#this is genuinely a really interesting interview!

[bitchslapblastoids]

Okay but on the other hand how refreshing must it have been for dan and phil for once to have an interview without the interviewer questioning about their relationship or shipping or any of that. Like. Jack and tommy just had no idea bout any of it, and even if they did, they simply did not care. So dan and phil could be as cryptic or gay as they wanted without getting the third degree, because jack and tommy were more interested in their actual career and content. It was so fun to watch

yeah very true! they definitely didn't seem like they were withholding or uptight whatsoever, which was really nice to see! i like that point! 🩵

this is a pretty separate tangent, but on the topic of tommy and jack as interviewers, I feel like i experienced some dissonance in watching d&p be in conversation with these two successful content creators who seemingly haven't had to polish themselves at all and still seem so naive and young and just overall...mid? fine? idk, i've never seen anything either of them have done before, so i definitely don't know their hustle nor the quality of their typical content, but it read to me like they're two decent guys who just kind of...lucked out?

and obviously all big youtubers/digital stars were very much right place/right time, but seeing the difference in d&p's readiness, active engagement with tommy/jack/audience/one another, ability to keep the conversation moving and interesting, to balance lightheartedness with depth, to take all the fumbling and mid material and hiccuping wasted time of tommy and jack in stride and just be gracious and authentic and engaging throughout.... the distinction in talent level/experience/on-screen presence/communication styles felt huge. and had me thinking about how much dan and phil had to work at their careers and work at their public facing selves, yknow?

basically the vibes of the whole thing felt kinda bizarre to me! but definitely some excellent morsels came out of it and it was nice to see d&p comfortable, as you pointed out. i rly just love seeing them in any new settings. and tommy and jack seem like rly kind, genuine dudes.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Overtime 15

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such noncon/dubcon, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: your boss, Mr. Hansen, runs you ragged but you find solace in an unexpected friend.

Characters: Lloyd Hansen, Jake Jensen.

Author’s Note: This one is dedicated to my dearest @thezombieprostitute

Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself💜

You keep your head down as you hurry through the office. You have a bag in hand, along with a tremor. You just want this day to be over. 

Before you can flee down the hallway to your fate, your name draws you back. You hide a cringe then turn to Jake. He smiles as he approaches in his Mario tie and striped button up. You push the bag behind you and chew your lip. 

“Hey, uh, I’m just...” 

“How’d it go?” He interrupts your half-baked lie. 

You sniff. Is he genuinely asking? You thought he’d hear by now. 

“Heard Hansen had a conniption but that’s to be expected. G’s not really the guy to put up with all that,” he bounces in his high-tops and tucks his hands into his khaki pockets. “So?” 

“Well, er, you know, there are other candidates so I’ll wait and hear,” you glance around evasively. “I doubt... I don’t know, I don’t really have the right experience and... Mr. Hansen--” 

“Is a jackass,” he puffs. “Don’t you want to get from him already?” 

You purse your lips and sway, “yeah, I do, but--” 

He sighs and tilts his head, “if you get it, you’re gonna take it, right? You should.” 

You inhale and let it out slowly. “I know I should--” 

“But? You’d be closer to me. Oh, and you wouldn’t miss out on all the breakroom treats anymore. Not to mention, you wouldn’t be treated like dirt--” 

“I get it, Jensen.” You snap and immediately regret it. His face pales. “Alright, I know how shitty my life is and I don’t need you to remind me. Thanks, alright, for getting me an interview. It’s much appreciated but I don’t want to be your pity project.” 

His brows knit and he frowns, “it’s not pity.” He searches your face and shakes his head. “What is it? Is it me? Hm? You think I’m lame or is it you? You get off on being like this? On being a constant victim? Is that it?” 

You blink as his words sink deep into your chest. When you think of him, you never thought of lame or weak or whatever. He is boldly and unabashedly himself. You are the lame one. 

Your nose flares and tingles, your cheeks pinching with hurt, “it’s definitely not you, Jensen.” You slump and put your chin down, “I have to get back to my desk.” 

You step around him and he says your name. He tries to grab you but you slip right through his grasp. You can’t break. Not yet. The last thing you need is to cry in front of Hansen. 

You march past your desk and down to the restroom near the conference rooms. You change quickly. Your thighs speckle at the bareness and you shove the old skirt in the bag. You come back out and toss it under your desk and sit. You rest your fists next to your keyboard and grit your teeth. You want to smash everything. 

Why are men? Why can’t you win? Hansen hates you but loves to torment you. And Jensen, he’s one of the rare men who ever took an interest, who was ever nice, and you spat in his face. You deserve his hate and you’re certain now you got it. 

Your phone beeps. It’s him. You hit the button without looking. 

“Critter. I hear you skittering around out there. Time for your performance review. Now.” 

You close your eyes as the line clicks. You tap the button again and stand slowly. You blow out between your lips and force your hands opens, your arms straight, legs stiff. You cross to his office and lightly rap your knuckles across the door. 

“In.” He demands from inside. 

You enter, nearly tripping as your thighs chafe together. You bite down on your cheeks as you swallow down your embarrassment. He can probably see every dimple, every stretch mark, and every flaw you try to hide. 

He clucks and your eyes narrow on him. He comes into focus as you seethe silently. He’s reminding you of who and what you are. 

“Not bad,” he comments on the short black tube you found to constrain your hips and ass. “Turn.” 

He swirls his fingers. You obey rigidly. Your panties are too close to peeking out. He snickers. 

“Stop,” he directs as you put your back to him, “now touch your toes.” 

You waver and crane to see him over your shoulder. 

“I didn’t tell you to look at me. Do it.” 

You put your head straight and press your hands to your thighs. Slowly, you slide your palms down and bend. You quiver at the exposure of your high-cut briefs. He laughs again. 

“No way, crit. That’s a full-blow parachute. What’re you afraid of falling up there?” His jibe at your height makes you wince. You stand up and face him. “Take ‘em off.” 

You blink and shake your head, “sir, I don’t--” 

“I said take them off.” 

You stare at him, waiting for him to chuckle again. To tell you it’s just another gag. His face is stone sober. You shudder and lower your gaze to the floor. 

You tug on the elastic around your thighs, trying not to reveal too much, and carefully roll down your panties. He purrs as you do. You recede into yourself as you bend to step out of the cotton. You straighten with the cloth bunched in your fist. 

“Bin’s right there.” 

He nods at the garbage beside his desk. You falter before you can set your feet. You cross to his desk and drop your underwear into the metal container. 

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it before,” he leans forward, leering at you. “Critter, you’re as thick as syrup.” 

You recoil and step back on your heel. Your lip curls in derision. He’s mocking you. 

“Sir--” 

“I’m just tryna imagine the sound--” He leans back and closes his eyes, a grin curving his lips as he touches his temples, “the clap that ass would make as I’m balls deep--” 

“Stop!” You exclaim. “Alright! I got it. I’m disgusting. I get it.” You snarl. “Mr. Hansen, you’ve made your point.” 

His eyes open and he snickers again. He drops his hands as he pokes his tongue into his cheek. His brows rise and he glances down at his lap. 

“You think that’s what I’m doing?” He says. “Crit, I need you to lean over this desk and have a look at the point I’m making.” 

You grimace, “what are you--” 

“I’m about to bust out my jockeys. Just as much as you’re busting out of that skirt,” he reaches to his lap and rubs, letting out a groan. “And it’s not just because I own you. Uh uh, this is all you.” 

You back away. Mr. Hansen’s always been crass. Always been nasty. You prefer his loathing to whatever this is. You’d rather be humiliated than this. You suspect you will be either way. 

“I... I need to go,” you stagger back and hurry for the door. 

You grab the handle as you hear his chair squeak. He’s fast. He catches the door and pushes it back into the frame as he pens you in from behind. 

“I didn’t dismiss you,” he breathes against your ear. “So be a good little critter and get down on your knees.” 

You push back into him with your elbow, a nudge that begs him to get away. He grabs your arm and wrenches you away from the door. He hauls you back and tosses you so you stumble. 

“Critter, you get down and crawl for me. Now.” He sneers as he blocks the door with his figure. “Don’t stop until I say so.” 

[tit-spoilers]

I'm gonna be real, I completely disagree with the criticism that Tommy and Jack didn't do enough research.

Tommy sent that email in the early stages of preparation for the podcast, it was just a mistake that he obviously felt really embarrassed about, and he even brought it up himself so they could all laugh about it!! And they did!!!

Jack clearly did a lot of research, and it kind of felt like after that they more or less got their assigned roles, with Jack being really informed on everything and Tommy not having the most information. And honestly, I'm glad they did it that way!! It gave us a new perspective that we wouldn't have gotten if Tommy already knew everything. This way we got live reactions to stuff Dan and Phil have done, and that was really entertaining!! Those were some of my favorite parts of the episode.

Plus, at the end of the day, this is a podcast that's meant to be funny and casual. There are a ton of Dan and Phil interviews done by professional journalists (some of which are honestly a lot less well-researched than the podcast). Tommy and Jack are not journalists. They're doing a silly podcast. The purpose of the podcast is not just to interview Dan and Phil, but to be entertaining and have interesting interactions with each other. An interviewer's feelings on the people they're interviewing don't really matter in traditional interviews. In this case, they do matter. They are half of the fun. And it feels wonderful to get a fresh perspective and a genuine two-sided conversation, which wouldn't be possible to that degree if Tommy and Jack knew everything about Dan and Phil already.

I think people need to stop treating it as a proper interview, and start treating it as what it is, which is a fascinating documentation of new and old YouTube colliding to support each other and show respect for each other. And that's lovely!!

[mhevarujta]

Lily Rose Depp said it for example: “It was clear to me from the beginning, and from what Rob [Eggers] was saying to me, it’s a love story with Count Orlok as much as it is with her husband. There’s a real love triangle there. “

I don’t have problems with love triangles with vampires or with Ellen loving Orlok, even if it’s fucked up. I have problems with how they executed it in the movie itself. Would people get this idea that Ellen loved Orlok or really wanted him or if there was real love triangle going on if they didn’t read piles of interviews from cast and crew and need to constantly refer to them? Movie itself needed to show it. Perhaps, Eggers simply can’t write gothic romances and really thought he was doing something, but it didn’t translate to screen. His WH comparison did him no favours, by inviting comparisons between Heathcliff and Orlok considering how bland and flat Orlok is as character. But Eggers really thought he was doing some deep comparison.

It's a love triangle because Ellen's desire lies with Orlok, not with Thomas.

IF his intention was to show love between Orlok and Ellen, Eggers fails. I DO think that Eggers' comments about Wuthering Heights only translate on screen very superficially in terms of Ellen being torn between what would exile her from society and between what makes her a part of it. But if we look at them as anything more than that, they'd only show that he doesn't have a good grasp of either Heathcliff or Catherine's characters, both of whom are miles away from Orlok and Ellen as individuals: To put it very superficially Orlok lacks Heathcliff's humanity, Ellen does not have Catherine's selfishness and overall, the lack of any emotional depth in their relationship aside, Ellen x Orlok don't even balance each other out as individuals in my opinion. Also, Heathcliff lives and breathes on love and spite, but as long as Catherine is still really fond of someone he would not unleash his cruelty upon them to its full extent, and this makes for some absolutely fascinating dynamics throughout Wuthering Heights. On the other hand Orlok is devoid of any of Heathcliff's complexity. He's paper-thin. He works as a symbol for the individual and the collective shadow, sure, and that's the most interesting part of his character, but he doesn't work in a straight-forward manner.

Nevertheless, I'd like to give Eggers the benefit of the doubt, in that he chose to be inspired by WH without replicating it. Because to be frank I think that, despite his comparison, if he intended for a genuine love to exist between Orlok and Ellen he wouldn't have actively deleted all the aspects that showed tenderness or even confidence on Ellen's part from the 2016 script. All the mentions of Ellen 'gently' touching him? Gone. The 'lovingly' when she brings him back to her? Gone. Ellen feeling "calm and confident in a way she has never been before?" Gone. The emphasis on Ellen being 'finally fulfilled'? Gone. Instead there are things that are added. Like a completely different direction for Ellen and Thomas' relationship, a last look of love between them even as Ellen lies with Orlok, the emphasis on Ellen's moment of reckoning and victory.

Moreover, despite Depp's talk about a love story, it's Eggers himself who has mentioned that the nature of Ellen and Orlok's dynamic is about obsession and not love. He has also acknowledged the existing rape and that Orlok is an abuser. So I think that it's really interesting when people who saw this movie with shipping goggles on are trying to say that Ellen was ONLY abused by her society, that these elements were not there and that other viewers are making them up because they didn't get what the movie was about or don't understand the genre. Ellen was a victim of the vampire and of society both, and that's part of her tragedy.

[scratxhed-cd]

I honestly do believe this though. Katniss downplays every part of herself even down to the skills she’s best at. We see this when Haymitch asks her about her shooting skills and she more or less shrugs it off and says she’s just alright when we know at that point she’s an excellent shot. So it’s not surprising that she also doesn’t ever describe herself as particularly beautiful. She either doesn’t think about it or doesn’t really believe she is.

Peeta also says in his interview with Ceaser Flickerman “a lot of boys like her” but we never get any notion of this from Katniss. She’s noticed girls talking about Gale though which makes me think that it has genuinely never occurred to her that anyone would be interested in her bc she doesn’t assume she stands out in any big or likable way.

I think too many of us ignore this implication:

If Katniss and Gale look so alike as to be confused for family AND Gale is frequently described as clearly handsome, that means Katniss is lovely. In this ESSAY I WILL—!!!

[rathologic]

biggest disconnect in pathologic's reception has kind of always been a divide between "patho is driven by mechanics" and "patho is driven by story" camps where opinions only ever come from one of these extremes... around p1's development and release the developers considered it exclusively a survival challenge sim, not a game marketed for its story (despite story representing a huge fraction of the time and thought put into it). In The Society Of Dead Poets goes into so much detail about this. and it WAS a stunning technical work under the circumstances, but the complex story was what gave the franchise cult appeal, or at least enough so for it to get a sequel... reviews from the period tend to go along the lines of "this game looks and plays like shit but it's extremely thought-provoking". there's a little to be said about the mainstream view of a "Gamer" in 2005 and what they would be interested in marketing-wise not tracking with story games yet; anyway, the one-dimensionality here was consistent with the studio's approach to games as a whole (cf BoneHouse.ppt).

so IPL's perception of their work was what informed p2's priorities, which turned out to be A Way Better Survival Challenge at the expense of things like characters having complex motivations (expansion on this has been omitted; iykyk), and they did an incredible job with that & basically perfected what they had been going for mechanically. which created this weird divide where p2 fans think 1 isn't worth playing because it's less engaging as a gaming experience, and p1 fans (me included, to be clear) see 2's story changes as a spit in the face of everything that made the series work. like, neither of these are fundamentally incorrect, but they refer to completely non-overlapping paradigms of engaging with the material. when hopefully it can be agreed that a Video Game is comprised of Both a narrative aspect and an interactive aspect, and that they need to work together to create the player's transformative experience (again, premise of BoneHouse.ppt).

Anyway. that helps explain a lot of hbomb's stance on the franchise, particularly that he can endorse patho2 without comment as an ostensibly leftist youtuber when even the most cursory playthrough is enough to let players in on its gleeful centering of ecofascism... that game's representation of colonial relations as an unfixable divide employing the racist trope of reciprocal violence, its obsession with maintaining status quo, and its completely tasteless approach to MMIW are all elements of Story and thus all secondary to p2's huge improvements on the survival system. in the same vein, his discussion of p1's changeling's route is limited to the constant reputation decrease and the repeated quests because those are the only mechanical features introduced over the previous routes, even while clararoute text is fundamental to understanding most characters... his video isn't like Bad for getting the interactive experience p1 would present to you, but it sucks for engaging with the story because it's not about the story. and unfortunately, on discussion posting websites, we do usually post about story

[shannonsketches]

years ago Toriyama said 'i didn't really like vegeta but he was really helpful to the story' and honestly?? more of that. more of those. you don't have to like him but is he good for your story? he'll be good for your audience too, bet

[my-coven-is-claudia]

love how autumn’s interviews have become a mini-event in the fandom lol

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Who is the Tails Polycule favorite sonic?

So as far as the Prime Polycule au goes, the only Sonic they've met is Prime!Sonic (who in this au is sort of combined with Modern!Sonic and IDW!Sonic). This kind of means that despite being in a polycule there is some lowkey background fighting over Prime Sonic that's inevitable😂😅

As for an version of the au where Sonic variants exist, sadly I haven't yet done too much thinking for potential Sonic variants. But for what I have so far, I'd say just about everyone in the polycule would prefer their own Sonic/Sonic variant

Except for Nine (lol). He prefers Prime!Sonic over the two versions of New Yoke!Sonic that exist in my head (one is a take from an au I've been working on with someone else, and that Sonic is a major dick. the other is from @phantom-fleetways's au, where New Yoke Sonic is basically just a paycheck to paycheck disabled guy living in a bachelor pad)

[skitskatdacat63]

This is my personal crossover event of the century

[aeolianblues]

I'm not an extrovert. At all. In everyday life, I'm a yapper, sure, but I need someone to first assure me I am okay to yap, so I don't start conversations, even when I really want to join in sometimes! It's just the social anxiety acting up. God knows where from and why I lose a lot of my inhibitions when it comes to talking to people about music. I don't know where the confidence has suddenly sprung from. I've made a crazy amount of friends in musical circles, either just talking to people about common music or (since it is after all in music circles) talking to bands about their own music. I let out a sigh of relief any time an interaction goes well, because in truth it's going against my every instinct. I wish I could do that in everyday life

[nyaagolor]

I'm reading an interview about the creation of Dual Destinies and knowing that this was the writing philosophy certainly clears things up for me. "Don't worry about past characterization of chronology, just be creative" They sure did do that sir

[batsplat]

love all the archival work! one question, sometimes (indeed most times) when i google certain quotes to find the source article, google cannot find anything. this quote from vale for example:

"In 2014, I and the others were "bombarded" with questions about Marquez. So I understood even more what my opponents must have felt in the past, because a rider never wants to talk about his rivals. It's also true, However, this is how the world of sport goes: people want to hear about the number one. Marquez now has the same media pressure that I had in the past."

the screenshot you provided is very clear and yet i cannot trace the words to anything whatsoever! and unfortunately this has happened enough times that i kind of have to ask… should i use a different search engine? or are there journal archives your frequent? and no hurries whatsoever i know this is a big ask… but i would appreciate any help!

oh this one's quick to answer haha I didn't even need to consult my notes - the article's here! the reason it doesn't come up immediately in search engines is that the original article was in italian, so I just threw the first sentence into google translate and. voila

I try to stick to the habit of providing sources and if I made that ranch post now, I would have properly put a list of sources at the bottom of the post lol. if you can't find a quote through a search engine, it's going to generally be for one of the following reasons:

the quote is from an article in a different language, typically italian or spanish (the german publication speedweek also gets used semi-regularly)

the quote is from a book, which I DO try to be extra diligent in providing a citation for that reason

the quote is from an article that is no longer available on the internet. it might be in my notes because I copied it there and, if I'm smart, I will have made sure I can still access the article using the wayback machine (which is sometimes what I use to find things in the first place). if I'm not smart, then my doc becomes the last reservoir of lost knowledge I suppose

the quote is transcribed from a video/podcast

I should also say that my notes aren't perfect since... well, most of them have existed a lot longer than me starting to blog on tumblr about motogp. there is just stuff I'll quickly pull from my lil mind maps or whatever when I post, which is where the 'being too lazy to give a source' thing sometimes comes in. when it's english language articles I'm not too bothered because I know people can find it pretty quickly with the use of a search engine if they are thus inclined; with the other stuff I'm trying to be more diligent. but yeah, unfortunately for three of those there's no great fix - the language one is the only one I can recommend. which, btw, if you're looking to do your own motogp research, this one is absolutely invaluable. there is a lot of stuff I've only found because I started searching for stuff using italian and spanish keywords. hope that helps!

[scentofpines]

in class today i felt so incredibly out of place again, why does it have to be so hard for me? and, i like this girl, but every single time we have class she mentions her "autism" while happily chatting with 3+ ppl at a time, completely effortless, while im sitting there, staring and trying to focus enough to even understand the conversation bc there is so much noise around me that i feel like i'm about to either explode or shut down completely and i feel like an alien trying my best to somehow socialize and understand what is going on and really to just get through this.

[indigodawns]

.

[icewindandboringhorror]

finally settling once and for all... with the evidence laid out plainly.. which of these brother boys is more stinkys ,,,