was thinking about why the fandom focuses on callum's devotion to rayla more so than the other way around - even if they're equally nuts in a lot of ways and i do think the focus is 60/40 - and i think a lot if is really comes down to callum just being 'easier' to love than rayla like, objectively, especially in arc 1.
he's sweet and goofy and emotionally open, he can be insecure and get stuck in his head but that's very internal, he makes mistakes but never anything too major, at most interpersonal relationship wise he can be a bit pushy or momentarily cruel, he's a prince and wanted peace with the elves from the start, he never really causes massive disasters and when he does there was a 50-50 chance it was going to work out anyway or if he is taking a massive risk, thus far it's really only involved risking himself.
he's cute and caring and has never really broken her heart (as she maintains hope even throughout his bouts of cold shoulder in s4). of course she loves him. of course she'd risk everything and anything for him. and even in arc 2 when he's being cold, he's still caring and still knows when to step in and support her
rayla is like... a much more 'difficult' character and person from the start. she lies repeatedly, especially to cover up her failures, she can swagger without actual substance, she's snarky and stand offish and can be snappish. she breaks at the worst of times and often leads to other people being put at risk. she abandons him and breaks his heart. she showed up threatening to kill him. she blew up their lives together and repeats the same mistakes over and over again.
on a surface level and on an interpersonal level, she's far more of an overt piece of work, whereas callum's nastiness comes out more sparingly and is more hidden under the surface; it's not always so apparent. but rayla's typically is, she is a moonshadow elf who fundamentally cannot hide her flaws even when she's trying to so hard
and callum loves her anyway.
he's endeared by the snark, he persists past the standoffish, she pushes him away and he keeps coming back to try and help her, he gets angry but he ultimately (and always rather quickly) forgives her, he's had multiple people telling him that she's bad and cannot/should not be trusted and just flat out doesn't listen to them, because he believes so fundamentally in her goodness, even or especially when she doesn't believe in it because of all the reasons above. he knows she can be difficult and he either doesn't care or loves her not in spite of those things but because of those things. and that's what's so appealing about that aspect of their dynamic.
callum is a wonderful walk in the park when it comes to catching feelings with only a few hiccups, and so often rayla is a ditch with spikes, and callum just goes "challenge accepted" every time (and succeeds) because he knows/believes that she's worth it (and he's right)
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Every time Jinbe isnt included in a post-wano group edit of the mugiwaras I will become 1% more annoying and that is a promise
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I was deprived of my nap in the end, but I shall not be deprived of some enjoyment in what remains of the afternoon. It's been a while since I've done a watch thread!
Technically I already have a thread somewhere on my blog about it, but I'm in the mood to see it again, so join me as we watch S7E4: That's for me to know!
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"One thing we've never done is to actually make a good live recording in a venue. It's something we've been thinking of since the first tour: is there a good way to actually capture the energy of a good live show?
You can film something beautiful, but often it looks a bit corny to us.
'Across the Universe' was our first attempt to capture that energy and we recorded it like pirate material. It's a pair of mics in a venue, so it sound shitty, and everything is saturated, but to us, it really captured what we felt with the energy at the time."
— Xavier on recording live shows, from Clash Music interview
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Mermay aka thinking of little mermaid Steve who loves to lie in the sun till his long hair is dry and feel the wind blow through it, wishing he could run through fields and forests, watching the humans Make Things. When he feels brave, he swims close to a small fishing town at night and watches as the lights flicker in windows and laughter and music spills from houses he can only imagine what they look inside.
He rarely gets close during the day to avoid the fishermen spotting his shiny scales. One of them in particular, who he knows is his own age. He remembers the man, has watched him grow up as Steve's tail grew longer as well, always keeping track of what was once a little boy he saved from drowning. 'Billy' the others call him. He's already spotted Steve once, when he wasn't careful enough! His entire face lit up, a childlike wonder that made Steve's stomach do little somersaults in his belly.
But no matter how much he wants to talk to Billy, learn all about the jokes he tells the other fishermen, the evenings he spends at the tavern, the few times Steve has spotted Billy walking by the shore, bare feet in the water and curls wild around his head... He can't. He has to keep his and his kind's existence a secret.
Until one day, he hears whispers among the sirens. That a sea witch has set up shop in the crevasse far out at sea. That she offers potions and spells that can fulfill any wish you could think of. For the right price.
And sure, Steve owns pearls and jewels, shiny trinkets and stones he could offer in exchange for time spent on land. But he knows that's not an equivalent payment for his wish. So he brings nothing but himself when he sets out for the journey into the depths. He follows a trail of eerily glowing glass bulbs, to the stall of a being shrouded in flowing algae and whispy fabric. The sea witch has no hands, no face, it offers no assurances or comfort. Only a green pearl, swirling with the shades of a tree canopy where the sun shines through the leaves, set on a seashell saucer.
Silently, Steve accepts the offer. He knows the price he has to pay before he even takes the pearl and carries it up, up, up, to the surface and a rocky beach near the town. He holds the pearl to the light and delights in how it catches and refracts the sun onto his face.
Then he swallows it.
On a hike to his favorite reading spot by the shore, where the trees hang over the cliffs and you can catch a hint of the rose hip blossoms on the breeze, Billy Hargrove finds a beautiful man with no clothes and no memory. But when the man smiles at him, he knows. Somehow he knows that they have met before.
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