#not bc she deserved to be punished by the narrative; oh no

[lemonhemlock]

What themes George used with Rhaenyra and Aegon in the book?

the main theme for both of them, like in most of FB, is kingship, so what makes a "good" king/queen, what is power in the first place, how do you receive it, how to wield it etc. add to that the theme of hubris - house targaryen cannibalizing itself and sowing the seeds for its future destruction. and, also, the theme that follows through the entirety of the series - corruption - power as a means to its own ends, not for the betterment of society - “why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones?”

when asked the question put to shireen, "who would you prefer, aegon or rhaenyra?", you should be going "oh, well, on the one hand this, on the other hand that" and it should lead to a debate on political structures and how societies are organized and how laws are enacted in society and what is the nature of law anyway etc. instead the show turned it into "rhaenyra obviously bc aegon is a literal danger to society".

so when people say that aegon should be even darker bc this is game of thrones and everyone is mean and dark and awful so stop being a crybaby about it, like, ok, but there is a limit as to how far you can push this without sacrificing the balance of this story.

bc this is not the kind of story in which maegor reborn kills saint rhaenyra and does her this great injustice of erasing her queenship from the history books. not that it's a moralistic children's tale either, but, if the lopsidedness between them would have skewed so much in rhaenyra's favour, she would have received a more heroic death or died on her own terms at least

[infiniteetcetera]

RAPID FIRE ACOTAR CHARACTER HOT TAKES

. [Mostly focused on side characters but thoughts about our mains too BC why not]

🔥Emerie is one of THE most underrated characters and deserved a bigger storyline in ACOSF (obviously it’s Nestas book but other side characters like Gwyn, Feysand, etc got more time that could have been hers)

🔥I don’t know why people really like Helion or want him with LOA😭 mans has let her be in an abusive relationship for DECADES & I feel like if he really loved/deserved her he would have blood dueled by now. he might make a fine father for Lucien but I don’t want to read a love story that involves a few centuries of abandonment

🔥I like genuinely wonder often if the rest of Lucien’s brothers are evil evil. Like if Eris is playing along to their abusive dad’s whims, how do we know the rest of them aren’t? They likely don’t know Eris is different so why would he know that about them? Lucien didn’t? IDK i’m just curious about more Vanserras

🔥Jurian is genuinely one of the funniest characters👀 his revival may be a little pointless but his vibes are immaculate and he’s underrated

🔥You don’t have to hate Mor for leading Azriel on (there are others reasons to not like her) but she definitely did💀aside from the fact every character including her says it we get literal scenes of it too. like she FR tells Feyre he has a huge dick and just says so many other sexual/romantic things about him that are NOT platonic, it makes sense he’s been confused AF😭

🔥Kallias and Viviane have one of the sweetest love stories in the series and I wish we saw more of them. they also just have such good vibes & if they’re gonna keep popping up for little cameos I want more deets

🔥TW SA: I won’t even argue about Tamlins wrongs against Feyre bc i’ve done so before & it isn’t worth the breath BUT it bewilders me that so many people ignore/excuse what he did to Lucien😭 aside from just the generally abusive vibes he not only ignored what Ianthe was doing to Lucien (when equally if not more depressed people like Feyre/Rhys noticed) but also made him have sex with that creepy ass predator😩 Lucien’s struggle with that is so overlooked in general but still bothers me people ignore Tamlins fault in it and that Lucien is now groveling for his friendship

🔥 While on the topic of SA, i’ve seen a lot of people in the fandom have such a gross attitude about what happened to Rhys recently. like man has plenty of flaws and has done a lot of wrong things but that’s not an excuse to make jokes about him being SA’d for DECADES especially when male SA representation is so rare and it’s dumbass jokes like the kind fans are now making that makes guys feel uncomfortable about speaking up

🔥One more on this topic, the SA Nesta experienced is also SO overlooked, even by the narrative itself. The general fact she was using sex as a form of self harm/punishment is also weirdly addressed a few times but then excused if it’s with Cassian in a way that’s so gross

🔥Feyre and Rhys having Nyx so soon was a bad decision. No matter how many people bring up the “oh they were so close to dying” “oh they don’t want to waste time” blah blah blah doesn’t change the fact that’s a TERRIBLE reason to have kids😭 like does the fact they made that decision kind of make sense given what they experienced? sure! was it at all smart or level headed or much more than a trauma response? literally no

🔥I feel like Rhys’ mom…kind of sucks? She’s spoken about more highly than any of the other ACOTAR parents but she literally forced her son to go to a child soldier camp she knew was full of misogyny, poverty, and a bunch of other barbaric practices, did nothing to help any of the other kids unless she was forced to (Rhys brought cassian home, and Az’s mom begged her to take him, she then let Rhys & Cas beat on this poor traumatized boy) and overall Rhys turned out far from perfect but actually could have been SO much worse when you think about it

🔥On the topic of bad parents KIER BEING ALIVE STILL IS SO STUPID AND MAKES NO SENSE.

[horizon-verizon]

Rhaenyra’s loyalists are losing their lands and their people for her cause, and its so frustrating to see her inaction in the face of their sacrifice. Her disappearing for 2 weeks to meet Alicent all the while her supporters are being carpet genocided by Criston is insane to me.

I don’t understand why the writers took this route but it makes her look indifferent to her supporters’ suffering, hesitant to take a step against a foe thats taking leaps against her, how is this supposed to excude wisdom ?

Especially when she chose to meet with Alicent shortly after her and Rhaenys discussed Alicent being powerless in this war ? It feels like this meeting was simply driven by a personal need for validation, knowing that her dad stood by her until the very end, but at what cost ?

It feels like this meeting was simply driven by a personal need for validation, knowing that her dad stood by her until the very end, but at what cost ?

If you have the time, please refer to these two posts I wrote way back:

Another HotD Rant (HotD misses Misogyny w/Prophecy)

We Gotta Talk about what “destiny” means in HotD and What the Show is doing with Aegon’s prophecy *ESP THIS ONE, scroll down to "The Narrative Purpose of Aegon’s Prophecy in HotD"*

And yeah, that bc the writers are making her seek out the validation/justification of war from being "forced" into it as she's trying to do as she thinks Viserys required and asked of her in this nonsensical "peace"-first shit that he himself did not actually ever accomplish bc he himself created situations where he was unable to really hold some people back from responding the way they do. Or at least mitigating it.

Oh, look at how this "good" woman waits until she can try to speak to her fellow mother (who tried to get her and her sons at the very least exiled and heavily punished for just existing and whose son killed one of Rhaenyra's when he was an envoy and thus breaking all war rules and any chance for actual peace or negotiations) and fellow woman to see how they can prevent the men around them from committing more war crimes...now she deserves to fight for her birthright that not actually her birthright. Isn't she dear, how she doesn't let her anger ruin herself or people around her? how she doesn't lift a finger to defend herself and has faith in the women who showed her no such grace all these years...Isn't she just like Jaehaerys with Maegor's men...the guy who also violently murdered a teen boy to regain some sense of control over his daughter AND overall kingly authority (Braxton Beesbury)?

Won't the real Wise Queen Rhaenyra, please stand up? (bad slim shady rewrite)

Basically, the character is embodying the exegetic/Doylist desire for a "wise" passive, self effacing, nonchallenging woman (Alysanne was not this person, btw, she rode hard for women in her courts and challenged men sensically--inlcu Jaehaerys--many times) rather than her own desires even if they disrupt men's ambitions.

Rhaenyra was male gazed.

[queer-ragnelle]

On the topic of misogyny in retellings, do you have any thoughts on the male characters’ misogyny in Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles series? I feel like it could fall under “gritty realism” but sometimes it leaves a bad taste for me?

Yeah I think we're in agreement. The Winter King wasn't the worst but it certainly wasn't the greatest either. Look no further than how Ladwys was treated by Owain while everyone just listened to her scream and ignored it. Oh but she's "deserving" of rape bc Gundleus is evil so punishing her is punishing him. Or something. And matters worsened in the sequels Enemy of God and Excalibur.

Like the thing is, it felt to me as if Bernard Cornwell wrote a grimdark story, and attempted to include compelling women who go through hell, but missed the mark in a big way. All the rapist murdering shithead men die terribly (rest in piss Owain, Gundelus, Tanaburs, Lancelot etc) so they're all punished narratively for their actions sooner or later. But at the same time, I don't recall that any characters voice criticism of Merlin's sexual relationship with young Nimue or 30yo Tristan's sexual relationship with 15yo Isolde. That's where you can see the author's disturbing view of women and girls seeping through. Even if Ceinwyn was written well, what does that matter against Arthur and Derfel allowing Mark to burn Isolde at the stake bc Tristan couldn't control himself around a teenager? And then Arthur goes and marries Isolde's sister Argante in Excalibur. "She's too young for Arthur," says Derfel and Ceinwyn. That's what writers call "a sign post," which is supposed to signal to the reader that the author doesn't agree with the actions of the character by having other character's call attention to it. Okay, fine, that is there. But why is young Olwen also sexualized? Then how was Derfel persuaded to believe that Isolde/Tristan was somehow less inappropriate than Isolde/Mark? Oh right, bc Mark is fat so he's "gross," as Arthur called him, while Tristan is such a good, handsome guy. Therefore morally pure. Riiiiight. Cringe. It's deeply uncomfortable to contemplate.

My hope was the show that came out in 2023 would address a lot of this but somehow it's legit worse if you can believe it. They made Owain a decent guy. (Which actually makes his death stupid especially bc Arthur mourns his "friend?" That was his rapist thieving coworker with a good sword arm at best but okay.) And showrunners cut Tanaburs and Lancelot entirely. None of that actually benefitted the show whatsoever.

For example, in The Winter King book, Derfel returns from Ynys Trebes and Bishop Bedwin tells him Nimue has been sent to the Isle of the Dead by the local law enforcement bc she was butting heads with Christians and she ultimately killed some people in a church. Not great but I see how the narrative ended up there and Derfel went to retrieve her immediately. She had only been there so long bc Derfel wasn't even in the country. While Derfel is escaping with Nimue, Galahad comes to meet them and help.

But in the show, Derfel never goes to Ynys Trebes. He's just....around, as a side character. Meanwhile Sansum is trying to establish a church in Nimue's front yard or whatever and then his men get sick and die. They blame Nimue for "cursing" them. Arthur himself then sends Nimue to the Isle of the Dead, only for Derfel to play detective and discover the place where Sansum's men retrieved water from had a dead animal in it. They were unknowingly poisoning themselves. Nimue didn't do anything but spit on Sansum (which was deserved), she didn't kill anyone. Derfel then goes to the Isle of the Dead to retrieve Nimue. Alone. Only later does Arthur and Sagramore meet them to escape so Arthur can be like "Haha oopsie! My mistake! Will you help me talk the Druids into being my subjects--I mean working with me to get the kingdom in order for evil baby Prince--I mean normal baby Prince Mordred?" It's obscene.

So all around, The Warlord Chronicles isn't the pinnacle of literature if one is seeking an author who drinks respect women juice. Look elsewhere. But for all its faults, I don't think it's unreadable either. I don't regret reading it. There are beautiful passages and fascinating characters and I did enjoy it as a whole. But certainly there are really rough aspects that I could have done without.

[mwebber]

So I hope you don’t mind, but I have another question about ‘On The Bound’😅

We’re Seb and Mark’s kids an “accident” (result of a hookup) or we’re they already back together at that point? Bc I’d think 2013 would’ve been a bit soon for them to forgive each other that quickly haha

oh, 100% an accident, but a relatively happy one!

there's this whole thing a couple weeks after multi 21 where mark really tries to hurt seb.. the narrative was supposed to build up to it because they'd been so terrible and awful with one another (something something a special kind of cruelty that's only attainable if you love the person or however that quote goes), but despite how dramatic my writing got, it was never so physically violent. but then mark sees seb accepting her "punishment" bc she'd gotten in her head about having fucked up and she thinks she deserves it and he just. can't do it. can't bring himself to go through with it even if he still desperately wants to. and seb is sick of being someone she can't live with because everything she's done weighs heavily on her conscience (#performing Girl well something that is possible to aspire to), so they reach this awkward truce.

naturally, because this is fanfiction, they fuck about it after the dust settles. and then they just.. keep fucking? because it's not bad sex or some cathartic exercise like it's been for the last few years--they're just, like, very slowly getting around to the idea of Being Normal Work Colleagues. normal work colleagues who have regular unprotected sex and were engaged at some point, but normal work colleagues nonetheless.

(they don't know how to be normal about each other AT ALL.)

seb is supposed to get her iud replaced mid-fall ish, but for unmanageable period reasons she opts for the pill instead--only, she's so busy jetting around the world that she doesn't take them right, and mark literally has a brand new box of condoms in his bag but he never fucking brings his stuff to her room, so like. Obviously something was going to go wrong. cameron house md voice it's called unsafe sex for a reason, dumbasses!

the funniest part of it is that seb is sooo adamant that she's not pregnant that she doesn't even take a test until after the season ends and it's unavoidable. she calls christian like ummmmm. so i know i just had that nine win streak that we wanted to continue but next season i might not be able to drive. and christian is like, shit, did you hurt yourself. and seb exchanges a glance with mark like. boy do i have News for you.

insert exterior shot of christian horner's house, idyllic and peaceful for exactly five seconds before christian's voice booms so loudly the birds outside squawk and fly away. "MOTHERF-" cue seinfeld theme.

[granma-sweetie]

what is the dona actually about because im very confused

OK SO BASICALLY

spoilers for the dolls of new albion under the cut

GENERATION 1 so there’s this lady called annabelle mcallistair who is. well she gets kicked out of medical school for stealing dead bodies. and also she is in love with this guy called jasper and they kissed one time. but jasper is betrothed to someone else and they get married and then 🙀 jasper dies. so annabelle brings him back!! yay!!!! except he Comes Back Wrong so. not yay. anyway so she puts him in the body of a metal doll and takes him around places and she’s very happy bc she finally has a friend!!!!!! something something kate the narrator tells us this is not all good actually All You Love Does Not Love You also btw jasper can’t talk he can only communicate through the music he plays. and he sings a song about how elysium (heaven basiclaly) is really cool and great and he wants to go back Elysium The Place The When Your Sorrows End Why’d You Bring Me Here Again. and annabelle hears and she’s like ok :( i don’t want you to be unhappy so she kills/disassemblesbs/whatever him.

GENERATION 2 annabelle has had a son who’s name is edgar. sadly she dies when edgar is only 10. edgar grows up and has a girlfriend named fay but they break up :( oh well! edgar goes into the attic and finds the trunk where btw annabelle hid jasper’s doll body and also her formulas for raising the dead. i forgot to say that before but Yeah she did that. anyway edgar’s like ooh what’s this and surprise surprise he brings jasper back!!! and jasper is like fucking hell not this again (/j). anyway edgar is like you could make a religion business out of this! so Edgar Starts A Business of bringing people’s dead loved ones back to life and putting them in dolls so they can. have them? idk. anyway edgar is, as it turns out, a bitch, and goes to fay and he’s like. hey fay you remember how your dad died? yeah? well i brought him back lol he’s in my living room. you can talk to him, but only if you date me again :) also btw fay’s dad is jasper. so fay gets back with jasper they get married and……

GENERATION 3 fay and edgar have a son named byron! he inherits the doll, his dear jasper that he loves. also btw edgar is a shit father. by now there’s dolls everywhere and some people namely byron and his friend amelia (who also has a shit father AND DESERVED BETTER.) are like you could make a religion out of this! so they do it’s called voodoopunk and it’s fucking cool their songs are all the best btw. #votevoodoopunk anyway byron is gay and in love with jasper a little bit. um yeah that’s his grandpa it’s messed up. also btw amelia is in love with byron. meanwhile jasper is singing his song about how he wants to be died and amelia hears and she’s like hm this elysium place sounds pretty great. better than here where i’m have a horrible father and also in love with my best friend who is gay. so she kills herself :( and in her suicide note she writes the lyrics to jasper’s song which all the dolls have been singing nonstop. so the general public are like hm. this must be the fault of the dolls that this girl has died. we should make them illegal and burn them all! and jasper is like finally i get to die but not so fast lol bc byron saves him! wahoo.

GENERATION 4 dolls are now sooooo super illegal now btw. being in possession of one is punishable by death of both you and the doll. oh shit! byron is dead now but his daughter priscilla is hiding alone with jasper in the family home!! actually let’s pause the narrative for a minute for a super funky ballad about how new albion was created! a monk and a gambler are arguing about things (god and chance and fate) and to resolve they decide a game of cards indeed be played. anyway they play this card game for literally ages like one of them would have to die for it to end. so as they’re playing this seemingly never ending game of probably uno, around them is built a shelter and then more and more buildings until what do you know? the city of new albion is born! also btw remember when i said one of them would have to die for the game to end? what luck! the gambler has a heart attack or something and dies!! anyway back to jasper and priscilla. they are playing a never ending game of cards to pass the time :)) jasper still wants to die but he doesn’t want to leave priscilla alone or let her die bc she’s the only person he’s ever cared about :( but priscilla doesn’t want jasper to suffer but jasper doesn’t want priscilla to sacrifice herself. um anyway she calls the police on herself and jasper and her get shot :( also there’s a soldier called 24601 or something idk. anyway he doesn’t shoot and everyone is like soldier 7285 you fucking pussy why didn’t you fire. and he didn’t fire bc he realized Hm Maybe This Is Fucked Up. so he decides to do a revolution that will end the police state of new albion.

THE END!!!!!! also important note in the original cast recording there are four actors/singers. 1 singer for kate, 1 singer for jasper (mr paul shapera himself), 1 singer for edgar, byron, and the soldier, and 1 singer for annabelle, fay, amelia, and priscilla.

[becomingpart2]

oh god the “feminine women are more oppressed than non feminine women” thing is so fucking dumb and annoying. like c*ndy really thought c*roline was oppressed because she was “girly” whereas elena wasn’t? also like elena was still feminine she just wasn’t a hyperfeminine girly girl. it was so dumb.

Yeah. That rhetoric permeated her analyses since the beginning.

She had this theory (which was probably her biggest resentment that later spawned everything that came after) that feminists were so outraged over Elena's lack of consent during the sire bond but not Caroline's rape by Damon bc Caroline deserved. She was "oppressed' because she wasn't a Madonna like Elena. She felt into the "whore" aspect because she liked shopping, she was "vain", she was "loud", she liked sex and was punished for going out with Damon in the first date or whatever.

I mean, those are all a reflection of misogyny and misogynistic writing. If some feminists in fandom unconsciously thought the same, that speaks of their internalized misogyny and nothing more.

But she conflated everything. The feminists that were denouncing Elena being sired were the same ones that denounced Damon raping Caroline. Maybe in a lesser extent for a number of reasons but a really important one is that Elena's lack of consent was being validated by the narrative as a valid romantic storyline while Caroline's was depicted as horrific as it was (and then subsequently forgotten but still). Those were mostly Elena stans that were SE shippers.

Then there were "feminists" that called Caroline a hypocrite for criticizing Elena in S4 and that did not recognize the sire bond as a violation or at least saw it as a reflection of Elena's 'real' feeling's for Damon. Those were mostly DE shippers Elena "stans" (that as you can see, also didn't have Elena's best interests at heart).

So yeah, the same brand of misogyny that oppressed Caroline, also oppressed Elena. It was the same thing.

So again, her perception was very skewed by this really small group of elena stans she had contact with that was not homogeneous and neither were their perceptions the standard fandom perception.

[swimmingclassicrockpizzawombat]

TW: trauma dumping, toxic rant, really needed to rant and be toxic for a sec (or many seconds)

It's kinda unfair that having abusive parents/being abused in your childhood immediately means you don't deserve love later in life because you're simply too broken to be loved and would end up being a burden to others.

And it's just like "those people with emotional burdens and trauma should go to therapy" but like otherwise if you still have x disorder or are still traumatized you don't deserve it (???) bc having to love someone as broken and unhealthy as you wouldn't be fair to the other person. The only way you get to interact with people is if you are fully healed and over whatever thing you went through.

"no one should have to parent their partners/friends"

And I get that but at the same time...

At the same time it's like... What if I don't want to get over my trauma? What if I can't?!

BELIEVE ME IF I COULD I WOULD. It's not like I choose to have flashbacks everytime there's a loud booming noise or a certain word being used, and I HATE having nightmares on a daily basis that consist of my family making my life a living hell.

I know I'm not entitled to anyone "loving" me or anyone's affection, but at the same time this narrative that people have to be perfect and "healed" and "healthy", and if it's not it's toxic, is so frustrating because...

How about all the times they told me it was in my natal chart that no one would ever love me because of my zodiac signs and shit and that they felt sorry for whoever had the displeasure of meeting me and even more for whoever had to tolerate me as a romantic partner in the future???

Well I didn't ASK my parents to abuse me as much as they might say so. The time they locked me outside when it was raining bc I was being a "whiny bitch" so I should just "sleep outside like a dog" and was "asking" for it wasn't bc I wanted to be a toxic person in the future. Nor the times my parents locked me in my room for two days and kept me from "eating" as a punishment, or when they sat me down for HOURS to show me videos of starving children in Africa and telling me it was my fault they were starving because I was a picky eater, or the times they decided they needed to take their anger out on something and they chose me so at best I got slapped or the "chancla" and at worst they threatened to use a belt on me and asked me to get on my knees and lift my shirt so that they could whip me with it and it could "hurt" properly so I could learn what a huge nuisance I was, nor the time my grandpa kept sexualizing me and rubbing my thigh ever since I was 12 and when I started pulling away from him bc it made me uncomfy even though I didn't know what was happening everyone chose to demonize me and call me schizophrenic for being "so mean" to him.

What about all the times my brother literally TRIED TO KILL ME?!?!? Bc our parents were so neglectful and he didn't know how to deal with jealousy so he wanted to get rid of me such as once almost drowning me in a pool by tying me down, or when he threw a chair at my head, nearly chopped my finger with a door and landed me in the hospital, or another time when he tried to push me off a cliff when we were hiking?; or more simply the time he got all my friends to turn on me on MY BIRTHDAY and humiliated me so they started beating me up and after that day I started getting bullied relentlessly in school too?

I also didn't CHOOSE TO HAVE MY BEST FRIEND DIE OF FUCKING CANCER WHEN I WAS 12, OR MY OTHER GRANDPA DIE THE DAY OF MY GRADUATION!

Or what about this, the time we had to choose to put my 14 year old dog down when I was 17 and all the responsibility fell on me because my parents couldn't decide??? According to my mom I was a monster for delaying the inevitable and keeping my dog alive and suffering, while according to my dad I was a monster if I chose to put her down bc she was "his" dog and I would be killing her.

Nononono let's go bigger here shall we?!?

Oh also! Did I mentioned that my father disowned me before I even came out bc overall I'm such a disgrace and embarrassment to them?!?

How about all the times my parents have told me I owed them for all the money they have put into feeding me and raising me? And the fact that I haven't been able to pay them back EVEN THOUGH I'M 21, and the fact that I chose a shitty career is further proof that I'm a failure?!? Even though according to them I FUCKING SUCK AT EVERYTHING I DO AND AM A DISGRACE AND DISAPPOINTMENT TO EVERYONE?!? Like when I had my last piano recital and moments before it my dad promised to give me a "good well deserved beating" when we got home after that because he found out I was suicidal and I was such an entitled brat for that.

What about all the times my mom complained about me having ruined her life and told me about how much she wanted to leave my dad and how sexless their marriage was, but she stuck around because of me so it was MY FAULT, and other times she told I was the reason she wanted to divorce him and have nothing to do with us (bc I was so intolerable and she hated living with me) bc again I was such a bitch so it would be MY FAULT if my parents got a divorce?!? Bc either way I ruin lives? Whether they stayed together or not IT WAS MY FAULT SOMEHOW. Oh yeah that brings me to... ALL THE TIMES MY FUCKING FAMILY HAS ASKED ME TO KILL MYSELF!!! My mom once even put a knife in my hand and told me to do it, another time my grandma started insulting me and telling me how I just ruined everyone's lives and make everyone around me miserable so I should do everyone a favor and kill myself already, save them the trouble of having to put up with me more.

But sure I asked them to do this! When I was born I asked them to fucking traumatize me!

The reason they treated me like this is bc I made them right?! Which is not fair bc I didn't even fucking choose to be born! And I didn't CHOOSE to get raised like this!

Nor the fact that everything they did to me still haunts me to this day.

And Oh believe me, I've been to therapy... 7 THERAPISTS!!!!! FOR YEARS!!!! and even the fucking therapists have either gaslit me, taken my family'd side or told me it was my fault I was abused because I let them etc and the reason I wasn't "over it" was because I wasn't trying "hard enough"!

LIKE WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT?!?!?

So the fact that others got to grow up in a loving family and I didn't and therefore people like me are inherently unlovable for that is just... Unfair to me and makes me even more depressed :/

Like... I didn't fucking CHOOSE to be traumatized or have so many disorders that make me "toxic" and "unfit" to interact with people

[cinematicnomad]

can I ask what's the thg fic? I have a feeling I'm going to be making a brief jump back into that fandom for a little bit very soon and could use some recs.

oh hell yeah i can rec the fic! i don't read a lot of thg fic tbh, but a few years ago i stumbled across @ellanainthetardis's haymitch/effie fics and they're just???? INSANELY good, especially her fics that deal with the universe pre-thg bc her world building is EXCELLENT.

the specific fic i'm re-reading right now is:

invictus by EllanaSan (116/116 | 355k | M) hayffie; alternate universe—divergent pre-canon; alive abernathy family; angst; emotional hurt/comfort; canonical prostitution; slow burn

"so then, before i can even think about doing something stupid like trying to stab him with his fucking golden paperknife, he gives me a choice, see?" haymitch continued, almost detached. "either i play nice like all the other victors or he'll kill my family. i could either become his puppet—greatest punishment he could give me, according to him—or i could become the example." AU in which haymitch's family lives.

the fic opens up with effie's first year working as 12's escort which is about, eh, 10 years before canon begins. and just like the summary says, in this fic haymitch agreed to snow's terms and his mother and brother are still alive...and then the fic just goes from there and goes all the way through the end of mockingjay. it explores how them living would affect haymitch and the secrets he would hold close to his chest to try and keep them safe. what i love most about this fic is the attention to detail and the relationship building that goes into all of ellana's fics—we get to see how the victor's interact with each other, who haymitch turns to when he needs support, effie's contrasting bonds with haymitch and his brother hayden, how effie would react to the different tributes each year. and as you can tell from from the word count, this fic is a slow burn. it meticulously follows them year in and year out and carefully tracks how haymitch and effie grow closer and closer, and the ways they try to avoid their inevitable coming together because they know it's not smart or safe.

but, weirdly, maybe my favorite thing about this fic is just—the tributes and games that came before katniss and peeta in the 74th year. ellana breathes life into these faceless figures who we know are doomed from the moment they’re introduced, and then breaks your heart so despairingly. there are the tributes who cling to effie for support, whose deaths she feels keenly, and then there are the tributes who are bitter and angry....and whose deaths strike a blow all the same even as effie tries to numb the pain. and the games themselves are always inventive and horrifying and true to canon—one that strikes my memory takes place in a frozen tundra and is particularly devastating to read.

beyond that, ellana expands on the other canonical tributes, exploring what the friendship between haymitch and chaff would look like. the fic tracks the life of finnick, following his games and then weaving him into effie and haymitch's lives, then detailing how the capitol began selling his person and how haymitch and effie worked to help him.

genuinely, i fucking love this fic. i've read it about...oh, 3 or 4 times now in the past few years and now i'm about a third of the way through this re-read. HIGHLY recommend to anyone vaguely interested in the hunger games series if you want an intricately written narrative that fucking destroys you heart and soul. i tried to keep this light on spoilers because there's just. so fucking much that i love about this fic that you deserve to experience for the first time on your own.

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (May 23rd-25th)

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Astruc admitted Sabine was based on an ex and Marinette is what he imagined their daughter to be like. He later admits Audrey was based on an ex and Chloe is what he imagined their daughter would be like. Despite moving on, he still bitter and created two teen girls as "payback" against his exes.

The whole “virtual daughter” thing still squicks me out.

Also, I don’t actually take “Didn’t Need Burrows” referring specifically to the staff/fandom since that’s outside of the show, but I also definitely think about them all the time and like sticking them in here.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Building off of the "Adrien knows about Marinette's crush on him and tells Plagg about it" Burrow, Plagg will point out to Adrien that this is a bad idea and what he is doing is wrong and that Adrien is leading Marinette on so as to stroke his own ego. He will not be listened to, and the show portray him as in the wrong, despite him being right, because anybody who stands up for Marinette's agency deserves to be shut down. In the meantime, Adrien will be allowed to continue

Bonus if Plagg will be considered “wrong” because Adrien not leading Marinette on would lead to him being sAd because Marinette isn’t fawning over him anymore (as if he doesn’t have a million fans).

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe will be presented not only as "Chloe if she was good person", but also as "Marinette if she wasn't constantly making mistakes"

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe will be basically  Marinette if "Marinette's Mistake of the Week" formula never existed.

Sounds about right.

Amazing what can happen when the show doesn’t have a gun to your head telling you to make mistakes in every episode.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The show delves into a shitty harem as the writers forget that Adrien is not the main character. Who knows, maybe Zoe will join the harem.

The only reason I feel like Zoe wouldn’t be a part of Adrien’s harem is so she can ship the love square.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: There will be Animaestro-type episode where Marinette "makes alliance" with (read: is manipulated by) Chloe or Lila against Zoe. In the end she is only one punished, while her "partner in crime"  (or rather person who manipulated her) walks away completely scot-free.

To the surprise of no one. Can’t have the antagonists be punished, because that would make sense.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: (narrative-wise) Agreste's family drama and Bourgeois's sisters drama will overshadow whatever Marinette character arc will be in season 4.

I’m taking this a step further and saying that Marinette in generall will keep having her plots/”arcs” overshadowed by everyone else.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Marinette will be akumatized. She will be easily defeated due to "bond" between Chat Noir and Temporary Ladybug Zoe. This will be presented like Ladybug's constant refuse to "bond" with Chat Noir was reason why their fights with Akumatized Villains are so hard. (bonus: This episode will be followed by a group of fans that would state that Zoe should replace Marinette as Ladybug Miraculous Holder and not Chloe as Bee Miraculous Holder.)

Uggggh, I’m always waiting for the “love square magical bond” garbage.

Also, the bonus reminds me of the fact that I don’t understand people who hate on both Marinette and Luka but continue to ship the love square. Like, wouldn’t they want to ship Adrien with someone “””worthy””” of him??

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: If Marinette akumatization has Miracle Queen-type set-up, Chat Noir will quickly defeat her and whatever all other Miraculous Holders alone (or optionally supported by Temporary Ladybug Zoe). This will be presented by narrattive as proof of why Chat Noir is Brawn in Ladybug-Chat Noir duo. (Bonus: After that episode Adrien stans will make mass of "I hope this will shut up everyone who think that Chat Noir is useless/weaker than Ladybug/etc." type posts)

At this point, I’ve just grown numb to Chat suddenly being able to do things that don’t make sense for him.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Temporary Ladybug Zoe

Okay but is she keeping the black highlights or do they turn red. These are important questions.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Kagami will be changed (ret-conned) into  Adrienette (or other Love Square's part) shipper after "Lies"

Something similar is already on the card so that’s fun. :’3

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe, not Marinette, will be wearing that dress from the Season 4 Concept Art.

*eye twitch*

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Rena Rogue will be appearing even when she isn't needed to defeat Akuma of the Week. This will be probably used to justify Chat Noir's increasing resent up towards Ladybug and (probably) consequent reversal of Love Square.

anything: *happens*

Chat Noir: bad Ladybug

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Ending: Marinette will willingly sacrifice herself to wake up from coma/ressurect Emilie. Both Adrien and Gabriel will be happy that Emilie is back. Adrien will have his happy relationship/ending with Zoe whom personality is (or was ret-conned into) "Marinette in anything but name". (Bonus points: if everyone behave like Marinette never existed after Emilie revival)

I’m sad.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: If Akuma of the Week isn't Reflekta/Mr Pigeon/Gigantitan/etc,.Pig Miraculous"s "Gift" power will basically fail and only make current Akumatized Villain angrier and more determined to achieve his goal, basically restarting whole fight against Akuma.

PIGELLA NO

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Lila will never react to Zoe becoming more popular than her

I imagine Zoe isn’t the same age as Chloe since they’re not twins, so Zoe at least won’t be in Bustier’s class.

Now, if they make her a Lila slave, then we’ll see.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow to know that Marinette is going to hate Zoe for being related to Chloe and this will be limited to her or she'll be the only one scolded for it (likely by Adrien), because you can't hate someone for who they're related to (which actually is a good lesson but ml will probably f it up somehow).

I feel like the writers just look at a character and go, “okay, how can we engineer them in a way for Marinette to mess up around them?

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need Burrow - Chat will find out Rena Rouge knows her identity and becomes angry bc "You and me against the world, m'lady." This will cause one episode of Adrienette becoming closer and Ladynoir drifting apart before Chat magically forgives her like it was no big deal after she makes a huge gesture to get him back.

You’d think they’d have worn out the reset button by now...

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: one of two things will happen, either Adrien will try to help Luka get back together with Marinette (basically the same plot as Mr. pigeon 72) or the relationship will not be brought up ever again and Mari and Luka don't really directly interact with each other anymore

“Bonus” if Adrien is “taught a lesson” that he shouldn’t meddle, and it’s only because he chose to meddle in Lukanette. “Double bonus” if his attempts actually get Lukanette back together but this is presented as a bad thing (for some reason)..

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Zoe will be(e)come pernament Bee Miraculous Holder.

This won’t be added because I think we already got official confirmation on this?

Oh, or do you mean “permanent” as in her keeping the miraculous eventually?

edit: yes, that’s what they meant (also, A+ pun)

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Every Miraculous Holder introduced in Season 4 will be will lose right to their Miraculous, except Zoe/Vesperia.

lol me just imagining them struggling over either making models or trying to not use those miraculouses anymore.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Luka will be forced to say Adrien and Marinette are perfect for each other in "Optigami".

Wow, show, why don’t you just prove more that you’re purposefully pointing out that you’re giving Marinette a grand total of One “Obvious” Option.

Anonymous asked:

Unsure if this one has been sent yet but | Didn't Need Burrow: Alya is going to continue Marinette to pursue Adrien even after Marinette broke down and said she doesn't have time for love right now.

We have some similar ones I think.

“Marinette’s feelings towards moving on are invalidated/ignored by one of her “friends” to push for the Love Square“

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Sandboy 2.0: Ladybug's nightmare will be about Chat Noir abandoning/hating her

I was dumb enough to raise an eyebrow at this like, “Would they really reuse akum--oh wait.”

Anonymous asked:

I'm gonna try and go for a good Didn't Need Burrow: WHen Sole Crusher gets Marinette we'll either get a lovely King Kong moment between them, or Chat Noir will come in and save her (and it'll possibly be a moment of reverse love square).

If they have Marinette doing the cliche “crushing because they got saved” I’m gonna throw hands.

Anonymous asked:

Don't need to burrow:

Marinette will never have a heart to heart with Luka revealing she's Ladybug or even explain the reason for their breakup.

Just gonna slap a big asterisk on this because it’s like:

*despite Luka being an obvious choice and they could’ve worked out the issue but the show is afraid of the side ship they’ve created working out better than the love square itself

Anonymous asked:

Don't need to Burrow: For Optigami, the episode will barely or never acknowledge Luka's and Marinette's relationship/breakup. It will be ignored and we won't have any cute Lukanette moments. As long as Adrien is in the picture, Luka will be always sidelined.

Honestly that last one is basically one of the commandments of this show.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Lila will now only appear in cameos (probably without even any voice lines).

show writers, shoving Lila under a rug: Leela Ransai?? Never heard of him.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Since Lukanette is over, Luka can be ret-conned from show. Everyone will behave like he never existed at all (and Lukanette never hapenned).

We at least know that Luka now appears in a later episode, but this could easily be worded as “Luka can be retconned away from being Marinette’s love interest and everyone will act like he and Marinette aren’t that close or never made soft eyes at each other.”

Except I wouldn’t count on Lukanette being retconned because that would stop the show from being allowed to make Marinette feel bad and guilty and possibly cause another akuma over it, plus possibly Luka “rejecting” his feelings for her and thus making her feel worse that he sees her in a lesser light.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: There will be an episode that will break "Mr Pigeon" episode record of  "Don't Need a Burrow" and close calls.

Not gonna lie, I would be legitimately impressed if that happened. I’m just wondering what predictions would be mashed together to make it as such.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow to know that Zoey (I heard somewhere that that’s how her name is going to be in America, it might be wrong), is going to get involved in the love square somehow.

Bonus:

Or she will replace Kagami’s role as Marinette’s friendly rival, and when her heart gets broken Marinette will be the one to blame, for no reason, like always. Or she will have an interest in Marinette, since it seems they are going to be close friends, only for Marinette to put her in the friend zone, and she gets akumatized. People will blame Marinette for giving false hopes to the girl, even though, she never acted different than how a friend would act.

All girls exist to comment/have an opinion on the love square, obviously, and they’re antagonists/villains if they have a negative opinion on it.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Writers will use Alya bashing concept of Alya proposing Lila as potential new Miraculous Holder. Marinette will obviously refuse, but due to fact that Lila is suddenly ret-conned into being good person this is Marinette's Mistake of the Week. She will repair it by making Lila pernament Miraulous Holder

Waiting for the one episode long Lila redemption...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Sabrina will be redeemed. She will change from Chloe's servant... to Zoe's servant.

and it’s fine of course because Zoe and Sabrina are best friends and Sabrina is doing this all happily and willingly.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Alya will be changed into basically Marinette's Guardianship mentor

Somehow, this is one of the ones I hate the most because it seems accurate so far.

[mexicancat-girl]

Ok guys, I can't take it, I’m seriously at my limit here.

Uraraka vs Bakuboi was a sham of a fight and none of it makes any goddamn sense.

Uraraka deserved her win, for multiple reasons.

Shout out to @bnhasalt, who’s post reminded me how indignantly furious this arc makes me.

More under the cut over both how salty I am, and how Uraraka losing against Explodo Kills makes absolutely no sense, even narratively.

(Warning ahead for a discussion on sexism, misogyny, forced fanservice, the blatant favoritism towards That One Specific Character even if unearned in the narrative, and the general incompetence on how to write female characters.

I call B/kugo “Bakuboi” in this analysis bc I don’t want to write his Actual Name out and have it pop up in his character tags. Also, heads up, I’m sorry for how messy and long this rant is )

First, can I just say that Horikoshi is uhhhh Bad at writing female characters?

Which I’m sure many female fans already have an inkling about, but goddamn is it never more obvious than in the Sports Festival Arc. Because hey, at least the female characters are THERE and PARTICIPATING and have their own time to shine! This ISN’T one of those arcs that just stars THE BOYS, so that MUST mean this arc is equal opportunity! Right...?

God, I wish. I wish...

See, the girls are the minority of the Sports Fest in general. It shouldn’t be this way. And quite frankly, the fact that the classes (and UA in general) isn’t closer to being a 50/50 gender split also makes no sense, considering all children are raised in a society that values heroism EQUALLY and almost half the population is male and half female.

But, okay, let’s say I actually believe in the most illogical character ratio imagineable of there being a 2 boy to 1 girl, like this is another round of Naruto But It’s Superheroes So It’s Different I Swear.

We all know that there is going to be an emphasis on Izuku, since he’s the protagonist and he wants to make All Might proud during the Sports Festival.

Pre-Festival, there’s the reveal that Uraraka wants to do her best, with her main motivation of becoming a hero to give her parents a good life. Iida also wants to make his own family proud, specifically his brother, because of his family legacy. 

Since these three are a trio, you’d think they’d all get some time to shine, right? Since they’re Izuku’s friends? And Izuku considers them his equals?

Yeah, no. Wrong.

This arc is dominated by Izuku, Shoto, and Bakuboi. That becomes clear very quickly. 

I knew I shouldn’t expect much, since these three are powerhouses and also the most popular characters of the entire franchise (just look at the popularity polls) but still. I’d thought at least Uraraka would get a chance to shine! Since we get some character development and motivation revealed from her!

But the female characters in general get done so dirty this arc, despite it being first set up as a perfect arc to let the girls have just as much opportunity to participate as their male peers.

The most significant part of the female characters all getting an ‘equal time to shine’ is when He Who Must Not Be Mentioned and Kaminari trick the girls into dressing as scantily-clad cheerleaders. Which is both Tiring and Unncessary.

(This scheme also shouldn’t have worked because Momo is Vice Rep and she is an intelligent girl, top of her class. She would be smart enough to go to a teacher and actually double-check to see if Class 1-A girls really needed to cheer in the activities portion of the Sports Festival. 

But noooo, Horikoshi can’t pass up a chance for FANSERVICE and forcing his underaged female characters to be uncomfortable for The Funnies! Thanks! I hate it!)

The female characters that move onto the final round of the Sports Festival, and thusly have the most attention, are: Uraraka, Mei Hatsume from Support, Momo, Mina, and Shiozaki from 1-B.

Wow, I sure wish these girls could like...show their worth. And maybe NOT get steamrolled and easily tossed aside in their matches because they’re facing Boys and Boys Have Strong Offense-based Quirks, That’s The Rules Folks.

(Before you come at me, I know that isn’t a rule that applies to every single male character in the series, but the strongest and offense-based Quirks tend to go to the male characters, while the female characters tend to get more support-based Quirks. It’s both sexist, but also an inherent trend in media in general. Please Just Let Women Punch Shit To Smithereens And Control The Elements.)

Yes, Mina and Shiozaki won their first rounds easily! And that’s great to see! But then we turn right around, and they're eliminated just as quickly in their second matches! Without even a fighting chance!

Good God, Shiozaki is literally PUSHED OUT OF THE RING. That’s it, that’s how she lost. Same thing with Momo in her match! And Mei straight-up forfeits because her character is based more on advertising her inventions/babies, so she doesn’t even fight.

So essentially, the female characters are shucked away if they’re not used to make the male characters look good, or there for fanservice, or there to show a shallow form of ~feminism~ so Horikoshi can pat himself on the back and say “See! Girls strong! I can write girls!”

And now we get to the meat of things: Uraraka.

Oh, poor Uraraka. Out of all the female characters, your potential was the greatest, and also the most squandered...

As a reminder, at the start of the arc, Uraraka speaks with both Izuku and Iida about how she wants to do well in the Sports Fest. They all promise to do their best. Izuku’s friends admit that they want to face him in later matches, because they want to be his equals.

Uraraka wanted to stand on the same level as Izuku and Iida, but she's the only one that doesn't move on past her first match!

And man, what an absolute bogus match it is.

Is it emotional? Yeah. Did I tear up when I watched it? Sure, every single time! But that's more because Uraraka is one of my favorite characters and I feel empathy for her and thought she deserved better.

The match gets to me because I also hate how Bakuboi is so fucking entitled and gets everything handed to him on a silver platter.

Bakuboi himself is written as, essentially, a Gary Stu. He always wins. ALWAYS. And even when he ‘loses’, he still manages to beat his opponents to the point that they need to be hospitalized (see Izuku vs Kacchan pt 1) or he makes his losses ALL ABOUT HIMSELF by twisting logic to fit his own narrative.

Remember how Bakuboi won against Todoroki in the final match? And was so pissed at him he was ready to Physically Assault Todoroki for him not being able to Get Over His Trauma to go 100% during their match? And even though Bakuboi LITERALLY won the entire Sports Festival, he’s so entitled that he demands a rematch because he feels like he “didn’t actually win”?

Not wanting a rematch for Todoroki’s sake, because Todoroki has been through a rough time and Bakuboi overheard Todo’s Tragic Abusive Backstory. Oh no, that would make too much sense and show too much character growth, we can’t have that! Bakuboi, even when winning the Sports Festival, demanded a rematch because he wanted to beat the shit out of Todoroki AGAIN to assert his dominance.

You see, Bakuboi is always rewarded in the narrative. Even when he loses it’s not seen as his fault. He’s never really punished for it, and he never learns any lessons from his losses.

Ah, and let’s not forget, Katsuki Bakuboi has the Best And Strongest Quirk Ever. Strong enough to even do the impossible and work to his advantage when it shouldn’t!

Like how he SOMEHOW manages to ‘beat the odds’ by breaking the laws of physics to win in Round 2. He manages to PUNCH THROUGH A QUIRK THAT CREATES A SOLID WALL from 1-B’s Tsuburaba in order to get back his team’s headband and move on to Round 3.

Or hey, his finishing move, Howlitzer Impact? Doesn’t make any sense either. It shouldn’t work as a...cyclone? Tornado? Drill thing? 

Look, the logistics of it shouldn’t work. Yes, this is anime, but do you HONESTLY think that a teenager YEETING himself in a fast spiral will somehow accomplish anything more than spreading out some explosions in a circle around him? You honestly think any other character would be able to pull that bullshit off WITHOUT upchucking their entire lunch?

But because it’s Bakuboi, it works somehow. Because Bakuboi’s Quirk is The Shining Beacon Of Quirks. 

Drawbacks? Sure, he SUPPOSEDLY has them. They’re noted in his character profile and everything. But very rarely do those supposed “drawbacks” ever actually come into play and actually, like, stop him. Or slow him down. Or, yknow, ACTUALLY WORK LIKE DRAWBACKS ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK.

Because apparently, human limits don’t exist for Katsuki fucking Bakuboi, nope, not at all!

One of Bakuboi’s "drawbacks" is supposed to be that he can't overexert himself or he can fuck up his wrists/his forearms will start to ache. 

Cool cool cool, except...This rarely slows him down or effects him at all. 

It’s actually astounding he hasn’t given himself Carpel Tunnel, because that would be a natural consequence to over-using his Quirk. Hell, he should be fucking up his arms almost as much as Izuku does to his own arms with a destructive Quirk like OFA! Explosions are dangerous and cause massive destruction, and that should be fucking up his arms SOMEHOW!

But, nope. Bakuboi is as fresh as a goddamn daisy. He can Never Have A Weakness.

(Another drawback is cold weather/Winter season is supposed to weaken his Quirk. Makes sense, since heat would help him produce more nitroglycerin sweat, and the cold would make it hard to sweat. But that sure as hell didn’t stop him during the Joint Training Arc in the future, and he didn’t struggle whatsoever to almost singlehandedly win that for his team.)

Not ONCE does Bakuboi’s Quirk ever effect him negatively and forces him to weaken! He keeps using his Quirk like it's nothing!!

And that’s the crux of the entire problem with Uraraka vs Bakuboi’s match.

Bakuboi apparently has “drawbacks” and “limits”, but he keeps somehow managing to break them without a sweat (ha) and without consequence, essentially PULLING WINS OUT OF HIS ASS.

Bakuboi was using his Quirk LITERALLY NONSTOP during Round 1, and kept using it to throw himself around in Round 2. Logically, he should’ve fucked his arms up and been at the very least SLOWED DOWN by the third round of the Sports Fest because he went past what were SUPPOSED to be his Quirk’s canonical limitations and logic!

It would've taught Bakuboi that he can't fucking steamroll through all his problems! He has limits! There are consequences to over using his Quirk! He’s a human being and he doesn’t have endless stamina like some sort of God!

Hell, every other character has these limits very clearly shown and outlined with their Quirks! Uraraka throws up when she over-uses Zero Gravity. Shoto, before using his fire side, would get frostbite. Iida’s Engines will stall after using Recipro Burst.

The other characters have limitations to their Quirks that slows them down, shows consequences for their actions, but Bakuboi NEVER HAS ANY.

THIS is why he’s a Gary Stu. THIS is why he won his match against Uraraka.

Not because of any logic. Because HIS QUIRK HAS NO FLAWS. And on top of that, THE NARRATIVE KEEPS REWARDING HIM, EVEN WHEN HE HASN’T EARNED IT.

Bakuboi SHOULD have been weakened from using his Quirk non-stop. Bakuboi SHOULD NOT have managed to pull out that “one final big explosion” that ruined Uraraka’s final attack.

Bakuboi was literally hissing about his arms hurting earlier, before their match started. And Uraraka forced him to use his Quirk so much that she managed to amass a ton of debris to knock him out and win the match. HIS EXPLOSIONS SHOULD HAVE SPUTTERED OUT, AND NOT SAVED HIM WITH THAT LAST-SECOND ASSPULL.

Like, I’m preeeeetty sure the entire reason Horikoshi wrote Uraraka vs Bakuboi in the first place was because he was attempting at writing Feminism.

See, Bakuboi Hates Everyone Equally, he’s not a violent misogynist for beating up Uraraka! It’s a Match, he Respects Women And Sees Them As Equals! The Crowd of Pro Heroes are the ones being Misogynistic and Judging The Match Early!

And look at Uraraka, she’s a Strong Woman! She keeps getting back up! That’s the Shonen Spirit! And she’s smart, too! Look at her amazing plan to win--

Oh, wait. Wait, nope. She didn’t win at all! :) Because our shining beacon of perfection Katsuki Bakuboi never loses!! :)) Look at all her hopes and dreams being blown to literal smithereens, because of Bakuboi’s ass pull, even though he shouldn’t have had enough time, sweat, and strength to muster up that last explosion!!! :)))

Can ya’ll feel my incandescent fury right now?

Because Horikoshi can NEVER write Bakuboi losing, Uraraka COULDN’T HAVE WON, even if her winning makes THE MOST LOGICAL SENSE.

This scene was supposed to show Uraraka’s strength. But it feels like Uraraka is being literally spit in her face, for even DARING to TRY to win against Katsuki fucking Bakuboi.

How much more impactful would Uraraka’s breakdown have been, if she had moved onto the Second Round with Izuku and Iida? How she would feel ashamed that she couldn’t keep up with them, with how Powerful their Quirks are? Especially after seeing Izuku and Todoroki’s amazing match, and seen how destructive and close a match it had been?

How DEVASTATED she would have felt, beating BAKUBOI--one of the strongest of their class!--and then STILL managing to lose the Sports Festival?

That would have been SO much more interesting! And even SADDER!! C’mon!

Uraraka SHOULD have won her match! It would’ve provided both character development for herself, and for Bakuboi! Bakuboi would realize he has limits to his body and Quirk, and realize not to underestimate his opponents! Uraraka would realize that she’s strong in spite of her Quirk not being necessarily combat-oriented, but still has a long way to go in being a Pro Hero!

But, nooooo. We can’t have CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, can we? We ESPECIALLY can’t have THE FEMALE CHARACTERS IMPACTING THE PLOT IN SOME WAY, either! Or--what’s this? FEMALE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY HAVING THE SPOTLIGHT FOR ONCE? Perish the thought!

The only good parts about this godforsaken arc are 1) Mei Hatsume 2) Hitoshi Shinso and 3) Izuku vs Todoroki fight and Todoroki’s Tragic Backstory Reveal. Everything else is hit-or-miss, if not completely hot garbage.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk, and for reading this entire thing! Four for you, reader. You go, reader.

[norgestan]

I'm going back for seconds! Viri/Hugo, Nora/Miquel, Lucasim, Emma/You. Lol tbh I just want an Emma ship and I feel like we haven't properly settled for one. 😔 Who should end up with Emma, Mia excluded since you haven't watched Druck yet?

ardi round 2, i loooove this :)

VIRIHUGO:

i think at the end of the day i’m just resigned to virihugo’s existence. do i hate that they just Start pining for each other with no setup at all? yes. do i hate that their relationship was a noorhelm+vilde esque get-together where dylan is the one who ends up alone? yes (imagine if noora had told william something like “oh lol vilde is just some slut that goes for every boy around her, she’ll get over it soon and she doesn’t really care about us being together ;)”. bc that’s essentially what virihugo did LOL). do i hate that half of their clips are they just standing still and monologuing about each other? oh yes. do i care? not really. i would resent them a lot more if viri had been the protag of s3, but eskam had really compelling couples with noriquel and norandro so i just spend my time focusing on them and not the lesser part of the season.

viri is an endearing character, and although i didn’t like most of her subplot in s3, i do think eskam made her an interesting character with what they had and i’m happy she got a nice boyfriend that she has lots of fun with. moreover, norandro was lacking the enemies-to-lovers snarky interactions (too busy being a really compelling couple!) and the trope was picked up by hugo and viri. which i kinda dig, because those interactions were the only things that i enjoyed about various noorhelms in the skamverse - if most of them were like that and less bad abusive boy feminist girl jerk-fest, i wouldn’t loathe noorhelm as much as i do. although this also makes me wish viri and hugo had been that kind of dynamic from the start, and just gotten a lot of will-they-won’t-they glances from their friends throughout the show until they finally got into each other on s3. but i guess that would’ve made it impossible for eskam to use dylan just to *checks notes* make every person in the love triangle insanely infuriating, oh well.

tl;dr: they are allowed to exist.

NORIQUEL:

ardi, you just want to see the world burn LMAO

to me it’s hard to dislike any pairing with nora on it because she’s a very good character and that just means she’ll always have great dynamics with other good characters. and oh is miquel a good character. in a lot of ways, eskam gave us two great williams in one season: my boy alejandro, who is the perfect candidate for a nora love interest, who earned his place and then helped nora earn her place as the best candidate to be his love interest as well, and then miquel, that has just enough characterization to be exactly what the narrative of the season needs him to be - not only a mustache-twirling antagonist who will punch out then smirk his way out of situations, but a real person.

see, they could’ve made miquel into a one-dimensional asshole that nora is stupidly into because he’s hot (does that sound familiar to you? LOL) but oh no, miquel is way more than that. he earns nora’s trust because he’s not an asshole, he resents olga for cheating on him and you can see how nora waits until the moment where he’ll call her a slut but it NEVER comes, he defends nora in front of his friends... he gives her what she needs, and he fits right where she expects him to. and that’s so important in a season where every other character is challenging nora in one way or another: alejandro doesn’t fit in her box of “incorrigible fuckboy”, viri doesn’t fit in her box of “helpless friend who needs my pity”, emma doesn’t fit in her box of “s/a victim”. being with miquel is easy, when he just humors her and spits out thoughts that nora agrees with all the time. it’s just REALLY great to watch. not only is her season a display of how emotional abuse looks like, but also her entire relationship with miquel showcases her shame, her flaws, the things she needs to work with to better her relationships with the people who ask more of her because it’s only fair.

i honestly never was in the miquel hate train. once you get the point of the character, it’s easy to love him for what he is. as i said before, miquel was also a call of attention because the conversations that he had with nora reminded me of talks with male friends i’ve had in my uni years, and it really put it in perspective and made me realize that i have been humoring numerous miquels by sitting through their “i’m actually a feminist, ya know” think-pieces and agreeing with the general feeling of it. and i don’t think a character like niko could EVER make anyone feel like that.

i’ve checked the middle square because that was my reaction every time eskam made a point to parallel noriquel to noorhelm. like YES. YOU DO GET ME. TRULY A SEASON FROM NOORHELM ANTIS TO NOORHELM ANTIS. what a skamverse treat. this relationship is good for the SOUL. that’s why i never got infuriated watching the couple, despite knowing what the point of their existence was: at the end of the day, i knew that the signs of abuse weren’t pointless and just fillers for an end-of-season sex scene, but they were actually going to do something interesting with them. and that’s exactly what they did. noriquel is actually a perfectly crafted relationship for what its message is and it deserves to be remembered as that.

LUKASIM:

oh BOY.

i just.... kasim is in this relationship. that already makes this REALLY difficult to tackle it. the thing about kasim is... if you only watched the season as the movistar+ channel shows it, kasim is simply a plot device. he’s not a character. he’s only there to introduce conflict and stir some shit and then fuck off to the sunset. he doesn’t have an og counterpart which meant that eskam didn’t have to actually try with him, and kasim is just what they need him to be: a way to introduce the main conflict, a reason for dounia to hate amira, boy on boy action for that sweet fanservice, misogynist microaggressions towards amira, a loose way to wrap things up at the end of the season and absolve her from any guilt or shame, etc. he just shows up when the plot needs him and then walks away very swaggily. and that’s why kasim is an essay kind of topic because to talk about him, you have to tackle the racism in s4 and all the ways they could’ve made a conflict-inducing gay muslim guy actually likable. which i won’t do here.

but then if you look at the lucas extra clips... he’s actually LIKABLE. he’s a character: he has personality, he’s funny, he doesn’t take lucas’ shit, he will only be with him if lucas apologizes and changes first. and as someone who desperately wants to protect kasim from the shit characterization and treatment he got in the show, i treasure those clips immensely - which i don’t think a lot of people do, and i can see why. it’s just sad that the moments where kasim was a likable, real character were hidden behind a paywall, and drown in a convoluted plotline of outing people when they behave badly as a good punishment. the thing about their get-together is that their impact relies only on amira, and is meant to make her life a living hell. other than that, there’s not really a narrative or character reason why they’re both into each other. is it only because they’re conventionally attractive guys and the only recurrent mlm in the show? wow, that shit’s BORING.

sigh, anyway. in a slightly better world, kasim being gay wasn’t actually a nuance as it was presented in the show. rather, kasim was out and confident about it, close to his sister, probably a regular in las labass where he could also work with organizations of other queer muslims in madrid. this also means that lucas and kasim’s relationship wasn’t the typical hidden gay love story that they were in the actual show, but they’re just, ya know. typical gay kids who made out in the club and then became just friends. or lucas’ activism on s2 warranted some instagram dms and then they upgraded to acquaintances. it’s upsetting that lucas is the only eskild who doesn’t really get to hangout or be in queer circles like other eskilds are implied to, so it would be great for him to actually have gay friends that he enjoys just as much as his primarily friend group. like, their version of lucas’ queer lifestyle being going to bars and hooking up with older guys it’s so....................... why. they didn’t have the time to say anything interesting about it and so obviously they didn’t do it lol. at this rate lucas’ only platonic queer companion is cris, which is lackluster to say the least.

the decision of making kasim lucas’ endgame is just another one on the list of things s4 got so, so wrong. what for? why does lucas need (another) boyfriend, again? why does every queer person in this show have to be dating someone and also come out to their parents? again, their relationship is just another rushed hidden gay love story that i found interesting at 13 years old and then never again. they could’ve taken it into ANY other direction, please. i’m begging.

anyways, you had really nice headcanons of lucas being the only eskild willing to revert to date a muslim guy, so that’s the only reason why i’m open to the idea of them being a couple. in a better universe, eskam actually made a case for these two being a good couple, and i agreed with it. as it is for now, it’s just really pointless, and rooted on the fact that kasim is not a real character to begin with. so i’m OBVIOUSLY sending them to superhell <3

EMMA/ME:

standard wlw relationship that would probably get sooooo much backlash about how neither of the characters Really feel like wlw and the emma love interest being boring as fuck, tbh.

alright, now that we’ve covered all that.... should dear emma grace even end up with someone in the skamverse? maybe one of the skamau girlies, given the proximity? maybe she’ll hook up with the female eskild that i know so many people dislike? idk. emma deserves a nice love story, in the same wavelength as nora. she deserves someone who is patient, who communicates well, who establishes boundaries and asks for respect, who understands she’s not only the act of crazy party girl and there are really interesting, carefully placed layers around her. maybe someone who went through a similar situation or at the very least sits down with her and tries their hardest to understand all the things going on with her life. like... there’s something about emma dropping the accusations and then dipping to another country, away from her parents and even her hometown in the states, just to throw herself in a city as busy as nyc is, that is desperately asking to be explained and explored. in a lot of ways, emma’s story is the other side of the noora story that couldn’t be told through nora’s perspective. in a perfect universe, there’s a spinoff that takes place right between s3 and s4, where emma gets the news of how much of a shithead miquel actually is and she has to question all of that yet again, and break the sense of normalcy and comfort she had built during all those years. it would be great if that story featured her closest friendships, and a newfound love. yes i was serious when i talked about the emma grace spinoff @ movistar+

[ravel-puzzlewell]

Ari: 5, 18,26,33,35,42,48,49,50,53,55

49. What are some themes tied to your character’s story?

“No wonder we cannot appreciate the really central Kafka joke: that the horrific struggle to establish a human self results in a self whose humanity is inseparable from the horrific struggle. That our endless and impossible journey toward home is in fact our home.”

— David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and other essays

Ari’s central theme is this precise struggle to establish a self, but under a pressure of being perceived in a world that enforces a bunch of roles and identities on her. Being a half-drow girl in a small-minded village and having a cold, judgmental father, she knew from a very young age that there are acceptable and not acceptable selves, and if you show the world the wrong thing, you will be punished. And not just show the wrong self, but if you perform the right self in an unsatisfactory manner, you will not be accepted either. Like, she was a small orphan girl being bullied, but parents never took her side, because she was a grey-skinned drow child of this weird elf loner and she didn’t dress or look or behave like little girls, because she didn’t have a female role model and Daeghun just dressed her practically and didn’t bother giving her “feminine” cloth. So she watched other girls like a zoologist studying an animal behavior and adopted the patterns like “Oh hey guys, check out what a Hyper-real Idealistic Femininity I’ve got there, I think I deserve some acceptance and validation for that, huh?” Of course this realization that it’s not enough for her be something, people will only treat her like that thing if she performs what they expect from it lead to her building up a lot of resentment. And she never got a chance to figure her true self out as the pressures and expectations were being piled on her, up to saving Neverwinter. So Ari felt like a collection of masks hiding an empty center, where she doesn’t even have a self, just resentful rage and a bunch of shadows. She only got to figuring herself out in MotB, bc MotB was not about saving a kingdom, but about saving herself, and to save herself she needed to first define it.

33. How have they changed over time?

in original NWN2 Ari doesn’t really change, just grows better and better at performing what everyone around expects from her and becoming more and more bitter and angry because of that under a ethereal sweetness that she coaxed over herself. in MotB she’s finally forced to confront herself and realize that she’s not actually a despicable monster incapable of love and good things that she believed she was her entire life. She also came in terms with her masks, and being able to find her “self” and so to distinguish what part is a role and what part is she, Ari is now much more in control of the performance instead of compulsory mirroring the expectations. If before the world was theater and she was the actress, now she is also directing the play. She… well, not calmed down, she’s still very Extra™, but she’s lost the self-loathing self-destructive violent edge.

48. What was their lowest point? What was their highest point?

Lowest point is def the end of act 1 start of act 2 of MotB when Ari thought she can’t control the hunger and also because all she could feel inside is raging darkness and she couldn’t tell apart where is she and where the soul-eater, so she was completely unraveling at the seams. The highest probably when she went back to Neverwinter and saw that people of the Crossroad Keep are still aggressively loyal to her, and Kana is keeping off Nasher from annexing the Keep with lawful bureaucratic nonsense like Penelope waiting for Odysseus to return.  

53. Expectations vs Reality: what did you expect and what did you get with this character?

I didn’t expect anything when I just started nwn2, I usually see what narratives and themes the game offers me and form a character I think would be the most interesting to explore them with. If we talk about defying the expectations, it’s probably that I expected her story to be over at the end of nwn2. I was  disappointed with the ending, but on some level I saw it as fitting - Ari didn’t have the character development as much as self-destructive spiral throughout the game, and she died after her biggest victory, she always wanted, but never could live for herself, ceasing to exist as Neverwinter didn’t need her anymore, a heartbreaker who was only loved for what’s projected onto her, a shadow disappearing when the masks covering it are smashed by rocks. And then Mask of the Betrayer happened, and gave me not just a story custom-tailored to the themes and development of Ari, but also with love interest having parallel thematic arc of performing vs true selves. Even the flaws of OC NWN2 were post factum justified, like characters being one dimensional because that’s how Ari saw them vs layered, complex characters in MotB bc she learned to let people have their own agency and not just as objects that she needed to manipulate in order to save. It was truly a poetic cinema moment. At the end of nwn2 I thought Ari would be a sad character from a mediocre game that never gave her space to grow, and she ended up as my absolute fav OC in motb.

50. What are some motifs associated with your character?

Masks, shadows, Fae glamour, flowing shimmering silks, mirages, lightning, sky, esp in transitional stages between night and day times, twilight or the blue hour before the dawn, labyrinths made out of lilac hedges with a monster in the center.

Her general vibe is this post: “She had the confidence of a well organized library and the haunted grace of a moonlit cemetery.”

5. Height and Body type 

Ari is tiny, like, not comically so, but pretty distinctly even for a half-drow. Half-elves are on average human-sized and shaped, and half-drows are normally just a bit smaller, but Ari’s mom was a half Moon elf herself, so Ari is actually just a quarter human. So if normally half-elves look more like humans with some elvish characteristics, Ari looks like a watered down elf. Still lithe and bony, with sharply defined features and elongated limbs, but the aggressive angularity is smoothed down. It’s most obvious when she’s standing next to pureblood elves like Sand or Daeghun, who are pretty much made up only out of triangles and straight lines, and Ari has some ovals and curves.

18. Have any special keepsakes?

Not really for herself, Ari is not sentimental at all. Her familiar tho collects shiny and interesting things like all magpies, and Ari has a designated pocket on her bag to carry it.

26. Guilty Pleasure

Interesting question for Ari. by the end of nwn2 original campaign she would technically classify as like high functioning alcoholic with also occasional drug abuse. But that’s just coping mechanisms, not pleasure. Having a breakdown and fucking several succubi in your Keep’s basement is also I feel like shouldn’t count as guilty pleasure, it’s just Ari’s equivalent of crying in the bathroom for 10 minutes, then fixing your make up and going out to get shit done. It’s “I can have a little drug-infused orgy, as a treat.” So for guilty pleasures… probably just junk food.

The ask meme

[herorps]

Jenna Marbles admitted to being racist, apologized, and voluntarily de-platformed - AND YALL ARE MAKING THIS WHITE WOMAN THE VICTIM? She held herself accountable. She literally said she doesn’t want to be the victim & that she is doing this voluntarily bc she can’t handle the shame and guilt of her past racist behavior and feelings... pls stop trying to make her a victim & like black ppl bullied her off the internet.

also you don’t get to tell black people they need to or should forgive Jenna— or ANYONE else for their racism. We don’t have to. Even if they’ve apologized we DO NOT HAVE TO FORGIVE THEM. And honestly ?? Fuck you for agreeing with someone who is trying to make black ppl out to be bullies & thinks we should just forgive racist white women bc they cried in a video

oh and I know you’re asian so— did you know she has made “Ching Chong” jokes in the recent past? Come on, she’s a full grown adult when she did blackface and made racist asian jokes. Enough with coddling white people bc they cried on video.

if i was ever painting her as the victim and perpetrating that narrative that she is one then i am genuinely sorry that it came across that way. looking back about the way that that post was written and the choice of words i used in my tags, i can see how that could be perceived. 

but in my defense, i’m not asking for her to come back, if she wants to get off youtube then she can. i just think it’s a shame and a double standard that people like j*ffree star and sh*ne daws*n can continue to have a career despite all the shit that they’ve pulled and the disingenuous apologies they’ve given, when she can’t when she’s putting in the effort to be a better person. when i said “jenna marbles deserves better” i mean that she shouldn’t continue to be demonized for something she is actively trying to atone for, i don’t necessarily think that is “coddling” her. i think that’s giving her room to grow. hold people accountable, absolutely, but continuing to punish them for something they no longer stand by is counter productive for a progressing society, as jameela jamil explains beautifully.  

never did i say that black people should forgive jenna. i literally said, “i can’t speak on your experience as a black person, and you have every right to continue to be offended by her previous blackface,” and i get that what i said after that was a little backhanded and harsh but it’s been a long week for me and i’m a little petty and angry at the moment. i’m not black, i will never understand the black experience and i’m sorry if i was speaking over you or invalidating how you feel about it. again, you have every right to continue to be offended by her previous blackface. 

and yeah, i am aware of her racist asian jokes, but that “ching chong” lyric and a lot of her earlier stuff that is also offensive was made in a different time when so much shit was just swept under the rug. but she apologized and took the video down when people brought it up and she hasn’t done it since. and just becuase she was a fully grown adult when she made that stuff doesn’t mean she’s incapable of learning from her past and growing as a person. my mom used to say racist and homophobic shit all the time and i called her out on it every single time until she understood that what she was saying was hurtful and stopped. people are capable of change at any age. and those that cannot simply refuse to. 

[catboyfeli]

It's funny, these ppl on social media and in lying furious call us toxic, racist, phobic, sexist, etc yet this whole month and most of May I see them outing themselves as what the accuse us of, but still proclaim "certain ppl can't be racist only whites" "men this and that" "systematic racism is the only racism" (Apparently, some leftist got the dictionary to change the definition racism to fit their narrative 😡) All this is going to backfire eventually. The damn racist and white guilt ppl 🤦

oh yeah i totally get it. i hate when ppl try to use excuses like that bc?? ok thats not the case but even if it was, being prejudice isn’t ok?? ur literally outing urself as a dick but apparently its ok if it’s “technically” not racist. thats like me telling ppl w depression to stop whining bc i have it worse. it’s a dick move and never justified.

and just general stuff like that. the misandry esp bothers me since males genuinely do face a fuck ton of sexism for being male, or just amab in general, bc sexism is based more on conforming to gender roles than actual gender or sex these days, esp for men. like i’ve said before, men who weren’t manly? treated just as bad as women in the past tbh.

on the race topic, i know i as a non-poc cannot fully comprehend the racism poc do face, but racism towards white ppl is still a thing lol, it’s just not going to be on a systematic level. my dad grew up going to an all black school and was bullied and beat up for being white, which is--get this, racism. i am privileged for being white, but that doesnt mean i deserve to be punished? like wtf?? why is it sjws are more willing to punish white people than actually help black people and other racial minorities??? why cant they go donate to charity or help improve black communities instead of yelling at white ppl (or poc with the ‘wrong opinions’) online? all ur doing is making ppl angry and silencing them out of fear, which isn’t ok, and no, don’t even start with the “revenge” bullshit.

non-minorities also shouldn’t be afraid to have opinions w/out being hunted for being offensive or whatever. people legit cannot change their beliefs without first understanding why they’re wrong, and if they’re too afraid of backlash to share their beliefs, of fucking course they’re not going to be able to change their beliefs. and you literally can disagree w people and not be racist or whatever. i’m so tired of such buzzwords being thrown around. they’ve completely lost their meaning. instead of these words being serious accusations, they’re nothing but mindless insults to people you dont like.

i wish the loud minorities would just stfu and leave us all alone. like when it comes to nonbinary people? i feel most ppl dont rly care about us, and would be more supportive if it wasnt for ppl on tumblr yelling abt how gross cis people are and all that like dude. Chill. i don’t think ppl would care much about obscure/mogai labels if it weren’t for the toxic ppl who often use them.

anyway idk why equality is such a radical concept to people. how about we support minorities without harassing non-minorities simply for existing? thanks to all this shit, ppl are more racist and homophobic and stuff than ever. a good example is my mom, who ignores black oppression bc she genuinely thinks it’s all propaganda. five years ago she wouldn’t have thought this. the stupid media and gross, loud minority has made her closed minded and bigoted.

even just posting this makes me wary bc i just know someone is gonna find a way to make this problematic. they always do lol. but i dont hate cis ppl for being cis or neurotypical ppl for being neurotypical. innocent individuals shouldnt be at fault or be expected to hold the weight of the world on their shoulders.

[theythemsam]

spn 4x21, liveblog, collected posts (all 18 of them) or as i like to call it: remember when i said this episode would trigger me and make me very, very unhappy? I Was Right!

Dean is such an asshole.

#something about him triggers me real bad #it might be the sarcasm he uses while he beats sam down #’’its not your fault you lied to me over and over again’’ yeah I wonder why you piece of garbage? #bc he knew you’d lock him up force him through a detox that could /kill/ him?

 All of them want to kill Lilith and Sam has a way to do that, but he’s punished by the narrative constantly. Dean gets to be desperate and freaked out. Dean gets to make stupid decisions and is excused by the show (see Mark of Cain, which Oh Boy that’s a rant for another time), but Sam never gets that and I am so tired of all of it.

#sam deserves better and I’m going to kick deans ass

 And then Dean just leaves and looks a little bit sad as if that’s supposed to excuse his actions?

#i mean its less bad then when we see him sad and upset after Gadreel when sam is screaming in pain #cause that is 100% his fault #this isn’t entirely but she still doesn’t get to be sad about it when he forces Sam into this #fuck off dean go back to hell im begging you!

 But I also love this episode bc it really allows Jared to show off his acting skills and its great

#the detox literally hurts Sam so much that he thinks Alistair is torturing him

 Also Sam lying on that bed looking like he’s being cruxified…. Seksy.

 “Suck dirt and die, Rufus. If you call me again, I will kill you.“ asdfhj even though I don’t like Bobby for what he’s doing here, he sometimes has really great one liners

 BABY!SAM!!!

#i love the throwback to jess

 “How can you run from whats inside you?” I Scream.

#fuck im so sad about all of this. This episode is so good!!!

 The Mary hallucination is the worst

#sam never got to meet her and now his brain is using her against him #and I love it #also sam just looks so small and terrified

 I love Bobby admitting that what they are doing is incredibly dangerous to Sam

#one smart man! #sam had currently lost his one brain cell and given it on to bobby #dean never had a single brain cell to begin with so his actions always make sense

 “And if he dies?” “Then at least he dies human!” Dean Winchester, I will break your kneecaps. You’re such a bastard!

#asdfgh I know that episode would upset me

 Also hallucination!dean calling Sam out for having felt different his whole life, because of something inside him, something that he had no control over, something that makes him a monster.

The Hallucinations know exactly where they have to hit to make it hurt, don’t they?

#im very sad now :( poor sam!!!

 Also Dean saying that he will not let his brother turn into a monster, because he wants to protect him, makes me angry? I know we’re supposed to go: oh makes sense, I feel you boy, but lmao maybe instead tell that to your brother? Maybe try to explain your actions to Sam in a calm, reasonable manner, so you can talk about it and you can give Sam back his own damn free will? Maybe realize that letting him rather die than become something evil in your eyes (when Sam has literally always felt tainted himself and you never tried to make him feel better about that?) is absolutely not the way to go. Fuck off, Dean with your damn Deanpain, I literally could not give two shits.

#I would have rather had a brother that’s hurting and that’s messed up and ‘’evil’’ than a dead brother #so fuck off dean!!!

 Jared’s acting is so frigging good this episode!!!

#as is Jensen’s but fuck I love how amazing Jared is in this one

 Dean knowing that Sam would try to shake him off and realizing that to get to Sam he has to think opposite to what he thinks Sam would actually do

#that i love

 Bobby: Us finding Sam? It’s gotta be about getting him back, not pushing him away. /…/. Be good to him anyway. You gotta get through to him.

Dean, an idiot baby: It’s not something that you’re doing, it’s what you are! It means- /…/ It means you’re a monster!

Fuck You Dean!!! You piece of garbage!

#it gets worse bc he starts out with I Just Want You To Be Okay!!! #and he knows that being called a monster is a trigger for sam! #and he does it anyway!

 And now is the first time sam has /ever/ hit Dean when he’s not possessed.

#like he hasn’t even punched back once!!! #and people still hate him for that #dean gets to punch sam bc hes sad john died #dean gets to punch sam after they exorcise meg from his body #dean punches sam in metamorphosis because he dared not to tell him about Ruby #you know for all the ‘’season 4 is sam going darkside!’’ Dean has beaten she shit out of sam three times before that!!! #but whomst cares deans a good baby whos not a slutty demon blood addict!

 Also… the fact that Sam says “you don’t know me. You never did and you never will” and then Dean tries to tell him that if he walks out of that door, he should never come back, a clear mirror to Sam leaving for Stanford, where John said the exact same thing and Sam did leave… just shows how right Sam is imo

#because you know your stubburn pigheaded brother dean! #this aint gonna work #and yet you try anyway? #fuck I hate dean this episode so much!!!