#its super interesting i love all the characters

[snapscube]

really surprised you'd never seen wicked before now, but i get it. it used to be SO hard to get a boot, and even if i love it, it has a LOT of pacing issues that i'm glad they're fixing in the movie adaptation. i'd give the books a read if you're interested, but the musical is only adapted from the first wicked book and it is.... a VERY loose adaptation at that lol. yuri forever!

yeah haha, i know i probably give off a lot of theater kid energy in spirit but i am not really all too versed in even the most popular broadway shows lol. wicked always existed in my periphery and i always thought "i'd probably be into that if i put the effort into checking it out" but that "If" never happened.

god the movie was just. so good. and now that i've seen both i'm actually kinda grateful i ended up waiting for the movie unintentionally cause the pacing in the stage show, as well as the much more abrasive energy, would actually NOT have done it for me i think. some of the best moments in the movie are the moments where its able to really let the emotional beats breathe and close in on the nuanced reactions characters give to their circumstances, and though some of that is on stage when it is most appropriate you get a lot less of it and the pacing doesn't really let it sit at any point. the movie is nearly 3 hours and i sincerely do not feel it when watching cause it's just paced SO well in comparison.

at this point im definitely only like a single night of boredom and wicked brainrot away from checking out the book. i'm super familiar with the gulf in tone differences so dw i don't expect to get any whiplash from it haha.

[the-far-bright-center]

I understand your perspective, and I agree that the post-RotJ EU doesn’t really succeed as a worthy continuation of the story (mainly because it was always trying to continue a story that was still itself only half-completed —see the discussion below re: the fact that the Prequels were what truly completed the Original Trilogy). Personally, I was never into the EU books set after RotJ for this very reason. No offense to those who enjoy the Thrawn series, but the whole Thrawn thing is my personal nemesis. Not in a 'villain you love to hate way', but in a 'I can't stand the entire concept and I've always thought he was totally out of place and felt more like a Star Trek character than a Star Wars villain' way. 😅

So, with the exception of the Original Trilogy novelisations, I've never had any interest in the OT-era or post-RotJ Expanded Universe material. The only EU I've had time for has been the novels, comics, etc that were released concurrently with the Prequels and were set during the Prequels/Clone Wars time period. There are some rare exceptions, but none of the above that you describe is my 'thing' and I've avoided most of it like the plague; therefore, I fully admit that a lot of discussion of the specific details of the EU is out of my wheelhouse.

I can only really offer my personal perspective here, and I understand that other people's experiences in the Star Wars fandom may differ. That being said, I am not of the opinion that the current fandom view of the Skywalker saga as ‘tragic’ story is to blame on the Expanded Universe. And even in previous times, I remain unconvinced that it had such a widespread negative impact on people’s views of the saga. I grew up watching the Original Trilogy in the era before the release of the Prequels, and no one I knew back then ever expressed the sentiment that 'oh, Star Wars is so sad' or 'Star Wars is such a tragic tale'. At most, if anyone mentioned the EU, it was simply to say 'oh that part was really dumb, I don't see that as canon', lol. Even people I knew who were big fans of the EU never expressed the view that it somehow overrode the heroism and overall hopeful and redemptive message of the Original Trilogy. Mainly because 1) the EU was not that well known outside of nerdy circles, and 2) even when it was known, it was simply not viewed as canon.

To address the first point: in the pre-Disney era, the Expanded Universe was hardly ubiquitous, it was still rather niche. People who were uber fans and read all of it might not relate to this, but there were plenty of die-hard, lifelong Star Wars fans (such as myself) who never engaged with that material. We still had all the merch, action figures, did cosplay, knew all the info we could about the films, we just stuck to the Original Trilogy material (prior to the release of the Prequels). I'm not saying the EU wasn't popular in its own way— it was. There were entire sections of bookstores devoted to it, and I distinctly remember having friends who were super into it. However, this was something only 'Star Wars nerds' were into, and even then only a particular subset of Star Wars nerds. Even at its height, the EU was not mainstream, nor was it widely known amongst general audiences, which is in direct contrast to the current Disney material, which is more widely available and more well-known for the simple fact that it's largely live-action stuff and available either in cinemas or via streaming.

Secondly, the Expanded Universe, regardless of how well-known it might have been, was never actually CANON on the same level as the PT x OT films. Again, that is in direct contrast with the current Disney material, which is currently claiming to be 100% canon. The EU existed as 'tiered canon', so that the Lucas SW films were the main canon at the highest level, then followed by the animated tv series, then the books, comics, etc. So even if the concepts and characters from the EU had entered into the mindset of certain fans, this was not viewed as 100% set-in-stone, unassailable canon. Especialy not the stuff that was released prior to the Prequels, so much of which was rather, uh, 'out there', more sci-fi than space opera, and also was often self-contradictory. And importantly, a lot of which ended up being joss'd BY the release of the Prequels.

As for the pre-canon (pre-Prequels era) Expanded Universe.... I will just say that, in my opinion, any seemingly perpetual Jedi vs. Sith war that is supposed to have happened prior to the six Lucas films doesn't negate the PT x OT saga having an uplifting outcome. In fact, the longevity of the conflict only makes the fact that Anakin returns to his True Self and fulfills the Chosen One prophecy all the more meaningful. He ends the millennia-long struggle and brings Balance to the Force.

Now, it's true that Lucas had his own ideas for a sequel at one stage, but logistical issues (and difficulty getting the original cast back at the time) prevented him from seriously pursuing this. So, starting in the early 1990s, he focused on creating the Prequels, with the intended purpose of answering many of the questions left lingering by OT (such as, how did Anakin fall to the Dark Side? Who was Luke and Leia's mother? etc), and to explore Anakin/Vader's backstory and cement his status as a tragic hero. And imo, in doing so, Lucas seems to have understood that, more than any sequel, this backstory was the truly compelling 'continuation' to the OT's storyline. Indeed, he has repeatedly stated that the Prequels completed the saga:

"The original idea for Star Wars was one movie about the tragedy of Darth Vader. But as the story grew, it ended up being three movies and the backstory was never explained. I decided it would be important to finish it off and do the backstory because things that I thought would be self-evident about the story, the audience didn't get. Over the 10 years after Return of the Jedi, I realized people misunderstood a lot—such as where Anakin came from. So it was a way of finishing the whole thing off." —George Lucas (from 'All films are personal: an oral history of The Phantom Menace')

He's also made it clear that the PT x OT saga is supposed to be viewed as one, single story (Episodes I through VI), with the resolution of said story being the uplifting happy ending of RotJ:

"You have got to remember that this is one movie, and it’s meant to be seen I through VI. So, I think when you watch the actual movie in order, the story will become very clear: that Anakin is the Chosen One. And even when Anakin turns into Darth Vader, he is still the Chosen One." —George Lucas

and finally, he's also stated that the saga is ultimately Anakin's story:

"It’s a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that’s...the end of the story."   —George Lucas 

My purpose in bringing up these quotes is simply to emphasise that the saga as created by Lucas can and does stand on its own as a single, completed story. And a story that is very clearly a tragedy in the first act, and a hero's journey in the second. Together the two form a 'divine comedy of redemption'. Something with tragic elements, but which ultimately transcends that tragedy.

There was a brief golden period in time (approximately from the late 2000s to the early 2010s) when people began to analyse the PT x OT saga on its own terms. And even began to appreciate it for what it was. See the fandom’s increased interest in the 'Ring Theory' concept, as well as the rise in popularity of the Clone Wars tv series at this time. There was also some academic level analysis of the PT x OT saga going on, perhaps most famously seen in art critic Camille Paglia's appreciation of the Mustafar duel and her perspective on RotS as ‘the greatest artistic masterpiece’ of our time.

This growing fandom appreciation and critical analysis of the saga as a single completed story was sadly cut short by the Disney-era.

Obviously, this is all just my own perspective. However, I feel quite strongly that the EU, whatever its issues, is not the source of the current fandom’s misunderstanding of the nature of the Skywalker Saga. The only thing that is single-handedly to blame for this is the Disney Sequel Trilogy, and specifically the very first film, The Force Awakens.

Why do I say this? Because the entire premise of TFA was that nothing that happened in the entire six-film saga mattered or had any lasting positive impact on the galaxy. It negated the entirety of Anakin's arc and erased the positive impact of Luke's hero's journey. And it was in the aftermath of that horrendous film and the subsequent two sequel films that I observed a distinct shift in the overall fandom attitude towards the Skywalker saga. I began to see people here on tumblr lamenting 'why is Star Wars so sad!' and other similar sentiments, whereas I had never before seen this. Even previously with the existence of the Prequels themselves, no one had claimed that all of Star Wars was now tragic. Anakin/Vader had been reframed into a tragic hero, it's true, but nothing about the Prequels had negated Luke's Hero's Journey. If anything, it had made it shine all the more brightly.

Likewise, whatever silly stuff was supposed to have occured in the Expanded Universe, being primarily relegated to books, comics, and games, it had never actually had the prominence or 'household recognition' that the current Disney material has had. Add to this the fact that the EU was never intended to be on the same 'tier' of canon as the PT x OT films, and thus never had the same level of destructive power that the live-action films and tv series series by Disney have. The problem with the Disney material being that the very first live-action entry into it, The Force Awakens, had a premise so destructive and disrespectful to the entire Lucas saga that said saga might as well have not even happened. Anakin's entire arc might as well have not even occurred, it has so little lasting positive impact in the Disney version of events.

Whatever the EU did or did not do with this same subject matter isn't the point, the point is that Disney put their destructiveness on the big-screen for mainstream audiences to see, and that's why it has permeated the fandom culture and mindset much more thoroughly than the EU material ever did.

Star Wars isn't a tragedy. Only the Prequels are. Disney (and most of tumblr it seems) may think all of Star Wars is supposed percieved in a sad or tragic manner, but it's not. Return of the Jedi is triumphant, redemptive, and uplifiting. It's the fairytale ending that bookends the greek tragedy. The combination of fall and then redemption of the human soul is the entire point.

Anakin is a tragic character, but the Skywalker saga itself NOT meant to be tragic, neither in its tone nor its actual outcome.

[vickyvicarious]

To anyone who is interested, here is my thoughts on Nosferatu (2024). In briefest sum: it's not my thing. I didn't really like it by large.

To be a little longer, but still remain mostly spoiler-free: There are several elements running throughout the movie. There's stuff taken directly from the original Nosferatu, there's stuff added in from Dracula, and there's also some elements that appear to me to be informed by other adaptations or reputation, as well as more modern tastes in the way horror movies operate. It is definitely still a horror, and for people who like this style of horror, I think a lot of them would enjoy it. Personally, I'm not super into gore or sexual horror scenes. There are definitely several of both. In general I like more subtle psychological horror, and in a lot of ways I think this movie is pretty in-your-face about what it does. That is a personal preference for me, though, and definitely not universal.

Also, while I find the combination of elements interesting, in several places I personally feel like it weakens characterization or at least my interest in the characters. That said, some character things that fans of Dracula like would probably include: Orlock is definitely still evil/hated by all. Thomas and Ellen (the Harker figures) are in love, and both protagonists we're meant to root for. There are also a lot of added scenes that call back to various events in the book. On the other hand, there is some degree of Ellen/Orlock that is likely a major turnoff for a lot of people, and also Friedrich (the Arthur figure) is definitely not our Art. Also, many of the callback scenes involve similar events, but almost inevitably twisted in some way, either to fit the changed place in the plot, the different characters, or to feed in to horror scenes that are more gory/sexual than you'd see in either original book or movie.

Finally, more specific spoilers under the cut:

Sorry in advance but this is more of a ramble than any specific progression throughout the plot.

I think that the story wanted to have its cake and eat it too a little bit in regards to the original book, the original film, and to pop-culture derived interpretations of Dracula themes and characters. I also think there was a degree of playing in to more typical modern horror expectations. Some of my thoughts on this are pretty suppositional because I don't actually like watching horror movies much and also haven't seen any film adaptations of Dracula (aside from the original Nosferatu and now this one). So feel free to disregard me if I'm wrong on any of those points. But I feel like there are several scenes that either alter events or add in gratuitous nudity or violence just because that's expected.

Like, for example, when Thomas arrives in the town near the castle. There's a whole odd scene where a bunch of people are dancing around and then kind of mocking him before he gets into the inn. Once there, we have a scene more like in the original movie (OM from here on out) where there's horrified reaction to him saying he's going to the castle, and also similar to the original book (OB) where he is given a crucifix. Then we have a scene that seems like a "queer dreams" reference (but when he wakes his shoes are muddy showing it really happened) where he follows a bunch of locals leading a naked virgin on a horse to a grace where they then stake a vampire. I think this is the same group who were outside the inn mocking him, though I'm not totally sure.

The staking scene irked me more in hindsight because it seemed to be suggesting a possible alternate ending, with the virgin potentially 'distracting' the monster's attention while its body was staked. I kind of wondered near the end if this was going to happen to some extent with Ellen taking out the shadow and Orlock's spirit while the men staked his physical body. Now, that too would be off from both originals and was entirely my own theory so it not being fulfilled isn't really a knock on the movie, but... While I guess we can see the connection here, the actual way the whole "pure woman offers herself to the vampire to kill it" plays out later has nothing really to do with this scene. So it still feels kind of like there was no point having her there, since all she did was ride naked on a horse, and so it felt more contrived to show a boob than really relevant to me. The people also are weird because of this. Are they in Orlock's employ and scornful of Thomas? Are they opposed to vampires and want to protect him? There's a weird mix, only increased when everyone is gone when he awakes (including the innkeepers) and have stolen his horse. I didn't feel like their behavior made sense.

OrlocI did like several of the trippy bits about Thomas' journey to the castle (though the empty carriage reminded me more of Curse of Strahd, haha), and some of the parts of him being there. The scenes where he is eating with Orlock and where he's being pressured into signing a contract he can't read are pretty good moments of him having to try and keep calm and polite while freaking out hugely internally, though it's all much more condensed and quick to become blatant attacks on him than the OB. But that itself is more similar to the OM. The scene when Orlock makes him say "my lord" instead of "sir" is pretty funny. I also quite liked the way Orlock turned his excuse to leave ("I've been having horrible dreams since getting here, I think I'm ill") against him into a reason he must stay ("It's not good to travel when you're sick, you must stay here until you get better"). From the book, we get scenes like Thomas asking about local traditions and being shut down, running frantically about after learning he's trapped, being threatened by wolves, and escaping out the window. But the way it happens is typically very different, with Orlock just having some wolves in his crypt apparently. Thomas going in there and opening up the coffin to see him isn't really led up to in any way, other than him running around searching for an exit. We do get an attempted shoveling, except it's not a shovel but a pickaxe, there's no apparent reason for it to be sitting there, and Orlock (who apparently sleeps totally naked) physically repels the blow and then chases after him/shadows him and then drinks him while also humping him. He wakes up in his bed afterwards, and escapes out the window while fleeing wolves that have been sent to attack him after Orlock (presumably) leaves. Then he falls into the river.

I think in general his character is closest to the equivalent OB character. He loves his wife intensely, and is determined to return to her and to protect her/kill the vampire who harmed her. There are still some really unfortunate moments where he tells her to ignore her creepy dreams and basically be normal (as well as disregarding her warnings not to leave, though that at least I seem to remember happening in the OM), and he's the one to say of course she'll be left behind when hunting vampires. But he never seems to think about leaving her, and definitely loves her a lot throughout. I also like him getting a limp after his escape from the castle, showing some lingering physical effect. Though he also apparently has bite marks since he shows them to people later on.

Von Franz is shown to be more lost in his 'crazy' theories than Van Helsing. He also is too willing to sacrifice others, and kind of has a crazy monologue while setting a bunch of stuff on fire which feels super out of character. But he plays a smaller part and I liked both him not being shown as a super vampire hunter (the one scene when Friedrich asks him how to kill the demon he's talking about and he's just like "I dunno, I've never actually seen one of these before" was funny) and him having respect for Ellen. He insists she not be tied up and empathizes with her psychic nature being preyed upon, being clear that the results are not her fault. Dr. Siever plays a really small role, and Knock (the Hawkins/Renfield medley) is just as comically evil as he is in the OM. He does get naked in a pentagram and gnaw on animals/people onscreen, but doesn't have a huge role. I had fun laughing at Orlock carrying his own coffin in the original but sadly no luck in that regard thanks to Knock escaping to help him.

Friedrich irks me the most because he's got a larger role and it's so different from Arthur. While Emma (Lucy) doesn't do too much, she's at least still a good friend to Ellen. He clearly doesn't like her from the start and just kind of puts up with her weirdness because of other people. He's a loving husband and father and that's where the most sympathy for him comes in, but also skeptic who hates the influence on his life that Ellen brings and has a hard time believing Von Franz about supernatural causes. While Siever apparently suggested it in the first place, he still is the one who approves tying Ellen up, and he's a jerk to her about her not being normal and not doing what he tells her. Not to mention kicking the Hutters out in the middle of a plague! As well as trying to flee when his wife is already suffering from the plague. He does traumatically lose his whole family, and he gets the shadow keeping him asleep while his children were killed, which originally happened to Jonathan while Mina was attacked. The scene of the nosferatu carelessly dropping a dead child reminded me of vampire!Lucy tossing aside a child in the graveyard. And in fact, having Emma be the only one awake rushing about to try and save her family and having to face the vampire alone is sort of similar to the night of Lucy's memorandum if you squint. I absolutely hated Friedrich's ending - he's visibly caught the plague and wanders off to the graveyard where he then has sex with his dead (not undead, just dead) wife and then dies doing so? Euch. If they just left out the necrophilia then it would feel much more coherent to his character, just kind of selfish and very intentionally 'normal' but still deeply loving his family and losing it after their loss. But that just seemed kind of thrown in there to add to the erotic horror to me, and since I don't like it, well. I didn't like it.

Ellen, now... it's hard to talk about her character in this without also talking about Orlock. But let me start with just her and then get to that after. They lean way in on the psychic Ellen from the OM, which I initially quite liked. She also seems to deeply love Thomas, though there are some later scenes that add a weird dynamic there. One being she only became 'normal' when she met him, and so he seems kind of like an escape from her psychic dreads. I initially really liked her connection to him when he was on his trip. She gave him a token of her hair in a locket, which she cut while staring psychically out into the night, and it seemed like it was linking her to him. Then, when Orlock took the locket, the connection seemed to contribute with her sometimes overlapping with Orlock in a way I initially thought was kind of cool. I really liked the way the actress did her own version of the clawed hands and the Orlock walk/silhouette, she embodied that really well.

The sexualized trances/dreams and seizures were definitely not to my taste thought, and the whole more Exorcist-style scenes where she seemed almost outright possessed didn't really make full sense to me most of the time. I really disliked what the story behind them and her connection to Orlock ended up being. Apparently she psychically reached out to something dark in her lonely youth and ended up waking him/making some sort of marriage pact with him? This is what aroused his interest in her all along and seemed to drive many of his actions. And while we do see that she hates him consciously, and outright rejects and insults him to his face in one scene, there's all this stuff where she seems very drawn to him despite that. I really hated the Hutton sex scene. It was bound up in an argument between them during which she seemed to at least partially believe Orlock's words about Thomas selling her (this was apparently the contract he couldn't read but signed because Orlock was menacing him) for a bag of gold. She also throws in his face that he's never satisfied her like her dream lover (the nosferatu). She seems to be getting partially possessed or something throughout this fight. She takes on the nosferatu posture and uses a different voice, but it's not made clear how much of this is some influence against her or her own inner darkness or her actual thoughts. Thomas looks scared of/for her and also freaked out by how crazy she seems, and then she crawls up to him begging for no doctor and then they have aggressive sex while she commands him to kiss her heart. That in particular makes it seem like she's trying to emulate her dream sex with the nosferatu, since he's always shown to bit the chest/over the heart. So that left a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth.

Again, we do see that she loves Thomas and wants to save him. But the eroticization of the vampire feeding (once again, they are clearly having sex while he drinks her blood. The only reason I wasn't a hundred percent sure this happened with Thomas is because he at least was wearing clothes thought Orlock was naked at the time) combined with the visual horror of making Orlock look so open-wound and corpsey combined to have a really weird feel of just wanting to show a woman having sex with a horrible monster. The sexual horror thing... but she agreed to it, yes as a plan to kill Orlock, but what with the dreams thing and her making sex noises and whatnot it kind of seems like she's enjoying it too. Then when they find her body there's this kind of weird detail where she has a hand holding Orlock to her chest (she drew him back down and asked him to drink more blood when he started to notice the onset of dawn) and Thomas takes her other hand, and it feels symbolic somehow. Her lover being death and her husband reaching out for her but her clinging death closer... I dunno. The whole sex and dream connection/prolonged haunting aspect made it seem a lot less resigned sacrifice than it did in the OM, and definitely way more of her being drawn to him in return than in the OB.

Orlock himself was a pretty nice mix of Dracula and OM Count for most of it I think. I liked when he called himself nothing but hunger, it feels like it leaned in more to his OM counterpart. Using Thomas's fate against her (and before that, the Hardings) was very much something OB Dracula would do too. But his whole past with Ellen and consequent fixation on her kind of took over everything he did. And since I didn't like that element... I did love the shadow stuff, and enjoyed when he did the classic nosferatu walk with the hands reaching out, though it wasn't as often. His design was definitely creepy as well.

I liked the plague elements. I also liked the shadow of the vampire, and kind of wish there had been more emphasis put on that. I feel like in the OM, more horror was shown in his movements and his physicality partially just due to the medium. But it was also really iconic, especially the shadow, and I liked the instances when it was used to reflect his influence.

Not a fan of all the thrashing about (sexually and also just seizing/shaking) and drooling/vomiting/blood spilling from mouths. But those are more personal preference and again feel like more modern horror staples to various degrees. My biggest grief is the Orlock/Ellen stuff and how that infects other things around it.

BUT... if you like this sort of story, as I imagine many do, and if you are able to see it as its own thing enough not to get upset with the divergences (for example Orlock/Ellen, or Friedrich vs. Arthur) then I think a lot of people would enjoy this movie.

[solplease]

OKAY. DONE. the update was SOOOOO fucking good i enjoyed that sm

[dimeadozencows]

I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before

I put my lips to the hands of the man who killed my son

[lugarn]

Before we dive in to the meat of your reply I have to just start with the idea that fix-it fic means fixing the problematic elements. It reminds me of the way modern fandom treats 'gay panic' like you're in a panic because you're realizing you're gay. Real history has been forgotten here! I am also interested in genuinely picking media apart! It's fun, but I want to do it with love for the media and what it was trying to do (Ebert-style) rather than with disappointment from what I thought it should've been.

Back in the Supernatural days I wrote a lot of meta! Not just about stuff I liked, but as part of the larger conversation about the things that the show lacked in terms of female characters (or any other regular characters) and how that was both an asset to the storytelling and a failure to imagine women and minorities as part of the world. It was fun as hell and I was part of a group who beta-read each others' metas and would make excellent points that would then make the metas even better. There was a thriving meta community and no matter what analysis we held we all knew that the other people weren't saying that the show or its fans were unworthy of love due to the media's flaws, or that people who chose not to see the flaws were inherently less than.

I also like a lot of shows that got into super heated levels of criticism! The main one was Playboyy, where the criticism veered into speaking over/ignoring sex workers' opinions of how the show handled sex work. I'm very familiar with the ways that tone-policing queers in BL have decided that something is bad and thus the people who like it are bad.

It's terrible, but like you, I focus on what I want to make. I focus on running events and writing fic and sometimes even editing vids. But I feel pretty alone, in the end, because there are so few people doing it alongside me. Fandom's not supposed to be a place where those of us who make and post things feel increasingly alone, but here we are.

As far as belonging, I think you're probably right. An adjacent issue is that there's not a real queer community online the way there is offline. Things were smaller and tighter-knit in the past, and I think that constant organizing around HIV/AIDS was part of what kept throwing people together to form more and more communities. I don't know how to fix it.

The reality is that queer folks are a small part of the percentage of the world, and while we can be powerful, in terms of viewing/buying potential, we don't really have enough market share to affect the world. (I wish we did. That would be nice.)

Media that's successful is appealing in some way to straight people. That doesn't make the media inherently worse! In a lot of ways it makes it better, the same way the analysis in my metas were made better by having a lot of eyes on them. Something that appeals to more people will also appeal to more queer people, since we're varied. It's a real win-win.

a question for QL fandom at large: when did we start only wanting media that is perfectly suited to our standards?

there has never been a perfect show, and there never will be a perfect show, because everybody likes different things and QL is run on shoestring budgets. i thought this was something we made our peace with as viewers of the genre!

so i'm just wondering at what point fandom decided that a show is only worthy of praise/fandom if it has no problems?

at what point did we decide that talking about the problems of a show is more important than talking about what we did enjoy and what kept us watching? i don't know when it happened, but it definitely has. critique is treated more seriously and gets more interaction than people talking about what they like.

it seems like a really exhausting and slightly puritan way to do things, to be constantly finding imperfections and treating them as more important than the good parts. dunno about y'all but i don't want to be unintentionally enacting puritan shit.

i want joy, i want fun, i want the spirit of camaraderie in fandom.

so, why did fandom begin to snub any media that didn't fit very high standards? and how can we steer ourselves away from that impulse?

(i am genuinely curious about why this is happening and how those of us who don't enjoy it can change, so please feel free to jump in, even if you are 'late' or think you only have a very small contribution to make to the discussion.)

[mohntilyet]

not to mention the entire antaam fleet like 😭 that was the PERFECT moment to show off what the lords could do!!! The antaam fucked over rivain, theyve been a thorn in the whole nations side for a long time now, they would not pass up a chance for payback via full scale naval warfare so that the veilguard can do what they need to!! Sure dreadnoughts are dangerous but at this point they probably have tricks up their sleeve, thats one of the few things they have!

also wouldn't it be personal because does solas not try to blow up kont-aar because he's trying to 5d chess tevinter and the qunari into destroying each other. like. i know technically this would not be incredible widespread news because the attack was stopped, but i don't think the wonderful citizens of kont-aar would have missed the tsunami that nearly hit them and the shockwave that actually hit them. rumors go around. and i assume irian/vadis tell varric. who i think would tell isabela. who would tell the group she leads. who would care because ofc, they LIVE IN RIVAIN, and now know that solas and his followers thinks they can trade rivaini lives* to further his plans.

*while i also think there's probably a divide between kont-aar and the rest of the nation, it's one that the rivaini love to jump across and back over. an interesting comparison to be made here with most of rivain having similar sentiments towards dairsmuid and the chantry. like this is the country specifically mentioned to have a lot of citizens who follow the qun/are non-andrastian + it being MUCH more multicultural and accepting than other nations. any attack on rivain, even if it's a qunari settlement, would fan a lot of flames that solas cannot put out so the idea of trying to him taking multiple steps back because he didn't realise how intensely the qun/rivaini/lords would react is very fun for me. it would have been soo interesting for rivain to be a hub for efforts against solas because of how it's not influenced by andrastianism, how he (or his agents) specifically fucked them over, and (maddeningly for solas) also part of this resistance has spirits who willingly guide them against him. this could have even been a plot device where the door goes both ways and solas finds out rook's plans because he manages to eavesdrop through a seer or something.

and on the spirits. all the stuff where the mourn watch regularly communicates with spirits could have been done with rivain as well, and with different takes on being 'friendly' with spirits. iirc there's a spirit in the hall of valor which is so interesting but it's literally just there for flavour text. THERE'S A SPIRIT IN THE HALL OF VALOR THAT DOES NOTHING BESIDES LIKE. SAY HI. ??? bioware i would have liked to see more spirits and seers and the matriarchal pantheists you have talked about please. and also the idea of the peaceful qunari settlement being pushed to protect the country they are part of and what that means for them as qunari vs. rivaini. taash's storyline could have contributed to this . so A LOT less about choosing a side, more about how kont-aar has developed, changed, how rivain has influenced it and what it means to be qunari. not the qunari agents and fighters that we have seen, but their 'civillian' way of life in kont-aar.

complete waste not seeing any of established lore reflected in the lords of fortune or rivain because i stupidly actually thought we were going to see some kind of settlement and be introduced to a very different cultural norms.. in my beautiful mind i like to think taash is a little taken aback by how badly mages/elves/etc are treated. like they understood it was different outside of rivain (they would have been young when the dairsmuid circle annulment happened right? so they don't 'remember' it themself, they likely heard others talking about it when they're old enough to understand) but until they actually saw what was happening first hand, they had a weird dissonance about it. but what we got was a deserted beach, ties to another faction (wardens are fine!! they are great !!!! the fourth blight is interesting!!!! yet they are not the faction with a lack of info about them!!!!!) and also the hall of valor that exists as flavor text with nothing meaningful behind it besides a pub used in a few cutscenes and a minigame.

[marcmorrigan]

According to the artist, when it was suggested that a smile might benefit the look of the finished portrait, Attaché Nohell reportedly replied, "I thought the purpose of this was to be honest."

Super fun commission of @waterloggedsoliloquy's OC Sicely Nohell (they/them) and their terrible, horrible, no good, very bad lusus figure Commanding Officer.

[balleater]

braius being an oath of the ancients paladin brings up a very interesting dynamic going on with its tenets compared to the commandments of asmodeus

[aquarterasian]

still upsets me so bad that homare's skating career was overshadowed by her crush on harry like why.... why did henri have more of an arc in that regard than she did hes a side character. and i love henri ofc his relationship with masato and his conflict with growing older and becoming less androgynous looking is genuinely such a great storyline and i wouldnt give it up for anything but homare deserved to have an equally well thought-out storyline considering shes one of the main characters but i always feel like she was just reduced to her crush on harry and it just makes me :/

[hecksupremechips]

To also go off of the point about cop!akihiko being annoying to me I gotta say that Akihiko as a character is very hit or miss with me because of how different adaptations of p3 will subtly alter his character. I felt like in portable with the femc route he comes off best, he’s a bit of a hothead with an obsession with fighting, but he’s overcompensating his strength so he doesn’t feel as weak and helpless as he’s been in many situations. He defines strength in a very literal sense, being physically strong and using that to protect others, but he’s lacking in emotional strength as a result. And in particular in this version I think he’s portrayed as a bit more goofy and sweet in a sense. He cares deeply for you as a friend and leader but he struggles with finding the words to describe how he feels. Hes kinda naive and gullible and has trouble noticing his surroundings. He has no clue what he’s doing but his heart is in the right place. I think he just comes off much more human and he has flaws, many many flaws, and that makes him all the more lovable

But then in other adaptations and spinoffs it’s like. They look at him through some hetero male bullshit filter and seem to view him as a lot more admirable and cool. Like in p3 dancing, theres literally an event where he’s talking with Junpei and Minato and they’re gushing about how perfect Akihiko is and how he doesn’t seem to have ANY flaws at all. And it becomes clear his inability to flirt with women just gets added as a way to make sure you, the Straight Male Player, don’t get insecure being next to such Perfection because at the end of the day, you’re still more charming and sexy than he will ever be because you’re better. It’s a “flaw” that’s only there to shield a sensitive male ego. And then in arena I mean, come on. He’s overly beefy and is a damn cop and travels the world and loves Protein™️ it’s his whole personality and he’s so clearly meant to be seen as hot but like, he’s just some shitty hetero male fantasy. Hes what the writers deem to be a Perfect Man that every guy wishes he could be, but don’t worry he’s still bad with women so you don’t gotta worry about him stealing your property- I mean, girlfriend!

And though I’ve not played reload and don’t really plan to anytime soon, judging from his social episodes they seem to have a similar problem. Akihiko comes off as a lot less approachable, like the year age gap is just too much of a barrier to get to know him properly. And he doesn’t have that dorky sweetness he has in portable, he’s just that perfect hetero male fantasy guy and don’t you fucking worry- he still has his protein powder with him

[moeblob]

Karen: LMAO every guy I meet reminds me of my big brothers that's so funny except if Paul is already my brother and you're also a brother that's a bit awkward, huh Hot bartender: THATS MOVING REALLY FAST AND I LIKE YOU AS A PERSON BUT - Karen: having my brothers date would be SO WEIRD Hot bartender: Well on the bright side I literally cannot speak more than five words to him so we aren't dating because he's so cute

(Everyone else: that is somehow the most depressing bright side we never want to hear)

[flugame-mp3]

what do you fucking mean that's how charlie dies. THAT'S HOW CHARLIE DIES??? i mean i know the show has a penchant for killing off every character who's not a winchester brother or an angel of thursday but good god. what the fuck. charlie was such a good and enjoyable recurring character, and she had such a fandom impact that i've seen, and she's only around for THREE SEASONS?? (sidebar: it's amazing she has the presence she does for only being around for a couple episodes in the long run!) but: was this necessary? and she just dies offscreen after her skills are utilized to progress the plot of decoding the book of the damned?? oh my god. what in the actual fuck. i'm finding myself getting genuinely very upset at her death. she did not fucking deserve that. and i can absolutely see why the fan response to her death is what it is now. completely fucking unjustified and throwaway and useless.

[supersecretnerd]

Ok so these designs are cute as hell, the Internet is just mean

I have too many thoughts about a game I still need to watch

[imbeingtauntedbyachild]

There's multiple ways to self harm that aren't cutting. For example, liking female characters in a fandom that prioritizes the male ones

[solplease]

i've been very excited to post this but here are my ocs haha!! meet lune, cecilia, nox, and aster!

close ups, more info, and a more detailed relationship chart under the cut! this is gonna be a long post haha. there's also some more info about rowan!

cecilia's twin (he's the older twin) ((by two minutes. lol))

the type to go “here to here, i’ll buy it all”

he's got a temper

possessive, devoted, and jealous yandere

people think he's a tad bit insane (and he's self aware mostly,,)

gets into fights often

“want me to kill that guy for you?” (he’s serious btw)

he’s not nice lmao, but to you he is (in his own special way of course..!)

kind of like a cat who will proudly leave dead rats and leaves on your doorstep as a gift bc it thinks you can’t hunt for yourself

hates nox LMFAO

difficult to approach at first but once you get close he won’t ever let you go.

extroverted

LOUD. someone shut him up, this mf does NOT stop yapping bro

annoying as hell and he doesn’t know that lmao

if he absolutely has to, he’ll behave. but it's... odd

constantly needs to be doing something or he’ll get bored lol

has a bit of a sweet tooth (typical)

Bastard (not literally)

played the piano when he was younger with his sister, but he hated playing it

bad terms with his family except for cecilia

huge rebellious streak

shockingly will not kidnap you! everyone already knows you’re his, and he’s yours. and he won’t let anyone get in between you two. yay..!

hates it when you don’t pay attention to him (will absolutely start sulking too)

he’s impulsive but he’s not completely reckless

you probs shouldn’t trust him too much though he has good (????) intentions lol

seems silly (debatable really) but he’s dangerous.

half of the things he says sound like jokes but trust me, he means it. he’d do anything and everything for you, don’t forget!

shockingly pouty and whiny, only in front of you though

him and cecilia have matching bracelets from when they were younger which they both wear to this day

he’s oblivious as fuck, and an idiot

lune's twin (she's younger)

normal (somewhat) ((not really))

sweet and friendly

really likes giving gifts to people she cares about

jumps to conclusion and freaks out easily, but she’s subtle about it

constantly stressed (lune is her brother, so… i get it)

introverted (runs on a social battery)

says things without thinking sometimes

people pleaser

awkward as hell tbh, but it’s really not obvious because she’s good at putting on a front 

kinda has the ”””””princely””””” persona (i didnt know how to describe that better lmao

has abandonment issues

girlfail tbh

hardworking

shes really protective of her loved ones

likes cute things

has issues with her family but still talks to them (lune does NOT)

on really good terms with lune, they’re very close (even though he’s a huge troublemaker that stresses the shit out of her) ((if he fucks around too much she’ll give him a good smack))

packs a good punch

SENSITIVE…

potential yandere? still not too sure if i’ll make her a fully fledged yan but she def has some of the traits lol

her and lune have matching bracelets from when they were younger! (she wears it everyday!)

she doesn’t mean to put on a front it just kinda happens automatically lmao

could kill someone... probably wouldnt tho

used to play the piano with lune, she still plays it now too (as a hobby)

cunning and annoying

def the type to kidnap you

oddly sweet (???)

but also ominous as hell

docile with the one he loves

isolating and manipulative yandere

dislikes lune

nice but you can tell he’s putting up a wall (with strangers and friends)

introverted

wouldn’t put stalking past him tbh

he’s the type that wants to know everything about you.

he has a tough time interacting with others. he feels awkward in social situations

the type to go to a party and spend the whole time petting the cat in the corner (he would not go to the party in the first place tho lmao)

he’s not misunderstood tho, he just can’t socialize and doesn’t really want to

grabs the end of your shirt in an awkward situation (its kinda cute)

takes time to open up, but when he falls for you, his love is so strong, it’s almost overwhelming. so just accept him, alright?

shittiest sleep schedule known to man, like srsly, what is bro doing

this man’s brain probs short circuits every 5 minutes LMFAO go to bed you idiot

really good with his words, very convincing

loves cats

hidden piercings

careful and patient

is really good at taking care of others (but he would only wanna take care of you) you’ll let him, won’t you?

startles easily lol

elf oc

ditzy and kind (to you)

bit of a mean streak (not to you!) 

wants to appear princely in front of you

kinda stupid (a farce but not completely lol)

has a bit of a temper, but nothing too bad

clingy and cunning yandere

two faced

struggles with empathy (he tries, he’s not human, what’s he supposed to do!)

extroverted (?)

he’s really lonely

when he met you for the first time he was absolutely fascinated as he’s never interacted with a human being before!

BLUNT. he’s not used to convos… just give him some time!

at first it was simple curiosity, but that curiosity turned into something… deeper

he was completely alone before this, but now you’re here, and you’re going to stay, right? 

is obsessed with the idea of you staying here with him forever, so why do you keep talking about going home? can’t you stay here? 

but then you bring up the idea of him coming with you, well why didn’t you say that earlier! he's happy to come with you

It takes him some time to grasp certain concepts so please be patient with him, he’s not used to humans

he’s paranoid and hostile to other humans. it’s not fair, he wants all of your attention, so why is everyone trying to take you from him? he doesn’t like that everyone is getting in his way… 

he’s terrified of bugs. will scream incredibly loudly if he sees one lol

he pulled you through a mirror, that’s how you ended up in his land

so if you wanna go back, just ask and he’ll take you! 

gives you jewelry, expensive jewelry. (maybe he’s slipped on a ring before. haha. jk… unless..?)

prefers to stay inside your place because he really doesn’t like people who aren’t you lmao

don’t stray too far from him, okay? he’s always waiting for you

rowan (who i don't have a new drawing of rn </3 sorry!):

he absolutely hates not being a priority, so please don’t ignore him. please? he just wants you to love him.

clingy, devoted, and obsessive yandere

if you don’t reciprocate he might (unknowingly) try to guilt you into liking him back. will appear like a kicked puppy to really sell it (but it’s not an act lol he’s just like this)

at least his intentions are pure! (?????????) but is that better..?

if when (it will happen) you two end up together, he’ll give you the world if you’d asked for it

used to cut his own hair! :D (not great at it tho tbh)

very attentive and will work hard to keep you happy! just don’t forget that you’ll love only each other for the rest of your life. please don’t leave.

has tripped over nothing, will definitely happen again

here's the shitty relationship chart that i rushed </3 its very ugly im sorry HAHA

i really want to clarify that NONE of them will ever hurt you physically on purpose (they might have to pay up for emotional damages tho. they have your best interest in mind ig)

also i would say that they all share some traits like being clingy, devoted, possessive, obsessive, jealous, protective, and loyal. but if i specifically wrote it, it's probs just a bit more intense... just a bit,,, haha...