#sweetie you deserved better

[sukibenders]

Rewatching season one after knowing what I know from season three really does open my eyes to Cressida, especially why she was so nasty to Daphne and her belief that she would toy with Friedrich and trap Simon. Like, while her actions aren't excusable by any means, it's easy to understand how her life shaped those views. Which makes it even more appalling that, with all the work spent to give her backstory, the show still went "Nah, she's just a nasty mean girl" in the end.

[rosesvioletshardy]

i hate this sport

[glitterstarly]

The eggs OwO✨

[dollypopup]

so now that season 3 is done and dusted can we FINALLY admit that Colin got the WORST hand for his season, and in the entirety of the show? And about how people were so rude to Luke Newton (and continue to be) because he isn't excited to have been given absolute crumbs in the entirety of the season as a lead? Like look me in my eyes and tell me otherwise. No other character is just an accessory to their love interest like they made him be. No other character gets hardly any backstory or screentime, least of all in their own season.

here's some proof, if you don't believe me

SOURCE

Colin got 138 minutes of screentime in his own season. He didn't get much of any POV in previous ones, so comparing that to Pen's 168? And Anthony's 181? When Anthony and Pen were BOTH main characters with ample screentime in previous seasons before their own?

Yeah, paltry. Hell, Kate got 170 and Simon got 150. And they weren't the Bridgertons of their season.

In the episode titled after HIM, 'Romancing Mr. Bridgerton', Colin got. . .drumroll please. . .FOURTEEN minutes of screentime.

Fourteen.

One. Four. 14.

Viscount Who Loved Me? Anthony got 23. Kate got 22. Duke and I? Daphne got 35. Simon got 25.

Penelope got 20.

Colin got 14.

FOURTEEN.

There is never, not once in Season 3, a time when Colin, the Bridgerton of the season, got more screentime than Pen. Not. One. Time.

So, what exactly are we meant to think, then? Colin is the ONLY Bridgerton so far, and likely for the entirety of the series, to get less screentime in his own season than his love interest. Even if you say he IS the Love Interest, and Season 3 was Featherington instead of Bridgerton- he STILL got peanuts as he got the least screentime of ANY character thus far!!!

And it SHOWS!

What is Colin's narrative? Tell me. And how much of it DOESN'T serve Penelope's? What is JUST Colin's narrative?

His first heartbreak with Marina? Serves Penelope's story, as she had a hand in breaking them up.

His travels? Well, he even said Penelope was the one who inspired him, and we didn't get any insight into them, or POV of him having them.

His writing? And how much of that did we actually see him grapple with? How much screentime did it actually get? And in the end of it, it intertwines with Penelope ANYWAY because she becomes his editor.

His 'friends' in season 3 and suave personality? Well, the show said that since Penelope ghosted him, that was why he adopted that persona in the first place.

Colin is my FAVORITE character. I adore him, so do not take this as an attack on him, more so as a question and an indignation at how poorly he's been treated: because who even is he to this show? If you say that he's a character in his own right, you're lying. Colin exists as a prop in the confines of Bridgerton. He has no relationships that are allowed to exist outside of Penelope. His relationship with Eloise? In season 3, near all their conversations are about . . .? His entire family hardly responded to him on his travels, yet the only discussion about a lack of response is Penelope's. Part 1's narrative? Pursuing Penelope. Part 2's narrative? Accepting Penelope.

What about him? What about Colin?

Who are his friends? What are his interests other than being a 'wife guy'? What are his hobbies? When will we actually see them? What do we know about how he grew up? Why didn't we see him and Fran's relationship? Him with Hyacinth and Gregory? In the background, he's always watching over them, but there's never any weight to that in the narrative. Conversations with his mum about ANYTHING other than Penelope? Conversations with ANTHONY about anything other than Penelope?

Season 3 was meant to be HIS season- and what did he get out of it?

No wonder Luke Newton wants to be far away from it. Between the blatant ableism he's had to deal with (I won't forget how of everything, they chose a MAD LIBS interview where he's been open about having dyslexia, and Nicola has been open about being a former English major) and the lack of screentime and character development (near everything about him was told behind the scenes, Luke Newton is the ONLY reason Colin has any depth at all, since the writing denies it of him), hell, I'd be running far away. Especially with a fandom as rude as this one.

The show doesn't care about him and neither does this fandom. There's no fleshing out of his character. From jump we've only ever seen him as an extension of Penelope, and thus he only exists in Polin as an accessory. That's why people can say 'Oh, we'll get Polin S4!' and it's just conversations about Pen grappling with Lady Whistledown.

Colin's only narrative was to fall in love with Penelope. Now that he's there, what's his purpose? His role? To continue being an accessory to her.

Is Kate an accessory to Anthony? Is Anthony an accessory to Kate?

Was Daphne an accessory to Simon? Was Simon an accessory to Daphne?

You know damn well Benedict and Sophie won't be accessories to one another.

So why is Colin dealt this hand? Why is he the only one denied backstory? The only one denied personhood and depth? The only one who has to just exist to soak up his partner's light- indicating he's lesser than her?

The production has even said, flat out 'I don't think Colin's smart enough for Penelope'. They don't respect him as a character, and I don't think they respected Luke as an actor.

Colin got less screentime as a Bridgerton in his OWN SEASON than love interests in theirs. Don't say it's because he was already established- we got no POV for him in Season 1 or Season 2, so he's at a deficit, and now all the articles and conversations about Polin in Season 4 continue to be about Colin serving Penelope's story.

This fandom would gleefully replace him with a cardboard cutout or a sexy lamp and have no issues.

He deserved better.

WE deserved better.

[zukosbangtan]

the way atla fans and especially the males in this fandom talk and joke about katara will never not piss me tf off. katara really seems to be the only character that has been mischaracterized to such an extreme while at the same also having her character reduced to absolutely nothing but being a whiny angry little teenage girl.

like the amount of times i've seen memes where aang toph and sokka are portrayed as being cool and chill and having fun and then katara is for some reason always crying and getting angry at someone and nagging at her friends about dumb stuff. and everytime i see those memes that are supposed to be funny i'm like "??...did we even watch the same show?...." cuz WHAT. literally who is that supposed to be? katara??? be fr

like we all obviously know why they do that to her (it starts with an m- and ends with -isogyny) and this has been discussed a hundred times by people who can put it a lot better into words than i could but i do find it funny that it's always only her being portrayed as the annoying little killjoy that can never let the gaang have any fun (even the show implied that at some point and even made her feel insecure abt it bc she wasn't okay with them cheating people out of money) while sokka is literally the one who's like "no we don't have time for that fun little side trip" "no we can't go there we have to stay on schedule" "we can't relax we're already running behind schedule" yadda yadda for like..the whole series and yet i don't think i've EVER seen him be portrayed as anything but the fun chill guy. like those ppl would neevverrr talk abt him the same way they do with katara and it's so annoying.

[mothzan]

Yay it's higuchi's birthday today 🎉

Best girl 🎉

[haveihitanerve]

Jason's reasons for trying to hurt bruce and doing all he did when he was pit mad- red hood stuff? Insecurity. All the Robins grapple with it. That fear they aren't good enough. They weren't enough. Jason? He realizes the reason Dick “hated” him was because he was jealous of losing robin- of having it be given away to Jason. And now Jason feels the same. Tim has the mantle. Bruce gave it to him… when he was dead. Bruce never cared. Is whats running through his head. He died, he failed, he wasn't good enough to live, to save himself. And Bruce saw it, and replaced him. Its all the insecurity. 

[weird-an]

Billy wants to pick Max up and she's there again, chatting to him like he's one of her kid's friends. He doesn't know what to do with it, just listens. It's hard, because he's got a black eye and his temples throb.

"Oh, Billy, are you alright?"

Joyce Byers tries to hug him and Billy flinches so hard he knocks his elbow against the door frame. Tears sting in his eyes and he chews on his cheek to not groan from the pain and a hint of a memory, blonde hair and her hugging him after he picked up the shards from the floor.

Joyce's big eyes widen, but she doesn't say anything. Says goodbye with an awkward wave instead. The memory first feels like a little drop of water. It turns into a puddle. He sees a plate and thinks of her.

It's like Joyce invited her back, but she never really comes back. She is a memory, a ghost. Joyce Byers only invited Billy. To dinner, way too many times. Billy always says no. The black eye fades but she doesn’t

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asks him, a week later, when the memories feel like a river, nearly dragging him away. They are on Steve's bed, just hanging out. They aren't friends, they aren't anything. They kiss a lot and Billy might like it and dreams about it, but he shouldn't.

"Your dick," Billy says. Hears her softly scolding tone in his ear when he busted his knees skating again.

"Billy." Steve uses a different tone, has a different voice, but it's the same thing. Softly scolding. Billy doesn't deserve soft. Billy isn't made for softness. But he can't defend himself from it.

"My mom," Billy whispers. He stares at Steve's swimming trophies. "Because Mrs. Byers tried to hug me."

It sounds stupid. Billy doesn't really know Joyce Byers. He drives Max back and forth, only sees her at the door. He knows she isn't like Mrs. Wheeler and her friends. She doesn't touch him. Doesn't stare. She asks how Billy's day was.

"Oh," Steve says. He's silent for a while.

Billy can hear the ocean and her laughter. His eyes burn like the sun is shining too bright, like it did on their days at the beach, but what's left behind is only the salt of the ocean, shaped into tears.

"I miss her," Billy admits. He has never said it. Only felt it, let himself get torn apart by her absence. "She left, but I miss her."

Steve's hand strokes his hair. "What was she like?" he asks carefully.

"Kind," Billy chokes on the word. "Angry."

He remembers shouts and thuds, hiding in his room or watching, not daring to breathe. He remembers hugs and good night stories.

"I think Joyce is kind, too." Steve says after a while.

"Yeah." That's what Billy is afraid of. If he lets more kindness in his life, it will hurt more. Steve's is already too much on most days. But this isn't the thing he's afraid of most. It's that he wants that hug. To come in and sit at her table. He knows she isn't her. He doesn’t want her to be.

"My mom loved the beach," Billy hears himself say. Steve listens. "Neil hates it..."

The flood of memories doesn't stop. Billy feels it flowing out of him. Steve is a good swimmer. A good listener.

He holds Billy's hand. Billy tells him of her, so that he doesn't drown. It's easier that way.

[kismetconstellations]

There are so many ways that Voltron: Legendary Defender failed its characters. From the unfathomably idiotic decision to kill Allura off in the finale, to putting Coran through the pain of losing his family twice over, to all of the "jokes" at the expense of Hunk's anxiety, weight, and stomach problems.

But, to me, the most egregious example of this will forever be the numerous ways that Shiro was mistreated, even though I fully believe that most of them were unintentional and the fault of incompetence, rather than maliciousness.

I never expected a show with a TV-Y7 rating that was made to sell toys to children to address this character's extensive trauma in any meaningful way. And, perhaps there was a push behind the scenes to sideline him in order to bring Keith to the forefront, due to Keith being the head of Voltron in previous incarnations, and Shiro essentially being a Canon Foreigner created exclusively for this series.

But, when you have: - A poorly executed attempt to recreate Shiro's fight with Zarkon in the Astral Plane, void of the stunning visuals, impressively fluid fight choreography, and emotional and narrative stakes.

(Shiro fighting the show's main villain and his predecessor hand-to-hand for control of one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, vs the Paladins fighting shadowy, faceless foes that none of them- aside from Allura- have any personal connections to or conflict with, even once their identities are revealed, with long-range weapons, inside of Honerva's head.)

- Shiro, the previously "undefeated" Champion of Zarkon's gladiatorial arena and a highly trained and skilled martial artist, being slapped across the bridge of his own ship.

-Shiro's personal abuser telling him that the arm that was forcibly grafted onto his body in an attempt to turn him into a weapon for the Galra Empire is "the strongest part" of him,

Slav, an ally, echoing the sentiment and arguing that Shiro would be "even stronger with two robotic arms", and the first half of Season Seven confirming as much by depicting Shiro standing, often completely mute, on the sidelines

until he's outfitted with a new prosthetic arm. Only then is he actively allowed to participate in combat, again, and promoted to Captain of the Atlas.

-Shiro winning an intergalactic arm wrestling tournament to prove that he isn't a washed-up retiree (at the ripe old age of twenty-six), with that prosthetic.

-Said prosthetic being a mirror of his abuser's.

-No acknowledgement of Shiro's essence being transferred into the body of his clone that is down an arm. Or, how he's coping with not only not having a right arm at all, but also having been dead for a huge chunk of time, trapped inside the consciousness of the Black Lion and watching on helplessly as someone wearing his face tried to kill everyone he loves, and then resurrected to be suddenly "retired" through no choice of his own.

-Aside, of course, from an all-too lighthearted and chipper comment on routine helping him get through "being in the infinite void of the Black Lion", and a throwaway quip about how "having my consciousness transplanted from the infinity of Voltron's inner quintessence into the dead body of an evil clone of myself" has left him "a little out of sorts".

-And, Shiro not getting to kill his abuser, or even best him in combat.

Instead, he lies beaten and helpless, once again, as Keith, his replacement, takes Sendak out.

It crosses the line from clumsy writing to infuriating negligence and ineptitude.

The repeated violations of Shiro's autonomy, and what seems by all rights to be unintended ableism, even though it borders on outright disrespectful, went above and beyond any terrible writing and direction that I anticipated gritting my teeth and slogging through when I decided to finally bite the bullet and watch this show. It's utterly baffling to me that no one seemed to stop and realize that, "Hey, maybe introducing and then reinforcing the sentiment that a disabled man's prosthetic is the 'strongest part' of him, and he's effectively weak and useless without it, is a bad idea", at any point in the creative process before these episodes made it to air.

I wholeheartedly believe that as much as other characters were wronged, Voltron: Legendary Defender and its notoriously hellish fanbase that was more concerned with who these characters were having sex with than the actual plot, did not deserve Takashi Shirogane.

Shiro; a gay man, ace pilot, ambitious space explorer, and scarred trauma survivor who was abducted and forced to kill for the entertainment of his captors, subjected to unimaginable torture, and had his body modified without his knowledge or consent twice, yet never let any of his experiences, no matter how grueling or dehumanizing, stop him from being gentle, compassionate, noble, brave, self-sacrificing, and everything that epitomizes a True Hero, right to the bitter end.

[clotpolesonly]

Call Down The Hawk ch 34 // Greywaren ch 42

[fridayiminlovemp3]

am i the only bitch who gives a fuck about the vancouver 2010 olympic mascots???

[sonics-atelier]

A bit of advice to the generic newbies joining the fandom 😉

[memento-mariii]

A bond between a girl and her robot is something that can be so special.

[belladonnamoonundead]

Imagine showing a girl your video of eroticized cannibalism, proceed to make out with her then get freaked out when she takes a little nibble “I love gross disgust me please” then suddenly it’s “this is too weird” he’s the definition of a poser I hate his ass

[pinklemonslices]

monty throughout the entirety of episode six makes me sick. he's such a sympathetic character to me, idk. he's horrified when he finds out what the forest elemental really does. he tries to get edwin to leave, after edwin calls him a friend, after edwin assures him that he cares. monty cares too. he was literally made to do what he's doing, but he doesn't want to. if only things had been different for him. sigh

[doranbasu]

well well well if it isn't the consequences of my own actions