Guilty Pleasure

This is a blog run by a Black girl. 99% of the gifs aren't mine! An escape from the real world into the lives and ships of fictional characters. READ THE PINNED MASTERLISTS. Honestly, minors shouldn't be interacting in the asks.

[zalrb]

FOUR MASTERLISTS BELOW. 👏🏾READ 👏🏾THEM + FANFICTION MASTERLIST.

Two masterlists are about TVD, one is about chemistry in shows in general, the other is about miscellaneous TV shows. List of fanfic is at the end.

Pro-tip. You can search tags: zalrb.tumblr.com/tagged/_____so if you want to see posts about stelena or bonkai or bangel etc in particular episode like 3x05 just type: zalrb.tumblr.com/tagged/stelena 3x05 etc. etc. just put the ship name before the episode number.

Stelena et al. Masterlist

I’ve been getting a lot of asks recently about my opinions on things I’ve spoken about before at great length, usually anons asking me to respond to what DErs have said. It’s fine, I’m flattered, but I’m going to post this masterlist and will ask you all to refer to the list before sending certain asks like, what do you say to DErs who say Stefan doesn’t challenge Elena, what do you to say to DErs who say Stelena is abusive etc., it’s all in this list. There are also posts on Stefan, Damon and Elena as individual characters and posts on friendship dynamics and how TVD deals with vampirism. I will be happy to do any follow-ups or discuss if my views from a particular post has changed (which is bound to happen at times, people’s opinions change or evolve). Please reblog so it can circulate.

Chemistry Masterlist

A good chunk of my posts about chemistry such as, which ships I think have chemistry, which ships I think don’t, what platonic chemistry looks like, how to observe romantic chemistry etc. can be found in this list. Please reblog so it can circulate.

Bonnie Bennett et al. Masterlist

This is a masterlist of all my noteworthy Bonnie Bennett posts --- about her antiblack treatment (if you feel the urge to ask me ‘why did the writers have Bonnie’ the answer is antiblack racism, read the posts in the list), about why I ship Bonkai, about why I don’t ship Bamon and why I don’t ship Bonenzo, what I think of Beremy, what I think of Stefonnie, it’s all here. Please reblog so it can circulate.

General TV Masterlist

(a semi-regularly updated list of my OTPs)

To see the links, you must view on the app:

There are posts about various shows including Merlin (Merthur posts mostly), The Borgias (Cesare and Lucrezia), Game of Thrones (Sansa Stark Defense Squad, Jonsa, Anti-Daenerys, Anti-Jonerys and general GoT stuff), The Handmaid’s Tale, Gossip Girl (Dair and anti-Chair, plus other posts), Teen Wolf, The OC, Star Trek Disco, FRIENDS (everyone is trash not just Ross), The Office (pro Pam and Jim FYI), Parks and Rec, and Kdramas in this masterlist as well as posts like “favourite quotes from OTPs” “favourite comedic roasts” etc.

Fanfiction Masterlist

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/125782932450/list-of-fan-fiction

These lists will all be updated regularly to semi-regularly.

[zalrb]

Do you think Karen Wheeler and Billy Hargrove dynamic in Stranger things S2 &S3 was predatory?

I don’t even remember what this dynamic was tbh. Anons really shouldn’t ask me about Stranger Things lmao I don’t remember anything

[veradraven]

I LOVE BOOSTERS (2026)

[tartharyen]

I Love Boosters (2026) dir. Boots Riley TEASER TRAILER | IN THEATERS MAY 22

[zalrb]

Is there a reason why you chose tumblr specifically as your medium for talking about your fav fictional shows, ships, etc. I’m just curious as to how the blog started, and why you chose to continue here.

When TVD was on air, I was very active on YouTube, both in the comments, I also made a lot of edits, and at the time they connected YouTube with Google community or whatever it was called and there were different groups for different fandoms and ships in Google community (kind of like reddit) so I was very active in the TVD and Stelena and Bonkai groups as well as a few Harry Potter groups, a few SPN groups etc. and I just started writing scenarios of different things I wanted to happen in the seasons and so for a good, maybe, year or so people kept asking me to join Tumblr and to write fanfiction on Tumblr so then I finally did when I was living in the UK because I had the time and it was a pretty dark time for me so figuring out how to, like, use Tumblr was a very nice distraction so I would just post shit and then that became fanfiction and then I did live reviews and then my followers just kept growing, there was a loooooot of engagement for the first few years, like I would dedicate a day on the weekend just to go through the asks I couldn't keep up with and then yeah, it just kind of became a community, like I remember one time I wasn't active for a day and I got a flood of anons asking if I was OK haha, and now I kind of just use it the way people use twitter.

[zalrb]

I see you’ve been watching adults, how do you feel about the chemistry between the group and Anton and Paul Baker 👀 I was actually surprised it’s not as stiff as some other newer shows

I definitely agree that it's not as stiff as other shows and I do think Paul Baker and Anton have a nice chemistry and can definitely see how they got to vibing and got to that kiss in the finale (although frankly I find the potential mess that could come from this kind of manufactured because I don't believe that they are a group that would have these specific boundaries? Like I understand that Issa is insecure about being interesting hence the entire meltdown with the whole Julia Fox thing and so I can see an argument being made that she'd feel insecure about Paul Baker finding Anton more interesting to be with than her but I'm still stuck on the idea of there being an either/or, like I feel like all three of them would just be in a relationship? Idk.) I do have to say that I find something a little forced about the chemistry between the leads despite believing them as friends but I think that also just might be a generational difference, like it's a very, very Gen Z show and what I view as something that feels try-hard may just be how Gen Zs interact with each other that to me, feels highly performative, and I do understand this sense of being performative is part of what the characters deal with in their individual arcs/lives but they aren't supposed to have that with each other but again, I think it's just me and how I view certain things. I do really like the details of their friendship, though, like the mind wipe and the house rules and also that while they're all close and they can all mix and match, that it seems certain pairings have more history and more affinity to each other than others like Issa and Anton and Billie and Samir.

[thirdtwin3]

"The Wish" 03.09 (1998)

[gonetodash19]

RIP Anthony Head

[inadvertently-biblical]

I'll remember to mention that.

Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 3x17 "Enemies"

[sophsun1]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – 2.19: I Only Have Eyes for You

[dailybtvs]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5.08 — "Shadow"

[ibboard]

Willow had some cool outfits. In fact, most of them did.

[zalrb]

RIP

[zalrb]

Kinda weird to see how Euphoria just died with no noise, the finale didn’t do bad rating-wise, but there’s not much discussion about it. It was supposed to be the gen z show, it was so influential in regards to teen fashion (me and my friends were gluing rhinestones on our faces for 2022 prom because of it lol), I remember following your blog during s1 and s2 run and you getting asks about it every week… The years long breaks didn’t help, but I thought that since Zendaya, Elordi and Sweeney are household names now, it may attract even more viewers. I guess it became too absurd (s3 was incredibly stupid and aimless), but I thought the reaction would be slightly more like GOT or HIMYM instead of indifference.

LOL. Well considering that the aesthetic that the gen zs fell in love with wasn't even Sam's but Petra Collins' and that Labrinth was a huge part of that too and both fundamental things were absent from season 3 combined with whatever the hell that plot was, going out with a whimper kind of makes sense particularly since Zendaya and Elordi aren't really associated with Euphoria anymore, they've kind of transcended that and Sweeney is the racist white woman who did that ridiculous commercial about genes. Sorry, jeans.

[zalrb]

idk if you ever got that far but i’m watching s7 and this girl alex dupré is a real tool, she’s giving peyton a run for her money in the obnoxious department

no i didn't watch anything after the reveal at the airport in the season six premiere.

[zalrb]

Remember when Elena asked Stefan to let go of the girl that died under the bridge and accept who she is now? Then proceeding to say he looks at her like a broken toy that needs to be fixed? And then the very next episode casually commits genocide to get her hands on the cure? Like, she expects someone that loves her deeply to accept her as she is now when she can't even accept that girl herself? Yeah, s4 Elena just aggravates me to no end. The writers did her so dirty.

Well like I’ve mentioned in a lot of my posts, the writers really flubbed that storyline because Elena never showed any indication that she wanted vampirism and although Stefan was searching for a cure, he never told her that was what he was doing and he not only taught her the basics of vampirism, he celebrated it with her and this is where details come into play because Stefan says this

but there’s nothing to show that he’s been holding her back and this is where a callback to season 3 would’ve been useful. Because if the whole point is that he can’t teach her the joys of vampirism because it’s been such a burden to him and he’s making her feel even more depressed about the process then there should be actual obstacles that show this. Like he shouldn’t even be thinking about making her vampirism enjoyable

He should virtually be treating it like a sickness that needs to be treated.

There should also be moments where he can’t be around human blood just yet but he can:

because the latter half of season 3 is about him mastering his bloodlust

and like I’ve always said, Elena should’ve actually changed, she should’ve been curious about feeding, curious about her instincts and wanting to follow them but Stefan tells her to repress it and stamp it down whereas Damon tells her to unleash that and despite what antis say, the show doesn’t do what they think it did, which is have Damon show her that vampirism can be enjoyable even when she thought it couldn’t because a) like I’ve already mentioned, Stefan showed her the perks of vampirism b) Stefan doesn’t judge her instincts --- how could he when they’re his instincts too?

Like Damon isn’t the only one who says this:

Damon doesn’t actually do anything for her. DE fans get so caught up in this scene

but Stefan taught her how to do that

he taught her how to use her speed

he taught her how to manage her emotions

while also reminding her of the repercussions of her new heightened existence

which proves to be right

the only thing Damon ever did was take her to a party to feed on vulnerable college girls

and the only reason why he has that in with Elena is because he told her she had to feed from humans and therefore created her problems and then solved them.

The show did not know what it was doing in season 4

[zalrb]

Re: adults

I'll bite. Is it the one in the g*n shop?

Oh no. It’s when the teenager says they’re the most boring gays she’s ever met and Anton tells HE IS FLUID

[zalrb]

lol just saw the scene that got me to watch adults in the first place. the show is funny but nothing has been funnier than that moment.

[zalrb]

i will say adults really does seem like a genuine gen z sitcom.

[zalrb]

Adults suffers from short season syndrome, so it has some growing pains throughout the whole season but it's a funny show, some moments made me lol (and Paul baker is a really pretty boy)

I have watched two episodes and it's become a show I have on while I do other things LOL