#i love his relationship with jaye

[st4rtar0t]

How I would connect certain movie dialogues with specific astrological placements

Keep in mind that I am still a beginner, so these may or may not resonate.

I am the rightful owner of the content of this post and any kind of plagiarism will not be tolerated.

"pyaar dosti hai, agar wo meri sabse acchi dost nhi ban sakti toh mei usse kabhi pyaar hi nhi kar sakta"

Translation

"Love is friendship. If she can't be my best friend, then I can never love her."

Venus in Aquarius or the 11th house.

Moon in Libra or Aquarius.

Why? Because these placements suggest a strong desire for genuine understanding and friendship in their relationships.

"Tusi ja rahe ho, tusi na jao"

Translation

"you are leaving, please don't go"

Venus in Pisces

Moon in cancer or strong 4th house influence

The moon in cancer can give attachment to the person you love and cause difficulties in letting them go. Venus in Pisces makes a person extremely devotional towards the person they love, hence making them extremely attached.

"MERE HISAAB SE TOH DHARM EK HI KAAM KARTA HAI, YA TOH WOH INSAAN KO BEBAS BANATA HAI, YA AATANKWAADI."

Translation

"In my opinion, religion only does one thing: it either makes a person helpless or a ter*orist."

Ketu in 9th house

Saturn in 9th house

sun in Aquarius

These placements indicate that the native will question religious beliefs and be critical of the customs or traditions.

"Jab zindagi ek bar mili hai toh do bar kyun soche."

Translation

"when you only live once, why think twice?"

Mars in Aries or Sagittarius

jupiter in the 1st house

Sun in Leo or Sagittarius

These placements can make someone really courageous, bold, spontaneous and optimistic. They will not second guess themselves or doubt their decisions because they fully believe in themselves.

"Zindagi jeene ke do hi tarike hote hai - Ek jo ho raha hai hone do, bardaasht karte jao, ya phir zimmedari uthao usse badalne ki."

Translation

"There are only two ways to live life: either let things happen and keep enduring, or take responsibility to change them."

Saturn in 1st or 10th house

sun in Capricorn

and mars in Aries or Scorpio

These placements make a person action oriented, creates a strong sense of responsibility, authority and taking charge. These placements make a person disciplined in achieving their goals.

"Success ke piche mat bhago. Kabil bano kabil. Kamyabi toh sali jhak maar ke peeche ayegi."

Translation

"Don’t chase success. Become capable, truly capable. Success will come running after you."

Saturn in 10th house

jupiter in Capricorn

and mars in Virgo

All these placements focus on self improvement through hard work and sufficient efforts. Mars in Virgo makes perfectionists through constantly improving their abilities.

"Haar tab hoti hai, jab haar man li jaye"

Translation

"Defeat only occurs when one chooses to accept it."

Saturn in 1st house or strong Saturn influence

Mars in Capricorn

Sun in leo

Pluto in the 1st house

People with these placements are resilient, determined and do not accept defeat easily. They are focused on winning and transforming.

Let me know if you liked it or not

[discordantwords]

fic recs - january & february 2024

This fandom just keeps on producing the most lovely things. <3 Here are some of the completed fics that I've read and enjoyed over the last two months.

A Moment Still Ajar by Raina_at

Acquired Sound by Ibbyliv

All Forms of Relationships by inatshej

All Our Tomorrows by Calais_Reno

And at that moment...I knew by A_Victorian_Girl

Breathe by LoloLolly

Carry Me Home by StellaCartography

Classical Misstep by Lock_John_Silver

Encore by BakerTumblings

English Magic by Slow_Burn_Sally

Exsanguinate by 7PercentSolution

Full Mount by ArwaMachine

Hands Free by weeesi

Here With Me by bodyandsoul

Honour Walk by BakerTumblings

Lying in Winter by Raina_at

many of horror by hailholylight

Maybe We Could Change His Mind by thalialunacy

Next Year's Words by thegildedbee

Six Days of Countdown by Lock_John_Silver

The Case of Agatha Perez by WhatsUpDocWatson

The Holly and the Ivy by Silvergirl

The Losing Side by Calais_Reno

The Rose by Goldt_39

The Secret by weeesi

The Stories in Our Veins by victorianpining

the ultimate gifting guide for your consulting detective by midnightbotany

There's a Storm Coming by Anonymous

Through the Crocuses by Jaye Harriet

Time in a Bottle by discordantwords (self rec!)

To Seek a Fallen Star by StarlightAndFireflies

Twelvetide II by mydogwatson

When the Worst Part Begins by thalialunacy

Happy reading!

[mariacallous]

It’s telling that both Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais decided to end 2023 by releasing specials in which their comedy pivots to poking fun at the disabled. Could they be more obvious about finding new ways to punch down than targeting people physically unable to fight back?

In a false promise near the opening of his brand-new special and seventh for Netflix, The Dreamer, Chappelle boasts: “Tonight, I’m doing all handicapped jokes,” because “well, they’re not as organized as the gays, and I love punching down.”

Similarly, Gervais decides to have a bit of fun at how we’ve decided as a society to say “disabled” instead of “handicapped” and what that says about us, and suggests further in his special Armageddon, released on Christmas Day, that he’d mock Make-A-Wish kids if given the chance to make videos for them.

And, of course, both men take yet more cracks at the trans community.

Early in The Dreamer, Chappelle tells the audience trans people make him feel like he has to go along with them pretending, as if they’re method acting like Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman: “If you came here to this show tonight thinking that I’m gonna make fun of those people again, you’ve come to the wrong show,” only to keep going back on his word.

He says he hoped to “repair” his relationship with the LGTBQ+ community – by writing a play for them in which a black trans woman only identifies as the N-word to trip up liberals. He also jokes that if he went to jail in California, he’d identify as a woman so he could tell the other inmates to “suck my lady dick.”

But it’s all just jokes, right? Can’t we just take a joke? Have we lost our sense of humor? Or have they?

Earlier this month, we lost two pillars not just of the comedy community but of our American community writ, as Norman Lear and Tommy Smothers stood taller than most anyone and everyone else in television, standing up to the establishment and protesting the powers that be for the sake of civil rights and humanity.

Now we’re left with Chappelle and Gervais—two titans in terms of Netflix ratings and paychecks—who are fighting for… the right to utter slurs onstage and tell already marginalized people that their existence is a joke for reasons that are nearly impossible to divine. Especially when there’s so much in the world to talk about right now, that they’ve chosen anti-trans rights as their comedy cause célèbre is dispiriting. As Mae Martin said in their 2023 Netflix special, Sap: “Big multimillionaire comedians in their stand-up specials are, like, taking shots and punching down at a time when trans rights are so tenuous and slipping backwards.”

Lear and Smothers used their clout on TV to speak truth to power about America’s involvement in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, the hypocrisy of religion, racism, abortion, homosexuality and civil rights. While great trans comedians such as River Butcher and Jaye McBride resorted to releasing their stand-up specials straight to YouTube this year, which famous straight comedians can you recall sticking up for the rights of trans people in America?

It feels so frustrating to sit and watch comedians with the stature of Chappelle and Gervais devote so much of their time and energy to bullying the LGBTQ+ community when they could be doing anything else on stage. And then they have the temerity to question us, the audience, for not laughing with them.

For his part, Gervais willingly misdefines and misuses “woke” by suggesting, “if woke now means being a puritanical, authoritarian bully who gets people fired for an honest opinion or even a fact, then no, I’m not woke. Fuck that.” Is Nazism or transphobia an honest opinion that shouldn’t get you fired? He then claims in his closing bit that “all laughter’s good,” a concept that would be news to 2005-era Chappelle when he cut ties with Comedy Central precisely because he could hear racism in the laughs during a taping of Chappelle’s Show.

In his Grammy-nominated lecture to students at his alma mater, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, What’s In A Name?, Chappelle claimed: “The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say. It has everything to do with my right and my freedom of artistic expression.”

But that’s not comedy, either—much like Gervais’ admission in his special that as a university student, his idea of a joke was calling his mother and pranking her by saying he was hospitalized and potentially blind. Gervais said her mom could’ve had a heart attack, but in his mind, he remembers it now as “they could take a fucking joke, right?”

At least Sam Jay, in her 2023 HBO special Salute Me Or Shoot Me, wrestles with her conscience and moral compass over the use of certain words in her act and concludes that having empathy for others is key. “How do the rest of us get here? I don’t know… I’m not going to pretend that I have the answers,” Jay says, adding: “So we’re doing things like we’re policing words, but we’re not policing behavior.”

Anthony Jeselnik, who has built his comedy career on brandishing himself as an offensive caricature of a comedian, told fellow comedian and podcaster Theo Von earlier this year that too many stand-ups would rather get into trouble by saying the wrong thing instead of focusing on their job and saying funny things.

“People think — oh, as a comic your job is to get in trouble. But they don’t want to get yelled at. It’s like, it’s OK to make people mad, but they don’t want any push back. And I think that’s wrong,” Jeselnik said. “As a comedian, you want to make people laugh. This is a quote attributed to Andy Warhol that I love: ‘Art is getting away with it.’ You know, if you put out a special and everyone’s pissed, like, you didn’t get away with it. You know. You need to make everyone laugh that they’re like, ‘Yeah, he talked about some fucked up stuff, but we’re all happy.’ That’s art. Otherwise, you’re just a troll.”

Kliph Nesteroff, a comedy historian whose newest book is Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars, similarly told me last month that some while comedians see themselves sometimes as “philosophers” he believes they are “betraying their job description because you’re supposed to make people laugh, and philosophers are supposed to philosophize.”

Comedians may claim they can’t joke about anything anymore, but they joke about more now than ever before. The real problem with stand-up today is that too many comedians would rather kick people when they’re down, then lecture us on how we’re too sensitive for not laughing about it.

When Chappelle, Gervais or their acolytes have to incessantly explain that their jokes are just jokes, then they cease to be great comedians—or even comedians at all.

[lgbtqreads]

Hi! I'm asking for a friend who's not on here (cw religion - if you post this publicly). She's preferably looking for adult recs but YA is okay too.

"I'm on a search for books with lesbian main characters who actually have some sort of positive relationship with faith (prefereably Catholic) but dealing with homophobia in Catholic settings and the knots you can tie yourself in being in the closet really resonate with me. Basically, I am looking for stories where the queer main character's relationship with mainstream religion is complex and challenging but not completely negative. Where religion is both a pain and a balm."

She's read The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School but I'm not sure what else.

Thanks!!

The first book I ever read like this was Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown and I thought it was an interesting handling; I would pass that along, though it’s YA. In Adult, and with the caveat that the religion is Judaism, I love A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee. (Definitely check cws first, especially re: drug use.) There’s a YA graphic novel coming up that I think is also specifically about this (and specifically Catholicism), though I haven’t read it yet - Hey, Mary! by Andrew Wheeler (text) and Rye Hickman (illustration). And also in YA, I loved At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp, which has a few POVs, one of whom is dealing with exactly this as a nonbinary person (also Catholic). 

Another Adult I haven’t read yet but am pretty sure is this is Henry Henry by Allen Bratton, but I’m struggling to think of one that’s adult and has a female MC - I keep thinking of Emily Austin’s Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, though the MC is an atheist in that one and it’s much more about mental health. The church very much plays a role, though, as that’s where she works, and might be an interesting addition to the reading list.

[maxcuntstappen]

you can see it with the lights out (9k)

Relationship: Max Verstappen/Charles Leclerc

Tags: Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, 2028 F1 Season, Pre-Retirement, Getting Together, Wingman Blue Jaye Verstappen, Sibling Love/Bonding/Cuteness

Summary:

“Can you please answer my question?” she demands, “How do I know if I’m in love or not?”

Max blinks at her owlishly, tries to school his expression into something less panicked.

‘Cause how is he supposed to talk about love without bringing up Charles Leclerc?

OR

Blue Jaye Verstappen plays detective and wingman and finally helps two idiots gain some bravery.

Read on Ao3

[rokurookajima]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

🥵 Any plans to write steamy or spicy content this year?

🫘 Spill the beans. What's a new project you're doing this year?

🛳 Are there any new ships you want to write for? (Platonic, romantic, or anything in between.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIEND!!!

🥵 any plans to write steamy or spicy content this year?

ohhhh you already KNOW!! i can't write anything without spicy content its just a necessity to me at this point. the waava free use agenda....will continue >:) that's the main thing i can say for sure, but also my original novel is like ... constantly spicy scenes so anything i write for that there is spice guaranteed. i've yet to write any spicy scenes with the two secondary protagonists (lock & jaye) so that is on the docket for sure

🫘 Spill the beans. What's a new project you're doing this year?

honestly i'm not sure!! i mostly plan to just keep working on what i have been - finish claw machine, put more work into my original novel (bitter tooth) bc if i could possibly finish or come CLOSE to finishing that this year, that would be amazing (though idk what i'd do with myself when that day comes....). a "new" project i'd love to finally get going on if possible would be my graphic novel concept which i showed you those old "teaser trailer" pages for & i haven't made anything for it since. the plot is solid but i rlly wanted to take time to develop drawing skills further to where I wanted before actually rlly moving forward on it, and i feel like at this point, I at least am ready to revisit the character designs & revamp, and maybe....go somewhere from there!!! but it's called melancholy humor, its about an immortal and a demon overcome with their own ennui, maybe finally learning to live in the moment :')

🛳 Are there any new ships you want to write for? (Platonic, romantic, or anything in between.)

also hard to say!! the ships just kinda come at me out of nowhere (or more often, they're ships I've had forever and suddenly get the intense urge to write for again). i think.... I wanna possibly try my hand at sunstar at some point 👀 metalbanders au au.....or like. polyamory LMAO bc metalband raava cannot exist as herself without wan, but the hvac fiasco fallout + vaatu's gender ego death leaves open a world of possibilities doesn't ittttt. but platonic too, i want to just give vaatu more screen time --write more about him and raava's weird childhood relationship, their estranged teenage relationship, his painful horrible hideous hate filled not yet realized crush on wan. there is so much to explore

[lcafman]

respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you'd like to get to know a little bit better.

roleplayer name : ellie !

pronouns : she / her !

muse name(s) : nod , unfortunately lol . the name means “ to wander “ which i think is pretty fitting for him . in my modern verse i’ve made his name “ nicholas “ because who in this day and age would name their child a verb

preferred communication : DMs ! this is a good time for me to mention this - please don’t take it personally if i take a few days to respond , even if i’m online ! i PROMISE it’s nothing personal , i just want to ensure i’m in the right headspace to reply to things . i do this to everyone so it has nothing to do with you . even my closest friends have to suffer through my horrendous texting lol ( rae you have the patience of a saint )

experience : i started on ‘ chickensmoothie ‘ ( no i’m not kidding ) , but eventually moved to twitter for a few years before settling down in tumblr !

preferred roleplay type : it genuinely depends ! i love banter , i love multi-para style — whatever works ! at the end of the day my favorite type of roleplay is when you’ve brain rotted over your characters together so much that you get Genuinely excited to see the other person reply lol

pet peeves / dealbreakers : force shipping / speed shipping is Not the vibe . i adore romance and am nearly always down to do so between two consenting adults , but if we’ve had zero ooc communication , to jump straight into “ we’re in a committed relationship “ is a little too fast for me .

i also really dislike character dynamics where one muse is essentially the other muses therapist . always comforting them without ANY type of reciprocation or bonding outside of that — it’s exhausting . i’ve been put in that position way too many times in real life i can’t have it happen in fictional writing too lol

and finally , ship jealousy . it’s mad weird . we’re all adults and these are fictional characters . if you’re getting jealous over a multiship muse , please take a break it’s not that serious . i’ve been guilty of this myself in the past , and i have to force myself to take a small break to reconnect with the outside world . i’m not here to compete when we could all just hold hands and gush about our ships together .

best time to write : definitely in the evening / night ( cst ) ! that’s when i have the most muse , and i’ll usually try to check the dash around this time as well .

are you like your muse ? : NO lmao . i was talking with jaye the other night about how i am nothing like nod . aside from both of us being relatively outgoing and maybe adrenaline junkies / enjoying jobs with high stakes , we’re pretty much polar opposites . he’s type b , i’m type a , he’s a hopeless romantic , i’m not , he’s fuckin stupid , i am about 80% sure i’m not — we’re completely different . it’s what makes him so fun to write , though . i get to get into the mind of someone who’s pretty much nothing like me — it’s so fun to see the world through his eyes .

tagged by ; @boombambaby ( thank you !! ;3; guys follow her kuzco it is SPOT ON ) tagging ; @cxnscience @bypoisedapples @underworldsarcade @returnedimage @sunoflegend @nosenipped @drckmgck @dreamsofalife @hxzelwallflower @froznspirit @mitchftw @fairestmusesofthemall @sunsfates @wispfated @oakthcrn

[littlesanaa]

I have finally found the someone...I had always been waiting for,

Nahi jaanthi ki how we'll take it through in our individual lifes but I'm sure about one thing that until I have him mereliye kuch bhi mushkil nahi hai,

Uske aane ke baad I've got a sense of responsibility which in the best way possible is changing my life...Aaj kal pappa se baate asaan hogayi hai,able to understand the life situation of my brother and other family members from their perspective...

And I love him for who he is and everything he has been able to give me until now...his time, his love, his patience, his experience, his knowledge, I also thank him for everything that he has put into this relationship.

You Ayush from the start have been a great companion and tere bina ab zindagi guzarna is something unimaginable.

From this day onwards I have this one person I want to see more than anyone else, I'm dying to see him in the morning & kabhi kabhi na dhekhu toh I start feeling restless. And when he stands beside me, my heart melts when I see his eyes soften for me. Khushi hoti hai to be in love with someone who loves you more than himself.Sapne dekhne lagi hu...the impossible ones but one day I'll make it happen for everyone and for him. When trust and believe comes from the one you love everything even a myth can become reality. I have got this love from you my jaan.

Mera har pal uske sath share krna chathi hu, har din kuch pal ke liye I want to hold and adore him, har roz I have yearning to hold his hand with his fingers interlinked in mine and sit with him till whenever, those wishlists in which I wrote to see the twilight sky, dark stary nights, sunsets and sunrise - I want to fulfill them with him. Go on an endless life jourmey jaha mera sara waqt use pyaar krne main nikal jaye...and even when I die I want to take those kuch akhri sukoon ke pal in his arms.

[razzlerdazzler]

Can I request a poly x reader fic with flint and Duke from gi Joe renegades? Maybe headcanons of what it would be like to date them both if that’s easier. Thanks in advance

Hello, sorry it took so long, this is my first time writing for a poly relationship so I hope you like it :)

Duke and Flint (Poly) Relationship Headcanons

They both like PDA

Whenever it's a lazy peaceful day and nobody has work, they both love to just lay in bed for a little while longer and cuddle

Whenever somebody is hitting on one of you guys they will both have different ways of handling the situation

Duke is more upfront about it if somebody is hitting on either you or Flint

Duke will casually walk up to whoever the person is talking to and he will wrap his arms around them and will kiss their neck while making eye contact with the person and will go "is this person bothering you babe?"

Meanwhile Flint is more subtle if somebody is hitting on you or Duke

He'll keep an eye on you and will see if you're getting uncomfortable or if you're just having a conversation with the person

He'll walk up to whoever the person is talking to and will make subtle hints about their relationship

However if the person isn't getting the hints or is ignoring them, he will say straight out that they are flirting with his partner and then he will grab yours or Duke's hand and will walk away from the person

If somebody is flirting with you while they're both there then they will usually combine their tactics

If anybody hurts you or makes you cry then that person better start running because they'll have two very angry Joe's coming right after them

They're both super protective over you, considering how dangerous their jobs are they both worry about COBRA finding out about you

They both teach you self-defense

Duke is usually less hard on you while teaching you self-defense

Flint however is a little more tough on you about it, but he tells you it's because he worries and he wants to make sure that you can protect yourself

However, after the sessions they both help take care of you, especially if you're bruised or sore

They'll tell you how proud they are of you and how good you did while they take care of you

Whenever on of them (sometimes both of them) is about to go on a mission, you all make sure to spend a lot of time together before they leave

Whenever one of them is on a mission, they always try their hardest to facetime you guys whenever they have the chance

Duke's parents love you guys and are very supportive of your all's relationship

They invite you to their house every Thanksgiving and Christmas and love to talk to you about Duke's childhood and even show you and Flint his baby pictures, much to Duke's embarrassment

Duke and Flint love to tease each other about their childhood and about their football days

They introduce you to Scarlett, Roadblock, Lady Jaye, Tunnel Rat, and Snake Eyes

Whenever you guys go to sleep you all take turns being in the middle

Whenever any of you have a nightmare (considering their professions it most likely happens every once in a while) the other two will comfort them and will make sure that they know that they are loved and safe

You all love each other very much and are so happy to be in a relationship with the two people you love the most

[lonelier-version-of-you]

I'm too tired to really keep up with everything that was happening in tonight's Casualty, but from what I understood of it, I thought it was very good. (I mean, I'm also so tired I didn't really want to do a writeup tonight, but then I decided that if I didn't do it now I probably wouldn't get around to it at all. So yeah, I'll do this writeup, but I'll probably miss some stuff. I'm relying on the knowledge that I'll get to talk about Jacob again next week to motivate me through this.)

I'm not sure how I feel about where Donna's storyline is going, but I'm still very pleased that she has a storyline at all, and Jaye Jacobs has been absolutely brilliant. I'm very curious to see how it will play out from here, because I have no idea how they're going to get around all this to keep Donna on the show. That alone probably pushes this to the second most interesting storyline right now for me (I feel like that sounds like a passive-aggressive insult, but it's not, I just love Jacob and his story that much that he's still at the top).

Plus, she got more scenes with Stevie and with Dylan, and I'm always happy to see more of those dynamics.

I really hope Jan's not actually going to retire, I love her so much and I'd be very sad if she left! I think she might though, because we do have 5 paramedics right now, and they usually don't have that many for very long from what I remember. :(

I'm still very intrigued by the Teddy/Paige/Sah stuff. The drama between them has been great so far, and now I've convinced myself that this just might turn into a polyamory storyline. (Previously, I wanted it to happen but was like 99% sure it wouldn't.) And I suppose it's good that Paige was honest to Teddy about how she told Sah not to say anything about the kiss??? I mean, she obviously probably shouldn't have kissed someone else while in a monogamous relationship at all, but still.

As upsetting and emotional as the Rash storyline is, I'm very glad it's finally been revisited. Great performances from Neet Mohan and Kriss Dosanjh, as usual.

I was sad at the lack of Jacob this week, but on the bright side, Faith Cadogan didn't show up either (though we did get Iain talking about her), so... swings and roundabouts.

Cam holding the dog was so cute! But I'm very glad Rida called out the whole 'arguing about Jodie' thing - it's been frustrating me so much how both Ryan and Cam have sort of been treating Jodie like she has no agency in her own right.

Speaking of Rida, her storyline - and how it intertwined with Rash's - was by far the best part of this ep for me. Maybe that's because it wasn't a complicated storyline, but also, I think it was just very very good. It shows that you don't always need dramatic plot twists or sensationalist storylines - you can get wonderful character work from something as simple as trying to get the lights fixed in a prayer room.

Next week, we get an episode with Jacob again, finally!! Thank goodness. I've missed him so much. He means a lot to me. Max is back next week, too, which should be interesting.

[devitalise]

💗 IMO 💗 in addition to the usual reading round-up + next month's itinerary, would you also care to share your Succession thoughts as a longtime/big time fan witnessing it come to an end🎤

oh this is sooo perfectly timed i just watched episode 6, but first let's get into the

april book wrap up

let it come down by paul bowles

this kick started a themed reading moment of exploring Tangier through several different books, namely during and post the formation and dissolution of the International Zone. this reminded me of the man who watched the trains go by by georges simenon, the slow unravelling of a persons psyche as they grow more and more paranoid. i found some of the perspectives a bit lacking, sentences a touch too long to lose momentum, but i will pick up another book by Bowles. also discovered this book from reading checkout 19 in january (that book is rife with recommendations the author and the main character are obsessed with reading (and i like looking into books that are mentioned in others))

links in march wrap up

in tangier by mohamed choukri

i think my goodreads review still stands up on how i feel about this book. really glad that my research led me to this book, and Choukri as an invidual. teaching yourself how to read and write in your 20s and then getting to meet and befriend authors you revere could only really happen in the late 60s. the writing landscape felt so small and interconnected in this book, and the juicy gossip like nature was so frank and i think lended a real humanity to people who can sometimes just be names now that everyone involved is dead. similar to let it come down, Tangier is a main character in its own right, and i appreciated Choukri discussing his struggles with the white men around him yearning for a time that's long gone instead of appreciating what the city offered at what was present day. super engaging read.

music: in tangier

naked lunch by william burroughs

was expecting this to round out and also complete my Tangier setting reading. first dnf of the year! i was so, so confused, to the point i thought i'd picked up sci-fi that wasn't going to build the world at all. now that i'm reading older books, it's so interesting to see the threads of what has inspired authors that came after. has brett easton ellis read this book? i can't be entirely sure, but the disjointed, surreal and out of this world ramblings of heroin hallucinations is something i can see influencing the prose of american psycho. only made it around 60 pages in, put down purely because there's no overarching plot, and all the sexual violence was gory for the sake of it i felt. william burroughs as an individual is interesting (mentioned in in tangier, though briefly)

music: naked lunch soundtrack (i might watch the movie, though!)

good intentions by kasim ali

this book inspired an 8 minute voicenote to jaye. sometimes disliking a book can feel so freeing to me personally, i love loving books but getting jolted back to something that i don't like can definitely bring out more eloquent thoughts or critiques of the book for myself i've found. went into this in the best faith, and wasn't rewarded at all. such a missed opportunity for the book to just to refuse to acknowledge antiblack racism amongst nonblack communities, and i'm sure it's done in a way to mirror the naivety of the main character, but to be so close to making a point and then continue to circle around it is lazy. the big aha! moment of this is the love interest having to admit that her being a Black woman is actually a problem and the reason the relationship isn't working. just disappointing, really. interesting threads on faith and Islam, and conforming to parental expectations, but still quite surface level. trying to be too many things, not good in any of them.

music: groovy mix (man, the niche mixes on spotify are good)

may reading

i'm currently reading in cold blood by truman capote. he was mentioned quite a bit in In Tangier, and after reading swan song by kelleigh greenburg-jephcott in 2021, he came to the forefront of my mind. after that i'll probably pick up the third in elena ferrante's neapolitan quartet: those who leave and those who stay.

now... succession thoughts

i'm really enjoying the season so far. i think we're seeing all of the kids at the rise before the fall, and maybe (kendall and rome, especially) are just about to start falling. still unsure how i feel about shiv pregnancy i think if it wasn't leading to tomshiv resolution i'd be able to appreciate it more for what it represents to shiv as someone who has rejected motherhood and other ideas expected of her as a woman. but i hate tom, so i just think it's a bit lazy. greg has outstayed his welcome to me, he serves absolutely no purpose

kendall roy is still my babygirl :)

[which-hospital]

Hooke’s Law (22/07/23)

I’ve spent an excessive amount of my time today making a Sah/Teddy/Paige (mostly Sah and Teddy, this episode really has me thinking about them a lot) edit to Night Shift by Lucy Dacus.

A lot of babies in this episode! The thing about Casualty drama is that I miss it when I don’t have it and when I do, it makes me nauseous. Love Rida, love Donna! Glad to see them getting more time and I was happy to see even the characters’ whose drama wasn’t really at the front getting screen time. My walls of Sah/Teddy/Paige text (my specialty) are at the end of my ranting below the cut.

I LOVED RIDA IN THIS EPISODE!! I’m so glad we’re getting more of her I really loved seeing so much of her, I just adore her and it was great seeing a different side of her. I feel like, of all the new nurses, she has been shown as the toughest one but in this episode we got to see her struggle more.

Jaye Jacobs is brilliant, she did great in this episode and I’m also really looking forward to getting more Donna.

Not much Cam but I just enjoy him quite a lot so I appreciated what we did get!

Iain with a baby; made me think of the fact that when I made this little summary video to explain the recent plot of Casualty to my friend who doesn’t watch it and I described the characters who I felt the need to describe and I think I said that Iain “would quite like to be a dad”.

Ffion surprised me in this episode, I don’t know I feel like it made me feel more invested in her relationship with Jan.

Okay, so Paige. I’ll be honest, she’s kind of on thin ice with me because I didn’t have any strong opinions on her and then I kind of started to not like her that much with everything to do with Sah’s top surgery and then her kiss with Sah and the three weeks I had to think about it made me like her a lot more (I know that’s a weird thing to make me like her but it just got me interested). How she was today, I’m like annoyed but also I’m not surprised. The way she treated Sah was bad, but that’s just how the employees of Holby General Hospital are required to act when a kiss that “meant nothing” absolutely meant something.

Teddy is a sweetheart and maybe a little oblivious. We’re supposed to believe that at least a little while has passed since Burning Bridges and he’s only just picked up on the fact that his best friend and girlfriend are acting kind of off. I think how he is next week will give us a good idea of where this stuff with them is going. Even before we knew that we were going to get stuff dealing with the kiss I expected we’d get a moment where he realises that everyone’s acting weird (and then Sah getting too guilty).

Okay, I’m really going to sound like I’m overthinking with all my Sah thoughts but I felt like this episode really linked back to how they were back like last year and stuff. I’ve already said how that scene where they tell Teddy about the kiss reminded me of the scene from On The Edge where they told him about their dad. They didn’t exactly have all that many scenes but what we did get of them really, really got me thinking about Sah and Teddy’s early friendship, it all just felt so linked to it. I feel like I need to make some posts about my Sah and Teddy thoughts but they are so extremely interesting to me. Sah and Teddy’s initial storylines aren’t directly linked to each other (as in, while I think their friendship is relevant, it’s not their relationship at the centre of it all), they’re independent but the way it’s written throughout makes them feel like such an inherent pair that you just can’t separate the stories (see me describing them as “besties with mommy issues in opposite directions” to my friend, the stuff with Gaynor and Jools has always felt so intertwined to me because of how opposite it all is) and the fact that both characters’ first actual romance storylines have ended up being the exact same storyline just feels a little inevitable for the two of them. I don’t know, I am overthinking them and not expressing it very well but I think that’s a good summary of how this episode has me right now.

Honestly, I still don’t think polyamory is out of the window yet. The fact that Teddy knows already and both Paige and Sah’s behaviour today has me still hopeful.

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

10 and 11 for the ask game please!!! (i need to know about it cecil. please. /lh)

JAYE HI HI HI🥰🥳🎉

#10 (Why did you choose your title?)

The original title of the book when I first started thinking about it some uh. Five years ago? Was “Immortal Stone & Tile, Inc.” At that point, the main concept for the book was “supervillain quits his job and travels across the country to start a new life as a stone and tile salesman.” A lot of my story ideas came from shows like the Office and Crazy Ex Girlfriend at that point, with a lot of focus on workplace shenanigans, so I based the title off of that. But after I wrote (and rewrote!) the book, it became more and more obvious that the workplace stuff was a distraction from the actual things I wanted to write about. So in this version, returning to the idea after a couple years, I decided to make the title The Diamond Devil Is Dead! because I wanted to capture a couple main ideas: first, the pulpy superheroism element. Second, the main idea of Nathaniel’s death, which is central to what I wanted to explore with the book in the first place. Third, the the exclamation, which for me feels kind of Wicked-esque (the wicked witch is dead!) in a way that’s fun.

#11 (General synopsis of the plot/world/characters):

Quick synopsis: Career criminal turned costumed supervillain Nathaniel Syler dies to save his dearest enemy. Then he wakes up. He has a midlife crisis and moves across the country to try to become something new. But he brought with him the thing he hates most—himself. In the end, he has to confront his own mistakes and his relationship with his mother, all while falling in gay love and growing up.

For a more in depth, autistic explanation (lol)—the book is essentially a middle aged supervillain’s Bildungsroman. It’s set in a retrofuturistic, glitz-glam urban world, with a startling divide between the beauty and wealth of the city and the homelessness, crime and poverty within it. Nathaniel is fully immersed in a world of violence. Everyone he meets in his journey is a commentary on that. The Boulder, Nathaniel’s rival, is a Golden Age style superhero who believes strongly in the criminal-cop, villain-hero dichotomy that reinforces her moral high ground and Nathaniel’s self-hatred. But she loves Nathaniel, and makes a massive sacrifice in order to bring him back from the dead. Amelia Sung is the Boulder’s abandoned older sister. She’s a car mechanic who loves puzzles, and is resigned to ignoring the chaos and destruction around her. She exists on the outside of the world of heroes and villains, and—after some understandable initial skepticism—sees Nathaniel as a person for the first time in his life. Nathaniel’s love interest, Stephen, was raised by a cult as a child assassin. He’s the perfect villain Nathaniel was never able to be. Nathaniel falls in love with his skill. But Stephen is also the only person Nathaniel is able to speak with candidly about the “mouse trap” of supervillainy and the hero world. Stephen isn’t headed for redemption or trying to be better, he’s just surviving. Nathaniel loves him anyway.

The last, arguably most important character in this world is Bandit, Nathaniel’s dog. He’s a mean guard dog chained up by his owner at all times of the day—Nathaniel passes him daily on his way to work. Over time, he befriends Bandit and finally steals him. Bandit loves two things: violence, and Nathaniel. He and Nathaniel have a deeply affectionate, codependent dynamic that is so full of love, but also reminiscent of Nathaniel’s own relationship with his mother.

And then, of course, there’s Nathaniel himself. Nathaniel is a deeply childish man, stubborn and manipulative, painfully empathetic. He loves sharks. He watches the Golden Girls. Love, for him, exists in the small bubble of his shitty apartment with his mom. He has a lot of high-flung ideals about the world, which he mostly translates into putting people on pedestals and hating himself. Outside of his bubble, he communicates in superhero cliches. His entire language is based on the script of a queer villain in a world that kills queer villains. As the book goes on, he learns how to drive and decorate his own apartment with things he loves. He’s still mostly the same, but his language expands, and he’s more thoughtful and grounded. He becomes a participant in the real world.

[supernova1us]

My idea for a new TF/GI joe crossover series

admittedly an animated series would be awesome but a comic is more realistic.

anyways, one of the main complaints in most fusions of these two, no matter the medium, is that it takes away from the main TF characters. the fix to that here would be the Joes would be the main characters fully and would be pitted against the decepticons in trying to thwart their conquest schemes in the same way they would cobra, though the threat level of the decepticons is more akin to IDW Infiltration depiction. the main setup here is that it starts like the original G1 cartoon, but the difference is the decepticons destroy the ark and most of the autobots in a space battle before they reach earth, though the nemesis and its crew still end up crashing to earth and lying dormant in the same way the arc originally did.

true to the original the main nemesis crew would consist of megatron, soundwave, starscream, skywarp, thundercracker, reflector, cassettes(rumble, frenzy, ravage, laserbeak, buzzsaw), insecticons, and a handful of air warrior seekers(more developed personalities and some gender diversity). following the g1 setup, the insecticons would again be a group that were separated from the main crew in the crash and developed differently over the years before they ally again. the end would also see the nemesis converted into her titan form, as megatrons ultimate weapon.

the designs would mostly just be updates and based on classic g1 themed looks. only different one i know if that negatron would have a design based on his look in the Transformers: Online game. Also I would love to see megatron and starscreams relationship get a bit of a tweak to better differentiate between them. i would characterize megatron as more professional, reserved and commanding, only occasionally giving into her his more reckless/sadistic tendencies. whereas stasrscream would be the one more openly cruel/sadistic/maniacal. not terribly off from how IDW originally portrayed them

the Joes would start more as a smaller task force before recruiting new members they encounter and recruit throughout their activities. the starting team would include general colton, Jane Walters, Hawk, Duke, scarlett, snake eyes, flint, high tech, rip cord, tunnel rat, cover girl, lady jaye, dusty, shipwreck, spirit, wild bill.

there would also be emphasis on the wreck of the ark being on the moon, and scavenging its resources, including from the autobot bodies, over the years since the moon landing is what has given the Joes their advanced tech. An autobot survivor would eventually turn up and uneasily work with the Joes, though the revelation of their cannibalizing their people would lead to the deterioration of the alliance. im mostly leaning towards ratchet as said bot.

carrying over from the use in ROTB, there would eventually be the reveal of a small group of maximal survivors(design aesthetic also similar to ROTB) who have hidden on earth for centuries before making contact with the Joes. true to form, they would be from the far future, though this time by way of trying to thwart the quintessons in their efforts to meddle with history. the ROTB details that would also be kept would be the maximals choice to mostly remain in beast mode and only fight with melee weapons.

cobra commander, in his old snake persona, would also appear in much the way he did in G1 3rd season as an overarching antagonist in the background. much later contact with cybertron would also be reestablished, including a team of autobots coming to earth in search of the ark crew and eventually allying with the joes.

so, does this seem sound enough in basis that others would read if it were a series?

[exploringme2022]

Yesterday I got message from him again on my fake id that i was expecting because I posted something, then i just shared my inside feelings in a different way, he seems to be supportive for stranger, but I know he doesn't care, he doesn't have empathy for anyone he just don't feel that he is a narcissistic person, he just seems to care ki log uske jal me fas jaye, well I know him what a shitty person he is so... he can't fool me again, and he was saying he is a genuine person 😂😂😂 seriously joke of the century, and he wish bad for x so even I told i cheated on my x and he support me and consider me genuine person 😂😂, wao what a shitty person he is and again there were lies

and his love guru his so called best friend told him don't message me, don't push it, he is the one fucking person i hate the most, he manipulated aadi about me, since he came to Bangalore our relationship is ruined, he is the one who said bad things about me, he is the one who promoted him to cheat on me and lie to me and before also he was the one who was trying to fix him with someone else, he is a fucking cheap person, he always was, and aadi thinks as God of him. Well good for aadi he will drown him in deep shit and will leave him all alone. Well I don't care he deserves that, he lost a good thing who used to care about him deeply about his well being, career and growth and his family, i hope he finds someone better he deserves and become a better person this time, not using people for his benefits , for once in life he stop being selfish,

With me he never used to talk these long messages lately because obviously he was cheating on me with that slut, and he wishes bad for his x, no i don't wish bad for him, i know i deserve better and i am happy that i am out of it,

And my learnings are,

You are the prize so you do not need to explain anything or say sorry about anything or plan for anything for the guys or give them gifts or anything or you do not need to sacrifice anything, they like to chase you can make them do anything

[cyare-fi]

One of you liked this so here we go:

Under the cut, please add on if you like bc I love hearing about him

- I think he would be the most delightful boyfriend. I see a lot the way he's very soft with people he's interested in, but I think he also has a bit of a shy side. He's a very private person on screen, so I think it would take a bit to really get to know him in a relationship.

- Obviously, he's very protective, it sort of comes with his job. But how would this play into the relationship? Would he be overbearing, try to do to much? I think maybe.

- I don't think he'd be the best with communication, it seems like he was raised in a way that has made him very repressed when he starts out in the show. But he's very eager and willing to learn when the opportunity presents itself, and I really enjoy that about his character. He doesn't do anything like that out of malice, he's just never been taught how to properly express himself.

- He also seems intensely private, so I think it would be a long, not exactly easy process to get him to open up and express himself. I sometimes think about what made him this way, what experiences he's gone through. We got to see him sort of bond with Jaye Nash, but I don't exactly remember him opening up to her all that much. This really ties into communication again where, it would definitely be a struggle to see him express his feelings in a healthy way. But relationships need work put into them, and I believe he'd be very willing to do that work if he found the right person

- As a queer, trans person myself, it's a struggle with his obvious homophobia in the early seasons and even later on. But I honestly, truly believe that he doesn't do or say these things out of genuine dislike. We know he's kind by nature, and really wants to help people. So I think his ideas about someone's identity could shift, not in an "I can fix him" way but rather a way where I think he just needs to self reflect and spend more time around queer people. I also think that's why we see less of that in the later seasons.

- I think he'd be very attentive in his own way, but also slightly oblivious. He'd be the sweetest guy you could possibly know, but also the least observant.

- Still, I think he's often underestimated in terms of intelligence. His upbringing and views on the world are outdated, but he's also a DS at such a young age (22 when the series began) and must have put in a lot of hard work to get there. I think his hardworking nature is actually overlooked a lot, and despite missing obvious things sometimes, he does the absolute most he can for his job.

Alright all who wants to listen to me talk abt Gavin Troy in a romantic way