#actually imagine how many of those would be lost media

[miscalculatedsheep]

Umm so the instagram account running the Australian cast recording petition (which currently has ~1900 signatures) has posted this with no caption

Is it happening. Is. Cause I will combust. Could it. For real???

[thessalian]

The AI Loss List

I'm making a list of everything we wouldn't have in acted media if we replaced every actor with AI. This will not be a comprehensive list, but if you can think of any moments that aren't already on the list, just add them somewhere. For all some people feel like being able to hear their favourite actore read them their homework is cool, it's time to really look at what we'd lose.

Baldur's Gate 3 - Astarion's dealing with Cazador, and the aftermath. That was not scripted. It was done in one take. Neil Newbon just ... acted. The performance director watched that and went, "...Yeah, we caught the lightning in the bottle; we're done".

Midnight Cowboy - "I'm walkin' here!" The problem with filming on location in NYC is that ... well, there's traffic. There's always going to be traffic. So they were shooting that scene, a taxi nearly hits Dustin Hoffman and instead of being shocked out of character, he reacts in character, and well enough that it's now one of the movie's most iconic lines.

Raiders of the Lost Ark - the sword scene. Filming on location presents other hazards. Harrison Ford was dealing with a case of dysentery while he was filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, and was looking down the barrel of actually having to do a whole swordfight in that condition. So he turned around to Spielberg and went, "...Can I just shoot him?" And apparently ... yes he could.

Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back - Han going into carbonite. Carrie Fisher's "I love you" was scripted. Harrison Ford's "I know" was not. Ford felt that it fit the character and the relationship dynamic better. He was right.

Basically point at a Robin Williams movie and understand that there's at least a half-dozen moments of Robin Williams improv in it. Hell, by the time we got to Good Will Hunting, they shot the last scene (which was going to be the closing line of the film) multiple times, just getting Williams to ad-lib each time.

Aliens gets a mention in the quotes, but things I didn't know were things like James Cameron allowed the actors playing the marines to customise their own gear.

The "like tears in rain" speech in Blade Runner was actually shortened a bit by Rutger Hauer, with "...like tears in rain" added at the end.

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, that whole thing where Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig were asking pedestrians for directions to the "nuclear wessels"? Those were actual pedestrians. Not actors. Just ... imagine being in San Francisco in 1986 and having this very Russian dude who you may or may not recognise asking that. (I mean, probably someone noticed cameras? But maybe not; I have literally walked into an outdoor filming on my way to work without realising.)

This doesn't fit in lines, but Anthony Hopkins' hissing noise after talking about how he ate the census taker's liver? Ad lib.

Reservoir Dogs - The torture scene was in the script. The talking into the severed ear? Not so much.

A few lines that I didn't even know were improv or ad-lib:

"We're gonna need a bigger boat" - Jaws

"Heeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" - The Shining

"Here's lookin' at you, kid." - Casablanca

"You can't handle the truth!" - A Few Good Men

"You know... Morons." Blazing Saddles

"I am Iron Man" - Iron Man

"You talkin' to me?" - Taxi Driver

"I don't wanna go." Avengers - Infinity War

"Game over, man! Game over!" - Aliens

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!" - Dr Strangelove

"Flames ... flames on the side of my face..." - Clue

"She talks in her sleep." - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Feel free to add. There's so many more, some I didn't want to include (there are some works I won't mention because of certain TERFs who created them) and some I don't figure a lot of people would recognise (I'm particularly fond of "Waaaarioooors! Come out and plaa-ay! *clinking bottles*), but seriously, check out your favourite piece of media and see what we'd lose if we replaced actors with AI.

[f1amour]

Hiya!! Can I pretty please request a blurb that’s both angsty and a lil fluffy?

🍮 Lewis Hamilton - “I’m scared of losing you”

❝ i’m scared of losing you ❞ — lewis hamilton

pairing | lewis hamilton x reader

content warnings | angst, comfort, age gap mentioned (not specified)

★ navigation | main masterlist

─────────────────────────

“lewis is ready for this season to end” “lewis wants a fresh start and it’ll be with ferrari” “seems like hamilton just wants a a fresh start with life in general…does that include his girlfriend?”

the tweets did not stop rolling in and you couldn’t help but get lost in them. you couldn’t help but believe the words many were saying. maybe lewis was over this season, done with mercedes, and maybe he was over you too. he noticed the distance you had put up after the brazil gp. there was a two week break and you had spent it at home trying to relax but that was not possible with your constant checking in on twitter to see what people are saying about you.

you weren’t one to be on your phone so much at least when you had free time with lewis you guys tried your best to be in the moment. so when he came home from taking roscoe on a walk only to find you in the same spot you were in before he left almost two hours ago was concerning. it was concerning enough when you didn’t join them on the walk which you usually do, telling lewis you wanted to stay back and start on dinner. dinner was nowhere to be seen as you say on the barstool in the kitchen phone on in your hands with tears in your eyes.

lewis quickly lets roscoe off his leash and walks to you, “baby, what’s going?” his finger lifts your chin up to look him in the eyes but the tears in your eyes just make him frown. “please talk to me. i’m worried about you.” his soft voice fills your ears as you let him wrap his arms around you giving you a hug you didn’t know you needed until now.

your body shakes shading his as you let all your tears and frustrations out until you finally calm down his hands rub your back as you take deep breaths, “i…i’m scared, lewis. i’m scared of losing you,” you tell him what you’d been feeling for weeks now. lewis was not expecting those words to come out of your mouth. in fact, he felt that he was losing you due to this distance you’d been putting up.

his hands cup your face and gives you a smile that makes you believe your thoughts of losing him were just your imagination, “oh honey, now why would you think that? i can’t imagine my life without you. who told you something?” he asks, knowing damn well you’d never just start having these thoughts for no reason.

you look down at the countertop as you hand him your phone which had your twitter feed full of negativity, “lewis looks over this team and ready for a fresh start either ferrari he probably feels the same in his love life as well, lewis wants to focus on his 8th world championship not shopping for wedding rings for his young girlfriend who brings bad luck—,” lewis stops after the last tweet and looks over at you, your hands covering your face trying to avoid his gaze.

“look at me. plenty of people feel the opposite of these tweets. you got sucked into a thread that is all people who don’t actually support me. my fans, my true fans adore you. maybe even more than me. you’re only a few years younger than me and that isn’t an issue with me, love. i love you. you’ve brought the good luck for me. you bring faith every single race week especially this year where it’s been fucking hell most of the time. i can’t imaging my life without you, ever.” his words soothe your mind despite still feeling a bit anxious from those tweets you realize maybe listening to complete strangers rather than the love of your life wasn’t the best idea. however, lewis always validated your feelings and why you may have gotten lost in the dark side of the media where people aren’t always so accepting of your relationship.

“i’m sorry, lew. shouldn’t have listened to them i just…i don’t know how you deal with everything and still keep your head up. i’m exhausted,” you confess, you were never one to be on social media and read comments unless they were from friends or family. seeing how the last few races have been brutal for lewis you wanted to defend your boyfriend but ended up on the wrong side. “baby, you were with me for 2021. you are probably the only reason i didn’t quit and why i still haven’t. you’ve got faith in me, i hold that very dear to my heart. i’m with you till the end.” his last words make you cry some more but happy tears now as he chuckles at your smile, “there’s my girl. now, let’s take a break from the phone and cook some dinner together.”

he helps you off the stool and you grab his hand turning him back, “i love you too.” you pull him into a kiss and all lewis could think about is the engagement ring hiding under roscoe’s bed ready to make an appearance once the season is over.

[rivetgoth]

The fact that I’ve seen a few people try to analyze I Saw the TV Glow through a lens of it being about like, fandom and obsession with media and nostalgia being bad ?? is genuinely blowing my mind. Obviously there’s the fact that this movie is as unambiguously about being trans as it can possibly be without just saying outright “this is a movie about being trans” but I also think this is crazy because I would say it actually has one of the most unambiguously positive relationships with concepts like “media consumption” and “nostalgia” that I’ve seen in a movie.

Like, to say it’s a shallow interpretation of the film to call it “about media/fandom” (and especially a negative depiction of such things!) is putting it quite kindly because I kind of feel that anyone who utters such sentiments didn’t actually understand the core element of the entire movie: “The Pink Opaque” is not a show. Commentary the film makes about watching “The Pink Opaque” cannot translate to commentary on watching shows broadly because the movie spends half its runtime making it explicitly clear that “The Pink Opaque” may be a show that exists in a literal sense but is not one in a figurative sense. “The Pink Opaque” represents the possibilities of childhood and innocence. Innocence that still is not free from judgment—Owen gets told the show is for girls, Maddy’s friend accuses her of sexual harassment on account of her sexuality while they were watching it together—but it’s the moment in your youth (or any time! it doesn’t have to go away!) when the possibility of queerness and more explicitly queer utopia feels real to you. The external pressures to conform are still there but you can tune them out if just for a moment to envision a future and a life for yourself free of it and living authentically. I think this is an experience all LGBT people can relate to, but in the case of ISTTVG it’s very explicitly primarily focusing on queer femininity, predominantly transfemininity, but in Maddy’s case as well she is a queer woman (I’ve seen some interpretations of her as transmasculine but I disagree personally). Hence the on-the-nose nature of it being PINK.

What feels very genius about Schoenbrun making it about a show though is that it’s so generational, right? For all of us LGBT people who grew up in the age of screens that WAS where a lot of that early imagination going wild resided. The first time you explore a new name is on anonymous forums. The first time you explore your masculinity or femininity is with which character you relate to in a show, or which gender you select in Pokémon. Movies and shows with “queer subtext” or even without give young LGBT people the chance to envision relationships and futures for themselves, what many grow up and call “shipping.” You have your first gay crush while watching your favorite movies. You envy those of your true gender while watching your favorite movies. Amongst many other things when Maddy watches “The Pink Opaque” she’s given access to a world where two women share this intimate connection and overcome obstacles together. When Owen watches “The Pink Opaque” they’re given access to a world where femininity is a real option for their future.

The relationship these characters have to “The Pink Opaque” is a net positive and the movie makes that so incredibly obvious when Owen goes back to rewatch it later and finds that it’s nothing like how they remembered, it feels childish and immature and dumb. That is a bad thing. This is a bad thing. The movie wants you to see this as a bad thing. This is the result of repression, of conversion therapy, of violent coercion into normative lifestyle—That sense of limitless possibility is destroyed and the idea of accessing one’s transness, of imagining this utopia where you CAN be yourself and live as a woman, strong and beautiful on the other side of the screen as said in the film, is lost. Now you tell yourself it feels silly, it feels childish to imagine such things, it’s not nearly as deep and meaningful as you believed it was when you were younger and less inhibited, or it’s at the very least easier to tell yourself that. Owen’s feeling embarrassed is of note here. If it weren’t for these external pressures that have been internalized they very well may have been able to still enjoy the show, even as they’ve aged and grown and matured, even if their perspective has changed a little. But they can’t. Not yet, at least.

I feel kind of out of my mind seeing people try to approach it through a lens of commentating on media consumption because it’s so deeply missing the layers of what’s actually being said… and not even in a wildly obfuscated way. The movie is ABOUT the relationship these characters have to “The Pink Opaque” and how the loss of that is a bad thing. How you can possibly watch it and see it being about some kind of growth from obsessive media consumption is mind boggling to me. Seeing multiple reviews and posts in tags about it is crazy. One thing I really like about this movie is that it so confidently argues for a more positive interpretation of being obsessed with “fantasy” and the childlike wonder of the limitless possibilities of fiction. I think that’s a very very trans narrative, as I mentioned it feels tied deeply into Queer Utopia, and I find it much more bold of a stance to take. In a world where people tell trans individuals (and especially trans women) that their identities are works of fiction or products of the imagination or even caused by excessive media consumption, to embrace these things and turn them over and use them as a symbol of the whimsy and innocence and excitement that first ignites that spark as a positive, thrilling, beautiful thing is very cool.

[ifistayitwillbedouble]

Finn said the Duffers planned the monologue since the near beggining and later he said he prefers mileven because it started at the beggining.

Ur ship is never gonna happen sweetie

hey!!!!! my first hate(?) anon, how's it goin'?

Y'know what, weirdly enough those things actually give me more hope that mileven was written to break up (and consequently have byler happen).

If the monologue was planned for that long and the Duffers were really building up to it to be this big, amazing love confession, they kinda fumbled the bag ngl. It ended up being full of all kinds of cliches (love at first sight like the writers have said they don't believe in on their twitter) and lacked any sort of romantic chemistry (Will had to push Mike to say ily in the first place).

It was just pretty disappointing all around. If I wanted mileven to happen, I would've been pissed. El deserved to hear much more than cliches and how about all the stuff she could do with her powers all over again. Why couldn't they just be more like lumax? Plenty of viewers are convinced of how much lumax care about each other and they didn't even need a big love confession. But so many viewers have stopped seeing the depth in Mike and El's relationship and don't care for it anymore. It kinda sucks because it was easy to agree in the first two seasons that they had this deep bond and love for each other, but not with these last two seasons when they start properly dating :/

And since this monologue was planned from the beginning like you said and I have more faith in the Duffer brothers as writers, that convinces me it was intentional for it to be like that. And if it was intentional, I can't imagine why other than to show Mike and El's relationship deteriorating. That mileven wasn't meant to last. The monologue wasn't meant to work and so it didn't in the show (they lost the battle for Hawkins) or for the audience at large.

As for what Finn said, I honestly don't care too much for what the actors say. I know David Harbour, who plays Hopper, literally said Hop was dead just for him to come back a season later. I would also never in a million years expect Finn to say he preferred byler just because that would give it away right then and there. But with him saying mileven, it could still go either way. It's also interesting to me that he added that "because of the beginning" part because that was really unnecessary. Why didn't he just say he liked mileven overall? Their relationship has changed so much from the beginning that he talked about that it makes me suspicious that he specified it like that.

And ultimately if byler doesn't happen, although all the writing decisions (especially in s4) seem to be headed that way, it won't be the end of the world. Byler could be a hugely historical moment in queer media history or it could not be. It's just a ship with a lot of potential at the end of the day. It's unecessary to come onto somebody else's byler blog and be condescending about it, you really don't need to be doing all that lmao. You can just go ahead and block me or the tags. I try to tag my posts as best as I can (with #byler or like #anti mileven) so people can enjoy mileven if they want to because that's totally fine. You stay out of my space and I'll stay out of yours so we can both enjoy the fandom, yeah?

Anyways, thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about this and strengthen my byler confidence :) it's nice to spell out all my thoughts every once in a while like this. And even though we definitely disagree on this topic, I genuinely hope you have a good day and end up enjoying s5 once it finally drops

[deepsthroats]

PUSH2START: rafe cameron gets turned on when reader (THEE brand-new hot young singer), went to outer banks to record her next music video, from her smash summer song.

———————————————————————

NOTES: HEAR ME OUT that idea came into me bc i think tyla and drew would make such a hot couple mdjjdjdj…also english is not my first language, so apologies for any mistake!

WARNINGS: male masturbation,erotic fantasy, rafe and his disturbing troughts about fucking reader.

“Jesus..fuckk” rafe’s dirty words sounded more like a curse while stroking himself to the image of your doll-body, tan sun kissed skin and bambi eyes. God, you were just so fuckable- the way ur hips were movin while dancing to “pushin' on my buttons with no hesitation”, -makin rafe actually wanna push all of your buttons deeply…he remembers your foreigner accent calling him:

“Hay Mr. rafey cameron” you said with a big smile, on your way to hug him. He hated how he loved that hug so much, stayin’ a litte longer with his hand on ur waist, squeezing a lil’ bit.

A big popstar like you coming to a small city like outer banks of course kept the place curious. Everyone were looking foward to meet u ever since the media leaked the place you were going to shoot the music video for PUSH2START. But u def didn’t disapointed. Everyone were stunned not only by your unreal beauty, but about how kind and sweet was your personality. You made sure to take pictures with all the fans, talk to them, and even payed some food for the tired fans.

The Cameron family, as the richest clan livin in outer banks, were the ones taking care of the whole musicvideo. The shoots, the recording, the marketing…everything. So, ofcourse rafe cameron would be present. Sarah and Wheezie were having a blash about meeting the most pretty, talented, funny and successful it girl of the time. Mr Rafe, could not care less..i mean, he did in fact not give a fuck about pop divas, so it was just another boring ass event he would have to attend cuz hes ward’s cameron son.

That changed the minute he saw you. WHATTHEFUCK-the only thing that passed by his head. He could not move or speak, cuz all the blood from his body went straight to his cock. He had too many thoughts- all ending up with you screaming his name while he pounded hard into your tight pussy. was a fucking torture to him watch you all day, seeing you with those small jeans, top cropped, showing your belly piercing he desperately wanted to lick, and your pretty legs that we wanted to grab and squeeze.

In fact, he did tried to flirty with you all day. Calling you princess, beauty, doll, honey…tried to keep eye-contact, laying his hands on your body- but you were just naive and innocent. You had this confident hot woman recording the music video, but you also had a very sweet and kinda dorky girl in the behind the scenes. Rafe wanted to get you all for himself, and beat the hell up of any boy who tries to hit on you. All these patetic losers guys could not workship you the way he would. FUCK you were driving him insane and honry as hell.

So, when he got home, his dick hurting for so much time being hard, he opens his phone, and finds the pic he was taking of you. Rafey’s mouth started to salivate just by looking at your wet skin- he wanted so bad to get you like this-. He zoomed at your perfect face, and lowered his hand at his drooling dick, givin a long squeeze. took his pants n brief almost immediatly, he was high by how honry he was.

Cameron felt at his stomach his pink, big cock, leaking precum on the top of it, and slowly started to move. Stroking himself meanwhile movin hips, imagining he was slamming the hell out of you-pushin all of your buttons-felt so goddamn amazing. It was so hard to keep holdin his phone with ur pic w the free hand, so lost in his imagination and burning desire.

“Oh my princess..fuck” he screams when his orgasm hits like a bomb in his body. Cum were all over ur picture from his phone. And one thing he knew- he needs u badly and it must make HASTE.

[avatar-legends-confessionblog]

I like Modern AU college gaang because there is just not enough college media content in the world even tho Sokka would make such a good college student.

Also he’s an engineering student, specifically mechanical engineering and I won’t hear any different. And he’s the worst kind of engineering student too. Especially in his first two years he doesn’t believe in “liberal arts” but falls in love with Fine Art even tho he’s objectively horrendous at it. He’s now a full on advocate for S.T.E.A.M.

He puts air quotes around “communication and business majors” even when he grows out of it he still does it around Zuko because it makes him, a communication and business major, furious.

A huge part of why he became a communications major was because he was indecisive and people always tell him he should learn to communicate better 🤷🏿‍♀️. And business is because he thought it was what his dad wanted him to do but even after they fall out he finds he only doesn’t mind it.

Katara is pre med and wants to go specifically into sports medicine. She’s on a water polo team. Like D1 team. She likes the aggressive camaraderie of the sport and she wants to keep playing competitively after college but not like major league. She doesn’t remember what the inside of her dorm room looks like being a student athelete and she’s definitely tried to drown Sokka because he said Biology isn’t a real hard science and because of this he always says Pre Med isn’t invited to be part of S.T.E.A.M with the rest of the sciences. Pakku’s coaches the girls waterpolo team because Katara beat him in a fight. She takes up environmental conservationism as a hobby because she can’t possibly have enough to do.

Toph is structural engineering and shares a lot of classes with Sokka which is the worst thing that has ever happened to him because Toph but also the best thing because Toph’s grasp of the mathematics of it all is immaculate. She has a natural almost psychic feel for structural integrity. She’s like a column whisperer just be touch she can identify loaf bearing structures. And how good the structural integrity of a building is there are many a building the gaang no longer go in on campus after Toph hauntingly said”this’ll be coming down soon” and laughs manically nobody knows if this means in 20 years or in 20 days Toph won’t elaborate. They don’t take chances. Toph is almost single handedly responsible for the school and campus being so accessible because she will not hesitate to call it out to their faces regardless of present company and the mock them excessively. She never officially joined the club (mostly because Toph is unaware of the existence of any clubs at this school and you couldn’t pay her to do school in her free time and clubs count as school) but she’s something of a mythical figure to the Disabled students union. Toph has one of those assigned helpers who help her take notes in class (I actually don’t know if this is a service offered to blind students I know it’s offered for deaf and sometimes autistic students so I’d imagine it is) and it’s smellerbee and they spend the whole class just absolutely devastating Sokka’s reputation. But her notes are immaculate.

Aang ofcourse is a religious studies/ philosophy/archeology major specializing in lost/endangered nomadic cultures. He’s very Adavwnced for his age group and is already like a TA in his first year to his professor Monk Gyatso. He’s already leading symposium discussions where he gets very serious and passionate and analytical which is very weird for his friends to see given he literally just raced Sokka here from the cafeteria and how he broke several of Zuko’s fathers expensive vases in a hula hoop contents. He’s a goofy dude who takes his responsibility of honoring the various cultures he studies very seriously. He is something of a child prodigy and has already published several papers. He and Zuko are archeological dig buddies because Zuko has to have hobbies and Aang brings him along because he is preternaturally good at finding lost artifacts and bartering for information. Zuko also has a tendency to chase down every single lead he finds with the same level of rigorous vigor and Aang absolutely loves accompanying him on these often wild goose chases. Because adventure! Aang ofcourse very into endangered species consternation but very against those scientific experiments to bring back extinct species. Is not a fan of zoos that he has not thoroughly vetted and are not essentially wildlife reserves. Will bust out an animal if he has to has done it before will do it again. Toph still calls him Twinkle Toes because he did ballet and martial arts and so is very light on his feet. He also takes art classes with Sokka cause it’s fun! He roles the whole gang into going to pottery barn regularly to paint mugs!

This got way longer than expected I swear I was just going to say how much I love engineering student sokka 😭😭😭. But I guess there’s been a lot of negativity so here I guess

Thank you for the headcanons 🥰

[marciaillust]

hey, i hope you're doing great! i feel this may be unorthodox, but i really wanted to reach out to extend my engagement?— awe?— solidarity?— (some variant of those, anyways) with your most recent "workposting" art. i don't normally do this. I've maybe sent 3 asks in my whole life. there's no pressure to respond to this, as i mostly just wanted to cheer you on. also, I'm really sorry this is so long.

i only just recently landed my very first freelance art job, at a start-up company dedicated to making comics + DND inspired art content. I've always felt that "Its nothing to call home about", and so i really resonated with your feelings regarding your work for Brawl Stars. I felt kind of ashamed of my job, that its just a small start up— that I'm not enough and that i should be trying harder, or something like that. Specifically i resonated with your comment of "presenting brawl stars art feels like showing my anime girl oc to an art teacher" and i don't think i could have solidified any better.

Anyways. all's to say. I really found your work quite jaw-dropping. I was shocked when i read it was for Brawl Stars. I didn't know anything about it, but when i did some research i was even more amazed. they're really, really compositionally beautiful... i mean, i know its just "work" to you ultimately, but it really does feel lively, and everything about it makes it feel like you care. I think sometimes you're just able to tell when an artist genuinely cares about their work; about its end outcome. there's so many intricacies. and a lot of attention to detail. you kept the style that was necessary of you but i also can feel the warmth and the care of the artist behind it— its not corporate, or stale, it doesn't come across as "just work".

since you mentioned League, i genuinely do think it serves an equal purpose and weight to what League of Legends would produce. from a biased standpoint, i would actually value your work more. Its not even that its "more obtainable"/"more realistic" but that there's genuinely more feeling to it. Compositionally/artistically, yeah, League makes great stuff, but occasionally, the feeling or the sense of warmth and care from the creator of the art is lost along the way. I value seeing the artist within their own art a lot, which is why I've admitted to a degree of bias. either way. what you put out there is really gorgeous, and crazy impressive.

I know a stranger with a dumb, fandom-oriented art blog cant solve the self-indited art elitism (you and me both, man💀) and that you've already received plenty of love/reblogs saying similar things, but i wanted to extend my feelings anyways. Its really heart-warming, i guess. It brings me hopefulness, and deep adoration for the craft. I'm not very good with words. Anyways. don't undersell yourself. seeing your work meant more to me than you can imagine. I'm obviously nowhere near your skill level, but it meant more to me as an aspiration. i think that regardless of who you work for, your work is really valuable and downright incredible. because you bring that sense of warmth, care, time, and patience regardless of the media it portrays. and you're able to do that while being objectively talented— utilizing great compositions, colour pallets, shading, characterization, mood, etc. That is more valuable. That is much much cooler than working for Riot. imo.

Initially, i also wanted to ask you some questions about how you assembled your portfolio, if you went to school, (if so) what it did/didn't provide for you going into the art field, and just how you landed the job in general. But i respect you and your time, and wouldnt want to be a burden or anything. If you ever have time for it, i would love to ask them, among others, and we can chat in DM if you'd prefer. Absolutely no pressure. Im happy just watching from the sidelines. I dont anticipate anything from you to begin with! I just hope youll know how influential your post was to read & see, to someone like me!

Oh man. I. How. Where do I even start except

This is one of the most uplifting, touching and encouraging messages I received in my life. I read it thrice. And I still can't believe how full of love it is. This is such high praise, I want you to know I will cherish it and carry it with me for a long long time. It's not often that an artist gets to learn how their art is perceived, not to mention in such a positive light. It really means a lot to me.

It makes me so happy to hear that my work illustrations retain a piece of me that is visible to others. I myself can't see it, but I imagine my closeness to the matter at hand heavily impacts my ability to see objectively at all. There was a time where I was worried that work was overriding the me that makes my art mine, that I was becoming a corporate rendering machine and that what I did at work (the shape language and style) was bleeding into my personal art. There is a part of me that is now breathing easier after reading your message. I would love to answer any questions you have, it's the least I can do to repay you! Feel free to send an ask or even an email, I'll try to be as thorough as I can be with my answers. I wish you happy holidays! Take care! And again thank you so much for taking the time to write this message!

[lovemebitxh]

Okay, let me just say this because I don't think some people fully understand just how important this season and these two specific characters, are for some of us.

I think the main reason why this season has had such a huge success is because this one, like Nicola said herself, is for the wallflowers.

This season is for all of us who can see ourselves in either Colin or Pen or both. It's for those of us who spent half our lives feeling invisible, never good enough, or pretty enough or funny or smart enough, just never enough. For those of us, who prefer to lose ourselves in a book because real life and real feelings are just too hard to deal with sometimes. For those of us who convinced ourselves that no one will ever truly see and understand us and love us for who we are, so we obsess over fictional characters and their love stories and just imagine what it would feel like to be loved like that. For those of us, who never know what to say and feel so awkward after taking part in a conversation we didn't have time to prepare for. For those of us who always feel inadequate and uncomfortable in our own skin, who take every compliment as a joke and who constantly wonder at the back of our mind if people are just making fun of us when they're being nice. This season is for those of us who felt we had to hide, repress or destroy any part of us that made us seem weak or weird, just so we could mold ourselves into whatever people needed or wanted us to be. It's for those of us who learnt that you will only be good enough when everyone likes you and have spent our lives trying to make everyone happy, always thinking of how our actions and our words are perceived and worring about making a good impression. This season is for those of us who never quite felt like we really belonged anywhere, so we tried to escape from people and places only to realize that what we were actually trying to escape from all along, was ourselves and what we were feeling.

This season is for the losers, the awkward ones, the invisible ones, the hurt ones who keep a mask on, because no one told them it was okay to take it off. The nerds, the wallflowers, the ousiders. This season is for us. And that's why it's resonating with so many people. Because it means so, so much to see someone like yourself, represented in media; and not only that, but also seeing these chracters grow and step out of their comfort zone, becoming more confident, accepting their own flaws and each other's and falling in love and being loved back; finally being soft and tender and being seen and understood and cared for, after feeling so lost for so long. It means the world.

And all I can say is: I hope we learn to just let ourselves be, someday, just like they did.

[sidequestsinlife]

hey american phannies, listen up

i'd like to interrupt our regularly scheduled program with an important message: "IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE AT WINNING, THEY WOULDN'T BE TRYING SO HARD TO STOP US." (- dan howell, 2025). it's not just a nice sentiment. IT IS A CALL TO ACTION. RESIST. NOW.

things in this country are fucked up right now. we are in the middle of a coup. an unelected south african oligarch is taking over our government. they are illegally accessting the personal information of hundreds of millions of americans to use for their own ends. they are unilaterally diverting congressionally authorized spending to align with an oligarch's personal preferences. they are listing the personal information of federal employees online as "targets." they are censoring social media - tumblr seems like one of the safest platforms, SO FAR, but who knows what's next. and much more.

this goes against everything this country is supposed to stand for. but it's not too late to stop them. those tariffs? yeah, enough people were mad that now they're on hold and the "concessions" trump is claiming to have gotten from canada and mexico are things they were going to do anyway already, plus mexico actually got an extra concession from trump. no matter how he tries to spin it, he lost. he blinked. and that happened because public opinion was so strongly against him.

so now it's time to say elon musk has no place in our government and may very well have a place in our prison system. are you in or near dc? show up where elon musk and his doge henchmen are planning to violate the constitution today. additionally, there are protests calling for our leaders to take action agains this coup in every state capitol today. if you can't get to your state capitol, i've been back in the country for less than 12 hours and i've already found a group of people going to our senator's local office to demand accountability and that he follow his oath to the constitution (via a local chapter of indivisible) and i'll be there this afternoon, and i'm bringing several other people with me. can't get anywhere in person? there are lots of phone calls that need to be made. write a letter if you can't make a call, but phone calls do get more attention from reps. if you don't have time but do have money, there are many organizations that rely on donations to fight the fascists; the aclu is one of my favorites. if none of these options work for you, for whatever reason, reply to this post; i'm sure we can find something for you to do to stand up to this authoritarian takeover of the united states.

this is germany, 1933. when you learned about the holocaust in school, did you imagine you would have been part of the resistance? or did you imagine you'd be the sort of person to stand idly by and watch while millions were slaughtered? this is your chance to actually be the person you imagined you'd be.

whatever you do, DO SOMETHING. those who do nothing in the face of evil, are taking the side of the oppressor. it's not too late to stop them. but at some point, it will be.

[elegantballetalk]

I was watching Bolshoi's old recording of Paquita Grand Pas (the one w/ Maria Alexandrova as the lead) and couldn't help but feel so sad. Bolshoi used to give so much energy no matter who the dancer was. All of them looked genuinely love dancing and enjoyed their time performing on the stage. They were such a joy to watch and I've never gotten so much positive energy watching other companies. Today's Bolshoi looks so pale in comparison, as if it has lost its soul. Where did it all go wrong?

You’re absolutely not alone in thinking this. My personal opinion is that there will always be ups and downs. And when we look back, we usually only see the “highlights” — not what everyday life was actually like.

There’s also a sort of cultural homogenization happening, and not just in the ballet world. In the past, there was a clear division between styles and methodologies, which is now beginning to blur. It’s no longer so easy to recognize which style a dancer was trained in. The method is still somewhat distinguishable, but the style much less so. I’m not sure what’s causing this. Perhaps academies are losing their monopolies and tight grip — both in good ways and bad ways. It used to be obvious where a student trained, and careful eyes could detect the influence of their pedagogues in the dancer’s movements. To stereotype: Bolshoi was bold, Mariinsky was lyrical, right? But today those lines are blurred, and I fear that in this neutral zone, there’s less room to shine. Everything feels "fine" — without infamy, but also without high praise… beige… standard.

I have a theory — based on very little, so perhaps better to call it a hypothesis — that companies are touring less and that there’s less competition between companies. Maybe because the average level has improved, and audiences have shrunk, so there's less need for companies to diversify and create distinctive “wow” factors. Imagine when the Bolshoi toured the States years ago: there was a cultural push to make the Bolshoi even more Bolshoi. Now… not so much.

Another small hypothesis I have is related to social media. There’s so much admiration for “low legs” and “artistry” when people watch vintage ballet videos. But if Maria Khoreva posted a video tomorrow dancing exactly like that, she'd likely be torn apart. Along these lines, I think dancers — especially in Russia, where there doesn't seem to be a strict “NO CELL PHONES IN THE THEATRE” policy — know their performances will end up online. So why would they risk being emotional, bold, or raw, only to face public scrutiny? Audiences used to be limited to those in the theatre, followed by reviews. But a journalist’s review is different from random people like me watching a bootleg video and saying, “Hmm, her fifths aren’t tight,” then leaving a hate comment. (I would never leave a hate comment, but people online, especially anonymous ones, can be cruel.) Take Maria Koshkaryova, for example. If she had danced in the ’90s, wouldn't we be praising her today for her energy, passion, and bravado? Instead, now, many say she sacrifices technique for effect. I’m not even talking about artistry — she’s still so young, and artistry is developed over time — but her technique should be at its peak. And yet, that's what I like about her AND ALSO, what I don't like about her. She doesn’t seem afraid; she has some of that old-school bravura. Sometimes it works brilliantly (and how great it is when it does!), sometimes less so. But the difference is, in the past, only the best performances were filmed and shared. Now, everything is available for everyone to dissect. Also consider that many artists share these videos on their instagrams, and that it's actually a way for them to make some more money/gain audience, so it would make sense they act risk averse to avoid negativity.

But this could be completely untrue, perhaps the artists are being told to tone everything down, perhaps they are encouraged to focus on other things rather than the spirit dancers were told to show years past. Priorities shift. Perhaps the dancers themselves prefer to show of their technical abilities (which they've worked on since childhood) rather than being concerned with their energy.

Another significant demographic shift has taken place, even in Russia, regarding the audience attending ballet performances. Historically, especially during the Soviet era, attending the ballet was far more affordable and accessible to the general population. It wasn’t just a luxury or elite pastime—it was an integral part of Russian cultural life, something people from all walks of life could engage with regularly. However, in recent years, ticket prices have risen considerably, even in russia, making ballet attendance less accessible to the average person and more aligned with wealthier, upper-class audiences. This economic shift naturally affects not only who is sitting in the audience but also what kind of performance is favored and appreciated. A more affluent, elite audience may lean toward valuing refinement, precision, and polished technical execution—qualities that align with broader cultural trends of minimalism, discretion, and so-called “quiet luxury.” In this context, a dancer’s technical perfection might be prized more highly than raw energy, spontaneity, or bold artistic choices. The atmosphere becomes more about flawless delivery and tasteful restraint, rather than the emotional engagement and vivacity that a more diverse, passionate, or “aficionado” audience might prefer. Interestingly, and sadly, this shift isn’t limited to the ballet world. It reflects a wider societal pattern seen in many “high-end” industries—whether it’s food, fashion, interior design, or hospitality. Across the board, luxury has moved away from overt opulence and embraced minimalism, subtlety, and a focus on quality over excess. While this can bring undeniable elegance and excellence, it often draws criticism for lacking vibrancy, warmth, or personality—everything being polished but perhaps a little too gray, too neutral, too safe. So, when applied back to ballet, the concern is that the art form may also be adapting itself to meet the tastes of this narrower, wealthier demographic. That might mean fewer risks, fewer bold stylistic choices, and a stronger emphasis on precision over passion, potentially leading to a more homogenized, less emotionally charged experience.

Beyond this, many other factors change: leadership, répétiteurs, pedagogues, teachers, teaching methods, budgets, corruption, culture, priorities… and simply the dynamic of the ensemble and how they work together. One would really need to deep dive into the cultural context then and now to form a complete opinion.

A lot of people say that today, there's too much focus on technique and not enough on artistry, and perhaps that's true. Russians, after all, are leaders in épaulement, but that alone is not enough to guarantee the level of energy you describe.

I’ve also heard people say that being a ballet dancer in Russia (or anywhere else) isn’t as prestigious as it used to be.

I’ve heard that in the past, dancers often performed the same roles repeatedly, being cast in parts they excelled at. Now, there’s more of a “try everything” mentality. While I’m sure this is more stimulating for the artist, it’s hard to be excellent at everything, and such a diverse repertoire can be physically draining. So who knows where the balance lies, or if this is even true. For example, some time ago, Renata Shakirova was removed from dancing Odette/Odile, and many people were upset, even finding the decision offensive. But this situation highlights a deeper, ongoing question in ballet: should every dancer be expected to perform every role, regardless of whether they naturally fit the aesthetic ideal associated with it? Should the traditional aesthetic canon — built over centuries — be challenged, adapted, or preserved as is? In Shakirova’s case, it raises another layer of complexity: was she personally happy dancing Odette/Odile, or did she feel uncomfortable because of external criticism suggesting she didn’t embody the archetype? How much weight should be given to the artist’s own feelings about a role, versus the opinions of audiences or critics? This brings us to a broader dilemma: in ballet, whose desires take precedence? The artist’s, the audience’s, or the artistic director’s? After all, the artist’s performance is a form of art, but it is also a product being sold to an audience who pays to see it. Should the audience only experience what the director believes is “best” for the company’s vision, even if that means sidelining a dancer’s individuality or wishes? Conversely, should an artist’s personal aspirations be prioritized, even if they don’t align with traditional interpretations or audience expectations?

I’ve also heard that the way Russia selects ballet students has changed. Ballet was once a path for girls from humble backgrounds to rise through society. Now, since getting into academies requires so much preparation — often private and expensive — it has shifted more toward being an elite pursuit, even though the academies are still public.

I’ve heard people say that today dancers are over-rehearsed, and others say they’re under-rehearsed.

I’ve heard that thanks to better physiotherapy and medicine, dancers are more overworked, because they can "handle it," whereas before, even small injuries gave them time to rest. It would be interesting to see how much the workload and pay has changed over the years.

I’ve heard people say that orchestras and dancers are less musical now. I’ve heard tempos are slower. I’ve also heard people say the environment is less toxic and abusive, though of course that's case by case, and each shift in approach comes with positives and negatives. Some even say it’s more toxic now. So who knows?

Filming plays a huge role too — the angle, the quality, the lighting, even the springiness of the floor, or how pointe shoes are made. Personally, when I watch old footage, what surprises me most is how dead the shoes look. Maybe there’s something to that.

But honestly, there’s so much more. The truth is, I don’t know. I tend to agree with you — when we look back, everything seems better. But maybe that’s just me glamorizing the past.

[daezedglownut]

I thought I’d already found all the possible little hints in XI that Sylvando/Sylvia is trans-coded.

There’s the throwaway party chat line at the French private school:

Ah, to travel from place to place collecting mini medals, learning all about the world and blossoming into lovely young ladies! The students of this school are so lucky!

If we find any mini medals on our travels, we should bring them back here right away so that we can blossom into lovely ladies too! Wouldn’t that be wonderful, honey?

There’s the fact that Sylv in Act 2 bends down to pick up items in the exact same way the girls at the academy practice with mini medals, echoing the statue at the gates of ‘La Collectrice’ - “an elegant young lady picking up a gold medal in a distinctly dignified fashion”.

Very demure. Very mindful.

There’s also the name angle to consider. Though it could be argued that if you leave home and don’t want news of where you are getting back to your dad, you’d probably go by a pseudonym or a stage name. So I don’t think that Sylvando/Sylvia not going by Norberto is a very strong piece of evidence at all.

Adding to that, the fact he ran away from home could yet be seen as a gay young man running away because he didn’t feel accepted at home. But it could also be a trans character doing the exact same thing, so I’d say it’s still very plausible. Not to mention Sylvando inadvertently following in his mother’s footsteps during Act 2 with his gang of gay little ducklings, as mentioned by the Ringmaster is actually a really cute detail, however you want to slice it:

I saw her when I was just a child. She was simply the most incredible performer… She led a parade of people out of a kingdom destroyed by monsters, and on to a new home and a brighter future. And she kept them smiling from start to finish! You can’t imagine how inspirational it was for those of us who were lucky enough to wave them on their way.

You remind me of her, you know. The look on her face as she proudly led all those people out of danger, spreading joy and laughter wherever she went…

Then there’s the fact Sylvando/Sylvia goes by female pronouns in the JP version of the game. Again, not concrete evidence based on the fact that “extremely flamboyant gay male characters” in JP media are often (sadly) treated in the exact same way, reducing them to a comic relief sort of “hodgepodge mix of everything queer” Okama stereotype. This doesn’t erase their cisness or their homosexuality. But I can see why from a western viewpoint it might seem like really strong evidence of their transness when it’s something particular to Japan that got lost in translation. The closest comparison I can think to make to “make it make sense” is in the west where gay femme—but entirely cis—males call one another “she” and “her”.

However, I found what could be the most concrete “HEAR ME OUT” evidence completely by accident:

Boxer shorts are a common suit of armor in the Dragon Quest series. They are generally considered a gag piece of equipment notable for their low defensive properties and they can only be worn by male characters.

And wouldn’t you know it, only the Luminary, Erik, Rab, and Hendrik can equip the boxer shorts in XI…

I checked.

Now. I don’t want to say this is canonical or 100% proof by any means. Sylvando could just be a flamboyantly gay man who has too much self respect than to be seen dead in those striped monstrosities. After all, I can’t imagine someone like Jasper would deign to equip them either lol

What I love most about Sylvando/Sylvia is how open to interpretation the character is. I’ve seen so many conflicting theories that are all written beautifully, and all hold merit. (I myself enjoy dabbling with how I interpret the character depending on the needs of the story I’m writing, and whatever tf my gender is doing on any given day…)

And the best thing about Sylvando/Sylvia is the overwhelmingly positive reception to the character from fans. How Sylv could’ve been a cheap throwaway gag without substance, yet arguably became the character who ‘stole the show’ at every turn and got some of the best storylines.

In the end, I didn’t want to save the world for the rest of Erdrea - I just wanted to do it so Sylv could go home and make up for lost time with his adorable, crotchety dad! 🥺💕

[jaysdoodlehell]

3,9, 17, 22 and 27 for Starscream And 34, 16, 28 (about Soundwave) and 48 about your oc.

For 50 questions game.

Wooo thank you so much for the ask! It's gonna be the longest text post I've ever made, so buckle up!

>:3

For Starscream:

3. Obscure headcannon:

He is totally oblivious to any subtexts, thus often not being treated seriously. Now recall this scene when he tries to interogate Cliffjumper and Arcee. He thinks he's scary when he walks slowly next to the table filled with torture devices while touching them in the weirdest delicate/sensual way (cause he's like a sneak, right?) While it comes off a bit... well, I think there is a reason why most people on this hellsite call him per 'slut'... So yeah, he is just not aware of how you can interpret both his act and his looks. He genuinely thinks he's imposing and scary (it's also not as much a headcanon as my observation that no one else noticed. So either I'm delusional, or other ppl are purposefully ignoring it. But I don't have a lot headcanons cause I'm a canon connoisseur... so all my "headcanons" would be at best overanalysis of canon... with small exceptions)

9. Scene that made me love the character :

Oh, that will be hard, cause it was back in 2012/2013, so I would not remember exactly (I'm lost in the robo sauce for a long time). Over all, I'd say that it was not a specific scene, but the sum of all his appearances. But to narrow it down, I think that the rough path made me like him a lot more. The fact he was able to survive, kept going even when he got nothing, got robbed from essential organs, and still managed to prevail, and not only that, but actually succeeded in a task both factions with multiple well-trained and equipped personel just failed... I think his ability to manage stuff as well as his drive for survival and not giving up even on the shitiest task is what made me love him so much. Also, him being shown to be vulnerable in many ways. It gives the image of someone who went through a lot, and never gave up despite obvious traumas and harm that was done to him. I respect him for being so determined, and strong enough to push through in those moments. And as much as I think other characters may have even better mental strength, they were not shown in this exact way, and Starscream was, thus I think I like him so much.

17. Quotes, songs, poems I associate with them:

 I'm not really a poetry or quotes guy, but I can deliver some tracks :3

For sure Icarus by Starset, Madona by Era, Pteryla and Co-pathetic by Novo Amor, Children of the Sky by Imagine Dragons, Heavy Is the Crown by Linkin Park... and many more but this post is long enough as it is ;-;

22. Best physical feature:

Claws and how they correspond with his character. From often looking softer, moving slowly and fluently to just striking out of nowhere and piercing someone to death in seconds >:3

27. Their guilty pleasure:

Probably roleplaying as a royalty when no one's looking XD

Or watching human media for entertainment, even tho he hates humans, and treats them and their culture as inferior (like when he laughs at the monkey gif)

For Shadowground:

So, a little disclaimer. Shadow is based in an alternative timeline, where certain things had to be rewritten prior to the moment of his creation (an explosion in Shockwave's cloning facility). Everything after that has been changed completely - half of the season 3 and the movie just don't exsist in his timeline.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won't even admit to themselves:

In some way he has a lot of dark secrets, but not many are his own. It's connected to his abilities (which he's not very familiar with) but he has a way of obtaining secrets of others, and retaining them (it creates a lot of problems for everyone later, especially when he cannot yet control himself or any of his abilities). But yeah... the worst ones are of others. In this stage of the development he had no time to yet commit some serious atrocities.

28. How do they feel about Soundwave:

Shadow in general has a complicated relationship with Soundwave. At the beggining of his life (when he's stuck in his beast mode and no one knows he's sentient) he is afraid of him. Mainly because of a big misunderstanding that somehow Soundwave is a creature living in the walls of Nemesis. It was the time when he understood close to nothing, and saw some defence systems of the ship moving. Someone then mentioned it was Soundwave, and poor beast just thought that Soundwave is a turret system, living in the walls. When in reality Soundwave just turned on the system... Later on, Shadow even thinks that Laserbeak alone is Soundwave! There is just a lot of confusion around Soundwave's person because nobody explains things to Shadow, and he needs to navigate a lot on his own. It takes some time before he realises that this scary system in the walls is actually a bot.

Later as he develops more, he reaches the point where he admires Soundwave's abilities, and would love to learn from him, but there aren't many opportunities for that. He respects the communication chief a lot, but keeps his distance because he doesn't really want to disturb Soundwave's work. At the same time there is this sort of hostile struggle between them, as they are both keepers of opposing powers in the Decepticon cause (meaning Megatron and Starscream). They are kin in many ways and if they'd work together they'd be a total overkill, but the situation, certain stances, ideals, and moral compasses (or lack there of) makes a rift between them. Still, Shadow highly respects and appreciates Soundwave, as he is the most effective member of the cause. He kinda just apreciates him from far away, while keeping some grudges to himself.

34. How they react when they are feeling X emotion (sad, angry, excited, scared, etc.— can specify as many as you like):

You didn't specify which one, so I'd explain the general way he reacts to emotions. At the start he's stuck in his beast mode for a long time, so all emotions he feels are not mirrored by others or reacted to in any way, as others just don't really care about the feelings of some random creature, and they cannot really understand them. Only Predaking can understand some. Because of this, he has a certain freedom of expression and interpretation. No one cares if he is overly happy or sad, because they treat him as an animal. This changes however, when he transforms to his bot mode for the first time. Besides everyone having a very bad déjà vu of the same happening with Predaking, he is now treated as a bot, and a certain behaviour is expected from him. He suffers, having to tune down all his saturated feelings to the standards of the Decepticon cause, while not understanting what value comes from that. He learns to analyse the emotions of others rather than focusing on his own, but his reactions tend to be more honest, and he doesn't push his feelings down that much, especially later in his story when he starts to build his own view on the world, and makes peace with that.

48. Scariest moment of their life:

It comes much later in the overall plot. Being stranded alone on dead Cybertron, thinking that all others are dead, derived from any kind of sustenance... Lost and delirious from starvation, getting hallucinations going from worst mistakes and horrors of the past to the worst possible outcomes for the future, caused by an intense rumination, and his brain melting with too much informations from the surroundings. Also, hostile scraplets and rot being on the planet's surface... after all Cybertron post war is just a dead body left to rot for a long, long time...

Thank you so so much for the ask! I hope that the monstrously long reply is not too much XD

Ask game

[agenderpunked]

just finished lost. will not be recovering, ever, me thinks...

I'M GONNA RAMBLE BECAUSE WHAT WAS THAAAAT OUUUUUGH I DIDN'T SEE ANY OTHER WAY FOR IT ALL TO END BUT THE FACT THAT IT *IS* WHAT THEY WENT WITH hURTS

I have so many thoughts and many of them are spoilers so if you haven't watched Lost (2004) stop reading this and go watch it instead.

- Jack dying in the same place he started. The cinematography and spiritual implications of making a trek back to the beginning and finally closing his eyes... DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON VINCENT LYING DOWN NEXT TO HIM I CRIIIIIIIIIIIED. THE DOG KNOWS "LIVE TOGETHER OR DIE ALONE" AND HE MAKES SURE JACK DOESN'T DIE ALONE IM IN SHAMBLESSSSS DONT TALK TO ME

- rose and bernard. i care you so bad. i want a bob ross energy survival show spin off that just follows them making their cabin and garden and traps and such and exploring the area around their cabin. Unproblematic favs, truly. THE FACT NO ONE BELIEVED ROSE WHEN SHE SAID SHE KNEW HER HUSBAND WAS ALIVE???? who visited you and told you that? are you just that faithful??? Did that hope, faith, and love protect both of you from dying on the island before you found each other??

BC ALSO. sorry but i view faith as energy, and when you focus and devote that energy to something it becomes concentrated, and what do our brains run on? electricity. what is everything about Lost about? electromagnetism. What can spirits fuck with? electromagnetic frequencies. That energy can be used to attract what you're searching for. Rose is such a necessary character ESPECIALLY for Jack's development because of how she displays such radical acceptance when she knows there are things she cannot change, ie. cancer, being trapped on the island, being surrounded by danger, and focuses instead on what she can, confirming her husband's status, creating an environment that feels safe, and enjoying the time she has left with the people she loves.

- Boone and Shannon getting into a bar fight at the end??? Boone walking up to Hurley and chatting??? Boone and Shannon are severely underrated characters in my opinion, and it's 100% from the emotionally incestuous aspects of them, which is a shame because I truly believe they are one of the most realistic depictions of relationships like that that I've seen in media. I didn't immediately like Boone. I thought he was an asshole because the show presents Shannon and Boone to you as they would an unhappy romantic relationship, but they never confirm it, even joke about it, to the point I nearly immediately realized 'They're not dating at all. They're siblings that were emotionally neglected by their parents and are codependent as all hell.'

Watching further, I was so scared to think I'd find Boone slander all up and down in the fandom while Shannon gets victimized and absolved of her fucked up actions, because of the way we immediately see Boone treat her without the context for understanding their relationship and that Boone was only on 815 to bail her out of another abusive relationship. But what I actually got from the fandom was NOTHING. ABOUT EITHER OF THEM!!!!

HOW ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT BOONE HALLUCINATING SHANNONS DEATH AND ADMITTING THAT HE WAS UTTERLY RELIEVED 😭😭😭 IM GONNA BLOW MYSELF UP ABOUT IT GOOD GOD.

The fact that Shannon also does find a potentially healthy relationship with Sayid, and that Sayid can allow himself to feel and care for someone and have gentle and tender moments in such a hostile environment while serving as the groups main mercenary, and make her feel safe, regardless of her clearly morally skewed history of dating. Sayid has morals, and he wants to stick to them, but he's been put in environments that do not allow him to adhere to that. He has restraint, and emotional intelligence. The glimpse we get into Shannon's life shows she hasn't been around men of those qualities, at least recently, save for Boone, who even then, doesn't compare next to Sayid. Imagining how Shannon would have felt about Sayid being brought back in the temple and seeing how extremely empty and different he is 😟

- Thinking about the general implications of what the island is, as well... Did they ever survive the initial crash? When they leave the island, were they alive? or was it merely an illusion of life? Is death on the island equivalent to someone accepting that they're dead and moving on for realsies? Is the island symbolizing purgatory? The themes of duality and shadows and light and twins are also not lost on me and rank this media even higher because these were not on my bingo card or prior knowledge of the show and they are damn near a critical criteria for intriguing me and getting me into a media.

Are the souls whispering in the forest of the island trapped there? Michael says they can't move on, but is it a personal choice grappling with what they did? Or is it related to actions done after death, while passing through purgatory, that decides whether you are bound to a place or able to move freely???

Oooooooough.....

[cin-cant-donate-blood]

I think there is something really tragic about those posts that are like "man can you imagine future archaeologists reading our posts" because I don't actually believe even a fraction of all the things we say will survive for very long.

We supposedly live in an information age where everything is recorded, and people say that once something is on the internet, it is there for ever, but this is clearly not true.

Most of the internet is managed by corporations, and when a certain website dies, there is absolutely no incentive to spend all the money necessary to preserve ecerything that was ever posted. Maybe Archive.org will have saved a lot, but it can't save everything.

Even right now internet history going back as recently as the 90s is really spotty. A lot of forums and sites are simply lost to time.

And maybe one day Archive.org will run out of money too, and everything they preserved will be lost, not in a dramatic bang like the fire in the Library of Alexandria, but with a whimper, like the many thousands of times more documents that have been lost simply because no one copied them in the few decades they had before the mold or worms or whatever else got to them.

Think of Sappho and Catullus, two of the most celebrated poets of ancient Greece and Rome respectively. Both were prolific, and both were titans, widely celebrated for their extraordinary work, long after their deaths.

Both had a single century or two where people got tired of them, and almost every single thing they ever wrote was irrecoverably lost, because books do not last forever, especially not the ones written on papyrus, which was the dominant medium at the time and has a quoted life span of about 70 years unless stored in nearly perfect conditions (desert conditions, which is why we associate papyrus with Egypt).

All we have now are a handfull of fragments of their work. They are, once again, and perhaps forever, celebrated as geniuses, but we can't ever undo that single, brief moment where the majority of their work was lost forever, not out of malice, but out of indifference.

Everything not actively, painstakingly, expensively maintained will be lost, inevitably and irretrievably. Stone carvings last longer, but they're horribly space inefficient. The invention of parchment, which can survive centuries, greatly improved things, but that too is extremely expensive compared to paper or papyrus. Modern digital storage is the same; we just made the copying process easier.

One day, tumblr will die. It is as inevitable as your death or mine. Or the death of the sun. In fact, tumblr will probably die within our lifetimes. When it dies, some things will be saved, but many will not. Some will miss it, but most will forget. Out of millions of posts, perhaps a few hundred thousand survive as jpeg screenshots on reddit, instagram, or whatever sites survive tumblr. Then, as those die, perhaps ten thousand screenshots of screenshots carry on to new social media sites, as of yet not made. And then a thousand of those survive as those sites die.

And maybe those will be the thousand best, and maybe some expert will even be able to tell you that they're screenshots of tumblr, and in a few words what tumblr was, but what even is the thousand best? Every copying act is a choice by someone who thought it was worth copying. Tastes change, and as they do, maybe one generarion's favorite is destroyed by the neglect of the next.

Tumblr isn't special. This is the future of all social media. Echos will persist, but so much will be lost.

So maybe, one day, an internet archaeologist will find your silly tumblr post about how crazy it would be if someone was reading what you said centuries from now. Unfortunately, there will be so much context missing. Maybe your post will be one of a mere hundred remaining, most of which make references to in-jokes and memes long forgotten: incomprehensible and empty. Like the statue in Ozymandias: nothing beside remains.

I'll end this with a poem from the lost poets I mentioned, and since this is tumblr, why not a gay one? Both Catullus and Sappho have their share of love poems dedicated to members of the same sex, but the partial poem known as Sappho 31 is probably the most well known. This is Edward Storer's translation:

He seems like a god to me the man who is near you,

Listening to your sweet voice and exquisite laughter

That makes my heart so wildly beat in my breast.

If I but see you for a moment, then all my words

Leave me, my tongue is broken and a sudden fire

Creeps through my blood. No longer can I see.

My ears are full of noise. In all my body I

Shudder and sweat. I am pale as the sun-scorched

Grass. In my fury I seem like a dead woman,

But I would dare...

... and that's it. The ending has never been found. Scholars think anywhere between a few lines and half the poem is missing.

[carriemusical88]

What we know about the Mandlebaum tape: The full recording of Carrie the Musical on Broadway

What is the Mandlebaum tape?

Ken Mandlebaum was a big Broadway critic throughout the 80s. He had a major column in a Newspaper. But you may know him as the author of the famous book Not Since Carrie.

Because of his power as a critic throughout the 80s he would film bootlegs of shows with his friends. He built up his collection filming shows such as Bye Bye Birdie, Sweeny Todd, Wind in the Willows, Merrily We Roll Along, Woman of the Year, and relevant to this post Carrie.

These would end up causing him issues. Not only did he get fired and loose his column from these bootlegs, but apparently he was threatened by the FBI over it as well. Ken continued to contribute to the theater world by publishing books and being a frequent writer for Playbill and Broadway.com but since the late 2000s he's disappeared from the public eye.

The Mandlebaum Tape

*Take this whole report with a grain of salt, again only a lucky few have supposedly seen the actual tape so this report might not be accurate.*

The tape is a full recording of the Broadway show. Meaning both Act 1 and Act 2. It is filmed from the audience, most likely from a good seat. The recording is not from closing night, it's from an earlier performance during the broadway run. Throughout the tape there are zoom in closeups of the actors as well. The source also says that Act 2 is virtually the same as Stratford just with a view minor differences.

Source

Are there any other tapes besides the Mandlebaum tape?

According to the source Mandlebaum did make copies of the tape and gave them to close friends.

Whether or not a tape that was not recorded by Mandlebaum exsists, is very unlikely. Recording Broadway bootlegs/slime tutorials is hard nowadays, but it was even harder in the 80s. Remember the only recording devices were giant cam recorders. Bootleggers could/would get easily caught. Mandlebaum only got away with it because of his power in the Broadway world, before it all got taken away. Audio recordings were way easier to get, which is why there's an abundance for Carrie and other shows during that time.

Will the Mandlebaum tape ever get released?

That, I cannot answer. I wish I could, but I can't. Most likely the tape will never get to see the light of day. Mandlebaum knows about the Carrie community. He knows how much we want this tape, and he knows that collectors would be very willing to buy it; but it still hasn't surfaced. My guess for the reason is because of the lurking fear/threat of getting arrested from the time he got in trouble with the FBI.

If the tape ever surfaces it'll probably be one of the copies that Mandlebaum made and distrubted to his friends. But again, those haven't resurfaced at all in the last 35+ years. It's unlikely they ever will.

That's the sad thing with a lot of lost media. We know it exists, someone is just gatekeeping it from us.

Hopefully one day we will get to see the Carrie tape. I truly believe it exists. A lot of people within the Carrie community believe it exists. I honestly hope Mandlebaum ends up releasing all his bootlegs, because just imagine how many shows that have been lost to time are just sitting in his collection. One can only hope.