#they see a female villain and suddenly there’s no nuance

[inkdrinkerworld]

Everybody thinks Jean was a monster, but she was a girl overwhelmed with the strength of her powers and neither Charles nor Erik tried to help her learn to control it; they just wanted to control her. In her final moments she begged Logan to end her life so she wouldn’t be taken over by the Phoenix and I’m SICK of everyone villainizing her for being the Phoenix when the grown men she’s trusted were using her as this ‘super mutant’ that would strengthen either side. Yes she was a little fucked up, yes she did some bad things, but Jean Grey was not always that.

[blorger]

Hello so I wanna ask about Hinny and Drarry, since Ginny does everything she can so Harry will like her not showing him her vulnerable/emotional/crying side and girly/feminine since these are what Harry doesn't like, and even did Quidditch just for him, how come these would work with Drarry/Draco? But not with Hinny, if Ginny ever did those, Like I've read that Draco is femme coded and well Harry saw Draco being emotional and crying and the moment Draco didn't do Quidditch anymore, Harry, who supposedly love this because that's why Ginny even does this, suddenly lost interest but in a way Drarry still makes more sense and will actually work

And another weird thing is Harry has a sense of justice right? And hates Draco acting like a bully but the thing with Ginny being good at hex and does it to Smith, isn't that considered bullying?

I think it depends on your personal tastes since drarry is not canon but, to me, it reads differently from hinny because JKR is bad at writing romance: what she intends to come across one way often reads in a completely different manner to her audience.

JKR is a misogynist so in her mind a successful female love interest cannot be too girly: Ginny is boyish because jkr sees femininity in a negative light which means that Harry, her creation, also sees femininity in a negative light. If us readers don't have the same fucked up worldview we can see the inherent sexism in Ginny's "not like other girls" depiction and we can see that Ginny's character is constructed rather cynically in order to fulfil JKR's ideal.

JKR wrote Ginny being aggressive and malicious towards Zacharias Smith because she wants us to enjoy seeing a character we're supposed to like (Ginny) dress down one we're supposed to dislike (Smith). To her, a Good Guy's actions are inherently good on account of their goodness so this is not bullying. It's a somewhat circular logic: Ginny's actions can't be ill-natured because Ginny is meant to be one of our heroes so whatever she does (wether it be cursing Zach Smith or laughing behind Luna's back) is good by default. This is not a very nice or coherent belief system: someone's intent and actions are what determines the quality of someone's character, we don't excuse horrible behaviour just because it comes from a well liked/respected person (or at least we shouldn't).

JKR intended for Ginny to come across as funny and tough but she wrote her according to her own ideals so Ginny's humor ends up reading like malice and her tomboy persona end up feeling fabricated in order to appeal to the male gaze. Conversely, JKR intended for Draco to come across as mean and weak but did not realize that, by showing us his flaws, she gave Draco's character more depth and nuance than she ever does to Ginny. Thus Draco, who's meant to be pretty one-note as a character, ends up reading as complex and sympathetic and we find ourselves wanting to understand his thoughts and motivations.

When writing the books, JKR wanted to make Draco's status as a minor villain blindingly obvious and she did so by femme coding him. We have been trained to associate gender non-conformity and general deviation from the norm with villainy by the media we watch (Disney villains being a very notable example); this is called queer coding, here's a very coincise explanation:

This trope is so omnipresent in the media we watch that we don't even notice it, that's how successfully the concept has been assimilated into our culture.

JKR tried doing something similar to that with Draco's femme coding. She's a misogynist to the highest order so this is meant to help make him unlikeable but this doesn't work if you don't hold the same worldview as her. JKR shows us Draco crying because to her crying is the ultimate act of weakness, we aren't meant to sympathize with him, we're meant to be somewhat scornful.

Here I come back to the gap between what JKR wants us to read and what we read. If you don't have the same exact opinions as JKR, you end up reading a completely different story from what she intended which is why to many the hinny romance falls flat. As to why many people are drawn to drarry, it's a matter of personal taste.

Personally I enjoy reading about relationships in which the people within are equals and have a profound understanding of each-other; stories about not meaning what you say and not saying what you mean and about the thin line between love and hate are interesting to me and drarry checks out all these boxes for me (i watched too many moonlighting reruns as a kid and i became a lifelong lover of enemies to lovers storylines).

Ultimately, all that matters is wether a certain ship has a dynamic you enjoy reading about and you can interpret canon to suit your needs accordingly. It doesn't matter what JKR intended, it stopped mattering the moment she finished writing the books and sent them to her publisher. We read for entertainment value and we are free to derive entertainment however we see fit.

Sorry for the verbose reply, and thank you for the ask my friend.

xoxo

[darkcircles4lyfe]

Love in Chaos

The way chapter 393 seized me from the inside out, brought me to my knees, smiling with fierce glee—it was all the proof I needed. All at once, a checklist I didn’t even know I was keeping started getting all its boxes ticked. I’ll admit that for some time, I haven’t been sure exactly how Toga’s story should be handled for her to get the care, nuance, and dignity she deserves. So I’ve been resigned, waiting to see what Horikoshi has to say about it. I didn’t know until I saw it, but I can tell we’re on exactly the same page.

This fight between Ochako and Toga—or should I say Himiko, since ya know, they’re both on a first name basis now—it’s a kind of breaking point for the overarching narrative and its themes. Here is where the big questions about hero/villain society are not only asked, but answered. Himiko, more than any of the other main villains, was branded with that label as far back as she can remember, without her having done anything except exist. Thus, she carries the weight of their society’s problems and becomes a symbol of the injustice in prejudice and fear, the brutal agony of being rejected by the world. I’ve maintained this resolve about the story for a long time: I will not be satisfied with an ending that constitutes a return to normal, or even a slightly amended normal. I know that it would be a disservice to Himiko if she were made to fit into society again, whether that be in death or reform or containment. Society has to change for her. After 393, I can tell that Horikoshi knows this too.

It’s the way Ochako steps up to this conversation so boldly and positions herself on Himiko’s side. When Himiko dismisses her words as fickle, claims she’ll go back on them and do horrible things to punish her according to hero society, Ochako comes right back and says no, this isn’t about what you’ve done, this is about you. I see you. I see your beautiful smile and I want to protect it.

Throughout her life, Himiko has not been treated like a real person, so of course this is what she needs. No lecture on morals could disarm her the way acceptance can. It’s also extremely refreshing and reassuring to see Himiko being taken seriously. I’m so incredibly excited for Ochako to accomplish such a completely transgressive act of unconditional love against this harsh world. I could stare in awe of the panels in this chapter for hours, how they’re drawn at the exact intersection of beauty, pain, and honesty. Grotesque violence and elegance. Power and vulnerability. I was so overcome that, for a while, I failed to register a crucial implication.

Enter: The Female Vampire Carmilla

She is referenced merely in passing, but as a rejected villain name for Himiko, speaks volumes. It’s difficult for me to find the words to summarize… perhaps you’ve heard by now that Carmilla is a gothic horror novella about a lesbian vampire. THE lesbian vampire, in fact—the one who popularized the trope. Knowing this, it is simple enough to apply the story of Laura and Carmilla in parallel to Ochako and Himiko, and register it as direct proof of the dynamic’s sapphic undertones being acknowledged and intentional. I mean. Look at them.

Yeah. But that’s not all. That isn’t what really makes it noteworthy. Put in context: Himiko has been called a soulless inhuman vampire since childhood, and shunned for it. To her, this or any villain name would be a reminder of her lack of agency in identity. Add to this the overall themes of 393 I just described, and suddenly it becomes clear that Himiko is set in contrast against much of what Carmilla, as a fearful narrative about the supernatural, represents.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me provide some details about Carmilla for those who aren’t familiar. The story was written in 1872 by Sheridan Le Fanu, and belongs to a genre characterized by a revival of Gothic aesthetics in service of providing mystery, intrigue, and suspense to a very Victorian expression of fear. On top of that, Carmilla directly influenced Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and set the precedent for many vampire portrayals to come. Many female vampire characters reference her at least in their name, and the novella has been adapted and reinterpreted countless times. Because of this, it is admittedly difficult to be sure of Horikoshi’s familiarity with the original, or pinpoint any other potential influence he may have picked up from another adaptation. One could quite literally write a whole book about the many iterations and widespread impact of Carmilla. This is why, however, I believe I can confidently say that Himiko being compared to a female vampire has implications that are felt no matter one’s familiarity with the origin of the trope. Certain things are baked into the definition through generations of media. The female (lesbian) vampire implies predation, deception, lust, a danger to innocent young women. She represents an inhuman desire that must be vanquished.

In the novella, the main character Laura becomes a fast, intimate friend to Carmilla, a strikingly beautiful and captivating young lady who has suddenly appeared in her life. Laura admires and loves Carmilla dearly, but feels conflicted in moments where Carmilla is overcome by a desire that is explicitly compared to that of a lover. She talks of blood, death, sacrifice, and unity all while holding her close and kissing her. Whether or not this is hot, or whether Laura reciprocates any desire is, I guess, up to interpretation. But one thing is for sure: the ending of the story is not in Carmilla’s favor. I’d argue it’s not in Laura’s favor either. Look, I was an English major. I’m very familiar with discussions along the lines of “is ___ gay?” and “is ___ a sympathetic portrayal of ___ ?” It’s definitely gay, but the rest is unclear. There might be a tangent to go on about how Le Fanu’s complicated relationship with religion may have informed his characterization of General Spielsdorf and the other men who hunted down Carmilla’s grave and destroyed her. Regardless, there is narrative injustice in the way Laura is removed from these events, sent home and only told about what happened later. She loses agency. Her narrations become distant and clinical. In the very end, she describes being plagued by visions of Carmilla, sometimes as her beloved companion, and sometimes as a fearful monster. To me, this represents the lack of closure she has, either to reconcile these two sides of her, or mourn her loss.

There is also so much we’ll never know about Carmilla herself. The finality of her condemnation silences the multifaceted character that was only partially revealed to us. There is an inferred humanity to her, a self-awareness, a true romanticism, that gets dismissed by the people’s understanding of what a vampire is: a deception.

Keep in mind this tragedy. Fast forward through countless vampire portrayals to the present, to Himiko. What a contrast indeed. Remember, she does not want to be called “Carmilla,” or “Vampire.” To make such a reference in a chapter that is showcasing Ochako’s acceptance of Himiko implies that the trope is being broken. It is as if Laura were to go running to Carmilla’s grave herself, throw her own body over her in protection, and shun everyone else’s superstition and desire for vengeance.

(footnote: the above is supposed to say “Himiko-chan” but you know who is a buttface)

Here’s the kicker: since female vampires are so closely tied to negative and predatory portrayals of lesbians, this humanization of Himiko also suggests that her queerness will likewise be treated openly and sympathetically, because there no longer exists an allegory that could be used for dismissing it. Ochako has already made monumental assertions in this chapter. By saying she admires her openness and envies her beautiful smile, and by presenting complete vulnerability in offering her blood, she swiftly separates herself from the lifetime of persecution Himiko has dealt with. It all represents so much more than those who mistakenly call it “yuri pandering” could hope to understand. This is the real deal. 

So what is this talk about romance they’re supposed to have? I firmly believe whatever Ochako says, it has to be a very surprising revelation, for both Himiko as well as us, the audience. Otherwise all the hype and mystery makes no sense. If Ochako has something so important to say, it can’t be to confirm Himiko’s assumptions. Whenever I try to dissect the exact possibilities, I get hopelessly tangled up in semantics, but ultimately I just hope to get Ochako’s perspective in full, especially as it relates to what other people think of her.

Actually, I had an idea while writing this. I saw someone on twitter (I think jokingly) bring up the All Might doll, like oh god, what if it comes up again. Ok but listen. There’s a LOT of potential symbolism in the token from Izuku that Ochako has kept being a doll of All Might specifically. We all know it calls to mind Izuku’s emulation of All Might, which resulted in the aspects of Izuku that Ochako herself admired. We can also easily infer that during the mission to rescue Izuku, Ochako saw the darker side of these traits. Okay, so here’s another wrinkle: All Might, as a near mythical figure, represents hero society. He’s the hero archetype, an upholder of the status quo, “peace,” and his weakening under all the pressure implies a flawed system.

Nighteye predicted All Might’s death, but also admitted that a strong enough collective will can change the course of his predictions. Ochako sites Nighteye’s own death as an origin for her beginning to question who exactly in this world needs saving. If you know my meta, you know that I believe All Might needs to die in symbol only. Right now, Ochako is throwing out an awful lot of things heroes take for granted. Things everyone takes for granted. The outcome of this fight could be a turning point in the war that completely changes the tone. If Ochako is to accomplish this by way of an intimate talk of romance, well…

Bye-bye, All Might!

[pteropodidaes]

it's been a while since i interacted with the marauders fandom, (like a month or two) but one recurring theme that i saw was the drastic recon of a lot of the slytherins in that era.

i remember when your main cast in your average marauders fic was mostly gryffindors, and then a lot of the antagonists were slytherins. barty and evan were almost always villains (bullies, toxic exes, etc) and regulus was an angst device for sirius. nowadays, the main cast is split into two main friend groups, gryffindors and slytherins. most gryffindors have a slytherin they're paired with (lily and dorcas [which btw i remember when dorcas was a gryffindor], james and regulus, etc etc). the slytherins all have family issues where their parents are blood purists and they don't agree with them and it's a whole thing blah blah blah

i like that there is more diversity in where the characters come from, but there is so much nuance that is stripped of these characters to make them all get along. regulus is the number one victim of this.

i've noticed there is a desire to make the characters people like morally good. they preach about grey characters, but when it comes down to it there is always a justification for the "bad" things they do. sometimes people do bad things because they believe bad things. regulus is a bad guy. he is a death eater, he gets the dark mark and everything. a lot of people write that regulus secretly agreed with sirius the whole time, but it makes it so much more interesting if sirius and regulus's morals actually clash instead of regulus just agreeing with his parents. i personally love when sirius and regulus are close in their childhood and then it changes as they both mature and find themselves.

i think if we look at the characters realistically, regulus barty and evan would never truly get along with people like james and sirius. they're both righteous people (ESPECIALLY james) who would not tolerate blood purism. and that's interesting to explore and to write! sirius watching his brother become a complete stranger who resents him because their morals conflict is so interesting!! you don't have to take away murky morals from a character so they can make out with your fav... which leads me to my next thing.

the jegulus boom. i remember when jegulus was a crack ship and now i think it's literally up there in popularity with wolfstar. i used to ship it as a joke, and in the beginning it was cute but honestly i don't see this ever being an actually healthy relationship. again, james has very strong morals and he would not tolerate regulus being a death eater. he would also ALWAYS choose sirius and he wouldn't stay in a relationship with someone who would cause sirius so much pain. there are a select few circumstances where i see them in a select few dynamics??? but i just don't see it happening.

it's sad because i feel like lily has been tossed aside for fandom's new bl ship. like i love wlw ships with all my heart but sometimes it seems like they come out of people wanting to do something with the canon female love interest. jily is such a beautiful and adorable ship, and the chemistry is honestly so much better than jegulus if i'm being honest. lily is also such an interesting character and you can still get your enemies to lovers fix out of jily. you don't need to compromise the morals of both james and regulus for your yaoi.

it always struck me as weird that these canon death eaters are suddenly heroes now, as in they never believed this shit at all and they're actually victims of their families and society and stuff. don't get me wrong, they definitely are, but it would be better if it wasn't just "i always thought this is wrong and i'm the rebel in my family!" people in these systems actually do get brainwashed and manipulated, and they do believe these things wholeheartedly.

i understand the whole thing with marauders is that there is no canon and you can do whatever you want, but sometimes the characters are just so flat. regulus is interesting to me because he was a bad person but he ultimately chose to sacrifice himself for something good. there's also the issue with changing the characters to the point where they're completely unrecognizable from canon. jkr is a shit writer, but that doesn't change the fact that james has been repeatedly described in canon as a righteous man with incredibly strong beliefs. he may have been a little shit, but never to the point where he would date a death eater. he literally pantsed one upside down and washed their mouth out with soap.

i'm also not saying the old fics were better. there used to be a LOTTT of inconsistency with the characterization of a lot of side characters like dorcas and mary and marlene. i love that the new fandom has given these characters a chance to shine. (well, the male ones at least...) i'm also also not saying that the slytherins should be just bad guys again. i feel like we've flopped from making them total assholes to angels that rebel a little bit.

i could honestly talk about the issues within the marauders fandom for literal hours, but the slytherins are something that has bothered me for a while now. don't be scared to make your skrunklies evil, they don't even have to be evil the whole time you can give them a killer redemption arc 👍

[shysublimecoffee]

This represents my personal perspective on the matter, so please don't interpret it as a factual statement. It's an opinion, and there may be exceptions if you explore thoroughly. However, I find the otome isekai genre quite monotonous. The recurring theme of recycling concepts, reusing character designs with a prevalent "same face syndrome," and the prevalence of protagonists resembling each other, particularly the Duke of the North archetype with that clichéd Idol haircut, contribute to a sense of staleness. The majority of flawless female leads with 99% being blonde, with a few exceptions, adds to the predictability.

For me, the transmigration or reincarnation concept caught my attention around 2018, starting with works like "Who Made Me a Princess" and the infamous "They Say I Was Born a King's Daughter," even though I admit my taste was not the best back then.

The idea of taking over someone's body and living their life fascinated me. What made it unique was the perspective shift, allowing us to see many previously despised villains from other stories in a new light, experiencing the narrative from their point of view.

But, this is when it started getting old real quick. My god, how many fucking times am I going to see a good heroine turned evil and the villainous be taking the leftover men from the heroine side and forming a harem. The villainous unfortunately can't be nuanced because all these stories do is just make shit black and white. Our MC can't be held accountable for what they did but sob hard enough and we get an ally to ride behind her.

You know what's incredibly frustrating? These Korean women from the 21st century keep transmigrating into these villainous roles, and it's just downright irritating. They either come off as overly naive or stick to the tired narrative of being an office worker who suddenly becomes wealthy and tramples over others. It lacks uniqueness, and seriously, what do we really know about the female lead (FL) beyond the prologue? Who is she? What's her home life like? Does she want to return? These are questions I want answers to, but we're not given the chance because the focus remains on the villainous character. Even that aspect isn't executed well; they end up softening her character and making her more compliant than she was in the original story just to avoid a bad ending. I'm more intrigued by understanding the backstory of the actual original villainous character.

The male lead (ML) seriously disappoints. I get it, this genre revolves around romance, but let's get real for a moment—do we genuinely care about this so-called "romance"? What truly matters is the chemistry between characters that makes us feel, cry, and get infuriated, and that's what a story should evoke. Worse than a bad boy ML is a downright boring male lead. Whether it's the Duke of the North or any other generic character, they all feel like mere props catering to the female lead, and that's painfully dull.

I couldn't care less because these MLs exist solely to assist her in everything, whether it's for revenge, to play the savior, or to be the healer. Nothing feels genuine; there's no emotional investment in the romance for me. I'm not overjoyed by the idea of them being together. Many readers seem more fixated on their aesthetics and how well he serves her, but let's be honest—their designs are unimaginative, resembling countless other MLs and MCs. Frankly, I wish more effort were put into creating distinct and captivating characters.

No matter how much one might criticize the toxicity of old-school Shojou romances and the portrayal of male leads, I absolutely loved it. Sure, the romance might not be ideal, but that's precisely what makes it fun and enjoyable to read. The characters have their quirks and distinct personalities, creating their own unique dynamics that add to the charm of the story unlike the former.

Transmigration/Reincarnation is so barley touched in a genre surrounding that very concept. It's like they dip into a puddle but don't expand on the horrors or intrigue of anything really and they be explaining everything from the prologue instead of letting us breathe. We don't settle or sit with the characters and writers are far more interested in miscommunication. It's why I like manga because you get beautiful scenes of just peace or character introspection than you would in colored format.

If there's one story that truly captivated me and made me fall in love with this particular brand of Otome Isekai, it's "A Stepmother's Märchen." It may not be a masterpiece, but the deliberate and slow-paced narrative, reminiscent of a novel, along with the meticulous attention to depicting a semi-realistic high society, drew me in. The story offers complex and conflicted characters, and the stunning art, which interestingly mirrors European illustration outside of the main cast, adds to its appeal. Of course, it's not without its flaws, but the beauty of the narrative has made it stand out to me even years later. It's not a one-note copy it did it own thing that I wish OI did more.

Kill the Villanous,

Death is the ending the villanous

I appreciate how these stories took the isekai concept and added their unique twists. It's refreshing, and I wish more writers would follow suit. While I understand that Otome Isekai is primarily about wish fulfillment, I also crave narratives that offer more than just that. A well-crafted story with thoughtful character development would be a welcome addition to the genre because it sticks out to me more. I don't remember OI titles but for me to remember those is because the concept were different from the usual OH no I woke up in the villain body.

[beevean]

Imagine watching the show as it came out

Imagine ending S3 hating the fuck out of Lenore but spending time talking and theorizing about her implied nuances in spite of the writing flaws and how she could be improved as a villain

....and then S4 comes out

I have a feeling you should consider yourself and your sanity lucky

ngl, I would have so fallen for the copium that S4 was going to have Hector breaking himself free and taking revenge on all the people who hurt him 😔 perhaps even that Isaac would slowly become his beautiful cunty game self 😔

I keep thinking of this post:

This is a wonderfully written post. They make many good points, like how Lenore always finds a way to relieve herself of responsibility when she abuses Hector ("you hurt me and that's why I beat you", "Striga wants you to wear the leash, not me", "the others are planning to use mercenaries"), which is scarily realistic. Or the part where she asks Hector if she can visit him again, as if he had any choice in the matter. I commend this person for picking up so many details, some of which I had missed or forgotten myself. I don't agree with everything, as I believe they overestimated Hector's characterization and ignored how blatant Lenore's lie of "I want to run away with you" is, but I can feel how passionate they are and invested in this potentially novel narrative about how subtle abuse can be.

And I keep thinking about all of this got squandered in S4. How this disturbing depiction of abuse got flattened into dick jokes and "you're the only one who listens to me 🥺" and Lenore blithely dismissing the one time Hector dared to be annoyed at her "solving his problem" which got treated with the same levity as Greta making a cheating joke out of Alucard's own rape.

"Also, she's a female predator, which are rarely presented without sympathy in fiction. Which, I think, is part of why it's hard for the fanbase to realize how evil she is. If the genders were reversed, some people would probably still find the whole rape by deception and magical enslavement romantic because, well, people, but they'd probably sympathize more with the victim than the predator because they'd be easier to identify through our cultural shorthand."

I wonder how they reacted when S4 comes out and the show does exactly what they have criticized, sanitizing Lenore because she is a cute woman and suddenly showing her fake, superficial kindness as genuine and a valid reason Hector would love her, not with the love of an abused dog but real genuine affection.

And he definitely had real feelings for Lenore, however falsely they were invoked. It's possible they still exist after his enslavement. I'm hoping not, but it would be an interesting conflict to see play out. Loving and hating someone who's been alternately kind and cruel to you is a tough spot to be in.

This is what really depresses me about the Lenector story. It is not impossible that Hector would still have feelings for Lenore, because he has such low standards that things like "actually keeping her promise of giving him free roam of the castle" and "going to him to vent about her issues" would be taken as signs of love, and confuse his abused brain. Hector crawling back to Lenore as his only reason to live? It makes sense! It's awful, but it makes sense for someone like him! He has nothing left, he thought he'd be killed but he was given another chance at life, and his first instinct is to cling to his only certainty in his miniscule world.

It should not have been the emotional climax of his arc! Not in a season that is so deadset of giving everyone happiness that they fucking brought Dracula back and allowed him to go on a honeymoon with his bae!

The resolution of this story about abuse is that Hector needed to grow up and let his abuser find freedom in death! A freedom that is specifically framed as Lenore freeing herself of... herself, basically, of everything she has done and might do, not out of guilt but out of despair that she lost all the power she had and might go insane eventually. Not him finding another place to live now that he is free, not him realizing he is worth more as a human being, bro barely even cares about his new life as Isaac's consort or whatever the fuck he is for him now. No, it is never about Hector. He wanted Lenore, Lenore didn't want to stick with him because she's depressed, and we are meant to find oh so tragic that the two star crossed lovers will not have a meaningful touching relationship after

SHE RAPED HIM INTO SLAVERY BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIS FEELINGS AND MOCKED HIM IN FRONT OF HER SISTERS AND THEN REJECTED HIS PROTESTS ON THE GROUNDS THAT HE ENJOYED THE SEX SO HE HAS NO REASON TO COMPLAIN

THE LATTER HAPPENS IN SEASON 4 WHEN WE ARE MEANT TO ROOT FOR THEM. WHEN THE STORY REALLY WANTS TO CONVINCE US THAT LENORE REALLY IS A GOOD PERSON DEEP DOWN AND NEVER WANTED TO HARM HECTOR AND ONLY CARED ABOUT HIM

DOES THIS LOOK LIKE FUCKING CARING TO YOU YOU STUPID HACKS

All that carefully woven abuse for what? For fucking what? For the puppy fetish?? To tell the audience that you should forgive people who hurt you if they give you the bare minimum of human decency because it is the MATURE thing to do, you stupid manchild who only wants to be loved and will never have that because you are too stupid to be loved?!

god I am mad! I'm sorry this makes me mad! I don't even imagine how furious I would be if I had to wait one year to see this shit!

[hopalongfairywren]

It always annoys me how fandoms will look at people stanning, babying and woobifying (ironically or not) male characters who are literal abusers or sex pests or shit like that and fandom can generally wrap their heads around 'i am joking when i say this character has done no wrong ever and if he did it was (someone else's fault) now let me go over my 100 bazillion fluff/angst headcanons for him and how my oc fixes him or makes him worse uwu yadadyadayada' and people generally understand 'wow ok, this person likes this villain and generally wants to humanize him despite the horrible things he's done.' But if you direct that energy to a female character who's done even a fraction of what any of her fellow male peers have done ESPECIALLY if she's also a victim in her own right you get people constantly going UHMMM You know She murdered people!!! Murdering is bad! *sees post talking about how while *insert female character* did do bad things the fact that fanon handwaves or mocks whatever she did go through is pretty shitty and she is still a victim.* Suddenly it's UMM Did you forget she's a BAD person? She's bad completely evil the bad thing that happened to her thats heavily implied or confirmed in canon she's either completely lying about or she deserved it!! If you at all try and be nuanced to her or express a desire to see her have a redemption or healing arc then obviously you just missed the entire point of her character in that she's completely evil with no humanity, no nuance, no lenses for compassion- #girlboss It's just tiring man

[chocobothis]

What's with part of the fandom's obsession with Bo-Katan having been abused?

I'm talking this bone deep, almost frothing at the mouth obsession that her entire life has been one abuse after another. That there is literally no other way to explain her choices unless she's just been the hapless maiden abused by older men. Because that's the only reason she's not a replica of Satine or something.

Why is the idea of a female character knowingly being the villain so scary? What is it about her agency to make choices, for better or worse, that is so frightening that the only explanation is abuse and manipulation? That it has to fall back to this concept of "Innocent, Pure Hearted Virgin Used and Betrayed By Evil Man". You know, something we've seen for-fucking-ever to explain why a woman is anything but morally righteous and obedient.

Aren't we to the time now where we can acknowledge that characters are allowed to be nuanced, especially female characters? That sometimes they make choices that we might not like but ultimately serves the narrative? Or, even that it's fun watching a character knowingly be bad. That sometimes we want that joy of watching a female character getting to be as ruthless as her male counterparts with the same depth.

Considering Bo-Katan's overarching plot in the shows, that no one is denying, has been redemption...isn't it a Bad Look if she supposedly was abused? Because suddenly there's a narrative here that a victim has to earn redemption from being a victim. That things that happened outside of her control are still Her Fault. Her survival somehow dirtied her so morally that she has to beg for forgiveness; because it wasn't pretty survival and pretty victimhood. You know, the victim blaming we see a lot in media and real life.

[tinylilvalery]

Hate her stans so much, because we should be happy that we're getting nuanced female characters nowadays, but people sand her down to this poor mistreated girlboss whose husband never loved her, and doesn't appreciate all that she's done for him. Which isn't even true? Her asking her dad once about sparing Tom, without much detrimental effects to her isn't such a huge sacrifice, sorry he is her husband that's what your supposed to do. I truly love Shiv in the show, but I can't enjoy her on here. She is such a complex character, with realistic flaws for someone who grew up like she did. I get being annoyed with people who are saying she is the worst of the siblings, cause I don't think that's fair. They are all a different shade of Logan. But I think it's childish to assume there is no valid criticism of her character. Fandom is so afraid of being branded misogynistic for criticizing a woman, that they in turn make her the only one that is one dimensional.

God, everything you said is 100% spot on to the point where it pains me. Fandom is so afraid of being branded misogynistic for criticizing a woman, that they in turn make her the only one that is one dimensional. and we should be happy that we're getting nuanced female characters nowadays, but people sand her down to this poor mistreated girlboss whose husband never loved her, and doesn't appreciate all that she's done for him.

NO COS LIKE ACTUALLY THO! The funniest thing about that anon was they wanted to pull the ol "sorry but i cannot follow anymore" but I'm like,,, they really mustn't have been following me long or actually engaging in my account because the BIGGEST thing I champion is I DON'T WANT BLACK AND WHITE CHARACTERS, I WANT GREY CHARACTERS. and this is something I haven't shut up about since 2012 lol. And I especially get shitty that we don't get enough grey female characters. Let them be fucked up and wrong, I'll love them for it, don't get a female character that's written fucked up and wrong and just victimise her and make her a hero who has never done anything wrong....

Ima add a CUT below because this turned into a ginormous essay about grey characters, sexism in writing, being reductive, and blah blah blah

Give me the grey. Give me the complex. Give me the flawed. Give me the human. I don't want Good or Bad because that doesn't do it for me. It's not real. And you know what, this applies tenfold to female characters because there is such a lacking of them. I think male characters have been allowed to be human far more than female characters (this is mainly a result of male producers, male directors, and male writers, who have a history of only writing a female character in as a plot device to serve a male character and strengthen that character in some way. The female characters don't get to be human because we live in a world where it's so normalised for women to be completely dehumanised and objectified, and so a lot of men don't actually see women as more than an object of sex or of conquer and so that's how they've mainly been written - BUT I DIGRESS). They're allowed to be flawed, fucked up, antiheroes, tragic villains, scummy, ect ect, and yet they still get to be humanised, and what I mean by that is they get to have an opening in them for audiences to be able to empathise with them and relate. A character might be morally fucking awful, but if there's humanity there too then audiences can connect and relate, hence why I think a lot of people relate to male characters and care about them over female characters. The male characters get to be messy in comparison to female characters who,, if they are messy it's in a sexy way or they're some sort of antagonist. It's rare that they're messy cos they're just fuckn real and human,, and yet when we get these rare rough gems with an iceberg of character to them, suddenly all these people that called for a complex female character, want to reduce them ONLY to a tiny bit more than the tip of the iceberg, and they usually do this through victimising the female character like some sort of damsel in distress incapable of helping themselves.

And then, then oh boy you have the characters like Shiv. The female characters that get to be fucking complicated, they get to be human, relateable, fucked up, flawed, empathetic. Other female characters I adore are Kim Wexler, Joy Wang, Luv (BladeRunner2049), Abigail Hobbs, Fleabag, Love Quinn, Jessica Jones, Maren Yearly, Camille Preaker, Lisabeth Salander, Amy Dunne. If you know a few of those characters I hope you get the idea. They're so fucking real. In fact I feel like Shiv is actually one of the realest female characters we've been gifted in recent years because of her flaws. Her internalised misogyny which she prides herself on is something I don't think I've ever seen explored so fucking well, something that is VERY present in society and the female experience since girls are brought up with the notion that they're the weaker sex and they're emotional and boys only, no girls allowed. Shiv is GOVERNED by this internalised misogyny and it's instilled in her due to her father, her brothers, her absent mother, and the capitalist corporate world she's been brought up into which instil this misogyny and encourage the idea of having to over perform in comparison to your male peers to be treated with a modicum of respect that they're granted based off their sex alone. This system which encourages the thought that women are secondary, and if as a woman you want to be primary, you have to be part of the boys club and never stop to look after a fellow woman, instead beat them down, get rid of that competition, climb over them, be the cool girl, be the stone cold killer bitch.

The thing is, Shiv is a product of her upbringing and environment, but I don't end her character at Well ultimately she's a victim. She's how she is because external factors and therefore anything "wrong" she does is blamed on said factors, because she's the fuckn 1% and a fully grown adult woman (who isn't a psychopath, so she does in fact have empathy even though she tries to smother it because she believes it's a weakness): she is VERY capable of seeking therapy and working through her shit. Like, it actually is possible for her to become a better version of herself. But she doesn't and THAT is something that is fascinating and opens up so many doors for further discussion of her character. Does she want to change and get help? Is she aware that she can? Is she so repressed and so buried within herself that she has no awareness of herself? Is there hope? Is this emotional atrophy something that started as choice and is now something that rules her? Was it ever a choice to her or was she trained to be like that? Can she wake up from it all? Can she ever learn to be vulnerable and have genuine connection with another person, especially one outside of her family? Is there any hope for her? Is there hope for us to change?

But the stans don't get this far in discussion. Occasionally I see some venture there, but it's a rarity. They get as far as: she's/her actions are a product of her upbringing/environment, and they end the discussion there. They cut her character short, and they reduce her to what I've been so vocal against for years: A simple two toned female character. Love Shiv for her good side. Love her for her bad side too. Even though she does shit that pisses me off, I'd prefer it TENFOLD to her being a Simple Good Victim that has done no wrong ever.

The thing that I find SO fucking irritating about the Succ fandom, is they can read the text, but they can't seem to be able to comprehend and decipher it in it's entirety. People write essays, make gorgeous comparatives, recognise parallels and production techniques such as lighting, blocking, camera work, costuming, music, audio - but it only seems to extend to (not all the time, but a lot): anyway, my character is the victim. They did this bad thing but it wasn't their fault. Poor baby. I relate. And I'm not saying you can't woobify your character for fun, cos fr, enjoy media however the fuck you want, BUT when you start screaming out buzzwords when someone wants to criticise a character on their own blog,,, well maybe it's not really just for fun for you anymore is it? Again I'm not saying you're not allowed to get emotional about a fictional character, get involved in discussions and respectful debates that don't devolve into fingers in ears and name-calling - hell, if you're doing that that means that the writers, actors, and directors have succeeded in creating something very special that people care about and connect over - but when you start going out of you way to send anon messages and name call some random you don't know at all (and your message shows how little you understand that person at all),,, it,,, yeah that doesn't seem like a good thing at that point. I wonder if people are aware that you can enter into a respectful debate with someone over something and come out of it the other side with no hard feelings and no emotional damage... Fr, try it with a friend, it's actually such a good time.

The Shiv stans sending salty anons calling me misogynistic for calling her out is funny cos like,, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have NO hatred for her character, her stans are just fucking annoying and reduce her to a victim with no accountability and instead want to shit on other characters and their fans as a way to divert blame (Shiv stans' fav scapegoats are: Tom, Logan, Kendall). And it's the same with Roman for me. I LOVE the character, but I find the stans so grating in how they tend to find him a scapegoat for everything and reduce him down to poor little puppy dog with no accountability, despite the fact that HE'S the one who's being a fuckhead (screwing over his siblings for approval from Logan, repeated sexual harassment of Gerri, gross sexism mainly in a verbal form usually directed at Shiv). Even Tomgreg, the ship that actually got me into the show, it's actually more difficult than not for me to engage with other shippers of my fav ship on the show because they are so reductive and have misread the ship (and Tom and Greg as individuals) so much it's fuckn nauseating. Succession really is a show where I love the show, but the fandom is so fucking... jeeeeesus. Yeah I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't wait for the fandom to die off after this final season cos I feel like the only people that will remain will actually be open to talking in depth about the characters in a way that isn't governed by how blorbo the character is to people.

The thing is, I don't even think you can rank the siblings from Best to Worst (you're SO RIGHT about each of them being a shade of Logan). I think ultimately how the characters are written and how the actors play them, they all appeal to us differently by how much you can relate to them. This is a show about villains, people we would hate if they were real and existed. They're not good, and so if you're watching Succession to judge Who's a Goodie and Who's a Baddie then you're missing the fact that they're all fuckn bad. This isn't a show about the fight between good and evil. It exists outside of that narrative. It's a show about villains, and what makes villains compelling is they get to actually be bad and get to navigate in a way that isn't restricted to likeability through general morality and good vs evil. These mfs don't even care about morality or ethics beyond using it when they want to to get some sort of leverage or to convince someone to go along with their plan. The fact of the matter is, they're objectively all shitty people, cos I believe anyone that's part of the 1% is a shit person who's happy to benefit off a system of class that oppresses those at the bottom and doesn't care about anyone but themselves and their own money. And this doesn't just stop with the siblings, this is basically everyone in the show. I love The Old Guard, Karl, Frank, and Gerri, but I also think about all the fucked up shit they turned a blind eye to in order to get ahead and stay close to power, all the fucked shit they helped Logan accomplish, for power and money, not for anything that would positively impact the world or anyone besides Logan (and moreso themselves). Like, even Tom who I love and who's probs my fav character, called himself a horrible prick and has shown that side of himself to Greg for the whole show, lauding his power over him and doing all that he can to stay in Waystar, happy to be completely blind to morals in the process. And I still love him all the same because he's a fascinating and complex character who is brought to life by the phenomenal MattMac and with glorious writing.

If you recognise all the shitty things your fav character has done and yet you still love them,, that's real shit. I don't want a surface level character, and I especially don't want a surface level understanding of an extremely nuanced complex character - it's wasteful and honestly disrespectful to the writers and actors who have put in so much work to create such nuance and complexity in their character to bring them to life and make them sm more than just a 2d cliche. I want to sink my teeth into teh character and fall down the fuckn well and explore all their psychology. I want their light side and I want their shadow side.

Anyway yes, thank you anon for being intelligent and actually engaging with me over Succession. As you can probably tell (whether you read this essay or not lol) I'm a big fan of deep dives and critical analyses of fiction tehe :P If anyone read this far you deserve 1 million golden stars god damnnnnnn 🌟⭐🌟

[shitboy96]

saw your tlou2 thoughts and as someone who didn’t agree with the direction tlou2 went thought i’d explain…

the main issue is that the story doesn’t trust the player enough to let them come to their own conclusions. yes the idea is to have you sympathize with abby, but they try so hard to do so it comes across as forced and ingenuine (ellie met a zoo animal so abby must also have cute interaction w a zoo animal! abby plays w dog so ellie must kill that same dog!) I went into the game wanting to like Abby, and I don’t think that Joel shouldn’t have died! But I don’t need 15 hours of gameplay to appreciate Abby, in fact, the further her section went on, the more I distanced from her because it became so painfully obvious that the game was trying desperately to suddenly make me like her. The comparisons they attempted to draw to Ellie felt shallow and the entire 15 hour section felt crammed in and something that could have been handled so much more efficiently and thoughtfully.

Abby has done absolutely horrible things (murdered countless Scars as part of a malicious military group whose seeming sole purpose is to kill anyone who intrudes on their territory, relished in the opportunity to kill a young pregnant woman, knowingly had sex with a man cheating on one of her only friends, these aren’t even including the joel situation) I won’t deny that Ellie has done horrible shit as well, and I don’t agree with her Seattle/SantaBarbara rampage. But to see so many people and the narrative itself uphold Abby as the “better” person is so strange to me?

There are many more issues I have with tlou2 but this was the big one for me. I think a lot of tlou2 critics aren’t taken seriously (you just don’t like it bc you don’t like strong female leads! you just don’t like it bc you don’t get it! you don’t understand how bad revenge is!) instead of leaving room for open narrative discussion. I still think it’s got some truly beautiful moments but the story overall left such a bad taste in my mouth. Apologies for this stupidly long message, feel free to ignore but just wanted to offer up my thoughts.

This has a lot of the same points as the longer ask I just posted I just wanted to say I get you and I think these are valid points.

I think a critical look at the characters should show that neither Abby or Ellie are “good” or “bad” and there’s not a hero or a villain in this story, and it’s reductive to place them in those roles. But perhaps the game does try to say that Ellie is the loser and Abby is the winner at the end?

My initial post was specifically about seeing lots of comments that I see that say “I hate Abby because she killed Joel” which I think is a lot less justified and nuanced than the kinds of takes in my inbox.

[the-ninjago-historian]

ALALAKDKDLALAKSKDLSLALA okay. :D

I might have to redact a couple things because SPOILERS!!! HERE WE GO!!!!

So I was trying to figure out what my evil army should be. I felt it should fit the with fantasy theme, since the main villain is Vangelis. And the season he debuted in was high fantasy based. So I considered a bunch of different options. Including trolls, clockwork robots, and I think even wendigos. None of these quite fit. Finally I settled on Gargoyles. And here I have a scrapped piece of concept art of one of them I drew.

I say scrapped because some happened that COMPLETELY rewrote this thing for the better. After reading the short story Amber Spiral, (Which I'll give to link to in case you're curious.)

I decided Vangelis would be using an Ancient Amber Tree and Amber Elemental power to steal the Element of {REDACTED} from {REDACTED} And as time went on, I realized that the Gargoyles mythical-ness and the Ambers prehistory vibes did not mesh well. So I got back to the drawing board. I don't remember how, but it suddenly hit me. What you mostly likely to find in Amber?

BUGS.

Creepy scary bugs. 😈🦗🪲🦟 Enter THE INSECTOIDS! A bug based race that live deep under ground, in the roots of the Amber Tree. Now I don't have any concept art yet. But I do have some descriptions from my notes on them. And one named character named King Torrlax. Here! Take a peek! (There might be spelling mistakes. I apologize.😅)

Anyhoo, as you can see, they would be formidable fighters, being faster and more agile in the air then the Shintarians. A could cool facts about them is that they would look a bit like the big tribes from Chima. Albeit taller, scarier and more grotesque.

And also there was a line of the toys a long time ago from Lego called Insectoids. So it's a neat call back to a part of Lego's history.

So now with a new army and a dark vibe, the villains had taken on a more Dark Fantasy vibes, which perfectly contrasted the Deep Lands mystical and wonderous look. And I am LIVING for it baby! :DDD

There's so much nuances, references, and a parallels I can't even explain with some more concept art. I can't wait for that. One fun reference is the Amber chunks set in the tree's roots and branches kinda allude to insect eggs. So that's kinda creepy and fun. And can't wait to show that off.

I also designed a concept Ninja armor for one of the Ninja. Who? That is {REDACTED} lol.

OH YEAH! As for my Ninjago x Rottmnt AU, I figured out what Yokai Nya and Kai will be! Tigons! (Male Tiger x Female Lion) Ray is a Bengal Tiger and Maya is an Asiatic Lion. Also, I made Nya a White Tigon, since I thought it would contrast her blue color scheme nicely. And Kai of course is just regular Tiger colors, since they're so fiery. I'm still working out some other stuff,, but that was one of the most exciting things I came up with.😁

So that's all I got right now. Thank you for hearing me ramble!!! I feel a lot better now! - ✒️🐉

Tag List: @shatteredhope123 @nocturnal-nexu @dexter-the-dog @aroninshonour 😁👋)

Want to be added to the tag list? Just ask! That way you can stay updated on Ninjago: Into The Deep all the time!😁

I'm having SO DANG MANY ideas and plot points for my Ninjago AUs and Fanseasons right now!

SO

MANY

IDEAS.

And like no one to talk to about it right now...😭 Anyone want to hear me ramble about it? If I don't get this out of my system, I might explode.🤣 - ✒️🐉

[celiabowens]

underrated SFF books (YA and Adult)

So uhm, since I keep seeing the same books on my dash all the time (and I like them too, just...there’s more! to read!) here’s a list of less popular SFF books, divided into YA and Adult. I’ve tried to mention when there is lgbt rep and the trigger warnings. Also, books written by poc will be in bold. Please point out any typo or mistake or if I’ve forgotten specific rep/tw mentions.

All of these are books that I’ve read and enjoyed (by enjoyed I mean anything from 3 stars and above), but if anyone wants to add titles please feel free to do so!!

YA:

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: beautifully written, fairytale-like story rich in mythology (inspired by several Hindu myths. There’s a full list on goodreads indicated by the author herself). Roshani’s prose is gorgeous.

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: it’s a companion novel to The Star-Touched Queen, but both can be read as a standalone. I liked this one more than its companion and I particularly loved how the romance was written (slow burn, but specifically, the author really highlights the mutual respect between the characters, we love to see it).

The Young Elites by Marie Lu: fantasy trilogy set in a world inspired by Renaissance Italy, in which children who survived a mysterious and deadly illness ended up with strange and dangerous powers. Secret societies and a female villain!

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu: historical fantasy following Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, a girl as talented as her brother, but afraid of being forgotten because of the lack of opportunities she has to be seen and heard. Nuanced sibling relationship, no romance.  

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski: fantasy f/f romance! Both a coming of age story set in a society with a rigid class system and a slow burn f/f romance with a lot of banter. TW: abuse.

The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore: magical realism. The book follows two families of traveling performers that have been locked in a feud for over a generation. This was the author’s debut and I remember getting an arc of it and being impressed by both the prose and how the forbidden love trope was handled.

When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: another magical realism novel. One of the main characters is a trans boy and the book focuses on issues of racism and gender. One of my favorite YA!

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton: fantasy romance set in a village that periodically sacrifices a young man in order to keep a deal with the devil that ensures their prosperity. Also, polyamorous and non-binary rep.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee: first book in a duology following avatar Kyoshi’s life. It explores the political and cultural aspect of the Earth Kingdom and Kyoshi’s past. Bisexual rep.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: sort of a murder mystery fantasy, as the main character finds herself suddenly thrust into power once her father has been murdered. The story has a slow build up to a last part full of twists and machinations and it features lots of court intrigue. Warning: the ending is quite open and afaik there isn’t a sequel planned as of now.

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones: a quite unique take on zombies influenced by Welsh mythology (it’s super cool). The novel follows Ryn and their siblings, as they try to get by after their parents’ death by working as gravediggers. Only well, the dead don’t always stay dead. The characters read a bit younger than they are imo. There is chronic pain rep.

The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas: retelling of the original ballad of Mulan. The book follows Mulan, who’s trained her whole life to win a duel for a priceless heirloom, as she joins the army. There’s a lot of political and historical details, which I really appreciated. Do not go into it expecting a fun adventure though. The descriptions of war aren’t extremely graphic, but be aware of the fact that most of the book is set during a conflict.

The Candle and The Flame by Nafiza Azad: standalone fantasy set in a city on the Silk Road! It’s a quite slow-paced tale about love, family and politics. It has lush descriptions of landscapes and cultures (and FOOD, there are some really great descriptions of food). It’s a very atmospheric book and while I struggled a bit with the pace I’d still recommend it.

Forest of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao: sort of an East Asian inspired retelling of Snow White, but following the Evil Queen before she became Snow White’s stepmother. I honestly haven’t read its sequel (which should focus on Snow White herself), but I do think this can be read and enjoyed as a standalone too.

The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner: it’s hard to point out exactly what this series is about because it has evolved so much with time. It starts out as classic quest/adventure series with The Thief (which may seem a classic and simple book, but is actually full of foreshadowing and has a really clever set up), but develops into a complex and intriguing political fantasy in The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia (and then goes back to the quest theme in book 5, Thick as Thieves).

Adult:

A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers by Alyssa Wong: I’m cheating with this one because it’s technically a short story but I love Alyssa Wong’s stories so I’m putting it here anyway. It can be read for free and you should just...read it.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang: grimdark fantasy (TW: abuse, self harm, rape, drug abuse), inspired by Chinese history. It’s adult, but follows younger MCs and the unique blend of different historical periods/inspirations makes it extremely interesting. The characters are extremely fucked up in the best possible way, plus the use of shamanism is awesome. Please make sure you check all the TW before reading.

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang: a Japanese-inspired militaristic fantasy, with elemental magic, a badass housewife dealing with her past and hiding a sword in her kitchen’s floor. It has interesting and nuanced family dynamics and a great reflection on propaganda and the use of narratives.

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri: first book in an epic fantasy duology inspired by Mughal India (TW: abuse, slavery). I really liked both Empire of Sand and its companion and I find them pretty underrated. Both books have great slow burn romance (with a focus on mutual trust and respect) and focus on culture, religion, self acceptance and politics.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: a fantasy bildungsroman set in Mexico during the Jazz age. It’s a great approach to adult SFF as it follows a young girl on a life changing adventure. It features Mayan mythology and a god slowly becoming human (this trope is everything!).

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: a coming of age story inspired by Russian folklore. The trilogy as a whole has one of the best arcs I’ve ever seen: each book is perfectly self-contained and has its own arc, but also fits perfectly in the bigger picture of the trilogy. The atmosphere is amazing, the cast of characters is extremely well developed. Also frost demons are better than men.

The Binding by Bridget Collins: historical fantasy, but with very minimal fantasy elements. It’s set in a world vaguely reminiscent of 19th century England. I’d say this book is about humans and self discovery. It’s about cowardice and the lies we tell ourselves and those we wish we could tell ourselves. Gay rep. (TW: abuse, sexual assault, pretty graphic suicide scene).

The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett: starting with City of Stairs, it follows a female diplomat and spymaster(!!). The whole trilogy features an interesting discussion about godhood, religion, fanatism, politics, without ever being boring or preachy. It has complex and rich world building and a pretty compelling mystery.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett: heist fantasy following a thief as she’s hired to steal a powerful artifact that may change magical technology as she knows it. Set in a Venice-like merchant city. Also, slow burn f/f romance.

Jade City by Fonda Lee: sort of a gangster urban fantasy, heavily inspired by wuxia and set in an Asian-inspired metropolis. It follows a pretty big cast of characters, each with their own journey and development. It features nuanced family dynamics and a lot of political and economical subplots. Not extremely prominent, but book 2 features m/m side rep.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse: inspired by Native American culture and specifically by the idea of subsequent worlds. It has a kickass MC and a good mix of original elements and typical UF tropes. TW: the book isn’t extremely violent but there is death and some gore.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine: space opera inspired by the Mexica and middle period Byzantium. It focuses on topics like colonialism and the power of narratives and language. It has one of the best descriptions of what it’s like to live in between spaces I’ve ever read. Also very interesting political intrigue and has a slow burn f/f romance (and a poly relationship recalled through flashbacks). I ranted a lot about it already.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: a Korean-inspired space opera with a magic system based on math. It’s honestly quite convoluted and difficult to follow, but it also features some of the best political intrigue I’ve ever read. Plenty of lying, backstabbing and mind games. It also features lesbian and bisexual rep and an aroace side character (TW: mass shooting, sexual assault, abuse). I also really recommend Yoon Ha Lee’s short-story collection Conservation of Shadows.

The long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers: character driven space opera featuring a found family journeying through space. A fun read, that also deals with topics such as sexuality and race. Quite easy to go through, as the world building and plot aren’t particularly complex themselves. f/f romance.  

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo: an Asian-inspired fantasy novella that gives a voice to people usually silenced by history. It follows a cleric (non binary rep) as they chronicle the story of the late empress, retold through objects that she used in her life. It focuses on bonds between women and the power that lies in being unnoticed. f/f side rep.

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark: an urban fantasy novella, based on Orisha mythology and set in an alternate, sort of steampunk, New Orleans. I really like how creative Clark’s worlds are and how good he is at writing female characters (which rarely happens with male authors).

The haunting of tram car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark: novella set in an alternate steampunk Cairo populated by supernatural entities. It’s set in the same world of a Dead Djinn in Cairo, which is a short story you can read for free.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: epistolary novella set during a time-travel war. It has gorgeous writing and an amazing f/f romance. As a novella, it’s quite short but it’s beautifully crafted and so complex for such a short book!

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard: a novella set in the Xuya universe (a series of novellas/short stories set in a timeline where Asia became dominant, and where the space age has empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration), but can be read as a standalone. It’s a space opera featuring a disappeared citadel and the complex relationship between the empress and her daughter as war threatens her empire.

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake: self-published urban fantasy following two rival families in New York. Sort of a Romeo and Juliette retelling but with gangster families and magic. Honestly recommend all of her books, I love how Olivie writes and especially how she writes female characters.

[terrence-silver]

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? Cobra Kai

Everything?

Wouldn't reduce Johnny Lawrence to dummy, clueless comic relief, for example? I'm not even a huge stan of the character and I still think he deserves far, far better? His relationship with Robby? I'd work on that majorly? That goes without saying to me. Think it is crucial for this man's growth at this point and anything less than that won't be satisfactory.

I'd cease with these 'who's the father of x and y' theories. I think Miguel searching for his dad is more than enough. We don't need more of that. Wanna emulate a soap opera? Okay, fine. Soap operas have so many diverse tropes you can utilize. That isn't soap writing. It is bad, lazy writing, chief. Repetitive. How did a Karate show boil down to this? Should be called Paternity Test Kai.

Something I noticed when watching Cobra Kai Season 4 with a friend is that everyone is so meanspirited to each other for no reason other than, yes again, comic relief, that it is often tiresome and overly snarky. It feels a bit cynical. I'd scrap that entirely or at least reduce it significantly. Where's the tenderness and the heart the movies often had? Why is everyone so godawful?

Redeeming villains --- stop, just stop. Kreese is already here 'feeling sorry' for Johnny out of the blue purely to generate more drama. I love Kreese the same way I love Terry, but for the Jesus Christ, cease making everyone redeemable all of a sudden and just let us have bad guys. Bad guys can be nuanced and complex without being cartoonish or two dimensional if you just bother developing them.

Love triangles and love squares and love polycule pyramids? Eh, it isn't my cup of tea, really? The whole discourse about will they wont they, who's more superior, is it SamRobby or Toryguel or Samiguel or...I don't really see the chemistry with any of them to that major extent and I'm tired of this exhausting, vindictive rivalry running on empty. They all feel a bit like siblings to me, if I'm honest. I'd let these kids be and cease writing them into new situationships.

Okay, but the unusual cringe of the show 'joking' on the subject of Daniel and Johnny being gay and 'boyfriends' time and time again as delivered through the mouths of bigoted characters (like the hockey players...functioning as stand-in's for the writers) instead of, you know, actually having them be gay / bisexual, or at least explore that part of themselves? Am I phrasing this well? It feels so weird.

Same case with the show flaunting its feminism while we barely have a single consistently wholesome teenage female friendship (barely any adult ones too, if we don't count, I don't know Amanda and Carmen?) in the show as of now. We had Aisha's relationship with both Tory and Sam, but guess what --- she's been shoved to the side and practically written out. Who do we have left?

Everyone being confusingly out of character. Examples; An overly snooping Terry with stalker tendencies and infinite resources not knowing what anyone was up to in his local area for literally three decades --- not even by accident. John inviting Terry to help with tournament business revenge for a second time only to get pissed at Terry for doing just that and suddenly growing a sense of honor. Like, what is anyone's motivation anymore? Why is everyone flip-flopping so much? I'd try to be consistent at least, I mean. Doesn't take a genius.

And, I mean, I could write examples and examples of what could use tweaking, if not outright changing (like how all the Sensei, especially the ones deemed a positive influence, seem to neglect their students), to be kind, but here's a small compilation of things that randomly crossed my mind. There's more. Oh, is there ever. So much, in fact, that I can't even remember it all. Generally, I think the fanon's take of the show is much better and far more faithful and loving than the actual canon.

[vbartilucci]

I see we’re going to have to have this conversation again.

Okay.

“Mary Sue” was a nuanced term coined by a woman editor to mean “That dorky girl in high school who wrote wish fulfillment fan fiction aka younger me lol” so by calling a character the name, it meant “This is obviously an idealized self-insertion, Young Writer.”

Men then took the wholesome, self-deprecating term, discarded the original meaning, and decided it means “women in mainstream, published, professional fiction who have implausible hero skills”

In doing so, they made the critical foundational error of misunderstanding that the defining characteristic of ALL male heroes in fiction is wish fulfillment and implausibility - that’s the whole deal with heroes and what makes them identifiable as such.

David and Goliath is a story about an implausible hero. A child pulling a sword from stone (or an anvil) is implausibility incarnate. Harry Potter is the neglected, unwanted, scrawny kid who suddenly discovers himself in an entire world in which he is revered, respected, and powerful. The Karate Kid - a teenager taking up a new skill, competing against peers who have studied karate since they were toddlers and somehow beating them all anyway - evidently just because he’s a slightly nicer guy. Luke Skywalker - a farmer’s boy whose force sensitivity was somehow never felt when he was younger but is magically aware of it now that he has need of it and just needs a couple training montages to develop it enough to compete with a villain who has **studied and used it most of his life**

In fact, the only heroes who have “realistic” heroism are not heroes at all, they’re most often depicted as antiheroes: Bruce Wayne uses his wealth to purchase intense training, build himself literal armor, and break the letter of the law in order to satisfy *his idea* of the spirit of that law.

So this idea of “earned” heroism is the biggest of all male fantasies. And it’s why one in eight men believe they could beat Serena Williams at tennis.

It’s also why they are so threatened by female heroes receiving the same exact hero treatment men have since the dawn of literature. Because their internalized belief that women are inherantly lesser is so deep - if women can do it - suddenly they don’t think it’s all that great, and that is threatening as fuck to paradigms and narratives they have lovingly nurtured about themselves since they were boys.

via Sara Lynn Michener on FB

[stagandsteer]

Complete transcript of the Wonderland interview, by Catherine Santino, below the cut :)

In 1993, the year in which Freeform’s new thriller series Cruel Summer opens, actor Froy Gutierrez was yet to be born. Chat rooms and beepers, just two of the symbols of 90’s culture featured in the show, were absent in Gutierrez's own childhood. Instead, the 22 year old grew up among the endless, glowing feeds of social media — and the inevitable pressures that they create.

“There’s a kind of self-awareness that comes from growing up with the internet, which everyone in our cast did,” Gutierrez, who stars in the upcoming series, tells me over Zoom — his boyish charm tangible across the screen. “We’re all technically Gen Z or like, older Gen Z. And so you have to unburden yourself from curating a persona online.”

Due to the dizzying evolution of technology in the past two decades, Gutierrez and I had drastically different experiences with the internet growing up — even though he’s only seven years my junior. I fondly remember a time without the prevalence of social media, while Gutierrez was born into an era where internet presence was not only common, but expected.

Like most of Gutierrez’s peers, the actor was active on social media from a young age, but his presence has quietened over the years — even with 1.7 million instagram followers. “If there’s a general consensus on the internet of a certain readership or viewership, you know about it, because people tweet about it directly to you,'' he says. “There’s a kind of lumping in of the character you’re playing with who you are, that people do. I don’t know if it’s intentional. It’s probably just a human thing, but that happens. And it can be hard not to internalize what you read about yourself, you know? Words have power.”

In 2017, Gutierrez appeared on supernatural MTV drama Teen Wolf, a show with a massive internet fandom. Suddenly, fan theories and commentaries about his character, Nolan Holloway, came in droves, something that the young actor wasn’t necessarily prepared for. “I was still a teenager,” he says. “Around that time, you're an adult, but you’re still figuring things out. So I learned where to set my boundaries because I didn’t know where they were beforehand.”

When Cruel Summer came around, Gutierrez assumed he would be portraying the “desirable young male” he was used to auditioning for. “The first time I read the character, it definitely felt like an archetype. When I auditioned for it, I walked in and was very much myself, and Michelle Purple and Jessica Biel responded very well to it.” However, after he got the role and production ramped up, he was pleasantly surprised. “It didn’t really hit me that they were wanting to take him in such a unique direction until I showed up for wardrobe one day to do my first fitting for the pilot,” Gutierrez recalls. “I looked at the mood board for Jamie and it was like, young Heath Ledger, Keanu Reeves and Kurt Cobain. And I was like ‘Oh shit, I need to step my game up,’” he laughs. “I couldn’t get by doing the same thing that I’ve always done when it comes to characters like that.”

Cruel Summer takes place over the course of three years — ‘93, ‘94, and ‘95 — showing splices of each year in every episode. Produced by Jessica Biel, Tia Napolitano, and Michelle Purple, it centres around the kidnapping of a teenage girl and the fallout of the crime in her community in Skylin, Texas. Gutierrez plays Jamie Henson, the boyfriend of the missing girl, Kate. In her absence, a quiet nerd named Jeanette suddenly rises the social ranks and assumes Kate’s place — including dating Jamie. When Kate returns, Jeanette is suspected to be involved in her disappearance, throwing Jamie into some seriously challenging circumstances. His character could easily be a one-dimensional archetype — and truthfully, I expected him to be — but Cruel Summer took the opportunity to explore toxic masculinity and its widespread impact.

We see Jamie caught in the middle of conflict, unsure how to respond to a traumatic event that certainly no teenager expects to be faced with. He’s not a hero, but he’s not a villain either. It’s unclear whether we’re supposed to root for Jamie or not, which makes him that much more interesting to watch. “He talks a lot about his desire to protect the people around him, regardless of whether or not they asked him to protect them,” Gutierrez says of his character. “He kind of superimposes his own idea of what the people around him need. In order to maintain the peace of the people around him, he kind of robs the people around him of their agency. It’s just a really fascinating character to play in that way.”

Gutierrez has also been able to explore the ethics of true crime in a time when the genre is exploding in popularity. Though Cruel Summer is fictional, it questions the effect that public opinion can have on criminal cases — and perhaps more importantly — the well-being of the people involved. “When it comes to the investigation of a crime, you have to weigh the good it can bring into the world versus the bad it can bring. Or making one person seem suspect, or airing the dirty laundry of a private citizen for the viewership of loads of people.”

Despite his eloquent reflections on Jamie throughout our conversation, it’s clear that Gutierrez doesn’t take himself too seriously. He speaks into the camera like we’re old friends on FaceTime, and when my dog unexpectedly jumps into my frame, he gushes excitedly and asks what her name is. He’s able to laugh at himself one minute and share poignant truths the next. It’s refreshing, much like Cruel Summer.

Another likely contributor to the show’s authenticity? The fact that the cast was kept in the dark when it came to overarching plot points. Instead of knowing the show’s trajectory ahead of time, the actors would receive scripts for the next episode while they were filming — and they were subject to change. “We didn’t know where it was going,” Gutierrez says. “And we were told, “‘This might happen here, or this might happen there.’ And it would shift around.”

Without foresight into their character’s arc, the actors have no choice but to focus only on where they were in that moment — a difficult task when a single episode spans three very different years. Gutierrez faced an even greater challenge, as, unlike the two female leads, his character didn’t undergo any drastic physical transformations over the three years.

“I didn’t really compartmentalise the character,” he explains. “I kind of thought of the different years as different phases in my own life. The first year, ‘93, was a complete absence of any regret. You’re still very young, I was just thinking of like, a complete golden retriever,” he laughs. “A 16-year old boy who just wants the best and isn’t aware. ‘94 is me right before I made the decision to go to therapy, where I was making all these bad decisions and I didn’t know why. And then ‘95 was a whole desire to wrestle with those things and really look at yourself in the mirror and take accountability.”

Gutierrez didn’t only infuse personal experience into his behind-the-scenes work — some aspects made it onto the screen. The actor, whose father is Mexican, grew up spending time between Mexico and Texas and is a native Spanish speaker. Because Cruel Summer is set in Texas, Gutierrez suggested creating a similar background for Jamie.

���I was talking with Tia Napolitano, the show-runner, and I was like, ‘Hey, you know what would be really cool? What if the character is half-Mexican, too?’” Gutierrez says. “And she's like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s write it in the script.’ And I got to write a couple lines in Spanish, which is really cool. [Jamie] could have been this mould of a cool, likeable jock. And then he ended up being this very nuanced human being, which is awesome.”

Though he is learning to appreciate all parts of his heritage, Gutierrez hasn’t always embraced his identity. “I remember feeling like I might have been not American enough for America, and not Mexican enough for Mexico,” he says. “And I remember having a bit of time in which I had an accent in both languages. Even my name — in Mexico I always went by ‘Froylan’, which is my full name. And then in the U.S., I went by Froy, because I thought it would be easier for other people to say.”

He continues: “I identify as Latino, but I”m also very wary of auditioning for Latino roles because I’m aware I don’t look like a typical Latino person. I don’t want to be someone that you can just sub in for that role, when I’m really white and blonde. And so whenever I do get a role like this, one where he’s not written to be any particular direction and we’re able to collaborate, I’m able to inject some of myself in there. So it’s been really cool to embrace all sides of my history.”

But of course, as is true for Gutierrez, Jamie’s cultural background is only a small part of who he is. Cruel Summer is committed to portraying him as a nuanced character that breaks the moulds of masculinity while tackling complex inner conflict. “Living in his shoes and walking in them, a big question that came up for me was, ‘What is the difference between guilt and shame? [Jamie]’s coping mechanism was terrible and unhealthy, and caused more pain for the people around him. But at the same time, the shame that he internalized made it worse for him. One thing I really learned, is that shame is about yourself and beating yourself up. And guilt is about taking accountability and apologising, moving forward without expecting the relationship to come back. It's just about trying to heal what happened and then moving on, on the terms that the other person sets. It’s not about you, and I think that’s what the character learns throughout the show.”

[hexalt]

CW for discussion of suicide

- She's the crazy ex-girlfriend - What? No, I'm not. - She's the crazy ex-girlfriend - That's a sexist term! - She's the crazy ex-girlfriend - Can you guys stop singing for just a second? - She's so broken insiiiiiide! - The situation's a lot more nuanced than that!

There’s the essay! You get it now. JK.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the culmination of Rachel Bloom’s YouTube channel (and the song “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury” in particular where she combined her lifelong obsession with musical theatre and sketch comedy and Aline Brosh McKenna stumbling onto Bloom’s channel one night while having an idea for a television show that subverted the tropes in scripts she’d been writing like The Devil Wears Prada and 27 Dresses.

The show begins with a flashback to teenage Rebecca Bunch (played by Bloom) at summer camp performing in South Pacific. She leaves summer camp gushing about the performance, holding hands with the guy she spent all summer with, Josh Chan. He says it was fun for the time, but it’s time to get back to real life. We flash forward to the present in New York, Rebecca’s world muted in greys and blues with clothing as conservative as her hair.

She’s become a top tier lawyer, a career that she doesn’t enjoy but was pushed into by her overprotective, controlling mother. She’s just found out she’s being promoted to junior partner, and that’s just objectively, on paper fantastic, right?! ...So why isn’t she happy? She goes out onto the streets in the midst of a panic attack, spilling her pills all over the ground, and suddenly sees an ad for butter asking, “When was the last time you were truly happy?” A literal arrow and beam of sunlight then point to none other than Josh Chan. She strikes up a conversation with him where he tells her he’s been trying to make it in New York but doesn’t like it, so he’s moving back to his hometown, West Covina, California, where everyone is just...happy.

The word echoes in her mind, and she absorbs it like a pill. She decides to break free of the hold others have had over her life and turns down the promotion of her mother’s dreams. I didn’t realize the show was a musical when I started it, and it’s at this point that Rebecca is breaking out into its first song, “West Covina”. It’s a parody of the extravagant, classic Broadway numbers filled with a children’s marching band whose funding gets cut, locals joining Rebecca in synchronized song and dance, and finishing with her being lifted into the sky while sitting on a giant pretzel. This was the moment I realized there was something special here.

With this introduction, the stage has been set for the premise of the show. Each season was planned with an overall theme. Season one is all about denial, season two is about being obsessed with love and losing yourself in it, season three is about the spiral and hitting rock bottom, and season four is about renewal and starting from scratch. You can see this from how the theme songs change every year, each being the musical thesis for that season.

We start the show with a bunch of cliché characters: the crazy ex-girlfriend; her quirky sidekick; the hot love interest; his bitchy girlfriend; and his sarcastic best friend who’s clearly a much better match for the heroine. The magic of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is that no one in West Covina is the sum of their tropes. As Rachel says herself, “People aren’t badly written, people are made of specificities.”

The show is revolutionary for the authenticity with which it explores various topics but for the sake of this piece, we’ll discuss mental health, gender, Jewish identity, and sexuality. All topics that Bloom has dug into in her previous works but none better than here.

Simply from the title, many may be put off, but this is a story that has always been about deconstructing stereotypes. Rather than being called The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, where the story would be from an outsider’s perspective, this story is from that woman’s point of view because the point isn’t to demonize Rebecca, it’s to understand her. Even if you hate her for all the awful things she’s doing.

The musical numbers are shown to be in Rebecca’s imagination, and she tells us they’re how she processes the world, but as she starts healing in the final season, she isn’t the lead singer so often anymore and other characters get to have their own problems and starring roles. When she does have a song, it’s because she’s backsliding into her former patterns.

While a lot of media will have characters that seem to have some sort of vague disorder, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend goes a step further and actually diagnoses Rebecca with Borderline Personality Disorder, while giving her an earnest, soaring anthem. She’s excited and relieved to finally have words for what’s plagued her whole life.

When diagnosing Rebecca, the show’s team consulted with doctors and psychiatrists to give her a proper diagnosis that ended up resonating with many who share it. BPD is a demonized and misunderstood disorder, and I’ve heard that for many, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the first honest and kind depiction they’ve seen of it in media. Where the taboo of mental illness often leads people to not get any help, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend says there is freedom and healing in identifying and sharing these parts of yourself with others.

Media often uses suicide for comedy or romanticizes it, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend explored what’s going through someone’s mind to reach that bottomless pit. Its climactic episode is written by Jack Dolgen (Bloom’s long-time musical collaborator, co-songwriter and writer for the show) who’s dealt with suicidal ideation. Many misunderstood suicide as the person simply wanting to die for no reason, but Rebecca tells her best friend, “I didn’t even want to die. I just wanted the pain to stop. It’s like I was out of stories to tell myself that things would be okay.”

Bloom has never shied away from heavy topics. The show discusses in song the horrors of what women do to their bodies and self-esteem to conform to beauty standards, the contradiction of girl power songs that tell you to “Put Yourself First” but make sure you look good for men while doing it, and the importance of women bonding over how terrible straight men are are near and dear to her heart. This is a show that centers marginalized women, pokes fun at the misogyny they go through, and ultimately tells us the love story we thought was going to happen wasn’t between a woman and some guy but between her and her best friend.

I probably haven’t watched enough Jewish TV or film, but to me, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the most unapologetic and relatable Jewish portrayal I’ve seen overall. From Rebecca’s relationship with her toxic, controlling mother (if anyone ever wants to know what my mother’s like, I send them “Where’s the Bathroom”) to Patti Lupone’s Rabbi Shari answering a Rebecca that doesn’t believe in God, “Always questioning! That is the true spirit of the Jewish people,” the Jewish voices behind the show are clear.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend continues to challenge our perceptions when a middle-aged man with an ex-wife and daughter realizes he’s bisexual and comes out in a Huey Lewis saxophone reverie. The hyper-feminine mean girl breaks up with her boyfriend and realizes the reason she was so obsessed with getting him to commit to her is the same reason she’s so scared to have female friends. She was suffering under the weight of compulsory heterosexuality, but thanks to Rebecca, she eventually finds love and friendship with women.

This thread is woven throughout the show. Many of the characters tell Rebecca when she’s at her lowest of how their lives would’ve never changed for the better if it wasn’t for her. She was a tornado that blew through West Covina, but instead of leaving destruction in her wake, she blew apart their façades, forcing true introspection into what made them happy too.

Rebecca’s story is that of a woman who felt hopeless, who felt no love or happiness in her life, when that’s all she’s ever wanted. She tried desperately to fill that void through validation from her parents and random men, things romantic comedies had taught her matter most but came up empty. She tried on a multitude of identities through the musical numbers in her mind, seeing herself as the hero and villain of the story, and eventually realized she’s neither because life doesn’t make narrative sense.

It takes her a long time but eventually she sees that all the things she thought would solve her problems can’t actually bring her happiness. What does is the real family she finds in West Covina, the town she moved to on a whim, and finally having agency over herself to use her own voice and tell her story through music.

The first words spoken by Rebecca are, “When I sang my solo, I felt, like, a really palpable connection with the audience.” Her last words are, “This is a song I wrote.” This connection with the audience that brought her such joy is something she finally gets when she gets to perform her story not to us, the TV audience, but to her loved ones in West Covina. Rebecca (and Rachel) always felt like an outcast, West Covina (and creating the show) showed her how cathartic it is to find others who understand you.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is the prologue to Rebecca’s life and the radical story of someone getting better. She didn’t need to change her entire being to find acceptance and happiness, she needed to embrace herself and accept love and help from others who truly cared for her. Community is what she always needed and community is what ultimately saved her.

*

P.S. If you have Spotify... I also process life through music, so I made some playlists related to the show because what better way to express my deep affection for it than through song?

CXG parodies, references, and is inspired by a lot of music from all kinds of genres, musicals, and musicians. Same goes for the videos themselves. I gathered all of them into one giant playlist along with the show’s songs.

A Rebecca Bunch mix that goes through her character arc from season 1 to 4.

I’m shamelessly a fan of Greg x Rebecca, so this is a mega mix of themselves and their relationship throughout the show.

*

I’m in a TV group where we wrote essays on our favorite shows of the 2010s, so here is mine on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, I realized I forgot to ever post it. Also wrote one for Schitt’s Creek.