#claim to fame season 2

[throwbacktears]

TRAVVIIIISSSSSSSS

neil’s video though 😭😭😭😭 that was such a nice touch 🥹 i hope more celebs will send in goodbye videos!

[icancirieclearlynowthegameison]

Ok phew Claim to Game comes.in at the end of the month. I was nervous I was going to go all summer without some weird reality show.

[swiftie-as-a-coursing-river]

Throwback to when I wrote a Lokius fanfic as my first (and only) fic after Loki season 1 and left off literally in the middle, that currently has over 5,800 hits on AO3 and I still get notified abt to this day even tho the writing is ATROCIOUS 😭😭😭

[zoe-oneesama]

You know, I think for someone who is meant to be Adrien's childhood friend, Chloe doesn't seem to know him all that well. What's up with that?

Straight up, until Origins dropped, I thought he was just her classmate that she'd staked a claim on and he was just too nice to tell her off. I mean, she describes him to Ladybug as the "hot guy in her class that's totally into her" in "Dark Cupid", and she introduced herself to his dad as if they'd never met before in "Mr. Pigeon". That does not scream "Childhood Friend" to me.

I think that's why when they started to lean into it in Season 2, I just didn't care. Because they didn't set it up before hand; if anything, they UN-set it up before hand. Origins is, like, the only point in all of Season 1 that even alludes to them being friends before the start of the show, and even THAT backtracks because Adrien claims to Marinette's face that he's never had friends before! And Chloe tells her mom that besides Sabrina, she ALSO doesn't have friends in "Queen Wasp"!

It's a near impossible sell by the time they try to sell it. It would be better imo if Chloe was just another classmate who happened to be into Adrien for his status, fame, and looks. I'd look kinder at Adrien because then there wouldn't be this lingering feeling that if anyone should be taking responsibility for helping Chloe, it should be him, her childhood friend, especially as he's the one going around telling people not to be too mean to her. Just drop the friend angle and suddenly him not trying for her doesn't make him look like a bad friend and sanctimonious hypocrite who expects more out of others than he does from himself. It makes more sense that he's not getting involved, and he can still be perturbed by his classmate's over-the-top celebration of her departure if they still want someone to be a downer. (I think Bustier would fit the role better though).

But this is Miraculous Ladybug, where "friendship" can refer to anyone from Besties to Passing Acquaintances. There are no in betweens, a childhood friend is just as important, or not important, as a new classmate you have nothing in common with when it comes to this show. We, the audience, who know that certain relationships just have more history and importance than others, so we're the ones putting importance on the title "Childhood Friend".

But that importance just...doesn't exist here. Well. Until the writer's decide it suddenly does.

[gguk-n]

Jokes In The Cloud (Carlos Sainz x Comedian!Reader)

No Face Claim. All the pictures are from Pinterest.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CARLOS ON WINNING HIS SECOND GP THIS SEASON!!

punchlineprincess

Liked by y/bff/user and 2,389 others

punchlineprincess Vacationing with the people who get on my nerve the most

y/bff/user you forgot to take me😔😔 punchlineprincess y/bff/user sorry bbg, next trip with you alone😘😘 y/cousin/user you annoy us more🙂 y/mum/user not a nice thing to say Y/N punchlineprincess y/mum/user I was joking😅😅 user1 if someone saw her IG they would think she's a model😍😍 user2 God I've seen what you've done for others, when is it my turn🥲🥲 user3 pretty and funny. I want her!!❤️❤️

{Reader's POV}

The gears in my head my turning, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I still had to refine my script; I was sure I could do it if I have a few hours. "Sweetheart, dinner's ready" my dad called out from the bedroom door. "Dad, I have to leave" I stated. "To where?" my dad asked, walking in. "You know that Netflix special I was gonna film" I began, he nodded along, "well, they want to film it on Monday" I finished. "That's in a day" he stated. "2, since it's in New York" I explained. "Cassidy will send me my tickets, but I think I'll be leaving now" I spoke. "Sorry about ditching the family trip. I know how important it was for you" I mumbled. "It's okay, darling. This is bigger. This will catapult you to fame like you always wanted, I mean I'm already so proud of you but this is still bigger" he explained trying to calm me. "Me and your mum will help you pack, come on" he said and called my mum.

The two of them helped me pack my bags. He explained how my Netflix special would be filmed soon and I would be leaving soon to everyone. All my younger cousins and nieces and nephews were so excited. Cassidy sent me the tickets. I made sure to pack everything while my mum fed me, it was chaos in the best way possible. "I'll be leaving now" I hugged my parents good bye. "Can't wait to watch it" my aunt spoke patting my back. "Mention us" one of my younger cousin's spoke. "I'll try" I laughed. My niece kissed my cheek wishing me good bye. My nephew wasn't ready to let me go yet, my brother had to pull him off me.

I waved good bye as the taxi left the resort, my family waving back as I disappeared. The ride to the airport was short, I was too busy going through my material to notice when I reached the airport. I paid the taxi driver and hauled my luggage to the check-in desk. The person behind it, checked me in and I was headed to immigration. This was the first time I noticed that I was sitting first class. When did my manager have this kind of money to book first class. I'd have to bring it up with her once I had the time.

I got done with all the formality and headed to the waiting area, where I spent my time going through my script and tweaking it ever so often. I downed a RedBull to try to align myself to New York time, so that I can combat the jet lag.

As the speaker's announced the boarding for my flight, I grabbed all my stuff with the plan to finish it up on the plane. The air-host lead me to my seat. I noticed a man sat on the seat next to mine, he looked an awful lot familiar, until it hit me that it was Carlos Sainz; my heart started pounding. I walked up to my seat, put my luggage away and sat down. My hands were shaking by the time I sat down, pulling my laptop out. I started typing away with shaky hands. "Is that a script?" a voice came from beside me. I turned around to find Carlos with his head turned, trying to figure out what's written. "Yeah, I'm a comedian, this is a script for my show" I tried to speak as confidently and calmly as possible. "That's cool. I'm Carlos, Carlos Sainz" he introduced himself. "I'm Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N" I shook his hand. "I'm a Formula One driver, maybe you'e heard about me" he further elaborated. I know, I've been obsessed with you for years, my poor brother has to listen to me talk about you for hours after every race, analysing the whole race. I have a fan account called carloslover, were the thoughts running through my head. "Yeah, I must've heard about Formula One some where" I said tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Well it's nice to meet you" Carlos said. "It's nice to meet you too" I said with a smile. "I'll let you get back to your work" Carlos said pointing at my laptop.

I spent a couple more minutes working on it before I was disturbed by Carlos, not like I was complaining; "I'm sorry but I'm kind of curious about what the script your working on is about" Carlos spoke slowly. "I'm filming a Netflix special in New York. So, I'm fine tuning my script" I chuckled. "Oh, sorry for disturbing you" Carlos replied sheepishly. Damn, he looked so cute, I caught myself fawning at him. "Ah, it's nothing." I quickly looked away, "I love when people are interested in what I do" I smiled. "Then, I will continue to annoy you a bit" he laughed. "Be my guest" I smiled back.

A few more tweaks and a good hour later, I was able to close the laptop, happy with the script I had at hand. "I'm guessing you're done" Carlos chimed in. "I am" I said stretching a little. "Maybe you could practice a bit with me" Carlos suggested. "I do want to practice my crowd work" I thought out loud.

"So, Carlos are you really a full time driver or a model? I can't really tell" I said. Carlos's face turned red, "Is this how you do crowd work?" he trailed. "I, no, can't let the opportunity to flirt with a man as handsome as you go" I smirked. Carlos's blush only deepened, "So, I'm special" he laughed. "Obviously" I shrugged. "If it's anything, I thought you were a model and not a comedian" he retorted. "I get that a lot. But doesn't work in my profession when people don't think pretty people tell good jokes" I retorted back. "I've never heard any of your jokes, but I'm sure you're funny since Netflix wants you" Carlos said. "Hope so" I said holding up my hands with crossed fingers.

I felt like the time flew by, as Carlos kept me company. Just as the flight was about to land; "Will I see you again?' Carlos asked hopefully. "You could, if I had your number" I remarked. Carlos pulled his phone out and handed it to me. I put my number in and called myself. "I'll see you soon." I winked as I saved Carlos's number. "Can't wait" Carlos replied, smiling at me as we grabbed our luggage to leave.

Cassidy was waiting for me as I exited the airport. "I'm so sorry, I should've checked my emails" she apologised grabbing my bag. "It's fine, let's go. I'm exhausted" I replied grabbing my bag back. We caught an uber back to the hotel. I rehearsed my script with Cassidy for the next few hours, trying not to memorise it so it would sound genuine.

punchlineprincess

Liked by y/bff/user and 2,378 others

punchlineprincess Done filming my first special, can't wait for it to air🥹🥹

y/bff/user I'M SO EXCITED🤭🤭 user4 I'll watch it just to see that outfit😍 user5 so pretty😍😍 y/mum/user so proud of my baby💖 y/dad/user my baby's all grown up😭❤️

punchlineprincess

Liked by y/bff/user, carlossainz55 and 3,289 others

punchlineprincess Joked my way into his life🫣🫣

y/bff/user ooohhhh who is this??👀👀 y/dad/user what is this behaviour y/n??? user6 OMG!!! I love this❤️❤️ user7 the best couple ever and idek the guy😅😅 user9 y/n being sporty wasn't in my bingo card🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ user10 the golf date!!!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 user11 I want to go to an art museum with my lover and imitate art like that😏😏 user12 this is so Carlos coded plus he's in the likes😣😣

punchlineprincess

Liked by y/bff/user and 5,378 others

punchlineprincess I may have gone overboard for the premier at home🥲😅

y/bff/user I'M SCREAMING WHILE WATCHING IT🥹🥹 y/mum/user my baby❤️ carlossainz55 so proud of you ❤️Liked by Author user13 what does Carlos mean by that, like he knows her🙂👀 user14 the funniest shit i've watched in a while🤣🤣 user15 loved this so much!!!❤️🤣 user16 finally the real comedian that's getting the recognition she deserves😂😂

punchlineprincess

Liked by carlossainz55, y/bff/user and 1278,340 others Tagged carlossainz55

punchlineprincess Sorry I'm not normal about my boyfriend winning his second race this season😭😭

carlossainz55 I think having you there was my lucky charm🍀❤️ punchlineprincess carlossainz55 aww!! but it was your big brain and hard work❤️❤️🥹 y/bff/user aww!! watching both my babies win respectively 😭😭Liked by carlossainz55 and punchlineprincess y/dad/user good job Carlos👍 Liked by carlossainz55 user12 I should've known after those dates🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ user20 seeing her hug his mom when he won was so cute😭😭 user21 the most unlikely couple🥹🥹 user22 I get it Carlos, I get it😍😍 user23 Vamos Carlos!!👍👍 user24 I want a full timeline how everything went down😩 user25 I'm so happy I got to witness this race😭😭 user26 she was so sweet to all the fans and even took pictures with us!!😭🥹

After the race win celebrations on the podium and the team, after the interviews when I finally got him all to myself; "I'm so proud of you baby" I whispered as I pressed a kiss on his lips. "I'm so happy you got to see me win" Carlos mumbled not letting go. "I can't believe instead of watching you on TV I got to watch you in real life" I said pulling away. "I don't know why you lied to me when we met" Carlos laughed. "Well I couldn't tell you I'm @ carloslover on Instagram and Twitter and I've been in love with you since you debuted" I laughed. "I think I wouldn't have paid much attention since you're so pretty" Carlos smiled running his hands down my sides to rest on my waist. "Well I'm a Carlos lover and I am Carlos's lover. It's a win win" I smiled, "You and I both, princessa, you and I both" Carlos captured my lips in another, yet steamy kiss pulling me closer so my body was touching his, "You are all sticky and smell of champagne", I mumbled against his lips trying to pull away but Carlos pulled me closer, "No" he muttered and continued kissing me. He walked back to sit on the couch pulling me down with him, straddling his lap. He pulled me closer, our bodies touching, his hands roaming mine before they found home on my ass. We pulled away slightly breathless but Carlos than started his assault on my neck, sucking on my sweet spot near my collar bone while pushing me down on his lap. I could feel him grow under me. I pushed him away, "Nope" I said firmly. "No?" he asked cocking his head to the right with his big brown puppy eyes, "We're not doing it here. Let's get back to the hotel, maybe after you smell a little less like alcohol, I'll think about it" I said getting up. "Y/N" he whined holding my hands as I stood in front of him. "Not even for today's race winner" he pouted. "No. Baby, this is your work place. I will do anything and everything you want but out of the paddock" I said. "The car?" Carlos perked up. "Carlos, darling, we'll be on the headline tomorrow reading Carlos Sainz Jr knows how to celebrate his win in Mexico with girlfriend in his black Ferrari" I said. "Fine, Let's go back soon. I can't wait" he humphed before going to change out of his race suit. "I love you" I called out. "También te amo" he called back.

[gogoconvstore]

Heyy, i don’t know if you take requests and if they’re open 😄 but if you do can you write something for poly bearnelli x reader? Could also be a smau if you prefer. About the public thinking reader is cheating on one of them with the other?

i'm the drama episode 1

synopsis: the public knew about y/n and kimi, but what they didn't know is that it wasn't just them two. so when photos of y/n and ollie kissing the cheater, fame whore, and gold digger allegations arise. also y/n is a singer bc they needed a profession and for there to be more drama.

fc: florian macek

liked by tiff.ate, klaws.by.karinaaaa, just.a.girl and 317,472 others

f1.spilled An anonymous source has leaked us photos of Kimi Antonelli's boyfriend, singer Y/N L/N, making out with Kimi's best friend Ollie Bearman. This has brought past claims of Y/n being a gold digging, fame whore. We wouldn't be shocked.

view comments

demure.diandra i never liked him and i feel like everyone knew

marisol_diaz @/demure.diandra girl be so fr 😭 are you just mad that a MAN is dating Kimi??? And who knows what if they're poly?? demure.diandra @/marisol_diaz as if Y/n is just fame hungry

klaws.by.karinaaaa honestly kinda but not really shocked that there was gonna be a cheating scandal this season, didn't expect THEM tho...

just.a.girl honestly I think Y/n was just ✨🎀being a girl🎀✨ hanni.fan @/just.a.girl I love Y/n and have been a fan of his music for years but using "im just a girl" as an excuse is soooo toxic. just.a.girl @/hanni.fan of course its a fucking kpop stan that gets pissed over a valid excuse.

episode 2 coming soon

divider, name: plaid, by @toastray here on tumblr

[odessa-2]

Good morning dear,

I have to ask....what is your opinion.

THE SCREAMING IN THE DISABLED BATHROOM DONE BY SAM, HIS SECRET PLACE.

Good morning to you,

I have been seeing a few episodes since the last NYCCOMCON, I wandered as many of you about the disabled toilet Sam spoke about.

Waiting to see the other 2 events still not broadcast namely, PaleyFest media event and Josh's Happy, Sad, Confused to get more details.

Check at 50 mins.+ when Sam speaks about screaming after 11 years in the disabled bathroom being alone where there is still blood from season one.  And he never told Cait it seems. 11 years, retribution, forgiveness finally, end of it all.

He said he used that place when he needed to be alone.  We know season one was epic but can you watch episodes 15 and 16. I cannot and was reminded why there was fake blood in that disabled bathroom, and all the gorry scenes of blood that was shed and shown during episodes 15 and 16. No wonder Sam went there to be alone screaming after RDM had him do these scenes twice and I remember reading how the crew were in tears when doing these episodes.

How sadistic of RDM and even DG as she mentioned to Sophie in this year NYCCOMCON, she is Black Jack Randall, both DG and RDM sadistic in there exploitation of Sam if you ask me. Also how evil of RDM not giving the candidature of Sam that year for Emmy nomination that both Cait and Tobias got. We know the reason now, he was jealous of Sam, his good looks, his goodness and the fact Cait was in love of Sam.

No wonder Sam and Cait are so enamored, I'll say Art imitates Life, Sam suffering so much not being able to be the man he should be with this evil narrative, 2 husbands, 2 wedding rings for Cait, same DOB for Jamie/Sam and Claire/Cait almost. Same initials Claire Beauchamp, Caitriona Balfe, Sam change J in JAMMF for S. Too much, did the stars/STARZ really align, taking two novice individuals with all the evil behind not forgetting Josh reprising the WS/PC incident and all the disgrace done on Twitter on the fandom and personally to many women.

The only good outcome was the love endured by Sam and Cait who got married and now have a family, yes, seeing the dancing back to the stones in last episode of season 2 brings tears, how more to what these 2 individuals had to suffer for FAME and FORTUNE.

I am sure loads are taken off their backs now, praying, hoping their lives will OUTSHINE Outlander in all their endeavours.

Sincerely,

JClovely

Hello lovely. NYCC gifted us with more receipts and insights into SC's situation that we already suspected, but had it confirmed again. The special Disabled toilet comment from Sam surprised me a little as it did Cait it seems! Sam just let rip. The fact that he openly admitted to having and needing a secret hideout place where he could go and "scream" just confirms how much pressure Sam was under. The performing monkey 🐒, the emasculated puppet who was denied his God given freedoms. Denied his right to claim his family, forced into an ungodly narrative. A compromised man in many ways.

I agree that that RDM is a jealous piece of shit that used the rape scene to humiliate Sam. That slime bag had the major hots for Cait and I think everyone could see it, including Terri. Terri is batshit crazy but she had the air of a mistreated woman imo.

I still think we have a couple more years of narrative but somewhere deep down in my intuitive waters, I feel that SC will be free at some point. They will come out.

[dreamingumbrellas]

why tua s1 is a masterpiece and 2-4 give me a migraine

i gotta use my english degree for something so lets talk about it

i’d like to note beforehand, that i’ve only seen about half of season 4. but given everything i’ve heard about it, i’ve decided to avoid watching it for my own mental wellbeing. i really haven’t enjoyed the last three seasons much, mostly i’ve been dredging through because of how much i love season 1. it feels painfully like seasons 1 and seasons 2-4 are for completely different fucking shows–particularly in tone.

i think tua season 1 attracted attention to its unique themes that are lost in the rest of the series. the primary themes are of trauma and dysfunctional family dynamics. it’s a story about seven severely abused siblings learning to cope with their trauma and reconnect as adults. season 1’s tone is somber. it shows us glimpses of the characters’ childhoods, and how it affects them in their adult lives. the characters in season 1 were, most importantly, flawed! they were assholes, because trauma turns people into assholes sometimes! 

you can directly trace back the siblings’ character flaws to the shit reggie put them through. Luther was the golden boy, which put too much responsibility on his shoulders and isolated him from his siblings. As a result, Luther is ultra-loyal to his dead father, in obvious denial of the abuse he endured because he was never able to form an identity for himself outside of reggie and the academy! he is the only one that never moved on. and then reggie turned luther into (for lack of a better term) a giant monkey without his consent, causing him to hate himself and even further alienate himself from the rest of the world. 

diego never left the ‘number 2’ headspace. he fights with luther even into adulthood. despite how much he claims to hate his father, he became a vigilante likely as an effort to finally be good enough for his dad. and lets not forget (unlike the writers) about his stutter–something that formed in childhood and came back as an adult when he was triggered with memories of his childhood. he’s inherently defensive because reginald pit the siblings against one another constantly.

allison is a narcissist–though, when we meet her in season 1, she’s more of a narcissist in recovery. she’s recognized how her childhood affected her and wants to become a better person to make up for the mistakes of her past. what mistakes again? well, she used her powers on her daughter because 1. she was never told no. reggie encouraged the usage of her powers, and the household where she grew up was violent, manipulative, and competitive. she had no sense of real normalcy, so she never learned how to build a happy, healthy family for her daughter. to cope with her trauma, she clung to her fame–this is shown both in adulthood and childhood flashbacks–leading her to become a movie star, and not accept her own faults.

klaus, well, klaus is the most obvious example of trauma. mostly due to reggie forcing his powers on him when he was a young childhood. locking him in a mausoleum for hours on end. he became a drug addict as a result. living on the streets, in and out of rehab, and stealing for money. we see him struggle constantly throughout season 1–through his interactions with ghosts (when its very possible he wouldn’t have developed such a fear of them if it weren’t for reggie), with flashbacks to his childhood and (later) to the vietnam war. his inability to take things seriously and his self-destructive behavior are both coping mechanisms. his siblings don’t trust him because of his lying and kleptomaniac tendencies.

five is a character whose development is utterly abandoned after season 1. he was only thirteen years old when he accidentally travelled in time to the apocalypse, where he remained for 45 years. i remind you of this because the writers won’t. he survived those years for his family! because he felt immeasurable guilt for leaving them! he was so lonely for these years that he developed a romantic attachment to a mannequin (something only referenced for a joke in later seasons). he was in an extremely vulnerable position when he was recruited by the handler (a character who was very creepy in her own right) and he was forced to use his childhood ‘superhero’ skillset to essentially become an assassin, a job he loathed himself for. all so he could have a chance to save his family. five is cocky, sarcastic, and yes, wants to save the world, but we forget that he wanted to save his family first. he was willing to sacrifice the world if it meant saving his siblings. and even once he returns to the present, he experiences ptsd flashbacks to his time in the apocalypse. five is severely traumatized and stuck between childhood and adulthood, has lived for far too long and has done too many terrible things to be a child, but is stuck in a childs body and never got the chance to emotionally mature past the age of 13. this in no way resembles the five we get in later seasons.

in season 1, ben is a tragedy. he is the character that haunts the narrative (literally). his death was the reason the family split up. he experienced an incredibly traumatic childhood, forced to slaughter people against his will. all so that he could die tragically young (we’ll get into his cause of death later). he’s stuck following klaus around for years, unable to interact with anyone else. he watched his brother deteriorate in front of him with no way to help. he’s angry about his death and sometimes takes out his frustrations on klaus. but at the same time, he was ‘the kindest’ of all the siblings. he cares deeply about his family, but can’t do anything about it.

i think it’s easy to forget that the initial focus of the show was viktor. viktor, who was told how unremarkable he was again and again. who was isolated not just from the world but from his own family as well. who was drugged up from an incredibly young age and forced to ignore his emotions. yes, the umbrella academy was abusive. but being isolated from his siblings was just another form of abuse. he grew up to resent his family on a lot of levels, writing his book as a method to vent his frustrations but only ended up in driving his siblings further away. viktor went through a lot of shit in season 1, and resulted in him ending the world. but did his family kill him? no. because that was the point of the entire show. that despite their trauma and how much they might resent one another, the siblings still loved each other more than the rest of the world put together. 

everything ive outlined are the elements that make up season 1, and are almost entirely forgotten about later. but by losing the integrity of the characters, they lost the narrative. the point of the umbrella academy was never saving the world–it was about a broken family reconciling with one another despite everything. these points of trauma are taken seriously. it was the complexity of these characters, at least in my opinion, that attracted attention towards them. and sure, we didn’t love every character all the time. remember how much luther was hated in season 1? but it’s because he was realistic. these characters, and the shit they went through, weren’t a joke. and the season ended off in a way that forshadowed these elements being explored more in depth. remember how it ended?

with the seven siblings holding hands as the world exploded around them. and for only a few seconds, we saw them transform back into their child selves.

now, this plot point (whatever it might have been) was instantly cancelled and forgotten about in season 2. but it really makes you think about the season we could have gotten: the characters being forced back into their childhood, having to confront the root of their trauma and essentially, all their problems. they could look back at what happened to them with a mature perspective and worked through it, realizing that they were not each other’s enemies. they could have made up for lost time, helped eachother heal, and ultimately prevent the apocalpyse by being family. you know, something that would have actually wrapped up the narrative nicely.

so, what happened?

the shows original themes of trauma, and repentance, and family were abandoned in favor of humor and spectacle. it seems like the creators misinterpreted what made the first season so successful. sure, the first season had a lot of funny moments and great fight scenes. but it was the emotional depth and complexity that made the show what it was. but worse than that, it continued to spit in the faces of the characters trauma, downplaying it in almost every way possible.

klaus’ relapses were played for comedy. his fear of ghosts was drastically downplayed with the use of cartoonish ghost-buster ass looking ghosts. five’s ptsd was never acknowledged again; his coping mechanism, dolores, became a joke. luther lost all character complexity entirely, instead becoming a himbo (who we love, but, still). viktor rarely brought up the feelings from his childhood, and nobody acknowledged his tell-all book again.

one of the things that infuriated me the most was the incorporation of reginald in later seasons. lets remind ourselves of some things: he purchased seven children, treated them like objects without names, trained them tirelessly and deprived them of a childhood, traumatized them by turning them into murderers, pitted them against one another, and literally tortured them. and that’s only the things we see him do on screen. you cannot convince me for a second that any of the siblings would ever be able to be the same room as that man without having serious flashbacks. I don’t believe for one second that they’d work with him, trust him, or empathize with him in any capacity (except maybe luther) except they do, consistently. even five, who is easily the smartest member of the academy, and extremely protective of his siblings.

and- LEST WE FUCKING DISREGARD- reginald MURDERED ben.

the moment that happened on screen felt like the last shovel of dirt on tua 1’s grave. supposedly all the siblings REMEMBERED this incident in seasons 1-3. and yet they went to their fathers funeral, spoke to him (relatively) civilly, and teamed up with him after seeing for themselves their father shoot their brother in the back of the head for seemingly no reason. not only did they apparently not hold this against their father, but they never mentioned it once in three seasons.

and yes, i know, there is a very simple reason for this. it was obviously made up at the last moment for plot convenience. but the implications for this being retconned in are damning for the characters. by writing this in, the writers decided that the siblings commitment to one another is meaningless. that the foundations upon which this show was created, are fucking meaningless. they threw away not only the individual complexity of each character, but also their relationship as a family.

[chososcamgirl]

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 - the old heads

—

—

m. list

background !

the five friends have been a close knitted group ever since highschool, and that didn’t change throughout college or after.

shoko graduated with valedictorian and top of the class and nanami was bitter about it for 3 days and didn’t talk to shoko at all. she completed her md and residency and now is an orthopaedic surgeon. choso and gojo both studied computer science in college however gojo just barely passed all his classes not because he wasn’t completing the work but because he was absent for almost half of them. satoru often takes advantage of the few skills he learnt in his classes and makes troll sites and leaks people’s ip on val after he loses (he shortly becomes semi-famous for this). choso, who actually paid attention in class, now works for a software company. nanami graduated with a degree in engineering and is planning to start his own company with the help of suguru who teaches with a degree in business and hospitality.

suguru, choso and satoru all live in a condo together and are all rather living pretty comfortably. whilst shoko and nanami choose to live separately and own a house each, they all live within the same block so if ever they need help, it’s just a 2 minute drive. upon graduating with a degree in business and hospitality, suguru opens up a new cafe. he has been planning this for the past year and nothing was stopping him now that he has all the expenses paid off. even though satoru is a trust fund baby and offered to give him all the money for it early on, suguru declined not because of his pride but because he needed to do this on his own for himself.

fun facts !

ᨘ໑▸ the characters included in this post are all aged 27-28 years old.

ᨘ໑▸ choso always scolds satoru about his digital footprint but that man does not GAF.

ᨘ໑▸ the whole group meets atleast once a week - which is usually friday nights at the condo in which they all eat dinner together - choso always ends up being the cook because not only does he volunteer but because he makes knows how to make a mean dish. the night usually ends in a board game which always ends up with gojo sulking and throwing a tantrum, accusing the winner (which is nanami most of the time) of cheating and then drinking until he forgets about the whole thing and starts dancing on the table.

ᨘ໑▸ due to satoru’s antics with trolling and doxxing and his new found fame, the whole group is blew up by association.

ᨘ໑▸ suguru adopted a stray black and white cat left on the side of the road. he called her ‘spring’. he loved her until her last breath up until she died 5 years later when he was 18. he cried for a week and gojo comforted him whole time. it was bittersweet but he knew she was in a better place. this was one of the reasons the cat cafe he’s opening is going to be home to multiple strays which will be up for adoption.

ᨘ໑▸ someone made a velocity thirst edit of choso after finding out about him through gojo and it’s now repeatedly played during dinner.

ᨘ໑▸ nanami and choso hated eachother in highschool because both of them claimed to be my chemical romance’s #1 fan

ᨘ໑▸ gojo was not joking in those tweets..

a/n: if i ever make typos plz do not make fun of me </3

#𝐂𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐅𝐄

synopsis ; the season of sun-kissed oceans and golden-hued moments is before you! however being a broke college student is not an ideal look to have, especially at your age. desperately seeking solace from financial woes, you and your bestfriend stumble upon an unexpected opportunity - a cat cafe. crafting lattes and pampering purring patrons seems easy enough, right? that fantasy lasts about one day before reality claws in.

🏷️taglist: @coquetteslvt @aliventboo @izakyun @luvvmae @tuihiatus @soonajeeme @ascybous @rotten1angel @catobsessedlady @myguumi @enhleui @viviennevianna @spacebaby1 @iheartlinds @haikyuu-tothetop @mua-for-now @waytootiredforthisss @j2upiters

[throwbacktears]

did anyone else watch tonights episode??? that ending was crazy

[jonquilyst]

Total Drama Sims: Season 2

That's right, baby! We're back. Is your teenaged sim bored and wanting something epic and awesome to do to spend their summer? Does your teenaged sim want a brush of fame and notoriety? Well, you've come to the right place. Total Drama Sims, the freshest, awesomest reality show on simblr, is back for a 2nd season, and I'm ready for you all to send 14 more teenagers to compete in crazy, wacky challenges (safety/lack of danger not guaranteed) in pursuit of the grand prize!

WHAT'S NEW THIS SEASON?

To keep things fresh, TDS2 will be set in a new location and will have new gameplay mechanics! TDS has claimed an abandoned film lot in Del Sol Valley because this season, our challenges will be based off of movie genres, just like the 2nd season of TDS's inspiration!

As for our new gameplay mechanics, TDS2 will be introducing a double elimination (two people are eliminated rather than one), a team swap elimination (someone is eliminated, but instead of leaving the game, the eliminated person joins the other team), and purge challenges (instead of a vote, the worst-performing contestant of a challenge is automatically eliminated) to mix things up and keep the game interesting!

I am primarily looking for people who did NOT participate last season, or their sim got out early. However, everyone may still participate! I just want as many people as possible to get a chance to have their sim play 💖 A lot of people were interested last time and unfortunately spots filled up so fast that some people weren't able to participate because of it (That being said, to promote transparency, I am now REQUIRING RESERVATIONS! That means if you want to participate, you MUST contact me before submitting your sim. You can do this by DM'ing me or sending an ask).

Read on for a refresher on what this competition is all about and UPDATED submission rules (so if you had a sim compete last season, make sure to read them again!)

THE GIST:

This competition is, obviously, based off of the Total Drama series (a show that’s near and dear to me), but you do not need any background knowledge of this show to participate! The show (and this competition) functions similarly to a Bachelor Challenge, where contestants will be routinely eliminated until there is a sole winner.

This competition will also focus on the contestants building relationships with each other (hence the drama part, which is bound to happen when you put 14 teenagers together!)

SUBMISSION RULES:

Reservations for spots are first-come-first-serve. If for any reason you'd like to give up your reservation, contact me ASAP so I can give that reservation to someone else!

Your sim must be a teen

If you had a sim compete last season, you may not resubmit that same sim. I'm looking for an all-new cast!

No occults; contestants must be human only (to prevent unfair advantages)

Contestants must not have high-level skills (they can have some level of skill but nothing above lvl 5; also to prevent unfair advantages)

Any amount and type of CC is fine, just make sure to include it when you send your sim over to me ^^

Only one outfit per category please

Must be okay with slight changes in sims' appearances (as I may use different mods/presets than you do)

Must be okay with me writing dialogue for your sims (for confessionals (example from last season here). I read all entries down to the word and will try my very best to keep everyone in their intended character)

Must be okay with the possibility of your sim entering romantic relationships with other sims (PLEASE SPECIFY THEIR SEXUALITY/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. Sims with unspecified sexualities/romantic orientations will be assumed to be pan). Nothing NSFW will be shown or mentioned, as of course I'll be portraying minors, but please let me know if you don't want your sim to enter any romantic relationships!

Please give your sims a backstory. The more detailed the better. Describe what they're like, why they're competing on Total Drama Sims, etc.

Your sim can have any traits/aspirations

HERE IS HOW THE COMPETITION WILL WORK:

The 14 contestants will be split into 2 teams of 7

The 2 teams will compete in challenges in attempt to win invincibility (safety from being voted off). The losing team will have to vote someone off (the winning team will not be part of voting)

This process continues until 7 contestants remain. Afterwards the teams dissolve and everyone competes individually (this is known as merge). This means that only 1 contestant can win invincibility; everyone else will be at risk for elimination

When merge occurs, all eliminated contestants at that point will be eligible to rejoin the game through a special challenge. The winner of that challenge will rejoin the game (bringing the number of contestants back to 8)

This process again continues until 2 contestants remain. In the finale, all eliminated contestants will vote for a winner

Challenges will occur half the time. The other half of the competition will be socialization days, where contestants are free to socialize with each other as they please

The competition will start with a socialization day first to establish relationships before the first challenge

If the numbers between teams get too uneven, then a team swap will occur to one random contestant on the larger team

Voting will be determined by relationship dynamics and how everyone did in the challenge. Contestants who do poorly are more likely to get voted. Contestants who have a negative relationship with each other are also more likely to get voted. Conversely contestants who have a positive relationship with each other are less likely to get voted. The contestant with the most votes at the end is eliminated. All of this will be determined by a spinner (in case of a tie I will use a random number generator to determine who’s out). This will also determine who wins at the end of the competition.

REWARD FOR THE WINNER:

This competition is mostly for the funsies, but whoever wins this competition will personally receive an actual reward from me! You have a choice between the following options:

Discord Nitro for 1 month

A tumblr badge

NO DEADLINE! Submissions will close when all 14 spots are filled/reserved. Please provide your sim's tray files as soon as convenient! (Lmk if you need help with this. I will teach you if you don't know how!)

I will be updating the number of spots reserved periodically and will announce when all 14 spots are taken, but if you're ever unsure, don't be afraid to DM me/send an ask!

That should be it! Please comment, DM me, or send an ask if you have any questions, and feel free to reblog or share this with anyone who might be interested in participating!

[acesw]

UTTU Part 1: The Magazine

Welcome back to A.D. doing mega lore posting because good god this will never get old. But anyways, this post will be about UTTU and not only about their magazine, but also about their Flash Gathering. (This also counts as my birthday gift for Sonetto since she likes being info-dumped, probably. Happy Birthday Sonetto!)

“Standing in the shadow, we tell all the stories which were once unknown, like a weaver in silence, or a moth light trap in the dark night.” - Pandora Wilson, UTTU Journalist

First, who even is UTTU?

UTTU Magazine is an arcanist magazine organization that releases stories about notable arcanists. According to Blonney, they are "the greatest fashion and arcanist information magazine." They operate globally as well as privately, going so far as to hide the physical identities of their reporters and their main headquarters.

There’s not a lot of things known about how UTTU works, but what we do have is information about their magazine and their Flash Gathering event, which we can start off from there. But first, what does the name mean?

The name ‘Uttu’ comes from the Mesopotamian goddess of the same name, one of Sumerian origin. She was associated with weaving (and spiders but the claim of Uttu being envisioned as a spider is limited).

They sell their magazines in the form of seasonal subscriptions, advising to only purchase the subscription and not much else. From there, they create the articles and send out monthly updates.

UTTU also hosts “Flash Gatherings” for the game’s events as a reading club, where the arcanists are invited to see the UTTU market situated in the area of where the in-game event takes place; they can read the Flash Journal and FLASH:FAME, obtain FAME cards from retails, and get rewards. I’ll get into this in Part 2.

First, we'll explore the magazine since there's so much questions surrounding them.

UTTU Magazine

Of course, the magazine is the main brand of the organization. The magazine has properties in which only arcanists are able to read it (speculation), and it has a scheduled self-update to release new articles/artworks.

The reason why we are able to see such a large amount of information is because from what can be told, Vertin is an avid collector of this media, even being titled “Top Collector” in the introduction of the Green Lake Flash Gathering.

Anyway, the magazine has a very interesting way of how it works, and they even have their own reading guide, including instructions of how to manage the magazine and activate the self-update.

Reader’s Guide and Self-Updating system

Welcome to UTTU. This is a magazine.

Don’t skip this page. Unlike those useless prefaces filled with boring platitudes, this one is important.

1. Don't doubt the truth of UTTU. We only tell true stories that happened to real arcanists.

2. You only need one copy of UTTU. After you make the seasonal subscription, the copy will update itself on 15th every month.

3. Whenever the copy updates itself, please place it below a cupboard or the firewood in a fireplace, but do not leave any fire or light. Then step back to 8.8 feet away and wait for 10-15 minutes. It is normal to hear the sounds of sewing and crawling during the update.

4. Don't be confused about the interviews of the artworks. Please note that anything can be an artwork: they can be alive, or dead. Whoever has a story to tell can be deemed an artwork.

5. You might smell a fine aroma from the pages while reading an interview. This is normal.

6. Do not be shocked by live photographs, and do not let any of them come in contact with dark coffee or matches.

8. Keep UTTU away from fire. This is an arcanum magazine and is definitely not fireproof.

9. Although it's not fireproof, UTTU is waterproof, but please do not soak it in water for too long. If you do so by mistake, please prepare enough insect repellent.

10. Don't ask where article 7 is. (lmao)

11. If you see any ads about nightmare recycle on the attached pages, do not call the number on it or make any attempt to catch those monsters. If your children report strange goings-on to you, comfort them with one extra milk candy before bedtime.

12. Try to enjoy reading UTTU.

The way one could get the magazine is buying a seasonal subscription, and upon receiving it you’d have to take care of it regularly since it is delicate. When updating, you put it in a place where you’d most commonly find spiders. That way, these arcane weavers can multiply and add to the tapestry. Additionally, this magazine seems to be a live and interactive type of media, which does explain the “live photographs” and the spiders.

Magazine Contents

Now, what are the contents of the UTTU Magazine?

First, we look at our Role Atlas. Yes, the Role Atlas is involved in this too.

There are categories of our roster that classify them by what they are: Beyond, awakened, arcanist, mixed, and infected. Now, what are each of these?

Beyond: an Arcanist with unexplainable origins not found within Arcanum (Ex: Voyager and aliEn T are aliens born of supernatural causes rather than arcanum. Jessica is a hybrid species of a deer woman (a spirit in Native American myth) and a changeling (a supernatural creature in European folklore) )

Awakened: an Arcanist who was once an object and has been given sentience one way or another (Ex: Sputnik was a regular space probe as the real Sputnik 1 who gained sentience when entering orbit).

Arcanist: A general term for those who are born with a different physiology that makes them able to sense and use arcanum, this is not limited only to human arcanists. (Ex: Door was born of arcanum on Earth and was always sentient thus is not a Beyond nor Awakened arcanist)

Mixed: People who both have the genetics or blood of a Human and an Arcanist. (Ex: Pavia and Satsuki were implied to be born of a human and an arcanist)

Infected: Currently unknown, no arcanists within this category.

They also have a “Bound Volume”, which serves as a gallery collection of arcanists that Vertin has and has not met. Those she (and we) haven't met will be obscured.

The “Artwork”

Artworks in this game are basically the arcanists that UTTU chooses to write about. As long as there is one to tell, they will conduct an interview and report on it. For each artwork they contain: Exhibition details, Item Collection, and Story/Interview.

First, the cover. Made by my friend and fellow lore chat dweller Rabies En., this is what can be made out of what each part of the exhibition details mean:

And of course, the “Completion” date is their birthday.

When it comes to describing their inspiration, it tends to be left on a vague note and left for speculation. While concluding that the first half is the title of the arcanist’s afflatus, the second half has left most people confused. My speculation is that this latter half is something that is related to their job, hobby, skill, or interest.

For example, Balloon Party’s inspiration is quite straightforward: “Remains of a Rock Formation [Mineral] Bones Balloon.” It directly showcases her afflatus and what she is inspired by, which also goes hand in hand as to what her arcane skill is. Meanwhile, Sonetto’s is more vague and unique: “Trained Loyal Dogs [Mineral] Foreign Affairs.” These reflect her upbringing and main interest respectively. With this theory, I concluded that the afflatus and inspiration boost one’s arcanist’s medium, which in turn helps fuel their arcane skill.

Second, the items. All arcanists have a section that lists personal items that closely pertain to their character, usually, these things would be visible on their person. The author analyzes them and relates them to their story and character. And depending on the item, they are priced by clear drops.

Additionally, if a character has a garment that isn't their I2 (e.g. event garments), they will have a special section for a new set of items. (Ex. Sonetto's Parade Anthem garment isn't exactly her I2 outfit, thus she has another set of items that relate to the uniform.)

Lastly, the Story and Interview; Each and every arcanist is interviewed by Pandora Wilson, another fellow arcanist and one whose face is obscured to the world other than a pair of lips.

The first story is a retelling of their background and upbringing, the second is a story about their daily life or lifestyle, and the third is a transcripted segment of their interview. The interview segments usually starts with Pandora greeting and/or asking a few questions towards the interviewee, but occasionally they also include the end of these interviews.

They highlight parts that make the interviewee unique; It exhibits their distinction, their personality, and most importantly, their overall character and the life they lead. These help us learn about the arcanists in a more deeper level the more we bond with them, as well as learning about the world they live in considering how all of them come from different times.

Now, our magazine analysis ends here. Feel free to ask questions and Part 2 is linked below!

Part 2: The Flash Gathering

[genericpuff]

The Mishandling of LO’s S3 Mi(n)season Hiatus - Part 3 2/2

ALRIGHT. THIS IS THE LAST PART. I MEAN IT THIS TIME.

I had completely forgotten how long the mi(n)season finale for S3 was, but I suppose it makes sense considering it was operating as the true cliffhanger before the 4 month break.

If you haven't read the first 3 parts of this episodic breakdown, please go check these ones out first:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 1/2

Alright, let's get this show on the road!

CAUTION: THIS IS PART 2 OF THE THIRD PART OF A 3 + 1 PART SERIES IN WHICH I WILL BE SPOILING MUCH OF EPISODES 251-253. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS TOPICS SURROUNDING SEXUAL ASSAULT. THIS WILL BE A LONG POST. BRACE YOURSELF.

We've gotten delusional Leuce. We've gotten erasure of the SA. We've gotten a complete bastardization of the original myths that this story got its claim to fame on. The dread has set in, and all I want to do is get off Mr Bones' Wild Ride. But we have one more stretch of mind-numbing track to go, because the reveal of Persephone starting winter was not the end, oh no. The true cliffhanger of this episode - upon which the fans and critics alike have sat on for 4 months - proves that when we think Rachel has gotten crazy enough in this circus she calls a "retelling", she manages to prove that yes, she can make things even crazier, and no, you will not have a good time.

Ironically, despite that opening, I actually have a lot less to say about this last part of Episode 253 than I did about the first part. Obviously there's no feasible way to top "Persephone causes winter", but this episode does come rather close in its absurdity. Ultimately, if these essays have proven anything, it's just how much Rachel retcons things, to such an extent now that she seems to be retconning or outright forgetting information that she established just a handful of episodes prior. You'll see what I mean here as we go along in this.

As soon as it's hinted at that Persephone has started winter, we cut away to Apollo. Because, as per LO tradition, we can't spend longer than 10-15 panels on a single scene.

Already this seems like... really odd framing.

This is Apollo. A character who has been a villain since basically the beginning of the comic, when he sexually assaulted Persephone. This is not something that's up for debate. This is not something that can be refuted, as much as the comic may try to erase it or twist it into something else.

And yet, the vibe I get from this is, "Misled but good-deep-down character being taken advantage of by a sinister being." This isn't the type of framing we should be seeing around a character like Apollo.

I mentioned it ages ago in my post about the SA erasure that it really feels like Rachel is slyly trying to make Apollo empathetic, from giving us an entire episode in his perspective to adding extra panels into the books to making Persephone weirdly reminiscent of feelings for Apollo that she never had.

One thing I also touch on in that post is how Apollo is framed against Zeus. Zeus is also a villain character for much of the series, and even after he's "redeemed", the fanbase still considers him largely to be an antagonistic force. So to have Apollo be trying to take down Zeus comes across as very "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and I really don't like seeing that framing when it's regarding a rapist.

And this scene largely feels the same. It feels like Rachel's trying to sway the audience into believing Apollo is like Draco Malfoy - a misled boy who "didn't know any better" and was being manipulated by a greater evil. If you haven't guessed by now, that "greater evil" is Ouranos.

Why is it Ouranos? In my opinion (so take this with grains of salt) this is because they need to somehow "one up" Kronos and give Persephone and Hades a tangible force to fight against, to draw a clean line in the sand between "good" and "evil" so that we, the audience, will be forced to categorize Persephone and Hades as "good" and someone else as "evil".

But really, why Ouranos? We're told that he manipulated Gaia to use her powers in an attempt to create "hierarchy" (whatever the FUCK that means, I don't think Rachel really understands how societal hierarchies are created) but there's NOTHING to imply that he was tyrannical or "evil" in the same way that Kronos has been depicted. Rachel's basically submitting this whole plotline to "well it's in the prophecy" but there was NOTHING dictating that she had to try and write a "prophecy" storyline to begin with. So as a result, it feels very tacked on and it's hard to tell what the point is, it really just seems like Rachel watched too much Marvel one week and decided that Lore Olympus - a fantasy romance - needed a big bad.

And by extension it feels like Apollo is being used as a pawn in this dynamic. By making him subservient to an "evil" force, it means he can labelled as definitively "evil", and thus it gives Rachel a vehicle to have Apollo taken down - or even perhaps empathized with much like in the Draco Malfoy sense - without having to touch the SA plot that she set up and never resolved.

He was evil before, but he wasn't the kind of evil that Rachel could write around. Because she doesn't know how to write SA or give her female characters any sense of retribution or agency. We've seen that already with her robbing Demeter of winter and Persephone of her feelings regarding the SA. There was never going to be a chance in hell she was going to be able to write herself out of a plotline she's been procrastinating for 4+ years.

That said, this is just a vibe I get, so I'm not gonna speak on it much more. This is one of those "we're really not gonna know until the comic returns" situations.

Once again, Rachel's trying to make Apollo seem like a "master manipulator", but she's also trying to make him seem like he's the one being manipulated, but she's ALSO trying to write him as a big dumb idiot who literally can't grasp consent. Apollo has to be one of the most inconsistently written characters in the entire comic, and yes, that includes Persephone. Again, it just goes to show she hasn't been able to fully commit to the SA plotline because Apollo's motivations and intelligence levels change with each passing episode. Sometimes he's being nefarious and plotting to overthrow the King, other times he's literally asking a nymph if she'd be willing to cut her hair to look like Persephone. The comic can't choose and so we, the audience, can't tell why Apollo is even still here.

Again, this is SUCH bizarre framing. If we're to believe that Persephone has been "cursed" by no longer being able to create Spring, only Winter, then does that make Ouranos and Apollo the heroes here? Because Ouranos is right, if Persephone is causing winter, that's going to kill the mortals, which is the complete OPPOSITE of what she's trying to do. So what are we left with? A plotline where Apollo and Ouranos might actually have a point about how she rushed into a marriage with the King of the Underworld and sacrificed everything that gave her agency and power - both metaphorically and literally - in the process?

Again, this is why Rachel fundamentally misunderstands the original purpose of The Hymn to Demeter and how she's, by and large, made her retelling worse in an attempt to be "subversive". It puts the plot and character motivations in a place where it's hard to tell what the story is trying to say, I can understand if maybe Rachel's trying to write a conflict where Apollo uses this information to manipulate her, but it doesn't help that knowing EVERYTHING we know about the H x P relationship within the context of this comic, Ouranos has a point that Persephone's union with the King of the Dead is problematic. It might not be the same "problematic" that we're all thinking of, but it really just reinforces the criticisms of this relationship. Is the comic really asking us to say "fuck the human race, they're in love" ??? Because that's NOT what the point of the original myth was in the slightest and it's just a really weird place to put your audience in.

It's 4:45 AM right now as I'm typing this so my thoughts are a little scattered, but all this really feels like is an attempt on Rachel's part to create a new "big bad" for her to use as a distraction from the SA plot and to give Persephone a "flaw", but that "flaw" really only takes away the strength of another character.

Oh, and by the way? This whole "you need the fertility goddess" thing? THE COMIC HAS ALREADY TOLD US THIS WON'T WORK BECAUSE SHE HAS TO BE IN LOVE WITH APOLLO FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO USE HER POWERS. SO RACHEL'S ALREADY WRITTEN HERSELF INTO A CORNER THAT SHE'LL EITHER HAVE TO SOLVE OR RETCON ENTIRELY. DO YOU SEE WHY THIS IS SO ABSURD???

This line is kind of jarring because we had the Kassandra prophecy at the beginning that talked about the herb, but the prophecy Ouranos is talking about is the one about the sons of kings overthrowing their fathers. I definitely forgot about that one for a hot second reading this, I didn't get how this sequence related to the poisonous plant thing because they're framed as completely separate prophecies. It's not like Kassandra said in her initial prophecy that this plant would be used to overthrow a King again, she just said that the plant still existed and Psyche figured it out on her own that Apollo was gonna use it on Zeus. IDK that's just something that bugged me (also again, why are they believing her prophecies when we literally just had it established an episode ago that no one believes her prophecies LMAO)

Because if it wasn't enough for LO to have one Evil Robot Jeff Bridges villain, it had to throw in another one for good measure. It's just a line of dads and grandpas going back centuries waiting for their turn in the ring with Persephone.

lmao I love this 'hint' at Apollo being the one to write the note from Hebe and leave the cupcake for Zeus. Like... duh? We already put that together as SOON as Psyche said gasp "Zeus!" and then it showed Zeus eating the cupcake while Psyche called him on the phone telling him Apollo was gonna try and harm him. This sequence of 'revealing what really happened' doesn't work here because we've already been told what happened.

Except we know he won't. There's no tension to this whatsoever.

That's Hebe by the way.

It's odd that Apollo is embracing this prophecy when he has a kid himself. He literally has a fully grown son in this comic. I guess Apollo forgot about that, just like Rachel.

And that's it. That's the midseason finale. Ouranos is the new twist villain and Apollo is... whatever the fuck Rachel plans on doing with him.

Now, this leads me to my original motivation to create this series of reviews. It spawned from a conversation we were having in the Discord, discussing what it must be like to be a free reader who hasn't paid for the FP episodes that are still behind a paywall. This is not standard for LO, it hasn't kept FP episodes behind paywalls in the past during long hiatuses like this. I can even prove this with screenshots from the Wayback Machine, during the last midseason hiatus:

(whoof, that rating has dropped. I know it doesn't seem like much but for a series with millions of readers, by law of averages it takes a LOT of poor ratings to pull that number down compared to a series that only has a few readers)

Point is, this is the first time Rachel/WT have done this. Now, I will make this perfectly clear, I don't think this was a decision that was purely on Rachel. WT controls much of the backend like paywall costs, release dates, etc. so I'm not gonna go pinning this on her.

However, I do think this is a completely bungled attempt at trying to get people to pay up. LO has been dropping in views steadily but surely since the midseason break for S2. It's not pulling in the peak numbers that it used to, while it does still pull in a lot more views and money than other series on the platform, it's nowhere near the juggernaut that it once was in terms of record-breaking numbers, and I think WT knows that. So this really comes across as a stunt to get readers to FP, assuming that people will HAVE to pay if they're left waiting for 4 months.

But here's the flaw in that logic - people are still going to have to wait 4 months anyways. Reading those 3 locked episodes, especially all at once, will still leave you in the same place as you were beforehand.

And it shows in the numbers that people aren't falling for the bait.

Again, 17k likes still isn't anything to sneeze at for a FP episode, but it's still just barely above the new average that LO has gained over the past two years. I remember a time when those like counts would be 30k+. And now, despite being on break 4 months with these episodes still locked behind a wall, it's barely able to scrap by its new average of roughly 14-15k, and that average is when episodes are actually updating.

Obviously like counts = / = viewcounts but when they fluctuate, we know that the views have to be as well by extension, at least to some extent, and that's still engagement that's dropped of in and of itself. And we can also see a rough look at how the views have dropped off through the comic's landing page. Now, it's hard to compare data because there was a time when WT actually didn't give follower/view counts on the landing page (this was also when the like count capped at 99k) but we can still see a downslide in growth very visibly in the view count, sub count, and most of all, the rating, which has been steadily dropping for years now.

August 2020:

May 2021:

November 2021:

March 2022 (don't get confused by the 995 million, this is where view count comes in):

September 2022:

March 2023:

Today (October 24th, 2023):

Again, there's no way to get a true clear picture of LO's stats beyond this surface level data, but it does show that LO is just not getting the rapid growth it used to. People are moving on from it. And while its view and sub count are steadily increasing (albeit slowly for a webtoon that gets as much marketing as it does) the average rating is going down. It's clear that the majority of LO's growth happened between 2018 and 2020, which would make sense as the series was still relatively new compared to how it's become old news today, and Webtoons experienced a boom in 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdowns - a boom that they think still applies in the year 2023, judging by their attempts to import as many series onto the platform as possible and capitalize on an audience that just isn't there anymore.

All of this leads me to wonder - what's in it for free readers after all this? Because if you recall from where we started, the cliffhanger they started on was Hades - possessed by Kronos - attempting to strangle Persephone, a cliffhanger that was resolved within seconds for FastPass readers. If they don't FastPass after that, they'll be met with numerous reveals that don't even make sense for the plot as a whole (such as Leuce making up the text messages).

Again, I don't want to claim that this was a decision on Rachel's part, but it really seems like either she didn't plan this hiatus, or her inability to write naturally without the need for addictive-style formatting as a crutch made it so that the free readers would be given the worst midseason premiere ever.

And what are we, the FastPass readers, going to return to? There are still so many plot threads that have been left unresolved, multiple villains being setup, and as far as Webtoons and Rachel have revealed during NYCC, LO is supposed to end by the spring. That's 20-30 weeks TOPS, which isn't exactly a whole lot of wiggle room for a writer like Rachel who's chronically bad at pacing and getting to the point of the plots she's established.

I know there are so many readers right now anticipating the return of this comic, some of whom genuinely believe this comic is "better than ever" and others who are critical of it but hope that the comic will come back in a better state after the hiatus. But right now there's so much evidence to support the contrary - that LO is about to come back in as bad, if not worse, condition than it was in when it left.

And through all this, for a comic that's finally ending after 5 years, I have to ask - where is the hype? Why are Webtoons and Rachel keeping the finale of this comic behind closed doors? Where's the promotional art, the hinting at what's to come, the attempts to generate any semblance of excitement for the readers who are still left after clinging onto this ride for 5 years? Why were the fans themselves barred out of their own communities during the majority of the hiatus?

And that just leads me to an even more discouraging thought. This is not meant to accuse Rachel or make assumptions. It's simply a thought that I had while thinking about what the series could possibly pull upon its return, so please, take this with MOUNTAINS of salt. It's one thing I hadn't considered with the knowledge that LO will be returning with 3 episodes still behind a paywall, a 'buffer' in and of itself for Rachel to work off of.

Rachel only technically needs one episode ready for the release. Not three as she normally would if the episodes had been unlocked like in previous hiatuses. That's not including whatever buffer episodes she would need beyond the upload schedule, but she's proven to be chronically bad at maintaining a buffer as well since day one.

We haven't seen any promotional art. No hinting. No hyping beyond what's been seen for her "Rachel Smythe Presents" series.

With all that in mind, I have one question to leave this on:

Has Rachel even started working on Episode 254 yet?

[youremyheaven]

Outcaste Nakshatras: The Misfits & the Misunderstood

Yesterday I made a post about how outcaste nakshatra natives tend to be anti-establishment thinkers and how many of the most well known radicals & revolutionaries of our world tend to have Outcaste nakshatras.

Outcaste or Mleccha nakshatras belong outside the caste system and aren't given a place in the caste hierarchy. Shudra nakshatras are the lowest caste to occupy the hierarchy. Mleccha is considered lower than that and thus outside the system.

(Ashlesha, Bharani, Shravana and Vishaka are the Mleccha nakshatras)

Thus it comes as no surprise that those who have Outcaste naks often experience being socially outcast, excluded and like they don't belong anywhere.

Shudra nakshatras also experience these themes to a certain degree as these two are at the lowest end of the pyramid.

Shannen Doherty (middle) was fired from 2 shows, Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed because of issues among the cast members & rivalry between them. When she was starring in 90210, her fellow cast member Tori Spelling whose father Aaron Spelling produced the show, asked her dad to fire Shannen. Aaron Spelling also produced Charmed and subsequently fired her after 3 seasons due to her conflict with cast member Alyssa Milano, who later admitted that she was responsible for a lot of the tension at work. Rose McGowan who replaced Shannen on Charmed also accused Milano of creating a toxic work environment.

Shannen acquired a "bad girl" reputation and was known for being "difficult to work with"🙄I feel like she was pushed into a corner by her male producers and bitchy co-stars and felt excluded among them as a girl from a small town in Tennessee :(

She has Revati Sun, Vishaka Moon, Uttaraphalguni Rising and Ketu in Ashlesha

Revati is a Shudra nak whereas Vishaka & Ashlesha are Mleccha naks

Isaiah Washington was fired from Grey's Anatomy for using a homophobic slur against gay co-star T.R Knight. Washington has come out saying that this is false and that he said the f word during a dispute with Patrick Dempsey who had a tendency to provoke him (he apparently said: "Isaiah, do you know that white men are the masters of the universe?")

He also said that he was always excluded on set and they tried to pay him to NOT audition for the role. Washington also claimed that star Ellen Pompeo was given millions of dollars to stay silent about Dempsey's on-set behaviour in the #MeToo era, and alleged that she was racist, saying, “She really thinks that she’s cool with Black people like that, but she’s not.” There have been many rumours over the years about Greys being a toxic work place so tbh I am inclined to believe him.

He has Ashlesha Sun, Uttarashada Moon and Jupiter in Revati amatyakaraka

Not everyone tries to expose their former bosses or colleagues but given his Moon in a Kshatriya nakshatra (or warrior nak) I see how he's brave enough to risk everything to speak his truth.

Brendan Fraser has had a lot of setbacks in his career and for a good period he just sort of disappeared from Hollywood; in recent years he has come out saying that it's because he was blacklisted by the then President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who had sexually assaulted him. He did make a career comeback and won an Oscar but man's been through a lot in life.

He has Jyeshta Sun, Krittika Moon & Bharani Rising

Although he has a Mleccha nak in his big 3, since he also has a Brahmin & Vaishya nak, he has enjoyed immense public support and sympathy which not very many other people on this list have. Not everybody gets to make Oscar winning comebacks either.

Tatjana Patitz was one of the 90s supers (she's the one in the back in this picture) but unlike Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington or Cindy Crawford, she's hardly ever mentioned in conversations about the 90s OG supermodels. She received very little press coverage and unlike the others who've made career comebacks or enjoyed sustained fame, Tatjana kind of vanished. She unfortunately passed away in 2023 from breast cancer and even then I haven't seen the industry mourning for her or anything :(

Tatjana had Bharani Moon

George Clooney has spoken about how in high school, he was nicknamed Frankenstein because of Bell's palsy which caused the whole left side of his face to be paralysed, his eye rarely opened and he had problems with eating. Because of the constant bullying, he had to move to another school. After a change of scenery and active sports, the disease receded. 

George has Bharani Sun, Uttarashada Moon, Shatabhisha Ketu & Rising and Mercury in Krittika atmakaraka

Even though majority of his naks are Mleccha/Shudra, he subsequently became an A list actor and enjoys immense wealth, popularity and good will. His moon is in a Kshatriya nak and his atmakaraka is in a Brahmin caste nak. He fought his way up.

Amal Clooney was born in Lebanon into a well-off family but they had to flee Lebanon due to the civil war and settle in England. Amal is a human rights lawyer whose clients include refugees. (I had previously spoken about the outcaste nakshatra tendency to be anti-establishment or to dedicate their life to causes which had initially affected them personally).

Amal has Shravana Sun, Jyeshta Moon and Venus in Dhanishta atmakaraka. Due to the presence of Vaishya naks, she gets to support these causes from a position of immense privilege and champions them through her position as a lawyer, i.e, using her intellect not armed struggle or some other form of activism.

Megan Fox's career was full of ups and downs and for a period she was pretty much blacklisted from Hollywood and labelled "difficult to work with"🙄

She has Krittika Sun, Ashlesha Moon and Purvashada Rising

Even though her moon is in a Mleccha nak, due to her other luminaries being in Brahmin naks she's enjoyed immense popularity among the public for years and has always enjoyed a certain status or level of fame (largely due to her looks but honestly Hollywood is full of gorgeous women, how many enjoy the same popularity or public interest as Meghan?).

Billie Eilish, Shravana Moon grew up lower middle class and was home-schooled. Even though now she's rich & famous, she still acts like an outcast and "does not fit in".

Angelina Jolie, Revati Moon & stellium has spoken a lot about being unpopular in school, being a punk, being misunderstood. She has Mercury in Mrigashira atmakaraka and Saturn in Punarvasu as her chart ruler

Revati is a Shudra nak, Punarvasu also experiences themes of being an outcast, Mrigashira nak has themes of abuse.

It makes sense as to why she has dedicated most of her life to helping refugees and championing numerous causes and has even said if she were young now she would never have become an actor. She enjoys immense popularity and is very privileged (lots of Vaishya gana naks in her chart) but to this day she's condemned for her weird behaviour in the 90s and early 2000s and can never seem to shed her past image completely which is crazy because she's not the first or last person to have an affair with a married man (not condoning adultery just saying that it happens all the time in Hollywood and people hardly bat an eye but for her, her reputation as a homewrecker has come to define her).

Claire Nakti had done a survey on nepo babies and concluded that Revati was the most common nakshatra among them. This is very interesting to me because I feel like most Revati nepo babies including Angelina, Jamie Lee Curtis, Robert Downey Jr etc acquire fame that far exceeds that of their parents. It eclipses any privilege they already had; all these individuals are far more successful than their parents ever were. Obviously being privileged helps and this does not apply to all Revati nepo babies ofc but many people mentioned on the list are total superstars who you'd never guess came from famous families, this is to say that they're not famous for being famous or because of their families, they're icons in their own right.

And even with Angelina, she grew up with a single mom and was estranged from her dad for most of her life so her upbringing was rather modest even with the showbiz ancestry she had.

Olga Tokarczuk has Shravana Sun, Vishaka Moon & Purvaphalguni Rising

Olga is a Polish writer who is known for the weird, quirky, mystical, and philosophical nature of her novels (She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018). It can be said that many of her characters live on the fringes of society but have a very strong sense of justice and fairness despite their position that renders them powerless. She has 2 Mleccha naks in her big 3 and a Brahmin one, I thought this particular quote was very interesting because its Mleccha naks who acutely understand the nature of human suffering but the Venus ruled Brahmin nak insists on how being deluded, that our psyches prevent us from seeing the true nature of human suffering. If you saw everything exactly as it was, you'll die. In order to live, you must be willing to be deluded.

Lindsey Lohan, Ardra Sun, Bharani Moon & Mrigashira Rising plays a social outcast in Mean Girls who tries to infiltrate a popular girls group (despite having a Shudra & Mleccha nak, her Vaishya asc helps her ascend the social hierarchy to some extent). The movie ends with her having managed to destroy the clique of the Plastics and create a new social order at her highschool.

Miley Cyrus is a Vishaka Moon & Demi Lovato is a Bharani Moon and its pretty well documented how they both didn't feel like they "belonged" or "fit in". They rebelled in different ways and have opened slammed Disney on multiple occasions.

Presley Gerber who has the word "misunderstood" tattooed on his face has Ardra Sun, Dhanishta Moon, Jyeshta Rising and Ketu in Shravana

Ardra is a Shudra nak, Shravana is a Mleccha nak whilst Dhanishta & Jyeshta are Vaishya naks

As a result of feeling left out, misunderstood, isolated, excluded etc Mleccha nak natives often tend to keep to themselves and are very very private. They are loners at heart.

This is by no means a comprehensive list but off the top of my head here's a bunch of celebrities who are very low-key and very private. There are no rumours, no pap photos, nothing, just silence (for the most part).

L to R

Denise Richards- Vishaka Moon

Christian Bale- Shravana Sun, Mars in Bharani amatyakaraka

David Duchovny- Ashlesha Sun

Shakira- Shravana Sun

Elijah Wood- Shravana Sun

Harry Styles- Shravana Sun

Saoirse Ronan- Bharani Moon

Penelope Cruz- Bharani Sun

Beyonce- Vishaka Moon

Uma Thurman- Bharani Sun

L to R

Charlize Theron- Ashlesha Moon

Amanda Seyfried- Ashlesha Moon

Joseph Gordon-Levitt- Ashlesha Moon

Paul McCartney- Ashlesha Moon

Ryan Gosling- Vishaka Sun

Adam Driver- Vishaka Sun

Leonardo DiCaprio- Vishaka Sun

All of these celebrities maintain a pretty low profile and only interact with the press when they're promoting something.

only 30 images are allowed per post acc to tumblr so there will be a part 2!!

I hope this post spreads some light into the nature of Outcaste naks, I have a lot more research that I'll share in my next post<33

[amaliazeichnerin]

About the Neil Gaiman allegations

August 11, 2024 I’ve written a blog about the allegations with some linked material.

And here are some more thoughts about this.

In the podcast „Am I Broken: Survivor Stories“ by Papillon DeBoer (Season 4, Episode 2), Claire talks about something Neil Gaiman said to her:

„I am a wealthy man and I am used to getting what I want.“

This sums up a systemic issue. Wealthy, powerful, influential older white cis men taking advantage again and again of very young (or not so young) female fans or other women, sexually assaulting them - and in Neil Gaiman’s case later claiming it was all consensual. Look at Harvey Weinstein. Jeffrey Epstein. Till Lindemann of the band Rammstein. Jimmy Savile. And so many more.

Even if the allegations cannot be proven in court (as was the case with Till Lindemann), this kind of terrible, entitled behaviour is deeply problematic and unethical.

If you would like to read a bit more about this topic and rape culture (and also consent culture), I can highly recommend the queer feminist non-fiction book „Sexual Revolution: Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback“ by Laurie Penny (they/them) which was published in 2022.

Addendum August 14, 2024

A quote from a blog post by Maureen Ryan matches what I wanted to say:

"But, speaking generally, I have a lot of experience dealing with egotistical people (most often men) who exist inside a bubble of fame, money, influence and praise, who are used to getting their way, who do not mind throwing their weight around, and who are not unwilling to throw inconvenient people under the bus, especially if those people are female or from a historically marginalized group. 

This is what the systems of power, influence and money in creative spheres do: They are structures that place supposed Great Artists or powerful rainmakers beyond the realm of accountability, humility, responsibility and consequences. Great Artists and power players (even the mediocre ones) who misuse their positions don’t do it alone: They receive help, silent endorsement, enabling and all kinds of ass-covering courtesy of those who want to attach themselves to the coattails of the Great Artist or the Big-Time Rainmaker."

[rigginsstreet]

Stanning niche actors really is a long game cuz when I think about me in high school watching random British television developing the biggest crush on iwan rheon who’s biggest claim to fame on an international scale was to go on to play the most hated villain on game of thrones and then entered a flop marvel era and NOW is headlining an American show and at comic con doing promotion like…. Yall better get this shit a season 2 I am NOT playing games here! Stream those about to die on peacock or Amazon internationally idk 🙏🏻