#esp with all the drama of this year like it was so fun being like um sorry guys but thjs ship wouldve been popular four months ago but

[verytendou]

Coming around on rpf bc my friend asked our friend group “if your life was a tv show what would your top ships be” and that honestly had to be one of the best conversations ive had in a while

[gldnstrngs]

i cant lie i highkey wouldve loved to see merlin as a show that takes place in modern times with its own interpretations of legends etc etc

and its not like avalon high where theyre all reincarnated (although i love that concept too) but it would be more like those teen supernatural dramas (teen wolf, tvd etc etc)

it would probs be in modern day wales or england (or start in wales and lead to england) and no one knows about the existence of magic users except for the aforementioned people, anyone who’s close to them, and witch hunters

merlin would be born of magic just like the show and hunith would make sure his secret is discovered bc of the risks esp bc balinor went missing when merlin was young and she knows that the witch hunters were after him

so they move to england and merlin is raised in a town called camelot and has a relatively normal childhood and then the plot would actually start to take place when he’s in his third year of high school or smth like that

merlin’s managed to keep his identity a secret and is very much just . a Student in school like most people like him and he’s smart and kinda dorky but doesn’t really care for popularity

insert the other characters:

arthur who would be a star soccer player and loved by everyone but he tends to keep to himself. with that being said he’s still prattish and doesnt acknowledge merlin until he sees him hanging out with his half sister morgana and is like 🤨🫥 (+ complex gay feelings)

morgana who’s arthur’s half sister and also very popular, but more sociable and nice to everyone. she knows of merlin but doesn’t interact with him until he encounters her doing magic when she didn’t even know it existed and so he helps her with controlling it and they become friends

gwen who’s morgana’s best friend but also a good friend of merlin’s. and lance who’s apart of the soccer team and is good friends with arthur, but is ultimately best friends with merlin

then u have the rest of the knights in the soccer team who are nice to everyone and greatly loved and end up getting close to merlin when mysteries are being ~uncovered~

also the biggest thing would be that uther pendragon is the Overlord who oversees all the witch hunting and funds it and no one knows that, but merlin and morgana would find out and that would definitely make things escalate

this is very much teen wolf & tvd core bc let’s be real those were PEAK at the time they came out plus it’s fun to see a new way to interpret the arthurian legends hehwheheheh

(bradley and colin look so dorky n cute here but hopefully u all understand my vision😭😭😭)

[inchidentally]

replying to asks abt the Drama today so pls skip if you're fully over that salfgjlagf (and bl 'tricky asks' to not see me respond to stuff like this - but I always put under a cut as well!)

oh my god this is a whole epic jfc and I'm p sure I repeat myself a lot I'm sorry <3

and for anyone who sees the walls of text below and is like pls tl;dr it for me bitch: today is one of multiple examples proving that Lando and Oscar are exceptionally able to maintain perspective and genuine consideration of each other given their situations and their ages. and that while they, like all teammates, will have ups and downs that they are FAR from the kinds of teammates to ever let the bad times linger or fester. I'm not going to be participating in flipping out or overreacting to it when it does inevitably happen but that it hasn’t even happened today! so I just don’t see a point in projecting the rare examples of melodramatic teammates onto Lando and Oscar as teammates. esp today when they both could quite easily have sniped at each other a bit even indirectly and yet they didn't! Lando at the team? absolutely! but like for anyone feeling sad or upset in terms of the landoscar of it all, I'm genuinely baffled ?? bc I'm personally out here impressed yet again at how well they've handled this ?? so yea <3

just to say, if you're someone who truly loves the Epic Highs and Lows of Formula One then good on you and continue having fun! some people live for The Drama and obv I'm not addressing or criticizing that at all!

but since I'm out here being regularly openly insane about landoscar and I've gotten these asks and seen people feeling upset, I def feel like it’s fair that I bring reality and reason into my posts as well being stupid akfgsalfg

so I've grown up with F1 passively in the background of my life (as in on the main TV in my house) and I'm still mostly a fake, but I've picked up some things over the years and one of them is that the average set of teammates aren't the melodrama ones. most teammates who enjoy genuine competitive closeness on the track just tick each other off sometimes but mostly like each other and hang out a bit - overall the average dynamic ranges from mildly indifferent to good buddies. 

(brocedes and sebmark are outliers for a reason. and they did NOT just turn bad overnight. that toxic soup was brewing from the very start. but more about that later in this gigantic ass essay)

so once I realized last season that Lando and Oscar genuinely like each other and weren't gonna pop off over everything, my assumption has always been that they would have their tiffs and snipe to the press or avoid each other for periods but then get over it and go back to liking each other again - rinse and repeat! from a driver’s pov it's way more enjoyable and preferable to NOT be fighting w the guy you spend so much time and share a car with.

but !! that didn't happen and hasn't happened! with Lando and Oscar it very quickly went beyond just passively okay w each other - they've made active choices to show respect and fairness and consideration that for me has truly been exceptional.

and while I'm insane about them for narratives and rpf, the not insane part is how these two fit together so beautifully? like, Lando knows and says how his feelings and his brain can just take over sometimes and he struggles - that includes his feelings of anger and resentment. Oscar's primary trait is being calm and being able to be circumspect even under stress. Lando's actually said that he's learned from Oscar remaining calm. then you've got Oscar's 'hearteyes' and genuine admiration of Lando that shows up not in loud PR ways* but in quiet respect and standing back for Lando to shine and giving Lando his full dues. over time, Lando's come to 'hearteyes' right back bc of the respect and ngl genuine affection he feels for Oscar's fairness and respectfulness and his persistence in showing up and being happy for Lando no matter what. like, none of that requires embellishment and it's said by pretty much everyone including each other!

so to me, that means that when they do inevitably have 'moments' at the front of the pack together in future they'll ofc be grumpy w each other or resentful but it'll all be okay once they've cooled off. 

but !! that was not today !! my entire day of reblogging is just a nonstop bam bam bam of them looking out for each other in the face of this drama and taking care to not feed the media who have been dying for them to hate each other since day one. Oscar apologizing and if anything being less celebratory today than he was in Monaco for his second place. keeping the post race short and simple** and not going over the top celebrating after the team photo. Lando repeating in his post races that Oscar deserved the win and that he didn't want the issues with team orders to overshadow that and literally reaching out to Oscar to say 'we're okay' right out of the car <3

so yea in the years they are teammates they will definitely have their off days and probably that'll happen at certain points this season - but genuinely ! it should not be taken for granted how mature and considerate and kind they've remained w each other since basically Austria last year ! that counts for a hell of a lot in terms of not assuming they're "over" every time team strategy screws one or both of them, or that they will become different people and suddenly cultivate melodrama.

and sure, anything can happen etc etc but I don’t see a point in just aimlessly waiting for the absolute worst to happen unless you actively want them to hate each other which seems like a huge waste of time but to each their own ldgfjlagfljsfg

guys… things like "why didn't he spray Oscar with champagne first" and "they had a moment where they weren't smiling" or "the cool down room was awkward" "Oscar didn't thank Lando like Lando did in Miami" “Oscar hasn’t liked such and such on instagram” is not only pointless self-torturing it's also all pretty easy to debunk by someone like me who follows a lot of teams and drivers and sees a ton of different sides to these things every weekend:

- as for the comment likes, Oscar hasn't liked everyone's comments that he should have - I did a quick pass and the standouts are he still hasn’t liked the comment from opeightyone (his own brand company!), still hadn't liked the Australian GP comment last time I checked, or Kym Ilman, literally a fellow Aussie who he talks to at every single race and who left a heartfelt comment. we need to give this poor guy a break and not ignore how much he was laughing and smiling with Lando just bc he’s struggling with the alerts on his phone !! (and as always, we have absolutely no way of knowing anymore when we can say how much the driver is doing vs what their sm team is doing. I saw in a story the other day that Lily had stopped doing her usual emoji replies to his posts for a while (she started up again after quali this weekend) and clearly there's been no issues between them so it's safe to say Oscar's sm officially isn't the true measure of his current relationships!)

- Lando and Oscar were already joking and smiling together before the champagne! so why would Lando then get mad and show it by not spraying him first? (EDIT: as an anon pointed out, when Lando runs over to the McLaren team member Oscar is laughing and follows him! so the plan was to drown the poor guy all along lol.) Lando and Lewis have a special bond from long before Oscar and Lewis and McLaren have had a bond even longer. if I hadn't seen ppl be upset about this I wouldn't have thought twice about Lando running to Lewis after having spend the first half the podium chatting to Oscar!

and just a quick side note, Lando had NO problem showing how mad he was before Oscar came into the cool down room when he threw down that hat and got huffy with Lewis when all Lewis did was say how fast the McLaren is! but every time Lando interacted with Oscar, he made sure to keep it together and be happy for him bc as he strenuously made clear in his interviews, his upset was at the team's directions but he didn't want it overshadowing Oscar's well-earned win. so if anything, view Lando rushing over to Lewis as an apology for somewhat biting his head off over a compliment lfgjflgsalf

- the drivers are exhausted and their default mode after a race is to be not smiling, like not even Lando smiled the entire time following his win. add to today that Lando hasn't been happy with second place for a long time and Oscar isn't an effusive guy and it's weird to think they'd be laughing and smiling nonstop.

- cool down rooms are literally always awkward ?? the drivers hate that there are cameras and conversation is always stilted. it’s where they go to … y'know, cool down, not get hyped lol

- Lando thanked Oscar in Miami bc Oscar showed what the car could do w his overtakes, guys. it was VERY sweet but it wasn't like 'thank you for my life Oscar' or even 'thank you for my win'. but even apart from that, Lando has fully taken on the rightful 'I'm the more established F1 star and the face of McLaren and it's my job to let the new guy know when he's done well' even back before he and Oscar had much of a relationship. but… and I’m about to spin off on this topic now… Lando does very well with this sometimes yes, but remember that the majority of his own feeds are also solely focused on himself like Oscar's and like most driver's are! and that he and Oscar both forget to like McLaren's content most of the time!

but also like……….

please let us please remember Oscar has the same rights to putting himself first as every other driver !! he may be remarkably mature and respectful to Lando and McLaren and exceptionally able to get over being set aside or even screwed over, but he's not a worm!

as far as questioning if him not 'thanking' Lando somehow negates his literally non-stop hearteyes-so-blatant-that-casuals-comment-on-it that he has for Lando every single week... guys.. Lily. like I'm positive he'll make a special post or story with her soon but he only said a quick "hi" to Lily after Ted brought her up and then did a generic thank you to everyone LIKE ?? the guy isn't even effusive about his beloved long time gf !! his love language is not in words* !!

but I also feel the need to bring smth up here bc there is a definite lean happening in some quarters of fandom into fully expecting and taking for granted Oscar's patience and maturity and ability to be happy for Lando no matter how much he's hurting or upset for himself. and I've got to raise everyone who says that the fact that Oscar is allowed to be like every other driver including Lando! he is allowed to feel frustrated or not be a perfect saint! in the earlier part of last year, Lando openly said he was uncomfortable being 'the older guy' and he frequently left Oscar in the lurch not knowing where to go or ignored Oscar to talk to or about his previous teammates. when Oscar hadn't been told the correct time for that major meeting shown in DTS, Lando was not hiding feeling fairly smug after Oscar said "is Lando already here?" and in Australia this year, Lando fully forgot to have anything to do with Oscar in what was literally Oscar’s home town and home country race to the point ! that in the podium drivers conference when a reporter brought up if Oscar was bummed about missing out on a podium, Lando stiffly said that he guessed anyone would want a podium on their home race - but he was far from sympathetic!

now before anyone thinks this is me having a go at Lando, I am not. I'm literally reminding the people who are reading too much into Oscar not saying thank you specifically to Lando in what was a much shorter and less exuberant overall race win celebration and post race video than Lando’s win was: it is not a big deal !! it is not some huge thing that Lando would even notice and that Lando has frequently chosen to not include or show gratitude to Oscar at times when we expected him to and !! it's fine because it really is fine !! 

but when Oscar is seen to not cover every single base of gratitude and inclusion for Lando, for some fans it's A Problem or A Worry. and for some people, a broader thank you to the team and not specifically to Lando** is reason why Lando should despise Oscar forever and even consider leaving McLaren like the comments sections are insaaaane bro

these are two Normal Guys who are each living their Own Careers and while it's wonderful to enjoy the things that bond them and are special about them, they are still going to be Normal! and they will not view these tiny insignificant moments where they didn’t fully acknowledge the other with any magnitude at all! they are not expecting a level of devotion to each other that certain fans are! Oscar didn’t notice or care that Lando didn’t make anything special out of his home race and their pre-race fan stage was funny and sweet! Lando didn’t notice or even assume that Oscar should thank him specifically for team orders when Lando himself didn’t thank Oscar for team orders!

like I just cannot emphasize enough the importance of separating fun rpf narratives from reality. Lando tried to mess up Carlos’ parking job before the race as a joke to get back at him over the sign the day before - and then Carlos very firmly said that Lando absolutely should have given Oscar his place back and he even commented on one of Oscar’s posts despite not following him. this does not mean Carlos and Lando are beefing or that Carlos is being mean by going out of his way for Oscar! will I run with that single comment for carcar fodder absolutely - but that is fiction! nobody's mad at anybody!

and then there's the things that don't exist in Formula 1: "Oscar shouldn't have accepted the orders" "McLaren are out to get Lando" "Lando already gets too much hate"

- Oscar apologized for his pace and complications and he gave a very subdued little speech over the radio which was very big of him (and very wrong of McLaren to put him in that position) but if someone thinks any driver including Lando would even slightly imply "nah give the win to my teammate not me" then they’re categorically living on another plane of stan-ism that I can't comprehend. Lando literally said multiple times after this race how he has been the one to benefit from strategy working in his favor - both by McLaren and other teams. he's many many times made a cheeky face or made a joke when he's gotten away with something that fans of a rival driver or team were rightfully furious about. and if a person thinks it was mean when some ppl criticized the role that serendipity played in Miami then maybe that same person shouldn't start biting chunks out of Oscar about the same thing idk !!

Lando repeatedly said how much Oscar has done for him and if his Oscar-hating stans choose to think he's wrong or lying then idk !! he's being mature and fair so like, live n learn from your idol !

and can I just echo everyone saying 'please stop comparing this to brocedes or sebmark' or honestly even charlos? I'm doing bullet lists apparently so I'll do another one lafgljsafgsa

- brocedes is entirely due to their complicated and abnormally intimate lifelong history together leading up to F1. they were already Not Normal Friends and that made for the tinderbox that was their F1 careers together. literally they were destined to have to rupture that level of intimacy if they weren't going to just like get married to each other. they always needed to turn that relationship into something milder and less intense and it would always have exploded no matter what adult lives they had. F1 just made the explosion more violent and public. there’s truly no comparing them with anyone else.

- Oscar bears no resemblance to Mark and Lando bears no resemblance to Seb. Seb as he was in his heyday was... not shy or bashful about being a madman. sebmark never once looked like landoscar and it wasn't this huge revelation that that relationship would end up where it did !!

- Charles and Carlos have a negligible career/experience gap compared to Lando and Oscar and their temperaments are as much primed for friction as Lando and Oscar's are complimentary to each other. not to like 'they're so continental!' charlos but like, their already passionate natures got thrown into a rolling boil of Italian heritage racing and it's why the whole love/hate being sides of the same coin thing always happens with them. their families are even houses alike in dignity etc etc. it's Pure Drama and Intensity and always has been, both good and bad. they’re as terrible at using PR to smooth things over as landoscar are at not even bothering with PR. when Charles and Carlos are good together they’re passionately all over each other and when they’re mad at each other it’s messy and all over the press like a warring celebrity couple. Lando and Oscar are still delicately pawing at their relationship to know what it is and they still shyly touch as if seeking permission. Lando and Oscar are so not PR friendly that even Netflix gave up on them as a narrative entirely. Charles and Carlos are Shakespeare. Lando and Oscar are Jane Austen. Ferrari is the Capulet/Montague pride before the fall. McLaren is Mrs. Bennett trying to social climb using her daughters as bait.

as someone who follows blogs for multiple diff teams and drivers, trust me I see a lot of "my opinion of him is gone forever after this!!!" about something their own fave driver did even just a few races ago and absolutely will do again. same with "the team is destroying him and favoring his teammate!" like I straight up will see that said by each teammate's fanbase of the same team about the same race. this happens at different times throughout the season in every single team I follow - it even happened w Williams of all teams (tho so far that's just the once).

I'm a fake so obv I'm not going to weigh in myself but my cousins and their friends who watch F1 on the app at my house - and who aren't represented ethnically by any driver or team so they don't have bias - always have a much more calm and nuanced take. they assume every driver is out for themselves and by that very fact alone, teams have to take sides when the gap closes. and !! that millionaires doing an elite sport aren't experiencing mental distress over this sport the way common people experience distress over real life !! they go and bury their "woes" in extravagant luxury and an entire army of hugely biased family, supporters and fanbases all of whom think said driver deserves everything.

and that it takes truly heinous betrayal or outright evil to make these guys hate each other with any serious level of depth bc they all know they're The Selfish Asshole just as easily as the other guy. 

so I personally trust their takes on things and it's probably why I've always assumed Lando and Oscar would be Normal and have their little tiffs like everyone else does. bc it's rule one of making it to this level of the sport that you have to think selfishly. straight up I'm astounded at how quickly they've both been able to shake that 'visors down' mentality that Andrea referenced in the post race video and see the bigger picture and not be The Asshole to each other. 

and overall I don’t mind my dash being a warzone of wild accusations immediately after a race bc everyone usually calms down.

but there are certain things I just do not want on my dash and it's actually not related to what driver a person hates or not....

because while it's silly to see any of these privileged little princes as A Victim and Would Never Do That To Their Teammate (which would honestly get you laughed at by said driver) it's pretty common biased fan behavior. even tho Lando literally kept reminding people that Oscar's swallowed his own pride over things for Lando's benefit many times and that he (Lando) has been on the receiving end of podiums that came from strategies working in his favor (McLaren’s and that of other teams).

and like the idea that Oscar is now some heinous human being bc he's behaving like every other driver including Lando by Lando's own admission is hysterical. the idea that F1 teams are ever in any way benevolent kindly forces or that F1 drivers have anything akin to 'selflessness' over race wins is hysterical.

but where I draw a line is stanning for men in this sport so hard to the point of insane amounts of agonized doomposting and biased venomous rage. sorry but most of us don't want our precious time wasted agonizing over which self-confessed selfish millionaire in a sport founded on and maintained by pure elitism is feeling So Bad and So Sad! that he runs off to be comforted by a beautiful woman/women and adoring family and coddling hangers-on and legions of worshiping, wholly biased fans and millions of dollars on gigantic yachts because the absurdly unnecessary sport he gets to do isn't "looking after him well enough" or "prioritizing his happiness" !!!!?????? 

like fuck I'm a callous bitch ig but I'm not feeling an ounce of genuine upset whenever one of these men experiences a level of "my sport makes me sad". "oh but it's all they've known !! it's all relative !! money and privilege don’t equal happiness and privileged men suffer too !!" oh stfu no it doesn't and no they're not like stockholm syndrom victims and if they're so unhappy then they can put on their big boy boots and take their money and go fucking do something else holy SHITTTTT 

am I not here for allowing any portion of my human empathy to go to a fuuucCKING F1 driver jeeeeeeesusss. all of these men fully have the potential to get metoo’d or exposed about smth bc they're all capable of doing awful things by the time they're in F2 -male pro athletes are NOT objectively safe spaces to hang human morality or to assign automatic grace and good intent - let alone bleed pain or feel sadness for their race results or issues with their teams.

there is no acceptable moral relativity for me and these men and this sport are only of interest to me as a hyperfixation that gives me enjoyment in the form of narratives and a very specific, surface degree of enjoyment.

it’s fine if Lando or Oscar feel their feelings of frustration or anger etc but no way in hell am I going to feel remotely sad for them ??? they’re fine ?? there are genuinely sad things in my life and in the world and millionaires wanting trophies and points isn’t among them !! I’m not entwining my day-to-day happiness in any way with what they get up to and I’ll take what I can enjoy from them and ignore everything else.

and to wrap up this epic which I’m only indulging in bc I do feel like my blog sometimes seems like I’m pushing my own silly narratives on others and genuinely I’m not intending to - most of the reason I actually got drawn to landoscar and wanted to engage in fandom about them is precisely because their real life non-rpf dynamic is so unusually mature and considerate and not toxic or like, at all even overtly masculine. yea I originally got drawn into f1blr for the usual bromance rpf types like carland0 and dand0 etc but I didn’t rly care enough to engage in any way. 

but I think this is why I know that the ppl wanting Lando and Oscar to become this insane toxic mess are going to keep raging with disappointment - kind of like how I knew Lando and Max would be perfect again after just a few days while so many ppl hoped it was the start of some battle royale to last years that would end their close friendship. and why I knew Logan and Alex would end up with a genuine, heartfelt friendship when so many ppl assumed Alex would see Logan as one foot out the door and just wait to bond with a more worthy teammate. now we’ve got Alex saying how he and Lily casually talk about Logan for no reason at all and their friendship surviving Alex being given Logan’s car <3

I genuinely don’t bullshit myself into enjoying dynamics unless they feel real - so whatever friction I ever sense between Lando and Oscar as a result of them pushing each other to be the best they can be and helping to bring McLaren from the back of the field to WCC contender, isn’t at odds with them being gentle and unusually private and earnestly aware of each other. bromances were always Lando’s PR insurance with his other two teammates - a nice bandaid to cover moments where cracks showed or Lando didn’t hide his emotions enough. it’s something a lot of teammates use for the same purpose. but Lando and Oscar deciding to forgo that and have their little privacy door to shut out everyone else but each other from their drivers rooms, and how they will be doing interviews and then get distracted talking to each other over things that only interest them, and traveling and hanging out together without giving McLaren PR any material to use… like that’s a lovely, tender little unpretentious narrative to enjoy. watching them tiptoe so cautiously around an almighty cockup on McLaren’s pitwall side and Lando trying to pull himself up out of murky defeat for Oscar and Oscar deciding to celebrate so modestly because what a mess that ending was for them both. 

like I just don’t see a need for trying to invent ways to be unhappy or miserable or fabricate a doomed anything when they’re both still so sweet <3 <3 (and honestly it’s the same old tune of McLaren’s strategy needing a swift smack around the head)

tysm babe and I hope this one helped as well <3<3

[necrotic-nephilim]

How do you think bruce would react to a Robin pile situation?

oooh this is a fun thought. i think it depends *entirely* if you're working with a morally stable Bruce or a Bruce who's a little fucked up and dead dove-ish. somehow, i think it's actually more fun if it's a completely stable Bruce bc that adds so much more drama and issues if Bruce is deeply unsettled by the idea. if it was maybe just Jason and Dick or Jason and Tim dating that's sort of understandable. Bruce knows that while he may see them all as his sons (except Steph bc do know Robin pile will *always* include Steph for me and tbh Cass too as an honorary member. they're all going in the pile.) but he understands that doesn't mean they see each other as brothers. he respects the nuanced and complicated relationships scattered across all of the Batfam.

but if all of them are *dating*? or at the very least sleeping together? that raises a lot of logistical red flags. the most obvious one is the age gap of it all- at the biggest gap you have Damian and Dick who are an easy fifteen years apart, meeting when Damian is a kid. not to mention how many of them have tried to kill each other at some point. it shouldn't work and Bruce doesn't like that it does. Bruce has a history of wanting to control the relationships of the Batkids when he disapproves. and so he'd absolutely try to break them up. at first, he paints it purely as a logistical issue. saying it's smartest not to bring feelings into work and that this is dangerous. i think it's especially fun if this happens at a time when Bruce doesn't approve of Steph or Jason so that *also* plays into it, he doesn't want either of them near the ones he currently considers to be his family. he says he wants to protect them and wants to keep them safe. he tries to appeal to who he thinks would be more logical and listen to him the most. first Dick, and then when that doesn't work, Tim. and when neither of them listen, i *do* think Bruce would stoop to the low of trying to break them up by fabricating internal conflict between them, hoping to divide and conquer the weird polycule it's become.

while i don't think Bruce would be jealous in the sense he wants to be included, i *do* think he's wildly dislike the Robins having this close bond that makes them trust each other implicitly more than they trust Bruce. they will defer to each other before him and clearly keep things from him. he'd despise that. it's an inner circle he's not let in on and it makes him lose aspects of control over some of them, especially Damian who's the youngest and his son, who Bruce deserves the most control over. he would drive himself mad about it. at first for genuine reasons over the perceived fucked up nature of the relationship (even when each of them have confirmed that it is entirely consensual and they're happy) and to protect them. but he becomes so bitter over being ignored. they openly prioritize each other over him when the truth comes out because they see no point in hiding it. and i could definitely see Jason gloating about how he's back in the family whether Bruce likes it or not. Bruce would be beyond pissed about it. he's just never recovering. trying to stop them gets nowhere, even if he manages to cause some internal conflict.

eventually, Bruce would be forced to accept it for fear he would lose all of them. but he's *not* going to be happy about it and he keeps making side comments, hoping to get through to one of them eventually. it doesn't work, but he's definitely not going to stop trying. i also think on some level it would just disgust him a little bit in a visceral way, since they're his kids to him and he doesn't like to picture them in that way. esp when Jason or Steph lean heavily into PDA just to fuck with him. ass grabs, cuddling, sloppy kisses, the whole nine yards. Bruce will not have a moment of peace.

[larchelle-ffxiv]

more 7.0 spoilers bc I was DRAINED after finishing msq yesterday. also a lot of headcanon stuff for my skrungly bc I have THOUGHTS AND THINGS I GOTTA WRITE

- so this expac hurt obviously, but MAN I didn't expect it to touch on grief and loss, let alone HOW it approached that. where shb and ew had similar themes going on of "regardless of the loss and sorrow we are faced with, we will learn to press on and continue", that sorta thing. dt is here like "hiya gamers are you ready to learn how to ACTUALLY LET GO OF THAT LOSS? HOW TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND PROCESS THAT GRIEF? WELL YOURE GONNA LEARN TODAY"

- everything about alexandria/LM BROKE ME. a really powerful message on how impressive and impactful technology can be, but also how quickly it can be weaponized and abused. and the shit about erasing the memories of those who die just being commonplace???? the turali people who were in the dome, found themselves losing THIRTY YEARS OF THEIR LIVES, their loved ones back in tural thinking they were dead or missing and they were RIGHT THERE, some in that time REALLY DYING/BECOMING ENDLESS? good GOD that fucked me up. not to mention EVERYTHING ABOUT SPHENE. she didn't ASK to be made into an endless, she had goddamn levin sickness and WENT TO TRY TO HELP HER PEOPLE ANYWAY, preservation forced her new self to put the people's needs and desires so much in the forefront of her priorities that she became a TERRIBLY FLAWED leader, but was so blind to her faults bc she "did everything for her people's wellbeing". she's a heartbreaking character for sure, ugh

- this expac gave us SO MUCH GOD DAMN WORLD BUILDING. WOW. ive never done every single yellow quest in an expac, but I've made it a huge goal of mine to do it here esp throughout the expac, and it's been SO WORTH IT. the further extended lore, the foreshadowing/clarification and further explanation for things, it was all terrific jfc. now I wanna go back and do yellow quests for all the expansions bc bro. this shit is just SITTING HERE??? FOR FREE????

- I've finally figured out why people (aka capital g Gamers on reddit/ff forums/twitter) don't like this expac. it's absolutely feeling like what stb has become to a lot of the player base. it features a lot of POC, has female leads, and we as the WoL aren't The Main Character. at least in stb we had more of a presence as WoL, but here one title doesn't matter anywhere near as much in comparison. also, with a lot of the dialogue/plot stuff/music (esp the songs with lyrics) , this expac is kingdom hearts coded AS FUCK. it's goofier than EW/SHB, it has more corny stuff going on, wuk lamat is LITERALLY female furry sora. they're mad that we aren't the Main Character, they're mad it isn't as edgy/horrific/depressing, they """can't relate""" bc everything is so diverse and full of hispanic culture, and they're fucking FIXATED on wuk lamat's VA being a trans woman. jfc I'm so glad I'm not on Twitter and I don't look at the ffxiv reddit, bc the shit I've heard has been pathetic and obnoxious lmao. like, try to have ACTUAL CONSTRUCTIVE THINGS to complain about.

also, I hold the unpopular opinion of HW being my least favorite experience in game. the beginning of it is SO GODDAMN SLOW AND PAINFUL, and i honestly got soooo bored of seeing the same looking white elezens/hearing about the Catholic Control and Drama. i also really dont like the dungeons or trials (minus the last msq one, still great thematically), and playing 50-60 as a scholar was NOT fun lmao. hilda, the OST, and everything relating to the DRK quest line are basically all that kept me going through that expac.

But I won't go being a goddamn asshole about it to people who like it!!! let people ENJOY things jfc lmao, also recognize that every single expac takes time to hit the Big Frickin Moments (aka level x7 most of the time), and not everything needs to involve huge amounts of massacre and horror!!! even then, did yall NOT pay attention to what happened with solution 9/living memory??? where goddamn SOULS ARE A CURRENCY???? how about the mamool ja SACRIFICING INFANTS EN MASSE in hopes of a two headed son being born, and putting all their faith in that son to get them out from the deepest depths of the jungle???? or the war between them and the x'braal???? is2g the lack of media literacy/reading comprehension amongst gamers, I'm so TIRED

RANT OVER UGH ANYWAYYYYY

- chelle is absolutely gonna find her adoptive mom satsuki in the canal town section of living memory. hands fucking down. ive had this idea for y e a r s now of them having a chance meeting in the aetherial sea as she "died" after fighting zenos in UT, but it fits SO WELL to have it take place in LM of all places. satsuki spending YEARS trying to find her lil meow meow again, hearing tales of what sounded like her girl, but how in the hell did the shy, sickly child she once cared for get strong enough to become a whole ass HERO??? and just always ending up in each place she was too long after she had left, bc she was only able to work off of hearsay ;A;

me and my partner have it where satsuki's wife and her always hoped to visit tural together, and she gave her wife notes on how she needed to help satsuki find this young miqo girl she adopted after her wife went to travel again. as luck would have it, enna was in tural waiting for satsuki to join her there (satsuki and her were doing research based on chelle's appearance and accent and essentially crossed every continent off the list over time. esp Ala mhigo bc, even tho that's where satsuki found her, enna knew she couldn't be born there based on she herself being Ala mhigan). enna becomes chelle's viper mentor and says that she knows her mother, but doesn't elaborate much until they get to know each other better.

so them finding her in LM? still running a tavern and keeping people happy with booze and food and sea shanties all sung off key? oh it's gonna DESTROY THEM, but be such an important step in getting closure/learning to face grief head on/letting her go without regrets. and they're gonna be a family and UGH I CANT WAIT TO WRITE IT

- fellow wolgrahas. fellow wolgrahas how the FUCK WE DOIN BOYS, LIKE?????? they really gave us a main story quest to help an endless find an engagement ring to propose to his beloved, AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER. put us on a gondola ride with g'raha so he could have a """heartfelt conversation"""with us AGAIN???? BRO!!!!!!

chelle and him are absolutely gonna finally address their relationship again, where g'raha has been struggling to figure out whether or not to propose lol. he really wants to do something to symbolize them being together for life, but knows that she isn't the kind of person who likes just staying in one place/being tied down and isn't really about traditional. well anything lol. he's gonna stumble his way through all those thoughts before she gently cuts him off, reassuring him that she understands and appreciates how thoughtful he's been about the whole thing. reflect a bit on what they've seen and been through, both in the first and since he returned to the source, and with this couple and them talking about "living without regrets/living life to the fullest"(gotta reread the dialogue for when I write this lol). and thought stuffy fancy shindigs aren't her thing, she knows damn well that he's someone she wants to see the world and share her life with.

and SHE'S the one who gets down on one knee and asks him to elope with her/be life partners. the bitch PROPOSES HERSELF, but is too stupid to realize/still too scared of vulnerability to actually call it what it is. and he's about to burst into tears and before he can say anything the gondola knocks into the pier at the end of the ride, as chelle's kissing his hand, causing her to nearly headbutt the poor boy in the crotch and both of them panicked going "OH GODS ARE YOU OKAY, DID YOU GET HURT, SORRY". and they stare at one another before chelle awkwardly laughs going "i guess this would be a bad time to make a joke about "giving you head", huh" or something else cringe like that, to which they both start laughing, holding hands as they step back onto the pier before those laughs are joined with joy filled crying as they hold each other as tight as gd possible and jfeivoeoivoeor

I'm sure I'll have more to say and reflect on but this is already super long and I just. wow. what a goddamn incredible experience dawntrail has been.

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

Noodling with something that happens later in the AU (...probably, I'm not actually sure if Kaine sees this outfit in a calm moment or not... valentine's day 2016 in windowverse is the day that everything goes to shit but there's a lot in my notes that is not fully figured out yet especially because not only do I not want to just use the scene from the comics, I actually can't, because of differences in timeline and so on and so forth. so I'm still working on that. )

Compare to an earlier scene (which I have actually written and not just made notes about lmao):

(og ren fest outfit post: here)

I'm running comparisons and queering the text or whatever the hell—

Recently after many months of not really knowing whether windowverse Kaine ought to be bi or gay or what I had a brainwave which is that, he's probably attracted to masculine presenting people in general, including men, butches and studs. it makes the most sense to me tbh, esp w/ his complicated relationship with his own body, masculinity, manhood, and sexuality in this universe (and 616, arguably). And also because in the comics, Louise was kinda butch or at least not super femme, and so is Terry, and Annabelle dresses however the hell she wants, including in men's clothes sometimes, so I was like. now. hang on. i'm sensing a pattern.

obv zoe and shannon are very feminine but the former is a stalker kaine seems to not actually want to be touched by and the latter was a mind controller so... you know.

really, in windowverse at least, a large facet of kaine's relationships and approach to sexuality is mostly built on this desperation to be loved and therefore taking whatever he can get... for the most part he's essentially doing this responsive, reciprocal thing in addition to trying to be a "real person" by trying to conform to heteronormative standards (but also rebelling against those standards at the same time, thus the skirt) — which is a lot of what his relationship with annabelle ends up being, and a cause of friction as well.

but the suit? actually hot to him.

Annabelle's earrings and purse in the v-day pic were xmas gifts from Kaine btw:

Kate Spade lol

as an aside wrt not being able to use the comics scene for AU kaine's life in houston crumbling apart: i can't make the Other work for that scene in windowverse specifically because in AU by Feb 2016 Kaine is in a position where if he is mortally wounded he will just die.

the Other happens (in October 2015) because Kaine is off his immune meds for a few weeks because he runs out and keeps putting off finding a new doctor etc. but anyway that means his fucked up (auto)immune system can do its thing and turn him into a monster after he's eaten alive by werewolves.

REALLY i actually don't know how long his immune system should take to start (over)working after he stops taking his azathioprine. Mostly i was like how long do t cells and other immune cells take to repopulate? and the answer is: i don't know. i couldn't find a good answer XD but I figure 2 weeks is probably fine............................? it's not like prednisone where he's technically withdrawing for like... 2 years.... (mmm steroids)

but anyway, in february he's had a new doctor for a few months and has access to all of his prescriptions again so like, spider monster ain't happening because he's immunocompromised on his meds— a state which simultaneously keeps his body from destroying itself but also makes him more vulnerable to dying from normal things. like infections. or bazookas.

i do think it would be fun drama if wally shot him though

[krokonoko]

I broadly agree with that phrenology post you reblogged (caveat: conservatism and fascism make you look evil. It's not Looks Determine Morality, it's the other wsy around, Morality Determines Looks. This checks out)

My point though was this: WHERE have you seen, in 2024 on Tumblr, a "kill all men tee hee" post. Where? I'm a drama hound, I love going into places where insane dipshits are and reading their fucking demented takes, and I haven't seen that stuff on here in 10 years. Please I beg you, I need to know. I'm so hungry. My family is starving. Think of my children

okay so this seems a teensy bit bait-y, but I'm still gonna engage you in good faith and hope you extend me the same grace, anon.

the specific wording I used in my tag is p frequently thrown around by radblr, and on twitter on every second profile that follows me, esp my art blog. it also comes in flavors of "men ruin everything", "men are trash", "all men think about is porn", etc.

on tumblr outside of radblr, you see similar sentiments, but worded not quite as harshly. you will have "men dni", "men have nothing worthwhile to say", "men will never know what it's like to be a teenager and sexually harassed", "I'm sorry for being into men", or "there are endless amounts of beautiful women and like maybe two decent looking men". you have "no man could ever come up with lyrics as deep and emotional as Hozier's". there's the complete misuse of the term "male gaze" as meaning "a man looking at a woman and finding her attractive, which is the same as harassment", and ofc, "ppl who believe trans men face oppression are mras/transmisogynists/whatever fun insult you can come up with."

but ultimately, it all comes down to the same thing, and that's the antimasculinity typical for radical feminist ideology. ppl often hear the term radical feminist and think "yeah, couldn't be me, I'm not a TERF." but the terms aren't interchangeable. they're just different steps in the same fascist pipeline. and statements like "men just never have anything worthwhile to say" are dogwhistles that inform us someone is on that TERF pipeline.

the real life effects of this antimasculinity is being felt by poc and marginalized men everywhere, and you can see accounts of it all over tumblr: from posts about how nb ppl with beards aren't allowed in certain nb spaces, to trans masc ppl talking about always having to either resign their trans-ness or their masc-ness to be allowed access to safe spaces, because they are told their masculinity makes those around them feel unsafe. and don't even get me started on the ppl who will just assign women, often woc, male gender because they don't fit a white beauty standard and then wail on them. marginalized men have tried raising awareness about the bad side effects of antimasculinity for a while now, but it has either fallen on deaf ears, or they have actively been shouted down.

the problem with dog whistles is that you only hear them when you're listening.

[eshithepetty]

SORRY FOR HOW I DISAPPEARED AGAIN. BUT I RETURN AND I BRING.. THOUGHTS....

Reply from this post

I was going to just reply to it, but, actually - no. this deserves to be its own post. Because YES!!! Yes, exactly!!!! This isn't something that I often see discussed in this fandom, if ever, but I think about it so much. I think @peepee-envy is exactly right. So much of this show is much more metaphorical than you think. All the fantastical stuff really just exists to... amplify the mundane. It doesn't really stand on its own two feet on its own. That's why we never really see the power system explored that in depth, that's why the terrorism organisation stuff is very secular in the story and doesn't affect the world more beyond its focused arcs, that's why buckwild stuff like the divine tree exists and is kind of just treated as normal, that's why the aliens just... show up, one day, and do nothing else. Those are all just footnotes. Just glass mozaics the story puts over the actual messages and character arcs to make them more colorful and fun. We already know that part of the story's presentation is changed by Mob's point of view - Tsubomi, the body improvement club and 100% carried away being the most obvious examples - so why couldn't that extend to more of this universe?

Of course, I'm not out here claiming that every fantastical and improbable thing in this story is just a projection of Mob's imagination or whatever, that would be kinda dumb and not that fun. But what is fun to me is thinking about what it could all mean!! What lies beneath the surface, what we can interpret and extract from these events! Like, as the reply above notes - the big clean up arc isn't so much about Ritsu literally going and beating the shit out of people... because, yeah, that does happen... but if we were to take it through a realistic lens, Ritsu would probably be in juvie rn lmao. No, what really matters here is the drama. Put as short as I can, it all goes like this:

There are 2 siblings. One of whom is noticeably different in how he percieves and interacts with the world, something that starts to alienate him (how do you take this to its fantastical extreme? Make him literally see the world differently (seeing spirits) and having different abilities (ESP) of course!)

Because of this alienation, there begins a rift in how this boy views himself and the traits that make him different (thus: a literal separation between mob and ???%...)

Only, these identity issues are obviously not healthy - the way he's started to reject himself is not healthy - and it, inevitably... ends with him lashing out, in a way that noone expected. And his younger brother, who had seen his brother as his role model up to that point... understandably got hurt and influenced the most. (And this being the story that it is.... that means the hurt and confusion gets made physical. Blood on the asphalt. A shadowy demon, 'something else', beneath your brother's skin)

Thus begin 3 long, suffocating years of neither of them being able to deal with it. One has decided to abandon his every desire and personality trait in the hopes that being invisible will make sure he drives noone else away ever again. And the other takes a similar page out of his older sibling's book, and hopes that by doing just what society tells him to do, being good, being quiet and nice and always accomodating to his brother, will mean he can avoid that trauma repeating. (Only, in this case - the feelings are so much more amplified, by the fact that this is not just hurt - this is death. Shigeo very much almost Murdered his little brother that day. And the both he and Ritsu are achingly aware of this.)

(But noone can bear these burdens forever.)

So eventually... the younger snaps. He's tired of upholding this image of perfection, of intelligence, of helpfulness - he feels like none of what he's done, what he's been, in the past 3 years is true, because it's all been born from fear. So when a crack appears in front of him - a chance to not do that anymore, to be someone else... he takes it. He finally lets himself be flawed. And he finally breaks down. (And in this world where he fears death and aspires literal powers with which to defend himself - this rebellion is exhagarated. He lies and cheats and hurts in the most blatant way possible. He's violent. Because in this world where he fears dying - what's a little more blood on the asphalt? He just needs to know it won't be him next. He accepts all this guilt and sinks into it because he's finally allowed to. Because for once, these feelings and destruction is something he controls. Noone else.)

(He's finally like his brother. He feels, he's finally able to understand him. He wanted psychic powers, because the time his brother fully showed his psychic powers is the time he was truly whole, and he aches to feel whole himself, too. To unmask and become something truer to himself, something that will bring him closer to his nii-san.)

And as for the other... well. There goes the whole rest of the story of Mob Psycho. Shigeo learning to open up. To find friends. To understand himself. To accept his differences. To reach out. To change people. And to finally, be able to mess up, and walk away after it - because it might feel like the worst possible thing in the world. It might feel like he's the worst person in the world, this horrible beast who's just so angry, and who can't stop hurting people, and who suddenly blames everyone around him and is destroying everything he touches as a result... but that's only because he's never allowed himself to take himself into account before. He's never seen himself before, never let himself protect himself before.... and to a person who's lived their whole life in darkness, only candlelight to guide them - the sun would feel like an apocalypse. It's only so overwhelming, because it is so to Shigeo. It's all just a representation of how he feels.

And I just think that's all so fun. It's fascinating... I love thinking about this stuff. And it's also why, I realize as I'm writing this, I've always felt that terms like 'parody' and 'deconstruction' do not 100% apply to all of mob psycho, to what it is as a series.... because, yes, there's definitely elements of both (particularly in the more actiony parts of the series). But at it's heart... it almost leans more into the logic of something like magical realism, where fantastical elements do exist - but they don't explain themselves, and they don't impact the universe they inhabit in a way that people would deem as realistic - they just are. They're there to be a set dressing, they're there to be an allegory, they're there to make it more interesting - but the story was never about them. It was about what lied beneath that fantasy. It's about the humanity of it all.

And it also just makes the story So funny. Like, yeah, guess there's a mind controlling broccoli now in the middle of the town,, why not!! One of my best friends is a green booger, and my father-uncle-brother figure is a scam psychic, and my little brother almost strangled someone to death for me, and one of my classmates want me to be a cult leader.. Also my confession to a girl Literally left 11 dead 69 injured but thats fine !! Etc. etc. I just really like that, jdhdjdhj

This is a story about how even the most special looking people are actually just as normal as anyone else; that the most ridiculous things are just a part of life, that we can find connection in the strangest of circumstances, that life and growing up is awkward and cringe and confusing and!!! It's all just normal. This is life. And I love this beatiful and weird series, with all my heart <3

[joysmercer]

any future!rina hc?

not many tbh, i actually enjoy "definite" endings/flash-forwards in most cases but with them im glad it was left open-ended! that said – 

ok so like. the r&j movie's going to flop. you can't just have the same story but simply make them NOT die in the end and expect it to work. but gina's performance is the one thing that gets praised in it, which does help her a lot

ricky's not romeo though kdlfj

they do lsoh for their spring musical. the two of them get cast as audrey ii – they handle the puppets and alternate who says the lines by scene. it's not the part either of them imagined getting but they have a lot of fun

gina goes back to camp the next summer and promptly twists her ankle, so she just choreographs the show but doesn't participate :( which is fine with her tbh, she's very exhausted having just finished the movie and the musical and this is the only break she'll get before starting movie press and stuff (and senior year)

ricky unfortunately has orientation during week 2 of camp so he doesn't go but he sends her care packages every single day and comes to opening night to hand out cards <3

EJ's there to direct again and he and gina become proper friends

the fall musical is &J and gina is obviously juliet and she just rolls her eyes when that's announced. jet's romeo. when the media catches wind of this they have a field day ("porter's performance only emphasizes the missteps in the film…") which is also Not Great

she's also stressed the fuck out because college apps are also happening and ricky ends up driving down every chance he gets to keep her company and help take her mind off of things. turns out he's very good at editing essays (and distracting her…)

he gives her a very sweet pep talk during intermission of the show because she's on the verge of a breakdown at this point

her mom didn't make it to opening night again but both his parents bring her flowers and cheer the loudest during her bows

gina's mom plans a vacation to london over winter break and she begs and begs until her mom lets ricky come too

her mom has business meetings half the time so they wander around holding hands and looking at the christmas lights and doing ALL the touristy things

ricky had no idea what a panto is initially but he enjoys it so much he wonders multiple times why they're not a thing in america

gina just loves that he loved it

the spring musical is cabaret, she's sally, her performance gets her nominated for the jimmy awards (which she goes on to win)

but she decides to focus on school for a bit after high school even though roles are being offered to her left-and-right

she gets a full-ride scholarship to usc and ricky is SO PROUD.

he snuck in through the window the night she told him and he squealed so loudly her mom got scared and ran up there and caught them lol but even she can't hide her smile esp when she finds out the reason

ricky tells her he applied to transfer to csula and got in

obviously she kisses him senseless after that. he tries to shrug it off as not a big deal and shes just like "no, it's amazing, i'm so proud of you" an he starts crying, basically

he explores a ton of majors but eventually decides on education with minors in music production and theatre – he knows whatever he does, he wants to help people feel the way he did when he found the drama club

goes w/o saying but they get married at some point and have a house full of golden-retrievers

[havocmadden]

i can't say… 😶 i've of only seen bits and pieces of i didn't do it but i have a friend who binge-watched it last year and said season 2 completely changes the show's format for some reason? let me know if you ever watch it so i can get some encouragement too lol i love gravity falls though!! and it's so funny that you mentioned backstage because i have trauma from that show (/j?) but that's a story for another time i've never seen villains of valley view! all i know is a lot of people compare it to wowp, there's a little brother who's always turning into things, and a possible wlw best friends to lovers storyline 👀 what do you like about it? how well do you think it stands as its own show? do you have any favorite episodes? - gcwca secret santa

yeah i heard they got entirely new showrunners and writers for s2 of i didn't do it so it got? weird? but idk, i'd still like to watch it! esp bc i really liked piper curda in the other stuff i've seen her in !! i will absolutely let you know when i finally get around to watching it!

also that's crazy i swear i was one of two people on the internet who had watched backstage. i think part of the reason i got so invested was i was watching it all in 2017 when i wasn't dancing bc my dance studio shut down and my parents were like "well, you're going away to school next year so why should we find you somewhere new?" and i haven't rewatched it since then.

i really like villains! peter and i have been watching it together so we're a bit behind on s2 but i'm having a good time so far — i'm hoping that they stop turning colby into stuff bc like. it's annoying. but ik filming schedules and stuff etc etc. i think it stands on its own pretty well but i also haven't seen wizards in a long time. and like, granted, i do think it's pretty similar to wizards, but also it's disney channel and we all know they have ten plots. i think also hartley and amy's relationship is like, more gay than i remember harper and alex's being (i'd compare them more to stevie and alex? i think?) but. idk i'm having fun, which is my personal standard for "is [x media] good". and if i'm having fun it's good and if i'm not having fun it's bad. (ik this is not the end all be all of media etc etc etc i'm simplifying)

i think my fave episodes so far are the ones towards the beginning/end of the season that get really plot heavy? the filler episodes are fun too i just like stakes and drama lol

[fappellmoan]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh guys. i have HILARIOUS updates for you from today. warning this post will be rambly but it has some hits and i think if im not your favorite character in life i really should be. ok

OKAY. so it all starts with a dream. i dream that ruby cruz is on my campus shooting smth and long story short she approaches me at one point, as shes abt to say smth my one friend pops in like 'oh hey is this your girl?' meaning FILM GIRL. and everything morphs in that moment like a fucking comical nightmare and im like What No except it was... and okay anyway. i didnt sleep a lot and this is the first dream mention of her in a while. well get this.

spot her on campus as lydia and i r fucking RUSHING bc not one but TWO buses passed us. im like huh first spotting of the semester odd time but ok.... meanwhile i just have this dread so ancient in me because she also has her film major so at any point i can be jumpscared. it wasnt even that real genuinely im at a point where im like ok that shit was fucking stupid and i shouldnt have gone thru all that so she sucks but whatever. anywho we rush into class late with the bESTTTTTTT prof <33333333 im settling im sat im figuring out the space. im sitting at the front however with lydia so like i take a little while to do some glimpses around the class... well get this!

yeah shes there. and im kind of like. sigh. okay whatever. lydias staring at me like Hey so um....... and im like Yeah im aware i know. but i see so many other film people i know to varying degrees so thats cool!!!! im like yippeee also my prof keeps referring to me directly so im like heyyyyyyyyyyy queen <3 esp bc she has like legit aphantasia and i didnt even participate That Much last year but it gets crazier! we're going through attendance and who's directly behind me but abby lee miller! jk um it's my friend im kind of having a flirty little moment with maybe? idfk so im like redactedddd what r u doing hereeeee. and theyre also well aware of the drama we bonded talking shit.

so yeah imagine being me. psychologically attacked every step of the way. except it's lowkey really fun and silly i was having a funny time. i had to laugh! and talked to people and it was fine. but also everyone knows each other to varying degrees and so im sitting there feeling like im being slowly cooked alive. in a fun way...

but also we watched joan is awful in class and the prof was telling us about how you can do it to your face and have a poster (except then netflix can use ur face!) and she singles out '[film girl] is awful' out of everyoneeeeeeee so i had to giggle i had to laugh like without knowing anything my prof is such an ally to me personally fucking love her <3 she also had an association with her and frankie grande and i was like yeah. make her gayappropriatingstraightbi ass uncomfortable. anyway.

and then also. sigh hello lydia if ur seeing this. i try to introduce lydia and that friend and after the typical introduction i was like 'yeah cool i mean ive talked to you about each other at various points!' like girl why would you say something like that. like huh. neither of them says anything and i save it by bringing up our bottoms plans but i was just sitting there in my own goddamn mind control room like yeah ok. girlfailureloser moment. why are you WEIRD. it's not even that real actually im awkward frequently and people roll with it but just given the energy of everything going on in class it was a really great way to end. and then we talked to that prof for a While after class she's literally the best she would do numbers on here. within the cool lesbian mutuals space anyway and thats all that matters. and we talked about bottoms !!!!!<33333 and willow and shes like yeah ok dyke in the most affectionate way i can possibly say that i love herrrrrr

[unreliable-narrator-2845]

i figured i should uhhh introduce myself so. hello. new funny post to pin so people know who the fuck i am ig. very messy cuz i like to ramble.

also, drawn skull under the read more! in case that would upset anyone

i go by cryptid but you can call me pretty much anything (other common ones are neo (my pen name) and comic), esp since it doesn't match up with my username LMAO but i very much like this username, even if it isn't very easy to make a nickname out of? i can't just go by. unreliable. or narrator. or 2845

(can you tell I like TSP?)

pronouns are he/him! i have some neos (primarily The Narrator/The Narrator's) and i vibe very heavily with xenogender, but i largely just consider myself on the binary, when it comes to femininity/masculinity. my ideal gender is a distinctly male beast of some kind

i write fics (unreliable_narrator_2845 on ao3) and post art here. mostly gordon, benry, and any mix of the two...

uhhh i'm 18 (19 in. Soon. why is my birthday so soon what the fuck where did that come from) and severely mentally ill!!! so if i come across as weird or off-putting or annoying or whatever, let me know what i'm doing that's "off". i cannot read a room to save my goddamn fucking life so imma need you to tell me how you are best comfortable when interacting with me

dms very welcome!!!! i prefer to chat on discord (cryptid_neo). i wanna talk to people about these gay men i've grown attached to. however, i have a pretty standard DNI list i think?

some fun facts ig:

i'm in college! getting a degree in psychology, going into the clinical psychology field

got into HLVRAI very recently. i am very sad that the fandom is so small but i will Make Do with the deck i have, not the one i wish i had

i am on the ace spectrum! (aego if you're curious). also aro spectrum, demi specifically. i used to be panromantic, but now i'm just homoromantic - i'm trans and have been on HRT for 2 years now, and it literally changed my sexuality, so that's uh. fun? goodbye women ig.

i have a tendency to say a lot of out of pocket shit because i do not have a filter, and i tend to fuck up and fumble my words when i'm not being super deliberate about something. sometimes i can say shit i did NOT mean to say, or i'm not being very clear with something. that makes me say a lot of funny stuff but also some stuff that i may need to be corrected on! i'm always looking to be a better person so just like, tell me if i did some shit and explain, and we should be good

as an addition to the above, a lot of what i say is meant to make myself and other people laugh. it's why my sona up there is a hyena! i like comedy in the horrific drama that is my life for some reason, and i use comedy to cope LOL

that is all. i think

[radellama]

the fun section of the writer's ask game

21. Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

MY OCS ATM. AND THE VERSIONS OF EVERYONE FOR MY STAR TREK AU. I put a lot of effort into them and making them feel real and understandable within their story!

Harland is super fun to write cause it's a chance to explore a world and characters I love while being respectful of the canon of the game, but seeing what aspects I can go further into with Harland. And all the snippets of Abe and Orc I've started writing is just AUGHHH THEY'RE COMING ALIVE!!!!

22. Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?

Magland... Abe and Orc...... There's some I want to write, like Leon x Ada or Hylink (again.... Sigh....) that I think I'll have fun with. I just like writing pairings that have interesting dynamics or bounce off each other in silly ways

23. Favourite author

Ahhh man. It's hard to say cause I feel like I haven't read anything consistently enough lately to say for sure. I can say when I was younger I really loved CS Lewis and as a teen I really enjoyed what little I'd read by Niel Shusterman, and maybe throw in Adachitoka for good measure

24. Favourite genre to write and read

SCI-FI / THRILLER ALL THE WAYYYYY BABBBEEEYYY

I like other stuff like fantasy and drama and whatever too ofc but like. NOTHING QUITE SCRATCHES THE ITCH LIKE THESE TWO, ESP IF THEY'RE A PAIR.

Sci-fi is soooo broad and fun, it's interesting when it's low concept or high concept and I like that it's so easy to inject philosophical dilemmas into the bones of the story and leave you thinking, and I like how interesting it is when you can draw parallels to current life (it's especially interesting seeing retro future sorta stories, both the fun aesthetics of 90s shit but also just seeing what people thought the scientific advances could be the further back you go, and seeing things that used to be sci-fi become just sci)

AND THRILLERRRRS.... I find them more interesting and scary than horror, though I've often been mistaken for a horror head even tho I feel like I don't watch horror that much... (Unless it's overlapped with thriller I guess lol) Idk I just find that the kind of stories you can tell when you drag out the tension and let the scares settle in to the atmosphere instead of demanding attention front and centre affect me more. I like when there's some kind of conspiracy or danger to work around and it gets more horrific with worse implications the further you claw into it. I want the fear to linger in my mind instead of only speaking to my body (think like how a jump scare isn't really scary other than startling you, vs something that actually unnerves you and gets worse the more you think about it)

I guess all that to say. I like thinking about things and want the story to haunt me with everything it's got. I want to still be thinking about it years later cause there was something in there that lingered....

25. Favourite part of writing

Already answered here

26. Favourite writing program

Libre, I guess? There's certain things I miss from Microsoft word/google docs but fuck them LMAO 🖕🖕🖕 I just wanna be able to write easily and have basic formatting options, ya feel. Libre does the job so I use libre

27. Favourite line/scene

Of my own writing?? I feel like I haven't written them all yet..

Here's a Wip of a scene I really love from much later in harlands story that I really love:

"Well aren't you just a bundle of contradiction." Flea mused.

"Pardon?" Harland asked.

Flea sauntered up to Harland, circling around him as he spoke.

"A friend to both sides of the war." He swatted Harlands hair from his shoulder, watching it fall as he avoided eye contact. "A pacifist whose work has made weapons."

Harland opened his mouth to defend himself, but flea dragged his finger across his chest. Harland couldn't help but get distracted as the general's nail tugged at his collar.

"I don't make weapons." He said, unable to hide the slight waver in his voice.

Flea pouted at him condescendingly. "You may not make them, but would they exist without you?"

Harland clenched his jaw.

"Even when you fight-"

"I don't fight." Harland interrupted.

"EVEN WHEN YOU FIGHT," Flea continued, "you are offensively defensive."

Flea smiled, enjoying Harland struggling to keep himself composed. He stood in front of him, tracing his jawline. "What a contradictory mess of a man…”

28. Favourite side character

Ummmm. Every single one. Idk. Too hard to pick from media but I can tell you that I really like the kitty cat baker lady, shy cow girl and orc's sister from Abe and Orc. And obviously, my most favourite side character from their story is the Penis Wizard

29. Favourite villain

MAGUS BABBBEEEYYY!!!!!!!!!! ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!!!!!!! IHYRYGJPOGJOJGLVJB I NEED TO WRITE STUFF ABOUT HOW INTERESTING HE IS SOMEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

30. Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

Oh man there's so much. I will say it's my screenplay, Misled Millionaire, that was an integral part to making me wanna study film. I've planned so much without it feeling ready and I knew I needed to learn more to do the idea justice, and I still have hand written notes from 2019 that I kept, and even found the original quick note I wrote in my phone all the way back when I just had it as a silly little idea:

Reclusive millionaire searching for new life purpose, unlikely friendship with a fake psychic.

The story has changed quite a bit, but the gist of it is that a younger entrepreneur type is feeling lost and lacking despite ticking off so many boxes that should mean he's successful and happy. While he tries to find himself, he grows dependant on his new friendship with a little old lady who gives him fortunes, until one day he can't find her when he really needs her. When I've made progress on other stories, I'll write the screenplay and hopefully direct it myself! So no stealing my ideas!!

Send me some writing asks

[perfectlullabies]

I wanna hear more about ur fixation but I require drama in order to pay attention, so pls tell me about any barbie lines or dolls or mattel products that make u MAD or that u think just suck

sweet baby jesus, what an excellent ask to occupy my mind with rn !! i feel like it's gonna be a long essay so my apologies in advance

luckily for u, i do have DRAMA to share. first of all, even ppl who don't buy/collect dolls are aware that mattel quality has plummeted like FUCK in the last 10 years or so. it feels like they're producing dolls out of spite, because they got used to it. there are several new doll lines that are worth buying such as barbie extra/extra fancy (7 of which i got recently) and barbie cutie reveal (they all have original fashions, good quality face prints and articulation - u can actually move their hands and legs (wow.) but that's...it. even though i'm quite fond of the new basic play dolls, i still don't think their quality is good (i'm ok with them bc they're mostly rather cheap)

second of all, i hate how these days the og blonde barbie doll has THE SAME FACE PRINT, ALWAYS. what's the point of making the same doll over and over? all the sets with the houses, cars and wardrobes are insanely expensive and they all come with the same doll that looks so cheap and childish. i go into the store and there are 60 different barbies but if u just take one closer look at them they're all the same. i feel rage

third of all, some of the lines are just utter, utter shit. for example the whole dreamtopia line with the fairies and princesses. they are expensive and the quality is horrendous. i can't even picture a child who would want to play with them. i love a point one of my favourite doll collector youtubers brought up - kids these days don't play with dolls like they used to and they don't keep them for years. these days they get a doll, play with it for a week or two and then it's Out and not fun to play with anymore. i can see it happen. they're so boring. in most cases u can't even change their clothes bc they've got printed on body suits or something like that. EVEN PLASTIC HAIR. unforgivable

when i see the amount of blue/pink/purple colours in new dolls i literally just . ugh. like i understand they're not collectible and they're meant for young kids but there is no alternative for older kids or collectors. don't even get me started on colour reveal barbie dolls. the ones that u put into water and they come out all colourful, terribly tacky with awful printed on clothes. BLEH

i also feel bad abt the fact my scene dolls are no longer being produced. such a shame, they were excellent dolls. thankfully i've got a rather big collection :-)

well...all in all i'm a sucker for barbie but i won't spend my money on just abt any kind of shite. i'm mostly looking for vintage barbies these days esp from late 90s and early 2000s which imo was the best era for barbie. still, i do love barbie extra and cutie reveal. i just wish the good old times were back, esp since it's not Easy to get vintage barbies in poland !!

[badedramay]

i also feel like the yumna situation isn't really comparable bc the anger stems from the fact that yumna built her image on being the indie darling who did the thought provoking projects that were markedly different from what was mainstream, only to end up trying to justify working in a project as egregious as tere bin. like when you have something like dil nah umeed toh nahi in your repertoire, in which a focus on violence against women and the horrors of it are so pronounced to the point you risk being banned by pemra, it's hard to justify your own integrity as an actor when you switch to something like tere bin once mainstream success is more immediately accessible to you (and the same goes for wahaj). obv plenty of pakistani actors have starred in projects ranging anywhere from mid to trash. it's an unfortunate reality if staying consistently employed is the goal esp when you're starting to build your career. but when you're a veteran with a reputable resume to boot you have a choice and people are going to notice what you choose and how you wield the influence you've developed. you don't see sajal or kubra or ramsha or mawra interested in starring in the same trash simply bc they're more famous now than they were before. some of their projects may have shortcomings (eg hum kahaan kay sachay thay or for a more recent example neem) but the social statements of their works are clearly important to them and that's what people are criticizing yumna for lacking at present. even moreso when she's taking active steps to defend herself from criticism rather than hearing out and acknowledging what worthwhile criticism there is. i hate it when actresses are lectured on humbling themselves but listening to her comments at the round table recently was alarming for me. there's all too many actors including her who feel entitled to shrug off criticism bc if they know they acted well then that's seemingly all that matters. i can't imagine living in a state of unreality like that

but Tere Bin isn't the only mainstream drama that she has done though? Raaz e Ulfat is right there. Guzaarish was also a soapy melodrama. so it's not like her repertoire is only made up of the artsy dramas. Pukaar too, if I'm not wrong, had her as a damsel in distress for the most run-time of the show. frankly, I don't mind Yumna doing more proper mainstream dramas because let's face it..the on-ground popularity come from such dramas only. TB's success led her to gain more commercials and more campaigns which mean more money for her. actors already have a limited shelf life..why wouldn't she want to make the most of it now that the opportunity has struck?

TB was a mess. no arguments there. it was problematic and probably the worst character Yumna had to give life to. I agree. but how does that mean Yumna has fully switched to these roles? afaik her next confirmed project is a movie Nayab that's taking her back to her character-driven narrative roots. who knows what her next project is going to be? I'll reserve my criticism for her if she chooses to do another TB because yeah, then this becomes a choice. but until then..this girl has done more than enough projects in her career as an actor to warrant at least one project where she gets to relieve herself from social responsibility and just have fun. acting in Pakistani drama industry is already hard enough, it doesn't need to become a platform for activism all the time especially when all the responsibility is thrust on the shoulders of the actors when they are the most dispensable pawns of the game and the real power lies in the hands of the executives and makers. I find it unfair if all the work Yumna has done over the years gets dismissed because of one bad project (that I personally believe she didn't expect to blow up in the way it did) or that her previous conscious choices of project be seen in a suspicious or dubious light.

not every actor has the same circumstances so expecting them all to make similar choices or have the same career arc is not wise. we can't disregard the fact that acting is also a job for these people and sometimes as an employed adult you gotta suck it up. Yumna has power, Yumha has a voice; and she has used it plenty in some very powerful projects. but like every adult she has the right to not be defined by being just one kind of actor. as I type this I am reminded of how Maya had said that Yumna mostly gets cast in these heavy character roles when she can do something completely different if given a chance and she should be given a chance.

if Yumna is facing criticism for defending TB then she's also receiving immense love for this project in real time. expecting her to denounce the project that continues to give her love and acceptance sounds rather...foolish, no? i doubt Yumna is dumb enough to not know where TB went wrong with her character likewise she's not dumb enough to not acknowledge that TB is her biggest success. she's stuck in a catch 22.

honestly I don't see how being part of projects that almost get banned by PEMRA or barely get any ratings or views are some matter of pride and only they should be an actor's standard. even the biggest actors in the most stable industries want to have a balance of artsy and mainstream projects to satisfy both the artist and the actor in them. if Yumna is doing that as well..so what? being an "indie darling" has barely promised her guaranteed acknowledgement. her performance in Parizaad was phenomenal and what did she get in return for it? just a measly "best couple" nomination alongside Ahmed Ali Akbar. and this wasn't her first snub btw, she's been snubbed many times. with the body of work she has..she should have more awards to her name because that's what the indie darlings are supposed to have at least, right? but will anyone in their right mind deny Meerab a nomination if not a win? that's the whole game here.

[theninjazebra]

As someone who has watched too much tv for a long time i thought i should share with the group.

TV recs for the upcoming drought:

Some of these are harder to find, the tone and quality vary wildly, they're in no specific order. I tried for not too obscure, but not too obvious. Some are still airing, some are 20 yrs old. I swear I have a life.

Slings and Arrows. Early 2000s Canadian dramedy about theatre and shakespear. Fun without being shallow, aged ok, lovely performances, great writing. nuclear grade comfort watching.

Halt and Catch Fire. 2014 - 2017, US drama. Follows four characters through the 80s tech industry. First time I got the hype around Lee Pace. S1 is ok, but nothing special, s2 is a lot more interesting but kinda goes round in a circle. S3 and 4 and some of the best tv I've ever seen.

Somebody Somewhere. This is actually a new show, but has 2 seasons out if u want a gentle but never shallow comedy. Fills my sad gay heart with joy. And if want more new tv with middle aged gays Deadloch is streaming on amazon atm.

The Expanse. Finished recently. The sci fi I've always wanted. Big and scary and wonderful and pew pew pew space battles and adventure. Balances the grim with a surprising amount of hope? Has repeated themes of redemption. Also a whole book series should u need more.

This Is England. UK drama. A film and 3 mini series set from 1983 through to 1990. Grim, sad af, also funnyand sweet? And characters that I love. The start of my undying love for Vicky McClure. Big ol CW for violence, sexual violence, and era specific racism (esp the first film). Very good, but very hard tv.

Kingdom. 2014. Can be a pain to find because so many shows are called Kingdom. About MMA fighters having drama. Also families, mental health, addiction, etc. Excellent performances. Both a very dumb and very sweet, painful show.

Animal Kingdom. Legit only watched it because I was searched Kingdom posts and AK was out around the same time. Awful family having drama and heists. Adaptation of an Aussie film into a southern California TV show. Kind of a mess? but very compelling mess.

Obligatory Succession (Kardashians for annoying people, aka me. I am the annoying person. this is my perfect tv show), The Bear, (hospo stress and family grief show) and Severance (people talk about workplace horror, but tbh it also gives big mega church horror vibes too)- new shows that live up to the hype, esp if you like sad people. I don't think they really need recs, but i really liked them.

The Thick of It. 2000s UK political comedy? Tragedy? Though these days it looking fuckin utopian compared to UK politics now. Feels a bit like a partial villain origin story for Succession. I like how sad and broken hearted it is.

Outrageous Fortune. 2000s nz dramedy that is the source of my love of family crime drama. Aged badly in places, but still very good character drama. Also, for The Boys fans, Antony Starr at his absolute best. It's a big nostalgia fest for me now. Cheryl West is a forever fav.

Justified. 2010 - 2016ish. i'm lazy i'm not looking stuff up. Yes a cop show, yes a dad show, but also rock solid tv writing and timothy olyphant in a hat. I've watched it so many times, and every time it rewards. and yes, am watching Justified City Primeval atm.

White Collar. A dumb, total fantasy art crimes and capers show. Shit, but if you need to not think and also have Matt Bomer do a shirtless painting montage for vague plot reasons then oh boy there is no other.

Being Human UK. A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf share a flat. it's sweet and agonising and 10+ years later I still love these characters so much.

Legion. 2017 - 2019. Why make tv comic adaptations that are trying for realistic and boring? When they could all be like this? Why make anything that isn't as visually interesting as this?

Doom Patrol - same for doom patrol - superhero tv that cut out the boring bits and just went for the weird and painful. I read a couple of random doom patrols years ago and was so surprised and delighted and loved them. the tv show has the same effect.

The Boys. new, and still going, as far as I know. but two kiwi leads means under nz law i have to be a fan? also it's awful, pulpy vicious popcorn viewing. appeals to the shithead 12 yr old in me. yes, it's vicious anti corporate thing is deeply ironic for an amazon show, but considering amazon saved the expanse with no sense of irony at all I figure take all their money and keep yelling.

Preacher. Another comics adaption. The Boy's weirder, less obscene, more disturbing cousin. Tulip is another forever fav tv character.

Banshee. Continuing the tradition of heth and i starting dumb Dude TV and then getting overly attached. kinda pulpy trash, but if you can stomach the violence it's surprisingly good.

All Star Treks. I love them so much. They're so weird, and uneven, and dumb, and they're all the best and I love them.

One season wonders -

Trust. about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping. also about italian countryside.

State of Play. UK. the tv show, not the film.

I dunno. I could do a whole separate post for sit coms and brit coms and the weirder, more obscure shows and movies, but ffs this is so long.