#literally has to try and justify the negative things she says by saying “i don't hate her. she was just weird”

[armageddon-generation]

Empire of Death was bad and cemented several fundemental flaws in this season.

I watched this in the theatre, and the contrast between everyone's excitement before Empire, and their universal disappointment leaving the theatre was super disheartening. I'm gonna try to articulate my problems with episode, and how they're linked to fundenental structural issues of this season.

SPOILERS BELOW:

Sutekh

The moment the UNIT characters died the story was robbed of any stakes. (Also? Kate and Ibrahim?? During Pride month?? Disgusting)

Sutekh was pointless, big CGI spectacle who was barely there. Saying he's been latched onto the TARDIS since Pyramids of Mars was such an asspull. Why couldn't he have latched on during Wild Blue Yonder? wouldn't that make much more sense??

You're telling me the guy who holds all life in contempt is invested enough in learning the identity of Ruby's mum he willingly reveals himself??

And then they defeat him by dragging him through the Vortex just like before, which it's been explicitly stated *didn't work* last time? He just *lets* Ruby leash him??

The 'death of death is life' bit, and the idea of the Doctor representing life as a Ying to Sutekh's Yang, is a cool concept just jammed in there with no real buildup or depth.

The issue is bringing Sutekh back takes so much effort- a literal, clunky clipshow of Pyramids of Mars, a whole episode spent building up to the reveal of a silly anagram entirely unrekated to Sutekh's previous appearance. And it just... amounts to nothing. What a silly way to cap off a season meant to be jumping-on point for brand-new viewers.

Mel was just takingup space. Pointless.

Ruby's Mother

I don't have a problem with the *concept* of Ruby's mum being normal. I really like the idea thematically. The execution was terrible.

First of all it leaves so many unanswered questions (why the snow? Why was time changing? Why was she shadowed? Literally just for the sake of the mystery-box?) and represents the worst thing about this new era- RTD using fantasy logic to handwave any logic at all, and just do whatever he wants without properly justifying it.

Second, I *hate* how easy and simple and neat the reunion is. Ruby seems incapable of getting angry with anyone. She has never once argued with 15, or Carla, or anyone besides that one moment in 73 Yards. She has never expressed any kind of negative feeling towards her mother for abandoning her. And it's fine for her to reach that conclusion! It's just bizzare we never see Ruby struggle with her feelings beyond the shallow goal of wanting to find her.

(Also Carla? Has nothing to say?? Just welcomes that woman in with basically no comment? Carla is a 2D cutout of a person, used as a plot device and otherwise relegated to the single character trait of I Love My Daughter. The children yearn for the ilk of Jackie Tyler, Sylvia Noble, even Francine Jones.)

15 & Ruby

The emotion behind 15 & Ruby's split felt entirely unearned because we've never seen their bond develop. They never argue, never disagree, Ruby hasn't learned anything about herself or grown or changed. The closest we got to that is 73 Yards, which was undone. She was already brave and kind and musical and sure she loved her adoptive family when we met her in Church on Ruby Road.

Similarly, 15 tells us Ruby encouraged him to talk about family in a way he never has, but that was in what, two moments across the season? And they seemed random, unrelated to Ruby being with him. New viewers will assume 15 is just that open anyway- he was discussing fatherhood with a dead man's hologram- and old viewers assumed trauma-dumping was just a new trait of 15's personality, not Ruby-specific.

The problem is we're told Ruby & 15 are best friends but it isn't earned. I liked 15 crying initially but both he and Ruby do it so much (15 cries about 5 times in this one episode) it loses its impact and I'm becoming numb to it. There is no contrast, no downtime.

Season Structural Issues

I think the biggest problem is Season 1's storytelling priorities. It's much more interested in selling *the show* (look at our big budget! And guest stars! And how flexible our format is! Musical episode! The Beatles as props! Bottle episode! Indie folk-horror! Black Mirror! Gay Bridgerton!) it forgot to put effort into developing and investing us in its characters. I liked a lot of the individual stories this year but in retrospect a lot of them feel like they're wasting space that needed to go to essential character and theme setup.

These skewed priorities, combined with the cut down episode count, really impact the pacing of the season. Ruby and 15 were barely together! Even in Rogue they were seperated for most of the story!! We only loop back to a flashback of 15 meeting Carla in Rogue!

This is made worse by the baffling insistence on a 45-minute runtime. We know key sequences were cut from almost every episode, with highlights including:

The Gobin King invading Ruby's flat and her banishing him with scratchcards in The Church on Ruby Road: Her missing 'companion saves the day' moment!

Refrence to the Toymaker in The Church on Ruby Road, which was itself referenced in The Devil's Chord. 'I told you about the Toymaker when we first met' sir, objectively you did not.

The TARDIS jukebox playing the Sugarbabes' Push The Button in the opening scene of Space Babies, hastily cut around in the final edit. This is the setup of a running joke still in the episode, and part of the story's climax. The first encounter with the Bogeyman was also longer, with 15 taking particular interest in its skin

Extended scenes in Abbey Road from The Devil's Chord, including an apparently significant speaking role for Cilla Black, according to her annoyed actress.

Cut dialogue from The Devil's Chord explaining the musoical number was caused by Maestro's power lingering, and that banishing them undid everything they'd done. Fans inferred thos based on the rules established in The Giggle, but again, new fans haven't seen The Giggle and were left clueless.

An opening sequence for The Legend of Ruby Sunday where 15 & Ruby meet Susan as a nanny in 1947 America, a blue-skinned waitress, and an astronaut meeting a colony of giant, sentient ants. At the end of this we actually see 15 decide to go to UNIT for help. In the broadcast version he just sorta shows up.

Really what Empire of Death exposed to me is how emotionally hollow the season was. I enjoy the exoperimentalism, but not at the cost of character. And then in the finale Russell reverts to almost a parody of his RTD1 finales, with the nonsense logic and lack of consequences. All the worst bits of Last of the Time Lords and The Giggle put in a blender.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for throwing away a birthday gift my friend got me because of who they are hanging out with?

I (now 19f) had a birthday a few weeks back. My friend Jane (20f) had gotten me a gift but hadn't been able to give it to me yet. Jane posted on her story that she was eating dinner with Alice (I think 25f?).

For this to make sense and so I dont get a ton of INFO comments, let me go into detail about Alice.

Alice used to be someone I went to for advice. She helped me with school, she gave me advice on crushes, was just overall like a big sister to me. When I was 10 I know my mother trusted her enough to have her babysit me (the thing with Alice is she has always been so mature, literally everyone has always thought she was older then she was which is why I dont know for sure if she is 25). I thought she would always be a good sister-like figure in my life.

However, I got in a relationship with Mark and it was like all hell broke loose. Mark says she is jealous because they used to have a thing (everyone thought they were together but they claimed they never were, Mark says she liked him but he turned her down but had fun flirting at the time). Alice told me she was concerned because of the age difference, which made no sense to me because she talked to someone who was 10 years older then her when she was 21/22. Alice also made negative comments about Mark that were extremely rude.

It really felt like Alice was trying to break me and Mark up! Mark is older than Alice and said that she always has done this when he dates anyone and thats why he hasn't dated much (the last girl he dated was Alice's friend and they stopped being friend's after they had broken up, I remember this because Alice was upset her friend made her choose between them or Mark when Alice had been friends with Mark since she was a very young kid).

We didn't invite Alice to the wedding because she didn't like our relationship (why would I want you there to celebrate if you don't even care for us?). We also didn't invite her because Alice and Mark stopped being friends for a year or two before we got together and it would have been awkward for Mark. I told Jane that I didn't want to hang out with Alice and encouraged Jane not to as well.

And I thought Jane hadn't, but now I see she still is. Jane said that Alice isn't a bad person and just because I'm not friends with her doesn't mean she plans on stopping. Jane told me that Alice still cares for me and if I wanted to talk to her I could, but I don't want to. Jane went on and we started arguing, and I dont remember what all was said by us, but then she cursed me out. In response, I threw the still wrapped gift in the trash.

Jane isnt talking to me anymore. Mark says its probably a good thing since she wasn't a good friend. At the time I felt justified but there's a pit in my stomach and I wonder if I went a bit too far? AITA?

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

One of the things about Stede that absolutely kills me is that I don't think we ever see him defend himself.

Stede has such a negative view of himself, and it's clearly gotten to the point where he thinks everyone else is justified in assuming the worst, too. He acts so confident that it's almost something you can miss, so I can't even blame Ed for not noticing just how bad Stede's self-image is.

Stede never tries to explain his behavior. He just nods along when other people tell him how they interpreted his actions.

S1E3: Stede, about to be hanged, says "I deserve that" when Jim calls him "the worst pirate captain in history." Now, yes, he's been just the worst pirate ever up until this point, but he's literally about to die and he doesn't even try to get sympathy or reassurance.

S1E9 - Stede never even bothers trying to explain that Nigel's death was an accident, he says he stole Nigel's sword and jammed it through his head. Part is obviously to make sure he takes the blame instead of Ed, who already confessed, but he could have given the true account of events.

S1E10 - Stede seems bummed but definitely not surprised to see Mary and the kids are doing so well without him. Never explains himself or tells Mary that he'd been feeling so trapped and terrible. When Mary tried to skewer him, his biggest cricitism was about how maybe she should have tried smothering him or using a pillow instead.

S2E1-E3 - Stede can only assume Ed's behavior at the beginning of the season is his fault alone, but he never, ever tries to pass blame. He never even thinks about blaming Ed or any crew members' actions. As far as he's concerned, the responsibility is his alone.

S2E4 - I think it's very natural that Stede's explanation to Ed wouldn't include the fact that Chauncy dragged him out of bed and shot himself in front of him. It might make Ed feel better to know Stede wasn't just panicking about their relationship moving too fast, he'd also just been through a very traumatic event, but Stede doesn't think of it like that. As far as he's concerned, he has no excuses and Ed is right to blame him entirely.

Always, every time, Stede assumes everyone is always working with the understanding that Stede fucked up big time and he deserves complete blame for everything that happens as a result. He never tries to contextualize his actions. He assumes the worst of himself and thinks everyone else is right to do so too.

I'm glad Ed's started to pick up on how much Stede is desperate for approval. I hope he realizes how much Stede needs reassurance and how much good saying "you're not the worst person alive and you're not irredeemable" will do for him.

[darklinaforever]

Jesus Christ, as much as I'm not against people supporting and shipping Ellen x Orlok, you people have got to pull in the reins when it comes to shitting on Thomas. Constantly throwing in his face how he couldn't understand Ellen for who she really was and her powers blahblahblah, throwing on top of it all how he failed to provide both as a husband and a friend and last but not least, ultimately failing to kill Orlok as he intended to. Who's to say those things are even his failings, even if he did say that he will provide for Ellen and tried to be a doting husband, friend etc? Who can claim to have reacted better in his place when faced with A LITERAL MAGICAL DARK UNDEAD BEING, the literal personification of death itself?!! Is there a manual on how to handle your possessed wife that I apparently didn't read, please do send me the link to it?! And also you people WILL NEVER BE ABLE to know for sure how Ellen's and Thomas' relationship would've worked out if someone managed to kill Orlok before he and Ellen got together again, and Ellen and Thomas actually communicated properly, because there is no alternative to this movie!! So whatever you claim about their relationship proves to be just specalution in the end, just like everybody else. What sane man would've let his wife easily into the arms to rotting undead death machine corpse, without trying to kill it and save his wife, whether that wife is a supernatural being herself or not?? Have we forgotten how difficult it is in fantasy stories for a person who discovers they have powers to convince people around them that they do, if they can't actually show them their powers?? Who would believe such a thing, no matter how much you love that person?? Also, for all of you blaming all of that shit on Thomas.. Ellen also failed as a friend, she let a monster inside the Hardings' house and kill her beloved friend Anna and the children and consequentially Friedrich. She also broke Thomas' heart by not only choosing Orlok but dying beside him. And I'm not trying to paint her as the villain but if you're going to play dirty with Thomas then so will I with Ellen. In the end, you people can imagine Ellen bouncing on Orlok crazy style you can imagine yourselves bouncing on it crazy style for all I care, you can imagine them as some sort of vigilante heroes who are fighting against the poor little evil victorian society... but start using your god damn brain when imagining on how to deal with supernatural forces... when they are in fact supernatural??!!

You're honestly getting angry for nothing.

I never theorized about the future of Thomas & Ellen if they had stayed together already.

Then, it's Robert Eggers' words, not mine, that Thomas doesn't understand Ellen even though he loves her and he dismisses her for that.

So be mad at him.

We're just repeating what the creator of the film said because we see it in the film.

Second, Thomas was made to fail, simply because he was a tragic hero.

It's... just facts ?

Also, I'm tired of your excuse of trying to rationalize the fact that people don't understand Ellen's powers and that we should put ourselves in their shoes and that we won't react better, and so we can't critical them, because that doesn't not what the film is about.

The fact that the people around Ellen do not understand her power is meant to be seen as negative (and criticize) because it is the result of Victorian society of which they are the instruments.

Victorian society which is the real villain of this film.

I don't care how I or anyone else in real life reacts because that's not what this movie is about.

When you watch this movie, you're supposed to think about the meaning /symbolism of things. Not see it literally, at least not only.

Damn, we're not in a banal fantasy story where it's complicated for characters to accept that the hero or heroine has magical gifts ?! You are in a huge off-topic simply to try to further justify the actions of the characters towards Ellen and prevent them from being criticized. The context is not the same here as a more classic fantasy story once again. The comparison is ridiculous !

And then, I don't see why I would be upset with you for "playing dirty with Ellen", when I literally made posts talking about her parallel with Orlok, that Ellen is Orlok and Orlok is Ellen, that she is just as much Nosferatu than him, therefore a form of monster. I have also literally already reblogged posts or said myself that Ellen let Orlok into the Harding house signing their death. And @apoloadonisandnarcissus explained very well why Ellen can be considered as a villain. Do you think you're doing something to me by throwing things at me that I already know and have already talked about ?

And at what fucking point did I blame Thomas for what happens in the movie ? No one ever said he was the bad guy either ?The only thing I really say about him is that he's a bad husband. Which is... true (for so many reasons) ?

Visibly you are not a regular on my tumblr and have absolutely nothing to do with what I post about this film.

Also, am I supposed to take you seriously with your comment about how I can imagine bouncing on Orlok ? You are disturbed my word.

Oh, and you obviously aren't capable of interacting properly with fictional stories / fiction to have such a childish reaction.

[ravenclod]

DISC: this 'essay' is NOT hating on madohomu, or hating on people for shipping them. nor is it hating on Homura, or implying that her actions should be changed. It is simply an opinion from someone who loves Homura's character who also ships Madohomu, and just wants to rant about things i feel are ignored by the fandom. Please read the full thing before reblogging or replying with your opinions so i dont need to repeat myself.

Maybe I'm just a hater, but I don't understand how people can look at Homura and just excuse everything she’s done, especially in regards to Madoka, because she "actually loved everyone!” and "Is traumatised" and "It’s just toxic yuri!". It feels like a complete ignorance of her character and disregards the complexity and depth of her writing.

Now, obviously, I don't mean when people make jokes about it, I get that, but it’s when people genuinely don't acknowledge how madohomu is unhealthy and homura is a bad person. That is quite literally the whole point.

I'm aware that she does care about the other girls, which is why she didn't try to kill Mami in rebellion, and just acted like the others didn't matter throughout the show because she was all out of hope and had to concentrate on the one thing keeping her sane, which was Madoka. But that is exactly my point. That obsessiveness, that reliance on one singular person [ who is also largely unaware of the reason for said reliance ] is incredibly unhealthy. It is unhealthy. It is toxic. I'm not saying homura is abusive, like some people have, because she absolutely is not, but she is obsessive to the point of being unable to see madoka in a negative way. Even when she criticises her it’s from a "you're so stupid you can’t tell that people love you/you’re so stupid for doing this you're gonna get hurt" point of view, rather than the view of "oh you are genuinely naïve and mess up like everyone". [1] This in turn harms both of them, as she is putting her on a pedestal which Madoka will feel guilty for being on and worry about upholding, and it ruins Homura as she will simply spiral further into this unhealthy mindset.

She takes her [ Madoka’s ] word to the extreme, the word of which has no form of context and is speaking from the equivalent of the naïve Madoka that we see in the first episode. Homura then uses that to justify what she goes on to do during Rebellion, which in turn harms Madoka. when she rips Madoka from herself, I understand it's to avoid the incubators getting to her, and it is very in character, but she still actively harmed Madoka, and went against her wish to save all magical girls [ from becoming witches ] at least, in part.

Her obsessiveness does then leech off and affect everyone else, because she is also friends with them and does care for them. They begin to lose respect and gain upset over Homura, as she is now a girl who has one goal and throws them to the side to achieve this, not attempting to make genuine connections and discarding those which she does have - namely Kyoko in the show. This behaviour affects the other girls in the obvious sense of they die quicker and more frequently as Homura is no longer attempting to intervene; affecting Madoka too, as she ends up getting stressed about her friends not getting along, before then having the trauma of seeing her friends die. [ This is not to put the blame on Homura as it happens regardless, but the point is for everyone else, it will seem like Homura could have helped, even if it was out-with her power.] This will harm Homura as a result, for it will plague her how she treats her friends like this, and will only cause her self-esteem to plummet further than it already has.

Additionally, there are points where she could be argued to be manipulative, which is up to personal judgement, but it is worth noting. Obviously, it would not be from her own awareness or intention, but it is still a plausible outcome of her actions - i.e., the way she speaks to Madoka in the show, almost threatening her before then sobbing over her and acting like she is the most important girl in the world, [2] which, keep in mind, will be weird for Madoka as she barely knows this girl. This isn't to say Homura's actions aren’t understandable, especially in the show, but that doesn't remove the negative impact that they have. Homumado may be cute, and it is cute, especially pre-timeloop, but the reality is, even now, it wouldn't work without years and years of couple therapy.

I also am going to mention kyosaya, as they are also unhealthy, and I know someone may try to bring up how I love them so much in spite of this fact. They are definitely not the most healthy relationship, literally trying to kill each other in a fight in the first episode they met. It is practically impossible to ship characters in this show and have a healthy relationship [ with maybe the exception of madosaya pre-timelooping ]. However, the difference between kyosaya and madohomu is my general issue altogether, which isn't that the ships are unhealthy, but rather the way the fandom treats them in regards to them being such.

Kyosaya is known for being enemies to lovers, its known for being unhealthy and its known for being liked in the theory of "oh this is what they could have been, had they been given more time to understand each other.". It is also an equal relationship, there are no forms of power dynamic between the two, both are equally vulnerable; both hate the other at the start, and respect and care for one another at the end - as seen in rebellion. Even when Kyoko is stronger than Sayaka, that's cancelled out by Sayaka's determination and healing properties.

Homumado, on the other hand, are known for being equally doomed, but in the sense of "Oh Homura will never save Madoka, Madoka will always die, they can never be together.". There is never that acknowledgement that they wouldn't work, even if by some miracle the looping ended. There is simply too much that has happened. The only possible scenario is arguably one in which Madoka stays as Madokami, and Homura stays as the devil, for at least both have equal memories of all that has transpired, but even that has huge issues due to Homura's abandonment issues and obsessiveness toward madoka. There is also, unlike in kyosaya, a large power imbalance, which goes both ways at different points.

In the main show, this is heavy on Homura, as she knows so much about Madoka, she's seen her at her best and worst, and she knows all that will happen. She is also stronger than her, as for the most part Madoka is not a magical girl, and is unable to do anything to prevent her friends’.

Flip that to when Madoka is god however, and she is now the topheavy one, as she is fully aware of everything that has transpired. and Homura is so obsessive. If madoka were anyone else, it could very quickly turn bad with Madoka manipulating Homura's infatuation - which obviously isn't an issue as madoka is so nice, but you get my point.

It is a point though that homura still has power over madoka, especially considering her removal of "Madoka" from "Madokami". She technically has a part madoka all for herself, and has relative power over that for the time being. No one is able to do anything. It’s almost like she’s controlling a doll, except the doll is a piece of madoka she’s refusing to let return to the rest of her.

This is what I mean when I say there is no form of permanent equity between the two, while kyosaya are a yin and yang of give and take, madohomu are simply always off balance. Which is why they're so unhealthy.

Again, that doesn't mean they're not a good ship. That doesn't mean they're not cute, and they don't deserve to be together. It could 10000% work out, just as kyosaya is also toxic but could still work out. My issue isn't with the ship, the writing, or the characters, but rather the disregard to the discussions surrounding it.

To paint Homura as a "cute girl who's a bit obsessed” is a disservice to the complexities of her actions and her humanity, as again, she is a heavily traumatised 14 year old girl. Her actions are realistic, her actions make sense. But her actions aren’t good. This is not a critique on Homura, but a critique of the denial that she has done these bad things. denying as such waters her down and mischaracterizes her. It defeats the point of her as a character.

After all, she is the devil. She’s not intended to be nice.

[1] - "How stupid can you possibly be" - episode 5

[2] - fountain scene, episode 8, where she breaks down in front of madoka

[randomthefox]

So multiple people know Sonic was the phantom rider and agree with his decision

Including Jewel, who's meant to be the SMARTEST of the comic OCs. She even says it makes perfect sense.

So Lanolin is just a whiny idiot. Everyone in this comic keeps saying Sonic is right for being the phantom rider. The comic keeps showing us that Sonic is right for being the phantom rider.

The comic keeps HEAVILY implying that Lanolin is a moronic control freak and all the others are just putting up with her tantrums. There's no other way to interpret the information we've been given here.

What crimes did Sonic even commit as the phantom rider? He tried to win with aggressive methods? The last time I checked, that's the most common occurrence of sports competitions in Sonic's world. More proof that Lanolin is just a crybaby who can't handle the same basic things as everyone else.

If we're talking about when the road shattered and a bunch of people almost fell to their deaths that was caused by LANOLIN! And Sonic TRIED TELLING HER TO EASE UP! Sonic immediately helped the people who were falling btw. Almost like he's not a criminal or something.

What could Lanolin possibly accuse Sonic of? At best Lanolin will just cry about things that NO ONE ELSE is bothered by. At worst she'll somehow blame Sonic for when SHE nearly got a bunch of people killed.

She can't even use the card of "the world is in turmoil because Sonic keeps sparing Eggman" since every problem during clean sweep has had nothing to do with Eggman lol.

Btw

All these counters to Lanolin's stupidity are constructed around the assumption that Sonic and his friends will be inexplicably nerfed so the writers can force the story in whatever direction they want.

A properly written Sonic would go "What? Shut up!" and punt Lanolin five miles away the instant she tried doing anything to him.

But even while ignoring what a correct portrayal of Sonic would and should do, there's still no way for Lanolin to win this.

What can she possibly do? Other than bitching and moaning about the most frivolous things?

Literally EVERYBODY who found out about Sonic being the Phantom Rider basically went "oh, guess he's trying to do some Cool Guy shit."

INCLUDING Clutch and Mimic, INCLUDING the Babylon Rogues, INCLUDING the gay birds, and INCLUDING Jewel.

It's actually kind of hilarious that Lanolin is the odd man out with this reaction

LITERALLY everyone else who found out said "well, it's Sonic, so he must be doing the right thing." But when Lanolin finds out, AFTER CLUTCH HAS JUST BEEN EXPOSED AS A TERRORIST AND A CRIME BOSS AND JUST HAD A PUBLIC MELTDOWN WHICH SHE WITNESSED, she says Sonic is a "dangerous criminal" who needs to "face justice."

Like. Bruh. She is CLINICALLY INSANE. There is no other way to interpret this character.

And I still reject the suggestion that these are intentional character flaws that we as the audience are supposed to view as negative attributes about her character, because NOBODY IS CALLING HER OUT. Tangle and Whisper are desperately justifying their actions and pleading with her to not hurt Sonic. When they SHOULD be telling her "what the fuck is WRONG with you, it's SONIC, why don't you SHUT UP you stupid bitch." The fact that NO CHARACTER IN THE COMIC is telling Lanolin to blow it out her ass, when they have ZERO reason to like or fear her, makes it pretty clear to me that the character being a massive turbo cunt is not the intention of the writing.

[givehimthemedicine]

🛹🛼

lots of talk about why Mike reacted so negatively to this when he reacted so positively to this:

can we talk about how the Rinkomania reaction started in between those two things? right here:

at mid-season-2, all the times Mike has seen El use force against people have been super justified because there were lives at stake (or at very least, like in the case of tossing Lucas in the junkyard, she thought there were)

then Max wipes out, and goes "ooh it was like a magnet pulled on my board" and instead of taking that the way anyone would - that this annoying girl fell due to lack of skill and is trying to save face with a stupid excuse - INSTANTLY Mike suspects El. El, who's currently dead or lost in another dimension or whatever, must actually be lurking around here with nothing better to do than trip Max.

ok 100% accurate but I'm offended nonetheless

why did he jump to that conclusion?

the last time some inexplicable, physical but nonlethal hijinks befell someone he was talking to, he turned around and saw who was responsible:

so when Max fell, in that same gym btw, of course his brain goes turn around, look at what you seee

this was Mike learning that, oh, El isn't Superman and doesn't reserve her powers only for perfectly morally justified situations, but can in fact lash out about anything that bothers her, like the disturbed child she is.

BUT I don't think he actually processed that at that moment. he wasn't thinking about how Max did absolutely nothing that could be misinterpreted as a threat, and didn't deserve this. at that moment, any thought of justice for Max, or scrutiny of El's motives, was easily and completely drowned out by excitement that El might be there.

so later Mike sees Angela screaming on the ground with El standing over her, and remembers he has already seen El respond to a non-life-threatening situation with a level of force that didn't make sense to him.

plus he has that whole protection thing and I think seeing anyone get hurt is paladin catnip to him (see him rushing to Max's aid two seconds after telling her she's annoying). he has that instinct to support whoever's been knocked down undeservedly - yeah he knows Angela is an asshole, but El's response seems overboard to him, so while he doesn't go as far as rushing to Angela's side, he doesn't rush to El's side either.

he keeps distance between himself and El at the rink and leaves her sitting alone in the most literal demonstration of not wanting to take her side. he seems irritated in the car and downright pissed at the dinner table. I think it's true that he was overwhelmed in the moment and scared not of El but of the situation, but I don't think that's all of it, because then why would he be pissed.

maybe he's seeing patterns and thinking back on how Max didn't deserve that at all, and how neither of these things were very Superman of El and he's a bit disillusioned that she doesn't live up to the flawless superhero moral code he assigns her in his mind.

while the Angela thing seems WAY harsher than the Max thing, can I also say that a lot of that is due to circumstances?

Angela's pouring blood, wailing, an ambulance has to come, there's lots of witnesses. it looks baaaad. Max isn't injured, isn't too bothered, and there are no witnesses or real consequences. shrug. but it easily could've gone down much more like Angela. you can absolutely break a bone or get a concussion from a spill like Max's.

Max isn't hurt, so Mike just leaves the room, and nothing ever comes of it. compare to Mike watching an inevitably-to-be-arrested El sit stewing in the aftermath as dozens of Angela's sympathizers watch her get checked for brain damage by EMTs.

it's little wonder Mike has such a different reaction in the moment, even though El's actions in these two scenes actually isn't totally night and day.

El's force was more deliberately focused on Angela, and I think El did intend to hurt Angela in a way she didn't intend to hurt Max (El yoinked the skateboard rather than bodily targeting Max herself, but her intent was still to make Max fall, and she could have been comparably injured as a result).

like, up til the point of "El gets mad and lashes out" these are similar - the way the aftermath unfolds just happens to take the best and worst possible paths, respectively.

and before you want to point out that the Angela thing was a reaction of anger and the Max was just about puppy love jealousy, no, that was anger. Max is literally the first thing El thinks of when Kali says to think of something that angers her.

tldr; rinkomania is just a nightmare remix of the gym scene to Mike

[glowskelly]

Just a thought...

The way Umbrella Academy fans treat Allison is very much rooted in racism. Y'all use what Allison did to Harlan and Luther to justify your hatred, but never had the same hatred for the non-black characters when they also exhibited horrible behaviors.

The entire family (except for Allison) voted to hand Harlan over to the Sparrows, who were most likey going to violently torture and kill him for what happened to Jayme and Alphonso...

Allison pushed her grief aside when she was at her absolute lowest and decided to help Viktor sneak Harlan out of the hotel. She understood Viktor's love for Harlan and didn't want him to lose a loved one the way she did. What triggered Allison to act out violently was finding out that Viktor was lying to her about Harlan being the reason Claire was gone, even after she went out of her way (and risked all of their lives) to help get Harlan away from the others.

So, why are y'all ONLY hating on Allison for killing Harlan when the rest of the siblings were literally planning on sending him to his death?

Y'all will cry: "HoW cOuLd AlliSon KiLl SomEbOdY!?!?!"

Five, the assassin, would've done the same thing. He made it very clear he didn't give a shit about Harlan. We literally saw Five slaughter an entire commission board on screen in season 2.

(Also - mini side tangent- Five pisses me off for continuously telling his siblings to their faces every season that he doesn't care about their personal problems. Because WTF do you mean you don't care about your niece being obliterated when you told Allison back in season one that you'd love to meet her one day??? I guess that was a lie!)

I've also seen fans attack Allison for trying to torture information out of Sloane as if Diego wasn't right there encouraging Allison to do it. Diego had a knife to Sloane's throat and was about to kill her. But y'all gave Diego a pass and placed all your negative judgements on Allison.

On the topic of Luther and Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault:

Did y'all forget that Klaus started a cult and was having sex with the members of said cult? Which is NONconsensual because you can't consent to someone who has manipulated and brainwashed you into being obsessed with them. Sound familiar? ("I heard a rumor you want me")

What Klaus did was awful and disgusting but y'all will ignore the actions of your white fan favorite characters because they can do no wrong in your eyes. I love Klaus, but I also acknowledge that he is an incredibly shitty person most of the time. Attention-seeking, manipulative, selfish, and in the words of Robert Sheehan: "a sociopath"!!! 

I'm not defending Allison's actions. We should criticize her! What I'm saying is, you can't only shit on the Black woman. Choosing to ignore the horrible things that other characters have done and putting all your energy into hating Allison is, in fact, racist.

I mean, christ, I've seen fans say nicer things about REGINALD than they have about Allison. People were blaming Allison for what Reggie did to Luther and Klaus toward the end of season 3, as if Allison wasn't also being manipulated and taken advantage of by their father. I've even seen people go as far as wishing extreme violence and death upon Allison.

All the Hargreeves are deeply flawed and fucked up people, it's what makes them so complex and interesting to watch. As a Black woman, I'll forever be disappointed in the TUA fandom for choosing to single out and demonize Allison while simultaneously putting her non-black siblings on a pedestal.

[worldsokayestmagicalgirl]

The first batch of pictures for Amoré's character journal are here! Also I have been so super sick that I've literally had nothing to do but to work on this for like almost 2 weeks so...

The cover to cover tour officially starts here. All I can say about the front & back is that I lament my lack of experience with my Cricut when I made these decals. I only had 2 "fun" colors to work with at the time & I was still getting comfortable drawing in Procreate, so my silhouette art leaves a lot to be desired compared to some stuff I've made recently. I also found it's incredibly easy to burn this leather book.

But she's volume one, everything with her is a learning experience, & I realized as much as it helps to have a mini heat press for tight corners & small spaces, the cloth barrier they suggest you use between the vinyl & the iron tends to make things harder to press on this scale. So instead I gotta quickly tap straight on the transfer film & hope I don't burn anything around it :(´◦ω◦｀):ﾟﾟ

So at the risk of thoroughly exposing my inner theater kid, Amoré set the precedent with how I went forward creating campaign characters. I started off collecting 5 songs to make a mini story arc (almost like a show choir set list 🙃) that helps me figure out an outline for the kind of story I wanna give them.

Somehow Amoré ended up with a truly horrendous blend of rock & theatre. Absolutely incredibe. No wonder she's always such a dramatic bitch.

It was a lot easier to go in & add little decals around these lyrics. I'm definitely cursed with the Too Much™ gene, but I enjoy the little pops of color they give ✨ plus it justifies me hoarding all these vinyl scraps printing stuff this small lol.

Stat sheet!

In all honesty, as my first character I had no fucking clue what I was doing when I placed these & if I could go back & change one thing I'd probably swap her Intelligence & her Wisdom. She’s definitely more people smart than book smart.

But everything else is...very accurate. She has all the upper body strength of a chicken nugget. Plus on top of the (already) negative I traded disadvantage on everything DEX for magic crystal shoes that can be periodically harvested. Just a way for her to carry around the family fortune without actually having to return to the vault✨

For something that started so average, her CON became a monster & always comes in clutch for her alcohol tolerance. I've played variations of her across a few different one shots & I always manage to roll well for anything alcohol related. The dice do respect a bit 🤣

Spells on the other hand, I floundered with a lot at first because we’re not a combat heavy game, but then I found Chaos Bolt & that was that. It’s essentially Amoré in spell form & I’ve had a ton of fun with it over the years. Also Mage Armor cuz my girl is SO DISTRESSINGLY SQUISHY.

Cantrips were more or less a bit of a toss up. Message was fun for the sheer idea of her using it to talk shit during social events without being caught. But aside from Light serving fun backstory purposes the other 3 are kinda just what looked fun ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ unless you count the idea that she would absolutely delight in zapping handshakes.

From there, I wanted to extend the world map made by our wonderful DM @cappierong into a full scroll. Ya know, for the aesthetic ✨

Our campaign started in Civania, where Amoré's main Estate is. I just wanted a quick mock up to reference, so I edited a preexisting picture I found that checked all the boxes (large, on a plateau, accessible only by bridge) and then absolutely smothered it in flowers.

But anyways... This is primarily where Diana & Amoré grew up together in their decade of backstory ✨

There was probably waaaay to much back & forth trying to keep the continuity between stuff I've already drawn & this big reference. But I think it turned out pretty ok? Not like if I make a mistake anyone will really know lol.

Scaling was also another big issue I had, & I moments where I thought something was too big I just kinda handwaved it away like "ehhhhh she's from a stupid rich family." But now I have a NEED to draw baby Diana & Amoré around like, the statue gardens or something cuz I feel like certain parts of this place are definitely ominous 👀 especially for children...

And lastly we have the back cover & the High Noble political relationship map! I normally have this closer to the front but for layout purposes it'll be here. I kinda feel like I need to do more for the decoration of it but I can’t think of anything else to add at the moment.

Sam if u read that no you didn't.

But now! Other than a family portrait that I've always wanted to draw, I think I'm ready to move onto the art for Season 1 : Arc 2. It's a pretty hefty amount of art in comparison to others, so I gotta get busy. Especially since I think I'm gonna have to draw a few comics *sobs*

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I'm always excited to talk out our little idiots so thanks for indulging me ❀(*´▽`*)❀

[multi-fandom-lunatic]

Fitz and Keefe: A Deep(ish) Dive

Sick of the toxic part of the fandom hating on Fitz and idolising Keefe.

Fitz has his flaws, sure, but saying that these flaws ruin his character, especially when he's working on these flaws, is just so devaluing. I honestly think that those Fitz hater extremists are more like Fitz than they realise.

I'm of the belief that Fitz hating started in Exile, when Fitz yelled at Sophie. I will reiterate the obvious: Fitz's dad practically DIED (actually, I'm pretty sure what happened to Alden is regarded worse than death by one of the characters), and Sophie was heavily involved in the situation. While she didn't cause the break, it was really a matter of wrong place wrong time, and Fitz lashed out, saying cruel things to Sophie. But Fitz has apologised. Multiple times, because he understands his lashing out as a mistake, which is what I find the toxic part of the fandom fail to understand. It is 1. a mistake that 2. he's trying to fix. That's more than the Keefster is doing.

Another key moment is with the whole matchmaking drama in Legacy. Sophie refuses to tell Fitz her bio mom and Fitz lashes out and Sophie breaks up with him. No denying that he was in the wrong here, but we also can't deny the nuance that comes with the situation. For one, the matchmaking system carries social consequences to those who don't abide by it. I bet money that Fitz wasn't trying to upset Sophie but rather try to help her not face the social injustices she would. Obviously, this backfires because he goes about it all wrong.

This isn't to say that Fitz didn't do anything wrong. Because that isn't what I'm saying, but rather to consider Fitz more than 'anger issues' (by the way, Fitz is not an embodiment of anger issues and it's upsetting that many use the term so carelessly), and Keefe more than 'perfect guy'. The point is that we shouldn't see things in black and white but rather shades of gray. Fitz has made mistakes, done some bad things, but this doesn't make him a monster, not in his case at least.

Then there's Keefe. Worshipped by the fandom, while his actions affect everyone around him negatively. Come on. You cannot be telling me that Fitz has anger issues and Keefe doesn't when he throws a bowl of stew because he was angry. That isn't anger issues either, by the way, but it's an example of Keefe's temper.

Also Keefe does not learn his lessons. He runs away TWICE, shatters a building but sure. Let's pretend he hasn't done wrong. And all of this is justified, both by Shannon and the toxic fandom, by his parental situation.

I'm not discrediting his mother as the leader of a terrorist organisation. But we shouldn't use this as a JUSTIFICATION but rather an EXPLANATION. To use it as a justification is to excuse his behaviour, which is unfair on those he inflicted harm to. But to use it as an explanation could help us draw conclusions on what is going on in his mind when he makes bad decisions.

Also, keep in mind that this isn't me evaluating who's better for Sophie, because honestly? None of them. I'm a massive believer of aro ace Sophie (as well as Keefitz). But this is more of a dive into their characters.

I really blame a lot of the hate toward Fitz on Shannon, because she insists on feeding in to a false notion that doesn't even make sense (Fitz literally broke in to exile in Neverseen. There is NO WAY he cares THAT much about matchmaking).

And honestly this is why I prefer books 1-3. They remind me why I loved these characters, and any book after feels like Shannon's trying to write them with her biases.

Conclusion: Fitz and Keefe are nuanced characters and their idolising/hating on either is evidence of not using critical thinking skills :P

PS: Give them both therapy.

Anyways I feel the need to ping you, @thesfromhms

[azquine]

Can I get something on the JoanFK tag that ISN'T just complaining? It is ok to be feeling shit that things went badly in the show, but do you have to tag that negativity on the ship? The negativity is all that there is to see whenever I try to interact with the show and it's making me feel horrible.

I've been in far worse fandoms, and they didn't make me feel this bad.

It all feels so puritanical, like you have forgotten what a teen drama parody entails. Did you forget that they were ALL assholes in the first season who backstabbed and did shitty things to eachother for their own selfish gain? You are applying pretty strict rules of morality onto characters who intrinsically must break those rules to allow the narratives of their genre to move.

This was a short kiss, the result of feelings that JFK and Harriet had actively been trying to avoid for the sake of Joan. This could have been resolved by open communication, but that's not how either drama shows OR stupid hormonal teens work. After making this mistake, they did the most responsible and moral thing they could have and confessed it literally within the same episode as soon as Joan would not, you know, DIE as a result.

All things considered, it wasn't a secret relationship, it wasn't sex, it wasn't a long term secret held until it accidentally spills out and ruins everything. It could have been SO much worse, it was none of my worst fears, and I'm honestly relieved a kiss was where it stopped. And I am also really glad they confessed to quickly because I HATE liar revealed plots more than ANYTHING and I probably would have stopped watching. If they were going to do this plotline it was the best case scenario for me.

And do you know what is even better? What should be the bare minimum but is actually pretty rare in dramas from my experience? Neither of them tried to mitigate Joan's reaction, to say she was overreacting or to dance around the issue to make it sound better beyond a truthful 'we felt nothing'. Joan was allowed the space to fully process the information and her emotions, even if through a montage. And damn I wish I saw that more often.

As for those saying JFK would need a redemption for what he has done- does being open and honest about his wrongdoings not do that pretty succinctly? Beyond having not done it at all what else do you want? Pretty puritanical to want him to suffer before he can be forgiven.

And granted, Harriet got plenty of unjustified hate before she had even done anything, but post-kiss most of the discussion and anger I have seen has been directed solely at JFK. Harriet was part of that kiss too, knowingly going against her friend. Why is the romantic relationship deemed worse to betray? Both of them did a stupid thing together, and fixed it together.

And I'm not saying Joan putting all the consequence on Abe is justified, he didn't do shit wrong either, he tried to keep his friend alive in a tricky situation.

All of your feelings are valid, and I do see why the dominant opinion is what it is. Cheating is an awful thing to do and you should not be with someone you do not trust, I cannot refute that.

Yet at the same time, I felt it was important to put forward some differing points that I had been having. This show will not be enjoyable if we hold a position of being negative and moralistic. To some extent there has to be an acceptance that this is a fiction and moral failings are often part of a narrative structure.

(And while many of you have legitimate critiques on the execution of the show, it feels like some of you are taking the 'thing done badly because I don't like it' route)

I really hope nobody takes this as me trying to enforce cheating or to say that JFK and Harriet kissing was ok. It was shitty of them to do in the first place, but they are not morally irredeemable. Teen do stupid bad thing is not new. I'm also not interested in having an argument over this, I get caught up far too easily in that so I won't be answering any replies or asks. It is fine if you disagree, I'm here to propose a counterpoint.

Sorry if this was repetitive or lengthy. It just felt like I had to get it out there despite it being the early hours of the morning.

[sobeksewerrat]

I remember you saying you hate Lucifer and he's your least favorite from Hazbin Hotel. So might I ask why you hate him so much? I'm just really curious, since I dislike most of the characters in general (especially Alastor)

ohhhh boyyyyyy I have a draft of an essay I was gonna write about that but I got burnt out from it anyways to summarise

He is a bad father. I don't care what canon or fanon says. Hazbin has a problem of telling us something and showing us something else entirely. Lucifer is no exception, like wow he's an awful father. He neglected his daughter for years, and even if Lilith took her away, why didn't he try to reconnect when she grew up??? Why was he letting her become the mockery of all of hell with her hotel project??

To add to this, he's also a hypocrite. He says he wants to "protect Charlie from Heaven". Okay then, then why did he allow her to have a meeting with Adam, the guy who supposedly was an asshole to his wife (I have so much to say abt that but that's for another time)? Why even allow her to start the hotel!? WHY DID HE SHOW UP LATE DURING THE FINALE?! HE CAN TELEPORT! also, he's a major asshole and nobody acknowledges that. Like, why does nobody talk about the fact that he was mocking Adam's weight and rubbing in his face rhe fact that he stole both of his wives. Maybe you can somewhat justify the second one if Adam really was an abusive prick (AGAIN, I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS, MOST NEGATIVE. I DONT THINK ITS TRUE), but the first one??

He doesn't represent Pride. At all. He's depressed and pathetic, nd he regrets giving humanity free will. Does that really sound like a prideful person to you? He sometimes shows pride like during his dad battle with Alastor but most of the time? No way. He gets swayed to be on Charlie's side wayyyyyyy too easily for THE LITERAL EMBODIMENT OF PRIDE.

It's not that he's a bad character for having these traits, no, he's a bad character because CANON PROPS HIM UP AS A GOOD GUY. My main argument supporting this is how canon treats his and Lilith's divorce Vs her and Adam's divorce. Canon frames Lilith leaving him as her being a bitch, shown by the fact that she was all shadowy and mysterious during Charlie's flashback and that she took her away when Lucifer was "bonding" with her. Moreover, the fact Lilith is in Heaven and possibly a future antagonist props him up even more as a tragic victim of circumstance and not the literal fucking devil from the Bible. Meanwhile, she's treated like a girl boss for ditching Adam! What the fuck!?!

I have a few other things to say; mostly about Hazbin's problem with grey morality (or lack thereof) but that requires its own post lol

Uhhh sorry for rambling I'm just really passionate about my hatred for Lucifer (and Lilith but that's something else entirely)

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Damn, with your track record of unpopular opinions and hot takes, I was sort of hoping you'd be TG. Ah well lol. Have you seen the S2 trailer?

I'm not really anything.

I've certainly made a number of posts supporting Team Liquorice over Team Broccoli (I prefer to use those names as I am uncomfortable calling any faction that House Velaryon associates with "The Blacks.") and I stand by pretty much everything I said in them, but if you want to see some Pro-Broccoli posts, I can make those too. I know it's cliche to call myself "Team Smallfolk" but I really am first and foremost on their side. I've always said that this war did not need to happen and it was within the Highborns' power to stop it, to prevent the common people from having to go through The Dance. All that needed to happen was for someone to concede. That's it. Literally all it would have taken, and to her credit, Rhaenyra considers doing this.

Team Broccoli have it tricky, because the show is framed around Rhaenyra, it centralizes her as the protagonist. It puts Alicent and her faction in the role of antagonists of Rhaenyra's story. Additionally...it' would be difficult to identify as a Green, because right out of the gate, you'd have to defend yourself and clarify that of course you're NOT a misogynist. The Broccoli faction is heavily associated with misogyny as they are trying to prevent a woman from taking the throne. Naturally, this doesn't mean that people who support Aegon over Rhaenyra are sexist - and if you're one of the people saying that...um, stop it. They are fictional characters in a fictional war. We really shouldn't be taking it that seriously, and it's disingenuous to act like misogyny is the only reason a fan might choose Aegon. Even the Hightowers don't really care that Rhaenyra is a woman. That's the basis they're using to seize the throne, but that's nothing more than a means to an end. If Rhaenyra were a man, they'd still want to seat Aegon, they'd just have to think of something else to justify it.

I have seen the trailers, and I love just about everything about them. I especially love how they gave us one for each team, that is genius. The only thing I don't love is how we're already getting a reduced count of episodes, from ten to eight. Particularly since this show is apparently only going to be four seasons or so, this hurts. Like, did you guys learn nothing from the last two seasons of Game of Thrones? All the negative reception they got for how rushed they felt? Even if they wanted to say, push certain battles back to Season 3 for the sake of budget, they could have stretched things out a little more, given the episodes, characters, and plots time to breathe. I don't know, it also just depends on how much content is available to be adapted.

Hey, here's a nice thing I can say about Team Broccoli. Your trailer slaps. Team Liquorice's trailer is just kind of average. Then again, the main reason the green trailer is better is because of the Aegon content. He's everywhere in this trailer and he is killing it, so I really hope this is a sign that they'll make him more important. Also, he now has the funniest line in the entire show so far. "To war then!" Like. Oh god. You absolute idiot, you slay me. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra's trailer is...fine. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm just glad they fixed Jace's hair. (And ruined Criston's, it's a tradeoff.) I love everything to do with Alicent and Rhaenys in these trailers, they really are setting up to be the voices of reason. How bout that scene of Alicent in the dress she wore back in episode one? I'm thinking dream sequence, because why would she still have that dress after all this time? There's also poor Helaena with a knife to her throat. That kills me, because I've read the books and I know what scene that is...

[festivalofthe12]

mannnnnnnn IDK if it's just because I never fully finished the manga myself (sorry everyone;;) but I just. don't. really understand how Akito being just another one of Tohru's friends is supposed to. work. in practice. with Yuki.

Not because Akito is an ~irredeemable person who never earned her redemption~ or whatever. People being good is good!!! If Akito is legitimately a better person now, that's awesome!!! And frankly I love stories where legitimate kindness breaks through to save people who are shitty but also deeply deeply sad!!!!!

But to most of the cast, Akito was a pretty distant enemy. Yes, she'd show up in person now and then to be chilling and mysterious, but her primary source of contention was Being God. The way she ran the family and the rules she set up around it. Other characters might have spent a lot of time seething at her, but mainly to blame her for indirectly causing things to happen in their lives. Apart from a very small number, most have never actually had much experience just... talking to her.

Which is not true for Yuki.

Yuki has spent more time with her than almost anybody. By the end of the manga, she's still probably the person he's spent the most time in contact with, total, over his life. He literally could not get away from being in the same physical space as her.

His reactions to Akito aren't based on him blaming her for what she did to the Sohma family. His reactions to Akito are based on a very simple 'if I can see her, things about about to get very bad very quickly for me personally.'

At that point, it's not even really about whether he blames or forgives her, or what he thinks she 'deserves'. It is an immediate anxiety (let's be real: PTSD) trigger. It's neither conscious nor logical. He spent endless amounts of time waiting with horror for her to show up, unable to know or control when that would happen, and then having that horror fully justified. He was trained on it, endlessly.

I fully believe that Yuki would want to trust Tohru and respect her friendship with Akito and believe that everything has changed and it's all good now. But I just can't see him being him able to actually... act on that. In practice.

He never even really properly got to process it. Ayame did the classic oblivious parent thing of trying to override Yuki's negative emotions with happy ones before he was actually ready to move on. (Not critiquing Ayame; he's just a flawed human being in his own right!) Tohru comforted him and told him he didn't deserve it, and now she's friends with his abuser asking him to say everything's fine. If Kakeru ever fully found out what happened, it was off-screen, and not all that much time before this all went down.

I just. Really think that what Yuki needs is at least some time to just be better and angry, or at the very least openly mourn his lost childhood. And he needs to be able to do that without those constant triggers of anxiety from interacting with Akito. All things being equal, I think it would be for the best if he could just tell Tohru straight-up that he's fine with their friendship and he's not going to intervene but he just does not want to be in the same room with Akito ever again.

And... if I were to stretch this a bit further, and potentially really betray my unfamiliarity with endgame canon........... it is kind of hard for me to imagine Akito being okay with that.

Yes, Akito has changed. But surely she still needs time to grow and learn and figure out her new place in this world? And Yuki deliberately avoiding her would... be a difficult thing to accept. Firstly because she's still getting used to giving up that selfishness (especially towards Yuki), but also because it's a reminder of some of the awful shit she did. Which, if she's a changed person, should make her feel bad. Which again, she isn't qualified to process!!

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Akito twisted it around in her head to where Yuki really was her friend. Like they were in this together and Akito didn't always handle it well but at the end of the day, they're the only two who can really understand each other. Because Akito really didn't have that, either. (Kureno being... idk man he always seemed more like a guardian, or at least older brother figure than someone who was 'in the trenches' so to speak with her.)

Either way, it'd all place Tohru in such a deeply complicated position. Akito is hurting badly and needs Tohru to be on her side if no-one else is, because to be fair, that's not all wrong? (Kureno has always been there, but Tohru is her saviour.) But she can't really do that if she's enforcing Yuki's boundaries for him. I feel like Akito would really want Tohru to tell her that she's forgiven and that everything's good now, and if she hesitated even a little, it wouldn't go well. Because Akito only knows how to understand two things: obedience and manipulation. So having others set healthy boundaries - and dealing with the resulting feelings of rejection and shame and guilt - is something she still has to learn how to do.

It just sounds. A bit like a clusterfuck tbh. A clusterfuck that could, eventually, turn out okay!!!!!! But one that would take a LONG time and continued process of reflection and self-awareness (and, ideally, HEAVY THERAPY, but of course we all know nobody in the Fruits Basket universe ever gets that, so). Obviously like that's the happy ending and we don't need to extend it out for four more volumes of like 'Yuki and Akito undergo cbt separately via Tohru's infinite patience' lmfao but. Idk. It just seems to imply a lot in that happy ending that has not really set up by the story to be all that easy.

Unless I'm completely wrong and the last volume or two does in fact set this up perfectly. In which case never mind!!!!!!!!!!

[icedteaandoldlace]

3, 6, 9, 10, 21 for the choose violence ask game!

You trying to get me on a hit list? 😂 No but seriously, I'm flattered that you're this interested in my salty fandom thoughts.

3. Screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on Tumblr.

Oh boy, this is one I've just been quietly losing my mind over ever since shortly after Good-Bye Vibrations aired. One of the dumbest takes I ever saw from the Flash fandom was that "racism won" in regards to Cisco and Caitlin never becoming a couple. As if getting rid of Cisco was the writers' choice to thwart fans of interracial ships. As if their having different skin colors had anything to do with why they never got together. As if Cisco and Caitlin's relationship wasn't heavily sibling coded since literally the moment they were introduced. As if the world needs more amatonormativity, and less TV friendships between men and women that remain purely platonic from start to finish. As if Cisco ending up with the woman who treats him better than any of the others in his life is a negative outcome. As if the main couple on the show isn't a white man and a black woman. AS IF CISCO AND KAMILLA AREN'T AN INTERRACIAL COUPLE. There are several takes that I'm sure could bump this one for the title of actual worst, but that one has stuck with me and sometimes surfaces in my mind again, only for me to wonder what on earth the person who said that was smoking. "Racism won"—because the Latino guy rode off into the sunset with the Asian girl and not his white best friend. But hey, who am I to question the judgment of a group of shippers who make it their full time job to disparage said Asian girl for the unforgivable crime of not being the white girl they wanted him to get together with?

6. Which ship fans are the most annoying?

Klaine and Reylo, obviously, but as far as The Flash fandom goes, Snowbarry takes the cake on most toxic shipdom. Though in terms of individual shippers I could name by url whom I personally find unbearable (I'm not actually gonna name them), there is one Coldflash, two Killervibe, two Westallen, and one Harrisco in particular that come to mind (and one of those Westallens is also obnoxious about Cynco). To anyone who is able to read this post while NOT in incognito mode, congratulations, I'm not talking about you.

9. Worst part of canon.

Fittingly enough to land under this number, that would be season 9. I didn't watch it, but I know enough of what happened to know I'm not going to watch it. And I won't rewatch season 8, except a select few scenes that I enjoyed (namely the Snowstorm flashbacks and the coffee scene in 8x01). Other than that, though, two things that really bothered me were the way the writers prioritized quantity over quality in terms of main cast, just adding characters left and right but not taking the time to fully flesh them out, or to further develop the characters they already had, and (and this is kind of related to that, come to think of it), the way season 5 brought in Nora as essentially the new main character and spent all their time on her storyline, only to kill her off in the end. Everyone else's development took a backseat that season so they could focus on Nora, and they barely even tried to make their new Wells relevant, they basically just let Tom play around on set while they were filming and slipped in a few sleuthy scenes here and there to justify his presence (and I say this as someone who enjoys a lot of the Sherloque nonsense, but he was honestly a pretty pointless addition to the show). And what is the payoff for sidelining everyone else to tell the new girl's story? Just throw her away at the end of the season. But don't worry, a version of her with different memories and a different personality will replace her two seasons later, and her parents' grief for the daughter they knew will just get swept aside because she's "back" now. Just flush the dead goldfish and put a lookalike in its bowl, no one will know the difference.

10. Worst part of fanon.

Oh jeez, so much. So we got A) making Iris out to be toxic/making Westallen out to be incestuous, which is ridiculous, B) the weird obsession many fanfic authors have with either putting Cisco in abusive relationships or making him be his partner's therapist, because the other person in the ship is the real blorbo and Cisco is just a convenient prop to further their development, C) I don't think this technically falls under the category of fanon, but if I see one more "IT WAS ME, BARRY!" joke I'm gonna punch someone in the throat, and D) picking sides—either side, doesn't matter which—during the great Barrisco breakup of season 3. I stay defending them both in that situation, and the way they both get demonized for that is ridiculous. Cutting myself off at 4 things here because this post could go on a long time.

21. Part of canon you think is overhyped.

Every stinkin' crossover ever. Now, to be fair, I do enjoy a few of them, but when you don't watch any of the other shows in the Arrowverse, having to deal with storylines for characters you don't care about is agonizing. And there's just so much about them that just doesn't make sense!! WHY would you put the wedding for your main couple on a different show?! Why would you do that for the reconciliation between two best friends who had a heart-wrenching falling out? Why would you half-ass BOTH of those things instead of giving the audience something satisfying? Why would you bring in some random guy who's not on any of the shows and who no one knows, to be a Big Essential Hero™️ in THE MOST anticlimactic way that didn't require any special skills, and then not even have him show up ever again except for one stupid appearance in a temporary timeline two seasons later? But hey, at least Everyone In The World showed up to appear onscreen for 5 seconds, and then all the protagonists got together and pretended to be besties for the 1.5 days out of the year that they see each other, while all their real besties were off Not Existing for 40 minutes because this ain't their show. There is such a big to-do surrounding every crossover about how big and exciting it's supposed to be, because, "hey, look, everyone's here!" and then most of the time the plots aren't even good.

[doctorguilty]

Mega neg

I've been asleep all day just to avoid .. everything. I went upstairs a bit ago to use the bathroom and brush my teeth thinking maybe I could interact with everyone here now like my brother and sister and their significant others, but I started crying in the bathroom and hurried back downstairs ..

My grandma sounds like she's perfectly fine talking and exchanging gifts with the family. That's great and all. But the way she behaved to me last night was so cruel. I know she was taking a lot of stuff out on me because my sister told me the other frustrations she was having that day, but also she was doing that thing where she MAKES herself suffer on others behalf just to.. prove a point? I don't know. It's disordered behavior. Like when I called to ask to be picked up from the mall, she was just about to sit down for dinner (a home made dinner my sister cooked), and she just like left anyway, despite my sister saying she should stay and eat first, and she didn't tell me that over the phone. But everyone on earth KNOWS I would have never demanded she leave RIGHT THAT SECOND and not eat, if she said she was about to eat, I would have literally said "no problem, I don't mind waiting" all I even said on the phone was "im ready to go whenever you're ready to come get me" because that is 1000% how I always behave, I am always patient, I do not take favors for granted. So she did that to herself, was upset and cranky about it, and then got more and more angry the longer it took to get home because of other things well out of my control. And then lashed out about it all and said some really mean, un called for things.

But of course she's over it because none of those things happening were really that big of deals. but what she SAID was a big deal. Being hurt like that is a big deal. The things you say when you lash out can leave scars on someone and that's why I've been ruined since that happened. That's why I can't be upstairs with everyone

I hadn't even asked for a ride to the mall since my partner visited months ago. I went to buy GIFTS FOR OTHER PEOPLE with the money I made from WORKING which was the only other rides I'd asked for this whole month, rides to work when more than half of them she was going in that direction anyway. When I came home I was so distraught I just hurriedly dragged all my shopping bags to my room and threw them on the floor, things spilling out everywhere now under piles of tissues from crying. It's a depressing thing to look at when I get out of bed because before that happened last night, I was thinking I'd spend the night wrapping them all nice and feeling good that I was actually able to afford buying extra stuff this year because of the job I had that made the whole Christmas season less of a trauma flashback nonstop

But I can't just HAVE that. Someone has to kick me down and remind me I am dead weight and the space I take up in the world is unearned. I'm worthless.

I had a rough night dealing with those feelings. Really rough. Like mental health crisis rough.

It's not fair. I didn't ask to exist. I try SO hard to justify continuing to exist. I try to make up for the space I take up. It's never enough.