#this isn't to say 'never criticize other fans' or anything lol but i'm of the opinion that it's important to specify behaviours

[bthump]

idk if it is wrong of me to say, but ppl's love for gtsca is very strange to me. guts has known her longer in her elaine state than when they talked to each other, i think. it is hard to find it heartbreaking in the sense that we haven't seen him interacting with casca in well over like 250+ chapters. so i question whether fans self-insert or really just keep rereading GA over and over. it is like guts recycles the same moments they had years ago, but even if those moments were the peak of romance (they were not), seeing the same flashbacks gets stale after so many years. i truly wonder what keeps fans invested lmao

Idk, to be fair you can make pretty much the same criticisms of griffguts lol. They've barely interacted since the Golden Age, Griffith is no longer his human self, Guts always thinks of the same moments when he thinks of Griffith, etc.

People like what they like. There's virtually nothing that appeals to me about gtsca, and I do definitely think griffguts is about 100x more engaging and interesting, but if people got emotionally attached to Guts and Casca's relationship in the Golden Age it makes sense to still root for them now, especially since the manga does still tease the fans of their relationship occasionally.

lol sorry btw, I know you were probably expecting agreement since I'm not a fan of gtsca at all myself and I do think they're boring and all the post-GA content makes their relationship even worse in my eyes, but idk I feel like it's best to express your dislike of a ship without making assumptions about why other people might enjoy it. And even if it is true that a lot of fans self-insert (and based on how people discuss Berserk on eg reddit and stuff, and the fact that it's just a very common way of enjoying stories) I don't think that's inherently a bad thing as long as they don't make it other peoples' problem.

Anyway, yeah. Totally agree that Guts and Casca's relationship is lacklustre in every way and pretty close to nonexistent after the Golden Age, but I think it's still fine for people to enjoy it. We can't all have the same taste in entertainment.

[batsplat]

hello!!! i wanted to ask you something, i just saw video of gigi and when they asked him about how he'd define dovi he said fast after thinking about it for too long 😭 so i was wondering if you had some post about the dovi/ducati relationship?

( https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_hrfEKojxd/?igsh=MWtmMXQwYnRlbnF2dQ== )

thank you so much anyways!!! i love your blog 💕💕

(link) can I just say, I think everyone should go watch this because if anything anon is underselling just how long dall'igna pauses. I actually burst out laughing, it's comical

anyway, don't have a post about this specifically but it's an easy one to answer - they HATE each other. quite infamously so, like this was a common bit of paddock gossip for years and years. an open secret that they could barely be in the same room as each other. like here from 2020:

and from a little later in 2020, in the context of dovi leaving ducati:

not ideal, is it. they frequently clashed about development direction... plus dall'igna was a big jorge advocate within ducati, which dovi was unsurprisingly not massively into. important bit of context that dall'igna and jorge had already worked with each other back in their aprilia days. dall'igna's always been a jorge fan, something you would maybe not say is true of dovi. essentially dovi persistently thought ducati weren't listening enough to him and dall'igna persistently thought ducati could be performing better with a better rider. dall'igna never felt like dovi was riding the bike the way it was supposed to be ridden, and eventually the mounting tensions caused an irreconcilable rift between the pair of them

at the latest by 2019, things had definitely soured - with reports around the time of sachsenring of strained relations within the ducati camp, and dovi increasingly publicly critical of ducati:

'did not need to explicitly mention' like that's how you can tell everyone knew they had beef lol

luckily for us, however, we don't even have to rely on rumours here - because dovi went for a bit of a scorched earth approach in early 2021 once him and ducati had parted ways. actually went on the record with a lot of his dall'igna criticisms, all timer interview quite frankly. first he says he hasn't spoken properly with dall'igna for years -

- and is also kind enough to confirm that jorge's arrival specifically soured things lol. then he talks about how much power dall'igna has within ducati:

do we think. do we think from the tone. do we think from the tone that dovi maybe doesn't think ducati made the right choice in going for jorge

goes on to say that the split was always going to happen due to a particularly acrimonious meeting in the middle of 2019, the aftermath of the aforementioned sachsenring troubles. he also accuses ducati of not handling contract negotiations in a sufficiently transparent manner:

obviously the interview caused a bit of a stir, and dall'igna gave quite a muted response that didn't really address anything dovi said specifically:

but you can ofc tell dall'igna isn't a massive fan of dovi, as nicely illustrated by the clip shared above. I also remember watching an interview recent-ish where dall'igna was banging on about how much jorge had helped develop the bike, which. y'know. I'm sure jorge did provide useful input, but it does all feel a little pointed. just all got quite ugly between the two of them, which is also a big reason for why such a successful partnership ended on quite so sour a note

[hikarielizabethbloom]

Hey, I just wanted to tell you that in my opinion, you have nothing to apologize for because you did nothing wrong but expressing your POV. I'm sorry I do it anonymously, it feels wrong because until now I was never afraid of voicing my opinions... but these days it feels like saying anything in relation with this subject could be taken as "taking a side", which is weird. It feels like, you know... cold war lol !

I've recently noticed a tendency to, instead of directly commenting an opinion x user disagrees with, opening another post to criticize the opinion in question. Is it fear to confront the person who said the 'controversial' opinion ? Is it a way to say "I have a different opinion but I won't discuss it ?" (which is fair, sometimes I want to say things I feel without having someone arguing with me over it). It's very passive agressive, and it makes a certain number of fellow fans very uncomfortable. That's what I gathered from the recent discussions I had in private, anyway.

It's just not within the Haladriel fandom, it's in the entire TROP fandom ! Some people don't dare to speak about Celeborn because they're scared that someone will react by posting an agressive take on him. Recently, there was a fight about Adar being a good guy or a bad guy, fans were mocked (again, never in the face but in parallel posts) because they thought that maybe Sauron could be healed with Nenya, etc. Myself I used to post quite frequently, now I just reblog stuff because I think that if I say something that will sound controversial, maybe my opinion will be attacked in another post ! even if my name is not mentioned I'll know it's about what I said. That's not what I call a safe environment.

I don't want to see Tumblr turn into Twitter and Reddit where people will fight and throw insults at each other over fiction, but I'm a bit worried regarding where this passive agressive attitude will lead the Haladriel fandom and even the TROP fandom at large, to be honest.

There's not a day where I don't dread to open the Haladriel/Saurondriel tags and find post opened by shippers who criticize how other shippers see their ships. We don't need the antis anymore, it seems, we seem to become very good at destroying ourselves. It makes me very sad because pre 2x08 and even a couple of weeks post 2x08, the Haladriel tags were filled mostly with positivity, good fun and awesome metas. Now I only see dick contests : "my opinion is better than yours." "No, mine is better than yours and you have no media literacy if you think differently !".

I'm sorry for weighing down with this, but it had to come out of my chest and I don't feel safe anymore saying all this on my blog.

Feel free to ignore this message if you just want to put it behind you, by the way, or if you feel it will make things worse... It's really not my intention to do more damages. Or if you want, just leave a post on your blog saying "I got your message" and anything you want to add, I'll be okay with that...

Thank you for reading me <3

I'm sorry anon you feel this way and I'm sorry you felt the need to stay anonymous to protect yourself. This isn't the inquisition. This is fandom space and you should feel safe enough to express your opinions without fear of taking side. Again, this isn't a war. There are no sides and no wrong takes, no matter what some fans believe.

And yes, I decided to speak up because after a couple of posts I've made, I started to notice posts from other Tumblr users that alluded to things I said. Even from a blog I had blocked. And it got me thinking. And it pissed me off a little.

I'm usually chill. Even when I don't agree with some takes, I don't feel the need to write a long ass essay on how the other's interpretation is bad while mine is progressive, feminist, smart, supported by canon, text, my best friend, my butcher... I just read the post, think 'meh, that's bs', scroll and go on with my life.

I know that for some people that's impossible. I know that some have this need for validation. But really, I can understand (sometimes, not always) this crave for queer relationships. But when the ship involves a hot white man (villain) and hot white woman (heroine), there's really not need for validation, right? History of television validates you.

And yes, things changed by the end of season 2. New waves of fans sadly always mean more assholes. And sometimes those assholes are popular. That's it. The only thing I can do is to call out this anti-fun/fan behavior and try to create a safer space.

So, I'm glad for your message. And if you are afraid to speak up I can do it for you. I've got broad shoulders and no desire to be popular 😂

[sparrow-in-the-field]

I finished watching lady baseball show last night and I have a lot of thoughts!! Some of them controversial?? Perhaps lol. Let's see!

First and most importantly, I really enjoyed the show! Anything critical I say is said with love lol. Overall it was a good show!

I loveddddd Clance. Clance and Max's friendship was everything to me (probably a post of its own but straight/gay friendships hold such a special place in my heart). I love them, they were so so so good I want to protect them at all costs. Clance was so wonderfully witty, she was cracking me up the whole show.

I also adored Lupe and Jess. If it was up to me Lupe would have been the mc of the Peaches. She was such an interesting and complex character who exhibited growth throughout the season and I loved every scene with her. And she's hot but that's not the point.

Jess too! I would have loved more time with Jess, I also ate up all of her scenes. And she looks like a butch version of my wife so she was also hot but again not the point. I'm not saying for sure that some Jess/Lupe fics could be coming, but... I'm not not saying it either.

Alright my controversial (or maybe not idk) take: I wasn't a big fan of Carson/Greta...whoops. idk I just didn't think they had great chemistry, it felt like a lot of telling rather than showing. They were supposed to really like each other but a lot of their scenes together they kinda just seemed annoyed/mad at each other 😬 idk sorry to my fellow lesbians I have failed you.

My conspiracy theory is that if the show was supposed to be multiple seasons then Greta/Carson was never meant to be end game and it was actually Carson/Max end game but idk that's probably not realistic with the times but I mean. At least they seemed to actually like each other don't kill me lol

Another big reason why I think Greta/Carson doesn't work well is because their relationship isn't reflected in the game. A huge component of sports shows/films is the sport being a reflection of real life, especially the relationships of people involved (see for more: my obsession with tbitb coxstroke). Baseball is the perfect game for this because it has an incredibly important dynamic/relationship within the game: catcher and pitcher. It absolutely baffled me that they didn't have the main couple be the catcher and pitcher (cough Carson/Max, cough). And tbh? Maybe not romantically, but Carson and Lupe's dynamic was far more interesting to me than Greta and Carson, because I got to see how it matter on the field. Greta and Carson barely played off each other in the sport, it was mind boggling to me.

On a similar note, I loved whenever the show was focused around baseball. I feel like they kind of lost that in places, and whenever we'd get back to an actual game where we'd get to see them play I'd be like "man I love this!" What can I say, I love a good sports film!

Sometimes the pacing of the show felt off to me. Like certain plot points they'd squeeze in and resolve pretty quickly even if they felt like a big deal, while others felt drawn out longer than they needed to be. Idk, writing a first season of a show is probably hard so I get it, just something that bugged me in a "I see so much potential, it just needed a little more tweaking" way.

As a fan of the og movie too, it was cute to see the little nods they made to it throughout the show. I kept having to explain them to my wife cuz she hasn't seen it lol (like when they started singing in the last episode my wife was like "...what is happening" lmaoo)

I think those are my main points. Anyway I enjoyed it and I'm sad it's over. Mwah I love you lesbian baseball show, I wish you had lasted longer so I could find out if my conspiracy was right. The end.

[familyagrestefanblog]

Sorry, I just need to get this off my chest.

You know what's shit?

That I always come back to work on my explanation posts on why Alya, Plagg, and Emonette being treated unfairly and being disregarded by Maribug's writing is by now pissing me off to similar degrees as her bad treatment of Chat Noir

But that always ends in a domino effect of me putting together more of the overall narrative that ticks me off so much cause my ADD brain can't NOT look for the continuous string of the writing pattern I follow once I'm at it.

You probably can imagine that this isn't very good for my mental health and the only reason why I'm still doing it is because I have a strong suspicion on what the new story arc will do with Cerise after this agonizing hiatus, and only once the actual new story arc proves me wrong can my ADD brain let this emotional investment of 7+ years in my "comfort show" since I was a 16 rest in peace.

Being neurodivergent is exhausting of FUCK...

So I always stop writing any of the posts about the other topics and come back to my Adrichat corner because that's the "safe space" my brain is the most familiar and comfortable with by now since season 4 to make a post AT ALL that isn't running the risk of leading me down 7 new rabbit holes I can't unsee anymore afterwards...

I MISS looking into several narrative threads in this show and voicing my opinions on them. In hindsight, I regret not having done it more when it was still possible, but I feel like it should have been alright in any other normally written show to have a fan blog dedicated to a specific part of the story. I feel like I shouldn't be the one in the WRONG for having done that.

Anyway, I honestly MISS the time where I knew that Maribug's benefit and comfort weren't the only things accepted as "valid" readings of the story. From both sides. Supporters and critics/salters.

Where saying anything that isn't immediately connected to Marinette's benefit and comfort didn't need a full-blown 20 page essay post going into any detail possible to fight for the right to even be taken seriously as a realistic reading of the story at all.

I know I'm not the only one upset at this, but I wonder how many people really realized by now how batshit insane this is right now. That only the most vanilla and vague-ass posts that do their best to not in anyway say something that would be "mean" and "non-validating" to Marinette can be posted now without it automatically being categorized as at least "critical" or running the risk of getting perceived as salt or wishful-thinking.

You can't point ANYTHING out anymore without at least one person running in and either saying "You just HATE Marinette and want to see her punished! You people never care about HERRRRRRRRRR (regarding a topic that isn't about her or is her fucking JOB as a narrative tool to DO)" or "Yeah, nah, the show would never let that happen because of the Marinette bias lol"

You can't even say anything anymore about Adrien's abuse without it being either undermined to all hell because of Marinette having been bullied and needing to be a girlboss who does to others what she's declared "tortured" for, or Félix "hypocrite and victim-blamer" Fathom. Gabriel being abusive was once the most basic ass thing to talk about, what the fuck happened?? (don't answer that, I know the answer...)

The whole analysis' side of this fandom that isn't catering to Marinette was either killed or basically exiled into the "critical" or outright "salt" tag because you can't even be interested in world-building anymore without having to fight for the post's right to be taken seriously under the crushing weight of Marinette's narrative benefits and comfort.

Because mademoiselle ain't fucking interested in ANYTHING lore wise beyond what's convenient for her (not to mention the retcons), so talking about the Guardian and Kwami lore for example counts as SALT now because it automatically implies for people that Marinette isn't all that matters and her flaws of not being interest in ANYTHING might actually COUNT as flaws she should work on. I know, the fucking HORROR! 😱

I MISS writing theories, analysis posts, and speculating about this shows future plots in even the most basic "set up and pay off" manner but I know I can't because my default approach is always complementary to the main character - meaning what challenges them and the narrative the most to grow, expand, and develop. This isn't a Marinette specific thing, I ALWAYS do this.

And contrary to popular belief in this fandom, I get by perfectly fine doing that for the majority of other pieces of media I consume. It is MIRACULOUS and this damn Fandom that now genuinely did it's best to convince themselves that this level of main character centric morality and revenge porn level writing is NORMAL when it's seriously NOT.

There is a REASON why this show hardly ever gets recommended on social media the way one would think despite its success. Or why the Fan backlash is so enormous despite a solid part of the Fandom already having left long ago and the young target demographic not uniformly having a voice in the social media discourse.

Or why people actively advise others AGAINST watching the show, AGAINST forming an emotional investment, and AGAINST going anywhere near the Fandom.

Cause no fucking shit, this isn't normal.

[yonpote]

another thing is like... under capitalism, business success and wealth begin to alienate you from others who don't have that. and that alienation can feed into greed, like why not keep investing and making business deals and buying expensive stuff? and no one around is really going to call you out because they are either capitalist hacks or maybe people who once struggled who now rely on you.

so like, I don't inherently expect much from creators like dnp who come into money. even though they probably have more financial freedom than many other creators because of all the tours, books, games, etc (because they are good at business!)

so like, as their fans who ultimately are their consumers, I think it's good to call them out, especially because they have shown before that they have good intentions.

am I expecting much from them? no. wealth can be corrupting and speaking out comes with risk to business/career interests. but they have a special relationship with their audience, as we're mostly all fellow queer and neurodivergent people with similar interests. so we can provide feedback and be the ones to try to ground them and be like "hey that wasn't cool please do better." stopping engagement with them and their content entirely doesn't really do anything to help, unless they did something they needed to absolutely be deplatformed for. stopping engagement is a valid personal choice, but when I see stuff that begins to resemble like 'they aren't being activists right now time for everyone to unstan' I'm like... if that makes you feel better, fine, but I would rather parasocially / affectionately be like "hey I expect more from you!" in a way that is constructive. which is something I would want to do with my friends, but the difference is, if my friends didn't change or try to then I probably would distance myself from them. Whereas Dan and Phil are entertainers we don't now irl, we have a different relationship with them. but compared to many other creators, they really do tend to be more sensitive to their audience (which has helped their success).

but so this time the (mostly leftist) phannies calling them out actually got them to do a fundraiser so that's cool! even if it's because of the backlash like, that's what the point of backlash is! we should want people to change behavior. not to just abstractly punish them, for something they could be unlikely to do without pressure. though hopefully it will lead to less instances of having to pressure them.

idk this brings up interesting stuff about parasocial relationships, the transactions between creators and their audience, and capitalism. so of course I had to rant about it for a sec lol.

thats completely true! thank u for the rant lol but yeah i dont want to come across as being like, NEVER EXPECT ANYTHING FROM YOUR FAV CREATORS it was more like, with dnp specifically we know where their heart is i guess so it can be unnecessary to call for whatever. BUT you're absolutely right in that they probably wouldn't have done a charity stream were it not for pressure from fans. and maybe this is ME being parasocial but i'd like to think that this isn't for damage control or performativism (i mean it is a LITTLE cuz any publicity is a little bit abt looking good) but rather like, putting their money where their mouth is basically! and showing to their core audience like hey we care about this thing too and we fully hear you.

i was thinking about this General concept wrt dnp because i think there have been other moments where dnp were called out about something or criticized for like their more offensive humor and they stopped doing that and educated themselves which is better than most creators who put up fakeass apology videos. ive seen a lot of ppl say they want dan to talk about and apologize for his racist and sexist humor (and honestly only asking dan but not bringing up that phil also had his share of racist jokes) but it's like. at this point what further could he say? he's not a 21 year old shit head anymore (and yeah good for you for being a socially aware 21 y/o in 2024 but that offensive humor literally was just the culture of that time period) and they both have SHOWN that they have grown and even talked about it in like the pinof react video where they talked about "yeah we bullied kristen stewart a lot cuz it was just popular to make fun of her and justin bieber and that really sucks that we did that" like they have changed and shown change! they do not need to make a grand apology statement cuz like if you wanna talk performativism then lets talk about the fakeness of basically every apology video on the internet????

sorry thats unrelated to what u were talking abt but it just made me start thinking BUT YEAH THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOT TAKES!!!!

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Some thoughts on Daredevil & Wolverine

On Sunday I went to a matinee screening of Daredevil & Wolverine - the first time I'd seen a film in a cinema since MEGAN back in early 2023. The tl;dr is that I loved it, and I had some general thoughts. By necessity I have to go full spoiler so here's the spoiler break (and if by chance you don't see a break, now's your warning to run away screaming in terror).

I wasn't a fan of the first Deadpool movie. I felt it was a bit pretentious and "R-rated for the sake of being R-rated" rather than telling a good story that happened to hit R (these were my initial thoughts and except for the R-rating part I felt similarly about the first Avatar). As a result I've never actually seen Deadpool 2 (or its PG-13 edit, Once Upon a Deadpool), but I liked Deadpool 3 a lot. It didn't feel pretentious and it had heart which i wasn't really expecting. It had somewhat of the same vibe as Free Guy, which is a good thing. (And just to complete a thought from earlier, I found myself greatly enjoying Avatar 2).

My only concern (though it isn't hurting the box office any) is in some respects the film hits on one of the biggest criticisms of the MCU and other franchises: it is NOT a jumping on point for anything. You need to have at least a passing familiarity with the past Deadpool films, the X-Men films, the MCU films, at least one of the TV series, AND several of the non-Disney/Sony franchises (Blade and the Affleck Daredevil/Elektra, the Fantastic Four films of the mid-2000s) in order to get some of the jokes and for some of the moments to resonate. There are two characters who play key roles in the final act of the film who have absolute no relevance to anyone who hasn't seen Deadpool 2 (like me) and the Loki TV series. The return of X-23 might have also meant a bit more had I seen the Logan movie, as opposed to Elektra and Blade's return, as I had.

BUT - all credit to the writers - while there is a level of "continuity lockout", it's not enough to damage the film. And when I did see a moment related to a film I knew (I somehow managed to avoid being spoiled about Chris Evans reprising Human Torch), it hit a bullseye.

I'm going to have to watch the film at least once more because a few references landed when I was thinking back on the film hours later (like Deadpool joking about getting a boner watching Gossip Girl, which wasn't a random pop culture reference - his wife, Blake Lively starred in it.)

Speaking of, I loved the way Ryan Reynolds had Blake and his kids play some of the Deadpool variants (though I was disappointed to learn Blake only did the voice of Lady Deadpool). Nathan Fillion is also in there somewhere, making this the 3rd time I think that he's done a cameo in an MCU film. Reading the cast credits is a must (yes, that IS Henry Cavill as a Wolverine. I wonder if he was ever considered for the part? He plays a somewhat super-powered Wolverine too. Super, get it? LOL)

Jennifer Garner was already over 50 when she reprised Elektra and looks amazing. She could do an Elektra film now (or an Alias revival) if she wanted to.

Hugh Jackman has aged well into the role of Wolverine. I hope we get to see another one with him (now paired with X-23, played by Dafne Keen, a rising star who I know from the His Dark Materials TV series in which she co-starred, coincidentally, with James McAvoy of X-Men fame).

Channing Tatum as Gambit was a real surprise. The point about him appearing is that film starring him as Gambit (an X-Men spinoff) was planned but cancelled, so he finally gets the chance. Although played mostly for laughs (and reminiscent of Tatum's cameo in Reynold's Free Guy), he kicks ass. If a Gambit movie isn't announced down the line I'll be surprised.

Similarly, Wesley Snipes makes a strong case (no disrespect intended to Mahershala Ali) for continuing to play Blade. He even says this in the movie!

It is no secret that recent Marvel movies have been controversial and not universally loved by a long shot. D&W does not shy away from this - which may make some people uncomfortable, but at the same time respect to Disney for allowing it. I'm surprised there was no dig at Star Wars' expense, though; I guess Disney only allowed the biting-the-hand humour to go so far.

There is a female counterpart to Charles Xavier in this film. Played by Emma Corrie, Cassandra Nova is one of the best villains the MCU has had for a while. Much like Sylvie, the female version of Loki in the TV series, I appreciated that they didn't just make Cassandra a copy of Charles but made her a unique character. I wasn't aware she originated in the comics until after I saw the film. Too bad they killed her off. Or did they?

Kudos for making D&W the first-ever MCU film to reference Saskatoon (though maybe not in the sense the city would like! LOL). There were a few other Canadian references in the movie - the CN Tower makes a notable cameo on The Void. Which, if you've ever been to Toronto ... (I'll leave that joke there LOL)

The dog. Nothing else need be said. Part of me hopes Ryan Reynolds saw her up for adoption and wrote the entire Dogpool subplot just to get her in the movie.

The closing credits, aside from having one of the best stingers of all time, also includes a retrospective video of the non-MCU movies with behind the scenes and interviews. It's in keeping with the fourth-wall-breaking concept of Deadpool and at the same time it's a touching tribute to the older films, including some that were under-appreciated by audiences at the time.

I do have one major criticism (and this is legit the only part of the movie I did NOT like): considering the film is in part a sequel to Loki, and the fact so many MCU characters are referenced, including a cameo (using manipulated stock footage) of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, it actually makes zero sense that the film did not have an appearance in some form by either Tom Hiddleston as Loki or by one of the other Loki variants (Sylvie, Richard Grant's version, or even a new one). Instead we have an appearance by one of the agents from the series and one name drop of the Loki TV series itself (which means Reynolds & Co. would have been aware of the Loki variants including the quite-popular Classic Loki played by Grant). Also, it's unclear if it takes place before or after the events of Loki the series. I think it was a lost opportunity (maybe there's a deleted scene). But as criticisms go, that's still pretty minor.

The gag reel on this is going to be glorious.

[gwyns]

E/riel’s are really going crazy over SJM posting that Taylor Swift song, Guilty as Sin, on ber Instagram story. 😂 One E/riel even said “Not going to lie, I think Taylor is an ACOTAR fan. So many of her songs are coded for our girlies. I'm like she's had to have read these books!!!”

I feel like not everything that Sarah posts has to do with her books. Maybe she just wants to post/enjoy girly things without it being deep. If people want to headcanon it for their ship then that’s obviously fine, but some people are being way too aggressive about it. According to and E/riel, one Gwynriel on TikTok said it reminded them of Gwyn because sin makes them think of protested and the E/riel said “People will reach for anything”. So it’s okay for E/riel’s to make headcanons about the song, but Gwyn fans can’t? E/riel’s believe that song is their ship because of the religious language that mimics E/riel.

It kinda reminds me of how E/riel’s say Elain isn’t leaving the NC, but when SJM posted spring stuff on her story they were screaming Elain. Or when some came up with the theory that Azriel’s mother is living in the Spring Court because of his property being called Rosehall, and so they connected Elain to that. Azriel does have a property called Rosehall, but I’m pretty sure Tamlin does too in the SC. Also, it would be weird for Azriel’s mother to live in the SC. Wouldn’t he want his mother close to him just in case? And wouldn’t he and his mother have to get permission by the High Lord of Spring to live in his court? Funny how E/riel’s don’t place Elain in Spring unless it’s to their benefit/it connects her to Azriel. Gotta love that cherry picking.😂

or... and hear me out... taylor makes songs that can be applied to any ship in any fandom, much like a lot of other pop music. it's not that deep lol. e/riels really need to stop reaching so hard, they might throw their backs out if they're not careful

yeah, sjm isn't subtle or really sneaky at all but these new fans seem to think everyone has to leave hints and clues outside of their work, when she has never done that over the span of her decade old career. why start now? anything she writes will earn her millions anyway, seems unnecessary to me. i believe that sjm's new team is just trying to get engagement and that it doesn't go very far beyond that

oh e/riels have severe main character syndrome. they think everything is about them and their ship and if it isn't they twist facts and omit information to make it seem so. it's sad that a lot of them are grown ass adults too like girl... don't you have bills or something to worry about? but you're on social media bullying others over fictional pairings? embarrassing. i know i talk mad shit but god damn i don't keep up with them like they do gwyn fans/gwynriels. i spend my free time on things i don't claim to hate, weird i know! but honestly we all know they're secretly fans at this point 🤭

lmfaoooo they're so hypocritical it's insane. how is elain going to stay in the night court with her sisters, spy besties and broody bat "where she belongs" while also being in spring/tied to spring? we all know azriel is not leaving rhys or his court so... seems to me like you wouldn't want to connect elain to spring. you know something that eluciens and actual elain fans have been doing for years now? because we understand her character?? and yes! no way in hell does az's mom live in the spring court. no way. they're just killing off all their own critical thinking for fun at this point

[namtanlovesfilm]

Wanted to start this by saying that I usually agree with your opinions (or even when I don't, I can at least see where you're coming from) but that's not the case when it comes to your opinion on Only Friends because I completely disagree and just wanted to add my two cents. You said that it wasn't relatable to the queer community but I'm sorry, the queer community isn't a monolith, there isn't one universal way that every single queer friendship group functions. Just because it wasn't relatable to your experience, it doesn't mean that it wasn't relatable to many other queer people's experiences. For example, one of my friend groups consists of gay men and the stories they've told me (and some of which I witnessed with myself)? Not that far off from OF (aka everyone getting with everyone, behind people's backs as well, and most of them are still on friendly terms now). It's perfectly fine that you didn't personally relate but you can't say no queer person/community did.

I also saw depth to a lot of characters and I could relate to several of them in different ways and everything in the finale made sense to me for those characters. For me it achieved what it set out to do: entertain, while also make me connect/care about some of the characters. It didn't do that for everyone (you included) but please don't claim it's a "bad show" as a general statement just because you didn't get anything out of it because a lot of people did. (My friend who struggles with depression and is currently going through a depressive slump found comfort in seeing Ray progress to a point where he's much happier at the end of the series because it gives her hope that she can get to that point soon too.)

Is Only Friends a brilliant, amazing, showstopping, incredible show? No. But it's not bad, far from it. It certainly has its flaws but the sudden hate it's getting is not warranted imo.

hi, first of all, it's fine to disagree lol, though it's always a bit jarring to me when people feel the need to let me know they disagree with me bc clearly we simply have a different taste & opinion. when I share my opinion about a show, I do it on my blog but never go on others' blogs to either defend a show I liked or trash a show I didn't like, but anyways. I have NEVER, EVER said that the queer community is a monolith & that all queer representation needs to be relatable to ME. in fact, a lot of my favorite queer media are HIGHLY UN-relatable to me lol. I never implied that only friends' flaws comes from it being unrelatable or unrealistic? in fact I believe it to be realistic since it's made by queer men & has recurring topics that p'jojo especially has used in previous shows of his, especially since the story of only friends is inspired by real-life events. in fact I said that I WISH they'd have leaned into the queer community aspect of it even more bc it was the one point in which this show differentiates itself from friend zone, so yeah. don't really know where you got that notion from. secondly, like it or not, I can claim any shows I've watched are bad in my opinion. once again, media is subjective & I did not like only friends so for me it IS a bad show. is it the worst? no. did I HATE it? no. did I have a good time in front of it? also no. also from a writing standpoint I'm sorry it IS objectively bad and FAILED at what it set out to do, especially considering the show itself doesn't seem to know what it set out to do in the first place. moreover, sudden hate? I've been criticizing only friends since it started airing lol, I'm not jumping on any bandwagon, and in fact it's more so the fandom that's catching up to the fact that this show is not very good. now, I'm genuinely glad that this show helped you & your friend and that you liked it! that's great, of COURSE this show is gonna have its fans, and in fact it has a lot of them! however it seems to me as if you've taken my (justified) criticism of the show to heart for a reason that only you fully know, and I hope you can investigate why that is. I truly value you as a long time follower of mine & I hope you can agree to disagree with me on that one even though I must admit this ask seems a bit jarring & personal to me. wish you all the best :)

xxx

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR Rambles 9, i have no funny title

Just two dudes being gay

This is more goofy dialogue based on the VIZ English translation. (I have never read the fan translation and don't have a ton of drive too lmao I'd rather just read the Japanese one when I'm big brained enough deadass.) Where it's weirdly specific death mountain is for Vio specifically.

Like huh. I just find that interesting.

This is especially interesting to me because of how Shadow words "You're truly one of us" AFTER Vio pretends to kill Green.

Either way, Shadow's having a grand ol time showing Vio around.

Shadow Link's in love. Let him be in love, I'm sure it won't bite him in the ass-

Vio- you don't need to be flirting back-

VIO

VIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOO-

Shadow plays Vio's flirting off by showing him how the arena works:

Because I always wondered how Vio knew that was even there and FSR is just me adding context where it's not necessary and gay scenes because I enjoy that kind of thing.

Like I get we don't NEED to know how Vio knows this info but like...By golly i'm a weirdo for those kinds of things and I'd LIKE to know...

I just like, that he keeps sitting on Vio's lap while explaining this shit. It's funny. He's so unsubtle about his crush on Vio.

Vio either doesn't care or is into it too lmao whichever you decide it's funny.

Vio continues to uh, say things he REALLY doesn't need too for the plan.

Vio's crippling loneliness is biting HIM in the ass now.

For some reason recounting what his home town looks like sends Shadow into a fit of laughter.

So Shadow's weird fit here was mainly caused by Vio just being nice to him. Shadow is used to being treated like shit and Vio's just talking to him like a person, he isn't pushing him away or making demands.

It's not as much what Vio IS doing, but what he ISN'T doing. He doesn't push him away when he hugs him or gets too close, He isn't overly critical of anything Shadow really does.

The lack of expectations, punishments ex.

And cause Vio's his friend-

TWO OF US, TWO OF US-

More in the realm of what Vio DOES: He seems pretty happy, which is something Shadow himself noticed Vio was kinda miserable and lonely before. There's a certain aspect of pride there lol

"I can make you happy when they couldn't." as later pages show he's extremally jealous of Link and by proxy the four Link's relationship with each other.

Because Vio is just, there being generally nice it sows the seeds of doubt and betrayal towards Vaati in Shadow Link's mind.

Vaati isn't someone Shadow can trust or rely on, Vio IS at least he seems to be.

He doesn't have to TRY to get Vio's approval or minimal affection. He can hug Vio and get the physical affection he craves without seemingly strings being attached, as well as vent his feelings.

OF COURSE we know Vio's being two faced here but we're talking from Shadow's perspective in these moments. X'D

Of course on Vio's end: He's doing shit he really doesn't need to lmao which as we know in present day Vio does care for Shadow Link.

I'll say it again, the weird as heck exposition scene where Shadow reminds Vaati vio's on their team purely for the audience is weird and I'm not a fan of that kind of storytelling. X'D

But I worked with it rather than against it. I'm trying to stick to the source material buuuut diverged somewhere later down the line which will become apparent WHERE very soon.

Vaati is just being a whinny brat who wants stuff done "Now now now" hah.

So like, Big poe HAD to coordinate with these two right????

Big Poe KNEW Vio's name and Green's name so it's only logical he TALKED to Vio/Shadow Link right? More "Fill in the blanks" stuff lol.

Like we can imagine that's what happened without being told but like...I really like the idea of those scenes so I drew them hah.

Big Poe has no faith in Vio, because he's NEW and also a HERO.

Despite Vio wanting to work alone, he HAS to put some level of trust into Blue and Red here, which he is OBVIOUSLY hesitant to do.

Seriously we were robbed of SO much of Vio's inner turmoil and struggles with the mole plan.

He really just wishes they weren't even a factor here which shows how little he wants to engage with them. He's kinda running away from the other 3 in being with Shadow Link.

Evil plan party. We see this attempt on Blue and Red's lives in the manga so, I don't need to elaborate much.

Shadow making the fake stone sword was just smth I thought would be fun. He'd know what those swords look like well considering he stole Red's.

Vio's discomfort is understandable. I hate that shit too bud-

He can't really tell anyone anything considering if he's sus he is DEAD.

VIO TRUELY WAS THE IMPOSTER-

I'm sorry. I can't stop with the fucking Four Swords among us memes.

Not that he talks about how he feels much outside of NEEDING to be quiet anyway hah.

I like to think Shadow is the one that teleported Vio out of there. He's the only one we know of who's implied to have teleportation powers lol and we KNOW that was the real Vio and not Shadow in disguise...

More of Vio's mental struggles with the infiltration plan. He is stressed out to the MAX right now and only starts coping better overtime with smothering those feelings, realizing Shadow NOTICES and KEEPS noticing them he has to adapt.

Vio already struggles with the idea he's a bad person just for considering joining Shadow, he doesn't want the other 3's blood on his hands lmfao.

Shadow Link casually throws a temper tantrum after that shit goes bad.

Vio's hero instincts wants to make him feel better.

Vaati blaming his mistakes on Shadow Link wouldn't be out of character would it. X'D

He's just ranting his frustrations with this.

Vio's emotional detachment from everything helping him see things objectively.

You might also read this as Vio talking to himself.

Shadow's grateful for the comfort at least hah.

Vio not so subtly thinking he's always right lmao.

Vio...You don't need to hold his hands to have this talk-

More seed sowing of Shadow Link's distrust and betrayal of Vaati we see in the manga.

Vio perks up at the mention of Zelda because they don't really know how she's doing rn...

Shadow's vague threat of "If she behaves I won't mistreat her" doesn't leave a lot of confidence in her safety, WE know she's okay but like...the four dinguses don't.

Shadow instantly gets pissed off from Vio getting distracted by his "I just need YOU to live" rant when Zelda's brought up.

Mans wants Vio's attention purely on him so much it's embarrassing.

Side note: he was gripping Vio's face pretty hard if Vio feels the need to like, touch it after. Shadow needs to learn what "Gentle" is-

Idk if this is truely a retcon or like, just the manga being goofy but the timeline of the Dark temple and Shadow going to harass Zelda is lowkey vague so I just went with it being before for this scene to work the way it does. Every fan story fucks with the goofy timeline in the manga, so am I lol. Gives us interesting shit at the expense of cannon which is what I care way more about blah blah blah i don't think anyone really cares that much lmfao.

Anyways, Shadow's jealous. Extremally jealous.

Since I've stated before Shadow has a crush on Zelda this should come to no surprise, but he's pissy at how close Link and her were.

And now he's upsetti spaghetti about Vio being attached to her.

You know: Cause he's the hero, loyal doggy good boy by design, forced by fate AND the gods to continue saving Hylia's OP human OC self insert lmfao.

(I love Zelda, the character and the series as a whole, but JEEZ is the lore confusing, convoluted and really REALLY silly when you spell it out how it is lmfao.)

Suffice to say: Vio cares about Zelda.

HAHA. IT'S WHAT LITERALLY HAPPENED TO HIM FOR 7 YEARS BECAUSE I'M CRUEL AS HELL.

*Loses Vio *Has to watch Link (By proxy Vio) be close to Zelda without him. Literally forced to watch because he's a SHADOW. *LOSES HIS FUCKING BODY/ABILITY TO SPEAK OR DO ANYTHING REALLY

Shadow Link suffers so much in this comic.

Shadow Link's jealousy continues.

He just wants what Link had.

His dad stand ins (Gannon and Vaati) abuse him, he has no princess with loving childhood memories attached, no team nobody he can trust, nothing.

In his perspective: Link had everything and lost it or threw it away via his own stupidity.

Of course that ticks him off.

Vio stop, you're getting emotionally invested-

Okay real talk about Vio for a moment:

I put forth the idea he doesn't really understand WHY he wants to help Shadow, he just DOES. And Vio goes off on impulse a lot because he can't fully trust his own feelings. (He just doesn't HAVE a lot of feelings so the ones he does have he tries to go with)

And then he'll justify whatever he ends up doing with logic and reason later.

Like, he could make up a LOT of excuses as to why he's being nice and comforting rn that don't loop back to "I like Shadow Link":

"I'm a hero I help people"

"For my own safety it's best for him to not be going ape shit"

but like...

those aren't the reasons lmao. Vio's actions speak louder than his words. The fact he's bothering at ALL shows how he really feels.

The fact he KEEPS doing unnecessary shit that shows he's starting to grow attached to Shadow Link shows how he really feels whether he knows it or not.

This mainly pertains to FSR only.

Hehe.

So Shadow calms down when he realizes that shit IS going well for him at least it appears to be and he IS getting everything he wants.

The hesitant hand hold is one of my favorite sets of panels rn. Agh.

Like he starts off just curling his finger around Vio's then full blown grabs his hand with more confidence.

I have a hard time articulating this but like:

Shadow Link WANTS to be close to Link. That's like, something this man wants SO BAD. But on some level he knows that isn't gonna happen so when VIO is accessible to him, he clings to that shit. Because Vio IS Link.

It's not only a victory over someone he simultaneously wants to be like and cannot stand, but is a sign Link in some way is FINALLY acknowledging him, which is smth we KNOW he wanted from the actual manga.

These points are expanded upon in pages I'm currently working on but agh. The reasons WHY he feels this way just made me grin like the grinch lmfao.

Lemmie translate Shadow's 1st line for ya: "I stalked you so I know your interests"

Lmao.

The Gerudo is meant to say "Ur gay if you can read this haha"

Obviously not what it'd say if this was a real book but what it says from an audience perspective doesn't matter since 99% of yall can't read it lmao.

Anyways, Shadow can read Hylian and Gerduo. Because, he's Gerudo lmao.

I'm only digging my heels in about that more and more cause of that text in Hyrule Historia. (EVERYONE USES THAT BOOK FOR WHAT THEY BELIVE AND IGNROE THE REST, I'LL DO THE SAME THING LMFAO)

The implication Shadow Link just...IS Gannondorf???? (His emotions anyway) just, utterly baffles me as a manga only reader lmfao. Like that's a layer of this queer kid I didn't expect. I always thought Gannon MADE Shadow Link but like didn't expect this bitch to LITERALLY make him out of himself.

Honesly that shit just makes a lot of sense considering Gannon puts Shadow Link on the same level as Vaati, but that just makes Shadow's gay ass feelings towards Vio and his betrayal of Gannon and Vaati just...HMMMMMMM??????

GANNON BRO WHAT'S WITH THE EMOTIONS YOU PUT INTO LINK'S SHADOW LMFAO??????

It's something I'll keep in mind while writing FSR going forward. (Edit: I certainly did and I COOKED)

I kinda on the path of "He's Link's Shadow + Dark magic from Gannon"

But with the book text it's making me consider making FSR Shadow:

"Link's Shadow + Gannon's emotions + Dark magic"

(I did. And I COOKED)

The ramifications of Shadow BEING a piece of Ganondorf just MMMMMMM that shit would be so fun to explore.

(Edit once again: YOUR BOY. COOKED WITH THIS INFO I LOVE THE PAGES ABOUT THIS SO MUCH I AGH-)

Shadow, personal space my dude Vio just wants to read the gay Gerudo book-

Shadow showing interest in Link's life before this is kinda weird (Intentionally so)

Bro is jealous of Link as we've previously touched on and he kinda let's that slip here. He WANTS to know more about Vio and by proxy Link too.

There's SO MANY things I wish we got expanded on in the manga:

HOW DO THE FOUR PEICES OF LINK FEEL????

What do they REMEMBER?

Green seems to remember EVERYTHING from Link's childhood at least, but what about the others??? Are their memories warped in some way?

Because here's smth to consider: WHY DO THEY ACT SO DIFFRENT IF THEY ALL HAVE THE EXACT SAME MEMORIES?

Like from a funny haha character dynamic angle: Yeah it's more fun to have 4 different personalities than 4 clones I understand that. But as I've stated: We don't like "Because writing that's why" as an answer here lmfao. Like yeah, that's THE REASON but it doesn't have to be the IN UNIVERSE one.

But from the actual like, lore perspective why did the sword rip Link in 4 pieces instead of just, making clones?

I discussed this with a pal but like if we look at it in terms of metaphor:

Link's a piece of paper that got ripped in 4 pieces.

Green got the most but he still isn't the full piece of paper.

Blue and Red got pretty even smaller pieces than Green

and Vio got the smallest peice.

Hense why he's so distinct from them. Honestly what Makes Vio so Unique as a Link to me is his LACK of Link traits or his ODD ways of showing off traits we associate with Link.

I want Vio to describe exactly how he remembers Link's memories later but he doesn't remember them like their HIS memories, it's like a third person perspective, he knows who he is, He's LINK but the more he thinks the more he realizes he's NOT Link.

It's a surreal experience that he doesn't like to think about much.

I feel like Shadow's never been faced with this kind of topic before, so he's just sitting there like "...WHAT?"

Like Vio dumped a LOT on him identity crisis wise.

Vio doesn't talk to the other 3 about these insecurities cause like:

Would that really be a productive conversation at this point? X'D All they've done is argue at this point in the manga. Blue and Red are the most on the same page at this point and Vio's been unable to really get back to them or discuss his mole plan Vio only knows Green Blue and Red are ALIVE cause of Shadow Link's tantrum earlier, on top of that: He is currently struggling on if he should even BOTHER regrouping with his team mates or if he should just do this entire thing by himself because he can't trust the others to do their part in defeating Vaati and "The darkness behind Vaati"

Vio's going THROUGH IT at the moment and cause of that just kinda dumps on Shadow Link a fraction of his problems. Which he quickly regrets doing in the next page.

He's literally stunned with himself at his own honesty for once. This wasn't something he planned to do.

This was the first time since he has become VIO that he opened up about his feelings and he quickly gets embarrassed about doing it.

Also not Shadow blatantly staring right at Vio's lips. I thought that was so funny while drawing it.

LOL.

The kiss is so hilarious because like, Shadow my dude wtf.

It's so out of left field.

I was debating on if I wanted Shadow Link and Vio to kiss before present day or not, but I think it was the right decision.

If you read their interactions at the start of FSR, they're a bit TOO comfortable with each other if we ONLY take their cannon manga interactions into account.

Also, this is my fan comic, I do what I want lmfao.

Art wise: didn't wanna make it extremally saucy or anything lmfao, just a quick confusing ass kiss.

It does it's job of completely blanking Vio's brain to the point the only thing he can really focus on is his own heart trying to rip it's way out of his chest hah.

Shadow you broke him-

Shadow's question of "Are you having second thoughts" can be read a few ways, a few I didn't intend to but they're all interesting.

Like, wtf is Shadow truly asking there is pretty vague XD

The intended one was that he was asking Vio if he regrets joining him because he's still attached to his teammates.

Which Vio gives his response for, while utterly panicking.

I do think it'd be funny if Link's first kiss was with Shadow lmfao, so that's a fun detail. Vio, who did you expect it to be with? X'D

He has realized at this point: Oh shit I might have taken a wrong turn here at some point.

And you might argue: Well okay if Vio has an "i fucked up" moment here it makes the one he has later in the OG manga not mean anything"

to that I say "HAH! NO U DUMBASS????" Vio's LOGICAL you see not emotional. Shadow VERBALLY stating he trusts Vio is a very different action to just, kissing him like this lmfao.

As Vio can't even really comprehend wtf Shadow was trying to DO in that moment.

And onto Shadow's emotions here: Bro kissed Vio no hesitation. (Bitch didn't even ask permission, jerk.)

Like, Vio "Sad" (More complex than that but let's roll with that for now)

Shadow: Ah yes, lemmie kiss him to make him feel better

Like. Shadow-

He's confused but he's got the spirit??? XD

He likes Vio, Vio tolerates him. Shadow's been getting bolder and bolder with how he shows affection towards Vio up until this point.

Vio hasn't told him off for any of it, so he just assumes it's fine lmao. Keep in mind, Vaati and Gannon make it DAMN WELL CLEAR when they're pissed off at something he does, so Shadow's perspective of boundaries and appropriate behavior is FUCKED.

Vio continues to wonder wtf he got himself into as Shadow continues to lack the sacred knowledge of personal space.

I always thought it was curious Vio continued his mole plan even AFTER the other 3 showed up. Bro felt he didn't do enough clearly.

Or ya know he just wanted to hang with Shadow longer idk who knows-

Since I reached the image limit i'll pick this up later. Lol.

[ca-suffit]

I don't get why some people refuse to accept that Louis was abused. Him having been a victim to Lestat doesn't negate his grief. He's clearly still grieving Claudia, and from what we can tell of S2, we WILL see that too. No one is saying he's a saint either - he did fail Claudia. Him being a victim doesn't overshadow his grief or make him a saint.

And as you said, this isn't just some cheap story of abuse for shock value either. I wrote a whole wall of text about the complexities and layers of the abuse here but that would have been too long of an ask ajdhwj. Basically, there's the race aspect (which converses with the other aspects), there's that Louis couldn't leave him for many, many reasons, there's the emotional aspect, there's the power aspect (in more than one way)... I'm probably missing something, but this is very good portrayal of abuse and also something that happens irl.

This is also something that loustat will have to touch on in the future and will make for a very interesting story (again, as you said).

His arc is different in the book because the show has a different version of Louis with added struggles that book Louis didn't have (mostly due to his race and era, but also the dynamic that is shown with him and Lestat, if I remember the book correctly - partly also due to the former). Grief is still a part of his story, though.

Sorry for the long ask, it's just that reading that really made me go "??"

thank u for all of this!! I am not ignoring all u wrote but I wanted to elaborate on one point specifically tho and it's gonna be long. thank u for everything u wrote in full tho, I appreciate it. "I don't get why some people refuse to accept that Louis was abused."

they did it when he was white. it's because he's black now and lestat remains white. the vampires mention shit like slavery outright to each other when it's all white ppl, but it suddenly holds a LOT more weight once u make the "fledgling" a black person. AMC has done nothing but enhance what was already there, ppl just don't want to empathize with a black man.

anne rice fans are not critical thinkers but they like to think they are because they're proud they read a lot of books at prbly young ages. books they felt were rly "adult" and "mature." they've never grown up and taken a second look. anne rice's encouragement of parasocial relationships made that worse too. most of these ppl can't separate themselves from these characters and now feel bad seeing themes brought more to the surface about these relationships. they have to blame the writers and keep looking stupid instead of getting some self-awareness.

I know the fight does not happen in the books but I've seen enough passages from book IWTV to know physical and emotional violence between louis and lestat is v common. I've seen parts of lestat's books too where he's also violent to other partners. it's in the character, they've just been too busy wanting to fuck him the whole time to notice ig. that's what it is too. lots of this before the show was a sexy game to ppl and now they're mad u have to think about the story and consequences for things so much, mainly in ways that interfere with lighthearted shipping stuff. anne rice didn't ever talk about anything in depth so they're used to having awareness of topics but never exploring them. they feel stupid in many, many ways now and somehow that's everyone's fault but their own. it's practically *two years in* and they're still doing all this instead of doing some self-reflection. they keep reapplying the clown paint and then want to say it's ppl like me "ruining" it for others here like that's even remotely true lol.

anyways, u are welcome to visit my inbox any time and write whatever u want on this btw! I'd luv to hear it all.

[thestalwartheart]

Hellooo I thought I might bang out some incoherent thoughts following your post about the influx of Blanc fans who hate Bond (or think they do because they've never actually bothered to watch any of the films) since I can't sleep :). I mentioned in my reply to your post earlier that a lot of people can't handle the idea of being emotionally invested a piece of media where the main character is morally ambiguous which genuinely annoys/terrifies me. It would be interesting to get a sense of how you/others actually became Bond fans in the first place and some of the reactions you get from people if you tell them. I get that part of the appeal for Benoit is that he's a bit of a blank slate. You can really project whatever you want onto him because he intentionally doesn't have many defining characteristics, other than the fact that he's queer and has a killer wardrobe. He's always in control of every situation he's in as well as his emotions and understandably, he makes you as a viewer feel safe. Like I get that and I love him dearly but he's also ripe for a certain kind of fan to be really really annoying. I also remember during the glass onion press tour when Edward Norton would always say in interviews that he thought Daniel was more Blanc than Bond in real life and when someone told Daniel about that he was basically like "what the fuck is Ed on about??" which I thought was hilarious. Not to read too deeply into it but I genuinely feel like so much of what he brought to Bond comes from his soul and I always got the sense that his Bond films are deeply personal, which is why they have us out here crying and throwing up. Anyway, thank you for all you have given to the Bond/00Q/Daniel Craig enjoyer community, you are truly a gem <3

I became a Bond fan when I was about twelve and my mother decided moderating film content for a girl about to enter high school was a useless endeavour. Pierce Brosnan was my first Bond. It was the gadgets that hooked me in, mostly, but I grew up after that point watching the films and loving them. Casino Royale was the first one I ever saw in cinema and I'll never forget the tension during that poker game with Le Chiffre. You could really hear the audience's teeth grinding with the stress lol.

I've never really heard any adverse reactions from people when I tell I'm a fan of Bond, but that might be because Daniel Craig's interpretation of the character seems to have lent the films a certain credibility that people aren't as willing to extend to the previous films. At worst, people think it's a bit naff that I like them, which...yeah sure. It probably is! But cringe culture is dead and I am enough of a critical thinker to enjoy problematic or morally ambiguous content without believing any of it should happen in real life. For instance, I think had there been a real public inquiry into intelligence services like M faced in Skyfall, I would probably take the side of the opposition. But it's Bond, so I was cheering M on while she quoted Tennyson.

The best way I can sum my thoughts on Daniel Craig and Bond is to refer to the lovely Ben Whishaw, who said in this interview that Daniel was remarkably clever in the ways he managed to bring the franchise into the twenty-first century, while still being aware of the history of it.

Interestingly, he also said there actually is a lot of Daniel in Bond's character, which is something I was delighted to hear him point out. I mean, Daniel Craig will be the first to admit that he doesn't want to be anything like Bond (see this post for an example and a laugh). Yet, he manages to capture the really vulnerable core of Bond under all that masculine posturing. In the end, Bond has accepted that life isn't all about duty to your country. Love, friendship and family are the things that make you feel steady even when you feel like you're about to tear yourself apart. I can't imagine any previous iteration of Bond managing to carry off that message in a believable way. And I think it happened because Daniel Craig had an incredible, unprecedented amount of creative control over the character.

I'm sure the Knives Out films gave Daniel a wonderful reprieve from having to carry all that literary and film history, but he's so proud of those Bond films, and has said so over and over, even when he's been frustrated with the toll on his body and his personal life. They're great films, and, oddly enough, I think people are only realising it now that his era is over. I hope more people dive into them and see the passion he had for that role, even with all of its ups and downs.

The last thing I'll say is that some fans have a tendency to project their own joys, frustrations and preferences onto actors, assuming that they are, in some way, facsimiles of the characters they play. At the end of the day, Daniel Craig simply doing his job. The characters are brilliant because he is brilliant. It's not real life.

Anyway, I'll continue stanning both Bond and Blanc! Thanks for the ask, friend!

[candy-ac3]

Brand new fanfic!

Red hood and Nikkō Purotekutā- chapter 1

notes- I never actually posted a fanfic here on tumblr before, well not a full length one lol. Sorry if it's not that good I had major writers block and haven't actually written in like a month. But for important details I'm not actually Japanese so sorry if I got anything wrong or do get anything wrong. As well they are actually speaking Japanese in Japan I didn't translate it to make it easier to read but if Akemi or anyone else does speak Japanese that isn't a full conversation it will be translated (if it's important then there be a translation in the fic but I don't know if I will reveal something that way lol) anyways time for the actual fic I hope ya enjoy!

Chiyo city, named after its founder, is a popular tourist city in Japan not too far from Tokyo itself. The reason why so many people come is for a simple reason, it’s immortal hero, a magical girl who had been around since the city was just a small town, Nikkō Purotekutā. Known for her upbeat personality and love for all things cute, she's been the soul defender of the city from evil Yōkai for hundreds of years with her magical glitter powers.

Well that’s the public story at least.

Akemi zipped up the suitcase, the last of his stuff was now officially packed. He let out a sigh, he had two suitcases packed with everything that’s ever been important to him, and well clothes and other stuff he needed as well. His family had been born and raised in the small town for generations, all of his closest friends lived there and he’d be leaving everything behind, but he also had a reason as to why he needed to leave, at least for college. His mother was… a lot he loved her but well he needed some control in his life, and even if he went to college in Japan he knew that his mother would still be overbearing. Akemi flopped down onto his bed, his face looking up at the ceiling as he closed his eyes. He had gotten used to sleeping whenever he could thanks to his mother almost always overworking him.

“Akemi come down here right now or we will be late!” Akemi’s mother Chō yelled out her words coming out quickly as she was furious.

Akemi rolled his eyes as he got up, noticing his cat which he had named well Neko as a child sleeping next to him, Akemi couldn’t help but faintly smile as he gave the old cat a pet before standing up and sighing as he left his room making sure to leave the door open for Neko as he went down the stairs as quickly as he could, not bothering to freshen up. His mother was waiting by the door, her arms crossed as she looked at him annoyed.

“Do you want to lose credit?! This will be your last big performance until the holidays. Imagine the fans if you aren’t there!” Akemi’s mother stated her face only getting angrier as she spoke.

“Right, the fans…” Akemi said quietly, he would barely have time between the ending of the performance and when the plane flies off to actually get there as well as eating dinner. 

Akemi and his mother left their house, a traditional home that after mainly villain attacks had to be rebuilt many times with a more secure structure. The two made their way to the train station and quickly got on, with her still criticizing him for taking so long, they left a minute after they meant to. Akemi didn’t say anything as he put his headphones on and his hood up as he looked out the window seeing the city pass by quickly as they made their way to their destination.

When they got to the show building Chō quickly rushed him to a bathroom shoving him into an employees only room, he was happy it was at least unisex, still he knew he had to do it quickly or else his mother would be even more upset. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, before letting himself transform.

It was like something from one of those classical magical animes his mother had made his younger sister watch to study, they had believed their blessing was passed down just to the first born female with his mother’s side where it came from only giving birth to females, but when he was a male she knew she would have to have a girl for it to be continued, well thought more than new as when he became a teen he had accidentally transform into Nikkō Purotekutā when he was playing a video game with his friends, rendering all the training his sister did worthless and made it so he had the stuff suddenly hammered into him.

He hated the feeling, he was only recently able to convince his mother to let him transform alone as he was fully exposed with his old clothes leaving way for a pink dress with the bottom being incredibly puffy. His hair became longer and a light pink in contrast to the dark pink outfit, with makeup appearing as well along with boots that were more like heels. He also gained cat ears and a tail when he transformed along with tiny angel wings that weren’t usable to fly like he would’ve wished. Though the most drastic change that he hated going through everytime was his body going from admittedly not exactly a peak male one as he was slim with very few muscles, to a hyper feminine one with his body proportions being sleek and elegant. He rolled his eyes as he saw himself in the mirror, a frown on his face but he pushed it off and replaced it with a smile as he took a deep breath and walked out. 

He was quickly brought away from the bathroom as fans were cheering for him well for Nikkō, they were trying to get pictures and autographs with him just giving a small wave as he made his way to the stage.

“Nikkō” quickly got to the stage, the lights still off with the stands being completely filled with the lightsticks they all had lighting people up just enough to count. He didn’t understand why his mother had him become a pop idol with him already being a magical girl, it wasn’t about money as they had brand deals upon brand deals with multiple widely loved anime and movies of Nikkō with them alone making millions of yen. Still he took a deep breath and signal for the spotlight to be turned on as it shined onto him.

“Thank you all for being here and for supporting me throughout many generations!” Nikkō began, Akemi cringed internally though kept up the smile. “As many of you know this will be my last performance in Japan as I must travel to train my skills to protect you better, but as my final goodbye we shall make it spectacular!” Nikkō exclaimed with a wide smile as her fans cheered.

“Thank you all once again for coming and have a magical night!” Nikkō said happily as he used his powers to make a small light show in front of the stands with it dissolving into gritter, he gave a wave goodbye before “light-shining” away as a big burst of light came from where he was and he was gone. 

Once Akemi confirmed the backstage was clear he quickly transformed back and rushed off to the front to find his mother who was waiting for him.

“You can talk about the show later, we can’t miss the plane, your father and sister are already there with your stuff” Chō ushered him as she grabbed her son’s wrist to drag him away back to the trains so they could get to the airport. It was dark now with the stars hiding away in the massive city. Akemi sighed, at least now in America he wouldn’t have to worry about stupid concerts.

For as much as Akemi’s mother pressured him ever since a young age she’s been sure to teach him many languages, both dead and alive, English being one of the many he knew how to speak, though his sister knew more than him. Akemi could care less about what country he moved to but him and his mother had a deal where the only place he could move to for college was America because in his mother’s words, “they have better schools and better heroes there”.

Eventually the two reached their stop and got off the crowded train with Akemi being dragged by his mother to the airport with his father and sister waiting for them with his suitcases.

“Can’t believe you’re actually leaving, is it because that robot guy is scaring you or some shit?” His sister, Keiko teased him with a smirk, Akemi rolled his eyes right, “Shin no yōgo-sha” his mysterious male rival that no one had seen before.

“Eh just means I don’t have to deal with that b-... boy now” Akemi said as he had to stop himself from cussing.

“Don’t get too cocky, there's a good chance Yōkai will still attack.” His mother told him, he was pretty certain that robot guy wasn’t a Yōkai seeing how it didn’t even resemble one but his mother insisted he was one. “Now remember what we discussed, find the nearest hero to where you are. But NO superhero teams try to find a magical girl team and not one of them superheroes they have no respect for their elders” Chō told him sternly, Akemi had heard it constantly how his mother wanted him to respect their ancestors by joining only magical girls, despite there being basically none besides  their family. 

“I won’t ma don’t worry” Akemi told her with a smile, he didn’t know how faithful he would be…

They gave their last goodbyes as Akemi took his suitcases and made his way to the plane. He got in his seat and got settled as he looked out the window as they took off from the city he grew up in getting smaller and more distant as the plane flew away into the night, as Akemi slowly fell asleep.

-

Akemi yawned as he woke up, it was day now and the plane was close to landing. He sighed but had a faint smile as he looked at his new home, sure it wasn’t the best place, but he was able to get a decent apartment for a good price and could practice fighting real criminals here as well. Though he had to admit he would stand out being a magical girl in the city as dark as this. 

He quickly got off and got his suitcases with him ordering an uber as he stepped out of the airport into the busy and noisy city. Gotham, his new home. The uber quickly came and drove in front of his apartment. Akemi gave him a tip and got his baggage quickly heading to the apartment. He was surprised by how much security there was but then he remembered hearing how bad the city was. He used the key that he was sent ahead of the time and entered the apartment, it wasn’t the biggest nor smallest place. Akemi sighed as he placed his stuff down in the master bedroom, right he needs an air mattress… Akemi exited the apartment and locked the door, he had already converted all of his personal yen to usd so he didn’t have to worry about any payment issues at the store, he also knew he needed stuff to make his dinner.

Though as he was walking suddenly he got pulled into an alley by a mugger who pointed a gun at him and was threatening Akemi to give him all of his money. This was it, Akemi’s chance to show why he was the hero of his home to show he wasn’t just a magical girl but a hero! That was until he saw all the other people walking by, sure they didn’t care, but they would if he just became a magical girl! 

Akemi froze as his eyes widened from being threatened. His first day… he took a deep breath and wait- he could use light-shining to transform! It would be perfect, so he took another deep breath and steaded his breathing as he smirked-

The gun flew out of the mugger's hand as a masked man who wore a red helmet and all things considered when it came to Akemi’s standards, a pretty basic costume. The man turned to face Akemi, the mask hiding any potential emotions.

“You alright?” the masked man asked, his voice distorted by the mask that he used.

“Oh yes I am very alright…” Akemi began.

[3416]

The nylander convo pre covid years was def reaching the pervasiveness, but never quite got as personal the way it has with mitch. like I distinctly remember don cherry (just threw up in my mouth a little bit) continuously going off about nylander which then made everyone else talk about him and it was just an endless cycle. they painted him as aloof and felt that he didn't care about toronto, but they never really got as mean as people have with mitch now. everyone wanted him out of toronto, but they weren't saying he should never play in the nhl again

but honestly the biggest difference was that the things they were saying about willy weren't exactly wrong either. like they would get mad at his lack of production or sloppy defense or careless plays, which like, yeah. that's exactly what was happening. they didn't have to go on and on about it but he wasn't producing like they thought he would and that was that.

And the thing I can't really pinpoint is when and why the nylander hate train stopped. again, I don't think anyone's faults deserve to be pointed out and dissected on a nightly basis, but he hasn't exactly improved exponentially in any of those categories? maybe the caring about toronto bit? but he still makes careless plays and his career point totals are still less than marner/matthews so? what gives?

I don't know why the blame was shifted to mitch, and again, another guy has to take ALL the blame for this teams shortcomings and have his character be questioned every single day. Nothing about it makes sense.

oh yeah and i'm not making light of the types of xenophobia that can be seen when talking about nhlers. there's plenty of it and i'm not even saying willy wasn't a negative talking point bc i'm sure he was. don cherry is an old ass hag whose opinion shouldn't matter at all 50 years after he stopped playing like jfc. but i do think one man's vendetta and constant bitching is different from like.. proper media outlets going out of their way to misinterpret something (or EVERYTHING) a player says time and time again to drum up talk. i just think things on the internet have somehow gotten worse in terms of clickbait so everything feels even more terrible too. someone does always have to be the scapegoat with toronto but i have a hard time buying that a rookie was taking up as much air time as the public punching bag than a now star player who has an obligation and routine to be in the media more often and all of it follows constant playoff failure from the TEAM. even elliott friedman covering the entire LEAGUE having to stop talking about anything to do with mitch hypothetically unless it was actual insider info bc his mentions went nuts is so........ trash.

and lol about the stuff they were saying about willy. it certainly isn't a nice way to say it... calling him lazy and insinuating shit about his work ethic is attacking his character when i don't think that's the way to put it, but i do think those are still problems in his game, you're right! the thing is... willy was not always productive as he has been right now, lol. his game has grown but mostly in just offensive production and that's it. he hasn't put in the work on the less flashy side of things (while mitch has. mitch's offense has always been top tier but he's dedicated time to growing defensively clearly) and i think it's a valid criticism of him and also a lot of hockey fans don't fully know how to evaluate or value skills away from the puck (myself included to some extent too, it's harder). he's great at creating offense solo... he's a great puck carrier and in transition... he's great when he's out there with a loaded up line like the power play (hence why some of his 'clutch' moments come in those situations too). but i also think everyone talking about his ability to pay attention for a full 82 game span being unproven is right, lol. i saw a tweet abt how he does 'just enough' the other day and was a 'load management king' and like. maybe so but imagine if a forward you've agreed to pay 11.5 would do a little more than that and work on consistency, lol. i get why people are a fan of his game, don't get me wrong. it's fun to watch graceful bursts of offense... i just think there's still irresponsibility there. if he were more willing to buy in, we have a better shot at racking up more points during the regular season and putting us in a better position for the playoffs too... wouldn't need some of those moments of saving lol. it's not just about only 'showing up' in the playoffs moments considered big, which i still think is a stupid argument when every game is important and the best playoff run by a current leaf was 22-23 mitch but. idk. i'm kind of glad berube is trying him at center to give the leafs and willy's game some versatility. i hope it comes with growth, the team will be better for it.

the shift in blame is hard to pinpoint for me too, lol. i don't get why beyond like.. willy bulking up... putting up 40 goals? idk what the threshold is for why things changed this time when mitch was our mvp 2 yrs ago with auston hurt. willy going on a run in a contract year was part of it probably, but it's silly of leaf fans to just decide Now is the year it all just doesn't work just bc only 2/4 core guys are signed on and then declare those are the best 2 we've had the the loss of the others is marginal. bc lol and it's pure coincidence that the major contracts line up in tandem like that. we still only saw them all play under 2 coaches that whole time... anyway. i have no clue what's next, lol. i'm excited to see them play in a different system for real, but i think the dumbest people among us need someone to solely blame for why everything up to this point hasn't worked and why getting rid of that 1 person will result in immediate success while refusing to acknowledge luck plays any sort of role year after year. it's not a fun truth but it's a truth... having 3/4 of ur best players dealing with something in some capacity is crazy work by the universe.

[destinyc1020]

Just to jump on the Tom train, I'm actually really bored of comparing him to his peers. Yes, Timmy is the critics darling but 2 back to back biopics. He's clearly going down the awards nom route.And no offence to 1 of your fans, Austin he has a lot of momentum, but he isn't leading films YET(pls don't say Elvis,bcos its Elvis)as much as i liked Bike riders, it didnt do well .Then we have Glenn, who I find charming but off the back of 1 lead with Twister, and now he's a leading man?. People have to stop....

Fans want casting news for Tom, I get that, but dogging him because he's not doing as much as everyone else is crazy. He told yall he was concentrating on his life for the next couple of years,and that's what he is doing and good for him. But plsss, if anons/stans don't think he's getting offered stuff weekly, then you're delusional. He's by far the most bankable,most liked by the general public, and to be brutal, he's far more famous. I'm not saying he's a better actor because he's still raw, but that boy will be fine. Long after some are forgotten about

Yea, I'm kind of bored with the whole comparing of actors to each other thing too honestly. To me, actors don't really need to be compared to each other. Their careers at least. To me, every actor's career journey is their own! 😊

Yes, Timmy is the critics darling but 2 back to back biopics. He's clearly going down the awards nom route.And no offence to 1 of your fans, Austin he has a lot of momentum, but he isn't leading films YET(pls don't say Elvis,bcos its Elvis)as much as i liked Bike riders, it didnt do well .Then we have Glenn, who I find charming but off the back of 1 lead with Twister, and now he's a leading man?. People have to stop....

Well now, I think we can uplift Tom w/out having to put other actors down in the process can't we? 🤔

I think it's a little unfair to try and claim that every single actor who does a biopic film is "looking for awards". 🥴 Let's face it, not all biopic films do well, and not all of them even get a sliver of anything as far as award recognition. Where were all of Naomi Ackie's nominations when she played Whitney Houstin in the Whitney biopic? 🤔

According to IMDB, Timmy already has like 107 award nominations with 42 wins, including the highest honor of them all...an Oscar nomination. I doubt Timmy is out here acting simply to try to win awards.... I doubt that most actors are doing that lol. Do you know how hard it is to get a nomination in the first place? If you are just acting simply to try to win awards, you will quickly burn out. 😅

When you get to Timmy's level, directors are calling YOU for roles, and you're just picking out of what interests YOU. So maybe the biopic films are interesting to him? 🤷🏾‍♀️

With regards to Austin... he IS leading films! What are you talking about? 😅 Elvis was the title role lol. He was lead lol. 😅 Maybe we can argue about the bikeriders because to me, Jodie was probably the main lead, but he's definitely been getting leading roles. He's currently filming "Caught Stealing" in which he plays the lead character. He has also signed on to "City on Fire", in which he's also the lead. And goodness knows what else will come after that? 🤷🏾‍♀️

I never expected the bike riders movie to be a film that does huge numbers at the box office. Even director Jeff Nichols would tell you that this movie was not really a big, huge movie. I think the film did fairly well for the type of niche film that it was. Not all films need to decimate the box office. The movie didn't take that much to make, so to me, the film did perfectly fine. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I just think a lot of directors see a lot of old-school movie star quality in Austin. 😊 And I'm thinking they think the same thing about Glen Powell as well. Glen Powell might not be super bankworthy yet, but he definitely has star quality, and they can see his potential as well. Glen has actually been acting for many years, but he has had mainly smaller background parts. But he's actually been in the game for quite some time! 😊

I think both of them have a lot of great potential, and I think that's what directors are seeing.👍🏾

But Nobody needs to compare these actors to Tom, and nobody needs to compare Tom to these actors. Either way, every actor has their own career journey, and there is no right or wrong way to be in this industry.😊

I think that's the problem. A lot of these fans are thinking that there's one sole right way to have a career in this hollywood business, but there really is not.

I definitely don't think that fans should be dogging on Tom just because they aren't getting the type of casting news that they want from him. I don't think that's right at all.😑

Like You said, Tom is going to be perfectly fine! 😅 And fans need to just keep that in mind. And even if Tom were not that famous or weren't making a ton of money, that's also okay as well. He's a good actor. I keep saying that you don't have to be a super huge star to be successful or a good actor.

Jmho 🤷🏾‍♀️

[burr-ell]

while I've been a cr fan for a while now, i've only recently started to interact more with the fanbase after completing campaign 2 and starting to go through campaign 3(i will hopefully catch up before it concludes but who knows lol) and man is the fandom strange. never have i seen a fandom have both a toxic positivity problem as well as a toxic criticism problem at the same time. people both viciously defend the show and attack it depending on the time of day it feels like lol. that being said I do want to know about what you enjoy about the show? I feel like most of the posts i've seen of yours are meta/takes about the fandom, which i do enjoy don't get me wrong, but i'd love to see things you like, especially if they're niche things! sorry if its a question you've been asked before! much love from another, what i would say, sane critical role fan ahhah

ah you want to see me be annoying. bless you anon <3

-mr lord percival de rolo and ms lady vex'ahlia de rolo and their sister/in-law ms lady cassandra de rolo and their bear son trinket de rolo and their baby quarter elf de rolos and their bear grandson charles de rolo and

-listen, i don't know what made me such a lunatic about perc'ahlia and their family but i am, that will never change, they've both suffered so much loss and they could have gone dark so many times but they didn't! they both chose the light and each other and chose the light because of each other and they have a FAMILY, whitestone is a city of rebirth and i want to gnaw on something every time i think about it

-i also just! love vox machina as a whole! it's classic, archetypal fantasy adventure stuff and that's why i love it. i love the chroma conclave arc especially, i really enjoy the stakes and the traveling across the world and the absolutely ridiculous moments that grew out of it. vox machina is, in the metanarrative, the living legend—the group that started it all and began breathing life into the world of exandria, and i've always enjoyed those kinds of stories.

-EXU CALAMITY. if you haven't seen it you absolutely should, i highly recommend it. it's an amazing story, the characters and setting feel so realized and alive in the four episodes they were around, and the actual players are incredible. i love the lore it introduced, i love the specter of vespin chloras over the narrative, i love how much presence asmodeus has and how well brennan plays such a master manipulator. and the INTRO??? why isn't the intro released as a single it's so good

-i've only had fy'ra rai and morrighan for a day and a half. if anything happened to them i'd kill everyone in the crown keepers

-i love the kinds of concepts and narratives that taliesin considers for his characters and how deeply he thinks through their presence in the world. he's thought so much about whitestone and both what it used to be like and how it's changed since C1, and while i've only watched the m9 twoshot, lucien/molly/kingsley is such an interesting idea (and i just really like kingsley). ashton is also an absolute joy to watch, and i'm so curious about their backstory and lore. taliesin has a knack for portraying characters who have very strong moral and personal beliefs but would rather coexist in a world with others' than enforce their own, which is probably why i like percy and ashton so much in particular. i also really enjoy his sense of humor; it's very dry and snarky with just the right amount of gothic whimsy.

-simply put. Travis Good. even back when he was playing grog, who is on paper a pretty simple character concept, he just couldn't help but give him a compelling and interesting backstory—and when he had to show off his acting chops, he DELIVERED. the depth that he gives his characters and the enthusiasm he has for the lore of the world are so burr-coded. cerrit in particular was an absolute tour de force and just watching travis go for whatever decisions he's going to make is incredible. he's also absolutely hilarious and his comedic timing is underrated. i mean, southerner to southerner, game recognize game.

-laura bailey!! i'm so fascinated by her consistent narratives about masks and coping mechanisms, and i love the fact that she's willing to make her PCs unlikable. she embraces their flaws and their virtues and just plays them so naturally. you have to read between the lines sometimes with her characters or you risk falling for the fronts they put up, and i love that kind of subtlety! she also doesn't feel the need to walk anyone through those choices, which i also appreciate; she simply plays them as they are, and however you react to that is up to you. i admit i'm interested in the alternate universe where laura played a character in calamity—marisha absolutely nailed it as patia, but i'm also interested in what laura would have done at that table.

-welcome to tal'dorei? oh my GODS that album is spectacular, especially the title track

-lastly, i genuinely enjoy the fandom experience! i've met some really cool people and made some really good friends here, and i love the creativity, especially of fanartists. i've learned so much about narrative and storytelling from reading different people's analyses, i've learned more about art from the fanart community, and overall i feel like the people i've met and the experiences i've had have helped me grow as a person.

anyway thank you for encouraging some positivity! i enjoy writing meta and critical analysis is really fun for me, but it's nice to take a step back and remember all the things i love. <3