MaybeFrench

And then all the other Sesame Street character accounts joined in:

And now I’m thinking maybe we’re gonna be okay… 💗

"So, boss... I may have messed up."

"What did you do, Ray?"

"Well, I made a post for Elmo saying 'Hi, how's everybody doing?'"

"I mean, that's kind of what we pay you for."

"Yeah, but.... <sigh> it turns out pretty much everyone is hanging on by a thread, badly enough that they needed to tell Elmo."

"Oh."

"God help me, boss, I think Elmo needs to be there for them."

All right.

This one has been stewing for a few weeks now.

I'm a writer. Not an author. To some, this means I'm an amateur, unpaid, I haven't made a living, not a professional, as a writer. Which is true. I haven't submitted my work to some part of the industry and sold my work. However, I'd like to think that I can review and look at bodies of work and go "WHAT THE HELL" about storylines, about movies, television, books, and wonder the showrunner, the author, the storyteller was thinking.

Certainly a lot of fans were thinking that when the final season of Game of Thrones happened. (Oof.) Certainly a lot were thinking that about Lost. I imagine some may have that when the final book of Outlander comes out (I honestly wonder how she's going to wrap that storyline).

(Speaking of Outlander: many called out the writers for chickening out on the finale and you know what: I agree! This will come up later.)

Now... some of you will be going: "Where is Raye going with this?"

Because a lot of The Boys fans and some "Jensen Critical" folks and some "Jensen Antis" have been... unfairly... going after Jensen for the recent season of The Boys. I say unfairly because, look, he's the actor. He's not the Executive Producer (hi Karl!), he's not the showrunner, he's not the writer. He's just the freaking actor.

I don't care if Eric Kripke has a fucking hard-on for Jensen. I do not. I don't care if he's quipped about providing a job for Jensen for the rest of his natural life. I don't care if he thinks Jensen walks on the goddamn fucking moon.

Eric Kripke is the goddamn showrunner. He needs to act like it! He shouldn't have been using the final season of The Boys to prop up Vought Rising like this. He shouldn't be blatantly trying to tie in the spin-off like that--it was wholly unnecessary.

More, he did a crappy job of it. The sheer quality of the show was steadily going downhill ever since season 3. There. I said it. He chickened out in having Soldier Boy de-power Homelander in season 3--that would've been one hell of a gorgeous storyline to see how Vought scrambled to figure out what to do with their Golden Boy, how Homelander dealt with being some ordinary human being for the first time in his life, and so on, as well as how Kripke shot himself in the foot with giving Soldier Boy one hell of a massive power in the first place--and then season 4 was just... a mess. Kimiko should never have been given her voice back in season 5 (I said what I said). Butcher went from being a vengeful husband and trying to rescue Ryan to... whatever the hell happened to him in seasons 4 and 5.

Everything sank and sank fast. And none--and I repeat, none--of it was Jensen's fault! He didn't ask for Soldier Boy to be flanderized in this way! Homelander should never have been made to have been in love with Stormfront (please! There was no way he fell in love with her!), he became this pathetic manchild that whined about everything and suddenly was desperate for Soldier Boy's approval? Riiiiggghhhhtttt.

Again. None--none--of it was Jensen's fault. But somehow, it all was! Because....

Because....

What? Because once upon a time, he fucked up and backstabbed part of the Supernatural fandom? I can understand part of the antis and some of the Jensen-Critical's thinking on that, even if I disagree with part of it. But not the rest.

There is zero evidence that he suddenly somehow made Kripke do all this. None. He has not said a single word about this in any convention panels that we've heard and seen. Not in interviews. Kripke hasn't indicated it either.

Is Kripke messing up by trying to tie in Vought Rising in the final season of The Boys? FUCK YES. That's just bad storytelling. It's about the founding of Vought and shouldn't have much tie in. I feel he should've left Bombsight and V1 and those tie-ins in Vought Rising, not in The Boys. Or wrapped it in one episode in a pretty bow. Not prolong it for episode after episode after episode. Seven episodes with very little resolution for a great deal left to do and bad flanderization for so many characters had me wanting to chuck my laptop at the screen.

Even if Jensen did beg for some importance, Kripke is the fucking showrunner. He should've kicked Jensen and said "Fuck no." Period.

So quit with the goddamn Jensen blame and put it where it belongs: on the fucking writers, on their lord and master, Eric Kripke.

Y'know what, let's go back.

I'm told that Kripke wasn't intentionally trying to tie in Vought Rising to the show. I dug up an interview where he said precisely that. (Dated May 4, 2026.)

We can disagree all we want, but that was Kripke's intention. (Supposedly.) So... was he backpedaling because of the complaints? Because of the rising negativity? A mutual and I investigated a bit. My moot found this interview (Dated May 14, 2026):

Translation:

Is this Kripke doing damage control over all the uproar? The only one who'll ever be able to answer that is Kripke. He's the showrunner. He controls the endgame.

Not Jensen.

Showrunners need to be able to complete the game of chicken. The showrunners of Outlander failed that and chickened out. GRRM of A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) has an obvious favorite of Jon Snow and is too chicken to kill his darling.

Writers (authors) need to be brave enough to pull the trigger. Do the brave thing. Do it for the substance. Not shock and awe.

It's as though Kripke is using the satire excuse as a shield for bad writing, among other excuses. It's pretentious, it's superficial and, worse of all, it's lazy. It's like he went the path of ouroboros--he went full circle and ended up embarrassing himself.

He claimed he wanted to go deeper instead of bigger. But he didn't go deeper. Butcher was shallow. Homelander was pathetic. Soldier Boy was a shadow of his season 3 self. Kimiko wasn't what she used to be. Hughie and Starlight were "WTF?" Mother's Milk was uncharacteristic. I could go on.

Kripke.

The blame goes to Kripke.

In court that day, the judge asked the boy, “Are you afraid?” No, the boy said.

Pipes says the judge seemed surprised, and asked, “Why not?”

Chief’s thesis was that a child who has been abused by an adult can benefit psychologically from the presence of even more intimidating adults that they know are on their side. “When we tell a child they don’t have to be afraid, they believe us,” Arizona biker Pipes told azcentral.com. “When we tell them we will be there for them, they believe us.” ( Article)

They go on runs to protect the child if they feel even the slightest threatened no matter where. If the child needs them to go on vacation with them, they do. Bikers come from across the nation to watch over and take shifts for these kids. And the best part is once you’re adopted into this family as a BACA kid, you’re always one. Even when you’re 40 and the perp gets released from jail, they’ll come meet with you and find your best options for avoiding the person and maintaining the life you’ve built for yourself. Once a BACA child, always a BACA child. In Florida, there’s 100% rate for identifying the perp based on the child’s testimony. Why? Because BACA stands with the child and supports the child so they feel comfortable enough to point out their attacker.

They’re in Canada as well and probably other countries. I met and talked with a native guy who runs the place near me. His name is Shaman. I got in, and I’m considered a BACA child now. Despite being 17, turning 18 when I talked to them. They spent time with me when my abuser was over, they gave me therapy resources. They give you something called a ‘level 1′ where they go to your house with as many bikers as they can, i shit you not a solid 20-40 bikers came from even out of province, and met me. I got to choose my biker name and I got a vest with patches on it and my name on it. They all hugged a Teddybear before giving it to me, and told me if I ever felt the BACA bear was running out of love, to give them a call and they’d refill it for me, and then I got a ride on one of their bikes. Just a day or so ago I went to an annual party with them and they we ate food one of them cooked and had a lot of laughs. 

I’ve never felt as loved as I did being a part of the BACA family. They also gave me dog tags with the names, and phone numbers of my 2 workers.  So I can call them whenever I feel scared. 

BACA is an absolutely wonderful group that will do everything in it’s power to help any child whos been abused. 

And it doesn’t end when you’re 18 either. As long as you get in contact/get your level 1 before you’re 18? you’re ALWAYS a BACA kid. I’m 18 now and they still invite me to parties, ask me if I’m okay, and are there for me. They’re still trying to find me resources for therapy. 

BACA has changed my fucking life. 

United States

Canada

Australia

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Spain

France

Italy

Netherlands

Iceland

Austria

Greece

New Zealand

Portugal

Sweden

United Kingdom

Switzerland

B.A.C.A’s Byline: “Keepers of the Children.” B.A.C.A.’s Motto: “No child deserves to live in fear.”

I am anti abuse in so many ways. I’m a survivor of child abuse and domestic violence. I would’ve loved to have had such an organization when I was a child.

I’m glad they exist now.

Based on his experience, the Montreal chapter is a bit uptight. Also, expensive. But he liked it, had to drop it due to fees.

Also, they do some kind of background check, you don’t become a BACA just because you put the money and have a bike.

A growing online trend encourages women to quit their jobs, run the home and defer to their husbands. This “tradwife” movement urges a return to traditional roles and, when researchers in the US recently set out to examine what kind of men support it, they expected to find a cohort fond of old-fashioned chivalry.

The reality, they say, was rather different.

Among young American men, the strongest predictor of support for the tradwife lifestyle was not gallantry but hostility towards women.

“We were taken aback,” said Dr Rachael Robnett, a psychologist at the University of Nevada, in Las Vegas, and lead author of the study. Her team had thought that men drawn to the tradwife idea would display what academics call “benevolent sexism” — a belief that men should protect and provide for women. This seemed to them to fit with an ethos where he earns and she cooks and cares for the children.

Instead, statistical tests found that the strongest predictor of male support for tradwife lifestyles was “hostile sexism”. This involves overtly negative beliefs about women, including that they manipulate men, exaggerate discrimination and should not expect equal power.

People who are high in hostile sexism may believe women try to manipulate and control men, often through sex.

The study, which was published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, also found that men drawn to tradwife ideals often believed that women were essential to their emotional fulfilment, and that intimacy was something only women can provide. “It suggests that men [who support tradwife lifestyles] rely on women for intimacy and resent that this is the case,” Robnett said.

The findings sit uneasily with the movement’s image on social media. Online, tradwives are often depicted in settings of domestic bliss: scenes where women stay at home and bake bread, surrounded by broods of smiling children.

“What these images don’t illustrate,” Robnett said, “is the significant financial and personal autonomy that tradwives yield.”

The findings are based on a survey of 595 American men aged 18 to 29. Participants were asked about their attitudes to roles of men and women and the tradwife lifestyle, as well as their levels of different forms of sexism, religiosity and background characteristics.

The researchers then used statistical models to identify which factors best predicted support. Hostile sexism emerged as the strongest single factor.

>thread is from 13 years ago

I am reading Tim Curry’s 2025 memoir, Vagabond

and in it, he not only devotes a chapter to Muppet Treasure Island, but also references this very post

so, to recap

no, Tim Curry is absolutely NOT a Muppet; however