Steven Universe discourse still cracks me up like

Y'all got a show made by people who clearly love doing their job with explicit LGBT+ rep including non-binary rep and a majority female cast with a variety of body types and with multiple women POC voice actors regarding topics like mindfulness meditation, forgiveness, trauma, PTSD, establishing boundaries within relationships, compassion, with an overall message of forgiveness

And yet y'all seemed to wish for the series' demise at every moment and complained about the most insignificant details like that the storyboard artists had slightly inconsistent art styles

The messages and characters are so complex and compelling and the show gets you to think about difficult concepts and topics which flew over people's heads completely

People still think Steven should've idk wiped out the Diamonds? In the show where the whole message is that people are complicated representations of their experiences and trauma and people deserve second chances?

Idk I feel like a lot of "fans" who start discourse don't actually like the show, otherwise they'd actually absorb the basic premise of it

:)

(message comes from friend of bees @ellieofthewoods )

[ bg3 ] i really love the tieflings!!!!!!

Robin chose Steve. Robin made the conscious and deliberate decision that she could and would trust Steve. She already liked him! She had fun working and bantering with him! They were already on their way to being weird little bffs and the torture just expedited the process. Steve chose Robin just the same! He thinks she's fun and cool and likes her so much! He chose to be honest and open with her too, putting himself out there.

Even though their interests on the surface level don't match why wouldn't they share them? Steve clearly caves when Robin wants to watch a movie he doesn't think he'll like, Robin can watch a March madness game or five.

Stop trying to take away their bond oh my god people can be close to more than one person!!! Their best friend doesn't have to be dismissive or mean or whatever in order for a romance to be special to them!

I really appriciate how often Machete is depicted struggling and feeling like a burden, while still being loved and supported by Vasco. It gives the top tier angst of "i'm not good enough, I'm not worth it" but you frame it in such a way where it's clear that's just how he *feels* and is not how things really are, but also it's so nice to see someone who struggles quite often in a loving and unique relationship that suits them. The narrative of not being able to love or be loved unless you're consistently healthy is really tiring lol.

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"roy kent shouldn't have asked keeley who the video was for" and "roy kent is still a good person who i personally think should end up with keeley this season" are truths that can co-exist, just as "jack choosing her image and privilege over keeley is something very in character for a rich, white woman" and "ted lasso's representation of lgbtq+ characters has been phenomenal" are also truths that can co-exist

so when are we gonna start appreciating undertale AUs for fueling a metric fuck ton of the creativity and longevity of the fandom because if i see one more person calling them the cringiest part of the last 8 years i might lose it

the way rtd has single handedly been responsible for the majority of queer storylines we’ve seen on british tv since the 90s and has done so much to normalise queer lives on tv (not to mention creating queer as folk, in which the american version changed the landscape of queer american television) so to see him do the same but by specifically centring trans lives on his big return to one of the biggest tv shows of all time, knowing that the entire country would be watching, the country at the forefront of terfism with another huge figure in british pop culture as the leader (jkr)... yeah, i'll take the campiness, i'll take on the nose dialogue.

it actually irritates me so much when people bring up the TENMA parents when someone's discussing Mrs Asahina, Harumichi or even Shinei. if you think poor Mr and Mrs Tenma are remotely comparable to those three disgraces, i am going to assume you don't read

Support group for people who hate showering because it feels like a task but like being in the shower once they're there

Actually research skills are hard to learn especially unsupervised so maybe telling people to just "Go figure it out" especially if you already know they've been failed academically in other ways, might actually be a great way to just send them to a PragerU video on the topic.

Here's the thing. Ashton is my guy who has done so many things wrong in their life and I know this and support them, but I think it's absolutely valid to dislike them for being abrasive and an asshole and a poser and entitled and all that shit that I am enjoying greatly. However, it is absolutely unhinged to dislike them for running into situations. Bells Hells has a level of analysis paralysis that puts every other party to absolute shame and makes me unironically wish Matt would implement a chess clock in combat. If, hypothetically, Ashton had not leapt in to the various situations he's leapt into? Ludinus would win, and in the blasted landscape of Predathos-scarred Exandria, as the Reilora unleashed the psychic warfare of Calamity 2: Ruidus Drift, one would faintly hear Bells Hells in the distance still debating what to do about a no-longer extant pool of lava. Fortune favors the bold.

I'm not sure how to get it into people's heads that Arya is a female character. She's not a boy, not nonbinary, trans, agender, or genderless. I don't intend this in a way to be negative or wanky, but her girlhood is imbedded within her character. The problem isn't that Arya stans are missing the point by overemphasizing her femininity and wanting her to be a barefoot tradwife baby making machine, but that we're stating it exists when the majority of fandom and the show itself have gone out of the way to minimize the relevancy of her gender. I'm fully convinced there are a lot of people who think Arya would be the exact same character had GRRM created her as a male character named Arry instead, perhaps they'd do a better job at acknowledging her importance.

What's most ironic to me is how these same fans will gush and coo over the sisters being more alike than we think, but only if it involves giving Arya's characteristics to Sansa. Well acktually, Sansa likes to ride horses just as much as Arya does! They're so alike uwu! But dare acknowledge that Arya has traits and aspects commonly associated to Sansa then not only does that get accusations of wanting Arya to become Sansa, but that it's solely about showing Sansa up and wanting her to grovel in Arya's shadow and superiority 🙄 Hypocrisy and projection showing itself.

Somewhat of an aside, but I recently saw a post on reddit complaining about the fact that all four of Daemon's children survived the Dance specifically focused on the fact that both Rhaena and Baela lived. According to the OP, one of them should've died and their post-war roles in the story should've been given to only one of them. Which at its core is really the main conflict between Sansa and Arya stans, no matter how much the Stansas want to cover their ears and play dumb. It's not about Arya stans projecting their sibling squabbles onto the two of them but simply the fact that it's not possible for two characters to fulfill the same role in the story, specifically when it involves two female characters. The existence of two Stark sisters is an inconvenience for the people who want the story to revolve around Sansa.

I have to believe there's some bubbles that they don't want to admit will burst if TWOW will ever be released and that's why they cling to the idea that Arya stans are the delusional ones. They have to believe that the parts of Sansa's seasons 5-8 storyline they like came from GRRM instead of D&D or else their Jonsa and QITN fantasies will fall apart. I have no idea how someone can watch the scene where Sansa tells Arya she couldn't survive what she had while Arya can only sputter out that she was training and believe 1) it makes sense for their book characters and 2) D&D didn't blatantly favor Sansa and Sophie over Arya and Maisie.

This ask came literally seconds after I drafted a post talking about this exact topic and it's so wild to me that we were both up thinking about Arya + her girlhood and wanting to discuss it 🥹

As for this ask, you really hit the nail on the head. Arya's gender is an essential aspect of her journey but fandom ignores that because they've decided that there's only one "right" way to exist as a female character. Arya's self-esteem issues stem from her being a non-conforming Lady in a misogynistic society, she has to disguise herself as a boy in part because of the threat of sexual violence, in Harrenhal she is assigned gender-specific tasks/labor, political matches are made without her knowledge/consent, she is threatened with sexual violence multiple times, and even her role within the FM is influenced by her gender. Her being non-conforming doesn't mean she's the complete antithesis of everything feminine. The obsession with propping up Sansa has ruined people's ability to perceive complex female characters, ironically including Sansa herself. They genuinely would've respected Arya more if she had died passively rather than fight for her life and you can't tell me that isn't misogyny.

That Reddit post is a great example of how people genuinely can't (or refuse to) comprehend the idea of two female characters occupying the same space. Cause you're right, that is the root of the issue. I think the only reason they bother with the fake "Stark sisters uwu" crap is because they've backed themselves into a faux-feminist corner and they don't want to look hypocritical for disliking Arya. So instead, they pretend to care all while rewriting her to serve as Sansa's prop. This is also why so many Queen!Sansa truthers are also anti-Dany + think that Sansa becoming Queen depends on Dany's downfall. They desperately cling to the show as canon, when D&D have openly admitted they changed the story because they favored Sansa/Sophie. They're fine with how show!Arya is written because to them, that's exactly how she should be; a subservient lapdog for Sansa. TWOW is definitely going to ruin that illusion, and one of the reasons I'm optimistic about it being released is getting to see fandom's reaction.

I understand why people might be upset about Luffy and Usopp's fight at Water 7. Luffy just casually goes oh yeah the Merry is fucked, but don't worry, the money you got your ass beat for wasn't too important, we can still buy a new ship with what's left :). And that's pretty fucked up.

But part of the arc is about Luffy fucking up as a captain.

He knows Usopp responds to other people by trying to match their energy, or by acting as the tsukkomi. And this isn't a tsukkomi moment, so he tries to make Usopp take the news better by acting happy and carefree. This is, for obvious reasons, a catastrophically bad approach. And Luffy only backpedals into showing that he's hurt too once he's already put himself in conflict with Usopp, so that hurt and anger is directed at him. And then Luffy fails as a captain once again by letting his emotions rule him.

Usopp has every reason and right to be pissed at Luffy's handling of the situation, even if he admits later that he already knew the Going Merry was done for, and he was desperately hiding the truth from himself.

Luffy knows it too, but he dug himself deep enough with his first fuck up that if he fucks up again the crew will fracture. And unfortunately, there's truth to the idea that the Strawhats need to be able to follow Luffy unconditionally. If he yields any ground whatsoever the Strawhats will lose faith in his ability to tackle every obstacle without hesitating or flinching, and that will break them. So he makes his first hard decision as captain and breaks Usopp's heart instead.

There was a lesson Usopp needed, but if Luffy had been a better captain in the first place, if he hadn't been 17 and new to command, if he had just somehow known exactly what to say, the lesson might've been kinder. Usopp needed to understand that he has no place trying to claim command of the Strawhats, that in crew matters Luffy's the one who makes the final decision... but the lesson should've been kinder.

But they're 17 and hurt and imperfect and so they hurt each other, and themselves.

Very firm believer and defender of "indulgent fiction doesn't have to be realistic or acknowledge any of the downsides of what would happen if this played out in real life because this isn't real life, it's an imaginary world"

I swear Perfect Propose is creating unhealthy expectations for ideal partners. Find yourself a partner who will:

Cook for you and feed you. 😭

Gently wipe your mouth for you because you eat like a slob. (I love this trope even though it's theoretically ridiculous.)

Carry your drunk ass home.

Wipe your tears with their shirt when you're having a breakdown.

When a slice of life jbl gets it right, they really hit it out of the park. This series is just the right combination of sweet and heartbreaking. I desperately want Kai and Hiro to find their self-worth and love themselves more. I want to wrap them both in flannel blankets and hug them.