When TSBS gets real and why that's a good thing
So after today's episode of the Lunar and Earth show I wanted to talk about something I realized a long while ago. TSBS is surprisingly real. Like the issues they talk about are incredibly real.
(TW// mentions of abuse, manipulation, and transphobia)
This is a show made on YouTube by a bunch of YouTubers and yet this show feels so real with how they handle/talk about things at times.
Now the portrayals aren't always great (Nexus basically had a manic episode) but I think they often do better than worse when it comes to real subjects.
Today's episode of LAES for example Day and Night are manipulative abusers. When Day keeps trying to get Andromeda to join them and she refuses saying she won't and that she doesn't need them. Day has Night attack Roxas and says that if Andromeda tries to step in and help he'll have Night kill Roxas (making it seem like it's Andromeda's fault, like "This is YOUR choice, Andi") and when she refuses to go with them and says she doesn't need them Day slaps her and calls it "Correction" (<- Ew. I want to beat the poo out of Day so hard) he then threatens to 'correct' her again if she doesn't join them. (Manipulation ✔️ abuse ✔️ victim blaming ✔️ threats ✔️ Degrading their lover and making them feel less then ✔️)
Now abuse isn't one size fits all but Day and Night are basically your stereotypical abusive boyfriends (I know it may be the A.R.K. code making them act like this but it doesn't change what they're doing is basically straight out of the abuser's playbook)
This is surprisingly real and I think how Andromeda is handling it is surprisingly real as well. She's trying to stay strong and I'm so glad she isn't bending the knee to Day and Night but if she didn't I wouldn't blame her cause sadly stuff like this happens in real life. Andromeda is a very strong girl.
We rarely see abuse talked about in cartoons (which makes sense cause that's a pretty messed up topic but it needs to be talked about) so to see it actually talked about in a YouTube VRchat series is something!
Then we go to FEMNAF for more talk of abuse and transphobia. In the more recent episodes of FEMNAF we meet Bonniebell Bunny a.k.a. Bonnie. Bonnie was mentioned briefly back in Season 1. She was Clipsey's ex-girlfriend who broke up with her through text, in probably the worst break-up text I'd ever heard.
From what we hear from Clipsey, Bonnie was a jerk, they always fought whenever they were together and we learn from Roxas that he dated Bonnie for a little bit and she messed up his self-image and that's one of the big reasons he acted like an egotistical jerk.
And then we finally see her in Season 2 and we meet Ace, the latest of Bonnie's victims. She acted all sweet and nice to him at first then slowly but surely destroyed his self-worth and image. That is straight up abuse, it may not be physical but it is still abuse (I think it's emotional abuse? Maybe? I know it's some form of abuse) I'm glad that b÷tch is in jail now. She deserves it. You don't get to treat people like that.
Femnaf also tackled the topic of transphobia in the form of the "Vs. Fazbear" arc.
Now I'm catholic and I know the church and transgenderism has a... strenuous relationship to put it lightly but if you're trans, I don't care. It's your life. I don't care that Roxas is trans, no one really cares, not Monte, Sunny, Moonie, or any of them,... except Fazbear cause Roxas is hurting the business.
Fazbear tells Roxas to change back or else and when he refuses THEY SEND A FREAKIN DEATH SQUAD AFTER HIM, STRIP HIM DOWN TO HIS BARE PANT, AND THREATS TO SCRAP HIM!
WHAT. THE. SH÷T?!
Now, I would say that isn't realistic but seeing the state of the world right now....
Yeah, this is actually quite accurate to the state of our world right now. (Unfortunately)
My sibling tells me that them stripping Roxas down to his bare paint may also count as SA (<- Possibly? They did strip him against his will)
They keep interrogating Roxas like there's something wrong with him. They keep referring to it as 'the bug' cause they think it's an issue with his code but it's not. It's just who Roxas is.
Roxas is Roxas, not Roxanne.
Fazbear went after Roxas cause he hurted their money, if he didn't, they would have hunted him down, but cause he hurt their profits, he had to go. It's all a money game to Fazbear.
And lastly we come to the main universe, OG LAES and TSAMS. Now we know the Celestial family is... chaotic. No family is perfect but dang.
Cosmos hurt Terra with his negative star power and cause he let his rage get the better of him and now cause of that Terra is in constant pain and has to use a wheelchair half the time. I know Cosmos was angry but that's no excuse for partially disabling his sister. Terra was in her full right not to forgive him.
If someone you knew did that to you, would you forgive them? (Maybe some of you would? I would try to but I feel like it would be really hard.)
Terra and Cosmos' relationship has never been the same. They are still family and they talk but they aren't as close now and that makes me sad but it's the consequences of Cosmos' actions. It's the sad consequence, but it's the consequence.
The same goes for Moon, Moon abused Sun, physically, emotionally, and verbally. Sun is in his right not to forgive Moon, even though Moon has changed (sometimes that happens in real life, abusers can change but that doesn't mean the victim needs to forgive them. No one deserves forgiveness. We can want it and sometimes get it but no one is owed forgiveness.
It's sad that Sun won't forgive Moon but this is the consequences of Moon's actions. Changing doesn't make the abuse just magically disappear. It leaves scars. Massive ones.
The shows aren't always perfect with how they handle things but recently I think they've been getting better. I love how the shows are tackling real heavy topics and are doing a pretty decent job of portraying these hard-to-talk-about subjects and the consequences of it.
Yes, it isn't always perfect, I love Nexus but the arc probably could have been handled better but other than that, the shows have done a good job of showing these subjects.
I'm proud of TSBS for talking about stuff like this cause people need to see this and know they aren't the only ones and that more of these subjects need to be talked about. There aren't a lot of shows that do, the only ones off the top of my head are Steven Universe, Young Justice, Teen Titans and Bojack Horseman (<- but that ain't a kid show, then again neither is TSBS)
More shows need to talk about these topics, even if it is uncomfortable or perfect.
Treat it with the respect and seriousness these topics deserve and we're good.
So I applaud you TSBS and your writers for talking about stuff like this. 👏 👏 👏 👏