#whole shebang

[the-paris-of-people]

I truly don't understand some of the criticisms of the sex lives of college girls season 2, particularly with the s2 finale. Yes, I agree the pacing is confusing and inconsistent, but the same can also be said of the Mindy Project, s3 of Never Have I Ever, or a LOT of other popular shows. They definitely could have defined time better in the show by explicitly stating major holidays/ I'm going to be detailing my response to some of the criticisms that I've seen from both reviewers and critics:

1.) The constant introduction of new characters and high romantic relationship turnover:

Honestly this one confuses me greatly because.... it's their first year of college? You're constantly meeting new people and "trying them on" as friends, as romantic partners, as hook-ups. It's realistic that you would be able to look back on your freshman year and laugh at how you had sex with your annoying biochem lab partner, or fucked a short king and cheated on your boyfriend and screwed things over, or went through a twincest phase, or were constantly catching the eye of the campus hotties. Honestly, the fact that these characters are slowly reckoning with their own identities and figuring out what they want out of their relationships (and the fact that some of them have!! after their first year of college!) is incredibly realistic. Also it's the second season of the show!! The characters need novel experiences (or at least just EXPERIENCES) for "character building" in the later years of their college journeys. Freshman year of college (and even just being 18-19) is supposed to be messy, and fun, and make no sense because you're figuring out who you are. I don't understand how people can't attribute the "messiness" of the plotlines with the life phase of the girls

2.) The fall of Leighton x Tatum and the revival of Leighton x Alicia:

Truly, I didn't know people were nvested in their relationship. From the very beginning, Tatum was cited as part of a "twincest" phase of coming out by Miss Willow (who is my favorite btw) and there was nothing that negated that. Tatum simply served as a catalyst for Leighton realizing how far she had come in embracing her lesbian identity, and just generally, realizing she cared wayyyy more about the LGBTQ+ community and other people's feelings that putting on this cool girl facade. Everything she did to impress Tatum at the beginning (the art gallery, trying to catch her attention) should how image and status-obsessed Leighton was, only for it to all fall down when she realized she cared more about changing and becoming a better person. Which is a positive thing! Also, what "relationship" was there to ruin? Tatum and Leighton had just started seeing each other and if count their dates including the dinner with the dads, had probably only had been on a small number of dates. This is in stark contrast with Leighton's relationship with Alicia, who she spent LOADS of time with at the women's center and privately in their own personal relationship. Alicia, on the other hand, who initially was everything Leighton didn't want to be in season one, actually was the person who taught Leighton a lot and made Leighton into a better person through Alicia's efforts at the women's center. I truly don't understand people's criticisms of Alicia's character that she was "so performative" and Tatum "showed that you can just be gay and exist without all this activism" I feel like that's code for "Tatum is more easily digestible in this cis, white, heteronormative world therefore I like her better as a love interest" Alicia, in my opinion, has a lot of positive qualities. She's bright, hilarious, has great chemistry with Leighton, and is incredibly caring and devoted to the LGBTQ+ community. I don't understand how it's a bad thing that she's seen an activist, she is just trying to create a safe space and make the world a more inclusive place.

3.) Bela's character demise:

This one REALLY pisses me off. To see people turn on Bela in what is clearly a trauma response after they claimed to stan her so hard in season one is absolutely reprehensible to me. Also, like the NHIE fandom shows, it proves that you can be a white woman and get away with anything whereas if you're POC, you make one mistake (particularly this is in response the point in the series where Bela cheated on Eric with Dan) and everyone turns against you. Seriously, no one says a word about Leighton gaslighting Natalie for not informing her about her chylamydia? And she never apologized to her either! People are forgetting how traumatizing the world of the Catullan was to Bela in s1. She was assaulted and belittled, and in the very beginning of the show was taught (with the six handjobs) that it was beneficial to leverage her sexuality to get ahead. Eric perpetuated this idea when Bela chided him for showing off in front of Dan in front of her, this idea that she needed to do whatever possible to rise to the top of her field. Also, the rigorous "rushing" process of the Catullan made her feel like other people also had to tough it out and that ultimately went to her head when she was in a position of power, which is NOT UNCOMMON! AT ALL! From the very beginning, Bela was a people pleaser and trying so hard to get people (her roommates, comedy writers, etc.) and coming up short so from the start this was built into her character. People are saying they hated Bela's character arc this season clearly do not understand TV and are not in it for the long haul. Regular people do not have linear journeys. They go through traumatic or triggering events which fuck them up, then they go down to their darkest point before they can rise again. The fact that this was written into Bela's character and the fact that they thought about her trauma response and wrote it into journey this season is amazing to me, and a sign of GOOD writing, not bad writing at all. The fact that people don't have anything but empathy for my girl is incredibly sad to me.

3.) Whitney's love affair with biochem and sex affair with the son of Julia Louis Dreyfus:

I feel like I haven't seen as much criticism of this besides the lack of direction in her romantic life. To that I say, Whitney explicitly said she was focused on finding herself this season. Her main goal was to explore her other interests outside soccer and to have fun, outside of relationships. Her cheating trauma (from that ugly ass man dalton) came back when she checked Canaan's phone, and though bio bro didn't really teach her much about romantic relationships, but like.... does everyone have to? Isn't it fun to hook up with your lab partner while discovering your passions? Also catty-words did a much better job of articulating Whitney's arc with Canaan than I ever could. Again, college is for being messy and self-discovery and Whitney is on the right track. Also this season 100% indicated that her relationship with her mom is much better than it used to be and I thought the moment they shared was really sweet (when her mom tried to get her the internship) I've seen people say Whitney had a terrible arc in season 1, and her grooming by Dalton served no purpose, but honestly I think they missed the point (which again, this post is complaining about people with no media literacy) Whitney not confiding in her mom about Dalton acted as a catalyst for relationship growth with her mother, and I'm sure it will come up in future seasons.

4.) Kimberly's story arc:

Oh, boy. I think I am going to make a whole separate post for the relationship of Kimberly and Canaan and how (to me) they make perfect sense together and the show has been building to since their first interaction. But I want to speak on Kimberly's egg donation storyline and betrayal (which I think is a strong word) of Whitney. A lot of complaints I've seen about the egg donation storyline is that it was just dropped. I agree with how it was strange that it was dropped, but upon future reflection, if this show is about all the four years of college, I'm sure the repercussions of the egg donation and Kimberly's revelation of the loss of her scholarship will come up in future seasons, which makes the most sense (because how can Kimberly deal with her donated eggs and the possibility they are being used to make babies if she JUST gave them. And I don't want her to have a medical issue right after, she had already been through so much!)

As for her betrayal of Whitney, well.... I have a controversial opinion about that. Whitney has every right to feel hurt and upset about seeing Kimberly kiss Canaan. HOWEVER, if my rough calculations are correct, Canaan and Whitney only dated for a month to a month and a half, 5-6 months ago. They were only official for a few days (though you can make the argument that Whitney thought they were serious for longer) Whitney showed no indication to her roommates (and even Willow when they were together at the last Theta party of the year) that she wanted to be with Canaan again, so Kimberly didn't know it was going to hurt Whitney as much as she did. As for "Whitney gave Kimberly the option to confess" I don't necessarily think a roommate breakfast was necessarily the best forum for Kimberly to deliver that news, and Kimberly KNEW that because she opened her mouth, saw how hurt Whitney was, and changed her answer. I ABSOLUTELY think that Kimberly should have spoken to Whitney about liking Canaan before kissing him and should have told her privately about it, but honestly, I know that most viewers at the ages of 18-19 would 100% be stunned at how to navigate the situation if they were in Kimberly's place as well. Again, these girls are still learning how to communicate with other people and honestly they 100% act more maturely than most people I knew in college so stop being so freaking harsh on them, JESUS! Also, they were setting up a Whitney x Canaan x Kimberly "love triangle" (because I think the feelings are unfortunately unrequited on Whitney's side from Canaan) from THE FIRST EPISODE. This tension between them was ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN because Canaan (at least in my eyes) was introduced as a love interest for Kimberly in the sense that their first meeting was a funny story that will be one to reminisce and Whitney hooked up with Canaan also in the first episode. Also this isn't a situation of "two girls fighting over a guy" this is more the situation of "my close friend didn't confide me or come to me first about an issue that affects me and that betrayal hurts me deeply and I don't think I can bare to live with it" which I feel is incredibly relevant and relatable. I heard a podcast that said Whitney is not so much hurt by Canaan liking another woman, but that Kimberly wasn't completely transparent with Whitney, which also occurred with Leighton and Nico in s1 and is VERY consistent with Kimberly's character. I have no doubt they will work it out and it'll make their friendship stronger. Whitney's hurt hurts ME (Jesus Alyah Chantelle Scott is amazing) but I know they'll get through it.

TL;DR: They're young, they're stupid, they're 18-19, and a friendship breakup/going through rough patches in a friendship and particularly a large friend group in college is so, so NORMAL. Have some grace for these wonderful young women and their messy journeys. If you actually examine the show and characters holistically s2, while not as good as s1, makes a LOT of sense. Also why is no one talking about how we got so much Lila this season and it was glorious?? She's a gift to this world.

Tagging @thefabulousfab-3 @basiltonpitch

[bluemoondust]

Question of the Day: From any fandom you're in, which character to you believe would be the most down bad yandere?

[panspaming]

2 more hours of this shit and then I get to go to dinner with my friend YIPEEEEEE 🧡

[nowwheresmynut]

tell me over drinks

[shaadowmilkcookie]

attempt 2 at getting a goody little two-shoes to chop down that fucking tree that i hate

[mybloodyvampire]

Lol Buffy and Spike in Something Blue are really embarrassing before the spell? I'm dying for a good SLAY, you haven't got the STONES, oh I've got soooo many grrr etc, there is NO need to practically graze mortal enemy's face when making empty threats. They are lucky the spell kicked in just about then because they were about to start making out right there and then they would have been VERY VERY embarrassed

[the-nothing-maker]

mélisande gives me gender envy

Honestly, same

[athanza]

Me: "I have enough monsters and old men to thirst over."

Fallout:

Me: 👀

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

hi!! howdy!! hello!! i have a question about the lights out au !! :D How did Poppy, Frank and Wally react to Howdy waking up? How did HE react to waking up?? sorry if this was already asked hhaha

lots of emotions! i will portray Two

[kmpshitposter]

anxiety hangover

[lambouillet]

Narindersona, Lambsona and the land of dreams and the sleeping

[mrsoharaa]

thought of sitting down on your couch and watching a completely unrealistic "reality" love drama show with SatoSugu, both of their arms lounged comfortably behind you along the back of the cushioned furniture. you retort cunning, brash criticism from time to time with each passing scene/episode whenever something goes haywire, about how the men are repulsive and unloyal as fuck, all while Satoru leans in close to you and completely agrees with you, theatrics and all.

"That was so fucking disgraceful, what a asshole! she definitely didn't deserve that"

"Ughhhh, I know right?! he should've just came out and tell her to her face instead of pulling that shady shit! god, men ain't shit!"

and poor Suguru just glances back and forth between the two of you, enjoying the boisterous, distasteful remarks about the cheating partners in the current show you all were watching. he thinks it's silly and ridiculous, but he truly admires the full hearted admiration and passion that dwells in yours and Satoru's tone. the pure thrill and enticement in the both of your eyes filling his heart with so much love and adoration. he absolutely loves his silly, dramatic partners 💗

[zombie-bait]

God, didn't even consider how funny amc Daniel and Armand going to Lestat's concert would be once we make our way to QotD territory. Someone brought their grandpa to the MCR concert again and for some reason he knows the lead singer intimately

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Cullen Row and the Mystery of the Cute Boy (dp x dc)

Cullen pulled down his hoodie further as he turned away from the store window's reflection. His cheekbone was turning a sickly sort of yellow-green, which Cullen knew meant it was healing, but he really hated having to see every time he looked at his reflection. It was just another reminder of that night.

With a sigh, Cullen put his hands further into his pockets and started walking down the streets. He had gone out mostly to show Harper he wasn't affected by what had happened the night of the Gala, though that would be a lie. Knowing the assholes had been scared shitless by Batman did not translate into himself no longer being afraid, unfortunately.

Cullen took a careful breath and let it out. He'd told Harper he was getting the eggs they were missing and that was what he was going to do. There was nothing to be afraid of really.

Something rammed into him, and Cullen let out a breathless gasp of pain as he was sent to the floor, the asphalt digging into his back. A male voice groaned a bit after, and Cullen tried to blink away the stars in his vision.

"Oh my god!" The voice said again and Cullen could hear rustling from what he assumed was the guy getting up. "I'm so sorry!"

Cullen was still doing his best trying to shake away the dizziness when an outstretched hand entered his field of vision. He looked up to find himself looking into the biggest, bluest, most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen, framed by shiny black locks that fell around the boy's face.

Cullen blinked again, half-sure the cute boy was a hallucination, but nope, he was still looking at Cullen with a (cute) worried frown. Cullen could practically see the Bishie Sparkles around his face.

What in the anime bullshit was this.

[pixiishi]

happy trans day of visibility to the siblings ever 🏳️‍⚧️

[amorisrat]

Nerevar and Vehk