#and obviously they both love Julian but in different ways

[partywithponies]

The most compelling part of my incredibly elaborate Alison Corruption Arc AU™/Alison Stranded in 1993 AU™ is definitely Alison just becoming an accepted part of Julian and Margot's marriage. The Cooper-y filling in a Fawcett sandwich.

[fallen-angel-adam-frankenstein]

Thinking about how the Big Four of dark academia really feels like the Big Three of dark academia that a last-minute addition was added onto, not because it’s any less a part of and representative of the aesthetic but because its mood and message differs so greatly from the other three - that last-minute addition being Dead Poets Society. Hear me out as I rant about character types, classism, doing it for the aesthetic, themes, tones, and substance abuse (and, obviously, spoiler warnings for Dead Poets Society, The Secret History, If We Were Villains, and Kill Your Darlings):

Firstly, I want to draw comparisons between who I consider to be the protagonists of each story, focusing a lot on how I feel that each of them has a barrier between himself and another group of people within the story. Starting with the one that I relate to the most and progressing in no organisational order after that, we have from The Secret History Richard Papen, an English major who came from an impoverished old town in California to the lovely little college in Hampden, Vermont on account of loads and loads of scholarships. Fascinated and a bit infatuated with the Greek class, he is able through partly his own talent but mostly dumb luck to join their ranks, only to find out that the people he admired and romanticised are all a bunch of classist, selfish, rich addicts. Desperately wanting to be a part of this group, Richard has to break the financial barrier (as well as the seclusion engineered by Julian) between him and them in order to get in with the “cool kids.” However, this doesn’t work out for him at the end, as he doesn’t even get invited to their bacchanal or Bunny’s murder and yet has to suffer for the fallout of both events. It’s made clear that this is not the kind of life you want to live, and Richard even returns to California after the main body of the book concludes. Allen Ginsberg of Kill Your Darlings is confronted with a similar barrier, although his is less financial (he’s well-off enough to make it to college without scholarships) and more the sort of subcultural difference between the life he left at home and how Lu and his friends live. Just like Richard, he risks and loses it all to gain the affection of this new group, who, just like in TSH, leave him high and dry in the end. Oliver Marks also risks it all for his group in If We Were Villains, although they don’t necessarily abandon him in the same sense and really he alienates himself by taking the fall for Richard (Stirling)’s death. His barrier is also mainly financial, as he ends up having to pay for Dellecher through scholarships and a work-study deal, something which you can tell he is ashamed about (hmm classicism -_-) as he tries to hide it from the rest of the group, who can all afford the school on their own (or their families can). Since this story differs from the rest because it starts off with Oliver already a part of the tightly-knit group, you can’t really talk about him vying for approval as in TSH or Kill Your Darlings, but the sense of him being a part of a slightly different world is still there. Meanwhile, you don’t get this same sense in DPS. I maintain that Neil is the central figure in DPS, but for the sake of this let’s look at Todd, who does have to make his way into the group after it was already formed. Todd’s barrier is not financial but all in his own head: his social anxiety and awkwardness prevents him from initiating a relationship with any of the other Dead Poets. Because he has this different kind of barrier, it’s easier for him to overcome it, and it turns out well for him in the end, while it doesn’t for the protagonists of the other three stories.

Besides that, the other characters also play a role in how DPS feels separate from the other three. All four dark academia stories are about rich kids at their core, but DPS is the only one that doesn’t feel like it’s about rich kids. Why is that? I think it’s because of how they chose to present the characters. In TSH, the whole main cast, essentially, sucks - Henry is full of it, Bunny has all sorts of problems, Charles is an abusive drunkard, not to mention his incestuous relationship with Camilla, and Francis knows about this relationship and is fine with it, even being fine to casually fuck Charles on top of it (and he’s classist as fuck, but that’s a discussion for a later date). You might think, “oh, but Richard isn’t too bad” - yeah, but he did let them all get away with not one but two murders and was only worried about Charles abusing and fucking Camilla because he felt attraction to Camilla himself, so. Anyway, my point is that everyone in the Greek class is either a rich asshole or wants to be like the rich assholes, so that’s not good. There’s a similar thing in Kill Your Darlings where they’re all addicts and alcoholics and people who generally don’t give a fuck about how other people react to their drama and fun times, and you can see how Lu even uses David and later Allen and then throws them both away casually. Yeah, they have a cool vision of revolutionising poetry, but they’re not really characters that one can necessarily relate to, because they’re all just too caught up in themselves. IWWV, too - you don’t see this as much, but it comes out a bit when Oliver hides in shame the fact that he has to work to pay for school. While IWWV has a cast of characters that I can relate to and like the most out of the three I’ve talked about so far, there’s still a little bit of disconnect, an unattainability about them, and it’s clear that they’re all deeply fucked: Richard, before he died, was an abusive asshole, James killed Richard and then not only started mirroring him a bit when he hurt Oliver but then let Oliver while away ten years of his life in prison for Richard’s death (and either killed himself or faked his death), Alexander got even worse into drugs and then presumably got clean but man did he have PTSD from that school year, Meredith is surrounded by men lusting after her and feels lonely, Wren also has PTSD from that school year, and Filippa . . . got into a relationship with her teacher and we don’t talk about this? So while they’re three-dimensional, engaging, and entertaining, they’re all still just plain messed up. However, the Dead Poets aren’t like this. Obviously, there’s Neil’s suicide, but that’s different - it’s not messed up because he was already messed up, it’s messed up because the authority figures in his life (excluding Keating) messed him up themselves, breaking his spirit with the pressure they put on him and with the criticism of his passion. But to the point, in the sense of the characterisation of the main cast, DPS feels different from the other three because the Dead Poets are three-dimensional, engaging, entertaining, and even likeable in a way that the characters from the other three are not. And they’re all rich enough to attend a very well-to-do private boarding school, but they’re not stuck-up and classist, in fact hardly ever bringing up matters of money and even making fun of the Danburrys a bit. They feel more accessible than any other group does, which is what I respect about them.

And last but not least, the message. As far as the moods/tones and themes of the Big Four go, DPS is the only one with any sort of hope at the ending, and the only one with a “true” aesthetic for the characters to chase. The three of the dark academia Big Four all focus on taking something too far and it going horribly wrong - the Greek class gets so into studying the Classics that they have a bacchanal and kill a man and then kill a man to prevent him from telling someone that they killed a man, which leads to yet another man dead and the rest of them unhappy; the Dellecher fourth-years get so into Shakespeare and the roles they play/their typecasts that Richard ends up dead, Oliver ends up in prison, James ends up either dead or faking his death, and everyone else suffers like I mentioned earlier; and in Kill Your Darlings, David ends up dead, Lu ends up in prison, and Allen ends up expelled. TSH has a very bleak epilogue - Richard is confused and yearning, Charles is still drunk and who-knows-where cut off from the rest of them, Camilla has her dying grandmother to worry about, Henry and Bunny are dead, and Francis is forcing himself to marry a woman he doesn’t even like as a person, let alone not being physically attracted to her whole-ass gender, because he would rather make himself miserable than be cut off from the financial support of his family. Donna Tartt leaves us with a depressing, unsatisfying ending - which is all part of the theme, but I’ll get to its relation to DPS later. All in all, TSH’s tone is a very dark one, and its message to not let yourself get so caught up in the aesthetic that you let yourself fall/sacrifice your morals (and also not to idolise rich assholes because they can and will use you and ruin your life), while relevant and important, is far from inspiring or uplifting. Similarly, they go too far in IWWV, pursuing Shakespeare until it fucks them all up, and it has a similar theme to TSH. Its ending, while I like it better than TSH’s, is still quite pessimistic; there’s a little glimmer of possibility there, but not really all that much, and you get the sense that things are never going to fix themselves. In Kill Your Darlings, too, Lu and Allen get so caught up in the New Vision that they let the rest of their lives fall apart around them, and the ending is a bit confused and “meh.” DPS, however, has a lot of hope in its ending. Yes, Neil’s death was sad, and so was Keating taking the fall for it, but despite that, Keating is able to walk out of that classroom with a smile on his face; the ending isn’t entirely sad, it’s bittersweet. DPS’s message is all about carpe diem, seize the day, make your lives extraordinary, and they all presumably go on to do that (except Neil, who died because he was unable to do that). While the aesthetic the characters chase in TSH sort of hinges on their rich assholery, the aesthetic the characters chase in IWWV more or less depends on their isolation and general fucked-up-ness, and the aesthetic the characters chase in Kill Your Darlings is pretty much based on substance abuse and not giving a fuck, all of which lead to their lives being ruined on varying levels, the aesthetic the characters chase in DPS not only doesn’t really ruin their lives and also seems to be much more attainable in a tangible way. While Keating loses his job, he’s able to walk out of the classroom with a smile on his face because he knows that he did what he came there to do - he inspired his students to live life to the fullest and think for/be true to themselves, which is actually a quite healthy aesthetic to strive for, especially compared to the other ones I’ve talked about. The ending of DPS isn’t entirely happy, but there’s so much hope in it, something which the other three lack, and because of that, it feels separate from them.

Anyway yeah. I’m not going to write a big ol’ conclusion because I’ve already taken up so much space, but yeah. Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk lol.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

I’m newer to tumblr but an Arcana Veteran so coming across your account is a blessing 😭 your hcs are really good and I look forward to your posts!! I had an idea that I never executed on my own and i thought I might as well share it, so here goes nothing 😋

How would the M6 react to MC changing something drastic about themselves?

To be more specific, say MC always had long hair, more of a coolheaded attitude, or were always quiet and polite. And then out of the blue they’re shutting everyone out, slowly erasing almost every trace of their presence and being off the radar for a few months.

The LIs are worried because not a single soul has seen them. And then they suddenly return, and it’s like a new person, but very obviously still themselves. Shorter hair or other physical differences, soft-spoken personality, etc. But they come back to the M6 regretfully, never saying what *did* happen.

Assuming what they had was some strive for change, depression, or something else, it may be hard to explain to their dearest, but they eventually will. All they want is to be home.

just a silly idea of mine ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ



The Arcana HCs: M6 when MC changes without them

~ thanks for the ask @vegaspng! Sorry it took me so long to get around to but here it is. I'm writing this to be similar to what it's like in the recovery stages of PTSD or chronic depression, because I live for that kind of bittersweet hope. To anyone experiencing ot hoping to experience this, best of luck! You're not alone! - brainrot ~

- a little backstory-

The Devil is defeated. Vesuvia is safe. And your loved ones are building a new life with you that promises to be better than anything you can remember. Which is why you have to leave.

You've learned so much about yourself, your past, even the body you have now, and you're not sure what to do with it yet. That aside, you took on responsibilities and accomplishments the likes of which no single person could reasonably hope to carry, and you pulled it off. You didn't have to do it alone either. But now that things are going back to normal, you're stuck drifting in your own brain because you have no idea what normal is supposed to be like.

Your beloved has been wonderful. They've shown more patience than you ever asked for, listening to you process for hours and doing their best to help. You've worked through who you were after being brought back from the dead, you've worked through who you became through your fight against the devil, but you still know nothing of who you started out as. Which means you're not sure who you're supposed to be now. And you don't want to build a new life without knowing who you're building it for.

So one fine morning, you pack a bag, arrange for your absence, and kiss your beloved goodbye with the promise to return.

The journey is difficult, but rewarding. You travel across realms both magical and human, collecting traces of your past and encountering moments of who you used to be. You don't recover all of your memories, but you get the important ones. You find out who you used to be. It's less than you thought, but it's more than you had, and it's enough to move forward. So you set your sights for home and return to Vesuvia.

Your loved one is overjoyed when you return. They have a little adjusting to do, you have some mannerisms you didn't used to and they can't predict your behavior in the same way. But they're quick to recognize that it's all still you. Slowly, they get to know all the pieces you're building yourself with and fall in love with each one. And as time goes on, you get to hear about the whole thing from their point of view as well. What was it like for them, when you left? And what does life look like now that you're back?

Julian

The hardest part of you leaving was trying not to take it as a rejection of his love for you

He knows in his head why you need to do this, hell, the reason he ended up in Vesuvia was because he needed his own journey of self discovery

He just has to fight off his own inner demons telling him that you're going to realize you're better off without him and not come back

Which, for someone who found the drive to keep his own life because it had you it, can be quite the struggle

And because he's actually quite intelligent, he recognizes that it's not good to stay dependent on you to be his sole purpose in life. That's not your responsibility to carry

So he keeps faith in your promise to return, and puts all of his energy into becoming a better man for you to come home to

He spends time with Portia, getting to know her as an adult and becoming the kind of brother she says she wants and not what he assumes she needs

He seeks out time with Nazali so he can continue his medical studies and get more mentoring

He reconnects with Nadia and puts his knowledge of public hygiene to use with her plans for Vesuvia

He even manages to build a healthy friendship with Asra (who also misses you) and resolve their past toxic situationship

It's not easy, but he wakes up every morning a little more ready to face the day

When you come home, he's over the moon. Nothing and nobody can replace the happiness you bring him

He notices your changes right away, but he's too relieved to know that you actually came back to focus on them

Once you're settled back in with him and it's more apparent, he has a raging battle of opinions in his head about whether he should ask you about it or wait

He ends up asking you extremely vague, open-ended questions just in case you want to talk about it, but not letting himself pry

As time passes, he gets to know more of who you are and you begin to tell him some of the things that happened on your trip

He's fascinated, asking questions whenever you're in the headspace to answer them and connecting dots with you

He's never had the zest for life that he does now. Every night that he goes to bed with you, he's already looking forward to what the next morning will bring

And the best part? So do you. The future has never so been so desirable as it is now

Asra

They completely understand where you are coming from. In fact, they were the one who suggested the trip

He didn't suggest you going by yourself though

In the end what they care about more than anything is your happiness and wellbeing. So they'll give you every piece of advice and connection and helpful item they have, and promise to watch the shop while you're gone

But oh, he misses you desperately

When they gave up half their heart, it was in the form of their ability to have connections with other people. You being in their life covers for that

The only person he had a strong connection with before you was Muriel. And when you died, he went into the darkest, most twisted headspace he'd ever been in and did things he couldn't later comprehend

Their decision to bring you back, and the way they did it, is something you two have talked about once or twice, but there isn't much else to do besides try to forgive them and make sure it doesn't happen again

But this time, you're not alone. Which means he isn't either

Every day for the next week, someone new drops by the shop at your request to check on them

First it's his parents. Then it's Nadia. Muriel. Julian. Portia. Selasi, the baker. Natiqa on her way through town. Even Lucio at one point, with an apology letter that took months to help him write

Every time they feel like packing up and taking off until you return, they remember their promise to stick it out for you

And slowly, he begins to stay for other people too. It doesn't hit him until one month in that for the first time in his life, he's a part of a community because he's wanted there and wants to be there, not because he's with you

You're still their anchor, but now they have ties apart from you that give them a semblance of home, family, and belonging

The moment you return he's dropping everything. He will maintain some form of physical contact with you for the next 48 hours

They're one of the only people who remembers you before the plague, and seeing glimpses of that in who you are now makes them so proud and happy for you

You don't have to tell him everything right away. Though he is going to apologize profusely for every time he left you for a long trip with nothing to do but watch the shop and wait for his return

For every piece and memory you're ready to talk about, they will give you their undivided attention and then lavish the new discovery with all the affection they have

Nadia

She's torn. On one hand, her greatest joy is providing for you, so seeing the way you have an unmet need and can't come to her to fix it is hard for her

On the other hand, she perfectly understands the need to get away from it all to find yourself

And she's perfectly aware of how dominant her personality can be. You having access to your own space is very important to her

So she'll make sure you have everything you need and offer every available resource to you, and let you go

It's hard at first. You had been the one to wake her from her sleep, you had been the one to bring back her faith in herself

So without you around, her old insecurities begin to resurface. She didn't grow up in Vesuvia. She wasn't even the active ruler until several months ago

There were literal demons serving as her courtiers and she didn't do anything about them until you called them out

How is she supposed to speak with confidence if she doesn't have you to back her up?

And that's when, slowly, people start to drop by, and she's finally ready to accept their support

First it's Portia. Then it's Asra. Even Muriel drops by briefly. Julian makes a couple of calls as well

And then, it's her sisters

First it's Natiqa, crashing her lonely dinners and making her laugh with her wisecracks

Then it's Nasmira, quietly sweet talking the more stubborn courtiers into compliance

One by one, and never more than two visitors in the palace at a time, each family member stops by, taking their cues from Nadia and being her backup

And little by little, every childhood memory that haunts her gains a new light

She still gets tired of them and feels stifled every now and then, but she doesn't feel alone any more

It soon becomes known that Vesuvia doesn't just have an incredible Countess, their Countess has an army of loving supporters

When you return, she takes the next few days off and trusts her support system to handle the city for a bit

She'll ask questions, but as soon as she senses hesitation she'll give you space

She sees all these new flashes of personality in you, and as much as her heart aches for your trials, it flutters as you become more yourself

She already knew you were a worthy companion, but as you share more and more she's left in awe of who you are

The world is not ready for the power couple you two are going to make

Muriel

He understood what you needed to do right away. Going on a trip in search of his roots was exactly what ended up saving him

And getting to know you in the process was a delightful bonus

But when he realizes you're going alone, he's undeniably hurt. He's not the type to be selfish, but you went with him on his journey. He was vulnerable with you and it brought you two together

So why don't you trust him the same way? Why won't you make space for him in your life the way he did for you?

It's tricky to answer, because he makes a fair point and because he's never asked you for anything like this before

You're eventually able to explain the difference, how your trip is about finding out who you are on your own terms, when everything you've gotten so far has been on somebody else's

It's still painful for him, but he'll agree and let you go. He's not afraid of being alone

Until, for the first time in his life, he gets bored and starts wondering if someone's going to come bother him

Which is completely new. He's never had that train of thought before in his life

The closest was when Asra stayed with him and he wouldn't know if they would be back late or not

But now the hut is almost too quiet. The bed is too big. The forest is too peaceful. The eggs are too bland

And so, after two weeks of trying and failing to fall into old habits, he goes into town, grumbling under his breath the whole way

The panic that Asra greets him with when he walks into your old shop is almost enough to make him turn around and leave

Muriel? In town? By himself? Without being summoned? The world must be ending!

When he's finally able to mumble something about just wanting to visit and pick up some spices, Asra shatters a teacup

He's never been the one to surprise them before. It's fun. He could get used to this

And so, visits to Vesuvia get more frequent. Usually to the shop. Often to the palace. Several times to the community theatre, without needing to hide in the rafters

He's so relieved when you get back. You can hold a conversation with other people much better than he can

He notices the changes immediately, but he doesn't address them at all. His only desire concerning you is to be your safe place

He's come to appreciate the beauty of human complexity, so seeing new layers like this in you is heartstopping

You never have to worry about opening up. If you do, he'll accept you. If you don't, he'll accept you. He just loves you for you

Portia

Not gonna lie, it triggered her a little

She knows how this goes. You get tired of your quaint little life, you go off on an adventure without her, and you leave her to rot where she can't reach or help you with letters full of empty apologies

The conversation you facilitate between her and Julian after that rant is one of the hardest things you've ever done, but it's worth it

After things have settled, she lets you leave and holds onto the hope that you'll be back

And while you're gone, she distracts herself with work. She's got boundless energy, she needs to put that to use so she can't think too much

And so begins the craziest three weeks of her life. From the moment she wakes up to the moment she falls asleep, she does nothing but work

Normally, you're her reason to take a break. You put her back in the main role of her own life so she can let her hair down and live the adventure she's destined for

But without you around, the only role she's used to playing is support. So that's what she does, to the point of completely forgetting about herself

It takes a burnout induced three day fever to make her pause. Especially when she begins to recover and sees the sheer number of worried faces in her cottage

Nadia's spending every free evening with her. Julian's sleeping over most nights. Mazelinka's covering the daytime with her mysteriously perfect soup and brandishing a wooden spoon to keep her in bed

It makes her realize two things. First, that while it looks different, she has her brother's tendency to take on the world's problems to avoid taking care of herself

And second, that you shouldn't have to be the solution to that

It's rough, but she learns self care. Not just an extra step in her skincare, but letting herself do something just for fun. Putting herself first

Learning to sit and do nothing without feeling guilty because nobody can make some kind of profit from it

When you get home though, it's like she can fully relax again. You give her an importance that she has to fight to hold onto otherwise

She has the hardest time giving you space. All the changes you've made are so exciting to her, she wants to hear all about your adventures and growth!

You'll have to tell her plainly that you're not ready to talk about it right away, and she'll be very understanding even if it's hard

Every time you open up, she'll hang on your every word. You two are the main characters in her story, and she can't wait for the plot to develop with you by her side

Lucio

He doesn't make it easy for you to leave

He doesn't mind you going on a trip! Trips are fun! And even when they're serious and scary, like what he had to do with you in the Arcana's realms, they're always better with a loved one!

So why are you trying to go without him? Who's going to protect you?!

And equally important, who's going to be with him?!

He's thoughtless sometimes, but he's not dumb. He knows he's a better man because of you

And he also knows that he's not perfect. Deep down under all that bluster and ego, he's still a kid who never learned to love

You helped him with that. You unraveled every tangled oopsie with him, you didn't flinch when you saw the worst of him, and then you picked up his forgotten heart and filled it up with love

So why else would you be leaving except because you finally realized that he's not worthy of you?

You're able to explain it to some extent. You need to go on a journey similar to his. Only you need to do this by yourself because it isn't about fixing oopsies, it's about finding out who you used to be

He'll let you go because it's what's best for you. And he believes you when you say you'll come back. But what he can't bring himself to tell you is how afraid he is that who you used to be won't be able to love him

When you kiss him goodbye, he resigns himself to it being the last he'll ever get

At first he sulks. He crashes people's parties and picks fights with every bandit he encounters

But when he has the option to get blackout drunk? Take all the goods from the bandits for himself on top of the bounty money?

He can't

You taught him the importance of taking responsibility for his actions. Well, you made him a good man. So you're going to have to take responsibility for that and give him the chance to prove himself worthy of you

Which he does. He wakes up early. He moderates his drinks. He does the jobs he finds. He saves the money he earns

When you get back and fling your arms around him, his knees buckle from relief

He can tell you've changed, but it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. He can tell you all the ways he's changed instead!

If you were worried about his reactions when you do open up, you quickly realize you don't have to be

He doesn't expect you to be perfect. All he wants is for you to be you, for you to be happy, and for him to be the one you choose to do that with

[quarks-pussy]

So I know we here at Startrekfandom love that "came back wrong but from the pov of the wrong" thing and apply it to many different characters and canon situations and I am far from trying to complain about it (I'm "came out wrong" trope myself so I was always gonna obsess over it) but having recently watched a very important episode (you'll know which one) for the first time I think there's a character who hits both tropes mentioned but llike, intertwined, opposite and subverted, and whom I wanna talk about.

Julian Bashir.

From his parents' pov he's "came out wrong but we got him help and he came back better" while from his own pov it's "came out 'insufficient', was destroyed for it, came back wrong and only later slowly came to terms with his new self tho never the process (justifiably so)" and it's heartbreaking because in a way, he's right! Jules Bashir died! His parents had an intellectually disabled child and decided to eugenics him! Julian is not the person he used to be and while I do love the person he is now, that doesn't bring back who he was! Part of me wishes we could've gotten to see Jules at least once and part of me hopes we never do because my heart would shatter.

This isn't a good comparison but nonetheless one I can't help drawing: it's giving similar vibes to anti-vaxxers. "I'd rather risk having a child who is dead than one who's autistic". Obviously this doesn't map over since Julian is still autistic and the procedure his parents subjected him to specifically targeted his intellectual disability and if any folks with id wanna comment on this I definitely recommend you listen to them over me, but it's a similarity I, as an autistic who has encountered anti-vaxxers again and again, can't help but point out. "Give me a normal child or give them death."

This may have been written about already but there needs to be stories about teenage Julian (after finding out and rediscovering who he was) practicing some good ol' recognition of the self through media. I need to hear about how he would encounter a story about someone who came back wrong (I'm gonna assume there's plenty of "wrong" pov stories floating around by the 24th century) and absolutely weep. I need to see Julian mourning Jules, taking years and years to process his feelings, experiencing guilt about how he, the imposter, didn't deserve to live Jules' life.

Came back wrong from the returned's pov but it wasn't an accident. It was done to you deliberately by the people who claim to love you. And now you are here, piloting the corpse of your predecessor.

Jules Bashir is dead. Long live Julian Bashir.

[ailendolin]

I’ve been thinking about Thomas and the theme of change that runs through the show.

Thomas establishes early on in series 1, "You stay how you die," implying that the ghosts are incapable of change. We know that’s not true, of course. Robin is the best example of that. Not only does he manage to grasp concepts that are foreign to him (playing chess, doing crossword puzzles etc.), he has also learned at least one new language since he died. Like him, all the other ghosts have grown over the course of the series in one way or another, be it Fanny who realises that love is love, Pat who recognises that he pushed Carol away, Julian who's beginning to understand how much time he's wasted away from his daughter or Kitty who is slowly coming to terms with how her sister treated her. Mary, in fact, has grown so much that she was able to find peace and move on.

Thomas is the only one who seemingly hasn’t grown. He’s standing still, very much set in his ways, and I think that's because his character arc is not about finding love or realising romantic love is not what he needs to be happy but rather about change.

As I mentioned before, Thomas is the one who insists, "You stay how you die." He’s also the one who tells Alison, "We can change!" making it sound like that’s something the ghosts have control over even though we know it’s actually more of a subconscious process. So why does Thomas phrase it like that, then?

Because for him, it actually is something he can control because the Thomas we know, the Thomas the ghosts and Alison know, is not real. He’s merely a role Thomas has perfected over the years to protect himself from getting hurt, and there are mainly two reasons why I think that:

The theme of abandonment: we saw both Isabelle and Francis abandon him when he was dying, and while I know a lot of people believe the story Thomas tells about his mother letting him cry when he was a baby was just him seeking attention, I do think there was some truth to it because it's been established that Thomas doesn’t lie. He’s able to bend the truth and make it less painful (the kiss with Isabelle that never happened, him talking about his grand tour etc.) but he does not flat out lie. So if we take that into account, all three people he mentions from his life have abandoned him in some way. He not only died alone and unloved, he probably lived that way too and I would argue he is still “living” it. He can often be seen sitting or standing at a distance from the group (the double denim scene, or when Alison thanks them for the review) as if he's not quite part of it or at least feels like he isn't.

The differences between alive and dead Thomas: I think it's worth noting that the Thomas we see in the flashbacks is quite different from the Thomas we know. His love for Isabelle is a gentle and respectful thing whereas his "love" for Alison is the complete opposite. He also seems to have been quieter in life – still confident in his abilities and with a penchant for drama but in a subdued, more serious way. It’s a side of him we sometimes get glimpses of in the show: when he watched the sunrise with Alison, when he told Kitty she didn't need to pretend to like his poetry or after he went through withdrawal. Thomas’s true character shines through in those moments and the fact that we actually get to see that shows that Thomas is changing - just very slowly. For him, change is not about becoming a new, better version of himself or having a profound realisation about someone or something. It’s about feeling safe enough to let the mask fall and be himself around others, and about trusting them not to turn their backs on him when he does.

The main problem with that is that the others have given him no reason to feel safe so far. They constantly roll their eyes when he so much as opens his mouth and rarely bother to hide the fact they consider him a nuisance. Part of that is obviously Thomas’s own fault since the act he puts on is meant to push others away. But the others aren't blameless either. We know they can all be incredibly respectful and considerate when it comes to each other's trauma. It's an unspoken rule not to bring it up unless the person themself does (Fanny's death and George's affair, Kitty's sister, the Captain's sexuality and so on). That rule, however, does not apply to Thomas. When he goes to Alison to talk about his death, she barely pays attention to him at first. It’s only when the others come in, take over his story and turn the most traumatic moment of his life into the evening's entertainment that she gets invested in it. Gone is the respect and consideration they’d all normally show in such a situation - because it’s Thomas, and no one ever takes his feelings seriously.

I think in order for Thomas to change, the others need to change first. They don’t have to pretend to like his poetry or find his outbursts charming or anything like that but they need to make him feel safe the same way they make each other feel safe when they're at their most vulnerable. We got a small glimpse of what that could look like in the Comic Relief special when Kylie asked Thomas to finish the song. Everyone was supportive of him in that moment and genuinely happy for him, and I think that's exactly what Thomas needs to let his guard down and stop pretending he's someone he's not: to feel accepted and part of the family.

[spiralcass]

NEW X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES - SEASON 1, EPISODE 1

Our series opens on Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Archangel, Beast, Wolverine, Nightcralwer, Storm, Colossus, Gambit, and Rogue battling sentinels on the Brooklyn bridge. They exchange banter as they fight, with it clear they’ve been together for a long, long time. After winning the battle, Professor Xavier contacts them and congratulates them on a job well done. Jubilee comes running up to them, really sorry she missed out on the big fight. Least she can do is take a picture though! 

We zoom out, as the picture she took is now framed in Headmaster Scott Summers’ office. It’s one year later. Scott takes a deep breath as he sets the picture down. Jean playfully knocks on the door as she enters. As Scott vents his stress, the premise of the series is explained: With most of the old X-Men team having become disillusioned with the idea they could make any more of a difference than they already had, or, alternatively, simply having other opportunities call to them, they disbanded, while Professor Xavier left Earth entirely to be with the love of his life, Lilandra, in space. Recently, however, the Mutant population has boomed into the tens of millions, many of whom are children, so Scott and Jean are re-opening the school, and making it an actual school, to teach and protect the Mutants of tomorrow. But while the kids are set to start arriving in a couple hours, they’re still missing a crucial piece to this new stage of life: they have plenty of veterans signed up to be teachers, but as things stand, there are no X-Men. 

Scott is worried he doesn’t have what it takes to run everything and protect everyone. He’s not Xavier. Jean tells him that, no, he isn't it. He’s her amazing husband who she knows will do a better job than the professor ever did. And he isn’t alone in this. He has her. 

EMMA: “And more importantly, Darling, you both have me.” 

Emma Frost stands in the doorframe, posing overly dramatically, before strutting in and sitting down on Scott’s desk. 

As Emma snipes at both Scott’s insecurities and Jean’s “mothering” of him, her deal is quickly gone over. Former major villain who turned over a new leaf, and who, more importantly, actually does have experience running Mutant schools, so Scott brought her in to help get things set up, and is keeping her around just until they have everything running smoothly. Jean cannot wait for her to be gone, while Emma insists she has no intention of leaving anytime soon. As the two continue to bicker, Scott buries his face in his hands, sighing. 

SCOTT: “Wish us luck, Professor.” 

Later, the school grounds are packed as parents drop off their Mutant children. Here, we’re quickly introduced to the seven main kids we’ll be following. 

First, we meet Sofia Mantega, who’s being dropped off by her father’s assistant. While obviously coming from a wealthy home based on the car she shows up in and her preppy style, she’s also shown to be an awkward sweetheart, as she acts like best friends with her dad’s employee, and nervously says sorry to everyone as she makes her way through the crowd, the wind carrying all their words right into her ears as she uses it to carry her bags.  

Next, Julian Keller is introduced as a clear foil to her. Floating in the air with his telekinesis, he’s shoving kids and parents out of the way so his family’s employees, who have his bags, have a clear path, Julian barking at all the losers to move and get out of the way as he does so. 

Noriko Ashida is thanking one of the teachers, Danielle Moonstar, for getting her off the street and hooking her up with gauntlets to control her powers. We then see those powers in action, as she sees Julian pulling his crap and super speeds over to him, telling him to quit being such a jerk. The two begin their first of many, many, many squabbles. 

Cessily Kincaid arrives all alone, on a bus. She takes a deep breath and puts on a big smile as she enters the school, being nice and saying hi to everyone, but no one pays her any attention, apart from some freaked out looks from parents at her metal body, depressing her. 

Brian Cruz, also alone, and getting pushed around in the crowd, tags himself, making everyone else move out of his way. 

Sooraya Qadir is too nervous to even enter the crowd, but she’s greeted and welcomed by the youngest teacher at the school, Kitty Pryde, who, with a friendly smile, volunteers to phase her through everyone. 

In the trees adjacent to the school, we meet our final main kid, Laura Kinney, staring down at everyone alongside her mentor, Wolverine. Logan promises this will be a good place for her. She’ll be safe, she can make friends, she can be a normal kid. Laura maintains she’ll never be or do any of those things. She can act like she’s one of these kids, she was trained to do so, but she’ll never be like them. Logan makes her promise to at least try. She asks why he can’t stay with her, and he tells her this just isn’t the place for him anymore. 

LOGAN: “Besides, if I stuck around, you wouldn’t need to talk to anyone else.” 

Laura asks about the man in charge. She’s never heard Logan do anything but complain about Cyclops. Does he really trust him? 

LOGAN: “Never tell him I said this, but there’s no one I trust more. Besides, he’s got Jeannie watching his back. You’ve got nothing to worry about here, kid. I promise.” 

The two awkwardly stand up, neither really good at goodbyes, so Laura just pounces off onto the schoolgrounds. 

In the school’s auditorium, Scott is giving a speech to all the new students about what it means to be a Mutant, while also clarifying what they’re here to learn, and that they aren’t here to train to be X-Men, but to attain the skills they need to survive in the world.  While Scott is talking, Julian sets his sights on Sofia, instantly smitten by her beauty. He nudges the stranger sitting next to him, asking if he agrees she’s the hottest girl here. Brian, shocked ANYONE would talk to him, nods his head and agrees. 

As Scott nears the end of his speech, he does know most of the kids probably have questions about the lack of a current X-Men team. He assures them that they’re working on solving this issue, but until then, enough heroes are gathered here that he promises no one will be able to hurt them. 

Cut to an underground base where, paralleling Scott, William Stryker is giving a speech to his small army of Purifiers. The man is genocidal, intent on killing all Mutants, but only because he genuinely believes that Mutants have all been corrupted by Satan and that God has tasked him with his mission, the pain on his face genuine as he recalls killing his Mutant wife and child. 

His speech concludes with declaring they’ll be launching an attack on the heart of Mutantkind in America: Xavier’s. 

Sofia and Noriko are getting moved into their room. Sofia is being friendly and trying to make conversation while she takes a bunch of pictures for social media, her following quite large, but Nori is disinterested and mostly ignoring her, thinking she just seems like another vain, preppy rich girl, putting on her headphones and some J-Pop to tune her out. 

Julian and Brian show up at their door, and Julian starts hitting on Sofia. She “politely” rejects him, saying she unfortunately doesn’t date bullies and jerks. This instantly gets her Nori’s approval as she slams the door in the boys’ faces. Brian pats a bummed out Julian on the back. 

Cessily and Sooraya are rooming together. Cessily thinks she’ll judge her like everyone else, like her parents, for her metal skin, but now that she’s away from the crowd, and all the boys in it, Sooraya is much more relaxed and easily hits it off with Cessily, the two bonding as Soo encourages Cess to show off some of what she can do, the girl of mercury having some fun as she does a cheer, implementing her stretching and wiggling. Sooraya applauds her. She explains that she's actually had her powers for a while, unlike the more recently developed Cessily, and she learned quickly not to judge. She does think Cessily could stand to cover up more though. 

Scott, Jean, and Emma are walking through the halls. Jean was finally able to get in touch with Storm, in her mind, “the obvious choice”, and she’s agreed to come back to America and join the New X-Men. Other ideas are tossed out, but none of them work for one reason or another, be it Warren being busy running his company, Gambit and Rogue traveling the world, or Colossus still being in mourning "all this time later". 

Laura stumbles across the three as she’s familiarizing herself with the building’s layout. Scott welcomes her, asking if she needs help finding her room. Laura puts on her “Normal Girl” act, saying how she was just exploring this school she’s so excited to attend, but Jean and Emma tell it’s okay to just be herself. Laura’s face falls as she tells Scott Logan was right; he does smell trustworthy. So does Jean. Emma doesn’t. Scott lets her know they’re fully aware of her unique situation, and wish to help her anyway they can, but Laura tells him not to bother; she won’t be here long. 

That night, Scott is working late in his office, as Jean tries to get him to come to bed. The two are very cute and sweet, but just as Jean is getting him up, they hear a noise from outside. Looking out the window, they see the school being stormed by the Purifiers under the cover of darkness. 

Jean wakes up all the teachers and orders them to focus on protecting the students, and orders the students to stay in their rooms no matter what they hear, while the two of them and Emma deal with the attackers, Emma intentionally being a pain to pull away from her beauty sleep. 

Meeting The Purifiers face to face, the headmasters, still in their pajamas, demand to know what’s going on here. The soldier in charge explains who they are and their holy mission. 

SCOTT: “Different name.” 

JEAN: “Different look.” 

EMMA: “Same bigots.” 

The three proceed to show why they’re the ones in charge, as they easily fight through the immense and heavily armed paramilitary group, forcing them to retreat. 

As they flee, Laura jumps out her window and attempts to pursue them, but Jean halts her. Scott questions what she was doing, and she asks in turn why they let their enemies who wanted to kill everyone here live? Scott and Jean make it clear that isn’t how X-Men do things. 

LAURA: “You said it yourself, Mr. Summers. You’re training us to survive. Not to be X-Men.” 

Laura stomps back inside, Scott in for another rough relationship with a Snikt. 

EMMA: "She does have a point."

The other headmasters just glare at her. 

The next morning, the kids all begin their classes, and we get a glimpse at some of them. Chemistry with Beast, Drama with Nightcrawler, Chorus with Dazzler, Creative Writing with Karma, and Powers for Self-Defense with Danielle Moonstar (the only class everyone’s excited about).

Looking at all of these kids’ happy faces, and coming off last night’s win, Scott thinks he may just be able to pull this off after all. 

SCOTT: “Failing them can’t be an option.” 

Elsewhere, in a church, Stryker apologizes to God for failing and says he won’t underestimate the X-Men again. God speaks back to him, promising that he’ll ensure that next time, he’ll be as ready as he needs to be. 

[arsenalgbt]

okay i’ll try my best to phrase it!! this can be set in the arranged marriage au or not. but kai and dec both had defining relationships that cause the other to boil in jealousy (kai with julian and maybe even with mason if we squint, dec with mason.) they love each other and can’t communicate it, so the jealousy fuels their attraction even more!! mpreg is like a way they can both have and claim each other and show their affection yano…

hell yes agreed! this shud be set in the arranged marriage au for sure jsjdfjasjfalk and ofc let's have micky mount complicate everything nods nods. ur saying that at the early stage of their marriage life, deckai were both wary of each other? esp thanks to the business side of the arranged marriage thingy PLUS both found out they shared one ex; mason. like. then here comes the pressure to produce an heir. as y'all know I need to impregnate kai 25/8 sooooooooooo

tho ofc at first they fought about who gets knocked up. lol. one thing led to another (mason lolll) they had angry sex, sober, and they fucking fought again because deccie pumped his cum into kai bare ahjsjfajjk

say, they got a false alarm the first time. yes they fucked bare, yes kai thought he's pregnant, but the doctor said no. no baby.

obviously after having a taste, they fucked again. and again. and it became a routine. mason who??????

their close friends noticed the different, peaceful atmosphere between them. dec's family business is slowly flourishing again. kai gets richer (never had to work a day in his life lmao) etc

one day, after celebrating whatever it is rich people celebrate, they fuck. the condom broke (classic!) - and it's not a false alarm this time no ma'am

y know there's a Charlos f1 rpf fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/54789499 with the similar plot point that I really really like lmao. the slow burn chefs f kissssssss

THOUGHTS?????? TELL MEEEEEE

[lloydfrontera]

i'm obsessed w thinking up aus for tged. au where suho gets transmigrated into lloyd's body not long after javier enters the household (typical transmigration in childhood plot). au where in the middle of "the knight of iron and blood" some enemy warlock summons someone he thinks will torment javier the most: og lloyd (but it turns out to be suho in his body instead bc the summoning/resurrection went wrong). daemon au where alicia actually has a lion daemon and lloyd actually has a pomeranian daemon who pestered javier's daemon nonstop back when og lloyd was there.

and i am obsessed with all of these aus omg!!!

tiny suho and baby javier oh my god!! they'd be so cute T-T tiny javier is so adorable and sad and cute, suho would immediately get attached to him. plus julian, he's already so stocked about having a little brother when he's an adult, just imagine how much he'd love 5-years-old julian. he'd be such a good hyung :').

also i am fascinated by the emotional repercussions this would have in everyone. especially on arcos and marbella. we know they already feel the emotional distance lloyd put between them when he's an adult, but imagine if he tried to do the same as a kid. the emotional slow-burn between the three of them would be soooo good.

and a suho who's gone through the same traumas but who gets thrown into a child's body with all the emotional immaturity that goes along with it would have the most delightful of breakdowns. like imagine someone with intense feelings of survivor guilt, food insecurity, trust issues and a self-sacrificing streak that rises up when it comes to the people he cares about, but he's also 10 years old. it's like the perfect mix for a great emotional breakdown <3

plus we would also get to see 10-years-old lloyd being followed by 5-years-old javier and julian like little ducklings. adorable. no notes. the mental image is already perfect. nonnie i may just have to make art for this one actually i'm so sorry i'm in love

and i am screaming about the idea of suho being isekai'd in the middle of "knight of blood and iron".

it would be an extremely bittersweet story, because by that point javier has already lost everyone he loved, he's completely alone in the world and then he gets one (1) person from his past back and it's the man who made his life impossible even then. he'd be so angry and upset and heartbroken about it, but i think he would still stick by lloyd's side because at that point, lloyd would literally be the only thing he has left from his old life. like he stuck around even before og!lloyd died, he would absolutely force himself to stay by lloyd's side when he gets brought "back" even if he thinks lloyd will make his life more difficult.

and lloyd would have such a hard time getting his trust because by that point, there's very little for him to save. there's no estate, no parents, no little brother to protect, everyone and everything is lost for them at that point, so he has no immediate way to prove himself to javier. he would still have a good chunk of the plot memorized which would obviously help, but if he's brought in the middle of the story then by that point the entire country is a mess thanks to alicia going full tyrant and there's also lupellan, so instead of avoiding those plot points, he has to face them head on with just a little advantage of knowing how they'll play out. so the only way for him to get javier's trust and eventually his friendship, which he would definitely need to stay alive in that particular world, would be to step up to dangerous situations much earlier and probably more often than he would otherwise.

it'd definitely be a different dynamic between them. most of the emotional weight would be on javier being both bitter about getting "lloyd" back and not someone else while also desperately wanting to keep him close because he's the only thing he has left of his old life. while lloyd is mostly worried about staying alive, both because of the events of the book and because he's still not sure how likely it is that javier will just straight up leave him behind one day, because technically he already fulfilled his duty of a lifetime with him once thanks to og!lloyd dying before. i think it'd be fascinating, really would love to explore this one more too.

the daemon au is the one i will probably disappoint you the most nonnie 😅 i never really understood this one and i don't think i've ever read a fic about it. would you like to explain it to me????

[an-architect-of-words]

I'm intrigued by your comparison of tsh, the great gatsby, and heathers, would you care to share some points?

Golly gee! I’m glad you asked, Anon!

(Obvious major spoilers for the three of these things. Also, I’m using the 1988 film for Heathers. I like the musical, but I like the movie a bit more, and it better suits my points here. There are a few differences in tone between film and musical especially regarding J.D.)

(This talks about triggering topics seen in each of these stories.)

/Opening/

All three of these stories provide critical looks at certain communities, and all of them focus on at least one character whose goal is to reach a particular worldly ideal, to achieve a certain aesthetic lifestyle. Gatsby goes about this in a very reflective and melancholy way. Heathers uses humor and satire. The Secret History uses elements of both.

I really like Joseph Campbell and Thomas C. Foster who analyze character archetypes and tropes. Their points are not that this is necessarily copying or unoriginal but that human storytellers often get attracted to the same concerns, ideals, and concepts— we end up revisiting frameworks such as the hero’s journey or the “vampire” archetype for characters. But what is enriching is the author’s own way of commenting on these things. If we look at, say, Henry, Gatsby, and J.D, they are all wildly different people but the same character type. So let’s go though how the stories are all saying the same thing but exploring it differently.

/Great Gatsby vs Secret History/

Let’s start with TGG and TSH. Richard mentions early on that he identifies with Gatsby, and that this is his favorite novel. I’ve seen a few people question this because Richard is much closer to Nick Carraway. And, from a POV perspective, he is. They’re both outsiders attracted to the mystique of another character. And they’re just neutral enough that different characters can approach them about things. But Richard seeing himself as Jay Gatsby is also accurate, because Gatsby has a similar internal struggle to Richard himself. Richard’s flaws and goals are exactly Gatsby’s. Both men resent the lives they were born into, viewing them as dull and not a reflection of how they see their own identities. They take matters into their own hands to achieve their ideal regardless of the methods. Richard finds himself attracted to the Greek class, and particularly awestruck by Henry, because Henry is a Gatsby-type too. And it’s more Henry who functions as Gatsby in a POV way. Henry does what he must to achieve his desired Hellenistic lifestyle, just as Gatsby chases for the American dream.

The stories also make similar points about the effect of this behavior on other people, particularly women. A big topic of TGG is carelessness. It’s seen through the symbolism of cars. The characters are reckless with their vehicles. Cars are stylish and exciting, but also linked to violence. We see this general concept with Julian who is careless with his teaching methods. Him leaving at the end, dead and broken people in his dust, reminds me of Daisy and Tom at the end of Gatsby, and Nick saying: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy— they smashed up people and things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” Julian does something similar.

Obviously, Camilla and Daisy fill similar roles. They’re women who aesthetically fit into the lifestyle the male characters want. Daisy is a stunning American socialite. Camilla is a pretty classics student who plays the roles of big name Greek ladies (notably Clytemnestra) in the class’s readings. Gatsby, Henry, and Richard seem to have varying levels of actual love for these women. But the idea is the same: “In order to fully complete my own self-transformation, I need to have a woman emblematic of my ideals.” Even Charles fits into this because his views of Camilla get twisted by his toxic and Romanesque concept of what it means to be a male head of household. Both Camilla and Daisy are aware of their own lack of agency. Daisy’s famous line saying the best thing a girl can be is “a pretty little fool” isn’t meant to be taken as the author’s own opinion, it’s Daisy saying she wishes her daughter will be too stupid to realize what an awful situation she’s in. Camilla and Daisy know that they eventually just need make a plan and go with the man that will make their life easiest. For Daisy, that ends up being Tom. For Camilla, it’s Henry.

As a side note, I saw someone drawing Gatsby comparisons from TSH and mention that Charles is Tom. And I do understand the connection made here (Charles becomes an antagonistic figure for Henry, and they fight over a woman) but it seemed slightly off to me, and I realized it’s because I view Charles way more like George Wilson. Wilson is incredibly impacted by the immorality going on around him, and views the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg as a constant reminder that God is watching them all. In the end, he has a mental breakdown, victimizes his wife Myrtle then loses her. Wilson and Charles come to the same conclusion at the end: which is to attack and kill Gatsby/Henry with a gun. There are obvious differences. For example, Wilson is wrong that Gatbsy killed Myrtle (that was Daisy) and cheated with her (that was Tom). But the backbone is there: a man is haunted by the existence of objective morality. He then reaches a conclusion he must violently seize control and kill the one he sees as responsible.

/Heathers vs. Secret History/

While Gatsby focuses on a desire to be part of an American upper class and TSH focuses on a desire to be part of an erudite class, Heathers focuses on what I’m going to call teenage politics. Jocks, mean girls, bad boys, etc. The cliques of high school. Veronica is a member of the popular girl group at school and is mistreated by her clique. What she craves is to be part of what J.D. represents. He’s a mysterious outsider who is intimidating but also recites poetry and likes Bach. The way he’s introduced is very “Hey look at this guy. He’s not shallow like the Heathers, Kurt, and Ram. He’s layered.” Veronica very much falls into the trap of believing a damaged, edgy boy is somehow deeper than everyone else. She also wants to be dangerous and above the other high school cliques. Veronica is exactly like Richard because she knows J.D. is excessively violent the day she meets him when he threatens football players with a gun, but she believes there’s something cool and beautiful in that. She sees that his opinions are more cultured than her friends, but doesn’t stop to analyze what kind of person would fire blanks at people during school. Well, surprise surprise, it turns out the bad boy is… well literally just an awful person. There’s no hidden heart of gold like in the movies. Heather Chandler was terrible, but her death brings to light that people like J.D. are worse. And, to me, the situation with Bunny and Henry is similar. Both protagonists go along with the killing (I say this because Veronica was kind of sucked into it more than a premeditated accomplice), because they were abused by the victim and want to avoid jail time. But it’s also noteworthy that that victim represents a type of person who is opposite of the protagonist’s ideal. Bunny is an uncultured slob when Richard wants sleek intellectualism. Heather Chandler is a vapid mean girl when Veronica wants cool people of substance. Both protagonists eventually realize that the person they’ve partnered with is the bigger threat.

Heathers and TSH also unfold similarly. Both the Hampden and the Sherwood (Westerburg) communities react to the murder in a way that is so absurd and really off-the-mark. The Sherwood community mistakes Heather’s death as a suicide then proceeds to project deep feelings onto her and rationalize her rude behavior (sometimes in hysterical ways) because tortured souls are deep. They hold all these suicide prevention spectacles that the viewer can see are not really about preventing suicide at all. They’re about showing that people are feeling things and painting Westerburg High as a place full of psychologically complex people. Bunny’s death gets mistaken as drug usage and similar circuses ensue. There are people projecting onto Bunny because he died young. The whole section in TSH where they do the national drug trivia competition to raise awareness and Hampden College dominated was HILARIOUS in its irony, and I literally went, “This is so totally in the tone of Heathers” when I read it.

The way the stories handle the “idealism” character is similar too. Henry and J.D. come across as so wise and above nonsense at the start. You’re distracted by their language and finer tastes. Then, you see that they’re clever when they are able to get away with murder. But the story starts to show you that they’re actually super one-note in ways. Henry and J.D. both get almost embarrassing to watch because you start to see how horribly unaware they are. Henry is focused on what book to bring to his FBI meeting, as if that matters, and he seriously thinks the psychic lady might catch them. J.D. starts to come across as so silly because you see how often he speaks in trite little poetic statements that are stupid in context, but that he clearly thinks sound good (“People will look at Westerburg and say there’s a school that self destructed not because society didn’t care, but because that school WAS society. Pretty deep, huh?”). Both Henry and J.D. meet their downfalls because they’re after random, insubstantial “profound” things. Henry goes out with a suicide tied to a tender kiss with a woman, to prove that he could become the perfect Hellenistic figure Julian wasn’t. J.D.’s suicide was a similar thing: a message to Veronica about how complex and world-rejecting he is. (This is a part that differs in the musical. J.D. is actually self sacrificial there. I respect that the musical had to make J.D. softer to accommodate his songs, but the film character’s actions stick more firmly to the lesson of the story).

Heathers is more of a comedy than TSH is, but they both poke fun then take steps back. Bunny’s funeral is a complete clown show but there are moments of genuine sadness and Richard realizing how evil the thing they did was. There’s a funeral in Heathers where Veronica and J.D. are giggling because they know the things being said about their victim are stupid. Then Veronica catches sight of a crying little girl and stops, shocked by the sudden reality of what she did.

Both stories also comment on group mentality. The Hampden community and Westerburg community are prone to ridiculous conclusions and nonsensical actions because of how quickly stupid ideas get latched onto. The Greek class murders Bunny because they’re all downplaying each others’ best traits and drawing out the worst. I listened to an interview with Tartt where she points this out and states that nobody in the class would have become a murder on his or her own. There’s a well done scene in Heathers where Heather McNamara attempts suicide because she’s depressed but also influenced by what she thinks were here friends’ suicide. Veronica stops her and says “everybody jumped off a bridge, would you do it?” McNamara gives a very honest and defeated, “Probably.” Both stories explore how people can and often do go against rational judgment when others are involved.

/Tying it all together/

At their core, these stories are all doing the same thing: they’re showing how easily humans can be influenced by romantic ideals that they lose control of their moral judgment. The works all show that people can so dearly love the aesthetic of a person and what he or she represents that they create an illusion that masks the person’s flaws. Gatsby goes about this in a very respectful, dignified way. Heathers is full of humor and moments that are meant to be shocking and hilarious rather than realistic. The Secret History does both. It’s not as formal as Gatsby but not as outwardly making fun of itself and all is characters as Heathers is. It’s also partially satire but not at the level Heathers is; Heathers is literally just making fun of its own genre (teen romance films). It presents itself as a cliche movie then just swerves violently into insanity and a tone that mocks all its character archetypes. TSH and Gatsby are both much more up front. As a result, there are some scenes in TSH that strike me as very Gatsby (scenes where Richard is being more reflective and philosophical) but there are also scenes that are so wild they seem to be working how scenes from Heathers did.

Back to archetypes and tropes: While these stories have the same skeleton (a character facing reality after being caught up in romanticizing something), they explore things differently due to different social constructs and narrators of different backgrounds. We have an 30-year-old upper class man whom everyone treats as a secret-keeper. We have a new adult who desperately wants to put his lackluster and abusive childhood behind him. Then we have a teen girl who lacks a perspective outside the drama of high school. They all have personality differences and varying levels of culpability in the violence, with Richard having the most since he was a knowing participant in a murder. Veronica is next because she was part of a murder, stuck with J.D. longer than she should have, and covered things up, but was repeatedly tricked into killing when she didn’t want to. Nick rocked the boat but wasn’t a direct part of any death. Veronica takes back the most control at the end. She lights her cigarette on the explosion that killed J.D. (which, wow, metal). She tells J.D. she wants “cool guys” out of her life then goes to get new friends and move past what happened, as arguably unrealistic as that is. Richard ends up with the least control because he CAN’T move on; the events of the story have permanently damaged him in a deep, spiritual way. These endings lean into different concepts: Heathers lets the protagonist triumph and embrace her lesson. TSH focuses on how immorality has lasting effects on the soul. TGG ends by showing pity for people like Gatsby.

This is the same for J.D., Gatsby, and Henry. They’re very different kinds of people which provides variation to the concept they represent. TGG doesn’t present Gatsby as evil, just tragic and wrong. He did hurt people with his shady dealings, but he’s painted as a man who still has his soul. J.D. and Henry actually have pretty intense evil in them and a clear lack of concern for human life. Nick and Richard still hold love for Gatsby and Henry, even after all that happened. Veronica completely denounces J.D.

I mentioned this in the previous post, but I just love stories like this. I love characters who get these kinds of reality checks, and I love characters who have such strong passions that they have to struggle with. And all three of these stories are so very smart. They’re each so unique in the presentation of these similar ideas that none of them feel like a discount version of another. The methods of story-telling are so different, and their focuses, allusions, settings, tones, and motifs vary as well.

Wow, this is not even all I had to talk about. I could genuinely write a 40 page paper on this.

[bijoumikhawal]

For the ship ask game: Sisko/Garak, Kira/Dax, O'Brien/Bashir

Sisko/Garak: ship it!

What made you ship it? I Do Not Remember. It may have been @ectogeo-rebubbles ITPM fic and it gradually grew on me but I don't know what to do with I now.

What are your favorite things about the ship? 1. Potential analysis for a very different way of being intimate with Garak, for one. With Julian he's always performing a bit, and his intimacy with Julian is cloaked in layers of complications and subterfuge- they're both very used to performing, performance is how that communicate. I find their dialogue often very easy to write because they're both very witty and vaudevillian (it's a dynamic some of the guys from my attempt at an audio drama have lol). But with Sisko I've noticed that Garak has points where he drops the jovial attitude and is very straightforward with him, kind of like he's dropping a ruse. It's not that Sisko doesn't enjoy those mannerisms of Garak's- as I think @wanderingwriter87 pointed out, Sisko appreciates Garak's bits- or that that's false behavior from Garak, but it's a kind of unmasking Garak is not prone to allow. 2. There's a very different power dynamic between them- perhaps controversial but during the run of the show I think Garak is put in a weak position, powerwise, compared to the vast majority of other characters as an exile who does not seem to have his citizenship sorted out. Socially, however, there are ways he wields power with Julian or even like, Quark where he's clearly got an upper hand that he doesn't with Sisko, who is of the same generation as Garak. Like, Garak does very notably manipulate him, but not the way he does with other people. And 3. Comparing and contrasting the social contexts they come from. Obviously Hebitians are like, my blorbo culture, but they're both middle aged men who adore children, and are pretty family oriented! However Sisko has a pretty healthy relationship to his family and Garak's family is an... on fire dumpster. Garak is very loyal to his father and craves his love and needs his approval for survival, while also calling him a monster and wishing him dead. Sisko seems to have trouble understanding that other people have severely negative relationships to their parents that may not be able to get resolved (it happens at least twice) because his father has been a good man to him. And to top all that off, Sisko has a son who's coming into adulthood! Children are their own whole people! Family is not a physically distant concept for him!

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I don't think there are popular opinions... maybe that I don't think Garak actually caught Sisko as off guard as people act like he did during IPTM. Like, Sisko’s anger is less about what Garak did and more about the fact that he knows what he did. Sisko knows who garak is, what he's capable of, and if not specifics of what he used to do, the kind of things he used to do. Hell, this is after Garak went to jail for trying to do mass murder. Sisko was planet side during that!

Kira/Dax: I have no hard feelings on it, but I think saying I ship it is lesbian-pair the spares type cheating. I find Kira interesting and have been trying to read more stuff about Jadzia to understand more about her, but I don't rotate them in my head as much separately or together to feel like it counts. I think I've written more like- character analysis? On Kai Winn than on Kira through my perspective of her as a martyr-that-wasn't and how I think DS9 fails to accurately understand and critique the religious context Bajor exists within. Which is funny, because I like Kira and think Winn is a super shitty person- I've mostly ended up thinking about her more because people have such bad takes about her.

O'Brien/Bashir- I don't ship it

Why don't you ship it? Honestly I genuinely think Miles is straight, I don't think his and Julian's relationship has that kind of intimacy and I struggle to understand the intimacy they do have as friends (Miles being an "everyman" means he's a bit of a "shittyman" and we'd be fine co-workers- he's a lot better than some of the people I worked with in welding, which is like winning and award for tallest dwarf- but I would not voluntarily talk to him on off hours). And frankly any openness I've had to it has been killed by the shitty and annoying behavior I've seen from Jiles fans towards their "competition". I'm sure some of it isn't like- sincere? But it's a style of humor and behavior I find rude and off-putting. Also like- I don't like how most people talking about it regard Keiko.

What would have made you like it? You could maybe analyze how Julian thinks he knows what's best for people and that makes him more inclined towards decisions in intrapersonal relationships that really are bad for everyone, I did read a ficlet like that once with it that I found compelling

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? I do think it can be an interesting analysis of repression on Miles's part and I hope people have fun with it

[ohthesuspenders]

hey so guess who just realised two of their favourite characters are the same damn person

same name (Julian)

same job (doctor)

both dumbasses (in the best way)

bisexual vibes are high

possibly in love with someone who acts cold toward them because said someone doesn’t know how to be in a relationship and might have trust issues (you know who i’m talking about)

hide a very important piece of information about themselves from the audience / reader (and both are bits of medical information!)

there’s probably more similarities and obviously there’s also a lot of differences but…like…this is weird, right?

[fortheloveoflatinum]

Just Finished Watching Discovery Season 5 Episodes 1 & 2

Clickity-click below the spoiler bar to see my thoughts & reactions to the fifth and - sob - final - season of Star Trek: Discovery. SPOILERS ahead. Beware.

Well, starting en media res really worked for me - until the flashback scene. It felt like fluff and filler. Also, is Adira even old enough to drink? I don't think they are! They don't look it! Is skincare different in the 32rd century or what?

But what I did like - was the dynamic between Adira and Tilly. Here is Adira, basically a kid (see above point) and they are a product of their time - but so is Tilly. And they are thinking in a very 32rd-century way, and Tilly (presumably) has all the benefit of that knowledge but she was classically trained almost a millennium ago. And it takes Captain Rayner - a bridge of sorts - to shake them up and get them thinking. Really thinking.

This tells me two things: 1. Captain Rayner is going to be a great first officer, even if I do kind of object to it. I kinda feel that 'two is too many captains to have in the chair;' I honestly hope they demote him.

And secondly, I personally - I could be wrong - but think they're setting Adira up for leaving Starfleet. Don't quote me on this. Just a feeling that they're not long for the uniform. I mean, especially - the next episode being on Trill? Maybe they want to go 'home,' or at least to somewhere resembling home.

Also - who else is not-so-secretly hoping for a Dax appearance? I loved Jadzia! (Ezri not so much but she would have had potential if the writers hadn't thrown her at Julian.) I also kind of think it's a missed opportunity for a Dax first officer! Omgosh how cool would that be? I think that in terms of rank, only Worf and Jadzia ranked near to Sisko, and Worf came only later. I lose track of exactly when they each became Lieutenant-Commanders.

I also love the throw-back moments. To TNG. (Obviously, I'm going to have to watch the episode they're referring to.) I love the self-sealing stembolts.)

And I also kind of like the villains. Especially Moll. I've got a thing for villains, what can I say? Tarka was my fav - my absolute fav - last season - and I have a feeling I'll totally be shipping Moll and L'ak by episode 5 or sooner.

One thing that didn't impress me much? The dialogue. I kept thinking, "Hmmmm that's sort of cringe," or even, "Who would say that?" or the infamous, "You're saying that now?"

And the break-up! Between Book! And Michael! They are totally getting back together, though. You can see it in their eyes.

Also, the season-one-flashback conversation between Micahel and Saru was kind of heavy-handed. Don't get me wrong. I love Discovery. I do. It's my favorite Trek. But Season 5 is off to a tepid start. Every other season? Drew me right in. Maybe I can't enjoy it quite as well because I know it's ending.... I mean, both DS9 and Voyager ended in my lifetime too. I was watching Voyager as a child who was much too young to be watching Star Trek. But I waited to watch DS9 until just recently, hence I am a somewhat well-adjusted adult.

So yeah. My two slips of latinum.

[herestoburiedsecrets]

I just finished the new season and HOLY COW!!!!

I honestly loved this season so much!! Literally so many moments were absolutely fantastic but it also brought a whole new level of pain

- CAP IN EP 2 - a) of course he likes bugs (and birds) this is practically confirmation of my autistic Cap hc, b) him and kitty bonding is literally the best thing ever i am always down for it and c) THAT ENDING!!!! He took his jacket off!!!!! I love him so much and I genuinely screamed a bit at that moment

- I loved the deep dive they did into Mary’s backstory and her and Annie’s friendship. I also do kind of appreciate how they don’t actually go into the specifics of Mary’s death aside from the initial motive of the accusation, because i feel like that it very respectful of Mary’s trauma that they have been portraying throughout the show. I really love that they focused on how both Annie and Mary have only ever been forced into the strict religious roles that society has imposed on them (obviously similarly seen with Fanny, altho slightly different, which also makes sense because they are women) and how death and friendship offered them a liberation they were never afforded in life.

- the theme of liberation in death is actually very interesting because it could also be applicable to the Captain, as well as all of the women (altho less evident with Kitty), and how now in death he is free to express himself and his sexuality, which was something he could never do in life. Just thinking about it….

- MARY BEING SUCKED OFF literally hurt me so much. Throughout this whole show i have rarely thought about the idea of the ghosts being sucked off, because while the idea of being stuck in a weird limbo indefinitely unable to make an impact on the living world is a terrifying yet interesting concept that i love exploring, the idea of any ghost just completely disappearing forever pains me so much. Mary’s gone…. I genuinely don’t know if I have accepted that yet. Watching all of the ghosts’ deal with the grief was so difficult - especially the Captain and Kitty - but was also very interesting. While i do know the inevitable fate of each ghost is being sucked off, I don’t think i am quite ready to face this fact yet. I think this episode was beautifully done tho, and made me even sadder than the specific ghost backstory episodes do (and all of them make me really really sad). It just hits on another level.

- following on from that point I am happy that out of all the ghosts it was Mary who was sucked off, especially with the way they executed it within the show and the rounding out of her story. It makes me feel better knowing that Annie already moved on, as she was Mary’s best friend and existing without your best friend for so long would be difficult for her. I love Mary, but I am not as insanely emotionally attached to her as I am to the Captain and Pat and Kitty. I genuinely would be inconsolable if either of them got sucked off.

- two brief funny moments that I loved were literally everything with Cap (he was amazing this season) but specifically when he goes to apologise to Alison, & Fanny grooming Robin like her pets

- I do think this season was a little slow to start but once it picked up it didn’t stop and i loved it so much

- I do love that they focused on some more unusual pairings (like Julian and Fanny (which was excellent, and Thomas and Kitty I am surprised they haven’t paired together more often) but I also love that they gave us more of my favourites (Cap and Kitty, Robin and Julian). However, I am sad that there wasn’t more Pat and Cap because I feel like their friendship was really developed in season 3 and while I guess there was less need for the leadership duo in s4, I feel like we got barely any interactions between them and they are one of my favourite pairings (if not my actual favourite), and not just because I ship them, but also because I really love their dynamic.

- ROBIN DIED BY LIGHTENING STRIKE!! I know it was a popular fan theory but I am still so happy I headcanoned it and it is actually true!!

- I actually really loved Julian this season. I like Julian a lot but this season in particular i really liked him.

- I definitely feel like there was a different vibe this season (as to be expected with new seasons, and this could just be down to the direction of it, as I believe they changed directors for this season) and while i loved pretty much all the episodes, the new vibe will take some getting used to.

- I LOVE MIKE AND ALISON SO MUCH!! Literally Mike is such a supportive husband and that episode where Mike tries to get Alison to relax is so cute, and yeah I just really love them.

There is so much more I love about this season but those are my immediate thoughts and I think I will rewatch it tomorrow to fully collect my thoughts about it!

[pie-of-flames]

Beatles Asks - 3, 7 and 13 please!

I'm gonna do these separately because it's a lot.

3. What’s your opinion on The Beatles wives?

This is a very broad topic.

Cynthia: I read Cynthia’s book John: A Biography. Of course, any book like this has to be take with a grain of salt, assuming some level of self-interest and faulty memories. Even so, my heart really goes out to her after reading this. I believe she and John were truly in love. The pics of them together are always really cute. But I kind of doubt they would have married if she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Either John fell out of love or was too fucked up in general, or his mental issues were exacerbated by Beatlemania and later, heavy drug use, for the marriage to last long. He neglected Cyn and Julian horribly and was a gigantic asshole. For example, he hounded her to take acid and then, when she finally did and had a bad trip, he completely neglected her and left her alone to suffer. She says she even considered suicide during that trip. And don’t even get me started on the divorce. He really mistreated her. Granted, he was probably emotionally incapable of treating her with humanity, given his mental health issues. But he was just horrible and acted unforgivably.

Pattie: I also read the George part of Pattie’s book, Wonderful Tonight. She seems fine. I don’t have any feelings about her one way or another. They’re cute together. Both she and George were so young then. George was a shit near the end, of course.

Yoko: You know, who really knows what was going on between her and John? I do think they were genuinely in love. But I also think, in May 1968 when they got together, the relationship offered transactional benefits to both of them. She obviously wanted to snag a Beatle and become famous. She’d been stalking John for a pretty long time. And John desperately needed a “guru” to give he life structure and focus. He was really flailing after India, clearly in mental distress after losing Brian (and Whatever Happened In India™ which may have involved John feeling like he’d lost Paul somehow) and doing huge amounts of acid again. (Enter my theory that he had borderline personality disorder where you latch on to an Important Person to provide your identity.) Both of them were all on board with a codependent, all-consuming relationship. She doesn't seem like a particularly nice person, what with the stories about her ordering around Apple employees like they were her personal servants. She also seems very manipulative, but then again, so was John. Personally, I cannot stand her "singing" (I study classical singing, so...it's just painful to listen to.)

Skipping to the seventies, my impression is John wanted Yoko to control his life and she did,         although they also seemed to enjoy playing power games with each other. I don’t know why he went back to her after the Lost Weekend, but I assume part of it was a need to give up control to another person. It’s hard to tell if they were still in love in the seventies. I would love to find out what was really going on between them in this period because there’s such a drastic difference in opinions, like “happy, bread baking house husband” narrative vs. “depressed, in bed getting high and watching TV” all the time narrative.

Linda: I do think there was a bit of the starfucker in her but she and Paul were obviously in love and devoted to each other, as far as we can tell. No other thoughts. I don't really know much about her. I’m grateful for all her photos of Paul. :)

Later Paul wives: no opinion, I don’t know enough.

Olivia: same. I'm glad she and George were able to have Dhani.

[abnerkrill]

rings of power, farscape and i can't think of anything else so mandalorian for the TV show ask game?? 🫶🫶

GREAT CHOICES <3

rings of power

Favourite character: u know as a known villainfucker i am contractually obliged to say Adar but close seconds are Miriel, Elrond, Elendil, Valandil, and Disa and Durin. I HAVE A LOT OF FAVORITES OKAY THIS IS A LARGE ENSEMBLE CAST.

Funniest character: Disa has some of the greatest comedic beats in the show but i think Elendil's dad humor is underrated as well lmao

Best-looking character: Adar, Miriel, Elendil. you canNOT make me choose here i have written extensively about how beautiful they are and i will cONTINUE to write about it

3 favourite ships: obviously miriel/elendil, but the cracky miriel/elendil/valandil ship ~accidentally~ turned into a real ship, and i wasn't convinced about adar/arondir until i wrote it for an exchange and they won my heart (also intrigued by adar/arondir/bronwyn, you KNOW i love an ot3!) honorable mention: isildur/valandil.

Least favourite character: i've said it before and i'll say it again: modern AU kemen is a college republican. unforgivable.

Least favourite ship: brandishes the sign of the cross at the h*ladriels (exception for like, the cool h*ladriels who ship them in a way that doesn't strike me as incredibly sexist...........)

Reason why I watch it: diehard tolkien fan, loves the 2nd age, was not to be deterred by the fact plenty of people hated it (funny story... i actually looked in my saved photos earlier and realized in like 2020-21 i had actually publicly said "fuck the lotr show!" and then. screenshotted it. because of the nudity/sex scene rumor. hindsight is 20/20 i guess, sorry rop, i'm better now.)

Why I started watching it: honestly pure curiosity about if the show would be good or not!!! and because i could not skip a LOTR show, tbh. (i really thought elrond and gil-galad were not hot at first but their charisma & acting won me over! look at me now!)

farscape... oh you've really awakened the sleeping dragon here i'm gonna readmore this for your own sanity !!

Favourite character: crais & aeryn, which really says a lot about how much the "child soldiers fighting to be their own self" works for me as a character arc. (FUNDIE/EXVANGELICAL METAPHOR??? note: talk about this with my therapist later.) they are both so very sexy and tortured and carry big guns. very hot. very cool. *drooling a little bit thinking about aeryn and crais* what was i talking about..... ummmmm yeah okay-- (wait honorable mention to Pilot, who is LOVELY and my FRIEND. also the fact that crais's actor also voices Pilot has given me a weird hard-on for Pilot as well. sorry. alienfucker present.)

Funniest character: john crichton is actually so fucking funny i hope we all appreciate his comedic chops--same for harvey/scorpy, the comedy in some of those mind scenes is EXCELLENT

Best-looking character: crais & aeryn. im so fucking sorry i think they're both incredibly hot and the leather and scowling and "i could kill you in 12 different ways" energy really does it for me. when crichton is in his long leather coat outfit being edgy, he also is included in this category. zhaan is also too beautiful to look at. this is a very beautiful cast!!!!!

3 favourite ships: crais/aeryn/crichton is... basically the show for me. i know it requires a certain deluded perspective to watch the show through that framework but also it completely makes sense if you have the 3rd eye to see how homoerotic the crais/crichton fights are. they're constantly fighting over their own big feelings and over aeryn and it's just like okay, fuck it out already! i do like zhaan/stark a lot as well--super compelling and very sad but beautiful!!! i think crichton/scorpius is really fun in a fucked up traumatizing psychosexual way, but i also think they'd never actually fuck, scorpy just tortures john and that's as close to sex as they'll get. (@julians-meh-house back me up on this)

Least favourite character: rygel. i know what purpose he serves thematically and in the ensemble cast—and don't get me wrong, it SLAPS that a muppet is like, cursing and shitting and farting and pissing onscreen, committing proper war crimes/acts of immorality—puppets is definitely is the best way to do sci-fi aliens tbh—but he has done so many unforgivable things to my favorites! i hate him a lot, but in the "wow he's a well-written character" kind of hate.

Least favourite ship: honestly most things with chiana give me the heebie jeebies because she's canonically Very Young (teenager/young adult?) and d'argo is a whole-ass 40 year old man. so. i understand why farscape does it, i understand that the show is depicting chiana as someone who's hypersexual because of trauma, i know the chiana/d'argo relationship is FAR from healthy to start with. i just personally want chiana to have some healthy relationships with people her age lol.

Reason why I watch it: it is the best show in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but seriously... my major problem with contemporary sci-fi is that it is too clean and shiny and new and sharp and savvy and militarized. and what i really want from sci-fi is the dirty underside of the cosmos. aliens being weird and freaky and kinky and inhuman and gross and ALIEN. (star wars tries to show the grimier side of things but only succeeds in like, rare circumstances.) farscape is so messy and good and it's also from the era of TV where seasons were 20+ episodes long. so much better.

Why I started watching it: @yamelcakes farscape propaganda on the dash worked on me. i am forever grateful. <3

the mandalorian

Favourite character: axe woves and din djarin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! boba fett and fennec shand as well but it feels like an insult to call them characters from the mandalorian when they had their own show lmao.

Funniest character: din is surprisingly funny, but of course it's baby yoda/grogu, he's soooo cute and evil and a menace and i love him! my baby!

Best-looking character: din, axe, koska, fennec! yeah im bisexual why do you ask. honorable mention: i didn't love her episodes but Elia Kane (Katy O'Brian) can step on me anytime

3 favourite ships: call me crazy but i LOVED din/omera back in season 1...... big fan of multishipping din, i've loved interpretations of him with pretty much everyone (omera, cara, boba, cobb, luke, bo, fennec, etc.) i've gotta say axe/bo-katan divorce arc is my thing for real, and i really like axe/bo/koska ot3! honorable mention: axe/paz :')

Least favourite character: i'm wracking my brain and i'm not sure i have one. moff gideon is so fucking sexy and cool i can't hate him even if he's super duper evil. well, maybe greef karga, he tends to annoy me when he's onscreen because i think carl weathers is hamming it up too much and the tone isn't quite right for the show. and cara dune i liked as a character but the acting was always bad!

Least favourite ship: none, i'm a happy multishipper! the antis in this fandom are INSANE though jkdfslkjfdsjlkfds do NOT get into a mandalorian ship discussion with anyone, they WILL eat you alive

Reason why I watch it: unfortunately i am a star war fan in the year of our lord 2023. s3 was... not... good, but i'm so attached to s1-2 din and grogu i couldn't stop. also i love axe woves.

Why I started watching it: i didn't watch it when it first came out--took a few more months and then i binged s1 and live-blogged the whole thing to my close friends' group chat and i was so sold on it afterwards! din and grogu are so special to meeeee

[ariesbilly]

I feel like we have a very unpopular opinion in common: we both really like Lucas! I find him a really interesting, layered and cerebral character, and I can relate to his flaws and mistakes. Plus, like you said, I never doubt that he's a genuinely good person. I feel like we're nearly alone even among the OTH/Leyton fandom in feeling this way :) Other UOs about OTH: 1. I'm mostly indifferent to Naley 2. I don't like the acclaimed school shooting episode 3. I truly don't believe the real life Sophia/CMM drama had anything to do with Leyton being endgame 4. I have an irrational dislike of Mouth and Millie despite being pro-nerd 5. I couldn't possibly care less about Julian (ITA with you and an anon who said his personality changed completely at least once or twice a season, and the actor just irked me) 6. I care much more about the Peyton/Brooke friendship than the Brooke/Haley friendship 7. Season 6 is probably my favorite season of the series due in no small part to Leyton being happy, pregnant and engaged and 8. OMG the way they have all fabulously successful careers in nearly impossible fields to break into drives me nuts (like Lucas gets his first novel published, it immediately becomes a bestseller and is made into a movie lol---that happens to like .1% of authors, Nathan makes the NBA, Haley goes from casually singing in a coffee shop in high school to being asked to perform on tour, Brooke owns her own fashion line before they're old enough to legally drink, Quinn goes from idly deciding to become a photographer to immediately being paid to fly around and shoot for major publications like Sports Illustrated (riiight) and so on. And they can all have these impossibly glamorous and successful careers not in a major city but while mostly living in a small North Caroline town? Please! I don't mind when the show is unrealistic about crazily entertaining drama like the way there are about 25 different stalkers, but the way these athletes/cheerleaders are all insta-successful in other fields too just stretches credulity for me. Haley being a teacher was the most I liked her because I think it suits her perfectly and it was actually a normal, relatable career! Thank you so much for listening to me rant, and obviously I would love to hear your UOs too---I think we have a few of the same ones?!

Ok let’s take this point by point lol

Yes about Lucas! He’s such an interesting character and he’s allowed to be wrong and flawed unlike other male main characters who generally are written making the dumbest choices/making bad decisions but the narrative will justify it and that’s so annoying. People just hate Lucas because Brooke’s the fan fave please get over yourselves

The school shooting episode is what got me into the show so I cannot relate to that sorry lol top 5 episode to me and I think should be required viewing

It’s basically been debunked chophias divorce had anything to do with endgames.

I like mouth and Millie (at least seasons 5 and 6. Idk what the fuck happened by the time I watched 9, skipping 7 and 8)

I like Austin Nichols lol not like a FAN or anything but I think he’s nice to look at

I prefer Brooke and Peyton over Brooke and Haley (because people only love them out of hatred for Peyton you cannot tell me I’m wrong) but Peyton and Haley reigns supreme to me

Season 6 is so good! Exactly for leyton reasons lol but I do enjoy all the storylines going on

I always laugh about how successful everyone was from this random ass town lmfao but like they all did have their struggles too it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Idk it’s a teen drama where a guys heart gets eaten by a dog, their career paths were the least of its problems 😂