all for the game is like. objectively one of the worst book series I’ve ever read. but also because of the combination of it being the epitome of “I want to take this good character and put them into a piece of media that isn’t objectively terrible” + the complete absurdity of every single plotline in the books I just cannot ever get it out of my head. why is it that this book series about a made up professional sport that is actually just Evil Lacrosse full of cartoonishly villainous mafia people played completely seriously that suddenly and inexplicably becomes gay porn halfway through the final book of the trilogy has stuck with me for literal years
Fruits Basket is wild because the premise is “Haha! Wow! These Pretty Anime Men turn into Animals when theyre hugged and then when they turn back they’re NAKED!!! ehe silly anime!” but then you watch it and its like. Every Character on this show is physically, financially, and emotionally controlled by one person with immeasurable wealth and power. the main characters stories revolve around their slow recovery from the trauma of physical/verbal abuse, sexual manipulation, and neglect. there’s a love triangle that isnt even about Who Gets The Girl, but rather each individual’s growth as a human being, understanding that they are worthy of love and compassion, that there are people in this world who will love them, unconditionally, and that they DESERVE to be loved. love EXISTS and nothing about them makes them unworthy of whole, unbiased love. that realization is a pivotal part of their healing and it’s a central theme of the show that comes up for each and every character, whose own journeys follow that same thread of healing past wounds with compassion, love, and friendship.
and then they like. barely ever turn into animals.
so i was watching cinderella while doing my nails and waiting for them to dry which was clearly a Mistake because now i can’t help but think -
the evil stepmother was always evil, okay. say her abuse of her own daughters was different than that of cinderella’s - but it was still abuse. giving them impossible expectations, telling them they were never good enough, never pretty enough, never smart enough. and then she gets married, and anastasia and drizella are ecstatic because this man seems kind and warm and maybe just maybe he can temper their mother, maybe with him around she won’t be so cruel. so they’re on their very best behavior in the beginning, they do just as their mother taught - they trot out their best upper court manners in an attempt to get their new stepfather to like them. but it just comes off as cold and snooty and they’re trying, they are, they’re just bad at it. and they see how he is with cinderella, the smiling girl their own age, and they are jealous. they don’t mean to be, they try not to be, they know it isn’t becoming of young ladies. but she gets hugs and kisses and affection and they get rulers slapped on their hands when they reach for desert and sharp jabs to their sides when they slouch and - soon they hate cinderella, not for anything she’s done, but for what she has and they dont
but then her father dies. and it’s all a tumble of things and cinderella is crying and they’ve lost their only chance at escaping their mother’s clutches and it’s terrible. and everything settles and there’s no reason to be jealous anymore but resentment is hard to let go of and they don’t know what to do. they’re only kids too after all. and they’re so terribly bad at comforting people, they can do flowery words and know all the right bows but cinderella is so sad and they just don’t know what to do with that, because they’re supposed to be sisters but they’re not even friends
and slowly but surely their mother starts abusing cinderella, starts making her a maid in her own home, and she’s their mother, what are anastasia and drizella supposed to do? she rules them with an iron fist, and cinderella doesn’t even like them anyway, it’s none of their business.
except one night anastasia crawls into her sister’s bed in the middle of the night and wakes her up. “i was thirsty,” she explains, eyes wide and shiny, and they’re bad at this with other people but drizella has no problems with pulling anastasia into her arms. the younger girl clutches her sister and continues, “i was thirsty and i went down to the kitchen to get some water and - and cinderella is still up! she’s doing the dishes, and she should be asleep, mom is going to make her make breakfast in the morning and -” she cuts herself off with a hiccup and whispers, “it’s not fair.”
“life isn’t fair,” drizella says, echoing one of their mother’s favorite phrases. but her sister is staring at her with wet eyes, and it’s not like their mother is likely to get up before sunrise anyway, she hates waking up, so she pulls herself and anastasia out of bed and off they go.
Part of the Thank You @ssminibang Mods 2020 gifting event. Over the course of this week various gifts big and small will be posted for each of our three mods from Senshi Shitennou Bang participants. I’m starting this week by posting my first gift for Charlie. And, of course, it is a shit post.
IT’S TAKEN THREE YEARS, CHARLIE, BUT THE PONIES ARE FINALLY HERE.
