#yeah yeah gross yeah whatever ANYWAY WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT THE CHARACTER

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

Setting aside the knee-jerk 'eeeeew you're in love with your cousin' reaction to Daeran's illusion in Areelu's Lab, I need to talk a second about what a profoundly telling character moment that is for both Daeran and Galfrey.

Daeran refers to Galfrey as the 'Queen of his dreams' and mentions it being twisted by demon logic when questioned. It makes sense that demons would immediately latch on to a psychosexual implication, but it's not about having a crush on her.

The desire to have Galfrey 'out of her armor' is the desire to reconnect with the last member of his family.

He mentions when you ask about his Mother that she was a 'real' mother as opposed to a 'Countess' mother, implying that she was less interested in raising him to be a Proper Noble and more interested in just being present as his only parent. This is indicated in the glimpses we see of his younger self at the party, and in his often-stated resentment towards the necessities of 'proper comportment.'

Galfrey also mentions how close she was to Silaena, referring to her as a 'real' family member, the only person she was truly close to. From the way both of them speak about her, Silaena Arendae was a central, stabilizing part of both of their lives. Galfrey also mentions what a sweet boy Daeran was as a small child, implying a much closer relationship than the current mutual polite revulsion. @thedosianexplorer surmised to me that it's likely Galfrey was once a beloved, comforting figure in young Daeran's life, and I agree. How could she be anything else to the son of someone she so loved? And how awful must it have been to both of them to have that taken away?

Losing the rest of their noble family was certainly a blow, but neither of them even mention their names. The moment Silaena died, however, that was when they were both orphaned. What makes it all the more tragic is the grief that could have brought them closer only served to completely sever their familial connection.

Galfrey has no clue about the true reason Daeran clings so desperately to enjoying life; all she knows is that he may have physically survived but the child she loved was very much dead with the rest of them - in its place an irresponsible, flippant, spoiled brat unwilling to fill the space Silaena left behind. Daeran has no way of communicating the truth to Galfrey, and acts resentfully towards who or whatever else she puts her attention towards, while flaunting his lifestyle at every opportunity.

His lifestyle, as such, is an Emperor's Wardrobe of red flags, but it's hard to see those flags through tunnel vision stained with demon blood. Neither of them are allowed to mourn, but at least Daeran can try to be happy. But as for Galfrey, thedosianexplorer put it best in this hypothetical line:

'How dare you let yourself be happy, I haven't let myself be happy since your mother died.'

The tragedy is that Daeran's need for secrecy and Galfrey's state- and self- imposed martyrdom has created an impenetrable armor between them, and I think is at the heart of the loneliness they both feel. The cruelty of that moment, where the dream of connection is twisted into a mean joke, still sits with me.

[transmutationisms]

could you talk more about catholicism vs protestantism in succession? I think roman accidentally buying the protestant football team instead of logan’s catholic team is super interesting

yeah the hearts/hibs mixup is a great detail. so in general i think this is a really funny level of the show. like, if you're making fun of american or british billionaires the obvious choice is to make them protestant. it's like, demographically likely, and in the american context in particular protestants have all these overt ways of reconciling their faith with capitalism and the desire to accumulate wealth. like, making money is configured as a signifier of bourgeois masculinity; it means you're productive (often implying and signified thru bodily fitness specifically, even though capitalists are ofc not the ones actually performing whatever labour is generating surplus value). catholicism is more uncomfortable generally with the open pursuit of worldly wealth, which is NOT to say catholics are never wealthy or that the church lacks wealth (it emphatically does not) but just to point out that this is a contradiction in ideals that catholics often just kind of uncomfortably ignore.

this is an undercurrent with the roys generally. they're ultrawealthy but rarely seem to enjoy their wealth all that much---like, they're comfortable and cosseted but they all have weird relationships with their bodies, food, sex, etc; also, their ways of signalling wealth are chronically uncool (their clothes) or else nouveau riche tacky (logan trying to host wine tastings or whatever that pierce make fun of him for). this also plays into how america has a relatively recent history of overt anti-catholic sentiment (like, see how people talked about jfk lmao) and combined with logan's canadian-scottish identity and lack of generational wealth, it gives him that persecution complex he retained even when he was literally one of the most powerful people in the world.

more to the point, logan has, like, the absolute worst and funniest case ever of catholic man who is uncomfortable with bodies disorder. it's tolerable if you're using your body to assert dominance in some way (pissing on kendall's floor, how logan wanted roman to say he was harassing gerri with the dick pics) but yuckydisgusting if you just like, have a body that is vulnerable or god forbid perceived by others (logan's attitude toward his illness, his disgust when it becomes clear roman was actually engaged in some kind of sexual affair with gerri---who is old and a woman and therefore also has a body). this is why it breaks logan's brain to think about shiv having affairs, and why, even though he is a misogynist, including to her, he does NOT talk about her body. it's also why he's so invested in getting roman "straightened out" and why he uses accusations of homosexuality to convey how much of a flop loser he thinks kendall is. his whole deal with masculinity is that Men Do Not Have Bodies. bodies are gross and physical, what are you, some kind of sissy? like, entire essays you could write on how each of the kids fits into this schema.

anyway, the obvious points of comparison here are the pierces (east coast blue-blood protestants), tom (germanic midwestern social striver protestant), connor's mother (american, lowbrow, implied/assumed protestant), caroline (protestant english aristocrat), and mencken (implied catholic convert, which is a whole other level). again you could write essays about this on any one of these characters, but in general the protestantism on the show is funny bc it's contrasting with logan's disgust at his body yet simultaneous desire for it to be Strong And Masc (NOT GAY!). caroline and the pierces bring out his persecution complex and insecurity about being boorish; tom is able to be "striving and parochial" partly bc he doesn't have the baggage of the roys, who are like, tormented by being wealthy in a gauche way ("how to control us news media in a god honouring way").

this is all like, peripheral obviously, but it's deeply funny also. and i do genuinely think the roys make more psychological sense when you understand that they have chart-busting levels of catholic martyr syndrome (kendall), guilt (roman), and repression (logan, shiv). even connor's "i'm like if napoleon was a us president" type beat is funnier through this lens (remember that napoleon very famously restored state relations with the catholic church after the revolutionaries had severed them and tried to found a secular 'republican religion').

with the three younger sibs in particular, this is one of the ways in which they fail to understand logan; they're aware on some level that he's catholic and were probably raised with some degree of religious practice, but it's heavily implied caroline interfered with this and the kids grew up less catholic than logan wanted, which was kinda the tradeoff for him having basically sought out an aristocratic pedigree for them. so, a misunderstanding like hearts vs hibs is a throwaway joke, but also hints at this much deeper level on which logan's kids don't get him or his priorities, and are never going to be able to respond adequately to his internally contradictory, repressed and repressive catholic-military-bourgeois standards for how they should relate to their bodies and how that affects his political worldview.

[starkstruck27]

Day 5 of @harringrove-flip-reverse-it !! This one is not my favorite, but it is a fun little idea and kind of a crossover between ST and another show that actually aired in the late 80's (and yes, the timeline is a little inaccurate, but we don't care about that here). Also, this one has Billy talking about a dream he had, and when he does, this symbol will show up 💭💭💭. When he is interrupted or stops talking about the dream, this will show up 💥💥💥. Prompt: NSFW - Threesomes Title: Who Said Three is a Crowd? Word Count: 3380 words TWs: Physical violence, talking about past trauma

It was a foggy, sleepy Tuesday morning in Hawkins, Indiana, and Heather Holloway was sitting alone at her desk, trying harder than normal to keep her eyes open. It seemed like the weather had affected everybody’s moods, even the teachers, and there was, for once, hardly any noise in the room at all, even though it was nearly half full of students. Everyone was too tired and grumpy to be as rambunctious as they usually were. Everyone except Billy Hargrove. 

Like a human electrical socket, Billy entered the room and right away people noticed his energy. He seemed upbeat, almost cheerful for once, and he didn’t even glare back at any of the looks people were giving him as he practically floated over to Heather’s desk, pulling out a chair to sit opposite her.

“Someone’s chipper this morning,” Heather yawned as she took the coffee Billy had brought with him. “What happened to you?”

“Oh, nothing,” Billy smiled, not even complaining about the coffee. “I just got a really good sleep last night.”

“I don’t care how good of a sleep you got, nobody, especially you, is this happy this early on a morning like this. There’s more to it, now spill,” Heather insisted, taking out a compact mirror to make sure she didn’t smudge her makeup getting the sleep crust out of her eyes.

“Okay, fine, but you gotta promise not to laugh, okay?” Billy said, dropping his voice a little lower so no one would overhear. “I had this amazing dream last night, and it’s just making me feel so stupidly happy for no reason. Every time I think about it, I get this kinda silly warm feeling that makes my chest all fluttery and I can’t help but smile. Just wait til I tell you.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. It really must’ve been something.”

“It was, but you gotta promise not to laugh, I know it’s silly, but it was great and I want to keep it that way, so no laughing.”

“Okay, okay, I promise I won’t laugh, now start talking!” Heather said, leaning forward to prop herself up on the desk as she listened to her best friend. 

“Okay, so you know that show you and Max like, 21 Jump Street, about those cops who go undercover in schools because they look young?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Okay, so I dreamt that it was a normal day at school for us, right? And then in the middle of the morning, a teacher pulls me aside and says we have a new student that just transferred in, and since he’s gonna join the basketball team, she wanted me to show him around and all that. So I guess I agree because next thing I know, I’m walking down the halls with that guy you and Max like, Hanson, I think?”

“Yeah, Tom Hanson! Oh, he’s so hot, I love him,” Heather sighed dreamily, “I'd let him put me in cuffs anytime he wants!”

“Ew, Heather, gross!” Billy made a face, “But anyway, he was undercover, so he didn’t go by his real name. He and the other guy brought back their characters, the McQuill brothers or whatever.”

“The McQuaid brothers,” Heather corrected, making Billy roll his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, now pay attention, this is where it starts to get interesting…”

💭💭💭

“So, what do people do for fun around here?” Tom asked, walking along next to Billy and trying to keep his pace. He had been sent there on an assignment with Doug, trying to find the kids responsible for the after school fight club the administration had reported to Jump Street after some kid had been put in the hospital with a broken arm, and Billy Hargrove was the prime suspect. The kid always came to school with black eyes and split lips, and from what they’d heard before going in, he was almost always itching for a fight with whoever he could get in his crosshairs. There were a few other kids they were looking at, but Billy was at the top of their list, so Tom had been ordered to stick to him like glue and try to get in good with him so he’d be invited to the club and then he could bust him. Doug was trying to buddy up with the two other highest suspects, Steve Harrington and Tommy Hagan, to see if they were involved, too, but as of right now, after a day in classes with them, they had nothing. 

“You know, the usual shit. Parties, pranks and pretty girls. That’s all there is to do in this fucking town, and even that’s not much,” Billy responded, already over this guy. He was trying too hard to be tough, and it was getting on his nerves. 

“Oh yeah? I could use a good party. My Ma moved us out here to get us away from stuff like that, but Doug and I still find ways to get our kicks-”

“Look dude, I don’t care. Just cause I said I’d show you how to get around doesn’t mean I’m gonna be your new best friend, so cut the chit-chat and just keep walking, got it? We’re almost to the gym,” Billy said, rolling his eyes as he turned a corner and led the guy to the locker room. Practice was in ten minutes, and if they weren’t changed and ready to warm up by the time the coach got out there, they’d be in deep shit. 

They managed to get out just in time though, and that’s when Billy saw two people walking towards them, and his heart felt like it stopped dead in his chest. Steve Harrington and a tall, beefy, goofy looking dude were walking up to them, and Billy didn’t know if the feeling in his gut was butterflies fluttering around in there or his organs twisting into knots. Either way, he felt like this was nothing but a trap, and he was all set to high-tail it out of there. The only problem was, his feet felt rooted to the floor, and he had to just stand there and wait as two of the most handsome guys he’d ever seen walked right up to him…

💥💥💥

“I still don’t understand how you think Peter DeLuise is hotter than Johnny freakin’ Depp,” Heather interrupted, shaking her head. 

“What can I say, I’ve got a type, and it’s not vampire-lookin’ motherfuckers with greasy strings for hair,” Billy teased, making a face.

“Oh, excuse-moi! I didn’t realize you preferred Italian meatheads with kicked puppy expressions and barely two brain cells to rub together,” Heather retorted, also making a face as Billy blushed a little. “Oh wait, nevermind, yes I did. Ever since you told me about your crush on Ste-”

“Listen, I didn’t choose for that to be my type!” Billy cut her off, putting his hand over her mouth. “But that’s not important, just keep listening. So, we get to the gym, and they walk up to us, and then Hanson and the other one do their silly little handshake that they do as the McQuaids, and then…”

💭💭💭

“Ey, Tommy, this is Steve, he’s been showin’ me around all day,” Doug said, smacking Steve on the back just hard enough to make him stumble a bit. “Steve, this is my brother, Tommy McQuaid.”

“Hi, Steve Harrington, nice to meet you,” Steve said, in that typical upbeat rich kid way that let everyone know he came from an important family. Billy couldn’t help but roll his eyes as the two of them shook hands.

“Likewise. Doug, this is Billy, the welcome wagon they saddled me with,” Tom replied, not even looking up at Billy as he did, which kind of pissed him off.

“I don’t think ‘saddled’ is necessarily the right word,” Doug said before Billy could even try to think of a comeback, which surprised him a little bit. “At least if you’re around him you won’t have any trouble with the ladies, am I right?”

“Can’t argue with you there,” Tom said, but he still didn’t look up. Billy huffed, but he decided to be the bigger person and let it go. The less trouble he made with this guy, the better off he would be. 

And even if he’d wanted to say something to him, he wouldn’t have had time. The coach blew his whistle, which meant it was time for warm ups, and then practice would be under way. They started with laps around the gym as usual, which Billy hated, but he had to suck it up. Besides, it didn’t last very long, and before he knew it, they were on the court, passing the ball back and forth and trying to gain the upper hand on the other side. He was playing skins, as usual, and he was the king of the court just like any other day. The only difference was that today, he had a new player on his team, one Douglas McQuaid. 

The two of them were a force to be reckoned with. They tore up the court, passing the ball between themselves so seamlessly that the other team didn’t have a prayer of winning. Even the guy’s brother was getting frustrated with him for being so good, the heat in his glare showing a sibling rivalry that was almost as bad as Billy’s with Max. At one point, he even tried stealing the ball from his brother, but that ended in the coach calling a foul, and the brothers ended up in a fistfight over it. It took three guys and the coach to pry them away from each other, and just like that, practice was over…

💥💥💥

“Wait, but why’d they start fighting, exactly?” Heather asked, confused but still highly entertained.

“I don’t know. I think it was because the way we were playing, we never really let anyone else get the ball and he was just tired of it? I don’t know, but it was a dream, it doesn’t exactly have to make sense,” Billy shrugged. 

“Fair point. Continue.”

“Okay, now this is where it starts to get interesting. So, after coach called the end of practice, everyone goes to the showers, except for Doug, he heads for the doors to the alley, right? And I, being the curious and slightly intrigued guy that I am, decide to follow him…”

💭💭💭

By the time Billy got out to the alleyway, two metal trash cans were knocked over and Doug was sitting against a wall, panting and sweating as he tried to calm himself down. He had his shirt back on, so Billy decided to pull his on, too, before going over and sitting down next to him.

“You guys always fight like that?” He asked, pulling out a cigarette and savoring the first inhale before offering it to the other boy.

“Nah, only when he knows he’s wrong and I’m right. If I’m wrong, I’ll admit it, but Tommy’s got too much pride for his own good,” Doug replied, taking a drag before giving the cigarette back. 

“Yeah, I get that. My sister can be a bit pig-headed too sometimes,” Billy shrugged, “But you really oughta stop down at the nurse before you leave. He might’ve broken your nose.”

“I’ll be fine, I’ve dealt with worse. At least it’s not a concussion, I do not wanna go through all that again!” 

“Yeah, I hear that,” Billy sighed, scratching the back of his neck. It was quiet for a few moments, and he was kind of enjoying the silent company of another guy that wasn’t hanging around him out of obligation or a hope for better social status. Still, he didn’t want it to get awkward, so he asked, “How did you get concussed the first time?”

“I uh…” Doug chuckled, “I got in a fight. Some guy at our old school, he was a real jerk, pushed everybody around for the hell of it, thought it was funny. He was younger than we are, but he thought nobody could touch him, so he would go out and pick fights and never expected there to be consequences. So one day, he comes up and starts trying to get into it with me and Tommy. And I mean, we’re the youngest in our family, we got three older brothers, so we know how to handle a physical fight, but this kid, we didn’t think he’d actually do anything once we gave him the stink eye, right? But lo and behold he keeps trying, and finally, I got so tired of it, I shoved him back, and he comes out swingin’ with a right hook. Next thing I know, I’m on a gurney being rushed to the hospital.”

“Jesus, must’ve been one killer of a right hook,” Billy said.

“Yeah, no kidding. It hurt like a bitch, but I was alright. And sometimes pain ain’t that bad, as long as you know how to take it. It’s almost become like a comfort to me, y’know? Like I’ve dealt with it my whole life, so it’s almost natural to try and seek it out sometimes.”

“Yeah, I understand that, too. I do the same thing, seek out pain when I don’t know how else I should deal with something. At least I know if I make someone mad enough to hit me, I know they’ll get it over with quick and then I won’t have to worry about the suspense of what they might do.”

“Yeah, exactly! And it’s always a plus if you can hit back, get some of that anger out that way, too.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Billy said, standing up once his cigarette was finished and stomping on the butt before holding out a hand to the other boy. “C’mon, we better get inside and get our stuff before coach locks up for the night.”

“Okay,” Doug said, taking the offered hand and pulling himself up with it, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Billy replied, leading the way inside.

💥💥💥

“What happened then?” Heather asked, now thoroughly invested in the events of her best friend’s dream. 

“Then it kinda skipped a little, because then it was the next day, and I guess the two cops decided they weren’t getting anything from us, so they decided to switch. Tom went with Steve and Tommy and Doug was with me, and the next thing I knew, it was lunchtime…”

💭💭💭

The lunchroom was crowded, as it always was, and when Doug and Billy entered, paths immediately started to clear for them. They got their food and went to a random table, neither of them really caring where it was. They saw Tom and Steve at a nearby table, but neither of them made a move to go over and sit with them, Billy just not really caring and Doug still a little upset about the fight from yesterday. They were perfectly content with their own company, until they heard a tray slam on the ground, and suddenly, there was a fight starting in the middle of the cafeteria. 

Apparently, when Tom got up to get ketchup for his fries, he ran smack into Jason Carver, who then started getting into it with him for getting food all over him, and before anyone knew what happened, it was an all-out brawl. Just like everybody else, Billy and Doug stood up to try and see what was going on, and when they saw not only Tom in the thick of the fight, but Steve getting involved to try and break it up, they both sprang into action, rushing over to try and help. A few of Jason’s cronies jumped in to help him, and by the time it was said and done, everyone involved was bloody, bruised and breathing heavily, trying to get out of dodge as the principal stormed in. 

“What is going on in here?!” He demanded, looking at the five boys that hadn’t managed to get away. Jason wiped his bloody nose and blamed the whole thing on the other four, but then they all started talking at once, trying to defend themselves and only succeeding in giving the principal a headache. 

“Quiet down, all of you!” He shouted, rubbing his temples, “Look, all of you, come with me, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

The five boys all nodded and followed the principal, none of them wanting to cause more trouble for themselves than it was worth. The principal was able to figure out who had started the fight from Jason’s accusations, so he told the other three boys to wait in a conference room while he spoke to Jason and Tom, and then he and the other two left.

“This is such bullshit,” Steve groaned as he flopped down in one of the chairs in the room, “We didn’t do anything except try to break it up!”

“Yeah, it’s that blonde kid’s fault!” Doug agreed, following suit and crossing his arms as he sat.

“Then we just tell him that and we should be fine. There was a cafeteria full of witnesses, and besides, the three of us and your brother are all gonna tell the same story, Jason’s will be the only different one, so we should be fine,” Billy said, honestly not too bothered by what’d happened. He had finished his lunch before they were dragged out of the lunchroom, and any excuse to miss bio was okay with him. 

“I guess you’re right,” Doug said, scooching his chair a little closer to Billy’s. Steve did the same, and now they both sat at his sides, probably a little closer than was necessary, but nobody was complaining.

“Y’know, you were awfully brave jumping into that fight when you did,” Steve said, putting his hand on Billy’s knee and leaning even closer.

“Yeah, I mean, Steve and I had a reason to, but you went in to help just because,” Doug agreed, following the action, and Billy had no idea what was happening, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“It was no big deal,” he said, shrugging, looking back and forth between the other two boys.

“Yes it was,” Steve said, and when Billy looked at him again, he leaned in and kissed him. Billy was confused, but he didn’t complain, especially when he felt another pair of lips at his neck, and he felt like he was in heaven. 

After a minute, they switched, Steve kissing at his neck as Billy made out with Doug, and it was amazing. He hoped it would never end, and he seemed to be getting his wish as they kept taking turns kissing him over and over again…

💥💥💥

“Wait, but if the guy’s a cop, why is he making out with a high schooler?” Heather asked, making a face.

“It was a dream, Heather, don’t think too hard about it. Besides, I’m 18 and he’s only, like, 22 or something in the show, that’s not that big a difference. Just let me have this, alright?” Billy sighed, and Heather rolled her eyes.

“Okay, okay, so then what happened? Did it get any juicer, or were you interrupted in flagrante delicto?” She asked, leaning forward again and wiggling her eyebrows.

“Then I woke up,” Billy said, shrugging.

“What?! That’s it?! You can’t do that to me, there has to be more to this!” Heather exclaimed, and Billy had to remind her to keep her voice down.

“No, really, that’s what happened! Believe me, I wish there was more, but unfortunately, if I had slept any longer, I wouldn’t be here telling you about it, so we’re both gonna have to deal.”

“That is the absolute pits,” Heather groaned, flopping over to rest her head on her desk.

“Oh, believe me, I know,” Billy said, tapping a pattern on her desk with his fingers. “I never even got to find out who was running the fight club, imagine how cheated I feel!”

“For that remark alone you owe me more coffee, now pony up, you dork,” Heather griped, stealing his coffee cup again and making Billy roll his eyes affectionately as she downed the rest of it. He didn’t need it this morning, anyway.

[tobiasdrake]

It's nice to get some non-gross Mikuru content. I haven't talked much about Mikuru because she's...

She's hard to talk about.

Mikuru bonding with, uh... with... the sister....

Does she have a name?

Anyways, Mikuru bonding with Kyonsis is cute. I wish I could like the Kyon/Mikuru ship. Which is to say, they get enough cute moments and development together that I would totally support this ship if the show didn't also have Kyon grossly indulging in Mikuru's harassment too.

...in general, a lot of the way the show handles Mikuru is gross. Like. They even brought in Future Mikuru at one point to wax nostalgic about Haruhi's harassment.

That's the kind of move a creator makes when they know they're being gross and want defensibility. "It's okay, she secretly likes it; She'll look back on it fondly some day."

I'm never really sure what to make of Mikuru because this isn't, like, a Male Gazey kind of show. It doesn't have the typical background noise of camera shots lingering on objectified body parts or slow panning over female bodies that typify shows made from the perspective of the Male Gaze.

Even things like the bunny girl outfits or Haruhi aggressively beginning to change while people are still in the room as a power play aren't dwelt on to the extent you'd expect from the Male Gaze.

But Mikuru feels like a character from one of those kinds of shows. The recurring joke is Haruhi physically bullying Mikuru, forcibly stripping her, making guys molest her, making her dress in various fetishized costumes, forcing her to eat expired shit from that guy's fridge they broke into, etc. - often to the point of leaving Mikuru in tears, and... that's it. That's the punchline. LOL Haruhi objectifies her body and treats her like shit.

This is one of three main things Mikuru does. The second is to form a Love Corner of

Haruhi -> Kyon (<-?) -> Mikuru

And honestly? Like 90% of the time, Kyon and Mikuru's interactions are great. But then he does shit like saving those erotic Mikuru photos he made Haruhi delete to a private folder for his personal perusal. Or says shit like this.

Or the show does shit like this.

Future Mikuru literally telling Kyon, "For compensation, feel free to make out with my past self while she's drugged!"

He does not. Thankfully. But it's so fucking weird that she even said that. Why would you write this dialogue?

And then her third thing is time travel. Which isn't given the same level of gravitas as Itsuki and Yuki. She can't fight the battles like they can. She can't exposit information like they can because everything's classified. She isn't even very good at time travel; It's explicitly brought up that Yuki's better at it.

Essentially, she has no powers or abilities beyond being present in the group so Kyon can ogle her and Haruhi can molest her.

If this were a big Male Gaze type of show, I'd be like, "Oh, yeah, she's the Fanservice Girl. Got it." But it's not. So I just. I don't understand why she's handled like this. Why is this here?

Which is what makes it nice when the show isn't doing that, and instead we get nice Mikuru content where she's being happy and everyone's treating her well.

Less of... whatever all of that is and more of this please. She's great with kids! She plays Go Fish!

Which she took second place in, by the way. Mikuru beat God at cards and entertained the small child while doing it. So HA!

[sneef-to-a-snorf-fight]

Totally Spies! S1 E5-10 Tier

Alright so. Yeah the show is not getting better. I am optimistic that it will get better in later seasons. Ok let's go this is gonna be a long one. Here's the current tier.

As a lil reminder, I'm watching this with my girlfriend Ivy (@twigsprout) to definitively find the worst Totally Spies! episode. This show is notorious for showing teenage girls in very horny situations.

I'm not optimistic that the top tier will ever have anything in it. "Abductions" almost made it but the last 5 minutes took a big turn for the worse.

I'll also note that this show is skewing my sense of normal. I almost put the episode "Spy Gladiators" into the "ok sure fine i guess" category. Luckily Ivy reminded me that a middle aged man with a jock fetish putting a mind control collar on a teenage girl to force her to be a gladiator is not in fact normal.

Anyway here's some notes.

The Eraser: blobs attach to people's faces and erase their memories, sam got gooped and brain erased*, very horny wording for the hatching of the goop??, characters shackled and collared again**

The Fugitives: guy makes clones of the main 3 and does crimes, the main 3's guardian finds out and says he's going to "reprogram" them with his lobotomy machine***, favorite quote "i'm so sorry i tried to lobotomize you"

Abductions: drowning/breathplay, trapped in a glass thingy, brain sucking, gross kid brain getting so big it almost explodes???????????

Model Citizens: some weirdos kidnap girls and forcibly swap their body parts with their own models' to make "perfect beauties," some mild inflation? (does it count if they just wear suits that inflate? i doubt it but i wrote it anyway), Clover gets big legs and sits on villain to stop him from getting away

Spy Gladiators: see the collar thing i wrote above, also the guy keeps prisoners and keeps them shackled to workout equipment in his dungeon to "keep his island running" but honestly i think he's just harvesting and drinking their sweat or something

*So at this point, Ivy and I decided to start a tally for how many times the theme of an episode involves brainwiping/hypnotizing/etc as well as a separate tally for how many times one of the main 3 gets brainwiped/hypnotized/etc. SO!

Current Brain-fuck count: 6 (out of 10 episodes!)

Sam: 3

Clover: 1

Alex: 0

**We also decided to keep a tally for how many times characters are collared. Cuz it just keeps happening.

Collar Count: 3

***Ok so. When we got to this part I started theorizing. Jerry doesn't hesitate to try to reprogram the girls as soon as he thinks they're acting up. That got me thinking: what if he already programmed them before? What if that's the reason the characters are so one-dimensional? I mean. I know it's just because the writers just didn't know how to give the girls any personality beyond "girl" but. In the canon of the show, it's kinda make sense if he gave the girls (who I'm pretty sure are orphans that WOOHP adopted and forced to work as spies for free?) just enough skills to be spies and high school students but no brain power beyond that so they can't rise up against him.

Actually. This is just the bimbo show. Whatever.

Anyway, once again, this show could be so iconic if it wasn't So Bad. Like. The aesthetic of everything. I mean. There's a moment in episode 6 where they're about to do this really important mission but then Clover is like "WAIT!!! I forgot my new sunglasses at my house and I'm not going anywhere without them" and so WOOHP send the girls in a helicopter to get her sunglasses before going to save the world from bimbo slimes or whatever. like. That's iconic!!!

To paraphrase Ivy, "It's such a cool idea to just do James Bond but with 3 high school girls from y2k ass Beverly Hills." It could be so good but it's just. not. I really hope the new stuff is better. I have a lot of hope for the new season coming out.

Also, on the whole character thing. Episode 10 feels like they might be starting to give Alex her own character maybe finally? Only barely tho idk.

Also, for a second I thought 9/11 didn't happen in this universe cuz I saw the twin towers but. They made that episode before 9/11 even though it came out a less than a month after 9/11 in France (over a year later in the US). And also the girls crash a plane into a building.

Anyway 16 episodes left in Season 1!

[regaliasonata]

Do u have any unpopular PR opinions?

Ooh some fun

-Power Rangers does not need to be as big as Star Wars or DC etc. it can be bigger sure but realistically it’s never going to get that huge, plus it’s probably for the best as bigger franchises tend to attract some crazy individuals and then the people working on the show try to appeal to fans and let me be honest a lot of fans don’t know what they want when watching shows or movies. Take it easy and make the show enjoyable first before branching out.

-Megaforce is bad but it had some concept that I did enjoy like Vrak, the introduction to the Sentai exclusive teams for the comics and gave us Gia and Orion.

-Liking Samurai or preferring it over Shinkenger does not make you a weirdo or racist, yes Samurai could’ve done way better with some of its choices like the casting for Lauren and Jayden but it seems as if some fans treat others wrongly for enjoying the season, Always piggybacking to the Sentai with every conversation and like…some people need to shut up, there was a conversation on Twitter about how PR failed to market Samurai due to the fact that it had a big impact back in the day and could’ve been marketed to be as huge as MMPR and people brought up Shinkenger for some reason and it was just UGH. We can all share criticism about the show but stop being assholes to people.

-Ollie really isn’t that bad imo, I think he’s pretty cool tbh.

-A lot of the seasons that haven’t been adapted since Gokaiger and up to Zenkaiger can be adapted in some way but the company doesn’t have a wide thought process and only thinks on a surface level when making reasons why they can’t adapt. LuPat is understandable from both sides because SPD exists and you can root it to that but also with police etc in the west it’s understandable why they can’t adapt it. But things like ToQger not being adapted due to trains is stupid…also tell me this…how are you going to say trains aren’t marketable to children when you yourselves don’t make toys for Cosmic Fury🤨😭 answer me that.

-To anyone complaining about the series being “woke” or whatever go screw off somewhere, where have you guys been for the past 30 years? PR’s been inclusive throughout the franchise are y’all blind?

-Shipping is fun, hell I partake in it from time to time but let’s all respect each others pairings. I guess that’s more of a fandom thing then a PR thing but if we disagree on something let’s call it a day and keep it pushing, I’m on the side of hey you do you and leave me out of it if it’s nothing that interests me. I’m only really making the dude characters kiss each other anyway so it is what it is😭 but seriously let’s all just be peaceful and enjoy the show and characters without arguing.

-This has been said many MANY times but the inability to market anything outside of MMPR is the reason why the franchise continues to prioritize it. They really need to branch off, hopefully say if a new comic run happens and it’s Zeo or In Space we can go from there. “Oh but what about the fans” not everyone wants to see the original team all the time, the zordon era isn’t really that much of a thought to me outside of in space and stuff, the least they could do is show the Canyon Trio or Tanya off.

-The way they treated Hayley along with those gross fart jokes with Victor and Monty in Ninja Steel needs to be studied as things that should never touch power rangers again. Haim Saban should stay the hell away from the franchise(horrible person and a few other reasons) cause if this was all apart of him then yeah screw off somewhere.

-Amelia being red was a nice concept in theory, though do I really see her as a leader? Not really, I kinda picture that roll could’ve gone to Aiyon or even Izzy for the team. Like don’t get me wrong Amelia is alright but just on more consideration she’s not really a leader to me, that’s just how I feel, but was happy that we got a more prominent role with a female red ranger, I just hope we get a season eventually that full explores that instead of ten episodes.

-When I mean THE red ranger I’m not talking about Jason, I’m talking about Carter Grayson because that man was crazy in a good way. They need to be plastering him around instead that dude, Jason is okay I guess but he doesn’t have much to offer show wise, comic wise he seems better…also to any fans that are against ASJ being blacklisted from the fandom cause “he’s your fave” y’all need to go off somewhere cause that’s clown behavior, YOUR FAVE IS JASON AND HE’D BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT MAN.

-The Jenna Frank situation, look I’m all for conventions allowing for her to go. Like if she wants to honor the legacy of her father and such that’s totally fine, I’ve seen people against it, I guess my own issue would be if events try to take advantage of this keep the Tommy appeal going for money and such, that’s very scummy if they ever go down that route but from the looks of it she seems pretty happy and stuff being at events so as long as it’s all fun then I’m alright with it.

-I’m down to watch the 2017 movie but I’ll be honest with you in the fact that the suits and zord designs are not appealing to me…I bet the film is good but I cannot get behind those designs at all.

-I’ll be honest in saying power rangers doesn’t need to be mature to be a good show but the directing and choices behind the scenes needs to change. It seems as if they keep holding back in what they can show kids or in where they can be more experimental, I know having to compare Sentai can be annoying to people as I know some demographics are different with children here and overseas but you can manage to make a fire season with 40ish episodes. That being said we need more of the Disney era directors back PLEASE.

-I don’t hate Simon Bennett as much as a lot of people do, I have my disagreements on a lot of things that he’s said or stated in interviews about the series but we have to remember a lot of things made by the show were done by Hasbro(like giving CF 20 episodes, or the fact that the writing room thought it’d be offensive to have Zayto as a white ranger which…Who’s working in the room🤦🏾). That being said we need people passionate about the series working on it.

-The hate that Samuel Benta got for the accusations of that banner being stolen all those years apart needs to be studied, people were so quick to demonize him and blacklist him from events but ASJ’s stupid ass gets on camera doing the most wild shit imaginable and he gets a pass? Even Lucas’s actor gets to go to cons after the stuff he did????…I just find it very questionable, and a little racist with how some of the crazy people in the fandom just climb out of the shadows to defend ASJ…, anyways yeah I think they should bring Benta back to PMC, throw out ASJ’s table and give him a spot.

-The did not need to demote Jack at the end to SPD, could’ve had three reds or said that Jack went to be a red on standby while doing his own thing. Sky really shouldn’t have become red in the end but that’s just me 🤷🏾‍♂️

[florallylly]

side a: eddie munson

side a

side b side b: steve harrington

explanation post

just going to go straight to my very very stream of consciousness commentary about each song but i want to clarify that i'm an eddie munson is dirty and gross truther and also i hate that rat man (endearing). so yes it might play into some of my thoughts

some songs are kind of vibe-y and you can tell when my explanations start getting contrived and bad but bear with me. i DO have some specific keystone songs idc KEYSTONE i love the word ok anyway

“I” Black Sabbath; eddie munson you are a LOSER with OPINIONS we get it. like yes you are so persecuted by everyone sure you’re going to prove us all wrong 

“Heaven and Hell” Black Sabbath; tbh added to match with heaven/hell in the other playlist, but somehow it’s kind of giving munson doctrine to me. literally googled and supposedly it’s about like band kids (??) but i think just like “the world is full of kings and queens/who blind your eyes and steal your dreams” i can literally hear eddie munson quoting it

“Fade to Black” Metallica; UGH why are there so many long periods of silence at the beginning and end of these songs. but just adding to the eddie munson i’m so outcast bad boy drug dealer thing and like. had to have metallica

“I Don’t Wanna Be Me” Type O Negative; idk if anyone can tell that i think eddie is a big dramatic loser who thinks he’s the main character (endearing?) like I AM RIGHT… 

“skins” The Haunting; okay this song is saur…. like normal people scare me i’m such a freak coded

“Nosferatu” Blue Oyster Cult; a nod to Eddie Munson being a BIG LOSER NERD. ugh whatever honestly parallels a lot of kas theory fic imo, like innocent maiden steve offering his blood to vampire eddie … why have i read it several times over. in my head, this is like. eddie munson having a dirty dirty loser fantasy about king steve 

“Teenage Dirtbag” Wheatus; need I say more………. 

“The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” a-ha; yeah… YEAH. it’s a steve song on here. i like tried to do this thing where on each playlist there are keystone songs and this is one of them. like, the song that’s in the other’s genre is the moment they fall in love even if they don’t realize it yet. but re: the song like it’s so eddie having this realization that when he was picturing king steve, he only saw him through snapshots and now that he’s live and an actual tangible human it’s different. like  LIKE

“18” Anarbor; tbh i am trying so hard to add some of these songs bc they are so quintessential to me and my connection of music to fandom, BUT IDK…. ITS HARD…. but yeah it’s very steve harrington would never really want to be with me, i’m such a bad boy. okay….  

“Poison” Alice Cooper; eddie munson ur horny . eddie munson we’re sworn enemies like ur a jock and i’m a nerd and like could i light my cigarette with ur cock please please 

“Falling In Love” Scorpions; “falling in love, it happens to me every day” okay eddie munson i did NOT see u doodling hearts around steve’s name in the fourth grade

“Around the Fur” Deftones; i do not know why but for some reason feeling like steve still hanging around his old crowd, and eddie getting all weird about it. IDK !! does it not just feel so eddie munson

“Closet” Fleshwater; an interlude-y song here kind of an angsty moment for eddie 

“I Was Made For Loving You” KISS; SECOND KEYSTONE SONG…. this song signals the first time they sleep together. i am so sorry eddie munson but this music actually DOES give me migraines but i tried very hard  

“Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” Deftones; eddie’s dreams about leaving hawkins and becoming famous. just in general his wishes to be somewhere he’s wanted and where he belongs. idk i feel like it’s eddie talking about all of these grand plans for his future and turning to steve and being like “and what about you?” and steve doesn’t have an answer.

“Covet” Basement; “you are everything/my most demanding dream” like like like eddie munson loving and hating that he’s in love with steve harrington who is hawkins to the bone and seems determined to die there. 

“Ghosts” Scarlet House; in my head this is eddie munson angsting after seeing steve hanging around nancy wheeler or robin buckley depending on when exactly we’re setting this. but it’s very woe is me i’m lost without you. idk it could literally even just be they fought and steve is at the grocery store chilling and eddie munson is literally frothing at the mouth sobbing in his van 

“Saturnine Saturnalia” VV; “there is no end to the hurting/i love you” saturnalia was a roman festival where they indulged in mischief and partying and whatnot. feeling like at this point, even if it’s fake, even if it ends up hurting me, i’ll take whatever i can get kind of feeling. maybe it’s like realizing he won’t be free of hawkins unless he lets go of steve or thinking that he’s just a stop on the way to a white picket fence. and i think that maybe this is the moment when eddie begins to realize how deeply he feels for steve.

“Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” Deftones; PLEASE LET THE MAN GET WHAT HE WANTS !!! FOR ONCE !!! he is out here every single day dealing drugs PLEASE give him a sexy passenger princess to come with him on deals

“Black Butterflies and Deja Vu” The Maine; ik it’s a jump scare but KEYSTONE SONG…. the moment when they admit they’ve fallen in love. this is their aha moment. their AHA! moment not a-ha… but yeah…. eddie munson finally being like wait i’m in love with steve harrington and idk for how long but i’m in trouble

the future holds IDK ... just this part took me this long so PLEASE spare me i literally wrote this out on my notes app

[unknownkona]

absolutely tweaking rn, so rant incoming about the horror fandom, specifically tcm lol. mostly writing this because of a post i've seen today and some recent events

content warning for triggering topics and the discussion of antis and proshippers

both antis and proshippers are two sides of the same coin, and both are driving me up the walls. antis don't know how to defend their cause and proshippers are gross. my god, when i hear the argument of "you're fine with murder but draw the line at x?" holy shit dude. and usually x are those taboo, problematic topics but the ones i'll be focusing more on are incest and necrophilia.

breaking down that argument, last time i checked, no one actually thinks murder is okay. where's the horror in horror if violence is portrayed as a good thing. it's more tolerated than incest or whatever, why? because murder can have a reason— necrophilia, sexual assault, incest, etc, cannot. do any of those reasons make it okay? absolutely not, but there's the possibility of an explanation. in the case of texas chainsaw massacre, they're doing it to survive. maybe not johnny (which is someone i'll come back to later), but they're planning to eat their victims. they could've turned to a less drastic option, yeah, but hey it's fiction. whatever's necessary for an interesting plot.

speaking of fiction, the argument of "it's fiction not reality" also sucks in its own right. fiction usually has elements we take from reality, most things we make are based off of reality somehow. again, we have the antis that harass people that enjoy villains being villains and we have proshippers that actively romanticize incest, pedophilia and shit. gotta tap the sign that says "people that enjoy villains and evil characters do not condone their actions" for antis and the sign that says "whatever you support in fiction is a reflection of who you are as a person, a person based in reality" for proshippers. besides, do any proshippers have siblings? i really hope they don't as someone who has a brother lol

and it's not that you shouldn't write anything with problematic topics, it's all about the delivery and intent. write toxic relationships, but don't act like it's a healthy couple. the post i've seen that prompted me to write this bullshit down mostly had the coffin of andy and leyley context to it and well— it's clearly written to be fucked up. does it make it good writing? depends, to me it comes off as incest written solely for the edgy shock value as of now but who knows. want a good example of problematic topics written well? go look at lolita by vladimir nabokov or something

anyway back to johnny, i've seen him being called a rapist, a necrophile, even being shipped with sissy. leave the bastard alone LMFAO. i can't deny that johnny being a rapist doesn't seem like a farfetched assumption, but at the same time, what the hell happened to boundaries? i don't care if people are into it, it's a problem when it's tossed around like canon lore and shoved into people's faces instead of treated as a private nsfw headcanon. surprise, people can enjoy horror without having their boundaries ignored just because they like horror.

getting a little petty here, but the whole necrophile drama really grinds my gears because a) it doesn't really make sense to johnny's character and b) it started because someone got the definition of necrophilia wrong. johnny's a narcissistic asshole that kills for fun— there is no power in sexually assaulting a corpse. the fun's over when a victim is no longer able to cower in fear and give any pain response. being turned on by killing people isn't necrophilia, hope this helps. even searched up on the classifications of necrophilia (insane how there's classification for that) for how they described johnny being a necrophile, and none of them fit

anyway that's basically everything, we'll see if i get pissed off enough again to rant about new dumb arguments

[deviantartdramahub]

I am just going to say this about the group of people who 'attacked' me so to speak, yeah regarding That Fat Fetishist my story and how I tell it is different than his...and yeah I think he's a fucking hypocrite for being all 'oh Jabba from the book Digital Fortress is a stereotype fat guy and his name comes from a star wars character, the author hates fat people'  while also being all 'oh boy, Doctor Robotnik from the 90s Sonic cartoon is sexy as fuck'.   I don';t even remember stalking him on storygraph or even have a storygraph account up until now.

I only knew that he posted about hating fat characters being stereotyped in his review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and his review of Digital Fortress, oh and he also said he thought at first Fat by Weird Al was fat-phobic when it was a parody song.

His main account is political garbage and gamer stuff on twitter while his After Dark stuff is smut, yeah...naked fat men stuffing themselves and trying to be sexy, rule34 of animal characters, horny thoughts/hot takes that should have been burned away in the oven, questionable choices in general.  The fact that gross obviously mature content is allowed on Twitter/X anyway disgusts me but if I have to keep blocking every single fat fetish account I see only to get 'we have found this user hasn't broken the senstive content rules' everytime, i'm sorry but maybe that stuff BELONGS on rule34 sites or tinder or whatever desperate men like him using to get dates.

For the main part...I did not say that either him or his friends could have been Anonymousdevi but I still have the web archive link to prove it was something that indeed happened.  I was put into the 'transphobic' accusations because of this, and then later put into the 'groomer' category,  look I only referred to transformation as a fetish once, I don't treat it like it is one.  But the fact the person who admitted they were the ones behind the devi account was speaking in first person does not narrow it down since it could have been anyone, yet i'm still  miffed Devi did not get reported or found out.

And the grooming accusations were based on roleplays I did ages ago and yeah in the document it was indeed stated that the person I did with them who I shall always call 'Ex Bestie' said they did not want to tell me how old they were because they felt they'd be uncomfortable, well...how do you think I feel everytime they do that to me?  'how old are you?'  i'm 18+ my man, woman, whatever these people identify as.  That is all you need to know.

Also Fat Fetishist believes people shouldn't use the term 'Bear' to describe a hairy straight man when i've heard that term be used several times, having a boyfriend and being gay yourself does not mean you should be allowed to speak for all people of that orientation.  That's what all anti-straight gays sound like.

Also note that the document said they don't encourage harrassing me while also saying they think it would be ideal if I got banned, okay, why do they act like I am not aware of my bad past actions?  I am aware of them, I just don't sympathize with people who act like i'm being rude or stalking them for no reason because I think they are paranoid nutjobs. I have other people I obsess over besides them, you know.

[djzbasement]

🔥

WOOOOOOOOOOOO! I HAVE BEEN AWAITING THIS DAY FOR MANY MOONS

right so.. TW for something sexual being mentioned.. plus what happened with Korekiyo.

okay, okay, buckle down for this one. I wanna point out, this might not be an unpopular opinion, buttt given the fact that everyone I’ve told started threatening me- I’m seeing it as one.

You can’t defend a characters actions when they’ve done bad. simple.

Now, seems easy to understand doesnt it? Some people don’t get that for some reason and it’s just like.. huh??

Eg- Mikan. The things Mikan did (like that one scene with ryota). People just say “Oh, but she was brainwashed!!”. but that’s like saying “The remnants didn’t meannnn to cause despair and whatever, they were brainwashed!!!”. You see how dumb that sounds? Brainwashed or not, it still happened. She still did that, no debate.

Like, I don’t defend any of my favourite characters for the way they act, not at all. With Kazuichi- I find his obsession with Sonia to be gross and an unnecessary part to his character. I feel like he’s only got a crush on Sonia (while being creepy about it) to be the joke funny character since the first joke funny character (teruteru) was killed off. But yeah, gross unnecessary part of kazuichi. Plus, him being a remnant and building the first casts executions. All of that. And Gonta- Insect meet and greet, albeit he thought he was helping his friends (both human and insect) but the way he went about it.. eh. Even if Kokichi lied to him and it was his idea, Gonta still did it anyways. Plus, the whole thing with CH.4.

But do I go around saying “Oh, Kazuichi has trauma from something so that’s why he acts like that with Sonia… 😖” or- “Gonta didn’t know any better, he’s not to blame- OUMA IS!!!!”? no. I don’t. Because they can’t be defended when they’ve done something bad. Like, if like I don’t know, your dog misbehaves. Do you say “well.. it doesn’t know any better.” No, you don’t. Shouldn’t be the same with these folks, even if they’re fictional.

What just tops this all off, people find the fact that I much prefer Ryota over Mikan to be the reason that I want to point fingers and be like “SHE STILL DID DONE DO IT!!” when in reality, if i don’t know, Ryota did (what she did) to her, I wouldn’t defend him on that. And would most likely heavily dislike him. And I guess the fandom would too. Because it only matters when it’s not a popular character doing it. Mikan, Miu, Hiyoko, Nagito, Junko, and more. Whenever they do something HORRIBLE the fandom brushes it off as “them being cunty” or the iconic “it wasn’t their fault! It was ___”, and then be the type of people to dislike ryota not because hes annoying- but because he made the brainwashing video. The video that their “queen Junko” ‘asked’ him to make.

Which brings me to another opinion- well, more of something that annoys me- but you can’t love Miu for doing what she does.. but then hate Korekiyo. Now i know, I know, you can hate/like a character based on their personalities, valid. But when a person says “OH MIU I LOVE YOU!” but then says “Korekiyo is disgusting!! Ew!” for what happened with his sister.. you’re being stupid, to put it simply. Miu purposely shoves her chest up against Keebo (who despite being a robot, should still count imo), makes horrible disgusting sexual remarks and all of that- aka purposely just.. being gross- Korekiyo didn’t know any better, he was manipulated and groomed by somebody he looked up to practically his entire life. But it’s still “disgusting” because it’s not the cool character who insults people from 2020 that had monster cans as earrings that everyone would cosplay. Like….? I understand Korekiyo is a bit deranged. And the relationship with his sister being sexual really just felt unnecessary. In fact .. his whole deal with his sister. But, just like every other character, I don’t defend him for anything bad that he’s done. But.. Miu. Miu was simply hit by a car and was in a coma for some time and was just.. smart when she woke up. That’s it, really. And then became the most infuriating character to walk this PLANET.

Now, please don’t get mad. This is an opinion of mine. Opinion. Not everyone has the same ones. If you’re upset that I insulted your favourite character or spoke what I think is right or wrong then just.. shoo. Toodles. Farewell. goodbye. Opinions are opinions, If you dont agree with mine don’t start throwing a tantrum and sending death threats. Peace and love🫶.

Also im not sure if I have strong opinions on this shit because I’m just severely sex repulsed and I just don’t like sexual things but.. you know.

SUMMARY-

Just dont defend a character when they’ve done something wrong.. just don’t. No matter the reason. It’ll make the fandom (and even other fandoms) so much more tolerable to be in.. and don’t throw a fit when somebody has a different opinion than you.

Anyways, this is LONG. Like this is more of a rant atp. But.. yeah. That’s my opinion(s) on the whole… everything.

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

franflam (they are not sisters)

ahahahahaHAHA this is exactly what i was expecting people to send in when i said "controversial ships". no one is ready for one of my signature franflam tangents

under the cut:

you know the last time i did this ship bingo thing someone asked me about franflam too and i just flat out refused to respond because i didnt want to touch the discourse with a ten foot pole. either me putting my opinions here will get me cancelled or it will summon some people hopefully sane about this discourse. i love gambling

to preface, my honest opinions on the matter are that whatever the hell those two got going on in canon is queerbaiting. i say this as someone who bought star allies on a whim at gamestop as their very first kirb game like two years after it released, not even knowing kirby still made games at that time, and thus played the game with zero biases towards anything but yeah those two were written with a weird attachment to each other and it would be stupid to outright deny that. do i think franflam is canon though?: absolutely not and also i hate everyone who claims that with a passion. you could make a claim with a reasonable amount of evidence for either side of the argument and the fact that its even remotely possible both could be true at once, along with kumazaki himself either refusing to elaborate or confirm, or giving even More support to Either side is absolute bullshit and any sort of grey area here is totally his and the writers faults so hey can we all stop arguing about what the "correct" answer is when there literally isnt really one

anyways with that out of the way, heres all of the reasons i hate franflam without mentioning "potential incest" as a concern even once

their dynamic in canon is stereotypical angry black woman is overprotective of stereotypical dainty elegant white woman. hate that. gives me bad vibes. the whole "to show one character is in love with the other, they talk about their love interest nonstop every half second" trope is absolutely HANDS DOWN my absolute least favorite romance trope EVER. it drives me absolutely insane. thats the #1 way to get me to hate both of the characters and their relationship the fastest. holy shit shut up and focus on the story and whats happening around you instead of shoehorning mention of the other person into your words nonstop. hate that. i also hate the "person a is overprotective of their love interest" trope too, esp when it extends into jealously of the other person hanging out with others (sparkling pupupu world does this, for example). feels gross. can feel infantizing. if people see that as romantic good for you but i can not see it ever. its overly possessive. i think having a trio of mages and having two of them being separated and off fucking around on their own all the time as their "happy ending" is bad writing, especially when it comes to zans character being so heavily affected by her isolation from others and how hyness treated her AND YOU JUST GO AND SEPERATE THEM INTO FRAN+FLAM AND ZAN+HYNESS ALL THE TIME FOR SOME REASON HELLO. JUST MAKE ONE MAGE CHARACTER IN THAT CASE IF TWO OF THE TRIO HAVE NO DEVELOPMENT OR PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO FUCK OFF BY THEMSELVES. and then people who ship franflam also often end up shipping hynzan cause of that EWWWWWW GROSSSSSSS. also fran+flam being more close because the jambacult is a broken family that needs to heal Or them being more close because flam is an overprotective older sibling are INFINITELY more interesting to me as concepts than: "fran+flam are closer to each other and not zan because theyre dating and thus inherently dont care about zan as much because platonic relationships are always secondary to romantic". hate that. and the fandom. oh my God as people might be able to tell by all of the arrows on the bingo sheet i have fucking FEELINGS about this this needs a whole new paragraph

okay so. so 😍. i have this thing i call "red flag ships" where the ships are fine as a concept on paper but for some reason the shippers are just absolutely Rancid and that throws me off from liking the ship in its entirely and i get really sussed out by anyone who ships it. franflam is a red flag ship. i think the shippers have gotten so used to being yelled at by people who think theyre siblings that theyve pavlov'd themselves into being insanely hostile and aggressive to anyone who doesn't ship them. at least thats what i can tell from anyone whos Open and remotely loud about shipping them. istg i am not joking in the slightest when i say 95% of my interactions with people who Happen to be big or even decently into shipping franflam have been godawful. the convos dont even have to be around franflam i just think the ship inherently attracts awful people because its only aggressive toxic people who arent scared about shipping it openly. is that generalizing?: Yeah but thats just my personal experience. i have never met someone loud about liking franflam or who makes content for it that wasnt an awful asshole or yikes person in some way

that said, people who really like the ship but are quiet or lowkey about it usually end up being super chill and cool. its just the goddamn Fandom i have an issue with really. so anyone whos normal about it i am so sorry for you lmao

in a somewhat unrelated manner, i used to be somewhat close with someone who had franflam as their ultimate otp and God they fucking sucked. apart from redirecting every convo ever to be about franflam, they were also insanely nasty to anyone who even remotely saw them as siblings because they inherently saw it as an attack against franflam, so theyd always be making comments like "can you believe anyones stupid enough to see them as siblings" and "kinda misogynistic and lesbiophobic that metadede and marxolor are more popular than franflam when franflam is so blatantly canon" and yadayadayada they would say that shit completely unironically even right in front of me when they knew i hc'd them as siblings. i could complain up enough of a storm about that person and all of the insane things they said and did to fill up another 10 paragraphs but in general they were awful and really awful to me and multiple friends and you know what. i fucking hate the ship because of that too. sue me i cant stand seeing it around and i get grossed out by it.

on another note if i see anyone trying to push franflam as canon i will kick your ass. it might seem like im complaining about a problem that doesnt exist since tumblr is very anti-franflam, but on other sites its the opposite and if i had a nickel for every stupid "franflam is definitely canon and the only canon option and here's why" argument ive ever heard and could Easily debunk i could buy a fucking mansion. how to tell franflam shipppers its Okay if their ship isnt canon challenge: impossible (generalizing ofc, this whole rant is generalizing. take with a grain of salt. man i hate franflam)

[spaceyflowers]

Do you have headcanons about lookism + htf characters that you haven't talked about in a post before?

OH yeah um. a lot, but some are def leaning towards ooc/very self indulgent LMAO so i'm sorry if u look at these and go "they would NOT do that" its true to me 💔

i'll list 5 for both series!

thank u for showing interest, and also anyone else is welcome to reply/reblog with their headcanons bc theyre always fun to see <3 !!

(btw sorry if i have shared some of these b4, if i did they were prob in my tags and i just forgot 😭)

×

LOOKISM

-mary kim; she has a muscular figure with a lil tummy ! naturally started losing weight and building muscle while doing judo as a sport and exercising in general. she's still a little sensitive about her weight due to bullying when she was younger and at a larger size, but shes happy where she is now. she'll beat ur ass if u shit talk her weight but if u do it behind her back, vin jin will step in if he catches u ^_^

-jay; hes selectively mute, it formed mainly from his social anxiety but also because he's naturally an introvert and was neglected during his developing childhood stages, so that snowballed into selective mutism ! (saying this just bc i like having reasons for everything rather than just make him not being able to talk a Unique Character Trait Thing) i also have a whole ass backstory idea for him but i'll only share if someone's interested 😭 tbh tho i might get too attached to it and ignore canon if his real backstory ever comes out LMAOOO

-leonn; i ABSOLUTELY fucking refuse to have the only woman in the architecture department be there just bc she has a crush on some fucking guy (not an insult to vasco, simply an angry comment directed towards gross heteronormativity and the shitty use of female characters). anyways she mistook her deep admiration for vasco as romantic feelings

-warren; has a blackhole stomach. everyone in hostel is wary about wasted food bc theyre,, not very well off to say the least so anything they dont like/cant finish they give to warren and he happily chows down ^_^ also yeah hes not very picky about what he eats !!

-vin jin; the easiest way to tell he's embarrassed is when his ears go red. (jace, too... for obvious reasons) its hard to catch him blush under his shades sometimes! this may or may not also be the reason he grew out his hair ^_^

HOW TO FIGHT

-snapper has become such a talented cameraman he is now great at secretly recording things to blackmail his friends LMAAOAO (obviously nothing serious tho, snapper's not evil 😭)

-rumi has a habit of petting people's heads affectionately 💖

-jisoo's ass is rotting in jail! ^_^

-taehun is a child magnet. you'd think he'd scare off kids but nope they all wanna play with him. and he acts like he hates this fact yet he always plays with the kids or at least entertains them a little (when hes not busy). altho he does hate this fact; babies are always staring at him (yknow that one science study or whatever that said babies stare at pretty people? yeah.)

-THE GIRLS ARE ALL BESTIES!!!!!! bomi, gyeoul, rumi, and gaeul <3 bomi is the calm collected smart one, rumi is also the smart one but more bubbly, gyeoul is the little goblin they kinda have to keep on a leash and gaeul's dumb of ass pure of heart <3

[svtellify]

What caused you to move Flashback up in your rankings?

i'm going to link you to my review of flashback from when i first read it here, so you can get an idea of what my thoughts were.

as for now, it's not so much that it moved up a lot in my rankings or anything, it's just that i appreciate the events of the plot more in conjunction with everything that's happened.

at this point, i might as well put together a proper ranking of the series, so stay tuned, i guess?

flashback is still a very polarizing novel in the sense that there's a lot set up that feels a lot like waiting for the other foot to fall. the three most important plot points i can pull from there are in regards to the vacker legacy, fitz, and alvar. there's unfinished business there, and sure, there's probably another hive of those trolls (like in stellarlune) but i think this is the big fight that book 10 (elysian) is going to give us. for that, i can appreciate it.

outside of that, there's a lot that fitz says and does that is very much unwarranted for, unless it's followed up with a solid corruption arc or total betrayal.

we're also left in the dark about whatever it is that keefe and alden talked about, which i find odd, especially considering it probably had nothing to do with sokeefe.

for the most part though, i do pretty much agree with my initial thoughts.

i do have a few annotations to add, and i'd be interested in knowing what other people thought of these moments, because they were all bookmarked for a reason.

keefe saves fitz a lot. i would've liked to see fitz full on lash out just so we can get some kind of confirmation regarding what direction his character is going in. this will he-won't he kind of characterization is what's making him the most unlikable because all things considered, he's still one of the good guys, just with the attitude of someone not so great. there's some character development in legacy and a little in the opposite direction of legacy in stellarlune, but it keeps going back and forth.

sophie is someone with immense power and she's incredibly aware of her responsibility. fitz acts like a kid and he's incredibly entitled despite the power and status he holds in the elven world. there's a gross power imbalance when it comes to their relationship too, and it shows when he idolizes her and simultaneously has issues with her authority (which, considering the women in his family, he shouldn't.)

all things considered, fitz has been hurt by the neverseen the least. biana, dex, even the song siblings, have been directly targeted far more than him. the most fitz has experienced happens in legacy and it's after wylie's been tortured and everything. keefe's situation is more personal, and coupled with the emotional and psychological abuse he's grown up with, he definitely blames himself for the neverseen's attacks.

but for fitz, who meets with lord cassius just to learn more about alvar, despite cassius also being an empath who lived with gisela, to blame someone he's supposed to consider his best friend? yeah, there's no amount of justifying that, even in anger. there's a lot keefe could have said back, especially in regards to the way he treats sophie, but he holds back and while i respect keefe for that, i can't forgive fitz for it.

not sure if i have any notes saved around this point, but it's just an extension of the way fitz treats dex and it's just. he's in a position where he knows (fitz "i like being a vacker" avery vacker) so i'd find it hard to believe he doesn't know how unwarranted his attitude is.

wylie was more of a well rounded character in flashback and i definitely appreciated that!

considering the events of legacy, this was hypocritical at best, blatantly disrespectful at worst.

edaline's one of my favorite characters and i love how giving she is, and how kind she is to keefe, who's got lady gisela as the standard for mothers.

anyway.

i think the biggest problem i have with flashback is that honestly, fitz wasn't much of a problem to me in books prior to flashback. sure, he's not my favorite in the previous books, but the change in his character, rather, the more we learn about his character from flashback onwards, he stops being likable. and an unlikable character at the forefront of the story who's supposed to be the main love interest? it's not great.

there's also a lot that happens with the trolls and everything that happens really gets built up in the last 1/3 of the book, which is also the reason why stellarlune doesn't rank as high for me either. while stellarlune attempts to get somewhere and intentionally drags things out so we can build suspense, however, flashback drags. sophie and fitz spend a long, long, long time in healing center and the plot lulls there.

as for the rest, i think my initial thoughts covered it pretty well. there's not much more i could add that i haven't already covered in my analysis of fitz and review.

what were your thoughts on flashback?

[jackienautism]

Omg thanks for making a post about that disgusting mlm ship (du'lie 🤮) it's so gross I don't get why they don't ship a normal ship like Markate.

Like why do they always have to make try to ship two obviously straight characters together, Charlie and Du'Met aren't gay they are just straight and everyone is acting like they are gay or something. I hate it, mlm ships are so weird they should just ship something canon instead of trying to make everything gay like

Anyways thank you for your post, if they want lgbq+ content they should just ship Jerin or go find something canon I don't get the appeal of liking a mlm ship anyways like 🙄 just ship markate or jerin why would you want a ship with two men if you want one so bad go play the quarry or something lol 🤭

yeah of course! ive already seen my fair share of stuff for that pairing and its fans being annoying so it was bound to happen at some point. i understand what you mean by a "normal" ship, assuming youre referring to the fact that charlie/dumet is a pairing between a serial killer and its victim, but i took it as a .... straight vs gay type thing, w/ the straight being "normal." i hope that isn't what you meant. also the emphasis on the "mlm" part of the pairing just..... doesnt sit right w/ me

i mean... from a lesbian perspective, we've had to LIVE off of pairing up two "obviously straight" characters together in order to get our representation. it's a totally normal phenomenon, especially when the number of canon wlw pairings is very small. so i dont blame anyone, esp men loving men, for searching for 2 "straight" characters to pair together. what IM criticizing is the fact how fandom focuses on mlm pairings, even when theyre toxic or lackluster, before even thinking of considering shipping something between 2 girls, let alone woc. i know im probably repeating myself at this point, but i want to make it clear that i dont have a problem w/ the mlm pairings themselves, its often the people behind those pairings that i have a problem with. ESP if they're like...straight women. so, apologies if it ever made it seem like i was bigoted towards those pairings. because, anon, based on what youre saying to me right now, that seems to be the case. calling all mlm ships "weird" just....isn't right. sticking w/ shipping canon stuff would slash what we engage with in half. i dont know abt you, but ive spent my entire LIFE engaging w/ 2 "obviously straight" girls and imagining what they'd be like in a relationship. you saying to stick w/ canon instead of "making everything gay" also applies to sapphics. we're both the same, we both had to make everything gay and read through a gay subtext to survive

you can do you, you dont have to see the appeal of shipping a mlm pairing, but you can atleast show them the same respect as you would with others. "why would you want a ship with two men" ............................do you not see how wrong and bad this sounds? like. this feels like a very homophobic almost radfem view. but im not going to assume.just know this is what it sounds like to me.

i will give you this though, the quarry DOES have a loads better potential mlm pairing than the devil in me. why they don't engage w/ TQ instead? it all depends. it all probably comes down to them enjoying TDIM more than TQ

feel free to explain yourself or debate with me, or don't. whatever works

[raideo]

Issey drama anon here, please tell us about Romance Doll because I have not heard anything about it

also, have you heard of Quartet? I've seen like 50 gifsets from it and it seems legit funny as hell

UMMM WELL- I'll put my thoughts on Romance Doll under a break at the end because the movie is pretty nsfw and weird and yeah...

Quartet is on my list! I'm definitely going to watch it at some point, but I also really wanna watch Miracles! Honestly that one has been the most interesting to me from the beginning but my adhd is just causing me to watch whatever's convenient first, not the ONE IVE REALLY WANTED TO WATCH THIS WHOLE TIME. I still have to finish Koisenu Futari too... I stopped that one cuz I was watching it with someone and we had a long period of time where we couldn't watch it. And then also it's just VERY HEAVY as a person who happens to be demi who has gone through periods of feeling like I could be aroace in the past. It's so realistic and deals with the painful things as well as the funny things and I am scared to finish it bc I KNOW THERES MORE HEAVY SHIT TO COME but it's an amazing show AND I DO WANT TO FINISH THAT ONE TOO.

And on a completely polar opposite note: ROMANCE DOLL, LMAO

Ok so, this movie is very much one of those WEIRDLY REALISTIC stories where all the characters are so real and flawed and HUGE MISTAKES ARE MADE by characters and it's just such a wild ride. You probably haven't heard about it because its FUCKING WACK.

Without giving too much away in case you wanna watch it (netflix dropped it last monday, which is actually why I ended up watching it over the weekend at all, but it's still available to rent on amazon 🙄) Issey plays Tetsuo, an unemployed art college grad who is desperate for a job. His friend gave him a tip about this sketchy job opening but told him literally nothing else about it. He shows up and this old woman greets him and shows him around and he's a bit shocked to find out it's a shop that makes SILICONE SEX DOLLS. The woman is like "your friend didn't tell you that???" And Tetsuo was like "he literally just said there was a job here-" and she laughs and says "Some friend he is then!" Honestly I loved the old lady she's great, I wish I could remember her name I'm too lazy to go look it up rn.

Anyway so yeah, he takes the job even though the interview was super awkward and there's this gross pervy old guy who works there and he doesn't really care about the subject matter he just needs money (mood)

One thing and another happens (and a lot of me wanting to slap the old man into next tuesday, seriously he's the worst) and a little bit later Tetsuo meets the love of his life through some bullshit connection to his job, and they end up getting married some time after, but she doesn't know what he does for a living and ITS ALL VERY HARD TO EXPLAIN WHY HE KEEPS THAT FROM HER without spoiling things but just- the movie is wack, I really didn't like it in the beginning but it pulls a complete 180 and ends up being this weirdly emotional and AT TIMES, a holesome wholesome slice of life movie??

Don't get me wrong it doesn't sugarcoat things like objectification of women and there's some degree of realistic portrayal of that bc of the whole Tetsuo working at a sex doll shop thing, it is very true to life- how men can be gross even if they aren't going so far as assaulting anyone. It doesn't excuse it either it just presents it as it is, which is good I think. But then there are OTHER moments where the movie is very sex positive- so its a wild fucking trip tbh. Definitely don't watch it if you have sensitivities to the things I mentioned above bc bro omg the first half almost had me like "yeah I can't watch this" a couple times jfc.

BASICALLY by the end of the movie the message is that communication and being open with people you love (and not getting bogged down with anxiety and guilt) is important, because on top of not being fair to the people who are important to you, hiding things from them can eat you up inside and make you act irrationally and hurt them even more whether you realize it or not. And also, you never know how someone will feel about the things you don't want to tell them. Something that could be huge to you could be no big deal to another.

Its just a very interesting movie. I don't know if I'd recommend it, theres some NUCLEAR SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT CRINGE MOMENTS like oh my god i wanted to die- and like I said above, there's lots of intense subject matter and some not so pretty moments that a lot of people may want to avoid. Id for sure check one of those sites that gives content warnings before watching bc hoo boy...

But all that aside, once again Issey is an incredible actor and his range is apparent in this movie. I saw some like- borderline SLAPSTICK physical comedy moments that had me so surprised bc he did them so well but its so new and different from anything else ive watched him star in. Dude is just unstoppable tbh. He HAS 👏 THE 👏 RANGE!! 👏

Also you get to see him naked a lot. So there's that!

[leffee]

hi it’s anon would you still be interested in writing thoughts or headcannons about submissive Vinnie?

no pressure when you get the chance thank you for letting me know you got my message!

Why of course I'm interested still :)) when it comes to that I am always interested. I just-I just, look, when I have favourite characters I like them submissive every single time, dynamic-wise, general intimacy-wise, whatever-wise. My favourite characters all differ in personality and everything else but that one thing does not change. It will be probably kind of a mix up but I will try to organize it all into thoughts, headcanons, whatever it is:

yes, he's submissive, but only to the people he likes. Because if he doesn't like you and doesn't trust you he's not going to be submissive, in fact, he won't be anything. I really, really want to emphasise I don't mean that in sex-wise. I still think sex is kinda gross, but like, if sex-wise he's also like that, I just don't want to think about it. What was I saying? Oh yeah, it's just that if he likes you enough he will automatically think you're like the best and you're right about everything, so he's going to listen to you

his submission is partly pretty much an extension of him just being really loyal and quite a bit possesive. If he genuinely likes you then he really likes you and will sway in your favour even if he disagrees with you, because you're probably right anyway. He's submissive but on his own terms. Plus he has a tendency to obsess over people. Welp

look, he's just really small, what can I say. Short, skinny, easy to pick up even for people that aren't exactly strong at all. Minka can pick him up pretty much no problem. He's also weak af, like he has no physical strenght at all. I like my fav characters weak :). There's no character like that, at least not in the main 7, but I like the though of some really tall, really muscular person just basically being able to do anything with him, they can just pick him up with one hand. Don't ask, but I have genuinely been thinking about Vinnie and Monty from fnaf having this sort of relationship. Yeah, crossover baby

honestly just picking him up is a big part of it because as I said it's very easy and pretty much anybody can do it. And he likes being picked up or just being carried. Less walking for him? Heck yeah. In all sorts of ways too.

it's a short one, but he's cold all the time, of course he's submissive. Warm him up :( pls

he really really likes when somone initiates affection with him, whatever it is: hugs, kisses, pats, whatever. He just likes being held, ok? Not like he will admit to it though

basically he likes having someone in charge, someone who will tell him what to do and preferably praise him for doing that. He just feels so much more assured if it's someone else who tells him what to do, it sounds much more belivable if it comes out of someone else's mouth. He likes doing some things his way but if it's something important that he can't mess up then he'd really rather someone told him what to do

and he's touch-starved. He just really really craves physical affection but doesn't want to admit that because he thinks it will make him look weak. So then if he gets it he doesn't fully comprehend it and usually tries to pull away rather quickly not to make it awkward, or at least that's the way he thinks about it

oh oh, and he's very physically sensitive in many, many areas. One of them is his neck. You have no idea how sensitive his neck is to any touch, but especially to lips touching it. It's hard to make him blush but this is one of the surefire ways to do it. I have one on these side stories-headcanons or whatever, that once when they were all having a sleepover they were all just doing their own things etc etc, and Zoe was just kinda talking to everyone about typical Zoe things - romance and physical affection and how nice kisses on different spots besides just face are. But nobody else could relate to that because besides her they are all forever single-pringles. So she was just like "You know what, let me kiss your necks." in a very platonic way of course, but still, it's just a nice-feeling kiss on the neck, why wouldn't she do that? If they agree that is. Zoe gets to platonically kiss her friends on the neck, as a treat. Long story short, Vinnie was one of those who wanted to try it and well, he had some sort of awakening that moment. "You're so red, darling, guess I'm just that good." Zoe and Vinnie's friendship is an underrated gem, for real for real. I actually love them a lot. He loves her, she think he's kinda annoying and unhinged. Affectionetly. It's great.

He's a submissive person but like a submissive person with rabies, you know? I want to treat him. Why isn't he real.