling family, returns home one day to a gruesome scene of blood and death wreaked by demons. One of his sisters survived, though she is now destined to become a demon herself. Desperate to save and protect what remains of his family, Tanjiro turns to the life of a demon slayer. The more I read of Demon Slayer the more I had the feeling that I had encountered parts of the story somewhere else before (except perhaps for Tanjiro’s superior sense of smell). But even so, it was an engaging first volume. Even if a series seems to be relying heavily on well-established tropes and familiar training montages, done well it can still be a great read. Demon Slayer might be one of those manga, but it also has the potential to be more. – Ash Brown

Devilman VS. Hades, Vol. 1 | By Go Nagai and Team Moon | Seven Seas – In addition to being a sequel to Nagai’s original Devilman story, Devilman VS. Hades is a crossover with the Mazinger franchise. To some extent, Devilman VS. Hades can be read as a standalone work—the most critical information needed to follow what’s going on is included within the series itself—but some basic familiarity with Devilman and/or Mazinger doesn’t hurt. (Fortunately, several incarnations of both franchises are readily available in English.) In Devilman VS. Hades, Devilman has literally fought his way through Hell to free the souls of those he holds most dear, unleashing a horrifying new apocalypse in the process. Devilman, Akira Fudo in his human form, must now face enemies old and new while navigating the grotesque and hellish landscape. Devilman VS. Hades is only three volumes long so the first understandably moves along at a fairly quick pace, but at the same time it can seem bizarrely unfocused. – Ash Brown

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 7 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – So, yeah, the prodigal lawyer dating the high school girl was never going to be a popular decision, and when you throw in the house basically being used as a dormitory for troubled souls, it’s not hard to see why Fujiwara’s father has decided to come in and bust it all up, since Shimana did not listen to his wise counsel an go away forever. That said, he’s an obstacle rather than a dad, and so we’re not thinking about how to appeal to his better nature, but how to surmount him. As for Shimana and Fujiwara, well, if nothing else his emotions are getting more immature when he’s with her—which may not be a bad thing. This is no orange, but it’s still good enough to keep reading. – Sean Gaffney

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 7 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – I can’t make up my mind whether I want Shimane and Fujiwara to succeed as a couple or not. Complicating this is the fact that neither of them can seemingly make up their minds, either. It’s totally reasonable that there’d be a lot of fluctuation and vacillation in a teen romance, but coupled with the swift pacing of this series, I just end up with a serious case of shoujo whiplash. As it stands, Fujiwara’s father seems determined to split them up, and Fujiwara is attempting to fall for Shimane and is sure that he will, given time. Meanwhile, I thought it was kind of interesting to see why Fujiwara’s friend, Miura, might’ve agreed to interfere on Fujiwara’s father’s behalf. I don’t really believe the series will end with Shimane heartbroken, but I’m not convinced this relationship will bring her happiness, either. We shall see. – Michelle Smith

Durarara!! re: Dollars Arc, Vol. 2 | By Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Aogiri | Yen Press – I will note the biggest disappointment in this volume right off the bat: because it’s compressing events so much, it cut the bit with Shizuo using a car as cover by kicking it along in front of him, a highlight of the anime. Other than that, this is a decent adaptation, though I think I’d give the anime adaptation the higher marks. I did like seeing how just because the runaway Akane has been “retrieved” by her father does not mean that the problem is solved—Narita is good at showing that childhood trauma can stay with you forever and is not easily fixed. Especially in DRRR!!, where everyone is sort of broken. This moved way too fast, but is otherwise good. – Sean Gaffney

Fate/Zero, Vol. 6 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – I’m not sure why we had a year’s delay between the last volume of Fate/Zero and this one, but I’m glad we’re back with it, even if it continues to be a very bleak war. That said, nothing is too depressing as long as Alexander the Great is in it, and going from the discovery and destruction of the room filled with dead and tortured children to a three-way drinking discussion between him, Saber and Gilgamesh is mood dissonance of the finest kind. It was an excellent discussion, and reminds readers who are familiar with the original Fate series just how messed up Saber’s vision really is. As for the cliffhanger, will Tokiomi actually do something? GASP! Not for the squeamish, but excellent. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 6 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – This is a relatively serious volume of KMatSoM, which means we get very few SD-faces and no discussions of butts. It makes sense, given we’re up against some things that could spell trouble for this burgeoning relationship. No, not Shu; she’s taken care of fairly quickly by the classic shoujo tradition of the heroine just being far too nice and sweet to be horrible to. No, the main issue is Funny Bone and their past with Kaede, and the apparently death of someone in Kaede’s past—which he starts to tell Hinana about as we close this book out. I expect we may be entering whole volume flashback territory next time, but we’ll see how it goes. Does this mean no butts in volume seven either? – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 31 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – To no one’s surprise, Alibaba’s financial renaissance is running into serious trouble after a strong start, as Sinbad is not about to let him get the Kou Empire back to its former strength. Alibaba can try to avoid the rumors and come up with new and more fascinating items, but it’s more interesting seeing him meeting up with old friends, some of whom have gotten married and had children. Of course, the two most important friends of his have been missing for a while… and we finally catch up with them, and see that Aladdin has finally grown up all the way. He’s got his hands full trying to deal with Arba and her ability to possess people and take them over. Will we finally see them reunite next book? Signs point to yes. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 7 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – We’re taking a break from serial killers to deal with terrorist organizations long thought dead, but the output is the same—lots of gore, lots of dead people, this time mostly in the Diet and the police, along with a few innocent bystanders. Kuroko is trying to deal with this, but she’s a bit upset—yes, it looks like she’s actually worried—that Chiyo is finally moving on from her. She’s probably right to worry, and I’d say she should try to better herself except this is Murcielago. The main reason to read this series remains the gratuitous violence and the action sequences, and yes, there’s also a sex scene near the end, featuring Kuroko and the girl from the very first volume’s extra chapter stealing an escort girl and having their way with her. Sleazy and it wears it proudly. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 14 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – I really like how Bakugo’s rage issues are shown to be a major issue that he needs to resolve, but they’re also not something that makes him a villain or means he can’t have hopes and dreams. He gets frustrated at Izuku’s drive as much as Izuku was chasing after his strength, and so the two are now even more “fated rivals.” They’re also given confinement for a few days, meaning, oh no, Izuku is behind in classwork. He also gets introduced to a few third years, whose powers are fun and also strong, and the school explains that due to the villains growing in power (indeed, we meet the next Big Bad here as well), it’s time for internships! Can Midoriya and his still-learning quirk make the grade and get him work?. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 2 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – I continue to be quite entertained by this series, though its lack of any real plot or characterization makes it a bit harder to review. The reader needs to accept that the Princess’ various antics to get a good night’s sleep are going to verge on the cruel and awful every single time, but given that most of the demons that she abuses for their functions can resurrect, it’s clearly meant for humor. We branch out a bit from pure sleep this time, as she enters an athletic competition (being in shape leads to better sleep) and suffers from—horror of horrors—dry skin! I shudder to imagine anyone taking this seriously, but as a giant goofy “what horrors will she commit next” series, it’s fantastic. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

[krresearchreport-blog]

Essay

Introduction ~

As my title suggests in this report I will be researching and discussing the struggles of fictional character throughout time, the many different forms of entertainment and the extent of their struggles. But also whether they are personal or circumstantial struggles, the reasoning behind making characters struggles and what it helps the writer achieve. I will also investigate whether or not more writers should be making modern characters problems more true to life to teach children how to deal with such struggles. In Chapter One I will discuss the ways in which character flaws can lead to the character struggling, and compare them to the ways in which characters often have no control over the circumstantial struggles they face. Following this in chapter Two I will analyze how writers make their protagonists struggle through time and depending on the different age and generation of the audience. Continuing from that Chapter Three will be an investigation into why writers often kill off mothers in stories, create evil stepmothers, and discuss what this effect has on the audience, the story and how this can lead to the father roles playing a bigger part. Similarly to the last in Chapter Four the Orphan trope will be explored, the reasoning behind it, how it can be the turning point in a story and why it is so common across so many forms of media. Lastly in Chapter Five I will try to determine whether or not modern writers should be including much more realistic and true to life struggles for their characters, whether some writers already have been and what this could do to change protagonist and audience relationships. A struggle is defined as ‘‘Striving to achieve or attain something in the face of difficulty or resistance.’‘ (Cambridge Dictionary, no date) The protagonist is often the most important part of any story, they give the audience a viewing point into the story. In the real world I’m sure most of us would find it hard to think of many, if anyone, we know to have never struggled in life, at one point or another. But what of the fictional world, Have you ever read a book or watched a film where the main character had a completely problem and struggle free life? If you were to create a fictional character why would you want them to face hardship and struggle. Is a character living easy and painless life to boring for a viewer to watch, or would the audience possibly prefer this?

Chapter One ~ Character Flaws

Characters having flaws is one way writers can make them struggle, A character flaw is defined as a ‘‘limitation, imperfection, problem, phobia or deficiency present in a character.’’ (Character flaw, 2016) Writers do this ‘‘to make a character realistic and relatable they are given flaws, because if there is anything a writer can be sure of it is that no-one in their audience will be perfect.’’ (TV Tropes, no date) To make a good solid character the audience needs to engage with them in some way, or even emotionally care for the fictional being. Another very important aspect of creating a character is to make them feel as ‘real’ as possible, ‘‘we all have flaws, because, well, were human. Our flaws are part of what makes us real.’‘ 

However, most of the flaws in our favorite characters lives aren’t their own personal flaw or fault, but flaws in their lives that are often out of their control. Wreck-it-Ralph for example, from the 2012 film with the same name, to those who know his story he is the villain of a arcade game, he is disliked by all of the other characters. Through the story however it becomes clear that he is in fact a nice character who never chose to be the villain, it was just who he had to be in order for the game to function. ‘‘My names Ralph, and I’m a bad guy’’ (Wreck-it-Ralph, 2012).,Ralph goes on to say ‘’It becomes kinda hard to love your job…when no-one else seems to like you for doing it.’‘ (Wreck-it-Ralph, 2012). It is clear that he doesn’t like having to be the bad guy and others treat him badly, this becomes clear after he is stopped for a apparently random security search ‘‘Random, my behind, you always stop me.’‘ (Wreck-it-Ralph, 2012). Why do writers often start their protagonists lives in terrible situations? An online article claimed it was because ‘‘In fact, in every story we’ve ever experienced, we are the protagonist.’‘(M. Morrison, no date). This is suggesting that seeing the protagonist succeed through hardship shows the audience that they can do the same.

Another reason writers give their characters fundamental flaws and often terrible lives is because that awful situation or event is what powers the story. Henry James once said ‘‘What is character but the determination of incident? And what is incident but the illumination of character.’‘ (Field, 1982). SYD Field, a famous American screenwriting guru, perfectly explained this quote by saying ‘‘the elements within the character really determines the incident; how the character reacts to that incident is what illuminates and truly defines his/her character.’‘ (Field, 1982). Imagine watching a film or reading a book where the main character starts the story being perfect and living a flawless life, remaining that way throughout and ending with things being the same way. There wouldn’t be any rising action, climax or resolution, there would be no story.

For example, in the 2013 Disney Animated film Finding Nemo, when Marlin son Nemo is kidnapped, everything changes and dad has to go on a cross ocean adventure to get his son back. Many call this kind of life flaw the ‘dramatic need’ such as Waldo Salt, who was a famous American screenwriter. ‘‘The first thing he (Waldo Salt) did was choose a simple dramatic need; then he would add to it.’‘(Field, 1982). He also stated that, ‘‘The ‘dramatic need’ is the engine that powers the character through the story line.’‘(Field, 1982). So essentially if the character has no flaw, say sadness, being an orphan, being lost etc, they won’t want anything, like happiness, a family, to be found. If the character wants for nothing there is no dramatic need and nothing will change, and often this change in a story is the most important part.

Another interesting idea explored in this essay is the idea of our relationships with a character being based off of the choices they make and the actions they take when facing a problem. Robert McKee stated ‘‘the essence of character is action - what a person does is who he is.’‘ (Mckee, 2010). Writers must keep this in mind when creating characters, he follows with ‘‘True character can only be expressed through choice in dilemma. How the person chooses to act under pressure is who he is - the greater the pressure, the truer and deeper the choice to character.’‘ (Mckee, 2010). So is this why writers make their characters and their fictional characters lives so flawed, so they can show the protagonists true character through their choices? If so, does this then make the audience relate more to the character. SYD Field says ‘‘sometimes incidents and events in our lives bring out the best in us, or the worst, sometimes we recover from these events and sometimes we don’t - But they always impact us.’‘ (Field, 1982) Are writers trying to make their characters suffer and struggle but ultimately succeed to show the audience that when they have a problem in their lives they can too?

Chapter Two ~ Happily Ever After

In order for a writer to best connect with their audience surely the problems should relate to their audience in some way. But through the years how much have characters problems and they ways in which they struggled changed, and to what extent have many original stories been altered to fit into modern day entertainment. The original Grimm’s Folk tale of Cinderella is a very well known story, but the original tale is much different and a lot darker than the 1950 Disney film mostly known by audiences today. The Disney film shows Cinderella being bossed around by her evil step sisters, but apart from bullying and mean comments it’s quite tame compared to what happens to her in the Grimm’s version. They ‘’put an old gray bed-gown on her, and give her wooden shoes.” (Grimm and Grimm, 2012). In the animated film Cinderella’s clothes are rather worn out and undesirable, but she wasn’t shown wearing uncomfortable wooden shoes. The Grimm’s fairy-tale also tells of how the step sisters would throw her food (peas and lentils) into the ash filled fireplace and make her pick them out again in order to eat. She also did not have a bed of any kind and so was forced to sleep by the fireplace too. Cinderella’s emotional state in the animated film is also somewhat sugar coated, she isn’t seen as being anywhere near as depressed and devastated as she is in the original story. In the film, she is shown crying only on a couple of occasions, whereas in the book it states ‘‘Thrice a day Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and wept and prayed.’‘ (Grimm and Grimm, 2012). Having the protagonist of a film spend most of their on screen time crying wouldn’t make for much of a uplifting children film, considering the film’s target audience is supposedly 5+, along with Bambi and Pinocchio. (Disney Films, 2011)

Another aspect of the original stories that have been changed or cut out for the more modern versions is pain, gore and gruesome deaths experienced by the characters in the tales. As previously discussed in modern Disney characters do still die and often in very dramatic and sad ways, however it is often less terrifying and disturbing then in many older stories. At the end of the Grimm’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1812), the evil queen has to wear red hot shoes and dance until she drops down dead, for the amusement of the royal court for her crimes against the princess. It goes without saying why we didn’t see this in the 1937 Disney adaptation, a Disney princess giving such a hellish punishment even to such a villain would never be seen in Disney and something as shocking would be unsuitable for a younger audience. The evil step sisters in Cinderella avoided losing their lives as comeuppance for their actions, but had their eyes plucked out by birds. Again, not exactly child friendly. But it’s not only the villains who would suffer such pain in the original versions of these tales. In the 1837 fairy tale of ‘’The Little Mermaid’’ by Danish Author Hans Christian Anderson, the mermaid protagonist doesn’t magically and painlessly get her voice taken away by the sea witch, the sea with cuts her tongue out with a knife. The Disney adaptation also chose not to include once she obtained her human legs from the witch, every step she took on them it felt like knives were stabbing into her legs. As well as how in the end she didn’t marry the prince and live happily ever after, he married someone else and she turned into sea foam. However, most unsurprisingly of all is the fact that Disney’s chose to change their versions of the stories to miss out on the originals mention of rape. Some viewers these days are outraged enough by the fact that in the story the Prince of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty kisses the slumbering Princess without her consent. However, in the Grimm’s story the prince rapes her in her sleep, leaving her to be awoken by one of her two children (whom she gave birth to while she slept) who sucks the cursed piece of flax from her finger. This obviously would not have been suitable ‘‘Since Disney is a family company, some of these darker and less pleasant stories were given happier vibes and endings as not to scar little children for life.’’ (S.P 2015) But why were these stories seen as suitable for children of the past but not suitable for children of today. Was it because children’s lives were so much harder in the past, and because of this they were tougher and could handle a much darker bedtime story? So if the struggles and problems of the characters have changed so much through time, has the way they faced and overcome the struggles changed so much too? Staying with the theme of female protagonists and their struggles, in both the original and Disney versions of Cinderella she doesn’t really do a lot to save herself. In the original tale she wishes to the birds for help which they respond to, until the Prince takes her away and saves her. Similarly to how in the Disney adaptation the fairy god mother grants her wishes until again, the prince comes and saves her. This being rescued by the prince and living happily ever after is how Sleeping Beauty and Snow White  also have their struggles ended. These films were all made before the year 2000, however many Disney films made after the turn of the millennium see the female protagonists overcoming their problems themselves. The 2009 Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog shows the main character Tiana not only save herself, but the Prince from being killed by the villain Dr. Facilier. Similarly in the 2012 film Brave, Merida the young princess, not only refuses to pick a husband but later goes on to save her mother’s life when she is turned into a bear. The animation Company Studio Ghibli however has been showing young female protagonists triumphing against their problems since 1988. For example in their animated film My neighbour Totoro (1998), the protagonist a young girl called Satsuki finds and rescues her little sister after she becomes lost following an argument they had. In Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), we see a young witch struggle to live on her own in a new town, but through the story she never gives up and she keeps trying until she gets a good job, makes friends and also saves a young boys life after a blimp crashes in her town. My last example is from Spirited Away (2001), where after Chihiro’s parents are turned into pigs and she is forced to work for an evil witch. As the story progresses he gathers the courage to face the witch and get her parents turned back into humans. “Many of my movies have strong female leads- brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man ~ Hayao Miyazaki’’ (Goodreads,2017) . Studio Ghibli is often referred to as the ‘Japanese Disney’ so why when so many of Disney’s leading ladies are getting rescued by princes, are Miyasaki’s often much younger characters overcoming their problems themselves and often helping others along the way? Does Miyazaki want to show young girls how capable they can be? and what does this say about Disney’s message to young girls?  

Chapter Three ~ Disposable Mums

Nemo (Finding Nemo), Lilo (Lilo and Stitch), Ichigo Kurasaki (Bleach), Po (Kung Fu Panda), Ariel (The little Mermaid), Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club), Remy (Ratatouille), Cinderella, and Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) are some of the most well known and popular fictional characters from film, TV, anime, and literature. Even though these characters differ in age, gender, species and even universes they all share one thing in common, all of their mothers are dead. Whether it happened on or off screen a huge number of our favourite cartoon characters are motherless. Is this a coincidence, or are writers giving their characters such a huge life flaw for a reason?

The loss of a character’s mother creates a dramatic need for the protagonist. This quite simple idea is backed up by Caroly Dever, a professor of English who suggests ‘‘The unfolding of plot and personality depends on the dead-mother.’’(Dever 1998,) So are writers using this trope to make a huge change in the characters life to start their adventure? For example, after Todd from Disney’s 1981 Fox and the Hound loses his mother when she gets killed, he is taken in by the kind middle aged lady farmer Widow Tweed and his life being raised by her and being friends with Copper the Hound dog begins. If his mother had stayed alive and with him they both would have lived out their lives in the forest like normal foxes. This also seems to be the case in the 2004 anime Bleach, directed by Noriyuki Abe, in which the protagonist Ichigo Kurasaki witnesses his mothers death at the hands of a Hollow (Demon). This tragedy is the turning point in his life and inevitably leads him to be the hero of the story. If his mother had stayed with him, he wouldn’t have grown so protective of his sisters, received his powers and saved the day. He would have just stayed a normal boy and not become the hero of the story, since the dramatic purpose of the hero is such an important one, it gives a viewing point into the tale, that invited everyone viewing to be apart of it and see it through their eyes.

This trend of killing mothers began a long time ago, since the invention of stories, because the risk of dying from childbirth was so much higher back then. ‘‘Women died frequently from childbirth. Therefore, there were many single parents, although men tended to marry quickly after their wives died as in Snow White and Cinderella.’‘ (Hopes&Fears, 2015) Extracts from the Grimm’s versions of Snow White and Cinderella seem to prove this statement. From Snow White ‘‘After a year had passed the king took to himself another wife.’‘ (Grimm and Grimm, 2012). and from Cinderella ‘‘When winter came the snow spread a white sheet over the grave, and when the spring sun had drawn it off again, the man had taken another wife.’‘ (Grimm and Grimm, 2012). This taking of new wives is what lead to Snow White and Cinderella strife, having their loving mothers taken away and then replaced by evil stepmothers.

The replacing of a mother was a very common plot twist in fairy tales, and so often the replacing women were horrible villains. This caused the turning point in most fairy tale stories, but is that the only reason writers use this trope? In ‘In the use of Enchantment’ (1976), Bruno Bettelheim explains this writers tool by saying ‘‘The typical fairy-tale splitting of the mother into a good (usually dead) mother and an evil stepmother…is not only a means of preserving an internal all-good mother when the real mother is not all-good, but it also permits anger at this bad ‘step mother’ without endangering the goodwill of the true mother.’‘ (Hopes&Fears, 2015) An interpretation of this quote could be the mother is eternally good, the guardian angel watching over their child yet is unable to help. While the stepmother is someone the audience can love to hate. However, through the years the evil stepmother trope seems to be dying out. This could be because of a combination of the decrease in mother mortality rates during childbirth, the rise in divorce rates and remarriage in modern society meaning more and more modern day children have stepparents. So to reflect this change, in modern stories and animations representing everyday step mothers being evil has grown less popular.

So what are writers doing instead? It has been suggested that they are being replaced by father figures. ‘’The old fairy-tale, family-romance movies that pitted poor motherless children against horrible vengeful stepmothers are a thing of the past. Now plucky children and their plucky fathers join forces to make their way in a motherless world.’‘ (Roth, 2014) Research indicates this statement is true for many of the newer animated feature films, such as the 2002 20th Century Fox film, Ice Age. Where Manny the mammoth becomes a protective father figure to a human baby, after it’s mother dies. At first he is reluctant, but their bond grows and by the end of the film Manny is very sad to have to give his adopted child to a family of humans. Another example of a reluctant father figure and children coming together is seen in the 2010 Illumination Entertainment film, Despicable Me. In the film, super villain Gru adopts three orphaned girls in order to pull off an evil plan, but in the end they end up helping each other and became very close and happy together. The loss of the mothers seems to be making it possible for the children to build bonds with father figures. But why are writers matching kids and dad’s together? Is it because men come across as more fun, or quirkier, or could it be because it’s abit less conventional? A recent U.S Household survey showed that only 8% of homes with kids are headed by fathers, whilst 25% are headed by mothers leaving the majority of 67% being headed by married couples. (Datacenter, no date).

But what if the killing off of mothers isn’t about forcing the protagonist grow up? What if it has a more personal connection to the writer? Most of the examples of films analyzed in this essay so far where the mothers are scarce have been Disney films. Since 1937, 56 out of 104 Disney animated feature length films have primary characters with dead or missing parents or raised by a single parent. A possible reason for why so many mothers are killed off in Disney films could be connected to Walt Disney himself, as one article explains ‘‘In 1938 and riding high with the proceeds from his first big screen movie Sleeping Beauty, Walt bought his mother, Flora, and his father, Elias, a house in LA as a golden wedding anniversary present.’‘(Poulton, 2010). the article goes on to say ‘‘Days later, Flora died from asphyxiation caused by the new, poorly installed boiler.’‘ (Poulton, 2010). This extremely sad accident is why some people think so many Disney protagonists are motherless. In a 2014 interview with The Lion King producer Don Hahn said ‘‘Disney deliberately wrote off, killed off, or replaced maternal figures as a consequence of the guilt he carried about his own mothers death.’‘(Hopes&Fears, 2015)

Chapter Four ~ The Orphan

The loss of a mother can cause more than enough struggle for a character, but just as many famous protagonists are not only motherless, but fatherless too, they are orphans. The orphan trope extends over every form of entertainment; Comic books - Batman, Anime/Manga - Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket), Film - James Bond, Literature - Frodo (Lord of the rings) and Video games - Link (The Legend of Zelda). Even one of the most well know characters in the Bible was an orphan, “Moses was an orphan.”(Gillaspie and Oromaner, 2012). Evidence suggests that he is an orphan because he is deprived in every manner of a parents care. But arguably the most famous orphaned hero is Harry Potter, from the fictional Novel which has 450 million books in print world wide, and film franchise with a combined worldwide grosses worth 7.7 billion. It is no accident that Harry Potter was made an orphan by the author of the book, J.K Rowling ‘‘The child wizards adventures are premised on the death of his parents and the responsibilities that he must therefore assume.’‘ (Mullan, 2014) After his parents are murdered he is forced upon his relatives who treat him horrible. The start of Harry’s story bares similarity to Cinderella’s, (both the Grimm’s original folk tale1697 and Disney film adaptation 1950) ‘‘Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.’‘ (Rowling, 1997). This links to Cinderella being treated badly and sleeping in a fireplace. Yet Cinderella still had her father, whereas Harry had neither parents and they are both treated badly. Harry’s parent’s, Lily and James Potter, can do absolutely nothing to help their son, leaving the audience pitting the whole Potter family, unlike Cinderella’s father, who is hardly mentioned in the Fairy-tale, is alive, but does nothing to aid her daughter.

Differing from the idea of loosing the mother causing emotional struggle and leading to a shift in their family dynamics., losing both parents can mean the protagonist gains a lot of freedom. ‘‘They don’t need an excuse to go on wold adventures or stay away for days on end.’‘ (Conveniently an orphan, no date). because there’s no-one at home to miss them. The lack of parental advisory allows the protagonist to take on their new adventures and responsibilities and become a hero. In the gaming franchise of The legend of Zelda there is never a single mention of where Link, the young protagonists, parent are. However, I don’t have an exact age for the character, he is often referred to as a ‘kid’ and a ‘child’ by the other in game characters. The lack of adult supervision allows Link to Battles monsters, collect treasures and be the hero of the game.

For some protagonists, rather than their parents never being mentioned or seen in a story, leaving a clean and easy means for them to have their adventures and let the story unravel, some writers include the parents but have them dramatically killed off early in the story. Batman is an obvious example of this, the young Bruce Wayne witnesses his parents gruesome murder when he is a child (8 or 10 years old, depending on the writer). But this tragic event is the turning point in his story, which leads him to later become the caped crusader Batman, who through avenges his parents deaths and also fights villainy and evil throughout Gotham City. But evidence suggests some writers don’t just kill of parents to give the child freedom, or a means to avenge, but instead because to the young audience loosing their parents is a terrifying concept and that a absent family structure ’’Plays on the primal fears’’ (Hopes&Fears, 2015). of having no-one to nurture and protect them. It seems unlikely that writers do this so the audience can relate to the orphaned characters since as of April 2016 the recorded amount of orphaned children in the United States was only 120,000, (Fill-a-heart-4-kids, no date). which is a large number, but not compared to the number of children who are not orphans.

Chapter Five ~ New Struggles

In some of the more recent animated films (2010+) writers have been giving their protagonists struggles that could be seen as relating more to the modern world and modern children’s lives. Often also subtly showing child and parent viewers how they can deal with such struggles themselves. The three main topics of struggle discussed in this chapter are Loss, Prejudice and emotion. Firstly, one of the primary themes in the 2014 animated feature film Big Hero 6, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams is loss. Hiro Hamada (the protagonist) lives with his older brother aunt aunt, since his parents died and made them both orphans. Himself and his older brother Tadashi both have talents in making robots, whilst the older brother attends university studying it, the younger makes robots to fight illegally. The turning point in the story is when Tadashi dies dramatically in an explosion, leaving Hiro with no immediate family still alive. Hiro spirals into despair and depression, leaving him neglecting his studies, refusing to eat and ignoring his friends ‘’No, don’t push us away Hiro, we’re here for you.’’ (Big Hero 6, 2014). one of his friends pleads, in the film. The audience see’s Hiro in his worst emotional state here.

Hiro’s salvation comes in the form of a medical assistant robot Baymax, who was built by his late brother, Tadashi. Baymax tries to treat the boy’s depression by making him acknowledge his friends and giving him comforting hugs. Showing children the level of depression he reaches is important, because it later when he comes to terms with his loss shows the viewer that there is always hope of things becoming better. The robot manages to get Hiro out of his room and his mental state seems to get better. This is when the film displays another stage of loss, anger. This is mostly displayed by the villain of the film Robert Callaghan, a professor at the university Tadashi studied at, when Callaghan’s daughter is supposedly killed in an experiment that goes wrong, the professor seeks revenge against those who were responsible. His anger takes him over and turns him from a nice, good natured man into the vengeful villain of the film. Hiro tries to relate to the man in an attempt to defuse his anger, ‘‘This won’t change anything, trust me. I know.’‘ (Big Hero 6, 2014) The boy tries to explain to the man than getting revenge won’t bring his daughter back. This shows the audience that being angry is a stage of grief, but it is a stage that needs to be pushed past in order to accept the loss underneath anger is pain. One of the most important lessons from the film is showing children the right and wrong way of dealing with loss. Hiro, although struggling at first manages to deal with his grief healthily, we see him at the end of the film in the cafe with his friends laughing, hugging and talking to his aunt and attending his university. Whereas Professor Callaghan’s obsession with revenge results in him ruining his own life and career.

The 2016 animated film Zootopia, directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, has a very different topic of struggle for children and adults alike to learn from, Prejudice. Prejudice is a negative attitude about someone held on the basis of cognitive constructs called stereotypes. Zootopia is set in a world of all animal, run by and made for animal. It includes prey and predator animals, with prey animals outnumber predators ten-to-one, just like in the real world. In earlier versions of the film the division between predators and prey was huge, Predators were made to wear collars to prevent their aggression. This was however changed because director Rich Moore though ‘‘it made their world too negative.’‘ (Julius, 2016). So the concept changed to show a more of a subtle underlying bias for most of the film. The story starts with all of the animals living in harmony to ‘‘show how bias and prejudice can so easily divide a culture.’‘ (PasteMedia, 2016)

The film shows prejudice through the two main characters of the film. Firstly, through Judy Hopps, a small fluffy bunny rabbit and the heroine of the story. From a young age she wanted to be the first rabbit police woman, but was frequently mocked by other children and her own parents tried to convince her out of it, possibly trying to save her from the hardship and ridicule. Other animals assume that she isn���t suitable for the job and instead should be a carrot farmer, ‘‘You’re from bunny burrow…so how about a carrot farmer?’‘ (Zootopia, 2016) she is told this when she first arrives in zootopia. Judy struggles a lot trying to prove herself as a police woman too, she is called names like ‘‘fluffy butt’‘ and ‘’dumb bunny.’’ (Zootopia, 2016). when she fails and even after she proves herself has to insist to her new boss that she is not a ‘‘not just some token bunny.’‘ (Zootopia, 2016). It is important for the viewer to see her struggle to prove herself when everyone is doubting her, because she persists and eventually proves herself worthy, despite others criticism.

The other character who is seen having to fight against their prejudice, is Judy’s companion Nick Wilde, who everyone assumes is a sly fox. The foxes attitude to other animals changed drastically when as a child he was muzzled by children he thought were his friends because he was a predator ‘‘You thought we could ever trust a fox without a muzzle? You’re even dumber than you look!’’(Zootopia, 2016). This makes Nick have a bitter attitude to other animals, and leads him to accept that they see him as a sly trickster, so he becomes a con man, to fit their stereotype ‘‘if the world’s only going to see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there’s no point in being anything else.’‘ (Zootopia, 2016). However Judy and Nick become friends and help each other not just to save zootopia, but to help each other overcome their struggles with prejudice through empathy. This is an important message for the audience, Zootopia shows that underlying prejudice can lead to racism, so it is important to overcome prejudice, one of the last messages in the film expresses this when Judy says ‘‘the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be.’‘ (Zootopia, 2016).

The last film explored in this essay is the 2015 film Inside Out, directed by Pete Docter, which discusses the topic of emotions and asks the question ‘‘is it OK to not be OK all of the time?’‘(Poehler, 2015). The film takes you inside the brain of Riley, a young girl, in her head are her 5 main emotions, Joy, fear, anger, disgust and sadness. In the beginning of the film it shows Joy leading and helping Riley through her life, making the girl as happy as possible. But after a life changing move, Joy starts to struggle to keep the girl constantly happy. Emotion researcher June Gruber found that ‘‘making happiness an explicit goal in life can actually make us miserable.’‘ (Marsh and Zakrzewski, 2015). this idea is explored in the film, showing children and parents that it isn’t healthy to ignore all the other emotions. In one moment of the film, sadness is trying to be more involved with controlling Riley, Joy tries to prevent this by instructing sadness to stay inside a chalk drawn ‘circle of sadness’. Many experts would call this ‘emotional suppression’. Ignoring sadness intervention later causes Riley’s emotional state to get a lot worse, as she cannot feel joy or sadness.

An important moment in the film comes when the girls imaginary friend Bing Bong is crying after he looses the wagon him and Riley used to play in. Joy tries to be positive, but it is the empathy that sadness shows him that helps him overcome his grief. In the pivitol moment of the film, when Riley is finally able to feel sadness again, she goes to her parents for help, rather than following through her plan of running away. Being reunited with her family gives her mixed emotions of sadness and joy, displaying the films deeper message of without sadness you cannot be happy and visa versa. This is why the writers of inside out didn’t call ‘Joy’ ‘Happiness’ because joy alone cannot always make a person happy. The film explains that the struggles that come with emotions are necessary and that ‘‘Life isn’t as simple as ‘Happy’ or ‘Sad’, emotions are a lot more complicated than that.’‘ (Marsh and Zakrzewski, 2015).