#I’ve seen so many shippers and I just

[skoulsons]

I just watched gran turismo please be patient with me I’m having an awful amount of thoughts.

MAN. ok first what a film. now moving on.

Specifically Jann and Jack (platonically my goodness I do not enjoy seeing shippers out there).

their relationship. so good.

ok so. main thing I noticed from the movie, and I don’t believe this to be a stretch at all, is the difference between Jann’s relationship with Jack and his relationship (or lacktherof) with Danny

Danny (yes I am fully aware that he is the marketing guy for Nissan. I do not believe that discounts their relationship or how Danny still treated him compared to Jack. Some of this way just be personal opinion and observation. I’ve only watched the movie once.) cared about him and his talent for show. For publicity. When it was convenient. When all the SIM racers are driving and Jann beats Matty by a millionth of a second, Danny wants to pick matty instead, and his main reason bc of how matty is in front of the cameras. His concern is for how it’ll make Nissan look and not the kids themselves.

Jack, on the other hand, says ‘no, jann won. he’s the one’. He notices him for his talents and how he, fairly, beat matty, despite how he may get flustered in front of the camera (something that isn’t even a thought in Jack’s mind).

And then, after Jann has his crash. Obviously it speaks so much closer to Jack than to Danny because Jack, too, was involved in a very terrible crash and took Jann’s very personally.

And yet Danny, sitting in one of the chairs next to Jann’s bed, talks about how “I don’t know how we’re gonna explain this to Nissan” and how they’re going to have to open up an investigation. And without even giving Danny a glance, the first words out of Jack’s mouth are “that’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

Jack’s thought, his only thoughts are spent worrying about the kid in the hospital bed right next to them. Danny, on the other hand, is again worried about the company. Not the kid. Not purposefully, at least.

ok I’m sure there’s more but I have to shut up about Danny and talk purely about the other two bc holy fvkdhjdxh (going in order of movie events according to my screenshots)

Yes, Jack has that tough love sort of encouragement (which can be a very good thing when it’s used well—example being this movie). Telling the kids they’re not good enough and they won’t make it in real racing. Playing that card to push them. And he really nails into Jann when he sees his potential. He does it to push him.

And then, my goodness, from there on out, the man spends almost every ounce of his breath encouraging, reassuring, motivating, and grounding Jann through every race.

I’ll be on comms the whole time. You’ll be fine. Stay with me. You got this.

Breathe! I don’t want you to oversteer! I want you to keep it together!

Even telling others (Danny) that the kid is good. Telling Danny “give him some time” when Danny starts to doubt Jann.

I know you can do this, Jann.

Those are all before his crash. And, when Jann confronts Capa for what he tried to do, Jack pulls him away and tries to put Jann’s attention to getting in fourth place, which is exactly what they needed. He did it! Hey! Hey! You came in fourth! You did it! You did it! Forget that guy! You got your (FIA) license!

And then, multiple times, intentionally checking on him with a “you okay?” Before every single race.

And then, of course, his crash. Jack stands still at the box, completely shocked and not moving for a good few seconds before he just runs. Runs and tries to wave down the ambulance so he can get to Jann faster.

Again, a lot of Jack’s trauma and experience comes through during this whole time, and I feel like his initial shock speaks to that. We see how it’s affected Jack physically on his shoulder and the scars on his back. And now with Jann, this talented kid that he’s mentoring, getting in the crash, it comes back to surface level.

Eventually, they reach the helicopter. Jack stays in, a hand over Jann’s heart the whole time.

When in the hospital, Jann moves slightly and Jack is up, immediately at him with a “hey”. Jann tries to sit up and Jack grabs his arms lightly and lowers him down, sitting on the bed himself.

Hey. Come on. You need to rest, you need to rest.

Immediately, first words out of Jack’s mouth are, yet again, a reassurance. It wasn’t your fault, okay?

And, by God, his eyes are wet and he looks scared.

From experience, that’s what Jack believes jann needs to hear in that moment. Jann doesn’t know what exactly happened or what his crash did, but Jack still settles on trying to reassure him.

It was a freak accident. It was an accident. It is certainly not on you.

And, in almost the same breath, instead blames himself for what happened.

It is on me. I should’ve pitted you sooner.

AND THEN CUT TO HIM DRINKING IN A BAR AND BORDERLINE CRYING??? no. no he’s not upset over that family or who they lost. jann is the freshest thing on his mind, as is his own crash. jack’s regrets are fresh. he wants to see jann succeed and not make the same mistake he made himself. it’s all fresh in his mind.

Jack says that “someone is dead because racing is dangerous”. He does everything he can to try and keep that blame from settling too heavy on Jann’s shoulders. But Jann, fresh out of a gnarly crash and injury + unconscious state, a loss, and a revelation that someone died because of what happened, yells at both Jack and Danny to get out of the room and away from him.

Next is when Jack drives Jann out to Jann’s crash site and tells Jann the story of his crash at Le Mans.

(My screenshots didn’t save NAURRR it’s fine it’s not like I don’t remember the scene at all lol)

Basically, Jack talks about his crash. The guy who collided with him died on the way to the hospital. And, the driving point of his story and what he wanted Jann to hear, was his regret of never getting behind the wheel again. How he quit after the crash and never raced again and how he wished he changed that. He says this to the kid he knows it’s going to resonate with and who he knows needs to hear it. Jack gives him the key, and Jann finishes his lap.

Then cut to Le Mans. 24 hour race. They bring in Matty and Antonio, the two other highest SIM racers. Jann starts off the first three hours.

You make your day, survive the night, you live to fight tomorrow. Good luck.

At the start of the race, two racers collide and one hits the nearby wall, setting on fire. Jann is reminded and his first question is “is he okay?” over comms with Jack.

Instead of Jack saying “doesn’t matter, pay attention. keep going” or any other sort of thing, Jack keeps the conversation on the crash, but optimistic instead in an attempt to clear Jann’s head instead of avoiding it altogether and making Jann worry more.

All right, they’re pulling him out. He seems alright. He seems alright.

Then, after giving that assurance that the guy is OK, Jack goes back to what Jann needs to start hearing. They can’t stay on the guy too long, so Jack goes back to normal.

Okay, keep your head in, all right? Focus.

THEN, oh a delightful part I absolutely loved this.

Jann starts to lose it. He slows down, a lot. He’s passed by a number of racers and he’s not hearing a word that Jack says over comms—yet Jack never stops talking. Never stops asking for him. Never once raises his voice, only tries to get him to hear him.

Hey, buddy? Hey. Hey, Jann? Hey, stay with me. Stay with me, okay? Stay with me. Look, safety’s left, okay? We gotta make up some time. Jann, talk to me, pal. Jann. Hey, hey, hey. Hey. Jann.

He then, with the new gift Jann actually bought for him, Jack plays some Kenny G. The music that usually calms Jann down before races pisses him off. He’s furious at Jack and finally gets his radio off, but Jann still hasn’t picked up any speed or really gone anywhere.

Jack celebrates Jann’s anger. He tells him it’s good. Tells him to use it. And the last thing Jack says to Jann before Jann takes off is a fierce Go get ‘em!

As the race goes on and Jann gets closer to first, he remembers back to GT. How he never followed the lines and would pass on the outside. Instead of following Jack’s instruction on how to navigate and pass, Jann asks him to trust him.

Danny cuts in, scared that Jann won’t get on the podium, which is the whole reason they’re there. Jack says fuck it, follow your line, Jann.

He follows it and he gets 3rd place by a mile. We see Jack celebrating as he kneels to the floor and pulls his headphones off, blown away and equally as happy that they made the podium.

Jann pulls in and congratulates with Danny, Matty, Antonio and some others before he’s met by Jack.

They celebrate and embrace and congratulates him on being one of the best racers in the world

anyway yeah my goodness this made me crazy 🤠

[antipolygon]

chai and i have the same taste in fashion and music so i’m just straightup giving him my outfits cuz all i wear is band merch

[nick-close]

I was a be more chill fan but I still can’t understand what half of the ship names for s2 are, y’all just choose words now. I’m begging u just say granterry again

[sakuratruther]

genuine question if sasuke never cared about sakura why did he

[achingly-shy]

okay so i have something controversial to say……i really hope everyone can have some decent etiquette following ahsoka and anything that does or doesn’t happen between two specific characters, no matter what side you’re on

[anxiety-and-fandoms]

Does anybody have like. a weird pattern among the people that follow you

[hellfireeddiemunson]

Sometimes I truly forget how wacky people are about the ships they don’t like

[cheesecakeluvrs]

It frustrates me how many people misunderstand my girl

While I’ve definitely seen it more on TikTok and not so much Tumblr it is still quite prominent. All of the “Gambit girls 😜🤞” (Gambit is literally my favorite character but just those new fans who like him because of the crop top) are coming out and saying that Rogue is to be blamed for Gambits feelings being hurt but what they don’t realize is how much both of them were hurting. We see Gambits pretty clearly but guessss Rogues we’re a little harder to catch even though I think it’s pretty obvious

What I feel like a lot of people don’t realize is how much suffering she was going through because of her feelings for Gambit. He would tease her and flirt with her yet for her it was just a constant reminder that she can’t touch him. His whole existence is just a constant reminder of what she can’t do. She thinks that because she can’t touch him she could never make either of them fully happy in a relationship

Plus that makes perfect sense because the closest romantic relationship she has to her are Jean and Scott who constantly love and kiss each other. We see her multiple times in the original just stare at them as they touch, just another reminder of what she can’t have

On top of that her literal first experience with her powers was with a person she had feelings for. She has been obsessing over the ability to touch since she was thirteen years old. People get mad at her for not realizing that she valued her feelings over the ability to touch sooner but that is literally everything she can think about. To her a happy relationship ‘needs’ intimacy so she thought that the only way she could be in a happy relationship was with Erik

That’s why the dance is so important because she finally got that intimacy she has been looking for. She put off the fact that she didn’t have feelings for Erik and thought that she would be alright plus if it means helping Genosha

I mean she’s just weighing out feelings and intimacy and since she’s been idolizing the ability to touch since she has been thirteen years old that’s obviously what she’s going to choose. Then of course she was faced with grave disappointment when that thing she has been searching for her whole life wasn’t enough

I know a lot of the Gambit and Rogue shippers felt relief because she realized she valued feelings over touch but I just can’t get over the amount of disappointment she probably felt in that moment. She finally got what she had been searching for, what she thought would be enough for any relationship, but she still wasn’t happy because she didn’t have feelings for him

I would also like to mention her relationship with Erik before because that is probably the biggest comparison to her of all. She had both feelings (no matter how healthy or unhealthy they were) and intimacy with him so in her head if he didn’t have those struggles that would be the perfect relationship. It’s also likeee the only happy relationship she had had intimacy but that was also only because she thought that a relationship needed intimacy… if that makes sense

Anywaysss I know I kinda rambled off but it’s important to understand how much she has been idolizing the ability to touch someone and how complicated her feelings were after the dance because realized that intimacy is not even good if it’s with someone you don’t love

[ily-tothecore]

i’ve seen so many people incorrectly quoting oliver, ryan, lou and tim from interviews, it’s actually wild lmao like if you’re going to spread information, don’t make it false information? oliver saying that he doesn’t know if he wants buddie but if it happened he’d be open to it does not mean he said “buddie is canon”, him mentioning that bi buck was a possibility in earlier seasons but then got shut down does not mean “buddie was supposed to happen but the higher ups said no”, them saying that they don’t know what’s going to happen with buck and tommy in future episodes doesn’t mean “buck and tommy are confirmed to be breaking up”, and there is SO much more it’s crazy. i’m also a buddie shipper but this fandom is REACHING, i’m all for delulu fan theories, i LOVE being a crazy fangirl, but you’re misquoting actual people by saying they’ve said something they didn’t, and it’s just gonna lead to people being mad at them if buddie doesn’t actually happen even though it’s not their fault and they didn’t actually do or say anything wrong. you guys are baiting yourselves at this point lmao and i know it’s probably not that deep but the actors already get so much shit for ‘queerbaiting’ so this is just gonna make it even worse for them in the long run, you’ve gotta remember that they’re people too.

would also just like to add that i also love buck and tommy and will be happy with any outcome. as long as they’re all happy! anyway have a good day :)

[twoelectrichearts]

I watched the entire walkthrough of the Stranger Things VR game. I obviously saw so many posts about the Byler content we got from it. I wanted to see the M*leven content as well though because I’m trying to understand what their shippers see in it. I was expecting to see some M*leven moments, like them interacting together and stuff, especially in Eleven’s chapter, but. there. isn’t. any. Did I miss a scene of them together? The only scene is where Henry is trying to taunt Mike and get in his head by insinuating that losing El and wondering what could’ve been is what he fears most but it doesn’t work. Henry doesn’t know what Mike’s afraid of and asks Will. Hmm… wonder what his fear is. Anywaaaaays… El and Will each have chapters. Mike doesn’t. There’s Byler moments in Will’s chapter. There’s no M*leven moments in El’s. It’s shown that Mike saves Will from Henry. It shows how incredibly important Mike is to Will and how much Mike means to him. It does that in El’s chapter as well. Not with Mike though, with Max. Who does Will need? Mike. Who does El need? Max.

I feel crazy because like where is the M*leven moments?? If season 5 is anything like this and I’m meant to root for M*leven over Byler then I’m just?? I don’t even know. I’m really trying to understand. I’m so confused. I feel like an idiot because I’m not getting it. I don’t see it in the show. I don’t see it in this game. My other favorite ship is Shawn and Angela from Boy Meets World. Yes, a straight ship. No M*leven shipper can accuse me of not liking M*leven because it’s a straight ship and just liking Byler because it’s a mlm ship. That’s not it. It’s because they just make sense to me. The way they are with each other and how deeply they care for one another is beautiful. It’s beyond friendship from Will’s side, and it seems to be beyond friendship from Mike’s side based on what I’ve seen. Could I be wrong? Of course. All I know is that if the writers want me to root for M*leven, they’re doing such a bad job. I can’t get there with them. There are so many incredible straight ships in shows and movies. Heck, you have Jopper, Jancy, and Lumax in Stranger Things being some great examples. M*leven is just not one of them. Byler is so well written and would be such an important, groundbreaking endgame ship. But sure, let’s have M*leven, a badly written straight ship, be endgame instead. Especially about a show for the outcasts, misfits, marginalized, etc. That would be the cherry on top for a show like this.

[geegers22]

I’ve seen lots of conversation on here about Zutara shippers opinions on aang and mai and i thought I’d give my point of view.

I want to start by saying that I think there should be more of a distinction between disliking a character because they are a bad person and disliking a character because they are written badly. With that being said, I can confidently say that, with the material of the main ATLA show, I dislike Aang and Mai because they are badly written characters. Meaning, if their arcs were properly finished, I would have no problems with them. This brings me to another topic of how I don’t really ‘hate’ characters who are bad people if they’re well written but that’s a conversation for another post.

I need to point out that I didn’t start disliking Aang and Mai until they had their arcs undermined when Kataang and Maiko became canon. With the arcs they were going on, they had so much potential to be really interesting and I enjoyed their personalities.

When it comes to Aang, I had no problem with him as a character until season 3 part 2 when I started to realize that his world view (which is flawed based solely on the fact that he is young and there is no way he’s going to have a nuanced pov) was not going to be challenged. Aang should have had to give up katara. Aang should not have just had everything handed to him with the lion turtle and the pointy rock.

Then there’s the southern raiders which I would argue, if Aang’s arc had been completed, would not illicit as many conversations and arguments about it as it currently has. Because his actions in that episode make sense (Sokkas don’t really but again-that’s another story) because he’s a kid. This episode should have been a big decider of his change in worldview. The problem is that the creators decided his flaws didn’t exist and that he was perfect. (At 12 years old?!?!?)

Then there’s Mai. She’s a much smaller character but that doesn’t mean she deserves less of an arc. Mai is a character whose personality I love! (I’m all for gloomy depressed women!) There’s two ways Mai’s character could have developed, and I think both options are great, the problem is that Bryke decided to go in neither direction.

On the one hand, Mai could have been a representation of unlearning the propaganda she was taught in the fire nation throughout her whole life. I think this direction would make Maiko more believable, although I still don’t think they are a good couple because their personalities create a toxic dynamic and Mai’s story with Zuko is meant to represent that toxicity.

The second option would be to have her views not change, like we see in the show, and have her not get back together with Zuko. This is the more interesting path in my opinion because it’s more realistic. I don’t think the problem with Mai’s arc lies with her personal views of the fire nation, more so with her relationship with Zuko. As we have it in the show, Mai’s views don’t change. Therefor, it doesn’t make sense for her character or for Zuko’s for them to get back together like nothing ever happened.

When it comes down to it. Both Aang and Mai had their arcs sabotaged because the creators rejected Zutara. Even without Zuko and Katara getting together these were the wrong decisions. Both characters had potential to be well written, but in the end, the creators chose the path didn’t allow that to happen because they just couldn’t kill their darling. (Kataang)

Sorry for rambling, this is kind of just my take on the whole “Zutara shippers hate Aang and Mai” take.

[briarmoon1015]

I think I’ve already confessed that I’m not a big birdflash fan, but there is something I really gotta point out because it’s bothering me.

I see a lot of people use specific comic panels to try and show how close these two characters are, but completely miss the whole point of the comic itself.

For example, I’ve seen a lot of people use panels from The Flash 1987 210, in which Wally reflects on his relationship with dick.

The problem with this is they are literally cutting out the next part of the page that explains that they have drifted apart

Wally is extremely different from dick, and once he takes up the flash mantle, it becomes clear that these two characters are on different paths. Wally wants to uphold the legacy of the flash, dick desperately wants to escape the legacy of Batman. Wally has a wife, three children, and a stable job. Dicks life changes at a moments notice, one minute he’s broke, one minute he’s rich, sometimes he has a job as a police officer, sometimes he’s dating one of his many red headed girlfriends, he’s the opposite of stable.

And that’s not to say the different characters can’t be friends or be together, but as this same comic shows, these two often struggle to understand one another once adults

Wally, after zoom caused his wife Linda to have a miscarriage, went to Hal as the spectre for help, which no one liked, including Dick. He is somewhat miffed Wally didn’t come to him, be he also sides with Bruce about how reckless and stupid the action was

He definitely empathizes with Wally’s situation, but he’s not really there to give support. Later on, dick does start to get the point, and the two take down gorilla grod. Dick apologies for his actions and both agree to stay in touch more. Obviously every good friendship is going to have some moments of tension and disagreement, but I think this really shows why Wally and Dick fell apart as adults.

And this really is the crux of why I’m personally not a big fan or birdflash. These two characters are inherently different and it’s so rare for me to see any birdflash content that acknowledges this. They can be together in a way that acknowledges and builds off of this, but it really hasn’t been done.

More importantly, I’ve noticed that to make burdflash work, a lot of fans completely erase Wally’s character to ignore these differences. His own goals, his own backstory, his own relationships, are just gone so he can be with dick. There is never any acknowledgment of the canon of Wally’s own motivations, such as living up to the flash mantle, or any mention of his connections to characters outside of Dick.

Even more so, I think erasing the presence of his wife and kids from his life so he can be with dick is really hard on the character. Linda is so essential in Wally’s life. She is the character in which speedsters learn the importance of having a lightning rod. She is the one to often push Wally to keep going. His kids redefined his life. He literally broke the source wall in order to keep them in his life. These are essential relationships that are just erased from Wally’s life.

As someone who truly prefers Wally over Dick, it hurts to see a potentially good pairing erase the good aspects of Wally like this. There is plenty of erasure done to other dc characters because of how popular the Bats are, and this ship, at least to me, is one of the worst examples. These characters are different, and often times it makes it hard for them to understand each other. Ignoring that issue doesn’t make the ship good in my eyes.

Anyways, I really don’t want to poop on birdflash as a whole. It is by no means a bad ship, I personally just don’t really like it. It has a lot of qualities that bother me. Despite all of this though, I do love seeing people’s art of it and I actually do think it can work a bit better when they are young and apart of the teen titans. I also know as a halbarry shipper I’m throwing rocks in a glass house lmao. But please ship what you like, I really don’t care, I just needed to shout into the void about my feelings around it :)

[lestappenforever]

So, I’m like a realist, right? Sure, yes, I ship people from time to time but I know it’s just for funsies. So, I saw a lestappen edit last week and was like “hey cute guys, what’s up with these two? I better check it out.” and have fallen into a bit of a rabbit hole it seems. So I’m back in the real world now, where Max is in a long term relationship and Charles has a girlfriend, and am wondering: how does one explain Max’s behaviour? Does he just have a friend-crush on Charles? Has he always wanted to be friends with him since they were young and it was just hard since they’ve been rivals for so long? Does he envy him maybe since his father wasn’t a pos and he still turned into a great driver? Is it a “it’s lonely at the top” kind of situation, where he’s never been able to make many friends his own age? (I’ve seen Charles with a bunch of friends outside of racing, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max with any, but that could be on me.) I mean, a blind person could see that Max takes every opportunity to talk to him or be close to him and he knows stuff about him I’d personally be too embarrassed to admit (like getting his “stupid” quote exactly right or knowing about the twitch thing with his girlfriend forgetting her keys, etc.). I guess I’m looking for the actual non-shippy explanation for this behaviour cause it fascinates me. What are your two cents on this?

Hi anon, and welcome to the world of Lestappen! We're happy to have you. ❤️

I will preface this by saying that shipping is solely for fun, and I don't actually believe Max and Charles are in a secret relationship or anything of the sort. The majority of Lestappen shippers on Tumblr are on the same page about this, with some exceptions, but there are exceptions to anything. And a big part of shipping is speculating, being delusional about them, and overanalyzing things.

Now, in terms of a non-shipping explanation as to why these two behave the way they do around each other, I think it's a combination of all the reasons you've already listed. And the thing about Max and Charles is that they have known each other for so many years. They have been in each other's orbit, in one way or another, for the majority of their lives, and there is no denying that they have seen each other as one of — if not the — biggest rival they've had since they were children. Despite the fact that a lot of the current drivers on the grid have raced each other at some point before F1, there doesn’t seem to be any of them that have the same sort of rivalry that Max and Charles have, which goes so far back. And that kind of bond is one that I believe sticks with you forever.

Now this is not a delusional take at all, as this quote by Armando Filini, manager of the Maranello Kart, the first team for which Leclerc raced, proves: “They were always fighting. It didn't matter if they were competing in a tie or in a final, if it was raining or if the track was dry. Once we were in Genk, Belgium, in the first free practice, and they went on track. Charles and Max met, began to push each other and almost hit each other, with the risk of being left out. Jos Verstappen and I were glued to the fence to look at them and he turned around and said to me: 'These two will fight forever. They will fight even in F1′. A prophecy”.

Even though Max and Charles obviously haven’t been best friends for the majority of the time they've known each other, and they've only started building what appears to be a genuine friendship in the last few years, they share a connection that has been evident to people around them since they were little.

Max's comment from last season where he said that he wasn't surprised both him and Charles were sitting in that press conference together because he always thought that if he made it into F1, Charles would too, is just another testament to how tied together they actually are. And Charles' fond recollections of their karting days in the past season shows that it's a mutual thing: that Charles feels that same bond with Max that Max feels with him. And I think this is the whole baseline for why they've never been able to be normal about or around each other: because they go so far back and their lives are so intertwined that I honestly don't think either of them is fully capable of treating the other as just any other colleague or friend, because they don't see each other that way. They're something more, and by that I don't mean they're secretly in love with each other — they just have this bond that goes beyond normal friendship, forged through years of rivalry, envy, conflict, mutual growth and respect, and eventual friendship.

I have a childhood friend sort of like that: obviously not with the rivalry and drama that comes with the surroundings in which Max and Charles met and grew up, but someone that I share a bond with that I don't share with any of my other friends, old or new, and it's honestly my most treasured friendship because it has helped shape me as a person in a profound sort of way. He's not my closest friend and not the friend I talk to the most since we live on different sides of the country and our paths haven’t crossed much in the past few years, as is often the case when you grow up and become an independent adult. But when I do talk to him and hang out with him, it kind of feels like coming home. And to me, it seems like Max and Charles share that same type of bond.

This is just my personal take as I obviously don't know Max or Charles, and this is all based off of watching their interactions and watching their relationship develop over the past few years, as well as deepdiving into their history in the past. But this is the explanation that makes sense to me.

[bcacstuff]

I think people will jump and say he’s dating her but the facts are still facts. They haven’t seen each other (that we know of) outside hyrox related stuff. He didn’t go watch her in Birmingham when he was in London for St Patrick’s day, he didn’t go watch her when he had a free day in Paris instead of going to Germany which is a short flight and he was signed up then to. I think he enjoys these competitions and would like to compete but couldn’t this year. I think he is her friend and supports her as friends do. I think they did not stay at the same hotel just as she stayed at a hotel in Glasgow instead of at his house, where he has friends stay all the time. Including female friends like Marina. I truly get a brother sister vibe from what I’ve seen. Men and women can be friends. I’d say they don’t flaunt the friendship because of his crazy fans but they’re not hiding it either, which I think they’d be much more discreet if actually dating. Anyway that’s my take on it as I’m sure you’re getting bombarded with anons. Also I still don’t believe that’s her with him at lunch. But again my take.

Thank you Anon, you're message sums it up in a realistic way which I can agree on. Next to the 3 times they met (that we know of), all the time fitness/Hyrox related, there's a huge list of facts that we know of that just leaves us with the conclusions you made in your post. You didn't even summed up all of them but just a few.

The thing is people go overboard when something fits their narrative, and make much more of it than there really is to see. In this case he's already the 'perfect stepdad' and people jump to the conclusion that he's 'only in London for her'. No idea how they know, they're all not there and he's been so many times to London, a place he lived for years, has many friends there, his agent is there... and I can go on for a while. He has a bank holiday, so not such a surprise he's in London to begin with.

It happens in all fractions however, they all take what fits their narrative, and when it doesn't they're all quick to jump to all the excuses they can think of. The woman is paid, she's a beard, the fan that posted the video is a PR plant, she's a liar. It's actually disgusting how people get attacked. I've felt these attacks myself as well (I just need to look at my inbox). You can see it in the comments of the fan who now also posted her video on IG:

I don't know about you all, but how disgusting are these accusations. (and btw. I do know very well who the cherylecheryl account on IG is, and it isn't the one P always claims it is! Yes I have proof for that).

This doesn't only happen by this account, which is btw. not a shipper (so you make your guess) but I saw similar accusations on shipper blogs as well, amongst others calling her a liar.

I don't know why this is necessary. Why can't we just accept that he's having female friends as well, or can have a lunch near a Hyrox location and then go there to see her race? The same happened so many times in the past as well, whenever I posted a video of him having lunch, or a drink with a female person. A short video, or even just a picture, a moment in time. And people start to argue and fight and call others names and accuse them of all bad things. WHY?

I told you earlier today, it is Liberation Day here in the Netherlands. 79 years ago the Netherlands was freed of the Nazi occupations by the allied forces. Half of the Netherlands was freed a year before, the other half had to endure the hunger winter and another year of oppression since Operation Market Garden failed halfway.

I told you a number of times, I live very close to the German border, it's just a 10 minute walk away. Here in the place we live, our liberation celebration is always shared with our German neighbours. Representatives of the collaborating cross-border organisations and even representatives of the Deutsche Bundestag are invited as speakers. They are always impressed and very grateful to share the celebrations with us Dutch inhabitants of this border village.

The message is always simple, freedom and peace is not a given fact, it's not granted, we have to cherish it, we all have to work on it every day. A line on a map, being an inhabitant of another country doesn't change that. Having another opinion, should not be a reason for hate, violence, aggression. We can have different opinions, we just need to be adult enough to accept it.

I don't want to compare this fandom to the wars and differences in the world, loss of lives and all the grief and terrible, horrible situations people need to survive in. But I do wonder if there can be so much aggression and hate thrown at people over a simple thing like SH having a lunch with a woman, how on earth are we able to make this world a more peaceful place?

Now have a thought about that! Thank you for listening to my TED talk

[babybells123]

I’ll never get over this - what an insanely cryptic statement to make . It’s also interesting that GRRM will give long rambling answers about other ships (as he tends to do in interviews and asks) but this is his response here. Short and sweet but ambiguous and entirely up to one’s interpretation - essentially think about what you’ve read.

And then it had me thinking…

To imply that George isn’t a careful writer and doesn’t put immensely intricate thought into every sentence he writes is entirely reductive to him as a writer. Especially if you claim to be a fan of said writing (you’d have to be apart of this fandom). This is the man who has taken 13 years to write TWOW, who consistently writes, scraps, and rewrites chapters if he dislikes them or they don’t fit what he’s envisioned.

And with a fandom that has discussed, debated and analysed every possible theory - providing some well-thought out essays onto the internet, consistently stating that nothing is ever a coincidence with George before delving into a lengthy analysis - it has me wondering why said theorists and ‘very intelligent’ contingents of fans will be grasping, bursting blood vessels, losing their mind and their sanity in the process just to disprove a possible match between J/S.

Now as an example that I’ve come across just yesterday on the infamous r/asoiaf - When S*nsan is brought into the conversation, it’s absolutely accepted as a plausible theory due to *checks notes* people devoting time to and picking apart evidence and to the wider fandom either not dismissing it or remaining neutral about it. (I mean, the redditor I was made privy to yesterday just disproved the Ashford tourney theory and it’s connection to Jon on the basis that it was made by a s*nsan shipper - wow !! Thanks :)) I never knew , finally my rose tinted glasses have been removed and I can bow down to you, oh wise redditor … these J words are CRAZY delusionals indeed!!

This is just one example among the many of the possible future romances that are debated endlessly on the various social media platforms , and all said ships - whether they’ve met or interacted or are very close or whatever require analysis . Deep deep analysis. Picking apart sentences, imagery, chapter ordering, literary references you name it . We all become literature students, and every ship is privy to it and hey ! More power to them - we’re all just having fun here theorising about all the possibilities for a book/s that has not yet been released.

So it begs the question , and bear with me here - I know I’ve been talking quite a lot about people opposed to and entirely dismissive of my ship - but yesterdays’ conundrum had me thinking about generalised fandom receptiveness.

See, normal fans (normal people) when presented with a theory that they genuinely believe to be so absurd/dislike/are entirely opposed to , would simply block the user, filter the content, and move on with their lives. A far happier solution, it means you’re not worked into a frenzy over something you’re aware you don’t like. Yay! Everyone’s happy! But…..

People must be debby-downers and ruin the fun , turning into genuine clouds of negativity, invading tags in which they don’t belong, creating anti blogs, writing lengthy essays disproving it all - yep, we’ve seen it, and we just ignore it as best we can.

But it gets to a point where it’s just frustrating. Because this is all so painfully hypocritical. If said intelligent fandom can provide 3 hour video essays, 50,000 word essays and reddit debates of threads with 100+ replies based on the notion of tyrion being a targaryen, or j*nrya is actually canon or the blue rose is metaphor for a future romance whatever theory that’s been put into the world - why - gods why does the entire fandom jump on the bandwagon of hating/dismissing Jonsa as soon as it’s brought up as a theory??

When we are just doing what everyone else has been doing vigorously for the last 13 years - theorising, analysing, debating like we’re literature students (and I’m a lit major, so it does feel this way). And whilst we quietly engage with and make our content, we’re ridiculed, picked apart, and vilified elsewhere for being awfully stupid people - because ….why?? Oh yes, that’s right - it is not a valid plausible theory at all, we just ship it because we self insert as sansa and jon is a heroic figure or the even sillier assumption - because Kit and Sophie are attractive people (which indeed they are, but most theories stem from the books, lmao.)

Sooo, essentially jonsas aren’t allowed into the club because …. (Well I’m actually still wondering why), because every other popular ship theory is either incestuous or involves a child being shipped with a grown person.) so Jonsa is obviously the latter, but that’s not the reason that the general fandom (J*nerys and to an extent, J*nrya) dislike them because those too - are incestuous.

If you’re an individual who is uncomfortable with all incest ships period . Then I respect that since I understand it. What I don’t understand, as seen through reddit and what I was made privy to yesterday, - were the multitude of disprovers fine with J*nerys and J*nrya and S*nsan but god forbid someone brings up Jonsa because then it’s a crackship - except all those other ships I mentioned are valid because people have analysed and theorised and written metas etc etc etc and Jonsa’s are just plain silly crackshippers.

I really have to wonder about fandom mentality, because it’s making less and less sense to me ….

Anyway George you ARE a sly one and I’ll always giggle when I come across that image.

[bisexualafbuck]

I’ve seen a few posts recently, implying, or downright saying that all the effort put into Buck and Eddies relationship was for nothing if they don’t get together. Like I cannot believe that’s even an opinion atm.

It is so horrible for so many reasons. The implications that one of the most beautiful male friendships (all time friendships tbh) I’ve seen in so long is worth nothing if it’s not romantic is such a devaluation of the importance of friendship. Platonic relationships are just as important as romantic relationships. All the amazing support and moments they have provided each other doesn’t lose value and meaning if it doesn’t lead to romance.

It supports the really bad societal message that people who don’t have romantic relationships are lacking and will not experience love like those who do. What a spit in the face to all aromantic people out there. I do think that is already an underlying issue in Eddies storyline tbh, but that’s not the point rn.

Then you add in that Buck has become like a second parent to Chris. So to devalue the friendship between Eddie and Buck if it stays platonic also devalues the relationship between Chris and Buck, which is again, a spit in the face to all unorthodox parenting and family situations. So much of Buck and Eddies development stems around how much of a family they’ve become and to say that’s meaningless if they’re not together romantically is so superficial and stubborn.

I ship buddie too, I think they’d be amazing together romantically, but them not together would take NOTHING away from their relationship.

As an aromantic person, this attitude I’m seeing from so many hardcore buddie shippers is so disgusting and upsetting. Please think about how you word things, and if this has been an opinion you’ve had, please reflect. It’s okay to be disappointed if it doesn’t happen, but this opinion is so hurtful and disrespectful all around.

(Also don’t go arguing or disagreeing in the comments or tags, I’m simply going to block and delete. You do not get to tell me what is offensive to me)