#shovlaweeaboi

[tuiyla]

A while ago, I wrote what foods I associate with the Glee characters. I never published it on Reddit, but I thought it was too funny to go to waste. So your blog was the natural pick. Please enjoy/I'm very sorry:

Rachel Berry- Gefilte fish. Truly the most controversial dish the Jewish cuisine has to offer. It's a grey blob of slightly sweet fish topped with an ugly carrot as a garnish. Yet it's still one of the most popular Jewish dishes. Go figure.

Finn Hudson- Supermarket frozen pizza. Doesn't tatse half as good as you remembered.

Will Shuester- Nothing screams more 'I'm a manchild and I form friendships with teenagers exclusively' than a man who's favorite meal is peanut butter and jelly. He doesn't even eat it on bread, just with a spoon with butter on the side. Ugh I hate him.

Sue Sylvester- Sand.

Santna Lopez- recado negro, it's mindblowingly good. It's paste made out of burnt chilis over an open flame. This make the surrounding air so spicey explicitly warns you to prepare to respiratory agony. So much so it became illegal to make in some places. Tell me that's not the most Santana-motherfuckin'-lopez thing you ever heard.

Brittany s Pierce- I bet she has an affinity for sweet and sour food. Not in a lemon pie way, but in a cereal with canned olives sort of way.

Quinn Fabary- Matcha. I wish it tasted better, I really do. Because the aesthetic is immaculate but the taste is underwhelming.

Mercedes- A hearty winter stew, maybe a Goulash. It takes efforts to make a good Goulash. But when you do, it comes out rich, fatty, and flavourful. Done right it's a dish that warms your soul on harsh winter evening.

Mike Chang- a nice Chinese steak. Beefy and underrated.

Artie Abram- P'tcha.

Kurt Hummel- Madeleine. It's a shell shaped French sponge cake. A little twinkish (treat) but in a good way.

Rory the Irish Pervert- one raw potato.

Blaine Wabler- one of those awful jelly salad recipes from the 50s. He probably collects vintage cookbooks too.

Emma Pisberrydough- Omakase (sushi tasting menu) first comes to mind because it's so refined and meticulous. But I have a feeling she doesn't eat raw fish, so she'll ask the chef to cook it until it has a chalk-like consistency. She's banned from many sushi places.

Amazing. What an honour to be picked 😂

Just a couple of notes:

Sue's perfect

Rory had me HOWLING

Mercedes being guyás somehow fits despite me having such a distaste for the thing and such a love for Mercedes. it's a struggle

so true about matcha

[tuiyla]

Yo Tuiyla, you're currently my favorite blog.

Now cry.

[tuiyla]

Favorite obscure glee covers? And by obscure I mean really goddamn obscure, like More than a Feeling level of obscure.

Tbh I've spent so long categorizing GCVs that I'm really not sure what's obscure anymore but I'll try by listing loads! Also rip if even a Nationals setlist song can be obscure haha

Solos:

Crush, Rachel in 1x10 Ballad (It's so good 😫)

Turning Tables, Miss Goop in 2x17 Night of Neglect

Waiting For A Girl Like You, Puck in early s3 idk from memory oops also this is a guilty pleasure at least as much as Crush

Jolene, Sheldon in, ugh, that

Love Child 😌 Unique in the best Christmas ep 5x08

Colorblind, Mercedes in 5x15 Bash

all Jake solos tbh

Duets:

Up Up Up, Artie and Quinn in 3x15 Big Brother

Everybody Talks, Kitty and Jake in 4x05 The Role YOu Were Born to Play

Juke Box Hero, Finn and Ryder also in 4x05

Group numbers:

Wide Awake, 5x04 Katy or a Gaga - possibly not all that obscure but criminally underrated and deserves so much more hype

On Our Way, 5x05 The End of Twerk

Jumpin' Jumpin', 5x10 Trio

Hold On, 5x10 Trio

do I dare add Gloria ALSO from Trio lmao

Take On Me, 6x02 Homecoming

This little something called Toxic in season 5 🤔 jk everyone and their lesbian aunt loves that one

I guess most songs from seasons 5 and 6 could be considered obscure. By the mega-popular billboard hot 100 standards of the first three seasons anyway.

[tuiyla]

Tuiyla, babe, if I send you an ask I expect you to write me a long-winded response. That's just who you are.

The previous ask was caused by your reblog of one @inamagicalhallucinations. And it made me think about my own relationship with Glee. I am what you'd call, a recovering gleek. I watched the show in middle school, had a cringy fandom phase, and came back with an even cringier fandom phase in March.

A thing I noticed among the fandom is how common this story is. And I wondered why is that? Why once you become a gleek, you'll remain one forever? I never seen it happen to such a capcity in other fandoms, and I'm an ATLA fan for god's sake. There's no escape, your past will catch you one way or another.

And after an uneventful night I started thinking and came to my own conclusion. A large part of it was your explaination, mixed with nostalgia, the cast, the found family aspect, and the show being actually funny, and unfortunately the tragedies that hunt the show's legacy.

It was a fun thought though.

Lmaoo 😭 yes it's true it's who I am 😌

Interesting perspective, thank you so much for sharing. I have noticed that a LOT of people came back to the fandom after having had a middle or high school phase and because of the events of 2020, tragedies scandals and renaissance, all that. Maybe it's Glee's lost potential that haunts its fandom, maybe it's the profound effect it had on so many because it was SO ubiquitous and such a milestone for "zillennials". It burned so brightly and then failed so spectacularly, all but fading out of public consciousness for a while but always lingering because of its cast and impact. We really can't overstate the mark it left on pop culture and the then youth culture of the day.

And though I wasn't by any means a Gleek back in the 2010s, even as a sort of latecomer I feel those effects. Fascinating. Perplexing. And you bringing up ATLA made me lol haha, I think in many ways they're each other's reverses. Certainly are for me. I think ATLA flew under the radar relative to its greatness when it first aired and many rediscovered it (along with people watching for the first time) and it's that 'wow it gets better every time" factor that keeps people hooked. For Glee it's being more and more frustrated with the show but, at the end of the day, loving the mess. Just two cents.

[tuiyla]

Yo, have you listened to the latest episode of Recovering Gleek? I know we all like to collectively make fun of Matthew Hodgson for his embarrassing track record. But have we been too harsh on the episode? I always thought it was an unremarkable episode, but it's funner than I remembered. I still wouldn't call it a good episode. I derive pleasure from this episods the same way I derive pleasure from high school student films. They're bad, they're stupid, and I can't get enough of them.

Though the closing number is still utterly terrible. Nothing can redeem it.

Oh I'm afraid I'm quite behind on Recovering Gleek episodes. I still haven't finished The Quarterback and instead started on A Katy or a Gaga but it's going verrry slowly. Also ngl I'm dreading Frenemies a bit lmao but I will probably check out what they have to say about PUC next week.

I figured from the episode description that they might try and say a few nice things about The Puppet Master. To be frank with you, I haven't seen that ep in two years and never paid much attention in the first place as it lacks all aspects that usually draw me to Glee episodes. Plus, in my eyes Hodgson has a lot more to answer for than a cracky puppet episode. The fandom probably is a little too harsh on it? The Fox is obviously, shudders, it broke Kevin McHale for a reason, but from what I remember the episode itself is... fine. Unhinged, sure, but it's the crack season anyway. I guess it's fair to compare it to student films haha. Like the queen herself said: "it's a student film; it's not gonna be good." And that is my approach when I see Matthew Hodgson credited as a writer. It's not gonna be good, but if it's at least funny? Enjoyable rather than blood-boiling? Sure I'll take it.

I'm curious to hear what Ian and Lena have to say about it. I don't know when I'll catch up but eventually, I'm sure.

[tuiyla]

"I counted the number of times you's smiled at me, and died on days you didn't" is legitimately one of the most romantic lines I've ever heard.

I'm a Lit student damnit, I've read what was considered masterful poetry from nobel-prize winners. And yet this fucking line has stuck with me for years. You got me Ryan Murphy, and I will forever be enslaved to your terrible show.

No for real for real

I had to do such a double take when I first heard it. Now hold on- hold on a second. What? No no, back up. You can't just have a line like that and expect me to be normal about it.

It encapsulates gay yearning so well. It hits so hard in the context of Santana being deep in the closet and living for those times Brittany would smile at her, sure, but even without the context. Holy shit. I feel like those people who are flabbergasted hardcore lines can come from fanfiction. This feels only marginally different.

Glee gave us the most Scene right there. And THEN they had Santana Lopez sing the best version of Mine I have ever heard? Hold on. I don't think I'll ever recover from this. Holy shit.

[tuiyla]

CBAT is on Brittana's sex playlist.

That's it, that's the ask.

At first I thought you were referring to their canon playlist from Heart (admittedly not a sex playlist, as far as we know) and I was very confused lol

Well it's better than Osama Yo' Mama I suppose

[tuiyla]

As a Jew, I must say that God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen slaps so fucking hard you got me listening to it during the Ocotober heat. That's how hard it hits.

Oh agreed, it slaps super fucking hard. I love spreading the God Rest Ye agenda 😌 The Glee girls are goddesses for that one.

The real question is, thoughts on Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah? Cause that GCV is a guilty pleasure of mine haha it sounds so good

[tuiyla]

How would you describe your relationship with Glee?

Glee? Glee is the kid in your class every teacher calls talented but you see what a slacker they are. And you get frustrated because they get all this attention but then you talk to them and you have another reason to be frustrated because it's true. They have so much potential and they're actually pretty cool but then they say the stupidest shit to ruin it and it seems almost deliberate when they mess up. You see those glimpses of greatness that feel accidental by the end because surely no one could be actually cool and still do so much stupid shit. And you're right, the greatness is accidental. Everything they do is because that's how much they do not care about what happens to them.

Weird allegory aside, I'd say I'm a reluctant Gleek. The one (1) reason I'm as invested in the show as I am, two years after having watched all of it is Santana Lopez, and that makes things extra frustrating for me. But even putting Santana aside, there's a lot I genuinely love about the show and its characters and whole deal. I think saying Glee is cringe with no critical thought put into that statement and no interest in examining the many ways in which it's cringe is... cringe. But it's undoubtedly a deeply, sigh, problematic show with a huge history and a legacy of having been ubiquitous when it aired. I, as someone who watched the first season and then avoided the show like the plague, have a funny relationship with Glee in that sense. I purposely refused to watch it for a long time. I think that was because I knew the rest of the seasons could do what season 1 couldn't and get me hooked.

So my relationship with Glee is that I wouldn't be here writing about it if not for Santana and Santana alone, and I hate this show so much when I think about so many things, but I consider it a net positive. For culture? Yeesh, debatable but overall, yeah. And a net positive for me as a person, so as reluctant as I may be Glee has become one of my main fandoms and the main one for the past two years. It's a love-hate relationship but love ultimately wins out, if only because that accidental greatness was SO great and the train wreck aspects mostly fascinate me.

[tuiyla]

Your blue checkmarks are sending me lol. Now that you're verified (twice!) I can unofficially call you the resident Santana stan.

Was the 16 bucks worth it?

It's actually 8 bucks for two 😌😂 A deal if I do say so.

And of course I'll always proudly wear the Santana stan badge. Wish there was a caption to the checkmarks and I could add that.

[tuiyla]

What's the best Santana episode and why is it Girls (And Boys) on Film?

See Girls (An Boys) on Film is certainly a strong contender. I don't know if I'd say best purely because she has stronger moments in other episodes but the more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that GABOF manages to represent most of Santana's defining traits.

So with the note that I'm not definitively saying GABOF is the very best, here are some of the reasons why I'm saying it very well could be:

Chaotic Santana at her best. She brings so much LIFE to the loft and sure, is a little bitch about it. But her digs at Kadam and obnoxious hints at Rachel's potential pregnancy feel more like attempts at amusing herself while also genuinely nudging her roommates into a direction she thinks is good for them. Contrasted with Santana's chaos from, say, Silly Love Songs, it's less severe and more well-intentioned. Even if the main reasoning is that she's bored lol.

Her going off about Brody. God, she was desperately needed in the New York storyline. She makes meta jokes and they don't sound cringe coming from her mouth. Santana's suspicions are presented in such a hilarious way but she's also not wrong, not entirely, and man I'm nothing if not a sucker for Santana's intuition. I genuinely think her observation skills, that "psychic Mexican third eye" is one of the most fascinating aspects of her character. And that says something because I'm fascinated by everything Santana does.

Finally, though I could go on much more about s4 Santana and specifically GABOF: the very end. When it comes down to it she is there for Rachel in such a raw emotional moment. Did she cross boundaries to get the info that Rachel could potentially be pregnant? Holy shit yes. Big no no. But despite her questionable methods, Santana gets things done and the thing needed to be done was giving Rachel support. I get why Rachel's mad at her but I also get that she can't stop the breakdown. And holy shit do I have chills when Santana immediately embraces her and the weight of it dawns on her. Because that's who she really is after all the jokes are said and the sketchy things are put aside. She's the best shoulder to cry on because here Santana is, reassuring Rachel that everything will be fine. Fuck if I don't believe her. I love this scene an unreasonable amount. Would be a Pezberry thought of the fortnight if those were still a thing.

So.... yeah, maybe GABOF it is lmao. As for other potential candidates, I made this list a while back that I still more or less stand by.

[tuiyla]

Relevant tweet

YES thank you and thank you Britney.

Fuck Glee indeed.

[tuiyla]

I was going to mention something about Naya winning the scene stealer award teen choice award. But as it turns out, she was only nominated. Smh teens and their bad taste...

Anyways, I ended up reading the legacy and advocacy section in her wiki and got a little emotional. I haven't read her page since 2018. If you haven't read it already, I recommend you read it. I thought it was interesting to note.

And on another note, enjoy your time off tumblr buddy. Everyone needs it every once in a while.

Perfect timing because I was reading this delightful line from Autostraddle's 2x22 recap just before getting this ask:

Most impressive is, of course, Santana, who in her green mini-dress and yellow mini-jacket and black maxi-boots, steals every scene she’s in and even the ones she’s not in

That's damn right and Naya should have won all the scene stealer awards in the world. My own ginormous bias aside, she really does steal scenes on a regular basis.

Thank you for that note about her wiki page. I think I last read it on her birthday or something but when I feel like crying I'll give it another read. Her legacy is little consolation in the face of a life cut tragically short, but isn't a legacy all anyone can ask for? Hmm. Still, Naya's passing will never not suck.

And thank you for the well wishes too haha, I'm here for a few more days but I'm so looking forward to being off the grid for a while. Rest assured, I'll still be thinking about Santana Lopez often.

[tuiyla]

I think you're right on the money. The framing on this show is wack, and it's even wacker that fans buy into this narrative.

To tie this with the Reddit ask, and why the sub is such an awful place (it's because they're legit Glee fans). Unlike on here, where everybody is a character fan first, Glee fan second. On the other hand, Reddit is a fan hub of people who like the show. And Glee the show is an awful, inconsistent, misogynistic, racist show that lacks total sympathy to its principal cast unless it's able-bodid white guys. Of course the people who liked the main parts of the show will hold awful takes. Did we watch the same show??? Finn always is the hero. Of course Mr Schue was right, he cares for his students.

The post that broke my camel's back was a comment that claimed Shue was right to yell at children because Quinn tried to sabotage the glee club >:(

I never really thought of the sub in that sense; I think there's something to what you're saying even if I don't fully agree. Some of the most annoying people I encountered on the sub were die-hard fans of just one character and seemingly not of the show itself lol. And I think the nature of Glee is that, inevitably, everyone will be more of a fan of a relationship or pairing than the show at large with its many eras and myriad of characters. But I also think you are right in that discussions on Reddit, when I was there, tended to take more general approaches and dare I say lacked the kind of critical thinking you have to have with a show like this. The only way to be with Glee is to hate it at least as much as you love it, imo. But not because it's cringe or whatever, I'm too old to care about cringe. It's to hate for all the reasons you listed.

I don't know, it's interesting. Glee's framing is so bonkers and that's bound to make it polarizing. It'd be fascinating if it wasn't so gd frustrating.

Oh and the note of Schue and Quinn, I mean lmao people will always come out with the trash takes. Usually, not always but usually the ones that disregard female characters' trauma because they were framed as in the wrong in the show. Whenever I see people dismiss the kids' pain I always just assume the user is also a kid who doesn't yet know better. That softens the blow somewhat but defending Schue in any way here is still a trash take, and in this house we like to take the trash out.

[tuiyla]

Maybe Quinn is just that bad at flirting¿

Yale undergrad and famed smarty pants Quinn Fabray: ugh I wanna hook up with Santana how do I do it

Also Quinn: haha you suck 😜 you're just jealous of me 😌 because I'm with my sleazy professor who's so disgusting his wife hasn't touched him in three years 😌 I'm a hot commodity Santana 😜 sophomores look up to me-- nay, worship me Santana 😜 wish you could see that but you're just an insecure little bitch 😤

Girl's lucky she's hot