#Media wise that is. I hate to say it but a lot of my happiness is attributed to me engaging with a media i like. Bc it distracts me

[lion-buddy]

ngl i forgot how genuinely important it is for me to have something to look forward too

[ye-local-simp]

Hi! It's my first time requesting in general, I just got bored and decided to request. May I request a scenario where reader posts a video of them eating a sandwich like the Pedro Pascal meme and somehow the video goes viral. Separately I would like to see how Vil, Cater, Azul, Kalim, and Ruggie would react to that happening lol, if thats okay with you. Thank you and have a great day/night whatever time it is there! And don't overwork yourself! :)

[Their reaction when reader posts a viral meme video of them]

[VIL,CATER,AZUL,KALIM,RUGGIE]

Vil:

-Vil is already super popular on social media, so he isn't surprised it went viral.

-Vil is already used to paparazzi posting photos of him minding his own business so there already is quite a lot of memes of him.

-When you posted a video of him of eating a sandwich and it going viral, he is amused to say the least.

-Especially since it was your video.

-He doesn't understand why people were so interested in him eating but he is surrounded by crazy stuff everyday anyways.

Cater:

Azul:

- Cater is also popular on magicam but he was surprised a meme of him went viral.

-He finds it funny and so does his followers.

-Even though it went viral on your video, he started gaining a lot of followers so he is appreciating this now.

-He would also record funny moments that happen around you two if he sees it as meme-Worthy so your post was an eye opener to him.

Kalim:

-At first, he didn't appreciate his face all over the internet because now there were more stuff for the twins to use as a way to tease him even more.

-But soon he saw the bright side.

-Everyone is now going to Monstro Lounge to meet with him to understand the meme.

-So it is for him good business wise.

-That's why he just finds it funny now.

Ruggie:

- Kalim is known in social media but not as much he is known in real life.

- He is the type to laugh at the meme too.

-Now more people follow him and he is happy to have new friends since the meme was peak comedy all over Twisted Wonderland.

-He doesnt hate this at all basically.

-Ruggie isn't really well know in social media so he didn't expect to go viral at all.

-He was literally just eating a sandwich.

-He can not lie, it was funny.

-Now he chuckled everytime he eats a sandwich and he owes that all to you.

[bugs1nmybrain]

Fem!Shigaraki Headcanons

Turning my f/os into girls is so therapeutic I'm considering even making one-shots. Fml

Warnings: fem reader, fem Shiggy, NSFW (18+) sex stuff!, bras and period kind of talk, most of these don't even apply to a relationship, not proofread

Shiggy as a girlie? What a silly lil gal

Personality-wise she's not different than Tomura, but she may be more prone to sadness because of the differences in social upbringing that girls go through. Male Tomura likely thinks he's too ballsy to cry

Angry cries

But she's feisty and angry

A true femcel

She's still a great gamer and blows away people online when they find out she's a girl because misogyny is very smelly in the gaming community. "Is that a girl in the chat??" Tomura: "Cope with it fuckface."

I think girl Tomura would be very jumpy for some reason. Being startled would be so easy for her. I also mean in general though, like she has a lot of pent-up emotions in her that she has to throw it all out through hyperactivity

Paces around the apartment mumbling to herself when she's stressed

Has no idea how to go about relationships because she feels very insecure. She doesn't see herself as an attractive woman because of all her scars, dry skin, and moles, so she doesn't feel like she has a chance with anyone

She fucking hates fashion media, and seeing some perfect model on a billboard is enough to make her start itching in insecurity

It's actually very easy for her to like someone romantically, but she doubts that they'd ever like her, too, so she just starts being mean and nasty

She's very bitter

She has a voice that many would call a "witchy-bitch" voice, but it's cute esp when she's getting excited about something she's happy about

once you get her to laugh she's all yours

her laugh is so contagious and the whole apartment complex is hearing that

So when she started dating you she feels confused and undeserving. She's very flirty and likes spending time with you but she withdraws for a bit because she gets paranoid that you suddenly hate her and find her annoying

BPD coded

Throws shit when she's angry

And yes, she could just disintegrate stuff, but where's the fun in that?

girl musk

Shiggy would likely be about 5'4 as a girl, and I say this because in many countries the average female height is 5 inches below the average male height, and Shigarki is 5'9.

Before her AFO surgery she looked very weak and thin, but after she starts to fill out more

Her titties are about a smaller C cup before her upgrade and goes up a cup after her upgrade. They sag a bit and have itch scars. She likes wearing push-ups to make her feel more compact (I notice that Shiggy likes tight clothes).

Her ass fills out more after her surgery but not by much, she's kind of petite in that department. Her hip-to-waist ratio will fool you

Her periods are HORRIBLE and I mean DANGEROUS

She's in so much pain!!!

Her cramps are unlike anything because of all the stress she endures and it's just her natural body doing its thing. They're so bad that she pukes and can faint if it's too bad. She has to wear pads because she bleeds very heavily, so tampons aren't doing it

She gets very angry and depressed during this time, and if you poke fun at her and do the "ohoho is it that time of month??" you are dead

please tell her to go take a shower during this time she will stink

Likely has endometriosis and is also definitely anemic because of all the bloodloss and malnutrition

She resembles her female relatives quite a bit; her mom, Nana, her sister, etc.

Sometimes she'll wear eyeliner!! Not always but if she's trying to look nice for a PLF meeting or something she'll put a little wing on her eyes.

nsfw time

She's a switch but loves to bottom

Fucking RAIL her she loves it

The first time you fuck it's likely her first time, and she's soaked so bad that you have to get a towel to clean up all the mess

But actually, you might occasionally need lube if you're using a dildo for her because she gets dry when she's extremely stressed or for no exact reason sometimes

clingggyyyyy

she will hang off of you once you're done and get all sappy about it

"i looove you, you're the only person I'll ever love."

The next morning, "morning, loser"

will bite you

Moans loud

No matter what gender Shigaraki is, Shiggy loves boobies

Will definitely ask you to do very perverse things with her

will ask u to rub boobies together

she is a middle schooler at heart

mommy issues still apply but if she was with a guy daddy issues would come out too

will call you mommy or daddy just to make you mad

She has the widest smile with her crooked chompers but she's so pretty when she's genuinely smiling

[oh-my-bindery]

The fic manacled has me very curious in the I really want to open Pandora box in a morbid way. But at the same time I don't want to read it do to several reasons. Mainly is that I hate Harry being depicted as a irredeemable jerk in fics. Because Harry is one of my favorite characters. Hes my baby, hes what got me to love harry potter and to keep reading it. The second is I can't get into Dramione. I have respect for the shippers and wish I could get into the ship because God do their fandom and works looks so incredible. But I can't get into it because Draco is so very gay to me as a character and Hermione to me would never be interested in Draco romantically to me. Like ever. I'm not a fan of Rominone, but I can't see Dramione working out either. Drarry just hits more for me. It works. They are like soulmates to me. I can picture Harry with someone else but not Draco. At least not completely happy. Like to me Harry is Draco's soulmate.

All I know about this fic I learned against my will, but also have a Drarry friend that told me about it I shall put her message from me telling me all about how bad it is:

“Is it basically a re-telling of the handmaid's tale if you know? There is A LOT of r*pe in it (so let me indulge you against your will with the knowledge I have acquired against my will), so harry dies, muggleborns are kinda kept as slaves and hermione is one of them, draco is her r*pist and also the person who (at first at least) assault her, she is r//ped MANY times, like a lot. (which is why i find it gross that i've seen people saying those scenes are hot?) and there's also later on hermione saying draco is "not a monster" (even if he's her r*pist because "he didn't want to do it"), oh i also think it ends with ginny killing voldemort and not even draco or hermione which is odd? Hermione is also made to carry his child(ren) which i also assume she got pregnant against her will, and then draco take her to a remote island in japan where no one can find them and they "live happily ever after" (aka she's r*ped, forced to carry her r*pists children, develop some sort of stockholm syndrome and then forced to live with her r*pist and child on an isolated island???)”

And what she said about reactions of Dram*one shippers of that cursed Manac*ed fic:

“but if you ask a dram*one they will not say that, they will try and twist it about how it's about war and finding yourself and how to survive etc etc (also seen many people say "you'll like it when you get to book three" like?? if I need to read THREE books to like a story, it's not a good story?)”

And this:

“i lost the message but i saw you say somewhere "dram*ones just hate harry" and YES! senlinyu is known for being a harry hater (i also dislike her but that's another story), she basically thinks harry is this "oh noooo we must all be friends! we can't hurt anyway that's not good!" type of person (obvioulsy never read the books), hence why she either kills him off or dont have him in fics at all”

She also said this about what Dram*one writers do:

“i've heard people say that! Either as writers to deal with their own trauma via writing, or readers reading said fics! Dram*ones are just... retelling stories but make it dram*one lmao (like so many popular fics seem to have plots taken form existing media)”

And another wise thing she has said:

“speking of senlinyu, one thing I hate about not only dram*one fans but senlinyu and her cult following, is that insert they all use where it says senlinyuhas over "15 million downloads online" (and me being a dram*one hater did the math), like first of all we all know (apparently not) that you can't SEE downloads on ao3, there is literally no way too see how many people have downloaded you fic.

Second of all, girl show to use "hits" and not "kudos" which is way more accurate, but if she went with kudos there would only be a couple thousans and I guess she want those big numbers, like even adding AAALL her fics kudos isn't even near a million, hits on the other hand? that's so easily obtained but no one dare to question annything and when asked it's "i just found it on her website" “

So overall, I fully agree with my online friend there. I have blocked Dram*one from every platform I could lol. I stay in my Drarry bubble.

I will never indulge in the cursed fandom. Like, Draco is gay. Harry is amazing. Draco is also an amazing character by himself. They are so intertwined with each others lives and there is so much lore and things to build up on and create a beautiful and meaningful story for both. I especially love them healing together but not losing their core personalities and their bickering and how complicated their relationship is. I love it. The only two people who could understand one another in my opinion. Like in a deeper sense + THE INTENSITY OF THEIR FEELINGS. DAAMN.

[gigigazelleloves]

Warning: Heartstopper Rant

As much as I love Heartstopper I will say that it is hard for me to get into the fandom. I love the concept of the heartstopper but I feel afraid to comment on the execution because I know fans here can be brutal but you know what? Here is my FAIR criticism of heartstopper (the show, not so much the webtoon).

I HATE how Tara's character is written. She seems like the woman of color side kick who is just there to validate white characters (Nick and Darcy specifically). It's like she's only there to push the plot forward and I was hoping she'd become more of her own character like Isaac in season 3 but I was wrong. You know what, I wasn't the biggest fan of the panic attack/perfectionist plot (I would've personally preferred if it had taken different route) but I was happy she was getting a storyline. Turns out the storyline was just supposed to be a yes-man to the fact that Charlie (a white character) was doing better in his mental health struggle. I also feel like Alice also doesn't understand Black British culture because what black immigrant mother is letting her daughter's girlfriend stay in her bedroom for more than a month? I'll tell you, no one from that culture is doing that, and if they are, you must be a fuckin unicorn. And again that storyline was just to push Darcy's story forward plot wise.

I feel the same way about Sahar, like she's just there to push Imogen or even sometimes Nick's story forward. Like yeah, the girl of middle eastern ethnicity just found out she likes women, why are we throwing a good story to the side? I get Imogen was in season 1, but Sahar was an original character from the comic and I personally think she deserves a better story because she in general is a better character than Imogen (no offense Imogen).

Now I know people will bring up Elle and say that she gets a lot of screen time but I would like to remind everyone that Elle has a white mother and is stated to have her father not interact with his side of the family due to their transphobia. She has a completely different experience also because she is with another person of colour (who also is mixed). But that's a whole different rant.

Bottom line I feel like Sahar and Tara are there to check off boxes, not to be full fledged characters which is disappointing as they have so much potential that gets thrown out the window . I would also like to state that I can see Alice and whatever fellow writers are trying. I will also say entertainment media has gotten better for minorities. However, Heartstopper still does have room for improvement when it comes to characters of colour. I would just like to finish this rant by stating that this situation proves how much white privilege still exists in the LGBTQ community and how that just because your queer doesn't mean you are exempt from being privileged.

Edit: I was not aware that Alice went by she/they pronouns so my grammer that needs to be fixed it will be done. Just let me know down in the comment area of this post.

[these-emo-thoughts]

Pit Babe Anniversary Rewatch! Episode 1!

I can't even begin to describe how happy I am to be rewatching one of my favourite shows and sharing in the joy with others 🥹 Below are my thoughts of the episode as I watched it, I'm trying not to simp so much for the show and the actors entirely, but I think I failed in that department 🤣

So, in the words of Speed of Love - Let's go! Let's go, let's go, let's go! 🙌

Theme song is still an absolute banger and the clips for the intro are fan-fucking-tastic ahhhhh I'm so excited!!

Hello, old friends 🥹 Yes, even you Winner, lol.

ESPECIALLY YOU WAY 🖤

(Why is it fitting to me that Way is reported to have a fabulous record for the racing season? Is it because he's played by the fabulous Nut Supanut? Yeah, probably 🤣)

Thank you Alan for the omegaverse commentary 🙏

Vroom vroom

Babe is so freaking beautiful, ugh

Ohhh, that lil fist-bump between Babe and Way when Babe comes out of his 'concentration'... my heart is already like, hurting, lol

HELLO CHARLIE! Look at you in your suspicious lil get-up, creeping in the corner, lol

Actual racing in the racing omegaverse show - I swear I didn't forget, lol

Sonic in his coat 😍

Okay but Dean being part of the team and being so supportive... my boy 😭

The uncle-being-single bashing began really early didn't it 🤣

OKAY CAN BABE AND WAY STOP BEING SO CUTE TOGETHER???

One of my favourite things in any BL is one character pinning another one against the wall and keeping them in place by holding their arms. What I like about Babe doing this to Charlie is that cute lil smile Charlie gives Babe when he turns around after his face-mask is removed 🥹

I get Babe, Charlie's request for a car is a weird one, I'd be confused too LOL

I LOVE how smug Babe looks, I bet $100 he did NOT think that Charlie would take his bait which is why he's egging him on so much

But damn, Charlie can give back just as well 👀

OKAY BUT Charlie hesitantly trying to kiss Babe on the lips but Babe turning to the side so he gets a cheek instead and then shrugging like "idk" is just perfection

And when Babe realises that Charlie doesn't have an alpha scent and then smiles like he's won the lottery and then gets super into it? Amazing.

North pls you are my favourite social media vlogger, I love you LOL

Lmao I would hate to be in Charlie's position, with everyone betting how long I'd last with the great Pit Babe. And ofc, Way starts the betting LOL

HERE HE IS, THE WORLD'S BIGGEST LOSER, WINNER, COMING TO STEAL THE SHOW SPOIL THE PARTY

AGAIN, I WOULD HATE TO BE CHARLIE RN LMAO

Love that Winner has an entourage cheering him on for some reason, he's so smug too about winning the first round (bb boy, you're not winning much else this series so enjoy while it lasts LOL)

The romantic break with Charlie and Babe looking at each other while Babe is doing doughnuts has me hollering

Idk how Babe won the drifting when there were two rounds and he and Winner each won one, but CONGRATS BABE

And congrats Charlie for not being Winner's new plaything, lol

It really does feel like Babe has never met a person like Charlie before doesn't it? Charlie from the get-go makes it clear he doesn't want to take advantage and is fine with Babe saying no to not staying over to sleep. Pavel's subtle acting really makes it seem as though Babe is mildly surprised, imo

KENTA BABY BOY, HELLO, I MISSED YOU AND YOUR CREEPING ASS 😭

TONY!

Alan in a singlet top 🥵

There's a lot of vroom vroom in this episode 🏎️

Wise uncle Alan giving such great words of advice to Way about his feelings for Babe too bad he doesn't FOLLOW IT

Charlie, like, transforms when he's doing a sex scene with Babe. His eyes, his expression, it's all so seductive

The "no kissing" trope, ugh, yes (made even better with the way Babe is SQUISHING Charlie's cheeks)

I'll still... never get over the design of this house 😭 or the fact that it was used as the restaurant for This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans LOL

Charlie's little "bye bye!" is so cute

Babe's mood swings, imma get whiplash, Charlie is god's strongest soldier for weathering that storm lol

Charlie the maid without the uniform 🤣

I'm assuming this was a slight timeskip and was not just the next day because of how Charlie says they've already had "test drives" many times by now lol

They're already so domestic, I can't-

The "bye bye" again, so CUTE 😭

The father (Alan), son (Babe), and holy spirit (Way) of X-Hunter LOL

From the very BEGINNING Way is planting the seeds of Charlie being sus, set up for us to believe it's because of his not-so secret feelings for Babe - a red herring if I ever saw, and done so well

God, even when Charlie is waving "bye bye" to Way it's cute. I don't ever remember him being this adorable in my first watch, but I'm smitten now 🤣

Charlie not getting jealous that Babe checked out another man and instead saying "I don't know why you found me special" 😔

BUT IT'S SO CUTE HOW BABE TALKS TO CHARLIE HERE AJSFALFJSL, they look so HAPPY!!

Man, I know he's the absolute worst kind of villain, but I love S Vorarit so much, lol

AHHHH the phone call! Innocent lil Charlie isn't so innocent after all!

Ep 2 preview 👀

KIM! WELCOME!!

Way looks so much like a good friend in the preview: "keep an eye on Charlie", bc we just saw from that phone call we might not be able to trust him 👀

And ofc the iconic behind the scenes that Change so generously gives us (more pls 🤣)

Such a great first episode, very much enjoyed the rewatch, hopefully will get to Ep 2 tonight as well (BABY BOY JEFF WAS NOT IN EPISODE 1 AT ALL 😭)

[doorhanginoffthehinges]

hi erm i dont know why im asking but what is all for the game? like ive seen alot about it and i really want to consume this piece of media but i also do not know what it is at all?? pls help

ah jeez. aftg is complicated yet the best thing that’s ever happened to me fandom-wise. worst thing to happen to me productivity-wise. first books called the foxhole court, then the Raven king, then the ravens men. there’s physical copies of the books, but i haven’t ever seen it sold at any bookstore ever, only off of Amazon, but the kindle prices are real cheap and you can find almost any book online free via questionable websites.

all for the game is a book trilogy centred around a runaway w loads of trauma, but he’s running away from his kinda mob boss dad—gasp— which may be off putting but it’s like you don’t think of it as a mafia book it’s just a book that has bad guys who happen to be the mafia. i don’t think that’s a spoiler.

it’s also centered around made up sport, but it doesn’t feel like it’s centered around to but it totally is. it also doesn’t feel made up? like it’s not fantasy it’s just not real.

its gay, which you probably know if you’ve seen any fan art, but it’s not really sweet gays it’s kinda course and gritty but absolutely lovely and heartwarming. but also I have hazy memory bc I read the trilogy in a week but im pretty sure that only gets started midway through the series, so it’s not the WHOLE plot but it’s like a portion of it. their relationship isn’t really problematic, it’s basically the opposite, and all the angst is in the plot and characters themselves rather than how they interact w each other.

speaking of, this trilogy covers A LOT of heavy heavy topics, I’d say what was most off putting for me was the past rape and pedophilia which is touched on pretty briefly but at the same time very largely, but im sure somewhere there’s a list of tws somewhere if youre at all concerned about that.

it’s a fun read! it’s not at all too long (i mean, you read the goldfinch, not at all on the same level as that regarding word count im pretty sure) and i hear it reads like a fanfic, which might be why i consumed it so fast. it has no fantasy or sci fi, its basically a novel or slice of life I guess. i don’t really know the proper terms. there’s action that comes in the form of some violence, but i think most action is really on the exy (made up sport) court. oh also im pretty sure there’s an on page bj and the like. but no sex.

if I knew you in physical life I wouldn’t rec you this bc a) u might read it and hate it and it would ruin me and embarrass me b) u might read it and find it mediocre and it would ruin me and embarrass me c) you don’t read it and I feel annoying and finally d) u love it and it ruins you.

anywho, I hope u have a fun day/night, idk your time zone, and happy reading/non reading/watching. Thank you for giving me a reason to rant about my little obsession on this random monday evening! hope this helped/was what you were looking for

[timeagainreviews]

The Twist of a Stiletto

Back in the ‘90s there was a very famous TV show. 120 Minutes, don’t act like you don’t know. But for those of you not in the know, “120 Minutes,” was a show on MTV hosted by Matt Pinfield. There were other hosts, but Matt was my guy. Being a showcase of music videos from artists MTV wouldn’t dare play during the day, it was relegated to a late Sunday evening timeslot. Growing up, I never really had a personal relationship with music. It was the stuff in the background of movies. My dad would play CDs of his faves. Kansas, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Led Zepplin, The Beatles. Music could be fun or cool, but I could take it or leave it. That is until April 14, 1996, when 120 Minutes aired Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade,” and my 12-year-old brain erupted. A fire was lit inside me that day and Zach de la Rocha was more than happy to pour gasoline on it. I was suddenly, without any kind of warning, in love with music.

The spontaneous combustion of music hits us all differently, but I’m sure my story made you remember yours. How could it not? Music is a part of our lives. We wrap our memories in song. As such, some songs become painful. We then lock those songs in our past where they can’t hurt us, but a passing car with its windows down can bring us back. Music is personal. “The Devil’s Chord,” is a story about our relationship with music. How we hold music inside and when we let it out. It is a celebration of song as well as a lament. While the episode often achieves harmony, it also falls a bit flat. Are you picking up on a theme? Is this striking a chord with you? Ok I’ll stop. Probably.

I’ll get the obvious out of the way first. “The Devil’s Chord,” is precariously close to “The Giggle,” plot-wise. The TARDIS lands. The Doctor finds the world behaving oddly. He discovers it’s all to do with a magical gay American who chews scenery for breakfast. The American sends the Doctor through a themed gauntlet of insanity. The Doctor banishes the American using their own tricks against them. The American disappears with a warning about the next guy. Bish bash bosh. I’m getting that all out of the way ahead of time, because that would be a really boring article to read. But I will say this- if this is the Pantheon’s only gambit, I’ll be disappointed.

Ruby’s explanation of how she discovered the Beatles through her mum’s girlfriend’s vinyl collection was charming and didn’t make me feel old at all. Not to be all “kids these days only care about Tik Tok and Roblox,” but I was fairly certain most young people hate the Beatles. That is, if my Facebook feed is anything to go by. It really shows you just how on the pulse Russell T Davies is these days. Hello fellow kids. Have some trans inclusion while I court problematic people on social media. Kids like Deftones, Russell. Do a Deftones episode. Have the Doctor fight robot pigs with Chico Moreno. (Man, nü metal is having a moment in this article.) My point being, it’s weird to choose The Beatles now.

I harp on a lot about how metatextual Doctor Who can be and how it’s the secret of its longevity. They need to replace their actor? Regeneration. They need to get the Doctor into a building? Psychic paper. But I think I’ve found the exception that proves the rule. Russell T Davies said in an interview “...The Beatles music is so expensive. Even on a Disney budget, we couldn’t afford that…And so I thought imagine you’re visiting The Beatles, and you couldn’t have The Beatles music. What would you do? And that’s the story. It kind of created itself”. In true Doctor Who fashion, Russell T Davies saw a limitation and folded it into the narrative. It’s a shame then, that it doesn’t work at all.

It started with their shots of Abbey Road and EMI Studios. The zebra crossing at Abbey Road isn’t that wide. I’ve been there. And since when did EMI Studios have a red brick entrance? Where are its classic Georgian-style box frame windows? It’s one of the most visited tourist spots in London, and you’re not going to actually go there? You can’t get the music. Ok. That’s sort of understandable. But they couldn’t film on location? What exactly is the Disney budget doing here? Remember when they flew the whole TARDIS crew to Utah? And then the next season to New York City? They managed to shoo tourists and locals away from Umpire Rock. You mean to tell me they couldn’t hold back traffic on Abbey Road for a few hours? Hell, just composite it. Shoot it on a soundstage. You don’t have to go “Angels Take Manhattan,” when you could go “Daleks Take Manhattan.”

This may seem like a weird gripe from a person who said it would be boring to complain about how two episodes are similar, but it is the crux of the matter. Why use The Beatles in an episode about The Beatles if you do nothing with them? Why highlight edifice in a story about being vulnerable? Yes, the episode is predicated on the very idea of not having the rights to The Beatles music catalog, but this also denies the audience a payoff. Let me explain. Ruby and the Doctor get dressed to the nines to go back to 1963 and watch the Beatles record their first album. Great so far. They have a cute little moment with the tea lady while they sneak into EMI studios. Still great. However, as they roll record for the Fab Four, it’s immediately apparent that something is very wrong. The Beatles' music sounds awful. Like how I imagine my friends on Facebook think they sound all the time. And still, things are going great. What this does, however, is set up expectations for the moment when The Beatles' music is finally back in its full glory. I’ve seen the shot from the trailer of Ncuti in the recording studio full of smiling perfects. It’s gonna be high energy. What a payoff. Right?

The Doctor and Ruby also pop in to listen to Cilla Black lay down a track. It’s the same crappy atonal music that only a trans woman with a collection of circuit-bent instruments could love. Something is amiss. The Doctor and Ruby do a bit of digging. It’s time to go talk to The Shitty Beatles. This time, it’s more than a clever name. With as much respect as I can muster, these have got to be some of the worst Beatle lookalikes I’ve ever seen. Except Paul who was spot on as the real Paul McCartney before he died and 1966 and was replaced with Faul. See my 9-11 Truther Anti-Vaxx Birds Aren’t Real grouphat for more information. The Doctor takes Paul and Ruby takes John. George and Ringo get zero lines, which tracks with history. They learn that both Paul and John don’t actually know why they play music. It feels silly, really. They should just pack it up. But something deep in them is still drawn to music, even if what comes out is a song about a dog that was only slightly better than “Rocky Raccoon.” But before they can slap them out of it like John with his first wife, they’re interrupted by visions of the Maestro.

Enter Jinkx Monsoon, who actually opens the episode but I’m using time travel to talk about things as they become relevant. Now, before they were cast in Doctor Who, I knew nothing about Jinkx Monsoon. I know she was on Drag Race, but I don’t watch that shit. No shade if you do. Ru Paul is totally not problematic and has never done anything weird. Everything I skimmed in Jinkx Monsoon’s Wikipedia page indicates they’re pretty cool. They relish in the role in a way that will make midwest dads shift in their chairs, and I’m here for it. They’ve got an oral fixation that’s impossible not to notice. When they eat the music from Timothy Drake’s soul, they let out a moan that sounds a lot like a climax, and not in the musical sense. Also, how sad is it for Tim Drake that he’ll never meet Batman? RIP Robin. 1925 was too early. Speaking of 1925, isn’t it interesting that the Maestro appears right around the same time as the Toymaker sold the Stooky Bill puppet to Charles Banerjee? Is there some significance with that year? Handily, no World Wars were happening at the time. The Scopes Monkey Trial occurred. Babe Ruth received surgery for an ulcer. They broke ground on defacing Mount Rushmore. But really, kind of tame considering the bookends of the era. The Lorcano treaty was doing a lot of the heavy lifting though.

The Maestro’s whole deal is a sort of crazed sense of ownership over music. To hear them describe it, music belongs to them. They are music. In this way, I was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t song and dance people to death. It’s nice to be surprised. I rather liked their motivation. Monsoon doesn’t need to do a whole lot of acting. It’s all very panto. Very drag. It’s the kind of performance you hope you get. I’m not saying it’s a bad performance, just an elevated one. Both Jinkx and Ncuti get a chance to overact a bit in this story. Once again, I don’t mean overact in a bad way. David Tennant is the biggest overactor in Doctor Who save for Soldeed in “The Horns of Nimon,” and he’s consistently voted favourite among Doctor Who fans. Add “tendency to overact,” to the pile of personality traits I’m beginning to love about the Fifteenth Doctor. I love it when the Doctor really sells the energy of a scene, even if it requires him to speak forlornly into the middle distance.

Attempting to get the world’s groove back, the Doctor has a piano hoisted to the roof of a building. This is, of course, a reference to The Beatles’ final public performance from the rooftop of Apple headquarters in Central London. Only instead of Billy Preston on the keys, it’s Ruby Sunday. As she plays a Ruby original, the inhabitants of neighbouring buildings begin to shake out of their fog as music descends on them like sunshine. It even inspires a granny played by Doctor Who legend Laura June Hudson to dust off her piano to play Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” It’s a lovely moment which is about to get stomped on by the Maestro’s honking drag boots, but for a brief moment, music swells.

I was glad to see them taking time to slow things down a little in this episode. The Doctor even talks a bit about himself and Susan over on Totter’s Lane. Couple that with Carole Ann Ford’s presence at the Doctor Who premiere last year, and it feels like it might be more than a reference. I’ve seen Whovians of weak faith construe this to mean Susan is dead, but in my experience, when a writer says something isn’t, it is. That’s just my two cents. Who knows if any of it means anything. It could just be that it would be weird for the Doctor to visit London in 1963 and not mention him living there with his granddaughter. Or it could be that Doctor Who is finally getting a better Doctor/Susan reunion than “The FIve Doctors.” Who could forget the moment when they’re reunited? 

First Doctor: "Oh, er, this is Susan."

Fifth Doctor: "Yes I know."

How could you not get choked up? What a reunion. I can’t imagine why people would want something more. The Doctor told her all those years ago “Someday I’ll come back,” and he did. It was brief and without any of that pesky emotional connection we usually get from television.

Ruby pulls the classic “But the world didn’t end in 1963, I exist,” so the Doctor shows Ruby what the world would look like without music and it’s grim. It was nice of them to show us a bombed-out London as many of us are still feeling the sting from Fallout: London’s delayed release. Thanks, Doccy Who. But the two are not alone as they’re interrupted by the Maestro and their Looney Tunes brand of scary sexy. As with their first interaction, the Doctor runs. I love that aspect because it’s very Davies Doctor Who. The Doctor runs from the Time Vortex. The Doctor runs from Gallifrey. The Ninth Doctor refers to himself as cowardly, but what it really is is he hasn’t anything to prove. He’ll live today to fight again tomorrow, and yesterday. Timey wimey.

While the Maestro finds the Doctor both hot and timey wimey, they are still very much a threat to him and the Doctor knows this. You can’t fight the Pantheon. You have to abide by their rules. How do you fight someone who can control the TARDIS with music? The Doctor rips the TARDIS console a new one in order to flee back to 1963, where the world has yet to end. I found it cute the way he kisses the console to say sorry for the way he treated her. It not only suits the Doctor, but this Doctor with his brand of compassion. The TARDIS gets it, but you’ve gotta kiss a boo-boo or it won’t get better, everyone knows that.

The Doctor’s only plan with his limited resources is to somehow find the opposite of the Devil’s Chord, a sort of lost chord, if you will. Of course, this draws the Maestro to the Doctor like my cats to the sound of the tin opener. The Maestro captures Ruby, wrapping her up in sheet music. The Doctor stares down the Maestro as they allow him the opportunity to prove his musical genius. Can the Doctor find the lost chord? With each new note appearing above the piano, the Maestro writhes in twisted agony. But the Doctor hits a bum note and the Maestro is back on their feet ready to suffocate the Doctor in a drum and choke the life out of Ruby. But the song within Ruby’s soul from the Christmas Eve where she was left on that church stoop is stronger than anything the Maestro can muster. The Maestro may own music, but Ruby owns this song in that moment. Like before in “Space Babies,” the snow begins to fall indoors and the Maestro recoils in horror.

This gives the Beatles enough time to discover the piano and play that final note. Alone, they may not be geniuses, but the combination of McCartney and Lennon is enough to find the lost chord and banish the Maestro. They could have also achieved this with Harrison alone. He wrote “Here Comes the Sun,” after all. With the lost chord now found, the Maestro gets sucked off back where they came. Was the note they found the same one from the end of “Day in the Life?” RTD said they used a single Beatles chord. Was that it? I don’t know enough about music to answer that. After a quick re-listen, I'm going to say yes.

London is once again filled with music. Now, we’ll finally get the chance to see the Beatles play their actual music, right? They fixed music, right? God I wish. After cryptically looking into the camera and saying “There’s always a twist in the end,” the Doctor and Ruby are suddenly thrust into what I can only describe as the worst song possible. I’ve said in the past that I am not a huge fan of Murray Gold’s music. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a bit safe for my tastes. But this song… I loathe it with every fibre of my being. It’s cloying, it’s corny, and it’s a repetitive ear worm you don’t want stuck in your head. I’ve said I was interested in Doctor Who doing a musical number, but this was god awful. I try to be as fair as possible when it comes to my reviews, so I think I’ve earned enough good faith to openly say this song is terrible. I would rather listen to the crappy dog song from earlier in the episode, and I don’t even own any circuit-bent instruments, and therein lies the problem.

How can you say the Doctor saved music when the way you present it is with a song that is simply not good? We need a good song in this moment, and that was not it. If ever there was a time to reach into the coffers and pay for a song, it was this. I mean, he said “There’s always a twist in the end,” and “Twist and Shout,” was right there. It wasn’t even written by the Beatles so it might have even been cheaper. They could even re-record it in the same Glee style in which they filmed the big song and dance routine. Hell, how expensive are Cilla Black songs? Do one of those. Instead, we get another fake Beatles song, in fake EMI studios, on fake Abbey Road to imply that we saved the future from a world of fake Beatles songs. By the time this insipid tune wears out its welcome, the Doctor and Ruby skip away across Abbey Road, lighting up the zebra crossing like piano keys. But instead of it being charming, it caused both my wife and I to say “Oh God, it’s still going.” 

After the episode, I did a little bit of reading. I figured the two people dancing with the Doctor and Ruby were guest stars as they singled them out over the other background dancers. Evidently, they’re judges or competitors on Strictly. I dunno, I don’t watch that shit. So I really have no idea if that song was written to be in the style of something you would see on Strictly. But what I do know, is that it was brave of Murray Gold to show his face during that exquisite train wreck. I guess this episode really did pull a “Daleks in Manhattan,” à la “My Angel Put the Devil In Me.” In that respect, you can add contemporary music to the list of things Doctor Who should do well, but can’t seem to get right. It’s in good company with pirates and westerns. “The Gunfighters,” even fails at two out of three. Impressive!

I do admire the hell out of RTD and company for throwing their whole ass into that ending. It takes real chutzpah to fail so spectacularly. And honestly, as harsh as I’ve been, I didn’t totally hate the scene. In some ways, it's a clever pastiche to '60s music. In that light, I could maybe come around to it, over time. They’re also trying new things. But I think we found the ceiling pretty fast. I can’t say I’d like to see that sort of thing a lot more in the future, but here and there? Sure. As it is, it feels unrestrained and masturbatory. And truthfully, I would have preferred an actual musical like Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling,” or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ “Subspace Rhapsody.” They somehow gave me what I wanted while simultaneously failing to deliver.

Now of course, the real question is- what was the twist at the end? Was it the appearance of the Maestro’s “son,” Henry “Harbinger,” Arbinger?  Or maybe it was a meta-reference to actress Susan Twist, the woman who once again has shown up in the background. I find it even more interesting that in every episode where she’s appeared, they give her a line to read. Or maybe it’s a Susan twist, as in the Doctor’s granddaughter. They mention Susan in the same episode with an actress named Susan Twist where they sing about twists while doing the twist. It’s like “Who’s on second?” or “The Doctor’s daughter who plays the Doctor’s daughter in ‘The Doctor’s Daughter,’ marries the Doctor.” 

Despite the ending and the rehashed story, I rather liked this episode. Jinkx Monsoon and Ncuti Gatwa had great chemistry. The mysteries continue to unfold. Along with my hope for the Rani, I can now add hope for Susan into the mix, and as with the Rani, I won’t get my hopes up. In the same vein, I'm grateful that Maestro wasn't a code name for the Master. We've seen enough of him for a while, thanks. Ncuti and Millie continue to impress as the Doctor and Ruby. I also admired Ruby's restraint in not telling John Lennon to avoid chubby guys in glasses. I loved the Maestro and the fact that their laugh was vocal warm-up. So much fantastic attention to detail. But that ending is not my bag. It felt tacked on, poorly paced, and obnoxious. It reminded me of that line from Fight Club- “We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.” Emphasis on the crap.

[maxphilippa]

17, 4, 9, 16 and 18?

17- Instead of Cabby saying the "someone has a bad history with eggs", I would've made her say "someone has a bad history with trusting her teammates". It'd make more sense with her late s3 arc and it is arguably one of the things that bother me the most regarding her character (I do love her a lot but I can only make so much sense of a messy arc)

4- Yeah. Yeah. You already know what my NOTP is. And it happens to be the most popular pairing of my favorite character. Yeah.

9- Uh. Most disliked characters... Silver Spoon, Cobs and Taco. Silver is just really messy writing wise (still grieving how he actually was becoming a better person on ep 16), Cobs is enjoyable and all but I do hate him (despite doing. jokes about me wanting him. he's great as a character though), Taco reminds me of my abusers (thus being uncomfortable for me to watch her on screen) + she's not a likeable person but also I would like her to eventually be happy. ( GREAT character writing wise tho)

16- Okay so. The thing I mentionated with Cabby's arc. Give more scenes to Nickel and Suitcase where they were shown to actually like eachother (we have a little amount thus the fandom thinks Nickel never cared about her. despite. s3 proving that wrong.), give Mic and Knife more scenes as friends as well. Giving Salt and Pepper proper development. Some things to make the show more consistent. Make Mic more visibly uncomfortable with Taco around. Etc.

18- Nah I don't think so. People often don't ship popular things due to them being burned out of seeing the same characters overshadowing more interesting dynamics in a media, or they get tired of seeing their favorite characters be completely assasinated for the sake of a ship, and so on and so forth. Sometimes the shippers of said ship are insufferable and that also leads people to not like them. It's completely valid I think. Or sometimes people just think that this ship doesn't make much sense as other ones implied in the series, which is just as much as valid as anything else.

[the-fiction-witch]

Dad

Media Love Actually

Character Sam

Couple Sam X Reader

Rating Sweet AF

Concept New Daddy

"You sure you two will be okay?" I asked getting my handbag and fixing my skirt for work, I hated doing this but I didn't have much of a choice my landlord was fumigating the whole building so we had to be out for two weeks, and my usual daycare was closed today due to them having a massive pipe leak, I really didn't want to do this I felt awful but what choice did I really have? 

"We'll be fine won't we munchkin" Sam smiled as little Ivy ran over to him still in her PJ of course and he happily picked her up sitting her on his hip

"You sure it's not too much trouble-"

"Not your fault is it, you're already staying here and I don't have anything to do anyway. It's fine we'll have fun won't we little munchkin?" 

"Yeah!" she giggled 

"We'll be fine, don't worry about us"

"Okay well I'm just a phone call away"

"I know, but I'm sure I can handle it," he says "Go say bye-bye to your mummy," He tells her setting her down 

"Bye bye mummy" she smiled hugging my leg

"Bye-bye darling, you be good for Uncle Sam alright? I'll see you when I get home"

"I will I promise" She smiled before she ran off towards the spare room we were sleeping in 

"Any problems-"

"I know, Have a good day at work"

"Thanks, Sam" I smiled grabbing my keys and heading off to work for the day.

It had been a very long day one of those days where nothing quite goes the way you want it to I was home later than I wanted to be but such is the way some days. I headed inside seeing the place rather dark and quiet Sam got up from the sofa shutting the TV off as he came over "Hey, how was work?"

"Ughh don't" I sighed

"Sorry, dinner's in the microwave for you"

"Thanks, Sam" I smiled "How was Ivy?" I asked grabbing the plate from the microwave and taking a seat at the small table

"Aww, she's been a little angel,"

"Oh? What did you do then?"

"Well we went to the park she had a nice play on the swings for a while, then we went to the museum and learnt about dinosaur bones and whales,"

"Aww That's sweet Sam"

"If we're going to spend the day together she might as well learn something, and I may have treated her to a little present from the gift shop"

"You didn't have to do that"

"I know, but I like to treat her sometimes" 

"That's why she thinks you're fun Uncle Sam" 

"Five-pound admission and a ten-pound spend in a gift shop is a small price to pay for her to have some fun, and she gets to go back to daycare next week with lots of dinosaur facts" 

"How'd dinner go?"

"Very well she helped me cook and even did the drying up" 

"She's a good girl,"

"How was work?" 

"You know how it goes, paperwork, Luke being Luke" 

"I don't know why you don't quit that awful place"

"What else would I do Sam? I have to take care of Ivy somehow"

"...what if, you two came and stayed with me? on a more permanent basis?"

"and what would I do all day?"

"Take care of Ivy, help me with the house. look after the place when I go on tour"

"That's very sweet Sam, but I can't," I told him taking my plate to the sink

"why not?" he asks coming to stand with me

"We couldn't ask that of you"

"You're not asking it of me, I'm asking you." he says "I know you hate being away from her, and I know you hate shoving her in a daycare, I'd handle stuff money-wise you get to be home all day with her"

"I can't -"

"why not? I'd be happy to and I know I wouldn't be sending you two back to that awful flat"

"even so, where would we sleep?"

"well, Ivy can have the spare room as her bedroom and... I figured you could bunk with me"

"Oh? At the foot of your bed?"

"if that's where you're comfortable, I thought more snuggled up with me but it's up to you"

"That's sweet Sam but it's not even like we're-"

"Then we can be, if you want a label on it I'm more than happy to put one and it makes it easier for little Ivy" He explained "Unless you, don't see me like that?"

"Well... I uhhh" I stuttered 

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it?"

"I might have" I blushed of course I had thought about it, I had thought about Sam like that for as long as I'd known him but I suppose I'd always just tossed those feelings away

"Because I have, far more than once. You two are always welcome here you know that" he says giving my hand a little kiss 

I blushed hard but I gave his lips a soft kiss he happily kissed back wrapping his arms around my waist as my hip pressed against the counter top I smiled and stroked his shirt a little till he pulled back rubbing my nose as he did 

"How about you get you're nightie and come stay in my bed tonight?" 

"That does sound nice" I smiled "Did you have anything planned for Ivy tomorrow?"

"Yeah I promised I'd take her to the seal sanctuary and the beach for ice cream, You're more than welcome to blow off work and come too. It could be a lovely day just the three of us" 

"she loves seals, that sounds lovely Sam" I smiled giving him another kiss 

He chuckled a little as he pulled away "You know, she told me a little secret today"

"Did she now, what was it?"

"Ohh a top-secret, really high levels of classification I really shouldn't even be telling you this."

"I don't already know?"

"No, she told me this is so secret even you don't know" 

"Oh? What is it then?"

"she told me that for a good while now she's secretly, wanted a little brother"

"She has?"

"Ummm she wants a little brother very badly" he explained "And I think I'm in agreement with her"

"Are you?"

"I think she needs a little brother, and if that's okay with you? I'm more than happy to... help supply her with one" He smirked grinding his hips against my own. 

"Ohh would you now?"

"I would,"

"I assume you'd want something for this help? some form or repayment"

"Well, you're already moving in with me so how about I help give Ivy a little brother and I get to fill the family role as the dad? not just fun Uncle Sam."

"You'd really want that?"

"I would, I love Ivy, I love you. If you'd be willing to have me I'm more than happy to step in where Danny bailed out" 

"Aww Sam" I smiled tearing up 

"Hey, hey no little tears" he says kissing my tears away 

"It's okay their happy tears"

"Good, now you go get your nightie and give Ivy a kiss goodnight, I'll go wait up in our bed and get ready to help with her little brother" he smiled 

"Okay" I smiled giving him a sweet kiss before I headed to the spare room where Ivy and I had been sleeping seeing she had taken up all the double bed where I was gone with her blanket and a dinosaur book from the museum open in front of her where she must have been looking at it before she fell asleep, I smiled sitting on the bed and fixing her hair, tucking her in and giving her head a little kiss which woke her a little 

"Hi little one I thought you were sleeping"

"I was a little sleeping" she giggled what she often says when she was half asleep or faking it "Mummy?"

"Yes, Ivy?"

"Could Uncle Sam be my new daddy?"

"We'll see Ivy," I told her "Now you get some sleep if you need anything you call okay and either me or Sam will come help you"

"I will, goodnight mummy"

"Goodnight sweetheart"

"Tell Uncle Sam I said goodnight too"

"I will do" I laughed grabbed my things and headed out leaving her door open a crack, I headed across the locked-up house to Sam's room seeing the bed made and the ensuite light on so I set my stuff down and kicked off my heels and changed into my nightie 

"she tucked up tight?"

"All snug as a bug" I smiled, "She says goodnight"

"she's a sweetheart," he laughs coming from the bathroom shutting the light off now down to just his boxers "Whoa..."

"What?"

"You look beautiful"

"Thank you, Sam,"

"so? You're okay in my bed tonight"

"If you are"

"Most defiantly" He smiled coming and sitting beside me but leaving a respectful space "If you just wanna get to bed that's fine I don't wanna make you do anything you don't want to"

"That's very sweet Sam" I smiled kissing his head "But if it's all the same to you" I cooed holding his hand 

"Ohh believe me y/n I don't need to be asked twice" He smirked pushing me down on his bed flat so he could hover over me 

"Ohh Sam" I blushed wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss 

[alicedrawslesmis]

I hope my presence here hasn't been just me complaining, cause I haven't dedicated myself to art in a while lol I am Burned Out... I don't like being a negative presence

in the Positivistic sense not in the new age sense? you know? not pretending to be happy when things are bad, I want my presence to be pulsating with life even if I'm sad or angry or numb. I try not to fall into negation. Most millennial humor I grew up with is this kinda ironic 'haha I'm so depressed 🤪' thing I just don't vibe with at all. I like feeling all my feelings. If I'm depressed and numb to it all then good, lets explore that. If I'm lost and aimless then good, let's be aimless and see where this can lead me to. I want to feel the full breadth of human experience and not live life negating it. I want to reflect on what I'm doing I want to create new things! Work with the world and not despite it

but unfortunately cause I'm totally lost at sea rn this means my posts are lacking and so the internet "persona" ends up being only someone who complains. That's not where I'm at. I don't even know if this makes sense to other people who can't see my brain, am I even making sense. Anyway

I am experimenting with a lot of things art-wise to get my groove on. I've bean reading a bunch. I've been lifting weights which is turns out is super fun and I should've started ages ago. Like I didn't believe the gym could be fun, I thought people were just faking it but it turns out like. It's just self expression like any other activity. And I love to see number go up. And I love making that face you do when you're lifting heavy weights you know the one? And grunting. It's very freeing to just be able to do that. Like all my life I've been bogged down by thinking the gym is for assholes and that I should try to do the Normal Sports that I honestly fucking hate. I hate ball sports. I don't understand swimming as a sport you're trapped doing laps in that freaking pool it's the most boring sport of all time. Sure I liked thinking about nothing and swimming but laps in a pool?? Devil invention. Running is kinda the same although you can run interesting places and aren't trapped in a blue rectangle. Just do the sport you actually want to do. Go to a fight club idk. Learn to kickbox. Punch some stuff. Do push ups, I love doing push ups.

What else? I've been walking my dog for 2hours every day late in the afternoon and getting to hang with his friends at the dog park. He isn't very friendly but he's also not aggressive so it's mostly chill. He's made a friend named Draco Malfoy (she made sure to tell me it was her kid daughter's idea) and everyone calls my dog Sirius Black cause he's got black fur and is, and this is the technical term, giant. Kind of annoying that Harry Potter is still the main thing people go to to describe him. Except for one security guard who I thought was gonna say he looks like Sirius but then said he looks like Sam from Twilight. This was an awesome day

I've been trying to sew and mend my clothes. I replaced the buckle in my bag cause it was broken and I feel kind of amazing about it.

I've been writing some stuff. All unfinished yet. I want to see if I can finish the short story I've been trying to work on besides the Les Mis scripts. I have trouble finishing things I write, which is a problem that, if AO3 is any indication, is probably the world's most common roadblock in writing.

Went to the satanic themed goth club on good friday, that was so fun. We had a blast. Place was PACKED. All goths have the same sense of humor.

I guess that's it for life stuff. I do feel kinda bad that I can't get myself to make fanart right now. I'm just having thoughts on the nature of art and of fanart and the impact of it on the world as a whole. And particularly thoughts on social media and the internet and what it even *is*. What is it for? We really need to work that out.

[blues-valentine]

im very happy ben and devi got a realistic treatment when it came to their first time because most people’s first time suck and it’s very good to see this portrayed

Oh anon, I could talk about this all day.

Unfortunately, we have become so used to TV setting unrealistic standards when it comes to teenagers and their sexual experiences. Such as PLL, Riverdale, Gossip Girl, Euphoria, which sex between teenagers is portrayed as a erotic and perfectly coordinated affair. I find the big “first time” for female characters in teen media to be often glamorized, so when people, especially women in real life don’t have that experience it feels like is their fault or that it isn't normal. And I also hate that sometimes two people having a really silly and uncomfortable first time is deemed as the break it all as opposed to something that needs work from both sides.

In real life, for many people, your first time isn’t really satisfying, sometimes it is really weird and teenagers at times aren’t that good at articulating their feelings and aren’t as familiarized with their bodies yet. So, I am so glad NHIE brought this realistic narrative.

I love Ben and Devi’s first time being very awkward and how Ben didn’t know what to say. I like how they both acknowledge it wasn’t that good but are clearly into each other. Because it was their first time and it’s normal that they feel like this. I am someone that loves how the show portrays Devi as a horny teenager with vivid sexual fantasies but I love how when it came down to her first sexual experience it wasn’t what she envisioned because that’s how it is. I love how they mention Euphoria and if Ben was expecting something along those lines because this is the level of unrealistic portrayals on TV that affect real life experiences.

And this might be controversial, but I also love how Ben and Devi were not the “my first and only one” type of narrative. As much as I like it at times, it tends to be romanticized. I found Ethan annoying but he was needed in the narrative for Devi to experience her own sexual preferences. Ethan was more experienced than Ben and she didn’t have feelings for him so it was just her awakening and while I dislike what they did with Margot plot wise, I would assume she did the same for Ben too. At the end, Ben and Devi’s second time together was good because they grew a lot, have become more comfortable and will be able to experience a healthy sexual life with the level of emotional intimacy of two people that love each other.

[thedawningofthehour]

I just saw that post from four days ago about the threats you received, and I liked how you ended it because as a teenager I can say that teenagers are stupid.

I don't like going around saying that I'm better than most people my age, but genuinely, they're all so stupid and irresponsible. I don't understand. Of course, I'm still learning, but as I've gotten more mature I've started hating kids and teenagers because of how stupid they are. Most of them don't even care if they hurt someone else but when I do I feel like the worst person in the world. And then I hide from them for the rest of my life. And developed self-worth issues that may have already been present., but that's beside the point. Teenagers and kids just don't see the reason why people try to be kind. And that sucks, because in history kids grew up way faster than we do now. Something changed, and it could be any number of things. Social Media, Public School systems (by the way, who on earth thought it was a good idea to put a bunch of irresponsible, easily influenced children with a single adult. They're learning bad habits from each other, not good ones from the teacher. It should be the other way around. Kids are meant to grow up with lots of good adult influences). There's just so much wrong with today's society. I can't even write it all.

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places." -Iroh (ATLA)

I'm very religious, so I don't swear, drink, smoke, stuff like that, and I think those standards and my parents childhoods definitely played a part in how I think today. Of course, everyone's lives are different and anything could cause anything, but I'm really sad how unhappy and careless people are nowadays. Kids should be taught to be kind to others, not just striving for their own joy. True happiness always comes from gratitude.

(If you haven't seen it already, check out Nothing Ever Changes by Nico Collins)

The world is stupid. A lot of people are cruel, and it shouldn't be this way but people don't care enough to change. It's sad, honestly. I've really enjoyed when you touch on stuff like that in Third from the Son because I feel like someone else sees the same things I do.

Good luck navigating the absolute monstrosity that is today's world, and thanks for providing us all with such an amazing story.

- A kind of sort of maybe mature teenager.

...Well. This is a lot to unpack.

So first of all! I do not think that today's children are any stupider or less mature than my generation or the generations before. Quite the contrary-I think you guys are doing great considering the 'gestures to everything in the world'. You guys are well educated and you want to make a difference. You want the world to be better. I think that's wonderful and I'm really proud of all my younger readers.

It's just that...teenagers are dumbasses. All of them. You guys have limited experience and your brains just aren't braining all the way. Even the smartest, most mature teenager is going to be fathoms wiser in ten years-if they aren't, something's gone wrong. That's just how wisdom works. Even if you're starting with a strong base, you still need time and experience to develop that. (this circles back to my thing about Donnie doing a bunch of dumb shit in the show-because yes, he's a genius, his brain is so big it literally alters the shape of his skull, and he's also a moron because he's fourteen) I know a lot of teenagers will really dislike hearing that, lord knows I hated hearing it when I was in high school. But five years from now you're going to be a greatly improved version of yourself and you're going to look back on your current self and roll your eyes. Maybe smile with fondness. But you will be different, and hopefully you will be better. I graduated in 2013 thinking I was super wise and mature. I'm wiser now, and in 2035 I hope I'll be wiser still. (if we're even still here by then)

And the idea that 'kids grew up faster' in the past is just false. Kids worked more, sure. They got sick more, died more, experienced loss more. But the whole idea that kids were considered full-grown adults the moment they hit puberty, married off and forced to start having babies and shit? Patently false. For one thing, people historically lived in multi-generational homes, so a lot of the things we associate with 'growing up' now-moving out, supporting yourself on your own income, blahblah-just really wasn't a thing. And apart from the nobility, people didn't marry and start families much younger than they do now. It was pretty common to wait until your twenties. Late teens sometimes, but those were often "shit I'm pregnant quick marry me so we can pass the baby off as an eight pound preemie" situations. (we really underestimate how many illegitimate babies were born before birth control, in many cultures it really wasn't a big deal) Teenagers of the past had more responsibilities, yes. They were still stupid about them. And often that stupidity had bigger consequences than their dumbassery immortalized on the internet.

I'm glad those responsibilities aren't on them now. That was messed up, kids shouldn't have been responsible for raising their siblings or making sure their families were fed. I love public school. I love education, it's actually very good for children developmentally to progress with peers rather than just trying to copy adults. I think social media is very much a double-edged sword, I think there are advantages to having it but I can't deny the negative effect it has, especially on kids and teenagers. It's a complicated issue and I haven't read every study there is about it, plus I want ice cream and don't feel like going into it right now.

And dude, I graduated from a Catholic high school. I knew a lot of kids who thought their godliness and purity made them more mature and put them above their peers. For one, most of them started partying like crazy the moment they got to college and got into tons of trouble that way, but they were all still idiots. There's nothing inherently immature about cursing or drinking a beer. It's absolutely fine if you're not into that scene, I wasn't either and I'm still not. But it doesn't make you better than the people who are.

I'm sorry if this comes off as dickish, that's not my intention. When I was eighteen I also thought I was better than my classmates. I was not.

[silver-wield]

hmm in the premise that SE is definitely set out to be killing a non existent ship in the trilogy (preferably in part 2 already), I just don't understand how anyone can think the story would go astray from it's array of chekhov's guns. Tbh, when I first watched AC, as a kid, in my mind I just assumed tifa was his gf and z and a were like his comrades who died. The part where he called him "mother" did help tons for me to think of it this way. It was only after 15 years? That I discovered there was even a debate? So I spoiled myself and by the principles of storytelling, FF7 seems to have the trope of quite literally any amnesia tropy kdrama plot I've ever seen that also exist in jp media. Aka, anything that happened during his amnesia phase does not count after finding out who he is, because he was most party manipulated to not remember things by the narrative and its character. Mind you, this is just me spoiling myself for a small context of a game i haven't played yet and only have superficial understanding of the characters. Also, the part in lifestream really sells it lol, he gets himself back? Because he was false before? It's so weird why this is even confusing.

So, I had a conversation with my bro about this and he's a debater, I told everything about the "LTD" and it's a long talk but he says, it's a non-debate. Since cloti is sourced explicitly in the game and sources, answering cloud's feelings as the main question.. the ltd asks "what does he feel for a?" But the thing is, it can also be asked "what does he feel for z?" Easily can be romantic IF we base thier "logic" of ca on zack + cloud. Canon wise both are stated as friends to him. But romantic? For both, it LITERALLY doesn't exist. It's not as to make it vague per say, but that the writers, story, and characters have no idea that it's even needed to be answered. Aka it is by default platonic. Not vague, it's platonic as stated by canon sources as it's the only one that exists. The LTD is a cult like idea that continued to persist in the fandom of FF7. But never in the mind of it's creator. This is their mistake. They find this as an activity of the fandom, but reality is, it undermines their work greatly. Destroying all the characters, and story they've made and for what? Cheap pity fan service? That's lazy. This isn't a charm of the game, but a mistake of its delivery. I mean as evident as how many pitied tifa in AC. Essentially it's like 1+1=2 (canon) but someone says it's 3. In short it's BS, but a lot are biting on "maybe it is 3" and ignoring all the proof for the sake of negating. Hence a non-debate because canon has already won and will always win.

Now, I saw a zerith point out how they're so happy they're even getting anything. Tbh I found this strange, a good story would utilize the successful built up if zack and they are thank god. But why do I see this as a random person? And they don't? I feel there's trauma in this fandom, and I hate that for all of you and a story that has intense potential. Which leads me to a "funny" thought. It seems for so long, cas have been going on about their way to misinform everyone, thus encouraging incels, dudebros, bandwagoners alike. This does not seem to sit well with devs, I sure hope so. I feel like the fact that they've been this toxic, is the reason why SE is extra mean to them and is even planning to finally give them an answer to the "what does c feel for a?" After all these time? A question that was never important to begin with because it's already platonic by default but copers want more. It is because of this desire, most likely "he doesn't feel romantically inclinde, even if you as a player did, he does not, never will, never did" would be the answer. SE could have let them have their merry way, but they've been pos. So they made the compilation, imperfect, but there's Zack, now Zerith is coming around and with closure, Cloti is being emphasized. They added stuff for cloti and more important, reduced what was "theirs". Had cloud's mocap actor emphasize cloti and downplay ca. We even had a trailer quite literally exposing to the whole world how disgusting the idea of ca is, and if you liked it? Lol get help , your morals are astray. There's so much much more, and for some reason if this is successful, if SE actually gives a shit for art and not cheap money? Then lmao, cas made all of this happen just because they can't stop fcking things up. The existence of a problem, that needs to be fixed. Because of that, ZA will be pushed on their faces, and they will definitely not like CT more with all the sexual built up in part 1. I'm obviously joking to " thank them", of course, the devs who lost their patience are to be thanked as they've been inspired to take responsibility for their shortcomings as well. But yeah, if everyone understood OG on the get go? And AC didn't get much shit? Nobody pitied tifa? doubt we would be even getting this much content for cloti, maybe cloud, and quite especially tifa.

It's a strange journey, but I hope I'm right about them having integrity. I sure hope so. I hope they don't leave room for pity, I hope they are ruthless with it. I don't think I ship anyone but I am a sucker for a masterpiece, and I very much want this to be one.

None of the devs have ever thought about that ship, and even when asked point blank Nojima was all "idk" and had to come up with something on the spot but even that was negative because he stated Aerith cares more about the planet than she would Cloud

Which is obvious from how she has zero respect for him

[fatphobiabusters]

How do you actually meet other fat people, especially fat people that are happy with how they are weight wise? I've been trying to make friends and I have no idea where to even start. lol

It's very much a matter of chance most of the time because of how much information about fatphobia and fat liberation is suppressed in current society and how fatphobia is still extremely welcome even in progressive spaces.

Online is a good place to start. You can look at fat positive blogs like this one, maybe look at the blogs we share, the comments and notes of the posts we reblog, the people who send asks, and you might find someone you click with. It can feel weird to randomly message someone who doesn't know you to say hi and try to make a friend, but fat positive people are so few and far between that I imagine you would receive way more acceptance and enthusiasm than not when messaging a fellow fat liberationist.

There are some groups online if you look hard, such as Facebook groups, Discord servers, and Zoom social gatherings. Last I heard, NAAFA was doing a Zoom social event once a month that also included a Discord server for the group. Groups and servers dedicated to intuitive eating, HAES, body positivity (major asterisk with this one since there are a lot of fatphobic people who have taken over that movement), eating disorder recovery, and disabilities also have a higher likelihood of being fat positive. I was part of a local disability support group that would meet over Zoom, and they took measures to keep the support group from accepting fatphobia. They even adopted my meeting topic suggestion of fatphobia and ableism intersectionality! If you identify as a gay man, I'm sure there are spaces dedicated to the bear community, and I would be shocked if those spaces weren't fat positive.

If you're going to a university and are particularly in a progressive/social justice-based degree program, there will still be a ton of fatphobia but you might meet some fellow students who support fat liberation. Although my social work degree has had so much fatphobia and most students don't know anything about fat people's oppression, I was shocked that I did meet a few students who cared or even already knew about fatphobia. (I can't believe it, but the self-identified radfem in my class was one of those people. Not a great luck of the draw on that one.)

Depending on where you live, there might be fat positive events. I have heard of fat liberation pool parties (I believe that concept was even featured in the show Shrill) and fat positive fatshion shows.

You can try engaging with the fan base for fat positive media too, like searching for people online who talk about the podcast Maintenance Phase or who nicely comment on tweets by popular fat activists. You can try introducing a fat liberation book to a progressive book club if you're part of one, or if you're part of social group for a marginalized community you might have success introducing that social group to the concept of fat liberation.

A surefire way to meet other fat positive people is to run a fat positive social media page yourself! And it's always nice to have more people on the "front lines," so to speak.

I listed a lot of ideas but I can't sugarcoat the fact that it IS hard to find other fat people who don't hate their fatness or even just people in general who support fat activism. You have to actively search for those people more often than not. My main friend who I talk to about fatness with is Mod Squirrel. Despite having people I have met in person who also support fat positivity, I'm not super close to them outside of classes, and their support is more passive than actively caring about fatphobia. But there are people out there who do care. Maybe this post can serve as a way for you to meet fellow fat people if any followers of this blog are also looking for fat positive friends?

I hope this helps!

-Mod Worthy

[f0point5]

My (long) and hot take (maybe especially with some of the anons you’ve had so far 😬): people tend to forget that Max, due to his current position, has it a lot easier than most drivers when it comes to saying what he wants/thinks and not playing the pr game

He has already achieved the dream of winning a championship (3 times even) so the stakes are not as high as that goal is already checked off.

These wins also means he isn’t nearly as reliant on selling/marketing himself pr and sponsor wise as 1) it’s extremely unlikely for him to get fired or switch team anytime soon [where sponsors is a big deal on the negotiation table] and 2) that first place bring in a big paycheck and a lot of traction (securing the sponsors he already has)

The wins also gives him ethos, meaning whatever he says has credibility, rather than people seeing for instance critique as pettiness or bitterness due to lack of wins, talent etc.

And most importantly he’s the star driver of Red Bull. Like, he’s the driver they’ve played their cards on since hiring him at such a young age. He brings in insane amount of wins and records, which we know is the most important thing for Red Bull (more so than image). Helmut himself said that if max want’s to do less pr, they will simply make it happen because they don’t wanna lose him. In other words, they are not going to fire/harshly-reprimand/limit him or whatever for speaking his mind, even if they don’t necessarily approved what he’s saying or if he’s telling GP the car is shit on live tv.

And a lot of drivers don’t have that freedom. They have to seek out those extra sponsors. They have to dress up for that extra pr. They are in not allowed to publicly criticise their own team. They don’t have near as much political power/security to criticise the organisers/track/FIA and so on and so forth.

I can not stress enough that this is in no way max’s fault and I’m not trying to criticise him or say he doesn’t do any pr at all. I for one am glad that he’s in a position where he can and will speak his mind.

I simply think it’s unfair and a bit narrow minded for fans to not consider how unrealistic that is for many other drivers, and looking down on them for it, saying they are all pr, robots, boring, doesn’t have the courage to speak up whatever, when they are literal athletes who have dedicated their lives and sacrificed their childhood for this sport, and of course will do whatever it takes to not compromise that. (Another hot take: but maybe these pr robots is also just what you see because you don’t follow that/those drivers beyond what pops up namely because it is pr, unlike the more personal content you will see of your fav)

Like hate that the sport has come down to so much pr, but don’t blame the drivers for trying to survive in it.

Tbh I think Max has built his brand around wanting to do as little media as possible, so the sponsors he gets are sponsors that want wins, not a show pony. Also, he has the kudos to build a brand on his on track reputation alone, unlike other drivers who are more reliant on off track appeal. Also, Max doesn’t seem to be very motivated by money so he probably says no to anything that requires too much from him.

And yeah Helmut did say they cut down PR at Max’s requests to keep him happy, as they should tbf there’s no point upsetting your golden goose in case it stops laying eggs 😂

But yeah I agree with you, most drivers are beholden to different obligations that Max either doesn’t have or doesn’t care about. And neither position is wrong.