#kindly do fuck off god that broke my brain and was the domino that led to leaving reddit

[tuiyla]

do you know any instances of the glee fandom taking one joke or comment on the show a little too literally?

after that post about santana and brittany and who slept with who in the new directions, it got me thinking. bc like, I've encountered a few people who think brittany literally slept with every single guy in the school (or football team or whatever). and yeah, that was implied quite a few times, but I've always thought it was just one of the things about her you can't take seriously.

also, when she said artie was the only one who haven't called her stupid, which means santana called her that at some point. and like... she could've said that when they weren't much close I guess? but I don't think that's the proof.

anyway, I'm sure there are other examples I'm forgetting.

Oh damn Anon, do I, it happens all the time. I'm going to extend it to too seriously as well as too literally.

Let me just make this clear before I bring up my own examples. I think the core of the issue is that there are things in Glee by its very nature that you simply cannot take too seriously or the whole thing falls apart. Inconsistencies that directly contradict each other fall into that category but so dumb one-liners that prioritize comedy over character. The problem is, people's opinions on what can and cannot be taken seriously will inevitably differ. I can say, for example that you can't take it seriously when Rachel doesn't know that Cats closed a decade ago. Another person might write an essay on why this is proof that she never actually cared about musical theatre. That's a real example, btw. The point is, there will always be things I think people take a little too seriously given its context and I'm sure many would say I read way too much into certain lines.

What's interesting about your two examples is that they aren't even your traditional Brittany one-liners as one is supposed to be just a general thing about her character (having slept/made out with all the guys) and the other is treated rather seriously within its own context. I think this balance of what to take at face value and what to let fly is even trickier when it comes to Brittany, which is what I've observed as a reason she's become more divisive and generally less well-liked. She's a comedic character for a really big portion of her run, if you take too many things about her seriously of course it messes with your perception of her.

I haven't even heard the "Santana has also, therefore, called her stupid" one but I call sus on that. I have a very hard time picturing Santana straight-up calling Brittany stupid even when they didn't really know each other because then their relationship would have just gone down differently. Is it my Brittana bias, sure I'll own up to that but I don't think the line should be taken so seriously as to go against this belief. And maybe it's just my cultural background, but "every" can sometimes mean "a lot"? I'll be honest I don't remember the exact lines referencing the one with her sex life but I think Brittany says something like having made out with everyone, boys and girls. Which is obviously bull, just look at the OG 6 of the Glee Club, or Quinn, or you know, just realistically think it through. It's an exaggeration; weirdly enough a technique used often in satire. Who would have thought.

Like I said, I get that everyone draws their own lines and it's a case by case basis for every questionable line and scene. One I think should just be taken as a joke and move on is the Rachel and Cats example. Puck says some stupid shit like having had a threesome at age 9 or something, do we believe that? Do we believe half the insanities that leave Sue's mouth? And bringing it back to Brittany, I take issue with people getting way too serious about the opening scene of Sexy because I've seen where it can go. The take "Brittany doesn't know where babies come from, ergo she doesn't understand sex, ergo everyone who sleeps with her commits SA" is not something I never need to see again, thanks.