#i wish every show was run by will truly an icon

[fightingdragonswithwho]

being delusional and convincing myself aloto is getting renewed soon 😌

[rei-ismyname]

Resurrection of Magneto Highlights 1

RoM is a book that loses something in the highlight format as the big moments are truly earned and impactful. There's an ongoing narration, dialogue or soliloquy running through each issue tying everything together and to truly give context I'd have to annotate it. Lucky for us, Al Ewing and Luciano Vecchio are masters and every panel serves as a coda for Storm or Magneto from SWORD and X-Men Red. This is easily my longest Highlights yet, there's just so much to say.

I wish I dreamt about Magneto

Ororo has a dream of a full page splash - Magneto, Max, saying 'I was wrong' surrounded by five of his iconic helmets. 3 red ones, bloody and facing towards the world. 1 black, 1 white upright behind his back. It's been quite a while since Uranos the Undying tore his heart out on Judgement Day but it's good to see Ororo has some measure of peace and love on Arakko with Craig of NASA.

She's the deuteragonist of RoM so she chooses to follow her dream and seek Max in the afterlife. Ororo shows up at Adam Brashear/The Blue Marvel's underwater base and asks for help with exactly that. He lampshades how bozos like Reed would deem it impossible and leads her to a portal. He's in the middle of explaining how dangerous it is and requires... we don't hear because Storm takes a running leap and YOLOs into it. Tarn the Uncaring and a who's who of Marvel cosmology are there to greet her. Tarn is insulted that Ororo has come for the guy who exploded his head, but as above, so below - he loves to talk and she outwits him.

Ashake is often obliquely referred to but very rarely directly, so it's lovely to see her magical ancestor here to help. As Ororo pets her black cat, Ashake confirms this is a place of magic. Symbols and metaphors are powerful here - something Mags could use help with in his current state. It's also connected to the Kabbalistic tree of life, but I'm not very knowledgeable about that.

Two redrawn and recoloured keystone moments of Max and Ororo's relationship down the bottom.

She resolved to see this through and her thought carries her towards the Sphere of Judgement. Unexpectedly a bunch of Dominions bar her path, though luckily the two mutants are too small to truly be of interest to them. Still, a single mortal arriving in Overspace is significant and they prompt her to ask questions. The face of Dominions are shown but it's still fairy tale rules. The most important thing she learns is about Enigma, though she doesn't know it at the time.

The Sphere of Judgement is hostile, everything is inverted. Lightning is red, the river is lava, clouds are black, everything is broken. She notices this spot from her dream and the charred frames of Max's five helmets still sit in blood. Magneto has been here for months by choice, bypassing the Waiting Room Wanda built but refusing to move on. He believes he deserves this.

Finally she reaches Magneto weeping blood in front of a wall of names. Everyone he ever killed and he's counting every one, remembering their name. He's judging himself, punishing, and doesn't think he deserves to leave.

He shares his greatest shames, his most recent cruelties. Worst, the ones he convinced himself was necessary. He's overwhelmed by the red in his ledger and in this place of judgement lashes out, flinging names off the wall at Ororo while naming the person. What snaps him out of it is the mention that something happened to Charles, heh.

'The no-place of his heart' 👌

Max turns the judgement on Ororo but she rejects it, calling him out for extending Charles the grace he won't extend to himself plus a little hypocrisy. Magneto has always been prone to drama and that tendency can hurt as much as it heals.

That really gets him going, but he's judging himself more constructively now. Love, friendship, accountability. The things that are keeping some part of tethered to the living world. He pulls one more name down to say the name aloud before he sends it at Ororo - it's his - Max Eisenhardt. Still, he cries 'it's out of our hands.' He truly wants to give up but I think a part of him knows his story isn't done.

Ororo disagrees. Displaying why she's the only person who could assist in the resurrection of Magneto, she covers his eyes and remembers the rules of this place. The wall of the dead becomes its opposite - the wall of the living. Not those he killed but those he saved. It's enough to pull him out of punishing himself. Neither group should be forgotten but he can choose to save life rather than take it - to change.

Torturing yourself in a personal hell might appease some of those dead, but accepting responsibility to the living should be what comes after judgement. Suffering helps no one, and as he says to Logan as he's about to kill Charles much later - 'no more martyrs.' Part of why I enjoyed Magneto identifying Logan Behavior is because he himself is the king of it. Charles too. All three are prone to martyrdom but dying is easy. It's living that's difficult and worthwhile. Secluding yourself from the world, whether it's in the Sphere of Judgement, a mega prison, or with a pack of wolves - is senseless and selfish. Living is better.

Next time - what does that actually mean for both of them and how do they get out of this place? It's not as simple as turning a key. Choosing to live is hard work. Metatextually, change and rebirth requires a tour of all that he is, all that he's done. What's the point of killing a character and then bringing them back the same as they were? Comic books do it all the time, but Magneto's long history is a study of opposites and extremes. He, the writer and the reader all need to deconstruct Magneto so he can be reconstructed as a better person. With the benefit of hindsight we know he succeeds, but what does that actually look like for him? 60 years of his oversized influence on the world is a lot and it only gets better from here.

[octoberland]

Invisible

Only TWD would get me to come back here writing my fandom thoughts. It's a landmine because you never know how people will react. I am going to share some deeply personal thoughts. I ask that you treat this vulnerability with the respect that it deserves. Spoilers for tonight's episode. And a trigger warning for my personal experiences with abuse.

I met Carol 14 years ago. It was a time in my life when she was a mirror for me. Meek, scared, abused Carol. The little mouse. Jumping when Ed said jump.

By the time the show aired that year I had extricated myself from my situation. But I was still terrified every day. I mostly didn't sleep at night. When I did sleep, I would prop things against the doors so I could hear if someone came in. I would rarely be out of the house at night. On the occasions I was outside after dark I would be walking with my heart in my throat, beating the loudest of drums in my ears. Every stranger was a potential threat. Every shadow could be him coming back to kill me.

I latched onto Carol in my fear and despair. I understood her. Related to her. Felt inspired by her. I was hers from the moment she bashed Ed's skull in. It was so cathartic watching her do that. I wished I could have that moment in my life.

Like her, people judged me. People blamed me for being with a man like that. Said I must like bad boys. Said I liked the attention. Asked why I didn't just leave. It's all so easy to dissect when you're on the outside.

Unlike Carol I didn't have a walker to take out my abuser. I extricated myself. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. And it came with great risk. And I mostly did it alone.

I watched as she grew strong. And I grew strong too. Like her, I learned to fight. To be fair, she was not my only influence there. I have Captain America/Chris Evans to thank for that too. I hope someday I get to tell him that story. But watching her grow was an inspiration.

Like many people, I was moved by her ability to connect with Daryl. You don't understand how hard that can be after abuse. It's been 14 years and I've still not been in another relationship. I may never be again. That kind of abuse leaves an indelible mark on you.

But with him she blossomed. Sexually, emotionally, and just as a human. I admired her ability to do that.

The trauma was still there though. We saw that. Her edges became too sharp. Her distance too cold. But I get it. I really, truly get it.

But through it all her relationship with Daryl remained. They were each other's North Star. Not perfect, but constant.

But the sad truth is, at the end of the day these characters don't belong to us. They are written by flawed humans with personal agendas and like with any long running series, the longer it runs the higher chance for writers to fuck things up.

Before I dive more specifically into tonight's episode and the Book of Carol let me just say that I still love Carol and I still love Daryl and I still love Caryl. If you want to stop reading here just know that Carol remains an icon to me for very personal reasons. But that is part of why I'm writing this.

Potential spoilers beyond the cut.

The writing this season is sloppy, imho. And this is where I put my writer hat on and try to look at things more objectively. It seems like Gimple is mining the past because it's "cool" and not because he actually wants to address any long standing trauma that Carol has.

Everyone's trauma journey is different and I get that. But after 14 years I doubt that Carol is going to start panicking when going into a barn. In fact, we've already seen her entering barns in early seasons without any issues. I wish the show had consulted some trauma experts. They could have provided some examples of things that might actually set her off. Like seeing a little girl walker. Or meeting a child named Sophia. And speaking of that, I know Carol is supposed to be tough and sneaky and all that but the episode where she lied about her daughter to get the plane really bothered me. If the memory of her daughter is so traumatic I feel like she would not use her daughter like that.

This reunion episode was a missed opportunity to explore trauma in a more meaningful way. It was a missed opportunity for Carol and Daryl to have some truly meaningful conversations. I know I've said this before but she FLEW ACROSS THE OCEAN. DURING AN APOCALYPSE. And all he basically did was grunt one liners at her and lie about how he never stopped trying to get back to her. These two deserve to have a real conversation where they talk about how incredible what she did was. They need to talk about what that means for each of them. And I'm not even talking about romance. Daryl has never had anyone do anything like that for him. Does he understand how profound an act that was? If he ever had any doubt as to how much Carol cared for him this should have erased it. And for Carol, this could also be a wake up call for her too. While being hard and cunning is good for survival, this is an opportunity for her to be vulnerable. To express what he means to her. Or to maybe even face any codependence she has with Daryl.

I feel bad what happened to Isabelle. It kind of feels like an FU to her character. As much as I love Caryl I'm not in support of fridging women for a ship or for man pain. I'm glad we got to see her and Carol together but I wish we could have seen them together a little longer. Again, there is a missed opportunity for some really interesting conversations.

I can't help but feel that this show is suffering under the leadership of male writers and showrunners. There's such nuance to be had here and it's being funneled down to base tropes. Genet is evil because her husband died. Carol is just now having flashbacks to something that happened a decade ago because we need her to grow emotionally and we can't think of another way to do that without mining her motherhood. Isabelle has to die because God forbid two adults actually have a conversation about emotions.

I honestly can't guess where this series is going right now. Every time I think I know what is going to happen something else happens instead. Normally this would be a good thing but here it just feels sloppy. Are they dicking around Caryl? Will they kill her? Or him? Or do they plan for this to go into more seasons? I haven't a clue. But it feels like whiplash, like they are trying to make the characters grow too quickly to fit an agenda without doing the real work people need to do. A hug from an old lady won't cure trauma.

I think mostly I just wish Carol and Daryl would have a real conversation before all this is over.

Anyway, that's my rant. I did like the old married couple joke in the car. And I'm glad Carol's not dead. But I hope we get to see some real connection.

[n2nataliegoodman]

God every time I watch episode 37 it feels like repeatedly getting stabbed in the gut with a knife. Utena asking Akio out on a date because now that she knows what he’s doing to Anthy she tries to keep him away from while also taking off the ring in place for the sweater Anthy knitted for her. And Akio somehow not getting the hint that she knows who he is. What he is.

Anthy saying all girls are like the Rose Bride before taking Utena’s hand, knowing that despite both of them trying to keep Akio away from the other they’ve both failed and Akio’s abuse has changed both of them.

Saionji and Touga being honest with one another about how they feel and seeing each other as allies rather than rivals, while letting Akio believe that Utena is still completely under his spell.

Anthy echoing what Akio said a few episodes earlier, how she wishes she and Utena can be friends forever and her unchanging slight resigned smile as Utena rips up the letter because, regardless of what Akio thinks, she will choose Anthy and herself over him every time. Because choosing Anthy is choosing the moment she changed her destiny from that of a princess in need of rescuing to a prince. Choosing Anthy is choosing herself.

Juri, the only other explicitly sapphic character who gave Utena the sword to “take back her self”, forcing Utena to confront the fact that she and Anthy are not just friends and that Utena doesn’t even have the words to describe their bond.

Everyone, but most evidently Nanami, believing that Utena is still naive to who/what Akio and, more importantly, Anthy are while she gives them all a knowing smile without actually answering.

Juri and Miki admitting that Utena has caused a revolution for each of them too and that they have been able to change thanks to her.

The Shadow Girls saying they really are “true friends” before kissing paralleling Utena’s inability to truly answer Juri’s question about her feelings towards Anthy.

The car scene showing that, despite everything, Akio has to work harder than ever to keep Anthy under control, and even then it’s still slipping.

The iconic cantarella scene. No words are possible. That scene makes me feel so many things every time. All I’m going to say is that it’s Anthy’s final attempt to try to make Utena run away from Akio, but instead Utena shows she’ll stay no matter what.

And following this, Anthy choosing that, no matter how much pain she’s been in, Akio’s abuse of Utena was the last straw and she would rather die than let it continue. Because if not for her, Utena has no reason to continue down the path towards revolution. And if she can’t make Utena run away she has to try the only other thing she can to free Utena from the duels.

“Whoever believes in true friendship is a fool.” “Didn’t you know? I am a fool.”

Both Utena and Anthy choosing to confront Akio: Anthy through taping the letter back together, Utena by putting on the ring.

Not to mention the fact that this idiot pedophile honestly believed that Utena would choose him over the girl she’d been fighting to protect the entire time, for longer than she even remembers.

No piece of media has ever made me feel the way this specific episode does and I don’t think any piece of media ever will again.

And no piece of media will ever make me absolutely loathe a character the way RGU does with Akio. I have never had a villain turn my stomach the way he does.

[teddypickerry]

Hey please can I request a Nikki Sixx x reader! Just a bit of jealous! Nikki, something along the lines of that there either at a music awards or some red carpet and the boys are off performing, and whilst waiting with the other s/os reader gets hit on by someone, and she plays into it, until the boys return and all hell breaks loose because no one flirts with Nikkis girl

𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐊𝐈’𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋!

pairings! 2000s nikki x younger gf

warnings! age gap couple (not specified age), i think that’s it

word count! 900

a/n! hi mfs. alive & thriving w another nikki fic. i didn’t specify his exact age or the readers. but it is hot 2000s nikki bc he is my bf (real). so. DEAL WITH ITTTT.

AS IF BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP with a rockstar wasn't enough pressure from the public eye and his many (envious) female fans, music awards were pure stress. although your boyfriend, nikki, grew out of his phase of attending every spectacular event, you were still in attendance of a few of them. while nikki loved showing you off and having you there for support, you didn't quite enjoy it as much as you wished. although the thought of fangirling over your favorite musicians sufficed — you also had to deal with the overwhelming flood of hate directed at your relationship on social media the next morning.

it was always the same headlines. "nikki's downgraded to another twenty-year old" "y/n is hardly enough for a rockstar" "he's probably off cheating on her as per usual" or "i prefer nikki and his ex" it's just pure judgment of a relationship they haven't even witnessed. they don't see the love you share or how well the man treats you.

but the headlines truly didn't matter as much as supporting your boyfriend and his career, his passion. so, you found yourself sat at the rock 'n' roll hall of fame inductory evening. although mötley had yet to be awarded for their one of a kindness in the rock industry, they were still being honored tonight in the form of performing. which excited all four of them because whether or not they liked it, they would be performing infront of the most iconic and talented musicians. mick couldn't stop talking about jeff beck on the car ride over. he didn't want to fuck up in the god's presence.

but so far he'd done excellently during the beginning and chorus of 'kickstart my heart' which was a song having the crowd losing their shit. and quite honestly, so were you. you hadn't seen nikki perform too many times due to busy schedules and god was it hot. but as the hit came to the end, you noticed a man inching closer to you in his chair. he was only a few down from you but since the band was up on stage, they left you, their empty chairs, and tommy's girlfriend. you shot her an odd look as she glanced in the man's direction, shrugging it off. you decided to do the same until he filled your boyfriend's position beside you. which only made you ultimately uncomfortable.

"what's a beautiful girl like you doing here alone tonight? looking for eligible bachelors?" the man whispered towards you ear while the crowd roared in cheers for the notorious rock band. you simply rubbed your lips together without turning in his direction. your eyes locked on your boyfriend exiting the stage and heading backstage. "eligible bachelors?" you scoffed, simply annoyed with the toying of flirtation.

"yeah, some rich rocker... but you seem like a self-made typa woman," he quipped as his eyes travelled your tight fitting dress. your eyes finally caught a glimpse of him — recognizing him as some drummer in a rock band not so popular. but you knew him from your brother's crippling obsession with underground bands. "what does that even mean?"

"you've got a mouth on you..." he smirked while running a hand through his short dark hair as if he was all that. which only got on your nerves even more as you messed with your up-do, watching them announce commercial break upon the stage. but this guy wasn't letting go. "so are you an artist, producer, manager, a plus one, perhaps?"

"plus one." you responded with a glare as the man attempted to scoot closer to you. your thighs brushed for a moment before you shoved over to the next chair — visibly uncomfortable. "will you leave her alone?" tommy's girlfriend asked as she viewed the situation. the man furrowed his eyebrows before shooting a charming smile. "just making conversation."

you crossed your arms defensively as tommy's girlfriend shot you a sympathetic look. "so who're you with then, doll?" the drummer asked daringly. which only made you hold back an eye roll. "just saw him onstage."

"one of the old guys, cmon." he rolled his eyes as if it were nonsense. even though he couldn't be much younger than nikki himself. it was when nikki's death glare caught his attention that his eyes slightly widened. "old guys? will you get the fuck out of my chair before i deck you in the fucking face." sixx warned as the man stood up quickly and made his way towards the aisle and as far from the group as possible. slash laughed from the row behind. "jesus christ," you mumbled as nikki took a seat beside you. you scooted into him, back into your old seat. the rest of the band followed behind him and questioned the man practically drooling over you.

nikki wrapped an arm around you as you placed a kiss to his cheek. "thanks for saving me, rockstar." you whispered which made him smile slightly before going back to his 'hardcore rockstar' look. "yeah well, no one messes with nikki's girl."

"dumbass," tommy mumbled beside the in love nikki. all while the bassist was planning the ways he was going to fuck up the guy hitting on you after the show.

[ms-scarletwings]

A Messy, Sedulous Necropsy of Zib Membrane

That’s what we call him right? Not Invader Zib? Hell if I know, we’ll let the tags decide.

Whatever he is christened by his author, enemies, or fans, this titular villain of the Zimvoid is such a mind blaster to me. I wish we had more time with him within the comics. I wish he had been a concept explored in the show. I wish he had a movie. I am having fun with a little hyperbole here, but I truly do find him just as interesting and potentially pivotal of an antagonist as Tak was, if not even more.

Both, of course, were so badly underutilized for sake of the series status quo. To that, Zib was a much bigger threat than Tak, and especially to that of the comics’ own. He potentially changes everything, and somehow absolutely nothing by the end. The TV show always had a more overt tone of cruelty and the macabre floating about its themes. These print issues? I don’t dislike them. It’s still recognizably invader Zim, and the more the merrier, content-wise, but longtime fans can feel that there was this change of essence in the transition. More obviously, in the art, but more subtly, there was an audible softening of that bluntly darker, cynical tone the show was made iconic for. To put it very generally, they lean a little more into the whackiness of this world, there’s a lot more dark comedy to be found in what I’ve seen so far rather than in your face darkness, and in the absence of the ost and voice acting the show accustomed us to, the comics leave a lot more room to be read as you wile. To me, they’re goofier and more episodic in spirit.

This all is not a critique or rating on the comics.. It’s purely, I feel, why Zib stuck out to me all the more jarringly in his context. His reveal was a genuine twist that brought forth stakes higher than arguably any other threat in the entire franchise. He represents a plausible while horrifying prophecy of our main characters if only they made worse decisions. The most interesting of all, for every piece of amazing information he fed to us, he bred dozens more questions about everything than he answered, from Irken machinations, to his ambivalent backstory, to the secrets hidden by the sum of his parts.

Though he was left evidently alive at the end of his story, I don’t see any chance for him making a return, so he is memorialized as another defeated one-off the writers have brisked past and left behind for good. Therefore, I’m here today to take what we got and present it on the metaphorical autopsy table. I want to really pull apart why this character alone pulled me back into the TV series, really just flay open the bits I can’t get out of my own head and dig harder until we find something or we run out of threads to tug at. Starting with the one already hanging out of my mouth, but

• B.E.F

“Bad End Friend” is a term I learned the meaning of within the last 12 hours or so of writing this, and I’m exuberant over that discovery. It’s a niche trope i didn’t know ive been a giant fan of since I was a child. Summed up, fictional characters from beloved media, typically, animated child protagonists… given the worst case scenario treatment. Their “bad ending”, whether that means a corruption arc, demonic possession, a lovecraftIan tragedy… usually something that’s anywhere along the lines of a fate worse than death to a full villainous turnover. As a treat. The concept is strongly associated with fanworks and AUs of popular media, but just as often this is something that becomes explored in the source material as well. A couple great examples I know would probably be Ice Prince Finn from Adventure Time or what happens in Undertale when you decide you want to run the most depraved playthrough possible. From a more mature story, “Evil” Morty is another validly arguable sample.

Besides a bit of a fondness I got going for certain dark or spooky themes in general, what I REALLY love about canonical BEFs the most is their utility as characterization tools. They’re the “having your cake and eating it too” option! The perfect way for an author to explore certain things about any character without actually committing to well… a bad ending.

Almost always, they are necessarily hypothetical or reversible. If they’re not reversible, they go often hand-in-hand with a little universe tampering to make happen. Sometimes, this means the story goes the way of time travel and branching off butterfly effects. Sometimes it means confirming multiverse theory, which can be the same thing depending on your semantical position.

And Zib crossed off the BEF qualifications by far and away. His implications are extremely dark given any pause think about them, and he’s a living, disturbing tragedy in aftermath. If you want to view a rigamarole about that aspect of his characterization as he appeared in the comics, someone else long beat me to that and I’m enthusiastically recommending a peek at their own work. I’m thrilled to do so and build a little upon that with those extended what-if-wonders.

• Lessons From a Lost Episode

Elephant in the room I haven’t seen someone ask yet, uh..

By show rules, isn’t Zib supposed to be a clear case of the writers committing the sin of retcon? By show I’m including the unaired scripts, including “10 Minutes to Doom”. In that one we had what looked like the potential setup for a Zib case, and it was deconstructed across the whole episode.

In short recap, Dib learned the hard and reckless way about the true nature of what Irken PAKs actually are. This is not an inventory bag, it is not “gear”. It’s the actual Irken entity- at least, the primary component.

Detaching it from the organic shell essentially caused a temporary split into two instances of Zim, desperately trying to connect back together under threat of obliteration.

Like let me be very clear about this,

The PAK is an autonomous instance of Zim’s consciousness, and it’s the main one. We’ve seen it act to save his life when his body has been out cold or flatlined, and he doesn’t appear the least bit disoriented or confused once “he” wakes and jumps back into the action. There’s no known separate computer assistant AI or security autopilot in there. That code, that program, IS Zim. As Long as the PAK is active, he is capable of staying fully conscious and able to react to what’s happening around him, and that’s what we’ve been seeing, his own actions.

Zim proved me right when Virooz tried to replace him and detached the PAK. Take note of his phrasing after the chair event™.

“I” activated the protocol. Immediately after Virooz ran off with my shell.

“I” Voluntarily chose to do so.

I don’t remember it playing out like that in “10 Minutes to Doom”.

Attaching to a new host wasn’t the first reflex. Dib was not the least bit aware that that he has literally holding the actual Zim captive in sense, and the latter was fighting like a cornered animal to escape him. Failing that, alongside the distance between him and his original body growing fast, he made a last desperate gambit, and he willingly connected himself into Dib’s body.

I can see why he thought this was better than nothing, no matter how repulsive the notion might have been. If he couldn’t fend Dib off physically, he could incapacitate him in some fashion by trying to overtake his will. Maybe give the shell a better chance to catch up, maybe in the longshot hope of being able to pilot dib in order to become whole with the correct host again. And you can say he succeeded, at least in dominating bodily control away from Dib, but at the cost of his already tenuously held sanity. This could be because of the interference of Dib’s own mind still resisting to fully submit, or malfunctions because of the biological incompatibility; however, the thing that Dib mentally becomes is only the basic idea of what “Zim” is. Instead of remembering it needs to reunite with its shell ASAP, the PAK mistakes Dib’s body for its own and goes through the manic motions of following the Invader mission. And it does this, weirdly enough, with almost no regard for blowing its cover.

When things are set right again, Zim’s later words near the episode ending revealed that he knew that was an unsustainable state.

Such a risk was not just accounted for, he was actually banking on it if that clock had hit zero. If Zim had truly lost, if he was really doomed to meet his end on this nasty rock in the middle of Nowhere, Space, then by every damned circuit in his being, he was going to take down this insolent fool boy and as many other humans possible with him. A dying act of vengeful rage.

• The Exceptional… Exception

Now, wouldn’t all of this be the definitive reason for Zib’s existence to be an aberrant impossibility? Yes, but actually no. Fun thing about multiverses is if something doesn’t work in one setting, you can just tweak a few dials and suddenly you have a world where the impossible becomes possible. But that’s a pretty cheap answer, isn’t it? So, what exactly was that crucial difference?

What happened in Zib’s timeline that went down so, so divergently from the events of 10 Minutes to Doom?

Because the only one who was in any position to explain it for us was Zib himself, and he’s proven to be one of the most unreliable of narrators. It’s as @dana-chan-the-control-brain already spared no effort to demonstrate, when he does tell us something about his past, his story is pocked with contradicting half-truths or outright lies. Ergo it helps to break down each recount of events to pick out the real facts.

Version 1: This is an alternate version of dib who defeated his complementing Zim (logically sensible) and went on to achieve all of the success and respect he sought after in his timeline (absolute bullshit). He kind of gestures and only implies about what has happened to his body while explaining that he came to his current understanding of Irken technology by studying it through Zim’s lab (a partial truth). He lets slip in passing that he has in fact fused with the PAK in order to learn how to alter and reprogram its coding, lessons he has applied to Number 2 in order to have a brainwashed pawn (also apparently true).

Version 2, when cornered and red handed: This is an alternate version of Dib who managed to specifically stop Zim's mission (Again, makes sense) but somehow could not convince the world of his findings or his warnings about the Irken Armada (*VERY eyebrow raising). Frustrated with the people’s lack of cooperation, he decides he has no choice but to physically merge with Zim’s PAK post-mortem (concerning and evidently mostly accurate), dominate the Earth himself, and enslave humans to help him in his efforts (highly troubling and probably true). The construction of his EMP super-weapon is successful, but ultimately led to the creation of the Zimvoid when the device was field tested (self evident, absolutely horrifying).

You know what I noticed was missing from both of these accounts? Exactly how his Zim was defeated. Which honestly could have been some beyond useful wisdom to pass along to the main Dib??? More than anything else? I’m not going to fault our boy for not pressing that matter better under the awing circumstance; however, there’s an implication I’ve been reading between lines. 

When Zib mentions “defeating” his own Zim, he’s talking about something different than ours.

When our Dib has always talked about “defeating” Zim, he’s meant incapacitation and capture. Throughout the show he explicitly wants to present Zim before an audience alive and whole. Yeah, he fantasizes about other people torturing or disassembling him for study, but HIS role was supposed to be reaping the fame for an undeniable, ground-breaking discovery. Conspiracies and cryptids are all this kid breathes and lives by! And as long as pop culture has always been fascinated with the paranormal, and he has to know this full well, people keep bringing forward hoax after hoax after scam. I mean there’s a freaking current one or few still going IRL about this exact topic. Dib would want no room left for being dismissed as another one of those con artists. 

Nonetheless, I actually doubt this is the reason Zib couldn’t get through to the scientific community. A genuine alien lifeform, even a dead one, could still be confirmed by any basic medical examination. The world thinks Dib is too crazy to listen to, but his father is still Professor Membrane. In "10 Minutes to Doom" OUR Dib got as close as having Membrane literally analyzing a PAK, or at worst, preparing to. “Ultimate Dib” gets his hands on the same thing and pulls a move I’d expect from an HP Lovecraft Protagonist instead.

We’re assuming way too much to what these two Dibs have in common, because this ^^^ is really what made the Zimvoid an outlier in the multiverse. That world didn’t only have a very different, more threatening Zim from the main timeline, it had the Dib who proved even more formidable, cunning, and ruthless, even before the fusion. 

He didn’t obtain that PAK ala the “10 minutes to Doom” accident, it’s a personal trophy. This is extra strange remembering that capturing an Irken is realistically more easy than killing one. They’re seriously more tenacious than kudzu and will even fight back in PAK form alone. I’m convinced that whatever sort of final showdown made the Ultimate Dib the victor, there are two optional endings on the table.

Option 1: There was not a body even left intact enough to bring in to research. Maybe Dib’s fault, maybe an accident, maybe even Zim’s own luck running out and his incompetent antics finally swallowed him (and possibly GIR). This theory assumes that the PAK was the only sort of remains to come into Dib’s recovery/possession.

Option 2: Curiosity Killed the cat,

but satisfaction brought it back.

Or, the one I personally headcanon. Dib… all Dibs, I assume, don’t just hate the Irken species. They are mesmerized by them, and all that they represent from his perspective. Firstly, the epic villain he gets to roleplay nemesis to in order to feel his own worth and importance. Secondly, an unknown wonder from beyond the boundaries of the cosmos. He’s not really a ghost buster or a Men In Black agent at heart, but a scientist, like his father. Underneath his contempt for Zim’s plans to destroy the world is a genuine and appropriately childish awe for alien presence, especially for Zim’s technology. His silent, dopey smile when Tak’s ship ended up in his backyard said more than words ever will.. 

Earlier in the show, a great deal of Dib’s time and effort was spent on trying to infiltrate the lower levels of Zim’s base. Sneaking into the house was hard enough, but the computer security can’t be bypassed like the gnomes. Not even by Zim himself unless he really is all himself. Perhaps you’re starting to sniff where I’m going with this one when I refer back to “Bolognius Maximus”. I’ve another reference that’s a little more on the nose, and a lot more… dark.

Were an expired Irken husk before you, you too might take your victory and cash in then. Still, who knows what sudden impulse may run through the head of a less humble version of yourself, one some could call greedier, obsessive to a fault, a screw or two loose, yet, a hell of a smart cookie. Smart enough to see it for what it actually was, the keys to a whole world of discovery that went so many layers deeper than they could ever imagine. It’s possible the Ultimate Dib already learned beforehand the same hard lessons about the PAKs that our own did, and took that understanding toward not repeating the same mistake this time. What happened to Zim? I think he was murdered in cold blood, body, and entity. “10 Minutes to Doom” showed us a fight between 2 brains clinging to one body, struggling until one overpowered another, but that’s not what this is. Through whatever means of science were available to him, this Dib has probably tried to “disarm” the technology by either erasing Zim’s consciousness out of it altogether, or by forcing the autonomous code into a kind of dormancy. His intentions were to render it back to its basic hardware without losing its precious knowledge and usefulness, something like the brain-filled tank that was wired into Skrang’s head. Zim’s PAK doesn’t cling onto his body like a parasitic teratoma this time; it’s merged in a literal sense with his nervous and circulatory system. As well, he has fooled the device’s ability to detect and reject a foreign host shell, the exact same way he deceived the the base’s security AI. If an Irken biology is what these measures authorize to command them and their secrets, then he had the tools on hand to give them just that- in an atrocity I like to call

the darker harvest.

Within this theory, there is not as much room to wonder exactly what became of Zim’s organic remains. 

But where Dib fucked up was, for the second time, in his ignorance to the true nature of what he was even playing with. That was a mistake that even the mighty Elder Brains of Judgementia lost themselves to; How much more vulnerable was the weak, human mind? Though Zim can be devoured, he can never be digested. In that fact was born this aberration against nature, sanity, and humanity alike.

"Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects… don't have politics. They're very… brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect. I'd like to become the first… insect politician. Y'see, I'd like to, but… I'm afraid, uh… I'm saying… I'm saying I - I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over… and the insect is awake." - Seth Brundle, The Fly, 1986

By fusing what is half-mad and what is utterly mad, neither being was cured, only assimilated into the birth of a new madness. The madness of the creature that snickers behind the curtain in the Zimvoid. I rightfully fear that lonesome thing, but not I think as much as I pity him.

• Dejavu, or Re:Plagarism

One more thing about the Zimvoid arc I find curious is the way it makes you question more and more just how much of the aberration is actually still Dib, and how much of it is Zim's infection haunting him. He does nothing with all of his intellect, his resources, and his time in the void doing anything but surrounding himself in everything he claims he despises. He decries alien tyranny in one breath while lording over a homemade, cruel dictatorship in another. He calls for eradication of the very race who's technology and physiology he has thoroughly appropriated. He laments feeling unable to protect the Earth from the Armada alone, yet sneers literally through Irken teeth to insult humans as inferior and of no value to him any longer. Our Dib spent the whole damn show longing for the support of other people, but Zib pushes away potential allies in his arrogance. His broken timeline never became a Dibvoid instead because while only half of his mind can't stand Irkens, both of the souls inside him remember that they loathe and look down upon a Dib, deep inside.

The corruption goes as far as even subverting his own creativity. None of Zib's plans are wholly original. His anti-Irken weapon was already a concept blueprinted inside of that PAK before the merge. Our Dib has several times shown a propensity for some DIY ingenuity, sometimes dipping a toe into the supernatural. Zib entirely calls upon, scavenges and regurgitates Irken designs with a few modifications or upgrades. The Dib Virus, I think is his most uninspired creation yet, for it's original form was always something inside of Zim, even if the latter himself was not aware of the fact. Like all else, it is a weapon he has plundered, customized, and turned around on everyone else for his own selfish ends. This brief point I will end on one  more reflection. The one kind of help Zim ever allowed at his side were the likes of GIR and his own creations. Unable to connect and cooperate with his peers and own kind, his ego preferred to be around those defective machines he related to- drones to be owned by him and always loyally at his beck and call. A slave to admire him unconditionally is the only companionship he's ever been willing to admit to desiring.

And what was Number 2's purpose again? What role exactly were the arena combatants auditioning for, when you think about it?

[panelshowsource]

If you had to pick a top three favorite episodes of any panel shows EVER, which would you choose? One of mine would have to be Terry Wogan guest hosting old NMTB, which I am dying to watch again in my lifetime. Your old-NMTB-posting reminded me just how amazing and formative those old episodes were for me. Anyway, it got me thinking… I would love to hear yours!

as long as i'm allowed to answer this totally subjectively...! because the objectively most iconic panel show episodes are probably quite different to the ones i gravitate to especially for rewatching — and especially in this difficult recent climate 🫥

this choice is almost bizarre knowing me, a huge huge huge sean lock fan, but this episode of cats does countdown — without sean! and not even golden era, probably, whatever that is in my mind — is so ridiculous and chaotic and stupid that i've watched it about 1000 times. there's something very specific about the dynamic between jimmy, jon, roisin, and joe without sean; those four have been in quite a few episodes without sean and they're like actual children without an adult in the room: jon is goofier and completely lets go of the game, jimmy throws even more to roisin (we do not talk enough about what a fucking kick jimmy gets out of her), roisin and joe's insane sibling dynamic becomes next level. anyways—this episode, which includes rly funny mascots, glory hole, the fucking hoop game and joe eating an onion and jon eating peppers???, THE UNICORN, its sheer childishness just cracks me up every time :') (if we're gonna mention the golden age, 2.02 is very iconic — from rhod killin it and always arguing with jimmy to claude to nick x susie hahaha but i have sooooo many catsdown episodes i love love love)

i really love the episode of 8 out of 10 cats following jimmy's tax scandal. it's not one of my favourite panel shows in general, but the circumstances of the news and the discussion epitomised what the show was meant to be: panel show meets reality tv meets a comedy central roast. watching that live, as the news was running it so heavily that even the prime minister mentioned it, as the press and twitter were reacting to it... wild times. it holds up incredibly well — it's hilarious watching them rip him to shreds, because he deserves every word and they're having a ball doing it to him, and i really appreciate jon grounding the conversation in just how tax avoidance hurts their country and some of its hardest workers — a really interesting, engaging mix of comedy and anger and wit and disappointment and political commentary that is not only funny but strikingly relevant no matter how much time passes. like so, so many people who were so, so disappointed in jimmy, this was the foundation of his carrying the responsibility, shame, reflection, and growth that people wanted to see — and that he truly needed to. since then he's talked a lot about not only righting the wrong (in paying back what he owed in avoidance) but just how the system is so broken — and taking the least complicated, most honest road forward since.

now i want to pick 1000 different things this is why i don't make lists or rank things!!!!! while my instinct is to pick a big fat quiz, i'm actually gonna go top-level nostalgia and say this episode of buzzcocks when stephen fry was a guest. what can i say — simon, stephen, it was two intellectual, mildly bitchy homosexuals on a stacked panel including josie long, dominic cooper, and yet another skinny white rock man for simon to pretend he's not trying to flirt with. stephen saying "there is a history, in pop music, of recto-veginal insertion" and denouncing god, like, in the first 5 minutes? stephen doing the intros round?? did i mention history boys-era dominic cooper??? such a throwback!!! (not to cheat but this ep with josh groban & martin freeman is my runner up)

i want to apologise to big fat quiz, taskmaster, wilty... THE WHOLE HISTORY OF PANEL SHOWS... I WISH I COULD CHOOSE YOU ALL

[juliettedunn]

Luz Noceda and What She Means to Me

Luz is the greatest character of all time of any media ever because she is THE Luz fucking Noceda, I have loved her ever since I saw the first episode, my favorite character and remained that way. She was always underrated by the fandom in her own show. She changed my life.

Her character is unapologetically cringe. She wears a cat hoodie and says “Meow meow.” She says random nonsense and gets big sparkly eyes and she stims by bouncing and running in place. She wears an otter onesie. She snorts book pages. She gives so many hugs.

She is androgynous, and I learned I wanted to have that style too. I saw Reaching Out and thought she looked so cool. I cut my hair and started dressing more androgynous and was so happy with that. It was inspired by Luz.

She ignores every binary. She wears a suit AND a skirt to Grom and it looks horrible but it’s HER. She has a derpy technicolor Palisman that shapeshifts. She is bisexual and she came out with an animated slideshow and a portmanteau couple name like the cringe silly icon she is.

She is so ADHD and she runs around and does the wildest impulsive things and she has volume control issues and she has a self insert Mary Sue based off her favorite fictional character, and now she’s going to battle an evil Christian colonialist in cosplay because she’s that cool.

She rediscovered a whole damn magic system and invented a bunch of spells and built an inter dimensional portal door in her backyard and she played a centuries old emperor like a fiddle and she saved so many people but she can’t even see it she doesn’t KNOW.

Her story means so much to me, her journey of being an outcast and feeling guilty for doing poor in school when she knows she can put her all into “waste of time” things like learning fantasy languages and hobbies like taxidermy. She let me forgive myself for failing college.

I didn’t truly forgive myself until I saw TTT and I cried the whole night realizing I can finally let go of that guilt.Just like Luz must learn. Seeing her find friends and family, and realizing her core wish is to be understood provides me so much comfort.

I’ve never known any character that made me feel so represented. Things that I used to be ashamed of, that Luz does too, I now feel positively about. I am so much softer on myself since I saw Luz make similar mistakes.

And her worst traits, that tendency toward self blame and keeping her guilt inside instead of confiding, made me reflect on my own tendency to do it, and I have worked hard to break this cycle. I see how harmful it is, not only to me, but loved ones, and I am changing.

My self esteem is higher now, I am forgiving of my disability, I feel safe to be a chaotic and silly mess, to be more androgynous, to get super cringey about fandom, and to reach out and confide in others. I have hope of finding people who I connect and feel at home with, like Luz did.

She is the cringiest little silly and also the most badass fucking LEGEND I’ve ever seen on screen. Luz Noceda the perfect icon. I am so grateful she exists. The ultimate character. Luz Noceda.

[insomniac-101]

I have to say, as a person that grew up watching Doctor Who and eventually lost interest, only to then pick it up as an adult again; the nuance of the portrayal of many of the relationships in the RTD era had to be one of the most surprising discoveries for me upon rewatch.

For a show that is silly ha ha for a large portion of it's existence, the human aspect of the RTD era is something I didn't truly appreciate until i watched it through my adult lens. You have such iconic companions such as, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble all of which embrace both the negative and positive aspects of what it's like to be human. Their importance lies in their existence, and their ability to grow and learn from their experiences with the Doctor, who in turn is not above being portrayed as a flawed and traumatized person.

His trauma leads him to make decisions that may not always be the best, and the narrative goes out of its way to show that he's not always in the right. They affect his relationships to said companions, and in the end, it's these decisions he makes that lead him to regenerate alone. Because by not sharing the burden of his duties with the people that love him, he punishes himself to never truly heal from all the baggage and he pushes them away.

I believe this is why, although heartbreaking, it only made sense why the 10th doctor ultimately ends up alone.

He tells himself that he is cursed to live a lonely existence. That no one will truly ever understand what it's like to live as the last of his people, and although he may have a point in thinking that rules of his existence are drastically different from that of a human, he is wrong in assuming that we too don't also suffer from the same burden. And so, this is why him ultimately choosing the fates of those around him, against the wishes of those affected, is so unfair (and why he's often punished for it).

Not every human lives the entirety of their life span. It's the very short lives we live (in comparison to that of a time lord, I mean) that help us put into perspective what is truly important. We live our lives knowing that any day may be our last, but instead of wallowing in it, we continue on because that is one of the strengths of humanity: our ability to keep going. We don't forget our pasts, we confront it and carry it with us.

An aspect of humanity that we see him envy through out the run. The slow path, a simple life that is deprived of all the danger he loves but carries the security he lacks. He puts up a front, alienating himself from his companion's lives because he claims they're not worth the time of a time lord but in truth, he can't help but get involved regardless. Because he is not above the basic desire of companionship and love, and by attempting to deprive himself of it (by not being honest about his feelings to himself and those around him) out of an act of self preservation, he is left to wonder what would his life had been had he given in. Would his separation from them been any less hurtful than it was in his final moments: left to watch them live their lives from afar as he returned to a console room empty of the people who loved him? Perhaps, but the undeniable truth is that in never allowing it, he'll never know and that must hurt a lot more in retrospect.

This is ultimately why Tentoo gets his happy ending. Him, being an amalgamation of all the human traits the time lord tried so hard to stunt through out his run. It's this version of himself that is able to be honest with the people around him. He feels fear, making an impulsive decision to end a threat out of the need to protect those he loves. In doing so, ignoring his duty as a time lord to conserve the wellbeing of the universe. He is able to tell the woman he loves that he wants to spend his life with her. Give her the choice to decide what her life would be, even if it didn't include him without the threat of permanent separation. He may have been born out of war and hatred, yet the reason why he exists is because the doctor wished to have more time with that very same woman. Putting his regeneration energy into his hand as a means of not changing into a man unfamiliar to her and potentially losing all of the feelings he held for her in the process. This version of himself, was also born out of the love he had for humanity but what makes him different, is that he embraces it (symbolically and literally lol). Which is why, his time lord self resents him.

His story is a cautionary tale. A reminder of why it is important to treasure the people who come into our lives and to respect their ability to make their own decisions. To live in the moment rather than hide in fear of what the future must bring, because the pain the unknown will bring will never erase the joy felt in those precious memories spent with the people we love.

He realizes this, in his final moments. How much more terrifying it is to be alone than with his beloved friends, in spite of knowing how much it'll hurt to lose them one day.

"I don't want to go"

His final words are a testament of the tragedy/irony of his situation. A man born out of the love he has for humanity, yet he loses his way by not embracing the very thing that once saved him.

[pixelgrotto]

Dogmatic Dungeon Master

The last four weeks of my gaming time were consumed by Dragon's Dogma 2, an extravagana that's something like experiencing a wild D&D campaign that keeps going off the rails over and over again. (I'm pretty sure Capcom would be pleased with this comparison, seeing that they released promo art heavily based on AD&D's classic Red Box.)

DD2 has been a delight to devote 100+ hours to, and I find myself wishing I'd bought its predecessor ages ago, especially during those Steam sales where it sold for ridiculous prices like three or four dollars. I never did because I thought it looked sort of generic. Joke's on me! To be fair, this second one could also be described as looking generic upon first glance (though Capcom's RE Engine is certainly proving that it's got legs since Resident Evil 7), but I feel like that was an intentional decision. The goal here was clearly to create something with the trappings of the iconic Western fantasy setting (plus the inclusion of cat people, AKA Beastren) to draw players in and get 'em comfortable before presenting them with one of the most wacky open worlds in recent memory.

How's it wacky? Well, DD2 has a billion different systems under the hood, all colliding with each other. There are the systems that dictate the schedules of NPCs, who you can find wandering roads and getting into fights with enemies. Said enemies have their own systems, and on more than one occasion when I was fighting one of the game's huge bosses (drakes, golems, minotaurs, ogres and the like), that fight spilled over into the territory of another boss, who proceeded to attack both me and the first boss. A kaiju rumble ensued as the systems of both bosses collided with each other, and sometimes this rumble veered too close to the borders of a settlement, attracting the attention of pawns, which are basically the sidekicks assisting the game's main character, the Arisen.

If you're playing online, pawns created by other players can randomly appear in your game, and there were many special moments when I ran into a bizarrely off-proportion thief with the incredible name "Frog Nasty" and a half-naked mage dubbed "Lucy Liu." On one such occasion, Frog and Lucy joined my ever-evolving kaiju battle, and the incredible chaos continued until a griffin just happened to swoop down from the sky to snatch me up in its arms. As I went in the sky, I proceeded to climb atop that griffin’s head and smacked it silly with my mace until it dropped me into the ocean where I was devoured by Brine, AKA DD2’s in-world explanation for why you can’t just swim everywhere.

My description of this incident is no exaggeration. Unscripted mischief of this ilk happens every five minutes in this game, and it's the result of all those systems smashing into each other with delicious gusto. That said, not all of the systems work as well as they should, and some are half-baked. For instance, there's a romance/affinity system that's a carryover from the first Dragon's Dogma. The affinity levels of characters are never truly explained, and you can unexpectedly cause random people to fall in love with you by giving them the right gifts again and again, or completing their sidequests at the expense of others. This means that the Vernworth tavern keeper, who plays no important role at all, can suddenly show up in the final cutscene as your true heart's desire, in the clutches of your mortal enemy. I guess even when DD2's systems are half-baked, they still yield entertaining results.

As someone who runs a lot of tabletop RPGs (but often doesn't get the chance to act as a player), Dragon's Dogma 2 truly reminds me of a dedicated Game Master who doesn't mind when players test limits. This is a GM who clearly loves madcap battles full of unexpected twists that can take up an entire gaming session, as well as expansive side quests with more flavor than anything else in the campaign. The main story is not said Game Master's preference, which serves as a handy explanation on why you can find many Reddit threads decrying DD2's plot as kinda blah.

I get these complaints. The game's main missions are not terribly long - 40 or so hours, probably - and the clear meat of DD2 is in the exploration and combat. This isn't to say that the story's total rubbish, as it does have poignant moments in its cyclical, meta take on an Arisen who rises up every couple of years to complete a destiny of fighting the titular dragon. There's a secret endgame that also delves even farther into the tabletop RPG comparisons, giving you the chance to "defy the Dungeon Master," if you will, sending the campaign even further off the rails as you potentially see what happens when the GM just has no shits left to give and decides to turn the world into an apocalypse.

All of this makes DD2 probably one of my favorite open world games. I've been thinking a lot about what sort of open worlds attract me, since I'm a firm believer that more often than not, video games don't need to go all massive. (Give me a small-scale, well-developed area over a massive map filled with junky quest markers.) That said, I've noticed that I like open worlds that buck the Ubisoft-style trend of having busywork for really good writing (The Witcher 3 comes to mind) or simply invest in their mechanics to the point that everything fills up like a wonderful sandbox, with lots of bits and bobs to play with (that would be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild).

Dragon's Dogma 2 is definitely more on the kooky sandbox side of things, with its oversized monsters at every turn and wonderous pawn shenanigans. The true appeal of this game, however, lies in the little stories that you create with your main pawn and other pawns along the trail. There's something special in the relationship you forge with these AI allies, who aren't real in the slightest, but bring forth that feeling of being a Game Master yourself as you corral them into taking down a drake. I was downright emotional when I said farewell to my main pawn at the end of the game (okay, the fact that I designed her to look like my wife probably helped, but still).

So here's to Dragon's Dogma 2, a wild piece of entertainment commandeered by a Game Master who clearly loves the journey more than the destination. Here's to those moments when you and your loyal pawns are facing down an ogre in its lair, or just barely survive a golem's laser beam after a series of hobgoblins stunlocked you into low health over and over again. Here's to sitting by a campfire, enjoying an unpredictable open world, and realizing the grand truth that comes with all tabletop RPGs - that the unscripted moments truly are the best part of the adventure.

[hertwood]

dts s2 e6-7

e6 -ALEX EPISODE -every time ive watched this episode and he says his sisters name (zoe) it's startled me. i anticipate it and it surprises me every time -"we are trying to give young people a chance. That's part of the Red Bull philosophy." (Helmut Marko) oh ok. oh OK. OH OK. -i need him biblically. i need him in a way that's concerning for feminism -OK UM so i watched the first half in the morning and the second half after my shift and i was like. im so wiped idk how emotionally i'll even be able to engage -and damn do i truly underestimate my ability to be affected by something i've seen and heard about over and over again. -ok but the parallels between alex's mom talking about being scared as a mom vs daniel's mom talking about the same thing in s1e1 -random cate sighting is crazy i almost forgot how she dated pierre lmao -god i NEED an alex/williams episode next season i miss him on this show soooooo much -its silly but every time i see that clip of anthoine kissing his girlfriend its instant waterworks

e7: -first of all obsessed with seb saying y'all. love him miss him sm -GOD you can just see how charles still has hopes and dreams here he hasnt been crushed and hardened by the ferrari machine yet. what a sweet time for him :/ -sebchal makes me so *gnawing at the bars of my enclosure* -part of me wishes they showed charles' win at monza w/ more charles centric focus? it was such a big deal for him and i think it deserved more. THAT BEING SAID it does set up the sebchal rivalry dynamic well, which is what the documentarians chose to focus on, and for that they did well. -i could say the same for seb's singapore win. it makes sense from a storytelling persepctive to focus on these from the rivalry lense but damn do i know these are iconic wins for both of them and its bittersweet that they don't get their own focus -i'm so confused how charles literally looks straight down the camera lense and says that he was signed with the knowledge that he'd be second to seb, and then gets MAD when they prioritize seb???? like when they prioritize charles seb has ever right to be mad bc that goes against what he was told but charles?????? i know that its bc theyre gonna be super competitive no matter what they're told bc its in their nature but Come Onn -"every world champion has what I term an 'inner bastard', and its the ability to make the tough decision when you have to." i do NOT take will buxton slander on this blog. i love this quote sm and as a baby fan it was big in understanding driver v team politics. it is SUCH an important skill to know when to be a team player and when to be selfish, and the ones who figure it out are the ones who maximize best outcomes. (a good example of this recently imo is carlos in singapore!) -"we'll start by holding hands." when i know its coming and i'm still vibrating gnawing on my enclosure etc etc. brainworms well and alive and fed -GOD rly puts into perspective how charles has been being fucked over by the ferrari engine since Day One -sebastian vettel has the vibes of a restaurant manager who isn't doing the greatest job but he'll never get in trouble because every single waitress is swooning every time he speaks. let me know if this makes sense -with more seb history context: i wonder how much this parallels to the dynamic in rb when daniel joined--and he left the following year. christian talks all about daniel "running from a fight" with max... wonder if thats also, at least in these instances, sebs instinct as a driver in this system. don't take this analysis too serious btw i'm just spitballin

[bailees-blog-home]

Dolly Parton And The Story Between These Stars And Wigs

Wigs have become increasingly relevant to our lives, and celebrities are no exception. Today let's take a look at the story of these stars and wigs!

Dolly Parton without wig

We all know Dolly Parton, we absolutely love her and adore her. Her signature country glamour style is recognized worldwide, her distinctive million dollar smile has earned her millions of fans, and she has achieved incredible success. Not only has she won a Grammy, but she has received many more prestigious accolades.

She is not only a singer but also an actress, appearing in movies such as "9 to 5", "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Steel Magnolias". She proved her status time and time again. But Dolly is truly famous not only for her legendary talent or bosom, but also thanks to her trademark tousled wig.

In her book "The Songwriter: My Life in Lyrics," Dolly fondly shares how, as a teenager, she always dreamed of being able to afford and wear a wig at some point in her life. Growing up and coming out, she always wore her hair beautifully and wore a wig as she wished.

Not only because she always loved wigs, but also because her own hair was fine and flat and never really went the way she wanted it to. "My hair never does exactly what I want it to do," she says. She says , "So the wig became my trademark." Thus, the wig became her trademark. Over the years, her look changed constantly - in the '60s she wore tousled hair, then in the '70s she moved to styles with feathers and teasing, and then many times from high buns to longer styles. The icon absolutely loved her wigs, and even today, she never really gives up her big, sexy blonde wigs. She always says that her wigs are flattering and that wearing them suits her best. Through it all, she has truly epic hair.

It's safe to say that Dolly Parton has hundreds of custom wigs. But on the red carpet of a Netflix series called "The Heartstrings of Dolly Parton," the country singer confirmed that she actually owns hundreds of wigs. She noted that she wears one every day, so she must have at least 365. But when she runs out of wigs, she either sells them at auction to buy new ones or donates them to her museum in Tennessee.

Reveal：Dolly Parton without a wig

It's hard to imagine Dolly without her signature hairstyle, but she does offer some vintage photos of her without it, and she looks gorgeous.

In 2018, she posted a vintage peek-a-boo photo of her in the studio on her Instagram In 2020, she shared the same snapshot again from a different angle, which caused quite a bit of confusion as fans flocked to her page to comment on how great her natural hair looked. Wig or no wig, Dolly Parton always looks the same.

Why did Brett Somers wear a wig？

Born Audrey Johnston on July 11, 1924, Bret Summers is a Canadian-American actress, singer and game show panelist. She is best known for appearing as one of three regular panelists on CBS's Match Game and for her recurring role as Blanche Madison on the ABC sitcom The Odd Couple, opposite her real-life husband, Jack Klugman.

Somers is a familiar screen character, wearing big glasses and various wigs to accompany Charles. Her wigs and big glasses have quickly earned her a reputation since 1957.

Why does Brett Summers always wear a wig? "I don't want to look good to other people and then go home and look terrible," she says. Wigs have become a staple beauty accessory for celebrities, helping them keep up with the latest beauty styles and colors without having to take chances.

Did George Washington wear a wig?

George Washington's hairstyle was iconic and simple, and most Americans probably recall it immediately - or they can at least relive the memory by pulling out a dollar or quarter.

When you picture George Washington, you probably think of a double-breasted blazer, matching breeches, a linen bow tie and a beautifully done white haircut. Most of us can immediately recall the iconic curly headband - but the story behind Washington's hair may surprise you.

Washington wore a low ponytail with a wide forehead and black ribbons tying them together. While most men who wore this style wore wigs, Washington's wig was natural - except for that off-white color. Older paintings of Washington actually show his natural hair color as reddish brown, which means his snow-white hair was likely dyed with wig powder.

Typically, 18th-century hairstyles are those of King Louis XVI, Mozart, and even Washington's successors, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were known for their white, curly, ornate wigs.

Unlike those who chose to wear an already-styled wig over their natural hair, Washington's hair took longer to set each day. Being very obsessive about his appearance was a trait shared by Washington and his wife, Martha.

Despite common misconceptions, George Washington never actually wore a wig. He was one of five redheaded presidents who painted his hair white with wig powder, as white hair is still considered very fashionable and a sign of wealth and knowledge. However, the next four presidents, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, did wear wigs.

Does Tucker Carlson wear a wig?

California-born celebrity TV host, commentator and ardent supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson's hairstyle seems to have remained unchanged for nearly a decade. Especially after his famous Tucker Carlson Tonight show kicked off in 2016, his center-parted business haircut has somehow remained his signature look. That's probably why people, even some of the most famous TV personalities like Billy Bush, started asking about Tucker Carlson's lush, thick hair.

On The Tonight Show with Tucker Carlson on September 23, 2020, Tucker Carlson ditched his hair or wig; in fact, in this case, he wore a wig, to be precise. Quora, Reddit, Twitter and a host of other forums were soon bombarded with comments about the Lego issue. "Does Tucker Carlson wear a wig?" "Does Tucker Carlson wear a wig?" "Does Tucker Carlson wear a wig?" 

Meanwhile, Carlson supporters packed Lego stores and not only that, according to former President Donald Trump, "We should all start buying Lego wigs!" The cornerstone of America's economic future will be Legos. Well, that's what followers and loyalists do, isn't it? Does Tucker Carlson wear a wig? We need a valid answer! Yes, Tucker Carlson did wear a wig at some point.

[ducknotinarow]

@aflockoffeathers

| High School Au thread continued from [here]

Richard wasn’t stupid, he was the top student both in his grade and the school over all, seen as the school's pride and joy. The staff loved him, especially the dean of the high school. To his parents every achievement he reached? He could do better still. Richard was full of potential, had nothing but everyone's expectations set on him. In a sense you could say he was the full opposite of this Bailey. He heard the name said before, president of the student council he liked to at least know the names of every student in the school. But of course, all this wasn’t enough for his parents. Nor, for college applications. If Richard truly wanted to stand out among his peers? He needs some extra fat on his own records. Richard was given the pick of the litter when he agreed to take part in the student torturing system. Always asked personally due to Richard's own good standing and how he always seemed to help his peers boost their grades. And even stick to it.

Though chances were that was thanks to many of them not wishing to ever deal with the drill sergeant Richard could be when it came to studying.

But, that was starting to not be enough. Richard needed a true achievement to show off to his parents. His record of bumping C and B average students to A students wasn’t cutting anymore.A student just utterly failing though? One that even many teachers' expectations had dropped so low they only cared if he bothered to show up in their room. Richard found out when going to see what Bailey’s classes had covered so far. So many looks of pity and hidden ‘good luck’ messages were very telling to the eagle

This guy was a lost cause. Perfect.

Richard must be a glutton for punishment though because the second the rooster did join him in the library. Richard let this walking wad of bubble gum run their bill which looked like the pink goop on it was melting. More likely just smudged and running. It was easy to guess what the ‘fun’ they had gotten into.

Not doing the work was one thing he had many try the same thing after all. Bailey wasn’t the first to think the difficult act would get them out of this. If the tutor gives up then that's the end of that student? Richard wasn’t all too sure they likely just got placed into school suspension. Calling him Richy? Well not clearly preferred was just them trying to wedge in even more annoyance to this conversation. Yet, it was only the comment of paying him that truly nailed any insult towards Richard.

“First of all it’s Richard.” He insisted on not ‘Richy’ he might have been a teen but that was too childish sounding to him. “Second” he began with as he stretched out his leg and used his talons to hook the bottom of the rooster’s seat, easily tugging it forward so as to set all four legs down onto the floor. Both uncaring how that disrupted the rooster’s filing well making it clear they were going to be following the ‘No leaning back’ rule the librarian was constantly stressing to the students. Now setting his own elbows to the table as he rested his chin on top of his hand. Clearly mirror Bailey’s own motion when they had dared to condescend him.

“You’re money isn’t worth it’s net value to me,” Richard stated clearly “You’re money may impress the rest? But I wouldn’t even use a bill from you to wipe my ass.” Money had no value to the eagle after all but if they felt like there was price? He dropped a hand and rested his head to the back of his knuckles. “Flaunting your name does nothing for me either, others may be impressed by the mere mention of ‘Bailey Alder’ rich kid, son of Benedict Alder, CEO of Sinsations. Because let's be honest others will just be all ‘haha its a sex store’ or think you are some sex icon due to it alone and you’re appearance and attitude show you make it part of your personality. Or wish to be on your good side simply to get money out of it or bragging rights.” Richard expressed before letting his gaze lose the charm and become deadpanned.

“Unlike everyone else who feels a need to bend to your will? Bend over backwards? I have no need. I'm Evans and that means far more than you could even pretend to fathom.” And weighed heavier than any could ever know. “and my standing is all I care for here. My academic achievement is all that matters to me Mr. Alder.” It was in truth, a gamble assuming the rooster would hate being referred to by the last name. Based on the insistence of ‘Richy’ alone. Richard eyed the clock well, aware the bell would sound off as soon as he pushed off against the floor and moved to stand, sliding the papers back the rooster's way. “Get those done by tomorrow and we can set up a study plan from there.

“And Mr.Alder, you can try and act like that paint job you have going on is enough to sway me, but you’re nothing but a run down abandoned building to me. Lucky for you? I like a project.” Or unlucky depending how you looked at it. The bell went off and Richard took his leave as he stopped by the Librarian and gave her a bit of friendly short conversation, soaking the clear praise being given his way before he left. Bailey could try and avoid but Richard was determined if anything more so now.

[daphwritesworld]

Okay white blank page was good. I’m a sucker for a sad song, I actually love crying to music and wallowing to sad songs (maybe it’s time for me to get help). But anyway this is getting added to my sad playlist.

Blue dream, ooft I really like this one. Those guitars are so crisp🤌🏻. Also the screamo then to the runs the singer does (that SmOOooOthh, after the chorus👌🏻) thats a vocalist right there. Getting added to my monthly playlist.

9 to 5, love this tune. This song always gets my car bouncing (not in that way) when I’m with my friends. Great karaoke song as well, I have a vivid memory of this being sung in our local and it was a grand old time.

YES FINALLY A WIN ON EVERY ONE !! 🙏🏽

1. no but same….depressing soul crushing songs might be my fave type of music. it’s like i crave to feel the emotion it evokes out of me. like i listen to sad music when im happy just to cry…maybe it’s time we should both seek help 😩

2. YESSS!! this makes me so happy you don’t understand. the way i’ve only been able to get one other person to like this band is so criminal. i absolutely love DGD’s music, but most people i show them to say there is “too much happening” in their songs. like no yall just don’t get the vision 🙄

3. Dolly Parton might be my favorite celebrity ever—not even kidding. she is genuinely such a kind hearted women and is always giving back. she is one of the only reason i’m proud to come from where i do lol. i don’t think a lot of people know all the things she’s done because she doesn’t brag about them, but she is truly an icon! and if any of you ever come over to my neck of the woods i have to advise you to go visit her theme park, Dollywood. you HAVE to get some fresh made cinnamon bread with the apple butter & icing !! you will NOT regret it 🙏🏽 and right beside it is her water park, Dollywood Splash Country. they sell hella dippin dots at both of them btw😩 anyways i’m rambling now, but i love Dolly Parton and i wish more people knew how amazing she is.

[blorbocedes]

as a nico apologist something i find really interesting about his time in formula 1 is how kind of uncomfortable he is in/with english. like even tho he speaks it very well and with a relatively minimal accent, listening to him speak in other languages really shows how much more at ease he is with them. i can't comment on his german but his italian and french are so natural and fluent and he always seems so much more comfortable and open and happy speaking them than he does when he has to speak in english. i also think that the interactions he has with the press in those languages is much more positive than he ever got from the english speaking/british press, and i think that if more f1 fans could speak those languages/watch those broadcasts and questions they would view him more positively. sometimes i think that people dismiss his polyglotism as a pr thing (like when i think will buxton talked about him greeting the press in their own languages and using that as evidence of his pr savvy) but i do think that he's a lot more comfortable speaking in other languages, and that it must be exhausting to speak english all the time (imo his language skills rank: german, italian, french, english, spanish)

that's so interesting! i know his Italian is perfect, and he sounds so much softer in German 🥺 my poor polyglot meow meow being misinterpreted by evil British journalists 😡

i think especially during his racing career he had to be more careful about what he said in English -- having a briish world champion as a teammate and a media HUNGRY to run to next senna/prost rivalry angle, where every word was picked apart. and his attempts at diplomacy came off as manipulative (altho he was doing himself no favours by going oh I wish the Ferraris were faster and it wasn't just me and lewis on the podiums 😌 give the fans something to look forward to which is sexy of him but goddamit nico 😭) meanwhile he has definitely been more free with press in other languages, including the iconic brocedes rundown in Italian in a Heineken beer garden 😭😭😭 truly he is a Romance (language) at heart. that Buxton interview is truly foundational, but we can't deny Nico also used his polyglot ass to his advantage when he could, such as speaking in German and mistranslating for Lewis (war criminal era... miss her) so language has been a double edged sword in Nico's case, something he's so skilled at like a sponge but also what portrayed him in certain light.

thank you for your rosberg apologia you are welcome and appreciated here

[melishade]

Attack on Prime: (Optimus’ Emotions)

Go check out my fanfiction on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36583423/chapters/91243426

One of the few things that did bother me in Transformers Prime was the fact that Optimus didn’t really show much emotion. He was essentially a walking tower of exposition and very few moments he actually lost his cool. Sure the stoicism has led to a few comedic moments, for example, the iconic ‘No’ after Jack asks Optimus if he wanted to see something funny. Orion Pax doesn’t necessarily count for the point I’m trying to make, but I do wish we saw more of Orion.

It bothered me because of two reasons: the fact that other renditions of Optimus Prime over the years have shown more emotion that TFP Optimus Prime, and the fact that there was such a hidden history that, if Optimus had to deal with in regards to character development, would have been phenomenal to see.

In regards to the Optimus’s? Optimi?, anyway, in regards to every other rendition of Optimus Prime, they usually showed some amount of emotion. G1 Optimus was like an old grandpa, Bayverse Optimus is always angry, which is understandable. He gave his life for humanity and they’ve turned on him multiple times throughout the Bayverse Saga. My personal favorite is TFA Optimus Prime, as we’ve never really seen a version of Optimus Prime be an underdog. Because the audience knows what he can truly be, every viewer is watching him grow and they just want him to succeed. It makes Optimus quite, for a lack of words, human.

In regards to the hidden history, it disappoints me because that could’ve laid the ground work for some wonderful character development. To have someone that we can relate to. One of the major failings of Transformers Prime, and there was a post about it somewhere, was that it scratches the surface on plot points, necessary character background and lore, but does nothing with it. It might be due to production time, running out of money, maybe season 3 was shortened, I don’t exactly remember. The point is if Transformers Prime had that, then would probably would have been the best Transformers series out there. But we don’t get that and characters and character development suffer for that: Breakdown, Bulkhead, Dreadwing, and Optimus.

So what does that have to with Attack on Prime? Well Optimus is thrown into a world where humanity is extinct and he has to do everything in his power to protect humanity. With all the twist and turns in Attack on Titan with no way to contact Cybertron, Optimus is definitely going to feel the strain of the situation. Even after the basement has been relieved, he has to once again adjust to a new world. What I want to do is convey an Optimus who:

is stressed because the odds are further against humanity than they were on Earth. He has no support from the Autobots. They all think that he’s dead.

an Optimus who tries to help in anyway that he can and be a rock for others, but is visibly worried for the things beyond his control.

an Optimus who is more expressive. Part of that being because he’s in a different position. On Cybertron, he’s the leader of the Autobots and a warrior chosen by god to carry the matrix of leadership. On this world, Optimus is treated...as an equal. The Survey Corps don’t really know the importance of his name or his position, but they don’t care. And it’s a relief for Optimus, because being a Prime already comes with visible expectations. There are no expectations. They promote expressions out of him. They want him to convey his honesty and how he feels because they care about him and want to help. Humanity expected the worse and got the absolute best. Ironically, being marooned on another world is the freest that he’s ever been.

Hopefully, I’ve conveyed that well enough in my story so far. I definitely have future chapters I believe that you will enjoy in regards to Optimus. But for now: the link to my story is up at the top, and my asks box is open. I forgot to open it.