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whitefoxgirl · 1 year

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🦊Culture Shock🐰 A Jungkook Series Episode 4: Holidays/Traditions

Summary: Jungkook starts a podcast with his best friend who is a foreigner to discuss different topics they were shocked culturally about.

Author's Note: Hello my beautiful readers! I am sorry I didn’t upload last week. I was out getting a job! Manifesting that I get accepted and that everything I’m manifesting comes true!

Author's Note PS: If you'd like to be tagged, interact with this. I am tagging people who reblog, but if you wish to be tagged comment or simply reblog and I will add you :)

Pairing: Jungkook x BFF!Reader (not dating, just two best friends)

Fandom: BTS

Warnings: Mentions of sex, cringy, full of crack moments.

Genre: Fluff, crack.

Word Count: 2.0k

Taglist: @7ndipity; @yoongimentita7; @ancoraesisto; @lovemeforeternity, @hrtss4jk, @ellelabelle; @fullpaperperfection; @minpdrecs

🡸 Previous episode Next Episode➔

[PODCAST INTRO/THEME]

🦊: *singing* Hi, it’s me again. I’m back!

Jungkook: *singing* Let’s talk ASAP. Do you have the time?

Both: Let’s talk!~

🦊: *giggles* WE’RE BACK!

Jungkook: We’re sorry we didn’t do last week’s podcast. We forgot to pre-record while I was in the States.

🦊: It was honestly my fault. I should have reminded Galletita.

Jungkook: This podcast is not under any agency or anything like that. We do everything ourselves. Just Y/N, our producer friend, and I. And we all kind of forgot *in between chuckles* about my schedule.

🦊: I got it from Sejin, besties!~ I’ll tell you know, he’s gonna go t-

Jungkook: Stop~

🦊: Okay okay~

Jungkook: Before we begin with our main topic, I would like to say that Y/N has been talking to me about a lot of different things like... *chuckles*

🦊: Doja cat situation, Lizzo lawsuit, Ariana Grande homewrecker, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE~ Jujutsu Kaisen~

Jungkook: *scoffs* I would just like to say, that our takes on the celebrity area is pretty common.

🦊: Yeah, Namjoon-oppa and I generally have the sa-

Jungkook: Well... He just d-

🦊: *screams* AH!!!! LALALALALALA!! Don’t expose it!

Both: *laughs*

Jungkook: So, there are many different things, but Y/N asked that we talk a little bit about Jujutsu Kaisen.

🦊: This is an anime we both really enjoy.

Jungkook: For sure. We’re both anime geeks. So, I got Y/N into Jujutsu Kaisen, they didn’t want to see it, but then they saw it and-

🦊: I’m obsessed!~

Jungkook: They’re crazy over the characters.

🦊: Gege put his whole Gegussy on these characters

Jungkook: *laughs* *in between laughs* Gegussy~

🦊: But then! Ask me how anything works, like the techniques or anything like that.

Jungkook: How does Sukuna’s-

🦊: I have no fucking idea.

Jungkook: *laughs*

🦊: *in between chuckles* I’m just here to be on my “Seven” era.

Jungkook: *gasps* *laughs away from the mic*

🦊: Explicit version. Moanday, Tongueday, Wetday, Thristday, Freakday, Sexday, Suckday, seven days a week.

Jungkook: *sighs smiling* *in between chuckles* WHY?!~

🦊: What do you meAN WHY?! Gojo has been everything since season 1. Same with Shoko with her eyebags~ But now they’re animating the man that I have been OBSESSED with since Gege put him on paper... *long pause* ... Toji Fushiguro.

Jungkook: *smacks his lips* *groans* Oh my god~

🦊: I’m obsessed with him! The fact that-

Jungkook: You gotta stop~

🦊: Shh! The fact that he’s voiced by Dio?!~ *squeals then giggles*

Jungkook: I love that voice actor. Dio from Jojo is-

🦊: Everything.

Jungkook: A menace

🦊: I can fix him.

Jungkook: *scoffs* Stop

🦊: He can make a single parent

Jungkook: Oh my god!

🦊: Seven days a week?

Jungkook: *snickers*

🦊: Wait, who’s your favorite?

Jungkook: Maki.

🦊: *gasps* I LOVE MAKI! She’s so badass. I... Okay, I love all of them. I’m obsessed with Choso, Sukuna, Nanami~

Jungkook: Nanami looks 45~

🦊: Does IT LOOK~ Like I care?~ I love him~

Jungkook: What abot Inumaki?

🦊: Okay, the underaged characters are, you know... Off-limits to me, because they’re children~ But I like a man like Inumaki.

Jungkook: A person with few words?

🦊: Yeah. Or like Yuta.

Jungkook: Wait, why Yuta?

🦊: Are you kidding me? He’s loyal~ He’s depressed~

Jungkook: *laughs*

🦊: He’s attentive~ A green flag~

Jungkook: That’s why you like *bleep*?

Both: *gasps*

Jungkook: Imsosorry! We can bleep it out.

🦊: Yeah yeah yeah! Daehyun, please don’t forget~

🦊: But let’s get serious! Our topic today is~

Both: Holidays~

Jungkook: So of course, Y/N is from one side of the world and I’m from another~

🦊: Yeah, strangely enough though!~ We~ were both colonized.

Jungkook: *gasps* True~

🦊: That opened your third eye?

Jungkook: *deadpan/trying not to laugh* No.

🦊: *giggles*

Jungkook: I wasn’t culturally shocked by American holidays, like explicitly American, think Fourth of July, thanksgiving, memorial day, stuff like that.

🦊: Mhm~

Jungkook: The one that did shock me was “Black Friday”.

🦊: Oh~

Jungkook: Y/N actually took me to celebrate that day, we were at Walmart and it was like... A zombie movie.

🦊: *snickers* Yes~

Jungkook: It was crazy~

🦊: And I would just like to say, we only went because he was curious and I hadn’t been to one... EVER!

Jungkook: I had an amazing deal on electronics.

🦊: He had to fight a Karen.

Jungkook: Which! She saw me, just my face, approached me grabbed the speaker. Then she saw my muscles and stuff and she just gave it to me.

🦊: For context. He was wearing a tight black shirt and gray joggers. He looked HOT~

Jungkook: Thank you~

🦊: *deadpan/trying not to laugh* That’s the only compliment you’ll get today.

Jungkook: Mmmmhm~

🦊: *giggles*

Jungkook: There are a lot of Latin celebrations that we did.

🦊: We have traveled a lot.

Jungkook: We have~ I think that’s why... Um~ Your, not really, one-sided love thinks we might be something.

🦊: Ew... For real?

Jungkook: *sarcastically* No... For fake... YES, FOR REAL!

🦊: Ew... I don’t wanna date you!

Jungkook: I don’t wanna date you either!

🦊: ANYWAYS!

Jungkook: Anyways, we celebrated a lot of Latin celebrations. Like different independence days, race days, and flags days.

🦊: When we went to Mexico we did the “Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe” and w-

Jungkook: We wanted to see the Lady of Guadalupe so badly, but she never appeared.

🦊: Nope~

Jungkook: We also went to Bolivia in August for the “Feast of the Virgen de Urkupiña”, “Feast of Our Lady Altagracia” in the Dominican Republic in January.

🦊: The one that took the longest was the “Fiestas Patronales” in Puerto Rico.

Jungkook: Oh yeah! They start in August but end around January or February.

🦊: We did this one when there were no schedules for him or any of the BTS members.

Jungkook: It was fun to experience traveling from town to town. All 78 of them.

🦊: And I would like to clarify that it’s not just one day per town. It’s a weekend-

Jungkook: Or maybe a whole week...

🦊: Of just carnival rides, street food, and music.

Jungkook: It was really fun. We skipped the ones that had the same performers.

🦊: Was that shocking to you?

Jungkook: Oh! For sure!~ It was very beautiful the idea of 78 towns coming together to schedule festivals. The festival ended in one town and then it continued in another.

🦊: I think these moments are important to realize that “culture shock” can be bad and horrible but also beautiful and fun.

Jungkook: Exactly. I think it’s fun that we like each other’s culture and can make each other see what we grew up with and understand each other more because of that.

🦊: Aw... You’re such a softie~

Jungkook: You too.

🦊: *long pause* You’re the most amazing friend ever... *sighs softly* I’m glad and I appreciate that you take your time off your schedule to come to my country and see what it was like for me growing up and we can make fun of things together.

Jungkook: Me too... I couldn’t have picked a better friend...

🦊: Aw!~ I would hug you but the mics are on the way.

Jungkook: Yeah, no, don’t hug me. I’m meeting someone later.

🦊: *chuckles*

Jungkook: One culture shock that I really liked was the “Noche de San Juan”.

🦊: Oh! I loved the “Noche de San Juan”

Jungkook: Basically it’s a day that happens every 23rd of June, around the summer solstice and it’s to celebrate the taino new year.

🦊: Oh! He said it correctly~

Jungkook: Hey! Bad Bunny taught me how to say “taino”.

🦊: *chuckles* Okay! Okay! It’s one of the longest days, but at night it’s very magical.

Jungkook: Oh yeah!~

🦊: So, what we do is that at midnight we do a backflip-

Jungkook: Or swim backward!

🦊: And it’s supposed to represent letting go of bad things and welcoming new things.

Jungkook: Wait... That’s why you swam forward and told me to swim forward too?

🦊: Yep!

Jungkook: Oooooh!~

🦊: And something that I added was wishing for things. Or, even manifest things.

Jungkook: And honestly? It works!

🦊: Really?!

Jungkook: Yeah, I wished to be no.1 on billboard and it came true

🦊: Oh! *scoffs* We knew that was gonna happen~

Jungkook: *sighs* I know bu-

🦊: You trust ARMY too much but you couldn’t trust them with this?~

Jungkook: It’s not that~ I wanted to impress ARMY and the world~

🦊: And you did~

Jungkook: Thanks to the wish~

🦊: *snickers then chuckles* Okay~

Jungkook: What was your culture shock?~

🦊: The festivals too.

Jungkook: Okay bu-

🦊: They’re different~

Jungkook: Exactly. We don’t have carnivals rides~

🦊: Yeah~

Jungkook: But also, when we did chuseok.

🦊: *gasps* Oh yeah! I didn’t expect your parents to be a bit disappointed when I didn’t bring spam.

Jungkook: Spam IS very important.

🦊: I didn’t expect spam to be THAT important~

🦊 : I made mandu, which is Korean dumplings, but his parents already made some~

Jungkook: They loved it!~

🦊: I know, but they just wanted some spam~

Jungkook: *chuckles*

🦊: We did the 설날 festival. I wore this awesome hanbok an-

Jungkook: And I also wore a hanbok.

🦊: I did 세배 to your parents~ And it was lovely~

Jungkook: If you guys don’t know, it’s when you bow deeply to your elders and wish them a happy new year.

🦊: And they gave me 세배돈, which I took which was a little shame because I did not expect money to be given to me because I wished my elders a happy new year and bowed.

Jungkook: It was beautiful. Y/N’s hanbok was great.

🦊: We ate 떡국~ 전~ 잡채~

Jungkook: It was awesome~

🦊: It was delicious~

Jungkook: And don’t worry guys~ I did bring spam!

🦊: I would just like to say, we’re already four episodes in, and I would just like to take the time to congratulate Jungkook on his solo endeavors. He has worked so hard you guys and... *sighs/trying not to try*

Jungkook: 울어?

🦊: *with a shaky voice* 당연히 울어! You work so hard~ And to see it blossom~ *sniffles* It’s been awesome. And the podcast is taking off too! And without any sponsors or anything. We really did this from the ground up.

Jungkook: Aw... I would just like to congratulate you too. You got 100% on the TOPIK test. You got a job ON YOUR OWN at Hybe? You’re doing amazing too.

🦊: *smacks lips* I hate you~

Jungkook: I hate you too~

🦊: I still beat you at Mario Kart.

Jungkook: And I beat you at Overwatch.

🦊: You’re the bestest friend EVER~

Jungkook: You’re the awesomest friend EVER~

🦊: If I ever marry... You know who~ You’re my best man~

Jungkook: *hums* I’m pretty sure he’ll ask me~

🦊: Oh my god~ Why are we like this today~

Jungkook: We just haven’t seen each other in a while... I missed my best friend. It’s not the same having a burping contest with Sejin...

🦊: Oh my god... He’s the WORST burper...

Jungkook: Very girly too...

🦊: Let’s not shame him. He’s handsome.

Jungkook: Not by his burps.

🦊: Did you also cook with him?

Jungkook: I tried but he’s so busy with my schedule.

🦊: Bendito... You know, I missed you too... It wasn’t the same to play Mario Kart with Taehyung. He already experienced the DLC so I didn’t have a fair shot.

Jungkook: Aw... Well... I’m back now...

Jungkook: Thank you guys so much for listening to the podcast.

🦊: Thank you for supporting the podcast and for all your comments.

Jungkook: And if you guys have any topics that you would like us to talk about, you guys can comment on them below!

🦊: Nos vemos la proxima vez.

Jungkook: 여러분~ 다음에 봐요! I have to console this one~

🦊: *squeals then giggles* Ay ya~ No seas estupido~

Jungkook: I’m sorry~ *mic bumps* Let me hug you~

🦊: No no!~ *giggles* Stop~ You have a meeting~

Jungkook: You’re my best friend! I can’t let you be sad over this!

Both: 안녕히 게세요~

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salmoon-blog · 3 months

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I just finished the whole @tellnotalespod in the span of three days, and I have some thoughts (although watch out for minor spoilers in point 2 and 5):

1. Even The Magnus Archives hasn't managed to make me cry so much in such a short timespan (the few latest episodes of season 2). I sat on the floor in my room, sobbing. Mind you, it's 2 am.

2. I was ready to riot if we wouldn't have gotten more of Stephen, but I was certainly NOT ready for what we got. I cannot express how good both the writing and acting were. The moment I heard Stephen, I told my friends: "Him. He's my favourite." And oh boy, the feeling's only stronger.

3. My queer, genderfluid, neurodivergent brain has never been happier. I love everything involving ghosts, and gay ghosts?? The representation?? Ace characters?? Ohh... I'm over the moon. THAT'S exactly what I've needed from queer media.

4. As an aspiring writer, who's been creating for almost ten years, this podcast has motivated me so much... The writing, execution, everything. It's brilliant. Only makes me want to create more.

5. Hearing Leo's and Frank's interactions throughout the second season have been a rollercoaster to say the least. It brings me so much joy to hear their relation develop, with Frank finally showing some humanity and care. I melt every time there's a softer moment between the two of them.

So that's just from the top of my head at almost three in the morning. As a last note though:

Thank you. Thank you so much for creating this. I cannot wait for more, and I'll aid in any way I can. I've already told all my friends to listen to Tell No Tales, and I have a feeling it's going to be one of my most recommended podcasts, alongside TMA, Ghost Wax and Malevolent. And it's definitely gonna be a comfort podcast.

Thank you, and never stop doing what you do. You've created something truly incredible.

#tell no tales #tell no tales pod #podcast #tnt pod #long rant #I had to because who will stop me #i love this so much #queer representation #it's 3am but idgaf I had to rant about this masterpiece

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fluffypotatey · 3 months

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What introduced you to lmk? like some fanart or a tiktok edit

For me it was a nezha edit (it was a leak at the time, but obviously I didn't know it) and I loved its design so much that I decided to see lmk, previously I knew that the series existed since I really like everything that has to do with Sun Wukong (and the journey to the west and Nezha too of course)

my love of lmk was a slow burn that then sparked into an inferno

FOR YOU SEE

it began while i was watching OSP’s jttw summarizes videos and listening to their podcast and there were some people asking Res if she watches the show (she hadn’t and prob still has not because her reason was by simply not watching it, she wouldn’t accidentally have their style influence her own. also ensuring that her summarized videos stayed original)

then i noticed some fanart of lmk on instagram (idk how that happened tbh maybe the algorithm took my interest in fanrtists of animated movies and shows to equal “hey you might like this too!”) but since i had no clue what lmk really was and was more loyal to jttw itself, i ignored it (tho one of the fanart it’s drew really good kung fu panda fanart so i saw lmk for about a month or too before i deleted my instagram

and then i saw a lot of lmk in the comments of OSP’s video about the Six Eared Macaque chapter but ignored it still

and then tumblr polls happened

many polls were made. many ship dynamic polls were made

there was also the character of all time poll, of which i was a Sun Wukong activist and found some lmk fans who reblogged my propaganda thread

(during this time— April— I discovered Epic: the musical)

i found lmk once more in the sun/moon ship poll. it was merthur vs shadowpeach and i stayed true to my shadowpeach but i noticed one of my (then) mutual-in laws was very passionate about shadowpeach and i grew curious

i searched it up (beginning of May), somehow found a playlist with seasons 1-3 two days after i began my search, watched all of it in a day (it should be noted that i had been recovering from finals) and found myself hooked

I also felt cheated out of the shadowpeach ship because, through the eyes of my (then) mutual-in law, the ship seemed to popular on tumblr. then all the shit i see on YouTube is spicy noodles and people arguing in the comments that shadowpeach are brothers

anyway

i found out very quickly that the show did scratch a special itch in my brain (it almost didn’t if i’m being honest. i was almost put off by MK and Mei’s personalities at first but figured i would wait if our since AHiB is only the show’s pilot) and now i wanted more

i went onto twitter bc i struggles to find fanart on tumblr

i realized there was a 4th season already out (also weird discord drama???? idk i only was there for the art) AND some nice metas to dip my toes in

i leave twitter and go to yt to find the 4th season (and also bc there was a whole thing about new accounts getting called out for being “pro-shippers” so i decided to tap out) and then found out about Monkey King 2009 (which i watched to stave off the desire of s4 but this backfired bc i got obsessed with that one too and only 12 episodes are subtitled for it)

AND THEN I FIND SEASON 4

i watch it all and realize i have to wait for the s4 special, but i am more prepared for it (and now i feel more comfortable interacting with lmk tumblr) which leads to me making my own metas (this was spurred by my desire for more swk metas)

and thus i found and curated my lmk fandom experience on tumblr and satiated my brain with metas and fics and art until s4 special and then rinse and repeat until s5 :D

#so yeah #also hilarious how epic and lmk hit me nearly the same time #lmk #asks

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steddiesupportpodcast · 11 months

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Meet the Podcast Team!

It's about time that we introduce ourselves, we're the team behind the Steddie Support Group Podcast 👋 Big thanks to @glitterfang for the amazing portraits 🎨🖌️

ALENA aka @peter-pantomime

Any Pronouns | Virgo | 30

I’m a veteran fan and amateur academic who loves analyzing individual characters and their interpersonal relationships, the plots, themes, symbols, and genre staples of pop culture media, and the dynamics between media fans and creators. I’m coming to Stranger Things from a long history of examining how fans participate in the process of making meaning through their interactions with media texts, and to Steddie from an even longer history of being emotionally devastated by blorbos and ships, the most notable being Destiel, Stucky, and Reddie. I love talking to people about all these ideas everywhere from Tik Tok comments to academic conferences, and so I’m super excited to have the opportunity to be a part of this podcast with so many wonderful people!

Guest & Host Appears on: Episode 4, 5, & 6

Twitter: @peterpantomime TikTok: peterpantomime Youtube: Peter-Pantomime

AMY aka @mojowitchcraft

She/Her | Scorpio | 33

I’ve been a fan of Stranger Things since day one, but fell headfirst into the Steddie hole last summer. There is no way out, I’m trapped, I’m stuck in here with them. Before Steddie I’d been an avid fanfic reader but I was always too shy to write anything. Over the past year my confidence in my writing has grown so much and I’ve met so many amazing and wonderful people in this community. Very excited to be part of the podcast team and lend my voice to our discussions!

Producer, Host, Guest & Promo Team Appears on: Episodes 1, 4, 6, 7, & 13

Ao3: weird_witchcraft Twitter: @mojowitchcraft TikTok: mojowitchcraft

ASH aka @steddiehands86

They/He | Gemini | 37

Joined the Steddie community around October and have been nonstop writing and cosplaying since. I have been writing on Ao3 since ‘09, but never so much as with this fandom. I’m so fortunate to be a part of this lovely group of people to talk about our brainrot in a safe, sane, consensual space… I’m also a Gemini, and like long walks in the woods.

Guest, Mod Tech & Transcript Editor Appears on: Episode 1, 8, 11 & 12

Ao3: steddiehands86 Twitter: @steddiehands86 TikTok: steddiehands86 Instagram: steddiehands86

BECCA aka @glitterfang

She/Her | Taurus | 35

I was a casual fan of Stranger Things up until Season 4. Now the brainrot’s got a hold of me and won’t let go. I’ve spent most of my time in this fandom as a small potatoes fan artist but have recently started writing fic as well! I love our little Steddie family and community and I’m just happy to be here.

Host, Guest & Resident Artist Appears on: Episode 3 & 9

Ao3: pizzabones Twitter: @glitterfangart TikTok: glitterfang Instagram: glitterfangs

BECKS aka @beccichu

They/She | Aquarius | 24

“Nope, you can’t start watching Stranger Things just because of him” were my thoughts last year after hundreds and hundreds of Stranger Things and Eddie Munson edits on tiktok. Well, after binge watching 4 whole seasons (the last one two times in a row) I fell head over heels for Steve and Eddie and into the Steddie hole pretty fast where I’ve been here ever since. I do write every now and then but my passion is cosplaying, talking about the blorbos nonstop and sharing my love for this community with others!

Promo Team

Ao3: MsBecciChan Twitter: beccichuu TikTok: beccichu Instagram: beccichu

BIRDIE aka @audacityofbird

She/Her | Leo | 39

Bird isn’t even her real name, but she wasn’t sure if going by ‘The Motherf*cking Lizard King’ would be appropriate. Bird has been a fan of Stranger Things since the start. The ensemble cast, nostalgia and the way the show wove music into it in such a beautiful way hooked her immediately. The brain rot didn’t set in firmly enough to scour Ao3 until 2022 at the release of Season 4 but then the rest was history. A fandom lover and fanfic reader/ writer at heart, but her favorite role in fandom spaces is cheerleading, beta reading and being a part of the community. The love for these characters and the stories run deep but her gratitude for the friendships she’s formed here runs deeper.

Guest, Mod Tech & Audio Editor Appears on: Episode 3 & 10

Ao3: audacity_of_bluejays Twitter: @audacityofbird

CADY aka @lostinadmiration

Any Prounouns | Capricorn | 33

Cady was a casual fan of Stranger Things until Eddie Munson flirted with Steve Harrington and then went and fucking died. She went online to cope with the grief, and stumbled onto Steddie art, which snowballed into discovering fanfiction, and landed her in a beautiful community of loving and supporting friends who love talking about those gay dudes! In the year of brain rot she completed two fics, has two neglected WIPs, and loves chugging out art. She also wants everyone to know she’s IYLO’s biggest fan and would love to discuss it with everyone and anyone!

Guest & Host Appears on: Episode 1, 9, 10, & 13

Ao3: lostnadmiration Twitter: @lostnadmiration TikTok: lostin_admiration Tumblr: lostin_admiration

DAE aka @strawberryspence

She/Her | Libra | 23

Dae has been watching Stranger Things from the beginning, falling in love with the friendships and found family tropes in its core. She has always had a soft spot for Steve Harrington, this only intensified when Eddie Munson was thrown in the mix. Dae spends her time writing Steddie fics (mostly angst), editing and having mental breakdowns about gay fictional characters.

Guest, Graphics Creator & Promo Team Appears on: Episode 4

Ao3: strawberryspence Twitter: @strawberrysomin TikTok: strawberryspence

JESS aka @mydarkdevotion

She/They | Pisces | 31

I’ve been watching Stranger Things since the beginning and fell in love so hard that I ended up getting Eleven’s 011 on my wrist in my cousin’s bedroom. I’ve been reading fanfiction way before stepping into Steddie and writing has grown more since then too. I guess you can say my friends see me as the person that would dive right into the danger (No tag reads/ No summaries) What can I say? I love surprises. Even if they end up in tears. Anyone who's seen my tiktok knows. But all in all just a real down-to-earth friendly person enjoying the thing I love.

Guest | Appears on: Episode 5 & 11

Ao3: MyDarkDevotion Twitter: @mydarkdevotion TikTok: MyDarkDevotion

KAYLEE aka @sweetz059

She/They | Libra | 24

Kaylee has loved watching Stranger Things since she was 16, reading cutesy Byler fics and appreciating all the found family the fandom had to offer, and always having a soft spot for Steve Harrington. They didn’t really dive in until Season 3, however, when she finally was given a character that they could see themselves in. One Robin Buckley. Which just intensified her love for Steve even more. Then Season 4 happened, and Eddie Munson happened, and Kaylee finally saw the perfect match for Steve. Now they’re one fic down, and who knows how many more to go, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.

Guest, Host & Producer Appears on: Episode 3, 6, 8, 11, & 12

Ao3: sweetz059 Twitter: @sweetz059 TikTok: sweetz059 Instagram: sweetz059

KK aka @knormalizeknitting

Any Pronouns | Taurus | 39

KK is a genderless void who has been a nerd since time immemorial so naturally they’re obsessed with Stranger Things. They were a “normal” level of into the show, for a total geek that is, until Eddie Munson appeared and the Steddie ship set sail. Now KK spends all their time projecting Steddie onto every fictional pairing that has ever existed in media and finding new ways to torture Steve Harrington before letting him finally kiss Eddie. They’re extremely excited to be part of the podcast, make new friends on the server and talk Steddie / ST with so many lovely people when they’re not giving Steve even more trauma on ao3.

Guest, Host, Audio Editor & Mod Tech Appears on: Episode 2, 8, 12 & 13

Ao3: knormalizeknitting Twitter: @knormalknitting TikTok: knormalizeknittin Instagram: knormalizeknitting

KRIS aka @kwills91

They/Them | Gemini | 32

I’ve written and read fanfic for many, many years, but it had been a while since I existed in a particular fandom. Then Season 4 of Stranger Things came out and I fell in love with Steddie. After mass consuming as many fics as I could get my eyeballs on, I decided that there weren’t nearly enough Steve breakdowns in them and began writing my own, and I’ve been unable to stop writing since. Hundreds of thousands of words of writing and millions of words of reading later and the brainrot is showing no signs of dying. And hopefully never will. Which is why I’m so excited to be part of this podcast.

Guest, Host & Mod Tech Appears on: Episode 2, 3, 8 & 10

Ao3: Kwills91 Twitter: @k_wills91 TikTok: kwills91

MANON @transmascsteveharrington

They/He | Aries | 26

“The binge watch format of Netflix shows hinders the growth and development of fandoms compared to linear released shows. Therefore it is unlikely that many viewers of Stranger Things will ever participate/form a fandom and read or write fanfiction-” is a sentence I once wrote in an essay in 2017 for my undergrad. Then the universe had a right laugh and several years, one gender crisis, and about 250k words of written steddie fics and countless words of read steddie fics later I am now here. I’m an avid writer and reader of stangst (Steve angst) and could talk about it for hours. That’s why I’m super excited to be part of this podcast.

Guest, Host & Producer | Appears on: Episode 2, 6, 8, 10, & 13

Ao3: ChristinMKay Twitter: @t4teddiemunson TikTok: ger_manon

SAGE aka @miserablekingsteve

They/Them | Virgo | 24

I watched Stranger Things back in 2016. Only because my mum was watching it in the other room, and I heard Joy Division’s ‘Atmosphere’ start playing. Causing me to come running out of my room and question what she was watching. Prior to that fateful moment, I was probably holed up, writing Torchwood fanfiction or listening to the audio dramas while live posting on tumblr. Safe to say I’ve been in fandom spaces for quite some time. Yet never had written anything with as much velocity as I did when Steddie quite literally dove into my periphery. What? Eddie Munson was doing Ketamine and being ridiculous, hard not to relate to that one. I’m super stoked to have had any opportunity to be involved in fandom this much and I’m excited to see where it continues to take me!

Guest & Promo Team Appears on: Episode 6, 8, 11 & 12

Ao3: miserablekings TikTok: miserablekings

SARA aka @3blackhearts

She/Her | Leo | 36

I’ve been watching Stranger Things since the beginning. I loved how creative and nostalgia-driven the show is. The death (maybe, hopefully not, let me be delulu a little longer) of Eddie Munson is what drove me to read my first fanfiction ever. I hadn’t resonated with a character that much in a long time and having his ending be so unsatisfying on the show led me to want a world where that’s fixed or never happens (shout out to AUs). Since joining the fandom I’ve found my niche by making podfics, and now this podcast. In real life, I work for a local non-profit and am a visual artist. President & Founder of the DILF Steve Harrington Fan Club.

Guest, Host, Producer, Mod Tech & Audio Editor Appears on Episodes: 3, 4, 5, 10, & 11

Ao3: 3blackhearts Twitter: @3_blackhearts TikTok: 3blackhearts

#steddie support group podcast #podcast team #ssgpodcast #ssgp #steddie podcast

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skayafair · 1 year

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I have to admit I miss season 1 and 2 atmosphere. I fell in love with this podcast as my most comfort one because it had everything I love - lots of supernatural stuff, a very mysterious air - not horror one, really, - a thick plot and two very imperfect characters growing as the action went, good character studies - and it was very well-balanced.

I think going downhill started back in the pits time, the balance tipped quite considerably to the macabre side. But it was still mostly alright, season 2 is my favorite.

The real change happened in season 3.

Firstly, the enemy weren't some supernatural beings anymore - it's humans now. Using some otherwordly technics and creating monsters, sure, but still humans. The town's folk, Uncle, Larson, people in the mines (weren't exactly enemies but they were considered a possible threat for some time). When it was going on for just one season, it was okay - felt different, not as nice and comforting as the first 2, but okay. But now in season 4 there's a heavy focus on the Butcher (who is just revolting to me even as an enemy), who has been appearing as a human so far, although now we know there might be some supernaturally weird shit going on with him either. And... If I wanted to listen to a true crime or be reminded how cruel people are, how they can enjoy hurting and killing others, I'd just listen to a true crime or open any news website. The place I live in won't let me forget anyway. Podcasts are my escape.

Secondly, the drama or even tragedy level. The balance between the lighthearted or not as emotionally charged parts and the dramatical ones used to be very good, but in season 3 it dipped VERY much. I mean it's great to have emotionally intense episodes from time to time - season 2 was edging on its limits but still held the balance, but almost the whole season 3 is just an emotional wringer. I love the episodes with Yellow, they were GREAT, but soon enough afterwards I've noticed for the first time that I was postponing listening to the new episodes because I was dreading of how emotionally intense and draining they were going to be. This podcast was supposed to restore my energy like it did for 2 seasons, not drain it. While I'm glad we had so much character development for Arthur, I wish the mood of the season was balanced much better than it actually was. The 4th one started well in this regard, but the nightmares episode and the last one were too much for me. I think it has to do with the torture - emotional or physical one, doesn't matter. It happens too often now, and I don't respond well to it. It's too intense.

And lastly, the pacing. This is my beef mostly with season 4 and probably with the 2nd half of season 3 as well - it's slow. The mines part was just too dragged out for me, and now the events sort of happen but also it didn't feel much like it for the last few episodes. Half of the nightmares ep was just boring (probably the fact that I don't like Kellin one bit contributed to the impression as well), the 33rd was nice to have character development-wise but not much in any other regard and the 34th is just insufferable for 2 reasons: I can't stand the Butcher (he was more or less ok in ep 1 because there wasn't much of him, but listening to a narcissist for 45 minutes straight? No thanks) and the chase is... well, mostly running and chasing, which is plain boring to me. Characters interactions weren't much to me either, I don't see any common points between them, any chemistry, and they don't work as mirrors like it was with Larson. I mean looking at Arthur from an outside perspective was nice, but that was the only interesting thing there. Season 1 was quite like season 4 with the investigation and a lot of human characters, but it had crazy pacing and frankly that was the only thing that saved it initially for me (I enjoyed it properly later, but when I just began to listen it took quite a while to draw me in). Season 2 was thankfully slower, more introspective, which was great, but it was great thanks to a very good balance of what was going on in both inner and outer worlds. The Dreamlands itself as a location with completely unknown rules and plenty of various creatures, when one could never know if it was going to be a friend or a foe, was dynamic enough to keep just the right pacing.

I'm not looking for a discussion and not trying to berate the podcast, not dropping it either - I mean it's just about an hour once a month at most and the plot is still interesting to me, so no reason to drop it. But I really miss the way it used to be, I want my comfort series back - monsters don't scare me, people do, so I wish we went back to cosmic horror instead of a very real one.

#malevolent podcast #masked

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makotoscoffee · 2 years

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Drag Race France Season 1 - My thoughts

Hello DRF fans, I've talked about this a little bit but today I'm finally starting what will be an intense rewatch of the show, detailing every tiny thing and analyzing placements, challenges, critiques, social interactions etc. This series will be more Paloma focused, simply because that's what I focus on the most when I watch DRF. So without further ado, let's dive into EPISODE 1🫡

The first episode of a Drag Race season is always an exciting one. You go in not knowing what the season will bring and you're meeting this whole new group of queens. DRF1 only had 10 contestants, but they were the best of the best for sure. Personally, I was very excited to start DRF! I was mainly expecting very good fashion, but other than that I didn't know what a treat I was in for. The queens enter the werkroom as follows:

Kam

La Big Bertha

Elips

Lolita Banana

Soa de Muse

La Grande Dame

Lova LaDiva

La Kahena

La Briochée

Paloma

Personally, I think everyone had really strong entrances. The first impression matters a lot both for the audience and the other queens. Right off the bat, Kam is giving us shady but entertaining confessionals haha. Different little melodies would play for each queen to match their looks, but Paloma was the only one to have that really impactful rock music moment when she walked in which was SO ICONIC😩A fun fact: Paloma's entrance line is identical to Kiara's from season one of Canada's Drag Race. They are the first two queens to use the same line on different franchises! Personal observation: French people love to shout 😭 The first mini-challenge is the current standard for first episodes: a photoshoot (with a twist.) Usually this twist would be something that makes you either look very silly or some sort of obstacle you have to overcome to slay in your photo. Think rain, wind, being upside down etc. However, the twist here is just that they call in hyper cancan dancers lol. It was cute though.

Confessionals like this about Lolita begin already in episode 1.

Time to get out of drag! It's always very fun to see everyone look at each other out of drag in the werkroom for the first time. Right away there aren't really any groups forming yet, however Kam and Paloma are sort of sticking together since they knew each other well. Paloma said on a podcast that she was nervous in the first episode because of all the big personalities and I feel like you can really tell.

We stan the immediate dive into body positivity and mental health, the girls really did not waste any time when it came to being vulnerable (well, except one of them🍌)

THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE FIRST EVER MAXI CHALLENGE OF THE SEASON😩❤️ I love that they did a talent show, I think that it's a great and FAIR way to do it, that way no one has to do something they're not good at in the first episode and everyone gets to show the judges who they are. I think we all agree that this was a phenomenal show!! The fact that JPG was there in the very first episode was LEGENDARYYY! I'm not going to talk all too much about the performances but I'll give my two cents: Lolita: INCREDIBLE she let everyone know to be scared of her. There are queens who dance, and then there are queens who are DANCERS, and she made it VERY CLEAR which one she belongs to. The double ruveals were a very nice element and, I think, crucial to making sure it wasn't just good enough but it was great. Kam: this was honestly avant garde theatre to me. I was cringing but also it was so surreal that I was like WTF. Live singing is already a scary choice. Extremely embarrassing for her that she was followed by.... La Briochée: She was very good! She did well with the singing and everyone were clearly moved. I loved loved loved her outfit too PALOMA: I know I used the expression "my two cents" but she will have my entire wallet. Stand-up is a HUGE risk, and so hard to pull off.

right away the outfit let's you know that she has a character in store for us. Her opening jokes get laughs which is great, and she took a risk by involving Daphné, but it payed off. All the jokes have great set-up and punchlines. She already had LolaShiva in her roster, and I think she was the perfect Gourmandes girl to pick. This already happened on reddit, but Krÿstal would immediately be misinterpreted as Latina by American audiences and therefore a very offensive character, and Anne-Cyprine isn't funny in the stand-up way. But what's even more important is that LolaShiva looks VERY different from when Gourmandes was made. Imagine if she showed up like this

Career SLAUGHTER. Gourmandes is VERY cheeky satire and LolaShiva is by far the boldest character. She wouldn't have time to communicate her in two minutes with just the costumes and jokes, you need to watch the show to really get past what you see and understand that it's supposed to be offensive because it's making fun of white women like LolaShiva. And had she done old-school Lola it would have backfired completely

completely irrelevant but I wanted to point out her making sure the talking stick doesn't fall out of her wig lol. A very smart thing to do was have that gong at the end to make sure she didn't go over the two minutes and also gave a natural end to it all. BRAVO PALOMA👏🏻 La Grande Dame: I thought her number was really cool and unique, again, live music is a huge risk but she slayed! And it was Elips: I think her number really illustrates her personality and journey on the show, shy/quiet and mysterious but with a lot of fire to offer. It had a slow build and I feel like she ultimately didn't stand out just enough because of it. It was memorable but it spent a lot of time getting to being memorable, if that makes sense. Soa de Muse: I mean what can I say. She made it clear right away that live music does NOT scare her. The outfit was tres French and she had a playful edge.... honestly I don't have much more to say because the performance speaks for itself. I do believe she deserved the win. Lova Ladiva: I don't want to talk about this<3 Love her though La Kahena: I don't want to talk about this<3 It's hard to say something because the subtitles were so bad I probably missed a lot of jokes, I felt like it was good but I couldn't figure out why? if that makes sense? Like it had a lot of potential, to me. But like Paloma said in the confessional; it dragged a bit. La Big Bertha: I liked her number a lot and it was actually my favorite performance of any kind she gave on the show. I enjoyed that it wasn't just burlesque but also had that comedy element, it elevated the routine for me. LOL @ Kam's "is she going to take it all off?🫣" confessional.

RUNWAY TIME this was a REALLY strong runway but you can literally say that for every runway this season. I loved La Briochée's look SO MUCH it was stunningly made and really beautiful. No notes tbh Lolita's look was creative but also not my favorite, she could have won with a stronger look LOVA'S RUNWAY was SO GOOD, TO ME. It was my favorite thing she wore at any point in the show (and I know she wasn't there for 70% of it but ykwim) Soa de Muse. That's it. Solidified her top 3 placement right there tbh. I didn't predict her win right away but that's just because everyone* did SO GOOD this episode my head was spinning. La Kahena: loved her look so much but I knew it wasn't going to save her </3 PALOMAAAA this look is LOVELY. I think she stood out from everyone else, I was WAITING for somebody to do that show!!! I do not like the fabric. At all. The print is lovely and the dress is lovely but I do not like the stretchy fabric and how it shines (/doesn't) at all. I was intrigued by the black hair in a way, I actually thought she was a brunette in drag! Like, she entered in a red wig, yes, but that was sculptural and she had a monochrome outfit. And her LolaShiva wig was obviously not a wig that she wears with actual runway looks. So based on the JPG runway I thought she was black-haired! I like that we saw a bit of her gothic side, reeeeeally enjoyed that.

her lil lip-bite moment..............................................Slayed I fear Elips: WOW just wow. It was very modest but the tailoring was just insane and it showed her personality. Kam Hugh: This really was her golden ticket out of the bottom, it was so pretty when we got to see it close up. La Grande Dame: Really lovely and I didn't expect it from her, actually! But looking back she had very little charisma on the runway in the beginning, I'm glad she was able to listen to the judges later on when they told her to have more joie de vivre on stage. When all the queens were on stage together I was amazed by the diversity and quality of the runway!

Time for critiques ahhhh!! Paloma looked like she was going to have a heart attack before they even started😭

Lolita being safe was kind of insane but it was 100% because of the runway. Honestly I don't have much to say about the critiques from the judges because I already agreed with them throughout this. Nicky's moment of bonding with La Kahena was so sweet, I'm glad she was able to let her down gently. SIDENOTE I LOVE THE GIRLS' AND JEAN-PAUL'S DYNAMIC he was such a fun and good guest judge!!! Everyone was really nice to each other in untucked and no one bitched and moaned about their placement, which was v nice :). I don't have much to say about the rest of the episode, even though I was SO upset to see La Kahena go so soon, I couldn't pretend Lova didn't slay that lipsync she took them to chuuuurch🙏🏻🙏🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Paloma was so nervous during Kam's final critiques and also really nervous for La Kahena, and I can't help but think about how it must have felt to stand there and experience it when she's been a big fan of the show for so long!! She already knew queens on the season but it was very clear that she considered Kam her friend there. Someone she knew she could count on. Seeing her in the bottom the first week must have been so intense for her!

KAM'S REACTION TO LOVA STAYING💀 PLEASE I LOVE HER I feel like when they all went on stage at the end, the dynamic was still a bit shy... like, there were hugs but nothing crazy and it seemed like the girls were still a little bit shy or reserved. That's just what I think though.

Paloma does in fact go to hug Kam right away and you can tell how relieved they both were to have survived.

And that is it for Bonjour, Bonjour, Bonjour! I was immediately in love with the season, the queens really surprised me and the production quality was so nice for a baby franchise!! In the sneak-peak for the next episode they show Paloma's confessional of her saying "Acting challenge, that's mine." and I was... nervous but intrigued. It's always 50/50 when a queen claims they've got a challenge in the bag. But at the same time, she was funny in the stand-up routine and I felt like I knew SO LITTLE about her, so I was very intrigued to see what was going to happen.

If you lasted all the way to the end thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed hearing my thoughts🫶🏻

#Drag race france #drag race france recaps #kam hugh #la big bertha #elips #lolita banana #soa de muse #la grande dame #lova ladiva #la kahena #la briochée #paloma #drag race #nicky doll

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h-pelessly · 10 months

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December 2, 2023.

Today was Nectar's M&G and party. The M&G was at Ralph's for a release of a new Nectar pack, and we arrived at around 1:20 ish. The cast of Under the Influence podcast were going to show up at 1:30, and the first 100 people would get something. I didn't have high hopes, honestly, but then again, I'm like how big is the podcast, honestly. And people over 21 are chill. Anyway, we got there and were chilling in line. We talked to some Nectar crew because they were forced to talk to us and keep us in shape, but one of the Nectar guys said that he really likes Nectar (like duh but ok) and he recommended us the new flavor that he really likes. I don't know why he singled us out but it is what it is. I was like HEHHEOHOH. But anyways, waiting in line made me nervi tbh. The cast came out and they kept making videos and I'm like I feel DEAD. Can we also talk about Viet being fake as fuck when meeting us outside? Mans was DEAD when he first ran past us. Then, the cast came out to high five us, and Wootak missed my hand completely, and Viet stopped like 2 people before us. Whatever, at least I shook Mr. Jeremy and babygirl Esther's. So the meetup was actually super chill like the cast came out and talked to people and so did the workers. We got stickers, which these guys came out and stared hard at. I was like wtf like mind yo business???? I thot they went to UCLA and I was like no this ain't it, chief. Turns out they were friends with the cast LMAO makes sense. Also, we got gifts. They had cups or banners, but they literally ran out of cups like 2 people in front of us so we had to get banners. And we were like one of the last ones. One girl behind us got the last one. I really had to pee, but I had the worst anxiety so I couldn't go alone. Then, I asked the girl in front of me. SUPER weird I know, but she agreed and we became friends. She came alone so it made it all better :)

Books I read this month;

Offside Hearts by Nikki Lawson (4/10) This honestly has to be one of my least rated books that I've read so far. I started this book out in May, and had to stop because of an unrealistic, weird ass situation that happened between two strangers in the very beginning. Well, I somehow got to around 75% before putting it away for good. I only picked this book up so I can finally mark it as finished for the year. I feel so bad for being such a hater for this sports romance, but both the characters were so unlikable it was insane. Noah's, the MMC, only personality traits are having money and being obsessed with his girl. He had no depth to him. And Margo, the FMC, was scared of Noah's playboy antics, but still let him hit like she also became obsessed with him quickly with no regards to her heart. This was written like a fanfic and I absolutely hated it-- it wasn't realistic at all.

The Fake Out by Stephanie Archer (100/10) I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy. I expected it to be a physical copy, but I'm just glad I got to read it at all. I absolutely fell in love with both characters. Hazel was such a sassy yet fun character. She was actually the one who initiated it which I thought was shocking yet I loved it. We love bold, powerful women. And Rory? Do not get me STARTED on Rory, my new hockey bf. Blonde guys aren't usually my go-tos like Garrett Anderson from Play with Me, but oh my god, this man had me on an absolute chokehold. He's so flirty with only HER and he has eyes (literal heart eyes) only for her. She thinks it's fake bc of the fake dating trope, but it's so real for him. The nickname he has for her had me giggling and kicking my feet. Who am I kidding? This whole book, their interaction had me giggling and kicking my feet. Crying at some parts, but that's what good books do. Chef's kiss.

Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher (7.5/10) I feel like a 7.5 is actually very kind. I started this book in November and forgot about it because I didn't have time to read the physical copy, but I picked it up in December because I wanted to read all the books in my reading pile. I read it on Apple books bc it was that much easier to read and bring everywhere and honestly bc I am fucking blind. I was kind of disappointed ngl like it took place in Lake Wisteria, which is Cal and Lana's place so maybe I had very high expectations going in. Maybe it had the billionaire trope or it's written by THE Lauren Asher so I was like it can't miss. Sadly it did. The characters were childish, the problems were rushed, and I had no connection to the characters. The MMC, Julian, most of all, missed the mark. He's grumpy and rich, which is up my aisle, but the way he interacted with Dahlia (pre-hookup) gave me the annoying boy next door. Also, Julian was fucking MEAN to cal like cal's a baby-- my baby. Back the fuck AWF. I literally had to return my physical copy bc I wasn't in love with it.

That Summer by Jillian Dodd (6.5/10) It wasn't terrible compared to other audiobooks, but I put this off for so long. See all of the books I've been putting off and finishing for the year lol. But I get that Dani (Davaney) the FMC was a high-schooler, but miss maam couldn't make up her damn mind, leaving poor Chase, the MMC, wounded. Like she likes him enough when they're forced together for the summer, but not proud enough when back to reality? And there were SO many characters. I get it's a family trip and all, but I was like why are these names relevant. And not only were they mentioned at the beginning, they had a bigger part at the end. I'm like WHO TF IS THIS AGAIN. So yeah, maybe reading it would've been better. But also, where was Chase's POV??????

Reconsidering the Facts by Emily Tudor (7.6/10) I was so excited for Oliver and Paige's story. Oliver had me from the very beginning because he was such a complicated character, and no one really saw him for him. I loved Paige as we got to know her, and the only thing that set me off was the friend group. They seem very well behaved like they all go to therapy, but they don't give each other room, and the author KEEPS talking about them like honestly, I don't really care about their stories at all can we focus back on Ollie and Paige?! But there was a murder mystery tied into it which was very unexpected yet fun, and I liked it. Maybe I need to go to therapy because I absolutely DESPISED the friend group, but they make a lot more sense in this book than in the first one.

Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter (8/10) Lynn Painter doesn't miss. Tara recommended me this book and I saw that it was short so I was like why the f not. The beginning was like a movie, and I was like ehhhh, but then, when Liz started recognizing her feelings for Wes, I was screaming and pumping my fist in the air. Like I get that Liz is a rom-com fanatic so like she daydreams about the perfect everything, but like she tries planning out everything, and it was so cute when she came to the realization that she LIKES wes. I was sobbing and crying ugly the whole time. What threw me off was the end like what the actual fuck and the miscommunication trope like COME THE FUCK ONNNNNN. Anyways, it wasn't spicy at all. So I know if a story is good, spice is not needed.

Better than the Prom by Lynn Painter (9/10) This is a continuation or extra from Better than the Movies in Wes's POV, and I've been needing that shit from the very beginning. Too fucking bad we only get one little part, but it was ahmazing and much needed. Wes is such a sweetheart and like ugh, chef's kiss.

Personal Foul by Maggie Rawdon (7.95/10) I was looking to Wren and Easton's story since the very beginning, but the book was honestly not up to my expectations. I expected more banter between the two and the hate. However, Easton definitely topped my expectations-- how would anyone guess that this guy is an absolute marshmallow? Wren's worries about the friend group not accepting is valid, but also, I was like as a friend, they SHOULD be supportive and if it doesn't work, all they can do is help out. So I'm glad they do end up supporting the two. I want to give the author a standing ovation for the proposal at the end-- that made me tear up and I just want the best for these two.

The Mistake by Elle Kennedy (7/10) I mean it was a solid story, but it was so basic and simple. I probably should have binged the whole Off Campus series in the beginning, but I didn't and I put myself in a weird position. Because I bought the blue sprayed edges, I'm going to read all of them now. Honestly, the way (John) Logan looked at Hannah in The Deal was kind of giving me the ick. And that's exactly how the book starts out. It gives me Twisted Hate vibes because I liked the FMC, Grace, sm more than the MMC. Grace was so innocently charming and then became baddass when she realized her worth. I absolutely loved that for her, but I did like them together. I just think them coming together was rushed and random. Like their meet cute was super random and forced-- it wasn't even cute. But they are cute, I will say that.

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sshbpodcast · 1 year

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Doublemint, Doublemint, Doublemint Trek: Doppelgängers in Star Trek (Part 1)

By Ames

This week, it’s just me, myself, and I as A Star to Steer Her By is having a 2-for-1 sale of all the doppelgängers, imitators, shapeshifters, and other character duplicates on Star Trek. Whether it be a mistaken identity, an existential crisis, or some kind of cloning accident gone wrong, leave it to science fiction to turn the art of the soliloquy into a dialogue. But giving actors the opportunity to act across from themself makes for such a fun sight gag, depending on how well the compositing holds up.

We’re not even including all the mirror universe doubles running around (that can wait for another day), and this is still going such a long list that I’m going to have to break it into two posts because we get progressively looser and looser with the definition of doppelgänger, so check out batch one below and listen to our replicants on this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:08:06). Check out Part Two here! What can we say: two heads are better than one.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

“The Man Trap”

We start things off really early in the canon with the very first released episode of TOS, when the technology to show duplicates on screen wasn’t there yet. Some clever cuts, scene transitions, and never having the M-113 creature in the same shot with the person they were impersonating certainly helped. We love us some salt vampire, so it’s a good way to start the show off with a lot of shape changing!

“The Enemy Within”

Certainly one of the most infamous double-Kirk instances (and there are a lot!) is in the Jekyll-and-Hyde allegory “The Enemy Within,” in which the captain is literally duplicated and forced to reunify himself. Again, we’re mostly treated to a TON of watching Shatner and his stunt double, but there’s a brief moment when we have our first onscreen pair! We’re Captain Kirk!

“What Are Little Girls Made of?”

Yet another double Kirk just two episodes later, and still not the last time either. The composite work to get two Shatners in the same shot is the most extensive yet, when the android copy of Kirk is created, and you know what? It’s not bad! This episode gets two Kirks up!

“I, Mudd”

Next season, we get a ton of doubling up when we go to Mudd’s planet of androids. While most of them are just twin actors to make things slightly easier, we definitely get a whole ton of Stellas! Harcourt’s got another thing coming because we know there are at least 500 copies of his nagging wife, all ready to tear him a new one!

“Whom Gods Destroy”

We’re back to multiple Kirks when Garth of Izar proves he can shapeshift into anybody he wants. This episode is epic for its over-the-top Shatner acting, but also deserves some praise for a Kirk-on-Kirk fight scene that holds up pretty well!

“Yesteryear”

You’re going to see a handful of character doubles caused by meeting oneself during a time travel incident in this list, and the first (but not the last) involves meeting oneself as a child. Young Spock remains oblivious about the identity of his cousin from afar who’s trying earnestly to amend the timeline broken by those fools playing willy nilly with the Guardian of Forever.

“The Survivor”

You’d think that using the animated medium would allow for more scenes that would be unfeasible in live action filming, but alas. When it should be intrinsically possible to have a whole bunch of Kirks running around when our Vendorian friend takes on his shape, we never get them in the same shot! What a waste of the whole format (you know, like that whole series).

“The Infinite Vulcan”

Somehow, the very next episode in the animated show gives us exactly what we want. Two Spocks who interact and are in the same shot together. Sure, one of them is a giant for no particular reason, but that’s at least doing something new and different with the animation that we couldn’t do on the original show. And I’m counting that giant Apollo scene from “Who Mourns for Adonais?”

The Motion Picture

Sure, the original Ilia is killed by the time we see her replacement in probe form, but it’s still a duplicate. And this duplicate is just like the real thing, even down to her eye moisture, as is pointedly shared with us if only to make us cringe even harder.

The Undiscovered Country

One final double Kirk to get out of the way, as the final of the TOS movies introduces us to Martia, a chameloid who can take on other beings’ shapes, including for our final Kirk-on-Kirk fight which is always a bowl of fun.

“We’ll Always Have Paris”

If you thought that was a lot of Shatners, get ready to see a ton of our Enterprise-D heroes throughout The Next Generation. Let’s start things off with a season one banger, with a time hiccup that makes the crew keep running into themselves from a few seconds out of sync.

“Datalore,” “Brothers,” “Descent”

Data’s brother Lore may be his own character and is treated as such, but also being portrayed by Brent Spiner gives him the advantage of getting to pretend to be Data pretty much every time we see him, so I’m lumping all these together. And how can we fault the show for giving us as much onscreen Spiner as it possibly could, as we’ll see when we get to the more spoiler heavy batch next week?

“Where Silence Has Lease”

The Nagilum doubles in this generally meh episode sadly never get to interact with their counterparts, but just come in and talk to Picard while in disguise to try to trick him into stopping his plan to self destruct the ship. There was some level of trickery afoot, so I’m mentioning it in this exhaustive list.

“Time Squared”

Here’s what we’re all here for though: dumb Picard. This episode gets to contain lots of great camera trickery and compositing to get two Picards in one shot, but one of them is there just to make acting hard for the other one. Or vice versa? It’s a little confounding, but it just makes me wonder so long after we covered the episode on the podcast: What did they do with the body?

“Up the Long Ladder”

The clone half of this episode is outshined by the absolutely bananas little Irish village half. But when you get past the chickens and utter thirst for Riker from that plot, the violation of having a bunch of people clone you without your consent is downright disturbing! I don’t blame Riker and Pulaski for wanting them dead, but boy, could this have been explored more and felt less like an afterthought in a way too busy episode!

“Allegiance”

Another double Picard, since captains probably get the most duplicating throughout their series, even more than O’Brien somehow. In this one, Picard has been captured because his abductors are testing some of humanity’s traits, while they take his place (and shape!) on the Enterprise to test the crew’s limits and how far Bev will go with him.

“Second Chances”

While many episodes that duplicate people through various means (the transporter, pretty often) effectively undo their work by the end, “Second Chances” has some lasting effects in that our second Riker, who IS in fact another Riker, gets to stick around and muddy the waters in his later episode and in some books. It’s a great concept but doesn’t get explored as much as it could; what I mean to say is Farscape does it better.

“A Fistful of Datas”

You’d just expect an episode about Data and the holodeck merging a little would have just a ton of Datas running around, and you know what? Needs more Datas! Sure, we get a handful of them, even in the same scene, and Brent somehow rocks a drag look, but if you’re gonna tease us with a fistful of our favorite android, then give us a whole fistful!

“Parallels”

Now we definitely get a whole fistful of Worfs in “Parallels,” when multiple dimensions start interacting with each other, including a super scruffy Riker who just wants out of his Borg-infested universe. This one gets some extra credit for its clever premise and a plot that’s unusually followable despite all the physics.

“Firstborn”

As if one Alexander isn’t enough, we put him in the room with his older, time-traveling self in “Firstborn.” Sure, it’s not like it’s a second version of the same actor playing across from themself, but it’s definitely a double character. And despite all the time traveling we do on this show, there’s less acting with yourself from another time than you’d think!

Nemesis

Oh boy, this asshole is back. Shinzon is a clone of Picard. Ish! Sure, Tom Hardy isn’t a literal copy of Patrick Stewart (his loss), but a clone is a clone, as this movie seems to want to force that fact down our throats. There’s also another double-Spiner when we meet Data’s dopey little brother B4, but do we need another screengrab of multiple Brents?

Yes. Yes, we do.

“Visionary”

Come Deep Space Nine times, there’re even newer ways to get the same character on screen with themself, starting obviously with Miles! “Visionary” is one of those time travel episodes that’s on the cusp on being too smart for its own good. Think about it too much and it falls apart, but we’re so excited by how many Mileses get killed that it’s AOK.

“Whispers”

And we’re not even done killing off different versions of Miles, this one a replicant who has no idea he’s not the real deal! It’s a good time watching the perfect copy that was made of the chief, right down to the way his wife treats him like a stranger and the existential crisis he has that is just so typically Miles O’Brien.

“The Adversary” et alia

I’m gonna just lump all the times we see Changelings running around in other people’s forms all over Deep Space Nine into one item in this list, mostly for my own sanity, and just partly because there’s almost never a way to prove who is or isn’t a Changeling in the background of any given scene. And as this Changeling pretending to be Bashir in “The Adversary” says, “We’re everywhere!”

“Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”

There’s another good double Bashir in “Dr. Bashir, I Presume?” and not only does it make for a good sight gag (holoBashir walking into a wall over and over again never fails to crack me up!) but it also drives the plot forward when daddums, whom we discussed in our Trek parenting post recently, somehow mistakes a vacant-eyed husk of a being for his flesh-and-blood son. Maybe Richard Bashir does belong a few rungs lower on the list…

“Children of Time”

Sadly, we never see Gaian Odo, who got winked out of existence because his love for Kira outshone a whole population of the crew’s descendants, in the same room with the Odo we’re all familiar with. Normal timeline Odo spent the whole episode as a goo stuck in a breadmaker, so we really only got to know a version of him who got to make a Tuvix-level decision that not enough people give him shit for.

“Time’s Orphan”

If we counted the Spocks and Alexanders of different ages in “Yesteryear” and “Firstborn” respectively, then you’d better believe we’re gonna count feral Molly from “Time’s Orphan,” another time traveler who pops out of some kind of whatzit and meets themself as a child. All of them succeed in preventing their bad futures from happening, though Molly did fully expect to go live in the woods for the rest of her life.

“Treachery, Faith, and the Great River”

We’d be remiss not to mention some of the best clones in all of Star Trek: the Vorta! We see a number of Weyouns throughout Deep Space Nine, but we get the most of them in one place in “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River,” with two of them activated at the same time. The more Jeffrey Combs, the better, I always say!

—

We’re at our image cap and only halfway through the list we came up with. Sorry, I did NOT expect there to be quite this many instances of character doubles in Trek, and that’s totally on me. Of COURSE good science fiction is going to make its characters confront themselves to learn whatever the lesson of the week is. Of course.

And our lesson of the week is we need another week, so check back to find out how many more changelings have infiltrated our ranks, keep following our Voyager watchthrough on SoundCloud or wherever you get podthings, double your fun on Facebook and Twitter, and remember: we’re everywhere!

#star trek #star trek podcast #podcast #doppelganger #shapeshifter #transporter accident #the original series #the animated series #the next generation #deep space nine #jeffrey combs

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itsgameofthronesimagines · 2 years

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Maybe the lack of Robb stark comes from the fact they killed him off…and maybe because they feel like they have to kill him off just like the show? Idk, every fic I read with him, he ends up dying.

Yeah, and I did mention in one if these convos earlier today that maybe Jon having a bigger audience comes from him surviving every season, so if Robb had fans, they have either disappeared or converted into Jon stans or something lol.

OR, they sat lying and waiting for their time to come. I bet they re-emerged when Richard Madden and Kit Harington reunited in MCU's Eternals. I know my love for Game of Thrones came back when watching the two of them interact again

I tried REALLY hard not to jump out of my seat.

But it's not like Robb Stark's death effected me. To be honest, Robb isn't my favorite character. I do love his character and obviously I love writing about him, but not my favorite. Couple of reasons for it.

1. I knew he died before getting into the show. I started watching in 2017-2018 I think. So I didn't really get attached to him knowing that.

2. The whole reason I started watching Game of Thrones was because of Peter Dinklage's performance as Tyrion. I happened to walk downstairs to my parents watching the events of the Purple Wedding and I was intrigued by Tyrion's character being mocked and humiliated. Not really knowing who Joffrey was, I still cheered when he died in the same scene. I kept asking my parents questions about the character until I finally went upstairs and went on YouTube to watch Tyrion scenes, then later started watching the actual show until I was caught up to watch the rest of it with my parents.

Anyway, I'm sorry. I got side tracked. Yes, I agree there's not much content for Robb because of his early death and I also agree that most of his fics involve him still dying. And he's not the only one.

I recently listened to a podcast dedicated to completely rewriting Season 8 (btw REALLY GOOD!) Here's a link to the podcast on Spotify. And, spoiler alert, but Daenerys still dies, but in a way that made more sense and actually made me feel bittersweet pain. I highly recommend giving it a listen, it was awesome and WAY more satisfying!

Now I'VE GOT A QUESTION I WISH FOR PEOPLE TO GIVE THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT:

If Robb didn't marry for love, do you think he would still die? I saw a cool edit of him on Tiktok and that was the debate going on in the comments. What do you think?

#ask box #got ask #anon ask #ask #game of thrones #got #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #robb stark x reader #robb stark imagine #robb stark fic #robb stark #jon snow #tyrion lannister #jon snow imagines #jon snow x reader #richard madden #kit harington #jon snow imagine

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verdemoth · 2 years

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accidentally made a pokemon trainer oc, which snowballed into getting together with discord friends to work on a whole region ?? but anyway

This is Helena, she lives in a haunted forest in pokemon ontario with ghosts and foxes and she is rumoured to be either a ghost or a fox. maybe both.

version with simpler lighting and additional character info are below the cut

The woods have a reputation: a large number of unsolved missing child cases are attributed to the dangers of the forest, with a lot of undue blame placed on the zoroark packs within. The foxes are made out to be bogeymen despite often keeping their distance from people unless provoked. Naturally, the forest is a common subject of interest and speculation for urban legends, paranormal investigators, and true crime fans alike. Helena herself has sparked many rumours as a recluse living alone in the forest, and nobody yet has pinpointed who or what she is. Helena is aware that people think she’s a ghost and encourages that view because she wants to scare people away from the woods, but she isn’t currently aware that ghost hunting is a Whole Thing people are super into.

Helena is a living human person actually, she’s in her mid-late 20s and the woods have been her home since she was 11 years old. Her first two pokemon were her drifblim (drifloon at the time) and an adolescent zoroark, who has since passed and left behind three kits Helena now looks after. The rest of her ‘team’ (she’s not registered as a trainer) is a stubborn duskull, and a shy phantump named Sammy who she’s adopted as her own kid.

Helena rarely leaves the forest and does not interact with people when she does not have to. for mandatory supply runs. She intends to scare off any she finds entering her neck of the woods.... but she’s got a soft spot for kids. she’ll feed and shelter lost kids and runaways, and help them get home. or away from home. adding to the ‘disappearances’.

random trivia: she’s 6’1”. She is Content with living in the woods. She thrifts her clothes and mends them herself. She’s Severely farsighted and needs glasses so bad. She doesn’t super vibe with the law if she thinks a law is dumb. She’s a slow reader but she enjoys books ‘borrowed’ from secondhand shops (she treats them like libraries and returns the books when she’s finished with them). She limits her town visits to after the sun has started setting and is usually trailed by at least three strange children. There are Multiple podcast episodes dedicated to any part of the mystery surrounding her, and none have put the right pieces together yet. She’s kind of in shock that she has accidentally acquired a whole 5 kids (3 zorua, 1 phantump, and one actual ghost) but she cares very much for and is fiercely protective of them. She gets along with pokemon a lot better than with people. She doesn’t go looking for fights but she will Readily start a fistfight given enough of a cause. She has yet to actually have a pokemon battle (and hasn’t ‘caught’ her pokemon). She gets very interested in cryptozoology and paranormal studies once she starts understanding em. She’s just tryin’ to live her best life, man. Also she’s trans and gay and autistic and she’s about to stumble into a Plot upon encountering friend ocs

#pokemon #pokemon oc #pokemon trainer #drifblim #phantump #image #my art #my characters #set: pokemon #char: helena #stream ‘charlatan in red (a fox’s wedding)’ - the forgetmenauts #the power got turned off for repairs for three hours earlier which is why i ended up rendering this piece {>%{>{

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mostlymovieswithmax · 3 years

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Movies I watched in July

Once again I’m doing my monthly round-up of movies I’ve watched. This was a good month for the cinema getting back on track and seeing new releases including the new M. Night movie, Old and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Pretty sure Marvel put out a new movie also. I’m hoping that this list can help in guiding a decision about what to watch (or what to avoid) and introduce people to movies they may otherwise not have heard of or bothered to see. These short reviews are my own subjective opinions on each individual movie and maybe a more informal approach to movie criticism can help include others who are just passing through. Here is every film I watched from the 1st to the 31st of July.

Bridesmaids (2011) - 4/10

Off to a good start. I won’t say Bridesmaids is a terrible movie but I don’t think I’m exactly the target audience. As far as I know, this is a beloved comedy but I just can’t get on board with all the boring, juvenile humour; with Maya Rudolph shitting in the street, with Rose Byrne and Kristen Wiig trying to one-up each other at a toast that went on forever, with Melissa McCarthy shitting in a sink… the conflict is so done to death and makes the movie feel unspecial. I do understand the appeal of the film, especially for women in that before this movie the likelihood of seeing something like this, where women play up the more crass and gross side of comedy, was probably few and far between. But the story is very tired and while I did appreciate some moments, namely a couple of decent jokes and some of the more intimate scenes, for the most part it felt like they wanted to corner a more quiet type of line delivery in a way that was supposed to be understated but very funny so as to not rely on over the top body language or musical cues, and it ended up being super dull.

Spectre (2015) - 7/10

As far as I can tell, a lot of people don’t like this instalment of the James Bond franchise… but I really enjoyed it! I’ve really taken a shine to these Daniel Craig-era Bond movies and while I can’t say any of them are the most amazing thing, I have a lot of fun with them. The biggest problem I have with Spectre is the villain being utterly pointless and uninteresting in basically every way. The idea of every villain Bond has fought before being tied to this one organisation controlled by this one guy is ridiculous, and what makes it worse is that the villain is barely in it! There’s so much that doesn’t come together in this but as it goes, I still had a really good time. Daniel Craig holds the whole thing together; he is excellent as 007 and the main reason I’m up for each of these movies is because of him. Sam Mendes directs again after the previous instalment and for what it’s worth I do think he does a good job with some of the action set pieces and the locations. I’m so ready for No Time To Die.

Shazam (2019) - 7/10

Shazam is a genuinely fun superhero movie that doesn’t take itself seriously at all. I was having a great time throughout and while it could conform to some of the same tropes we’re used to with these kinds of movies, it still remained playful and used the character of Shazam to his fullest potential in a way that showed an understanding of just how silly the idea of a kid who can turn into an adult and shoot lightning out of his hands is.

High School Musical (2006) - 6/10

So as you may or may not know, I co-host a podcast: The Sunday Movie Marathon. It’s a film podcast and every week I get together with my other co-hosts and watch movies. For episode 38, we watched the High School Musical trilogy. This first movie blew me away. I was really surprised with just how much fun I had, and if you want to hear more of my thoughts on the film, please listen to episode 38 of the podcast.

High School Musical 2 (2007) - 4/10

We then jumped into the second and while it’s certainly not as good as its predecessor, there are still some brilliant songs that manage to top the last movie. Again, more of what I have to say can be heard on episode 38 of the podcast.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) - 3/10

Senior Year was pretty hard to get through. I don’t remember it being as bad as it was, but then I didn’t really remember it anyway. It did however have one redeeming quality, which you can discover on episode 38 of the podcast.

The Piano Teacher (2001) - 9/10

What the fuuuckkkk. The Piano Teacher is horrendously affecting and I was so upset when it ended, maybe not because it’s not what I wanted but because it’s just so fucking dour and unrelenting. This is the second Haneke movie I’ve seen (after the original Funny Games) and I’m so impressed with how well executed it is. Following a woman who teaches piano, we get a glimpse into the life she lives, how sheltered she is from living with her mother at an age where you’d reasonably expect a person to be living alone or with a partner or friends (even going so far as to be sleeping in the same bed as her), and how repressed she is sexually. It’s clear she’s never experienced any kind of sexual interaction or romantic love with another person, so she goes out of her way to take control and make that happen. The upsetting nature of it comes from just what she does in pursuit of it or as a result of her repression, and what is done to her. It is by no means a movie to recommend to your parents but The Piano Teacher offers so much in terms of the ideas it presents (and I’ll admit there seems to be a lot more going on than I think I picked up on a first go round) about women in modern society, and about the portrayal of sex and expectations of people when it comes to how that is represented in a person’s character depending on their gender. I really enjoyed this movie but it is not for the faint of heart.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011) - 1/10

My podcast co-hosts decided it’d be a right laugh to add Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure to this episode and that might have been a fun idea for them because they got to watch it together, but I was just watching it alone. Just a 24-year-old man watching Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure alone and having a miserable time, I might add. But for a short and sweet ramble on what we all thought, please listen to episode 38 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast.

Dr. No (1962) - 6/10

A lot of very iffy parts of this movie. A lot of discomfort arising from how black people are portrayed that really didn’t sit right with me. As far as a Bond movie goes, this first instalment in the series is one I’ve seen before and it’s not wholly engaging but it plants the seeds for the rest, with Sean Connery breathing life into the role and making an otherwise lacklustre plot bearable.

Black Widow (2021) - 6/10

I think probably the best part about Black Widow is the experience I had while watching it. It was great being back in the cinema with a couple of friends in a packed theatre. The energy was high and I’m sure for a lot of people, this is the first time they’d been to the cinema since Endgame. For what it’s worth, I did have a lot of fun with Black Widow and I’ve explained more of what I thought about the movie in episode 39 of the podcast.

The Climb (2020) - 10/10

The Climb was added to Now TV recently and I already knew I loved it, having seen it in an empty cinema theatre last year, which I had an absolute blast with. The Climb details the years of a rocky friendship told over scenes filmed as one-shots. Not only is the presentation something to gawk at, but the performances by the two leads playing these friends with a terrifically dysfunctional dynamic is truly captivating. They’re both trying to figure out their own lives and where one can come across as being rather selfish, the opposite is true in his counterpart, whom everyone loves. This is a truly funny and heartwarming movie with a lot to say about how we choose to live our lives and who we choose to be with. It’s a shame the distributors of The Climb didn’t do a very good job because if not for it being available on Now TV, it would be near impossible to watch without forking out more money than is necessary to purchase a film.

From Russia With Love (1963) - 5/10

The second Bond movie. I thought perhaps I’d change my mind on it with another watch, having seen it for the first time maybe a year ago. But no, it’s still largely boring and it treats women like absolute garbage. From Russia With Love is one of those movies I forget as I watch it, and I was trying very hard (in the middle of the day!) not to fall asleep.

The Good, The Bart, and The Loki (2021) - 1/10

I don't usually talk about the short films I watch but for this I'll make an exception. As we all should know, Disney owns The Simpsons now, through their acquisition of Fox, so, coupled with another of their properties, that being Marvel, they decided to make a six-minute animated film wherein Marvel’s Loki is stranded in Springfield. This felt as though it was a minute long due to the horrendously jarring pacing; it is a movie that feels adamant that it needs to exist, while trying as hard as it can to be over as soon as possible. It serves only to stare the audience directly in the face and say “look, characters from The Simpsons are dressed as Avengers”, shit out three credit scenes, then end before you’ve even processed the atrocity you just bore witness to.

Russian Ark (2002) - 8/10

For this next episode of the podcast, we watched a few Russian movies, starting with Russian Ark, a film shot completely in one take as the camera moves about a luxurious museum in a first-person perspective as this main character watches what is happening around him, seeing people moving about the place but unable to interact with them, guided only by another man who seems to be just slightly out of his own perception of reality. This is a tremendous feat in filmmaking and more can be heard about what I have to say in episode 39 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast.

Ivan’s Childhood (1962) - 7/10

For my own pick of Russian movies to discuss on the podcast, I chose the debut feature from one of my favourite directors, Andrei Tarkovsky. It’s amazing that while this is not his best film by far, Ivan’s Childhood is still such a stellar debut, jumping around in its timeline as it details a child’s experience in the second world war. Again, I do go into more depth in episode 39 of the podcast, so be sure to check that out.

Outlaw (2019) - 1/10

The third movie chosen for this marathon is apparently the fourth Russian LGBTQ+ movie ever made. I’m unsure of the ultimate goal of this movie but what seems to be clear is that it hates the LGBTQ+ community. This is perhaps the worst film we’ve discussed on the podcast to date, so listen to episode 39 to understand exactly why it’s such trash.

Almost Famous (2000) - 7/10

I too love heavy music and also studied journalism so it stands to reason that a movie about a teenager who makes his way onto a band tour, following them through America and interviewing them as they hang out and play shows is going to be a premise that resonates with me. This certainly did. I enjoyed Almost Famous a lot; this kid is living the dream and I was so along for the ride, seeing a lot of myself in what was being portrayed. That said, the story itself is at times a bit by the numbers and I really would’ve been more on board if the visual component was more interesting. For what it is, technically it’s fine enough but nothing in that department ever jumped out at me.

Minari (2021) - 8/10

It’s crazy that this didn’t get a theatrical run where I live in the UK. It feels as though I complain about film distribution all the time but I really don’t understand the process by which a movie gets no cinematic release and yet, months later will pop up on the front shelf of hmv, taking pride of place. But of course I got the blu-ray straight away. Minari has a lot to say about the immigrant experience, specifically in America as a family comes over from Korea and tries to start a business and make something of themselves. You get to see a lot of what you might not think twice about when you think about immigration: the hardship of coming from a place where you know everyone to somewhere rural and sparsely populated, having to make friends with locals and integrate within the community; the strain it can put on a family and on a marriage where this idea is presented about the importance of making it on your own in order to live and not just survive, while also taking into account why you’re doing it in the first place and the value you place on being part of a family that you decided to make because that was more important than money, than economy, than proving you were good enough to make it in a place that gave you very little advantage from the offset. This concept of the promised land, of the American dream is a construct. There are times when it’s not pretty, when you have no running water, or you’re in debt, or a family member is dying and it just feels like you’ve been dealt as bad a hand as you can get. But it is better to know you’re not facing all that alone.

Roma (2018) - 10/10

This was my recommendation for the podcast episode on Alfonso Cuarón movies. Roma is as beautiful as it is heart-wrenching and I would recommend listening to episode 40 of the podcast to find out more about my thoughts.

An American Werewolf In London (1981) - 8/10

In all fairness, London is enough to make anyone a little crazy at the best of times. An American Werewolf in London showcases some fantastically grotesque effects, akin to something like Carpenter’s The Thing, in showing the dead brought back to life and a horrifically gory transformation scene. Although the film is from the perspective of an American protagonist, directed also by an American, the depiction of British culture and climate is something I’ve not seen many films pull off quite so well, and I was pleasantly surprised at the more comedic tone the film has overall, which is something that works more in its favour than straight horror would.

The Party’s Just Beginning (2018) - 6/10

Karen Gillan’s directorial debut is… pretty good! There are a lot of ideas I like in this movie: a woman living life and through convenient circumstances, is confronted with death in many ways. Gillan obviously knows her homeland as well as she can, imbuing the whole thing with an intensely Scottish vibe (though maybe not in the same vein as something like Trainspotting) that makes it a bit more unique than a more run of the mill movie of this ilk, backed up in no small part by her own main performance. The plot itself is no great diversion from the kind of story I’m used to with these smaller movies and for something that’s trying to include messaging about transgender issues and suicide, it probably could have been handled better or done in a different way.

Solaris (1972) - 9/10

Another Tarkovsky joint, one I thought I’d revisit to see if there was indeed more to get out of it a second time. Well, it’s no surprise that yes, there was certainly more to get out of it. Solaris is a crazy trip of a movie and I would liken it to Kubrick’s 2001 in terms of how grand the scale of it feels. Yet this is a film that comes across as deeply personal, choosing to focus on a specific character as he goes to a space station to help those on board who are experiencing some kind of emotional crises, only to feel the effects of the planet, Solaris invading his own mind as it has the crew. To many, I can see this lengthy Russian sci-fi being a tad slow but my personal experience is one of deep engagement. Solaris pulls its viewer in a lot of different directions and it is always doing something unexpected in terms of where its narrative goes. There’s a lot to think about with the movie and thankfully it’s no chore to watch again.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001) - 9/10

Another recommendation for the podcast episode on Alfonso Cuarón movies. This is a very relaxed experience, following three young people as they go on a road trip, visit different places and have sex. Listen to episode 40 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast for more of my thoughts.

Children of Men (2006) - 10/10

My favourite Cuarón movie, one that never stops being tense as its characters are constantly moving towards the end goal. Set in a future where humans are infertile, the oldest living person is 18, and London is the last city in the world that’s still keeping it together, somewhat. This is masterclass filmmaking. Listen to episode 40 of the podcast for more insights.

Minority Report (2002) - 5/10

I’m really not the biggest fan of Spielberg… Minority Report is an interesting movie in terms of its concept of stopping crimes before they happen by way of prediction, but I just didn’t connect with the heart of it. The colouring is way too overexposed in a way that’s supposed to be eliciting a futuristic vibe but instead feels so early-2000’s in the worst way. My biggest problem with Minority Report is just how long it is, clocking in at two hours and twenty-five minutes which allows for a lot of meandering, all while never quite developing characters enough for you to care about.

Caché (2005) - 9/10

Oh god! Another Michael Haneke movie! Here we see a couple periodically sent video tapes featuring hours of footage of the outside of their house. The anxiety ratchets up and the mystery gets deeper with every minute. There’s always at least one moment in any of his films that have so far made me realise just how out of my depth I am. Caché is no exception, and I won’t spoil anything here because I think it’s better just to watch the movie and see for yourself. He is a director that wants the audience to know something and that something is never what is explicitly shown at face value; it is pressed into the fabric of the film - plainly evident, yet hidden. Caché is so stupidly clever in displaying its themes and messaging - making reference to the Siene Massacre of 1961 as well as a deeper study of colonialism - and there’s no way to change a single detail of it without risking the Jenga tower crumbling to the ground. It all works in tandem. It is passion and fury and haunting.

Coco (2017) - 7/10

Pixar had a string of around seven forgettable movies before this point so thankfully Coco emerged to show the company still had something good in them. Coco deals a lot with themes of death and legacy, remembering those who are gone in order to preserve them and while its plotting is quite basic and there are certainly moments that either drag or cannot escape the same Pixar formula, most of what the movie has to offer is a lot of fun, with creative, colourful animation and emotional beats that resonate the way they’re supposed to.

Incredibles 2 (2018) - 5/10

Oh, they almost had it! There's a lot here that could have been explored in far more interesting ways. Setting Incredibles 2 directly after the events of the first movie was not a good idea. If it had taken place five or ten years after, the characters could have been in different places in life and it would feel as though they'd actually changed and developed. But instead of trying to be a film that actually cares about its characters and the journeys they go on, a lot of the film is wrestling with the idea that Bob isn't supportive of his wife and Jack-Jack has to fight a raccoon… They have to shoehorn in a villain that in no way compares to the genius of the original. The ending of the original introduces another antagonist that gets wrapped up within this film's first ten minutes, except they don't catch him and he's never mentioned again. It's a real shame because the animation is fantastic and the acting is superb and there are great ideas sprinkled throughout. It just doesn't come together.

Toy Story 4 (2019) - 6/10

I was rather reluctant to watch Toy Story 4 because from the get-go I’m not really here for sequels being made just for the sake of it. Everyone loves Toy Story and making another one is a sure fire way to make money. This is the first time I’ve seen Toy Story 4 and for what it’s worth, I did enjoy it. The animation is immaculate and that alone feels like a huge flex from Pixar who tend to step up the game when it comes to animation in film, despite not having the best track record for films generally at this point. While it was nice to see these characters again, I found a lot of them to be side-lined (namely Buzz) in favour of a story that focuses mainly or entirely on Woody, who I just don’t like as much as in the previous movies. Generally the movie is good and decent enough but there’s no real antagonist and the plot is quite loose… it doesn’t feel as though it needed to be made from a story point of view.

Onward (2020) - 6/10

And with that I have seen every Pixar movie. And Onward is a fine one to go out on. While I don’t think it compares to the likes of earlier Pixar it’s still pretty fun. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for a medieval setting filled with bright colours and magic! Speaking of which, the animation was super and the medieval quest element is something that hooked me with the film. Again, plot-wise it does feel very familiar and I don’t know, maybe I’m past the point now of expecting Pixar to mix it up where their formula for story-telling is concerned but the movie is quite predictable. Nonetheless, while I’m not rushing back to see Onward I would hardly turn it off or refuse if someone wanted to watch it.

Old (2021) - 3/10

Oh boy! New M. Night movie dropped and my word, was it fun! For more of my thoughts on this… masterpiece (?) of a movie, please direct your attention to episode 41 of The Sunday Movie Marathon podcast.

T2 Trainspotting (2017) - 5/10

Trainspotting is perhaps one of my favourite movies and I had never bothered with the sequel, 20 years on, because the ending of that first movie is so conclusive. T2 felt more an excuse for these guys to get together again and in that, I probably would have preferred a couple of pictures on Twitter of the main cast and director, Danny Boyle having dinner or something. This is a fine movie - very arty in its presentation but meandering and dull in its story that doesn’t offer much in the way of proof that it had to exist.

Taste of Cherry (1997) - 9/10

What makes life worth living? This is a central question and theme of Taste of Cherry, and one that leaves such interpretation not only up to its central character but to the viewer as well. This film got me thinking about times in my life when I truly have had no answer to hard questions. Because it’s hard to convince people of things they are so adamantly against and harder still to rationalise what you believe if you’re not even entirely sure why you believe it in the first place. We are all of us alive and in recognising that, does that make it precious? And if indeed living is not a happy thing, why then should we fight so hard to preserve it? I felt upset as I watched this movie because I’ve been asked these kinds of questions before and it makes me feel stupid when I’m unable to answer. But the only real answer I can give is, everything. And if you can’t see the point then you’re not looking hard enough. Taste of Cherry is beautiful in its exploration of these topics and in its overall presentation, offering some of the best visuals in any movie I’ve seen - fitting for a feature with so much to say about the beauty of life - and an ending that as much pulls the rug out from under you as it does pull you out of the dark and make you realise just how lonely you’ve felt.

Bones (2001) - 2/10

Snoop Dogg is Jimmy Bones! This film is super funny but I’m not sure it’s trying to be and I really didn’t love it overall. But I do talk more in depth about it in episode 41 of the podcast.

The Duchess (2008) - 5/10

Another recommendation for the podcast. The Duchess was pretty much exactly what I thought it was going to be and there’s a lot to like about it but generally it’s a bit sparse. For more chat on the movie, listen to episode 41 of the podcast.

The Man With One Red Shoe (1985) - 1/10

This was another one for the podcast and man, was it awful. We had to watch it at 1.5x speed towards the end because it just wasn’t getting finished otherwise. To find out more, make sure to listen to episode 41 of the podcast.

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) - 7/10

Pull the lever, Kronk! Haha! Slays me. I do quite miss this era of Disney, where the animation was hand-drawn and the stories were actually compelling and funny. The Emperor’s New Groove is vibrant, it’s got great characters and memorable moments that will forever be ingrained in the memory of culture. All in all, it’s just a solid flick that doesn’t waste time, developing the standard fall from glory type of arc but smoothly and in an entertaining way.

The Suicide Squad (2021) - 8/10

Oh, bloody hell! They actually made a good one! The Suicide Squad is not only better than the ‘Suicide Squad’ of 2016 in every way, it’s a genuinely great film! This time, James Gunn (director of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies) is at the helm and it seems clear that Warner Bros. basically let him do what he wanted with the movie, as it doesn’t seem to bog itself down with the restrictions of a more family-friendly rating. The result of this is a far cleaner, colourful film with a clearer vision that takes from early Vietnam movies and uses that style to craft a superhero/villain movie that differentiates itself among the copious amount of existing films of the genre. The Suicide Squad wastes very little time, introducing fun, crazy characters we’ve not seen on the big screen before and isn’t worried about killing a whole bunch of them, with standouts being Elba’s Bloodsport, Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2, Stallone’s King Shark (expertly rendered with fantastic visual effects), and Robbie’s returning interpretation of Harley Quinn. A lot of Gunn’s trademark sense of humour is laced throughout and more often than not, it hits. The audience at the cinema were truly loving this movie and I’ll admit, I was right there with them. This mix of the gritty, gory and absurd is not something that should work as well as it does but the basic premise of the film is already so silly (and boy, do they know it) that it just works! Certainly one of the best DC movies since The Dark Knight and one I’d be more than happy to watch again. This is what the modern comic book movie should be: just balls to the wall fun!

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podcastsaremyjam · 4 years

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Podcast Recs!

Sometimes it can be difficult to find new fiction podcasts through the jungle of nonfiction ones. I LOVE finding new podcasts through other people’s recommendation’s, so I figured I’d take advantage of tumblr’s “pin a post” feature to pin a list of my favorite podcasts to the top of my page! Be sure to check out the tags on this post too—I try to be pretty consistent with tagging on this account. I’ll keep updating as I find new podcasts!

Fantasy

The Adventure Zone

If you’re into D&D, you’ve probably at least heard of this one, but it’s definitely worth the hype! TAZ was created by the McElroy brothers who, along with their dad Clint, play D&D together. The whole thing is INCREDIBLY hilarious, but each story really gets more complex and interesting as it goes along. The first “season,” TAZ: Balance is my favorite—classic D&D setting following Magnus, Taako, and Merle as they adventure and a larger mystery slowly unfolds. #adventure #dnd #found family

Unseen

A collection of stories set in the same magical universe by the team who created Wolf359. Each episode has been really interesting, and the worldbuilding is really great! #magic #lgbtq+ rep #mental health

The Two Princes

Rupert and Amir are princes of two kindgoms at war who decide to take destiny into their own hands by pursuing the cause of the curse plaguing their kingdoms. To do so, they will have to create an uneasy truce as they forge deeper into the enchanted forest. This podcast is so lovely. The characters growth is just *chef’s kiss* I just found out that seasons 2 & 3 were released exclusively on Spotify, so guess who’s “to listen” list just got longer? #princes #lgbtq+ rep #prophecy #enemies to lovers

Sci-Fi

Girl in Space

Our narrator (who’s name has not been revealed as of the end of season 1) is a young scientist who’s parents have died, leaving her as the sole living inhabitant of the research station Cavatica. Space seems so vast when you only have yourself to talk to...until it isn’t. One of my all time favs—there is so much depth in the story and characters! #space #research #mental health #grief #space station

Directive

Y’all, this one made me cry the first time I listened to it! The story (in season 1) follows Frank as he works as a caretaker watching over the cryogeniclly stored bodies of people on their way to a space colony. It’s such a poginant exploration of the social bonds we take for granted. #space #mental health

Wolf 359

Told through the audio logs of Communications Officer Doug Eiffel , Wolf 359 follows the crew of the Hephaestus as they monitor the star Wolf 359. If I could only recommend 5 podcasts to someone, this one would definitely make the cut. Each of the characters is so well flashed out as the podcast progresses, and the conversations it has about mental illness are handled so well! #space #mental health #space station

Moonbase Theta Out

Ugh, this podcast is so good! The first season follows the researchers and workers on Moonbase Theta as they prepare for base shutdown. However, with political issues threatening the safety of family planetside and those in charge being suspiciously unwilling to provide information on certain topics, our narrator pushes for answers before he goes into cryogenic stasis. Note—the narrator of season one and his husband are sappy and adorable. I love them so muchhhh. #space #politics #lgbtq+ rep #space station

The Orphans

If you love sci-fi, this is the podcast for you! The Orphans tells the story of a universe full of future technologies and humanity continuing to push forward into unknowns. Each season tells a different story arc set in the same universe, interconnecting and building on past seasons. #technology #space #survival

Burst

An adorable anti-capitalist comedy set in space! #space #aliens #lgbtq+ rep #space station

EOS 10

OMG This podcast always makes me laugh so hard! It follows two doctors, a nurse, and a hypochondriac alien patient as they navigate medical appoinments and daily life on the station EOS 10. Shenagains ensue. #space #medical #lgbtq+ rep #aliens #space station

The Strange Case of the Starship Iris

Hooooo boy! Bring on the found family adventures in space we all deserve! Something here about the Each character is just beautifully written, layered in complexities that start to peel away as we get to know them. #aliens #space #found family #lgbtq+ rep

The Bright Sessions

Therapy session recordings of Dr. Bright’s patients. Only, her patients aren’t there for help with anxiety or depression. They’re there because they’re “atypicals,” people with incredible abilities. I love each of the characters in this podcast, and learning more and more as the plot unfolds!

Horror/Supernatural

The Magnus Archives

I don’t normally listen to horror, but I started listening in the middle of the pandemic and HOO BOY. It did not disappoint! The story follows Jonathan Sims working in the archives at the Magnus Institute, an institute dedicated to gathering information about strange and unusual occurances. Each episode is Jon recording himself reading statements people have given in order to better organize the Archives. Starts off a little slow in terms of Jon’s interaction with other characters, but that aspect starts picking up halfway through season 1. #horror #supernatural #lgbtq+ rep

King Falls AM

Though not as terrifying as the other shows in this section, King Falls AM can definitely be unsettling. The show follows Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold as they host a late night radio show in the not-so-sleepy town of King Falls. Though newcomer Sammy is skeptical of the town’s reputation for supernatural events, there is definitely more to the town and its inhabitants than meets the eye. #supernatural #mental health #lgbtq+ rep

Welcome to Nightvale

My first ever podcast! You’ve probably already decided if Nightvale is your cup of tea if you’re on my blog, but basically WtNV is a radio show covering events that happen in a town where glowing clouds rain dead animals, a country of tiny people exosts under a bowling lane, and librarians will must not escape the library. Vaguely creepy and definitely weird! #supernatural #lgbtq+ rep

Other

Levar Burton Reads

If you love short stories, definitely check this one out! As the title suggests, the immensely talented Levar Burton selects a different short story for each episode and reads it. His selections span lots of genres, and he’s read stories from some of my favorite authors like Neil Gaiman and Nnedi Okorafor!

Me & AU

This podcast is sooooo cute! It follows Kate as she hyperfocuses on a new show called Selkirk and becomes friends with a fellow Selkirk fan named Ella.

Under Pressure

Follows a doctor of literature aboard a deep sea research station three miles underwater.

36 Questions

A musical three part mini-series about the relationship fallout between a husband and wife after the husband discovers that his wife isn’t who she says she is.

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ilovejevsjeans · 3 years

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Daniel Ricciardo on his passion for combat sports, a walkout song and the time he asked Lewis Hamilton to ‘fight’

McLaren Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, who currently sits seventh in the driver standings heading into this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, is among the world’s best behind a steering wheel. But how would he fare if he swapped his racing gloves for boxing or MMA gloves?

“I’d love to do a charity boxing match or something just to feel that adrenaline of walking to a ring,” Ricciardo said. “It’s on my to-do list for sure. At school I had a few little fights but nothing crazy. Nothing I’d brag about here.”

Ricciardo says he learned the sport of boxing from a friend who fought as an amateur growing up. However in recent years his love of combat shifted more toward mixed martial arts, a sport that is “quite beautiful. It’s an art form and I was just taken by it.”

The Australian — who boasts 4.6 million followers on Instagram — rarely misses a fight night, whether that’s a small card or pay-per-view. Every Monday he gears up for multiple MMA podcasts to hear analysis on what just took place in the cage.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Ricciardo opened up about his love for fighting, which driver would make the best opponent and why Lewis Hamilton turned down an opportunity to get in the ring against him.

You’re an avid fight fan. How did this passion for the sport start?

One of my best friends growing up, when he was growing up, he was doing amateur boxing and got very good at it. I was then doing my racing and he was doing his boxing. We were both on a bit of an unconventional path — both individual sports, not really the typical sports the kids at school were doing. We had that in common. Once I started taking my racing more seriously I began taking my fitness more seriously. So I started going to his gym to just train. I really enjoyed doing it. But the truth is — I don’t want to lie to anyone. I’m not a fighter. As much as I would picture beating the bully up at school, it’s not me. But I just fell in love with not only doing it but also watching it.

I enjoyed watching boxing but it was really when I got exposed to MMA … It just had me. It was back in 2011 when I started properly getting into it. It was the quickest sport I had ever been absorbed by. I was all in.

My whole YouTube feed is just all MMA shows, whether it’s press conferences, interviews, podcasts. It’s just full of MMA stuff. I’m a full nerd now.

Being in Australia and traveling a lot, are you forced to get up at weird times for fights?

The beauty was I was in LA when (Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2) was on so it was prime time and I was happy. But normally in Europe, it’s 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., which isn’t as good. Any kind of sporting event that you look forward to, it’s always cool when it’s in the evening because you have all day to get ready and talk about it. If you wake up at 4 a.m. it’s like “ugh,” and then you’re straight into it so there’s not as much of a build-up. But it’s all good.

So do you still train at all?

No. To races, my trainer carries some pads and gloves just to stay a little sharp and change it up. If I’m getting my reflexes with some tennis balls, maybe I throw in a bit of a boxing combination or something. Again, I’m not saying I’m good or anything. But I just enjoy the whole movement part of it.

Boxing was cool and I enjoyed watching it growing up. But there was something with MMA where there’s just so many different disciplines and the matchups … as a contest it was so much more open and for that, exciting. I feel — I know it’s not always the case — you can kind of tell in boxing if someone is getting momentum, the advantage. It’s like “this guy is going to win the fight.” But in MMA, it’s like “this guy is winning standing but if this goes to the ground, it’s back to square one.” So I just loved it. I was really immersed by it all.

Did you have a particular fighter or fight that got you hooked early on?

One of the first events I watched was UFC 116. Chris Leben was on the card and I think he was losing the fight. And then he got a triangle with probably 20 seconds to go in the third round, so that was really exciting. Stephan Bonnar was also on that card and he got a really cool finish on “The Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski. That was a card for me where I was very taken from that. Then I discovered “The Ultimate Fighter.” I just binge-watched all of those (seasons).

In terms of fighters, Leben was a character, I liked him. Carlos Condit. I’d say Condit and Cub Swanson were two guys I got behind early on. Condit, I love his style and the way he carries himself.

Have you been to a lot of cards in person?

The very first one I did was the best for me personally. To this day, it’s my favorite sporting event I’ve ever been to: (Conor) McGregor-(Chad) Mendes. Vegas in July 2015. Obviously McGregor, but he wasn’t yet a champion and still kind of on the rise. It was the energy and atmosphere. It was just wild.

The whole event too. (Robbie) Lawler-(Rory) MacDonald, which had the fight of the year. Every fight on the main card I think was a finish, so I got very lucky at my first event.

I’ve done (Michael) Bisping-(Anderson) Silva in the UK. That was a great contest as well.

There are a lot of great fighters from Australia and New Zealand like Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Robert Whittaker. Have you had a chance to meet any of them?

I haven’t met them. A couple of them I’ve had interactions with on social media. But I love Whittaker, obviously Volkanovski is killing it. I’m fairly patriotic to the Aussie fighters. If they are fighting, 99 percent of the time I’ll be supporting them. But one of my good buddies is roommates with Luke Rockhold, so I got to know Luke the last couple of years. I was trying to do some training over Christmas with him but it didn’t end up working out.

I know you’re a big shoey guy. What do you think of Tai Tuivasa doing it after wins?

I’ve had a bit of contact with Tuivasa as well. It’s obviously great. But one thing I can’t get behind is spitting. That’s a little extra.

Plus he’ll grab some random fan’s shoe.

He definitely takes it to the next level. It’s cool that — as disgusting as it is — we have some traditions like this.

Shifting a bit to F1, have you ever gotten into any big fights on the track? What was the worst fight you’ve gotten in?

Earlier in go-karting there was a bit more. Unfortunately in F1, I guess because you’re on the world’s stage, even if you push someone you probably are going to get a fine or get penalized. At times it’s a little too clean. But I’m still waiting for the day that someone confronts me and I just lay them out (laughs).

You also just seem a lot more laid back than a lot of other drivers, so you’d probably not be my first choice of someone getting into a fight soon.

I’m all talk, it would be nice obviously to not have to fight anyone. But no one would expect it from me. Even when I tell people I’m a fight fan, people are like “oh really? You’re into that? You seem too nice to like that.”

But to get where I have in the sport, you need a bit of a killer streak in you. I do have it, but don’t always show it.

What other driver would make the best fighter?

I know some guys have done — for fitness — hit some pads. Randomly, he doesn’t have a seat this year, but Daniil Kvyat started doing quite a lot of boxing last year for his training. I saw a few clips and it started to look like he knew what he was doing. I would say he would be the guy who has the most idea. I’d put him and myself up there. The rest I don’t think stand a chance.

So if you had a charity event, you don’t have anyone in particular you’d want to go against?

To be honest, I actually asked Lewis Hamilton. At the beginning of 2016, he posted a video on his Instagram hitting pads. I was as well at the time, so I was like “hey, let’s do a charity fight.” I asked him in person. But he didn’t bite on that one so I was a little sad.

I might re-ask the question.

What about Max Verstappen? For people who watched the first season of the F1 show “Drive to Survive” on Netflix, I’m sure they would love to see you guys throw down at some point.

That would have been cool as well (laughs). Max would be a good competitor in the ring. The way he drives, he’s quite stubborn. He’d be a hard guy to put away. He’s probably the guy that you’d choke him and he’s going to sleep and not tapping. That would make an interesting one.

In contrast, is there an MMA fighter you’d like to race on the track?

An obvious one would be Conor McGregor. To hear in his Irish accent all kinds of things, that would make pretty good television. And he loves his cars. It’s obvious, but that would probably be the best.

How often would you say you watch fights now? Not just PPVs, right?

Unless I have something like work or another commitment, I’m watching it every week. Mondays I’m getting ready for every podcast. I sound like a real nerd but it’s just an addiction. I love it. Anyone doing that for Formula 1, I’d be like “you’re such a nerd,” but here I am doing it with MMA.

Is it hard to follow everything during the race season?

If I can’t see it live, then 100 percent I’m going to watch the replay or buy it later. But it’s also a good escape. If I’m traveling and I’m in between races, to get my mind away from my competition, I like to watch it. I also try to pick up things as well. Whether it’s from a mental point of view … I’ll look at the walkouts and how they are behaving. I try to figure out if they are really as calm and collected as they are portraying or if it’s a bit of a facade. I’m trying to work out what I can use in my events.

Do you have a walkout song prepared if you were to fight?

I’ve thought about it. The short answer is no. You typically have to have something heavy and fast, but I fell in love with Chris Weidman’s “Won’t Back Down.” It’s not typically a song that will pump you up but it’s so iconic and now it’s his, it’s very fitting.

I’d go for something more lyrically powerful as opposed to instrumental. I loved Max Holloway’s, I think it’s called Mount Everest (by Labrinth). (X)

#hopefully this is the right one anon #daniel ricciardo #dan #interviews

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pepperonitimeline · 4 years

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There is an interesting emphasis on timelines in Steven Universe

but like. Why?

Hypothesis: Steven Universe is made up of multiple timelines, but shown in an order that makes the events seem linear. read part 2 here!

I'm not the first person to speculate this at all. A lot of this stuff has been pointed out by @dogcopter @arrozbrillante @stevenutheories and many others on various platforms!

I just gathered the most conspicuous "evidence" into 1 post. If you’re interested in SU theory and analysis you should check out their blogs. :o) This was as short as I could make it..

And a big thank you to @love-takes-work for her podcast summaries!!!

So, most ostensibly there’s Garnet, who can see multiple futures. In Pool Hopping she begins to call her visions timelines specifically.

Garnet: In this timeline, we do the opposite of that. Hey, you! Have a pizza!

Steven: Hey, Vidalia's house is around here. Let's bring her the last pie.

Garnet: Now, that would be nice. She must be upset that her son was taken into space by those Homeworld Gems. (referring to the events of I Am My Mom)

Steven: You mean Onion? He isn't in space. He's right over there. *points*

Garnet: Sorry, I-I must be thinking of a different timeline.

Garnet: My bad. I was sure we were in the pepperoni timeline.

Garnet: It's important to keep in mind that all these horrible things did happen to you in alternate timelines. Safety is fun.

In Steven and The Stevens:

Yeah

It was confirmed on the podcast that the Steven we see from that episode on is a different Steven than the one from episodes 1-21. In “The Fantasy of Steven Universe” Sugar explains:

"I think, early on, we knew for sure what we wanted to do was to create episodes that feel self-contained but give you a new piece of information or change the characters fundamentally. So, Steven and the Stevens, is tight but Steven does change fundamentally after having that experience. He's not the same- in THAT case he's LITERALLY not the same character..."

It’s muffled because they're all laughing but right after they say this Matt Burnett goes “He died.”

Link to the episode

Love-takes-work also has a text summary of the episode

youtube

But something I haven't seen discussed very much is the time travel chase scene. Granted it’s very blink-and-you’ll miss it, there are some Stevens who witness the other Steven’s fighting but that don’t end up in the Sea Shrine at the end.

Way back in 2015 @stevenutheories already did the math as to how many alternate timelines may have stemmed from the time shenanigans: 3 to 5. Not counting the original one who is definitively gone.

Technically quantum mechanics don’t work like that and those Stevens should have been Thanos’d too. I’m not going to pretend I understand physics, that is just what I’ve been told by someone who does. But then again the magic time thingy wasn’t bound by rules of real-life physics in the first place… so ??

Let’s cross-examine SATS’ accompanying KBCW post.

“At any given moment, if you asked me what I was thinking about, the answer would be one of two things: katana swords, or THE POSSIBILITY OF ALTERNATE TIMELINES RUNNING PARALLEL TO OUR OWN!

Proving the existence of these timelines can be pretty tricky, even for a seasoned paranormal investigator such as myself. An inter-temporal incursion caused by the momentary weakening of the time-space continuum doesn’t really photograph well. And all the cross dimensional time travelers I know don’t want to go on the record about their experiences. Frankly, the only thing I can submit as evidence of alternate timelines is the fact that THEY ARE PROBABLY JUST SO COOL AND AWESOME THAT THEY HAVE TO BE REAL.

Think about it! What about a universe where that asteroid missed Earth and we had DINOSAURS for pets instead of dogs? Or a universe where someone was like “Hey, zeppelins are way cooler than planes, let’s just do that!” Or a universe where AN ALTERNATE VERSION OF ME CAN GROW A FULL BEARD?! What an amazing life that Ronaldo must have… in THIS stupid reality I have a really hard time getting my moustache to connect to the rest of my facial hair and it’s incredibly frustrating.”

KBCW and Ronaldo’s commentary in general are usually half-right. Like the “Polymorphic Sentient Rocks are aliens who want to hollow out the earth… to make it lighter so they can transport it back to their star system” thing.

I can't help but think the "Dinosaurs for pets instead of dogs" is a reference to the live action Super Mario Bros. movie- where the meteor that killed the dinosaurs sent them to a parallel universe instead, causing mammals to go instinct in said universe. (Don’t know about the zeppelins.)

And then, and THEN there’s Keep Beach City Safe, KBCW’s more obscure rival blog run by (most likely) Onion under the pseudonym "The Observer". Apparently he’s planted cameras all over town to record Steven’s adventures. There's also a "Recruiter" and second mystery narrator calling themselves "Marco Díez", it's a whole thing,

Assuming it’s real, here’s one of the posts I think are the most relevant.

“I have been on zero gem hunts over the years, and what i have learned over the years is: always be prepared for anything, and everything. Connie’s already knows that and this her first mission. I, wasn’t so fortunate on my first mission. It was a crisp Autumn morning, - with notes of cinnamon in the air. I was the mountains, the air temperature, humidity and level elevation levels, were perfect.

Then, I noticed the creature, it was charging me. I tried to evade the gem monster, but it just kept on coming, and coming! There was no escape! And then- Wait! I just remembered. I never been on a gem hunt! So where did I get that story from?”

This was posted on August 1st alongside Gem Hunt… and the day after the Greg The Babysitter post, which was deleted earlier this year, right after people started interacting with it again.

Being a Babysitter is hard, especially if your Greg Universe. This guy, in the picture above me. Wait did I just become self aware? Hey, I did! Haha, I always knew I was more to me than just a narrator. Actually this is the first time I thought about, Because I'm self aware baby! Woohoo, yeah! Wait, what was I talking about? Ah yes, Gregory. So this Greg guy,Has to Babysit this cool baby, because he owes her for letting him mooch off her. And Greg, is like totally irresponsible, he some how lets the baby climb a Ferris Wheel. How does that even happen? This dude is so not getting payed. And what's up with his hair!?!

So here it is, another story, told by Greg, about his past self. I wonder how many times I started a paragraph with the word so. And when he was telling this story, we got some clues that could finally tell use when all of this started. We know about the gems and what happened thousands of years ago, but we don't know about the hems and what happened thousands of years ago. They wee being very vague about the whole thing. Almost intentionally, well it was obsessively intentional.

There are subtle inconsistencies in Beach City's layout. ("The Observer" points this out, too.)

Remember Danny’s? In Bubble Buddies and Joking Victim, there’s a shop named Danny’s Salt Water Taffy.

Then in Watermelon Steven it’s gone.

As for a prop: Chaaaaps used to just be Chips

That’s from Monster Buddies, the episode right after Steven and The Stevens.

It's just as likely someone on the show simply thought the background/chips looked a little too busy or whatever. But re-doing stuff costs a lot of time and money, yknow? Neither of which is the animation industry very generous about. Did you know even props have model sheets?

Of course it could just be another brand of chips. Maybe Utz got involved somehow.

Lastly I want to highlight a quote from a Rebecca Sugar interview regarding SU ending.

“The story is continuing off screen and I do know what happens next, at least in certain timelines, for the characters,” Sugar says. “But I would have to decide how and when I’d want to dig into that, or if it’s best to give them their privacy.”

yeah so like what the fuck

#steven universe theory #su theory #long post #multiple timeline theory #deep lore #don't judge my blog theme im still working on it #only 2014 kids remember Danny's Salt Water Taffy

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