#thatcher: threads

[chaoticallycosmic]

Closed starter for @writermuses

If there was one thing that made Thatcher proud, it was his ability to persuade people. In this case, though, he was beyond happy that he had convinced Qadira to stay with him at his very secure home while they figured out how to deal with the stalker she had. It worried him. That some psycho was out there just waiting to make her life miserable, who knew what else they were capable of. He didn't want to even entertain those thoughts. Thinking about what a deranged person could do to her made the historian shiver. So, instead, he focused on making sure his home was a comfortable place for her. That began with making her breakfast, as he had been doing since she arrived. Hearing footsteps, he smiled. "Breakfast will be ready and I have coffee ready for you," he pointed toward the coffee bar with a spatula before turning around to face her. "How did you sleep?"

[sxmthingwicked]

Closed Starter.

@sirxnx

Aaliyah never thought she’d drive down these streets feeling as sad as she did. The news had reached her first and it was absolute hell having to tell Ashley too. They’re parents death came out of nowhere. The trees passed by the car as it moved, the sisters in content silence. They had just spoken a few months ago…everything seemed alright.

Dad was getting better and mom didn’t seem worried about anything like she usually was. Aaliyah’s hands tightened on the wheel a little, her body cringing at the thought that maybe that’s what was wrong. Her mother’s lack of anxiety, either for them or their father should have set off some sort of alarm in Aaliyah’s head. She was the eldest, goddman it. Soon enough, the town came into view and Aaliyah felt her heart beat faster. Casting a glance at the girl in her passenger’s seat, Aaliyah placed a gentle hand on Ashley’s shoulder.

“You…you doing alright there kid?’’

[heartfe1t]

@storyofwhoiam

i don't know what i'm crying for.

    ❝    i know we always want to put on a strong face for the kids, but... sometimes you need to let yourself be overwhelmed... be tired... you do a lot here.    ❞    she offers elizabeth a reassuring smile, resting her hand on her arm.    ❝    i'm new to this... and you seem so strong, so... gifted, really... the way you are with them... but- no one can be strong all the time.    ❞    

[lghtyear]

⁽ ᴿᴼᴳᴱᴿ ⁾       …     ‘    requested by @priestbit :         still accepting !    ⁽ ᴼᵁᵀ ⁾

smile grows shamefully wide as she sees him , practically running up to him with inexplicable enthusiasm . to say she adored the man was an understatement , that much evident now she'd seen him in his element . jane adored music . she always had . and to see the boy she's sweet on lose himself in his instrument was an experience she adored more than she cared to admit . " donnie , you're amazing ! "

[liveshauntedmoved]

a very light curl tugs at his lips, "i mean, if you're sure." he looks out at their group ; it may seem a weird bunch - but, it's not really ; not to him. there was a soft chuckle that falls from his lips, "oh really now? never thought anything relating to me would trend. maybe the world truly is ending."

cont. from here @juhde

[pucked-bunnie]

and, what about you? ⎜q.hughes

pairings: quinn hughes x reader genre: angst warnings: stressed quinn ⎜over-thinker quinn ⎜ synopsis: everyone knows the captain takes care of everyone, of everything - but who takes care of them? word count: 2.1 k authors note: Quinn was the clear winner of the poll, and this is essentially just filling my need for words of affirmation and how I hope someone takes care of our dear captain, it's a little shorter than normal but i hope you all still enjoy. (UNEDITED)

+

+

The crowd roars as the Canucks win the game - the group of boys flooding the ice to congratulate each other, tapping on helmets as they make their way to the locker room. 

“I’m gonna head down to the locker room, meet you there?” Natalie shouts over the sounds of the blaring alarms and music - you nod quickly, your eyes locked on the captain skating over to his goalie, patting him firmly on the helmet hovering for a few seconds clearly praising Thatcher's game. The two teammates make their way over to the bench, the coach pulling Quinn to the side.

You watch Quinn’s shoulders slump a little and he nods his head, his coach patting him on the shoulder as he lets him walk down the tunnel into the locker room. You say quick goodbyes to the other partners in the area, slinging your bag over your shoulder. 

Your phone dings in your hand, the screen lighting up with a text message. 

quintin 😍: I’m gonna be a little longer than expected, I have to cover Brock's interview. 

pookie ♥️ ️ : Okay, take your time. 

You find a spot beside the entrance to the locker room, pulling out the AirPods tucked into your bag. Knowing Quinn him saying he was going to take longer then expected meant it was going to be over an hour before you would be seeing him. You scroll through your tiktok, making small conversation with the passing players as they join with their families making their own way home. 

Eventually you spot the reporters leaving, a few more team members filing out behind them, the crowds slowly dwindling in the main lobby, though Quinn was nowhere in sight. 

pookie ♥ ️ : everything alright? reporters left twenty minutes ago. 

Your message is seen quickly, the ellipsis popping up into your text thread before disappearing, the cycle repeating a few times before the bubble disappears, no response from Quinn. 

“Hey what are you still doing out here?” A familiar voice says as a body stops in front of you, you glance up at Brock giving him a soft smile as you take out an AirPod. 

“Oh, just waiting for Quinn.” You respond quickly, “He said he was covering interviews, but they left a while ago.” You note softly, Brock tilting his head in confusion. 

“Quinn wasn’t doing interviews tonight.” Brock eyebrows drop in a frown, his eyes darting back to the locker room before back down to you. “No one else is in there, if you wanna head in?” He suggests quietly, patting your shoulder before jogging over to his waiting girlfriend, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she greets him excitedly. 

You watch them for a few more moments, the happy couple leaving hand in hand before you turn towards the entrance, glancing around as you walk into the large room, it’s easy to spot the captain, his arms resting on his knees, his hockey jersey in the basket in the middle of the room, the rest of his gear still strapped to his body. 

“Babe?” You call softly, taking slow steps towards the deep in thought man, his hand raking through his hair a few more times before you call out for him again, “Quinn?” 

His head snaps up at your voice, his eyes darting around the empty room before focusing on you. “Oh shit.” He curses under his breath, his hand moving to undo the velcro straps of his chest pads. 

“Quinn, are you okay?” You question as you drop on the bench next to him, watching as he rushes to take off his remaining gear. 

“Yeah, of course.” He says quickly, shooting you an apologetic grin as he pulls the pads over his head. “Just got lost in thought.” 

You glance over to Quinn every now and then as he makes quick work of his uniform, pulling on a large hoodie and sweatpants, grabbing his phone and wallet from the shelf of his locker before turning towards you. 

“I’ll shower when I get home.” He promises as he leans down to press a soft kiss to your cheek, his fingers twining with yours as he grips your hand tightly. You wrap your other hand tightly around your joined hands, lifting them to press a kiss against the back of his hand. 

“You played amazing today, Quinn.” You praise, letting your hands drop to swing between the two of you as Quinn leads you both to the garage, pulling his car keys out of his pocket. “I’m so proud of you, you’ve done so much for this team.” You continue, Quinn shaking his head, his hand releasing yours as you both climb into the car. 

“We still have play offs to get through.” Quinn says with a long sigh, his eyes focusing in front of him as he pulls out the parking space, making his way out of the garage. Quinn’s body stays tense as his eyes remain forwards, his focus anywhere but on the way you watch him, your eyes looking over all his signs of discomfort. 

Quinn stays silent for the fifteen minute drive back to your apartment - game nights usually meant your boyfriend stayed at your place, Elias and Quinn enjoying the time apart to wind down. 

You follow behind Quinn as he makes his way to the elevator, his hand not reaching for yours like he normally would, his body pushing him to make it into your cozy apartment. He unlocks your front door with his spare key, dropping the bag from his trunk besides the front door, kicking off his sneakers. 

You sneak in behind him, softly closing the door as he runs his fingers through his hair, his hands rubbing at his face. “Quinn, I want you to answer me honestly.” You begin softly, leaning against the back of your couch, your hand clasped in front of you. “Are you okay?” 

“Huh?” He asks, his hands dropping from his face, “of course I am.” He answers quickly, he tries to smile, to erase your concern, but his smile falters as you remain silent, your brows furrowed in concern. 

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” He says, “I mean I’m living the dream right, playing my favourite sport for a living, captain of the team I’ve played on for six years, we’re going to the playoffs and I’ve got a beautiful girlfriend to top it all off.” He continues his voice carrying a sharp edge to it. 

You continue the silence, hoping that maybe making him face the discomfort will give you a look into his mind. 

“What do you want me to say?” He finally asks, throwing his hands in a shrug. 

“I don’t know… I just want to know what’s going on inside your head.” You respond, “I want to be able to help relieve some of your stress. I wanna be able to take care of you if you’re not feeling great.” You add, watching as Quinn’s mouth drops in a frown. 

“I don’t need you to take care of me.” He snaps, his tone more hostile than expected, your body pushing off the couch as you move to step forwards, your boyfriend taking a step away from you. “I’m supposed to take care of you” He says, pointing towards you for emphasis, “That’s my job. I’m supposed to take care of things at home and at work, that’s what a good leader does.” 

“And, what about you?” You question softly, your arms crossing over your chest, a feeble attempt at trying to keep yourself together. “What about you, Quinn… Who takes care of you?” 

You watch the emotions flash over Quinn’s face whatever facade he had kept going for the past twenty four hours faltering. 

“Babe, you have so much on your plate right now, so much responsibility… let me take some of it, even just for a little while.” 

“Why?” He asks, his voice barely a whisper. 

“Because that’s my job.” You answer, “Because if you’re not going to take care of you, then I will. Because relationships are about lifting each other up but sometimes we just have to catch each other when we fall.” Your words are gentle as you step towards him. 

“Quinn, it’s okay to fall sometimes.” Your heart sinks as you watch his face crumble, a heavy sob escaping his chest as you close the distance, pulling his body to yours. Quinn remains stiff as you wrap your arms around his neck, his face dropping against your shoulder as his body shakes. 

“I’m just so tired.” His voice cracks as he speaks, finally his arms moving to constrict around your waist, your body the only thing grounding him. “I feel like I can’t breathe.” Another round of choked sobs rip from him, one of your hands gently soothing over his back, the other smoothing the back of his head. 

“You’re going to be okay.” You coo, your throat constricting as you swallow down your own tears, your heart cracking in two at the state of your boyfriend, the hurt in his voice. 

The two of you remain in the lounge room, your arms wrapped around each other, stuck in a standstill as Quinn lets out everything that had been weighing him down, his sobs slowly turning into sniffles, his arms squeezing around you when you move to step back. 

“No.” He grumbles. 

“Come with me.” You whisper, finally detaching him from you, your hands grabbing his as you pull him towards the couch, you take your spot lying down on the cushions before motioning for him to follow. Quinn seems hesitant at first, his breathing shallow before he nods joining you on the couch, his body thrown over yours, his head pressed against your chest as you resume your ministrations on his back, drawing soft shapes against his jumper. 

“Share something with me.” You say, “Give me something to hold onto for you for a little while.” 

“Like what?” He speaks against your shirt, the words muffled slightly by the fabric. 

“Anything.” He takes a deep breath at your words. 

“Rick said something to me today.” He starts, you nod slowly recounting the coach pulling the young captain aside, your hand raises to the collar of Quinn’s hoodie softly slipping under the fabric to continue your soothing on his skin. “He said he was proud of me.” 

Your movements pause, waiting for Quinn to elaborate. 

“He said that he couldn’t think of a better leader for the team, and that he knew that I was going to take us further than anyone imagined.” Quinn lets out a long sigh, “I just can’t find it in me to believe him.” Your eyebrows raise at his comment, your head tilting as you consider what to say. 

“You’re not proud of yourself?” 

“I don’t know.” He mumbles back. “I know I should be, but a part of me just feels like I haven’t done enough, like I haven’t achieved enough to feel pride.” 

“Well, that’s okay.” You start, “I can be proud of you for both of us.” Quinn raises his head, resting his chin against your sternum as he glances up at you. 

“Really?” 

“I’ll just hold onto it until you're ready, no matter how long it takes.” You smile as you watch Quinn’s face relax a little, his own smile light on his face, as he leans forwards pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. 

“You have no idea how special you are, Quinn.” You remind him as you raise your hand to push his floppy brown locks out of his face. “But I hope one day you let yourself feel it.” 

“And, what about you?” Quinn asks, throwing your own question back in your face. “Do you know how special you are?” 

“Probably not, but I’m trying my best to figure it out.” You smile once more, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before reaching to the coffee table for the remote. 

“I should go shower.” Quinn says as he drops his head back to your chest, his body making no moves to walk down your hallway to the bathroom. 

“You probably should.” You agree with a laugh as Quinn grabs one of your hands placing it back in his hair, a soft sigh of content escaping him as you scrape your nails against his scalp.  

“Thank you.” He whispers, his eyes squeezed shut as you press one more kiss to his head. 

“You don’t have to thank me, it's my job.” He lets out a soft chuckle, his body relaxing further as he falls asleep to the sound of mindless reality TV, your chest swelling with the pride of two people as you glance down at your boyfriend finally resting. 

[i-am-dulaman]

Okay I'm riled up about this rn so time for a history of economics lesson (rant) from me, a stranger on the internet

I'm a communist, I hate capitlism, so lemme just put that out there. But capitlism had its moments. Even marx had some praise for parts of capitlism.

And by far the most successful form of capitlism was Keynesian economics, as evident by the enormous increase in living standards in those countries which adopted it between the 1930s and 1970s.

What's Keynesian economics? The idea that capitlism can't survive on its own, and must be supported by government spending at the poorest ends of society and taxes at the richest ends of society (essentially the opposite of trickle down economics) as well as strong regulations on certain industries like banking.

It basically started in 1936 with President Roosevelt who was a personal friend of John Keynes (who the theory is named after).

Roosevelt implemented Keynesian economics to great effect; he raised the top tax rate to 94% (he actually wanted a 100% tax rate on the highest incomes, essentially creating a maximum wage, but the senate negotiated down to 94%) and similarly high corporate tax rates, he created the first ever minimum wage, created the first ever unemployment benefit, created social security in America, pension funds, and increased public spending on things like public utilities and infrastructure, national parks, etc. Which created about 15 million public sector jobs.

This ended the great depression and eventually lead to America winning world War 2, after which many countries followed suit in implementing similar policies, including UK, Australia, and NZ (apologies for the anglosphere-centric list here but they're the countries I'm personally most familiar with so bare with me)

Over the next 40 years these countries had unprecedented growth in living standards and incomes, and either decreasing or stable wealth inequality, and housing prices increasing in line with inflation. Virtually every household bought a car and a TV, rates of higher education increased dramatically, america put a man on the moon, and so on.

Then it all abruptly ended in the 80s and the answer is plain and obvious. 1979 thatcher became UK prime minister. 1981 reagan became US president. 1983 the wage accords were signed in aus. 1984 was the start of rogernomics in NZ (Someone link that Twitter thread of the guy who posts graphs of economic trends and points out where reagan became president)

(Also worth noting those last two in NZ and Aus were both implemented by 'left' leaning governments, but they are both heavily associated with right wing policies.)

This marked the beginning of trickle down economics: tax cuts, privatization of publicly owned assets, reduction in public spending, and deregulation of the finance sector. The top tax rates are down to the low 30s in most of these countries, down from the 80s/90s it was prior. Now THATS a tax cut.

And what happened next?

Wages stagnated. Housing prices skyrocketed. Bankers got away with gambling on the economy. Public infrastruce and utilies degraded. And wealth inequality now exceeds France in 1791.

I don't know how anyone can deny the evidence if they see it, but there's so much propaganda and false information that a lot of people just don't see the evidence.

Literally all the evidence supports going back to Keynesian economics but now that the rich have accumulated so much wealth it's virtually impossible to democratically dethrone them when they have most of the politicians on both the right and the left in their pocket.

Unfortunately it was the great depression and ww2 that gave politicians the political power to implement these policies the first time around. Some thought the 2008 crash would spur movement back towards Keynesianism (which it actually did in Iceland, congrats to them), I hoped covid would force governments to now, but nope.

All these recent crises' seem to have just pushed politics further and further right, with more austerity and tax cuts.

I don't really have a message or statement to end on other than shits fucked yo.

[thesiltverses]

with the finale approaching, i just wanted to say thank you so much for the wonderful story you've written, and the incredible characters you've developed to convey it to its conclusion. particularly, i want to commend you for how well-written VAL is, as someone who both takes advantage of the cruelty and senseless violence of the system for her own gain (or at least tries to) and someone who was failed and taken advantage of by it. it's no small feat to thread the needle between making a character like that too sympathetic to feel genuinely threatening, or too monstrous to be anything but a conveniently hateful scapegoat for blaming the entire systematic corruption that has infected the foundations of the power structures in the story on, but VAL really does feel like a masterclass in achieving that complexity and nuance in a single character (in general, you excel at this with your characters, and your ability to navigate that perpetrator/victim spectrum without turning it into a binary dichotomy is one of my favourite things about the podcast). admittedly, my appreciation for her might call to mind the eric andre "do you think margaret thatcher had girl power" bit a little more than you intended, and i may come away from the finale with egg on my face for having stood by her so ardently this season, but she's brought me more genuine joy and inspiration than i've felt in years (which is perhaps not the strongest endorsement for my own psychological stability, but so be it). so thank you, and to marta da silva as well, for bringing life to such a compellingly tragic horror of a character.

Thank you so much for the really kind words, they're really appreciated!

Val has clearly been a breakout character this season, and so much of the thanks does have to fall on Marta da Silva for that - especially when it comes to the nuance and complexity you're talking about.

She's done such a fantastic job of making the character both deeply vulnerable and deeply terrifying (often in the same scene) - just a really, really talented actor and an incredibly lovely person as well.

(You can also hear her as one of the three leads in Sherlock & Co, incidentally.)

[harrisonarchive]

Photo by Terry O’Neill.

“There’s also been a strong political thread throughout Harrison’s music, from the recent ‘Cockamamie Business’ back to the White Album’s ‘Piggies.’ ‘That was social comment, and it’s still the same today. Especially now, with glasnost, and communism going away, they’ve got to have a good reason not to give that money to the poor, or redivert it into helping the planet become safe and unpolluted.’ He mentions his involvement in a British environmental movement ‘similar to what Meryl Streep’s doing in America, Parents for Safe Food. The poison is everywhere, on your potatoes, tomatoes — not to mention the air we breathe. The basic problem is that the agrochem­ical industries have a stranglehold on the government. They’re all in cahoots.’ George laughs sharply. ‘They’re probably all freemasons as well. ‘What we need is an honest army that goes around busting those guys, because they’re the ones ruining this planet. But then what you find is that the people causing the most environmental damage are the industrialists. And the Dow Jones people. Buy buy buy! Sell sell sell! This madness that Reagan and Thatcher created, this idea that everyone is much better off now, everyone is more in debt, there’s more concrete, we’ve sacrificed the planet for the motor car... that’s why I can’t practice the guitar any­more,’ George sighs. ‘I’m so crazed by what they’ve done to our planet.’ Though he’s more comfortable with his privacy, Harrison isn’t shy about using his celebrity to promote progressive causes. ‘If you’ve got a platform to speak from, you should speak,’ he says flatly. ‘But it’s always musicians and film people who are doing the work government is really sup­posed to be doing. They collect taxes to take care of everybody, and instead they’re off playing their little games with missiles. And the same people who call this the devil’s music are the ones com­plaining, “Who do these people think they are?” It’s like you can’t win. But it also shows there are a lot of good people out there. And most of them are musicians!’” - Musician, March 1990 (x)

[depressedraisin]

Parklife (1994) and Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino (2018): What does it mean to be an album of the times?

At face value Blur’s third studio album Parklife, released in 1994, and Arctic Monkeys’ 2018 release Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, their sixth, are very very very different albums. One the Britpop classic, the other a widely divisive experimentation -- they don’t even seem like they could hang out in the same sentence together. Then what the fuck am I on about?

Both albums are individually iconic in the respective band’s discographies -- with Parklife Blur conquered the heights of the Britpop war and firmly cemented its place in British music history while TBH&C marked a pivotal turn in style for the Monkeys, which in my very humble non-musician opinion, will make it historic sometime in the future. If you have spent as much time as I have overthinking the lyrics and pondering over interviews of another British rock band you are hyperfixating on though, you might see something more connecting these two albums. Written about 20 years away from each other, in wildly different times,  the two weirdly enough, have these faint threads tying in their themes and subject matters. 

Damon Albarn, the principal author of Parklife, described the album to NME as, “a loosely linked concept album involving all these different stories. It's the travels of the mystical lager-eater, seeing what's going on in the world and commenting on it."  Rings a bell? That’s extremely TBH&C coded! That one has often been called a concept album based on a luxury hotel and casino on the moon with various eccentric characters and their stories, wryly commenting on issues plaguing life in the 2010s. 

Parklife was a kind of a study of middle class English life of the mid-90s. With an extremely catchy pop soundscape and cheeky-cockney-laced lyrics about London parks and bank holidays, it became a quintessential symbol of Cool Britannia. They say the album never took off in the States because it was so British. In the years since, however, the band has described it more as sarcastic critique rather than a celebration of Britishness. Going through the lyrics with a fine toothed comb  with that in mind then, you can feel the impatience a bunch of 20s somethings were feeling with the ideal 9-to-5 picket fence lifestyle as well as exhaustion with the hedonistic decadence of youth in the backdrop of an unpopular Conservative-led economy in decline. A similar, if updated for 30 year olds in 2018, sentiment can be sensed in the absurd surrealism of the lyrics of  TBH&C. What do you do when you are fed up with tribulations of life and the ghosts of mistakes you’ve made along the way-- you fuck off and escape into whimsy of science fiction. 

The political context of the time when Parklife and Tranquility Base were released does matter. Opens up another perspective to reading the album.  It’s quite a stretch but bear with me.  

 The 90s in the UK began with Thatcher resigning and the Conservative government which dominated the 80s, becoming increasingly unpopular. There was a recession plaguing the early years of the decade. Britpop happened smack dab in the middle of this, and it was all about reacting to grunge and shoegaze and bringing back what is essentially British back to its music scene. Oasis, Suede, Pulp, Elastica (Justine Frischmann is the queen of Britpop btw) -- and ofcourse, Blur, were reviving guitar pop, singing in working class accents and about working class life and bringing back memories of the Swinging Sixties. Though each drawing from a wide variety of influences, these bands were becoming the face of a wider movement in music, art and youth culture.  The political scene took note.

In the mid-90s, the Labour Party led by Tony Blair quickly aligned itself with Britpop and Cool Britannia. Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn were being courted by politicians , label execs getting party membership invites, headlines went like “What’s the Story? Don’t vote Tory”. Britpop soon acquired nationalist undertones --- never forget Brett Anderson showing off his twinky waist with Union Jack in the background and “Yanks go home!” headline. 

By the end of the 90s, when Britpop had begun crumbling, the economy had recovered and Tony Blair was in Downing Street.

TBH&C and the Monkeys in general, perhaps have less political currency. When they burst onto the scene with their Sheffield accents and garage rock riffs in the generally stable pre-2008 economic climate, the Arctic Monkeys did occupy the space in British pop culture left vacant by Blur and Oasis in the wake of post Britpop, at least for a time. Their debut broke the record of being the fastest selling one, which used to be held by Elastica previously. The Monkeys were indie rock darlings in the UK and with 2013’s AM, became darlings in the US (and Tumblr) as well. Tranquility Base though, came out in a whole different world. 

2018 was a fucking atrocious time, to put it mildly. The world was in total freefall inching rapidly towards disaster, which ultimately culminated in the pandemic of 2020. Trump had been elected in 2016 and 2018 was arguably one of the peaks of his shitshow. Over in the UK, Theresa May and her Conservative Cabinet were deep in the quagmire of Brexit negotiations. (Gotta note that Turner has said he voted against leaving in the referendum. Albarn is of course, a very vocal critic of Brexit.) Right wing governments were coming into power everywhere it seemed like, the climate crisis took on a new sense of alarm among the larger public - and things only spiralled in the years following. I can’t think of another album which could accurately capture the sheer fatigue of seeing outrageous headline after headline, how desensitised we had all become, how disillusioned with life- in a mason jar like TBH&C has.   

That’s what makes an album legendary doesn’t it? You listen to it and immediately remember what living at the time was like. Even if 1994 was 10 years before I was born. 

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s look at the two albums a little more closely. 

Some lyrics which give me very similar vibes: 

sexual hedonism // start treatment (tbh&c) and girls & boys (parklife)

mundanity of relationships // four stars out of five (tbh&c) and end of century (parklife)

the performativeness of middle class activism/social work // tranquility base hotel and casino (tbh&c) and parklife (parklife)

losing friends and losing touch // the ultracheese (tbh&c) and badhead (parklife) - now these aren't really similar, but i feel a connection. in my bones trust me bro. the whole "i'll grin and bear with it" thing about badhead is very reminiscient of the sense of insouciance about life that haunts tbh&c....almost??

the myth of america // the ultracheese (tbh&c), golden trunks (tbh&) and magic america (parklife) - magic america is making fun of reagan era the american dream while a disillusionment with the glitz and glam of life in la is pretty much consistent throughout tbh&c

a pathological dependence on technology as escapism // jubilee (parklife) and start treatment (tbh&c) - digital cameras and the internet and tvs were taking baby steps into invading our daily lives back in 1994, and by 2018 we were all fully under the vice grip of tech addiction. this parallel i find particularly funny so.

astronomical references // far out (parklife) and star treatment (tbh&c) - alex james, the blur bassist wrote and sung far out about his love of space. it's a pretty nice parallel hey.

For the last one, let's talk about Tracy Jacks from parklife. I couldn't really draw a direct parallel with a song from the other album, but that song spiritually fits right in I feel. An average Joe in the throes of a midlife crisis, teethering so so close to the edge and one day just snaps - that's a character one would expect dwells in the lounge of the Tranquility Base Hotel to drown themselves in the decadence and escape from all their shit, when all is said and done.

Now what's the concluding point of all this rambling. I don't know lolz. Y'all just read a thousand words of nothing.

Just kidding. Actually I read somewhere Damon Albarn was inspired by the 1989 novel London Fields, a science-fiction adjacent black comedy set against the backdrop of an impending nuclear crisis, while writing Parklife. That kinda rung a bell. (Yes, I did wonder if Alex has read this)

I just wanted to see if we can find any interesting connections parrallels or references between Parklife and Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. I dunno if I've been successful in getting any point across, or it's just pointless waffling on. But one thing that did get confirmed to me once again, these two albums are really the Albums of Their Times. Captures the zeitgeist in such a specific but unique in their own ways, it's really wonderful.

And also studying the legacy and impact of AM with reference to other musical outfits is always fun. I think we can all safely say that AM is well on their way to capturing a seat in the pantheon of great British bands, where somewhere in a corner Blur also sits. Damon Albarn is a fucking legend of course -- from the pretty posh boy of Britpop he has gone to becoming one of the most versatile, experimental and prolific songwriter/composer in the contemporary music scene. He is apparently working on the music for an Goethe's fragmented libretto of Magic Flute Part 2. How many rockstars do you know have composed operas - how fucking dope. I wanna hope that we'll get to see Alex exploring crazy paths in music like this, he definitely has the potential. This whole exercise would probably have made more sense with one of Damon's post-Blur works, his first solo record Everyday Robots or even Blur's last album The Magic Whip, but I started this essay so had to finish it.

Maybe another day eh.

[neil-neil-orange-peel]

TYO Essay

A while back, I mentioned I wrote an essay for my previous uni course where I used TYO as a source to look at the early 1980s. @a-a-a-anon expressed an interest in reading it, so here ya go! The quality of it is seriously iffy (I was 18/19 when I wrote it and had no idea how to actually write or reference academic essays yet, and just the quality of the writing makes me cringe a bit). There was also more I wanted to say but couldn't due to the word limit (don't remember what these other things were now). Despite all that, the lecturer liked it, and it was cool I got to write about TYO for uni.

The Young Ones as a Cultural Source for Early 1980s Britain

Although today in Britain the future often feels uncertain – the global pandemic notwithstanding, Brexit is still looming on the horizon – the Britons of 40 years ago doubtlessly felt similarly, albeit for different reasons. In the early 1980s, the threat of nuclear war was palpable, as the existence of Protect and Survive[1] attests to. Nuclear war paranoia influenced British culture in the 1980s, with bleak examples such as the BBC film Threads (1984) and Raymond Briggs’ When the Wind Blows (1986) still remembered keenly today. Both fictionalisations of nuclear war featured material from Protect and Survive and highlighted the message of contemporary nuclear disarmament protestors: no one can win a nuclear war. Of the less apocalyptic issues, unemployment hit 3 million (about 11.7%[2]) in 1983 – for comparison, in 2019 it was estimated to be at 1.281 million (about 3.6%[3]). The Thatcher administrations’ efforts to break from the post-war consensus and embrace neo-liberalism created divisions in society. Yet, amidst threats of nuclear war, mass unemployment, the decline of British industry and the growth of individualism, a cultural revolution in comedy dubbed “alternative comedy” was fast taking hold in Britain – and in much the same way Thatcherism’s impacts can still be felt on society today, so too can alternative comedy’s.

Running for 2 series (12 episodes in total) on BBC2 between 1982-84, anarchic and slightly surreal sitcom The Young Ones epitomised the break between older styles of comedy and the new wave. Although The Young Ones has been called ground-breaking and classic, it is also now regarded as somewhat dated for its jokes pertaining to current events. Therefore, its scripts are an interesting source for an insight into the time in which it was produced and based: early 1980s Britain.

Firstly, it is important to understand what The Young Ones actually was. Written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer[4] and with additional material provided by Alexei Sayle, it followed the misadventures of four vastly different university students at the fictional Scumbag College in North London. Whilst the four were never seen doing anything remotely akin to studying, it aimed at being representative of university life, students and the squalor they lived in. The show was not a conventional sitcom in that it did not pertain to a family and it featured a musical act in every episode so that it could be classified as “light entertainment”, as the BBC had no further budget available for sitcoms at the time. Because many of its principal actors came from the stand-up comedy circuit, there was an emphasis on excitement and unpredictability over discernible plots and many memorable scenes featured characters injuring themselves and others, destroying bits of the set and crashing through walls, as well as randomly interspersed and unrelated cutaway gag segments. There was a cartoonish level of slapstick violence, swearing and toilet humour, which appear milder to today’s palate than 40 years ago.

British audiences were divided by The Young Ones mostly along age lines, with younger viewers engaging readily with this new style of comedy and older viewers seeing it as unnecessarily vulgar and silly. Indeed, the characters that had been transplanted from their actors’ stand-up routines were deliberately disgusting, exaggerated caricatures and horrible to one another. Mayall himself played wannabe lefty anarchist Rick, who frequently came to rather explosive blows with the violent punk medical student, Vyvyan (played by Mayall’s comedy partner, Adrian Edmondson). Also featured was badly done to, depressed hippie Neil (played by Nigel Planer) and the mysterious leader and straight man of the group, Mike The Cool Person (played by Christopher Ryan, the only one of the core cast without a comedy background). Sayle too appeared in every episode as either their hated landlord Balowski or a member of his family, where he would deliver a short stand-up monologue to the camera. The show’s title (and opening theme) was derived from the Cliff Richard song of the same name, as Mayall’s character was a huge fan.

The Young Ones took on the issues of its day, perhaps none more so than the episode “Bomb”. “Bomb” uses dark humour to address fears over nuclear war by having an atom bomb land in the characters’ kitchen at the start of the episode. Even before the characters deal with the unexploded bomb, the script is already hinting at the theme of nuclear war in this cutaway gag sequence, featuring a family on a packet of cereal:

FATHER: Would you two shut up and keep smiling? We’re supposed to be the ideal nuclear family!

GIRL: Post-nuclear, more like!

Not only was this segment ridiculing the “ideal nuclear family” that was promoted by the Thatcher governments – none of the characters posing as a family get along at all and the “father” reveals himself to be gay, thus exposing the lie that there is truly an “ideal” family – it also managed to slip in a quick gag about nuclear war. This reflected a genuine belief by many at the time that nuclear war was coming, especially amongst the young.[5]

When the main characters finally become aware of the bomb in their kitchen, the script offers this response:

NEIL: I’m going upstairs to get the incredibly helpful and informative “Protect and Survive” manual! Nobody better touch this while I’m gone!

This reference to the Protect and Survive manual, which at the time and retrospectively has been regarded as useless in the event of an actual nuclear attack, appears for the purpose of ridiculing it. Having the character of Neil act as though the manual could help deal with something as serious as an atom bomb in the kitchen employs sarcasm as a critical tool. Protect and Survive featured suggestions such as painting the windows of the house white in order to deflect the heat from a blast, which The Young Ones also satirised:

RICK: Neil, can you lend me five- What are you doing?

[NEIL is reading his survival manual while painting himself white with a paintbrush]

NEIL: Oh, painting myself white to deflect the blast.

RICK: That’s great, isn’t it? Racial discrimination, even in death! What are these? [indicates a few lunchbags on the table]

NEIL: Sandbags!

The misinterpretation of the manual’s instructions, as well as the substitution of items deemed vital for items found in the house, reflects the feeling that most British households were simply unprepared for a nuclear attack and stood very little chance of survival. This is compounded later in the episode, when the four main characters resort to hiding underneath the kitchen table as a means of escaping the blast of the bomb – something many had resorted to in air raids during WWII but which was drastically inadequate protection against an atom bomb. This episode also portrayed the nihilism in British culture over nuclear war – a nihilism that can be found in other cultural sources, such as The Smiths song “Ask”[6] – through the character of Vyvyan, who spends much of the episode attempting to set the bomb off.

This show being the work of alternative comedians, The Young Ones also utilised its anarchic tone to critique the Thatcher administration of the time. This was usually done through the character of Rick, who blamed Margaret Thatcher for most problems faced by the group. Though his character existed to satirise upper-class closet conservatives as well as overzealous student activists, he was something of a mouthpiece for the left-wing writers. Some of his more memorable outbursts include:

RICK: We haven’t got any money! Vyvyan’s baby will be a pauper! Oliver Twist! Jeffrey Dickens! Back to Victorian values! [directly to camera, angrily] I hope you’re satisfied, Thatcher!

RICK: Neil! The bathroom’s free! Unlike the country under the Thatcherite junta!

Other characters were used to critique the government too:

RICK: School’s out forever! Yeah, come on everyone! Let all your hairs hang out! Do whatever you want!

MIKE: What’s all the excitement, Rick? Has education finally been cut altogether? That’s the only reason I voted Tory.

The first of these is a reference to the 1983 interview in which Thatcher endorsed a return to “Victorian values”. That is, a rolling back of the state to unburden the individual and set them free to prosper, should they put the effort in. This New Right attitude, combined with the high unemployment figures from that year, created the view that Thatcherism was about looking out for “number one”. This wasn’t aided by Employment Secretary Norman Tebbit’s “Get On Your Bike” speech at the Conservative Party Conference in 1981. The Young Ones captured the mood of particularly the youth in such a climate – one in which many felt misunderstood and patronised – in a cutaway segment featuring the fictional TV programme Nozin’ Aroun’:

BAZ: Rol! A lot of my mates say to me, “Oh Baz, what is the point?” What would you say to them?

ROLAND: Well surely, Baz, your mates must realise that there definitely is a point!

BAZ: So a real message of hope and good cheer there – from Roland, a really ace guy!

To summarise; just as is the case today, early 1980s Britons were facing uncertainty. This was especially the case for anyone working in manufacturing industries, as the unsuccess of the Miners’ Strike of 1984 signified a wider trend in British industry. The government’s overarching aim of turning society away from one in which a “nanny state” risked making people idle to one where everyone was free to accumulate wealth that would trickle down to the less well off was never going to be a smooth period to live through. The last tremors of the Cold War didn’t help make the period more bearable. Yet, it is often harder or uncertain times where laughter becomes more valuable to people and The Young Ones – though not to everyone’s political or cultural tastes – undeniably provided some release for younger generations. To call it an entirely accurate depiction of early 1980s Britain would be to forget that its primary purpose was amusement. Nevertheless, it does provide a colourful insight and one that is remembered with fondness by those who grew up watching it, even today.

[1] Protect and Survive was a series of government issued pamphlets, public information films and radio broadcasts produced in the late 1970s/early 1980s, to be distributed 72 hours before a nuclear attack was expected. Public interest meant they were released in 1980.

[2] https://countryeconomy.com/unemployment/uk?dr=1983-12, December 1983

[3] Office for National Statistics, December 2019

[4] All of whom are alumni of the University of Manchester.

[5] After speaking to some adults who were young during this period, Mr Smith revealed how (aged 11 in 1983) he told his class: “I want to be there when the bomb drops. I want to be right next to it so I’m disintegrated and don’t know anything about it.” Additionally, he was under the impression that a bomb would likely be dropped on Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.

[6] “If it’s not love / Then it’s the bomb / Then it’s the bomb that will bring us together” – S. Morrissey & J. Marr, “Ask”, The World Won’t Listen, 1987

Bibliography:

Sources:

B. Elton, R. Mayall & L. Mayer, “Demolition”, The Young Ones, BBC2, 1982

B. Elton, R. Mayall & L. Mayer, “Bomb”, The Young Ones, BBC2, 1982

B. Elton, R. Mayall & L. Mayer, “Cash”, The Young Ones, BBC2, 1984

B. Elton, R. Mayall & L. Mayer, “Nasty”, The Young Ones, BBC2, 1984

B. Elton, R. Mayall & L. Mayer, “Summer Holiday”, The Young Ones, BBC2, 1984

Central Office of Information, Protect and Survive, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1980 Transcript of Brian Walden interview with Margaret Thatcher for BBC, 1983: https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105087

[chaoticallycosmic]

Closed starter for: @writermuses

"You know, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

[sxmthingwicked]

all images found on pinterest!

@wintxrx

[ogrepoppenangleaksofficial]

Does family/wider cast member have a drug of choice? Can be answered as seriously or not.

Personal crackfic headcanoning:

Regardless of actual substance enjoyment or lack thereof, Markus and Kitten are living embodiments od "anyone in this thread smoke weed?"

Big-D: y'all already established how thoroughly psychedelics fit him.

Door: alcohol, with a heavy/borderline exclusive preference for American whiskeys or beers. (Zinfandel wine just for fun).

Boy: coffee, depending on access granted to him by his dad/uncles/Grand-D. Always either Just What He Needs or The Last Thing He Needs, depending on the story beat.

Kevin: already established, Office Worker Coffee by "day," Vamp Party Drugs by "night."

Mystery Lady: I'm projecting the same vibes on her as I am on Door, but trading "'Murican Spirits" for either Hobbyist Espresso or Tea.

Malcolm, the Family's Pet Cop: Vitae has already been established and explained.

Shitbeard: Cigars, if his packmates would let him.

Ape: the extent that he tryhards Sabbat Dogma makes me think flavor-of-the-month Hard Uppers. Either as the reason behind, or the result of, his tryharding.

Pyotr: Cigarettes. Like if the cast of Heathers smoked, whatever smoking habit best conveys those vibes.

The Old Lady D Sat Vigil With: provided she was physically capable of doing so, just.... coffee. She flavors it for herself like other grandmothers bake. Sometimes straight-out-the-box beans and liquid creamer (International Delight I think conveys the vibes), and sometimes milk from her husband's friend at the farmer's market spiced/sweetened with a mix of kroger's baking spices and either sweet-n-low/honey/brown sugar, depending on how hot she plans to drink that day's (or meal's cup. The beans are either (insert coffee brand a pensioner would stereotypically have been buying since pre-Reagan/Thatcher), or whatever novelty/specialty beans her family might have given her on christmas/her birthday.

Kräkus: (this seems like a Karl question)

Horse: Absinthe.

CORRECT

except for the krakus part, thats a speakerd question

[titsthedamnseason]

juli!!!!! now that the like us series is over (thinking about when we'll ever get another hale pov 😭) what have you thought? and what are you most hoping for with the cobalt empire?

hahaha what a loaded question! i’m also sad about the hales hence me rereading dlu already lol 💚 but also on patreon kbr have started posting extras in kinney’s pov which i am so grateful for. great way to keep us connected to the younger generation / give a sneak peek and i feel lucky it was with my favorite girl!! i am relying on this content to hold me over lol (plus next we have XANDER’S BOOK!!!!! to look forward to. which i almost expect to get sooner than we might think 👀)

my thoughts on the series as a whole are kind of hard to articulate but i’ll try? i think the series started really strong and sort of devolved from there. i think going back to dlu put a lot into perspective for me because right from the beginning they did a lot of great set up and left threads that were still being picked up in luna’s books so i applaud them for their forward thinking and planning in that regard (i know that either krista or becca - i don’t know who is who lmao - is super dedicated to going back and rereading all the early books and making sure everything is still flowing and connecting and i must say that’s very apparent looking at the big picture. a job well done for sure). i think all of moffy and farrow’s books, definitely oscar and jack’s book, and i’ll even say jane and thatcher’s books, function well on their own. moffy and jane’s books also do a nice job in contributing to the series as a whole

but obviously there was also a lot left to be desired and i think that despite whatever flaws the earlier books contain, things REALLY started going off the rails with sulli’s books (my poor girl 💔). while the overall series arc ended up functioning pretty well imo, as the series progressed the plots of each individual book just kept getting wishy washier. i wish kbr would just realize that romantic and interpersonal development is enough to drive a story without needing a bunch of other distracting side plots that actually take away from the main focus of the book and divert readers’ attention from what the twins are best at writing. like the romantic plots should be enough to sustain a book IF THEY ARE DONE WELL, and kbr are capable of doing them well, but they got so caught up in trying to include other things that they couldn’t give the real focus of the stories the attention they really deserved if that makes sense. i’m at least glad they don’t rely so much on the third act break up or use miscommunication between couples to drive the books

i also think that now that they’ve taken such care to establish quinn and frog as a budding romance, oscar and jack’s book should have been its own thing outside the series and maybe started a different (cobalt-empire-esque?) spinoff for all these side characters that they’ve grown attached to and insist on making books for. charming like us is a great book on its own but doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the series (is the original / sub-heading / tagline of the like us series not “billionaires and bodyguards”????)

as for the cobalt empire…..i’m trying to go in with a very open mindset. ben’s book was honestly the last one i was expecting but definitely the most ideal scenario for me!!! im really hoping these books won’t be super dragged out and bogged down by extraneous and unnecessary side plots and characters (one book per brother honestly sounds ideal but i know that’s a fool’s hope). obviously a really big thing i’m looking forward to reading about is the evolution of ben and charlie’s relationship and also seeing ben grow closer to all his brothers and finally finding a place within his family 💙 this is why ben’s pov is great to start with because we’re going to see him thrown back into this environment with all his brothers and this time they’re all older and there’s no parents. i know that apartment is WILD in a way that ben cobalt simply is not (or is he? 😏)

i’m also now conflicted about whether the ben and xander resolution should be expected in burn bright or if we have to wait until xander’s books (BUT IT BETTER NOT HAPPEN IN BETWEEN!). i made a post about this at some point but i also think if kbr can’t keep it down to one book per brother, and overlapping style similar to addicted / calloway might work really well as opposed to the clunkier progression of the like us series.

i CANNOT WAITTTTT to finally get into charlie’s head also. that’s going to be a wild ride. i can’t wait to get a deeper look into charlie and beckett’s interactions and for the two of them and their love interests to be the best friend group ever. the cobalt boys ALL have really really really good tropes setting the scene for them (expect for ben who is the only one we’re kind of in the dark about right now) and im excited to see that unfold. also!! as much as i love the hales, its going to be great seeing rose and connor more again! it’s not an aspect i’ve spent too much time thinking about yet but they have such unique and different relationships with each of their kids so im excited to see each of their interactions. ALSO!!! FREEDOM FROM BODYGUARDS GOD BLESSSSSS 🙏 none of the cobalts are super close to their bodyguards to my understanding so after the like us series this will feel like a breath of fresh air

and the last thing i must say - what i’m really hoping for is that harriet isn’t going to play a big role…..i know this is clowning since she JUST moved to new york and the same college as everyone and is lowkey the only person that’s been introduced as a possibility for ben’s love interest but god that idea just bores me lol. especially when all the other brothers already have such compelling love interests and book premises. but alas i am probably wrong and will need to get over my unreasonable dislike of this poor girl who never did anything but be luna’s friend. i think my ideal way for the harriet situation to play out would actually be if she started dating xander but then they broke up before his real books start because i think it would be nice for some of these kids to get some real dating experience before ending up with the love of their lives forever!!

anyway. sorry as always that i’m incapable of being normal about kbr books and can’t just answer with “the series had its ups and downs but im excited for what’s next!!!” but that functions as a great tldr i guess lol

[liveshauntedmoved]

Maya let out a soft laugh, "I mean... you're not wrong there." She just happens to have a very small attention span, and that hat had taken most of her attention away. "He very much did."

cont. from here @juhde