#2019 year in review

[batsplat]

i also think that marc’s single minded focus leads him to ignore people who are significantly less talented than him (no offense). it seems like there are some people who would LIKE to beef with marc, but he simply catalogues their crimes against him (or however he sees it) and uses that as motivation to very tidily beat them. and maybe vale was more ready to “stoop to their level” so to speak — although, like you said, MOST of his feuds were with quite talented riders

(follow up to this) all of them were quite talented riders! but again, what you're talking about can really be explained through competitive necessity. marc's career has quite a few seasons where he's well clear of the field and quite a few seasons where he's not competitive at all, whereas valentino has far more seasons where he's top three of the championship without being completely dominant. that's the thing right, marc's spats aren't with riders he's currently engaged with title fights in. and valentino wasn't doing all that much stooping either - he too has various minor spats of the marc variety... but they've been forgotten about because it just wasn't that serious. all of valentino's major feuds are with riders he got into title fights with

I'm not saying that marc isn't single minded or that he isn't arrogant, because obviously he's both of those things. and yes, he does tend to adopt quite an isolationist approach in that he mostly keeps the grid at a distance. and yes, sometimes riders criticise him and he mostly does not engage. but at the same time, all the spats you're thinking about here just aren't the kind of things that escalated into feuds for valentino either, so you're comparing apples and oranges really. the closest point of comparison we have is valentino's rivalries with biaggi/sete escalating and marc's with dovi not doing so... but like. marc isn't ignoring a string of provocations in that rivalry. there's just more compelling reasons you can point to for that not escalating, like the competitive stakes in the marc/dovi rivalry or indeed dovi's personality. you can also point to valentino being more proactive in the biaggi rivalry - but valentino wasn't stopping at that point. he didn't have some divine insight to know his talent levels were greater than biaggi several years before they began competing on-track. when he triggers that feud, he is for all intents and purposes the underdog in that dynamic

the closest you get to a marco bezzecchi-type situation for valentino is... I mean, honestly even melandri is pushing it because that guy was at least runner up to valentino and theoretically might have come to pose a competitive threat - but notably, that's actually a dynamic where you can say valentino was going by the marc playbook in brushing off questions about the conflict, kinda just ignoring it was happening while going about his business. valentino also wouldn't beef with an alex rins equivalent, not at the 2019!marc stage of his career, unless there were a compelling competitive justification... likewise, valentino isn't notably more proactive in roughing up dani and casey in 2006 than marc is with fabio in 2019 - they go about it a little differently, yes, but broadly it's on the same reasonably muted level of shenanigans. marc has more low level beef with various riders on the grid than valentino did, partly just because he's less well-liked in general, but he's not been put into situations where that was ever going to escalate into a full-blown feud. now, if you put jorge in these scenarios then, yes, I imagine that absolutely could get... unpleasant, and he's got more of an inclination to punch down anyway. but valentino? nope. remember, he generally had a reputation for being an affable rider and getting along with most of his competitors. obviously we focus more on the feuds now because they're so flashy and memorable, but that's a very very long career - and one that's reasonably light on any major beef with anyone who wasn't one of his main career rivals

anyway, look, again I'm not saying you're wrong necessarily in that marc is more inclined to withdraw than valentino is. and he DOES have some alien-based tunnel vision, hence dovi not getting any attention in his self-produced documentary. or that thing he's been doing in pressers this year where he starts reminiscing about fighting the aliens at any conceivable opening while a deeply unaffected pedro acosta sits next to him. like, I do agree with you about what marc's working process typically looks like, I just don't think it's really the reason why he's been slumming it on the feud count. valentino himself tended to brush off most instances of his competitors being critical towards him because he could afford to, and only got into feuds against rivals who were broadly speaking on his level. in valentino's feud with casey, valentino didn't have the option of dismissing casey. there was no stooping involved - because casey was not a less talented rider than valentino. casey's the extreme example, but it's true in general of valentino's rivals. yes, the working process might look different, but broadly speaking marc and valentino were exactly as likely to start feuds with riders they have never been in a title fight with - aka not at all. marc might be more inclined to cut himself off from the rest of the grid than valentino was, but unfortunately he's also had rather an easy task on his hands in that regard. he's not had anyone both willing to beef with him and capable of posing a significant enough competitive threat (when he himself has been competitive). shame, really

[carcarrot]

OLD MEN WERE TEMPTING ME...........

[fukiana]

VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED • 2022 ✨    Elden Ring (From Software, 25 February 2022)    Halo 2: Master Chief Collection (343 Industries, 3 December 2019)    Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Bioware, 14 May 2021)    Destiny 2: Witch Queen (Bungie, 22 February 2022)    Genshin Impact 3.0 (Mihoyo, 24 August 2022)    Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED, 10 December 2020)

[lebada]

is it crazy to say pop is more back than its been in a decade....

[richardmurrayhumblr]

2019 Tumblr Top 10

1. 741 notes - Apr 21 2019

2. 120 notes - Oct 5 2019

3. 117 notes - Sep 10 2019

4. 113 notes - Jan 14 2019

5. 108 notes - Oct 3 2019

6. 89 notes - Nov 7 2019

7. 72 notes - Sep 8 2019

8. 69 notes - Nov 9 2019

9. 68 notes - Sep 27 2019

10. 67 notes - Aug 12 2019

Created by TumblrTop10

[manonamora-if-reviews]

New Year's Eve, 2019 by Autumn Chen

============= Links

Play the game See other reviews of the game See other games by Autumn or follow @cyberpunklesbian

============= Synopsis

Social gatherings are not your preferred activity. But this one is obligatory, and it threatens to ruin you. You are Karen Zhao, a senior in college who is home for winter break, and seeing your old high school friends for the first time in years. You are not ready, not even close, but perhaps you could make the best of it. Two endings, many paths to arrive there.

============= Other Info

New Year's Eve, 2019 is a Dendry* game, submitted to the 2022 Edition of the SpringThing. This game is a sequel to Pageant (review). *Autumn is also an unofficial maintainer of the Dendry format.

Status: Completed Genre: Dating-sim, Slice-of-life, LGBT

CW: social anxiety, panic attacks, depression, family conflict

============= Playthrough

First Played: June-2022 Last Played: 31-May-2023 Playtime: around 1h (1 full playthrough - 1 half-assed) Rating: 4 /5 Thoughts: A science-type forgets how to human, has a panic attack at a party. May or may not be fine at the end.

============= Review

Jumping a few years into the future of Pageant, Karen Zhao comes back, more anxious than ever, for a short evening, celebrating the turn of a new year*. Stuck in a house out of social obligation, Karen has the option to interact with a cast of familiar faces, go down memory lane, or hide from everyone as best she can to avoid starting a panic attack before the clock strikes twelve. How ever will she cope????? *and what 2020 brings... rolling eyes

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

The one thing that I love about Autumn's games is how real the characters and their interactions feel. NYE19 is no different, continuing on the tradition of anxiety-inducing situation and self-deprecating humour bordering on self-loathing. But unlike its predecessor, Pageant, NYE19's tone translated less as slice-of-life-of-a-stressed-teenager-trying-to-make-it-through-the-semester-oh-god-is-she-having-a-panic-attack-again-just-kiss-her-you-dummy and more of this-is-what-a-college-student-forced-to-come-home-for-the-holidays-special-sitcom-epidose-feels-like. From the really awkward meetings with your old high-school friends (or did you date them? or were they crushes?), to the adults hounding you with questions about your future, or your family wanting to uphold a certain image around people. It's a party we've all been to, it's the kind we wish we didn't have to stay...

And Karen, our favourite anxious lesbian, does too. From the start, she warns the player she does not want to be here, really does not find having to engage in small talk (especially with people she's lost touch with), and actually wishes being anywhere but at this party. It is awkward to interact with people you knew (or more than knew) some years prior but with who you have lost contact (life...), finding how they have (not) changed, and how they've been fairing compared to you.

During the span of an evening, you meet (again) Emily, a trans woman (out of the closet then?) who helped you in Pageant to win (kinda) said pageant; Miri, your best-friend, who tagged along for the party because she did not want to be at her family's party* and became the social butterfly you could not be; and Aubrey, your high-school rival, who seems to still be doing just as well with her Harvard education, her Harvard boyfriend**, her probably-perfect-looking Harvard life... You also get to roam around the party daydreaming nihilisticly about the state of the world, hide in the basement to watch a MCU movie and be cringe to your brother, stuff yourself with food*** to temper with your imminent anxiety attack, play some mahjong and lose badly, hide in the bathroom and take selfies sending your into some self-loathing, play some games on your phone****... *the reason is pretty unclear, even with the option of confronting her. **who the fuck brings up the election topic on a New Year's party?!?!?! The gall of that man... ***which of course, I did... ****that one is hella meta, since you can play IF games AND a Pageant-like dating-sim

Whatever you do (especially your interactions), you are constantly reminded of your shortcomings from the past and how you let your anxiety cause the dwindling of your relationships. Your past haunts your every move and your every thoughts, and being in the presence of people from your past makes it all the worse for your mental being.

Half-way through the game, you sit down to have some dinner, forced at the kids-but-not-really-kids table where all your (former?) friends are interacting. It is very awkward, with Aubrey forcing everyone to introduce themselves as if they were having some sort of team-building meeting, her boyfriend forgetting about the No-No-Conversations (Politics-Religions...)... You can choose to participate in the conversation, eat, or listen, but no matter what happens, you will leave the table before the meal/conversation is over, leaving the party as well to go for a walk.

This is where things get interesting. Emily asks whether she can come along, and agreeing or not will give you very different outcomes. The latter will find you wallowing about your loneliness and how devoid of human connections your life is (much due to your own actions), while the former has a more hopeful and levelheaded conversation (leading possibly to a relationship...). With each still, and throughout the whole game, Karen goes on an introspection about the seemingly importance of human interaction, how easy it is to fuck up things, and the transactionality of relationships, all wrapped in a nihilistic and fatalistic bow (everything goes wrong, even if you do the right things).

Even if this sounds all depressing, it strangely is not. I found myself giggle at some passages*. The dry self-deprecating humour is honestly hilarious (especially the Narrator's comments). At any moment, I was expecting a laughing track to cue. Or maybe I was just playing this with a strange mood... * You have committed CRINGE. Kevin may not remember this, but you will. don't worry, game, I will remember...

The game is also very meta about what it is trying to convey. From playing a dating-sim game within an essentially dating-sim game, to the commentary on human interactions being comparable to dating-sims in the optimisation of [emotions/variables] to get the best possible outcome through a sequence of actions we hope is the correct one while we play a dating-sim where the sequence of choices can be optimised to get that "good ending", the story and the gameplay play quite interestingly on each other to get those points across.

Still, unlike other works from Autumn, while I enjoyed myself playing it, it didn't have the same impact on me. I didn't click as much with it as her other games, and felt a bit unsatisfactory? by the end of the playthroughs. The game has some strong moments, especially the part outside of the house, and some funny moments during the roaming around before dinner/before the countdown, but at other moments, it felt hollow. Maybe it is because of your limited agency in the way you interact with others or act, since Karen is an anxious and socially awkward person who has a hard time expressing her feelings and thoughts. Maybe it is because some of the characters you interact with and the way you defined your previous relationships don't feel as fleshed out (Miri and Aubrey comes to mind*, especially compared to Pageant or even Emily). Or maybe it is Karen's blasé look on dwindling and lost relationships that ticked me** that only allows her to have superficial contact with people (aside from Emily). Or maybe it is the more fragmented type of different gameplay/mechanics that didn't work as well as the Storylet format of Pageant***, or the more linear work of GG and the war. Or maybe because the end was a bit too abrupt... *I was wondering if you could choose to have had a relationship with either of those as in Pageant, but you can only with Emily **was it because the game called me out of doing the same as Karen did to some friends from school? Who knows... ***yes, it's bad to compare games that are inherently different...

There is a wonderful sentence from the post-mortem that really encapsulate the vibe of this game, and strangely reminds us of the hope Karen feels just before returning to the party... and this is where I will be ending this review: The past is inescapable, but the future is not entirely determinate.

There is still time...

Some loose points:

Dendry has some really interesting customisations, from the addition of backgrounds to extra assets in form of character portraits, putting the game in a strange text-only choice-based/visual novel limbo.

The conversation bits, especially the dinner between the gals, have such BPH vibes, which is not surprising, since his work is mentioned in the influence for this game. (with the character portraits style and the formatting of the dialogue with the colours (though the grey for Emily was a bit hard to read).

I really liked the inclusion of the Chinese characters in the dialogues in Chinese. This was only included on the first few lines in Pageant (continuing only in italics), but this really helped distinguished better the conversations in English and the ones in Chinese.

As with Pageant, some choices are worded in a way to form a full sentence or complete a thread of thoughts. I liked that.

[mg549]

5 years in review (2018-2022)

[imaginary-wanderer]

Or when you correct a French language question in the application test of your company...

[angrycowboy]

I posted 1,450 times in 2022

175 posts created (12%)

1,275 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@bisexualalienss

@angrycowboy

@spcecowboyyy

@youngsamberg

@twobabkas

I tagged 1,449 of my posts in 2022

#roswell new mexico - 961 posts

#a not so queue - 674 posts

#malex - 621 posts

#michael guerin - 309 posts

#alex manes - 275 posts

#s/r - 167 posts

#rnm spoilers - 144 posts

#malex fic - 55 posts

#about me - 53 posts

#ask notso - 46 posts

Longest Tag: 117 characters

#at least not for three seventeen year olds who were alone in the world covering up an alien murder they didn't commit

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

3x13 || 4x13

289 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

#4

See the full post

305 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#3

Michael & Alex || RNM 4x01 ���Steal My Sunshine” Sneak Peek

307 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#2

See the full post

491 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

567 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[amalgamationink]

[meat-wentz]

How do you feel about the people who were like Patrick needs to regain weight when he was skinniest or the I only liked him when he was fat "fans"

legitimately always thought it was weird af behavior like i just can’t like wrap my head around the thought process of “he needs to do something about his body to appease me/because *i’m* worried about him” which goes along with both gaining and losing weight. like it’s just like icky and gross behavior to me especially when it comes along with all kinds of speculation about a person’s relative health when it’s like 1) a giant can of nunya fucking beeswax and 2) damaging not only towards the person in question, but towards the audience of your comments.

[reviewsbykarla]

my favorite albums of 2019

it's december 30th and you thought i forgot!! here are my favorite albums of 2019 organized by time of year they were significant in my life, with a few choice words on each. I spent a large part of the year listening back to older stuff and not particularly into anything new, but with fall came albums that defined the rest of my year. 2019 was a year of positive change for me and reaffirmed to me that with tragedy comes growth. don't forget it!

find an extensive playlist of my favorite songs from 2019 here: open.spotify.com/playlist/0ZgjOmyLpLFAp1xxEa0e5j

Assume Form by James Blake (January-March)

The song "I'll Come Too" was a topic of discussion for a while amongst me and my best music nerd friend. He thinks it's about someone finding true, lasting love. I think it's about the intensity of orgasm with someone you truly love. Thoughts?

Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains (July-August, December)

David Berman has always been an influential songwriter in my life. When I first heard this album, I felt so sad; It sounded like he had given up on life. When he committed suicide soon after its release, I couldn't bring myself to listen to this album again for months. It's so tragic, that sometimes death is the only thing that can give you life.

Immunity by Clairo (August-October)

I had low expectations for this album and I was completely surprised. The production quality is so high and the style of the album overall felt very original. Clairo is a really great lyricist able to write relatable songs and working with Rostam was a really good move on her part. While I loved the album and had it on non-stop repeat, her live show was the worst show I have ever seen in my entire life. I'm sorry.

Essentials by Erika de Casier (August-September)

This album is SO good. It slaps in all the right places and is reminiscent of 90s hip-hop r&b, but better. Listening to this is like walking through a candy shop and getting all of your favorite things.

House of Sugar by Alex G (September-December)

I love Alex G. Always have, always will. I genuinely think he is one of the greatest artists of my lifetime. This is his best album yet hands down. I can't even begin to tell you why, but please listen to it. Go birds.

Pang by Caroline Polachek (October-December)

Wow! Pang is a masterpiece. If I had to pick a #1 album of the year, it's Pang. Caroline Polachek wrote Pang coming out of her divorce. Each song hits hard lyrically, both simple and complex at the same time. The production is incredible and the album is as niche as it is accessible. The perfect album.

Iowa dream by Arthur Russell (November-December)

Arthur Russell was a genius. Towards the end of 2019 I was reverting back to my old folk-rock sensibilities, Iowa Dream coming out at the exact right time. I felt nostalgic, content, excited. Every song on this album is beautiful and touching. I hope there is more to come from Russell's thousands of unreleased recordings.

Information by Galcher Lustwerk (December)

This album is hot. Every track is thick with beats that make me feel like jello. Play this at the club and get close with that cutie you want to dance with.

Zdenka 2080 by Salami Rose Joe Louis (December)

I only recently found this album and I immediately fell in love with it. It's so beautiful, minimalist and slightly haunting. An experimental album of this variety always tugs at my heart strings, reinforces butterflies in my stomach, makes me want to swim in a lake at midnight under a starry sky with the person I love.

[aforeffortenjolras]

girl groups truly can not catch a break 🫥

[good-omens-heritage-posts]

good omens heritage post

A History of Good Omens

On May 30th, Good Omens director Douglas Mackinnon, author Neil Gaiman, producer Rob Wilkins, and actress Adria Arjona (Anathema Device) joined us for a video Answer Time and shared things like their favorite scenes, scariest filming moments, and top five earthly pleasures. The show launched the following day and sponsored a site-wide takeover for 24 hours. This Year in Review, Good Omens has dominated across the board, resulting in #1 rankings on multiple lists. Here’s how we got there:

The Story

It was a wild year for Good Omens, both in your hearts and on our rankings. The title first appeared in 2017 at #19 on Year in Review’s Books list and moved up eight spots to #11 in 2018. Things were quiet with the series until the show premiered on May 31st, and Aziraphale and Crowley entered the television sphere. The show debuted on our weekly Fandometrics lists the following Monday, June 3rd, 2019. That week, #Good Omens was the second-most-talked-about thing on all of Tumblr, between Marvel and Captain Marvel. It took the top spot the following week, reigning at #1 for nine straight weeks until Taylor Swift came for the crown on August 26th. It was truly a summer of angels and demons.

The Authors

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett have also long been Tumblr faves, appearing at #8 and #7, respectively, on the 2015 Top Authors list. After the list returned from its 2016 vacation, Neil took a bit of a dip to #9 in 2017, and to #11 in 2018. In 2018, Terry also returned to the list at No. 16. This year, they are back to back at the top where they belong. Neil Gaiman has had a big year on Tumblr—he’s answered more than 1,000 questions on his blog, @neil-gaiman​​, since January 2019.

The Ship

People have been shipping Aziraphale and Crowley since as early as 2001, with people on LiveJournal calling them ineffable since 2005. Ineffable Husbands was solidified as their ship name when it began to trend in March, coinciding with the release of the first trailer. By June 3rd, the pairing had debuted at #1 on the Ships list, where it stayed for twelve weeks, until September 9th when it was displaced by Reddie (Richie Tozier & Eddie Kaspbrak) after the release of IT Chapter 2. 

Ineffable Husbands is the ship of the year for multiple reasons: they are an angel and a demon—not human, and therefore not defined by their gender or sexuality, they’ve spent 6,000 years taking risks to help save each other, a love that surpasses the end of the world. They also have completely opposite approaches to plants, which @dotstronaut​​ captured perfectly in the ship’s top post from 2019.

[fruitwoodmac]

an update on my black mirror watch-through

[darkwithasharpenededge]

Damn I Had Bad Luck With The Hardcovers I Bought At Goodwill: A review of Restoration Heights by Wil Medearis

DNF at page 97 (29%)

Summary: I bought this book because I thought the cover was pretty, which was, of course, my first mistake. I won't be giving a full review, because I didn't finish it, but I can tell you why I didn't finish it.

The plot really just didn't hold together at all for me. This main character, his name is Reddick or something stupid like that, runs into this girl in the alley behind his apartment. The next day while he's at work he finds out that she's missing, and her fiance's family refuses to investigate. His fiance's family's neighbor (yes really it's this stupid) asks him to investigate her disappearance on his own, strictly off the books. The guy has a million more productive things to do, but just can't let the idea that he was the last person to see her go, and he starts cooking up wild scenarios where she's dead. He breaks into her apartment. He gets accused of stalking. He gets told by literally everyone to stop investigating this. He keeps on going because the plot of the book demands that he keeps on going. Also the main character looks kind of like a picture of the author I saw when I was browsing, and based on the about the author section in the back, the main character lives the author's life with the addition of a missing girl. Ugh.

Final Verdict: The author really wanted to write about tension in the neighborhood he lives in, got reminded that he needed a plot, and squished together some kind of investigation mystery. The result is not great.

Review Word Count: 269