#Realized I didn’t post this on here yet

[beerok23]

MACBETH AT HAROLD PINTHER (November 9th, 2024) - A REVIEW WITH SPOILERS

Now that I’m back home, I can write a considerate and not at all crazy and nostalgic post about Macbeth.

Be careful, if you haven’t seen it yet and you’re supposed to see it soon: this review has spoilers.

Please, forgive me if it has typos and if I repeat myself and if this post is so unhinged. I can’t help it, I need to vent my thoughts and feelings.

Watching Macbeth was an otherworldly experience. Something you can only dream of and when it happens it changes all your brain cells.

When David first appeared on scene, from the darkness of the first lines pronounced by the witches…well, I wasn’t expecting him. I kind of distinguished his silhouette in the shadow, and I wasn’t sure that it was him. But it was. And when the lights turned on and he appeared on the scene full of blood and gasping…well I think my world shattered. It’s hard to explain what happens when you finally have the chance to see someone you admire so much only from afar, an actor you’re so accustomed to watch anywhere everyday…and then he finally appears in front of you and he’s like materialising and it’s like magic.

I mean, he was there, with the bowl at the centre of the stage, and the blood stains and he was SO TALL and SO David and SO everything all at once.

I spent the entire 2 hours watching him from my STALL B7 seat, a PERFECT seat —because he occupies the scene at the right of the stage SO much… seriously, I was lucky to choose that seat and it was perfect. Of course watching the scene from upper seats would be awesome to better appreciate the mis en scene, but people… the HEARTACHE I got when I realized David and his brown expressive eyes were there, in front of me.

I couldn’t not watch him, the way he possesses the stage, how he moves perfectly, and the lines, and the tone, a mixture of Crowley and Staged 😭😭😭 I mean… there’s one little laugh he made at one moment that really made me think, “Ok, here’s our demon.”

And those few moments of hilarity, when they try to make the audience laugh (which I almost never did, because I was so tense for the dramatic effect of the whole thing), for example when he mimics another character’s tone to mock him. Ok, that was an original Crowley.

And then Macbeth turns into a tyrant, and he is suddenly even more indifferent than Kilgrave when he’s there on the stage, for those two killing scenes that made me shiver and gasp in outrage. Seriously, the gasp I made when I saw him with the kids…

and I trembled all night (also because it’s terribly cold in the theatre 😁).

ABOUT THE SCENES, MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS, THE STAGE AND THE DIRECTION

The scene of the apparitions is awesome. No rising him up, like at Donmar, fine, but still… incredible. With the red lights, and the actors with spasms…And the kid actor (Raffi Phillips during my show) was incredible.

I adored how they performed the Banquo ghost bit. Intelligent, brilliant. And David out of himself was perfection.

The slow motion. It was my fave artistically bit, I think. The first time it happens, you’re so surprised. It’s like watching a movie, only it’s theatre. But when it happens during the dance scene…I felt my heart explode. And the way he interacts with Lady Macbeth, the perfection of the music changing and slowing down…Oh sweet lord.

The glass. Gosh, I wasn’t expecting it. I mean, I knew there were actors around the stage and musicians and singers, but I didn’t know about the glass. And the actors punching the glass to mimic knocks and sounds…Incredible tension and suspence.

And the scene with Lady MacDuff and her son’s death was incredible, INCREDIBLE. Again, MAcbeth being there on stage, as if he was really there (which he is not), holding the kid to soothe him and then…throwing him towards the killer. I felt it in my bones, David THRIVES in those moments of pure evil and you can only loathe Macbeth for being like that. And the same happens at the end, with the killing of the kid during the last fight, and when he breaks his neck…The whole theatre gasped in unison, I swear.

MY GOD HE’S GOOD. He’s so good.

The trees at the end…it was all so perfect and pure and a bliss. I can’t really explain.

ABOUT DAVID’S OUTFIT AND MONOLOGUES

The monologues…how many lines does Macbeth have? He’s almost ever present on scene and he’s so good, perfect.

The “is it a dagger” scene was…🥹 I can’t explain. And whenever he sat at the corner of the stage, being there even if Macbeth is not there. It feels like meta-theatre, as if they are trying to make us feel what he feels, even if you’re not supposed to be by his side.

The way he said “tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow”, with his perfect Scottish accent. It blew my mind. I was out of myself by then.

The kilt… well…the kilt 🖤 I’m not a sucker for David in a kilt. I wasn’t. But I changed my mind. This outfit will hunt my dreams for…a while. Years to come. But even more than the kilt, his legs and socks, and the black jackets on the grey shirt. The jackets are seriously a masterpiece.

Also, David keeping the wedding ring on stage is the sweetest thing btw ❤️

The legendary hair band, which disappears towards the end to leave space to David’s own hands; I kept watching enamoured every time he threw his hand in his hair. I mean, that’s his mannerism, and I was there to see him doing it.

And his hands. Those scenes in which he came forward with his hands moving in the air… incredible. Also, those few times in which his eyes fell to the stalls and sometimes it felt as if he was looking right at you. Amazing 🥹

ABOUT THE CAST

The cast. Brilliant, talented performers, all of them. Again the kid, my gosh how good was he? And Banquo’s understudy (NIALL MACGREGOR) was GLORIOUS and he complemented David so well!!! I have no idea how good the first actor is, but believe me: this Banquo was…a perfect complement to David. Even in his appearance, and I can totally see him playing a fine Macbeth last Tuesday, too.

Cush’s understudy (JASMIN HINDS) was AMAZING. I haven’t seen Cush, obviously, but from the clips I watched online, she gives a different vibe to the couple relationship, and you can tell that David let her manage the intensity of their connection and touches on scenes. It was lovely. She was lovely. I found they had huge chemistry on scene, and they fitted together awesomely.

I think she was insanely good and I managed to tell her after the show, when she came out from stage door. She is a very nice and sweet person, and she also congratulated me for my 10th wedding anniversary when I said to her, silly as I am, that I came with my husband from Italy to watch a married couple dying on stage on the night of our 10th anniversary. She was amused, and she was lovely. I told her that I was glad I got to see HER on scene, and I meant it 💜

The “pause” for comic effect performed by JATINDER SINGH RANDHAWA was insanely funny. All the knock knock jokes, him laughing at the audience and mocking random people, Oasis and Blur references, inside jokes about canceling the shows… He was so funny and he was so good when suddenly everything went back to normal and he became serious again in the span of a second.

How good are all these actors!

And Macduff, played by NOOF OUSELLAM. You know what? He’s the one who made me cry. When he’s told about his family’s death…he was so insanely good and realistic in his reaction, and the tension and drama on scene was so palpable and I cried with him. He was incredible.

As much as MOYO AKANDE, who was probably my favourite surprise of the night. I love her, she’s insanely good. As much as everyone else.

In the end, I’m so lucky that I got to see David performing, because if I had booked last Saturday, I would have missed the show and I would have been incredibly sad and disappointed (probably for the rest of my life). And David wasn’t still in tip-top condition, because after the last fight scene (which is a very well choreographed fight with swords), when he kneeled, he coughed (and I’ve been told that was not in character) — and it was the only little thing that made you understand that he was sick the prior week. My god, he’s such a professional, getting back as soon as he could. He was perfect and this whole production was a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings and surprises and suspence. It really deserves the world and accolades.

And I know I did not get a chance to see David at Stage Door, but you know what? I don’t care. Because this was a weekend that I totally dedicate to Good Omens in general (we went to St. James’s, and Tavistock Square, and to the bandstand in Battersea Park, which is probably my new place of the heart (broken or not, one of my favourite places in the whole world, now). And watching David on stage after a year of obsessing over the show and him and Michael felt like a cathartic moment. Ok, it’s not like meeting him and talking to him, maybe. But it’s better: it’s watching him in his raw version, in his element. The theatre has this kind of magic that television can’t provide. And I’m insanely happy to have gotten the chance to attend to one of these incredible shows.

Now I know.

09/11/2024

[legendary-69420]

Chapter 19: Déjà Vu

(Racing Hearts : VOLUME 2)

The final race of the season was fast approaching, but Charles couldn’t shake the growing pit of anxiety gnawing at him. Everywhere he looked, there were rumors—whispers that Mark wouldn’t be returning next year. He hadn't dared to ask Mark directly, and it was driving him to the edge. Carlos was already leaving to join Williams, and now it felt like he was about to lose Mark too. His friend, his closest ally, and… maybe something more.

Arthur and Lorenzo sat with him, trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t working. The room was filled with tension as Charles’ thoughts spiraled.

“You don’t get it!” Charles snapped, pacing in frustration. “You don’t know how much he means to me! This is all happening again, like last year… but this time it’s real! He might actually leave!”

Arthur looked up, confused. “What do you mean, ‘like last year’? Mark’s not confirmed to leave yet, right?”

Lorenzo nodded in agreement. “It’s all just rumors, Charles. Red bull hasn’t made an official announcement.”

But Charles shook his head, his voice filled with frustration. “That’s what you said last year when I thought I was losing him too, and look how that turned out! Last year, I wanted to tell him… I needed to, but I couldn’t, and I thought I’d never see him again.”

Arthur blinked, surprised by Charles’ sudden outburst. “Wait… you really care about him that much? Like—”

Before Arthur could finish, Charles cut him off. “You don’t get it! I LOVE HIM, OKAY?! I CAN’T LOSE HIM, NOT AGAIN!” His voice broke as the words slipped out, louder than he had ever intended.

A stunned silence filled the room. Charles stared ahead, his heart racing. He hadn’t even realized the weight of those words until now. Arthur and Lorenzo exchanged shocked glances.

“Wait… you love him?” Arthur asked, his voice quiet but filled with disbelief. “Charles, are you serious?”

Lorenzo’s eyes widened. “We’re talking about Mark here, right?”

Charles slumped back onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. “I… I don’t know, okay? I didn’t even mean to say that. I’m just… I’m scared of losing him.”

Later that evening, Charles found himself absentmindedly scrolling through Instagram, trying to take his mind off things. But then something stopped him cold. A post from F1’s official account caught his eye. His heart raced as he opened it:

Charles blinked in disbelief, his heart skipping a beat. Mark was staying?! He stared at his phone, trying to process the information. Was this real? Could it actually be happening?

Before he could think any further, his phone buzzed. It was Mark.

Charles hesitated for a moment before answering. “Mark?” His voice trembled, unsure of what to say.

“Hey, bunny boy,” Mark’s teasing voice came through the line. “Miss me?”

Charles blinked, still in shock. “I… are you really staying with Ferrari next season? I just saw the post, and I thought—”

Mark laughed, the sound light and playful. “Yep! Just signed the contract. Looks like you’re stuck with me for another season, mate.”

Relief flooded through Charles, a weight lifting off his chest. “Wait… seriously? You’re not leaving?”

“Nope,” Mark teased again. “Red Bull’s in my rearview now. It’s just you and me at Ferrari.”

Charles laughed, a wave of happiness washing over him. “I thought you were leaving. I was… I was losing my mind thinking about it.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Mark reassured him. “We’re teammates again. Get ready for another season together.”

Charles smiled, relief and excitement mixing inside him. But as much as he was thrilled that Mark was staying, a part of him couldn’t shake the deeper feelings he’d just confessed. He wasn’t ready to confront them yet, but knowing Mark wasn’t leaving gave him some time to figure it all out.

For now, all that mattered was that Mark was staying. That was enough.

---

[ssivinee]

Which would you read first ?

OKAY, so here's the run down rn. I have four fics planned out and I need you guys to choose which one will be posted first.

But there is a catch. Whichever fics that aren’t chosen will be posted AFTER chapter 3 of Ambivalence (which will likely take a while to finish bc i tend to have a rough time finishing series chapters for some reason🤩)

PSA about the last listed fic btw:

I haven’t decided on who ill write for but it is between a member of Twice or RV so keep that in mind!

Before picking, i think it’s only fair to share a bit about each fic:

❥ Broken Glass - AESPA Giselle x f reader (Angst?) One is a struggling actress, while the other is in a mentally draining, broken home. The two of you meet and get close, but once the other finds some luck, the other begins to suffer even more.

❥ A Book About You - LE SSERAFIM Chaewon x f reader (Fluff) In a world where, by the age of 18, you and your soulmate are gifted a book that links you to each other. You disliked the thought of a book dictating who she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Meanwhile, after years of owning the book, Chaewon realized you didn’t care to write in the notebook, using it as her personal diary, ESPECIALLY when the idol industry was beginning to fuck her over.

❥ [REQ] Pretty… Clueless - tripleS Yooyeon x KIOF! f reader (HELLA FLUFF) In a music bank waiting room, tripleS’ visual takes an interest in you due to syncing comebacks. What she didn’t know was, with your little sister’s recent debut, you decide to drop a visit to make tiktoks with her, and Yooyeon is there with her pretty self… being clueless.

❥ [REQ] Ungranted Wish - N/A x f reader (ANGSTYYYY) In an era where life only seemed perfect for royalty, magic existed. You were a mere baroness in the ranks but in love with the crowned princess of the land. It felt impossible, but the two of you became friends, and it slowly turned into something more. Yet what if the words of a Wizard, almost like a curse, stop the both of you from finding true happiness.

⚠️ Both angst fics are planned to have VERY heavy topics that may be triggering to some readers.

[this-is-not-a-slow-burn]

This post from the artist, written in 2013, has some very good points.

It’s been many years since I published this, my first poster, in 1965. That’s when my friend Richard Fahrner and I would listen to the depressing news about the escalating ‘Viet Nam War’ while on our way to work at Contact Printing in San Francisco. We didn’t like to hear how our America was getting ever deeper into the deadly quagmire of far off Viet Nam’s civil war. One morning while driving to work I suddenly visualized a jarring poster idea – our flag superimposed with a nazi-style swastika. So shocking it was instantly instructive! Richard was enthused too so after some more discussion among other friends as well I then went on to create this intentionally disturbing self published poster. When I first laid it out and took it to West Coast Lithograph to have it printed; I showed it first to Ivor Powell, the jocular, quick witted English pressman – a man who enjoyed sharing his opinions. When he looked at my design his usual smile faded fast and he said something like this: ‘Wow - Wes you’d better add something else - like maybe “Are We Next?” – or most people just won’t get it!’ My original design contained only the words “Be Aware. However it didn’t take long for me to realize that Ivor had made a very important point. So after those words were added to the artwork I had several hundred posters printed. I then distributed and sold many of them to appreciative Bay Area folks. Back in 1965 when the official U. S. commitment was to further expand the American military role in the ‘police action’ of South Viet Nam I felt it was an important question – and had to be asked. I’m glad I did something to significantly express my shock and anguish as an American about such an obviously erroneous and costly ethical ‘mistake’ as was the Viet Nam War. Today however we have been attacked by ultra-cunning and ruthless terrorists and in response to that horribly destructive day our government was forced to suddenly power up our national security agencies like never before. However, the ‘facts’ about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that were so widely believed, have now been wholly discredited for all to see. Because of that ‘mistake’ we too rapidly invaded Iraq without thoroughly working out both a military plan and the fuller use of the many normal diplomatic protocols which are so useful in less stressful times such as was done prior to the Gulf War. Such haste has also raised ‘constitutional issues’ about “rights” here at home. Because more practical protocols as well as United Nations involvement were employed and respected by the first President Bush – we gathered a whole spectrum of willing allies who come to our aid in freeing Kuwait using multinational forces. Consequently, due in large part to ‘haste makes waste’ we are now deeply involved in the wasteful horrors of another costly ‘mistake’ - the current Iraq War. However, despite not yet knowing fully just how this all could have happened – we are at war inside Iraq. The Iraq situation is different from Viet Nam and we should strive to leave in grace and avoid the ‘dropping everything and running.’ It seems to me that since we don’t know just how all ‘this difficulty’ came about - the question “Are We Next?” still applies. And, as it relates to continuing the grand open and fair ideals plus continuing on in the hopes and practices of our Democratic Republic – this notable admonition continues for all Americans as well - “Be Aware!”

1965, Wes Wilson

[waveobjectshow]

Uhh spoilers I guess if anyone cares about that??

I love them so much

Alts under the cut

[homestuckreplay]

Explore Remix (This Time It's Wobbly)

(page 827-835)

This is a neat segment, opening and closing with pesterlogs we’ve seen before, filling in some gaps and bookending three really important things: Dave’s monologue, Jade’s FreshJamz, and the Midnight Crew. One small thing stands out - ‘He is undoubtedly gallivanting around his house in a state of barely restrained birthday mirth.’ (p.827) is a strange perspective on John, and sounds more like Jade herself. She doesn’t recognize him in the Midnight Crew comic (p.831) either, so she doesn’t know what he looks like and also doesn’t really see below the surface of his personality.

Dave’s monologue. Dave messages Jade at 23:14 Jade time which is 05:14 Dave time which means this guy does NOT have a good sleep schedule. In his living situation it’s not surprising if he struggles to sleep due to always having one eye open for the next trap. Dave clearly leans on his friends a lot, and they have subtly different roles – John is who he messages about an unexpected juice windfall, Rose is the person he pesters ‘like clockwork’ (p.415) because he can be honest with her about his feelings, and when he can’t sleep, he wants to talk to Jade.

Jade also helps Dave with the self-exploration he’s otherwise not comfortable with. He’s clearly joking when he’s creating his kangaroo rat fursona Akwete Purrmusk, but he’s still creating them. Jade has a FurAffinity account (p.834) and she’s gotta get Dave on there too so that he can start making ‘ironic’ furry art so many layers deep that it becomes sincere.

Dave – and more importantly Andrew Hussie – should not be using a homophobic slur on page 829, as it’s not in the context of reclaiming it. However. As a person who does sometimes reclaim that word I found it a pretty funny variant of the act 2 title [cw slurs if you click that].

FreshJamz! Jade’s music player confirms that all four kids compose music. John and Rose wrote their own themes, ‘Showtime’ and ‘Aggrieve’, both of which have been remixed by Dave. Jade composed ‘Explore’, which was featured in ‘WV: Ascend’ (I will stop talking about Jade-WV connections when they stop showing up) and now Dave has remixed this too. Dave and Jade co-wrote the top tier ‘Crystalanthemums’, and it is very cute to imagine the two of them trading this file back and forth and building on each other’s work. Jade is not a gamer, and John, Rose and Dave have spent a lot of time playing games together, so this media player establishes a shared interest between Jade and the rest of the group.

Midnight Crew. I don’t think page 831 breaks the fourth wall, more like it puts two or three additional fourth walls up, and man do they destroy the image quality. This image doesn’t correspond to an exact page or quote in ‘real’ Homestuck, but it’s based on the events of p.163-165. I think it’s VERY relevant that John is referred to as ‘GT’ here, which are the Pesterchum initials he would have had if he followed his friends’ pattern (TT, TG and GG). And this is happening five pages after we’ve seen a bunch of new chumhandles.

We currently know of [GT/EB], TT, TG, GG, CG, AG, TA, TC and CA. Using only G, T, C and A, we are missing seven possible combinations: GC, GA, AT, AC, AA, CC and CT (which is my initials so I could get assigned a chumhandle!) I think four of these could correspond to the Midnight Crew, but that still leaves eight unaccounted for characters. It may be a coincidence, but these four letters correspond to the base pairs of DNA, and ‘biologist’ and ‘geneticist’ both show up in chumhandles. I’m uncertain of what this means right now, but there is a laboratory near Rose’s house decorated with the Skaian spirograph. If that’s where the mausoleum tunnel leads, that might give us more information.

I think the Midnight Crew is objectively a worse comic than Homestuck. It’s on Act 1031 (10/31, Halloween) but the story is still establishing its titular characters and having them hit each other with sticks. No wonder Dave’s fallen off this so fast. But I also think this is going to become important, and these stories are deeply entangled – Midnight Crew is a story within Homestuck but Homestuck is a story within the Midnight Crew and it’s not impossible that the Homestuck we are reading could also be zoomed out to find another Midnight Crew. More concretely, the player submitting commands could be one of these four characters, similarly shiny and carapaced to WV, the commander we’ve seen.

The beta kids are four thirteen year olds, and the Midnight Crew are four suits of thirteen playing cards – so they’re like a counterpart group, the after dark, morally questionable version. Time is complex in this story but it would be fun if any time it hits midnight for a Homestuck character, the story switches over to the Midnight Crew before the sun comes up, as is suggested by the sun/moon clock at the start of page 833 – something like the Flatland MSPA[LINK].

MSPA, where Midnight Crew and Homestuck are hosted, is also the only piece of media all four kids are into – John, Dave and Jade have all looked at Midnight Crew (p.112, 327, 833), while John and Rose both have Problem Sleuth art (p.11, 224). The Problem Sleuth characters also show up briefly in Act 1031, indicating that it was the previous MSPA in this universe as well as ours. So my new theory is that John, Rose, Dave and Jade all met on the MSPA forums prior to or at the start of Problem Sleuth, giving them over a year before the story starts to form close friendships to the extent of exchanging addresses and birthday gifts. Given that the forums are where commands are submitted in our world, it would be a cool addition to the many meta layers.

> Jade: Navigate to MSPA Forums and submit a command for the Midnight Crew.

[daydreamerdrew]

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #82

[tonariofjananda]

For the ask game: Tonari - 5, 7, and 12!

Heya Ray! Ok here goes

5) What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Honestly I’ve got a handful, most for maybe a line or two of association, but the first one that came to mind when reading this question that’s completely hers in my head was “The Moon Will Sing” by the Crane Wives. I love imagining the song as her reflecting on her dad, friends, Hayase, and Fushi, and how they’ve all contributed to the way she feels about herself and her legacy. Fun fact, the association came about from my mishearing of a line as “I shine only with the life you gave me,” the original word being “light” instead of “life.” But the more I reflected on the song, the more I felt her presence in it (I described this to my best friend as Tonari clawing her way to the surface lol), especially in the third verse. That one in particular draws a really vivid image to me of what Tonari’s headspace must have been right after Fushi pulled her away from the flames. I imagine she’s remorseful that she couldn’t give her friends a better life and is rallying to find her courage to kill them before Fushi steps in. “Instead you hoarded all that’s left of me” is a complicated little line too, filled with the bitterness and confusion at Fushi of keeping her from death. There’s not much left of her with the death of her friends, what Fushi did was selfish, but also implies Tonari didn’t realize Fushi cared if she lived or died. Then he takes the sword from her hands, “swallowing your doubt,” and she’s… grateful, angry, upset… but most of all, she acknowledges the mutual hesitance between herself and Fushi, even though they both know this is the only course of action. Even though it makes her feel like he’s taking the sword through her own body. He might as well be. The line “I want to feel the fire that you kept from me” is the most straightforward in my opinion, and what really solidified this song as being hers for me. It’s a little funny what I’ve done here tbh. The song probably meant the line as “i want to become the person you stopped me from being, I want to regain the life that was supposed to be mine,” but for this Tonari interpretation, I’ve given it the opposite implication… cough

Anyway, the chorus also kind of ties in with another song I somewhat associate with her, “Your Best American Girl” by Mitski, for the lines “Well I’m not the moon/I’m not even a star,” but I’ll spare you the analysis for that and “Goodbye My Danish Sweetheart” (also by Mitski) til… later 👀❗️

For now, I’ll leave you with the three following, lighter songs: Laufey called “Best Friend,” which I listen to as something directed towards the immortal army as a whole; “Wings,” by So!YoON! and Phum Viphruit as a song between her and Ligard and Fushi woah who said that; and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri bc immortalism and the heartbreak of waiting to reunite with someone. Also please imagine the second verse as being from Fushi’s perspective on getting not just her but all of their friends back at the end of the past era arc with potentially rough implications for their thought process in the modern arc WHO SAID THAT

7) What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

(Lyn asked me this too so I’ll cover it here for the two of ya!)

Tbh… I just like it when anyone talks about her ówò Tonari tends to get overlooked- even tho I’d argue she’s something of a deuteragonist- so I really just love whenever people acknowledge her importance to the story and show some enthusiasm for her plotlines. In terms of stories and fan art, it’s always awesome to see all the different sides of her shine through! Tonari’s badass, bitchy, and a little judgmental, but she’s also fashionable, studious, and warm, especially toward March and Eko. It’s also nice to see the occasional silliness she used to show on Jananda shine through every now and then. She’s changed a lot by the next arc, for obvious reasons, but she was pretty silly to Hisame when she was inviting herself to dinner, I don’t think all that playfulness should just disappear! So it’s nice to see fans playing with Tonari without vilifying her ;w; Also without reducing her to her feelings for Fushi, because yeah she has some but that’s not the only thing she’s about (even tho…. I fixate a lot… on that particular subject……… cough). While I’m on the subject, I really love that most ToFu art is limited to things like gentle physical affection. A head on a shoulder (I spent hours running around my house when you sent me that pic Ray, HOURS), a meaningful hug, and touching hands- an absolute must if you like em. I’m definitely getting carried away now though…

12) What's a headcanon you have for this character?

(Limit yourself, limit yourself, limit yourself…!!!)

(Also Coop if you’re reading this, the green one is the only safe one lol)

Bisexual Tonari is an obvious one, I’m convinced she was attracted to Parona’s form (who isn’t in this show tho lmao), and I find those ship posts between Tonari and Mizuha to be so fun tbh. Enemies to lovers maybe, invited to hold hands with her and Hanna! That theory you had about Nagisa having a crush on Tonari lives in my head rent free too, absolutely canon to me. Actually the MizuNariHanna stuff would be extra funny in a world where Nagisa has a crush on Tonari bc now Mizuha’s a girl stealer too! Nagisa just can’t win!!!

Tonari loves writing! And she’s a woman in STEM! Not a headcanon just fact but it lays down the groundwork for my following headcanon: she probably went away to grad school or something. Bon asked if Tonari knew how to do surgery, implying to my insane head that she’s probably gone away for school or something, maybe even received a doctorate, but Bon doesn’t know what for. Her stitches look a bit spaced out and wonky tbh, so she probably doesn’t have the patience for things like needlepoint. I’d wager her calling probably isn’t physical art either haha.

She absolutely goes drinking with the immortal trio + Bon and maybe Gugu once she’s old enough to do so (… would Hairo drink? Designated driver Hairo Rich, but also it’d be so funny if he’s completely normal in the stupidest way while drunk. “Stands like perfectly normal but topples over the second he goes to take a step” typa drunk- BUT THIS ISNT ABOUT HIM SORRY). I think they’d love having Tonari around to pal around with! I imagine that old Jananda arc silliness comes out full force then, if her excitement at Mizuha’s birthday was anything to go off ✌️

(This one’s safe Coop!) Her hair’s been short and choppy since before she got to Jananda so I like to think she did that little kid thing where she tried cutting her own hair and it came out looking uneven. Instead of letting her parents fix it though, she just insisted it wasn’t a mistake and wore it out like that for years. Then when she got to Jananda all the scissors sucked so she just had to keep cutting her hair in the same shabby way. Mia and Oopa having long hair is so funny to me too cuz I imagine they wouldn’t let Tonari get anywhere near them with scissors in her hand (OK stop reading here Coop!)

While I’m here, i think Tonari probably sees a little bit of her old friends in the immortal army tbh. Like, @/alphaofdarkness made the connection that March probably reminded Tonari of Oopa ;; So I feel like Gugu could remind Tonari of Uroy in some ways too, like in the buff, blond, older brother figure kind of way. Eko could remind her of young Sandel in the same way both were kind of upbeat and cute, but quiet in a way that they faded a little in the group (my brother INSISTED Sandel had NOT been there the entire time we were watching the Jananda arc). Meanwhile Messar might remind her of the older Sandel, the kind who probably was more like a brotherly shithead to her after all their years of growing up together. And Mia… imma be honest Mia’s weird as hell, chair fighting, curly hair collecting? Ain’t nobody doing it like Mia 🫡 ACTUALLY ITS BON, BON TOTALLY REMINDS HER OF MIA LMAO

OK IM ENDING IT THERE (Believe it or not this is me limiting myself, I’d typed out an entire section on Tonari’s relationship with each of the members of the immortal army). Hope these were decent enough responses to your questions Ray!

If you- or anyone- has anymore questions on Tonari or literally anyone else please feel free to send them! I have thoughts on like literally everyone, no character too obscure ✌️

[beauzos]

Went to Bright Nights at Four Mile Park in Denver with my dad last Friday :) it was a lot of fun!

[autopsytableromance]

One funny thing to me is that sometimes my bestie will send me reels like this one

And I have to be like. Bestie I appreciate that you’re on my “side” ig but 1 I’m just having fun and 2 in no way did he treat me like his bf and our FIRST text conversation he was like “hey I don’t want you to get the wrong idea bc I don’t want a relationship”

[roseofcards90]

There’s a sort of loneliness that comes with Halloween now and it’s the reason why I don’t love the holiday as much as I used to before 😔

[maria-the-ghoul]

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

Every time I see anything about Europeans not having screens on their windows I remember that one post “this is why you got the plague”. I cannot read anything about Europe and window screens without remembering that post, and honestly, I am still confused as to why people there don’t have screens

[canisvesperus]

I wish California tribes got more love on this website.

[indefiniteavatar]

So basically, in a case about him shoving money at someone so they shut up about him. . .he can’t shut the fuck up himself. I would say something clever and funny here, except the sad part is that this is just so normal in current politics that it’s just. . .not hilariously absurd behavior anymore? Not to say that it’s not absurd - it is beyond such, but it is just. . . predictable, I suppose.

I guess this is how I feel about politics lately? Either I get mad at everything or I try to laugh at everything and normally that works because politicians usually aren’t so tragically stupid so very often, but now I just kinda have to chuckle at the particularly eyeroll worthy things like this, and try to ignore everything else or my brain will explode.

[redgoldsparks]

My Experience Buying eSIMs for Gaza by Maia Kobabe

instagram / patreon / portfolio / etsy / my books

Full transcript below the cut:

Cover:

My Experience Buying eSIMs for Gaza 

Project organized by @ connectinghumanity_

by Maia Kobabe @redgoldsparks 

Page 1 

In Fall 2023, I saw instructions on instagram for how to purchase an eSIM card and submit it to be distributed to someone in Gaza. 

Download an eSIM app-> Select Middle East as the region-> Purchase-> Screenshot the QR code-> Do not activate-> send to gazaesims@gmail.com 

Image of Maia looking at eir phone. “That sounds easy, I’ll buy one.” 

I emailed an Airalo eSIM QR code to gazaesims on Nov 17 2023. 

Page 2

By January 2024, it hadn’t been activated yet. I bought a second one from Nomad and sent my new QR code and resubmitted my old one. 

Image of Maia looking at eir phone. “How long does this usually take, I wonder?” 

By February neither had been activated, but Connecting Humanity kept posting about needing more. I bought a second Nomad and resubmitted all of them on February 15, 2024. 

Page 3

The Nomad eSIMs are much cheaper than Airalo, but what I didn’t realize is that they expire even if they haven’t been activated. At the end of February I decided to try a third company, Simly. Here’s a price comparison: 

AIRALO: $39 USD for 3GB, never expires 

SIMLY: $22 USD for 3GB, never expires 

NOMAD: $16 USD for 3GB, expires after 8 weeks even if unused, only offers in-app refunds 

Page 4

Connecting Humanity asks folks to wait at least 3 weeks before resending a QR code that hasn’t been activated yet. On March 7 Mirna Elhelbawi posted: 

We send EVERY esim we receive. Bear in  mind that we are dealing with people at a war zone. They might take it and get killed before activating it, they might take it and their phone gets lost or destroyed. They might take it and search for days for stable internet connection to activate it, and some of them activate it unsuccessfully due to lack of knowledge and the horrific situations they are in. ~Connecting Gaza 

By early April, my first Nomad eSIM expired unused. I resubmitted my three remaining eSIMs. 

Page 5

Suddenly, two of my eSIMs were activated on the same day! The Airalo I’d purchased 4.5 months earlier and my second Nomad. 

Image of Maia looking happy and surprised. 

Image of Maia looking very intensely at eir phone. “I have to make sure these don’t run out!” 

I began buying top-up packages immediately. 

Page 6

I felt like I had planted a seed in the fall and waited all winter for it to sprout. Seeing it activated was like watching the first new leaves break the soil. 

Image of Maia with a watering can labeled “data”, sprinkling water on two little sprouts. “Watering my eSIMs!” 

Sadly, only .07 GB of data was ever used on my Nomad. It was never used again after that first day. 

Page 7

But my Airalo has been in constant use for over a month now. I check on it every day. 

I will never know the person I am buying data for and they will never know me. But we are connected by the same strings of hope and grief that connect us all. 

Image of two hands holding a phone, which is connected to a flying kite. 

Page 8

On April 5, 2024 Connecting Humanity reported they had sent more than 250,000 eSIMs to Gaza, equivalent to approximately $6.3 million donated! You can visit gazaesims.com for more info, instructions, and discounts. Here are my referral codes: 

MAIA5367 for $3 off Airalo 

MB772 for $3 off Simly 

MAIA66GF for $3 off Nomad 

If you need more incentive, the Cartoonist Coop is doing art rewards. Visit cartoonist.coop/esims4gaza 

Page 9

Image of Maia, weighing two options. “Buying an eSIM is easy and can make a very direct impact. It can also take a lot of patience and could get expensive over time if you commit to keeping the eSIM topped up indefinitely.” 

If an immediate one time donation is more your speed, I recommend Operation Olive Branch and Gazafunds, two places to find Gofundmes aiding Palestinian families. 

gazafunds.com

@ operationolivebranch on insta

linktr.ee/opolivebranch 

-Maia Kobabe 2024