#those 2 are codependent to the max

[scrumptiousstuffs]

Your Thai fan is right about fk not being that popular in Thailand and it has a somewhat annoying reason for it. Idk how long you've been a fan but rookie first was super popular, his solo fanbase was one of biggest among rookies back then. When not me came out everyone thought he was finally going to have an official pairing and Thai fans really liked Gawin so they were prepared for the official announcement but then kt came along in the picture and a lot of og fans felt betrayed (very silly I know) and a lot of them (and I mean A LOT) left the fandom. So fk essentially had to start from the scratch bc kt's fandom wasn't that big. And the most annoying part of all of this is there are still some salty ex fans who like to say how first's career took a hit for kt and kt would've been nothing without him. It's very immature but that's how their unique fandom was shaped

Wow anon. The above is certainly interesting (and news) to me.

I admit I don’t know much about rookie First (or Khaotung for that matter). However, I get the impression First had so many more roles (either supporting or main cast) during their rookies year when compared to Khaotung.

I guess I should admit I started watching The Eclipse because of Khaotung (as I recognised him from 2gether and ATOTS, where I really liked his characters in those series. BrightWin….not so much) - I didn’t even know about First then 🫣

Then, after The Eclipse - I just started binge watching every single show that had either First or Khaotung 😅 (which obviously include the iconic Not Me, The Shipper, Tonhon Chonlatee, 55:15 Never too late - the latter still remains the most under-rated gem ever)

So….for me, while I liked First with Gawin and even Khaotung with Pawin (the boys can have chemistry with a rock as far as I’m concerned), I went in already seeing the beautiful (and to me personally, unmatched chemistry) of FirstKhaotung.

There is something “je ne sais quoi” about FK - maybe it’s their charm? Or is it their solid, dependable friendship that transcends reality, space and time? Whatever they have, I’m here for it.

But it is disheartening to see fans (can we even call them that?) of actors act like above just because they didn’t get their way. 🥲

Anyway, their loss. FirstKhaotung are wonderful human beings, phenomenal actors and their international fans keep growing exponentially (and yes, while I will also love them to be more recognised nationally/SEA - there’s still fans like you and I who supports them unconditionally 🤍🧡)

[lune-moon-nuit]

"...cause I love her and I CAN'T LOSE her AGAIN"

“I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max is with Eleven's powers. In fact, how careless all of you are. You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the Earth. So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again.”

Mike’s most quoted line in Season 3 — “Because I love her and I can’t lose her again” — is often cited as definitive proof of his love for Eleven. But this statement, when viewed in full context, is a trauma response rather than a heartfelt romantic confession.

What’s hilarious is that the reason why he said that is literally in the sentence itself: the trauma. It’s ironic that this scene is being used as the ultimate proof, when in reality, it perfectly illustrates Mike’s core issue. The trauma of having watched her sacrifice herself to protect him, after he’d spent the entire first season urging her to use her powers (he literally said it in season 1 that she was a weapon). What pushed him to say this was the accumulation of all the unresolved trauma he experienced throughout Seasons 1 and 2—and that doesn’t exactly strengthen your argument, because…

The trauma begins in Season 1. Mike forms a fast, intense bond with Eleven while Will is missing. He projects his grief, fear, and protective instincts onto her.

Expanding upon the notion that trauma lies at the heart of Mike and Eleven's relationship, it's significant to note that the moment Mike kisses Eleven in Season 1 occurs on the very same day he effectively attempted suicide by leaping into the quarry—an act from which she rescued him. From that point forward, he perceives himself as entirely indebted to her. Not only had he already idealized her as his only hope of finding Will, but she now embodied the literal reason he was still alive. Layered atop this is the influence of those around him—Lucas, Dustin, and even Nancy—who had begun to suggest he harbored romantic feelings toward her. Combined with his own confused emotions, the pedestal upon which he placed her from the very beginning due to the almost mythic timing of her arrival in his life, it constructs what appears to be a perfect narrative. And as a Dungeon Master and an aspiring storyteller, Mike is especially susceptible to such emotionally charged, almost archetypal storylines. Within this context, it becomes entirely plausible that he would interpret his overwhelming emotions—rooted in trauma, gratitude, and projection—as romantic love. That this kiss occurred on the very day of a near-death experience he never references again (and may never have shared with anyone besides those present) underscores the depth of repression and denial involved. Fundamentally, their relationship is born out of mutual trauma and survivor’s guilt. It is a structure of codependency rather than genuine romantic affection. Personally, I believe that had Mike not jumped into the quarry, and had Eleven not saved him, he would not have kissed her that night.

From the moment Eleven disappears at the end of Season 1 after using her powers to save him and their friends, Mike internalizes guilt and blame. He had encouraged her to keep using her powers, to push herself, and to fight — and she seemingly died because of it. He urges her to use her powers repeatedly, culminating in her presumed death. For nearly a year, Mike believes she died because he pushed her too far, he grieved her, believing it was his fault. This established a psychological pattern of guilt and a compulsive need to protect her, not because of romantic love, but as a trauma response.

If he truly loved her romantically, he would’ve reacted with joy and emotional fulfillment at the end of Season 3, when El told him she heard what he said and that she loves him too. He would’ve kissed her back, smiled, said something, even if he was surprised. The truth of that scene is, ironically, a perfect summary of how Mike—his point of view and his emotions—is misunderstood by the other characters and also by the audience. Because he is incapable of truly communicating or expressing his emotions.

That scene is literally Mike breaking down in a full-blown panic, triggered by his unresolved trauma: the fear of loss and abandonment caused by Will’s disappearance in Season 1, El’s absence and presumed death in Season 2, the helplessness of watching Will be possessed and nearly die, the massacre at the lab (gosh let’s be honest, Michael Wheeler urgently needs therapy, I did a post cut in two part : here and here who develop more and where I was already mentioning how this scene says a lot about Mike mental health), and finally, his survivor’s guilt for having encouraged El to use her powers to the point where she “died” right before his powerless eyes. This scenario is a mirror of Season 1's climax, and Mike’s panic reveals a deep-rooted fear of repeating past events.

For a whole year, he believed he was the reason El was dead. And the very argument that triggered that line was literally about whether or not El should keep pushing herself and her powers to the limit to stop Billy—when she had already nearly died doing exactly that. So yes, when Mike says, "Because I love her and I CAN’T LOSE HER AGAIN," it's true. Because, breaking news: Mike does love El. He deeply cares about her. He feels the need to protect her. He carries immense guilt over what happened to her, which only amplifies his desperate need to protect her now and avoid repeating the same mistake that, in his eyes, led to her "death"—a death that felt absolutely real to him.

When faced with the possibility of losing El again in Season 3, Mike's fear resurfaces—not because he is madly in love, but because he cannot emotionally survive another loss for which he feels responsible (he is just 14 here remember). The panic in his voice, the overwhelming urgency of “I can’t lose her again,” reveals that it is not romantic love driving him—it is fear, shame, and unresolved grief. This is compounded by his lack of romantic follow-through when she returns. There is no joy, no emotional intimacy, no physical warmth. Instead, there is distance, awkwardness, and emotional shutdown.

But the real truth in that line isn’t even the “because I love her” part—because nothing in that moment confirms he's saying it romantically (especially since he can’t even say it to her face, can’t write it to her, and still can’t say it even after she confirmed that she loves him and heard him say it). So yes, he loves her, just like he loves Lucas, just like he loves Nancy, just like he loves Dustin.

What truly matters in that sentence is: “and I CAN’T lose her AGAIN.” And those are the words he emphasizes. Not “because I love her”—that part is rushed, buried in the flood of words he’s pouring out mid-panic. But he clearly articulates and stresses “and I CAN’T lose her AGAIN.”

Everything is shown here—not told—through his words, his body language, his tone, the context. His trauma is triggered. He’s terrified. He’s trying to prevent history from repeating itself, because the current situation feels too much like the Season 1 finale from his perspective.

So no, it wasn’t romantic love that drove him to say that. It was unresolved, ignored trauma being violently reactivated. The only difference lies in how people interpret that line—be it other characters or the audience—through the lens of heteronormativity, completely ignoring the full context and everything that follows in Mike’s behavior and attitude toward El.

It could’ve been cute, and could’ve worked in your favor—if the show had ended with that episode. But unfortunately, the Season 3 finale and the entirety of Season 4 only go on to confirm that yes, he loves her and he can’t lose her again, but he doesn’t love her romantically, and he is deeply traumatized and in need of healing from his abandonment and loss issues—or else Vecna’s going to have an easy time with him.

If Mike were truly in love with Eleven, one would expect expressions of that love to come naturally, especially in moments of emotional vulnerability. Yet, at the end of Season 3, when Eleven tells him she heard what he said and that she loves him too, Mike gives no response. He looks stunned, confused, almost empty. He does not affirm her words, kiss her back, or show any sign of romantic fulfillment. Mike’s behavior in these scenes doesn’t resemble a boy in love. It resembles a boy in distress, one who is playing a role he feels obligated to fulfill, but who cannot emotionally connect with that role.

This pattern continues in Season 4. He avoids writing “Love, Mike” (and write every time "From Mike" instead) in letters, despite knowing it’s what Eleven needs to hear. When confronted, he dodges and manipulates: “I say it”. But we, the audience (and El too), know that he doesn’t. His behavior is not that of a loving boyfriend, but of someone trapped in a role he doesn’t know how to escape from. His “I love you” speech in Volume 2 is prompted not by genuine passion, but by external pressure, specifically by Will’s emotionally charged metaphorical painting (that channels Will’s own feelings for him) and pep talk and his finally staged encouragement ("don't stop, remember, you are the heart ! You're the heart"). The words are performative, desperate, idealized—not grounded in emotional truth. He praises a version of Eleven that no really exists, emphasizing her strength and powers, not her vulnerability, her personality, or her heart. This suggests he is in love with the idea of her—an idea shaped by admiration, yes, but especially guilt and obligation, not affection (further alienating her and reinforcing that his attachment is conditional and performative).

So yes, if the only two times your boyfriend tells you he loves you are:

– once, when you're not physically present, and he says it in a panicked trauma response, then refuses to take ownership of those words afterwards,

– and the second time is only after you told him that never hearing it from him is hurting you, and you need to hear it—and instead of reassuring you, he gaslights you into thinking he says it when he clearly doesn’t, dodges the subject by idealizing you as a superhero…

…and this “I love you” only comes when you’re on the brink of death, and only because his best friend handed him a painting with a disguised declaration of love in it?

Then I’m sorry, but that’s not romance. That’s codependency, guilt, trauma, emotional repression, and societal expectations. Not romantic love.

The relationship between Mike and El has long been framed through a heteronormative lens, one that presumes emotional closeness between a boy and a girl must equate to romantic attraction. The show’s framing and marketing often push this narrative, but Mike’s behavior consistently subverts it. His discomfort with physical affection, his emotional volatility, and his failure to express romantic feelings — even when prompted — all suggest that this narrative is externally imposed, not internally felt.

The audience’s insistence on seeing “Because I love her and I can't lose her again” as a definitive romantic confession overlooks the complexity of Mike’s trauma, his guilt, and his emotional repression. It ignores the fact that he never says it to Eleven directly until forced to, and even then, it is with inauthentic language and shaky motivation. The tragedy is that Mike’s real love story — one rooted in slow-burn intimacy, shared vulnerability, and mutual understanding — is with Will. But because it doesn’t fit the traditional mold, it goes unacknowledged by both the characters and the audience.

Mike Wheeler is not a romantic lead blindly in love with Eleven. He is a traumatized boy burdened by guilt, struggling with self-identity, repressing his true feelings, and unconsciously projecting protectiveness as love. His actions toward Eleven are rooted in trauma, not desire, while his connection with Will reveals the kind of emotional intimacy that speaks to a deeper, romantic truth. Until Mike confronts his trauma and his sexuality, he will continue to play a role that does not align with who he truly is — a boy in love, not with the girl who saved him, but with the boy who always understood him.

Mike is not a character who lacks love—on the contrary, he feels deeply. But his emotional repression, unresolved trauma, and fear of loss lead him to confuse guilt with devotion, and obligation with romance. His relationship with Eleven is a product of circumstance and narrative expectation—but it lacks the emotional reciprocity, intimacy, and authenticity of true romantic love. Meanwhile, his emotional world orbits around Will, whose presence brings out the rawest, most vulnerable, and most honest version of Mike.

In truth, Mike doesn’t need a girlfriend—he needs healing. He needs to confront his guilt, allow himself to feel, and to stop hiding behind a version of love that doesn’t belong to him. Only then will he be able to understand what love really is—and who it’s truly for.

[inthebitterwatchesofthenight]

Five and Lila (nonromantic) subway headcanons

Like everyone I really hated the Five x Lila storyline and the butchered potential of their almost-sibling relationship development.

But one thing that really ticked me, and that I haven't really read about yet, is: that timeskip montage looks like 3 weeks, maybe 2 months at best, not SIX FUCKING YEARS. In six years, people visibly age, especially under duress, if, for example, the only thing they can eat is rats?? (I'm not even talking about how they managed to keep roughly the same clothes and haircuts for six years without any explanation, or how they miraculously cleaned up before going back to Diego and Lila's precisely at the right point in time...) In six years alone with another person, you would probably struggle keeping your sanity, and the end result for each of them would probably look something like early stages of Apocalypse S1 Five. In six years alone with another person, even with prior attraction (which would already be ooc for both of them but whatever let's just grant them that for the sake of the argument), you would end up HATING each other all the way through your codependent relationship. I could see them having sex after six months (still following those creepy-ass ooc assumptions), but I could certainly NOT see them kissing softly and romantically wine-dining after SIX YEARS (the time those goddamn showrunners told us it took for passion to die down in a perfect marriage?? How about helltrap subway then??)

So after that really long preamble, here are my headcanons for what that subway section should really have looked like:

No Five x Lila, obviously

They bicker all the time; this escalates into outright fights. At some point, Lila storms off somewhere and they lose each other for five months.

When they realise they're not going home anytime soon, Five finds a timeline with a Dolores (other than the original one) and steals her away, because he's going to need her to cope through this. (Of course, he needs to apologize to her for being gone this long.)

At first, Lila thinks that Five is nuts for talking to Dolores, but in a matter of days she understands the urge and Dolores becomes her best friend. Five and Lila fight over Dolores's approval all. the. time.

Lila collects little trinkets to bring home to Grace and the twins (like the plushies in New Grumpson). After two years the gift bag has got way too big and Five helps her sort out the ones she really wants to keep; she bawls her eyes out and they arrange the throwaway gifts neatly on a bench, just in case they can come back and get them.

They find some really weird and fun timelines. Don't care what, they just do. Lila almost gets killed trying to bring home a souvenir.

Five and Lila find Max's Delicatessen together. By the way, there's a few Lilas there, ones that also met Fives. Lila can vent about her relationship trouble Diego with another Lila who has also married a Diego. But the other Diego is dead, and Lila realizes just how much she wants to get home before that happens.

This is a bit irrelevant, but that Five deli paradox psychosis plothole is explained by a random artefact created by Commission Five (like in his room in S3 I think?).

Five and Lila wait a short while in the deli to make a plan about the apocalypse. Another Five arrives, finds out about the marigold, and says out loud that the solution would be to erase all Hargreeves siblings from existence. A few seconds of silence, and then all the other Fives slaughter him because what kind of Five would to this to their family???? This is also one of the purposes of the deli, by the way. To make sure no Five comes out of the subway with delirious, dangerous ideas about harming their siblings.

Five and Lila realise that if Viktor can take away the marigold from people like Harlan, then he can take it away from his siblings. And what about Viktor himself? Well, Lila can mimic his powers and they can take away each other's marigold at the same time, and lose their powers just as they're done. Darn, why didn't they think of this sooner?

Lila tries to relook Five. After four or five years, he gives in, sees the end result and immediately finds a timeline with a suit to steal so as to fix this freakish mistake. He wears a hat for a while to try and hide his undercut hair.

Lila sings a lot. Five lets her, and just mumbles about her lousy tastes in music to Dolores.

Lila adopts a monstrous pet (three-headed cat? Giant bee?) for a few stops, and it mysteriously disappears at some point. Major fight ensues. Maybe this is why she leaves for a while.

In another timeline, they briefly meet a version of Diego that's not dead yet. He tries to kill them, Lila tells him that he's a great dad, he's weirded out and runs away.

Five picks up littered newspaper to see if there's anything interesting. He becomes a crossword addict. He moves to a new special interest puzzle game every few months.

After a fight, Five's big making-up strategy is to sit down next to Lila and start talking shit about the Handler. It kinda works.

I'm gonna stop here, this is already way too long. Please share your own headcanons if you have any!

[trainsinanime]

The following post is intended to be seen as levity and joking, not salt.

Chloé this, Chloé that, "Redemption started?", "Redemption interrupted?", "Redemption cancelled?". The discussion is getting old. What I haven't seen enough yet is how the show did Sabrina really dirty, by giving her the worst thing of all: A conscience.

The early parts of the show toyed a lot with how exactly Chloé and her relation to Sabrina works, which was clearly not well established when the first episode came out (hell, they didn't even seem to know who Max and Kim were yet, they only had their character models). Sabrina's deal is easy enough in the abstract, but difficult to pin down in the early episodes: Is she more meek or mean? More of a victim or more of a bully? Does she share Chloé's values whole-heartedly, opportunistically, or is she pressured into it? Does she have scruples or is she just a coward? Those are all elements in her character to some extent, but the exact mixture did not really solidify until she got an episode to shine and be away from Chloé, in Evilstrator.

That episode did the fairly obvious plot of Marinette going, "you can stand up to your bully instead of doing their homework for them!", and then showed us how Sabrina reacted. And the reaction was: Sabrina is every bit as unhinged as Chloé, just in completely different ways, and their dysfunctional relationship might just be the only one in which either of them can function.

This choice is not fully unproblematic, but ultimately okay in my book. I think die-hard Sabrina stans might call this character assassination, but I don't think there are any die-hard Sabrina stans. I feel like I should become one just to even out the numbers. Anyway, the choice clearly telegraphs that the show is not interested in long-running redemption arcs, which, you know, fair enough, it is designed for six-year-old French kids after all. (Yes, season 2 and 3 looked rather different here, but that's later)

The show did not exactly use Sabrina consistently after that, but for a while, they leaned into it. Early Sabrina was often mean, materialistic, codependent (I don't actually know what that word means I'm just guessing) and toxic in her own way. She broke into Marinette's room, helped steal Marinette's designs, lie and cheat for Chloé.

And then that was basically it. The show mostly forgot about her. She was an appendage to Chloé, usually frightened and a bit incompetent, but not much more. When Chloé showed signs of a bit of a hint of a redemption arc, Sabrina was not part of it. When Chloé gained a sister for, I actually don't know (I still maintain that "replacement bee" makes no sense for anything but selling merch), and there were hints that this might be relevant to her story, Sabrina wasn't there.

What did happen in the moments we saw Sabrina was that Sabrina got more meek, more scared of Chloé, and less mean. There were no more hints of her playing superheroes with Chloé and being at least somewhat of a friend, and also none of the meanness of Miraculer, one of the worst Akuma names in the show. Instead she was now in a closet doing Chloé's homework.

As she becomes less effective, she becomes more sympathetic, with some moments e.g. in the New York special, until she finally becomes Miss Hound. At this point we have basically the exact same thing that Evilstrator rejected: Sabrina is really just an oppressed underling who is too scared to tell Chloé to stop, instead of someone with at least some of her own ideas that happen to overlap with Chloé's in all the worst ways.

This all comes to a head in confrontation, when Sabrina's defining character trait is suddenly, out of nowhere, that as a police officer's daughter, she hates lying and stealing and hates that Chloé makes her do it. Since when!? Sabrina, weren't you around for Darkblade!?

Sabrina breaks off her friendship with Chloé and is now officially a good girl. And that sucks.

Old Sabrina had a certain edge to her. She made sense as an Akuma threat on her own, and even as a threat to Chloé as Vanisher and Miraculer. Now, she's only an Akuma effectively when Chloé tells her to, and she stopped listening to Chloé anyway. Her personality is now strictly: A good girl. Not like Chloé.

Ironically, in her emancipation, she has lost almost everything that made her unique, and become entirely defined by Chloé in every way. She's her own person, but with barely any personality traits except "not like Chloé anymore". No hobbies, no meaningful relationships with anyone, she's just there, and nice now I guess.

There are so much more interesting things you could have done with a mean Sabrina, which we know for sure because the show already did some.

But that's really part of a wider issue: When people talk about Chloé, they mostly forget Sabrina, and Sabrina isn't interesting enough to stand on her own. The ideas of a Chloé redemption throughout season 2, 3 and in some form 4 focused on Chloé's relationship with Ladybug, Marinette, a bit Adrien, Audrey, and a bit Zoé. Chloé's super-duper villain arc in season 5 focused on her relationship with Lila. Sabrina, who has been here from day one, who has the longest and most complex relationship with Chloé out of any character, is not a part of it at all.

I think that sucks. I think Sabrina has more potential, but in particular I think Chloé is more interesting if we include Sabrina in the discussion as well. Their relationship is something deeply weird and unique, and any Chloé redemption that brushes it off leaves a lot of very tasty crumbs on the table. It sucks that it ended like that. Yes, Sabrina is now redeemed, but as a result of that, she's boring, and isn't that much worse than being evil?

In short: We should all write more Chloé/Sabrina fanfics.

[coffeebooksrain18]

Thank you for the tag @sugutoad I've also done this but as you know I have so many ocs I can do this for AGES! So let's talk about Rhaella Targaryen sincei did Aelys last time.

1: What is something that your oc would never purchase for themselves, but would be (secretly) delighted to receive as a gift?

Rhaella is self sacrificing to the max, not letting herself be with the one she wants (until her to be betrothed "cheats" on her) but if I'm honest probably jewelry. Many of her jewelry was gifted to her by those she loves, she doesn't buy it rather letting her younger sister Rhaena (the black bride) picking everything she wants instead.

2: Is your oc ticklish? If so has anyone dared to find out?

Rhaella was ticklish but being the eldest of 5 children means she got used to being tickled and at some point her body learned to ignore it.

3: How easy does your oc find it to apogize.

Hard to say the least, especially if she felt slighted. And sadly this often happens with her love interest Maegor (yes the Cruel I love me some fucked up codependent toxic relationships fight me if you want)

4: When did your oc first see a dead body? If the have not seen one yet, how would they react to doing so?

She has seen one, it was during the war against the Seven and she didn't know how to feel about it. For on one hand it was awful to see someone die, and on the other she also knew they ent after her children and she wanted them to die.

5: Does your oc have recurring dreams? Have they ever told anyone about them?

Yes, when the war started with the Seven and they went after her children. She then became paranoid to the point she would have nightmares of her children in dying. Only a couple people know of these dreams, Maegor, Rhaena, and Alyssa Velaryon.

6: Is your oc stingy with their money (or other resources)? Or are they a but of a spendthrift?

I would say Stingy? But she's a Princess so it's hard to say. Though I would say she does think about what she needs rather than wants.

7: Does your oc have a sweet tooth? Or do they prefer to avoid sweet or sugary treats?

Rhaella perfers savory treats and often if she does have salted caramels or a sort of peanut brittle instead of cakes or pies. But even then she would nore that likely have a platter of cold meats and cheeses before those.

8: Is your oc easily provokes by insults or mockery?

Yes, especially if it's about her siblings. She can stomach when it's her from time to time but when it comes to her family all bets are off. It took her a while to learn to not just attack but to calmly put people in ther place.

9: Where is somewhere your oc has visited before and never wants to go to again.

Casterly rock, she went on her royal tour when her and Maegor became King and Queen but she didn't like how most of the castle was under the rock and how she couldn't sit in the sun as easily as she often wants. But most of all they made a fuss about Meraxes hunting their cattle and fish and she hs never forgotten that slight.

10: Is your oc ever somewhat flirtatious

Yes and no, she knows how to flirt and how to get what she wants through that but she isn't someone who is flirtatious.

Tagging: @athzhowakar @classicsimpforaaronwarner @ilikefelines @themoonlitquill @liebgotts-lovergirl

[juniperhillpatient]

I finished Yellowjackets and I already miss it! Any recs for what to watch to fill the void?

Omg I feel you every day of my life I miss Yellowjackets I wish I could watch it all for the first time again 😭

I don’t really watch that many shows so I’m terrible with recommending stuff 😅

If you want more depravity & complicated awful female villains & anti heroes with complex toxic sapphic dynamics Hostel 2 is my go to but you do have to watch the first one to understand it & I love the first one myself but it is very man heavy with characters lol

If you are really wanting to lean more into the messed up flesh consuming homoerotic codependent sapphic dynamic aspect specifically I’d recommend Ginger Snaps or Jennifer’s Body the main canon sapphic female relationships in both those movies are brain rotting in similar ways to JackieShauna. (Though Ginger Snaps gets incestuous so I know that’s as quick for a lot of people tread carefully)

Ooh as far as TV shows go you’d probably enjoy Killing Eve if you like Yellowjackets although that one the writing really goes downhill pretty badly so I do hesitate to recommend it unless you’re in it for the parts that are worth it & prepared for disappoint down the line…. Ugh but Eve & Villanelle are SUCH amazing characters!!

Dead to Me is another show that’s really good & far less depraved & more drama centric than the other stuff I’ve mentioned. However in my opinion the writing does go downhill but the first 2 seasons? Iconic. Not canonically gay like the other things I’ve mentioned but still a delicious dynamic between two complicated & somewhat crazy women.

Not in the same genre as my other recs but Bottoms is a great comedic movie if you just want crazy & sort of awful lesbians.

Oh —- ok last 3 recommendations. These ones don’t necessarily have the toxic crazy sapphic girlies element of YJ that I just assume is a big part of the draw (it is for me lol) HOWEVER they are some of my faves -

Hannibal. I love this show. It’s art. I don’t have anything else to say that hasn’t been said meow articulately by more hardcore fans. I watched this entire show in a fever haze when I had Covid so that probably affects my analytical ability but I promise it’s great. It’s also a little man heavy & the female characters could be… done better sometimes so that is a criticism I have that keeps it from being a number one fave for me but Hannibal & Will are VERY compelling & the plot & visuals are soooo good.

Scream mtv I honestly feel like you’ve seen this one I’m pretty sure but it’s a fave of all time & Emma/Audrey is one of my fave ships of all time. Excellent cast excellent writing it’s so good.

Bates Motel. This show is so slept on in fandom & it’s probably the best horror tv I’ve ever seen from start to finish it tells an amazingly cohesive prequel backstory for one of the most iconic villains of all time in a way that honors the book & film both of which I LOVE & somehow manages to stay fresh & shocking & exciting despite the audience knowing where it’s going. For quality horror tv I can’t recommend this show highly enough it’s honestly the best thing on this list on an objective level like the cinematography the fantastic acting from Vera Farmiga & Freddy Highmore especially but also Max Theriot & Olivia Cookie I just - I LOVE this show. Heavy heavy trigger warning though not just for incest which is inherent to a Psycho prequel but like…. Everything you could ever need a trigger warning for. There is a significant amount of SA shown so yeah be careful.

Anyway there you go you’ve probably seen a lot of the stuff on this list but this is what I could think of to watch next to somewhat keep the mood of Yellowjackets although of course we both know YJ is unique enough you’re never going to recapture that exact vibe 😉

If anyone else has recommendations also I’d also be curious! ❤️

Oh wait last thing my best friend Juliet Lewis plays another iconic traumatized girly with maybe worse daddy issues than Natalie even in Natural Born Killers. This is one of my favorite movies but it is NOT for everyone. You are signing up for unapologetic depravity & sympathetic serial killer villain main characters with a toxic relationship. Now for me those are selling points but it is a very messed up movie so yeah. Trigger warning for SA incest & basically every dynamic in the movie being the definition of toxic.

Okay that’s off the top of my head for watching after YJ I’m done now lol 🫶

****Edit I’m listening to music on my porch as I play on tumblr & I Know the End by my best friend Phoebe Bridgers came on & I remembered to recommend School Spirits it’s not exactly the same horror vibes of YJ but I just think you’d like it because it’s a delightfully creepy compelling & fun ghost story / mystery with absolutely wonderful characters fun cinematography exciting lore a good plot & a banger soundtrack ok I’m done now lmao go watch School Spirits it’s so great

[meteortrails]

having a personal lil daredevil (tv show) moment rn I won’t lie. at some point after I start actually reading marvel comics I’ll have to look into it but who in the world has time for anything. but anyways at least in the first season or so of the show there’s something deeply appealing to me about Matt and Foggy’s relationship just in the way of like, how fully they know each other? like they both love each other so deeply while knowing exactly where the others faults and weak points lie and when they really truly fight it gets fucking vicious bc of it but it also means the moments of care and tenderness are that much more real for it. also those bitches are so codependent they’ve spent a whole decade attached at the hip and have like 2-3 friends max outside of each other I love it

[psychelis-new]

pick a pile: "Who are/will be your friends"

take a breath and choose the photo or number that calls you the most to read about how your friends see you and/or how you may be meeting your new friends and what they will think about you/how they will see you. Also no offence for the pics choice, I love sheeps.

don’t take the reading too seriously. only take what resonates with you and leave the rest. if you're not called by any pile, let this reading slid as it may not hold messages for you. if you're called by more than one pile, there may be messages in each of those piles. remember that is a general reading and some things may not resonate with you. energies can change and readings are based on present ones (as you read); you're always in charge of your life.

(photos found on unsplash)

- ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ -

1 2 3 4

’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ -

pile 1

These are people that are pretty similar to you. You may be knowing them for a lot now, for some they may be childhood friends or something. You just need to look at them to be able to read their mind and understand what they think. Huge deep bond. For others, they may be part of your soul family or a past life partner/friend/connection. Okay there are two situations here: 1) you know them so deep down, every small detail about the other, that basically you are the same person and you support each other and care and really talk like 24/7 about any little thing that happens and you are very aware of how the other changed through the years (it could be also for new people: you talk a lot and tell the other everything about your life in a few days); 2) you have been knowing each other for long (or even just met) but you don't really know the other's favorite color, for example. It's a slightly different type of friendship. It's close, it's caring, but it's not as deep as one would imagine. You may even go a few days/weeks without talking and it's fine, when you meet again, it's like nothing happened. The care, the support, the help are there in whatever case. And it works for y'all, so why not. In both cases I think it involves you and another max. 2 people, not more (but it could be just 1). You may be kinda introverted people or just enjoy some time off occasionally, to recharge or do your own things. But you end up being there for the other if they need, no matter what. You may even sleep to each other's place to be able to share your experiences during the evening/night. For many of you I feel it's a same gender friendship for others is a different gender one, and for a few ones this person may turn into your romantic partner.

song: tú | maye

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pile 2

Very protective friends. They kinda shield you. If you meet someone new, maybe even a love interest, they are pretty jealous of you and need to know everything about this person before feeling okay with you going out with them. They may even stalk this person on socials? Masculine/boss energy, but it doesn't have to be a male person ofc (or people... actually I'm getting 3-4 people, so it could even be mixed). You may be knowing them from high school or college/university, for some of you they may be your colleagues. Very grounded, stable energy, I am feeling like those superhero that stand in front of you to protect you from a possible danger. This may turn into something toxic tbh, cause they should trust you and let you leave your life the way you need... it's just that they don't want you to suffer, probably cause you've been suffering a lot through your life. It's very nice and cute of them ofc, but it's also their codependency talking: be aware of this and talk things out with them if they are a bit too controlling and protective of you. They may be needing to work on themselves, on these parts of them, these triggers. The moment they realize all this with your help, things will change for everyone and be more easy to afford. Find a way to compromise, to come together to an healthier point with time and patience. They will change their approach and point of view on life and on you, and accept that you can and need to experience your life as you're an adult and you can take care of you too. And you can even get hurt while living. But you can survive, they'll know. And they'll be there to support you whenever you need. Huge older brother/sister energy. Even crush energy for a few (you are their crush).

song: boyfriend | dove cameron

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pile 3

Huge "squad" energy. You may be all the same gender and like to go out and enjoy all together. If someone is missing for any issue, you feel their absence and find ways to be with them anyway maybe through a phone call. Let's say one person of your team is ill, you may renounce to a night out and go to their place to cheer them up and be with them. You totally do anything together. I think it's about 4-5 people here, including you. You like to go out at night especially, go to parties/pubs and dance together. Maybe you like to make fun of guys/people trying to approach you (if applicable)? But sometimes it's different... I see you, not gonna go there with this reading, sorry. :) I think you may share courses too, maybe college or dancing courses, or play in a sport team (even cheeleaders?)... something like that. You spend a lot of time together also during the day. You like shopping together, eating together... you talk a lot too. There's some kind of sisterhood or brotherhood here. You're there to help each other, your are totally a group, like "bro's before ho's". Together you're stronger, like nothing can hit you and having the others' support is fundamental. But from cards it seems you don't always talk about heavy stuff or past stuff (before you got together), at least not with everyone there. That's probably something you may need to do, to be more open about anything you don't like or how you really feel inside. It's true that y'all enjoy being together but if you feel down, not all of your friends may notice or you (or one friend) may hide that. Your squad is strong, please find ways to talk about your mental health together: you can get out of any personal problem also thanks to your friends, you don't have to hide and push it all down night after night. Take courage and speak up, you will be understood by your friends (or ask your friends to speak if you feel something isn't right with them). None of you is a burden for the others, you should know that.

song: i choose you | mario

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pile 4

Your friends are or will be pretty different from you (etnicity, background, upbringing, culture, ideas, "social class"...). They are very caring of you, very kind and generous and indeed, very different even among them. They see you as very sweet and they kinda feel protective of you but in an healthy way. It feels like y'all complete each other. You learn a lot from each other too. Lot of fun times together, lot of laughs, but also nice talks at night even on heavy topics or sharing your lives' experiences. They may help you heal some parts of you that still need work (maybe some fears or insecurities about yourself and how you can be perceived by others/in relationships of any type), they'll help you be more focused and determined, more you. Very supportive group. They help you also working towards your dreams, finding your true call and desire and create your own dream outcome. They help you know yourself better too. Just by communicating with them, you find ways to reach your inner side more easily. They balance you very well, and help you stay balanced. It may be a spiritual connection too, they may be part (all of them or just a few) of your soul family, and you may be supposed to meet them at a specific time in your life. Some of you may be trying to manifest them in their life atm, it will happen the moment you let go and trust, especially yourself (work on your inner world to decide what you really want out of a friendship). There's no judgment here, it's a pure friendship. For some it may involve a slightly large group (around 5-6 or a few more people but no more than 8), for others it's 3-4 or less.

song: angel of mine | monica

[jessamine-rose]

Do you think it would ever be possible for any of the darlings to start getting too close to each other?

Maybe 2 of the darlings begin to be more affectionate towards one another, and confide in each other to a whole new level of trust, and they start to realise that the bond they share between one another is perhaps more ‘safe’ than the one they share with their respective yandere?

If hypothetically that did happen how long would it take for their yanderes to notice the change in their dynamics? Would they feel threatened by it? Would they take action?

I just read about how you envision the interactions between Pierro’s and Pantalone’s darlings and I the gears in my head just started running max speed honestly, Pierro’s darling wanting to protect Pantalone’s darlings made me think thoughts…

Read my Yandere! Harbinger fics first!! Fic spoilers under the cut~

First of all, Anonie, thank you for sending this. The mere length of your ask + your interest in my darlings made me go :0 !!

It’s impossible for the darlings to become close, let alone help one another. For starters, they only see each other during the extremely rare public event/ Harbinger’s meeting, and the Harbingers are cautious enough to keep those interactions brief. The yanderes would definitely take action if their darlings ever showed interest in becoming more than acquaintances.

Also, the darlings are too broken and codependent on their yanderes to seek other close bonds. By the end of their fics, Kitty and Assistant are too delusional to perceive the twisted reality of their situation. Meanwhile, Damsel and Savior are both resigned to their Stockholm Syndrome because they’ve never felt “happier” since meeting their Harbingers. So their feelings for one another will never extend beyond surface-level camaraderie or passive concern :<

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about how the longest Buck and Eddie have ever been apart is like two weeks max. And they miss each other so much. That giant smile when Christopher called? “Did you ever think what that would do to us?” “Do you have any idea how much Christopher misses you?”

Like...they are such a staple in each other’s lives. They literally live together for days at a time on the job.

And “Do you have any idea how much Christopher misses you?” How much is he usually over between shifts of living together? I mean, I would say I don’t think that there’s been a time between shifts that they weren’t spending time together, or at the very least talking.

And that quote was literally said when Buck wasn’t even at the 118 already! So it wasn’t just the lack of having those 24hrs together, Buck was still there all the time, for sure. Many times a week. Maybe daily. Because like - they definitely talk every single day and in that sense two weeks is a very long time to go without that. But for (and I know this was mostly projection but also based in something, I’m sure) Christopher to miss him means that two weeks is significantly longer than has ever been spent between visits. 

And I mean, we knew all of this, of course. I just wanna drive home that both divorce arcs have lasted a maximum of two weeks. And the reunion has always been like it’s been...idk, longer. These in love, codependent fools. 

Point is, this is also just further confirmation that Buck has been living at the Diaz house (in the same way Taylor was living with him before she moved in) as far back as season 3. I mean, it makes sense, too, with “I’m not exactly a guest”, and I’m just remembering that this whole thing was before he had even said that or ever been seen in the Diaz home onscreen.

But, and this was going to be a short post, I swear, but now I’m thinking thinky thoughts, it makes me think about season 2, too. How much was Buck coming over between 203 and 207 before Shannon came back? Was it weird for them that he suddenly wasn’t there all the time anymore? Was he still - we didn’t get any comments about a difference in his presence in Christopher’s life? Was Buck being there constantly a new thing after Shannon died? Was it a new thing after Buck’s accident? An effort on Eddie’s part, like the end of Kid’s Today, to keep him supported and close while he wasn’t at the 118?

I’m actually gonna settle on that one, because imagine: Buck and Eddie, like all of the 118, live together in the firehouse for entire days at a time. This is normal. Everyone is used to it. Then Buck can’t come to work anymore, so Eddie tries to maintain that normalcy by having him over at the Diaz home all the time. Then, of course, the lawsuit, but then, when Buck comes back to the 118, they just...keep doing that. Because they’ve gotten into the habit of seeing each other between shifts now, even though they are on said shifts together again.

So now they literally live together more than they do separately because of the combined time at the firehouse and the (Buckley-)Diaz home and have for...three years? Did I get that right?

edit: also, though, the potential that Buck has lived at Eddie’s house as long as, if not longer, than he has his own. (he got the loft in 218)

[bonesgadh]

The involution of Mileven vs the evolution of Lumax

I'm both a Mileven and Lumax shipper. That said, I find it quite interesting how both pairs' characterizations have taken very different paths despite having things in common at the beginning.

On Stranger Things 2 is where you can spot more similarities between them, even if they only became official couples until the season finale. Mike was the first person to show El kindness, and he defended her and protected her. Lucas was consistently kind and friendly to Max since she arrived and advocated for her to join the Party despite Mike's reluctance. El was fiercely protective of Mike, and Max didn't hesitate to threaten Billy after he attacked Lucas.

On Stranger Things 3 is when things went south with Mileven, though. It's difficult to believe that the same Mileven that painfully longed after each other for 353 days is the same Mileven that became so utterly possessive. Not only that, but the way they sexualized their relationship was something that made me uncomfortable (and a lot of people, too).

Mileven couldn't spend a day without seeing each other and were sewn by the mouth, and Lumax's relationship was very chaotic. Both pairs had an immature component to their relationship (understandable given their age). However, there's a substantial difference between them: Mike & El's reluctance to have a life outside their relationship was toxic and codependent; Lucas & Max had a life of their own. They spent time with their friends, they went to the movies, they laughed and had inside jokes, they talked to each other—hell, when El goes looking for Max, she is enjoying her free time skateboarding by herself.

True, Eleven couldn't leave Hopper's cabin for her own safety, but are you telling me she and Mike couldn't watch a movie together, listen to music, walk outside her house, or simply... talk? Or perhaps they did and the writers didn't show us that part, but I doubt it based on what other characters said (I have to admit that, even with all his faults, Mike does have his virtues. He admitted he was becoming too possessive of El and apologized to her, which is a big deal and should be recognized more by those who dislike him. Accepting when you are wrong and apologizing is something a lot of adults can't do, so the fact that Mike did it is to be applauded).

Mike & El were never friends. In contrast, before being boyfriend and girlfriend Lucas & Max are best friends first, and it shows. They clearly enjoy each other's company without needing to be next to each other all the time. Lucas even points this out in his POV novel, "Lucas On The Line":

If I liked Lumax before, Stranger Things 4 is the one that truly made me fall in love with them. Even if they were broken up, their bond was still strong albeit damaged by trauma. Mileven, on the other hand, had interesting struggles (like El wanting and needing something more than what Mike was giving her) but at the end of the day, it felt as if they were still lacking something that Lumax had plenty of: a real, meaningful connection. The fact that Mike was a satellite character to El and their relationship became so overdramatic didn't help, either.

Both couples had communication issues, albeit for different reasons. Max's relationship with Lucas (and all her friends) became strained due to her intense feelings of guilt and depression, which she didn't share with anyone. El couldn't tell Mike about her struggles in Lenora and pretended everything was great, and she didn't tell him how hurt she was that he didn't tell her he loved her. It wasn't until Mike saw El being bullied that he learned the truth, the same way Lucas knew of Max's state of mind until after she was cursed by Vecna. But Mike & El's talk quickly turned into a confrontation because El couldn't hold back her frustration anymore, while Lucas & Max slowly but steadily began talking more, like they used to. They even shared a laugh while exploring the Creel house, and Lucas beautifully pointed out how much he missed Max's laugh.

This brings me to...

Mike's Anguished Declaration of Love™. They say "show, don't tell", right? Truth be told, I have zero doubts about Mike's feelings for El, and I believe he truly and deeply loves her. However, his speech made me feel conflicted since I first watched Volume 2, especially if I compare it to the Lumax scene in the camper and them non-verbally communicating with each other while waiting for Vecna. 

There is something so uncannily beautiful about those Lumax moments that made them a hundred times better than Mike's speech. I don't know if it's because of Sadie & Caleb's chemistry and growth as actors or due to their theater background, but their scenes are so poignant that you are utterly convinced Lucas & Max have a special bond without the need for one of them to burst out their feelings. Those scenes were much more romantic and meaningful than any big speech, and in one of them they didn't have to say a single word.

In short, I love Mileven but I'm very disappointed at the turn their relationship has taken, and it's been made painfully obvious when you see how much Lumax has grown and matured together, instead.

Edit: I've gotten a few replies to this which has made me realize I didn't explain myself well. I never meant to throw shade at Mileven because I am a Mileven shipper, first and foremost. Second, the reason why I said I don't see them as friends is because of how their relationship has developed and how I perceive them, however I don't think it's necessarily something bad and it's not a personal attack on their dynamic. Third, when I say I'm disappointed at the turn their relationship has taken is because I feel as if they have lost some of the charm they had at first, and I wish they bring that back for season 5. But that's just my perception as a shipper, and I understand it's not what other shippers believe.

[smileylover99]

So i usually dont really make posts, but im doing a supernatural rewatch and ive decided to at least try to chronicle this here.

I've finished the first season (I made an attempt a couple months earlier but got stuck at like ep 16 (when plot started happening)). This time i powered through and before i started season 2 i wanted to finish this post. These are my main take-aways from season 1:

(Warning rambling ahead)

The first couple episodes are actually really good and fun they set the tone of the show so well and introduce us both to the characters as well as the lore. What i also realized is that many of the iconic fanvid moments are from the first season (but also especially those first couple eps).

Also because they have to have their characters talk about their kit in a "natural" way, its Sam being like Dean i KNOW a shotgun doesnt work against ghosts why are you giving me this / Well because Sammy this one is filled with rocksalt (like this is not a thing before). Which knowing the later seasons makes them seem like such amateur hunters honestly. They dont know about rocksalt bullets, they dont know about devil traps, they dont know an excersism by heart (Bobby does say demon possession used to be a rarity and are on the uptick, but STILL) also in episode 4 Dean complains about having to wear suits for their disguise because they never needed to do that before, another later season staple they claim to have been doing for the first time.

I also forgot how early the psychic Sam story line began, its like set up from the beginning and truely gets going ep 5, and it does such good and interesting things with the Sam and Dean dynamic. They also introduce Meg and ol' yellow-eyes (as well as his son, Meg's brother who dies?? I don't remember him coming back? does he???)

Sam and Dean's dynamic is honestly my main reason for rewatching their so stupidly codependent while also being stubborn as fuck and then when you throw John in the mix it becomes even more interesting

also John is a piece of shit father, like yea he loves his sons but not enough to actually spend time with them in a fatherlike role i guess (also also when you tell your 18 y/o son to never return when he runs away from home and then say your both at fault for not reconcilling thats on you pall, youre the adult (or are at least supposed to be)) In ep 14 Nightmare Sam and Dean acknowledge that if their dad hadn't completely thrown himself into hunting (thus also physically removing his presence from the boys) he had a big chance of ending up like Max' (super fucking abusive and drunk) dad, which is its own entiere can of worms.

We also later learn that the hunter community is a diverse and supportive place, which makes it extra - lets say interesting - that John purposefully never interacted with them (cept like a couple of white old guys with guns) it tells us so much about his character.

The ending of season 1 was surprisingly well wrapped up tbh. Like i forget there was actually coherent storytelling in the first 5 seasons. They keep building up to Sam wanting revenge, very much mirroring their Dad, while Dean is on the other side, putting his family's lifes above his need for revenge then in the end Sam has to choose, do this Dad's way, truely commit to revenge above everything, in doing so murdering his own family member or chosing family, chosing Dean. And he DOES, and its very cathartic and then the truck hits 10/10 finale

What I haven't really missed from these earlier seasons is the casual misogyny (and homophobia). There are actually quite a few interesting female characters that are introduced, but the only way they are spoken about is how hot they are/how they would like to sleep with them (Dean is especially guilty of this because of his "womanizing" ways, whereas Sam is supposed to be the loyal grieving bf) but it just really dishearting that even when Sam is just talking to a woman of roughly the same age range the writers make Dean say a comment implying the only reason Sam would want to interact with a woman is because he is interested in her romantically/sexually (which he then does his best to refute, again grieving bf, but it also makes me headcanon Sam as greysexual, which i do like but dont think is what the showrunners where going for)

Because they wanted to throw in basically a hot babe character for them to save there are now also a lot of ppl who know about the supernatural specifically because of Sam and Dean. In my mind a lot of them (especially all the early twenties women looking for answers and community) will join a facebook group of Sam and Dean Survivors. They could share experiences, some of them might become hunters, or allies to hunters (researchers, a safe place to stay, etc.) I kept a list of characters that survived and know about things that bump in the night:

Haley, Tommy & Ben Collins; Ep 2, siblings saved from the Wendigo, one of them was captured and the others joined for the recue

Andrea & Lucas Bar; Ep 3, Lucas almost drowned due to a lake ghosting haunting his bully grandad

Amanda Walker; Ep 4, stewardess who survided the plane-crashing demon

Charlie; Ep 5, teenager who was almost a victim to Bloody Mary

Becky Warren; Ep 6, Sam's college pal, who was the shapeshifter tortured (her brother was the suspect before, but he didn't see anything himself, he might find out from his sister tho)

Lori Sorensen; Ep 7, church girl who got haunted by hookman (her dad got stabbed by the ghost, but might just think it was a dude?)

Larry, Matt & Joanie Pike; Ep 8, the housing development family who survived the bug horror night

Jenny and Sari; Ep 9, new residents of the old winchester house, got haunted some ghosts (also baby Ritchie was lured into the fridge, but he is also like 4 at most)

Kat & Gavin; Ep 10, ex-gf and bf who got trapped in the super haunted asylum with Sam and Dean (Kat is the one who inspired this list and also def a future hunter)

Emily Jorgesons; Stephen & girlfriend; Ep 11, they were all chosen to be sacrifed to the scarecrow, Emily actually knows why, the other couple just knows some shit went down

David Wright; Ep 12, the atheist protesting against faith healing who saw a reaper attacking him (also 2 young kids at the start who were captured by a rawhead)

Cassie & Audrey Robinson; Ep 13, would-be victims of racist ghost truck, Cassie was Dean's old flame

Alice Miller; Ep 14, Max' stepmom, who is the only survivor of the family after Max killed his dad, uncle and then himself

Ed Zeddmore & Harry Spengler; Ep 17, intro of the ghost hunters!! they already believed, but now they actually saw a supernatural creature

Micheal; Ep 18, kid whose younger brother also got his life engergy stolen so was willing to use himself as bait

Sarah Blake; Ep 19, auctioneers daughter, she helped destroy the haunted painting, had a thing with Sam

Monica Holt; Ep 21, mother of the fam they saved from yellow-eyes, by breaking and entering their house (Dad Charlie didn't see anything supernatural, but was also there, also baby Rosie)

Hon. Mention: Kathleen Hudak; Ep 15, cop only heard Sam and Dean talk about how the assailants "are human" but did let them go before the rest of the force would arrive, I imagine she would join the facebookgroup and then just figure it out on her own from there

(- unrelated mostly but the rewatch i never continued with i did that one on netflix, because that was available to me then, now i just watch it online elsewhere and i didnt realise netflix changed a lot of the music lisencing so i went into ep 6 kinda hype cause the last time i heard the song Mary by the Death Riders for the first time and thought it was a dope song that added a lot to the scene of the shapeshifter actually shifting and developing his character, so i kept waiting for them to play it and then they didnt, which had me frantically googling what the music of the ep was cause i low-key felt like i was going insane for a second before i found out it was a netflix vs non-netflix thing)

I have thoughts about each individual episode as well, but I think ive rambled on long enough, lets see if i keep this up for season 2 and beyond lol

[dykeufo]

literally questioning the duffer’s writing ability so much more than i already did.

they’ve got great plots, but handle characters horribly.

vol 2 was the most grossly out of character things i have ever seen in my life. i just cant. vol 1 was amazing with the plot, especially in hawkins. it moved well it made sense, even the russia arc, which is admittedly my least favorite plot line of the season. s1, s2, s3 might have struggled, but all of them had great coherent plots that all wrapped up together in a very satisfying way.

if vol 2 are the only episodes 100% written by the duffers, then they should leave the scripts to other people, hell even the actors, and stick with creating the overall plot and side plots. because those were some of the most inorganic, uncomfortable to watch, and wholly unrealistic scenes i have ever watched. the writing was so patchy and uneven, it made no sense, and completely ruined so many character arcs

look, they killed eddie, they wiped out max, and made vickie a robin doppelgänger. plot wise, it makes sense. with the stakes that high, someone did have to die, and robin should get a love interest by now. shes not just a token lesbian coined just for the rep.

but the lack of mourning was so ridiculous, if you kill someone off you show how it impacted everyone. and the duffers even said that if they killed someone off the main cast they would have needed more time for the characters to mourn, so apparently they either dont take their own advice, or dont consider eddie as a part of the main group.

vickie is a casualty of the shitty writing, of the shitty development. (more like the lack of)

el and mike’s relationship made no sense. like none at all. will’s speech in the van was so wrong, because he is the heart. everyone loves him, mike even took his words and his encouragement to save el. and mikes speech was so fucked up, in a whole bunch of other ways. narratively, i appreciate the rousing monologue that helps save the day, but that was so shitty to watch. it regressed mike and el back to codependency and using will as a tool for them was a pathetic move.

and now, in your own words, s5 is getting marvel-ified. the immediate rush of action?? the mid season time skip?? they better have something good waiting for us so they dont fuck up because that season set up is insanely risky. but honestly-

it doesn’t matter what the plot even is, if the characters suck then everything else will. characters draw people into the world. establishing good dynamics, relationships, and depth in a character is what matters the most.

why else would people love steve if it wasnt for his growth??? or max for her depth??? ronance for their dynamic???

no one would be watching Stranger Things if we didnt care about the characters.

the duffer brothers are very close to capsizing all of it if they don’t get it right.

i genuinely couldn't have said it better myself

personally i love stranger things because of the characters. yes i love the central plot of the show but only because of how it impacts the characters and their relationships. stranger things has has some of the best potential for characters that i've ever seen and seeing that be neglected in vol2 is really disappointing. (i honestly think vol1 did excellent in keeping the characterizations even though it could've had just a bit less russia plot)

in the end, however, it is just a piece of media handed to writers who have dug themselves a hole. very nervous to see the results of s5 as a long-time fan

[gratisdiamanten]

lmao i want you to answer all those qs but #1,2,8,18

So honored my opinions are even readable given how much I write literal droning nonsense like a self absorbed social sciences prof. Anyway I'm sorry if these warrant unfollowing:

1. The character everyone gets wrong

I wrote like two paragraphs on Daniel, and then I deleted them bc these are actually nicher complaints; I think most people aren't that guilty of them!

I personally feel that people are often kind of off with how they write Max wrt his childhood (kind of irked by the A+ Parenting Tag as a concept, like imagine tagging someone's specific real life abuse sitch with a Witty Phrase), and I think there's a poor sense in general of the impact Jos had on him. He's not particularly prickly about his father, but has a stilted relationship. They call each other constantly. Max had a long term infatuation with him, IMO (I say infatuation bc crush has a different connotation that I'm not even going to unpack). That actually started declining around 2018-2019 which I have wild speculative opinions on. Now he's like... kind of just in an obligatory state. He wants to have a racing team with him! But I think that's because he has nothing else in common with him anymore. Blood and gasoline.

2. A compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

I don't think Max couldn't top but I don't really write him doing that. There isn't really a rationality bc I dont think necessarily your irl behavior correlates at all with your behavior in the bedroom unless you actually are trying to project that kind of thing (which some people kind of do outside of sexual situations) but it's not a personality trait.

Also I write a lot about trauma and violation and shame and having him prefer that while it's coincidence or not similar to his trauma just works narratively idk. What he actually likes IDRC.

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

When one of them is gay and one of them is bisexual, and one of them is sexually confident and one is sexually insecure, everyone makes Daniel the confident bisexual and Max as the homophobic homosexual. This is one of those things that regardless of the actual reality, the evidence doesn't support, idk. Daniel no-homos with the best of them from the 2000s and Max will easily admit to being on gay hookup apps and liking both men and women. If you have narrative reasons that's all well and good but don't act like that's how they are irl!

18. It's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Dead dove fic in general, I think there's honestly less than in fandoms I've written for in the past. More specifically:

Jos and Max to SOME degree. Freak take I know but I see more Leclerc brother/leclerc brother fic than that. Which doesn't even like, work thematically that well to me, at least the way they do it. Idk. I don't really write porn in general, more about like, family horror a la the gothic tradition, but anyone who's been there long enough knows the pervasive incestuous themes in those. Anyway. The codependency and room sharing and Max being his mother's personality double and whatever. In Supernatural fandom they'd eat this shit up... and yet we are writing a/b/o concubine fic as our dead-dovish media of choice. Obviously it's easy to understand why people don't, I just think for locked-fic ao3 world it's an untapped market.

[powderseal]

i was thinking about how much it bothered me that the show was telling us that michael was “not ready” for a relationship with alex yet he was fine to continue on being with maria after a year of an allegedly good/healthy (?) relationship, and it got me thinking about how michael’s entire relationship with maria, including the decision to have one, was driven by his fear of abandonment

he’s too afraid to try again with alex because of how much it will hurt when (inevitably in michael’s mind) alex leaves again, and after the incredibly traumatic losses of his mother and max, with maria he is reassured by the fact that she wants him to be there (something he questions in all his other relationships) and that she’s very much rooted in roswell 

and once he latches on the relationship, he immediately throws himself all in, doing everything he possibly can to convince maria not to leave him/prevent her from being taken away from him.  they’re not even really dating when he fucking moves into her parking lot. he falls over himself to care for her and to support her and refuses to ask her for anything for himself in case he becomes “too much”.  when her health becomes a concern, he fixates on that and his conflicting urges to unconditionally support her so she doesn’t leave him and to unconditionally protect her so she isn’t taken from him build up and create problems in their relationship.  

i think it makes sense that maria wouldn’t necessarily see this for what it is, at least not right away, and for a while she continued on in the same vein (banter, flirty insults) unaware of the paradigm shift for michael.  i didn’t love the way maria treated michael as a partner (she seemed comfortable assuming everything she thought she knew about him on the surface level was true and didn’t show much interest in getting to know him on a deeper level, but he was also intentionally hiding his deeper self from her as mentioned above) but other than the insanity that was 2x06 she was clearly coming to the relationship from a healthier, less codependent place.  

but it makes me really sad that neither isobel or liz (michael’s only actual friend now that maria is his romantic partner) ever felt the need to check in on michael or support him in making sure he was getting what he needed emotionally. it seems like everyone just assumed the relationship would be good for michael because they think maria is better than him and also they were buying into the heteronormative trope of a woman “fixing” a man. (alex gets a pass here because he’s clearly coming from a position of internalized homophobia and low self-esteem when he supports their relationship and he does actually try to be there for michael throughout the season.  kyle also gets a pass because he got no screentime.)

anyway, as this all built and got more upsetting for me to watch michael agonize over for the course of the season, what WOULD have made sense, for their breakup and for michael to walk away from alex afterwards, would have been for michael to identify those issues that had plagued their relationship and realize that he needs to work through that so that he can want good things for himself

instead the person he has been clinging to all year dumps him and he doesn’t even really seem to care??? even though avoiding that was a huge motivator for all his actions this season???

in conclusion 1) michael proved definitively that he is capable of being “good for” someone else but doesn’t know how to be good for himself, 2) the way michael and maria’s relationship was embraced by michael’s friends/family showed a disturbing lack of concern for michael’s well-being given the context of all of the insane shit he went through right before it started, 3) i hope michael realizes that to be in a place to be with alex, what he needs to change is how he sees himself, and to try to accept that he’s worthy of love and support from his partner (and friends and family and surrogate dad and definitely at some point a dog)

[ladiesofrnm]

Isobel is definitely the person who had her world rocked in the most devastating way since the finale. She really loves Noah and so she's starting to question her own judgment. But probably more importantly, is that it was very clear in season 1 that she and Max were very codependent on each other. They don't really function without the other person and so she is in this place right now where she's realizing that she's defined herself for a very long time in how she relates to the men in her life. So, suddenly she doesn't have those two men and is realizing that in order to survive, in order to move forward, in order to have a life, she has to fortify herself as an individual and figure out who she is outside of being a wife and outside of being a sister. We actually have a, definitely complicated, but lovely time this season with Isobel, as she discovers what she likes and what she wants to be. Even just little things like the way that she dresses changes because she's no longer mimicking her mother. She's no longer mimicking what she thinks a human woman is supposed to be. Instead, she's going to try to figure out who she is as an individual.

Carina Adly MacKenzie about Isobel Evans in Season 2 for EW