#how are you vale and how is mar ?!?

[firstluvlatespring]

orchid, abelia, & chamomile 🩵

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

omg why is the most difficult question ever....i would say iktara by amit trivedi + kavita seth i love the guitar (to me it sounds like heartstrings being pulled, like this is how my heart should sound when in love) and the lyrics and how it feels like to be in love but being a bit clueless about it ❣️ also the song's a bit nostalgic of good modern bollywood music before it went to hell 🧘‍♀️

abelia ⇢ do you have a particular piece of jewelry you always wear or can’t part with?

yes! i was gifted this tiny silver necklace by my aunt that i always wear ! she gave me the necklace as a parting gift but i also think of it as a good luck token <3 i don't wear much jewelry outside of that!

chamomile ⇢ what kind of things do you like receiving as gifts?

i would say books because my sister used to buy those for me every birthday before i moved out ! but i just get those from the library now, so probably food, letters, playlists and such !

[pumpkinbxtch]

hi!!! I was wondering if you could do hcs for what arguing would be like with the HOO boys

Don't talk me like that! | headcanons

— arguing with the hoO boys

warnings: angst, language, boys being...boys

who's here: jason grace, leo valdez, frank zhang ands percy jackson.

a/n: ohh ohh ohhh, yes. I can. I love drama.

— jason grace:

To get into a real fight with him, you must have come a long way because he's so peaceful and always tries to negotiate calmly, making sure both of you communicate effectively. But at the end of the day, you're like any other couple and sometimes end up having real fights.

The big issue is Jason's nature. He goes silent when he's really upset, his emotions hard to show.

When he’s that mad, you can see it on his face. It’s scary, let’s not lie.

When the ice breaks, he tries to take charge to explain what's wrong, which often makes things worse.

He keeps his distance when you argue, tense and rigid. He’s like a handsome, angry log.

Sometimes he says things reluctantly, like "don't act childish," which is so him.

Yes, he raises his voice and gets frustrated, "no, I said NO, THAT’S NOT HOW IT IS, gods…"

If you're wondering if his powers show, the answer is NEVER, or at least not against you. His mouth might taste like metal or his fingers might spark, but that's just him being really stressed.

His eyes get cloudy and grey.

He takes off his glasses and rubs his temples while muttering.

When things finally start to work out, he breathes better and starts talking more because he knows nothing will work if he doesn’t.

He’s practical, coming up with solutions to problems.

When the fight's over, he hugs you and kisses your forehead, relieved to be out of that situation.

Can he stay mad for days? Depends on the problem, but he’d prefer it doesn't last more than a day.

— leo valdez;

Leo and you usually argue over small things because you have that kind of relationship where you bicker and tease for fun, but when things get serious, the arguments can get heated (get it? heated? laugh, please).

That’s when things get tough. He may seem easy-going, but Leo has a strong temper and is very stubborn when he's mad. Whatever made you really fight doesn't matter because he’ll be stuck on his point.

"No, that's not how it happened." You could be contradicting each other all day until you both turn away and stop talking.

"Well, screw you!" you say, and he growls back, "Yeah, you too," swearing in Spanish. "vale ma-" "me lleva la ch-"

Yes, he switches languages mid-sentence.

"I already told you no! CUANTAS VECES TENGO QUE DECIRLO, carajo!-"

If you know Spanish, you can reply; if not...

"I don’t understand you, idiot. Say it in English or fuck yourself ." (just in case because you’re not sure what he said)

Swearing is common if he's really mad, but it's more his way of dealing with it than being mad at you.

That or sharp sarcasm.

Yes, he might cry if the argument is really bad.

His rigid feelings and insecurity can come up.

Leo is attached, so he’s constantly thinking of ways to fix it because he can’t stand being away from you for too long.

He keeps his distance, terrified of hurting you with his powers, which makes him nervous. "No, DON’T COME NEAR ME." It's for your safety, but it hurts him to see the look in your eyes when he says it.

Can he stay mad for days? Absolutely, but he misses you a lot, though his pride might keep him from showing it.

Don’t worry, he’ll eventually sit down to talk it out, and you’ll both calm down and fix things.

Then he'll give you a big hug and kiss your cheeks.

— frank zhang:

it’s hard to imagine: WHAT DID YOU DO TO FIGHT?

Yes, Frank is Mars’s son, but he’d never choose the battlefield for his lover. He’s very careful and always considerate, but yeah he can be severe when things get bad, and when isn't enough just have a serious talk.

You end up fighting in not-so-quiet whispers, with your faces and gestures being the most expressive.

"Of course not, I already told you, hey!" He raises his hands, and his body tenses up threateningly.

Frank tries to understand your point and make himself heard, always mindful of both your feelings. He knows how to set boundaries.

Sometimes, he just can’t take it anymore and signals a pause. "You know what? This is getting too much, and neither of us is in the best shape. Let’s talk tomorrow or later, please."

Does he raise his voice? Hardly, only when he really needs to make a point.

His eyes are bright, tinged with sadness and anger. The deadliest is his calm face or the way he slightly curls his lip, almost growling.

His eyebrows always seem to be touching, even if he doesn’t want them to.

He keeps a cool head to solve things.

Can he stay mad for days? Yes, while clearing his mind and thinking. He’ll come up to you, and you’ll talk it out, making things work in the end.

He’ll take your hand. You might feel guilty for pushing a guy like Frank to his limit, but he doesn’t mind having relationship problems with you:

"I hope we fight many more times, but about totally different things because it means we’ve really solved the previous issues."

— percy jackson:

wtf did you both do to get into a fight?

Percy won't waste a second, trying to resolve it immediately by asking and reflecting on his own actions. "What did I do wrong?" if it was his fault. "Can you listen to me for a second?" if it was you.

He hates being mad at you, just can’t stand it. But if the fight starts, he wants to start or finish it (or both).

Yes, he might cry.

Yes, he might raise his voice. "No, I didn't do anything. LISTEN TO ME."

Then he apologizes for it because he lost it.

He tries to hold your hands and says, "Babe, babe…"

He makes you both breathe and talk calmly.

He argues, of course, but differently. He’ll stop the conversation. "You know what? I'll think about it." He leaves or makes you leave.

Consequently, he might stay mad for days, or both of you might be mad at each other, but he’s thinking of what to say rather than just calming down. (Nothing wrong with that, everyone handles feelings differently and that's valid.)

Yes, he asks his mom.

Yes, he asks Paul.

You both end up fixing things, and he hugs you tight, giving you kisses all over your face while pouting.

"I missed you, babe."

[apute11as]

Everything happens for a reason part 3 - Alexia putellas x pregnant!reader

Author note- hey guys here’s part 3! Hope you are enjoying the series! Please leave a comment with any feedback (positive or otherwise) it’s always helpful 🤍🤍

Warnings⚠️ swearing (that’s about it I think) it’s mostly angst

————

Part 1- https://www.tumblr.com/apute11as/733631966220582912/everything-happens-for-a-reason-alexia-putellas

Part 2- https://www.tumblr.com/apute11as/735082085825576960/everything-happens-for-a-reason-part-2-alexia

—————

The next day rolled around fairly quickly as you and Alessia had made a brief exit, claiming travel sickness to be the cause of your tearful exit from the room. As you woke up the next day you were met with the sound of a blaring alarm that read 6:30am.

Groaning you began to trudge out of bed, as Alessia did the same from the other bed.

“What are you doing?” Rung Alessia’s sleepy voice.

“Getting ready for training?” you said, puzzled.

“Oh are you sure you want to play, do you feel well?” questioned the striker

“yeah surprisingly I feel alright this morning” you smiled but you were soon cut off by a harsh ringing of your phone and were met with Alexia’s face plastered across your screen. You hesitated at first but then clicked the green button.

“Bon dia mi amor, I was starting to this you weren’t awake” came the a husky, Catalonian voice.

“Hey baby yeah I’m up sorry just misplaced my phone.” you assured her.

“How is camp are you feeling better now?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

You hesitated for a moment, wondering if maybe you should just share your concerns with your wife, knowing that she could potentially offer clarity. However you ultimately decided against it as you had your mind set on attending the World Cup and playing as much as possible. Your mind wandered as you began working it out in your head, realising that by the end of the tournament, you’d be almost 3 months pregnant which would likely carry risks when you played.

“Princesa? Are you still there?” your wife questioned with worry.

“Lo siento Ale I’m here, I’m just so tired sorry my mind isn’t focusing.” you offered

“I understand bebita, I’ll call you back later vale?” the Spaniard inquired.

“Sí of course I’ll call you after training, te quiero mucho Alexia.” you voiced

“I love you too amor.” she replied blowing a kiss at the screen, which you returned before ending the call.

“You ok?” Asked Alessia with a pitiful smile.

“Yeah I’m good. Thank you Less I really mean it.” you replied

“always and we’ll get the test later to calm your mind down” she smiled

———

The morning had been relatively smooth, with minimal nausea and training with the girls had even distracted you completely for a number of hours- something that you welcomed with open arms. During the rondo is when it all started to take a turn for the worse. You felt yourself growing more easily tired than usual, struggling to catch your breath after a run down the wing, the sick feeling started to form.

You’d been stood in a small huddle half way through the drill when you felt the bile begin to rise in your throat and before you knew it you were making a run to the changing rooms and throwing up in the nearest bin. Alessia and Mary were close behind and you felt a hand rubbing up your back as you dry heaved into the bin.

“come on y/n we’re going to get the medicine” said Alessia

“what medicine?” you questioned, whilst attempting to regain your composure.

“You know what we talked about getting at lunch? To cure your illness” she said through gritted teeth as your mind finally caught up.

“Ohh ok yes sorry” you replied, eyes darting between her and Mary.

“What’s up with you?” Asked Mary, concerned.

“Just the flu we think” you answered, stoically.

“Should you be playing??” She urged

“Probably not but I didn’t want to worry anyone” you lied about your condition

“Y/N your health should come first always!” Mary insisted.

“Sorry Mar it will next time I promise” you offered, which seemed to be enough for you as she allowed you and Alessia to leave, whilst she told the team of your suspected flu- an answer they gave little question to.

———

The journey to the shop was brief. You slipped in with hoods up and made sure to use self checkout to minimise the risk of being spotted because what a scandal that would cause.

Once you returned to your shared room, the two of you made your way to the bathroom, carrying three different brands of pregnancy test in your bag.

“Do you want to do them all at once?” Alessia inquired.

“I mean I doubt I have the pee control to do it any other way” you replied, attempting to lighten the tense mood.

You sat down on the toilet and held the tests below you as Alessia turned to face the door. Once you’d taken them, you turned all three face down on the counter and the two of you sat on the stone floor of the bathroom with a 5 minute timer on Alessia’s phone. Your mind wandered to your wife in Spain as the guilt crept in about keeping this potentially life changing moment from her.

Before you could get too absorbed in your thoughts, the timer sounded signifying it was time to check the tests.

“you’ve got this.” Reassured the blonde with a small smile.

“3, 2, 1” you rehearsed before flipping the text.

First one: positive

Second one: positive

Third one: positive

“Oh shit” Alessia voiced.

“Oh shit indeed.”

“What are you gonna do? Shall I get your phone I can leave whilst you call alexia?” Said the striker.

“No. She can’t know.” You responded emotionlessly.

“What why not?” Alessia questioned, shock evident in her tone.

“She’ll stop me from playing Alessia. I have to play! By the time it’s noticeable the World Cup will be done and I’ll tell her then to cheer her up if neither of us win it or to add fuel to the celebration if one of us does. Oh my god what if she’s not happy?” your breathing picks up rapidly “she wanted the baby before but what if she’s changed her mind Alessia?” Your breathing was becoming frantic.

“Calm down y/n/n breathe just breathe” Alessia said putting a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“I can’t Alessia! What if she leaves me? I can’t raise a baby on my own!” You began to hyperventilate, reaching a state of full blown panic.

“Y/n you need to breathe ok, we can sort all that after, you don’t need to tell alexia today just calm down, breathe, think of the baby ok, breathe for the baby!” Alessia urged.

“Ok ok” you said steadying your breath, Alessia’s grip on your shoulders grounding you.

“You feeling calmer now?” questioned the blonde.

“Yes thank you Alessia it really means a lot” you smiled, hugging the younger girl.

——

The first game of the tournament came around fast. With it being Haiti, you weren’t too concerned as they hadn’t been an especially tough team in the past. You still hadn’t told Alexia about the pregnancy. Although Alessia had managed to convince you to see a doctor, luckily she wasn’t a football fan so had no idea who the two of you were, and much to your amusement she confused you as a couple which sent the two of you into fits of giggles, before correcting her. You and Alexia still kept in contact, she’d noticed something off with you but each time she’d brought it up, you shut her down with and blamed it on fatigue. She wasn’t stupid and didn’t buy a word of it but she also knew you’d tell her in your own time, whatever it was so she didn’t push.

When sarina announced you to be in the starting eleven you sighed heavily, realising that the game would be tougher than anticipated. What’s more, you were playing centre back. Normally, you played CDM or on occasion CM but with Leah out and Millie having picked up a light injury in training, England were short on reliable centre backs.

As the whistle sounded to signify the start of the match, you drew a sharp breath in anticipation of the difficulty these next 90 minutes would prevail.

—

Half time came around eventually. After a gruelling first half, you welcomed the break. You were leading 1-0 only thanks to a penalty from Georgia, which wasn’t overly comforting as Haiti were putting up a fair fight. You were forced to make some risky tackles, many of which ended up with you on the floor, body twisted at awkward angles. This did nothing to help Alessia’s growing anxiety for you. She’d become protective over you as she felt partially responsible, being the only one who knew about the pregnancy still. Every time you’d gone down with a challenge, she’d been by your side, checking you over (despite being practically on opposite ends of the pitch).

What you didn’t know was that Alexia was sat in a hotel room, watching every interaction and was beginning to grow suspicious of your new found closeness to the blonde striker. Lingering touches which to you and Alessia were nothing more than her checking on you and the baby, to Alexia were symbols of a growing affection between the two of you. Her jaw remained clenched at every interaction.

——

The game ended 1-0. A tight win but the three points were yours nonetheless. Your body ached all over. As you headed for the coach in a slumped motion due to the fatigue, you were stopped with a warm hand on your shoulder, one that belonged to Lucy Bronze.

“Hey Luce are you ok?” you sighed out.

“I’m alright Mrs putellas but are you?” She asked with concern. You cringed at the nickname she gave you before responding.

“Tough match that’s all, why do you ask?” you inquired with a furrowed brow.

“Alexia told me you weren’t yourself lately, asked me to check up on you. Oh and also I was quite concerned to hear that you didn’t tell her about your quite awful round of the flu the other week?” she questioned

“Oh erm must of slipped my mind?” You offered weakly.

“Yeah I’m sure, what’s really up Y/N?” Questioned the brunette.

“I-I can’t tell you” you stuttered, eyes damp with tears that threatened to fall at any moment.

“Why not, you know you can trust me with anything?” she said, face contorted with a mixture of confusion and hurt.

“I know Lucy and I love you for it but it’s personal I’m sorry.” you half smiled at her

“Yeah yeah I get that, you don’t have to tell me but you should really tell your wife.” She rebounded.

“No she can’t know!” You said on reflex, as though you were talking about it to Alessia.

“Know what? Y/N I’m worried now what’s going on?” Lucy pushed further.

“Y/N” called Alessia, jogging towards the two of you. “Are you coming?” She gestured to the bus.

“Yeah of course.” You smiled at the striker. Lucy however, didn’t miss the relaxation of your body at Alessia’s presence. Making a mental note to bring this up when Alexia called again.

——

Alexia’s POV

Y/N has been off with me for weeks. Ever since that day she left for the World Cup, she’s been so distant. At first I thought it was to do with us being rivals at the World Cup but now I fear there’s something more.

After watching her game against Haiti, I noticed her closeness with Russo, England’s young striker. My stomach twisted in discomfort as I watched them interact, Y/N responding to her touch in the way she’d normally only do for me. Jealousy rippled through me, could it be? Is this why she’s been off with me? Was my wife really cheating on me with her teammate?

Back to neural POV

Frantically, Alexia called Lucy for the second time this week. After a few rings she picked up.

“Hola Capi” sounded the English- twinged Spanish of Lucy bronze.

“Hola Lucia, well done on the game”

“Gracias Alexia? Not to be rude but why are you calling me?” She questioned

“Has Y/N been acting weird at all?” She asked simply

“Funny you say that she was being odd earlier. She seemed sad so I asked her what was up and I got minimal response but then I got her to crack a little. She told me there was something but she couldn’t tell me. Then Alessia came along and grabbed her to go to the bus. They spent the whole journey whispering about something so I’m not sure what to take from it?” Offered Lucy

“That little bitch” snapped alexia

“Woah what now?” Questioned Lucy at the harsh words Alexia had just produced

“I think she’s cheating on me Luce” replied alexia, both anger and sadness laced her voice.

“Oh wow Ale that’s a huge conculsion to jump to.” Stated the older woman.

“Well did you not see how much they touched eachother in that game. I was observing them the whole time Alessia was practically glued to her at every opportunity.” Snarled alexia.

“Now that you say it they’ve been spending a lot of time together but I wouldn’t make any rash decisions on the matter Alexia.” Offered Lucy.

“Thanks Lucy I’m gonna call her now.” Alexia stated harshly

——

After the team bus made its way back to the hotel in Sydney, you and Alessia wandered up to your rooms (next door to eachother as requested). You’d barely been back and hour before you received a FaceTime from your wife. Weird, you’d thought. It was a couple of hours earlier than you’d discussed but you brushed it off and answered anyways.

“Hola mi amor” you spoke down the phone.

“Fuck you” came your wife’s angry tone

“W-what? Mi Vida are you ok?” You asked with concern in your voice

“You’re cheating on me are you, with Russo?” She snarled

“WHAT?! No Alexia where did you get that from?” you were shocked at this revelation

“I saw the two of you in that game, every time you were tackled she was right beside you. She’s up front you’re a defender for fucks sake you’re miles away from each other!” She practically yelled down the phone.

“Alexia no it’s not like that at all, she’s just been looking out for me.” You reassured the Spaniard.

“Looking out for you? I know we’re not seeing eachother for a while but i didn’t realise you were pathetic enough to need another woman to satisfy you! It’s been 3 fucking weeks Y/N!” She roared

“You don’t understand Alexia I needed someone to talk to, to support me in person.” you were in tears now.

“SUPPORT YOU? What the fuck with? I call you everyday to check in and you won’t tell me anything so you’re whoring yourself out to the next person you can find!” She pushed further

“No Alexia! It’s not like that not at all please!” You begged

“Then what is it huh? What could you possibly need support with that I can’t give you right now?!” She boomed

“Alexia, I’m- I’m pregnant! The IVF worked its your baby, sorry you had to find out like this.” you burst into tears.

Alexia sat there in shock. You were pregnant, with her baby, how could she have been so stupid!

—————

[ghostsandmermaids]

Podcasts To Listen To If You Like OFMD

Today is the anniversary of the finale of Our Flag Means Death season 2. One whole year without our favorite pirates :( But if you miss OFMD as much as I do, I have some podcast recommendations I think you'd enjoy!

If you want more queer pirates:

Trice Forgotten

Trice Forgotten is a found-family, pirating adventure. Alestes puts her head down working as a merchant, couriering deliveries and carrying travelers to destinations across the seas. Only, her travelers gradually become permanent crewmates, until she realises her ship has become a floating museum, laboratory, vault of repatriated ‘treasures’ and chef’s kitchen. After spending most of her life with the understanding that nothing changes, no matter how hard you fight, Alestes is faced with a choice: Will she use her new network of allies to build safe harbour and potentially a future for her new community, or will she once again put her head down and drown in her sea of excuses…

Queer neurodivergent pirates of color! Found family! Homoerotic sword fights! What else do you want? (And they even talk about OFMD in one of the Below Decks episodes!)

The Ballad of Anne & Mary

It's 1721, and London is abuzz with news of notorious pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, currently languishing in Newgate Prison. It’s the perfect time for debt-ridden journalist Nathaniel Mist to exploit the public appetite and ghost-write a sensational (and hopefully best-selling) history of pirates. But as the balladeers and gossips on the streets of London build myths around the blood-thirsty, perverse lady pirates, Mist is forced to reckon with the real Bonny & Read… Featuring musical sensation Christina Bianco, actress and comedian Sooz Kempner, Hamilton star Karl Queensborough, drag legend Le Gateau Chocolat, and more.

If you can't get enough of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, listen to this podcast musical about them!

If you want more queer comedies:

Welcome To Night Vale

Welcome To Night Vale is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events. Turn on your radio and hide.

Okay, it's a horror comedy and can be creepy at times, but it's also one of the few shows that have made me laugh as much as OFMD.

Starship Q Star

When a space agency sends the “first all woman and non-binary crew” on a blatant PR mission to Mars, they inadvertently end up the last six humans in the universe. Lead by Co-Captains (and exes) Aurelia and Sim, Starship Q Star follows this madcap crew on their quest across the galaxy in search of a new home… which is basically one hilarious mishap after the other.

I suppose if you found the absolutely two perfect ex-girlfriends and sent them to Mars, then they could potentially… co-captain?

If you want more queer historical comedies:

Fawx & Stallion

London, 1889. When the residents of 221B Baker Street leave town for the weekend to solve one of their most famous cases, no one is left to clear a poor housekeeper’s name of a crime she didn’t commit. Well, no one except for their neighbors at 224B…

Tonally, this is probably the closest to OFMD. I started this podcast yesterday and fell in love with it immediately. If you like OFMD and Sherlock Holmes, please check out Fawx & Stallion!

The Kingmaker Histories

On the 19th of February, 1911, in the Valorian Socialist Republic, an assistant tailor named Colette Geise experienced a migraine that ruined her life. This is a historical account of what happened next. THE KINGMAKER HISTORIES is a steampunk weird fiction podcast about being gay and doing crime, brought to you by the freaks who brought you Less Is Morgue.

Alternate history + magic + comedy + queerness. Do I need to say more?

If you want more (queer) rom-coms:

Me and AU

When Kate “ACunningPlan” Cunningham sparks up an online friendship with a fellow fanfiction writer it seems like the perfect distraction from a summer stuck in her hometown of Kamloops, B.C., not to mention the coming terrors of her final year of university and the Real Adult Future beyond. (Seriously, please don’t mention them.) After all, Hella--Enchanted is funny, smart and writes canon-divergent werewolf fic like no one else. She’s everything a fandom could ask for. But… what if she’s everything Kate could ask for, too?

Me and AU is not only an adorable sapphic rom-com, but also a love letter to fandom! Go listen to this, it's so cute!

Life With LEO(h)

A sci-fi(ish) romantic comedy podcast starring a repressed lawyer, a criminal client, a pesky sister and her fiance, an infuriatingly sexy coworker, and an android in the mood for love. Jeanine Bell​ is a robotics intelligence lawyer whose laser focus on her career has come at the expense of her romantic and social lives. After successfully keeping AI genius Penelope Lane out of prison, Jeanine receives the gift of LEO(h),​ an android with Synthetic Sentience. LEO(h) is Loving, Empathetic, Optimistic, and (only sorta) helpful. He's programmed to love Jeanine. He’s also very, very illegal.

I'm only two episodes in and already so invested in this story! Jeanine and LEO(h) are absolutely adorable.

(Note: as far as I know, the main romance isn't queer, but there are other queer characters in the show.)

If you want more queer found families:

Hello From The Hallowoods

Darker than your dreams, and farther North than you remember, there is a forest where life and death meet… Come walk between the black pines! In this award-winning queer fiction podcast, a cosmic narrator follows the increasingly connected residents of the forest at the end of the world. It's a bittersweet story that explores queer identity, horror genre tropes, and finding hope in humanity's last moments.

Did I only add HFTH to the list because it's my all-time favorite podcast and I want more people to listen to it? Maybe. But I also genuinely think that if you like OFMD, you are going to love some of these characters. Check out my fandom manifesto if you want to learn more!

Starfall

Starfall is a fantasy audio drama about the adventures of the Carouvel Traveling Acting Troupe - a theatre troupe that uses magical items to create illusions for their shows as they move around the Falstenian Empire. The story begins as the troupe is joined by Leona, a young warrior with a mysterious past and even more mysterious powers. With their new guardian in tow, the troupe traverses the continent, encountering the dangers of humans, fae, and greater forces alike, all while still trying to put on a good show.

Remember Stede's fuckery play in S1E6? Now you can listen to a fantasy theatre troupe put on magical plays! How cool is that?

If you want more of the cast:

Kisses in the Dark

Against the bright lights of Blackpool, a supernatural killer is at work and a dark and dangerous love affair begins… A sinister, disturbingly romantic seven part podcast drama written by Marty Ross (BBC’s Catch My Breath & Ghost Zone and Audible’s The Darkwater Bride) and starring Con O’Neill (Chernobyl, The Batman) and Rhiannon Clements. A contemporary Gothic horror tale set against a background of life on the narrow edge between Pleasure Beach and wild cold sea, between secret desire and a deadly evil. Also starring, Kyle Rowe, Pamela Mayoss, Steven Gidwaney, Patrick Price & Ryan Clayton.

Con O'Neill plays one of the main characters!

What Will Be Here?

In What Will Be Here?, five friends send a rocket to space with a collection of recordings on it that document the world’s decline, the stories they want to tell, and their efforts in building this rocket to get their message to the stars. They wonder what their world will have become by the time their message is listened to. At its core, this show is about living and creating when things feel pointless. It's a story that came out of the pandemic, and the landscape in which this story was written and produced greatly influenced how it turned out. What Will Be Here? is set on earth 200 years in the future, where large-scale crises are fully normalized. But despite the bleak backdrop, this story is one of hope - of overcoming challenges, of making things that might be temporary, but also things that might be launched into space and continue on forever.

Vico Ortiz plays one of the main characters!

Dungeon Masters

Dungeon Masters takes a behind-the-curtain look into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, told through the lenses of the creator of the game, Gary Gygax, played by Wil Wheaton and of private investigator, William Dear, played by Jon Hamm, a swashbuckling tough guy in 1979. Gygax guides the audience through this incredible true story as our Dungeon Master, as we follow Dear on his quest to find Dallas Egbert, a Michigan State student, who supposedly disappeared in the steam tunnels under his university while enacting a real-life version of D&D. What Dear encounters on this journey and ultimately discovers, defies all expectations, and changes the culture as we know it.

Kristian Nairn plays one of the main characters!

The Diaries of Netovicius the Vampire

Neto is an artist first, an immortal vampire second, but for now he's being kicked out of his Beacon Hill apartment in Boston Mass. That's where we begin, but more than a year into this audio-series I can't believe the journey Neto, and me, the creator have been on. But that's a longer story than I can get into here. For now, I hope there is something in this audio-series for you. It's about vampires, but ultimately it's about recovery, from trauma, from alcoholism, even from cults. It asks: Does time really heal all wounds? Featuring VAs known for Valorant, Diablo IV & Overwatch

Written and performed by Hugo Pierre Martin!

The Cryptid Factor

Three best buddies - Rhys Darby, Dan Schreiber, and Leon 'Buttons' Kirkbeck bring you The Cryptid Factor - a podcast dedicated to all things weird that are yet to be defined by science. Since 2008 they have passionately (and often awkwardly) been discussing 'cryptids' and monsters like Yeti, Chupacabra, Bigfoot and Nessie - as well as weird news of the world, UFO's, Time travellers, robots and space stuff. Though they take these pseudosciences as seriously as they can, they struggle to take themselves seriously at all. Hosted by comedian and actor Rhys Darby, star of top rating podcast 'No Such Thing as a Fish' Dan Schreiber - and Pulling it all together is their best friend, 'Buttons'. If anything goes wrong, it is probably his fault.

Rhys Darby is one of the hosts!

Date My Abuelita, First!

From Executive Producer Wilmer Valderrama comes a dating show that proves abuelita knows best! Host Vico Ortiz alongside our resident abuelita, Liliana are ready to meet their match! Three single contestants will compete for a date with one lucky guest. Through speed-dating rounds, hilarious games, wildly silly and genuinely heartfelt introspections, and grandmotherly love, one contestant will either be a step closer to love or be sent back to the apps. Abuelita holds all the cupid power, so let the chispas fly!

Vico Ortiz is one of the hosts!

[dangerandbeauty]

Love the way Darrow is Virginia biggest stan since day one tho. He always reads and rereads her papers, listens to her speeches on repeat and has them saved on his dataPad that he wears on his person at all times, and he always defends her to any critics 😤.

Omg in LB when he used her voice for the audio of Path to the Vale, literally his little SELF HELP book, I melted into a happy puddle. And I just passed the part in Iron Gold—currently rereading—where Dancer says he has to protect the Republic from a tyrant and Darrow immediately is like, my wife isn’t a tyrant 😤 and him going to sleep listening to her voice and watching her on the HC despite knowing she’s upset with him and thinking how unblemished she is by all of it. They are such a healthy relationship I love it so much

And how he was the first to kneel for his Sovereign 🥹

And then when she finally sees him again and remembers how this man “needed no witness to burn” when she first saw his dark energy at the institute

And when you know who died in LB his first thought was he wished to be home in her arms, she is his comfort above everything

And then Mustang always defending him as well, like Roque saying Darrow is only who he is bc of those around him, and she says I AGREE like acknowledging Darrow leans on his friends and vice versa and reiterating how amazing that is. And then Aja asking how she could betray her kind for him, to which she says EASILY.

Let this man retire to Mars with his Governess/Sovereign wife and be the trophy husband he deserves to be and make breakfast for his family every morning like he wants 😭

[darilarostarg]

Changes to HOTD Season One

I may get jumped for this but this was in my drafts after I saw someone else mention some changes they would have made to season one. So in light of season two arriving in a month, here are mine that I would added/changes to make the series run and little more coherently without changing the entire plot; 

More highborn ladies around Rhaenyra and Alicent. 

I just found it a little unbelievable that the Princess and named heir had a grand total of one friend. I like the idea of Rhaenyra and Alicent having a small core group of highborn ladies. I also think it would have been great to add to the dynamic of when their friendship falls apart. 

Maybe they gravitate to Rhaenyra’s ‘side’ as she will be future queen, further isolating Alicent, adding to her eventual hatred/treatment of Rhaenyra. I think the fall out of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship especially in the beginning needs a little extra kick, and this is a simple and effective way to do so. Not only was Rhaenyra given the freedoms Alicent never was, she also ‘took’ all her friends with her.

Once we made the jump to Olivia taking over as Alicent I would have gone full ‘book Alicent’, or at least once Driftmark happened. 

I think the flitting between hating Rhaenyra and caring for her doesn’t work (unless you are a Rhaenicent, if we are being honest!). 

They should have let Alicent fully believe Otto’s brainwashing, especially after the response to Aemon being marred. I genuinely believe that would have made Alicent even more sympathetic to the general audience as well, as I just don’t think the back and forth is really logical after that point, and the general audience just sees her as a hypocrite, not as another victim to Westeros’ patriarchy. 

I think it would have been beneficial to see more Alicents scheming against Rhaenyra in court etc. It would have been very cool to see her go fully spiteful and powered by fear (mainly because of how Olivia played the small glimpses we did see at times, and they worked better for me than the more sad/passive Alicent we got at other times).

It also would have prevented having the foot fetish scene with Larys. I do not understand why that was the route, when they could have Alicent be a willing participant in those schemes, which is much more interesting. Also no ‘misunderstanding the prophecy’ scene, or the green council going the way it did, or Rhaenyra crying over a 20 year old piece of paper….

Either given Rhea more screen time, or went with the book version of events with killing her off screen.

I understand logically why they had Daemon kill her, but due to the lack of screen time, I just don’t think the audience cared about her enough to really hold Daemon to it. I think killing her off screening, and having Daemon find out in the Stepstones via letter, and a scene of him actually going to the Vale to try for his inheritance all smug without a care for his dead wife, would have been just as an effective way to show Daemon’s disdain and hatred for his first wife, if not more effective.

Daemon and Laena’s relationship. 

I think it would have been nice to actually allow Daemon to be shown to be a somewhat decent man at certain times. I just think if canonically the character is described as ‘made of light and darkness in equal parts’ they should have made more of an effort to show that, have Daemon’s love for his family be his light. It also means that when he is dark, it’s actually more shocking and cruel as we know he is making an active choice to be that way, that at his core he is not a good man, despite the light we see with his family. It reduced Laena to a stepping stone plot point, and I just wasn’t a fan of that. 

Inclusion of Laena and Rhaenyra's relationship. 

I just think this would have played well into the fact that to Alicent, Rhaenyra, no matter how much she believes she breaks the rules, does what she wants etc. she is still constantly surrounded by people that love her, while all Alicent has done has lived dutifully and ended up in a loveless marriage with no one to turn too but Larys fucking Strong. 

Bi Daemon 

Because that is something I want, and I’m allowed to be selfish every once and a while!

[stephadoo]

Okay, I’ve been seeing some speculation about this as we’ve gone through the season and I just wanted to put it all together before the finale kicks off.

Spoilers ahead! A lot of it is speculation but there are a few things that are actual spoilers.

The Doctor mentioned the Pantheon (of Discord), of which the Trickster is the only named character that we knew of until Maestro.

As someone pointed out elsewhere, when Ruby is in her trance, she’s humming a song before it switches to the Christmas song. It’s the same as the Trickster’s theme:

Video: https://x.com/reyhickmanmusic/status/1791284401952768212?s=43&t=m10ek-WTV5K8_EK4owpIpA

There was meant to be a storyline in SJA where it was revealed that Sky was actually the Trickster’s daughter, but it never played out because of the show getting canceled. The ‘Thirteenth Floor’ storyline was reworked for another TV show that RTD created, so it’s not impossible that he may have reused some of those elements with Ruby’s background. 

The scene in ‘The Devil’s Chord’ is obviously paralleled to the one in ‘Pyramids on Mars’ with something happening in the past causing ripples out to the future, showing a destroyed London. This is also the M.O. of the Trickster, seen most obviously in ‘The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith.’

In fact, the concept of alternative timelines has been a running theme throughout this season. 

In Tales of the TARDIS, we get  the scenes with Clyde and Jo, where the Verron puzzle box is brought up; the very thing that can be used to protect someone from the Trickster. And there was an interview that said:

“Showrunner Russell T Davies has hinted that there is more going on with the Tales of the TARDIS spin-off. Speaking in a recent interview to SFX Magazine, Davies said: “There are bigger plans behind this that we can’t talk about yet. Eventually, [Tales of the TARDIS] will begin to make more sense as the series next year unfolds, you will see. But it’s really a lovely thing to do for the 60th.””

In some of the trailers, there’s a very quick glimpse of the Doctor standing in the Memory TARDIS, with Mel and Ruby behind him. 

Harbinger = Graske?

Next season - Harbinger spotted on a sign at a movie theater

The scene above with the harbinger sign is coincidentally being filmed on Penarth Pier in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, which is where part of the episode 'Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?' was filmed, specifically the pier scene where Andrea falls and the Trickster shows up for the first time.

I don’t know if this is enough to prove that the Trickster is coming back, but it’s all very interesting. It could be next season as well, depending on how things pan out in the finale

[deepvelvet]

What is the composite chart?

MASTERLIST

The composite chart is a chart made of the midpoints of two natal charts. It represents the energy this two people manifests together through their relationship, of any kind. It's like when we often say:

"This person makes me want to do certain things i wouldn't if alone"

"I usually don't share my feelings very often, but i can do this with this person"

"I just spilled out an intimate story and it was so natural i didn't even realize it".

"That's the chart of this two people as one. What they do together, how they do it."

A lot of people say that, since it's a midpoint method, you don't look at the signs or ASC, but to the houses. In my experience, that's not an opinion I share about the composite. I find the planets, ASC and MC really important to the interpretation of the whole and playing a great deal of the importance and meaning of the chart.

In synastry we find the planets talking about HOW, and the houses talking about WHERE. I believe in composite charts we have more of a mix of this things, so the house will talk about HOW we blend in the things of that specific planet, what we agree and what we don't. What we value in regards to the planet matter. The sign of the planet will give flavour and a more deep understanding of How this energy feels for them.

A couple who has venus and moon in 2th, will center they shared vales and feelings in the material world. But If this 2th is in, let's say, Pisces, we have a whole other world to take into account. Maybe they know they have those shared values but they float around If this is really the same point of view. They can change their mind a lot with pisces. And 2th+pisces is so cuddling in bed. Or even, on a more negative side, dealing with drugs. On the material world. Like a partner that smokes, and the other doesn't like it. One or both of them dealing with alcohol issues that will very much play a part in the relationship. That's a flavour we can't see just looking at the houses.

Composite sun: the relationship’s ego, vitality, identity and core focus

Composite moon: the relationship’s emotional expression and intuition 

Composite Mercury: the relationship’s mental processing and communication style

Composite Venus: the relationship’s love language(s), relationship/commitment style, aesthetic and financial mindset

Composite Mars: the relationship’s ambition, drive, sexual energy and fighting style

Composite Jupiter: the relationship’s journey, luck and abundance

Composite Saturn: the relationship’s restrictions, boundaries, maturity, long term goals and karmic lessons

Composite Uranus: the relationship’s innovation, uniqueness and instability

Composite Neptune: the relationship’s escapism, fantasy and spiritual essence

Composite Pluto: the relationship’s transformation, power dynamics and control dynamics

You can all expect me to focus on composite at the next couple of weeks. And edits in this post as well with your questions and doubts about the composite chart dynamic.

COMPOSITE CHART ON ASTRO-CHARTS

COMPOSITE CHART ON ASTRODIENST

Extended chart selecion > composite chart midpoint method

COMPOSITE CHART ON ASTRO-SEEK

COMPOSITE CHART ON ASTROTHEME

MOON THROUGH COMPOSITE HOUSES PART1

MOON THROUGH COMPOSITE HOUSES PART2

VENUS THROUGH COMPOSITE HOUSES PART1

[graveltrapping]

Debutant | new and novel

Female Marc Márquez

Previous | Next

Uccio doesn’t really care the first time it happens.

Why would he? Valentino was back at Yamaha, he had an incredible opening race,  and to top it off they were all currently at a very nice restaurant with good food and even better drinks. The stake he was eating was perfectly done and just a tiny bit bloody while the wine that had been paired with it was beautifully rich. Music, low and soothing, was playing in the background and melded with the chatter that seemed to come from every corner of the room. It was a quiet night at the establishment and so far no-one had come up asking for photos or autographs. Everything was good.

Everything would be even better if Vale sat back down.

The table they were sat at, tucked int the corner of the rustic restaurant, was draped in a pristine white table cloth and dressed with fine shiny silverware that glittered whenever the hanging lights overhead caught them, the glasses were the same. Polished and pristine, they glittered like crystal. The several plush chairs that had been set up around the table were filled mostly by friends with the occasional Yamaha team member but the seat near the head of the table was empty and pushed back messily, half sticking out into the servers isle before it was tugged back in by the man sitting beside it. The drink that had been ordered sat untouched by an empty dinner plate.

Valentino himself was on the other side of the room.

Uccio can see the exact reason why.

Mar Marquez had walked into the restaurant with a smile and loud laughter, giggling at something her younger brother had said, dressed in some jeans and an oversized dark red t-shirt. Her hair was wild, black coils spilling out of the short little ponytail setting at the nape of her neck. She could of disappeared in the group she was with. Smaller than the rest, most of whom were Honda engineers or family, they orbited her like she was the sun. Rooted firmly at the centre of their attention, she was unmissable even in the hustle and bustle as they were seated at a table near the bar at the back of the room. Vale hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

He had simply said “I’ll be back” and strutted across the room.

He was on her now. Standing behind her chair and head leaned down to talk to the table, both hands planted firmly on her shoulders in a touch Aleccio would consider a bit over familiar. He would consider Mars own touch even more so. Her hands had come up as soon as Vale touched her, palms smoothing over his knuckles before her hands smoothed downwards so she could curl her fingers around his own. Holding him there. Valentino didn’t seem to care, just squeezed her tighter and said smoothing funny that had the whole table breaking out into loud laughter. Marquez had laughed as well, loud and distinct, her curls brushing his throat. Mar had then said something that had the Italians attention almost immediately. Her head was tilted back, cupid bow mouth moving a mile a minute, and Valentino had to pull back a small bit to look at her properly with how close he had been.

His hands remained.

“What do you think he’s saying” Alessio couldn’t held but asked the men around him. He sipped the wine, and winced when it went down a little less sweetly.

“Probably just congratulations.” Mattia hummed as he took a long sip from his own glass “She did good in Qatar”

More laughter echoed from the spaniards tables and they watched as Vale shook hands with several Honda engineers and the brother, Alex, who looked a mix between in awe and intimidated.

Tommas a scoffed slightly “Nearly knocked him off his bike”

Mattia smiled “Ah, she’s a rookie, she’ll learn”

“Learn what?” Daniel quickly put in his own two cents as he watched Vale pull a seat up beside Mar “How to kill someone properly? She’s been pulling the same shit since 125ccs and will continue to do it until she actually throws someone off their bike”

Mar at this point was pointing out several people at the table Uccio didn’t recognise as Vale reached out to shake their hands. They were either family or part of her Moto2 team that she had brought with her up into the new class.

“I thought you liked her” Mattia hummed. He scratched his stubble and shared a look with Uccio who just sipped his drink and cut viciously into his stake.

“I do!” Daniel defended, hands raised, as a flush rose to his face “Its just…”

“Just what?” Alessio couldn’t help but chuckle, knife scarping against the plate “She got you tongue tied, batted her lashes at you and knocked those thoughts out of your fat head?”

Tommas laughed loudly this time “Think she’ll hear you, crash into you instead, run you over coming out of the box?”

More laughter raised around the table as Tommas gripped Daniels and shook him slight, pinching his flushed face meanly. Uccios grinned around his mouthful of food.

“You could ask her to kiss it better after though!”

“Shut up.” Daniel huffed as he slapped the older mans hands away from his still pink cheeks “She’s good, alright, but she just…, just not careful!”

“Who’s not careful?”

Valentinos voice had several mouths snapping shut with clicks and several others taking deep swigs of fine red wine. Tommas grinned particularly broadly as Daniel slumped in his seat, not looking at Rossi and instead focusing intently on his half eaten carbonara. The Italian pulled out the chair he was originally in, fancily carved feet dragging against the floor, and dropped down heavily. He was grinning. He was also holding a glass of white wine he had taken from the spaniards table. 

Those clever blue eyes jumped from person to person before settling on Uccio, brow raising.

Uccio stole a glance back over Vales shoulder.

Mar had her back to them, ponytail now undone, but almost sensing the eyes on her she threw a glance back over her shoulder. Her gaze didn’t go to the man looking at her, no, it zeroed in on Valentino and lingered there. Dissecting, intense, measuring him up even. Her attention was stolen by her brother a moment later. Alex said something that had her laughing, her whole body curving towards him as her head tilted backwards. Valentino glanced backwards at the sound.

Something rankled in his gut, but he gave Vale a carefree grin and decided to just enjoy the rest of his night rather than mull over a thought that deserved a more sober mind.

“Nobody”

He wasn’t much more sober when it happened a second time.

This time they’re at a team diner, everyone sat a the table exclusively Yamaha staff while the tables dotted around them are filled with the rival teams that inhabit the paddock. The tables are draped in similar white cloths, the silver is still shiny, and the glasses are just as polished. Sure the wine wasn’t as nice and they’re were no stakes on the menu to order, which is probably for the better considering how many people there were in the room, but the food that is available is still nice. Was. He had lost his appetite actually, belly flipping at the sight of what was happening across from him in full view of Yamaha head staff and who knows how many photographers that had bartered themselves an entry pass or invitation.

Valentino had pushed his chair about a meter away from the table he was sat at, abandoning his food and drinks and any chance of talking about early contract extensions, and twisted had himself at a full 180 so his back was to them all.

Mar had done the same to her own table.

The Honda team had taken their seats at the dressed up table directly beside their own, with the girl being pushed to take the seat nearest the front and across from Pedrosa who she had been chatting too when they entered. Her attention was quickly stolen by Valentino however, when he turned in his chair to poke at her back to get her to turn around. She had startled slightly, curls bouncing, but the smile she had given was broad and nearly blinding when she realised who had tapped her. Her hair was down, ends curling around her jaw, and she was dressed in a dark pair of jeans and a black button down shirt that seemed a bit tight across the shoulders and arms. The pair had exchanged a few words throughout the night after that, chatting on the way to the bar or simply passing by when talking to others, but they had seemingly fallen into a rabbit hole of conversation the moment food was served. Both pushed way from their tables and blocking a full passage between the tables, they were both staring at Valentinos phone.

He had pushed his chair out, leaning back on its two hind legs to shake Mars shoulder, and had beckoned her closer while pulling out his phone. She had gone easy, her crew chief visibly rolling his eyes when she abandoned their conversation to scoot her chair backwards and press as close as decently possible. Uccio couldn’t hear what they were talking about, the room large and full of echoing voices, but they were both engrossed in it completely. Mar was fixated on Vale, watching both his phone and as his free hand moved through these fluid motions of curving and bending around what Uccio could only guess was a race track.

Was he explaining a racing line he took? Was he critiquing a turn she had over shot? Was he dissecting her first premier class win.

Uccio didn’t know.

What he did know, however, was that Valentino was completely engrossed in the conversation he was having to the point of ignoring the literal holders of his contract. Sure, early contract extension was basically already completely assured by Valentinos name alone but security and term adjustments were always able to be changed and tweaked even in the early stages, to just get ahead of the curve. He could do as he always did. Talk, joke, charm the ass off of every person at the table and firmly cement himself back into the foundations of Yamaha. Take back the place Lorenzo was trying to fill.

Instead he was talking to the girl.

He shouldn’t really be too surprised. Vale had always made an effort with rookie riders, even supported young drivers coming up through the feeder series, but this was just…, god he couldn’t even think properly. He took long sip of his wine. It was fine, really, she was a fellow rider and rival. But she was also a girl. He couldn’t just take the liberties that he usually did with other riders but Vale, as he always was, just didn’t seem to care. Uccio needed him to. She was a novelty at best, extremely bad press at worst. Bad thing by association and Uccio wasn’t really willing to risk anything after two long and hard years at Ducati.

He supposed Vale could see those thoughts on his face when he finally rejoined the table.

“ We are supposed to be talking about business” Was the first thing he said to him. Thankfully they were seated side by side so Alessio could speak to him discreetly without drawing attention and making his problem anyone else’s.

Vale just grinned and grabbed his wine glass “You’re talking about business”

“Cause you’re talking to her”

“Yes”. Unashamed. Smug, maybe?

“Vale”

“Uccio”

A moment of silence passed between them. 

Valentino wasn’t stupid, he knew what Uccio meant the moment their eyes met. 

Mar was the first woman in the premier class of the sport, she was new and novel and basically every single eye in the motorsport world was fixated on her every moment of her career and, by extension, every person she interacted with. Everyone she looked at, spoke too, touched. Everything was under a lens. Picked apart by team members, reporters, and fans alike. All vultures in some way or another. She was sweet, yes, a pretty pr face but her riding was aggressive and left so many angles of criticism open but she just didn’t seem to care. Just smiled a shrugged everything off. It all still hung around her though. Every comment a reporter or fellow driver made followed her presence closely even as she moved rapidly up though the series, snatching championships with that aggressive and mean driving that people used as a gateway to criticising Mar and everything else she was. Everything she could be. 

Valentino didn’t need that shit on his plate right now.

But Valentino just grinned and took a long draw of his wine.

[topnotchquark]

I am new to motogp, but what the fuck is the deal with Uccio and the rosquez drama in 2015.

My brother in Christ are u stupid? Why don't you tell Vale to put all his stamina and mental games on f.ing Lorenze, the actual threat to the 10th? You could scheme the divorce in 2016 or sth you stupid Ipad stand!

Oh my god! An opportunity to analyse Uccio! Persona non grata and public enemy number 1 on motogpblr (btw, are there any Uccio shooters on Tumblr? My inbox is a safe space, I wanna hear your side of the story).

There is no way for me to know for a fact why Uccio ended up being the first domino to fall that led to Sepang 2015 but I did look around to see if I could find a bit more about the relationship between Vale and Uccio.

These two go all the way back to the crib, literally. Uccio mentioned in an interview that Tavullia is a small town and they were only a few months apart in age so they ended up at the only day care in the town together.

Uccio has been called a bumbling fool and a freeloader and what not (look at this post openly roasting him for being Vale's Lackey) and despite my dislike of him I won't do the same (for once lol). Vale shot to stardom at a young age doing the death sport that required him to travel extensively. What better way to feel grounded than to have your childhood friend near you at all times (the fact that Vale didn't leave Tavullia for flashier places like Monaco or wtv has been reiterated in so much writing about him, and Uccio has said the same). There is definitely an element of familiarity and comfort that both Vale and Uccio seek from each other. Uccio mentioned that they would come back from a weekend of racing, put down their suitcases and immediately get on the phone with each other, which, teenage bestie-ism is such a force lol it could power cities if harnessed.

Anyway, back to racing. The consensus is that Vale didn't have the best rivals in Biaggi and Gibernau, they were inconsistent and susceptible to mind games. Vale enjoyed the initial years of his career as an untouchable, peerless talent. And then..... the winds changed direction :)

Vale was 36 in 2015, most pro athletes are considered done and dusted at that age. He had been putting his body through years of premier class motorcycle racing. Add to that how bad the Ducati years had been and just, so much life had happened. I don't want to talk about Sic's death, but that too and while racing at that. Vale had already started working on the academy (Franky was signed in 2013 afaik). Vale had moved on from the glittering, ebullient, darling of every circuit personality. Imo choosing to be a mentor and doing that well is among the most impressive things Vale has done but when you mentally cross the rubicon to accept your youth is decidedly over, it changes things. For starters, it's a real question of whether you've already chosen to hang your boots. What I'm trying to say is, a lot was at stake in 2015 for Vale. The kind of, calm and bemused, quietly malicious as and when required public persona that Vale has honed over the years needs the solid bedrock of consistent winning to seem graceful. It wasn't just a championship at this point, it was a question of pride and cementing your legacy and being the architect of how the world perceives you when the odds have been stacked against you for a while.

Back to Uccio. He simply didn't trust or like Marc. Or anyone who was on the racetrack at the same time as Vale (he didn't even spare sweet nothings for Viñales). I have no concrete theory for said distrust short of just saying Uccio is a bit of a slimy character (this interview of Uccio when he's doing his best impersonation of henchman from an old Hollywood western). Uccio wasn't even happy when Marc made the infamous visit to the ranch in winter of 2014. Guess the whole "Marc is helping Jorge win" thing was Uccio's attempt at reminding Vale of his ruthless nature that he thought Vale was finding hard to tap into (Vale did say Marc was an updated model of him). A friend once said that a lot of time public facing figures aren't as cruel or rancid in their interpretation of the world as much as the followers of said people. So Uccio started talking shit and given the circumstances of 2015, it made an impact.

Ultimately the odds were stacked high and Vale made a mistake. I suppose Vale knows a thing or two about how pressure can make someone succumb to errors :)

So that's my take on the whole deal. Uccio, croney par excellence, used Vale's desperate title bid in 2015 to purge some of his misplaced blood lust. He made Marc his target because according to him the young ones on the grid were nothing but a nuisance. Vale fucked up and let it drive his paranoia and made a big fucking mistake.

[your-mom-friend]

I cannot stop thinking about the crossover potential of Malevolent. Mostly involving Time Travel Shenanigans (Spoilers for the end of season 1)

DC? Jarthur run into Constantine and he’s like…mate you got a demon king in your brain and he’s like I Know Please Don’t Deadname Him that’s not Who He Is and Constantine is like fair enough none of my business looks like you’ve got it handled and then they just part ways

Mob Psycho. Shigeo trying to exorcise John and Arthur being like WAIT NO

Juno Steel. Jarthur would lose their minds about the fact that they went from the 20th century to the TWENTY SIXTH. ON MARS. Juno and Arthur can bond over being PIs and partially/completely blind

Welcome to Night Vale. Come on. You know how much fun that would be. Cecil loves cults he thinks they’re a fun neighbourhood activity. Those two would fit right in and Jarthur would be completely fucking bamboozled

Magnus Archives. I know we’ve all thought about it. Especially with all the eye and Fears-adjacent imagery present throughout Malevolent.

Wolf 359 I just think it would be really fun for Eiffel and his English Language Fuckery to interact with Old Timey British Man Arthur Lester but also they could bond over their mutual self loathing over their pasts involving their past families. And I think Arthur and John would be fascinated by the idea of being on a spaceship.

Death By Dying. Again. I just think it would be really funny for Poor Little Meow Meow Arthur to interact with Skrunkly Obituary Writer

Bonus Malevolent AU: *insert curious character here* wakes up with no sight and a new brain buddy who controls their eyes because they got cursed by a book and now they’ve got to adventure and figure out a way to fix it

[howlingday]

STINGER

Previously

"I can't believe I got to meet her~!" Ilia giggled to herself as she shut her locker door. Mere hours ago, she was saved by her personal hero, the red-petaled superhero of Vale... "The Red Streak herself~!"

She began to daydream that moment. Her shining silver eyes, her beautiful smile, and the way she spoke with a mixture of kindness and authority. She sighed contently at the thought of being in her arms again... until she suddenly shook her head and clapped her hands over her cheeks.

"Get ahold of yourself, Amitola! You heard the hero!" With a determined look on her face, she glared to the ceiling. "You're the eyes and ears of the Red Hero~!"

"Is that what you're calling yourself now?"

Ilia flinched and kept her head down. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and looked to Magnolia Daze, local bully and round-the-clock jerk. The only saving grace Ilia had with her was that she didn't know Ilia was a Faunus.

"Hello, Magnolia."

"Oh, don't be like that, Illy~!" The tormentor said with the sweetness of a serpent. "You better be ready at fencing practice today, or else Weiss is going to wipe the floor with you." A wide grin then plastered over her face. "And who knows, maybe that dumb hero crush of yours might actually ask you out~!" She laughed until Ilia slammed her against the lockers.

"SHE'S NOT DUMB! SHE'S A HERO! CALL HER A DUMB AGAIN AND I SWEAR I WILL-"

"Remnant to Amitola~!" Ilia blinked, suddenly reminded of where she was. Feeling heat rise to her cheeks, she swiftly turned away and ran to her next class. If she could duck into the bathroom, she could catch a breather in time before class started. Until then, all she had to do was smile.

--------------------------------------------------

"Arret!" Professor Port called. He then began to clap, leading the girls in a room-filled applause. "Well done, Miss Amitola! You've clearly been practicing your steps; despite how little you step out of uniform."

"Oh, um, thank you, Professor Port." Ilia replied sheepishly.

"Ah, ah~!" He wagged a meaty finger. "Mare see boat coo!"

"M-Merci beaucoup." Ilia said.

"It's not often that I am bested." Weiss Schnee, team captain and richest girl in school, crossed the mat to reach her opponent. "Congratulations."

"Oh, um, thank you so much, Miss Schnee."

"Hm?" Weiss pursed her lips. "What did you say? I can't hear you through that mask."

"O-Oh, right... Sorry." Ilia took off her mask, earning a resounding reply of murmurs and gasps.

"Her face!"

"Is she a Faunus?"

"That explains so much!"

"Wha-" Ilia looked to her mask, catching spattered glimpses of her worst fears. Her face, though normal, was marred by splotches of pink and red, then her whole face turning bone white with pink blots. Before she could explain herself, she ran out of the room, hurrying down the halls before ducking into the closest bathroom. Inside, she took deep breaths to calm herself down, looking to the mirror to force a smile on her face.

"I think she went this way!"

Ilia's heart raced and jumped into the closest stall in her panic. Her panting grew so loud that she had to cover her mouth to silence herself. As her arms crunched from folding in, she then realized she was still in her fencing uniform.

"Is she in here?"

"Maybe... What do you think, Mags?"

"I'll check in here." Magnolia answered. "The rest of you look around outside and upstairs. When you find her, call me." Her voice then spoke with hellish intent. "I want to be there when we teach her a lesson for lying to her team."

The floor squeaked as the rest of the girls left. Ilia had her legs tucked up to the toilet seat, but it was clear she was found when she heard the knocking on her stall door. A giggle came from the other side, and the voice that followed turned her blood to ice.

"I'll let you go this time, you little creep." Tiles squeaked as she turned away. "But the next time I see you, you're dead."

The steps grew softer and softer until there Ilia couldn't hear anything. She carefully snuck out of the stall, noting how loud her shoes were on the tile floor when she was moving so slow. She hugged the wall looking left and right before walking outside the bathroom.

SPLOOSH!

A huge wave of water splashed over Ilia as she was suddenly made blind and soaked head to toe, making the uniform stick to her skin. As her vision cleared, she heard a whistle blow right her ear and the roar of laughter all around her. Every girl from the team was there, mocking her, laughing at her. Hands reached for her, but Ilia swatted and pushed them away before she ran upstairs.

"GET HER!"

--------------------------------------------------

"Stupid robbers." Ruby grumbled. "Hey, I got a great idea, let's rob this convenience store so close to the school! Nobody will notice and there's no way the police will get involved~!" Shutting her locker door while mocking the dumb goons who got her put into remedial classes, Ruby gave a sigh and hefted her backpack onto her shoulder a little more. It wasn't slipping, she just felt like doing it.

Dad and Yang were furious at her slipping grades, and getting caught outside while said grades were slipping didn't make her look any better in their eyes. Ruby's sudden tardiness and poor test scores didn't make sense when she spent every night studying in her room, though, in her defense, it wasn't really her, but a dummy she set up so she could keep being the greatest superhero of all time!

The Red Streak!

Or that's what people were calling her nowadays. It seemed like every news company had their own name for Vale's latest vigilante hero, and whoever was selling the best story used what they thought was the best name. Lisa Lavender of "Valiant Today" and her recent effort in her campaign to slander Ruby's good deeds resulted in more than half of Vale referring to their beloved hero as something that you should see a doctor after finding while sitting on the toilet.

Just as she was about to leave, though, she heard something weird down the hall. Following the sound, she heard squeaking and panting followed a young girl climbing up the stairs. Instead of stopping, the soaked young lady continued up the next flight of stairs. Quickly grabbing a spare towel from her backpack, Ruby swabbed up the floor before flicking it down the hallway.

"Where is she?!" Called one of the girls from the fencing team.

"She went that way!" Ruby called, pointing down towards where she flicked her now stuffed away towel. "Ah, p-please don't hurt me!"

The girls ran past her as Ruby ran downstairs. Once past the angry mob, Ruby hopped out the nearest window before flying up to the roof. Once there, she opened her backpack... and groaned.

"Ugh, great. Wet costume." Rain began to patter down from above, causing her to sigh. "Well, at least it can't get wetter."

--------------------------------------------------

Ilia made it to the roof, unaware of Ruby's actions to aid in her escape, still certain that the mob of angry club members would be not far behind. Looking for a place to hide, she spots a gated fence much taller than herself and climbed over. In her hurry, she failed to notice the "UNDER REPAIRS" sign she knocked over as she climbed.

Ilia began taking deep breaths, panting as she realized she'd just caged herself inside of the school generator. Part of her was grateful that the generator was down for repairs, but the rest of her was still terrified of the idea that it was only a matter of time before someone found her, even more so that it was Magnolia or one of her cronies. She reached for the gate when she heard voices.

"Is she up here?"

"The door was unlocked, so it must've been her."

"Looking for someone~?" An angelic voice said. Ilia peered through the thin openings of the covered fence, finding her hero standing in the rain as gray clouds continued to gather above. "You do realize the roof is off limits to students, right?"

"We're just looking for someone." Magnolia said as innocently as she could.

"Uh huh, and would that happen to be the same young lady running upstairs, crying?"

"Oh, did you see her?" Magnolia gave a smile. "We were just looking for her so we could help her!"

"I think you've done enough help, Magnolia." The Red Streak sneered. How did she know her name?! "And before you ask, I know enough about you, like how you like to bully underclassmen. Especially if they're not human."

Meanwhile, away from the group, the school custodian comes up from the other side of the roof. He's gotten so used to telling teens to get off the roof that he decided tonight he'd just leave them be. Especially since he didn't want to get involved in whatever superhero nonsense was going on over on the other side. The only thing he cared about right now was testing the generator, so long as the "UNDER REPAIRS" sign wasn't there. Which it wasn't, so as he popped on his headphones, the custodian went on about his work.

Finally gaining her nerve, Ilia climbs the fence and calls out. "RED STREAK! HELP ME!"

"Ilia?!" Magnolia looks over, surprised by the sudden outburst.

Thunder crashed and Ilia felt back onto the generator in fear. She watched her hero jump inside to help her, looking her over before tugging. Ilia whimpered and shouted as her uniform and arm were caught in an open compartment of the generator. The two then stopped and Ilia looked into her hero's silver eyes.

"I'll be back! I promise!"

"Wait! Wait, no, don't leave me!" But she did leave her. Ilia was then abandoned by her beloved hero, who dashed into the air.

On the fence behind Ilia, The Red Streak found the custodian and shouted at him, to no avail. She then jumped over and shouted as she grabbed the older man. He took off his headphones and was told everything that was happening. All the while, Ilia struggled to free herself from her trapping.

"Somebody get the gate open!"

"Go get Professor Port!"

"Hold on, Ilia!"

Cries and clamors came from outside Ilia's deadly cage, but they did little to reassure the scared girl that her best interests were ever considered. If Ilia was saved, then what? Her secret was out and the whole school probably would learn by now. Tears fell from her eyes as she tried to remember the words of her parents. The same words that would calm her fears when her father and mother were alive.

"Show them how you smile." Ilia, through her sobs, spread her lips to grin the biggest grin she could. She had to show the world that she wasn't scared. That she wasn't hurt. That no matter what the world took from her, she would always have her smile.

"I knew Weiss Schnee was right about her." Magnolia said through the clamor. Ilia's smile ached.

"What is going on up here?!" Professor Port called. The girls clamored to tell him, but he waved his arms to hush them. "Enough! You can tell me everything downstairs, where it's safe! Go!"

"But Ilia-"

"Will be found next! Now move!" He then called over. "And you! What are you doing over there?!"

"It's okay!" The Red Streak called back. "Crisis averted! Hey, could you help me get Ilia out of the generator?"

"SHE'S WHERE?!" Professor Port burly moustache nearly flew off as he heard this. "GET THIS GATE OPEN NOW!"

The rain began to pick up and the cloud had gone from gray to black. The Red Streak hopped on the fence, looking down with a grin at Ilia. "Good to see you're in such a good mood. Don't worry. We'll get you out of there soon. You'll be okay." The Red Streak hopped down. "I prom-"

There was a bright flash. There was a searing pain. And then there was nothing but a long quiet.

--------------------------------------------------

There was a long screech. Ruby stood there, stricken dumb by the tragedy that had just happened before her eyes. For the first time ever, she'd failed to protect somebody who was in trouble. Her face suddenly felt hot and she ran for her backpack on top of the roof entrance. Grabbing it, she jumped down and flew home as hot tears fell from her face.

Halfway home, she stopped on another rooftop and fell to her knees. Digging her fingers into the gravel beneath her, she shuddered and let her tears fall into the ground. She felt sick, like she was about to throw up. It wasn't until she heard a buzz on her scroll that she would be distracted by these thoughts.

Hey. It's raining cats and dogs out there.

A picture of Yang came through where she was holding their corgi, Zwei, in the air. It made Ruby smile a little.

Or at least just dogs. You on your way home?

Ruby sniffled and began to text. She couldn't tell them everything, but she could at least tell them something.

There was an accident at the school. Can you meet me halfway?

--------------------------------------------------

"Tragic news tonight, ladies and gentlemen." Lisa Lavender said over the radio. "A student had passed away due to an accident at Vale High School. Out of respect for the deceased, we will refrain from giving too much information, but from what information we have gathered, the vigilante known as The Red Streak was on the site and was likely involved in the death of this innocent life, and though she may not have been involved, she likely did nothing to sto-"

"Hey! I was listening to that."

"I don't want to hear it anymore." Ruby said, walking away from the radio she turned off. Yang stood up to grab her sister, but was stopped by their father, who shook his head. Sitting back down, Yang groaned as Ruby continued shuffling to her room.

"Sweetie, are you sure you're okay?" Dad asked. The door slammed in response. There was a muffled scream from inside Ruby's door, followed by the sound of pounding on the floor inside. He sighed. "She must have been someone close to her. Did you know her, Yang?"

"Not really." Yang said. "I heard she was living with her aunt because her parents died in a mining accident."

"That's so sad." He sighed. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you girls. Either of you."

"I know what I'd do."

"Yang..."

"I'd party it up in here every night~!" Yang then saw her father give her his signature 'knock it off' look. She then chuckled and sat down. "Uh, after grieving, of course."

"Well, I hope you can scrub as fast as your mouth because you're on dishes duty tonight."

"What?! No fair! Ruby's supposed to do the dishes!"

"Well, she's obviously not feeling up to it, so you better hop to it, Miss Party Girl!"

--------------------------------------------------

Vale City has a problem. A very dirty problem. Underneath the shining utopia it appears to be, there was a lot of fundamental issues wrong with the way things were run. One such issue was how much lien flowed to what services.

For example, lien used to hire bodyguards for celebrities, politicians, and reputable businessmen came in aplenty. Lien used to provide funding for police officers, emergency services, and cases that may require funerary movement were sparse at best. Important figures in Vale like representatives of Jacques Schnee and Roman Torchwick had plenty of lien to spare while hardworking members of the community like Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch of Beacon University and Headmaster Taiyang Xiao Long of Vale High School continued to struggle to earn reasonable funding for their respective schools.

Everyone knew this, including the dead.

Especially the dead.

Ilia tries to scream, but her lungs felt like they were on fire. Thrashing against her binds in the dark, struggling against the sheet covering her face, she falls to the floor, gasping for air. Reaching out, blind in the dark room, she breaks free of her cocoon and emerges, the cold air biting against her skin. Her nerve endings completely uncovered and partially fried, every sensation she felt was pure agony.

Blind and stumbling in the dark, she crawls until she touches the cold wall ahead of her. Fumbling about, she touches an electrical socket and FEELS the entire electric grid around her, reaching for miles. In the distance, she can hear footsteps, and a memory of a life before this one of agony is recalled and she begins to panic. Taking hold of the electrical socket, she feels her very being stretch and move beyond where she was. She feels like she's everywhere, and yet in one place. Gathering herself, a voice speaks to her.

"I knew Weiss Schnee was right about her..."

Schnee... She had to find Schnee...

--------------------------------------------------

"I'm gonna ask this one more time." Ruby asked. "What happened to Ilia Amitola?"

"And I'm going to say this once more," Weiss replied with folded arms, "I'm not speaking to anyone without a lawyer present."

"A girl is dead, Weiss." Ruby said, working hard to hold back the tears. "She was being bullied and she's dead because of it!"

"And I refuse to comment without a lawyer present." Ruby shook with anger. "Get angry all I want. I'm not the one breaking the law, vigilante."

Ruby turned away, growling as she tried to calm herself. Rubbing her face down, she took a deep breath and tried again. The light flickered above, but Ruby ignored it to focus on what's more important, the truth.

"Ilia Amitola was in here yesterday during practice, wasn't she?"

"I'm not saying anything without-"

"She wasn't." A voice came from the entrance. Magnolia Daze walked in, carrying her helmet. "We were all dueling during practice. That's what we do."

"Magnolia!" Weiss chided. Ruby didn't let this opportunity slip away.

"And who was Ilia dueling?"

"Our team captain, Weiss Schnee." She looked past The Red Streak to the girl herself. "And she won against her~."

"Will you be quiet?!" Weiss fumed. "You're talking to a vigilante! A criminal!"

"Beat her pretty bad, too~." Magnolia stepped closer. "Our team captain got really mad~."

"I didn't see her on the roof with the rest of you." The Red Streak said, looking to Weiss with a judging eye.

"Because she told us to go after her." Magnolia clarified.

"That is not what I said!" Weiss' cheeks started to turn pink. The light above started flickering more and more.

"You said, and I quote," Magnolia stepped closer, getting into Weiss' face, all while the lightbulb above flickered sporadically, "I need to have a word with Amitola. Bring her to me, no matter what."

"YOU VILE LITTLE-"

Ruby jumped, pushing herself off the ground as hard as she could, grabbing the two girls and moving them out of the way of the sudden lightning bolt. She looked over and saw a figure slowly stand from their crouched position. As they turned to look, across their blackened and charred skin was a long, flickering light along the crack across their face. Almost like a smile, straight out of hell.

"I'm sorry, but this locker room is for girls only," Ruby said, "I'm pretty sure they're still working on the electric monster locker room."

"You... don't... remember... me?"

"Uh, no?" Ruby asked. "Have we met?"

"You don't... remember... me..."

"Can I phone a frie-" Ruby ducked as a lightning bolt split through the air, piercing into a locker between Magnolia and Weiss. "GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"

The two girls ran out as fast as they could. The creature then moved their arm, and the lightning bolt began to follow the girls, bending and tearing through the lockers. Ruby jumped for the creature but missed entirely as it jumped and disappeared into thin air. No, not thin air. It came from the lightbulb. It went back into the lightbulb.

Realization dawned on Ruby, turning and running out of the locker room. Weiss and Magnolia were talking to Professor Port and the police who'd just arrived. Scanning around the two, Ruby saw a flickering light above Weiss. Pushing herself as hard and as fast as she could, she jumped into Weiss and tackled her to the ground. As she yelped, the lightning creature landed where she once was.

"You need to leave." Ruby said, standing up. "Maybe find a rubber room with no light."

"Excuse me?!" Weiss balked.

"It's coming after you, so you need to believe me when I tell you to hear me out!"

"Fine." Weiss said, swallowing her pride. "I hear you."

"I... hear..." The creature stepped forward, black skin falling away to reveal pale white and deep red skin beneath. "I... Hear..." Ruby gulped, readying herself for round two. As lightning lashed from it's arm, it growled out three words at her with such hatred and malice that it made Ruby's heart freeze. "EYES... AND... EARS..."

"...Ilia?"

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (10-16 Mar 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 Art Thief, Heart Thief (odetteandodile) - 58K, stucky white collar inspired AU - enjoyed how author took the WC set up (fbi art agent, criminal consultant) and made it theirs & perfect for stucky

💖💖 +195K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Midlife Crisis (profoundalpacakitten) - MCU: stucky, 7K - reread, forever fave - the quiet, piercing, understated tenderness in this fic is unmatched

Progredi (justanotherStonyfan) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 37K - the next installment in the fabulous Honey Honey series

Pistachios and Rose Water (goldsaffron) - The Old Guard: kaysanova, 15K - J&N spend 10 years putting down roots, building a home & collecting a found family as Nicky learns to express his love through food

Consensual Catfishing (foresthearts) - Stranger Things: steddie, 32K - modern AU, told via social media - delightful story! adored these characters & their voices and using all different sorts of SM to tell it. brilliant idea, adeptly executed. the art is also pretty great

they're going to send us to prison for jerks (greatunironic) - Stranger Things: steddie, 16K - another really fun modern steddie with a strong social media AU premise

Os Impurum (the_deep_magic) - The Eagle | The Eagle of the Ninth: Marcus Flavius Aquila/Esca Mac CunovalMarcus/Esca, 18K - solidly good fic about marcus/esca post canon, esp marcus discovering some new things about himself 😉

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Ghosts (US) - s3, e5

Game Changer - s6, e3

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "For the Hoard!" (s7, e15)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Treachery at Gramercy" (s7, e16)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Two Sides of the Same Coin (Part 1)" (s7, e17)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Two Sides of the Same Coin (Part 2)" (s7, e18)

D20: Adventuring Party - s3, e12-16

Um, Actually - s9, e2

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Cursed Out" (s21, e10)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Cool Ranch Communion" (s16, e10)

D20: Tiny Heist - "Big Little Crimes" (s4, e1)

D20: Tiny Heist - "Chicanery at Shoeby's Casino" (s4, e2)

D20: Tiny Heist - "Scheming and Scoring Fairy Dust" (s4, e3)

Agatha Christie's Marple - "The Secret of Chimneys" (s5, e2) [shout out to @leupagus for this rec; they were not wrong about the acting choices made here 🤩]

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep001 The Open Door

What Next: TBD - Instagram’s Pedophile Problem

Desert Island Discs - Cillian Murphy, actor

WikiHole - Lenny Kravitz (with Paul F. Tompkins, Drew Tarver, and Heléne Yorke)

This Cultural Life - Andrew Scott

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Our 2024 Oscars Recap

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Grave of XYZ

Vibe Check - Hey, Sis: featuring Morgan Parker

WikiHole with D'Arcy Carden - Fear of Dolphins (with Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Gordon, and Jonah Ray)

The Allusionist - 190. Craters

WikiHole with D'Arcy Carden - Tetris (with Adam Pally, Jon Gabrus and Blair Socci)

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Lighthouse Keeper

⭐ Vibe Check - A Special Conversation with Afeef Nessouli

Short Wave - What We Know About Long COVID, From Brain Fog to Fatigue

⭐ Decoder Ring - Why Stylists Rule the Red Carpet

⭐ 99% Invisible #573 - Toyetic

You Are Good - My Best Friend's Wedding w. Sam Sanders

If Books Could Kill - Lean In

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Law of the Tongue

Imaginary Worlds - The Nine Lives of Red Dwarf

Today, Explained - Lip gloss, gum, and the Pill

Dear Prudence - My Ex Had Sex With My Brother. Help!

What Next: TBD - Is TikTok Cooked This Time?

Short Wave - Are We On The Brink Of A Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough?

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Love Lies Bleeding And What's Making Us Happy

Endless Thread - The Music Man, Part 1

Welcome to Night Vale #244 - A Multiplicity of Kevin

Today, Explained - Hollywood’s still not back

99% Invisible - The Power Broker #03: David Sims

Off Menu - Ep 233: Frankie Boyle (Live in Glasgow)

⭐ Hit Parade - Gotcha Covered Edition

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

The Donnas

Smooth Rockabilly

Respect: '60s Iconic Women

[doctorwho-rewatch]

S4 Special 4 - The End of Time

★★★★☆

After three full seasons with the Tenth Doctor, we join him on his final journey to meet the end he was so desperately running away from.

The Master is resurrected and manages to clone himself into every single person on Earth, as a means of helping the Time Lords escape the Time Lock. The Doctor is focused on stopping the Master and saving Earth from the Time Lords, who we realise are really just another corrupt power-hungry race that happened to be better at beating their enemies. They are not the good guys.

The Doctor was brought low and humbled following The Waters of Mars. He gets frustrated and whiny with Wilf when he realises what he has to do to save him. It is so human which is a side of the Doctor we don't really see after this regeneration. But even so, it's fitting that the end of the Doctor comes by one last selfless act. To take on an overdose of radiation poisoning to save Wilf. He's come full circle and ultimately does want to do good by people.

This is not just the Tenth Doctor's farewell. It's an ode to this era of Doctor Who and the companions, all who we will leave behind after this series. Much like the finale of Series 4, this is fan service at its best. We've travelled with Rose, Mickey, Martha and Donna for the last four seasons. So one last visit to check in on them is a very nostalgic and heartwarming end.

And so the Tenth Doctor goes, having reassured himself that the lives he touched, changed for the better. They explored the stars with the Doctor and they will be alright. Vale Decem.

QUOTE: "What year is this?" "Blimey, how much have you had? 2005. January the first." "2005. Tell you what. I bet you’re going to have a really great year." "Yeah?"

[keelt9]

Cap. 1

Part 2

Masterlist

The days passed and like they promised every day she was immersed in a new place, a new food, a new adventure.

“So you're having fun, right?” Esteban asked for the third time in that phone call. 

“You're driving me crazy.” She answers, her brother smiles, just like Valentina, both of them are aware of the hard time all this marriage thing is for her and being honest a part of them were relieved when she said, quote. “The last thing I want is spending my Christmas hearing wedding topics every day.” 

“Ok, ok, sorry, I just want you to have a nice holiday.” Estaban is for nature the responsible one, beside Vale who is… well, messier. “Hey, I gotta go, say hi, to Caro and her family, ok? Vale will call you tomorrow.”

“Esteban, relax, ok? I’m fine.” He breathed out before saying goodbye for the last time.

___ hang out the phone and keep looking at the lock screen, a picture of the three when they were kids, she sitting between them while they hugged her, their mouths covered in chocolate.

“Guess what?” Caro takes off for the path of a sad memory, she enters her room with a bowl of chips. 

“Clue.” __ answers putting her phone aside. “Film.” Or it is a simple one or a hard one. She looks at her with narrow eyes making Caro laughs. 

“Place.” She gives her another one.

“We are going to a cinema?” Her voice loses volume in each word, Caro denies and smiles.

“Wrong.” It’s the hard one. Caro hit her legs like they were a tambourine. “Mar will take you to the shooting tomorrow.” __ open her eyes and then process the information. 

“Take me?” 

Caro nodded and ate a chip. “I have to go to the university for some papers that I need and I don't know how long I have to stay, so instead of a boring day at school, Mar will take you to an exciting one.” __ had no words in her brain.

“And no, it’s not trouble, she takes me from time to time too, so all you have to do is go and have fun.” Caro covered __ mouth before she said anything and put play to the movie. 

Said and done, Caro leaves early to go to the school and __ waits for Mar.

“Ready?” Mar asks, checking inside of her bag. “I guess.” Mar looks at her and sees a nervousness in her eyes. “__ it’s going to be fun, don’t worry. The actors are down filming and we will be up in a room hearing and monitoring the sound effects.” She smiles at her. “Besides, they are just regular people.” 

“With more money and fame.” __ finishes her sentence, but Mar puts her arm around her shoulders and walks to the door. 

Holy shit, that’s the only thought that came to __’s mind every 2 seconds. The place is insane, people coming and going, big trucks parking outside, wires all over the place and big machines in every corner; Mar walks next to her saying hi to almost everyone, unconsciously she holds her breath until they reach the famous up room.

“See? Normal people.” Mar scoffs seeing her take her breath out. 

“Mar ready, at 5.” A man appears in the frame door, covered in wires.

“Oh, hi, you must be __” He extends his hand.

“I’m Antonio, main engineer.” She smiles and shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ll leave, relax and enjoy the day.” Before she answered he was already gone.

“Wow.” Mar laughs and pushes a chair so she can sit. “Sit and see my magic work.”

Like she said, the days passed by and it was very entertaining. She could hear and see everything, she laughed with the people's funny mistakes and saw the both sides, the big blue screen behind the actors and the screen where the magic already happened. 

By the time the lunch time ended, __ had won some people's sympathy, and stole glances from the other tables that surrounded where she was sitting.

“How does Caro say your mother named you? Well, you and your siblings.” Mar and __ are walking to the up room. Mar knew very well that strange “magic” of __, she was one of the victims many years ago.

“Oh! I remember, The Hamelin’s!” Mar giggles. “Very accurate if you ask me.”

__ and her siblings are well known for the charm they cause in people, that’s why Lucia put the nickname to three siblings of the Hamelin’s. Esteban has a strong presence, and with a kind nature it isn’t weird everyone found in him a nice and lovely friend, and life time partner when the moment was the right one; Valentina, on the contrary has a hard personality, leaving you with only two options: you love her or you hate her, and like their siblings say, you don’t want to get in her bad side, she can be really funny with the right people and a pain in the ass at the same time, but always falling in love so quickly, she lives under the statement of feeling every emotion so deeply even when the word “commitment” terrifies her. __ wasn’t the middle point like everyone would expect, she didn’t have the strong presence of her brother or the funny personality of her sister, she never realized the influence she had in other people’s lives, in  a bad or a good way, but she is stubborn just like her father and has a strong mind. However, she is not affectionate with love topics.

It isn’t the fact she hates it or anything like that, she just decided from a really young age she wouldn’t waste energy in such an unstable feeling. Her siblings, in uncountable times, heard about the fact a guy caught her attention but after a few months or even weeks they’d stop hearing about him. Of course, those shiny eyes and that redness in her face that love used to cause wasn’t seen for any of them.

At the end of the day, when they left the filming site not only the goodbyes were for Mar, this time, a few of them were for __ too.

“It was impressive.” Mar takes a cookie from the table. She told her family about the Hamelin’s effect. 

“Told you, now picture that effect in the school, even girls from upper grades talked to her.” Caro came out of the kitchen with coffee for everyone. “And she was…” She fakes a shiver, making everyone laugh.

The next morning started with a video call from Valentina. “All I’m saying is at least you should call her more frequently.” She insists that calling her mother one time every two days isn’t enough.

“Vale…” __ rolls her eyes causing the anger of her sister. 

“Listen __, just call her one time everyday ok? Don’t put more stress on her.” Thankfully someone requires her attention, making the end call abruptly. 

She rubs her forehead trying to calm her mind before going down for breakfast. It’s been one and a half weeks here and she easily gets used to the routine of Mendieta’s.

“Mom!” The whiny voice tone of Caro prepares for a complaint. “It’s not a question Carolina, it’s an order.” Her mother practically ended the conversation. 

“It’s early for you to start to complain.” __ jokes joining them in the kitchen and hugging Caro by the shoulders. 

“You are on this ship with me.” Her complaint is because her mother told her she must pick Mar from work at least for two weeks. Her car enters maintenance and leaving her to come alone late at night hasn’t been a choice for their parents; that implied any plan she had in mind past 9 pm must be delayed at least for two weeks. 

“It doesn’t bother me at all.” __ gets a pinch on her cheek for the answer. 

“FINE! Let the nightmare begin.” Caro exclaims, picking the plates from the shelf and walking to the dinner room, Mrs. Mendieta winks at __.

[aurumacadicus]

A bit ago you asked for podcast app recommendations. Do you have any recommendations for podcasts to listen to?

These are all the ones I listen to, I'll add a little summary for each one if that's alright.

Stuff You Missed in History Class: This podcast has been going for over a decade, starting in 2008. The format has changed since its inception and honestly, you don't need to go through the entire playlist (unless you want to!). Each episode is about a certain event, figure, or theme from history with show notes that cite their sources, and the hosts are very upfront about where and how they got their information. Some of these subjects are two-parters, but that's the exception and not the rule mostly. I enjoy learning about new things from history or, if I know the bare basics of them, I enjoy learning more in depth information. My suggestion is to just scroll through and see what topic interests you.

Criminalia: This is another history podcast, but each season focuses on a certain type of crime, with each episode focusing on someone in that theme. At the end of each episode, the hosts also make up a cocktail and mocktail inspired by the subject that day. (The first two seasons don't have mocktails because they only realized how popular a non-alcoholic version would be after season three where they made mocktails to go with the "imposter" theme and they got really good feedback about it.) Some of the seasons are hit or miss for me, but even if I don't necessarily like the theme, the episode is still good to listen to from a learning standpoint.

DNA: ID: One of my true crime podcasts. I like this one because it focuses more on how DNA testing has solved cold cases using genetic genealogy. I also appreciate that the host doesn't use full names to protect the privacy of a lot of people in the story. She uses full names for victims and perpetrators, and some family, but people who turned out not to be involved in the case are given initials. My only beef is that she does so much research on the cases, but she doesn't extend that to learning how to pronounce some non-English names. However, otherwise, she does treat each case with a lot of gravity and respect, so. Idk. She's recently started interspersing solved cases with cases seeking more information on recently identified Does so that's pretty cool.

Dear Hank & John: It's a comedy podcast about death, where two brothers give you dubious advice and bring you all the news about both Mars and AFC Wimbledon. They're currently on a "we'll update if Hank feels like it" schedule because Hank is currently going through chemotherapy but they have 372 episodes to tide you over in the meantime. I enjoy it a lot because I enjoy the Green brothers' sense of humor, and on the occasions that one of the brothers is away for something, their guest host is always interesting.

Good Assassins: Part historical, part true crime. I've only just started this one so I'm gonna copy and paste the summary because I don't think otherwise I would do it justice: A spy story. A detective case. The mission was simple: to arrange the death of one man. The goal was to send a message to all Nazi fugitives around the world: "we can find you and we can kill you." This is the true story of an undercover mission to hunt down a savage Nazi murderer who helped Hitler’s forces kill 30,000 men, women, and children. The survivors gave him a name after the Holocaust: The Butcher of Latvia. The spies would travel halfway around the world to carry out the sentence. The mission wasn’t for one life. It was for 6 million.

Welcome to Night Vale: This was the first queer media I consumed since I watched Tara die in BtVS. I was tired of kill your gays so I simply didn't consume any queer content. This show simultaneously healed me and hollowed me out for all the other shows that could have been this good. I like each story line, I like the additional novels, and I like the weather. This is my comfort show. I start it from the beginning every time I catch up to the recent updates.

Good Morning Night Vale: The official recap show of WtNV. It's hosted by Meg Bashwiner (she voices Deb, a sentient patch of haze), Symphony Sanders (she voices Tamika Flynn, the former teenage militia leader, current City Counsel member), and Hal Lublin (he voices Steve Carlsberg, Cecil's brother-in-law). I feel like I'm hanging out with friends talking about Night Vale when I listen to it. :) I think if you like recap shows, it's a good one.

The Murder Chronicles: Ngl I started this in season one where it was called The Shadow Girls, which I started because it was advertised as a deep dive into the Green River Killer's victims instead of just being about him. I was interested because the host was in the same age range as GRK's victims and she talks extensively about how scary it was for girls her age at the time. She also goes into how the police failed the victims and why, and also how it affected her. It also has a push for one of the victims to get the reward she was promised for turning Ridgway in. It felt like a cause. The second season is more about other true crimes which is... fine. Doesn't have the same heart that the first season did, but does include interviews with the detectives who worked on the cases, though, which I find interesting. Idk it's not really doing much for me anymore so I might drop it.

Scene of the Crime: Delphi: This is a podcast that (ostensibly) focuses on one case per season, but it's literally just one season and then a ton of advertisements from other podcasts from their company. That being said, they went forward with the families' permission, including numbers for people to leave tips to the police. Since they have the permission of the family (and interviews with some family members, even) it's one of the few that I'm comfortable with. That being said, I'm only subscribed to it still in case there's another update in the case. They don't seem to have published any episodes in a while.

These are the ones I listen to on Amazon Music, which are all true crime:

Cold: It's a narrative podcast focused on missing persons cases. It's got three seasons-- Season one is about Susan Powell, season two is about Joyce Yost, and season three is about Sheree Warren. They're well-researched and use recordings from the victims/perpetrators which is very interesting. The host seems to have permission from the families (at least the first season seems so) but even if he didn't, he doesn't make emotionally charged statements. He states the facts. I'd even go so far as to say the most emotion he ever shows is when he talks about why Susan Powell's case means so much to him.

Suspect: It's an investigative series about mislaid justice and the kinds of weighty decisions that detectives, lawyers, and jurors make every day - decisions that, once made, are almost impossible to reverse. Both of these seasons are incredibly interesting, including interviews with people involved in the cases. There hasn't been a new episode since February, but it's still a good show to go back to, I think.

Killer Psyche Daily: This podcast is hosted by former FBI profiler Candice DeLong, who I'd actually heard of (worked on the Unabomber case). It's a short, daily podcast (tenish minutes per podcast) where she draws on her years of experience to break down current criminal cases for laymen to understand, look back on historic crimes, and share insight on how the mind of a killer works. On one hand, it definitely errs on the side of police. However, she was also law enforcement, so it makes sense and doesn't really annoy me. On the other hand, she also has a lot of insight on the psychology of criminals, and she has guests on regularly who also have a lot of information to add to current cases who don't come across as pro-police.

There are a handful of others that I've listened to on and off but obviously they haven't really stuck with me.