#the ultimate couple goals

[toomanycares]

watched the Addams Family for the first time. good vibes. fun was had by all. morticia addams is my idol. 10/10 would recommend

[cwpidfangs]

(looking at two statues at a museum) i want what they have

[rugbuggk]

If I had a dollar for every time Alucard and Integra cosplayers kissed, I’d have one, but it’s more than enough to make me happy.

[mae-i-scribble]

I rewatched a few of the early episodes of spyfam today bc getting to see the movie gave me an itch to scratch, and in particular episode two made me finally able to conceptualize what about fandom twiyor that irks me so deeply. If you like widespread fandom interpretations of them I would uh, look away bc none of my opinions on it are positive.

Episode 2 of the spyfam anime remains one of my favorites because of all the little flourishes the studios add to sell you on Yor as a character while also expanding a bit on the manga's original commentary on the stigma that follows older single women. What draws Yor and Loid together as a family is that neither of them are capable of having conventional relationships. Both of them are war orphans forced to grow up far too soon and who threw away aspects of their humanity to fight for what they believe to be a better world. While Loid's position as a spy and mastery of deception allows him to avoid the stigmas that would come from the ordinary person discovering what he does, that is not something that holds true for Yor, whose weakest point is that she simply cannot understand "normal." She's aware of the way her coworkers demean her and insult her but can do nothing about it because her only conflict resolution skill is murder. She is constantly reminded that she is an outsider, hence why Loid's declaration at the party is so meaningful to her, and what convinces her to ask him to continue the facade as a married couple.

Underneath it all however, is a quiet showcase of amatonormativity that drove both Loid and Yor to their arrangement. Eden requires a student to have a perfectly nuclear family. Societal conventions dictate that Yor, happily single at 27, is someone pathetic (to her coworkers) or someone in need of help (to her brother). Marriage is an expectation that Yor is pressured to commit to, and a societal requirement that Loid must uphold for the sake of his mission. And while this showcase begins in episode 2 it is something that spyfam continues to highlight when it comes to the expectations both Loid and Yor struggle to meet when they try to hard/become to anxious over what is "expected" as a married couple vs what the other person is actually thinking/feeling.

Now, what the fuck does this have to do with fandom you ask? Here's the thing. Spyfam reached the broad range of anime fans when it exploded in popularity, which is when I started engaging with it beyond just comments on the latest manga chapters. Modern fandom already has the issue of classifying ships into tropes rather than actually like, shipping characters as they are. And that's exactly what happened with twiyor. People began going "oh my gosh this is the moment she fell for loid," "oh he's so in love with her just look at him," before we had even reached episode 10. Which was incredibly frustrating to me because clearly Loid and Yor are not anywhere near in love that soon in the story- and the basis for that frustration starts in episode 2 for me. Because Loid and Yor's marriage is one that is unconventional from the very beginning, and it is that factor that defines their dynamic an allows them to function as healthily and sweetly as they do. People don't need to be in love to be married or to be a parental unit. None of that requires romantic love, it is simply an expectation of our society, the same sort of expectation that cripples Yor and makes her think she has to find a partner, then that she has to find a husband to appease those around her. Seeing that completely erased in a large portion of art/commentary/fics written about them angers me because its something baked into the foundation of their dynamic and something I feel enhances them as a potential romantic pairing rather than detracts from it. But we can't have that because of course a man and woman living together and caring for a kid fell in love almost immediately.

And don't even get me started on how people misinterpret Loid for their far more romantic interpretations of his motivations and relationship with Anya and Yor or else I will start losing teeth from how hard I am clenching my jaw

[staticmothed]

Velvette makes a post absolutely dragging Charlie about her lack of style (“why is the princess of hell always dressed like if a waiter fucked a clown”)

Like all things Velvette posts, it trends- people getting in on the “joke”, posting candid pics they have of Charlie, generally being very mean about her appearance with the barest amount of plausible deniability that it’s all in good fun. It also generates an insane amount of discourse- it’s not cool to make fun of peoples appearances, this is clearly because Charlie prefers masculine clothing, etc. The more people get angry and engage in the conversation, the more the trend of roasting Charlie is boosted.

Things spiral- there’s a backlash to the backlash, people doubling down, arguing that it’s fine, actually, because Charlie is a privileged hellborn monarch, she can handle some jokes at her expense, that she’s not even butch, and like, did you SEE her interview with killjoy, she’s clearly faced worse-

Velvette knows Charlie isn’t really online, that by the time she hears about it, the cycle might even be over, but that’s not the point. Charlie isn’t popular, not beloved- she needs to be reminded that the sinners she’s trying to save can be turned against her like that.

[filmmakerdreamst]

They get it

[chimerafeathers]

there's an essay jumbled up in my brain about dunmeshi's beginning and how clever and deceptive it is as a sleight-of-hand trick that distracts the audience from the depth and scope of the worldbuilding and foreshadowing that's being set up the entire time by dangling zany characters and wacky dishes and biology fun facts in front of us, and how that serves to catch invested viewers off guard when those elements come to the forefront, but also how it works against it with other viewers wanting "more" and not seeing it because the plot bait isn't laid out up front

how people getting frustrated with the characters "not taking things seriously" is mirrored and refuted in the confrontation between Laios and Shuro. how the characters' attitudes aren't just a result of shallow low-stakes "comedy rules" where nothing matters, but are an extension of their personalities (Laios's nonstandard expression of emotions being offputting even to people he knows) and the world and social environment (adventurers being desensitized to death and injury because resurrection magic is commonplace). the way the party refers to "saving Falin" instead of "retrieving Falin's corpse," indicating that they still see her with full personhood, and how that phrasing leads to some readers/viewers believing that Falin is alive in the dragon's stomach, conscious of being slowly digested while the party carelessly fucks around "wasting time." how the weird tonal dissonance makes sense in-universe and yet is deliberately challenged more and more the deeper the party goes

all the character building and pieces of lore slowly weaving together the shape of the larger world, laying the groundwork for the major themes that will surface later. so much is right there in the "low-stakes" early episodes if you know what you're looking for (or pass the perception checks).

it can be so satisfying to see new viewers/readers pick up on the clues even in the earliest "simple" episodes, or notice new things and make connections yourself....and it can also be frustrating to see people dismiss oddities and dissonance as shallow or bad writing because they don't expect a "cooking anime" to have depth like that. why try to question and understand and peel back the layers when you don't expect there to be any layers?

why can't laios take things seriously for once?

[dykespence]

The way carla is like such a hard ass with literally anyone else but with lisa she's literally talking so softly praising her literally not knowing how to act like SHES SO PATHETICALLY IN LOVE W THIS WOMAN I CANNNT

[theyellowhue]

Rain knows what he likes and is unashamed of it. 

Go bb, you do you bub

and Phayu will absolutely indulge Rain’s shenanigans 

[khazadspoon]

Superlantern week day 3 - “marriage of convenience”

In which I outline vague ideas of my idea about clois by smushing another person in there it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

——

“I don’t get it. You’re married, happily married as far as I know; is it a marriage of convenience or something?”

Hal is confused, he’s fidgeting in his seat and pulling a napkin apart. The little tearing sounds are both fine and not-fine. Clark doesn’t pluck the poor piece of tissue from Hal’s hands but only because he knows what needing an outlet feels like.

“No. Lois and I are very happy. We love each other and we got married because we love each other and want to be married. It’s just an open marriage, is all.” He shrugs, sips his cola, and winces at the taste. The syrup needs changing, maybe he can tell the waitress when she next comes by-

“Then why...?” Hal frowns at his disemboweled napkin. “I don’t get it.”

Clark resists the urge to sigh. He knows Hal has seen more unconventional relationships than his. Hell, the man has been in more unconventional relationships. But Clark also knows Hal has a blind spot when it comes to those relationships and what they mean, or could mean.

“We can’t get everything we need from one another, so we talk about it and we go to people we trust to fill the gaps.”

“So you talk to her about… me?” There’s a strange, uncomfortable look on Hal’s face. His frown deepens when Clark nods. “I don’t-”

This time he does sigh. Lightly though; he isn’t actually irritated, but the number of times he’s had to explain his and Lois’ marriage is getting tiring. Sometimes he wishes the whole world could see things the way Lois did - love wasn’t some pet you could cage and let out for walks every now and then, it was a wild and changing creature that needed to run and fly, then come home somewhere safe at the end of the day to rest. Clark didn’t need it often, but when he did, Lois understood. Just like he understood when Lois needed something he couldn’t provide. Communication was, as always, the key.

“The bottom line is you don’t need to understand completely and maybe you can’t. But Lois knows, she is happy to let me do this, and I’m happy too,” he takes another unsatisfying sip of his cola and plucks a fry from the basket between them. Hal drops the shreds of napkin and piles them up.

“I’m not a home-wrecker?” The question is small but filled to the brim with unspoken context Clark wants to delve into. Another time, though, not when he’s supposed to be on a catch-up-slash-date with one of his oldest friends.

He reaches out and puts a hand on Hal’s, rubs the knuckles with his thumb and watches as Hal watches the movement. “You’re not. In fact, Lois is on a date with one of the girls she met at Yoga right now, but if you want to talk to her first I’ll give you her number.”

“You’d do that?” Hal asks in a shy voice. It strikes at Clark like a cudgel, hits him in his chest and he wants to know why Hal thinks so badly of himself with such fury it almost makes him scream.

“Of course I would. Lois matters to me, but so do you. I want you to be comfortable, Hal. Not stepping on eggshells.”

Hal considers it, taking two fries and chewing them thoughtfully. He takes a long drink from his glass of water, draws mindless patterns in the condensation, and bites at the inside of his lip.

“Okay. I’ll- I’ll take her number and… yeah.”

“And… yeah?” He parrots, just to see Hal roll his eyes.

“And I’ll let you know, that’s what. Now let’s finish these and get some ice cream, I’ve had a craving for weeks and space milk just doesn’t cut it.”

Hal turns his hand palm up and slots their fingers together. Clark smiles, and he knows it looks dopey, but Hal smiles back and he thinks Lois will have fun teasing him about this one.

[gibbearish]

idk how to say this right but i feel like people going through aaron bushnell's reddit comment history to try and figure out how Morally Pure™ he was and therefore if you're allowed to support his actions or not are. missing the point. in a lot of ways

[karinhart]

realized i’ve never drawn skimble which is CRIMINAL. i love him. so here’s a skimble 🚂

[ID: A flat-color digital drawing of Skimbleshanks from the musical Cats, standing straight up and looking off to the side, with his hands held out to his sides and an alert, concerned expression on his face. /end ID]

[dragonbleps]

"X group of people deserve to feel attractive/desirable/valuable"

and

"If the only way you know how to support people/say they have value is to say they're fuckable, that's messed up in several ways actually"

are two thoughts that not enough people allow to coexist and it shows

[thornmaui]

Nothing helps me get through my writing more than being in a train and listening to a cosy good omens podfic with cute bookshop fluff and trying my best to emulate Aziraphale’s energy. Or, on particularly devious days, an astronomy professor Crowly AU.

[geryone]

hi hannah! hope it’s alright for me to ask this, but would you say getting your masters was worth it? i have one year left of undergrad (also in english) and sometimes i think i’d lkke to continue my education but idk… going in debt for it seems awful, esp when college teaching opportunities are near non-existent (even more so when taking into account how colleges are only increasinf in shuttinf down). plus honestly im kinda just. finishing my essays for the sake of finishing them as of now. which. i know would not fly in grad school. LOL. would appreciate your thoughts immensely x

I don’t regret getting my masters but I do honestly think that I could go back in time I would have made the choice to wait. If you’re not feeling a pressing need to do it, there is no harm in revisiting the idea of going back to school down the line! I did my grad program because I knew I wanted to get my masters eventually & didn’t know what to do with my life at that point but I didn’t necessarily enjoy it or really care about the work I was doing. It sounds like maybe you should explore other avenues! You don’t want to spend all that money just to drag yourself through getting your degree

[edgeofthegibbuniverse]

Happiest of birthdays to Lady Linda Gibb!

To the amazing force of nature who is the rock of the Gibb family and the driving force behind Barry. We love this amazing woman!