#i hate any and all conspiracy theorist characters

[pelicanoctopus]

I named my two negative self voices The Troll and The Conspiracy Theorist and when either one starts going off on some bullshit I yell MODS PLS DO YOUR JOBS GET THAT BULLSHIT OUT OF HERE! into the internal voice chat room and they do!!

None of the "imagine the bad voice person getting further and further away until you can't hear them" or "imagine them shrinking until small enough for you to put them in a bottle" or "imagine turning down their volume until you can't hear them" type advice has ever worked for me because they just kept, immediately reasserting themselves at full volume. But I sure can yell at them that they're wrong until they go away!

some of y'all need to stop seeing self deprecation as a funny joke and start looking at it for what it is. you are being so fucking cruel to a member of our community. and they don't deserve your cruelty. I love all of you so much and it sucks to watch you gleefully shittalk someone I care about then excuse it by going "but it's okay, I can say that, it's about myself!"

I feel like a lot of people use the "hey don't be mean to my friend [name] >:(" in a joking manner but. no. seriously. stop shittalking my friend. it sucks to hear you talk about anybody like that, ESPECIALLY a community member. you don't get a free pass for directing it at yourself.

[francesderwent]

speaking as someone who hated Steve in season one, shipped Jonathan and Nancy in season one and two, and now full-heartedly ships Steve and Nancy, I always hated how Nancy and Jonathan get together in season two. I (obviously) hate the Murray of it all, because no story which viewers have been led to care about deserves to have its decisive climactic moment hijacked by a balding conspiracy theorist who (wrongly) considers himself an expert in human behavior. but even setting aside Murray (as much as it's possible to do so when he's inextricable to how everything plays out), I thought the scene did such a disservice to the Jonathan/Nancy relationship as it was set up. even once I didn't ship them anymore, that scene just seemed like bad, out-of-character writing. but I think I found a way to fit the scene into the larger story.

Jonathan Byers & Restraint

this isn't groundbreaking (I'm probably subconsciously stealing from a thousand Maria metas), but what made Jonathan and Nancy stand out in season one is romantic restraint. while Steve is climbing in Nancy's bedroom window and trying to unbutton her shirt and sleeping with her all by the end of the second episode, Jonathan and Nancy talk to one another, awkwardly, stiltedly. if I remember right, they don't touch, at all. Nancy is trying to connect with him, and Jonathan isn't opposed, but they're both very cautious, and the connection is difficult and uncomfortable. Jonathan's bizarre choice to take her photo while she's half naked and he's hiding in the woods is symptomatic of how he feels about her at this point: he sees her only at a distance, and sees that she's beautiful at the same time as he sees that she's not for him. in the photograph, he tries to capture what little of her he can have for himself. this stupid, grasping choice ends up hurting both of them.

so as we start episode three and really start to move into the center of the story, both Steve and Jonathan have crossed a boundary. Nancy and Steve aren't able to admit (yet) that what they did poses a problem. they're still close, but their closeness is actually an obstacle to their communication. Steve can't see what's going on with Nancy because he's caught up in his starry-eyed triumph that he doesn't have to pretend not to care anymore because he finally won her and she's finally his! and Nancy can't connect with Steve because in order to be honest with him she would have to admit that he hurt her, and she doesn't want him to know that. their closeness is a lie which prevents any other truth from being told, and as season one moves forward, the lie becomes more and more obviously a lie. Nancy lashes out at Steve for worrying about his father when Barb is missing. she kisses him when he comes to check on her, but lies about the baseball bat and what her plan is. Steve's supposed love for her can't survive seeing her with Jonathan, and he stands by while his friends ruin her reputation. he doesn't trust her enough to believe her when she tells him nothing happened. I'm just hammering the same point here, but they are literally too close to see clearly.

against this backdrop, Nancy's relationship with Jonathan appears starkly different. the revelation of Jonathan's transgression pushes him and Nancy further apart, forces them to take a hard look at themselves and a clearer look at each other. they see all the differences between them. they see the way the other person doesn't perfectly understand them. and they see all that because they can see clearly that Jonathan's crossing of that boundary was wrong. but because they share similar goals and want to work together, they have to stay conscious of all those boundaries, they have to be even more careful and respectful of them moving forward. if the defining moment of Steve and Nancy's relationship is falling into bed together without ever discussing what it means (and I think, for better or worse, it is), the defining moment of Jonathan and Nancy's relationship is him lying on the other side of the bed from her without crossing the line. and he is able to be a comfort to her because he doesn't cross that line! after the photograph almost ruins everything, the restraint is present in every interaction between them: the way Nancy holds ice on his face at the police station, the way she bandages his hand, the way he accepts her Christmas gift. I was really struck, this rewatch, by the image of them setting the bear trap together: they're moving in sync with each other, backing away slowly, carefully, because they know to move quickly or carelessly could be disastrous. that's their relationship in a nutshell. and that's what made their relationship so compelling.

now, both of these dynamics are still visible in the beginning of season two: Steve and Nancy are officially a couple, but they’re understanding one another less than ever: he doesn't understand why she feels they have to continue having dinner with Barb's parents, she doesn't understand how he could want to go to a Halloween party; she tells him everything about their carefully reconstructed lives is bullshit, he is absolutely shell-shocked because he thought it was real. Jonathan and Nancy are walking a thin tightrope: Jonathan takes her home from the party, puts her to bed and takes off her shoes, he tries to assure her that Steve still cares about her, they both quickly request separate beds at the hotel. but once Murray interferes, they fall off the tightrope and they fall off hard.

when the restraint breaks, all their careful intentional distance overwhelmed by exploding desire and tension, it's not just a kiss. it's a kiss that immediately becomes sex. they haven't said a word to each other about what this means or what they feel for each other. they've both been drinking. Nancy hasn't broken up with Steve. it's a betrayal of everything their relationship has been up until this point, and it's a letdown, because it doesn't feel like the Jonathan and Nancy we've been watching and rooting for for two seasons. it feels like the end to a different story, not this one.

and unlike the photograph which crossed a boundary and then had to be dealt with, for the rest of season two at least, there are no consequences. Nancy and Jonathan are just...together, after this. Steve gracefully bows out; he doesn't accuse Nancy, he doesn't even make her tell him what she did, he takes all the blame on himself. this makes Steve look really good, really mature and unselfish, but it's dishonest in a way that season one wasn't dishonest. season one was brutally honest about the fallout of Steve and Nancy having sex, and it was beautifully honest about what Jonathan and Nancy had to do to build a relationship on a different foundation. now Jonathan and Nancy kick off their romantic relationship on that exact same foundation as she and Steve did in season one episode two - we've had some sexual tension, we had sex, now we're a couple - and this time, for no reason, everything's fine.

if you assume that Jonathan and Nancy are endgame, it's a ridiculous squandering of one of the best-drawn relationships in the story. all their narrative potential is lost, wasted. in season three, Jonathan and Nancy bicker annoyingly and to little purpose; the majority of their arc is already behind them and the writers appear to be at loose ends, creating thin conflict for no reason.

where it starts to get really interesting is when you stop assuming that Jonathan and Nancy are endgame.

Nancy Wheeler & Illusions

so far I've been prioritizing Jonathan’s perspective: his making amends for the photograph and learning how to care about Nancy respectfully. it's through this lens that the sex scene in season two is out of place. but if you focus in on Nancy, the defining factor in the love triangle for the first two seasons isn't restraint. it's reality.

I've written about this before, but Nancy's arc in season one is about the shattering of all her illusions. she already had her doubts about her parents' marriage, but she was still playing the game, still trying to get good grades, still trying to seem like a good girl in front of her parents, still trying to seem cool in front of Steve and his popular friends. and one of the illusions that shatters most painfully for Nancy is her romantic illusions around sex. she bought into the lie that if she would just sleep with the cute guy she has a crush on, she would feel close to him and he'd love her. after episode two, she learns intimately that this isn't true. Steve tells her she’s beautiful, he doesn’t tell her he loves her. he falls asleep and she has to get dressed and walk home on her own, with no words of reassurance. she stands on the stair in Steve's sweatshirt and tells her mother coldly that Steve isn't her boyfriend and nothing happened, because at that point Steve isn't her boyfriend and she has to go to school the next day and act like nothing happened. he walks up to her locker and kisses her, but tells her only, “I had a good time.” we can see this tearing her apart before she ever starts to suspect anything has happened to Barb.

and so she starts to see through the falseness and thinness of what she used to think was important - because of Barb's death, because she discovers the upside down, and because of Jonathan. she tells him the story of her parents and their loveless decision to buy a house and start their nuclear family, and Jonathan answers, “screw that.” Jonathan is the one who gives her permission to reject everything she put her faith in. at last, someone is admitting out loud that trying to fit herself into these boxes is hurting her! at last, someone isn’t afraid to exist outside of the norms that are destroying her. it’s a relief, not having to pretend anymore.  

fast-forward to season two: Murray (ugh) says that Nancy doesn’t love Steve, that she’s afraid of who she really is, that she has chemistry, history, and shared trauma with Jonathan, and that therefore they should cut the bullshit and share the bed. notice: he doesn’t say Nancy loves Jonathan and should be with him. they’re just young and attractive and they have chemistry, so they should sleep together. there’s no pretty façade over it. and this is what Nancy has in common with Jonathan, that they don’t buy into the bullshit. and so here’s my hypothesis: Nancy walks out of her bedroom to find Jonathan because she can sleep with him without any illusions. maybe this time sex can mean whatever she wants it to. maybe this time she won’t have to twist herself into knots pretending like it brought the closeness she thought it would.

the reason this scene doesn’t feel like a satisfactory end to a romance arc is it isn’t the end to a romance arc. it’s the natural continuation of Nancy’s arc in season one, admitting, once and for all, that the pretty illusion doesn’t satisfy, that she doesn’t fit into that picture and she’s never going to. what she mutters to herself alone in her room, right before she goes to find Jonathan, is “I’m not afraid.” she doesn’t choose Jonathan because they love each other and they’re going to be together forever—because they don’t say they love each other, and they don’t talk about their future. she chooses Jonathan because he’s on the outside, just like she is, and she’s not afraid anymore to admit that she’s just like him.

through this lens, their fighting in season three isn’t the contrived conflict of a couple who got together too early and have to find something to do in the sequel. their fighting is exactly the same as Nancy and Steve’s fighting in season two. they’re too close to see each other clearly, and they can’t admit it. she wakes up in his bed, how can he not understand her? he lets her see him for who he is, how can she not recognize his pain? their lack of restraint does hurt them, just like it hurt Nancy and Steve, and knowing that the romantic magic of sex is an illusion doesn’t exempt them from that hurt. it doesn’t bring them into perfect closeness and unity, but it does bring them close enough to feel all their inequalities and disagreements without the objectivity of distance. their priorities are different; their plans don’t align. how could it be any other way, when they never talk about those things? at the end of the season, Jonathan moves to California, and when Nancy tells him she wants him to stay, he says only that everything will be okay because they have shared trauma—he doesn’t say that he’ll come back, he doesn’t say that she should join him, he doesn’t even make plans for Thanksgiving like Mike and El do. they have a bond that makes him moving away painful—but they can’t figure out what to do about it.

so Nancy and Jonathan sleeping together isn’t the end of their romantic storyline. it’s just a stepping stone in Nancy’s journey with disillusionment. Nancy tried using sex to get her happy ending with Steve, and it didn’t work. then she stopped believing in happy endings and clung to Jonathan who also didn’t believe in them, and that didn’t preserve her from disappointment either. what is all of this leading us toward?

Steve Harrington & the Love Confession

ahem.

Steve starts out as the epitome of everything that Jonathan and Nancy are growing beyond: popular, shallow, charming Steve Harrington who takes sweet Nancy Wheeler to bed. but in every season Steve proves himself again and again to be someone to rely upon—he comes back to fight the demogorgon after Nancy tells him to leave, he protects the kids from demodogs and evil brothers, he swoops in for the big rescue when Nancy’s about to die. and again and again, he receives no reward at all. he doesn’t get the girl (Nancy). he doesn’t get a different girl (Robin). he doesn’t even get an apology Christmas gift or to be Nancy’s friend, like Jonathan did. the only thing he walks away with, every time, is growth. he is a bigger person than when he set out, he’s more of a man.

in season two, he lets Nancy go with his insanely generous “it’s okay, Nance,” and submits to loving her without possessing her, watching her from his car outside the dance and then driving away. in other words, he learns restraint. in season three, he stops caring so much about his image: “Tommy H. would’ve made fun of me, or I wouldn’t be prom king. that’s stupid, Dustin’s right, it’s all bullshit.” he sees through the illusion and rejects what isn’t important. (and we know he’s learned restraint, how to love without grasping, because of the way he handles Robin’s rejection.) he’s a little slow—learning the lessons that Jonathan and Nancy do a season late and usually when no one is watching. but when he and Nancy are finally thrown together again, he’s different. he’s grown, and his love for her has grown, too. we know that, because when he jumps into the upside down and Nancy follows, and Eddie steps into Murray’s shoes and helpfully points out that something is afoot, Steve doesn’t react like Nancy and Jonathan did.

remember what Murray told Nancy and Jonathan: you have chemistry, history, and shared trauma, you should stop pretending and share the bed. what does Eddie tell Steve? that Nancy reacted to him being in danger by immediately, without a second thought, placing herself in danger next to him, to save him, and that it was “as unambiguous a sign of true love” as his cynical eyes had ever seen. already, there’s a huge difference. Eddie isn’t commenting on their sexual tension (of which there is plenty, Eddie had to stand and watch as Nancy ripped up her clothes to make bandages to tie around Steve’s midriff while they make eye contact). Eddie says he doesn’t know anything about their history. what he does know is what he just saw Nancy do. it’s not a connection, chemical or emotional. it’s love, love understood as an action, a choice. and he tells Steve: “if I were you, I would get her back.”

and Steve doesn’t wait until the first opportune moment to pull Nancy into his arms and give into his desires that he’s been so carefully holding in check for years. no, Steve does something very different. Steve tells Nancy exactly what he pictures his future as, and tells her that he wants her to be in it, that actually she is the most important part of his life. Steve makes a confession of love. and it stands out because when you think about it, there are actually very few love confessions in the show! no other couple says so clearly: “this is what you mean to me, this is what I feel for you, and this is what I want our life together to be.” Steve and Nancy and Jonathan and Nancy both sleep together and then slide into a relationship via the path of least resistance. Joyce and Hopper talk about a date, but don’t say “love” or talk about what this would mean for their families. Mike blurts to Max that he loves Eleven and Eleven happens to overhear it. Steve gives a wonderful confession to Robin about what he likes about her, but really doesn’t know her well enough to propose any kind of future. actually, the only character who comes close to Steve’s season four speech is Bob Newby, who tells Joyce that he loves her, loves her whole family that comes with her, and that he wants them to move to Maine together and be a normal family. but even Bob’s love confession is qualified by his not really knowing what’s going on with Joyce and her family, being kept slightly in the dark.

Steve is not in the dark when he confesses his love to Nancy—or rather, he’s in the midst of the darkest dark, standing in the depths of everything that terrifies Nancy and everything that made her stop believing in love, and he tells her anyway, because he knows all of that and he loves her anyway. they’re not too close to see each other clearly; he’s offering his love and his hopes to her so that she can look at them objectively and make her choice. and what he offers breaks open all the illusions that hurt her so badly. unlike the first time they got together, he’s all-in, telling her how he feels without asking anything of her physical first. unlike with her and Jonathan, he knows what he wants his future to be and is telling it to her clearly. unlike her parents, he’s offering her not security and normalcy, but a relationship motivated first and foremost by love.

the story isn’t just circling back to Steve because the will-they won’t-they with Jonathan has been played out. the story is circling back to Steve because he’s the only one who has all the pieces of the puzzle. he has the romantic restraint that Jonathan abandoned when Murray repackaged it as trust issues. he has the clear sight to see through the false images Nancy rejected. and when you put those things together—and put them together in a man who has been in love with the same woman for years—you get a love which wants to prioritize the good of the other, and is in touch with reality enough to protect the other effectively. and that’s where you get the love confession: it’s a way of stripping away all of the assumptions and illusions so all that’s left is the truth, but without using the truth to impose. Steve can offer Nancy absolutely everything, without crossing a line, without making it impossible for her to see what she wants. he can offer her everything—and if she says yes, he can give it to her.

[unsaidace]

Honestly, the Eddie stans really are the issue at this point. Between making everything about him (even in episode thirteen, they were making it all about him instead of focusing on Hen as well), to complaining that he's not there or that Tommy dares to have one or two scenes, to them constantly screeching about Gay Eddie and queerbaiting, etc. They've also proven how little they care about Buck, actually, because when people were speculating Tommy comforting Buck in episode fifteen, they were pissed at the mere idea of Buck receiving comfort from someone who isn't their fave. At this point, I think he's either going to be gone by season nine or his role is going to be even more scaled down. Especially with Ravi becoming such a big part of the team and really building up the BuckRavi teammate duo/friendship.

They’ve been royally pissing me off all season, but especially since Eddie moved to Texas. Like, I’m sorry the world doesn’t revolve around your pookie, besties, but there is quite literally nothing anyone here can do about that. We don’t write the fucking show. I don’t even like Eddie and I have issues with how he’s been written, but your complaints all sound like issues your favourite journalists should’ve been raising with Tim literally any time they got an interview with him.

As for the way they treat the rest of the cast/characters…I’m at the point now where every time they open their mouths, I’m just like okay, so you hate every other character on this show, got it. They couldn’t be more obvious about their disdain for anyone who isn’t Eddie if they tried. I’m 100% of the belief that Ryan is either leaving or dropping down to recurring at the end of this season, and honestly? I can’t wait, because hopefully him leaving means his gaggle of conspiracy theorist tweens will leave with him.

[littlemeltymarshmallow]

My thoughts on part one of Dragons Rising season three!

Frak is canonically bad at flirting, a man-splainer and a conspiracy theorist. I don't know if I love or hate him.

That scene with Nya remembering Jay... Well just break my heart in the first few minutes, why not?!

I don't like how it seems like Zane keeps being used for robot jokes instead of having him doing anything important lately. Outside of robot jokes, the comedy is really good this season. And Zanth imitating the bird dancing was a nice callback.

Lot's of cute sibling moments between Kai and Nya this season. The whole time Nya was just babysitting them and trying not to lose her sanity. She was about to abandon them lol. So done.

I like how Kai isn't an overprotective dad, but really supportive of Wyldfyre's relationship. It ruins my head canon but it still really nice to see. Modern Kai is too mature to act the way he did towards Jay during the pilots. Yay for character development!

So Jay chose to become a bounty hunter. He could've picked any job, but that's what he chose. I can't see the logic behind it.

Arin's parent's names and last name confirmed!

Frak saying oni are evil and being afraid of them while Lloyd just stands there blank faced. Like. Buddy. TELL THEM.

I wonder how Ras knew Arin's parents were dead. How did he know their names? And how are they blaming their death on the existence of the merge when they were clearly alive at the end of season one?

Love is real. Zane and Pixal are so lovey-dovey it's adorable. The reason Pixal wasn't in season one and two was because they knew she'd be too powerful. She's so cool. Cunty purple lipstick.

Sora saying white, blue and pink are the best colors...🏳️‍⚧️?

I yelled so loud when Morro showed up that my family got worried.

Dareth is back I guess.

Pre-teen Sora is so cute. She made him the grappling gun. Aw. The misunderstanding. The flashback sequence. The tears. The hug. I just can't take it man. I can't take it. I'm so happy they've made up.

TOGETHER FOREVER!

RGB siblings all attacking Thunderfang at once was cool. The framing for Lloyd's fight with Thunderfang was insane I can't stop thinking about it.

Fritz's bird form! Fritz and Spitz playing together!

GAY! GAY SPOTTED!! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!!!

Cole was barely in this season :( He was too busy being off-screen and making out with Geo the whole time.

Jay is so, so stupid. I've missed him. The first thing he does after getting to the monastery is help himself to a soda. Cute idiot.

I really want to know where the dragon that imprisoned Thunderfang is. Are they dead?

I loved Arin realizing Ras is wrong, but not him and Sora going with him in the end. Ras constantly getting into danger and Arin saving him got old after a bit too. Let him die already.

That ending... sure was a twist... I'm guessing Arin's parents got sent to the departed realm, but if they weren't dead, what happened when Morro encountered them??

THEY BROUGHT BACK MORRO ONLY TO KILL HIM IN THE SAME FREAKING SEASON?!

[acurtist]

Irritating Character Tropes:

1. Meddler: Had to share explosive commentary about everything and everyone.

2. Gossip-monger: Make up stories and spread them far and wide like a virus.

3. Riddler: Speaks in puzzles and keeps people on toes the hidden meanings in their tales.

4. Jester: Everything and everyone is a joke. Must crack a few ones to earn them wages.

5. Rat hole: Has to sneak in in nook and crannies like a rat to uncover secrets.

6. Interrogator: Wouldn't stop asking same questions with different angles.

7. Petty Thief: Kleptomaniac and pickpocket extraordinaire.

8. Quarreler: Need to pick a fight about everything and anything.

9. Idiot: Speaks out of turn, doesn't know what they are talking about.

10. Lame Poet: Make everyone suffer with their awful compositions.

11. Liar: Conjures up lies out of thin air without skipping a heartbeat.

12. Plotter: Manipulative, calculative, untrustworthy, and narcissistic.

13. Personality Divergent: Sucks living daylights and happiness from people around them.

14. Chaotic: Unorganized messy scatterbrain.

15. Peeping Tom: Needs jail time.

16. Impersonator: Either mentally disturbed or suffering from insecurities.

17. Man child: Regardless of gender acts like a child that needs supervision and extra attention.

18. Foul-mouthed: Starts and ends every sentence with one cursive word or the other.

19. Daydreamer: Always have head stuck in cloud and couldn't focus for more than 5 minutes.

20. Overzealous: Strict adherence to authority figures. Will not hesitate to commit crimes.

21. Righteous Prick: Nothing they do can be wrong or at fault.

22. Existentialist: Make others depressed with their annoying cynicism.

23. Overly-enthusiastic Schmuck: Out of touch with real world and impervious to any challenges. Thinks goodwill is enough resource and help.

24. Undoctor: Has a home remedy for every disease and ailment. Usually a chain-smoker with a protruding belly.

25. Know-it-all: Grammar Nazi, encyclopedia, general knowledge enthusiastic. Insufferable.

26. Geek: Lack of boundaries and respect for privacy.

27. Dare Devil: Needs to get hurt before setting anyone else on fire.

28. Psychoanalyst: Wouldn't shut up about what you actually think, need, and want.

29. Fortune-teller: Spew nonsense out their ass and present it as divine revelation.

30. Manufacturer: Breaks more things than repairs.

31. Conspiracy Theorist: Busy in organizing telepathic peace talks with president and alien civilization.

32. Over-committed Logician: Acts like a machine until an emotional explosions.

33. Otaku/Fic Connoisseur: Spoilers spoliers everywhere.

34. Drama Queen: Nonstop emotional blackmailer.

35. Fatphobic: Anorexic, suffering from health and psychological issues.

36. Glutton: Overweight, hates skinny people. Could use some exercise.

I mean the list doesn't ends. I can honestly think of just as many more of these.

Gotta add them all!

[eternalera]

we need to talk about mel because out of pretty much everyone in arcane ive been seeing the most drama with her and just... god is it all so fucking stupid. so for the next few paragraphs im gonna be talking about haters of mel, 'defenders' of mel, jayvik, meljayce, and just... everything going on with that because god is it a lot and god is so much of it bullshit and just plain old toxicity. so yeah...

dang still here? alright lets begin.

so first off we're starting with with the haters and defenders of mel and honestly this is some of that dumbest fandom shit ive seen in a while? why? alright let's bring up some argument stuff that ive (and youve most likely) seen before. one of which being that her haters define her as 'problematic' and a villain which is not true well at least not more true than jinx being a villain. jinx is a worse character than mel but people hate on her because 'oh shes supposed to be portrayed as good!' when this was never the case.

in s1 mel was portrayed to be a politician and from what ive gathered she was meant to represent the upper class of piltover and the council members in general (with the exception being heimindinger). she was supposed to be a corrupt and morally ambiguous character just like what? politics, politics are not black or white all of the time. mel strived for her own goals and used people to get there. do you have to like her for this? no. you dont. in fact when i first watched s1 i hated this about her and her relationship with jayce gave me the ick (i did not ship jayvik at all during this time). but we'll get more into that later

now the 'defenders' of mel. where to begin? well first off if you dont like her you get called misogynistic, if you ship jayvik well then youre writing her out and therefore are misogynistic, if you criticize mel for any of her actions guess what you are? yeah misogynistic. they really like throwing that term around for no other reason than mel being a woman. what if she was a guy? would there be a problem with it? and what if people are still doing what they are with mel being a guy? is it still problematic? the answer is most likely no. also the problem with calling people misogynistic is that youre not attacking their argument but them as a person.

thats like if you said '1+1=2' and i went 'no youre stupid' or if i said 'the earth is round' and you told me that i was a conspiracy theorist. youre not attacking the argument but the person themselves. youve done nothing to disprove their argument, sure you called them a mean name but whats that going to do? people hardly ever even argue why thats the case and why its wrong, but they throw around the world mindlessly. i would be fine if people were saying that their argument was misogynistic and therefore they would be misogynistic for supporting it but even then just leave it.

not to mention that mel was written to be morally ambiguous in a sense (in s1 and in s2 she gets better but still is... eh on morals imo) and if you bring this up these 'defenders' will go rabid over you. calling you names and saying how youre 'part of the problem' and that you cant handle a strong female character and this is just by you criticizing them keep in mind. maybe you dont agree with their actions but that doesnt matter to them and its horrendous.

now moving onto jayvik and... yeah it has its issues, i will NOT lie and say that there isnt an unreasonable dislike for mel in certain parts of the community because believe me there is and its almost always uncalled for and their reason is lacking to say the least, once again mel is a complicated character and to put her in a box and say that she's the big bad is entirely and fully unreasonable. ive seen large parts of the fandom also hating on mel just because she 'gets in the way' of jayvik and i guess that this is true but also people do forget something really important

THIS IS ALL FANDOM

SHIP WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT CANON OR NOT ITS NOT MEANT FOR THE CREATORS BUT THE CONSUMERS AKA FANS

whether or not she 'gets in the way' of jayvik in canon (which she really does not as she encourages jayce to spend more time with viktor and viktor and jayce still have a bunch of meaningful scenes together DESPITE her) doesn't matter one bit. your fanon does not need to be canon in order for you to enjoy it. and tons of people tend to gloss past that because they just have to have things their way and then they throw a pissy fit over it. HOWEVER this is not the only drama with jayvik, once again if you ship this rabid mel enjoyers will say how youre misogynistic which... yeah it fucking sucks.

tbh everything with mel has got to be some of the most toxic shit ive ever seen in my life (not worse than mha and ochako but hopefully as a fandom we never get there). because mel enjoyers if they dont ship jayvik tend to ship meljay or jaymel or- whatever its called and since its canon to some extent (they did kinda break up) they will use that as a way to discourage jayvik shippers and once again call them names that do not make any sense to the argument that they are giving as they are just spewing out random ass insults to people who disagree with them

good job internet. proud of ya

NOW MELJAY AND OH BOY DO I HAVE SOME WORDS-

... yeah it was meant to be a morally grey thing. sorry to everyone who looked at it and was like 'omg they care for each other so cute!!!' mel manipulating jayce into a relationship to take advantage of him and get what she wanted is meant to be a bad thing and you wanna know why? CAUSE SHES A COMPLICATED CHARACTER. if i had to place her on the alignment chart id say that shes most likely lawful neutral and on a good day lawful good.

now if you still cant see the problem with mel and jayces relationship lemme do smth called the good 'ol gender swap

theres a smart girl inventing stuff and trying to change the world, a man comes along and supports her endeavor fully, throughout the way makes heavy advances towards her in order to trap her and get her to do what he wants. this happens and in order to trap her even further puts her in a position of power which she knows nothing about and therefore relying more and more on him and his knowledge. advances are made and they fuck but to him she is just an investment. of course as the relationship carries on he might start caring more and more about her but the manipulation never truly leaves

see what makes it so bad? me and my friends talked about this for hours thinking about it and finding out what made us not like the ship in s1 (keep in mind we did NOT ship jayvik only started after their divorce). we loved mel's characters, she's a strong woman a strong character with flaws and she's compelling. but she was never written to do morally good decisions 100% of the time and thats what makes arcane so good ignoring all of this is not understanding mels character or her actions

anyways thats all i have to say. if you disagree or have any other news feel free to share lol and thanks for listening to my rambles <3

[pong03]

Kaito character analysis

Let's start light before I get more into the conspiracy theorist ramblings. in nsfw stuff I have read I feel like he is commonly misunderstood. I have read a lot where he is hasty, unemotional and self-serving... although I can see where hasty and lazy may come from but, think about: Kaito towards MC focuses on making her happy and although not always successful it is his main goal, BUT to write him as UNEMOTIONAL.

Y'all he is the most emotional of any man in the whole series. especially, in a first time headcanon post he should not be written as unemotional... we all know he would be crying and being like "MC you're such an angel boo hoo" and "I'm so glad I had my first time with you." he might be quick to finish but I think he would very guilty and put effort towards making it up to MC as soon as he was physically able. ALSO one thing I read he just was written as giving no aftercare,,, sorry am I the crazy one to say Kaito (most of frostheim) would be the most into aftercare?? His grandma always told him blah blah blah.. to him sex wouldn't even parallel to the aftercare experience, and tbh dude would be the one to need it the most. Tell me he wouldn't do everything the MC told him too and if was even slightly degrading to her he would be SOBBING afterwards all like "I'm sorry I said all that mean stuff, I know you asked but I don't believe any of it. You're SOOO NICE." You can't disagree with me yk I'm right. Okay.. I'm like trying to keep this part short but kind of failed. Obviously your head canons are what you're entitled to... just I feel like a lot of people admit to struggling to write him so maybe they'd preesh a post like this. HML if you want Kaito advice ig okay, admittedly this second part is a bit in-depth... like could be a reach but I have A LOT of evidence so hear me out. We all know Kaito hates being a ghoul and is considerably weaker willed than the other ghouls, he is also raised by his grandma. We can assume this because she is the ONLY family member he talks about (on the home screen and in the story) and the process of becoming a ghoul is intense right? Something that would be surprising if he regrets becoming one and is the big ol baby that he is. I think that Kaito's parents are the ones who made the deal, and they didn't survive. He was born to a poor family we know this because he talks about it all the time. SO my personal thought is he was born to a single mother who didn't have any funds to raise him even with the grandmother's help, so she wishes for greatness for her baby, and makes a deal with a devil to protect her child. Because we know he doesn't have the academics to get in Frostheim and he probably was not open about being a ghoul, it's a hoe-scaring quality. So I think he's basically got assigned-plot-armor-at-birth. and basically the demon could be kind of like how luca's monster is possibly his brother, and his mom's soul in entwined with a demon's (like a ghoul's would be) and basically they co-parent him which would explain why his stigma is so weak comparatively to other ghouls. this is more exploratory, but what I truly BELIEVE bare bones is: Kaito's parents are the one's who made the deal. That's it that's all I truly believe in and everything else is speculative. I just think it would be cool especially because I think the process of becoming a ghoul is left especially vague for this purpose. Hehe let me know what you think about this and other things that you personally think about kaito! I'm really curious about other fan's thoughts.

[tewwor]

sea creature affairs starter call — well, the folks have spoken. cracking this waterlogged bad boy back open for anyone that wants a bit of nautical horror. everyone listed below resides ( or at least calls ) harborview their home. totally a small coastal town that's 10000% normal and not inhabited by strange things from the nearby sea. creatures of which that were made or in the very least influenced by some lone god found beneath sea foam and abyssal depths.

More sea creature lore here & additional details here!

like and specify who you'd like from habrorview's very own! if you previously liked for a starter ( and/or i already made you one ) and you want another with a different character — please comment and let me know!!! i'm more than happy to have multiple threads with these silly strange creatures.

adal — werewolf / sea creature hybrid . carpenter that's just trying his best, so soft and guilt ridden he'll help thieves clear out his own home, designated scout for any trouble brewing on the horizon as he sails most often.

altan — basilisk . angry hermit trying desperately to live in solitude, keeper of a barely functioning lighthouse, usually the first point of contact for oram when he waddles his sea monster ass back to land, immediately beams super mean things into orams head to help him remember how to speak the human language before kicking him out.

amant taylor boudreaux — human . just a guy that's been obsessed with harborview's happenings, he's dedicated his life to accurately detail not only it's citizens but also the mysterious people that return from the sea, would 1000% try to get nasty with someone just to lowkey research them, brainrot on god ( oram, even if he doesn't know that weird soggy man is the sea god responsible for all sea creatures ).

dane — ??? sea creature . marine biology professor & totally not the son of the alleged sea god, oram, is known to throw the occasional hissy fit if a traveler starts to get too nosy, ignorance is the only thing keeping his father immortal.

danny — shark sea creature . pirate smoted humbled by another god's wrath, runs a pub and very uncanny valley if you look close enough, thinks sitting by him while he soaks in the tub counts as a romantic date, probably eats people.

hugh — seal sea creature . unofficial babysitter of newly turned sea creatures, just wants to run his restaurant in peace but is usually in pieces instead, don’t ask questions if you see him throwing things off the pier.

joel — human ( for now ) . ooooo the sea creatures want him so bad, retired saturation diver, plagued with trauma / #1 harborview conspiracy theorist, main character syndrome & literally at his wits end.

lior — siren / eel sea creature hybrid . prior criminal ties, current fashionista, embodiment of 'i told you so', weirdly misses needing souls as sustenance.

oram — sea god . hunters want him, joel fears him, he barely knows wtf is going on at any time of his unfortunately long life, often found as a wet and soggy man wandering the beach, eldritch vibes all around and does little to hide it.

tatsuro watanabe — figurehead come alive . the newest of harborview’s bestiary, still trying to grasp how humans act and why, will try anything once, underestimates his strength often, lowkey something intimidating about him.

vincent — imugi . founder & #1 fan of the oram hate club, town-locked against his will, would love nothing more than to never talk to anyone but they love to bug the hell out of him, only cares about joel because he's.. struggling pathetic.

barbara davies — crocodile sea creature . calling all milf enjoyers, she's tall, she's hot, she's so goddamn strong! fabulous radio talk show host that's part of the few that tries to keep peace between sea creatures and human civilians ( off the record, of course ).

ha aera — human (?) . just your everyday humble waffle house employee, no she won't confirm nor deny questions about why or how the building seems to move from area to area, no she won't dive into the parking lot fights but she will call security, she's just tired and wants to get her shift over with.

ini shaw — sea witch . sea witch that primarily sells knots and charms for sailors. most of the time they're filled with good luck. be nasty to her and you'll get a nasty surprise back amidst your stupid voyage. maybe a fanatic over oram, but who’s to say?

jinae 'jenny' cho — human . there's a new hot wife in town and she's married to the mayor ( that hasn't been eaten by the sea creatures finally )! does she know her high school sweetheart turned husband is a sea creature? no! so pretty and so scrappy. definitely has traits of a survivalist for reasons she'd rather leave in the dark.

natori kato — seagull shapeshifter . what's that in the sky? it's a bird — correct! and said bird is torpedoing in to snatch food right out of your grubby hands. she's a certified yapper and bubble of joy. just ignore how she's got that scrappy aura about her.

spencer aka suspenders — human (?) . local kelpie wrangler & sanctuary keeper. it is much and it is really fucking honest work. you try getting your teeth almost kicked in every month by these slippery, man-eating sea horses. but he wouldn't have it any other way.

[seaslugsapphic]

I mean, it would be weird to completely write Nigel out after his whole plot, so I believe he will show up again in future episodes, though probably only in the second half..but most likely in short scenes where he for some reason is over at the manor or something? Or at least at the opening of the restaurant, I can see him still willing to support Isaac in that.

But for the other two..the best we can hope is them having some sort of light involvement in a c-plot where they only appear for a short scene.

(Someone on the reddit noted that the serie solves interesting concepts way too quickly, Isaac living with the shedghosts could really have been a fun few episodes, or just a B-Plot of one episode instead of just a flashback scene)

Oh writing him off the show would be a terrible idea. Even making him less relevant than they already have would be bad. Nigel hasn’t been a peripheral character for the past two seasons now. It would be so weird to see him just… dissolve into the background.

And despite it all, I’m still a nisaac believer. I’m a nisaac conspiracy theorist. Nisaac is a cryptid that I’m tracking down with trail cameras in the woods.

There’s just so much potential there for their narrative to be something very interesting and beautiful. But it’s definitely not that yet. And I honestly have no idea if the writers have any interest in making it that. But the dots are all there, if they would only connect them.

So much about their circumstances feels so compelling and tragic and hopeful. Just the fact that... Nigel died because Isaac just wanted to look at him, feels so fraught with symbolism about common queer experiences. The feeling that its dangerous or deadly to just look at someone with love or desire is familiar to so many queer people.

And, yet I love the idea of showing that queer love can flourish in the most unlikely of places, despite fear and suppression and repression; on opposite sides of a war, in death, centuries after you think it’s too late...

It’s painful and it’s hopeful, and I’d hate to see that story go to waste.

But yes, the show does move on from interesting concepts too quickly. Isaac should’ve spent more time in the shed and the dirt.

[ratinacoat]

you cook with every post you make. a refreshing breath of cool air in this hellhole of an online CDD community. ily. /p

genuinely keep doing what you do because this is so wonderful to see . please keep speaking your truth king it's so needed !!!!!

i'd love to hear your thoughts on why smaller systems aren't as well represented in online spaces/why so many pwDID online have such large headcounts. i have my own theories (mainly, the communities that they're engaging with have normalized huge alter counts to the point where a small one is abnormal, and online systems will do anything to avoid being abnormal in a bad way), but i'd love to hear your take on it.

once again tysm for being so correct all the time it's so necessary

Thank you for the support! The positive messages truly speak louder than the hate driven ones.

I believe there could be a few reasons that larger headcounts are more common than smaller ones.

Because this will be quite long, I will list them below here.

Don't want to read through each paragraph? Focus on the green.

1. Validation

As you said, it is so normalized to have hundreds to thousands of alters in system communities despite this not being a very common experience within people with diagnosed DID. Many feel their headcounts need to be high in order to feel valid within those communities of people who make their online identity about their disorder. It may feel invalidating or as if no one will believe you if you do not claim such a high count. This can be overexaggerating symptoms or lying.

*I am not claiming all people with higher alter counts are lying*

2. Mislead

During my time in system communities of all kinds, there has been so much misinformation. I have witnessed groups of people telling one person that their thoughts being in a new voice means it's a new alter, their personality shifting is a new alter, identifying with/as a character is a new alter, being connected to a character is a new alter, zoning out is a switch, a headache is a split, ECT. This happens so much that I wouldn't doubt people think something is an alter that actually isn't. This especially applies to endogenic communities who will refuse to allow you to be normal. Everything makes you a system and if you doubt yourself they see you as ableist and invalidating to others/your alters.

3. Misinformation

The system community strongly believes in things like C-DID/polyfragmentation and HC-DID. These things aren't medically proven things though.

Polyfragmentation comes from Dr. Richard P. Kluft and Dr. Benner G. Braun's (Two psychiatrists who are well known to be abusive and a conspiracy theorists) theory of "Extremely complex multiple personality disorder" Outside of outdated or unreliable information/studies, polyfragmentation is not a recognized part of DID at all. I have tried looking for up to date professionally written sources on polyfragmentation and I have never found any. But if you have some then feel free to link them I would love to read it.

If you would like to read this here is a link. DO NOT USE THIS AS A SOURCE OF ACTUAL INFORMATION. This is outdated as hell. It's just showing where the term polyfragmented came from and why it isn't good.

HC-DID came from... Instagram. I think that says enough. It has never been a medically recognized thing and is not a diagnosis you can get.

4. Views

No, I do not mean doing it for views. Literally because of the views on posts. When people post about having high alter counts, it draws in all sorts of people. Whether that be other people who interact with system content, random observers, curious people, people who think the content is cringe, or really anyone. The more obscure appearing posts always go the most viral. That is why people like The Wonderland System, The A System, The Pillowfort System, ECT blow up. Their videos show CDDs in a more exaggerated way. That includes high alter count (not including The A System there afaik.) being a big part of their content. They blow up because more people are engaging for more reasons. While someone who doesn't present the disorder in such an overt way won't get that much traction online. It's not as interesting to people who engage in system content or people who just come across the videos. You see more of the higher headcount videos because they gain more attention online and get pushed to more people.

I want to make it clear, I am not saying that this is going to be for everyone who claims to have a high alter count.

[karama9]

Got tagged by @amelias-hart. Thank you!

1. How many works on AO3? 42. I never noticed it was that many until I looked to answer this lol.

2. Total AO3 word count? 580,697. There’s more to come from fanfiction, I’m nowhere near done importing everything from there.

3. Top 5 fics by kudos:

Worth the Spotlight

Dreams

MY Ladybug

Interrupted

Hero

4. What fandoms do you write for? I’ve written for Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, G.I. Joe, and Legend of Zelda. I might eventually try and write a bit of a closure for the Arashikage verse in G.I. Joe, and there’s still this Fantômette crossover kicking around in my head for Ladybug, but I pretty much only write for Zelda currently.

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! And usually pretty quickly, I love the feedback and I love talking to readers.

6. Fic with the angsty ending? Actually a tricky one. I think for angsty ending in particular, it would be a toss up between "No More. Not One Single Time More" and "Forever Friends". I’ve written plenty of dark stuff, but for the most part, I aim for hopeful ending. Those two had, respectively, an ending that confirmed the price that was paid and an ending that just promised one fairy would continue to try making eternity just a bit less terrible for her friend.

7. Fic with the happiest ending? Also tricky. I think many of them have happy (o at least happy-ish) ending, but the ones that are more straight up happy and resolved as opposed to hopeful things are heading in the right direction would be Letters and Interrupted. Fluffy mushy lovey dovey happy endings.

8. Do you get hate? A tiny bit on fanfiction with ATHU, none so far on AO3. I’ve gotten lots of concrit, but hardly ever any hate.

9. Do you write smut? I have occasionally, and one of my upcoming stories will probably have some (for character development).

10. Do you write crossovers? Sometimes, but not usually franchise so much as doing crossovers with some friends’ works. Mixing AUs type thing. I love doing that!

11. Ever had a fic stolen? Not the whole thing. I had a scene stolen, I had head canons borrowed with credit given to someone else, and I STILL think Barbie: Princess Charmed School MIGHT have stolen the ending line of Arashikage. Because in the movie, the same line made NO SENSE. Literally, the next line was another character going “WUT”. And I have yet to see it or a variation of it anywhere else so it's not like it's just one of those things that come to everyone. *clears throat* Sorry. Deactivating conspiracy theorist mode now.

12. Ever had a fic translated? No. Someone requested once but I asked them not to. I’m not comfortable with not knowing what has my name on it, so for any language I can’t speak, I don’t really want translations from people I don’t know. I did write one story both in French in English, but the French version barely got any readers, wasn’t worth the effort in the end to do it again.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic? Not really. We talked out some ideas a fair bit back in the days, but the closest I got to a collab was writing a story with the same idea as another writer, by common agreement. Hers ended up being set later and they almost read like a prequel-sequel, but that wasn’t actually planned.

14. All time favorite ship? Not much into romance. I tend to favor the obvious ones like Zelink and I still have half a mind to write a Candy Candy story where she reunites with my personal favorite love interest (Candy/Terry forever!).

5. WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Arashikage sequel, and my original story.

16. Writing strengths? I… I hope I have some lol. I’ve been complimented on believable feelings and reactions from characters, and I’m sort of proud of my plots?

17. Writing weaknesses? Descriptions. You’re going to have to assume people are wearing clothes, guys (unless they’ve taken them off). And also that there is some kind of landscape or something around them. I often neglect to describe things unless they affect the plot or the scene.

18. Thoughts of mixed language dialogue? I avoid it in my own writing. If a character is bilingual and they switch language, I’ll paraphrase a translation if the other speaker understands it and indicate something like “they said something in (language) next, that nobody around had any hope of understanding”.

19. First fandom you wrote for? 80s ninja movies when I was 12. It was… graphic. Years later, Sailor Moon. I’m not sure I actually posted any of it.

20. Favorite Fic you’ve ever written? I honestly don’t know. I’m still very proud of Arashikage and Hero, but I have some one-shots that I think are very good too.

Open tag to anyone who'd like to do this!

[ltwharfy]

My top 10 "Homicide" characters

I finished my rewatch of "Homicide: Life on the Street" this past weekend, so now comes the real fun part: long posts where I arbitrarily rank things from the show!

I'm starting with my ten favorite main characters from the show. Feel free to send me an ask if you'd like to hear my thoughts on one of the characters who didn't make the list. As is generally the case with the shows I love, I don't hate any of the main "Homicide" characters (I feel "meh" about a few of them and can name a least favorite if I must).

Also, I am going to be talking about the charactes' storylines throughout the show, so I am putting this page break here for folks who are still watching/haven't watched the show and want to avoid spoilers...

Frank Pembleton: The GOAT! Like, I genuinely think he might be my favorite TV character of all-time. He is certainly in the top 10. When I started the rewatch I was worried that maybe Frank (and the show itself) would not be as good as a remembered from decades ago when I was a teenager. Honestly, Frank is an even more impressive chracter than I remember. I remembered him being intense. I remembered his scenes in the box. I remembered his dynamic with Bayliss. I remembered his stroke and recovery. But there was so much more to Frank that I had forgotten about. Rewatching "Every Mother's Son" it struck me how many different sides of Frank we see in that one episode: he's righteous and moralistic and burnt out and badass and compassionate and funny and an asshole- and so much more. There are so many great little details about him that are never really commented on but make him such an interesting, complete character: his suspenders, the way he wears his watch with the face on the inside of his wrist, the way he occasionally calls people he's arresting "babe" or "baby". A favorite little Frank moment: in "Colors", when Frank and Stan are questioning the friend of the exchange student that Tim's cousin shot, the friend is explaining about KISS and says that the victim thought Gene Simmons was the coolest. Stan is completely confused and looks over to Frank who briefly does a Gene Simmons tongue flick. And it's not a closeup on Frank when he's doing this, and it's never commented on and I can't help but wonder if it was in the script or improvised by Andre Braugher or suggested by the director...but whatever the case I somehow find it emblametic of how Frank is such wonderfully real, complete character.

Tim Bayliss: Man, talk about character development! The naive rookie from the primiere turned confessed killer by the end of the Movie. In between he helps buy a bar, has sex in a coffin, talks about being abused as a child, explores his sexuality, converts to Buddhism, starts a website, goes through a multitude of haircuts, and creates one of the most beautiful, complicated relationships between two characters that I've seen on TV with Frank. And all the twists and turns in the Tim Bayliss saga make sense when you rewatch the show. I have no idea how much of his storyline was planned in advance (I'm guessing not much, given how touch and go "Homicide" always was for renewal) but it all works. When I first watched the show as a teenager, I sort of identified with/looked up to Bayliss. Maybe it's just because I was a white boy with dark brown hair who had glasses and a number of Bayliss-seque haircuts- although, in my defense I think Bayliss is positioned as an audience surrogate at the beginning of the show. And teenage!me kind of hated the way Bayliss's story ended, with him killing Luke Ryland. But watching the show again from the beginning, it makes sense. It's not an inevitable ending, but it is a logical one.

John Munch: I first mentioned this while commenting on "The City That Bleeds" but one of the most rewarding aspects of the rewatch has been seeing how there is so much more to John Munch (and Richard Belzer) as an actor, than the snarky conspiracy theorist that I loved and remembered. That's definitely a part of him, but it's made better by what's inside that it's covering up, which is that he's probably one of the most sentimental and caring characters on the show. He cares about his partners and the rest of the squad and his high school crush and his ex-wife's mother who never cared for him. He called Frank 50 times when Frank was recovering from his stroke and then got pissed off because Frank never called him back once. As I indicated with my praise of "Kaddish" and "All is Bright", I love the little glimpses we get of Munch's past, and I wish he had gotten more of that- the transformation from hippie to Homicide dectective is an interesting one and probably says a lot about the two different sides of John Munch, the cynical and the sentimental.

Meldrick Lewis : He feels real to me in a different way than Frank Pembleton does. I think Frank is a great chracter created by a great actor, writers, and directors and that's what makes him feel real. Clark Johnson as Meldrick Lewis, on the other hand, feels real in the sense that he feels like he just *is* that guy. Like, if you took some of Meldrick's scenes and showed them to me outside the context of the rest of the show, I could just buy that this is an actual homicide detective who just happened to be filmed for a while. He seems so natural. I've read that Clark Johnson was great at ad-libbng and that a lot of his jokes on "Homicide" were improvised, and I think that has to play a part in why he comes off this way.

Mike Kellerman: I view him as the most tragic "Homicide" character, when you look at where he started, how he ended up, and how short it took him to go there. While Bayliss was portrayed as a little naive in Season 1, Kellerman in Season 4 comes across as basically like a big kid. He tells Frank that "fun" is his religion. He dreams about Bugs Bunny and sleeps on pillow cases with cartoon characters on them. While driving back from apprehending a suspect he insists on stopping on a children's fairytale village he remembers from being a kid. Then he's falsely accused of being dirty, is investigated by feds, considers killing himself, kills a drug lord in an unnecessary shooting, lies about the shooting, and eventually ends up resigning in disgrace. All in three seasons. It's funny, while I remembered the Mahoney shooting and the aftermath, I had totally forgotten the bribery investigation storyline, which is interesting because I think there's a good chance Mike wouldn't have shot Luther if he wasn't in such a dark place from the bribery investigation and it's aftermath already.

Kay Howard: Like Meldrick Lewis, she just feels like an incredibly real person to me. She is gven so many great moments in the first couple of seasons. Her partnership with Beau Felton is one of the best on the show- the dynamic of the super competent person with the screw up best friend is one of her many realistic aspects. I also loved it when she occasionally butted heads with Frank- since she is just as good, maybe even better, of a detective than but has such a different personality. She and Frank also gave us one of the shows funniest moments, and one that convinced me that I was absolutely going to rewatch the entire series: in "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" when Frank nags her about why she is quitting smoking, and does it have anything to do with her relationship with ASA Ed Danvers, and Kay proceeds to go on about Danvers being such a goddamn good lover, to Frank's astonishment...and then she indicates at the end that maybe she was just messing with him. Why did that convince me I was going to rewatch the whole show? Because it made me realize how much I just love spending time with these chracters. Kay's promotion in Season Four is kind of a double-edged sword- I was so freaking happy for her becasue she deserved it, but it also seemed to be the beginning of the writing staff having no idea what to do with her.

Dr. Julianna Cox: What do you mean she was only on the show for like a season and a half or so?!? I'm pretty sure she was always there...Seriously, she's honestly one of the best examples I've ever seen of a character being added to a show mid-series and fitting in so naturally. Her intelligence, her wit, the fact she's a bit screwed up and disturbed in her own way, she fit in so perfectly with the rest of the characters. I seriously think the Season 5 cast after she joined is my favorite version of the cast. Alas, she was gone too soon. But then, she was played by Michelle Forbes, patron saint of cool characters who are added in the fifth seasons of shows and then leave too soon.

Beau Felton: Beau Felton kinda sucks, right? Frank Pembleton would be the first to tell you Beau's a racist. And we see that he's a drunk. And even when he's not drunk, he's still a bit of a sloppy detective. And you know if he was a real person who was able to vote in the past three US presidential elections, he'd have voted for Trump. And I wish he'd stayed around longer. As I explained in another post tonight, after Beau has that scene where he is breaking down, sobbing to Megan about how he's worried he will never see his kids again, I was rooting for the guy. Yeah, I knew how his story would end up because I had quite literally seen it before. I knew he would be suspended, then work undercover for internal affairs and get his head blown off. But some part of me hoped it would somehow be different this time. I like to imagine there's a universe where Beau Felton became soberish, took his job more seriously, finalized his divorce but stayed close to his kids, and lived to a ripe old age.

Al Giardello: Our esteemed Lieutenant. No way I could leave him off the list. Rewatching the show as adult who has worked in a variety of settings, including some with rather complicated office politics, I was even more impressed by Gee's leadership- the way, when the chips are down he is always backing him up his officers against the bosses. As a teenager, the bit in the movie where Gee is running for mayor seemed like a stretch to me- but as an adult, seeing how Gee clashes with the bosses, leaks stuff the press, and so clearly cares about the community- it makes complete sense.

Stan Bolander. The Big Man. His dynamic with Munch was first rate, but he was also just an incredibly enjoyable chracter on his own. I loved his romance with Dr. Blythe in Season 1- there's something I really love about seeing middle aged people being awkward in love (because it is #relatable to me). I also loved the fact that even though he didn't have kids of his own, he was always really sweet when dealing with child witnesses. And I loved the way these softer parts of his personality contrasted with exasperation and annoyance when dealing with Munch. And he's Ned Freakin' Beatty, of course's he's great.

[iamafanofcartoons]

Hey, what are your thoughts on the whole 'Qrow is Ruby's father' theory? Genuine answer, please.

Okay, let's look at it this way.

We all know vaccines don't cause autism. But anti-vaxxers repeatedly claim its a lie, a conspiracy, and refuse to listen to the CDC.

We all know the earth is round, not flat. But flat-earthers refuse to listen to NASA and treat it as a conspiracy.

How does that relate to Qrow theorists?

Monty Oum said, before Volume 2 Chapter 6? That Ruby and Yang are half-sisters. Not Step-Sisters. Half-sisters.

What do the "Monty's vision" and Qrow theorists say? "Monty meant step-sisters" "Monty was hiding the truth" "CRWBY has already retconned Adam Taurus and the show, so they should retcon this" "Monty is dead, so M&K don't have to follow this"

The very man that RWBY Critics put on a pedestal and claim to be some man whose work was ruined, but everything that comes out his mouth or tweets gets ignored and despised.

Yang talks about how Summer and Tai raised Ruby and Yang together as kids. Qrow theorists: "Yang was too young, her memory is spotty" "Qrow gave Ruby to Tai to raise after Summer's death" They literally ignore EVERYTHING that Yang said. Eruptionfang , the biggest Adam Taurus dickrider, made specifically suer to completely ignore the entire scene in his theory video which made sure to try to paint Monty as a liar.

Tai reads a bedtime story to Ruby and Yang about the Warrior in the Woods?

"Its not canon" "It was after Summer's death, so here's how Qrow can still be Ruby's father"

Now...how about specific things in question.

A girl named Anna masters was so in love with the theory, that when evidence disproving the theory came about, she used the R-Slur.

Another girl, Rose, kept claiming it was monty's vision, but when the mods of the facebook group showed her monty's tweet? And showed her that she could NOT use "Monty's vision" to support her claim? She started badmouthing Monty....because that's what Qrow theorists are like.

A third girl I dealt with happened to be a member of the WomenforVic movement of the vic micnogna defenders.

She had managed to get Vic Micnogna to say "Ruby, I am your father" at her camera, and she used that to claim that anything monty said was meaningless because Qrow's va , at the time, did a joke.

When Miles Luna shut down the theory on reddit and claimed that Qrow was a role model and father figure, but NOT ruby's father in any way shape or form?

The Qrow theorists immediately showed their true colors by doing mental gymnastics trying to twist Miles' words, or flat out calling him a liar and claiming that he was "Ruining monty's vision"

Anti-vaxxers. Flat Earthers. and Qrow theorists.

For these people, truth is not what is actually true. Truth for these people is what they decide to be true.

They reject reality, and substitute their own.

And if you try to show them that they're wrong, they hate you and call you toxic or other unsavory names, because these people wish to keep their delusions. They find their delusions better than reality.

Its the same way Adam Taurus fanfic writers get furious because their headcanons that they decided was somehow the actual show was debunked by the actual show. So they claim it was a retcon or character assassination.

Just ask these theorists about their thoughts of Qrow being Bi for Clover? Their responses will be full of bigotry.

But at the end of the day? There is no god. Vaccines do not cause autism. The earth is not flat. And Qrow is not and never will be Ruby's Father.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Regarding queerbaiting: Sherlock is one of the more famous examples, and the tumblr drama surrounding it is an... interesting story that I think is worth knowing if you want to understand the queerbait allegations.

The show, made and set in the 2010s, liked to poke fun at John Watson for being a straight man shacking up with another single dude. The show's creators -- one of whom is a gay man himself -- were born in 60s, so I see these jokes as two guys who were adults during the height of AIDS and Thatcherism taking delight in the fact they're now living in a world where queerness is largely accepted and somewhat normalized. A straight guy being forced to constantly defend himself from nonchalant assumptions that the man he's living with is his gay lover is funny when he's not in any danger of being hate-crimed over it, right?

(I'm not a fan of the joke personally, but I get it.)

They really liked this stupid joke though, so they used it again and again and again, to the point that young fans started to become convinced it was hinting at something. I can't blame them: there was even a lesbian character who fell for Sherlock and explicitly compared herself to John as someone who wasn't into men and yet was just so spellbound by this one special detective boi.

It was pretty lesbophobic imo, which should have been a massive red flag as to how the showrunners really felt about queer characters...

...But where the show went from annoying to actively hostile was the mystery of how Sherlock survived his apparent death at the end of season 2. The showrunners swore up and down it was solvable... and then when the next season aired, the "solution" was "lol who cares how he did it, this is a ~*character driven story*~ and only stupid obsessed idiots would want to solve the mystery. 🤣🤣🤣"

Make no mistake, they singled out the mlm shippers specifically for mockery -- there's a group of Sherlock Holmes conspiracy theorists in the show who argue over a theory that Holmes and Moriarty staged the death together and then kissed about it. (The viewer is clearly meant to laugh at this.)

Some of the Johnlockers on tumblr refused to believe this was happening to them and doubled down and convinced themselves there was going to be an amazing Johnlock plot twist at the end of season 4. My understanding (which might be wrong, I wasn't in the fandom) is that this contingent was largely composed of naive queer teenagers who blindly trusted a handful of influential adults who insisted that the show was deep and clever and didn't hate its fans.

So I can definitely sympathize with the folks who fear Byler is just queerbait. This too is a mlm fandom made up of naive teenagers trusting the adults who swear that the secret gay plot twist is totally gonna happen this time, trust me bro it's not called Surface Things.

And, look. I think it's very sensible to be skeptical of random strangers on the internet who insist they have the answers, no matter how authoritative they might sound. Keep on doing that, folks. 👍

But I think that principle applies just as much to the "this is just like Sherlock" doomers as it does to the "anyone who thinks Byler won't happen has no media literacy" lot. Yes, it's always possible that the Duffers were queerbaiting us all along... but the way Sherlock and Stranger Things approach queerness truly is like night and day.

Huh, well, if what you say is accurate, then it sounds like the Holmes writers were just jerks overall. I can see the joke, as you explain it. I may not think it appropriate to make it a running gag, but it's good for a chuckle or two. If it was truly presented as a joke, then it would be on the fans for misinterpreting it, but I don't know enough about how it was presented to know how easy it would be for fans to make that conclusion.

To me, it only makes it more apparent that things on Stranger Things are "night and day," as you put it. Will's feelings, and Robin's, for that matter, are not treated as jokes. They're treated as dramatic, emotional parts of their individual arcs. In Will's case, his happiness is linked to his relationship with Mike, which is complicated by the fact that he doesn't think he'll get to have a romantic relationship with him, or at all really.

I prefer to think the Duffers are better than whoever was responsible for what you described. While it all remains to be seen, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, for now.

[grilledcheese-savage]

I just watched Jurassic world chaos theory and here’s a list of all my thoughts

Spoilers ahead

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- LIMB DIFFERENCE BROOKLYN??? SHE LOOKS SO BADASS. I LOVE ALL HER NEW HAIRSTYLES. They’re so much better than the old ones (not that I didn’t like her old hair, I liked it when her roots grew in but I HATED the weird timeskip haircut at the end of cc)

- secondly, kenji getting a taste of his own medicine cause he now gets to know what it felt like to think you were betrayed by your closest friend.

- but yeah, rip kenji. That guy has been through enough. Like, if you put all his trauma in order it’s depressing. Dad abused him, manipulated him, left him on a Dino island and tried to kill all his friends. THEN he tried to make a new shady business and guilt kenji instead of just, giving him info about Brooklyn

- also Darius having a crush on Brooklyn I jokingly guessed AND WAS RIGHT

- New villain is really cool. The way she controls raptors is soooo interesting. I haven’t gotten to see any of the new Jurassic movies (I only saw Jurassic world) so idk if she’s in that one

- I really liked Mateo but I was getting flashbacks from season 2 (or was it three?) and totally thought he was gonna die. He talked too much about his daughter I totally thought he would’ve died and Darius break the news to her.

- DO THE COPS THINK THE NUBLAR SIX ARE DEAD AGAIN??? BECAUSE THEY ACCIDENTALLY (and purposely for some) FAKED THEIR OWN DEATHS WITH THE CAR AND NOT ANSWERING BRAND SHIt

- also Darius was scaring me at the beginning, he seemed really depressed. I had seen 5 seconds of spoilers by accident of him in a bathtub and kenji walking in AND I WAS CONVINCED IT WAS SOME DARK TWIST AND THE SHOW WOULD END WITH HIM killing himself! I know it’s a kids show! But I watched legend of korra… so. There.

- Also at first I was uncomfortable with the way Yaz was being characterized as traumatized the most, but I ended up loving because it felt like a Purposeful Mis characterization only for it to be turned on it’s head. Let me explain, at the beginning us as viewers are told that Yaz has been really fucked up by all the monster attacks, and had to go to therapy in Wyoming. So we as viewers get worried that she’s going to relapse her ptsd after learning they’re being hunted. But while yes, she has normal reactions to Dino’s (fear) we learn therapy actually WORKED and she wasn’t SHELTERED. She ACTUALLY LEARNED COPING SKILLS and ended up being the most well adjusted among them. It was written so well. Because now we see Sammy who we thought was doing well, have horrible coping skills and fall into an anxious attachment style because her parents don’t talk to her anymore, her girlfriend is ignoring her (avoidant attachment kinda) and all of her friends are going through their own shit on their own and don’t talk to her. She’s having panic attacks and struggling, and Yaz got to be able to pay her back for all the compassion by showing her how she handles all the fear and sadness. I FUCKING LOVED THAT. THAT WAS SO GOOD. AND I ONLY REALIZE HOW GOOD IT WAS THE MORE I SIT IN IT. I spread out my watching because if I binged I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much.

- I also loved that they all represented different outcomes of trauma, and different coping mechanisms. Darius with the survivors guilt (again), Sammy with keeping herself busy so she doesn’t have to think about it, Ben becoming even more hyper vigillant/conspiracy theorist. Etc.

-Sammy was season mvp. She was the best character by far for me.

-She definitely needed to give Yaz her space tho, but I also hated how Yaz just assumed Sammy thought she couldn’t handle herself only because Sammy hadn’t seen her since her breakdown after the Dinos got loose. I loved watching it tho, the argument was so needed.

- I didn’t once think “there’s no way they’d act that way” because they were all characterized so well as trauma survivors.

- the only things I was like ehhh about were Kenji being a climber (since when??) and Ben having a girlfriend 😂.

- I loved that Darius was living on his own and brand was calling a ton because he was worried about him. Because Darius has only gotten MORE independent, his way of dealing with this problems is having alone time and doing things himself. I LOVE THAT AGGHHH.

- I was disappointed kenji had a new voice actor tho. He didn’t necessarily do a bad job, it was just really distracting for me.

- Not with Brooklyn though, I didn’t notice at all, I just thought Jenna Ortega was going something different now that Brooklyn is older. Her voice actor did so well. I loved all the layers I felt in all the flashbacks.

- One thing tho, I would’ve loved it if Brooklyn was actually dead (although the way they handled it made me REALLY believe she was dead, and I was pretty positive she was alive for most of the show)

- I love brooklyn!! But I do think killing one of the main characters would’ve upped the stakes more. But all of the drama and new dinos did that by itself. I felt on the edge of my seat the whole show!

- I also liked that Brooklyn and Kenji broke up. Might get some hate for that but it’s true. I never shipped it. But this show actually did make me like the ship more if that’s insane. Because I do think the dynamic of “we’re both jokingly egotistical and we bring out each other’s worst sides in a silly way”. I also think kenji needs happiness.

- And while I’m disappointed Ben has an off screen girlfriend, hopefully she shows up as a character later. Or they at least break up so he can have his bisexual king moment (go cry about it)

- I would also love mateo’s daughter becoming a character later, like her being a part of Brooklyn’s secret crew to take down the DPW etc. I don’t usually like the new characters super late in a series, but because of the way they’ve hinted at these characters, it makes me want to see them.

- I think she’d be a hacker or someone like Brooklyn just cause of what we’ve been shown of her.

- One thing I didn’t love, was not getting to see a complete wrapped up conflict. Like, kenji and Darius got better but mostly cause the action distracted them from getting to be genuinely hurt. And ESPECIALLY Sammy and Yaz’s conflict, although by Yaz helping her breathe it did kind of solve the conflict without words. But that’s just me.

- I also thought that Ben should be a lot less well adjusted. He’s had A LOT of trauma throughout the show, basically breaking his entire original archetype and replacing it with a new one. His whole character development was going from being scared and being a burden, to getting immensely used to hurting and living in the wild just to survive. When I originally thought of how he’d be out of the island, I thought he’d really struggle getting into fights to solve his problems, (like when he got into a fist fight with kenji) and being a little too wild for “civilization” (school, work etc.) and not fitting in. We also don’t really know why he’s not in college anymore. Did he graduate? Is he taking a gap year? We saw him in a dorm and it’s only been six years. Wasn’t he like, 15 at the start of the show? Well, I guess he would’ve graduated by then, but idk it depends. We actually have a lot of loose ends I want to be explored, like where is Sammy’s family? Why don’t her parents talk to her anymore? Is it cause she’s gay? I thought she had siblings?? Idk.

- tldr, I want ben to have more violent tendencies because he can’t work through his emotions. Not everyone heals in non harmful way 🤷‍♀️

- also cause I want his pyromania to come back idc if it was a facade to protect himself.

- ALSO IM SO GLAD KENJI’S DAD IS DEAD I ALMOST FORGOT

- AND ALSO IM SHOCKED THEYRE EVEN INSINUATING THAT BROOKLYN IS EVIL NOW CAUSE REMEMBER HOW PISSED SHE WAS AT KENJI FOR DOING BASICALLY THE SAME THING? DAMN, HYPOCRITICAL MUCH?

- BUT IT WOULD BE COOL IF HER MORALS ARE NOW MORE MORALLEY GREY LIKE HATING DINOS OR HURTING PEOPLE FOR THE GREATER GOOD

- LIKE NORMAN FROM THE PROMISED NEVERLAND MANGA OR ROSE QUARTZ

- THATS MY FAVE TYPE OF CHARACTER

- That’s why I liked it so much when Darius said “I don’t chase dinosaurs anymore, just one…” BECAUSE IT INSINUATED HE WANTED TO KILL A DINO WHEN HES A DINO LOVER. Him not liking Dinos as much would’ve been badass but also out of character I guess

- it also made me think of that meme from totally spies “I don’t want to kill all the world! Just half! THE MALE HALF-“

- but omg this made me realize… if his boss that he talked to during that scene was talking to Brooklyn this whole time… if brook asked how Darius was she could’ve told her about how bad he was doing and Brooklyn wouldn’t have been able to tell him at all that it wasn’t his fault.

- although… I’ll be real with u… it totally was. When we found out WHY he wasn’t there? Eyah it was his fault 😭💀. I know that’s horrible it say and if I was him I would’ve done the same (just cause it’s awkward and he wanted to give her space) BUT THAT WAS ALMOST INCEL-LIKE BEHAVIOR FROM HIM, WHAT???

- anyways I made a lot of jokes I might copy and paste in a reblog we’ll see

That’s about it for now. Thanks if you read this far.

@riftwirecrystal tag

[tewwor-moving]

sea creature affairs starter call — i won't lie.. got a hankering to rev up some new content with these goons. everyone resides / at least calls harborview their home. just a small coastal town that's 10000% normal and not inhabited by strange things from the nearby sea. creatures of which that were made or in the very least influenced by some lone god found beneath sea foam and abyssal depths.

More sea creature lore here!

like and/or specify who you'd like from habrorview's very own! if you previously liked for a starter ( and/or i already made you one ) and you want another with a different character — please comment and let me know!!! i'm more than happy to have multiple threads with these silly strange creatures

adal — werewolf / sea creature hybrid . carpenter that's just trying his best, so soft and guilt ridden he'll help thieves clear out his own home, designated scout for any trouble brewing on the horizon as he sails most often

altan — basilisk . angry hermit trying desperately to live in solitude, keeper of a barely functioning lighthouse, usually the first point of contact for oram when he waddles his sea monster ass back to land, immediately beams super mean things into orams head to help him remember how to speak the human language before kicking him out.

amant taylor boudreaux — human . just a guy that's been obsessed with harborview's happenings, he's dedicated his life to accurately detail not only it's citizens but also the mysterious people that return from the sea, would 1000% try to get nasty with someone just to lowkey research them, brainrot on god ( oram, even if he doesn't know that weird soggy man is the sea god responsible for all sea creatures )

dane — sea creature . marine biology professor & totally not the son of the alleged sea god, oram, is known to throw the occasional hissy fit if a traveler starts to get too nosy, ignorance is the only thing keeping his father immortal

danny — sea creature . pirate smoted humbled by another god's wrath, runs a pub and very uncanny valley if you look close enough, thinks sitting by him while he soaks in the tub counts as a romantic date, probably eats people

hugh — sea creature . unofficial babysitter of newly turned sea creatures, just wants to run his restaurant in peace but is usually in pieces instead, don’t ask questions if you see him throwing things off the pier

joel — human ( for now ) . ooooo the sea creatures want him so bad, retired saturation diver, plagued with trauma / #1 harborview conspiracy theorist, main character syndrome & literally at his wits end

lior — siren / sea creature hybrid . prior criminal ties, current fashionista, embodiment of 'i told you so', weirdly misses needing souls as sustenance

oram — hunters want him, joel fears him, he barely knows wtf is going on at any time of his unfortunately long life, often found as a wet and soggy man wandering the beach, eldritch vibes all around and does little to hide it

tatsuro watanabe — figurehead come alive . the newest of harborview’s bestiary, still trying to grasp how humans act and why, will try anything once, underestimates his strength often, lowkey something intimidating about him

vincent — imugi . founder & #1 fan of the oram hate club, town-locked against his will, would love nothing more than to never talk to anyone but they love to bug the hell out of him, only cares about joel because he's.. struggling pathetic