#i do not interact with this fanbase

[deconstructivesurgery]

not to rain on everyone's parade, but sometimes i do think there's something almost sad to me about the fact that I have seen so much stanley parable fandom content that exclusively revolves around alternate universes that have progressively grown further and further off-track from the narrative of the original game to an extent that i find barely recognizable at times. something about how whether or not it's true (i can't tell people that they don't enjoy something 'enough', i have no metric by which to measure how cherished the original is to people making this content) it almost feels like one of those cases where fanon precedes canon in terms of how much enjoyment people find in the content, as if people wanted the story to be *more* than it was to an extent that makes them override the original mentally. i think it doesn't help that a lot of people perceive fandom content as existing to fill some kind of 'deficit' in an original work- to give people what they didn't get in the original, so to speak. you've probably heard the spiel about how tragic tales have the most coffee shop AUs drifting around in their fandom tags, and such. the difference is that in most cases, those coffee shop AUs aren't more commonly posted about than the source they're based on. i can't really say the same for the stanley parable at this point. people are so enamored with AUs and versions of the game's story involving modifications of the narrator or the limited range of setting laid out by the game itself that i'm sad to say i don't see people engaging much with actual moments from the game itself all that often.

is that just a matter of personal preference? yeah, totally, but it does make me sad. I really *like* the fact that the Parable is so limited. I think it does the narrative a massive service that there truly is no finite ending or escape, that the Narrator is never given form nor further interactability with the game, that nothing ever goes wrong or changes in a way that matters. It's a fundamental part of the narrative to me. Changing that is fun to people, and I get that- but at some point to me it just feels like so much about what I love about the game's narrative is just being reduced to the meaningless backdrop to shipping and the opportunity for something people Want to see more.

[akkivee]

it’s not my scene so forgive me for only having an outsider’s understanding on that situation, but a while back there was drama in one of those massive boy idol franchises where the took an ainu character, jp’s indigenous people, and stripped him of that identity to put him on a unit based on traditional jp culture. so you know, they assimilated him to the imagery of the ppl who killed his ppl basically

idk if it was something leaked or outright hacked, but i saw that part of the reason corporate thought they could get away with that was bc fans of that group were more mild compared to other units’ fans and ever since then i’ve been like. morbidly curious about what notes kr has on every division’s fanbase sksksksksk 💀

[puhpandas]

tbh I think a good way to view tales from the pizzaplex is that it's in addition to and not instead of

[jefferythejelly]

flipped thru an old sketchbook today here’s a silly rivalsduo thing i still like

[stardust-moth]

Don't mind me, just resurrecting my blog from beyond the grave for the sole purpose of ranting about Mileven

ST fans and Mileven/Mike-antis really be out here missing the entire fucking point of this conversation??? "Mike is lying/gaslighting/in denial! Clearly he doesn't really love her!" (First of all, ya'll literally don't know what gaslighting is, but that's a conversation for another post) No, actually-- it's not about how Mike feels, or even about how he expresses it. It's about how Eleven has PTSD.

Her life in the lab with Brenner essentially taught her that love is conditional, particularly about her abilities. She only received praise or affection if she impressed Papa with her powers; she was shunned and punished if she refused or couldn't do it.

We see this mentality carry over into her life after the lab as well-- if she fails, she feels immense guilt.

Often she pushes herself past her limits, insisting she can do it; because in her mind, if she can't, then she's no longer worthy of love.

Now that her psychic abilities are gone, her whole world has turned into this huge mess of doubt. Throw in the fact that Hopper is gone, they've moved to a new town away from all of her existing support systems aside from Joyce (who is apparently busy all the time), she's struggling to gain acceptance among new peers and is being bullied... She is clinging onto her relationship with Mike like it's the last thing she has, even resorting to lying to him in order to make it look like she's doing well; because Mike can't know that she's failing to fit in! She is so terrified of losing love, and all this doubt has her so convinced that she already has.

On Mike's end, however, all he can see from her letters to him is that she seems to be thriving, even enjoying her life away from him.

He expressed in later scenes that he has his own doubts and insecurities about this, that maybe there's something or someone out there better suited for her, more worthy of her love. This likely contributed to why he avoided the "L" word in his letters.

His own trauma from repeatedly losing her-- and being helpless to stop it-- comes into play, as well; if he allows himself to open up his heart and admit how much he loves her, it'll hurt so, so much if/when he loses her again. At the same time, I'm sure he's terrified of saying the wrong thing that may push her away.

It's also worth noting that Mike is generally not the best at verbally expressing himself-- he repeats himself, makes defensive outbursts without thinking, and awkwardly trips over his words. Mike's love language is his actions, in kind unspoken gestures, in quiet understanding and reassurance. Things that do not carry over well through letters alone, especially if he has no idea that she is in need of reassuring words. He couldn't see that she has been hurting this whole time. He's likely upset towards her for lying to him because he feels like he should have been there for her.

I've personally been there before-- it's hard to explain the mix of frustration and helplessness you feel when you realize a loved one has been suffering without your knowledge, when you feel like it should have been your responsibility to support them and you failed to, even though it's not your fault for not knowing. This entire situation/argument is something I've gone through with my partner; it is so realistic for a relationship involving someone with trauma like this, and it's a very mature thing for these kids to be handling (and Mike actually handled that conversation beautifully, if they wanted them to have an actual fight fight it could have been so much worse). I don't see it at all as an indication of a falling out between Mike and El. This was a necessary hurdle that they both need to work through, it's an indication that their relationship will strengthen from it.

[beepborpdoodledorp]

anyway I love the dichotomy present between Amanda Hufford rt'ing bunnydoll fanart + following bunnydoll artists and signing posters at conventions, and then Gooseworx going 'this show is not going to end without bunnydoll shippers wanting to burn me at the stake'

[slytherinshua]

seunghan is doing solo? sm is confusing me rn. they heard bring him back, and said let's do solo?

honestly i did expect this like i was thinking there's no way he was gonna go back to riize once he left the group but sm didn't drop him from the label so must've had some plans for him!! i rly hope he'll be successful as a soloist and ot6 briizes won't ruin it :( they've ruined enough as is 👹 he deserves a chance to shine in the spotlight again and i'm really excited to see what he'll do 🥹

[lesbianralzarek]

sometimes the ships i hate arent even that bad, but just so far removed from canon that 90% of dogshit takes in the fandom are made by those shippers, so i develop a rage response to a ship thats just so whatever

[dataframe]

the system is such a fun narrative device because it's ultimately the author, the audience, the plot all wrapped in one. it adapts with what is necessary for the story to come; its strict boundaries, its lenience, all dependent upon the tale being told and just what standards must be set to make the 'chosen' characters act. whether that responsibility falls to the transmigrators (which readers/authors like ourselves will have an intrinsic connection to), or is otherwise warped to be understood by one of the fully fictional accounts. i love the meta to it. it's still a character, but one made best when you as the author input your intentions for it to follow -- no matter the cost.

[cowboyinternist]

to be entirely honest i think they make WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much money off of this podcast to be treating it the way that they do

[schizononagesimus]

scrolled through the notes of a dnp post, not even that far, and managed to see "phart," "dick and penis," "im going to the kms store does anyone need anything," and simply, "tits" within seconds. great job, guys, there's something really wrong with us

[glysaturn]

not like i think i'm capable of producing anything of the kind, but if i ever make a comic that's somewhat popular and is loved by a certain amount of people and then i see them misinterpreting and butchering my characters, i might smash my computer and go live in the woods actually, never to be seen or heard of again, in order to avoid all the bullshit

[smile-files]

i do think characters from franchises like mlp are much easier to analyze in a story-audience lens because they are so marketable/merchandisable and thus have a very tangible relationship to public opinion. for what it's worth i don't think there's any official henry merch, but then i don't know if any other miracle mask characters get that privilege. being part of a game series which is fairly well-known but not particularly large (which contributes to its relative lack of merchandising) does add a unique spin on how characters end up being perceived. in henry's case, from my own experience, many peers who aren't fans of the series know of him only through my philosophizing on his suffering: and thus his suffering comes to define him again, as it is that whence most of his character derives and thus what i would focus the most on. that in itself can be connected to how the community, at least this particular corner of it, is comprised of many people who are queer, mentally ill, and/or neurodivergent - including myself - which has the potential to make us more likely to latch onto the suffering of said characters and inadvertently broadcast it to a larger internet public who will thus know of the characters through that lens

[ghostfalls137]

do u guys think the rick and morty writers read the theories and ideas on here. bc I rlly rlly think they do the last couple seasons have felt very writing for the fans

[the-somwthing]

Still thinking about that poll someone made a long time ago about if you watched just scott just jimmy or both for 3L and if you thought flower husbands was healthy or toxic and how the results were very different to what one might expect and I feel like I’ve reasoned WHY they were like that but why tf would I dig up that poll to write an essay on the results when it was so long ago

[disdaidal]

The way I'm caring less and less about ST as a show every day is almost scary, considering not so long ago my blog was all about that.

But pretty much every character I even cared about has already died or has been butchered by bad/mediocre writing, and those that have already died, I don't think they plan on bringing them back, so my interest in s5 is now closer to zero than one.

And I think I'm actually quite okay with that.