#which I like a lot! I also enjoy the academic aspects I would not get there

[crickwater]

I'm actually starting to get settled t uni and making friends and stuff so I'm not gonna do actually do it but I'm deeply tempted to try nd get into the film school I tried getting into lst year just to see if they would accept me now

[sevensoulmates]

I've never been more convinced then I ever have of Buddie canon and I think we're about to get Buddie canon confirmed in the bachelor party/wedding episode.

I think these 2 episodes, 4 and 5. One told through Buck's the other told through Eddie's are clearly telling a story of two separate queer journeys. One of acceptance(Buck) and the other of repression(Eddie).

I think this episode is going to end with Eddie doubling down on his relationship with Marisol because Buck being bisexual is going to draw feelings inside of Eddie that he is absolutely terrified to explore and he thinks that being with a woman is just going to make those feelings that are getting stronger and stronger for Buck go away, they won't.

Then in episode 6 which is the Bachelor Party/Wedding episode, as Ryan said Eddie is going to let go, have fun and see where it takes him. When Ryan said that I have never been more convinced that something is happening between Buck and Eddie after the bachelor party and it's going to be something very non platonic that will be the reveal that Buddie is canon.

I'm very much inclined to agree with you, especially about episode 4 being Buck's journey of accepting his queerness, and episode 5 being about Eddie's journey of repression. Buck and Eddie have always been narrative parallels on equal and opposite journeys, both heading for the same place but going about it through very different personal arcs.

Like I've said before, I think things are going to get worse for Eddie before they get better. And I think you're so right that episode 5 is going to be things "getting worse" because he's going to double down on Marisol. The more I've been hearing and sussing out with people, it seems like Marisol's sticking around past episode 5 (which sucks, I know! We were all hoping!) but I can see why that choice is being made because unfortunately if we want to explore Eddie's comp-het, then we need a woman around for him to be comp-het with! I think that's likely why they also switched up on Marisol's personal style this season and had her go from tomboyish in s6 to very femme in s7. They needed to represent her being a little bit more of the "perfect woman" for Eddie again a la Ana Flores. Especially in contrast with Buck and Tommy who are very masc-presenting men.

Most of the time when people talk about compulsory heterosexuality in an academic space they are always talking about women because comphet is inherently a byproduct of patriarchy and misogyny. But, as most of us are aware by now, patriarchy has deep-rooted harmful effects on men too. I can't claim to be anywhere near an expert but I would love to see it explored deeper with Eddie given that a lot of his story has also revolved around him deconstructing other aspects of toxic masculinity and hypermasculinity.

Like does Eddie really enjoy going out with Marisol? Or does he like the freeing feeling of being able to cuddle up with a woman in public and know that no one is judging?

There's a lot of academic theory that goes into compulsory heterosexuality but if you look at the "Am I a Lesbian? Masterdoc" and apply everything there to Eddie, it's almost point for point him.

Some examples:

[brackets] are me turning "men" to "women" from the original text for clarity

Deciding which [women] to be attracted to – not to date, but to be attracted to –based on how well they match a mental list of attractive qualities.

I like the idea of being with a [woman], but any time a [woman] makes a move on me I get incredibly uncomfortable.

I do not like the reality of being with [women], only the idea of being with [women].

I like the idea of marrying a [woman]/being in a relationship with a [woman], but I can always pick out a reason to not want to date any [woman] that is interested in me or any [woman] suggested to me

You view relationships with [women] as a chore, burden, or just something you must deal with.

Picking a [girl] at random to be attracted to

Choosing to be attracted to a [girl] at all, not just choosing to act on it but flipping your attraction on like a switch

the [girls] I like are always hyper [feminine] [girl's girls] who embody everything about [womanliness].

Only/mostly being attracted to unattainable, disinterested, or fictional [women] or [girls] you never or rarely interact with.

Reading your anxiety/discomfort/nervousness/combativeness around [women] as attraction to them. Confusing your anxiety around [women] for “butterflies” or being flustered.

Dreading what feels like an inevitable domestic future with a [woman]

You have every reason to be happy in your relationship with a [woman], but you just aren’t / everything is going really well, but something is missing and you can’t figure out what

Thinking you’re commitmentphobic because no relationship, no matter how great the [girl], feels quite right and you drag your feet when it comes time to escalate it

Going along with escalation because it seems like the ‘appropriate time’ or bc the [girl] wants it so bad, even if you personally aren’t quite ready to say I love you or have labels or move in together etc.

Or jumping ahead and trying to rush to the ‘comfortably settled’ part of relationships with [girls], trying to make a relationship a done deal without investing time into emotional closeness

Your relationships with [women] are devoid of passion.

Feeling like you have to have relationships with [women] and/or let them get serious in order to prove something, maybe something nebulous you can’t identify

Getting a [girl]friend mostly so other people know you have a [girl]friend and not really being interested in [her] romantically/sexually

Wishing your [girl]friend was more like your [male] friends

Worrying that you’re broken inside and unable to really love anyone

Having had people think you were gay when you had no suspicion you were gay

That got longer than I intended but I wanted it here anyway because it just proves (at least to me) that this is the story they're doing with Eddie. The only ones I didn't include were the parts about sex because other than Shannon we actually haven't seen how Eddie reacts in sexual moments with women.

As for the bachelor party/wedding, I do think a lot is going to happen there, and likely a lot of Buddie clues, big and small, but I still don't think anything physically intimate (kiss, hookup, etc) is going to happen. The only exception might be hand-holding, a hug or like a slow dance. Those I could see being plausible.

[emblazons]

Thinking about how people who only (or primarily) understand Mike’s arc through a “hes queer and coming to accept it / struggling with heteronormativity/will get his happy ending when he gets with Will” lens are missing at least half of what defines his arc in the wider context / themes of the show.

Forewarning: long post (& also maybe an unpopular opinion)

Even as a queer person myself, I know that his arc isn’t solely about embracing his queerness (though it’s inherently interlinked). In Mike, you have a character who is being radically challenged by both external circumstances and his own decisions through a journey away from all kinds of forced conformity (social, familial, romantic & heteronormative) and into someone self actualized enough to live how they want…while also being strong enough to accept that they made mistakes along the way. Someone who is learning to be brave enough to say “this is who I am, what I enjoy, and what/who I love…and while it took me a lot of time to figure it out, now I can exist in the world embracing that even though it will take consistently resisting the tendency to accommodate people who think it’s unacceptable.”

Like. Even from a time before puberty (see: S3) Mike wants a life that stands apart from what’s expected of him in every area, not just in choosing a romantic relationship with another guy. He wants to continue to be a nerd and “child at heart” even though something else is repeatedly demanded of him by everyone from his parents to El in his romantic relationship. He wants to be a writer and someone who takes those nerdy interests into his adult life (cue aggressive gesturing toward the duffers themselves) and grates against all that’s been constructed for him even when he’s not (yet) brave enough to challenge it directly. Mike liking boys/loving Will is just “the final nail in the coffin” of his social and societal nonconformity—not the first (or the last) aspect of what makes him different from Hawkins or the life he was made to believe would suit him best.

Even the fact that Mike has a desire to be “normal” comes from an insecurity and fear that choosing what he truly wants will lead to him being outcasted and losing the people he cares for entirely—which is partially motivated by his queerness yes, but that also has a basis in his general interests and personality…which becomes especially obvious when you realize we are repeatedly shown that he is punished/has his wishes ignored in all areas he doesn’t conform, even long before we get into a plot where it’s clearer he likes boys.

We see it in how his parents have already started to demand he put boundaries on the time he spends playing his “childhood games” the very first scene of season one, how they demand social acceptable emotions from him when Will is missing, and how Karen & Ted want him to give up toys in S2 when he’s showing signs of depression (because they think the issue is him growing up, not that he’s struggling with loss or guilt for what happened to El).

We see it in how his own father comments about taking his CA trip away from him after calling Hellfire being a group for “dropouts” in S4 (implying that he is failing on an academic and social level that matters to wheelers—and that Nancy is good at).

We even see it in the way everyone from his bullies to his own girlfriend threaten and take things away from him when he doesn’t conform to social expectations...from Troy telling him to jump off the cliff to save Dustin in S1 (as punishment for the one time Mike stands up for himself in the gymnasium) to El jumping straight into breaking up with him and spying on him when he doesn’t do exactly what she wants him to in Season 3.

All of these moments are critical to understanding Mike as a person because they show us that, even without addressing his queerness, Mike’s desire to conform to socialized expectations involves but is not solely about him moving out of heteronormativity—it’s about him moving against everything that WASP, patriarchal, heteronormative and capitalistic and performative “wholesome American” values…and how he is learning to move past the fear of what will happen if he steps outside the lines in general, even though he already knows he hates those standards.

Mike’s “coming of age” arc is about finding the strength to choose the “path less traveled” in all areas of his life—even when it means (potentially) losing the support of the people he cares about. It’s about starting from a place of privilege and becoming okay with being outcasted from it in a way your insecurities never let you be before (which is inherently different than Will, who has always been shown to have some kind of support not just for his queerness but his artistic endeavors as well). Mike’s lack of support is why he starts from a place of deep insecurity, yes—but it’s also why him learning power of choosing to be himself, even if it means “losing” people when he’s honest about who (& what) he is will be universally powerful.

You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of what it means to know you will be okay even if people leave you. You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of stepping outside social expectations or your family’s way of raising you. You don’t even need to be queer to understand the weight of breaking up with someone you were only with to satisfy what you thought you should do, rather than be with who you want to.

The power of being strong enough to overcome your insecurities in order to “step out of line” and live and love as you want to is universal, and a stunningly brave choice no matter what or why you chose to do so. The fact that Will will be there waiting to love him in that honesty with himself is beautiful, yes—but it’s not the only lesson to be learned for Mike’s character.

Mike starting out with everything the world (or, at least America) tells would make you happy, realizing he is not happy with those things and rejecting them knowing it might have consequences is what makes his arc powerful, because he is learning (exactly like his sister Nancy) to be brave enough to accept those consequences (which for him are getting dumped, and feeling like he’s being left behind by some of his friends) to follow his own heart.

Even though The Duffers aren’t writing this into a tragic ending (aka: he’s not going to die or be left alone, because the duffers writing is inherently designed ro champion the outcast), these are the things that have (and will) make him relatable even to an audience that doesn’t know queerness. Erasing the fact that his lesson is the bravery it takes to follow your heart solely to talk about him liking guys (even Will) is to undermine his humanity, and the lessons to be learned from him by even the most general an audience.

TL:DR - the heteronormative aspect of Mike’s character is not the sole or even inherent issue within Mike, though heteronormativity is inherently built into his struggle.

There are deep dives on how his arc is also about a war against toxic patriarchy, toxic masculinity, emphasis on capitalistic and academic accomplishments over artistic ones, and even conformist relationships (whether they’re queer or not) that should be explored for his character—and I for one like him too much not to move out of just “this boy is queer because xyz” and into “let’s talk about Mike in terms of the wider scope of his cultural context and upbringing.” 🤷🏽‍♀️😂

[siriusblack-the-third]

Sirius Black: Hobbies and Interests

The second part of The Sirius Black Headcanons Series! Here, I explore what he would have loved to do, and I hope you enjoy reading these!

Prev

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Loves flying, and is outstanding at it. Does not play Quidditch, but he does play air polo— polo on flying horses, or brooms if horses are not available. He does not care which one as long as he gets to play the sport. He also did competitive broom racing in school, and won a lot of trophies because he was just so bloody good at it. When James' mother gifted him a muggle bike for his 18th birthday, he enchants it to fly, and goes for a ride at least thrice a week. (James tried once to get Sirius to play Quidditch, but ended up getting roped into air polo himself.)

Competitive Duelling before he graduated Hogwarts and joined the Order. He participated everywhere— open circuits, a lot of closed competitions, and invite-only events— all over Europe and the Americas. Generally he was out of Hogwarts twice a month for two to three days, and he won a lot of them. He is an excellent duellist and everyone knows it; he won the U-19 Europe Open at the age of fourteen, a tournament that had over 2000 participants.

Playing the violin. It is the one thing apart from Duelling that his mother didn't force onto him as a child— he asked for classes of his own volition after seeing his grandmother Melanie play a truly beautiful tune when putting baby Regulus to sleep. He was naturally talented, and he practiced for years and years, and even after his tutor declared his education complete, he practised for at least 20 minutes every day. He played for himself rather than performing, and especially he played to put baby Harry to sleep, so much so that Harry would refuse to sleep if Sirius was not there.

Reads everything he can get his hands on. Everything. He prefers the genres of mystery, thriller, murder, historical and political fiction and mythologies of different religions. He and James devour books like they breathe air, both of them possessing excellent memory and being able to recall everything almost perfectly after only one read. Reading is a hobby he got from his father; they used to spend a lot of time together in the Black family library, debating topics ranging from Academics to Practical Magic to Ancient Philosophy to Current Affairs.

He enjoys spellcrafting a lot. Most of the pranks the Marauders play are planned with the spells that Sirius and James create. It is a little... illegal to experiment, but honestly he does not care. There are loopholes in those laws, and he knows them— he has read his father's law books. As long as nobody is adversely affected by his experimentation, and he sticks to a few ground rules, he should be fine. Besides, all his inventions came in handy when he was messing around with his motorbike.

Pranking. Do we even need to expand on this? Sirius is a genius, and he gets bored easily. Classwork is too easy for him, so he sets his sights on something interesting; the practical aspects of magic. Pranking, for him and James, is not just about taking the piss out of someone; it is about pushing the limits of magic, about accomplishing feats in magic people tell them are extremely difficult. It is about figuring out what magic can do if the limits of imagination are pushed. For the two of them, pranking is a giant experiment on the practicality, uses and effects of magic. They research, they read theses, textbooks, dissertations, encyclopaedias, they take notes and attend the higher year classes, and then they apply their knowledge to creative magical pranking.

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Do not tag w*lfst*r, do not argue with me in the notes, and if you don't agree with my HCs you can scroll past, please and thank you.

[saintsenara]

there is so much new stuff on your blog that i need to catch up with omg and i swear i will get to it BUT. BUT FIRST. i have a question (which, funnily, is really relevant to my actual offline life rn): if tom riddle was a doctor, what specialty would he practice? [he gives me major neurosurgery vibes] and, more laterally, what do you think makes a good surgeon? as in, what kind of personality types fare the best in a surgical program?

now this is the sort of content i like to see!

while i can certainly see good old dr riddle [bmbch oxon] very much enjoying having a rummage around in a patient's cranium, he strikes me as someone who would prefer specialties on the medical, rather than surgical, spectrum - and, especially, would like specialties which require a lot of sifting through evidence and solving mysteries. he's clearly a puzzle girly [why else would he spend his teenage years coming up with anagrams of his own name?] and so i think he'd very much like the parts of his job which allowed him to spend half his time running a lot of invasive tests on people and the other half skulking in a lab getting an enormous amount of money to run research projects...

so he's applying for:

haematology

aka: staring at blood - which is right up his alley. his particular interest is coagulation disorders in pregnant women - and their contribution to these women dying in childbirth.

histopathology

aka: staring at slices of tissue. he's determined to find out whether or not the soul resides in the liver.

neuropathology

i think we can all picture him presiding over a collection of brains preserved in formalin. one of them is dumbledore's.

forensic pathology

cutting up corpses by order of the state? he's in! his team of graduate students have conned several million out of the wellcome trust and are spending it trying to reanimate their specimens.

forensic psychiatry

because while if you want to be a good psychiatrist you need an iron will and well-developed sense of empathy, if you want to be a bad one you need to be able to gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss. and our tom's got that nailed...

now.

the above flippancy is about to make me look quite bad, because i am also a puzzle girly, and i like medicine precisely for the sort of mystery solving and research paper publishing it enables. but i'm not a mass-murderer, which i feel it's important to clarify...

i'm not a surgeon either - i didn't struggle with the gory bits of the work, i just didn't find any of the surgical specialties i shadowed during my training particularly compelling in re: that element of mystery.

while the reputation they sometimes have - especially on tv - for being scalpel-wielding jocks isn't accurate, it's certainly true that the defining trait you need as a surgeon is total, unshakeable conviction. in all medical specialities outside of emergency medicine you have the option to adopt a wait-and-see approach a lot of the time - but you do not have this option if you've got someone open on the table in front of you. you need to be enormously decisive, capable of tunnel-vision, incredibly good under pressure, and also a little bit arrogant - the only way you can get through the terror of knowing that you're responsible for slicing and dicing someone [particularly in specialties like neonatal surgery or neurosurgery] is to believe unquestioningly that you're going to smash it.

these are probably all traits you already possess - they're certainly something it benefits all doctors to have, in moderation - and they can also be learned and honed through practise, but they're going to be most crucial in surgery because - the vast majority of the time - your issue won't be working out what's wrong with a patient, it'll be pulling off the operation without a hitch.

surgeons still get to do academic work, clinical research and so on, but if you think you want to be a surgeon, you really have to like that slicing and dicing, in-and-out aspect of the work. if you can't see yourself performing thousands upon thousands of the same operation, it's not for you.

[multimystica]

Card of the Day! #5

Friendly reminder to like/reblog and reccomend my work if you like it, it would help a lot and make me happy :)

Go ahead, take a deep breath, choose one of the 3 cards below then click the keep reading button for your reading.

Card 1 - IX of Cups

Abundance! You have it all! This card speaks of satisfaction and having what you want to a point you must beware of being smug or bragging about it! Take a look:

Whatever you want today, you already have it! This is a day for wishes coming true, satisfaction and gratitude.

In the positive aspect, it's very likely that good things and achievements happen to you today, just enjoy it, be happy and thankful! On the very least, if it's something good but not something wonderful, just enjoy the inner happiness that has come with it, value the little things as well. ✨

The negative aspects of this card are related to being smug or bragging about the things you've got, so that's my warning for you today, just don't do that. I get it that your wishes came true and you achieved things and it's something you feel like it's good to share your happiness with those around you, but keep in mind it may come across them as bragging or it may make them feel bad for what they lack currently, so be mindful of that when attempting to share your happiness with others.

On the other hand, if you come across a smug/braggart today just make sure to understand they're happy with what they got and try not to take it personally (the time will come for you too when you achieve the same success, be patient). Unless it's in fact a personal attack, in which case you may as well just tell 'em to fuck off, why'd you want to keep someone like that around ya anyways?

Card 2 - IV of cups

Boredom, apathy, contemplation... Not the greatest day but not the worst, eh? This card illustrates that so well:

Had to picture that one with my phone cause the ones available on the internet were just not being fair to the colors on the card at all.

On the positive aspect of this card, it's a day to contemplate the opportunities you currently have, to meditate about things, ask questions to yourself on wether to take or leave said opportunities before making a final decision. It's also a good day to wonder wether you're being distant to people and if so what motivates that.

On the negative aspect of it, we have boredom, apathy, general lack of interest and great opportunities being missed just because you're feeling kinda low... If you feel low and think you have no opportunities available to you today take a second look because they're certainly there.

If you've been unmotivated with life, take a time out, breathe, consider why is that and make sure to give chance to life's opportunities available to you even if you're not much in the mood, you may be positively surprised by the outcomes.

Card 3 - Knight of Pentacles

Commitment, loyalty, attention to detail. Usually this card represents a very good friend, let's get more into that

As a person, this is a loyal, dedicated, reliable friend, he helps his friends, is cautious and slow moving, and sometimes completely halts progress due to it. He tends to be extra careful about everything he does and get caught up in the details. His progress is sturdy and long lasting though. He gives well-thought out and practical advice. He values rules and principles above all else. Comfort, security and luxury are highly valued by him. He learns from past experiences and academic studies and uses them in very practical ways.

The advice here is to think of his qualities as a person and wonder, do you lack said qualities? If not, are you having these in excess? If you need help or advice from a friend today, look for a friend with his qualities.

Unrelated topic:

If you need more info on readings please feel free to message. If you can share and recommend my services, that'd be much appreciated. I'm struggling financially at the moment so any paying customers would be highly appreciated. I'm willing to give discounts and throw in extra bonus readings to any paying customers at the time.

[batsplat]

which motogp tracks would you love to see back on the calendar? and which ones would you get rid of?

the main one I wanted back was brno, and they've done that!! that one was a no-brainer

I get the sense argentina won't be coming back any time soon, which is a real shame. it's one of those tracks with a lot of character, feels quite different from everything else on the calendar, often quite slippery and quirky and lent itself to some decent racing. I'll miss it. another obvious pick is welkom, even if they'd have to update the track to make it more suitable to modern motogp. a big part of the appeal here is admittedly the geographical factor and how hosting a race in africa again should be a priority, but I have also enjoyed the welkom races I've watched! I'm going to set aside racing in the lower categories in this post because I kinda feel like they can have decent racing pretty much anywhere. but even for the few premier class races they held there, where I mainly remember 2002, 2003 and 2004... from those 2004 stands out for obvious reasons - which, hey, at least we know for a fact that the circuit can produce classic duels. which is not true of all the circuits that will be mentioned on this list

there's always the laguna question, which does feel particularly academic since motogp definitely isn't returning there for a whole host of reasons. am I sad about that? hm, idk, it was a terrifying track even with the older bikes. with the new bikes, you feel like it would have to be changed a lot to be remotely feasible. it was never a track particularly suited to motogp, you have to say. while it did constitute a thrilling riding challenge, it also wasn't particularly conducive to exciting racing. and yes, I'm aware that they did have one of the races of all time there, but that was very much the exception that proved the rule. (the 2011 casey on jorge blind corner overtake slapped too, yup.) I'm kinda fine with it staying gone - I reckon I'd always feel uneasy watching it and we've probably got as much out of the circuit as a sport as we were going to get. there's a few other ones that get mentioned in these conversations... estoril, for instance, but I'm also not too fussed about that one being gone idk. donington also gets brought up a fair bit and I am kinda fond of that one, but it also wasn't exactly churning out classic races either. don't really feel like the sport has that many lost gems it desperately needs to return to - and any track that hasn't been on the calendar for a while would have to be updated a lot to be feasible now anyway. as long as they don't return to indianapolis, it's all good

moving on to the ones I'd prefer to scrap. first off, portimao - word on the street is that they're not returning next year, which I'm not too upset about. my main problems with this one are the well-documented safety concerns. last year was of course particularly horrific and I'm glad they finally made some changes this year, but it's still a bit of a scary track. it's also one of those that feels like a great riding challenge more than a great race track. I do really enjoy watching riders navigate the roller coaster, it's a good track to watch practise sessions and qualifying and all that... which is lovely, but has the racing really been all that spectacular? I don't know, one that I'm very much in two minds about - but given it just feels like a bit of an endless safety nightmare, it's hard to be too upset to see it go

I kinda feel similarly about some aspects of cota. it's a cool track to watch someone chuck a bike around, clearly a very interesting technical riding challenge, but it doesn't lend itself to particularly good racing. now, I admit that this stance has aged poorly this year, given we randomly had an absolute banger race there that with benefit of hindsight will probably end up being one of the top three races of the season. who knows what that was about! kinda the first good premier class race we've had there! I'd like to see more of the same in years to come to be convinced, but in general I'm not militantly opposed to the track's existence. I'm also not a big fan of motegi, mainly because it's got quite a dull layout - a bunch of straights and copy-and-pasted corners. you compare it to something like sepang, which is such a cool track because it's got so many different fun things going on... with motegi, they kinda had one idea and it wasn't a particularly good one and it's a bit whatever. just not a big fan of stop-and-go centric tracks icl. I don't massively mind it and we've had some decent races there in the past (albeit often aided by the weather), but I also really wouldn't miss it

perhaps my most controversial pick is austria. look, I know we had three back-to-back classics there. it's clearly a track that has produced some great races in the past... though, let's be honest, that really was just a specific era of racing where a good way to produce a classic contest was 'let marc loose on dovi at a circuit that heavily favoured ducati'. there were always some extremely obvious safety concerns with its layout, which very very clearly was not designed with motorcycles in mind - and we came within literal centimetres of tragedy in 2020. I know motorcycle racing is a dangerous sport, I know we still go to tracks where riders have died... but there's a difference between threats that are close to impossible to avoid in the sport and threats that are clearly accentuated by the circuit layout. they did finally make some changes in 2022 by adding the chicane... but in doing so, they've made the racing a lot worse, and the last three editions have been absolute snoozefests. (both 2020 editions were mostly exciting for the wrong reasons and 2021 was exciting literally only because of the weather.) and it's still a circuit where it's way too easy for the bikes to end up back on track!! so now the track has lost quite a bit of its character and it's still dangerous and the on-track action there is poor even by the standards of the current era... also, and this really is just a personal preference - this one's got a lot of very stop-and-go hard braking corners too, which I'm not like... inherently opposed to obviously, but when given the choice I do prefer more fast and flow-y bits and ideally a mix between different types of corners. certainly more a mix than THIS track, it just all feels so same-y. idk, I'm not a fan. it's a nice, simple little car track, not a bike track. we can always lovingly remember the 2017-19 editions and go somewhere else, because that's the best we'll ever see from that circuit

actually y'know what, aleix and luca said it for me:

my main enemy, however, is valencia. first of all, *casey stoner voice* FOUR races in one measly european country is kinda pushing it. obviously, you're not getting rid of jerez. while I do agree that the tyre munching qualities of the catalunya track paired with the current bikes isn't making for good racing... well, that track has enough of a history of great racing I'm hoping we can return to its former glory. aragon this year was admittedly a bit valencia-like for my liking... still, in years where the grip levels aren't quite so fucked and it's not quite this dirty, we have seen some pretty decent racing there. it's generally not a bad overtaking circuit actually - as both 2015 and 2021 showed, the tricky thing used to be making the overtakes actually stick. anyhow, valencia is clearly the worst of these four, but I'd want it abolished wherever it was in the world. it has always been shit. it's narrow, slippery and dirty. when it's dry, it can produce some of the most tedious racing known to man. it's kinda like aragon this year except it's like that every year and the track is also tighter... you can't dare to stray off line because it's all so dirty, so any overtaking tends to happen because someone's made a mistake. the definition of processional. riveting

which would all be bad enough, but then it also has the audacity to be the last race of the season. sure, we've sometimes had interesting races in valencia; title deciders are so nervy that even watching paint dry can be interesting if you're worried the paint's going to fuck it. these are not, however, classic races... these title deciders could be so much more interesting if they were held literally anywhere else. why is it that we've decided to hold potentially our most dramatic race of the season at a track where it is virtually guaranteed you won't get a duel? obviously, race long duels aren't really a thing currently in motogp at any track - but even in eras with way better racing, most valencia races are pretty unwatchable. the best valencia races in the premier class were 1) 2011, where a battle for bragging rights between dovi and dani is low key as good a duel as I've ever seen there, while casey ended up in an uncharacteristically dramatic final lap battle for the victory (albeit one that only happened because of the changing weather conditions), and 2) 2013, where jorge was the most aggressive he'd been for quite a few years while attempting to push marc back into the pack and managing the dani situation (even there the battle doesn't last all that long until jorge gives up and fuck off... of course jorge also wouldn't have ridden that way if it hadn't been the title decider). that's it. throw the rest away. a quarter century's worth of races, mind you - and even those two races I would label 'pretty decent' rather than 'actual classics'. we will never have a classic race that also happens to be a season finale because we insist on always going to that godawful track. literally bomb the site if that's what's needed. appalling circuit, appalling slot in the calendar. it will not survive the revolution

[tokillamockingbird427]

Thoughts on what Rorke's parents/family would be like? Been tryna figure out how the guy might have decided to enlist. Maybe?? was a jock in highschool but considering how he acted prefed he seemed like he'd be pretty chill in highschool. Or maybe he was a total bully and the military was a redemption arc,,

Okay so the reason I even have an idea for good ole Gabes childhood/upbringing is because of an oc, my dearly beloved Mich who's main deets got whipped up with @callofdooty. (Details with how we write him may differ, but Mich only exists out of a convo with them.)

SO, first thing! Mich is pronounced Mitch, his full name is Micheal, he is named as such to match Gabe/Gabriel, and he is the older brother of the two Rorke children.

ONWARD!

Their parents were on the stricter side and more of the classically patriotic type. Both of them were on the colder side and had the mindset that their kids needed to obey them and succeed and they needed to do little else then tell them to do it to make it happen. They also weren't very shy about picking favorites, and it was Gabe because he fall on the obedient side; Mich was a rebel through and through.

Now while Gabe was the popular pick at home, Mich was the more popular one in school. This is mostly due to both of their personalities: Gabe is very competitive and tends to get upset/angry if he's not "the best" at a thing and will then push people away. (Mich has a scar on the side of his mouth from an incident where Gabe whipped a rock at him when they were like... 7 and 10.) He also worries less about out-home social connections because he feels less of a need for them. Mich on the other hand feels the need to make connections outside of home because of the rejection he faces there, and as a consequence, is a social butterfly.

Now the first and second paragraph are both things that caused some disagreement between the brothers, and a lot of the time they struggled to get along. Both of them very much do love each other, and when everything else goes to shit they'd go to the other first, but unfortunately they felt pitted against each other a lot of the time and didn't find tons of common ground. ("Don't be like your brother"/"Why can't you be more like your brother" type shit.)

Now in school, outside the social aspect, both boys excel in the academic section. Talking honor roll, AP classes, class valedictorian, shit like that. While naturally gifted both boys also put a lot of effort into their successes, and it was one of a few things they would cooperate over. (Help each other with studying and shit.) They were also both in extracurriculars for those bonus nerd points: Gabe was in chess club (enjoys the tactical smarts needed) and Mich was in the yearbook committee.

Unfortunately for Gabe one of the most devastating life events for him took place very soon after Mich turned 18: Mich left. He didn't die, to be clear, if he did I'd fuckin tell you straight, but he felt that he and his parents had no obligation to one another at that point and moved out. Running off to places unknown and, in Gabes eyes, abandoning him.

And I did say they didn't get along great, but they were still brothers. Gabe still looked up to Mich no matter how much his parents would point to him as a bad example. They were each others confidant and closest friend. They were integral to each others lives and neither knew living without the other until Mich left.

This made Gabe very resentful of Mich, and unfortunately, he chose right then to rebel... Not against his parents, but his brother. Mich was the worst in his eyes at that point, so Gabe wanted to be everything he wasn't. Which is pretty much exactly what his parents wanted. As if he weren't bad enough before good ole Gabe became even more straight laced and obedient, joining the military when he got old enough and working his ass off constantly to be "the best" there too. (Also just straight in general... or at least he tried. Elias.) We pretty much knowhow the rest of his life went after this point in time (Sand Viper, the Ghosts, Caracas...) but I'm always down for some more resolution.

Between being in the service for a few years and Caracas, Mich reached out to his little brother, and Gabe rejected the attempt... But Mich kept up. And it's good he did! Gabe was eventually worn down, because while he was still very sore about Mich leaving some part of him still wanted his brother. He agrees to hear Mich out for a bit without any guarantees, which Mich is overjoyed with.

During this first in a while conversation Mich actually reveals several very key details: He did leave home of his own accord, but he didn't want to cut his connection with Gabe. Their parents had barred Mich from speaking to or seeing him, and after Gabe moved out Mich just lost him entirely. It'd taken him all the time between then and there to figure out where Gabe went, exasperated because Mich did have his own life to lead alongside trying to track his brother down.

Hearing all of this, Gabe is fine with a trial period of sorts because Mich has little other evidence than "Just trust me bro." because their parents are deceased atp in time and even if they were alive Mich doubts they'd be people to confirm it.

Over the next few years they begin to catch up again, filling in the details of each others lives and connecting better now that their parents can't set them up against each other. They do take time to get used to each other again, given their polar existences, but they get there.

This all ends in 2015 of course. Given Gabriel dies.

[crickwater]

I'm actually starting to get settled t uni and making friends and stuff so I'm not gonna do actually do it but I'm deeply tempted to try nd get into the film school I tried getting into lst year just to see if they would accept me now

[doodle-pops]

Thoughts on Fingon

A/N: I've had so many thoughts about his character for the longest time and thanks to a friend for giving me a boost, I feel a bit more confident releasing my interpretation of his character. Some may appear repetitive, but eh. Please, these are my headcanons, you don't have to agree. If you don't, refrain from negative commentary. Thank you :)

‘Wise he was and skilled in voice and hand’, this part of Fingon’s description I noticed, tends to get overlooked a lot when characterising and building his persona.

He is a wise person, and may not have been the wisest like his fellow cousins or skilled in advanced magic like them, but Fingon was able to hold his ground when it came to academics and warfare. He wasn't all about athletic and lack wisdom and knowledge, he had brains (didn't use them rightly all the time lol).

Athletics was not the only aspect of Fingon’s life that he was skilled in, he was also articulate in academics. As the son of a prince, he would have outstanding scholars teaching him all topics throughout his adolescence.

Participating in court from a young age as he attended sessions with his father and engaging in small debates when he could. He was not the best or the most eloquent when it came to more advanced topics, but he was wise enough when challenging his opponents.

It wouldn’t be until his younger brother Turgon became of age and began attending court alongside him, he would take a step back to allow his brother to shine and show off his knowledge and enthusiasm. Fingon did become a little jealous of the trail of attention falling onto his brother more than him when he began showing more interest in politics.

But he did enjoy partaking in court, just not to the extent as his other family members.

Sports for him was a getaway/stress-reliever activity that he grew to enjoy and developed professionalism in certain areas. He excels well in horseback riding, ice skating (I like to believe Valinor had ice skating), archery, wrestling and other track and field events.

When it came to being skilled in hand in the warfare aspect, he was an extraordinarily proficient swordsman (he would have aided in training Maedhros after his recovery after all). Among his cousins, he would have ranked fourth (4th) or fifth (5th).

Following up with the previously mentioned quote, he was also his father’s commander during their time in Beleriand. As a commander, who later became the High King, he was somewhat of a strategist which leads to being a manipulator. Being skilled in hand and voice, especially the latter is primarily the reason why he can be charismatic and charming when he spoke to people.

Being able to easily influence persons to allow him to have his way (not in a conniving manner which he can do). He mostly used his voice to speak inspiration and strength into the hearts of people, lifting their spirits (a motivational speaker).

Then too, he may not of had the most political involvement in Beleriand or been the most outstanding commander under his father’s rule, but he was fairly decent even as a High King and wise. Being able to give orders on his own, plan and not always needing to rely on others.

He isn’t always the cheery, go-to sunshine prince charming or merry glittery prince, Fingon can also be a quiet and observant person who prefers to bask in his little world of troubles and be angst. Giving emotional support to others while humbly expressing his misery and trauma.

As much as he enjoys putting on the ‘people’s supportive and serotonin prince’ façade, there are days when he can barely hold himself together. He would quietly walk through the streets of Hithlum, mourning the loss of his brother, sister-in-law and other fallen comrades or find himself crying in the rain.

Furthermore, let's not forget that he was also a kinslayer. It may not be engraved into his blood or mind the way it would be for the Feanorians (allowing for murder to be a primary threat), but it does float around his conscience.

As much as he has regrettably apologised to himself and to his cousins, and viewed as one of the calmest of the kinslayers, he is still considered unpredictable. Being a friendly charming radiant prince still isn't enough for many, including himself, to forget what he is capable of.

Masterlist

Taglist: @eunoiaastralwings @noldorinpainter @ranhanabi777 @spidergirla5 @lilmelily @someoneinthestars @mysticmoomin @aconstructofamind @starborne0661 @floraroselaughter @singleteapot @the-phantom-of-arda @rain-on-my-umbrella @wandererindreams @asianbutnotjapanese @justjane @justellie17 @edensrose

[aroanthy]

i've thoroughly enjoyed everything you already said on the topic and would like to ask if there is anything else you might want to get off your chest about saionjis gender shit if it strikes the fancy?

i am the transfem saionji truther, we know this, but mannnn. her whole thing with masculinity is so damn interesting and i see very few people actually grasp at what's going on in that (malcolm tucker voice) abandoned barn of a brain of hers. that was a joke btw her brain is not an abandoned barn she actually makes some of the most astute points in the whole show lmfao. anyway

saionji's masculine ideal is much more informed by traditionally japanese ideas of gender, as opposed to the americanised 'modern man' masculinity that akio peddles. like saionji thinks that princes are cringe. he's just also tormented by the fact that no one else thinks that and everyone loves these princes and because he's got the world's biggest inferiority complex, he can only think that he's wrong, that he's been left behind to a world deemed 'unspecial' because of some innate quality about him. and whenever saionji thinks this (all the time) he becomes fucking awful to be around.

i digress. saionji takes being the president of the kendo club very seriously, not just because he takes Everything seriously but-- well. arguably the reason that he takes Everything seriously is because of his practice of kendo. i think it's a bit of a chicken and the egg situation wrt 'is saionji Just Like That or did his warrior grindset make him that way'. kendo is really important to him, and the way that he and touga are (rarely, lol) able to connect through it would suggest, i argue, that it's a good and healthy thing for him to have in his life. same goes for touga but that's a different post about 1000 other things.

i think this gets at a) something rgu is trying to get at wrt americanisation and a critique of aspects of japanese culture that doesn't then discard that culture altogether. ikuhara does this a lot more obviously in his other shows. and then b) on a character-level, it's about separating something valuable and important (the practice of kendo) from ideas that have enmeshed themselves with it bc Society (misogyny, namely). saionji's conception of masculinity is all about kendo, and he likes kendo, but he's uncomfortable with/stifled by this expectation of Manliness that he simply cannot access in a way he's comfortable with. it's only when he lets himself forget about his obsession with power dynamics and Being A Man that he can just. enjoy this aspect of his life that informs how he lives it so wholly. tldr girls can be kendokas too. which is obvious to people who aren't as misogyny-brainrotted as ohtori academy student saionji kyouichi, but swagever.

btw if anyone whose better educated on nuances of japanese culture than i, white british person whose only read a handful of academic articles on the subject, thinks something ive said here is off in any way, please let me know!! i always always always want to gain a better understanding of rgu as a distinctly japanese show, my lack of resources and formal education on these topics be damned!!

i just think saionji is an androgynous legend who should get into textile crafts. let her woodcarve and knit. she'll be unstoppable. practical queen etc etc. lets embrace gender anarchy together

[calimera62]

One thing I love about the musical, yet is quite underrated, is Alfred and Professor Abronsius’s relationship. I think they have a lot of potential, beside the comedic aspect of them being amateur vampire hunters who failed at their job.

When you think about it, Alfred and Abronsius have a lot in common. They’re both alone, both friendless, both bookish, both seen as a bit weird.

Alfred is most probably an orphan (during “He, Ho, He” he basically says no one would miss him if he were to disappear), so it’s likely he has no friend and no family. I think he lives alone with just books for companions and Abronsius as his only friend and authority figure. He’s shy and insecure, yet longs to be noticed and understood and loved (he quickly fell in love with Sarah and was ready to follow her anywhere, also how he latched on when Krolock gave him attention during “Vor dem Schloss”).

As for Abronsius, he’s mocked by his pairs who think of him as a fool (in the movie, he’s called “The Nut”) so it’s likely he’s alone as well as he’s mocked, seen as an outcast, an odd bird.

In short, everyone think of Abronsius as a fool.

Alfred? Alfred thinks he’s brilliant.

He probably stayed after his classes to talk to Abronsius or even offers his help to gather his stuff, and they ended up bonding over their shared interests, one of them being vampires.

Granted, I don’t think the nature of their interest toward vampires is the same. I headcanon Alfred as secretly fascinated by them and having a bit of a dark side, a thirst, a longing that’s less noticeable than with Sarah, but he is as fascinated by vampires as he is scared by them, something Abronsius probably doesn’t know about and wouldn’t understand.

Because that’s the thing about Alfred and Abronsius. While I do believe they are genuinely fond of each other, they’re not always on the same page, they don’t understand each other very well.

Abronsius can sometimes be seen as coldly academic. He dislike showing emotions, he’s all for logic but no emotions. He often ignores Alfred or dismiss his feelings, which cause Alfred to feel misunderstood and neglected. Abronsius often gets too distracted or preoccupied with his studies he can ignore Alfred or lacks patience with him (something Krolock definitely noticed in “Vor dem Schloss” and uses to his advantage, to try to lure Alfred to his side. During the song, he mentioned Abronsius and how Alfred should leave him, how his mentor doesn’t understand him and his feelings, his wants. He focuses his attention on Alfred and Alfred… can’t help but be fascinated, at least curious).

It doesn’t mean Abronsius doesn’t care. Of course, it depends of the actor portraying the Professor, but I do believe he cares for Alfred, despite not always showing it and in spite of the way he can treat him sometimes. In some versions of “Sie Irren Professor”, he pushes Alfred behind him as if to protect him from Krolock’s taunt/temptation. In another version of the musical (Kentaur?), Abronsius is looking for Alfred at the end, which mirrors the opening scene and humanises the Professor.

In short, Alfred and Abronsius are two lonely and odd birds who found each other, who enjoy each other’s company, yet they can’t always understand each other. That’s the tragedy of their relationship.

Alfred and Abronsius deserved better, yet… it’s all of this which make their relationship so interesting, with a lot of potential!

[worflesbian]

Deanna really reacts to the loss of her powers in the exact way the academic overachiever girls ive known and loved react to getting their first bad grade/setback in uni. it's a combination of understandable anxiety, frustration, sadness and self doubt mixed with this distinct flavour of "but why is this happening to Me". people who've always excelled in their field if not effortlessly then at least with the appearance of effortlessness suddenly being confronted with the idea that they might lose that intangible quality that allows them to outstrip everyone else, might suddenly be fighting for a passing grade like everyone else, panic in a very specific way. there's the fear of failure but there's also the fear of being ordinary, which can come off in a certain kind of way to people who have always been ordinary, but the thing those people might not realise is just how much is riding on their ability to excel. I feel like Deanna in particular places a lot of importance on her ability to be a good counselor, to perform her duties on the ship -- if she went through with the resignation she starts in this episode, where would she go? what would she do? and crucially, who would she be? it's not just that she enjoys being the best of the best, she's pinned a not insignificant amount of her self worth on her ability to help others. and of course there's the aspect of her perception of reality fundamentally narrowing, but that doesn't quite fit the analogy

[femmesandhoney]

Hey I hope this isn't too annoying of an ask, but literally how are you so happy at college? You're like the student I want to be, you're always posting on here about your classes and you're so engaged and seem so into it. Every semester for me is just another couple months of the time passing and panicking. I'm either completely paralyzed in bed or I'm crying in bed. Like, how do you seem so good at this?

it's not all sunshine and rainbows believe me. even my best friend has told me i come off as someone who "has it all figured out", but i often do not feel the same lol, i miss assignments, i stress out and procrastinate until the last minute, i get drained from all the work mentally and physically. all the regular college shit. outside of that tho, i legitimately love learning and interacting with others who are interested in what i like and who i can learn from. that's usually what keeps me happy! i love the people i meet in my classes, i like group discussions, i like being introduced to new things, i love my profs and take all the classes i can with them. generally, im just friendly w people in my classes and that makes me enjoy going to them, and i take classes i enjoy, and if they're reqs i don't care for, i always try to take something out of the experience.

some people do not find learning for the sake of learning fun, but i do, which makes even the roughest days okay, but that doesn't mean the tedious and demanding aspects of college curricula do not wear me down too. i decided to wait to go to grad school bc im exhausted! i am tired and need a break from always having another damn assignment to do and another article to read 😭 those things are taxing, and i already have bad self discipline habits, so you can imagine i often make stuff harder for myself than they need to be. the only reason i get good grades is bc im smart and have a relatively easy time understanding the subjects i study. if i take anything outside my favorite academic areas, like say the natural resources class i took a few years ago, that shit had me crying every damn day lmao.

so yeah, i just enjoy learning for learning sake, but also i like academia and going thru the motions of a classroom experience is fun to me for all the reasons i listed, including the fact i want to be a college professor and just enjoy that atmosphere a lot. i would wager if you're constantly frustrated by your college experience, maybe analyze a bit deeper on what you most dislike? is it specific profs, the people in ur classes, the subject material itself? if theres anything you can try and control to make it more agreeable for you, always take the opportunity, tho ik its not always possible. im lucky that all my areas of study have naturally wonderful people drawn to them (especially the international studies students!), but ik some majors can draw less nice people sometimes :( which can make ur experience harder than it should be. or some people legitimately do not enjoy the institutions that are schools and what they traditionally demand from a person, which is completely understandable. my best friend didn't go to college bc she barely graduated high school bc she hated attending and never turned in her hw. some people just do not thrive in such strict school environments for many reasons. but whatever your case is, i hope you have easier semesters in the future if you continue, no one should ever be so stressed from a class that they cry over it. i think thats a failure of a class and a professor when that occurs, and a sign of a bad class/prof rather than a bad student.

[analysisn3rd]

Egashira Mika

Personality

I think that Mika has an interesting personality, especially because there’s so much that she hides of herself. I think it’s interesting how a lot of the Skip and Loafer characters hide their true personality because the way in which they do that is so incredibly different.

 One of her most remarkable characteristics is how smart and observant she is. I don’t mean this in the typical academic intelligence, although she is smart in that aspect as well; what I mean is that she’s quite good at reading people, which means that she’s attentive to detail and that she’s observant. She’s able to use the information that she reads off of people to see whether they like her or not and to get a read on their character as well.  Because she’s able to read people well, due to her being smart and observant, she’s brutally honest with people because she knows what they’re truly like.

Although she started learning about makeup and fashion as a way to better fit in, I think that she’s genuinely passionate about it, which makes this passion of hers a major part of her personality. She knows so much about it that she’s sort of considered the ‘expert’ within her friends. She also really enjoys sharing the information that she has and talking about fashion and beauty products with Yuzuki and Nao, which is what led me to make my conclusion about it being a real passion of hers because this shows that she genuinely likes it.

I would say that the most important thing to her is to make herself likeable, which is why I consider it a form of people pleasing; it has caused her to change so much of herself and to push herself to do things that she didn’t like just for the sake of fitting in better with others and making them like her. She knows exactly what people expect of her and she changed herself a lot, to the point that it’s difficult to see what she’s  genuinely like. She hides herself behind this ‘mean pretty girl’ personality because she knows that, if she were to be herself, she would get bullied and picked at mercilessly. She saw how people treated her when she acted like how they expected her to, they were better to her, more friendly. This caused her to see her mean and rude attitude as a way to defend or protect herself from being bullied.  

Despite acting really rude and unpleasant towards Mitsumi and only being fakely nice to her to get what she wants, she’s genuinely a kind person, especially to those she cares about. I would say that this is because she’s in a better place now, where she can be herself fully without being shamed for being weird, which allows her to show her friends how much she really loves them. 

One of her more negative traits is how she’s very evidently jealous, mostly of Mitsumi but sometimes of Yuzuki as well. She’s jealous of Mitsumi because she doesn’t seem to care even though people think that she’s a weirdo or an airhead. She’s jealous of how smart and hardworking Mitsumi is. She’s jealous of how Mitsumi isn’t like her, where she isn’t ashamed to be herself, unlike Mika. She’s also jealous of Yuzuki’s natural beauty. I think that, now, she’s trying to decrease those feelings of jealousy because she genuinely loves and cares about both Mitsumi and Yuzuki.

Another negative trait of hers is that she probably has some form of self-esteem issues, where she sees herself as ‘lesser than’ or ‘worse than’ others. This is probably, along with the reason that they have what she has always wanted so effortlessly and she tries hard to get it but doesn’t, why she feels so incredibly jealous of Mitsumi and Yuzuki. She thinks this way because she knows that she’s faked or hidden a lot of her personality, a lot to the point that I’d say that there are parts of herself that she probably wouldn’t recognise. She also feels this way because she’s so focused on how her friends are so much better than her that she loses sight of how she’s not that different from them.

Overall, Mika is an incredibly interesting person who’s quite complex because of how much she hides of herself, making her harder to read.

Insecurities and fears

Mika’s fears make a lot of sense regarding her past experiences with people and her personality.

She’s scared of being left alone and being abandoned. She knows what being alone is like, and she’s been alone before with no friends. That was what made her realise that, if she wanted to be liked by these people, she should change herself to what they want from her. This is why, amongst other reasons, she’s jealous of Mitsumi acting like herself, acting weird, and not caring about how she sticks out from everyone. 

She’s also afraid of being unloved. This is because she experienced what that feels like and it’s the only thing that she really wants, to be loved and admired (and maybe feared slightly) by friends and a boyfriend. That’s why she changed herself so much. That’s why she acted terribly to Mitsumi and Yuzuki initially. She just wanted to be loved, and the girls understood that, each in their own way, and accepted her for who she really is, and not the image that she presents of herself for people to like her because it’s what people expect of her.

Conclusion

I feel like I didn’t make much sense. Mika’s an incredibly complicated character and, because of that, I doubt that I was right about what I said about her. I honestly didn’t like her at first because of how she treated Mitsumi. I know why she did it, but Mitsumi is so much like me, so seeing someone treating a character so much like me so poorly didn’t sit right with me at all. I now feel bad for her, honestly. She’s gone through so much that she didn’t deserve, but I’m glad that she’s changed for the better. I hope that I wasn’t entirely wrong about her because I honestly love her a lot now. She represents the feelings of teenage girls very well, I think, and it’s so incredible that a character like her exists.

[nothingtherefornow]

To people saying Chloe and Lila would be hated if they werent white, as a POC woman I can say this. No. They’d still get people stanning them purely for skin color. Because in the minds of some people, if any writes a POC as anything other than a pure innocent angel they are RACIST.

Why do people like defending rotten wicked characters so much to the point of staning or excusing those character's evil actions and behavior ?

I know that nuanced villains are trendy right now, the kind of antagonist whose evil stems from a traumatic past, or whose intentions are noble but their methods immorals. And it's true that the writing of those kinds of characters is captivating to follow it's well written.

But sometimes, a character that is inherently evil in nature without any valid reason is also entertaining to follow. Lots of Disney villains for example, like Jafar, Scar, the first version of Maleficient, Dr Facilier, Frollo, Mother Gothel, etc... really embody a form of pure evil with no undertone of good in them, and yet we love them anyway without making excuses for their bad deeds all the time

Even if Chloe's behavior can be explained by having an abusive mother, Chloe is a character who, between seasons 4 and 5, embraced his evil nature and joy in hurting others.

She still had a chance to change and follow the right path between seasons 2 and 3, but between heroism and evil, Chloe has chosen evil, because deep down her selfishness and her ego are the dominant aspects of her personality.

In Chloe's head since being a hero didn't get her what she wanted, she would get it by becoming a villain, from then on Chloe is an antagonist, and we should appreciate her as such instead of trying to pass her off as the misunderstood anti-heroine that she is not

And wathever Lila's past is, she's going to far for her actions to be justified or easilly forgiven.

Lila is literally willing to help a dangerous villain terrorizing all of Paris and willing to help him endanger people just to get her petty revenge against those who barelly offended her. the one who could eventually truly warrant her hatred is Gabriel after Revelation, and yet

SPOILERS WARNING

It seems Lila will only content herself with seizing all of Gabriel's secrets and stealing his miraculous, while Marinette was once again be the victim and the scapegoat of Lila's rage and frustration in Revelation and Confrontation.

And not just Marinette, in Confrontation, Lila's plan involves also ruining the academic, even professional future of her classmates who have always been kind to her, and believed and supported her all this time. And yet she still planned to stab them like that just to put it all on Marinette's ? Or whas it because Lila actually takes a liking to the idea of ​​ruining innocent people's life. What can possibly justify such a despicable act? I tell you : NOTHING !!!

And finally, Lila isn't an harmless con artist, she is one fooling many women into thinking she is their daugther (which is emotionally abusive and neglectfull to those poor women), and attending two school at the same times under two different identities (thus excessively abusing the trust of her classmates, teachers and school mates). This is going to far just to get attention and affection

END OF SPOILER WARNING

Lila just seems to really craves the same thing that Chloé herself enjoys, crushing people's dreams and lives just because she can

From a moral point of view, Marinette absolutely does not deserve all the shit Lila inflicts on her, the hatred that Lila feels towards the two alter egos of Maribug is more gratuitous than justified. It is not just about a girl that Lila sees as a threat because she knows hier lies, Lila actually seems to be acting out of pure envy, jealousy, and desire to hurt when Marinette is concerned.

No matter what Lila's past and true attentions are, it doesn't justify nor excuse the real harm she does around her, and the same applies to Chloé as well. Because before they got exposed, Lila and Chloé weren't alone, they had people who guenuinly loved them and cared for them, they could have stopped and satisfied themselves with what they already had, which was already a lot. But they didn't.

Lila and Chloé don't necessarily want love nor affection that much, what they crave the most fame, popularity, attention and power more than anything else, and they are willing to do everything to get what they want, they are willing to become villains and hurt people for that. Character like that are not misunderstood victims, they are real bad and toxic people that you wouldn't want to forgive if you were victim of their worst misdeeds