#I get the show had budget and time issues but God it was like they were allergic to emotion

[bonkalore]

Unfortunately, the reunion of Shak and Jayce in the show was... lackluster in the emotional department. It was def something I wanted a bit more of. Seems weird to NOT react a bit more emotionally after finding your long lost brother that essentially raised you after 5 YEARS, but I digress.

Also wish there was more of him snapping out of his demon mode stuff bc of loved ones and not just throwing the magic hammer at him. Def became more prominent in this AU.

Bottom bit is him not realizing Daniel is with them as he's busy just being relieved to see Shak again and then shifted back immediately in defense, whoops. Bad first impressions, but lucky for Jayce, Daniel looks up to him as his tracker hero. Last thing Jayce was doing was fighting for his life in a prison riot he caused so he could try to escape and is covered in old blood and viscera since being let out of the soul box... wouldn't exactly want to shake his hand but.. haha He looks quite horrifying.

Don't worry, he'll get to clean up in a bit.

[sateurn]

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

These sobs really limited my tags?????

I have so many more thoughts this is so so much less than 1/2. Broski. Big dislike

[sv5hive]

in every universe? | cl16

pairing(s): charles leclerc x fem!reader

content warning(s): use of y/n, pretending the university of monaco has an architecture course shhhh, inaccurate architecture course information bcos i am lazy, ma**ia bin**to mention IM SORRY

word count: 2,580

note: this is my longesttt fic yet and i had so much fun writing it!! i hope you like it just as much 🫶🏻

masterlist!

"so in summary, i want to see how you will finance your project while keeping your budget in mind, any issues you may come across and their solutions, the influence behind it, how it might impact the environment and the population as well as visual aids to guide the audience. these presentations are due next month and remember! it is your responsibility to arrange times to work on the presentation together. i won't be accepting any excuses whatsoever!"

you chewed on the end of your pen at your professor's reminder as you watched everyone filter out the doors from your seat right at the back.

group projects always meant you would have to do all the work yourself just to share equal credit with everyone else in the group who didn't even attempt to contribute. this project was unlikely to be any different. it didn't help that you hadn't yet managed to make any genuine friendships with your classmates. it was understandable though, considering the expected workload at such a renowned university like monaco.

"hi, are you y/n l/n?"

too deep in your own thoughts about the assignment, you didn't realise the room had emptied completely. you also didn't realise other people apart from your professor knew your name. moving your gaze up to the source of the sound, you found a man almost too good looking to be true.

"oh, uh, yeah. yes, i am. sorry, who are you?"

with each word that escaped your mouth, you felt your face heating up. you didn't mean to be rude but you truly had no idea who you were talking to. how had you never noticed this greek god of a man in your class until now?

"i'm charles leclerc. we're in a group together for the assignment and i thought it would be a good idea to get your number so we can talk set up a time to talk about our ideas."

he held out his unlocked phone to you, inviting you to type in your number. if he was offended by your failure to recognise him it certainly didn't show which helped calm your frazzled nerves.

"oh, of course! sorry, i'm not used to someone else taking responsibility in a group project. usually i'm stuck doing everyone's work on top of my own. here you go." you replied while saving your number into his contacts.

he smiled at your admission and reassured you he wouldn't dare leave you to handle the entire project alone.

"i already have everyone else's numbers so i'll make a groupchat too. when are you free?"

as much as you would like to lie and say you had a life outside of studying, you didn't. but you would gladly say yes to any get together if it meant charles would be there too.

"honestly, i'm always free so any time works for me." you explained while packing your bag and standing up from your seat.

he grinned and walked with you towards the exit and out the building.

"yeah? how about now? there's this café i've heard is really good and i've been meaning to try it, i just haven't had the time recently."

you stopped in your tracks.

was he asking you on a date? this was definitely new. obviously you had been in a few relationships before but they had never quite managed to get you flustered like this on the first meeting.

truth be told, he had gone to that café a million times over as it was the closest one to campus that served the best croissants for cheap but you didn't need to know that.

"are you asking me on a date?" you asked, not hesitating to get straight to the point.

his grin flickered for a split second, almost in surprise at your bluntness, before growing impossibly wider.

"uh, yeah, i'm asking you on a date right now. so? what do you say?"

"hmmm, and what do i get out of it if i say yes?"

you didn't think twice about taking him up on his offer but it was fun to watch him scramble for reasons you should have a coffee with him. you watched him come up with several nonsensical arguments before you decided to put him out of his misery.

"relax, i'll go on a date with you! you should've seen your face!"

he blushed at your antics before joining in your giggles at his own expense. he had a feeling your laughter would become his favourite sound.

"what are you waiting for then? lead the way."

unsurprisingly, you two were the only ones who took part in the group project but you couldn't complain when you had such good company to help you.

"this is charles leclerc, he will be your race engineer starting from next season." your team principal fred vasseur gently pushed you away from your teammate to the new hire fresh out of internship at haas.

after the quick decline of your 2022 season, ferrari had wasted no time in sacking binotto and your less than competent engineer for much more suitably equipped individuals.

"pleasure to meet you, charles. i'm y/n l/n. are you sure you're ready for this?" you outstretch your hand to shake his.

"thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, you are an inspiration to so many. i'm extremely grateful to be given this opportunity to work with such a talented driver like yourself. and yes i'm one hundred percent ready to give my everything so you can bring home some wins and maybe even the championship." he spoke with a conviction almost as if he had been practicing it in the mirror for weeks.

his hand wrapped around yours and you couldn't help but notice how warm they were even in the frigid winter. you grinned at his confidence and faith in not only himself but also the team and you as a driver. it was certainly the energy you needed after the less than impressive season that you had just wrapped up.

"i like him already! so much more positive than my last engineer. where have you been all this time?" you declared patting him on the back while looking at your team principal in approval.

he was so sure you could notice the pink tinge on his cheeks as he nervously smiled at your praise and suddenly found the carpeted floor the most interesting thing in the room to observe.

"i'm glad you two are getting along! now let's get on with this meeting. i would like to get home at a reasonable time today."

as the meeting dragged on, you found yourself staring at charles opposite you out of nothing but pure curiosity and maybe a little bit of humour. it was clear he harboured some feelings towards you that he couldn't hide no matter how hard he tried. that much was evident in the way he refused to even glance in your direction at the risk of making eye contact.

"we don't quite know how the others will perform yet but we definitely expect to be more on pace with red bull next year. this season wasn't our best but it gives us a good foundation to improve on which is better than nothing. any questions?"

even if there were any questions left unanswered everyone was much too tired to articulate them and so the meeting room fell into silence before you all said your goodbyes to each other wishing everyone a restful winter break.

you were headed out the door when you heard your name being called. you turned to see charles jogging to catch up to you and so you decided to wait for him at the exit.

"you excited for the winter break?" you strike up a conversation with him as you dawdled towards the car park together.

"yes, but i'm more excited for the season to start. i've been preparing for this my whole life. what about you? surely you're tired of being in the car?" he questioned with genuine interest.

"no, not really. i mean i've been preparing for this my whole life too. the travelling is a lot to handle but there's nothing more i enjoy than being in the car. don't get me wrong, i do like being at home too. i just love racing so much i wish i could do it all the time."

"really? you don't ever get tired of racing?" he looked over at you in wonder and you smiled at his disbelief.

"really. ever since i was a kid i've always wanted to be racing constantly. what about you? i mean pretty much all of us drivers got into the sport through karting. what made you want to be a race engineer?"

"well actually i did get into karting too. my father took me and my brothers to a local track and it all started there. i liked karting but i was always more interested in the technical side. my younger brother arthur liked it a lot though and he decided to pursue a career. he's actually stepping up to formula 2 next year."

"yeah? he must be pretty good then." you didn't recognise his brother's name because you were too busy with your own preparation every race weekend to watch the support series but you took his word for it.

"yeah, i'm really glad he's made it this far. we didn't have much money for karting when he was just starting out but we managed to make it work."

you were all too familiar with the struggles of funding and putting together enough sponsors just to make it through the season. there were already very few people getting into motorsport and the high costs didn't help. you had seen too many young talents drop out because they just couldn't afford it anymore. you were one of the lucky ones to secure a place in the ferrari driver academy and have their money to fall back on.

realising you were getting closer and closer to your car, you slowed down in hopes you could keep talking to charles for longer.

"so, why ferrari? it's a team with lots of history but we haven't won a championship since 2008." you asked with no ill intentions.

you really were just interested seeing as the team was currently the laughing stock amongst the grid and the fans - which you didn't blame them for. they had thrown away several chances of a championship with some of the most talented drivers, purely due to their own inability to perform when it was needed most.

"that doesn't matter to me. i've supported ferrari since i was little so it wasn't even a question which team i wanted to join. i remember i used to always follow the red car when they raced at monaco even before i knew it was a ferrari. anyone who has the chance to be a part of ferrari, would take that chance, no? i've barely started here but there's something special about being a part of ferrari." he explained with a look in his eyes that you could only imagine was the same wonder that appeared when watching the red ferrari of kimi räikkönen speed around his home track.

"what about you? you're the one who actually drives for ferrari so what made you sign with them?"

you stopped upon reaching your car neatly tucked inside the white lines.

"ah, i would love to tell you but i do have to get home."

charles' smile fell before he agreed, making his own excuses about his neighbours complaining of his late night ruckus he caused. both of you were disappointed at the fact you couldn't just keep talking for hours but you had another idea up your sleeve.

"but i would be happy to have dinner with you tomorrow to continue this conversation if you're free? if you want to join me that is! you don't have to."

"no, no i want to! that would be great! here's my number. i'll pick you up at 7?"

his initial plans of acting casual around you had been thrown out the window and he was already wishing for time to go faster. you couldn't help but smile at his eagerness - it was a change from your usually soulless dates who treated you like arm candy.

"great! thank you, charles, really. i haven't been this optimistic about an upcoming season in a while but you've already made me excited for the future, even though we just met. i have a feeling we're going to enjoy a lot of victories together." you admitted honestly.

you hadn't been completely happy with any of your seasons with the scuderia so far, always hungry for more despite exceeding the expectations of many.

"thank you, that's the biggest compliment i could receive. i have no doubt we can bring the team many wins."

the 2023 season went on to be one of your best performances in a time where red bull dominance was ever growing. although the championship was not quite in your firm grasp just yet, you had come closer than ever with the help of new management and, more importantly, charles. this was simply the beginning for you two.

"hey charles?" you called out looking up from your phone screen to find him pulling on his race suit.

"yes, mon ange?" he replied turning to face you sitting on the tiny bed.

even though you two had been dating for years, him and his pet names never failed to fluster you.

"do you think we're soulmates in every universe?" you asked after seeing the tik tok trend appear on your phone.

you weren't really expecting a serious answer from charles. you knew it was a silly theory but you decided to entertain the thought. however it seemed that charles had a different idea.

"maybe, maybe not. i'd like to think we are but even if we're not, that doesn't matter. what matters is that we're together in this one, no? besides, even if we weren't destined to be together, i'd still find you and choose you in every universe." he voiced casually, placing a soft kiss on your forehead while looking around the room for his racing boots.

his confessions of undying love to you had become a daily occurrence and it was always certain his words would make your heart melt.

"you've seen the trend, haven't you?" you questioned him. there was no way he had just come up with that answer on the spot.

"what trend? mon amour, you know i am not on social media as much as you are."

"the tik tok trend! are you sure you haven't seen it?"

"yes, i am very sure, mon ange. come on, i don't need to see a tik tok to tell you that i will always choose you."

you didn't fully believe him but you also knew that he was a terrible liar, his facial expressions giving him away no matter what with each attempt made.

"come here. one last good luck kiss for me?" he asked with a pleading look you could never deny and pulled you from the bed by your arms.

"of course, my love. i want you back safe in one piece, ok?" you held his face in your hands and placed a delicate kiss on his forehead, nose, each cheek and finally, his lips.

"anything for you."

[beelzeballing]

actually i dont think ive posted my thoughts on ofmd s2 overall here yet have i?

ok here goes: i think it had incredibly high highs, and at some parts i genuinely enjoyed it more than i did the first season, episode 6 being peak imo. however, it had equally abysmal lows with some glaring writing-, tone- and pacing issues that all came to a head in the finale.

i once read someone say that, if you ever feel like a finale ruined the whole story, maybe you should take another look at the story. there were most likely cracks and problems all along, and the finale did nothing besides dashing the hope that these would perhaps be addressed later. very rarely do genuinely well written stories go completely off the rails in the finale and ruin the whole thing.

i think this is applicable here in some ways, SPECIFICALLY in regards to edward. good god edward was a MESS this season, and it's so sad because i loved the starting point! the kraken era was absolutely terrifying and iconic as FUCK but... they shouldn't have leaned so hard into the drama and trauma of it all. don't get me wrong, i loved that it did. it's one of my favorite parts of the season and i'm so glad we got it. but if they wanted this arc to work with the overarching plot as they wrote it, they would've had to lighten up the tone here CONSIDERABLY. had they played the kraken era for comedy then sure! edward's bad youtuber apology would've been funny. his fast redemption would've been less jarring. the lack of consequences less disturbing. but as it stands in the show, this arc is too dark to function with the later episodes.

i feel like they wanted to have their cake and eat it too here. they wanted the gritty drama of ed coming off the hinges entirely but also didn't want to deal with the aftermath of such a heavy arc in their silly pirate romcom. be that due to time constraints and budget cuts or because they were simply unwilling to, doesn't really matter in the end. the result is the same either way: a very tonally messy season with some accidentally troubling implications regarding abuse.

and mentioning troubling implications regarding abuse; izzy. my poor, poor izzy... his arc was absolutely glorious. i liked izzy the second he showed up in s1 and i was absolutely EATING this season up in that regard. and i think in this case, they genuinely did fuck it all up in the finale with that one stupid choice:

choosing to kill izzy was the DUMBEST thing they couldve done here.

ive talked about this over and over and over again. ive reblogged so many meta posts. and still i am left absolutely flabbergasted by how stupid of a decision this was. the fridging, playing at the fallen woman trope, killing the beating heart of the season and the character who delivers what is essentially a thesis statement, killing off the character whose arc is about coming to terms with his disability, having him die in edward's arms, comforting him and apologizing after an entire season of finding community and love outside of edward, the absolutely godawful pacing of it all, the extremely easy and obvious solution of just having IZZY become the new captain of the revenge to mirror s1 and hammer home how much he has developed since then in one go... i could go on. and i have. it was a stupid writing decision, completely fucked the tone and pacing of the finale and took away attention and time from things that really would've deserved a better wrap up (lucius and black pete deserved better)

now. the whole prince ricky & zheng plot line... yeah that shit sucked ass, sorry. they bit off more than they could chew here. i honestly think those are the arc words of this season:

✨️ bit off more than they could chew ✨️

right off the bat: i think he was good as a concept. bringing in a foil for stede who just doesn't Get It as stede does could've made for very good comedy and drama (and to be fair there is some of that). but that shit got away from them extremely quickly. nothing about how he's implemented past his first episode works, and i think this is very specifically because he's mostly played as the comic relief in his debut episode. making this completely bumbling fool, who gets his nose hacked off on his first job, the main villain of your entire season is... definitely a choice. idk. he didn't work for me at all.

ok wow mentioning shit getting away from the writers. this definitely got away from me. this was supposed to be a short lil post. well. i guess tl;dr i loved this season but jesus christ there was a lot wrong with it. if you want to hear more thoughts. ask box is open. be my guest. i have more to say so even if you dont ask i might add more to this at some point but im tired and have work tmrw.

[leincendiaire]

anyways salty thoughts. dont expect me to be nice

this is the one problem not exclusive to the finale, god ed's character arc just. didnt do it for me at all. I excused it before cuz I thought it would pay off as the season went on but nope. he never had a genuine apology moment, just that youtuber apology like gag and the cat collar joke. like they literally show us how the crew was completely scarred by his actions but theyre later just completely fine with him on board???? and stede keeps being his biggest stan when I think he would have been like hey what the fuck!! im sorry I hurt you but I am not responsible for your actions and you hurt my crew whom I hold very dear!! I love ed but Fuck he really went too far those first episodes and he never makes up for it. they only ever focus on His Own self journey, not how he hurt and traumatized practically every other character.

"well, I think narratively izzy's death made sense but—" no!! no it fucking didnt!! im sorry but it was just lazy writing!! they didnt know what to do with him so whoops he gets shot in the dumbest way possible. like, this aint my first rodeo, it aint the first time ive seen a character start off on their character journey to happiness only for writers to give up on it and kill them off. it's a tiring fucking trope tbh and I really wish they hadnt fallen into this trap. like his death scene wasnt good either, if youre gonna do it at least focus on his relationship with the crew, you know, the people he came to accept as family? not the man Who Shot Off His Fucking Leg And Almost Killed Him? I know they had an important relationship but that shit should have been talked about way beforehand, it deserved closure. they should have acknowledged they werent good for each other and made peace with it. izzy deserved a death with people who actually made him happy. ALSO THEY BURY HIM ON FUCKING LAND?????? he spent his life at sea!!!! he is the most devoted out of everyone to being a pirate and you bury him next to your fucking inn???? fucking twats istg

lastly I swear they forgot stede is the main character. they forgot literally everything about how to write him. he gets No Focus in the finale, and every scene he is in is bullshit. I actually wanted to punch my screen every time there was a joke about him being incompetent or whatever. like, hello??? thought we left that shit in s1??? he had Multiple Episodes about learning to be a pirate and adjusting to his new life and gaining more skills but no. he is just silly old loserboy for his cool war criminal boyfriend now. literally no skills or experience whatsoever. ok sure yea thats totally how he acted the rest of the season. also the fuck is it with him staying behind to run the inn with ed?? wasnt the whole conflict last episode their different desires out of life, with ed wanting to start a normal life and stede wanting to be a pirate?? when the Fuck did he change his mind. who are you and have you done with my boy

honestly I feel bad because jenkins is actually a good writer and the whole fandom really expected a lot from a man making his second show, and I think there were a lot of budget cuts and production issues so I can see why it turned out this way. he is probably mad about this too, I bet the cast also, like even the acting in this episode didnt feel passionate, and thats saying a lot since these actors really love this show. im just frustrated. man. time to write fics ig

[arachpool]

Not long after the Vecna fight, and after Eddie is discharged from the hospital, him and his band mates leave Hawkins. Their reputations in Hawkins are basically in the fucking gutter, and they had a gig out of town, so they hauled ass.

Steve, who may or may not have some memory issues due to head trauma, completely forgets Eddie. He, honestly, forgets a lot of things, and when he’s about 25, him and Robin move away from the shithole that is called Hawkins and get a flat together in the city, insisting that they could do it.

And they did.

They pay their bills and rent on time, they budget their money, and they’re comfortable. So what if Robin brings home the occasional woman and it always ends with mumbled farewells that wake Steve up every time. He doesn’t mind. Just like Robin doesn’t mind when Steve starts bringing home girls, and the occasional guy (after the first one, Robin’s all like “YOU LIKE DUDES? WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME??”).

Every once in awhile, Steve and Robin make sure to call the kids, catching up and seeing how they’re doing. Dustin always asks how Steve is doing, and Steve always says good, even if he isn’t.

Steve was pretty surprised when the kids, each one of them, showed up at his and Robin’s door randomly. Steve blinked, about to ask why they were there, but Robin swooped in and let the kids in, excitedly greeting them.

“Did I forget something again?” Steve asked Robin as she was getting the kids drinks. Robin ruffled Steve’s hair.

“Nah, doofus, I planned this. Don’t worry.” Steve flashed a smile and joined everyone in the ‘living room’, which really was the doorway/kitchen/living room.

“What exactly did you plan, Rob?” Steve asked as he sat on the coffee table, glancing over the kids and observing how much they’ve aged in just a couple years.

“We’re gonna go see Eddie’s band in concert,”Dustin said with a wide grin, but Steve didn’t catch on. Dustin understood fast that Steve had lost all memory of the brunet, smiling still. “Corroded Coffin. I don’t know if it’s your style but Eddie said we could hang out with him and the guys as like a Hellfire reunion,” Dustin informed, doing some odd, back-of-the-hand fist bump with Mike. Steve smiled and nodded. He was fine with that.

—

The concert rolled around, and everyone but Steve was surprised by the huge turn out. Eddie had bought the gang’s tickets for them, and so they had no idea how expensive, or scarce they would’ve been. But judging off the fact the venue was jam packed, they assumed they dodged a bullet by being old friends with the band mates.

Steve felt an odd feeling in his stomach when the band walked on, the guitarist speaking excitedly into the mic. In fact, the guitarist was the only person Steve could focus on. His hair was long, and was tugged into a loose, high bun. Tattoos coated his arms, and he wore a slightly cropped, ripped to shit black shirt that read Corroded Coffin in lightning-esque lettering.

Eddie was quick to pick out his old friends from the crowd, letting Gareth speak as he watched them. Dustin and Robin had told him that Steve didn’t remember much of his last years in Hawkins, and the years before that were a little spotty as well, so he was forgotten. Eddie didn’t mind this much, especially not now that he saw Steve, wearing cute tight jeans and a deep maroon sweater, staring up at Eddie with pure amazement.

Eddie made sure to hold eye contact with Steve as much as possible, and the best part? Steve didn’t look away. His crush on Steve was horrible in Highschool, but he had gotten over it after leaving Hawkins. He got with a couple guys, he got over it. But now? God he was reverting right back into his high school days, heart racing just at the way Steve’s eyes would flick over his body or how he’d fix his hair. Did Steve even like men? God, Eddie sure fucking hoped so.

After the concert, the crew was escorted backstage and into the band’s dressing room. After excited greetings and hugs and stuff of that matter, Eddie’s eyes fell onto Steve again. Robin was talking to him, a comforting hand on his arm as Steve’s brows furrowed in thought. Eddie approached.

“Hey there,” Eddie greeted, and Robin turned, smiling.

“Hey Eds.” Robin knelt up to Eddie’s ear. “He’s trying to remember you. He probably won’t.” Eddie simply nodded, flashing a grin at Steve.

“Hey. Names Eddie, yours?”

“Steve. Steve Harrington.” Steve held his hand out to be shook, but Eddie took it, bowed, and kissed the back of his hand. Steve flushed all shades of red as Eddie rose again.

“Pleasure meeting you, my liege.”

“Y-yeah. You- you too.” Eddie let his eyes flick over Steve’s form. He flashed another grin.

“I hope this isn’t the last I see of you?” Eddie proposed, and Steve flushed red.

“You want my number?”

“Of course I do.”

“I- yeah- give me a moment- Rob what’s our flats phone number?”

[manwiththemagic]

spn s1 ep4 "Phantom Traveler"

more notes on my rewatch!!

OMG this is the demon episode isn't it? IT IS ISN'T IT? IS IT???

ew an airport. Post 2001 too damn ☹️

"you know what are the odds of dying in a plane crash? 20-1?" BRO. not helping the puking man..

BLACK SMOKE!!

In through the eyes? That got retconned.

WHY WAS SHE NOT MORE FREAKED OUT HE HAD BLACK EYES. chick you are the reason everyone's dead.

HOW DID HE JUST OPEN THAT?? demon strength???

Rip plane

Wait does this mean demons could have done 9/11? wowza...

Early bird Sam!! “good morning sunshine!"

“you get some sleep?” “yeah.” “liar. Cause I was up at 3 and you were watching infomercials” LMAOOOO but also d'awhhhh :((( the nightmares!!

“it's not just her.. It's everything.” THE VISIONS FUCK YES. YES. YESYSYSHSHG

I love the visions plot lines!!

“your never afraid?” “no man, never.” *Sam pull out a knife from under deans pillow.* LMAOOO CLOCK HIS ASS!!

“Thats not fear.” uhhuh...

WAIT THIS IS THE DEANS SCARED OF FLYING EPISODE LMAOOOOO

reminds me of hunter corp Dean who legit has a private jet..

Random guy calls Dean about the plane issue whaaaa

WAIT THIS GUY KNOWS JOHN. HE HAS INFO.

oh gosh. “yeah he was real proud of ya! Talked about you all the time.” “...he did..?” FUCK.

I still I hate john. I HATE EM. always will 😋

“welp we're missing the old man, we get Sam! Even trade” “aha. No. not by a long shot.” THATS RIGHT. CAUSE UR BETTER MF. uhm anyways.. I like this old guy, hope he doesn't end up SAD AND DEPRESSED LIKE ALL THE OTHER OLD GUYS IN THE OAST 3 EPISODES.

Monster porn live on tape? LMAO JKJK!! demon gotta stop moaning tho.

They definitely aren't showing the crash because they don't have the budget, not because it's locked in a warehouse and you don't have clearance..

Wtf is Evp?

LMAO THE FAKE ASS “nOoOooo survIvoRsSss” they did NOT get that mf off the tape.

Dude sees shit, and is now in a ward. Common. Common.

DEAN STOP HARASSING MENTALLY ILL MAN.

sams puppy dog eyes back at it.

Black eyes 😋 OOOGA!!

okay wait why tf is this demon doing this. They don't just “do evil”...

This guy isn't a monster bro..

Wait are they actually going to the wreckage?

SUITS!!!

“you look like a seventh grader at his first dance! ☺️” SAM PLS.

OMG wait they had the budget holy shit

LMAO HELP ME HELP ME “what is that?” “its an E.M.F. reader.” “no I know what an E.M.F. is. Why does it look like a busted up walkman?” “cause that's what I made it out of! ☺️ It's homemade!!” “yea.. I can tell😒” SAM WOAH DON'T KILL EM!! LMAOSKSK

Sulfur on handle!!!

Oh shit actual homeland security is there..

LMAO THESE MFS GET CAUGHT EVERY EPISODE.

Run bitch runnnn!!

This poor pilot.. it wasn't your fault :(((

Oh shit he possessed.

Sulfur!!

Babies first demon.

NO BC WHY IS DEMON BRO DOING THIS.

Everytime.. 40 minutes in.. WTF

and another crash.. fun..

BUT WHY. JUST CAUSE??

“this isn't our normal gig..” how WRONG you are pal..

“this is big.” it's really not.. you fight GOD. by s2 demons are nothing to you. By s4 Sam's fucking one. By s6 Sam's been tortured for 100's of year by an ex-archangel who's basically his ex 🤷. By s13 your son is part ARCHANGEL. sooo...

Rip chuck Lambert— SORRY CHUCK? mbmb..

Nazareth?? Wtf is this demon on?

40 minutes? Wtf biblical numbers..?

Okay they got the flight attendant on the phone.

WHY PLAY ALONG LIKE IT WAS A PRANK. DUDE.

and she hung up.. girl your COOKED!!

Deans plane fear!! LMAOOO.

“your joking right..?" “DO I LOOK LIKE IM JOKING?? Why do you think I drive everywhere SAM??” LMAOSOSO

LMAOO DEAN WAS BORN TO BE A TEEN GIRL. “really..? Ugh... Man..” while rocking back in forth. He's so REAL LMAOSOS

Dean looks like he has PTSD LMAOOO

“your humming Metallica??” “it calm me down.!” LMAOOOO

“Hey! Say it in Latin!” “i know.” “Hey! In latin it's 'cristo'” “i know!!” LMAO I LOVE THEM.

“cristo.” “sorry I didn't..?” “cristo.” “??” “nevermind.”

Sam is honestly way kinder than me. I'd be making FUN of Dean but nah he's just like "no it's OKAYYYY just some turbulence dwdw.."

Dean you are so awkward.. it's def mr smiley

They found em!! It wasn't mr smiley damn..

Awh shucks.

BEAT THAT BITCH UP!! HE TALKED ABOUT JESS.

PLANE DOWN. PLANE DOWN.

DID LIGHTNING JUST STRIKE THEM???

okay all good now.

Nono demons killed jess. It wasn't wrong.

John redirecting calls to dean.. mf come ONNNNNNNN

Sam's peeved, rightfully so omg..

Kinda meh for an important episode.

[acowardinmordor]

I have mentioned this a couple times in a couple of ways, but I need to talk it out. It's my real life stuff, so scroll on if you're only following for the Stranger Things stuff. It's long, and I'm under NDAs, so its delightfully vague.

Real life is currently Real rough.

I am very susceptible to the desire to be the superhero. For good or ill, it's something I am capable of in my job. It's sort of my specialty. I get brought in on disaster jobs to land the plane. Or I get brought in because they know they need to run a skeleton team, and I am able to wear a lot of hats. Yeah, my rate is high, but I can cover several roles on my own. Not permanently, and not at full capacity, but if you need part of an artist and part of a modeller and part of a td and part of a fab designer and part of a construction and vendor manager, I can do all that. It's a weird skill set. When I have left projects midway through it takes multiple people to replace me. One time it took four.

I do anything I can, legitimately, to get what I know into other people's brains. I do not like single points of failure, either in rigging or in design. One person should not be the hinge for a project's success.

Just. look. I have been told directly, by industry legends who I deeply respect, that I'm exceptional. This is why I am susceptible to superhero dreams.

My current project is a shit show. Hand to god, if someone lit the building on fire, we'd be in better shape because insurance would kick in and we'd get time and money back to fix this mess. If it can go wrong, it has gone wrong. We were supposed to open four months ago. We are crossing our fingers to open before september. Every permit has had issues. Every product I order has had a turnaround issue, a sudden price spike, a stock issue, or a usability issue. We are massively over budget.

In theory my job title is Lead Design. In practice, my job is Get It Open.

That is not unique in my life. Sure, this is more disaster than usual, but this is my specialty.

The problem is that the company might not survive if we push to september. Like. Peoples income is hinging on me pulling some miracles. Not just the owners, though they'd be fucked. Artists and assistants and interns.

Yes, I could lower my standards and let this be meh.

But that is anathema to me. I have had the next chapter of FtB for months, but its still not right, so I keep retouching it and trying to make it good enough for my standards. This is not a place I compromise. I don't put my name on projects I won't stand by. And I'm in too deep. If I have to work 7 for the next two months, I will. I'll balance it with my body's tendency to try to kill me, but I don't let my projects fail.

It's so bad the owner dips out early and shuts down when told about whatever new bullshit we've encountered. So I've just stopped telling him. If it doesn't need his input to correct, he doesn't need to know its happening. He gets looped in as a 'hey we had an issue, its corrected, we'll be back on schedule in X days, which fits in schedule'

Again, this is my job. I am very good at it. I am paid well.

The pat that is making me insane is that about half the problems are things that I could have prevented if I'd realized earlier no one else was looking for them. Its stuff that shouldn't be my job, but I know enough to see the imminent issue, and bring in someone to prevent it. The other half are things that I specifically, explicitly pointed out as disasters in waiting, and was outright told that I was overreacting or that the thing I was asking for was unnecessary and a waste of time.

I don't believe in saying I told you so. Either they already know, or they won't listen if I say it. It's also crass. Its frustrating as fuck though. We have to rebuild stuff and redo stuff bc errors got missed. those errors would have been caught in a fab design review. I was treated like I was crazy when I asked for those drawings six months ago. We're getting fucked by it now.

So. Yeah, Everyday I ride my bike to the office -- cause yeah, I started commuting by bike which is great but also sweaty -- and my brain gives me all sorts of fabulous ideas and inspiration to write. And then work all day and suffer. And then ride home and am deluged by inspiration while riding. Then I get home and all the energy saps out of my pores and it takes hours before my brain has shifted gears enough to properly write. but then its past 9, on good days, and past 11 on bad days. Lately, its all been bad days.

Oh, and I'm having many more seizures than usual, my AC is crap so my house was over 90 last weekend, I angered my leg on my bike because I had to slam on the brakes, politics is Like That, and the guy I've had a crush on is being inexplicable.

So.

It's a very strange blend of infuriating, fulfilling, exhausting, and anxiety inducing.

I miss writing.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 10/17/2023

started explaining why this one is a little lighter than last week's gallery wall behemoth bc of a uhhhh kind of dire week, personally and professionally speaking, but then realized when fic authors do that in front of chapters i don't actually care or require an excuse from them, im just delighted to have a new chapter.

listening

this is a deeply cheesy little folk song but the lyrics "man you name it and if we ain’t got it: we’ll get it" gave me a sensible chuckle.

now for a moment to expound upon houston: they truly have imported every possible food service establishment. the two chains i miss most from jersey, jersey mikes submarine sandwiches and 7-11 gas stations, are both here. i get that this is the fifth largest metro area in the US or whatever but both of these companies are SO niche. absolutely bonkers. spotify.

i think this started autoplaying after a playlist inspired by f/allout: new v/egas came on??

-

reading

i originally had a very mean-spirited graf about the utility of a pool in northwestern massachusetts and the kind of person who can comfortably lose $31k, but it is genuinely awful that there are no rules around zelle. that money goes into a black fucking hole and there's no way to get it back, which is not the case for any other kind of recognized money except cryptocurrency

Did we confront Gary Kruglitz [the pool contractor]? Yes we did. We marched right into his office and grilled him hard until he defeated us with a simple and probing question: What's a zelle? It defied belief, we quickly realized, that a man who had been trapped in technological amber since the Nixon era was running a cyberscam designed to come between us and our money out of an AOL account.

-

watching

Van Helsing (2004, dir. Sommers). this movie is horrible. this movie is terrific. i don't have anything to say about this movie bc i was distracted by equal opportunity tits and asses the entire time. the time of the “Kate Beckinsale in a corset” movie genre is long over but GOD. watched with my sister bc it's leaving tubi soon

playing

one week i will have the energy to try New Thing but until i do it’s genshin. there's a poetry event that has terribly boring minigames, but the story quest has finally tied a bow on a piece of folkore we came across in the very first release so that was fun!

wrapping up some stuff in sumeru bc im running out of map pins, this game has done one of the things i hate most: progress-locking one extremely long and tedious collectible hunt (the music gates) behind another extremely long and tedious collectible hunt (the robots locked in the vines). the next time i see one of those little fucking budget koroks i am going to drop kick it into the sun. what the fuck is the circumference of teyvat anyway. it feels like we have explored so little of this planet's surface

i have graphics turned down pretty low bc of performance issues on my elderly laptop and this is still such a remarkably pretty game. look at this big estuary leading off into the distance

-

making

i wildly overextended myself this week, partially bc im trying to take advantage of this brief post-covid heightened immunity. lot of dinners. lot of late nights. on top of that BOTH of my siblings were in town for unrelated professional reasons this week :) no overlap so we did not have a nice fambly dinner :( but did have pretty okay separate dinners :) if they could learn to fucking communicate their trave plans and the number of peope that will be showing up at my home that would also be pretty okay >:(

one of the party games i played this week asked the question “what could you give a 40-minute PowerPoint presentation on” and i started saying facts about the downfall of the penn central railroad and they very nicely let me continue saying facts about the downfall of the penn central railroad, the largest bankruptcy in US history until ENRON, until the round timer went off.

i have some thoughts about Train Guys and how it's very easy to fall into being a Train Guy, bc there's a very easy template to follow, and there's a lot of Train Guy content, and have i been doing this bc i actually like trains, or bc it's easy to listen to Well There's Your Problem on repeat bc it's familiar and comforting, or do i just really really really fucking hate flying?

who could possibly say.

mackintosh update: allowed herself to be scooped up by my brother (who she met at christmas and loves) but did NOT allow herself to be pet by the strangers in his company. did hang out in the middle of the floor observing tho. a regular little extroverted socialite!

[louisisalarrie]

super random q but do you think louis is ever coming back to asia? 😭 lol honestly his team fucked up big time and a lot of the fans are (rightfully) pissed off nfndidks but i think it also had a lot to do with the countries they chose?

i remember the initial announcement was him going to countries he didnt visit during Itwt, which is nice and all i guess but i'm not sure they thought that through... clearly there weren't enough fans in those countries fo then after cancelling those he announce ONE SINGULAR show in jakarta... which, logically, makes sense since it's one of his top cities on spotify. and yet the turnout was terrible skndjdsk

i'm sure a lot of it had to do with fans still holding a grudge (honestly same) and being scared of cancellation again, but i was thinking maybe he should've chosen a different city? manila for instance had to have their Itwt show upsized from a 2k capacity venue to a 12k one if i'm not mistaken?

Hey lovely anon, and welcome to the show! (Late night VIP access for you - I’m only awake because god some of these bands take fucking forever to load out, so apologies if this is a bit scrambled!)

Yeaaaahhhh it’s definitely part of his team’s fault, but could also likely be the promoter’s. I think it was Live Nation for this one. At LN AUNZ they really try everything they can to not cancel shows, and just downsize (usually discreetly only to ticket holders, but sometimes posted on socials), and it comes down to ticket sales, but also supplier issues is a major one too.

I’m honestly not too across Asia’s music scene at the moment, it’s just not a territory I’m deep in, but maybe there were other major acts touring at the same time and therefore caused supplier issues too? Usually ticket sales are the main factor but you’ve got everything from trucking, backline, crew, sound, lights, accomodation, staging, tour manager fees, staffing, flights, venue rental, catering, LED etc. vs the guaranteed fee, so there’s a lot more to consider.

Promoters, like any business, obviously wanna lose as little money as possible, and so they do look at all avenues before having to propose a cancellation to the team because it makes them look bad. They obviously want Louis to choose them next time because they make money, so they don’t just cop out if they have low ticket sales, they try to make it work but sometimes it just… doesn’t.

I’m not sure what kind of deal it was - happy to go into different types of deals sometime with y’all if you’re interested - but depending on budgets and the type of deal, it could’ve just been a lot of artist costs and it would’ve costed louis more money to go there than the payoff would’ve been.

I understand it’s frustrating, 100%, AUNZ, particularly NZ, don’t get half the bands the rest of the world get, because it’s expensive and it’s a gamble. Unless the promoter is willing to put no caps in the tour offer and just gamble with fees because they’re sure of ticket sales and budgets, well, they won’t. And it is a gamble for louis to go to countries he’s not been to before while he’s still establishing a bigger turnout there.

He’s the kind of guy that wants to tour all over the world and see everyone no matter the size of the venue, and it’s ridiculous because with his net worth he can afford to lose some money lol, but his manager and team just… don’t get paid that way. They don’t do their job so they don’t get commission. Idk what kind of contract they have with him, but I doubt he’s gonna give them a free handout if he can’t even make enough money to cover half that shit mentioned above through ticket sales. It’s just not how a business runs. It’s not how management works.

I really hope yourself and the folks up there don’t hold a grudge against him, because it’s so often out of the artist’s control (again, sounds stupid but it is the way this works), and I’ve seen artists offer to pay for a show with like 6% ticket sales because they just wanna make that 6% happy. But it’s not feasible and their management think it’s a waste of time if it’s not successful. I disagree, but, that’s the way the cookie crumbles with the big dogs. And I’m sure he’d love to tour more cities and be with fans everywhere.

With how much of a gamble it is going to cities he’s not been to before, I imagine even with demographic studies, the promoter’s offer would’ve stated for louis to pay for most of the expenses I stated above, so the promoter doesn’t lose money because it’s a risk. The more risky the tour sales are, the more is deemed an artist cost. It’s just… business.

Anyway, ticket sales for all artists are really struggling these days because of this damn economy and “cost of living”. Fans aren’t often buying tickets til the last minute, like you said, for fear of cancellation. Particularly after covid, it’s really hit the music industry hard. Refunds are great, fine, sure, but if you’re spending a chunk of your pay to see an artist and it doesn’t happen, you lose a bit of faith in buying tickets for them/other artists the next time they come to your city.

In Australia, we have a website called Tixel, founded in Melbourne a few years ago. Changed the absolute game. Now folks aren’t buying off Ticketmaster marketplace or official ticketing outlet resales, and are using Tixel instead.

Tixel is a platform where you can sell your ticket to another person with very little fees taken. You can’t list your ticket for over 10% of the price you bought it for, you have to upload/scan your ticket into the system and it verifies its legitimacy, and then you can put it on sale for whatever price you like (with upwards of 10% of og price, or lower if you need to just get rid of it). It’s fantastic, stops scammers because they can’t upsell the ticket by 200% like on ViaGoGo, and all tickets are proved to be legitimate. I’ve waited last minute to a show, to see if I’m free/if it’s going ahead if it’s super far in advance to buy tickets on Tixel, because I know if I buy tickets the day of/a few days before, that there’s like a 1% chance they’ll cancel. Shit happens, sure, but by that time, you’ll know it’s going ahead.

Because of the concerns of buying tickets when they’re released, promoters and management teams can’t guarantee there will be a turnout and whether they will be able to gain a profit/at the very least break even, because it’s just too risky and of course suppliers want money well in advance. But if a band does a show, and it sells out last minute, great, cool, but you can’t bank on that. It’s changed the ticketing game and really fucked with artists, their teams, and promoters, because you can’t rely on the numbers early on.

There have been a few major festivals here that have cancelled, due to “unforeseen circumstances” usually (which is mostly a way to hide the fact it’s ticket sales), and it’s like… a week after tickets go on sale. This happened to a festival I bought tickets to the day of release, and a lot of folks I know were waiting for their next payday or until tickets were on resale closer to the time. It’s such a shame, and hurts a lot of people in the industry financially. It’s not just the big dogs who have a fuck ton of money, it’s the crewing on the ground, the caterers, the venues, suppliers etc. who get hurt the most. It’s devastating down here, at the moment.

You can bank on certain artists selling tickets everywhere, but unfortunately it wasn’t strong enough for Louis.

He couldn’t skip out on Asia all together, no way. He needed to do at least 1 show to cross that territory and fulfil the global deal that he may have with LN (not 100% on if it’s a global deal or co-pro but yeah, either way), because it would’ve looked shit if he didn’t and probably negotiated his touring deal and cost him more money to cancel. Idk, there’s so many moving parts to touring that it’s hard to give you a solid answer, anon, but I’m sure he’ll be back. They’ll focus on Asia to really crack it, I think. We’ll see how competent/how much his team cares, and what promoters are willing to offer to get him back. Deals change throughout the initial offer up until very close to the tour, so, yeah. Hopefully there’s more money from the promoter backing him next time.

It’s shitty, but the money they saved goes towards the next leg of the tour to cover higher artist costs. This can include nicer accomm, better flights, better catering, better LED/Lights/Sound for confirmed shows, depending on the deal. So it’s stretching yourself a bit thinner for more shows that will cost you money, or putting some more money into those shows to make it better. It’s a weird balancing act. And yeah. It’s a multitude of things, not just his popularity.

Anyway, hope this helps a bit! Let me know if any q’s xx <3

[notsamsfanaccount]

i’m fucking livid over the cancellation of ofmd3.

it doesn’t even make sense for them to cancel it. ofmd broke streaming records for HBO max. it was one of the top shows of 2023 despite coming out in october. there was official merchandise and a huge advertising campaign (which i remember VERY vividly because i was sick before it came out and i was passed out on the couch for a solid week, waking up several times a day to “no, we’re on a break”).

it’s obvious what’s happening. this is what happens when writers don’t queerbait; the studios do it. they love our money and viewership, but they hate US as people. david jenkins and the rest of the team behind ofmd gave us an unashamedly queer story, and now that we’ve lined HBO’s pockets, it’s getting kicked to the curb.

the ending of season two was a “just in case” ending, which was appreciated, but i feel like everyone thought it was a given for there to be a season three. sure, season two wasn’t as good as the first one, but most of that was a pacing issue that wouldn’t have been there if HBO Max didn’t cut the budget and season length. already looks pretty sabotagey to me. not to be tinhatting about this, but that’s hella fuckin suspicious. trying to tank the ratings so they’d have an excuse to cancel the show.

but after years of sherlock levels of queerbait, we were fine with it. ofmd2 was good even with all the cuts and restrictions. of course it could’ve been better, but we all know why it wasn’t, and now we all know why we won’t have an ending.

i was scared for the finale to come out. i thought they were gonna massacre half the characters, rocky horror style. a whole “this is what happens when you’re queer” hayes code era twist. but of course that didn’t happen, the writers love us and their show too much for that. i always have seen that people like us don’t get happy endings, but for a moment, we did. and then we didn’t.

doesn’t that make you viscerally ill? we were given a show that treats queerness as a given, not as some tragic odd-one-out character development thing, depicts relationship dynamics we never thought we’d see on tv, and celebrates all of us. we were profited off of, which is okay as long as that profit is going toward the people who made this for us, and a lot of it did. then, the executives who platformed the show to get into our untapped consumer market rip it all away. they have our stats and subscription, that’s all they wanted.

the thing is, they could’ve had more. they could’ve just let us be and profited even further off of a third season, but something about us is just too much for them. it’s sick. it’s bigoted. it’s infuriating.

this keeps happening. remember when I’m Not Okay With This got canceled on a cliffhanger? and for what? the show got great viewership, an active fanbase, and people willing to stay subscribed to netflix for another season. it wasn’t even corporate greed of not wanting to cough up the production costs. they would’ve made a whole bunch of money if it was renewed. their bigotry was stronger than their corporate greed.

they hate us that much. enough to manufacture a tragic ending. enough to not rake in more profits just to get us off of their roster. i may be a bit dramatic about this but god DAMN it sure does feel intentional.

[hopelessrromantix]

where i've been

TLDR: Life sucks and so does the government. Half my family got hit with some pricey medical bills plus our normal rent, so donating or sharing this would be beyond appreciated.

I know you’re all thinking “Roman! You haven’t written anything in a month, what’s going on?” First, valid question. Second, dear GOD where do I start.

Let’s keep things simple. This past month has been the literal definition of hell for me. Everything started off fairly normal, until my two remaining grandparents started having frequent hospital trips. My father spent most of his time caring for them, living mostly at their house. Given that he works most in our house, he wasn’t having an easy time. He ended up developing what his doctor said was “stress tremors”, to the point that he went on disability.

Well, even after my grandparents were a bit more stable (though still on close watch)... they continued anyway. Eventually it got so bad my mother drove him to the hospital one night and what do you know, brain tumor.

Queue several days of our family wondering what the everloving fuck we’d do without my Dad. It was several days of my dear mother (note the sarcasm) trying to control everything, my brother trying to continue school, and me taking care of the house and our pets.

We got the scans back not long after and, cue sigh of relief, the tumor was benign. It still seemed to be draining the life out of my father, though. The nurses and doctors were absolutely floored because his tumor was absolutely huge but he had no headaches. Imagine a baseball in your head. Yeah, exactly. He did however stare at the wall for hours and had a hard time getting out more than a few words. It’s probably one of my most heartbreaking memories to watch the strongest person I’ve ever known reduced to a husk on a hospital bed.

Brain surgery came soon after. He made it through and is currently in recovery. He’s speaking actual sentences, though he’s still got tremors and needs a lot of help. Still, I’m just happy to have my father.

That same week, we noticed my cat acting off. We have two of them and my cat, Gallifrey, is a talkative sweetheart who’s attached to me at the hip. But he was meowing differently and acting weird and all around not normal. One vet visit later and we find out he has kidney disease and pancreatitis. He’s being treated for it (new food, possible meds, regular fluid injections, etc.), but he’s still not himself yet. Talk about my life falling apart. This on its own my family couldn’t even begin to afford. The government seems to hate disabled people and paying for numerous doctor’s visits wasn’t remotely in our paper thin budget, much less the meds and treatment.

It was a lot all at once, and not even close to what we expected. Gallifrey is only 7 and my father didn’t show the typical signs of a brain tumor. So, I guess the universe thought “Y’know, this is a perfect time to kick Roman in the fucking balls”.

Routine testosterone blood test, just monitoring… until I got a call from the doctor. Turns out I have some untreated issues that none of my previous doctors caught. In fact, the only reason she caught it was because it was so severe. According to her she was shocked I’m still up and kicking and not in the hospital for a blood transfusion. Apparently my red blood cell count and oxygen level is insanely low, and she asked me to take a Covid test (negative), so it turns out it’s a completely different issue. I’m still in the process of diagnosing it, so that was a fun little addition. With my chronic pain and my mother in denial, I sleep most of the day and am in constant pain the entire time.

I’ll be real, I’m not a fan of asking for money. It’s not something I like, but it’s something I have to do. The amount of treatment we need, my dad, Gallifrey, and me, is more than we can hope to afford on our salaries (thank you, American healthcare!). The medical process in this country is a joke.

I’m asking y’all to help me out. Sharing, donating, whatever. Everyone around me has been kind and supportive, and I'm beyond thankful for that. If you can’t donate, please send it, share it, do whatever, I'll take absolutely anything. If I’m honest? The number I’m asking still won’t cover it, but anything is helpful.

Thank you for reading this far, thank you for sharing, for donating, for being kind, for absolutely everything.

I also understand that the internet is a horrible, despicable place, so I can give any breakdowns of what the money would be used for and give any medical info (not releasing family names or locations) to provide proof. The page includes a lovely little x-ray of my father’s head so you get to see the absolute insanity. If this isn’t enough please let me know and I can link anything else needed to confirm that yes, I am actually having the worst time of my life.

All in all? Thank you.

Donate here if you can <3

[dwellngrace]

Eat It Up

“Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Overspending. We’ve all done it, right? Perhaps you blew your budget on a vacation or a special occasion and had to face a tough financial reality afterward. Maybe you bought a car or new house for its size, only to feel cramped [overwhelmed] by the upkeep. We could easily write out a list of our missteps yet miss the larger issue of treating wants like needs.

We fall for the pitch in front of us because of the itch inside of us, but nothing we’ve spent can make us content.

God’s alternative offer is clear: Listen to him and learn what’s good, so you can then enjoy good things. It’s simple and loving despite how complicated and commanding we make it out to be, as if spending intentional with Him each day is a stiff activity we do to be religious.

Hint: It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship!

Your Heavenly Father loves you and wants to show you what’s worth your time and resources.. Eat It Up!!!

Prayer: Father, I’ll never be perfect at managing money, but I know your wisdom makes a huge difference. I’d love to spend the whole day open to you today, so that I can sense your leadership and follow you.

Just thinking about fair food probably makes you want to eat! No matter where you live, the fair has some of the weirdest things to eat. Beyond corn dogs and turkey legs, you can get deep fried oreos , fried ice cream, and deep fried bacon. Somehow, seeing it on a stick makes us think, “Well, why not?”

Culture tempts us to pursue taste over substance , but God reveals that life in Him is healthy, filling, and succulent. The next time you reach for a funnel cake filled with macaroni ( why are you reaching for that anyways😭). Consider what it symbolizes in how you live and what you entertain yourself with.

Prayer: God, there are so many things that could easily distract me. Instead, show me what’s incredible and guilt-feee because it’s rooted in you and what you’re up to!

Q: When do you tend to let your guard down when it comes to falling for something that doesn’t truly satisfy?

[piglet26]

A Year In the Mess and the Millennial Cross Rory Bears. FALL

I've pinned what part of my issue has been with the past three episodes. Everyone is miserable. No one was this miserable in the original series. Except no one is miserable about the actual justifiable issues to be miserable. They make their own misery.

What enabled this realization? This episode wasn't complete misery. Dear God- I actually enjoyed most of it.

THE LIFE AND DEATH BRIGADE aka the best of Rory and Logan. This is them at their best. This Logan at his best. Clearly the Palladino's always wanted to do more with this group except possibly didn't have the budget for the TV show version. The brigade was somewhat deserving of it's bad rep is about spontaneity, playfulness and theatre. The brigade is made up of wierdo's of a different kind and Rory found such realness amongst them.

Rory and Logan are also frustrating. They are clearly in love and yet both refuse to make commitments to each other. Why? Don't know. Rory finally realizes that she needs to stop falling back on Logan or being the side piece either one. It's sad really Rory was such a purpose for Logan and she made him genuinely happy. She brought out the best in him. Logan provides Rory with excitement, independence and stability. He seems to be just paddling in life as well, just in a better swimming pool.

Something is going on when Jess Mariano is like a warm hug on this show. He is though. His muscley arms and that long silky hair. It was grounding and warm. Like a cookie. He's still Jess. Comes in says what he needs to say, pulls the WIFI and dips. No more. No less.

Rory walking through her empty grandparents' home was poignant and heartbreaking. All the flashbacks and then Rory writing her novel at Richard desk. It would've have meant more if Rory had been shown as being more affected earlier by her grandfather's passing.

Emily employed in a whaling museum is delicious. Turning tales into grimly fascinating stories of woe. It’s perfect. I would go there every week. Her finding a sense of individuality amongst her grief was beautiful.

It was delightful seeing Dean. Rory finally gave Dean his flowers.... hopefully the fanbase can learn to grow up to. No, Dean was not the worst. Jess was. Speaking of....

Grown and Sexy Jess. Maybe he is the one for her. Honestly, I think the Palladino's have always rooted for them anyways. Longing looks and all. We just weren't given much to go on this go round.

Luke and Lorelai finally stopping the nonsense unfreezing time and getting married was beautiful and fairytale like and deserved. It was about damn time.

The car ride between Lorelai, Rory and Luke was so sweet. Like I've always said...... those three really soul mates. I wish Rory and Luke had gotten more scenes with just them two this go round.

Sookie wasn't present at the wedding, but she did show up. Given Melissa McCarthy status at the time she couldn't show up the way she wanted to. I just hated their excuse for Sookie being gone...... She's studying vegetables? Whatever

Let's think about season 7 for moment here. It's nowhere near as bad as this shit has been. Rory didn't receive a personality transplant for one. History has gotten twisted a bit to fit the narrative that the show was perfect until the Palladino's left. It wasn't. The Palladino's continued to do what they do well and do horribly what do horribly.

They were always brilliant at casting, setting and characterization. They were always brilliant at making the simple interesting. They were never good at backstories everyone rich kid on the show got the same one. Every boy Rory dated was Christopher until the next boy Rory dated. The audience focused too much on Rory's love life like that wasn't part of her storylines since episode 1. Lorelai is a narcissist with a man who hates to communicate unless he's losing the woman he loves. Luke got a soap opera surprise child that was a knock off Rory/slash plot device.

But what they did to this character? I have no words except stupidity.

I never wanted Gilmore Girls to come full circle. Like her or not, Lorelai gave herself over to Rory so that Rory could aim for the proverbial stars. You know what? Rory did achieve and achieved great things. So what happened? We don't know.

The biggest problem with this reboot is that it appears to treat at ten-year gap as cavalierly as if it were one year. Rory’s backstory is a bunch of blanks. We have no idea how covering Obama went, or when her career started to sputter, why is she with Paul, how'd she get back with Logan...... just nothing. That intervening decade happened, and it should matter. Yet, it doesn't why? Again, the Palladino's have never been good with backstory, but it didn't matter but it literally didn't matter. This wasn't about Rory..... it was a statement piece about Millennials. Don't even get me started on the THETHIRTYSOMETHINGCLUB. Which mocks these individuals as failures...... I think without depth. Oddly, this show lost whatever shallow depth it had.

I'm not sure about Rory becoming a 16-year-old Lorelai either which is what the original intention of the Palladino's was. Are we supposed to feel good or bad about these things? Is Lori a good mother? Is Rory a success? Which part of repeating her mother's life is beautiful or tragic? The show itself is confused on these things.

I'm not surprised no one had been called them to do another version of A Year in the Life. The best parts of the Gilmore Girl revival were not the Gilmore Girls. Season 7 ending felt hopeful. The revival ending felt like things going from bad to worse. Also, bitterly, like pregnancy is never a happy occasion in this family.

Side Note: Diana and the old Lulu from General Hospital having a scene together was great.

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Review Blurbs: Deadpool and Wolverine

Is this late as shit? Yes. Am I sorry? Yes. Is there a point to this part of the post? Probably not.

--General Thoughts--

-If there's one thing Deadpool does best, its their music montage openers. I was jamming out so hard to the "Bye Bye Bye" sequence, it's the best gag of the DP movies imo

-Aspect of the movie I didn't think I'd like as much as I did was the music score. Both the featured songs and most surprisingly the original score were hype (big budget productions like MCU works aren't really known for their soundtracks save for central themes and they haven't been getting me as much since Portals in Endgame, but the LFG theme absolutely fucks). Props to DP for always going out of its way to do fun stuff with the scores like with Holy Shit Balls in DP 2

-It warmed my heart when all the people Wade had met were there for his surprise party. And how he carried their picture and said he only had 9 people in his life but those 9 people were his world. Most emotional part of the movie for me personally

-Bringing in Johnny Storm instead of Cap was fucking genius. When he said "flame on" and shot into the air just like the old days? 10/10 Welcome back Mr. Storm

-I was tweaking the hell out when Elektra, Blade, Gambit and Laura came in omg I don't care if its lazy fan pandering I'm the fan being pandered to and I fucking love character cameos (fuck Twitter for spoiling the Gambit cameo for me but at least the rest were a surprise)

-Blade going "there's only one Blade and will only ever be one" and DP looking straight into the camera... nice (Blade is getting a movie in 2025 for those who didn't know)

-Someone on the Deadpool writer's team really likes Juggernaut. Like really likes Juggernaut. Good for them

-I'm wondering how many people were confused by the appearance of Lady Deadpool (never in all my years did I think we'd get her on the big screen, hell yeah)

-The storyline was more consistent and interesting than I thought it would be, DP fucking around with the TVA and the Void was not something I expected (and him using the "worst" Wolverine to save his timeline was actually really sweet and a compelling plot point for this new Logan)

-The humor was also great, my expectations for Marvel works have been pretty low for a while so this really was an awesome surprise for how much I enjoyed it

-I hate retcons unless there's a really damn good reason so I'm glad they kept that the Logan Wolverine is dead (the bit of DP finding his skeleton and throwing a tantrum was great)

-There were issues with some of the emotional beats but the ones that hit really had that Marvel touch that I've missed, especially when Nova was in Logan's mind and suddenly made the voices in his head cut off into dead silence, I got chills (very Multiverse of Madness-esque, I loved it)

-I've seen people shouting it out and yeah they're right, we finally got practical effects! I'm glad the movie committed to costuming and practical effects instead of CGI (CGI can be great but Marvel has really been lacking). And eventually Wolverine's classic suit actually grew on me, the yellow from him and DP's red compliment each other really well visually (long live the ketchup and mustard duo)

-"You got the wrong guy" "You were always the wrong guy... 'till you weren't" god this line... this is what I expect out of a Wolverine plotline, and it shows how much of an influence Logan had on Laura. This really felt like a love letter to Wolverine

-I love Jennifer Garner and I'm so glad she got to play Elektra and give a proper homage to the character, as well as Tatum's Gambit and the og Blade (you don't understand I am obsessed with this Elektra what is it about Marvel girls in red help me)

-Also adored them getting Wesley Snipes back for Blade to pay him homage, his performance really felt like a man out of time when he played Blade exactly as he did in 1998, and it gave a certain nostalgic feeling even for someone like me who didn't watch the og Blade (I believe the word is "anemoia"). Hard to describe but it felt special, you don't get the chance to pull off something like this in cinema too often and I'm very happy they pulled it off here

-The actors knocked it out of the fucking park. I forgot how much I loved Ryan Reynold's DP since it isn't always comic accurate but holy shit this movie made me fall in love all over again, and Hugh Jackman killed it as always (the scene where he put his head up to Wade's gun was phenomenal). Chris Evans' Johnny Storm was almost jarring from how long its been since he was cemented as Captain America lmao but the man's still got it, Rob Delaney as Mr. Paradox was very fun to watch, Emma Corrin had an insane amount of facial control for Cassandra Nova, and Jennifer Garner actually stole my fucking heart with Elektra

-LAURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I love Laura Kinney so much holy shit was I happy to see her here. They did her so well, she's matured a lot and was wise enough to get through to Logan and tell him what he needed to hear, while also being just as aggressively feral in combat as she was in Logan because who is Laura Kinney if not someone who shouts war cries before slicing a dude's ankles off? (and the sunglasses, girl I hadn't even thought about those). The details show how much care they put into paying homage to Laura and doing her justice, probably the best written character in the movie for me next to the literal main characters. She was different, and grown up, but still so Laura, the same rowdy kid we loved in Logan. So happy to see my not-so-little devil child back in action <3

-The car scene.

-Genuinely curious about the increase in search results for the Honda Odyssey and if sales were affected after this movie, if anyone finds that data get back to me

-The scene where Wade meets Dogpool/Mary Puppins and she's licking his mouth and you think he's allowing it cause he's distracted and then a moment later he opens his mouth more and you realize he's very aware there is a dog shoving its tongue in his mouth and he lets it happen cause he's a goddamn freak while keeping eye contact with Nicepool the entire time had me fucking cackling (its some gross humor that hits for me)

-DP introducing Logan all nervously to Blind Al was... an interesting choice. Very heterosexual of them.

-Deadpool throwing in an "I'm genderblind" joke went over so many people's heads

-The credits montage was so damn sweet. For some reason the MCU seems to hate the X-Men and the clips made me feel like the people behind this movie really cared for the old Marvel properties (Elektra, Blade, and especially the X-Men). It got me when they started showing Fantastic Four, X-Men and First Class BTS footage, those were some of the first Marvel movies I ever watched and First Class was what really got me into the X-Men, it made me really happy seeing flashes of it all <3

-The MCU will never be Earth-616 GIVE IT UP FEIGE

--Criticisms--

-Tonally and structurally, the movie was kind of all over the place (not horrifically so, but the structure definitely could've been better). They put a lot of time into character cameos, some of which weren't necessary (sorry Sabretooth)

-Certain emotional moments would abruptly cut off into the next scene and it was very jarring (the moment when DP is pouring his heart to Logan at the TVA felt rushed, as did multiple other moments)

-They ran the meta jokes into the fucking ground, I would've made them more sparse so it didn't lose its flavor. I love a good fourth wall break but they overdid it (DP headbutting the camera and the withered remains of the Fox logo were great bits, but after that the jokes kept happening and it lost its effect)

-Nicepool was... meh. Felt like his bit overstayed its welcome and then I was just bored (though I did laugh at "The Proposal")

-I realize the humor parts that didn't hit for me were when the movie overdid a certain bit, if they kept it in moderation it would've landed better for people who aren't the biggest on DP's style of humor imo. Not all the humor hit for me, but more of it hit than I expected so cheers to that

-Some of the fight choreography felt a bit bland, and others were hard to keep track of cause of how fast-paced it was. Thankfully there were multiple fight scenes and some were great so it wasn't the worst issue, but this is a Marvel action movie so it does stand out to me when its off

-Gambit felt off to me and I think its cause Channing Tatum was so focused on getting the Cajun accent down his acting was a bit stiff, no hate to him cause that shit's hard but its a lesson in how putting on accents can really affect your acting ability (British actors who do other accents have to study and practice for years)

-Cassandra Nova was... interesting. Not sure why Marvel leaned so goddamn hard into the "creepy woman who eerily taunts you" trope because that very much is a trope and it can be very annoying (*cough cough* male writers *cough cough*). She was most fascinating when she acted like an actual person and outside of that she felt very tropey, I would've wanted more personality

-In lieu of the above, I was heavily disappointed with how Cassandra's arc went. When she let DP and Logan go and got the info from Pyro about the Time Rippers, I really thought they were building her up to be a big villain down the line (and we'd see her in other MCU properties, maybe something with Dr. Strange or Wanda, or even a way to introduce more X-Men). She became more morally gray in the second act and I thought we'd have a interesting and complex anti-hero/villain but then they reverted her back to her prior trope and killed her off by the third act. Hugely wasted potential and given how dirty they did Wanda it left a shit taste in my mouth for the MCU's female antagonists (especially considering how well done Sylvie was in Loki)

-Hate how they did Vanessa. Her character motivations were inconsistent from the previous movies, and it felt like the writers didn't know where to go with her and DP yet keep making the them a couple. Vanessa and Wade not lasting because of his immortality is interesting, it could've made for a very impactful lesson on how you need to enjoy what you have and fight for it even if it won't last, with DP finding community among a fellow regenerative hero (Logan), but they just didn't go anywhere with that. And the breakup was meant to be a huge thing for Wade to try and want to be better but it feels unearned when Vanessa just... gets back with him? Cause he saved the world? It's very "get the girl" with no thought to how or why Vanessa would've changed her mind and its fucking annoying. Alternatively, Wade fighting tooth and nail to save Vanessa and her not getting back with him but them rekindling their friendship like Eddie did with Anne in Venom could've been such a great display of men and women bonding despite a lack of romance, but the movie decided to do the most lazy comphet shit possible and give Vanessa no character to make her get back with Wade

-And another thing Wade failing to get into the Avengers because he wanted to keep Vanessa from breaking up with him and Happy not being convinced could've been a phenomenal message on how motivations need to be about wanting better for yourself to do actual good in the world but then it never happened

-Not to mention it pissed me off when the movie made such a stance on how Wade's whole world was his friends and he'd do anything to save them, yet had his entire motivation towards the end being just to save Vanessa (his whole fucking montage when he was getting anti-mattered was about Vanessa and no one else). What happened to Blind Al? Peter? Negasonic and Yukio? Colossus? They just not as important anymore cause they're not a romance option? Fuck off Marvel.

-I noticed the distinct lack of intimacy between Negasonic and Yukio and before anyone whines, no its not necessary to have explicit intimacy for them to be a romantic pairing, but for the love of god use your braincells cause I know for a damn fact they never kiss or anything so its easy for the censorship countries to translate them as just being friends. Disney is goddamn spineless and I swear to god every problem I have with this movie can be traced back to them

-I feel like a Deadpool movie is quite literally the one movie they can afford to make a joke when it comes to you-know-who from the first movie but I'm sure they had their reasons

-Felt like Logan's backstory and guilty complex was built up a lot just to have it be that he wasn't around when the X-Men got killed cause he was drinking, kind of a disappointing payoff (I think it could've worked, just wasn't feeling it much from this execution)

-Would've liked more scenes with Deadpool's loved ones throughout the movie, they had so little screen time it kinda fell flat when they were brought up as motivation for Wade. We're supposed to rely on the previous movies to show us why they matter but even sequels need some basis as a stand-alone, or there would be absolutely no reason to watch it if you haven't watched the others

--Final Thoughts--

Overall, great movie. The issues I had with it didn't take away from my enjoyment, and if anything the reason I have so many criticisms is because I was so invested to begin with. I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through, Deadpool and Wolverine was every bit as gimmicky and campy in the best ways that you'd expect from a DP movie, and I'd highly recommend it for anyone that wants a bit of gratuitous action and a good time.

[dojae-huh]

Wanted to comment on the horse reference.

During the first (Apple) fanmeet Doyoung said that this comeback is similar to the meme with a drawing of a horse. The great music compensates the beginning (promotion).

Ifans, naturally, interpreted it like him dissing SM, however, I suspect it is a reaction to a lot of kfans not liking the concept of IG promos (saw this sentiment on Pann and YT), they found it boring. In addition, this comeback will be short (sidenote: 3weeks->2weeks->1week reduction of music shows promotions in normal for older artists. Rookies need every chance at exposure, meanwhile established acts already have fanbase, while music show ratings are very low, few people watch them (usually just the performances of groups they like on YT, not the whole programmes. time to accept the passage of time and 127 becoming seniors). Do always monitors the fandom (Korean part of it, at least) and often reacts.

There is a problem of using words in a wrong way, devalueing their meaning. Walk comeback is not grand, it is on a small scale, but it is in no way "poor" (the word many ifans used in their twits). Using such terms is belittling the work of the creative team and disregarding the improvements in Neo centre. Fans spoil the aftertaste themselves with their attitude.

The IG promo was goofy, endearing and well-executed (all reels were prepared and shot in a few days when MarkHyuk were available, good time-management). It reflected well the motto of "I don't care what others say, I walk at my own pace". It vibed with NCT's lore and image.

The track-videos were all well-made, creative, beautiful. 2 track videos are better than none. People get used to good things quickly and don't value what they have. The comebacks before Neozone didn't have track videos.

"Deities of seoul" is breathtaking, however, the momentum gained by the short promos wasn't carried into the title-track and fell flat (the fandom was so exited with the gods concept, and we got nothing out of it, we still don't know who is supposed to be who). The way this comeback and the promotion unfolds is a smooth ride. It's an improvement in my book.

The physical albums aren't extraordinary, but are OK (with the exeption of the seam eating up faces issue, I'm dedacting points for it, rest assured). And the print quality is good. Physical albums is a weak side of many companies, not just SM. Didn't make me excited, but I'd still buy them for my collection (Jaehyunie is cute there). (at least we didn't get WayV's insect concept version of an album, *cough*, *cough*, count your blessings)

"The timewalk" series was boring, won't lie, but it had a couple of highlights (like the dance battle), and it is Korean type of idol variety shows. They are never interesting, heh. "I walk radio", on the other hand, was a good idea. It is always nice to hear about bts, what members think about the music.

Neos did their own merch. Always a good move.

SM invents new ways to shoot performance videos. DJJ got great ones. "Movement" was directed by the same person who did "Who is Sticker?" and "Meaning of love". SM allocated a bigger budget for it. It took 16h to shoot it. SM discovered Wasabimayo, established a good relationship, and now has another great creative head in their roster (the comments for NCT are always "I was happy to work with them").

In short, the promotion isn't big, but it is a nice one, I'm entertained and left with a good feeling overall. 127 won't go on a tour right after this comeback, therefore, there is no incentive to spend a lot of money on promotion. It is not cost-effective. (I'm hinting at aespa's full album comeback which was grand).

Comebacks is not the only time when a group finds new fans (which is the goal of an extra promotion). This Fact check performance has 12mln views. This mirrored dance practice on an unofficial account has 1,6mln.

Quality music or good choreo that will make people do tiktok dance challenges is hundred times more valuable than appearing on Weekly Idol. After Neozone 127 had 2 luckluster albums - Sticker and 2 Baddies (they had some great songs on them, I'm talking about all songs combined). NCT's Golden Age was a letdown as well. Finally, Fact Check turned the tide. And Walk might be the best 127's album. As Do said, it does feel like a new beginning.

As for the tour. I'd preder for MarkHyuk to have time to rest, SM have time to prepare lightshow, VCRs and special effects on par with aespa's concert, to all legs planned way ahead, including Americas and Europe, than have another subpar quality Link. If 127 will have some spectacular end of the year performances to make the town talk, they can get attention and an influx of concert-goers, as well.