#look for the fucking light i guess. wheeeeeeee

[giantkillerjack]

To give credit to the last of us for its queer rep, it’s not just queer characters who have tragic/bittersweet endings. Literally everyone (siblings, parent and child, heterosexual) queer or not, has tragic endings. The older queer couple gets the best one out of all of them.

I guess? I mean, it is certainly much better than if they were the only characters to die in the storyline. But people were on tumblr talking about how theirs was a happy queer story. And I think it is the misleading discussion around these characters that bothers me even more than the writing. Like if I had watched that episode instead of looking up the plot summary, I would have had a meltdown at the end when they both died because I truly had gotten the impression that it was going to be a happy story.

But now that I've mentioned the writing:

It's nice that they live till their 70s. It's nice that they get 20 beautiful years together. And it's a bit fucked that the writers felt the need to end those 20 long years on-screen with a terminal illness and suicide in the same episode they are introduced. It would have been incredibly easy to just say that those men get to live on past the end of the episode. There are a million reasons those men could have continued living in the story.

But that's the thing about a show like this. I think there is a distinct possibility that this show is actually incapable of writing a satisfying happy ending.

Craig Maizin, the show's writer, gained acclaim recently with Chernobyl, proving that he is apparently excellent at writing a long, horrifying tragedy in which character struggle only to find there is no way out.

(His other main credits are The Hangover sequels and the Scary Movie sequels, most of which I haven't personally seen, so make of that what you will.)

But more than the writer's background, the show itself troubles me. It has this repeated mantra in it that goes, "when you're lost in the darkness, look for the light." Which is a cool phrase.

But I have reason to suspect that this writer genuinely doesn't know how to write the light. I have no reason to believe he does. I hope I am wrong.

But when you write episode after episode after episode that is an endless inescapable slog of tragedy and desperation - and then advertise it to me, a sick queer person actually living through a pandemic and trying to escape disease and poverty - well.

I think a better writer would include moments of light and hope beyond just trauma bonding. Moments that don't end in death.

When my wife writes about characters in awful situations, there are still these moments of genuine loveliness and fun and joy between the characters; these moments remind the reader what is worth actually fighting for, living for. Imagine! Entire chapters in a post-apocalyptic novel in which characters don't undergo a "hacking someone to death with a cleaver" level of trauma!

But the fact that Bill and Frank still had to die even after an earnest attempt to tell a beautiful love story....

I fear that the light the story ends with - if there is any - will be as dim and desaturated as the show itself. And personally, I am at a point in my life where I don't care to see a story like that.

It's fine if you do like it. It doesn't matter to me if you find beauty in a tragic queer love story. There are places for that in this world. But it is tragic. I am sure of that. And I wish I hadn't been seeing posts saying otherwise, ya know?

And I hope I am wrong about the writer. But I see cracks in the premise. Like in Stranger Things. There was always a promise of light that kept me watching, but it never seemed to come. Instead, the misery and trauma continued to stack and compound for the lead characters, like in TLOU. But... does the writer know how to make that worth it, for us, for the audience - for me? I don't think he does.

I think it very possible that the light isn't really coming for Ellie and Joel in a way that provides catharsis because I have noticed that on shows with no intermittent joy and hope, this is too often the case.

But I do hope I'm wrong. Because if I am right, then a lot of mentally ill fans will leave the experience more depressed than if they hadn't watched it at all.

But for my own part, I'll just continue to skim through the show for monster design ideas. And also I'll say that everyone should watch Infinity Train - ESPECIALLY season 2 of Infinity Train, if they'd like to see a story in which people actually DO find a light that makes the whole journey feel worth it.

[chewingtoniii]

SANSFAM part 17

Classic and Temmie by Toby Fox

Gaster Sans by @borurou

Reaper by @renrink

Mob by @undermafiaz

Horror by @sour-apple-studios

Dance by @teandstars

Cross by @jakei95

Nightmare and Dream by @dreamtale-au

SANESSS by @srpelo

Fell by ???

Lust by @nsfwshamecave-pb

Outer by @2mi127

Geno, Error, and Fresh by @loverofpiggies

Sci by ???

Ink by @comyet

Swap by @popcornpr1nce

Little by @mudkipful

We own nothing except Sansfam.  Undertale belongs to Toby Fox, and all characters go to their rightful owners.  We hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 17- IN SEARCH OF THE LAMB SAUCE

(A/N: If you’re new to the Sansfam series, then check out our masterpost, if you read them in order it’ll make much more sense)

Toby: *turns on TV*

All kids: *jump out from behind the couch* WE WANNA WATCH GORDON RAMSEY

Toby: JESUS GOD IN HELL, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THERE?

Swap: 5 hours

Toby: But why?

Dream: We were waiting for you to turn on the TV

Toby: Why didn’t you turn it on yourselves?

Horror: Mom banned us

Fell: Because apparently it’s “bad for us” if we watch ISIS hentai

Lust: I got exactly 16 boners from it

Toby: *squirts with spray bottle* No Lust, that's bad

Lust: Daddy quit making me wet

Error: *slaps the ho* SILENCE SLUT

Little: Can we watch Gordon Ramsey nowww?

Toby: Well if you’re banned, then no

Cross: Bu-

Toby: Nope, until Mom says you can use it again, you get no TV

Nightmare: Listen buddy, I did not crouch behind this sofa with 19 idiots for 5 fucking hours, to have my Gordon Ramsey privileges denied. So if you don’t let us watch TV, I will tell Mom you stole her crayons

CQ: *runs in* BITCH I HEARD THAT, YOU A DEAD FUCKER NOW

Nightmare: Shit *runs away*

Dream: Brother no! *runs after him*

Dream Team: *runs after Dream*

Everyone Else: *shrugs and follows them*

Everyone runs outside and grabs their getaway vehicles, desperate to escape CQ’s wrath

Dream Team: *gets on tricycles*

SANESSS: WEEOOO WEEOOO

G: *gets on a bike with a wagon attached to it*

Classic: *gets in the wagon like a lazy ass*

Error: *steals a car*

Everyone else: *gets in the stolen car*

CQ: Y’ALL BETTER BE BACK IN TIME FOR DINNER

Geno: ERROR SLOW THE FUCK DOWN HOLY SHIT

Error: YOU CAN’T STOP ME HO

Fresh: ARE YOU KIDDING? THIS IS WAY TOO SLOW BROSKI, WE GOTTA GO FASTER *grabs the steering wheel*

Car: *veers off into the spoopy woods, lots of screaming follows*

Swap: *gaspu* DREAM TEAM AFTER THEM

Dream Team: *throws tricycles in the woods and jumps in after*

G: Well fuck *purposely veers into the woods*

~10 WONDERFUL MINUTES LATER~

Classic: My arm huuuuuuuurts

G: Why?

Classic: Oh I don’t know, maybe its cuz someone threw me out of a wagon and into a fucking tree

G: Pfft, it was the tree’s fault for being there

Sci: You know this is a forest right?

G: TREES ARE MEANT FOR PAPER

Reaper: A TREE TRIED TO STEAL MY WAIFU

Geno: FUCK OFF, I AM NOT YOUR WAIFU

Reaper: That’s not what you were saying last night~

Geno: *puts his face in his hands and screams*

SANESSS: I AM LORAX AND I SPEAK FOR BEES

Dance: It’s trees not be-

SANESSS: BEEEEEEEES *has a small seizure*

Classic: My arm still hurts

Fell: At least you weren’t in the car *shivers*

Error: I didn’t hit that many pigeons

Mob: I lost count at 40

Error: Again, not that many

Little: Everybody shut up and wook over there!

Everyone: *looks and sees glowing light*

Mob: Maybe its money

Cross: WELL I WANT SOME MONEY, LET'S GO

Everyone: *runs to the glowing light*

Dream: WOAH IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN MONEY

SANESSS: LAMB SAUCEEEEE

Ink: THE LAMB SAUCE HAS BEEN LOCATED

Error: GRAB IT

Suddenly a level 666 Gordon Ramsey appears

Gordon Ramsey: What’re you doing in my swamp??!!

Cross: HIS POWER IS OVER 9,000

Horror: HE AIN’T NO MATCH FOR ME, SPELL ICUP NIGGA

Fresh: *throwing spaghetti on the ground*

Gordon Ramsey: WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SPAGHETTI IN YOUR POCKETS??

Swap: *kicks him in the face*

Outer: *grabs the lamb sauce* I GOT THE LAMB SAUCE

Dance: *throws Sci’s glasses on the ground* SCATTER

Everyone: *runs away in the same direction*

Sci: WAIT I CAN’T SEE

Fell: *goes back to grab his smol bf*

Outer: WHY DID WE ALL RUN IN THE SAME DIRECTION?

Dance: CUZ HE WOULD NEVER EXPECT THAT

Everyone: *gets in the stolen car*

Mob: Wait, who’s gonna drive?

Little: ME! *starts the car*

Everyone else: *panicking and screaming*

Reaper: Where’s SANESSS??

SANESSS: HEEEEYA *is strapped to the ceiling*

Little: *floors it*

Classic: You can’t even see the road!

Little: I BEWIEVE I CAN ACHIEVE

Gordon Ramsey: *steps into the road*

Lust: *sticks head out window* VROOM VROOM BITCH

Little: INCOMING *hits Gordon with da cer*

Sci: I’M BLINDED, WHAT’S GOING ON??

Fell: WE JUST KILLED GORDON RAMSEY

G: *eating the lamb sauce*

Swap: *slaps him* SHARING IS CARING

Ink: How fast are we- HOLY SHIT WE’RE GOING 100 MILES PER HOUR

Geno: WHY DID WE LET A FOUR YEAR OLD DRIVE??

SANESSS: WHEEEEEEEE

Ink: AND OHMYGOD WE JUST RAN OVER A STOP SIGN

Little: YOU CAN’T TEWW ME WHAT TO DO

Fresh: STOP SIGNS IS JUST THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO HACK US

Horror: SHIT BOIS IT'S ALMOST 8:00, MOMS GONNA KILL US

Little: NOT ON MY WATCH *speeds up to 200 miles per hour*

Reaper: I CAN SEE THROUGH TIME

~2 Minutes Later~

Car: *crashes into the house*

CQ: *comes outside* WHAT IN FUCKS NAME DID YOU DO?? AND WHOSE CAR IS THAT??

Dream: Hi Mommy!

G: Can we have dinner now?

Toby: *comes outside* Wut in tarnation

Mob: Yeah, we don’t know whose car this is

Fell: Also, we found some lamb sauce, can we eat it?

Toby: *facepalms*

CQ: Weeeell, since you found some lamb sauce, I guess you can use the TV again

SANESSS: WHOOOOOOOUP!!!!!!6!!!!!!

CQ: Now imma go make some lamb sauce dinner

Lust: Hey guys, wanna go watch TV?

Nightmare: Let’s go fam

The Sanses spend the rest of the night watching Peppa Pig and eating lamb sauce

THE END!