#of COURSE MAXIEL R FRIENDS

[sixaustralia]

just saw a post that was like “when I say I ship [x] I mean it platonically ^-^ I think they’re just friends ^-^” & it’s like. Ok. Number one get out of the fucking ship tag then. Number two, wtf do u think shipping means. “I ship them platonically!” That’s just friendship??? What’s that got to do with shipping??? And number three, THIS IS LITERALLY RPF 😭😭😭 NO ONE BELIEVES THESE GUYS ARE ACTUALLY FUCKING!!!!!! “I ship them as friends” THEY ARE FRIENDS!!!! IN REAL LIFE!!!!!! THATS WHY PEOPLE SHIP THEM!!!!

[bsaka7]

☕️ the scattering to the winds of f1blr

you know, this is something i would think i would care about more than i do. it makes me sad that i don't interact as much with some of my mutuals just because we're not online at the same time bc we're not liveblogging races and our other interests don't align as well. i also miss like the people i used to talk 2 who r deactivated or just not online now :(((((. that being said. i do not miss some of the like. discourse??? frustrations??? with factions of the fandom that took up too much space in my mind if we're being real. now if i see a touch of it i'm just like. i don't really care. which is good! but i also found f1 one of the most creative fandoms i've ever interacted with and probably the first ever fandom i made mutuals and friends in (important skills lol!). i really, really enjoyed that kind of community energy even if it's all sapped out of me now, so i guess i miss that too.

it's kind of fun too, though, to learn different things about people i follow (well. lbr. i especially like to see @astronomical-light and @thelittlebirdthatkeptsomanywarm when they talk about hockey i enjoy it so much even tho obv it's different teams but it's also fun since i also know them in f1 obviously!! years now!! crazy!!) and to see glimpses of moto gp and rally and so on. and then of course scraps of what's going on in f1 bc it's not like i don't pay attention to the races it's just the obsession is gone.

on the most macro level, it sort of feels like an inevitability given the state of racing in some ways, and at least for me, f1 is such an individual-driven sport so like. if is the same for your guy week-in and week-out, there's only so long that's really interesting. it also seems like. the fandom got such a massive influx of fans in like, 2020-22? (probably still to now)? and that led to a really rapid explosion and then shift in fandom interests which you can see in analytics, but to me like. i sort of felt like i knew everyone in my corner when i got into blogging about f1 (summer 21. which. wtf. three years???) and by what i consider the end of being serious about it (early in the 23 season), i totally did not have that sense anymore LOL just because there were way more blogs and stuff, whether or not that's actually true or just representative of my. awareness of what was going on lolol. i feel like there's something i want to say here about maxiel/lestappen and then like. beyond that. the sort of mix of secondary ships (carlando on one level and then idk chalex galex fernanlance (?) pierresteban and now loscar landoscar and so on whatever) , and the shifts there that are obviously affected by what happens on-track. but i think that like. uhhh. decentralization? maybe? a more general turning-on-max after 21 and then ensuing incidents leading to (more of a division?) (the end of it with him for some fans?) (insert your theory here?). idk. i feel like there's a size->fandom dynamics/racing thing (bc i'd like to think it still does go back to the sport)->splinter dynamic going on here but i can't like. articulate it super well LOL sorry. then again i'm a person who personally rarely keeps an interest in an INTENSE way for more than like...1-3yrs so. maybe it's just that.

okay i'm going to go make my dinner now. FOR REAL. oh wait someone else is using the kitchen (i forgot what it was like to have roomies who weren't MY MOM!) .but soon.