#yes I know this was only act 2

[lauranalanthalasa]

Translation: waste separation is important!

This is a picture from the set of Good Omens season 2 and the bin on the right was specifically requested by @neil-gaiman.

[marciaillust]

mom come pick me up people related to my personal posts too much

[swordmaid]

much thoughts about shri’iia only knowing the most basic of common (like yes/no/what/hello) when she gets dropped off in the surface so she ends up learning from the companions mostly gale bc in turn she probably teaches him common drowic and MUCH thoughts about astarion eventually being the one who teaches her bc they spend a lot of time together at night (since they don’t need sleep) and that’s soooooo tangled rapunzel to me sharing a book together and he teaches her basic phrases and how to read common. like shri’iia knowing key words in common like kill or die so he’s like ok here’s how you say kill yourself 🤭 and she parrots it back to him, kys! then he cackles bc he’s teaching her the most diabolical funny shit and she just says it back. but eventually he stops treating it like a game (like after she drew his scar for him) and he teaches her proper. at night when everyone is asleep they read a book together and he tries his best to teach her what it says —I also imagine they mind link often bc if he can’t describe it properly he can at least show her, and she’s like slowly learning how to speak common through him.

that’s also part of the accidentally falling in love 🫵 bit

[invinciblerodent]

I've graduated from only blocking people who are either stupid, needlessly cruel, or prone to adding stupid, combative quips that miss the point entirely to posts, to also blocking people whose points I fundamentally agree with, I just think they're being a bit of a dick while making it.

In the end it'll really just be me and my handful of trusted mutuals on my dash. Maybe then I'll finally know peace.

[cerealbishh]

Back near the shore, back to before

You took my hand

[ctl-yuejie]

these moments™️ in the Only Friends Trailer

[sskk-manifesto]

\\

[nunyverse-scribe]

If there’s one thing I noticed in recent times when it comes to fan engagement with art and artists (TV shows, books, movies [franchises], etc.) is that a big factor in the downward spiral in media literacy and critically analyzing what we engage with is that a lot of people… feel sort of obligated to getting defensive for the specific things they like. And they assume any critique or criticism is a form of ill will or malice towards the piece.

Which I think is SUCH a terrible mindset to have when engaging with any piece of art or media, especially in a time where there’s this general push for dumber downed media for the masses to consume and likewise less critical thinking. I notice a pattern where there are people that will give a million disclaimers about how much they love the media they’re about to critique because they know the average fan will dogpile on them and assume it’s someone who doesn’t like the art that’s critiquing it. Or I notice when a subsection of fans of a media start critiquing it, there’s another crowd in the fandom that say “if you don’t like it so much, then why are you watching it 😒” even though that’s not the case, the critiques come from a place of love. That’s not right, it’s not good to have this general consensus that to love something means to ignore or outright accept glaring problems in relation to it.

We as audience members, we as fans of a certain thing, need to be able to be ok with the fact that the shows, movies, books, etc. we enjoy might have some negative elements to it that we HAVE to be critical of. Sometimes the thing we dislike is something as small as a trope we’re tired of seeing. Sometimes the thing we dislike is a LOT bigger, though, such as questionable messaging subconsciously implemented due to the writers’ internalized bias.

And honestly THAT is what matters most to me when it comes to this type of thing.

Because EVERYONE is susceptible to the subliminal propaganda in a piece. You, me, your neighbors, your parents, kids, the elderly, everyone. And even moreso when we choose not to question or challenge the things in the media or art being fed to us.

Why? Because to just accept any glaring problems in (with the example I’m typically using right now in this rant) a specific narrative purely because as a whole you like the story means that you are allowing that narrative—and likewise other narratives you’re bound to consume and internalize—make the decision on your thoughts and the decision on your principles and moral compass.

To combat that you have to do as I stated above: challenge those attributes of the story or art or whatever that are relaying questionable messages. Even if you, generally speaking, really like it.

QUESTION why that creator will depict women, or POC, or disabled ppl, or queer ppl, or another marginalized identity in the certain way that they do. QUESTION why a creator’s art relays a certain commentary on the systems of fascism, or capitalism, or the patriarchy, or police brutality, or any other oppressive system. Especially because this art and these stories we engage with don’t exist in a vacuum: what came before it to lay the foundations was experiences of the creator, what was there alongside its creation was the creator’s personal principles and ideals, and what comes after it is the impact it will leave on minds and ideologies it will spread.

I dunno, I say this because I enjoy critically analyzing the stories and the art that I love. I will watch a TV show or read a book and I will connect with a lot of aspects of it, I will love it, I will recommend it to others. However, I will also have long conversations with fellow fans (usually friends) about the pitfalls, I will take note of certain aspects of the story that were questionable choices, and I will view it with a critical eye. And maybe it’s just because I’m a writer myself, but I feel like being that nuanced and careful with how you view the art that you love, to praise AND critique it, is in itself a form of love or passion for the art.

And I really wish more people understood that? Especially when it comes to art, things aren’t black and white. They are allowed to be good and bad at the same time. Characters are allowed to be likable but also horrible people. And I feel that having this mindset of “I like it therefore I see it as perfect” is a very, VERY dangerous one to harbor.

[coockie8]

God, Sonic X lol You know Sonic is a genuinely pure-hearted person despite his flaws, 'cause if my friend-group had that little faith in me as a person after I had saved every single one of their lives and the entire planet on multiple occasions, I would literally never speak to these people lmao

Yes, I am at the Sunshine Ball episodes XD

[kateis-cakeis]

people are really so weird and so fatphobic huh

(and oops most of my commentary is in the tags XD)

[swordmaid]

for me… FOR ME..!!! and for shri’iia specifically the lock in for astarion’s romance is his graveyard scene in act 3.

i think it is too quick for shri’iia to be moving on to another relationship considering her previous one was with her mistress who essentially groomed and isolated her for like … more than hundred years. learning to chase her own desires and not moulding herself to what anyone wants her to be is something so new to her…!!! and something that she’s still learning how to be comfortable with….

and what I like abt romancing astarion with her is that I usually go for the dialogue path in his act 2 confession scene where you can ask him:

- what do YOU want to do?

and he goes like honestly idk what we’re doing but /this/ is nice. it just feels like two people exploring the option to love for the first time and taking things in their own pace rather than jumping straight into the relationship. they’re going at a snails pace… they don’t know what they’re doing but they like this feeling and the vibe and they want to more of it but they’re not ready to commit to anything yet and it’s fine for them …!! and they’re only committing by the end in the graveyard scene where significant time has passed and they’ve learnt a little more about themselves and they’re both more confident about their own desires and also how they want to be loved.

like it is so fitting I think… and sweet… not to mention astarion being a high elf & a vampire and shri’iia being a drow, they have all the time of the world for themselves so I def think they would want to take their time. except if shri’iia turns into a mindflayer or drider by the end then that plan is out the window lol

[sketchy-scribs-n-doods]

the way i wish there could be more good faith analysis and fic about billy having adopted racial prejudice from his dad and then learning to properly recognize it and grow past it in order become a better person. i wish there was more posts and fics that tackle the bullshit lucas has had to deal with as a black kid in small town indiana because the duffers never even considered it. but the sheer puritan black and white thinking and performative activism or moral virtue signaling or whatever the fuck that is so pervasive in this fandom means that even the few posts and fics that dare to try and actually tackle racism tend turn it into either a punishment narrative, are depressingly shallow about it, make it about hating and liking the 'right characters', or miss the mark entirely

like i get it, homophobia/transphobia is easier to explore and talk about for most fans. it's complex and multi-layered just like other types of oppression, but so much of fandom is queer and dedicated to shipping and labels that yeah, i can see how talking about it is just. easier for a lot of ppl. also a lot of fandom is white. and lots of white gays get weird about discussing racism in their spaces. y'know the deal, but i digress. from what i can see, very few ppl want to explore how racism affects our favorite characters and the stories they live in. i know some ppl are probably afraid of getting it wrong, or they don't know anything about it and don't feel like they should. it's like, my blorbo is queer and so am i, so why wouldn't i talk all day about that? i get it. but it honestly just means a lot when someone tries earnestly. i have read beautiful fics about trans love through hardship by cis authors and such genuine fics about connection in the face of racism's poison by white authors.

there is just SO much untapped potential in exploring lucas and max and billy and patrick and argyle and all the other characters directly and indirectly affected by bigotry and racism within the narrative that never got the acknowledgement it deserved. plus it's super weird being used as a 'gotcha!' by white fans that hate billy (as if poc fans of billy aren't capable of seeing it for the bullshit it is) or seeing lucas' treatment in the show get brushed aside like it's nothing or how argyle gets sidelined an awful lot in the fandom (and don't even get me started on how messy the classism in this fandom can be, the borderline erasure of eddie's poverty and its effects on who he is as a person in fic is insane sometimes)

anyway. idk if any of this makes sense, but i can count like maybe 3 good fics and maybe a dozen good posts about billy that actually address this in good faith and only maybe a dozen more for every other character i mentioned. and i desperately want more. i am brown and queer and i want healing and love for all of these characters and i am going to have to start churning out more of it myself at this rate.

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

my mum's staying for the weekend pray for me

[montanamp3]

big day for unironic love never dies enjoyers

(day 1/? of not getting covid)

[lesenbyan]

There are few things worse, I think, than reading a call to action memoir that is so close to right but really should have been shelved for at least 5yrs before going to print so the author has time to learn enough to see all the false equivalencies that really hinder the point

[harbingersglory]

Silently shaking your hand in butch who loves a pretty femme.

SHAKING IT VIGOROUSLY i love femmes sm femmes are literally so gorgeous sorry i hear someone mention them and i do Not stop talking. everyone please act shocked i went down the ningguang main to miko main pipeline.