#not tagging other characters bc i know that like some people will read these headlines and think im an asshole

[hewantshisbrideback]

After years of living on the run under assumed identities and burying her past deep down where it couldn't be weaponized against her or her loved ones, her own name has grown near foreign to her. On the bright side, seeing as the press can't keep the name Princess Arya Stark out of their fucking mouths and off their fucking cover pages, the novelty will probably wear off in no time, she's sure.

A SONG OF INTERVIEWS AND FAKE NEWS: ARYA'S RETURN

[savrenim]

This is the second time I've found somebody who got into the mha fandom from Nov 5 within two days of each other, except yours is a reverse reaction XD That OP was someone who understood all the memes EXCEPT "what is a dabi and why is he touya" when Nov 5th first had Dabi trend above the election and all that happened, the rest of us were dying to know the confusion it caused to the non-mha fans and the poor twitter headline writer who had to wonder why a burnt anime boy was trending that day.

hello anon thank you for making my day other five asks below the cut bc this became a Long Post (ur right it's more.... I try to be as considerate as possible to other people on my dash so I've gotten into the habit of readmores for long posts?)

(2) So thank you for sharing your story, even in the form of an insane chunk of tags lol. Some fics updated before canon reveal actually contain crumbs of canon too just because the author goes back and edits it in, usually names since they can't change the entire fic of course. This is the case for Hawks's name, we used to call him "Takahiro Sora(ta)" after a fic first kickstarted the name. But shortened it because birb + sky. And hawk + word that sounds like "hero"

(3) In Dabi's case, it was whatever name related to spring or autumn the author could find, I've seen Haruka used once. (Because the Todoroki sibs are named after seasons, Touya and Shouto are too but vaguely and I forgot which is which.) Their tags are HUGE and I've read so many fics these past 4-5 years, I'll have to get back to you later because not only do I have so many deadlines, but also have to look through them all again 😭 Once you have canon sorted out, do u wanna hear fandom stories?

(4) You really had to go and choose the only two mha characters (Dabi and Hawks, Aizawa is fine) who caused an absolute RIOT in fandom. In so many ways, but we'll stick to one type for now. Dabi??? We been knew who he was, but it actually wasn't his backstory reveal trending that day, it was his name, which was also revealed 100 chapters ago! Just not connected to him. We got EVERYTHING wrong about his backstory, the single thing we got right was the method which was a beloved fandom dream.

(5) And even then some of the "method" caught us off guard, I won't spoil you but boy am I tempted to ramble cause these are all my favs too lol. Hawks? We got everything RIGHT. But in all the worst ways. Every crack theory we had became canon. Everything we thought about his backstory was severely understated or we were outright tricked into thinking it was something else because of how it was drawn. It does NOT help that these two aren't often written accurate and they LIE a lot. Good luck!

(6) Also I would love to know what your osmosis journey has taught you if you're willing to share, it's always funny I want to see if you fell for the same things we did or even the same things other osmosis readers fell for. It shows just how strong fanon becomes XD I could send a really long ask, but decided to send it in parts so you could hide it under a read more, since it looks like you don't like long posts. Also! I can find canon retellings, but how do you feel about canon set fic?

OKAY SO

funny story with (2) actually I have seen something like this happen in the star wars fandom, specifically with Dooku. I read several fics that referred to him as 'Yan Dooku' and there is so much spinoff material that, like, I went 'shrug even though this doesn't appear in the movies it might as well be true' bc it was in multiple fics. and then was brought up in question whether or not that Was His Actual Name and it had gotten into fandom osmosis enough that it made it onto a wiki page it took quite a while for me to convince myself that no.... no this wasn't actually Dooku's name...... canonically he only had one name...... someone had just picked it up and run with it..........

but that's so fun and funny I love it, good job fandom choosing names, that's great

I mean I Do Not Mind Spoilers, I'm already pretty spoiled for this thing and am only going to learn through fandom osmosis and love fandom stories so if you want to give me The True Story Of Trending/ Method, I would love that

also deeply amused that I picked the two most Fandom Rioting characters to love this is GREAT, I would absolutely love any set-in-canon fics mostly, like, 'alternate universe -- no quirks' doesn't interest me very much bc there's less grounding into the things that I find interesting in the setting, but otherwise p much anything goes

alright so the interesting thing with 'things I learned from osmosis' is that you need to understand that I started out this fandom reading a jjk crossover fic where My Fave Character Gojo Who Has Math Powers That Are Ridiculously Overpowered and this fic was 'Gojo Is Reincarnated As Dabi He Keeps His JJK Powers And Just Gets Dabi's Too And Decides Instead Of Being Responsible For The Whole World He'd Rather Just Fuck Around And Have Fun And Kind Of Accidentally Gets Labelled As A Supervillain For This And Doesn't Care And Is Also Adopting Half Of Class 1-A Bc The Teacher Instinct Never Goes Away' but it means that a whole bunch of things that were from the initial osmosis were like.... me knowing the character Gojo and assuming things were him and not BNHA; it took my a few chapters to figure out that Dabi was actually a character and not just the hero/villain name that they decided to give Gojo throwing him into the universe (and also that all the other characters who appeared were actual characters and not OCs)

but anyways some fun weird osmosis things

I at first thought that everywhere having star wars names was 100% just Gojo having fun naming places. the star wars names have come up enough that I'm pretty sure everywhere does have star wars names. this is so weird to me. like I guess if it's set on earth that's a historical reference not copyright infringement but W I L D

I've gotten used to gay canon pairings in a few things and I did legit think Aizawa and Present Mic were married for a little while. I think that's just a popular ship now but a person can dream

given other ridiculous parentage reveals (mostly Dabi) there are a number of fics where All For One is Izuku's father. I am now, like..... 65% convinced this is a fan theory but am leaving a 35% convinced this is canon

I figured out really quickly that Hawks/Dabi is a popular ship, which, like, good for them it's fun with their backstories but then exactly bc of the backstories and the ship, 100% assumed that 'Hawks goes undercover to try to infiltrate the League of Villains' was a contrived reason for them to interact. at this point I'm 95% sure that no that's an actual canon arc not just a fanfic thing

on the opposite end of the spectrum I am fairly sure that Dabi is not the lead singer of a mcr-style emo/punk/rock band but boy did y'all have me going for that one a lot

cannot tell how much the League of Villains are Misunderstood Poor Little Meow Meows who just want to Change Hero Society and Unfortunately Are Somewhat Willing To Murder To Get There and how much they are murdering psychopaths I think it's the latter but it's funny how many fics they seem a lot more willing to be chill in

also having a hard time telling who is currently dead or not as well as whether canon had a Nomu apocalypse arc and canon itself is now in some horrible everyone-barely-surviving setup or if things are more chill there but I hope y'all are having a good time wherever you are

those are most of the ones that I can think of, the rest of the osmosis has mostly been me picking up what the main events of the first few arcs are, general things about how quirks work, I'm fairly certain the reveal that One For All kills you/ages you at an accelerated rate came late enough bc there are a number of fics that are 'Izuku actually has a quirk!' that does not touch that angst at all but yeah out here having a good time mostly

[saelterlude]

i get nervous whenever my movie night buddy asks me is the movie i chose is gay bcs i dont know if the movie i chose is gay ive never watch it before and im not a review reader kinda person. i read content warnings bcs i know there are stuff my buddy doesnt wanna watch but i dont seek out lgbtqia+ content. i dont seek out romantic content in general and explicit sexual content makes me iffy.

but even if i have watched the movie or is familiar with the source material im just blind to romance in general. i wouldnt know if these characters have any romantic chemistry until its either specifically stated or i check out the fandom on ao3 and saw the tags and be like “oooh now that i think about it they do have chemistry”. i have a friend raving about her date for 30mins and i didnt catch the romantic connotations until 20mins in when she outright says the word boyfriend. i have a friend confess their crush on me (unknowingly, he thought i was asleep and i was only half-asleep) and i didnt realize what he meant until after graduation when another friend was like “why cant he confess when youre awake, then you can get your first dating experience”

(i feel really bad to any future significant other i might have. you really need to be explicit about your romantic intentions.)

also, im pretty sure im straying from topic now but same thing with fandom pushing the creator to confirm a ship, especially pushing that confirmation in-universe and not just irl. like i understand wanting representation and some actor claims in headlines or on twitter just arent enough representation but pushing it just make it seems too fast? like im probably not making sense. im not saying i wanted a slow burn or that fandom pushing kills slow burns. im just confused. do people actually fall in love that fast?? just ask a stranger you encounter in a coffee shop to go on a date?? do people actually experience love at first sight?? you just met each other 5 days ago and youre already attracted??

this is probably why i dont seek out romantic content. i know im not gonna relate im just gonna be confused so i just dont.

[toxicsamruby]

1/7 MM okay gotcha gotcha. I was thinking about this on a smaller scale, where i don't think discussing racism in supernatural should be "fun and interesting" (phrase you used in your original post that rubbed me the wrong way b/c [hot take] I don't think racist tropes reminiscent of the Birth of a Nation and the policing of poor black communities are fun and interesting. they're horrible. but, like you said, we shouldn't shy away from horrible things), but no yeah i get what you're saying about

2/7 people showing the same enthusiasm, willing participation, and depth when talking about this stuff as w/gender&sexuality. I agree with that AND it's important to keep in mind, especially with a fanbase that's largely white, whom these analyses are for and who is writing them (b/c a white person's racial reading isn't the same as a bipoc's). But, again, that's on the smaller scale, which appears to have more to do with personal accountability and discussion norms.

3/7 AND i also get what you're saying about using the entirety of supernatural to examine "american attitudes about the Other" and how that needs to be broken down in ethnic/racial/culture identities just as it is with queer indentities and yes i agree. as for the marketing/monetary engagement thing, i may have been speaking out of turn there because i don't know a ton about marketing or audience appeal and i also wasn't invested in all the spn meta/BTS stuff until recently.

4/7 what I said was purely my observations of the very specific 'spn renaissance' tumblr circle, which appeared different from the, say, twitter circles that pay for merch and whatnot (again, this may not be accurate, it's just from what i've seen). HOWEVER, that being said, if we're speaking specifically about the long-term, /larger/ cultural impact supernatural has, I 100% agree that it needs to be recognized and condemned as a racist and all-around patriarchal show. I did forget that spn made

5/7 so many headlines about both queerbaiting and having a queer character or whatever, and the same headlines need to be made about how it treats bipoc and other minorities. Although supernatural is a mess and considered cringey and a dead horse, it still holds a significant amount of power and (at least some) reputability in media. and this is all despite its misogyny and homophobia and cisheteronormativity (this is the case for so many shows, not just spn). I guess i was just concerned about

6/7 'ok, what if mainstream starts having these conversations about racism very specifically in a way that normalizes it and makes it seem hatecrime-but we'll-allow-it,' so now we have this monster of a show that KNOWS it's racist but doesn't really care. But it's equally as terrible to not point it out. But it doesn't matter anyways, because the show is over now, and it's not like they're gonna give reparations to the actors they killed and the people they hurt. your point about us having these

7/7 conversations (in a way that does not make it seem like like fun ideas to ponder over) being the only thing we CAN do to lessen the power the White Narrative of Supernatural (both meta and in-text) really resonates, and i hadn't thought of that but i totally agree. in other words lmao, fuck this show

yeah “fun” might’ve been the wrong word choice for all the reasons u gave i really didn’t mean to trivialize racism as a discussion and i see what u mean especially w how people have responded to the homophobia of supernatural me included like saying oh its homophobic but its funny so it’s fine and ur absolutely right that we Cant allow the discussion of race to go the same way (and honestly ur intuition was right bc in the tags of that post theres white people saying we SHOULD take it as lightly as the homophobia). so yeah the phrasing was my bad

but my general point stands. like i personally find it really fulfilling and interesting to talk abt how supernatural (and other fiction) replicates these american ideas about the Other bc supernatural is a FASCINATING microcosm of american culture (and of course in part bc i Am an american other)! and that post was mostly in response to how white fans seem to shy away from these extremely complex and interesting conversations bc they consider discussion of racism a chore like something they Have to do so they can say “it was bad that they killed off kevin tran. see i engaged critically! now back to the meta that relates to Me and My experiences”

and of course the analysis that becomes generally accepted and talked abt by fans shapes the actual presence of the show in pop culture. so we should do our best to write good and thoughtful and compassionate analysis of EVERY aspect of the text, especially one so deeply embedded as the race element.

basically yeah ur right and i think we pretty much agree. fuck this show! thank you for sending me these messages by the way im glad we could talk this out :)

[bangtan-sonyeonddaeng]

Pending Requests

Here is my list of pending requests! I will cross them off once they are completed and you can search my tumblr page for the tag “request” to see when it will be posted <3. I update this daily so if you don’t see yours here by the end of the day that means I didn’t get it. 

(after these are done I will be on an indefinite writing hiatus so I am not taking any new requests. Any that are sent to my inbox will be deleted)

Anon requested: I have a request idea, um,so in my native language when we want to say Oops we say Oppa 😂 so I've always wandered how the boys will react if reader makes any small mistake and says that around them (to add to the weirdness - she's older than some of them 😂) idk I think something funny may come out of this

Anon requested: If you're still doing requests, this one is a bit strange but I read your "when a pregnant fan attends their fan meet" reaction and I loved it, it was something different and I do like to read different things. So anyways, I wanted to know if you'd do a reaction to a fan going into labor and giving birth at a fan meet or concert. As I said, its a bit strange but its something that has never been done before and its something that I would like to see.

Anon requested: Can you do types of kisses with Yoongi too? ☺ If you're not too tired of the idea 😄 the Jimin one was sooooo cute 🥰

Anon requested: can i request a reaction post for BTS OT7 where the reader has a panic attack/emotional breakdown and his/her service dog notice it first before him and quick to calm the reader down and ask for the member’s help? so they both end up comforting the reader and just fluffy fluffy 🥺 thank you for your hard work and don’t overwork yourself!! love uu

Anon requested: a jk scenario where he has been distant and his female s/o feels like he might not love her anymore, so she "prepares" for the moment when he brakes up with her? A little angsty but with a happy ending 🥺 Its okay if you cant, dont worry 💕

Anon requesteD: So you know how some people find Tae intimidating? I believe it's bc he's so beautiful and, well, to me he looks perfect. So how about the reader feeling the same way? They think Tae is perfect and waay out of their league and act too shy around him. He finds out somehow and tries to change that bc he really likes them. Also, give them a happy end 😊💜

Onetwoyoongi requested: A reaction where the boys find out their s/o is a raver?? Like they're looking at future outfits or they buy new things for an upcoming rave plz and thank you!! I love ur reactions so much 💗

Anon requested: would you be able to write a BTS reaction to their crush being asexual and she's worried about starting a relationship with them, even though she also has a crush on them, because she thinks they would definitely want sex? (I used 'she' to make the request clearer but please feel free to use gender neutral pronouns!) 

Anon requested: where the reader like meets BTS but doesn't want to make a scene so just pretends everything's cool... totally forgetting they're wearing some merch? And then gets all flustered when called out playfully by a member bc they just didn't want to stress them out on downtime? I crave some cute platonic/friends BTS content please? 

Anon requested: Can you do prompts 23. “ You weren’t there... why weren’t you there?” 24.“I needed you! I needed you!” With Jimin with a happy ending bc We don’t like seeing Jiminie sad

Anon requested: Got7 Reaction request for you because they are barely requested ;-; Can you do a reaction where they have been kind of distant and their s/o thinks they don’t love them anymore? Thank youuuu :)

Anon requested: my job is sort of frowned upon by my friends for some reason. I’m a party princess where I dress up as a Disney character and surprise kids and all that. I was wondering if you could do a BTS reaction to their s/o being a party princess 

Anon requested: AU Jimin & female junior at college who has a huge crush on him like every other person😝(not for looks though) but she isn't taking to the idea of relationship for she is unexperienced & she is way too flustered around him to even look at him(Can't like for face if u don't look at it😝)She is perfectionist, dedicated student & likes the same about him. He feels she doesn't like him a lot as she communicates well with others.

Anon requested: I'd like to request for a prompt 37 with Tae~ If you are occupied with other stuff I'd understand. No issues~ Take care~

         prompt: “I want someone I can melt around. I want someone who melts around me too…I don’t want this standoffish, unromantic love that you’re offering. I want more than that.”

Anon requested:  a Drabble with Yoongi where he for once is the one to drag you of your room form working too much ? I’ve been up all nights these past weeks after getting this gig , too worried I’ll mess up & when I tried to confined , I got a quit or stop complaining as a response.

Rainyflowerruins requested: I wanted to ask for request BTS reactions when their s/o (who is also a popular idol) surprisingly comes to visit them after the concert while both of them are on tour. Thanks 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

anon requested: Can u do the types of kisses thing that u did for mark but this time with Jimin?

Anon requested: Could I request a bts reactions to someone who can shred a guitar? I have yet to see anything like that

Anon requested: Hey, I was wondering if I could get a wolf au! Where bts sees the reader in the woods and they'reb(bts) in a pack and you get scared because you think they're a real wolf pack that will eat you. I dunno if this is clear enough, but don't feel pressured to do this. Love your blog! 💜

Anon requested: 2 prompts: 74 & 1 with JK! (Atleast 74 if only one~) Could you keep the character as a nuna though for JK if possible. If requests are closed then np! Haha! Thanks again Katie! And take care okayy! 1. “Have you ever kissed anyone before?” 74. “I didn’t take you for the settling down type.”

Anon requested: A reaction for jhope with a s/o that has short/buzzed hair. 

Anon requested: Can u make a scenario for Jackson wang, where u want a second kid, but he’s scared to do it and get u pregnant because of ur experience with the first one (u were throwing up constantly, u were in pain all the time, u couldn’t sleep at night at all, some days u couldn’t walk etc.) thx!

Anon requested:  a oneshot with yoongi where he's a heir prince but he's tired of all his royalty responsibilities and just want to enjoy his youth as long he can. so one of his escapes from palace he finds reader who's a just commoner and following the cliche line yoongi gets enchanted for her. thank you ♥

Anon requested: a reaction where BTS’ female s/o keeps making headlines because she’s a wealthy and successful businesswoman/ceo that remains humble at all times? Thank you!

Anon requested: a request of BTS reaction to their relationship getting exposed by dispatch while they are on tour and their s/o is still in Korea? Thank you?

tata anon requested: Daechwita Yoongi AU: Peasant/lost heir yoongi is attempting to run his coup and gets captured and it seems like hes gonna die at the hands of his brother BUT he doesnt ofc you end up reunited 

[writingpcges]

— “now we all know she is not what you’d call touchy-feely. she doesn’t say I love you like a normal person. Instead, she’ll laugh, shake her head, give you a little smile and say, ‘you’re an idiot’. if she tells you you’re an idiot, you are a lucky man.” - how i met your mother

MANNERISMS:

What words or phrases do they overuse?

dude, man, COME ON, and my kid. 

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic?

she’s definitely a glass half empty kind of gal, but she owns it. 

What bad habits do they have?

pushing people away, using humour to deflect from feelings, chewing straws (which is why she won’t do metal), using her kid to get out of doing things, swearing at bad drivers, NOT RETURNING TEXTS.

What makes them laugh out loud?

animals videos and seeing people wipe out. also her kid is pretty funny.

How do they display affection?

doing things for people, giving them dumb nicknames, letting them into her space for any length of time -- she doesn’t do mush. 

Do they make snap judgements or take time to consider?

she’s typically pretty level headed about things, she’s got a kid and her decisions effect him so she likes to think things through but can be super impulsive when she’s pissed. which is why ollie’s dad isn’t in their life.

How do they react to praise?

depends on the day -- some days praise is weird and she doesn’t know how to take it, others she’ll be right there with you agreeing and pointing out her awesomeness. 

How do they react to criticism?

again, depends on the day and what is being criticized. she’s got pretty thick skin so criticism of most of her work (personal songs are another story!!) and her looks, but don’t make fun of her kid or she will destroy you.

What is their philosophy of life?

life’s too short to eat kale smoothies.

When was the last time they cried?

when she and ollie watched the movie frozen ii, and she would appreciate it very much if you didn’t bring it up tyvm!! 

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

eh, she’s pretty great, nothing to change!! 

What is their obsession?

she was pretty into game of thrones until they messed up the last season. 

What are their pet peeves?

honestly? soooo manny!! those moms that are like obsessed with their kids and have zero life outside of them especially grind her gears. 

FRIENDS&FAMILY:

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of?

it’s not huge but it’s not tiny either and consists of her mom ( martha ), two older brothers ( jason and robert) and her son ( oliver ). her father ( frank ) left when she was pretty young so we don’t talk about him and her baby daddy was never given the chance to be one so he’s not really family. 

What is their perception of family?

eh? she loves hers best from a distance. she gets along with her brothers fine but even as adults they are liable to wind up in a wrestling match if left alone too long. her mom comes to visit two weeks a year and it is both the best and worst time of the year. 

Do they have siblings? Older or younger?

two older brothers. 

Describe their best friend.

cool enough to put up with her bullshit, caring enough to call her out on it. 

Do they have any pets?

turtle and a hamster. but both are technically ollies. 

PAST&FUTURE:

What was your character like as a teen?

sarcastic but loveable, super passionate about music and her boyfriend. 

Did they grow up rich or poor?

lower middle class, mom never let them know they weren’t rich but they didn’t go on family vacations or anything. 

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected?

nurtured, martha allen is mom goals, just don’t tell her aves said so. 

What is their greatest achievement?

cheesy as it sounds, her kid. but hearing her music on the radio is a close second. 

What was their first kiss like?

awkward, way too much tongue. 

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved?

she robbed ollie of a dad, and she does kind of hate herself for it. 

What are their ambitions?

she doesn’t really have any. successfully raise an independent adult?

What advice would they give their younger self?

men ain’t shit. 

What smells remind them of their childhood?

beeferoni. 

What was their childhood ambition?

to be joni mitchell or maybe gwen stefani.

What does their five-year plan look like?

keep her kid alive.

LOVE:

Do they believe in love at first sight?

no. not even a little. she’s not even sure she believes in romantic love anymore. 

Are they in a relationship? Are they in love?

no, most of her relationships end when her partner realizes it’s not going anywhere bc she refuses to introduce them to her kid. 

How do they behave in a relationship?

very casual, sexy meetings at their place and then sneaking home before ollie’s up. 

When did your character last have sex?

maybe a month ago? she’s getting pretty grumpy about it. 

Has your character ever been in love?

totally, but she won’t admit it. 

Have they ever had their heart broken?

1000%, but again good luck getting it out of her. 

Are they crushing on anyone now? Tag them!

pls, crushes are for the weak but she wouldn’t mind someone hitting her up. 

WORK&LIFE:

What is their current job?

songwriter. 

What do they think about their current job?

pretty okay, maybe not a great as headlining somewhere, but it allows her to be with her kid and is creatively satisfying. 

What are some of their past jobs?

she worked at a call centre and was shit, scooped ice cream in high schoool.

What are their hobbies?

watching tv, drinking wine, babysitting dylan. @sonderbound​

Educational background?

college. 

Do they have a natural talent for something?

singing, beer pong. 

Do they play a sport? Are they any good?

sports suck, but she did pretend to play soccer once to impress her kid. it didn’t go great. 

MISC:

What is in their fridge?

leftovers, mostly take out but she does make some stuff! ollie’s favorite lunch meat, four half used bottles of ketchup. 

What is on their bedside table?

a book she’s not reading a probably never will, the pair of glasses she’s in denial about needing. 

What kinda car do they drive, and is their car messy or clean?

something cheap and practical, and it’s always got wraps and cd cases scattered in the backseat. 

Do they carry a purse? What is in their purse or wallet?

depends on the outfit, but not if she can help it. everything she needs is in her wallet - debit card, about 20 rewards cards, a picture of her kid. 

What is in their pockets?

her hand, probably. 

What is their most treasured possession?

signed iron maden album. 

[jlf23tumble]

Hey Jen! Happy Birthday first of all!! As my favourite TXF-era Louis hate-watcher/enthusiast/scholar (and one of my all-round absolute fave bloggers) I 1) would love to hear your thoughts on his post-TXF comments and 2) Remember when there was this nice nerdy boy auditioning on XF? Simon said he lacked personality, but Louis defended him passionately saying that just bc he wasn't the bad boy Simon was looking for didn't mean he didn't have any personality. And then fast forward to... 1/2

Louis’ interview with Satan Cowell’s #1 provider of anal unguent… his answer about having been a “party boy” was so interesting to me. He seemed uncomfortable and said “yeah there’s a responsibility at both ends, to be good and also to be a little bit bad, a little bit mischievous sometimes”. Super interesting choice of words… “a responsibility”. And DW, transparent as always “that’s what we want from our rock stars”. Mmh. What Simon wants for sure. 2/2

——–

Hey, thanks for the birthday wishes!! I’ve had a few (got drunk on you, etc.), so I’m gonna try and answer this, but if it comes off as incoherent, let’s all just blame sweet lady vino. As you (correctly!) suggest, I’m so here for all XFUK talk, and I’m curious to hear more about Louis’s experiences on the show as we get deeper into promo that neatly swerves Louis’s personal life. Olivia got some GREAT INTEL from him, but he’s hinted in previous interviews about being nervous or having to be a certain “character,” and a LOT of it is tied in to this Sun-perspective, which is more or less run by the people running Simon (I don’t like to give him coded language because that gives him more attention and power, like we’re watching a shitty soap villain, when in reality, he’s a sad, vain little man whose “empire” is imploding faster than his cheap tit job). Make no mistake, XFUK was a calculated risk to salvage Louis’s rep in the UK (the demo that engages with it is the demo that reads the Sun, and he’s been trashed there for years), but it WORKED, and part of that is Louis’s natural charm, but it’s also down to the edit, both on screen and in print. And Louis knows it, calls it out with Wootton, the whole thing about the responsibility, as you say, but also that most of those shit articles are Dan’s work (just like Niall hinted at, with pretty much the same smirk). They all know it’s part of the game, but it does do some damage, and he’s in damage control mode…seemingly, everyone’s on board with it, but the shrapnel (at least in print) is Zayn, and that’s because Louis didn’t throw Harry under the bus like he was supposed to (Dan needed a headline about someone Louis hates in the band, so he took Louis’s sad resignation about Z and puffed it up because there’s literally nothing there about H…and don’t even get me started on the whole “party boy” image and who it was originally intended for). I have so many thoughts on all of it, but you have to watch everything to talk about it, and I’m not here to engage with anyone who hasn’t. I’m drunk enough to share some of my random unpopular onions, so here you go, in one go:

El’s definitely “vital” for selling an album about long-term love for an artist who’s closeted, and she’s the best fit for it (they get along, they’re coworkers, “she’s” been there through all the ups and downs, so get ready for those long-term love songs because they ain’t about her)

bg won’t end anytime soon, so if you’re one of those who’s constantly screaming ‘end it’ in tags, you’re only upsetting yourself (I think it WILL end eventually, but with a whimper, and trying to push for a scream is not worth your own personal angst)

That said, look at the negative space here, there’s less and less and less talk about him having a son, seeing him with a son, but he can still talk about his “boy” and do all kinds of other things that play with that narrative subversively (is it his bf, his son, his brother? an emotion? we’ll never know)

Simon has an outdated idea of what “sells” for rockstars, but so does Irving Azoff (Louis’s media rollout with his team is on POINT, and it hits all platforms, but he still has to deal with shit related to the Sun, Metro, etc.; the Azoffs are notoriously not plugged into SM, they use print like Billboard and a fairly outmoded form of non-print pub PR, but Harry has a lot of charm that bleeds out into OTHER PEOPLE’S SM…oh, and p.s., he STILL has to deal with the Sun, Metro, etc. from time to time)

But this is why Louis’s current media push is so GOOD, you don’t even know…all platforms, all of the biggest ones, there’s a strategic plan here, please stop pretending like you have this more figured out than they do, my god, he has GOT THIS

XFUK was an intentional move to repair tab damage in the UK, and it worked (it was fucking SMART, and he smashed it, so much damage was repaired, and on an actual schedule)

I don’t know any BTS arrangements (before you @ me, let me stop you right there, neither do you), but clearly, more than one party/contract is at play here, and you really should do yourself the favor of listening to ALL OF IT, because he drops hints all over the place (that Olivia interview alone had so much happening that wasn’t excerpted or giffed)

There’s a very real possibility that Louis and Harry don’t WANT to come out because of the invasive interest in their lives, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! But it might also explain when things appear that aren’t aimed at the gp

Argh, I’m rambling, and this is getting too long/too boring, but yeah, I’m probably drunkenly blanking on even more fantastic thoughtsTM, but XFUK was a game changer in a lot of ways, for everyone involved.