#it's so funny going back to listen to that clip and realizing it actually is Bård

[starchaserr]

new Hotel Nufsefjord lore just dropped!

[thoughtsonkm]

Goodbye, for now

BABY? HONEY? BOYFRIEND SHOT? Jikook you're too much!

This episode was truly the best way to end the show, maybe even the best episode of the series. (Neck in neck with episode 2 of course) The way they enjoyed it so much but were also so sad it was over. The hot tension all around, the soft boyfriends mood who can't stop flirting and name calling each other with the most low-key couple-like sweet names. They could not stop laughing, they could not stop touching and they couldn't stop being hilarious without even trying.

~

SK Spotify daily chart end of November 2023 :

Jimin Jungkook Jimin Jungkook Jimin Jimin

~

It would be such a full circle moment if Jimin posted the boyfriend photo (which won't happen). Would almost be like a soft launch of some sort.

Not the underwear too?? Gosh I love my little gay freaks!! (didn't understand why Jimin would quote their 'yet another inner joke meme' right at that moment but I've learned to not question their inner workings)

~

Sorry but i have to be pretty one last time and say that I kinda had enough of seeing so much from the crew around or even in Jikook's shots and angles. It breaks the fourth wall a little too much and ruins the whole bubble idea. Ok I'm done lol

~

Returning to the issue at hand, the "seeing the beds for the first time" scene keeps getting funnier and funnier. As if they don't already have designated sides of the bed 😏

~

Ah the never ending bickering gives me life. Peep the half korean half english talk when they playfully get on each others nerves 👀😂

I better not speak on the scuzzi jacuzzi shenanigans cause otherwise.. Let's just say the photo speaks for itself..

NO YOU KNOW WHAT IMMA SPEAK. We all know that jacuzzi time is always intimate, relaxing and personal for people that's why I wish Jikook had enjoyed it fully without cameras. Yes I'm pissed on their behalf, that they had to film the whole thing with 382929 different angles. lol

His face is literally saying "oh so you're really gonna make me do it huh? if I was in your place I would've folded immediately and would've never let you go through with it!!" 😂

~

No one ever:

Jikook every 2sec : HONEY OH HONEY

(I was actually listening to the song while writing this and idk why it's so funny to me even tho it's a sad love ballad)

~

They must've loved getting the chance to at least see one episode of the show, plus the idea of watching it together..

Jungkook being so entertained by it meanwhile Jimin being mortified about half of the things that happened. HILARIOUS

HAHAHHAHAHA all parties were concerned if they'd be able to pull it off, I can't

BEST BELIEVE they're always gonna find a way to touch. Consciously or unconsciously.

~

This show made me realize that my favourite thing ever is Jk making food for Jimin, then making him hysterically laugh and therefore getting to hear Jimin's adorable giggles.

~

"Hello it is I the one and only, the only one who can touch Jimin's head ble ble ble ble" - JK

Jk was like: How can you imagine Jimin without me in your dream? Are you crazy? What is this delusional dream world you live in Jin hyung??

~

Tbh it's so meaningful and a huge thing saying that these trips were literally the best trips of your life. I think the statement almost went over people's heads.

I can't get enough of Jimin looking pretty and cuddly and Jungkook's immediate thought being: I HAVE TO FILM YOU

Them saying they can do a reboot when they come back gave me some hope that maybe just maybe this is not the end of AYS 😭

The ending bonus clip left me fulfilled but also sad and with goosebumps all over.

Thank you Jimin & Jungkook for letting us peek into this trip and getting to witness some of your precious moments.

Signing off, J&J 🥹

Ps. So I'm guessing the 52 minute video that comes with the photobook is probably the 3 bts videos combined that they've been reviewing for 48392 months right?

[alaskan-wallflower]

curtis gang goin to the doctors 👍

darry: he is actually terrified of needles and most doctors—but he looks completely fine. he has a good poker face. the nurses always get concerned whenever they listen to his heartbeat because you know his heart is RACING—hes really cooperative and polite, always answers everything with “yes/no ma’am/sir”—every doctor’s dream patient. he’s relatively healthy but gets scolded for working too much. 9.5/10

sodapop: oh. my. god. he asks SO many questions. he doesn’t really get anatomy too much but he likes learning about it. he’s worse at the dentist than an actual doctor but he’s still kiiiiind of nervous, and he’s a nervous yapper, so that doesn’t bode well. know the clip of buddy the elf at the doctor’s? that’s sodapop. he flirts with the nurses and always manages to somehow sweet talk them into giving him a lollipop lmfao—he was a biter as a kid tho. 5/10

ponyboy: he’s pouting. like the whole time. he’s sitting on that table with his arms folded, literally looking like “😠” the WHOLE time. he makes darry answer every question for him and darry will tell the nurses when he lies— “i don’t smoke that much” “yes he does, he smokes at least a pack a day” “DARRY 😡” He is a brat with needles too, he’s all dramatic about it in the car home too like “i can’t believe you let them jab me with a needle, that hurt y’know” “okay then go get the flu, see if i care” (darry will care dw) 3/10

johnny: he’s like-never been to a doctor before. his parents don’t bother and he doesn’t have the money to be going. he doesn’t like getting asked questions and will usually go quiet when asked about his health. he’s really malnourished and not too healthy anyhow, he’s pretty good at the doctors but he sometimes lies without realizing because on the off chance he was taken to the doctors his parents would force him to, but darry always catches him and tells the truth for him. 6/10

dally—he doesn’t go to the doctor unless he’s dragged there kicking and screaming. he’s such a brat, like when he’s getting his reflexes checked he’ll kick the doctor and stuff. totally lies about how much he drinks and smokes and darry just gives him the biggest glare ever lmao—he lowkey needs like…every shot in existence. he’s like a mangy dog that’s just disease ridden and he’s so grumpy about the whole thing lmfao. he probably steals something too, and darry makes him give it back (it was a needle or smth idk) -1/10

two-bit: he’s fine at the doctor. he doesn’t love them. he doesn’t hate them. he’s probably being a jackass the whole time because that’s just who he is—he flirts with the hot, blonde receptionist behind the counter for a good fifteen minutes before he FINALLY gets called in (he tried to slip her his number)-he’s kinda cooperative. he yelled into the stethoscope once cause he thought it was funny. there’s always a conversation that goes like “do you drink?” “yeah” “what do you drink?” “beer” …how much do you drink?” “three” “three what? three cans, three bottles, three-“ “shelves.” “…excuse me??” (they think he’s kidding and if darry’s taking him he gives two The Look so he plays it off as a joke. 4/10

steve-not much to say about him. it really depends on who’s going with him—if sodas there then he’ll act like a little shit. if it’s just darry, he’s behaved…well enough. he’s surprisingly healthy and cooperative, but he hates when the doctors touch him with their cold ass hands, and will actively try to avoid this (cause he’s a baby in the cold/when cold things even graze him)-he’s okay with getting his shots but when he has to get his blood drawn? hell no. he passes out straight up cause he always looks at the tube and they just see him turn this ghostly pale color before he’s out. he gets a free apple juice out of it tho so he considers it a win. 7/10.

[gffa]

Final verdict on Padawan's Pride? Feel free to spoil as I'm really curious about your thoughts on this!

I braced myself before listening (knowing how much anti jedi stuff bleeds into anything star wars these days...) but I'm about an hour in and surprisingly (tentatively) enjoying it! There have been a few moments that genuinely made me laugh out loud! Like Anakin straight up going "What would *you* know about intimidation?" to poor Obi-Wan sfghdjdkdlkl & Obi-Wan insisting to Yoda that they both deserve to be punished for Anakin sneaking off even after the council basically lets them off the hook and Anakin furiously shaking his head at him to shut!! up!!! & that mini Vader tease when Anakin's getting ready for the race!!

I'm enjoying Obi-Wan's characterization in this a lot so far, and I don't want to punt Anakin off a cliff like I usually do, which is nice.

Obi-Wan still grieving for Qui-Gon and spending his nights staying up to investigate his death got me right in the feels :( Him over thinking every single thing he does with Anakin while Anakin's thinking he's basically emotionless,,, but then when Obi-Wan's trying to awkwardly apologise/connect with him later and being vulnerable, Anakin is completely uncomfortable & internally going OBI-WAN??? HAS?? FEELINGS??? ABORT!! ABORT!!! DO NOT WANT!!!

I can't give a final verdict yet--I got about an hour and a half into it, realized, okay, no, there's just too much I wanted to quote and clip out for liveblogging and Jedi Citations, so I started over and am converting to text as I go, so now I'm back up to about an hour in.

And so far I love this book! Yeah, there's a couple of moments that made me wary, like I didn't know where this was going, but honestly I think the book is doing a really, really good job of presenting the characters as having the space to actually be characters.

What I mean is, for example, Anakin saying that the Jedi Temple is a prison and he hates it--Obi-Wan's response cuts through that, (Oh, well, perhaps we should take a trip to see the younglings with the laser swords, a thing prisons are famous for.) but not at the expense of Anakin's understandable frustration. He's a bored kid who craves excitement and the rush of adventure, which is understandable! It's something he's trying to work on, he's not evil for it, it's totally reasonable and understandable, just as it's totally reasonable and understandable for Obi-Wan to point out the flaw in that statement.

But what really made me love the book is when that comment comes up later and Obi-Wan makes a joke about it, and Anakin grumbles, "I wondered when you were going to throw that in my face." and Obi-Wan smiles and says he did, too. They were bantering about it! They made a joke about it! They found it kinda funny! This is what's delightful about the book, that the feelings they both went through earlier are genuine, but they're not Direly Serious in this moment in time.

They're allowed breathing room to not be mouthpieces for a meta essay, but instead characters in a story going through things.

It's the same for Anakin being all ABORT!! ABORT!!! ABORT!!!! when Obi-Wan is having feelings at him, it's the same when Obi-Wan insists that, no, they should be punished for Anakin's mischief (when the Jedi Council basically said, okay, what we're going to do is send you on a mission, instead of any kind of punishment for either of them), it's the same when Anakin misses his mom and Tatooine.

The moments are allowed genuine emotional weight, I have such affection and heart-wrenching feelings for both Obi-Wan and Anakin here, but it's characters being given space to be characters with their own personal motivations and reasons, to have conflict between them, but both doing their best to reach out to the other, and you can see the foundations being laid for their future incredible friendship.

I'm also utterly delighted by just how many times these two are psychically connected, like they are CONSTANTLY sensing each other--Anakin sensing Obi-Wan scratching at his incoming beard is HILARIOUS, no wonder Anakin hates Obi-Wan's beard, I'd hate it, too, if it was in my mind making me itchy!

But also that they know each other, they don't have to even be looking at each other to feel what the other feels, because that's what a Force bond is--knowing someone so well that they're connected to your soul, even when you're cranky af at them.

I still have three hours of the book left to go but I've enjoyed so much already and I apologize in advance to those who are exhausted by the two hundred screenshots I'm going to be yelling about. :D

[theswarmsarchives]

bloody history.

(tw for murder. liam kills his dad. because good lord i WISH. oh and deadnaming yada yada one of my alters already HAS my deadname im going to type it. and gore ofc theres gore)

“Here ya go, Willy boy!” A gun. A small thing. A pistol, maybe? “Can’t have this going down without you standing good chance, can we?”

It rest heavy in his palm, nonthreatening at the moment. With the safety on and everything.

He clicked that off.

He clicked that off immediately.

And his eyes narrowed, turned, stared up at his father. His own flesh and blood.

Not his dads. Not his Arthur nor his John.

Hell, not even his Noel nor his Oscar.

No. This man was different. With his short brown hair and too angular glasses. With his button-ups that he wore to look sophisticated.

Little did he know they just made him look like a stuck up bastard.

“Well?” That shrill voice. That voice that came straight from the man in the center of this— Arena? It had been a stage a moment ago.

Kayne stood there, red flag held in a tight grip. His manic smile had yet to falter.

And still Liam stared at his father. And, sure, the man stared back, right at the gun he held, in fact, but he wasn’t scared. Not this time.

Not ever again, actually.

“M’ ready so long as you are.” He damn near growled, forcing his tone deeper, forcing that gruff tinge into it, forcing his vocal chords to their absolute limit.

“Oh, Artie! You’ve really raised him well, huh?” Right. Yes, Arthur and John are still here.

He lets the weight fall from his shoulders.

And there, from the first row, he sees them. He sees John’s ever-searching eyes looking down at him. Worried, he thinks.

He shouldn’t be that way for long.

“Just hold out hope there’ll still be someone to raise when we’re finished here.”

There will be.

“Liam!” It was Arthur, this time. He turned his head back towards the stands, back to where two hands gripped a stone edge and shook.

“Aim for the head, alright?” Oh, he would. With his own manic smile, one that likely mirrored Kayne’s, he offered his dads a nod.

Then the flag rose.

And he was free.

Like a bird torn from its cage, a bullet left its chamber. It clipped his father on the leg, the kneecap, right where he’d been aiming.

And the sound of that man screaming had never been more wanted. Not directed at him nor his siblings nor his mom nor his step-mom. Just pure and guttural agony.

He stalked forward, light as a feather on the tips of his feet, feeling for all the world like an animal approaching its prey.

That’s another thing he used to be told off for.

The tip-toes.

He wondered if his father would do the same now. He wondered if he’d try.

Then he was right in front of the man. The man who had chased him away and drove him to where he is now. The man who had made his life misery for so long.

He realized how pathetic his father truly was by now. How desperate he had been to be a good dad and how he had failed as a result.

How deeply he had scarred his favorite ‘daughter’ in the process.

“Abigail.” The man spoke. For the first time since they’d wound up here, clutching his leg.

“Why are you listening to them? Why are you doing this and why do they keep calling you Liam?” He laughed.

“Why wouldn’t I? After everything?” And he just kept going. “Just a reminder, you drove me away. You are the reason I left. The reason I never came back home.”

“We looked for you.”

And, oh, this was priceless. His father, crumpled on the floor, bleeding from his knee.

“I know. And I hid. I hid so well that I got all the way to New York. Funny how that works.”

“You won’t kill me. You may not like me, but you still love me. I’m still your dad.” Did he really? Did Liam really love this man?

“No. No, I actually—” He took a knee, mayhaps just to spite his father one last time, to pour salt in a very wide open wound, and pressed the barrel of the gun to his head.

“I’m done letting you tell me what to do.” And he pulled the trigger. He felt as the gun shook with the effort, propelling a bullet straight through his father’s skull.

There was blood. Clearly. And bits of what he could only assume were once brain scattered about the floor near the body.

And there was cheering. Mostly Kayne’s loud whooping, but he could hear Arthur and John very faintly.

Right.

Why not make a show of it, eh?

He emptied the rest of the bullets into that body. Each gunshot ringing loud and proud in that arena.

It was therapeutic, almost. Like jabbing needles into a pin cushion.

But his father was finally gone. He no longer had to run from anyone.

Just to someone.

John and Arthur were waiting for him, after all.

[juststarlo]

so I kinda wanted to talk about how I felt about the whole thing with biter soot, this is prob gonna be me just ranting to the void so feel free to ignore

ok first of all i don’t support the Brighton biter like, at all.

I haven’t really talked about it because alot of what I would want to say has probably been said by someone else In a smarter way, obviously if you haven’t already, go listen to his actual victims talk about their experiences,

ok here we go:

I guess I kinda just feel betrayed? Lied to? He was one of my role models, I thought he was so cool and funny, all for him to turn around and for it all to just be a lie. Now I look back at 2022 and 2023 and I realize he didn’t just stream as little as he did because he was a busy guy or something, no, he had us all wrapped around his finger he would only ever stream when he needed a quick buck, and we all flocked to his streams and we made tik toks with clips from the streams and in between the streams we would beg him to come back and do another stream.

And now we found out that we were just numbers to him, we weren’t people who looked up to him and thought he was the coolest, we were just wallets to him.

Now we found out that he was a two faced, liar! He always put on the mask of being a cool funny guy on camera only to turn around and be an abusive dick-wad! To alot of people! Shuble might have been the only one to come out about it but I’d be willing to bet that alot more people have story’s about him.

hell! He admitted on stream that he threw an apple full speed at Technoblades arm where he had just had surgery! Why the hell did we all just ignore how much of a red flag that was!

and it fucking sucks! I loved sbi and crime boys content, I read Sbi fanfics every night before I went to bed for two fucking years straight! I would watch so.many. twins duo, crime boys and sand duo compilations on tik tok!

I know alot of people (me included) used making/consuming fan content of sbi to keep the memory of Technoblade alive, and now it all just feels so…tainted.

I guess all this to say: I don’t miss him or who he was, I miss who we all thought he was

[numberonetacostan]

hi hello its me pocket back with more brain worms

Okay so the clip uploaded as the most recent short where some of the characters talk about their favorite episode and both Balloon & Paintbrush mention Taco's singing in Truth or Flare really got my brain going..

Obviously we know Taco's singing voice is AMAZING but I totally love to imagine the other contestants' reaction to her voice. Especially the s1 contestants who knew her more a bit more personally, or rather the persona she put on where she talked in a goofy voice and only with random jumbles of words. It'd be like the finale again where they get slapped in the face with her british accent and comprehensible speech except its with her singing voice. They knew Taco hid lots of things about herself but a genuinely amazing singing voice was not a part of any of their speculation.

I like to imagine Taco likes to vocalize to herself sometimes when she thinks she's alone, and as a result a few objects would pass by her hiding spots unknowingly and accidentally listen in on the faint voice they hear, and as they strain to listen they hear some of the best singing they've ever heard. And it doesn't take long for them to find out who it is because well only like two objects have british accents and they always narrow Silver Spoon out of the question immediately (they'd know he'd always try to flaunt his singing voice if it was as good as that), so they're just standing their surprised until the singing stops and they don't even realize they had stopped just to hear her song. Even after watching Truth or Flare they're surprised because there is just something about hearing the real thing compared to on video..

Once Mic manages to convince Taco to hang around in the main floor since they're doing karaoke night and they try to get Taco to sing. Mic reassures her and when she goes up she absolutely kills it. The others love her voice which in turn gives her a little confidence boost!

Also I think it'd be funny if she went all disney princess in her time in the woods. When she'd sing absentmindedly she'd accidentally attract a flock of birds and some critters. The first time it happens she gets spooked pretty bad when she notices cause she's nervous about attracting any dangerous wildlife, but if she gets particularly lonely she'd try to attract some little birds on purpose if just to feel a little less alone. The animals love to attend her mini forest concerts!

I also like to think she learned how to replicate and mimic birdsong fairly well because of it! She'd switch between it and her normal singing since she knows birdsong wouldn't attract any dangerous wildlife

Wow okay that's all I have. In other news I'm really excited for the first ep of the remaster tomorrow.. we get to see Taco again!! S1 Taco specifically!! She's going to be silly again!!

Hi Pocket!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for sending in an ask!! :]

I love that clip too!! The whole stream was a lot of fun, really. I don't think they like, canonically hear her singing, but I love that they still commented on how excellent her singing voice is in the stream!!!

I'm sure everyone will be learning a whole lot about Taco in the coming months. I mean, the season 1 cast knew her facade, but the actual Taco? They really know almost nothing about her. Even Mic doesn't know too much with how closed off Taco had been with her, until now. They will be learning lots about Taco!!

It would be nice for Taco to sing to herself!! She is alone out there for an awful long time, it would make sense for her to get into that habit just to have something to listen to as well as preserve her voice!! They might not mention it to her for a while for fear of embarrassing or upsetting her but I like the idea of it spreading that Taco has a really nice singing voice!!

And yes it would absolutely be Mic that finally gets her to actively sing in front of everyone else. She'd turn anyone who asks her down but if it's Mic? Microphone? Mic? She'll agree. And compliments will do well for her!! Taco has not received much praise in the last decade or so and she hates herself so she needs it!!

Omg disney princess Taco!! As beautiful as that would be I think she'd have to avoid most of the animals for her own safety. Taco is, well, a taco. She is made of food. She is food. Animals will smell her and think food. She will get pecked at and bitten. I like to think she has somewhat of a friendly rivalry with the bears in the forest. Like, yeah, they try to eat her all the time, but she has nicknames for them based on their unique characteristics and sometimes she'll throw them a fish or two. If they actually try to bite her she zaps them with her space shooter, but with how big they are it's not horribly harmful to them, just a nasty little sting.

Her mimicking birdsong would be neat though!! A hobby she can pick up in the forest, yeah? She has a lot of free time alone, once she's all set up, it makes sense she'd need to do stuff to keep herself entertained, like birdcalls, carpentry, etc.

YESSSS ME TOO IT'S INANIMATE INSANITY EVE!!!! :D I have a 4-6 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow, so it's nice to have ii to look forward after. Although if I don't post tomorrow at all it's most definitely because I am either severely injured or dead from a car accident. I have never driven this far, or long, on my own before, so. But I have asked my partner to inform you all if I ever end up dead, so you'll know!! That got morbid. Uh. YAY II REMASTER SILLY TACO YIPPIEEEEEEE!!!

[demonicnarwhale]

Here's my second part of my BFA exhibition

PART 1

And of course, song to listen to here:

あつかれSUMMER - Halcali

Places: 7 x 7 and 8 x 7 inches. Arches (90 hot press) and Strathmore paper (140 cold press). Inking, color pencils and of course, watercolor. I have them in the order of what I worked on first then last, it's also to note that the first four which are squares used Arches paper then I changed to Strathmore which is thicker and has nicer texture for watercolors. It also doesn't bend or curl the paper up as much as Arches (even if I used a thinner Arches my point still stands, Strathmore I fuck with).

Also cold press often times has bumpy texture or where you can see the paper pulp stuff while hot press is obviously much smoother, but Strathmore, at least the 140 press one didn't have that weird bumpy texture unlike other watercolor paper brands like Arches or Rives BFK. So I likey and very much suggest trying it out too!

Additions: Post it notes, fake newspaper clip thing, map, and some drawn polaroids (which I've realized don't have a vintage look to it like how I'd like, oops!!!)

Newspaper placed next to Deuce as he's a (coal) miner, or one of the remaining ones. Used newsprint for that nice tan-ish color of the paper and its thinness to give it an aged look, did the same for the bottom too

YEAAAYYYYY NAUTICAL MAP!!! (i know little about them lol but this was fun and made me actually think of some of the geography)

Some notes mainly written by PS (I still need to figure out his handwriting... writing in a different style is hard...) but then also some others. Just some lose world building or "historical" moments of the town or locations like ...

🦞🔥THE LOBSTER SHACK🔥🦞

The 1987 one was from me and my friend laughing over her going "you should put the bite of 87 from FNAF" and I thought it was way too funny to NOT do so

Tehehee AR moment... I thought it'd be cool to make a lil business card he'd give as he's a mechanic wheeeeee. (i FORGOT THE REASONING OF THE PHONE NUMBER AREA CODE THING OH MY GOD I KNOW IT WAS OFF OF A BIBLE VERSE, because i love lovemlove love bible or religious motifs/symbolism/call backs/nods to/allusion/etc) I WROTE IT DOWN ON A POST IT NOTE BUT I LOST IT!!!!!

I do remember this specific verse as I thought it worked well enough to give a hint of the overarching story of this town collapsing in on itself (but resetting soon enough).

Mark 13:32 talks about the second coming of Jesus. Wellllll mainly how no one knows when that day will be. And so, I thought it'd be neat for it to tie in to how no one in the town knows when things hit the fan. And there'll always be a reset?? I don't know how to really explain it, but my mind just went "oh haha the second coming is like a reset" when it's. NOT. but whatever go off idiot. I also looked into fictional area codes butttt 555 had been used as the go-to in the 1960s for fake phone numbers. Much to think about it but I needed to just make something up. 627 = MAR

Some drawn polaroids of the baby boy, Connor (Sharkbait son!!!) I wanted it to feel like silly photos you take with friends, family, or pets. And HK (or Trace... or Fin. I'm leaning towards HK because she absolutely adores Connor. But Fin, I feel like he'd be the type to joke about taking silly/stupid photos, so like a close up. And Trace would feel really cute to me that he subtly or takes funny looking photos of the lil one but isn't as open or "Aawwwwwwww" type yeah) took them as a "lets remember this fun time"

Full Bleeds: 15.5 x 12 inches or 12 x 15.5. Digital drawings printed out on Arches paper (quarter sheets). Full bleed meaning it ya know, has no white boarders and such

oh you KNOW MY BITCH ASS LOVES THEM SWOOPING/WAVE LOOKING EYE MOTION THING!!!!!! (and i realized that the bottom two drawings, one should be flipped so they're both framing the middle piece which is the abstracted looking mess. But oh well, the bottom one's night/space sky thing is swooping inwards clockwise but the cliffside on the right throws it off... oAURgh)

i just placed both canvases in one for the digital images here

I'm so sad that I fucked up the lines for the crosswalk I SWEAR TO GOD I HAD IT LINED UP!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED OR WHY IT'S NOT LINEDAOURUAGOJ

but anyways, i think that should be all! I had a lot of fun and anguish creating these works for this story which I've been fucking with for around 3 years. I wanted to pay some homage and a lil cheers to the Intermission, but also try to start treating this story and the characters as their own stand alone thing or like evolved??? thing?? yeah. uhhhh yeah!

I also used this semester as a means of experimenting and trying new things. I was very happy and excited to combine digital and traditional art in ways that compliment each other for each piece, but when put all together it's kinda chaotic. Controlled chaos of some sorts teheee.

This was the studio I was given (alongside another BFA student, studiomate moment lets goooo, and I'll share the progression of work in here if I have pics lol. But having cleaned it out makes me feel really sad that this semester went by so fast. My ass was here Monday - Saturday sometimes even staying late as 7-8pm which sucked to me when it got dark cuz yay bus and walking home but eh. It was still really fun joking with my friends that we should sleep over at the studios).

ALSOOOOO!!!! Should I make a separate tumblr account/blog/space for Catalyst? I've mentioned before that this story that was an AU is now turning into its own thing to me as I feel like my depictions of these characters are beginning to take their own sort of spin due to obvious reasons that they're all in a whole different setting. And because some of the characters I don't know too well or I feel that I'm not 100% -ing them with the original source material, or that it's clear these are MY versions and such, of these characters, compared to other folks.

And allowing them to become ocs would be a bit easier to work with! I think it'd be fun to watch them slowly but surely evolve (hopefully) into different characters, like a side by side where I change up certain features or personality things and whatever. Ofc I'll make it clear that they started as AU's or versions of the Intermission group but then changed to fit the story better.

It's mainly also for organization sake, but also to really emphasize me wanting the story to become its own thing.

[feelbokkie]

For the entire year that I've been following your blog I have no idea how you became a STAY. So here I am asking for Allie's STAY origin story 🤲🏽

Hm, it’s not exactly a cute or happy story so if that’s what you were hoping for, sorry to disappoint.

The short story is that I became a STAY in February 2023 after a rough few months because of Lee Felix Yongbok.

The longer story…

I know I’ve mentioned this a few times so if you already know the Allie lore, you can go ahead and skip

Technically, I found out about skz in late 2022. I just say December bc it’s easier but honestly the second half of that year is a blur so I don’t know exactly when. I just remember scrolling through reels while waiting for my professors to walk in or procrastinating on my assignments.

But so much was happening between September-December with graduate school, work, and my brother being in the hospital that I quite literally didn’t have the energy to really focus on anything else so I kinda just ignored them for the most part. I can’t remember if I stopped watching reels or if I stopped getting them but I forgot about skz for a bit.

And then my brother died right before Christmas and it was bad. I was bad. I was quite literally on autopilot. I don’t even remember much of those months. I don’t know if you’ve watched or read the Twilight series but it was very much like that montage of when Bella was staring at the window when Edward was gone. Everything was grey. I didn’t talk. I didn’t eat. I only had enough energy to go to work and then go home. I was on a long winter break but if I had been in school I probably would’ve flunked out. It was the lowest I had been in a while. Even my screen time was down, I couldn’t even listen to music. I did go to a Harry Styles concert because my original show was canceled (and when that happened I thought that was the worst thing to happen for me) but I was still pretty numb. I even reread Ouran High School to feel something.

I don’t remember why but I started using my phone again and going on reels. I saw clips from Case 143, Maniac, and Christmas EveL and I liked them. But it wasn’t until I saw Felix’s mischievous ass during kingdom week when he called his mom to have hher call Changbin’s mom so could call him and win his challenge. And honestly I know that moment isn’t that funny but it was the first time I laughed in months. Like actually laughed. It caused something to switch in my brain and I went and watched the entirety of kingdom week. And then kingdom. And then I went and listened to all of their music. And I watched so many tiktoks and reels.

Honestly it kinda felt like I was Frankenstein’s monster and SKZ was the electricity to bring me (back??) to life. I went out to target and bought my first physical kpop album, Maxident (I had been listening to Got7 since 2014 but that was back when I would buy music on iTunes). I watched more videos and got to know the boys more through that and found comfort in their bond with each other and their music. I started reading fics on tumblr in an effort to seek more comfort and without even realizing it I found myself with a home in Stayville and now, almost 2 years later I’m terrorizing Stayblr with my fics

I’m still not completely fine but SKZ made things a lot more bearable and I literally would not be here without them.

I know there’s a saying that you don’t find Stray Kids, they come and find you when you need them most and for me, that’s so very true. Stray Kids made me stay in every sense of the phrase.

I know it’s a lot, I kinda got carried away 😅 sorry

[christian-zelda]

Spoilers for Epic: The Vengeance Saga if you haven't heard it yet

Ya'll, I'm losing my mind! Every thing about this was so amazing! I'll share my opinions on each song. My opinion on each song under the cut.

Not Sorry For Loving You: I already knew I liked this song (because I had heard the clips) but I love it so much more now! The sound quality difference between the clips and official song is amazing! I'd give this song a 10/10.

Dangerous: again, I had heard clips of it before, but the beginning and ending of the song adds so much more to it. I love the reference to the 600 men. And the reference to Athena at the end, mwah, chefs kiss. Another 10/10.

Charybdis: loved hearing the storm motif in the song. I don't have many thoughts about this one, though it's pretty good. The ending with Odysseus realizing Poseidon is back was amazing! Overall, I'd give this one a 7 or 8/10.

Get in the Water: it's really cool to finally hear it with Poseidon's official voice. I loved how Poseidon almost seemed like he was willing to quit but then he got crazy and angry again (maybe it's just me, but it almost seemed like someone else forced him to that. I know no one actually did, but that's just the vibes I got from it.) The ending with all of his dead friends killed me! It was so good! I'd give this song 9 or 10/10.

600 Strike: I absolutely loved hearing the references to "Keep Your Friends Close", and "Full Speed Ahead"! I found kind of funny how Odysseus used the wind bag as a jet pack. And the ending! How Odysseus kept repeatedly stabbing Poseidon, and the things he was saying while doing it! AHHHHHH! I'm going insane! And that final line; absolutely EPIC! (pun intended). Definitely a 9 or 10/10.

And those are my thoughts on every song in The Vengeance Saga; thank you for listening to me rant. I'm going to bed now.

[kpopmakesmequestionmylifechoices]

Did you know, the average age of NCT 127 ist 27.22222?

- A realization of an old kpop fan

Did you ever wonder if YouTube is broken because one of your faves didn't get millions and millions of views within the first few days of their comeback?

48 mio. views vs. 4.7 mio. views - a bug or reality?

Did something happen? I wondered. But no, nothing out of the usual kpop chaos happened. So they just became irrelevant? I googled. "The company failed them". "There was a boycott". "They don't use ads anymore to promote the MV".

Ah yes, the fans were quickly there to defend the old lads.

Aren't they too old for kpop anyways with an average age of 27.22222? The kids I once stanned when I myself was barely an adult (18 to be clear) now are grown-ass men. Who don't even make a quarter of the views they made back then.

The days where NCT was the new big star in the idol world are long over, I know. We are in an era where 05-liners are taking over the industry with 2 min long songs that are non-stop promoted in short clips via tiktok and co. I'm getting old.

Just like the groups I used to stan. But despite their mind-boggling oldness they still got their fans. They still got people like me who tune in to new MVs, who occasionally watch some funny clips and then go on with their daily business.

And this made me realize sth.

Mass streaming and meticulously planned "support activities" are easy to engage in when you're a young kid. But as you grow older and your interests and responsibilities shift you'll ultimately set your faves up for failure. How dare you getting old? How dare you having other interests? Your faves need you! According to the kids out there us older fans are just being old hags anyways.

But being an old hag comes with a positive side effect: You prioritize. The views you're willing to give some groups are genuine. You watch because you're interested, not because you feel obliged to join in mass streaming.

The views become more real. They reflect actual interest. Because seriously, do you really think that 48 mio. individual people actually watched that SKZ MV? No. And that's the case for all the bigger groups. How many views are actually real? How many fans actually are out there who share your interest? Are you one of 48 mio., or are you actually just one of 20 mio. who discovered the world of streaming bots?

I find comfort in the thought that eventually, all our faves will face the reality NCT is facing right now. As the fans grow older their interest in kpop gets pushed aside by responsibilities and other hobbies. In the end, none of the millions of mass streaming and bot views have any value for your older self. The real value lies in the emotions you feel when silently listening to your playlist and a one decade old song comes on, causing you to rewatch the MV and sing along to something that once was so important to you. Those memories won't fade. Don't waste your time kids, enjoy music and make memories.

[tiny-sassy-aggressive]

DAN AND PHIL REACT TO PHAN TWITTER REACTIONS w/ timestamps

.03 sir please don’t crack your hands in my ears.

.11 way to early in the video for a phude Jumpscare

.16 DIP AND PIP ?!!!??

.26 tbh shoutout to Phil for acknowledging that even tho we have fan accounts, not everything we say, create, post is something we would want them to see. Love the self awareness. Appreciate the space he provides

.35 rip Dan memes and tumblr tags

.56 I actually needed to be told I am gorgeous and intelligent, I knows it’s fake but it’s nice to hear even if fake

1.37 WHY IS HE **** ********* THE MIC N O NO NO NO NO WHAT??????

2.08 chill Phil we weren’t gonna fight about it. You’re Edward… OKAY

2.25 how many times are they going to watch pinof 1 ! Babes you can do that anytime you want not just on camera

2.37 Phil is in FULL CRISIS realizing how messy he is as if they haven’t already talked about this before

3.09 TUMBLR NEVER LEFT. YOU LEFT.

3.29 the synced lean in as they discovered the dan has something in his teeth bit was a video

3.40 SO SO SO GLAD THE SOCK VIDEO MADE IT. AND HES ACKNOWLEDGING

3.46 SHOES SOCK VIDEO JUMPS ARE😭😭😭

4.24 “keep reading” oh goodness that. Sir. Okay.

4.44 hi just realized is Dan wearing a muscle tank under the see through shirt????? Side note. Want the see through shirt

5.03 FANTASTIC FOURSOME JUMPDVARE

6.14 NO DAN NOT KATE THEY ARE LISTENINF. DONT BECOME INVOLVED IN ANOTHER ROYAL CONSPIRACY

7.41 absolutely fire meme. I laughed so loud I actually had to pause the video. Worst part? I had already reposted on twt yet still reacted to it

8.05 he is staring into my soul. Hell how is he staring THROUGH my soul

9.17 no words. “It’s not a bad look” alakakakak???

9.22 So suddenly it’s not “we” anymore, huh?

9.53 rip Phil’s slit😫

10.08 I just through Dan making a joke then immediately hitting Phil to let him know he was joking was really funny. Stuff I do with my friends I am tactile

11.46 I ALWAYS thought that image was edited to have all of them. I didn’t realize it was a real photos

12.38 OH MY FOS????? JUMPSVARE WHAT THE HELL

12:45 those pounds weee so aggressive. It sounded like they really hurt. I’m hurt listening

12:46 Phil is watching that monitor like a HAWK he is NOT losing monetization bc Dan wants to wap

13.00 Phil saw and saved this and nobody knew. He lurks. Nobody is safe.

13:36 about nine “what can I say”s in. Dan has a genuine look of terror and confusion. He looks like he’s playing up his reaction a bit in the beginning, laughing and stuff and acting annoyed but this point is genuine horror and realization. This is so gold. Will be giffing later. Also precious Phil

14.50 okay the editing kinda memes his monologue a bit but i was high key inspired. He’s so wrote. Everything is a story that must be concluded. I love that thought process. Clearly bc I am also a grade a yapper but still

15:50 oh the immediate IMMEDIATE regret in Phil’s face

16:35 we love a self aware king. The poster was a tad rough

16:56 THUS CIDEO AND COMMENTARY JS SO SO SO GOOD

17:38 YES THANK YOU THE WADVERT WAS RVEFHONE. We couldn’t eat sleep or think without seeing it

18:11 please wash your blanket? Guys? Like? You can clean, wash, or dry clean anything. Please?

19:00 tbh saw under the robbing blanks and it wasn’t even that bad? Compared to every horrific demon phannie thing that has been seen? Not bad! Could have been worse

19:45 2021 period???? Hello??? You were gone since 2018? At least from dapg??

20:44 yet???? Capitolestor strikes again

20:50 did they not have a keep calm and something on poster in their apt at one point??? Some people?? You mean you???

21:16 I SAW THIS WHEN IT DROPPED. love dami sm. This video was so good

22:24 JUMPSCARE

22:55 “1992” “Daniel” calm down

23:25 “you also let me” guys??? How is this forced situation? Who decided??

24:20 he needs to back away from the mic I can feel him breathing in my ears my goood ess??

24:34 I’m screaming bc they used a clip from the section before we all thought they got high. This section they posted was just a cute section

24:54 literally speechless. Also jumpscare?

26:30 the entire dan induced conclusion is beautiful I love them and their banter

26:54 nvm can you lean into the mic closer and tell us you’re proud again??? Needed that???

[fortemelody]

Sometimes I wanna send asks but I don't actually know what to ask but.. what's your most interesting and/or controversial Sonic the Hedgehog take? Could be about a specific game or series or about Sonic in general.

LMAO you’re all good, i prob wouldn’t know what to ask myself either

wellll hmmm let’s see, i actually gotta think about this one a bit

i did already go on a whole rant in a different post about how much i hate dulcy the dragon, but i wouldn’t say that’s much of a controversial opinion considering most people don’t know who she is 😭

i don’t have many tbh but i’ll share the few i do have

first off i don’t like sonic x that much and it’s definitely a lot of people’s favorite sonic show. i think there’s a generational difference, seeing as though my fav sonic show is sonic boom 💀 i’ve only seen the first season so like my opinion could very well change if or when i finish it, especially cus i’ve seen clips of later stuff such as shadow and the chaotix being introduced and that seemed cool and a lot more interesting to me compared to the formulaic things i’ve seen so far. i think the argument that sonic is barely in his own show is a decent one too, bro literally never wants to do anything but nap and avoid chris (which i can’t blame him for that part). i personally also just haven’t gotten back into anime in general for several years becus i’m tired of the whole “you gotta wait for it to get better” type thing and i would rather just watch mindless stuff but everyone has their cup of tea and i don’t think it’s an inherently bad show at all either. it can never be as bad as the knuckles show…*shivers*. and ofc animation wise it’s fantastic and super nostalgic.

next hot take is about the song “almost dead” from shadow the hedgehog. it’s one of the most hated songs in the fandom however i LOVE it. i will blast that shit in my headphones thanks to the kind soul who uploaded it to spotify podcasts. the criticism that it doesn’t really match shadows character is valid, and it especially makes sense becus it was also in a horror movie. but as just a song in general my brain goes “ooo funny noises” and doesn’t really think about that part. i’d say the other infamously hated sonic song is sweet dreams from sonic 06 (and while i haven’t listened to it in awhile so i can’t be certain) i remember that song being pretty bad imo so i agree with that part at least

lastly i’m just gonna say that i’m not a fan of the ships sonjet, sonilver, and blazamy. this is not me hating on them at all!! and i have seen super cute fanart of them as well. the only ones i straight up despise are the ones that are illegal (looking at the weird ass sontails shippers on this app…). i just don’t particularly like them becus of either personal headcannons and/or just a gut feeling. with sonic and silver i feel like they have kinda like a sibling or cousin dynamic. for sonjet and blazamy i feel like they haven’t had enough interactions to really warrant a relationship, and i think they would be better off as playful besties. also i just realized that all three of these are gay ships and i really really hope people don’t think i’m homophobic for this especially also becus i spam sonamy on my page GUYSSSS IM A MULTISHIPPER I LOVE SONADOW TOO AND IM FRUITY MYSELF DONT KILL MEEEE 😞😞😞

anywaysss i think that’s all i got! sorry it took me awhile i got busy and forgot to respond but i always enjoy rambling about sonic so tysm mootie 😋😋

[never-not-ever]

The Last Hour

I'm scrolling on Tik Tok and I land on a clip from Girl Interrupted. It's not triggering or anything so I search "girl interrupted" and just scroll through there. Even a clip of Daisy's suicide didn't bother me.

What got to me was a clip of Lisa in the beginning being dragged out of a room about to be restrained and IM'd. That just brought me right back to the unit. How traumatizing it was, hearing restraints, seeing my close friends in the chair. Lisa in the clip begging "no" echoing what I heard on the unit.

So I went in my kitchen and sat down on the table. There's no chairs and it's not even used as a table it's just against the wall. This table has become a new place for me when things get too much. As I'm typing these words I'm realizing that this table is the corner at the end of the unit, in between a shower room and the QR. I'd sit in that corner because not a lot of people walked down that hall. That corner was my place to go on the unit when things got too much and now this table in my kitchen has become my place. Sad.

Back to the last hour. So I sit on the table and I start recording a video just to get the thoughts out of my head. I don't know why I didn't just type out a note, I guess it's easier to just talk. It was a short video just explaining what had happened (second paragraph up top). And then I was hit with this realization. You see I am my worst critic, I invalidate myself, I worry how things will look if x, y, and z happens. I tell myself you're just playing out these "would be" conversations because you want them to happen. You keep thinking you're going to end up back in the hospital because you want to go back...

I owe a lot more of an update than just the past hour but for the past 3 weeks yes it's been a worry. I've said "I'm surprised I'm not back yet" and "it's probably going to happen soon". But the past few days it's becoming more of a legit fear and I really want to have the conversation with my therapist tomorrow about it. She's a new therapist and I've said those two things above but like it's not actually talked about like reasons to go back, how I would feel, etc.. and for the first time I'm actually going into therapy knowing how I want the session to go.

And my point of this whole post is that I'm finally validating myself that no I do not want to go back to the hospital. My inner critic tells me all the time that I just miss the safety there and being cared for, that I want to go back and I don't need to go back. But after tonight why on earth would I want to go back to a place that has given me so many traumatic memories? Sure there was "safety" although in my case there was only so much they could do to keep me safe and I still found ways around it. Sure it was a "comfort" at times. The staff would listen and I could tell they cared.

But none of that outweighed how much the acuity of the unit affected me. For months all I wanted was to leave, was actually playing a role in my discharge and actively trying to make it happen. All I wanted was to leave, even the day I left when I was filled with so much anxiety and fear, I still wanted to leave. So why on earth would I want to return to that?

go out for a drive whenever I want

cooking

cuddling with my cats

spending time in the bathroom with privacy

walking around my apartment in shorts and a tank top

being able to take my time doing my nails

being able to use my laptop and phone while they're charging

sleeping in total darkness

It's a sad, short list that mostly involves being at home.. *spoiler alert* I'm not in PHP anymore and don't have a job nor do I have a social life. But we'll save all that for an actual update at some point? It's funny all I have is downtime, you'd think I'd be on here live blogging my pathetic excuse of a life.

But for real.. I've grown used to my comforts here and I know for a fact I'm not going back inpatient unless it's needed for my safety.

I guess this post was basically just me proving a point to myself.

[skitskatdacat63]

catie let’s discuss vettonso headcanons what are ur favs

*sends you to my vettonso tag* shsjkdkf kidding kidding, but wah this is so weirdly hard to answer despite the fact that I think about them literally every day of my life, ig they're just kinda intrinsic to me 😭 but I'll try my best!

I think Fernando really resented Seb for a while, especially during the championship fight years, and originally was very unhappy when Seb then went on to take his Ferrari seat away from him too. But then while he was gone from f1, he kept track of f1 still and realized Seb was going through the same ferrari bs and pain and failure to realize your childhood dream that he himself went through, and he then softened on Seb.

I find them literally to be the same person(but their narratives are offset.) And I think that's a big reason why they never really became friends, they're *too* similar to the point where it annoys each other too much fhfkkff Especially bcs theyre always ahead of one another in the narrative(fernando won his wdc before, fernando is in ferrari before Seb, seb is in Aston before Fernando, etc.) It's just weird to kinda witness someone that's so similar to you, but at a past stage in your life.

They would be the best and most annoying teammates ever. I think they'd both just constantly try to out-compete each other, and maybe it would be toxic back in the day and make the team fall apart like 2007 mclaren or martian rbr, but if it happened at Aston, I think it would actually make the team stronger and the car better. Like fighting for "who can give the best feedback" "who can do the most sim time" etc etc, I think it'd be really sweet 🥹🥹 I just imagine them making post-race debriefs last like 5 hours, except everyone else snuck out of the room at the hour mark, and they've just been debating abt the telemetry at each other, cause they only have eyes for each other <3

^ but yeah seriously think they have the type of competition that could bring each other together, not drive each other apart. Especially at their softened old man age. I guess I think, being forced into such close quarters with each other, they'd be able to realize how similar they are. Bcs otherwise it's just too easy for them to avoid each other. I mean I think a lot about the japan 2023 pics, them talking over the car that was practically the product of their joint effort, and that makes me so emotional 🤧

They absolutely love irritating each other, irs like a sport. I like to think though that Seb kept doing it soooo much pre-Fernando first retirement, and Fernando was always like 😐 just sooooo done with it, and often unwilling to fully play along. I love how seemingly Seb is one of the only ones who can kinda make his mask break, and have him show full annoyance. Like think about the "you must leave the space" clip, Fernando is sooooo annoyed, its just so funny. But yeah I love how Seb kinda forces Fernando in a way most others don't, if that makes sense? And then he comes back, rejuvenated, different mindset, and is suddenly willing to play along??? And now Seb is the tired one :( but Fernando has realized all he was blocking out before, and is willing to engage :,) BUT YEAH! see again, think about the fact that Seb literally paid a fee to not listen to Fernando talk. Mutually they are the only ones that annoy the other so much that they crack to that point, and I love it seemingly swapped over time. They're just such equals in that way.

Here's the interesting thing, I find them to be mirrors, right? I think like if they met each other when each were at the same place in their career(i.e. ferrari Fernando with ferrari seb, renault wdc fernando with rbr wdc seb), I think they'd have a better chance of getting along. Cause they understand where the other is at deeply, but the way it is in real life makes it so they're at different points and suddenly are at odds with each other. Ig that's why I wish we got them as teammates at Aston! It was pretty cute with alpine fernando x aston seb, but ah man if only we got the actual "conclusion", I would have loved to see what they'd be like when genuinely in the same parts of their career together. I think a lot about timeswap AUs I guess. Like both of them at ferrari being able to commiserate together, their wdc selves bragging about how many races they won(until they find out who the other had to beat to become wdc, and then they choke each other out.)

Me: ill try!!!

Also me: six paragraphs

Though I think if you asked me abt one of my AUs, I could come up with more than just daydreaming about their dynamic sjfkkg. Hope this was what you were asking for???? Also lmk, what are your favs!!!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Russell Howard did a new ComComPod interview recently, and I did listen to it, according to my policy on Russell Howard, which is that my views on him are mixed at best and there's a lot to dislike about him, especially the more recent iterations of him, but I will always check out new things he does if there's a chance of Chocolate Milk Gang stories. Because he's a surprisingly good source of CMG stories (though not, as Andy Zaltzman seemed to be believe, the main or only source of CMG stories), largely because, I suspect, reminding people of his unlikely connections to guys like Kitson gives him some street cred in spite of his very non-Kitson-y career.

For the record, he was considered an unlikely pairing with Kitson even in the CMG days - I've found old message board threads from ~2006-2007, of comedy fans being surprised to realize that the "Russell" in Kitson's stories was Russell Howard from TV, because why would a genuinely talented comedian hang out with a mainstream untalented sellout like that? So Russell Howard's always been the odd one out among the CMG, but he was still part of it, and sometimes he talks about it, so I will still check out his interviews if I think there's a chance that the topic will come up (okay, I did also watch his new special that came out in January, and it was... not bad, not great but had some good moments).

Anyway, here's the CMG clip from his latest ComCom interview, as I was right to expect that to be in there:

This is very similar to something he said in his first ComCom appearance, in which he said that when he used to open for John Oliver and Daniel Kitson, he'd struggle with being a non-genius who worked with geniuses. Not my words, those were Russell Howard's own words. Though I do agree with them. Actually, I'm going to find that clip from Russell Howard's original ComCom interview, back in 2016:

I remember when I first heard that interview, it wasn't all that long after I'd first got into Kitson bootlegs, and I'd not found many of them yet, but I'd found just enough to know this was brilliant and I wanted to dedicate years of my life to finding more (which I have since done, to a level of success that I'd never dared hope for). The second Kitson bootleg I'd ever heard was recorded at The Glee Club in Cardiff in 2005, where the second half is his (annoyingly untitled) 2005 stand-up hour, and the first half is just Kitson messing around, and he spends so much of that time telling this story about something that had happened the night before. This whole long story about how he'd stayed with his friend Russell in Bristol the previous night, and they got in a swimming pool, and then they got scared of a mysterious light in the dark and ran away. Which doesn't sound funny. It doesn't sound funny at all when it's written down, and that's exactly the point. It's not an inherently funny story. Russell explains it in that audio clip - he'd see things happen in real life, and they'd be mildly amusing at best, and then he'd see Kitson tell it on stage and it's the funniest thing in the world.

I remember the first time I heard that bootleg, dying laughing while listening to Kitson pluck gold out of thin air, and wondering how he could be that funny with so little time to prepare. Because I didn't doubt for a moment that the story was true. I know that in stand-up, "the other day" means anything from "five years ago" to "this never really happened", but in Kitson's case, if he says "the other day", you can tell he means it. There have been times when I've listened to shows he's done a few weeks apart, to different in audiences in different cities so he'd have no reason to worry about keeping his story consistent across shows, but the first time he'll describe something as happening "three weeks ago", and then in the next show, three weeks later, he'll describe it as "six weeks ago". Sometimes he'll stop on stage to calculate how long ago something happened. And Russell Howard, in that interview, has confirmed that Kitson did used to take stuff that happened during the day, and turn it into material at night. So if he says something happened the night before, I think it's true. Also, Russell Howard was living in Bristol in summer 2005, and that would be a logical place to stay on the way from London to perform in Cardiff.

I remember listening to that Cardiff recording and being amazed at how funny Kitson could make a story, with so little time to write it. Then I heard Russell Howard on the ComComPod, and I was pleased to hear him express the same thing. That Russell was as impressed as any of the rest of us when Kitson would turn their mundane social time into a disproportionately funny story almost immediately.

Anyway, it was an interesting ComCom follow-up. Russell Howard sounded a lot less prickly and defensive than he did when he appeared on ComComPod in 2016 - he still sounded quite prickly and defensive in 2025, but less so, so that's nice, I guess.

Oh, I also cut out this clip, of Russell Howard discussing the stand-up extras on his Good News show, because I knew I recognized the name of the producer he talks about, but I couldn't remember why, so I saved the clip to figure out later:

I later realized it's that guy whom Peacock & Gamble used to talk about, that he once got them to come to a meeting with him on the pretense that he worked in TV and could get them a show, but then it turned out he was just a low-level runner who was a big fan of their podcast/comedy and just wanted to meet them. And he appeared in their short film Warm-Up, as the hotshot young comic whose aggressive ambition has him taking over:

In the commentary for this video, Ed Gamble calls him "A little Scottish assistant producer, working on Russell Howard's Good News as part of the Make a Wish Foundation." That has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted an excuse to post this video again, and I think it's funny. Good for that guy, he seems to have done well.

I also recently listened to another episode of Russell Howard's podcast, even though I think the last thing the podcasting world needs is one hosted by Russell Howard, but I'll make an exception for CMG members. The only episodes of his podcast that I've heard have been John Oliver's, David O'Doherty's, and now Zaltzman's. Which I'm mentioning here because I don't want to make a second post this month about Russell Howard.

It was fun, and Andy was really good in it. A really really large amount of cricket chat, but not too much technical stuff, more just hearing about the reasoning for Andy Zaltzman's genuine passion for it, which I always enjoy. Plus, Andy told some interesting stories about his family and career, some of which I'd not heard before.

Oh, and there was Tuesday football gossip. I always like a podcast with some Tuesday football gossip:

I think I've about this before - maybe he's referenced it on The Bugle at some point? The idea that Andy Zaltzman is still reigning holder of the Footballer of the Year Award within their Tuesday football games, because he won it in 2004 and they've not held it again since. It's definitely new information to me that he used to be the one who organized the games - I thought that had always been Kitson.

Oh, and during a separate conversation, Andy Zaltzman got a fun dig at Russell Howard's football style, which calls back to a Bugle episode from June 2012:

I remembered that Bugle episode because turned into a bigger thing in Bugle episodes from later in that year, of which I made a compilation several years ago, in case anyone wants to hear Alun Cochrane talk shit back when Alun Cochrane was cool.

This post has been all over the place. Andy Zaltzman's episode of Russell Howard's podcast was fun. I now have more files in my Chocolate Milk Gang folder. This is a normal thing to be obsessively archive, right? It's fine, let's end this post by watching Russell Howard and the CMG play football in around 2004: