You cannot live your life in fear, or you will forsake the best parts of it.
THE EYE CONTACT !!@! HIS HANDS !!! THIS SCENE !?@??@ I MIGHT BE HAVING A HEART ATTACK
Okay but the bit that drove me completely iNSANE was the fact that DAEMON HELD RHAENYRA'S HAND. Throughout their little adventure, he always reached for her and she always took his hand.
AND THEN THAT LITTLE SMIRK HE HAD WHEN SHE WAS SO IMPATIENT AND SHE KEPT TRYING TO KISS HIM AND DAEMON WAS HOLDING BACK AND HE KNEW HE HAD TO STOP BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO AND IT TOOK HIM SO MUCH EFFORT AND LIKE I JUST -
GAH. THESE TWO ARE DRIVING ME FUCKING INSANE.
ALSO THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE WAS JUST ??? SO PERFECT??? AND THE WAY HE CROWDED HER AGAINST THAT WALL??? AND THE FOREHEAD TOUCHES??? AND THE BREATHING EACH OTHER IN??? AND THE EYE CONTACT?!?!????!?!!!!
AND OHMYGOD I THINK I'M HAVING A STROKE?!?!?!???
I’ve noticed a shift in fandom over the years, where “critiquing the show/movie/book you love” now means “announcing which parts are problematic and making people feel bad for liking them” whereas older fans usually see critiquing as “analyzing the flaws in the writing/direction/animation that bring down this media as a whole, and figuring out what could be done to make it better.” But fandom is so feelings-centric now that when old fans try to engage in old fashioned criticism — what used to be the BACKBONE of fandom conversations — they get called toxic. It used to just be … what fans did when we got together. We’d discuss why this episode of SGA was poorly written when last week’s episode rocked, or why this Star Trek novel is a must-read and this one should be skipped. It’s just odd to me that fans who try to engage in this common fandom activity now are frequently censured for it.
It's because fiction is equivocated with reality nowadays. If you like a "problematic" piece of fiction, that means you yourself are "problematic" and need to be called out. It's black and while purity culture thinking.
I criticize almost every piece of media I consume and acknowledge there are "problematic" parts to it, but that doesn't make me a bad person for liking it. EVERY piece of fiction has problematic stuff in it, that's just how fiction written by people WORKS. I still enjoy the things I criticize, and I don't see the things I dislike as something to be policed, just something to be discussed about and aware of.
It's part of this whole effort to equivocate the fiction one enjoys with their real life moral character. But that's the thing--the fiction you enjoy has NOTHING to do with whether you're a good person. I tend to love villainous characters, that doesn't mean I now advocate for murder!
Real life and fiction are NOT the same thing, and what you enjoy consuming does not reflect on your personal moral character. And people need to stop policing what others are and are not "allowed" to enjoy.
When I criticize things, I'm not making a moral statement on the people who enjoy those things. I'm simply discussing that piece of media and the implications of its themes and messaging. I'm also not saying it's wrong to enjoy that piece of media, far from it--if I'm criticizing it, that probably means I enjoyed it enough myself to care about what messages its sending and analyze it to that extent. People are perfectly capable of simultaneously enjoying and criticizing the media they consume. It's not a moral statement on the media itself and the people who like it.
Seconded! Criticizing things is something us writers do, and sometimes it’s straight-up impossible not to do. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve let some “pizza stories” (not deep, but enjoyable) into my diet because sometimes I just want to watch something…and enjoy it!
Anyway. All of what you said is accurate.
Tom Riddle thinks himself a sadist. He's actually a brat "handler" with a penchant for swotty bookworms.
To the inconsiderate arseholes that have apparently found out Chris’s address in Massachusetts...
DO NOT POST IT AT ALL.
This is no joke. Chris has every right to be safe and secure in his own home. As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, this is a place that gives him great comfort and happiness that he really loves and needs. How would you feel if people, complete strangers and stalkers found out your address? And then leaked it? It’s against the law.
Also his good friend Chadwick Boseman (May He Rest in Power) has passed away from aggressive cancer after keeping it secret since 2016. Chris will be grieving and in mourning over the loss of Chadwick, not just his colleague but friend too. As a sensitive and emotional guy, Chris will be taking this hard. This is another reason why we need to respect his privacy and needs.
Nobody knows what is going on in people’s lives and please respect Chris’s right to privacy and do not in any way release his address.
ben--solos