#psychoticdelena

[sulietsexual]

Hey Rach, you mentioned you're rewatching Gossip Girl, what opinions or yours have changed, if any?

To be honest, I’ve never had strong opinions about the show but a few things which are different on this re-watch:

I find Serena much less annoying

Ditto Jenny, especially because of how young she is

I find Chuck gross and not worth any type of redemption (although his character is still somewhat entertaining at times)

I feel much more sorry for Nate this time around

I’m much more invested in the adults (Lily and Rufus in particular) than any of the teens

I have no strong feelings about any of the ships

[thestupidhelmet]

Hey, I love your metas about the show and had a question - what 10 things do you think are the downfall of the show and in turn, what 10 things are its saving grace?

Thank you! And wow – that is an intriguing question.

Downfalls

1) Manipulating the characters to serve plot and/orpunchlines. Too often, the characters behave contrary to their establishedpersonalities in order to manufacture conflict/drama/tension or to generatelaughs.

2) Rehashing old storylines rather than coming upwith new ones that move the characters forward. Examples:

Eric and Donna’s celibacy in season 6; Eric wants to havesex while Donna doesn’t (or, more specifically, fights her desire to).

Jackie becoming marriage-obsessed again ins season 7 after“Do You Think It’s Alright?” (6x18) essentially brought closure to thatstoryline.

3) Complex characters devolving into clichés andstereotypes, and generally being far less interesting and likable (see: Red,Fez, Hyde, Kitty).

4) Character development being undone to bring acharacter back to status quo (e.g., Kelso in seasons 4 and 7, Jackie in season3, Laurie in season 6).

5) Inconsistent or arrested character development tojumpstart new storylines. Examples:

Instead of dealing with what broke them up in season 3 andhow they treated each other in season 4, Eric and Donna decide to “forget allthat stuff” because they “don’t care” and, ultimately, move onto theirengagement story arc.

Jackie and Hyde’s season 1-season 3 relationship is neveracknowledged during their season 5-7 relationship. Other characters referencingJackie and Hyde’s so-called hatred for each other is inaccurate and doesn’t dojustice to everything Jackie and Hyde experience with each other during theearly seasons.

6) Sexism, especially where Jackie’s concerned.

Jackie is the injured party in her relationships with Kelsoand Hyde, and yet the show ultimately gives her responsibility for Kelso’scheating on her, It also makes a false equivalency between her pitting Hyde andKelso against each other for a few hours to Hyde sleeping with another woman inan act of unearned revenge and malice.

Fez believes he’s entitled to Jackie’s romantic and sexualattention because he treats her with respect. In “Ice Shack” (3x10), once hefinally realizes Jackie won’t return his feelings, he begins disrespecting her,and that scene is written for us to sympathize with him, not her.

7) Bad/lack of diverse representation. For most ofthe series, the only principal character of color is Fez, and he’s oftenmistreated by the other characters or written as sex-obsessed, slut-shaming,boundary-invading pervert. Buddy Morgan is the show’s only gay character (untilseason 8), and this article analyzes the problems with his sole episode betterthan I can.

8) The show’s extensive use of alcoholism to generatelaughs. Edna and Bud Hyde’s alcoholism is treated seriously – at leastearly-on. But Pam Burkhart and Kitty are turned into alcoholics later in theseries, mainly for punchlilnes.

9) Red going from a man deeply in love with his wife,a man who barely registers that other women exist, to someone who acts likebeing married to Kitty is punishment; forms a crush on Pam Burkhart and feels“rewarded” by seeing her breasts; happily poses with scantily-clad car-show models;and creates a sexy women calendar to promote his muffler shop.

10) The end of season 7 and all of season 8. Theseason 7 finale was originally written as the series finale. Everyone(cast and crew) went into season 7 believing it would be the last. Season 8wasn’t greenlit until about halfway into the production of season 7.

Originally, so the story goes, Jackie and Hyde were to getengaged in the last episode of the series. But the season 7 finale wasrewritten to provide the not-yet-hired season-8 showrunners a ready-made storyarc: a rehash of the Hyde/Jackie/Kelso triangle.

The out-going showrunners believed the first few episodes ofseason 8 would deal with this (unnecessary and OOC) conflict and ultimatelyreunite Jackie and Hyde. But the showrunners eventually hired for season 8hated Jackie and Hyde’s romantic relationship and didn’t understand it (as theystated in an interview – TV Guide, I believe), so by episode 8x02 theydid away with the story arc provided to them and put an insurmountable obstaclein Jackie and Hyde’s path: Hyde’s new wife.

Saving Graces

1) When the characterization and characterdevelopment are good, they tend to be very good.

2) For many episodes, the show isn’t just mindlessentertainment but offers insight into the human condition.

3) For many episodes, humor arises from characterdevelopment rather than the other way around (i.e. characters acting contraryto their estabklished natures to serve a punchline).

4) Some episodes, rather than being sexist, arefeminist and show female characters fighting for equality and/or malecharacters respecting and/or encouraging their independence and empowerment.

5) Many episodes depict true friendship and love,where the characters support and make sacrifices for each another.

6) The actors’ – and, thus, the characters’ –chemistry with one another. The characters’ relationships and interactionsoften feel real rather than forced.  

7) Characters who defy stereotypes, at least for awhile.

8) Interesting and engaging season-long story arcs.Each episode can be enjoyed on its own, but they add to the overall events ofthe season.

9) The 1970s milieu (politics, socio-economics, fads,entertainment, fashion, etc.)

10) Characters complex enough to explore in-depth and in many different situations(as in fanfic) to see what they might do and whom they might become.

[keirahknightley]

Fall/Autumn Preferences

tagged by @annabelleebythesea, thank you tiffany ♥

rules: bold what you prefer and tag 10 people.

1. go apple picking vs go on a hay ride 2. scary vs. sweet 3. sweaters vs. boots  4. socks vs. mittens 5. bonfires vs. football 6. trick-or-treating vs. watch scary movies 9. bake pie vs. bake cookies 10. rain vs. fog 11. black cats vs. owls 12. ghosts vs. wizards 13. harry potter vs. halloweentown 14. go hiking vs. sleep in 15. cinnamon vs. nutmeg 16. reading vs. writing 17. hot chocolate vs. tea 18. live in a cabin in a forest vs. have it be fall 24/7 19. candy apples vs. caramel apples 20. blankets vs. pillows 21. roasted marshmallows vs. roasted chestnuts 22. coffee vs. apple cider 23. red leaves vs. orange leaves 24. braids vs. bows 25. scented candles vs. the smell of fresh baked goods 26. carve pumpkins vs. make pumpkin pie 27. pumpkin spice lattes vs. chai tea lattes 28. coats vs. oversized sweaters 29. beanies vs. berets 30. candy corn vs. peanut butter cups 31. s'mores vs. apple crisp 32. jump in a pile of leaves vs. swing on a tire 33. corn maze vs. haunted house 34. bob for apples vs. visit a pumpkin patch 35. whipped cream on hot chocolate vs. marshmallows on hot chocolate

tagging: @piperhallivell , @fantasticandfemale , @annewentworth , @dashwoods , @cleopatras , @inemmaseyes , @mollock , @claraschinman , @psychoticdelena , @anythingyouhold

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, July 18, 2018

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Challenge 608 - health (Dawn/Faith, T) by cmk418

Double Drabble: Party Down (Oz, Willow, G) by badly_knitted

Ficlet: Hey, Stranger (Giles/Cordelia, G) by gaiarheahera

Harm Gets Her Way (Harmony, Angel, Wesley, T) by Hello_Spikey

Unintended Prophecy (Buffy, Spike, Giles, T) by rebshortcake (Rebcake)

The Ballad of Miss Edith (Drusilla/Miss Edith, Angelus/Drusilla (BtVS), Drusilla/Spike, Angelus (BtVS)/Buffy Summers, M) by kcblossom

The One Where Buffy and Angel Never Met and Never Fell in Love (Buffy/Angel, T) by WillowFromBuffy

Independent 29: Better Left Unspoken (Cordelia, Giles, K+) by Aadler

[Chaptered Fiction]

The Mad Queen of Cleveland (CHAPTER 17) (Spike/Faith, Spike/Buffy, M) by Hello_Spikey - COMPLETE!

Crawford Street Conscience (CHAPTER 3) (Spike/Angelus/Xander, Explicit) by Hello_Spikey

Leave it to Spikey (CHAPTER 2) (Angelus/Darla, T) by Hello_Spikey - COMPLETE!

No Happily Ever After (CHAPTER 47) (Buffy, M) by irishrose2

In death, that I may live (CHAPTER 13) (Buffy/William, M) by irishrose2

ElysianFields: Live, On Air (Chapter 2) (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by -Carrie-Ann-

ElysianFields: Hindsight (Chapter 104-105) (Buffy/Spike, R) by Toften

ElysianFields: Hungry Hearts (Chapter 3) (Buffy/Spike, R) by Callie8M

ElysianFields: The Vespertine Stars (Chapter 12) (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by sandy_s

ElysianFields: Must Be Tuesday (Chapter 3) (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by amidtheflowers

ElysianFields: Nakama (Chapter 5) (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Linnae13

ElysianFields: She vows to endure (Chapter 6) (Buffy/Spike, R) by Cockney Cecilia

ElysianFields: One Man's Hell (Chapter 10) (Buffy/Spike, R) by maryperk

ElysianFields: Save the Last Dance for Me (Chapter 57) (Buffy/Spike, Adult only) by Passion4Spike

ElysianFields: No Happily Ever After (Chapter 47) (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Irishrose

ElysianFields: In Death, That I May Live...(Chapter 13) (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Irishrose

ElysianFields: Bloodstream (Chapter 1) (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by ChosenOne

Wattpad: Forgotten Girl (Angel, Not rated) by elenacarin97

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Art: BTVS & AtS (Willow/Spike, NSFW) by xspike4evax

Fanvid: Vid: Rupert Giles ~ Quarter Past Four (Giles, FRG) by gilescandy

Artwork: Buffy Summers (SFW) by amisfitsart

Artwork: [Finished Buffy Season 3] (Ensemble, SFW) by jenniferstolzer

[Reviews & Recaps]

BTVS Rewatch Season 4 Episode 18: Where the Wild Things Are by thedoctorsprincess

Buffy Season 12, Issue #2 - Review / Thought Post by lilyginnyblackv2

PODCAST: Episode 8: I Robot, You Jane by meet_at_the_bronze

WordPress: Fear, Itself Review (4×04) by oxymoronami

PODCAST: S04E20 - Laser Guns or Whatever - The Yoko Factor by Popculturerolecall

[Recs]

More Links Than A Bag Of Sausages by petzipellepingo

[Community Announcements]

Summer-of-Giles: Round up: Whatever-it-was-plus-a-bit by il-mio-capitano

Sunnydale Herald: Welcome Dreamkist and Gracenm! [new editors] by rahirah

[Fandom Discussions]

Sleeping with Darla by itsnotmymind

[willow is a lesbian] by okoyesarmor

[Re: Spike for the Spell a character name thing] by friendlylocalwhumper

[I’m big on original mythologies] by icksnay

[One of my fave scenes on the show and season 7 is when Faith runs after Buffy who leaves the house.] by buffyconfessions

EVE BORES YOU SERIES: Storytelling, arcs, characterization - look at BTVS seasons from best to worst by psychoticdelena

Re: “Why is Buffy so quick to kill Anya in Selfless?” by counterpunches

[Re: For the Fun Author Ask, scene in Hunger when Wes brings Spike to Buffy in the hospital after their fight and separation] by sunalsolove

Summer of Giles: Week Whatever-it-was-plus-a-bit by summerofgiles

[Re: for that dvd commentary fic writer meme? howzabout making the news?] by scienceofficer-winifredburkle

Buffyverse Ships: Top 5′s by dingoes8myrp [Re: Belle South Chapter 16: #ForReals -- DVD commentary, please!] by sunalsolove

Does the song at the end of “The Gift” give everybody else a million emotions at once? by zannahbear

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuffyComics/comments/8zu98b/spoilers_season_12_2_discussion/ by elliest_5

Episode 35 (S2 E13): Happy Anniversary by AutoModerator

Episode 91 (S5 E13): Blood Ties by AutoModerator

Smile Time by Samof94

Question about Oz by deadlyduo

Discussion of 1.18 "Five By Five" - Aired 4/25/2000 (WB-US) by Flannen

Hot Topic: What if Spike had not been paralyzed in Season 2? by Buffy Summers

by Willow Tara

Buffylover's Banners by https://buffy-boards.com/members/brendant.15287/

Should Kendra have stayed alive and turn her evil in season 3 and continued Faith storylines? by Benz

Everyone's Personality Matches Two "Buffy" Characters— Who Are You? (Buzzfeed) by Mrs Gordo

Xander Harris and Bangel by sosa lola

Discussion of 4.20 "The Yoko Factor" - Aired 5/09/00 (WB-US) by Buffy Summers

[tim-lucy]

my top 20 tv ships of all time #8. rachel and joey - f . r  i . e . n . d . s “it can’t be that hard, i mean, you’ve been in love before. just once. with you.”

[sulietsexual]

Hi Rach, I'm rewatching the OC (season 3) and I know you hate Oliver storyline (cause yikes), but which one do you think was worse - him or Johnny? Cause I see similar patterns and it progresses the same way (Marissa's too emptathetic to turn away someone as lonely as her, both of them immediately latch onto her, it drives a wedge between her and Ryan, ends up breaking them up), but which guy would you say had a more detrimental effect on Marissa's character and her and Ryan's relationship?

I’d say Oliver is worse than Johnny, if only because he deliberately gets in between Ryan and Marissa and a lot of his actions mirror that of an abusive partner (isolating Marissa, emotional manipulation, physical lashing out). Oliver knows what he’s doing and he insidiously inserts himself into Marissa’s life and systematically drives everyone around her away.

Johnny, on the other hand, while annoying and kind of pathetic, tries hard not to get in between Marissa and Ryan. He forms an extreme attachment to Marissa, yes, but for the most part, he doesn’t really act on this attachment until just before his death. He’s not a dangerous character and it’s more his death which negatively effects Marissa, as opposed to him as a person.

[sulietsexual]

Another one cause why not - top 5 shows that you tried watching which are objectively good shows, but just weren't your cup of tea.

Orange Is The New Black

Parks & Recreations (I might try this again, from everything I’ve heard, the second season is much better than the first)

Sex & The City

Anne With An E

One Day At A Time

[sulietsexual]

Elena gilbert, buffy summers, katherine pierce, alison dilaurentis, marissa cooper, bree van de kamp, paige matthews, blair waldorf

Bree Van De Kamp/Paige Matthews - I’m really only putting these two together because Paige is the only age-appropriate option for Bree, I really couldn’t pair her up with any of the others, given they’re all teenage girls!

Elena Gilbert/Marissa Cooper - caring, compassionate but ultimately broken and tragic teen girls? Yep, they’d work out. They could offer one another the support and caring they both need and could grow stronger together.

Buffy Summers/Katherine Pierce - well, we know that Buffy likes brunette vampires with tragic pasts and she would be a match for Katherine in intelligence and strength. Could be a very interesting and fiery pairing.

 Alison Dilaurentis/Blair Waldorf - cunning, manipulative and fierce Queen B’s unite!

[sulietsexual]

Could you elaborate why you were dissapointed in season 3 of Stranger Things? I haven't seen it yet but feel free to spoil stuff, already saw tons of gifsets on here.

royalweirdonj said:Thoughts on Stranger Things 3?

Okay, so I have some mixed feelings about this season, so I’ll talk about both the good and the bad and why I was ultimately disappointed with this season (at least in part). So we’ll start with …

What I Liked 

First and foremost, I absolutely loved what they did with El’s character development and characterisation this season. El is a character who hasn’t really had the chance to grow or develop because she’s always so isolated and/or going through so much trauma. In Season 1 she was basically just a traumatised child and in Season 2 Hopper kept her very isolated and her weird sojourn to find her mother and her sister didn’t feel authentic to me. But this season finally gave her the opportunity to start to develop her own sense of self and I loved that, especially the medium through which she did so, ie her friendship with Max.

We’ve all wanted this friendship since Season 2 but I don’t think that any of us realised how glorious it would be. El is a reserved and unsure character (when she’s not being pushed to save everyone) and so she really needed someone like Max in her corner, someone who was loud and assertive, who would stand up for her when she couldn’t stand up for herself and who could show her how to be more dominant and make her own boundaries and rules. I loved the shopping montage, particularly the part where Max helped her pick out clothes that felt like her (”Not like Hopper or Mike, but like you.”), as well as their sleepovers, the way they investigated everything together and the bond which formed from them being the only girls in a group of boys who didn’t always understand each other. It was a really sweet and organic friendship and I’m so glad that the Duffers decided to develop it.

And speaking of friendships, I also adored the dynamic between Steve and Robyn, the way the show turned what we all thought would be a romantic relationship on its head and instead turned it into a sweet and snarky friendship between two people who genuinely liked one another. Robyn herself was a great character and her presence on the show greatly improved the overall tone. I loved how smart and quirky and snarky she was and Mia Hawke really made the character feel authentic. And I really loved the subversion of her and Steve’s relationship and her coming out scene. Steve Harrington proved what an absolute cinnamon roll he is with his reaction to her coming out; I loved that his only response was to tell her that she needed better taste in women and I loved that in the Three Months Later sequence they were still besties looking for jobs in the same place so they could stick together. 

Steve Harrington remained the awesome character he’s always been. Loved that his and Dustin’s friendship is still so intact and that they still care about one another so much. Also loved him sneaking the other kids into the movies on a regular basis. And I liked how the series demonstrated that while he isn’t book smart, he’s smart in other ways, such as figuring out where the music on the recording came from or using the vial of green substance to jam the elevator door open. It shows that he knows how to think on his feet and that he pays attention to his surroundings and is street-smart. I love what they’re doing with his character, allowing him to continue to grow into a more kind, smart and compassionate character with every season.

Also, I loved seeing Science Teacher Scott Clarke again! I missed him in Season 2, so seeing his epic reappearance was amazing! Wish he’d been in more than just one episode.

Characters aside (although, I should mention that I love Joyce Beyers more with every season, her “Mom Voicing” the Government was brilliant and I liked that they touched on her grief over Bob’s death) but that aside, the season felt really well-paced. Only having eight episodes meant that the story progressed quickly and there wasn’t a lot of filler, which was good. There was also so much excitement and action going on that it was very easy to binge-watch the whole season. That being said, I feel like the season changed direction mid-way through, which brings me to …

What I Didn’t Like

Following on from the previous paragraph, I feel like Season 3 started as a character-based season and then quickly switched to a plot-driven season (and on an added note, I was kind of annoyed that the plot this season was literally the same as last season ie the Mind Flayer has taken over someone close to one of the party members and they have to close the gate to stop them - again. Also, the subplot with the Russians was kind of lame). 

There was so much characterisation laid down in the first half of the season which was then kind of forgotten about in the second half once the action got underway and then was never resolved. Will spends most of the first three or four episode lamenting his lost childhood and desperately trying to re-connect with his friends. It’s heartbreaking to see how much he craves the days before everything, the days where he felt safe, where his friends were there for him and not concerned with their romantic entanglements. It was actually a really interesting look into Will’s character and how he’s desperately clinging to the old days but once the Mind Flayer comes into play, this is pretty much dropped. Aside from a half-hearted attempt from Lucas to bridge the gap, Will’s disconnect from his friends and the fact that they’re growing up faster than he is and therefore growing apart from him is never addressed again, leaving this particular thread unfinished. 

Hopper’s characterisation and his storyline regarding being a parent to a thirteen-year-old was also left unresolved. Overall, I didn’t love Hopper’s characterisation this season. He seemed overly aggressive and I really didn’t like that he got so drunk when Joyce didn’t turn up for their date. He’s obviously having communication issues with El, and the opportunity to resolve these issues died along with him. His jealousy over any man who even talked to Joyce was irritating and I didn’t like that he essentially threatened a fourteen-year-old kid and seemed pleased with himself when said kid then hurt his daughter (because it meant that he got his way and that’s all that mattered). I understand why he was so alarmed with El and Mike spending so much time together but the fact that this never got resolved in an adult manner irritated me. And his death, well, we’ll talk about that soon because that pissed me off beyond belief.

Billy’s character needed more depth. I did feel a bit sorry for him this season and he definitely felt like a better character than the previous season, but any development he had (including his relationship with Max) happened offscreen, so it was hard to believe that Max would grieve for him so much after everything we saw him do to her in Season 2. Obviously things have gotten better between the two of them and Billy himself is nowhere near as gross as he was (although he’s still a dick) but we never got to see this growth/development, so it was hard to really empathise with his character or feel grief over his passing, even for Max. 

Nancy’s character felt (once again) kind of useless this season and her storyline was (once again) so separate from the main storyline that I really feel that it could have been removed entirely and it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference. Also, I get that we were supposed to feel that she was being treated in a sexist manner by the men at the newspaper but, I mean, she was only an intern. She wasn’t there as a reporter, she was working as a intern and it’s an intern’s job to run menial tasks such as getting coffee, picking up lunch and doing boring tasks like photocopying and filing and the bad treatment she received seemed to be based more off her intern status than her gender. Also, what did she think, that she would become some groundbreaking reporter based off a summer job with zero experience or writing credentials? Lastly, Jonathan barely felt like a character this season, his sole reason to exist seemed to be to prop up Nancy’s storyline and I hated that after Jonathan delivered that epic (and entirely true) speech about how Nancy didn’t understand the lower class and how he needed the job and wasn’t born with the same silver spoon in his mouth that she was, he then turned around and apologised and said that he was wrong (which he totally wasn’t). Yet another example of Nancy treating a boyfriend like crap and getting away with it, but hey, “feminism”!

I also didn’t really like the dynamic they wrote between Joyce and Hop. It was good at first, with him going to her for advice on how to deal with El and Mike. But once she “stood him up” and they developed that weird snarky “banter”, I found myself growing tired of the dynamic. Also, bringing back the creepy conspiracy theorist from Season 2 to tell them they needed to bang (like he did with Nancy and Jonathan) was, again, so annoying. I hate when characters are told that they have feelings for one another, rather than developing naturally. So yeah, never been much of a Jopper shipper and this season made me even less so. Bring back Bob!

Oh, and lastly, Erica Sinclair is the most annoying little snot of a character. I didn’t find her entertaining at all. She was rude, obnoxious and mean, horrible to pretty much every character, took advantage of Scoops tasting policy while acting like an entitled brat and I just honestly could not stand her. I wish they’d left her out of the Steve/Robyn/Dustin dynamic, she was just such an unnecessary addition.

What I Hated

So, characterisation issues and weird bait-and-switches between it and plot aside, there were a couple of aspects to the new season which I truly hated.

First of all, this season was unnecessarily violent. Like, I get that there’s been violence in this show before, but it’s always been stylized violence, usually aimed at bad guys and quite subdued. But this season? Wow. Starting with that horrible imagine spot where Billy envisions bashing Karen Wheeler’s head in, it just never let up. Having grown men savagely beat up teenagers was way more than I needed to see and the violence often seemed really gratuitous and unnecessarily drawn-out. Steve’s torture at the hands of the Russians was really hard to take, especially because it went on for so long. I hated having to watch them punch Robyn in the face. Jonathan’s brutal beat-down from the Flayed Editor of the paper was horrible to watch and, once again, went on for way too long. Also, watching Flayed!Billy literally choke, punch and smack thirteen-year-old El around was horrifying. Also, his taking of Heather (and later on his attempt to take El) was incredibly rape-y, what with him leaning over them while they were incapacitated and telling them “Don’t move/struggle”, “It will be over soon”. Totally uncalled for and incredibly hard to watch. Maybe I’m oversensitive but I honestly don’t think that the show needed to display that level of violence.

The character assassination of Karen Wheeler continued, with her and her creepy middle-aged mom friends sitting poolside to perv on a eighteen-year-old kid. Imagine if the genders were reversed and it was four middle-aged men perving on a young girl? Also, why would she even consider sleeping with a teenage boy? Sigh. Remember when Karen Wheeler was a concerned and caring parent, who was strong enough to yell at government officials when they wouldn’t tell her what was going on and dropped by a grieving friend’s house with food and comfort? At least she and Nancy had that sweet scene in which she was encouraging to her daughter, but the rest of the time she was just useless and didn’t even know where her kids were.

Speaking of which, why did this show separate Joyce and Hop from their kids for so long? And why on earth would Joyce and Hop be willing to be separated from their kids for so long, after everything they went through the previous year? It felt so OOC for them to not even be suspicious that they hadn’t spoken to either of their children for at least three days, just taking the word of other parents that their kids were alright. 

And lastly, the thing which pissed me off the most and actually made both me and my husband instantly switch off from the show and feel like we had just wasted eight hours watching this season, the death of Jim Hopper.

I know, I know, the Stinger maybe hinted that he was still alive. I know we didn’t see a body. I know that there were hints of time travel in future seasons and that Jim Hopper possibly isn’t dead. But you know who doesn’t know this? The characters. And I hate that. I hate that El has now lost her father, less than two years after finally finding one. I hate that she’s now alone, separated from Mike and while, yes, Joyce will take care of her the best she can, it’s never going to be the same. I hate that Joyce now has to suffer through the heartbreak of losing yet another man she had feelings for, less than a year after she lost the first. I hate that she made the decision to move away (even though I understand it) which separated her kids from their relationships and removed El from the one person who still loves her with all his heart. I hate that the season ended on such a downer, with such loss and tragedy and sadness. It really brought down the whole season for me and left me with a horrible, sad and empty feeling and not at all looking forward to more seasons because of all the crap the characters have gone through.

Whew. That got really long. Hope this was coherent! 

[sulietsexual]

For the top 5 thingie - 5 bangel moments you're not that fond of/would've written differently?

“When you kiss me, I want to die.” I hate this line, hate it, hate it! It’s melodramatic and ridiculous, it sounds like it’s supposed to be deep and poetic but it just makes me briefly understand why Antis call the Bangel relationship immature and high-school-ish. This line is awful. It’s terrible. I’ve never been able to make sense of it or understand why Buffy would utter such a verbose and florid sentence.

As much as I like the kiss and reunion in End of Days/Chosen and the “Angel, I do sometimes … think that far ahead” line, I wish that the reunion had been more about Buffy herself and her life (and her relationship with Angel) than Angel sniping about Spike and getting jealous.

I would have waited until Surprise to have Buffy say “I love you” to Angel. They imply that she loves him in the episode Angel (at which point it was just way too early to be making such statements) and I don’t like her “I love you” in Lie To Me, because it’s dropped in a scene in which she and Angel are fighting and it ruins the moment. But having them both say it in Surprise would have been so good, it would have felt organic and beautiful and would have given the aftermath in Innocence an added layer of tragedy.

Get rid of the ridiculous Buffy/Immortal storyline in The Girl In Question over on AtS. Erase that episode all together.

… I don’t think I can think of a fifth item, those four are pretty much my only gripes.

[sulietsexual]

Top 10 Writer's Pets? Aka characters who just seemed to get special treatment and possibly mention which characters suffered from that?

Ahh, Creator’s Pets. Such a nuisance. Sometimes I feel bad listing these, because they’re so often female characters, and so it comes across as being very sexist but it’s also just … kind of the truth? People don’t know know how to write female characters. Not sure if I can make it to ten Creator’s Pets, but we’ll try.

Spike (BtVS) well, we all know how much focus Spike stole from, like, everyone on BtVS, including Buffy herself, not to mention how his “redemption” was built on the back of Buffy’s own trauma. Then they shoved him into AtS, just for good measure!

Betty Cooper (Riverdale) constantly shilled by other characters to the point that when she admitted to being an accomplice to murder, Cheryl (whom Betty has viciously manipulated in the past) assured Betty that it’s not her fault and she’s a good person. Betty gets storylines over almost every other character and she’s constantly shown to be right and her actions condoned (even when they’re horrifying).

Felicity Smoak (Arrow) Felicity’s over-exposure got so bad that the third season of Arrow might as well have been renamed The Felicity Show. She got away with nuking an entire village, like, wtf? And she’s constantly praised and fawned over, not the mention the way the Lauriver ship was completely forgotten about in order to forced Olicity to work.

Joey Potter (Dawson’s Creek) actually started as a well-written (if unlikable) character, with depth and nuance, but morphed into a perfect Mary Sue whom the show revolved around (to the point that the series finale was centered around her and not Dawson).

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter Films) a character who was once flawed and fantastic, well-written and multi-faceted, was reduced to a perfect Mary Sue, who stole focus from Ron and Harry, was always right and had almost no flaws. Sigh. Such a shame.

Randy (That 70s Show) replacement Scrappy, had all of Kelso’s and Eric’s best traits and none of their flaws, somehow managed to date Donna, was fawned over even by Red and was basically thought of as the coolest, most awesome dude ever.

Gina Linetti (Brooklyn Nine Nine) I don’t know for sure if Gina is the writers favourite character, but a lot of her actions reek of Creator’s Pet. She gets away with appalling behaviour and treating everyone like crap, is often shown saving the day or being smarter than actual trained detectives and just took up way too much space in the narrative.

Regina Mills (OUAT) the writers openly admitted that she was their favourite, and as a result, she was handed easy redemption, forgiven for the mass murders, child murders, kidnappings and the repeated rape of Graham, to the point where she somehow became The Saviour and the ultimate Big Good of the series (despite being the original Big Bad)

Lana Lang (Smallville) differs slightly from many of the others on this list due to actually being a multi-faceted and nuanced character, with a strong arc which saw her grow and evolve, but she was definitely kept on past her overdue date and she was unnecessarily shilled by other characters and fawned over a little too much.

... well, I almost made it to ten!

[sulietsexual]

What would be 5 female and 5 male characters that you wish were given/are given a break in their respective shows? As in, they were put/are being out through so much just for the sake of it and you wish the writers wouldve/would stop?

Ooh, interesting question!

Male Characters Who Need To Be Given a Break:

Connor (AtS) this poor kid endures so much trauma in his very short life, from being kidnapped and raised in a Hell Dimension, to being rejected by those who should care for him, to being manipulated and raped by the girl he had developed feelings for, to having to kill his own “child” … it’s no wonder Angel gives him a new life and new memories by the end of it all.

Will Byers (Stranger Things) constantly bullied, endures his parents’ messy divorce, kidnapped into an alternate dimension and almost dies, possessed by a Eldritch Abomination and almost dies again, has to watch his friend drift away from him as they become more interest in girls and then has to move away from his childhood home and friends. Let the poor kid breathe!

Archie Andrews (Riverdale) sees his dad get shot and almost die, is manipulated and used by his girlfriend’s father, framed for murder, endures horrible abuse and violence in jail, escapes only to be forced to go on the run, attacked by a fucking grizzly bear and almost dies, finally comes home but loses Veronica, forced to fight Veronica’s father in a match which almost kills him and now he’s about to lose his father permanently. Oh, and the fandom hates him. Leave my Archiekins alone!

Jeremy Gilbert (TVD) loses both his parents to a car crash, his first serious girlfriend is turned into a vampire and killed, his own sister erases his memories of the death, neck snapped by a psychotic vampire, second serious girlfriend is murdered, loses his aunt in a horrific ritual, second girlfriend comes back as a ghost and then he loses her again, killed by another psychotic vampire, third girlfriend dies bringing him back to life … and this is all before he turns eighteen. Let’s give the poor kid a break.

Harry Potter (HP) … literally everything that happens over the seven books, like, can we please stop torturing this poor kid and making him lose everything and everyone important to him? (I know this isn’t a tv show, but I had to put Harry on this list)

Female Characters Who Need To Be Given a Break

Priya Tsetsang (Dollhouse) this poor woman, she’s stalked and harassed by a guy she has no interest in, who is so disgusting that when she repeatedly says no to him, he drugs her to make her appear crazy and then has her sent to the Dollhouse, where he regularly rents her out, taking photos of her after every encounter. When she finally confronts him, it ends in her murdering him, after which she’s so traumatized that she voluntarily goes back to the Dollhouse.

Laurel Lance (Arrow) her sister and boyfriend cheat on her, then they both die in a boat crash so she can’t grieve, her mother leaves and her father descends into alcoholism, her boyfriend comes back from the dead but they can’t be together due to circumstances, she becomes an alcoholic herself and has to claw her way out of that hole, every effort she makes to become a hero is thwarted by those around her telling her she’s not good enough and then she’s killed off.

Mellie Grant (Scandal) verbally and emotionally abused by her husband, who cheats on her repeatedly while making her feel that it’s her fault, raped by her father-in-law, her husband is almost murdered in front of her, her son is actually murdered in front of her, abused by her husband’s mistress, constantly made to feel insignificant, both her Big Loves are torn away from her by her husband’s mistress … the list goes on.

Elena Gilbert (TVD) the sheer trauma Elena endures in her very young life is astounding. She loses her entire family, is pursued by a psychotic homicidal vampire, loses her boyfriend to said psychotic vampire, almost dies several times, loses her best friend, loses her brother, becomes a vampire which she absolutely did not want, loses the love of her life and endures countless other traumas. Really, it’s a miracle the girl doesn’t just pack it all in.

Marissa Cooper (The OC) endures her parents painful divorce, life uprooted several times, loses the guy she loves to another girl who manipulates him away from her, constantly blamed by others for the trauma in her life, almost raped by her boyfriend’s brother, ends up having to shoot said brother to save boyfriend and is then expelled for this action, watches her friend die while feeling responsible for said death … and is eventually killed by the writers because she was “too tragic” to live. Poor girl.

[sulietsexual]

Another one for the top 10 - 10 couples that you like but theyre not bangel/suliet levels of OTP? I always see you talk about your absolute faves and pairings you detest, what ones would be in the middle?

Ten Pairings I Like (But Am Not Ride-Or-Die For)

Jackie/Hyde (That 70s Show)

Snow/Charming (OUAT)

Eleven/Mike (Stranger Things)

Eric/Donna (That 70s Show)

Alice/Cyrus (OUATIW)

Will/Anastasia (OUATIW)

Prue/Andy (Charmed)

Lorelai/Chris (Gilmore Girls)

Rory/Logan (Gilmore Girls)

Cook/Effy (Skins)

[sulietsexual]

Im doing a DH rewatch atm and since youve seen it too i thought to ask some opinions cause i like reading your metas😊 1. Why arent you a fan of Lynnette and Susan? (me neither, was just wondering on your take) 2. What do you think of male characters on the show? 3. How would you rate the seasons? 4. In the last episode when they moved out of Wisteria Lane, it was implied they lost touch. Do you think that happened (more of a headcanon material here but still).

Lynette is a bully, that’s the main reason I don’t like her. She is emotionally abusive towards Tom, often belittling him and putting him down. She sabotages him so many times in such underhanded ways, such as when she stops him from getting a promotion in Season 1 or in Season 6 (I think it’s Season 6) when she gets him drunk the night before he’s set to take an exam to return to University because she doesn’t approve of what he’s studying. She’s just awful to him. She even physically abuses him a few times and there’s a very uncomfortable scene towards the end of Season 3 where it looks like she’s about to force herself on him. Also, she continually thinks the worst of him and assumes that he’s always cheating on her (which he never does) but then she pretty much has an affair with Rick in Season 3 and when Tom calls her own it, she somehow makes out like she’s the wronged party. I just can’t deal with her.

Susan I can’t stand because I find her so goddamn pathetic. She’s so co-dependent and constantly attaching herself to whoever comes along. Her obsession with Mike is really ridiculous, she throws Bree, Orson and Ian under the bus in Season 3 when trying to clear Mike’s name, not to mention she’s always going on about how in love with Mike is, yet she moves on after six months of him being in a coma?? Plus, every time he leaves her, her reaction is always so over-the-top and hard to stomach, like when she goes running down the street screaming at him not to leave her and then collapses in tears for the whole world to see, it’s like, c’mon woman, get a hold of yourself. 

She also really pisses me off in Season 8 when the women are covering up the murder of Gabby’s stepfather. Susan knows what type of man he was, she knows that he sexually molested Gabby and yet she whines and mopes and cries about how guilty she feels, how bad they were for covering up the murder and she almost blows their cover several times. Not to mention how she basically leads the mutiny against Bree and when she discovers that Bree tried to kill herself her response is to ask if Bree’s joking. Ugh, I could go on and on and on about how much I hate Susan. I haven’t even touched on how she forces Julie to be the adult and can’t function without her daughter taking care of her, like wtf? Act like an adult Susan!

As for how I feel about the male characters on the show, it really depends on the season, because they all have their extreme ups and downs. I can’t stand Carlos in Seasons 1 and 2 but after Season 5 he’s a sweetheart and I adore him. Orson is initially a great character and seems to treat Bree the way she deserves but then he turns on her viciously in Seasons 5 and 6 and is responsible for all her troubles in Season 8. Mike is a fairly decent character but I hated how he strung Katherine along for a whole season, only to return to Susan. I like Tom and I think he deserves far better than Lynette but he’s also unfocused and sexist and pushes Lynette into being a mother when she clearly didn’t want kids. Rex is just a putz. Paul is a creeper (and a murderer) although his final arc is nice and redeems him somewhat. Andrew grows a lot, so even though I have issues with him in the early seasons, I really like the character he becomes. So yeah, very up and down with the male characters. My favourite was probably Keith because I really liked how sweet he was with Bree and how much he loved her and how well he treated her.

It’s been a while since I’ve watched the show, but if asked rank the seasons it would be (from best to worst):

Season 1

Season 2

Season 4

Season 5

Season 3

Season 7

Season 6

Season 8

And lastly, yes, I do agree with the final narration, I think it’s hard to maintain long-distance friendships, especially when you get older, and given that they all moved away from Wisteria Lane, I think they would have drifted apart, although I can still see them having the occasional contact, such as Christmas cards and the odd phone call, especially between Bree and Gabby, they were always portrayed as the closest of the housewives.

[sulietsexual]

(putting my two cents in on Delena) I think the main thing is that pretty much none of the relationships in this show are healthy or functional. TVD tries so hard to be a morality tale about humanity (it's no BTVS though) but it's still a show about vampires and at the end of the day, even if Delena aren't the healhiest purest ship, they're entertaining to watch as they are a beautifully crafted love story, even if it's not what one would call 'healthy relationship goals' (part 1)

and yet they're so demonized by a lot of the fandom that fails to recognize that, as I said, none of the relationships on this show are perfect. Stelena, Forwood, Klaroline, Steferine, etc, all have flaws but for some reason a lot of fandom focuses on Delena as the epitome of devil's play. I think it's because the writers constantly demonize Damon and prop Stefan (like Spike is propped in BTVS) but in this show I think it really comes down to what dynamic you find the most appealing for you

Well said!