#i may get flack for this but it needs to be said

[serial-serializednovelreader]

Nova’s Notes - Dracula Daily - May 28

Finally, a letter from our good friend Jonathan Harker! I’m sure nothing bad has happened to him since his last entry. /s

So right off the bat, he tells us his plan for escape using the Szgany people as a means of sending two secret letters home, one to Mina and one to Mr. Hawkins.

“To her I have explained my situation, but without the horrors which I may only surmise. It would shock and frighten her to death were I to expose my heart to her.”

I’ve seen some flack on him from this and that’s valid, but I want to approach this from a different perspective (also, I’m a total Jonathan apologist).

So from what we can see here, he’s “explained the situation” to Mina. I’m going to assume that means “I’m trapped in this castle with no means of escape for the next 32 days, after which I’m not sure what’s going to happen to me. You will receive letters from me saying I’m on my way home, don’t believe them. I am being held here against my will, you and Mr. Hawkins need to find a way to get me out of this.”

Obviously, I’m sure that’s not actually how he said it — he likely said it much more covertly than that — but that’s the gist. While he does say he hasn’t explained the horrors to her, one of the reasons he doesn’t is because, again, he can only speculate about what’s going on here. He doesn’t have hardcore evidence that anyone wants to suck his blood or that the Count wants to murder him. His livelihood is built off of facts and sending a letter that has a ton of speculation without proof in it is pretty much against his moral code at this point.

Also, think about the position it would put Mina in if she received a letter filled with the horrors he has endured. Jonathan is placing her in a position of trust and power by telling his boss to “communicate with her” (to figure out a plan of escape for him). If Mina knows exactly what has gone down in that castle, she likely will be much more frantic in trying to get him out of there (and who can blame her?). But Mr. Hawkins wouldn’t be. He doesn’t know anything about what is going on, and that would then put Mina in the position of likely having to explain everything to Mr. Hawkins and him deciding whether he believes her or not. Sure, she can show him the letter, but I don’t know if he reads shorthand, and if he’s skeptical enough, he might dismiss the entire letter as “not from Jonathan” (this could be an exaggeration, but we also don’t know Mr. Hawkins well enough to know his character).

However, Jonathan being held against his will by an unreasonable client is something a bit more down-to-earth. While Mina might leave off the “after-32-days-who-knows-what-will-happen-to-me” part, she can say that Jonathan has tried to ask the Count to leave and has been refused for various reasons. Mr. Hawkins has likely dealt with this before and knows ways to counteract this. Perhaps he can send a letter to the count requesting his solicitor back for urgent matters, or something of the kind. While this likely wouldn’t have worked (due to, you know, it being *Dracula* we’re dealing with), Jonathan is eager to try anything at this point and this would be playing into Dracula’s illusion of Jonathan simply being a guest who can leave at any time. Plus, Jonathan knows if this tactic doesn’t work, he has more serious grounds to say the Count is holding him against his will.

Another point, he probably doesn’t have an unlimited supply of paper to work with, so he also wants to keep this letter relatively short. He could just read the pages from his diary and include those but that would make for a bulky envelope and it might not even fit.

On the emotional side, if you were in a horrifying situation and had one letter to send home, what would you put in that letter? Would you play up the horror of what you’re going through or simply emphasize the importance of getting out of there and how your loved one can help? While, yes, he should include some of what he’s going through (and, to be fair, he does explain some of the situation to only her which is a step above most protagonists, who likely would either a) not send letters explaining it to anyone or b) just explain it to his male boss). I think most people in his shoes probably wouldn’t want to include the trauma of what they’re going through in order to not stress out their partner, no matter the gender. It’s what a lot of humans do and whether that’s the right call or not depends on the situation.

Finally, another big reason I believe he keeps it a secret is because of the next sentence:

“Should the letters not carry, then the Count shall not yet know my secret or the extent of my knowledge....”

Here’s the thing we have to remember: Jonathan doesn’t know for sure that Dracula doesn’t know shorthand. He’s already proven himself to be smart and knowledgeable, knowing the laws (almost as much as a lawyer in his own right) for a country he’s not even from. Sure, there may have been things the Count has said to suggest that he doesn’t know shorthand (which has given Jonathan that level of security), but we also know he’s a lying liar who lies. So, who knows? Jonathan sure isn’t going to take his chances describing every single weird encounter he’s had since he arrived at this castle, because that would be playing his hand about how much he knows.

Yes, writing these letters is taking a huge chance and is showing a bit of what he knows. But if the Count is able to read the letter in its current form, Jonathan will, at worst, sound like an ungrateful and rude guest with weird ideas (presuming he didn’t say “the count’s murdering me in 32 days” which he probably didn’t). They can still come back from that. Will it be awkward? Yes, very. Dracula might even say “Jonathan, haha! You can leave at anytime, why do you say this?” (LIES).

But if Jonathan detailed every single thing that has happened to him? That would likely get him murdered on the spot. He has broken the rules of this game the Count so enjoys playing by inviting someone else into their confidence (at least to that full extent). It might even put Mina in danger as well.

“‘The Szgany has given me these, of which, though I know not whence they come, I shall, of course, take care.’”

And here we see Count Dracula trying not to lie for one second (impossible). I doubt they gave him the letter of their own free will; I’m almost sure he either used his authority as a nobleman or he used his vampire powers to make them hand over the letters. No matter what, it’s evil and I hate him for it. Of course, he’s going to put the blame on *the Szgany* to make them sound as if they just gave him the letters because there’s nothing Dracula loves more than discrediting those he deems “below him” (which, really, is anyone who ISN’T him when you think about it) and making them seem ignorant. Plus, it’s another abuser tactic to remind Jonathan that no one here is really on his side: he’s already done this with the villagers and the coachmen, so it stands to reason he would do this here. We know that’s not true (look at how the villagers protected Jonathan), but for Jonathan, it’s likely starting to feel true after almost a month of isolation.

“…here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly—‘the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality! It is not signed. Well! so it cannot matter to us.’ And he calmly held letter and envelope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed.”

Back to my earlier point: what if Dracula *could* read shorthand? I’m sorry if that’s a theory everyone already has and I just haven’t seen it yet, but it is something to consider. No matter if he does, he obviously knows it’s from Jonathan and it’s written in some kind of code to a loved one, so he was going to burn this no matter what. But still, the possibility of him being able to actually *read* that letter is scary…

Notice how he says “us” here, trying to rope Jonathan back into a little group with him (presumably away from the Szgany, or even, perhaps, from the outside world). It’s sickening to me that even while he’s burning Jonathan’s only hope (at this point), he’s still trying to build a sense of rapport between them. While Jonathan called him a creature — rather than a man — for the first time after the lizard fashion thing, this is where I’d call him a creature because that’s just horrible. He even has the audacity afterward to say “Your letters are sacred to me” while also admitting he broke the seal and read Mr. Hawkins’ letter as well. It’s an invasion of privacy on so many levels and, of course, there’s nothing Jonathan can do about it. If he even had the heart to complain, Dracula could just lean on the excuse of “I don’t understand English customs” (uhhhh you understand their laws to an alarming degree though???).

As a disclaimer, I don’t think it’s a thing in Transylvania to peek into other people’s mail — I’m sure it’s just as much of a taboo there as it is everywhere else — I’m just saying that’s the excuse Dracula would use to justify his evil behavior. Because he likes lying.

After he locks Jonathan in the study (which, wow!!! He’s really punishing him by just straight up locking him in the study now), what can Jonathan do but sleep? I suppose he was so numb to everything after that he just went to sleep. Or, if we really want to take it there, perhaps Dracula compelled him to sleep, as we theorized he did in the carriage ride on the way to the castle. For what purpose is unclear, but perhaps he wanted to tamper in his room and search for more secret letters or something of the kind and didn’t want Jonathan to be suspicious while he did so.

When, an hour or two after, the Count came quietly into the room, his coming awakened me, for I had gone to sleep on the sofa. He was very courteous and very cheery in his manner, and seeing that I had been sleeping, he said:— [para. break] ‘So, my friend, you are tired? Get to bed.’

I hate the way Dracula acts here. “Awwww are you sleepy 🥺 go to bed 🥺🥺🥺” like how???? You locked him in the study????? Ugh, hate him. It makes you wonder what he’s so cheery about and what he was up to while Jonathan was asleep….again, my best guess was tampering in his room.

I passed to my room and went to bed, and, strange to say, slept without dreaming. Despair has its own calms.

This is so sad. That last sentence really hammers home how much Jonathan is suffering and how *even then* he’s trying to make some positivity out of it. But for the first part, we know weird dreams usually indicate that Dracula is up to something, right? Perhaps he knows he messed with Jonathan so much that he doesn’t need to send him dreams — the mind games he played in real life are enough to satisfy him, at least for today. And that’s truly where the horror comes in.

[skaruresonic]

So Sonic 3's trailer finally dropped today. Any thoughts on it?

I had zero hype for this film because I didn't like the previous two and had no reason to believe this one would turn out any different. Lo and behold! ...it doesn't.

There's so much I could talk about.

• The shameless digging up of the corpse of my favorite Sonic game just to dress it up Norman Bates-style. Why yes, I love getting butchered adaptations of SA2 shoved down my throat. Keep 'em coming.

• The fact that the overly-furry aesthetic Paramount chose for Sonic and the other anthros still looks plug-ugly to my eyes no matter how much I try to get acclimated to it. In fact, it somehow looks even worse here than it did in previous movies.

• The fact that they ripped off a scene from Matrix Revolutions. Interesting choice, lmao.

• Jimbotnik continuing to register as "Jim Carrey in a costume" and not as Eggman.

• Agent Stone continuing to be a nothingburger of a character aside from being a living footstool for Jimbotnik. I thought everybody said he was going to be 3's main antagonist. Why is he even here.

• Jimbotnik calling Gerald "Pop-Pop," cutesy-ing it up for no real reason, when Eggman simply called him "grandpa" at most in the games. What, is his grandfather Mike Ehrmantraut now?

• The original game's "fuck the police" angle now being ignored in favor of maybe making GUN look like the good guys (what?).

• The fact that the ARK, an iconic location, is nowhere in sight is making me more than a tad apprehensive. Idk if this thing is supposed to replace it:

• This one really steams my hams: the fact that Paramount portrays Jimbotnik's weight gain via hateful stereotypes of fat men which the games do not employ in their overall portrayal of Eggman. It reflects a fatphobic attitude I could have told you was the case years ago judging by the fact that they cast a thin man in the role.

Games!Eggman is stylish and immaculately groomed, but Jimbotnik has to be a slob who dresses like The Dude just because he gained a little weight. Of course. 🙄

It really bothers me because Eggman is quite possibly one of the only examples of positive fat male representation I can point to, and they can't even let him be a little fat onscreen without literally exposing his belly with the intent to make fun of him in ways the games seldom do, if ever.

God fucking forbid he actually weighs the 281 lbs. he does in canon; Paramount would probably portray him like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.

In lieu of being portrayed as dumb and weak, as is usually the case for fat male characters, Games!Eggman is portrayed as cunning, intelligent, powerful (physically and mentally), and stylish in a way that commands respect, despite whatever this Chili's says to discredit him. Eggman is fucking cool, and y'all are tripping if you don't think so.

• The fact that this movie is probably going to be cringe on the basis of its constant bathos-inducing insistence on making the characters crack mistimed jokes during serious moments.

• Doing a double take when Sonic called Shadow an "alien," possibly realizing that "alien" is the film universe's designation for anthros, then promptly short-circuiting and catching on fire. Can we not.

• Why does the trailer insist on making Shadow look like a wet cat? They did not deep-freeze my boy like they did in the games. Games!Shadow emerged from stasis minty-fresh, whereas Movie!Shadow looks like a newborn kitten yeeted straight out of the womb:

Disgustang. Stop that.

• The fact that everyone gives '06 flack for aesthetic whiplash but thinks Shadow looking like a muppet beside an irl little girl is fine, actually:

And the fact that said little girl may be killed just making dead Maria jokes 10x more uncomfortable than they need to be.

• They missed an opportunity for a fun visual gag by having the bathroom sign read "occupied" instead of "eggupied" or "hatching" (as in hatching a scheme. or a shit. maybe both, lol). Something like that:

They can pay homage to the Akira bike slide and the Super Burly Brawl from Matrix Revolutions, but God forbid we actually allude to Sonic games :v

---

...But most of this can be boiled down to "Paramount gonna Paramount."

All in all, I'm likely to continue my time-honored tradition of seeing the movie when it releases in theaters because deep down, I'm still a Sonic whore and subsequently pretending the films don't exist thereafter lol

[nerdieforpedro]

Triple Frontier with Mom

The movie frustrated her at first. She was talking to me and the screen A LOT. We had to pause and re-wind quite a bit. Mom was surprised that it came out in 2019, for some reason she didn't think it was recent. She hopes that they make a second one and get all the money they lost. Mom...was not a big fan a Benny 🥸 found him to be too loud and called him a douche. He grew on her a bit by the end. "He's less douche, just more airhead." She wants to watch more of Oscar's movies and work and may be convinced to watch more Pedro later. Mom is always up for more Charlie Hunnam.

Her unfiltered thoughts are below:

Mom's unfiltered thoughts during the movie:

Those look like the same steps from 'Man on Fire' (When Pope is first in Columbia.)

Oh! I've seen him in different things (pointed out who Oscar Issac is). He's cute, we should watch him more too.

(During the shootout with the cartel) Damn, did the only bring three bullets? Why aren't they shooting back?

Look at all that money! (This will be said several times.)

(When Santiago was chasing his informant) Damn, he's got an ass. I thought he just had a strong chin and curls. He's out of breath though - that's rough.

There's my man! (Charlie/Will has appeared on the screen) Look at those eyes. He might be able to sell them some snake oil.

(When Pope offered Tom the job initially) $17,000?! I'll take the job, I'll tell them what to do, for a week?!

Why do you need him? He can't even sell a condo (refers to Tom).

(When Benny comes into the locker room) Who's this douche?! (I explain he's Will's brother.) No, he can't be, Will is so cool. He is? Still a douche.

There's Pedro girl! Oh good, he isn't shaved. But coke? Well it's in review. Should be fine.

(Laughed way too hard when Benny got punched and reminded her that she's seen him before. From the movie 'Four Brothers') Oh! He died in that one - that doesn't repeat does it? He seems the mostly likely because he's the loudest.

This goes kinda south right? (When asking when they get to Columbia. I told her yes, but nothing else.)

Why didn't they use a wire to slit their throats? All the choking is too much effort and wasting time.

(When Tom doesn't want to leave and everyone keeps getting more money) They greedy! They need to go!

(Will is shot) He doesn't die does he? Not behind this foolishness? He can't! (Explains that he doesn't so she calms down) Whew, I was gonna fight you and ask you why you'd been bugging me about this movie if he died.

Why don't they have any flack jackets (bullet proof cummerbunds pretty much)? Why didn't Pope get them some of those? I thought he planned well.

(When they guys are arguing with Tom about leaving due to the hard out) Damn greedy ass man.

(When Lorea's men come back and they exchange fire) Should have built in a 30 minute cushion messing with that drunkard. Can't even sell a condo. He should have been shot.

(When they finally get out of the house and meet up with Pope's informant and her brother.) That man, asking her those questions. Toss him under the chopper. That kinda money you can change your face and everything. No one's gonna know. Tom is a sow.

Why are they not listening to the pilot about the weight? How greedy can you be? Is he trying to die?

(When the chopper is smoking over the Andes) I thought you said they didn't die?!

(After the crash and shooting the villagers) Should have given that old man the whole bag. Greedy ass. And why is he wearing bright orange?

(After Tom gets shot) Ya'll too sentimental. Leave his ass to be crow food - ya'll gotta move. Why are you crying? (At Benny) I was kinda liking him but now he's crying and fighting. Leave him too.

(When they pack up Tom's body) These guys are supposed to be the best of the best, why are they so soft? Drop his body. He could be worth two or three bags. That body has to be stinking.

(When Benny gets to the boat and comes back) Eh, I was wrong about him. He does need to calm down though.

(They're driving and fighting through the remnants of Lorea's crew) I don't care if they are teens, you point a gun at me and I'm shooting. Again, why are you not listening to the pilot? He's made several points.

How are you gonna be a solider with such a big heart? His ass is already big, his heart can't be too. And they still carrying that damn stinky body!

(When signing the money over to Tom's family) They are all so stupid. Do they even have money to get home? Ain't no way, that they did all that and didn't get anything thing.

You can count on Will (when Will gave Pope the coordinates). Between him and Fish, they're the two smartest people here.

Tags: @maggiemayhemnj @rhoorl @magpiepillsjunior @laurfilijames @musings-of-a-rose @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @legendary-pink-dot @for-a-longlongtime

[thechekhov]

Drinking Anon here.

This is what I was talking about, the Nomiai: https://www.nomunication.jp/japans-business-drinking-culture/

I knew it was more of a Japanese business 'ideal' tradition. I was just wondering if it extended to school teachers. The idea that you "HAVE" to go drinking if invited otherwise its an affront to someone's honor.

....alright, having looked at the website, here is my critical analysis of this:

This guy, Whiskey Richard, who 'has been exploring the Tokyo cocktail scene since 2008' may have a basis for what he's saying but please keep in mind the following:

He's in Tokyo, where the drinking scene AND business is larger comparably, and it's easier to find drinking buddies and older colleagues who may want to pressure you to go

He has clearly made a business of explaining 'Japanese drinking culture'. His main site is about advertising distilleries and reviewing them. He didn't write this article only because he wanted to Share The Deep Japanese Lore with foreigners. He's angling for a specific type of feeling. A feeling that helps buy what he's selling.

With all that in mind and our reasonably angled Skeptic hat cocked (a hat you should always have on, btw, so long as it is not glued to your head) let's review the rest of it.

Does Japan have a culture of drinking with coworkers? Yes.

Are nomikai a unique event that has a specific structure different to a standard 'out with the lads for a few beers' type scenario? Yes, absolutely. It's a more structural event.

Do Japanese businessmen take advantage of a more casual environment like a bar or izakaya to suss out who is a genuine person and who might be a pain to work with?

I believe yes. This is not a far stone to throw.

Are you going to be affronting someone's 'honor' by refusing to go drinking with them?

Absolutely fucking not. And if they think so, they're a shitnugget.

It also should be noted that the author correctly writes that this is specifically a salaryman business thing rather than something that affects all areas of the workplace. He does start with 'If you're in Tokyo on business...' after all.

Sure, your business partner may invite you to go drinking with them to try to get an idea for your non-professional side. That's no different than someone inviting you to a business lunch. I think the business side of things is more important here than the alcohol element, though. The point is that if you're in a foreign country and someone invites you to join them in a social event that takes place in a traditional restaurant, turning down the invite may indicate that you're not really that invested in the relationship.

And most people will reasonably understand if you have a real excuse, or don't really drink. Especially these days. Hell, I work in a Japanese office and I get invited to nomikai and often turn the invitation down because I have an hour drive back home and no way of getting back if I'm drunk. And I've never gotten flack for it, nor has anyone ever suggested I've dishonored them for it. If I was seeking new employment and was invited out for drinks, I might try to make that happen, if only to satisfy the social request to meet up. ...I also enjoy a drink every now and then.

Like I said, the article in question isn't necessarily wrong... but I think it goes a little too hard, digesting every single detail and milking it for all the 'mysticism' it's got instead of presenting it through a reasonably comparable lens of Western drinking culture.

All I'm saying is... look if I had a potluck catering company and I needed to sell my stuff to Japanese people in the US, you bet your ass I'd make a site about how Sacred the potluck is to the Americans and how important it is to bring The Correct Thing. So I respect the hustle. But I think anything about The Complete and Utter Uniqueness of Japan should be taken with a grain of salt.

[cherrycola27]

Skin

Oh, Abby, I have so, so many for skin, so I'm going to give you something from some unreleased Bradley, Jake, and Bob!

For Bradley (too sweet):

You could feel the fine hairs of his mustache graze across the delicate skin of your ear lobe. His breath was hot as he whispered, "wanna get out of here, Kiddo?"

You nodded your head before turning around in his arms and placing your hands on his pecks. The tone, taught, tan skin on display for you. You stood on your toes and brought your lips to his before pulling away and tugging him out of the bar.

For Jake (...causal?):

"What the hell was that?" Jake shouted as he pulled you out of the Hard Deck.

"What do you mean?" You feigned innocence.

"You know exactly what I mean, I can believe you were flirting with that guy right in front of my face!" Jake yelled at you. You barked out a laugh. "I don't think anything is funny." He deadpanned.

He may not have, but you did. It was ironic, really. You'd watched Jake flirt with tons of girls and never said anything. But the one time you flirted with someone, it got under his skin.

"Jake, you're the one who said no attachments. We're just causal, right?" You scoffed at him before walking away.

And for Bob (1800HOT2GO)

Bob couldn't believe he was doing this. He couldn't believe that he had lied and said he was seeing someone.

He was just so tired of everyone giving him flack about being the only one who never had a date to the various Navy functions they attended, and he was tired of Jake trying to set him up with random girls.

Bob's hands shook as he grabbed his phone. He wanted to crawl out of his skin as he dialed the number and heard it ring.

"Hello, Chappell's Escort Service," a sultry voice called from the other end of the line. "H—Hello. I—I need a date, " Bob stammered out.

send me a word

[idyllic-affections]

yayyy, so how do you think nilou would take care of a little sibling reader? im the eldest of two so i kinda wanna know what’s like to be youngest- plus i love nilou smm, platonically ofc.

she gets a lot of flack and hate and for what? a ship? 😭 shes literally the sweetest character to ever exist in this fandom </3

nilou as a big sister.

summary. what would nilou be like as a big sister?

trigger & content warnings. none applicable.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff. nilou & younger sibling!reader. 0.4k words. they/them pronouns for reader.

author's thoughts. FR i dont understand nilou hate?!?!?!? shes so earnestly sweet. i can't understand why people would hate her when she's done nothing wrong!!! as the youngest of two i will do my best to provide you the Younger Sibling Experience 💪

nilou is a very kind and easygoing older sister. she's the kind of person that encourages them to work hard, but is also equally encouraging when it comes to them needing a break.

i feel like she would always validate her sibling's emotions. oh? they're upset but really aren't sure why? well, that's okay. even she feels like that sometimes. maybe that just means it's time to rest.

she would love to take a lil nap with her sibling underneath the sun.

she's 100% the therapist sister.

she'll always find the time to listen to her sibling vent their frustrations. she may offer solutions if that's what they want, or if they just need someone to listen, she'll nod along as they talk, wordlessly letting them know that she is payint attention.

she also has all the patience needed to teach her baby sibling methods to manage their emotions.

speaking of emotions, nilou always encourages her sibling to express them! she never wants them to suppress or bottle up their feelings. it isn't healthy. she doesn't want that for them.

she's the shoulder to cry on.

if they ever just need to cry it out, she'll be there, tenderly guiding their head to lay on her shoulder or in her lap.

i feel like nilou and her sibling would make super cute friendship bracelets for one another!

i think she would want to travel teyvat with her sibling one day. she wants to see the world and she also wants her sibling to have those enriching experiences, those experiences which expose them to other cultures and ways of life.

i also like to think that she would love doing her sibling's hair! she would find it to be both very relaxing and a nice way to bond with them. <3

^ she's so careful and gentle when she does it, too. she never tugs too hard or does anything to make their scalp sore, and if it ends up being sore regardless? she'll gingerly massage the tension out.

definitely would be the kind of sister to sneak her sibling extra sweets even if a parental figure said no LMAO

she would be overjoyed if her sibling shared her interest in dancing!

like, she would take them under her wing and teach them everything she knows about dance. she would be so excited.

imagine nilou's sibling trying to mimic her dances when they think she isn't watching but she really is from behind a corner ahdjhekehgjg....

it would warm her heart tbh. she would be so overwhelmed with joy and love for her sibling that she might cry.

nilou is generally a very good sister.

she's kind, empathetic, and always has her sibling's best interests in mind.

her sibling definitely couldn't ask for better.

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[deadheaddaisy]

🩷💛

???

🩷 Pink: Do you find a certain character (or characters) easy to write? More difficult -- and if so, do you avoid writing that character (or those characters) when possible?

So far I've really only written Malcolm and Hoshi, and I find them incredibly easy to write since I'm taking their canon characters and what I perceive as said character dynamics, and then just - tweaking. Based on interactions in the show.

More difficult? That'll probably be when I get to T'Pol and Archer, particularly the latter. I have a WIP that includes them and Trip, and I think I've done fairly well, but I'll need others who know them better to advise me (yay beta readers!). I guess Trip might also be a bit difficult, at least unless I focus on him as Malcolm's friend. I may also be riffing off fanfics I've read where I really like their iteration of Trip. So no, I don't necessarily avoid writing characters - I just haven't needed them in my fics as yet.

💛 Yellow: Do you ever alter, highlight, or de-emphasize certain canonical traits in a character? If so, why and describe how.

As I said above, I take canon Hoshi and Malcolm and tweak them slightly based on interactions during the show. There was also a great conversation on a Discord server recently that articulated what I could not, which is that they recognise kindred spirits in each other because both grew up somewhat isolated - him with a disapproving father, her as a language prodigy who was tutored instead of schooled.

Hoshi is also often mischaracterised as being afraid throughout the series, which is patently not true. You try being thrown out of Starfleet after breaking your Commander's arm, becoming a professor where you have some autonomy, returning to Starfleet to go into space when you were never planning to, and relying on this spaceship that is constantly under attack to keep you safe from the vastness of space?

She overcomes her fear in Fight and Flight and saves the ship; steps up in Sleeping Dogs (and impresses Malcolm with her determination about the torpedoes), she insists that she can handle being left with Tarquin in Exile - and uses her wits to outsmart him; she tries to get back to the bridge when she's clearly injured in Minefield.

Plus Hoshi was a sass machine from day one, particularly with T'Pol. She's mischievous, and funny, and she wants to learn, and Malcolm knows that. She's not out to waste his time, and he appreciates that about her. And she soaks up his lessons and his insights, even after the incident in the mess hall. She understands that he's not always great at social skills, and doesn't let the incident put her off befriending him.

And Malcolm is a very encouraging person. He'd be a good teacher (and he is, to the extent that by Season 3, Hoshi is taking over phase rifle training for the villagers from Marauders). He encourages Travis, he encourages Hoshi, he's not afraid to admit that he's a little worried about using the transporter in The Andorian Incident but he encourages his staff member who expresses concern. He very likely took the flack for the snowman so Travis would have a fun first experience with snow, and he is, of course, already friends with Travis from Broken Bow.

He's also far more in touch with his emotions than people think - how he dealt with Shuttlepod One and imminent death was pragmatic and aimed at helping those left behind - hence the letters - not being pessimistic and railing against the unfairness of it like Trip. Also I don't understand why people think he's the difficult one when Trip can't handle his own emotions. But that's a rant for another day.

Yes, he loses his rag with Hayes, but after over two years of having your security and tactical concerns dismissed, wouldn't you be angry that someone from a lower rank is suddenly being listened to instead of you? By your own captain?

ANYWAY. That's my long-winded way of saying that I write those two from a somewhat different perspective than is shown on the screen, and also in a lot of fanfic. They're not the stiff-upper-lip Brit and the shy and frightened ensign they're made out to be. They're good at what they do, they strive to be better, they're in touch with their emotions (and use their words like adults), they're friends and confidants (including with Travis) and - in my fics at least, and in deleted scenes - there was a little spark between them. So that's how I write them. Competent adults who learn and grow throughout the series.

Thanks for the ask!

[stargirlfeyre]

“Azriel may be boring as shit but at least he never went after someone who was actively treating Feyre like shit. At least the Archeron he’s going after is actually working to fix her relationship with Feyre. Cassian went for someone who was still treating his friend like dog shit and I just can’t respect that.” ALL OF THIS

i’m always hesitant to say this bc some ppl are super sensitive when it comes to cassian for some funny reason (all the other boys are able to be criticized but not him bc he can be funny?) but part of why i don’t like him as much as azriel is because of how he went for nesta too early on, it was super premature for him to come onto her so blatantly in front of everyone even when she was mortal and he’d literally just met her, knowing how feyre was treated etc…i adore cassian when i don’t look at his character too closely. as much as i prefer feyssian over feyzriel because of her and cassian having more sweet bestie moments than her and az do, whenever there’s a discussion i’ll always choose az first because of cassian and nesta. like anon said i can’t help but put myself in feyre’s shoes when i’m reading but i don’t like that he came onto nesta the way he did and how soon he did, and he had no shame about it in front of feyre and the rest.

i know some people are super chill or they have sisters or family members that cross these lines all the time, like your friend flirting with your sister, but in my family or friend groups we don’t do that especially if a sister is really mean to me, why would i approve of my friend going for her so blatantly in front of me? it’s not so much a harsh or possessive petty thing but just basic morale? cassian imo doesn’t get enough flack for how he came onto nesta so soon. it’s true too that at least az didn’t show any signs of having a crush until acowar and acofas, i prefer someone humbly and respectfully handling a crush on my sister than how in your face cassian was about it with nesta in only book two. idk sometimes it feels like his dick thinks for him and even acosf proved that.

i prefer acowar cassian! but i also skip the pages whenever he’s acting out over nesta or they’re both being angst ridden for one another, i just can’t take it seriously bc he was obv thinking with his dick or mating bond and she was still treating everyone like they were less than her despite her being a pos who has never done anything.

idk 😮‍💨 like i said it’s so easy to love cass as a character when you don’t look at his dynamic with nesta from feyre’s shoes in book two. i imagine mainly feyre stan’s struggle with him due to his attachment to nesta so early on. that bonus chapter anon mentioned where cassian put his body up against nesta’s asking whether she was a virgin or not? he’d only recently met her and was doing that, it being too soon aside, it was very inappropriate to do. even mor made it clear that he acts that way with women when they don’t want him and see’s it as “a challenge” just 10 reasons why az and rhysand will always come off as the most mature to me.

the other reasons i don’t favor him have to do with sjm having him refer to nesta as a queen in acosf, him always showing doubt with the ic’s decisions in acosf as if he’s not apart of the ic (why did he seem so against them in acosf at times? most of the time they were right too so it was just weird for sjm to do) saying nesta didn’t need to apologize to anyone supposedly (really sjm? 💀) having sex with nesta on a hike where she was supposed to own up to her wrongs and mature after she just told feyre she could die (inappropriate timing much..?) acting funny when rhysand felt the need to tell her to be nice to gwyn and emerie when he knows damn well rhysand isn’t at the house of wind like them to know nesta’s behavior had gotten better. how the hell would rhysand know that nesta’s not being mean to him when rhysand’s only ever seen her be rude af to everyone..? and then made it even worse when he petulantly wrapped his arm around nesta to make rhysand feel uncomfortable.

•

[sadaveniren]

Hello I don’t know if you take asks now. But something I recently started wondering was why they (the management I guess) made it look like Harry was into older women?

And I remember seeing one interview where they asked all the boys how oldest they would go and when they got to Harry he said he won’t date anyone older then his mom, and then added that he’s scared he might. What was that about? I mean you could see it as he’s scared that the management may pair him with older women?

Hi anon! As long as my ask box is open I’m taking asks but that doesn’t always mean I’ll always answer and naturally when my ABA comes around I tend to just block first.

As for why they made it look like Harry was into older women… tbh beats me!!! Could be that that was the easiest way to age Harry up (he was the baby of the band but have him date an older woman and suddenly he’s clearly mature), could be that they thought they would be able to appeal to older women with 1D (and bands like this are all about mass appeal …. And also you can’t say… it didn’t work *gestures in After and whatever the fuck else*), could just be Caroline Flack needed promo, they tossed Harry her way cause he was convenient and at 16/17 and naive he was down for anything because he didn’t understand and just thought it was a great laugh.

I guess we could also consider 2010/2011 culture at the time. Things were very different a decade ago. Age gaps were considered more normal than they are now. The idea of women being predators was very foreign. Harry - overall - wouldn’t get a lot of heat for dating an older woman. He’d just be considered cool. And again - this really did open the band up to an older audience of women. Obviously not all older women wanted to date the boys - most of us settled into “they’re our kids” or “they’re our brothers” or “they’re our friends” - but you can’t say Harry himself wasn’t dangled out as imagination bait for older women.

Hopefully that helped!! 🫶🏻

[pebblysand]

Hi!!

So I know you are french, and I have a (fun?maybe?) question. I don't know how old you were when you first read the hp books, but I was 12 and I read them in spanish, and a while ago we were watching this video with my mother about translating hp (she's a translator, it's our way to, you know, bond) and all the differences between the different languages, and one of the difficulties translating these books is that all the names have meanings, apparently👀 . So I thought "hey the spanish translation has all the original names!" And then I remebered CANUTO. You know who Canuto is? Padfoot. Yup. And canuto, where I live is like, slang? So my question is, are there names or charachters in french that when you think about them in your 30s 🤠 you think whaaaaaat?

I also remebered that Wednesday Adams is called Merlina, lol.

Anyway, I hope you had a fannnnntastic beginning of the year!!!

awwww thank you! hope you have a lovely beginning of the year too!

that is such a good question haha! for the record, i do want to say (this may be controversial) that for the most part, i think the french translator did an amazing job at 'translating' the names in HP. translating anything is such a difficult job (i, for one, am absolutely terrible at it) and doing it the right way for children's books that were so popular must have been so much pressure (especially in the later years). i know they get a lot of flack for doing it (a lot of people are always like "oh, you shouldn't have changed anything, etc.") but i think people need to remember that at the core, these are children's books where some of the characters are named Werewolf McWerewolf so foreign kids would of course need this context. especially since in the 90s/00s when the books were coming out, a lot fewer people spoke english (at least in france) than now. a lot of HP already inevitably gets lost in cultural translation (it took me a really long time, for instance, to understand how much HP touches on the UK's concept of social class and status), so i think anything you can do to mitigate other losses is very valuable.

having said that, the fact that tom riddle's middle name in french is ELVIS has scarred me for life and I JUST CANNOT. Elvis???????? Tom Elvis Jedusor?????

Jedusor (last name) is great because it's like being called Twistoffate which works really well for voldemort, but elvis kills me. and, i know why they did it, because in order for the CoS "reveal" to work you need different letters in each language. tom marvolo riddle makes "i am lord voldemort" and tom elvis jedusor makes "je suis voldemort" (i am voldemort), but COME ON.

ELVIS? 😅

[kimchicollardgreens]

even if there’s a solution to a “problem”, someone can still talk abt how they don’t like said problem… you know that right? it’s always “then ignore them” or write them yourself”… who says that ppl don’t do that already. it was one opinion. no one was demanding black writers to not write wtv they want, the person only shared their view and everyone went crazy… you legit wrote a think piece over this. There shouldn’t be fighting yeah, but maybe ppl should stop feeling butthurt over opinions. users make the most trivial things a bigger issue on tumblr, legit arguing with a minor lmao

i ask you to read all of this before sending another ask, its another “think piece” but its literally the answer to why what these woman are askin is lowkey problematic and i dont blame folks for not noticing dogwhistles. im also not say all “soft girls” are spouting this stuff. (hell im one of them). im also not calling these women evil, cuz they may not truly know what they saying is problematic as we live in a capitalist yt supremacist system. im more than happy to answer more. im not somebody that gon dismiss you if you wanna have discourse💖

but yes, you can talk about a problem when its in good faith as it actually cultivates productive insight. but bad faith arguments distract us from the real problems that both groups actually want to see fixed. however we need to acknowledge that most ADULTS who come with this “soft life fic” opinion be in bad faith.

bad faith is trying to get us to come back to things both parties already agree on. we all agree that soft fic aint seen much. what we are saying is why you keep coming in the dark/urban fic inbox stating it for people who have no problem with you? we’ve assessed the “problem” and we all agree it needs fixing. its like we running in circles, instead of different directions to fix other problems. the question is how are you going to contribute to fixing it in a healthy way and how do you want us to help.

im sure cherry and her friends would love to recommend a homegirls work so long as shes respectful. HELL I’LL EVEN DO IT!!!

tho i don’t recommend coming into blogs who are strictly dark and askin’ them for anything other than that. just like how soft writers don’t want to primarily write dark.

its not butthurt when you come on someone’s page calling them “ghetto” “baby mamas” then try and position it against “soft life” “divine feminine” “old money” aesthetics.

im not saying thats what this little girl did, but ive seen grown adult women do that. and thats nasty as hell to be positioning that.

the reason she probably caught flack is because she unfortunately used a simple question thats been hijacked and used by bad faith arguers when they come to urban fic accounts.

thats usually the question to get a leg in the door to start spouting off lowkey antiblack and classist shit.

and i dont know where soft being only afforded to the croquette looking girls came from. some of the softest girls i know are high fem baddies. so thats very weird, especially when you consider that black women make up majority of that aesthetic.

essentially its respectability politics and thats why its not trivial. to most, this looks like a minor creative liberties dispute, but the underlying theme is actually steeped in so much politics that affect black women for real.

i mean just look at the whole bonnet and pajama pants debate. or the straight hair or braids for your birthday/formal event debate. or the wigs vs natural hair debate. baby mama vs wifey debate (if you believe how a woman carries herself in a way thats nondestructive to others, is a reason as to why she doesn’t deserve respect; you not a feminist.)

its grown folks bratz vs barbie all over again.

not even gon hold you, i didn’t know that was a minor. just reblogged @chrollohearttags post on my dash. anybody doing anything other than telling that little girl to get off they page is a weirdo. but cherry made a general post thats been a topic of discussion AMONGST BLACK WOMEN since we’ve been writing stories. so ofc thats what my “think piece” is about. she may have commented one question but some iteration of that same question has been around for years. i’m responding to that.

since i now know this is a minor, they could have very well been wanting to know why there is a saturation of these fics on here. and i would have told her about the culture of urban fic being ONE of the first pioneers in Black Smut Fiction. it literally helped shape the black writing culture whether bad or good. then i wouldve told her that when she’s older she could contribute to said culture. but right now she should not be consuming any sexual media.

and to ask a question like that, its clear she has some gripes about the way general media treats black women; which those are well-founded. i understand hating the “ride or die”, or the “settling for less” when it comes to media for black women. but how can you read about a specific aesthetic or lifestyle and immediately know thats was going on?

these women used to have valid points and some still do but like this little girl, they cant tell the difference and if they can, they want any kind of reputation for “ghetto” girls out the window. there’s nothing wrong with being “ghetto” and nothing wrong with being a “the soft divine feminine” but we do need to talk about why the latter feels comfortable coming on someone like cherry’s page too disparage girls who aesthetics and social values don’t align with them.

writers like cherry aren’t advocating abuse, their characters are living they best lives. doing “ghetto” shit and truly loving the partners they’re with.

there are legit women out there who are “ghetto” that love they life. and are in healthy relationships. its vile to say that the way someone simply chooses to exist is a direct result of how black women face abuse, especially as something as silly as wigs, body con dresses and long nails. or even activities like twerking, having babies, doing drugs and partying.

its kinda like this whole Sukiana situation vs the Home Depot girl. Both were sexually harrassed but people tried to victim blame Suki more cuz of the way she dress and act. thats nasty. (plus there was no versus to begin with cuz neither one deserved it)

like there IS something to be said about how women who tend to write urban fic -at least in its early days- really do live the lives they are writing about. granted, looking back, some of these women were so unhealed that they ended up romanticizing abuse. but most girls now understand that you can live a hood lifestyle and not put up with bullshit.

somewhere along the way, the “city girl/ghetto/high fem” aesthetic got associated with abuse, crime, and poverty. which is crazy cuz girls who look like JT be havin’ money, a good life and still have plug/rapper boyfriends who not killing or getting them killed.

so if these women would be honest, its not about the way the “urban” girls look or behave. the real problem is the abuse that these women face.

which i see how thats a problem but abuse doesn’t correlate to aesthetics and its not a causation of abuse either.

soft girls can experience abuse. they experience financial, domestic abuse, sexual abuse. these women who hate urban fic, keep forgetting that the soft girl is modeled after the tradition yt housewife who faced abuse too. just cuz you get out the hood and get a financial stable man that isnt a plug or gangbanger dont mean he not gon beat yo ass or expect loyalty when he do some dubious shit.

yall ever seen the Stepford Wives?

now you can have the vintage look without the vintage values, but thats not what most of these women who come onto cherry page be talking like.

they disagree with any depiction of your so called city girl —whether good or bad.

it’s counterproductive to feminism. it quite literally antichoice feminism which is a huge problem with feminism today because it relies too much on this yt viewpoint of responsibility politics. i suggest people really read “Hood Feminism” by Mikki Kendall.

anyway thats whats been making people like cherry become upset and rather than having patience, they ain’t got no more to give cuz they keep having to defend themselves and explain why talking like this is a microaggression. they exhausted.

anyway im free to talk more, if i didnt explain good.

[likecastle]

Ronance Femslash February - inseparable since childhood

Thanks so much to the anon who sent the prompt “inseparable since childhood”! I may have hurt my own feelings a little with this one--not so much because of what’s in the actual ficlet, but just wondering what it might have changed. Anyway!

I still need a few more prompts to close out Ronance Femslash February, so please send them my way! Anon asks are totally fine, and you’re welcome to send more than one prompt. Don’t be shy! You can find previous prompts I’ve filled here.

“You’d better still hang out with us, that’s all I’m saying.” Barb watches Nancy’s face go still in surprise, but she perseveres, because this needs to be said. “If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol—”

“Oh, gross,” Nancy says, just as Robin bounds up to them and practically trounces Nancy from behind.

“Who’s gross?” Robin asks, leaning playfully on Nancy’s shoulder.

Nancy goes stiff under Robin’s weight, a cornered expression on her face. “No one.”

Nancy hasn’t told Robin about Steve yet, despite Barb’s repeated warnings that Robin will flip when she finds out Nancy’s been keeping it from her. Still, Barb can understand why Nancy isn’t exactly eager to tell her about making out with the king of Hawkins High himself. Unlike Barb and Nancy, who mostly manage to fly under the radar, socially speaking, Robin tends to attract more unfavorable attention from the popular kids. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t look as clean-cut as Nancy and Barb do, or because the Buckleys don’t have as much money as the Hollands or the Wheelers, or maybe it’s just because Robin refuses to accept the prevailing social order as immutable law. But whatever the reason, Robin’s caught a lot of flack from Steve Harrington’s flunkies over the years, so Barb gets why Nancy isn’t falling all over herself to announce what Robin will no doubt see as a grave betrayal.

“Ohhh-kay,” Robin drawls, taking her weight off Nancy’s shoulder at last. She may not have the best grasp of social niceties all the time, but she’s hardly oblivious. She must have noticed the look that passed between them when she showed up, can’t have missed the tension in Nancy’s shoulders. “Did I miss something?”

“Just nervous about chemistry,” Nancy says, all the bubbly good humor of a few minutes ago evaporated. She turns to put her books away, as if it’s the only way she can think of to avoid looking at Robin.

“Ooh, what’s this?” Robin exclaims. Her arm shoots out to snag a folded piece of paper sitting at the bottom of Nancy’s locker. “Does someone have a secret admirer?”

“Give that back,” Nancy snaps, snatching the paper back from Robin and shoving it into the pocket of her jacket. “Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?” She slams her locker shut and brushes past Robin to hurry off down the hall.

“Was it something I said?” Robin asks blithely, more to the thin air where Nancy was standing than to Barb. Despite the attempt at a joke, Barb can see the hurt on Robin’s face, the way she cranes her neck to watch Nancy round the corner and disappear.

Barb sighs. This is the other reason she’s been insisting to Nancy that keeping things from Robin is a bad idea. The three of them have been practically inseparable since childhood, and they all know each other better than they know probably anybody else in the world, but there are still things they don’t talk about—like the way Robin looked sick to her stomach when Kyle P. asked Nancy to dance at Homecoming last year, or how self-conscious Robin’s gotten at sleepovers since the last time Nancy tried to give her a makeover. Barb doesn’t know how to bring it up, and Robin certainly isn’t about to say anything, but somebody needs to say something, or things are only going to get worse. “Come on,” she says, nudging Robin’s shoulder, “we’d better go or we’ll be late to class.”

[accio-victuuri]

cpn: zz says, keep warm ☕️

parallels made because of zz’s message alongside the xz studio photos released today, the weather is getting colder, pay attention to keep warm. i mean— are his hot af photos supposed to keep us warm? it sure did. lol. xzs knows what’s up!

( wdym this is not work of art from a museum? )

now onto the clownery, again, for turtles who like cpn only. if you hate it then don’t click and read. yes. it’s that easy.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

ZZ, and by extension XZS have always been caring towards his fans. His messages were never sweet to the point of giving way to boyfriend fantasy, but more of a friend who genuinely looks out for you. We’ve talked about how he really doesn’t need to share much and yet he still does. The effort they put in their vlogs as well as photos is much appreciated by fans too. The speculation here is of course bojunyixiao bias, but that doesn’t mean i’m ignoring the truth that these messages are also for his fans.

Anyway, in today’s photo set he did remind people to keep warm. You would think he will say this because it’s getting colder where he is but No. You’ve probably seen some photos of him even wearing shorts while in Chongqing. Also CQ have always been a much warmer city compared to others. If you compare the type of weather, Beijing is in the single digit and is experiencing more of the cold weather. So who are you specifically reminding? Someone in Beijing?

and then you have WYB posting a douyin today. and yes we noticed he’s been active lately but in his video he is all bundled up. He is actually looking cozy in that hoodie. As if to say, “yes i am keeping warm gege.” I really love it when the 24-hour rule is in effect and it’s not on the same platforms.

moving on to other instances,

..this year's spring is a bit cold, everyone pay attention to keep warm..

Around this time, WYB was MIA and shooting Born to Fly in Jiayuguan City ( Gansu ). He wasn’t allowed to leave and it was a locked in shooting because of the sensitivity of the movie’s topic and the involvement of military information. So they couldn’t really meet in person. Around this time in March, it’s so cold that it can get into negative numbers, so maybe another reminder to Yibo?

.. reminder: sooner or later the temperature difference is large, please pay attention to keep warm ..

Yes, the campaign is all about dressing up for the cooler weather but XZS already addressed that in the first part of the caption ( talking about autumn ). but they just have to add that but about keeping warm. The date is 9/7 = 1997 ( Yibo’s birth year ) also 01:25, if you add the minutes all up then it’s 85 ( 8/5, Yibo’s birthday ). Turtles are saying that around this time, Bobo was filming Nameless and it was very cold. Remember they were doing night shoots up until the early morning so it seems like XZ specifically wanted this reminder to be added in.

This was later confirmed when one of the actors ( wang chuanjun ) did an interview and said it was very cold during the shooting.

...The sunset is solid and pleasant, and you need to enjoy the scenery (..) cold protection..

Another reminder ( allegedly ) for his beloved, who was still working with the Nameless crew. from the interviews we’ve seen, it was a tough shoot and it’s sweet of GG to add this in.

Lastly — I’ve been seeing some talk that shooting of ZZ’s drama is temporarily stopped because of COVID related protocol. At least he is stuck at his hometown for this rather than some place else. I also advise against spreading “candy” about them meeting in between and implying they are breaking inter city health protocols. that’s a big deal for them and artists will get flack if there’s any news that they broke the rules when it comes to this. it’s not always about candy and be careful of people who seem like they are well meaning because of the “sweets” they are peddling but it’s really rotten inside.

It may seem irritating to some because i always give this reminder but i will never stop. Turtles are very prone to being taken advantage of and we should be smarter in what we consume. 🤍

-END.

[1dreamsareweird1]

may I please have your jayden hc's pretty please :)?

Ofc you can twin, sorry everyone I sort of forgot I had Tumblr again.. whoops.

So unfortunately we don't get to see a whole lot of Jayden in Void Paradox and I haven't watched Dreams of Estorra but on the Aphmau wiki it says that he's from Estorra and we do get to see his armour a few times but not him. This means I don't really have a lot of hc's for him but I will try and answer this ask!

Jayden HC's Incoming!!

1. He's the type of person to just do whatever he feels like in the moment as long as it's relatively safe

2. He actually really cares for other people but it's that sort of, "This person will literally die in front of me if I don't do something, better save them I guess.. 😐😒🤷‍♂️." Type of way

3. Desperately needs a good nights sleep

4. I feel like Jayden would be very on top of things in any universe, modern or not. Like Void Paradox Jayden was not playing, he had his routes mapped tf out and the caves too. He would hate to be caught unaware so he does his best to make sure that is literally never a possibility

5. He probably throws himself into danger a lot and then sits there like "wtf did I just do." Afterwards because like, did he really have to save that girl from the evil grey man in the middle of the woods and then cauterize the wound? (Yes he did)

6. Ik he gave Aphmau a lot of flack for judging him in Void Paradox but I like to think he probably silently judges people a lot

7. He's so funny, please get behind this bandwagon everyone I think if we gave him a chance he'd literally be such a funny and deadpan friend or protagonist

8. This man is built for the outdoors idc he probably likes it outside better than he likes being indoors because of the open space, that being said the open space also freaks him out a bit because he's always on guard outside so really he just can't exist comfortably anywhere, sorry Jayden 💔.

9. He's built, like he has an eight pack, back muscles, never skipped leg day, everything

10. He seems kind of unconsciously flirty and playful I just ARRRGGH

11. He probably has a really tragic backstory but I like to think his life before he got sucked into another dimension was pretty normal, he's just some random adventurer in Estorra who got knocked out (Laurence..) or went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the woods like "😨🤨"

[seancamerons]

I'd love to hear what you love about Zaya, what you'd change about Zaya if you could, what you think Zig and Maya's main differences and similarities are, AND how you think they're similar to and different from Semma :)

okay, i love zaya. i'll admit it was a little too much of a slowburn but it was worth the wait, i know zaya gets a lot of flack for some things that happened but here's what i could do without when it comes to them.

the miles zig and maya triangle was a obvious waste of time. although it gave us zaya as roommates in a domestic setting which i loved, her relationship with miles was a distraction and a cause of a lot of tension in her friendship with zig.

again, what happened with cam leaves a bad impression with a lot of fans, especially ones who shipped cam and maya but i just feel like zig 'gets' maya, and cam didn't always understand maya because he was often in his head. i don't hate cam but i never got invested considering his characters ending. it also makes me mad because i do think zig is a very complicated individual as far as characters go and he showed extreme remorse and not many people see that he genuinely feels sorrow for cam's death, and his role that he may have played when he gave him a hard time out of jealousy.

i guess i wish maya would've realized she like had any kind of feelings for zig that tori's friendship and her loyalty to tori kind of made her question or deny them. she definitely liked him early on and she clearly had no choice at least she didn't think when they did getback together .

and lastly it was very very very ooc for zig to cheat on maya, he loved her waaaay too much for him to do that okay and what happened after their split was messed up how he kinda said some regrettable things, so their big breakup was kind of unnecessary after everything they went through even if cheating is gross i guess that was saying 'she needs time to cool off, and he needs to make sure he needs to be in the right shape to be more mindful, less jealous and find himself but i thought it was super looong but i loved a lot of the scenes they had in between especially in season 3 when she did miss him and what they had, and she kissed him, but not in a romantic sense but in a nostalgic and want for things to be like before she got depressed and all their scenes in redisovering them in season 4 was nice and refreshing that they were planning to have them interact beyond their split and acknowledge their very feel feelings too. zig confessed that it was major wake up call for him when maya tried to take her own life. it was very much a shift in their dynamic post split that makes me believe they're together in 2024, probably roommates but this time in love.

thank-you for the asks!💌 you ask alot of great questions and things i really love digging deep into.

[leonsliga]

What do you think about Leon being super reserved, I personally think that's incredible. It's a way to live as normal a life as possible.

Great question! Honestly, I can’t blame him at all. I’d probably be the same way if I were in his position 😵 I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to have millions upon millions of eyes on you every match, and then not only that, but for those same pairs of eyes to follow you every time you appear in public. Hell, I’m getting tired just thinking about it! The fact that he’s managed to keep his life so private is pretty much a miracle, but I’m so glad he has. He, and all celebrities really, deserve to have a personal life just as much as anyone else. There’s parts of life that the cameras don’t need to catch.

Leon’s life may never be “normal” in any conventional sense, but he’s managed to carve his own “normal” out of a life in the public eye as best he can. I know sometimes he gets flack for his response to the unending media and fan attention; people call him rude, aloof, or insist he’s “never in a good mood.” I don’t really think that’s the case though; he’s always seemed to me like more of an introvert—someone who takes a bit of time to open up to people and show them his more outgoing side. And even if there are days where he’s not in a particularly talkative mood, aren’t we all entitled to that?

I imagine most footballers start down the path to a professional career because they love the sport, not because they want fame. In fact, I’m willing to bet a lot of footballers see being famous as an unfortunate byproduct of a career as a footballer. I can’t help but wonder if Leon sees it the same way. I get the sense he loves the game but not the attention that comes with it. That said, it’s obvious he loves his fans and does want to engage with them, even if he is a little bit more reserved than most footballers of his caliber. Just take a look at his Twitter for the perfect case-in-point :) he’s also constantly taking pictures with fans, and that engagement has never once wavered, not even when he was going through his recent rough patch at Bayern.

So, long story short, he’s famous, but he’s famous on his own terms, and I can’t help but respect that. He’s not afraid to use his voice, but when he does, he uses it for the right reasons, like advocating for LGBTQ rights, and calling out racism, sexism, and homophobia, to name a few. I’m glad he has a private life that’s his and his alone, and I have to hope that the media is sensible enough to let him keep that 🙏 he really seems like a good guy who’s just trying to navigate a wildly public life.