#twitter discourse has been terrifying

[zaebeecee]

Why HuskerDust Isn’t Canon

I’ve seen a lot of Angel Dust-involved ship critical posts lately, all of them cruel and mean-spirited and all of them from those HuskerDust shippers who give the rest of them a bad name and go out of their way to attack anyone with a ship involving either Husk or Angel. They do this because “HD is canon”, and even those who don’t like the ship have resigned themselves to it being canon. But here’s the thing: in both the actual text of the show and in the meta, it’s not. And I’m going to go through several points to prove that it isn’t canon. (Note: these are all tropic flags and nothing else. Consider this a tiny media literacy course.)

Getting this out of the way: this isn’t anti-HD, a discouragement from shipping HD, or saying “it’s literally never going to be canon”. Obviously, people are free to ship whatever they want for whatever reasons they want; this isn’t intended to bully members of the fandom or to shame anyone who ships it, nor to attempt to convince people not to ship it. This is simply a response to claims of the canonicity of the ship being used to bully non-shippers, and speaking from the viewpoint of the narrative, the tropes, and the meta, it is not canon.

tl;dr: I don’t hate the shippers, I hate the bullies. This is not a discourse invitation, this is a trope analysis. If you don’t like what I’m saying, move on or block me. If you think I’m being mean, I really don’t care, because this is specifically a response to people who are being mean all the time. People in the fandom are terrified to be even vaguely critical of this ship because of the potential backlash, but I’m an Aquarius with a block button, idgaf.

HD was not confirmed canon by Medrano in an interview or on Twitter

To get this first point out of the way, the primary proof that HD shippers will use to claim their ship is canon is a Tweet Medrano put out after Episode 4 was put up on Amazon, as well as a Zoom interview where the interviewer asked her about HD.

The Tweet, which included a screenshot of Masquerade and asked what HD shippers thought of the episode, included the ship name. This is an example of engagement farming, a technique used in social media when people will use trending/popular tags, words, and phrases in order to increase engagement with posts and videos. The use of the HD ship name was not a confirmation of the ship; rather, it was used to capitalize on the ship’s popularity, ensuring that the algorithm would distribute it to as many people as possible. We know this was engagement farming because it was simply asking the people who shipped them what they thought of the episode. It didn’t call it a HD episode, nor did it say it was for the HD shippers.

In the Zoom interview, while the person conducting the interview used the term HD, Medrano herself never did. In fact, she went out of her way to avoid using the ship name, and instead, used the generic word “relationship” when describing their future interactions, a word she has also used to describe future progression between Charlie and Lucifer (so, if this makes HD canon, then it also means that Charlie and Lucifer will be a canon romantic ship).

HD was not confirmed canon by Blake Roman or Keith David

In much the same vein as the aforementioned Zoom interview, when Roman and David were interviewed about the interaction between Angel Dust and Husk, both actors carefully avoided using any terminology or wording that suggested a romantic relationship, only talking about the two of them as close friends. If the ship had actually been confirmed by Medrano months earlier, there would be no reason for the two of them to skirt around the issue. There was also nothing teasing the potential of the ship, simply straightforward information about their friendship.

Husk has been called Angel Dust’s “best friend” by Medrano repeatedly

Medrano has always, when referring to their future interactions, referred to Husk as Angel Dust’s “best friend”. Additionally, while she has never shied away from stating when a character has any form of romantic interest in another character, her only comment on Husk has been that he is pansexual, but she has quite specifically never once stated that he has any romantic interest in Angel Dust.

“Loser, Baby” is the “we’re not so different” buddy musical song

Much of Hazbin Hotel can only be understood through the lens of the form of media that it’s taking most of its cues from: namely, musical theater. There are many tropes that exist within musical theater, specifically in the types of songs themselves, that are used as shorthands to tell audiences what relationships are between characters and how they will be interacting going forward, because all storytelling in musicals are abbreviated by necessity, and songs exist to encapsulate large portions of character/story development in short periods of time.

“Loser, Baby” is, tropically speaking, a song that occurs during the main character’s lowest point in the first half of Act II. This is when they have encountered a massive hurdle in their journey (a breakup, a death, getting kicked out of their house or school, losing their dream job, etc) and are feeling hopeless and lost. In this instance, one of two kinds of songs will occur at this point during the show:

The first is the romantic duet, where the MC is dejected and negative, and their love interest is attempting to turn them around. This is the point when the love interest realizes they are in love with the MC, whether they confess these feelings or not, and is a plea for the MC not to give up.

The second is the “snap out of it, you moron” song. This takes place when the MC is on their own and is found by either a character we are familiar with who has realized they misunderstood the MC (who goes from being a point of conflict to a friend), a family member of the MC (usually either a sibling, an adult offspring, or a parental figure), or by a character we have never met before (generally one considerably older than the MC). This is the song where the other character confesses to the MC that they understand their pain because they were once in the same situation, or because they went through a similar painful progression if that situation hasn’t changed. This song typically carries a “suck it up, buttercup” message and is considerably more callous than the romantic duet, because it is a communication of tough love. It’s important to note that this is never a duet between the MC and their love interest.

“Loser, Baby” is quite firmly in the second category. It is not romantic in nature; rather, it’s Husk realizing that he misjudged Angel Dust and, subsequently, telling him “a lot of other people are in your position, I’m one of them, you aren’t special, stop whining”.

If “Loser, Baby” is romantic, Husk is a predator

For the entirety of the series up until this song, Husk has shown that he has absolutely zero interest in Angel Dust romantically. “Loser, Baby” comes on the heels of Angel Dust confessing to suffering from a great deal of physical and emotional abuse and manipulation, as well as crying in front of someone else for the first time, showing his first true moment of real vulnerability. If Husk uses that moment to suddenly show interest in Angel Dust, it says that either A) Husk is only interested in Angel Dust once he realizes that he is emotionally broken and in a vulnerable position, or B) Husk is willing to use this vulnerability to his advantage and subsequently manipulate Angel Dust. Both of these things are contradictory to Husk’s character.

Husk and Angel Dust have minimal interaction in Welcome to Heaven

Episode 6 has two plots: the A plot, which is Charlie and Vaggie visiting Heaven to attempt to bargain with the Seraphim; and the B plot, revolving around Angel Dust’s temptations to regress into his addictions. In the B plot, Husk’s only interactions with Angel Dust are judging him for wanting to do drugs (which directly contradict his claim in “Loser, Baby”, where he expressly states that he’s fine with Angel Dust’s hooking and drug addiction; it also comes while he is indulging in alcohol, his own vice, which is the definition of hypocritical), and being silently proud of him when he doesn’t do drugs. This is the behavior of the Shoulder Angel or of the Detached Father, not the love interest.

Angel Dust is a main character, Husk is not

Angel Dust is a member of the main cast, alongside Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor. Husk is a secondary character. It isn’t feasible to have a main character pursue a relationship with a secondary character; you can have an MC who is already in an established relationship with an SC, but you cannot build a relationship between an MC and an SC because the SC doesn’t have enough lines or screen time. Keith David is also quite expensive, and there is no way the show will be able to afford the price that would be required for Husk to be a larger presence in the show.

There is a forty year age gap between the two

Sinners do not age, nor do they mature. We see examples of this in every single Sinner throughout Hell; Angel Dust is a good example, as he died in his 30s in 1947, meaning he would be (at minimum) 110 years old. However, he acts like a young man in his early 30s who spent most (if not all) of his life in a deeply repressed home. Another good example is Cherri Bomb, who is clearly in her 20s, but would be at least in her 60s by this point. Because of this, it is easy to determine that not only do their bodies not age, their minds do not, meaning that the age they were at time of death is the age they will be, mentally and emotionally, forever.

Angel Dust died in his 30s. The only official number Medrano ever gave for Husk’s age at death was 75, and she has stated both that he died in the 1970s and he was born before the year 1900. While no specific age has been stated for Angel Dust, he is written to be between the ages of 30 and 35, meaning that there is a minimum age gap of forty years between the two of them. Additionally, if Husk was intended to be the love interest of someone in their 30s, he would not have been specifically written to be an old man.

Angel Dust has never once come on to Husk

Angel Dust is a flirtatious and sexual character. However, his only flirtations with Husk have been responses to statements Husk made that could be taken out of context. Not only does he never take the initiative and flirt with him first, he also never propositions him; the closest he gets is telling Husk he would be lucky to be propositioned by him. (As a side note, Angel Dust has only ever propositioned two characters in the entire show: Alastor, both in the pilot and the first episode, and Alastor’s shadow construct in the second episode).

It could be said that this is because Angel Dust has “true feelings” for Husk and is, therefore, too shy to overtly proposition him, which brings us to the next point:

HD as a ship is built entirely on homophobic writing tropes

There are several points about this ship that are, ironically, homophobic, but I’ll be focusing on the last two points: the age gap and Angel Dust’s sexual nature.

The age gap: the gay male community has, since at least the time of the Ancient Greeks, been plagued with this idea that enormous age gaps are not only fine, they’re expected. Age differences that would never be tolerated in heterosexual or even lesbian couples are waved off when the characters in question are men. This has created the false expectation that many older gay men have--namely that they are “owed a twink”, and that younger gay men are almost required to submit themselves to a much older man as a rite of passage.

Angel Dust’s sexual nature: Husk has quite expressly stated he has no interest in Angel Dust’s overt sexuality, to the point that he refuses to even look at him as a person until Angel Dust reveals other facets of his personality. This suggests that, for a relationship to work, Angel Dust would have no choice but to repress his urges, or that Angel Dust’s sexuality is a front and he actually isn’t that overt. In either case, this would be a direct parallel to Angel Dust’s life as a gay man in the 1930s and 1940s, where he would have been forced to be closeted under threat of prison or death, and either Husk himself or the audience would be forcing him back into a form of that closet.

Crimini has no stated relationship with Angel Dust

Crimini, a character who is slated to appear in Season Two, has been described as Husk’s adoptive daughter who will make up the bulk of his character plot going forward. Not only does Angel Dust have no stated relationship with her, he has never once been mentioned alongside her character at all. If Angel Dust was intended to be Husk’s love interest, that would make him (functionally) another parental figure to Crimini, if perhaps a reluctant one; that would make him an integral part of Crimini’s future plot, but seemingly, the two have nothing whatsoever to do with one another.

Despite the fact that Medrano changes canon based on fan opinion all the time, the show is written too far in advance to change major plot beats just because one ship got really popular

We in the fandom know that Medrano has a tendency to fold in the face of fandom wants and desires. However, between the pilot and season one, the HD fandom was rather small; this would have been when Medrano was working with Amazon, getting future script approval and mapping out the way the story was going to go, and at the time, RadioDust was just about the only thing keeping the fandom alive long enough for interest to remain during the three year gap, and we all know that isn't going to be canon. Because of the sheer amount of overhead and advance planning that goes into something like this--particularly considering that season two was already in production in the wake of season one’s premier--the fact that the HD fandom grew after the season’s release would be unable to have any effect on the show because it would be far too complicated and far too expensive to make big changes. HD would only be viable if it was already planned from the beginning, which it quite clearly was not.

•

So what's my point with all of this? My point is that the content of media means things, and part of media literacy is understanding the difference between wishful thinking/projection and canon.

[mumblesplash]

one convenient thing about this site is that most changes to the collective sense of humor are announced via a series of viral posts in which our resident killjoys unceremoniously declare a joke to be "over" and "never funny in the first place", something they have usually been trying to do since the moment they caught wind of the latest festivities but generally don't succeed in until the novelty has worn off among our largest demographic: people who are terrified of being cringe.

at first glance this seems like an obvious recipe for toxicity, but fortunately we also have a healthy population of passionate Things Enjoyers balancing this out, and the hater to creator ratio has achieved a relatively stable state ever since the twitter exodus of 2017 shocked the platform into an ecosystem reset.

the real question is whether this balance is resilient enough to adjust for an influx of new users fleeing both twitter AND reddit in rapid succession. the lack of detrimental impact so far is certainly promising, but residents in particularly vulnerable parts of the site ('respectable' fandoms, discourse-prone mutual circles, people with strong feelings about taylor swift, etc.) are advised to take precautionary measures in the coming weeks

[longing-for-rain]

Just so you know, some of your anons are coming from a blog called @mal3vol3nt

I do not know if you’re aware, but she’s chronically obsessed with you and has also been sharing your ao3 on Twitter and inciting harassment there too, saying you’re “racist” and a “degenerate” and accusing you of writing underage. Her blog lately is mainly posts about you and it sounds very similar to some of your anons

I had to check this out for myself and...wow. All I can say is just...wow 🤣

No, I actually had no idea who this person was but from the looks of it she's been obsessed with me for months? I guess that explains the anons, I knew these people were mad, but apparently they've been over here steaming over my takes and are legitimately terrified of me. And I didn't even know them! Didn't realize I've been doing numbers on Twitter (or X whatever it is now) despite never having an account.

(The rest is below; please don't click if you do not wish to see insensitive discussions of rape or if you are not in the mood to read opinions so malformed they will melt your brain)

I guess I have another angry little troll who doesn't know what a captial letter is obsessed with me. Wish I could say it was the first time, but alas. A lot of particularly funny things here though.

> Advertising your terrible ragebait Twitter like anyone finds you important

Lmao.

> "write fanfiction of katara being raped so zuko can save her"

What a terrible misread of the point of that story, but then again, I don't expect much else from a terminally online crybaby who exclusively consumes media for children. If you can't handle adult discussions about adult topics, maybe don't read stories that are clearly marked 18+ and with far more extensive trigger warnings than any mainstream media will give you.

> "measuring the size of her breasts and hips"

Lmao. I said she is drawn differently in different scenes. That's it. You guys are another level of unhinged.

> "obviously fetishes and racism"

It's kind of creepy how they sexualize Zutara, while simultaneously accusing us of doing that. Why do you assume a fetish is the only reason behind someone liking a ship? Why would you say this about a group of people including many black, brown, and indigenous women? And minors? And if you want to get into the whole fetish thing, don't even get me started on the shit I've seen from the kataang fandom. Hint: when I say some of you have a "mommy fetish" I mean it in a very literal sense. Not to mention the whole kataang rape discord debacle.

> "sick fantasies about these minor characters"

I have never depicted a minor in a sexual situation. I make a point to explicitly avoid doing that, and all characters are depicted as adults. Your lack of media literacy isn't an argument. If you're going to criticize my writing, at least read it, which you clearly didn't. And if the content is too upsetting for you, you clearly lack the maturity to engage in these kinds of discussions.

Imagine treating ship discourse this seriously, actually unhinged. Who said that Ember Island Players is the real Katara? What? She talks a big number about coke-fueled rants, must have given it a try herself. How do you expect to be taken seriously when you never say anything of substance and screech "racism" or "colonizer" every other word but can't even articulate the significance of those terms? Honestly, at this point you sound like a right-winger who thinks saying "but I'm [identity] and I agree with [opinion]" is a golden ticket to winning every argument.

And look at this: apparently I deserved all the things she and her friends sent me? Actually I respect this take, at least she's honest about it unlike the people who cry and backpeddle when they get caught red-handed.

I'm actually cackling at this one. Genuinely laughing; my neighbors are probably concerned. It's like you took every single Bad Person Allegation and threw it into a blender. And to top it all off, apparently 24 is "pushing 30" now LMAO. And apparently I, a lesbian, could only possibly like Zutara because I think Zuko is hot. Not to mention the way they entirely miss the point of Zutara, but ATLA itself, by insisting that Zuko is a "violent imperialist" who is apparently unworthy of love by anyone who does not share his skin tone. Kind of ironic coming from the people crying that I'm a racist who doesn't understand the show. Next level clownery.

This is so funny. These people are absolutely terrified of me, no amount of unhinged anons will hide that. It's fine for men to tell me I deserve rape and death, that I'm a dirty pervert for daring to speak out about sexual trauma, and that women's sexual trauma is nothing but a fetish, but if I respond to that man telling him he should die for being so disrespectful and misogynistic to rape victims, I'm the monster? I stand by it. If you think what he said about rape and rape victims is acceptable, especially if you're a man, die! Hang from ropes, as I said.🥰

I guess I should be really scared though. This is clearly a very influential figure in the fandom who is renowned for her enlightened wisdom on the plight of fictional cartoon characters against evil imperialists like me (adult with job).

...oh wait. I was excited for a minute, I thought I was dealing with a celebrity. But even the "callouts" struggle to hit 20 notes :/

And to everyone sending me positivity during this time, thank you very much! But I wanted to show you this to assure you I'm doing just fine. People can act as weird as they want behind a gray face, but after seeing the kinds of whiny little brats they are in reality, it's pretty hard to take it seriously. "I got my plane ticket" my ass, that would require you to leave your decaying, trash-filled apartment.

[thatstormygeek]

The powerful get a completely different set of rules to live by and exist in a totally different media environment — they're geniuses, entrepreneurs and firebrands, their challenges framed as "missteps" and their victories framed as certainties by the same outlets that told us that we were "quiet quitting" and that the economy is actually good and we are the problem. While it's correct to suggest that the right wing is horrendously ideologically biased, it's very hard to look at the rest of the media and claim they're not.

Musk is the most brutal example. Despite turning Twitter into a website pumped full of racism and hatred that helped make Donald Trump president, Musk was still able to get mostly-positive coverage from the majority of the mainstream media despite the fact that he has spent the best part of a decade lying about what Tesla will do next. It doesn't matter that these outlets had accompanying coverage that suggested that the markets weren't impressed by its robotaxi plans, or its potemkin robots — Musk is still demonstrably able to use the media's desperation for objectivity against them, knowing that they would never dare combine thinking about stuff with reporting on stuff for fear that someone might say they have "bias" in their "coverage."  This is, by the way, not always the fault of the writers. There are entire foundations of editors that have more faith in the markets and the powerful than they do in the people who spend their days interrogating them, and above them entire editorial superstructures that exist to make sure that the "editorial vision" never colors too far outside the lines. I'm not even talking about Jeff Bezos, or Laurene Powell Jobs, or any number of billionaires who own any number of publications, but the editors editing business and tech reporters who don't know anything about business and tech, or the senior editors that are terrified of any byline that might dare get the outlet "under fire" from somebody who could call their boss. There are, however, also those who simply defer to the powerful — that assume that "this much money can't be wrong," even if said money has been wrong repeatedly to the point that there's an entire website about it. They are the people that look at the current crop of powerful tech companies that have failed to deliver any truly meaningful innovation in years and coo like newborn babes. Look at the coverage of Sam Altman from the last year — you know, the guy who has spent years lying about what artificial intelligence can do — and tell me why every single thought he has must be uncritically cataloged, his every decision applauded, his every claim trumpeted as certain, his brittle company's obvious problems apologized for and readers reassured of his obvious victory. Nowhere is this more obvious right now than in The Guardian's nonsensical decision to abandon Twitter, decrying how "X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse" mere weeks after printing, bereft of context, Elon Musk's ridiculous lies about his plans for cybertaxis. There is little moral quality to leaving X if your outlet continues to act as a stenographer for its leader, and this in fact suggests a lack of any real interest in change or progress, just the paper tiger of norms and values that will only end up depriving people of good journalism.

These millions of invisible acts of terror are too-often left undiscussed, because accepting the truth requires you to accept that most of the tech ecosystem is rotten, and that billions of dollars are made harassing and punishing billions of people every single day of their lives through the devices that we’re required to use to exist in the modern world. Most users suffer the consequences, and most media fails to account for them, and in turn people walk around knowing something is wrong but not knowing who to blame until somebody provides a convenient excuse. Why wouldn't people crave change? Why wouldn't people be angry? Living in the current world can be absolutely fucking miserable, bereft of industry and filthy with manipulation, an undignified existence, a disrespectful existence that must be crushed if we want to escape the depressing world we've found ourselves in. Our media institutions are fully fucking capable of dealing with these problems, but it starts with actually evaluating them and aggressively interrogating them without fearing accusations of bias that will happen either way. The truth is that the media is more afraid of bias than they are of misleading their readers. And while that seems like a slippery slope, and may very well be one, there must be room to inject the writer’s voice back into their work, and a willingness to call out bad actors as such, no matter how rich they are, no matter how big their products are, and no matter how willing they are to bark and scream that things are unfair as they accumulate more power.

[swords-of-a-soilder]

Bless you for compiling what’s going on with that ex-bird app. It’s been genuinely insightful for me to understand the thoughts of the kinds of people behind those accounts.

That person trying to cancel creators for associating with Forever (and probably advocating for his lore to be excised from the server) saying “but I can’t possibly give up guapoduo, it’s My Hyperfixation” is very telling. Hypocrisy specifically in the context of “separating the art from the artist” isn’t something I’ve seen before, shockingly, so I guess I get to add that to my Social Media Discourse Bingo. (I had an online friend in 2016 who I was terrified to talk about my interests with because I didn’t know what angry punk teenagers on tumblr had deemed “evil and disgusting”, and even SHE stopped listening to some of her favorite metal bands when she learned they were homophobic, and had absolute turmoil when she learned that David Bowie might have allegedly slept with an underage groupie in the 70s. Her constant, unpredictable rage at seemingly random pieces of media was awful for my mental health, but at least she wasn’t a genuine hypocrite.)

Also that tone of “I’ve had good memories here… but I just can’t handle it anymore.” It sounds like someone whose meaningful but soul-crushing work has finally broken them, almost sounding like someone I knew at the frontline worker job I had mid-pandemic who missed her own birthday three years in a row, got repetitive stress injuries, and then got passed over for a promotion that was given to someone who did a fraction of the work. But the “God willing, I’ll never come back” was followed by “I’m 13” …damn, I got whiplash so hard that I astral projected into a universe where things made sense for a second. Because of course kids don’t have a complex view of other countries’ political systems or cultural pressures. Or the nuances of personal change and redemption. Or that sometimes people are just not online for a few days. And of course a 13-year-old doesn’t understand how dumb and petty they look by trying to ruin other peoples’ careers in the name of Activism (tm) while having a fandom portmanteau username.

“I didn’t want it to come to this but… I’m going to delete twitter!” I hope so, but more for their own sake, honestly. I actually have less anger towards most of them now. Many are kids with a false sense of grandiosity that makes them believe they are the ultimate moral authority, but have very little understanding of how messy people or societies can be. I just hope they can learn one day, and look back on who they are now and cringe. (And then many years after that, have the grace to forgive themselves.)

Oof, sorry for the wall of text.

I’m still not over the whole situation with Forever. I miss his energy, and his accent, and his silly bits with Richas that always dragged on too long, and N.I.N.H.O. (and everything it represented), and how different he and Cellbit are but how they understood each other WAY too well, and how he tried to make people who didn’t log onto the server as often still feel welcome and wanted, and how happy he got when anyone non-Brazilian even tried to speak a little bit of Portuguese. (I was learning, but I’ve barely touched it since.) I won’t lie, it’s affected me far more than I thought it would.

I miss Forever. Thank you for your blog being a little space where that’s okay.

I'm honestly a little worried for the kid (s), not in a "oh I just want the best for" fake bs way just a little concerned tbh. I still don't like them but I don't hate them either, they're a kid.

But at the same time I'm worried for their well being, they have like 5,000 follower on their main Twitter and 28 on curious cat (which is apprantly high for that app )

That's 5000 people (teens or not) waiting for you to tell them how to feel that can't be good for their mental state, not for a 13 yr old kid.

Most of their life was spent learning about the world and their still learning, these are the ages where you're worried about the sun blowing up.

You haven't seen how awful the world can be yet, You haven't seen how much worst it could get you haven't learned calculus yet!

To you the world is only these 13 years and you think if you don't act now everything will be over.

I get it, I had that fear too, most people grown into it and realize just how shitty it can get an settle in choosing their own battles and not letting It consume them, because no one had time for that anymore.

You want to experience the most out of live while you can and the older you get the easier it is to balance.

To me it looks like one of those situation where you'll look back and think "I wish I enojyed my childhood."

Because 5000 people waiting for you to tell them who to bash, 28 people prasing your while admitting they use to hate you.

It can't be good. And if they were to read this they'd probably say "oh you don't actually care you just want to shit on me."

And like, yeah I don't care, but am I saying all this because I want to shit on them? no I'm just pointing out concerns.

Apart from that I fully agree with anon.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: august 2023

wow what a month!!! I turned 27, I got to do so much work on a documentary on queer style, and most importantly I read a batch of really cool books that I'm so excited to ramble about. so let's cut the bullshit, here's what I've been reading!

Condomnauts (Yoss, 2013; trans. David Frye, 2018) - thank you to, who else, tumblr user @condomnauts for the recommendation! the premise of this book is so sensational: humankind has taken to the stars and become part of a bustling galactic community, with a catch: politeness demands that when different species get together to trade, they open negotiations by sending members from each crew to have sex with each other. these "condomnauts" are highly in demand among humans, since it takes a very particular kind of person to figure out how to bone down with someone who isn't even remotely human. but it's not all fun or free-wheeling space orgies; our protagonist, Josue, is up to his eyes in unresolved trauma from the miserable violence and poverty of his upbringing (seriously, look up those trigger warnings; it gets pretty yucky out there) and has definitely never been to space therapy. ultimately this book isn't as much of a romp as I might have hoped and does fall a bit more into "let's explain at length how the sci-fi tech works" than I usually like, but. BUT. I have to say, the payoff at the (deep sigh) climax of the book (and it is, in fact, a climax) took me totally by surprise and made me SHRIEK with delight when I realized what was about to happen; huge props to Yoss for bringing that particular plot point so perfectly full circle.

Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs (Jamie Loftus, 2023) - I'm a huge fan of all of Jamie Loftus' nonfiction podcast series (go listen to Ghost Church, like, immediately. stop reading this an go do it) so I was naturally pretty fucking stoked for her first foray into nonfiction books. the premise is simple enough: driven by a need to consume a truly terrifying amount of hot dogs for research, Loftus and her boyfriend set off on a cross-country road trip, sampling hot dogs across America so that Loftus can alternate descriptions of the most iconic contemporary hot dogs with an investigation of the hot dog's sordid past. as is pretty much the signature of Jamie Loftus' work, to me, the end result is much funnier, weirder, and sadder than the innocuous-sounding premise would suggest; in addition to the perils of colonialism, capitalism, COVID-19, and factory farming, Loftus does a remarkably tactful job documenting the the downfall of her own relationship as she searches for the perfect dog. cannot recommend enough, an incredible debut.

Yellowface (R.F. Kuang, 2023) - a couple of months ago I read my first R.F. Kuang book, Babel, and thought that it couldn't possibly live up to the amount of hype that it was getting at the time. and I was wrong! Babel was tremendous! but surely R.F. Kuang, that crazy son of a gun, couldn't pull it off twice in one year. and yet! Yellowface was a book I found hard to put down, because with each chapter came some fresh new BUGFUCK CRAZY BULLSHIT from our terrible, terrible protagonist. maybe the plot hinging so much on extremely online book discourse will make it inaccessible for some readers, but as someone who used to spend a lot of time on lit twitter I got it and felt seen. honestly, if this kind of discourse broke loose on twitter tomorrow - a white author stealing the work of her Chinese-American friend? publishing it after her friend's tragic premature death?? changing her name to sound more racially ambiguous??? - I might go crawling back to X dot com just to gawk. this is a satirical thriller of the highest order, and if you love mess as much as me you will gobble this shit up.

The Prisoner's Wife (asha bandele, 1999) - and now for a totally different vibe than I've been bringing you so far! bandele's memoir is an absolutely wrenching account of falling in love with Rashid, a man incarcerated for murder and the ensuing fight to build a life together. bandele is a poet and it shows; her words flow beautifully even in the ugliest of circumstances. this is no suffering porn but a nakedly honest account, all of the good and all of the bad in her relationship. the struggles are never limited to the inhumanity of American carceral system, and the reader is also witness to the usual growing pains of two people learning how to love each other heightened by the enormous obstacles of stolen autonomy. but for every moment of difficulty there is love, such an enormity of love that you at time feel the need to look away from someone being so vulnerable. but I'm so grateful bandele shared the way she did. even reading the book two decades after its publication, with the knowledge that she and her husband Rashid would ultimately divorce, did nothing to dull the love. the love was real, and bandele captured it with devastating precision.

Clay's Ark (Octavia E. Butler, 1984) - god, I love Octavia. just when you think you know where she's going with a story of a creepy codependent psychic cult she zags on you and introduces a SECOND creepy codependent cult, this time in the form of a bunch of HORNY PARASITIC SPACE WEREWOLVES hiding out in the desert! there was no mention of Mary and the Pattern! where are they, Octavia? why are they sending people into space? what does it mean that aliens are in play now? are they going to fight in the next book? god, I hope they fight. there was some gruesome shit in Clay's Ark, but man was I compelled.

My Wandering Warrior Existence (Nagata Kabi, 2020; trans. Jocelyne Allen, 2022) - this was a really exciting new turn for Nagata's graphic memoirs! this one is a great reflection on ✨romance✨ as Nagata begins the arduous work of trying to figure out what romance means to them and what she'd actually want out of a relationship. there was a lot that I related to immensely, although our outcomes may be different - in my case, I realized that building so many mental hurdles for myself because I didn't want to be in a relationship at all. watching someone else navigate that journey at a later age than people are usually expected to is so cool, especially doing it so thoughtfully and with such candor and coming from a place of queerness. I don't know where things are going for Nagata Kabi, but I'm excited for the next translation of her work to be released in November. and I really recommend this graphic memoir to anyone trying to figure out their own romance situation, whether or not you're read the preceding volumes; it can stand quite well on its own!

Love, Hate & Clickbait (Liz Bowery, 2022) - guys. listen. I was so prepared to hate this romance novel, but "a governor forces two of her male staffers to fake date each other to win #woke points" is pretty heinous premise! and it SUPER doesn't help that one of these guys, Thom, is a stone cold manipulative bastard who's chronically online and obsessed with his job to a generally terrifying degree. (the other guy, Clay, is just kind of a doofus who's been, I think, accidentally autism-coded.) but by the end [SPOILERS] Thom has uuuuuh suffered complete and total ego death and renounced his entire life, and it kind of rules? idk, the fake dating might be kind of long and tedious if you're not into fake dating, by which I mean it was tedious for me, but the climax really catapulted it up the list of romance novels I've read this year. also I regret to say the sex is pretty good.

Docile (K.M. Szpara, 2020) - god almighty I put off actually getting to this book for YEARS but I'm glad I did, because I don't know if I would have had the range to appreciate her back in 2020. the basic bones premise - a slightly future dystopia in which those in extreme debt can take a drug called Dociline to become a passive blank slate and sell themselves as servants for the ultrawealthy - barely scratches the surface; it's an intoxicating story about power, control, cobsession, consent, vulnerability, exploitation, capitalism, and loss of self in so many different ways. also I once again regret to say that the sex is pretty good. I completely understand why this book wouldn't be someone's cup of tea - jesus CHRIST read those content warnings - but I couldn't read it fast enough.

Carnal Knowledge: Sex Education You Didn't Get in School (Zoë Ligon and Elizabeth Renstrom, 2020) - what a fun book! for those of y'all who don't know Ligon's work, she's the owner of Spectrum Boutique, a Detroit-based sex toy store that I endorse wholeheartedly and as often as possible! Ligon has put together a great little book of beginner's sexual affirmations, covering everything from body image to pubic hair to relationship styles as well as, naturally, sex toys. it's a great read for anybody, and Renstrom's whimsical, vibrant photos make it a delight to flip through. I'd recommend it for anyone, especially my many anons over the years who have asked how to start getting more comfortable thinking and talking about sexuality. it's a great place to start, a gorgeous little safe space of a book that welcomes everyone to think more widely about pleasure and how to find it.

[anachronistic-falsehood]

Hi Weird Question, but how many followers would you ballpark say you have gotten from posting about qsmp?

I ask this because Ive been on tumblr for a LONG while, I have run multiple fandom blogs and this is the worst follow to notes ratio I have ever gotten for a blog (it is relativity new as well though). I don't want to sound weird and complain about the number of followers I have, but of the 523 posts in my blog, 38 are original posts. I have 236 notes total from those 38. and zero followers. compared to when one of my other blogs was at this size I would have somewhere of a ballpark of 10ish especially with a few posts chilling way above the average of 6 notes

I feel like this could be an issue much like the issue pertaining to people not reblogging stuff, but also I may need to reevaluate the way im interacting with people on this site >_<.

that's kind of a hard question bc i was gaining followers from the trigun fandom very shortly before i started posting about qsmp, so there was a period of overlap, but i guess when i switched to posting primarily about qsmp i would say i've gained approx. 350-400 followers. i typically get anywhere between 100-1000 notes on any qsmp post i make (excluding liveblogging) and i am apparently a more popular blog because i write fanfiction and make analysis posts on occasion which has made me weirdly well known in some places of the fandom and that is terrifying i hate being perceived HELP

ANYWAY i think a better blog to use as an example would be when i had to use a new blog because this one was unfairly flagged for a couple weeks. i used a previously unused sideblog to liveblog and make posts on since posts on my main wouldn't show up in the main tags. i typically got a fair amount of notes, anywhere between 50 to 200 on each post, but i only ended up with maybe 4 or 5 followers on that blog (excluding mutuals i had advised to follow that blog as a backup in case my main went down forever [which it didn't thank fuck]).

honestly?? i assume the lack of following is because a lot of people in this fandom are very wary. qsmpblr likes to hail itself as better than twitter (and it is in some respects for sure, i'm not denying that), but it feels like everyone in this fandom has some kind of Opinion on Something at all times. there's always something to complain about or criticize about anything, whether it be the admins, an event, another cc's character, a cc themself, etc etc. if you follow a person you will be subjected to all of their opinions on every single issue that pops up, even if it's just a dismissal of whatever current discourse is making its way through the tag (and i'm guilty of this myself sometimes, i'm no angel here). there is not a single day that goes by without something negative crossing my dash regarding something that's going on with the smp. doesn't matter what it is, someone will have something to say about some kind of issue no matter what, and that shit gets tiring. sometimes it's better not to follow people lest you find yourself bombarded with opinions. that way you can still scroll your dash without worrying about seeing untagged discourse and infighting and criticism.

[codecicle-archive]

Read the intro post

wow what a cool and awesome person...

FUCKING 14 YOU ARE A CHILD MY GOOD SIR??? /LH

1: YOOOOOO YOU THINK IM A COOL AND AWESOME PERSON?? THANKS MAN :DD and 2: LMAOOOOOO YEA I AM!! I've been on here since I was like, 11-ish? not sure. my friend introduced me to tumblr during the beginning of my 7th grade year! (and fun fact: that same friend is both my mutual and the person that gave me my nickname actually!! which turned into my url ^_^)

anyway, I'm going to rant underneath your ask about being a child now im so sorry 😔

It's always been so weird being as young as I am both on tumblr and in the fandom space I'm currently a part of. Like realistically, a 14 y/o boy liking minecraft/mcyt sounds really normal but I don't know anyone my age that is open about being a part of this space. I think growing up on tumblr instead or twitter or tiktok honestly really helped when it comes to being happy in my intrests, since almost every other freshman to ever exist has no idea what this website is and they have no chance of ever finding my posts to make fun of me with them. I still use the other two, but I don't post and I only really open them when a cc like Charlie or Ted posts.

It's hilarious to me that because of my current intrests (jrwi and charlie in general) almost everyone that I'm friends with on here are much older minors or adults, mainly because charlie has a pretty mature and well rounded audience (THANK FUCKING GOD 🙏🙏), but also because everybody else my age that are in this fandom are on tiktok. Using tiktok for me and actually posting is kinda unsafe because of the way the tiktok contact sharing works? if someone from my classes finds it through "recommend accounts" then they can look through my account and harrass me if they recognize who it is. Not to steal a Charlie Slimecicle quote for a second, but I was rewatching an old podcast episode from the very beginning of 2020 and he described it as "elevated highschool" which I 100% agree with. Even 3 years later it's still very much just a higher form of highschool bullshit to have to deal with.

But since I don't post on tiktok I don't really have much to worry about!! My account is blank and it's the same @ as my url so nobody should recognize it and put a face to a name which im grateful for. However, being on tumblr isn't the greatest either;

People on here are all adults and I feel a little bit intimidated? In a sense? I understand that I'm a LOT different than most kids my age and I don't typically have anything to worry about but!! I feel like that's what makes it worse. The other people my age that were or still are on here don't understand tumblr etiquette, don't understand not to act like this is twitter and not have stupid cubito discourse, or just aren't funny? Idk I've just never found anyone my age (with the exception of like 3 of my mutuals you guys are amazing and I love you) that I can really talk to on here, so all of the friends I've made are much much older. I'm smart with who I talk to and how I talk to them so I'm safe don't worry!! My parents raised me right and online safety is such a wonderful thing, but one of my closest mutuals on here is in college right now, and the others are juniors or seniors in highschool. I kept my age out of my bio for so long but honestly that was because I was terrified I would scare away the people that I trusted so much because literally obviously it's going to feel weird for them to be mutuals with a genuine honest to god child. I'm relatively close to turning 15 so I'm getting less and less worried about stuff like that happening but eh that was still a real fear for a while.

Anyway sorry for the rant!! TLDR; highschool sucks, I'm scared of being this young on a platform and fandom full of adults and I have to be extra careful, and also charlie slimecicle is a pretty cool guy to look up to so I feel like him being [vine boom sound effect] my COMFORT STREAMER kinda works out in my favor ngl :D

[deathbirby]

I've only heard shit about raxis from the sidelines before, so wasn't sure what was going on there besides "this guy nuts, block him for your own sake". Reading through your post has been enlightening as well as horrifying. This is a 35-year-old who trolls both Twitter and Tumblr to bash anyone who isn't on board with his brand of Edelgard Good Discourse? Who's built up an actual cult of personality? And throws around death threats?

Now I'm starting to wonder if some of the slightly deranged arguments I've gotten into on Reddit before were with his sock puppets or stans...

Yeah, he does seem like the "k weirdo, I'll just block him..." type at first, but then you look a little bit deeper into it and find out what kind of a monster he is. I wonder how many people are suffering from stress and anxiety because of his actions. How many suffer from self-loathing? How many have been deeply affected by his cyberbullying? Raxis, could you live with pushing someone to the brink?

Some of the people you interacted with on reddit might have been sockputtets, stans, friends, or regular acquaintances of his, I cannot say, and ultimately that doesn't matter. What matters is the now. His actions have consequences, and I wonder if he is the type of person who could live with those consequences.

I am terrified, Raxis. I am genuinely terrified that this is going to result in something horrible that everyone will be affected by. Please, just step back and leave people alone. Nobody wants this. You're not winning any points by torturing people online.

[apoptoses]

I saw some ppl on the bird app talk about Armand having a thing for Daniel’s bodily functions, how he loves to watch him eat, drink, pee (and hold his dick while he takes a leak ofc) etc. and how he probably has taken x-rays of every single part of his body and my first thought was “my girl @apoptoses has gone mainstream now”, you did it queen it’s now #discourse (and honestly in a fandom where ppl have legit gotten into fights about who tops and who bottoms like a bunch of high schoolers this is where it’s at for me) xoxo DA 🥹

oh lord, frankly twitter terrifies me, i do not twitter lol ever since they introduced the feature that makes your tweets appear in rando's TLs just based on keywords i have been OUT

but lol glad to have given the people some new fodder to discuss. honestly surprised that this wasn't a hot fic topic right from the start because it's all right there! armand is just curious and intrusive and obsessive enough to want all of that, you just gotta put yourself out there and write the watersports/medical kink/weirdo fic of your choice!

(and lord, top and bottom discourse- don't get me started haha i find all of that so silly, most people will try either role to please their lover! and they're fictional characters, so long as you've got your convictions you can write them doing anything you want!)

oh hey speaking of topping and bottoming, i think i'm gonna start posting my Big 30k Fic of Armand's religious trauma/his quest to dick daniel down despite being a vampire tomorrow so. look out for that, eager for your thoughts ♥

[higgs-the-god]

heyy sorry to bother u but i was hoping u could give me a tip? im in the "mgs twitter fandom" or whatever and recently the people there are getting really aggressive when it comes to harassing people over stuff like fics or even small disagreements and also doxxing and...im very paranoid and scared about it, i dont think my twt is "suspicious" but they really just use any shitty excuse and since i interacted with some of them in the past (i didnt know they were so aggressive) i dont really know how to pull away (also, id still like to see the art memes and stuff) normally this wouldnt be a problem since im good at keeping quiet and observing but recently they actually did all this to someone i know and it got me really scared..im having a harder and harder time staying quiet and i dont know what to do, you seem more experient in this so, how do i stay safe? i do avoid any pro/anti discourse but im sure they could find something that could be tracked back and IDK could you give me some advice? im really sorry for the text and (possible) bad english

I wish I could provide much help but honestly I don’t know! In my experience befriending those who are like. The infamous “””gross proshitters””” of the fandom is a fair way to keep safe, but my method has always been to just keep to myself :( I know how terrifying it can be, and at this point I don’t really follow anyone who is too vague on labels 😔

[whentheynameyoujoy]

I might get shit for this, but I think a lot of the problem with the ASOIAF fandom and why I just very, very peripherally engage with it is because the conversations and discourse are being headed by largely chronically online 18-25 fangirls on twitter and tumblr (tho tumblr is a lot better imo) who seemingly got into the show/series in the past two to four years....and just have either incredibly surface level understandings of the work or haven't properly analyzed it and have instead headcanoned the fuck out of the series all while developing borderline unhealthy parasocial relationships with the characters. The kpop-stanification of every entertainment property is deeply exhausting. We can no longer have any reasoned, measured discussions with disagreements because everyone is so deeply sensitive about their ships and blorbos and everything becomes some stan war (a lot of this is from T*rg stans tbh and they've essentially ruined that house and the HOTD show for me as a result lmao).

I blame the fandom and Martin in equal measure at this point lol. There hasn't been a new book in 12 years, a lot of them are deeply bitter about the show ending so these stans have basically been living off of fanfic, headcanons, and metas. They don't like the series for what it is, they like it for the potential characterizations and storylines they have gaslit themselves into thinking Martin will 'totally 100 percent deliver' lol. I am 90 percent sure Martin has no intention of ever publishing another book in the series, so on top of these discussions being deeply stupid, its all moot anyway lol.

Sorry for getting to this so late, anyway

The majority of the fandom seems unwilling or unable to accept Martin at the level he's at and instead projects their own expectations and prior reading experiences onto him, which is especially strange when you realize that his work is less about adding to the standard fantasy genre and more about deconstructing precisely the fundamentals on which it rests.

Dany in particular is an excellent example of this. People know Martin's spiel about "Aragorn's tax policy" and how he used it to write Mereen but somehow still expect him not to extend that cheekiness into challenging the whole "the rightful, long-forgotten heir rises up from the shadows and solves everything through their wise despotry", even after reading Dany X where she herself explicitly gives up on the idea of amounting to much more than a conqueror.

And then on the other end of the spectrum you have people who hate Dany's guts and find her gleefully murdering children to be 100 % realistic because they believe Martin isn't indulging himself with the creepy shit he writes and instead paints some modern anti-colonial narrative to criticize our real world. He isn't; he's just sticking out his tongue at the writers who came before him and focuses on the feudal underpinnings of classic tropes.

Overall, as a reader I don't really mind Martin's outdatedness because him not paying attention to signalling how so much fucking aware he is about modern discourse results in a better, uniquer, more engaging text that does tend to hit the progressive mark much better and more often than the current crop of writers who seem terrified of their own audiences eating them alive and use the language of activist twitter threads instead of, y'know, stories.

[aamnaan]

What will you say?

Tonight, I feel suicidal.

There was no dramatic breakdown. No spark that set off an uncontrollable wildfire of emotions that led me to this. A few minutes ago, I was lying in bed, the taste of strawberries and yogurt fading in my mouth – the last remnants of the patchworked meal that I put together to hit my macros. As I scrolled Twitter, I saw a post about a professional video game player who had committed suicide. Hax. I had never heard of him before, but I searched his name on the platform. I poured over the waves of condolences posts, as well as the turmoil that often accompanies death.

Hax had been kicked out of the videogame community that he had helped shape. The details of what exactly happened are beyond my understanding – and (cruelly) interest. But there was something about the discourse around his death that made, and continues to make, me uneasy. Expressions of grief by those that seemed to know him were often contested by hordes of faceless fans of his who were enraged at a perceived feigning of care. An accusatory tone has been set. Who is to blame for the death? How much can we blame each person we deem responsible? Do his fans believe this crusade is just? It seems like it. Are those that are dismissing their pointed allegations in the right? I don’t know. And I’m not really interested in finding out. Or even centering my thoughts around Hax or any one person that had the courage to go through something that is unimaginably terrifying.

This little bit of exposure has been enough for the thoughts to come back. It was enough for me to feel the invisible weight re-appear, forcing me to sink deeper into my mattress. The burden that feels insurmountable, infinitely heavier than the weights that I had conquered earlier in the day at the gym. The load that feels simultaneously too heavy to ever truly escape but also light enough that it isn’t truly a problem. The wright which whispers that it’s not that heavy. Purr’s that I’m being dramatic and that others have it heavier; stop complaining.

I wonder what would happen if I did it tonight. I know what happens to my body, but what happens to the idea of me? Who will I be remembered as? Will my family speak about me as the golden child? The one who got into every elite university? The one that presented the perfect picture to the outside world. The responsible older child? Will they brush aside my flaws? Will they only think about it in their most intimate moments of solitude – too scared to voice the concerns that they had when I was alive? When they think of my suicide will they think of the successful attempt? Or will they think about all the times where I tried and failed? The times they saw me almost die?

What would my friends say? I wonder who would even care. Which one of them wouldn’t wait to use it as an anecdote? Tell people that they had a friend who committed suicide before launching into uninformed takes about the value of mental health. Would people speak about me at the reunions? How many pass before the memory of me starts to fade? The 10-year reunion – they may make a short statement of remembrance.  The 20 year – maybe there’s a placard with my name? The 30 year - someone struggles to remember my name as they reminisce about the time they did the thing with that guy who ended up dying later.  

How would my girlfriend remember me? As a doting boyfriend that puts her first? Will she write to handle the grief? Will she tell herself a story about our relationship, crafting the perfect fictional deceased boyfriend? Will he be the dick that I was? Will he have my rudeness or bluntness? Will he make her cry like I did?

Sitting at the computer, I can’t escape these thoughts that even if I went through with it, I wouldn’t be able to escape. The idea of me persists in some way, transferring the pain I feel onto those around me. My being - my essence – becoming a prop that people cling onto. Fragmented husks of the person that I am permeating through the populace that I have influenced. Each one a poor imitation of who I truly am.

I’m not immune. How many times have I mentioned my childhood friends that lost their fathers. How many times did I think about what I did and didn’t do to comfort them. How many times have I thought about what must have been going through those men’s minds and whether I could relate. Me. Me. Me. It’s always me. Even right now. What does it mean that my first description of these two men was as fathers. Is that the remembrance they deserve? Is it the one they wanted? Even if it wasn’t, have I earned the privilege to remember them in any other way?

I wonder why they had the courage that I didn’t. They must have had it worse. I don’t have it that bad. I need to stop complaining, grow up. My internal monologue is a never-ending repetition that I am a pretender. I’m not really suicidal. Suicidal people don’t journal. They don’t wonder if someone will ever see their words. They don’t have a playlist of songs about suicide that they listen to on nights like this. They don’t have the bandwidth to deal with anything other than the overwhelming weight. The pain. The frustration. The never ending need to make it stop.

Reading about someone killing themselves has me like this. Am I a voyeur? Living vicariously through fantasies in my head. Painting a bleak picture with a brush of self-pity. So desperate for attention that I would lie to the world and myself. Is that how they will remember me? A casual? A suicide tourist? Someone not really about this life. A poser.

What will you say when people ask about me?

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Over the span of just two seasons, HBO’s hit teen drama Euphoria has cemented itself as one of TV’s most talked-about series. (Who can forget the delightful chaos of Euphoria Sundays on Twitter?) The show that won Zendaya her first Emmy and launched a thousand think pieces is slated to return for a third installment—but when?After several delays, season three of the 25-time Emmy-nominated series has finally started filming. It’s been rumored that given how long it’s been between seasons (it’ll be four years if this one is released in 2026 as expected), season three will feature a time jump that takes the characters out of East Highland High School. Read on for everything we know about Euphoria season three so far: Spoilers for season two of Euphoria ahead.Which cast members will return?HBO has confirmed that most of the main cast will return for season three. This includes Zendaya as Rue Bennet, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard, Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez, Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn, Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard, and Jacob Elordi as Nate. Colman Domingo will guest star as Rue’s NA sponsor, Ali.Martha Kelly, who played terrifying drug dealer Laurie, and Chloe Cherry, who played spacey Faye, have been upped to series regulars.Actor Eric Dane, who plays Nate Jacob’s duplicitous father Cal, has also confirmed his return. At the end of season two, Cal was arrested after Nate turned him into the police with damaging evidence of his underage relationships. Speaking to Variety, Dane addressed his character’s possible arc: “There's gonna be redemption. That's the trajectory he's on. I can't imagine Cal's life from solitary confinement. It's tough to work Cal into the storyline when he's behind bars.”First look at Zendaya as Rue in Euphoria season threePhoto courtesy of HBOAre there any new cast members?Deadline reported the addition of several new cast members in February 2025, including singer Rosalía. A new photo from set shows Rosalía in character in what looks like a bar, wearing a bejeweled neck brace and drinking a cocktail.Rosalia in Euphoria season threePhoto courtesy of HBO“If there’s anything that excites me as much as creating a good melody or writing a great lyric it’s becoming a better performer every day. Euphoria has been my favorite series over the last few years and I couldn’t be happier and more grateful to be acting alongside all of these incredibly talented people that I admire so much and contributing my “granito de arena” to bring Sam’s vision to reality to make magic. I can’t wait to share what we’re doing!!! Besitos, Rosi,” Rosalía said in a statement.Former NFL champion and Bottoms star Marshawn Lynch and TV veteran Kadeem Hardison have also joined the cast—it’ll be a reunion for Zendaya and Hardison, who played her dad for three seasons from 2015-2018 on Disney Channel’s K.C. Undercover. Lynch said, “I’m hella juiced about the show and getting a chance to work with the people in front and behind the camera. At the end of the day, I’m just thankful for the opportunity.”Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad) and Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) will join the cast as series regulars, and Priscilla Delgado (Julieta), James Landry Hébert (1883), and Anna Van Patten (Gossip Girl) will have guest star roles.Which cast members won’t be returning?Storm Reid is the latest cast member to exit Euphoria. Reid played Rue’s younger sister, Gia, with her storyline largely revolving around witnessing Rue’s increasingly dire struggle with substance abuse. Rotten Tomatoes shared a video interview with Reid at the 2024 Governors Awards, in which she shared that she would not be returning to the series: “I’m very excited for season three,” she said. “Unfortunately, Gia’s not returning...I’m so glad that [Euphoria] is a part of my legacy and that I was a part of such a cultural phenomenon.” The first main character to drop out was Kat Hernandez, played by Barbie Ferreira. Kat’s character sparked tons of discourse, given her treatment as the show’s sole plus-size character, in addition to endless rumors about behind-the-scenes drama between Ferreira and Levinson. On August 24, 2022, Ferreira announced with an Instagram Story post that she would not return to Euphoria season three. “After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye," she wrote. "I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it.”Angus Cloud’s tragic death at the age of 25 on July 31, 2023 also means that the character of Fezco will not be returning. Fezco’s child sidekick, Ashtray (played by Javon “Wanna” Walton), died in the season two finale.In February 2022, season two breakout Dominic Fike told Jimmy Fallon that his character, the moody, guitar-playing drug addict Elliot, would “absolutely” be part of season three. However, in February 2025, it was confirmed he will not.Has Euphoria season 3 started filming?Yes—after a series of delays (more on that below), the season finally began production in February 2025.What’s been the hold-up with the season?The delay between seasons is due to multiple factors, including the double writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, the principal cast (think: Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer and Colman Domingo) becoming booked and busy due to a rise in all of their public profiles, the death of Cloud and the show’s producer Kevin Turen, and series creator Sam Levinson’s insistence on writing the show himself, with no writer’s room to take on some of the work.There were also reportedly some creative issues, specifically with the scripts. Variety reported Levinson turned in a first pass of the season in late 2023 with a time jump five years into the future, with “meaty arcs” for Sweeney and Elordi that were “very compelling.” However, Zendaya wasn’t a fan of Rue’s proposed storyline, which featured the now-sober character working as a private detective and relegated largely to the background.Zendaya proposed her own storyline, where Rue would be a pregnancy surrogate, but according to Variety sources, the new scripts “didn’t feel like the show tonally.”Given that many of the series’ stars have since become major movie fixtures, there have also reportedly been some scheduling conflicts. Bloys said, “I know the show gets a lot of attention now because, you know, it has created some genuine movie stars, and they have various projects that are working on, but we are shooting this season, so nothing has changed.”One of those stars is Sweeney, who was relatively unknown when she first stepped into Cassie’s high heels but has gone on to become one of the highest-paid actresses of her generation. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Sweeney described how she’s handled juggling multiple projects, including the show that first made her famous.“There were definitely a few projects that I had to pass on because I was supposed to be going back to Euphoria,” she said. “But because I am producing now, I was able to say, ‘You know what? I don’t think this is happening. I’m going to put some of my own projects on the slate.’ That’s how Anyone But You happened. Euphoria was supposed to start filming, and I had another film that I was supposed to do, but we couldn’t get cleared and after a few weeks, I realized, This is not happening. So I put in full gear to make Anyone but You.”Schafer has also seen her star rise meteorically since playing Jules on Euphoria—which was her first official acting gig. In September, she talked to W about the uncertainty of waiting to find out if the series would officially return, saying, “It’s so wild because we’ve been in this limbo for a couple years now of, like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to get a season 3.’ It was taking so long, and everyone is growing up and getting busy. The further you get away from it, the more out of reach it feels. It’s really surreal. I’m still processing, honestly.” Is there a trailer for Euphoria season 3 yet?There’s no trailer for Euphoria season three yet; stay tuned for updates.When is the release date for the third season of Euphoria?There series is set to be released in 2026.How many episodes will season three of Euphoria be?Like seasons one and two, season three of Euphoria will have eight hour-long episodes.Will Euphoria’s season three be its last?It’s unconfirmed that season three will be Euphoria’s last, but given the major delays, it’s likely.This article was originally published on May 4, 2023 Source link

[norajworld]

Over the span of just two seasons, HBO’s hit teen drama Euphoria has cemented itself as one of TV’s most talked-about series. (Who can forget the delightful chaos of Euphoria Sundays on Twitter?) The show that won Zendaya her first Emmy and launched a thousand think pieces is slated to return for a third installment—but when?After several delays, season three of the 25-time Emmy-nominated series has finally started filming. It’s been rumored that given how long it’s been between seasons (it’ll be four years if this one is released in 2026 as expected), season three will feature a time jump that takes the characters out of East Highland High School. Read on for everything we know about Euphoria season three so far: Spoilers for season two of Euphoria ahead.Which cast members will return?HBO has confirmed that most of the main cast will return for season three. This includes Zendaya as Rue Bennet, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard, Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez, Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn, Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard, and Jacob Elordi as Nate. Colman Domingo will guest star as Rue’s NA sponsor, Ali.Martha Kelly, who played terrifying drug dealer Laurie, and Chloe Cherry, who played spacey Faye, have been upped to series regulars.Actor Eric Dane, who plays Nate Jacob’s duplicitous father Cal, has also confirmed his return. At the end of season two, Cal was arrested after Nate turned him into the police with damaging evidence of his underage relationships. Speaking to Variety, Dane addressed his character’s possible arc: “There's gonna be redemption. That's the trajectory he's on. I can't imagine Cal's life from solitary confinement. It's tough to work Cal into the storyline when he's behind bars.”First look at Zendaya as Rue in Euphoria season threePhoto courtesy of HBOAre there any new cast members?Deadline reported the addition of several new cast members in February 2025, including singer Rosalía. A new photo from set shows Rosalía in character in what looks like a bar, wearing a bejeweled neck brace and drinking a cocktail.Rosalia in Euphoria season threePhoto courtesy of HBO“If there’s anything that excites me as much as creating a good melody or writing a great lyric it’s becoming a better performer every day. Euphoria has been my favorite series over the last few years and I couldn’t be happier and more grateful to be acting alongside all of these incredibly talented people that I admire so much and contributing my “granito de arena” to bring Sam’s vision to reality to make magic. I can’t wait to share what we’re doing!!! Besitos, Rosi,” Rosalía said in a statement.Former NFL champion and Bottoms star Marshawn Lynch and TV veteran Kadeem Hardison have also joined the cast—it’ll be a reunion for Zendaya and Hardison, who played her dad for three seasons from 2015-2018 on Disney Channel’s K.C. Undercover. Lynch said, “I’m hella juiced about the show and getting a chance to work with the people in front and behind the camera. At the end of the day, I’m just thankful for the opportunity.”Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad) and Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) will join the cast as series regulars, and Priscilla Delgado (Julieta), James Landry Hébert (1883), and Anna Van Patten (Gossip Girl) will have guest star roles.Which cast members won’t be returning?Storm Reid is the latest cast member to exit Euphoria. Reid played Rue’s younger sister, Gia, with her storyline largely revolving around witnessing Rue’s increasingly dire struggle with substance abuse. Rotten Tomatoes shared a video interview with Reid at the 2024 Governors Awards, in which she shared that she would not be returning to the series: “I’m very excited for season three,” she said. “Unfortunately, Gia’s not returning...I’m so glad that [Euphoria] is a part of my legacy and that I was a part of such a cultural phenomenon.” The first main character to drop out was Kat Hernandez, played by Barbie Ferreira. Kat’s character sparked tons of discourse, given her treatment as the show’s sole plus-size character, in addition to endless rumors about behind-the-scenes drama between Ferreira and Levinson. On August 24, 2022, Ferreira announced with an Instagram Story post that she would not return to Euphoria season three. “After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye," she wrote. "I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it.”Angus Cloud’s tragic death at the age of 25 on July 31, 2023 also means that the character of Fezco will not be returning. Fezco’s child sidekick, Ashtray (played by Javon “Wanna” Walton), died in the season two finale.In February 2022, season two breakout Dominic Fike told Jimmy Fallon that his character, the moody, guitar-playing drug addict Elliot, would “absolutely” be part of season three. However, in February 2025, it was confirmed he will not.Has Euphoria season 3 started filming?Yes—after a series of delays (more on that below), the season finally began production in February 2025.What’s been the hold-up with the season?The delay between seasons is due to multiple factors, including the double writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, the principal cast (think: Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer and Colman Domingo) becoming booked and busy due to a rise in all of their public profiles, the death of Cloud and the show’s producer Kevin Turen, and series creator Sam Levinson’s insistence on writing the show himself, with no writer’s room to take on some of the work.There were also reportedly some creative issues, specifically with the scripts. Variety reported Levinson turned in a first pass of the season in late 2023 with a time jump five years into the future, with “meaty arcs” for Sweeney and Elordi that were “very compelling.” However, Zendaya wasn’t a fan of Rue’s proposed storyline, which featured the now-sober character working as a private detective and relegated largely to the background.Zendaya proposed her own storyline, where Rue would be a pregnancy surrogate, but according to Variety sources, the new scripts “didn’t feel like the show tonally.”Given that many of the series’ stars have since become major movie fixtures, there have also reportedly been some scheduling conflicts. Bloys said, “I know the show gets a lot of attention now because, you know, it has created some genuine movie stars, and they have various projects that are working on, but we are shooting this season, so nothing has changed.”One of those stars is Sweeney, who was relatively unknown when she first stepped into Cassie’s high heels but has gone on to become one of the highest-paid actresses of her generation. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Sweeney described how she’s handled juggling multiple projects, including the show that first made her famous.“There were definitely a few projects that I had to pass on because I was supposed to be going back to Euphoria,” she said. “But because I am producing now, I was able to say, ‘You know what? I don’t think this is happening. I’m going to put some of my own projects on the slate.’ That’s how Anyone But You happened. Euphoria was supposed to start filming, and I had another film that I was supposed to do, but we couldn’t get cleared and after a few weeks, I realized, This is not happening. So I put in full gear to make Anyone but You.”Schafer has also seen her star rise meteorically since playing Jules on Euphoria—which was her first official acting gig. In September, she talked to W about the uncertainty of waiting to find out if the series would officially return, saying, “It’s so wild because we’ve been in this limbo for a couple years now of, like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to get a season 3.’ It was taking so long, and everyone is growing up and getting busy. The further you get away from it, the more out of reach it feels. It’s really surreal. I’m still processing, honestly.” Is there a trailer for Euphoria season 3 yet?There’s no trailer for Euphoria season three yet; stay tuned for updates.When is the release date for the third season of Euphoria?There series is set to be released in 2026.How many episodes will season three of Euphoria be?Like seasons one and two, season three of Euphoria will have eight hour-long episodes.Will Euphoria’s season three be its last?It’s unconfirmed that season three will be Euphoria’s last, but given the major delays, it’s likely.This article was originally published on May 4, 2023 Source link

[chilimili212]

Over the span of just two seasons, HBO’s hit teen drama Euphoria has cemented itself as one of TV’s most talked-about series. (Who can forget the delightful chaos of Euphoria Sundays on Twitter?) The show that won Zendaya her first Emmy and launched a thousand think pieces is slated to return for a third installment—but when?After several delays, season three of the 25-time Emmy-nominated series has finally started filming. It’s been rumored that given how long it’s been between seasons (it’ll be four years if this one is released in 2026 as expected), season three will feature a time jump that takes the characters out of East Highland High School. Read on for everything we know about Euphoria season three so far: Spoilers for season two of Euphoria ahead.Which cast members will return?HBO has confirmed that most of the main cast will return for season three. This includes Zendaya as Rue Bennet, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard, Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez, Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn, Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard, and Jacob Elordi as Nate. Colman Domingo will guest star as Rue’s NA sponsor, Ali.Martha Kelly, who played terrifying drug dealer Laurie, and Chloe Cherry, who played spacey Faye, have been upped to series regulars.Actor Eric Dane, who plays Nate Jacob’s duplicitous father Cal, has also confirmed his return. At the end of season two, Cal was arrested after Nate turned him into the police with damaging evidence of his underage relationships. Speaking to Variety, Dane addressed his character’s possible arc: “There's gonna be redemption. That's the trajectory he's on. I can't imagine Cal's life from solitary confinement. It's tough to work Cal into the storyline when he's behind bars.”First look at Zendaya as Rue in Euphoria season threePhoto courtesy of HBOAre there any new cast members?Deadline reported the addition of several new cast members in February 2025, including singer Rosalía. A new photo from set shows Rosalía in character in what looks like a bar, wearing a bejeweled neck brace and drinking a cocktail.Rosalia in Euphoria season threePhoto courtesy of HBO“If there’s anything that excites me as much as creating a good melody or writing a great lyric it’s becoming a better performer every day. Euphoria has been my favorite series over the last few years and I couldn’t be happier and more grateful to be acting alongside all of these incredibly talented people that I admire so much and contributing my “granito de arena” to bring Sam’s vision to reality to make magic. I can’t wait to share what we’re doing!!! Besitos, Rosi,” Rosalía said in a statement.Former NFL champion and Bottoms star Marshawn Lynch and TV veteran Kadeem Hardison have also joined the cast—it’ll be a reunion for Zendaya and Hardison, who played her dad for three seasons from 2015-2018 on Disney Channel’s K.C. Undercover. Lynch said, “I’m hella juiced about the show and getting a chance to work with the people in front and behind the camera. At the end of the day, I’m just thankful for the opportunity.”Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad) and Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) will join the cast as series regulars, and Priscilla Delgado (Julieta), James Landry Hébert (1883), and Anna Van Patten (Gossip Girl) will have guest star roles.Which cast members won’t be returning?Storm Reid is the latest cast member to exit Euphoria. Reid played Rue’s younger sister, Gia, with her storyline largely revolving around witnessing Rue’s increasingly dire struggle with substance abuse. Rotten Tomatoes shared a video interview with Reid at the 2024 Governors Awards, in which she shared that she would not be returning to the series: “I’m very excited for season three,” she said. “Unfortunately, Gia’s not returning...I’m so glad that [Euphoria] is a part of my legacy and that I was a part of such a cultural phenomenon.” The first main character to drop out was Kat Hernandez, played by Barbie Ferreira. Kat’s character sparked tons of discourse, given her treatment as the show’s sole plus-size character, in addition to endless rumors about behind-the-scenes drama between Ferreira and Levinson. On August 24, 2022, Ferreira announced with an Instagram Story post that she would not return to Euphoria season three. “After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye," she wrote. "I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it.”Angus Cloud’s tragic death at the age of 25 on July 31, 2023 also means that the character of Fezco will not be returning. Fezco’s child sidekick, Ashtray (played by Javon “Wanna” Walton), died in the season two finale.In February 2022, season two breakout Dominic Fike told Jimmy Fallon that his character, the moody, guitar-playing drug addict Elliot, would “absolutely” be part of season three. However, in February 2025, it was confirmed he will not.Has Euphoria season 3 started filming?Yes—after a series of delays (more on that below), the season finally began production in February 2025.What’s been the hold-up with the season?The delay between seasons is due to multiple factors, including the double writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023, the principal cast (think: Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer and Colman Domingo) becoming booked and busy due to a rise in all of their public profiles, the death of Cloud and the show’s producer Kevin Turen, and series creator Sam Levinson’s insistence on writing the show himself, with no writer’s room to take on some of the work.There were also reportedly some creative issues, specifically with the scripts. Variety reported Levinson turned in a first pass of the season in late 2023 with a time jump five years into the future, with “meaty arcs” for Sweeney and Elordi that were “very compelling.” However, Zendaya wasn’t a fan of Rue’s proposed storyline, which featured the now-sober character working as a private detective and relegated largely to the background.Zendaya proposed her own storyline, where Rue would be a pregnancy surrogate, but according to Variety sources, the new scripts “didn’t feel like the show tonally.”Given that many of the series’ stars have since become major movie fixtures, there have also reportedly been some scheduling conflicts. Bloys said, “I know the show gets a lot of attention now because, you know, it has created some genuine movie stars, and they have various projects that are working on, but we are shooting this season, so nothing has changed.”One of those stars is Sweeney, who was relatively unknown when she first stepped into Cassie’s high heels but has gone on to become one of the highest-paid actresses of her generation. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Sweeney described how she’s handled juggling multiple projects, including the show that first made her famous.“There were definitely a few projects that I had to pass on because I was supposed to be going back to Euphoria,” she said. “But because I am producing now, I was able to say, ‘You know what? I don’t think this is happening. I’m going to put some of my own projects on the slate.’ That’s how Anyone But You happened. Euphoria was supposed to start filming, and I had another film that I was supposed to do, but we couldn’t get cleared and after a few weeks, I realized, This is not happening. So I put in full gear to make Anyone but You.”Schafer has also seen her star rise meteorically since playing Jules on Euphoria—which was her first official acting gig. In September, she talked to W about the uncertainty of waiting to find out if the series would officially return, saying, “It’s so wild because we’ve been in this limbo for a couple years now of, like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to get a season 3.’ It was taking so long, and everyone is growing up and getting busy. The further you get away from it, the more out of reach it feels. It’s really surreal. I’m still processing, honestly.” Is there a trailer for Euphoria season 3 yet?There’s no trailer for Euphoria season three yet; stay tuned for updates.When is the release date for the third season of Euphoria?There series is set to be released in 2026.How many episodes will season three of Euphoria be?Like seasons one and two, season three of Euphoria will have eight hour-long episodes.Will Euphoria’s season three be its last?It’s unconfirmed that season three will be Euphoria’s last, but given the major delays, it’s likely.This article was originally published on May 4, 2023 Source link