#there is still more clownery to play with there

[ghoul-haunted]

I've spent the last two days writing out a timeline from 115 BCE-42BCE and marking down events and then going back in a second time and marking down where each comic I've outlined already goes chronologically, altho I have gotten sidetracked by whatever the fuck is going on with Dolabella

[crescentfool]

i think something that is important to me to remember is that there are small ways i can do things to spark joy for myself and others without waiting for someone else to do it... (conjures up little sparklies from my hands) life is so whimsical!!!

[allpromarlo]

just saw a ravens fan say we need to sign cam newton...

[accio-victuuri]

i’m already fine with the boys showing up in the same video for tomorrow will be better song. and that some state media accounts posted their behind the scenes photos & recording. we are happy seeing that the boys are doing something together. granted, it’s not a personal project — but still. the question among cpfs is is there a possibility that this was recorded the same day? could be. but there is really no way to know. there are 30 singers in that video and i’m sure they have different schedules, so they could have come in to the studio depending on the time they can squeeze in.

however, the clowning continues because of the bts released. it had XZ being told he is the first one to record so he said that he has to set the beat right. some are saying, his recording, could be used as a sample for others to reference later on. this explains that smile on wyb’s lips when he had the headphones on, and then the staff was explaining again. what they were talking about at the time was also muted and just a bgm. so maybe the staff was telling wyb, we will play the sample for you to follow and he recognized it as XZ. 👀

those who are familiar with wyb’s smile will know what kind this is. he found something amusing but he has to control himself. this expression is not exclusive to xz related things but why would he do that while recording? i doubt the staff was saying anything particularly amusing while they are in the middle of explaining something to wyb in relation to the song.

now the speculation is:

1. XZ came in first, told wyb what he did so WYB agreed to hear the sample. He already knew it was X but he still had that reaction.

or

2. They recorded the same day and at this time WYB didn’t know what happened. Maybe he thought it’s a sample cut of the song from the lyricist so he said yes. Then he realized it’s XZ.

We are also being clowned cause of YT, the cover photo has XZ and WYB next to each other. You cowards, show us what happened lol.

AND IM CACKLING AT THIS COMMENT:

😂😂😂😂😂

Which is true, they wouldn’t be able to resist each other if you sit them right next to each other. much more if they are in a variety show. just take the PD101 clownery as an example.

This is all fake. 🤍

-END.

[withacapitalp]

“Okay, so now we add the water, right?”

“No! No water!” Steve practically shouted, grabbing the pot and holding it high above his head so Joyce couldn’t reach it, “Joyce, we’ve talked about this,”

She rolled her eyes, putting the measuring cup on the counter and sighing. Robin and the kids giggled from their spot in the living room, the parade turned down low so they could hear every bit of the clownery going on in the kitchen. Steve turned the evil eye on them and put one hand on his hip. 

“And, peanut gallery, if you want to have food, you’ll want to keep your snark at bay. Unless you want to be the ones in here helping me make an entire Thanksgiving meal for fourteen.”

“Always the mom,” Max sighed, patting her stomach, “I’ll have you know if we’re not eating by five o’clock sharp, Nugget here will be making Lucas drive us to McDonalds,” 

Steve waved her off and turned back to the stove, placing down the pot and stirring his perfectly prepared potatoes. It felt kind of weird to keep thinking of them as kids now that they were all graduating from college. But, to Steve, they would always be kids. No matter how tall, how old, how many nuggets of their own they had, those seven little kids would always be the stupid pre-teens that had given him his life. 

“Now, it’s important to remember to continue to whisk, or else they’ll get clumpy.” Steve instructed in a no nonsense tone. He had eaten enough of her radioactive cooking to know where she would start to lose sight of the final product. 

“Are you torturing my wife?” Hopper asked as he entered into the fray, grabbing another round of beers for him and the boys. Steve could just catch the sound of Jonathan and Wayne yelling at the TV in the bedroom upstairs, calling the referee out on some bullshit play. 

“This is the real question, Hop. Is your wife torturing my husband?” A voice came from behind him, soft and buttery. A voice Steve had desperately missed, even though this trip had only been a short few weeks.

Steve hummed, leaning back into Eddie’s arms and letting his eyes slip shut for a second. Eddie had only been in Chicago for three weeks to re-record something for his newest album, but to Steve it was always too long.  Warm pale arms littered with scars came up around him, fingers playing with the silver chain around his neck. No government would ever recognize it, they couldn’t really tell the world, but the ring on that chain was everything to Steve, just like the man who had given it to him. 

“She is,” Steve fake-whispered into Eddie’s ear, “She’s trying to poison us all with liquid potatoes,”

“Lucky for us, we have you,” Eddie whispered back, pressing a kiss to Steve’s cheek from behind, “God bless you, Mr. Potato Man.”

Steve snickered, turning around so he could fully face his partner. Eddie’s hair was shorter now than it was when they were young and stupid, and he was starting to get crows feet in the corner of his eyes.

He was more beautiful every time Steve saw him. 

“Quick! Eddie distract him while I put water in the potatoes!” Joyce cried. Eddie immediately went along with it, yanking Steve away from the stove and ignoring his protests as she began to experiment. Steve conceded defeat the second the paprika was pulled out of the cupboard. Some things would just never change. 

Eddie dragged him into the hallway, hiding them ever so slightly from the rest. 

“Glad to be home,” He murmured, hugging Steve close and resting their foreheads together. 

Home. The home Eddie had bought him all those years ago. The carpet in the living room was a soft cream now instead of gaudy orange, and there were boxes filled with mums in each window. The mold problem had been fully eradicated, but the screen door still swung open and shut in the wind. 

Steve didn’t mind it anymore.  It was just a part of the charm of their house. 

Their house. Even now it made his heart fill to the bursting to think of it. Their house.  

But now that Eddie was back, it was really home. 

[squad-724]

More mer batch au!

Wrecker meeting Tech!

AND THERE’S ANOTHER SNIPPET BY @clownery-and-fuckery

“You have to be gentle, Wrec'ika, he's a bit shy.”

Wrecker stared over the doc, hands clutching the water kissed boards to peer into the kiddie pool 99 had pulled to the edge for him to look at.

He lifted higher out of the water, the whale shark tail swishing happily, kicking up sprays of the salty sea as he spotted him.

99 said this was his brother. His very own, baby brother.

“He’s small,” He signed to his dad with honesty.

99 said when he had found him, he was very scared. He said Wrecker needed to be very gentle, because some bad men had him before 99 found him. Whatever that was meant to mean.

He- looked scared, his long, bright red tentacles coiling up unto his body as he tried to push away from the new face. Wrecker smiled, all teeth, trying to look friendly, purring and chirping high sounds as he did.

His small brother watched him, and he uncoiled just a little bit, not as scared as before. In fact, he looked… curious. Maybe even more so than Wrecker.

Still, the small boy looked to 99, who smiled happily and gestured towards Wrecker.

“His name is Tech, Wrec'ika,” 99 told him softly. “He's going to live with us, okay?”

Wrecker nodded. That was more than okay! He had his own brother- one he could play with under the water when 99 ran out of breath and had to swim up to the surface for air. They could go on so many adventures, have so much fun, they could—

“Wrec'ika?” 99's voice brought him back. He sounded happy. “I think Tech'ika wants to say hello.”

Wrecker blinked, and gasped, delighted to see his little brother had inched closer, now perched on the edge of the rubbery pool, watching him closer.

Wrecker let out a sound meaning a greeting, positively shaking with excitement. Tech might have not known any sign language, but he still introduced himself “Hi! I'm Wrecker,”

Tech blinked, slowly, and reached up. Wrecker stared at him, glancing to 99, who chuckled before sitting closer and mumbling so only his older kid heard him.

“I think he wants you to pick him up, Wrec'ika, would you like to?” 99 asked.

Wrecker made a soft sound of surprise, then happily reached, taking his brother into his arms and lifting him from the kiddie pool slowly.

He fretted only for a moment as the octopus mer got comfortable, squirming and giggling at the feeling of his suction cups latching around his stomach and shoulders to steady himself.

Wrecker watched his brother get attached properly. When he did, Tech looked at him, blinking slowly again. Then, the small boy made a happy, trilling sound, and he lifted his hands to examine Wrecker's face.

99 laughed softly as he watched the boys. Wrecker allowed Tech to pull at his lips, revealing his sharp teeth, and was careful not to allow the small boy to poke at the ends of them.

Tech let out a series of sounds- Wrecker only understood the intentions behind them, happy, and welcoming. He gripped onto the bigger mer tighter, and smiled wide as he explored.

Wrecker wrapped him into a hug, squeezing his little brother softly as he glanced to 99.

In his arms- Tech still felt very small. Maybe even smaller than he looked. 99 said he was scared- but that wasn't right. He shouldn't be scared, ever. Wrecker watched his new little brother carefully and puffed out his chest.

“I'm gonna watch him till he gets bigger,” He promised, signing both for himself and for 99. “And even after that. Because we're brothers now. He won't ever have to worry because I'm gonna take good care of him,”

Tech looked up at him, and tilted his head.

“I dunno if he gets that just yet, Wrec'ika, he's only young,” 99 told him softly. “But–”

“That's okay,” Wrecker nodded, his hand pumping together. “I can teach him!” He grinned.

Tech smiled at him, too, letting out another happy trill before he went back to his exploration. 99 laughed gently.

His attention wandered to the docks, to the sea he wouldn't touch yet, but that was okay. Wrecker would be there when he was ready, because that's what brothers did.

99 watched the two boys explore, with Tech pointing and making a demanding sound, and Wrecker swimming over to show the bot, explaining what he was looking at. He couldn't help the wide smile that spread, and he managed to snap a photo when they weren't looking.

99 let them play on the dock until the sun began to set.

I love these two so much <3

[babyangelsky]

Non is the hidden character and in this essay I will—

—endeavor to make a really good case for it.

This theory is predicated on the possibility of Non still being alive so for my purposes, I'm going to take that as fact. I'm taking a few liberties in places (to varying degrees of clownery) but that central point doesn't change.

This is a long one so get comfy. Okay? Okay.

As of episode 9, we can now be reasonably certain that none of the creepy shit the boys saw was of supernatural origin. They were hallucinations induced by the drug that New/Tan had them smoke in an attempt to get them to spill their secrets about what happened to Non.

Which brings me to Por.

We know two things about Por. One, that something—or someone—lured him out of the house and two, that he saw a ninth person on the house's CCTV.

Was the ninth person a hallucination? If he hadn't been lured out of the house, I'd say maybe. Since he was, let's assume he really did see someone for a second on the cameras.

Now, whoever it was didn't just get Por out of the house. He was specifically led down a predetermined path. When he gets outside and goes to the spot where he saw the figure, he looks down and sees a trail of blood.

He follows this trail and we all know what happens next. He gets deeper into the woods, away from the safety of the house, and starts to hear noises. He turns around, sees a hooded figure following him, and gets chased into a sharpened branch.

Even though New and Phi, although to a lesser extent, are the masterminds behind this little trip to the vacation house, at this moment they are both accounted for. New is playing jenga and getting high with Top and Fluke and Phi is up on the balcony having his dick bitten by Jin. They weren't the ones who lured Por and chased him.

Non did.

What, we're meant to believe that Por just happened to hallucinate a chase that happened to lead him right into a conveniently sharpened branch? And that of all the gin joints in all the cities in all the world, he just had to walk into mine the bad luck of encountering the one branch that was at the perfect height to impale him?

Which is, coincidentally enough, the exact death scenario that Non wrote in his script?

BE SERIOUS.

The only way Por meets this exact death is if Non was the one to kill him, and that leads me to the wire that ended up decapitating poor dead Uncle Dang. A wire which I truly don't think that was meant for him.

Let's follow this line of reasoning. We know that Top and Tee took the road when they went to get help for Por on the bike. This would ultimately fail as they got a flat tire and had to go back, having themselves a hallucination a piece along the way.

At that point, there was no wire stretched across the road. Once they got back to the house, no one would come outside again until morning when they heard Uncle Dang approach on his bike. The wire could've been strung up at any point after the boys got back.

Let's say that after ensuring Por got impaled, Non stuck around to see the aftermath and saw Tee and Top on the bike. Wouldn't it make more sense then for him to have strung up the wire to prevent anyone from leaving as opposed to stopping anyone from coming in?

Because if he is following his script then...

"But Leah," I hear you ask after having humored me thus far, "How would Non even know that the boys would be at the vacation house?"

This is where I sit back down at my vanity mirror in the dressing room at the circus and start taking some liberties.

For Non to have lived, someone had to help him. I mentioned yesterday that I was hopping on the Perth helped Non train and after giving it more thought, I'm doubling down. It's not only possible that Perth helped Non, he had to have done it, and not only because I want Non to be alive so very badly.

Why would Perth and his cheekbones be on the promotional poster for the finale (BESIDE NON I MIGHT ADD) if his character weren't important to the plot? Why would he be there if his only role was to massage Uncle Joe's shoulders?

Allow me to posit a Wild Ass Theory a la @respectthepetty :

If Perth's character helped Non and Known Criminal Keng escape Uncle Joe, that means the video where they were captured getting on a bus was authentic.

But because Uncle Joe and the mafia are still a threat, they can't just go chill somewhere. They have to go on the run and into hiding somewhere they won't be found.

Somewhere like a rarely visited vacation house in the middle of the forest with no contact with the outside world.

Or, alternatively, a creepy temple near that rarely visited vacation house.

Think about it. Non had already been to that house, he's familiar with it, he knows it's empty for long stretches of time and exactly how isolated it is. A terrified teenager fearing for his life is going to want to go somewhere familiar and that house (or the temple) is the perfect place to hide.

I don't think Non went to hide there with the intention, or the hope rather, that he'd get an opportunity for revenge one day. I think he just took advantage of a situation that fell into his lap.

The boys arrived in the afternoon and shit didn't start going down until later that night. That's plenty of time to sharpen a branch, lay down a blood trail, and put on his mask and cloak.

We know all the movie props and the camera and everything were still at the house so it stands to reason that Non had access to them. And we know he had access to the house because White found the knife that was used to cut Por's arms in the closet in the kitchen. The only way that knife could've gotten there is if Non put it there.

Not just any knife, by the way. It was Non's knife, the one that he brought to the house when they came to film and then used to cut Top.

I can't say with any certainty whether Non is acting on his own or with help, but I lean more toward him acting alone. Even if he escaped with Keng, it doesn't mean Keng is still with him all this time later and besides, I much prefer to imagine that ol' boy got eaten by a tiger.

One last thing. This isn't really part of my theory, more like support for it, but when Por is agonizing on the couch, he keeps saying sorry and trying to talk about what he and the boys did three years ago. It could just be a coincidence or deathbed guilt, but I don't think it is. I think Por knows exactly who killed him and that's why he kept apologizing and trying to confess.

In conclusion:

Hope you don't mind being tagged for the DFF round up @slayerkitty ! 🙏🏼

[shaunashipman]

I'm a new 9-1-1 viewer (binge watched the first 6 seasons like two weeks before the new one came out and been watching season 7 as it comes out) and I'm so glad I found your blog because it annoys me how most of the conversation around the show is always about b*ddie and I really needed to find people who weren't b*ddie shippers. Like, I get why people ship it even if I don't particularly see it or agree with it but they're always trying to prove how this plot point or the other points at them becoming canon next episode and it's so annoying? Especially now that Tommy is in the picture because I think he's such a great LI for Buck and has so much endgame potential but they're all talking about him being a "stepping stone" for their ship and completely ignoring how this is a chance for him to be in a loving, stable relationship in the long run, something he absolutely deserves.

Honestly sometimes I feel like b*ddie shippers don't even care or like Eddie and Buck, they just want them to kiss onscreen and ignore their well written arcs just because they don't end up in them being canon (which honestly after seven seasons of the same clownery they should have learnt by now that maybe it's just not happening and that's okay! they're well thought out, fully fleshed characters that don't need to be involved romantically to have a satisfying storyline!)

welcome to the fandom, and my blog 👋👋👋

it is unfortunate that the show has so many great characters and dynamics that get consistently drowned out by a single fanon ship. i get it if you're just here for b*ddie, but to make a big fuss over losing a single scene in another couple's big episode? when you still got something? sometimes you need a reality check that the show is actually about other people too

fandom is not about hunting for hints that your ship is going canon. like, i have never seen a fandom that seems to spend more time "proving" their ship is gonna go canon than actually, you know, doing fandom stuff. (i was not in spn/destiel, idk what nonsense went on there) we're supposed to ignore what the TPTB say while we play with our dolls because it doesn't matter, not ignore what they say because clearly they're lying and misdirecting and building up to do what they have have said, as explicitly as they can in tv world, won't be happening. this obsession with "going canon" is, frankly, weird in fandom.

my blood pressure goes up when i read the phrase "stepping stone". even if bucktommy doesn't last, they will never have been a stepping stone. one, because it is a relationship, and relationships can't be stepping stones, that is such a cynical way to look at things and really makes me wonder about some of these people's real life relationships (yeah i know it's fiction, but y'all take it too far in your vitriol for it not to be invading your personal lives) and two, because b*ddie is not happening, so it can't be a stepping stone to it.

they have done everything they can except saying "b*ddie isn't happening" because in tvland ambiguity is your best friend. but ryan calling eddie heterosexual twice is not ambiguous. and i've already said, but ignoring what ryan has said about the coming out scene because it doesn't fit your headcanon is extremely disrespectful. it is fiction, but it is fiction made by people drawing from real life experiences and y'all are shitting on that

and tommy does have such potential!! they like to shit on us for saying that, "oh he's only been there for 4 eps, we don't even know anything about him", and, ignoring that we actually do know some stuff about tommy, more than we've gotten for other LI's, that's why we say potential. we are looking at possible future storylines and seeing how tommy could fit. we are looking at what was lacking in prev LI's (not in a deficient way, just in a compatibility way) and seeing how tommy can fill the spaces they couldn't.

we're basing our theories of him at least sticking around for a bit, not on wardrobe hints and coded gazes and what actors post on their socials, but by what we've seen on-screen, what has been said in interviews in black&white no hidden meaning, and by simple knowledge of story pacing.

and we could be completely wrong. that's part of it being a theory; the acknowledgement that it is not guaranteed . once you start insisting something is 100% going to happen, it's no longer a theory

wow this got long 🫣 sorry for making you read all that, if you're still here lmao. but conciseness is not my strong suit, so enjoy my babbling if you stick around, and feel free to drop in my inbox anytime

[grantmentis]

Thank you for highlighting the transmisogyny here; it’s been kind of nervewracking watching things go from like, some genuinely cool first steps type of things in the c and then n/phf (albeit with plenty of issues and miles to go) and then seeing things seem to go backwards in the new league

It’s always wild to think about how Jessica platt playing in the cwhl would be received so differently today, and never great to feel we went backwards there. I really only started to follow the cwhl closely at the end so I can’t give the most in depth analysis of their policies, but it remains cool as hell that that she played there

Obviously phf was a mixed bag, Browne playing and coming out and feeling comfortable to do so was great, I like them dropping “women” from the leagues name, and their gender inclusion policy was better than most leagues, but at the same time it was far from perfect and things like letting digit Murphy stay in the league after her transmisogyny was horrible and some players (cough Katie burt cough) had content on their social media pages that were truly abhorrent. But a lot of the more progressive players on full gender equality were leadership players so I think that helped too

With the PWHL I think it reflects a lot of where we are at with more mainstream hockey which is how much it lags behind other sports. Hockey being predominantly white and rich makes achieving intersectional inclusion a bigger roadblock, and I think there’s still a fear of “pissing off conservatives” that exists for the USWNT in hockey and thus the league that’s less prominent in others sports, and more of a fear to rock the boat - which is pretty entangled with the whiteness of the sport and the privilege you are afforded as a white woman. But it’s good for fans to be loud show that they won’t stand for this and make it so teams being silent on hatred/bigotry isn’t an “easy” decision, and important that we as fans acknowledge that transmisogyny is at the forefront of this particular clownery and colors why a lot of her teammates including gay teammates still fuck with curl

[bam-stroker]

Stuck in the middle with you

@betweenblackberrybranches, ok you got me with the rlgl au. Here is my silly drabble for it!

I guess I'd say this is a suggestive/PG-13 level because Sun is smooching/getting smooches. But otherwise not much spice and all clownery. Just like have yakety sax or something playing in the distance

Well this was a problem. 

You should have been paying better attention to the time. Maybe if you hadn’t stayed up all night falling down a wiki rabbit hole you would have been a little more mentally present. Sharp and ready to duck and dive your way out. But no. 

You had gone into Sun’s room thinking you had enough time to grab the bucket and mop you forgot in there by accident. After cleaning up Moon’s mess earlier your mind was too busy celebrating the success you happily marched off to lunch. And left the stupid mop and bucket behind. Nothing says high class like getting wined and dined in front of a beat up old mop and bucket.

You run your hand over your eyes and hold in the groan of frustration that desperately wanted to rise up. 

So here you are, hiding behind a curtain a good distance away from the door.

You had managed to hear the door handle turn just in time to hide away with the cleaning tools when Sun and his customer stepped in. Laughter and murmuring following along their path to the couch deeper in the room. 

You’re 10 minutes deep into this hiding and have two choices. 1) Turn into a skeleton behind this curtain, squatting in hiding until the session was done or 2) try and make a quick dash while the customer was…. More occupied. You squeeze your eyes shut and try for a third option of using your brain power alone to magically travel through space and time out of this place. You open your eyes again. Still behind the curtain. Today would not be the day you unlock your hidden magic powers. A shame.

Sun’s voice carries over from the couch and you can tell he must have shifted to be the one facing the door and curtains. 

Well. 

You hold your breath and peek one eye out as slow as possible to get a view. Your hunch had been correct, Sun would now be the only one to really see you. The customer’s back fully to you and the door. It is also in that moment where said customer leans in to kiss along Sun’s jaw line and he fully locks eyes with you. 

It feels like the kind of moment meant to have with a laugh track in the background. You’d laugh if the moment wasn’t terrifying for both of your job securities. 

You give a panicked bug eyed look to him and then to the door and back to him. His mouth falls open as if to say something to you, eyebrows furrowed, but quickly tries to play it off as if he’s swooning from the kisses. Clearly the acting works because the customer just slips to kissing his neck. Sun raises a hand to cradle their head to him… and prevent them from looking up without pushing past his hold. He takes his other hand to give an accusatory point your way. The gesture falling into a ‘What are you doing?! You shouldn’t be here’ kind of intention. 

You throw your hands up and shake your head furiously an, ‘Obviously I shouldn’t be here!’  right back at him. You also do a motion to try and convey that you were getting a mop. That one must not have landed because he just blinks at you in confusion. Before he can answer the customer shifts to lift their head back up and he gives all the smizing he can their way. If he could make a twinkle visual effect appear around him it would fit perfectly. “O darling, how kind. Could you maybe kiss me a little… lower?” he flutters his eyes and tries to give a bashful look to entice them. 

It works and kisses are moving to trail down his chest. He gives out sounds of encouragement, keeping a close eye on where they’re looking. Then he looks at you and gives a look back and forth from the curtain trying to say, ‘Go back to hiding there!’ You shake your head throwing your hands in an x, ‘Hell no! I want out.’ You then hold your arms in front of you doing a fake makeout with the air and point from Sun to the customer. Clearly articulating, ‘Distract them.’

And before he can object you crouch down to start sneaking your way out. 

It wasn’t really that far. Just a couple paces and you would be free. 

Sun keeps his eyes wide and open on you as you inch forward. 

“Is something wrong?” 

You freeze and Sun snaps his eyes to the customer. They only just now looked up at him, “You’re so quiet now.” He lets out a strangled laugh raising his hands to hold their face, what would seem intimate but in reality was just a way to keep them focused in on only him, “O, I just was a little lost in all the thoughts you inspire~” He leans forward a whisper away from a kiss, “Maybe I could show you some of them?”

As he swoops in for a kiss you take two large steps. The door handle so close now. 

But now you realize you’ll have to try and turn the handle as quietly as possible. You can feel sweat start to pool on your forehead under your hat. 

As your hand reaches up you watch the customer wiggle in Sun’s hold. Clearly a bit ticklish. That must not have been expected because before they open their eyes to a sweaty janitor posing like a taxidermied animal in fear, Sun throws a hand up to cover their eyes. 

His golden digits and palm the only thing keeping you out of sight. “Oho! Ticklish I see? Well, why don’t we make this a little game.” The customer giggles clearly taken by the flirt. Sun stares daggers at you and gives a single gesture with his free hand, ‘OUT. NOW.’ 

And as you turn the handle he lets out a flurry of flirty giggles pinning the customer to the couch. Their own laughter is loud enough to hide the click of the door shutting behind you. 

You stand facing the hall… A deep inhale and exhale. Adrenaline coursing through your veins. 

And then you realize you left the mop and bucket behind the curtain. 

“...Shit…”

[aoimeru14]

I'm usually more calm about this sport, but today's race makes me want to sort of rant (and hear what y'all think)...

Serious question, do you genuinely think that McLaren actually has a strategy? (Any kind of strategy) (Please comment on it, I'm genuinely curious to hear your thoughts)

No, because now I'm starting to think that they just play Jenga during the briefing and then tell the drivers "Do what you want, you are your own man now. But remember, Papaya Rules" and then proceed to play Galaga at the pitwall during the race.

I'm saying this because even if McLaren objectively has the best car/drivers combo on the grid, it seems like they still don't have a plan on how to use it and what they want to achieve with it. (Like, today they achieved results just because the drivers aren't tractor drivers) (and no, it's not the same as Ferrari. They have clear goals, just poor strategies, from time to time, for achieving them)

You think they learned after Hungary, but no.

You think they came to a resolution after everyone, especially their direct competitors, told them about WDC, but no.

Today none of the pit calls made sense (most of them were just plain data feeding/asking for feedback) and this leaves me wondering:

"why I still cannot figure out what they want to do with this 2024 season in terms of strategy/goals?"

(Also, they clearly don't have a clue on how to start p1-p2).

Italy Sky sports commentators seem to think just like me because they kept asking the same question to everyone on the grid.

Am I really the only one who saw today as an easy p1-p2? Like, everyone was so confused/slow during the race and the drivers were clearly left by their own devices...

In the realm (of dreams) in which a strategy/goal actually existed, then the pitwall should have done more, in my opinion. They should have given more clear instructions to both drivers, especially before the actual race...

Yes, i'm also (but not only) talking about that risky, premature and overly aggressive pass in lap 1 at the chicane.

NO, it is not Oscar's fault, he just wanted to prove that he is a good driver. We know sweetie. You still have a lot to learn and today it showed. The fault is on the ones who instructed him, a rookie, that he COULD do it so aggressively and early in the race, risking both of the cars like that. (Thank you Lando for braking and saving it)

No, really, If that's what they are cooking for winning WCC then, oh boy. We are screwed.

Let's remember the clownery of: "Yes, we don't have a first driver, that's toxic behaviour. We let them race each other".

Yes, I agree.

You have a really good lineup so, why not? BUT there must be limits, for god's sake... There must be a strategy behind it. Look at what could have happened to BOTH cars... IN LAP 1.

That 1v1, so early in the race, didn't make sense strategy wise (and, in fact, just helped to open a position for Ferrari to slide in. Very "Ministry of Defense of the Papaya Kingdom" behaviour from everyone involved).

It was clear that today Piastri was feeling it, even more than Norris. He could have had all of the laps in the world to challenge Lando AFTER they secured a P1-P2 by distancing themselves from the Ferraris...

Also, why on earth do they still ask the drivers "Are we still on plan A or B?"... Guys, it's your job, YOU HAVE ALL THE DATA IN FRONT OF YOUR NOSE... YOU are the one who should know if your drivers are in a position in which they can safely do two pits or just focus on one and manage the tyres (yes, I'm positive that that was the full extent of the two impossible-to-decipher master plans... Call them MI5).

To quote Max Verstappen: "Can people in the background please be awake? it's important."

Speaking of the data... I unfortunately also think that the real reason behind why they had to rely so much on the drivers for feedback was also because they didn't harvest enough data for the medium (and so, acquiring solid data concerning the race pace) during free practice. From what I saw they preferred the soft all friday, obviously for a perfect pole at quali, and sacrificed all Saturday morning for petty strategy (sandbagging, really? In this economy?!).

Speaking of "In this economy"... (Yes I'm still not done ranting, I just recharged my battery for the last nail in the coffin, like Lando taught me last GP)

Ok, today was bad but what makes me more upset is the fact that McLaren's lack of ideas (and today's podium positions) slightly undermined both of the drivers chances to p1-p3 in WDC. (Yes, both. I would really like to see Piastri getting P3 in WDC in his second F1 season. Very demure, very polite cat.)

For those wondering, no, I'm really happy that McLaren is achieving all these points this year, it's been a while for the Papaya house and they really worked so hard to achieve this and more.

But this car/driver combo has not only proved to be suited for being on upper side of the grid, it's real winning material. So real that the beasts (us and, why not, the drivers) are getting hungry for victories. Let's just keep this mentality and translate it to a solid plan, because we don't know how long will it last. Maybe next year would be 2022/2023 all over again. Let's win everything while we can.

ALSO this lack of plans, Championship wise, is also starting to build up on drivers. We can see it on Oscar's tendency to be impulsive at times and Lando's struggles with believing in himself and performing accordingly. Does he really have to start ignoring the pit wall and go full multi21 for the WDC? Does Oscar have to do the same to win and prove that he can do better than whatever Hungary was? No.

The fact that none of the other McLaren strategists/team principal seem to acknowledge the harm that this lack of long term plans/goals is doing to everyone is what is making everything worse. And no, saying that Lando could do a Vettel Is not how you solve the problem. Same goes for "Oscar Is ready to help, if asked". Same goes for guilt-trapping Lando and calling him childish when he does not comply.

No, no one has to sacrifice something. No, one IS sacrificing something. Why is it always about blaming the other driver? Stop with this narrative. It's pure and simple gaslighting, the reality is that you have a rocketship and zero plan on how to use it at the fullest.

All for what? favouring constructor? That's really the only plan you have? Guys, do you know that if you do strategies that help the drivers (also WDC wise) you mathematically also get points for the WCC, right? That's how it works...

And yes, i really think that p1-p3 in WDC was (and maybe is, I don't know... Don't feel like I want to do the calculations right now) doable with the right strategy (and Verstappen constantly on a one-wheeled tractor, let's be realistic).

Both Norris and Piastri deserved a P1-p2 today, and both of them deserve to be adequately followed for the WDC (even if they cannot achieve P1. P2 and P3 is still LOVELY). Wouldn't it be more gratifying for them and their careers than just a podium?? That would be a real PAPAYA RULES in my opinion. (Of course drivers like to win, so probably they are ok with anything if that means holding trophies, but still... THINK BIG WHEN YOU CAN)

That said, even if I'm a McLaren fan (maybe I should correct it as "McLaren's drivers and engineers fan" now, we'll see), I'm still really happy that Leclerc won (sorry, i'm italian. Today, and just today, I'm also a tifosa too, forza Ferrari!).

Just a little pissed to see that we still don't have a plan other than a stupid propagandistic slogan... (Yes, I decided to risk my life on this site doing this ranting BECAUSE of that stupid slogan).

Sorry for the yapping/ranting, I hope I didn't offend anyone. Love y'all, and don't take anything too seriously, it's just a sport.

As anyone, I just want to see the team I'm rooting for improve, especially now that we have a NASA rocket in the house.

Also, McLaren fans, pls don't fight each other, let's be less toxic than our favourite team. The drivers didn't do anything wrong today and, even if it is difficult to admit it, they are just two twenty-something years old acting like their age living their dream/passion.

That said, I'm really curious to read your thoughts/opinions on today's race and ideas for possible future strategies. I see it often on Reddit and never on Tumblr, let's show that we too can get technical!

See you (?) for the next GP... Hoping McLaren does come to their senses.

[mazzystar24]

hi its birthmark anon! weird lore from me i guess i dont mean to trauma dump because my dad is fine lmfao but i HATED that scene because of the “your dad is still alive” line. my dad had heart issues when i was a kid to the point he needed open heart surgery and i remember so clearly my aunt saying something similar to my mom in front of us when he was hospitalized. my mom said she couldnt make thanksgiving dinner because my dad was in the hospital and she had to take care of me and my 3 siblings who were all pretty young kids (i was 11 i think and my younger brother was 9. i remember thinking my dad was gonna die) and my aunt was like “at least you have a family”. we didnt see her for like 5 years after that lmfao

also the “you guys need your own hospital wing” line also frustrated me because i had my own health problems as a kid (im alright now) and people ALWAYS made those sorts of comments to me. i didnt even register the daddy shit until later and that only made the scene worse because while it felt like buck was trying to lighten the mood and make it something they have in common but tommy dismissed it AGAIN. like its not even about sexual jokes to me its about him being an asshole in every scene he’s in 😭

anyway thanks for the birthmark clownery i doubt kim will return but we had fun 🫶 this whole discourse is dumb because the scene just sucked. if they wanted me to believe tommy gave a single fuck they shouldve had him come to the hospital abd they should also address the role he played in the gerrard shit for hen and chimney because they HAVENT and it drives me NUTS

anyway love you bye

Hi birthmark anon!!

Dw Im always down for a good trauma dump like one of my friends and I legit never spoke to eachother before despite being in the same class for a year but only became friends because a cancelled class led to us trauma dumping to eachother for our first proper conversation for like 2 hrs

Omg can’t believe your aunt said that that’s actually so iffy, but yess exactly the “your dad is still alive” line was just so so bad and I hated it sm like idk if you saw my replies on my other post or not cos I put it in much more in depth way there but like I too am a traumatised girlie and if someone said that shit about my bio dad I would literally lose it cos it’s one of those things that get said so much to traumatised people and it’s honestly a big no from me

Like sure SOME traumatised people MAY regret not fixing it but also it might not be fixable and you don’t know the situation and also maybe they won’t either way that’s their prerogative

and sometimes what’s right for them at the time isn’t what’s right for them long term and all these things are fine

Like me personally if my dad dropped dead right now I would genuinely celebrate and feel not a single ounce of regret and that’s fine and id deck anyone who said it’s not

Like if Tommy has his own trauma and feelings about his dad and their relationship then that’s fine but this sort of imposed rhetoric on another traumatised person is just a no from me

The hospital wing line is another thing that I didn’t see mentioned but bucks face DID flip but that’s a whole other debate yeah

See that’s the thing like I know I have Tommy loving followers but I personally dislike him cos they haven’t gave him (imo) substance or like enough other than sardonic comments and shit

Rip our fun with the Kim and buck parallels you’ll always be famous🫡

But yeah like even if people liked Tommy and bucktommy I feel like they can blame the writing or execution or context but like overall not liking that scene it’s not just about hating Tommy or bucktommy imo

YES THEY COULDVE PLAYED IT SO DIFFERENTLY IF THEY WANTED TO DEVELOP TOMMY AND BUCKTOMMY AND IT DEEPLY CONFUSES ME WHY THEY HAVENT IF THEYRE CARRYING IT INTO S8

Anyways also love ya byee🫶🫶🫶🫶

[mykoreanlove]

One of his girls pt.2 - Choose your fate

You haven’t heard from him in weeks. But now he messaged you – late at night asking if you were still up. What do you do? Which fate do you choose?

FATE #1

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my fucking god!!!

Your whole body was trembling. You were barely able to hold your phone properly because of the excitement you felt in every cell.

He finally messaged me. I am so happy now. Thank god I waited for him all this time, now our romance can start over and bloom into love!

You didn’t even think twice before answering him. Of course, you wanted to see him again. Even if it was late at night, even if so many things were still unprocessed between the two of you. You did not care at all – you just wanted him back so badly. You answered him in milliseconds and got up roaming your closet for a suitable outfit. Did you even need one though?

We’re probably going to end up fucking on his couch anyway, so why bother?

You decided on a black lace set which you put on after showering and doing your hair and make up. You hurried up, fearing that this moment would never come again.

So far he had not replied, nor called. You felt your stomach churn with anxiety. Your blood turned cold as you realized that he had read all of your messages and chose to ignore you. Tears were starting to form at the brink of your eyes.

JK, are you serious right now?

You shot him another message, barely typing correctly because of all the tears in your eyes. You saw him come online and reading it. Then his green bubble disappeard, leaving you on read. You felt like an idiot.

Embarrassed.

Humiliated.

Ashamed.

Fuck, I can’t do this anymore. Like honestly, he messaged me out of the blue after weeks of no contact in the middle of the night wanting to see me and what did I do? I did a somersault from excitement. How pathetic am I? Of course he left me on read. He probably messaged me because the other girls were busy and when he found a better option he ignored me. Why is this always happening to me? He didn’t change at all. Why am I so stupid?

You were too consumed by your negative feelings to get up and wash off your make up (or what was left of it due to the intense crying).  Instead, you watched the chat for hours, hoping that he would message you back. But he didn’t.

You fell asleep crying, wondering what you did wrong for him to treat you that way.

FATE #2

You finally had a night off to yourself – the last weeks were packed with workouts, dates, therapy, party nights and study sessions and you clearly needed a break. That’s why you chose to stay in and relax – thankfully with the help of your little vibrating buddy.

As you were getting it on and playing with yourself you got distracted by the many pings coming from your phone.

Who the fuck is messaging me now?

Slightly annoyed you paused the toy and took your phone into your hands, breaking into laughter immediately.

Well well well, look what the cat dragged in.

For a short moment you thought of answering him. Not because you wanted to meet him but because you wanted to tell him that you had changed. You were no longer the little girl that put men on a pedestal, thinking they were the glorious knights saving her from herself.

Nope.

You wanted to tell him that you had worked on yourself. A lot. You now realized how amazing you were – beautiful from the inside and out. Smart, driven, ambitious, sexy as fuck and in high demand. You wanted to tell him that you would never ever accept his boyish behavior again – you deserved far more than that.

You didn‘t hate him but you were no longer interested in entertaining his clownery. You leveled up and if he wanted you back in his life he had to rise up to your level as well.

You felt immense happiness in your chest as you realized how far you had come. You finally chose yourself over him and that felt good. You started typing a heartfelt reply in which you explained to him why you were done with him for now but then stopped.

I could explain all of that to him, right? But I could also… you know, match his energy and focus on me.

Your eyes fell on the toy next to you. Your fingers erased the long message and typed a short reply. You smirked as you put away your phone and got back to work.

Yeah, I’m gonna love me. I do it better than him anyway.

FATE #3

You frowned heavily as you scanned his messages.

See, he is a giant fuckboy. He only messaged me because no one else is around. Call him out on his bullshit!

You felt your chest tighten again. You didn’t want to assume the worst of him, even if it looked that way. But couldn’t there be another explanation?

Who says he’s only texting because of hooking up? Maybe he misses me so badly and it took him some time to finally get it out and that’s why he’s texting me at this hour. Couldn’t that also be true?

Your thoughts were all over the place, not knowing what to believe. You gave up reading his mind and asked him blatantly.

His reaction will tell me his motives, so let’s go.

You watched your phone nervously. He had read your messages. He even started typing but stopped.

Why did you stop? Kookie, what did you want to say to me?

You put your phone away as nothing happened for minutes. You felt sadness in your chest, as you took this as a confirmation of him only messaging you because of sex.

You got interrupted in your pity party as you noticed your phone lightning up – he was calling you.

Shit, he’s calling. Do I take his call? What should I say? Fuck, fuck..

“Hey?”

You heard him breathing at the other end of the call. He was just as nervous as you were.

“Just so you know, I felt deeply hurt by your accusation. But I guess I deserved that.”

You took a deep breath. Hearing his husky voice again made you realize how much you still cared about him. It made it painfully obvious how much you still wanted him.

“Kookie..”

His chuckle interrupted your sentence. “I did not expect you to still call me that. I missed that, y/n. I missed you. Still do.”

Your heart was beating out of your chest. You needed answers, you needed him.

“I didn’t text you because I wanted to fuck. I had a couple of drinks with the guys and apparently that was all the courage I really needed. I wanted to see you and explain why I behaved the way I did. Can I – can I  come over, y/n?”

[samuraipussy]

tbh terf clownery aside, I really appreciate the depictions of sex work in this show and so do the sex workers I know. it still falls into some tired tropes now and again and is shallow at times (as are literally all the themes they try to approach in the span of 8 episodes), but it somehow manages to toe the line and still paint a fairly accurate and dignified picture of what sex work was like during the edo-period. I admit I was hungry for a glimpse into Yoshiwara, more varied examples of the gender dynamics at play (especially the women who crossdressed to attract clients!) and the way sex workers influenced fashion and culture, but I was still impressed we got a whole brothel episode and recurring sex worker characters and the show managed to show the plight of women doing sex work without making the sex work itself the source of the suffering and subjugation, rather just the context.

[accio-victuuri]

year-end sugar rush round up 🍭

it’s time for the last round up of 2023. we have made it through another year filled with clownery and love for the boys! as per my tradition in posting year end candy recaps, i am releasing early 31st cause i am gonna be busy with nye shows. i hope you enjoy looking through all the happiness the final month gave us. have a great new year’s eve everyone!!!

if you wanna look through the past months or year/s then go to this link. 🔗

i’m adding a little exercise to this post tho and ask you, what are your top 5 cpns of the year? please comment or reblog with your answers!

• The tattoo rumor resurfaces ( new clue? )

• Bowing to the crowd as thank you

• 13 fake rumors - from the vault

• potential wedding photoshoot and “superman can’t fly”

• not really cpn but a media account on tiktok posted a video of xz’s appearance in MBS. they used the tags related to xiao zhan for more views, but they included one that has wang yibo’s name on it. 😂 i know that they might have just chosen an already existing tag with xz and wyb name on it and forgot to edit it. but it’s still a funny incident.

• 12/3 ZSWW Fake Rumor ( pre singapore timeline )

• 12/4 fake story contribution ( wolf mates for life )

• Washing candies only make it sweeter

• An example of bjyx being an open secret ( sort of )

photos were going around of a yibo vcr played in a chanel annual meeting in china. we were all happy to see wyb lookin so good and fresh faced, but what we noticed is his top.

the style of top he was wearing (p1) is very similar to that of GG’s (p2) at the airport when he was flying back to Beijing. it’s probably because the weather is getting colder so they wear this instead of their usual esspensive t-shirts?

the point is it’s kind of like the same-style in a close timeframe from each other. so it seems like their tastes in casual clothes are still very close.

• 12/7/23 Candies ( GQ MOTY + XZS Singapore vlog)

• The GQ MOTY hat was a gift from XZ 🤍 // Part two : I have to say that this has become a favorite one among cpns and has become notorious since so/os from both sides are trying so desperately to wash it. those on xz’s side using rocco’s 227 kadian to dispute everything even if it was their fault they were called out while xz was busy working his ass of shooting LOCH. this is just a reminder that the celebrity is not equal to their fans. whatever drama both sides do to each other, has nothing to do with us and does not reflect the boy’s relationship. 🤍

• Coffee from Singapore CPN ☕️

• All the things that happened Monday Morning of 12/11 which includes the magazine covers, pants, xz going online for a moment etc.

• xiao zhan’s snowman ⛄️

• The fact that WYB was wearing the bone necklace tho hidden during his BAZAAR photoshoot. The ones in focus were of course Chanel, but those who pay attention will see it. A proof of how special it is. Imagine WYB being bare faced and only had stuff that he actually needs, and he decided to keep the necklace on.

• Not exactly CPN but more of a similarity i love to see. cause Shandong Satellite TV decided to air BAH right after SBMS! We love to see their works not only be shown in online platforms, but also in satellite TV stations.

• Candy Throwback : Alexander Mcqueen shoes, Nike off white & WYB’s missing mole

• 12/15 double attack of stock photos from XZS and YBO. The black and white theme! Anytime these two decide to give us some update is a happy day!

• Du Hua describes WYB’s looks as that of a rabbit

• Tencent Video All Star Night CPNs 💛

• 12/19 they both went back to Beijing. ZZ was in Shanghai to film and WYB also filmed CCTV stage. The thing is WYB started filming at 2:00 AM and then he was back at the airport to leave at 10:00 AM. They both arrived to BJ so close to each other. CPN is they tried really hard to be back home & be together that day ♥️

• throwback cpn : wyb prepares xz’s room in hengdian (2021)

• their studios posting so close together for winter solstice! tho wyb’s is a preview for his new single, ybo still greeted people.

• Winter solstice CPNs ( WYB’s song preview and GG’s photoset )

• Clowning about a possible secret message from a 9key code

• “Everything is lovely” similarity from xzs caption and yibo’s new single and more clues like a possible connection to an lrlg post & what looks like a rabbit and character for ox.

• black and yellow similarity!

• 12/26 WYB EP cpn post ( teaser lyrics )

• FAE : Free and Easy sweater

• Same style of editing between XZS and YBO who we all know are dating ☺️☺️☺️

• 12/28 candies

• Marie Claire x Xiao Zhan issue 🍭🍬

• Yibo’s new singles : Bystander & Everything is Lovely

• LRLG 12/30 translation and short commentaries

• LRLG responding to cpf comments

• Wang Wang Xianbei 😂😂😂😂

• Similar clothes and Participating in the same single for a nye song

That’s all for now, See you next year!!!! ❤️💛💚

[that--unusual-person]

Cosmic anon gets it‼️‼️

There is so much more i would do the Starscream like pick him up with my bare cold hands and shake him like the ginger girl from finding Nemo and force him to watch all Shrek movies while all stars from smash mouth plays in the back non stop. Baking him into a cake is also a great options and the salad spinner with him in is just a great way to stim❤️. Just aggressively making that thing turn around and around. i once broke a salad spinner as a kid because i did it so agressivly breaking the handle and making the spinner fall on the floor and partly breaking into pieces. I imagine Starscream just being a puddle at this point, if so then he goes right back in the jar and then i microwaves him because i wanna know what will happen. if nothing does i would bite his head (lovingly) and rattle him around like a dog with their chew toy, barking while doing so and run around on all four running in circles.

I would squeeze him like those stress toys who's eye pop out dramatically and then throw him on the wall and hope he would stick on it right above my bed, that way when i stare on the celling i can see him before i fall asleep ❤️. Bc he is so cool and awesome he should be the last thing i see when i go into dreamland and also the first thing i see when i wake up❤️.

With the others i can't say my thirst for pathetic meow meows oozes for them. Like Starscream has just this pathetic wet sock, crying in the rain while covered in the mud, hopeing you would take him back as a lover while, i will always love you, plays in the back and you just throw a shoe at him to make him go away. He doesn't tho and looks at you with those big silly eyes, you still take him back because there is just SOMETHING about him you don't find in others, kind of vibe.

He is so pathetic and loving, his dumb stupidity grin that melts your heart while his clownery makes you wanna put him in a potato sack where only his head peaks out and put him in the damp,cold, dark basement. He is so dumb and cute and ratty.

Soundwave is just straight up my loving husband that i would wife up and give all my love without the insanity. The Bot is already dealing with so much he deserves a break and a soft tenderly kiss on the cheek while i tell him how great he is. I would draw him like an old painter draws their lover and muse; full of grace and power, elegance that you don't see anywhere else. The paintings of the time where he still was by my side the only thing reminding me how he looks like while my brain slowly withers away. My mind forgetting how his voice filled my hears like a wonderful song and his touch like the warm rays of the sun. But my heart beating for him and knowing even if i forget how he looks like my it will still remember him. Writing love sick writing poetry about the fuzzy warm feeling i had in the past seeing paintings of this mysterious person i clearly knew in the past. Writing about his beauty that shines from the inside out. Watching the moon, thinking of his dazzling eyes feeling cold and lonely not having him by my side, wishing each day that he would finally be here to fall in love a second time❤️ (but your genius for the things you wrote down).

Same with shockwave, but i have to admit i really wanna bite his mono-boob while skedaddling on his body like an insect. My feelings for shocker is in between of soundwave and Starscream.

I wanna cling on his leg and try to shake him around (knowing it won't happen because he is a THICC BOY). he would need me to put me in those child dog leashes or cages to make me stop fooling around and chewing on him. I would probably just straight up gulp down one of his chemicals to mess with him not caring if i die or grow a third arm. I honestly hope i would be his Starscream ❤️❤️ Him observing me in my silly little jar while i lick the glass like stich at the beginning of the movie❤️

I would be the fluffy cat getting petted sleeping on the lap of the villain as they spin around to face the hero of the story.

Anyway i hope it's obvious I'm very autistic about these three.(apologies for the insane ramblings I'm sleep deprived and ate like 13 chocolate muffins).

-thick shockwave/jar Starscream anon