#sitcom problems

[flock-of-cassowaries]

I was going to tag this Patty O’Connor, but then I realized it’s really the titular Kevin (who Can F*** Himself) who’s dealing with the happy-go-lucky problems.

Everyone around him, on the other hand? Real problems.

Many of them caused by Kevin.

It’s a great fucking show.

[egophiliac]

ENG PLAYERS I BESEECH YOU

I have been informed that you guys are getting part 4 of episode 7 tomorrow, which means we are FINALLY going to get the official romanization of Revaan's name, somebody please tell me because I need to know what it is.

like, yes, it's probably just Revan/Levan, but look, I'm sitting here with my finger over the button of all these Laverne and Shirley jokes and just waiting for the opportunity to deploy them --

[dambusta-animations]

Happy June 12th everyone!

I make this joke every year and shall continue to do so.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Watching Miraculous, I feel that the show is written that no matter what Marinette decides to do, she would be in the wrong - she is in the wrong for not telling Chat about Chat Blanc (ignoring her own trauma in the matter), but if she told him, the show would make it the wrong choice...

The head writer has publicly stated that one of the show's guiding rules is that Marinette has to do something wrong in every episode, so I'd say that you don't just have a feeling. You've actually picked up on one of the show's not-so-subtle core tenets. It's also a core tenet that I strongly disagree with because - as I said in the linked post - when it comes to shows like Miraculous, the only characters who are always in the wrong are the villains.

If Miraculous was a different type show and Marinette's blunders were more comedic, low-stakes, sitcom-type stuff, then it could work. Two examples that come to mind are:

That's So Raven - this is an old Disney Channel show where the main character was a psychic who randomly got visions of the future. A lot of the episodes focused on her having a vision, interpreting that vision wrong, and then doing something foolish as a result. So Raven was usually in the wrong, but she was wrong in a way that rarely hurt others. If memory serves, she most just caused herself unnecessary stress.

Phineas and Ferb - another Disney Channel show about two imaginative and inventive young boys who have fun doing crazy things like building a roller coaster in their backyard. They do these things without parental permission so their older sister - Candace - is always trying to get them in trouble. In spite of this, the general viewer feeling towards Candace seems to be one of amusement, not hatred. This is probably because she never causes pain for anyone but herself, making it hard to look at her as a negative force. If Candace was written more like Marinette, then people would probably hate her, too.

While we're on the topic, it's worth pointing out that, while Candace isn't a villain, she is the antagonist. Her presence causes much needed tension. Since she's always out to ruin her brothers' fun, every episode has the low-key stakes of, "Will the boys get caught this time?" Without Candace, you lose those stakes and Phineas and Ferb becomes a lesser show because even sitcoms need stakes.

Semi-serious magical girl shows don't need characters like Candace to add stakes to the story. This is because semi-serious magical girl shows have built in stakes from the presence of villains and evil magic. It is the height of absurdity to make a rule like "Marinette is always wrong" in a show with an evil villain who is out to steal Marinette's magical earrings and use them to rewrite the universe.

The presence of the "Marinette is always wrong" rule shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the type of show they're writing. You only make rules like that in low-stakes shows like the ones I listed above. And even those shows understood that, if you have this rule, then you also make sure that the only person who usually suffers is the one making the mistakes. The writers of Miraculous really haven't done that because of course they haven't! This isn't a low-stakes teen drama. Marinette has too much for responsibility and the narrative stakes are far to high for her mistakes to come across as minor.

This is especially true because they keep picking mistakes that should lead to character growth and then not actually writing any character growth. Once again, that style of writing can work in sitcoms*, but Miraculous has way too many serious elements to be written like a pure sitcom. That doesn't change the fact that the writers are writing it like one, but it does explain why the writing leads to so much frustration for fans.

*I wanted to note that even sitcoms often make the audience hate the leads because it's hard to write anything where the leads keep making endless mistakes without making the leads look awful and sitcoms run off of every episode containing a mistake. This is why long running sitcoms tend to have a good number fans who hate at least one member of the core cast. Ted and Lily from How I Met Your Mother are great examples of this and it happens because the mistakes they make usually effect others. If the show had only been two seasons long like originally planned, then they would have been fine.

[why-the-heck-not]

what I want is a completely plotless book/tv-show/movie with characters I like just chilling & living their lives. No plot. No obstacles. Just purely character interaction

[bakingpotat0s]

ok so since i've been told i should post snippets of the jayvik fic i'm in the process of writing, i shall. (also please let me know if this is an accurate-ish portrayal of ptsd. if not, PLEASE lmk what i should do to fix it!!)

Viktor reached for him, and

Oh gods he’s back in that room and I won’t fail I won’t fail I will NOT- but he did and he was and now Viktor was somehow here but not “here” and Mel was going to die and Viktor was going to make Mel one of them-

“The arcane stirs within you,” Viktor sounded fascinated, but all Jayce could think was he needed to do something- he lifted his hammer and fired- he hit Viktor - oh, GODS he hit Viktor - but he didn’t - couldn’t - think about that now, in this moment, he needed to attack I won’t fail I won’t fail I - missed. He missed. His pulse thundered in his ears, his mantra using the unsteady beat to keep time. Viktor pushed him to the table, the doll tilting its head.

“Your mind has become rigid, Jayce. Fear clouds your judgment.” Jayce looked around, panting, chest heaving. At the table, at the room, at Mel. Silently pleading, begging her to go, run, get out, leave so she wouldn’t be hurt. Their eyes connected. He nodded. She hesitated, then nodded back. 

[mentally-at-home]

[malreau]

Look someone in the world has to draw mork and mindy fanart and for better or for worse it's me

[cryogeniccrush]

A Coin Flip Away - Bucky Barnes x Reader

⚁ Chapter Two: Breakfast, Blood, and Bizarre Bonding

Summary:

You’ve survived 23 days with the New Avengers and somehow become everyone’s problem and weird little favorite. Coffee crimes are committed. Popcorn is weaponized. There’s sparring, mild death threats, surprise yoga mat miracles, and movie night chaos.

Also: Bucky, damp and grumpy, continues to pretend you’re not growing on him. Badly.

Word count: 2.6k

Warnings: mild violence, popcorn abuse, emotional sneak attacks

masterlist • next chapter

You’d been a part of the New Avengers for exactly twenty-three days.

In that time, you’d:

Broken a training bot by drop-kicking it into a ceiling fan.

Tripped John mid-sprint during a team run and blamed it on “the wind.”

Started a prank war with Bob.

Stolen Alexei’s Red Guardian helmet and used it as a popcorn bowl.

Put a sign on Bucky’s bedroom door that read “Brooding in Progress: Do Not Disturb Unless You’re Me.”

In short, you’d made yourself at home. And this morning? This morning was a war zone.

“Who the hell used the last of the coffee?!” Ava’s voice rang out like a gunshot across the compound kitchen. She was already dressed in black combat gear, hair in a tight ponytail, and absolutely not emotionally stable without caffeine.

You casually raised a hand from your perch on the counter, swinging your legs like a gremlin. “Might’ve been me.”

She blinked slowly. “Did you at least make more?”

You popped the last bite of a cinnamon Pop-Tart in your mouth. “I put some grounds in water and shook it. That counts?”

Yelena choked on her tea. “She’s unwell.”

“I’m creative,” you corrected, and then waved at Bob as he entered, still yawning. “Morning, Puppy.”

Bob sighed, already defeated. “Please don’t call me that in front of Red Guardian again.”

As if summoned by chaos, Alexei stomped in. “Ah, my favorite tiny American psychopath!” He ruffled your hair hard enough to make you squeak. “Still alive, I see.”

“Unfortunately,” Bucky muttered from the doorway, fully dressed in black tactical gear and a scowl, his vibranium arm magnet-free—(for now).

You saluted him with a mug. “Welcome to hell, Barnes. Coffee’s dead. So are your hopes and dreams.”

He didn’t answer. Just gave you one long, tired look that somehow said I regret my entire existence and stop looking at me like that at the same time.

You beamed at him.

Yelena leaned in beside you. “You’re obsessed.”

“I’m consistent.”

“Obsessed.”

---

Later: Training, chaos-style the team was gathered in the training dome, partnered off.

Valentina was watching from above, arms crossed, Mel beside her—clipboard in hand and judgmental as ever.

You were paired with Ava, who you liked to call “Ms. Phases-Through-Bullshit.” She punched like a ghost with vengeance issues.

Meanwhile, Bob was dodging Alexei like a caffeinated squirrel, and John Walker was making dramatic grunting noises every time he moved, like he was auditioning for a bad gym commercial.

You dodged Ava’s kick with a laugh, flipping backward and landing with a wink. “You trying to kill me, babe?”

“Yes,” Ava said calmly. “You’re right above Walker on my hit list.”

“Aw. That’s romance.”

Across the mat, Bucky was mid-spar with Yelena—focused, sharp, all coiled muscle and repressed emotions. You couldn’t help but watch him.

Then Mel walked over and handed him a datapad. You immediately tripped over absolutely nothing.

“Shit—”

Your body pitched forward—but instead of faceplanting, your luck kicked in.

A yoga mat that wasn’t there a second ago slid under you, courtesy of a passing intern’s cart bumping into the stack.

You landed in a perfect, ridiculous sprawl.

Ava stood over you, arms crossed. “Did you just almost die?”

“Nope,” you said, arms wide like you meant to do it. “Just performing a surprise floor inspection. Safety first.”

She blinked slowly. “You’re completely deranged.”

You grinned up at her. “Join the club. We’ve got jackets and snacks.”

---

Movie Night That Evening

Somehow, despite your complete inability to take anything seriously, you’d wormed your way into everyone’s favorite person—or at least most tolerable.

Even John. (Okay, barely John. He still glared at you every time you added hot sauce to his protein shake.)

You and Yelena claimed the couch. Ava sat on the floor, back to the armrest, while Bob hovered in a blanket fort he’d constructed from stolen couch cushions. Alexei was manspreading like a king beside John, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

You were halfway through your dramatic retelling of Shrek 2 (“*He had a sword and a little hat! A little hat!*”) when Bucky finally walked in, towel around his neck, hair damp from a late shower.

You threw a handful of popcorn at him.

He dodged with a sigh. “Seriously?”

You motioned to the space beside you. “We saved you a seat, Your Highness.”

He didn’t move.

You patted the cushion again, exaggeratedly. “Don’t make me beg. Or do. Kinda hot either way.”

Yelena whispered, “Please stop flirting in my presence.”

Bucky sat—not beside you, but two seats down. Still within sarcastic range.

“Coward,” you mumbled.

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to.”

---

After everyone fell asleep you stayed up, tucked in your blanket, chewing on a piece of candy and watching the screen flicker.

Bucky hadn’t left yet.

You turned to him, suddenly quieter. “Hey.”

He glanced over. “What?”

“You ever feel like… if you weren’t here, everything would be quieter. Less insane.”

He frowned. “Are you saying that to me, or about yourself?”

You shrugged. “Both.”

He didn’t answer for a moment. Then: “The insanity helps. Keeps things from feeling too real.”

You looked at him. “I’m your favorite part of the insanity.”

He huffed out a soft breath. Almost like a laugh. “You’re delusional.”

“Still your favorite.”

He didn’t argue.

yeah yeah it’s only 2k words I know that’s basically a tweet in fic world but listen. I'm setting the stage. the chaos is brewing. the flirting is escalating. bucky is malfunctioning.

the word count goes feral soon, promise. trust the process. trust the popcorn violence.

Reblog or I’ll replace your protein shake with hot sauce. No one is safe. 🖤

[afantasyoffiction]

the thing is tho. the thing is

the thing is this episode wasn’t BAD but it wasn’t that good compared to the absolute SOUP of 8b otherwise. the thing is we KNOW 911 cast and writers have ability and motivation to make bobby’s death ridiculous angsty - so why the a plot? why focus on two characters’ grief instead of Bobby and instead of the whole team? why risk leaks, why specifically leak that it was bobby’s funeral rather than any other staff of LAFD??

bc it’s not bobbys actual death. i refuse to accept that’s how they handled his funeral, or that the leaks were an accident bc there’s just NO WAY. but if bobby’s alive, this is the best fake out i’ve ever seen. if bobby’s alive, that episode let us cry without committing too hard, let other characters go on a journey without making bobby’s death too hard to come back from. bc seriously, if the whole episode was a funeral then bringing him back would feel way more disingenuous. HES ALIVE GUYS HES STILL ALIVE

[jellogram]

Sometimes I genuinely think my coworkers are insane. Right now they are derailing a meeting to request that we stop using the terms "portrait" and "landscape" for photos because they "can't remember which is which."

They want to call them bouba and kiki instead. They just think assigning "bouba" to landscape and "kiki" to portrait will be easier to remember.

I have to work with these people.

[not-equippedforthis]

hii does anyone have any recommendations for their favourite podcasts? my favourite ever is wooden overcoats (for the eccentric/fun characters, humour, sound design, themes of connection, and quick pace) and i also love the amelia project and malevolent. i've tried to listen to many more but nothing's really clicked the same way WO did - any suggestions?

[unnonexistence]

possibly one of my more controversial opinions on fantasy novels is that they dont need maps. like sure theyre pretty. they look nice inside the front cover. but if the author has done their job, i won't have to flip back and look at a map to understand what's going on

[sweetmapple]

Loxley grab bag

[thatscarletflycatcher]

One of the biggest problems of writing that Frasier post is that the logic of 90s comedies is not real life logic. It's not just that you can just pick which exaggerated thing to believe more (and sometimes you need to outright pick between two mutually excluding canon facts), but also the degree to which you believe anything. Which is fun for theorizing but also terrible for theorizing because to argue one way or another you need to create the fiction that the coherent narrative you are pointing out has value of truth in a universe where the value of truth is the rule of funny.

[rhobi]

man people talkin about flesh hats and ads and popups and i'm like whaaat the fuck are all of you talking about i'm over here like