#but this is why henry's character is so important to me. because i always take to the characters that have been through absolute hell.

[fataldrum]

Dorian Gray is queer art, period.

Apparently Netflix has decided to make an adaption of The Picture of Dorian Gray with Dorian and Basil as siblings. Unless they're planning to go the gothic horror incest route, they've completely missed the point of the relationship between these characters.

If you haven't read the book, Basil is a painter who becomes infatuated with a beautiful young man, pouring his feelings into a painting. Dorian becomes jealous of the painting's beauty, realizing that he will never be as young and unspoiled as the version of himself on the canvas. He finds himself wishing that the painting could age instead of him. His wish is granted, allowing him to stay young and beautiful until the end, with his moral and spiritual decline reflected only in the painting.

I cannot overstate how queer this book is. Dorian is so beautiful that their first meeting inspires a wave of existential terror in Basil. Dorian changes Basil's entire understanding of art and beauty. This book is so queer it was used as evidence at Wilde's sodomy trial.

The existence of the portrait itself is tantamount to a confession of queer desire. Basil tells his friend, Lord Henry, that he can't exhibit the painting because "I have put too much of myself into it.”

Lord Henry (who will later lead Dorian into a life of vice) laughs, but Basil explains:

“[E]very portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. [...] It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.”

This is how he describes meeting Dorian:

When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself. [...] I have always been my own master; had at least always been so, till I met Dorian Gray. Then—but I don’t know how to explain it to you. Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life. I had a strange feeling that fate had in store for me exquisite joys and exquisite sorrows. I grew afraid and turned to quit the room. It was not conscience that made me do so: it was a sort of cowardice. I take no credit to myself for trying to escape.”

Notice that turn of phrase--it was not conscience but cowardice that made him attempt to flee. Why would conscience factor into his decision? Because he felt shame at his reaction to Dorian's perfect, beautiful face.

Lord Henry is shocked to discover Basil cares for something besides his art.

“He is all my art to me now,” said the painter gravely. “I sometimes think, Harry, that there are only two eras of any importance in the world’s history. The first is the appearance of a new medium for art, and the second is the appearance of a new personality for art also. What the invention of oil-painting was to the Venetians, the face of Antinous was to late Greek sculpture, and the face of Dorian Gray will some day be to me.

Basil goes on to confess, "I see everything in him. He is never more present in my work than when no image of him is there."

Lord Henry still doesn't understand why there is too much of Basil in the painting, so Basil explains:

“Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all this curious artistic idolatry, of which, of course, I have never cared to speak to him. He knows nothing about it. He shall never know anything about it. But the world might guess it, and I will not bare my soul to their shallow prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope. There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry—too much of myself!”

Lord Henry asks how Dorian feels about Basil, and his response is absolutely tragic.

The painter considered for a few moments. “He likes me,” he answered after a pause; “I know he likes me. Of course I flatter him dreadfully. I find a strange pleasure in saying things to him that I know I shall be sorry for having said. As a rule, he is charming to me, and we sit in the studio and talk of a thousand things. Now and then, however, he is horribly thoughtless, and seems to take a real delight in giving me pain. Then I feel, Harry, that I have given away my whole soul to some one who treats it as if it were a flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a summer’s day.”

Any adaptation that ignores the way Dorian's existence and beauty utterly destroyed Basil is doomed to be shallow and insipid. This is not just a book about a magic painting. It's a monument to queer longing.

[autistic-robin]

Why “Hiding in the Light” Didn’t Work: Stranger Things’ Psychospiritual Implications

Supplementary Sources: Jungian Theory & A Wrinkle In Time

Alright, buckle in. I’m running on a year’s worth of spiritual awakening, deep dives into Jungian theory and non-dualism, and my own ego’s primary coping mechanism: immersing myself in media as escapism. The purpose of this analysis is to break down the themes of non-dualism and light/darkness in ST (and maybe predict some character arcs), and also to position the narrative of ST as a psychospiritual wake-up call.

For some context: last year, I discovered the work of psychoanalyst (or philosopher, depending on who you’re talking to) Carl Jung. He had a pretty extensive theory about the human psyche that I immediately connected to the themes throughout Stranger Things, specifically Vecna’s mind control and curse. I’m going to break Jung’s theory down as succinctly as I can, and then delve into how it plays out in our favorite gay monster show.

But before I delve into Jung’s ideas, I also think it’s important to define selfhood (you’ll understand why in a minute). For the purposes of this analysis, the experience of the “self” is an illusion created by our senses, perceptions, memories, and consciousness, all of which are impermanent. Therefore, the self is what we call “conditioned.” There is no you or me, just the ideas we have of ourselves.

Now, we can get into Jung’s theory. He posited the following:

1. Every individual has a “persona” they show the world (a constructed self) to feel like they belong. Underneath this persona, everyone has a personal “shadow,” or the part of themselves they don’t want to acknowledge. This shadow is always projected onto others— every negative thought we have about someone else is a product of our own unintegrated shadow. Note: The shadow is NOT bad, it just “is.” It’s actually there to HELP us grow and integrate all the unhealed parts of us.

2. Individuals’ shadows are usually part of their unconscious, meaning most people are not aware of their shadow side or cannot bear to delve into their trauma/darkness and begin to heal it.

3. All of human consciousness is CONNECTED. This means two things. 1: There is a “collective unconsciousness” that contains the sum of all of our unintegrated trauma, and 2: We can heal our collective unconsciousness by healing our own unconsciousness.

How do we heal our own unconsciousness? By becoming AWARE of our shadow side, accepting and forgiving the conditioning that created it, and working to encourage others to do the same.

What— or rather, who— does that remind you of?

Also— great use of lighting here.

We know Vecna has direct access to his victims’ consciousness; not just their memories, cognition, and emotions, but also their awareness itself. This is how he’s able to target and trance people. But it’s not just their consciousness Vecna has access to; it’s their unconsciousness. Their shadow. Their trauma. Yes, he has psionic abilities akin to El’s, but as far as we know, El can’t access the collective unconsciousness like Vecna can. She is only capable of “remote viewing” via the void or piggybacking into people’s minds. So why is Vecna capable of this?

If you want my take on it: the only way to access a collective shadow would be through accessing your own shadow. So is Vecna really Henry, or his unintegrated shadow? And is either really condemnable, considering the larger themes of the show?

We see this theme of non-dualism echoed in Brenner’s NINA pep talk with El:

It’s fascinating to me that they’re communicating these bigger thematic ideas through the show’s “villians”— while the above conversation could be taken at surface-level as Brenner being manipulative, it’s important to acknowledge the truth of what he’s saying. NINA is only successful because El faces “the good and the bad.” This is why “hiding in the light” is a no-go for Max.

Focusing only on happy memories is a form of emotional bypassing. Throughout the show, we’ve been told time and again that hiding doesn’t work. Neither does running away. The only way out for our characters is through their own shadows.

Now, the fun part: predictions. Looking at all of this with a Jungian lens, it doesn’t make much sense to villianize a character or to end the story by “defeating evil.” In non-dual theory, there are no evil people, only unhealed ones.

We know what worked for our characters temporarily (Will in the UD, Max in her first trance, El using her powers against Vecna) was the memory and vibration of love.

This reminded me of A Wrinkle In Time, which is a science fiction novel that’s been noted more than a few times as one of Stranger Things’ primary influences. In the book, a girl and her brother travel through time to rescue their father from an alternate dimension where all beings are controlled in a hyper-individualist suburbia by a giant, all-knowing brain. The climactic “defeat” of the brain is shockingly simple, but incredible impactful— Meg, the heroine, tells it over and over that she loves it. This love ultimately brings her father and brother out of trances they are in, and they’re able to remember her and travel back home.

(Tangent: And God. The implications of that, outside of analyzing ST, are powerful. How do we live in a capitalist hellscape that is so caught up in the mind— in acheiving, obtaining, securing, protecting the ego— that many of us have forgotten our hearts? The answer is love. Loving ourselves more deeply to love all beings more deeply, “the good and the bad.” But love does not negate accountability, and it does not excuse harm.)

Our characters are all struggling with self-acceptance and self-love in some form or another. Each is wrestling with secrets and lies, and the desire to hide parts of themselves they think others can’t accept.

Mike is clearly struggling with self-loathing, guilt surrounding what happened to El in s1, and a crippling hero complex.

Will is also on the self-loathing train, continually self-sacrifices to his own detriment, and is hiding his identity out of fear (not at all villifying that, just for the record.)

El struggled to reconcile her abilities and forced weaponization with her identity outside of the lab pre-s4.

Max was suicidal and had a lot of self-hatred after B*lly’s death.

Nancy parallels Mike in her survivor’s guilt post-s1 and exhibits the same lack of self-preservation and self-sacrificing tendencies.

You get my point. So how will these characters overcome their trauma? Not through hiding, or running, or bypassing. Not through the light alone. Through love— acknowledgement of their own darkness, compassion for the unhealed nature of others, and commitment to being honest with themselves and their loved ones. We know Will is El and Henry’s mirror/foil and will play a central role in S5, and with all of this in mind I think it’s safe to say he will break the cycle of bypassing and hiding from trauma and pain once and for all. He won’t fight it like El, hide from it like Max, or run from it like he did as a kid.

Only by integrating their shadows can our characters become truly “themselves,” or as Brenner puts it, “whole.”

I will probably have much more to say about this after my re-read of A Wrinkle in Time, but for now, that’s all I’ve got. :) Hope everyone is doing well!

[another-lost-mc]

hiii could i request how you think the characters with reptile like demon forms would react to an mc that's really scared of snakes? (we get a lot of wild venomous ones where i live and I've been terrified of them since i was little)

like for example if either levi or barbatos tails suddenly touched my leg without warning id probably jump out of my skin thinking it was a snake crawling up my leg and then id have to apologise profusely because i wouldn't want to hurt their feelings 😭

pet snakes are fine as long as like. they're in their enclosure or im not touching them, id probably think henry 1.0 was cool to watch in his enclosure but would be too scared to hold him so i feel like levi would not like me for a bit </3 barbatos might be understanding since he's scared of rats

A/N: I've always pictured Mephisto with a tail seeing how the RAD sports event played out in Lesson 68, so I'm including him in this.

LEVIATHAN, BARBATOS and MEPHISTOPHELES

0.6k words | SFW | gn!Reader

Warnings: anxiety, insecurities, developing relationships (romantic or platonic in nature, your choice).

You inform them right from the start, "I have a fear/phobia of snakes," but some of the demons hear, "I don't like snakes." They might not understand what the big deal is or take it seriously. Okay, sure, the Devildom serpents might be a bit bigger or deadlier than their human world counterparts, but it's not like they'll let you get eaten or anything!

When you first arrive, the ones with reptilian tails sort of glance at their tails and back to you and shrug. What are the chances you'll see their real forms very often, let alone be in a position where you might actually touch them?

Levi is the first one to scoff and act like you and his tail have zero business being near each other. Fast forward to a few weeks later when you're both asleep in his tub after watching a streamer marathon on DevilTube. He's not sure how it happened but he shifted into his demon form during the night—at least partially—and woke up to you screaming and scrambling from the tub. It's not his fault his tail ended up curled around your leg! (Wait, why did it do that?) That's not important! He tries to blame you at first for being scared to begin with, then he blames himself for being even more disgusting and off-putting to you. He's going to feel embarrassed and a bit guilty about it, but it's going to take a while to get him calm enough to have an actual discussion about what happened. He'll be nervous sharing a tub with you after that because he can't promise it won't happen again, but he really likes cuddling with you...maybe he can put a body pillow between you? He'll brainstorm ideas to try and keep the accidental tail-wrapping to a minimum, and if he does go into his demon form on purpose, he's careful to keep it away from you.

Barbatos has even less reason to believe that you'll have any reason to come into contact with his tail. He doesn't like it when others touch his tail on the best days, and he trusts that you can keep your hands to yourself. He's very conscious about what his winged horns and tail are up to when he's carrying out duties in his true form. You've walked together before without any issues, and he makes sure that his tail flicks away from you to avoid any mishaps. He can't explain what happened the day you were walking through the Demon Lord's castle together. You yelled suddenly and he thought you saw a rat with how upset you sounded. He's not sure why one of the forks of his tail tried to slither around your wrist. (Later on he'll ruminate about how that was even possible—he should've caught himself before that even happened.) He apologizes profusely and masks his own embarrassment over the incident. He might avoid using his true form around you for a while after that to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Mephisto sees your issues with reptiles as something you need to deal with, and it doesn't concern him at all. It's not like he plans on spending more time around you than necessary, and certainly not in his true form. If that means seeing even less of you so you can avoid him, even better. Later, after he's eaten his words and you're almost friendly, you finally see his tail. It's not as long or scaly as Levi's, and it's not...wet...like Barbatos', but it's still snake-ish enough to give you goosebumps the first time you see it. He stands a few paces away from you, his true form on full display, but there's something vulnerable in his eyes even though he keeps his head tipped up defiantly. He braces himself for disgust or fear and he's not sure why anxiety gnaws in his gut when he waits for your approval. It's a positive sign that you don't run from the Newspaper Club office in terror. You offer him a smile to let him know you're fine if he wants to stay that way since you trust him to keep his parts away from you. (He lets out a deep breath he didn't realize he was holding when you turn away to continue sorting documents, and he remains in his true form—to help you get used to it, obviously.)

[shutupineedtothink]

Ok so my friend and I just recorded 4 HOURS of raw audio breaking down the OUAT pilot, season 1 finale, and discussing the show in general for our new podcast where we make each other watch episodes of our favorite shows and talk about them together. It’s exactly as fun as you would imagine. :)

But even after all that, I still have things I forgot to say or didn’t get to. So here’s a few of them:

1. “Evil” as addiction: the OUAT writers treat the concept of being evil like addiction/substance abuse which is really interesting and kind of a bold choice for a 2011 show about fairytales. Then within that structure they show basically the two choices you have when facing addiction: choose not to use and become a better, healed version of yourself (Regina) or keep using and stay stuck in your patterns and hurt everyone you love forever (Rumple). As a child of an alcoholic who has chosen the latter, I loved watching Regina’s journey in this context and while she stumbles a lot, she keeps striving to be good even though she gets the short end of the stick most of the time. And her North Star is always Henry, which I think is important to show that you don’t just change because you feel like it, there usually has to be the threat of something worse happening if you don’t change (in this case, losing Henry physically and emotionally).

2. Regina Mills might be the most psychologically complex and interesting character on prime time tv in the 2010s? Period??

3. I rambled a good bit in the podcast about the costumes and color symbolism but here’s a bit more for you: Once Regina is on team heroes she often wears some kind of red top (the hero’s color) with a black jacket/coat over it showing that she’s changed on the inside but she still *looks* like the evil queen on the outside and can now use that persona/power to her advantage instead of being consumed by it. By the end of S5 this contrasts with Emma who wears her signature red jacket but a black/white/gray sweater underneath, showing that she’s a little more of a mix of good and evil these days post-dark one. In a color sense, they’re almost mirror images of each other at this point, and it’s really cool.

4. I know a lot of people are really salty about how Emma’s light kind of dims toward S4, 5, 6, and I’m right there with you. Her character feels flatter, and honestly kind of depressed. Now idk if this was a real choice on the writers’/JMo’s part, if she was going through some stuff at this time and it just showed up in the character, or what. That said, it does track for me in a way, especially post-dark one. She should be kind of thrown off by everything that’s happened! She should be changed! I just wish they had done something with it instead of pretending it was normal. If Regina’s struggle with evil is analogous to addiction, why can’t Emma’s struggle with evil be analogous to depression? It would have been an interesting take. Somebody write the fic.

I could keep going but I’ll stop here for now. Stay tuned for the podcast!

[verlierer-is-lost]

I have been wanting to talk about this for a while, especially since I keep seeing it on Twitter

For the most part, I agree with this tweet. I struggle to make the PJO cast look like themselves. It’s really important to get those features right. That being said, we also have to remember that a good chunk of the PJO fan artists are inexperienced artists. While there are a lot of artists who are just flat out racist, there’s also the group of artists who have a harder time drawing from life. I’ve seen so many amazing artist who clearly know how to draw black people, but their Annabeth fanart still doesn’t look like Leah.

No hate to the op, again I think she’s right to an extent, but it is so frustrating seeing mainly non artists saying this. And there are so many people in the comments saying “it’s so easy” when it really isn’t. Drawing from life is a skill that comes with practice. And whether you know how to draw black people or not, you’re probably going to have a tough time drawing any of the PJO cast if you don’t have that skill. Thankfully tho, there are a few simple ways you can improve on drawing from like:

I have some notes for Walker and Leah specifically, just because I think they’re the hardest to get right. (I know this probably seems creepy, but it’s so helpful to look at refs) This is all basic info you can find anywhere, it’s not revolutionary or anything

Walker:

-The eyebrows to me are the most important part. They’re much darker, and close to his eyes.

-He also has a pretty straight nose. Drawing him with a button nose will make him look like a random white blond boy

Leah:

-Again, the eyes and eyebrows are pretty important. Her eyebrows are thin and long. And her eyes have shadows underneath(plus she kinda has doll like eyes)

-round face

To show what I’m talking about, I did a quick doodle of Leah from reference. For me personally, when I draw from life I like to pick out a few distinct features that makes them feel real. It’s pretty bad because again I’m not the type of artist to typically draw from life, which is why art study’s can be super helpful to spend time on.

I really dislike when non artist complain about what fan artists are doing. We do this for free, in our free time, for a community that we love. But I also think it’s important to LISTEN TO CRITIQUES. If someone is telling you your Annabeth fanart is too light, you need to listen. As much as I agree with OP that this is predominantly a Leah issue, it isn’t just Leah. I can see throughout the fandom that a lot of artists are having a hard time drawing the characters(and I’m one of them). The PJO fandom has not had real people to base their drawings off of until two years ago, which is probably the reason a lot of us are having trouble with it. Even outside of this fandom I have a hard time with this. It took so much practice for me to get Alex and Henry right from RWRB, and I still can barely draw Henry 😭

Even some of the most experienced artist have difficulty drawing from life, again it’s a skill that takes practice. Anytime you see PJO fanart that actually looks like the actors, it’s probably because they just have more practice, or they’re more experienced artists.

I’m honestly having a hard time finding what OP is talking about when she said “artists draw Annabeth as a random black girl while referencing Walker for Percy” I was looking through saved work of other Percabeth fanart, and I see the same issue for Walker. I don’t doubt that there is work out there she’s referring to, I just can’t find it myself.

Sorry if this was a garbled mess of a post. I know it was really long, but hopefully this can help some artists to pick up on distinct facial features and replicate it in their own artwork. Trust me, as an artist I know it isn’t easy, but practice will always help. Best thing about being an artist is there’s always room for improvement

(Also don’t forget to give Leah black features 👍🏽)

[sophiamarieispinkbunny-chan]

Yor and Anya could both be of Royal Ancestry in Ostania. (Long Post Again, Sorry!)

It has a little connection to the first theory I’ve post about Yor being a subject of Project Apple. You can read it here.

Just some take I have on this scene on Chapter 4 (Because it always makes me wonder)

Notice how the three of them immediately caught Henderson’s attention just by walking? Like they haven’t done anything remarkable yet Henry said he could sense some elegance in them. It was only them that he pointed out. I can’t help but think about the reason why Henderson said this.

My take is that the three of them used to be part of elite and prestigious families.

Loid’s family in the West, in Luwen, seems to be well off judging by the way they dress, their home, and his father’s job seems to be important too.

But if it wasn’t the case, Loid can still be elegant because he strived to be perfect in everything he does. He was trained how to act elegantly in order to blend in with other people. But I stick by my theory that he came from a rich family from the West.

But being elegant wasn’t taught to Anya and Yor. It’s like for both of them, they had that tinge of elegance in their blood.

Then come through this theory about Anya being a part of monarch/royalty. If that theory is true then that must be the reason why Henderson saw something with Anya.

Then how about Yor? She also came from a prominent family. I’m going to make a wild guess that she’s also a monarch. A hidden monarch like my theory with Anya. 

I would like to consider her back story to be the same as Sleeping Beauty or Little Briar Rose since it is evident that this fairytale inspired most of Yor’s characters (The needle like weapon, her surname, the roses). So what if the royal family were the first ones that have these abilities? The first experiments, after the monarchy was taken down, are the remaining members of the monarch family.

But her parents took them and hid them faraway where no harm would ever come to them, just like how the fairies kept Aurora hidden in the forest, keeping the fact that she’s a princess/royal. But at the end of the day, despite them keeping her away from the spindle, the needle (being used because of her ability) she still ended up taking the bait in the end after they died (Like how Aurora still ended up getting pricked by spindle despite all her parents’/kingdom’s parents  effort to protect her).

Yor has been under a curse since then, like asleep and paralyzed, devoid of emotions. But then, came the prince who saved her life and made living worth it for her again (If she never married Loid, I really think she would just accept death in that cruise arc battle he had with that Katana guy).

Ah! just think if Loid’s real name has something with Philip, the same as Briar Rose/Aurora’s Prince’s name in the Disney movie! What if it’s also a surname like Yor BRIAR. Loid could be James (From 007 James Bond) and Philip, James Philip! Just imagine, it would be genius right? Loid’s name could be anything though, but I would totally flip it was that, just the parallel and the complement of his real name to Yor!

Anyway moving on….

If Yor is also a monarch like Anya then does that mean that she’s blood related to Anya? That is what I don’t have a theory about. Maybe if I have the time, I’ll reread the manga from the start again and find some details that can help me elaborate this theory or debunk it.

These are all speculations of mine that I wanted to share. Thoughts that I can’t help but think of regarding what could be Yor’s backstory because we know nothing besides her parents both died when they were kids and that was all.

I know these might be far-fetched and don't make sense and the story can’t be that complicated but hey, the possibility of these being canon is not zero.

[missezramay]

ted lasso, post-finale thoughts.

I went into the finale thinking yeah, if the writing serves, I can accept any outcome even if it's not exactly what I want. Instead, I was hit with a plethora of mixed emotions I didn't expect to have. Confusion, anger, hurt, annoyance, small bursts of joy in between, and just deep sadness. Almost 20 hours later and I'm still incredibly dissatisfied and processing. For the most part, finales should provide a feeling of celebration and relief. I... don't feel any of that.

I'm just really trying to pinpoint why I'm so sad.

Of course everything inevitably has to come to an end. Of course Ted was always going to reunite with his kid. Of course it's not about winning or losing. Of course Tedbecca can remain platonic if that was always the plan. Of course that's the way life goes, but...

For a show (and this season particularly) that constantly encouraged us to 'believe' and 'hope' in the idea that 'everything will work out', all those 75 minutes did was take me on an unsettling, emotional journey for no concrete reason other than to mess with the audience (the opening scene was just adding salt in the Tedbecca wound I've had since S2). Because everything in a macro sense, "worked out". But the WAY it "worked out" does not sit well with me?? And it's supposed to? For a lot of people (on Reddit/Facebook, lol), it was enough?? Richmond not technically winning and Ted leaving like that without so much as a tear? What am I missing??

When I tell you I'm trying to embrace the good parts, I'm really trying. Yes to KBPR & the women's team, Yes to Colin kissing his fella, Yes to Rebecca & Mae & the guys owning the club, Yes to Roy becoming Manager.

So... why am I still so upset? Hmm, let's see.

The boys' musical number? The cutest. Ted didn't think so.

Nate's apology? Heartbreaking. Ted didn't bat an eyelash.

Rebecca begging twice for Ted to stay? Ted, absolute silence.

Beard staying/getting married in London to his toxic gf? Comic relief, haha, fine. Except Ted wasn't there as Best Man.

Don't even get me started on the huge disservice to the Roy/Keeley/Jamie triangle.

Now listen, I get that he misses Henry & Henry misses his dad. I'm not that cold. A father/son's love is important. It was always the catalyst for this show; for him to work on himself so he can be a better father unlike the one he grew up with. That's fine.

But on this particular week. His last week with his Richmond family. There was NO sense of him being sad to leave them. He can be sad about missing Henry but he can ALSO be sad about leaving. No, he just completely checked out. He let everyone pour out their hearts (Hannah's getting her third Emmy, mark my words) to him, and he just stone-faced the entire time.

THIS DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME.

The argument is that he was internally processing, he was overwhelmed, he was trying to distance himself so it would hurt less. Fair points, okay. But this is a television show, moreover, A FINALE. TV characters, while relatable, are heightened versions of ourselves, there so we can better process our emotions and learn to handle things better in our real lives. Ted deserved MORE dialogue and displaying MORE emotion than whatever this was.

We're never going to see him again. We're over here crying along with Rebecca, Nate & Beard, but he didn't sob once. Even though he spent three years building a family with them. I even thought, hey at least he left his legacy with Trent's book but newsflash, he wanted his name taken off that too! Complete erasure.

I just feel so robbed of better moments. Like there were nice moments here and there. But they could've been BETTER. Honestly, Nate & Rebecca's breakdowns were close to perfection, so much love there. But the lack of dialogue and Ted not reciprocating? Broke ME.

I just cannot. understand. this. choice.

Massive sigh. I'm just truly baffled by the way everything wrapped up and not getting the satisfied feeling that one half of the viewership got. Maybe I'm in the minority, but that means something. It carries weight. Also, for a "three-season arc" that was planned well in advance, why all the rewrites and parallels and fakeouts... it's just cruel. But as the theme says (and maybe this was a warning all along), yeah, I guess this might well be it.

This show has given us so much and the last season flailed for the most part. I don't want to disrespect the show by being negative and cynical (looks like I failed!!) or cast blame on anyone in particular. The cast/crew are amazing people and I'll be grateful for being a part of the journey but I'm just so sad and this feeling sucks and I will never get over it.

Going to miss them. x

[mulderscully]

been thinking about some peoples complaints about how the movie handled alex's coming out as opposed to the book.

part of me understands because the movie did sort of neuter this as well as the depth of henry's mental illness, but at the same time i understand why. the movie is already two hours long and tbh if they wanted to do a fully faithful adaptation (which imo is not necessary) it maybe should've been a mini series.

and aside from taking out liam, tbh i still think that all happened just wasn't shown, and the fact that this is why alex has always known he's "lowkey into dudes" i feel like people don't fully grasp what alex goes through in that time after new years in the movie.

not every bisexual person has the same experience, but i can relate to alex pretty well both in the book and in the movie in terms of his sexuality cause they actually are pretty similar.

a lot of times when you're bisexual you just feel like everyone feels this way. you sort of feel like being straight is what being bisexual is, because the idea that others do not experience attraction to the same and different genders sounds... fake. like. i'm not even joking when i say i have a hard time believing straight people exist. i fully, of course, believe gay people exist, but people being straight and not queer at all makes me ??? sometimes, even now that i have identified as bi for over ten years.

then, there is a pretty big difference between knowing you experience same gender attraction from time to time and actively identifying as a bisexual person, as a queer person, a member of the lgbtq community.

bisexuals, to this day, are made to feel like we do not belong by both heterosexual people and our own community (which is why ellen telling alex the b in lgbtq is not a silent letter realllly matters) so sometimes you really do just shut out that part of yourself and choose to see yourself as straight because it's not worth fighting all the biphobia that you face, but it's still a part of you that you are shutting out and repressing, which is what alex was doing with henry the entire time and where his alleged dislike of him comes from in the first place. henry hates how much he loves alex so he's mean to him, alex doesn't understand why henry is mean to him because he wants henry to like him because he ALSO has feelings for him and those things clash.

during the time that henry ghosts him alex has time to evaluate himself, his feelings and his identity. he has the time to say "this is not something that i am going to ignore about myself anymore" and it may not be as magnified as it is for henry because they're in different positions in terms of support systems, it's still powerful.

when he comes out to henry, you can tell he is getting used to thinking of himself as bisexual but you can also tell that he is nervous to say the word, because telling someone you're bi is ALWAYS terrifying because you don't know what they might say to it. on top of that, you can feel that it is important to him to say it, to tell henry who he is now that he understands it.

being bisexual and identifying that way, and that being part of who you are and carrying it in your heart is a different thing than being like "yeah, whatever i'll make out with someone at a party" even if the latter is still a valid way to be queer. and sometimes you just look back and realize that [x] experience was NEVER straight.

and the best part of the movie to me is henry's complete acceptance of this. henry never ever questions alex's attraction to him, he never questions if alex will be able to stay committed to him, if he will leave him for a woman, if he's confused, or any of the things that STILL happen in media with bisexual characters as leads and as a bisexual person that has been one of the most freeing things to watch.

so yes, alex's bisexuality is still very important and handled as such in the film, in my personal bisexual opinion.

[pinazee]

Rob-a-bye Baby

Finally some focus on Chief Vick! Kirsten nelson did a great job on the first real ep where she gets to play a more substantial role. (“Head detective my ass” always makes me chuckle) i only wish it had been more. She was more of an obstacle than part of the plot, though i guess technically her character kind of grew at the end. She does admit she was overreacting with Shawn but this realization was done off screen. I’d have loved to see her try to run over her husband, and having a little breakdown. Something that gave her more depth. I want to know who she is as a person. Was she a runner who wanted to get back into it so she can finally have some time for herself? Does she struggle with who she wants to be as a mother? Was the baby even planned? Was she concerned it would affect her job, or her ability to do her job? Idk, just something that added a bit more color to her character tapestry. I think theres a lot to explore here is all.

Perhaps im biased, but i feel like Shawns reaction is a bit out of character. Like yeah, he’d find it a boring assignment but i also think he’d understand how important it is to the Chief and take it seriously. Plus, Gus is right, she gives them cases, it’s pretty important for their business that they remain on her good side. And in the end he didn’t help her at all. The nephew just came back and that was the resolution. i think i would’ve preferred if Shawn had been struggling to find them too. Like every nanny he came across he could find something wrong with them because Chief Vick deserves the best. Or he had a nanny picked out all along, she just couldn’t start right away but he somehow needed the excuse to look into the nanny burglary ring? Idk. I guess its not really that big a deal. Perhaps it was to introduce a flaw in Shawns character. Like they were saying he needs the thrills to make the job worthwhile. Which is fine, i think that aligns with his overall character. In fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if he fucked somethings up later just to bump up the challenge for shits and giggles (which is such a weird phrase btw). I just think in this one specific case, he would have handled it with a bit more care.

Gus’s blimp dance! He’s so excited! After the last ep, i just want him to be happy

I just wanted to point out the lady who plays ada was in a movie called Wolfcop. Theres an actual movie called Wolfcop.

Chief Vick’s power pose is so strong, it possesses her when she sleeps haha

Did she just spit her pastry out on the ground??

This always makes me chuckle because, like, why? Why would they have them go down those hill lol

I think this is another case of Juliet getting way too into undercover work. I don’t think thats any of her actual wedding or birth plans even if the show made it look like such.

Im so confused why they were at a pet store instead of a pawn shop. What did that guy sell to him? How did the pet shop guy know it was stolen? Unrelated, but it was a nice touch that Shawn immediately spoke in a way the pet shop guy understood, even if it was just for the haha’s.

Gus’s nickname Schmuel Cohen is a real dude! Why does Shawn have the name of the composer of the Israeli national anthem locked and loaded?? The guy died in 1940. When/ how would he know that???

Awww poor Tim!

Juliet agreeing pivots and divots is fun to say lol

I wish they could have expanded on Nanny Henry! Like he was going to refuse to keep helping out but Chief Vick broke out her mommy voice and also kind of pleaded with him for help. Then we could have gotten some scenes of them, maybe talking about the past, or Henry asking her to look out for Shawn since he doesn’t have the police as part of his squad and therefore no backup, which Chief Vick explains that he’s practically a member anyways and would be treated as such, not only because of who his dad is but because he’s practically one of her own anyways, so of course she has his back.

[lunar-years]

Ted Lasso s4 ideas:

The season inexplicably reverts to an old school format. I.e., there are 24 episodes, but all of them are roughly the same length as s1 episodes and not those s3 monstrosities

Most of these episodes are just goofy team antics for the hell of it :) but there’s also more room for good character development and whatnot.

Return of the Christmas Episode!

Keeley and Barbara get an arc about becoming true work besties and being amazing at their jobs. Barbara gets to be a bigger supporting character because let’s be real this show needs more women.

Keeley is also back at Richmond working on the women’s team and thus no longer isolated from the main cast all season

Roy is struggling with being a manager and Nate is the one who helps him adjust. Thus we get some fruition and payoff from the Nate & Roy parallels and Nate’s Roy-shaped insecurities in prior seasons.

Trent’s back to “write a book about Rebecca” and he spends most of his time “interviewing” her in her office, except really they mostly just gossip about everyone at the club and eat biscuits

Jamie tells other people about visiting his dad and lets people help him process and navigate that in a healthy way. I think it would be really lovely if Sam was one of the people he confides in and they get a bestie arc that emphasizes how much their relationship has grown and why. Also the dad foils there remain soooo juicy. Whether it works out with James or not is less important than whether the story is given necessary and thoughtful attention

Roykeeley get to have the necessary conversations about their breakup that s3 denied them :( maybe they also get a nice heart-to-heart about both feeling in over their heads in their new job roles and how that can be so overwhelming but also ultimately very rewarding, too.

Royjamie rain kiss

Eventual Canon Throuple duh

Beardjane divorce arc + adorable Dad!Beard antics

Ted pops up for intermittent cameos when he’s zooming in from American to join in on the Diamond Dogs. It becomes a running bit because they always forget about time zones and wake him up and shit.

Ted makes a larger cameo near the end of the season because he and Henry take a trip to London to watch the team and cheer them on.

Everyone is left happy and thriving and therapied down 🫡

Jason you should hire me. Put me in, coach!

[khaleesiofalicante]

RWRB Movie Review

Since some of y'all asked for my thoughts, here you go:

What I Liked about This Movie:

The casting - They absolutely fucking nailed it. From the main cast to even smaller characters like Ellen and Zahra and Amy and everyone else. Even the King. They all understood the assignment.

The POC nuances - There is a big difference between being queer and being poc and queer. I think the movie captured it better than the book did. Obviously, a lot of that had to do with Matthew. The little conversations about being a person of colour in the US and Alex and Henry constantly bantering (and educating each other) about their cultures and differences between them added so much value to their dynamic.

Subtle Creativity - I really liked how they translated the texts from the books into the movie. The symbolism of the water during the Lake House scene and all the queer historical references spread out throughout the movie. Important. Well done.

The music - I always pay close attention to the soundtrack in a movie and I think they killed it. Starting off with Joan Jett's Bad Reputation was such a good idea. I know everyone is soft about 'Can't Help Falling in Love' playing during the V&A scene, but personally I loved that they included 'If I Loved You' - it's such a classic and it's such a Henry song.

Alex and Henry - I'm going o be brutally honest here. If they had cast anyone other than Taylor and Nick, this movie would've flopped hard. Nick and Taylor carried this movie on their backs and they did SUCH a great job with it. I need to write a whole other post about how much I liked their acting and what I enjoyed the most.

What Could've Been Done Better

The storytelling - I didn't mind the changes we already knew (as much as I thought I would) - such as cutting out June and Alex's parents not being divorced. But I did find the overall pace and storytelling to be a little bit off. Some scenes felt disconnected and others felt rushed. Like, Henry saying 'I need to show you something' and taking Alec to the V&A felt very random to me considering the pace of that scene. I'm very curious about how all of this looked like to someone who hasn't read the books.

The gaps - I'm personally glad June wasn't in this movie because I feel like it would've made no sense. Honestly, a lot of her storyline is connected to Alec's struggle with understanding his sexuality and trauma from the divorce and both those plotlines were not part of the movie, so yeah. No June made a lot of sense. But some other edits didn't make sense to me. For instance, I really wish they had placed more emphasis on the emails and showed the intimate nature of those (they did a good job with the texts, but not with the emails). I honestly didn't understand why Richards was there. Phillip felt like another dead end. Nora was barely there too.

Alex's Bisexuality - There is this line in the books where Alex (in his list to Henry) says 'all the things I now understand about myself because of you'. I always felt that was important. I'm not saying that line should've been in the movie, but it should be a theme. Because in his speech when Alex was talking about the queer rights movements and queer history, I was like 'where is this all coming from??'. It would've been nice to see Alec's interest in these things (whether because of Henry or not) displayed more in the movie.

The lack of friendships - This honestly was my main disappointment. Because the lack of emphasis on Pez was a little shocking. Considering the movie had Henry pov, I really thought we'd see more of him. The same went for Nora (and the lack of June) who were barely there. I loved that the movie focused more on Alex and Henry, but I will always stress the importance of friendships for queer people - because we often feel safer with our friends than with anyone else. So, I wish they had done a better job. I personally feel much better choices could've been made about the secondary characters, such as removing Pez entirely and fleshing out Bea and Henry's relationship instead of giving Pez half a minute of screen time.

The women - this is a bit of a personal qualm and I'm still navigating this writing issue myself, but often in stories with mlm relationships, women are seen as these tiny side characters who are simply there to drive the plot. Sometimes women are barely there at all (I've noticed this in some BL dramas). This is not a rwrb issue, but a broader issue. But the thing is, in the books, Casey did a fantastic job in weaving in women and how just having them around makes a lot of difference (Alex and June are the primary examples of this). It's very interesting to see how depending on the identity of the creator, which themes get prioritized and which themes don't. For instance, we noticed Alex's race (or him being biracial) was more prominent in the movie than in the books, but Alec's relationship with the women in his life was more prominent in the books than in the movie. It's just interesting, I think. Very interesting.

RWRB in (my) essence: I read some say that the above issues could've been simply fixed if the movie was a mini-series. I personally don't think it should've been a mini-series though. Rwrb was always meant to be a movie.

But I do think, a larger conversation needs to be had about queer book-to-screen adaptations - where the budgets are smaller and restrictions are higher and there is bullshit like giving an R rating for a movie with barely any nudity and sex.

It wasn't perfect. It's a rom-com. A rom-com, in its essence, is flawed and talks about finding love in 90 minutes. It's supposed to feel rushed - like a whirlwind. I think rwrb movie did what it was supposed to do. It gave us a good rom-com.

BUT. I think we need more than that. We need cheesy romcoms like this. We need poignant queer movies with bigger budgets that will win Oscars. We need mini-series that have more time to explore broader themes. And we need TV shows that run for 14 seasons and have no plot but we want still want to watch anyway because it's gay people doing gay stuff.

Queer people need all of these options. We deserve the same diversity in content as straight people have. We, as Alex said, have the right to choose.

So, here is to more queer content, each wonderful and each flawed in its own way.

RWRB movie was not what I expected. But I loved it anyway. I watched it twice already and I will watch it again. Because, to put it simply, it made me so happy to have a queer rom-com that I can watch.

But we should and can and must have more of this.

So, I really hope every month will be gay as August 2023 is/was :)

[randomperson0k]

the evil thoughts got me fucked up and shit

OH forgot to mention: top 2 images are the final 'redesign', 2 images below are concept sketches i made for the 'redesigns'

tgs jekyll and hyde but they got evaporated by my evil headcanon beam and stitched back together by somebody who has no experience with using a needle and thread to the point where theyre more just like a seperate character

im sorry for my sins

PLEASE HEAR ME OUT BEFORE BITING A CHUNK OUT OF MY ARM. if anybody wants to read about my evil headcanon world all the stuff is below. wasnt really exaggerating when i said i ripped their character apart and stitched them back together though.

i do have a google doc full of everything i headcanon for tgs but some of that is embarrassing as hell so im just slapping the important stuff here

most of these 'headcanons' are here more because they make me happy than to actually make any sense. as a warning.

smokes fat blunt puffs it in your face anyways uh trans henry jekyll yeah (gets shot) ty person from the j&h community i was messaging that dragged me to the dark side and introduced me to the world of embracing my j&h trans headcanons. a true angel.

i really like more book inspired takes on j&h than the musical ones soo uhh.. yeah theyre the same person fully no j&h arguing thing. im soooorrrrryyy its just my preference for adaptations and i find it a lot more fun to play with story wise. also some other reasons but i wont get into those

polyamorous and bisexual (bi because... obvious reasons. poly because of that one couple they meet up with in the comic every now and then. my favourite ... ship (i think thats the right term?) in the comic. i love them.)

gas mask because it looks cool + chemical shenanigans ("oh but those didnt exist" shh. shhhhh.")

speaking of chemicals! they are much more into science. mostly does science-y stuff when theyre hyde though. they like to break into lodgers rooms and contribute to experiments.

facial hair. thats it. no further reasoning will be given

tried making jekyll in the concept redesign of him look older. failed SO bad im sorry i know its horrible.

hyde has pointy ears + pointer teeth (and green tongue because potion goop) + slit pupils because i am incapable of designing a human hyde. i have no idea why but i just cant.

earrings because 1: i have a bad habit of giving designs earrings and 2: i remember seeing a few headcanons of j&h with earrings and they were so tasty to look at so i had to do my own

bandage scarf thing from the beta tgs hyde design + newer tgs design that only shows up in the mind... world.... thing.

added the uhhh goggles from the old design too.

red and green hat because i couldnt decide if i wanted hyde to have the red hat from the old design of tgs hyde or the green hat from the current design. ripped it in half and chose both. great decision making i know

chunks of brown hair in hydes because why not. also red ring around one eye as like a weird variant of half heterchomia.

hyde has weird patches of green colored skin idk it just looked cool when i was fiddling with colors so i kept it

hyde has red scales in certain spots of the design. no further explanation

gave hyde black gloves to contrast jekylls white gloves + cmon. hyde probably touches the most gross revolting shit with the places they go to. they deserve some gloves.

changed their body type a litttttle bit just a smudge

i was going to give jekyll a cravat around the neck (a really bad designing habit of mine is to give characters cravats. not my fault they look so cool) both as a fancy thing + to hide lack of a adams apple buuttt the design felt way too clumped so im scrapping that. ignore the cravat in the drawing. grrr bARKBAKRABK

actually does sparkle visually/not just as a non-existent visual effect and people can actually see it. lanyon always swats them away because the sparkles get in his face.

hyde is more shorter than shown in the comic, more like book hydes height. like a foot or more shorter than jekyll. jekyll stays around the same height though. hydes probably the shortest one in the society.

permanent eyebags. does not sleep but cmon we all already knew that

hyde has a strong scottish accent instead of the other accent he fakes in the comic that i always forget the name of

has a cane like the og book. its a sword cane.... yeah i have a addiction, im sorry. (like half my own personal characters have sword canes)

i suck so bad at drawing shoes so hydes shoes look like ass but theyre supposed to be big boots since this guy probably walks through yucky mucky areas and stuff

i would totally write some oneshots or something like that of these guys going on adventures doing experiments and stuff yknow . (stuff like lodgers content and interactions, lanyon and hyde interactions because i enjoy secret identity and person said secret identity personal knows outside of their secret identity interactions, that one couple i talked about before interactions with jekyll/hyde and just in general random oneshots that make no sense) if i actually had any literacy skill

anyways im done my ramble. now you guys can shoot me

[cyrusclouds]

dsaf headcanons!!,!

i know literally nobody asked and no one cares, but i'm going to be putting my dayshift at freddy's headcanons here for the soul. this'll definitely get edited fairly frequently sooo!! anywayz here we go :3 (angst warning for some of these??)

jack has frequent sleep paralysis!! the kicker to this is that he THINKS he has a sleep paralysis demon, but really, dave just breaks into his house through his bedroom window every night and stares at him while he's asleep. he refuses to break character whenever he wakes up because "maybe he won't see me" (he definitely sees you, dave)

while henry was alive, dave picked up the habit of shutting up and shutting down whenever henry got too annoyed. problem with that is that jack playfully presents as annoyed all the time to mess around, and dave takes it very seriously, so they get into a bad cycle of jack acting annoyed and dave shutting down for no reason *constantly* (dysfunctional doomed yaoi core!!!)

henry is a tea drinker, not a coffee drinker. he specifically drinks black tea without any add-ins (basically the same as drinking straight black coffee for my coffee drinkers out there) (also dave eats the fucking tea leaves when henry is done with the bags)

harry still gets war flashbacks fairly frequently and is set off decently easily. when this does happen, rebecca is literally always there to comfort him and stays with him until he's calm again (straight couple goals)

whenever henry was seeping into jack's mind (legacy jack core), dave could very distinctly tell. one of the worst instances of this would have been a time where jack slipped up and called dave 'william', which would have caused a very quick panic that confused the *shit* out of jack (homeboy does not know what he did)

!!!NOT MY HEADCANON!!!! belongs to orcatstra :]!!! but dave and jack totally got drunk as shit in vegas one time and got married. no if's and's or but's, it happened, canon, i was the fly on directdogman's wall when he made dsaf.

jack reminds dave a lot of henry (unfortunately), which has caused dave to be very easily set off by things that henry used to do or say to him if jack does or says something similar. jack has no idea why every single time it happens, but he always comforts him until he calms down anyways :)

henry has a habit of spinning things like pens and pencils in his fingers while he writes, but sometimes this expands to wrenches and actual tools while he's working on his creations. yes i think henry is strong as a bitch, how else is he carrying those literal hunks of metal

I THINK HENRY PROBABLY HAS OTHER LOST TAPES OUT THERE RAAHHHH they're just probably less lore important LMFAO

henry would be the type to hate basically every animal, but he would (begrudgingly) feed stray cats from time to time if nobody was around (god forbid he ever look weak in front of people)

henry had a god awful sleep schedule. he would stay up until around 2-3am every morning at the least working on his creations, sometimes taking it as far as full days if he was focused enough. it was very concerning to dave (who does not sleep), and he would loom outside of his office a lot listening in case he fell asleep. it wasn't terribly common, but sometimes he would, in which case dave would break in and move him to the little chair he had in there

henry was definitely the kind of guy to straight up call people an idiot or dumbass, and then go on a long ramble about exactly what they were wrong about and how wrong they were. expanding on this headcanon, i think henry would have been a major rambler about things he was passionate about, especially towards dave (since that's like the only person he was around in his later life)

henry was never the kind to take breaks. no matter what, he always kept working. but, he did allow himself one once because his physical health was severely deteriorating, and he spent most of the day reading anyways LMFAO, just in a more comfortable environment. he would have loved reading, dead convinced.

[erikiara80]

Byler and Will having powers wouldn’t come out of nowhere

I know I know, many people have already talked about this. But the writing process is one of my favorite things, and I love Will’s character, so... Here I am. 

I’m gonna start with Will's powers. I’ll talk about things that everyone, not just fans who analyze the show, can see. I’ll only use some of my theories to speculate about the nature of Will’s abilities (imo they’re different from El’s, that’s why it makes sense that the reveal happens in the last season)

I’ll start with this. 

If I’m right, this could be like the reveal of One’s existence. If there’s a girl named Eleven there must also be a number One. It was always there. 

And if Will has always been connectet to the supernatural plot, either he’s like Frodo, or he has powers too. 

The fact that people have found explanations for what we’ve seen so far, like Will just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or his connection to Vecna just being a consequence of the possession, doesn’t mean that they’re correct.

But that’s a good thing when you write a mystery.

If you don’t want to reveal something till the last minute, you keep leaving hints and clues but also let people find plausible explanations for what they see, otherwise they become impatient to know the truth, and get distracted. 

What the writers could use to reveal that Will has powers

Will and El are the only characters connected to the supernatural plot since S1. 

Will’s vanishing, one of the most iconic scenes of the show. It’s different from all the other attacks, something even many causal viewers noticed. 

Will is the only person who survived alone for a week in the UD. If that’s what really happened, of course. But the fact that it’s still a mystery means that they’re hiding something important. Oh, and he was definitely Vecna's target (here)

The fake body. Either the lab was able to make a perfect replica of Will’s body in two days simply because they were spying on everyone in Hawkins, or there’s another explanation. 

Nobody doesn’t really know what those scientists are able to do, and nobody asked in S1. Actually, they never asked anything. But IF Vecna targets Will again in S5, he will have to finally ask himself: Why me?

Will and El big parallels in S2. Now we see WILL in the lab, with Owens, his “Brenner”, who knows the truth.

Also, Will says that the evil wants to kill everyone but him. Something they could use to reveal that his possession is different from the Flayed and Billy’s.

Will drawing the Mind Flayer is so important in S2, everybody remembers it. So, this is a connection with another kid with powers. Henry.

But in S3 and S4 something changes. Will is sidelined, and in S4 it even seems that the writers forgot his birthday. I think this is what makes people think that he’s not important. Now he “only” has this mysterious connection to the Mind Flayer (and Vecna). But in my opinion this could also be a big hint.

Will being sidelined in S3 and S4 could be part of the plan

We can dislike it, but it makes sense. 

Think about it. Will is the target for two seasons in a row, but everything changes in S3. I think it's because Vecna realizes that El can also close the gate. That's when he changes his plan. He needs that power to open his own gates. He says that to El.

But he can’t possess Will again to get to her. Will would know what’s happening, and his family would save him again. And Vecna is not stupid.

Also, IF Will is important, then Vecna doesn’t want to kill him. Will is not like Billy and the other Flayed. I don’t even think he was killing him in the UD. The parallel with Sarah means that the tendril was giving him oxigen like the chestbuster in Alien? But this is just a theory.

So, the plot of S3 is to take El’s power to open gates, the plot of S4 is to open gates so big that she can’t close them. And in S5 Vecna can finally get what he wants. Including Will?

In S4 they also reveal something very important connected to Will: that the UD is “stuck” on November 6, the day Will went missing. Sure, it’s the day El opened the gate, but see how they’re always connected? They could definitely use that. And they could use what Nancy says, that when Will was in the UD lights came to life.

Will vanishing, his mind being erased, has always been his story. And so is being remembered and saved by the ones who love him

What happens when my boy is gone? That's the big question. So I’m not surprised that he’s been sidelined.

The very first episode of the show is titled The vanishing of Will Byers. He literally disappears from the world and his family and friends must find him. 

In S2, it's his mind that is being erased and they need to make him remember.

Then in S3 and S4 he's sidelined, and there are many very intentional shots in which other characters are blocking him, so it seems that he's not even there. And it starts at the end of S2, when in the last shot of the ball Will is not there (more here)

Imo, this is no coincidence, the writers arent' forgetting Will. It’s the plot. And it would be a cool plot twist, based on a truth that has been hidden in plain sight the whole time.

Will’s powers

Finally, my theory is that his abilities are different from El and Henry’s and mostly connected to the UD. Maybe they only work there. If he’s like Bastian and can somehow influence the UD, shape things, or he's like a battery, a source of power that Vecna can use, then it makes sense that they reveal his powers in the last season, when the Upside Down starts to invade our reality.

I don’t remember who said this, but I find it so interesting. The fact that maybe there’s a reason if Will’s name is WILL. Maybe he IS power. I made a post about the parallels between Will and Cerebro I also have a theory about why both Will and El have powers, their connection, but this post is already so long. I’ll just leave some links:

Theory about Willel connection

Terry and El’s memories 

Byler

Well, in this case it’s obvious that if Will was girl, people would at least consider Byler. I’m sure there would be fights between Byler and mlv shippers, but more people would see the signs.

But I think many fans or casual viewers who simply like their friendship will be ok with it once they see how everything is connected and how important Will and Mike’s love is, not just for them but to save the world. That’s smart, it reminds me of Interstellar and many epic love stories. I love it.

Anyway. Byler has been a fundamental part of the story since S1. Their beautiful friendship, their bond, their love.

This scene!

Then in S4 it becomes obvious

I love this. One of the sweetest, most beautiful things this show has done. And it’s also clever! Making Will and Mike’s love one of the keys to save the world. That’s how you know it’s gonna be epic.

So, people could say, but there are sweet mlv scenes too. And Mike is still with El. He finally told her that he loves her. That means that they solved their problems and in S5 they will be stronger than ever. That’s the story. 

I don’t think that’s what the story is telling. El and Mike have spent two seasons fighting and not getting closer. The other kid in love with Mike had to push him twice to tell his girlfriend that he loves her, and they lost anyway (and Mike didn’t need Joyce or Jon to tell him keep going in the shed in S2). Also, the only couple that broke up had the same problem. Nancy, Mike’s sister, couldn’t say ILY to Steve. 

This means that El and Mike’s relationship is not a happy relationship. And now it’s obvious and even confirmed, that Will, the boy Mike has such a deep bond with, is in love with him. Like, this is such a classic trope. 

So, what could the writers use to show that the story has always hinted at Byler?

This

[binuwe]

I'm currently watching Oniisama e, and I've a lot of thoughts regarding this anime. One of those is the outrageous role of Henmi in this saphic story, like, why is he even here? At a certain moment, I genuinely believed he was going to be just a second character who Nanako wrote to... I was so wrong, and partially disappointed.

In episode 24, I believe, it's revealed the reason why Fukiko behaves the way she does in front of this man (this woman never ceases to impress me). And such reason is so boring and dull. I was expecting a parallel between these two older siblings, how both their fathers betrayed their mothers by having an affair, how they both have step sisters, and how they managed these events. We are pretty aware of the mistreatment and manipulation Fukiko treats Rei (Saint Juste) with, meanwhile Henri is patient and sweet with Nanako. Since Henri is close friends with Fukiko's brother (neither I can stand this man), it may have occurred that he had noticed this awful treatment against Rei. Henri could have called her out, confessing his similar situation.

In the first episode, in the first scene, it is shown how Henri meets Nanako. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they never get to explain what exactly he was doing there (aside from seeing from afar the father that abandoned him). There's an important detail one mustn't overlook: his reaction to Nanako. Why did he act the way he did? I began to elaborate a posible, and very dramatic, come out.

So, having in mind we want to make parallels Fukiko-Henri, we need to establish what differentiates them: their relationship with their sisters. In episode 26 (I believe), it's revealed the sickening root from where Fukiko and Rei's relationship comes from. Fukiko uses Rei to upgrade herself, to feel superior, using a lone kid for her benefit. She saw Rei as an instrument she could use to "expire her sins", that inner facade nobody else could see. Meanwhile, she lost the possibility of bonding with Rei on an equal basis. She lost the possibility of having a sister.

Here is where Henmi could have been different with Fukiko. Although in their first meet, Henri hadn't seen the older Nanako yet, his previous encounter with her is enough to set a difference. So, again, what was Henri exactly doing there? Henri couldn't have been older than 12-13 years old when he first saw Nanako. His father abandoned him and his mother so he could live with his new family. He must have felt betrayed, he must have wanted answers, he might have even searched for revenge. He was replaced by a younger child, much weaker than himself, it wouldn't have been difficult to get her out of the way. (On various occasions, this story shows how teenagers seek drastic solutions for drastic situations.) Now, when he arrived to execute his plan, after the sight of his poor victim, he realised the wrong in his actions. How could he inflict pain on a poor girl just to make himself feel better?

Fukiko wouldn't react well to Henri's ethics lesson, creating a palpable conflict between the two characters. At the same time, it would have created a parallel between Rei and Nanako, for they are the object of their sibling's conflict. Helping to create a richer dynamic between them.

Now, the sad reality is much boring. I guess what actually happens, happens, with the intention of making Fukiko childish (and dramatic, as everyone else in this show). Which she is, don't take me wrong, but this was the worst scenario ever. It also makes Henri a kind of god for these mentally unstable teenage girls. It makes the whole story orbit around him (I'm not even going to talk about the atrocious end because, yes, I've spoiled myself)... WHY? Why has the postgraduate man have to be the reason behind the existence of the plot? I know the title literally means "Dear Brother," but come on! Men always ruin everything, in Mariko we trust.

[pluckyredhead]

i really wanna know your ideal dc publishing cause seriously they could be doing so much and instead choose the absolute worst trashy choices

Lol thank you for indulging me, anon. I have thought about this EXTENSIVELY so sorry not sorry for the tusnami of opinions you have unleashed.

Before I get into the list, a few points to explain my approach:

ONGOINGS. I am a firm believer in the importance of ongoing series. There's nothing wrong with a miniseries but you can't get any forward momentum or character development with them because things keep getting reset to their baseline. Get really strong teams on your ongoings and let them develop their stories for years at a time. That's where all the legendary runs come from.

To that end, I am proposing a list of 30 books, which is a little more than 7 per week, which is roughly what DC publishes now (not including things like Sandman, Looney Tunes, etc.). They can add on as many minis as they want but will need fewer since so many more characters are accounted for with ongoings.

I am a strong believer in backup features - more value for your dollar and double the amount of characters included - so you'll see a lot of those.

I tried to balance what I personally think would be the most holistic representation of the DCU with what I believe will sell, so you're still going to see a lot of Bats. It should be understood that books without Bats are not going to be treated like throwaways like they sometimes are now. They are going to get top tier creators with long, sustained runs, just like Bruce always gets.

It will not be a publishing slate of all straight white guys from the 30s-60s.

Books with an asterisk* mean they will be kid-friendly. Not exclusively for kids, but appealing and accessible to young readers, the way Young Justice and its members' books were in the 90s. They can still include ongoing plots and queer characters and serious topics! They just shouldn't be relentlessly grim.

OKAY THE BOOKS!

Super Books:

Superman*: The lead Superman title, with a backup featuring starring Jon.

Action Comics*: Focuses more on the Superfamily as a whole, though the plot can dovetail and cross over with the main Superman book. (This is basically what's happening now.) Backup feature rotates between Kon, John Henry, Natasha, Kenan, Lois, and Jimmy.

Supergirl*: Why did I give Kara her own book and not Kon or Jon? Because a) DC needs more female-led books and b) I want to. The primary audience for this book is women who watched the CW show, or girls who have outgrown TTGo! and DC Super Hero Girls, NOT ADULT MEN. (Optional: Kon or Natasha backup feature.)

Bat Books:

Batman: Like the Super books, this would be the central title and focus on Bruce. Backup feature can rotate between the nine billion Gotham characters who need a home.

Detective Comics: Focuses more on mysteries/the family. Another rotating backup feature. NOTE: These backup features CANNOT star a character with their own book (Bruce, Dick, Damian, Selina, or Harley).

Nightwing: Dick sells. ;)

Robin*: Starring Damian, Tim gets a team book further down.

Batwoman: Perhaps we could try letting a queer woman write this for once? Revolutionary, I know.

Catwoman: Because she fucking rules.

Harley Quinn: Because she fucking sells.

Birds of Prey: I prefer a classic Babs/Dinah/Helena lineup but I'm flexible.

Batgirls*: If it’s too messy to have Babs in BoP and this, take her out and add Harper.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Imagine if this book was good! In my universe, it will be.

Solo Books:

Wonder Woman

Flash: This will star Wally. Optional backup rotates between Jay, Bart, Ace, and Avery. Barry can show up sometimes I guess.

Green Lantern: Starring Hal, John, or Kyle. Whoever is the lead CANNOT also be on the Justice League.

Green Lantern Corps: Okay yes technically this is a team book. Shhh. Guy should always be on this book since he does better in an ensemble. The plot should dovetail loosely with the main GL book with an annual crossover but you don't have to read both if you don't want to. I am flexible about how to fit all the Earth GLs in (including Simon and Jessica), whether that's backup features or just including them in the GLC ensemble, but all six should always have a publishing home. Jo should get as many prestige graphic novels as N. K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell care to bless us with.

Aquaman: Jackson backup. Please let him go back to being Aqualad and stop making everyone grow up so fast.

Green Arrow: This book is currently perfect, no notes.

Blue Beetle*: Starring Jaime, though Ted may show up to be annoying if he would like. A Booster backup is permissible.

Vixen: If they have a Webtoon they should have a comic for $ too.

Zatanna: See above.

...I'm torn between Shazam!* or Stargirl* here. I feel like they both kind of fizzled? I guess it depends on which book gets the better pitch.

Team Books:

Justice League: I mostly don't care who is on this but if it's a bunch of white guys plus Wonder Woman and either John Stewart or Cyborg as tokens, AGAIN, DC gets shut down permanently. I don't make the rules.

Justice Society: This is also not allowed to be only old white guys. I know that's harder with the JSA. I don't care.

Titans: I'm going to be honest, I'm not convinced the OG/New Teen Titans can star in a decent book anymore, since they haven't done so in two decades. But I will give them one more try. They can call themselves the Outsiders instead if that helps.

Young Justice*: They also maybe need a new name because they are all legal adults, but this is Tim's book. I'm highly skeptical of success here as well but I think the right creative team could make something really soapy and New Adult and queer work. Please keep in mind that there are nine trillion characters in the DCU who are roughly Tim's age to draw from; the "Core Four" (ugh I hate that term so much) can all be members but they are not the only members. (Cassie cannot be the only girl and it cannot be all white.)

Teen Titans*: Damian's team! I vote for characters like Emiko, Ace, and Jackson here, but I'm flexible. THE AUDIENCE FOR THIS BOOK IS MIDDLE SCHOOLERS, NOT PEOPLE WHO GREW UP ON WOLFMAN/PEREZ. Jesus, DC.

Suicide Squad: I truly do not care about this book but we need to do something to appease the edgelords.

The New Gods: I'm thinking EPIC, I'm thinking KIRBY, I'm thinking SIMONSON. Everyone talks in a serif font and it should be impossible to explain out loud with human words. It's what Kirby would want.

So there it is, there's my pitch. Again, this doesn't cover minis (Elongated Man miniseries WHEN), event books, etc., but I think it gets most of the key players on the board!

(And yes, I know I left the Legion out. I'm sorry. But not very sorry. They can cameo in Kara's book.)