#not me namedropping that other fandom

[kulay-ng-banaag]

Yes! Thank you for the response to op on racebending! As a hetalia lore enthusiast, it always bothers me when people forget about the golde rule: nations (as in the species) are not their governments. It has literally been described multiple times in the series that even though a nation’s boss made them do something absolutely horrible, it does not mean that they wanted to or that they agreed with it. And im not denying that the nations have comitted warcrimes, it just bugs me when they treat them as if it was the nation’s idea and that they were in full control.

Like, I’m american, and i think its kind of messed up to say that indigenous americans are denying american colonialism by race bending him? Like op is only looking at white american history. Maybe just consider… and hear me out… there are multiple perspectives of american history from different races and ethnicities? 🤯 (crazy, right?)

Sorry if i got a bit intense here, i know op had good intentions and made lots of great points, but i feel like they could have done better.

Anyway, to sum it up, i agree with your points

I'm not a fan either of the perspective that nations = governments and nothing more. If that was truly the case, then I can't believe being Filipino means I support Marcos/Duterte because they nabbed the voting majority to legitimately be granted positions of power.

I know it's the habit of racist whites to scrutinize a BIPOC's political compass or smth just from glancing at their physical features. It doesn't change that I do not want to normalize that ever. Neither, therefore, do I wanna project that on these bastard dirt children of ours.

Going back, if "racebending can be propaganda" was step 1 to OP building their argument, I'd dare say they missed out on giving step 2. 😔 I'm morbidly amused that all this discourse is centered on Hetalia, when the Countryhumans fandom literally fits the bill on making propaganda, intentional or not.

[citnamora]

You ever have those two characters where the thought of them dating makes you sick to your stomach and the idea of them getting married turns you off completely from enjoying the media they're in? Because I do.

[heichoucangetit]

I just think if you put unnecessary tags on a tumblr post or an Ao3 fic that you should get haunted Sadako-style. Just some dark entity that starts knocking figures off your shelves or flashing you visions of your favs dying until you delete that damn tag.

[nickywhoisi]

Okay shout out to @02cm for

tfw u want people to comment back and talk to you because you're lonely, only to get a user with an extremely bad hairpin trigger case, what seemes to be a fascist denial of allowing me free speech, a salty attitude about her taste in ships, and a dumpster fire take on a piece of art with a subject I feel many things about and just wanted to comment on? Like the first thing this nutcase says to me is "why are you reblogging a piece about how perfect akane and ranma are for eachother, with what you said about them" and so much onward

why you ask? because um...kiddo? You uploaded art? And maybe I liked the art? And I like Ranma 1/2? And it invoked a lot of things I had to say? Things I've been starving for a platform to share with the world? And that I am within every goddamn right to say as I please about anything? That I am not unallowed to have my opinions shared on the internet? That my opinion was cultivated carefully by being a decades long fan, probably for much longer than you, and is informed completely on what I've seen in the series? And that maybe you shouldn't be online or uploading anything if you apparently can't handle a thought different from your own? Like do you know how social media works is this literally your first day

Like there is so much to unpack. She turned off messages so I can't talk to her discreetly like I wanted to, because of course she is a fascist coward. What else am I supposed to call an absurd hysterical authoritarian who doesn't want me to use the site's built in functions to be able to speak. This is a disturbed child if they're not an adult fascist. Are you fuckin ok do you need the paramedics

[scoupsahoy]

i wanna talk about The Ship War going on right now in the 911 fandom (largely on tiktok and twitter) and i'm not a bnf especially in this fandom (and i wouldn't want to be) but i'm kind of hoping people on both sides are willing to read this post anyway because i cannot be the only one completely turned off by it

i finished writing this so i wanna clarify: this is officially aimed at buddie shippers (i am one of you) because i genuinely want to have meaningful discussion and also i'm not exactly defending tommy here. but! i think if bucktommy shippers were interested in reading, there is stuff in here for you too

i have to split this up into sections which is annoying but i won't be able to make any sense without sections so. sorry

1. pre-tommy buddie shipping

so like a lot of people i knew about 911 and buddie entirely through tumblr osmosis, and there was a general attitude of confidence: buddie WILL become canon. if it doesn't... something something. i don't really know the season 6 finale was hard for a lot of you. and after watching, i do really understand why. but.

from an outside perspective, this fandom attitude was nothing like i'd ever really experienced before. i stopped watching supernatural around season 11, several years before gaycas, when confirmed bisexual dean was genuinely outside the realm of possibility.

i was a tjlc believer. i was an episode 4 conspiracist. i have been delusional about gays on my television screen before. so i was really apprehensive at the way buddie fans were moving. not only was buddie GOING to happen, but if it didn't it would be a failure of the network and the showrunners and the actors and it could have been the greatest love story ever told and shipping was not ENOUGH. it had to be canon in order to matter. shipping anything else was fruitless and offensive. this was what i was seeing. and i was like. well there's no way that's going to happen

and then season 7 started airing and there was this reignited hope

and then 7x4 aired.

2. the birth of bucktommy

so i started watching 911 after 7x4 aired. a lot of people did. i'll be honest i did genuinely think that eddie was out and gay and i was like "oh shit is it finally happening??" and then i realized it was some other guy and spend like 4 straight days tumblr deepdiving into it

like i said i was almost exclusively following buddie shippers so my consensus was like. buck and tommy are cute but it's obviously (TO ME) a steppingstone for buddie. after watching the entire show i do still feel that way.

here's the thing though: shipping isn't about what is going to be canon. i'm a marvel fan. my first fandom was fucking icarly, okay, my track record of shipping non-canon couples that actually end up together starts and ends with nbc sitcoms and even then barely. shipping to me is about character analysis and smooshing barbie dolls together with my friends. shipping to me is putting some guy in a blender and another guy performing frankenstein experiments on them

it doesn't matter to me actually that a ship isn't going to end up together, even if i like them. i'm not saying some bucktommy fans don't overstep certain boundaries (that i'll get into) but a FAIR BIT of them know this. a fair bit of them were buddie shippers and a fair bit of them still are. and there's a reason theyre put off

3. social media discourse

the first real piece of morality discourse came from tiktok. i won't namedrop this creator but if you're on tiktok you know who i'm talking about.

this person started the tiktok talking about something that i genuinely do agree with: fans who love tommy but hated all of buck's ex girlfriends should probably perform some self-reflection on the very real misogyny problem in 911 fandom and fandom in general. this i am 1000% behind. a call-in of sorts: hey guys! check yourselves! it is really easy to fall into misogyny especially with gay shipping. though i will argue that buddie shippers could stand to do the same thing (looking at you, people who write fanfic where ana flores is ableist for no reason)

they went on, however, to say that bucktommy shippers Must only like bucktommy because they are a gay ship, And Also Therefore, these people Must Be gay fetishists, as the only reason you would like bucktommy over buddie is because you just want to see men make out with each other. You People don't like gay shipping in the Correct way that i do, you like to gay ship in a nasty fetish way (only slightly exaggerating). you saw that buck and tommy kissed online and you watched the entire show just to watch men make out with each other which is Bad And Wrong.

aside from the fact that this person also literally started watching the show after 7x4 aired (and like i said so did a lot of people. one would think this is a morally neutral thing to do), this struck a nerve with me. this take (which was repeated ad nauseam by everyone in their circle) is just plainly irresponsible.

it is inappropriate to suggest that someone is like. morally reprehensible for *checking my notes* shipping a canon television couple. is tim minear a gay fetishist for writing the bucktommy kiss? is the average viewer a gay fetishist for going "oh i didn't see that coming! they seem like a nice couple"? is my mom a gay fetishist? are you calling my mom a gay fetishist??

this is an argument that i've seen happen in a billion different ways over the past decade and a half of being in fandom spaces by the way. are women allowed to read gay fanfiction? what about gay porn? what if they get off to it? are they allowed to write it themselves? what if they're not straight? what if they're not women? was casey mcquiston fetishizing gay men when they wrote red white and royal blue? is the romance genre allowed to exist with gay men and straight women in it? do you have to check everyone's gender or sexual identity at the login page for ao3 and tumblr dot com to determine if it is morally okay for them to participate in fandom at all?

and then there was the comparisons between bucktommy and buddie fic stat breakdowns: bucktommy's are writing more smut And That's Bad and buddie fans are writing stories with plot And That's Good.

it. is. irresponsible. it is oversimplifying. it is judgmental and above all else it is irrelevant. people could like bucktommy because they think they're hot or because they think theyre interesting or because buck realized he was bisexual or because they think tommy has potential as a character. it is a ship. creating a dichotomy where one ship is the morally good thing to ship and one ship is the morally bad thing to ship is irresponsible and not in the spirit of fandom.

morality and purity conversations in fandom are like. an entirely different can of worms to talk about and this is going to be long enough already. but bucktommy shippers shot back with the same energy:

if you don't like bucktommy then you are homophobic because tommy is gay

i did see quite a bit of this argument because a number of people that id been following did get into bucktommy and i do still follow and like these people

i covered most of my feelings about this type of argument above but to reiterate: it is possible to like different ships without making it a morality competition. it's disingenuous and annoying.

especially that brief stint where people were saying that the bucktommy shipname was a slur against gay men. you can just not like it. you can just not like it and have it end there. it's an ugly shipname but you don't have to make it a moral issue.

especially because then buddie shippers pulled out the trump card:

4. the tommy problem

because these people just watched the entire show in like four weeks (again, neutral statement, i did the same fucking thing) they remember tommy from hen and chimney begins. and. okay

i'm not about to be taken out of context here. i watched bp's video when it came out, i think what was said was wrong, i'm not about to say that being racist was like. cool or excusable 20 years ago. i think there is a discussion to be had here about this though. there's a reason i'm typing this out carefully:

i want to say firstly that there IS a conversation to be had about the social landscape in 2005 and especially pre-obama america for the purposes of a bunch of 20 years olds who were not alive or fully conscious yet. people told casually racist jokes (casual in that they are told casually without intent for violence, not that they are not violent. all racism is violence) and there were fewer social ramifications for those racist jokes in 2005. that does not make them Magically Not Racist. they were. it was not okay. it was, however, Extremely Common. does that make it okay? no.

i'm saying that largely because it seems to ME that tim or whoever wrote that particular episode wrote that joke to paint a picture of where the characters are in the story. chimney is not under bobby. he is not being treated with respect. he is 15 years in the past (from when the episode aired. whatever) it is different. it wasn't supposed to matter who said it

(it did matter and it does matter that it's tommy who said it by the way. because that's like. the universe of the show)

(though my theory - and i'm just being stupid for a sec indulge me it's 3am - is that tim and ryan both LOVE writing in guys named tommy. seriously i've been rewatching glee and when i watched 911 i noticed this too that there are so many characters that we never even meet named tommy. abby's ex for one. my theory is that tim wanted to bring in some guy named tommy for buck's awakening and he realized he already had one. lol.)

SECONDLY. sorry that was longwinded. secondly, i am a person who believes that people are capable of change. 20 years is a long time to grow. even as an adult. again, this does not excuse racism, but it is important anyway.

this is all theoretical but i want you to walk with me: it is possible for a 20-30 year old closeted gay white man with a homophobic captain pre-obama to pick up and not experience consequences for inappropriate comments and casual racism and even be seeking out a parent-like validation from someone who encourages it AND THEN, after 20 years wherein he realizes he's gay, comes out of the closet, i believe it is POSSIBLE for him to unpack his internalized racism, apologize, and grow as a person

obviously these are fictional characters but it is important to my fucking philosophy of life that people are capable of change and having empathy or understanding that in fictional characters is so fucking baseline.

it is important that we as a society can agree that someone's behavior, ideology, and/or biases can change. that like. that just HAS to be possible.

caveat #1 that does not mean that any people of color who are fans of the show have to like tommy or even forgive him (or even like. hen and chim lmao it's kind of clear to me that at least hen doesn't) and i am not going to tell them to

caveat #2 i also understand that there is no explicit acknowledgment of this on screen (i think this is because tim forgot which i find funny but like i said. it still matters that it's tommy regardless of intent) and because of that there technically is nothing To forgive

ALL OF THAT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.

even if we are assuming that tommy has learned nothing and has not changed at all. the leap from "tommy is/was racist" to "shipping bucktommy or finding tommy interesting Makes You Racist" is heinous to me.

sometimes people like characters who are shitty people. some of you like tony stark. sorry

it's ridiculous to me because there are plenty of other reasons to dislike bucktommy that doesn't like. vilify random people on the internet. he's not even framed as a particularly good boyfriend! we don't even know if they're boyfriends, for one thing!

i've been complaining about buddie shippers for this entire time but i literally am one of you and that's what pisses me off. you threw the first blow in the morality competition and you are bigger - and you KNOW you are bigger because you are proud of the fact - and you are winning.

you are right about a lot of it: tommy isn't a good guy. there is an active racism problem in this fandom. there is a misogyny problem in this fandom. but by and large buddie shippers have been in the game longer and have much larger followings and there is nasty shit i'm seeing which brings me to

5. social media discourse 2 electric boogaloo: twitter edition

twitter is a cesspool in the best of times but i have seen some shit in the past two weeks that makes me never want to write fanfiction for this fandom or even interact with most of the fans ever again. and i'm serious

there is a big buddie fanfic writer who is like. beloved. if you read buddie fanfiction you've read their work for sure. they started writing bucktommy and buddietommy fics around april. and people are being so nasty about them on twitter it is actually fucking embarrassing.

AND LIKE. god. fandom etiquette is so simple.

when i first started reading buddie fanfic the first thing i noticed was how many fics are locked. and i was like "i wonder why that is"

just look at these tweets. i have kept the author's handle here uncensored but please be normal do not bother this person. i'm sure their ao3 comments are hell enough already

what the fuck is your people's problem i'm serious

i'm like actually appalled. this is embarrassing. this isn't even the most embarrassing thing i've seen buddie stans do recently and it is NOT uncommon. it is not small accounts. you guys are the majority. these tweets have hundreds of likes.

i don't give a shit what this person was writing. i actually don't care. their fics are locked. they write for free.

to take someone's fic outside ao3 is considered bad fandom etiquette. to talk about an author where they don't have an account is generally considered bad fandom etiquette. to complain about fanfiction openly is bad fandom etiquette. i don't care if this is y'all's first fandom. in what world are you going to take to twitter and openly complain about someone writing fanfiction for a ship you don't like.

if i were them i would delete all of the buddie fics or never write buddie again i'm so serious. this is so ridiculous.

and this is sort of the nail in the coffin for me, seeing this tweet the other day:

this tweet has over a thousand likes

this is a larger fandom issue as of recent with the use of like. mental health terms as insults but it actually fucking disgusts me!

i looked at mark's twitter. it's pretty clear to me that he's a troll/having fun/provoking people on purpose but on TOP of that his tweets get at most 35 likes. i checked and this tweet got 21 likes. and over a thousand likes calling him schizophrenic. 24 replies doubling down. 25 retweets. 47 quote tweets. 62 bookmarks. over a thousand likes.

and buddie shippers are the good guys

it is ridiculous to me that as a fandom buddie shippers have created a space where it is impossible to have a meaningful discussion about fandom misogyny, racism, of homophobia because everyone who disagrees with you is morally opposed to you, and yet it is this side of the fandom with enough traction and support to openly bully and mock these people that you have decided are morally reprehensible.

6. in conclusion i'm sorry i know no one read this

fandom in general post-covid has become less of a community based in sharing creativity and the love of something (and i know this intimately as a kpop stan lol). online spaces in general have become something i don't recognize or want to participate in. which sucks. i've been here for a long time.

i know there's not really any way for that group of like 5 or so tiktokers that complain about tommy ad nauseam to see this or even take it seriously. i know there's not any way for those people on twitter to magically understand fandom etiquette or just block the people they don't want to see.

everyone would be happier if they just. blocked and moved on. i know i would. and i have! in a lot of cases. there's a reason i blocked out the names on those tweets (note: i blocked mark's twitter handle. the person who screenshotted it so he wouldn't be notified and then called them schizophrenic did not. because they do not care) because it's not about THEM it's about the whole fucking thing.

and a lot of these people want to be mad. it's why they're so hung up on tommy. like i'm sorry if any bucktommy fan is still reading this but GOD TOMMY HAS BEEN ON SCREEN FOR LIKE TEN MINUTES TOTAL IN THE ENTIRE SHOW. HE DOESN'T EVEN MATTER. JUST ADMIT THIS IS ABOUT A SHIP WAR. IT ISN'T ABOUT HOW GOOD OF A PERSON YOU ARE OR ANYONE IS. IT'S JUST A SHIP WAR. and they want to be miserable. they want to sit in their little echochamber of morally upright big name fans and they want to provoke bucktommy fans into saying something shitty and they love it because they don't really fucking care about the show.

you know how i know? because tommy is the least important part of chimney begins. that is in the best 3 episodes of this entire television show and none of y'all have anything to say about it. because you're just as obsessed with tommy as they are.

[jayisgay]

idk if this is just me but I kind of dislike the protocol fandom. It feels sometimes like they won’t let the show be the show and are always trying to analyze it through the lens of the Magnus archives. Which is understandable! They are, to some extent, connected. However I’m seeing more in the tags of people trying to sort episodes into fears and latching onto the appearances of tma characters, rather than actually focusing on the characters original to tmagp. And honestly, this is to some extent a gripe I have with the show itself: it won’t let itself be something other than the Magnus archives. For a show that is supposedly independent of tma, to the extent that you don’t have to have listened to tma to understand tmagp, it feels very reliant on established knowledge and characters from tma to carry the plot forward. I feel the show would be more interesting WITHOUT all of these ties to the original tma universe- like Celia’s whole deal (which I find very self-inserty the way she always is namedropping fears and stuff) and the Jonmartin mention in one of the recent episodes. I don’t know, it just gets on my nerves.

[sleepanonymous]

In light of recent events (that I fully missed and only caught the resolution of), I figured maybe I should drag this post out of my drafts instead of sitting on it like a coward.

TLDR: It’s important to respect the band, but it’s equally as important to respect your fellow fan’s wishes to not know Sleep Token’s identities.

(These two asks are from the previous drama, not what happened yesterday.)

I’ve had those 2 anon asks sitting in my inbox from that drama last month with a Tumblr user revealing Sleep Token’s names in a rant post because the guys did not unmask during/after the Wembley ritual. I hate to bring this back up but I feel guilty because I pretty much tossed a barrel of toxic waste onto that existing dumpster fire and walked away as everything exploded. I’d gotten back to everyone who DMd me and sent non-anon asks, but couldn’t answer these two. I didn’t want to publicly put that tumblr blog on blast because I did not want it to look like I was trying to instigate a witch hunt.

I had planned on ignoring these two asks since I had no way to DM the anon users, but figured I may as well use this as an opportunity to talk about something else: Sleep Token’s identities and respecting the band member’s wishes to stay anonymous.

Nowadays it’s nearly impossible to simply look up “Sleep Token” and not have the guy’s names and/or faces spoiled. It’s not your fault if this has happened to you, and you aren’t a bad person or disrespecting the band. Even if you looked up the information on purpose, that doesn’t make you disrespectful. It’s human nature to be curious, especially in regards to things that you love.

It’s okay if you know the names and faces of the member’s of Sleep Token. It is not okay to pass this information along in Sleep Token fan spaces, even if you disagree with the anonymity aspect or believe it’s just a gimmick. It is okay to be curious about the members and search for information about them online (such as old projects, public accounts, etc). It is not okay to harass them or their friends/family online (and yes, commenting “Worship” is harassment outside of Sleep Token’s official accounts). It is okay if you don’t find Sleep Token attractive after seeing their faces. It is not okay to hate on them or bodyshame them, especially in Sleep Token fan spaces. It is okay if you recognize the guys out in public, such as outside a venue. It is not okay to draw attention to them, take unsolicited photos of them, or approach them with anything other than respect.

The point I’m trying to make is that you can only be responsible for yourself. I am in a space where I regularly use Sleep Token’s first names, and relentlessly censor myself outside of that space to make sure I don’t accidentally namedrop. If I, an adult with ADHD and a 50 second attention span, can do this, so can you. Know that if you are refraining from openly sharing/spreading information about the band’s identities, you are not only respecting the Sleep Token’s wishes to remain anonymous, but you are also respecting countless other fans that are trying to avoid that same information for their own reasons.

It’s also important to remember there are people on the other side of the screen before sending hate. It’s easy to forget that a living, thinking, feeling, human reading what you’re saying. The best way to deal with people online who give you strong negative emotions is to block them and forget they exist.

If you’ve read this far then I just want to say that you’re amazing and I love you (especially if you’re my mutual or follower). You’re all truly the best community in this fandom. I hope you’re having/had a fantastic day. Forehead kisses and Large Mug Morning Espressos™ for all of you.

[toscrollperchancetomeme]

Is there a life after IwtV Season 2?

So, Interview with the Vampire Season 2 is over, you have already rewatched it a dozen times and don’t know what to do with yourself?

Here’s a list of suggestions!

Read the books

I might be biased because I have been a fan since the early 2000s, but they are genuinely worth a read. A lot of people struggle especially with the first book, which I understand – but you can absolutely skip it and start right away with The Vampire Lestat! Especially The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned are a great read and they are what is coming up next in the show. A lot of the plot of QotD happens at the same time as The Vampire Lestat, so I expect that material from both books will come up in the next season.

If you have a brain that enjoys audio books, they are actually available for free on youtube (though the narrator pronounces Louis’ name wrong). The version on the commercial audio book platforms read by Simon Vance is better though, if that’s an option for you. :)

The books after that are very much a mixed bag, but they all have some great and some downright crazy stuff in them, because Anne Rice’s writing was pretty unhinged at times. It’s a ride, but imho one worth taking.

Watch reaction videos on YouTube

I think I have by now watched all reactions that are available. For me it really brings a lot of joy to relive the experience of a first-time watch by proxy. Some are frustrating because people talk over important dialogue, some hold genuine galaxy brain moments by people who know nothing of the material. I will not recommend anyone, because vibes vary for everyone, but I’m sure there’s a reactor out there that YOU will vibe with.

Watch other shows/movies with the actors

Did you know that “Talk Radio”, written by and starring Eric Bogosian is available in full on youtube? I haven’t watched it yet, but I hear it’s really good.

For Sam Reid, I can’t recommend “Lambs of God” highly enough, and I hear great things about The Newsreader, which I sadly can’t get my hands on at the moment. “Belle” is also a beautiful movie, but his part is rather small as far as I remember.

Then of course there’s Hotel Portofino for Assad (but I’m not yet that desperate).

I actually haven’t watched anything with Jacob Anderson except Game of Thrones, which I will NOT rewatch, so I’m happy for suggestions there!

Watch the movies that have been namedropped by Rolin Jones

Hedwig and the Angry Inch – a phenomenal movie and stage show in its own right. It’s fun, it’s beautiful, it’s queer as fuck, the music is excellent and it’s an absolute must-watch.

Rocky Horror Picture Show – honestly, if you have never seen this movie, what are you waiting for?

The Dirt – Rolin Jones has mentioned the book, but there was actually a pretty decent movie made about Mötley Crüe a few years ago, that I really enjoyed.

Also, I have seen Amadeus mentioned several times, I’m not sure if that came up in an interview but it’s an excellent movie and the parallels to the relationship between Lestat and Armand are definitely there.

Honorary mention: Fight Club, not because anyone has mentioned it but… the parallels warrant an essay that I might one day have to write. (Themes: Queerness of male on male violence, imaginary boyfriends, idealization of toxic masculinity)

Read the books from Rolin Jones' reading list

I have now spent 10 minutes googling for that interview where he lists the books he’s reading for Season 3, but can’t find it. Someone please drop it in the comments?

Learn French

Want to feel closer to your favorite actors? Why not go through the same hell as them and get bullied by the Duolingo owl while at it? ❤

Discord servers

I’m not active there right now, but I have found several fandom servers that seem like great communities.

Read Fanfic

Honestly the reason this is down here is because it’s so obvious. :)

Get creative

Write fanfic, draw fan art, roleplay, edit videos, make unhinged memes!

And always: Support the content creators!

Everytime I scroll the tag I see new creators entering the fandom and let me tell you, after almost 20 years of drought, I am overjoyed. Same goes for fic writers, youtube reactors and reviewers! Leave them a like, a comment or whatever is available on the platform they are using.

Edit:

Watch the musical!

I completely forgot! There’s a Lestat musical by Elton John. Yes, you read that right. This lovely YouTube account has full bootlegs for you to enjoy some camp broadway fun!

[quasi-normalcy]

You know...

I grew up with TNG; it’s always been my Star Trek; I spent much of my childhood obsessed with it. And there I was, watching what promised to be the Last! Appearance! by the TNG Crew! Ever!,

and I felt nothing at all.

Nothing had any weight. The Borg Collective got blowed up real good, but they’d already got blowed up real good 20 years ago, and last season set up another, vastly more interesting version of the Borg anyways if only anyone had bothered to mention them or anything else from the first two seasons, so it means nothing. Nothing had any weight. No one even died. No one even got meaningfully assimilated. Apparently you can just peel Borg implants right off your face without, you know, bleeding to death or ripping out a chunk of your brain. Someone should probably tell Seven of Nine about that.

And now I’ve had a few hours to reflect upon it and what occurs to me is: I think I hate it. Yes, that sounds right. I hate it.

I mean, Nemesis gets a lot of sh*t, much of it deserved, but like…I actually cried during Nemesis. Nemesis also had a fascinating nature-versus-nurture theme, which admittedly, was a come-down from “All Good Things’…” promise of human transcendence, but at least it was something! This just felt like empty nostalgia calories, wrapped it a blanket with bathetic MCU quips. No thought-provoking science fiction. No exploration of the human condition. Just…bloodless violence for an hour.

And then I thought back to how this series started, my beautiful, flawed, Star Trek: Picard; and here I must admit that I’m one of those sad, lonely freaks who actually really liked the first two seasons. I liked the weighty themes of living in the cognizance of death, and the serious engagement with transhumanism. Above all, I liked the characters. Elnor, Soji, Rios, and especially Agnes. And then I thought: what an absolute Insult this season is! You dump all of the characters and you can’t even be arsed to namedrop them. I mean, shit, there’s a reference to Chekov in the first five minutes, but you can’t be arsed to reference any of the characters whose series you hijacked? You have Raffi sparring with Worf and she can’t even mention that her adopted son is a Romulan swordsmaster? You have the Borg invading, and “no one’s seen them in over ten years!” and you can’t be arsed to clarify why that Borg Queen that we all saw Jurati turn into last season doesn’t count? Literally the only allusion, anywhere, to any of the characters from the first two seasons other than Raffi is Shaw telling everyone to “Forget that weird shit on the Stargazer.” That weird shit. Yeah. One of the only characters in all fiction that I’ve ever meaningfully identified with. Thanks, Terry!

But, at the same time…what a gross insult to TNG! TNG, with its humanist utopia and moral conundra and scientific grounding. TNG, which, at its best, showed us what humanity could be; which challenged us to see the world in new ways. Reduced to this. This hollow, plastic pile of rubbish.

But, hey; the reviews are positive! The series is in the top ten for streaming! And a billion YouTube comments have already informed me that, finally, REAL Star Trek is back! Forget “all that weird bullshit,” this is what we, the fandom, wanted all along!

Anyways, can’t wait to see the next exciting installment of Star Trek: Funko Pop

[secret-unburnt-guitars]

Hi i don't know much abt styx aside from general prog fandom osmosis but kwh has always intrigued me a little bit. Can you explain it in excruciating detail? (genuinely i'm not being sarcastic)

*cracks knuckles*

on february 22, 1983, styx released their eleventh studio album Kilroy Was Here. it was a concept album/rock opera though dennis deyoung likes to call it more of a "rock theatrical experience" in recent interviews. they even made a minifilm they played before the concert!!!! you can find it and the rest of caught in the act on youtube

it was made partially as a response to the rise of the satanic panic in the early-mid 1980s. people started to believe that rock music was evil and hiding satanic messages. the band was targeted by the public when they were accused in particular by the government of arkansas (i think?) of putting backwards messages (called backmasking) in their song Snowblind (the line "i try so hard to make it so" sounded like "satan moves through our voices" to some people. i own a copy of paradise theatre, that track in particular is damaged.).

and then dennis deyoung had a GREAT IDEA!!!!!!!!

imagine a big ol lightbulb flashing over him while the rest of the members of styx watch in mortal dread

so basically the album follows a sort of loose and vague backstory that's somehow still solid enough for people to follow some sort of a plot in their head (which is slightly backed up by Caught In The Act, the designated KWH "concert," which i'll get to in a second). the basic synopsis (paraphrased but still in excruciating detail) is as such:

set in a futuristic chicago(?) rock and roll has been made illegal under code 672 (prohibits the playing and purveying of rock music). Dr. Everett Righteous (played by JY), who was responsible for this, is the leader of the majority for musical morality or the MMM for short. the MMM is one of the strongest organizations in this universe since you know. they literally convinced congress to criminalize an entire genre of music for the entire country. righteous also hosts a television show where he encourages the public to burn guitars and records in a huge bonfire during “nightly rallies”. he also projects himself onto a big triangle over the skyline which i think is fucking hilarious i haven’t been able to get over it

Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (played by Dennis DeYoung, of course he's the title character), was a prolific rock musician at the time of the ban. he was thrown in prison for breaking the law and after being framed of murder. they accused him of bashing an MMM crusader's head in (which he obviously didn't do) after they raided one of his concerts at the paradise theatre. he then goes to rot in prison and is subjected to attempts of brainwashing by the dr. righteous show with the other “rock n’ roll misfits” they’ve arrested. it doesn’t work lol. i don't understand how it would work BECAUSE IT'S NEVER EXPLAINED

the prison kilroy is rotting in is maintained/monitored by japanese import, mass produced robots dubbed the "robotos," hence the title track. ignore how racist they look, it was 1983, this is not my fault

i mildly dislike them but it sucks how they’re essential to the plot ANYWAYS

here comes Jonathan Chance, (played by Tommy Shaw, albeit reluctantly) who is a rebel that is part of a underground resistance (that's only really mentioned once). with his friend, he breaks into some unknown area that is most likely a recording studio and hijacks the live television recording of the dr. righteous show. he proceeds to namedrop himself and then run off

credit to @mccoys-killer-queen for the gifs!!

kilroy sees this happen, which inspires him to attempt to escape the prison. kilroy incapacitates a roboto that visits his prison cell and disguises himself as it so he can escape without being noticed (i do not like the way he does this)

after kilroy escapes, he goes throughout the city and leaves messages for jonathan, leading him back to the paradise theater which is now the Dr. Righteous Museum for Rock Pathology

it's got a bunch of shitty animatronics that include people like jimi hendrix and elvis presley, but at the very back is an animatronic of kilroy repeatedly bashing in someone's head

this is my favorite part of the minifilm which i've basically explained sorry. you see like what you think is another roboto emerge from the shadows, and then it takes off its mask AND IT'S THE ACTUAL KILROY!!!

(this is taken from the live show, the transition is so goddamn dope)

and then dennis deyoung prances around and has his little pick me theater main character moment and sings mr. roboto and dances and stuff it looks so stupid. the live version of mr. roboto is way funnier than the official music video i don't know. i posted it about here before but i love this part in particular

so that's how kilroy and jonathan meet and that's basically the plot of one of styx's most popular songs!! sorry i gave kind of a play by play of the minifilm

now here's the fun part !!!! (unfinished lore/controversy)

unfortunately the reception of this album was less than satisfactory for most people back in '83, since KWH was way far away from the brand that styx had made for themselves in the 70s. they made art rock and prog, but this was just straight up synthpop. some people liked it though. i read somewhere in an article that it "alienated their male audience" and honestly if you're alienated by a little bit of gay pick me theater bs from your favorite band, that's a you problem

caught in the act was the designated "kilroy concert" that styx did sometime in 1983. the concert, however, doesn't give any. depth. to any additional explanations of multiple plot holes present in the story. as much as i love and cherish dennis deyoung he didn't do a very good job at writing this.

caught in the act felt more like a compromise than a show, seeing as the banter after the performance of mr. roboto was very bare? kilroy explains to jonathan that he was framed for murder, and then he goes in depth on the night it happened. "the crowd was totally psyched," he says, and then it goes to JY performing a guitar solo, which leads into the rest of the concert. the entire concert was portrayed as a flashback and gives no real backstory to any of the established characters. and then at the tail end of the concert they get "raided" by the MMM and you watch as an MMM officer murders one of righteous' own followers with kilroy's guitar. they cut back to kilroy and jonathan, they sing haven't we been before, and then kilroy hands jonathan this sick ass glowing guitar, then they perform the world's worst finale. the dance party ending of caught in the act. it sucks. it's horrible. i hate it. also there is no dennis deyoung in the kilroy was here universe lmfao

i'm still grateful for the concert though don't get me wrong!!! amazing concert

if the rest of styx didn't want to rip dennis deyoung apart for making them do this (i recently learned from a manager that DDY made them turn down an opportunity to perform at one of the largest concerts of the 80s, because he was like "but muh kilroy"), i believe songs off the album like High Time and Double Life would have been performed at Caught in the Act. both extremely lore-heavy songs, especially double life. i really wish they played double life. but c'est la vie, i guess.

literally everyone in the band hated dennis' guts so much while they were making this (justified, he was a stubborn asshole during production) but god was it worth it. for me at least. i imagine one of the conversations about production went like

JY: dennis have you considered that maybe this is a bad idea Dennis: i'm gonna make you the villain of the story if you don't shut the FUCK UP

i still think that JY had a little bit of fun though. he was hamming it tf up as dr. righteous i'm sorry you need to watch the mv's which you can find on youtube as well

but unfortunately tommy shaw wasn't having a good time at all, he literally quit on stage and stormed off and styx split for a while bc of this album i mean LOOK AT HIM HE'S SO PISSED OFF

overall this album is both cheese AND corn, worst album i've ever listened to, and yet it's given me a purpose in life. i've written 7,000+ words in one document about this album just to try and fill in the blanks the lore has, it's got so many. it's a running joke on this blog, i really hope you check out the album, because i think it's wonderful and it's endearing regardless of the controversy, it's too late for me. save yourself

[akookminsupporter]

I'm a diff anon, but:

"Okay, but I don't understand why this ended up with BTS being dragged into a mess that has nothing to do with them in the first place? This started with the lady from the coup, right?"

Yes. In short, HYBE ordered an audit on ADOR because they found proof that MHJ and a man planned to make ADOR a separate company, Mhj and the man talked with shareholders to try to get them to back them(ador) up so they can leave hybe. This is how it started and then later on a bunch of other stuff came out.. Reddit has master posts of this, you can find them if you want to read more about it

So after the news came out about the audit, she started responding to it, she claimed hybe copied newjeans to make Illit, she claimed that she was promised to debut hybe's first gg but they debuted le sserafim first instead, she implied that she was in a slave contract. So she namedropped 2 groups first. And then somehow some article reported that she went to a shaman to discuss BTS' enlistment and when they would go and so the shaman could make sure they really go? The last part is a bit confusing because idk how a shaman could make them go but yeah. And that's how BTS got into the picture. She later basically admitted this by rambling about how this shaman is just a friend of hers who just happens to be a shaman.

"Why did BTS end up being the bad guys again?"

Because nothing unites kpop fans more than hating on bts. BTS genuinely didn't do anything, kpop fans just started hating on them for no reason and they kept making tweets about "xy group disbanded because of hybe"

"It makes sense that BigHit decided to hire an external legal team instead of using HYBE's or even their own agency's."

In my understanding, they hired this external legal team or set up this law firm to deal with the hate campaign against Bts. There are a lot of conspiracy theories going around rn, about BTS/hybe being in a cult and K-pop fans being kpop fans and bringing up everything they can about bts' past. So I think this second legal team is just for the BTS issue so that the hybe legal team can fully focus on bringing mhj to court. Again, this is just how I interpreted it.

Hello, anon. Thanks you as well for providing a bit more context on everything that's going on. If you don't mind, I have a few things to comment on regarding what you said, and also, I have a couple of questions that I hope won't offend anyone:

1. Regarding the accusations made by that woman about copying NJ: why did she say that? I don't know much about that group, but a girl group in K-pop isn't something new, right? The concept isn’t that… new, I think? And their sound isn't so... unique? From what little I've heard and some comparisons I've seen. Is the new group exactly the same, or what? Does NJ have something unique that can be easily identifiable if someone copies it? And that’s why she said that?

2. She was promised that she would debut the company's first girl group: okay, they didn't do it, and? From what little or much I've read about what this woman has said, I've concluded that she's a tantrum-throwing and pretentious person who cries when she doesn't get what she wants. You know who she reminds me of? Veruca, the character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

3. The shaman thing is complete madness and it’s probably the comedic contribution to all of this��.

4. The obsession of Kpoppies with BTS should be studied. I can bet that not even the biggest stan in the fandom is as obsessed with them as Kpoppies are. If only they put as much effort into supporting their favorites as they do into hating BTS, they would help them rise above the mediocrity that many are in. At least in terms of sales, streaming, charts, etc., with the quality of content they put out, there's not much they can do.

5. Ahhhh, your explanation about the external legal team makes sense, but at the same time, I wonder if BigHit does have its own legal team, and if it doesn't, I wonder why.

[dearweirdme]

Hi Rain, Merry Christmas in arears and happy new year in advance. I have read through a good amount of your blog and i gotta say you are one of the most sensible taekookers i’ve come across. I have read ur takes on taekook and jikook and i can say i see where you and other taekookers are coming from when u say you think taekook are a couple even though i don’t agree because over the years, there’s been alot of stuff that have directly or indirectly debunked taekook as a romantic pair (for me atleast)

I do have a question for you and ur followers. What will be your reaction if u come to find out one day that taekook have always been just friends and nothing more? How would u view Tae as a person if we all come to find out that he was infact dating Jennie? We had the whole accidental instagram follow back in 2021, the leaked pics in 2022 and the Paris walk in 2023. After Tae “accidentally” followed Jennie in 2021, he went on weverse and said instagram is a scary app. This entire solo era, Tae has honestly done and or said things which could imply that he is in a romantic relationship with Jungkook. We had him namedropping Jungkook on almost all his lives, talking about going to eat at Jk’s place, talking about songs Jk recommends to him and sings to him, him posting that ss of himself and Jk shirtless, posting that pic of himself and Bam in Jk’s house and we all know that he most definitely knows about what fans think of him and Jk. He has actually replied to some taekookers on weverse before. Some jikookers think Tae did some of those things to distract from his relationship with Jennie and others think he does those things so he doesn’t lose his fans who are mostly taekookers. Now no one but Tae knows why he does all these ofcourse and you taekookers would not find anything wrong with the things he does because you honestly believe he and Jungkook are in a relationship and most taekookers hate Jimin because they think Jimin has been a very bad friend to tae all these years by doing Fanservice with Jungkook even though he knows it hurts Jk. You also believe that Tae gets hurt sometimes when he watches Jikook interact. So my question to you is, what kind of a person would u think Tae is if it turns out that he was never in a romantic relationship with Jungkook but did and said all these things anyway even though he knew exactly what it looked like? I know that right now u cannot even imagine it because u really believe that taekook is real, but you used to be a Larrie and u mentioned that at some point alot of things just didn’t make sense anymore so u stopped. You have already been through that route where u shipped two pple and later realized that maybe you were wrong all along and read things wrong. What if like Larry you are also reading alot of things wrong with taekook? If it turns out that you are once again wrong, would u respect Tae as a person? Would u honestly hold him accountable for misleading millions of fans with his words and actions or would u find ways to continue making excuses for him? I know that right now you cannot even imagine it but what if Jimin and Jungkook have been the real couple all along? Would u think Tae was a good friend to Jimin all these years? All you tkkrs who hate Jimin because u think he is a bad friend and a homewrecker, if we one day find out that jikook is real, would u redirect ur hate to Tae? Would u blame tae for all the things you blamed Jimin for all these years? What about Jennie? If we someday get concrete proof that tae was dating Jennie, how would u feel about the fact that he sat there and did nothing but fuel his taekook shippers while Jennie got hate every single day because of him? How would u look at him after he sat there and allowed his entire fandom to call that girl names and accuse her of using him for clout even though he was really dating her? Would u think Taehyung is a good person if all these turn out to be true? How would u explain the way he behaved sometimes when jikook interacted? How would u explain him saying all those things about Jungkook?I honestly want you to think about all of these and tell me honestly what you would think of Taehyung.

I know that you and other tkkrs love Tae and you believe that he and Jk are a couple but lets be objective here. Tae started mentioning and focusing on talking about Jungkook alot immediately after those photos with Jennie hit the timeline. Now I’m not saying i know his intentions but let’s look at a few things. After May of 2022, we had Tae mentioning Jk on almost all of his lives and sometimes just mentioning him with no context. In June 2022, he did a live saying he would get his tattoo with Jungkook, and then he proceeded to upload a fake tattoo minutes after Jungkook posted his real tattoo. In November he did a live and said he was going to game with Jungkook. At the airport, he said he was supposed to travel with Jungkook, in January he went live and said Jungkook was there at his place gaming with him and his friends, in February he asked Jk to do an instagram live together, mentioned on live that he was going to do a karaoke Live with Jungkook, also mentioned that he was making plans to enlist with Jungkook, does many lives and mentions Jungkook’s names so many times, talks about a song Jk recommended to him (with sus lyrics), talks about Jk singing to him, talks about going to eat at Jungkook’s place, during his entire promotion, he talks about recording at Jungkook’s place, and didn’t give much context until Jk came and explained and gave better context. So Tae is close to his wooga squad too and other members of bts, but he never felt the need to talk about them as much as he spoke about Jk. So if if turns out that Tae was dating Jennie all along, how would you explain these actions of his?

This is just a hypothetical situation ofcourse but i would really love to hear how u would react and and how you will view tae as a person if it turns out that he was never in a relationship with Jk, actually dated Jennie and Jimin has been the one in a relationship with Jk all along. The truth is, everyone is speculating here and no matter how convinced you think u are of ur ship, there is always a possibility that there are certain parts of the puzzle that u missed so u couldn’t come out with the full picture. Think about this and let me know what you and your anons think. Who knows? Maybe in a not so distant future, so many people will be coming back to this ask when think take a completely different turn from what y’all are expecting.

Hi anon!

Merry Christmas (a bit belated) and a Happy New years in advance to you too!

Alright.. let's get the obvious out of the way: You are a Jkkr and you don't much like Tae. You are a very polite Jkkr, and you have read my blog so thanks for that, now let me talk about the way I love Tae.

Tae is my bias. I love al members very much, all of them have a special place in my heart, but Tae is the one who constantly touches me, who has made me realize things about myself, who makes me stronger (even at 41 years old). I feel close to him, because I feel he and I are the same in some ways.. in ways that matter to me. I have always struggled with feeling different. People just don't easily get me, while I always get other people. I have a difficulty making people understand the way my mind works. And I used to think that was my fault, that I was doing something wrong. I've been on a road to acceptance of my weirdness for a long time, and.. even before I became an Army, I was already doing pretty well. I had accepted my weirdness. What Tae brought me was a freedom to also enjoy my weirdness. When I look at him, I see someone who has had the same issues like me, but who is so wonderfull.. I started thinking... who even cares if someone is slightly different from the rest. It's uniqueness. And uniqueness means that some people might not understand you, but others might find you amazing. So that's what Tae means to me. I love how he's soft and cuddly and caring, but he's also sharp as a knife. Tae cares, he cares so much and everyone around him knows it... so why don't you anon?

There's little certainties in shipping. I know I might me wrong about Tae and Jk, but there's other certainties that I do have. I am absolutely certain that Tae and Jk are extremely close, that they love each other even if it's only platonically. I am also very certain that Jm and Tae love each other to pieces. I think fandom has been a thorn in their eyes at times because of the Tkkrs hate Jm and Jkkrs hate Tae issues. I do not think they like serious shipping very much because of it. SO when you aks me, what would I think about Tae if him and Jk are not dating.. I would still think of him the same. My reasons for loving Tae have nothing to do with Tae and Jk. That is just something I noticed, but I do not need Jm to be the bad guy in this story and that is something you have to work on anon.. because you cannot think of Tae kindly wjile also reconciling that with your ship... of which you also cannot be sure. You dislike Tae in favor of a ship that probably isn't real.

If Tae and Jk aren't together I would still think he talked about him that much because they spent so much time together. Tae doesn't talk about Wooga much because when he does a live he is talking to Army. Army knows Jk. Army asks about Jk. When Tae goes live he is constantly reminded of Jk. He talks about him more than other members because they spend more time together.

If Tae and Jennie were real (🥴) I'd think he just went through a toxic relationship that finally ended and was very happy afterwards. It's a weird take to have that he used Jk to hide his relationship with Jennie. Like.. point to the gay to hide a straight one? Maybe they shouldn't have called a pap when they were in Paris then?

I cannot imagine Jkk being real. I mean, to me those two are so much bro-friends I just cannot. There's too much standing in the way for me to think of that as a possibility. Even my hypothetical thoughts end up in me going "nope".

The way Tae behaved at times when Jk and Jm were Jkking is something I would have difficulty explaining if it turns out Tkk isn't real. Because that is odd to me. There's a sadness and an annoyance there that I cannot explain otherwise. I do not feel Tae blames Jm for this, those two are good. If there's feeligns of anger those feelings are for the situation as a whole. Fandom often forgets that members know each other way better than we know them. So Tae knows better what's in Jm and Jk's minds than we do. And that goes the other way around as well. I am convinced that Jm would hate the way you think of Tae, just like Tae would hate the way some Tkkrs think about Jm.

[usakojiru]

I will post this since not many fandom members are discussing it. For those who don't know, Solmare is taking down accounts or posts that include Obey Me/Nightbringer official art.

Namedrops are given in this Twitter post (link available for more information)

Maon is well-known in the OM community. They uploaded and translated the B's Log. They request people not to repost so that the devs will take it down. Very hypothetical in my opinion.

I am very disappointed. I did read Solmare content Terms of Service and Use again, but still...Maon and others are just straight-up disgusting either way.

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 21

I haven't really commented on it yet, but I just love the CG illustrations in this game. Those looks just amazing, and this current one of Daien castle in particular. I wonder if there are any higher resolution versions of these online?

Ah, Ena is supposed to be female? Either way, that's gender right there, I have to say.

Ohhh, we're getting into Ashnard's motivation for the entire war and the actual politics of the whole thing! That's actually super interesting stuff there, I have to say.

You know, for a random chapter boss, that's a great amount of characterization for this guy who's gonna be fighting alongside Ena.

Soren being a bit of a bitch again, but he is speaking truth about the realities of war to Elincia. I can only reiterate, I can tell why he's divisive in the fandom, but so far I still think he's interesting. Especially since I still don't know what his deal is exactly.

Base conversation with a refugee. . . for something that started with a gag about Ike getting mistaken for a bodyguard, this one got heavy. More talking about how Jill's father was a good man, and the people of Daien developing a hatred for Crimea.

Only other base conversation is about Ike and Mist talking about the loss of the medallion, and how it affects her. Hah, guess I got it at least somewhat right when I wrote that oneshot fic in that the thing means a lot to Mist. And Nasir having a bad conscious! Guess it won't be long now before I find out what his deal is.

Decided to go for Reyson and Tanith's C support. Not much there in terms of content, but it's interesting enough, I suppose.

Big map with many treasure chests and doors. Reyson and Sothe are gonna be spending a lot of time together here.

So it was smooth sailing for most of the map. . . up until I got to the very end, where that enemy mage put Ike to sleep. Just as Tauroneo was getting aggroed. That took me a few more turns to navigate around, but at least I managed to resolve it and recruit Tauroneo.

Speaking of whom, decently interesting character! I suppose he probably won't have support conversations with Ike or Mist, but I hope that there will be at least some base conversations to be had with him.

. . .And I really should have figured that there'd be a catch with Ena not having a ranged attack. This gender af girl has a ridicilous amount of HP - and none of my characters have any weaponry on them that deals bonus damage against Laguz. In the end, I got her down to an HP range where she uses her elixir all three times, with the last one being especially clutch because if she had not done that, then she'd have killed Nephenee and forced me to reset the map. In the end, I got Ike to land the finishing blow with the Brave Sword I got on this map and with him activating Aether.

There's the payoff for Nasir being the spy! Or at least a bit of it. There's bound to be more. But if I'm reading this right, then the person that Ena is siding with Ashnard for isn't Nasir, so. . . who else? I half remember Ashnard having a wyvern that's a permanently transformed Laguz or something, so maybe it's that? Rajajon I think his name was.

Speaking of Ashnard - Fire Emblem namedropped, roll credits! More interestingly though, talk of the Black Knight abducting Leanne and Petrine having to put in some work for her failures. With Nasir telling Ike that they should head to a temple, that's three plot points introduced now. I wonder if they're all gonna resolved be in the same chapter?

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Magic: Return of the Asspull

So the word on Twitter is that there have been leaked reports of a new anime called "Dragon Ball Magic". I'm pretty sure it's all made-up bullshit, but I remember thinking Dragon Ball Super was a pipe dream too, and here we are. So I may as well discuss the topic here.

The whole thing comes across like a modern day Dragon Ball AF, where there seems to be a lot more emphasis on hype and speculation than tangible evidence. For example, there's a twitter account dedicated to gathering all the information available about the new series, but all it really does is amplify rumors and fanworks. When I search for the title on Twitter I mostly get skeptics making fun of the idea, or true believers talking about the show as if it were objective fact. Like AF, there's a lot of excitement but no clear picture of what the the thing actually is. The only real consensus I can find is the following:

Dragon Ball Magic will feature the Supreme Kai

Goku will be turned into a child, just like in Dragon Ball GT

Geekdom101 talked about this once, so that means it must be real.

And that's why I led off with the screenshot of the tail-yanking scene from GT, because I was trying to find an appropriate image of GT Goku and the Supreme Kai, and... yeah, that's it.

The more I think about it, the more this feels like something an internet troll would come up with. Like, someone started with the stupidest moment in the worst Dragon Ball series ever, and built a rumor around it. Oh, and also the rumor namedrops Geekdom101, just to make it extra absurd. It's the sort of thing gullible people would flock to while everyone in on the joke would have a laugh over it.

I don't know enough about Geekdom101 to insult him properly, but I'm like 90% sure he's an asshole. Back when Twitter actually worked properly, I'd see his name trending and there'd be a bunch of people in the fandom going "Dammit, what's he done this time?" Does he have inside sources in the anime industry? I dunno, maybe he does, but I think he's got a credibility problem. I mean, he calls himself "Geekdom101", and his avatar is Golden Frieza with a pair of glasses and holding a lightsaber. His YouTube videos look like a clickbait parody, with things like "Kai-o-ken EXPLAINED" and "WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR". Also plenty of what-if and who-would-win videos.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that maybe this is a guy who makes a decent living off his fandom channel, and when there's not much going on, he'll cobble together a story just to keep the conversation going and draw more attention to his videos. Which... I mean, if that's profitable, so be it, but if Geekdom told me water was wet I'd want to double-check for myself.

As to the rest, even if Toei was really planning something like DB Magic, there's no guarantee they'd actually follow through with it. Plans change, and even if this were 100% legit, it means nothing without an official confirmation and a release date. That "Superman Lives!" movie with Nic Cage was a real thing... right until it wasn't.

But I find the concept too vague and too specific all at once. Like, okay, it's Supreme Kai and a de-aged Goku. Why them in particular? What are they going to do? It just feels like something someone made up to get a reaction from the fans. GT likers are supposed to get all excited or defensive about a potential GT reboot, and other fans are supposed to get upset that the Supreme Kai got the lead instead of their favorite C-lister.

Compare this to the early reveals for DBS: Superhero. Toei teased a few details, and gradually it became clear that the Red Ribbon Army was back somehow, and maybe there were some new androids, and there was a lot about Piccolo and Gohan, so it seemed like they'd be a big part of the story. It wasn't a complete picture, but it made sense from a promotional standpoint. People were more concerned with the CG animation than any of the characters or plot.

I mean, anyone can come up with this stuff. I mean, my uncle works for Nintendo, and he told me that the next anime is going to be called Dragon Ball Snazzy, and it'll be about Vegeta and 18 starting up a private detective agency. Or... I don't know, Dragon Ball Jazz, which is a prequel series featuring a young Dr. Brief and Gine as secret agents. Wait, how about Dragon Ball Spatula, starring Elder Guru and Launch as they explore the multiverse!

And you know, I'd probably watch any of these shows. Hell, I sat through GT, and it was awful! The bar's pretty low when it comes to making a Dragon Ball project that I'm willing to try out. But people have been clamoring for Dragon Ball Super II ever since the first series went off the air in 2018, and that was years ago. This Dragon Ball Magic business just sounds like the same old empty hype with a fresh coat of paint.

Or maybe the whole thing is real, but my advice is: Don't get your hopes up. Life's too short to get worked up over things that might never happen. If it actually comes to pass, then it'll still be just as much fun whether you believed it ahead of time or not.

[olderthannetfic]

speaking of the OFMD fandom's toxicity, recent wank involved a fucking crowdfunded 'renew the show' campaign (which is already stupid, if the show got canceled then a FAN-RUN crowdfunding campaign is not gonna get it un-canceled, this is not like the veronica mars campaign where the kickstarter was headed by the showrunner who actually was going to use the money to get the movie created and distributed) that said 'money we get over x amount will be donated to charity'.... AND THEN THE FANDOM IDIOTS WERE PISSED ABOUT THAT

and some other stuff came out about a server being like 'dont promote other charities/causes in case it takes away from the momentum of this one' (namedropping palestine, at that) and it's like. yall can't just let your show die with dignity you've really gotta explicitly say 'i don't want my money going to a charitable cause' and 'we don't want you promoting charities that will help people in need or bring awareness to ongoing atrocities in the world because it may take attention away from our gay pirate show getting renewed uwu'

sorry but literally nothing about the show was worth this kind of toxic fan devotion. at this point i hope it stays dead permanently. that fandom doesn't deserve shit.

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Other people did watch it, dude. But yes, this kind of goofy fan campaign makes me roll my eyes because it never works.