#we love a good gleek!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💋 That's SO Fetch!: What To Read After Watching Mean Girls

🩷 Good morning, bookish bats! I actually have a weird, complicated relationship with Mean Girls. After reading Queen Bees & Wannabes, my mother didn't let me watch the 2004 film, as if THAT would somehow protect me from the realities of middle and high school (WOW, feeling old writing this now).

👠 Yet somehow, I CONSTANTLY ended up around people obsessed with the movie (and we love Tina Fey, so, I can't blame a single person). Right before the mess of 2020, I even had the luck of seeing Renee Rapp perform as Regina on Broadway, and WOAH. It was everything (and my little, late-in-life bi heart has a whole new appreciation for it). Funnily enough, my parents and sister were with me, and my mom thought nothing of it. It's been a while since I've done one of these posts (namely because of the strike, though I have a few sitting in my queue), so I figured now was the perfect time. Here are a few books to consider reading if you love Mean Girls!

💋 Wren Martin Ruins It All - Amanda Dewitt 🩷 I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston 👠 Queen Bee - Amalie Howard 💋 Royal Scandal - Aimée Carter 🩷 Diary of a Confused Feminist - Kate Weston 👠 The Revenge Game - Jordyn Taylor 💋 The Night in Question - Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson 🩷 The Way You Make Me Feel - Maurene Goo 👠 Rivals: American Royals III - Katharine McGee 💋 The Favorite Sister - Jessica Knoll 🩷 Fat Talk - Virginia Sole-Smith 👠 Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek - Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Thea Glassman 💋 Queen Bees & Wannabes - Rosalind Wiseman 🩷 Gossip Girl - Cecily Von Ziegesar 👠 Pretty Things - Janelle Brown 💋 How Not to Be Popular - Jennifer Ziegler 🩷 Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers 👠 Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard 💋 Tiny Pretty Things - Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra 🩷 One of Us is Lying - Karen M. McManus 👠 The List - Siobhan Vivian

[callmekenya]

Imagine: After the tragic death of Y/N, a beloved member of McKinley High School's glee club, the group discovers a video he left behind. Through tears, they watch as Y/N's smiling face fills the screen, offering words of encouragement and memories of their time together. Despite their grief, they find solace in the music and the lasting bond they shared with their friend.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the quiet town, McKinley High School's glee club gathered in the choir room. Their usual laughter and chatter were absent, replaced by a heavy silence that hung in the air like a fog. Y/N, their beloved friend and fellow gleek, had tragically passed away in a car accident just days before.

Sitting in a circle, the members of the glee club clutched tissues and wiped away tears as they prepared to watch a video that Y/N had left behind for them. It was a bittersweet moment, knowing that they would hear his voice and see his smiling face one last time.

As the video began to play, Y/N's familiar face filled the screen. He was sitting on the steps of the school, his guitar resting in his lap. The sight of him brought a fresh wave of tears to the eyes of his friends.

"Hey guys," Y/N's voice echoed through the room, soft and filled with emotion. "I hope you're all doing okay. I know this is hard, but I want you to remember the good times we had together."

The video continued, showing clips of Y/N performing with the glee club, laughing with his friends, and just being himself. Each moment was a precious memory, a reminder of the joy and laughter that Y/N had brought into their lives.

"I want you to keep singing," Y/N's voice urged, his eyes earnest and sincere. "Music has a way of healing the soul, and I know that you'll find comfort in each other and in the songs we shared."

Tears streamed down the faces of the glee club members as they watched the video, their hearts heavy with grief but also filled with love for their friend. Y/N's presence seemed to fill the room, wrapping them in a warm embrace even in his absence.

As the video came to an end, the glee club sat in silence for a moment, lost in their thoughts and memories of Y/N. Then, one by one, they began to sing. It started softly at first, just a few hesitant voices, but soon the entire room was filled with the sound of their voices blending together in harmony.

They sang for Y/N, for the memories they shared, and for the love that would always remain in their hearts. And as they sang, they felt a sense of peace wash over them, knowing that Y/N was watching over them from wherever he was, his spirit living on in the music and in their hearts forever.

[tuiyla]

“Why isn’t Santana nicer after coming out”

Okay so I bring this up in the meta post I’m working on and I don’t want to hijack a post about Quinntana with just my issues on how the fandom perceives Santana so here goes, side note rant post.

As a Santana stan first human being second Gleek third, there are many many aspects of the larger fandom’s interpretation of Santana’s character that bother me. Unsurprisingly to anyone who’s talked to me for more than a second most of my issues come down to a gross misunderstanding of her inner turmoil and particularly all the mess surrounding IKAG. Santana spell it out in Sexy when she confesses her love for Brittany that she’s a bitch because she’s angry and she’s angry because she’s scared. Some people, even though it’s an excellent moment of self-reflection that could serve as a basis for understanding much of Santana’s character, still choose to get so close to the point and then miss it by about a mile.

I’m referring to the take that “Santana should have just been nicer when she was out.” I’ve witnessed legitimate confusion surrounding her behaviour post-outing (emphasis on outing) because people are shocked she’s still a bitch even after that, I suppose. Her anger and therefore her bitchiness was supposed to come from fears regarding her sexuality, so being out should solve all her problems and make her a nice person, right? I hope that writing it out like that makes people see the problem here. First off, obviously and most importantly but somehow still in a “needs to be said” way: Santana was outed. She didn’t come out, she was outed. She was terrified of what people would say if they knew she was a lesbian and then suddenly everyone knew, before she was ready. Shocking, I know, but for some reason that didn’t solve all her problems. Not to mention, being out came at the cost of being rejected by a close family member that undoubtedly shook her sense of self. That Santana continued to be angry “even after” having been outed shouldn’t be some big revelation. No shit she didn’t suddenly find enlightenment and inner peace upon being dragged out of the closet through an act of cruelty.

Second, coming out, even when one is outed as a lesbian to her whole state on television, is a process. Santana’s main source of fear wasn’t the process of coming out but the state of being perceived as the Other. She was terrified of being an outsider and judged for her sexuality and her fears are only proven right once the secret is out. That’s something she’ll carry for the rest of her life, even when she’s happily married and her relationship with her grandmother begins to mend. And that’s not to sound all bleak about queer existence because it doesn’t mean she’s doomed for a sad, angry life or anything, it just means that dealing with her deepest insecurities and fears is... a process. When we leave Santana as a newlywed, she’s around 21 years old. Honestly, it’d be a miracle if she had it all figured out by that point, particularly given her acute allergic reaction to vulnerability. Does she strike you as the kind of girl who willingly walks into therapy to sort out her misplaced feelings of anger? Didn’t think so.

Third, and this is two-fold, Santana is both considerably softer in the later seasons than she used to be and she’s also just never going to be a nice person, period. We could make it three-fold and point out that progress isn’t linear but let’s take it one step at a time. Santana is a kind person but not a nice one. From season 3B onwards and particularly in seasons 4 and 5 we see her forming deeper bonds with people other than Brittany and she even has a realization about using her bitch powers for good by the end of season 5. She has been using them for good ever since she first opened herself up to the possibility of letting people in and being her true self around them. So to me, complaining that Santana isn’t suddenly a ~much better person~ after being out is faulty on account of her does becoming a better friend and person as the show goes on. I think people’s problem is that she doesn’t become nice, but like I said that’s because she’s not. She just isn’t. In my ideal Glee future where Santana does get the help she needs and sorts out her emotional baggage, she becomes a much healthier adult capable of not sabotaging her friendships. But that still doesn’t make her nice. She will always have her signature snark and and she’ll always be ready to dish some insults out. Is that a good thing, that’s not the point here. The point is that she does become less cruel and more open to letting her kind heart actually show as the series goes on and still being rude to people doesn’t negate that.

I could go on, such as about the fact that Santana’s still a fictional character whose snappy one-liners and page-long takedowns are a part of her appeal. Glee wasn’t gonna stop utilizing Naya’s comedic delivery and turn Santana into a less recognizable version of herself, nor should they have. And like I say, nor should Santana’s continued prickly behaviour take away from the fact that she does soften as the show goes on. Then we have the issue of progress not being linear and faling back into old habits being perfectly realistic, and then we can also talk about how Santana’s issues go far beyond accepting her sexuality so it’d be unrealistic for her to drop her all defense mechanisms even if she becomes perfectly content sexuality-wise. She rightly identifies fears about being perceived and judged for her sexuality in Sexy and concludes that that’s why she’s angry and lashing out all the time, but it’s only a source of that. Although it’s a big part of her character and journey, it’d be wrong to reduce Santana just to her sexuality. That’s how you reach false conclusions like “oh she should have just been way nicer post-season 3,” because you ignore her general feelings of insecurity and how deep-seated this instinct to close off and lash out is.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this impromptu Santanalysis post, it’s been a while since I’ve written one not as a reply to an ask. Quinntana post coming soon, until then please remember to read way too much into a decade old silly Fox show and when someone misinterprets your faves, go get that shovel and start digging.

[buildarocketboys]

23, 49, and 63!

Thanks Storm!!

23. Do you and your partner/best friend share a special song? One you’d call “our song”?

Hmmm there are a lot of songs that we both love and have introduced each other too but idk if there's a specific song I'd say is our song? We should probably get on that lol. But we did make each other mix CDs when we were first dating! The ones Anni made are here:

you are the sun and the light, you are the freedom I fight

you're the air in my lungs, you're the song on my tongue

49. Is there a cover you like more than the original version?

Glee's cover of Don't Speak. Sorry to be a Gleek on main or whatever but this cover is so good. Like obviously it's already a great song but something about the four voices and how they come together? How they're in conversation with each other? Idk it's just genius to me like this song has been in my On Repeat for like the past year, I never get tired of listening to it. Also the perfect break up song.

63. Do you prefer live recordings or studio recordings?

It depends I guess? Probably mostly studio recordings since they're most of what I listen to and they're like. Well mixed and shit. But I definitely have a soft spot for live recordings, especially live recordings of whole concerts. Kind of obsessed with elbow's live version of Lovers' Leap with the BBC concert orchestra atm.

[calumsash]

ok so i was tagged by the lovely aria @calumthoodshands in this and what i got from her drunk explanation (love u aria) on the post is that we're talking about our top 8 shows that you need to know to know me 🥰 i definitely rambled here way too much for no reason but oh well <3

911 (2018 -): hmmm do i need to explain? i feel like people heard and seen me lose my mind over the weewoo show. this is currently what's shaping my life. i take the day off on tuesday cause it's when the new episodes air for me. yes it's that level of brainrot.

skam (2015 - 2017): this show shaped me as a teen gonna be real. i watched it in my last year of high school and seeing this type of real show about teens where at the times all the shows with high school were like tvd and gossip girl and such it was refreshing! i do believe that for full impact of watching skam you needed to hunt episodes on google drive and wait for translations as you're avoiding studying for your finals but it's great in any viewing shape and form.

parenthood (2010 - 2015): this is one of the shows that i used to watch weekly as it aired with my mom. it's about family and we've grown attached to the bravermans 🫶 it gave us many good crys!! also peter krause my beloved is there (even though i would have fought adam braverman many times).

ted lasso (2020 -): a show that just brings joy to my heart <3 im probably gonna cry when it's gonna end in a few weeks. every episode that i watch of this show i get some faith in humanity and when i don't think it can get better, it does!!

this is us (2016 - 2022): show of all time. the amount of tears this show brought out of me. made me have a full panic attack watching a certain episode and it's one of the best episodes of the whole series. this is another show i watched with my mom where we tuned in every week to watch together and it was our hangout time that i still very cherish. again very family driven storylines so yeah 🥹

schitt's creek (2015 - 2020): how does one explain the love i got in my heart for the rose family and co? a show i definitely procrastinated finishing cause i didn't want it to end!!! just as good as everyone say it is and i loved every second of it.

glee (2009 - 2015): when i tell you being a gleek was my whole personality for years i am not kidding. watched this baby since it came out and i would wake up at 4am so i could watch the episodes before school and then later on burn them on CDs. i had posters, magazines, merch, everything. like half the songs i know are from glee. watching glee from 10 years old will change your brain chemistry i promise you. i will admit that i stopped watching after the quarterback episode but at a point of time (literal years) this show was my everything.

always sunny (2005 -): most awful people in the world but you can't help but love them. pretty sure it's the longest running sitcom at this point? if not it will be. i did base my personality after some stuff from the show for a while. my bio on insta is still "champion of the sun ☀️" after all these years. i dressed up as charlie in the day man episode. it's just a really fucking funny show.

honorable mentions: the boys, teen wolf (until s3b), abbott elementary & derry girls!

im gonna tag @myfalsedevotion @cowboy-buck @buckleyseddie @merry-the-cookie @pxrxmoore if you guys feel like it, no pressure!!

also goes without saying but if you haven't watched something in here i highly recommend them!!

[austronauts]

Hi bestie I'm making a presentation on Mitch to my friends (please don't ask I have immeasurable brainrot and need to get it out somehow) but I don't really know what to include to really encapsulate all of his... everything so what are your personal favourite moments/ important Mitch lore. Also if you could drop some pics of him sitting on men's laps and engaging in otherwise questionable activity that would also be appreciated lol

oh my GOD. that is SO CUTE and i am so so honored to be called upon to help you with this incredible project.

i feel like (although its in need of an update. not me doing quarterly updates of this mitch marner primer like it's my actual job) my mitch marner primer will have a lot of the content you're looking for (if you haven't already seen it flkjdlsss. apologies in advance for the insanity of this even existing) *also my matt martin tag, justin holl tag, and patrick marleau tag has a lot of adorable gifs and photos!)

random things that immediately come to mind are what justin holl and alex kerfoot and Zach hyman said about mitch that just STAY WITH ME because i feel like they convey what mitch means and is for the people around him: justin holl: “you can’t really put into words how much Mitchy means to this team” alex kerfoot [when asked about where the leafs miss mitch the most - when mitch was out with injury i think]: "we miss him everywhere" zach hyman listing the things he'd want on a desert island: mitch

Other lore stuff (this is going to be very stream of consciousness and messy...apologies in advance)

The way Mitch draws SMILEY FACES and stuff on his gloves to remind him that hockey is supposed to be fun (and sometimes he writes Z on it - presumably for Zeus. Other times he's written H on it for Hayden, a child cancer patient/friend that Mitch befriended during his London Knights Days, which you can read more about here)

THE ENTIRE ATHLETIC ARTICLE about what mitch was like during his London Knights days https://theathletic.com/2469915/2021/03/25/mitch-marner-ohl-season/. THIS IS SUCH A GOOD ARTICLE but does have a paywall…if you don’t have a subscription, copy+pasting the athletic link into here should allow you to bypass

This video of Zach asking reporters if they caught Mitch singing loudly in the lockerroom lmao. I just LOVE how every single Leaf immediately points out Mitch as the one who's most likely to always be busting out into song and dance. I just know he was a Gleek when he was younger i just KNOW IT

What Jon Cooper says about Mitch. i just know jon cooper is smackin his lips somewhere out there wanting to sign mitch to play for him. Coops i know what you are

The way it's literally IMPOSSIBLE for mitch to go ANYWHERE or do anything without acquiring at least 3-5 doting father figures who want to kidnap him and squeeze him like a stress ball (same)

EVERY. SINGLE. THING about the 2015 NHL draft class and the friendship between connor dylan and mitch. every single thing

The way Mitch takes ANY and EVERY opportunity he can to gas auston and his teammates up! and his general inability to chirp anyone without immediately backtracking (most noticeable in the leaf to leaf with matt martin) and being a big loser about it. I know he always says he LOVES getting under his friends' skin and being annoying but i feel like this is like the time he asserted "he was thick for his size"? aka patently false but we love the DELUSION for you, babygirl! no but fr - it is generally impossible for mitch to get through any media appearance without complimenting or referring to auston at LEAST once. that boy is a simp to the core for auston matthews. this i think is even sweeter because - idk about now - but it's pretty clear that mitch's dad saw auston as a massive rival to mitch and a threat to mitch's potential success with the leafs? so mitch's friendship with auston and general "HEART EYES HUMINA HUMINA AWOOOGA HES SO GOOD HES MY BIG BOY HES MY MASSIVE MAN" demeanor about auston is all...in spite of his dad

The way he's never met a goalie he hasn't fallen in love with

The way he loves all dogs and kids (and the way kids seem to gravitate toward him). he's a CARICATURE of a man.

The way he complains and whines SO much whenever his teammate posts a photo without tagging him, even if he's not even in the photo. the constant need for attention. the babygirl behavior!

The way he sTILL HATES VEGETABLES and distrusts soup because of the texture and YET will make "ice cream soup" by mixing it with a spoon until it's all melted before he eats it. like what the fuck? what the fuck.

his utterly guileless warmth and happiness and enthusiasm for LIFE, hockey, and his PALS. he's a little stupid sometimes but he's so sweet and so CUTE and just a little k-pop group maknae-coded man

The way he melts himself into older players' families so thoroughly their kids believe that mitch is actually one of them

Moments of Mitch sitting on other players' laps or generally needing to be the most tactile physical-affection craving baby:

mitch and matt napping and spooning

this just makes me laugh bc mitch...wat are u doin

anyway, i will end this with what my friend said about mitch: i think once you're friends with mitch you just accept that he will be cuddling and spooning and draping himself over you. look. all these men clearly have the tired expressions of 'look, mitch just happened to me i didnt have a choice.'

[angelhummel]

It seems the Gleeks/klainers like you who have been there from the beginning love season 5b and the newer crowd in last five years hate it. And I think it’s what they did to Blaine’s character in that arc.

He’d been such a high achiever, leader of glee club really, getting into Nyada and engaged and they made him into this dependent wreck who lied and smothered Kurt. I don’t like what they did to his character at all.

weeell of course you know that i'm gonna disagree with that whole last part bc that's not what they did at all

they clearly showed us blaine struggling with body image issues that were exacerbated by his mental health issues. he was never a perfect person who had it all together, even when he was leading show choirs and getting good grades and getting into elite performing schools. we see these issues as early as season two. being oblivious to kurt's obvious feelings, overstepping with people like burt when he asked him to talk to kurt about sex, being unsure of himself - with his sexuality, not understanding people's intentions with him, not sure if he could even be a good boyfriend himself. He was kind of always a "wreck" and it's funny that that used to be what people hated about him and now people seem to see it as a reason to love him all the more

And like. Idk I think he had a dark point in s5 where he was handling things wrong and not communicating or coping like he should've been. I don't think he was 100% leaning on Kurt for support or smothering him. We actually get to see them doing their own things in those few episodes, like Blaine with June and Kurt with Peter Pan. They still support each other when they're off doing their own thing, but say that a success for one of them is a success for both of them bc they're partners who root for each other and know how to cheer the other one on

But even before that I mean, Blaine just went through a huge life change in graduating high school and moving from Lima to New York. That's no small feat. Everything's different, school is stressful, Kurt gets put in the damn hospital. Things are chaotic, and different, and scary. And we see all the NY characters coping with their new circumstances at different points in time. Sam, Santana, Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt - they all have different points of doubt, of feeling like they don't belong or not knowing what direction to go in. Blaine was far from the only one floundering, and it's unrealistic to expect any of them to be 100% sure of themselves and their lives at any point in time, but especially in s4-5

And I appreciate your ask and how you phrased it, with the dichotomy between original fans and newer fans. Because to me that also reads as the divide between older fans and younger fans. As in like, people who were teenagers or older who watched the show when it aired, and the teens or young adults who have just gotten into the show in the last few years*. Because those viewing experiences are bound to be different

I've had around a decade to watch and rewatch Glee, to process everything in it, and for my thoughts and opinions to morph and mature. Not to mention a decade of brain development and personal growth and life experience that would shape how I view a teen show like this. I didn't start watching Degrassi or PLL until relatively recently, and I know my thoughts on those shows now aren't the same as they would've been if I was watching them when they originally aired, either as a kid, teen, or even young adult

Obviously I'm not saying age = wisdom but when it comes to something like media analysis I do think that more life experience gives you more perspective and helps you understand things like this a little differently. I mean my blog is just shy of being 5 years old and I know there are things I said in 2018 that I don't agree with anymore. You just process things differently and you're gonna have changing opinions the older you get, that's just how it is

all this to say i think you mischaracterized blaine and did his s5b self an injustice lol. but that's just my opinion. i'd like to hear from some older/younger/newer/older fans and see if this is a common pattern

*im sure there are plenty of people who watched the show when it aired and were way too young for it, and grown adults who are still getting into it today. this statement was just a generalization and not meant to speak for everyone in the fandom

[chaos0pikachu]

tagged by the lovely @smittenskitten

8 Shows To Get To Know Me:

fuck okay lemme break this down and y’all can’t fucking judge me for NOTHING

Glee

*fucking sigh* 

LOOK I’m not happy about this shit either but if we gotta be real I’ma be real and say yeah, I was a gleek (god saying that makes me wanna die, a piece of my soul shriveled fuck) when I was in high school it was a time okay I’m putting it on the list because glee was the reason I even logged on tumblr for the first time glee was one of those shows that was extremely formative to my fandom experience and fandom development during those late teen years. My original tumblr blog was dedicated to glee and eventually to manga/anime/comics and then I dipped for a bit and came back to tumblr blah blah blah glee was the start of my tumblr experience but also was the first time I ever actively engaged in a ship war (Which was STUPID i was so STUPID) like before I was a lurker but glee was the first show I openly participated in fandom 

and it’s a dumb show, it’s a bad show, it has some shining moments but lordly it was a mess and I was so invested in Britanna and Klaine at the beginning but by the end I was like they should NOT be together and honestly proud of myself for that it showed ~growth~ I also dropped the show idk mid-s4? Glee was the show that made me learn to drop things and not get caught up in sunk cost fallacy, if you’re not happy watching something, drop it. 

Inu-yasha

THIS FUCKING SHOW this show was my first taste of any fandom ever I was still in elementary school and honestly way to young to be watching this shit but my GOD did I eat this shit up like nom nom nom it was so good hit all the fantasy action points it basically created the template for what I like in media: romance, action, adventure, friendships, fantasy 

I can still hear that adult swim commercial for the series in my head, one of the original memes (also screw kikyo still can’t stand her ass)

Yugioh

LISTEN this is a comfort show I love it to pieces Yugioh the abridged series is a fucking masterpiece I’ve rewatched this show so many times b/c it’s just fucking fun it makes NO SENSE why are they all so serious about ~children’s card games~ why does no one go to school why does grandpa have a god damn stroke after losing one card game why does joey sound like that it’s hilarious the shadow realm gaslit an entire generation of children I love every second of it 

RUN BTS

uuuuuh, is this cheating? fuck it I don’t care, you can’t control my shit as they say idk I love BTS I love their run episodes when I want to relax, chill and not think and laugh for a bit I throw the tomato song one on lol the memes that come out of every episode are worth it for that alone

Kinnporsche 

okay here’s what y’all came here to see lmao Kinnporsche really grabbed my ass and slapped it like wtf I wasn’t expecting to get so invested in this show tbh b/c like I started watching BLs again but the ones I had watched from Thailand hadn’t GRABBED me they all ranged at the time from okay but wouldn’t watch again (Until We Meet Again, 1000 Stars) to boring-dropped it (Fish Upon a Sky, 2gether, Lovely Writer) the ones I had liked were mostly Korean and Taiwanese offerings (HiStory Trapped, Love is Science, We Best Love (seasons 1 AND 2 fight me), Be Loved: In House, You Make Me Dance, the one Korean assassin one). 

So like, I saw the trailer for KP and was like, oh that looks different and interesting from other Thai BL and then I saw it was canceled and was confuse. Then I saw it was un-cancelled and was MORE confused I was like is this show coming out or nah? But it was and I was like, sure why not? And I had just restarted using tumblr again and then the show started and the first episode HIT SO HARD and I was like “omg actual cinematography, actual camera framing, actual directing, actual locations, actual physical movement of the cast and the story, a larger story at play, COSTUMES” bitch I was hooked and I’m probably bias but KP is still the best conceptually executed Thai BL imo like sometimes I see posts about the cinematography of other Thai BL and it’s just pictures of two chars standing in a mid-lit room and I’m just like, god I’m a snobby ass bitch lemme leave lol 

KP isn’t perfect, there are issues with the plot at times, but like, there’s issues with the plot! Not the sound (rip LITA I still love you), or the lighting, or the editing, or the direction. The secondary cast actually feels like a cast rather than extras to fill out the cast or pad for time there’s like next to no filler in the show which is such a rarity (imo) for Thai BL. 

Love Between Devil and Fairy 

To me this show was peak fantasy epic romance I just love it to pieces, the costumes are to die for I wish America made more epic romances like this that really embrace fantasy, romance, and action one thing I really love about C-Dramas is they embrace romance with a certain sincerity that is missing from American dramas and I think it’s a shame 

I’m cheating that’s all I got in me I don’t watch a ton of TV shows and the ones I do I’m picky about so it’s hard to pick like a top anything lol but I think these ones describe me pretty well so

[please-help-this-little-lesbian]

On Historical Fiction, the Modernization of Historical People and Events, and how we Interact With It.

Let me first preface this by saying I love Six and it’s my current hyper-fixation, and I am also currently working on a piece of historical fiction where Katherine Howard time travels to the modern world. This rambling isn’t meant to hate on anyone it’s just me discussing stuff. However, recently I saw one of the Six actresses post a Tiktok where they said, “K Howard would’ve been a Gleek” and it honestly made me uncomfortable.

I’m not saying they were wrong for this. I understand that they are playing Katherine Howard as a character and as an actor you naturally look for things to help you portray and relate to the character. I also understand that Six takes place in a modern realm and Glee is a modern media. And I honestly really like modern takes on history! I think it helps make actual history more palatable to a modern audience. But, it goes make me a little uncomfortable because the line between fiction and reality gets blurred, and that’s hard to navigate as both an audience member and creator.

The thing is yes, if Katherine Howard were a modern teenager/young adult she very well might have liked Glee. Actual Katherine was known for her fun, bright personality and being quite fond of music and dancing. But the key word here is might. What bothers me is the lack of this word, the straight up assumption. We don’t and will never know if Katherine was a Gleek because she A, wasn’t around for it and B, is dead. And I know this actress was probably just referring to the character of Katherine in Six, but that bothers me because Katherine isn’t just a character! She’s an actual human being who was murdered! She died at no older than nineteen! (I know some sources say twenty-one but it’s more accurately seventeen to nineteen). She was a child who’s life and legacy were cut short, swept under the rug (her remains were destroyed,) and then slandered for a good 500 years! I think she deserves a little more respect than to be treated as a mere character in a musical!

I understand that as a writer and an actor this is hard to balance with the material you are presenting. Regarding my aforementioned story, I am actually really struggling with a plot line of Katherine turning to modern music and dance to process the reality of what she went through because, as I said, I don’t know what modern music Katherine would like, and I never will. Because she will never get to experience it. I’m not comfortable making these kinds of assumptions. And you can say, “L just remember that you are a writing a character of Katherine—” Yes I know but I am someone who likes things to be as accurate as possible. I don’t like making characterizations of real people, and I especially don’t like making one of Katherine, because people having been characterizing her for years, and they weren’t nice about it, either.

That being said, I don’t hate Six’s characterization of Katherine. I understand they were modernizing her and I honestly think they do a really good job of blending that and the actual Katherine together. I hate how this leads to (a lot of) people believing the character of Katherine and the actual Katherine are one in the same. I hate how this is a problem for all the queens (Esp Anne Boleyn). It also makes me uncomfortable when I see Six fanfics and AUs and incorrect quotes because these aren’t characters you’re talking about, they’re real people. (Note, I don’t inherently hate all Six fanfics, the premise just makes me uncomfortable. I actually read a really good one that I think explored the contrast between the reality of Katherine’s life and a modern lens on it really well. And when I say “reality” I don’t mean “IRL Kat was a slut” bc that is absolutely NOT true she was a VICTIM no matter WHAT the year is but I mean the way she and the other Queens would’ve seen it vs how we do). They deserve to be more than characters. Katherine deserves to be more than a character.

Again, I don’t think this actress had any ill will when she made the Tiktok. I think she just wanted to make a fun little video. I also do not think she is necessarily wrong. Again, I understand she is playing a character, and she was probably thinking about the character when she made the Tiktok. But it did bother me.

Katherine Howard isn’t your little blorbo to make headcanons about. She’s a teenager who was sexually abused her whole life and then was murdered for it.

And I really wish more people would remember that.

P.S: I also want to make it perfectly clear that I have zero problems with any of the actresses playing the queens. I’m not one of those “but _ wouldn’t have been poc1!1!” people. I think Six is incredible in terms of diverse casting, and POC Katherine would actually be AMAZING. (And give AYWD SO much more weight. Also yes I’ve hear Holli and she slayed). This post is about the blurred line between (fictional) characterization and reality.

[kevinmchalenews]

andthatswhatyoureallymissedpod We are here GLEEKS!! It’s the SEASON 1 Finale “Journey to Regionals” and we can’t get over when Finn tells Rachel I love you right before the New Directions Performance. This episode was so good!! Hear more behind the scenes stories about filming it at the link in bio! #glee #gleeks #journeytoregionals #season1finale

[cryinginblaseball]

For the character ask: any specific Hobbs thoughts 👀

Little angry tiger man

I had originally thought that Hobbs Cain and Richmond Harrison met season 1, but I like the idea that they showed up to the Gleek together and no one was going to try to separate them

Richmond Harrison is Hobbs Cain's best friend

Hobbs is Richmond's best friend

There's a lot of older sibling energy there.

Hobbs puts up a tough front, but he has a soft spot for weird creatures that can't protect themselves

Hobbs Cain's Wednesday Night Nightmare Club! Hobbs helps Richmond with the nightmares Blaseball gave him by having him draw. Eugenia joins them, and they're good friends to this day

Hobbs was cursed to be a tiger man for pissing off... someone... His early lore is really goofy. I honestly just prefer that he's an anthro tiger cause like, I'm a furry.

Hobbs studied dark magic

This is fine

Consequentially, Hobbs was one of the key players in the Jaylen Necromancy. After the gods moved Richmond to the Tigers, Hobbs was inconsolable and wanted nothing more than to spit in the face of the gods.

This might have sealed his fate. He was incinerated in season 8, well past when Jaylen could bean people to death, but it feels like the gods were cleaning up loose ends.

After Ruby Tuesday, Hobbs goes to a really dark place and basically cuts all ties with everyone. He feels deeply responsible for what happened. Eventually, Richmond is able to get through to him, and then Eugenia.

In the Hall, Hobbs stayed away the others for a long time. I haven't really made much headway here, but I started exploring that Kiki Familia, one of the victims of Ruby Tuesday, tries to get him to open up.

I don't think Hobbs could say no to Kiki tbh

After the Hall opens, and Hobbs gets out, he goes to Richmond as soon as he can.

But also, now that The Return has happened, Hobbs has organized some of the other Null Team members to go back to the Hall to make sure newly incinerated players have someone there to meet them.

(tbh, the Hall was really good for Hobbs. He got a lot of time to reflect on things)

Oh shit, we didn't even cover the Leviathan! The creature that lives in the underarena of the Gleek, and sometimes flies over the games. She's his patron god, and being able to understand her helped with understanding Richmond. Also, The Leviathan is Richmond's mom.

I think Hobbs and Greer Lott would be really good friends if they had the time to get used to each other. They'd make great enforcers in hlockey.

I think that's enough! Love that little kitty cat man

Thanks, blestie!

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of the Gaga for Gaga (Theatricality) episode of the podcast.

Today we are getting Gaga. We are getting into it. We are really going for it. You thought this show as gay before get ready.

Jenna loves this episode. Kevin said this episode is so much fun.

Kevin says he an audio memory of this episode. When he thinks of this episode he can hear Jenna before seeing her walking through the stages with those plastic bubbles.

This episode aired May 25 2010. It's episode 20 or 22. They are almost at the end of season one.

They still on the first tour at this point. Kevin remembers Ryan walking backstage and telling them they were going to swap the order of two of the episodes.

They shot Fun first and then Theatricality. They ended up swapping them when they aired. They wanted Theatricality to air earlier for some reason.

Jenna said Funk is not her favorite episode.

Ryan showed them a trailer for Theatricality and they were very excited.

The #1 song is still OMG.

The #1 movie is Shrek Forever After.

On May 25 the were performing in Chicago. They got a police escort to and from the theater. Kevin said he felt like the Obamas. He felt important. Jenna said it was legit. It was pretty crazy.

This was the time of Thomas the stanko private jet. It was like one of the small planes you take when you have a short connecting flight.

During the second tour on the Chicago stop they split into sprinter fans and someone always had to pee. Harry had to pee and they were stuck in traffic. Jenna thought he was going to pee his pants. He somehow made it. Jenna had to pee on the side of the road in Michigan. She said their was a lot of having to stop and pee durinig the tours.

Ryan clearly wanted Gaga. We got Idina Menzel in this episode.

There is no Jessalyn, Jayma, or Jane in this episode.

Poker Face is one of Kevin's favorite covers in the history of the show.

Will encourages the Glee club to express themselves using the music of Lady Gaga and Kiss. Meanwhile Rachel confronts her mom Shelby.

Jenna was so excited to do this episode. She was so happy. Jenna said she thinks Ryan knew how much she loved Lady Gaga. Ryan had really started to listen to the cast and what they wanted and loved.

Lady Gaga responded to this episode.

Tim Stack did a review for EW. He said tonight's Glee was definitely one of my favorite hours of the entire season. I had no idea it would so emotion or that i would be so emotional. Seriously how many of you gleeks shed major tears during Theatricality but the episode also had several shiver inducing performances and laughs. I think that is why it was so phenomenal. It does what Glee does best which is combining comedy, music, and emotional truths.

Lady Gaga said I love Glee. I love the cast and the creativity of the writers. I went to musical theater school and used to dream that someday the students would be singing my songs. She tweeted out glee was so amazing.

Kevin said this was before Jenna actually became friends with Lady Gaga. Jenna said this was foreshadowing. Kevin said Jenna would come home when they lived together and tell him stories about hanging out with Lady Gaga. He said why didn't you invite me on these trips. Jenna said it was the best. The highlight of her life. It was season two so they willk talk about it more later.

Tina is goth. Figgins thinks vampires are real and is afraid of them. Kevin says they are. Figgins is concerned that Tina's look is going to be an issue. Will defends her and says this how Tina expresses herself. This is where he gets his theme for the week. Mr. Schue has never planned out a plan ever.

Kevin asks Jenna to say the line about Twilight, "My parents won't even let me watch Twilight. My mom says she thinks Kristen Steward seems like a bitch." Kevin says its so good. Jenna said she got ptsd bringing Tina back into her mind. Kevin said you are welcome fo that and then thanked her for doing that for him.

Tina has to basically do nothing goth and wear a sweatshirt and no makeup. She said it was very wild to see her look like herself on screen. Ryan said no makeup for Jenna. So Jenna gets to set and Ryan said your wearing makeup and she said she wasn't wearing any. Kevin said it's that natural Korean glow. Jenna said it's that 23 year old face. Kevin said she's always had good skin. Jenna said this was fun for her because she took zero time in the makeup trailer and she got to wear comfy clothes but Tina looked so sad.

Mr. Schue comes up with the idea that they are going to do Gaga when Rachel spies on Vocal Adrenaline and finds out they are doing Gaga. He tries to use it to help Tina find a new look and way to express herself.

Kevin said the red lace costumes are absolutely diabolical. They are a singing group and you can't see their faces.

Sort of like Madonna when Schue pitches the Gaga thing to the club the boys except Kurt have a problem with it. Kurt says, "Lady Gaga as a woman is only the biggest pop act to come along in decades. She is boundary pushing. The most theatrically performer of our generation and she changes her look faster then Brit changes sexual partners."

This was another reason Artie and Kevin were not the same. Kevin wanted to do Gaga.

Finn goes to Mr. Schue and basically says this isn't fair and you haven't been listening to the guys. He lets them do Kiss.

Kevin said dressing up like Kiss was wild.

Naya and Kevin tried on each others outfits.

Jenna started having fittings for the bubble outfit pretty early on. When they first fit her in a nude leotard. They basically took measurements and sewed the bubbles on by hand. They were arylic bubbles in different sizes. Jenna thought it was so cool when she put on the outfit, wig, and shoes.

She thinks the first scene they did was when Tina gets pushes by Karofsky.

Jenna thinks it's just because she was walking down the hall it was making a bunch of noise. They asked her to walk less noisily. She starts to walk and a bubble rolls away. They had to sew them back on between takes. She had to hold her arms up to try to keep the bubbles from falling off.

In the choir room when Rachel comes in in her stuff animal outfit they call hold for sound and Jenna couldn't breathe because every time she breathed the bubbles would move against each other.

The dance numbers were a whole other thing. At the end when she was on the top riser you can see a ball roll down the stands. It's towards the end of the song. They probably couldn't find a take without a ball falling off and rolling off somewhere. She would yell out when a ball fell off to warn everyone so they wouldn't trip over it.

Kurt was Alexander McQueen. Tina's bubble dress was like something Gaga wore in Sydney.

Kevin texted Chris to ask him about the shoes. They made Kurt's shoes to look like the real Alexander McQueen shoes.

Chris left a message saying Lou made the heels. They used red high heels they got a drag shop. They were 10 inch heels. They put fabric around them to make them look like the Alexander McQueen shoes. He was walking around New Orleans when he left the message. They also go them a separate pair of what Chris called training heels so could walk in around so he didn't fall and break his ankle.

Quinn's dress is inspired by the orbit dress designed by Armanii that Gaga wore to the 2010 Grammys. The original dress is on display at Park MGM.

Jenna said Lady Gaga has had so many freaking looks it's wild. Cut to her wearing a black t-shirts at the Oscars. Mad respect. That is the boldest thing you can do.

Mercedes was wearing a dress inspired by the live performance of Poker Face. Brittany was inspired by the lobster hat designed by Phillip Tracy which is also at the MGM Grand. Heather did not like it. It was not fun or comfortable.

Santana was inspired by an outfit Gaga wore going out in Berlin.

Jenna said even when she would hang out with her and go to a bar she never knew what Gaga would be wearing. Usually it was a black dress and an oversized platform boot.

Bad Romance and Born This Way were so big for Glee.

Kevin asked Jenna if the girls had fun doing Bad Romance.

Jenna said they loved rehearsing together. Zach also loved working with them because most of them are dancers. They didn't have poor Cory having to ask which foot.

Jenna said being able to go into a recording studio in Hollywood and record Gaga songs felt like she was here. Jenna felt like she was in her element.

Jenna loves this song. She forgot how much she likes this song to just listen to on spotify. The costumes took that way for her.

The boys do Kiss to express themselves. This was one of the first time the boys minus Kurt has to wear full makeup and costume.

Kevin said he was happy and it was about damn time. The girls and Kurt were getting to have all the fun. He said he remembers the boots were so tall sitting in the wheelchair was sort of an issue because his knees were basically up to his chin.

He remembers recording the song and the only reason he knew who Kiss was because of his then boyfriend at the time who is Brazilian. Apparently Kiss is still big in Brazil. He didn't know what the song Beth was and his boyfriend being like are you kidding me it's one of the best songs.

It was fun to get to scream and shout. He loved getting to see everyone go crazy and getting to see Cory wail on the drums.

It was fun having the girls getting to cheer for them.

Kevin kept rolling his ankles when he walked in the Kiss platform boots.

Puck does Beth because he wants to name Quinn and his daughter Beth. Quinn wants to hear none of it. Puck said, "while Jackie Daniels is a great name for like a powerboat or something its not right for a baby girl."

Kevin says the best part is Tina gets to do an incredible scene. Tina figured out Figgins thinks vampires are real. Tina scares Figgins into letting her dress goth again or the vampires get him. They shot this at the end of the day. She got to wear really dark goth makeup and an awesome vintage cape. The vampire teeth were made like a flipper. Some guy came to her house to do a full impression and made her a porcelain set of fangs. She got to keep them but they don't fit anymore because she did Invisalign.

Ryan kept laughing in the middle of the take. Jenna said when he laughs like that you knew you were doing something right. Iqbal would come out from around the corner and say something different. It killed her and she would have to keep a straight face. It was so much fun.

Another thing going on in this episode is that Rachel goes to spy on Vocal Adrenaline. She sees Shelby do Funny Girl. It's kind of an ironic 360 moment. She did a beautiful job. It was fun to see Idina do an Broadway number.

She shows Shelby her sad Gaga outfit and Shelby gives Rachel her Paparazzi look.

Both Shelby and Rachel are like what do we do with this information. She tells Rachel it's too late for them to have a relationship. She gives Rachel a commemorative glass with a gold star on it.

Poker Face was kind an inappropriate song for the situation. It brings you back to the satire of the show. Jenna says it sounds so good and that makes it okay.

This balances out the serious stuff going on with Finn and Kurt.

Burt and Carole announce they are moving in together. The next scene they are living together. Kurt offers to redecorate and does it. He reveals it to Finn. It's crazy and absolutely psychotic. It's a bit much. Finn starts to crack as Kurt explains the room. He then goes on a tirade calling objects in the room the f word.

Burt bursts down the stairs and into the room. Finn and Burt have one of the greatest scenes. Burt goes in on Finn. He puts Finn in his place about what the word actually means. Finn tries to say he wasn't using it that way. Burt says I was like you. When I said that word I knew what it meant and you know what it means even if you aren't saying it to Kurt. Burt then kicks Finn out. He told Finn you can't live here. He is showing Kurt that he comes first. It's been several weeks of Kurt feeling threatened by Burt and Finn's relationship.

This is where we get to see the acting chops we love from Chris and Mike O'Malley. They tug at your heartstrings. It was done so beautifully. All three of them took such care in what they were saying how they were saying it. Jenna said these scenes really blow her away. She remembers Ryan commending Cory, Chris, and Mike for the work they did in that scene.

Kevin said it's not easy for someone like Cory who is the complete opposite of that scene to have to go in there and start shouting that stuff at your friends and coworkers. He said when you are in safe hands like Ryan's you feel supported. He wants you do what's right for the scene and Cory did that.

Mike O'Malley walking out and saying room looks great was so good. Kevin said it had to be an adlib. (I am pretty sure it was an adlib!)

Kurt keeps getting harassed for walking around the school in the Gaga outfit. Finn tells him to cut it out.

At the end of the episode Finn and Kurt are both missing from the choir room. Kurt is being harassed by the football players again. He stopped the from punching Kurt in the face. The rest of the Glee club rolls up to back Finn up.

Finn's outfit is inspired by an outfit designed by Kudo that Gaga wore when she met the Queen of England.

Tartie Takes:

Cringe Moments/Ouchies - Jenna said there weren't a lot of cringe moments in this episode. Kevin said he gets cringy when Puck is talking about keeping the baby and Quinn says no. Also some of the Rachel and Shelby stuff.

Best Dance Move - Bad Romance

Best Song - Kevin: Poker Face Jenna: Bad Romance

Best Prop - The bubbles

Best Line - Kevin: Burt's whole speech to Finn. Jenna: Nosferatu.

Shit We Found On TikTok:

Someone posted an edit of the opening to Six the musical where the girls introduce themselves with the Glee girls. It's so good and a beautiful edit. Kevin would now like to see it for real.

This episode was one of the most fun episodes.

Next week is Funk.

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

@sohereswhatyoumissedlastweek replied to your post “honestly i get jenna’s conflicted feelings about...”:

As a white person I always feel conflicted about that kind of humour because it is borderline racist but it's funny because it's absurd and also makes fun of Glee itself. And it's funny because it comes from Sue, who the viewer knows should not be followed as an example. I find "you're all minorities. You're in glee club" far more offensive because it comes from Schue. And because it just is offensive lol.

​One thing that I really appreciate about And that’s what you really missed podcast (and what I also appreciated about the Showmance podcast) is that Jenna and Kevin seem to perfectly balance the good and the bad about glee. It’s what Ryan also said in the first episode: Kevin and Jenna are the perfect people for this kind of show, since their love for glee runs deep but they’re also not shying away from criticising it. I remember when Showmance aired and I saw a post of a Gleek who was disappointed because they found Showmance too negative, and I was like “... Kevin, a gay man, expresses how he dislikes casual homophobia in the writing and Jenna, a woman of colour, expresses how racial stereotyping was wack.”

ANYWAY all of this to say that I think they understand the clear difference between dark humour and things that are downright bad. Cause yes, things are downright bad. The “You’re all minorities” line was obliterated in the last podcast episode, same as the fact that JBI sexually blackmailing Rachel was played off for laughs etc. Whereas other things, like the majority of Sue’s dialogue, is shitty but can be seen as dark humour, since in the context of the show you’re supposed to go “wait? what?” and the humour lies in the unexpected outback steakhouse.

As an Asian person, I find “Asian” “Other Asian” so fucking funny, because you know it’s weird and kind of wrong and dark humour. Who is Asian? Who is Other Asian? But as Kevin also pointed out, as funny and still kind of harmless the “Asian” “Other Asian” joke is, it is the start of the bigger issue that is reducing Mike and Tina’s identity to Asian stereotypes and pairing them together solely because of their Asianness. I mean, they fell for each other at Asian Camp, for Asian’s sake! The panda hair jokes. The Asian forum. The Asian food. It got... weird and uncomfortable, especially since they have the same last name (no relation!) AND they are of two completely different etnicities, which as pointed out in Showmance podcast, and again here, is never acknowledged, which is kind of shitty as well since it’s honestly just racist to see the entire goddamn continent of Asia as a monolith.

Ine, you’re Belgian, I am Dutch. I think we can both attest that Dutch and Belgian people would rather die than be seen as the same.

And I think that is where the conflicted feeling comes from. I think that’s why Jenna said “Ask me again in 10 episodes”, because this is just the beginning and on its own it is, in my opinion, fucking hilarious, but that changes rapidly in season 2.

[tuiyla]

Absolutely adore that positivity post you made. It's wild because I originally found your blog through Sal's post and to here you say that you may not even have ended up in the Glee fandom if it weren't for that post it's just idk... Really emphasizes how important these positivity posts are. You found a new fandom, I found a new favorite blog and it's inspired you to go on and shout out more people a year later which will maybe help people find new people to follow. I'm not articulating this well but basically FULL CIRCLE lol.

Also made me kind of miss Sal it's so embarrassing because we never spoke but she was a very bright light in this fandom I think. Thank you to you and others for also being bright lights. And to you and the other creators for keeping us all going with your gorgeous works.

Happy to spread positivity!

Yes it's strange to think back on that post. I'll try to find it because I'm sure I've reblogged it. Funny because I had been active in the Glee fandom for a year by then, just not on here, and that was around the time I started migrating more to tumblr because reddit got real bad real quick. I just wasn't sure because I hadn't been aware that there was a community here but then of course Sal's post happened and that was also the time I started getting asks about Glee, so the timing just worked out. Love a good full circle moment haha so I'm glad to have, sort of, joined through that and to have met people.

I don't think that's embarrassing at all, it's just kinda how it works on tumblr and you're fully valid to be missing her. For example, you're on anon and I still appreciate this and you haha even though it's not "direct" communication as such. I only had brief interactions with Sal as it was a relatively short overlap of both us being active on here but I think what counts is just, idk, appreciating someone's presence? Of course, nice tags go a long way on tumblr so I have favourite blogs on here with whom we only ever really communicate through that lol. But yeah Sal was definitely a bright light and I wish her the best, and I'm so happy to be able to be another sort of bright light for some.

Not gonna sugarcoat all of it because my tumblr Gleek experience also hasn't been 100% positive but that was literally down to one pesky anon, maybe 2-3, so overall it doesn't cast a shadow on what I consider to be a chill and great little community. In fact I've gotten so used to being in the relatively small fandom of a dead show that now I dread active ones so much lol. We may not get as many notes as more popular fandoms but it's the same familiar faces supporting each other and new people do occasionally join, like I myself did last year, so I think it's the ideal way of fandoming. So yeah, once again shoutout to all! Those who I didn't mention yesterday as well; just because I was focusing on gifmakers that doesn't mean the fandom doesn't have many other wonderful people who absolutely do contribute even by reblogging and tagging and starting conversations, all that. And people like yourself, who use the anon function to spread even more positivity and appreciation. Cheers!

[j-nightingalesb1tch]

reasons why i am anti finn hudson: an essay by me

yo gleeks and gays.

welcome to my humble abode.

now, before i get started, here’s a disclaimer for you little shits;

this post is NOT about cory monteith. it is about a character he plays on a tv show. i’m not gonna refrain from attacking finn just because of cory.

okay, here we go.

first of all, i think it’s important to mention that i don’t hate finn. i strongly dislike him. admittedly, my opinion goes up just a little whenever he says something dumb. but i am a firm believer that he is the most overrated, weakest character in glee.

as for will, i can openly confess that i HATE him. but that’s an essay for another day.

1. male lead

finn is introduced to us as this ‘hero’ of sorts, here to save glee club and unite the cliques of mckinley.

does he do this? no, not really.

throughout the pilot, we have people saying that they can’t win without finn or that they need him as their male lead.

i do not agree one bit.

they could’ve done perfectly fine without finn, considering it was rachel who was the star of the show. they only needed wanted finn for the look.

guess what, will? having the school quarterback in your club won’t make you number one!

cory was a good singer. he got stronger as the seasons went on and they could’ve had a worse male lead than finn.

but they could’ve had better.

scratch that - they HAD better.

kurt? maybe not as the lead. but they definitely could’ve utilised his voice a whole lot more, as it was one in a million.

but artie’s voice was a whole lot better than finn’s, yet they brushed him aside because, well, he didn’t fit the ‘asthetic’ (which is complete crap to me. why can’t a guy in a wheelchair be the lead?).

even puck’s voice was better than finn’s. granted, he wouldn’t have joined glee if not for quinn, and quinn wouldn’t have joined if not for finn, but they should’ve used him while they had him.

besides his voice, there are other reasons i don’t believe finn was suited to be a leader of the new directions.

like his loyalty, for example.

he constantly put his reputation above all else throughout the whole of season one and a lot of season 2. when asked to pick between glee or football, yes he always came back to glee, but his reputation was always taken into consideration. evidently, he usually went for the ‘cooler’ option when given an ultimatum.

i do have some examples of when he’s done this, but i haven’t watched season one in months and i do not have time to revisit it right now.

2. rachel and quinn

yes, quinn cheated on him and got pregnant.

yes, rachel cheated on him in uncalled for ‘revenge’.

no, i do not agree with either of those actions.

but finn wasn’t completely innocent in either situation.

in the second episode of season one, we see finn and rachel kiss for the first time. which is cute, for finchel stans. but he’s still dating quinn at this point. which makes him a cheater.

“but quinn’s was so much worse” i don’t care. cheating is cheating. if finn knew about quinn and puck at this time, then i’d understand. but he didn’t. as far as he knew, his relationship with quinn was solid. he actively chose to kiss rachel, betraying quinn in the process.

after this, he suddenly remembered how much he loved quinn and pushed rachel away. he was awful to her, manipulating her feelings for him in order to get what he wanted. like in 1x05 when he took her out on a ‘date’ just to get her back into glee so they could win. he went to her house in 1x11 because he was attracted to her, yet again going behind quinn’s back.

back to quinn, i felt bad for finn in the long run. you could see how much pressure quinn was putting on him during the pregnancy and how stressed he was about it all. but outing her pregnancy to her parents without her permission? horrible. quinn probably knew how her dad would react, so she most likely wanted to keep it a secret for a reason. but finn, not knowing if it would go well or not, decided to expose the pregnancy on his own terms and ended up getting quinn kicked out of her own home.

after breaking up with quinn, he, rather harshly, rejects rachel and tells her he doesn’t want to date her. but then when jesse came into the scene, finn decided he wanted her again and practically forced her to end things with jesse. he spent their whole relationship acting jealous and bitter, constantly trying to convince rachel to end things with jesse and date him instead.

but then they finally get together and everything seems okay for a minute.

until rachel finds out finn slept with santana and gets payback by making out with puck. which, yes, wasn’t fair on rachel’s behalf. finn didn’t cheat on rachel and she had the right to feel jealous of santana, but she didn’t have the right to be angry. so yes, i understand why finn broke up with her afterwards.

but then what does he do? chases after quinn once again. the girl who had a baby with someone else and broke his heart.

and for an added punch - she’s dating sam.

for someone who knows what it’s like to be cheated on, you wouldn’t think he’d go after a girl who is taken. but he does. he knowingly helps quinn cheat on sam and ruins their relationship with no remorse.

and then he parades their relationship around in rachel’s face and makes out like he never even loved her.

but guess what happens next.... jesse comes back to take rachel to prom and finn has issues with that. issues so bad that he ends up attacking jesse out of jealousy.

here is a boy that only wants the girl when she’s with someone else.

now, i despise quinn so i don’t feel particularly bad for her when finn breaks things off with her. but he was in the wrong for messing both girls around for so long.

at least this is the end of his and quinn’s relationship.

i don’t have a clear enough memory of their relationship in season 3 so i can’t really comment. all i’m gonna say, though, is that rachel did not cheat on finn with brody.

finn ended things with her in the last episode of season 3. even if it wasn’t a clear breakup, it was still a breakup. he ended things with her and then disappeared for months. rachel was moving on with her life and had every reason to move on with brody.

3. santana

i don’t care how mean she was to finn. i don’t care about the names she was calling him or anything else. there is never, ever a reason to out someone.

to quote his words; “that must hurt to not be able to admit to everyone how you really feel.”

he knew she was hiding her sexuality and he knew she was ashamed. he didn’t do this to help her. he did this because he saw her repressed homosexuality as a weapon he could use to get one over on her.

he calls her a coward for not admitting who she really was, which is absolutely vile. people are in the closet for different reasons. it doesn’t make them cowards. it makes them people with valid fears and emotions that are nobody’s business but their own. santana was afraid of coming out because she wasn’t sure if brittany loved her back. she was afraid of coming out because she knew her grandmother was homophobic and didn’t want to risk losing her. she was afraid of coming out because she still hadn’t completely accepted herself or who she was.

none of this had anything to do with finn and there is no valid excuse on earth to justify outing her like he did.

what makes me even madder was that he wasn’t even held accountable for his actions. santana was pissed and slapped him, as she should, but all he did was sing her a song and all was forgiven.

completely messed up!

4. kurt

now, i am a sucker for furt. i love their brotherly relationship and seasons 2b-4 furt have my heart.

but finn was a complete jackass to kurt, and it’s time someone called him out on it.

finn was not homophobic. he wasn’t against gays and he didn’t hate kurt for being gay. but he was definitely scared of being labelled by association.

and kurt wasn’t exactly shy about his crush on the quarterback.

while i do agree that kurt took his crush too far (i mean, setting up your parents just to spend more time with your crush is not normal behaviour) but i don’t believe he meant to be manipulative. he was just so blinded by his feelings that he didn’t realise he was going too far.

that doesn’t mean finn had the right to react the way he did.

that whole scene where burt lectures finn on his use of slurs was a powerful scene and one of my favourites in the show. but it still feels as though it was swept under the rug.

i get that finn was worked up, but calling his brother f*ggy? not acceptable by any measure. (yes, he was talking about the blanket, but he wasn’t really, was he...)

finn constantly judges kurt and hates on him for being himself, saying it would be easier for himself if kurt wasn’t so out there. and then when kurt was getting bullied, finn only decided to step in and protect his brother once burt forced him to. he practically admitted to rachel that he was staying out of the bullying because he didn’t want to tarnish his reputation. and while i don’t agree that the glee club confronting karofsky did kurt any favours, it was sure sweet in principle and finn should’ve wanted to stand up for his brother.

in 2x04, finn is awful to kurt in regards to sam. he wanted to sing a duet with him, and sam was clearly open to the idea, but finn still tried his hardest to shut it down. why? because he didn’t want kurt to ruin sam’s reputation. and while i understand he was thinking about what had happened between him and kurt, surely that was for sam to decide? i mean, who would’ve even known about the duet apart from the glee club? even if finn was partially right, he had the wrong intentions and being told to his face that he ruined people’s lives couldn’t have been nice for kurt to hear.

5. others

finn calling sue’s baby, who had downs syndrome, a r*tard was completely uncalled for and brushed under the rug far too easily.

finn’s treatment of blaine at the start of season three was horrendous and he shouldn’t have tried to make blaine feel bad about himself just because he was jealous of his talent.

finn using his grilled cheesus to pray for stupid things like touching rachel’s boobs instead of praying for his step-dad who was in a coma was shocking.

finn attempting to pull a handicapped quinn out of her wheelchair. now, i can’t really remember this scene all that well so imma leave it there. but it happened and it was wrong.

will favouring finn in everything he did. two instances that come to mind are will accusing santana of slapping him “unprovoked” when he knew full well finn had outed her. also him doing nothing when finn was beating up puck in season one. yes, finn was the victim in this situation. but as a teacher, will should stop violence whenever it happens. yet he watched kurt get abused for months and said nothing.

in conclusion, finn was praised as this “special” guy who was better than everyone, but in reality, he was insanely average. he wasn’t the best singer or dancer. there really wasn’t anything special about him, apart from being a dumbass most of the time. finn hudson is overrated and should’ve been held accountable for his mistakes far more than he actually was.

[invisibleraven]

One Year Fic-iversary!

So one year ago, I uploaded my first ever Julie and the Phantoms fanfic. I've already reblogged it if you wanted to give it a read.

When I wrote it, I really wasn't sure that I was going to write any more for this fandom, and present me is laughing at that so damn much. In that time I have written:

43 fanfics, including two ficlet collections (one for G-T rated ficlets, and one for E rated ficlets) equaling ~465k words. And if you saw my New Year's post, yes, that means I've written ~53k words since 2022 started. Told you I wasn't done!

Of course, this is the point where I get sappy, like every post like this before has done, so all of that is under the cut.

Thank you to @fandomdough and @reginaldpatterson for creating such beautiful artwork to go with my BigBang fics last year, and extra thanks to Geci for making the JatP Advent Event a thing!

Thank you to @reggiepetersbass and @catoptrific for being the best betas a girl could ask for when it came to my BB fics, and for honestly making me a better writer in the process.

To @tiriansjewel @psyduckappears and @floating-in-the-blue for always being so incredibly nice to me, even if we haven't talked as much, you three are so extremely kind.

@nuandia Vans, my fellow former Gleek, my introduction to the Regal Jewelry ship, and my dearest friend. Your heart and talent continue to blow me away, and I'm so grateful for you in my life. Love you hun. ❤

@daintyduck99 Ash, my sweetheart, thank you for always having an open ear and warm heart when I needed it most, for always flooding me with prompts, for being so kind and encouraging, for your talent and creativity as a writer and artist. You are truly a beautiful person, inside and out. I am so happy we started talking, and I count you as one of the sweetest friends I've ever made, love you lots. 💜

@merihn Alex, my Rulie muse... honestly the reason I even considered Rulie as a ship, so thanks for that! You have been an awesome sounding board, always there to listen or encourage me, and give me the best ideas for fics. Even with the stupid time difference, I know I can always count on you, and that means more than you know. Also you are so uber talented, and I am just so jealous of your ability to make me love all your stories, and even turning me around on pairings I was very nope about. Love you lots my dear. 💙

@where-you-go Jay... god Jay, you know how much you mean to me, how much your work means to me. How you tuned me into Rukebox and ruined my life as a result. 😅 You became one of my biggest cheerleaders over the past year, always making me smile and cry and scream with your gorgeous fics, your amazing comments, and your lovely personality. I just adore you, and I am so so thankful we stumbled across one another and that you let me run with so many of your headcanons. You're the reason for half that word count up there, at least. So much love sweetie. 💕

@bananakarenina Katie, I had to save the best for last. Katie... there are no words for how much I care about you. You constantly blow me away with your writing, but then, you turn around and have become probably my biggest fan which humbles me beyond measure. You have helped me through some of my darkest moments in this fandom, hell in this past year, and I don't think you even know how insanely grateful I am that you're always there to listen to me, support me, beta my work, and just chat about anything. I feel insanely blessed to have you in my life, and I seriously think you are one of the best friends I've ever had in fandom. When it's safe you and I are definitely going on an adventure involving snuggles, baked goods, and mutually thirsting over Jeremy Shada together. You're the Julie to my Reggie darlin', and I love you more than words can say. 💜❤