#and I feel like the fandom over simplify his character

[twixxsted]

My take on Leona dream, slight spoilers under

I don’t think Leona actually wants his brother and Cheka dead. I think it’s a case of Malleus taking Leona’s intrusive thoughts and morbid thinking and actualizing it.

I think most people, at some point, thought about not wanting someone in their life. Even if it’s intrusively. Anyone who as siblings probably thought at one point for their siblings to disappear from their life but then the next day your best friends again 😭

I feel like Leona’s dream is similar to Jamil’s. The same what if scenario about someone you have a complex relationship with but not actually wanting that to happen. I think it’s more of Malleus taking a black and white interpretation of people’s thoughts and feelings and not really taking in consideration of the nuances them.

And maybe Malleus own biases seeping in. Like I don’t think he has a good understanding of Leona and Jamil as people so I’d imagine Malleus would take any suppressed feelings and take it at face value because that dream makes them “happy” but fails to understand that won’t create real “joy”?If that makes sense?

[acearohippo]

I love fandoms, especially witnessing what fans take away from source material and how fans interpret it based on their experiences. Not to mention the stark difference of interaction between new fans, casual fans, experienced fans, and long-term fans.

I say this because the SVSSS fandom has continuously fascinated me in insisting in discussions that there are parallels between Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe (tell don't show), but in their fanworks, I just see parallels between Luo Binghe and Yue Qingyuan (show don't tell).

And it's not even (fully) a case where they're blending character personalities because they want what the other dynamic has, it's just how the characters are based on canon in two different timelines.

All of this to say, perhaps original draft PIDW (NOT original!PIDW nor pre!SY PIDW which are completely different) was supposed to revolve around the dynamic between SJ and YQY vs SJ and LBH. Perhaps YQY was to be the last hour mastermind, the true foil to LBH.

And fandom is just circling this idea without realising it because, once again, the unreliable narrator that is SY has already convinced this fandom that any version of SJ has to be a/the villain, regardless if it's through his own actions or baseless rumours.

Warning, run-on sentence ahead.

I don't know, mans, but it's gotta mean something that LBH and YQY have such similar life beats of being orphaned and having a tough life but remaining kind/compassionate because they had someone to live for until they didn't which left them empty until they found (or refound in YQY's case) one (1) man to obsess over in an uncomfortably intrusive way with no regards for his feelings and rejections, eventually reaching a position as the most powerful being in existence with a huge caveat that their sword is 83% of that power and is slowly killing them which did nothing to soften said man of their obsession's into showing them kindness leading to the ultimate confrontation between the two in which only one could survive and keep their obsession, not that it mattered because neither of them got to experience his feelings reciprocated, except in another timeline where the same things are happening until their obsession suddenly stops rejecting their (still intrusive) advances even if he is acting a bit silly, but hey take advantage while you can and take advantage they did because now they have that reciprocated feeling (except one still "won" as he gets to keep him for himself) and be thankful that all it took was, in their perspective, a near death fever that drastically changed his personality and most likely left him crippled in some other way, preventing their obsession from not NOT needing them anymore, all-in-all fulfilling their desire to be relied upon again, hooray! 😋😁✌🏽

In all seriousness, at the end of the day people are going to draw connections between characters that fit whatever narrative they understood from the story. SVSSS fandom just seems to be trying to convince others of one narrative while believing on a deeper level of another narrative. It's amusing and makes following the fandom fun.

[coralhoneyrose]

Why Chrom Fire Emblem is The Husband of All Time: An Essay

SO. There was a screenshot going around of a reddit thread asking about how Chrom has managed to maintain such lasting popularity as a Fire Emblem husband even 6 years after Awakening came out. Given how beloved he still is another 5+ years later, I could not resist taking the opportunity to talk about just what I think makes him so great and endears him to players.

Character Introduction:

Let’s start out the same way Awakening does—with Chrom’s in-game introduction. This is one of the immediate ways Chrom sets himself apart. The game boots up and before anything else happens, Chrom is there expressing his unshakable faith in the player character. You take down the Bad Guy™ together, he turns and gives you this wide, puppy-ish smile and then you push him out of the way to take the hit from an oncoming spell in his stead. Right away you know this is someone your player character cares about deeply—and clearly that care is returned, because he’s immediately running over to make sure Robin’s alright.

Of course, as we all know, things go south very quickly after that. But as the cinematic plays out, and you proceed to watch yourself stab him in the chest, the *first* thing he does, the very first words out of his mouth are: “this is not your fault”. Chrom has just been completely blind-sided and arguably betrayed by his best friend, possibly his spouse, and his immediate instinct is to absolve Robin of guilt. He is literally more concerned about Robin blaming themselves for what happened than about his own imminent death. That alone tells you so, SO much about the depth of their relationship. It tells you both how deeply Chrom cares and how well Chrom knows Robin too. And not only that, but his final request, the ONE and only thing he asks of Robin before dying is that they will promise him they will escape from this place. In his last moments, his single “selfish” wish is for Robin to assure him that they will do what they can to survive. Chrom’s final request is for Robin to give him the comfort and peace of mind he can only obtain through the assurance that even though he won’t get out of there himself, Robin will. He just wants to be able to die believing they’ll take care of themselves and be alright—and knows them well enough to realize that unless he makes them promise, they likely won’t.

AND THEN. And then!!!! You jump cut to Robin waking up in the field with all the sunshine and Chrom’s smiling down with the softest expression and his ridiculously blue eyes. He lifts Robin up by the hand and pulls them right up to his face (because he has no concept of personal space, apparently) and OUUuuggh.

Those scenes in direct sequence make me so insane. You get Chrom’s life ending with Robin immediately followed by Robin’s life starting anew with Chrom. Chrom’s unwavering faith in them and his eagerness to extend his hand and bridge the gap between them from the moment they meet until his last breath. The warmth and kindness and love that Chrom treats Robin with is communicated so effectively in the first few MINUTES of the game it honestly makes me feel unwell. Showing how profoundly Chrom cares for Robin immediately endears him to the player. And he only gives you more reasons to love him as the game goes on.

Personality:

There can be a tendency in some corners of fandom to simplify Chrom to just being either a generic prince charming type character or a lovable himbo. I’m not here to police how other people enjoy him, but I will say that those characterizations fail to get at some of the aspects of his personality I find most compelling.

Chrom is deceptively nuanced. While there are certainly ways in which he aligns very closely with the standard jrpg protagonist, I suspect that a lot of his enduring popularity is the result of the ways he deviates from it too. He is brave and loyal and cares deeply for his friends, yes. He has profound conviction in his ideals and strives to do the right thing, as is typical for that archetype…but what makes Chrom so lovable is his determination to keep trying to be good in spite of the ways it does not come easily to him.

We see this in the Valm arc, when he’s struggling to reconcile his own beliefs about justice with his sister’s ideals for peace. We hear echoes of it when he talks about the horrors the Ylissean people endured at his father’s hand and how despite that, he has never been able to understand how Emmeryn forgave them for the cruelty they once directed her way. He has so much admiration for his older sister’s ideals despite the fact that peace is not his first instinct. 

When Emmeryn first sacrifices herself, Chrom is consumed with grief and rage, and it takes some time for him to understand why she made the decision she did. “Peace above all else” is just not how he’s programmed to operate…yet he wants it to be. If you count the drama CDs as canon, then that serves as another excellent example as well—where the message of his sister’s sacrifice is so lost on him that his first instinct is to respond to it with violence and prejudice and hatred directed at the very people she sought to reach out to. For a moment there, we see him veer from the person he wants to be towards what we as the player can only assume is the person his father left him afraid that he would become.

And yet he finds his way back. He stumbles, he lashes out, but his love for his friends and fear of losing more of those he holds dear is able to help him course correct.

I love that tug-of-war in him. I love that we get glimpses of the darker paths he could have gone down and that there are tangible consequences for his mistakes. Early in the game, we see Chrom lose control of his temper and how Gangrel and Aversa are able to take advantage of that to officially declare war on Ylisse. Chrom later tells Gangrel that were he alone, he can imagine losing himself in that need for vengeance but reiterates that it’s love that is able to keep him from succumbing to that.

And it’s not only that he’s able to stop himself from being horrible—his losses are the catalyst for him coming into his own as a leader. He’s able to pick himself up and hold himself together to see their troops through the rest of the war. And he manages that despite the fact that in the course of mere days, he lost both his home and his most important person and has been freshly saddled with the duty of ruling an entire country. That’s…a lot. And really goes a long way in demonstrating Chrom’s incredible strength of character and conviction. We get some wonderful moments of vulnerability where he confesses to being riddled with doubts about his own capabilities and worthiness, but in spite of that, he is still determined to try to be the person that Ylisse needs him to be.

All of this leads me right into another wonderful aspect of Chrom’s personality, which is that he is just…so driven by emotion. He feels DEEPLY, and while the narrative definitely uses that as a way to hurt him and force him to grow at times, something that really stands out to me about Chrom is how the story isn’t here to send a message that it’s wrong for him to be that way. Chrom’s big feelings are one of his greatest strengths in addition to his greatest weakness—they’re what saves his life and ultimately Robin’s too, if you go the sacrifice ending route.

And ya know what? I honestly think that’s such a breath of fresh air. I love how much he does NOT embody the emotional disconnectedness that you see pushed a lot of times with stereotypical masculinity. I love that he is the hero, and he's gallant, and very traditionally "manly" in a lot of senses…AND that he's also very emotional and guided by his heart. If you’re playing with f!Robin then you wind up with a really refreshing inversion of gender stereotypes from that: in which Chrom is the emotional decision maker and Robin is the more calculating and logic driven of the two.

Beyond his big heart, I can’t talk about what’s so charming about Chrom’s personality without touching on the ways he embodies a certain level of gap moe as well. Chrom is so stern and serious, as well as quite charismatic when he’s speaking from a place of passion. But on the flip side of that, we get to see him as an absolute bumbling mess when he’s out of his element. He’s easily embarrassed / flustered, self-conscious about his appearance, and often socially awkward where romance is involved. While these traits may seem of minor importance compared to the whole rant above, I think they’re really important for humanizing and rounding him out.

There are lots of other nuances to his characterization that go a long way in fleshing him out too. Despite being a prince, Chrom is blunt and completely unmindful of formalities. That, along with his impulsivity, definitely gets him into trouble sometimes. He’s melodramatic and blisteringly sincere. He’s a little bit clumsy and doesn’t know his own strength. He has a dry sense of humor and can be surprisingly funny. He’s optimistic and trusting—not due to naivete or stupidity but because he has decided that giving people chances and believing the best of them is an important value to him and one that is worth embodying in how he lives his life. 

Lucina’s presence in the story and his immediate and complete acceptance of her is an extremely effective way of demonstrating what an incredible father he is too. Honestly, he just has really wonderful relationships and deep admiration for a lot of the women in his life and that absolutely earns him points in my book (and I suspect in many others’ as well). When you look at all of that together, I don’t think it’s hard to understand why he’s so beloved.

Design:

Slightly less serious note here, but I think it warrants discussion regardless because character design absolutely contributes to player’s feelings about and interpretation of a game’s cast members.

And Chrom is…well, he’s eye candy, honestly. He’s got the nice, exposed arm, the messy blue hair, the completely nonsensical outfit he somehow manages to look handsome in anyway (his questionable sense of fashion is a charm point, okay?). Add in the square jaw and the surprisingly long eyelashes and he’s just. He’s very pretty. Idk what to tell you. Bonus points for the summer scramble cg where he has the most inexplicably flat butt of all time. And I really do believe that some of the oddities of Chrom’s design lend memorability to him and go a long way in setting him apart from other lords in the series with similar design concepts. The insistent asymmetry across many of his outfits, the fact he’s showing a little skin, idk it just WORKS. Chrom is hot, I don’t make the rules.

Relationship with Robin / the Player Character:

Last but not least, I want to talk about Chrom’s relationship with Robin.

I touched on some of this in his character introduction already, but Chrom is just…the biggest Robin stan. If Robin has only one fan then that is Chrom. If Robin has no fans it’s because Chrom is bleeding out on the floor with lightning in his gut. 

He just has such deep respect and admiration for them. He values Robin’s opinion and insight and thinks so highly of them and their ideas, often serving as an enabler in many cases (setting the boats on fire, the volcano, etc.). Chrom’s faith in Robin is SO unshakable that when his daughter tells him that Robin is going to be magically controlled and forced to murder him, his response is, “That won’t happen because Robin and I love each other so much that everything will somehow be okay. No, I will not elaborate.” And ya know what? He was RIGHT. Their bond DOES wind up being so strong that it’s able to change fate. The narrative is quite literally validating his slightly ridiculous insistence that him and Robin just care about each other The Most of Anyone Ever. He is Robin’s biggest advocate from the moment they meet when he defends them from Frederick’s suspicions all the way to the game’s close when he either assures Robin that their life was worth preserving or, as in the case of the sacrifice ending, that he will spend the rest of his own life searching for them until they return.

Honestly the fact that Chrom was willing to potentially risk dooming the whole world to the fell dragon’s awakening 1,000 years down the line just so he doesn’t have to lose his comfort tactician is WILD. For the game’s hero to literally say “we don’t have to defeat this evil for good, the people of the future can figure it out�� JUST so he can keep Robin is absolutely unhinged behavior and I love it. I think it’s incredibly humanizing that he’s a little bit selfish about the people who are most important to him…that despite his willingness to sacrifice himself or run headfirst into danger, he draws the line at losing Robin because he’s already lost his most important person once and he’s not going to let it happen again. Chrom and Robin absolutely come across as a little codependent and a lot obsessed with each other and personally I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And then there’s his love confession to Robin. GOd...

I think that’s the most flustered Chrom appears in any content in the entire game…and it’s because he treasures their friendship so deeply that he is petrified about messing it up or saying the wrong thing. I love that he goes into their S support dead set on NOT telling Robin what is going on but the second he realizes that Robin is under the impression he doesn’t care about them or like spending time with them anymore he is so horrified and desperate to correct that line of thinking that he blurts out the full love confession on the spot.

He’s SO earnest throughout the whole thing, but then at the end he hits you with the whole “this is the best day of my life”, and the “You are the wind at my back and the sword at my side. Together, my love, we shall build a peaceful world, just you and me” (thank you Matt Mercer for your services), and the cg image of him staring right at Robin with what are basically heart eyes and. I just. There were no survivors.

That’s not even their only proposal / love confession scene either! The fact that the game gives us an entirely separate alternate proposal that’s more serious in tone is the icing on the cake. How many ships out there can say that they get not one but TWO canon proposals that are both that good? Truly no one is doing it like chrobin.

Closing Remarks:

Chrom is a well written and nuanced character who struggles and grows over the course of the story while always remaining true to himself and his ideals. His intense and unending trust, admiration, and love of Robin endears him to the player from the moment the game begins all the way to its conclusion. He is kind and good while still being fundamentally flawed (and it doesn’t hurt that he’s very handsome to boot). Bearing all that in mind, while the message of Awakening may be that nothing is inevitable, Chrom’s conceit and execution were always going to lead to MANY of those who play the game coming to love him and pick him as Robin’s husband…and there may be no greater evidence of that then the fact I’m out here writing all of this eleven years after the game’s release.

[brittle-doughie]

bard anon: speaking of character analysis, i know the fandom jokes about how Burning Spice is just like a kid throwing a tantrum because he's bored, but if you think about it, his situation is actually lowkey terrifying

he's quite literally run out of enrichment, he's not feeling any stimulus, there are studies where people shock themselves bc pain is better than feeling nothing

he was titled the herald of change and yet, nothing has ever changed at all, he's witnessed the same thing over and over again and is that not the definition of insanity?

he's leading a path of destruction to try and change his descent into madness, unaware he's merely sealed it bc crumbling things is NOT a healthy coping mechanism, it's trading one poison for another

Believe me, I couldn’t stand the fandom boiling down his reasonings for turning and simplifying them as “He was bored.”

There’s clearly more to it if they had bothered to delve into the details.

[eastgaysian]

me: i guess it's just the more i think about it, the humor in/around bg3 starts to feel like larian cares more about pleasing people, even if it breaks immersion or flattens/flanderizes characters, than making a game that's fun and funny because of a consistent internal logic and sense of genre and setting.

the tulpa of tom wambsgans i keep in the attic: people do like funny games.

me: but what does it mean for a game as an interactive medium to be funny? like, people find it funny if a game is broken or janky, but a game can also be funny because the mechanics are working and they're designed in a funny way. like, the disco elysium skills are effectively their own cast of characters as a part of the mechanics, and intentionally made into a huge element of the game's humor. watching harry fumble is a lot funnier when the peanut gallery always has something to say about it. or even, i dunno, the very obsidian bit of dialogue choices going 'yes,' 'no,' '[lie] yes,' '[lie] no.' that's humor that relies on the nature of dialogue trees.

tulpa wambsgans, who i've forced to play disco elysium: right. there's plenty of times when you thought the mechanics of bg3 led to funny situations, though.

me: that's not exactly what i'm trying to get at. or it's not the biggest part of it. like, i feel like i've brought this up one too many times already, but the 'hot githyanki girlfriend' dialogue choice you get when romancing lae'zel - it's 'funny,' right? it's supposed to be funny.

tulpa wambsgans: i mean, it is, funny. isn't it?

me: i mean, not to me. i think it's fucking cringe. but it's like, why is that cringe to me, and not disco elysium's 'i want to have fuck with you?' on the surface, it seems like kind of similar humor, like it's your character saying stupid shit. but in disco elysium, the joke is on you-as-harry, because that became your dialogue option after you failed. and the... i'd argue central conceit of disco elysium, maybe, is that harry as an amnesiac wreck with a bunch of skills talking to him in his head is the only way to in-world make sense of a guy who acts like a video game character. and the joke is that you're a video game character selecting dialogue options, but if you were a real person, like harry's supposed to be, you'd seem like a fucking weirdo, and people in the game treat you like a fucking weirdo.

tulpa wambsgans: so what's the problem with baldur's gate 3?

me: i guess it feels like the joke is on the game for being a game that wants to be taken seriously? on the characters within it, for being characters that can only take the game seriously? i don't know if that makes sense. when you incorporate in memes like the god's favorite princess stuff or whatever it was, that's for the player, like almost as a reward for making that joke about the game outside of the game. but it's also, i mean, it's a huge... oversimplification of everything shadowheart's got going on, right? like, shar is or was explicitly abusing her.

tulpa wambsgans: it's a joke, though.

me: right, but what kind of relationship does that create, between the player and the studio, and the player and the game, if the player is rewarded for these kinds of jokes by having them funneled back into the game as part of its reality? the game of fandom telephone where canon events and characters get simplified and miscommunicated over and over, but this time the studio, the makers of canon, are in on it. i mean, it doesn't need to be about jokes, i think that just bothers me more because people tend to have such a positive reaction to jokes. like, lae'zel's dismiss to camp dialogue being changed as well as minthara's recruitment no longer conflicting with halsin's is i would argue part of the same problem.

tulpa wambsgans: ....does any of this really matter?

me: tulpa tom wambsgans you know i only come up into the attic to talk to you about shit that doesn't matter

[cringefaecompilation]

okay since i have felt i've been really negative i am going to be positive and talk about something near and dear to my heart. fanart redesigns!

this design of braius by @phi-guy is delightful, including the mustache variant. i'm not a big fan of him as a character, but this is a great compromise with the holstein patterns on his humanoid face that previously left a few furries disappointed.

fcg is a very tough character to stylize, given the whole... aeormaton of it all and that they're so intricately designed that any attempts to move any part of their body around tend to make things they do in-game not make sense. the blades of grass emblem being revealed as bloody fingerstreaks, for one. but this design by hugo cardenas strikes a good balance between canon and fanon where you don't have to sacrifice accuracy for imagination or vice versa

imogen sadly doesn't receive a lot of redesigns in fandom and even got hate (?!) for people putting glasses on her. but for the people that do a little more than that, i would have to give my favorite design to @rokiie! it's subtle, but i love that she's musclechubby and mixed, and her curly hair and ponytail is adorable. @jadequarze also has a nice looking mog, though theirs is more angular than bulky.

ashton is another character hard to redesign... because his original design is so damned complex it feels like a downgrade to change it. so not a lot of people do and focus more on his outfit and body type. so that's why these two, by @magscherer and @ladysantos are so great! little tweaks that make him fat or simplify him are so nice

@lyadrielle has the most complex chet redesign i've ever seen. i love how in-depth it is, and even if full head of hair chet isn't canon, i still adore the fluffiness of it. also quick shout out to @colealexart giving chetney a mustache because i love it.

conversely from her girlfriend, people love to redesign laudna, if not just to pump up her creepy factor over her "bizzarely beautiful" factor. @astoriacolumnstaircase and @paragonraptors do this in a fun-scary way! i love how spindly they make her, like a praying mantis. for a more scary-scary way, @cpprcoyote's laudnas are stunningly creepy and lovely. @galacticjonah's take on her is also very cute with her billowing fabrics surrounding her like a security blanket. good stuff!

being the mixed orym truther guy, naturally i love art that makes him a man of color, and this art by @therosecleric hits the mark for how i see him in my head. i love his curls, his jaw, and his strong nose, and it's always good to give him muscles in a way that don't make him look like a tween who powerlifts. the previously mentioned @magscherer's art of him is a bit more hobbit-y but still scratches the same itch. love me a brown eyed orym. @jennydolfen also gets points for her terrific hobbit/halfling proportions

@jam-etc's critical role redesigns might not be for everyone, but i love 'em all. dorian here looks so friendly and seeing his native culture depicted so overtly in his outfit is awesome! no whitewashed dorians allowed. on the same token, here's a repeat of @therosecleric's dorian art because it also is great to see him with curly hair and a wide nose. this design by @caitmayart with dark cloudy speckles on his body is incredibly nice as well.

and of goddamn course fearne gets the most art. it's fearne! there are so many good pieces of her i could not choose one. i love ones that play up her goat-y nature, like @willowbirds, @rainbow-roll-art, and @phi-guy again. and i love fat fearnes, like these two by @marmadelin and @countslimeula. this one by @maluspumilaa is so beautiful, making her a little more fey and extremely animalistic. all fearnes is good fearnes

[08melancholie]

Just gone into chapter 6 on my third play through. Really wanna beat the shit out of Dutch.

He didn’t “fumble the prettiest girl at camp” he ruined Molly’s life.

People always hate on her for being lazy and useless, but what was she supposed to do?? she doesn’t have any experience in theft or hunt in like other members of camp. She never someone teach her any of it, she was just ‘dutches girl’. She was put on a pedestal by Dutch and by doing that, cut her off from the rest of the girls at camp. Which is what I think made her go even more crazy because she only had one person. Dutch. And when Dutch was tired of her, she had no one.

Sorry for the mini rant and I know your mostly a Micah page, but I see you do like Molly a bit so I wanna hear any analysis you have of her :)

I have a LOT to say about how some people—which is primarily the male part of the fandom—view Molly and Dutch's relationship. I'll sum it up into something short today, but I have a lot more I could say about them.

I constantly feel like their relationship is just way too over-simplified. People jump around actually saying it, but the truth is that Dutch abused Molly. He often used manipulation to make her out to be at fault for every minor or major thing, especially when it was his own doing that led to their fights. I also hate it when people act like Dutch just suddenly lost feelings by chapter 6, as if he wasn't already ignoring and belittling her, flirting with and checking out the other, younger girls in the gang and so much more, all already by chapter 3. He'd be cheating on her in broad daylight, in front of the others, with no repercussions. Molly was warned only by the other girls (Karen and Abigail) in two chapters before the sixth one, but the men do nothing. However, there's more to it—more which shows just how much influence Dutch had on the gang, to the point of being quite sad.

In one camp interaction, where you'll find Dutch talking with Mary-Beth, he'll make a comment about her to Charles and John as they're fixing a wagon, telling them that she's becoming 'quite a lady'. Charles and John will turn their heads and look at him for a moment, but thats it. Nobody will ever say anything about Dutch's odd, almost predatory behaviour—which is where power and title come into play. Dutch is never criticised openly because he's the leader, obviously. But, this makes it easy to get away with doing those types of things, because nobody dares say anything to him. Dutch has a power trip on not just Molly as his girlfriend, but on every other gang member as their leader. I don't blame Charles or John for not saying something about that odd comment, exactly because of that.

Molly is very much another unfortunate female character that's fell victim to misogyny, not just in the game but in the fandom—looking at the male fanbase, as I said. It's a very simple 50/50; they either blame her for everything, calling her annoying and saying she was the rat all along even when Milton confirms she didn't say a word and that her saying so was just some drunken blabbering. Or, they say exactly what you quoted, that Dutch 'fumbled' her. I've said that before, mostly as a joke, but it's genuinely concerning and upsetting to see people make that the only trait of hers. She is another very interesting character that's just swept under the rug by the fandom, and used for the same few misogynistic jokes over and over again. It is tiring to see, and I wish that more people appreciated how strong Molly was for putting up with such a manipulative relationship in silence for so long.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Over the years in this fandom I noticed the hate Twitter feels for Eribogo, do you know why is that?

I think it stems from a few sources.

For one, it's becoming clear that Armand is going to be in a relationship with Daniel (as is book canon), and as such, with Eric being white (and obviously not Jacob...) that made some illusion bubbles burst.

And then there is his age - I have seen a lot of ageism wrt him.

And, last but not least, Eric wrote a play ages ago, in which a character was racist and whatnot. And he gave an interview about that play, also ages ago. Someone found that interview, and with media literacy as dead as it seems to be for some, then hyper-logically concluded Eric must be as well.

There's a lot of factors playing together here, and with Twitter the outrage machine it is... that was then twisted and warped, again and again. Simplified further, too, like that shallow contrasting of the shift to Lestat in s3 - and AMC doing so being a "fumble" because of "Sinners" I saw on Twitter... thousands of likes... without any further consideration for the underlying books, or the fact that IWTV was always set up to get that twist because of them.

Tbh, most of the time, Twitter feels like the place people go because they can find something to hate, something to vent their own frustrations on.

But wrt. Eric Bogosian I believe it stems from these three major points - and of course, Daniel was doing the job Louis hired him for during the interview... and therefore challenged, pushed and doubted Louis' story. How DARE HE?!!1!111

//sarcasm off

[smiling-stel]

Tcf novel spoilers o7

Im all for Caleism my fandom friends, and also cooing or face-palming over how altruistic Cale's actions are

But thats the difference

◇ His [actions] end up being altruistic - that's an undeniable fact - but Cale, himself, isn't

And we know this from all his internal dialouge since the narrative is 98% from his perspective

Multiple times over does he advocate for survival above all, emphasizing this msg especially towards the children

His entire mentality is this. He would rather the crew Fail than ever get to the point of no return to succeed in whatever they're working toward atp

"Because you can always strike again as long as you're still alive" ~im paraphrasing from later chapters of Book 1 (i think this msg was directly said once Cale's backstory was touched into more)

The majority of the time, Cale's "acts of altruism" are him, not being fully aware of the consequences of using his ancient powers.

Either from miscalculation (ex. Second time he used Fire of Destruction after fortification + first time he uses Sky Eating Water in ch. 295) or from complete oversight, being caught up in the moment (ex. first time he uses Fire of Destruction in the elven kingdom)

◇ Sure, it all resulted in Cale coughing up blood or fainting after an Act that benefits someone other than him, but his intention was never "ill die for this cause" so therefore Cale cannot be called an altruist

♤ but ofc that doesn't mean his actions aren't altruistic

Because as always, there's a fine line between what someone [intends to happen] and [what does happen]- which also isn't helped by the fact Cale doesnt ever explain himself ((which, like valid sometimes- but dam communicate with ur found family please TToTT))

-

Anyways I just wanted to make a post saying this cause I've noticed a trend in the fandom babying or cursing Cale for being overly Altruistic 》》 playing with this borderline mischaracterization (which is fair cause its Hella entertaining, I get it) but practically simplifying a large part of Cale's character to JUST being a hopeless altruist,,

So I wanted to just get this out there that Cale isn't an altruist, but dam do his actions result in altruism.

Tldr; Cale's a begrudging altruist- an altruist only by the perceived situation, not the definition

-

But thats why his story and character are so beloved - at least for me that's why I like him as a character so much. This is one of my favorite stories, if not my number 1.

The misconceptions cause by Cale's actions seemingly being selfless, but then the complete opposite internal dialouge is so gold every time

☆ I really adore how Trash of the Count's Family is written with him as a biased narrator, but still showing glimpses of the other character's minds as well as the perceived opinion of the masses within that world. - which, i guess is the definition of Unreliable Narrator, but compared to ORV with Kim Dokja or Shen Yuan in SVSSS (ik, horrendous line up of stories, im cringing w myself too orz) it feels like Cale doesnt gaslight or fool the readers NEARLY as much--

Its 1st person POV like the other two stories mentioned, but its also more 3rd person restricted POV than ORV or SVSSS(?) Perhaps this is me going insane after staring at words on a screen for the majority of the day today, but TCF feels less of a biased perspective(?) If that makes sense..

[Edited thx to @/ghocty's comment <3!]

TCF is 3rd person while ORV is 1st person (tho ORV has its own nuances due to worldbuilding but we won't get into that rn) meaning we can see more of the other characters thoughts n other scenes we otherwise shouldn't know ab if it were 1st/2nd/or even 3rd person limited narration (because Cale isn't aware of some scenes, but we the readers know thx to the 3rd person omniscient narration)

However both TCF and SVSSS are 3rd person omni (unless I'm wrong again, to which, just shoot--- I mean plz allow me to correct myself again), but TCF, in my opinion, has waaaaaaay less bent or twisted truths from the narration than SVSSS (because Shen Yuan is legit a freak, we all been knowing)

♡ Its just how each story is written/how the characters interact w each other//the differences between the Genre of the stories bc SVSSS is mostly focused on the main pair's romance, so ofc the narration would be narrower than TCF which is around Cale's life, who he is as a person, and why it leads to him alw getting more work to do

Cale's POV doesnt feel like it warps the exposition it as much compared to Dokja or Yuan anyway-

This is reminding me of that one pic of the triangle titled "unreliable narrators" with Dokja as a liar, someone else as delusional, and Cale as oblivious - cause yea,, accurate.

[ducktracy]

no shade to tlts and especially not the people who worked on it but it does really feel like it's only relevant in the modern day because it's so Fandomable, by virtue of its sitcom nature simplifying, downright flanderizing everyone down to a few basic traits that make them so simple that it makes even the 30's shorts feel like they were full of complex and elaborate characterizations. daffy perhaps being the biggest example (well. and lola too, but lola is more obvious. and also i like her more). but because they're so simple, they're easy to make ship art for and slot into incorrect quotes without worrying "Hey, am I portraying these characters right?" because they're hardly characters at all. Or is that too mean to say

I LOVE YOU ANON. YES. i’m genuinely sorry to the couple dozen people who’ve seen me making the same few posts about this over and over the past few days, i’ve been in a crotchety mood because of this and i know it’s not very becoming of me but you have sent this at the perfect time because i’ve been stewing in the consequences of this all day. actually for the past 6 years even

I’VE BEEN SAYING THIS SAAAAME THING IT’S SO TRUE. look. i clearly don’t like TLTS but i understand why it’s as popular as it is. i understand why people like it. i completely understand why it’s the entry point that it is. i disagree with so much of the show fundamentally, but i completely understand why it’s the phenomenon that it is and just because i don’t like it doesn’t mean other people can’t. I WANT TO! i literally want people to enjoy it in my stead! if i can’t get any enjoyment out of it then i am so glad that someone else can. embrace it. have fun with it

but it’s so responsible for this game of telephone with these characters. i mean. okay not truly responsible, this game of telephone has been happening even as early as the classics themselves, but TLTS absolutely boils down the characters to their most bare essentials that vaguely fit the sitcom niche. these characters are modeled to fit a sitcom and the stereotyping therein, not the other way around of a sitcom about these complex and nuanced characters. “Porky can have a tendency to be meek” is transformed into “Porky can’t stand up for himself whatsoever and is the doormat to end all doormats”. “Daffy has an ego and does impulsive things” is turned into “Daffy is turned into the lovechild of Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson and treats everyone like shit because we saw how he treated Speedy Gonzales—not even Bugs—and decided he treats everyone that way”. it’s just. completely misrepresenting these characters and doing them so dirty. i don’t think i’ll ever not be mad at the way this show treats Porky and i sincerely do think it has contributed to a genuine bias against his character from most of the fandom, even if they don’t realize it. it genuinely gets me seething. the skinnier he is the more fat jokes we make and we’ll also make jokes about how nobody wants to hear him sing because he’s a stuttering idiot who can’t talk right isn’t that so funny (TLTS did not do this, that i remember, i’m ranting about a short that was so bad that Bob Bergen refused to voice Porky in it, but it’s still all stemming from that same game of telephone and chain reaction)

and i would be more okay with this if people didn’t take it as absolute gospel. but they do. and will act like you’re the wrong one. i know i’m being so mean right now but i had someone make a bunch of really nasty and vague posts about me just today that are a direct consequence of this issue and i’ve kind of been losing my mind all day lol. i don’t know how to word any of this without sounding like “it’s so hard because i’m smarter than you ❤️”, i don’t believe that at all, i’m always learning new things and correcting my own misinformation every single day. but. genuinely. the amount of times i’ve had people fansplain these characters and the series to me. i had someone say “well Daffy treats Porky like shit in TLTS because it’s revealed Porky bullied him in high school” FOR THAT ONE SINGLE EP THAT WAS CLEARLY A SUBVERSIVE GAG AND IS NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN? TLTS HAS CONTINUITY! IF THIS WAS THE CASE IT WOULD SAY SO! THE WHOLE JOKE IS THAT SUCH BEHAVIOR IS SO UNLIKE PORKY!!! …for the show, anuway. because HE CAN BE A BITCH! but people never realize it in the right way!

but yeah. i’m rambling i’m so sorry this is incoherent but i’ve been malding all day and so this just comes at a great time lol i’m genuinely sorry for how petty and annoying i must sound but it’s tortuous. the fandomization and easy digestibility of the characters is so true, and people get mad at you when you try to point out that the characters weren’t always that way or something is out of character. and it’s not that i don’t think people can like or headcanon these things. but so many people pass it off as being absolute FACT, Daffy Duck TOLD me his white band around the neck is actually a diamond necklace because isn’t that sooo effeminate and funny and weird lol. i. god. ahhhhhh. THE THINGS I COULD SAY. there’s also the point that so many TLTS fans making this argument don’t even seem to be using the material that the show gives them. i’m all for taking creative liberties and disregarding “canon” (pssst there is no canon it’s LT), but. well. there’s just so much hypocrisy. i’m holding back but there’s a lot of hypocrisy.

and what i also hate is that this transcends into disdain for the originals because they’re OLD or BORING. HOW UTTERLY DISRESPECTFUL TO THE LEGACY OF THESE CHARACTERS????? there are plenty of reasons to dislike elements of the classics, i am extremely well versed in all of the racism and misogyny and homophobia/transphobia and xenophobia and occasional antisemitism and jingoism in these shorts. they’re 95 years old (today, in fact! happy anniversary LT i’ve spent it all day malding over your ignorant fans) there are absolutely reasons not to like them or shy away from them, and these things should be talked about!! the characters and these shorts are of their time, and that’s for better or worse!

but people don’t even care enough about that!! they just don’t give the originals a chance and again, this wouldn’t bother me as much if everyone suddenly didn’t act like they’re the utmost authority on LT. and the amount of pushback i’ve seen for this is!!! shocking!!! i’ve had more than one person make a vague post about me that’s like “and if you correct me on something i get wrong because i didn’t mention something from this bumfuck 80 year old short or whatever, i don’t care”. like. ok nobody worded it that way but i feel like you can just say “disclaimer, there are probably details i’m missing because i haven’t seen these shorts, so my post will be concocted for that point of view” that’s FINE! THATS LITERALLY FINE! but there’s so much dishonesty and pretentiousness that goes around and it really hurts my head. especially because i feel like i’ll be the asshole know it all for saying that no, the characters were not always intended this way. i feel that way because i’ve been dealing with the repercussions of this all day lol

also, what they don’t want you to know is that the 30s shorts do have more complexity and depth to them!!!!!! it’s there if you look for it!! “it’s fucking Looney Tunes who cares” is an equally acceptable reaction, but, like! i don’t know! i just get really mad and upset at how so many people put down these shorts and, with it, the vision of the creators who have the end all be all SAY all of these characters whether you like it or not. nobody is gonna know these characters better than the people who made them. MYSELF INCLUDED! Bob Clampett could come to me tonight in a dream and say “all that stuff you analyzed about [insert random short here] isn’t true, i just did it because it’s funny” and i’d say you got it boss! i’m very aware of this because i work in cartoons too!! i’m sympathetic of both the cartoonist’s angle and the overzealous fan angle. but no i have no problem in saying that some of these 30s shorts genuinely are more meaningfully thought out and have more meaningful character analysis. and this isn’t to put down the TLTS crew. but this is just!!! idk. retaliation against this really weird fandom centric superiority complex so many people have

it’s just so tiring.. i want to interact with the LT fandom more but each time i do i’m so reminded of why i don’t. i never go in any tags and never look for any art beyond what my friends are drawing because i know i’ll just get mad at people displaying this weird cliquey pompousness about it all. and a lot of it is on my end! i am way too overprotective of these characters! i do have terminal “He Would Not Fucking Say That” disease and that’s something i gotta work on! but i just feel like… iunno. maybe this sounds whiny or victim-y but i’ve been complaining a lot recently about giving people a lot of grace and flexibility and making amends for these differences in opinion that i’m never given back. and instead i have people vague posting about me on their blog over a span of 12 hours mocking my posts and accusing me of their own behavior that they are clearly projecting themselves onto. now i know i’m getting whiny and immature and annoying by bringing this up i know it doesn’t do any good but i’m just so tired man :’) i’ve been dealing with these same issues for 6 years and my filter for it is beginning to slip.

i’m still going i’m sorry LOL. LOLA. i do like what they did with Lola because i hate her in Space Jam and tbh i pretend she doesn’t exist 95% of the time. TLTS did do Lola right, that and Kwesi Boakye as Gossamer/Roz Ryan as Hazel are the two things i will enjoy about the show.

man there is still so much more i can say but i’ve been malding all day and i am so tired. i’m sure it’s very noticeable. i’m so sorry for how pretentious and obnoxious i sound, you worded this so much better than i could, i agree with absolutely everything you said here. i don’t even mind that people do these things, but i mind the way that they act like it’s the end all be all and will literally get mad or accusatory when you say that’s not the intent. you’re free to interpret as you please, lord knows i do, but you have to be mindful of the intent that these characters were created in. if you prefer TLTS and prefer how these characters act in that show, if you prefer the more fandom centric viewpoints, genuinely that is awesome and i’m sincerely glad you can enjoy and engage in a way that i can’t. please don’t get mad at me if you act like an authority on this and i say that it’s not true. i hate acting like a know it all because i’m not, but i’ve had multiple people say something that amounts to “you act like you know more things than me simply because you know more things than me” and i just. What are we doing here. IT’S LOONEY TUNES. EVEN I CAN SAY THAT GUYS IT’S FUCKING LOONEY TUNESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[scholarinbookland]

New Fandom, New Problems

Once again chronically ill and bedridden like 2019, so new music hyperfixation!

This time, it’s FACE and MUSE, the solo EPs by Park Jimin of BTS.

For context, unlike when I got into Queen when I first was hospitalized numerous times over a period of 6 months, I’m staying firmly out of AO3. I was personally fine with reading nonsexual/friendship-based or solely based on real life confirmed relationship fanfiction in that fandom, because I could block pairings and all was good. (I don’t intend this statement to judge people who enjoy reading and writing those types of fan works, but it’s not my cup of tea).

However, I stopped reading in that fandom once the overwhelming majority of new writers devolved into characterizing the rich historical nature of the band and its members into simplified caricatures that lacked the flaws and strengths of each human. I still listen to Queen a lot, but I’m the type of music consumer that really only latches onto one member in a band (ie Freddie Mercury) and doesn’t have strong fan feelings about the others. This is primarily because of a neurological condition I have called prosopagnosia, which means that faces don’t stick in my memory and instead I recognize people by voice and gait.

I’ve been aware of BTS for a while, peripherally. My sister’s been Jin-biased ARMY for long enough to fly out to their LY Chicago concert in 2019, and I knew enough second hand to know that they had a lot to say about society and mental health, were very charitable, and had a lot of J names in their group. But, until I heard Who pop up on my Spotify in December 2024 and loved it, I wasn’t that interested in listening to their music.

Being an obsessive autistic woman, I had to know more. I watched his music video for Who, and loved it as a former dancer. I danced ballet, traditional Irish dance, character, and swing until I became chronically ill, and immediately pegged his dance training, and was sure he’d taken ballet classes by the mixed-gender partnerwork chorus before the bridge. The arms in a perfect fifth position and the perfectly-spotted modified pirouettes were just a dead giveaway. I then watched SMF Pt 2, and Like Crazy, and was wowed. He’s such a perfect dancer, and so good at singing, and so easy to pick out visually in a video for me (he walks like a dancer, and it’s so easy to distinguish when you can’t even remember family members’ faces when they change hairstyle). I’ve now listened to all of his solo work, and I love it!

This is going to be the part of my statement that may be concerning to any ARMY who miraculously discover this untagged post: I tried listening to the other’s solo work as well as any BTS music where Jimin gets minimal lines, and it’s not to my personal preference. I figured that if Jimin checked every box of what I seek out in music (great stage presence, beautifully unique voice, clever and thoughtful lyrics), then I would enjoy the music of at least one other member, but I just didn’t vibe with each for one subjective reason or another. So, even though I have no disdain for the group as a whole or any fans who don’t try to perpetuate hate on Park Jimin or his friends and family, I guess this qualifies me as a solo instead of an ARMY. Maybe if I had discovered them earlier, I’d be less biased towards just Jimin, but I honestly have never dived deeper into fandoms than writing and editing book and television show based fanfiction, and for music, listening, buying and streaming the albums.

I like everything I have seen or read about Park Jimin of BTS (my toxic trait is to investigate male celebrities with much greater scrutiny than female celebrities), but became too troubled by the rampant shipping culture and invasion of his private life listed in his history as a BTS member to be comfortable encountering or interacting with posts that interpret his art in any way that projects potentially dangerous or slanderous misinformation onto what he’s said about his art (ie people declaring his sexuality (reading him as straight or LGBT without any statement made), gender identity (taking statements against hyper-masculine presentation and gender norms out of context), or psychiatric conditions (ED, alcoholism armchair diagnoses again without confirmation from the artist)). Those are the posts in this fandom that I will filter tags against and not interact with, as a boundary I am setting.

However, all I have seen in official content and in interviews which he’s participated, has left me skeptical about how well he has been treated under the now mega-corporation to which he is signed. HYBE, BSH, SB and MHJ all seem like sketchy institutions and individuals, each with little regard for the welfare of the minors they exploit or have exploited in the past. Park Jimin needing his fans to be his pro-bono marketing team while he’s conscripted and unable to participate in business and marketing decisions when he entrusted that to his company is beyond egregious, and HYBE America’s links to notorious media-play PR firms is also disturbing.

I don’t intend to pretend to know this man (and especially not infantilize a man older and better-educated than I am) or his awareness of the situation or the inner workings of his mind and what he values, and I don’t intend to try and proscribe my American analysis of a situation I lack the cultural and legal context to put my two cents in about, but I can support his solo music by streaming and voting, and hopefully be healthy and active enough to keep up with his career and how it develops once he is released from mandatory military service.

To that end, I may be following, liking and re-blogging information about FACE, MUSE, HYBE, and fandom discourse and misinformation. Hopefully anyone I follow with a stake in Jimin or BTS will understand the lack of malice or strong opinions in my journey to learn more about an artist who I admire and wish all the best in his future endeavors.

Blog Organization:

Clarifying My Blog Usage

Jimin: Method Actor?

Like Crazy MV Analysis Part 1

Like Crazy MV Analysis Part 2

Like Crazy MV Analysis Part 3

[katyspersonal]

Hi there, I hope you don’t mind the random question but in your mind which fanbase would you say is worse, Elden Ring or Bloodborne in terms of annoying fans. I used to think Bloodborne fans could be bad but holy shit ER fans are something else when it comes to lore discussions. As someone who is pretty active in lore talk with both games do you find one side to be more exhausting to deal with than the other? Obviously feel free not to answer this if you think it might start drama

Honestly? I can't hate Bloodborne fandom enough.

Bloodborne was my first Fromsoft game and one keeping me hostage in terms of fixation for over three years, like I said! And yes, it has incredibly bad, toxic people in it - Maria fans who kept slandering Gehrman despite all the info against their takes, honestly believed there is anything problematic with Gehrmaria, had mental breakdown if anyone dared to see Maria as bi or straight despite her not having canon sexuality, believed that the whole story is either about man bad woman good OR was incredibly misogynist, no between. Close minded, toxic people who would deliberately bait anger and pain with placing their hate in the tags and then play victims when those hurt fans snapped back. Oh, I hate them, and revealing that Gehrman's "creepiness" and "misogyny" was completely and fully translation mistake, as well as pointing out how comes why nothing is wrong with how Doll is dressed with facts, is forever my most valid contribution to the fandom. More so than my ugly childlike fanart or convoluted theories could ever be. But, not THIS is why Bloodborne fandom is worse in my opinion.

Elden Ring fandom introduced not one but SEVERAL annoying and exhausting topics to deal with! I "affectionately" titled especially rabid Malenia and Miquella fans 'Twin Cultists' because this is exactly what their behavior is and have always been! Funny enough, a person who got mad at me for this one was someone who got alienated on Discord server for Miquella fans because owners started to insist that only their headcanons are valid AND admitted to me on feeling unsafe for not shipping Finlenia. I am dead serious! Malenia fans are strikingly similar to Maria pseudofeminist fans in toxicity, Miquella fans are like if you removed all likeable traits of Leda and replaced them with even MORE of undying vitriol for anyone who dares to interpret him as anything but perfect pure radiant sunshine. Mohg triggered a pretty awful discourse between those who insisted he was rapist molester whatever and if you interpret it differently you are insensitive and media-illiterate victimblamer and people who defended him "becoming the very thing they sworn to destroy" as well as also exhibiting cult-like thought control in their circles (they know who they are -_-).

But the DLC has changed things a bit, right? Some Twin Cultists are still spilling vitriol, except now they also claim that writers are bad, not only fans that disagree with them! Still, blessed, deserved vindication finally arrived! But what about others, whose situation never changed? Vitriol towards Godrick is ABSURD. You know how common fandoms L is that they judge and hate female character for something, but when male character did the exact same thing it is humored or justified? Godrick is this, minus the gender difference, yet everyone who points out his actual characteristics and the hypocrisy of his haters gets ridiculed. You thought that his fans would flock together to support each others? No, turns out that pocket are loosers who think people who don't headcanon him as trans are childish and ridiculous and loathe cishet Elden Ring fans in general. Fia and D are caught in the weird discourse loop where one is always simplified and idealized and another is demonized to Hell and beyond, when they both are strongly caught in religious brainwashing of sorts but also are sympathetic in their own right. Ranni's fans and haters both do not know the term of Machiavellian (aka "Ends justify the means" philosophy). She is the worst most evil character in the setting over what crimes she committed in order to protect the world from the problem of potentially anyone being able to grab the laws of nature itself and shape them according to their bigotries and preferences, OR she is a perfect innocent fighter against oppression and people who dislike her Just Hate Women TM. And of course we cannot forget the one above them all! The radiant, omnipresent, eternal!...

Marika truly brings out the worst of discussions! She has been before SOTE, but you YEARN for pre-SOTE times if you hate OR love her! Not because things changed, but because now discussion can't be avoided. She is THE Elden Ring character who is only ever demonized and idealized. Before SOTE, she was only ever just a tyrant who loves genocide OR simply a puppet of Greater Will (or rather Two Fingers claiming to speak for it as it turned out) who never meant to do that shit and finally heroically rebelled. After SOTE... hahaha, oh boy... we started to deal with the issue of excusing genocide. Her fans will claim into essays and more essays why Hornsent are all fundamentally dangerous race and Marika is merely trying to rid the world of filth that ruins it by sending Messmer. However, demonization didn't quite go away either, and her haters are so angry at writers humanizing her a bit more that they say WRITERS are pro-fascist!

So, why? I've described such horrid discourse, when Bloodborne fandom sounds like it simply has a few bad apples in comparison! What can be worse than Elden Ring fandom, after a description like this? Yeah, you see... Elden Ring fandom is thorn by awful arguments and discourse, it is hostile and dangerous for your mental health if you are invested into fandom beyond just "consuming content" and advertising your art for sale. Yet, it lives. It lives in the same sense as a land torn by earthquakes lives. It lives in the same sense a volcano that won't stop smoking lives. It lives in the same sense sea lives during the storm. But it LIVES.

Bloodborne fandom is a fucking Caelid.

If you question whether I'd be scared of "drama", I assume you are new here and don't know my epic lore. I am not afraid of anything because society made itself clear on what I am for it. In the most condenced way possible, one OF those toxic Maria fans didn't like me thinking for myself too much so they went out of their way to slander me for various -ists and -phobias. Their ableist friend that doesn't take racism seriously joined in. I was a victim of stalking, harassment, slander, witch-hunting and cult-like shunning for over a year, and so was every kind fool who treated me like a human - friend or mutual. I can NOT speak of Bloodborne fandom experience from personal standpoint because obviously it is not an objective experience (though someone who also got unfairly slandered by Maria fans too contacted me, so I question whether it IS a trend..?). Still, it isn't about me or my friends, we are an oddity. Bloodborne fandom for me was just a bunch of gullible, weak sheep who are okay with witch-hunt because letting just a few people get harassed is not worth souring their fandom experience. And I do not wish to turn back or even try to mend anything. I caught my stalker and exposed their crimes, I made everyone who believed they were innocent feel stupid and ashamed, it was all I wanted. I don't wish to "befriend" the fandom afterwards.

YEAH YEAH "THINGS ONCE BROKEN" WHATEVER

But I was still posting and drawing and playing and talking and writing, right? I was still present. So, I was at least observing what was going on. And what truly soured Bloodborne fandom was actually happening afterwards, what was not involving me or any friend or enemy I knew. The worst thing happened, worse for fandom than any amount of discourse. I call it "centralization", for lack of better term.

Bloodborne is a niche fandom, yet it had a sudden zoomers burst. And that led to dynamics of "fandom leaders", and stupid fucking Discord community that are akin to elite club in which if you are not invited you might as well not exist. It ALL became about stupid "web of mutuals" nonsense. It ALL became about some cool kids deciding what will be the ship or the take of the week/month, and soon you'd see NOTHING but this thing posted. Always through the exact same lense, too. Only to then be forgotten, because it was just a trend. Rom x Caryll comes to mind as a FAD of similar vibe. Micolaurence too.

I just hate this. The fandom stopped LIVING. I saw genuinely absurd things happen! Like someone drawing Mariadeline, one of the most popular ships in the fandom, yet they get completely ignored because they've failed to grab a beer at the bar with "leaders" of this ship who "hold" the distribution of that approval and love. Even worse; over a year ago, a very talented, fun, energetic and creative fan of Mensis Trio and Byrgenwerth squad showed up! They were SPAMMING art and writing, and all of that was good! So good that..... all of that barely got over 20 notes, maybe 30. Why? Because, again, you can't just post about blorbos and expect to be liked and approached. You have to get on the "good side" of "holders" of love for characters like Micolash, Laurence and Rom, or else they'll just side-eye you! But imagine this with literally everything else. I have been watching it happen all the time, to people that were not even targets for cult-like shunning by Alfred, Eugene or Anna for associating with me. You keep to yourself, you are shy, you are not on Discord with them, your headcanons are a bit different? Too bad, you may rot, because it is not about you! People look up to a few popular artists with shallow takes and so much creative liberties they might as well make OCs to know whether this or that person should be liked and reblogged, instead of JUST liking and reblogging them!

THIS is why Bloodborne fandom is Caelid. Not for toxicity, but because it is rotten. It used to be far less "organized" when I joined in. There were no trends to define fandomry for next few weeks decided on a party where ignored creators were not invited to. There was not hegemony of certain ships, designs and headcanons. There was no "web of mutuals" and pressure to either assert yourself by the good side or vanish. Everyone were doing their things and coexisting, nobody could determine who flourishes and who rots, diversity of headcanons and interpretations were celebrated. Oh, what's a matter? You really dislike that popular artist who infantilizes Marika and stripes her out of any agency over her actions? Well, so do like 500000 other people! Every popular take is ALSO popular to hate on in Elden Ring fandom! But if you dislike a popular take in Bloodborne then sucks to be you, because diversity of interpretations, opinions, preferences and takes just doesn't exist in it. Not anymore. Unless you "asserted" your novel idea to the "court" on some stupid Discord server and was "approved", of course.

Look. Elden Ring discourse annoys me to no end. I always get my headcanons and interpretations "corrected" in the worst condescending fashion. My friend posted a very well made lore post and got harped on because his take contradicted someone's idol's headcanons (with that idol approving of that harping) and I am still mad. I don't want to post my GEQ takes to be reminded that "aktualy" she is Melina. I dislike seeing claims of Miquella's nonexistent character assassination or Radahn hated just because some sexist Redditors were using him as a mascot. Nonetheless, deep down, I am THANKFUL. Because even really annoying debates end up being entertaining. Because people here TALK about things, REVISIT things, ARGUE about things, CARE about things, HAVE OPINIONS on things. They will annoy you in the comments or reblogs, but they SPEAK to you. No take is so popular that it defines all art and fanfics because every popular take is also popular to hate on. Things are disorganized. No fandom leaders, no elite club ignored blog wasn't invited to, no "web of mutuals" that should get sucked into a vacuum cleaner and never be seen again. Elden Ring fandom is a battlefield, but also free market minus the money.

To be honest, Bloodborne fandom was done for me when based people started to vanish. Fishbowlcarnage deactivated everywhere, Cuddlefish mysteriously disappeared and I worry whether they are even alive to this day, user Molluscock got bullied away... It felt like a bad omen, it happened before my drama, and I've never seen users like this before. Except I have been, but they all are now ignored because of this stupid high school dynamic taking over. Had Elden Ring hyperfixation not happened, I'd probably just end up blocking many Bloodborne accounts and never care for trying to make connections again, just post art and vanish to draw the next one. I did end up blocking some Bloodborne mutuals, after all. After it hit me, what was bothering me so much. Appreciate Elden Ring fandom and it's earthquakes, because shaking earth can't be bigger evil than stagnation. Bloodborne fandom no longer breathes, they are champions of not feeding the sparkles that were meant to become fire hoping they die down, and I hate every looser that benefits from that "system". In Elden Ring, ALL things flourish, whether graceful or malign.

[robinvomit]

I've been debating on whether writing this as an anon but know what, i don't care because i need to say it

as a tim and red robin lover (although I love him as just robin too), it's already a struggle to find much content about him, and if it does, it revolves more around the other batfam than him, or it's severely mischaracterised. Like, I love the wfa, it's fun, the drawing it's cute and i like the interactions, but it has done a great damage to the fandom and affected their perception of canon too badly.

I admit I haven't read all the comics and red robin issues, so I don't as much as other people, but I adore the 90s Tim's personality, and I think it's ten times more interesting than whatever malnourished traumatised clone the fanon has made. don't take me wrong, I have fun with fanon tim too (depending on how its written) as this shy, socially awkward nerd hacker that just wants to prove himself, but 90s Tim is just SUPERIOR. And it bothers me so much that most of the works with tim feature the fanon version of him instead of this awesome sarcastic, perfectionist, morally grey bastard. So what if he's mean? So what if he's a little shit with an ego? That only makes him even hotter in my eyes and cooler to read.

So you don't know how happy I was when I found your page and I saw your writing, showing Tim exactly how he is, and saying you love his 90s era too. Really, I love how you write him, and I wish more people appreciated him like this too. He's the goat. There's not a socially awkward bone in his body. If he's bad with people, it's because he wants to be.

I just wanted to tell you this because I notice a rise of people shitting on other authors, you included, when they don't write tim like the fanon version. Please, keep sticking to canon. Not just with tim, but all of them. I like the fandom, but i'm tired of seeing the people twisting and depriving the characters of all what makes them interesting and compelling in narratives to simplify them so much.

I want my tim drake to be mean, a bit arrogant, a strategist and planning to kill everyone that breathes too loud around him with a resting bitch face. that's the man i fell in love with, thank you very much

See, I haven't touched wfa — not for any particular reason other than it just doesn't.. suit my taste? From what I've seen, it is super cute but it's also a completely separate story and not canon to the main storyline. But hey, if people enjoy it, then they enjoy it. It was made for people for enjoy.

Contrary to seemingly popular belief, I have absolutely no issue with that. Anons around here seem to think I've got some secret vendetta against people who enjoy other things and I have no idea where that came from. I don't even know where this came from, I've never said anything against anyone for their character thoughts. I'm just honest about what I like and don't like. Granted, I know opinions on social media aren't allowed most of the time.

I can't even say I've read every comic that involves him — that is a shit ton of reading, lol I've read what I've recommended, on top of several appearances + I own the entire Red Robin set. I just .. I don't know. I'm not saying his modern version is bad by any means, it's just.. different.

I like my 90s Tim who will break someone's kneecap and smile. The one who hurts people's feelings, even if 40% of the time he doesn't even realize it. The Tim that isn't socially awkward by any means, emotionally repressed, has trust issues out of the ass, and a mouth that's nearly gotten him killed over a dozen times. I hate to say it, but they kind of ripped Tim's ego, pride and independence away from him. Not entirely but enough to water him down. I appreciate that he was pretty honest on the fact he barely liked people. I love that we all refer to him as a bastard— it makes me giggle. 90s Tim is the only character people drop that for lol Though, even with 90s Tim, I hold onto the asd aspect cause.. bitch didn't know tones or queues for shit unless he was focusing on work.

I get shit on if I breathe crooked lol because I'm very opinionated and quite frankly, if it hurts your feelings that I like something different.. you should probably find a different author to follow. Not even being an asshole. I'm just not going to sugarcoat for people. But also — thank you, this whole thing means a lot to me and I'm always happy to see people appreciating our arrogant cryptid.

I will always do my best to stick as close to canon as I possible can 🖤 but also, please, the rbf yes. Ugh. Ily.

This is a mess but I'm also mobile and have the attention span of a stick bug, so if I missed something----

[al-the-remix]

I know nothing about 911 but seeing all the bucktommy posts makes me really interested, if you don’t mind could you give a short introduction of the ship/which episode(s) to watch for them? Thanks!!

Hi! So the ship is a very new one and they don't have a lot of screen time yet, so their relationship only appears in season seven, episodes: 7x3 to 7x6 and then 7x9 and 7x10. Tommy Kinard as a side character also shows up in episodes 2x9, 2x12, 2x14 (in an off-screen capacity) and 2x16.

As for the introduction, the lore with this show runs sort of deep, but as condensed and simplified as I can give it to you: the decision to introduce bi!Buck and Tommy and his love interest was made very last minute (like as the first few episodes of season seven were coming out kind of last minute...) as the tv show switched networks from FOX to ABC and was working with a protracted season, (10 episodes in stead of 18), so this first season you see them together in has a very "let's see how well this works and if the general audience approves of it" kind of vibe.

Obviously, it worked for me! And the general reception has been good. Personally, I find their dynamic fun and genuine; the show runner was aiming for a non-heavy coming out story with a romcom twist, which I think they succeeded at. Buck (or "Evan" as Tommy calls him) is sort of the obvious favourite of the show in the audience and the writer's eyes, he's gotten a lot of development over the years, but has stagnanted recently on the romance side of things and also in his professional development, (which is partly the fault of the writers and partly just bad luck with maintaining actors). So I think a lot of fans are excited to see him "off the hamster wheel", as they say, in the love department. This opens up the possibility to explore other plot lines with him as a character in his professional life and personal life now that hes in a steady relationship.

Tommy we don't know much about yet, other than he was deeply in the closet when we first see him in the season 2 flash-back episodes. He's not initially a very warm, welcoming, and accepting person, but it's implied that a lot of that behavior was influenced by his environment and poor upbringing, and he is quick to make amends and befriend the main characters when he's shown to be in the wrong. He used to be in the army, and is a fan of cars, martial arts, and rom coms. The way he talks in the season seven episodes makes it clear that he's done a lot of self reflection since we've last seen him (and since he's come out). He's shown to be an open and honest person who does his best to show up for the people he cares for, and once Buck is in his line of sight, all that attention is turned his way.

I think with this ship what people are most excited about is the potential it demonstrates: Buck as a character is someone who's been on an aggressive misson of self discovery and understanding, he's been actively looking for a romantic partner to have a committed, mature relationship with, he's someone who's willing to give a lot of himself away to his partner and is desperately hoping to have that attention and affection mirrored back at him.

What little we know about Tommy so far makes it clear that he's mature and willing enough to be that person for Buck: if it works out and the writers allow him to be. I just really enjoy what little I've seen so far, and with the show being back to its regular 18 episodes next season and Tommy pretty much confirmed to return, I'm interested and invested and hopefully in where they may take this relationship next.

Also I feel like I need to add if you're going to engage with the fandom specifically for this ship, do it through the #bucktommy tag on tumblr, because it's a real mine field out there right now, lol.

[bandaiddd]

I think that especially within Tartt’s fandom there is so much admiration towards novels like Dorian Gray, and recently I actually read it and realised it was just not that good.

In literature circles it’s so admired and revered as one of the most beautiful novels. But I feel like people take it as praise towards aestheticism, when I interpreted it as Wilde criticising his own obsession with beauty in art.

It focuses on the lack of permanence in life and a will to try and replicate the permanence of beauty due to our fear of death. But it does this through racism, chinoiserie, sexism etc. I understand it’s Victorian attitudes but why are we praising a novel that emphasises colonial attitudes as a key and integral part of high culture? Why are we praising a novel that presents low culture through opium bars and sex work? You can praise it in the sense that it is a novel, but romanticising it into this beautiful art that perfectly encompasses beauty is over simplified.

It’s been overly romanticised and overly intellectualised by so many people and placed alongside novels like The Secret History simply due to the fact it allows people to romanticise and create idols out of figures obsessed with beauty and who lack accountability. Meanwhile, both novels are simply manipulating you into being as destructive as characters such as Dorian Gray and Richard Papen.

Of courses it’s all up to interpretation, but I’ve always viewed novels on aestheticism as criticism that manipulates you in order for you, as a reader, to realise the true destructive nature in living for permanence and beauty.

All in all, The Picture of Dorian Gray was a let down as a novel. I enjoy it in the context of Oscar Wilde’s life and trial, but in of itself, it wasn’t all it was made out to be really. People review it as if it is gorgeous and revolutionary, they act as though it is an accurate representation of beauty and art when really, I think Wilde was creating a novel mocking his own indulgence in a way that allowed people to idolise it - and eventually recognise their own self-destructive obsessions.

[veliseraptor]

Top five spiciest untamed opinions!

man, I've been in my own little corner of fandom for long enough that I feel like I struggle a little to parse what is spicy of my opinions and what isn't, but here's a go at it

The Untamed is a show with complex, morally grey characters that's telling a slightly different but not inherently inferior story. Maybe I'm just a bit defensive about this, and I have with time come to appreciate a lot of things about the novel over the way they play out in the show, but The Untamed was the first version of the story that I fell in love with and I think at least some of the criticisms of it overstate the degree to which it morally simplifies the story. I think, whether because of requirements of censorship or other reasons, that the moral messiness of the story is subtler, I don't think it's absent, and while Jin Guangyao in particular falls victim to a pretty intense villain edit the narrative still has plenty of sympathy for him (even if the audience, all too often, does not). I think it's telling a slightly different story (as others have discussed), but I think it's a strong adaptation that still works with the underlying themes of the text.

However, that being said, The lessening of Wei Wuxian's culpability, as in the introduction of the second flautist, weakens his character. I feel like the character of Wei Wuxian as we see him in The Untamed still has the recognizable flaws of the character from the novel - I think the degree to which they're sometimes claimed to be toned down is overstated, which I think I've written some about before. He's still at least a little arrogant, causes problems, has a definite temper, and doesn't always respect other peoples' choices, among other things. But what The Untamed does do is remove some of his culpability, or at least temper it - both for Jin Zixuan's death and the massacre at Nightless City, which are two moments that contribute to a strong tragic arc in the first life, which makes for a more powerful (imo) arc in the second life. Removing, or at least lessening, Wei Wuxian's culpability for Jin Zixuan's death and Jiang Yanli's death makes him more a victim of circumstance than of his own human flaws, and at least for me, a character who is doomed by their own flaws is a far more compelling one than one who just happens to fall victim to outside forces. It makes him, I would argue, more passive and less of an active force, and I think the culpability for those two deaths - and the loss of control that causes it - makes for a more powerful narrative than that of a man who is victimized by someone else's actions.

Jin Guangyao was a good Chief Cultivator. I see people talk about him as though he was corrupt and evil and just plotting all the time, but the Bad Things™ he does mostly happen before his tenure as Chief Cultivator and, even taking those into account, have a limited impact on the world at large (with the exception of Nie Mingjue's death, but even that I would argue has more personal repercussions than broader political ones). As far as his responsibility for the cultivation world at large, we have no evidence prior to his downfall that he is negatively perceived by people, except for the fact of his birth/origins.

this is more MDZS-related than Untamed specific, but: MXTX deserves praise for writing "problematic" and messy queer sex, but it's just not hot. I don't have a whole lot to add on this one, but one of my least favorite parts of some corners of The Untamed fandom are people who are thoroughgoing MXTX antis who are quick to cry about the ~problematic~ aspects of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's sex life (which, honestly, I think are overstated a lot of the time, as is the weirdness of the sex scenes); however, in my opinion, the sex scenes as they stand just aren't very sexy, and I don't think that's intentional (as it arguably is in SVSSS). The sex scenes may be a shortcoming in the text, perhaps, but not the one certain people think it is.

this is again a stronger argument in the novel but I think it's present in the show as well: Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian are "there but for the grace of god" foils, but not in the sense of Jin Guangyao being "Wei Wuxian if he made bad moral choices" but in the sense of "who Wei Wuxian could've been if his circumstances were different." I've definitely written about this before and how much it drives me nuts the way people treat narrative foils in this story in general as Goofus and Gallant style duos, but this is a specific one. I think Jin Guangyao is an example of a story that runs alongside Wei Wuxian's, but ends in a different place, and I think the story isn't saying that he ends in that place because of something inherently worse about Jin Guangyao, but because of the way his circumstances happen to diverge from Wei Wuxian's in specific key ways. In some ways his ending is even a near beat-for-beat rewrite of Wei Wuxian's death, and Wei Wuxian receives the grace of a second life not because of any inherent merit, but actually because of his bad reputation. I think this goes for Xue Yang, too, actually.

I absolutely know I'm forgetting things and there are probably things back in my bitchy opinions tag that I could dig out, but here's at least a few that came to mind.