#GUESS WHO'S ON HIS WAY TO CANADA FOR SEASON 3???

[backmarkerr]

please....can u speak on the conspiracy

So the conspiracy (more like a theory, really) is that Kimi was pushed out of the team starting in 2008 to make way for Fernando, who was more appealing to the big sponsor coming in. Before you click out thinking "Max, that's stupid, no team would throw a championship for a sponsor." I agree! But keep in mind that they didn't throw the championship, they fully expected to win the WDC with Felipe (and almost did) and did in fact win the WCC in 2008 with Felipe and Kimi despite everything. But there were really suspicious things going on. So with that in mind...

It's 2008. Kimi has just won Malaysia, the second race of the season. Three days after his win, there's this:

.

Ok, kinda weird, but whatever. F1 runs on rumours, right? Suggesting that Kimi might retire when he's doing so well is silly. And in the article they seem to be pretty ambivalent over whether it would be Felipe or Kimi to leave.

Fast forward to Spain two races later. Kimi scores his second win of the season and takes the championship lead. The season is shaping up pretty well for the defence of the title, you’d think this would be a good time for him, but again, the story du jour is Ferrari wanting Alonso in Kimi’s seat for 2009.

[x] I guess now we know at least Massa's seat is secure...?

If you’re like me, that sounds stupid. The reigning champion just won the last GP and his contract runs until the end of 2010, so this media narrative makes no sense. Something pretty catastrophic would have to happen for that to ever come to fruition, right?

So anyway, he gets a first row start in Monaco. Great, that's almost a surefire win/points, right? Wrong, he got a drive-through penalty due to the team not fitting the wheels to the car on time before the race start. Not a great race and he ends up outside of the points. Lewis is now ahead in the WDC by 3 points. Not really a disaster, but...

[x] what on earth...

[x] again the talk of retirement.... I mean, it's weird, right?

Zero points in Canada due to being rear-ended in the pitlane, which the team can’t control. Then he’s back to being neck to neck with his teammate and Lewis by the time the British GP is done in early July, with all three drivers on 48 points. Good news, right? Just gotta stay on track and not fuck it up somehow.

[x] sigh... (this one's a little harder to source as it was printed media, but I've seen this exact interview quoted in different pages)

So anyway, they change his front suspension for the next race in Germany. Kimi has always been very sensitive to changes in the car, so he knew something was wrong. Ferrari (via Michael, who was then head of development) say he's just not adapting well to the upgrades. Maybe, sure, but why aren't you bringing upgrades that are geared towards your world champion?

(an interesting remark from Mark Hughes here if you scroll down to the comments, which adds weight to Kimi not being listened to when it came to car development in 2008)

Bar a podium in Hungary, Kimi scores 0 points in 4 out of the next 5 races. It takes until either Monza or Singapore (hello crashgate!) for Ferrari to put his suspension back as it was.

He proceeds to get 3 podiums in the remaining 3 races but it’s not enough to catch up. By Singapore he was already 27 points behind his teammate (reminder this is the old points system) and very much expected to play the supporting role. In the penultimate race in China he very obviously gave up P2 to his teammate:

"I know what the team expects." [x] / [x]

Yet the narrative in the media and from Ferrari themselves is that his motivation is bad and he's not assertive. It was so pervasive that to this day people still parrot it and say he just didn’t care after 2007, despite Kimi always stating he was fully committed and clearly getting annoyed whenever journalists asked about his motivation even years later.

Montezemolo at the end of 2008 even 'joked' that "Kimi in the recent races was replaced two or three times by a friend, but next year he'll be back." Basically saying that Kimi wasn't really present, you know? An interesting thing to say when this absent driver scored 18 points in the last 3 races (three consecutive P3s), while the one who was amazing and had the team's full backing scored 20 (P7, P2, P1).

A whole 2 points' difference, maybe someone should hire that "friend"...

So why did they do this?

Well, the theory is that Santander (I promise this isn’t like the dumb Sainztander takes) wanted a Spanish-Brazilian lineup due to financial interests (Spanish bank, big market in South America with a looming IPO in Brazil), so Kimi was basically being pressured out of the team from early 2008 onwards. Like I said at the start, the team weren’t really throwing away 2008, as they expected to win the WCC with both drivers (they did) and Massa to be able to win the WDC, which would of course be beneficial for their new sponsor. And he almost did. Almost.

[x] they're not in charge of driver selection but this specific driver line-up would good for them. (this archived copy of the article is from 2010, but the text makes it clear it's from 2009)

Of course at this point we have to wonder if a team like Ferrari would bow down to a sponsor's demands. I can't tell you what the internal considerations were or how much money was on the line, but it's also not like Santander were telling them to get rid of Kimi for a bad driver, you know? Fernando is a great driver, so from Ferrari's perspective they were just trading a great driver for another great driver who also appealed to this huge sponsor, and an Alonso-Massa line-up would be solid. And with the previous talk that Ferrari and Alonso had already inked a deal in 2008... It's just difficult to believe there isn't a grain of truth here.

So the alleged initial plan of having Alonso in 2009 was foiled when Kimi activated the renewal option in his contract. It was then that he was bought out of his last year (apparently paid for by Santander).

[from the book The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen]

As we can see, by the end Kimi was also fed up with what was going on, especially people pointing the finger at him and at his motivation, and his frustration is very clear in interviews like here at 2.35 and here:

Publicly, Ferrari said they wanted someone more in line with how Michael used to be (ironic since Montezemolo allegedly didn’t like how Michael made the team his), who could communicate with the team and give better feedback (ironic when Todt, Dyer, Stella and others said Kimi was very clear and precise.) Kimi himself has always stated that he wasn’t the issue, that his motivation was never lacking and that the real reason he was pushed out was politics and money.

[x]

[x]

If it had only been the mechanical stuff, I’d be willing to chalk it up to just bad luck and incompetence. Shit happens. But with all the rumours around it even before things went bad on the track and Kimi stating that his work and performance weren't the reason he was let go it becomes impossible for me to think there wasn’t an actual push going on to replace him.

Hell, even famed Ferrari fanboy Sebastian Vettel didn't think it was realistic for Kimi to return to Ferrary in 2014 precisely because Kimi isn't one for "bullshit" and "politics". Why would he choose to say that specifically? And according to Finnish media Kimi’s 2014 Ferrari negotiations included Montezemolo personally apologising to him. Now why would he apologise if they hadn’t done something wrong?

Personally I think Kimi's "certain people did certain things" refers to this. He never trashed anyone and always said he had no ill-feelings. And I believe him. But it doesn't mean nothing happened, lest we forget how well he handled Lotus not paying him.

The thing that really bothers me is that Kimi got the reputation for having low motivation and not caring about what he was doing (I heard that take just last month from an F1 youtuber, how Fernando was hired in 2010 because Kimi had mentally checked out 🙄), when obviously someone who wasn’t motivated and didn’t care would have simply called it quits under these circumstances. Instead he got P3 in the standings in 2008 (I know he’s talented, but he must have been trying at least a little), trained hard to lose enough weight to use KERS in 2009 (why would he do that if he didn’t care) and took the team’s only win that year despite the car being shit. Interestingly, pundits acknowledged his good performance complicated things when it came to Ferrari’s rumoured hiring of Alonso. So imagine how much more complicated things would have been had Kimi done better in 2008?

Anyway, this is long, but if you want something longer then I definitely recommend this post here. You might not agree completely with the original authors (there are parts where I wish there was more info), but I think they offer a lot of good research and information regarding the overall situation back in 2008/2009, and it's a good jump-off point for your own research.

But yeah. 2008 could have been everything. Or at least better.

[thelambliesdown1974]

I posted this is comedy yaoi but actually I need everyone to see it because I’m an educator. In lieu of the mass grief following the recent US election here’s my complete unabridged opinion piece on both the RPF and character-based SCTV yaoi-verse✊

Okay so here’s my introduction paragraph for those now in the know — second city television was a sketch comedy show that ran from ‘76-84 originally in syndication, later on CBC and NBC. It was basically the Canadian ‘underground’ version of SNL except the framing for all the skits was a fictitious dysfunctional television station (SCTV) run by a handful of recurring characters and starring Dave Thomas, John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Andria Martin, Rick Moranis, and Martin Short though in various combinations over the years. Oh and also Harold Ramis but only for the first two seasons so no comment.

I’d say Flaherty was kind of the big brother for everyone else in the operation— he was in the original theatre troupe and part of the show since day one. That’s not to say he was at all authoritarian though, Joe was definitely a soft spoken democratic leader. Maybe like Woodrow Wilson. Or Dumbledore, if that’s more relevant to you personally. I wouldn’t say he has any particularly strong yaoi ties to anyone else in the cast except I guess Eugene Levy since they were kind of each other’s creative muses. HOWEVER…. in terms of SCTV characters their respective newscaster personas Floyd and Earl are undoubtedly boning in a toxic nasty way on station property and probably are also the #1 SCTV couple in a Stefon and Seth sort of way (see below)

I almost forgot they also play classic 70s talk show hosts and there’s a lot of fan-fiction about them getting each other pregnant okay that’s all.

NEXT. John Candy was also one of the original members and while he wasn’t necessarily involved in either type of yaoi, his characters were integral in giving especially season 1 a very homoerotic flair. It was mostly his washed up actor-sona Johnny LaRue constantly and publicly struggling against the gay allegations since his segment in the very first episode. While trying to find that clip I actually instead found this SCTV Reddit image with a poorly overlaid huge Ariel caption that I like better. (See below)

I don’t have a whole lot to say about Catherine O’Hara, I think she was too self respecting both on screen and irl to get involved but I love her. She wrote a lot with Joe and Eugene so they were kind of like a platonic power throuple in my awesome mind. Andria Martin…. I am less sure about. She played the butch lesbian A LOT and I think has confirmed actually had sex with another woman (YURI) but I won’t say anything……. See below. Also interesting photo to use for that particular article.

NEXT….. Okay Dave Thomas, I really am not even sure where to begin with him but he was also one of the chief writers and original troupe members who ended up meeting Rick Moranis and bringing him on in season 3. The whole thing was partly his brainchild and he did author a book on the group’s history however I don’t see Dave as being as serious as Levy or Flaherty writing and production-wise. He’s kind of very theatre guy goofy silly on screen but also has an aura of sociopolitical jadedness that starts coming through in his Bill Needle sketches (a fictional miserable entertainment critic slash commentator I’ll discuss later) but especially once Dave started doing Doug McKenzie after Moranis joined.

They met at some comedy-based party in Canada (the gayest place you can meet) and really hit it off and immediately preformed as a musical duo that night (the gayest activity you can partake in. It’s like Simon and Garfunkel). Rick was kind of the new kid of the group after he was brought on but since Dave was a senior member they ended up working together a lot. The Great White North AKA the McKenzie brother skits are for sure no question what made SCTV anywhere near as well known as it is today and that was Thomas and Moranis’ comedy child. Okay and you might be thinking ‘how are they the most real life yaoiful couple on the cast but also are famous for playing brothers’ — that’s a good question and the answer is just don’t think about it too hard. I think Bob and Doug are more a testament to Dave and Rick’s day 1 original pure beautiful friendship that then laid the path for more later on. Like in this except from Dave’s book ⬇️

Anyway yes they’re 70 year old best friends now and still talk on the phone all the time and it’s awesome. But they were probably the closest out of anyone and both had to simultaneously deal with their sudden and overwhelming joint fame after Great White North blew up, which was unpleasant for both of them and involved a lot of travel and hotel rooms. (See below: an interview photo, their radio appearance promoting their comedy album, and whatever’s happening in the last one. Also notice how Dave’s face is a perfect circle he’s so cute)

Okay circling back to Bill Needle — he was a character Dave started doing in early on that went on until he left the show and he’s kind of irrelevant except for a few yaoiful details. He’s constantly having marital problems and has a weird friendship with the sleazy semi-creepy SCTV station president Guy Caballero whom Flaherty plays, and would I say they’re OFFICIALLY a yaoi couple not really but it’s there.

But yeah anyway in conclusion Rick and Dave show up in a bunch of each others sketches throughout the series and they write together and talk together and have play dates together and kiss and everyone else on SCTV absorbs their faggotry either by free will or by association and I think that’s what’s really important to remember and also I love them and I love you too. Oh and also Martin Short’s there near the end but he’s irrelevant except for inventing Ed Grimly and being Steve Martin’s de facto wife later in life. THE END

[yanxioustrikas]

obviously just for fun but it was one of those days when i suddenly thought ‘why not give ms altivo a sibling?’

guess what i did?

gave ms altivo a sibling

roland's relationship with other characters

— basic info —

roland eiji altivo (he/him)

🇿🇦 | 🇵🇹 🇯🇵 (based on my hc nationality / ethnicity for ms altivo)

eva altivo’s younger brother (three years younger?)

6'0 ft tall

classic (not-too-hostile) sibling rivalry between him and eva, but both have similar goals for their own self-interest —> to be famous worldwide

met sunny hellström (non-canon surname) in his intro journalism course, since then they both have a very interesting dynamic...

— career —

news anchor at futbol 360 (season 1 - 3)

has a reputation for finding and covering the hottest news and stories, while being charming and adding his own flair into covering the news

had beef with almost every news reporters and anchors in south africa

tried to start beef with lena long but was always unsuccessful due to lena not giving two shits

talk show host for 'roll up with roland' (season 4 and onwards)

roland literally rolls up in wheelies shoes in every show, that is his signature (credits to @abyss-strikas for this amazing idea!)

he and his show's reputation skyrocketed at a national level since the launch of roll up with roland, though still trails a little behind rob rawson's talk show

erasyl (headcanon name for the guy who got fired by ms altivo in the episode 'live and kicking') also works for the show, as one of the writers

despite that roland's talk show is distributed by another major media company (in contrast to his sister having her own company), he still believes that he can still beat eva in the popularity competition, as long as he can get everybody in the world to tune in to his show

— traits —

persuasive, charismatic, intelligent, extroverted, humourous, ambitious

manipulative, narcissistic, stubborn (has a bad temper if things don't go his way)

— fun facts —

besides english, also fluent in afrikaans and japanese, working on his portuguese, and knows a little bit of french and italian

played soccer as a striker, since young and up until after undergrad

obtained a bachelor degree (ba in strategic communications) in south africa, then a master degree (master of journalism) in canada

a prominent member of his high school's renowned debate club, where he literally carried his school to nationals (the school has a history of every member of the altivo family being in the debate club, with each of them carrying the school to the top)

[lestappenforever]

I know its been a day, but I wasn’t able to watch the race fully yesterday, and this is my take on what I saw

Firstly, VCARB. The cars just wasn’t there this weekend, and we can’t lie, their quali and the fact that they kind of got stuck all throughout the race cost them, and being stuck behind someone in a track like Circuit de Catalunya, which teams go for 2-3 stops in because tyres are dead, and with dirty air. Yeah it just wasn’t it for these guys. But hopefully next seek they are able to be back, because they do have the speed, and they could go far in terms if points this tear.

Williams just aren’t on the right foot all year. And this race was no exception, poor quali, slowest car. You can’t expect your drivers to compete if you don’t give them the tools. 2023 parts in the 2024 car for a driver and the other that had the 2024 parts still is p18. Yeah, they need to get their shit together and stop blaming Logan for not getting points when nit providing him with the Machine and an equal opportunity as his team mate, who isn’t also performing.

Aston Martin was in the wring foot this week. The car isn’t bad, but they still need to wirk hard. A team like them is “supposedly” a top 5 team in the constructors. That’s what they gave us last year. But they need to work on their car because it just is not adding up.

Alpine, double points for the second week running is VERY impressive and important because of their tractor at the beginning of the season. They seemed to have put the work and it’s starting to show. But in order for it to be a fair comparison, give both your drivers the lighter chassis, not just one while leaving the other with the overweight one, and expect hin to perform greatly. It just doesn’t make much sense tbh.

Ferrari are way better than Canada, that’s for sure. Getting back up after a hard blow is not something easy, but they were not too bad all weekend, but they were also not that good. Charles and Carlos having an incident, then Carlos and Lewis. Carlos is getting frustrated for sure, but he needs to get his head in the game, because these silly mistakes could coat him , Charles and Ferrari points, like it did in Canada. But nonetheless, their strategy was not on point , with pitting Charles quite late, almost same time as Lando, it cost him a fight fir forth or even third place.

Second race in a row, second Mercedes podium. Tbh, these upgrades have given both George and Lewis so much confidence in their cars, with the lead that George stole fron Lando, to both being able to keep Lando, in the fastest car of the race behind them a couple of laps, to their calls. They are on the right trajectory and it’s something we don’t hate to see.

McLaren are getting cocky. And don’t get me wring, I’m impressed with their progress in one year, but they’re getting too cocky for their own good. Oscar did a phenomenal race from starting in p9 to ending p7, overtaking and a right strategy, but he’s in the fastest car, and couldn’t get past the Ferraris who were on a considerably “wrong foot” since Canada. Meanwhile Landi started on pole, by the end of lap 1, lost 2 positions, tried to overtake and got stuck in dirty air, and when his engineer asked him , he said fight for the win, which I respect, but fucked his strategy with the time he pitted and then being stuck unable to regain first. Let’s be real. McLaren have no one to blame for this race but themselves, because they were the fastest all weekend and have been for a while, yet they didn’t win. And Zak Brown should definitely eat his words that if you put someone other than Max in the fastest car, they’d win, and no one is faster than Lando, well guess what. Lando had the fastest car, and has had it since Miami, yet won only one race, why is that Zak. Eat. Your. Words.

Lastly Red Bull. Are they making progress, yes for sure and that could be evident on Checo, who is regaining more confidence after 2 horrible races for him in a row. Starting P11, regaining and ending p8 (granted not the best result, but points finish nonetheless) and be wasn’t 100% happy with the car. And saying he’ll continue to fight, I’m sure he will, and Checo will return to the podium very soon, especially because his strategy wasn’t the best and the penalty cost him a bit, but he’s regaining that confidence and that’s what we like. Then we have the one who literally destroyed the dreams of those around him. You can’t tell me that that race wasn’t all Max, because it was. The overtake on George that was as it was written in the book. To being able to communicate effectively with GP. To the strategy that had Max lead into lap 2. To then win the race in the second fastest car, snatching the win from the fastest. Yeah he’s unbelievable, but the team need to wake up, and provide him with upgrades that would enable them both (Max and Checo) to be more confident and less concerned with how their cars will perform (upgrades please red bull thank you)

Well, this is my race analysis for 1/3 of the upcoming triple header. And I want to end it on something I read about Max. Because HE is what makes the difference, not the car

It said something like there are great drivers in fats cars then there is the fastest driver in a great car. And I guess this sums up the Spanish GP top 2 in a nutshell

BRING ON AUSTRIA (May we listen to the Austrian and Dutch anthems tomorrow and enjoy it, and hopefully more on Sunday)

As I didn’t get the chance to watch much of anything this past weekend, this analysis is golden. Thank you so much for sharing once again, I truly enjoy reading your post-race analyses. ❤️

Honestly, people who still believe Max's success is only because of the car and not that man's raw, once-in-a-generation talent, they haven’t been watching the races. Or they have, but they're simply too blinded by jealousy and/or their dislike towards Max to see him for the exceptional driver he is. And those people are simply not worth your time or energy.

Let’s fucking go Lestappen holy temple!

[bridgertonopinions]

OG PR Anon Here: After these past few days, I feel like I’m 1000% that I was right about LN having a PR strategy meeting with his team. My guess is that his agent had got him and a comms team together prior to the start of these last two weeks of promo. I stated that he’d be on a “social media good will tour” and that’s exactly what is happening. My evidence: 1. He’s hired a SM manager (I’m confident in this) - The increase in stories and the BTS Bridgerton post. This is unusual from him, we haven’t seen this at all during the beginning of the promo. He’s handed off his socials to someone who can work on the fan interaction. (lots of celebs do this honestly as SM can be a lot so kudos to him for giving up the reigns on something he may not enjoy) 2. The prank video ended up in both People Magazine and ET. Both of those publications 99% of the time get their content from celeb comms teams. His team submitted those to get his name out there. 3. I had mentioned in my first post that we would probably see LN take the lead in interviews and from what I saw at the Canada event, he did the majority of the talking on that stage. NC kept her microphone down and let him do the talking. He did really well too!

I’m not trying to disrespect in ANY way so please don’t take it that way

But we’ve seen Luke consistently posting throughout this whole promo tour, pics, BTS, etc, the prank video Nic did to him also ended up in publications, as well as Kelly Clarkson, he’s taken the lead in each country as well throughout interviews not all the time but he’s done so a fair amount

I’m just pointing out I’ve seen these things already throughout this tour - and I don’t buy into the PR narrative entirely because they’ve spoken about how they give each other turns to speak, they’ve spoken about how they couldn’t wait to share BTS from the season, and how they’ve been able to stop repressing themselves from their natural chemistry

I’m not trying to be combative here it’s just when they themselves have spoken out about these things it’s hard to say it’s 100 percent PR, do I think some of it is? Yes but not their actual relationship… Nic has been dubbed one of the most genuine actresses and we haven’t seen Luke in his true light long enough but I know people that have met him and have said he’s very genuine and sweet I don’t think these two would be able to just flat out fake or lie about who they really are, which they’ve repeatedly told us

And I’m not sure it would make sense for him to hand over to his social media manager now when it’s nearly the end of the world tour? And the end of their season? That doesn’t make sense to me….but I guess it’s just me….

[landinrris]

i have a question to cleanse your mind from that young royals hot mess on twitter. do you think norrix may in fact be real and if it is when do you think it became real? and if not do you think it might ever become real? my own view is they've not acted on anything right now and would say they're only very good friends if asked and are most likely even still hooking up with women but there are feelings much stronger than normal friends bc well it's crystal clear that it's not a normal friendship but a fair chunk deeper than that like a soul connection or something as an anon said the other day. but i don't know if they'll ever get up the courage to act on it. my projection clearly as we'll never really know how they feel if they don't act on it and go public but they come across like of two of my friends who so clearly care for each other in a non-platonic way and are joined at the hip every opportunity and are physically affectionate with one another but never did anything about it so far at least from what we all know anyway and only one has recently come out as not straight. though i guess even having that deep love even if it remains platonic is a special thing regardless. was wondering what your take on it is if you don't mind being public about that.

Okay, so here's the thing. I'm very hesitant to speculate in an open space about someone's sexuality where anyone can see it. (Sometimes I really wish Tumblr's search function didn't catch literally everything, but whatever). I don't know, I have really complicated feelings on the matter in general because I recognize things from my own life, but nothing is universal etc etc. And maybe I blur the lines on my blog a bit, but at the end of the day, the plausible deniability side, and the side that doesn't really know any of the people I post about, will lean towards these relationships not being real in the romantic sense.

That being said, I will gladly address this question from a more "fictionalized" viewpoint using things that have actually happened. It might be counter-intuitive to write like that, but it hasn't stopped me yet because I am not them, so it's default fiction.

In one of the things I'm writing that utilizes real-world timelines, I have them kind of getting together following the Spa 2023 gig when Lando goes back to Amsterdam and posts the photo to his Insta Story from Martin's balcony. All the feelings from the past year build up until they can't hold them back anymore.

The reason I think Spa (besides the fact that the aforementioned picture kills me), is that following it, and even the event itself really, Lando largely stops posting their meetups on his social media. Someone else brought to my attention that after New York and Canada, McLaren also largely stopped posting content of the two of them. As compared to Miami where there was plenty of content of Martin hanging around Lando's driver's room.

So New York/Canada happens with "Real Love." Then Spa happens with Lando and Max flying into the show and Lando going back to Amsterdam. Lando specifically realizes then that if he wants to avoid scrutiny and rumors and gossip as much as possible, he has to let the psycho girl rumors go wild while he flies under the radar with privacy and avoids advertising who he's with. Hence, a tangible lack of material from both him and McLaren for the rest of the season when Martin is present.

The ski trip is the exception because I think the ski trip is special. Especially because Martin was nowhere near France prior to it. Lando says, fuck it, for a brief moment and posts the photos he wants to post.

But then we have winter break and go back to both of them being very quiet when they're together. Martin gets to post the proof that they've been together while Lando keeps his profile meticulously bare of anyone but himself. The fact that Martin was back in Amsterdam for ~8 hours and posted 3-4 things says a lot. But he's quiet again, now that he's somewhere snowy while Lando's plans of Finland seemingly grow nearer.

They're not sure if they'll ever broadcast anything, but maybe they'll work back up to posting like they used to pre-New York where they were much more likely to show up on one of their Stories at the least.

So, in my world, yes it's happened, and this is why I think so.

In the real, tangible world, who knows. Whatever their relationship is clearly means a great deal to them both. If it's purely platonic, if there's a legitimate romantic element, or if they just sit there and pine for the next few years, I hope they're happy and content they have one another. Finding people you click with that quickly and genuinely is a special thing.

[papapoutine]

Riverdale Characters and the IDGAF War

Nana Rose: general of the idgaf war. Kept a corpse in maple syrup for decades. Sold the maple groves that her husband’s family had held for generations after Reggie flirted with her once and she heard about one maple tree not producing sap. Sat on information regarding Jason’s death for months and did not care. Had a son that disappeared and a child bride daughter who hates her and never mentions any of them and never tried to look for said child or make amends with said daughter. Was fully prepared to sacrifice her granddaughter’s situationship at a moment’s notice.

Josie: The General MacArthur of the idgaf war. Utterly annihilated Sweet Pea and Archie in the idgaf wars of season 3, and came out victorious in the Cold Idgaf War against Reginald Mantle while texting during community service in season 2. Repeatedly stayed late and walked home alone from school durinng a time where her mother was receiving death threats, a serial killer was on the loose, AND she had a stalker who had managed to break into her locker (obvi, it was Cheryl, but she had no idea atp). Pulled a Jesy Nelson on the Pussycats only to reunite the band seven years later so she could flex on her flop classmates and clear every single one of them in a single takedown. The only reason Nana Rose ranks above her is due to the sheer amount of lore that Nana Rose sits on and doesn’t talk about because she dgaf about it.

Hermione: called a hit on her husband and still slept with him later. Divorced him by declaring she had joined the real housewives. Somewhat faltered after becoming a real housewife, but until then was as cool as a cucumber.

Hiram: dgaf about anything besides Veronica, wrestling, his rum business, and palladium.

Penelope: Does not acknowledge her breaking out of prison or sending her daughter to conversion therapy before asking her daughter to start a cult with her. Key victory against Hal in the season 3 finale.

Veronica: based on how she dealt with her breakups with Archie, Reggie and Chad, would be the most successful main character in the idgaf war were it not for Hiram. However, given that Hiram’s antics nearly always pose existential threats to her dreams and happiness, she is forced to concede brief losses by circumstance.

Reggie: debated putting him above Veronica due to how he handled his breakups with Veronica as well as selling her soul to Lucifer and setting fire to the maple groves but then I remembered his Red Circle era and he def gaf way too much.

Betty: much like Alice, hard to make a verdict. If it involved someone she cared deeply about, she would honestly hide it but be upset. I personally find labelling the Mad world stripping scene as fighting in the IDGAF war very funny, but ultimately she did it because she gaf about Jughead. She did, however, win the idgaf war against TBK.

Alice: Incredibly hard to answer, because overall she gaf, but when she wins, her victories are huge. I don’t know what else you could call the Gala entrance scene other than the equivalent to dropping an atomic bomb in the idgaf war. Completely annihilated Hal in the second season finale by telling him how much he sucked and how she wanted to fuck FP while he was trying to murder-suicide them. Otherwise completely loses because she cannot mind her own business.

Tabitha: honestly has no choice but to gaf because otherwise the multiverse would literally be destroyed.

Archie: Would seem to be winning but in reality wouldn’t know the idgaf war was even occurring. The second he finds out, though, he looks all over town looking to make that apology in person, regardless of who’s at fault.

Uncle Frank: cannot STAND when people don’t want to hear him. Always involves himself in shit. I guess he won the idgaf war against his family in Canada by abandoning them???

Cheryl: believes that she’s winning the idgaf war only to lead her troops to the slaughter like the Dauphin at the Battle of Agincourt. Seemingly won the idgaf war by isolating from the world for seven years, but immediately shat on that victory the second she left the house by challenging her pregnant ex, and then a literal teenager, to a dance battle for control of a high school cheerleading team. Cursed an entire town because some of them were descended from the people who killed the witch ancestress that Cheryl had literally found out about only an hour before. Made five (I count burning down Thornhill) tributes to her dead twin only to keep his stuffed corpse in her chapel and talk to it, then created a religion with him as a Christ figure. Reacted to her ex being pregnant by building a nursery in her house. Banned her ex from wearing the colour red. Hosted a key party just to hook up with her ex. I cannot stress how much this woman gaf.

Jughead: slaughtered right off the bat like the Hunger Games tributes that step off their pedestals early and get blown up immediately. The only member of the Core Four to show up at Pop’s after college. Cannot physically resist getting baited. If any person interferes with his life he immediately imagines that they are the Big Bad whose single purpose is to eternally ruin Jughead’s life (most don’t even know who he is, much less care about him). He got so pissed about being banned from the prom that he didn’t even want to go to in the first place that he wrote a fanfic about murdering his principal. The only reason he gaf more than Cheryl is due to the sheer concentration that goes into him pretending not to gaf and be aloof.

[mostlyinthemorning]

Top 7 Watches of 2023

Yesterday I did my top books from the past year, so I thought I'd make today all about the best TV shows I watched this year. Again, in no particular order:

Season 2 of Good Omens was very much a transitional season (so I think we all agree that it's a really good thing we're getting season 3) but it still had madcap adventures, unrequited longing, and theological mystery. Also, it's really, really queer.

Speaking of shows that were a wild mix of adventure and irreverent theology, way too may people slept on Mrs. Davis, which I absolutely adored. It starts out as an over-the-top adventure and the next thing you know, you're thinking about the nature of faith and the universe and AI. Highly, highly recommend.

I held off on watching The Wheel of Time for a long time because I could never get into the books despite loving epic fantasy. However, the show is fabulous - and the female characters particularly shine.

I love a small town story, especially one with a magical mystery and I really enjoyed The Big Door Prize from Schitt's Creek writer David West Read. The characters really reflect a range of reactions to the revelations of the door prize machine, resulting in a cascading number of secrets that are exposed.

Going in, I didn't expect to like Shrinking as much as I did, but it really finds the perfect line between funny and emotional. Harrison Ford is clearly having the time of his life playing the grumpy mentor and the supporting cast provides the perfect backdrop for Jason Segal's character's bad decision-making.

This show. The second it was over I was desperate for more. Imagine a classic British murder mystery, expect that it's set in Australia. And there are lesbians. So many lesbians. Deadloch is both laugh-out loud funny and the twistiest murder mystery I've watched. Every guess I made was wrong and yet the final solution was absolutely perfect. The two leads are a classic oil and water pairing who eventually figure out how to work together with so much heart and emotional depth. It's wonderful all the way around.

So, there's this dysfunctional family who owns a rundown motel in the middle of nowhere in rural Canada...no, I'm not talking about Schitt's Creek (for once). Moonshine is a Canadian show about five siblings who take over the family vacation resort and have to work together to save it. There are criminal shenangians and hot bikers and a lot of growth and found family vibes.

Honourable Mention:

What did you watch this year?

Tagging @missgeevious @carolrain @blackandwhiteandrose @noahreids @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3 @weathereyehorizon @obsessedwithdavrick @stereopticons @rmd-writes @chelle-68 and anyone else who would like to share what they watched in 2023.

[tdvotes]

Ranking the Votes, s1b

Welcome back to... Total! Drama! Ranking... the Votes! Today we will be taking a look at the eliminations of season 1b (post-merge Island) to see how easy they were to follow. Since only 9 episodes had a vote this time (including the finale), 9 will be the most straightforward elimination and 1 will be the most confusing.

First, the notes section. Lindsay, DJ and Heather were technically not voted off, so they are not on this list. The losing finalist was technically not voted off either, but the eliminated campers did get to pick who to root for, so that episode IS on the list. Leshawna was technically voted off by the eliminated campers. Mr. Coconut was not voted off, but he was eliminated and there was definitely a vote that episode. And Gwen won invincibility in the animal trapping challenge but was also in the bottom two for some reason.

The eliminations are as follows:

No Pain, No Game (Eva)

Search and Do Not Destroy (Trent)

Hide and Be Sneaky (Bridgette)

Wawanakwa Gone Wild! (Izzy)

Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon (Geoff)

Haute Camp-Ture / After the Dock of Shame (Leshawna)

Camp Castaways (Mr. Coconut)

Are We There Yeti? (Duncan)

The Very Last Episode, Really! (Gwen or Owen)

9. Haute Camp-Ture (After the Dock of Shame). (Haute Camp-Ture was the name for a rejected episode that would have featured a fashion challenge. The title was changed by Cartoon Network in the US to After the Dock of Shame, but in Canada it remained the same because the editors forgot to correct it.) This one was pretty straightforward. Chris tallied 9 votes for Leshawna even though Lindsay and the parrot voted twice and 11 people didn’t vote. But this series does not rank based on how easy it was to guess why the vote went the way it did, but instead on how easy it was to figure out who voted for who and why. 9 votes for Leshawna

8. No Pain, No Game. Heather, Gwen, Bridgette, DJ, Geoff and Lindsay voted for Eva. Eva and Duncan voted for Heather. We didn’t see who Leshawna, Izzy, Owen and Trent voted for, but I imagine they all voted for Eva. Although it was suggested on the original post that what Chris meant here was that Eva lost by 6 votes, I still maintain that it's 10 votes for Eva, 2 for Heather

7. Search and Do Not Destroy. This one was pretty simple. Gwen told Leshawna what Heather did to Trent, and Leshawna told everyone else except Lindsay. But Gwen said she didn't vote for Trent, so we can't be sure how she voted. We do know that Leshawna, Owen, Duncan, Geoff, DJ, Bridgette and Izzy voted for Trent. I also think Heather (and by extension Lindsay) voted for Trent. Now we could assign Gwen and Trent's votes to anyone and it wouldn't make a bit of difference. I'll give Trent's vote to Lindsay because she helped Heather, and I'll say Gwen cast a random vote for Owen since he was the last to receive a marshmallow. 9 votes for Trent, 1 for Lindsay, 1 for Owen

6. Camp Castaways. We don’t see the vote on this one, although we do know one happened. I initially didn't think anyone would have voted Owen because he bonked the python on the head and kinda acted as the team leader. But at the same time he did make them all wait in the cabin and confess their biggest sins to each other, so... I'm gonna say that in an episode where the final four spent more time bonding with each other than turning against each other, everybody voted for Owen for failing to knock out the python earlier. And who knows who Owen voted for. Maybe Duncan for shooting Mr. Coconut. 1 vote for Mr. Coconut, 3 for Owen, 1 for Duncan

5. Are We There Yeti? Since Heather and Gwen both won invincibility, they had to vote off either Owen or Duncan together. Or maybe, as the wiki implies, Chef chose to eliminate Duncan for whatever reason. He had reason to pick both of them -- Chef and Duncan had had a spat during his boot camp challenge, and Owen had just eaten his sticky buns. I'm going with the explanation that Gwen and Heather decided to vote out Duncan because he was a bigger threat than Owen. I would have put this one higher, but we are not sure whether Gwen and Heather agreed to kick Duncan off or Chef just decided to eliminate him. 3 votes for Duncan, 1 for Owen

4. The Very Last Episode, Really! While we do know exactly who was rooting for who, we don't know everyone's reasons for picking who they did.

Some people just picked whoever they were closer friends (or in Heather's case, not enemies) with: Noah, Izzy, Cody, Trent, Leshawna, Duncan, and Heather. Some people just wanted a party: Justin, Katie, Sadie, Tyler, DJ and Geoff. Zeke was easy because you can tell the writers thought he was misogynistic, even though his comments in the first episode were generally true and he was just trying to be a gentleman (a trait consistent with the Zeke we saw in TDDDDI).

But others' motivations were harder to place: Eva, Beth, Courtney, Harold, Bridgette, Lindsay. Eva seems to not be the party type, so makes sense she would root against the party guy. Beth seemed to like Owen more. Courtney seemed to have more... contempt, I guess? for Gwen. Harold was generally disliked by his male Bass teammates, and probably saw Owen as the more fun option. Bridgette initially chose Gwen, probably because she was closer friends with her, but then chose Owen after he announced his party, possibly because she wanted to party with Geoff. And Lindsay? Her case was the most interesting to me. She probably initially chose Gwen to stick it to Heather, and stayed after Owen announced his party because she still hated Heather more than she wanted to party with her. Why did she choose Owen after he announced his party would be on a yacht? She probably thought it was just too good an offer to pass up. But she definitely looked unhappy about it because that meant she was joining Heather's team. 10 Owen supporters (15 after he announced his party, 16 after he announced his yacht party), 10 Gwen supporters (5 after Owen announced his party, 4 after he announced his yacht party)

3. Hide and Be Sneaky. This one was basically another case like Not Quite Famous: we know how most people voted, but if the vote went how we thought it should, it should be a tie. So we can only conclude that one person (in this case, Geoff) did not vote the way we think he did. If the pre-vote conversations are to be believed, we know Duncan, Owen and DJ all voted for Bridgette, we know Gwen, Leshawna and Bridgette all voted for Duncan, and we know Heather, Lindsay and Izzy all voted for Owen. But Geoff is the wild card. Really the only way I can think of that Bridgette gets voted off is if Geoff lied when he said he didn't vote for her. So I guess I have to go with 4 votes for Bridgette, 3 for Duncan, 3 for Owen

2. Wawanakwa Gone Wild! For this one I'm just going to copy and paste my original post.

Obviously Gwen should have had invincibility, so no one should have voted for her. So why was she in the bottom two? It felt like the writers just forgot that she won the challenge when they wrote this elimination ceremony. But let's go off the assumption that there was no way to win invincibility in this challenge.

Now: The only vote we know for certain is that Heather voted for Izzy because she shot her, and because she made comments like "Not until psycho hose beast goes down" and "just give it to Gwen already." Duncan could have followed suit as he was in an alliance with Heather, or he could have voted for Gwen out of jealousy that she beat him. It's not unlikely that Gwen and/or Leshawna voted Heather because of their rivalry, or they could have voted Izzy because they noticed her carelessness with the tranquilizer gun. As per Geoff's confessional at the beginning, I think he probably voted for Gwen or Duncan. Owen likely voted for Heather or Gwen. Izzy probably avoided voting Heather because, as the second-to-last place player, she would have to clean the washrooms if Heather was unavailable. I'm thinking she either voted Gwen out of jealousy or Owen, since she was giving him the silent treatment earlier because he pushed her into the killer in the previous episode. 3 votes for Izzy, 2 for Heather, 1 for Gwen, 1 for Owen

1. Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon. Leshawna said in the confessional that, "I knew if it came down to a popularity contest, I was gonna lose big time. I had to vote off Heather." First of all, in the popularity contest in the VERY NEXT EPISODE, you did lose big time... by winning big time. And second, if you want to win a popularity contest, the last thing you want to do is vote off the least popular person on the island. So clearly she was very wrong on that. However, as I was writing this post, I realized what she probably meant: since she believed she couldn't win a popularity contest at the current time, she decided to vote off her worst enemy because she was just sick of dealing with her. Or maybe because voting off Heather would make her more popular. So I'll say Leshawna did vote for Heather. We also know for sure that Duncan, Owen and Heather voted off Geoff because they didn't think they could beat him in a popularity contest. That makes it Geoff 3, Heather 1 and leaves Geoff and Gwen.

If Geoff and Gwen received the most and second-most votes respectively, that means Gwen would have to receive both of their votes. But obviously, neither of them would vote for Gwen. So my thought here is that Chris just picked Gwen to receive the final marshmallow for dramatic effect -- I mean, he did give the marshmallows to each pair together. So who did Geoff and Gwen vote for? Gwen might have voted for Heather because, up until this episode, she was creasing her the most. Or she might have voted Owen, because Geoff had apparently been creasing her the most because of his party attitude, and Owen was the next biggest party person. And Geoff might have voted for Duncan because, aside from Gwen, he had singled him out as the biggest downer left in the game. Tough call, but I'm going with 3 votes for Geoff, 2 for Heather, 1 for Duncan

But what do you think? Which elimination ceremony was the easiest to figure out and which was the hardest in your mind? As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

So, see you next time, back on Total... Drama... Counting... the Votes!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph! i messaged you a while back because someone recommended my fic, and it was very touching. well after hiatus, I finished the entirety of season 1 of Reichenbach Falls! one third is done, which comes up to 550K words! I am so excited to have actually pulled it off, oh my god it was like birth, and i was hesitatnt to post because, well, it was a long time since my last update. but of course I'm not done with it LOL, it's gonna haunt me more as I publish s2 which is the next 110 chapters out of 303(https://archiveofourown.org/works/26233390/chapters/128797882#workskin). Season 1 can now be read as a standalone, since it is all finished and came full circle. I just had to share because I am so proud of myself for once??

oh and i wanted to share my friend Bee's illustration of Jim Moriarty, who is the bad guy, of course, a mixture of himself and Bill Cipher. He's gorgeously MURDEROUS!

he is the GOAT. as is my lovely friend who drew him over a year ago when we brainstormed season 2. He's just the perfect little meow meow.

I guess that's it C: I am just excited, and proud, and ready to write the sequel hehe *hides away from exam season*

I started this fic when I was 20, now I'm 23 and it's like having a toddler, IT WONT LET ME SLEEP AT NIGHT!

That's it I guess haha, sorry for the chaos (it's thematic with Jim, tho), but I'm a little ball of emotions and I actually managed to log into this tumblr lmao

I hope you have a lovely day, as everyone else too :) you guys are the best here! thank you for being so kind :)

MWAH

Reichenbach Falls by VeeTheRee(M, 551,435+ w., 105/303 Ch. || WiP || Gravity Falls /  Multifandom AU || Alternate First Meeting, Gay Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Unilock, Summer Romance/Love, Fluff, Insecure Sherlock, Villain Mary, First Kiss, Slow Burn, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Canadian John, French Canadian Lestrade, Insecure Sherlock, Mystery, Domestic Fluff, Developing Relationship Summer Love, Light Angst, BAMF! John, Case Fic) – Two Canadians, two Brits studying in Canada, and an upkeeper walk into a Mystery Shack…. and live there. Summer holidays are here, and the step-siblings, Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes, find themselves in a boring town called Reichenbach Falls, Oregon, USA. It isn’t as boring as it seems, however, once Sherlock stumbles upon a mystery journal, and the author is unknown. The journal contains ciphers, a strange colour wheel, and information about magical creatures that are said to be looming in the Northwestern forests. With mysteries to solve in hand, he and Irene set out to get to the roots of the town, and the abrupt disappearance of the author of the journal. But they’re not alone - John Watson, quite the handsome nephew of the Mystery Shack owner Greg Lestrade, is on their side to help out, plus mess with Sherlock’s feelings, in a good way. Shenanigans, romance, fun, danger, and deductions ensue. Oh, and there’s also occasional SuperWhoLock and two dorky Winchester brothers to spark up the action later on. Part 1 of the Reichenbach Falls series

======

HEY LOVELY!!! <3 <3 <3

SO happy to hear about the progress of the fic! I know you have a small fandom here who are eager to read the next season, and we're happy to hear that it's on its way!!!

And NEVER apologize for being chaotic!! I and everyone here loves it!!

Everyone go give this fic some love, and, if you haven't checked it out yet, give it a read! <3

[elvenbeard]

Get to know me

I've been tagged in three separate memes with that title by @timaeusterrored and @katsigian, thanks a lot for thinking of me! :D For brevity's and simplicity's sake I'm just gonna throw all of them together in one post ~ Won't be tagging anyone in particular, but if you read this and feel inclined to share some stuff about yourself, pick and choose from the questions listed here and feel free to tag me in your posts! :D

Favorite color: Purple, Turquoise, and Black

Relationship: single

Currently reading: when I'm not re-reading my own stuff for editing purposes, I currently just really enjoy reading everyone's Cyberpunk drabbles and OC lore posts because I live for that stuff! for having been a very bookish kid I don't really read much anymore admittedly D:

Last song Played: "A Dialogue In B Flat Minor" by In Flames (it's on my V playlist and a very Vince and Johnny song to me XD)

Song Stuck in my Head: "Gloves" by Saint Punk (I'm obsessed with it because it fits Vince so much and I'm working on something inspired by it)

Last Movie: oooof... I think it was "The Shawshank Redemption", I was recently in the mood of rewatching some 90s classics while drawing!

Last series: If youtube series count, I'm currently rewatching Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime for the 11th or so time XD I've loved true crime stuff for as long as I can remember and BFU is also just really nice as background noise for when I'm working on something for a few hours at a time. Looking forward to diving into Mystery Files xD (the last "actual" series I watched before that was "Better Call Saul", rewatched it from start to finish in English for the first time xD)

Sweet, spicy, or savory: ooohhh hmmm.... dammit, I guess I'm too much of a sweet-tooth to not pick sweet xD

Favourite Food: Pizza with lots of different cheeses

Craving: to quit my dayjob, because objectively, it would just be really fucking funny to do. We're chronically understaffed and simultaneously also being forbidden overtime to catch up on the backlog, so it's just extremely exhausting at the moment.

Tea or coffee: Coffee, but tea is nice too :3

Dream Trip: everywhere... but my top 3 are Japan, Iceland, and Canada. I'd love to go to Japan during cherry blossom season, spend one week in all the big cities and another more on the countryside, going hiking, looking at temples, forests, and spending a day or two at a ryokan with onsen. Iceland I'd also like to see as much of as possible, I'd actually love to do a guided tour on horseback across the country xD And honestly, same for Canada (without the horses though), also a trip across the country visiting all kinds of sights and cities along the way would be awesome.

Last Thing I Googled: 2023 Conventions Germany

Currently working on: the final stages of my new Kerry x V drawing, editing some VP shoots, writing Vince's background lore fic (6 chapters done, about 6 more to go!), started writing a post-canon fic (but only have a few paragraphs), and my ongoing Cyberpunk 2077 Let's Play videos XD cause I always wanted to make a full Let's Play like that and given my current obsession it works. Looming on the horizon are also some short comics and ideas for mods and even more VP!

Are you named after Anyone?

After an OC of mine, if we go with Elven as the name I'm predominantly using atm XD Long story short, but "Elvenbeard" was an elf OC I once cosplayed as and who got his name from a friend of mine during a very long and funny train ride to the convention we were headed to. Good times XD

2. When was the last time you cried?

A couple of days ago. I think it was a mix of stress and having too many feels about Kerry xD

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, and don't want any. Unless pets count.

4. Do you use Sarcasm a lot?

I would never do such a thing.

5. What Sports do you play/ have you played?

None xD I was the short fat kid that got relentlessly bullied by my PE teacher for years which completed ruined any interest in sports I might have ever developed.

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Honestly... I think I've gotten quite good at picking up people's vibes first. Picked up a very bad "stay-far-away-from-them" vibe from someone a couple of days ago, and when I met them again a little while later one of the first things out of their mouth is transphobic bullshit. I (sadly) felt rather validated with my first impression.

7. Eye Colour?

Hazel.

8. Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

Both can be good! I don't like overly gory movies or stuff that relies heavily on jump scares, but a scary film with a good story and some unexpected twists I really like (some of my faves being "Hush" and "The Conjuring"). I'm also a sucker for Happy Endings though. Best thing overall? Angst with a Happy Ending.

9. Any Special Talents?

Does hyperfocus count as a special talent these days? XD

10. Where were you born?

Somewhere in rural Germany.

11. What are your hobbies?

Yes... Drawing, writing, sewing, crafting, cosplay, gaming... and the newest addition: virtual photography!

12. Do you have any pets?

Yess, a cat!

13. How tall are you?

160cm/ 5'2 - smol and full of rage

14. Fave Subject in School?

Art, History, and English as a secondary language

15. Dream Job?

Creating things that make people happy and being able to live off of it ooooor anything that allows me to finance that kinda "maker of all kinds of things" lifestyle I'm dreaming of. Ideally, if I have to keep a dayjob, I'd like one that only takes place in the timespan of Monday to Thursday, or Tuesday to Friday, and doesn't start at 5.30 in the morning, but at 9 or 10. Or just generally the option of home office would be nice. I don't wanna be rich, but I'd like to have financial security for myself and my cat, enough time to do my silly little arts and crafts, and travel somewhere cool once a year or so.

[corgoship]

kim is the only unknown variable in plan and execution? what are you talking about? what about howard, who dies at the end?

Okay sorry this is embarrassing i mixed it up with point and shoot 💀 i don't have a defense other than i have only seen season 6 once and the titles are similar and i sort of merged them in my head. I could have gotten the hint with "execution" but. alas.

Okay, here's a new statement:

Everything I said was directed at Point and Shoot and i am boo boo the fool. NOW as for Plan and Execution! Also a great episode that holds a special place in my heart because I saw it along with P&S with my best friend in Canada in the summer last year. (Which is also why i viewed them as one).

P&E keeps you on the edge of your seat with the Kim and Jimmy plot to ruin Howie, and Lalo is also up to no good, you feel a sort of dread because you don't know how it's all going to come together. And it does at the end of the episode and it's AWESOME and then there's a cliffhanger and yeah - top tier television.

But... Ozzy still holds more tension to me, more devastating consequences. Because it goes off of the cliffhanger in To'hajiilee (like P&S continues from P&E). And everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, comes crashing down there! Walt, Jesse, Hank, Skyler, Marie, Flynn - everyone's lives just shatter in one fell swoop - and they managed to pack all of that into an episode so good it's currently ranked as the best of all time in television.

Better Call Saul has always had a slower tempo compared to Breaking Bad. And that's not a bad thing - it just means things develop slower. Which is in some ways better - some things have more time to sink in and you can feel the weight of them. Like the mcwexler breakup, which comes in Fun and Games, a whole entire episode after the climax! (I feel like for brba the "time to let it sink in" is Granite State btw).

That brings me back to Ozzy and how it's insane that to me that they pulled it off so well, pulling no punches. That kettle was ready to pop, and pop off it did, all at once, in a single episode, that is a turning point if the entire show.

I don't think combining the events of Plan and Execution, Point and Shoot, and Fun and Games into one episode would have been better than they are separately. By all means, Ozzy should feel overstuffed but it doesn't and it's this marvel of filmmaking (i guess the fact it starts during/after the shootout helps). I wholeheartedly believe it should have the first place.

Maybe I'm just biased because I DO prefer brba over bcs - I'll acknowledge that - but yeah, that's my reasoning. Also this is a personal gimmick but the way it ties to the actual poem Ozymandias is maybe one of my favourite things about brba.

(I realise I have neglected to mention Howie much. He's a character that I really do love, he grew on me after Chuck's death and he deserved better. Not in a storytelling way but as a person ;w; His death was a huge shock and the fact that they made fans wait 3 months for a follow up was insane. Bless.)

[ravenonice]

A little bit more explaination about how Grand Prix assignments work because I forgot when I posted this...and also later an explaination why I did it how I did (After a spoiler cut).

Grand prix spots are kinda hard to get. To this day I am completely unsure how Yuuri managed to get two spots in the Anime without having a host spot. But oh well...Vitamin Nikiforov I guess. Somehow it worked out. There is some wiggle room here.

Basically the top 12 at the World championships are guaranteed two spots in the Grand Prix series. The top 6 are the so called "seeded" skaters. They get a little bit of a say in where they would like to compete, or well can voice a wish. That doesn't mean it has to be honored. The hosting federations may have their preferences who they want at their events as well (due to popularity of the skater in their country for example).

Another rule is also: The worlds podium isn't allowed to compete against each other in the qualifiers. And places 4-6 can't be assigned to the same events either. (But I forgot that in my assignments ngl).

Everyone in the Top 24 World standings and/or in the top 24 seasons best scores is guaranteed one spot.

Skaters not necessarily qualifying through this may get a so called "host spot" if they are competing for a country who hosts a grand prix. There is a maximum of 3 per discipline.

In general there is a max of 3 skaters per country/discipline at a GP event and while YOI only ever showed 6 skaters, there is 12 per competition.

These rules forced me to change around the existing assignments a little.

SPOILERS FOR HEARTS OF GLASS UNDER THE CUT

So as we know now, Yuuri, Viktor and Chris can not meet at the Grand Prixs because they were on the podium together. Which honestly serves me story wise because that way there is no communication between them until the final right?

For Yuuri Skate America just made sense because that's the country he trains in, so that one was a no brainer for him to request. Every time you don't have to worry about getting an extra visa is a good day. Also he can drive to Chicago. Easy.

NHK in Japan would be the logical second choice, right? No, his second request was actually Cup of China. He's worried about the pressure of competing in Japan getting to him and gambled a little hoping he could avoid it...but obviously failed because Chris also requested that one and the JSF also would want him at their event, given the attention he is creating. So he has to go to Japan. All that work and what did it get him? Anxitey.

I wanted to create some higher stakes here, trying to not make this too much of a smooth sailing situation. I can't have Yuuri completely leave his anxiety and self destructive tendencies behind. I want Yuuri and Viktor to struggle this season because I don't want to completely disregard what they do for each other in the Anime, but instead try to highlight that.

Viktor by now has his perfect GP season layed out starting in Canada and ending in Russia. Pleasing the Russian federation and audience with his presence but also having enough time to rest after traveling. That's what I thought about when making this: What would be the most relaxed competition scenario for him? And him being seasoned and respected as he is, gets exactly what he's asked for.

Chris got his original assignments because him canonly being a worlds medalist it has to be what he requested.

As for everyone else...I had to juggle the numbers HARD because Viktor in competition obviously meant I had to kick someone out of the final and if I hadn't messed with the assignments it would've led to people I want in the Grand Prix Final not making it just because there would've been no way the would've gotten the points.

I originally didn't want Yuri competing against Viktor in both events but this was actually the only set up in which things worked out the way I needed them to...tells you a lot about how the irl assignments influence your chances at making it to the final honestly...

I also couldn't have Yuri meet Otabek.

JJ was also one of those who I moved quite a lot until it worked out.

In the end this was what worked best with the math involved in all of this...now I have to roll with it story wise. Wish me luck!

Hearts of Glass - Chapter 6

Letting go and Holding on

Yuuri returns to Detroit and tries to let go of his grudge and childish fantasies and instead focus on how to handle the expectations put onto him from everyone around him but also himself. Viktor attempts to somehow turn his anger into progress as his heart still aches for something it can't seem to get.

Hello everyone! It's been almost a whole year since I updated this fic...damn. I had this chapter ready a million times and then before posting decided I actually hated it and scrapped it...But now I'm doing it!

We have reached July and that means: The new season has begun and GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS ARE OUT!

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and let me know what you think (if you want) <3

Spoilers (in from of GP assignments) under the cut!

And because I have absolutely no chill I faked an ISU document for the GP assignments in this fic xD

Irl skaters under the blurrs are completely random and just there to fill the blanks. No real life skaters will appear in this work. (Except for maybe Stephane and Nobu but those two are canon after all)

[eddievedders]

Instagram post by Tomer Kapon (March 16th, 2021).

[dojae-huh]

Wired interview

Gotta love Mark and his "search us up!", heh

0:34 - Mark is so proud to bring k-pop to the whole world, he always stresses it with both NCT and Super M

1:03 - Doyoung specified that 127's fandom is NCTzens 127, but turned to Johnny, so this comment is more of an inside joke. The acknowledgement of the unit-stans war. Doyoung, being the host for many Dream shows and getting the hate from dreamzens often, knows it well.

1:20 - Doyoung won't pass an opportunity to say he is the reall boss, but the way everyone was laughing about it, he really nagged them about stuff this comeback a lot, it seems. Food support for fans, song set lists, etc.

1:26 - Jaehyun seldom turned his head back during the interview, but he had to know what JohnDo were laughing about.

1:24 - Taeyong didn't see that Doyoung raised his hand, so the ended up saying the same thing. Haechan already pointed him out as the leader, so he was continuing the answer with a rebuttal.

Tae's fans in the comments on YT think Tae belittles himself, but he takes his leader role seriously, he is in his 7th year, the initial worries are in the past. He simply wants to bring attention to Do's work.

1:42 - Tae was really touched, why did you have to retreive your statement, Taeil?... heh, poor Tyong

1:53 - Doyoung and his fake reactions, lol

"(Let's) Do-young" seems popular among neos. (the play of words with English "to do").

2:00 - Mark really isn't Jaehyun's soulmate anymore. In the past Hyuk wouldn't be in the picture even sitting near. And Jae didn't pick Yuta as well, he had motivation to make Hyuk pleased.

2:14 - Notice that Woo and Taeil both said "Yuta-a!", and they didn't react to everything happening. As I said, the 4 make the second group.

2:20 - Doyoung usually names Jungwoo as his bias. He shifted to Tae either because it was a day to pumper him, or because it was the introduction of the group and he wanted to stress that Tae is the leader. I think the latter, as otherwise Do interacted with Johnny more. 2:25 - Mark was genuinely surprised at the choice (DoTae generally keep to Tom&Jerry bickering).

2:30 - Doyoung clearly said "leader", but Jaehyun "misheard" it as "little". Pity, they cut the scene, I'd like to see it whole, how Tae reacted.

2:50 - Well, Mark is going nowhere. "Destiny" was Do's words in the past. Johnny's reactio wasn't too enthusiastic.

3:30 - Tae's jab at American interviewers. Sorry, Tae, but that's how I call you as well.... en-si-tee-sto-dvadzat'-sem' instead of en-si-tee-odeen-dva-sem'... in all these years I couldn't fix it, the first number just runs off the tongue easier.

3:56 - Doyoung knows only Korean memes.

4:54 - Uncharacteristic of Doyoung to mess up like this. He and Hyuk usually know the order of things the best. Maybe it's because Superhuman promotion was in May and June, and Regular in August-September. So he was confused with seasons. Even JaeDo starting dating didn't serve as the milestone to correct the order, heh. I guess in Do's head Jaehyun in the role of the boyfriend is just a constant now with no start and end.

I don't believe Hyuk missed Kick It, so it's the editor who was unattentive. Same with cutting Hyuk and Woo's answers about their biases.

I always wonder how Mark has such fluent English considering he moved to Korea when he was like 10. From whom he picked up "right here on the spot" and other set phrases? Did he go to an International middle school? Or did he talk to his older brother, who stayed in Canada, often? No K-dramas, only NA channels at home?

[thefanficmonster]

A Little Childish

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: FLUFF

Summary: Corpse and Y/N go to visit Y/N’s parents for New Year’s. Corpse was promised good food, good company and A LOT of snow. Needless to say, the place didn’t disappoint - quite the contrary actually, it exceeded any and all expectations he had.

Requested by @waterflowersposts Hi there! Sorry for how long it took for this fic to be written :( I hope the final result makes up for the long wait! I also thought it would be appropriate to post it during the holiday season, so I hope you don’t mind. Hope you enjoy the read and I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback and any more requests you may have. Stay safe! Happy Holidays! Love, Vy ❤

I watch as Corpse is basically floating from one room into another in our shared apartment as he’s throwing random articles of clothing in his open suitcase. I have already packed my bags, knowing full well what the appropriate attire is for where we’re going.

I look away from my laptop when Corpse comes in for maybe the sixtieth time today, this time carrying a white tee causing me to chuckle. “Corpse, I know it’s very trademark for you, but the only way you’ll be wearing that when we get there is under a sweater for some extra warmth. I’m not looking forward to having my boyfriend freeze in my parent’s house.”

He smiles, looking at the shirt in his hands, and shakes his head, “Fine, guess I’ll do without it for a week or two.” He throws it in our room, not even bothering to check where it’ll land before he comes to sit down next to me on the couch, “Keep in mind, you have set my expectations pretty high up there. If I am not waist deep in snow the second we step off the plane, I’ll be disappointed.”

I give him a side glance, a smirk playing on my lips. Must say, taking on challenges you know you’re gonna win is the ultimate high-and-mighty feeling. “Honey, you’ve got a big snowstorm coming.”

                                                               *  *  *

All throughout our trip - I’m talking the drive to the airport AND the flight over - I have kept my eyes glued to Corpse, observing as his eyes sparkled more and more with each foot we got closer to our destination. He has told me the most snow he has seen was less than an inch and I immediately felt it was my duty to change that by introducing him to the magic of Canada - my home. My parents own a getaway cottage in the mountains of Calgary where we used to go every holiday season. My earliest memory is playing in the thigh-deep snow with my older sister and crying whenever our parents had to drag us back inside. 

The West Coast of the US was a rather odd surrounding for me, having grown up surrounded by snowy mountains, experiencing Christmas with no snow whatsoever was a true let down and underwhelming feeling. Since Corpse and I started dating about a month after Christmas time last year this will be our first time spending the holidays together and Corpse was more than enthusiastic to visit Canada when I mentioned how much I enjoyed my winters there. We couldn’t go for Christmas, but we’ll be there for New Year’s Eve and the first two weeks of 2021 and I am really excited. I have been dying to see my family that has actually expanded since the last time I visited - my sister has had yet another baby, making her and her husband parents of three very energetic toddlers. The six year old twins - Ashley and Alex - and the three year old Andrew. Or, as I like to call them: The 3 As.

I have warned Corpse about them like seven times despite the fact that he’s already familiar with their energy, convincing him that if that’s more than he can handle we’ve still got time to cancel the trip. He didn’t bat an eye though, each time telling me not to worry and focus my attention on reliving the moments I’ve missed so greatly instead of making sure he was having a good time.

“If you’re there...“ he said, “I’ll sure as hell be having a good time.“

One step out of the airport and he’s already mesmerized. His eyes are shiny reflecting the glow of the snow all around. It’s gonna be funny to see his reaction when he witnesses the real deal - the snow in the mountains. This compared to that is a pathetic excuse.

“I know it’s not waist-high, but that’s because they shovel it and melt it.“ He is looking around, not paying much mind to my words. The utter amazement and disbelief on his face just makes me want to wrap my arms around him and kiss him. He’s simply adorable! I see fragments of the child in him swimming up to the surface in the form of temptation - temptation every kid feels when they see snow: Dive in and lose track of time. “Wait till we get to the cottage.“

This manages to catch his attention, “You weren’t kidding.“

I laugh at my precious kiddy boyfriend. “Whoa there, Corpsie. If your mind is already blown, I’m worried about how you’ll react to the real deal.“ 

I have a feeling I know exactly how he’ll react cause I react similarly - I set the child in me free. After all, no parent can tell you to stop playing and go inside when you are a 23-year-old.

                                                             *  *  *

Walking up to the cottage from the cable-car station has to be the first time I’ve breathed with my lungs’ full capacity in the last five years. The sharp cold air screams ‘home’ to me like nothing else ever did. I am still surprised as to how my sister prefers summer. My family jokes I’m a winter wolf in disguise and I think they’re right. I do like to roll around in the snow much like a wolf. No judgement! Having a few extra years added to my age doesn’t change everything.

“Oh. My. Fucking. God.“ If I could take a shot every time Corpse has repeated this phrase I’d be dead due to liver failure. He is absolutely stunned. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t blinked at all. Who am I to talk - I haven’t either. These mountains keep getting prettier and prettier, I swear. Taking my eyes off them would be a crime.

“Told you. I wish we made a bet, I could’ve made some easy money.“ I tease him, gently bumping my elbow against his as we walk up the trail.

“I’m glad I didn’t propose such a thing. That would’ve been fucking stupid of me.“ Judging by the tone of his voice, he is not really present in this conversation, so I decide not to let it go on any longer.

Not that I could’ve done differently, seeing as how barely three seconds latter I see three smiling faces coming at me at max speed.

Oh boy.

“Auntie Y/N!“ Ashley and Alex arrive first of course, wrapping their arms tightly around my waist. Little Andrew stumbles his way to me as quickly as a three year old possibly could.

Without wasting a second, I put my bags down and crouch so I can hug them properly. “Hi my babies! I haven’t seen you in so long.” Their hugging strength surprises me and warms my heart at the same time. The twins pull away, leaving room for the little duckling in a jacket two times his size and weight. “Hi Andrew! I nice to meet you! I’m auntie Y/N. Mommy and daddy have told you about me, haven’t they? If not I’ll kick their asses.”

“Y/N, I swear, I’ll tell Amy you’re teaching her kids swears at a very early age.“ Corpse says teasingly, stealing the attention from all four of us.

“She curses like a sailor, these kids probably know more swear words than I do.“ Ash and Alex run straight out of my grasp and to Corpse, proceeding to hug him around the waist as they did with me. They met Corpse when my sister and her husband Finn visited me back in the summer. They immediately fell in love with him. I specifically remember Alex telling me I have a ‘really cool boyfriend‘ and he only uses the word ‘cool‘ when he really likes something or someone. Corpse was honorably declared cool by Alex and that still warms my heart till this day.

“Hi guys, long time no see!“ He too crouches down to hug the little demons that immediately cling to him like koalas.

I scoop up the bundle of clothes with a face and stand up, balancing him on my hip. “Let’s attempt to get inside, shall we?” With my unoccupied arm I grab the handle of my suitcase.

Corpse nods and follows my lead, picking up the bags he also left in the snow. Ash and Alex bolt it back to the house while we struggle to follow, lowkey embarrassed by the pace we’re walking with.

Andrew struggles against me, reaching out towards Corpse. I look at them both apologetically. “You’ll meet Corpse when we get inside, darling. Chill out.”

“Y/N!“ My sister’s voice steals my attention. She emerges from the house, followed by the twins, a huge smile on her face. Her eyes land on Andrew who has calmed down is now resting his head on my shoulder sleepily, “Oh I’m so sorry about them, Y/N. I didn’t know they would charge at you the second you stepped foot on the property.“

Amy motions for me to give her her son but I hand her my suitcase instead. When she takes it I use my now freed arm to hug her as tightly as I possibly can with one arm and while balancing a baby on my chest. “It’s ok! I couldn’t have dreamed of a better welcoming.” I release, giving her a big smile.

She loses interest in me and goes to hug Corpse, taking a bag from him as well before giving him a hug. “Oh my God, Corpse, it feels like it’s been forever. I’m so glad to see you.”

“Happy to see you too, Amy.“ My sister has never liked a single guy I’ve dated. EVER. Corpse is the only one she warmed up to and that’s a huge deal to me. Corpse’s happiness when I told him that was something I’d pay to have filmed just so I can watch it every time I’m feeling down.

“Let’s get you both inside, you must be freez-“ She cuts herself off, rolling her eyes at me, “Of course, you’re not.“

I laugh and blow her a kiss as we keep carrying onward.

“Um, guys?“ Corpse’s voice makes me pause and turn around. He’s still standing in the same spot, looking- unsettled, I guess you could call it.

“What’s wrong?“ I walk over to him, taking his hand in mine.

His hand automatically gives mine a reassuring squeeze, “Nothing really, it’s just that...I’m meeting your parents for the first time and-...What if they don’t like me?”

I open my mouth to go off and start stating the obvious that they indeed won’t like him. They will LOVE him. It’s impossible not to love this man! But my sister beats me to it when it comes to stating the facts.

“Look, Corpse, they already love you. Heck, sometimes I feel like they have known Finn and you longer than they have known Y/N and I! They speak so highly of you and haven’t even met you - that should tell you more than enough about how they see you.“ She waves her hand towards the cottage, “Now walk in there and blow them away.“

Honestly, I’m glad Amy beat me to it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

And just like that, hand in hand, Andrew still in my other arm, we walk in.

                                                             *  *  *

Corpse is officially the main attraction, stealing the spotlight from Amy, Finn and I - something the three of us are incredibly thankful for. Amy was right with every word she said - my parents are absolutely in love with Corpse. Luckily for Finn and Amy, the 3 As are all over him as well. Especially Andrew. The second someone sets him down he just waddles his way over to Corpse who picks him up and settles him in his lap while he answers my parents’ questions. 

When the kids were finally talked into taking a nap, Corpse and I snuck out to have a little walk in the snow and, of course, take some pictures. I made it my personal goal to make as many artsy and aesthetic photos of him as possible. His favorite - a hand only pic of him holding a snowball - was my idea and I think I have never felt prouder of myself.

“I am definitely posting this one.“ He says, turning the phone so I can see the screen. I give it a quick glance, thinking he’s talking about the hand pic but do a double take when I realize it’s a picture of me that he has taken without my knowledge.

I actually look rather decent, so I give him a green light in the form of a big thumbs up, “As long as you post the hand one too.”

“Hey, Y/N!“ We look back at the house which isn’t far from where we are right now. Amy is hugging the jacket tightly around herself as she approaches us with fast steps. “You know where we haven’t been in like forever?“

I raise an eyebrow and shake my head as I rack through my brain trying to dig up what she’s referring to. It could literally be any place on this mountain!

“Hello! The Waterless Lake? Ring any bells?“

Oh...it sure does.

Brief explanation: it is a huge circular dip in the ground which fills with water when the snow melts and becomes a lake but empties by the time winter comes back around. That being said, when the snow is still not melted, it’s an absolute wonderland to play in. I suddenly remember all the barrel-rolling Amy and I did there as kids and feel really nostalgic.

“Oh God, yes! I miss that place!“ I say, snapping out of my reminiscing trance. “Let’s go while it’s still light enough.”

“Finn is making dinner right now, or trying to at least.“ She rolls her eyes, turning to Corpse, “But it’d be our pleasure if you tagged along, Corpse.“

Corpse shakes his head, “I’ll politely decline. You ladies can reminisce and chat in peace, while I’ll be helping Finn in the kitchen.” He gives me a quick peck on the lips before excusing himself, “Have fun!”

“You too!“ We call back to him in unison.

Amy gives me an amazed, wide-eyed look, “He can cook?”

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly, smirking, “Oh, you have no idea.”

She laughs, linking arms with me as we begin walking our way to the Waterless Lake. The place probably has a different name or no name at all, but we named it that as kids and never told our parents where it was. It’s our spot, and it is very surprising Amy offered Corpse to accompany us there.

“Sis, you are very lucky. I hope you know that.“ She tightens the hold on my arm with hers, pulling us closer together.

“I tell myself that every time I look at him, Aims. I am fully aware.“ I say dreamily, recalling all the times I’ve spent with Corpse. Almost one full year and I could never imagine that year, nor the upcoming ones, without him.

                                                                *  *  *

Upon returning, we’re met with the most wholesome scene I have ever seen - Corpse and Finn are making snowmen with the 3 As. It seems like they’ve been at it for a while, considering there is an army of snowmen of different designs, shapes and sizes all at different spots throughout the perimeter of the clearing in front of the house.

“Oh dear Lord.“ Amy mumbles, “I had a feeling this would happen.“

The five snowman-builders don’t even acknowledge our presence when we approach them. Ashley and Alex are running around with Finn, looking for sticks to use as the snowmen’s limbs while Corpse is helping Andrew gather as much snow as possible for the body.

I don’t realize there’s a huge smile on my face up until the point I’m trying to say something. Nothing comes out, though. My words are being muffled by all the overwhelming emotions that have taken over - collapsing my senses. 

With a roll of her eyes, my sister opens the front door, taking a step into the house. The second the door opens, however, I get a whiff of the delicious smell coming from inside. Best guess, and probably the right one - this is Corpse’s doing. 

If I wasn’t already hungry, I sure as hell am now and I’m in no mood to be in that delicious food’s proximity without attacking it. 

“Come on, guys! Dinner time! Get your butts inside!“ I call out to them from the doorway.

Corpse turns to look at me with the sneakiest smirk I have ever seen. He narrows his eyes at me, “You have done the very thing you despise!”

It takes me approximately three seconds to connect the dots and scrunch up my face, picking up all the snow I can an forming it in a snow ball, throwing it at Corpse. Growing up doing this exact thing has given me great aim, therefore I hit Corpse square in the chest.

“Oh you’re so in for it now.“ He laughs, picking up snow to form his own snowball.

“Snowball fight!“ Ashley yells, ditching the sticks to make a snowball for herself.

“Oh no...“ I poke my head in the hallway just as a snowball hits my upper arm, “Aims, I need your help!“ 

Before Amy can respond, I run to take cover behind the nearest snowman that, luckily for me happens to be one of the larger ones. I hear Amy call out my name when she exits the house, followed by a surprised yelp from her when three snowballs hit her. “You are all dead!”

While she is fighting blood and fire (well, water really), I am making ammunition for us both to use. I’m on my eleventh snowball when snow showers me from above as though it has fallen from a tree branch.

“Hiding, I see.“ I am still in shock, hair and upper body covered in snow, when I hear Corpse’s taunting voice.

My vengeance instinct kicks in having me grab two snowballs and turn to throw them at him. To my dismay, he’s faster then me and doesn’t allow me to even get my arm at an angle where I could throw properly. Instead, he turns me back around and picks me up with ease, one arm wrapped around my waist, another grabbing two of my prepared snowballs from the ground.

“Let’s show them who the bosses are.“ I see him wink at me from the corner of my eye and it takes me little to no time to catch onto what he’s insinuating.

In short, with joined forces, we took out the opposite team in no time - like a true couple 😉