Sunday Morning Lukola Thoughts ☕️
I'll say this to start. The people who are upset that people even care this deeply about Nicola Coughlan's personal life should exit anything fandom or pop culture adjacent. There is a whole phenomenon where people do this, all over the world and for all kinds of people. It is a *thing*. And with that said, Nicola (and Luke for that matter during the WT) have commented on it several times not only that they know people will ship them and/or their characters, but also that they're ok with it. Nic herself has mentioned similar behavior (not sure how deep she was in it all but it was probably before social was as much as it is not so probably not as) herself. She gets it. Actually, she gets it to the point where she plays along for the most part and drops easter eggs herself. Luke has whipped crumbs off her face during an interview and said "they're going to love this" and smirked. So if your problem is the actually shipping, it's pretty moot to me.
With that, there are of course people that take it too far. But when I say that is the minority of people. Folks, it is a teeny tiny percent. It's still unfortunate because yes sometimes they dabble into unsafe/unhealthy actions and it reflects poorly on the fandom. It is our duty to act with integrity and try to neutralize these people as much as possible. There is always line in the sand that you need to be conscious of not only for that person's health and safety, but honestly for your own mental health.
So my next note, mental health. Fandoms/shipping has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health (to me, in a time where we as a society need it the most). It brings a sense of belonging and community, gives creative outlets for self-expression (edits, live blogging, non-live blogging, fanfic, art, the list goes on and on), improved self-esteem and even escapism, it can help people explore relationships and identity, and SO much more. To me, there was more pros than cons to the it all.
For me personally life has been rough I'd say the last year or so but if I'm being honest more like the last 5. I've needed an escape. Fandom life (Lukola right now, but previous fandoms although rarely before now RPF) have helped me escape. It's a place for me to almost work on affirmations. I'm about to try to manifest positivity and energy between Luke and Nicola in a way that I struggle to do for myself. I tend to notice that when I do this, it becomes EASIER to do it for myself. I start to think if I can be this positive about fictional characters or in this case two people that I don't even know, why can't I do it for myself? Why don't I deserve the same happiness?
But that's just me.
And as a quick note, I haven't even began to cover how Nicola Coughlan herself has been an inspiration to me and thousands and thousands of other women out there but I will circle back to it.
Anyway, these were some initial thoughts on some Lukola hot topics floating around right now. I know I've barely scratched the surface at all but wanted to start here.
