#okay okay my opinions on romance are nuanced and I have to explain them to really get into this

[flashhwing]

if you think that Flint is in love with Silver is that really shipping or is that just media literacy

[minnaci]

okay. whipped out my laptop again for apology tour. same disclaimers apply: i'm not a hellaverse blog (or, if i am, i'm very much in denial about it), i enjoy the show and the characters, and my opinions are informed by my personal lived experiences. apology tour spoilers ahead.

i've done a lot of scrolling through comments and posts since watching apology tour and, while many good points were made, i'm not sure that any of them sufficiently sum up how conflicted i feel about this episode. i'll try to hopefully stumble my way into a coherent analysis.

full warning, it will be blitz-centric, but there is enough nuance in my heart to be sympathetic to stolas, too. both of them fucked up! i just happen to identify more strongly with blitz.

tldr: the showrunners said it best. stolas is not quite as self-aware as he should be, and blitz... is blitz. cw for spoilers and discussions of american racism (particularly antiblackness) and classism.

this crux of the issue in apology tour continues to be miscommunication, which is heavily influenced by 1. both blitz's and stolas's pasts and 2. the sociopolitical context in which they operate.

1 . STOLAS

stolas was a victim of emotional neglect in his childhood, and then a victim of his emotionally abusive wife in his adulthood. he, as he so aptly implies in apology tour, has never truly felt wanted beyond what he could provide to his family. one of the only times we have ever seen stolas happy was at the circus as a child, where he developed a fleeting, parasocial admiration for blitz.

in this way, stolas is painfully, achingly relatable. while he grew up in a disgusting amount of material wealth, he has been deprived of the one thing you cannot buy with money: unconditional love. he yearns for the type of romance he reads about, the type of passionate desire that he watches in his telenovelas, and when blitz comes along— the one, shining memory in stolas's otherwise dull childhood— stolas falls into the fantasy.

and that's exactly what it is. in the beginning, stolas doesn't really want blitz. he wants what blitz represents— a charming, seductive figure to ravish him, to hold him close, to show him that he is desirable and make him feel wanted. it's a fantasy at the price of the key to stolas's job— a fantasy that is, from an outsider's perspective, easily explained by racial fetishization. more on this later.

to stolas, it's a small price to pay. the grimoire, a token piece of power to the goetias, in exchange for the one thing that stolas has always wanted? sign stolas up! stolas has never had to worry about his livelihood, nor his safety— not in any way that matters. not in any way that blitz would have had to.

stolas is ignorant. he is naive and unaware of how the world works. this remains true when he falls for blitz, when he plans to "set them free" (a la "when i see him"), even after he confesses and his fairy-tale fantasies come crashing down around him. he is not in a place where he can comprehend the effects of class on his relationships because it is not something he has ever had to consider before.

all that said, none of that invalidates the way that stolas feels when blitz explodes at him in full moon. stolas setting his boundaries at the beginning of apology tour ("i feel uncomfortable when you talk to me that way") is valid. it's actually an example of communication gone right in this episode, in that stolas explicitly communicates how blitz's actions make him feel.

his resultant upset when blitz keeps pushing him and antagonizing him is similarly valid. his decision to go to verosika's party is valid. my main point here is: while i don't particularly enjoy stolas's actions in full moon or even in apology tour, i can empathize with wanting to be wanted by someone so badly that it basically ruins your life.

again, stolas is ignorant. he lacks self awareness. he is emotionally immature and lacks empathy. but the message here isn't "rich people can't feel heartbreak", at least for me. the message is "even though he is hurt, stolas needs to understand that his actions have consequences, and that blitz experiences relationships (and the world) in a fundamentally different way than stolas as a product of the differences in socioeconomic contexts in which they were raised."

2. BLITZ

oh, blitz. where to start? this is where i admit that there are a lot of similarities between the way blitz and i grew up, and a lot of similarities in the ways that we view relationships now (read: i may project a bit. apologies in advance).

from when he was young, blitz has learned that the only successful type of love is love that is transactional. he loved his mother, and she died in a fire he started. he loved fizz and barbie, and he ruined their lives. the only "successful" love he has experienced is love where he provides something (read: gets "used") and receives something in return. so, unless he can provide something of value to his partner, blitz prefers to keep it casual. in blitz's mind, people don't care about blitz, and people shouldn't care about blitz. loving blitz has always been a recipe for disaster, because in his perspective, if he can't provide something to his lover that offsets the destruction that he causes, then he's not worth it.

it's normal for blitz to feel used. it's normal for blitz to feel less-than, or unwanted, or unloved, and it hurts blitz less to believe that. sex is fun. he can "do sex", and he can do sex good, and maybe to him, that's all that he can do good. he certainly can't hold down a relationship. his employees only care about him because he provides a stable source of income. his daughter only cares about him because he gives her shelter. it's normal. blitz feeling hated is normal, and the normalcy brings him so much comfort that he purposefully pushes people away to maintain that awful, vicious cycle of a status quo. it's a self-fulfulling prophecy.

blitz's approach to stolas in the beginning of apology tour is his desperate bid to return to normal. stolas being so short and angry with him is almost comforting— blitz knows how anger feels. he knows how hate feels. stolas is just another person who finally, finally realized what blitz knew all along— love is something that isn't possible for blitz, because he always fucks it up (at least in his perspective). and if stolas lets blitz fuck him, lets blitz provide this service to him, then maybe, blitz can "earn his way to earth" (read: "earn" stolas's affection back). affection, to blitz, is something for him to work tirelessly and endlessly to receive— a sisyphean affair. he is not ever intended to actually receive it.

stolas doesn't recognize this. stolas doesn't even try. but in stolas's defense, blitz doesn't exactly make it easy. i may empathize with blitz, but i think i would also be a little less prone to empathy if the object of my affections mocked my feelings by brushing them off in favor of sex and then screaming "GAY" in my face when i refused.

the rest of blitz's apology tour is borne out of pettiness towards stolas, because in his eyes, stolas is the one who wronged him. stolas was the one who accepted the rules of engagement with blitz (i.e., a transactional relationship: the grimoire for a bit of fun, kinky sex). stolas is the one who has all the power. stolas is the one who can choose to ruin blitz. stolas is the one who ruined the good thing they had going.

except... blitz doesn't really believe that. deep down, subconsciously, blitz knows he loves stolas, and by being in love, he's done to stolas what he did to his mother, to fizz, to barbie: ruined his life. maybe, if blitz could seduce stolas and make their relationship transactional again, he could correct their course and save stolas the pain of believing that blitz is deserving of love. it's a trolley problem: pull the lever, and blitz is the only one who gets hurt. let the trolley continue, and stolas will inevitably get caught in the crossfire of loving blitz.

blitz can handle a little pain. he handled it when his mother died. he handled it when fizz hated him. he handled it when barbie left him. he handles it over and over again, being used as tool for sexual pleasure or physical violence. he earns his pain, just as he feels he must "earn" the grimoire. just as he feels he must "earn" the little tokens of stolas's affection.

as an aside: the grimoire is more than a symbol of blitz's livelihood. it's a physical representation of the stark difference in class between blitz and stolas, as well as a representation of the transactional nature of all of blitz's relationships, not just the one between him and stolas. it is one magical book among thousands that the goetias own— a veritable drop in the bucket of the immense power, wealth, and influence that the goetias, and by extension, stolas, wield. that same book which is inconsequential to stolas and the goetias is everything to blitz. without the grimoire, he loses his job and everything that comes with it, including (in blitz's transactional view of relationships) millie, moxxie, and even loona's companionship. but i digress.

it's been said before that there is nobody who belongs at the blitz hate party more than blitz himself, and it's true— there is nobody in hell who could hate blitz more than he hates himself. because as much as he might present himself as a little dumb, he's anything but. he knows what he's doing will destroy him. he knows if he continues to do what he's doing, he'll "die alone", which, in some ways, is what he fears more than anything. he even tells verosika that he "doesn't want to be like this forever", but he can't seem to stop himself. he doesn't know how to stop himself.

after all, he's right. everyone hates him. it's evident in the party they've thrown for him. and the worst part thing is: it's his fault, and he knows it. he knows he's hurt all of these people, and even though he plays at callousness, he can't quite hide his hurt that stolas in particular won't hear him out. he can't hide his hurt that stolas can't seem to understand where blitz is coming from. because blitz does try to talk to stolas in apology tour. he tries to tell stolas what he's feeling, and how he regrets how he's spoken to stolas, but stolas is too drunk and too upset to care (which, btw, not blaming stolas for that. if i were a drinker, i'd be right there beside him).

stolas, in this moment, focuses entirely on himself and the pain that blitz put him through (again, not blaming stolas for that), but it tells blitz that stolas really, really does not care about him anymore, if he ever did. and wasn't that what blitz wanted? isn't that what blitz deserves? so it's easy to let a bigger, taller, more handsome, more suave imp sweep stolas off his feet and out of blitz's life. the imp is, by his t-shirt's estimation, "better than blitzo", after all. and don't they say that to love someone is to let them go?

verosika's advice to blitz only cements this. stolas is moving on. stolas deserves better. and blitz? all blitz deserves is to be used, so can he really be mad that some better imp is giving stolas what blitz never could? and again, blitz has dealt with the people he loves hating him before. his father sold him for $5. his best friend hated him for years. his sister still does. at least with stolas, he got the asmodean crystal out of it, and he won't lose the only semblance of companionship he has left.

3 - SOCIOECONOMIC CONTEXT

i saw a post that said that fans are focusing too much on the class difference between stolas and blitz, and i couldn't disagree more. in fact, i'd say that we are not focusing enough on the class difference between stolas and blitz.

all of stolas's ignorance is magnified tenfold by his lack of understanding of how their class and race difference colors their relationship. all of blitz's self-hatred and self-worth issues are exacerbated one-hundredfold by these same class and race differences.

classism and racism go hand in hand, especially in america. in helluva boss (and especially in the beginning of the stolitz dynamic), there is an implication of racial fetishization. blitz, the "lower-class" poor imp, fulfills stolas (an "upper-class" wealthy elite)'s fantasies of being "ravaged" and "taken" in his own home. stolas canonically enjoys the rough treatment, enjoys the taboo feeling of having blitz fuck him. it's very evocative of how some white american women fetishize and fantasize about black men— a fetish that has its roots in white supremacy (and especially the enslavement and ongoing oppression of black people in america.)

that said, in the context of helluva boss, it is very clear that blitz is aware of his socioeconomic standing the implications thereof— more aware than even stolas, who has ostensibly been educated on the social and economic nuances of the realm he helps to rule. he tries to tell stolas about how this difference in class affects him and amplifies his already awful self-worth ("you're a prince. it's hard to believe you would want me. that anyone would want me"), but stolas is incapable of hearing him.

all this to say, blitz is not solely to blame for their current relationship. that isn't to say that blitz is blameless. in fact, blitz isn't the most emotionally mature either— most of what i have written about him are things that i doubt he consciously realizes about himself. but stolas's ignorance and lack of willingness to consider where blitz is coming from, both emotionally and socioeconomically, make up a huge part of why stolitz continues to miscommunicate.

anyways. yeah. viv was right. things sure did happen.

[arcadekitten]

I know you mentioned you don't talk about your opinion on character x character ships but you post a lot of art with #mareggie. Is this a ship name? If so isn't it a bit weird? Unless I missed something (which I very well could have-) doesn't Reginald stalk Mary? Even killing for her? Sorry if this is weird to ask, it's just a curiosity of mine.

I wasn't even sure if I should answer this ask, but I think that maybe I should to have this disclaimer out here before others can start making their own claims about me. It's a sentiment I've seen going around more and it feels like I ought to address this "elephant in the room" so that people do not have to hold their breath about the whole thing.

I'd also like to disclaim that when I am posting this, I am not mad at YOU, asker, but rather that this is just another thing onto the pile and I'd like to address it before people keep adding more to this pile.

Yes, mareggie is a ship name. The story I am trying to tell of Mary and Reggie is a romance.

Yes, Reginald does dubious and criminal things. I am not denying that (even if I like to make jokes like 'Reggie did nothing wrong!'). However, I would both think and hope that it is apparent that there is a bigger picture to everything I have shown of them. That there is a deeper story hidden beneath the surface that I am trying to tell, that isn't even finished yet, and that while Reginald's actions are reprehensible they are not random nor done with no deeper nuance to them. And while I could *technically* say more, I don't think it is very fair to me to have to explain and spoil my own stories before they are finished being told just so that people can understand or feel comfortable with his character motivations from the get-go.

If someone finds the ship between Mary and Reginald weird, that is valid. If they are made uncomfortable by it and don't like seeing it, that is also valid. Even if by the end of it all you still don't like them together, that's valid. I can't force you to like them. But I have never lied or been dishonest about the nature of the relationship they share. As you can see, I am pretty open about it! And I have been trying to create a story between them that has nuance, and (jokes aside) I try to showcase that where I can.

Mary and Reginald's story is a romance. And if that's not a romance you want to see, then I don't blame you, but I can't help you either. I am going to keep telling this story and it is up to you to discern whether or not it is a story for you. It's okay if it's not the story for you. But I am still going to write it because it is the story that *I* want to tell with *my own* characters, regardless of how others feel about it.

Thank you for understanding.

[grollow]

In addition to your lovely essay that I only skimmed but def had amazing points: I would like to point out the use of romance as a storytelling medium and an outlet for character dissection and exploration.

There are aspects of a character that only come to the forefront when A Situation is present. How someone deals with anger only comes forward when something angers them yknow? Romance pulls a lot of opinions and thoughts from a character, whether they choose to partake in it or not and why. And because each character approaches romance differently, each pairing allows its own window into both characters as well as their dynamic.

Now is that super utilized in fanfiction/fandom as a whole? Not always, and that’s okay. Sometimes the vibes are cute (or sexy if you prefer) and that’s enough for someone to create. But as someone who’s always been a multishipper at heart specifically because exploring character dynamics is crack to me, romance is always smth I consider with characters even if it’s just how they want to reject it. (Put that blorbo in A Situation and observe.)

(This is also why sometimes stories about unhealthy or toxic romances are also written. It’s another way of exploring characters and dynamics. Though those come with their own nuanced discourse around it.)

So for people who really wanna flesh out and explore a character, sometimes seeing how they respond to romance is the way to go. Hollow’s never had a chance to explore any level of intimate relationship before, so throwing the soppy wet cat into the deep end to see if they sink or swim is interesting. It reveals a lot about themselves. Ofc it ends up delving into the realm of pure headcanon as a result, but that’s no less interesting.

(Personally how much I like a ship sometimes ends up coming down to how anchored the are headcanons to canon. Some people break canon and use it as a suggestion, and then I get picky lol)

Oh I didn't even want to get into the specific nuances of like, how each character can complement one another and situations can help flesh things out, because that's very subjective story telling in a lot of ways and it varies interpretation to interpretation. Hell, I have three (four if redemption counts separately) Grollow multipart fics, and not a single one of them is identical. They're all very different and in my opinion, showcase different elements of the characters and their growth.

Naturally this is a huge part of it as well but it's hard to quantify that in a more vague / generalized post. Like Shades of Black deals with a lot of healing, trust exercises, and mutual sharing of trauma in a therapeutic way as well as growth together that could not be achieved only through qpr or friendship because of the specific way that I wrote the pair of them (not at all implying romance is somehow more intimate, it's not, it's very much subjective).

At the end of the day this is a nuance that kind of requires reading a full fic and digesting it tho. Because explaining it in a Tumblr post feels disingenuous to the medium of story telling to me. Is why I avoided that in my Book of Grollow act 1 ig. But you're so valid and right

[maybe-a-little-wicked]

I’m finally putting my thoughts on Shadow and Bone season 2 down, and some of these opinions are controversial! Whew! But I need to talk about them so just buckle down or scroll away heh. 

1. Season 2 wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for a few glaring flaws and the fact that it’s an adaptation. What are the major flaws, in my opinion? Too many character plots to follow, a lack of interest in the writers room on their protagonist, and a rushed plotline. 

I feel like so much of season 2 is lovely. It’s got beautiful scenery, I love how we explore this world. It really builds upon season 1. But there’s this big disconnect between the writers and the main characters, especially Alina and the Darkling. (This is by no means a criticism of Jessie or Ben, they’re fucking phenomenal). Alina’s story doesn’t seem to matter all that much to the writers, who are way more into the crows storyline. 

People online were saying that the crows were the best part of season 2, and that’s true, but it’s NOT a good thing. Why? because this is shadow and bone, not six of crows. And the crows are great and I love them, but I did kind of resent their storylines a bit because I felt like their story was depriving me of Alina’s. And yeah, we can all sit here and argue that the crows are objectively better, but that doesn’t change the fact the show is shadow and bone. 

With so much focus on the crows, it doesn’t seem like Alina’s the main character at all, and if you’ve read the books you can really see just how much they’ve cut from her story. They didn’t even talk about the religious undertones! 

And the Darkling. Oh, the Darkling. Listen, I’m not here to debate whether or not you should like him, but he’s a good fucking villain, and the relationship between him and Alina is important. “But he’s abusive!” Okay, and ignoring the nuance of their relationship is taking away representation about abusive and toxic relationships. Not all fiction has to be cozy and warm for it to be valuable. you don’t need to like Darklina at all but you should recognize the importance and value of their story, and season 2 didn’t give that. So much of Alina’s story is tied to his. They are foils to each other, so similar and yet so vastly different and to ignore the complex relationship they have does them both a disservice as characters. 

This finally leads me to a rushed plotline. I get it, they were trying to tell the whole story and were worried the show would get canceled. So, take the crows out (ouch, my heart). Reduce the Storytime for the crows. There were other ways they could’ve combated the rush. I don’t think it would’ve been perfect (shadow and bone really needed to be three seasons) but it could’ve helped. Flat out, way too much happened in too little time and it does every single character in the show a discredit. 

Also, to touch on the adaptation aspect: I think they could’ve gotten away with more of everything I mentioned if they weren’t an adaptation. Like, the darklina relationship dynamic might’ve been able to slide a bit without the books (though I still think it would be a damn shame not to explore those complicated dynamics). 

2. Mal is likable here, idgaf. even at the end when people were mad about him dumping Alina, I think he was pretty justified honestly. He doesn’t owe Alina his love, especially not romantic love. He went through shit too, he was going to die for her. That doesn’t mean I like him as a romantic option for Alina. The character alone (in the show) is fine. It’s when he’s put into the mix with Alina and the Darkling I seem to struggle with him, and I don’t mean in the romance. There’s this power imbalance between them as characters that doesn’t work, and I’m not sure how else to explain it beyond that. 

3. At the end of it all, I don’t care that it sucks. Why? Because more seasons means more fanfiction. I have reaped the benefits of season 2 just from the influx of fanfiction alone. Adaptation means renewed interest in the fandom. idgaf if adaptation sucks, I'll go see them and support them for the sole purpose of more fandom content. (Also I think season 8 of GOT broke me a little in this regard). 

[storm-driver]

ep 17 : okay THIS is the johnny and kitty second episode, i remember now. it's also the one where i didn't realize what the plot was as a kid bc i never made it past the halfway point. but now im an adult and i can actually pay attention, yay

so danny's ghost sense detects johnny's shadow but...not johnny, i guess? or kitty who is possessing paulina? i dont know if it's ever been shown before if danny can feel the presence of other ghosts while they're possessing other people. i guess it's safe to assume he can't because maybe the human body acts as a way to deter them. but then id have to wonder why his human self is still detectable as a ghost via the fenton equipment. im overthinking stuff in a cartoon where the writers make up the rule per episode, arent i

this is the first time we hear phantom get called "inviso-bill" which made me CRINGE visibly, but i snorted really hard, so this joke still rubs off on me all these years later. they also...call him pasty-faced??? which i dont get because danny literally gets tanned skin when he's a ghost, you can see the difference in his colour palette in neutral lighting and it's such an awkward line that was clearly written for the ghost aspect rather than the physical quality aspect. i know danny gets interpreted with pale skin in other stuff, like his media shots or even the graphic novel. but he's ANIMATED to be tanned, i dont really understand where the connection got lost. it's not a big deal, but it's making me ask questions that i know don't get answered.

the fucking A-List joke being taken to a literal VIP membership level is actually hysterical. i choked on my water when dash explained the god damn hall monitor stamp pass with the free frozen yogurt. i have no idea why the idea of being a popular kid coming with literal membership club privileges is so funny to me, but it just is. mikey going "hi danny" and dash shouting "DONT TALK TO HIM" is ace.

this is unfortunately another episode where they paint sam in a bad light because of danny's potential romance options being with someone else. i feel the second episode handled this a lot better, by having sam downplay her affection towards danny as passive, while she was still trying to be a supportive friend when he got himself in hot water. in this episode, she's outright jealous and aggressive about it, which is believable? but considering how lax she was in a previous episode, it's jarring. especially because paulina knows he's the ghost boy, and even if sam isn't trusting that paulina will keep his secret, she's already gone out of her way to cover for danny's ghost hunting by covering as his date.

this is another case of me hoping the show writers would give some more nuance to characters that they don't intend to have that kinda complexity. which i can't be mad at, this show IS twenty years old and it was far from the expectancy back then. but the early signs of forcing sam to pine for danny are already showing, and this is one of the bad portrayals.

it's also kinda weird to see kitty and johnny get such a weird portrayal of their romance. i get it, johnny was being a player while kitty was having to deal with her boyfriend hitting on other girls. that sucks, it does. and it's a character flaw for her first idea of action to be using someone else to make johnny jealous, considering how far johnny was going to get kitty out of the ghost zone in the previous episode. feels like a step back for the sake of the plot, which is fine if the tone was shifted just a little. that's my opinion, at least.

the resolution being that they both go back to hating danny is kinda sour, considering these are some of the only ghosts danny manages to have some sort of understanding with. it'd be nice if the resolution was just kitty and johnny getting to thank danny for making them both realize they were lucky to have each other, rather than both of them arguing at the end anyways because of danny just doing his job. again, the execution makes it feel more that they bonded over hating danny. i still appreciate that they were able to look at danny peacefully for a bit though, it's a breath off fresh air for a ghost to not outright hate danny.

that shot of danny faking his murderous intent for johnny is kinda horrific, the line especially is such an eyebrow raiser. "SEE YOU IN OBLIVION" is SUCH AN INSANE READ??? obviously he can't say hell because they're already dead and they literally have been to hell. this is a kid's show, it's also that. BUT CHRIST, OBLIVION???? the writers are so insane sometimes, i love it.

yknow what I'm cataloging my feelings as i rewatch every danny phantom episode, here we go

[qqueenofhades]

Hi. I’m curious. What did you mean by “women who read fiction might get Bad Ideas!!!” has just reached its latest and stupidest form via tumblr purity culture.? I haven’t seen any of this but I’m new to tumblr.

Oh man. You really want to get me into trouble on, like, my first day back, don’t you?

Pretty much all of this has been explained elsewhere by people much smarter than me, so this isn’t necessarily going to say anything new, but I’ll do my best to synthesize and summarize it. As ever, it comes with the caveat that it is my personal interpretation, and is not intended as the be-all, end-all. You’ll definitely run across it if you spend any time on Tumblr (or social media in general, including Twitter, and any other fandom-related spaces). This will get long.

In short: in the nineteenth century, when Gothic/romantic literature became popular and women were increasingly able to read these kinds of novels for fun, there was an attendant moral panic over whether they, with their weak female brains, would be able to distinguish fiction from reality, and that they might start making immoral or inappropriate choices in their real life as a result. Obviously, there was a huge sexist and misogynistic component to this, and it would be nice to write it off entirely as just hysterical Victorian pearl-clutching, but that feeds into the “lol people in the past were all much stupider than we are today” kind of historical fallacy that I often and vigorously shut down. (Honestly, I’m not sure how anyone can ever write the “omg medieval people believed such weird things about medicine!” nonsense again after what we’ve gone through with COVID, but that is a whole other rant.) The thinking ran that women shouldn’t read novels for fear of corrupting their impressionable brains, or if they had to read novels at all, they should only be the Right Ones: i.e., those that came with a side of heavy-handed and explicit moralizing so that they wouldn’t be tempted to transgress. Of course, books trying to hammer their readers over the head with their Moral Point aren’t often much fun to read, and that’s not the point of fiction anyway. Or at least, it shouldn’t be.

Fast-forward to today, and the entire generation of young, otherwise well-meaning people who have come to believe that being a moral person involves only consuming the “right” kind of fictional content, and being outrageously mean to strangers on the internet who do not agree with that choice. There are a lot of factors contributing to this. First, the advent of social media and being subject to the judgment of people across the world at all times has made it imperative that you demonstrate the “right” opinions to fit in with your peer-group, and on fandom websites, that often falls into a twisted, hyper-critical, so-called “progressivism” that diligently knows all the social justice buzzwords, but has trouble applying them in nuance, context, and complicated real life. To some extent, this obviously is not a bad thing. People need to be critical of the media they engage with, to know what narratives the creator(s) are promoting, the tropes they are using, the conclusions that they are supporting, and to be able to recognize and push back against genuinely harmful content when it is produced – and this distinction is critical – by professional mainstream creators. Amateur, individual fan content is another kettle of fish. There is a difference between critiquing a professional creator (though social media has also made it incredibly easy to atrociously abuse them) and attacking your fellow fan and peer, who is on the exact same footing as you as a consumer of that content.

Obviously, again, this doesn’t mean that you can’t call out people who are engaging in actually toxic or abusive behavior, fans or otherwise. But certain segments of Tumblr culture have drained both those words (along with “gaslighting”) of almost all critical meaning, until they’re applied indiscriminately to “any fictional content that I don’t like, don’t agree with, or which doesn’t seem to model healthy behavior in real life” and “anyone who likes or engages with this content.” Somewhere along the line, a reactionary mindset has been formed in which the only fictional narratives or relationships are those which would be “acceptable” in real life, to which I say…. what? If I only wanted real life, I would watch the news and only read non-fiction. Once again, the underlying fear, even if it’s framed in different terms, is that the people (often women) enjoying this content can’t be trusted to tell the difference between fiction and reality, and if they like “problematic” fictional content, they will proceed to seek it out in their real life and personal relationships. And this is just… not true.

As I said above, critical media studies and thoughtful consumption of entertainment are both great things! There have been some great metas written on, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how it is increasingly relying on villains who have outwardly admirable motives (see: the Flag Smashers in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) who are then stigmatized by their anti-social, violent behavior and attacks on innocent people, which is bad even as the heroes also rely on violence to achieve their ends. This is a clever way to acknowledge social anxieties – to say that people who identify with the Flag Smashers are right, to an extent, but then the instant they cross the line into violence, they’re upsetting the status quo and need to be put down by the heroes. I watched TFATWS and obviously enjoyed it. I have gone on a Marvel re-watching binge recently as well. I like the MCU! I like the characters and the madcap sci-fi adventures! But I can also recognize it as a flawed piece of media that I don’t have to accept whole-cloth, and to be able to criticize some of the ancillary messages that come with it. It doesn’t have to be black and white.

When it comes to shipping, moreover, the toxic culture of “my ship is better than your ship because it’s Better in Real Life” ™ is both well-known and in my opinion, exhausting and pointless. As also noted, the whole point of fiction is that it allows us to create and experience realities that we don’t always want in real life. I certainly enjoy plenty of things in fiction that I would definitely not want in reality: apocalyptic space operas, violent adventures, and yes, garbage men. A large number of my ships over the years have been labeled “unhealthy” for one reason or another, presumably because they don’t adhere to the stereotype of the coffee-shop AU where there’s no tension and nobody ever makes mistakes or is allowed to have serious flaws. And I’m not even bagging on coffee-shop AUs! Some people want to remove characters from a violent situation and give them that fluff and release from the nonstop trauma that TV writers merrily inflict on them without ever thinking about the consequences. Fanfiction often focuses on the psychology and healing of characters who have been through too much, and since that’s something we can all relate to right now, it’s a very powerful exercise. As a transformative and interpretive tool, fanfic is pretty awesome.

The problem, again, comes when people think that fic/fandom can only be used in this way, and that going the other direction, and exploring darker or complicated or messy dynamics and relationships, is morally bad. As has been said before: shipping is not activism. You don’t get brownie points for only having “healthy” ships (and just my personal opinion as a queer person, these often tend to be heterosexual white ships engaging in notably heteronormative behavior) and only supporting behavior in fiction that you think is acceptable in real life. As we’ve said, there is a systematic problem in identifying what that is. Ironically, for people worried about Women Getting Ideas by confusing fiction and reality, they’re doing the same thing, and treating fiction like reality. Fiction is fiction. Nobody actually dies. Nobody actually gets hurt. These people are not real. We need to normalize the idea of characters as figments of a creator’s imagination, not actual people with their own agency. They exist as they are written, and by the choice of people whose motives can be scrutinized and questioned, but they themselves are not real. Nor do characters reflect the author’s personal views. Period.

This feeds into the fact that the internet, and fandom culture, is not intended as a “safe space” in the sense that no questionable or triggering content can ever be posted. Archive of Our Own, with its reams of scrupulous tagging and requests for you to explicitly click and confirm that you are of age to see M or E-rated content, is a constant target of the purity cultists for hosting fictional material that they see as “immoral.” But it repeatedly, unmistakably, directly asks you for your consent to see this material, and if you then act unfairly victimized, well… that’s on you. You agreed to look at this, and there are very few cases where you didn’t know what it entailed. Fandom involves adults creating contents for adults, and while teenagers and younger people can and do participate, they need to understand this fact, rather than expecting everything to be a PG Disney movie.

When I do write my “dark” ships with garbage men, moreover, they always involve a lot of the man being an idiot, being bluntly called out for an idiot, and learning healthier patterns of behavior, which is one of the fundamental patterns of romance novels. But they also involve an element of the woman realizing that societal standards are, in fact, bullshit, and she can go feral every so often, as a treat. But even if I wrote them another way, that would still be okay! There are plenty of ships and dynamics that I don’t care for and don’t express in my fic and fandom writing, but that doesn’t mean I seek out the people who do like them and reprimand them for it. I know plenty of people who use fiction, including dark fiction, in a cathartic way to process real-life trauma, and that’s exactly the role – one of them, at least – that fiction needs to be able to fulfill. It would be terribly boring and limited if we were only ever allowed to write about Real Life and nothing else. It needs to be complicated, dark, escapist, unreal, twisted, and whatever else. This means absolutely zilch about what the consumers of this fiction believe, act, or do in their real lives.

Once more, I do note the misogyny underlying this. Nobody, after all, seems to care what kind of books or fictional narratives men read, and there’s no reflection on whether this is teaching them unhealthy patterns of behavior, or whether it predicts how they’ll act in real life. (There was some of that with the “do video games cause mass shootings?��, but it was a straw man to distract from the actual issues of toxic masculinity and gun culture.) Certain kinds of fiction, especially historical fiction, romance novels, and fanfic, are intensely gendered and viewed as being “women’s fiction” and therefore hyper-criticized, while nobody’s asking if all the macho-man potboiler military-intrigue tough-guy stereotypical “men’s fiction” is teaching them bad things. So the panic about whether your average woman on the internet is reading dark fanfic with an Unhealthy Ship (zomgz) is, in my opinion, misguided at best, and actively destructive at worst.

[tundrainafrica]

Do you think levihan is canon?

I’m guessing you’re not asking about my overall opinion on 139, so I’ll just leave it here as a Levihan opinion. I could probably do another rant about my overall opinion of the ending but probs another time.  

And I have been meaning to make this meta for a while and I kinda wanted to wait for the last chapter cause for some crazy reason, I was a clown hoping that Levihan would just suddenly happen? Like maybe in the paths, she walks to him or something 

But woop. We have to search again for the crumbs like we’re on some scavenger hunt. 

And you know what? I like it this way. Thank you Yams for not butchering your characters over one ship. Thank you for portraying so realistically what romance between two mature adults with responsibilities is actually supposed to look like. 

So yeah, before we go into it, I did go around asking about other ships and I realized, maybe we have been using the word ‘canon’ incorrectly. Or so, that’s the first thing I thought. 

I had a conversation with my sister a few days back (who hates Levihan if it isn’t obvious), and she used to be an avid Klaroline shipper back in the day (The Vampire Diaries), and she explained that a the fandom actually don’t see Klaroline as a canon couple even if they were teased throughout the show (fucked, kissed and everything in between) since it isn’t end game. 

So to lay out my terms here and just be incredibly clear about it. I consider Levihan canon, but I do not consider them end game because they obviously aren’t, 132 happened and Hange didn’t come back.. 

So what do i mean by canon? 

There are lots of nuances here to consider when we call them canon. 

For one, fandoms wait for the couple to be ‘official’ kiss and all. Other fandoms wait for the end before they say it, because no matter how many times two characters fuck, kiss and declare their undying love, if they don’t commit, if they don’t make it to the end, then it’s not canon. 

When I say Levihan is canon, I clearly mean,  even if they didn’t end up together, they probably could have still been in a relationship, they probably could have still been in love. They probably actually held a stronger and much more nuanced bond than whatever main couple we watch in some sappy romantic drama. 

And maybe they actually did fall in love behind closed doors? Maybe they meta-ed their own relationship together and maybe they’ve discussed it and maybe they were aware. ( have a meta about it here)

But here’s the thing, we’ll never know, because in Season 4, after A LOT of the development of their relationship could have been implied, Levi and Hange were separated from each other so we actually didn’t get a lot of scenes of them closely together until 115, 126 etc. 

And here is the part where people call me delusional? Because people who invalidate our ship like to do that.

Because yes.. They’re just ultra mega besties. 

AND I GET SO FRUSTRATED AT THIS TAKE. LIKE SINCE WHEN HAS ROMANCE EVER RUINED FRIENDSHIPS?

It doesn’t make any sense??? Like I have no idea how people are having relationships when the first they think when they get into a relationship is “I don’t wanna ruin this friendship,” 

I get confessing and rejecting can ruin a relationship but getting into a relationship? How does that ruin a friendship. 

I’m sorry I know that is such a trope but like yo, half the time when people ask about me and my boyfriend (who started of as bestfriends) WE GOT INTO THIS RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE WE WANTED TO BE ‘BESTIES’ IN OTHER DIMENSIONS AS WELL. 

AND WE WANTED TO BE SUPER ULTRA MEGA BESTIES (lovers in short). 

It is inevitable that you will be best friends with your partner. Yo, if your partner aint one of your besties or one of your most trusted confidants, you might wanna... you know, reevaluate your relationship???

There are so many layers to love than just kiss kiss smooch a

Like, I’m incredibly choosy with romance ships like if people noticed, I only ever have written this much for Levihan. 

And one main reason for this really is because writers have a tendency of messing with a story, doing things that don’t make sense so the couple that is slated to get together, actually ends up together.

And the development never seemed natural half the time? Because some writers are just obsessed with making their pair happen. And what do they do after? They put them into so much drama which makes me question the overall health of the relationship.

nd I dunno, media is probably messing with this perspective of love by saying obviously problematic relationships are canon. So yeah even if he punched his girlfriend ONCE, and even if she cheated on him ONCE, they probably still loved each other so they’re canon lmao.

And call me a puritan here or something but there are certain things people do in a relationship and when it happens I will just sit there and say, that ain’t love, do you guys even love each other? 

And sorry I’m probably that asshole friend who would probably hate your toxic partner and will probably just tell you I’m not showing up to your wedding if I don’t like your partner.

I will not condone cheating AT ALL. I personally do not want to consider ‘canon’ any relationship where two people cheat on each other. I personally do not wanna consider ‘canon’ a relationship that thrives on miscommunication issues either because I dunno if I just got into the wrong relationship or something? But like at the age of 24, we actually talk stuff out 

Like woah, there are couples who don’t talk things out? Like what do you do when you’re stuck with each other 24/7? NOt TALK? 

I will consider canon any ship that runs on implicit trust, this belief that they should be constantly there with each other. Because that’s what love is. That’s what a relationship is and I’m gonna live my whole life believing that these are the only things that make up love for me. 

Love is trust. Love is a strong bond. Love is just two people giving and taking and sacrificing for each other. And Love is this commitment to make something work with the other person. 

And if it isn’t any of the things above, ‘sorry for invalidating’ but it ain’t love and by extension, it ain’t canon for me.  

Tbh, I think that’s the reason Levihan has been incredibly uneventful relationship wise actually made it so much for me that I thought they were pretty much canon. I still have issues with how Eremika was pulled off even if they were blatantly canon and had more than enough blatant crumbs. 

Because sure Eren and Mikasa did love each other but I guess their relationship was just so problematic since the start that even I was like ‘do you guys really love each other?’ half the time and I was constantly thinking about Mikasa’s mental health there like yo, why you so obsessed with him. There’s literally a Jean there who would probably treat you 124543x better,  

But for Levi and Hange we had parallels with Eremika. And we had crumbs

With putting his crumbs for Levihan, from the airplane, unrequited titan love, let’s live together, Hange’s longing face and the Levi’s dedicate your heart and the fact that HANGE NEVER LEFT HIS SIDE UNTIL THEY DIED, come on, I don’t know what people aren’t seeing. 

But the point is, (Okay understandable since Levi and Hange are older), Personally I just believe Levi and Hange approached their relationship more like mature adults than hormonal teenagers. Like so sorry, they decided to approach their relationship like adults instead of some teenager who bird poops on any guy who tries to cheat on Mikasa. 

Here’s the thing, Hange probably never would have complained like Eren. I honestly believe it was totally in character for her to just look down on him longingly from the paths. And I personally believed Levi had approached their relationship with a kind of acceptance like ‘ ay yo, we’re too busy for this but maybe after the war?’ that’s why even towards the end, the only way he lets himself be reminded of her was through watching the airplane and thinking of her. *fudge I’m tearing up* 

I guess the fact that they really approached this relationship and this bond like how they’re characters were supposed to, the fact that they threw everything away for the sake of the war. Yet the fact that we saw ALL THIS CRUMBS that there could have been something more if they just weren’t captain and commander in the middle of the war, just makes this so fucking canon to me. 

I would probably be speculative if we just had 115? Or maybe just 126? Or maybe just 132? But the thing is, the crumbs never stopped coming. There were so many things Yams could have CHOSEN not to do. But he did everything so deliberately from ‘let’s live together’ to ‘unrequited love’ to the Eremika parallels. 

Did he have to draw that airplane in the air and Levi making eye contact with Onyakopon? Okay I wonder why he did that? Cause really what connects Levi to Onyakopon? WHAT PLANE SCENE CONNECTS LEVI TO ONYAKOPON? 

I dunno man, but really at this point, this is so canon. Like sure Eremika takes the cake for most blatantly canon. 

But given the terms I’ve stated above for what I believe romance, love, relationships and canon is for me. 

Levihan is canon and it probably is the most canon relationship for me. Because the blatant lack of drama in the portrayal of their relationship for me just proves, Levi and Hange were very sure about their relationship with the other, I could probably say they were the two surest people in love in the whole damn show. 

THEY JUST COULDN’T GET TOGETHER BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. (WHICH MAKES THEM ALL THE MORE ADMIRABLE ANYWAY)

So thanks for reading and sorry about this major ass rant. 

[mango-fizz]

im lying idc here are my thoughts on it

the conflicts were. resolved. i think.

i feel like its a little too convenient that penelope just had to give a speech and suddenly all of society forgives her? and the queen is just like . hm well okay i'll let you keep writing. and then she just Leaves!

and like. how do i say this. its not a bad show, its just. maybe im not used to watching dramas like this, bc like, Most if not All of the conflicts between the love interests can be watered down to: They Dont communicate with each other, and that pisses me off So much. i understand why eloise was so upset at penelope but if she had just let her Explain herself. guys Please. season 1 was a nightmare, and i understand why simon was like that but if they just Talked to each other i- inhale exhale whatever. its fine.

dont even get me started on the sex scenes 😭😭😭😭😭 dont even actually i wont say anything <- ᵘⁿⁿᵉᶜᵉˢˢᵃʳᶦˡʸ ⁿᶦᵗᵖᶦᶜᵏʸ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵃᶜᶜᵘʳᵃᶜʸ ᵒᶠ ˢᵉˣ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉˢ ᶦⁿ ᶠᶦˡᵐ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉˢ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ʷʳᵒⁿᵍ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵐᵉ

ᵇᵘᵗ ᵃᶜᵗᵘᵃˡˡʸ ᶦ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵉˣ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉˢ ᵍᵒᵗ ᵍʳᵃᵈᵘᵃˡˡʸ ʷᵒʳˢᵉ, ˡᶦᵏᵉ ˢᵒᵐᵉʰᵒʷ ᵈᵃᵖʰⁿᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢᶦᵐᵒⁿ ʰᵃᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵉˢᵗ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉˢ. ᵗʰᵉᶦʳ ᶠᶦʳˢᵗ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ ʷʰᵉⁿ ʰᵉ ᵃˢᵏᵉᵈ ʰᵉʳ ᶦᶠ ˢʰᵉ ʰᵃᵈ ᵗᵒᵘᶜʰᵉᵈ ʰᵉʳˢᵉˡᶠ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ʰᵉ ᵗᵒˡᵈ ʰᵉʳ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʷᵃˢ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ ʰᵒᵗ. ᵗʰᵃᵗˢ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒⁿˡʸ ⁿᵒᵗᵉʷᵒʳᵗʰʸ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᶦ ᶜᵃⁿ ˢᵃʸ

ᶦᵐ ˡʸᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ᶦˢ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᶦ ʷᶦˡˡ ᵖᵒᶦⁿᵗ ᵒᵘᵗ. ᵗʰᵉ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᵃⁿᵗʰᵒⁿʸ ᶦˢ ᵐᵒᵛᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵉᵃᵗ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵏᵃᵗᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵉ ᵈᵉᵃᵈᵃˢˢ ᶜᵒᵛᵉʳˢ ʰᶦˢ ᵉⁿᵗᶦʳᵉ ʰᵉᵃᵈ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵉᵈˢʰᵉᵉᵗˢ. ᶦ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᶜᵉⁿˢᵒʳˢʰᶦᵖ ᵇᵘᵗ ᶦᵗ ᶦˢ ˢᵒ ʰᶦˡᵃʳᶦᵒᵘˢˡʸ ᴼᵇᵛᶦᵒᵘˢ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ˢʰᵒʷ ᶦ ˡᶦᵗᵉʳᵃˡˡʸ ˡᵃᵘᵍʰᵉᵈ ᵒᵘᵗ ˡᵒᵘᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ³ ᵐᶦⁿᵘᵗᵉˢ ��ᵘʳᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉ. ᵘʳ ᵏᶦˡˡᶦⁿᵍ ᵐᵉ ᵈᵘᵈᵉ. ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵘˢᵉ ʰᵉʳ ˢᵏᶦʳᵗ ᵒʳ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ. ᵗʰᵉ ᵉⁿᵗᶦʳᵉ ᵇᵉᵈˢʰᵉᵉᵗˀ ᵒᵛᵉʳ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʷʰᵒˡᵉ ʰᵉᵃᵈˀ ᶦ ᶜᵃⁿᵗ

in my opinion the best parts of bridgerton were everything Outside of the main love interests each season, for example my favorite characters are lady danbury my goat🙏, benedict, and eloise. the critiques of patriarchal society were good too but i wish they kinda leaned into that more...? or rather, i get what they were going for but it feels. idk theres nuance to this and im not smart enough for it. sort of related but i liked portia more than i expected to. she literally was doing what she had to do i respect it

i feel like everyone kinda had understandable reasons to do what they did yknow? aside from not communicating with each other (cough cough daphne and simon, and kate and edwina and anthony) most of their actions made sense. im honestly kind of upset that cressida didnt have like a better ending? and i know that it doesnt excuse how mean she was and all she did to our protags, but i feel kinda bad for her, she was just doing what she understood was necessary for her survival, but like i get it yknow its whatever

francesca was such a nothing character, she literally couldve been entirely removed from the show and Absolutely nothing would change. why is she here? and like i Think her thing is that shes a closeted lesbian but either lean into that more and give her, i dont know, a CHARACTER, or give it to someone else! like eloise! is there something i missed with her?? idk 😭😭😭 love works in different ways ..??? she was just so Not the focus of the season at all and then when she Was she was so 🧍‍♂️ its hard for me to care about her maybe theres nuance here that im missing

these are also smaller things i noticed but its so. fucking funny to be watching a period drama set in the 1810s and fucking. violin rendition of cheap thrills by sia starts playing. cmon guys akfhsjfbsndbs it kind of takes me out of it a little bit 😭😭😭 ESPECIALLY DURING THE SEX SCENES IT HAPPENED IN ONE OF THEM i cant remember but i just i cant do it i cant do it guys 😭😭😭😭 dont be playing pop music in a period drama please 😭😭😭 but yknow at the end of the day its a romance netflix drama so maybe i shouldnt be nitpicking so much

apparently theres gonna be a season 4 and Apparently its going to focus on benedict 🙏🙏 my bisexual king hes just like me fr (im going to hate watching this season with my mom i know it)

my conclusion bc im just saying word vomit: it was an entertaining watch but i Hate watching characters just keep making their problems worse when theres probably a much easier solution to this. or maybe there isnt and im just stupid 👍🫡

i finally finished watching bridgerton with my mom and it was definitely. um. a show ,

i have . some thoughts. but i dont know if i care enough to share them

[0aurelion-sol0]

Yo~

What's your opinion on the Will Byers DID theory? If you like it, which version do you like better? Both interpretations seem cool to me, though I personally like strangertheory's version better ^.^

Hi!

That's a very interesting question. I want to start by saying that I am a singlet, so I don't have DiD or OSDD. My knowledge of this condition is primarly known through medias I consume or some more "advanced" psychiatric documents or researches.

DiD is a condition that hasn't been always best represented or accurately represented since this condition varies from people who have it and so while there are similarities, the experience of it is very much unique and personal. It is also something that in a fictional setting with different genres, themes and tones is very hard to pull off or represent unless you go for the very realistic take on it.

It is bound to be, like many other things in fiction, dramatized. And speaking from a singlet perspective, who also had particular problems represented in fiction, I think it's okay as long as it's done right, in the setting, tone and genre it is in.

For example, we have today a lot more LGBTQ+ representation and like everything, unless you go for the fully realistic route, it's going to be simplified and dramatized. There's so many gender identities and sexual orientations today, you have to simplify it. And that goes for many other things that people care about in media, it has to be done right, but the writers still have a story to tell and unless that subject is the focus of the story, they're not gonna always spend their time talking about that. There is a story to tell.

Secondly, if it is the main focus of the story, that is where people have to do their research and really represent what they are talking about. Not some half-baked representation with dull arguments and points that come from a capitalist and conservative worldview. (Looking at you Disney.)

Now what you are referencing are @strangertheory 's and @kaypeace21 's theories which are about the show being about a DiD system where we see different alters evolving in said story with the host being Will Byers.

There is a lot of evidence pointing towards it, I'm gonna let you go see their posts and read it.

But their theories are very different in the way that they see the show portraying DiD, I have actually find quite a great way to describe the two takes.

@kaypeace21 's take is that elements of the DiD system have been externalised through science-"fictional" or supernatural means. Similar to Legion from the Marvel universe.

(David is a powerful mutant with DiD where each alters, if I remember correctly, has a different power or powers. (Which to this day is still one of the most BADASS thing I have ever come across though it must be quite terrifying for David.))

@strangertheory is an internalised POV on the DiD system existing in the show. She believes that what we are seeing right now is what is exclusively happening INSIDE the DiD system and that what we are experiencing is not our standard definition of the "real world". As in the physical world we all know. This would be in very vulgar terms happening inside Will's self, head, mind or brain. In a sense, it would be a more accurate representation of what DiD is about. A Shyamalan twist if you prefer.

(Though right now I don't have any word for word examples of such take, there is a show called MR.ROBOT that fits a bit of this description since there are moments in the show that we are seeing are only happening in the DiD system itself.

I recommend this show A LOT. It still is a bit dramatized but from what I know the DiD representation is quite accurate and pleased a lot of people with DiD. Also some people on the Stranger Things crew worked on that show.)

Now do I love the DiD theory ?

Heck yeah, I fucking love it! And with a big L! (Am I right "The First I love you?").

And I Love both of the takes and I think each one works at explaining the mysteries of this story. I even think that in some ways both could work well together.

I believe that DiD can be, without the meaning of being used, like many things a powerful storytelling "device" since it is connected to so many themes and other writing tools and is linked literally to the psyche, emotions and personalities of the characters.

I can understand why some people like both or one or respectfully and logically dislike both or one of the takes. But it is close to my belief about what the show is about or were even before I came into this fandom or on the internet, not as complex and thought out as the theory itself but pretty close in the overall themes and aspects of it.

(Though it bewilders me how much people lack imagination or are scared of such twist when I have seen so many of those types before whether it's done well or not, accurate or not.)

Now both @strangertheory and @kaypeace21 are intelligent people with very nuanced takes. And they had their fair share of completely unjust controversies coming from either rabbid ignorant shippers, far too sensible people or downright ignorant stupid people, most of the time 16 year olds. I am not saying that they are perfect, no one is, but the hate they have received is completely unjust.

And I am gonna lay it down right here, they are begging for an accurate representation here, they are not doing this because it just sounds cool and is edgy, they are actually wanting that The Duffers pull this off well. They would be very mad if they use all the imagery just to make it look cooler or scarier.

They are not bringer of truths, they are just like us. They are theorists, they believe in something that they think can explain the story they love and are experiencing. And so far, they have a pretty damn good track record.

They are analysing, dissecting the show because it's what they want to do and they believe in it and they believe the Duffers wants them to do that (I mean how come no one believes it when watching a show like that set in the 80's with so many references ?).

It is also supposed to be fun. Have fun for God's Sake! You can disagree with it but calling names and being disrespectful because somehow they don't agree with very basic, lazy and cliché theories (and no it's not being hypocrite, a lot of people barely do the work.) or are not on board with your creepy projection over the characters IS not okay.

And no, they aren't supporting p*d*philia as some people have claimed. How can you read these theories and come up to that conclusion ?

Most people haven't even read the DiD theory or have gone all the way through with it because they are lazy, easily bored people who don't have the time to just relax, process and think.

Stranger Things is not a kids show, some dumb teenage romance drama show with cool monsters! It's a very mature show, with real problems that are treated, out of which is trauma and mental health. Kids are killing people and even dying on this show. There is sexism, racism, abuse both physical and psychological.

It is a very mature and dark show. And you are being disrespectful to the Duffers when you say they are not that smart or that isn't that important. They are putting a lot of thoughts into this and the fact that no one really recognises this annoys me.

Or people only think it's important when it is only about the things they enjoy in the show. (Which is more hypocrite to me.) OR people are very stupid if they truly think that or are just jealous, bitter that two women have more imagination together and individualy than all of them or that person alone.

Color and costume choices, subtext, context, camera angles, directing, VFX, music, editing, sets, props, script, acting and editing are very important. All must be carefully done or you get very bad or generic stuff if you don't. If you love and you are passionate about the work, you put all the details you can into it.

And the Duffers and all the people working with them have already referenced those sort of things AND the practice of what we do on the internet. They are aware, they know because they have been in the same place too. They grew up with stories too, they made theories too whether it's on the internet or not.

At the end of the day, it is just a theory. An explanation of what is unfolding, may unfold or may have unfolded. I believe in it, I think it is reasonable, it has logic and it makes sense. It also has a lots of elements backing it up.

And the Duffers don't even have to go with DiD or mention it. Will creating some of the characters and supernatural events from his trauma is also similar and more accessible to the masses. But a Shyamalan twist can also work if it is done well.

And I am also open to other possibilities and theories, if they make sense and have enough elements IN THE SHOW and everything connected to it backing it up.

If the Duffers write something completely different but it is as good and also explains even better than this theory than I'll be okay. I love being wrong, it makes me learn new things and enhances the way I approach stories in the future.

If the Duffers only used this as some very inaccurate and disrespectful scary/abstract subtext without commiting to it. That is where I will have a problem.

Or write something completely incoherent with the rest of the show with a bad plot twist catering to the main public masses to sell the story even more and just make money so that they are safe with a fallacy of a work of fiction. Because they are cowards who didn't know how to manage themselves and baited entire audiences or listened to some crappy executive who didn't understand shit about the story. (wink wink, looking at a certain something...)

So yeah, I do love the DiD theory and both of it's takes and if it happens and is done right, with of course my perspective on the thing and PRIMARLY the perspective of people who have DiD or know a lot about it, I'll be pleased with it and I think it could be something very important for stories, people, the world and "art" in general.

Thank you for the question it was really fun! I hope I described the theory and the condition in the right way @kaypeace21 and @strangertheory and also the people who are concerned or know about it if I didn't let me know. Also, if you disagree with what I said, the way I said it or the subject itself let me also know IF it's respectful of course.

[thetypedwriter]

Mister Impossible Book Review

Mister Impossible by Maggie Steifvater Book Review 

Maggie Steifvater is one of the reasons I love reading so much. Her prose, her writing style, her way with words-all of it is so beautiful and whimsical and just mind boggling. 

I don’t know a better way to explain any of her writing other than it comes across as both fantastical, amazing, and just...awe-inspiring. 

Her words make me want to write, they make me want to dream, they make me weep. 

They just make me feel things, she makes me feel things and isn’t that why we read these stories in the first place? To feel moved? To be inspired?

This happens to me every time I read a Maggie Steifvater masterpiece (with one notable exception of All the Crooked Saints) and Mister Impossible is no exception. 

As an avid lover of The Raven Cycle and Call Down the Hawk, myself and many others eagerly anticipated this book for months. 

Is this because we’re all Pynch trash? Yes, probably. 

Is it also because of Maggie’s stellar writing, chaotic storytelling, ambitious themes, hard-hitting words, and complex characters? All of that too. 

I gave myself a good, hearty chuckle by looking through the Goodreads reviews of this book as most of them include a bumbling intro of where to even begin, what to say, and how to even describe this next installment of the Brothers Lynch. 

To be honest, I’m in the same boat. 

This book simultaneously had so much going on and yet...nothing of huge consequence externally happened. I do think this book was mainly character driven, and within that, internally driven. 

Most of the action, development, and plot happens within the character's minds, feelings, and interpersonal relationships. As someone who really enjoys this style of narrative, I wasn’t bothered in the least and I found this to be a really compelling next portion of the Dreamer trilogy. For someone who likes more action and drama, this book might have been more of a bog for you. 

I’ve also seen quite a lot of people talk about how disappointed they are in the lack of Adam representation and while normally I would be picking up my protest sign to join the leagues of Pynch fangirls, I was actually quite content with where this book took us as readers and the journey that Ronan and the other characters are going through. 

As Maggie said at the beginning, this is a book about the Lynch brothers, not a Ronan/Adam fanficiton manifesto come to life. I’m okay with waiting. I’m okay with the journey and I think Ronan and Adam and the others need it more than they need snuggles and kisses and fluff, no matter how much the fans might want it. 

That being said, I’ve said a lot about this book without actually saying anything. 

To put it succinctly, this novel covers Ronan’s new adventures with Bryde and Hennessy on trying to rescue ley lines and specifically one ley line in particular known as Ilidorin, Declan and Jordan’s burgeoning romance and lives in Washington D.C. as art connoisseurs, criminals, and lovers, Matthew’s teenage crisis about being a dream and what that entails, and Farooq-Lane and Lilliana coming to terms with leaving the Moderators and guilt of their previous actions. 

Can I say more? Oh absolutely, but I don’t think anyone wants to hear me ramble on for twenty more pages about the minute details of how Ronan’s inner monologues go so I will leave this brief summary as it is. 

I really found myself falling in love with both Declan and Jordan in this book. While Matthew I found to be really interesting and kind of sad to see go through this bout of teenage rebellion and purpose, to see Ronan struggle with his loneliness and his power, and to see Hennessy come to terms with her destructive tendencies, but being unable to stop herself, it was Declan and Jordan who were the true draw for me for most of the novel. 

I found their relationship to be so interesting and lovely. Their love for art, their respect for each other, their drive for ambition and independence. The part that struck me was where Declan talked about how Jordan was the first person in his life he didn’t have to coddle, or protect, or take care of. She was just his equal and that hit me so hard. 

Reading about them and Declan matter of factly saying they’ll get married had me squealing. It was especially needed as Ronan was out being a wanderer and Hennessy’s self loathing was both poignantly and heart-breakingly present. 

A part of this as well was previously seeing Declan as a villain, but Maggie did a superb job of showing everyone’s perspectives in this book and not any one character was right or wrong, but instead all of them had nuanced opinions and goals with understandable motives and desires. 

As a whole, all of the characters witnessed a lot of growth in this installment and while this book definitely came across as a second book in a trilogy with lots of set-up and anticipation, I’m once again okay with waiting for the finale as I know Maggie will deliver. 

I’m here for the long journey and this book was such a pleasant dream to meander through that I can say nothing more about how tremendous I think the writing was and how complex and varied the characters came across. 

I’m already anxiously longing for book three, as I already know it’ll be as breathtaking and bewildering as all of Maggie’s creations are. 

Recommendation: If you haven’t read The Raven Cycle you need to read it. If you haven’t read Call Down the Hawk then you also need to read that. That’s it, that’s the whole recommendation, people. You won’t regret it. 

Score: 8/10

[shimmershae]

Just a few random thoughts and observations about Daryl’s Origins episode.

Basically my stream of consciousness bullshit brought over from Twitter, lol.  I almost didn’t watch the episode after seeing all the drama over there, but ultimately I decided to because frankly?  I don’t trust certain fans’ perceptions of events.  For reasons.  It’s best, I feel, to always watch with your own eyes and form your own independent opinions because this fandom is teeming with people that delight in tormenting other fans by being very selective and oftentimes downright misrepresentative about what they pass along.  

More under the cut because this is random and all over the place and basically excerpts of my live blogging while watching the special.  Did I mention it’s random?  

You know.  It sure would be nice not going into one of these things so apprehensive.  Maybe one day, hmm?  

First things first.  From the very beginning of this Origins episode, I’m reminded of two things:  1).  Our introduction to Daryl, his colorful Dixonese, and his particular brand of humor certainly stands out as one of show's more memorable introductions.  2).  TWD certainly regressed on the deer front. I mean.  Daryl's deer>Richonne's deer.

I’m never going to get over "On Golden Pond."  Never ever and look.  I actually liked Dale but Daryl spitting those words at him still makes me laugh until I'm weak.

Daryl's still searching all these years later.  Or is he?  Really?  Seems to me the man's found exactly what he's been looking for and he's been chasing it since he came back from those woods:  a future with his soulmate.  The one that happens to be his best friend.  OFC, I’m talking about Carol. Who else?  

How pretty and soft are baby Daryl and Carol?  Too pretty and soft for this tired heart to withstand.  Like I love all versions of them, but baby Daryl and Carol just hit different.  

My immediate thought re: the Beth comment-- Misreads the situation?  WTF?  Whoever wrote this script just had to re-inject some eww into the narrative didn't they?  All those damn dirty spoons.  Ever think about how much it probably reeks in that office space?

Moving along, though.  Here’s some real facts.  Carol is so intrinsically woven into the fabric of Daryl's story, the only way she can be removed is if they are literally both destroyed and cease to exist.  Something happens to Carol?  The man is going to be a reanimated body without a heartbeat.  Basically a Walker.

 An aside, I know they're not making me rewatch a scene I haven't watched since the first time it aired.  The way Negan's head bashing tendencies had me seeing red and wanting that barbed wire bat shoved up his ass every time I saw his face.  My JDM love really took a serious hit for awhile.  I'm never going to forgive the character that hateful act.  I just can't.

Somehow I wasn't expecting this to be a teleprompter-fest.  Like who wrote this script?  Hmm.   Sorry.  Don't mind me.  Lost in my thoughts per usual. You know.  It still strikes me as hella insensitive that Rick had Daryl leading the Sanctuary community knowing what he suffered there.  There's no way Daryl would have returned that kind of favor.  

Yep.  Leah still feels tacked on last minute.  A means to an end.  Sigh.   They completely glossed her over here.  Too bad they had that lapse in judgment with some other toxic waste.  I cannot believe they touched that with a ten foot pole.  It's just cringe-worthy and wrong.

"Daryl can't say no to Carol."  They say those words and I’m like “Join the club, my dude.  Join the club, lol.”  

You know.  All the Carol-related moments in this Daryl Dixon recap speak for themselves.  She's his person, dammit.

Okay though.  That reunion in the tall grass with the sun shining on them all golden and picturesque, after Alpha’s taken Daryl to show him her horde?  That's some romance novel shit right there.  "Look at me.  Just look at me."   I'm never going to recover from that moment or the discovery of Sophia.  They break my heart so.  

This recap is literally 2/3's Carol and the other 1/3 Rick and everybody else.  I mean.  It's so obvious.  Utterly and completely misrepresented by some agenda-driven folks.  

"We have a future."   Oh.  Just some pretty, meaningless words you say everyday to all your friends, lol.   Just friends my whole entire ass.  

"I'm never gonna hate you."  Okay, AMC.  Back up all the talk with some action that even the most willfully blind cannot deny, m'kay?  Because they're not going to buy it until you're explicit about it.  Just saying.

The amount of times "Carol" has left this man's mouth during this recap, lol, and some people keep wanting to ignore it. 

Aww.  Guess who they showed when Daryl mentioned family?  How sweet.  And when they mentioned purpose in connection with C0nnie, it was not any indication of romance, IMHO.  

Let me explain.  

By the time C0nnie is lost,  Daryl’s floundering because he feels he hasn’t been able to help Carol despite giving it all and pushing back his previously established comfort zone(s).  Enter these pair of sisters.  And they put him in mind of the good parts of him and Merle.  Probably they make him remember  the Greene girls when things were good and hopeful before they went sideways.  In some small way, he’s probably reminded of other family units like Rick and Carl and Lori and Carol and Sophia and later Henry.  And all of those people have something in common.  Well, besides being people Daryl has known and cared for.  They’ve seen their family units fractured and/or destroyed by tragedies wrought by the world they live in.   They made a point and emphasized that Daryl’s a searcher and also that family matters to him.  In some way or form he’s been doing his best to help repair or reunite all these different family members since the beginning and ultimately he’s failed to succeed each time.  So yeah.  He’s been given a purpose in a time of uncertainty again with her because this time he’s determined to get it right.  This time he wants to bring the two sisters back together the way he couldn’t do for the Greene girls.  Like I did not, do not read anything romantic at all into that comment. Just my take on things.  Obviously, everyone else’s mileage may vary.  I’ll step off my soapbox now.  Hopefully, maybe these words might comfort.  

So relax, lovelies.  It wasn't as bad as I feared.  Sure, they could have left that one icky comment out but they didn't and honestly?  I don't think it's a positive for that particular 'relationship' because it's something that's brought up to show just how messed up Daryl was.  Because grown men that have their heads on straight don't usually have those type of misreads.  They know they are inappropriate.  Like I'm not putting Daryl into the pedo category because I don't feel like he belongs there.  But I can see how him being so emotionally stunted and naive so far as interpersonal relationships and the nuances of friendship and non-toxic family could lend itself to him maybe reading more into those moments than were really there and not really knowing how to deal.  

Whoever wrote that teleprompter script though?  That particular asshole is probably grinning like a donkey with a mouth full of briars at all the unnecessary drama they stirred up yet again. Like newsflash, goober.  There are better ways to foster interest in your show.

They should hire a team of fans to do the promotion.  Fans that represent all factions of this fractured fandom so the promotion is well-rounded and not so heavily slanted toward any one of them but the diverse fandom as a whole.

Stop fanning the stupid ship wars and just celebrate the damn characters and the overall story.   Nothing new or groundbreaking to see on this first Origins story but hey.  Who doesn't mind a decent recap now and then?  That said, don't sweat not having AMC+ or feel like you missed all that much because you didn't.

I do have to say.  Them pretending B3th was the first girl to be nice to Daryl really had me going WTF.  

I mean, there’s this little exchange from Carol, the first woman to be nice to Daryl, probably the first person from the group--

"You're every bit as good as them.  Every bit."   

  AMC?  TWD?  Do you even watch your own show?  

There you have it.  My bullshit stream of consciousness, originally posted over on Twitter as I liveblogged the show.  Hope you got something helpful or of entertainment value from this.  

Goodnight, lovelies.  

Until next time.  

[thistle-and-thorn]

Ooh what were his other bad got/asoiaf opinions??

Okay I should clarify that it was not his GoT opinion alone that ended this brief brief brief romance. (he also explained to me what fairytale retelling were and asked me if I understood what turned out to be the main function of my job and when I explained it he went, “Yeah people in my job say that’s important.” which, um, yeah it is thanks.)

1. He only liked Sansa in the books after she went to Vale because Petyr Baelish made her interesting

2. She was his least favorite character on the show because she was too bratty and then after Ramsay, she was angry and he didnt like that. It wasn’t “strong” enough.

3. Tyrion is a secret Targaryen…which isn’t a dealbreaker I I just don’t agree with this one and at this point was annoyed.

4. I explained why I think Tyrion and Sansa are interesting characters to think about in parallel to each other—like can I just say I did it beautifully and in a very nuanced way and I should have written it down tbh #thistlespeaksmeta— and his only response was, “Well, duh, they’re married.” also, btw, did u know that Sansa should have tried harder in her marriage to Tyrion? Because this man knows that would have solved everything.

5. hes looking forward to house of dragon. which again, not a dealbreaker. But I was already annoyed at the trailer and at him so now I am annoyed at both.

6. Maybe, after someone, literally anyone says “This is my fave character and I identify closely with them.” don’t immediately launch into a long explanation about how you hate them.

7. he said he hated Sophie Turner and like—Im actually in love with her. So. Must defend my wife.

[posthumus]

hullo boys, today i’m writing about my thoughts on the Dickie incident in Maurice. (potential content warning for sexual assault and pedophilia — if you’ve read the book, though, it won’t get more graphic than that)

i’ve actually always appreciated the Dickie scene, controversial though it is. i first read the book when i was fifteen — the same age as Dickie himself, iirc (EDIT: I did not, in fact, recall correctly; see here) — and i feel like i got it instantly: to me, it serves to highlight the extremely fucked-up attitudes towards sex society helps to internalize. that said, your mileage may vary on how much discomfort you’re able to withstand, and i think it’s completely fair to feel that the incident makes Maurice — the character and/or the book — irredeemable. i’m able to forgive a lot of the more problematic elements of Maurice because i think they’re adequately criticized in the text (at one point Forster literally calls Clive and Maurice misogynists). however, i don’t blame anyone for feeling uncomfortable with them. mostly, i’m trying to explain why i personally like the function of Dickie within the story, and why i think the whole episode requires a nuanced approach. 

first up: i’ve seen the whole Dickie thing’s presentation interpreted as completely uncritical, which i think is pretty misinformed. i’ll certainly admit that at the start of the chapter, it’s quite ambiguous as to which way the novel will frame Maurice’s feelings. it’s extremely uncomfortable to read, especially in a modern context: there’s an element of suspense as you try to guess whether or not an author of this time period would have endorsed sexual assault. but the catharsis comes at the end of the next chapter, when the horror of the whole situation snaps into sharp focus: “was it conceivable that on sunday last he had nearly assaulted a boy?” for the previous chapter, Maurice had been kidding himself about the whole thing, and it doesn’t seem quite as rapey as it actually is; but then we’re thrown the word assault, and it becomes clear that we are, in fact, meant to understand that this was a horrible thing to even think of doing. 

in my opinion, the book in no way endorses Maurice's thoughts — i actually think that, for his time, Forster was taking a pretty noble stance. the introduction to my copy of Maurice, by David Leavitt, includes a quote from Lytton Strachey, who wrote to Forster, “you apparently regard the Dickie incident with grave disapproval. why?” like, pederasty was still celebrated amongst a lot of gay men at the time. the fact that the Dickie thing reads so uncomfortably at all is a testament to Forster's (correct) stance on the issue; i think you're meant to be grossed the fuck out by Maurice's thoughts. (also, not that this exempts him from criticism, but Forster himself was assaulted as a child; i think he very much understood the gravity of what he was suggesting.)

secondly, Maurice is an EXTREMELY flawed character, and it seems ludicrous to suggest that we're expected to sympathize with all of his thoughts and actions. he's an asshole for most of the book. much emphasis is placed on the fact that Maurice is an entirely average man within his time, location, and class; his opinions and actions fall in line with that, which is why i’m personally okay with his misogyny (even though i’d throw hands with him in real life). 

the big misunderstanding with a lot of Maurice’s flaws, i think, is that he isn’t a self-insert character, either for the reader or the author (consider the terminal note: “in Maurice i wanted to create a character who was completely unlike myself”). none of Forster’s characters are blank slates, to my mind — they all have extremely specific personalities; we’re not meant to be following them wholeheartedly the way we would with, say, Harry Potter. i worry some people read the book expecting to be able to back him 100%, but i think we're supposed to be observing Maurice, not putting ourselves in his shoes. (the omniscient narration helps with that, as we're told about elements of his psyche that Maurice himself isn't aware of. also, i’m no expert, so don't quote me here, but i think the concept of a self-insert protagonist is a sort of newer one? i feel like most books pre-mid-twentieth century have characters you're supposed to observe and criticize, and not wholly empathize with — Nick Carraway comes to mind.) 

lastly on his flaws, i think the genre you place the book in influences how angry you are at Maurice. if you see it as a romance novel, which is certainly a fair reading, his sudden moments of insane fucked-up-ness make it much harder to root for him. i’ve come to see it as more of a bildungsroman, so i think the point is Maurice's mistakes; he has to reckon with a lot of his actions, including the Dickie incident. 

the part of the whole Dickie debacle that’s the most fascinating to me is its context within Maurice’s discussion of sexuality. i think the Dickie incident showcases how sexual repression and internalized homophobia can pervert your perspective on all sexual relationships. within the novel, sex in general feels like something criminal (certainly in Maurice’s case this is true for sex between men; however, there are also the diagrams on the beach at the start of the book, and Anne’s complete lack of knowledge about sex when she marries Clive). if you view all sexual relationships as immoral, though, pedophilia and sexual assault become no more unethical than consensual sex. it’s interesting in that light, then, to compare the Dickie incident to the moment with the man on the train two chapters later: one absolutely should be illegal, but they are both interpreted by Maurice as obscene, and both (if acted upon) would have been criminal offenses. i also think it’s interesting that the man on the train is perhaps the closest comparison to Forster himself within the novel, as Forster, in middle age, cruised London’s public spaces in the hopes of finding someone to hook up with. while Maurice loathes the man on the train (David Leavitt’s introduction, again, discusses how Forster wrote a love story that deliberately excludes himself), i don’t think the reader is meant to. 

personally, the Dickie scene resonates with me as someone attracted to women. being told that your own desires are inherently predatory doesn’t dispel those desires, but only makes you ashamed of them, and warps your perception of healthy sexuality. i tend to interpret Maurice’s feelings about Dickie more as intrusive thoughts than actual, tangible want — this kind of obscenity, to his mind, is inevitable for him. i don’t think Maurice would have actually assaulted Dickie. i think he was cracking under the pressures of an openly hostile society, while grappling with his own repression and unmet needs. 

TL;DR — Maurice is a flawed character and Forster is critical of his actions. further, the Dickie incident gives us a striking picture of Edwardian society’s attitude towards all sexual relationships, which still has applications today; the episode also gives us insight into Maurice’s mental state. it’s uncomfortable, but in my opinion necessary to the core message of the book.

[lgbt-that70sshow]

Okay, so in the last few years, I've noticed a lot of fanfiction (not only in the t70s fandom, but in every single fandom) that narrate M/M relationships. Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm a bisexual woman and I am all up for more LGBTQ+ representation, I do think it's weird when people ship two characters that have zero chemistry romantically (for ex: Eric/Hyde; Donna/Jackie), but hey, who the hell am I to control people's ships.

Anyway, but there's something about this subject that bothers me a lot more than it should... I've noticed how a big portion of those fics are written by straight girls. I feel like most of these fics fetishize and objectify gay men, and that's a little creepy.

I have gay friends who say that they've seen girls staring at them lustfully while they kissed their SO in a public place, and they told me how objectified and creeped out they felt.

This is a problem, and I don't know why people don't talk more about it. A lot of straight women write M/M fanfics just to get off on it and it bothers me.

I would really like to know your opinion on this. I know you're also a part of the LGBTQ+ community and I want to know if I'm the only person who think this is problematic, I also really like how you explain things in a didactic and informative way.

Before I get into this, thank you for saying I explain things in an informative way! That makes me really happy because part of what I'm trying to achieve with this account is educating people who can't find resources elsewhere. Now, lots to talk about here, so I'll start at the beginning.

People have different ideas of chemistry between characters. A lot of people who like Eric/Hyde mistake their brotherly bond for romance. A lot of people who like Donna/Jackie mistake their friendship for more. I personally don't like either ship, but I get that other people do.

First, I feel it is necessary to establish that a person's gender and sexuality cannot be assumed online unless told outright. Unless a person tells you explicitly they are a straight woman, you cannot assume that.

Second, you are right. Gay men are fetishized by straight women, just as gay women are fetishized by straight men. It happens in different situation for both groups, but it does happen. It's an awful thing and solutions need to be found.

You're right, it's creepy. I'd say it bothers you a normal amount, not more than it should. Plus, I don't believe there is ever a 'should' when it comes to feelings. There should never be a correct way to feel, which the word 'should' implies.

I was a bystander for discourse on this topic in two fandoms. The first was when I got into the Marauders from Harry Potter and people were attacking this one author- a bi woman- for fetishizing Sirius and Remus. The second was in the IT fandom where it was just a general discussion of straight teen girls fetishizing Richie and Eddie. I've seen this discussed a lot.

There is some nuance to the topic, which I will get into now. Yes, it is wrong to fetishize gay couples as straight women. But the straight women/girls who are fetishizing those gay couples should consider this one thing: Maybe they are not a girl.

I saw that in a post once, and it stuck with me because it was my experience. I was really into M/M couples and then I saw these posts that attacked women for fetishizing gay men. I panicked and I felt really bad for reading any kind of sex scene for the M/M couples I liked. I remember being really confused at that point in my life because I could never get into W/W couples as much as M/M couples. Then I started figuring out my gender and I realized I couldn't get into W/W ships as much because I was not a woman and I couldn't relate to that. Now, I am very secure in being genderfuid and I know that I really only ship couples with at least one man because I can relate to that part of the relationship.

So, what I'm saying is, there are women who fetishize gay men and that is problematic. But there are also people born female who don't realize they are trans men or any other masculine-presenting gender identity. Those people are simply seeing themselves in those ships without knowing and then it seems like fetishization. Both things should be talked about more.

I know I probably didn't take this in the direction you wanted/were expecting, but those are my thoughts on the topic. It is important to address this, especially on a blog such as this one, so thanks for asking me! If I didn't really address it in a way you wanted, send me another ask and specify the aspects you want me to focus on :D

[redjennies]

okay so I'm making this post because I want to clarify that my general desire to not engage with discourse isn't because I think it's all stupid, but instead stems from the fact that:

I don't think I'm particularly good at coherently and efficiently explaining my political and social views to an audience of 1000+ people and i am better expressing my beliefs in one on one or just smaller conversations.

a lot of it ends up being too topical and heated for me to engage with in the way that I enjoy approaching and critiquing media. I have a few hot button topics as we've seen me go off about, but mostly I tend to take a more large scale approach to critiqing media. unless it's truly egregious, in which case I tend to not engage with media that truly offends me, I generally don't tend to really feel as strongly about "character/actor/writer/etc bad" as "okay what does this say about [related social issues] on the whole." nitpicking a single person or media for the sake of being mad or disliking something isn't interesting to me because I feel like it places too much on "bad apples" instead of wider issues.

however, as it's not some stupid conspiracy theory or like just ridiculously hateful, I do believe thoughtfully critiquing the cast and story of Critical Role is fair game. while I like to remind people that a lot of things are improvised and it is a game and that should factor into our analysis as opposed to how we might judge a scripted show, I don't usually agree with the "it's just a game" sentiment. it is a piece of media and a company and that makes it fair grounds for criticism and with a company like CR that does seem to be at least somewhat in touch with its fanbase and does appear to care about social issues even if they are flawed people who are going to make mistakes, critiquing the show could be used for good.

for instance, the blowback about the "planned aging of Jester" was so big that it reached Matt and he felt he needed to addressed it. now as I said, that was a very stupid conspiracy theory and I'm annoyed at the fandom's behavior that Matt even had to say that, but there's another discourse going around about Beau's skin tone in the new official art that is a valid concern (I admittedly originally thought it was just closer to her lvl2 skin tone than lvl 10 but a side by side comparison does reveal it is noticeably lighter) if it reached the cast might lead to them correcting something I think people have a right to be upset about. it's also not a ridiculously hard fix. I'm not some amazing professional level artist and I personally understand skin tones can be hard and more nuanced than "just use a color dropper," but I've personally had moments after posting art where I decided that I thought the tone of Veth's skin was lighter than I'd like and fixed it. if I can do it for free, a profitable company and the artists they pay can too.

even on the topic of Jester and age gaps, personally, I find it repugnant to headcanon Jester as 20/21 and ship her with Fjord or Caleb. that is something I find really gross when I come across it and am not going to defend in the slightest. however, it was never officially canon and there's just as many reasons to believe Jester is in her mid-twenties and was just sheltered for most of her life as there are for believing Jester is in her very early twenties. I do want to clarify that position because it is something I feel strongly about and sympathize with people who do see her as young and are bothered by that. my mockery is regarding the idea that the cast specifically planned to go through a bunch of insane bullshit in order to age Jester up for the plot when they clearly didn't. if Laura and Travis were so bothered by a huge age gap between Fjord and Jester, they literally at any point could have just finally said Jester's 25 (or was until last night) and Fjord's 30 and been done with it, and frankly I wish they would have because Fjord potentially being over ten years older than a 20 year old woman is this uncomfortable possible interpretation of a romance that I don't blame people for having even though I never saw her character like that.

and that's kind of my point, bad discourse often obfuscates more valid concerns to the point where people feel they can't talk about these things without coming across as haters or being lumped in with people who are saying wild bullshit. I think for the most part, people are saying normal reasonable opinions but it keeps being overwhelmed with bad faith nonsense and that's why I don't like to engage with it. it's not fun and it goes nowhere.