#(this is more about the subset of fans that i think are probably the same subset of fans that ship sterek and made all those edited

[many-gay-magpies]

really hate that the most pervasive fan-interpretation of isaac is (or at least used to be) "soft, sad, innocent puppy in love with scott". like in love with scott maybe sure. sad sure. but he's not SOFT or INNOCENT, he's a BITCH and he's MEAN and his automatic reaction to anyone he doesn't like is to try to fistfight and/or murder them. he has his soft moments but they are far overwhelmed by what a petty bitch he is. and to me thats like the peak of his character and why i love him as much as i do but so much of the fandom apparently saw him and threw all that out the window.

[somehow-a-human]

Deciphering the Angelic Language

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Oh boy, I'm finally tackling a post on this! I haven't seen a ton of discussion about this or progress and I think that's because it's very complicated. I've done a bit of work on it and I'm hoping by sharing here we'll be able to combine our brainpower and make some more progress!

SO! Let's get into it shall we?

Let's start with what we've been told about the Angelic Language:

An SFX team member said that the pillars in heaven "don't translate into words" (so maybe it translates into something like hex? ASCII?)

A speaker at Ineffablecon confirmed that the language "contains meaning and can be decoded"

According to the Chapter 6 VFX Breakdown video, "The creative team broke down the symbols into an alphabet of about 140 runes"

I'm going to start with that last bullet point. An alphabet of about 140 runes, which math-wise narrows down what type of alphabet we might be looking at. Specifically, I think it might point to Consonant/Vowel Pairs, which gives you 126 characters, then add in numbers and punctuation, you've got about 140. That's my best guess anyway.

The next thing i did was look at the Heaven CCTV footage of Gabriel FRAME BY FRAME to analyze the runes on the screen in these scenes. I think this is the best place to start for a number of reasons, first of all, being that the CCTV footage seems to only use a subset of the runes that don't include and modifications like extra dots or ticks. I consider them base runes.

Secondly, the runes cycle through a lot of changes here so it's a great place to look for patterns, and find patterns I did.

I found 4 sets of runes that cycle sequentially through a repeating pattern. Okay I'm going to do my very best to explain this.

The above we will call set A

The above we will call set B

The above we will call set C

The above we will call set D

The runes on the CCTV will *almost* always follow the sequence of their set, and when they reach the end of the set, they're marked with one of the following first two sequences below which I'm referring to as "indicator runes" after which they either repeat the same set or a different set.

The only time the runes change in the middle of a sequence is when they're denoted by the third row indicator runes before the change occurs.

So there does at least seem to be some pattern to the runes, at least when it comes to the ones used in the CCTV footage. These however are only about half of the total number of runes, the other half are derived from these initial ones, and have additional tick marks and dots added to them to add some sort of meaning and differentiation.

These screen grabs are from the Chapter 6 VFX Breakdown video, and during the lead in to these animations I think I can also say that the language is probably read right to left, as that's the direction the runes scroll in on the screen.

These scenes are also shown with a certain glowing overlay, so I'm wondering if when we can figure the language out, if there is an interesting message here to be read as well.

Anyway! If you have any other info or this has sparked any ideas about the language for you please let me know! I will continue to play with it and update when I have anything of note! :)

[f0point5]

I have a question and if it’s crossing parasocial boundaries, please call me out but I’m just curious. Why did no one report Jos when I keep seeing things that make it seem like it was an open secret that he was abusive towards Max when he was young? I am Indian so I understand that some cultures do just “stay in their lane and mind their own business” but I thought Dutch people were known to be quite blunt so I think it’s strange that no one called it out. Also the more I learn about formula one and Motorsport in general is that it’s a pretty small world so for people to know what’s going on and not doing anything, how do they live with themselves? I know that some people believe that once someone reaches a certain level of success that their trauma becomes a reason for that success but it’s just so gross to me how people talk about it all. And I’m not at all trying to police Max’s relationship with his dad bc I personally understand having a complicated relationship with a father but it just makes me sad that no one protects these kids.

I think Toto said in drive to survive that all drivers are “traumatized children” so everyone in power in Motorsport knows it’s awful for these kids and yet nothing is done to protect them. I know this wouldn’t solve everything but there needs to be something within Motorsport that protects these kids like an organization or some type of limit (I honestly don’t know) bc if everyone turned the other way for Jos, who else are they “protecting”

Well, we can’t ask the people 😂 it’s actually very talked about amongst Max fans though.

I’ve got several theories on this but just a general disclaimer I don’t know anyone involved in this so I’m just going off what I’ve read and seen in documentaries, what I know about certain cultures and subsets, and pure vibes.

Firstly, I do think people tend to mind their business. My experience of Europeans, especially 15-20 years ago…your kids and your family is your business. And people have different parameters for what they consider abuse. Emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse were nowhere near as defined or understood back then as they are, and even now what “line” will be crossed before each person steps in is very different. Edit - I also just realised, people remember all this stuff now but if you think about it, they probably didn’t see the same people at every single karting race every single weekend. So Max races in Italy one weekend and maybe something happens, but then you go home and forget about it for two months until you see him at a kart race again? Not everyone travelled to every race, from what I understand about how karting works. So really, I don’t think it was sticking in people’s minds so much as it would be if they were seeing this at pick up time every day at a school, for example.

Second, I don’t know how many of these accounts by random mechanics and people are accurate. People will say stuff like “Oh Jos took him in the back of the van and hit him” or “he kept his helmet on because he thought Jos would hit him”. Well firstly, I’ve also read a quote saying Max would keep his helmet on so people wouldn’t see him cry. And Max was like 10…did anyone ask him about any of this? No. The stories of physical abuse - to my recollection - aren’t coming from people who know the Verstappen’s intimately, more people who observed them and have made assumptions about what went on. The stuff about him shouting at Max and being hard on him has come from multiple sources and is admitted by Jos and Max so that we know is accurate but to my knowledge, Jos has said he only ever smacked Max on the back of the head once, and Max has never said Jos hit him. So I kind of think a lot of these inferences from track mechanics…I don’t want to say “not credible” but I do think because of Jos’s past there’s a tendency to sensationalise who he is. He’s obviously a guy who has anger management issues, so it’s definitely possible that he lost his head a few times and was physically abusive. Do I believe this ritualised physical punishment narrative people allude to? Personally I wouldn’t take that at face value. So I’m not sure how much there actually was to “report”? You can’t call child services because you saw an angry guy yell at his kid.

Third, I really don’t think anything Jos is known to have done in front of other people was out of the realm of the possible in that environment. Usual? Maybe not. But so extreme that people were scandalised? I honestly don’t think so. I think people pretend to be scandalised about it now because Max is famous. And I think people remember it because of who Jos is, and who Max has become, but I think there are a lot of parents who get like that about their kids’ sporting careers and it wasn’t the first time anyone had seen it play out like that. When you think about how much money and time these parents are pouring into it, how overly invested in their son’s careers they ALL are, you can easily extrapolate it to understanding that all that effort being ruined or taken for granted is going to make a parent blow a gasket. It’s not right but most of these parents are not raising these kids in the “right” way. I do think seeing a former f1 driver swearing at his karting wunderkid 10 year old is something people will remember more than random guy screaming at his son who came 12th. I don’t think either thing would have necessarily raised that much concern in an environment like karting. Because I’ve competed in various things as a kid and let me tell you not all the parents were kind to their children about the money and time they spent on it.

So yeah I think it’s a combination of these things.

I also think, and have previously said, that people approach the Max/Jos thing with a very narrow view of how relationship and child rearing works. Max may well have been able to achieve what he did with a different approach from Jos, but at the same time, without Jos, specifically him, Max doesn’t become an F1 driver at all never mind a champion. For all he did wrong, he poured his heart and soul into his son’s passion and there aren’t all that many parents who would do that. And i will die on the hill that Max wouldn’t have become the person he seems to be if Jos was the person people paint him to be. The amount of confidence and unflappable self belief Max has doesn’t come from nowhere, you don’t become that self assured if you are only ever torn down. What we know is 1% of their relationship and I think even from what we know it’s clear that Jos absolutely adores Max, beyond the fact that at least in karting, he chose to be his coach first.

But I do think karting, and really any “career” that kids need to start that early and is such a demand on a family, can’t be pursued in a way that isn’t going to leave a mark on a kid. I consider growing up in competitive sport to be a bit like being a child star, in the way that it has a high propensity to greatly affect your childhood and family dynamics. Because the dynamics it breeds are not “normal”, the people who do that to their kids are for the most part not “normal”. You’re not going to raise normal kids to fo extraordinary things. Now, is “normal” the only way to raise a happy adult? No. I think a lot of people forget that.

I don’t think it’s up to any governing body to mandate how parents parent, though. At a push they could have a code of conduct at tracks for sanctioned events that prohibits certain behaviour from parents. But it’s not up to anyone but the parents how they’re raising their kids (within the realms of legality).

[princess-of-the-corner]

Oh. Oh I just made myself sad. Geten has complex feelings on Rei, but like. He never once thought "she should have come & got me", or anything like that. Like, she had kids, he gets it, keep them as far from the Himuras as possible. But also thinks they were both on the same page, that they were both "on their own", that she wouldn’t care. But if he's shown up on Rei's doorstep at sixteen, she absolutely would have done her best to help him.

YEAH NO IT

I went on tangents hold on

Also I'm low-key laughing because within Canon, Geten has so little I can pretty much roll in whatever direction I want with him and it doesn't go against Canon. But I also know he's got a subset of fans out there who probably have solidified their own Fanon version of him that goes against all this lmao

Geten would have complicated feelings on Rei in the like. Their parents kinda lament that she was their first choice, oh so perfect. But now they're kinda stuck putting all their hopes on this Mutant bastard child. (I think I'm gonna add in like. Their mom had fertility issues so it was a miracle she had one child in the first place. So when they lucked out with a second baby they could pass off as their own they decided horses are self-conscious about the inside of their mouths instead of aborting and trying for a legitimate child)

But yeah they lament how things would've been better if Rei hadn't been 'stolen' from them. And there's problems with Geten in like. Using him the way they used Rei.

Like there's also gonna be some differences in how they were raised because of gender but it's not like he's treated better it;s more like. Rei is a doll, Geten is a sink. Bad metaphor but while all Rei has to do is look pretty for her husband, she's ultimately decoration. Geten would be more expected to do whatever vague rich people business stuff and have a purpose of some sort beyond 'pretty'

But similarly he's still expected to find a wife as part of a business deal and continue the family line(hopefully a 'normal' wife will help breed out that 'filthy mutation'). But while he can hide the scales from other people hiding them from a wife would be near impossible. So they need to find a woman who wither won't or can't out his heritage, which gets tricky. (doubly so if the resulting child does take more after the Mutation Quirk as the Himuras would pin the blame on the wife and accuse her of having the affair. Hypocritical bastards that they are).

And ofc that difficulty would be blamed on Geten despite him being yeeted into this world because of their fuckups and didn't ask to exist. But ya know.

Swinging back to that 'expected to actually be useful', this doesn't /actually/ help him any more than Rei was because he's still effectively trapped. Geten might be allowed a touch more agency, but he has no genuine skills of his own that he could run away without help and expect to survive.

Rei escaped because of two things. One being that she found someone to help her leave. She didn't need to start over with the lack of skills, she got to stay with Enji. And while she ultimately stayed with him and they ended up married, he did offer to help Rei get the skills needed to survive on her own and enough money to start over without struggling.

The second thing was that this happened when Rei was legally an adult. Therefore her parents could not make the law place her back with them without a LOT of hoops to jump through (they'd have to both get her labeled as someone unfit to care for herself /and/ get her away from Enji which is very difficult).

Even if Geten did run away to her, as long as he was underage his parents would have legal custody and there's little Rei or even Enji could do about it. (the MLA didn't have this issue and were willing to hide him and had the resources to do so)

Like remember: a lot of what the Himuras do isn't outright said our seen as bad. Raising a child to have no skill to leave isn't technically illegal, especially in a wealthy family where they could theoretically just ride the coattails. Selling the kids off as business deal marriages is illegal, but only if it's said out loud and done in certain ways. Like with the Rei/Enji thing: it's never said out loud "Give us money and you can have our daughter to do whatever you want with", it's just a marriage where Enji is supposed to play a generous son-in-law and fund their interests. It's why he can't arrest them for it. They all know what it is, but there's no way to prove it.

swinging back like:

Geten both understands a lot of this but also feels furious at it. Their parents wanted her more, but got stuck with him. She escaped and he had to stay. And he gets why she can't help him (both being unwilling to risk herself/her children, but also the practical legality of it)

And on Rei's side!

I need to nail down when she finds out about Geten. Because technically we could have her just. Not know at all! She cut her parents off before Geten was born and hasn't looked back hasn't kept an eye on them at all how is she to know they had another kid? So yeah she could totally get blindsided expecting Geten to be a cousin only for him to say they're siblings.

But if she's going to find out earlier... I think I'd have her find out around the time Shoto is born. Because this is the point where she's most likely to find out, as it's pre-hospital, but least likely do anything about it, as this is when her depression really starts kicking her ass.

So she finds out and god it feels hopeless. Her parents would continue over and over no matter if she helped the kid escape or not. How could she even help when she can barely mother her own children? And while Enji helped her.... between her mental health and his mental health, she begins to once again question whether he 'saved' her out of genuine selflessness, or because it made her more compliant to his selfishness. Would he save someone else if she asked? Someone who offered him nothing in return? (He would but she questions it and that combined with the general 'depression makes it hard to actually do anything' bit makes her not ask)

[1001albumslist]

Day 1

Album: Licensed to Ill by the Beastie Boys

Have I listened to before? No, but I have heard short clips of "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "Brass Monkey"

Familiarity with the artist: only tangentially, my dad is a fan and i've probably heard a few songs in passing but i don't think i've ever sat down and listened to one. of course i've seen the memes about the Beastie Boys tho lol

Background Knowledge:

Beastie Boys debut album, released November 15th 1986 and became the first rap LP to top the Billboard album chart.

acclaimed for unique musical style, chemistry between the group members, and their stylized rapping

ranked as one of the greatest hip hop debut albums of all time

Interesting Info:

the group originally wanted the album title to be Don't Be A Faggot but was rejected by the label for being too homophobic (omfg??!!)

Kerry King of Slayer plays lead guitar on "Fight for Your Right" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"

originally recorded a loose cover of The Beatles "I'm Down" which sampled the original song, but it was pulled at the last minute due to legal disputes with Michael Jackson, who owned the Beatles catalog at the time

the full album cover, front to back, features an American Airlines Boeing 727 with a Beastie Boys logo on its tail, which has crashed head-on into the side of a mountain, the former taking the shape of an extinguished marijuana joint

Listened on: Apple Music

General Notes:

rough and raw sound, almost like they’re right there in the room with you, but also very well-produced

interesting way to combine the aesthetics of punk/rock (rock instruments and a more shouted vocal delivery) with hip-hop

i really like the call and response between the different members and how they emphasize certain syllables in the lines by having the other members interject along with the lead

almost?? a parody of classic rap but not quite…a lot of the rhymes are really funny and their delivery is just short of being too over the top to be taken seriously imo- but I guess it makes sense when their first hip-hop single was satirical itself

why do they keep referencing White Castle lmao

always something to be said when a white artist or group releases music in a traditionally black genre/style and the white artist is who finally brings that genre into mainstream media and acclaim. i saw a quote on their wikipedia that called The Beastie Boys "the Elvis of hip-hop" and i think that's an accurate assessment, although not necessarily a bad thing in itself. it's clear from the way the album is produced and the intelligent sampling that they know what they're doing and are knowledgeable of black hip-hop artists that they were obviously influenced by, along with their own previous experience with punk and rock. could we call combining hip-hop aesthetics with punk and rock a sanitization of black hip-hop in the same way many are critical of early white rock n roll artists? i'm not sure, especially because rock is itself a traditionally black genre, even if it has been taken over in the wider cultural imagination by white men. in my mind, this kind of sound is more of a subset of the larger hip-hop genre as a whole, but i think i need to do more research into The Beastie Boys and refresh my memory on classic hip-hop before i make any definitive conclusions

Favorite Tracks: Rhymin’ & Stealin’, Posse In Effect, Fight for Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Brass Monkey

Final Review: an interesting album in a larger cultural sense but not really my personal taste. still was really interesting though, and I'm glad i got around to listening to it!

[artistnamedlg]

GARAGES SONGS ASSIGNED TO FANTASY HIGH CHARACTERS (AND SOME OTHER STUFF)

For context, the garages were a band who wrote songs based off a game called blaseball, mainly rock but not confined directly too it. I am assigning some of their songs to fantasy high characters for the very small subset of people who are interested a.k.a mainly me. Most of these are based off season 1 but there is influence from the others. 👍

FIG

-Pyschoacoustics: Very loud but also kinda team based! (The bigger the garage/ the better the sound/ we’re just so glad you came around)

- Vanessa tables, the cheesiest love song ever. I can totally imagine fig singing this.

- ALBUMS: either Underground (its heavy metal) or Short circuit (psychoacoustics esque, it’s so loud!!!)

- CHARACTERS THEY WOULD LOVE? Probably Betsy Trombone or Allison Abbot. Or Jaylen HotdogFingers. Big Garages Fan probably.

ADAINE

- so mediocre, it’s about not being good enough and being told your not good enough. Yeouch.

-Sidelined, same album same reason but this one ends happier cause people do believe in them :)

- the entire Kansas City breath mints team failed the bar exam,

- won’t strike out, it’s about a frog kicking ass. For everyone who doesn’t know blaseball google chorby short right now.

- ALBUMS: either unstable (the first two songs are from it) or, while not a album, The Mike Townsend Trilogy because she would one hundred percent understand the looked down on for not being good enough vibe.

- CHARACTERS THEYD LOVE? Mike Townsend, Chorby Short, maybe Sebastion Telephone cause underperforming sibling vibes. I can see her being a big Hawaii Fridays fan or more accurately Yellowstone Magics

KRISTEN

- And I mean all gods, the first line is “I need to email god because I have some issues”. Kristen would say that, 100%.

- solar eclipse, this one’s a little bit of everyone but it feels especially Kristen because of the direct callouts to god in it. She’d very much understand this one I think.

- ALBUMS weirdly enough, no clue. She would probably like the garages kill gods cause of the title and maybe pathetic/spineless cause repressed rage.

CHARACTERS THEYD LOVE? Most of the like goofy ones I think. She’d see pitching machine (a player who is an actual honest to god pitching machine) and start cheering. She would actually maybe enjoy the monitor who is a god but is also a pushover and eventually anticapitalist. Shed like Randall Marijuana if only cause he’s called “Randy weed” She’d also be a big Fridays person but I can see her being a Hellmouth Fan.

RIZ

- operation plasma (swing and a miss) it’s a song by the spies about how they want a spy to bring them stuff, riz core.

- beautiful day, I don’t know why I can very much see riz in this, half of it cause shit canonically hits the fan even harder after beautiful day.

- the unremarkable ballad of Derrick Krueger, I can’t explain this one but I think it does have slight riz vibes of like overlooked underdog at the beginning of season 1

- Albums, be my valentine cause some of the songs are very sweet and a decent amount are not even romantic in like partner partner way or percolate or lofi hip-hop brews to kill siesta/kill gods to.

- Players he’d love? Parker McMillan, he’d love the insane complexity of trying to piece them together and like interrogating their socials. He’d be a big Houston Spies fan as well, no surprise, but he’d also be a data witch or something similar on the side, just digging round in the code.

EDIT: he would also love one of my fav players, Evelton mcblase 2, a trans mad scientist who is evil and also occasionally a eel.

GORGUG

- heart full of love mouth full of blood, it’s a little romantic but also about killing to protect your friends

- Mike Townsend is back, I can see him vibing to this, especially with the goofy “I learned how to solo!!!” Part

- hurt people, it’s about desperately not wanting to hurt those around you but being unable to.

- Albums I don’t know! Maybe encore cause some of those are very hard hitting and he’d like that I think but also maybe lofi as well cause chill out vibes. Potentially Immaterial Shores which is a bunch of like sea shanty’s.

-Characters they’d like? Jaylen hotdogfingers as well, he’d understand the tradgedy. Also Theodore Duende. Definitely Nagomi McDaniel because she’s a buff as hell mother , maybe the dad versions of Lenny Marijuana. Generally the strong ones who have hearts of gold. He’d be a Dallas steaks fan (their joke is that they’re all dads or dad adjacent, they do cookouts)

FABIEN

- Top ten Tillman Henderson moments that actually happened, dude I cannot describe it but he would love Tillman, shitheel player who does the silliest shenanigans.

- Rise, I can’t really explain it but the extreme confidence mixed with the knowledge that Jaylen actually deeply regrets her revival and fame feels very Fabian.

- Betsy trombone (+ r - s version) I can’t explain it but specifically this version has Fabian feels.

- Albums. Uhhh maybe just straight up discipline, it’s super long but he’d like it I feel. Something shorter would be Caught in the Reverb I don’t know why but I think he’d like it a bit.

-Favorite Characters? Tillman Henderson, he’d love how much of a shitheel he is. I can see him also liking Nagomi McDaniel and Jessica Telephone. I can also seeing him being part of the Jaylen resurrection efforts and just supporting her girlbossing murder spree. He’d actually care if they’re good at the game, similarly he’d be a crabs fan since they’re pretty consistently good, if not the crabs then the hades tigers cause they’re sick as hell. I can also see him really really enjoying York silk because it’s a 12 year old with a gunblade who’s unironically super strong.

BAD KIDS IN GENERAL

- Well suck forever

- A horrible Mistake we will make again and again

Gilear (special edition!!)

-on fatherhood, im adding this just cause it reminds me of him. If you didn’t know people died in blaseball! That was a key thing! While figs alive this does give that vibe with how much she gets into.

[georgiapeach30513]

You are awesome. I love your response to the one anon who talked about Ryan vs. Chris.

I’ve always felt there was a subset of tumblr “fans” or fans of gossip that live to snark and say rude things about Chris. Way before soba noodles came along. There are some popular blogs on here I detest and loathe because they’ve said some truly cruel things due their anger and disappointment in him but since others loved these blogs they would agree with them. I can’t understand the concept of following a fanbase on tumblr for a celeb just to sit there and post negatively about them to other people.

Ryan is a bankable star but are his movies really that quality? Is his acting really quality? I don’t know if I agree because six underground remains one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while. He also reminds me of Deadpool in literally every movie I’ve seen him. However, I still find him funny and likeable usually so I’ll tune in occasionally to his stuff. He and Blake are cute but also sometimes annoying but it doesn’t bother me.

I agree that CE is going through a bit of a career rough patch but honestly? I think you can kind of say the same about other actors too.

For example, I think Chris pine had a bit of a rough go with his directing debut (panned by critics and audiences alike - roasted by everyone). Dungeons and dragons was well received but didn’t do too much at the box office. Same with WISH. Same with don’t worry darling.

All happened this past year and this year. But are Chris pine fans roasting him 24/7? I mean, I don’t really know but I don’t think to the extent of which Chris E’s fans are doing to him. They probably hope he will get more opportunities to shine and want the best for him. Because they are his FANS.

It’s not really about comparing likeminded actors but I think CE fans and former haters have really crossed serious lines and it sincerely bothers me. The comments they’re left on that ASP post - throwing around the term nazism like it’s NBD. It’s revolting to me and I don’t see how they are pleased with themselves.

Sure I may have an unpopular opinion but I don’t think I’m wrong. I like that you remain positive but also realistic. You’re not a blind Stan and it’s really nice to see some spaces where you are maintaining your peace and giving others that as well.

Chris isn’t perfect, and I have said where I felt he lacks in his acting. But I’d much rather focus on positive things in his career. I see no point in constantly just focusing on the negative. What a miserable way to think.

Ryan can be bankable with the right script and role. But it can be very one note. This is someone who became aware of Ryan in Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. I enjoy him but he’s not switching up his characters that much either.

I like one Chris Pine character and that’s Rise of the Guardians because I don’t have to see his face. I’m not a fan and that’s why I choose not to mention him. So we’re moving on.

I’m sure there’s a lot going on that most of us will never really know. There’s a lot of trolling, a lot of lying, a lot of distraction, and I just don’t care. I’m going to stay in my attic with fanfics and hopefully a new role real soon.

[utilitycaster]

Something I've noticed, and that I'd be curious to get your thoughts on, is that there's a subset of fans who were perfectly cool with FCG when they didn't follow a deity, but as soon as they decided that religion was something they wanted to have as a part of their life, these fans did a 180. As you said, it's fine if someone doesn't enjoy how FCG is exploring religion, but it seems to me like some people were a lot more attached to the idea of a goddless cleric than they were to him as a character who had the potential to grow and change

Oh absolutely I think this is the case, which is funny, because I initially could not stand that FCG was a cleric with no apparent source of power (and, to be clear, I am not bothered by clerics who have mixed or even negative feelings about their deities like Deanna and FRIDA, nor would I be mad about a cleric devoted to a concept rather than a god).

Like...this is also touching on what I want to talk about later but there are a lot of fans who just...hate that the characters (and, uh, by extension, the cast) have free will and are not just puppets to play out and validate their (the fans) own personal beliefs, but are instead here to tell a story, which is why they hate change (because they fixate on the characters most appropriate as these puppets in the first few episodes and so change obviously fucks with that perception and forces them to have to think).

I think it's just people who, as I said, haven't gone to therapy about their religious trauma or at least learned the basics of "how I feel about religion is not necessarily how other people feel, nor is it directly applicable to a fictional magical world" and who are mad that a character they believed would prove that they are right is instead exploring religion. Which already didn't make sense because even if FCG did remain godless, they probably would still have rushed in here. Not to tap the Brennan Lee Mulligan "personality pre-dates ideology" sign yet again but the martyr complex and the altruism both came well before the interest in the Changebringer for FCG. FCG already did not really trust himself to make decisions; he just now has a way to outsource it to someone else. Which makes their speech on the Grand Disc fascinating, because it is essentially FCG asserting that in the absence of a god, one must aspire to goodness on one's own. I mean...folks, that's literally humanism, in a world where gods objectively exist.

Speaking of Brennan, he told a great story on the WBN fireside chat this week. He said it was a Hindu parable although I haven't tbh been able to find it, but anyway, it's about an atheist who meditated constantly, with the mantra that the gods weren't real. Upon their death, they were taken to the side of one of the gods, upon which they said, essentially, "what the fuck is going on" to which the god replied "you never allowed the gods out of your mind. You are one of the most devout people who ever existed." I think about this a lot when it comes to people who are desperate to overlay their own atheism (which, I should note, is fully valid in the real world, just not in Exandria) because, truly, they are constantly thinking of the divine and trying to make stories about the gods being wrong instead of just hanging out and watching the story.

When we look at people who are taking out their religious trauma, they are often recreating many of the same harmful group dynamics of organized religion, just dedicated to ideals other than a deity. It's that old discussion of how ex-fundamentalists still practice so many of the same thought patterns unless they put in a lot of active work to relearn it; they think removing the religion will fix them when the problem was always the behavior that people used the religion to justify. It's why (for example), and this is getting rather harsh, people who would rightfully be horrified by conversion therapy will, without blinking, remark things like "wow, I hope Jester nearly getting killed will make her realize she's a lesbian". The problem is not a belief in god; it's the belief that one's sexuality can be changed; that only some sexualities are correct to have; and that it's completely reasonable to say that a way to change a woman's behavior to what you want it to be is to threaten her life. They have not unlearned any of those beliefs, and instead of making the slightest effort themselves to grow and change and heal they look for fictional characters to prove their own rightness in perpetuating the same harm that was visited upon them, just in a different direction. So yeah, a character like FCG, who is growing and changing and exploring religion in a nuanced and neutral manner is a fucking threat to them.

[desultory-novice]

oh my god i just had A Thought. ok so in star allies there's a celebration image called "rockability and blues" which has taranza reaching out to the dimension mirror with sectonia in the background and joronia on the other side of the mirror, and when dedede finds the mirror he instantly encounters his mirror world self, so. what if sectonia is somehow mirror world joronia and joronia is still in the mirror world somewhere. that probably wouldn't hold up canonically but it would still be cool

Honestly, seeing as how the OG, Dark Meta Knight, successfully sealed Meta Knight in the mirror world for a time, it's not that farfetched of an idea!

I think the only thing standing in the way of that theory being super plausible is that I imagine Director Kumazaki would probably prefer Sectonia be "responsible" for her own evil deeds and face the outcome of them, rather than the Sectonia we fought being an evil mirror clone while "our" sweet Joronia did nothing wrong. Sniffle...

(My many years as an anime/game fan has taught me that generally speaking "They were just controlled/brainwashed/body-swapped" is not a very popular lead in for "...which is why X did nothing wrong!!" A lot of creators want their characters to take SOME responsibility, even if the situation got out of their hands really quickly.

I think that's why most of Kirby's "sympathetic" last bosses all have serious character flaws. Hyness was stabbed in the back by his planet and put under immense pressure to care for an entire subset of a population, but the way he channels his anger is still considered "unjustified." Magolor "just" wanted to build the galaxy's best theme park, but there was some darkness there, a larger than normal dose of ambition, that allowed the Master Crown to sway his thoughts.)

It is still incredibly fascinating! Particularly when it comes to imagining what a Mirror Joronia's personality was like BEFORE she started body-swapping like mad. Joronia might have always been fascinated by the idea by being stronger, more beautiful... the perfect queen, but never really been able to act on it? Just like Meta Knight fights against his powerful love of battle, in contrast to Dark Meta Knight who doesn't let anything or anyone take him away from the fight. So Mirror Joronia would be the one to go, "...Why don't I just take someone ELSE's strength? Someone else's beauty?" 

And of course, then they could still go into the mirror-verse and rescue Taranza's Joronia. Hey, if the novelization of Planet Robobot let Susie's papa survive Star Dream exploding (:handwaves like wild:) that would be a decent way for a potential Triple Deluxe novelization to have a similarly happy/bittersweet ending. Taranza giving his thanks to everyone while saying something like, "The Joronia I know is still out there. I just need to find her."

Of course the novels went ahead and canonized her death before she even got to appear in them sooo...

...

...

You know, at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that anything could still happen on that front? Does everyone remember the Kirby Twitter account having Magolor talk about DMK and the Dimension Mirror kinda recently? Sure, they say it's because DMK's mask was popular the time but what if it was a hint we'll be revisiting that plot later? Sectonia seems pretty popular amongst the (non-brought back to life) last bosses. And look what popularity did for Magolor!

I also get the feeling that Kumazaki may have more to say about her down the line? RtDL as a game was very "chatty." TDX was light on talking (way too light, IMO) and I feel like that was to make-up for RtDL's bevy of dialogue.

But you know that, even if we didn't see a lot of world-building in game, Kumazaki did a LOT of writing and thinking about that story. (The friggin' sun stones, man. Their petals are the same as the Master Crown's leaves...)

Kumazaki also loves his girl bosses. Drawcia was from a spinoff game, but look at her now! She's the only "spinoff" game character to get a dress-up mask! She has, for all intents and purposes, been bumped up to "basically canon." An honor not even Fluff has gotten.

Sectonia, like Drawcia, keeps appearing in these unexpected places. Getting a nod from Ohmoto and Kumazaki at the music fest and such. (Or getting her pre-corruption name dropped in Gourmet Fest. No one asked them to do that, but they did.)

So I don't know.

It's probably not a bad idea to keep an open mind as to her status...

[quaranmine]

6, 12, and 25 for the mcytblr fic author asks?

6. Do you like using the mcyt multiverse as a concept? (all SMPS and MC content exists in the same universe)

Yes!! To the point where it will bother me if I can't make them all fit, lol. Usually I like to keep the Dream SMP, Hermitcraft, Evo and Life Series all within the same universe. I like MCC as an event where people from these servers can intersect. Empires though is a problem to me, as it often contradicts things quite heavily due to the characters' lore. So whether or not Empires (S1 or S2) is canon sort of depends on what I am writing. I also often disregard random one-off SMPs as well--I'm not going to try to figure out how Rats SMP fits into Hermitcraft fits into Empires, it's just a nice little series in its own right.

12.Funniest comment you've ever gotten in a piece of work?

I think the funniest is when I posted a Firewatch AU chapter and @ivi-prism sent me a screenshot of her fake-buying plane tickets to Texas on an actual airline website to come kill me

Also I do find it pretty amusing that I am so loudly fixated on fire lookouts that I am aware of more than one person who have started reading my fanfic without even being familiar with Hermitcraft LOL

25.What works and/or authors in the fandom do you recommend?

Well, I've got to rep some of my friends first! Ivi is the creator of this ask game, and you should definitely check out her works -- Off-world vacations is a sweeping dsmp x hermitcraft crossover that has been in the works for years, great for Fundy fans. chrysalizzm is one of the most talented writers I've ever met, and I've seen firsthand the incredible research and depth and soul he's poured into the wasteland series. another excellent writer is prismartist, who probably has something for everyone since they've written life series, hermitcraft, dream smp, qsmp, and empires.

Really though, I need to get better at actually bookmarking my favorite works. I often kudos and then lose them oops

I have to recc definitelynotshouting's hunger au, although I feel like that's quite well known in the fandom already (for good reason)

sunlight over me no matter what i do by odaigahara is a GREAT oneshot, but mind the gore and body horror (grian cuts off his own wings to get rid of watcher influence)

I'm pretty fond of a specific subset of Watcher!Grian stories where the old Grian died and a Watcher/something else just kind of uhhhh took over his body with his memories? So I must recommend tempering by sixteenthdays, as well as You Say You Feel Hollow (and you know it's 'cause you are) by writing_and_worrying. still slightly similar in concept but not quite the same is the body is an object by ruffboi. And it's probably distinctly different enough that it shouldn't even be grouped here, but I also adore Covet by Oceanbreeze7 for a good Creature-y Watcher!Grian.

I like Enderwoah's Jimmy/Bad Boys fics. The two I have in my bookmarks is i've got problems (not just the ones that are little) and i can see the pattern (but i don't know what i can do)

Finally, I don't always blog about hermitshipping but I do sometimes read it, so I'll leave you with a scarian fic that has killed me like three separate times: Baby, just let me bleed in peace by mossman_mothman

[dragonmarquise]

Alr!!! Crews general music tastes??? I know damn well eclipse loves Beyonce

Oh boy, music!! This is gonna be a fun one to get into, at least imo.

So to start off, I like to think that in general they all like the kind of music genres that pop up in the game’s music track already. Also, we know DJ Cyber made the mixtapes besides the one for the hideout (that one being made by Tryce), so bonus headcanon: at least a few of them made suggestions to DJ Cyber for songs to include on those mixtapes.

Now moving on to some specifics!

BRC:

It depends on which individual member you ask, they probably have the most varied tastes between them? Again, besides the game’s existing genres.

There is a small subset who are into Vocaloid/vocal synth songs, mainly thanks to Bel introducing it to them. Also J-pop, again from Bel introducing it to others.

Other than that, not gonna go into further detail, especially since I’d have to think on it a lot more. :u

Actually, before I move on, a bonus headcanon: both Vinyl and DJ Cyber have probably the largest range of music tastes, and are both very knowledgeable about music. They can tell you the name of a song from the first couple of notes/lyrics, knowing when songs were release, explain differences between genres of music and which one is a subgenre/derived from/evolved from what other music genre, at least a brief history of bands/musicians/singers/etc.

One time they competed against each other in a music-focused quiz game (not like, an actual game show or anything like that, it was an informal thing at a party with the other writers). Vinyl just barely won in the end, and she still lords that over DJ Cyber every now and then, lol

The Franks

Tryce mentions at one point in the game that they blast electrofunk music. Some people might think that's something made up for the game, but it is in fact an actual music genre! So I like to think that's their main favorite, along with related genres like funk in general and breakbeat.

I like to think the Flesh Prince got into these particular genres thanks to listening to old CDs and mixtapes his parents had. Not that the Prince will ever admit it to them. :P

Eclipse

Definitely Beyoncé like you said, lol. Also other R&B/hip hop/pop/dance artists in the same vein as Beyoncé: Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Shakira, Janelle Monáe, Lil Kim, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Chapelle Roan, etc.

Okay that list ended up longer than I meant it to be, but you probably get the idea, lol

Cassiopeia (leader, the winter palette for the crew) also has a fondness for orchestra music. Mostly when she's relaxing at home, it helps her unwind after a long day of either working at her shop or being out and about as a writer.

DOT EXE

Old school EDM (especially older disco, techno, and house) in general. Which is perhaps cliche/stereotypical since they're all cyberheads/full-cyber, but whatever lol

Twoson and Fourside also have their Weird Music Tastes that I mentioned back in the big DOT EXE post I made. And then Cueball in particular really likes video game soundtracks, and is a big fan of chiptune music in general.

Devil Theory

Hip hop and rap and related genres! And because of their love of anime, various Japanese songs that have served as anime openings/endings. :P

Sai also introduces the others to reggaetón too! And other Spanish genres related to that. Nunchaku and Bō don't speak Spanish, but they do still understand most of what's in those songs too. Besides, sometimes it's about enjoy the music and the beat, even if you can't understand the words!

Okay, also, I am going to give extra attention to my DT OCs specifically, with some extra particulars for each:

Sai likes salsa music, especially to sing along with, but like I mentioned in my big Devil Theory post, he never sings in front of other people. (Rise is the only exception, hee hee)

Nunchaku likes rock and metal music! And almost every subgenre for these two you can think of, like punk rock and nu metal.

Bō likes old school EDM/disco stuff, though in contrast to most other people, he especially likes EDM songs with a slow tempo. Bit of a contradiction since most people associate EDM with fast tempos and beats.

Daishō likes listening to horror media soundtracks, because of course he does, lol

FUTURISM

EDM in general, I would think. In contrast to DOT EXE, I imagine they're largely into newer songs and subgenres in that giant genre!

---

I would give personal favorites for some of the genres mentioned here, but man, that'd make this post way too long. Hell, EDM in general covers so many subgenres.

Actually, I think I can at least link some playlists I've made? Just 3 (for now?), because I have like 20 something playlists for different music, a bunch of them being for OCs I haven't talked about publicly. But I digress. :P

A playlist of reggaetón songs specifically. Okay actually tbh I think a few of these are of a different but still kinda related genre. If you can't tell by the name, I was planning at some point to pick like 5 favorites from this and make an actual mixtape to mod into BRC. I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna get back to that. :u

A playlist of mostly salsa songs, though like with the previous playlist, I think some of these are actually a different-but-related genre.

A playlist of EDM songs, mostly my favorites from a particular set of music channels! And it covers a lot of different subgenres: house, trap, drum & bass, even a few electro swing songs in there too.

Alright, now that's it! :>

[ziskandra]

*cackles* 7, 10, 11, 13, and 24

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them? hate is probably too strong a word but i've developed a knee-jerk reaction to fellow anders fans over the years because of the subset that truly seem to think he can do no wrong and that all of his actions were entirely justified and had no negative consequences for anybody in kirkwall other than the templars. on one hand, i kinda get it, because i know anders fans have also gotten a lot of flack because... this fandom is incapable of being normal. on the other, i have a knee-jerk reaction towards anyone who assumes everyone plays these sort of games the exact same way as them (or indeed, the same way each time). i totally respect people doing whatever they want in their games and in their fanworks, but it's when it comes out in harassment of others or making bad faith assumptions about the character of actual living human beings that i'm like. no thank you. obviously there are fans of other characters who also engage in this behaviour, anders is just the one where my negative fandom experiences outweigh the positive ones, personally.

oh also, while i'm being salty (the name of the game i SUPPOSE), i fucking love f!handers but m!handers leaves me cold (especially in canon-verse fic, i don't mind it as much in like, modern AUs and the like?) idk i feel like them being the same gender changes their dynamic in a way i can't articulate--probably that hawke being female shifts the power dynamics a bit and. yeah. 10. worst part of fanon

again, 'worst' is probably a harsh word, but when it comes to pervasive fanon that i personally just don't like, it has to be visibly mixed-race alistair. i don't mind it as much when his ears have like, a subtle point to them or whatever, but speaking personally as someone who is visibly mixed, to the point that i have fielded complete strangers asking "what are you" on regular occasions, alistair's narrative would be. quite different if he wasn't human-passing. and while i get that some mixed-race people find solace in making their blorbos more representative of who they are and their identities not causing any issues, it leaves me cold. and again, i don't care what other people do, but it's when some people act like fellow fans who dare depict alistair as he appears in canon are being racist or what have you that i get annoyed. like, yeah, dragon age fandom does have problems with race, but like... this is imo not one of them, and it detracts from like. bringing awareness to actual issues. yeah yeah people can care about multiple things at once, but by the same token, people can only care about so many things at once, yknow? also this fandom in particular has a real problem with treating poc like we're all a monolith, and that includes both white people and poc. i find it especially frustrating that the dominant discourse centers north american race politics the most, but god forbid anyone try to address that directly .... but that's a rant for another time lmao. 11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered i have about 16 fandoms i'm not in filtered mostly bc they just turn up on my dash a lot, and a handful of characters/ships filtered for fandoms i am in! the one that has been consistently filtered the longest is reyes vidal. 13. worst blorbofication

oooh, this one i think is a toss up between alistair and varric. as someone who loves both these characters more for their flaws rather than their virtues, fandom can be. a difficult time! alistair often gets reduced to this...perfect prince charming, which i think is kind of disappointing considering there is so many different ways for his story to develop depending on the the outcomes of origins? varric, otoh, gets reduced to hawke's bestie a lot. and look. i get it. he is hawke's bestie. he is. very uncritical of hawke, which is not as much of a problem if hawke's a good person but. what if they're not? what if they're not, varric. god, what i would give for like. a fucking complicated characterisation-rich fic which explored like. hawke and varric's friendship and how they're like. codependent messes. (and i say this as someone who loves codependent messes lol). and i guess like.... everyone treats varric being viscount as a meme. and yeah, i get it, the dude is everything everywhere all at once. but i'd really love to see more content focused on like... his relationship with kirkwall, and his feelings regarding his friends and becoming viscount and yeah. anyway!! being a blorbo of mine is the worst because i enjoy pain and suffering. anyway, 24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

mage rights and also the chantry boom. i don't think i even have to elaborate on this do it 😭 🔥 choose violence ask game 🔥

[thousandflame]

A while ago, Momo posted this and I've been meaning to do this for my OCs for some time because the reputation is clearly what strangers would know about them

what is your muses reputation & how did it develop?: back in the day, Cymbeline was a high profile mage and even after she left the spotlight decades ago, some of her reputation still sticks to her though much of the original facts have been twisted due to the passage of time and her lack of cooperation with the press. once upon a time, Cymbeline was a famous mage of her guild. she was S-class, after all, and part of a prominent team. she was also the niece of a very famous mage which all further dragged her into the spotlight. and when tragedy hit and almost everyone around her died, she became a tragic figure. and while people like to say "sex sells", tragedy sells pretty decently, too. Cymbeline had the reputation of someone who is "deeply unlucky"---but others wondered if maybe, she was curse. if all the deaths around her had happened because she was cursed. more recently, the idea of her being bitter and angry has reached the mainstream.

is it accurate/fair?: I think that while Cymbeline is certainly bitter over certain events, she is tired rather than angry. however, no matter how tired she is, she will hold people accountable. it is not in her nature to just sit back, even if it would be better for her own (mental) health

how do they feel about it?: Cymbeline does not care about her reputation. the people that matter to her know the truth. everyone else? why would she care about their opinions when clearly, they do not care about hers?

what are some rumours about your muse? what would the average person know or assume about your muse?

Rumours she cannot get rid of

001. she's cursed, that's why she has white hair and red eyes! (she really is not) 002. she is Lyon Vastia's mother. (this is a recent one. she is not and she only knows Lyon personally because he is in the same guild as Logan with whom Cymbie is friends) 003. she is somehow related to the Strauss siblings (again: solely based on her hair colour) 004. she is a very accomplished fire mage and fire magic runs in her family. (actually true.) 005. way back, she was romantically involved with her teammates. (she was not, but they were all dating each other.)

Actual Facts people might know

001. she used to be in FT where she was an S-class mage 002. she is the only currently known user of her specific subset of fire magic, but it was passed down in her family for generations. her uncle was also adept at using it. 003. her uncle was killed in the Tower of Heaven 004. she maintains friendships with other former FT members while keeping some distance from the main FT crowd, presumably due to the age difference 005. she generously donates to various charities as her name can often be found in press articles on this topic

what are things most people Dont/Wouldn't know about your muse? (we all hate when someone has their muse know something about ours that they shouldn't know)

001. why she left FT 002. the depth of her feud with Yajima 003. details about various meetings she has had more recently with Ivan 004. where she had her former teammates buried. the team was very popular, back in the day, but they did not just have fans. especially their romantic relationship caused some people to hate them. Cymbeline did not wish for their gravesite to become a target for worship or for vandalism 005. her medical record---allergies, etc.

How does your muses reputation affect them?: if Cymbie was still a public person, her reputation would probably affect her more, but she is trying to keep a low profile. she is content with where she is now, and while she knows how to leverage her old reputation for her adventage, she is not attached to it. and since she is not attached to it, she can shrug off negative articles about her. she does not mind being reviled by some media outlets for how she decides to live her life because she knows they are taking aim at phantoms

[eyesontheskyline]

I have a confession, I've developed a dislike for Jemily (stans). I used to love Jemily, enjoying videos and bookmarking lots of Jemily content. However, since joining Tumblr, I find myself avoiding Jemily hashtags. Perhaps it's because of my personal stance against cheating in any form, or it's because some fans insist that Emily is 100% lesbian and that JJ is her one true love. I don't mind if Jemily happened before Will, similar to Jeid. I have no issue if Emily is with a woman on the team, like Tara, for example. However, I can't see the appeal of breaking up a marriage with two children. I dislike the implication that her marriage for all these years was just a facade for her true love, as some Jemily stans suggest. Besides, Emily has dated guys before, she could be bisexual. I truly don't understand why people keep pushing her sexuality, and I despise it.

Yeah so I think there's a subset of the fandom that took "they originally wanted to make Emily a lesbian" and then decided that they would make Emily a lesbian themselves. Which is fine and valid and whatever. I think I've said before though that what I can't really get behind is holding other people to a version of a character that never made it onto the screen. It feels pretty clear to me (ymmv) that canon Emily Prentiss is either bi or straight (I think bi), because she's had multiple relationships and (unnecessary) flirtations with men and chemistry with more or less everyone. (I also like her with Tara.)

There are people who go their whole lives in relationships with men and come out as lesbian, obviously, but there are a whole bunch more people who are bi, so invalidating all relationships with men in order to make the wlw ship work just feels biphobic to me. Same for JJ obviously - she and Will have a loving relationship for years, and it doesn't feel fair (to me) to the character to hand-wave that away with 'she was gay all along here's the proof'.

So yeah I get your frustration.

I don't think this is about the ship though, really. There are always little pockets of fandoms that start giving 'truther' vibes - as if their interpretation is the only one that's right, like, factually and morally, or whatever, and it's just kind of hard to get any enjoyment out of the fandom with that vibe around. (It's a little subset of the Grebecca crowd in the Crazy Ex Girlfriend fandom, if there's anyone else here who's familiar with both - people who can produce a fistful of receipts to show you why they think the writers were pointing toward a specific ship, instead of just letting people ship whatever they personally find the most compelling.)

I'm a casual early-Jemily shipper, but nothing about Jemily is enjoyable for me past the point where JJ and Will are established. The gifs and edits and fic can be fun, but I think I'm probably with you in that the reality of establishing a relationship between them at that point just breaks too much of what is working in JJ's life to be any fun for me. I think other people ship differently than that, though, which is fine. There just needs to be a bit more 'ship and let ship'.

[helyiios]

asks #...5?

Are pasta and noodles the same, is one a subset of the other, or are they entirely different?

Is it ok to write in a book?

When you go on vacation, which cardinal direction do you travel in the most? (N, S, E, W)

What's the worst part about a country to the southwest of you?

Is chocolate or fruit-flavored candy better?

What's your favorite genre of music?

Who's the most famous person you've met (in person)?

Who's someone not famous that you'd like to meet someday?

Who's someone famous that you never want to meet?

How should someone celebrate birthdays as an adult?

What is the best

What animal do you think best represents tissues?

What musical pitch do you associate with reading?

What would x, f, h, and k taste like?

-pastas and noodles are the same, they just aren’t necessarily made from the same ingredients.

-sure! Annotate it. Makes it feel more alive.

-more often in the south.

-can i pick Spain? I don’t like the Basque part of it.

-I’m not a candy fan...

-I like a good jazz or electro swing!

-I don’t know, the Pope? Probably the pope.

-Hum. My biological parents I think?

-I’d like to meet some of our french politicians.

-Like they’ve always wanted to. And if they don’t want to, it’s fine too.

-You didnt… finish your sentence…?

-Probably caterpillars?

-I dont associate anything with reading.

-metal, hummus, egg, pineapple.

[whatudowhennooneseesyou]

i saw your discussion post about hypersexualization and i wanted to give my two cents on it since it sounded interesting and ive had this internal conversation with myself on the ethics of it.

going on anon but the only necessary things to know about myself are that:

1) i write and draw fanart of these people that are both sfw and nsfw

2) im somewhere in the aromantic-asexual spectrum

in an objective sense, these idols and artists are definitely being hypersexualized by many fans. there are many who thirst, who definitely try and chase to see the idols in more skin and tight fitting clothes not just for the aesthetic appeal but also because it satiates an inner sexual desire. imho this isnt limited to kpop since celebrities of different backgrounds and industries get similar treatment (exhibit a: pedro pascal) but to be very real, its super prominent in kpop.

i find that bit unfortunate. whenever i consume official content from the kpop artists that i love and admire, i always try to consume them in ethical ways and i always want to humanize them. thats why i always think twice when i buy merchandise directly from stores because im very critical about capitalism and consumerism (im not getting into that now though lol). i genuinely only think that its a real danger or that lines are being crossed when these fantasies are trying to be realized or brought to light in front of the artist. thats why i cringe at fanservice and adjacent things: youre pushing your y/n fantasies on the artist when i feel like you should know if theyre even comfortable about it first. :/

where the lines start to blur is when we talk about rpf (real person fiction) ethics. i personally engage in rpf and even rpf nsfw, which probably should contradict what i just said earlier: i think its a little more different than that. whenever im in these spaces, its like a switch turns because at this point, i dont see any of the “idols” as the artists, but instead i see these as characters based on their onstage personas. does that make sense? for example, if im reading mingi smut, i see the “mingi” in this story as a completely separate entity from kpop boy group rapper song mingi from real life, and this “mingi” is instead a character who shares his name and onstage traits but is altered in many ways. in the same vein, i feel less comfortable reading idol!aus because it seems too grounded in reality when i generally mentally and emotionally separate the two things. these characters in my head and personal interpretation of the fics and art that i create and consume are just versions of the personas and characters that these idols play up onstage. honestly, lets face it—mingi in ateez’s lore universe is a character and not a true reflection of mingi, so in the same vein, the versions of mingi that i write and draw about are characters who are explicitly not reflections of how i see mingi in real life.

thats why in concerts and fanmeetings, no matter how close i am to interacting with these people, i never behave out of my limits as a fan. i always separate fandom or at least this subset of fandom from its source aka real life. i read a quote somewhere where an artist commented on fanfiction (i cant for the life of me remember who said this, i think hes from a rock band, oh my god im so sorry) where he said something along the lines of “its not something i should see since its not made for me, its made by fans for my fans.” that quote stuck with me becauss, even if other artists such as kpop idols may perceive this differently and may not be as comfortable with fanfiction and such, the objective point stands that this should be “from fans for fans,” and not “from fans for the artists and their fans to actually get together and smooch.”

sorry this is long! just wanted to chime in. have a nice day :)

Hey, im just about to go to bed so I can't give a detailed response to this but the points you make are very valid and I'm grateful that you sent posted this in.

I'm going to pop a pin in this and then can you just sent through again on the 1st of May so I can add it to the discussion?

Thank you, and if you want to DM about this. That's okay too.