#but only implied b/c of this fandom . . .

[proship-pokespe]

i think i saw you make blinkies at some point, could you make a "this user is pro Chosenshipping" and a "this user is pro Grantedshipping" or something like that?

ha ha srry , i kinda ghosted the blog didn ' t i ?

[sapphic-agent]

lmaooo not bryke themselves saying katara loves aang like a babysitter or little brother. it's so obvious in the show that katara views aang like that most of the time.

that's why aang gets so offended when it gets referenced by the ember island players and katara is confused about starting a romantic relationship with aang in the same episode. yet the fandom wants to act like you're insane if you think katara mothered aang and they had a sibling dynamic for most of the series. they really just act like you pulled it out of your ass even though both the text and authorial intent are there.

meanwhile they continuously insist "zutara is siblings coded" when there's nothing in the series to imply that view and bryke have never described their relationship like that. plus, bryke having being so salty towards zutara's popularity means we never will get to see zuko and katara have meaningful interactions in the franchise ever again anyway.

it's so frustrating how katara becoming a couple with aang came at the cost of destroying her relationships with jet, haru, and zuko. basically any guy around her age that wasn't her brother would be sabotaged (with jet suffering it the worst) because they would all be deemed "threats" to kataang.

LMAO I STILL FIND IT FUNNY😭

Bryke defenders get pissy when you point out that them being cis straight white men in the 2000s would obviously correlate to the show's flaws. But this is literally one of the reasons why. No woman wants to be in a relationship with someone she takes care of and views like a little brother. They said this while trying to defend Kataang. I'd almost feel bad if every Kataang shipper I met wasn't exceedingly obnoxious.

Some of them even try to compare her relationship with Aang to her relationship with Sokka. But they're completely missing that a) she grew up with Sokka, b) Sokka treated her like crap while Aang was sweet, and c) Aang was in great emotional pain so of course she was nicer to him.

I don't mind thinking of Zutara as sibling-like, unless you're only doing that to shut down Zutara. I love their platonic relationship, it's one of my favorites in the show.

I will always be mad about Haru, but I'll always be even more livid about Jet. The way Bryke treated him was gross. Especially when Aang threw his name out to shut down Katara's feelings despite the fact that he died helping them. Aang deserves more shit for this idc

[aroaceleovaldez]

i personally think the fandom should do more with the fact that Frank does not only have heritage from two gods - he actually has heritage from three.

He's directly the son of Mars, but his demigod ancestor Periclymenus is not just the grandson of Poseidon. Periclymenus is also the son of the goddess Chloris.

not to mention, all three of those deities actually have associations with plants - Mars has agricultural aspects, as he had elements of representing ideal Roman life. Chloris is sometimes just generally a nymph and a goddess of spring and flowers. And Poseidon has a specific epithet of "the nurturer" specifying his role in watering plants and contributing to agriculture, particularly near the sea.

a.) that's a really interesting common thread for all Frank's divine ancestors to have given his life is tied to a piece of wood, b.) him having three divine ancestors makes way more sense as to why the gods had to nerf him, c.) just in general the irony of Frank's life being tied to firewood when Percy explicitly has resistance to burning as a descendant of Poseidon and Ares kids in general are just heavily implied to be tanky as fuck. and if we tie Chloris into that, something something you know how some plants need fire in order to grow. that. it's a metaphor.

anyways Frank should get cool abilities from Chloris too thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

[pilferingapples]

I was just reading the "Enjolras and his lieutenants" chapter and I noticed that Enjolras used the informal you for both Courfeyrac and Jehan, but not for Feuilly. Would you happen to know the historical/language reasons as to why that is? I thought it may be because both are students and where I'm from, students use the informal you, even if they don't know each other. But Bossuet addressed Marius with the formal you when they first met, so I'm not sure if that really is the reason for that. Does it mean that canonically, they aren't as close as Enjolras is with the others or could there be another reason for it? Also, do you know why he still only adresses them by their last names, even though he's using the informal you?

Nonny you are asking me about one of the Great Questions of the Novel: what the heck is going on with Feuilly and the t/v distinctions?

I am not going to dive into the weeds of standard t/v use,but --along with all the usual applications, in canon era and especially the kind of social circles that Hugo knew best and is setting up for the Amis, " tu" seems to have been common for young men to use together (a) with friends from childhood (b) among certain groups of Romantics , Because Romantic Friendship (c) particularly relevant here , among certain republican groups, because of the implied equality of everyone using it. Cosette will reference this use later:

And obviously all of this only makes Enjolras vous-ing Feuilly weirder!

And complicating the theorizing, Enjolras does use Tu for Feuilly later on, during his big barricade speech:

 Écoute-moi, toi Feuilly, vaillant ouvrier, homme du peuple, hommes des peuples. Je te vénère.

I have no solid answer, only theories! Theory 1: Feuilly is, somehow, fairly new to the group in Lieutenants. Counterargument: then why is he already one of the Lieutenants? And in what seems to be a particularly Secret secret meeting with ONLY the Lieutenants in attendance?

Theory 2: Maybe Feuilly's much older than we generally estimate , enough to make the Tu seem less automatic? The later use of tu at the barricades seems to argue against that, but maybe that's a special " we're all fighting and about to die" level of intimacy, since Tu does seem to be in general use there? Counterargument: hugo refers to them all being Young so very, very often, and ok that seems to include Up To Maybe 35, but still. Feuilly's part of their age cohort by all other signs.

Theory 3, Not Very Satisfying but Realistic: Hugo's bein' weird. Hugo personally used Vous for almost everyone, unless they were either direct family or , to be blunt, someone he was having an affair with. He definitely used Vous in friendships most anyone else would have considered a definite Tu situation. Maybe Hugo had an idea about it that he didn't flesh out; maybe he just wrote that and didn't catch it in edits; maybe his handwriting there was just really especially awful and whoever did the Clean Copy that day * didn't transcribe it right and no one later down the line saw it as a typo. Mundane, unrelated to the narrative reasons.

Counterargument: none ,really, except it's kinda boring.:P

Theory X (silly fandom only theory) : Enjolras and Feuilly are trying to act like they are on more formal terms , for shenanigans reasons. Maybe they're working on their Cover for a Secret Mission. Maybe they're trying to hide the fact they've started dating.

As for the Last Name thing, it's just how some people , especially men, are? I don't know that it really needs more explanation, but by all means tell me if you've got a theory! Personally I've always liked " Everyone is named Jean (so they default to last names) XD

usually, but not always, Juliette Drouet

[emmitaaa4]

Hey so i just think its funny how every elriel i've talked to has said they'd read elain's story no matter what: we're pretty fking sure she'll end up with shadow man, but if sjm decides to give her fire man instead we'll indulge it and see if she can convince us.

The funny part is that in all my years I've literally almost never seen people on the other side reciprocate that sentiment. People feel very strongly against elriel, and theres nothing wrong with that! but it makes you think.

musings below the cut

For gwynriels primarly invested in Gwyn's story--makes sense. I get it. I personally wouldnt jump on a gwynriel book should it ever exist: in fact if the next book isn't elain's im abandoning the series.

not bc i dont care about Az, but bc: A) i wouldnt care about him if it turns out he is a flaky guy who thinks of elain as a sexual object he is entitled to, B) a gwynriel book being next completely disregards the narrative importance of elain's choice & story which makes it C) extremely poor writing in an already mediocre series. oh and D) gwynriel's "storyline" (where) is so boring to me.

For gwynriels primarly invested in Az's story...perso i dont see why they wouldn't give it a shot, but fine.

Eluciens? Most of them seem to believe that the only way we'd ever get lucien's story is through elain, that elriel implies an eternity of heartbreak for him, and that sjm loves him too much to not let him have his mate... again, perfectly fine.

(but then they call fellow lucien enjoyers like myself stupid for thinking he is too important not to have a PoV and would have his story told in his own book. sigh.) also sidenote but WHO knew yrene would have a book until it happened, huh? and now u have vassa given more narrative importance than any side character AND connected to every retelling sjm wants to write... but no we dont know her enough for her to have a PoV. the irony.

In this equation I'm just wondering... Where are all the folks primarily invested in Elain's story?

whereee?? i know you exist but theres so few of you.

where.

im aware im making generalizations. they're based in my years quietly observing the fandom on all sides and withstanding a shit ton of "elriel is a lesser love cause mates mean everything" and "baby lulu deserves his HEA that can only come with elain" and "eplain has to be evil she cant be with Az shes too weak & boring".

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

My problem with Sallie May—a discussion of representation:

There’s been some discourse around Sallie May lately that’s gotten me thinking more about her. Not really as a character, but what her purpose is in the narrative and how she’s treated by the fandom and the show’s creators.

Sallie May is an interesting case study in representation without depth, and I wanted to talk a little more about what that means.

OPINION DISCLAIMER—I’m gonna be talking about how I personally view lgbtq+ and queer representation and what I consider to be well-rounded representation vs. empty or shallow representation.

Also. I am only one member of the queer community—I don’t speak for all lgbtq+ people, and I am DEFINITELY NOT trying to talk over other’s experiences. My opinions are my own, and if you agree with me, cool! And if you don’t agree with me, that’s great too!!

Also also. I don’t think I should have to say this but, this is NOT a personal attack on ANYONE involved w/i the production and creation of Helluva Boss. This is my own analysis, b/c I like to talk about media and the ways we interact with and interpret it.

So, with all of that out of the way, if you’re interested in my analysis, let’s talk about Sallie May!! (TLDR @ end of post)

First do want to make it clear that my issue is not actually with her like…existing. Or with her general characterization. Mostly because, even with Hell’s Belles, she still doesn’t really have a very strong characterization to begin with, and isn’t a fully-fleshed out character.

In her initial appearance she was a bit-character, bordering on just being a straight up background character. She had three lines in her debut (and to date, ONLY) appearance in the show proper.

Until Hell’s Belles we knew next to nothing about her other than that she likes violence and also that she has a neighborhood body count? Which. I don’t know if they were trying to imply that she’s a serial killer, I doubt that was the intent. Or maybe they were. I can’t know.

Regardless, I honestly believe they didn’t really think the implications of that writing decision through at all. There’s a very real and very harmful “trans serial killer/murderer” trope in media, and while the impact is definitely lessened by the vast majority of HB characters being violent murderers—it still feels weird having the only trans character we’ve seen at this point be literally INTRODUCED to the audience by the fact that she’s a murderer, and to then be given NO further information on her.

Luckily, we DID get more information about Sallie, even if it was still very little and surface level. In Hell’s Belles we learn that Sallie May and Millie used to be a lot closer, and that Sallie May felt left behind when Millie moved to the big city.

In the short, Sallie May expresses her frustration with having to pick up the slack around their family’s ranch, and that she’s been lonely without Millie there. Millie and Sally have a little heart to heart and are able to make up, and the short ends.

This is a nice little piece of backstory, and does give us slightly more insight into Sallie May and what her life is like, but because the episode is a short, we still really don’t get to know her as a person.

Like Millie, Sallie May doesn’t have any real depth. We only know starter information about her, like that she cares about her family, and that she’s violent.

But unlike Millie, Sallie May is a minor character. She has (at the time of my writing this) appeared in ONE episode of the actual show, and one short. She is a minor character, and the ONLY transgender character in the show with a name and lines.

So. Okay. Why does literally any of that matter??? Who cares if Sallie May is an under-developed minor background character??

Well, in my opinion, it matters because the show-runners frame and treat Sallie May as if she is a main character, without actually writing her—or any trans character for that matter—as a main character.

This really rubs me the wrong way, because it comes across as tokenism.

In my opinion since she was introduced, Sallie May has become a token transgender character—an excuse for the HB writers to not write or develop more transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse characters and stories, because they already have one.

I worry that, if anyone rightfully points out that HB is severely lacking in gender-diverse characters and storylines, the creators and fandom will point to Sallie May as “proof” that they do have representation.

If HB is as radically queer and LGBTQ+ friendly as it claims to be, why do we only have ONE named trans character in the show’s 5 years of existence?

Due to all of the above, I find I can’t agree with people who praise the show for its representation, because of how stunted it is. I just don’t think I, or anyone, should have to read sources outside of the narrative to learn important parts of a character’s identity.

I feel this very deeply as a lesbian and nonbinary person—I understand that most of the women characters in Helluva Boss are sapphic, but I ONLY know that because of the HB Pride Print that came out just this year. I have not actually gotten to SEE any of these character’s sexualities fully represented, and it’s because of this that I struggle to see myself represented in HB in any way.

I do need to clarify that what I am NOT SAYING is that no one can feel represented by Sallie May, or that if they do, they’ve been tricked somehow by writers into thinking they got more representation than they actually did.

Sallie May is a very popular character, and because of that I honestly would like to see more of her. I want to see more of her because she’s the only trans character on the show, and I want her to be properly developed.

I talked previously about how I enjoyed Hell’s Belles, but wished we had gotten to see more of Sallie and Millie’s relationship in the actual show. Their relationship has a lot of potential to show the unique ways in which siblings interact and navigate conflict, but we only got to see a few seconds of them interacting in Sallie’s debut. The short gives us an idea of what Sallie’s personality is like, but it’s so brief that I still don’t feel like we really KNOW her on a deeper level.

To me, three lines + one short with a brief backstory doesn’t feel like the sort of amazing representation that fans of the show laud Helluva Boss for.

As a series that often boasts about its queer and trans rep and inclusivity, I can’t help but feel like Sallie May should either have been a main character from the very beginning, or that she shouldn’t have been trotted out like some sort of bastion of trans representation, when the only indication she is trans is her horns/white roots.

And yes. As a genderqueer gay I KNOW that it can be extremely tiring to have all of our stories revolve around our struggles and ONLY be about being LGBTQ+. I also want to see a variety of stories about queer people like me going on adventures and getting to do things that don’t revolve around our struggles. But I also want to still actually see myself represented.

Not just know outside the story that, “oh that character is nonbinary, but it will not be mentioned in the narrative in any way and will not ever be important in the context of this character I’m supposed to see myself in.”

Madeline Maye talked about this specifically in her critique of Helluva Boss, and her pointing this out was kind of what made me realize that, yeah. Anyone watching Helluva Boss for the first time would probably have NO IDEA that Sallie Mae is a transgender woman.

It also made me realize that the only reason I knew that Sallie May was trans was because her VA, Morgana Ignis, who is also a trans woman, tweeted about it, and the official Helluva Boss Twitter retweeted it.

The original tweet is hidden now (Ignis has since left Twitter—idk why, I genuinely hope it wasn’t due to harassment—that’s never okay) but I was able to confirm that this was the case based on the HB wiki, and the official HB’s retweet still being up:

The only confirmation we’ve ever had that Sallie May is transgender has been outside of the show—either from social media Q&As and the show’s wiki or merch—

Sallie May has a LOT of merch. Like a lot, this isn’t even all of it. And yes, SOME of the merch is from the recently released “Hell’s Belles” short, but the vast majority of it is from the 3 years since her initial introduction.

The vast majority of it is also highly sexualized, and highlights Sallie’s penis through her swimsuit. Now, I’m aware that Morgana Ignis requested this, and I honestly don’t have too much of an opinion on it. I’m not a trans woman, and I’ve seen multiple opinions from trans women on this design choice for Sally’s merch. I’ve seen some trans women say that they liked and felt represented by this choice, and some say that they felt objectified and that it made them dysphoric. This is one of those situations where I don’t think everyone can be pleased—like I said at the beginning of this post, LGBTQ+ people are as diverse in their opinions as we are in our identities and self-expression, and I think everyone’s feelings regarding Sallie’s portrayals in the merch are valid.

I bring it up because, other than the wiki explaining that Sallie May has “male horns”, this is the only other way to confirm that Sally is trans, as it is never acknowledged in the story. I bring it up because I don’t think merch should be the only way an LGBTQ character’s identity is validated.

I assume that all of Sallie Mae’s merch is because of her popularity, but I also can’t help but wonder if this has contributed to the impression that Sallie is a main character, when, in the narrative so far, she is still a minor one.

I don’t believe that when she was originally created to be a “token trans” character, but since her introduction, there have not been any main characters that are transgender, nonbinary, or genderqueer.

We’ve only had one other trans character with a speaking role—this imp:

Who is FTM. He seems to know Blitz from a while back, and talks Blitz into staying at the party. Then he watches him drunkenly make out with random people with another (I assume) trans imp who is probably MTF:

(Also—as an aside, this scene kinda bothers me?? I don’t THINK this was the intention at all, but having a VERY CLEARLY drunk off of his ass Blitz, who can’t meaningfully consent at this time, being watched, and almost like…leered at by two of the only visibly trans characters in the show…it feels gross. Like why are two of the only other confirmed trans characters voyeuristically watching a drunk man who can’t consent making out? It would be one thing if we had a story full of different trans characters who acted in all sorts of different ways, but at this time these two are 2/3rds of the show’s ENTIRE trans rep. With the other 1/3rd being introduced to us as a serial killer. Like. Guys. What is it that you’re trying to say?)

Apparently Sallie May’s VA has stated the below on Social Media, and stated that there’s a lot more coming for Sallie May in the future. And that’s great!!! I really really want to believe that.

But I look at the above and can’t help but wonder…if this is the case, why did it take three years for her to get another appearance? In just a short? Why wasn’t she given more focus and importance from the very beginning, in her introductory episode? If her original appearance wasn’t representative of her and Millie’s relationship then why did they even write it that way???

I want to believe all of the above—that Sallie May actually WILL get to become a main character. But I look at the way she’s been barely portrayed, and the way that she’s basically been used to just sell merch, and it makes me sad.

I would love to see more of her, more of any trans characters that aren’t 2 second background characters, but I honestly have a hard time believing we ever will when the episodes take as long as the do to come out, and the when the episodes focus so heavily on shipping pre-existing pairings.

As a lesbian, I would love to see Sallie May get a girlfriend, but given Spindlehorse’s track record with lackluster sapphic pairings and representation, I don’t have much hope of seeing that either.

I just. If you managed to get all the way through this heinously long post, thank you for reading. If you didn’t, that’s very fair (lol) and I’ve got the tldr for you here—

TLDR:

—My issue with Sallie May is not actually with Sallie May at all. It’s with the fact that we don’t get enough of Sallie May, or any trans characters, for that matter.

—You can, of course, feel represented by any character, but I think it’s important to ask yourself how you are being represented, and if you are actually being represented.

—Not every queer/trans/lgbt story has to explicitly be about being queer. The stories in which we are represented should be as diverse and vibrant as all the members of our community. But, I still want to actually be able to tell and to see that the characters are lgbtq+. If a character is a lesbian or sapphic, I want to see her show an interest in other women. If a character is transgender I want to see that acknowledged by the narrative, whether it’s the character mentioning their transition or just saying they’re trans. I want to SEE myself and other queer identities. Not just know that they’re there.

[the-somwthing]

Okay WHO IS READY FOR MY RANT ABOUT HOW GRIAN “CHEATING” ON SCAR WAS (mostly) GOOD ACTUALLY AND SCAR WAS (mostly) THE TOXIC ONE IN THAT SITUATION

Disclaimers: this is about the characters, does not reflect how I see the CCs at all. I will also be talking negatively about the characters (mostly scar), this doesn’t mean I dislike the characters, in fact c!Scar is one of my absolute favorites and I will defend him till my last breath but NOT RIGHT NOW because I realized that everyone else in the fandom has been defending DL!Scar for the WRONG REASONS and it drives me crazy cuz while I defend even his DL actions there are some that I cannot! And it is the actions that the rest of the fandom thinks are okay!!

Okay, first of all no offense to everyone but HOW am I the only person who sees this 😭 I’m a Scar main through and through you literally just have to ACTUALLY WATCH SCAR’S POV to see how mischaracterized he is in DL fan content.

So where do I start? How about from the beginning of this whole mess: finding your soulmate.

Everyone always points out how devastated Grian was at finding out his soulmate was Scar. Oh, poor Scar, his soulmate doesn’t like him back… ARE WE IGNORING THE FACT THAT SCAR DIDN’T EVEN CARE?? And I don’t mean “he’s acting like he doesn’t care what Grian thinks” I MEAN HE NEVER TRIED TO FIND HIS SOULMATE.

I’m a Scar main as I said, I always watch Scar first. When DL came out, I was actually CONFUSED about the gimmick before watching other episodes BECAUSE SCAR CARED SO LITTLE ABOUT IT. His title and thumbnail was LITERALLY about him and the Jellies being soulmates. I thought “are they connected to mobs?” After watching the episode, by the end of it (at latest) you find out that Scar and Grian are soulmates. I was like “… okay…? Does this matter?” Cuz Scar didn’t act like it mattered. I was convinced that soulmates changed per session because of how little Scar cared. But no, that’s his reaction to finding HIS ACTUAL SOULMATE.

Desert Duo was what Divorce Quartet would’ve been like if they decided to stick together anyways. Actually, not even. It’s what they THINK they would’ve been if they decided to stick together anyways. I think if they stuck together they would’ve been a great team and forgot about the whole nether mess. But DESERT DUO was NOT. Desert Duo was a bigger mess than Divorce Quartet could’ve dreamed of, the divorcees are only winning the toxic competition because they’re actually TRYING to.

Do people forget that Scar was the one who got Pearl into “soulmate torture”? No, they don’t forget, well some do, but others just think Scar was justified. Why? Cuz Grian “cheated” on him? Do we forget that he theoretically only knows that much later in the series? Like bro.

ACTUALLY, THAT’S A GOOD TOPIC TO BRING UP RIGHT NOW. The cheating. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “cheating” implies that they were TOGETHER. And yes, I AM being lenient with this one, I don’t need them to say they’re in love to be together cuz I get that’s not the point. But how was desert duo’s relationship established? With Grian begrudgingly trying to work with Scar and Scar completely brushing him off.

Like, don’t get me wrong, Grian was mean to Scar. He didn’t put much respect on his name, he BARELY let Scar keep the pandas, and didn’t trust him AT ALL. I think that was wrong of Grian! But then on Scar’s end, he doesn’t care because he’s not TRYING to please Grian. He spends the entire series trying to do his own things and Grian is more of an obstacle than a partner. (To which I think SLAY!!! He’s the REAL “I don’t need a soulmate” character. How people forget that he always declared the Jellies as his true soulmate is beyond me. Oh, right, cuz they purposely pretend he said it AFTER Grian was bad to fit their narrative better.)

So what I’m trying to say here is, THEIR PARTNERSHIP IS NOTHING. Grian is the only one TRYING to maintain a relationship (he’s doing a bad job but he IS trying). So WHY in the WORLD would it be considered CHEATING when the ONE GUY PUTTING EFFORT INTO A RELATIONSHIP is the one who quits and finds a new partner?

The thing I will call Grian a bad person for in the “cheating” scenario is trying to make BIGB a cheater. GRIAN wasn’t cheating, but he was IN HIS OWN WORDS, TRYING TO “STEAL REN’S MAN”. Bro was in it to cause PROBLEMS. Now, I’m a biggri lover okay, I am NOT team “Grian was only using BigB to start drama”. He literally said he was heartbroken when he found out BigB wasn’t his soulmate, the signs he liked him before being stuck with Scar were THERE. I just think Grian felt it would be more fun if there was drama. It’s in his nature. I believe he picked BigB because he genuinely liked him.

Now let’s take a look at what we have:

Grian tries to find his soulmate while Scar doesn’t have an OUNCE of care for the concept of soulmates.

Grian tries to form some sort of partnership, he and Scar’s ideas clash, they aren’t getting along.

Grian is stuck with a soulmate that doesn’t even call him that, who also tortures him just for the lolz. So he gets himself a man who will actually be his soulmate.

I don’t see anything especially wrong with this scenario (other than of course Grian “stealing” BigB lol). Sometimes two people don’t get along, and that’s okay! Grian’s got a new man, why would Scar care when he never cared what Grian was up to before…

WHAT DO YOU MEAN SCAR IS JEALOUS

Now I should probably address that Grian was keeping BigB secret from Scar, which adds to it seeming like cheating. Well first of all he knows that no matter what he IS stuck with Scar so he can’t ruin that, and also AS WE SEE Scar is MAD about this relationship so he had to keep it secret, and also as mentioned Scar NEVER REALLY CARED WHAT GRIAN WAS UP TO!!! So why should he tell him??? Yeah okay it’s not COMPLETELY good but I haven’t been trying to say Grian was perfectly innocent I’m just trying to say Scar is worse.

LIKE RIGHT HERE. WHY IS HE JEALOUS. WHY IS HE MAD AT GRIAN. TOXIC EX ALERT!!! ACTS LIKE HE DOESNT CARE ABOUT YOU, AS SOON AS YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT YOU HE SAYS “why are you hanging out with someone else”

“Secret soulmate 🙄 I’m your REAL soulmate binch” YOU HAVE BEEN CALLING THE JELLIES YOUR REAL SOULMATE THIS ENTIRE TIME WHY IS GRIAN NOT ALLOWED TO GET HIS OWN REAL SOULMATE???

It just drives me crazy. WHAT AN ENTITLED LITTLE BINCH. Doesn’t care what Grian does AS LONG AS he’s mine. I’ll never say I want him but if he belongs to someone else I’m mad (aligns with his other seasons a bit actually but this is the worst of it). Ignores him, acts like he doesn’t need him, doesn’t want him, but if Grian actually accepts that and moves on? Oh, he’s messed up. I don’t need you, but you better need me.

IT’S SO BACKWARDS AND TOXIC!!! I LOVE IT CUZ IT MAKES ME SO SICK!!! But nobody else in the fandom can seem to see it 😭 it’s all “oh poor Scar he just found out his beloved soulmate is cheating on him 😢�� ARE WE WATCHING THE SAME DOUBLE LIFE OH MY GOD?????

It just feels like a huge disservice to Scar to pretend he was focused on Grian the whole time. I LOVED watching him ignore his soulmate and do his own plans!!! I LOVED watching him do his little sanctuary and enchanter things!!! But all fan content of DL!Scar ignores that in favor of “he tried to get Grian to love him and cried when he didn’t 😭” NO TF HE DID NOT!!!!!!!!! HE SLAYED AND TOOK THE ENCHANTER!!!!!!!!! When Grian cheated on him he went ALPHA TOXIC BOYFRIEND MODE not SAD BABY BOY MODE!!!!!!!

I keep saying he didn’t care about Grian, but you can tell he sort of did. You can see him enjoy the things Grian does, see him happy when they do things together… but it’s a rather small thing compared to everything else he has going on. On the surface, he doesn’t care about Grian. But he does. But I’m not saying it’s necessarily as pure as fans make it out to be. He’s possessive of him, which actually makes some sense considering their relationship was originally founded on Grian’s life belonging to Scar.

I could also get arguments that he DID really care about Grian the whole time, he’s just REALLY FREAKING BAD at showing it. That seems consistent with his character, not really being able to show how much he cares. But like, in the case of DL he would be SO bad at showing it that Grian better GTFO lmao.

But like, he mostly starts getting along with Grian better after Grian KILLS BIGB 😭. Probably because now Grian is truly only his and has finally realized that 😁😁😁 YOU SICK ZOOKEEPER

I love toxic Scarian. Don’t get me wrong I love the more wholesome Scarian as well. I get the urge to make DL be “Grian messing with Scar” cuz like trust me I love Grian being the toxic one too. But MAN that is just NOT what happened

I really wonder if Grian chose someone other than BigB. Say Mumbo was in the series and he chose him as his secret soulmate. Would there be more people saying “Scar should’ve listened to Grian now he’s found a better man 🤪”??? It almost feels like this MAJOR mischaracterization is a result of a very popular ship (scarian) getting ruined by a character that isn’t so popular (BigB) and leading to people MAKING STUFF UP to make the new ship (biggri) look bad and the OTP (scarian) look good. Like I already said this mischaracterization felt like a disservice to Scar but at this point it feels like it’s a disservice to BigB, acting like he’s just a prop for scarian, like he doesn’t deserve Grian, Grian should be with the white guy instead 😭😭😭 SHUT UP BIGGRI IS 🔛🔝

Anyways this was a huge mess. Sorry guys. If anyone wants to talk about this whole thing with me more in depth I have more to say about the implications ITS SO ANGSTY 😭 but I just wanted to get the basics out of the way cuz NOBODY EVEN HAS THE BASICS BRO. LIKE HOW DID DL GET SO MISCONSTRUED 😭😭😭

And remember I am a lover not a hater, if you were the biggest biggri hater and biggest scarian lover and always said scar was a poor innocent baby I still love you. Or at least I’m not out to get you lmao.

Also to reiterate I stand with Scar’s decision to go “EFF GRIAN” like he didn’t actually want you anyways slay king do ur own thang. But like. Don’t get mad when he moves on bro ur looking soo entitled right now 😭😭😭 you deserve better anyways king keep your chin up!!!!!!!!! Scar Main For Life (scarred for life)

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

If Aegon//Helaena has one hater that is Harry Collett. He's so real for this! In a couple of days he has called the pairing abusive, he said that he and his character feel sorry for Helaena being with Aegon and has said that Jace x Baela love each other and aren't forced to be together like Aegon//Helaena.

And honestly? He's right and he should say it!

I know that Aegon has more fans than Helaena so it's rarely addressed in the fandom but she really deserved better than to marry her older, rapist brother. Poor girl :///

Now for my fellow Jace x Baela fans:

Have you noticed the anti parallels between them and Aegon//Helaena?

Both couples are arranged by their parents and it's among close relatives(siblings and step-siblings/cousins).

However, while Jace and Baela always had a soft spot for each other ( like when they held hands as kids) the same can't be said for Aegon and Helaena ( remember the scene where Aegon complained that he had to marry her one day bc he found her weird).

According to the actors portraying Jace and Baela, in season 2 their mutual grief and the upcoming war will bring them closer as they will trust and be there for each other.

Meanwhile, the actors portraying Aegon and Helaena said that even when they have common grief ( aka implying post B&C incident) they can't find comfort in each other. And that's sad bc they aren't only spouses but siblings as well.

I find the anti parallels between these two arranged marriages/betrothals very interesting.

[lokigodofaces]

Since I've been seeing more and more anti-Wanda stuff lately, I thought I'd write something out and express my thoughts in a low-key venty manner.

I really don't trust the vast majority of Wanda criticizers*.

There is so much misogyny, victim blaming, dismissal of trauma, etc. I cannot believe it. And most of this started during WandaVision.

Okay I saw criticisms before mostly for Age of Ultron but it was your classic "poorly written" criticisms which I disagree with I think that in the majority of movies she was in they did a decent enough job of writing her. The only major ones I saw were because they wrote her and Pietro as part of Hydra initially. A) That definitely was not the most well thought out decision of Marvel's, given that they are Jewish and Roma in the comics but of course they've been whitewashed so Feige didn't see it as a concern. B) If it weren't for their ethnicities, it would be kind of genius if it had been fleshed out more. Real life Nazi organizations prey on young people who have been mistreated (or perceive themselves to be mistreated) by the government or other authority figures and groom them to be fascists. Don't get me wrong, definitely insensitive to have that happen with these two given ethnicity, but unfortunately that is kind of accurate still. Unfortunately, this fascist groups manage to get POC, LGBTQ+, and other minority groups to join them. TL;DR: the way AoU handled it was not written well, but it definitely could have been something note worthy if the time had been taken to analyze this. Never claimed that Wanda was written perfectly, will be the first to admit that there are problems as well. But I will say that I used to see lots of people claiming she was "boring" pre-Infinity War. Idk, maybe I wasn't seeing what everyone else was, that's 100% a possibility. Like I said, this is more of a vent post than an academic paper.

Infinity War and Endgame I didn't see that much criticism, but those are the movies where they let Wanda be awesome and powerful so yeah guess no one had too much to say. Other than the occasional dudebro being mad that women can be powerful characters, there wasn't much I saw.

Then we get to WandaVision. Now y'all no by now that I am not a fan of the majority of newer MCU stuff. WandaVision is definitely one of those exceptions. Brilliant series. I was going wild as it was being released. I was so unbelievably hyped for Multiverse of Madness after this (Stephen and Wanda! Two of my favs! Together!). And the majority of it was really good, loved the other characters (or loved to hate them, in the case of Hayward lol), loved the sitcom references, it was a very enjoyable series. And as it came out, I didn't see much criticisms other than the reasonable ones (it isn't a flawless series). But we started to run into some things I hated, and it would just get worse and worse as time would go on.

People have no ability to understand morally grey characters these days. Any Wanda, Bucky, or Loki fan will tell you this because Marvel's been doing them dirty and the fandom hasn't been much better.

What was WandaVision about? Grief and trauma and how difficult it is to overcome these. And I think they did a pretty dang good job at that. But then what does everyone do? Freak the heck out because Wanda took over Westview. Well, first off the series suggests that Wanda wasn't even aware of it for the first couple episodes. Then at the end it implies that Wanda was not aware that she was causing pain the citizens were feeling and she tried to get them all to leave once she found that one out. And you've got Agatha who was messing around, killing dogs, manipulating Wanda, and mind controlling Ralph. And let's not forget the pressure from S.W.O.R.D and Hayward being irrational about it (he literally shot his gun at kids and his employee who tried to protect them and people try to defend him). All Wanda wanted was to be happy and have her family (no one gets mad when other MCU characters do that, such as Tony in Endgame). By no means does this justify her actions, but she is villainized so much over something when clearly her motivations are not out of ill intent but out of trauma, grief, desperation, and also being provoked by Hayward right before she got to Westview. She is feeling all of these emotions, and clearly her powers somehow got stronger/she unlocked or leveled up/something idk that's never explained as she is feeling all of this. I mean, if I had powers as ridiculously strong as Wanda's, it'd be hard for me to control them on rough days.

WandaVision introduced us to this very complex narrative of Wanda doing something wrong but not because she had ill intent yet not wanting to give up the little happiness she is feeling while she is also being manipulated by Agatha and Hayward. It isn't black or white. She isn't a villain, but she isn't Westview's hero. She's a grieving woman that needs therapy and also help to learn about her growing magic (ie what Multiverse of Madness should have been).

But half the time you see anything about Wanda in WV it's just saying that she was evil, that she was purposely hurting the citizens, that it was for nothing but fake kids, etc. Dismissal of trauma. Victim blaming. Misogyny. Let me tell you, if Wanda was a man everyone would claim that he was a good father and that he only wanted to build a family. But noOoOoO, she's a woman so she can't be complicated.

Then we get to Multiverse of Madness. Pretty sure Waldron never watched WandaVision (a literal masterpiece) before writing the flaming pile of trash he calls a script. There's so much to unpack about how Waldron didn't write her well, how she became a villain out of literally nowhere, how while Agents of SHIELD definitely supports the idea of a Darkhold twisted villain even still Radcliffe never was pure evil he was simply misguided by a sudden overflow of information that didn't happen all at once, etc. There's a lot. But, hey, it basically sums up what antis have to say about Wanda. Because Waldron seems to hate every single character he has written other than some select people in the TVA!

Now, even more motivated by the awful writing of DSMOM, antis say that Wanda was crazy for a desire to have kids (again, would they have said the same thing if she was a man?) and that she was actually this villainous the whole time (show me your receipts because even the beginnings of Age of Ultron showed her not being completely evil). And I could go on, they say so much. But, as I have said, all of it is dismissal of trauma, victim blaming, and/or misogyny.

But it's caused me to be very suspicious of people who claim to hate Wanda. Which obviously no one has to like her. Totally understand that she might not appeal to some people that like different tropes and whatnot, that is definitely understandable. But whenever anyone starts to lean into anti territory, I just have to wonder why. Why do you hate Wanda so much? Tell me why? Because generally when I find out why, it's because she's evil and insane and tortures whole towns without remorse (canonically not even true).

*Disclaimer: I am not referring to anyone criticizing the MCU and it's whitewashing of Wanda. That is a reasonable concern. I am talking about everything else listed in the post.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Not really an ask, but I just wanted to thank you and all the other critics that speak about how much of an actual shitshow SPOP was when dealing with C*tra.

For the longest time, I shipped C*tr*dora because I was an impressionable kid who saw them kiss and didn't realize that Canon ships can suck and still be Canon. I didn't Stan C*tra or anything, but I did try defending her one time to my irl friends and my only arguments were that:

A) She's Adora's girlfriend so there has to be good in her (yeah no)

And B) She was "redeemed".

But what actually got me second-guessing C*tra and her fans was when I saw a post about the S4 Glimmadora argument and saw hundreds of comments going; "Glimmer is so selfish!" "Glimmer is a horrible person!" "This is why C*tra is better than Glimmer."

And I was and still am the biggest Glimmer fan, and it made me upset. I mean, Glimmer literally lost her mom and was given basically no time to grieve. It didn't excuse her actions, but everyone kept talking about her like she was a villain trying to destroy the world. And then I thought;

'Didn't C*tra actually destroy the world?' And that got me in this deep rabbit hole of realizing C*tra and C*tr*dora is abusive in so many ways and telling myself I was crazy because so many people were defending her. But then I saw one of your posts, scrolled through your blog and realized; 'Oh, I'm not crazy. C*tra is a horrible person and her stans are just delusional.' It even made me realize how fucked up the show was in so many other aspects; The incest, the leash, the fact that the only enby character was a lizard, and so much more.

So thank you and all the other critics out there that might help give people validation or help people open their eyes.

Thank you. 💙

i'm glad you found my blog and other critic blogs helpful! i know that anti blogs generally have a reputation for nitpicking on unnecessary details and ruining the fun, but that was never what i wanted to do with mine. i didn't expect all of c//a stans to immediately understand my point and stop shipping c//a (most of them don't even pay attention to what we're saying, let alone try to understand) but getting asks like yours really renews my faith in humanity.

i try not to judge what other people ship or to project my moral compass too much into fiction but the problem with c//a isn't that it's toxic, it's the fact that it's heavily romanticized. if they merely wanted to explore an abusive relationship in fiction, that's not a problem. it's quite healthy, actually. but the fact that they imply that this is a healthy relationship and a lot of the fans defend this ship to hell and back is really concerning.

and yes, like you said, it's really hypocritical of fans to villanize glimmer so much for two mistakes that the narrative held her accountable for, while coddling catra who had to face exactly zero consequences for her actions.

i completely understand how you felt, it can often be daunting to be the only one to actually see things as they are, instead of blindly believing what the writers say because the rest of the fandom does. i didn't ship c//a at all but i felt the same way you did, seeing everyone praise the ship and wondering if i'm just being overdramatic.

it's only after i found an anti c//a account on instagram (@anticatradora ; they go into detail with a lot of the scenes in the show, if you want to check out their account!) that i realized that i was right, and this is actually a really weird and problematic ship that people are worshipping just because they're starved of queer representation. i understand wanting to see people like you represented in media, but there are a lot of characters and ships who are much better written and better developed than c//a.

anyway all of this to say, i'm proud of you for realizing the nuance of this situation in this hivemind of a fandom. it's always better to be open to criticism than to blindly defend a show just because you like it. thank you for this ask, it made my day! 💙

[triptychgrip]

Because the YOI fandom needs more "Viktor riling his husband up in order to distract Yuuri from his nerves (and also b/c he longs for smutty payback)"...

I personally believe that every once in awhile, Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov would get an immense rush from sexily teasing his nervous husband, all so that Dom Yuuri can put him in his place, afterwards. If you need convincing, might I interest you in this fluff/smut fic (that will be at least 10K words long when I'm done with it, which, incidentally, is actually on the shorter end for me)?

In this particular bit of filth set in the summer of 2021, Yuuri is anxious prior to his meeting with the Japan Skating Federation, one in which he'll relay his decision to retire the following year (after the 2022 Beijing Games). In his duty as coach, Viktor first tries to distract Yuuri in their shared office at home, but when Yuuri kicks him out -- after an all-too-fleeting makeout session -- Viktor steps it up to sexting.

I always have so much fun writing kinky fluff/smut between these two, and can't wait to post the final (second) chapter next week. Below is an excerpt that I hope will pique your interest in this or my other Yuri!!! on Ice work.

Content warning for explicit/implied sexual content ahead

----

With almost embarrassing speed, Yuuri nudged Makkachin out the door (first kissing the top of her floofy head in apology) and retrieved the lube that he kept in the bottom-most drawer of his desk.

…just in case.

Then, he got his phone back out and clicked into Signal, his heart climbing into his throat and his anticipation mounting.

Immediately, his mouth went slack; he knew this song! And what was more: Yuuri knew that Viktor knew that he knew it.

They’d heard it together two weeks ago when they’d capped off their date night at Dark Room, one of their favorite nightclubs in Fukuoka. He shivered, remembering how they’d both been a bit tipsy, kissing and grinding up on one another as the pulsing beat vibrated through their bodies, pressed flush together. 

‘Heatstroke’, indeed.

And though his love was by their pool and not in a dark nightclub, the current video featuring his nearly naked body – contorting mesmerizingly as he danced to the song – sent that same rush of scorching heat licking up Yuuri’s spine. 

But the most erotic part of the video wasn’t how Viktor’s bare chest and arms were gleaming – had he covered himself in some kind of shimmery massage oil? – or how the skirt he was outfitted in was even shorter than the rose-print one he’d been wearing, earlier.

It was his choice of prop: a melting ice cream bar that Yuuri was positive he hadn’t seen in the freezer. 

A trickle of white ran down into the crevice between Viktor’s fingers, and he didn’t appear to blink even once as he eyed the camera and began to suck on them, vigorously. After only a few seconds of this, he swiped a dab of ice cream onto his spit-slicked fingers and then streaked it over a nipple, the visual reminding him of last week, when his husband had blown him and frantically begged him to cum all over his chest.

Yuuri moaned as if struck. 

Stress-eating sweets was a go-to move for him prior to meetings like this, so he’d scoured their cabinets and freezer earlier for that needed dopamine rush. He hadn’t seen any hint of ice-cream, and had actually been a little cranky because of it. 

Added to the fact that Viktor had on a different skirt and type of braid than he’d been sporting earlier, he was more confident than ever that his spouse had filmed this video on some other day.

Meaning, he’d been planning this.

Fuck.

[actual-changeling]

Why are people looking at Aziraphale and seeing a completely different character from who he is? Why do they think he’s a leader? He never showed leadership skills. Why do they think it’s so unlikely that Aziraphale doesn’t listen a word of Crowley’s confession when Aziraphale hasn't listened to a single word Crowley has told him the entire season? Why do they feel the need to see Aziraphale as a hero who can never do wrong? He totally disregards Crowley’s feelings in the final 15 and I’m so mad about the fact that some people think that Crowley should apologize or that he was too slow to pick up some fucking clues that exist only in the minds of Aziraphale’s hardcore defenders.

Honestly, I think it's because some people have problems separating themselves from Aziraphale as a character simply because they see one or more of their own traits reflected in him.

By trying to make him out to be better than he is and defending him, they're trying to justify those traits to themselves (and others). Once you get down to it, there's a lot of people talking about how they would have done the same in Aziraphale's place—and they cannot admit that hey, maybe that choice is fucked up and hurts the people around you.

Maybe your refusal to work on yourself isn't "noble" and "angelic" but part of a bigger problem and based on a fundamental lack of self-reflection. Aziraphale puts his own comfort above everything else, so of course he appeals to people that do the same.

Then there's the whole religious aspect which has people on the barricades immediately because how dare you imply that an angel could ever do something that is not kind and good and selfless; like okay, go preach your fucked up christian ideology elsewhere, not in the bible satire fandom.

It IS frustrating, people go and call Crowley bad and evil and give him the worst intentions because he's a demon, say reason why they try to make everything about Aziraphale seem great and nice. By acknowledging the fact that

a) Aziraphale has been hurting Crowley for centuries

b) he fucked up

c) Crowley has nothing to apologize for,

they're forced to confront that hey, maybe I've also fucked up in the past. Aziraphale is in a bad place, he needs to change, and by refusing to understand that, people are really just saying that THEY don't want to work on themselves.

It's personal, plain and simple, and somehow that makes it okay to go harass people who don't blindly follow the Aziraphale Defense Squad or whatever shit they wanna call themselves. I have absolutely no sympathy left after everything that went down.

[spaciebabie]

As a certified Springtrap simp, which backstory for William do you prefer: one where he was a good dad driven mad maybe by jealousy or the loss of his youngest child, or one where he was always an abusive narcisist that cared for nobody but himself?

i feel like the, "im evil so i must also abuse my creations and/or children" has been really overdone. like idk im just tired of seeing it personally. and the whole "haha!!! im craaaazy!!" thing we get in the comics also rubs me the wrong way b/c. thats not. how he's portrayed in the games at all. esp hearing him in sister location he feels like he would be a calm sort of madness. he seems like a rational guy. he doesnt talk like that. he doesnt act like that. it seems really contradictory

i feel like him being a good dad (or at the least caring deeply for his children) gives him more urgency and like,,,,makes sense w/what we're given. it aligns the most w/the theories we have asta why he started killing etc. i also just enjoy the tragedy of it. he started out as a good guy w/good intentions and then was twisted inta something unrecognizable b/c he was so focused on tryin ta reach his goal. personally my hc is that he was jelly of henry and then the death of crying child tipped him over the edge and started his whole killing thing. imo its better than, "hee hoo i was evil FOREVER!! im PURE evil and have always been EVIL!!!" like. okay. wheres the subsistence?? give him depth dammit

why would he build a robot for his daughter if he didnt love her. why would he tell crying child he would put him back together if he didnt love him (not really cemented as something he said, but i mean who else would say it?? certainly not michael he was a boy. i think as a fandom we assume its heavily implied). it makes the afton kid's deaths so much more impactful. the prospect of this man losing pieces of his life bit by bit and being driven insane by it is enthralling

i love a good chaotic descent. i love thinking abt him being consumed w/a need ta revive his own son becoming obsessed w/life and death as a result. oh the irony of loving your own kid so much you would take others children away from them, knowing how losing your own felt. and the twisting of emotions as he sees his son michael someone who he would've died for, try ta stop him. b/c hes not understanding, they need ta b together again. thats all hes tryin ta do. get his family back tagether. and all these fucking obstacles are in the way of his only goal. and the manifestation of hatred of his own son b/c of this. b/c hes getting in his way. like, talk abt juicy. i want that man ruined. it just adds a layer of psychological torture that i just adore. william fucking ruined everything. he ruined his own happy family, he ruined his own life, and if he actually mourns that? chefs kiss.

my thought is, why even have him have a family in the first place if they're just there ta demonstrate he's evil? seeing the afton family purely as a plot device, we already know afton killed kids. one can assume a person who kills kids is a bad person (maybe? see this is where the juiciness comes in w/him caring for his children. is it really bad from his perspective if hes trying ta save his kid? or is it noble?) so we dont need ta b demonstrated ta that hes a bad person again. if hes just pure evil from the get go it doesnt make sense ta me ta have the afton kids be prominent in the story (besides michael, but even then he could probably be replaced by one of the victims family members) when you could illustrate the same point by focusing on the kids hes killed and their families. why do the afton kids matter if he treats all children the same. why are we focusing so much on the afton family and what appear ta b major story beats in their story, especially since the children he has killed do not get as fleshed out as the aftons do. i feel like if his family wasnt important ta him we wouldnt hear abt it at all. you could achieve the same message by making him single and childless.

do u kno how many stories there are of "Righteous Child Of A Horrible Guy Who Hates Everything, Even Their Own Family, Goes Out Ta Stop Their Parent And Save The Day" there are? its b/c its too easy!!! its too easy for u ta assume that a character is the worst and has been the worst forever!!! its too easy ta assume that an evil character would abuse their family!!! its too easy ta assume an evil character wouldn't have traits besides jealousy, hatred and narcissism!!!!

[dead-dove-moment]

in one of those examples of hearing people complain about an epidemic that I've never actually witnessed... in multiple places where I go for Umineko content I've seen people sarcastically post about being bothered by "powerscaler" types – i.e. multicross fans specializing in "who would win in a fite" arguments to the extent that they created their own ontology, complete with specialist language, to describe the factors at play – who have apparently come to the conclusion that high-tier witches (especially Creator-Witches such as Featherine) are contenders for the top tier in their taxonomy.

this is fascinating to me, not only b/c I've never in my life had to deal with these people, but also because it seems like a legitimately interesting question due to all the rules of Umineko-style magic that our fandom has, to this day, studiously avoided actually documenting anywhere central in plainer terms than the VN itself uses to present them.

(yes, every topical wiki has an article about That Person. but it's one thing to explain the whodunnit/howdunnit/whydunnit in clinical anti-fantasy terms; it's a whole other matter to take what the anti-fantasist sees in lunch-hour light, and then explain why someone would choose the Door of Magic even after knowing all that. turns out, most people who've reached that level would never be gauche enough to put it on a goat-infested wiki.)

but the result is that powerscaling enthusiasts are only working with a version of the truth that has been pre-mulched for goatly ingestion. you have people taking Featherine's curbstomp of Lambdadelta in Ep8 at face value, instead of taking into account the fundamentals of magic which we learned in Ep4 (and what they imply about why Featherine was able to use that magic, in that context, in an episode where Ange holds the title of Witch of the Future).

I know it's a bit self-destructive – a bit blasé about guarding the secrets of the Golden Land – but part of me would love to pull one of these people aside, actually teach them how magic works, and then pick their brains about what it implies for their hierarchy of fite.

[sgiandubh]

Jottings: Season 7, Episode 4. Well then, best not die

As Tom Christie would say, "the Lord does answer prayer, you know": this week has been indeed bigger, better, brighter and more. Tissues might or might not be needed - it's up to you to decide (fun fact, I almost did), but ice cream is a must (steamy moments ahead, ahem).

Back at Lallybroch the pixies broke the alarm clock-cum-radio, while someone is wiping his nauseous mouth with the Declaration of Independence in Wilmington. And there can be no greater contrast when it comes to casting, than the one between SS and Vandervaart. She is trying, bless her heart she does, and it shows a lot. Yet no matter how hard she does it, she will never overcome, I am afraid, that stilted delivery and that genuine uneasiness that make you feel alternatively dismissive and sorry for her. In the economy of Outlander, SS is more than a waste: she is a casualty, because she managed to unwillingly kill Bree, a character with a difficult, often unsympathetic design to start with.

For his first substantial on-screen appearance, Vandervaart passed my scrutiny with flying colors. Now I might be biased, because I am a documented victim of this particular Boston Brahmin charm, that screams old money and boat shoes and Ivy League and effortless sophistication. But it's more than this, of course, and I suspect solid brains and a great deal of preparatory work. This kid has managed to impress me, with his subtle nods to the mannerisms of JAMMF and LJG. The scene with Young Ian and Rollo is flawless. The diction is perfect. He cares for William enough to become William and this is something to behold and applaud.

Both Hunters are quintessential. There is a sort of steel butterfly quality to Rachel and Denzell Hunter's kindness could melt my B&J's Chocolatey Love A-Fair bucket on the spot. Their likeability index will probably increase with time, and not only in this fandom, but also in the silent majority of casuals.

Which brings me to Tom Christie brilliantly showing us that, as my beloved Wilde once said with perfect clarity, "every saint has a past and every sinner has a future". This is the moment when I almost reached for the tissues, because I once was Tom Christie, and I know how damn hard is to keep your dignity in a hope against hope situation. And I could have done without that burlesque kiss altogether: but that is just me.

We've been waiting for this one since the trailer was released or even since I Am Not Alone. At last some bedroom maneuvers that are not: a) scampered; b) implied; c) muted and faded to cheesiness. I didn't even ask for much, did I?

Spoiler: "The thing about Tom is he wants you. Badly." That golden light. That serene grace. That perfect dialogue of bodies and souls. That cheeky raspiness. Not about Tom and not exactly JAMMF. I almost shivered, it was just like the good old times. And then, BAM!

A PLAGUE ON YOUR HOUSE, INTIMACY COORDINATOR VANESSA WOMAN, WHOSE NAME I DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO GOOGLE AT 03:55 AM LOCAL TIME.

YOU SET OUR HOPES HIGH, PUSHED US TO THE EDGE AND THEN HAD THEM FADE TO THAT TOTALLY CLICHE MIRROR TRANSITION. HELLO? YOU FEEL OK WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR, WHILE YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH?

Enough said. And the next lost soul who darts out of Mordor with rumors of body doubles can go directly to jail, not pass GO (heh), not collect $200.

Is next week the Singapore (Sling) one? Lucky I am still in town, then. That is a mystery in the waiting. Onwards.

(Gif taken from @divineandmajesticinone, credits given accordingly - great work!)

[lady-morrigen]

Not prev Helaena anon and I understand what you mean, I had some other thoughts if that is okay? If not feel free to ignore. I think I’m confused how Aegon being forced to marry his sister has that much bearing on his life as we’re told. He still sleeps with who he wants and does what he wants until he’s crowned. That idea would then allly to Daemona nd Rhea as well, or Corlys and Rhaenys, etc, and we see the same thing there, with these husbands sleeping around. I disagree with other anon on Helaena being played as dumb in the show, even though B&C is not as impactful as it should have been, but I think fandom has been all of a sudden now pushing Aegon as a great dad at the expense of recognizing we are also told she is the one who spends time with the twins and who knows their schedule. He comes in and takes his kid to 5 min of a meeting days after begging to run away from his family. I know they are all memes and jokes, it is odd to see people post about how he deserves to leave her with the kids and take care of them on his own. I don’t think it’s a show issue but more the general fandom response on the Greens side has been to highlight him as an exceptional parent because he is trying to undo Viserys’s trauma. Sorry this is so long!

so, my take on it and reason for mentioning it, was that surely being forced to marry his sister and have children with her would lead to some understandably complication emotions around those kids. that's not to excuse neglect or explain away poor treatment of them, but to say that he (and helaena) could understandably have BIG feelings about the children. i could be totally off base, given that i haven't read the book.

from my understanding, based on a post that i quite literally just reblogged, it was never mentioned anywhere whether he was a good and attentive father, or an absent one. given that the kids aren't shown much in s1, and we don't have any evidence to the contrary, we can't say that aegon isn't an attentive father... to his legitimate kids. there are terrible things implied in regards to his illegitimate children in the show, but the arguments i've seen lately are about the twins.

i think people have taken tom making comments about how much aegon loves his children and ran with it. i'll admit to that myself. since the only time i've really seen aegon engage with the children is what we got in ep 1, i can see how people are quick to label him a good father. undoing generational trauma isn't easy, so i give him props for it. he doesn't have to be exceptional, but it's nice that he seems to be making that effort.

i've not seen anyone say that he should take the kids and leave her or i would def have something to say about it. if any of my followers are saying that or believe it, i'm going to nicely request that they go touch some grass.