#I’m not a s2 shipper much anyways

[nick-close]

I was a be more chill fan but I still can’t understand what half of the ship names for s2 are, y’all just choose words now. I’m begging u just say granterry again

[wannabanauthor]

For those of us who started watching 9-1-1 again or for the first time because of the BuckTommy kiss, you are valid for wanting to watch the show only for that. It might help to look up summaries of what happened on the wiki to get a better feels for the characters to help in your shipping experience, but it’s also okay if you only watch BuckTommy scenes.

You’re allowed to enjoy fictional media in whatever way you want that’s not illegal. There are no gold medals given out for how you watch it. At all. You’re allowed to like what you like and discard the rest for whatever reason.

Me personally, I cannot emotionally handle all the drama in the show. I watched S1 and most of S2, and it was so heavy that I looked up to see if a pairing would happen and saw that it didn’t, so I quit the show because it was not worth emotional rollercoaster it put me on.

I work in mental health in my real life, and I have seen so many horrifying things in charts that I do not need to seek out emotionally traumatizing fiction outside my designated PMS days where I let my emotions run free.

Seriously though. I’ve been struggling with feeling like not a real fan of the show, but then I realized that it doesn’t matter. I’m not here to impress online strangers who definitely don’t sign my paychecks or pay my bills. I do that on my own, so I don’t give a fuck how people perceive me as a fan.

I’m 32 years old, and I have experienced a lot of loss in my life over the past 11 years. So many deaths of loved ones and funerals. Let’s not even discuss the performance punishment at my previous job that stressed me out so much that I was ready to leave this earth twice, and my parents had to intervene to talk me down. My mom, my former work mom, and stepmom all got cancer a few years ago, like one after the other, and survived. Do you really think that I need to watch the entire show and know all the details to be a proper fan? Especially with how heavy 9-1-1 can be?

So for my fellow fans and shippers of BuckTommy, enjoy the show however you want. There’s no right or wrong way to watch a show. Engaging in fandom however, is a different thing all together. But it’s perfectly fine to ship what you ship and ignore everything else. I’ve done it with several shows. Hell, some shows got my attention because of ships, and I stayed after the show went downhill because of the ships, but then eventually stopped watching. Or most of the time I quit when I see my ship sinking because I’ve been there when my ships had one character killed in a triggering way that relates to their marginalized status, and that has led me to have real life emotional breakdowns.

So take care of your mental health, and watch shows for whatever reason you want. People might judge you or look down on you, but that’s their fucking problem. Not yours. Why are they so obsessed with you anyway?

Have a wonderful weekend, folks, and remember the block button is there for a reason.

[le-trash-prince]

Pit Babe Ep 13 Thoughts

Overall I enjoyed the episode and I’m okay with how it ended—ships aside, it met with where my expectations were, even though I was holding on by the skin of my teeth for at least SOMETHING more with the side characters (NOT EVEN NORTHSONIC??). But I think if I had watched without engaging with Change2561’s marketing, I wouldn’t be feeling this way. MOSTLY I’M JUST CONFUSED ABOUT WHY THEY MARKETED GHOST SHIPS LIKE DO THEY KNOW I’M JUST THAT SAD ENOUGH OF A SHIPPER I’LL EAT CRUMBS OFF THE GROUND???

I think there’s a lot more they could have done with the ending, but the main focus did need to come back to Babe’s story, and that’s what they focused on. I will hold out hope for something additional like a S2 or a special ep or spinoff, but we all know productions like this can fall apart even with the intention to make a second season 🤡

Personally, my biggest fear was Kenta dying, I swear to god I took psychic damage everyone someone said he was gonna die. Especially with how similar Garfield’s background is to Kenta’s, it wouldn’t have sat right with me if they had put an actor through that? ANYWAYS I WON IN THAT ASPECT, KENTA GOT HIS FUCKING KNIFE TIME and I’ll go into my (satisfied) feelings about his arc later (y’all already know I can’t shut up about the man)

With that said, I haven’t really processed that Way is actually dead, even tho the signs had been there, I kept hoping he would pull through?? BUT I GUESS NOT… This would prob be my one major disappointment but anyways I’m just gonna ignore that it happened

I was talking with my friend afterwards complaining about how Kenta stabbed Tony and then literally disappeared, like not even a “standing in the distance at Way’s funeral” shot like how much fic are we gonna have to write?

Me: god like I was still emotionally invested in what was happening but in every scene my brain is in the background like a dog going “where’s Kenta where’s Kenta where’s Kenta” friend: Yeah I could hear you Me: … was I saying that out loud? friend: Yeah like Way was literally dying on the ground and you’re like “where’s Kenta” me: oh my GODDDD WAY I’M SO SORRY I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA MAGICALLY PULL THROUGH!!! me: I’M SORRY WAY

Mostly I’m just glad they didn’t blow the ending in a way that the fandom wouldn’t survive. But things are open enough that there’s endless potential for fic and headcanons and such. I really do love this show and this fandom and the cast a lot and I wanna live here for a long time 🥺 I’m glad we’ve got the fanmeeting coming up soon (maybe they’ll even do some skits) along with the MVs!

[cancerian-woman]

I won't be offended if you prefer to delete this but your post about Tyler had me thinking...

Caroline really made his grief over his mother dying about her so much so that she issued the worst ultimatum and left herself with...

A drunk old man that used to be her teacher.

A long time friend that never seemed like he got over Elena and definitely has codependent issues with his brother so much so that he sacrificed himself willingly a day after their wedding.

And a power hungry hybrid who gave her money he could more than afford to give and said pretty words but also tortured, enslaved and killed people she was connected to....and also definitely had codependent issues with his brother.

I cannot fathom it.

All true facts. It’s late here so a meta! :D

As a huge Forwood shipper and I’m equally very critical of them. It’s a great ship for them both at first, then becomes a ship only for Caroline’s needs and development which isn’t fair to Tyler That Klaroline/Steroline shadow made those fans believe Tyler was the worst Caroline could get. When in reality he was the BEST romantic partner and friend she ever had.

What upsets me more about that ultimatum that Caroline FORCED is that she’s the only one we see comforting Tyler after Carol’s death. Even before Carol died, and Tyler was skeptical about being alpha she uplifted him and Tyler heavily respected what she had to say and went full force with it. Mind you, this is the same Tyler that broke every bone in his body just to be with Caroline. Then re-agreed to slavery for Care. Forwood communicated with each other and called out their faults. The other tvdu ships weren’t doing that!—then we get this full arc of Caroline’s grief and remember she bluntly told Tyler to get over the fact that she hooked up with Klaus because of her impulses and she’s not good1!!1

The series wanted to bury Forwood and they did so in the worst ways imaginable. Caroline gets pregnant with Alaric’s babies forcibly. (I understand Candice was pregnant but they could’ve hid her belly so Caroline wasn’t pregnant.)-Oh and we can’t forget Alaric was in love with her and proposed.

Steroline was supposed to follow the friends to lovers build up the way Forwood did and it never appears that Stefan is all in the way Caroline is. Tbh, even before the wedding Stefan wanted out the relationship he tried multiple times to end things in s8. Caroline refused and wanted it to work. Building them up after Liz’s death was a choice. Stefan manipulated Caroline heavily to when it came Tyler and their relationship.

Klaroline has no obstacles to pass with them. Klaus may give Caroline pretty things, and money but emotionally he’s never shown to give Caroline any support. When Caroline saves Bonnie from those 12 witches which is her first huge kill(correct me if I’m wrong) since s2 she immediately goes to Klaus and he basically tells her to get away from him. Klaus mentions how she’s too good for that small town but Caroline had never said she hated her home. What she did hate was Klaus grown ass destroying shit. They never had a serious conversation about anything tbh. I did enjoy how Caroline called him out at first but TO’s “you aren’t the villain in my story.” Ruined that. Oh and lol these shippers get on Damon for his rape of Caroline yet somehow, someway excuses that Klaus attempted to rape Caroline too in Tyler’s body…. Anyways! I do think a lot of Klaroline is rooted in Klaus wanting control over Tyler, and Caroline is a way to exert control over Tyler because of his love for her.

Okay this is long af, sorry! To end this off Tyler loved Caroline for who she was. He never wanted her to change, he valued and respected her. Never abused her or anyone she loved. He listened to what she had to say. Caroline’s other love interests NEVER saw her the way Tyler did. Btw, I wish people understood Tyler never, not once slutshamed Caroline for having sex with someone else. He was only mad that she slept with Klaus as if Klaus did not ruin Tyler’s life and murdered his mother. There’s obviously a reason Caroline didn’t want Tyler to know and continued to ignore the boundaries he placed up in s5 so they could just go back to the way SHE wanted them to be. It’s sad they were ruined because 5B of Forwood has moments where you can forget their broken up just based on Forwood’s chemistry. I forgot to add, some fans pretend Tyler couldn’t give Caroline a good life. Tyler wasn’t financially struggling, and would’ve done anything she asked of him. I think it’s a little problematic that Tyler did say everything he liked about himself was Caroline lol. But, he wanted nothing but her and their happiness. Just without the enslavement from Klaus.

Thank you for the ask!

[chirpsythismorning]

It would appear I am indeed one of the very few optimistic (delusional?) Bylers left.

Not saying that if you feel hopeless and need to move on, that you can't. A lot of you have been through this before with other shows. Again and again. You’re tired and fed-up and you have every right to be.

Technically, Season 5 won't be out for another 2+ years anyways, which means the best thing for everyone regardless is to get whatever we need off our chests now and then to just go on a hiatus for the foreseeable future. 

When it comes to how I feel about Vol. 2, there were definitely at least a few good moments. If this season has anything going for it, it’s the emotional value. This is without a doubt the most I’ve cried ever while watching the show. One scene in particular that had me on the floor was the scene with Will and El reuniting and hugging. And of course the scene with Will and Mike in the van (DAMN YOU NOAH SCHNAPP FOR MAKING ME SOB SO HARD ALL DAY THAT I GOT A MIGRAINE!)

But yes, I am a Byler. So you could say I was a bit disappointed in that department.

And yet still, I think my take on the later part of season 4 is much different from the majority.

Because personally, I don’t think that what played out in Vol. 2 means that Byler is dead. If anything, I believe it to be more endgame than I did before (well, at least in comparison to pre-s4. There’s no denying pre-Vol. 2 confidence levels remain unmatched. Truly the best era for the Byler fandom to date).

I think my main issue is, like so many of us on here, I thought it was guaranteed we would get to see Mike become aware of Will’s feelings. 

Alas, we did not.

And to be totally clear, without this revelation, Byler can’t go anywhere. 

Neither forwards, nor technically backwards.

This means the baiting game is not over. Which as bad as it sounds, is why I’m still so optimistic…

Now, if they had made Will’s feelings obvious to Mike, or even the fact that Will is gay as being obvious to Mike, but STILL had Mike behave the way he did in Vol. 2, now THAT would have sucked. It would have been canon rejection on Mike’s end.

But we didn’t even get rejection from Mike. 

Instead, we got Will coming off as a hardcore M*leven shipper in Mike's eyes, all while the audience was getting the exact opposite interpretation of this situation; that Will is helplessly in love with Mike. 

Will is able to voice the extent of his love, albeit through advice to Mike about his own situation with El, in a way that no one else on the show has been able to. Most of the other characters need a bunch of bystanders to make them realize their feelings and push them in that direction. But Will, he doesn’t need someone holding his hand along the way, telling him what the right thing to do or say is. His love isn’t something he needs to really think about in order to understand it. It just is.

(Which is SO fucking ironic when you think about how Mike always needs help with figuring out his feelings for El and even sounds like he’s reading off a script when he’s trying to explain himself to her. Whereas with Will, s2 monologue teas, it’s the most natural thing Mike’s ever done. Unscripted, straight from the heart… And both Vol. 1-2 continued to drive home this concept, so maybe jot that down..)

It’s just that, unfortunately, in Will’s eyes, Mike will never return this love, which means his only option is to let Mike go. If supporting Mike and El’s relationship means putting himself dead last in every respect, so that his best friend and his sister can be happy, Will is going to do just that. 

But as far as Mike knows, Will holds no romantic feelings for him. I mean after all, Will is guiding Mike literally every step of the way to confessing his love to El, and that doesn't sound like the behavior of someone who’s in love with you, now does it? 

So why would Mike, throw everything on the line, including the survival of their family and friends in Hawkins by not simply just telling his gf he loves her? All while El is right there loving him and needing his love to fight (presumably), with Will beside him literally rooting for him to do just that? This is very obviously the only option in Mike’s eyes.

Which is ironic, because in a way, I think that Mike has truly never seen him and Will as an option, just like Will, but for an entirely different reason. 

Mike views his feelings for Will as childish, something he will grow out of, or at least should have by now.

“We’re not kids anymore. What did you think, really? That we were never going to get girlfriends? That we were just going to sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives?”

If Mike can’t love El, then how can he possibly love any women? She’s special. She’s a superhero. He HAS to love her, right? It’s the best option he could ever possibly have. Well, at least considering…

But what happens when suddenly, he comes to the realization that him and Will ARE an option? And that the only thing ever stopping them was himself and his inability to just be honest with everyone and himself?

I think the truth is, there’s a reason that they’re holding off on this revelation for Mike. 

It will be a catalyst. It will change everything.

Now, how exactly do you think Mike is going to react to this? The fact that Will was in love with him this whole time and he had no idea?

Honestly, I think he’s going to react horribly, but not for the reason everyone assumes.

Because I would argue that, if Mike was going to react badly with disgust or even just let Will down nicely to confirm it’s indeed unrequited, then the Duffer’s would have just given this revelation up by now. But they haven’t.

Once Mike finds out that Will is (probably always will be) in love with him, and that instead of telling him, Will used his love to help Mike get closer to El, even when Mike himself was having doubts over and over? That Will went as far as to lie about the painting he worked so hard on for Mike in order to rekindle their dying friendship, to instead insinuate it was commission from El, to give Mike that final push he needed to even have the courage to tell El he loved her? That all the moments like this that they shared as of late, was really just Will talking about himself? That the only reason he was able to tell El he loved her in the first place, was because he was so moved by Will’s love for him??

This is going to break Mike.

And let’s be real here, two episodes would not have done this revelation justice. 

So now, just knowing the direction they went for Vol. 2, as well as coming to terms with it, I have reached the conclusion that, despite how bleak things seem now, ‘maybe all of this is happening for a reason’ (s2 Mike Wheeler, we miss u).

Which brings me to the other most important piece of the puzzle, which is that, arguably, El needs to be the one who ends things once and for all.

The general audience has been given the impression El is head over heels in love with Mike, and so of course they were rooting for Mike to get on with it and just tell her he loved her. 

But that’s the interesting part. He finally did tell her, but her reaction in the aftermath was not something a lot of fans expected. 

It seems that she’s distancing herself from Mike, a fact that Will acknowledges to Mike later at Hopper’s cabin, with Mike genuinely confused because he thought he did the one thing he had to do. 

He told her he loved her. Which makes everything alright now, right?

But maybe it doesn’t.

Maybe the reminder we got, of that speech from Max to El, about how she didn’t need Mike or Hopper or ANY man to know her worth, was foreshadowing for what honestly needs to happen in order for El to really process and realize her own true feelings about Mike.

Because, although I do believe El genuinely thought she loved Mike, is it possible that Mike was not only having doubts about saying it because of the reasons he argued, or even because of some repressed feelings for Will, but also because El hadn’t given him what he needed to truly believe she loved him.

Mike, like a lot of people, doesn’t need to hear “I love you” to believe that someone loves him.

“I didn’t say it.”

“You didn’t have to.”

He wants something more meaningful, or more specifically, something along the lines of the speech Will gave to him in the van.

Will’s confession disguised as El’s, was what Mike needed to finally say I love you to El... 

Something I think we also got caught up in, is this idea that the Duffer’s were just going to drop M*leven and throw in Byler, with everything else going on, while they still have a whole ass season to promote for another 3+ years, and to their mostly 80’s loving homophobic audience. If Byler is going to happen, it’s going to be the definition of slow-burn and endgame. That’s literally the only way. 

This puzzle is complex, which sucks if you want all the answers now, because we’re just not going to get them. If they give up all their moves, then what is the point of telling the story at all? 

Other pieces of the puzzle include things that arguably still need to happen before Byler can, even regardless of the constraints they have as show-runners who run the biggest show on Netflix’s dying platform. 

Things like Will and El’s love for each other as brother and sister. Considering all the fans that said Will hates El because he didn’t stand up to her bullies or that he’s a home-wrecker who just wants to get with her boyfriend, is why I do think they needed to debunk these insinuations within the narrative. And boy oh boy did they deliver on that front. Will is the most selfless son of a bitch on the planet, who loves his best friend and his sister so much. They made that very clear. And you can see that despite a few homophobes here and there, the general audience's reaction to Will in Vol 2 is sympathy and to Mike it's confusion and betrayal...

Hmm, making El realize she doesn't even love Mike, after making Will's unrequited feelings for Mike more clear, after making Mike behave like an IDIOT this entire time juggling these two relationships, only for him to become aware of whats going on, and to clearly be in love with Will?

Sounds like a good way to set up Byler to an audience that might not have humored it before...

And like I said, with how important I do think it was for this to happen in order for them to go the Byler route, is why I don’t necessarily see this approach as a bad thing. We even got the Will and El hug in 4x08, which maybe it’s just because Noah and Millie are so close, but I would easily rank that on my top most well-earned moments in the whole show.

We NEEDED that. Especially in terms of what is likely to come in season 5 with Byler endgame...

Also, yes the Will angst sucked and it's just trauma porn at this point. I’m not going to deny that fully. I agree with pretty much all of the criticism in regards to how they chose to do certain things when they didn't necessarily have to, but I also simultaneously am able to understand that it again, maybe this is all happening for a reason. If they are indeed going to have Will play a big role in the final season, than them forgetting his birthday, Mike being oblivious and all this other shit he's been through combined, sets up a really arc for him next season, not even necessarily a villain one, but all of this pain has the potential to lead to a happy ending. And I'm being full serious.

Like we have Finn Wolfhard saying the ending of Stranger Things will be like the ending of Schitt’s Creek??? That it will end at it's highest point. The last episode of Schitt’s Creek is literally a happily ever after gay wedding, there's no other way to interpret that…

We also know that a lot of ideas for the last seasons were planned from the beginning, with David Harbour saying that he knew the ending way back in s2 and that it's beautiful and has been the intended plan all along. That there's easter eggs that will have us going 'WOW this is what we've been watching the whole time'? That it's wonderful?

If you’re the level of Byler truther that believes they were somewhat planned all along from the beginning, then you would also know that if they plan a happy ending for Mike and Will, then they would have no problem killing us this painfully in the beginning of the end, because they know we’ll be the ones cheering on by the actual end, and it'll be the homophobes who are pissed and stuck with this result forever as endgame. 

I’m just saying, don’t be surprised when s5 gets closer and we actually see them promoting Byler… like a lot. And we actually start getting in canon hints at scenes with El herself even trying to get them together.

Groveling Mike Wheeler era?

Will finding a potential new love interest and Mike pining/jealous?

Come ONNN! You guys are way more delusional than you’re giving yourselves credit for and I urge you to join me!!!

[eddiediazismyhusband]

Hi! I just wanted to say that I like your attitude and resilience (I'm a weak man, and every toxic anti-buddie/anti-buddie-shippers/pro bucktommy idea just hits me straight in the heart).

I don't understand how people can suddenly start hating Buddie because of "crazy fans", but still be smitten by bucktommy despite of how crazy some of their fans are.

And I really hate that they have this ammunition (their ship still going, Eddie happening to be hetero) to bully us with (haven't Buddie shippers been through enough of hate these past six years? And who knows how much more of it we'll have to yet to go through...)

Ah, sorry for the rant😅

The long ass message anon from lenaboskow's asks xD

🏝️

awwwww, thank you anon 😭 <3

if i’m being honest, the public resilience comes from years of being bullied and ridiculed, so at this point hate (especially anonymous hate) just rolls off my back bc atp it’s just par for the course with these people.

i definitely understand the toxicity hitting you right in the feels though. i have mentioned before but i have really bad anxiety and depression, and there are times when if i haven’t taken my meds i will start to spiral over the smallest things (just ask @lenaboskow who has been present for a lot of this unmedicated spiraling)… so i definitely understand that some of the toxicity and hate can be hard. especially when the writers continued to give them ammunition after seeing what what was happening on twitter during the premiere period of season 7.

I’ve been a buddie shipper since s2. I have put up with seeing ridicule and disrespect from the fandom for shipping buddie for years (granted i only started getting actively involved in the fandom very recently, i still kept up with cast interviews, articles, etc. and could see plenty of it there) so i understand it can be hard seeing so many people that once were hardcore buddie shippers suddenly turning into violently hateful stan accounts for this new ship is jarring and disappointing… i have seen so many of my favorite fic writers turn into anti-buddie-eddie-bashing enthusiasts seemingly overnight and it’s hard to see.

that being said, i still have not lost hope. abc and tptb see what is happening— they see screeners being harassed for talking about buddie, they see buddie shippers getting doxxed and getting death threats, they see lou stirring the pot (though thankfully it seems something has been done about that)

these creators know that stoking this kind of fandom behavior is not okay- they know that it’s a bad idea to reward toxicity and hate. they have also been the ones actively laying the groundwork for buddie for six years. a lot of the writers actually care about buck AND eddie, rather than just buck (regardless of whatever is going on in kristen reidel’s cesspool of a creative mind), and we know that queer eddie has been discussed at length before to the point where the queer storyline of s7 was almost eddie’s. these writers see what we see, the actors see what we see, tim minear sees what we see.

i don’t know what they have in store for next season, but regardless of whether or not we get buddie canon, i am very optimistic that the pilot won’t be around much longer, especially after the drama and toxicity he has stirred up within the fandom, bc the last thing a network tv show wants is bad press, and that situation has the potential to boil over into something much worse if they didn’t put a stop to it immediately.

anyway, anon, never apologize for sending a long ask, i love to yap and i love being an outlet for people to vent if they need to <3 i believe in you, that you will be able to withstand this blip in the fandom; as someone who’s had to go through similar situations in other fandoms it will not matter a year from now once everyone has moved on. unfortunately we are caught upnin the novelty of it, but once it either peters out or becomes a sort of “new normal” (which i hope it is the former and not the latter) it will be so much easier to bear with.

i hope you have a lovely morning, afternoon, or evening, sweet anon 💕💕

[oscconfessions]

the Osc is such a wonderful and genuinely wonderful place.

until you bring up tacomic or people seeing yin Yang/bot as kids/teens.

Then people write essays about how you’re wrong, and I’d like to say that I don’t know those people. I don’t know their likes, their dislikes, (sometimes) their name, their personality, anything about them.

it’d be stupid to make any judgement on them as a person (or to even dehumanize them, because I’ve seen that happen before) just because they said something that I disagree with.

because all I know about these people are that they hate (insert topic/character), and specifically on this blog you see people at their most enraged, their most passionate, so that’s the only context I have for these people. it scares me. how angry people get. I try my best to respect everyone’s opinions, but- still, half the time I get a bad taste in my mouth and don’t know how to communicate why I don’t like something, while still wording it in a non confrontational manner (I.e. instead of saying “im so angry at you” saying “what you said made me upset”)

I don’t want to down play people’s feelings by saying ‘they’re just objects’ or ‘it’s just fiction’ but I don’t know how else to word it.

Like, I like the headcannon that yin Yang is a teen because I feel it suits the image of the character I have in my head. But that’s just my opinion, and I don’t understand why people would tell me that my version of the character is wrong. It’s a matter of opinion and I feel that people tend to forget that.

also there was a person who said that “everyone who ships tacomic is a pro shipper” which 1. Is a very generalized statement to make ans assumes that all tacomic shippers have the same reasons for shipping it & 2. I just, don’t understand the hate around tacomic?? Like I get it’s Manipulative and toxic (and I don’t mean to down play That and sorry if it comes across as such) but people hating everyone whom ships it, & people also assume that it’s not post cannon, or in and au, but that it’s just during ii s2. Like I’m pretty neutral on the ship my self, but just I don’t know why people hate it so much.

anyways sorry for the rant, at the end of the day your opinions are yours and that contributes to you being a unique human being, & if anyone wants to leave an essay explaining their reasoning I’d love to read it /gen

.

[spiderlingh]

obx s3 thoughts (obviously contains spoilers!)

this is just my opinion, please don’t come for me if u disagree :)

i was a bit disappointed with this season ngl, definitely my least favorite season of the series so far

action sequences were really good but i felt like a few episodes were just straight meaningless action scenes and that definitely felt unnecessary to me

cleo pope jj owners of the season <3

drew starkey can certainly pull off a buzzcut but man do i miss his sexy haircut from season 2 😭😭

WAY TOO MANY BIG JOHN SCENES oh my god look i get it, it’s a miracle the guy turned up alive and shit but i am not john b i do not give two shits about this rather mean looking man and i felt like he was on my screen more than the main cast

shoutout to his actor tho. he did a great job portraying him

i thought i would be a jiara shipper but i don’t like them together at all… i lowkey hate that the writers now literally paired kie with every guy of the pogues when that seems so out of character for her

saw a post about kie being lesbian and you know what? y e s. even though i think a love interest wouldn’t be necessary for her to begin with

i’m a jjpope girlie sorry their chemistry is just chef’s kiss but it’s never gonna happen bc according to the writers there’s not a single gay on that silly lil island

(it’s completely fine if you do ship them bc they did have chemistry in the previous seasons)

not the sarah x topper drama getting reused from last season… i love sarah but girl what the hell

speaking of topper i thought it was fun how they included him in the train heist

but the way sarah manipulated him and used him… i’m no fan of his at all but i did feel for him bc he pulled so much for her and she went straight back to john b 😭

my boy really said i’m gonna light this place up like a damn bonfire lmfao

anyway back to it

the main villains (ward and rafe) of the past two seasons became pretty much irrelevant this season?? huh???

rafe did a near complete 180 out of nowhere… which was strange

like this man’s whole trauma was solely fixed on getting love and respect from his father and the whole donating the cross situation really sucked if you look at it from rafe’s perspective but i do not believe that THAT was all it took to suddenly become so hostile towards ward. even if he still ended up saving him.

this guy was so stuck in the cycle of violence from the pilot up to the final episode of season 2 and his character development was so interesting to see (that scene in s2 when he says he’s not okay and needs help and ward tells him to man up still stuck with me) and it feels like they threw it out of the window and pretty much sidelined his character for no reason at all.

new boring villain is introduced and gets killed in the same season

worst parent award goes to mike and anna

I WANT TO SEE MORE OF JJ AND SARAH WORKING TOGETHER OR JUST INTERACTING PLEASE

they’re such a fun dynamic like give me that please i’ve been asking for this before s2 even came out

the pogues had pretty much 2 scenes together and that’s it… i had hoped to see more of them and their dynamics and just more of them on that deserted island??? wasted potential oh my god

is it just me or was the filming style a lil different this season…

wasn’t rafe’s love interest supposed to be a bigger thing? because the few scenes he shared with her were completely irrelevant and so was her entire character tbh 😭

rafe and kie teaming up… was awesome i loved it

jj and kie running into pope and cleo when they were just about to get off the bus and immediately had to run from people with big ass guns is peak obx energy and i thought it was hilarious

i audibly gasped at the time jump!! such a weird way to end the season, it almost seemed like a series finale but knowing that season 4 is already confirmed i’m genuinely wondering what direction they’re gonna take this. the root of it all was that they were looking for the treasures because some of them were connected to it in their own ways (john b and the royal merchant bc of his dad, pope and the cross/denmark tanny bc family) and rafe and ward were perfect villains up until this season.

if there’s something i want to see in the next season, it’s just more pogue scenes, strengthening their own characters and developments and their dynamics with the other pogues. we really do not need the same romance drama every season. it’s boring and frankly annoying. honestly in this show there’s so much going on that i don’t feel like each one of the pogues needs to end up with someone. i would love to have jarah and jjpope as endgame and have kie and cleo end up solo or maybe have other love interests (but not really).

just give me the pogues doing what they do best — bickering while they’re off chasing some mystery and putting their lives at risk and miraculously getting out of it alive and well.

because season 3 was just weird. really weird. idk this is all for now but i might add more later!

[on-till-morning]

The Final 15 Min: You’re a dark horse Mr Fell

Or: Azirawhy?

I’ve spent the better part of this weekend in bed with my cat, drinking cocoa, rewatching scenes from GO and reading and writing thousands of words of s2 meta, so first of all, thank you again Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaimon and this incredible fandom - you’re all geniuses and as a result I am literally living the dream. Secondly, after writing and rewriting my own extremely long meta a dozen times I’ve decided instead to link to the other metas that have essentially already said everything I wanted to say and condense my comments beneath them. I’ve also added my theories for season 3 based on my analysis of s2. However, despite my best intentions and having just using the word ‘condensed’ this turned out to be pretty long anyway, so you can find all this and more under the jump below.

My favorite possible explanations for the ending:

1) Aziraphale is lying to protect Crowley

I first found this theory here and here

And then it’s brilliantly explained with great attention to detail here. This piece includes SO many details that I had missed from the convo, referencing back to scenes from s1 as well as 2. Hats off and round of applause to this author. Just, wow.

I love this theory so much and a part of me wants it desperately to be canon - it explains away all of Azirphale’s foot-in-mouth shortcomings and cringey to downright horrifying wtf moments from the final scene, but after watching the final scenes 26495362893 times I’m landing more on the side that:

2) Az is being expertly manipulated by Metatron, and these shortcomings are all of his character flaws coming up and out in one horrible regurgitatation.

Extremely detailed and thorough multi piece meta going into exactly how Metatron is manipulating him and why it works here.

Briefer but also clear and thorough single post essay here.

3) Or some combination of the two.

Again, having watched this countless times I just do not buy that every single think Az says in the final scene is part of a master plan to deliberately break up with Crowley, but I do think

He’s as scared as he’s relieved/excited

And I don’t know if he’s actually relieved/excited but he’s definitely confused, surprised and increasingly panicked when Crowley insults him, turns down the offer and leaves, which is part of why I don’t think it’s entirely option #1

He is trying to stop the love confession or at least delay it for another time when Metatron is not standing right outside the door (hold that thought!)

And finally there are some lines that just don’t make sense, even from the angel who we’ve heard spout all kinds of nonsense about how “I am good and you are, unfortunately, evil.” Yes, I might buy that he might still think heaven is ultimately good and “the side of light” that’s just been run very poorly by “bad angels” who aren’t as good as Aziraphale at knowing what god really wants in the situation (as he tells himself in the Job episode). But “I’ll run it and you can be my second in command.”???? A blank stare at “if heaven ends life on earth it’ll be just as dead as if he’ll ended it”??? However, this brings me too…

The character arc we didn’t see

I love this post about expectations as a fandom and what we’re actually shown versus what we as ravenous shippers want and expect to see and couldn’t agree more.

What were we actually shown about Aziraphale and where he’s at with his repression and denial? Right in episode 1 Jim says “You know what it’s like when you don’t know anything at all and yet you’re totally certain that everything would be better if you were near one particular person?” and Aziraphale panics, jumps upright and begins backing away frantically while saying “NO. I have no idea what that feels like. What makes you say that?”

We haven’t seen Aziraphale have his come to Jesus moment yet (pun intended) in season 2. While we get to see Crowley hit over the head with the ‘holy shit this is romantic love’ anvil, Aziraphale has a different realization coming and we’ve already been told what it will be.

It’s not “they look at each other and realize they were made for each other.”

It’s “they realize they had misunderstood each other.”

I think in many ways Aziraphale is already unconsciously acting like they are a couple, possibly more so than Crowley, but we don’t see him acknowledge his feelings out loud. We see his evolution through the 3 mini episodes to go from everything is black and white to life and Crowley and even himself are made up of shades of gray, but apparently that wasn’t enough to finally seal the deal for his ultimate “realize they had misunderstood each other” moment, otherwise the season wouldn’t have ended the way it did. Despite how far he’s come he hasn’t fully yet come to terms with his deeply rooted belief that demons=bad or mostly bad and angels=good or at least better than demons. I think that those beliefs showed their face in the worst possible way during that final argument, and that’s part of why Crowley was such a hard no to the whole situation. It’s not just a no to going back to heaven as an angel, it’s also ‘I can’t believe you still think that way about me.’

I don’t, however, think Metatron knew things would go that deep. I don’t think he knows either of them very well at all, but he knows Crowley would never go back to being an angel and he felt confident enough to manipulate Aziraphale (once on his own) into proposing just that and then he pushed them together before Aziraphale could process anything and stood back and let the explosion happen.

There are a couple very well written posts already out there about how the problem is not so much miscommunication as it is fundamentally not agreeing, how deep down Aziraphale doesn’t like that Crowley is a demon and still thinks of him as the angel he was, and how Crowley twisted the knife in Aziraphale’s insecurities that I think all add up to spell out this story really well. To this I’ll add, I think they both condescend and in ways look down on each other. While still being very much in love. I want to keep this short so I’ll try to stick to one example: in the Job episode Crowley said “you’re an angel, you can’t be tempted” while obviously tempting him (“you’re an angel, I don’t think you can do the wrong thing”) which is gentle but also mocking, because Crowley is literally tempting him in that moment. Then there’s times when he’s less gentle (“how could someone so clever be so stupid?”). From Aziraphale we have endless examples of his “holier than thou” attitude. Yes I think some of it is part of their coded-spy-talk but when you say and behave a certain way for years let alone eons even if some part of you knows you’re joking it becomes real.

To sum up - in season 2 we got our realization that they were made for each other from Crowley for sure and maybe from Aziraphale - I mean, those were a LOT of heart eyes in the bookshop before Metatron arrived and the whole grabbing his arm thing when B talks about finding something better than choosing sides. But the realizing they’ve misunderstood each other is what we’ve been set up for in season 3 and I think the misunderstanding is on both sides.

Final thoughts:

The coffee or death metaphor as literal - YES. Both in the first time we see it where Michael is threatening death and Metatron arrives to offer coffee, and secondly when Aziraphale asks “where would I get my coffee” (I.e. not die) and Metatron answers by not answering and saying instead (summarized) “we know you’ve partnered with Crowley, come to heaven and he can be an angel again and you can work together - that’s where you’ll get your “coffee” (as opposed to the (false) other option which is death).

I don’t feel like enough’s been said about the final scene with Metatron in the elevator. His whole body sighs as if in relief and he gives Aziraphale A Look.

This whole body sigh sigh says to me “thank fuck I finally got this gd angel in the gd elevator” and the final look over at him seems to have a taste of “what trouble is this idiot going to cause me next?”

Oh Metatron, you have no idea 😈. Because Aziraphale is definitely planning something, from the second he heard the phrase “second coming.” We already know he would stop Armageddon alone if he has too.

Because it’s all about protecting for Aziraphale. Did anyone else think it was odd that Aziraphale, who was soooo keen and literally bouncing up and down with joy at having The Mystery of Jim/Gabriel to solve, suddenly switched to dropping the mystery entirely and it never comes up again? Then on one of my many rewatches I realized Aziraphale was 100% in detective mode until Shax casually mentions that Crowley is risking destruction for him, which is the first Aziraphale has heard of Crowley being in trouble. Michael Sheen gives us the eyebrow raise of infamy and seems pretty cool, calm and collected about it but Aziraphale then lies to Crowley about anything strange happening and goes on to then frantically plan the greatest shopkeepers and trade association monthly meeting of all time and never questions Gabriel about who else he was at the bar with and never mentions The New Clue again. He drops solving the mystery entirely and throws himself into the ball. Because he wants to dance with Crowley?!?!! 😍🥹🥰 Maybe. But if Nina and Maggie get together then heavens suspicions are allayed, and Aziraphale has just learned that Crowey’s entire existence is in danger. He can’t protect him from hell but he can try to get Maggie and Nina together and protect him from heaven. That doesn’t happen but what happens instead? THE Voice of god herself, the top of the bureaucracy, shows up and offers Aziraphale the very protection for Crowley that he just tried to Jane Austin into existence?! Regardless of whether he fully believed Metatron, partially believed, or is 100% playing him for a sucker, he believes going along with Metatron will protect Crowley as well as “make a difference.” Which one is the main goal and which the happy side effect? Is there a difference? Does Aziraphale have any conscious awareness over what he’s doing? I have no explanation for the bitter “I forgive you” and have not yet read a theory that resonates.

[brookiidookiii]

what are your favorite and least favorite ships? 👀

Oh boy do I have a lot of opinions

- tbh I like a lot of Jo ships. Jock joeather jomaria,, ngl lately I’ve been in a joeather mood. Her x any girl is always a classic. The only guy I can ship her with is brick really 😭 I think they have really good chemistry. And I am a sucker for rivalries + it’s been a childhood OTP. I low key thought they were gonna end up together when I first watched s4.

Now I could write essays on joeather forever. Their rivalry could’ve been something great but the writers were awful. I think Jo should kiss her enemies

- yeah sorry I’m a duncney enjoyer and I do not care how toxic they were. Adds flavor. Heathney is excellent too. Courtney just needs someone who will enable her bad behavior (also sorry I prefer heathney over gwourtney). The TikTok fandom is really annoying about duncney tho because I’ll see videos about how “why does no one ever talk about how toxic duncney is :(“ while all the tumblr fandom does is talk about how they can make them worse lmaooo

- samkota is my favorite canon couple

- MKulia duhhhh I’ve been a shipper since I watched the reboot, which I started watching probably a month before s2 got released. Toxic yuri

- Chemma in the sense that it’s ironic and I can just make memes about them I don’t actually like them

- gwoey ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

- Trent x Lindsay is a secret rarepair of mine. They can be cute

- SKYELLLAA as much as I love toxic yuri I love wholesome stuff too. I think they are neat

- sanders x MacArthur. Idek how to explain what kind of relationship they’d have but I think they are both butch lesbians. MacArthur you are my lord and savior

Okay least favorites let’s go. Also heads up I don’t really care for any of the m/m ships 😭 mostly because I don’t care for many of the male characters lol

- zoke. They didn’t even do anything wrong like I LIKE them but they’re just so boring and unentertaining that what’s even the point yk. And when Zoey got superpowers after Mike left. Stop. Secondhand embarrassment. Like in s4 they were obnoxious at best but in all stars that made me truly pray on their downfall. I like fanon zoke.

In my mind they had a sweet romance that lasted a few years until they got a bigger divorce and left on good terms

- any and all Noah ships sorryyyy he’s overrated and I don’t like Noah at all. I don’t get the hype around alenoah it’s not that good. Everytime someone calls MKulia yuri alenoah an evil politician gets another year added to their life. I don’t like you. Like I get why people like noco. Just pure fluff, which isn’t for me, and they did have that ear kiss which was something, but I still hate it

I saw someone say alenoah was basically just aleheather without heather and yeah. Everytime I see someone list out the reasons Alejandro would be into Noah it’s just the same reasons Alejandro’s into heather.

Also MKulia is more like joeather anyway but whateva,,

- I don’t even make that many sexuality headcanons bc I guess I just don’t think about it but I can tell you who’s straight. Damien is straight. He is the most heterosexual person the series has ever made. I don’t think he should be shipped to with men. Also Wayne is straight

- sugella because as much as I love toxic yuri, that doesn’t even sound like fun toxicity just misery. It’s not for me 😭 I still stan sugar tho

- ripaxel. I tried to like it SORRRYYYY ripper is annoying and he needs the death penalty. Everytime they’re compared to jock I lose a year off my life. Ripaxel is what jock haters think jock shippers like. You are all wrong.

Axel is my queen and lord and savior. It’s okay babygirl we can ride off into the sunset together

- prileb. Why did it exist. I hate this. But seeing priya in love was pretty cute I gotta admit

- gwuncan. Self explanatory

- Scottney cause wtf 😭😭😭 once again I like them in the sense that I can make memes about it but bro SCOTT???? Courtney you can do better than that thing. Scott has skidmarks

- fanon brott 💀💀💀 I don’t like fanon brick in general. Y’all do him dirty. Ong Scott would not let brick use him as his Barbie doll for clothes. Scott would make fun of brick for liking fashion. Do you know nothing about Scott? Saw someone once say that they would watch legally blonde together HELL NO.

Also I really really hate that when I go out looking for jomaria fanfics, they’re only ever tagged as side couples in brott fics. Are you kidding me.

- bro the malejandro fanfics 😭 who is writing these things. Some of those titles make me lose it. I think we all should stop acknowledging mal and all stars existences

- gwody. Once again that big ass chin motherfucker doesn’t deserve Gwen.

- Jo x any other guy. Sorry. She doesn’t deserve any of those fuckers. Jock is the exception because at least he’d treat her right but even then he’s just a guy

- I don’t like Scott x anyone in general. Even Dott I’m hesitant because it would never work out and that’s what makes it soooo fun to explore because in the end she always ends up killing him

bruh most of these yaoi ships piss me off idk I don’t get the appeal for any of them. But I draw whatever people ask from me idrc it’s not a big deal LOLLL

Also this fandom is so goddamn cringe for calling straight couples yuri/yaoi. YOU LOOK EMBARRASSING OKAY

There’s a lot more couples I dislike than like tbh. I don’t think this fandom or its opinions sorry guys

[fabuloustrash05]

Why I Don’t Like 2012 Apritello

A TMNT 2012 Rant

Before I start and the 2012 Apritello fans/shippers come at me with their pitchforks and torches, I want to clarify that I DO think that the ship is cute and it has a lot of potential. S1 Apritello is adorable! But after that it goes downhill and becomes very problematic, which sucks because I see the potential for it to be a good ship, but the 2012 writers just did them so dirty which lead me to dislike this ship over time.

So with that said. Enjoy my rant!

As I said before, season 1 Apritello was perfectly fine. The only minor problems I had with them in the first season was the fact that Donnie has taken pictures of her obviously without her knowledge or consent and has them as his computer wallpaper. That doesn't sit right with me. This is coming from personal experience, a guy I knew in middle school had a crush on me and he used to do that, taking my picture without my knowledge or consent and using them as his phone background and it made me really uncomfortable. If the writers just switch it to him having his background be a selfie him and her took together them that would’ve been better. Other than that, their relationship and dynamic in season 1 was fine and even cute at times. 

Then season 2 comes around and the ship just gets worse from there...

I’m probably not the first to say that I don't like how creepy Donnie gets during S2 and onward. He becomes very possessive of April, looking at her like she’s an object or a trophy he has to win, instead of seeing her like she's her own person. Casey is also guilty of this, but this rant post isn’t about him. 

Side Note: 

April being Donnie’s love interest ruined her character. Most of her interactions with the turtles were mostly just with Donnie, because she was his love interest and she HAD to have “moments” with him. Whenever she did talk to or have genuine sweet moment with any turtle that wasn’t Donnie it felt fresh, rare, and new, but then shippers would ruin it cause they’d start calling April a wh0re for “cheating” on Donnie just from her hugging Leo or Raph, and say his brother’s are “stealing” Donnie’s girl. Like, guys, chill. Leave April alone. It’s a freaking hug. She’s allowed to be friends with Donnie’s brothers. 

I always appreciate the little short moments in the show of April interacting with Leo, Raph or Mikey. It’s one of the reasons I like the episode Eyes of the Chimera in season 3 so much becasue it focuses on Leo and April bonding! It made me wish April had more duo episodes with each of the turtles, but sadly most of her episodes were either about her and Donnie (in some way), her ninja training (which now that I think about it, we saw very little of) or her connection to the Kraang, and even that was dumped and no longer explored by like the 3rd season. 

Maybe that’s just me. Let me know what you all think.

Anyways, back to the rant!

The very first time Donnie sees April with Casey, he immediately jumps to conclusions and assumes she’s on a date and gets mad. Like, dude, you don’t own her! We, the audience, know she wasn’t on a date, she was just tutoring Casey, but imagine for a moment if she was. Donnie has no right to decide who she gets to be with and has no excuse to be mad if she decides not to date him but someone else, because, again, she is a human being not an object! Does he have a right to feel heartbroken? Yes, it's sad seeing your crush with someone else, I and I’m sure many of you can relate. But should he be mad? NO!

The whole love triangle between Donnie, April and Casey was its own dumpster fire and that’s a rant for another post. 

I also don't like how it is hinted during the S2 finale that April is aware of Donnie's feelings for her. Now, we could argue (and I agree) that April was not ready for Donnie to confess his feelings, most likely wanting to sort out her own feelings and I respect that, but I wish April was more honest with Donnie later on. I wish she told him to give her time and space instead of letting him think he has a chance, leading him on, and having him continue to obsess over her for 5 freaking seasons! She had many chances to have that conversation with him. Like in season 3...

Oh god, I hate Apritello in season 3, specfically I hate the Big Foot episode. That music box Donnie gave April in the beginning of the epsiode was extremely inappropriate given what those two have been through so far by that point in the show. Donnie, sweetie, you've literally lost the greatest battle of your life, you and your brothers were chased out of your own home and had to leave the city with Leo badly injured and in a coma, and you also witnessed your father's "death" by the hands of your greatest enemy, and you think NOW is the best time to make a move on your crush and give her a gift, who, may I remind you, went through the same exact sh!t you went through?! 

THE POOR GIRL DOESNT NEED TO BE HIT ON RIGHT NOW!!

And don't get me started on the farmhouse kiss later in the episode. What a load of bullsh!t! The writers really had me fooled. They really had me think they were going to give Donnie and April actual development in their relationship. They could've had Donnie finally understand and end his inappropriate behavior and obsession towards her and April could finally tell Donnie that she's aware of his feelings and tells him that she does care for him but needs time and space to think her feelings through. This conversation could have helped them grow together and they would eventually get together when both of them are comfortable and ready to start a relationship with one another. 

But NOOOO! Let's just have April take all of Donnie's development in that episode and throw it away by freaking kissing him!! Like, what?! Girl, weren't you literally uncomfortable earlier that episode when he was trying to make a move on you with the freaking music box???

It was at that moment I started to hate Apritello, and it makes it come off that April is just playing a game with Donnie, throwing him away and reeling him back in, repeating the action over and over again. Which sucks, because I really wanna like this ship and at times I can see the good qualities. I like April! She has some great moments (both badass and funny) that makes me appreciate her or be happy for her, but her being shipped with Donnie ruined her character for me. I blame the writers.

After the farmhouse kiss, you know what I realized? I realized that the 2012 writers didn't know what they were doing with this relationship and it pissed me off because, again, they had so much potential!

Also the many times April kisses Donnie on the cheek was so random almost ALL of the time. 

Her kissing him after she rekindles her friendship with the turtles, pointless but it’s fine. 

Her kissing him after he finished creating a retromutagen for her dad, understandable. Could just be a heat of the moment excitement that she probably forgot about later on, but...

The second time in the same episode, the writers were just forcing it at that point/April did that in front of Casey on purpose to make him jealous and you can’t change my mind. 

Her kissing him after Fugitoid fixed his bug sting, very random and very pointless. Like, why? What was the point of that happening??

I need to remind everyone who has come this far in reading my rant that I do think the concept of April x Donnie could work. Though I’m not a big fan of shipping April with ANY of the turtles, it can still work, but only if it’s done properly. 

Again, 2012 Apritello had great potential, it’s just the writers handle it so poorly. Honestly, Rise Apritello has more chemistry and potential to be the friends to lovers trope in a version where it is intended for them to only be best friends MORE than their 2012 counterpart where they are intended to be friends to lovers. 

You know what I wish the 2012 writers did? I wish the writers did a slow burn mixed with the friends to lovers trope. Basically, make them friends first, build from that, and have them slowly fall in love with each other over the course of the series. 

For me, I’d make it go like this:

S1 - Donnie and April are friends, but over the course of the season Donnie slowly begins to fall in love with April.

S2 - Donnie now has feelings for April, but he doens’t want to ruin his friendship with her. Also April is dating Casey.

S3 - Everyone knows Donnie likes April. Her and Casey eventually break up but stay friends. April finds out Donnie likes her and now it’s awkward between them.

S4 - Donnie and April both like each other now. They try hard to rekindle their friendship and try to go back to being just friends, but their hearts want something different. 

S5 - They finally confess and become a couple! Yay! Happy ending!

If you want to read the longer version of how I’d rewrite 2012 Apritello, you can check it out HERE

I want to thank everyone who has made it this far and has read my entire rant. Feel free to share your own thoughts on 2012 Apritello, but remember to be kind and respecful towards everyones opinion. 

[strangerfigs]

does anyone else feel like mikes character is almost supposed to be unlikable post s2? because seriously if you think about it

s3 - Lucas, Dustin, Will, Hopper, Max and El are against him with the things he is doing

In Lucas’ book, I’m only the beginning but Lucas describes Mike as the worst person to be around and an asshole

S4 - there is a lot less characters SAYING he is unbearable but his actions are ALL criticized by the general audience, and a lot of the shippers (regardless of who you shipped), and again frowned upon by will and el

Which I just find so INTERESTING like usually with the unlikable main character, no one in the show is generally against them? But it’s like they want us to really notice this, so much so that it does feel on purpose

Especially with how Finn is - he is such a charismatic guy, like they truly need to push for audience to dislike him I feel? (Like how Sam Levinson said he struggled with Zendaya’s likability with Euphoria like he wanted ppl to dislike her character this past season but it was hard because it’s Zendaya!) but yeah it feels intentional

And anyways it’s just interesting… and like obviously there is more to it, but it’s like, you have to think about how there are more layers to it and yeah… does this make sense?

[autistic-katara]

ALL RIGHT! ANON FANDOM HOT TAKES!

eddie munson sucks

this one is utterly incoherent but bear with me - IF byler hadn't been planned from the start, el and mike's relationship would've worked IF hopper hadn't taken el in. hopper majorly fucked up a lot of her personal growth and her ability to function around people.

hopper should've died

the bungou stray dogs fandom is great actually

the kpop fandom is disturbing but fascinating and i want to study it

i have this insane respect for the marauders fandom cause like they built it from the ground up and if they changed the names and a little bit of the magic system it could be it's own series

yeah idk what this is sorry

THANKS FOR THE LONG ASK AAAHHH (accidentally made the reply super long srry lmao)

honestly i just dont give a shit abt him. like in a vacuum i like his character, yk he was kinda a pretty big asshole to my boy lucas and he sells drugs (idrc abt that one tho) but at the same time idk i do enjoy the idea of eddie being queer nd clocking will and/or mike nd trying to make them feel comfortable talking to him (even if that could be done just as well if not better with robin who is yk canonically queer and a way better character but idk) but all that is ignoring how fucking annoying his fans are like jesus christ why is he this fucking popular like half the fics in this godforsaken fandom r st€ddie (and look i am a shameless will-ship-smthn-based-off-of-one-small-momenter of the highest degree but i genuinely do not understand the hype for them like they literally looked at eachother twice and had eddie tell steve to get back with his ex how in the fuck is that romantic???) and yeah just he is insanely overrated in the worst possible way and the fact that this isnt even the worst case of this in this fandom just proves how much b*lly and his fans suck and yeah i did not expect to go on a huge rant abt this srry TwT

kinda agree kinda disagree. i do think it wouldve been possible for mlvn to work but i wouldnt say hopper taking el in is the problem i think ud kinda just have to rewrite alotta their interactions with some small things in the beginning but with a completely different dynamic in the later seasons (sidenote: honest to god if theyd just written hopper a bit better i would fucking love him as el’s dad like i love the found family trope and i do think they go well together but with the way he acts in s3 + the way their fight that culminates in el’s meltdown and him breaking the tv in s2 just yeah they rlly could’ve been done better)

no comment i dont rlly care (i dont hate that he survived but if he stayed dead i also wouldnt hate it)

yeah honestly while it has its problems ive been in waaaayyyyy worse fandoms and i do actually kinda like the vibe here (even if it has some of the dumbest shipping discourse i’ve seen. not the worst but the dumbest. usually surrounding my boy dazai which just bro that man is a whore ship him with whoever and no its not a proship to ship him with an 18yo bcz they have a kinda mentor/student relationship and no shipping him at 18 with a 24yo also isnt a proship bcz someone decided he was 16 or smthn which if u actually do the maths he was very much 18 and look i’m not a dazatsu shipper and odazai isnt my favourite dazai ship nor am i saying both ships r entirely unproblematic but dude this is why i dont wanna label myself an anti bcz u guys say shit like this anyways sorry that was a super long side tangent it will probably happen again)

again no comment, i know jack shit abt kpop

uhhh i hate everything related to hp so again no comment

again srry this turned out so long 😭

[booksandpaperss]

Welcome to booksandpaperss (aka chaos lol)

Hello hello fellow gay people! Apparently people actually follow me?? And since I usually end up spamming my page with reblogs this is me making an effort be somewhat organized on here so ppl can actually navigate this blog and find my posts (to a decent degree anyway 💀)

update as of 4/4/23: my apologies to feminism bc as you will see 90% of this blog is Mike Wheeler. there’s rlly nothing I can do abt it, hope you understand 🙏

Other sites where you can find me:

ao3 - booksandpaperss

instagram (art acc) - @/fizzy.noodle.doodles

Blog Index:

Writing (WIP excerpts, ficlets, snippets, etc) -

My mandatory Be Nice to Me (by TBF) byler fic- byler fic WIP sneak peak, aka my painting fight fic that completely spiraled out of control and is now also Mike hostage theory, petergate, and lettergate all wrapped into one

And I’ll look directly at the Sun (but only in the dark) - byler fic WIP sneak peak, title loosely based off of anti hero, it’s a pre s3 byler relationship study

right by your side- byler WIP sneak peak, Will-centric and Will has powers fic, among other things ;)

A Look inside Max Mayfield’s “last word” letters to the party- an index of ficlets for my version of Max’s letters to each party member, very angsty, will be updated as I post each letter <3

Info dump post of my season 1 rewrite - byler fic WIP (multichapter), it’s just a general overview of my season 1 AU where Mike goes with Will into the UD ;)

Clinging to Before - a bite sized byler rain fight study/ficlet/poem of sorts

To Swing in our Rusty Memory (like the age old pact) - a Mike gets vecna’d poem from Will’s POV, heavily inspired and influenced by Achilles Come Down and I Know the End

Will comes out to Mike- some quick dialogue only writing practice with the blorbos

Fanart-

Angsty Will animation

Stranger Things posts Masterlist-

List of current in progress analysis posts

major clue in s4 that Mike is vecna’s next target

Let’s talk a lil abt Mike Wheeler, his depression, and what it means for s5

My iconic Stranger Things HotTakesTM

The REAL fruity four

why canon byler is gonna be a huge win for the queer community (breaking down dumb comments on why byler shippers are “overdramatic” 🙄)

we’re really overlooking how much the painting lie was a huge break in Mike and Will’s understanding of their friendship (aka how it’s definitely gonna blow up in Will’s face later)

Mike’s Basement Beats: When love breaks down- analysis (a look at Mike’s s4 arc)

Mike’s train wreck of a “love confession” actually just confirmed byler is mutual

Mike’s expression right before he starts his monologue is confusion + heartbreak

My perspective on Mike’s monologue when I was watching it as a casual viewer

Mike is sooo getting targeted by vecna in season 5: an essay in screenshots

Still having doubts abt byler bc of the monologue? Don’t worry I gotchu

Using my perspective as a lesbian to prove that Mike Wheeler is gay asf (we been knew but still)

Finn Wolfhard’s acting choices in the first flirty byler scene (you know the one)

More on Finn’s acting choices and style

Another look at Will Byers in the Van Scene (will, Mike, and feeling like a mistake, ft the amazing @heheidks)

Shaggy bowl cut Byers agenda

Some Unhinged van scene byler proof

Byler’s love languages <;3

Byler vol 1 in a nutshell

Byler endgame proof: screenshot compilation

Will’s feelings for Mike have been made a crucial part of the plot and will be addressed properly in s5

a brief look at s4 El and overcoming abuse (I’m soso proud of her omg)

Mike’s gay realization arc is already almost complete and can be broken down into 3 parts (mid s2-s4)

Mike and El already broke up in s4 onscreen (Will just didn’t realize and since we got the breakup primarily through his POV we didn’t notice at first either 👀)

Mike gets a sword in s5 agenda has evidence behind it 👀

Episode 9 lighting parallels/analysis (byler and lumax ft some of my moots)

Mike, Will, and queer realization

Mike and El both associate their romantic relationship with losing their best friend

A quick look at how the show shows Will and Mike’s crushes on each other, and what that means for s5

Dustin and his well meaning but horrible no good very bad gaydar (ft byler being dumb and Lucas being tired)

100% accurate and byler tumblr approved analysis of Mike fans vs Will fans

My delusional and self indulgent but also kinda realistic byler scenario for a season 5 trailer

PSA for byler shippers/stranger things shippers in general (and even just fandom with teenage characters in general) to stop shaming teenagers for having sexual thoughts and acting like it’s abnormal

Mike’s alleged romantic love for El was never actually believable to her

Camera angles, volume 2, and Mike Wheeler (aka an analysis of the subtle transition into Mike POV for season 5)

Stranger Things 4 through the lense of a Shakespeare tragedy

the Wheeler parents: a quick debunking of fanon assumptions and misconceptions

Unhinged bowlcut metaphor (you’ll see lmao)

[thirdeyeblue]

Don’t mean to be intrusive but why do you engage with tenrose and rose haters?? All these tenm/rtha fans that you’ve been reblogging slander Ten, Rose and their relationship. And they pretend to support 9/Rose to not look so bad, but it’s sheer hypocrisy, they are straight up Rose antis in disguise and you can tell that because they always say they love “s1 Rose specifically” (which usually it’s said by people who hate Rose but don’t want to look bad, so they come up with that ‘I used to love Rose in s1 but she became so selfish, annoying and awful in s2’), then they call tenrose ‘shallow’ and ‘forced’, ‘downgrade from Nine/Rose’, ‘irritating’ etc. It’s also not rare to see them mocking Tentoo by calling him “a clone”, and dishing TentooRose. Don’t mind you liking the ship, but its fanbase don’t deserve our attention.

First of all, I apologize for the lengthy thought vomit in advance — I just woke up!

To be 100% honest with you, I’m such a casual Tumblr user that I’m a bit of a sweet summer child, here. 98% of my fandom engagement happens on Discord. 😅 I have occasional days that I might scroll for 15-20 minutes, but it’s usually more like a few minutes, if at all. This website stresses me out, makes me insecure, etc.

My point is: I don’t actually know any of the assorted tumblr beefs floating around, and I don’t really care. I try to avoid “anti discourse” like the plague if I do (see above: stresses me out)— So if I’ve been reblogging haters, it’s gone right over my head, because I just don’t think about it. It’s one of those “if I don’t see it, then whatever” things. I’d rather just be kind to everyone unless I’m given a reason not to (e.g. someone being a piece of shit to one of my friends)(which I probably wouldn’t have seen anyway).

Also… I’m not the most prolific person or anything. I don’t have a lot of followers, I came to game late, etc, so I didn’t necessarily think anyone cared one way or another what I was posting? For real, I feel a bit invisible on Tumblr most of the time 😂 I didn’t realize anyone would look twice at me reblogging something from an apparent “hater” when they can obviously look at my page and figure out what I’m really about. I’ve got a petition to bring back Tentoo, FFS, obviously I don’t deliberately subscribe to any anti-TenRose nonsense.

I’ve been told by a friend (one who is far more enmeshed in Tumblr than I am) that most T/M shippers hate Rose. So inherently, yes, I’m aware of that much — and realize that if I get one of the “based on your likes!” posts from someone who is clearly out there shipping that pairing specifically, they probably don’t care for my actual OTP… But if I’m reblogging something by one of these people with these blissful blinders on, I’d much rather look at it like “perhaps they’ll realize not all T/R girls are bad, and they’ll be nicer to them” as opposed to “I’m engaging with haters”.

Anyway — apologies if I upset you by supporting these people who’ve bummed you to anyone else out 💖 That wasn’t my intention, all I ever wanna do is spread love.

PS: The whole T/M subject is already a hairy one for me, because I didn’t even ship them at all (and I mean at all) until I was well into writing a fic about them. It just sort of happened organically/accidentally, and then I was like “Shit.” That being said, if you see my posts, you can probably tell that I’m extremely selective about what T/M stuff I do share here. I try not to reblog anything too shippy of them, because I do know my audience, even if it’s not a huge audience. My focus was always more “don’t reblog super romantic shit”, not “don’t reblog that user specifically”. If that makes sense. 😅

[seddm]

Have you watched “the ghost and Molly McGee”? If not, I think you should watch it, just to give it a try. The reason that I bring this show up to you it’s because lately, there have been people hating the “ relationship” between the main character, Molly and her “love interest”, Ollie. Some people have been hating the hell out of the character of Ollie, and the reasons people give are ridiculous to say the least. Most of the people are just mad that their personal ships sink after the character of Ollie debuted on season 2 which premiered not too long ago, or they claim that the character of Ollie hasn’t been developed properly “which I disagree completely I think he’s development has been great. This reminds me of all the svtfoe shipping battles back in the old days and made me remember your deep analysis of the show back then, and I thought “huh I wonder how Seddm would analyze this how”. I’m just so curious as to what your opinion would be on all of this. It would be great if you would check it out, I WILL say tho that the show it’s pretty different from STVFOE . It’s mainly “episodic” rather than following an actual storyline but I will say that in season 2, the show does start following a storyline, at least much more than in season1 season it’s still pretty good, just that season 2 it’s a bit better. A little bit more “deep” regarding storyline. You’ll understand what I mean if you see it yourself. Anyways, thank you for reading this. I hope I explained my self well. It’s fine if you don’t like it too. I personally find it very wholesome haha. And again, I find the direction they’re taking with the show in the new season pretty interesting. 😄

I watched S1 of the show, and eventually I'll probably check out S2 as well, and while it was entertaining - I especially enjoy how over the top the facial expressions are, I'm going to be brutally honest: it didn't catch my attention and interest enough for me to form any kind of "analysis" opinion beyond a very surface level entertainment. Might change once I start S2, but as things are right now, I don't have the drive to look at it with the kind of fandom-eye needed to form opinions. Sorry! But I did see something of what was going around the internet when the first leak involving Ollie appeared, and I thing I can understand what you mean. Shippers are gonna ship, after all. Had I been a, don't know, Molly x Libby shipper, I too would have been miffed at sudden competition appearing. Even more since, in this specific case, the former had (so far?) absolutely no romantic undertones, while the latter was presented as a crush from the get go.