#mel's fandom stuff

[heartnoose]

Mephisto Pheles and Rin Okumura in episode 12 of Blue Exorcist: Beyond The Snow Saga

[nekroiko]

mel

[arcanegifs]

Here's more comparisons of Arcane Gifs before and after I color and sharpen em!

[sarcasticbeanie]

Paces around in a circle. Something something erasure of women (and very apparent w women of color) within fandom spaces, relegating them to support roles, villainous roles, or even making them tools of the narrative or just forgetting about them. And then when people point that out fans start calling them homophobic for not shipping the gay guys. Please that’s not what this conversation is about I’m head in hands. Man I hate it here. Sometimes even canon does this! I’m going to explode.

[danykindaforgotaboutdre]

The problem with jayvik

In a vacuum, there is no problem with jayvik. I like jayvik, I think their dynamic is interesting, I think they have chemistry (I think all of the characters have good chemistry with each other, actually), I think their relationship can be interpreted all sorts of ways. I think they're neat.

I also like Meljay, in fact I prefer Meljay, they have more layers that I'm personally invested in peeling back. I love how you don't know Mel's intentions at first, so the first impulse when they get together is to regard it with suspicion. But then, he lets himself be vulnerable with her and they're just open hearted and good to each other from then on. There's no trick, they just earnestly care and see the best in one another. Contrary to popular belief, Mel may have had an ulterior motive for nearly everything else, but she never had one for loving Jayce, that part was always true and good even if you can't see it at first.

I also like Meljayvik, I think Jayce and Viktor have a complicated relationship and she's never shown the slightest sign of being in any way resentful or spiteful over it. Nor is she given any reason to be whatsoever. She supports Jayce fully in his perfectly understandable preoccupation with Viktor's wellness.

But the problem with jayvik, or at least a particularly loud section of their fandom is, they badly want her to be resentful and spiteful. They want her to feel hurt and betrayed, they frame whatever jayvik have going on as cheating on this woman he never actually cared about, and that's supposed to be good, that's supposed to be a W for their ship. What is actually gained from this? Why is discussing Mel even necessary to enjoy this pairing (yes, erasing her is also a problem in the fandom but believe it or not, there's a way to talk about jayvik that doesn't involve doing either, and it's really not that hard).

Also, why does Jayce choosing Viktor have to be because he's gay? (fellas is it gay to chow down on a beautiful woman's coochie?) Why can't he just choose him regardless of whether he likes women or not? Why the insecurity? Is it because if you let yourself believe he actually likes women, you have to also admit that he chose Mel for no other reason than being attracted to her? I get it, they're jokes, haha, it's not that deep, but unfortunately when the same stupid patterns emerge around every woman and especially every Black woman in fictional media who "gets in the way" of fanon, it is that deep, it's annoying af actually.

[fazedlight]

I didn’t have the word for butchness when I was a kid.

But I do remember, for a while, feeling that I had found my people - as a horseback rider and a tomboy.

When you’re working with horses, you build muscle from throwing around bales of hay, you’re constantly covered in dirt and slobber, you smell like horse shit. I repaired fences and oiled saddles and got trampled and all that. The first time I was called butch - which was by a straight person, who didn’t think of it in terms of sexuality - was in that era, when I was wearing a tank top that showed off my arms.

It was a refreshing place where I could be myself. Catholic school often forced me into skirts, family forced me into dresses for formal occasions. (My family was well-intentioned and loving, but it was a different era.) I didn’t realize that I was routinely feeling humiliated. But I found my people in riding. And I figured, even though it seemed I was expected to grow out of the tomboy phase, that horse people showed me I didn’t have to (even if I didn’t have an adult word for it).

Which led to an odd sense of betrayal, when I first saw my trainer for a fancy occasion outside the context of a barn. She wasn’t covered in dirt with her hair tied back in a practical ponytail. She was cleaned up, in a pretty dress, hair down and lovely, wearing jewelry and makeup. Completely normal for folks to do, but it felt like a threat to me. That what I saw at the barn wasn’t who she was all the time, when it was all the time for me.

Women could be feminine all the time. Women could do both. But there seemed like no room for women who were masculine all the time, women like me. As my riding friends grew up and developed their femininity more, I felt left behind. Was there anyone like me?

I finally started finding people in college. Away from a Catholic upbringing, suddenly surrounded by queers of all flavors, I finally figured out my sexuality, started figuring out my sense of gender and self. I still didn’t know anyone I’d describe as butch, but the sheer variety I saw helped me realize that I didn’t need someone to be exactly like me in order to belong.

And then I buzzcut my hair - over a decade ago now - and it was euphoric for me. It was such a strong statement that this is who I was. And I know gender isn’t black and white, there are absolutely femme folks who can pull off buzzcuts, but it certainly changes the math. There was no “I can do both” for me. I do one, because that shoe fits.

And then I was called butch again for the second time in my life, and I realized I was finally home in myself.

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

the worst part of doctor who fandom is how easy it latches onto a "consensus" opinion that then everyone assumes this is "obviously" the only way to interpret an episode, and also they also latch onto painting with a negative brush literally everything about an episode, questioning things that "don't make sense!!!" when like, they do actually. just because 1 part of the plot may be flimsy doesn't mean automatically all 300 creative decisions are too, by osmosis. this is not how stories work, karen.

[mydignityisinflames]

Overall I did really enjoy S2, in particular act 3, but I definitely think it should have been 3 seasons not two. They crammed too much in so some bits ended up being a bit underdeveloped and there were pacing issues throughout the series but the animation was stunning as always and they did well to pack it all in with the timeframe they were given

[lynnbutlertron]

omg actually speaking of portal look at this guy i made. it was a hyperfixation project and took me like 8 hours straight he has interchangeable eyes and stuff and he is my life force . live laugh love virgil

[dangerousdan-dan]

Do you ship Jayvik?????

Hi!

I really like the ship!!! And I 100% respect and understand the romantic interpretation of their relationship.

HOWEVER

As an aromantic person, I'll always be against the "there's not a platonic explanation for x behavior" (pls let's remember that platonic relationships can be just as deep and meaningful as any other!!!), and so I also really like the platonic soulmates interpretation of their relationship.

I find both interpretations beautiful and valid, and I enjoy both in their own way. To be completely honest, I think the fandom war between these different perspectives is stupid and annoying af.

Different interpretations of a single source can exist and make sense within the source material!

Proof of this is that we still do academic work of texts like Othello and Don Quixote (two texts that have been analyzed for YEARS from a hundred different angles and given all the interpretations imaginable), and yet we still find new and different things to say about them :)

[fic-dumpster]

Do you remember when we found out who the second time leaper was on the day the queen died? That day was wild bro

OHMAYGAAD 🔥👹🔥

I was not active on tumblr but X/twitter was a mess… I was not expecting to find out about Shinichiro while scrolling through ppl talking about the queen passing… I HADNT EVEN READ A COUPLE OF CHAPTERS back then and I was slappped by this panel 😂😂…

[heartnoose]

Rin Okumura and Mephisto Pheles in episode 12 of Blue Exorcist: Beyond The Snow Saga

[herschelkrustofsky]

mel when krusty starts venting to him about his 3456th divorce, a weird rash, rehab payment, and something mean his dad said two minutes before their show’s about to start

[etheral-moon]

[nashidakyouko]

I'm tired

[blankerthought]

you know how it is when you go out for the night in zaun