[ SECRET POST #4427 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4427 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.
[Beast Legends vs. Buzzfeed Unsolved]


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03. [repeat]


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04.
[image is Scarlett Johansson from The Other Boleyn Girl]


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05.
[Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age]


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06.
(Sex Education)


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07.
[Tidying up with Marie Kondo]


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08.
(Gay Korean porn maker Seegasm)


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09.
[youtube beauty gurus]


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10.
[Doctor Who, "It Takes You Away"]









Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 51 secrets from Secret Submission Post #634.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

06. https://i.imgur.com/AeEEfdn.png
(Sex Education)

[(Anonymous)]

Is it unoriginal at this point? Yes. Am I still a complete and total sucker for it? 100% absolutely

(I do agree that it would be really nice to mix up the gender dynamics of it a little; I especially want to see f/f or m/m versions of the trope)

[(Anonymous)]

If the genders are switched the girl will get a cliched makeover at some point.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree in a general sense, but it doesn't bother me in the case of Otis/Maeve specifically, because I really don't think they're going to end up together. I think the show is too realistic about teenage relationships to give us such a romanticized version of messy teenage first love. I think they probably will get together on the show at some point, and it won't be for nothing, but it also won't last.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree with you on all counts.

The characters on this show are more than their archetype in a way I wish more shows would accomplish

[(Anonymous)]

It's just a variation of "slovenly, chubby, unattractive man gets attractive, slim woman".

[(Anonymous)]

It's not. I mean, correct me if there's some examples you're thinking of that I'm not familiar with, but the characters in the "awkward loner" role in this sort of thing are not chubby, usually not particularly slovenly. Usually they're socially awkward and attractive in an unconventional way. But that's not the same thing at all.

More generally, I think that the frequency of this trope gets discussed way more often than it actually takes place - it's a thing in, like, 90s and early 00s family sitcoms, and Apatowian romantic comedies, and not that many other places. And it really seems to me that, while it's a bad trope, the better idea is to blow up the whole way that we depict attractiveness and unattractiveness in general, not to aggressively police depictions of unattractive men being happy.

Thank you for your time.

[(Anonymous)]

Exactly. I'd go a step further and say the "awkward loner" is usually only that as an informed attribute and would be considered a really cool person in a real life school. They're the Cool Loser or Hollywood Homely trope.

[(Anonymous)]

If the "awkward loner" guy is ugly and doesn't have much else going for him either, and the "confident punk" girl has few-to-no flaws, then yeah, it can be a variation of what you're describing.

That's definitely not the case in Sex Education. Otis is really smart, and for the most part he's genuinely nice. He's really conscious about societal misogyny and tries really hard not to perpetuate it. He's very non-judgmental. And he's also not ugly. He's not a hunk, but he's not bad looking either. He also doesn't expect to "get the girl" or think he deserves her. He (somewhat accurately) sees Maeve as being much too cool, beautiful, and brave for him.

And Maeve is far from perfect. She's distant, combative, and somewhat self-sabotaging. And while she is quite pretty (better looking than Otis, for sure), she has a worn-thin, almost haggard look that can be off-putting. All of these things about her are perfectly understandable, given the life she's had, but the fact remains that she's not this perfect, shiny paragon of Hot Girlfriend potential, nor is Otis lazy, slovenly, or ugly.

[bio_obscura]

I really hate this ship and love him with Ola.

[(Anonymous)]

My perfect direction for these two is to bypass a relationship entirely, and just have Maeve taken in as a sister figure to Otis by Jean. I just really want her to have a stable family life.

Plus I'm pretty sure those two together would be hilarious, and bonus points for Jean being able to let out her pent-up Mama-Bear instincts on that dick headmaster.