#Yay for more Andrew content

[denimbex1986]

'ANDREW SCOTT, DAKOTA FANNING AND ELIOT SUMNER FOR 'RIPLEY'

Program Type: CONVERSATIONS

Location: LOS ANGELES

Title: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning and Eliot Sumner for 'Ripley'

Featuring: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, Eliot Sumner

Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Time: Begins at 7:00 PM PDT Check-in begins at: 6:30 PM PDT

Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes...

Join us for a screening of 'Ripley' and conversation with actors, Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, and Eliot Sumner. Moderated by Dave Karger.

Synopsis: Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott), a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder. The limited series drama is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling Tom Ripley novels...'

[palindrome-mystery]

Aaron Minyard is written to be a bit of a jerk, but honestly after everything he's been through he deserves to be a bit of a jerk (as a treat).

The bullshit this man has gone through:

Found out at 13 that he has an identical twin whom his mother gave up at birth

(Likely found out at that time that she gave him up as well, only to change her mind and go back for one (1) twin. That has to cause some turmoil of what-ifs and why's)

Wrote a letter to his long-lost-twin hoping to meet and be brothers only to get a response back of "fuck you"

(At the time Andrew was trying to protect Aaron from Drake, but his only way to protect him was to keep Aaron away, but Aaron didn't know any of that)

His long lost twin soon after gets sent to Juvie

(Andrew did it intentionally because Cass/Drake wanted to invite Aaron to meet, and Andrew needed to GTFO to make sure Drake didn't get near Aaron; again, Aaron did not know any of this)

Aaron's mom then moves them from California to South Carolina.

Aaron is 13 when this happens, so Junior High going into High School, and he is uprooted and is moved across the country where he has no friends

(Nicky would have been in his final year of High School at that time, and was depressed and suicidal before leaving to be an exchange student in Germany, so Aaron probably only had a few months of having Nicky around before he left)

Aaron is the new kid from out of state, no friends, abusive mom, super religious hate-filled aunt and uncle, his older cousin who could have shown him around went to study in Germany and decided to stay even after finishing his study abroad program (no hate to Nicky, he didn't know what was happening and also had to save himself first before stepping up for the twins). He is also 5'0" so a prime target for bullying on top of everything else

We know Aaron was taken advantage of a lot around this time, in the extra content where Nora wrote about Aaron and Andrew's session with Bee, Andrew said that "Aaron's all bruises" and the girls he doted on and friends he ran with in high school "would all shove him underwater if it meant they wouldn't drown." (which is likely why Andrew made the 'no friends, no girlfriends, just family' deal with Aaron to protect him and prevent him from being taken advantage of by others)

Aaron was also an addict thanks to Tilda, though we don't know if this started before or after the move to South Carolina

Many things happen including: finally meeting Andrew and Andrew moving in, Tilda dying in an "accident", locked in the bathroom for a DIY rehab and going through withdrawals RIGHT AFTER HIS MOM DIED, Nicky moving back to be their guardian (yay!), Nicky being assaulted and Andrew being arrested and put on medication (boo!) so now the brother he has BEEN TRYING TO CONNECT WITH is even more difficult to communicate with

The three of them get recruited to join the Foxes, it's a full ride scholarship and also gives him more time to extend his deal with Andrew and try to forge a relationship with his brother

The first semester is rough, Andrew dealt with any threats the upperclassmen may pose and the three of them are now called the "monsters"

Aaron is also starting to regret the deal he made with Andrew because there's a girl named Katelyn in his classes and she's nice and smart and he really likes her...

He's still trying to forge a relationship with his brother, he's been trying for a few years now, and then seemingly overnight Andrew goes from hating Kevin Day to becoming BFF's/bodyguard to Kevin Day?!?

Kevin rides shotgun?

Kevin goes with them to Eden's?

Kevin and Andrew are practically inseparable?!

Okay, whatever, as far as Aaron knows Andrew likes having control over people, it's probably a power thing for him to have control over Exy-celebrity Kevin Day. And Aaron doesn't really mind adding Kevin to the "family", he's been through a lot with some mafia-exy-cult-bullshit, and as an added bonus pisses off the upperclassmen as well. It's fine, totally fine, just a bit annoying that Andrew and Kevin became so close so fast... he's not jealous, it's fine.

Then Neil fucking Josten happened

This man is a pathological liar, clearly on the run if he's disguising himself with colored contacts, speaks French and German?! And is just kind of an asshole whose only interest is stick-ball

Says things like "Drugs are stupid" like he's the pretentious spokes-kid for the D.A.R.E. program

This pretentious asshole joins their "family?!" He's even added to their family cell phone plan?!

And this pathological liar somehow gets Andrew to agree to stuff?

And Andrew has told Neil stuff he hasn't told Aaron because Neil KNEW something was wrong at Thanksgiving when Luther said someone named Drake was there?! Andrew opened up to this man who is a liar and a practical stranger but not to his own twin?

(Then Aaron killed Drake, the whole murder issue, possibly ruining his future if he's found guilty, but he'd do it again in a heartbeat)

HE NOW HAS A MURDER TRIAL COMING UP IN JULY, IT IS NOVEMBER AND HE STILL HAS PRE-MED FINALS TO DEAL WITH AND THE FUCKING EXY TEAM IS TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY'LL PLAY WHILE ANDREW IS IN REHAB?! HE HAS FINALS AND A MURDER TRIAL AND THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT STICK-BALL?!

Oh, and Andrew gave the pathological liar permission to drive his car while Aaron is still not allowed.

Neil then interferes in his secret relationship with Katelyn

January comes around and the pathological liar has a literal blood bath in the locker room, complete with a cryptic message written in blood.

Someone very dangerous is clearly gunning for Neil, which in turn puts Andrew in danger because Andrew promised to protect him

So there's another thing for Aaron to worry about

Aaron probably wants to throttle Neil every time he opens his mouth in an interview because he's not just putting a target on his back, but on Andrew's back as well

Binghamton riot happens, more bullshit, the FBI is involved, and Aaron finds out then, alongside the rest of the team and a few FBI agents, that his brother is gay AND IS DATING NEIL?

Epiphany of his brothers sexuality aside; NEIL? Really? That man is a walking-talking-liability, still with mob ties, just being near him puts Andrew in danger! And he's annoying...

However, he can use Neil to break the deal with Andrew so he can be with Katelyn, but then they have Final match of stick-ball (ending with Andrew breaking Riko's arm), then finals, AND THEN he has the murder trial in July

In conclusion: Aaron's been through a lot, and continues to go through a lot. He's a pre-med college athlete, a recovering addict, trying to forge a relationship with his brother and also trying to have a healthy romantic relationship, but stick-ball-mafia-bullshit keeps interfering so being a bit of a jerk is warranted given the bullshit this man goes through.

[t1red-twilight]

southern belle

summary: yeehaw, yippee cay yay, howdy.

content/warnings: gn!reader, andrew!peter, cowboy!peter, fluff, slightly suggestive, inaccurate/romanticized farm life (i don’t live on a farm lol), a curse word(?), petnames galore

notes: this idea came to me in a dream and i wrote it in a haze

word count: 1.3k

masterlist p. parker masterlist

the sun beat down on the farm. even when inside the barn, the heat wafted through the wood roof and walls. the surrounding animals seemed to be in some sort of agreeable mood, as they too skulked around slowly.

the linen shirt you were wearing provided a sense of relief, as the material didn’t hold in too much heat close to your skin. as you wiped the sweat from your forehead, you stood to look out the open barn door to look and see if you could see peter out by the sheep.

both you and peter worked on this farm; the owners set up an agreement that in exchange for farm work, food, board, and a small wage would be provided. on top of this deal, the farm wasn’t too far from a small city where markets and things of the sort were held.

when you couldn’t see him, you turned back to your task at hand, distributing food the animals housed inside the barn. walking to the back of the barn to grab more seed while stepping over various rocks and other things that you didn’t want crushed into your boots, you heard a faint calling of your name.

you turned and squinted out the barn door into the sunlight. peter was lightly jogging toward you, a boyish grin spread across his face. he too had a sheen of sweat spread across his forehead. (you figured that you didn’t look as good as he did in the sweltering heat.)

you sped forward to meet him halfway. looking up into his eyes and returning his giddy expression, warmth filled your face. a couple of months in, peter and you had gotten together. it was a well known fact that the two of you were fond of each other and frequently snuck off together.

your dominant hand reached up to brush a piece of his soft brown hair out of his eyes. he gently grasped your hand and held it to his face. his other hand wiped the sweat off of his forehead, and oddly enough this motion incited an even more flustered response throughout you.

“hi, peter,” you just about whispered out at him.

“hi, my little southern belle.” his doe eyes almost twinkled. he removed his hat from atop his head and placed in on top of yours, gliding his fingers across the edge.

stepping closer to him you almost melted, and not just from the incredibly high temperature. “how are the sheep doing? diane running off again?” your thumb grazed his cheek rhythmically.

“you know she is, darlin’,” he followed and stepped closer to you.

a soft silence followed only filled with the surrounding animals making noises. it almost seemed like they were cooing at the both of you. peter reached upward and proceeded to wipe the sweat from your cheek.

“you want to do something later?” he shyly looked downward (briefly) before looking up at your eyes again.

the nervous expression was not lost to you. your hand moved lower to his jawline; you tilted your head and cocked an eyebrow. “you know i do, pete,” copying his wording from earlier.

your lips quirked upward and you inches closer to him. one of his hands lowered to your waist and the other continued to hold your hand to his face. you both felt and saw his head tilt to the right, and you emulated him.

time seemed to slow as your lips swept across his. he pulled away fleetingly, and leaned in again. his lips caressed yours at first before he pushed further inward.

you tilted your head again to slot his lips against yours ever so slightly. his hand occupying your waist untucked your shirt and slid up your shirt. his body heat didn’t bother you in the slightest. if any of the other farm hands were to see you, you’d both likely be lost for words and dart in the opposite direction. luckily enough, no one was to be found.

peter’s tongue gingerly stroked your upper lip. you parted your lips slightly, just to feel him tenderly enter your mouth. you sighed at this gesture. you began to repeat his actions once again before he pulled apart, a string of saliva connecting your mouths.

your torso was widely tugged closer to his. you tilted your head to push closer to him; he huffed into your mouth in response to this. peter’s hand located on your jaw moved backwards toward your hairline. his fingers tightened slightly and pulled your hair as you continued to kiss him fervently and lick into his mouth.

he left some open mouth kisses along your throat and jaw. your head tipped backward and your leg wrapped around his calf. his hand moved up your back.

he pulled apart again, this time in an effort to gaze into your eyes. seeing as your head was still tilted back, he moved your face back down and stroked you upper cheekbone to urge your eyes open. his upper hand moved to pet your hair down in an effort to tame it.

a voice called fro out in the field. “petey boy! we have to get back to work. you can’t spent all afternoon swooning over your ‘doll,’ you know.” ugh, it was the owner. unfortunately, he was right. even though he was easy going, you both had to keep your jobs. peter removed his hand from the flesh of your waist and tried to smooth the fabric of your shirt.

“alright, honey bunches,” he murmured. “we have to get back to work, so it seems.” a pout shone across his face. you covered your mouth as you laughed softly.

your hands altered position and stroked his shoulders in (somewhat false) pity for you two. “so it seems, my love.”

although you acted like this separation was permanent, it was only for the rest of the work day. when the heat dimmed and the sun set, you would both reunite as if you hadn’t seen each other in decades. some might call it a honeymoon phase, but you prayed it would last forever.

leaning into him and closing your eyes in a dramatic manner for what seemed like an eternity, you finally replied once more. “okay love bug. we should really get back to work again.” a pause filled the sauce between you. “i’ll see you later, yeah? got any ideas?”

the hot air appeared to resume despite the fact that it had never ceased to begin with.

“i think some of the other farmhands are lighting a bonfire tonight? that somethin’ you’d be interested in joining me for?”

you looked down at your boots in false thought. “well, i guess i have nothing going on later,” you teased. the look on his face temporarily showed worry at this response. “just kidding. i’d go anywhere if i know you’d be there, honey.”

his sigh of relief was audible and his form relaxed instantaneously. “okay, perfect. i’ll pick you up from your room around 8-ish? that sound good?”

peter was just about it off by the familiar going at him again: “pete! i mean it! the sheep need to be sheared later today.” you covered your mouth to hide your laugh this time.

you retorted, “i won’t hold you captive anymore, honey,” and pushed him playfully in the direction of the open barn door.

he held up his hands in defeat. “i’m goin’, i’m goin. see you at 8, sugar?”

“promise. see you then.” you smiled so hard you were sure you looked clownish. you were sure you were bright red as you removed his hat and held in front of yourself as some sort of offering. he took it graciously and returned it to sit on his brown tufts of hair. you wiggled your fingers in a wave motion.

he walked backwards out of the barn, an you gazed at him lovingly. sure enough, if anyone saw you you’d have hearts instead of your eyes.

you turned back to walk towards the seed for the chickens (or whatever was you were doing) and remembered something.

peter had untucked your shirt, in a coy act. that cheeky bastard. quickly, you tucked the back of your shirt in.

oh, how you couldn’t wait to see him later.

[crowleysgirl56]

Doctor Who reaction and recap time!

Episode 4: Lucky Day.

I’m so sorry for the lateness of this reaction post. I’ve had to take a few days to process this episode, and then taken a few more to write out all my thoughts. Spoiler warning, this is a long one. I’m going to be honest straight up, I hated this episode. The more I thought about it over the last few days, the more I realised how much I really hated it.

Let me be clear, the content is not what I have a problem with. I think discussing toxic online cultures, rampant and dangerous conspiracy led content, loan wolf and incel behaviour, and echo chamber logic is extremely important in this day and age. It’s once again, the execution of these themes and some underlying messaging within the episode that I have a major problem with. So much so that I ended up being incredibly upset by it.

However, as always to avoid spoilers I will explain under the cut.

So without further ado, let’s delve into season 2 episode 4, Lucky Day (spoilers sweeties. You’ve been warned!)

Ok, let’s talk about the positives first.

- We get more Ruby! Considering the shortened seasons and that we’ve only had Ruby for one, it was very nice to see her return. Millie Gibson is great in this episode baring her soul and trying to move on from what she is now realising was a wonderful but incredibly traumatic life with The Doctor. Well done Millie!

- Moving on from Ruby we see the return of her family briefly too. Can we please get a spin off for her Nan! I love that woman. She needs to be in the show more! Also brief mention of a new Dad which is not followed up on?! Hello, what’s this about? Is this just a throw away line or is there more to this? Squints at RTD.

- The theme of the dangers of online echo chambers and toxic online cultures. Very topical right now, extremely important to discuss and depict. Thank you for at least attempting to address the dangers of this issue.

- Badass angry motherfucker Doctor at the end. OOOOHHHHH I love a rage filled Doctor. Loved his monologue. Best part of the episode. Bring on more of The Oncoming Storm please!

Ok now here’s where we get into the nitty gritty of this episode so buckle up everyone.

When I first saw that the writer of this episode was Pete McTighe my reaction was “Oh! Oh. Shit.” It did not surprise me at all that the writer of Kerblam was also responsible for this episode. Kerblam is a great episode right up until the end, when the message of that particular story seems to be “Yay Capitalism!” McTighe in Kerblam demonstrated he doesn’t seem to have an understanding of the difference between activism and extremism and unfortunately that same inability to separate concepts litters Lucky Day.

Firstly, let’s look at the premise. Conrad, a well known podcaster with a large following and therefore well known social media presence, meets The Doctor for the first time when he is a child, witnessing both the materialisation and de-materialisation of the Tardis before his very eyes. As he grows up he seemingly devotes his podcast to asking questions on people’s experience with aliens and the mysterious Doctor and their dealings with UNIT. Cue meeting Ruby who crucially does her due diligence in researching this guy (her family taking it upon themselves to also “social media stalk” him, deciding everything is ok). It’s at this point that the twist of this episode completely falls apart. Because Conrad, turns out, is a conspiracy theory nutjob, with an Andrew Tate-esque online persona and a red pill following to boot. I’m sorry, but you can’t have this both ways, it makes no sense! Either he has a large curated online following because he has an interesting podcast, or he’s part of a toxic fringe culture echo chamber. If he’s the latter how did no one clock this when looking him up? And if he suddenly heel turns, why on earth would his current loyal following still want to follow him? Wouldn’t his sudden awful behaviour completely turn them off?

Also, why doesn’t Conrad believe in aliens?! He saw The Doctor. He saw the Tardis. He saw the fucking alien! Why does he think it’s all just a conspiracy?!

Secondly, why would UNIT care when they have spent years trying to downplay who they are and what they do? Why would they care that someone is trying to say they’re NOT fighting aliens? Aren’t they still supposed to be working in the shadows? Look, I’ll give it some credit as the show has been littered with references every now and again for years with offhanded mentions of UNIT, usually in the context to complain about why the government is still funding them. So I guess that has been slowly built into the show for a while, and perhaps they do need to justify their existence. I would say “but they clearly save the world, why would parliament want to defund them?”, but then look at all the vital departments Trump has just completely gutted, so…you know…

Thirdly, almost most egregiously (but not the most. We’re getting to that), UNIT are supposed to be the good guys. I mean, it’s Doctor Who, they work with The Doctor, they’ve been around for years, they save the planet from alien threats. They’re supposed to be good. But the optics of surrounding a bunch of unarmed podcasters doing nothing but exercising a right to free speech by questioning the use of government money, which from the public’s point of view is being spent on an unsanctioned military organisation, who in turn are going into the situation with machine guns blazing, is a very authoritarian look. In this day and age of “defund the police” and very legitimate questions being asked about police brutality and overreach, trying to make the military guys with guns pointed at people who are only armed with recording devices still be considered “the good guys” seems to me to be in bad taste and not aware of the current cultural climate. This is what I meant by McTighe not quite grasping the difference between activism and extremism. He really hasn’t taken into account how UNIT looks in this moment. Perhaps it’s slightly touched later on by Colonel Christopher when he tells Kate she’s gone too far. But I felt that was more pointed towards her personal actions, not UNIT’s reaction as a whole. McTighe in this instance is relying on the audience’s understanding that we know who and what UNIT is without thinking of the underlying impression it could leave on audiences about the consequences of an unfettered military.

Also how on earth would letting an actual alien loose on a person, allowing it to attack them, and then filming themselves letting it happen and not helping the guy somehow dissuade the general public that UNIT are the good guys!? Also, you don’t just de-radicalise people that way. Look at Trump supporters. After everything he’s done, his followers are still loyal. You’re certainly not going to somehow persuade the public that you’re the good guys because you let some idiot get attacked. Surely that would have made things worse. What I feel should have happened was UNIT should have continued to be on the government chopping block, and remained in the public ire. There should have been no resolution to UNIT’s status, they could have remained untrusted by the public, and that in itself could have been a great continuing storyline. But considering it was all wrapped up in the end, I feel like that might have been too complicated for the writers. Like they may have painted themselves into a corner they didn’t know how to get out of. So the quick “we stand with unit hashtag” at the end was tacked on so they don’t have to deal with it later. Pity. It could have led to more interesting episodes. But I guess RTD has other more important things to get to.

One other thing about UNIT is their inability to do basic background checks of their employees. Oh that inside guy helping Conrad had a concerning social media footprint so big you could see it from space? Well you really dropped the fucking ball on that one guys. How many times has UNIT been infiltrated due to poor hiring polices now? Four, five times? Slow clap UNIT.

Before I get onto my last point, I wanted to address Ruby’s trauma and PTSD. So, I don’t mind this as an inclusion. Again, I think it’s a very important subject to discuss, especially in an open and thoughtful way. Travelling with The Doctor in reality would absolutely give you PTSD. Especially for someone so incredibly young without any real life experience. Yet, this is Doctor Who. This is where I want to go to escape reality. To watch silly madcap adventures and have fun. It’s never gone unnoticed that travelling with The Doctor is dangerous. But actual trauma just seems like a little too much reality for me. Not to mention UNIT seems to have a completely non-existent trauma informed workplace, with no support networks or mental health assistance in place. You know, maybe they really are the bad guys…

GET IT TOGETHER UNIT!

Finally, let’s get to what really turned me off in this episode. Conrad’s radicalisation. Or rather why he became radicalised. Why on earth would someone who has a formidable experience with The Doctor as a child grow up to be a skeptic and conspiracy theorist? Considering how Doctor Who in itself is surrounded by a toxic online culture, I find it almost galling to imply that The Doctor himself could be responsible for the proliferation of these types of people. But then I remembered what happened to Conrad immediately after meeting The Doctor for the first time. He tries to tell his mum about it. And she insults and belittles him, then physically strikes him. And this is the crux of the matter. The messaging here seems to be the behaviours of toxic men are the fault of their mothers who didn’t love them enough. Women once again being blamed for the actions of men. I honestly felt sick. The fact that it was coming from Doctor Who, my favourite show in the world, left me in tears. It’s 2025. Can we PLEASE stop laying the blame of men and their toxic behaviour and feet of women. Especially in Doctor Who.

Finally the ending involving Mrs Flood at this point just felt like ticking a checkbox for the season’s overarching story. And I frankly hated that Conrad just gets to get away with it, learn nothing, and probably contribute to whatever’s going to happen in the finale. Then again, Conrad getting away with his behaviour was probably the most realistic part of the episode.

So that is my very long and rambling review of an episode I was not at all satisfied with, and frankly deeply angry and upset over.

I’ll be generous and give it 2 out of 5 stars, but only because I’m desperately holding onto the positives of this episode.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I’ll try and be a bit quicker and less rambly with the next reaction post!

[stellar-constellations]

Update 5

Hello, my stars!

I'm happy to say if everything goes according to plan, Andrew Graves x Yandere reader: Star Patient chapter 8 should be published tomorrow!

I've been working on it a lot when I can, and hopefully you all will enjoy the next chapter as we lose characters, go through some angst and (in my opinion and eyewitness as I wrote this) tear-jerking moments.

The next chapter will have new trigger warnings, so sensitive readers please be aware that there will be nonconsensual drugging and minor implied necrophilia (which isn't explained in depth or any sorts). I'm on such a roll with these new trigger warnings...

I still have just a bit more to write and I have to edit, but so far the chapter is currently 15,000 words long. I'm hoping it'll be published by tomorrow night, but we can only see. Thank you guys for your patience.

Star Patient is nearing its end. Depending on the pace of the chapters, we have one or two chapters left! Yay!

After Star Patient is finished, there will be a poll for new Andrew Graves x reader content, so don't be upset!

Have a good night/day.

Edit: Chapter 8 is out!

Want more Andrew Graves content? Check out the Andrew Graves masterlist!

[thousandstories]

Hi, I hope youve been well 💕💕 I hope life isn't still imploding for you! what happened to little nathaniel is one of my favorite fics and I hope you know how appreciated it is!! I rly rly hope this doesn't seems pushy or anything, i know authors hate when people ask about updates. But I was just wondering if you had any idea of when the next chapter will be out? I am willing to wait for years lol. I hope you're having a great new year!! 💕

anon i am so sorry it took me a couple (read: four) days to answer this, you're so sweet thank you SO much. i'm so glad you like the fic! life continues to implode unfortunately (i should have believed people when they said the second year of uni is miles worse than the first. (but also yay the joys of education! and debt!)).

i do have 4,000-ish words of the next chapter edited & finalised (and we are not even a third of the way through the chapter outline so that's probably going to increase significantly). i honestly have no definitive idea when the next chapter will be up other than that it will definitely be no more than a month at the very most so yay.

but i can offer a snippet instead:

Neil seems content to wait him out, eyebrow raised. That scar by his bottom lip is as infuriating as ever. “I don’t care about any of it,” Andrew finally answers.  “I don’t believe you,” Neil says, and that faux-cheerful edge to his voice is gone. Those blue eyes are keen and bright, even in the dimmed fluorescent lights of this god-awful bar. His mouth is a thin line, tugged downwards slightly by the intensity of his concentration. All of this focus on Andrew. Why? “I hate you,” Andrew says, as his gut twists and his blood curdles. The thrumming in his veins is similar enough to bottomless rage that it cannot be anything but.

[watcherwiki]

yay, a successful watcher top 5 anniversary day! thanks for the fun idea for a project. say... where's YOUR top 5 list ??

You're so welcome! Thanks for participating!

kinda thought no one would ask so I wouldn't have to choose lol - maybe the Wiki top 5 is the friends we made along the way /j

All of the Watcher shows are made with so much creativity and heart that it's difficult to choose, but I had to give some love to several shows that didn't get much attention today so:

5. Pod Watcher - Really this is a Matt Real shout-out and we're not apologizing for that! It's also great to have some unscripted moments with all of the founders on a regular basis. Is this cheating because it's not a main channel video? No rules! haha

4. Worth A Shot - See above but for Ricky Wang! He brought so much fun energy to TMS and it was great to see what he created on WAS (and what he's now doing on his own channel). He's so creative and funny to watch.

3. Food Files - While Ryan and Shane are not the most discerning of food critics, this one is great if you love Travel Season because Adam Bianchi is the mastermind behind what makes both of those shows so great to watch. Also, the subtle way this show is a bts of the 2023 Ghost Files Live tour is our *chef's kiss* of this list.

2. Homemade - The most comforting, wholesome content on all of Watcher probably. Only downside is they didn't make more of this series. It would be lovely to see this concept again, even if it was Steven and Andrew co-hosting. Also, this was the one I voted back on the WTV poll, just saying.

1. Making Watcher - This one did have a single vote today but I have to shout it out again because I'm the kind of person who loves watching the DVD commentaries and all the interviews for films and shows I love. It's sad we didn't get one in 2024, but Watcher has been working so hard lately (source: the person archiving and reporting all of it) that it's not too surprising they skipped it.

[bravernificationbeam]

The old year is dead. Long live the new year. Tell us about some stuff you liked in 2024 (music, TV, movies, cool things you did, whatever!) and some stuff you're looking forward to in 2025

yay, thank you!

Bravern

omg. love of my life. bvern has such GALL and MOXIE and JOY, all tied together with a plot and time traveling mechanism that will literally be the only thing you think about for like a week following finishing the show. also lewis smith my birthday twin!!!!!!

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All

i have a soft spot for media that's normal about teenagers, and tgswiiwagaa is a prime example. mitsuki and aya feel like actual teenage girls who like each other, and their love of english dad rock music is such a fun and real-feeling detail. ALSO i have to shout out narita, who is SUCH a fun, contemporary-feeling character. what if an annoying 17 year old boy was also a ride or die purse dog for his lesbian besties

Lisa Frankenstein

such a Weird Girl movie that actually like GETS weird girls. not only is this a fun movie it has such interesting, heartfelt details. how much lisa and taffy like each other as step sisters, for one

Nana

omg. OMG. this anime makes me fucking cry for real. such a prime example of Everything Going to Fucking Shit in your early 20s

Mkulia (yes like the ship LMAO)

I LOVE THESE GIRLLSSSSS!!!!!! their chemistry is amazing and they have such great moments. "if MK's brain drove a cool car, I'd date it" 🤨

Hot Singles in Your Area (Scene Queen)

scene queen really popped with this one. "give me a BDSM/Scene Queen hates men"?????? THE FLAVOR!!!!!! I also got to see her live this year!!!!

Dauntless Manifesto (CupcakKe)

the return of the queen! also there are some real bangers on this album (DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! I LOOK DRUNK BECAUSE HE CAME ON MY EYE!). and i think acoustic guitar is such a good sound for cupcakke!

Doechii

not alligator bites never heal specifically because that album isn't totally my style, but I do love what Doechii's doing right now and I definitely loved a good chunk of what she put out this year, like alter ego, death roll, boom bap, and nissan altima

JOYRIDE (Kesha)

this one is so much fun. what can i say!

Off With Her Tits (Allie X)

A GENDER SONG OF ALL TIME. THE PART WHERE THE SPEAKER GOES TO GET MONEY OUT FOR HER MASTECTOMY AND THE TELLER GOES "BITCH, ARE YOU JOKING? I WISH I HAD THAT RACK" ....................................

LUBE / WET DREAM (Adam Lambert)

OKAY ADAM!!!!!!

Painful Euphoria (Lilyisthatyou)

something abt lily's music is very appealing to me. there are some songs and lines on this album that KILL. "my best friend fucked the guy that almost killed me" HELLO??????

Rainbow Black (Maggie Thrash)

MY BOOK OF THE YEEEAAAARRRRRRR i enjoyed this one SO much. AND the Gender of it all makes me crazy.

"God, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You didn't need to know that part." "It's all right," I said. "I really am sorry. I don't know why I said those things." But I knew. He was punishing me. Just like his wife, I'd failed to be the woman he needed me to be to make his life meaningful.

*BREAKING GLASS OVER MY HEAD BREAKING GLASS OVER MY HEAD BREAKING*

Compound Fracture (Andrew Joseph White)

this might be the darkest book i've ever read and i thoroughly enjoyed it. it has hope, but it's a hope you split all your nails and run the tips of your fingers raw grasping, which feels very real

Kissing Death (Mothica)

I like the sounds on this one, and I think the songs on the album all tie really nicely in together

Bekhauf (Bloodywood)

ONE OF BLOODYWOOD'S BEST SONGS!!!!!!

Cat Cup (Black Dresses)

I can't do it, I'm too scared, what if people think I'm weird :(?

in 2025 I am looking forward to InZOI and (PLEASE. I HOPE. PLEASE.) more animated bravern content!

[delurkr]

Do you have any sibling or family headcanons for the LH characters? I know you have some for John and Angela, but what about Daniel, Taylor, and Andrew?

Yay, thank you for the ask 😊

So for Daniel... I'm working on him, and one day I will be inspired 😅 (blubary I would love to hear if you have anything, I know you have content for his parents that I like ❤). I do feel like he has a mother and a father, and I don't think he's an only child or an oldest but I'm not sure about any details. Unfortunately my only stable headcanon for his background is that he grew up with a bulldog as a family pet, so, that's something I guess lol.

I definitely picture Taylor being an oldest sibling but she grew up as an only child. She has a half-brother who is about 16 years or so younger, from a relationship her mother had after many years of being divorced from Taylor's father (she was raised by her father). Going on four years now Taylor is the only one of her family who has moved out of Canada, and between the physical distance and just generally weak ties to her mother, she and her brother don't know each other well. Right now she doesn't really feel like that half of her family needs to be a much greater part of her life, but I think once things settle down for her she'll want to take steps to build more of a connection somewhere down the road.

Andrew my boy 💕 Recently I finally got somewhere with him with input from @108garys: he has an older sister named Laurie about 6 or 7 years older than him. She needed a lot of their parents' attention by the time Andrew was a teenager because of frequent mental health crises, so he connects with his family when possible but he's taken to staying out of the way and fending for himself however well he can. Also it's relevant that I roll with the cut content about him being homeschooled because I'm thinking his parents invested in that as a response to him getting bullied in 1st grade or something.

It's mostly all on a basic level and for some reason I've found that it's easier for me to picture backgrounds for characters older than they are, but it's a start. I don't know if it's bad form to ask the same thing back but I'm inviting anyone to respond with their own headcanons if they want 😁

[luvbug724]

kevin and renee don’t have many big moments in the books i don’t think but there are some painfully domestic or sweet parts like during andrew’s stay in easthaven when kevin and renee (and nicky) slept together on the floor (which i’ve deluded myself into thinking is kevrenee content). also when she meets jean for the first time she has her arm locked with kevin’s :) and she’s the only fox kevin allows to hug him (or at least the first who tries) :) and her begging for his help when she was going to take jean… this is just off the top of my head but i believe they would be good because renee is very reliable and strong and i think when she lets more edge shine through kevin would be really enamored by her :)!

i know you have a catholic jean streak but i also love for kevin and renee a bonding moment because i believe kayleigh was catholic 🤏 my reasoning for this is that during the kathy interview neil notes kevin audibly praying under his breath (adorable to me). so i think she could also get him to reconnect with faith and the idea of a religious community as a whole…. renee is like if andrew was a better influence and a lot more charming

also hiii its dayurno 🖐️🖐️ SORRY ABOUT THE PREVIOUS ANON i was just like what if they think kevjeanee sucks actually and i should explode and die. but it wasnt the case yay! hello :D

ay dios mio... im slipping i should've remembered those i blame the jean brainrot he's pushing out the og trilogy. UR SO RIGHT. renee and jean meeting for the first time while renee and kevin have their arms linked is literally all the reasoning i need. i'm on board. kevjeanee is a FULL TRIANGLE

i am all for catholic Everyone. ESPECIALLY in the nest theres something delicious to me about them maintaining a belief system that simultaneously tells them that they deserve everything they're going through and it is all for the light at the end of the tunnel. if god is truly benevolent then why must i go through this for my happy ending. Whatever. kevin i think picked up catholicism actually kind of similar to renee vs jean "sunday mass his entire childhood" moreau bc kevin was much much much younger when he went to the nest like he was 6 at that point he wouldn't really remember kayleigh much less catholicism. which now i am thinking about kevin going to mass at psu and meeting renee there by accident. HELLOOOOOO

i've also got to thinking about kevjeanee housekeeping now & i know logically it would make the most sense for the moriyamas to give them a scary mafia accountant to a) make their taxes line up for the IRS and b) make sure jean and kevin aren't skimping the moriyamas any payments but this answers the age old jeanee question: if I'M dyslexic and YOU'RE dyslexic then WHO is doing the taxes!!!

[streep-mulgrew-anderson]

🌟2023 Wrapped (Gillian's Verison)🌟

Okay! Positive vibes only! This year is going to be big. Here’s to hoping we actually get something out of that Netflix deal… and come the second half of the year I might be able to say that I’ve finally met Gillian Anderson. (I obviously wrote that at the start of the year FYI)

January

So in December, Gillian said she had two things she was working on this month… 🤞hopeful🤞 so I’m thinking that this month is going to be slow in terms of new content but big in terms of future stuff being announced 

Pale blue eye was released. So nice to finally have new content. It was good. I’m not really into those types of movies and only really watched it for Gillian so I don’t have anything more to say. With this being realised, it now drops her to be released projects to 2.

She also mentioned in an article though that she does have tv and film stuff slated for her Netflix deal and would describe her upcoming stuff as entrepreneural-like… so you know maybe that g-spot drink really is real. (December 2023 me is reading this feeling like an absolute clown). 

Gillian’s hairdresser posted her a pic from her latest hair appointment… and it’s all looking awfully similar to a one Stella Gibson Miss Anderson.

White Bird a Wonder Story got a new release date of august (lol)

As January comes to a close, there is still no announcement of those 2 things she said she was doing this month… I see the unemployment era is still strong but then she announced that she would be a new ambassador for war child UK

And then the month ended with someone steeling my bank card from mail box and taking all my money so yay for me. 

All we have to look forward to at this point is white bird and sex education which should be both out by the end of September… it’s about to get painfully slow. Like, when most people do a clean sweep at in an awards season, don’t the get offered a heap of really good roles???? Gillian…… what are you saying no to this time????

February

And so with Gillian’s second announcement of the year, I died! It’s a fucking dear Gillian project where she wants you to write her letters about sex and it will be published. Like whattttt. It definitely took me out for a bit. I’m so excited to have it on my coffee table. Though… everything she’s announced over the last year has been very much entrepreneurial; the podcast, Netflix deal, dear Gillian… and of course the un launched g spot drink. 

And so for anyone interested in me, and remembers how my life fell apart last year, all of that has done a complete 180. ( last year my acting boss pretty much told me I was shit I should not be in leadership positions for something i catagoricly denying doing, to my main boss now telling me to forget any of that ever happened and that he wants me stepping up)

And so remember that thing last year that I refused to talk about. Well holding is hands is pretty hard evidence and a first so what ever makes her happy makes me happy and we will leave it at that. Doesn’t mean I like him but I think that they actually do work.  Also… just an fyi… most things on the dailyfail have been proven to be staged and if you look back to all the previous incidents in relation to this topic it’s pretty darn obvious that this is their way of saying it without saying. 

AND THEN FINALLY! A new role! Gillian was cast in the lead in Scoop. I had seen something before it was announced and thought yeah right as if that’s true but it’s true. And what I mean by that is that it’s mainly about that Prince Andrew interview which I thought why do we need a film about that. But hey! New content and it’s a lead! A little disappointed that this doesn’t fall under her Netflix deal. 

The final episode from her podcast was released. Love that she finished it off talking about orgasms. That’s just very her. To be honest, it’s been great having something to look forward to every 2 weeks but I’m glad to cancel that subscription 

I turned 25 and didn’t cry which is a first! I now find it weird watching season one of the x files and knowing I’m the same age as Gillian 

Gillian changed her bios and I’m not about it. 

March

How is it March already! You know… the last time Gillian was on a red carpet was December … just saying. The last 12 months with so little Gillian content has been painful, to say the least, and that’s exactly how March went to a tea… the content is so dry that Connie has resulted in posting videos from over 10 years ago. But Gillian came in last minute with photos of her and Gigi the cat which Piper first posted pictures of in January. Not sure who she actually belongs to but as a cat mum I’d be so down for cat content

April

Honestly, at this point, I’m waking every morning and grabbing my phone desperate to see new Gillian content that’s just not coming. It was then leaked that the Crown asked Gillian to reprise MT for the next season but she can’t because of a scheduling conflict. Seems a bit suss if you ask me. Flash forward a couple of days later and she retweeted one of the articles saying it was a “refusal” stating it was “absolute bullocks”. So….. either she saying the whole story is not true or just the refusal, which I have some things to say. Is she not supposed to be back with PM? So wouldn’t he know in advance if she could do it? And could this possibly be his team leaking it? Because let’s be real, there is history of that. Either way…. She posted it on his 60th birthday. So I guess you could read it both ways. So now Netflix is saying that she was never intended to return which differs from the original story of the crown producers saying she either refused or had a scheduling conflict. This makes me more want to lean to some rouge person who works on the crown having this idea which is shut down so they decided to make it into a thing.

Any way, she posted like 3 times over the easter weekend so one can only hope that this is an online come back

2 years pasted since the latest photographic proof of gillovny…. I’m living off bread crumbs at the moment okay! And I thought last year was slow. 

So… G-spot is real. I had been following the company updates closely just prior to the offical launch was announced and to be honest it scared me the more paperwork that was being submitted about it. Interestingly, some 22 year old called Robin Morgan is running it with her? And Piper is also a stake holder. And one of peters company’s is involved to. So it’s a family business?? How this all came to be baffles me. Peter and Gillian did break up at the end of 2020; we have confirmation of that. I do believe that they may have gotten back together in early 2021 but were definitely not together at the Emmy’s (the both looked uncomfortable) but I *think* that was the turning point. G spot was started in early 2022 so things would have definitely had to turned around by then. 

Look, it’s a little weird and I worry about the long term effects of it, but hey at least we are not living off bread crumbs. But the problem was that they tried to soft launch it on Instagram which last a whole 48 hours before it was taken down. They got it back up 48 hours later but was took down again less than an hour. The account was back up a mer two days before launched but then back down the day before and then back again. 

So when G spot finally came out, it wasn’t as bold as I was expecting. But when I’m in the UK later in the year I’ll definitely be trying some. 

But before that, Gillian and Peter went to the crown wrap party. And have I not mentioned before that she gets paped and then published by the daily mail every time she’s got something coming out??

G spot probably also gives an indication about Constellation Content and the Netflix deal which ends in a year. I say we will probably get something from it late in the year and unless they extend the contract, I can’t see much coming out of it which is kind of like what’s the point. But what I’m thinking is that the Netflix deal was supposed to be through her Fiddlehead products company but maybe there was a hick up or something went wrong with that so she created constellations?? Maybe?? The deal could have been extended and we haven’t been told either. Just a thought. 

May

G spot continued its launch. I wish she did more in-person stuff for it though like interviews and Instagram lives. It feels like it’s been ages since she actually did anything that wasn’t pre-organised if that makes sense but maybe that’s to come. 

Anddddd I had my clown mask on thinking G would go to the coronation because everyone else was… turns out she was in Amsterdam. 

Gillian was cast in a new project called The Salt Path… nothing to do with her Netflix deal though but is giving off award-season vibes. I don’t even think she has the time for the Netflix deal anymore. 

And May ended with Gillian… well G spot joining TikTok 

June

So, if history is repeating itself and sex education is coming out in September, we *should* start seeing content this month. I’m hoping for a late September or early October release because I will actually be in London then.

So a recap (not that anything has actually been happening), G has 4 projects to be released (sex ed, white bird, scoop and the salt path), that book thing and the ongoing launch of G spot (international shipping when?????). 

G started filming the salt path

And so it was on the 11th of June, Gillian posted a shout-out to Mr DD on the release of his new project. Gillovny lives on, and David, take note. 

On a side note, they are obviously still close considering she felt the need to do this. Which means… he has probably tried G Spot 😂 don’t be shy David, promote it!! 

G spot finally became available internationally, but between the $7 a can, $30 shipping and the dress she wore I really want… I think I'm just going to sit on the idea for a bit. I am going to be in London in September so I could just try it then. Part of me does not think I could wait that long though. The current prices are a bit too expensive for my liking and that could change over time. If it wasn’t a drink I might be considering it more serious, like I did by her tote bag which lots of people like to remind me was way too expensive for what it is. 

The end of June saw the office end of Gillian’s unemployment era with other project announced, The Abandons. This one is a Netflix project too

This actually makes her really booked. G Spot, white bird out in August, Sex Ed the 2nd half of the year, scoop, the Salt Path, dear Gillian and this season. And if anything comes out of the Netflix deal

And I missed out on getting eras tickets and spent the weekend crying whilst watching sad Kate Winslet movies. Moving on

July

The Sex Ed season 4 trailer and date finally came out. And it will be the last one. Two cute little clips of Gillian. I couldn’t really process it all due to my personal life just being a mess and erasing the work I’d put in over the last 2 years thanks to one text but anyway, it was all over as quickly as it started, and you would think after 5 years of putting up with this same man I would have learned my lesson by now but nope

I’m loving all the shots coming in from Gill filming the salt path. I’ve ordered the book which should hopefully be delivered before my trip to read. 

G reposted a pic of David with a fan at the writer's strike, and girl, I get it (he left her on read again). David, step up your game. 

The salt path finished filming and G posted a cute little video. 

White bird got pushed back thanks to the writer's strike. Feel like we are never going to get that movie. 

August

Have I told you how much I love August? One, it’s one of my favourite TS songs, two it's Gillovny month and three it’s the end of winter. Really looking forward to seeing Gillian get publicly left on read. 

And so there was radio silence on David’s birthday. Look, I was really hoping for a little something but anyway. But to be fair, she only posted a picture of Stella for her own birthday so it was all a flop. But then a video a couple of days later. 

Anyway, things from here might be a bit all over the place because I had a really significant death in my family a week before a 2-month trip around the world and I was a hot mess

Fingers crossed I cross paths with Gillian when she’s filming in Canada but thanks to the writer's strike, might not happen. 

And so august ends, with no Gillovny moments and me constantly thinking about them as I walk around Vancouver 

September 

Sex Ed comes out this month. Thank god! Though due to travelling I’m not sure when I’ll get to watch it all. I started September off in Los Angeles. I had the biggest smile on my face seeing Gillian’s star!! And just being in Hollywood. I’m such an award season person so being there was really special. 

Then I got stuck in New York and had to sleep in the airport thanks to bad weather. 

G spot put out new promotion stuff. The 30th anniversary of the x files passed with radio silence. Not really surprised but disappointed I guess. I think the actors strike probably had a bit to do with it as well

Gillian went holidaying in Italy. The new Netflix show she has signed up for is supposed to be filming in Calgary where I am but has been pushed back because of the sag strike. 

G Spot came out with a new flavour. 

The new season of Sex Ed came out. I was still in Canada at the time so I didn’t get to watch it like I normally would. To be honest I skipped through a little bit of it so I could try and watch Gillian’s parts without getting too many spoilers. Annoyed that because of the strike, Gillian didn’t post anything about it but I’m sure she will at some point. I can imagine that she has a heap of content and some good bloopers. I did like this season a little bit more than last year and Gillian had a good amount of time. I think it ended fine too. Gillian’s last scene had me in tears, one because it was so freaking cute and two because it was the last one.

So now at this point, we are stillllll waiting for white bird, a trailer for scoop and the salt path and for the abandons to start filming

At with that I ended September in London trying to find Gillian and G soot 

October 

For me, October kicked off in London. I really really really loved London and didn’t want to leave. I couldn’t find G spot in London which is ironic. And Gillian remained in hiding the whole time I was there too. 

I missed London so so much when I got back to Sydney. If it wasn’t for the fact that it’s so far away and expensive, I would be planning my next trip. 

Anyway, so it’s at this point I’m thinking we should be getting an announcement on constellation content or even a small little bit of progress seeing it’s coming up to a year since it was registered. But who knows. Especially with the sag strike. Really looks like that Netflix deal is going to be pushed under the rug too. 

Gillian attended the launch of Planet Earth 3. Annoyed that she went to something only after I had left London. Like if this was a week earlier, I would have run from my hotel in Soho to where she was. Anyway, she took all three of her kids with her too which was pretty cute. 

G did a cover story for net a porter. First one in a while. So annoyed because I legitimately walked past her doing the interview. She did very briefly mention her production company. 

Gillian pulled out of that ridiculously expensive tech talk thing she was supposed to do in November. She pulled out for decent reasons but I felt like it was one of those things she said yes to without knowing anything about. Like yes, it was more for G spot… but G spot isn’t as big as it’s currently being made out to be. I spent two weeks in London and couldn’t find it because you still can only get it online and at very very selective places. But anyway, I’ve seen a lot of heat about it and to be honest, so was right for pulling out and anyone who thinks otherwise kind of needs to view things from a more neutral and broad standpoint. She even released a statement about it that still went over so many people's heads

On a side note, I’m so heart broken about Meryl and Don. Back in the day I was a streeper first so I found this news really really hard. Especially knowing it happened 6 years ago I had thought that we hadn’t seen him for ages and I thought maybe it had something to do with old age. 

On a very unexpected notes, Squadron 42 is finally almost ready to be released after absolutely years in post production. 

And on another side note, for someone who doesn’t relax, she has certainly been on a few holidays this year. 

November 

Ah November. How did we get here?? The crown has its final premiere this month… 

Considering they have been back together for over a year and it’s the last one, my money is on that they will do the red carpet together…. But I’m not totally convinced either. And it all obviously depends on if the strike is ongoing. 

Something I didn’t see coming, Gillian’s production company is being striked off. I am not completely surprised seeing nothing has come out of it and the Netflix deal but I thought they would wait a little longer

Really hoping for an in-person Gillovny moment with David on tour in Europe. I’m almost certain that they will see each other, just hoping they will share it with us. But then maybe not with the crown about to drop. 

The strike finally ended. Excited to see what unhinged stuff Gillian posts that she couldn’t. Also excited to see her head off to Canada for filming.

Gillian joined tick Tok 

No Gillovny moment… publicly at least 

So there was an LA premiere which it doesn’t look like she was at. Strange there was no London one but I guess with the strike just ending there might not have been enough time to organise it. Maybe they might do one in December before the whole thing drops. I haven’t really been following the lead-up to this season but it all seems a bit quiet? Especially considering it’s the last one. 

Gillian attended letters live. This was held at the Royal Albert Hall which I fan-girled over because I did I private tour of the hall when I was in London. 

December 

We’ve made it! Gillian went to the London Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall and omg. Loving her hair being more honey-coloured and the way it was styled.  And the dress!!!! Don’t ask how many times I zoomed in on it. 

And of course, she went to the London premiere of The Crown, the next night too! She looked stunning. Surprised but not surprised. She did an interview as well where she spoke about Peter being her partner so there you go. 

And look, if she’s happy then I’m happy. I’m not really sure how someone like her could put up with his behaviours but who knows what they are actually like behind closed doors. He is pretty much now her longest relationship and I think that the fact that they are both successful determined people has a lot to do with it. I do find it interesting that her and David were interacting more when they were separated. I can’t see David getting along very well with Peter and vice versa with Gillian and Monique. 

White bird now has a release date of oct 4 2024 which is just ridiculous and makes no sense. 

I’m not really sure what happened from here till the end of the month as I found myself getting caught up in an unexpected romance that has me smiling like an idiot and forgetting how to function and is going to end in me being a mess because it’s such a difficult situation….. anyway!

And do y’all realise that you have practically bullied Gillian off Twitter???? For something that most of you actually don’t understand?

And that’s a wrap! 2023, you were what I needed! Whilst Gillian didn’t really do much, which was mostly out of her control, 2023 served! For me personally, it was a big one. I lost my great-grandmother a week before I left on a trip of a lifetime. Travelling solo through North America and the UK was huge and totally eye-opening. It was hard but I loved and appreciated every minute of it. Everyone said to me that I was silly for doing it on my own, but life’s too short to wait for the right person to do stuff like that with. But in saying that, I unexpectedly reconnected with an old flame, which has been pleasantly nice but is now definitely over. Gillian, I’m blaming you for getting back with Peter for that one. But then I'm ending the year trying not to fall for someone who has been right in front of me for such a long time.

I really haven’t been super active on social media either this year which is something I think I’ll continue 

So keen for 2024….. fingers and toes crossed for something big happening to me in Feb but even if it doesn’t, I’m ending this year genuinely happy and in a good place for the first time in a long time. 

[xtruss]

Are You A Hostile Punctuator???

— By Angela Haupt | 28th March, 2025

Illustration By Chloe Dowling For TIME Texture: Tess Trunk—Getty Images

Before You Write Off Punctuation as little more than a dot, a line, or some combination of both, consider: A period can end a conversation—or an entire relationship. One too many question marks can make the recipient ask themselves if they really want to keep talking to you. Forgetting an exclamation point can spark the wrong kind of excitement.

As digital communication has evolved, punctuation’s job description has gotten more demanding. When you fire off a text or Slack message, “You don't have the context we have with spoken language,” says Anne Curzan, a professor of English, linguistics, and education at the University of Michigan. “You don't have facial expressions, you don't have tone, you don't have the shared context of a physical space and gestures.” Is the person you’re talking to happy? Are they joking? Are they angry? Are they drop-dead serious? If you were face-to-face, “You’d have all of this context to be able to figure it out,” she says. “In texting, you have very little—so what young people in particular have done is repurpose punctuation.”

That means those tiny symbols, in conjunction with emojis and abbreviations like “JK” and “LOL,” have become tools used to capture tone and facial expression, while making clear not only what you're trying to say, but how you're trying to say it. “We have to minimize ambiguity, because we're not going to be there to clarify,” Curzan says. “So we have to get it right the first time.”

Are you the hostile punctuator in your group chat or Slack channels??? We asked experts how to tell—and how to fix it.

You Use Periods When You Don’t Have To

The period has become a “point of contention”—pun certainly intended—says Andrew Albritton, an instructor in the IT and cybersecurity department at Missouri State University who has researched digital punctuation. “It’s the standard way to end a sentence or declaration, yet it's become something that rubs people the wrong way.” Imagine, for example, that you send a friend this message: “Yay. I’m so happy for you.” Or, when your significant other asks you to meet her for dinner at her favorite restaurant, you reply: “OK.” No one would be surprised if the recipients embarked on a wild goose chase to track down the exclamation point clearly missing from your statement.

Research suggests that omitting periods is a way people communicate that they’re feeling relaxed—which means suddenly dropping one into a conversation can express anger or irritation. In another study, when people read text message exchanges that either did or did not end with a period, they rated those that did as less sincere than those that did not. One-word texts with periods are perceived as especially negative and abrupt. Periods are “a little flat, especially compared to the exclamation point, which shows social enthusiasm, excitement, and even friendliness,” Albritton says. And don’t. Even. Get. Researchers started on including a period after each word in an exchange: While these serve no grammatical function, they’re typically used to communicate emotional intensity, which can be alarming to recipients.

However, nuance matters in punctuation, and Albritton has found an important caveat: In certain circumstances, periods are used to convey earnestness or seriousness. College students who typically had a finger hovering above the exclamation point, for example, transitioned to periods when consoling friends: “Sorry about the job. It’ll work out.” In cases like that, the heightened sense of formality and seriousness will often be appreciated by the person on the receiving end, rather than interpreted as hostile.

You’re Attached To Ellipses

Different generations prefer different punctuation, says Deborah Tannen, a distinguished professor in the linguistics department at Georgetown University and author of books including Conversational Style. Take one of the most misunderstood punctuation marks of them all: the ellipsis, technically used to indicate a sentence is unfinished, or to add a pause or build suspense. “Older people tend to use three dots to indicate ‘on and on,’” she says. “Like, ‘You can guess the rest.’” Tannen recalls a student whose father always sent the same text message: “I love you…” One day, the woman’s friend exclaimed: “Your dad must be mad at you!” The woman objected: That was simply his communication style.

Yet no one ever knows exactly what the ellipsis they’re receiving means. This, experts say, is a punctuation choice that can make messages appear uncertain or vague, which confuses recipients and sometimes comes off as passive aggressive and rude. The sender, one imagines, is leaving something unsaid, which probably means it’s unpleasant. Recipients are left to fill in the blanks.

“Ellipses are fascinating,” Albritton says. “I've often thought I need to do a study on those.” (Will he? TBD…) While he doesn’t necessarily interpret those tiny dots as hostile, “using ellipses invites a certain void of meaning and ambiguity in the mind of the receiver,” he says. “You may not want to do that if you’re wanting to be clear.”

You Deploy Multiple Question Marks

If you’re waiting for a friend to meet you after work, you might dash off a simple message: “Where are you?” It’s to the point and polite; curious but not impatient. Switch things up, however—“Where are you????”—and your friend may make a beeline in the opposite direction rather than face your perceived wrath.

A string of question marks “does potentially communicate a sense of urgency that can be impolite,” Albritton says. “It’s demanding that somebody respond quickly,” which could be interpreted as rude and unnecessarily aggressive, rather than simply curious. That’s especially true in work settings: In 2020, a British professor lost his gig as a dorm supervisor for using too many question marks, a communication style students complained was "inappropriate" and “intimidating.” (One message read: “Why don’t you listen??????”) During a court case in which the professor alleged unfair dismissal, a judge described the messages as “brusque, blunt, and unnecessarily aggressive,” adding: “The use of multiple exclamation or question marks could well change or influence how a recipient might perceive a text message, and might make an otherwise neutral text appear aggressive, intimidating, or suggesting disbelief.”

Natalie Bidnick Andreas, a professor in the communication studies department at the University of Texas at Austin who focuses on digital rhetoric and communication, isn’t so quick to unleash a verdict. She sees multiple question marks two ways: “First, someone is genuinely deeply confused, which is understandable,” she says. “And second, they’re trying to emphasize the importance of what they're asking, but they're misusing the question mark to facilitate that.” If you were talking face-to-face with the sender, “You’d know if they were simply asking a question—or asking a question and you’re in trouble,” she says.

If you’re uncomfortable with the many question marks someone is sending you, Curzan suggests taking a breath and not making immediate assumptions. Then ask them about it: “Those question marks felt a little aggressive to me. Did you mean that?” ”You’re giving the person the space to say, ‘Oh my goodness, no,’” she says. “Don’t assume you understand the intention."

You Suddenly Switch Up Your Punctuation Style

If you exchange frequent digital messages with someone, they’ll grow accustomed to your punctuation habits, like always including an exclamation point when you say good morning. That means if you abruptly switch things up—and drop that friendly exclamation—the people on the receiving end will notice. “It can be a trigger, whether it’s punctuation that’s appearing or disappearing," Andreas says. “[Recipients] might be focusing on what the other person is thinking or feeling, rather than the actual logistics of what they're saying." That can lead to rumination and catastrophizing: “What’s wrong with so-and-so?” “All they did was not use one simple character, and it can make us spiral," she says.

Everyone benefits from frankness and open discussion around punctuation. If there’s a chance your digital communication will be misinterpreted, be clear about your intentions: When Albritton is emailing with students, and he can tell they feel like they're bothering him, he explicitly says: “Hey, I’m not upset at all, just so you know.” Words, after all, say more than punctuation choices ever could.

Meanwhile, if you’re the one dwelling over someone’s punctuation—or lack thereof—give them the benefit of the doubt. Andreas typically waits until there have been three instances of potential hostile communication before asking her friend or colleague if everything is OK. At work, she might suggest to the person that they switch to a different communication platform, like talking via the phone instead of sending Slack messages. “I’m surprised to find, oh, they’re not upset at all,” she says. “They’re just busy, and life is moving, and they didn't add an exclamation point that day—and that's all right.”

[lanawinterscigarettes]

The Breakfast Club members dating someone who's nonbinary

A/N: more pride content, yay! :D also this is set in the 80s, but it's pretty loose when it comes to accuracy since the term nonbinary wasn't coined until many years later

Warnings: being nonbinary in the 80s, some transphobia mentioned, swearing

Claire Standish

As uptight as Claire might be, she's pretty well-versed when it comes to gender politics

Around her friends, she acts like she doesn't care all that much, and she probably won't even correct them when they misgender you due to fear of judgment, but when you're alone she shows you that she really does by using your correct pronouns and stuff

If you don't like the clothes you own because they make you dysphoric, she'll happily take you out for a "gender affirming shopping spree", as she likes to call it

The look of pure joy on your face when you see yourself in the mirror for the first time, wear clothes that truly fit you- it makes her smile to know that she helped give you that kind of happiness

Andrew Clark

Andy may be somewhat of a himbo, but he's not just some dumb jock; he listens when you explain things to him about your gender identity and always corrects himself if he makes a mistake when referring to you

He always protects you from transphobes, even if it's from someone he's on the wrestling team with

He's even gotten in to some fights before over someone purposely trying to make you feel bad for being nonbinary, I'm not gonna lie

He always comforts you afterwards, telling you not to listen to those dipshits and reassuring you that you're perfect just being you

Brian Johnson

Brian is literally so sweet about it; he does his research and always checks with you before using gendered terms to make sure you don't feel uncomfortable

All of Brian's friends are supportive, too, which means you're probably close with his inner circle

If some annoying transphobe tries to pull the "there's only two genders" argument he's definitely the type of person to tell them how wrong they are and will even use science to back it up

You end up having long discussions over gender roles and politics together, sometimes with his friends and sometimes when you're alone

John Bender

Bender doesn't know too much about pronouns because of how little he pays attention in English class (or in any class, for that matter) but for you he definitely tries to get it right

For example, when he's about to use the wrong pronouns he always ends up catching himself and uses the correct ones before he accidentally misgenders you

Like Andy, he's gotten into fights for you over people making fun of your gender before; but unlike him it's a significantly higher amount as he doesn't have any potential sports scholarships to worry about

He not the best comforter, but if he sees that what someone said genuinely hurt your feelings he'll hold you as you cry (and make sure to beat them up afterwards)

Allison Reynolds

Allison knows what it's like to feel like an outcast for something you can't control, so she gets it

She always affirms your gender and uses the correct pronouns, so there's no worries there

Like Brian, you also have deep and thought out talks on gender roles, but it's usually only when the two of you are alone

If she sees someone openly harrass you, she probably won't do anything about it in the moment because of her hatred of confrontation, but she'll definitely check up on you afterwards and make sure you're okay

She ends up painting a landscape for you in the colors of the nonbinary flag, which you proudly hang up in your locker

~

Taglist: @anxiously-sad @iloveentrapta @ghot-girl @your-next-daydream

[spider-stark]

Hi! Hope everything is well!

I’m so happy you have an interest in Chronicle as well because the fandom is SO DEAD and for what??

I had a friend sit down and watch Chronicle with me (me rewatching it and for her it being her first time) and she LOVED IT! We laughed, we cried, we screamed when the movie glitched, and ended up making jokes about the gas station (because we ended up driving to a gas station parking lot). She also agrees with me that it would’ve meant more if it was Steve in the final fight and not Matt.

And on the topic of Matt, my friend and I both agreed that Matt was probably one of those guys that read a philosophy book for English class but never actually signed up for AP Lit. Like, he got lazy reading it and instead read an analysis on SparkNotes and actually thought it was cool, then proceeded to make it his entire personality. Like, “I’m not like other guys” type shit.

My friend also talked about how that red haired girl did not pass the vibe check. Like? I get it, if a guy threw up in my hair during ykw I’d probably die inside but damn, poor Andrew.

Also yeah, I love Dane’s characters too!

yay hi omg another chronicle fan i love you

the Chronicle tag is so insanely dead, and you're right? for WHAT? the movie is quite literally timeless and i'm shocked that more people don't talk about it? more than that, i'm shocked that more people don't write fics for dane's characters cause the boy is gorgeous but all of his tags are in such a drought lmao

i'm so so glad that your friend loved it and that you got to watch it with her! i love showing new people Chronicle! it gets me unnecessarily excited haha.

totally agree with all of your opinions here! i'm forever gonna believe that the final fight would've been way more emotional if Steve was the one that had to make that difficult choice! because they made it so clear that Steve truly cared about Andrew, whereas Matt was just kinda indifferent most of the time and a dick. it would have hurt so much more to watch Steve come to the realization that there was no 'saving' Andrew.

and Matt omg you're both so right! he literally just oozes "not like other guys" energy and it's such a red flag. i just love that so much because it literally just sounds canon lol

THE RED HAIRED GIRL. i've been waiting for so long to talk about this! because you're right, she did not pass the vibe check!! by no means would i be thrilled if that happened and i'm sure i'd likely get sick myself, but i also know i'd genuinely feel bad for the other person because i know they'd have to feel shitty and bad about it too! she bothered me a significant amount lol

but seriously, dane's character are just absolutely amazing and i love them with everything in me. man is talented and i really don't understand the lack of content in the tags for his characters.

[yourleftpinkytoe-blog]

But even there if you think about it from Andrew’s pov there is at least a justification. Andrew grew up only knowing abuse ,and one can guess based of of his view of Tilda, wished all of his abusers would die. So if we take that as canon Andrew may not understand the idea of loving someone who hurts you. The only instance of Andrew loving someone from his past that we see was cas, and considering Andrew’s own black and white worldview, he probably didn’t equate her with drakes abuse because she wasn’t the one actively hurting him. (For all he knows, its pretty clear in the Extra content that cas was at least suspicious about what was happening and made the conscious decision to ignore it, fuck cas) So how I read it was that Andrew was doing what he wished would happen to all his abusers to Tilda, and his own regressed mindset (due to abuse) caused his inability to understand why Aaron was so upset by her death. In his mind it was likely that he saw it as Aaron choosing her over him.

Not to say Aaron wasn’t completely justified in his feelings. The rift in their relationship was likely caused by this fundamental lack of understanding one another. Aaron can not comprehend that Andrew would kill Tilda for any reason other than a selfish one and so he ignores the clear reason of the deal and sees her death as Andrew taking the only person who loved him, even if she hurt him. And Andrew saw it as him giving everything to keep Aaron safe, he killed for him he almost died for him (though i don’t see Andrew caring all to much about that), he stood by Aaron’s side pushing him forward out of addiction and yet Aaron still chooses the person who beat him and got him addicted to drugs.

This is why I wholeheartedly adore twinyard angst so much more than when the good brother dynamic that is portrayed in fics. That fundamental misunderstanding of one another is so deeply rooted in their lives spent apart and seeing that dynamic explored gives me life.

So yeah Andrew is completely justified in killing Tilda and as @stevesnightmares said, I could and would never blame an abuse victim for killing their abuser; both in real life and fiction. Aaron is also completely justified in his anger at Andrew for killing her. And honestly if those two would ever just explain themselves then I think like almost all of their issues with each other would be solved, so yay therapy i guess.

STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP SAYING THAT ANDREW KILLING HIS MOM WAS A "BAD THING" HE DID!!!! IT WAS NOTTTTTTTT!!!!! YOU GUYS I'M SO SICK OF ITTT

[helisol]

dude im not sure you will get it after reading this either, but you Can read it now

okay so first of all do not expect me to adhere to rules of grammar or Proper capitalisation, I am writing from the heart

so it’s been said before by other people but if Quark and Odo didnt look like the aliens that they are but instead like two regular prettybois the fandom would do cartwheels over their dynamic and Not call them a crack ship. because really, their dynamic fucking SLAPS and I’m here to tell you Why.

their surface-level dynamic is “Respected and Talented Security Chief and Cunning Immoral Businessman who are in Love but pretend not to be” and that's just an off-brand version of enemies to lovers! which is excellent and for some people that’s all you really need to get invested in a ship.

but some people look at it and go “Hm, no, that’s not enough. I mean, they work as friends but it doesn’t really have to be romantic.” and to that I say you are Absolutely Valid, not everything has to be romantic.

it just so happens that these two fuckers have one of the most compelling romance stories ever, and it’d be a shame not to explore it.

so before I dive into the internalised homophobia and repression, I’d like to take a moment to talk about Quark as a character.

because if you have brainworms like me you can kind of see that its an honest to god greek tragedy.

this guy comes from a race of people where being kind, ethical and fair is considered Abnormal and Horrifying. and I’m not gonna call Quark out of all people kind, ethical or fair but,,, 

you ever notice how he’s A Much Better Person Than Pretty Much All Other Ferengi?

dont get me wrong, Quark is still a bastard, but every once in a while his True Character shines through. and I say True Character because guys,,, the way he behaves around other people is an Act. he’s pretending to be something he’s not.

he has to try so hard to be a good ferengi it’s honestly painful to watch at times. because he is a SHIT ferengi! 

he loves his friends- because that's what the ds9 crew are. they’re his friends! and it makes him miserable because that's not! normal! for a ferengi!

let’s compare Quark and Rom for a second. 

Quark reeks of self loathing because a lot of the time he just Doesn’t act like a ferengi is supposed to, and this drives a lot of conflict in the show. he knows how a ferengi should act, it’s just that he can’t!! fucking!! do it!! but he still tries and tries to fit into that mold, which straight up ruins his life on multiple occasions.

Rom is also not a Model Ferengi, but he lives without hating himself. and it’s mostly because he doesn’t care about how a ferengi Should act, he’s loved and cared for even when everybody knows that he’s a shit ferengi! because his non-ferengi-ness works to his benefit. it encourages and highlights his abilities as an engineer. the success and love he finds make it easy for him to be content with his true self. Unlike Quark, who doesn’t get unconditional love from anyone.

its so!! tragic!! because you can see what Quark is really like!! his true self!! he’s a nice guy who cares for people!

its right there all the time and it's so blatantly obvious. especially in episodes like “Body Parts”, “Bar Association”, “The Way Of The Warrior” and “Ferengi Love Songs”

his own wiki page literally calls him “a compassionate and generous man by ferengi standards” which pretty much translates to “not really a good ferengi”.

anyway so Quark is a tragic figure or whatever but we’re actually here for the REPRESSED! HOMOSEXUAL! TENDENCIES! that he and Odo both exhibit.

with characters like garak you don’t really need to have brainrot to pick up on those tendencies, because that was something andrew robinson chose to do, on purpose. 

and to be fair, Quark wasn’t intended to be Any kind of representation, not even by the actor. I’m just pointing out that he Does look and act and talk like a little gayman.

I will admit that he is Painfully Straight in the text of the show, but on a meta level he’s just. a dude who has a serious case of repressing his real personality. and taking it a step further- he also represses his feelings towards another man.

and that man is Odo.

a few things on him:

Odo is literally desperate to be a person. unlike Quark, who at least has the comfort of belonging to a society of people with a set of rules and expectations, Odo has never met anyone or anything like him in all his years of life.

like, we all know Odo basically grew up in a lab, right? 

with people who didn’t know anything about him. who he was so unalike that they literally called him “Nothing”

but he still learned to look and talk and act like them (because if he didn’t he’d feel *pain* which is very fucked up by the way?)

so we know for a fact that Odo wants to be recognised as a person- which is why he tries really hard to conform to the ideals of the society that raised him. instead of exploring his nature as a shape shifter he maintains a humanoid form, picks up a job and creates an entire personality around what he wants to be seen as. but not what he really is.

and that's the thing that causes all the conflict between Quark and Odo. the type of person odo wants to be seen as is the polar opposite of whatever the fuck quark wants to be seen as.

In the same way that Quark acts like a Normal Ferengi, Odo acts like a Normal Security Officer.  and in a cruel twist of fate, the Ferengi happens to be the antithesis of the Security Officer.

If you only look at them as the things they act like, and not the things they are, you might say they’re way too different to like each other, right? 

but,,, if you think about the fact that they’re both putting on this act,,, this performance of idealised versions of themselves,,, you can see that they are The Same. They Are Both Gay Repressed Loser Aliens Who Try To Act Like Things That They Aren’t!

Imagine you’re Odo. 

Imagine that you’re Nothing, because you’re not like anything anyone has ever seen- and because you are Nothing you don’t fall in love with anyone for years and years. since who could love something that isn’t like them at all?

But then one day this Thing shows up in your path and you just hate it. Because it’s not like anything *you* have ever seen. It’s disorderly and looks grotesque and it’s criminal to boot.

It’s all the things you learned would make a “Bad Person” It’s everything you aspire not to be, because if you were any of those things you would BE PUNISHED.

But the trouble is, eventually he’s not an “it” anymore, he’s “Quark” and you see him every day of your miserable little life because you live on the same damn station in space and it’s hard to avoid each other.

He also happens to be one of the only things in your life that are constant. He will never leave because he is stubborn and greedy and you just *hate him so much* that you’re convinced he must be doing all of it to spite you. And yet you also can’t seem to leave him alone.

So Odo Must Hate Quark. everything else is a non sequitur for him. he can’t not hate Quark.

because Quark is, and i’m sincerely sorry to apply christian fucking imagery to this, The Forbidden Fruit.

If he liked quark he’d admit some kind of moral failing. it would be the end of his act. but on the other hand...it might be a good thing, because at least he could have quark.

but Odo can never go through with biting into this apple because the consequences are horrifying to him. he could never have quark because, according to his performance, he would Never like quark to begin with.

and here’s a take for you: Odo's Brand Of Internalised Homophobia Doesn't Stem From Heteronormativity. It Stems From The Fact That He Was Kind Of Assigned Asexual At Birth.

and the show sort of alludes to this, for real! not just subtext! canon! except the writers used the wrong person. 

because instead of Odo having these Forbidden Feelings for Quark he has them for,,, Kira.

but since this is My Quodo Manifesto you’ll understand that i am 100% willing to just toss that part of canon out the airlock.

so Odo does canonically have that mindset of “no one could ever love me”  for decades he repressed any and all feelings of love to avoid getting hurt. in the show he breaks this cycle of repression when he takes a chance and enters a relationship with Kira. yay?

but we all know that aint it chief. and part of the reason why That Ship Ain’t It is the fact that Quark is Right There. and he is simply the more interesting choice for odo.

he and Odo literally share the same problem and have weird intertwined character arcs! they are both dreadfully afraid of not conforming to the ideal versions of themselves, so they reject everything that could challenge their Performance!

on some fucked up level they hate each other *and* themselves individually. and this hatred makes them reject parts of their real identities for the sake of protecting their image. which. yknow. in gay people. is internalised homophobia!

so you can see that they’re both repressing A Lot even if you view them as Friends, but the most important thing in this kind of romantic dynamic is usually,,, when the characters *stop* repressing.

and the thing is. the thing that Kills Me with these two. They Never Get That Moment. Thats Why You Need The Brainrot To See Them As Romantic.

The Ascent gives us an example of what happens when they both take their act too far. I mean, who could forget “Fascist!” and “Fraud!” That is what odo thinks of quark’s performance and vice versa, but we don’t really hear them adress the fact that they *are* playing these roles to a ridiculous extent.

We also never get an example of what would happen if they dropped their act instead of over-performing it. or rather we don’t get to see both of them drop it.

And the reason why we never get that moment is because there’s this one key difference between Quark and Odo. 

Quark knows that he’s constantly repressing his true nature and his feelings for odo. We pretty much hear him say so in the iconic root beer scene in Way Of The Warrior. he knows that he’s not a good ferengi but he keeps up his act.

So quark is aware enough to feel that sweet sweet self loathing. But Odo isnt self loathing as much as he is just self sabotaging.

and this subtle difference between them is why, at the very end of the show, we get “That man loves me, can’t you see? It was written all over his back!”

this moment is quark dropping his act and asking odo to do the same. he wants to hear a genuine Goodbye from him because they have known each other for Decades and they are Friends. but odo is so unable to express the feelings he’s been repressing all these years. that he self sabotages again and just walks away.

even though this is like. very anticlimactic. considering I just spent 2000 words talking about how Odo and Quark are Most Certainly Gay For Each Other.

The fact that their ending is so Weird is the reason why quodo is so engaging and appealing to me? especially post-canon quodo.

like, the amount of “what if’s” this ship has are Astounding.

What if either of them had dropped their act a little sooner? What if they both did, for just a moment, and it was the straw that breaks the camels back?

What if Odo comes back after a few years? What if Quark comes to get him?

What if, in that moment in the finale where Quark drops his act, Odo had returned the gesture? What if Gag-Reel Quodo Kiss.gif Real?

with the depth that I read into their relationship, those what ifs are really fun to think about.

anyway its 1 am and i’m not an english major so literary analysis is not like, my strong suit. plus most of this was written in a late night screaming session with a friend who has the exact same opinions as me. i just think aliens hot and in love. thats all.