#Clara writes reviews

[bellarose204]

I just watched the Wonka movie today since it premiered on Max for me and I have to say. . .it's a fricken masterpiece and for me to have a wonka oc there was alot of scenes that deserve to have Clara Spice shine in the spotlight. I mean if she was actually in the movie she would be iconic, I think she would just be there at moments where noodle isn't there or with her at moments in the movie. I also think with slugworthxs plan to shut down willy wonka is to also kidnap Clara making her a Damsel in distress situation without wonka noticing so they can get her off Mrs Scrubbit's back as a young mechanic. I hope someday I'll write a fic about Clara Spice in the events of the wonka movie because I think she definitely deserves to be an actual character in the story but idk the movie was amazing and I feel inspired to include Clara in a fan fiction someday

[am3-26]

there's this girlie (gender-neutral) i keep checking goodreads' of because i can't stop looking at their "all-time favourites" shelf and thinking to myself "why dont you also put 50 shades of grey on there"

[dandelionjack]

suddenly had a realisation about the blocking in this scene. clara stands on a chair to be at eye-level with the doctor, which under a superficial interpretation would represent the idea that she has to try extra hard and aim high to match his intellect or wit or ingenuity. but in truth the doctor is the one standing on a ladder leaning against the classroom — he’s actually below her, he’s on the exterior side, and in a school environment he’s out of his element, reduced to the role of the janitor (in a normative social hierarchy considered shameful) while she’s the professor. he’s the one in the relationship that’s aiming to impress her. he looks up to her, not the other way around. she’s holding the reins and he’s letting her get away with it.

clara oswald » the caretaker

[ninadove]

AO3 reading year in review 📚

Tagged by @teafig! Here’s a fraction of the fics I enjoyed this year! 💖

JANUARY: Of Wishes and Feathers by @trishacollins {Miraculous 🦚}

Little Felix spends an afternoon being entertained by his aunt.

Trisha wrote this for me because I am the most spoiled girl in the world! 💜 We need more Felix and Emilie in the world urgently. Someone make it your 2025 resolution. I demand it

FEBRUARY: my wings and my eyes by @bittersweetresilience {Honkai: Star Rail 🚂}

Jing Yuan is tired, but he has been tired for a long time now.

Sunny gets February for no reason other than it is Official Shipping Month and its prose single-handedly got me into Renjing. This fic in particular is so loving and tender… 🥺 There is nothing Sunny cannot write and these two idiots have helped prove it time and time again!

MARCH: I miss you more than anything by @sillyangstfic {Miraculous 🦚}

Felix reaches out to Adrien a few months after his mother's death to see if he would like to come visit. Adrien thinks that this is a great idea! Gabriel, not so much.

This was not yet published in March but WHO CARES THE VIBES FIT. Felix cares so much and the Adrien/Dandelion angst is, as the youth say, fire 🔥

APRIL: thirteen by @anna-scribbles {Miraculous 🦚}

The house was never something that belonged to him, and it still isn’t, no matter how many documents boast his name in bold print. Adrien has always belonged to it, though, like a dog tethered to a chain, like a ghost to its unfinished business.

//

The end of the world began on the day Adrien Agreste turned thirteen years old.

What can I say about thirteen that hasn’t already been said? I picked it for April because reasons, but it’s been a highlight of my entire winter and spring. The Adrien Fic Ever 🌼

MAY: love thorns all over this rose by @thevioletthread {Miraculous 🦚}

there's a boy knocking on her window. she lets him in.

[Doodles a tiny heart on your window]

[Kisses you in front of the sunrise]

[Gets down on one knee]

Alexandria, will you raise a hamster with me? 💜🦚❤️🐉

JUNE: Of Broken Bones and Promises by @bright-thehawksflight {Cyrano de Bergerac 🪶}

Christian had a leg amputated, and the two loves of his life manage to simultaneously save his life, plan for the tough times to come, and pine all over the Arras battlefield.

Lisa is the reference when it comes to Cyrano and Greek mythology fanfics. I think about the amputation-hug scene three times per week 🥺

JULY: Candle In The Wind by @phieillydinyia {Miraculous 🦚}

Someone was screaming. A horrific, guttural sound that infected the entire night with sorrow. He wondered if it was the ghosts of the people he'd just killed. He wondered if they'd come back to haunt him, to follow his every waking move, to never let him forget the way he'd demolished them into dust.c

The sound pounded through his head, threatening to burst open his eardrums, determined to push him to a breaking point. Collapsing to his knees, Chat Noir had to pause to draw in a deep breath.

It was only then that he realized the person screaming was him.

The highlight of my summer! A role reversal AU of the movie that includes the songs. How cool is that. (The answer is very cool. Mwah 💖)

AUGUST: If I hold you too close by @bbutterflies {Miraculous 🦚}

Paris didn’t come to a screeching halt for akumas anymore. They were so commonplace, so frequent, no one stopped their lives unless they were in danger. They trusted the heroes to fix everything if something did go wrong, save them if they got hurt. Adrien was still fighting the urge to find Plagg and go running into battle.

Plagg wasn’t here, though.

ADRINO ANGST MGRRRGRRRRR

SEPTEMBER: Luminous strike by @faiirygrahamdevanily {Miraculous 🦚}

Orders controlled the younger twin

Like a bird with a clipped wing

Silver metal out of his hand

The peacock at the monster's command

MY BIRTHDAY GIFT!!!! THAT CAME WITH ITS OWN MOODBOARD!!!! HELL YEAH!!!! 🎂💜🎉

Everyone should check Clara’s works out!!! The Sentikids are great for exploring themes of otherness and rarer forms of fanworks, and she does it extremely well! ❤️💜💚

OCTOBER: the monster who loves you by @purplecatghostposts {Miraculous 🦚}

Mum nods, clapping her hands together. “Your brother is finally feeling better and is coming home today! Isn’t that so exciting?”

Félix pauses mid-bite, processing her words. Mum waits expectantly, as if expecting him to jump for joy, or his equivalent of it.

But… Félix doesn’t have a brother.

(Or Félix’s brother is a monster, but only in the most literal sense. Félix’s father is a monster despite being very, very human. He learns to navigate the world through these two truths.)

SOAP SOAP SOAP SOAP I am eating you. I am eating you forever. You spontaneously appeared in the tags one day and literally haven’t stopped blessing us since but THIS FIC IN PARTICULAR. OH GOSH. OH WOW. THIS ONE IS MY ROMAN EMPIRE. You know how much I love Adrien being cast as the monster (rawr rawr rawr 🦖)

NOVEMBER: Emmy Altava and the Situationship from Hell by @drowsybadger {Professor Layton 🎩}

Or: Clive, Janice and Their Mutual Ex. Or: Emmy Altava and the Great Year that started off really, really, awful. Or: How To Overcome Your Past Mistakes

Basically, 22K words of people fixing their past mistakes and being lovingly awful to each other. Also, Clive is single-handedly responsible for London rent prices actually being affordable for the next half-century in this universe.

Drowsy infected me with the Clivejan QPR bug… My life has never been the same since…

DECEMBER: Me and You, We're Roses of Blue by @adastra-rising {Miraculous 🦚}

For centuries, the blue rose has represented mystery, royalty, and that which is unobtainable.

Why?

Because the blue rose is artificial. Unnatural. So close to being real, but not quite. The unfortunate, disappointing result of humanity daring to challenge the natural order.

And for some reason, Felix Graham De Vanily can't stop thinking about it.

Meanwhile Kagami Tsurugi, despite everything, thinks they are wonderful.

And Adrien Agreste, who prefers his roses red, is just here for a good time.

(A story in which Felix reflects on his childhood, his relationships, and the nature of what's artificial and what's real.)

(Alternatively, a story where the ideal date is destroying a dead man's property in the name of art, and two cousins who are actually brothers' bond over one truly terrible joke.)

Because excellent characterisation and flower imagery are always a gift! 🌹

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Aka works that didn’t quite fit but that I really wanted to feature:

Icarus by @dragongutsixofficial {Dumas Cinematic Universe ⚔️}

The year is 1630. The Cardinal of Richelieu won. Mme de Fargis is banned and has to leave the Court.

She has a few people to say her goodbyes to.

DRAGON STARTED WRITING AGAIN THIS YEAR AND I COULDN’T BE PROUDER. They have a real talent for emulating Dumas’ style while making the story uniquely theirs! 💖

time marches back by @asukiess {Miraculous 🦚}

The Loveybug AU was one of the highlights of 2023-2024, and this fic? This fic. It’s great, man. Definitely won’t break your heart or anything.

Everything in The Félix Zine! I have a particularly soft spot for @mostmagical’s Bridges and @nemaliwrites’ A Graphite Heart, but everyone slayed so incredibly hard! Please also contemplate our amazing artists’ pieces! 💜🦚

@beezonia’s Miraculous Mons AU. Bee, you know it, I’m the target audience for this universe. I love your ficlets, your team line-ups, your designs, everything! 💙🩵🧡

cringe origional works collection by @isdisorigionalenoughforyou

The kind of poetry that will haunt you. Discovered by accident after reading their Aroace Analysis of Jayvik, which you should also check out! 🦋

And my beloved AO3 collections (recs + my own works):

Felix | Adrien | Kagami | Senticousins | Feligami | Clive | Literature and mythology

Tagging… anyone who wants to do this, because I forgot who was and wasn’t tagged by my fellow writer friends. Go wild.

Happy 2025, everyone! May it be kind and filled with excellent stories for us to share! 💚💜❤️

[thegreatimpersonator]

my review of ttpd is under the cut

i liken this album to digging through the cushions of a couch. sometimes you find money, sometimes mindless scraps, and sometimes it's weird shit you have no idea why it's there.

first things first i'll just reiterate what i've seen a lot of people saying: she needs to move on from jack and work with new producers. the production is so recycled, we've heard it before, it's no longer serving her art (and i would argue it's limiting it) and it's tired. the first half is midnights and 1989 vault tracks and i would like a new album to sound like a new album.

but you know who came in and saved the day, my man my man my man aaron with those real instruments and decent mixing/production skills that actually work with taylor's voice!

like i said before, i like a good chunk of this album, so what i'm about to say might come off strong but trust me. i feel like this whole album is very.... unnecessary. it's very repetitive, she's reusing so many metaphors, sayings, etc just song to song and then also repetitive production like i already touched on. her current mindset of creating art as frequently as possible, quantity over quality, is just becoming more and more hard to ignore. of course she can still write and work through her feelings but you don't need to release it. you can work through it and move on. the best songs on here have authority, know what they wanna say and tell a good story. the worst are just sitting there roaming around aimlessly and not saying anything new or anything at all really. there is a really interesting, good album in here... somewhere. move the cushions around a bit more.

here's some random/general bullet points:

the best songs for me are the ones with a clear message and simple production. she's not trying to sound smart with the lyrics and just making the song clunky and try-hard. so long london and loml?? clara bow? yeah yeah

speaking of the lyrics....... my god are they rough. she saw people saying midnights had some corny lines and said charlie puth hold my beer. this album genuinely has some of her worst, which is sad because we know what she's capable of.

none of the music matches the aesthetic but sadly that's become par for the course, but now the title of the album doesn't even fit for me. i feel like, if she wanted to name it after a song title, 'the alchemy' or 'i can do it with a broken heart' are right there. this isnt giving tortured poet.

all of this to say she needs to get new collaborators, stop surrounding herself with yes men, and learn to trim the fat and we'll be in a lot better shape.

[tree0frog]

Hi, I just recently came across your blog and I really liked the way you write.

Can I make a request about the twelfth doctor and Clara?

Where Reader is in Clara's class at Coal Hill School, and she always enthusiastically talked about her main hobby - space. Since childhood, she could look at the starry sky for hours, and also talk about it for hours. She reviewed all science fiction films and TV series on space topics, reread all the works of famous astronomers and astrophysicists. Can name all astronauts and cosmonauts in chronological order.

In short, she is the number one fan of everything cosmic, and everything seems to be fine, except for the constant endless bullying from classmates and passive-aggressive reproaches from parents on the topic that "how stupid it is at her age to get carried away with such nonsense." And one day, hiding in a remote alley in the backyard of the school, Reader accidentally sees her teacher Miss Oswald first talking to a strange old man, and after that how both of them go into a strange blue booth.

Hi sorry this took so long iv been busy with work and college and trying to finish the other 100 things I wanted to write lol hope you like it .

i will do a part two if its asked

strange man

main master list

doctor who master list

platonic Clara x teen reader

To most, you were weird quite a freak even.

But to Clara you and your mind were amazing. You found comfort in her from the start bonding over your love for all things space and sifi.

The doctor started questioning his companion when she took little gifts from their travels.

"what's a {Y/N}?" he asked looking up from his book.

" A kid in my class gets bullied and I thought this would hear them up doctor, their mind gosh it is just incredible you'd love them" she laughed tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

so life continued for some time Clara would bring you small gifts from her travels and would tell you about them.

" so the man in the box whats he like?" you asked taking a drink from your bottle and you found yourself eating lunch in the safety of your teacher's classroom like most days.

"Well, he can be very grumpy most of the time VERY Scottish old the doctors are very smart as well"You smiled as you went on listening to your teacher ramble about this old man who could travel in time and space.

The other kids would tease and pick on you for believing in things like that however to you well it was different just the idea that life could exist beyond earth was so amazing to you and to find someone who shared your interest even if she made up still story to make you feel better its worth it.

The bell rang singling that it was the end of another day at the hell you called a school,walking past the back gates you noticed a blue box that wasn't there before outside side it was a man and you.

Teacher?

you froze in your seat as you watched the pair enter the blue box your eyes met the strange man's gaze as he smiled at you before you watched him shut the doors and the blue box faded into nothing.

[olive-recs]

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP CANNIBALIZING MY HEART AND GNAWING AT MY LOBOTOMIZED DOME, CLARA YOU'VE COME BACK AND WITH SUCH A BANGER TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

forgive me if i do a long and drawn out reaction, but your work must simply be praised with a fervor i possess only for you <33333.

the first line had me SCREAMING and you didn't pull your punches from there; weeping on the floor of this chili's, i am, begging for pieces of my coherence to return to me long enough to write any review of note because!!!!!!!!!!!

first of all, your references and your big brain!!!!! stfu about yuki and cherry blossoms, you know that changed me, actually go home over returning to a city you put so much nostalgia in only to find it so heartbreakingly dissonant, the change and difference in everything all around juxtaposed by the sameness of the reader,,,,,, of fuck off, you knew what you were doing to me!!!!!!!!

and i know i have said this before in words far more poetic and composed and deserving of you reading them but the ambience you create when writing!!!!! the visceral feeling you craft!!!!!!! oh, it is simply divine and i am made humble upon receiving it. your mastery of feeling and understanding of exactly what brings a scene to life will never fail to astonish me and i hope you know you are more talented than i can ever convey <333

clara my dearest role model, clara my devoted friend, clara my delicate muse... i am sending this right as i'm finishing the final chapter of romancing mister bridgerton on audiobook, so forgive me for being so inexcusably brief </3. might i request one of these 💿 lovely surprises with literally any f1 driver, i want to see a violent characterization of these loser men from my most respected author friend yuki tsunoda? i am, in all things, horribly on brand.

· · · · ♡ EXILE (yt22)

… starring yuki tsunoda x f!reader ... based on exile by taylor swift ft. bon iver ... 1.2k words ... in which yuki tsunoda, fresh from his formula 1 debut, returns to a tokyo both familiar and foreign, where ghosts and feelings still linger. ... i really hope you enjoy this my darling olive!! when i saw i had pulled exile out of all songs i freaked out a little,, this song has gotten me through a lot so i had to pay homage </3 happy august 1st to those who celebrate!!!

"I can see you staring, honey Like he's just your understudy Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐄 comes to Tokyo, always brings her heat with her.

More than the temperatures, it's a joyous sort of effervescence that coils around the street corners, trickling down like the first monsoon rains. Day after day, Tokyo attires itself in the most festive of summer colors, until all of a sudden all the festivals, open-air markets, and traditional dances flood the city like budding poppies. Here, rows upon rows of sunflowers sway to the soft breeze in Kiyose; over there paper lanterns float off into the night sky over the Sumida river, each cradling an unspoken wish.

To Yuki, August is always the best time to return to the capital. Or rather, the second best; nothing beats the cherry blossoms of late April, but late April is home for Imola now, and it's been years, really, since he last saw the sakura of home.

He doesn't mind the heat—he never did, and his Japanese friends joke that he was already a fiery character before his time in the West made him brazen. He's always glad to be back home over the summer break. Even more so since he debuted in Formula 1 six months prior.

It's Yuki's first time returning to Tokyo since he started racing with AlphaTauri, and one of his increasingly rare visits to his homeland. He's been eagerly anticipating the break; to recharge, certainly, and most importantly to meet with his family. In the cloudy skies the plane traverses, Yuki can see his elders' crinkled eyes, beaming with pride as he, the picture of practiced humility, answers every question about the sport, about Italy, about the world he made it big in. It matters not they won't understand much about racecars, or the FIA—he's coming home aureoled in a gladiator's glory. Honor to his family, to the Tsunoda bloodline! He smiles to himself as the plane touches down on the tarmac.

Yet as Yuki steps into the urban jungle he's so ardently missed… he finds the city changed. Not transformed, entirely, but… almost misplaced. As if street names and trees and playground slides have been shuffled over his time abroad, all of them still there but in a disposition unknown to him. Sure, he is a child of the suburbs, and Tokyo a fidgety creature—maybe Italy's stone roads have eroded his memory. But wasn't there an old laundromat on this corner, on which the papier mâché dragons would cast fantastical shadows as they snaked down the street? And the brand new KFC—this was a pet store, where he'd press his nose against the glass to watch the colorful fish and guinea pigs until his mother forcibly dragged him away.

This is still home, he tells himself to soothe the unease away. Things change, but they don't leave you behind, he repeats as he checks his phone to make sure he's going in the right direction.

They're all little details. Like when he stops at a food vendor's cart and has to repeat his order twice, taken aback by the sound of his very own mother tongue coming out of his mouth. Six months without speaking Japanese to another person, other than the odd calls to his parents, have left his voice chalky. The woman looks at him for a brief second, quizzical, but hands him the sugary buns; he thanks her, seamlessly this time, and it's all back to normal. Yuki Tsunoda is home.

They're all little details until they aren't. Until he turns on his heels, biting into the snack, and catches sight of her.

It's unmistakable, and it's her. Even with the facemask, it's the same silky hair and smooth skin, same little bounce to her step, and even the same linen pants she used to wear in high school. Tokyo's immutable certainty on the other side of the street. Y/N.

Yuki stops dead in his tracks as their eyes meet, thirty feet away, and a flash of recognition has her almost recoiling, but she holds firm onto the hand she's holding and stays immobile. A man's hand; he's a little taller than Yuki, black hair in a neat middle part and dark eyes distracted by an advertisement on a screen. Wearing nice clothes, sunglasses hanging from his neckline, shoulders relaxed but holding Y/N with the casual affection of a man who cherishes a great treasure.

Yuki's throat dries up. He thinks about reaching out—to say what? Giving her a polite wave—but what for? High school confessions play in his head, back when he loved her as zealously as he raced, and when her laugh ringing in his ears, more than the trophies and the European circuits and the million-dollar contracts, was his only belief.

"So when do you plan on coming back?" she'd asked him the last time they'd ever seen each other, sitting on a park bench that cherry petals flecked.

"Eight months to a year, maybe," he'd answered after a little while, knowing there was no return once he said it.

"Eight months?" she'd exclaimed, disbelieving. "Yuki, I can't… I don't think I can go eight months without seeing you."

"I don't think I can ask you to do that, either," he'd said, sounding sadder than he'd wanted, though he had rehearsed the moment over and over in his head.

She'd stared at him wordlessly, her incomprehension feigned. She knew what he was about to say, but pretended not to. He'd wished she'd piece it together on her own, admit it to herself so he wouldn't have to say it out loud, but…

"I think it's best for both of us if we just… go our separate ways. I don't want to hold you back, and you deserve to be happy here. With someone who's here with you."

You are among the twenty best in the world, Yuki, had told him Franz Tost after some F2 race he couldn't remember, when news had broken out into the world the Japanese rookie would be AlphaTauri's shiniest, newest addition. It's rough getting here and it's only gonna get rougher staying here. The engineers may cut out what's slowing you down… but you need to do it too.

"All right," was all Y/N had said, her eyes glassy. Steel. Dignified, like he'd always known her. Like he sees her right now, staring at him from the other side of the street.

Her new boyfriend taps her shoulder to show her something in a shop, and she turns her head, breaking eye contact with Yuki. Up the road, the lights turn green, and a flock of cars of all shapes and colors buzz past, invading the crosswalk and hiding the couple from view.

Twenty seconds later, when the street is quiet once more, and Y/N eagerly turns her gaze from her boyfriend to the opposite sidewalk, she finds moms pushing strollers and well-behaved Inus on leashes, but no trace of Tsunoda. A flame, gone in a flash. Her heart drops.

She squeezes her boyfriend's hand, and they keep walking.

I'm not your homeland anymore, so what am I defending now? You were my crown, now I'm in exile, seeing you out I think I've seen this film before So I'm leaving out the side door"

… tagging @retvenkos @heliads @faerieroyal (the f1 girlies🥺) … masterlist here

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Weltschmerz is a German word that describes a feeling of sadness, weariness, or hopelessness about the world. It's made up of the words Welt, meaning "world", and Schmerz, meaning "pain".

[Thanks Ellen Geller]

* * * *

Put one foot in front of the other. Repeat.

November 16, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

It was a tough week—on the heels of an even tougher week. A few Democrats are revved up and ready to jump back in the fight. But if my inbox is a reliable indicator, many (most?) people are still reeling from the losses on Election Day. They are bewildered, exhausted, tapped out emotionally and financially, and angry. You wouldn’t be human if you did not feel those emotions in some measure. Hopes were high, and the loss was unexpected. The disappointment was exacerbated by PTSD.

The president-elect has a feral sense that many Democrats are emotionally vulnerable. His cabinet picks are designed to rub salt in our wounds and deepen our sense of bewilderment. We must recognize that the ludicrous nominations over the past week are part of a strategy to dispirit and weaken Democrats—in hopes of reducing their resolve to resist his dark plans.

We cannot give in to the president-elect’s transparent ploy. Although I am not a fan of the Godfather movie franchise (no hate mail, please!), every American knows the line, “‘It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”

Trump’s bizarre, anti-government nominations are not personal. They are strictly business—to Trump and to us. He is using them as an emotional cudgel against Democrats and a test of loyalty for incredulous Republicans. Our job is to defeat as many of the nominations as possible—thereby demonstrating that Trump is vulnerable and weak after his narrow win.

It is possible that Trump will resort to unilateral recess appointments by forcing an adjournment of Congress for ten days so that he can cram his unqualified, anti-establishment choices on the American people.

Doing so would be a mistake and would overplay Trump's hand. The officers would be branded as illegitimate leaders who could not make it through a Senate confirmation. More importantly, such a move would instantly convert Trump into America’s first (and last) dictator.

No other president has forced an adjournment of Congress, much less for the anti-democratic purpose of evading the Senate’s “advice and consent” role under the Constitution. Although lawsuits would challenge the recess appointments unilaterally engineered by Trump, the bigger point is that the move would drop all pretense of a president bound by the rule of law.

Whatever the Framers thought they were doing with the recess appointments and the adjournment clause, none of them believed those clauses could be manipulated to strip the Senate of its constitutional obligation to review presidential nominations.

If Trump manages to remove the Senate’s advice and consent role from the Constitution, he will sow the seeds of his quick undoing.

As I write, it appears that the nominations of Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and Robert Kennedy are in trouble—at least if they go through the Senate confirmation process.

We can help keep up the pressure by notifying our Senators and Representatives that we oppose the nominations of Gaetz, Hegseth, Kennedy, and Gabbard. See Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water for a word script and link to phone numbers. Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/14.

There are two other themes that deserve mention as we head into the weekend.

The first is the stand-alone injury to women across America who hoped that the 2024 election would be a major step to re-establishing their status as equal citizens under the Constitution. Few opinion writers or journalists have mentioned that the re-election of Trump has dashed those hopes—at least for another four years.

Mother Jones has addressed the issue of the election’s impact on women in its article, Of Misogyny, Musk, and Men by Clara Jeffrey. The article runs under the sub-header “Women are not okay. We’re furious.”  

For all of the punditry analyzing the reason for Democrats’ loss on November 5, almost none of them mention the Trump campaign’s explicit appeal to sexism among young men. Any pundit who purports to analyze the reasons for Kamala Harris’s loss and does not list misogyny among the top three reasons is running cover for Trump—whether they intend to or not.

The second issue is the unrelenting tidal wave of pundit analyses that seek to assign blame for the Democratic loss. Spoiler alert: The reason is (allegedly) that Democrats are “liberal elitists” who ignored the working class.

The above analysis is both wrong and lazy. But even if it were accurate, it beggars belief that journalists and pundits are wasting their time assigning blame at the very moment that Trump “is slouching toward Bethlehem” in the manner of the “rough beast” in The Second Coming.1

If the above metaphor is too obscure for a Saturday morning, here is another: Imagine that we are on an oil drilling platform in the North Sea. A fire has started in the galley and threatens to engulf the entire platform. What is the better course of action? To argue over who is responsible for starting the fire in the galley or to work on extinguishing the fire?

It is appropriate and necessary to understand how and why Democrats fell short in 2024. But to do so at a time when we are stranded on a burning platform is suicidal. Assigning blame may fill column inches but it corrodes unity. The legacy media is failing us.

And yet, readers cannot resist the temptation to forward articles to me with the thesis, “Democrats are liberal elitists who got what they deserved.” I get a dozen such emails a day (often multiple duplicates of the latest from NYT or WaPo). I have received hundreds since November 5.

Amplifying such articles merely compounds the journalistic malpractice of the legacy media. We should not give them oxygen. They invite disputation and discord. They are inimical to our prime objective: Resist the efforts of the Trump administration to erode the rule of law.

Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter

[stuffymcstuffsworld]

Announcement

Alright Darlings, I'm sure you're curious about the new stories.

Let's review shall we?

Pierced my heart new chapter - robin x reader

Passion and flames - alice and mother songfic

Catnap - Iruma and hellcats hangout

Lucky card - orias songfic

Tea time - tea with flower princess

Eager to meet you - Derkila and Iruma meet

My happiness - songfic wedding with Balam x reader

In an instant - Derkila realizes he's in love with reader

Fun 101 - Alice x Lied (so use to doing reader stuff... meh)

My everything - Sabro x Iruma

Fire and Rain - Eito x (water demon fem! reader)

Enjoy the moment - big threes grandkids hangout

In-laws - Reader finally meets Balams parents

Bullseye - arranged marriage between robin and reader

I cherish you - jealous balam

Cat thief - klepto opera snatching things

My pupils - kalego and each student

What they call me - misfits calling kalego dad

No need for fear - Sullivan soothing Iruma panic attack... possible room for a songfic

Summoning - Iruma's parents summon Sullivan

Our roots - Suzy and Balam being plant buddies

Impulsive - Reader teaching a young kalego a thing or two about young opera songfic

Arrogance - If (demon reader) was a part of Baal's crew songfic

My muse - Silvia x Beem

The wonders of earth - Balam in the human world songfic

Toy box - Clara and reader having fun

Misfortune - Those affected by the top dog trio

Work... - Demon King Iruma and paperwork

Mother tongue - Balam learns human language

More than worthy - Iruma thinks he isn't worthy to be your child. That isn't true. If anything, you're not worthy of being his parent.

Please keep in mind I don't follow this list in order. It entirely depends on my mood about what I write. So please don't worry if you haven't seen your request written.

[estelofrivendell]

Anon, as someone who doesn’t get a lot of interaction, not so kindly fuck off.

bro can u like not post those long reviews on fics? its kinda annoyin lol.

[honeyjars-sims]

3.15 Fitting In

Johnny was a couple of weeks into his new job and he was mostly feeling positive about it. He still felt like The New Guy, but he was starting to become more familiar with his coworkers. He knew by now that Clara and Robi were inseparable; cool-headed Robi often played the straight man to overzealous Clara which played out well on camera.

Lilly had a sister who also worked on set as a director. Flora, or Flo Flo as Lilly affectionately called her, had a goth vibe and was obsessed with vampires. Despite the dark clothing, she was just as bubbly as her sister.

Johnny spent the most time with Lacey due to the proximity of their work stations. She’d been kind enough to introduce him around and help him get acquainted with the building. She floated effortless between different social groups but was closest to Quinn.

While Lacey was a social butterfly, Quinn was more introverted. Lacey helped get Quinn set up with a private work area so she could have a place to write in peace. Johnny thought it was nice that the company was willing to accommodate her work style.

The one person whom Johnny hadn’t been seeing much of was his supervisor, Lucy. He’d taken on a few tasks, like distributing call sheets and schedules and making sure materials were properly stocked, but he still found himself without much to do during the day. He hung around some on set, learning about the equipment and the filming process.

At first he was happy with the downtime, but as he noticed Lucy was still running herself ragged around the studio all day he began to wonder if there was a reason she wasn’t delegating more tasks to him. If she and Damien had really seen potential in him, then why not let him take on more responsibilities? He decided to be proactive for once and talk to Lucy about it.

When he saw her walking out of her office, he sprinted down the hall to get her attention.

“Hey, Lucy!” he called and she turned to greet him.

“Oh, hi, Johnny,” she replied, nearly out of breath. “Is everything still going ok?”

“Yeah, it’s good. I’m feeling a little more like part of the team.”

“Great! I’m glad you’re liking it so far.”

“It seems like you’re in a rush, do you need me to do anything for you?”

“Oh, no!” Lucy waved her hand. “I don’t have that much to do. I’m just going to run over to the set and make sure the issue with the lighting is fixed. I’ll probably stop by editing on the way back to review some thumbnails, unless Damien still wants to discuss budgeting, in which case, I’ll-”

“Lucy,” Johnny interrupted. “It sounds like you need some help. At least let me check on the lighting for you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Lucy insisted. “It’s on my way.”

“Do you not trust me? Wait, you’re not one of those control freaks who thinks they’re the only ones who can do things right, are you?”

“No!” Lucy’s face reddened. “I know how to delegate, and I don’t want to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” She took a deep breath, relaxing for the first time that Johnny had seen since he started. “It’s just harder than I expected to be the one in charge. I’m a social person, but no one wants to sit with their boss in the break area, you know what I mean?”

“So you want…friends?” That wasn’t quite the explanation that Johnny had expected.

“I just don’t want to walk into a room and feel like everyone else is trying to look busy or they’re just being polite. I want my presence to be welcomed, not a burden.”

Johnny could relate to that sentiment. “So you thought if you gave me too much work, I would treat you like everyone else does.”

Lucy wrung her hands. “It sounds so stupid when you spell it out like that, but I guess so. You’re the first person who’s worked directly under me, so I didn’t want to put too much on you right off the bat.”

“I don’t think that’s stupid,” Johnny assured her. “It’s hard when you’re surrounded by people and still feel lonely. I’ll make you a deal. If you let me take on more duties, then I’ll talk you up to everyone.”

“You really think that will work?”

“Sure, I’m very charming. I’ll just tell everyone how chill you are and they’ll be like, ‘Well, if Johnny says she’s cool, then it must be true.’”

Lucy snorted. “I don’t think anyone’s going to believe that I’m chill at this point.”

“You’re probably right about that. I’ll think of something else.”

“Good deal. Thanks, Johnny.” Lucy turned and started walking away.

“You’re welcome . . . boss,” Johnny called behind her. He laughed when she raised a middle finger in the air in response.

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

[shinyzango]

So, about that "A Steampunk Carol" graphic novel...

I totally did not forget to make the post about it like I promised I am so sorry.

For those who are not familiar with it, long story short a while ago I came across a Kickstarter project for what seemed to be a steampunk adaptation of the Nutcracker story and was bummed that I missed out on it and wasn't able to support and secure a copy for myself, but a fella made me aware that it did actually get published in Italy a few years ago, and that it was sold on Amazon. And after discovering that there was literally only one copy left, I bought it on a whim to both read it and to hopefully attract more attention to it for reasons I'll discuss in just a bit.

I'm just going to say that I'm very back at writing reviews so apologies if this doesn't say anything at the end or if you didn't get the answers to your questions dkfjgn

Alright, now for the book itself.

First things first, the story. I won't go into details right now as I do not want to spoil folks in case this does get released in english to a wider public, but I can add a Spoilers section in the future where I explain in detail what happens if I get asked about it.

The story, like I said, is an adaptation of the Nutcracker And The Mouse King, but it is quite different in many elements, and spices things up quite a bit, especially after the introduction.

Sadly it feels quite rushed in its execution imo, I assume it's because they had to fit everything in a single volume. Which is a shame because there are many concepts and ideas that are very fascinating and interesting, both for the plot and for the characters themselves.

Speaking of the characters, they are quite unique and interesting.

The main kid, Caitlin, who is the Clara/Marie of the story, can be a little sassy, but she still feels grounded and has a good balance between putting down her foot and being nervous about the situation. I don't mind her character.

The Nutcracker, who is only called Schiaccia (just a shortened "Schiaccianoci" which is nutcracker in italian. I assume he's called Cracker in english if they kept that logic), feels solid. He's a loyal soldier, skilled but does show hints of insecurities. A good lad.

The mice are great as well, I'm really intrigued by the lore they cooked up for them, and the Mouse King is actually not bad, and I like what they did with his character.

There's also another supporting character, a tin soldier who goes by Sergeant Idle. He is basically a companion to the Nutcracker. He is basically a plot tool, helping with the backstory and moving the story forward, but not in a bad way. He's very enjoyable.

I would have loved to see them all explored further, but like I said it all feels rushed probably because it had to stick all in a single volume. I don't know if the authors ever considered this to become a series or if it's just a one-shot story, but I would honestly love to see this evolve into a series, if only because I love the characters and I would love to know more about the lore they cooked up for it more in detail, letting all the elements have the time to shine.

Moving on to the graphic...

I love Lorenza's art style. It looks very sketchy, with a clean roughness to it if that makes sense. And I really like all the designs of the characters.

(Apologies for the glares, I tried my hardest to limit them as much as possible. also ngl I'm giggling a little seeing how Schiaccia looks similar to my Hans skdfkjhn)

All in all, I really like this adaptation. It's unique and enjoyable, if only a little rushed.

Like I mentioned before, this was Kickstarted a while ago to get properly published in english. It was successfully funded and as far as I know, they're currently in the process of printing copies if not even shipping them for the backers. I still don't know if the folks at Last Ember Press are planning in making it available to purchase outsite the Kickstart, but I really hope so because I do think this deserves to be available to everyone.

[pboogerswbb]

this is the first time i have ever attempted something like this so bear with me lolol. i just really wanted to share my thoughts and give a lengthy review, it deserves one. sorry for the length😭

“Not to sound too cocky or like a piece of shit”  ma’am that is exactly how you sound 😂 the way you write P is exactly my type and I’m starting to consider therapy lmao.

the silly girl mention made me giggle at work ngl

my fav part of any toxic P fic is when she’s obviously caught feelings but would rather do anything but admit them all while simultaneously doing a shit job at hiding it. like miss girl PLS 

“It’s not like I was in love,”  “ But it has nothing to do with love.” girl boo. the fact that you even have to clarify lmao its giving denial   

it amazes me how adamant Paige was about no sleepovers but didn’t even hesitate to cuddle her girl. like even went as far as not wanting to let go of her. me and Val are the same bc I also would have felt special lmaoo

PERFECT GIRL ?!?! i can’t handle this

idk i personally think that hickeys are intimate asf. like that means something to me and if my “situationship” let me put a hickey on her neck I would go ahead and assume we were married. even if it was just a small one. Paige is so down bad. 

watching in the mirror is freakyyy ngl 

“No no no, Valerie ‘s not like that,” she urgently stops me, kissing me softly. “It’s just for us, for you. No one else.” im cooked omg this is so domestic lowk

daddy kink daddy kink daddy kink 

the spit ? pls I love it when writers match my freak 

the aftercare in this is so sexy. its so important but hookup culture deff takes it away. it always feels like such a turning point in fics like this bc it goes from finishing and immediately parting ways to actually caring about how each other feels after. P not only wanting to shower with Valerie but also being the one to initiate it is HOT. 

 PLS tell me she kept those fucking glasses on. 😫 also shower sex next chapter ??? soooo here for that. 

-💜 (is this emoji taken ???) 

stop this is so cute please keep doing this 🩷 this is so incredibly validating!! you shall be 💜 anon!

- i completely get the whole being attracted to player!p there’s something abt her that makes me CRAAZYYY

- she’s v much in denial

- i find it so funny how p wouldn’t even go to clara’s birthday thing but the second valerie called boom she was there!! all her rules are going out the window for her sure AND TY FOR NOTICING THE CUDDLING!! in part II she mentions how she doesn’t get it at all and it made it impossible to sleep like that but then sleeping next to val they cuddle all night and paige doesn’t wanna let go even in the morning!! she is whipped

- the fact that they’re both lowkey seeing other people and leaving hickeys on each other is… crazy work

- i love daddy kink!p trust

AND YES GLASSES STAY ON FOR THE SEX!! TY FOR WRITING ALL THIS!! <33

[socialistexan]

Since I'm in the part of my modern Doctor Who watch through where I'm watching episodes I hadn't watched when they came out (I stopped watching just before Matt Smith left), and I genuinely can not believe Kill the Moon got good reviews from critics when it first came out.

The Doctor is all over the place and just not well written, though Capaldi does what he can. Jenna Coleman is a good actor, but Clara was awful on this. No offense to this actor, but Moffat's era was particularly bad with child actors and Courtney is no different.

The premise, the writing, the all over the place plot, and the heavy-handed pro-life messaging is just awful. It's not even the first pro-life episode of Moffat's tenure (I count Rebel Flesh as one, personally, with Smith's Doctor going on and on about "sancticy of life they created" and all that). The directions was fine enough, but that's about it.

They sullied the iconic image of that orange spacesuit from the Tennant years for that?!

Anyway, I think it might be the worst episode of Modern Who, so congratulations for dethroning Fear Hear and Love & Monsters.

[ofutopia]

"You don't remember me, do you?" Missy in World enough and Times - Moffat writing against himself for the better

Look I've decided to write a post with a fancy title (but maybe it's just a trick to put a lot of screen captures in this. We will never know)

I've played around with the idea that the way Missy is portrayed in World enough and Time can be read as a way to set up the woman in the shop arc. With some headcanon in the middle.

Truthfully, I'm really fond of the woman in the shop part of Missy persona (my view on the I want my friend back of series 8 are for another post). It was a bit clunky in series 8 but I was game and I thought that it fit her character. (And for a few years that's all it was)

However, the more I analyse these series (and I guess we are getting to the core of them), the more it makes sense to me.

And it all goes back to Simm!Master, still in disguise asking Missy "You don't remember me, do you?" The double entendre is perfect. On first viewing we think it's a really casual line, on reviewing he's asking if she's remembering who she is. Because he's disgusted by who he sees.

And he openly mocks her the moment she wants to go find the Doctor and tell him about something she's discovered. He mocks her for being controlled by the Doctor and tells her that she will never be set free.

[ID: Missy in World Enough And Time - Caption reads - Doctor! - "Doctor! Oh, Doctor! Doctor!"]

He then decides to reveal himself to her first. And his look is one of disgust and derision.

(bad lighting is the bane of my existence)

[ID Simm Master in World Enough And Time - Caption reads Hello, Missy. I'm the Master, and I'm very worried about my future]

The Doctor Falls - If you're reading this you know how it goes.

That's where I insert my headcanon so bear with me. Seeing themself being controlled so much that they killed themself leaves a subconscious imprint on the Master's mind. (Don't ask me how Gallifreyan's subconscious work. I just think the Master's mind is not a really hard place to leave an imprint on)

Anyway Simm regenerates into Missy. And one of the first thing Missy wants to do is controlling the Doctor almost as thoroughly as she's been controlled. It's an urged that she can't explained right now. And why is she using a proxy? Because it's fun. She wants to have fun and who could blame her, the trauma Simm went through still lingers (people tend to skip over Simm's trauma in TDF)

That's how we go to this scene in Dark Water, the Doctor calling for Clara and Missy openly mocking himr:

[ID: 12th Doctor in St Paul's Cathedral caption reads - Clara! Clara! Clara! I've got to get Clara!]

[ID: Missy in St Paul's Cathedral - caption reads Oh, Clara, Clara!]

And again in Death in Heaven:

[ID: Missy on the presidential plane - caption reads Now that the sound your chain being yanked]

[ID: Missy on the presidential plane - caption reads Heel, Doctor!]

I think at that moment, The Master completly wins. It might last just a minute and it was worth losing their memory. And it was worth having to relive it but it's done. And it's not even a good revenge because it's not one Missy can really taste (she notoriously gets jealous of it). It just is.

Thank you for reading my really long post on the Woman in the shop arc. Hope you liked it.

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (part 1/2)

I was planning to do a more in dept review of each songs, but there is so many (31!!!) that I decided to write smaller thoughts instead...and cut it in half. Part 2: The Anthology will be posted tomorrow. Please share your thoughts, I love talking with other swifties <3

* = current favorites

Fortnight : I didn’t know what to expect with this Post Malone feature, but I like it. I love you, it's ruining my life is so relatable. On another note, I love the music video. It’s so aesthetically pleasing to watch. It gives Poor Things vibes and stars Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, who were both in the 1989 movie Dead poet society. 

The tortured poets department : I like some parts of the bridge, but will need a deeper listen 

My boy only break his favorite toys * : Did not expect this one to be so catchy. 

Down bad : Vibes. Sadness. Vibes. 

So long, London : There are so many sad lines in this track — as always with Track 5s. The bridge. 

But daddy I love him : Is this song about us? I’m having his baby. No I’m not, but you should see your faces! She is so unserious <3

Fresh out the slammer : The opening gives Lana vibes

Florida!!! : I was excited about Florence Welch's feature the same way I was with Lana on Midnights. I’m getting the same drugs she put in Maroon sound wise. 

Guilty as sin? : This one is for the Dress girlies

Who’s afraid of little old me * : Rep coded. Mad woman's sister. A favorite on the album <3

I can fix him (no really I can) : No one can fix this man Taylor, it’s been years. Also, it’s the shortest song on the record. It didn’t need to be longer for her to understand she couldn’t fix him *laughs*

loml : The transition from love of my life to loss of my life…I’m not crying, you are. This breakup was possibly the hardest for her, which you can feel in this song. 

I can do it with a broken heart * : The chorus is so glitter gel pen! 

The smallest boy who ever lived : She surprised us with who it’s about. 

The Alchemy : I was looking forward to Travis songs and this one did not disappoint. All the signs pointing to football and him. The trophy line! Screaming. I love it!

Clara Bow : The different icons (Clara Bow, Stevie Nicks, and herself) being used to put into a picture how her future would have turned out if she had stayed with each different man. With Joe, she would be Clara Bow and have to leave the music industry. With Matty, she’d be Stevie Nicks in 75 — performing but also on a lot of drugs (if you know him, you know). And lastly, post Joe/Matty, and with Travis, she is finally able to be herself.