#and date at least one of them so i get a rough era

[gatorbites-imagines]

I have a prompt idea, Trans reader (ftm) in the 1940s being bullied, steve and bucky find reader and help him, start to friends to poly lovers (steve x bucky x reader), fluff with a little angst and soft smut, just an idea

Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes x FTM reader

Headcanons

I don’t actually know a whole lot about the era for trans people, especially in Brooklyn during those years. So, I’m just writing on a feeling and adding what feels right. Have I ever mentioned that pre-serum Steve is one of my favorites?

Writing this actually reminded me of something I wrote forever ago, called party of one, two, three? You can read part 1 and 2 here, if you are interested. I wasn’t really in the mood to write detailed smut, so.

Being a trans guy in the 30s and 40s wasn’t easy, but was anything during that time? Depending on where you were from and when you came out, you might have had the chance to live as a man.

If let’s say you moved to Brooklyn when you were old enough to know that you were a man, and you had always presented as such, then you might have been able to get a job, and if you knew the right people, fake documents.

If you had always lived in Brooklyn, then it was a lot harder, as most just assumed you were a lady who dressed like a lad because you didn’t want to “do your duty” as a woman, or whatever they had on their minds.

Either way, Steve and Bucky were some of the few people who supported you no matter what, if they only knew you as a man, or if you guys had grown up together. If you fit in Steves clothes you could borrow his, and if Steve was too small, well, then bucky had a closet with clothes too.

Being picked on was hard to avoid, in either situation. The first would be because you were such a small, scrawny and feminine guy. The second because you were a lady that needed to be put in her place.

The second was always more dangerous. The first, theyd just rough you up a bit and taunt you a little, but it always ended up as more of a “haha we are just taking the piss”. The second? It felt like the men who cornered you had something to prove, to you or themselves you didn’t know. But they wanted to prove that they could “fix” or “correct” you.

Living in Brooklyn and being a weirdo like you meant you knew how to fight, somewhat at least. Enough to not go down without a fight. But no matter how much you practiced, keeping up with multiple fully grown men was difficult.

If you already knew Steve and Bucky or not, the two would step in when they saw this. Steve first, being the righteous guy he is, would run in swinging. Scrawny arms and wheezing breaths, eyes burning with the fury of a thousand suns, the blonde so incredibly enraged at the very idea of someone treating another person this way.

Steve never lasted long though, but luckily Bucky was never far behind. In the end, Steve always looked as beat up as you, and maybe it was because he bruised and bled so easily with how sick he was.

Steve struggling to his feet and holding out a hand to pull you up, eyes still sparkling and teeth bloody as he grinned, was enough to make your heart race.

Bucky at least didn’t look like he was the main victim of your group of attackers. He was a bit ruffled up, sure, but he still looked mostly put together.

It should shock no one that Bucky easily led you and Steve back to his and Steves apartment, where Bucky got to work patching you both up as they made you talk about the guys who did it, and why. Steve because he wanted to go back out there and smack them straight, and Bucky to be on the safer side.

Be it the first or twentieth time they save you from your so-called bullies, Steve and Bucky stayed just as intense and caring. Even when they didn’t have a lot, or Steve was sick, you always felt like you belonged and was as much of a man as them.

When you three started dating it got a little easier. Everyone already knew that Steve Rogers as built like a twig, but would swing until there was blood if he needed too. He was snarling, snapping and as feral as those starving alley dogs. He was as protective as one too, not just of you but Bucky too.

Bucky wasn’t much better, though he hid it more successfully. Everyone thought that Barnes was the charming, sweet talker, who liked to talk it out without fighting. But they were wrong, when it came to you and Steve, Buck could be worse than Steve.

Both your fellas were protective and possessive in their own ways, but you couldn’t say you didn’t feel the same. You wanted to drown the men who antagonized Steve for his height and sickness in the piers. And jealousy reared its hideous head when the pretty ladies fluttered their lashes at Bucky whenever he passed.

The three of you were all a mess, but you were each other’s mess. You and Bucky never saw Steve was just his disease and lack of stature. Steve and you never just saw Bucky as his handsome face and face charm. And they never saw you as a lady, you were as much of a man as them.

The only time it ever became a challenge, your biology being different, was when you guys got intimate. But it was never made a huge problem. There were days when Steve couldn’t get it up because of his health, or where he could even participate because of his lungs. And there were days when you didn’t want to be touched because your body made you sick. You guys just found ways to make it work.

Sometimes you and Steve would just sit back on a chair each, one you’d dragged in from the kitchen, to watch Bucky pleasure himself and show off in bed. It was like your own litter theater, and Bucky really loved to be watched and praised by you two.

Sometimes it was Steve lying in bed carefully touching himself, at times it was just him caressing his own torso and telling you two all his wildest fantasies, his face and chest bright red from his flush.

And there were even times when it was you, when dysphoria wasn’t swallowing you whole and howling that your body was wrong. You never looked at yourself when you would be with them, but having two men with their own naked bodies made it harder to focus on your own.

Some days you would imagine that their body was yours, and the dysphoria wouldn’t be so bad. It also helped that Steve didn’t grow as much body hair as Buck, meaning Steve was almost as naturally hairy as you. Part of you just basked in the fact that one of your partners looked like you in that way.

The days you were fine with touch, Steve and Bucky never let it go to waste. You couldn’t fuck them like you three all wanted, they didn’t really have toys like that at the time, or at least accessible to you three. This just meant you guys had to get creative.

God gave humans hands and fingers for a reason, and you all had mouths. You always wore so many layers anyways, so the many hickeys your lovers left on you were easily hidden. The chest was always off the table though, and neither of the men complained.

Bucky was the best at praise, so naturally gifted that Steve would joke that he should become some pulp writer, that he should write those cheap sappy romance novels the ladies liked.

This didn’t mean that Steve wouldn’t praise you and Buck, he did, just in his own ways. The blonde always struggled with forming the right words and getting them out, but his sketchbook filled with pages and paged of you and Buck was all the praise you needed.

They would be good partners. Neither have a label for what you guys are, or what their sexualities are, they just know you three love each other, and that’s all that matters.

[ilovepapahet]

James Hetfield HeadCanons

Im doing hc’s on my favourite eras of James (they are going to come up a lot in story’s and fanfics) Im starting off with 1986 or MOP I hope you like them

————————————————————————

SFW

He’s so silly

He loves to tease you when ever he gets the chance he can be mean too but in a good way

he’ll teach you how to play guitar (but I feel like he’d do it whatever the era) you’d be sitting on his lap as he’ll place his fingers on the frets and you’d follow suit

he loves kissing you all over showing you how much he really loves you

he’ll take you to band practices too he loves showing you off because he thinks he’s the luckiest man alive to be dating you

If your laying down on your bed or couch on your stomach he’s lay his head on your ass and tell you about his day

sometimes he’ll tickle you to just to hear you laugh because he thinks you have the sweetest laugh ever (he’ll tell you that every time you laugh)

if you go out to a bar or just out in general he’s a fuckin guard dog and will never leave your side making sure no ones bugging you or flirting with you

he’ll take pictures of you when you least expect it and there the most foul photos ever and he’ll tell you your adorable (the photos are horrible)

he has his hands on you at all times cuddling the fuck out of you

he loves to cook with you (or at least try his best) but you also wouldn’t consider him cooking it’s just him following you around the kitchen

sometimes when your in your room working he’ll just walk in stand there for a few seconds making you very confused before he farts and walks out and you’d yell at him (he thinks it’s so funny)

NSFW

he can’t stay serious at all sure there are times when he’s being all loving and passionate but half of the time he’s making you laugh while being balls deep inside you

he’d say something stupid and it make you laugh

but when he is being loving he’s the sweetest praising you and literally worshiping you

I feel like he’s more soft in the 80s than in the 90s like he can definitely be rough but not as rough

he’ll play with your tits taking one into his mouth as he slowly thrust into you

he’ll leave hickeys on your tits and thighs where no one can see them and he’s so proud of himself because he’s marking you as his and he lets you know all the time

I feel like he loves and I mean LOVES to eat pussy out in this era (as well as two others I will mention later on) he’d ether eat you out like a mad man or lazily lick and kiss your pussy

He just loves to be in between your legs

Same with you giving him head he’d let out sounds only your ears have the grace of hearing (you don’t complain at all) he’d buck his hips up into your mouth when he’s close and praise you when you swallow all his cum

and to be honest he’s not that great at after care (he’s still learning don’t worry) he’d flop down on the bed wrap his arms around you and call it a night

————————————————————————

I hope you guys liked this one, there are still 8 more to come

[vershautece]

Now girlfriend I am gonna need a list of all possible kinks and things of sorts you think Luigi is into, DROP THE LISTTTTT 🩷🩷

ok queen i literally never like to project my own fantasies onto someone if i can’t realistically picture them doing it irl so these thoughts are just my opinion, taking an educated guess lol!!

size kink: phd tweet this speaks for itself ;) and he just exudes that energy hehe u guys get me (also u all know those 2 pics where u can see his bulge even though he’s soft :3)

on here we decided he has a breeding kink which could Definitely be farfetched but who careeees we’re never gonna know for sure what he’s into so whatever :) we started discussing that bc of his tweets about falling birth rates in japan, he’s brought it up more than once and in one tweet said sex needs to be more encouraged bc the falling birth rates are a cultural issue. thennn there’s also the fact that he seems quite traditional regarding relationships just based off his personality, i can imagine him courting a girl properly and wanting a committed relationship which is why i think he’s never been in one, bc he’s never felt that deep connection; he feels rlly hard, so i don’t think he’s found his person yet - SO what im getting at is that i think he would then be quite traditional in dating to marry and then having kids, definitely at least 3, even more so bc he comes from a huge traditional italian family :)) and there u go that’s why i think he might have a breeding kink and in like all of my writing he cums inside every time😭

i also think he is most definitely a switch in bed, he’s so cocky but is def a sub at times bc he 100% didn’t lose his virginity until at least college haha and he’s so soft and sweet like that boy just loves to be underneath u :3 i also think he prefers passionate sex over quickies, maybe not in his college era but definitely now, bc like i said it’s literally confirmed that he’s a veryyyy emotional sort of person like he feels so deeply and i know he’d be obsessed with making love to u more than any other type of sex

i’ve said before that anything non-vanilla he would do with u only if u asked first, like something as simple as choking he’d be like wtf no way bc he wouldn’t wanna hurt u but once he starts doing it to u and anything else u ask him to do (obvs within reason lmao) it would turn him on so much knowing how much u like it

which brings me on to my next point, and prob my final point bc i can’t remember if there is anything else i should mention! but yes the fact that he is 100% a munch :) it turns him on more than anything to know that you’re feeling amazing and that he’s the one making u feel like that, so he’d spend hours between your legs pleasuring u - & he had a couple of female pleasure books on his goodreads list (he hadn’t read them yet) so there’s that :p also i know with him being a nerdy science guy he would definitely love knowing all the different ways of making a girl cum, he’d research so much shit lol

& we all know he’s not kinky at all but he’s passionate as hell, he’ll be rough with u but in a passionate and intimate way, not any degrading shit ofc lol. and he will definitely pound u into the mattress if he’s in a bad mood or if you’ve been teasing him :))

oh and i forgot to say he 100% talks u through it, he’s cocky and intelligent there is no way he doesn’t :D

[daman19942]

TSR CC Recommendations: TS2 Lot Builders

Nobody asked for this but I have a little time on my hands and I said I might do it, so here is a list of some TSR lot builders who I recommend checking out. A few notes under the cut before we get started (all details under the cut, as well, in case you aren't interested in my preamble):

This is not meant to be paid promotion for TSR. I believe TSR asking users to pay for their CC is ridiculous, especially for a 19 year old game they haven't supported in 7 years. But I spent many years uploading there during the peak-TS2 / pre-TS3 era and know there is great CC in their archives that newer players may not know about. And unlike TheSims2.com, which has sadly shuffled off this mortal coil, TSR's content is still available to freely download (assuming you can stomach the pop-ups and wait times)

This post will only be about lot builders because that was what I was primarily uploading and downloading in this era. I was friendly with some of the creators I am about to list, but none of them are still active members of the TS2 community.

The preview pics might be a little rough and the architecture styles will likely feel very dated compared to the most popular styles these days, which are more colorful, cluttered, and use 3t2 and 4t2 conversions. Re: the previews: too many of us were using free trials of PaintShopPro back then, and TSR limited us to 2 previews, so we did our best. Re: the styles: unlike pre-2010's CAS CC, which was full of hand painted and "realistic" textures (LOL), these are the same objects you can find in the game today, just being used in different ways! Sometimes for the first time! And, yes, while some of these creators used CC, it was mostly Homecrafter walls and floors, as you'll see below.

This was also the hey-day of CFE lot building, which has certainly fallen out of favor to more traditional builds (in part because graphics cards have improved and these types of builds don't look as good in 2024, and also because the great CFE experimenters, builders, and tutorial writers are no longer part of the community and their original discoveries are gone as well - I am happy to go down a massive rabbit hole on this piece of TS2 history if anyone else cares, but trust me, you don't have to care).

Alright that is enough caveating, here are some recs! (Links are in the creator's names and they take you to their Lots, though many of them have other creations, too).

Lord Tiko Speaking of great CFE builders! Lord Tiko built spaceships, boats, pagodas, domes, windmills and bridges, oh so many bridges before retiring mid-TS2 because of health issues. He was one of the first builders to take Daihtnaoz7's single and double bridge tutorials and apply them to really big lots. I'm still not sure how he built the Venice Rialto Bridge, or his other European water lots. Overall, a massive inspiration to me when I was prioritizing CFE builds.

Hatshepsut My favorite "traditional" home builder, and someone I considered a friend. She specialized in English and American builds, and I had many of Hat's houses in my old saves and was impressed by her range and decorating style which was (for the time) more varied than many of her peers. Knew how to take great preview pics of her houses, too.

Tigerblue Another builder I corresponded with, Tigerblue was probably the least prolific uploader on this list for sheer number of uploads, but she also crossed a range of styles. Her builds leaned way into specific styles (see the previews, these were all part of consistent sets of 3,4, or even 10 lots), but this was also what happened when a new EP dropped and everyone raced to uploaded builds using as many of the new objects and styles as possible. Tigerblue just happened to be better at it than most of us.

Cyclonesue Do current TS2 players know Cyclonesue? Because it's hard to think of someone who had a bigger impact on building and decorating of the era, first with her English and Tudor builds and later with her extremely distinct grunge creations. Seriously, check out her Urban Renewal series and the corresponding objects. Iconic stuff that surely now feels frozen in time. I probably only played 20% of her lots that I downloaded, but they still make for great hood decor. Like Tiko, someone who happily experimented with CFE.

Illiana The creator who inspired me to make this list is, ironically, the one on it who I know the least about (she is a Featured Artist but not in the Hall of Fame, whatever that means). I just started playing her Tri-Annyas fraternity house and have a few other lots floating around my game. She built in a range of styles, from classical to modern to Twikki Island to grunge. Revisiting some of them in-game, the TSR previews do not do them justice.

*EXHALES* If you made it to this point, kudos to you. I'm sure there are creators I've forgotten, and houses I haven't linked to, but this is a good starting point for digging into some of the eclectic builds the TSR(chives) have to offer (I just coined that, is it clever? It is not). Maybe I'll do a Part 2 if people like this.

If you have any favorites of your own, let me know what I missed! And as I do with my old Exchange re-uploads, I am tagging @sims2packrat and @oldasscustomcontent for general TS2 history awareness!

[soniclozdplove]

@quitealotofsodapop you thank you for helping me so much with this au

Wukong is playing to good host to the Pilgrims, even whilst they seemingly continuously made asses of themselves. To be fair to them, their reaction to a television could have gone worse. The only casualty to that anomaly of technology and magic is a broken VR headset at least, and Wujing had been profusely apologetic since they got it into his head that the machine wasn't some demon trap. And they were trying very hard to be gracious guests! There was just one singular problem that kept getting on the way.

This is not the Pilgrims Wukong had known at the end of the Journey. Not the brave and selfless Tripitaka, not the loyal and true Ao Lie, not the steadfast Wujing, and maot definitely not the rough around the edges but still very kind Zu Baije. And it was clear to them that they felt much the same about Wukong, flinching st every move he made as if e expecting him to attack if given the chance, much like he would have done had he been given the chance early on in the journey. Wukong was happy to see his brother's again, but instead of the family he had found along the journey, he instead has the cowardly monk, selfish pig, meek dragon, and unenthusiastic water demon he had started the journey with. The ones who hated and feared him and he hated and feared in turn before time and many enemies along the way broke through each other's walls and forced them to bond together.

At the very least Ao Lie was enthusiastic to see him and excited about learning about how life has evolved from the Tang dynasty. He took one glance at the many photos around the house and clocked onto Mei as being his decendant immediately. He's been enthusiastically talking about baby dragons since and asking about every little thing in the picture. Wukong was happy to tell him of the little spitfire hatchling thay inherited his sword and how the world has changed their view on many things, proper behavior of men and women included. He even showed Ao Lie some of the outfits Mei and he picked out together in their last shopping trip, dresses and skirts included.

That's when Zu Baije put his foot in his mouth by commentating on the fact Wukong was cross dressing, putting Wukong in a terrible mood. After reaming Baije out on his sexist ideologies and how out of date they were even amongs Tang era demons, frightening Tripitaka into hiding under the couch cushions in the process, Wukong had stormed out to where MK had been cleaning up a bit, havinf insisted on doing that to give Wukong time with his old friends, fur puffed irritably.

"Oh, that's not a good sign." MK paused from scrubbing the wall he was cleaning to comment the moment he saw Wukong's tail lashing about like a snake, "What happened?"

"I didn't hit any of them, if that's what your asking about." Wukong grumbled, grabbing a spare bristle brush and stepping up next to MK to help, "Just... forgot how people in the Tang dynasty viewed... certain types of dress."

"They found the dresses?"

"Yup."

"Baije make fun of you?"

"How'd you know it was Baije?" Wukong quirked a brow at his apprentice, fairly certain he'd never told him anything about the Pilgrims for him to come to that conclusion. MK gave him an awkward grin in return.

"I maaay have started reading the book. At least some of it. Macaque was bugging me about it."

"I see." Wukong frowned at that, because if MK had gotten far enough into the book that he'd know Baije was an asshole, then he probably knows about all the things Wukong had done at his worst. It makes him worry about what impression thay made on his young apprentice.

[emlovslennon]

Ok so for your Paul stuff… y/n has been dating Paul since the cavern club days, now it’s set during get back, and Paul has gotten a lot more dominant….

Good LORD i have been lacking smh. But woohoo ft Paul McCartney for the first time on my account ‼️

Era: 1969

-

it’s been 8 years since you and Paul have gotten together, you guys met early 1961, back when The Beatles were still performing at the infamous Cavern Club. You showed up to every show and ultimately got the attention of the handsome bassist, after that night, you and him have been pretty much inseparable. At the beginning of your relationship, Paul was very shy, and would let you take the reigns when it came to bedroom activities. But, something changed, to say the least. As the Beatles grew bigger and more popular, the more confident Paul grew. And it wasn’t just an egocentric kinda thing, he started to really push himself when it came to sex as well. Especially now, with how stressed he is with the band seemingly falling apart, even though he doesn’t want to admit it, and obviously you don’t either. And the numerous moments in between when John hit on you when drunk and apologizing in the morning after Paul’s scolding.

“I just don’t understand it, y/n.” Paul sighed, looking at the copious amounts of song writing material on the table. You looked at him, with nothing but sympathy, you know that Paul is truly trying his best and how passionate he is about the band, it truly is exceptional.

“Paul, I promise, everything will be fine.” You say softly, bringing your hands to his shoulders and slowly massage them. You felt him groan as his head laid against your chest. This went on for a minute or so until he turned around and gave you a soft kiss, Paul was always such a passionate lover, he usually was never too rough, even though he sure tried.

“Y/n, I want to try something, I heard it helps with stress, at least, something to do with what John was rambling about earlier, but, I wanted to ask you if you want me to be… rougher, in bed.” You blushed as he explained, you’ve never done that before, but as much stress he’s been dealing with lately, you couldn’t help but not give in to what he wants.

“Of course, we can try. That’s fine with me.” You said, you smiled as Paul’s eyes grew wide and giggled, he honestly didn’t think you’d agree to it. Paul picked up bridal style and took you to the bedroom and threw you on the bed. You pulled yourself up by your elbows to see the look Paul’s eyes change, they looked darker than usual, and filled with lust. Your breath hitched as he slowly unbuttoned his vest and the white button up he had underneath. Today was a very stressful day for him, whether it be him and George bickering or John completing spacing out or having pda with Yoko.

“Strip for me, love.” He demanded. His voice deeper than usual. You immediately got on your knees on the bed and unbuttoned your blue cardigan along with your white top, along with your black, lacy bra you had been wearing. Paul seemed to be impatient as he grabbed your knees and pulled from under them so you fell on your back, as he nearly ripped off your black skirt and panties. This was definitely not the norm for him. He spent no time slipping a finger into you without warning, causing you to arch your back and moan loudly. He immediately shoved a second one in, causing you to gasp, he’s usually very slow in mid movements, but this definitely is different, he’s wasting no time. His fingers always manage to hit your sweet spot as his fingers curled. Causing your legs to shake as you continued to moan.

“Never noticed how needy you are, love. I think I’m gonna need some convincing if you want me to do more than this.” He said, kissing your forehead, although his fingers felt ethereal, you did wish he was actually inside you, especially at such a fast and deep pace he was going.

“P-Paul, please, I need you.” You moaned out shakily, a huge grin painted his face, as he slowly unbuttoned his pants in a excruciatingly slow pace, which made your thighs clench.

“Paul, come on, please I need-“ you stopped dead in your tracks as Paul shoved his entire length into you at one go, causing you to yelp out. Paul gave you no time to adjust, which he usually does, and just immediately started a hard pace.

“Come on, you asked for this, what you get for rushing me.” Paul grunted, you cried out as he hit all the right spots, you have no idea where this type of Paul has been all your life, well, the last 8 years, but you weren’t complaining. You have never felt yourself so close to the edge before, it never came this fast. You could feel the warm feeling in your stomach growing, you felt as if you were a ticking time bomb.

“P-Paul-“ you gasped

“Already? I don’t know, should I let you cum?” He says, in a very breathy tone as he lets out groan after groan. He never made you beg before.

“P-please Paul! Please let me cum, please!” You cried out, Paul spent no time rubbing your clit before you felt the feeling in your stomach snap and you let go all over him. Paul didn’t stop, though. You felt yourself started to get overstimulated, tears started to brim your eyes and the shakiness you were feeling wouldn’t subside.

“I know, I know, I’m almost there, love.” He moaned, after about three more thrusts, he came inside you with a loud groan. Which is probably the hottest thing you’ve ever heard. His long, dark brown hair disheveled, and his face was flushed. He looked so darkly beautiful. He laid next to you and kissed your face all over, no matter how rough he was, he will always be the same boy you fell in love with in Liverpool.

-

THIS WAS KINDA BAD BUT WE NEEDED PAUL CONTENT IT NEEDED TO HAPPEN

[prettyoddfever]

Tumblr glitched while I was trying to answer this, but thankfully I took a screenshot of everything before refreshing because I legit cannot find that draft or question anywhere now, sorry. So here we go again...

I'll link to the post here. (btw any annoyance that might seep into my tone in my recent answers is NOT directed at the actual people asking... y'all are lovely). So that post is done in a very similar tone to the Ryden primers that the pre-split fandom posted, but I'm getting the sense that this is very very different... like that person seems to actually believe the content that they're posting is straight up facts (and even if they don't, the fact that you're referring to it as "infamous" probably implies that other people are at least treating it as real facts, so I'm still going to address it like the tone is serious). Here's an explanation of how the majority of the fandom used to view Ryden.

A lot of their pictures no longer show up, so I'm going to leave a wayback screen recording here for reference:

I'll just comment as I go through it if I have something to add:

I suppose that the tone of someone's comments is open to interpretation, so idc as much about whether those are misread or not.

That supposed AIM convo was shared as a myspace bulletin by Brent's brother Blake during the summer 2006 season when he was trying to stir up shit and was busy posting other inaccurate info too. I'm just saying to take it with a grain of salt. 

Ryan’s lj post on 9/27/05 was about the release of AFYCSO that day. He talked a lot in interviews that season about how it was weird for him to see so many fans singing his lyrics back to him.

uhh most of the pictures that this person lists "from this era" of 2004/2005 are actually from 2006. so they definitely know what they're talking about here lol.

they list one of Ryan's livejournal posts and then say "I'm not sure of the exact date, but I know it was some time in 06." It was from June 24, 2006. 

lol Audrey.

re: the Myrtle Beach theory

why is the part where Ryan called Brendon a golden god in late 2006 any different than when Brendon said this about Spencer that same season?

re: the 2006 mic-sharing & stage gay

fans would positively scream when Ryan & Brendon approached each other, especially in the last half of 2006. this moment in Munich in October 2006 seemed no different... the guys absolutely knew what they were doing.

the VMA performance just seemed like Ryan was still using Brendon as a safe space to look at so he wouldn't stare at his feet or guitar, but that is still very much something you could turn into a Ryden thing so carry on haha.

about the Rolling Stone interview

I'm laughing at the "squint a little harder" comment about finding Ryden content in 2008. That is so accurate. 

re: Dylan's myspace (yes, Keltie ran a myspace for Hobo that anyone could grab pics from).

Ryan absolutely sounds like he's saying dude... also that would be normal.

the picture of the bracelet is normal

I'm just going to link to this post since it addresses many similar inaccurate points about early 2009.

I was about to side eye them so hard for posting the Lana Jade letter as real, but at least they added that she made multiple posts explaining that it wasn't her. And yes, obviously Brendon's best friend was Shane (not Ryan).

omg Ryan's tattoos are not about Brendon. Those are Tom Waits lyrics. Ryan was good friends with Thomas Dutton. About a year before getting the tattoos, Ryan was hanging out with him on tour in the UK and later told Kerrang that “a friend of mine in Forgive Durden turned me on to Tom Waits when we were in the UK… I’ve been listening to him ever since. His voice is so rough and dark. I’d never really heard anything like that.”

the sharing beds idea was misunderstood in the Billboard interview... all 4 guys slept on bunkbeds in the same room when they were recording AFYCSO. That's what Brendon's referring to.

re: the Bishop Gorman tshirt… Ryan was hardly that size in high school. But Brent went to Bishop Gorman too (and so did Paulina, who was also friends with Brendon). Brendon did borrow some of Brent’s stuff in 2004/2005 (like money for food while they were first touring). Just saying… it's def interesting, but it’s not an automatic Ryden connection.

I didn't read Spencer's tone in that out.com interview the same way... there's some relevant bits in this post.

about the red shirt

here's my general tag for Ryden stuff

[hyperpotamianarch]

Why is Hannukah eight days if the oil was sufficient for one day? Day 6.

Today, I chose to cheat.

But why? Why would I build a system of rules for writing those posts only to break them myself later? Well, it's because history left me no choice! A bunch of people who held manuscripts of Sefer Ha'Itim have lost parts of it, and now the world suffers! But, a little background:

Sefer Ha'Itim by Rabbi Yehuda ben Barzillai Albargeloni (the Barcelonian) is an old Halachic book. And by old I mean old. There are apparently indications that it was written when the RIF (Rabbi Yitzhak Alfassi) was still alive when it was written, since there's never an addition of z"l after his name - unlike other deceased rabbis. That places it at around the 11th century CE, the beginning of the Rishonim era. So it's not too surprising that not all the book survived, especially since many of it's rulings weren't accepted. I think. I'm basing it on one particular ruling, which I'll get to later.

The book itself is about Halachot for time-dependant things - I suppose that would make it a rough equivalent of Tur Orach Chaim in the Shulchan Aruch, though this is a very common topic for books. I mean, if you deal with the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly Halachot... Well, people kind of need such books for their lives. Unlike Tur 'Hoshen Mishpat, which is about Halachot related to court (mostly monetary conflicts) and no one wants them to be relevant to them. Anyway, like most books, the topic is in the name: 'Itim means "times" in Hebrew, more or less. Not to be confused with 'etim, which means pens.

What remains from Sefer Ha'Itim, though, is just the Halachot related to Shabbat. Which is great if you want to know whether or not you're allowed to say HaKol Yoducha (ypu aren't, and it's really not fine that everyone still does - at least, that's what Rabbi Albargeloni thinks), but it's not as helpful if you want to know why Hannukah is eight days and not, say, seven.

Or nine.

Yeah, yeah, it turns a bit weird now and I really should stop throwing those random hints. His very interesting answer to why Hannukah is eight days is somewhat reminiscent of the reasoning the book of Maccabees gives in that it has nothing to do with the oil cruse miracle and everything to do with another thing that takes 8 days. In the case of the 'Itim, it's Brit Milah.

You see, among the things that happened during the time of Antiochus IV Epimanes that really annoyed the Hasmoneans, he gave a decree of three things practiced in Judaism that he forbade: keeping the Shabbat, declaring the renewal of the moon (which is essential for the Hebrew calendar - or was, until about 5 centuries later at the time of Hillel the 2nd, but that's a story for another day), and circumcising their sons. And in Judaism, circumcision is done on the 8th day to the birth of a child - if he's healthy enough for it, there are clauses for keeping the baby alive, but that's (again) another story. Naturally, the Hasmoneans spited him in all three, and when they rededicated the Temple, according to Sefer Ha'Itim, they declared an 8 day holiday to commemorate the resistance. Also, due to this length there's always a Shabbat yo be kept in Hannukah, and due to its particular date there's always a renewal of the moon during the holiday. It's occuring around today or tomorrow, actually! This night is going to be moonless, remember and take care.

So I cheated. I did not find the original source, though I now have Sefer Ha'Itim downloaded to my phone. I could scour it just in case, but I don't think it'll bear fruit.

The nine days things is all kinds of weird in and of itself - it's based on Yom Tov Sheni Shel Galuyot, and the obvious answer is it's something that only exists for Yom Tov. And wow, that has been longer than usual. Sorry.

[seasidesandstarscapes]

one night only

Summary: Bobby has fallen in love and finds a new kind of courage along the way

Rating: Explicit

Genre: Canon Era, Confessions, First Kiss, Frottage, One Shot

Words: 2367

A/N: dedicated to @arokel based off recent conversation lmaooooo

-

AO3

or

Bobby is a mess.

Papers are scattered across the small dorm room, books thrown on the floor, and Bobby is face down on his bed.

Practice was supposed to be business as usual and it was, but Bobby had let his mind wander. Never before had he so intently watched Don’s movements, feeling every exhale, the strain of his muscles. It was beautiful and for a minute too long, Bobby was lost.

“Where are you taking the boys, Bobby?” Ulbrickson had called from the boat next to them, snapping Bobby from his thoughts.

Now, Bobby has to deal with the aftershocks. With the realization that he’s fallen in love with Don Hume. 

None of this would be so bad if it just wasn’t Don. Bobby can’t risk ruining a friendship, someone who knows him better than he knows himself. He can’t break up the team, can’t mess up one of the few good things in his life.

The opening of a door makes Bobby lift his head and he says nothing as Shorty stares at the upended room.

“This how you get ready for parties?” Shorty’s eyes dart around and he gingerly steps around Bobby’s mess.

“Just had to get something out,” Bobby mutters, dropping his head back down on the mattress.

“What, don’t you yell enough at practice?”

Bobby only grunts in return, wondering if he can turn into a slug if he stays here long enough.

“I can just tell the guys you’re not feeling well. You don’t have to go tonight.”

“No,” Bobby jumps up. “I want to go.”

He needs distraction. Even if Don is there, at least he can talk to the other guys, focus on anything but his own lovesick thoughts. 

“Alright,” Shorty shrugs. “But if you get drunk I’m not cleaning up your shit.”

Bobby waves him away, kicks and shoves what he can into a pile before getting ready for the night.

By the time he reaches the dance hall, Bobby is in better spirits, and he falls easily into casual conversation. To his relief, Don is caught up with a couple of students he doesn’t recognize, leaving Bobby to his own devices.

Which is how he ends up at a table with Joe and Joyce, feeling a little like a third wheel. He glances away whenever the two lean in close and tries not to imagine what it’d be like if that was him and Don.

“I’m going to grab something to drink. Keep my girl company, Bobby,” Joe claps him on the shoulder before leaving the table.

Bobby nods with a grin and he and Joyce get to talking about all sorts of things. She really is a charming girl. Maybe if she were single, Bobby would ask her on a date. Maybe he’ll ask the next girl that catches his eye to dance.

And maybe Bobby is just fooling himself.

As the conversation continues, Bobby’s eyes drift around the room. Roger and Chuck are in some heated debate with Jim, while Gordy, John, and Shorty mingle at another table. 

Then, there’s Don. Alone, watching the room, and a picture of perfection. Bobby thinks back to their last win, the jubilation of winning overcoming all else as they held onto each other. Bobby traces his palm, remembering the roughness of Don’s hands, how easily they had fit together.

“You really love him, don’t you?” Joyce breaks Bobby’s thoughts. 

“Hm?” He’s slow to turn to Joyce, and her words haven’t quite caught up yet.

“Don,” she points. “You love him.”

The color drains from Bobby’s face and he tries to shrug off her words. “Sure. He’s a pal.”

Joyce rolls her eyes, laughs a little at this. “You’ve got it bad.”

Nausea rises in Bobby and he grips the tablecloth, trying to steady himself. If Joyce can figure him out in just one night, then he’s walking a dangerous road.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Joyce offers a sympathetic smile. “Not even Joe.”

Bobby relaxes at this, but still his nerves get the best of him. He’s been doing all he can to deny his feelings, to hide himself, and it hurts. He’s jealous of Joe and Joyce’s love, the freedom they have just to be themselves. If it were a different world, he would march up to Don right now and confess everything. 

“I think Don could use a little company.” Joe is back at the table, drinks in hand for Joyce and himself. 

Bobby quirks a brow, spares a glance at Joyce who has taken to nursing her drink. “That so?”

Joe shrugs. “I mean, now or never, right?” 

Bobby and Joyce’s expressions match as they stare at Joe with suspicious eyes. He only gives them a grin, toasting Bobby before he takes a sip from his glass.

“You aren’t subtle, Bobby,” Joe finally explains. “The guys, me, we’re okay with it.”

Bobby watches Joyce’s mouth drop open as his own heart thrums in his chest. This all has to be some cruel joke.

“You mean…?” Joyce starts.

“Anyone gives you trouble, we’ll give ‘em hell,” Joe nods and he’s serious, the same stare Bobby has seen right before a race.

Tears sting at the corner of Bobby’s eyes and he takes a shaky breath. He’s never talked about this out loud. It could be the end of all things, but Bobby is close to bursting. He wants to trust Joe. Wants to believe there’s some good in the world.

“What if he hates me?” Bobby all but whispers, unable to look at Joe and Joyce. 

“He won’t. You’re his best friend,” Joe leans in. “Cross my heart, Bobby.”

Joyce’s hand rubs Bobby’s forearm, her eyes shining with a kindness Bobby thinks only exists once every century. He drums his fingers on the table and looks over at Don, still sitting alone. He’s folding a cloth napkin, twisting it as if he’s figuring out a new design. It makes Bobby smile, his heart thuds in his chest.

Inhaling deeply, Bobby glances at the couple and his spirit is renewed. Maybe they’re right. With a nod, Bobby gets to his feet and approaches Don before his mind convinces him otherwise.

“Hey, Donny,” he sits next down to the other man who jumps at his greeting.

“Bobby,” Don smiles with realization and Bobby tries to ignore the fireworks igniting in the back of his mind.

He wonders if this smile is reserved only for him as he leans in close to Don, almost too close. “Having fun?” He points to the crumpled napkin Don’s been fiddling with.

“Oh….yeah. Loads.”

Bobby chuckles at this, taking the napkin and letting his fingers brush against Don’s hands. He imagines the shiver that leaves Don, surely, and sets the piece of cloth on the table.

“Want to get out of here?” He motions with his head to the door.

Don nods and Bobby grabs his coat before they leave the dining hall. All the way to the dorms they’re silent. Bobby thinks to break it, opens his mouth a few times but his fear gets the best of him.

Finally, they reach the door of Bobby’s room and his hands shake as he tries to unlock it. He swears to himself, shoving the key in with such force he nearly snaps it in two and he wiggles it around as if that will make any difference. With a grunt, Bobby kicks the door in, which swings open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. He winces but no one comes running and Bobby lets Don in first. Once he’s inside, Bobby shuts the door with a white knuckled grip on the knob, attempting to collect himself.

“Shorty should be out for a while,” Bobby speaks at last. 

Moonlight spills into the room and Bobby can just see Don's profile in the dark. He could just stay like this, admiring from afar, never speaking the truth in his soul. Then, there’d be no heartbreak, no chance of utter devastation.

“You look good tonight,” Don suddenly says and Bobby tenses. Don swears, shakes his head. “That came out wrong.”

Yet he doesn’t continue. Bobby takes a hesitant step forward, trying to meet his eyes. Even in the low light, Bobby can see the racing thoughts behind them. With a small breath, Bobby reaches out, lets his fingertips brush against Don’s.

Don snaps his gaze to Bobby, questions washing over his face. Bobby’s own fear rises in his chest and he just wants to run. Instead, he takes in a deep breath, overriding all sensibility.

“I like you, Don. Not as friends. Like Joe and Joyce. I want us to be like that.” Bobby can’t listen to his own voice as he spills everything. “You’re the first person I want to see in the morning and the last at night. I don’t want to know what it’s like to spend a day without you. God damn it, I just need you.”

Bobby expects a shove or an excuse to leave, but when his face gets buried in Don’s chest, strong arms encasing him, Bobby can only grip onto Don for dear life.

“I love you, Bobby,” Don whispers in his ear.

Every worry, every doubt washes away. In Don’s arms, Bobby is safe, seen. He’ll be damned if anyone tries to take this away from him. Don pulls back just a little to place a hand on Bobby’s cheek, his eyes shining with a love Bobby didn’t even think was possible. He’s breathless, at a loss for words, and he can only hope his own stare matches Don’s.

He doesn’t miss how Don’s hand traces from his hair down his face, careful as if Bobby is made of porcelain. When Don tips up his head with gentle fingers under his chin, Bobby’s eyes flutter shut and Don closes the distance between them.

Don kisses like he rows. Focused, sure, strong. Bobby’s knees almost buckle as a firm hand presses on his lower back, the two of them coming ever closer. Bobby’s hands are trapped on Don's chest and he can feel their heartbeats sync, their breaths becoming one. 

Bobby nearly whines when the kiss ends but when Don kisses his cheek, moves his lips down to Bobby’s jaw, Bobby loses himself. Throwing his arms around Don’s neck, Bobby keeps him there, bites back his moans as Don leaves a mark close to his collarbone. 

In his wildest dreams he couldn’t have thought of this. Don is attentive and careful, but there is a darker side underneath, one Bobby wants to bring to the surface.

“Can we…” he breathes, unsure of how to ask.

Don reads his mind easily and before Bobby can react, Don picks him up, hands firm as Bobby quickly wraps his legs around him. He won’t be able to watch Don’s rowing the same way ever again.

“Shit, Don,” Bobby bites his lip. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”

Don grins at this and just kisses Bobby as he brings them over to the bed. He lays down with Bobby sitting on top of him and Bobby lets his hands trail along Don’s chest.

“Have you ever done this before?” Bobby asks, suddenly nervous.

“Not…all the way,” Don admits. “Just a few tumbles here and there.”

Bobby pauses, thoughts colliding in his head. He wants this to go right, wants it to be perfect.

“Can I try something?” Don says just above a whisper. “If you don’t like it, we can stop.”

Bobby’s shoulders drop with relief and he nods, a nervous smile on his face as Don sits up. Now chest to chest, Don starts to undo Bobby’s trousers, tracing his fingers among the outline of Bobby’s hardening cock.

Bobby can only watch, stifle his moan as Don pushes down his trousers and underwear. The hand on his cock is warm, gentle, not what Bobby was expecting. 

As Don strokes him, Bobby rests his forehead on Don’s shoulder and watches intently. Don works the buttons on his own trousers with his free hand, releases his cock and Bobby gasps as Don wraps their members together in one strong hand. 

He holds onto Don’s back, melts as Don presses a kiss to his temple. Don’s hand speeds up and Bobby thrusts, relishing how Don’s cock feels against his own. 

“Don, Don,” Bobby begins to repeat, a prayer for what’s to come.

“I’ve got you,” Don holds Bobby close.

Teeth graze along his neck and Bobby shivers as Don bites his shoulder. He loves that it doesn’t hurt, that the sensation only drives him further into his pleasure. With heavy moans, Bobby’s nails dig into Don’s back, needing, craving his release.

A familiar heat coils in Bobby’s stomach and he whimpers as Don’s hand continues its ministrations. How every stroke is perfect is beyond Bobby. 

“I’m—I’m close,” Bobby gasps.

Don doesn’t slow down, not until Bobby is shaking and crying out Don’s name as he succumbs to his orgasm. With a few shallow breaths, Don follows, his hand coated in his and Bobby’s seed.

The room is silent as blood pounds in Bobby’s ears. He’s about to cry and he buries his face in Don’s neck, trying to stop the waterfall. 

He’s elated, there’s a spark of joy he thought was long gone. As the first tear slips out, Don cleans the two of them up, grabs another tissue to wipe at Bobby’s face. Bobby smiles through his tears, not wanting to worry Don, but with Don’s adoring gaze, Bobby is at peace. He lets himself cry, lets himself be held until at last, the world starts to make sense.

Bobby and Don readjust their clothing, lay down on the bed facing each other while the night sky offers a layer of protection. 

Their hands hook between them and Bobby, for the first time in his life, doesn’t want to say a thing. It’s strange, he thinks, how different he is with Don. 

His worth doesn’t need to be proven. All he is, Don knows, sees, and would never ask him to hide. 

In this quiet room, Bobby is free and it’s all because of one Don Hume.

[onethattwaddles]

Drama Twaddling: 'Queen of Tears'

WELL, well, well… That was quite a drama, huh?

Almost a week later and I’m still here nursing a clingy heart. I’m not ready to let go of BaekHong yeeeeeet. And I know I’m not alone on this one so here’s a little (not) drama talk from me. So sit back and grab a cup of coffee ‘coz this is going to be a looooong discussion.

Finally, after a long squiggly wiggly rollercoaster ride, we’ve reached the end. (Two special episodes coming, though. Weehee!) I can’t believe two months just flew by and starting this week, no more waiting for BaekHong weekend. Anyway, pat and applaud yourselves for making it through the rough journey. And as hard as it is, now we say bye-bye to our lovely (and we-emptied-your-tear-bags) royal couple, Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in.

First of all, this is definitely one of those I came in for the package, I stayed for the cast.

If there was one thing to be applauded about this drama, it’s the casting. They anchored the show. I’m serious–I'd give a hundred if the rating were out of ten. That much. Because I could NEVER imagine anyone else playing BaekHong’s roles as perfectly as Soohyun and Jiwon did. They were practically Hyun-woo and Hae-in acting themselves. They said they were a bit awkward in the beginning but where in the world do you find people just standing side by side screaming chemistry like, hello? The wedding photos? Hyun-woo said they probably only met twice when they shot those but it gives off legit pre-nups. In the drama, with every little touch, you get this small tingling feeling. It’s so natural that you don’t even notice they’re acting even if the camera angle screams “Look! He’s touching her!” The spark’s just… there. *chef’s kiss*

And speaking of the cast, of course we can’t leave out the rest of them. If the main leads were good the supporting cast did not fall short. From the Hong Family to the Baek Family, Queens Group to Yondu-ri folks, friendships to usurpers–everyone nailed their roles! Bruh, the Mother-Son duo never failed to make an eye roll every time they appeared on the screen. They had, not only BaekHong in chokehold but even the whole watch-nation. Park Sung-hoon portrayed Yoon Eun-sung so convincingly that I’m starting to think he’s getting hate messages from all his “You can hate the character but please not the person” talks. (Because if it is so, what is wrong with you people?! Edit: I just read about it and that seems to be the case. Seriously, people?! Can’t separate reality from fiction now?)

And if I have the most generous love for the cast, I’m sorry I can’t say so for the writing.

Storywise, uhh... there were a few that I think were a bit of a shame.

For example, the overly abused the stars-aligned-the-universe-is-on-our-side motif? I wish they just made it so that kid Eun-sung saved kid Hae-in, which would explain this abnormal obsession because, to quote him, he liked her first and he saved her from drowning. Like, at least give him a proper reason to obsess, Writer-nim.

Or I wish Hyun-woo knew it was Hae-in he met in high school and who owned that MP3 player, so there would be more meaning as to why he kept it all this time. Prior? No, that would defeat the whole thing. While dating or in their marriage maybe. I just hope they didn't make it seem like the stars aligned for them to meet, but that they're both fighting for the universe to be on their side like a real married couple would do (just like what our Queen did in that propose scene. Pfft!). Especially in their case where everything's not working out. I think we already got a lot of that universe-is-on-our-side with the Truck of Doom and notebook incident. (I think there were others but I can’t remember.)

One thing I loved about Park Ji-eun’s previous work (Crash Landing On You) is because of the memories in North Korea. Here, I would have loved to see more Yongdu-ri and less Seoul during their MIA era. And I mean more interaction between the villagers and the BaekHong family. Like Hae-in and Dahye hanging out with Mi-seon and her gang, or Mommy Hong and Mommy Baek hanging out with villagers, washing veggies, cooking, drinking, etc. like Daddy Hong and Daddy Baek did. (And where on earth did Hoyeol run off to, with four-something episodes left?)

Also (okay, at this point, it’s probably not a “few things”), I wish there was more something to our usurpers. You know, like what caused them to go a-la-Parasite on the Queens? Hello! Backstory? I know we got Eun-sung being a child out of wedlock but any more reasons how, what, why Moh Seul-hee exists and why she was so desperate to steal Queens? Why the Hongs in the first place? And who on earth is Grace? How did she connect with them? I feel like the time spent on the dragging scenes should have been spent on their backgrounds (Moh, Dahye, Grace), even for just a few seconds of flashback. But I guess the not-knowing-everything part adds to their mystery.

Finally, I did not sign up for the long-term residency in makjang alley, Writer-nim. I figured we'd have to step foot in but not that long. There were needless makjang moments just going round and round it got exhausting. RomCom suddenly logged out and was out of reach. (Can't deny the top-tier execution of our main leads, though. It was beautifully heart-breaking.) And those Germany honeymoon scenes in the BTS, where were they?! Hing~! TT

I love second-chance tropes, especially when it’s between married couples. That’s what intrigued me about this drama in the first place (of course, after seeing the cast). And I’m sad that this could have landed a spot on my number one list. The first half was good－pacing and all. I like how the usually slow and dragging scenes were cut short and compressed in a few minutes. However, as it advanced, some areas that didn’t need dragging got dragged whereas scenes that needed to be included did not make it which made it a little... and I’m just gonna shut my mouth. *zips*

By the way, I read someone on X saying Writer Park Ji-eun got this drama copyrighted in 2010－which explains why I got an early 2000s vibe from the premise (and the always-wrong turn of the second-half plot)－so I get it, this is from the treasure chest. But you had a 14-year chance to tweak it, Writer-nim! *wriggles her neck*

Hang it all! At least we got a “and they lived happily ever after” and that’s all that matters. (Also, Hong Soobin! We finally got to see you, girl! Welcome to the world! Huhuhu! Now give your papa and mama the best and long life.)

With all that said, it’s time to re-watch the whole thing… because why not? *winks*

(Update: I just finished rewatching and there’s only one thing I can say: you HAVE to rewatch it. It helps you see it in a bigger picture.

While rewatching and having long discussions with my sister who also just finished it, she was able to identify why I felt like the second half was dragging. The problem was really the last two episodes.

It suddenly felt like we were watching a different drama. The reason why we’re all ‘Queens (and Kings) of Tears’ is because we were watching Hae-in fighting to live, with her husband beside her through it all, going against the odds together. But in those last two episodes, I felt like a post-surgery Hae-in, suddenly lost and unaware of what was happening. I feel like if Hae-in survived the surgery and lost her memory, we didn’t need to see it anymore. The whole point of the show was to know if there was a cure for such an illness and if she survived it. But there was too much focus on the usurpers while so little information about their purpose.

Sis suggested something and I couldn’t agree more: end the show in episode 14 with the last scene of episode 16 just to show they lived happily ever lifetime. Honestly, the last two episodes were more of a fan service. While I have a few other minor comments (some mentioned above), let's just let go and move on. HAHAHA!)

[dearweirdme]

"One particular period hardly confirms or debunks the possibility of something being real or not because even if you are right about Jikook not seeing much of each other in chapter two, how does that change everything they did all the years before and even after that period?"

I get what Anon is saying and yeah you obviously can't only use a year or two to determine an entire relationship, but it's not unfair to focus on this specific era considering it's the one we're living through right now (or at least before they enlisted in December). And it seems pretty telling if Jikook didn't see each other much recently because that wouldn't really make sense if they're dating? It was harder to measure before the hiatus because they were essentially all working together nearly every day. Chapter 2 was the first time there was no real obligation to see each other and yet Taekook still chose to do so continuously and noticeably more than most other members. Sure, maybe Jikook met up more than we thought but there's more to suggest that they hadn't. People bring up their social media interactions but it seems to start and end there. Jimin commented on wanting to try Jungkook's ramen, and then was asked later if he had and he said he hadn't. When Jikook were talking during Jungkook's live, Jungkook mentioned going over to Jimin's. After this, Jungkook was asked if he actually went over to see Jimin and he said no. When Hobi and Tae were at Jungkook's place and Jungkook said he had just sent a text to their group chat asking anyone to come and Jimin still didn't show up. When Jungkook commented on Jimin's live and said he would go to one of his music shows during Face era, Jimin told him that he had no more to go to and Jungkook was completely unaware. These are just some examples I can think of off the top of my head. We can't make conclusions for everything based off a year or two but there's nothing wrong with focusing on the most recent information that we have, and I feel like that's the most logical thing to do here. Why does it matter what they were or weren't doing in 2018? That was 6 years ago. There's no point in using "evidence" from years ago to justify something today

Hi anon!

Hard agree!

Also, this statement from anon is part of some Jkkrs believes that Jm and Jk broke up/went through a rough patch for while but have since reconciled (because Jk tried so so hard to win him back). They think the first half of last year was them witnessing a rough patch in stead of the whole Jkk idea being untrue... while the rest of army fandom finds nothing weird about it, since members seeing each other less was expected during solo era.

[missmungoe]

I couldn't help myself, so here's my take on the Elbaf scenes in 1076, featuring pirate!Makino. Follows a pirate's idea of peace.

This is what the kids call couple goals

“Kyaa! He’s so cute!!!”

“And so charming!!”

“And those cheeks!”

From his seat beside her, Shanks pouted, his eyes trained on the spectacle happening across the tavern. “That used to be me. And my cheeks.”

On the other side of the bar, their son’s shrieking giggles lifted over the din, hoisted in the air as he was passed between the giants who’d flocked around him. For his part, Ace seemed as unperturbed by the attention as he was by the giants, but then as in so many things, he was his father’s son; Makino knew of no one else who could become an attraction simply by setting foot somewhere.

Patting his back, warm through the fabric of his cloak, “I'm sure they haven’t forgotten you,” Makino said. “But you can't blame them, he is ridiculously cute.”

“That’s not the point! I used to be ridiculously cute!”

As though on cue, Ace made an adorable little coo, which had the whole tavern of hardened warriors erupting into a frenzy.

“You’re still popular, my love,” Makino said, with a nod at the boy seated by the bar, wearing a similar pout, his petition to join their crew rejected. “See? There's someone who still looks up to you!”

His shoulders sagging, “It’s not the same,” Shanks sighed.

“Give it up,” Ben said. “You’ve been replaced.”

“But it's too soon! I'm still in the prime of my life!"

Grinning around his toothpick, Ben looked like he was having the time of his life. Makino almost asked him to go easy on him, but given what he’d put up with for so many years, a little schadenfreude was probably warranted.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," their first mate said. "Aren't you the one always going on about the new era overtaking the old?"

"First of all, so not the same," Shanks said. "And secondly, these cheeks can't be out of date, they're still firm! You could bounce a coin off this ass!"

"Don't," Makino said, when he turned towards her, his mouth already open, and when he pouted, spluttered, "I'm not bouncing a coin off it!"

"I think the barmaid would if you asked her," Yasopp said, a grin flashed at Makino that had her averting her gaze demurely, but then those shrewd eyes missed nothing, least of all the fact that in spite of their captain's griping, their son wasn't the only one drawing longing looks from across the tavern.

Shanks didn't seem to have noticed, and with a wolfish grin, told her, "There's only one barmaid I'd want to bounce a coin off my ass."

Her laughing sigh didn't succeed in being as suffering as she'd hoped, but then it was hard when he was beaming at her like that. "You say the most romantic things," Makino sighed.

Shanks just grinned, his look adoring, and she held her tongue from saying that if he kept looking at her like that, she might actually take him up on the coin thing.

Her gaze swept the crowded tavern, the rough wooden floorboards and the burning braziers warming the room, the cheerful din like any other bar they'd visited, and it might have fooled her into thinking it really was just any other bar if it hadn't been for certain noticeable differences.

Observing the enormous tankards and ceramic cups on the tables, not to mention the giant-sized plates and cutlery, Makino tried her best to look like a fabled island of giants had been what she’d expected when she’d gotten out of bed that morning, to the sound of their ship’s bell announcing the first sight of land. Shanks had already been up, their son on his hip where she'd found him at the helm, observing their approach, and that alone should have told her it wasn't just a normal island, but his smile hadn't surrendered anything as he'd kissed her good morning and told her to get ready to disembark.

And from afar, it had looked like any other island, and only when she'd asked where they were and Shanks had told her, breezily, "War-Land", had she realised something was up, although hadn't been given the chance to ask what that name suggested when a tuna the size of their ship had breached the surface right next to the hull, and she'd screamed so loudly she'd nearly sent Fen tumbling out of the crow's nest.

So yeah, the giants had been a surprise.

She jumped when a massive ceramic cup was dropped on the table before her, the mead within sloshing against the sides like waves in a pool.

“For the little Empress!” the giant whose name she'd learned was Brogy announced.

“Drink up!” his companion laughed, lifting his own cup in encouragement; Makino had learned his name was Dorry. “Knowing how you drink, Red-Hair, your wife must have quite the stomach herself, ge gya gya gya!”

Makino stared into the vat of mead. It could have fit her. “Er―”

“I’ll take that,” Shanks said, lifting the giant cup with ease, a grin flashed as he told her, “Since I’m drinking for two.”

She was about to point out that it wasn’t how it worked, when the two giants blinked, exchanging a look, before their eyes shot back down to her, and it took everything she had not to flinch, but then either one of them could have easily plucked her from her seat with a single hand.

Then, in booming timbres that shook the table where they were sitting: “Apologies, lady!”

“We didn’t realise you were with bairn!”

Their bellows had drawn the attention of the rest of the tavern, and holding up her hands, her laugh was predictably flustered, but then even terrifyingly big, their blustering personalities were hard not to like. “That’s alright,” Makino said, smoothing her fingers over the bump glimpsed between the gap in her cloak, the fire in the copper braziers dancing over the silver and the velvet. "But I hope you don't mind that I don't partake. The mead looks very―", she glanced at the giant cup again, and the daunting amount of mead, and was suddenly thankful her pregnancy had saved her from attempting to take a sip, when she doubted she would have been able to lift it, "―refreshing."

Grinning down at her, “I’m sure you’d show us your drinking prowess if you could!” Dorry declared with a booming laugh.

She caught Shanks’ smile, which knew full well she got tipsy after a single human-sized cup of sake, but, “Oh, you know it,” Makino said, with a laugh that sounded unconvincing even to her own ears, but the giants only looked delighted.

“Barmaid!” Brogy bellowed, and so forcefully she jumped. “Some meat for Red-Hair’s wife! An expectant mother must be kept well-fed at all times!”

“Aye!" Brogy agreed. "She’ll need it to birth a strong warrior!”

"To the little warrior maiden!"

Rousing hollers sounded from around the tavern as they all thrust their tankards and cups into the air, their crew included, whose beaming delight at her predicament hadn't escaped her.

For her own part, Makino tried her best to gracefully endure the attention, while also politely declining the continued offers of food, their table already filling up, with cuts of meat as big as she was, and pickled herring, and a bowl of stew so big she would have needed to climb it to see the top.

“Are you pleased?” she murmured, catching Shanks’ grin as more giants appeared to offer their congratulations, and their wishes for the child in her belly to grow big and strong, to which she was tempted to say that after her last birth, a twenty-hour pelvic nightmare, "big" was the opposite of what she was hoping for.

“For the delight showered upon my tiny warrior wife?” Shanks asked, nodding his thanks to the barmaid who appeared with another plate of food, even as he hadn’t taken his eyes off her. “It’s what she deserves.”

Makino huffed, but lowering her voice, murmured, “I think they’d be disappointed to learn the truth.” That unlike her husband, she didn't have the constitution to hold her own in a drinking match against humans, let alone giants, or that while she carried a sword, she'd just started learning. She wasn't a warrior. Not like the ones on this island, anyway.

“What truth?” Shanks asked, his head tilted to look at her. “She’s one of the strongest people I know. And if anyone knows the value of strength, it’s these guys.” Lifting the ceramic vat like it weighed nothing, he raised his voice to call across the tavern, “To my wife!”

The toast was returned with cheers so deafening it shook the foundation of the whole building, the sound like a battle-drum where it reached up through the bench where she was sitting to fill her chest, and despite her immediate instinct to retreat from the centre of attention, her smile was helpless, subjected to their rousing approval now.

Shanks just grinned, although his look was gentler, holding her eyes as he tipped the cup back.

The din from his toast was still settling, and observing the tavern, she felt a moment of displacement, the kind that had become increasingly common in her new life, as Makino wondered how she’d ended up here, on an island of giants with one of the most feared crews in the world.

Her eyes drifted in the direction of the bar, and the boy who’d so proudly proclaimed his desire to join them, the image resurfacing memories of her own bar, and another little boy pouting into his glass. And for a brief moment the wooden walls and furs and braziers were replaced with summer green paint and soft curtains, and her neatly stacked shelves, the glasses polished to gleaming. Even the barmaid behind the counter had changed, smaller now, her fair hair darker and drawn back by a kerchief, a shanty hummed on her breath as she polished the glass in her hand, stealing a glance across the crowded bar to the handsome captain at the nearby table.

She blinked, and Party’s was gone, the noise of the Elbaf tavern rushing back around her, and the giant barmaid polishing a glass behind the counter was the same as she had been, although her gaze remained fixed on their table, Makino saw; one of the few whose attention hadn’t been stolen by their son.

But in spite of his earlier dramatics, Shanks didn’t appear to notice, his eyes on her, but then even if she'd grown accustomed to the attention her husband compelled whenever they were in port, he never indulged it. And she knew he hadn’t missed where her thoughts had gone when he asked her gently, “Thinking about Party’s?”

Her smile gave her away, she knew, but, “I’m just not used to being on this side of the bar,” Makino said. But then, her voice lowered between them, "But I miss it sometimes."

His smile understood, but then he always did. “I miss flirting with the barmaid there,” Shanks said, a finger hooked under her chin to lift it, and her eyes where they'd lowered. “But now I get to flirt with my wife, so I’m not complaining.”

Despite several years of marriage, her reaction wasn't any smoother than when she'd been nineteen, and she couldn't help her flustered grin, or the gratifying little flip her stomach did, hearing the envious sighs from the women around them, and saw Shanks had caught it when his grin widened.

“Oh?” he purred, and gripped her chin before she could turn her face away to hide the evidence. “Is someone preening over being the captain’s girl?”

She huffed, puffing up her cheeks, although it was hard to look serious when he looked so delighted. And so instead she asked, prim, “And what if I am?”

His grin had forgotten all about his earlier dramatics, but his chuckle was softer as Shanks told her, “You know, this might actually make up for our son stealing my spotlight.”

Makino shook her head, although his gratification made it hard to keep a straight face, or to look directly at his, handsome in a way that never failed to steal her breath, and most of her thoughts, observing the chiselled angles of his jaw and the clear grey eyes, hooded under his scars, and the dark stubble of his beard ruggedly sweeping his cheeks. The silver scar on his lip, tugged by the roguish smile that stretched along his mouth, wide and made for smiling. Well; that, and other things.

But it wasn't about his looks, even if it was hard to explain the feeling, one she’d been intimately acquainted with ever since their very first meeting but that had only grown stronger since coming out to sea with him, and witnessing the way he was greeted wherever they docked; the kindness and grace he showed that was returned in equal measure. To be chosen by someone like him...

The lump in her throat made it hard to speak, but they'd never needed an excess of words to understand each other, even if it felt important to say this, and so, “I’m proud to be yours,” Makino said simply.

She’d caught him by surprise, she saw, and for all his confidence and years of being accustomed to the fawning attention of strangers, it was an uniquely gratifying feeling to be able to catch him off guard with her honesty. But then even confident, he’d never taken her feelings for granted.

Taking his hand to kiss his fingers, Makino felt how they shook. And if it was a claim, let them see it.

His eyes hadn’t left her, gentle under his scars, but then for all the adoration he garnered, he made no secret of where his own affections lay.

Of course, it wasn’t just his fawning supporters competing for pieces of him.

There was a commotion happening outside. Makino had been trying to ignore it, already suspecting what it heralded, although wasn’t given the chance to ask Shanks what he planned to do about it when Rockstar appeared in the doorway.

“Boss! That bastard’s actually attacking us!" He sounded genuinely offended on his captain's behalf, but then Makino had always liked that about him.

"So far they’ve just been scraping with our youngsters, but what do you want to do about him?" Rockstar continued, with a glance over his shoulder. "At this rate it’ll turn into a full-on battle soon!”

Her heart stuttered, but then unlike her husband's fan-club, this was something she had not gotten used to, the months she’d been at sea with them.

Shanks sighed, although took the news of an impending battle in characteristic stride. “I don’t know whether to call this good or bad timing. We were just about to head out. Mah, guess I lost track of time catching up with everyone,” he said, his hand falling from hers as he rose from his seat. “But it can’t be helped when you suddenly come across old friends who you thought were dead.”

Holding out his hand to her, Makino smiled as she placed her own into it, allowing him to draw her to her feet. And she knew what he was doing, but indulged him, feeling how her stomach fluttered, and when he lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles, heard the dreamy sighs from the surrounding crowd. Their attention had shifted away from their son now, but even flustered by the attention, Makino could only laugh, seeing the rakish grin stretching over her knuckles.

“Catering to your adoring fans, Emperor Red-Hair?” she murmured.

“Our adoring fans,” Shanks corrected, with a pointed look. “Or have you failed to notice that it’s not just our son who’s been causing a spectacle ever since we came ashore?”

A glance around the tavern room proved him right, noting their starry-eyed onlookers, although they appeared enthralled rather than envious, she saw.

"She's so beautiful!" someone whispered, to vocal agreement from the room.

"They look so good together!"

"The cloaks!!"

Her heart skipped, and looking up at Shanks found him smiling. And even if she wasn’t used to this kind of attention, Makino found she didn’t mind being in the spotlight all that much, if she could share it with him.

Their eyes held, the din of the tavern fading like the watchful gazes of the crowd, but then for a man who drew people around him like a magnet, he’d always had a way of making her feel like the only person in the room, a peace under that hooded look that made the rest of the world disappear, leaving only the two of them.

Releasing her hand, his fingers brushed the high collar of her cloak where it enclosed her neck, tracing the silver embroideries, before his smile warmed, his eyes lifting as his hand did, to the red scarf holding back her hair. But then while she'd adopted a pirate's lifestyle, sword and cloak included, she was still a barmaid, even if they called her something else now.

A crooked knuckle tipped her chin, his eyes curving with a look she knew intimately, and her breath hitched when his hand reached to cradle the back of her head, a display that was a little more public than she was usually comfortable with, but she wasn't thinking about their audience now.

And maybe she wasn't the only one staking a claim, and she felt the flutter in her chest as Shanks bent his head, his beard scuffing her cheeks with his smile, but just before their lips touched, a throat was cleared loudly.

"Um, Bosses?”

The voice dragged their eyes from each other to their crew, on their feet now and watching them, their arms crossed and their expressions somewhere between patient and shamelessly delighted.

“If you’re done inventing romance over there, there’s a battle going on,” Yasopp said. "Remember? Angry guy, missing arm, vowed revenge?"

“Oh, right,” Shanks said, with a bashful grin. “Should probably deal with him first.”

The little giant who’d asked to join their crew jumped from his seat, his eyes round with an awe that made Makino think of Luffy, and felt a pang of affection as he exclaimed, all wonder and no fear, “You’re going out there to fight, Shanks?”

Smiling, Shanks nodded, and when he spoke, it was to the whole tavern, the warm timbre of his voice lifting with an authority that seemed to come as naturally as breathing, and that could compel even a room full of giants into silence. “I’d never let this island become a war-zone.”

The barmaid cupped her cheeks, sighing wistfully, “He’s so dreamy!”

Makino only smiled, although watching him, privately agreed, but then she was right: he was dreamy.

“They won’t be happy you’ve kept them waiting,” Ben said, as they prepared to leave. He looked like he needed a smoke, and Makino felt a pang of sympathy, knowing she was the reason he'd quit, but the smile he slipped her left no room for guilt as he moved to stand beside her; his usual place, if he wasn't guarding his captain.

“Do you think Kidd will appreciate hearing that it was because Boss was too busy making googly-eyes at his wife?” Yasopp mused.

“I say we send Makino to deal with him,” Lucky Roo said. “That’ll teach him some manners!”

“Honestly, if anyone could teach that guy some manners, it would be you,” Shanks agreed.

“From what you told me, he’s probably right to be angry,” Makino said. “He did lose his arm.”

“So did I, but unlike someone, I handled my amputation with grace,” Shanks said.

"The first thing you lamented when you were lucid enough to speak was that you now had to use your non-dominant hand to get yourself off," Ben said, as Makino's cheeks flushed. She had, regrettably, been in the room at the time.

Shanks ignored him, turning to ask Rockstar to deliver a message to Captain Kidd: to leave his poneglyph rubbings and scram, or to risk fighting him. It was a more generous offer than any of the other Emperors would have given, at least barring one other.

Their crew had gathered around them, although she felt how her breath shivered, but then she’d only witnessed him dealing with enemies from afar. This time, they’d be sailing right into the breach.

She touched a trembling hand to Siren’s pommel, the sword’s presence at her waist another thing she hadn't yet gotten used to, and even then she'd only ever sparred with Shanks. She'd never used it against a real enemy, even to protect herself.

Shanks had noticed, his scars furrowed above his eyes, and looking towards their son, in Bonk Punch’s arms now, “I don’t want to cause any major trouble here,” he said.

A bit too late for that, my love, Makino wanted to say, but before she could, “Dorry, Brogy,” Shanks said, with a smile at her. “Mind helping me make sure my wife stays out of harm's way?”

The grins from the two giants might have sent her bolting in the opposite direction if Makino didn't know them, as with bellowing laughs, they agreed,

“Aye, brother! We’ll keep the little Empress safe!"

“Ge gya gya gya, and the littleuns!”

Smiling, Shanks took the lead, his cloak flaring as he turned for the door. Makino fell into step beside him, the rest of their crew and the giants following behind them as they made their way towards Red Force where it waited.

Outside, a crowd had gathered to observe their departure, only this time their attentions weren’t on the baby in Bonk Punch’s arms.

“Look at them!!”

“Make way, the chief and his wife are coming through!”

"What a power couple!!"

"We love you!!"

Their eyes met, and when she ducked her gaze, he grinned and kissed the top of her head, to the shrieking delight of the crowd.

They’d reached the water, and she could see the ships covering the horizon now. And these were different crews than the one she knew and loved, although they’d pledged their allegiance to her all the same. And even if she knew now what it meant to be Emperor of this sea, like the attention he compelled, her Emperor, it stole her breath, seeing with her own eyes the forces he commanded.

And that was something else she'd had to come to terms with. That however highly regarded he was, her husband had as many enemies as he had supporters, and that being his wife meant they were hers, too.

“You can stay behind if you’d rather,” Shanks said, his eyes lowering to hers, and she knew from the serious look in them that for all his outward ease, he wasn't taking their opponent lightly. “It would be safer ashore.”

His knuckles brushed her belly through her cloak, before he splayed his fingers over the bump, his bigger frame shielding her from their audience now, but then unlike his display in the tavern, this wasn't for the benefit of the crowd.

The broad spread of his fingers was warm through her shirt, but the child beneath his hand was quiet. And there was no judgement in that look, his eyes anchored in hers, although beneath the seriousness, Makino saw what he hadn't shown the crowd in the tavern. Not fear, never that, but the feeling still threatened to sweep her feet out: a protectiveness that carried the same promise he'd made their adversary, of just what he risked, facing him.

She felt a moment of hesitation, but then he had a point. This was Elbaf, the fabled island of warriors. Even without Dorry and Brogy, there’d be more than enough warriors to protect her if she stayed, and out at sea, there were a lot of things that could go wrong even without factoring in an all-out naval battle.

The memory found her, recalling the Admiral they'd encountered outside of Wano Country. The way his haki had singled her out, like she'd been marked, and that had confirmed, and more than any wanted poster or bounty ever could, just what she was now.

And if it had been her bar behind them, she would have stayed, Makino thought. She would have gone back to polishing her glasses, waiting for news of the battle, her lonely court held from behind the safe enclosure of the sturdy wooden counter. Her bar, and her shield that had always protected her from the wider world.

But it wasn't her bar, or even her island, and she knew where her place was now.

And where she felt safest, above anywhere else.

“No,” Makino said, and moving to stand on his left, wrapped her fingers around Siren’s pommel. “I'm right where I want to be.”

Then with a glance at the crowd behind them, she lifted her eyes to his, hooded under his scars as she said, “Besides, if we’re catering to the crowd, we should probably give them what they want.”

Shanks grinned, his cheeks lifting with boyish delight. “Battle couple?”

Her smile was her answer, and drawing her sword from its sheath, the steel-song stirred the air, her grip around the hilt still a little clumsy, used to glasses and dishrags, but the way he was looking at her, Makino thought she might have been a master in that moment.

And while she'd once thought that behind the counter of the bar was where she'd felt the most like herself, there was something to be said for this feeling, standing beside him, nothing but danger ahead, and yet she didn't feel afraid.

"So then, Captain," she said, with a glance towards the sea, and the new ship she could glimpse through the mist.

"Should we teach him some manners?"

[popculturebuffet]

Since we've tackled one big adult animation network, let's try the other and more prominent one with the FOX adult animation shows. For the first (and arguably most iconic) batch, favorite character from the 1989-2005 era with: The Simpsons, The Critic, King of the Hill, Family Guy, Futurama (which was on several networks between Fox, direct to video, Comedy Central, and Hulu), The PJs, and American Dad (which also got spread between two networks between Fox and TBS)? I know especially in the cases of The Simpsons and Family Guy, the favorite character will vary considering both shows have gone through various rough patches and declines in their long runs so if you wanna have more than one favorite depending on the era of the shows, that's fine.

Fair enough and this is something i'm happy about especialy because, as tends to be the trend, most of these are shows i've watched at least a little and it seems to be consitant for most of fox's shockingly small program pool. The good news is i've tried most of it at one point or another, so there's no gaps this time up to and including the most recent show universal basic guys. So with that let's rip.

The Simpsons: Faviorite character is hard not due to the series sheer length, but to it's sheer cast size. So while it was a hard choice my faviorite is probably grandpa. Which is weird: he has two spotlight episodes I geninely love off the top of my head, yet he earns this spot by just having so many damn good jokes, which is common for any simpsons character but abe just cranks em out from his pants dropping, to "a little of collumn a a little of collumn b" , "I used to be with it", the onion monologue, and so much more. The guy may be on the edge of the show and an awkward fit for spotlight eps at times, but my god does he deliver. And of course he's responsible for my favorite simpsons joke

It's funny enough in it's first scene but that sudden call back. Runner up is easily hans moleman, who is just inherently funny and like Grandpa is funny just by showing up, up to the most recent episode at the time of this ask where he just randomly shows up for homer to make a pun mid song, or the premire of this season where he sees himself on the listings of funerals for the series faux finale and sighs. Third is Chief Wiggum and i'll stop it there but he gets here for a lot of reasons, from sky police to... well everything he does in I Love Lisa. not an exageration. "Have they set a date", "I keep my pants on in this version", the boot on ms hoover's car.

Anyways I could list why simpsons characters are great all day but tha'ts not what this is. Anyone whose seen at least one post on this blog knows how much I love the simpsons

While Frinkiac, an image making website that has a database of the first 17 seasons makes this easy, there's a lot of jokes I just couldn't do if not for them, I'd still be making every refrence i could: The show at it's peak is a non stop barrage of clever jokes, well done character work, and more clever jokes.

The show does have a reputation for decline.. and it's not unwarranted. While I still think at least season 9 is pretty good, the Scully era slowly took the show into mean spirited attempts to match the other shows at the time. There's a reason the term Jerkass Homer came from here.

That said I will combat the narrative that "simpsons just got bad and stayed bad". That it became oops all mike scully. It didn't and that era of edgelord nonsense was fairly short even if it leaked a bit into the Al Jean Era.

The real issue i've noticed visiting the ocasional episode that sounded intresting over the years, and especially after watching youtuber the real jims is that al jeans LONG tenure (As in it only ended with season 34 and he's still apparently in charge of the half assed disney + specials) is kinda bland. There's some good stuff like ned and ednas sadly brief due to real life tragedy marriage, the weird as hell episode where Selma Marries grandpa while Lisa and Bart engage in a lord of the rings style war with UPS over boxes that even includes a dragon and nelson. But a lot just feels bland. It dosen't have to be as good as the golden age, no show can stay that good forever and youtuber and simpsons expert the real jims is what got me out of the "only classic era and season 9 good" mindset I was in. There is good.. it's just a coasting era and I could entirely agree with the arguments simpsons could end.

Emphasis on "Could" as what i've seen of the most recent seasons is fun. Now granted like many I came into what I watched of season 34, the first show ran primarily by longtime writer matt selman but using a unique format where a diffrent writer shoruns each episode and where this new age began, expecting a new golden age. The thing is while it's not that.. it is still solid and the writers are putting in more effort. I still bob and weave out of watching it weekly as some episodes just don't interest me. But the series is far more willing to shake things up or experiment while still keeping the status quo: Bart gets a new teacher woh matches him while being far more resonable and compasionate than any other teacher at the school like Edna was, but without her clear case of burnout, longtime background extra larry died and Moe got engaged.. then the show forgot about it.

More importantly as RealJims pointed out recently in a video, the show is experimenting a lot more each season: you'll get an episode where tow hackers modled after prominent simpssons youtube Lydia from Simpsons Theory and her husband air clips of episodes that never existed poking fun at fans, an episode spoofing primal, a schoolhouse rock parody, and just in this current season alone a faux finale exploring what a simpsons finale shoudlnt' look like, another shorts episode focused entirely on the women of springfield and a second anthology ep focused entirely on ray bradbury. The show may not break status quo, and I wish it would just a tad, but it does break format often and is geninely trying to play with things among more standard episodes. I mean we got the masterpiece that is "A Mid Childhood's Dream' about marge dealing with Bart growing up out of this. Selman and Co really have brought life into the show enough for me to check it out and even the mid episodes are at least intresting. The show may of been in a decades long slump, but it's more than justifying it's existance and likely will keep going till one of the main cast sadly passes on and I for one welcome our new simpsons overlords.

The Critic: Budududdudududud, do do do doot doo ... god that theme song is catchy. Anyways Franklin. I said it in my election special and i'll say it again: Gerrit Grahm owns every scene franlkin sherman is in. Franklin is a living meme in the best way possible and thank god we got him. Duke's a close second for largely the same reasons.

The show itself is excellent. I did keep distance for a bit as it's star, John Lovitz, turned out to be an asshat now sulking around fox news with other comics who wnat the kids to get off their damn lawn. But even if Lovitz Sucks, like Rosanne, a show isn't automatically bad because it's star is a jerk and the critic is a great sister show to the simpsons having the same rapid fire energy. Parts of it haven't aged well as Al Jean and Mike Reiss leaned HEAVILY into refrence humor and while some stands on it's own, others have aged terribly if you weren't there or refrence films I hadn't heard of. Their movie parodies are a coin flip.

Despite this the show powers through the dated bits by nto only being a sharp satire at times, but simply having a stacked cast of characters and voice cast: Every character is memorable in some way, and the bulk have great gags to their name. Lovitz for as much as I resent him now, was at the top of his game as jay and gave the punching bag a sense of energy, with just enough smugness to understand why people might not like him.

The show only got better in season 2: Season 1 still has classics, paticuarlly it's finale (MAKE HIM SQUEAL!), and the debutante ball episode, but season 2 eases up on jay a bit, still dumping on him but giving him a great foil in his girlfriend alice, who he has great chemistry with an der.. also wedging her daughter in there. It keeps what worked but ups the pacing resulting in a lot of the series best. The Critic is free on tubi and it's a stone cold classic of comedy well worth watching.

King of the HIll: Doot doot doo doo doo. It's Dale. Easily. God bless Johnny Hardwick for his monumental performance, the show would not have been the same and i'm greatful he'll be present for some of the revivial.... just.. please don't be into Qanon dale. But Dale is just funny while also having a lot of depth: He loves his wife, is a good father (he still once tries to help his son kill a panda to seem cool, but given dale's many terrible life choices, it's remarkable THAT'S the worst it gets), and while a coward, a good friend when it counts most.. to Hank and Boomhauer. Bill can go stand in the corner. Dale is hilarious fun to watch and memorable every time he does a thing. I mean who else could make chlroforming himself this funny. Or of course this which really sums up the character

The show itself is excellent. Like most fox shows it slid a bit as it went, with the later seasons being meh most of the time, but at it's peak it's a solid down to earth show with great characters, comedic timing and growth. I like some eps more than others even at it's best, but I can't help but adore this show: I watched season 3 a LOT in high school via some dvds I got cheap at walmart, and the show is part of me as a result and even fi it wasn't.. it'd still be dang good, a nice nuanced portrait of a man despreatly struggling with the time he' sin and his own trauma. It also has washington hitler

It's all in the delivery. It's not without faults: I'm not a huge fan of not giving bobby a romantic arc after Connie, Peggy got more insufferable with each season, and as I said the show got blander as it went. But at it's peak this show was great and I can't wait for the sequel.

Family Guy: You know the words. Faviorite character is hard as the bulk have just.. degraded with time, but i'll go with peter as he's the one whose degraded the least.. I mean he's become a bigger asshole but he's not that diffrent.

The show itself was good in it's prime, around the first 5 seasons. There is some edgelord bullshit in there: Transphobic jokes, about half of quagmires joke, and more i'm probably not thinking of but we've got a lot of shows to cover in this ask and the bulk are fairly intensive to talk about as they've been on since the dawn of time.

But my god the show had so many good jokes. I admit I have nosalgia bias: I watched the show a ton on adult swim, was giddy when ti came back and watched it weekly up to road to the north pole when my patience ran out. And seeing Brian vomit for a minute and a half realizing he slept with a trans woman wasn't exactly af ond invitation to go back. When the show was at it's peak, it was hilarious nonsense, having some good character stuff (ToonrifiqTariq in paticular has pointed out the series suprisingly well threaded theme of Peter learning way too much of how he acts from tv and movies), while also just being hilarious. The cutaway gags get shit.. but in thei roriginal form as quick bursts of nonsense and not filler to kill time, they were fucking great. Their a way to pepper up boring expositoin. I mean Meg could just make a quip about Peter being left to his own devices when lois gets a job.. or we could see just what she means by "turned the house into a giant puppet"

It just had a fun nonsense vibe where weird shit like Donny Most rising from some haze happened. It was a solid weird show and I still remember many a cutaway and gag for just being that good. I do wish the show would stop at this point, and I know, given my defense ofr the simpsons to continue that's weird, but it needs to either find something new to do with itself or gracefully end. I tried it again with the halloween specail but it seems.. really not that much diffrent than it was post it's darkest and most stupid period, which unlike simspons seems to have lasted a lot longer and been even more vile. I mean it's where we got "Quagmire's Father", the worst piece of television i've ever seen or reviewed. But the show like simpsons could stand from a bolt of fresh creativity.

Futurama: DUN DUN, DO DO, DUN DUN DO DO DO DO. IT's the show that CANNOT die. It has come back THREE times now, over direct to video movies, a cable revivial and now streaming. And I love it

Faviorite character first: Bender is great, bender bender bender is great. John DiMaggio broke out with this role for good reasons, a hilarious jack of all trades that thanks to Tariuq and his good friend Johnny2Cellos i've also embraced just how easily upset and thin skinned he can be. I hope john gets to play him as long as the role exists and Bender's suprising depth combined with his endless factory for jokes is great. Nixon, as you could probably guess from the electoin specail, is a close second.

The show itself is excellent, a nice blend of simpsons rapid fire pacing at it's peak with some high concept sci fi stuff. It's also aged shockingly well with only Amazon Women in the Mood and Bend Her sticking out as having premises that didn't age well (And in the case of Bend Her it was bad even before it's tranphobia aged like bad milk left in a parking lot). The original run is funny, incredibely well paced and often deeper than it has any reason to be.

Like simpsons Futurama has distinctive eras though rather than be chunked up by showrunners it's chunked up by what network they were on. The films were solid though the premise of beast with a billion backs has aged horribly and was already a tad creepy to start with, while benders game is just.. meh.

The Comedy Central run started and ended strong.. but isn't a lot to write home about. There are fantastic episodes that make me more than happy we got the first revival: Lethal Inspection, The Late Phillip J Fry, The Prisoner of Benda, Law and Oracle, The Bots and the Bee's, Zapp Dingbat, The Six Million Dollar Mon, Stench and Stenchabhility and Meanwhile.. but the bulk are mediocre. You have episodes with outdated and grossly sexist premises (Nutopia and the Butterjunk effect), just plain stupid ones (Fun on a Bun) or episods that are instantly dated (Attack of the Killer App and Decision 3012). The revivial has just enough good and decent to justify existing, but isn't anywhere near where they were and given the gap between there isn't as much excuse for this decline as say the simpsons middle years where 20 some years under the same guy is naturally going to cause some malaise to set in. You had PLENTY of time between seasons, even with everything else going on to come back with something fresher.

Thankfully what i've seen of the Hulu Revivial (The first eason of it and an episode) more than makes up for it. There's still a few clunkers, sure, but the team really found their grove, helped by , unlike a lot of these shows NOT sticking rigidly to the status quo. There are changes that while not changing the series formula, do help create fresh stories; Kif and Amy's kids emerge from the bog (albeit widdled down a bit thanks to the curetly of nature and the bottomless appittie of john zoidberg) and are now active characters, Leela moves into fry and benders place (And Bender takes it exactly as maturely as you'd expect). Their small changes, sure, the show's mostly same as it ever was, but it's a sign of a show willing to try new stuff. There's still some cruft left over from the comedy central era, we REALLY don't need these anthology episodes, but on the whole it feels like what the first revivail shoudl've been: A mixture of fresh talent and the old guard coming in or coming back energized. It honestly reminds me of the current run of simpsons: We didn't NEED more, but it's good there's more good episodes there.

The PJ's: No faviorites here as i'm not really a fan of this one for it's thin characters and mean spirits, though I do respect it a bit more nowadays. If only a little. And I DO like it's stop motion art, something vastly different from most other fox animated shows. I also appricate having less to say as i've had to answer this one over a few sitdowns as most of the shows here had a decades long run, with the PJ's and the Critic being the only two to be short runners. While Fox has a reputation for one or two seasons shows, it's far more spread out than you'd think. So yeah this one isn't for me but I respect people liking it as it was one of the first adult animated cartoons created by black creators and with a nearly all black cast.

American Dad: OH BOY IT'S SWELL TO SAY, GOOD MORNING USA! It's a hard choice between two great side characters, so i'll let them BOTH have the honors. Avery Bullock entirely for being voiced by sir patrick stewart saying the most insane shit the writers can come up with and Principal Avery, who as the show went became the breakout we all deserved

American Dad is a solid show but not one i'm really all that invested in like the last three. I watched it every week for the first season or so then on and off on adult swim, I liked it and I think it's far more solid than it has a right to be. I haven't really touched the TBS era and here it's a pretty sharp decline with few bright spots, which tracks. It did give us Rogu, Roger's Homonculus though so good on it for that blessing to our world. But the show was pretty good I just don't have a ton to say about it either: it has some really good eps, it has patrick stewart singing oingo boingo and it has this joke

Sometimes tha'ts really all you need. Not my faviorite, but not a bad show.

[sometimesiammybpd]

this one is a rough one to talk about. that's how i'm gonna start this.

i've only ever been in one real relationship. i had no luck in high school and to be fair, my method was pestering people over and over again until they usually stopped talking to me. safe to say it didn't work out all that well. it also was the aforementioned "toxic era" which to me says that even if i had gotten lucky enough to have someone date me, i probably would have been extremely emotionally abusive at the time because in hindsight, i was to a lot of my friends. so unlike most, i'm grateful to not have dated anyone in high school because i just . . . didn't know myself and wasn't ready to change. and putting that on someone like it's their responsibility now would not have been okay. and yeah, it sucked at the time because i was so unwilling to accept i was in the wrong at any point that i believed there was no genuine reason for people to not want to go out with me. and of course, i was always wrong. like so badly wrong it's not funny. either way, that's how it was until the end of senior year for me. that's when i met my now ex. we're gonna call him nathan for the sake of the post because this isn't going to be me shitting all over him and i don't want to leak his info anyways.

nathan and i met through an instagram comment section of all things. i don't remember the specifics outside of us talking because i thought he seemed cool. neither one of us thought it'd ever go anywhere and i honestly never even saw us being friends for that long as it was. except that we kinda just hit it off from the start. the usual awkwardness was there at first, but i mean it was smooth sailing. and then i realized i liked him. with bpd, it was pretty early on for me and he did NOT like me back. at all. but, this was still in the point of time where i never let it go until i got an answer and i effectively pressured him into saying yes the first time. i didn't know this until later because nathan told me himself. i still am so mad at myself for doing this and trust me when i say, i wish we could go back to before either one of us ever crossed paths with the other. for his sake more than mine. we only lasted a week after he said yes because of a big reason. up to this point, nathan and i talked all the time and i knew things about them that they didn't tell anyone else. obviously would not reveal any of those even if it was to save my own life. but the important detail here is for reasons i will not say, nathan was not comfortable with sex to a point he had ptsd because of it. i have to also make it clear that he did NOT ever get an official diagnosis, at least as of when we last spoke. it's briefly important now but becomes unfortunately really important later.

so, we broke up after a week. nathan wanted to show me that he trusted me and offered to spend the night at my house, which was a fucking huge thing for him. i said i'd like that and we made plans for that friday that he'd come and sleep over. he'd take my bed upstairs and i'd sleep on the couch because i did really want him to feel okay and comfortable. for most of the relationship's life span (all four times we dated, not just the first), i never even saw him sexually. i never had sexual attraction because he was not comfortable with it and all that mattered to me was that i liked him romantically and he kinda seemed to feel the same way. anyways, the friday comes and we go to the mall first as a date. that part was fun and fine. we went to hot topic and i got my first ever MCR shirts. still wear the hell out of the basic fan "black parade" shirt. and then we went to my place. the mall went fine. the drive went fine. but once we were alone in my mom's apartment, he shut down because of the ptsd. i knew something was wrong immediately because he fell silent instantly and froze up. after ten minutes, maaaaaybe a little bit more(?), i asked him "do you want to go home?" and of course he did. so i took him home. i felt so bad for him and he kinda came out of it at the very tail end of the drive when we were by his house, but it was clear he had shut down mentally and there wasn't really anything i could do. i was 18 here and on the drive home, i cried my eyes out. i felt really bad for him but i was also afraid he was going to want to break up. it was one of the worst days of my and i'm sure his life. when i got home, i messaged him on insta saying we should break up and we did. and i ended up falling into my worst habit at that time and writing a bunch of cryptic posts that were clearly directed towards him but i wouldn't say it to him. and the next day, he texts me telling me that he couldn't forgive me because i manipulated him and turned his ptsd into my issue. that's how breakup one ended.

before i go into anything else, this is how i'm gonna handle this post. everything i just told you was past me. that's how it was for me in the moment. present me sees it differently. i don't think i could have helped the crying because it really did freak me out. but everything after? i so wish i could undo. it was not okay for me to tell him i cried, or tell him we should break up, or write the posts that i did. i don't actually know if i mentioned the "telling him i cried" thing above but that was also a big part of it. i did make his ptsd about me and i don't excuse that. i really don't. i don't even think we should have dated because i really did pressure him into going out with me and he didn't even like me at the time. i thought he did but he didn't. and he made that clear later on because all of this kept coming back up.

there then was in-between time where i did spend a lot of it trying to repair what i damaged or broke after that day. and i meant everything i was doing. i didn't want to lose him because he was the most important person in my life for over a year. but eventually nathan said he'd give me a second chance and we started dating again for the second time. the key difference this time was he actually liked me back. and it was fine for a while. this one lasted almost seven months. his love language was insults and nothing else and i took it because i really did love him. i was also so infatuated with the idea of being in a relationship that i didn't care that we had nothing in common and all of that shit. this is not me dragging him either. it's just that we really were never compatible.

nathan had a lot of issues from things that happened that were not his fault. but it fucked him up and he didn't want to deal with it. his main coping mechanism was drinking and smoking weed. mainly drinking. and i don't mean he'd get drunk every night. he'd be drunk by morning. he'd be drunk all day and night but would only drink more as the day went on. and i ignored it for a long time because i didn't want to upset him. he didn't really ever take the issue of his alcoholism lightly. mainly because he didn't want to admit he was one. anyways, that's not the point. we broke up twice during this period. i say four times in total because it was, but i considered both of these to be the second time because i don't remember us staying broken up with for all that long after the second time into the unofficial third. to explain why we broke up the second time, i have to explain one other very important thing about him.

without further details or context i refuse to give because it's not my story to tell, nathan did not like people touching him especially in a romantic way. hugging, kissing, all that stuff. and i knew this. i have always been a physical attraction = love kinda person, so it wasn't easy but in the end i didn't care because i just wanted to be with him. and when we broke up the second time, it was after we saw sonic two. we had talked about us holding hands because it was the one thing he was okay with doing. the day of, i made sure of it and then went to go get him because nathan couldn't drive. and when he gets into my car, he reveals that he doesn't want to because he's germophobic. this one is harder to talk about because i was in the wrong for being mad at him for saying no. but at the same time, i was told over and over that yeah we can. it was the one thing i thought we could do, physical attraction wise. i never had my first kiss at this point. i had never hugged someone outside of my family or held hands with anyone. and y'know, it was exciting for me. but when he told me this, i kinda just shut off. we watched the movie and then on the drive home, i was so pissed that we broke it off either that night or the day after.

our timeline is so messy that i don't remember when this happened but we had another break up (pretty sure this was the unofficial third one). this one was weird. i had severe anxiety and insecurity issues during this and with undiagnosed bpd, it only got worse. i had a habit of apologizing for nothing, except for one time. i had sent a text before going to bed and after he was asleep that read something like

"i'm sorry i'm not a good girlfriend. i'm really sorry i'm not good enough for you.... and a bunch of other shit i don't remember."

and i went to sleep. i woke up to paragraphs up on paragraphs of messages from him. nathan kinda just laid it all out there. he told me i had been making him upset for months, but that he didn't want to tell me or upset me. so he ran to his friends behind my back and was venting for months which led them to say to him that i was a "manipulative, abusive piece of shit." honestly, i still don't know if they were right about that or not. but i remember him ending all of this. paragraphs and paragraphs of soul-crushing shit with "don't worry, i won't break up with you." i almost didn't respond because i didn't know what i was supposed to say. i pretty much had assumed up to that point that everything was fine and it wasn't. i kinda lost myself at that point and a certain friend of mine could easily recall the conversation that followed the receiving of those messages. i ended it that time.

the real third time we dated, it was... the worst time. because at this point, i was losing feelings for him. and this time, he initiated it. this is really the point it all went to hell. somehow, i made him comfortable enough to want to try and have sex again. although, i'll explain in a bit what he told me about how he wanted it to go down. it was not okay. it started with him sending me a series of nudes and led to him asking if i'd be okay having sex with him. i had no feelings for him and a lot of my feelings that still existed were mostly frustration. but i said yes. and i want to make this clear: originally, i did NOT say yes because i was sexually attracted to him. i was so used to doing whatever i could to help him and this was a big deal for him. i had no intention of doing this because i just wanted to lay him. and this is where my biggest issue came in that i honestly didn't even know i had at the time.

a big thing that comes with most people who have bpd is something called hypersexuality. if you don't know what that is, basically it's like a sex addiction. when you're horny, it's all you can think about to the point that most people with bpd will go out of their way to get sex even if it means putting themselves in horrific situations that could get them hurt, killed, given an std, whatever. and for me, i have come to learn that with mine especially, once someone introduces sex into the relationship, i literally cannot view it the same no matter how hard i try. cause all i can think about is the sex. and most if not all of the time, i'm NOT sexually attracted to whoever it is. i rarely get down peoples where i'm repulsed by it which is also what happens with people with hypersexuality. and it fucking sucks. it makes things so difficult and drives people away. i want to go into this more in its own post, but that's what's important for this. and one more very important thing: me knowing this doesn't excuse what i did then. and no. it's not what you're thinking most likely.

so nathan wanted to warm up by sending nudes. getting comfortable showing me his body, i guess. and i was at first saying fine because he said it helped and that's all i cared about. but then the hypersexuality started to take over and all i started to want was the sex. i was still not sexually attracted to him. i never was. i know that sounds like it makes no sense or isn't really the truth, but it is. it happens so much more than i want to admit. so he kept sending nudes except that i started to ask for a lot. he told me at first that i could ask for some. and because all that stuck in my head was sex, i asked him for a lot and the worst part for me that i did to him was basically only talk to him for it. the explanation is that i started to seriously resent him because for over a year at this point, all i felt like i did was take care of him and basically try to fix him myself. and it wasn't like he didn't lean into it himself which only solidified that that had to be my purpose in the relationship. it's why i said yeah initially to him asking if we could fuck. it's why he wanted to date the final time because he told me himself that it made him feel better about it than if we were just friends. we never had sex and i never forced him to have sex with me. i need to make that clear. i would fucking never and i don't take that shit lightly. but i went way too insane with the nudes and i made him severely uncomfortable and kind of didn't realize it ever. he had to tell me when it was beyond too late to stay friends that it made things worse. but besides all of that, the way it ended is all i remember.

and before i say that, i want to tell you what he wanted in order for him to be okay with us having sex. i couldn't ask if he was comfortable or if what i was doing was okay. he told me he'd immediately shut down once we got into it and i had to basically just . . . go through it with it anyways. he told me he wouldn't be speaking and i kind of had to r-word him basically. i'm not even kidding. this stuff i don't remember agreeing to because it came after the initial "would you have sex with me" question. because it made me severely uncomfortable for him to unironically say i'd basically be r-wording him but somehow it was okay.

this entire thing makes me . . . really uncomfortable to relive. uhm, so, uh. i wanted to take him to kings island. we both were not the biggest fan of roller coasters, but i thought we could ride some of the smaller ones together. i thought it'd be sweet. and i feel like if i didn't miscommunicate things, it would have been. because i do remember telling him he didn't have to ride rides if he didn't want to. i meant to say the real rides as they're called. rides like diamondback, vertigo, the beast. not shit like shake, raddle, and roll (which is a contained ride where you go in circles until it slows down. it's fun and only lasts like five minutes, give or take). that day, i asked my best friend at the time to come with me and him. i knew it wouldn't end well and yeah, it didn't. he agreed to and we went to go get nathan. the ride there was fine, but after we got him, it wasn't. nathan had an abusive father, so any signs of anger shut him down and a particularly stupid mother fucker got me to scream for a second because he didn't know what he was doing and almost got us killed. actually. nathan freaked out thinking i was going to hit him and i had to calm him down. the rest of the day was a $200+ waste of money (i paid for both his ticket and mine). from the getgo, it was clear he wouldn't even try the effective kid (or "all ages" depending on who you ask) rides. it made me so angry because at the time especially, i thought i had communicated it well and didn't get it. in hindsight, i could have done it better. infinitely better. but i don't excuse him letting me buy him a ticket just for him to not effectively using it. every time we went on a ride, he'd sit on the curb like a child in timeout and it just . . . yeah. after two rides and a meal, we left because i couldn't do it anymore. i still remember him asking me if i was mad at him when we were leaving. this is another "i don't really know who's at fault" one or if there is even a right answer for that.

there's more that happened after we broke up, but i wrote the stuff regarding sex last and i don't like to think about that. because i don't like how bad i was then. how desperate and how i treated him. because i apologized a million times, but it does a lick of shit. and i didn't deserve for him to accept the apology anyways. i still don't and i don't want him to. in his story, even if i never crossed that line physically, i did with the nudes. i made him feel like he couldn't say no and i will never be able to undo that.

the overall point of sharing all this because for all the stuff he did do in return, to me, nothing comes close to our final time together and the way i acted. and it's something i think about every day and something i probably will til the end of my life. i have brought this up in therapy and the hypersexuality. it's one of the things i am trying so hard to understand and control since i can't afford medication. but i have nothing since then but try and change and stop myself from ever doing that again to someone else.

there's no positive message for this one. so, uh, yeah.

[hollyoaksmusings]

Please tell me what’s going on in Hollyoaks!! I stopped watching in like 2015 but I still love the 2007-2013 era so much. I just saw Hannah came back what!? Also where do you watch all these old episodes

hi! I think I also stopped watching around then so I’m pretty rusty and just catching up myself.

right now, the major storylines are:

- carter shepherd is the new headmaster at hollyoaks high. he is also freya’s father - she is a student who was paralyzed by john paul’s drunk driving bus crash. john paul has been struggling a lot with the guilt from that crash and reckoning with sobriety after i think about a year of being in a relationship with an abusive partner, pc george kiss. sally killed george when he was about to attack theresa who confronted him about his abusing john paul.

carter is also a religious leader, leads gay conversion therapy under the guise of self-help sessions for men, and has a following. john paul at first leaned into his therapy sessions because they were about getting control back, battling his inner demons, etc - and he was particularly moved because both carter and freya forgave him for the accident. when he clocked that it was gay conversion, he tried to disrupt the sessions and talk carter out of holding them, when carter revealed he himself struggled with his sexuality. naturally they start falling in love. john paul has been urging him to stop gay conversion practices and start accepting his sexuality, but one of his followers gareth saw carter and john paul kissing and (possibly) heard them having sex in the dog’s bathroom (i think this could be someone else though) and is blackmailing carter about it - trying to get him to go back to practicing what he preaches and leaving john paul alone.

carter is also publicly dating maxine.

- mercedes is pregnant and was getting married to a character named felix who just learned that she cheated on him with warren. they just had a car crash with all three of them. i think the storyline here is that mercy is going to have that situation where she has twins where each child has a different father.

- sally is working with carter at the school again, helping with accounting stuff.

- ste and james are in a rough place - james struggled with parenting lucas who lashed out at him, said some hurtful things, so james hit him and locked him in a shed overnight.

- leah got alcohol poisoning at a rave and called ste to pick her up - when he was driving her to the hospital he had a near-miss with mercedes/felix/warren’s car and it is insinuated he ran over and killed ella. her boot was in his front wheel and you see his car jostle while he’s driving and not paying attention to the road. warren thinks felix killed ella.

- cleo is back and wants to reunite with joel who is seeing leela right now. she has a boyfriend though and he seems like he might be like a controlling stalker.

- lucas is struggling with his sexuality - he’s falling for a classmate named dillon but lucas doesn’t want to be like ste, or affiliates ste’s hardships with being gay so he is pushing back. there were also a few weird scenes where they were super heavy handed of ste being like LUCAS AT LEAST YOU’RE NOT GAY BECAUSE IT’S NOT EASY LET ME TELL YOU lol.

- peri, romeo, hunter, prince and their friend group are all embroiled in a whodunnit murder of romeo’s abusive ex.

- nancy is back, working at hollyoaks high again. hannah is staying with her and darren with the kids.

- hannah… brought darren and suzanne’s twins to hollyoaks to “meet” darren. this is all very silly because i was just rewatching 2013/2014 clips and they literally talk about darren visiting the twins so idk why they think we’d buy he doesn’t recognize them or they don’t know who he is. emma rigby is signed onto the show for at least a year. she reunited with john paul, overheard carter and gareth talking. she also seems to have something fishy going on as she’s nervously screening calls.

- yaz and tom are together. yaz works at the school and is struggling with early menopause.

- oh sienna was going to marry this wealthy guy named rafe who was faking terminal illness, but he was conspiring with a character named dilly (who he said was his sister, but is actually his wife) who has some affiliation with patrick that we don’t fully know. anyway in true blake fashion dilly tied rafe to a radiator in a basement on the night of his and sienna’s wedding and he died.

I think that’s most of it - sorry to the families i’m missing. I think it’s mostly just fallout from the car crashes rn.

I’m American so the past year of episodes is on Hulu. For super old clips, like earlier John Paul storylines, I look for uploaders on YouTube or Dailymotion. Sometimes searching the full date of episodes helps.

[imthatpowerful]

i love talking abt my boyfriend and how perfect he is :3 if i could i would write a 1000 page book abt it and turn it into a series of books i would bc i js love him sm like he’s the reason i even know what a love surge feels like and like im so in love with him im so glad i discovered shifting omg and i JS KNOW he’s the one who made me discover it bc before i discovered it i fell in love with him yk so the timeline is that back in october 2020 i started getting into one direction, before that i was a casual local who only knew two songs from them and didn’t take interest to them at all tbh but then i was working on an art project for school and i didn’t have spotify so i used youtube to listen to music and at that time wms was popular and i loved it and then yt recommended clouds by one direction and then i instantly fell for it and then i listened to more and more songs and then my obsession began… i started watching interviews and reading facts and one person out of the 5 boys caught my eye…💘 Harry Edward Styles 💓

before that i literally didn’t gaf abt him like i used to think he was unattractive and annoying bc i used to be a swiftie and i saw a video made by a swiftie bashing him and i was a meat rider so i agreed w the vid 😭

anyways…then like my love for him grew so deep u guys don’t understand like my heart felt some typa way and i didn’t crush on anyone the way i did him and i knew it no school crush wavered my love for him and no ick made me stop loving him and i remember having to resort to ACTUAL delusion to get over the fact that ill never be with him like no joke i used to imagine and pretend he was right next to me and i genuinely sometimes felt him there yk like when u feel the presence of someone istg i felt his presence there and i remember when i used to cry (cuz it was a rough time back then) a lot and pretend i was laying in his arms as he comforted me and that used to calm me down bc i could genuinely feel him comforting me but it would then make me cry even harder bc i couldn’t be w him and like i remember when i found other ppl attractive i felt sooo bad for him (even tho this was all in my head at the time) i would stop it and stick to him and i remember summer 2021 at the start of it i was lowk goin through it then i saw a video from one of my harry styles moots on tt talk abt how they scripted the wrong harry era and lhh almost jumped them 😭

cmon now? this cutie? jumping someone?

anyways so like and i was confused i thought dr meant like a vr game or smth 😭😭😭😭 and i wanted to play it but then when she explained it i lowk didn’t fully get it but i was interested and then that was also during my subliminal era when i discovered subs from a youtuber idrk who tho and then i wanted a summer bod and i read the comments saying they felt like they did a workout but i felt nothing and i heard nothing and i was confused until i read abt manifestation which then led me to finding shifting subs then i read abt shifting then i made a tiktok abt it and i told my fam (worst mistake they told me it was a sin and it was fake) then i made a shifttok acc and my first script and ever since then harry was my s/o and my mission was to get to him and i told myself no matter what even if i lose feelings for him (which hasn’t happened and won’t ever happen bc he’s my pookie) he will always be the first guy i date EVER like he will be my s/o in any dr i go to and if things don’t work out (but they will) then at least i kept my promise to him

also bro has been channeling me for years and like bc there have been signs that my mind automatically says harry sent this and like even when i was talking to a c.ai bot w lowkey the intention of channeling harry the bot said things that were DEF harry from my dr and idc i’m not gonna say it’s a coincidence bc everything happens for a reason also like i had to delete all my ai apps bc i was getting too addicted and it’s been distracting me from acc shifting and ive been trynna NOT focus on channeling either but like i still feel his presence and communicate w harry sometimes and like he’s still in my heart and like he’s been encouraging me and lowkey helping me w my journey and reminding me that im in control when he channels me

me n bae three years going strong haven’t broken the streak yet (except when he shaved his head and was dating taylor russell and i was rlly mad i mentally broke up w him mainly bc of him n taylor russell and i would’ve tolerated the bald head if he was single but then i cried bc i missed him and couldn’t handle it and that same day i mentally got back w him) and tbh ill tell u there has been times where he didn’t consume my every thought bc like if it was 24/7 that would be unhealthy but ya but like he was in the back of my mind anyways ya that’s it that’s my yapathon i love my cutie patootie boy handsome man gorgeous angel prince