#and there’s been no real discourse

[bereft-of-frogs]

I’m at the point with that one snarky post where every time I get a notification on it I want to read the Severance apology speech

[watchingwisteria]

listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded mfer happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.

[ingravinoveritas]

Bonus clip of Michael on the WTAWTAW podcast talking about his experiences with gender expression as a teenager in Port Talbot and mentioning his crush on John Taylor again. Transcript of notable highlights below:

Michael: "So when I was 12, 13--early '80s, the time that Allie is talking about--and I saw girls with lip gloss and wearing rah-rah skirts and leg warmers and stuff, [whispers] and I was a little bit jealous. Course, never said that, never said that. In Port Talbot if I'd mentioned that, my life would've been hell. But I do remember being quite...attracted by the trappings. A lot of trappings for girls. We didn't have stuff like that for boys. There were rituals for girls, doing your makeup, doing your hair." Michael: "I mean, my first crush--I said this on a thing I did called The Assembly recently--my first crush was a man called--ah, John Taylor from Duran Duran. Ohh, he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The way I processed it was, like, I'm gonna try and look like John Taylor, try and make my hair like John Taylor." Michael: "And they always used to have a bit of lip gloss going on, didn't they? Those New Romantics. But like I say, I couldn't really try that out in Port Talbot."

This goes directly back to things I have written about on my blog previously, about Michael having these feelings and not being able to express them because of where he grew up and the hateful climate that Section 28 fostered. This is why it is so difficult for someone of Michael's generation to label themselves, because none of that is lightly shaken off.

Even hearing the way Michael talks about it in the podcast, you can tell that this is not a joke, but a longing for something that he still remembers so vividly, because it meant so much to him at the time, and still does. Also, Michael has now mentioned his crush on John Taylor twice in the span of two months after not saying anything about it for years, and if that doesn't tell you where his heart and mind are right now, I'm not sure what does. Neither he nor David need a formal announcement to make it clear who they are, because they've already been telling us...

[ominous-horse-noises]

main takeaway from certain fan reactions to the finale is this:

the final scene with ankarna was so meaningful to the bad kids' arcs and how they made peace with being wronged by people they loved, and if all you can focus on is that the rat grinders didn't get much screentime, then you don't love dimension20 and you don't love this world: you want to be playing your own hs themed dnd campaign and you're mad the oc versions of the rat grinders you made up in your head acted ooc. these are not your characters and this is not their story.

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

Others have talked, very rightly, about Bells Hells having an extremely Us vs. Them style of morality and one thing I find interesting about all that is many of their most virulent (read: actively nasty towards other fans) defenders are also taking this stance. The party line has become that the segments of the fandom that are disappointed with how this campaign shook out have never been happy with anything Bells Hells did from the beginning and have been actively hating on people who do like it for just as long. Us, the beleaguered Campaign 3 lovers versus Them, the mean c3 haters (who are often characterized as being hung up on the Mighty Nein and simply mad Bells Hells aren't the Nein again).

What's been quite funny for me personally is that I have seen vague posts clearly targeted at myself giving me the above detailed characterization of the c3 hater when I: have never seen Campaign 2 (though I did watch Campaign 1 back in 2019), started watching live with the first EXU, got into the fandom (as a lurker) at the start of Campaign 3, didn't make any of my own posts about it until late 2022 and didn't start really posting in earnest until mid 2023. Practically none of the characteristics applied to the archetypal c3 hater certain fans have created actually apply to me, other than of course thinking Campaign 3 actually isn't very good. So it's been interesting to watch people draw lines in the sand and create an Us vs. Them narrative that I know isn't true based on existing as myself.

[bogkeep]

it fascinates me how often a choice of first or - gasp - second person storytelling can create so much derision and discourse. having preferences is fine obviously, and as a writing choice it Does matter, because all writing choices matter. i don't really... notice?? anymore??? or like, i DO notice, but more in a "what information will the narrative give me access to" kind of way.

i know second person especially can be jarring if you're not used to it, because it's "he would not fucking say that" but for yourself. but it's also like... so many song lyrics have "you" and "i" and to me they're just. a story that exists separate from me. (to the degree lyrics exist to me at all as something other than Sounds that are part of a music piece, but that's the audio processing disorder/'did not grow up with english as a first language and never bothered to decode lyrics' of it all speaking)

i suspect a lot of derision towards first person narratives comes from a derision towards the genres in which it is a staple, rather than that it's somehow uniquely bad. there's really not much difference between a first person perspective and limited third person perspective??

[astralleywright]

i really do believe the CR cast loves Bells Hells, and recent decisions come from the fact that they love all their parties and see this as the end of an era for them and are also very, very busy. but man it does not fucking feel like it sometimes lmao

[burr-ell]

love that matt saw people woobifying the vanguard and went "the people who started the campaign on murder? lol anyway their besties suck ass too"

[a-substantial-trash-pile]

my sis was talking to me about mouthwashing fandom discourse and if i heard about it and i was just like girl i got no idea what's happening in there i don't go in the tag i'm just in my little corner here drawing my self indulgent found family shenanigans

[ingravinoveritas]

electronic-chocolate replied to your post "Just wanted to make a separate post about this…”

I had an argument on here with someone who said that michael is a straight man who's just started queerbaiting bc he wanted to appeal to the gomens fandom💀

@electronic-chocolate Oh my God. That has to be right up there with someone calling Michael a non-practicing bisexual a few months ago. What's interesting to me is how five years ago, people talked a lot more easily/readily about Michael's sexuality--not his sexual orientation, but in the sense of viewing him as a sexual being--whereas nowadays, he's been rendered almost sexless. I know the "family man" image Michael has been boxed into is at least part of the reason for that, but it's hard to think that this isn't also an unconscious response to his queerness becoming more visible and more loud (as if it wasn't visible/loud enough already) in recent times--specifically, Michael's overtly sexual comments about David.

In 2014, Michael talked about Sarah Silverman putting her hand on his butt and made cheeky quips about Lizzy Caplan's breasts on the MoS commentary, and nobody blinked an eye. Ten years later, he's not making those type of comments about a particular woman, or any woman. Instead, Michael is making those comments about David--about his slinky hips, his sylph-like chest, about how attractive David is--and suddenly, it's a big deal. People are seeing what's in front of them and either rationalizing or outright ignoring it, all while choosing to believe those comments couldn't possibly have those same sexual overtones because Michael is talking about a man.

But not only is the argument of the person you mentioned entirely specious on a surface level (because as we know, real people cannot "queerbait," as that term applies to fictional characters/media), it also manages to ignore absolutely everything Michael has said over the last five years about playing Aziraphale and Good Omens in general: How he decided before filming even began that Aziraphale is in love with Crowley, and the acting choices he made in every scene with David that were in the service of that relationship. The way Michael has said he always misses being Aziraphale when they're not filming, and how he doesn't know where the character ends and he begins.

There is also the fact that Michael has played a tremendous number of queer roles over the years--long before Good Omens--and none of them had anything to do with appealing to a fandom or fan base of any kind. Michael once previously said that every character he plays is "him"--that is, there is some piece of the character that is a part of who he is. And when you take that sentiment and put it alongside the multitude of queer roles and Michael's recent comments on the death podcast about his crush on John Taylor and his struggles with gender expression, it forms a clear, rounded picture of exactly who Michael Sheen is.

Not "queerbaiting"...just queer. Even if he doesn't label it specifically, and also because he shouldn't have to. Insisting on calling Michael straight despite all of the above and everything else Michael has shared about himself erases every part of his sexuality, not just the parts someone is uncomfortable with. I just wish more people understood that...

[volcanocraft]

Sober life is so funny and awesome to me as I watch my favorite creators fall into substance abuse while I do as well. Like let's get it together soldier TAKE ANOTHER SHOT

i dont think its funny. we should hold the cc's accountable for this season. the real challenge is sobriety and yet grian "rewards" players for breaking it. ive already messaged grian on twitter and hope to post a response soon.

theyre encouraging some really bad habits and if they wanted to tell a story of addiction and recovery then grian is failing on all aspects. impulse said on stream the unmarked pills were taking a toll on his body but since they all signed an extremely aggressive contract so he has no choice. mumbojumbo put all of his sponsored ads in the first episode because he knew it would be impossible to get a pg rating going forward. i have a theory this is the last season... because just look at the trajectory. unsustainable.

if you want a REAL challenge: everytime impulse does a line you must add one more block to your morning jog. make rehab scared of your improvement

[aipurjopa]

my stance on the stupid boundary thing has always been "if you're going to break them, tag your shit properly and don't do it in a place where the cc can see it." like.

[iridescentis]

thankfully I haven't personally seen anyone being weird or shitty about SABM, but I've seen a lot of discourse posts talking about it and it just made me think like. have these people never heard of a catgirl before

like its not a new thing ricky potts did not invent sexy cat women 😭 wanting to fuck catgirls is not a ricky exclusive phenomenon, of all the things a teenage boy can fantasise about catgirls is pretty tame (lmao)

i didn't even clock that as weird at all, if anything the fact they're also in space is what makes sabm funny and truly a masterpiece

[superbellsubways]

I hope you don’t mind me like complaining in your inbox but this kinda sparked a conversation in me so like yeah. The queer internet has been INSANE recently, and out of nowhere too—like what the fuck happened!! I remember being 13 on Reddit and the majority of people there being very accepting back when I was figuring myself out for the first time! What the FUCK happened!!!

im really sick and tired of the constant and unnecessary infighting 😭 ESPECIALLY during this time where queers need to support each other as much as they can

[thedreadblog]

My dash has been interesting as of late. I follow people who love Veilguard, are okay with Veilguard but definitely are disappointed with the plot holes and General Vibe, and people who absolutely hate Veilguard, and all the discourse that comes with all three of these kinds of people.

Can't say I'm not informed lmao

[thedevotionaltour]

sorry main blog complaint moment that actually isn't a big deal but sometimes there are some fandoms where im like why are we selfshipping/ocxcanon shipping from here where are we even getting yeah i gotta ship from here vibes. not that we can't you can do whatever you want and lord knows i probably have fandoms that make people cock their head but also why.