#haha no i don't have parasocial relationship with her no ha ha :(

[cieric-of-chaos]

I feel like the Scarlet Witch fandom is dying; it's not the same anymore. Please, I want to go back to 2020 to early 2023. I need more people talking about Wanda. I need more Wanda edits. I need more of us talking about Wanda like she's our wild pet hamster. I miss when normal posts about Wanda get more than 100 notes, not just smut fics. I want to see different content every time I look at the Scarlet Witch tags. I wish everyone in this fandom acted like every other fandom. Please put her in a jar and shake her...Put her in a microwave and watch her spin. God, I miss her so much. I feel like a child whose mother never returns home. I miss my angry, pathetic woman. She's such a wet cat. She's so horrible. I love her so much. She has so much potential. I hate you, Kevin Feige and Michael Waldron. All of you can disagree with me all you want, but she's literally the most interesting M*rv*l character. I am literally so scared of being completely obsessed with something new because I am afraid I am going to forget about her. I am so dramatic... I am scared of falling out of love...

[love-belle]

yeah my boyfriend's pretty cool !!!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ in which they're living the childhood best friends to lovers trope.

or

for when you just can't help falling in love. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

social media au // charles leclerc x fem!reader

warnings - language

author's note - just had the most amazing idea for a daniel social media au omg!!! anyways i hope u like this i love you thank you for reading <3

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by lewishamilton, carmenmmundt, charles_leclerc and 896,525 others

yourusername they say home is where the heart is

7,826 comments

username AIN'T NO WAY

username Y/N?????? WHAT IS THIS???????

username im okay (i am screaming i am crying i am yelling)

username hahahahahahah!! NOT funny babe!!!!!!! u can come home now ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

lilymhe chuckles knowingly

*liked by yourusername*

username WHO THE FUCK

username great another parasocial relationship gone

pierregasly y/n.

-> yourusername pierre

-> pierregasly call me right now.

-> yourusername my phone fell and broke sorry.

username HELP OH MY GOD

username NOT HER QUOTING LONDON BOY

-> username WHAT IF IT'S LANDO

-> yourusername he wishes it was him

-> landonorris literally threw up at the thought

-> yourusername babe ur so nice to me ❤️

-> landonorris get away from me im telling ur bf

-> charles_leclerc oui?

-> pierregasly charles??

-> username CHARLES???

-> yourusername get out of my comment section u hoes and lando i can't WAIT to see you on track this weekend

username NOT Y/N TRYING TO SOFT LAUNCH HER RELATIONSHIP

charles_leclerc no surprise he had to cook considering you can't even make cereal

-> yourusername well fuck u too ig

username this comment section is so chaotic i love it sm

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris, yourusername and 936,685 others

charles_leclerc eyes like sinking ships on waters so inviting i almost jump in

8,627 comments

username GOODBYE

username NOT CHARLES USING TAYLOR SWIFT LYRICS

username i feel like i've gone to an alternate dimension

username IS NO ONE GONNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE SECOND PICTURE?????? HELLO???????

lewishamilton hope you're both having fun 🤍🤍🤍

*liked by charles_leclerc*

username THE GRID KNOWS SOMETHING I SWEAR

username i have questions

username CHARLES AND Y/N BOTH SOFT LAUNCHING AT THE SAME TIME

-> username i've connected the clues

-> username u didn't connect shit

-> username i've connected them

pierregasly woah rue when was this???

-> charles_leclerc haha well you see

-> pierregasly i'm seeing.

-> charles_leclerc my phone fell in the water ok bye.

-> username charles is fighting for his life rn

-> username dude can't lie for shit 😭😭😭

username i already know she's so ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

yourusername charles is a swiftie confirmed ⁉️⁉️⁉️

-> charles_leclerc in your dreams

carlossainz55 she has changed you

-> charles_leclerc i know, my playlist is literally just taylor swift and harry styles at this point

-> yourusername she clearly has great taste

-> charles_leclerc of course she does, she's dating me

-> yourusername right!!!!! ofc!!!!!!

username everyone knows something

-> pierregasly i don't

-> username same brother 🫤🫤🫤

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by f1wags_, chxrleslxclxrc, hearts4y/n and 78,637 others

paddock.news charles leclerc and y/n gasly spark dating rumors after "soft launching" simultaneously on various social media platforms. rumors have always surrounded the pair through the years, but this time we believe that they're not just rumors. they have also been spotted out on "dates" as y/n has been attending various grand prix to support her brothers and friend and now apparently, boyfriend. they've also been posting each other on their instagram stories a lot lately. neither of the parties have made a comment about this, though we are rooting for them. for more details, click on the link in our bio.

5,267 comments

username NAH THEY'RE DEFINITELY DATING

username pierre is gonna go crazy omg

username they're so ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

username they're already married in head so 🥱

username no bc they're literally living the childhood best friends to lovers trope

username pierre is gonna lose his mind i can just tell

username praying for charles 🙏🙏🙏

username no bc charles is in for hell of a ride bc y/n's literally everyone's favourite on the grid

-> username imagine having 19 drivers out to k!ll u

-> username not to mention a couple team principals 😭😭😭

username CHARLES MF LECLERC U BETTER SQUARE THE FUCK UP FOR STEALING MY WIFE

username they're so domestic coded in the second slide like 🫤🫤🫤

username what wouldn't i do to be a fly on the wall when pierre and charles see eachother

username my generation's romeo and juliet or whatever

username they're so you're in love by taylor swift coded

username i want what they have 💔💔💔💔

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by yourusername, pierregasly, carmenmmundt and 892,915 others

charles_leclerc no i don't like the tshirt

tagged yourusername

8,156 comments

username SHUT UP

username IS THIS A CONFIRMATION

username THE FIRST TSHIRT OMG

username i NEED that tshirt omg

lewishamilton personally, i love the tshirt

-> yourusername RIGHT

-> charles_leclerc both of you are so wrong

username HELLO HI WHAT IS THIS WHAT WHATCJWAT

username SIR U CAN'T JUST POST THIS AND DIP

username I NEED THAT SHIRT SO BAD OH MY GOD

username these bitches need to stop playing

username mf say it with your chest that y'all dating

yourusername but u like the one who's wearing it

-> charles_leclerc eh debatable

-> yourusername sorry can't hear u over u sending me 2528298 messages when i went out to get the newspaper from outside our DOOR

-> charles_leclerc STOP

-> username NAH THIS BOY IS DOWN BAD

-> username OUR DOOR?????????

-> username HELLO????

username the real fashion icon of the paddock

-> yourusername real lewis got nothing on me

*liked by charles_leclerc and lewishamilton*

username im so ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😭😭😭😭😭

pierregasly someone let me out

-> charles_leclerc will you chase me with a fork again?

-> yourusername and will you stop throwing napkins and spoons at my bf???

-> pierregasly yes

-> pierregasly (no)

-> yourusername ur staying in the bathroom

-> pierregasly LET ME OUT

-> username NOT PIERRE CHASING CHARLES WITH A FORK

-> username CAN'T BELIEVE THEY LOCKED HIM IN THE BATHROOM

-> username IM CRYING OMG

≡;- ꒰ °instagram ꒱

liked by lewishamilton, carmenmmundt, charles_leclerc and 916,628 others

yourusername yeah my boyfriend's pretty cool but he's not as cool as me argue in the comments

tagged charles_leclerc

comments are disabled for this post

[mercy-misrule]

End game romances in vampire chronicles are all polyamourous. The only real monogamous relationships are very old het couples lmao.

Here are some of the romances and relationships at the end of the series.

Obviously, vampire chronicles and iwtv spoilers.

Armand ends the whole series with Marius, Daniel, Louis and Lestat (finally lmao, takes them a while) as lovers, plus he's life bonded companions with Sybelle and Benji.

Armand and Louis break up, get back together, live together a lot. Louis is his companion for years along with Sybelle and Benji.

Louis and Lestat are continually breaking up and getting back together and they love each other all through that. There's never any indication they are getting off that train. They don't live together until the end, but god knows how long that lasts.

Daniel and Marius have this weird vibe that's half romantic half caretaker. Daniel regaining himself is very important.

David and Lestat have a really fucked relationship where David's like hey here's a boundary, please respect it and Lestat's like haha and then what? They are also in love.

Lestat has an orgy with the Great Sevraine and her female coven, but his mother has been banging the Great Sevraine also.

Lestat and Marius reconnect and it's one of his most important moments and connections.

Lestat fathers a human son, for science and he also raises a human Claudia 2.0 via zoomcall.

Also Gregory falls in love with Lestat in a real parasocial move lmao

Anyway, if the show aren't cowards, they won't fall into the trap of trying to force monogamy. I don't think they will.

[intertexts-moving]

still thinking abt what happens next. its such a good dissection of blame + morality+ perpetuation of cruel cycles. however i have to admit i don't particularly subscribe to the main body of commentators ' "everyone is scheming and has awful intention" take. i mean. hanlon's razor.-- milo obviously dismembered a dead body. which frankly in no world sounds better than saying he killed her. like, he is obviously culpable of that + incapable of processing that culpability but it's jarring to see everyone immediately locking onto gage as some kind of evil and actively manipulating from the start mastermind. they seem pretty obviously to me to be a preexisting Type Of Guy: isolated, miserable, (obsessive) parasocial relationship w/ people who Do, in fact, Exist, and aren't fake characters in a story (haha). his treatment of milo seems way more in line w/ that kind of "genuinely ignorant of how normal friendships and relationships work" than "secretly plotting your demise "-- the weed & crossbow thing read as familiar to me. pressuring, yes, but not actively so. thats just like... the way people are? the way u act when you're kind of awkwardly acquaintances/frienfs w someone and u invite them 2 partake in ur hobbies. just sucks that gage's hobbies are literally only stalking murderers + getting high w the nastiest bong u havr ever seen + shooting white monster cans in the woods with a crossbow. the effect is negative, obviously, because milo is a fucking basket case on a ton of medications with a criminal record for sawing off a girl's arms and the looming threat of inpatient if he doesnt behave over his head. not downplaying the other thing btw that's in a different category imo & while the kiss itself wasnt inherently a Bad Thing to Do imo their reaction & justification absolutely was.. still kind of weird 2 me that it appears like there's a bigger sympathy for claire (dealt with the trauma by becoming a transphobic turning point usa girlie who uses her sister's notoriety to advocate for punishing minors in the justice system even worse & treating her gf like shit) than gage (obviously fucked in the head minimum wage worker with no bar for what a normal interaction or relationship looks like at all.) OR vikki (trans woman of color whos career! is to stir up shit! even if she was kind of a cunt!) anyway the milo / claire parallels are baller i love when people fucking hate each other but are so similar... girl its been nine years stop sticking your fingers in your own bloody wounds stop it stop it stop it! when will u stop reliving the trauma ever day for its own sake. (claire's self harming actions here are obviously infinitely worse because she is like,,, Actively Hurting So Many People. and for what! so she can wear awful dresses and get hit on by oily white senators and drag the bleeding dead weight of her sisters body around everywhere she goes?) ahhh what ever. good book i have to pack now.

[artdcnaldson]

I had a hard time warming up to Tashi as well. But honestly, the more attention I pay to her, the more I feel for her. As a girl who had been really into dancing for so long and then chose to end it all (my decision, not an injury but you get me), it genuinely pains me. I know I could continue dancing, if only there were more open classes and I had some more time for it, but at this point, I simply really can't.

For that, I totally get Tashi. The fact that the only thing she really loved was ripped away from her and she didn't even have the choice to willingly retire. That's what hurts the most, in my mind. It's possible that would have retired after becoming pregnant and while that would hurt it would be a conscious choice. That is what gained the most of my sympathy, because I vividly rememeber crying the night before my first big performance because I had tonsillitis and was so afraid I couldn't perform (luckily, I made it).

Perhaps Tashi wasn't always the kindest and, again, I totally get her. The feeling of putting so much effort and energy into something, preparing for months/years and really giving it your whole life and then all of it suddenly evaporating? Not only was your effort completely pointless but you won't be able to satisfy any more people (my case) and disappoint everyone who bought the tickets just to see you. Your life is suddenly empty and you simply have nothing.

It's obvious Tashi tried to project her loss onto Art, and he loved her so deeply to allow her to do so. Honestly, if I found someone who's in any way associated with theatre, I'd probably beg them on my knees to take every role possible so I could visit them at the theatre, perhaps help backstage and just be close to it.

And then when someone is able to offer you something more (in my pov, Patrick was a better player than Art, and Tashi saw that, so the moment she slept with him in his car, she was subconsciously hoping to get even closer to the peak of tennis), you simply take it. I don't really wanna excuse her chest in, but honestly, I get her.

Omg I really wrote a lot haha I'm sorry for being annoying but I've developed a parasocial relationship with your account and now am using you as my diary. 😔😔😔

No omg I love you I love your mind <3

but yeah that’s what is so upsetting about Tashi’s story— it’s like. IS this what she wanted for herself? Even if her life is good, and she loves her daughter, and she loves art and is proud of him, it’s never the life she wanted. She has to wake up and essentially level that loss of her career, mourn a life and experience that never happened, that she couldn’t possibly know how it would go or end, yk?

[lavenderspence]

as a lesbian very much in love with Maeve I will not let her get slandered like that! /j

no but fr she is very beautiful, smart and has such a nice voice, no wonder Spencer fell in love cause I would‘ve fallen too (and have while watching season 8!)

feel like some (not directed at other anons or you) purely dislike her because Spencer like her and maybeee they themselves have nothing in common with Maeve which leads them to believe that Spencer would not like them, like a little parasocial relationship going on and internalized misogyny!!

anyways she‘s lovely and gets too much hate just for being Spencers love interest!!

(Also Spencer literally doesn’t have a type, he had a crush on JJ, fell for Maeve and later had something going on with Max, all pretty different characters if you ask me, so for people worried he’d def fall for you too haha)

hey, babe, to each their own, I'm happy you love her!💕

and beth riesgraf does have a very soothing voice!🤭

personally, i dislike her because her character is underdeveloped and I think it serves no real purpose outside of adding shock value and additional trauma to spencer's character (as if boy genius needed more of that)

i don't like her as a love interest because I fail to see any chemistry between them (similarly, spencer's crush to jj was weird to me, and even max felt like a rushed plot point so they can say they've tried to give spencer a happy ending at the end.) I think the writers truly lack in building ANY kind of romantic relationships for most characters (outside of early hotch & haley, maybe will & jj, and savannah & derek).

i, personally know i can pull spencer reid and aaron too (girlie is delulu don't listen to her) so no worries here, but I do think spencer's lack of type is a bit of a plus when it comes to writing his character, because you can try and explore any type of love interest opposite him.

but yeah, there sure are some people out there simply hating for the sake of hating, or because they would like to baby a character that isn't even real (oooppsss). all kinds of opinions out there

[whiskeyswifty]

hi kelsey baby!!! sorry if this is too gossipy for your interests in which case ignore me, but what's ur thoughts on the whole sabrina taylor olivia thing? like im thinking about how chummy taylor was with olivia (and by extension conan) and then how she suddenly seemed to have no relation in the slightest with her but suddenly know shes so chummy with gracie and sab... god i know this may sound parasocial but sometimes i want to be her friend just to get the tea haha

hmmmmm i thought about what i would say to this because it's not that it's gossipy, just that i don't really like wading into discoursy gossip that has a lot of morality tacked onto it by idiots who police when someone sneezes wrong.

i guess i'll say, if anything, you'd have to be willfully blind not to notice the shift, not even from a parasocial place, just how overnight the shift was. How olivia went from gushing about taylor at every opportunity to not mentioning her name at all like there is some sort of moratorium on it. however, i'm not inclined to sit here and analyze the minutiae of every word she says, not even tonally, because context in interviews can get lost and tone is not always properly conveyed in the written word, and can be edited around on video. so i can't, and won't, declare her intent or what her sentiments are towards taylor cuz idk her and everything i say is conjecture.

and as for taylor, she always flits from one rising star to the next in terms of publicly showering them with praise and lifting them up. not in a bad way or flakey way, just that she seems to enjoy encouraging the young women of the new class and also enjoys collaborating with new talent to inspire her creatively. public image-wise, its also very helpful lol, but i don't think she's fake about it, from what i can tell. she's done this for a decade now, and sometimes they might drift apart or sometimes a certain person inspires her more than another. it seems like she was merely a supporter from afar for olivia, and gracie and sab(rina) are more friends of hers, for example. (not for nothing, but gracie and sabrina are also in her ecosystem, working with aaron and jack respectively so i think that plays a part. are you a coworker in another department or a just peer, if you will) i also think her condoning, however inderectly, olivia and conan promo fearless tv is a bit..... idk that makes things sticky and builds a clear boundary that she hasn't set with the likes of gracie/phoebe/sabrina/etc. which is a fine boundary to set, but who tf knows what she saw in them that she didn't see in olivia. nothing nefarious going on i don't think, or any secret hatred i guess, from taylor's side insofar as i can tell objectively, that i can point to.

but yeah at the very least, something happened to cause this shift in focus for Olivia from taylor to.... not taylor lol. and there are a few smoking guns that are very glaring (Deja vu bridge, clara bow, etc) but nothing i can pull prints from, from where i sit at my computer. we don't know the order of events or even the involvement of certain people, or if what people have said is even true. at the base level of it all, with the crumbs of information that we have, it's perhaps a dont-meet-your-heroes situation. which sucks for olivia but idk if i would go so far as to say it casts taylor in a bad light. if anything, it can serve as an example of how distant fan/celebrity relationships have a tendency to always remain if they start that way. taylor was never truly her friend and olivia never really knew her through her music and stanning all those years. which again, if that's simply all it is, doesn't mean anyone is in the wrong. just a wakeup call that that is the true nature of all fan/celebrity relationships; the fan will always run into a glass door they cannot open, and they might get hurt if they don't realize it's there until it's too late. but even THAT assessment of the situation is still just my observation based opinion, so really, who the hell knows. i would LOVE to know though if i ever became taylor's friend, but tbh it's very low down on the list of things i'd ask her. it's ON the list though!

(also took me like five minutes to figure out who tf "sab" was like i was trying to figure out if it was an acronym or something lol. shows how often i think about sabrina carpenter, sorry to this girl. she keeps catching strays from me lol)

[fandomfluffandfuck]

i’m the anon who previously sent the message about the deplorable things alba and her friends have said and done.

i did indeed see your response to my message, and to be completely honest, i thought it was a genuine and well-thought out reply. i know you mentioned you did not want to engage (which is completely fair, considering the scope of your blog), so i understand if you don’t post this. however, i was disappointed to see you continuing to give alba a platform when she has, in fact, not changed or learned from her previous actions. she is still close friends with people who have publicly tweeted statements such as, “fuck me like hitler fucked the jews.” it was revealed that she is heavily antisemitic on set just as recently as last year. she is not sorry for her actions, that much is clear.

it’s your blog - you have final say on what to do with it. but as a part of your previous reply in stating that you could do more in holding racist people accountable, i just thought that you would at least stop giving her a platform to spread such horrible values. because of her antisemitism and racism, her (and now chris’) fans also think it is okay to do so. yes, we cannot control the actions of others. however, as public figures, they do play a part in guiding the narrative and setting an example for those who see them.

i wanted to end off with saying telling you that someone previously asked a fan blog of chris and alba, “is nazism and racism okay if you’re white?” and the response was a resounding, “yes!”

this is who you’re supporting, parasocial or otherwise.

related to this

Thanks, I am surprised that you came back. Also, thank you for not screaming, I've seen way too much "discourse" that is just that online and, unfortunately, in real life.

That's all horrible, and awful to hear, obviously. I knew vaguely of her association to friends with problematic, harmful views through another anon, but no details. The description given certainly paints that she's not learning or growing, yeah. That's shitty. Especially shitty when it's more recent things and not past regrets or ignorance.

It is certainly in my mind whenever an anon sends me something about Alba. She's in a photograph with Chris, I see her in his tag, or whatever. Each time I post something of her, even if it's not really about her and more about Chris, it's consciously something I contemplate. I really hate getting into the real, real relationships and such. I'm not a gossip blog. I have no interest in that side of stanning/supporting a celebrity. So, I very much hesitate to post anything that toes the line. I don't want to, and I shouldn't give people who are racist a platform. You're right, clearly.

Also, I'm sure there are fans of either (or both) Chris and Alba who support racist views or think that they are allowed to because they see their favorite celebrities doing it. I would prefer to think that it is just a very vocal minority, though, in the same way when I see people posting about committing violence toward Alba, death-threat-ing her, making remarks about how they hope Chris divorces her and does horrible things to her because she deserves it, etc. I hope people understand better. Maybe they don't. Maybe I am naive and the outlier by assuming that people compartmentalize their fandom lives from their real lives similarly to me. If so, more should be done to educate them, or push them to educate themselves, on why that isn't okay. Poor behavior examples can be very dangerous, though, I agree.

Anyway, again--for real this time, haha--I'll say that I don't want to get further into this. I can feel a very slippery slope coming, not necessarily from you, but generally about who has reportedly said what and when and to whom, and that's too much for me.

[alphabetboyluvr]

hi Holly. I just want to appreciate u. u don’t have to reply but this is more just a message to you.

I think ur the best person I have a parasocial platonic relationship with. Not only do you write the best stories (my heart beats for BD) but you also are the best most good intentions, good morals, person.

I like that you constantly update us on your work, your thoughts, and other stuff. It’s like you’re the teacher who engages with her students and tells her kids “guys the marks will be released Friday”, doesn’t take a long time to mark, doesn’t bat around the bush, etc. You never alienate your readers which I feel like a lot of other authors do. I love how appreciative you are of ur readers and friends

Also thank you for posting about Palestine. This is what made me wanna write the message. Im currently typing through tears as I just watched a kid cry because he saw the bombing in Gaza. His trauma is already started and he’s just 3. Thank you thank you for being a good soul. A true girls girl. A true citizen who wants the best for her world. I value you a lot. I love that you’re another girl who has big boobs ( I have a H cup girl it’s fucking horrible but I love that I get to be appreciated through ur stories) , thank you for being so creative, thank you for just knocking it out of the park.

U deserve nothing but the best. Please keep your standards high because you are of the highest standard. I love u girl

<3

honestly i could have cried reading this, what a gorgeous display of kindness 😭 thank you so much.

this is a long answer so I'll add a read more haha

I think (in a way) I also have sort of a parasocial relationship with you guys - I'm often shown such generous amounts of love and support and it's a dynamic that I don't really know how to describe. we might not know each other and yet you all see such a huge part of my personality that a lot of people don't. you hear of virgo boy and of the little trips I'm going on and all sorts of intricate details and yet if you were to see me in the street, you'd probably have no clue of who I am 🥲 sometimes I wonder (when I go to army events / bts places) if I'm talking with people who have read my fics but we collectively have no idea. its a strange little life to live, but one that I enjoy.

in regards to Palestine, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, I'm deeply horrified by what we're witnessing and am devastated at my government (alongside other western nations) facilitating what's happening. if all I can do is spread awareness or write letter, then you best believe that is what I'll do.

I'm afforded with such kindness that it only feels right I should reciprocate that - I keep you guys updated because it keeps us all happy haha. I love doing teasers and getting that initial reaction from you guys, it's so much fun, honestly. while I write for myself, I'd be a total liar if I said I didn't care for other people's opinions. your input is important to me!!

I've friends in all corners of the world, of all faiths and diverse backgrounds, and the idea of any of them experiencing such horror for the simple fact of where they were born is unthinkable. the people suffering are daughters, sons, husbands, wives, siblings - they are people and they are loved and it is barbaric to see what is happening and not feel strongly about it, in my opinion.

we all deserve the right to safety, freedom and a comfortable living environment. i don't really think my views are that groundbreaking, but I'm glad to know many of you feel the same ♡♡

honestly the big titty agenda part made me laugh so much!! I've been wearing a posture corrector lately cause the girlies have just been a nightmare 🥲 and the titty worship in my stories??? comes from experience!!! you'll find someone who appreciates them, as well as appreciates you, I promise 😭

thank you so much for your message - honestly you've no idea how much it means. have the loveliest day!!!

mwah x

[taralen]

Love...

911 What's your emergency?

I want to know what it's like to feel loved romantically.

I have had at least one person, a girl I used to be friends with, confess she loved me, but I could not reciprocate.

I only like men, so I dated a man.

I thought I would spend a long time with him since we chatted for months before meeting in person. I felt his strong back and stomach and called him my dark angel. (Yeah, I know it's cheesy.) I loved the smell of his [[100% tobacco]] cigarettes, his cool smile, his long black hair, and how he played his guitar to serenade me. I slept in his arms, and it was chaste. We never went further.

I headed back home after two days of long dates and fun. I asked him over the phone: "So, are we official now? Are we dating?" 8^D He paused, then said, "Yes." I nearly screamed. I said "I'm so happy!" before getting off the phone and feeling Bliss (lol ironically his nickname. Hurr.)

I changed my Facebook status to "In a relationship." The girl who later confessed she loved me had an emotional meltdown even though I told her I don't like girls. Made me feel bad, but I don't know what she expected me to do.

However, just a week later, my boyfriend called me back and said he was breaking up with me. I didn't know how to react. We were bonding so well! I asked, "W-Why? What changed? I don't understand!"

He said, "It's me, not you. I'm just some loser working at a corner store here, never going anywhere, but you're in university and well-educated. You'll go places, I won't. I know you're concerned about my health, but I think I'm just naturally underweight. I don't know how to live without soda. I'm sorry."

I sat on my bed, floored. Who breaks up after a week? I told him I didn't care that he wasn't a college student and that he worked at a corner store! I apologized if I didn't meet his expectations, but I really wanted it to work. I asked if I was not attractive.

"Oh, no. You're hot as hell! But that's the problem: you're too good for me! You deserve someone better!"

Someone better? I told him that he was the only one I wanted, but he wouldn't believe me. TOO GOOD for him? Excuse me?

??????????

I cried when the call ended. For the first time ever, I was able to reciprocate feelings back, only to be dumped after a week. My friends and roommates told me he wasn't worth it and that there were better guys out there. They were probably right, but man did that sting.

Oh, if only he could see me now. He thought I'd be some BIG SHOT somewhere; he said it, not me!

If only he knew that we're not so different, him and I. Maybe we could have pulled each other up together!

So many people assume success rather than think of the possibility that something can go wrong. He imagined me in a fancy suit, lounging in an expensive car, not knowing that years later, I don't have my fancy suit anymore and have a used 2016 Honda Accord.

Can I ever find love proper instead of some strange parasocial relationship I have with some guy I watch on the internet who has no idea I exist? In fact, that's sort of waned now, too. Sad, isn't it? This moronic ex was the only one who approached me that wasn't just in it for sex. There has to be a nice man out there, one who can stand beside me and give me a reason to don my finest dress shirts, slip on some fancy shoes, and take my silk clothes to the dry cleaners!

Yeah, I know I'm crazy, but I take a cocktail of medications these days, so sweetheart, don't worry, I am here to play!

By the way, if you're a salesman, you immediately earn 10pts to my love meter. Eheheheh....... [[Yes, I really put this bit on a dating profile.]] HAHA. Still haven't had any luck yet! OTL

I CAN'T SEE OR FEEL ANYTHING WAHHHHHHHHHH

[[4.99]]

[doctorweebmd]

Hiii i saw some other asks but they all had like 4 emojis so now idk if this is too much im so sorry if it is, hopefully you can answer all if you want to! Hope you have a great day! 💞🤩🧠(katsuki)🤗🍦🎶

lol anon are you kidding?! I LOVE talking about myself and my writing you are doing ME the favor hahaha

💞- Who's your comfort character?

Hmmm you know I actually never really thought about the 'definition' of what a comfort character is. Like, what's the difference between that and a favorite character? I looked it up and read a thinkpiece or two... (this is not supposed to be that deep I knoowwwwww i'm sorrryyy) but if we go by what I read, like a pseudo-parasocial-relationship, about who I think about when I'm upset or who motivates me in real life or who I just vibe with in general I'd say...

Izuku Midoriya. I can't even explain it. Like, if it doesn't have Deku in it, I ain't interested (BNHA fandom-wise.) He's flawed and overly sensitive and works SO SO HARD and is so sincere and GOOD and also INSANE SOMETIMES and he's just. My favorite. Literally no other MC can do it like him.

🤩- Who is your favorite character to write?

Hahhaha oh jeez I think my favorite to write might be Katsuki. I also really love writing Akutagawa. They both have a very particular manner of speech that I think brings a LOT of character to narration. I also write writing them both because getting a read into their inner minds is super fun, because we, as the audience, don't really get to hear their internal monologues. What do they think about? How do they think about it? Their heads are SO fucked, I just love picking them apart piece by piece lmao

🧠- Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. (Katsuki)

That he's hopelessly, painfully in love with Izuku and he thinks its unrequited.

Just joking....

...Unless?

No but this is kinda hard. My thoughts about Katsuki are actively changing with canon. He's changed so much in canon. I guess this isn't a fun one, but I truly do believe Katsuki has a... difficult... relationship with his mother. They're too similar and the kind of shit she's said about him seems really cruel and backhanded. I also wouldn't be surprised if he instilled some of Katsuki's dislike of 'quirkless' Izuku. Mitsuki doesn't strike me as the kind of woman that ever really hugged Katsuki or told him that she loved him, she expected perfection from him and he GAVE her that. I also think, at least in part, his 'bad boy act' (because we know, WE KNOW its an act) is a way to rebel against her. No hate towards Mitsuki but I think across every universe she's shaped Katsuki's self-hatred and extreme pride and belief that he's not worthy of gentleness or affection. Erhem.

Wow I made myself sad with that. Oh moms. You sure are... something.

🤗 - What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

Haha I'm not sure I'm qualified to give advice! I'll definitely do my best.

I echo what lots of other people say. Just write. Whatever it is. With whatever skill you have. Get whatever story you have in your head down. It doesn't have to be perfect. Or even complete. The act of putting it into words is insanely valuable. You won't even notice yourself becoming a better writer, but it happens almost naturally.

One saying I kinda live by is 'if you build it, they will come.' None of your ideas are too 'niche' or too 'weird.' Different people connect to different concepts. Some of my most rewarding writing experiences have been from writing shit that I legitimately thought no one would read. Keep at it. Recognition is not an indicator of quality. The right people will find you.

Write your thoughts down. Even if you think its stupid. You'd be surprised how much you revisit things. I often use text-to-speech for ideas or dialogue when I'm driving. This I've started doing more recently, but when you cut things out of your writing, save them in another document or at the bottom.

Obviously, read. The more you read, the better you'll write. We're all Frankenstein amalgamations of our favorite authors. Again, you won't know what will flip a switch in your brain until you give it a shot, right? I hate to say it, but sometimes 'classics' can be that inspiration. They're survived this long for a reason. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'East of Eden' both changed my brain chemistry and they were high school reading assignments....

Gosh. I mean, not to be cheesy, but just have fun with it. Its a hobby and its supposed to bring you joy. Don't worry about updating schedules or word counts or stats. Write whats in you and let it blossom, ya know?

🍦- What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Oh jeez this is also hard because I write like... a ton of porn.

BUT. I think my sweetest fic is Battle of the Bands.

In particular I really REALLY love the epilogue chapter. That Katsuki and Izuku go on tour together.... that they have matching tattoos instead of wedding bands... THAT THEY GET MARRIED AND LIVE THEIR DREAM TOGETHER.... plus. like. the SLOW SLOW SLOW burn of it all. the love songs. the yearning. making music of feelings you cannot say aloud. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

🎶- Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

oh definitely! its kind of become an unintentional tradition. i generally start a new playlist for every fic and add things 'vibe-wise' that i already know, then randomize and add songs on that way. It sets the stage, in a weird way. And when I'm stuck, I often look for new songs for the playlist (obviously looking up lyrics and the like) so its inspiration on inspiration!

Lately I've been.... listening to some music from my emo-esque high school and early college years. I've listened to 'Death for My Birthday' by Say Anything a lot. Their self-titled album is actually pretty decent. Hate Everyone, Do Better, Less Cute, Eloise, Crush'd, Cemetery, Narcissus, I Hate You More Than I Hate My Period are all great.

But I'm also writing The Path To Paradise, so I'm listening to my 'To Hell and Back' playlist while writing it (I'm roadtripwithlucifer on Spotify.) I really like Carve Me Open by Silences but all the playlists are solid tbh. in MY honest opinion.

AHHHh THANK yOU FOR THE QUESTIONS ANON i hope the responses are okay!!! as always i ranted and overthought everything apologies forever and ever

[bcofl0ve]

So, I have a very gentle, very non-judgmental comment to make about the 'relationship discourse'. I say this with nothing but good vibes and intentions, so please don't interpret it as me coming at you or anyone else!

No matter where you stand, it seems a little odd to be heavily invested in someone else's relationship. I say this as someone who has followed celebrity gossip off and on for a long time, so I get it. It's fun to speculate, but at the end of the day no one really *knows* anything other than the people in the relationship itself. I'm a casual fan, and I was surprised at the strong feelings that this relationship seemed to elicit from so many people. Because (I say with love) no one really knows what goes on in their personal lives, and everything that's discussed (on both sides) is only speculation.

I feel so preachy coming into your inbox with all this, and I know you probably are aware of/have considered most of the points I made. I also know that I used the word 'odd' and I don't feel entirely good about that, because I'm not suggesting that you or anyone else here is odd. I'm also also not trying to act holier-than-thou because I'm a casual fan. I'm just giving my two cents as an observer. I hope that you take this in the spirit I meant it, because I realize this might come off as patronizing through the wrong lens. Long story short? Everyone should take a yoga breath and rewarch Dune before Dune 2 comes out (and not come for me with pitchforks, because I know this is a heated discussion and I fear I may have poured gasoline on the 🔥🫣).

you’re so fine don’t worry. getting Meta about fandom/stan culture etc is actually something i really enjoy- no problems chatting about it when folks are civil like you!

i mean, in the most bare bones terms: i’m invested because i enjoy celebrity culture/hollywood gossip, really like both austin and kaia as creatives and people- and think that the flip side of being so private is that it makes people inherently more nosy about what we don’t see. on both ends, as we see with people taking advantage of all the ‘empty space’ to create wild PR theories, whereas i think the ““shippers”” use the empty space to giggle and kick our feet and lean more towards happier gap fillers like “hm i wonder if they’ll do xyz together!”.

i do consider austin’s fandom my hobby at this point, so i’m invested in him i would be any other hypothetical hobby- not a sports person but maybe that’s a good example? lots of sports fans get really into the people who play on a team they really like- i guess you could see hollywood is my “sport” and two of my favorite players are austin and kaia, haha. i fully acknowledge that’s parasocial, but i do have my own boundaries and try to be an ‘ethical’ a gossiper as possible, even when i know ethical gossip blogger is an oxymoron. the second this is more serious than fun for me is the day i leave- a rule i wish i adopted sooner re: the broadway gossip blog days of yore. fandom is supposed to be fun, and at least right now i’m having a great time!

i will clarify though that re: tumblr specifically, me and that other blog’s issues with each other are deeper than disagreeing about austin and kaia- and so if we seem very heated with *each other* it’s not just. coming from our passionate celebrity opinions lol. i don’t know how closely you follow my blog/how long you’ve been around these parts but that blog has spent a year giving a platform to people personally insulting me as an individual (not just my fandom opinions) and smearing me and at one point got honey potted by someone who decided to see if she’d want to doxx me given the opportunity (someone sent her an anon saying to vague post if she wanted to know where i’m in law school- something i keep very private, i don’t even say what state i live in- and she immediately followed the bait instructions, lol).

i won’t say the tit for tat between us every now and then will ever end because like- it won’t lol. we’re both bitey people and we both have narc followers who send our posts back and forth and we both strongly dislike each other. i think at this rate our occasional sparring is just a staple of the tumblr fandom- god love all of you that put up with it. i hope all of this made sense though, pls feel free to follow up! (:

[rrelationshipadvice]

1/2 Husband & I are in our 30s and been together most of our adult lives. We are monogamous. We have talked a lot over the years about this sort of thing and have agreed that we both are monogamous. I think a lot of couples have the threesome, fwb, poly, etc kind of conversations and we have always agreed that we both prefer having a committed monogamous relationship. To me that and especially marriage means you are completely devoted to that person. They are your favorite person. You would choose them over everyone else. You are the most in love with/attracted to that person. They're your person! To me there's no point having a monogamous relationship without the devotion. Otherwise I could just be single and maybe have some fwb or something but I want (prefer) that whole you are the hottest most amazing person I love you more than anyone sort of thing. I guess I'm a hopeless romantic haha. I fell in love with someone that way and that's what I want from our relationship. I thought he did too. We have a good sex life for the most part. I don't think either of us have many complaints about the quality or frequency. So here's my issue I guess. I saw public posts he made about various porn stars and just women in general. I don't love it but I'm fine with him watching porn. Sometimes I do, not often but I have before. I don't really like it for a lot of reasons. But masturbation is great! I'm fine with him doing what he needs to do. He's fine with me doing what I need to do. But he knows the porn stars by name. I couldn't name anyone. I would never want to be able to especially while I'm in this kind of relationship. I can't imagine having a parasocial relationship with some OF dudes or porn stars like he does. He says he follows some of the OF girls on social media because they are funny shitposters and he doesn't even notice the porn they post. How am I supposed to believe that! He made the comments about some of these girls on social media. I don't know why he would want to post these comments publicly at all knowing I and others who know us could see them. Comments like hot, wow, so beautiful, amazing, I love her, she has a perfect body, I think I'm in love, she's so perfect, her face is so perfect/beautiful.

2/2 He adds/follows girls on social media who have OF and post thirst traps, nudes, or even just flirty text posts about how horny they are. Stuff like that. I believe people can post whatever they want (I'm not upset at these women) but I've made it clear I'm very uncomfortable with this. That this crosses a boundary for me. And I have always been very vocal about how I feel about this before we got together. I believe if you are in a committed monogamous relationship you should have a firm boundary between yourself and others when it comes to sex. Like I've seen people and thought hey that person is attractive but I don't interact with their horny posts or post publicly that I think they are hot. It is extremely disrespectful to me to do that to your partner. This isn't what monogamy means to everyone but it's what it means to me. And I have been very clear about that. And he says he agrees! But I don't know if I can believe he does. I would never talk about their body either especially not in a way that might make my husband feel inadequate or that I didn't prefer him or anything like that. He's liked things and interacted with posts not just about looks but also about behavior. Things I didn't realize he liked girls to do or ways for them to behave. When we're together, when we talk, he acts like he only is attracted to people who are like me both physically & personality-wise. He has never actually showed any attraction towards anyone with a similar body/personality to me, besides me. Not celebrities or anything. They are all more like the porn stars & only fans girls he apparently is attracted to. Not only do these girls have very different bodies, and faces, and hair colors, etc. than me but also personality/behaviors/interests are very different. I don't think I am anything like what his "type" is. I am finding it harder and harder to believe he really loves me and is actually attracted to me both physically and mentally/emotionally. He makes comments about me wearing certain things or changing how I look and I feel like it's because he wants me to be more like these women. I don't feel he loves me for me anymore. I think maybe at one time early on he did. Maybe not. I don't know. I don't know what to do. I know if the roles were reversed. If I was doing these things he wouldn't be able to stand it. And he's said as much! I believe some of the things he's done he would've left me over if I had done them. I don't know how he can hurt me in ways he knows would hurt him. I express how much this hurts me and he says sorry he won't do it again and then keeps doing it. I feel so lost. We've made our whole lives around each other and I like spending time with him. He's my best friend. We just have this one issue and I am having such a hard time moving past it or getting over it. I feel so hurt and lost. I don't know what to do. Thoughts? Opinions? Advice?

.

[kadoodles-on-ao3]

It seems like you have a vendetta against Shulk/Fiora. Like, not just disliking it and preferring Shulkelia but straight up hate the canon ship of the game. Why?

Thank you for asking this! It's an interesting question and I have a quite a bit to say about it (as usual with me aha). So I'll put the details under the cut, but yes, I personally do not like any aspect of the canon relationship/writing of it at all (although I don't go into that here since I talked about much more than I expected lol, if you're curious specifically about what my opinions are on the dialogue/choices in the game regarding Shiora feel free to send me another ask!). Also if you've read my fanfics (genuinely not trying to plug my work haha I swear) and see how I write Fiora and her friendship with Shulk, and especially the fic where I write from her pov for the whole thing, you can see I don't hate her and try to be respectful to her creators and fans! Anyway, for a TL;DR:

Aside from my personal history (which also is part of why I like Shulkelia as much as I do) causing the way Fiora's attraction to Shulk is written to not come off very well to me, and even ignoring what I've seen on the Internet about how people react to these ships and those who like or dislike them, it's just A Thing About Life that there will be parts of media you really like and parts of the same media you really don't, and that's what makes art engaging and impactful and personal and fun to talk about! I'm just someone who always has a lot to say about anything, so don't take my diatribes as anything more than me being passionate about analyzing stuff haha. I still love Xenoblade 1 with all my heart, and me not liking parts of the series such as Xenoblade 2 (very much) or Shiora (at all) doesn't affect how much I enjoy what I do like! It's just another fun facet to delve into for me, whether it's a thing I like or a thing I dislike.

And when all you see and know of me is from a blog that's specifically just for talking about a small facet of one piece of media, I can come off as more melodramatic about my liking of Shulkelia and disliking of Shiora since I don't talk too much about the rest of Xenoblade as a whole, nor anything else for that matter, on here. I promise I don't truly care that much about this fictional love triangle in my day-to-day life, and I'm sorry if I came off as rude about it! If you like their relationship then... I do want to say more power to you, and count this as me having said so, but also I don't feel like I need to because, as you said, it is canon so the Xenoblade devs have been (and probably will be!) providing plenty of enjoyment for you, and so no one should care what a silly singular stranger like me thinks at the end of the day haha.

But if you do, then here's what I have to say:

First off, I just enjoy really thoroughly dissecting everything I like, as well as dislike (as you will soon see!). I like delving into details and analyzing stuff, and sometimes that passion can be a little too obsessive, which can come off as me being passionate in my hatred of The Thing rather than passionate about analyzing why I hate The Thing (which is what's really going on). So it's important to me to say that when I talk about anything I dislike in depth like this, it's not ever meant to be hating on or attacking people who do like it! I just really find it fun to put things under a microscope, both when I really like them and really dislike them, because I enjoy discovering what, specifically, about them makes me feel that way.

I also think it's important to repeat that point about how this blog is both 1) meant to be near-exclusively about Shulkelia and 2) the posts I make here are pretty much my entire online footprint (outside of my fanfic account which is p much about the same topic aha), and as such these are the only things that strangers have to form an opinion about me (much like the common criticism brought up about parasocial relationships). When I log on to this blog I'm here to talk about my Xenoblade OTP or things related to it, and so that's all you see of/know about me. And even though the reason I made this blog is because of how much I like it (I'm kind of obsessive about the things I'm really passionate about, I've been that way my whole life, so that certainly doesn't help either haha), there are things I may like equally or even more, but because they aren't what this blog is for I don't mention them, and so anyone who doesn't know me won't know about them unless I talk about them. When you only see the fraction of me that I'm willing to share, then of course it'll seem like that fraction is the whole me if you never get to see the other 99%.

So much in the same way that I can seem super obsessed about Shulkelia (which, to be fair, I do get that way some days haha) it can seem like I really really hate Shiora too, since the only time I'm going to talk about it is on a blog that's dedicated to a different ship, and since I'm not really a multishipper nor do I enjoy the writing of it in canon, I won't ever have much nice to say about it. And because it's a canon ship that most people seem to enjoy, it's going to come up from time to time on art that either has Fiora/the love triangle involved or in the comments I see on it, and since I have something to say about it I do. Although I do genuinely not like it at all, I try to do it in a way where it's clear I'm not hating on people who enjoy it, either by trying to hammer home that it's just my personal opinion about it, or being super hyperbolic about disliking it in an attempt at humor. But tone and meaning can get lost from brain to text and I'm surely not the best at wording things sometimes, so I don't blame anyone for getting the wrong impression, and if that's happened I do apologize!

For example, if this blog was instead about my love of Mexican food (which is true!) and was meant for being a catalogue of recipes I come across, I'd probably talk in the tags pretty often about how I lament that so many recipes have cilantro in them because I have the weird cilantro-tastes-like-soap gene and so it tastes awful to me (which is also true!). When this happens over and over again on so many recipes that have cilantro, and when this repetition is all you ever get to see about me, it would probably seem like I have a burning hatred for cilantro, when in reality I barely think about it at all, and if something I want to eat has it I'll just politely ask for no cilantro or silently pick it off. I do think the weird gene is interesting, and I have a fun story about how I found out I have it which I enjoy telling, but I'm also just fine eating my food if no one wants to talk about it.

But that comparison isn't perfect, because there's a lot more going on in interpersonal relationships (fictional or not) and why people enjoy them or not. So let's get into that!

I did mention there were personal reasons why I feel the way I do, and to the extent I do, about these pairings, so it's only fair to explain what that's about. All throughout my life up until college I never had anyone show any romantic interest in me, even in high school, while in contrast all my friends as well as my sister had been in multiple relationships, so I felt rather lonely and figured there was something wrong with me if no one would want to date me haha. But I did of course have crushes of my own (that because of the aforementioned thought I had that I was unlikable I never acted on) and one of them was on a mutual friend that my best friend at the time also knew, as well as knew that I liked him. And all of a sudden one day they were going out and being affectionate all the time, including right in front of me even though my friend knew I liked him. That plus my loneliness from before obviously hurt really bad and made me pretty upset for a while haha.

Then on top of that later that year I would connect with someone like I never had before in my life and he "felt the same way", the very first person to ever tell me they liked me and I believed it. I honestly do still think he did like me... yet he would go on to get into a relationship with someone else and all the while repeatedly promise me that I was special to him and that she didn't get him like I did and he'd leave her for me but of course we can still have our deep talks about his personal problems and blah blah blah. There's a lot more to it than that but I'll cut it short and just say this happened for literally every single day for an entire year of my life, and it really deeply affected me for a long time, though I'm fine now of course. Well, it did change me as a human being, but you know what I mean haha. I don't say this to elicit pity (really, don't, I promise I'm fine) but to give you some puzzle pieces to help figure out the mystery of why I dislike Shiora.

So I'm sure you can see the parallels from my life to what Melia goes through, and that's precisely the mechanism that everyone uses to relate to and love fictional characters: they deal with horrible stuff that we can connect back to horrible stuff we've been through, and we empathize with them. That's one reason why so many people love Shulk (including me!), and Melia, and countless other characters. That's kind of what they're here for: to relate to. He just like me for real and all that. So, in the same way my life experiences make me relate so much to Melia, I can also relate those who I liked but never could be with to Shulk and relate their girlfriends to Fiora. And knowing how those real-life relationships ended up and why they didn't work out, I can really see parallels to how Fiora and Shulk's relationship is written, at least with the vibe I got from it on first and second impression. Therefore I both dislike it for personal reasons and the information those reasons gave me about good and bad relationships.

On a lighter note though, there's another aspect to the whole we-like-characters-we-identify-with thing with regards to shipping: I really do think the ships we like (if any) are based on and a reflection of ourselves and what we want in a partner (should we want to have one). Or in simpler terms, our OTPs are often made up of a character we can self-insert as and a character we would marry if they were real haha. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all! It's fun to make up fake scenarios with fake characters that you want to kiss, even when you're not writing direct-self-insert or xReader stuff (which I also don't bash)! I'm certainly guilty of this myself, even as much as I try to write them true to their character, relating so much to Melia and finding a lot about Shulk attractive for reasons that Melia also does means I'm just like everyone else haha. But on the other side of the coin, the fact that I cannot relate to Fiora in so many ways as well as do not vibe with how she treats her attraction to Shulk means I can't really enjoy the thought of them as a couple.

But outside of talking about the canon for just a second more, I think there's an interesting phenomenon(? idk what to call it lol) here that is in this ask as well as many other people's vocalized opinions regarding this game's love triangle: said canon. As in, the concept that someone could like Xenoblade 1 overall but dislike the canon relationship either confuses and/or upsets some people. Which is strange to me on its own, like do these people also get confused and/or mad when someone says they love hamburgers but hate when they have pickles on them? Everyone has their own tastes, and what you like or how much of it you do is just part of being an individual. (Plus I must say it's extra odd with regards to Shulkelia, as I've never seen the same comments/reactions to ships like Meliora, Shulk/Reyn, Shalvis, Dunban/Melia, etc, despite the fact that they're all equally as non-canon as Shulkelia. Maybe it's because the game firmly shoots down Shulk liking Melia so hard? But it also shows how much Fiora likes Shulk, so wouldn't Meliora [which is pretty darn popular as far as Xenoblade 1 ships go, at least from my browsing] be just as "anti-canon"?).

For extra context too, there are. SO. many friendzoned/"haha Shulk doesn't like Melia" memes and jokes out there (and if these people are so concerned with canon, it's weird how often they make Shulk and/or Melia act out of character super hard to push the joke!) which don't really exist to be pro-Shiora and more just anti-Shulkelia. I even came across a guy on reddit who would post Melia fanart every day, and so many of his posts were stalked by this one dude who would write a little rant about how Melia sucks and Fiora is the best, and would really go off if the fanart showed Melia's crush on Shulk in any way. Now he was super downvoted every time but... I've never seen anyone do that for Shulkelia. And yet I have seen quite a few posts of people complaining about Shulk/Melia fans shoving their ship in their faces and how much it sucks as a ship and I'm like i have been trying for MONTHS to find a single scrap of shulkelia content yet find barely anything and what i do find has SO many comments saying they still like shiora or that they hate the art since it's not shiora literally WHO are you talking about??? Like maybe I just am unlucky and have seen literally all 20 or whatever number of instances of Shiora fans being rude that ever existed but... they still do exist. I'm not making this up, in fact I encourage you to go out and search for Xenoblade fan content regarding this love triangle and see how people react to it! That's what I did and that's how I came across all of this!

Anyway, like was there a huge ship war in the early fandom days or something??? If so why can I find no mention of it anywhere except from salty Shiora shippers/Fiora fanboys, like barely any Shulkelia art even exists and I see zero talk from the supposed pushy Shulkelia fans? They have like 30 freaking fics in existence and half of them are Melia sulking about how Fiora is being lovey dovey with Shulk and showing they actually got together after all so don't even really count as Shulkelia fics!! In my searching for Shulkelia content I come across so many comments from people who like the ship trying to downplay their enjoyment of it and placate any potential Shiora fans reading their comments with "oh but Shulk/Fiora is cute too! i still like them together! i only like Shulk/Melia in a close friends kind of way, or just to make Melia happy idc about the ship i just like seeing her smile!" so like... What reality do these other guys live in where they got bombarded with Shulkelia over and over because I wish I lived in it!!! Something's up with some Fiora fans idk. Maybe I just had back luck in my searching, but try it yourself and see. I'm not crazy or making this up, I could just have been seeing all 20 or whatever number of Shiora's rude fans but... they do exist, and I have yet to see similar behavior from Shulkelia fans.

And this isn't all just me being a lurker looking at rando's comments as well. I even have a bit of a secondhand-experience story to tell about it! (The specific timeline of the initial details might be jumbled a bit, but I do remember the gist of it and still have the DMs to confirm some of the facts!)

I used to be active on Twitter, and I followed a lot of different Xenoblade fan artists on there. One day a certain artist posted a WIP of Melia and Shulk laying next to each other on a hill where Shulk was smiling at her, and although the artist deleted it (for reasons you will soon learn about) I think they wrote the Japanese ship name of the two on the tweet for it. Either way, I do recall before the WIP was posted they tweeted about liking Shulkelia, or rather ShuMeri as the Japanese ship name is called, (although in much the same "i like Melia so i like the thought of her being happy. Shulk belongs with Fiora though! i still ship them!" please-don't-be-mad-at-me way that I have never seen a Fiora/Shiora fan do) and wanting to draw something for it. Even though this particular artist posted in Japanese, a language I don't know 99% of, I was able to get the gist of their tweets through the translation feature and my knowledge of what the characters' names are in Japanese. And despite how hard this artist tried to be nice, tried to show how much they weren't trying to be mean to Shiora fans (they even had drawn Shiora art months earlier!), they got a wave of hate directed at them from Japanese fans which I saw in real time.

And if you doubt this because the tweets are now deleted, and because even when they were up I only read them through an A.I. translation, I felt so bad for this poor artist that I DM-ed them (regrettably in English, since I didn't trust my knowledge of Japanese to not end up making me say something I didn't intend or in a rude/informal tone) to show there was at least one other person out there that enjoyed ShuMeri and was excited to see their art. And they fortunately understood my message and knew English to message me back and told me direct quotes of what was thrown at them, which I still have in my DMs and will quote:

"'You are denying the original story. It's too unsatisfying and ugly' 'It's not right to make Shulk and Melia lovers.' someone said. At other times, people have replied to my art, complaining about Melia's behavior in the story, as I tweeted the other day. I've had a lot of negative comments about ShuMeri and Melia." (With regards to the whole "complaining about Melia's behavior in the story" thing, if I recall that was from people saying she had no right to have a crush on Shulk in the first place, which... I thought you guys said canon is sacrosanct? It is canon that Melia had a crush on Shulk, and if you don't like that then you don't respect the canon/story and aren't a real fan. Do you see how silly this sounds???)

So. Tell me if you have ever seen any Melia fans or Shulkelia fans ever behave like this. Because I sure haven't. (Like even this ask [which I am not upset about nor trying to be rude to the anon at all, on the contrary I'm super enjoying talking about this topic! it's just the dichotomy here is interesting to me!) is proof to me: how many times can you say you've seen comments on Shiora art or asks sent to Xenoblade fanblogs asking why someone doesn't like Shulkelia, do you hate Shulkelia, what's wrong with Shulkelia? Like I get one is canon and the other isn't, but like... have you seen shipping culture? Literally all of the most popular ships for any given media are non-canon, that's half the fun of shipping!!!

"Don't let mean fans sour the original work" (and again, just to make sure I'm clear, I do not consider the anon who sent this ask to be mean or rude in any way! I'm referring to other randos here!) and all that, but it's kind of hard for me to like a ship when it has fans that act like this... going around projecting by accusing fans of a different ship of their own behavior, or saying things that contradict their own points about how important canon is to them. Thinking back on how we like characters we can relate to, isn't it interesting how fans of a brash, headstrong, do-what-I-want-and-fuck-the-consequences character who gets everything she wants in canon act in a pushy or even rude way to fans of a reserved, self-reproaching, I-will-do-what-is-best-for-others-first character who has so much taken away from her, and the latter fans always defer to the former and feel guilty when they talk about liking their character even as they do so much to be nice to them? It's pretty interesting I think, it's like when dogs look like their owners or something haha.

To end this off, since even though I have more to say (which if you would like to hear please let me know!) I've talked for far too long now haha, I really want to post the rest of the DM that the artist I talked to (who to this day hasn't made another Shulkelia/Shulkelia-esque fanart again, and interestingly never gets hate on their Shalvis art which is again a non-canon "story-denying" ship, too. Maybe they just blocked the rude people and if so good for them, but it's interesting still that they haven't draw Shulkelia since):

"I think it's useless to argue about who is better, Fiora or Melia, and I don't want them to get me involved in that fight. However, I received words of encouragement from many kind followers like you. I now understand important things; 'Don't worry about mean people' and 'Draw what I like.' Fan art should be free, shouldn't it? If I draw ShuMeri, some mean people might appear again. But there are many more kind people like you. When I think of that, I'm not afraid anymore. I will try to draw ShuMeri one day. Maybe I'll get depressed again because of mean people, but then you can tell me, 'You draw fanart freely, right!'... Please tell me that. You made me feel better and made me cry with happiness. Thank you so much. :)"

-Mirim, who can be found here currently, and their old account where the drama happened is here. This is the piece of artwork they got so much hate for. Shulk and Melia aren't even touching in it and Mirim didn't even mention their ship name.

[riizebabie444]

hiiiii!! how are you? I hope you are doing great. thank you so much for hosting such an interesting game ♡

my name is eileen, an aquarius sun, gemini moon, gemini rising, and capricorn venus! the name of my celebrity crush is carlos sainz <3 he is a f1 pilot 🏎️

i would love to do an exchange with you about your future spouse using my intuition.

right off the bat I'm getting that your fs is someone who has musical talent, like singing, and playing instruments. someone with a black wavy hair. someone who really do care about their appearance. I'm getting that they will smell very nice! OK I just got vision, your fs might even give you their fragrance so whenever you miss them, you could just simply spray their fragrance.

they are someone who do investment I feel like, someone who is tall, serious demeanor too. slightly older than you, but not much, like 3-4 years.

I just heard "she has him wrapper around her finger" yeah your fs is WILLING to do anything for you. I'm getting they love to spend time with you. right I forgot to mention, their love language might be quality time.

i think your fs really do like around you, like they laugh so much around you. someone who cherish you. they feel like they have gotten the jackpot in life, after noticing they feeling for you.

you two might gotten into the relationship quite fast. YEAH YOUR FS IS VERY MUCH EAGER I FEEL LIKE 😭

oh interesting the channeled song I have for you and your fs is style by Taylor Swift

gurl jdksms as you are a hopeless romantic, I'm telling you your fs is the spouse of your dream ksmsoe the energy? so cute. so full with love. smitten all over.

your future spouse is really big on surprises and romantic gesture i feel like. lol I literally just saw a clear vision of someone with a big bucket of red roses covering their face. I'm sensing because of your fs work, they might be travel a lot (hence the missing part, the love of spending time together), expect them to be welcomed by their presence with surprises kekeneosk.

seriously? this whole relationship feels like the album of taylor swift lover tbh. honestly the two of you have such a healthy and cute relationship. one last thing I'm getting (this one is quite clear I feel like I have to tell you), your fs will be very happy to be back home with the woman that they love very dearly.

thank you so much for letting me did an intuitive reading for you about your fs! hope that the reading does resonates. can not wait to get the reading from you ♡ take you time, do not need to rush. once again thank you for letting me participate in such fun game.

it's giving power couple right away! firstly, i see a lot of influence. like, y'all are the couple that everyone wants to be. people will copy your outfits and go to the same place you went on a date or visit the city you guys went to last week. especially the people who follow you and keep up with you a lot, such as fans and followers. everyone will wanna know all about it. and it's not just people with parasocial relationships but people in your circle. they kinda see the power and influence you have over others and they'll try to have some of that buy copying you. you guys are the trend setters haha. i see this being very chill, very peaceful, but deeply emotional. it might be easy to tiff each other off but it's also easy to take a step back and give each other space, and then recollect together with renewed feelings. when either one of you is feeling under pressure, the other will be there to give them strength. and in that way, you will be each other's tamer. for example, if one of you is pushing too hard, the other will be there to ensure you don't burn out. he would be very protective too, almost overprotective. but it's kind and gentle, he wouldn't ever make you feel trapped or suffocated by his protectiveness, but there may be some uncomfortable times in a relationship when you disagree. but like i said, space and time is given and you both come to an understanding. and although you'd travel the world together, you'd be homebodies/introverts also, focusing mainly on spending time together and exploring the world together. i randomly saw piggy backs so i guess it means he would piggy back you often, especially when your feet are tired after a long day, he doesn't mind carrying you. he'd definitely take care of you well.

thank you so much for the exchange reading, i hope mine was up to par with what you expected because yours was so long i didn't expect it! but thank you again there was so much info and i loved it all!

(and it's funny you say investment because i'm literally starting my master's in investment, i now take it that i'm also on the right path to meeting my fs? time will tell hehe)

[maximotts]

Hope I didn’t offend you, now I’m genuinely curious (if you don’t mind) what makes you like it so much? Cause I’ve watched it like 6 times and I just can’t deal with the secondhand embarrassment I get from it ahahahah I have to pause it, do something else and then get back to it multiple times lol

- still the same Ingrid Goes West anon 😇

oh my godohmygod it's happening!! someone is asking me about Ingrid Goes West!!! @wellsayhelloaagin finally I can bother someone else with my thoughts!!!

No no you didn't offend me at all and honestly, everyone that's said that they can't watch/won't rewatch that movie says the same thing about secondhand embarrassment so you're not alone! Idk why this movie doesn't affect me like that, but I'm okay with it because this movie just means so much to me ugh

Okay so, to break it down, I love IGW for two main reasons: the discussion of the dangers of parasocial relationships and the fakeness of social media/influencer culture.

I'm gonna put this under a cut bc I know everyone doesn't want all this analytical breakdown, I'm literally just so HYPED!! In this essay I will-

I swear I'm gonna try to keep this as short as possible because I'm sure you really don't care this much but uhhh here we go!

Parasocial Relationships: As a person who's been posting content on the internet since I was like, 13, I've been on both sides of this phenomenon; both the person idolizing someone who I don't know and thinking that I'm closer to them than I really am purely because they post themselves online and also the person receiving this type of attention, the one who people are overly familiar with, think they're close to me just because I'm publicly out here, etc. Neither side is good or healthy and they really, truly can be so dangerous.

Ingrid is the type of person who has an obsessive personality. Pair that with social media and the trend of influencers/public figures trying to be relatable and more of a friend, she's really susceptible to getting attached to people like Taylor who, at an outsider's perspective, is very open and friendly. Taylor's shallow and selfish, yeah, but she still has a right to privacy and doesn't deserve to be lied to and stalked like Ingrid does to her and I think it's extremely interesting that this movie doesn't shy away from the fact that people can indeed become extremely dangerous when their delusions are shattered. There's tons of movies that like to frame obsessive behavior as funny and laughable, but it really is scary and a violation of privacy and no one should have to go through that.

Influencer Culture: I swear I'm gonna keep this short. Basically, we're introduced to Taylor through her instagram and she's like this sweet and unique flower child almost with the perfect relaxing life and has a good group of friends with a nice husband and sweet dog. But then when we actually "meet" Taylor in the scene where they go to Joshua Tree, we see that the real Taylor does drugs and is not nearly as composed as she leads people to believe. She has business goals that she thinks are stupid, but she does have like.. thoughts that aren't "haha #couplegoals."

She shows this to Ingrid who then in turn thinks they're close which at that point we can't really fault Ingrid for, but we soon see that Taylor is the type of person who'll easily repress her real self to just hang around whoever is most beneficial to her. This reality doesn't match up with what Ingrid believes should be happening because again, parasocial relationship phenomena have led her to assume that her and Taylor are besties.

Influencers aren't "real," their public personas are not the real people they are and that's okay, it just shows in broad daylight that social media literally means NOTHING, you can be 100% yourself, but you can also be a complete persona and this movie shows that we shouldn't rely on what we see on the internet to be reality and I think that's so important!!

So!! Yeah I really love that this movie shows that and doesn't glorify or make light of Ingrid's behavior, nor does it paint Taylor as the antagonist because at the end of the day despite her faults, she isn't one. I know people say this movie is hard to watch, but I think that's the point? Reality is hard and cringey and people make mistakes that are so embarrassing you just want them to stop, but that's why it's important to look out for your friends, but also look out for yourself and keep your own online behavior in check for your own wellbeing and everyone elses!