au

not so active after all

[plumebeat]

The swords kissed and sprang apart and kissed again [...] steel rang, steel sang, steel screamed and sparked and scraped [...] A red flower blossomed [...] "Come on, come on, my sweetling, the music’s still playing. Might I have this dance, my lady?”

Jaime III, A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin

[supermodernizar]

[deadmegumi]

Most successful aura farm in the whole books #tome

[spaceorphan18]

Okay. We need to talk about this because moment. Not in a show context (it is a beautiful and wonderful moment for the character, and I'm saving that discussion for later...) but in a fandom context. Because I think it perfectly encapsulates something that I think maybe other fans and other parts of fandom don't necessarily understand when it comes to Pen (and Colin and Polin).

Penelope has never been the cool character. She's awkward, and shy, and has faults, and doesn't always make the right choice. She's kind of a weirdo, and says the wrong thing at the wrong time, and gets easily excited and stressed and embarrassed.

Colin has never been a cool character, either. He makes ridiculous jokes based on puns, and gives silly faces, and contemplates blades of grass. He's odd in his attempts at flirting, cries when he's upset, and delights in talking about cheese with his brother-in-laws.

Polin isn't the cool ship. Saphne, Kathany, and even Benophie are cool. Saphne has a certain grace and prestige about them. Kathany is hot and smoldering. Benophie is lustful and sexy.

And Polin, at their core, is still this ::

And you know what -- it's why we love them. A lot of people look at them and are like, ew, gross. They don't fit whatever the 'cool' or 'hot' ideal is for these romance shows. Which.... leads me to the photos above - of Penelope looking at herself in the mirror.

Other fans, other fandoms, they see the girl on the left and don't get it. Don't think that girl can be sexy or should be loved or whatever it is they think is the problem.

Polins look at the girl on the left and see that's who Penelope is. And even if she changes to the one on the right, we still love her. Still love who she was and who she is.

And I think it speaks to who people in fandom are, too. Polins - a lot of Polins - are the girl on left. Or we have been, even if we moved over to being the girl on the right. We're dorky and weird and easily excitable. We create things and make Polin weeks, and do art as Polin imagined as bunnies, and write fic putting them in every scenario imaginable. We make silly jokes and spend months photoshopping a single photo of a baby into ninteen-hundred photosets. We do what fandoms usually do and fandom.

And I feel like sometimes some of these other subsets get so caught up on the image problem -- on whether it's telling the correct kind of story, or what people look like, or how many hits some hot take is going to get you on a social media platform. And instead of curating a space for themselves, instead of allowing themselves to just forget being cool for a moment, they wallow in false competitions and get caught up in superficial arguments.

And, I mean, not every trope is going to hit the same way. We all love different things, and that's fine. It's okay to like other ships (or multiple ships, believe it or not, I do actually like the other ships on this show). And it's okay to be upset at times when the writing or production gets frustrating. I'm not saying that it isn't. And I'm not saying Polins are perfect (we're not - and we got some issues, too, believe me).

But Polins embrace fandom in a way that I don't think the others do. And maybe it's because we embrace being that girl on the left as well as knowing we're also the girl on the right, and that it's okay to be uncool as long as we're ourselves.

[rapunzellovesbooks]

This had me laughing for ten minutes.

[chantenhalf]

"Because I said so" straight up isn't as good an answer as you think it is.

[bumblebeeglass]

Regarding Bridgerton s4 and what they decided to do with LW

I have been getting weird vibes for a while now regarding how they will treat Polin and Pen and I hate I’m proven right now after s4 aired

So Polin as a ship and Pen/LW as a character are very popular in the show and I have been feeling that Shonda, Jess and production hate that in a sense that yes they were happy s3 was successful but they didn’t want them to be popular and they resented how Penelope especially became really extremely popular as Penelope and as LW, so they decided to strip her of her main thing her voice & identity and pretty much erase her arc and polin arc & to push Nicola and Luke out of the show, I know Jess said they will have cameo in Eloise’s season at least but she also been very disrespectful towards how she talked about them as a ship and as individual characters which in a way disrespectful towards Luke and Nicola too Production and show runners love to hailed as the most important and the reason of anything successful but they can’t take credit for polin and LW because it was Nicola and Luke who made the ship and characters popular through all past years, so how Jess deal with it, is by erasing Pen arc as individual character and in the same way it also erase Polin arc as a couple. The way Jess talked about Polin is that they don’t have any use in the show anymore and how LW is her ( Jess ) now and not belong to JQ the original author nor belong to Penelope & Nicola which like I said the wording is disrespectful in general

I was a kpop fan for 8 years and I have seen the same pattern before and I have seen in in relation to other shows as well, but to explain bringing up kpop is kpop companies brag when a song, album or a group are successful but at same time they sabotage the groups and idols so they don’t get too successful and to keep needing them and if they leave said company they push for a narrative that no, that idol isn’t successful anymore nor will be ever successful again because the success was because of the company not the idols talent themselves

Bridgerton has done this before with s1&2 leads before especially RJB and JB, so aside from racism Rege faced and how he felt his character will be reduced to a cameo so he wouldn’t be needed so he didn’t renew, there was a push in a narrative that he ruined his career and that he will never be successful again and even tho he is pretty much booked and busy till this day, the narrative stuck. When wicked got released Shondaland released a weird article at how that yeah “JB is in wicked but it was Bridgerton who gave him popularity and made him” the whole article had a weird tone and to sum it up it basically took credit for JB’s career. It’s a repeated pattern now, whenever a cast member tries to do more for their career besides the show and the more their character gets popular, the production tries to claim that the popularity and success is because of them and imply that they are the sole reason for that success

So back about LW in s4, technically like in the book she retires and becomes a novelist and fans wanted that and they do throw it in in s4, but what created issue is that the moment Penelope find peace and have comfort in her own voice, they took her identity, her arc and her voice from her to strip her from all of that which here is the problem

I hate that what I felt ended up being true because I have felt that would happen but I kept hoping that I was just overthinking things. All I will say is that LW is part of Penelope and Penelope is the only LW & this all turning Bridgerton into regency PLL is ridiculous

I wish Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton the best and success in their other projects and I hope they know that fans love them and how they deserved better. They brought Polin as a couple and individually to life. I hope they work together in another project in future because they have good dynamics and chemistry. Again wish them the best in their future projects and I hope they find big success in future endeavors

[stellaluna33]

We want Flawed Female Characters! No, not THOSE flaws. 😕 Those aren't sexy, COOL flaws. You know, the ones that I don't think actually SHOULD be considered flaws, that I might even feel personally judged for. The "unjustly martyred by the court of public opinion" kind of flaws. So like a "flawed" woman who's actually kind of a Saint in a way. I didn't want, like, FLAW flaws. What she did was WRONG and that makes her a BAD PERSON, and how can you justify that? If you still like her after what she did, that makes YOU a Bad Person too. Ugh, disgusting. 😕 But anyway, WHY isn't anyone writing flawed female characters?

[ataraxetta]

DID YOU KNOW that sometimes characters lie. out loud to others and internally to themselves, and it'll happen right there on the page. other times they are just flat out wrong and don't know it. oftentimes they don't ever find that out. a sizable portion of any story is decidedly not cold hard fact.

[rottentiger-art]

It seems the Bridgerton competitiveness does not spare babas 🤧

References:

[lapelduide]

not the baby having beef with luke lol

LOOK AT THAT SIDE EYE😭😭😭

we are NOT seeing polin's baby being held by his father anytime soon and i fear we can't blame production in this lmao

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

MAY YOU NEVER LOSE YOUR HYPERFIXATION

[amazingtoysandgifts]

sorry to my bloodline but its over

[nattawins]

Do you want one? It’s my last one. Well… I don’t smoke.

[kdrama-boyfriend-club]

everything about this scene is perfect. the pacing, music, tension.. you feel yourself being seduced while watching the two of them meet. the director (kim ga-ram) doesnt get enough credit for how she constructed this encounter. the way his voice gets husky.. the unhurried pace of seduction… its all so sexy

you can feel it in both their bodies. the subdued micro-reactions in his face: surprise, delight, the shift in eye contact when he takes just one step forward and slowly leans into her. you can see it in her body, the simultaneous surprise of experiencing his desire and the awakening of her own

also he is unbelievably handsome. the camera is not shy about the fact that he is the beloved object. he is the focus of desire, even as he is the one doing the seducing. thats what ive always loved about this drama. people talk about the female gaze and the director being a woman and i feel it most strongly here. this scene is all about gazing at him: his lips, his eyes, the camera admiring his beauty

ive watched this scene so many times and i never get sick of it

[kdrama-boyfriend-club]

i rebinged the jtbc show nevertheless on netflix and its fully taken over my brain. i didnt like it on my first watch bc (like many ppl) the red flag romance at the center was too distracting

this time around i focused on the freedom the show gives na-bi to make bad decisions rather than jae-ons bad behavior and i found it to be a more interesting viewing experience. na-bi isnt the kdrama heroine who upholds the moral core of the story. lol she isnt even making baseline sane choices for herself. shes messy af w her crush but na-bi knows this abt herself (carried out w incredible acting by han so hee)

i like how the show gives na-bi a lot of agency. very often the relationship advances bc na-bi makes the escalating move. no doubt jae-on pursues her but the relationship only goes to the next stage when she decides: she makes the first kiss, she lets him know when shes ready to sleep with him, shes the one who cuts him off and lets him back in

and the queer subplot w soljiwan or even bit-nas own fuckboy character arc is nuanced and non-judgmental which is so ahead of its time. was there any queer content on mainstream kdramas in 2021 (im asking genuinely) im certain there werent any that dealt explicitly w coming out. i love that nevertheless told a friends-to-lovers story btwn two lesbian characters that wasnt corny or saddled w social stigma. sol and ji-wan got to be tender and complicated and figure things out as queer women without having to represent something or overcome anything. they just got to be two ppl at the center of their own love story

for me freedom is the key idea in this drama. these women are free to be themselves and that includes the freedom to say yes to what they want and the freedom to be complex. nevertheless doesnt romanticize toxic relationships. if anything it shows how confusing and painful and embarrassing they can be but also how helplessly intoxicating they can be too. ive been there, everyones gotten caught up before and i think that story deserves to be told

im always surprised by how much ppl resist an unlikable character. personally i love watching nevertheless bc its sexy and messy and its filmed beautifully w unwavering emphasis on the female gaze. also the ost is sooo dreamy. lol it probably says a lot abt me but this drama also felt truthful abt what its like to go thru love in your early twenties

viewership for nevertheless was rly low when it aired on korean tv bc (once again) the show was ahead of its time. i guess what im trying to say is nevertheless is over-hated and if you havent already pls give it another chance. sorry to be so straight i cant help it but at the v least youll be blessed w song kangs beautiful face on screen many many times

[lapelduide]

It's wild to me how many people think Penelope is devil incarnate for the things she had done -and will do!- when I wouldn't even describe her as a character with gray morals.

Like wtf did she do that wasn't justified actually?

I think of Marina's situation as a lose-lose one because at the end of the day she was never going to be truly happy after losing her soulmate. Exposing Marina is the only thing I find worth arguing because everyone involved (Penelope, Marina and Colin) were right in their own perspectives. Though I won't bother to explain any further because anyone with media literacy don't need me to. It's really not that hard to wrap your head around.

As for Eloise... honestly this might be harsh but that was just the consequences of her own actions. What was Penelope to do? Of course she had to write about Eloise! And though yes, she might've told Eloise that she herself was Whistledown. I think that's what Eloise was mad about too. But well, both needed to grow as characters. Penelope should've told Eloise she was Whistledown but I also understand why she didn't.

What rubs me the wrong way isn't how Eloise reacted. It's how people reacted. The issue for people isn't that Penelope should've talked with Eloise before doing something.

No no nooo

HOW DARE PENELOPE NOT THROW AWAY HER HARDWORK AND SACRIFICE HER LIFE AWAY FOR ELOISE SO THAT ELOISE CAN GET WITH THE LOVE OF HER LIFE!!!

And don't even get me started on people who think Penelope ruined Cressida's life??? Y'all just be saying shit. "Society puts women against each other" and Cressida having a toxic family does not justify her bullying Penelope- mind you Pen didn't do no harm to Cressida when 'only' she was getting bullied! I would've done much worse if someone was to bully me and if I held such power over society because nuh uh I'm not letting that shit slide! Cressida was lucky Pen had such low self esteem that she only reacted when Bridgerton's were the target.

-season 4 part 2 spoiler-

And now that Penelope is going to write about mistresses benophie fans are bullying Nicola yet again (yes Nicola because when you aim for Penelope's looks guess who you're talking about dumb bitches. do that fandom actually think we cant see behind that facade?lol) because they went down with that fuckass mistress proposal just to defend Benedict and now, after Pen criticizes men for having mistresses and that one man dropping his mistress like she meant nothing, Benedict will realize he made a mistake and will do a 180.

But the fucking fandom can't accept that they did a mistake by defending anything and everything as long as their fav did it.

I saw a fucking ton of people blaming Penelope with misogyny and ruining women's lives. For criticizing men for having mistresses. She didn't even drop any names, mind you.

At this point do y'all even have basic understanding skills?

Penelope should've given names actually. These men who uses women should be outed and just because your 30-something-years-old manchild is one of them doesn't change the simple fact that being a mistress isn't a good position for women. Benedict will grow to understand this but I doubt benophie fandom will.

What was my point... oh yeah. That Bridgerton fandom hold Penelope to a standard so high no real person -including themselves, ESPECIALLY themselves- would be able to achieve it. And even if Pen was practically an angel then they would simply say she was shallow.

Many people are complaining about how productions are dumbing down scenarios or that now everyone looks perfect in shows.

Just to turn around and not be able to understand a show as basic as Bridgerton. Just to turn around and body shame a drop dead gorgeous woman. (and I don't forget how y'all talk about Luke Newton!)

Everybody loves to moan and sulk and give ted talks about the state and the path of entertainment industry but it's becoming what it's becoming because they are trying to entertain people like you.

[pensbridge]

It is so funny to me how fans are comparing the seasons by basis of Daphne and Penelope "chasing" Simon and Colin to Sophie and Kate "getting chased" by Benedict and Anthony.

Did we watch the same show? Anthony...who engaged to another woman (*cough* her sister), and avoided loving her like the plague? And Benedict, who we're watching chase an invisible woman, not be able to recognize her, and propose for her to be a whore?

There's a stan war, pinning Daphne and Pen as male-centered in place/congruence to speaking highly about Sophie and Kate....? From the first dance, Sophie is googly-eyed over a man 10-years older with more power over her than any other coupling, and she's gonna let a man fuck her with no promise to anything beneficial to her because she doesn't see her dreams as anything more possessable. Where did this take of Penelope and Daphne conforming to men's personal interests for a halfway delivery come from? Daphne...?? who is the only woman in this show to wait to do a single sexual act til marriage (besides Francesca) and not gamble with a rake (this is not saying virgins are more pure/valuable; i know how this stupid fandom is). Are we going off of Penelope forgiving Colin for the courting comment? Because personally, I couldn't forgive a man who made it down the altar with my sister right in front of me when he's aware to my feelings for him and our magnetism, and an offer from a fuckboy doesn't seem like the image of self-respect in my book. You can't make up anything you want and then ignore your own argument's equivalencies!

I know why this happened, because fans like this attribute "strong," "assertive," woman who checks a man on their first meeting with the implications that she's emotionally in-charge and the "getting chased by him" label comes into play. But we're gonna act like Anthony and Benedict don't make their women contraband like a book you shelve away to play "emotional affair" and "kept woman" for half a season? Like... we're gonna act like Daphne didn't tell off Simon at every turn and Penelope didn't ghost Colin for one full year?!? 😒

We're saying, "Penelope liked Colin more in season 3." Penelope liked Colin LESS by the start of the season after his comment last season and returned to him just the same level of adoration for the lessons, the initiated separation, and the crossroads of getting proposed to....but she still chose herself and for her best interest.

Colin became MORE obsessed with her during this time. He literally sought her out the way he always had...to get crumbs of Letter Pen, apologized for his mistake and committed it to action, had sex dreams off of a kiss, almost cried (multiple times), thirsted after a pastry in public, was barely being alive....That man literally CHASED her in a carriage, couldn't look her tumbleweed suitor in the eye...and that's just the PG version 😉

THE BEST PART ABOUT POLIN'S "she fell first/he fell harder" IS THAT IT RESULTS IN THEM LIKING EACH OTHER EQUALLY! (And idk about anyone else, but I am so tired of watching (s/)he feLL first to lobotomized mean partner pipeline and nonchalant/oblivious crush to fell haRder and serves animated cunt next to the cardboard cutout of what was once a character).

Simon's not the best, but since when did excuses for commitment-phobia only apply to Anthony Bridgerton. At least Simon doesn't propose to another woman right in front of his wife! That man chases Daphne into a fake-dating scheme (it's not his fault he got scared!) He actually chases her through the garden...and well, we know what happens 😏

Oh, but I forgot we like the emotional cheating, here, and secrecy affairs that correlates to yearning and chasing, for their disrespect to go all out the window.