Singing and Flailing

Formerly how-wonderful-lifeis. A large portion of my time here was dedicated to the OUAT fandom, being a fierce Evil Regal and OQ shipper with a soft spot for Regal Believer, Snow Queen and Evil Charming. Nowadays this has become my space for expressing my (often fleeting) love for new obsessions, as well as my opinions as a raging liberal and feminist. Stranger Things and Stancy. Wicked and Gelphie. Smash the patriarchy. Destroy capitalism. Abortion is healthcare. All humans deserve rights.

[kwistowee]

STRANGER THINGS | 4.01

[stancypilled]

Steve and Nancy had the potential to become one of the most beautiful love stories ever written on television, and I genuinely think Stranger Things wasted that.

What made them special was never that they were perfect in season 1. They weren’t. They were messy, immature, and both made mistakes. Their breakup made sense. That’s exactly why their story felt real.

But the thing is: even after everything, the feelings never truly disappeared.

Season 2 separated them. Season 3 barely gave them scenes together, yet even in those small moments, you could still feel that Steve would do absolutely anything for Nancy — he literally risked his life to save hers. And then season 4 happened — the season that reminded everyone just how much chemistry they still had. Steve admitting that he never stopped loving her changed everything for me.

I know Nancy and Jonathan cared about each other, but their relationship always felt more like a safe place built around shared trauma than a lasting love story. It made sense for that point in their lives, but deep down, Steve and Nancy always felt unfinished.

And honestly I don’t think Nancy ever truly stopped loving Steve either. I think she buried those feelings after Barb’s death because loving Steve became tied to guilt and pain. But season 4 made it so obvious that something between them was still there after all those years.

That’s why it hurts so much that season 5 never followed through on the buildup. The Duffer Brothers created something incredibly powerful between them again, only to abandon it completely. Steve and Nancy could have had such a beautiful full-circle story, two people who grew up, changed, made mistakes, and still found their way back to each other.

And no, Nancy ending up with Steve would not have made her “less independent” in my opinion. Choosing love does not erase a strong woman’s individuality. If anything, it would have been Nancy finally accepting what her heart had been trying to tell her all along.

I’ll never stop believing that Steve and Nancy were meant for each other and never forgive the Duffer Brothers to be honest and I don’t care how many people hate on this ship, I’ll go down with it lmao

[velartis]

“what radicalized you” bro EMPATHY

[puppygirllaika]

"what radicalized you" well in kindergarten they told me to share things and be nice to people.

[animentality]

[dailycatsblog]

[angryschnauzer]

Happy April 25th Everyone. Remember your light jacket.

[exeggcute]

I need a polite and effective way to say "hey your heart is truly in the right place and your anger is often righteous but I think sometimes you’re getting recreationally mad about things that are frankly not worth the amount of energy you’re spending on them, and every time you do this you're driving yourself slightly more insane with nothing to show for it," and then I need a way to broadcast that message through a loudspeaker to roughly 30,000 people at once, and THEN I need a time machine to send that message to my past self lol. and maybe a second time machine in case past me tries to be clever and sabotage the version of me who comes through the first time machine

[existennialmemes]

The crux of the anti trans movement is a war on bodily autonomy. They don't want you to have any agency over what you look like, how you dress, who you date, whether to have kids, etc.

They want total control over you. Not just trans people. Not just queer people. You. Everyone.

Trans people are just a scapegoat. They want total control over everyone's self expression. They want the right to mold you into their perfect little cog in their dehumanizing machine.

Happy Trans Day of Visibility. Our rights are your rights. Our destruction is your destruction.

[our-trans-punk-experience]

10/10 post bringing it back for 2026

[forbescaroline]

FAVORITE MOVIE SHIPS: Glinda & Elphaba - Wicked (2024 & 2025)

[marimbles]

underrated tumblr feature is being able to catch up to yourself on your dash. so there is an END POINT. and you can say “ah, I have reached where I left off, there is no more to see! I’ll take my leave now and come back later when there are new posts.” instead of being stuck forever in a bottomless algorithm pit digging deeper and deeper till you have to summon monumental strength to climb out

[pearlescentreader]

[contagiousgrace]

"yeah, I can be a real prick sometimes" WHEN, Steve?? No, really, someone tell me when he is a prick in a way another character isn't also a prick and then someone tell me if he's ever not apologized for being a prick and then tell me when any of the other characters who have been pricks have consistently apologized for being pricks. Tell me that.

[winchester2]

Stancy should be the worst Stranger Things couple and yet, I ship it... and then they got destroyed

I know the Duffer Brothers wanted us to dislike the couple, but the more I read the reasons to hate it, the more I feel like the hate is more ridiculous than subjective (maybe I'll make another post to list every reason I heard and explain why I think this is nonsense.)

The only real reason to hate Steve is because he slut-shamed Nancy. At first, it seems as bad as Jonathan taking half-naked pictures of her. But let's not forget that Steve got punishing for it: Nancy slapped and after that, he still tried to fix his miss. Jonathan, on the other hand, gets away with it. The only bad thing is that Steve broke his camera but then again, he bought him another one at the end, so it doesn't count either. What's ironic is that not only every reason Nancy listed in S4 of why she loves Jonathan works well for Steve. Sometimes even better. The "only love can make you so crazy and so stupid" line is supposed to be about Jonathan beating up Steve but he only did it because he insulted his family, not because he disrespected Nancy. This however...

...feel more like crazy in love.

The only thing confusing is Nancy's feelings. In S1, she looked at Steve with desire. In S2, she said she wasn't in love and couldn't say she loved him. And the show is acting like she doesn't in fact love him but then, why would she stay with him for one year if she felt guilty on choosing him over Barb? Then in S4, she looks at him again with desire but because The Duffer Brothers listed more their young fans than themselves, suddently Nancy feels nothing for Steve and is annoyed by him. "It was never like this." Translation: forget the chemistry they built in S4:

"It was never like that." I hate this line so much. The Duffer Brothers did something brave and brought back something that almost no one asked for. Many Stancy fans became Stancy fans thanks to Season 4. And then after waiting three years, they decided to act like nothing happens and it's such a betrayal and coward move. I also hate how they made fun of Steve's dream. Granted, it wasn't Steve's best move but it was "In case we died, I want you to know..." moment and they turned it into a joke for Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve himself. You know, what it remains me? This scene from Batman Returns:

Bruce Wayne is calling out Alfred for letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave because many fans were mad at Alfred for letting her know that Bruce Wayne is Batman without telling Bruce. The problem is that in the previous movie, Bruce was on his way to tell Vicki anyway, AND after getting shot by the Joker, he disappeared out the window like Batman would. I think Vicki would have putting two and two together. But Tim Burton decided to agree with the fans, even though it shouldn't have been a big deal.

Anyway, back to Stranger Things, the problem with retconning their chemistry in S5, it was completely pointless to set up this "Nancy might be into Steve" plot point. What was the point? So that Steve can learn to move on from Nancy? He already did that in S2! He told her to go with Jonathan! It would make more sense if Nancy who couldn't make her choice herself in S2, actually chose herself in S5. But no, she broke up with Jonathan (and then again, it was so rushed, so the fans didn't even know it was a break-up) but she didn't talk to Steve. 18 months after he told her his feelings, she couldn't tell him that 'it was never like that." Honestly, it made me hate S5 Nancy.

I hated S5 Nancy. She was kind of mean and less likeable. Yeah, I know she was stressed because of Vecna's vision. But even in S4, she was not this bossy with everyone and so close. I also hated how childish was S5 Steve, after the previous season ended with Nancy saying "he growed up a little bit, you know?" Their character arcs were damaged in S5 and their ending was not satisfying.

Steve had the most steorotype job for a jock kid. He wanted to travel around the world but instead, he stayed in Hawkins and went from date after date, meaning he didn't change since S3. Nancy just said "screw up school, I want to see the world" as if she was Arya Stark. Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't women not taken seriously in the 80s? Weren't they seen by men as just pretty to see but too emotional to listen or something? Remember how she struggles with her intership in S3 because of this? They both gave up their own dream, and the show is so casual about it! I'm not buying that Nancy would just gave up school like she could find a job easy-peasy. But I guess, after she killed a bunch of trained soldiers without getting shot and without getting arrested, she suddently can do anything. This is ridiculous! Nancy was so ridiculous in S5! She wasn't a character anymore! She was a modern stereotype strong independant woman. This show was supposed to be against 80s clichés, so instead it bring out modern clichés. The Breakfast Club did the "screw stereotypes" way better.

Remember when female characters could have a partner AND be independant women? Imagine if Steve was a woman. Fans would be way more upset that Steve still tried to find a partner at the end of the show. I mean, following this logic, this is like saying Han Solo is a trash character for starting like a badass character and ending out like a more tender man.

So yeah, call me sexist, but I don't care! S4 did an amazing job, bringing back a couple nobody liked and yet brought a great arc for both characters. This is how they should have ended: Nancy fighting her trauma about Barb (it should have been brought out, Vecna literally used that against her in S4!!!) and getting back with Steve, Steve breaking the stereotype jock character and being a tender version of himself, respecting his girlfriend and supporting her to accomplish her dreams. Here's something someone did on TikTok:

That's all folks! Have a good day!

[dreamfinder83]

The way I was so ready after season 4 for Steve and Robin to finally turn their hopeless love lives around in season 5 and end the show happily with Vickie and Nancy only for it to end with neither couple together and Steve and Robin living in different states. It’s just the most devastating thing to me 😢

[huntingpeople-savingsam]

Part of why season 5 felt so jarring for the older teen (early 20s at this point) characters was because they had spent 4 seasons showing why Nancy and Steve were not like how people perceived them to be (not just a stuck up goody two shoes, not just a meathead jock) and they failed to do anything significant with Jonathan’s character development in that time so then when he is faced with these developed versions of Nancy and Steve, the writers just don’t let Jonathan acknowledge that he was wrong about them and also have Nancy and Steve CONTINUE to atone for the s1 stereotypes that Jonathan assigned to them (Nancy saying she has to get out in the real world, despite having been fighting for herself and others all these years; and Steve apologizing AGAIN for being a dick to Jonathan, which at this point is now like 4 years ago in the show and Steve had already apologized and been punished like every season)

Just felt like the writers (or just the Duffers) wanted to make Jonathan main again and instead of giving him any kind of arc, they just let him act exactly the same as he did in season 1, if not worse, and continue to let him be rewarded and apologized to without ever acknowledging any of his own wrongdoings (taking nude pics of Nancy, chastising Nancy for being upset about the sexism she faced at work while Jon said/did nothing, lying to Nancy about applying to Emerson, slow motion breaking up with her from Lenora and then getting insanely jealous when he’s back in Hawkins??)

They just missed every opportunity to give Jonathan any kind of arc or development or anything— and I’m not even saying he had to change his opinions about Steve or Nancy, or whatever, but he never has a single story arc that gives him the opportunity to question his original beliefs about others and the world, he never has to question that he is always right and everyone else is wrong, it just makes his character so…. Flat.

And I know a lot of fans (both Jon fans and antis) didn’t like his characterization in season 4 when he’s just ignoring his problems and smoking weed with Argyle, but honestly? Of all the seasons in the show, that was one of the ONLY times he’s had to confront the fact that he might be wrong about something, when ARGYLE tells him he can’t just lie to Nancy and string her along instead of facing the issue head on.

We were robbed of the completion of what could have been Jonathan’s 5 season long arc as soon as they wrote off Argyle without a word— had Argyle been in season 5? Jonathan would’ve been forced to grapple with what he really wants, and how he fears being perceived.

[asynca]

I watched an insane amount of TikTok and other short form videos for the story I'm writing right now. I gotta say, afterwards, I found myself picking up my phone and opening the apps, almost unconsciously. I was walking and I thought about watching some vids at the same time. I was on hold to the ATO... maybe some videos.

I also happen to specialise in gambling addiction (although I'm not practicing in that area right now), and all I could fucking think about was how these fucking apps were conditioning me in the same fucking way gambling apps do. To be constantly plugged in, consuming. To not even think about just picking it up and having a look. To feel bored when I wasn't watching them, to think about watching them when I wasn't watching them....

That shit is fucking evil.

I deleted it. I'm not exposing myself to that.

That shit will fry your dopamine/reward system so fucking bad you will never read a book or watching a movie again without it.

Love yourself and your potential enough to put that fucking shit away. Watch longer form things that require focus and engagement. Listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Read books. DO ANYTHING BUT CONSUME SHORT FORM CONTENT IN AN UNSTRUCTURED WAY.

If you MUST consume it (I'm sure people will be like 'but my classmates' or 'but my own channel'.... etc), do it in a siloed and structured way. 30 minutes between x time and x time on x day. Focus on it. Don't eat and do it. Watch each short form video to completion. Engage critically with the content. ANd never watch them first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

PLEASE. From a gambling professional, short form videos ping your SAME circuitry and you will fuck up your life and your brain so badly if you don't put up guardrails for yourself.

[gomezisabellas]

THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) / WICKED: FOR GOOD (2025)