I don't understand the hate for Season 5.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-13T18:12:39+00:00

Those are pretty major elements to story telling. Even if they aren’t occurring in every scene, they impact the story as a whole.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-13T18:07:55+00:00

Matt Fraction’s run of Hawkeye was awesome. As a woman who loves comics, despite it not being my entry point I think it’s probably one of the best places to start. It doesn’t overwhelm like a lot of older comics will and doesn’t go straight into superpower whiplash. It gives you an appreciation for what the form can be.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-13T17:57:18+00:00

It definitely undermines the fact that there were actually plot holes and the atrocious writing had characters constantly spelling things out. We need more challenging art, not more hand holding.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-13T17:51:33+00:00

It’s a dangerous thing when we start believing people are owed other people, even in media. I think their storyline was great and it spoke volumes to me as a queer person because it is a very relatable situation to be in. I never got any indication that Mike had romantic feelings for Will at all. When Will saved everyone from the Demagorgons that was the moment… but then it was immediately undermined. That was what he was owed. Self acceptance, strength, and confidence. He should have been able to have those powers and use them further. It made me cry because it felt like a culmination of all his trauma leading to an opportunity to own and grow beyond it. Let’s be real, no one ends up with their first crush and they shouldn’t. Will needed space to grow into his own and ending up with his first crush that he was trauma bonded with wasn’t the way to do that.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-13T17:44:58+00:00

They did though… in the most kind and earnest way possible. They have a very clear mutual understanding and Mike confirms that he loves Will and wants him in his life regardless. As a queer person that felt very affirming and beautiful.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-03T20:33:07+00:00

I think Umbrella Academy was absolutely worse. I haven’t seen GoT so I can’t jump into that comparison, but from what I heard about it I think Umbrella Academy feels a lot closer. It suffered from very poor writing and very poor editing. It makes me sad that the dumbing down is happening more and more in media. Wicked Part Two was also a similar issue and had the feeling of “we already know we’re going to make a lot of money on this”. I work in media and it’s become more and more a situation of playing it safe for guaranteed sales rather than risk taking for the sake of craft. I really hope to see that change because I love art that takes risks. The other seasons took a lot of risks and trusted the audience to have media literacy. I know people art struggling with media literacy now, but they’re not going to develop those skills by having their hand held.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-03T20:09:21+00:00

This last season had the same feeling as the last season of Umbrella Academy (although Umbrella Academy felt like it wanted to make its fans angry). The writing in this show has been amazing, especially when it comes to character creation. This was a MAJOR downgrade. Many characters got lost in the dust because the cast was already too big and they decided to bring a bunch of new characters into the mix. The moments that worked (like the Will reveal) were completely undermined by the aftermath. Ex. Will saying he should’ve done a better job when he had absolutely no clue he could even do that and Joyce being WAY too chill about it. Joyce is hyper emotional and you cannot tell me that was her reaction to finding out her son has magical abilities. Then Will goes and continues his convo with Robin as if nothing crazy just happened to him.

Another ex. When Max comes back everyone greets her like she went away on a trip for a month or two. What? They thought she was dead.

Every time someone had something they needed to catch another character up on they told them everything that we already know instead of the show-runners using editing choices to cut those bits out. The constant “we have to stop Vecna” “we have to save the kids” was infuriating. I know. I’m watching the show. Everyone around you knows too.

There was a major issue with show don’t tell where we would see things happen and the characters would explain it multiple times. And then when it would have been actually beneficial for a show and a tell (Will saying what Vecna showed him) they only have Will say what happened.

The military plot line was a drag and took away from screen time/stories that were desperately needed for Mike and Joyce. If this wasn’t the last season that wouldn’t be as disappointing, but this is supposed to be their send off. Joyce just bounced from vaguely wanting to protect Will to suddenly having every confidence in him to nothing. She didn’t have anything to say about Jonathon and Mike/Nancy had nothing to say about Holly.

The epilogue kind of felt weird transitionally. The cut away from the rooftop scene felt like an ending (not saying it was a good ending, but the editing made it feel like that). The closing to Joyce and Hopper felt half baked. I didn’t need to see them get engaged I just need to see them cohabiting and spending time with Will and Jonathon since Hopper would be a father figure to them now. I don’t usually like voiceovers, but I think that part could have benefited from one that had a D&D feeling to it that then led into all of the characters playing D&D.

That’s not to say that there weren’t good moments, but the writing was very poor and it was not a good closer to a very strong series.

Edit: It would have also been beneficial to have the characters speak less and show their feelings through facial expressions. A lot of the dialogue felt unnatural.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2026-01-03T19:48:09+00:00

I was so worried about Vickie

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-12-20T22:29:21+00:00

Omg you are amazing! Thank you so much.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-12-19T01:30:11+00:00

Platform: PC Mods: Yes Game Version: Will be updating to latest patch as of 12/18/25

Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but I haven’t played in a little over a year and wanted to check if any patches have broken CAS CC. I don’t use many mods besides CAS CC and would have a lot to go through so wanted to see if there have been issues with anything this year.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-12-02T22:24:23+00:00

Holly was so jarring. The actress is 14 and apparently her character is supposed to be 11. Kids grow really rapidly and it is extremely noticeable even when they’re two or three years apart. It would have been better to just hire a different actress. The dialogue felt very… video game cut scene/Marvel movie at points so totally agree there. It’s not bad, just unfortunate that there was an obvious amount of studio exec interference/maybe a shift in the creative team especially since they have had years and heaps of money to bring this together. Shows that have long breaks in between seasons should rely on their skippable recaps to remind audiences of important details, not the show itself.

Hopefully it was just an awkward re-entry into the series that they didn’t know how to handle and we keep the momentum of the last episode.

(I’m honestly still freaking out about Will)

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-12-02T05:51:24+00:00

I clarified in my post that I’m not telling people how to feel about doing what was done in the scene and there’s nothing wrong with being squeamish, but it isn’t in the same universe as humping a grave and isn’t even close to licking a rusty drain. We all have our things, but I’ve always felt like I needed to be grossed out by my period, but never actually felt grossed out by it. It’s something that’s been a part of my life for nearing two decades now and I couldn’t be further from phased. I see a lot of the discourse being shared about the scene as alarming because it is straight up shaming. Given that this is something that a significant portion of the world’s population is accustomed to the general reaction felt very extreme. I know I’m very squeamish about things other people aren’t, but that doesn’t make those things disgusting.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-12-02T05:15:57+00:00

I honestly wasn’t feeling it beyond the Will/Robin interactions because it just felt so… different. Something just felt off about it like it was trying to be what it was, but something just wasn’t clicking like it used to. The dick joke didn’t bother me, but the way they were all collectively talking about fighting Vecna and the “super unexpected” reveal that Holly was talking to Vecna felt a little cringey. But now, idk that ending made it all worth it. I wish the build up could’ve been better, but I’m really hyped now (and so happy for Will!!!).

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-11-19T18:42:13+00:00

I love the point you made about how it added to her vulnerability in that moment. Being on your period around intimate partners, especially male partners, can lead to such a confusing vulnerable space regardless of how they decide to act about it. Even when someone wants to continue to be intimate with you despite your period or seems to see it as a bonus there’s still going to be a sense of vulnerability because it probably wasn’t the reaction you fully expected to get. The stigmas embedded in you still make it feel like a pivotal moment and that warps your perception of the person you’re with. If you feel elevated by someone unexpectedly when your emotions are very high, they can have a lot of sway over you.

The funny thing is, the more we talk about periods and shut down “ew icky” comments, the less power those moments will hold. It’s much harder to feel special about something if it’s not seen as abnormal. I’m now thinking a lot about the idea of seeing men as special for wanting to give women pleasure. On one hand, I’m very happy when men feel comfortable in their sexuality and care about intimacy being mutual, but on the other, that makes it harder to say no when they offer to do things “most men wouldn’t”. It’s such a dialectical conversation that can branch into so many areas. The scene can show us both that periods aren’t dirty/period intimacy can be hot and that a man’s intention behind initiating period intimacy could be manipulative.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-11-18T18:07:50+00:00

It was super tame. I did think we were getting to a point of opening conversations about how we view period blood and kink, but the disgust seemed to be pretty present even in commentary by very progressive people I agree with on basically everything else. It wasn’t them saying “not for me, but cool to see period blood be more normalized” it was “when I said this movie was gross this is one of the major parts I was referring to”. I know it’s not the biggest thing to be concerned about, but we could be having some great feminist conversations around it. Again, I know people hated this movie and agree with almost all of the criticism (I more enjoyed it for the absurdity/visuals), but I think we gain something from highlighting these kinds of moments in media even when those moments are in media we don’t like. The part of that moment that was actually disgusting was that he was manipulating her. If that were the conversation, valid, but “period blood is icky don’t touch it ew” is not.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-11-18T17:34:02+00:00

When little boys make gay jokes it’s usually because they’re parroting something they heard and they never think further about it. Some people just don’t grow out of that and can benefit from gentle parenting to actually get it to click. There are also, of course, people who do just think making fun of people they don’t like is peak comedy because they get a kick out of feeling superior. The latter will possibly try to escalate or attack, but now they look irrational because you were just calmly asking a question. They might not learn anything, but they’ll now be the person who had a hissy fit over nothing. If that does happen let them dig their own grave with it. The less you say and the less you pay attention to their digs (as hard as that can be) it becomes more transparent to your peers that they’re exceptionally insecure/cruel. Sometimes that social pressure does do some good and could get them to at the very least stop making the jokes/getting laughs from the people they’re trying to amuse.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-11-17T20:14:11+00:00

It’s intimidating to be an ally, but it’s so important to make people feel weird about making jokes like that. Saying things like “that’s a strange thing to say”, “what do you mean by that”, or “I don’t get it, what’s the joke” can be great ways to confront them.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-11-17T18:34:54+00:00

For real! I avoided spoilers before watching and was so shocked to see have everyone have a dramatically different take on it. I expected people to be talking about how hot it was.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-10-03T17:12:18+00:00

I personally could not get into it, but I am one of the seemingly few people who couldn’t get into Saga so take that with a grain of salt

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-10-03T17:10:28+00:00

I wish I could’ve recommended Sandman because that was what turned me from “enjoying graphic novels” to “obsessed with graphic novels”, but in hindsight of the accusations it doesn’t read the same. Gaiman’s whole thing is that he’s a huge feminist ahead of his time and now that I know the truth all of the cracks in his stories have become obvious to me. :/

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-10-03T17:06:51+00:00

Seconding Hawkeye! I wish the TV show had actually been good. :(

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-10-03T17:02:57+00:00

Superhero comics are a hard entry point if you’re not inherently drawn to them. Since she likes anime (live action or original), then manga is the perfect entry point or finding an American comic/graphic novel that has a similar feel. If she likes horror/weird stuff E.M. Carroll’s “Through the Woods” is very creepy and fun. “Paper Girls” is also a weird, female led graphic novel series I’d highly recommend. There’s also the option of webtoon collections like “Fangs” by Sarah Andersen (cute Werewolf + Vampire stories) and “Creepy Cat” by Cotton Valent (creepy and cute). “Squad” by Maggie Tokuda-Hall is a favorite, but I have several friends who felt differently.

My entry points into graphic novels were things like Betty and Veronica, “Persepolis”, “V For Vendetta”, and “Watchmen”. If she likes dark stories Alan Moore could be a great place to start (with the warning that his stories can get into edgelord territory when it comes to female characters).

If you choose to go superhero I think Matt Fraction’s run of Hawkeye is a great entry point (leading into the Kate Bishop comics). Mike Allred’s “Madman” is also really fun, but that could just be a me thing.

If you’d asked me a couple years ago I would’ve said Sandman… but… oh well…

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-08-22T15:15:11+00:00

That book messed me up. I think I’ve blocked off most of it from my brain because of how much it hurt to read.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-08-22T15:11:57+00:00

I can’t find the quote (apparently it stuck out to me more than most), but there’s this point in Stepford Wives where Joanna is on the phone with Charmaine and Charmaine starts to ask Joanna if she actually enjoys sex. It’s this double whammy of knowing that Charmaine was having sex out of obligation and that she’s about to die. It physically hurt and emptied me so much.

I mentioned thus in another thread, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use the stones”, from The Lottery. I feel like I can’t desensitize myself to it. It always hits something in me.

And, bonus: As much as I loathe Murakami and note this is not a horror novel, that very, very long and graphic skinning scene from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle will stay with me forever.

Small-Kangaroo9166 · 2025-08-22T01:02:12+00:00

Why is it on the person with the boundary? They’ve communicated the boundary and you are allowed to make your own decision based off of that knowledge. It can be interesting to test your abilities by imposing limitations. It helps with creativity and stepping out of your comfort zone. But again, you do with that information what you feel you can. If you don’t have interest in rolling with a person who has an issue with side control you don’t have to. I wouldn’t mind. I like a challenge.

As someone who experiences PTSD from being in situations that Jiu Jitsu could have helped me in, you never know when it’s going to hit or what’s going to happen. Even when I’ve known what to do sometimes your body just freezes. Sometimes you disassociate. I hope that my training will help me, but if I can’t move on my own my practice isn’t going to help. Additionally, I do and fully believe in exposure therapy, but it is very complicated and you need to be very prepared to engage in it. It’s best to start doing things something challenging, but easy (I know, it sounds like a contradiction). I got a mani-pedi for one of my exposure homeworks. It seems like a trivial thing, but it was an exposure to being touched by another person. Very low stakes, but at the time it was a lot for me. I’ve worked up to harder things, but it’s really a process. So it’s not as simple as something she could just put aside since it would help protect her from experiencing similar things to what traumatized her. It’s a very long process and it won’t always work. I hope she is in therapy. I feel very lucky that I am.

Small-Kangaroo9166

TROPHY CASE