#So take my opinions on that with a grain of salt

[marionvonwolfstadt]

F1 books recommendations — part 1

By no means I'm a book reviewer, but I like to read and I like F1, and there are so many books that one maybe don't know where to start, so perhaps this will help with the decision.

I'll not rate them, just describe the overall vibe, but I'm gonna set them up against each other, so bear that in mind, that's just my opinion. (disclaimer: I read two of those in Polish, so maybe the takeaway was tainted by the translation)

"Unstoppable: The Ultimate Biography of Max Verstappen" by Mark Hughes — It was a great read, you just flow through the pages and eat up every word. It's compelling, it describes Max and his nature so on point sometimes. It gives you insights into new things, even if you are a fan of the (for now) 3-times WDC. The author is in a league of his own, the way he describes racing, it gives such depth (it helped me with my own writing). This book is the expectation of the rule that you shouldn't write about a driver until he retires.

"Charles Leclerc: A Biography" by Adam May-Nicholls — See the above. The way it was published, the big font to make it seem longer, a lot of quotes — too many of them. It's just a nice summary of what happened till the year it was published. It has nice moments, but overall it just doesn't give you an inside to Charlse's head, not like it could have done, it's a nice memoir of people and places in Charlse's life, but if you're a fan, there's not much in it for you, but it's a great introduction still.

"Aussie Grit" by Mark Webber — The infamous one, the must-read for some (like me). It's a really good autobiography. You get an inside view of the world of F1 but it's a book about Mark first and foremost. I enjoyed his storytelling, even if it was with the help of a ghostwriter. It was like sitting by the fire, stars above your head and listening to a compelling, mesmerizing tale, not void of simple human mistakes. It's his and you have to take some things with a grain of salt.

"How To Be An F1 Driver?" by Jenson Button — I know it's not his autobiography, but I need a pair so, deal with it. The book is, I think the longest of those four, but you never feel it. I breezed through it, despite this one not being in my mother's language. It was such an easy and fun read, but not without its depths. It was so true, with so much meat in it. Just… Great. No notes hah. You just get immersed in it, despite the fact that you only read about one experience of many. Jenson entertains you, gets philosophical at times, but it all with the great description of the cars and places and how the F1 circus works, gives you that perfect mix. It's a nice drink that goes down well. I can't wait to read more of his books. (I need to incorporate two quotes from it, because they made me pause, so: "In F1 everything is a selfish act until you stop being a driver, and then it's not.", "I love the fact that they're not making the car beautiful, to make it beautiful, they're making it beautiful because that's how it looks like when you design a car aerodynamically.")

I hope I gave you some direction on what to read first <3 I have plans to read more (Newey's, about Kimi, about Ferrari's history) so, stay tuned for more, I guess?

[meanbossart]

Izm sorry but im not sure if i don't remember correctly or if i'm just understanding wrong. Who is Lothanna supplying forces to (the de-vampirism operation?) And why is it shameful? (Or are we ment not to know)

(A NOVEL EXPERIENCE SPOILERS)

My writing is very unnecessarily convoluted, so, it may very well be possible that I didn't express this well LOL

Lothanna is supplying forces to Do'zynge's operation (the vampire compound). This will be expounded upon in future chapters.

Irennor was a maverick among lolth-drow and has his own biases that colors his opinion on this, so take it with a grain of salt. But he just thinks the operation is a waste of time and resources for several reasons (Superiority complex over other races, resentment that the courier he built is being used for this purpose, overall bitter that the culture didn't move in the direction he wishes it had, I could go on).

[tgcf-confessions]

I think a few people write Hua Cheng too sane?

This man waited 800 years for his one true love. I’ve just seen so many fics with some… kind of …bland reunions? I mean, he’s happy but I feel like it’s not the screaming and explosive reaction he would have.

This goes double for times when he finds Xie Lian in bad situations. I want to see him tear down the walls of his own house, and level a town. I need to see him in emotion turmoil. WITH tears (let him cry!!!)

Hua Cheng obviously waters himself down at first when around Xie Lian. It makes sense though. During their first meeting he needs to act like a normal guy ™️ as to not scare him off. So if you’re writing a Xie Lian POV it’s more understandable that Hua Cheng’s devotion wouldn’t be as precieved.

BUT in Hua Cheng’s own fucking POV? Let his insanity run rampant! He deserves it. It’s a treat.

(Not really meant to bash on any authors. I really like the tgcf fandom. Take my opinion with a grain of salt I’m just a rando in the internet)

.

[emeryhiro]

Hello!

I am new here and is feeling very overwhelmed right now with that is happening in the caryl fandom. I appreciate your insight into these characters. I am someone who has not seen Daryl Dixon season 1 and is seriously considering if I should even watch it with all that is being said about s2.

Reading all the early reviews that has dropped - I get a lot of mixed reactions to Isabelle's character. Some ppl say she was the best part about season 1 while others don't even mention here in their reviews. The caryl fandom is largely, understandably, biased against her.

I do not know anything about Isabelle and was wondering what your thoughts about her are - how she holds up as a character?

Hi Anon!!

Thank you for your question. I'm really glad you asked this question, and thank you for the kind words🥰 I'm going to do my best to properly answer and share my thoughts on all the points you've mentioned.

Firstly, welcome to the fandom!! 💖 I'm sorry you've joined at a time of so much uncertainty, but I promise that at its core, this community is a beautiful place to be. But like all communities, there is always positivity and negativity, and it's important to be careful with what's surrounding you, ensuring it's a healthy balance that works for you.

I've divided my response into several sections, as I find that to be the best way to convey my thoughts. I also wanted to be as clear as possible since this is a sensitive topic for some, and I want to try to alleviate at least some of the worries.

A mild spoiler warning for a mention of something that happens in episode 1 of season 2.

Reviews on Season 2:

I wasn't planning on reading any of the reviews for season 2, but since you asked for my thoughts, I read all the articles that I could find so that I could give you an informed response. And one thing I advise is to always take reviews with a grain of salt (this includes my thoughts as well) because, ultimately, they're all based on the writers' opinions.

What I've found with all previous seasons of TWD, especially season 1 of Daryl Dixon, was that no single review I read aligned perfectly with what I thought of the show once I watched it myself. And I know I'll say the same about season 2.

Regarding what I read in the season 2 reviews, I don't think I've actually read a single concerning line in any of the ones I've come across, and I'm pretty sure I've read every single one that has been released. There are, however, a lot of people who, out of fear or concern, focus on single lines from a review that may sound negative or worrisome when taken out of context, and ignore everything else in the review that's purely positive.

I can see many people have shared their specific thoughts on different segments of several reviews, but I won't go into my thoughts here for the sake of keeping this response reasonable short. If you're interested in a detailed post about my thoughts on the reviews in general or any in particular, let me know, and I'll share it as soon as I get a chance.

My thoughts on Isabelle:

I found Isabelle to be a fascinating character with many layers. She is unquestionably flawed and has a great mix of both positive and negative characteristics, which I think is what gives her character so much potential. She's intelligent, driven, brave, headstrong, and very protective, but she's also undeniably manipulative, which makes sense when you think of it as a self-defence mechanism that she developed during her rocky life before the apocalypse. I'm also a fan of Clémence as an actress, and I think she's a great fit for this character.

This next bit might sound a bit contrevoursial but bare with me. I've seen Isabelle get a lot of hate for being manipulative towards Daryl, even I personally hated seeing Daryl be treated that way, but it's important to remember that we've also seen Carol behave manipulatively when she's had to in the past in order to protect the people that she loves. This is something you'll see Carol do once again in episode 1 of TBOC, and when I watched it, it made me uncomfortable, but ultimetly, I could see that it made Carol uncomfortable as well; she doesn't feel any satisfaction out of what she does and is willing to carry the weight of that lie and guilt to achieve her ultimate goal of saving Daryl, the person she loves.

Even though, on the surface, it's not an admirable thing to do, we appreciate Carol so much more because of the lengths she's willing to go to for the ones she loves, and we've also seen her journey to this point, which naturally makes us love her and empathise with her.

So my point here is that I can't judge Isabelle for the same behaviour I admire in my favourite character. Just like Carol may act that way to protect Daryl (her loved one), Isabelle was doing it because she believed (to the best of her knowledge) that it was what was best for Laurent (her loved one).

However, what doesn't sit right with me about Isabelle's character is that what the showrunners and writers have been saying about her doesn't align with what I've seen on screen (this is a great example of why I try to avoid looking at unnecessary publicity). I want to love her character for who she is, flaws and all, but the inconsistency in her publicity makes me feel like there's some discrepancy behind the scenes, and that has stopped me from investing in her character and gives me slight concern for the trajectory of her arc, which has so much potential that would be incredibly tragic if wasted.

The only other thing that I would disagree with (IF the show ends up going down that path) is the negative messaging that would be given out about nuns if every surviving nun on the show is portrayed as willing to forget her vows the minute there's a man in front of them that they find interesting. I'm not catholic, but I think that it would be incredibly disrespectful towards actual nuns and the sacrifices that they make for their faith. But please don't take this as fact because I don't think this will actually ever happen. I honestly don't believe that AMC or anyone involved with the show would knowingly do something like that. I'd be happy to explain this a little further, but I don't think it's relevant if you haven't seen the first seasons.

Watching TWD: Daryl Dixon S1 & 2

My question to you would be, what draws you to TWD/TBOC? Is it Caryl itself and potential canon? And if so, do you feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2? Or, do you enjoy the show for a combination of things, like the character development, world-building, cinematography, etc.?

I want to emphasise that there is no wrong answer to the above. Everyone is unique, and it's 1000% understandable and fair for each person to have unique reasons for being drawn to and loving, hating, or even being indifferent about a show.

I personally fall in the latter category; I love TWD for its rich story, action sequences, cinematography, multitude of interesting characters, and the mind-blowing ways in which they have developed over the years (the whole package of the show is exactly my cup of tea), and of course, it's no secret if anyone looks at my blog that my favourite character (BY FAR) are Carol and Daryl. I absolutely adore them for everything they are, both as individuals and what they bring out in each other and mean to each other. And if Caryl is ever canon (which I expect would happen in season 3), then that would be the cherry on top of a show I already love.

My very short review of season 1 would be that I really enjoyed it and would rank it at the top between all the other spinoff seasons we've gotten so far. However, in all honesty, I still felt and noticed the hole that was left behind in the story with the absence of Carol, but knowing that she will be returning in season 2 kind of made up for that lack in season 1. All up, I really enjoyed season 1 and have watched it several times in the last year. I'm actually currently in the middle of watching it again in preparation for season 2.

My recommendations:

If you personally fall into the former category and, as mentioned above, feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2, then perhaps it's better to wait till all the episodes are released to then decide if it's something that you'd like to watch.

If you're willing to accept and are okay with the potential lack of romance between Caryl in season 2 but are concerned about and would rather not watch any potential romantic relationship develop between Daryl and Isabelle, then I'd say that you should watch the season as it releases because I honestly don't believe that something like that is a real possibility. At most, there may be hints towards one-sided feelings from Isabelle's side and maybe some confusion from Daryl's side, but untimely, it would not mean or go anywhere. I'm personally not even bothered with this worst-case scenario because it doesn't matter how many people have feelings for Daryl or how confused Daryl is because I know that once he's reunited with Carol, there won't be any more uncertainty about where his heart and loyalties truly lie. There's honestly not a single ounce of me that's concerned about this.

If you're more like me and enjoy the show as a whole, even though you may be slightly disappointed with a few accepts, then I'd highly recommend that you watch season 1 before the release of season 2 (if you have the time), because it genuinely was a good season and will give you a lot of backstory and context that would make season 2 feel so much more enjoyable and immersive.

~~~~

Thanks again for your questions!! I hope this all makes sense and that it answers your questions. As I mentioned earlier, if you'd like me to expand on my thoughts on anything in particular, please let me know, and I'd be happy to do so.

My last bit of advice is this: I know it's easier said than done, but I urge you, especially as someone who's new to the fandom, to not allow a lot of different voices and opinions to shape how you naturally feel or invalidate what you take away from watching the show (not that I think that's what you're doing but this is the general advice I wanted to give just in case🩵). It's really easy for anyone to be influenced by negativity and positivity when they find that that's all they can see from the people around them.

I personally try to focus on what I see on screen and what I hear directly from Norman and Melissa because, at the end of the day, showrunners and writers come and go, but Norman and Melissa have embodied these characters from day one and understand them more than anyone else ever could.

♡♡♡

[psalacanthea]

smh a little this whole BG3 situation happening on twitter. Like yes, indie devs 100% should not be held to the standards of AAA games. I don't know if going to twitter to yell about how BG3 shouldn't be a new industry benchmark is the way to handle that...but people know indie games and small studio games are different than AAA games.

now, someone from Diablo 4, someone from a much much larger studio, getting in on the complaints and saying they shouldn't be held to the standards of what Larian's putting out...that's bloody laughable.

[starscelly]

it's that time of year again... new fans! old fans! general inquiring minds!!! i present to you this year's dallas stars primer!! as always, based more on Vibes and Personality than the cold hard facts (but there are cold hard facts). slides last updated as of April 3rd, 2024 (:

huge huge huge thank you to @oetter @saltandpepperbox and @stickypucky for constantly reading over my work and helping add to this <3 <3

as always if there's any further questions do not hesitate to send me an ask or message!! enjoy!!!! slides below + small blurb about starsblr community for those curious/interested

(click to make the images larger/easier to read)

AS OF APRIL 5th 2024: MAVRIK BOURQUE HAS BEEN CALLED UP FROM THE AHL, LIKELY DUE TO AN ON-AND-OFF INJURY SUSTAINED BY TYLER SEGUIN. CURRENT AHL LEADING SCORER (SINCE STANK HAS BEEN CALLED UP) AND VERY FUN AND FRENCH CANADIAN (:

If after reading all of this, you're interested in becoming more involved with the stars and stars community, please know on starsblr we are sooo insanely welcoming!!!! the lb tag is extremely active and has some of the funniest, nicest people you'll ever meet. we also have such a blessedly large gifmaking community, some great artists, and of course phenomenal fic writers, so there's no shortage of silliness and vibes. I really encourage you to scroll the tags and consume all of this work because it is truly SUCH a fun, lively place here!!

and again, as always, my dms and inbox are always open <3

[sky-neverending]

Jesper goes to college for agriculture but then switches to a theater degree, Kaz is in economics and like business, Nina studies International Relations, Inej is either an English or a Psychology major, Wylan is chem or music, probably a chem major and a music theory minor for his fathers sake, and Matthias… honestly i don’t know what Matty does. he’s just there. he works at a coffee shop with Jes. and he does school but like i have no clue what.

[hesina]

I think the reason Lopen getting his arm back doesn't both me as much as other similar stories is that Lopen never stops being someone who had one arm. He takes the time to cheer up a wounded soldier who lost his arm after the battle of thaylen field. He connects with Rysn through their shared experiences being disabled. When Hobber is able to heal his legs, that's the first time Lopen does the bridge 4 salute with both arms. Lopen never stops being someone who was disabled.

[st-just]

Interesting, but how can we tell media won't cause a problem (Joker) whereas something will (Lolita) even though one is portrayed positively and the other negatively? I can assume we're all in it for harm reduction, no matter the topic

I mean, has lolita caused problems? It's not like the sexual abuse of children wasn't an entirely common thing in European culture beforehand.

Anyway it's not to say you can't. But, like, when you're reading a Camp of the Saints or a Turner Diaries or whatever, they're usually not particularly subtle about what they're about? (and frankly if you're reading the Turner Diaries and thinking it has points and needs serious consideration I'm not sure how much credit the book deserves. More blame for the radicalization probably goes to whatever social environment they were in that funneled them towards the book as, like, An Important Text in the first place).

Like I don't want to just say 'always blame the audience' here but like, I am just pretty skeptical of the ability of any single work of art to do more than evoke stuff that already exists in its audience, y'know? When media causes problems it's afaict usually because masses of it constantly present the same ideas everywhere until they just seep into the groundwater of popular consciousness - and even then (e.g. any given police procedural is, like, whatever, but also generations of presenting defense lawyers as mustache-twirling devils and limits on police powers as letting murderrapists get away with it for no reason probably hasn't been great for public opinion but also it's not like cops weren't doing police brutality before Dirty Harry or Law & Order got big. Y'know?)

[fuedalreesespieces]

one thing that always gets me whenever i read inuyasha modern au fics is that inuyasha is supposedly "the slacker" or the guy who doesn't try hard on anything academia related, and that always struck me as odd bc you're telling me inuyasha wouldn't be competing with, say, koga for rank 1? that he wouldn't study his ass off in the subjects he's actually interested in? that he wouldn't pour his everything into extracurriculars he cares about? he has his aloof moments in canon but ultimately he's a hard worker and i think that trait should be reflected in aus!

plus if we're thinking about the setting here, inuyasha's canon behavior is greatly influenced by his upbringing (and later lack thereof). putting him in an environment (modern au, lack of youkai discrimination) where his talents are cultivated instead of looked down upon would give us a very different character. it's always interesting to me whenever i see canon-typical inuyasha behavior in an au where his mom is alive because it suggests that his mistrust and gruff behavior are just part of his personality and not largely a result of childhood events. i feel like modern aus are an opportunity to see how he might have grown if not for the death of his mother + father & the consistent threat looming over him as a child. what would his personality be like then? how would his first meeting with kagome go considering that? his dynamics with his older brother? his goals? it's something that could be explored in a fic taking place in the feudal realm but it's kind of difficult to just subtract the discrimination aspect that comes with that setting...just things to think abt ig!

[codgod]

i’m sure youse already know this, but nobody should feel bad for having been a fan of wilbur’s in the light of what’s happened

yeah, with hindsight it’s easy to pick apart his actions, and stories his friends have told, to look for signs that he was hurting people. plenty of people are gonna think they should’ve known sooner, and others are gonna claim they knew all along that he sucked, but in reality there is no way anyone could’ve known until shelby came out about the abuse she faced. he’s someone many people, including myself, looked up to on some level and you’re always gonna wanna see the best in people you look up to, and that’s okay. you don’t have to feel guilty for that

the thing to do now is to give yourself the time and space you need to move forward from here, and give what support you can to the people that were harmed by him

[yourlocaldisneyvillain]

came by advice on this webbed site on how to ease penetration and this girl was like oh no pls help i will NEVER be able to have sex or be happy. and i just need us as a society to teach young women that penetration isn't necessary to have sex. maybe you'll never fit a dick or a dick shaped object inside of you. that isn't a requirement for good sex. you can still have a satisfying sex life (if your partners are normal abt it which i'd hope they are). please please please repeat after me penetration isn't necessary for female pleasure

[triptheshitefantastic]

They lost to PARAMORE??? Starcatcher has The Archer and Indigo Streak, and they lost to paramore.

[stardust-sunset]

not really qualified to ask this but like…why are yall so insistent on putting the star of david emoji next to kyle’s name whenever you’re trying to separate headcanons for him? like i’ll see ‘stan marsh’ with a dog or smth next to it, ‘kenny mccormick’ with the angel wing, ‘eric cartman’ with a chicken emoji and then it’s just ‘kyle broflovski’ with the star of david emoji. like i guess it’s because he’s the only jewish kid but like…there’s more to him than being jewish. you could put the basketball emoji or smth next to it. like whenever it’s the other boys the emoji next to their name correlates with an interest of theirs and kyle’s is just brought down to his religion and isn’t made to correlate with his interests.

does this even make sense? i’m talking about when people pull shit like this

South Park characters reacting to something or other, can’t be bothered to think of smth legit

🍗❤️Eric Cartman ❤️🍗

cartman is a discord moderator but has never done any wrong blah blah blah

🐕💙 Stan Marsh💙🐕

probably smth angsty or stan being a jock blah blah blah

🧡🪽 Kenny MaCormick 🪽🧡

kenny is the equivalent of glenn quagmire blah blah blah

and then there’s just kyle like

💚✡️ Kyle Broflovski ✡️💚

skipper doesn’t even need to make fun of his fanon because she does that enough already blah blah blah

lole idk. i can’t say much on it like yall gotta take what i say with a grain of salt. i’m not jewish and yes it doesn’t personally affect me, im just asking why people are so insistent on using that specific emoji to represent kyle. like kyle is more than his religion y’know? he likes basketball. he likes debate. he’s smart. try putting an emoji correlating with that in your headcanon headings. like you don’t put crosses next to the rest of the boys’ names, why put a star of david for kyle’s then?

Idk. it’s just a bit confusing to me.

[hornblowershitposts]

Hotelpod Kobudo Weapons Assignment

Okinawan Kobudo is a Japanese martial arts system which utilises weapons and which I have fallen headlong into these last few months. I matched up weapons to the staff for a lark.

The Auditor - kama (sickles). Skilful and fast and sharp and they allow you to hook around the back of your enemy’s neck and yank them towards you, which is terrifying. You can take your own ears off with them if you’re not careful.

The Concierge - sai (trident knives). I find them to be very elegant, good for both attacking and blocking, and they’re made of metal which gives a real satisfying weight to a strike.

The Bellhop - nunchucks (nunchucks). Come ON. All attack, no defence, kind of frantic, hard to control. Alarming to face off against. Pure chaos.

The Owner - eku (boat oar). Really solid and heavy. “Cute little defence you got there nerd, shame if I just ploughed straight through it because the eku hits like a moving car!”

The Manager - tonfa (like a wooden night stick). Like the sai in that they’re dual-wielded all-rounders and they share a lot of the same moves. Tonfa feel more practical and less showy though.

The Lobby Boy - kumi bo (rattan staff). Basic workhorse. Kumi bos (as opposed to oak bos) are weak and whippy and bend rather than break. Generally too ratty to be used at formal events.

Madam Hotel - sansetsukon (like nunchucks, but there’s three segments, and each segment is two feet long). The sansetsukon is ridiculous. Dangerous and even harder to control than nunchucks. I want to give her the nunti bo, which is a heavy staff with a sai fixed to the end of it, because the nunti bo seems like the most deadly weapon of them all, but it has to be the sansetsukon, because she's just that extra. (Both are pictured below.)

Sansetsukon in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IDiRBIZ1dI

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

I think I would like Superman a lot more if the media portrayed him as the goofy kind loving guy he is rather than whatever Snyder decided him to be