#I don't understand why that's a controversial opinion (I'm lying it's because people see them as a unit instead of separate characters)

[fromtheseventhhell]

I'm sorry for coming to complain but I have something to say: I already know that in this fandom there are many opinions about what Arya and Sansa's relationship is going to be in the future and that we always complain that the Sansa stans talk about Arya as if she were going to become a servant of her sister, "one is the strength and the other intelligence", which are going to complete each other and all that shit (among all the other stupid things they have said) I agree with complaining about that because they are erasing attributes of Arya's character THAT SHE ALREADY HAS, and that we have always talk about Arya being a character apart from Sansa, someone who has her own story, her own purpose and that her whole character is definitely not reduced to just becoming her sister's employee after she always treated her badly in the their childhood.

Okay, I agree with all that. Those types of comments bother me too. But I feel that as a result of this very silly arguments have been born about why Arya and Sansa could never be friends because "they are very different, in personality, experiences and worldview" I'm sorry but I don't agree with that because, it is true that they are different, but let's not pretend that they don't have many things in common, and this goes beyond their personal characteristics or the fact that they share an entire family.

How different are their experiences? Yes, one is the red fortress and the other has to travel thousands of kilometers but in the end they both went through similar things. Both saw their father die, both were abused, both were beaten, both have been sold into marriage, both have been sexually abused, both have met cruel people and have had to pretend another identity to survive. The fact that it is in different contexts does not take away from the fact that they do have similar experiences, so that argument is very silly. And I don't say it with the intention of saying that Arya and Sansa are going to be the "best sister foreveh" I just hate that argument cause it dosen't make any sense, also throughout the asoiaf universe we have seen how completely different characters have had a great relationship come on.

Tyrion and Jaime are also wildly different and loved each other, Sam and Jon are also wildly different and no one is saying they could never be friends.

Also, it bothers me that they ignore the fact that Arya DOES care about Sansa, maybe Sansa doesn't care about Arya that much but Arya has always been fond of her sister, even when she was cruel to her.

Again, I don't come here with the intention of saying that they are going to be the best sister forevah and all that, I just hated that argument and also pls don't erase that from Arya's character either! that she has always been a good sister to Sansa, even if it was not reciprocated she was always loyal to her people, to her "pack"

Plus Arya and Sansa's relationship is definitely deeper than just "respect." Way more.

I feel like this is a good example of my earlier point that Arya stans need to over-explain points/theories to not have them taken maliciously (especially if they included Sansa). I still want to answer this in good faith though, because I don't believe you intended it to come off like that.

But I feel that as a result of this very silly arguments have been born about why Arya and Sansa could never be friends because "they are very different, in personality, experiences and worldview"

I will start by saying that the theories about Arya and Sansa not getting along aren't retaliatory to the fandom's perception of the "Stark Sisters 4ever". The idea of them not getting along is based on their conflict in AGOT, them being written as foils, George saying that they have issues to work out, and the fact that their characters haven't fundamentally changed since they've been separated (i.e. what's in the books). They've both been through a lot but trauma isn't a substitute for growth, and the issues they have will still exist. A big part of their conflict is Sansa's classism, which leads her to look down on Arya, and she has yet to grow out of that trait. If she reflects on this in TWOW then that's a different story. For now, we have to speculate with what we have. Not only that, but I could see Arya having less patience for her sister's behavior considering everything she's been through. There could be mutual hostility.

Tyrion and Jaime are also wildly different and loved each other, Sam and Jon are also wildly different and no one is saying they could never be friends.

As for this, the difference is that we're shown these characters having a positive relationship on-page. No one says Jon and Sam can't be friends because we see their friendship develop. Tyrion and Jaime eventually have conflict, but there's also a caring relationship built between them before that. Arya and Sansa have tender moments and fond memories, but their relationship is mainly antagonistic in the first book. If we had seen them getting along well before and, say, the trident incident had been the source of their conflict, that's an entirely different dynamic.

I just hated that argument and also pls don't erase that from Arya's character either! that she has always been a good sister to Sansa, even if it was not reciprocated she was always loyal to her people, to her "pack"

I don't think anyone with this prediction is ignoring Arya caring about her sister, it's more about the lack of growth on Sansa's part. While Arya tries to apologize and bridge the gap, even thinking of ways to please Sansa (I'll kiss her and beg her pardons like a proper lady, she'll like that), we don't have any equivalent moments from Sansa. She has fond memories of them playing in the snow, thinks of naming a daughter Arya, and overall misses her family and I'm not downplaying that. It's just that it doesn't supersede the relationship we've seen play out between them (or the fact that she thinks of Arya as unsatisfactory even though she believes her to be dead). It shows that they love each other and could reconcile, but there's no guarantee. Arya can't maintain that relationship one-sided and, considering she's already tried to apologize, Sansa will have to put in some effort on her side.

Plus Arya and Sansa's relationship is definitely deeper than just "respect." Way more.

I don't think their relationship is built on just "respect", they do have sisterly/familial love but that isn't all-powerful. George has stated that he reworked the Starks to give them conflict because they were all getting along and "families aren't like that". I doubt that he'd go to that trouble just to conveniently get rid of that tension, especially considering the amount of sibling conflicts we see in this story. No house gets along perfectly and this is intentional! We aren't ever going to really know until we get TWOW, but I just dislike the framing of this theory as baseless or trivial.

[readychilledwine]

Hey Liz! I've noticed you don't use MDNI for your smut. Can I ask why?

Warning - controversial opinions below cut and a long post

I have several reasons, but I want to start by saying that I respect everyone's opinions on this, and I hope that even if our opinions are different, we can discuss this like civilized humans.

To give you all some background:

I grew up in a fairly strict traditional midwest home. My parents held my purity to a very different standard than my brothers. My virtue was to be a gift to my future husband, and my body was to be a temple and treated with kindness and worship. We can get into my whole sexual awaking later, but I will tell you all, smut fanfics, lemons as they were once lovingly called, were part of my sexual education and how I learned my body was reacting normally as a teen. I lied about my age on fanfiction websites constantly because I have always preferred fanfiction smut over traditional porn. So, as someone who grew up in my background, let me first say, I can understand why a minor would make the choice to read on here instead of watching.

Anyways, to my reasonings:

1. The children I legally have responsibilities to and monitor are my daughter and occasionally my nephews and nieces when we are watching and caring for them. If my daughter came to me as a teen and said she found a smutty story online, we're going to discuss it and make a plan that best fits us regarding everything. As all parents should, from jump, when allowing children and teens access to the internet.

2. Legal ages are different everywhere. 18 to 19 is a good standard, but there are countries where teens as young as 16 are considered adults and countries where you are not considered an adult until 21. I ultimately am not creepy enough to stalk your page, ask where you live, figure out how old you are, and then look into majority laws in your country. That's how you end up on the registry.

3 - Putting MDNI will not stop a minor from reading my fics. They're going to do what they're going to do, and there are very few jurisdictions where I can legally be held liable for that due to the following reason:

4 - Nothing is preventing a minor from lying on their profile regarding their age. We've all done it. Let's be adults and admit that. As long as you are not actively sending "pornographic content" (which in itself is debatable as to what that means in different locations,) you normally cannot be held liable.

5 - Trying to message me is like pulling teeth from a bear right now, so I very rarely interact with people in my messages, and I am getting horrible regarding my comments (and I'm working on that, please know I see them and am always grateful.) The people I do actively message back, I do stalk you all a little (because i do love you and want to talk to you💕) and I do not actively send those people smut related things.

6 - video related porn is incredibly harmful to the young mind. That's coming from someone who has a sex positive lifestyle. Porn sets unrealistic expectations for teens and young adults regarding how sex should look, how it feels, and how it should sound. It's actually a huge topic of debate and discussion in the psychology and sex therapy world. I personally would rather have a teen read smut instead of watching porn. I could write an essay on this alone.

7 - Smut novels are also easy to purchase and access for teens. I do not see a difference in allowing in allowing a teen to read a smut novel versus smutty fanfiction. Again, AS LONG AS THE AUTHOR IS NOT DIRECTLY SENDING IT TO THEM.

8 - Using the "You are responsible for your own consumption" divider with my warnings and a cut is typically warning enough. By seeing that divider, seeing the warnings, and making the choice to open it and read any ways, the minor is now choosing to do something and accessing it by their own choice.

Is all of this to say I want minors actively interacting with my smut? Negative. Please don't.

I think it's very important to make sure you are marking it with something, but I do not think explicitly putting MDNI is going to do much more than just using the above divider.

Again, this post is NOT me saying minors should interact with my smut stuff or message me about it. Read in peace and don't tell me.

I'd like to leave you all with one of my favorites poems:

Fantastic Breasts and Where to Find Them by Brenna Twohy 💕

[likealayka]

Finally caved in and googled that cunt Ruby Franke that's been popping in my feed and I am currently VERY triggered

I know fuck all about mormons and frankly think that a lot of americans are very unwell in the head (oh sorry for a big controversial opinion I suppose) on behalf of religion and shit but the idea of a family full of children being abused on camera for years just continuing to exist and getting views and comments and the like.... Gods.

I am a daughter of a person who worked in a justice system for decades and only recently retired. I was abused since I was 6 until I was 19 almost every day of my life. I was starved, kept awake, locked out of rooms, denied books and clothes and presents. I was beaten up with everything that was lying around the flat. I was force fed chilli peppers, I was lashed. I was dragged by my hair in the middle of the school, surrounded by people who looked away every time. I came there covered in bruises and teachers told me I deserved more.

Why?

Because I was bad at maths. Because I have adhd. Because I am on a spectrum. Because I'm fat. Because I read books instead of homework that I don't understand.

She still hits me sometimes, you know. It hurts just the same. And my eating disorder is just the same, because she gave it to me and apparently I had to be grateful.

Thank fuck she's not religious, otherwise I don't know if I'd be here right now.

Don't have children. Just... Just don't.

Take care of yourself, of your own health. We're overpopulated and unwell, we're slowly getting closer to the end of things, all of us. Instead of worsening it just help existing people or something. Volunteer, spread info, help out a charity or something.

And if you'll see a person covered in bruises - help them.

[knucklegagging]

When Of Herbs and Alter talks (or really anyone on YouTuber) all I can do is wonder why they're not embarassed that this is their job.

Like how do their friends and family not point out how shameful it is to talk about your fucked up shit? Or just your controversial opinions? Or just your opinions? Or breathe?

Do these ppl seriously have "supportive" friends and family even w all their issues AND all the spectacle of making video recorded content that is literally them jacking off to the sound of their own voices like it's gold? That's wild.

Everything I do has to be anonymous cuz of any of my ppl knew anything about me they'd either leave or never let me live it down.

How the FUCK do these YouTubers have so much arrogance in thinking they're important enough to GET PAID to just babble into a camera???

I could do that. But all the comments would be hate comments. Is it just cuz theyre hot? No lie I really think it is largely to do w the fact they're always hot or at the very least middling in attractiveness. You never see an unattractive person getting media fame on any type of platform no matter how smart or witty or incredible they are. Someone needs to name me one person on the internet who is legitimately making a living off being on the internet who ISNT abnormally attractive while also almost always being at best borderline at the edge of average and dumb as bricks. Wtf is up w that??

Like Dorian is hot but can any of us really say theyre saying anything new or unique or particularly insightful? A lot of times they say magnificently stupid shit about having sex with vampire ghosts and how they condone Tessa Holliday lying about being anorexic for clout because Dorian's a weirdass little people pleaser who always wants to be controversial so long as it caters to the left. Honestly, Dorian is a dumbass. And they put on this overly touchy tryhard vocalization when reading the stories they've written like a bad actress trying to perform for a buck of blow..

I'm not even trying to be mean, but are any of us really subscribed because of their brain? Or is it all just hot goth with a deep voice who gives us some level of nostalgia for our ED bullshit? Cuz I'm convinced it's the latter. If she was ugly and called herself a she instead of a they (for woke relevance) nobody would listen.

I don't get why pretty people never seem to undersytanf that they are rarely talented, and are actually just stroking themselves in front of a camera.

Don't get me wrong, genuinely no hate to them. I like Dorian just fine most of the time. Think irl we'd probably even be friendly. BUT why do hot ppl have such an unawareness for how cringe this stuff is? They're all untouchable and it's weird. It's like their ego is always the size of Mt Everest and I do not understand how no one has ever told them that maybe talking about shoving glowsticks down your throat at night clubs and resurrecting a ghoul and how much they regret it... Maybe those things should be better left hidden from the internet?

Hot ppl can literally say, do, or think anything. Film it. Put it online. And there's never a single fucking repercussion. Meanwhile, an ugly person could eloquently detail the importance of phosphorulase kinase and express specifically why it is a hexadecameric holoenzyme based on the qualities of it's subunit isoforms and how mRNA splicing helps us understand this blah blah blah BUT I swear to you all the comments would be about how they need a nose job and their voice is stupid and they're ugly and did they ever notice one of their eyebrows is higher than the other and it fucking never ends.

I hate everyone.

[mandajiu]

THE LONG BALLAD PROMOTION: WE NEED THE WHOLE STORY, NOT JUST ONE SIDE

So I found myself posting on a what I thought was a general drama FB page today because of this ZLS fan page making the record straight post about TLB era apparently all fans are required to share. Before realizing it was a share from a ZLS fan page I had written this and I truly believe it to be true. We need to look more to the corporation and machinery behind the artist. That machinery is feeding the fans/anti-fans and profiting off their conflict.

As someone in the Leidi nest, I've seen a few things that raised my eyebrows and I might have smirked at but overall disagreed with. I do not love Dil because of her looks alone - I happen to believe she is fine, growing actress as seen by the matched acting with her senior in experience partner WL. Overall, however, the majority of the cpf engaged in self-promotion within their circle of their CP and I appreciate that about them. I am sure the fans of your favorite don't always make you happy either or represent your ethical boundaries every time. I was very much an outsider during this period when The Long Ballad was coming out. I had to go to Chinese sites to find out what the drama was about because all I could see was cute little LY and imposing HD - great characters for sure; however, what about Dilraba and the other guy flinging arrows at people who apparently was a controversial choice for the male lead? See how biased I had already been by the little media provided about TLB.

I posted this and I stand by it:

Why do we only talk about one person in that fantastic ensemble- that is marketing my friends, not just good acting or styling. I'm not a hater. I loved LLtG, but TLB had a beautiful message of peace that stayed with me. I am also a huge supporter of the main lead of TLB. It also stayed with the main leads. WL and Dil said good bye to ChangGe and Ashile Sun at least three times on Weibo. Imagine putting so much time, dedication, and passion into a project that your company barely markets and is ready inexplicably to completely move on to the next show before its even over. Stop the hate or single glorification of Lusi or Dilraba. That is what they want to create fan wars and press for the next project. They don't care about the human. Just take a look at what they did to Crossfire promotions - taking someone face off of posters and canceling live shows for a certain actor we all love. Our job as international supporters should be to raise attention to their work for the work itself, not play into the fan wars.

Do I believe that ZLS was the only stand-out actress in the whole drama? Well no. Do I think that one scene with WL and ZLS was packed with chemistry? Not at all, but if you did that's cool. I though Changge had better chemistry with her honestly because Ashile only has one person in his mind and that was Changge. The entire cast was brilliant and did what they could with what they were given, which was a pretty epic script that was shot in the middle of the pandemic. The fact that one actress rose at the expense of the other. I hate to say it, but that is marketing my friends, not just good acting or styling. I'm not a hater. I loved LLtG, but TLB is still my favorite because it had a beautiful message of peace that stayed with me.

Let's not give them even more of a fan war. I've been diving deeply into CPfandom/"pure" fan pop culture for a month now, so I'm still new to all of this. I was an international supporter of Dilraba at the time who engaged heavily in social media without really understanding Chinese fan culture. At the time I did not have the knowledge of Mandarin to access Chinese Social Media and I can still only observe as I am located in a country that won't allow WeChat or QQ Chat. I am okay with people being a little petty now and then - we all have our favorites and opinions about acting - but spreading false information is something I cannot support. There is also that grey area of what something looks like from their perspective and for that you have to dig and keep digging in every camp to see get an idea of what actually happened. For the most part, I see a tale of big money and corporate greed not caring about flesh and blood artists and feeding fan wars. It has only gotten worse recently. All of our favorites are vulnerable in the face of big capital, and some are much more at risk than others.

One thing I have seen: Although the part was not written for ZLS, I have heard that scenes were taken out to give more air time to the imperial CP because of the popularity of the couple - which, again was aided by marketing the couple for the most part and I was there to witness this as truth since I only saw the trailer or bits on ZLS/LYN -, including the wedding between the main leads. UPDATE: It was not a wedding. There was a scene of the two returning to Chang'an that was deleted apparently. I have no idea if this is true, but it's the same feeling we who love LLtG get about not getting our wedding. We have now lost TWO weddings whattt! I don't have a DVD player, but I demand a full DVD with Director's Cut and al deleted scenes!

If you were there during the time of the TLB promotions, please feel free to comment from your perspective. I too liked Love Like the Galaxy, but the taoist message of TLB left a lasting impact. At the end of LLtG all I was left with was a feeling that all was for nothing - everything could have been resolved without breaking any laws and he could have kept his goal and his girl without giving in. Someone on Twitter made a comment of how cathartic it was. Perhaps that is what it felt like at the time, but the long-term effects of his actions made him a hollow shell of his once pretty hollow shell. I don't see this as a healthy catharsis. Buyi sunk himself deeper into the mire and proved himself a hypocrite with his supposed lover. I have to question that love in the end. Ashile's Sun also had issues - his thought of sacrificing himself for love in a different sense was somehow more noble feeling, but no less selfish as it would have resulted in Li Changge yet again losing someone she deeply loves and being alone on the path to protect the Great Tang Dynasty. I never doubted the love between Li Changge and Ashile Sun; however, between SS and L/H B I do not know how much of that was misplaced affection or obsession especially if you look at the events of the book. The Long Ballad will remain my favorite between the two. The evenly matched partners working together for love of country and the people actually is far more touching to me personally. I will write a full comparison at some point if i can ever get myself to watch LLtG again.

[erstwhilesparrow]

☕️ + any combination of [hannigram, cc!dream, c!dream, ecology, religion]

hello! :] under the cut for length:

hannigram: i. so i haven't actually even finished season 1? there is probably A Lot that i am missing, it is safe to assume a certain about of Saying Words Recreationally, but i am a little obsessed with the way that people keep talking about will like he automatically gets no say in any of the things they're deciding about him? (i am thinking of, and this may be a misremembered scene, alana bloom and hannibal talking about What's Best For Him, having-a-therapist-wise, while he is conspicuously absent from the room) and it's... he's already meat to them. meat that does interesting things when poked, meat that can be very useful, but meat! hannibal being a cannibal is just allowing the possibility of making that literal. and i get the other appeal here, of [being known by someone in ways no one else ever will], but i don't know if i have a solid feeling about that yet? also, i'm sure the fandom is insufferable about them. no i will not elaborate. (lying because i'm immediately elaborating now: i've seen at least two really good fics that the authors labelled as spitefic, and they were just Correct, to the best of my knowledge? i'm deeply apprehensive about what they could possibly have been a response to.)

cc!dream: part of me wants to say "oh okay time to swing bats at hornets' nests today" but i don't really believe that my opinion of him is that controversial? (the thing i do believe is that if the wrong person sees this at the wrong time, it will be like i did that swinging anyway. such is the nature of massive fanbases. whatever.) starting with Current Events: i haven't read the google doc, and probably won't look into The Current Events further than what i've already seen, but i understand he at minimum was flirting with a fan who was still in high school when he was 21 and sending her private snapchats and that's. Don't Do That?? Hey, That's Fucked, There's A Power Imbalance Here That You Cannot Ignore, Don't Do That. i get why people's reaction was to drop him. i think it's fucked [in ways and for reasons i cannot elaborate on in this already giant post] that he's probably still going to be completely fine after this. beyond that, the amount of attention i pay him is minimal.

god, fuck, i think i talked myself into being kind of mad about this by remembering the fact that there are probably so many kids that look up to him. fucking hell. okay. I'm Not Learning / Thinking More About This. You Can't Make Me. The World Is Not Changed By Me Getting Mad On My Tumblr Blog Of Twelve Followers Total. moving on.

c!dream: oh my god he sucks so bad i want to strangle him (<- thinking about the exile trials + verdict)

no further analysis.

ecology: uh. surface opinion: cool field of study! ecologists in general seem like really cool people. more people should care about this. more personally: i feel weird about this one? like as a kid i read every animal book i could get my hands on and completely sincerely believed those pages they always had at the end about how You Can Change The World By Recycling :) . but also being In Nature wigs me out? but also i care about living creatures and their relations to each other? but also how much do i get to really say that and mean it when the most i've done is Occasionally Relocate Bugs Outside and Nod Sympathetically At Spiders? conflicted about this.

religion: another one i feel weird about! because i was born and raised in canada (sparrowlore for you, i guess, if you couldn't guess from how i spell colour) i feel there's like a background radiation level of knowledge i have about christianity that i don't really have for any other religion? so i am a bit suspicious, like, when i say 'religion' do i mean that or do i mean 'christianity'? and i keep saying the universe, which feels like i just want the christian god to go by a different name, but if asked directly i would say i'm probably an atheist? i... would like to be more principled about my atheism. also, part of me wants to be like "other people's religion is none of my business, let people be", but also part of me that wants to be like, "here are the specific historical instances that show i cannot ignore how religion has been repeatedly used to justify / perpetuate horrific acts and i want to be wary of the institution that allowed for those acts". i don't have a good sense of how to... reason about that divide? and like maybe i shouldn't even be framing it as that particular dichotomy? what i'm saying is both these impulses exist in me at once. and that is, all at once, how i feel about religion.

[ponreviews]

The Circle US Season 3: Alliances Run Deep

Category: Reality TV, Competition

Overall Rating: 5/10

Synopsis:

The Circle is back with new faces (real or otherwise)!! Watch these lovable (debatable) characters compete for $100k by building relationships, forming alliances and taking each other down all while being locked in their apartment. From an MIT techie to a 52 year old southern belle, this group of Circle contestants really know how to bring the heat in competition.

[SPOILERS FROM SEASON 3 AHEAD]

Review:

WOO This is a long one! I needed some time to get my thoughts in order, and as you can tell by my rating, I have very mixed feelings about this season. First impressions are always important, especially in this literal popularity contest. It was really easy to pick out who I liked and disliked from the start, much more so than the previous two seasons. Kai, Ruksana, and Michelle were my top 3 hopefuls from the first batch of players. They are genuine souls who really wanted nothing other than to be themselves in the game. The one player that left the worst impression on me from Day 1 was Nick... I know. People are going to be mad at me for that. Nick is probably the most popular player this season among fans, but I have my reasons.

To start off, he was a computer science major from MIT. Before everyone gets mad at me for pointing that out first, I also graduated college majoring in computer science. My experience with men who are computer science majors is not great. Many I worked with (not all of course) came off as arrogant and look down at people who might not get the concepts as fast as they do. I also was a fan of Shubham who didn't need to hide the fact that he's a tech nerd. There are exceptions to what I experienced, but Nick's introduction fit that description to the T. He does a good job at hiding that level of arrogance in the Circle, but that doesn't make me want to root for him. I also wasn't a fan of his hyper fixation on the girls in the game. First there was Ashley, then Ava, then Isabella, and even when Jacki came in he was thirsting so hard.

I could go on about how I don't like Nick, but that doesn't mean I don't respect his game. He did well to focus on his strong bonds and he definitely deserved to be in the top 5 because of that. He solidified a strong alliance and kept close tabs on strong players he wasn't as close to. That being said, it's the same for my girl Kai. Nick and Kai were two sides of the same coin this season. Both had strong alliances and overall great relationships with the other players. Their overwhelming popularity ended up costing them in the final rankings, as Nick and Kai ranked 5th and 4th respectively.

Before we get into the Top 3, I should probably talk about how the events led up to the dramatic finale. This season really knew how to piss me off by doing Michelle dirty like that. Granted it was Ava and Chanel who chose to be Michelle, but you can't blame them either since it was their only way to stay in the game. Unfortunately, I did find Ava and Chanel kind of annoying, so insult to injury when the real Michelle got blocked. There had been a lot of criticism against Michelle for choosing to go see the fake Michelle, but how would seeing anyone else benefit her? She lost and just wanted answers. The viewers want things to be interesting, but she just wanted to leave knowing who was behind fake Michelle. I know if I was in her position I would want to do the same thing.

Ava and Chanel didn't make it far after Michelle, just as she predicted. Honestly, they weren't all that interesting aside from the whole Michelle situation anyway. It makes sense for them to be the ones out fast. The surprising player to me was Calvin. He didn't give me a good first impression. He gave me a similar vibe as Nick, but the difference between him and Nick is that Calvin wasn't as strategic as Nick. As his relationship with Kai grew, we really see how vulnerable he really let himself be at this point in the game. He took more things to heart than a lot of people in the game, but he stayed loyal to the ones he kept close. Yes he had strategy, but all he really wanted was to make it far with his friends. I was disappointed that he chose Nick for the burner profile but I was more upset that he was gone so soon.

Calvin was the one link between the alliances with Nick and with Kai. With him gone, the divide was clear as day. Nick, Ashley (Matthew), Isabella (Sophia), and Jackson (Rachel) against Kai, Ruksana, Daniel and James. The next blocking would be one that no one is happy with. Jackson/Rachel getting blocked made the most sense to me. Even with James having less time with the other players, Rachel couldn't really solidify her bond with the others, and the most crucial player she needed was Daniel. Ruksana getting blocked also made sense (much to my dismay...). Nick's biggest threat is Kai, but if he got rid of Kai, Ruksana can raise hell in the Circle. His alliance is unified against Ruksana but only because of Kai. If Kai went out this time around, Ashley and Isabella could potentially be swayed towards Ruksana. The double blocking kept the alliances balanced, but introducing Jacki tipped the balances.

Jacki had the biggest disadvantage being the last person in the game. Being new was the only thing keeping her from getting blocked as soon as she moved in. The only real advantage of keeping Jacki strategically is that she is malleable. James was the first one to get a good impression on Jacki, so even if she wasn't exempt, I'm pretty sure James would've saved her. It's easy to criticize James for not fighting for Daniel since the alliances were so clear, but in the end he did have a deeper connection with Ashley/Matthew. Daniel's choice to visit Isabella/Sophia was an interesting choice. If the pattern was gonna be the same I would've assumed he would've went to James and demanded answers, but because of the attention towards Isabella being a catfish, who could blame him for wanting to find out? Their meeting ended up being really wholesome anyway. They were on opposing sides, but in the end it's every player for themselves. He got along with Sophia when they actually met and he chose to give her support (and tea).

After that blocking, Jacki's blocking doesn't seem worth mentioning because it's so obvious with James and Nick as the secret influencers and the fact that she had so little time, so let's talk about the top 5! I was honestly worried about Nick winning the whole thing until everyone gave their thoughts in the final rating. In the end, everyone's ratings were strategic because I was surprised to see Kai and Nick rated the absolute lowest out of the 5. By the final ratings, I was honestly hoping Ashley/Matthew would win. Don't get me wrong! I was still hoping that Kai would win, but the way that everyone was talking......... That win for Kai was gone.

Now the most controversial part of the season: James won. Throughout his time in the Circle, he was the funny one, the one with no filter, and he genuinely left a great first impression on the other players (through to the end). However, him giving up Daniel and Jacki brought him a lot of hate from viewers, and initially I felt the same. Does him winning piss me off? No. It makes sense. I'd like to think this is my Libra moon coming out because I can understand why he made those decisions and why the other players would rate James so high. Literally, Isabella/Sophia is the only one I would imagine rating James low due to the persistent catfish suspicion and the betrayal for Daniel. Kai, Nick, and Ashley/Matthew all had positive experiences with James.

I do give this season a 5 though because it's not as wholesome as Season 1 nor is it as dramatic as Season 2. James winning was a disappointing one to many. He folded to Nick so fast and that angered a lot of viewers. It definitely wasn't what I hoped for considering I was rooting for Kai and Matthew at this point, but at the same time, I was really just hoping that Nick didn't win because of my own bias against him. Because of that, I'm fine with the end result. I wasn't excited about his win like I was about Joey in Season 1 or Deleesa in Season 2. You could feel how much love the other contestants had for the winners for their respective seasons, but with James it felt more obligatory from the others. This may be because he wasn't there in the beginning. Players like Michelle and sisters Ava and Chanel didn't even know him since they were eliminated before he came in. The season may have been too polarizing in the sense that the eliminations became predictable and disappointing. The only really satisfying thing to me was seeing Nick disappointed in the finale. Again, my bias against him is speaking here, but I could not help but laugh my ass off when he saw Sophia.

To sum it all up, it was very easy to pick favorites at the start, but once Calvin left, it gets muddy from there. I still have strong opinions about certain players, but they all played a strategic game. If you say even one person wasn't strategic (with the exception of Michelle) you are lying!!!! The players that made it to the end had very understandable reasons for playing the way that they did, but doing that doesn't make everyone happy. The finale kind of proved that. In no way did I feel as excited for James to win as I did Deleesa or Joey. Honestly, the only person I would be excited for in that top 5 would be Kai. I did however find it sweet that James could finally propose to his girlfriend of 12 years. I'm not mad at how things ended, but it's definitely not my favorite.

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

Yo I'm sorry but I read your answer to that one ask about nsfw stuff in one day/19 days. And for the most part I agree, exept for one thing. Please, for the love of god, don't say this is a comic "for" women. Yes it's bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns. This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a "manga style" doesn't mean it's a "Yaoi" :')

Good afternoon, dear anon-san!

And thank you for your comment regarding my earlier answer about 19 Days being NSFW. I’m glad to hear you felt like you could agree with most of it even though there was something that rubbed you the wrong way. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me or coming forward if they take issue with whatever I have said. But I would be lying if I said answering your comment doesn’t make me nervous. BL and fujoshis are quite controversial topics that I’m sure will divide people reading this or following me. But I don’t think I would be doing anyone a favor if I wasn’t honest even if what I have to say is controversial. I would like to think I have always tried to be open to all kinds of opinions and perspectives even if they differ from mine, and I hope people will extend me the courtesy. 

“Yes it’s bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns.”

I don’t think I said OldXian was a fujoshi, but I can see how that might have been implied by me saying 19 Days is a work of BL. As a genre, BL is typically targeted at a female audience by female authors. However, that is just how it usually goes. BL has plenty of male fans, too, and they’re called fudanshi. I’m not saying OX is a fudanshi but rather that all kinds of people can be fans of BL. It’s not tied to one’s gender.

Also, while males writing BL certainly isn’t typical, it’s not unheard of, either. Sadly, the author’s gender is somehow considered relevant even these days which has resulted in many male BL authors using female aliases (and vice versa when it comes to females writing genres that are typically written by male authors). But there are some BL authors who are openly males, too. For example, D. Jun – the author of Guang Xiang and Here U Are – is apparently a male.

“This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a “manga style” doesn’t mean it’s a ‘Yaoi’”

No, having “manga style” doesn’t make 19 Days a yaoi. The fact that one of its major themes is gay love makes it a BL, though. Especially in the context of it being an Asian publication. Are there other kinds of relationships and themes included, too? Yes, most definitely! And they’re all intriguing and essential to the story. The comic is also about friendship, families, and coming of age, to name a few. But it can’t be denied a pretty significant part of it revolves around homoerotic love, and that kind of theme is mainly consumed by a prominently female audience. They are also more often than not heavily targeted at female readers and to appeal to their tastes.

Case in point, the good-looking male protagonists with lean muscles and the author not exactly shying away from drawing them at least half-naked. You could also say He Tian’s character is the kind that typically appeals to females – a dark bad boy with a hot bod and vulnerable, tragic past. And what do you know, he’s at least the second fan favorite - if not the most liked, even. Are we really going to pretend these aspects aren’t attracting and appealing to female readers? Am I really the only one seeing readers drool and squeal whenever OX publishes chapters featuring shirtless HT, moments of tender gay affection, or illustrations of suggestive poses (homoerotic or otherwise)? Is OX doing it intentionally to appeal to female readers? No one but OX can answer to that, but does it really matter? I don’t think it changes the end result; it attracts largely females and I’m sure many of them are avid consumers of BL, too.

I don’t think this has escaped OX, either. A couple of times by now, the comic has made references to BL genre, girls being fans of cute guys together and how that kind of material attracts the female attention (ch. 151, 295, and 296):

(Sorry for the cencor, but Tumblr wouldn’t let me post this otherwise...)

Those moments can basically be taken both as OX making light of the genre and the comic being self-aware. 19 Days makes funny metafictional references while also utilizing the BL conventions itself. It’s also a clever way if the author wants to take a stand on how their work is different from its predecessors in the same genre. Because I think 19 Days is quite one of a kind compared to other BL publications. And it has sparked conversations regarding the BL conventions, for example, ukes vs. semes. It can do all that and still be a BL as such that it appeals to females or fans of the genre in general.

Now, does any of that mean 19 Days can’t appeal to other kinds of fans, too? Of course, not! In fact, you yourself dear anon-san, are an excellent example of that. I think 19 Days is one of the few Asian BL comics that has attracted countless of Western fans, too, who are perhaps not that familiar with Asian BL. It should also be noted that m/m ships are hugely popular in the Western fandoms, too. They are just more tied to the original works and not really separated to become a genre of its own as has happened with BL in Asia, especially in Japan. As it happens, the stats of the Top 100 Ships on AO3 in 2019 were just published the other day, and whopping 69 of them are slash aka m/m. Do you think that is completely unrelated to the fact that fanfiction is mostly written and read by females? I’m not saying it’s the only reason because it’s more complicated than that, but it certainly indicates Western female audiences are also big fans of homoerotic content. And they, too, are often accused of “making everything gay”.

I also don’t have a problem admitting this: If 19 Days didn’t have homoerotic themes whatsoever and the boys were having crushes on females, I doubt I would have been interested in the comic. The other themes I mentioned above are interesting to me, but on their own and paired up with m/f endgame relationships they wouldn’t be enough for me. I don’t read 19 Days just for the gay content, but it is a significant reason why I originally checked it out and why I keep loving it. Personally, I don’t think being attracted to the gay aspect and loving the story and characters, too, has to be an either-or kind of deal. You can very well do both. Does saying this somehow make me less of a fan of 19 Days? I’m sure it does in some people’s eyes but frankly, I don’t need other’s approval to love and be interested in something.

So far, I have pretty much disagreed with everything you said, but allow me to offer you an olive branch, dear anon-san. I get why my BL-related notions may have upset you. I get where you are coming from with saying 19 Days isn’t a “fetish for women”. You don’t want something you love to be associated with something you clearly despise. Yaoi and fujoshis have a bad rep, and I’m not trying to pretend like it’s completely underserved. I read a lot of BL but don’t really agree with the hardcore fujoshi mentality or identify with them as a group. I also think BL works have many tropes and conventions that do not represent realistic gay relationships and are highly problematic. However, BL is a fictional genre with its own history, development, conventions, and target audience. And as an avid BL reader, I think just because something appeals to me in a fictional setting it doesn’t mean I’m advocating the same things in real life.

To be honest, talking about this kind of makes my stomach twist with dread and nerves because I realize many people might get upset over this. And putting yourself in this kind of position on Tumblr especially can be a bit risky. So, let me say it once again: People are welcome to disagree with me or think I’m as wrong as humanly possible. And I would most probably understand where they are coming from. However, I would also like to remind anyone feeling angry with me that this is just me coming from a different point of view. Just like you are, dear anon-san. As far as I’m concerned, you are free to enjoy 19 Days from your own perspective and me from mine without it having to mean we’re somehow robbing each other of something.