#What the actual fuck is wrong with people to think that it is in anyway ok
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you really have to be fucking stupid to believe the nonsense about "Israel is waiting til big events to do big attacks"
First of all: they are committing massive murder constantly every day. Not even just since October but for decades.
Second: none of the big events people claim match up are things that actually hide that? You're just making stupid excuses to cover for countries that don't care anyway. About whole populations that have never cared about Palestinian suffering and Israeli crimes.
But most especially it's galling to see people try to claim the fucking met gala as a "big event" that would drown out war. The fucking local fundraising event that doesn't even get live TV or streaming coverage.
Because it's run by the Vogue fashion magazine by and for the fashion community in general, and to fund the Metropolitan Museum Of Arts' ongoing upkeep of fashion and clothing material exhibits in general, and to provide primary funding for the latest yearly fashion exhibition it immediately precedes.
It's something the vast majority of New Yorkers, let alone the vast majority of Americans, let alone the vast majority of the world doesn't care about. When you declare the stupid event as necessary to hide yet another daily Israeli crime, you're basically revealing you don't actually think of the reality of the ongoing genocide, or have any touch with your own national reality.
But hey the same people saying this shit didn't start pretending to care until 6 months ago. Could never be me, my rabbi grandfather taught us that what Israel was already doing was evil and we should support our Palestinian brothers and sisters and oppose further restrictions and encroachment on their land, lives, and existence. So I already was aware of this shit, of how zionism is at best harmful by accident and most of the time harmful on purpose by like 1999.
Just, when I see people convinced that their favorite little internet day must be a smokescreen for an attack it's like. How are you this unserious as a person? What went wrong with your perception of world events that you have to qanon your way into believing niche events are being used as cover? It's frankly treating real life genocide like it's part of a fucking ARG.
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I’m useless for much else (covid!) so I transcripted the video linked in the PinkNews article that’s been circulating today where David Tennant talks about trans issues.
Transcript of video below:
Attendee: Your career’s been my special interest for 4 years now.
DT: Wow.
Attendee: Umm so I didn’t grow up with Doctor Who cause I’m from the Netherlands and we don’t have like [?] so I got into it later and it really helped me through a tough time. Um, and you know, I’ve named myself Alonso after it.
DT: Yeah, brilliant!
Attendee: Um, anyway, I wanted to ask about like, maybe, your relationship with like, umm, gender, like, expression, like, masculinity and femininity, cause I always noticed like, even before you and Georgia became more vocal about trans rights that you were always like, not afraid to show like, femininity, and that inspires me to embrace it too, though I’m a bit traumatized by it cause I’m trans, um I wonder like, how has that changed over the years, if changed at all, cause I remember also reading something about like you in the 90s also being like, not afraid to be called gay or something.
[Inaudible other attendee, briefly]
Attendee: And that as well so like, I wonder now in this environment with more trans allyship and stuff, like has that for you personally changed at all?
DT: I don’t know that it’s changed as much as I — I’ve hopefully learned as that — as that community has found ways of defining itself, and, and has provided a sort of — You know, when I was a kid, the idea of, of being nonbinary wasn’t something that existed, it wasn’t a concept. Uh, and and, I’ve seen that emerge and people are able to express themselves through that and that only ever seems positive, as far as I can see. And I think that, that, the kind of weaponization of trans rights, gay rights — Actually, well actually, when I was a teenager, I remember gay rights being weaponized politically. And that always felt ugly. And nasty. And now, we look back on that 30 years later, and those people are clearly on the wrong side of history. And now, there’s a sort of similar weaponization of these topics being taken by mostly the right wing, or a certain section of society at least, trying to create friction, and conflict, and division where it needn’t be. Where — it’s just about people being themselves and not, you know, you don’t — you don’t need to be bothered about it! Fuck off and let people be! (Audience laughter) And that, that a bit, that’s — (audience claps) You know, it’s that sense of just wanting people to be allowed to exist. And I think that there, you know, that there are now ways of expressing gender, identity, sexuality, that are more nuanced than they once were, and that only seems to be positive. If that helps people know who they are and say who they are and communicate to the world who they are. So that, that’s my sense [inaudible, about 4 words] you know, where — it’s just common sense, really. And, and uh, I think there’s a really ugly, uhh, use of uh, uh, of these — Some people are being very, emm — what am I trying to say? (Audience laughter) (video ends)
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it's also not lost on me that the people acting like those who don't care about bucktommy want buck to never have been with another man, are now turning around and saying that eddie should be alone for the rest of his life if he doesn't end up with buck...just say you hate characters of color if they don't exist to serve as props for the pretty white boy and go lol
I mean, literally, people don't even want Eddie to have loved his wife because that would make it so he didn't always exist for Buck. If he's not a prop on Buck's story, he's nothing for some people and that's very telling. Buck needs to fuck all of LA but Eddie needs to be the sad widower forever. Just say you hate Eddie and only shipped buddie because it was the only option and go.
But, anon, darling, since I'm going controversial right now because I don't give a fuck anymore and I'm just tired, I'm gonna use this to say my most controversial Buck/Eddie thought ever. I think narratively, you can introduce a love interest for Eddie, man or woman, that would be a satisfying endgame relationship for him in a way you can't do with Buck. Obviously, it wouldn't be as satisfying as if he ends up with Buck, I think that buddie is the natural progression of the narrative for both Buck and Eddie. And I desperately want that payoff. That being said, considering the way that what stops Eddie from pursuing actual happiness in a romantic relationship is pretty much his status as a widower, the way he can't let go of what he thinks he could've had with Shannon if he had made different choices, and this idea of what he needs to provide in a relationship that goes against what he actually needs, to have him realize that and meet someone who helps him be happy that he is alive again could work. To suddenly give him that spark he keeps saying he wants and let him settle into it could work. It would have to be constructed carefully, but it can be constructed. Buck on the other hand, his endgame relationship needs a level of construction that would take an amount of work the show just doesn't have the time to build anymore. Unless the show is gonna have 20 seasons and give grey's anatomy a run for its money. Because considering the way Buck keeps letting himself be chased because he wants stability but he's too scared to actually do something about it and end up making the wrong choice, he needs a friends to lovers arc for it to be satisfying. Buck needs that initial level of partnership outside of the physical connection before he gets into a romantic relationship in my opinion. Even more considering Buck's relationship with sex, his own body, his sense of self worth, I think he needs someone who will see him fully before wanting to add romance into it and that's Eddie. They don't have the time to introduce someone who will take this spot in Buck's life and have it naturally progress into something romantic because that spot is already filled. Buck has been consistently shown as someone who jumps into the physical aspect of a relationship first, from groovyheels to Tommy, so I think that the only relationship that would feel truly satisfying for Buck to end up in, is one with someone who loved him without the physical first. And that's always gonna be Eddie. There's no way to add a second best friend for Buck at this point of the show. So someone else is never gonna live up to this need Buck has to be understood beyond what he can offer. To be loved anyway. For Buck it's always gonna be Eddie. But I think Eddie could learn to be loved by someone else if the show really wanted to keep them apart. I don't want it to happen, I want both of them together, I think it's the best ending for the story they are telling, but in a reality where buddie is not on the table, I think it makes more sense for Buck to end up alone than Eddie. It would be tragic. But it would make more sense than Buck with whoever and Eddie alone.
And also the people who want Eddie to be alone need to go. Along with the people who want Eddie to die so that bt can raise Chris. Along with the people who think Eddie is a prop on Buck's story. Along with the people who can't seem to see Eddie beyond what he can offer Buck. Along with everyone who can't seem to understand Eddie is also a main character. Anyone who doesn't see Eddie as his own character needs to go.
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Hi yes, first-time caller, long-time listener: what is the hamster discourse?
Oh god. Okay, tagging in @infiniteeight8 to fill in the details I can't recall as I learned about it from her.
So, in Fortnite, they introduced a little hamster dude, and people started shipping him with, like, a gorilla dude or something. I can't recall, and I have no idea how to even begin to search for details.
Anyway, people shipping hamster dude and the other guy. They're both totally sentient and what have you. But then some people start getting worried that it's WRONG to ship a sentient hamster with whatever the big dude is because ACTUAL hamsters can only live to the age of 3. So, this animated sentient hamster in a fighting game can't provide proper consent to the other dude.
Which then led other people to argue that NO ONE KNOWS how long THIS hamster lives because it's not a real hamster, and then other people started arguing that if a hamster is elderly at 3, then age of consent on a hamster--based on human standards--would be like somewhere in the first few months, so it's fine if the sentient hamster fucks the other guy because he's probably like one or something.
And somewhere, deep in the depths of all of this, people were shouting "It's a fucking video game that does not involve any real sentient animals, what is wrong with you people."
And I believe my response when Inf relayed this to me in the car one comic con weekend (as we were driving way the fuck far away from where we would usually be--I just recall exactly the on-ramp we were taking to get on the highway as I was fucking crying laughing, and it's not near our place or the convention center. Anyway. Not important.) was "So, they're worried the hamster can't consent, but people writing two species fucking was fine?"
And I forget what Inf's answer was, but there may have been another faction who was angry at people writing sentient animals fucking at all.
Anyway, this is the first thing I always think about when I see any age/purity wank on fictional characters, and by the way, the hamster looks like this:
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Staticmoth argument scenario as usual because they're in love but awful people
Vox had been staying out at night to work on a new project pulling all nighters for at least a week now and he was exhausted, he thought he knew a way to cheer himself up and finally get some sleep: Valentino. He actually came home tonight and Valentino was watching his latest work on TV as he often does, he's very proud of his work despite Velvette and Vox not wanting to see it in the living room 24/7, or ever. When the moth demon heard the door he peeked over the couch with an antenna twitch to see who, hoping it was finally Vox, it was. It was a late hour but Valentino doesn't usually sleep at night from being nocturnal, he'll sleep on occasion if it's after sex or forcing Vox to sleep by making a makeshift wing straightjacket. Vox flopped onto the couch beside Valentino, laying on his back across his long legs, "You would not believe the day I had" small talk seemed to be a good way to go about this he figured, he would never just straight out ask 'want to have sex?' that's Val's job. Valentino cupped his face with a hand while another laid across his chest "My poor baby, it's a shame you do it to yourself"
Vox rolled his eyes ignoring the comment before continuing "I missed you" Valentino couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this, of course he missed Vox, he was pissed off at him for neglecting him so long, past the point of trying to seduce him for attention, that's how pissed he was. "Yeah?" He doesn't deserve to hear it in return he decides, bitter. The media demon didn't expect to hear it back anyway but it still kind of stung, finally he sits up despite how comfy that position was, he always found Valentino's lap a nice comforting pillow. "You deserve attention even if you didn't miss me, is there anything I can do for you baby?" The TV host was really hoping sweet talk would get his 'business partner' out of this mood he seemed to have right now, sometimes it does, it's 50/50.
"You mean what I can do for you? You're not the top here" he stated matter of fact, causing Vox to blush a little in embarrassment and gesture dramatically "I would be more often if you'd let me! I could do that for you if you want? Think of it as an apology" Valentino could almost laugh at that, instead he pretends to ponder it "Hm.. No." Vox figured Val was just rejecting him wanting to be a top so he sighs , "Fine, okay, you can use me to feel good instead then, how's that sound?" He was almost certain the phrasing would make Valentino extremely interested, he's into that shit. But for whatever reason that shocked the overlord, Valentino rejected it all together "I don't want to have sex."
Vox's eyes widened a little, Valentino probably has never said that sentence before in his life "Oh- that's fine- Are you not feeling good or..? You don't smell like alcohol so I didn't think it was an issue to offer, you don't seem high either, or at least not past the normal amount" Valentino glared "You have such an ego you think I have to be sick not to want to fuck you?" Usually in their arguments they've both done something, but Val hasn't done anything wrong for once, Vox doesn't think he has either, right? He's starting to question it finally. "What? No, I was just checking-" he didn't like the way he stammered.
The much taller demon scooted away "You leave me alone for an entire week and the first thing you do when you're back is offer sex. What? You only want me when it's convenient? I bet this is just a stress relief, I'm not your fucking stress ball" Wait Valentino feels that way-? Vox was now panicking, it did cross his mind Valentino might be guilt tripping, but he felt guilty just for thinking that. "Val, no, I only offered because you like sex, I was busy, I didn't leave you alone on purpose, and you weren't alone, you had your workers, I didn't even think you would notice" that sounds indicative of a deeper issue. Valentino huffed, getting a little angrier, which was a little better than that calm tone since it's more familiar. "Of course I noticed, I noticed you didn't want me"
Vox decided to try physical comfort since he's awful with words, he leaned forward so his hand could reach his cheek. "I *never* don't want you, get that in your head, I said I missed you and I meant it." Valentino switches up so fast, because now he was lowering his antennas "really?" He still seemed a little skeptical but that's better. Vox nodded quickly and he leaned into his touch, he missed it. "Then show me you want me, I changed my mind" Vox felt a little awkward about this considering his heart rate when up with all that guilt but he assumed kissing Val would fix that so he did.
They proceeded to that for several hours, Vox was so exhausted by the end he passed out laying on Valentino's chest and neck fluff as a pillow. Thank God Valentino's wings cover or when Velvette walked by in the morning she would be more traumatized than usual considering they're still on the couch. As much as she wanted to bitch about the couch she also was glad Vox was finally sleeping so she left it be. When they finally woke up Vox lazily asked a "are you feeling better? Not mad?" Valentino reached around for his glasses because of the blinding windows but mumbled a "Better"
Vox was quiet for a minute, maybe Valentino would be too asleep to process "I'm sorry" it was a numble too, normally he'd just buy him something but it felt needed after that conversation yesterday. Valentino blinked a little, processing, before pushing Vox off of him to get up, unforgiving and cold despite the night "Then don't do it again."
#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel valentino#hazbin hotel vox#staticmoth#hazbin hotel velvette#hazbin hotel the vees#hazbin hotel fanfiction
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worst thing about the saiki k fandom is that most people who comment on saiki k content on SPECIFICALLY TIKTOK but anywhere tbh, you can sooo easily tell that they only watched the first season of the show because the rest wasnt dubbed..
"saiki never said oh wow to teruhashi it was his illusion but it was actually toritsuka😒" please watch the second season. (also when people acknowledge that he said it to her but say that it "made them mad" and that the show was "trying to set them up together even though it would never work" like okay i guess you WATCHED it but you sure as hell were not paying attention..)
"isnt that saikis brother ?? *about akechi*" please die.
"saiki x coffee jelly only. *ON EVERY SHIP VIDEO*" STOP COMMENTING THIS NO ONE CARES MAKE YOUR OWN CONTENT.
"he wouldnt be hanging out with them willingly, he hates them... *about any of his friends but usually teruhashi or nendo*" YOU DID NOT WATCH THE SHOW.
"teruhashi and yumehara are pick me girls.." youre either 12 years old, just plain misogynistic, or didnt watch the show. or all three!
#somehow they all know who aiura is anyway like wtf#why do they know her but nothing else about the rest of the show#same people that outwardly deny saikis crush on satou because they think hes 'aplatonic aromantic asexual'#have your headcanons thats fine but holy fuck yall will go to such lengths to deny whats actually happening in front of you#i was just looking at videos for examples of this and i saw so many awful things#saw someone deny that saiki even had PLATONIC love for satou because he 'isnt capable of love' please what the fuck is wrong with you#saiki k#tdlosk#the disastrous life of saiki k.#saiki kusuo#meows post#meownalysis
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rick riordan dickriders on here will be like "why are you complaining about the pjo tv show, go watch the movies and see what a bad adaptation really looks like" ok well listen to the musical watch it on youtube and see what a good adaptation looks like bitch. it can be done. as a fucking stage musical. what did that 15 million per episode do for disney that chris mccarell couldn't
#this is such a mean post from someone who does genuinely like the show I'm sorry#like there are aspects I really love!! and aspects I really don't!! which makes it mid for me#but I do genuinely like it overall. at least enough to continue watching#it's just that I see sooooo many people who seem to have this attitude like you can't critique it at all??#and their arguments are usually just. “movies were worse” (so we'll take anything now as long as it's not that?)#or “rick was involved in the writing” (<- NOTTT guaranteed to be a good thing lmao)#anyway it's pissing me off. I'm gonna bitch. “if you like the books so much read the books” I WAS PROMISED A BOOK ADAPTATION#AM I WRONG FOR COMPLAINING WHEN I DON'T GET WHAT I WAS PROMISED#“oh but changes are okay as long as it preserves the spirit of the books” since when was the *spirit* of the books a FUCKING BORE🤨#also the cast doesn't deserve this. stick leah and aryan and walker in a better show#pjo#pjo tv show#pjo disney+#percy jackson#percy jackon and the olympians#the lightning thief musical#anyway all this to say some of the changes and choices are Actually Bad and it won't kill you to admit that I think#rereading this post in the drafts and editing before posting when I was handwringing about how mean it was bitch this is mild
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okay i'm gonna say something and you all have to give me a chance. ready?
we need to stop making fun of poor american southerners who distrust the government. it's real easy to call them all conspiracy theorists and dismiss them, but half the time, its built off of a genuine feeling of being abandoned by the infrastructure meant to keep them safe.
in appalachia, a lot of people lost their homes because of coal mining operations. a lot of people worked in those mines, and then when the mines stopped being profitable, they got tossed out with the bathwater. a lot of appalachia is poor, malnourished, and i don't blame them for not trusting rich politicians who dismiss them as stupid and lower class.
if yall actually listened to half the things poor southerners say, you'd realize that a Lot of common leftist complaints are virtually identical to the rural grandma who doesn't hold with electronic money and politicians. it stems from a genuine feeling of abandonment and ostracization by the people who run the country. functionally, someone living paycheck to paycheck in the city in a tiny apartment has infinitely more in common with someone from rural appalachia than a politician. high rent, high taxes, food insecurity, feeling lied to by those in power, a general sense of frustration. it just sounds fancier coming from a city mouth than one with shitty teeth and a southern accent.
tl;dr stop dismissing southern people as stupid. they're absolutely right not to wholeheartedly trust politicians, because they've been fucked over by them time and time again, and honestly, id rather talk to a southern person who openly distrusts their representatives than someone from the city who wholeheartedly believes that Frederick Jamestown OldMoney III genuinely cares what people think and can be convinced to change his ways.
#appalachia#gettin real tired of this#hot take: southerners were right when they said never trust a politician theyre the devil#its easy to laugh but jesus christ are they wrong??#those in power rarely came to power through just means#there i rephrased it fancy will you listen now#jesus christ#some people genuinely were never taught the fancy words to make people pay attention so you have to pay attention anyway#please note that i didnt mention race because thats an intersection im not qualified to talk about and would very much like to hear about#but jesus christ. have you all considered that maybe. just maybe#southerners arent stupid. trump was fucked up and awful and a piece of shit#he won because he at least Appeared to be sympathetic#leftists so so rarely try to actually understand poor people they dont like and its gonna be what fucks this country over#edit: hey terfs reblogging this 👋#fuck right off unless youre prepared to include trans people in this statement#poor trans southerners exist!! i know an awful lot of them!!#im trans and southern and if you touch my post you acknowledge that trans people are breathing thinking people#with our own rational thoughts and opinions and live complex lives and face similar issues
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actually it's kind of funny how people will say Alex's fatal flaw is that he 'doesn't ask for help' and that it's his determination to handle things on his own that leads to his deterioration and eventual death when his whole introduction to the present-day timeline was a very literal cry for help that simply went ignored
#N posts stuff#like even if you think alex was lying throughout the entirety of season 2 and he was waiting from the Moment jay showed up#JUST to kill him (Which again i don't think makes much sense when he could have killed Tim & Jay immediately instead of#breaking Tim's leg. anyway) EVEN IF alex spent that whole time lying it doesn't actually change the fact that he would have at least#been Pretending to Ask For Help and if he wasn't lying then he was Literally Asking For Help and it doesn't Actually matter#what intention Alex had because the text is Ambiguous about Alex's honesty during season two; what isn't ambiguous is the way#other characters (specifically Jay) respond to him; like yeah - S2 Brian/Tim were never in one million years going to help Alex with shit#so sort of any argument that brings up Tim as someone who asks for/offers help is borderline meaningless in this era of the series#Jay had the 'opportunity' to help Alex (and i'll get back to that in a sec) but DIDN'T - Jay wasn't Interested in actually offering Alex#'help' bc Jay is ultimately curious about Answers and 'Offering Help' and 'Getting Answers' are two Wildly conflicting goals#Jay thinks Alex has answers and when Alex doesn't Offer these 'Answers' to Jay on a silver platter Jay gets pissed off and paranoid#and starts Stalking Alex bc he thinks it's 'Suspicious' that Alex won't give him the Answers (that Alex probably doesn't Actually have)#ANYWAY. ultimately this post is about how it's absurd when people argue#that individual character choices could have made a difference in the way this series played out - specifically wrt Alex#because EVERYONE in this WHOLE series are being affected by influences outside of their control ; including Brian Tim and Jay#so it's silly when people are like 'if ALEX had just made a different choice For Himself this could have all been avoided' WRONG.#bc Ultimately there's not really a way to 'help' someone else out of this situation - Tim tried and failed Repeatedly#the comics proved he even failed with Jessica - like MH isn't a horror situation where you can kill the big bad#'getting help' is a meaningless argument - what would successfully helping or getting help even look like? anyway.#the sub argument of this post is that Alex's biggest 'sin' is that he doesn't perform emotions the way other people want him to#like Alex is a character with a kind of flat affect - instead of LOOKING scared or grieved he LOOKS bored or angry#and everyone judges him based on that - so Alex is 'Suspicious' he's 'Lying' he's 'Guilty' but all of these deductions are predicated#on the belief that Alex isn't reacting to his circumstances the way a 'Normal' person would - so it MUST all be an act and so he's guilty#so everyone treats him like he's guilty until the end of season two when he's like 'Fuck it FINE i'll be guilty then' and so it goes#not a self-fulfilled prophecy but being Cornered Into a prophecy and then Blamed for it - SAD. anyway
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Spider-Man India, but... where from India?
A SUPER long post featuring talks of: cultural identity, characterisation, the caste system, and what makes Spider-Man Spider-Man.
I’m prefacing this by saying that I am a second-generation immigrant. I was born in Australia, but my cultural background is from South India. My experiences with what it means to be “Indian” is going to be very different from the experiences of those who are born and brought up in India.
If you, reader, want to add anything, please reblog and add your thoughts. This is meant to be a post open for discussion — the more interaction we get, the better we become aware of these nuances.
So I made this poll asking folks to pick a region of India where I would draw Pavitr Prabhakar in their cultural wear. This idea had been on my mind for a long while now, as I had been inspired by Annie Hazarika’s Northeastern Spidey artwork in the wake of ATSV’s release, but never got the time to actually do it until now. I wanted to get a little interactive and made the poll so I could have people choose which of the different regions — North, Northeast, Central, East, West, South — to do first.
The outcome was not what I expected. As you can see, out of 83 votes:
THE RESULTS
South India takes up almost half of all votes (44.6%), followed by Northeast and Central (both 14.5%) and then East (13.3%). In all my life growing up, support towards or even just the awareness of South India was pretty low. Despite this being a very contained poll, why would nearly half of all voters pick South India in favour of other popular choices like Central or North India?
Then I thought about the layout of the poll: Title, Options, Context.
Title: "Tell us who you want to see…"
Options: North, Northeast, Central, East, West, South
Context: I want to make art of the boy again
At first I thought: ah geez. this is my fault. I didn't make the poll clear enough. do they think I want them to figure out where Pavitr came from? That's not what I wanted, maybe I should have added the context before the options.
Then I thought: ah geez. is it my fault for people not reading the entire damn thing before clicking a button? That's pretty stupid.
But regardless, the thought did prompt a line of thinking I know many of us desi folk have been considering since Spider-Man India was first conceived — or, at least, since the announcement that he was going to appear in ATSV. Hell, even I thought of it:
Where did Spider-Man India come from?
FROM A CULTURALLY DIVERSE INDIA
As we know, India is so culturally diverse, and no doubt ATSV creators had to take that into account. Because the ORIGINAL Spider-Man India came from Mumbai — most likely because Mumbai and Manhattan both started with the same letter.
But going beyond that, it’s also because Mumbai is one of the most recognisable cities in India - it’s also known as Bombay. It’s where Bollywood films are shot. It’s where superstar Hindi actors and actresses show up. Mumbai is synonymous with India in that regard, because the easiest way Western countries can interact with Indian culture is through BOLLYWOOD, through HINDI FILMS, through MUMBAI. Suddenly, India is Mumbai, India is a Hindi-only country, India is just this isolated thing we see through an infinitely narrow lens.
We’ve gotten a little better in recent years, but boy I will tell you how uncomfortable I’ve gotten when people (yes, even desi people) come up to me and tell me, Oh, you’re Indian right? Can you speak Hindi? Why don’t you speak Hindi? You’re not Indian if you don’t speak Hindi, that’s India’s national language!
I have been — still am — so afraid of telling people that I don’t speak Hindi, that I’m Tamil, that I don’t care that Hindi is India’s “national” language (it’s an administrative language, Kavin, get your fucking facts right). It’s weird, it’s isolating, and it has made me feel like I wasn’t “Indian” enough to be accepted into the group of “Indian” people.
So I am thankful that ATSV went out of their way to integrate as much variety of Indian culture into the Mumbattan sequence. Maybe that way, the younger generation of desi folk won’t feel so isolated, and that younger Western people will be more open to learning about all these cultural differences within such a vast country.
BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SPIDER-MAN INDIA?
Everything, actually. There’s a thing called supremacy. You might have heard of it. We all engaged with it at some point, and if you are Indian, no matter where you live, it is inescapable.
It happens the moment you are born — who your family is, where you are born, the language you speak, the colour of your skin; these will be bound to you for life, and it is nigh impossible to break down the stereotypes associated with them.
Certain ethnic groups will be more favourable than others (Centrals, and thus their cultures, will always be favoured over than Souths, as an example) and the same can be said for social groups (Brahmins are more likely to secure influential roles in politics or other areas like priesthood, while the lowers castes, especially Dalits, aren’t even given the decency of respect). Don’t even get me started on colourism, where obviously those of fairer skin will win the lottery while those of darker skin aren’t given the time of day. It’s even worse when morality ties into it — “lighter skinned Indians, like Brahmins, embody good qualities like justice and wisdom”, “dark skinned Indians are cunning and poor, they are untrustworthy”. It’s fucking nuts.
This means, of course, you have a billion people trying to make themselves heard in a system that tries to crush everyone who is not privileged. It only makes sense that people want to elevate themselves and break free from a society that refuses to acknowledge them. These frustrations manifest outwardly, like in protests, but other times — most times — it goes unheard, quietly shaping your way of life, your way of thinking. It becomes a fundamental part of you, and it can go unacknowledged for generations.
So when you have a character like Pavitr Prabhakar enter the scene, people immediately latch onto him and start asking questions many Western audiences don’t even consider. Who is he? What food does he eat? What does he do on Fridays? What’s his family like, his community? All these questions pop up, because, amidst all this turmoil going on in the background, you want a mainstream popular character to be like you, who knows your way of life so intimately, that he may as well be a part of your community.
BUT THAT'S THE THING — HE'S FICTIONAL
I am guilty of this. In fact, I’ve flaunted in numerous posts how I think he’s the perfect Tamil boy, how he dances bharatanatyam, how he does all these Tamil things that no one will understand except myself. All these niche things that only I, and maybe a few others, will understand.
I’ve seen other people do it, too. I’ve seen people geek out over his dark brown skin, his kalari dhoti, how he fights so effortlessly in the kalaripayattu martial arts style. I’ve seen people write him as Malayali, as Hindi, as every kind of Indian person imaginable.
I’ve also seen him be written where he’s subjected to typical Indian and broader Asian stereotypes. You know the ones I’m so fond of calling out. The thing is, I’ve seen so much of Pavitr being presented in so many different ways, and I worry how the rest of the desi folk will take it.
You finally have a character who could be you, but now he’s someone else’s plaything. Your entire life is shaped by what you can and can’t do simply because you were born to an Indian family, and here’s the one person who could represent you now at the mercy of someone else’s whims. He’s off living a life that is so distant from yours, you can hardly recognise him.
It shouldn’t hurt as much as it does, yeah? But, again, you’re looking at it from that infinitely narrow lens Westerners use to look at India from Bollywood.
AND PAVITR PRABHAKAR DOESN'T LIVE IN INDIA
He lives in Mumbattan. He lives in a made-up, fictional world that doesn’t follow the way of life of our world. He lives in a city where Mumbai and Manhattan got fucking squashed together. There are so many memes about colonialism right there. Mumbattan isn’t real! Spider-Man India isn’t real!! He’s just a dude!! The logic of our world doesn’t apply to him!!!
“But his surname originates from ______” okay but does that matter?
“But he’s wearing a kalari dhoti so surely he’s ______” okay but does that matter?
“But his skin colour is darker so he must be ______” okay but does that matter?
“But he lives in Mumbai so he must be ______” okay but does that matter?
I sound insensitive and brash and annoying and it looks like I’m yapping just for the sake of riling you up, so direct that little burst of anger you got there at me, and keep reading.
Listen. I’m going to ask you a question that I’ve asked myself a million times over. I want you to answer honestly. I want you to ask this question to yourself and answer honestly:
Are you trying to convince me on who Pavitr Prabhakar should be?
...
but why shouldn't i?
I’ll tell you this again — I did the same thing. You’re not at fault for this, but I want you to just...have a little think over. Just a little moment of self-reflection, to think about why you are so intent on boxing this guy.
It took me a while to reorganise my thinking and how to best approach a character like Pavitr, so I will give you all the time you need as well as a little springboard to focus your thoughts on.
SPIDER-MAN (INDIA) IS JUST A MASK
“What I like about the costume is that anybody reading Spider-Man in any part of the world can imagine that they themselves are under the costume. And that’s a good thing.”
Stan Lee said that. Remember how he was so intent on making sure that everybody got the idea that Spider-Man as an entity is fundamentally broken without Peter Parker there to put on the suit and save the day? That ultimately it was the person beneath the mask, no matter who they were, that mattered most?
Spider-Man India is no less different. You can argue with me that Peter Parker!Spidey is supposed to represent working class struggles in the face of leering corporate entities who endanger the regular folk like us, and so Pavitr Prabhakar should also function the same way. Pavitr should also be a working class guy of this specific social standing fighting people of this other social standing.
But that takes away the authenticity of Spider-Man India. Looking at him through the Peter Parker lens forces you to look at him through the Western lens, and it significantly lessens what you can do with the character — suddenly, it’s a fight to be heard, to be seen, to be recognised. It’s yelling over each other that Pavitr Prabhakar is this ethnicity, is that caste, this or that, this or that, this or that.
There’s a reason why he’s called Spider-Man India, infuriatingly vague as it is. And that’s the point — the vagueness of his identity fulfils Lee’s purpose for a character that could theoretically be embodied by anyone. If he had been called “Spider-Man Mumbai”, you cut out a majority of the population (and in capitalist terms, you cut out a good chunk of the market).
And in the case of Spider-Man India? Whew — you’ve got about a billion people imagining a billion different versions of him.
Whoever you are, whatever you see in Pavitr, that is what is personal to you, and there is nothing wrong with that, and I will not fault you for it. I will not fault you for saying Pavitr is from Central due to the origins of his last name. I also will not fault you for saying Pavitr is from South due to him practising kalaripayattu. I also will not fault you for saying he is not Hindu. I also will not fault you for saying he is a particular ethnicity without any proof.
What I will fault you for is trying to convince me and the others around you that Pavitr Prabhakar should be this particular ethnicity/have this cultural background because of some specific reason. I literally don’t care and it is fundamentally going against his character, going against the “anyone can wear the mask” sentiment of Spider-Man. By doing this, you are strengthening the walls that first divided us. You’re feeding the stratification and segmentation of our cultures — something that is actually not present in the fictional world of Mumbattan.
Like I said before: Mumbattan isn’t real, so the divides between ethnicities and cultural backgrounds are practically nonexistent. The best thing is that it is visually there for all to see. My favourite piece of evidence is this:
It’s a marquee for a cinema in the Mumbattan sequence, in the “Quick tour: this is where the traffic is” section. It has four titles; the first three are written in Hindi. The fourth title is written in Tamil. You go to Mumbai and you won’t see a single shred of Tamil there, much less any other South Indian language. Seeing this for the first time, you know what went through my head?
Wow, the numerous cultures of India are so intermingled here in Mumbattan! Everyone and everything is welcome!
I was happy, not just because of Tamil representation, but because of the fact that the plethora of Indian cultures are showcased coexisting in such a short sequence. This is India embracing all the little parts that make up its grander identity. This scene literally opened my eyes seeing such beauty in all the diverse cultures thriving together. In a place where language and cultural backgrounds blend so easily, each one complementing one another.
It is so easy to believe that, from this colourful palette of a setting, Pavitr Prabhakar truly is Spider-Man India, no matter where he comes from.
It’s easy to believe that Pavitr can come from any part of India, and I won’t call you out if the origin you have for him is different from the origin I have. You don’t need to stake out territory and stand your ground — you’re entitled to that opinion, and I respect it. In fact, I encourage it!!!
Because there’s only so much you can show in a ten minute segment of a film about a country that has such a vast history and even greater number of cultures. I want to see all of it — I want him to be a Malayali boy, a Hindi boy, a Bengali boy, a Telugu boy, an Urdu boy, whatever!! I want you to write him or draw him immersed in your culture, so that I can see the beauty of your background, the wonderful little things that make your culture unique and different from mine!
And, as many friends have said, it’s so common for Indian folks to be migrating around within our own country. A person with a Maharashtrian surname might end up living in Punjab, and no one really minds that. I’m actually from Karnataka, my family speaks Kannada, but somewhere down the line my ancestors moved to Tamil Nadu and settled down and lived very fulfilling lives. So I don’t actually have the “pure Tamil” upbringing, contrary to popular belief; I’ve gotten a mix of both Kannada and Tamil lifestyles, and it’s made my life that much richer.
So it’s common for people to “not” look like their surname, if that’s what you’re really afraid about. In fact, it just adds to that layer of nuance, that even despite these rigid identities between ethnicities we as Indian people still intermingle with one another, bringing slivers of our cultures to share with others. Pavitr could just as well have been born in one state and moved around the country, and he happens to live in Mumbattan now. It’s entirely possible and there’s nothing to disprove that.
We don’t need to clamber over one another declaring that only one ethnicity is the “right” ethnicity, because, again, you will be looking at Pavitr and the rest of India in that narrow Western lens — a country with such rich cultural variety reduced to a homogenous restrictive way of life.
THE POLL: REINTERPRETED
This whole thing started because I was wondering why my little poll was so skewed — I thought people assumed I was asking them where he came from, then paired his physical appearance with the most logical options available. I thought it was my fault, that I had somehow influenced this outcome without knowing.
Truth is, I will never really know. But I will be thankful for it, because it gave me the opportunity to finally broach this topic, something that many of us desi folk are hesitant to talk about. I hope you have learned something from this, whether you are desi or a casual Spider-Man fan or someone who just so happened to stumble upon this.
So just…be a little more open. Recognise that India, like many many countries and nations, is made up of a plethora of smaller cultures. And remember, if you’re trying to convince Pavitr that he’s a particular ethnicity, he’s going to wave his hand at you and say, “Ha, me? No, I’m one of the people that live here in the best Indian city! I’m Spider-Man India, dost!”
(Regardless, he still considers you a friend, because to him, the people matter more to him than you trying to box him into something he’s not.)
#long post + more tags that kinda spiral away BUT expand on the points above AND kinda puts everything together concisely#BROS THIS IS AN HONEST TO GOD ESSAY#THAT HAS BEEN COOKING IN MY HEART FOR A WHILE NOW. SIMMERING FOR MONTHS BEFORE FINALLY BOILING OVER IN THE LAST WEEK#genuinely hope you read MOST of it because yes it has Quite A Lot Of Exposition but it all matters nonetheless#put in a lot of thought into this so i expect you to do your part and challenge your thoughts as well#you see how i'm not asking for you to listen to me. but to actually Think. i want you to cook your thoughts and add some spice and flavour#and give it a good mix so you can come out of this a little more wiser than before#because!!! yeah!!!! spider man india is just that!! he's indian!!!!! we don't need to collectively agree on where he comes from#bc it gets rid of that relatability factor of spider man. at the most basic level#think of it as a schrodinger's. he is every single culture and none of them at the same time. therefore none of us are wrong!! sick!!!!#pavitr's first priority is making sure HIS PEOPLE are safe. that's probably as far as we can go that relates him back to peter parker spide#he loves his people and working in the name of justice to FIGHT for HIS PEOPLE is just the duty/responsibility he takes up#it makes sense that he loves everyone and every culture he engages with bc that's the nature of spider man i suppose#if peter parker spidey acts as the guardian for the regular folk.. then in my mind pavitr spidey stands as the bridge uniting the people#because society as its core is very fragmented. and having pavitr act as a connection to other folks.... mmmmm beautiful#that's what i'm talking abouttttt !!!#anyways guys this is literally 3001 words on my document EXCLUDING THE TITLE. THAT'S 7 PAGES AT 11pt FONT. i'm literally cryingggg wtf#pavitr prabhakar#spider man#spider man india#desi#desiblr#atsv#across the spiderverse#atsv pavitr#indian culture#india#desi tumblr#what the fuck do i tag this as#agnirambles
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realizing im kind of a weirdo about laios and marcille
#possramble#ignore this im just babbling but#the thing is that like. i don't ship laios and marcille together. their relationship is so so important to me in that laios comphets himsel#and THINKS that he might be in love with her but he isn't and that's my insane obsession#platonic soulmates for real but they're so sweet together that i fully expect them to be shipped together#like i get it. that's almost the appeal for me. if dungeon meshi were any other series there'd be an epilogue where they get married#convention dictates that they're meant to be together as the male protagonist and his beloved female deuteragonist#but dungeon meshi DOESNT do that and i love it so fucking much they're the comphet besties ever for my strange little brain#like if i ever did an arranged marriage au it would absolutely be laios and marcille having a platonic political marriage and then just#the most insane mutual pining with marcille and falin while laios and marcille struggle their way into becoming best friends#the imagery of the king and his beautiful court mage being tender to each other and everyone thinking they're in love is like catnip to me#like yeah they'd be like that and have no idea people think they should be together and the subversion makes me so obsessed#the more people ship them romantically. the more i enjoy their platonic dynamic it's like some sort of weird comphet fetishism idk#people think they're in love and im outside the window like YES... YES!!!#but also the second i see stuff of them kissing on the mouth or fucking im like oh god no i went too deep in here i gotta get out#don't wanna see that. i'll go feral over the idea of laios and marcille being arm-in-arm like king and queen but they would not fuck.#i want marcille to be his default comphet beard and dance partner/plus one at official royal events but they're not kissing.#she's there on his arm because he's scared of the other noble women tryna get him and being a baby about it#and people see them muttering to each other and laughing and generally being very sweet and think that they're dating but they're not.#she's actually covered in hickies from falin underneath her dress and is gonna get dragon dicked right after the party is over#like she's in her bedroom and falin's helping her take her ridiculous dress off while listening to her complain about politics#and falin is the person she goes home to the person she falls asleep to and wakes up with#they're a triad of utter devotion to each other but only farcille's side of the triangle is romantic#it's almost like an open secret because they're not trying to hide it at all but people assume and are surprised to find out#like people are so right about her relationship with the toudens but with the siblings' roles switched#love of her life & irreplaceable life companion. does anyone get it#anyway. i don't know what's wrong with me#it bothers me that they're not the undisputed most popular het ship for marcille on ao3#it's unnatural. marcille being paired with any other man should be a fringe case.
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WTFFF I thought thirteen would be my new girl crush love of my life heart eyes wife you-came-after-twelve-you-must-be-better-than-they're-all-saying bbygirl and then I had to sit down and watch as she told a man who (if he were not a murderer, of course) literally every regeneration before her would've LOVED and FULLY SUPPORTED that "the systems aren't the problem. how people use and exploit the system, that's the problem. people like you" </33333 !?!?
#WHERE IS THAT POST THAT SAID NINE WOULD KILL THIRTEEN FOR BEING A CLASS TRAITOR#WHY WOULD YOU SAY “ERODE PEOPLE'S TRUST IN AUTOMATION” ALL WORRIED AND CONCERNED LIKE THAT???#WHEN DID YOU START LIKING AUTOMATION OVER PEOPLE THINKING AND DOING THINGS FOR THEMSELVES???#AND WHY ARE YOU TRAVELING WITH A COPPER??? WE HATE COPPERS??????#did we FORGET into the dalek?? how about how he treated danny?? god there's so much more I can't even remember off the top of my head#(I understand soldiers are different from cops but c'mon don't even PRETEND twelve would've been any nicer if blue or danny were just COPS)#also a bit off topic bUT MAY I JUST TALK ABOUT ARACHNIDS IN THE UK FOR HALF A GODAMNED SECOND—#I know the companions are usually the ones to do the doctor's dirty work here but like#I just can't see the other doctors NOT having the business man lure the spider for being so fuckin annoying about it#like I was genuinely surprised when they had him do that whole song and dance about not doing it and then he actually just. didn't do it#the doctor LOVES fucking with evil rich business men this is PERFECT. plus why not get back at him for being awful to their companions?#absolutely gobsmacked thirteen let him act like that. I am wrong in thinking that the others would've shut his shit down a LOT quicker??#anyways. I love jodie whittaker and it's just so upsetting to have her doctor do something so wildly off#THIRTEEN PLEASE I HAD SUCH FAITH IN YOUUU I WAS IGNORING THE HATERS AND FOR WHAT#I can SEE the other doctors in her still I can FEEL them they're there she's doing an AMAZING job but. oh my god. what did they make her do#I can't even say she feels ooc as a whole because jodie is bloody brilliant. it's just these... moments. that don't make ANY sense to me...#especially coming off of twelve?? I get the radical personality switch but that belief is a core part of the doctor. or at least I THOUGHT#thirteenth doctor#doctor who#I still love all of you who love her and reading ur posts/fics but I. will not be making any myself. I do not think.
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#csa warning for tags#ughhh ik i was just talking abt this but man. Man. constantly bullied as a child + raped as a child is a brutal combo huh#completely irreversibly fucked up sense of intimacy. i dont want to have sex with anyone i dont care what ppl think of me looks wise but i#also care more than anything and want people to want me so bad#like when ur only experience with anyone at all finding you desirable is being raped at 6ish. fucks u up man#was constantly told by everyone i knew that i was undesirable from day fucking one. i was always the one ppl would dare their friends to#'ask out' bc everyone thought i was that bad. i never had those rumours of 'some boy likes you' without people laughing in the background#all of my friends. even the ones that were also weird kids and bullied etc etc always have stories of other kids having crushes on them or#whatever. and i just never had that. it feels like i missed out on something important#i want to be pursued by a guy i hate i want them to not leave me alone. i want to feel like im in danger. and i know how fucking disgusting#that is but i cant help it. like i feel like thats the only way im going to feel normal and wanted like theres not something inherently#wrong with me. and i know how dangerous that is but its not like it matters anyways bc still no one likes me at all.#and i know how stupid of a thing it is to obsess over like what am i 9 years old? but i just cant get it out of my head#like idk i feel like the only way im going to actually feel desirable at all is if someone tries to rape me again. or if i feel like i have#to worry about someone raping me again. i know i wouldnt feel that way if someone was like. nice about it.#bc if someone genuinely liked me and was a decent human being about it i wouldnt be able to see it as anything other than faking it for pit#i wouldnt be able to believe it. even if i wasnt waiting for them to drop the joke and start laughing at me i would always think it was jus#an act bc they feel bad for me. the only way i could ever think it's genuine and that i'm desirable at all is if someone sexually#harassed me. like idk how to explain it but thats the only way i could feel desirable at all#bc it's the only way i've ever been desirable. when i was a kid.#and it terrifies me so bad bc i know how fucking disgusting that is and how self destructive it is#but i still feel like i dont even have to really worry about being assaulted. bc i still believe im completely undesirable at my core.#i dont believe i could be desired so i dont believe i have to worry about being raped. bc no one would want to anyways#rambles#vent
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the idea of a Gayest Player In The NHL bracket at all is already in poor taste to some degree bc i get everyone loves to make the “they’re so gay for each other fr” jokes but the condition of the actual league and its actions right now is like. you do understand why calling these people Gay Icons (Positive) for funny haha jokes is just. at best inappropriate timing, yes? but the idea of literally including one of the guys who got pride nights cancelled with his homophobia is just. can we take a minute to realize that hockey fandom doesn’t take place in a void completely unconnected to reality and see that this is just. a Really Bad Look. at best.
#gav gab#saw someone reblog the actual bracket intro post with among other things#‘mom come pick me up they’re calling tseguin a gay icon in 2023’ and like#LMFAO. YEAH. FOR REAL. YOUVE SEEN WHAT HE SAID ABOUT THE SEDINS YES?#anyways get outta here with that shit#people have gotten real confident with the ‘they’re about to fuck at centre ice’ thing and saying hockey is a Super Gay Sport#which is a fun joke to make with your friends online ig#as annoying as i find it generally#but you do understand this isn’t real yes#and i know the bracket is not making claims about reality#but what it IS doing is including players like eric fucking staal#in a bracket for Gayest NHL Player#and the real life actions of staal actively make the sport unsafe for queer athletes and queer fans#stop mistaking jokes about hockey players fucking each other or writing rpf about that as any kind of activism#or any kind of actual reflection of the nhl#how do you think this is an appropriate thing to do for so many reasons lmao how are you including some of these guys on this#even before you get into some of the other insane behaviour going on in this bracket existing#‘I didn’t pick the contestants!’ you did you. you’re in charge.#‘just hope they get voted out’ don’t include them at all what’s wrong with you#why do bracket creators always act like it’s some kind of mandatory moral imperative they include every single thing nominated/voted in#you have agency here lmao. use it. fucking spineless.#rpf for ts#adjacent enough anyway#homophobia cw#why would you do this#lmfao the brief scroll of that blog i took the amount of ‘propaganda’ that’s just ‘this guy has friends’#wild. genuinely wild.#one request id like to make to the liveblogs this year too on a vaguely tangentially related note is#reign in your blatant and unrepentant amatonormativity please#from your local aro
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*clenched fists, head on the table, white knuckled, seething, hyperventilating, visible veins showing, sweating, about to burst into tears, shaking violently, going to explode*
it's.... spelled........ JON.............. arbuckle........
#how i actually feel when i see someone spell jon arbuckle's name as ''john'' for the 574867347th time /j#jon arbuckle#garfield#shitpost#i find it interesting how many people spell his name with a H though#like i get that john is the more common spelling but also it was never written or spelled that way in any garf media#it's more common with people who haven't read garfield which is understandable actually#this post is a joke i don't actually get mad when people spell his name with a H#it's just like... you know that feeling you get when you really REALLY want to correct someone on a piece of info you know they got wrong?#yeah it's that#i'm very passionate about garfield if you couldn't tell lol#i guess there's just so much misinfo about garfield that it gets kinda exhausting#like i've heard a couple people say that garfield was made during WW2???#and when i first heard that i was like ''????? literally no it wasn't???''#like i mean this in the most polite way but What The Actual Fuck Are You Talking About#omg that's like that andrew garfield tweet i hate so much. you know the one that says that garfield was created by his granddad-#-about his cat who was named 'lasagna'? i hate that tweet with every fiber of my being there's SO MUCH wrong about it it's not even funny#i think that tweet is actually satire though but honestly it's so hard to tell what's satire and what isn't anymore#anyway. jon is spelled jon not john have a good day :)
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okay listen neil newbon would absolutely deserve to win best performance for astarion at the game awards and I’m going to applaud if and when he does. however. if devora wilde isn’t at least NOMINATED alongside him you can all expect me to make some angry posts about it.
#sorry if you didn’t like lae’zel (wrong opinion) but devora fucking KILLED that role. went into the woods and wrestled it into submission.#she sawed off its head and put it on a pike next to her tent.#they both gave incredible performances but i think lae’zel was a tougher role than astarion#because nobody pries at lae’zel. you have to tell a story with her to people who aren’t really interested in working for it#and so all those little mannerisms that make her feel really alive become much more important#the actual text of the dialogue can’t do as much heavy lifting because there just isn’t as much of it#so SO much of her character really comes from devora#while astarion’s chattiness means our impression of him comes much more evenly split from his writer and actor#who both did fantastic jobs!! again bg3 is an abundance of riches when it comes to exceptional performances#and I’m not even TOUCHING wyll or gale yet. OR AMELIA TYLER who honestly will probably be neil’s biggest competition before devora is#but anyways. expect Posts. You’ll get them.#although on second though. seeing what the internet did to laura bailey … maybe we Should let a guy take this one.#Rhi talks#ok to rb
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