#whatever you celebrate (and even if you don't)

[gaykarstaagforever]

YouTube has this thing now called YouTube Playables (great name as usual, guys; it's not a children's snack pack), that are basically in-app "Flash games"-style things that are just enough game to keep you watching ads.

The ones of these that aren't direct ripoffs of owned IP (very specifically Zuma) are barebones exercises in that bog-standard FTP addictive mobile gaming loop we all know and hate but also LOVE, minus the in-app purchases (for the time being). Like, shallow systems that are fun for exactly 30 minutes, then get stupidly hard so you'll pay to win, though you can't do that yet, so...kind of pointless.

...I still spent FOUR HOURS playing these, because they tapped into my primitive lizard brain's desire to try and master an utterly meaningless task and then feel undooly smug about it.

I didn't get any ads, because I'm a stooge that pays real money to Google every month for this, because once you go adless, you CANNOT go back. Which kind of negates the whole point of these, as addictive time-wasters that keep you glued to the platform and its commercials? But I already pay for YouTube and STILL got caught in these, so I suppose everything is going according to YouTube's plan either way, and I need meaningful human relationships.

But THAT isn't going to happen any time soon! So let me waste another evening on these by reviewing some crap garbage games for idiots that no one cares about, on Tumblr dot com!

1. Totemia: Cursed Marbles

It's Zuma. That's it. With a couple minor tweaks that make it harder and more annoying.

Just license Zuma, YouTube. I think you can afford the, what, $25 that would cost atm?

2. Sword Play

An on-rails sword slashing game (you don't control the movement, just the slashing), and you kill plastic doll guys before they kill you.

At some point they get projectiles that move really fast, that you can only destroy via specific directional QTEs that don't register properly half the time, because this is all relative finger smearing across the screen.

It was fun before that. The guys fall apart specific to how you slash them. That's something.

3. Dessert DIY

This one sucks. You're just picking from very limited options, then doing specific motions to trigger animations that create desserts that don't even look much like the promo art. People request different things, but early game all they ask for is "whatever you want to make" and "do one out of poop with bugs on it to make someone I hate throw up."

And then there's an animation of someone accepting what is obviously poop with bugs on it from their sworn enemy, they eat it anyway, then vomit.

The only fun part about this is the shameless inclusion of NPCs that look like celebrities, specifically Billie Eilish, Kanye West, and Donald Trump.

If you want to make a poop ice cream cone with bugs on it and feed it to Trump until he vomits all over his desk, this is the game for you. Otherwise, this is meh even for one of these meh games.

4. Bowmasters

Dueling Angry Birds, but you have no control of the camera and it focuses on you so you have to trial-and-error the degree of angle and throwing force to figure out how to hit and kill your opponent before they hit and kill you.

There are many colorful pop culture-inspired combatants to unlock, with a huge variety of projectiles of different weights, sizes, and behaviors. This is the most "very nearly a real, good game" one of these.

...Except that the level progression forces you to do Bonus Rounds, and one of those is "knock fruit off the head of an opponent without hitting them, and you have to do this like 5 times in a row, and we move you further away from them another 30 yards every round, and you have to use a wildly different unique projectile every round, and you get 3 chances, and that includes if you miss entirely."

It is basically impossible to do this, because your ever-changing location makes calculating arcs and force, with the ever-changing projectiles, impossible, in this limited amount of attempts. It turns into grinding it out until RNG randomly makes you win.

Which is a shame, because otherwise, this is fun. But you WILL get stuck on a stupid fruit round and stop playing this.

5. Mob Control

You have a cannon that launches blue guys. The NPC opponent does red. You both are trying to bumrush the other's base, taking advantage of buttons and switches and bonus gates that speed you up or slow you down and multiply your number of guys. Guys annihilate each-other when they run into each-other, so you need to overwhelm Red before they overwhelm you.

It's fun until it gets so fast that it becomes a chore to manage where precisely to launch guys specifically to annihilate other guys.

6. Merge Master

This goddamn game. This was 3.5 hours of my 4 hour playtime.

You have a grid board, with you at the bottom and an opponent at the top. You both have an army of warriors and dinosaurs, and a team HP bar. You click go, the warriors fire projectiles and the dinosaurs melee the nearest enemy, and last man standing wins.

Before each round, you can arrange the placement of your army, and use money you won from the last rounds to buy more warriors and dinosaurs. But the kicker is, you can combine like warriors and dinosaurs to make more powerful units, which you keep at the end of every round. They don't gain XP or anything, but as you make more money, you can buy more 1st-level units (that's all you can buy), and gradually combine them and then combine the combinations, and on and on and on, making incredibly powerful new units. And you need a mix of low-level and high-level units to have enough melee dinosaurs and projectile-throwers to overwhelm high-level enemy units, or draw fire away from your own, against the ever-changing enemy army each round.

It's a process of slowly adding more units and combining them to make stronger and stronger units, and as many of them as you can get, accounting for the limited board space. Also the price of units rises exponentially each round, so you may have 1 trillion gold, but at this point a new 1st-level dinosaur costs 245 billion.

I couldn't stop with this. It just got me. I wanted to see new exciting high-level warriors and dinosaurs, and see how fast I could take the other army down. There's more than zero strategy at work here, and battles can vary substantially from round to round, depending on what mix of units the enemy brings to the board.

It's still a rudimentary Flash-esque game, and very much akin to those shitty mobile boss rush games that raid our shadow legends. But it's not PTW yet, and the graphics are a charming and distorted replica of early 2000s 3D games, like Age of Mythology or GTA 3. It felt like something, for awhile.

It isn't, and I wasted valuable battery charge on this stupid shit. But I was having fun. And sometimes, that's enough.

...And posting about it here. It's something to talk about that isn't the world eating itself.

And we all need that sometimes.

[swoo-bats]

Tucker didn't think he'd ever be interacting with one of the Big Bosses. Glimpses of them in the lobby, hallways, other work areas, sure; that's how he got in on the open secret, after all. A few too many times of the Waynes showing up to work with injuries that didn't really coincide with the "skiing accident" or whatever they claimed it to be. But Tucker, familiar with Danny's tendencies to hide his own injuries, knows what to look for.

After getting a little suspicious, Tucker started paying more attention to the Bats. He religiously followed social media posts. Twitter was a hot bed for sightings and Tiktok was great for seeing clips of fights. And after a few weeks of paying close attention to social media and any local celebrity gossip as well as the short sightings at work, Tucker can definitively say that Bruce Wayne is Batman and Tim Drake-Wayne is Red Robin.

Though he had to put in the work, he figured that with observation of the more obvious injuries and work absences over a long period of time, any Wayne Enterprises employee would come to the same conclusion. He just sped up the process a bit in his unrelenting curiosity. It must be an open secret like Danny's identity in Amity Park; people are being polite by not talking about it.

He even confirmed his speculation with his coworkers. At lunch he had casually mentioned to Jamie, a fellow systems engineer, "With what the Waynes get up to, I'm surprised they're actually at work as often as they are."

To which she eagerly replied, "Right?! They're probably so tired all the time. If I did what they did, I'd be calling out super often." She tilted her head back and forth, considering. "Though I don't have the money for that."

Two other coworkers nearby also joined in, commenting on how the Waynes are so rich, it's not really a surprise what shenanigans they get up to. Tucker nodded along, excited now that his suspicions were basically confirmed.

So when he had heard two guys in the alley outside of his apartment talking about a big drug shipment (do people really think no one will hear them if they talk in echoey alleys?), he figured he could pass it on to the Bats. Just slip a post-it into a file that's getting sent up to their office, no problem.

Safe to say, Tucker was not expecting to be called up to talk with them. Did they want more information about the drug shipment? He already wrote down everything he knew! Or... oh no, he hopes that they don't think he's involved with those guys. He walks out of the elevator, hoping he looks like a normal employee and isn't giving off, like, criminal vibes or whatever. He knows he's not guilty of anything, that this is definitely one of those scenarios like "oh shit, what if I accidentally brought a gun to the airport?" where the anxiety obviously doesn't come from any rational place. But he is still excited to meet them for real. They're heroes! The only other hero Tucker has ever met is Danny and he doesn't really count.

He makes his way to the secretary at the desk in front of the office doors and says that he was asked to come up to talk. They confirm his name with his employee ID and let him through.

The first thing Tucker notices is that the office is way less cool than he thought it'd be. It's a little bland, honestly. He wasn't expecting, like, a Batman costume to just be displayed in the room, but typical office gray is what meets his eyes.

The second thing he notices is that Tim Drake-Wayne is the only other one in the room. Tucker guesses that makes sense, he heard Batman got a nasty hit over the head last night, so he's probably taking care of his concussion or head wound or whatever.

Tim gestures for him to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Tucker does. It isn't a comfortable chair.

"So Mr. Foley, I was wondering if you could explain why you passed on a note involving a drug deal to me."

"Well, sir, I figured this was the most direct way I had to pass on some information to the Bats. I don't know anything more than what I wrote on there, though."

Tim's expression turns confused. "Why would you think I have a method of communication with the Bats?"

Tucker's own face becomes confused. Are they still pretending they both don't know that the other knows? "Why wouldn't you?"

Tim blinks. "Although they may have... saved me... from kidnappings a couple of times," he says very reluctantly, "I definitely do not have direct contact with the Bats. I suggest you find another way to contact them." He finishes, pushing the note towards Tucker.

Mind running, Tucker picks up his note. Why keep denying it? Unless he thinks that Tucker's gonna tell someone? But it's already an open secret in the building, so why worry about that? Maybe he doesn't want any rogues going after WE employees and targeting them since they know the Bats' identities? But how would the rogues find out what the employees know? Everyone is pretending they don't know, since it's an open secret and everything...

Understanding dawns on Tucker's face. Plausible deniability! If Tim confirms his identity to Tucker, who knows who Tucker could tell. If the Waynes never outright confirm it then they can decry anyone who blabs as making it up. Tucker nods.

"Ah, I see, sir. I'll definitely make sure to pass it on correctly this time." Tucker puts the note in a pocket of his slacks. When he looks back up, Tim looks skeptical. "Anything else you need to discuss?"

"You didn't answer my earlier question. Why did you think I had a way to communicate with the Bats?"

Tucker runs a few answers through his mind and picks the least plausible one. "I've never seen you or Mr. Wayne in the same place as the Bats."

Tim's expression turns bewildered and Tucker holds back a laugh. This guy is a pretty good actor, though Tucker's answer was pretty funny too. Too bad "the butts match" isn't a joke he can make in a work setting.

"I'm sure you haven't seen most people together with the Bats though? Why us?" Tim questions.

For a moment Tucker wonders why Tim's dragging the explanation out, but he knows this building is full of security cameras and whatnot. One of Batman's enemies might be like Technus and be able to get to this footage.

'Wow, he's thorough,' he thinks.

Tucker shrugs, "Celebrities are more interesting to gossip and form theories around." He pauses and scrambles to add, "Not that I'm gossiping about you and Mr. Wayne or anything! I just mean in general, celebrities have to deal with more gossip because they're assumed to be more interesting than average people."

He watches Tim's face until it eases into something more neutral. Tucker really hopes he didn't just talk himself out of his job.

"Ah. I see. That's all then, you can go."

Tucker sighs in relief. "Thank you, sir." He stands and takes his leave. In the elevator back to his floor Tucker wonders if he should actually send the note again or if that's redundant since he knows they already got it.

Well, he may as well look for an alternate method of communication in case something like this happens again.

---

Tim watches Tucker Foley exit his office and his racing mind is full of questions about the man. He was definitely lying about the "same room" excuse, there's no way he would be working in system engineering if that was the extent of his logical reasoning ability. Tim wants to know what actually made him suspicious to Foley, why he thought that Tim could easily communicate with the Bats.

The preliminary research paints a picture of a man wanting to get out of his hometown and live in the big city. His hometown is a city itself, so he was probably looking for something new and exciting. And nothing screams exciting like Gotham.

The interesting part of this research is that Amity Park's main tourist attraction is their supposed haunted city and ghost hero. Who fights other ghosts. Tim rolls his eyes at the obvious gimmick. But more research proves the hero to be real, whether he's a ghost remains to be seen. Though it seems like the city's opinion was the complete opposite when the hero first appeared, lumping him in with the other "ghosts." That early information is hard to find, just sparse blog posts about "Phantom" and the occasional facebook post made by complaining residents. In fact, all of their digital newspapers only seem to go back a few years. If it was only a couple papers it wouldn't be weird, but all of them have nothing earlier than five years ago.

No wait, he needs to focus on Foley. Find out what he thinks he knows. And he can't have the other Bats look into him either because then Foley will know for sure that Tim is connected to them. So a trawl through his digital footprint it is, then.

He can't get through the security.

Tim is frustrated, at home on his own computer trying to access Foley's tech and nothing he's doing is working. If Foley did this himself then Tim is glad he's working for WE because he is having difficulties getting through the security. He scowls at the screen.

As Red Robin he's on par with Oracle with their tech knowledge. So there's no reason why he can't do this. He just needs to persevere.

Two hours later finds Tim angrily looking for more information on Amity Park. Is it secretly a tech haven? Could it rival Silicon Valley for their advancements in cybersecurity? He finds a few engineers located in the city but none of them are listed as cybersecurity or any related fields. One listing has him pausing when he sees "ecto-tech engineers" next to a name. The Fentons. What the hell is ecto-tech?

The Fentons' website is cringe-inducing, but he scans through their bright-colored pages and comes away not knowing whether or not this technology could be used to amp up someone's cybersecurity. Though it definitely could amp up someone's building security, given that you were trying to secure it from ghosts. Tim sighs.

Are these even real engineers? This has to be part of the city's ghost tourism attraction, right? But on the Fentons' About page, they do list degrees from the University of Wisconsin in... ectobiology? Tim wants to slam his head against his desk. What the hell is up with this city?

Tucker gets a job at Wayne Enterprises, and instantly clocks Bruce and Tim and Batman and Red Robin (and thus by extension figures out the rest of the family).

But since he figured it out so easily, he assumes it’s an open secret that everyone knows but keeps on the down-low for privacy and whatnot. After all, that’s what Danny’s identity had been like by the time they all graduated. Basically everyone in town knew unless the feds were asking. Because those white-suited government bastards can Fuck Right Off.

And thus, when he later finds an important potential lead on something, he doesn’t think much of just… handing it off to them to deal with. Yeah, he’s temporarily breaking the illusion, but it’s not that big of a deal.

Needless to say, Tim vehemently disagrees with that assessment, and is now deeply invested in finding out what the hell is up with his employee and his weirdly secretive hometown.

[lemotmo]

https://www.tumblr.com/lemotmo/778664610713747456/they-really-are-watching-an-entirely-different

They really never learn. Even without watching the episode. Tim himself said it wasn’t them shutting the ship down. Like the interviewer went very hard in the pro Tommy try to paint buddie as over and buddie shippers as a problem (and it came off very awkward) and Tim himself shut them down instead. I think he finally learned that with that man’s cult you just can’t leave any opening for them to latch on to. Like with how he answered here. Or how he said that Bucks not in love with Tommy. Or how Buck didn’t call Tommy later on.

Yeah it's pretty clear that Tim is OVER this Tommy/Lou bullshit that has been going on for the last year. Everyone is exhausted at this point, so he is doing his best to point out that BT is officially done. It's also obvious that no one else, in any of the interviews, really talks all that much about Tommy or Lou anymore. But Buddie (+ Oliver and Ryan) is mentioned a lot. It's everywhere.

They are actively pushing the Buddie narrative at this point, making it clear that Tommy was just a plot device and he wasn't all that important in the long run.

We also know he will be back to plot device some more, because Tim said this in one of his interviews:

The way Tim describes it here? Yeah, he is once again hammering it home that Tommy is only there to fly a helicopter, because that's his skill. And the way he says 'bed buddy'? LOL! I mean... this makes it very obvious that when BT hooked up in 8x11 it was just that... a badly thought out one night stand with an ex. 🤷‍♀️🤭

And we also know from another interview that Buck never called Tommy after Maddie agreed that he should. I mean... I don't know what Tim can say anymore at this point.

Buck and Eddie could be French kissing in 8x15 and declare their undying love for one another while Tommy stands there awkwardly witnessing the whole thing and the Tommies would still find some way to explain the Buddie away and make it all about BT.

No matter what Tim says in these interviews, it won't have any effect. They are locked into this mass delusion that BT is endgame and that Lou will get his own main role in 911. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

It's like I said yesterday. I am done caring about it. As long as they stay in their own little part of the Internet, I say let them be happy and celebrate whatever it is they think they should be celebrating for. As long as they don't bother me and the rest of our fandom, I don't care anymore. The show, Tim, the actors, the social media team are all actively ignoring them. We should follow their example and ignore them too.

It's clear that the Buddie writing is on the wall. I'm choosing to focus on that right now.

WE ARE GOING CANON AND WE SHOULD ALL GET REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT!!! 🥳🥳🥳

[lunaandco]

twisted sister

pairing: gavi x ofc

summary: riley does a stupid thing that pisses off her brother. gavi is the stupid thing.

taglist: @htpssgavi ; @joaosnovia

masterlist // I do not take requests

Riley did it without thinking of her brother. In her opinion, his idea of her doing it to spite him was self centered and simply stupid.

Frenkie had always told her to stay away from his teammates. That they were never good enough or had pure intentions, whatever that meant. Riley had always ignored that requests, it was easy to follow after all, most of the guys sharing locker room with him were either slimy, too old, or plainly unattractive.

But then she met Gavi for the first time.

He had just benched Frenkie, which wasn't exactly something that thrilled him, specially when Gavi was just soaring, both with Xavi's approval and the fans' love.

Riley undertood that homemade players like Gavi would always get preferential treatment by the public and the media, but she soon realised that there was something about Gavi that drew her, and everyone else, in: Gavi was ridiculously charming.

At just seventeen years of age, Riley was aware enough to notice the way girls gravitated towards him, rosy cheeks, strident giggles and nervous tics.

She was no different.

In the beginning, she was decided to listen to Frenkie's advice, ignoring the way her heart flutttered when he greeted her during celebrations and team family reunions. For a few years, it was easy to avoid, Since she spent most of her time int the Netherlands with the rest of the family, and very little in Barcelona with Frenkie.

But of course, after traveling to the Catalan city to celebrate the Supercopa title, things would change.

Gavi's charm had been combined with a growing self confidence, as he felt more sure on his grown up skin. Twenty one year old Riley did not blush, nor giggle, but she did sink her nails into the palms of her hands, when she relaised he was more attractive than she remembered.

Which could mean nothing, but...

A couple of alcoholic drinks and a wink were everything she needed to end up on his bed, ignoring Frenkie's text messages asking where she was. She would have deactivated her location if she knew what Frenkie would do.

Becaus as she was lazily making out with Gavi, after the hottest sex of her life, there was banging on his door. Gavi went to open wearing only his pants, and putting on his shirt on the way, letting Riley have enough time to dress on her own before she followed him to the hall, where she found him arguing with her brother.

"Where is she?" was asking Frenkie, in a harsh tone of voice. One would think about Frenkie that he was too calm, he never rised his voice or got angry at anything, so seeing him so distressed was rare.

"Here," Riley said standing behind Gavi, crossing her arms. It was obvious what they had been doing, undeniable even, and she could see the way it dawned on Frenkie.

"Let's go," he said, pushing at Gavi to get to Riley. "We're going home."

"Actually, no," cut Gavi, standing firm on his way. "She's not a little kid, she will go if she wants to."

Frenkie rolled his eyes.

"You are both children, as a matter of fact."

"No. we're not." Riley sided with Gavi. "If you don't mind, we were kind of in the middle of something."

"Absolutely no. I will not be the uncle of a teen pregnancy."

"I'm pretty sure we need ot be teens for it to be a teen pregnancy," snapped Riley.

"And believe it or not, we know what condoms are," added Gavi.

Frenkie opened his mouth to say something, but desisted.

"I want you home for lunch," he said.

"Fine." Riley knew when to take an olive branch. "I'll bring Gavi."

"No you won't"

"Yes, I will. Bye!"

Riley closed the door on Frenkie's face, turning to Gavi, who was looking at her with some sort of admiration in his face.

"I'm sorry..."

"Nah, don't be, it's kind of funny." He was smiling. "He's going to go for my ankles in training, though."

Riley scoffed.

"No, he won't. We're making sure he chills out during lunch."

"And how do you plan on making that? I mean, I could ask for your hand in marriage, so we don't ruin your reputation or something, but I don't think you want that."

Riley giggled.

"We could start there."

[incorrect-marvel-because-why-not]

The Avengers (+) On Gift Giving

Pepper: Absolutely wonderful, as usual. - But seriously: gives very practical, well thought out gifts.

Tony: I refer you to the bunny. Mostly makes or repairs stuff for people.

Thor: Decent at gift giving, but it's usually weapons, alcohol, or something he saw randomly in a shop window that he thinks he heard someone say they wanted. Basically, he gifts based on vibes.

Natasha: Gets something she knows someone wants but won't buy themselves (like a new printer or smth).

Clint: Inside jokes and cringey mugs/t-shirts/etc. are his go to.

Steve: Personalized paintings or things he knows someone specifically wants.

Bruce: Makes gifts unless he thinks of a specific thing for someone.

Peter Parker (yes, I am aware he is Jewish. this does not have to be for Christmas): Goes on one big shopping trip with nothing specific in mind with a list of people. Makes his own cards.

Sam: Depends on the person, but usually he does fun holiday stuff or books. (ex. Christmas tree mugs or personalized ornaments)

Rhodey: Asks people what they want. Sometimes gets things he thinks they need.

Bucky: Ridiculously good at getting exactly what someone wants without them saying anything about it.

T'Challa: Very spot-on gifts, that are very practical. This does not apply to Shuri, who gets memes (interpret that as you will).

Fury: Gift cards and passive-agressive books.

Maria Hill: Sticks to the classics. Socks, chocolate, ornaments, etc.

Coulson: Makes most gifts and cards off of memories and inside jokes. Very personal stuff.

[purpurussy]

everything Dan said about labels in BIG was so extremely real and personal to me and people really gloss over a lot of it sometimes I need to talk about it more about it when I'm not exhausted

[torchickentacos]

i will always shout praises of bi4bi but given recent discourse I feel the need to say that I love bi4het too! I just love bisexuality in general in its many forms, and anyone who only likes it when it's 'queer enough' for them is biphobic. Bisexuals should be able to bring their LaMe CiShEt BoYfRiEnD to pride without being made to feel like spectators and outsiders to their own event.

[eddiegettingshot]

agree sm with your last post. the girl (the one who just made the joke, not the one who dmed him being a weirdo) was just fooling around without attacking him or something like that and os posted her account on his stories and now i'm seeing everyone jumping on her. i saw three people saying “kys” which is crazy because she's just 19 and she didn't do nothing wrong???

right like sorry but in the grand scheme of things even if she HAD lied (to spread the rumor that oliver is... looking at ryan's mentions for posts about himself? something that wouldn't mean anything and would also make sense for him to do?) the payoff of blasting some random fan on your huge platform to your followers who are so deranged even YOU cannot stand them half the time, over something the entire fandom has been joking about for at least a full day, is still pretty much zero. and then there's the fact that he clearly would have had to go look at her twitter account to see she'd said any of that, because as far as i can tell there was no mention of it on her instagram, which is where she actually interacted with him. so...? like this is so immature and annoying to me lol. and this is a guy who's been having problems with his fans on and off for like. years. it's not like he's completely unaware about how it works. literally don't look at your message requests, turn your dms off, turn your comments off, stop opening twitter, log OFFFFFF

[ventbloglite]

Honestly I'll never get over how some people turned on Cavetown so quickly when it turned out he's not cis. Like I'm not saying that he never had people who didn't like his early music, because music is art and art is subjective and thus everyone's opinion is going to differ, just that it's very telling that he became a prime target for those who want to belittle trans mascs/trans men as a whole.

And it's frustrating that 'Boys will be bugs' is the song they point out as 'a stupid ukelele song about bugs' because like, I don't think he could have made it any more clearly NOT about bugs? Tell me you've only read the title without telling me you've only read the title.

The first verse clearly states a bunch of 'accepted' stereotypes about teen boys especially as perceived by a young teen boy who desperately wants to be seen as tough and 'a real boy/man' and directly tells us that this is bullshit thinking because the boy also admits that he can't admit that he is insecure about himself nor can he be open about needing physical contact with others i.e. toxic masculinity is already threatening his sense of self and place in the world and leading him down a road that doesn't benefit anyone except the patriarchial system whilst making him worse and his relationships worse especially with girls whom he's been taught are the enemy and it's ok to make them cry and aaaaaah

It's such a good song okay. The lyrics are so simple, on purpose, so that anyone could grasp the concept even if you're not a man (cis or trans), trans masc or weren't raised a boy (regardless of actual gender) so didn't experience any of this.

I just--- it's very telling that some have decided to not think about this message, a message which is valuable in a fight against patriarchy if nothing else --- and weaponise the TITLE and GENRE of the song to belittle trans mascs something that was not done when he wasn't out of the closet.

( btw before anyone is like oh boo hoo is this the worst trans mascs have to worry about??? no it's not but oppression is laid brick by brick my friends and every brick weighs down on the foundation)

[face-breaker]

me making settrigh more honey badger than wolverine + giving him an addiction to sugar & sweets + reading about how honey badgers actually do have a sweet tooth, hence their name

[britneyshakespeare]

Wearing my Big Time Rush Forever Tour 2022 tshirt while I Pokemon Go to the polls

[lemotmo]

I don't get why BT shippers are celebrating, this episode just confirmed that it will never be endgame.

For case of argument: let's say BT do get back together.

T*mmy has made it very clear that the only reason he's willing to try again is because (he thinks) Eddie is out of the picture.

So what happens when Eddie and Chris come back?

T*mmy would either flat out end things again or he'd give Buck an ultimatum: "It's me or him"

And, regardless of Romantic Buddie happening or not, there's no version of this where Buck would ever choose T*mmy over Eddie (and Chris).

All right, I got a bunch of asks like this, so I'll only be answering this one. My answer won't change.

First of all, I don't care what they think. As long as they stay in their corner of the Internet they can think whatever they want about this episode. It isn't my business and it won't change anything about the way I feel about this episode. So I don't pay attention to their posts, don't go looking for their posts, just... overall apathy when it comes to that fandom and their takes.

Because Nonny (and other Nonnies who messaged me about this), YOU know this wasn't a win for BT at all. I know this wasn't a win for BT at all. Everyone with a single ounce of common sense knows for a fact that there wasn't a single win for BT to be found in this episode.

The biggest win in this episode was Eddie! And he wasn't even there! 🤷‍♀️ That was closely followed by a major Buddie win on all fronts. BT was literally left in the dust to be trampled on.

I really don't care anymore. The time to be annoyed by BT is long gone, because it's obvious it isn't going anywhere. Nobody talks about them anymore in the official media. It's all Buddie-talk these days.

So just leave them be and let them talk and celebrate amongst each other about whatever it is they want to talk and celebrate about. As long as they don't bring it into my inbox? I'm fine with it. Who cares?!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[rotisseries]

whenever someone I follow and/or a mutual in law follows me back without us having any sort of recent interaction I can't help but want to be so so nosy about why. what did it for you

[batsplat]

hi bat<3 i feel like you’re definitely not a die-hard fan of the big 3, but for someone like me who’s been watching men’s tennis since the early 2010s, they’re like everything.

so i wanted to ask: out of the big 3 (or big 4?) pairings, which duo do you think is more interesting? like which one feels more worth exploring in your opinion?

i just watched roger’s docu recently, and omg he gave novak a solo moment. not like a story about them, just a montage of novak yelling and screaming on court. then roger went, “this might not reflect well on novak.” it lowkey gave me vale/jorge vibes, not a perfect parallel, but within the big3/big4, they’re the duo that feels the least… connected. and yet, when it comes to tactical and technical richness, they’re at the top. roger’s obviously way more arrogant than vale, like he just doesn’t see novak as special or even interesting. meanwhile, novak used to be that guy who wanted everyone to like him, but now he’s completely over it. over the years, there’s just been this constant low-key, non-vibe-y energy between them. but their matches? they somehow deliver these insane moments at the most unexpected times. at the laver cup, roger said something to novak, and then novak cried.

i’m less into roger/rafa, partly because i’m not a rafa fan, but also because they suddenly turned into this ideal rivalry narrative, and honestly, that kinda freaked me out. i’m slowly starting to understand the feelings between them, though. like, i still don’t buy into the whole “greatest rival” thing because, let’s be real, on both the competitive and career-defining levels, it’s just not that mutual. but yeah, their pairing definitely had its advantages—sorry for saying this, but it’s true. the 2008 wimb F is obviously historic, but if you actually watch it all the way through, it’s not that great. it’s the unpredictable weather that gave it that epic feel.

and then there’s andy/novak, who’ve always been my fave because of their history and the emotional layers in their rivalry. like, when viktor troicki recently said novak was looking for a “big name” coach, my friends and i joked about it being roger, but none of us thought of andy. and then it happened. i still can’t believe it. from my very limited tennis perspective, andy’s kinda feels like a subset of novak’s. i don’t really know what qualities do coaches even need in tennis, and how do they maximize a player’s potential? so i’m really curious to see what they come up with together. their dynamic peaked in 2016, which was also the only time the big4 rivalries genuinely made me sad. so yeah, they totally deserve this heartwarming closure.

okay so first off, I have to confess I get a failing grade as a hater because I read this ask reading ?? eating breakfast with this on

I dozed off to the 2019 wimbledon final last night so idk. this isn't nadal retirement-prompted nostalgia, I actually failed as a hater there too and completely missed his last match happening so like. arrived to dance on the grave a day late. BUT the djokovic/murray coaching news DID awaken something suppressed in me. I'll probably watch the 2012 uso final next just to feel something

anyway, what this does go to show is that for all that I am obviously extremely not a fan of the big three, as a tennis fan it's also not like I can pretend to be completely immune. I grew up watching them!! I remember watching so many of their matches! often with my family! I would argue about them all the time as a fan, whether with my family or people at the tennis club or indeed my maths teacher. I was always rooting for SOMEONE, like I did have an order of preference. and... uh, it should be mentioned that I am also not a complete neutral who just intellectually hated the big three because I thought they were shitty sources of narrative tension. I was a massive murray fan as a kid so I did also just get my heart repeatedly broken by them. we're talking 'cried during murray's speech at wimbledon 2012'... I actually watched the wimbledon 2013 final at the tennis club where I trained and was EXTREMELY smug (and delighted) when murray won because EVERYONE including my coach thought djokovic would win and had been extremely annoying in my direction throughout the experience. but also I have never enjoyed a men's australian open final in my life, except 2012 I suppose. that venue holds nothing but pain and misery for me

so with my biases stated up front, where the big 3/4 rivalries are concerned, I'm basically in the 'anybody but fedal' camp. that one I feel nothing for and its popularity continues to absolutely baffle me. no hate to anyone who enjoys it but I do treat its continued dominance basically like a psyop. idk who's responsible for this or why they're doing it, but SOMEBODY is pursuing some kind of nefarious agenda. call me casey stoner because I've cracked the code. I understand they're both individually rather popular and I suppose in a detached unemotional way I do get how that could happen, but as a unit? idk man. also, EYE am a rivalry enjoyer, but I get very suspicious when too many fans are an enjoyer of a particular rivalry... (or y'know, sometimes you've got rivalries that have a lot of 'theoretical fans' but you can kinda tell they do basically hate one of the competitors involved and will immediately throw them overboard if they have to take a side, which also passes the test.) just shows to me that there's zero edge there. most partisan fans of an athlete hate anyone who is a threat to their athlete, that's just how people are. if there's this little hate then that tells me that there's too little threat which tells me the stakes aren't quite there competitively or emotionally... which tells me that there's no real reason to care. I'm well aware that federer fans used to be more likely to be nadal haters back in the noughties (david foster wallace coming through for me again on that front) and that nadal fans are more into that rivalry than federer fans and that they're both retired now... but still!! if it was a proper fun rivalry, more partisan fans would still be bitter. fundamentally the rivalry is good for both of them in terms of legacy and pr and all that shit and they both clearly agree so it's just... empty

which yeah, so full agree on the stuff you say lol. I HAVE watched the wimbledon 2008 final (and I... think?? must have watched it at the time, I was still pretty young and clearly it wasn't a defining enough experience it stuck in my mind lol) but it's been years by now. so I can't actually reallyyyy speak to its quality and I'm probably not going to rewatch it any time soon. I do also just think it's the most boring match-up tennis-wise... partly this is because my favourite big three playstyle is djokovic's - I love how he moves around the court, I love the compact backhand and the emphasis on counterpunching... the nadal/federer match-up was mostly defined by federer attempting to figure out ways to prevent nadal from bullying his backhand. which I do know is oversimplifying things lol but it's. kinda true. djokovic/federer is the best match-up tennis-wise even if it's a bit one-sided in the biggest moments (which, whatever, that was narratively engaging too)... federer's full artistry against djokovic's precision was just more exciting to watch. then comes djokovic/nadal which is a bit of a counterpuncher-off, like they are quite tactically similar in a lot of ways, extremely optimised baseliners... but that means they were always going to push each other the furthest - they were already half a step ahead of federer in the evolution of tennis and everyone now is obviously basing their tennis primarily on how they changed the game. and, y'know, nadal's biggest rival is djokovic!! I get why if you're a nadal fan, you'd want it to be federer, but well! tough!

and YES yes I ABSOLUTELY agree that federer/djokovic is the most interesting interpersonally because federer was SO arrogant towards djokovic. the worst thing that happened to federer is that he became a pr merchant, like at least being a cunt was INTERESTING. he used to be absolutely dreadful about murray too!! aggressively unpleasant!! but that one was also frustrating because... murray didn't end up surpassing him... (I genuinely have like. traumatic flashbacks to watching their atp finals 2014 match. I don't think my soul ever quite recovered from that day.) but with djokovic!! people used to be so unpleasant about him - and okay, by now unfortunately he's given everyone plenty of cause, but BACK THEN it was a completely different story. it was so much fun rooting for him when the crowds were being horrid to him and he stuck it in their faces... before he did all the boob throwing business - staring icily at them when he beat their hero? hot

and federer was so so snide about the guy... pepperidge farm remembers when he accused teenage djokovic of faking his injuries in 2006

The 19-year-old Djokovic called his trainer multiple times. He had hamstring issues, but Federer thought he was faking his injuries to disrupt Wawrinka’s rhythm. “I don’t trust his injuries. I’m serious. I think he’s a joke, you know, when it comes down to his injuries,” Federer said.

OR in 2009

Djokovic, the No. 3 seed, threw in the towel midway through the fourth set of his quarterfinal with Andy Roddick, trailing 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 2-1. But in pointed comments, Federer, the No. 2 seed, noted that it wasn't the first time Djokovic has withdrawn midway through a match in a Grand Slam. "He's not a guy who's never given up before ... it's disappointing," said Federer, who will face Roddick in the semifinals. "I've only done it once in my career ... Andy totally deserved to win that match." "I'm almost in favor of saying, you know what, if you're not fit enough, just get out of here," Federer added. "If Novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth. Thanks to Andy that he retired in the end. Andy pushed him to the limits. Hats off to Andy."

'if novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth' ...? what are you even saying

and like, on a moral level I do actually think this is pretty gross and have a massive bone to pick with federer on his whole 'look at me aren't I amazing for never retiring from a match' schtick, which continues to have lasting harmful consequences in this sport. this kind of record isn't heroic, it's just fucking stupid. but also, it's hardly the first time or the last time tennis players accused each other of playing up their injuries - it's very much part of the sport, we've all done it or at least thought it. I am also on the record as being pro beefing with children. and it's very strong set-up for that rivalry, especially given how bloody often djokovic went on to crush federer's spirit! it's better set-up than the payoff, quite frankly

that being said, perhaps my favourite match they played is us open 2011 semis - y'know, the match where djokovic saves two matchpoints in the fifth set en route to beating federer... oh, I suppose that doesn't completely narrow it down!!

ah well!

back to 2011, that match did lead to just some really strong snarking in the press:

Djokovic was honest enough to admit the shot was a gamble – but Federer was reluctant to give him credit even for that courage in a crisis, preferring to regard it as desperate. "Confidence? Are you kidding me?" he said when it was put to him the cross-court forehand off his first serve – described by John McEnroe as "one of the all-time great shots" – was either a function of luck or confidence. "I mean, please. Some players grow up and play like that – being down 5-2 in the third, and they all just start slapping shots. I never played that way. I believe hard work's going to pay off, because early on maybe I didn't always work at my hardest. For me, this is very hard to understand. How can you play a shot like that on match point? Maybe he's been doing it for 20 years, so for him it was very normal. You've got to ask him." Djokovic was in a more relaxed mood. "Yeah, I tend to do that on match points," he said, reminded that it was exactly what he did to Federer last year. "It kinda works."

IT KINDA WORKS jhgjhgjhgkf get him again from me

here's the matchpoint save in question ofc

"someday the little twins will grow up to hear about matches like this" well -

which, I mean, federer's being extremely annoying in press! 'oh I'm above taking risks when I'm down on the scoreboard' says the man who ended up with one hell of a reputation for choking. it's also silly!! sometimes it's worth taking a swing at it!! also psychologically, because you're making things less complicated for yourself!! in individual matches, you won't necessarily be rewarded for your diligence and hard work, just not how anything works you moron. but y'know, this was the REAL federer. by the following year he'd already completely clamped down on this kind of thing and it felt like really djokovic could have also been WAY more bitter about this stuff than he publicly was... but yeah, this I did enjoy

and yeah, I do kinda see the vale/jorge comparison! like you say, federer is kinda... more arrogant, more contemptuous towards his younger rivals, also just more of a sore loser until pr got to him? tennis is infamous for its frosty handshakes, but you compare some of those with how warm valentino generally was when he lost... federer's problem was that he lacked self-awareness and was just so committed to this image of the gentleman's sport, which is why he ended up shying away from all this stuff. the unpleasantness with djokovic was actually like... still fairly late in the game, all things considered, it wasn't even really like 2011!federer to say stuff like that. which does show djokovic was capable of really really getting under his skin! and on djokovic's end, where the jorge comparison very much applies is how much he wanted the people to love him (ik his fans hate this narrative but like,, obviously he did). and how they had all already decided he was the enemy for beating their beloved federer and nadal. I do find it a bit easier to stomach with valentino because he deliberately plays with this stuff, weaponising the crowd and all that, whereas federer and nadal just pretend like it's not happening. (also morally it might be worse to boo at a motogp event because of the danger they're putting themselves in, but practically booing at a tennis match is far far worse - you can actually influence the competitors in a way you obviously cannot in motogp.) but that WAS one of the most interesting storylines in the big three era... djokovic slowly catching these two greats who were always so far ahead of them, however much people didn't want him to, even though he didn't have the love of the people on his side, and eventually managing to surpass them altogether. I do think there's plenty of interesting stuff there!! good groundwork! it's just... nowhere near enough, given how bloody long these guys ended up dominating

on djokovic/murray - MY favourite combination of guys as well, just in terms of how much I actually like both of them. it's an interesting relationship where it's like... they knew each other quite well when they were young, then inevitably grew apart a bit when they were competing for big titles? obviously they were also born exactly a week apart from each other, which is narratively fun. I suppose it's the equivalent to jorge/dani which... actually wait, no, I realise that would assign nadal to casey and certainly not my god. it's a rivalry that's a bit tough to stomach from a murray fan perspective because... I mean, it's not quite 'this is not a rivalry, they always kick our ass' territory... but when I started following tennis as a kid, it felt completely plausible that murray and djokovic would have similarly successful careers. which obviously. did not happen. still remember that kind of controversial 2015 australian open final -

- and, y'know, it's a bit frustrating!! this was the tone of a lot of that era, where you kinda just wanted to take them all aside and tell them. my god. maybe a little bit of feuding is okay, no? but well, it is what it is, mostly they had a good relationship. 2016 was kinda the best of times and worst of times because murray was pouring his heart and soul into scraping all of his potential out of himself, got another slam, year end #1 etc... but it also probably did end up fucking up his body permanently, in the quest to fight djokovic. and there IS something compelling and sad about that, but yeah. still a bit of an old wound as an actual sports fan lol

and yeah, they're two closely related playstyles!! counterpunchers with particularly excellent backhands - and if a wing falters, then it's the forehand. it was lendl coaching murray and getting him to properly go after his forehand, be aggressive enough off that wing, that got him his biggest successes. djokovic's weaknesses are less pronounced and especially these last few years, he's often been lethal as a serve + 1 forehand merchant. roland garros 2023 is a good example of that... murray was the tactician, generally thought a lot on court and had a lot in his arsenal - ofc most famously his excellent lob. djokovic does also have more to his game than just baseline pushing, even if sometimes that involves just spamming dropshots when he feels uneasy. obviously, as can be seen from the slam count, his game ended up being just a bit better... but, well, these are very fine margins. murray's slam count is deceptive, he really was the one guy who could consistently hang with those three year-in year-out. whatever revisionism people try to do now, it really was a big four era

as for the coaching relationship, I'm very curious!! coaching can take a lot of different forms and sometimes there's a bit of a distinction between the... bread and butter coaching, the people who are working with you day to day, and these more high profile gigs where sometimes it really is just localised to specific tournaments. it's all very individualised, depends on the specific demands of the player - obviously, given where djokovic is at in his career, you won't be seeing particularly major adjustments, like murray isn't going to come in and suddenly suggest djokovic revamps his serve, right. (though sometimes players still tinker with this stuff late into careers, especially if they're managing injuries.) given the particular stresses of playing in a match, what an odd experience that is in its own right, sometimes you do just need someone to be observing you, give your game a critical once-over from a little bit of distance. now, admittedly from what I've seen of djokovic's coaching relationships, I do feel like one of the coach's roles in THAT particular camp is also just 'being yelled at continuously during matches'. which...? a little curious if djokovic has that same tone when murray's standing there lmao. also one of the reasons for the yelling is when djokovic feels like he's not getting enough enthusiasm from his box. which... ... uh. I mean. murray wouldn't have been top on MY list for that particular metric. but he can get passionate at davis cup from what I've seen!! so maybe it'll work out

anyway yeah I'll cut it off there lol. obviously I spent half my childhood thinking about tennis and inevitably that involved a lot of thinking about the big four and that means I have a lot of thoughts on them so. basically it's fedole > rafole > fedal as far as I'm concerned. good luck to djokovic/murray in their endeavours, I will be there no matter what

[rainintheevening]

🍁🍁Comfy-vember🍁🍁

Day 12: Movie Night

Daisy Johnson & Everyone, Agents of SHIELD, Saving Grant Ward AU, pure fluff, Skyeward is there but not the point

------

It's Daisy's night to pick the movie, and because it's the first week of December, and she's feeling extra sentimental, and she knows it's Jemma's favourite, she calls Anastasia.

Bobbi and Mack bicker in the kitchen over how much butter the popcorn needs, while Grant and Coulson portion out the hot chocolate. Daisy snitches a cookie from the tin May had just pulled the lid off, and ducks the mock glare May sends after her as she scuttles for the movie room.

Oatmeal lemon, one of May's best, and Daisy savours it as she claims her spot on the couch.

On the loveseat Fitz and Hunter appear to be watching a soccer match on Hunter's phone, while Jemma sits on the floor between Fitz's legs, resting her head against his knee, and smiling a little as she stares up at the Christmas lights. Samson, Tex, Lincoln, and Lia are draped over the odd assortment of chairs they have collected, and are talking... hair and skin care routines? Huh. Daisy smiles to herself.

"Hey, babe."

Grant sinks down next to her, passes over the pawprint mug, and she smiles.

"With peppermint shavings, whipped cream, and almond?"

"Yes, though I don't know how you drink it with so many different flavours." He shakes his head, drapes an arm over her shoulders.

"The compliment each other," she insists, leaning into him.

"It's confusing," he says firmly, takes a sip of his own, which she knows is the OG Coulson family recipe, made with milk chocolate and a dash of cinnamon.

There is a brown milk mustache left on his upper lip, and Daisy giggles, wipes it off with a finger. "It's December, buster, you can shave again."

May comes next, sits on her other side, between her and the arm of the couch. "Want a cookie?" she asks, deadpan.

Daisy giggles, and then May grins back, a full, proper smile, and Daisy can't help it, she leans over, and quick as lightning kisses May's cheek.

There is no time for May to make startled faces, because Coulson is there, taking his seat beside Grant, and Mack tosses the TV remote at Daisy.

"Take it away, Tremors," he says.

The funny thing is, she used to hate this movie. She'd seen it at several foster homes, and even at the orphanage, as if it were a given that every parentless child should love it. Only in the last few years has she come to enjoy it, to enjoy Anya's spirit and bravery, to sing along with the songs like Jemma, to watch the happy ending without feeling like she wants to throw up or destroy something.

"I was in Paris right before I found out Dad was still alive," Grant mutters.

Daisy glances over, sees Coulson's hand move to squeeze Grant's knee.

"I've been everywhere but Paris," Daisy says.

"Really." Grant tilts his head, gives her a calculating look. "Good to know."

A spark of curiosity and excitement stirs in Daisy's stomach, as she remembers Christmas coming. "Isn't Paris the romance capital of the world or something?" she whispers, and he smirks, before he leans down and kisses her.

"Oi!" Popcorn kernels pelt them, and Daisy hides her face in Grant's shoulder to escape the buttery splatters.

Jemma is hissing for them to be quiet, Fitz is snickering, and Bobbi is trying to scold her man. May flicks a finger at Daisy's feet, tucked up next to her thigh, and Daisy swallows her giggles. She does want everyone else to enjoy this movie too.

The grandmother giving up on searching for Anastasia brings a lump to Daisy's throat, and she tries not to sniff. She thinks of her parents, of the joy turned to horror, of the love shattered into fear. At least her father has something like a happy ending.

"Aw, come on, don't leave Pooka behind," Grant mutters, and Daisy has to smile. Dogs in movies make him soft; he always cries over The Incredible Journey.

There's a lull; everyone watching, eating, breathing, quiet and easy, and Daisy glances around, struck with the fragility of this, right here.

Bobbi and Hunter curled on the loveseat, hands bickering over a popcorn bowl. Fitzsimmons on the floor, eating cookies, and leaning on each other like they used to. Mack slouched in an armchair with his feet propped on Tex's hip, and Tex stretched out half-asleep on the floor. Samson and Lia singing along with 'Paris Holds the Key'. Lincoln looking relaxed for once, licking butter off his fingers.

Ward leans away to catch Coulson's whisper, and they smile at each other, shoulders pressed together. Something warm covers Daisy's feet, and she glances over to see May has moved the blanket in her lap, sharing it without Daisy even asking.

Daisy realises she is holding her breath, holding time, holding this moment, like a crystal figurine balanced on a fingertip. Because it could shatter as easily as exhaling.

Their world is in constant turmoil. There could be a report of another Inhuman, or HYDRA or an explosion or people vanishing to other planets. Any day they could be shot or blown up or turned to stone.

Nights like these are things they have to fight for, to choose deliberately. And sometimes that's exhausting.

She bites back tears, even as she's forced to release her breath; a hard enough sigh that Grant slips his hand into hers, squeezes lightly.

I don't want this to end.

But the funny thing is... it doesn't. Not then, anyway. She breathes, and they eat popcorn and cookies, and Jemma has colour in her face again, and Lia passes Lincoln the cookies, and May stays exactly where she is, and Samson finishes the song with a flourish.

She breathes, and nothing shatters, nothing breaks, and she can feel herself mending, hairline fractures in her chest closing, as she lets herself come back into the moment.

"You okay?" Grant whispers.

She nods, lays her head on his shoulder.

This, right here, is the family she asked for, this is the place where she belongs. She mustn't be afraid of that.

On-screen Anastasia trembles as she waits for Dimitri to announce her to the Empress, and Daisy smiles. She knows how it ends, after all. Happy endings don't come easy, but in the movies at least, they do come. Maybe sometimes they do that in real-life too.

[the-lark-ascending69]

Lumity is very cute but it seems like the kind of ship that would have a fandom so toxic it'd make you dislike the ship in time and I think that's sad.