#show discourse

[phanboyo]

Look, does Danny Phantom steal a lot of its concepts and tropes from DC and Marvel superhero comics? Yes. Is that a problem? Not when it means that Danny can pop up in a superhero crossover and just go "oh you too, huh?".

[pathologicalreid]

thinking about how in 3x2 “in name and blood” haley accuses hotch of always needing to be the hero (real) which really hits home when you think about how He Couldn’t Save Her

[chenfordswopez]

Probably a hot take but not everything in fiction has to be realistic. I definitely think there are interesting irl topics that should be tackled in media for some representation (i.e. queer representation, mental illness, racism, sexism, etc). But some things that happen on a show can be things that don’t happen irl.

For example, in That 70s Show, Donna would not be best friends with Jackie for as long as she was imo. Jackie slut shames Donna, insults her relationship with Eric, insults her height and hands, violates her privacy, etc. But the show shows moments where Jackie can be kind and vulnerable and grow as a person, so we could see that the Donna/Jackie friendship is genuine.

[pohpmicroblog]

3 reasons to watch Marry My Husband

I just finished watching Marry My Husband, and I have to say, it’s one of the best shows I have watched so far in 2024… It took me a while to finish, and I have to say, I loved every minute of it. It was revenge done immaculately. It was refreshing to see our main character go through many challenges as she tried to set up her bestie with her husband. She had to act like everything was okay,…

[phanboyo]

The notes kind of went wild so I'm just going to ignore most of them.

But yeah I feel like this is essentially correct. I mean Danny uses phrases like "ghost half" and "ghost powers" and we can argue about whether or not he actually died, or if he actually counts as a ghost or just a human with very ghostlike traits (this is why morphology-based phylogeny is problematic and I think it's kind of up to interpretation) but in the show he never really says he died or half-died or became a ghost or anything. And it's perfectly valid to say that it's a kid's cartoon so they wouldn't say that, that's very possibly true, but the point of this post is to point out that the common interpretation of Danny having died and revived in the portal is not technically canon. It doesn’t contradict canon but it's not canon either (unless you count Phantom Planet but hardly anyone ever does and I really don't blame them lol).

And while I also tend to default to the interpretation of "Danny somehow half-died" because it opens a lot of cool doors for the exploration of a lot of cool themes, there is merit in exploring the other interpretations as well. Especially with superhero crossovers being so popular recently, an accident with cutting-edge experimental tech that altered your DNA and left you with otherworldly powers is right up that alley (mostly because it was supposed to be a superhero show but still).

I think it'd be cool to see the theorized implications of some other interpretations of canon, and no, it's not a bad thing to make posts remembering what canon actually is when participating in fan spaces, especially in large fandoms where a lot of people aren't super familiar with the source material. It leaves more room for concept interpretation and creates more genuinely transformative works :)

Y'all know Danny isn't canonically a ghost, yeah? That his "half-ghost"/halfa status is because he got ghost DNA infused into him? That he didn't die/half-die and become a ghost/half-ghost and just has ghost-like powers? He's supposed to be a Spider-Man rip off, Danny's not a ghost the way Peter's not a spider. Danny is a Ghost Mutant: mutated to be ghost-like, the way Peter is a Spider Mutant: mutated to be spider-like.

Canonically anyway. Sure, I personally like the interpretation and angst of Schrodinger's Boy, alive and dead at the same time, but it is fanon and not canon.

[stolenkissesdiaz]

tommy calling buck ‘evan’ during their entire relationship and the first, and only time, he calls him buck is after he breaks up with him. eddie calling buck ‘evan’ only once and it was when he gave buck his goddamn son. the only time tommy called him buck was before leaving and the only time eddie called him evan was when he gave buck proof of him and chris staying. of them wanting buck. of them keeping buck. id say “which could meaning nothing!” but it actually means everything.

[spooksier]

the place adventure time has in just culture in general is so so funny to be because it's so prevalent whether through just merch with characters on it or designs directly referencing the style/aesthetics and yet most people have not actually seen the show past season 1-5 (including me until like a year ago!) so if you try to explain any post s5 adventure time plot where it basically became a complete different show you sound fucking insane. they don't even know about princess bubblegum's gay cousin chicle. they don't even know about my dear friend fern.

[mid-knight-black]

There is something so heartbreakingly beautiful about Chris comforting his Buck 🥹

[we always talk about how much Buck cares about Chris but we don’t talk enough about how much Chris loves Buck 😭😭😭]

[phanboyo]

Absolutely!!! This is one of the reasons why i feel like bitter reunions is such an important episode. Here Danny is, thinking that all ghosts are evil, remnants of post-human conciousness, obsessive and violent creatures. Its what his parents have said all his life, and he's been getting nothing but confirmation of it every time a ghost rolls into town to terrorize people. So what does that make Danny?

Its something that he struggles with for a lot of the show, Spectra plays with those worries like a kid with a doll. In Bitter Reunions he finds another halfa! But he's also crazy and obsessive and violent and evil, so again, what does that make Danny?

I'm sure all the ghosts he fights think they're justified in their actions, and Danny doesn't only use his powers for good. We see him mess with Dash, peep in the girls locker room, and otherwise do things he's not supposed to. Does he stay up at night wondering if Danny didn't crawl out of the portal, but a collection of memories? Not only that, but that he's a collection of Danny's memories powered with selfish, obsessive, malice? How long until those memories of having some morality become less of him than the anger, the fear, the power of being a ghost?

And then the Dairy King helps him, tells him "not all ghosts are evil," and theres a little bit of hope. Maybe Danny is still Danny, maybe not, but maybe he doesn't have to be this destructive force he believes all ghosts are.

And then TUE. I feel like I haven't seen good TUE angst in a while. That stuff keeps him up at night for sure. What happens when you remove Danny's (perhaps, he wonders, in dark, quiet moments, entirely fabricated) perception of his own humanity? He literally ends the world with fire and destruction, and laughs while he does it.

Does he stay up at night wondering about his identity, if its all a lie? I absolutely think so. I think its a line of thought that he's so afraid of delving into after TUE, because if he goes down that line of thinking, maybe he'll discover that hes not Danny, and that hes not human, and he can't let himself discover that. He loves that teenager who died in his parents' basement too much to risk destroying everything he's ever loved by accepting it.

Danny Phantom keeps me up at night.

His superhero identity has always been upsetting to me. He doesn't maintain one to keep his family safe. He has one to keep himself safe from his family.

The worst part, though, is the idea that he became the very thing his parents capture, experiment on, and regard as incapable of feelings. This was the religion he was raised on. There has to be nights where he lays awake wondering if 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 crawled out of the portal, or if he's a just collection of memories.

[brionbroadway]

i support fabian's rights and fabian's wrongs

[phanboyo]

Okay I'm gonna rant a bit about the "Anti-Ecto Acts" trope for a minute so feel free to scroll past if you aren't interested but

It just feels so unnecessary in almost every fic it's used in. Like, okay, there's definitely some fun angst in Danny's existence being made illegal but people either take it too far or not far enough.

Okay, so when people find out that he is legally considered nonsentient and property of the US government for experimentation, they don't really do anything about that but get mad on Danny’s behalf. The only people who would hear about it and even think about turning him in are literal supervillains, why is Danny so worried about it, as if most humans go out of their way to obey obscure laws that require action. It's hard to find a person unwilling to jaywalk, let alone someone who cares about the law (and doesn't care about human rights) enough to actually figure out how to contact some hyper-specialized branch of the government.

It makes way more sense for it to be just a passing comment when talking about how obnoxious the GIW is. Like "oh yeah and they passed a law that makes my existence illegal, as if that would make them any less incompetent at ghost hunting haha."

And then when the Acts actually become a problem? Just let any random character know and suddenly its been repealed and the GIW is under investigation and the bad people are in prison and everyone lives happily ever after as they work through their trauma together <3 You know what would actually happen? A few puppets would be arrested to make it look like the courts are actually taking action, effectively nothing would change, except the public would incorrectly think that they saved the poor mistreated ghosts from the bad guys. If he were in their facility, Danny would disappear to a new facility with even less of a trace than before, and if he weren't, he would still be on the run and the GIW would be after him all the same, just as willing to hurt and kill people to get to him as when they were "government sanctioned."

My biggest issue with the Anti-Ecto Acts? Why on Earth would the GIW even pass them? You think the US government isn't ready and willing to break the law and commit unthinkable human rights violations at the drop of a hat? Even if they "snuck it in another bill" (which. What.) Drawing any attention to their organization or even the existence of "ectoplasmic entities" is incredibly counterproductive for their goals. That's why they're called the Guys in White. They don't give out their organization name because it's so secretive that it's even questionable whether they actually have any authority at all (and that's a point that I wish people explored more often, the possibility that the GIW isn't even part of the government at all), or if it's all just empty threats. If people go on thinking that ghosts aren't real, that's all the better for them. Can't commit moral attrocities on creatures that don't exist.

I could go into it more, especially when it's used in crossovers like DC or Marvel where there are existing enhanced/metahuman rights politics but really, the Anti-Ecto Acts being used as an actual plot device almost never makes any sense.

[kcrabb88]

It's truly wild to me how many people out there don't understand that the Star Wars prequels are a tragedy or how tragedies work.

Posts like "these are the Jedi failed movies" truly just make me shake my head. They're actually the "fascism wears a smile until it strikes you down and then it's too late" movies. They're the "the senate became corrupt and clapped in the face of genocide" movies. They're the "make people scared enough of war until they accept authoritarianism" movies. They're the "fear and possessiveness will tear you up on the inside" movies. The Jedi were the heroes of lore, people loved and looked up to them, looked to them for safety, and then too much got put on their shoulders on purpose by Palpatine, and also by a senate that didn't want to act (not you Padme and Bail and Mon, you're perfect). They were drafted and used and scapegoated, which is, you know, a tenet of the vast majority of authoritarian governments (Hitler and Stalin, for instance, might be on different ends of the political spectrum, but they sure both did scapegoat specific groups and commit mass murder, just differently).

When some people say "these movies are about the fall of the Jedi" what they mean is "the Jedi failed" but that's not what "the fall of the Jedi means." It means they were wiped the fuck OUT. Like, Jesus, in Rogue One Tarkin is talking about burning out the final MEMORY of the Jedi by blowing up the holy city in Jedha. Palpatine had to get rid of the Jedi because to get rid of the Jedi was to get rid of the final people standing in his way after he had already worn them out. His intention was not only to kill them, but to alter the galaxy's entire perception of them. To rip away hope. People are always looking for the Jedi to be Bad or nitpick their mistakes (because while other people are allowed to make mistakes, the Jedi never are). Palpatine made himself look like a benevolent grandpa who would keep everyone safe. And that, more than anything, is what gave him SO much power. He stole the narrative.

It's just like. Of course WE know what was going to happen! We know from watching the OT that the PT can only end in tragedy. But the characters don't know that! They don't have all the info! That's how a tragic story structure works. We see it coming and they can't.

Anyway. The Jedi are laser-sword wielding monks with psychic powers who just wanted to do what they could to help. The world would be better if more folks remembered that.

[urbanangelinabubble]

Probably the most asshole thing I'm gonna say in my life but guys, guys... *holds your hand* I think this one was on you.

I don't think this is queerbait, and I don't think the show ever intended for buddie to be a thing. I think this was an echo chamber effect of people telling each other 9-1-1 was the gay firefighter show and is time to take a step back.

It was always clear to me they were just friends. The show made it clear multiple times. They are best friends, they love each other, they trust each other. Maybe that's all it is and you need to wonder why you ever thought it was something different.

There is no ambiguity, not that much room to interpretation. No actual evidence.

All I see as a still kind of oursider is fans gaslighting each other episode after episode to think this is some elaborate slow burn romance story and every time someone says that's not the case they MUST be lying.

Maybe there is no secret message every time they look at each other. Maybe their friendship really is that profound and it doesn't mean they are in love. Maybe Eddie has never admited to liking men because he actually doesn't like them.

Maybe the show is not and never was what you want it to be and that is okey.

[pohpmicroblog]

Celebrity, but different

I’m not going to lie, Celebrity is on the top list of my favourite suspense K-dramas. Why? Because no matter how much the romance wasn’t romancing, the suspense always kept me coming for more. Every single episode I would be left begging for more, and that’s what suspense is all about. Celebrity is not the typical suspense, because before watching, you’ll think it’s a typical…

[bvcktommy]

what do you mean 911 just gave us arguably one of the most well written, well directed, and well acted episodes of, at the very least, the last few seasons, if not the entire damn show, and all a certain group of people can talk about is how it's not worth anything because eddie diaz wasn't in it