#[lost to the internet: dash commentary]

[sideprince]

yeah tbh I don't see how adding onto a post on the add-onto-posts website is inappropriate. I also don't think replying in the comments is inappropriate. Both have different outcomes, which the person adding needs to accept, as well as the OP, who has the ability to make their post non-rebloggable or to mute notifications so they don't know what people are saying on their post. If OP chooses not to do either of these things, then there's no bad etiquette in how others engage with their content.

Adding onto a post has the result that dufferpuffer mentioned too, of making a version of it that is now on your blog - you have an opinion and have expressed it, and it is now searchable on your blog if you have that setting turned on (in theory, because *gestures at tumblr search feature), so you can find the conversation again in the future. You're also opening up the conversation to anyone who follows you, or who follows the people who choose to reblog your post. You're not the OP, so you can't turn off notifications or reblogs, which means that by adding your opinion you're also accepting that others may disagree and are able to engage with you about it - you then have the choice to engage in lively debate with them, block them, or be an asshole about it (latter not preferred). If the OP has notifications still on for the post, they'll see the first few words of your reblog addition in their notes and can choose to engage or to ignore it.

Replying in the comments, in my opinion, is directly engaging with the OP. Not everyone checks the comments so it can't be assumed that anyone will, but OP gets a notification, which means that the only person who is likely to see your comment is the OP (as opposed to a reblog, which all your followers see). It's choosing to engage with the post and its author without involving anyone else. Should someone else venture into the comments and also engage, you're accepting that they have the ability to, especially now that Tumblr has added a reply feature to specific comments.

There's a secret third option, which is reblogging and writing your thoughts in the tags. This is a very tumblr way of engaging with a post, because we often use hashtags to add commentary here. My understanding is that the generally accepted vibe of putting comments in the tags is that you have thoughts but don't expect anyone to engage with them and/or don't want to detract from the original post. Sometimes people will really like your tags, though, and screenshot or quote them, which just means they've passed peer review and other users have decided to amplify what you have to say/they identify with your sentiments.

If OP has specific requests for how others engage with their content, it needs to be said in the post - some users expect others to check their profile and read their bio or pinned post before engage with any of their content, which most others won't do because it's a big ask (especially on the ADHD/ND website) that users do this with every post on their dash that they want to engage with. It slows the scrolling process, which is ultimately how engagement on tumblr is designed to flow, and it requires an extra step which most simply don't think of - not out of any kind of animosity or lack of effort, but because it's just not how most people use any online space. It ignores the first rule of online content engagement, which is that as soon as users need to click a link to another page, you're going to lost most of your engagement with the linked content. You may not like it, but it's how most people use the internet and "but I want them to do it my way" won't accomplish much, other than cause you frustration. This is why online marketing strategies rely on site features like a link opening a new tab, instead of navigating away from the page the link was on, and describing the linked content in ways that encourage clicking on it, instead of expecting people to click on it without prompting. In any case, even if an OP puts requests in a post on how to engage (whether it's "minors DNI" or "I will block/report anyone who disagrees with me" or "I have [ND] and [statement of needs as a result of ND]"), that doesn't mean everyone who sees the post will be able or willing to meet those requests. There's a fine line between asking for needs to be met and being demanding and controlling of others' online/fandom experience.

I don't think any of these are more or less appropriate in fandom, they're just different ways of engaging with different likely outcomes. Disagreeing with an OP's take isn't necessarily combative or argumentative, those aspects are dependent on attitude. Like dufferpuffer said, the point of fandom is to engage with each other! Sometimes what is initially perceived as a disagreement becomes a great addition to an OP's headcanon. Which doesn't mean you have to add on to a post, of course, it's always a choice. But since tumblr gives you a lot of options for how to engage - muting notifs and making posts unrebloggable for OPS, filtering key words and hashtags for all users, blocking, and just good old scrolling past - I don't think there's a universal etiquette for how to engage with a post because there are too many factors involved and options to consider each time. I think like with anything else, you need to be aware of the choices you're making, their potential consequences, and just be respectful to others.

i actually need to know people's thoughts on this because at least in my experience the answer to this has drastically changed since i was on tumblr in the 2010s and its driving me fucking insane

*im talking about fandom takes specifically. not someone being horribly evil about a real-life issue or or blatantly factually incorrect. literally just harmless fandom disagreements or differing interpretations of a text/character/etc.

[galaxies-unknown-a]

“Try to throw one of my Eevees, and I’ll teleport you straight into a fucking volcano.”

[skull-bxund]

Looks up from his phone for a second.

❝ HODL, Dogecoin, Cryptoland, OpenSea... ❞

Rattles off more crypto bullshit before he goes back to scrolling.

[fandom]

Memes

At a certain point, it was just hard to keep up. They seemed to fall from the sky like fizzing raindrops, soaking everything in pure wildness—memes, that is. 2022 had an absolute bumper crop of memes. The fertile field of this year’s chaos was sown freely, resulting in some impressively widespread phenomena. Most of it remained pretty contained within the dashboard, but at the end of the year the biggest meme of them all broke containment…We’re getting ahead of ourselves here. 

Cast your mind back to January 2022. We kicked off the year with Horse Plinko, which soon joined forces with Eeby Deeby in a frenzy of flaming gifs in which the poor horse plinko’d its way to Super Hell. Nothing has ever summed up the mildly deranged meme generation process on Tumblr so perfectly. 

This era of memes merged smoothly with the Month of Blorbo. Can you believe blorbo from my shows is more or less purely a 2022 phenomenon? Granted, the original post happened in late 2021, but it was the new year by the time “blorbo” secured itself in our vocabulary. How did we even live our lives on Tumblr without the word “blorbo”? It’s impossible to even imagine at this point. 

Springtime dawned with the rise of Live Slug Reaction, which dominated the dashboard as everyone rushed to plop that shocked slug in the corner of their favorite gay moments from TV and film. And in May came a very important event that would define the rest of the year on Tumblr: the launch of Dracula Daily, Affectionately dubbed “tumblr book club,” the serialized email newsletter found a hugely involved following on Tumblr and spawned an infinite variety of memes, beginning with the iconic paprika recipes. 

The Summer of Morbius dominated Tumblr from June onwards, with everyone going bonkers with Morb-based puns, jokes about the film’s most ridiculous moments, and reblogging a single GIF somehow containing the entire movie that would crash your browser when it played on your dash..

The i love you x i love you y text post meme saw us to the end of the summer, and autumn came with the rise of the GOUGER. Or is it GOUGAR? Regardless, the strange but harmless creature took over everyone’s meme palette for a while, getting involved in increasingly silly scenarios. 

This free-for-all was interrupted by the death of Queen Elizabeth, an event that was solemn everywhere else. . But on Tumblr, of course, users swamped the dashboard with Queen Liz-related memes and commentary. And crabs. There were quite a lot of those.

Later, in September, the Try Guys saga unfolding on Twitter and YouTube filtered over to Tumblr in the form of the “lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship” meme, with Tumblr users casting various favorite co-worker ships in the roles of the controversial real-life pairing. 

And finally, closing out the year, the meme you’ve all been waiting for: the one and only Goncharov (1973). Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, Goncharov is a movie borne out of the magic combination of a misprinted shoe label and Tumblr’s fertile imagination. Thanks to a fake movie poster by user @beelzeebub, which gave names and faces to the characters, Tumblr ran absolutely wild, churning out analysis, fanart, and even fanfiction at an astounding rate. This was by far the meme to win 2022: it gained coverage all over the internet, including the freaking New York Times, and even Scorsese himself acknowledged it. You did that, Tumblr. Goncharov forever, all hail the power of the Tumblr meme!

[anamatics]

can you add anything about studying tiktok academically? That sounds v interesting. I just saw you post on a text post about it. apologies if you’ve mentioned it before; I just started following you.

the post in question 

To specifically address that post:

Firstly, I think we need to divorce ourselves from the idea that it is just “Zoomers” or “Children” on TikTok. I don’t have specific statistics on the demographics, but there there are certainly as many Millennial, Gen X and Boomer users of the platform as there are Gen Z and younger users. 

Secondly, let’s talk a little bit about the mirroring discourse between 2014 Tumblr and 2021 TikTok. The commentary on this particular post does a poor job at framing what the actual problem is on TikTok. So let’s start there. 

Tumblr was a website of networks. You follow people and you see what they share on their blogs on your dash and you can share your own content into that stream. It produces what are called information flows, where content flows across various nodes (blogs) through interconnected edges (the person to person connection made by act of you sharing something). Here’s a blog explaining how this works. Here’s a good book that discusses virality and  information flows. Tumblr is also a bit complicated, as people can add to posts. This is why there are like 5 versions of every great tumblr meme with different people riffing on the OP. As the post grew, as did the spread of the people who commented below it. But here’s the thing. You, as a user on Tumblr, a conscious choice whether or not to reblog a post and to your blog and therefore your followers. "Discourse"* on Tumblr was curated by social networks of individual users that individual users self-selected into by following various blogs.

TikTok, on the other hand, is curated by an algorithm. You, as a user of TikTok, can shape what you see on your For You Page (FYP). The whole purpose of the FYP is to show you what you want to see, to keep you on the platform. As per TikTok themselves, you are put into a specific space based on what you consciously or unconsciously directed TikTok to believe you fit into. This is done consciously by following people, liking/commenting on/sharing content. It’s done unconsciously too, by watching TikTok content. This is why sometimes you’ll see people complaining that all they’re getting is like, queer discourse. It’s because you watch it. Maybe multiple times to get everything that was said because the app has no built-in captioning feature.

What this means, in essence, is that unlike Tumblr, the user has no real and/or direct control over where, potentially, their content could flow to. In interview studies that I've done with TikTok users, I've found that many TikTok users are careful about the content they produce because they're afraid of it attracting "the wrong kind of attention" - this could be say, a BLM activist getting harassed by white supremacists, or a Native American creator getting harassed by WitchTok for discussing how using certain kinds of sage is appropriative**. The pile on can be aggressive, as that post says, but what that post is missing is that you, as user on TikTok have no control over where that information goes or flows to. This gets more complicated with stitching and dueting.

So, if Tumblr has a more linear flow of information from node to node, TikTok takes information apart, splices it together, and all of it is made more complicated by peoples' faces being attached to it. Then it essentially pingpongs around an essentially closed network determined by algorithmic identity derived from measurable types. This is the part that concerns me. That post is right, people's faces make it more complicated. It complicates privacy. It complicates repercussions for people because it doesn't allow people to learn and grow and change. With video evidence, however, these things get harder. Which the internet writ large needs to get fucking better about. 

However. I was on Tumblr in 2014. I essentially content moderated a fandom for three years as a side gig to my day job. The conversations that are being had on TikTok are the exact same ones that were being had on Tumblr half a decade ago because -- get this -- a whole new generation of young, emergent thinkers, are trying on theory. They're trying on identities, they're experimenting with who they are and they're trying to talk it out***.  It is as mean and as nasty and as unpleasant and we should sit with the fact that Tumblr was fucking toxic because we made it that way. The problem is that the kids have picked the world's shittiest platform to do it on. Like Twitter, TikTok is limited in what you can do/say. So nuance is lost. What this means is that pile-ons can spin out of control, because these are kids who've just discovered debate and theory and ugh, "discourse" and therefore wield it with gusto when they could be more humane, more gentle, and more understanding of the fact that no one's perfect. 

(*sidebar that I high-key hate how discourse has gained a negative connotation because of this hellsite.

**And it is appropriative so stop doing it if you are.

***Baby leftists plz stop being Tankies do you have any idea how many People Stalin/Lenin had killed.)

[beyondstupidityblog]

On March 13th 2021, two friends and I did what never could have imagined possible, I watched Freddy Got Fingered for the ninth time, and it will by no means be the last. I’m explaining this to you, dear reader, so you and I have an important understanding between us. You will be reading the ramblings of one whose brain has curdled like milk left out in the hot afternoon sun. Now that introductions are out of the way, let us begin.

Freddy Got Fingered is a 2001 Comedy starring and directed by Tom Green as the Non-Titular Gordon Brody; an aspiring animator who goes to California to realize his dream, only to be constantly crushed under the weight of his father’s expectations. Sounds tame at first, but what lies beneath the veneer of mediocrity is truly impressive. Completely bombed,  audiences hated it, and critics loathed it. Roger Ebert got angry, saying “it isn’t even below the bottom of the barrel” and “Green should be flipping burgers somewhere.”. “Tasteless”, “appalling”, “offensive”, “gross”, and “poo poo,” are just some of the things people have had to say about this film. Animal genitalia can be seen on screen for much longer than anyone could have expected, Tom Green swinging a baby akin to a morning-star with its umbilical cord, said umbilical cord being stolen and taped onto his stomach, gratuitous caning of a nymphomaniac paraplegic, and the dissection of a deer carcass. It is an abrasive experience that leaves a terrible taste in the mouths of those who mention it. Nonetheless, I love this movie. 

You ever see a contemporary art exhibit that has a piece that just looks like garbage somebody left out but in actuality is a tongue-and-cheek allusion to the pitiful state of modern art? That garbage is Freddy Got Fingered, and that exhibit is Hollywood. At face value it just seems like a poorly done film by a comedian trying to use his name to get a few butts in the seats before his irrelevancy arrives, but when scrutinized as a commentary of comedy films do the pieces start to fall into place. Tropes like the Protagonist being an unremarkable honkey, gross-out designed to get some cheap quick chuckles, side-characters who occupy the space solely for comedic relief, a shoe-horned romantic side-plot, and an equally as shoehorned in happy ending are all present in a mocking fashion. So many of these Hollywood schlockfests that this movie is paying homage to abuse tropes in some vain attempt to trick the audience into thinking they’re having a good time, when in reality it just reminds viewers of films that they’ve already watched before and could be enjoying instead. All of the awkward and uncomfortable scenes of gross-out and romance are purposeful, because nothing is quite as awkward and uncomfortable than a film disengaging the audience with its own mediocrity. “This is what it’s like to endure this trash!” Drunkenly screams Freddy Got Fingered atop the tallest piece of furniture in the room, while also exposing its genitals to keep you from getting too comfortable around it. Unlike the films it is parodying, its obsession with making a fool out of audiences rips them away from the comfort of the cinema, making them genuinely ask if it is worth wasting their time watching a film called Freddy Got Fingered. Even the title is an intentional slight, as it seems to be completely untethered to the actual plotline and is instead a reference to a seemingly inconsequential scene. But then again, that is the point of it all. Tom Green is an artist, and on his canvas is a portrait of Hollywood with all of the ugly little imperfections that cause a movie like this to be created. But this is just the meta-narrative of Freddy Got Fingered, something that you could find all over the internet. Why do I resonate with it so much, and what about it makes it so exceptional that led to this unhealthy fascination?

    Every instance that I’ve rewatched Freddy Got Fingered has always brought about a new side to it, and in the process leaves me craving for more. Gord is an interesting take on the average leading man. He is on the surface bland and inoffensive, made so in order to allow the majority of the audience to immediately identify with him, said group being 20-something skater guys with unrealistic expectations of themselves. Made especially ironic when after the introduction of Gord as an adept skateboarding rebel escaping from authority, he starts to show that in reality he is an unlikeable, bratty, entitled, and all around unpleasant person. Barely a scene passes before we see him masturbate a horse while exclaiming he is a farmer to his father who is not present, seemingly a crude gag but is in reality an insight into his low self worth caused by his imposter syndrome stemming from distant paternal relationship. I would like to remind you, dear reader, that I am still writing of Freddy Got Fingered, in case you were beginning to think I have lost my mind (The answer is yes by the way). All throughout the film Gordon Brody puts on masks for different situations, never allowing himself to be who he is. When infiltrating the Animation studio where he wishes to pitch his cartoons, he pretends to be a mailman to get past reception and then impersonates a police officer when the former stops being effective. Donning the visage of a British Bobby, he dashes into the restaurant where the man he is searching for, Mr. Wallace, is eating. Showing him his cartoons, Wallace is impressed with the potential they have, but says that they are incoherent and lack real substance. Upon rejection, Gord puts a pistol in his mouth before Wallace stops him and advises what he should do to improve. Gord was genuinely ready to blow his brains out the back of his skull if he wasn’t able to get his show greenlit, and it hit me in that moment that he isn’t just some random jackass, but a victim of detrimentally low self-esteem.

The origins of his complex are made apparent when he goes back home to Oregon and are reintroduced to his Family. We see that his father Jim, played by Rip Torn, is disappointed in his return and begins to sneer at him for his failure. This father and son dynamic always has tension in every scene from this point onwards. Gord, who just wants to be accepted for who he is and not judged by what the world expects him to be, is always at the receiving end of Jim’s wrath, who values his idea of a successful life over the happiness of his sons. From here it becomes little wonder why Gord is the way he is, all his life he was told that who he was is not good enough, he has to be what his father wants if he is to be considered worthy of not only love, but being treated with a modicum of dignity. Whenever Gord acts eccentric or divulges his interests to his father, they are met with either resentment supplemented by verbal assault, or physical violence. After a late-night skateboard outing to escape from his father’s wrath goes awry, he visits his convalescing friend in the hospital, whereupon he meets one of the more interesting characters in relation to Gord, the love interest Betty.   

A horny wheelchair bound temptress may not seem like it upon first glance, but Betty is actually the most interesting character out of the entire cast. She feels genuine, introduced as a bored receptionist flipping a coffee creamer idly. Gord immediately strikes up a conversation, whereupon he and the audience find out she has an interest in physics, and apparently an interest in him as well. Betty is strangely well written for what most considered at the time to be a crass sexual joke, so much so that she would actually be a better protagonist than him. She is everything Gord is not, she’s smart, funny, ambitious, and  kind to a fault. Even her side plot to create a rocket powered wheelchair makes for a much more unique plot than the one given. Even Gord reciprocates this sentiment in their meeting, lying that he is a stockbroker in an attempt to impress her. In fact, sectioning her off as just the dull protagonist's love interest is a jab at how women in these movies are only there to serve in the development for the male protagonist, just nothing more than their muse. Nonetheless, without this relationship the movie would lose a lot of its soul. Romantic chemistry in comedy films is always hit or miss, but Gord and Betty do seem to have it surprisingly. They’re both silly and impulsive, creatively driven to a fault, but just different enough to eek out the best and worst in them. Gord  thinks that what he wants to do with his life is wasteful, but Betty doesn’t. Now I don’t mean that she directly affirms that he is worthwhile like most poorly written love interests would, stroking their lover’s(and by extension the director’s) ego, rather she confronts him with her optimism. He asks if she would feel stupid and like a loser if her experiment failed. Taken aback at first, she questions why she would, relaying that her failures are just as important as her successes. Gord’s self-worth is directly tied to his ability to succeed, whereas Betty doesn’t need this affirmation. Their dialogue further cements how detrimental his father’s overbearingness was to his outlook, and how he is slowly beginning to realize how destructive that mindset is. 

At their dinner date, Jim sees Gord and Betty across the restaurant, then reveals that Gord was lying to both him and her about his office job while poking fun at her disability, leading to a father-son scuffle that throws the entire floor into utter chaos. Cops show up, Gord and Jim are detained, and Betty bails Gord out. Most mediocre comedies at this point would have the love interest be upset that her significant other lied to her, leading to him having to make things right to repair their relationship before the happy ending. Breaking the mold, Betty does not get angry with Gord even a smidgen, choosing to be understanding of his situation now that she caught a glimpse into his home-life. She just plain likes Gord, willing to put up with him more than she really should, but still chooses to look past his lies and self-destructive nature for who he truly is, someone who just wants to be accepted by the world around him. Someone just like her.

Right after that enaction of social terrorism performed by the Brody father and son duo, they decide it would be best to go to family therapy and assail the audience with what I fondly refer to it as, “The Scene.” “The Scene” is Freddy Got Fingered’s statement to the world, it is what instills a man with the impetus to rewatch a glorified stoner daydream for the ninth time and leave him wanting more! Gord accuses his father, in a final act of defiance, of molesting his younger brother Freddy. During the ensuing confusion Gord picks up a bust of Sigmund Freud and throws it into the glass window pane, allowing him to escape into the evening sun. The authorities take Freddy away and send him to The Home for Molested Children, and the family slowly unravels from then on. Besides the heavy handed metaphor of Freud’s theories being used as a way for Gord to escape his predicament while simultaneously discrediting them, “The Scene” also recontextualizes Freddy, innocuous of a character as he is, as Gord’s foil. He is in the movie very little but when he is it is to serve one of two purposes: To be compared to Gord, or to be treated as an object. During breakfast much earlier in the film after a fight between Gord and Jim, Freddy tries to explain to his brother that he should grow up. Gord, surprisingly, talks down to him and halts the conversation.

Gord: “He's driving me insane.”

Freddy: “No. No, you're driving him insane. You're older than me and you still live at home. I have a job, you know. I pay my own way.”

Gord: “You work in a bank. Should I be dazzled?”

Freddy: “Well, at least I don't live at home!”

Gord: “No, you live in a tiny shithole and you come here to eat for free.”

With these lines it is plain to see that despite Freddy’s idea of success directly lining up with his father’s, he is even more pitiful than Gord. What little we know of him is to show that his acquiescence to his father’s expectations has left him bereft of not only genuine personal success, but of dignity itself. When child protective services come to take him away, he is half naked, mouth agape, watching open heart surgery on television, a palpable indication of emptiness. He isn’t treated as an adult either, as his protests to the police fall on deaf ears as both them and the psychologist infantilize him. Why would Tom Green name this movie after a character like Freddy, whose lack of presence and characterization make him little more than an afterthought when looking back on the story? Or did I just answer my own question? Freddy is not a character because he is not allowed to be one, he is just too passive and accepting of his circumstances for him to stand out. All he can be is a doll that Jim uses to dress up as the perfect son, and this passiveness leads to Gord, the “failure,” to both pity and resent what he let himself become. That’s why Gord accuses their father of molesting him, after all he does narratively violate Freddy’s autonomy by consistently making decisions for him. Evidently enough, as soon as Gord dons a suit for a quick bit Jim is elated because he believes that his son finally gave in to his demands for him to get a job, because he is acting more like his obedient brother. In this sense Freddy is the most tragic member of the Brody clan, a literal manchild whose growth was stunted by overbearing guardians. When I think of him, a bonsai tree comes to mind. Sure, it looks healthy, but when you realize that it could have grown into a much bigger plant if it were not for its small pot, that realization of wasted potential comes with a tinge of melancholy.

I want to end this essay with a moral that I took away from Freddy Got Fingered, as strange enough as that sounds, and what it has to say about art as a whole. Put simply, this is a story about revenge. Despite and because of his Father’s harsh ways, Gord managed to take from the trauma he sustained throughout his life and sublimated it into his animation. Creation not only lets him heal, but also acts as retaliation against Jim once he becomes successful. So long as you have the drive to prove everyone’s doubts and admonishments wrong by persevering out of wicked spite, you will have the last laugh. Freddy Got Fingered is a story about revenge through artistic expression, and I think that is quite beautiful.

[resonating-kitty]

it was a shitty twitter take that I've seen here posted and reblogged with WONDERUL commentary /gen my dash is curated to make sure no actual Techno hate will show up, I only follow pog people :D

anyways I'm less mad now that I've ranted to a friend, but, yeah, twitter 'activists' my abhorred, I hope one day you will learn and grow and look back and be terrified of what you've done as younger people and I hope the irony of that won't miss you. - Lost

The internet can be such a dangerous place for the young mind. SMH.

It wasn't like it was when we were younger, not this bad.

Now we got kids out here getting mislead, misinformed. Not realizing that their actions are harmful, not only to themselves, but others as their hate/discourse circulates.

We got some out here realizing that they can get attention if they just discourse some CC and cause problems and it's just so annoying.

Honestly, I hope they hurry and move on. They will eventually, when the fire runs low enough that they can't keep fanning the flames. They'll have no more attention being divertee to them and they'll move on to a new fandom to cause trouble.

One day they get old enough to realize what they did in their youth was dumb and stupid and they might return to the community one day and be pretty decent people.

[evieveevee]

What We Lost: Returning to Tumblr in 2020

On December 17th, 2018, Tumblr banned 'adult content' across the site, marking the end of an era. The ban was the result of a cavalcade of issues which reportedly made maintaining NSFW content unfeasible for Tumblr. Now, it's 2020. I'm back on Tumblr, and I can't help but meditate on what we've lost both on Tumblr, and across the globe in 2020.

Part One: Tumblr and Adult Content

*Things we lost to the flame Things we'll never see again All that we've amassed Sits before us, shattered into ash

— Bastille, "Things We Lost In The Fire"*

A bit of personal history: Tumblr was the primary community I used in various forms from 2012 onwards, associating with various fandoms, doing what I could to design interesting things. The various communities I was involved in intersected with social justice communities, and eventually I dug into those further and tried to learn to better myself in the process, starting along the path to becoming the person I did.

Part of that process was also learning to love my own body, a thing I was not particularly good at and still struggle a bit with nowadays. One of the ways I did this was by making 'adult content', or more plainly, pornography. It was a unique opportunity to experiment with femininity and sexuality - something I'd been very closed off from as part of my upbringing - in a supportive, fun environment. Experimenting with my self image first in this way, in semi-private, led to me experimenting more publicly and eventually embracing aspects of that as part of my day to day life. That's right: making pornography was part of what led me down the path to figuring out I was trans and embracing that part of me.

Making porn on Tumblr was a great time; the adult content creators and consumers community on the site was largely supportive of queer people and sexuality, different body types, all manner of things. It was - in my experience - a healthy and fun place to be, and certainly one of the better places you could be on the internet for a visual medium like pornography. Tumblr's format made it easy to share both adult content you made yourself, and stuff you were curating. Vex Ashley wrote that "this sharing was so desperately vital for women and other marginalised people whose sexualities are often overlooked or infantilised in media about sex in preference for the tastes of the traditional porn consumer – the straight white guy" in a eulogy and love letter to Tumblr's adult content communities.

Tumblr's format remains novel to my knowledge as well: the notion of having a large image-focused feed which also allows for easy sharing and curation, gorgeous, high resolution pieces and photos to be uploaded with relatively little compression, custom arrangements of photosets, and personalized theming of your blog. There was, and remains, lots of potential for expression on Tumblr., and its focus remains unique. Twitter and Mastodon's focus is on what's written, Wordpress doesn't have the sort of interlinking of blogs that Tumblr does, and Facebook is... Facebook (read: evil).

I think the novelty of that format is what made the announcement of the ban on 'adult content' so impactful. Even looking back at the framing of it is gross: the post posits that 'adult content' is something which is negative, and says that removing it is working towards a 'more positive' Tumblr. There appears to be an attempt to try and strike a balance in allowing conversation about sexuality and such, but this is the killing blow. A huge portion of the community, including countless queer and furry artists, needed to find a new home online.

3 months after the ban had hit, traffic had reportedly dropped off 20%. Recent data from SimilarWeb, the outfit which published that initial data, shows that visits to the site have dropped off a little bit more, but have stayed otherwise pretty consistent. August 2020's data shows about 317 million visits. [1] In other words: any hope that this move would allow Tumblr was dashed. A massive portion of the userbase deleted their accounts after archiving them; Tumblr and the internet at large had lost a massive, vibrant chunk of community, and it was completely in vain.

I lost contact with a bunch of those folks I was following on Tumblr for years. The mass exodus left both people who wanted to find and share artwork and adult content and the people who made it completely adrift. Years later, some artists are still picking up the pieces. Archaic policy like SESTA/FOSTA being brought into the picture has left very few standing when it comes to adult content, Twitter included. Who knows how long that will last? If something happens to change the way that Twitter handles adult content, for example, what options do casual creators like myself have?

Fortunately, platforms like OnlyFans exist. But even those are at potential risk from legislation like the EARN IT Act, not to mention the danger this poses to Twitter and to the internet at large. OnlyFans and its ilk, as they exist right now, are fantastic for sex workers because they offer pay-gating and a variety of features to make sure sex workers get paid. But they leave those of us who want to be able to curate the content they enjoy or casually create their own content freely without real options, and without real community.

We stand to lose a lot, and as always people in the margins will be the ones most impacted: the queer, the people of color, the disabled; all will suffer greatly if adult content is found without a home. Media dealing with queer themes is enough to be considered "adult content" by some and it's not hard to imagine what we could be staring down the barrel of here.

What have we lost in eliminating platforms like this?

Part Two: 2020 and the World

*These are the things The things we lost The things we lost in the fire, fire, fire.

— Bastille, "Things We Lost In The Fire"*

Meditating on what we have lost seems to be a running theme for the year 2020.

January: New Year's Day. In Aotearoa New Zealand, smoke covers the skies from a fire a literal ocean away. The Australian bush has been on fire, part of one of the most and it has turned the skies of a nation not it's own orange at midday, across thousands of kilometers. What did we lose in those fires? What stories and history? What wildlife, what species? What will remain afterwards? What will grow anew?

April: Aotearoa New Zealand hits the peak of COVID-19 related lockdown with the entire nation moved to Level 4, meaning that nothing except truly essential services, such as roadworks, pharmacies, and supermarkets were open. During that time, I thought a lot about how some of my favorite small shops were doing; the bakery with astonishingly good pies, the charming dollar store which always has a few things that catch my eye, the coffee cart near one of the local parks every morning. As a nation, Aotearoa acted early to deal with COVID-19 with a strong hand, and it was risky for all of those small shops across the country. What would we come out the other side of the lockdowns having lost, both in terms of human cost and cost to the places around us?

May: Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, massive protests against police brutality, racism, and white supremacy break out across the United States of America. Daily protests have continued to the time of writing in some cities. George Floyd is one of 781 people killed by police in 2020 at the time of writing in the United States alone [2]. 1099 people were killed by police in 2019 [3]. What incredible lives and stories have been lost in the process? Are those stories being told now? How do we prevent this from happening again? (Hint: defunding the police will be a start, and supporting the cause now is a good choice too.)

It is now September: The incompetence of the US Government has allowed COVID-19 to spread beyond control, leaving tens of thousands of deaths in its wake; lives and stories which must be remembered and their stories carried on by others. The western coast of the United States is on fire, blanketed in smoke and ashes. Massive west coast cities like San Francisco gain an apocalyptic feeling as the skies turn orange, like they did for me in January. Friends of friends lose everything in small Oregon towns. The costs of the prolonged fires will be paid by people all up the coast; it's their health outcomes which will suffer. What will we lose as a result of this in the future? What can we do to make things better?

I want to be clear: this is not a comprehensive list, and is centered around the things that me and my social circles have been aware of and talked about. Even with that consideration, we have to reckon with massive, ongoing, and far reaching concerns. The loss felt as a result of all of the above issues is staggering, and far reaching, and we must fight to ensure that loss is not in vain. Voting alone is not going to solve these concerns, and there's more to concern yourself with than any one person should have to cope with. There's not a magic bullet to solve all this stuff though.

Rather than pretend that I have one, I want to propose a couple things to close this out: one bit of advice, and one plea for yourself and others.

The advice: pick your battles carefully. Pick issues you want to focus in on, and fight for those things to make things better where you live, and in your social circles. Choose things to care deeply about first. Keep caring about them.

The plea: think carefully about the questions I've asked throughout this piece, and think about the things in your life and communities that you have lost. Think about how to make sure those losses are taken with you and learned from; to take lessons learned and better yourself and the people around you. Think about the things you don't want to lose, and how to fight like hell for them.

Move forwards to something, and some place better than where we are now. Stand united with the people around you, and press on.

*Do you understand that we will never be the same again? The future's in our hands and we will never be the same again.

— Bastille, "Things We Lost In The Fire"*

If you enjoyed this piece and want to support my work, please contribute to my Ko-fi. If you are interested in re-publishing this piece on another site, please contact me either here or via my business email.

References

[1] Data provided by SimilarWeb; accessed on 15/09/2019 at 5:30am. (https://www.similarweb.com/website/tumblr.com/)

[2] Data provided by Mapping Police Violence (https://mappingpoliceviolence.com); accessed on 15/09/2020 at 4:08am NZT

[3] Data provided by Mapping Police Violence's (https://mappingpoliceviolence.com) database, downloaded on 15/09/2020 at 4:08am NZT. Count obtained using the following formula:

=COUNTIFS($'2013-2020 Police Killings'.F:F,">=1/1/2019",$'2013-2020 Police Killings'.F:F,"<1/1/2020")

[arigatouiris]

out of my league // t.h — 01

Pairing: Tom Holland x Critic! Reader [I use female pronouns]

Warnings: swearing; eventual fluff; angst; hurt/comfort; a little bit of cliche because come on.

A/N: Thanks for all the love, everyone! It means so much to me because this is my first story on here and this support makes me want to write more. Do check out my revised masterlist for more upcoming stories. You guys are the best~

Also, Birds of a Feather and Canary Mountain are all fictional titles, I just decided to make this sort of fictional (as if it isn’t already) with Tom’s filmography. Jean is no real writer, he’s an OC haha. Also, if you want to be in the taglist for the next chapter, just leave me a message or a note and I’ll add you ^^

Also, I have no actual idea how offices (fictional London Post) works, so do cut me some slack if some of the mechanisms of worklife don’t match. Apologies are due~

Word count: 2485

Series Masterlist

00 | 01 | 02 |

Ch. 01 

(y/n) wouldn’t ever consider herself a workaholic, although, she sometimes tended to bounce in and out of being one when time seemed fit. It wasn’t as if she hated her work, it was in fact the opposite; however, on some days, she’d prefer relaxing to working.

    Like today for instance, she enjoyed her cup of warm tea, gazing at the showery skies of London, from inside her comfortable room—decorated with fairy lights and pictures of herself and her friends, people she doesn’t even speak to anymore, from college. She was a fairy lights kind of girl, she’d tell people who’d enter her room; however this number declined over the years, as being an adult took preference over being inviting. On the days she rested, she told herself that her mind was rather kind to her. It gave her solace and kept her from thinking dark thoughts. Days like these allowed her focus on bittersweet memories from the past, filling the aura around her with a dash of forgiving nostalgia that was comfortable to think about within the confines of her own home. This comfort, she was grateful for, but not anymore.

Currently, her mind was flooded with the thoughts of the hate mail that came toward her from thousands of Tom Holland fans; for ruining or trying to ruin his reputation, for being too cowardly (she couldn’t understand how this could be called cowardly) to understand the ending that was chosen for him, for being too critical (this was her job!) regarding movies or books or TV shows, for being unforgiving over narrative differences and finally, this one she found most absurd, for being an absolute A-grade bitch.

    Because (y/n) was many things, but bitch was not one of them.

Tom fucking Holland, if she were given the strength of Diana Prince she’d have broken the cup she was holding but she had the strength of a hamster so the cup was safe. It’s just a goddamn critique, why the fuck did he have to make a commentary out of it? To save his friend’s ass? Jean A. Marcel’s known to crumble under the pressure of making final seasons. I even wrote the critique for his previous failure of a show, Canary Mountain. What’s Holland’s fucking problem now?

(y/n) didn’t understand the sudden need for Tom to defend Jean. This was Tom’s first time with this writer (who took over another writer to write just the final season, a move that the whole world dreaded, and even wrote petitions to stop; but now it didn’t matter, because Jean’s reputation was saved by the beloved Tom Holland, who chose to ignore every fact on earth before defending his friend). I didn’t even say anything bad about his acting! In fact, I complimented him! She found it easier to defend herself in her head rather than the internet, because it honestly scared her. Death threats came pouring in, five or more (no less) each day, something she’d learned to ignore over the years. However, Tom’s fangirls seemed to be serious. They loved him, and they let it show.

    Groaning, (y/n) finished her cup of tea before heading over to the kitchen to place it in the sink. All the while, she missed the solace her mind usually gave her—which were now muddled with anxious thoughts, and thoughts circling around self-pity, unusual for her, but they were there. Prominent, angry, yet very, very present.

She almost failed to notice her phone buzzing in the room when she walked in, frowning as she thought of the time she had turned her phone on silent, not remembering why. Ah yes, she answered herself as she held the phone in her hands. It was to silence the fucking notifications from all those hate mail. She picked the call and put the phone against her ears.

    “(y/n) darling, how are you doing?” Her manager Susannah Davies was a goddess.

Susannah Davies, a lovely 39-year old woman was the kindest soul on the planet according to (y/n). She was understanding, caring, and would always encourage (y/n) to do her best.

    “Oh you know… The usual. Any new movies that I need to review?”

    “Hahahaha, right erm… Honey, we think you should take some time off?”

Why was it phrased as a question? (y/n) was normally not a very angry person. However, everything that she had thought of Susannah now crumbled in her mind. She was now a very angry person.

    “Some time off for what, Susannah?” Gritting her teeth, (y/n) felt her fingers go pale.

    “See, writing is such a tasking job! No one takes writing critiques as something that’s easy. Why don’t you instead work on the desk for a while? You know, it’d take your mind off things—”

    “Off what things, might I ask?”

There was a sigh on the other end. (y/n) knew she had lost this round. Susannah sighing meant Susannah giving up. And Susannah giving up meant Susannah had made her decision.

    “The comments are quite nasty, (y/n). You can see it, and we can see it. The whole world can see it. It’ll do you and our company good if you were off the radar for a bit. Jenny even talked about you on the 9 o’ clock show! They even put your picture! Not to mention how the HR and PR have been ignoring thousands of hate mail from Hollanders, it’s become too much to handle now. We need to issue a statement saying we’ve fired you—”

    “What?!”

    “Don’t worry, not actual firing. Just a statement.”

    “That sounds very unfair, Susannah.” (y/n) moaned in displeasure.

    “It’s only temporary! Until all this dies down. Anyway, I can’t take this lightly. I don’t want them hating on you more than this and as harsh as this sounds, there’s no other go, love.”

(y/n) felt her eyes well with tears. There was a soft burning sensation behind her eyelids, considering how the hate began to pour in two days ago, and hadn’t stopped in intensity yet, (y/n) had not given herself the time to sit down and cry out her disappointment and rage. But, now, she felt it was long due. She pressed a hand to her mouth and held back her sobs.

    “Susannah…” Her manager was listening to her intently from the other end. “I really love this job…”

Susannah’s heart broke. She knew the moment (y/n) decided to publish the review that this was going to happen, but not to this extent. Hate mail and death threats (which weren’t too serious), along with false media representation, which could amount to slander or defamation, and the mere fact that (y/n) needed to take a break from doing what she really, really loved—all of these factors shattered her heart as well. No other review had gotten her this much hate. Not even the one she had written on A Game of Thrones. And if she were to compare, GoT had a larger fanbase than Birds of a Feather.

    “Can I take a week off?” (y/n)’s tone was impossible to decline.

Ending the call, the journalist fell back on her bed and cried her heart out. I hate Tom Holland, she thought before forcefully wiping her tears, swallowing her sobs. I hate him and I hate his face and I hate his guts.

Sadly for her, hating Tom Holland did not aid her with her pursuit for an ease of mind.

Harrison normally never reacted with such surprise. However, the second he saw the news about a particular (y/n) having lost her job, it felt as if his mind went on overdrive. What the hell? He thought before characteristically dialling Tom’s number. Can they even do that? She just did her job! Sighing, he waited for Tom to pick the call so he could do something to rectify this damage.

    “Tom, did you see the news, mate?”

It seemed that Tom was out with Tessa at the moment, having rented an entire park for the girl to run around happy. Tom had a smile on his face when he picked the call.

    “News about what?”

    “(y/n)!”

    “What?”

    “(y/n), you twat. The girl who wrote that review about the show.”

Tom then remembered. He was supposed to apologize, but he believed the whole ordeal would die down in a couple of days. He hoped it did.

    “What about her?”

Harrison groaned. “Mate, she lost her job.”

Tom’s eyebrows shot up like someone had exploded a cake in front of him. He stopped moving and became rigid all of a sudden, and he was quite thankful no one could see him pale up at that second. He should have apologized.

    “How can they—”

    “That’s what I don’t understand. Apparently, your fans,” Haz stressed on the word, “sent not only (y/n) but the London Post some nasty mails in a couple of thousands. It got too much so they issued a statement to the media saying she was laid off a couple of days ago. Did you apologize to her?”

Considering the silence that came his way from Tom’s end, Harrison knew the answer.   

   “Tom… That’s her job, mate. A review wouldn’t have hurt anyone’s reputation here. Did you even read her review? It said nothing bad about you. Just that the writer wrote your role into the dirt,” Tom winced at his friend’s words. “Which is absolutely true because don’t deny it, you hated having Lionel killed too.”

Tom couldn’t deny it. Guilt washed over him like a wave under the full moon. He felt terrible, no doubt. He had no idea that this would happen. Now when he thought about it, Jean himself had more work writing for other shows now that Birds of a Feather was done. Tom sighed. He groaned. He ruffled his own hair. He looked at Tessa running around in the field.

    “I fucked up, didn’t I?”

    “Yup. You did. Big time.” Haz was brutal.

It was at that second that Tom decided he’d talk to her. Ask her out for coffee and apologize like a decent person would do. He’d make sure she got her job back as well, but first, he needed to tell her those important three words.

    “Haz, can you give me her—”

    “Already on it, mate. I’ll send it to you in a jif.”

Once the call was over, Tom knew what steps he had to take. After he reached home, he quickly browsed through (y/n) (l/n) in Google, looking at the results. News articles over news articles about her spread in his face, before finally finding one from the London Post. Her review on Birds of a Feather. He was surprised this was still up, and clicked on the link. There was so much written in this review that he knew would take over 8 minutes for him to read. He was a bit of a slow reader, but that didn’t mean he didn’t pay attention when he read. Tom’s eyes scanned over the descriptive words, and his heart almost stopped when (y/n) wrote about him.

“...while Tom’s performance in this season has been remarkable, it’s sad to see his role being written into the dirt. Lionel, one of the main protagonists of the whole show, deserved perhaps a more bittersweet end—something Tom could have delivered with a bat of an eye. With such talent streamlining the entire show, it’s a mere disappointment to see it fail in the eyes of a fan. Poor Tom deserved better himself…”

Tom sighed. Brushing a hand through his head, he came down to the comment section.

TomLoverxox wrote: What a bitch she made Tom sad I mean come on go home criticize your own face

LaserTeaser15 wrote: Listen slut let me see you write a show as great as this one

Tom grimaced. I did this, he thought before looking at the contact details that Harrison sent. Gulping the bit of hesitation that was previously stopping him, Tom made the final move. Three rings was what it took for (y/n) to pick the call.

    “Hello?” Her voice was pleasant. It gave Tom the impression that she may forgive him and all might go well.

Smiling, Tom replied, “Hi. Is this (y/n)?”

She recognized him. Honestly, she wasn’t expecting his call to come at that second, but she knew it’d come. Considering how so many of her reporter colleagues would flaunt over how nice he is as a person and how decent he is and how he’d definitely apologize if he hurt anyone and how he would definitely give her a call too. One of her colleagues even went as far as to say he’d ask her for coffee where he’d be nice to her and apologize in person too. She didn’t think that was necessary, because she knew the answer.

    “Is this (y/n)?” Tom’s voice was as sweet as sugar.

But (y/n) liked her coffee black.

    “Tom Holland.” She spat, like it was poison on her tongue. If she could see him, she’d see him flinch.

    “Hi.” He said, and nervously let out a laugh.

    “What’s made you call me, Mr. Holland?” (y/n) specialized in sarcastic conversation. It was her forte, she often put it.

    “I’m terribly sorry about—”

    “Making me lose my job over a review I wrote for a TV show you acted in and had nothing to do with writing the script? Terribly sorry about me being slandered all over the internet and being called a whore to someone who’s better called a dunce? Terribly sorry about me doing my job and being reprimanded for it? Mr. Holland, tell me. How would that review have affected your job?”

Tom had no idea how to respond. He figured she’d be feisty and aggressive, but this was a whole other level. He knew if she pressed him any more than this, he’d perhaps stammer out of guilt.

    “I’m very sorry about—”

    “Making a public story on Instagram trashing me and my work where I didn’t even criticize you but the writing of the show? In fact, did you happen to read—”

    “I actually did. I want to say sorry for—”

    “Acting out before having read the entire piece, right?”

Tom didn’t blame her. That’s what he was telling himself.

    “(y/n), I just… Listen, I feel terrible for what’s happened. Can we meet over coffee and talk this out—”

    “Tom, I didn’t deserve what I got. Thank you for calling me. You’re a very good man. But what you did ruined my reputation online and in my career. Slander must mean something to you, you’re an actor. You understand better than most what I feel at this moment. So, leave me be. And no. I don’t want to meet you for coffee.”

And that was how the call ended. Tom turned to Tessa, who was now looking right into his soul.

    “I know, girl. This isn’t done.”

taglist: 

@strangemaximoff​, @aestheticgaybish, @noobmaster63​, @why-are-all-the-teens-gay​, @wonders-of-the-multiverse​, @boushalaivre​, @jackiehollanderr​, @nerdypisces160​

[illinoisgaming-blog]

School Football 2007 - Illinois Upsets Ohio State 28-21, Creating a Scramble for the BCS Title Game

Ron Zook, who was drummed out as Florida's lead trainer in the wake of neglecting to copy Steve Spurrier's record with the Gators, recaptured a proportion of regard by propelling his Fighting Illini to a 28-21 surprise of No. 1-positioned and unbeaten Ohio State Saturday (11-10-07).

The triumph denoted the first run through Illinois (8-3) had beaten a No. 1-positioned group since 1956, and the first occasion when it had done it away from home. The misfortune finished Ohio State's gathering and school dash of 20 back to back Big 10 successes by the Buckeyes, who are currently 10-1.

The annihilation not just hosed Ohio State's fantasy of a national title, it left the Buckeyes attached with Michigan for the best position in the Big 10 as Wisconsin upset Michigan 37-21 the equivalent day.

Not since Nov. 14, 1959 had Michigan and Ohio State both lost the week prior to their yearly year-end battle to choose the Big 10 title. This is the manner by which it is in the Big 10, tedious and exhausting as lately it is consistently Ohio State or Michigan catching the title. Other Big 10 groups contend yet never appear to challenge for the title.

Illinois got 260 yards surging against Ohio State that came into the game surrendering just 65 yards on the ground per game. This was not an immense shock as the Illini presently rank sixth in hurrying offense broadly, increasing 261 yards for each game.Illinois gaming commission At the end of the day, Illinois was on its game and Ohio State was definitely not.

Zook had a moderate beginning as the Illinois lead trainer, going 2-9 and 2-10 his initial two years before getting his eighth win Saturday against 3 misfortunes. Zook was 1-15 in his initial two years of Big 10 Conference play, going 0-8 his first year. You can wager the other Big 10 mentors know who Ron Zook is currently.

Was Ohio State looking past Illinois to Michigan? I suspect as much. The Buckeyes dropped to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

No. 13-positioned Michigan (presently 8-3) was knocked off by Wisconsin (additionally 8-3), 37-21. The Badgers implied business at home by taking a 23-7 lead into the fourth quarter and coordinating the Wolverines 2 scores to keep their point edge and save their triumph. Michigan slid to No. 23 in the AP Poll.

No. 8-positioned Boston College (8-2) got stung for the second consecutive week, this time by Maryland (5-5), 42-35. The entirety of the discussion about the Eagles vaunted safeguard is blurring endlessly quicker than mist on a blistering summer day.

Different groups that were humiliated for the current week incorporated No. 16-positioned Connecticut (8-2), which lost to Cincinnati (clearly a superior 8-2 group), 27-3, and No. 21-positioned Alabama (presently 6-4) which was overturned by Mississippi State, (additionally 6-4), 17-12.

Envision, Mississippi State, which has been the mat of the SEC for quite a long time, ascends and whips Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. Regardless of whether the Bulldogs lose to Arkansas and in-state rival Mississippi, Mississippi State is as of now bowl qualified.

Alabama should deal with Louisiana-Monroe one week from now and become bowl qualified with its seventh triumph.

The misfortune by Ohio State permitted some different competitors to flaunt a little against a lot more fragile rivalry. Here are a few models:

1) No. 2-positioned LSU (9-1) rankled No. 107-appraised Louisiana Tech (4-6), 58-10.

2) No. 4-positioned Oklahoma (9-1) tore No. 119-appraised Baylor (3-8), 52-21.

3) No. 19-positioned Boise State (9-1) moved past hapless No. 166-appraised Utah State (0-10), 52-0. In spite of its rating, Utah State is a Division 1A school.

Just two 1A groups stay unbeaten-No. 5-positioned Kansas (10-0) and No. 14-positioned Hawaii (9-0). The Jayhawks recognized No. 49-appraised Oklahoma State (5-5) 4 scores yet won 43-28.

The Hawaii Warriors, positioned No. 14 yet appraised No. 29 by Sagarin, were outscored 14-3 in the fourth quarter by No. 74-evaluated Fresno State (6-4) however outlived the Bulldogs, 37-30, to remain undefeated. Hawaii climbed to thirteenth in Sunday's new AP Poll.

In about fourteen days, Hawaii will have Boise State, presently positioned seventeenth in the Poll, and a genuine danger, even in an away game, to beat the Warriors. Boise State isn't to be mistaken for the cupcakes Hawaii has been playing all season. After the Boise State game, we will discover who is terrible and who is tragic.

The way that Kansas and Hawaii are the main two unbeaten groups left should not shock two reasons. One, Hawaii is first (50 focuses per game) and Kansas second (45 ppg) broadly in scoring offense, and two, Kansas' quality of timetable is 97th and Hawaii's is 157th among 119 Division 1A schools, not actually great in either case.

Two different games merit notice: the Navy-North Texas disaster and the approaching Harvard - Yale confrontation in the Ivy League.

No. 77-appraised Navy (6-4) held on with a death grip to beat No. 180-evaluated North Texas (1-8), 74-62, in a game without a smidgen of safeguard that set another significant school record for a consolidated game score. The 94 first-half focuses (North Texas drove 49-45) and the 63 consolidated focuses in the second quarter both set significant school scoring records.

Only fourteen days sooner, Weber State outlived Portland State, 73-68, to set the all-divisions record.

These ball score football match-ups will in general befuddle everybody. Obviously, there is more enthusiasm for a 73-68 game than a 6-3 pushing match that features protective play. All things considered, these high-scoring games are getting ludicrous. They help me to remember Little League baseball scores before they put on limits so everybody could return home and get the opportunity to bed on schedule.

Harvard (7-2) beat Penn (3-6) 23-7 and Yale (9-0) stayed undefeated, succeeding at Princeton (another 3-6 group), 27-6, to set up a gigantic standoff at Yale in the 1-AA Ivy League. Both Harvard (appraised 152nd) and Yale (evaluated 100th) are an ideal 6-0 allied play and will meet undefeated just because since 1968 with the title on the line.

A year ago Yale beat Harvard at Harvard 34-13 to guarantee a portion of the Ivy League title with Princeton. The success over Harvard a year ago was its first since 2000. Stay adjusted to this match as it is not kidding business in the New England territory.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary on 5 Subjects: Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, and Internet Marketing. I will likely illuminate, instruct, please and inspire you the peruser.

Peruse my articles "On the most proficient method to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 successive week after week wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

[gugobewu11]

Greatest Wins in Next Three 2007 Bowl Games - Michigan, Southern California and Georgia - Part 6

Here are the following 3 champs of the current year's 2007 school football bowl game outcomes:

Capital One Bowl - Michigan Outlasts Florida, 41-35, as Lloyd Carr Wins His Last Game

In the event that the Michigan Wolverines had wrapped it up and put it under the tree, active mentor Lloyd Carr couldn't have gotten a superior Christmas present from his players as they defeated 4 turnovers to turn around No. 9 Florida, 41-35, in the Capital One Bowl.

The long-lasting, famous Michigan mentor declared his retirement after another misfortune to Ohio State in November. Had he not resigned, he would most likely have been approached to leave. Michigan employed Rich Rodriguez who dashed from his head instructing work at West Virginia to assume control over Michigan's celebrated football program.

The success was immense for Michigan's seniors as they won their first bowl game in quite a while. Chad Henne tossed for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns and Mike Hart hammered out 129 hurrying yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Gators held the game close gratitude to Michigan's 4 turnovers and a lot of huge plays by sophomore Heisman Trophy victor Tim Tebow and his fast partner Percy Harvin. Tebow was playing with a messed up bone in his non-tossing hand and was feeling the squeeze yet was as yet 17-of-33 for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns. He additionally ran for 57 yards and another score.

Harvin got 165 yards on 13 conveys (12.6 yards per convey), scored once, and furthermore got 9 goes for another 77 yards and a subsequent touchdown. At last, it was insufficient as Michigan won one for Carr.

The Gators neglected to change over a fourth down play at its 25-yard line and K. C. Lopata's 41-yard field objective put Michigan ahead 41-35 with just 2:21 remaining. Florida got another shot however Tebow tossed 4 straight air balls. Both Michigan and Florida completed the season with 9-4 imprints.

BCS Rose Bowl - Southern California Crushes Illinois, 49-17, to Make a Statement

Pete Carroll and his Southern Cal players despite everything are thinking BCS national title game, however the Trojans will need to trust that that will occur. They may have completed at 11-2, equivalent to Louisiana State that will play in the title game,how to open a slot machine business yet the Trojans lost at an inappropriate time to an inappropriate group Stanford at home.

In a presentation of dissatisfaction and distress, Southern Cal truly stepped Illinois 49-17 in the BCS Rose Bowl game to say something. First year recruit half back Joe "Where Do They Find These Guys?" McKnight tore through the Illini protection for 170 yards (125 yards hurrying and 45 yards accepting). McKnight's yield was a piece of the Trojans' 633 yards of offense.

The yield set a Rose Bowl record and the Trojans' 49 focuses tied the record. The victory game gave Southern Cal 11 successes for a remarkable sixth consecutive year. Illinois Coach Ron Zook still completed the year at 9-4, an incredible turnaround after a 2-19 record in his initial two years at Illinois.

Try not to be confounded here, Illinois was a 13.5 point dark horse going in. Recollect that it was Illinois which managed Ohio State its lone misfortune, 28-21, and the Buckeyes will confront LSU in the national title game. Caps off to Zook and his players for a mind blowing year.

BCS Sugar Bowl - Hawaii's Unbeaten Streak Ends as Georgia Wins Easily, 41-10

Georgia's Bulldogs were jumping frantic that they were not welcome to play in the BCS national title game, and Hawaii's Warriors were forced to bear their disappointment, losing 41-10 as their fantasy of an ideal season finished in the BCS Sugar Bowl.

Hawaii came into the game at 12-0, the main undefeated group among the NCAA's 119 Division 1A schools. They did it with mentor June Jones' run-and-shoot offense that found the middle value of 46+ focuses a game, the arm of junior quarterback Colt Brennan and some incredible beneficiaries.

Brennan is the genuine article. He has set more NCAA passing records than Carter has liver pills, however nothing appeared to intrigue Georgia, and particularly Marcus Howard, who turned into the game's MVP as he had 3 sacks, 2 constrained bobbles and a tipped ball that colleague Dannell Ellerbe caught.

Actually Georgia was just too large, excessively quick and unreasonably solid for the Islanders this time around.

Howard and his cautious mates lived in Hawaii's backfield as Brennan was sacked multiple times, tossed 3 block attempts and lost 2 mishandles, one of which Georgia recouped for a touchdown. Georgia's guarded line pushed Hawaii everywhere throughout the field; Brennan was fortunate to escape New Orleans perfectly healthy enough to be drafted for Sunday obligation in the NFL.

"It was the quickest group I've presumably ever observed," said Brennan. To be reasonable, they would not have been so quick in the Warrior hostile line had played better and given Brennan more security so Hawaii's offense could be compelling.

It was a decent yet troublesome game for Hawaii to swallow, however the Warriors will live to battle one more day. They needed to realize that their 12-0 record was against a lot more vulnerable rivalry than each different BCS group confronted. They had their way in the Western Athletic Conference, in any event, bringing down Boise State, which likewise lost its bowl game to humble East Carolina 41-38. Indeed, even the Washington Huskies, who had an important lead on Hawaii, couldn't beat the Warriors as their game finished with Hawaii on top.

The residents of Hawaii experienced passionate feelings for their Warriors and well they ought to have. Hawaii had a mark year. Different groups are presently attempting to take June Jones away from Hawaii. It merited the annihilation when you realize that Hawaii figures to make a $4 million payout for its appearance in the BCS Sugar Bowl. For a group whose selecting spending plan was an immaterial $50,000 every year, that is a great deal of moola. Hawaii would now be able to stand to enroll ability on the territory.

June Jones has become an open door for some different groups. His run-and-shoot offense has brought about a 76-41 record (64% win rate) in 9 seasons, including the current year's 12-1 imprint and BCS bowl appearance. Jones assumed control over a Hawaii group that was winless in 1998 and went 9-4 in his first season. Interpretation: You don't have to remain wakeful evenings appealing to God for Hawaii's prosperity; the Warriors and doing fine and dandy, bless your heart.

(Proofreader's Note: This is the sixth article of an arrangement on the 2007 bowl game outcomes.)

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary on 5 Subjects: Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, and Internet Marketing. I will probably illuminate, teach, amuse and rouse you the peruser.

[benevolenterrancy]

Alrighty what do you think the Les Amis would do with Tumblr accounts? Vive la France!

Enjolras has an assortment of passionate followers, but byand large I would say he doesn’t have thatmany.  He’s well known (probably evenoutside his followers) for his incredibly passionate posts related to globalpolitics, human rights, current events, and social justice.  He has incredibly strong conviction about hisbeliefs, writes about them voraciously, and honestly even though they might bereblogged like crazy it’s a little too intense for a lot of people to actuallyfollow him – lots of people tend to get burnt out.  Enjolras doesn’t reblog fandom, meme, oraesthetic posts at all on his blog (he doesn’t want to dilute the importantissues) but he enjoys scrolling his dash in down moments and has a completelychaotic pile of likes.  Enjolras respondto ever ask he gets, it’s as terrifying as it sounds.

Lots of peoplefollow Courfeyrac which means a lot of people unwittingly follow Enjolras,because Courfeyrac reblogs almost everything that Enjolras writes.  Courfeyrac, however, will also shamelesslyreblog shitposts of all kinds so the political gets mixed up with the goofs andpeople tend to find it more palatable. He’s one of those people you follow, but you feel like you’ve gottensome sort of two for one deal because he gets into so many convo chains withhis friends that you feel like you know all of them as well.

Combeferre is thescience side of tumblr.

Jehan is all aesthetic all the time.  They post a lot of their poetry scraps onthere, just a few handful of lines here and there as they try things out, aswell as quotes from their favourite works. They use the tags like it’s nobody’s business, but still manages to keeptheir blog completely disorganized and inscrutable to an outside observer…while almost without fail being able to find that one post they’d rebloggedfrom Joly six months ago like it’s nbd. They’re a mystery wrapped up in an enigma.

Bahorel I don’t really see as much of a tumblr person tbh, he’snot really interested in sitting around and scrolling.  He definitely has a twitter though and isvocal as all fuck on that – Grantaire will shameless screenshot his tweets andrepost them on tumblr.  Courfeyrac willgenerally at least once a week sit down with Bahorel and just show him all thecurrent tumblr memes because Bahorel gets a kick out of them.

Feuilly is technically on tumblr because Jehan made him anaccount but he doesn’t use it all that much. He will appear about once every five weeks to reblog something and thendisappear again.  It’s anyone guess if it’sgoing to be a bunch of sea otter gifs or a long tirade about a recent protest.  Enjolras is one of the few blogs he actuallychecks regularly, and the two of them will get into reblog chain discussions.

Joly reblogs cute animal gifs and videos in abundance.  He is completely shameless, he loves them soso so much.  Joly scrolling tumblr is astream of “Chetta, Chetta, come see this, you have to see this!” “I just satdown Joly…” “Chetta look at these ducklings”“Babe I love you but istg”.  He alsotends to blog about whatever shows he’s watching at the moment, but he doesn’ttend to stay locked on to a fandom.

Bossuet uses Joly’s account. He’s lost, broke, or generally misplaced his phone one too many timesand always ends up using Joly’s, and so Bossuet gradually just completely movedin and took co-ownership of Joly’s account. If you see a splurge of posts that all have badly typo’d chat in thetags, that Bossuet.  Also an animalenthusiast, but also a shameless memer with Courf.

Musichetta uses hers like an actual file folder.  She reblogs recipes into various cookingtags, she reblogs fashion and hairstyles and gardening tips and apartmentaesthetic she likes, and studying tips and shopping tips and how-tos… all with mind-bogglingtagging structure.  She also has anassortment of just nice aesthetic posts, along with a smattering of posts andtheories about the shows she’s watching and humour posts that her boys messagedto her.

Grantaire’s blog is a hot fucking mess.  Fandom, political, humour, shitposts, they’reall dumped into the festering stew that is Grantaire’s blog.  He shamelessly reblogs posts from Engjolras’blog just to add derisive commentary, and takes nothing particularly seriously –it can be frustratingly hard to tell when he’s reblogging something ironicallyand when he’s not.  He thinks flame warsare hilarious and will step back to watch the show.  He will post his own artwork on his blog, buthe posts it with not particular schedule and never tags it, so if you ever wantto see them you’d have much better luck going to Jehan’s blog, who does reblog Grantaire’sart and actually tags it, somewhat toGrantaire’s chagrin.

Marius… sure is there. Somehow, he uses tumblr wrong.  Hegenuinely does use it casually.  He neversees any sort of fandom wank because he somehow only ever surfaces safely alongthe top, never diving into it’s deep recesses. It’s frankly miraculous.  His blogseems like the epitome of generic.  Hehas approximately two followers besides for his friends.  Grantaire takes gleeful joy out of sendingMarius bizarre “suggestive” posts just to see Marius reblog it with the commentof “I don’t get it” (yes, he alwaysposts his comments in the comment section, never in the tags section).

Cosette and Jehan definitely follow each other, and she’salso pretty big of aesthetic blogging. She probably has more than one blog – one for aesthetic posts, anotherfor blogging about whatever show she’s watching right now.  She has a nice smattering of followers wholike to see the reviews she writes for the latest movies and shows she’s seenor books she’s read.  Lots of gorgeousselfies, lots of positivity and supportive posts, especially ones for childabuse survivors.

Éponine - I have no idea what she does on there.  Neither do you.  Neither does anyone else, because the onlyperson who knows what her url is, is Grantaire, and he’s been sworn to secrecyunder pain of death.  …Or at least painof pain.

Gavroche you’re too young to be here to climb a tree orsomething.  Jacks Courf or R’s (or Ép’s)phone from time to time, mostly to post gibberish or troll their friends.  Sometimes looks up Youtubers and then floodsthe respective dash with funny clips and gifs.

(Bonus: Jean Valjean tried to figure it out so that he couldconnect with Cosette through it, but it never kicked off – he has one post onit that just says “Is this still the internet?” That’s it.  It has fifty thousandnotes.)

[sanctusinferi]

I’m usually pretty good at minding my own damn business, but this rubbed me the wrong way just enough for me to open my big annoying yap. So now y’all are being burdened with my thoughts and opinions.

First and foremost: Mir, you could not be further from being the problem. As a matter of fact, you’re one of the few people I’ve interacted with on here who makes me glad to be a writer and who inspires me to actively support other writers more than I am. Perhaps I’m biased since we’re mutuals (and that makes us sickening!!!!!) and I consider you a friend, but the point still stands that you were one of the VERY first people who showed my work genuine love and real in-depth feedback (before we were mutuals FTR) which has stayed with me and I am eternally grateful for. 

Blaming one person (who — might I add — shares other people’s work more than anyone else I follow AND leaves incredible commentary) for an issue that is site-wide when they’re doing more than most is asinine and frankly... fucking stupid. Also if you’re only leaving comments because you’re expecting something in return from someone who is already giving you so much by providing FREE CONTENT and, I dunno, might have other things going on in their life? Well then maybe you’re commenting for the wrong reasons. No one owes you anything. 

To this weirdly aggressive anon: not a single damn person in the world is obligated to utilize this website or their blog the way you deem acceptable. It’s not your place to police the way someone interacts with the material they consume. It is quite literally no one’s responsibility to behave the way you want them to??? Quite honestly, it’s bold as fuck to imply that your hurt feelings are anyone else’s fault simply because they didn’t do something they aren’t in any way required to do. The internet is not the place for you if someone else’s free will is gonna bother you that much, bestie.

But since we’re being irrationally judgmental and entertaining foolish ideas, I guess here’s some mind-blowing concepts for you to consider:

Some people are less outgoing even online and find comfort/safety in interacting with those they’re familiar with

Some people enjoy writing more than reading and there’s nothing wrong with that

Some people do not read due to lack of interest/time or because they themselves are writers and sometimes reading other stories while you’re creating is not beneficial to your own work

Comments get lost/missed/overlooked all the time when a fic is popular and it isn’t a fucking crime to not respond to every single thing

People have lives and cannot reblog/share every last thing they see on here

Sometimes you don’t want to reblog the same fic a hundred times in one day to respond to everyone’s response because you don’t want to clog up anyone’s dash and SOME PEOPLE HAVE LIVES AND DON’T HAVE TIME TO RESPOND TO EVERYTHING

How someone curates their own space is none of your business (and might I suggest doing a better job of minding yours)

But most importantly: no one owes you a fucking thing, least of all an explanation

If the way another person interacts with content/users on a website is enough to negatively affect your experience, then it makes me wonder who the issue really is here. Content creators give and give and give and y’all still aren’t fucking satisfied...still find something to complain about and I’m so sick of people seemingly forgetting that there are real actual human beings behind the content you so greedily consume. We aren’t machines who can perfectly perform for you and put our already expended energy into a community that is notoriously so exhaustingly thankless. Check your damn SELF. 

I know your name only because one of your mutuals used it to address you. (//barnesafterglow) I’m sincerely sorry for that, I did not know you weren’t okay with it and will not use it in the future, I’m sorry.

ahhh yes tiff has used my name once or twice. if you know my name, from this point forward, do not use it to address me please. just for privacy sake. i enjoy the anonymity of this app a lot. thank you for the apology baby! just wanted you to know i wasn't posting your message calling me out for any reason other than my name being used. but i can screenshot it and address your ask here:

okay so firstly, i appreciate you taking the time to reach out. i am so sorry I've made you feel this way. id like to think i do a good job of responding to people's feedback, so yes i am taken back by this. i actually think i respond to all different people when it comes to the feedback you all leave me, but I'll try better since this thought of mine isn't accurate. i get embarrassed and don't like clogging the dash with fic reblogs of mine either, so block my "fic replies" tag and this can quell that concern of mine.

secondly, i actually mostly reblog fics of people that don't follow me lol.... i'm not sure if people think i have this big "mutual" following but i don't. and i hateeeeee the harping on the idea of "mutuals" or "moots". it makes me itchy so i try my best to interact with everyone the same. (i absolutely appreciate my mutuals, don't get me wrong. but i don't like the constant throwing in the face of people's moots lol) being that i don't interact with you, i truly am sorry. i try my absolute hardest to share all different writers and types of fics alike, even if they are for characters i don't like. i wasn't aware that i'm not doing enough, so i'll try better.

also as sad as my life seems, i do have one and am not always on my phone. sometimes response to your feedback will be sparse and scattered. as well as my sharing of your work.

i'm so sorry i ever made you feel like you weren't worth sharing or being praised. this is not the case. don't worry about coming off anon if it worries you. i always hope this blog is a place filled with love and praise for all of you, but this seems to not be the case and i'm sorry.

[marvelandponder]

Lost Episodes? Well, You Better Go Find Them!

Ever browse through the internet looking for the lost ideas that never made it air? Have you gone to conventions just to hear the insight on what the show staff left out? Are you already on board thus defeating the purpose of me giving a third example?

As a fan who enjoys the occasional interview, commentary, or behind-the-scenes tid-bit, that describes me pretty well. 

I always like hearing the stories we could’ve gotten. To me, there’s an element of intrigue, and the same feeling I get hearing urban legends except with the confirmation that this was in fact true information.

This month we saw the revival of the script for Fame and Misfortune, a story M.A. Larson wrote around the time the staff was writing the 5th season that was then retooled and edited to fit with the current season. In honour of that lost script getting new life, I thought I’d go through and find all the coolest lost content MLP never had to offer!

Of course, to super fans, this may not be new information (I don’t have access to the pony version of the deep web quite yet...), but hopefully there will be some surprises in here for even those who seek out the lost and unknown...

Honourable Mention Section

Debunked Nightmare Moon the Villain for ALL of Season 1: This has since been corrected by Lauren Faust, but the original rumour was that Faust planned for the show to be a serialized, on-going story, and that instead of being defeated in the first two episodes, Nightmare Moon was supposed to reign over Equestria for all 26 episodes. We now know Lauren always planned for the show to be an ensemble comedy, but it was a very cool rumour nonetheless - Source (x)

Lost Pinkie Pie Songs by Amy Keating Rogers: In the Season 1 finale The Best Night Ever, Amy Keating Rogers says Pinkie was meant to sing a few more songs that she wrote for her. These would’ve been the standard early seasons Pinkie songs, one being called the Pinkie Conga - Source: (x)

The Hub Commercials: While not exactly lost (and hence not on the list), new fans of the show might not have been around before the switch from the Hub to Discovery Family, and have no idea about these hidden gems. These relics include, but aren’t limited to an April Fools series trailer for a Cowboy BeBop inspired Spike spinoff called Dragonfire, a dub of the 2014 Maleficent trailer by the official cast with Discord as Maleficent, and a parody of Kay Perry’s California Girls called Equestria Girls that predates the series of the same name! 

3 Scootaloo Episodes Dealing with her Disability in the First 2 Seasons: Since we ended up getting an episode that dealt with this topic in the form of Flight to the Finish, this didn’t quite make the list, but it almost did based on the fact that was originally supposed to be an arc. Scootaloo would’ve taken 3 episodes to learn that she would never fly and achieve her dream of being like Rainbow Dash, according to Lauren Faust, but ultimately, the little squirt would learn her real worth didn’t depend on her wings or abilities - Source: (x)

Lightning Dust’s Redemption: Anybody out there holding out for hope for Lightning Dust? What if I told you she could’ve already been redeemed? Well, it’s true. Our good friend Megan McCarthy released two portions of the original ending on her Twitter, including one where Lightning Dust become Rainbow Dash’s wing pony (Source: x):

Derpy’s Deleted Flashback Scene, The Last Roundup: Remember how people got mad about Derpy’s voice and clumsy behaviour? Well that was nothing compared to the destruction they had planned. Originally, there was going to be a flashback to Derpy accidentally destroying the town hall, thus giving the episode an inciting incident. Amy Keating Rogers let us in on the original scene (Source: x x), and well, it wouldn’t have ended pretty:

With those out of the way, let’s get to the real list of unreleased goodness! Remember, all of these have been confirmed, and you can check the sources as they’re provided for proof.

#10. Lauren Faust’s Big Mac Episode

Imagine a timeline where we got a Big Mac episode in season 1. Now imagine that was going to be our timeline.

Lauren Faust originally planned to have an episode starring Big Mac that featured the then monosyllabic stallion going through his daily life with his three outspoken family members. She’s described it on her Deviantart thusly:

“Big Mac is a stallion of little words. He just keeps his opinions to himself. I think he knows he's around three opinionated mares and it's easiest to just go with the flow. We had a Big Mac centered episode idea where he was helping all three of them one day, just going along with what they wanted to keep the peace (the running gag being that his three family members were quite verbose and he spoke only with facial expressions) but finally got fed up and took off. The Apple ladies worried that they had taken his easy going nature for granted and made a big production out of apologizing and promising not to take him for granted ever again, only to find out that he went into town to get another hand- er, hoof- to help. Of course the only words he'd say were to graciously accept their apologies and promises anyway. I thought it was cute and I LOVE non-verbal gags and acting in cartoons, but it was turned down.” - Source: (x) 

We clearly never got the episode, but MLP comics issues #9 and 10, Zen and the Art of Gazebo Repair, did end up following Big Mac through a chaotic day and relying mostly on his expression to get across his feelings. Whether this mini-arc was inspired by the lost episode, we may never know, but we got a good story out of it all the same. Eeyup.

#9. Rainbow and Applejack Help a Deer Family Episode

Once again, Lauren Faust provides! Since working on the show, Faust has said that one of the early episode concepts involved Rainbow Dash and Applejack stumbling across a deer family with a young pony who thought he was a deer. Perhaps cut for its similarities to Over a Barrel, the episode’s conflict would’ve centered around RD and AJ taking sides of the issue on whether or not to burst the “deer’s” bubble.

Ironically, Applejack and Rainbow Dash took surprising positions on the issue, given their Elements: Rainbow Dash wanted to break the news to the pony, whereas Applejack wanted to leave well enough alone.

Jokes about their Elements being switched aside, I would imagine this episode would’ve established the depth of their characters outside of their roles as the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash would rather speak her mind and be blunt and deal with the consequences afterward despite her loyalty, and Applejack would rather tell a lie if it meant keeping a family together.

In my opinion, this most likely would’ve set precedent that even the each of the Mane 6′s Elements have areas of exception, and those areas reveal something about each pony.

And, if all that wasn’t cool enough for you, this episode also took place in White Tail Woods, which is where it got the name that stuck with the show despite the episode concept being lost. You can still find White Tail Woods on the official map to this day.

Source: (x)

#8. The Curious Case of FlutterDragon

Here’s a famous one, but a fascinating one: Normally during conventions like Comic Con or BronyCon, when a voice actor gives out information on an upcoming season, it’s pretty reliable (unless it’s obviously a joke).

So, the Comic Con before season 3 rolled around, and as usual, we were getting a lot great information on the upcoming season. Trixie would be returning? There would be a Twilight and Spike duet? Score! One piece of information that stood out, however, was from Tabitha St. Germain, who as you most likely know voices Rarity and Luna.

She said that her favourite recording session was for the episode that “Fluttershy turns into a dragon.”

Not the episode where Fluttershy faces a dragon or anything like that that had already aired. 

Megan McCarthy eventually had to debunk this theory via Twitter, but I kept this on the list because it came from an official source all the same. A recording session that never made it to air that, to this day, hasn’t been explained? Now that’s mysterious.

I have to wonder if that was a warm-up of some sort, just to get the voice actresses in character. Of all the staff members, Tabitha is one of the least likely to just troll the fandom, so I still have to believe she was truly referencing something. Even Andrea Libman, Fluttershy herself, seemed to know what she was talking about as Tabitha described it being funny hearing Fluttershy’s soft voice coming out of a giant dragon.

The story behind this pick alone is enough to make me wonder...

Source: (x)

#7. Rarity’s Deleted Scene in Luna Eclipsed

Have you ever noticed that there’s one pony missing in Luna Eclipsed? 

Well, Rarity originally had a scene that explains her absence. Lauren Faust to the rescue again!:

“...May I ask why Rarity wasn't in it? Lauren: She was in the script. Sounds like she got cut. Kitmit: What was she supposed to do in the script? You think she would of made herself some fabulous nightmare night costume... Lauren: She was still working on her costume, and perfectionist as she is, it wasn't ready. (I forget what it was.) There was a whole sequence where Twilight brought Luna to Rarity's for a makeover, hoping she could give Luna a "softer," less intimidating look. Rarity freaked out about getting to dress up a Princess and over did it, covering her in the pinkiest pink princess get up ever. Luna disliked it and in taking it off, had a piece of the dress in her mouth. Pinkie showed up just at that moment and screamed that Nightmare Moon ate a princess and all the kids screamed and ran. Source - (x)

Rarity’s over-dramatics most likely would’ve made this scene hilarious had it made it to the final cut, and honestly, that’s all I need to say. Tabitha St. Germain might’ve spread the FlutterDragon rumour by accident, but she’s one hell of a comedic voice actress, and her playing off of herself and Tara Strong for a scene could’ve been a stellar performance.

At least we know where Rarity was the whole time now... and judging by Scare Master, she learned her lesson and just went with something less than utter perfection the year after. Does that count as character development?

#6. Zecora’s Mentor Role

This might be common knowledge for hardcore fans as well, but in hindsight it’s such a loss that it deserves it’s own spot.

Zecora has become critically underutilized, especially in later seasons, but that wasn’t always meant to be the case. Zecora was originally meant to fill the mentor role in Twilight’s life while Celestia was busy in Canterlot. Of course, Twilight would still write to Celestia for guidance, but Faust also said:

“If we had penned more adventure stories, the only difference I can think of is that perhaps you would have seen more of Luna and Zecora.  Zecora was designed to be a sage and mentor to whom the ponies could go for information about their quests. She was designed to be a second mentor to Twilight, but that didn’t come to pass.”  Source: (x)

We can see bits of this throughout the series, though, in episodes like Secret of My Excess, The Cutie Pox, and Magic Duel. 

If she were Twilight’s second mentor, it might have even been interesting to have a conflict between Zecora and Celestia about some kind of magic, leaving Twilight in the middle to struggle with the fact that both of the authority figures might not be teaching her the right solution, and it’s up to her to decide. Just some speculation, based on where Twilight’s character would’ve been at the time...

Perhaps Zecora’s role can be reclaimed in the future, as she’s included in more episodes to come. But for now, we can only think of what might’ve been.

#5. Sunset’s Duet, Homesickness Storyline, and Alternate Ending to Friendship Games

Okay, so this is definitely well known, but given just how well-constructed and nearly finalized this story-arc was, I couldn’t leave it off the list! Plus, something something Sunset Shimmer bias.

Thanks to the Friendship Games DVD extras, you can watch all the deleted scenes, including the duet, over here if you’ve never seen them:

I always found the parallels drawn so satisfying, even if the alternate ending had Sci-Twi leaving for Crystal Prep.

In hindsight, what’s even more interesting is that they’ve seemed to go in the opposite direction with Sunset: when she finally did return to Equestria, it was rather reluctantly, and only briefly. Despite the fact that she has friends and an ex-mentor on the other side, she seems to be eager to stay in the human world.

Or, maybe she’s avoiding somepony...

Seeing how completely opposite things could’ve turned out is fascinating in and of itself.

#4. Lost Slice of Life Gags

How could that episode get any crazier? Slice of Life is already the epitome of our absolutely wild fandom, what more could there be?

Well, of course, M.A. Larson does not disappoint for this list, providing some insight into missing scenes like a Devil Went Down to Georgia inspired cello battle between Octavia and King Sombra.

In fact, there’s a whole list of cuts:

“In the first draft Vinyl Scratch's talked, but they told him she doesn't talk, so it was removed in phase 2. 

The original Vinyl Scratch and Octavia scene involved Vinyl crashing at Octavia's house and destroying her sofa. So she goes to Quills and Sofas to buy a new one. They weren't originally roommates, but The Hub and Hasbro made them roommates.

Flash Sentry was originally in the script. He was following Cranky asking why no one likes him.

Another cut scene was a group of ponies coming in, and a group of their recolor ponies running into them, followed by awkwardness.

His original reason for not wanting to bowl, was because he had trauma as a kid where he couldn't figure out the physics behind it, which lead to his science focused career.

Outside of episode 100, there was originally a cut scene where after Twilight is coronated, Rainbow Dash and her fly around Equestria, eventually ending up in dragonland where they do a musical scene.There was a scene where Derpy is saying "I don't know what to do doc! I don't know what to do!" and the camera pans over to reveal Dr. Caballeron, revealing Derpy at the wrong table with the wrong doctor.  Gags like this were throughout the entire original script.

After everyone is gone and in the town hall, the bat ponies and royal guards are outside doing silly impressions of Princess Luna and Celestia. "Every day shall be cake day!". 

At one point, Lyra tells Bonbon to "stop using that ridiculous voice!" to make fun of her other voices. 

In the script, Gummy had a french accent. 

There was a moment where Doctor Whooves is running up to Carousel Boutique, and he sees Opal and Tom.

 A scene between Coco Pommel and the pony from season one in Boast Busters with the green mane that Rarity accidently insults was cut. She had a full green wedding ensemble on with Coco's stamp of approval, and said she couldn't wait until Rarity saw it as revenge. Coco Pommel then says she doesn't really like green, and asks for anything in pink. 

The original ending had the hugging scene with the mane 6 being their usual end-of-episode corny selves, but the camera pans to the sunset where a changeling army is flying in...”

Source: (x)

This episode went through a lot of research and development to get just right, and even I would’ve loved to see all of that be left in, we ultimately only have so much run-time per episode.

But if that weren’t enough to convince of why I admire M.A. Larson as a writer...

#3. Fillidelphia Ragtime 

I suppose you might be wondering how a single undeveloped episode idea can beat out all that Slice of Life goodness.

Well, it comes down to structure, adult (but nowhere near too adult) implications, and a really intriguing idea.

I’ll let Larson make the pitch himself:

(55:24-57:50)

Larson pretty much immediately sold me on this. I think because there’s a part of me that loves implying the maturity of these characters without going into it for the kids sake, and honestly, it would be so much damn fun.

This episode was never meant to be, it seems, but damn is it ever a good premise.

2.5. Twilight Nearly Resigns From Being a Princess

Note: I stumbled on this one late in the game and instead of bumping something off the list, I decided to cheat and give you all an extra pick. I’m a stinker that way.

We know Twilight wasn’t always so sure about herself as the Princess of Friendship, but did you know she almost gave it up?

“In "Amending Fences," Twilight is at her lowest low and goes to visit Celestia in the middle of the night. She tells her mentor that she has to give up her role as princess of friendship because of how her past actions have affected Moondancer. She says, "How can I tell others about the magic of friendship if I've killed that spirit in somepony else?" Celestia then surprises her by saying that the lesson Twilight is in Canterlot to learn is one that she herself has only recently learned. Twilight is surprised...Celestia knows everything about everything. But Celestia looks out the window at the moon and says, "Some relationships are so broken, so filled with bitterness and anger that they seem impossible to mend. But the lesson you're here to learn now is that it's never too late to repair a broken friendship." So Celestia uses her own experience, her gradual rebuilding of trust and friendship with her own sister, to tell Twilight that everyone goes through it. This gives Twilight the hope that she can fix things with Moondancer. I thought it was a nice scene, but you only have 22 minutes and this was an easy cut.”

Source: (x)

Easy cut my ass! That’s a huge deal! Twilight would’ve come through in the end anyway, but it’s still interesting to know how close she could’ve come to giving it all up...

#2. Seapony Two-Parter

Seaponies? In G4? Don’t be ridiculous....

But it was true. One of Lauren Faust’s ideas at that. She would’ve designed them after the sea ponies of the first generation, with a plot sounding preeetty darn cool:

“Hasbro never asked for seaponies, but other ideas that had nothing to do with them. Lauren was hoping for a two-episode special so that she could have the proper build up and payoff for the seaponies, but the idea never came up. Lauren planned for the style of the seaponies to be the same as G1 with seapony bodies and pony heads. While Lauren didn't have the seaponies in her show bible, she had a plan for incorporating them. The episodes included one of the seaponies washing up on the Equestrian beach and begging for their kingdom to be helped. Their kingdom would be in the Equestrian Ocean, drawing inspiration from Greek and European mythology. She even thought about using the Kraken as a villain.” Source: (x)

Undersea shenanigans and the chance to make a genuinely terrifying sea monster the villain sounds perfect, to be honest. This may not have fit within the schedule for the first two seasons Lauren helped work on, but lo and behold, we’re finally getting around to the fish-horses one way or another! I find it hilarious that in G4, they’re almost majestic and carry with them some sort of epic quest for the girls.

Shoo-be-doo, indeed.

#1. The Series Finale Version of Magical Mystery Cure

After all this time, Magical Mystery Cure holds up in some regards (Celestia’s Ballad is gorgeous no matter what, the animation is beautiful, etc.) but good pacing, it was doomed to never have. Writer M.A. Larson asked the studio execs if they could make it a two-parter, because at the time this was going to be it, they really didn’t know if the show would be renewed. Buut Hasbro said no, so a two-part story had to be crammed into a single episode.

Even with that aside, what was the series finale of MLP going to be like?

Larson recalls that his original script was more a Pandora’s box story than anything else. Celesita sent Twilight a box and, by letter, told her student to wait for her to get there to go over the high level magic inside. Celestia’s mistake was telling Twilight this would lead to a new level of her studies.

Twilight, of course, couldn’t handle waiting to see the amazing magic within, and just like Friendship Games, her curiosity would’ve gotten the better of her. Which, of course, is when she would’ve unleashed the cutie mark swapping spell.

Celestia would then send Twilight a letter that just read My faithful student, what have you done?

To imply that even Celestia herself couldn’t handle this.

In both versions of Magical Mystery Cure, our favourite reader becomes an author of a spell, but in Larson’s story it’s a bit more clear as to what exactly Twilight’s spell does.

Twilight wasn’t just finishing a spell to create new magic (which... only seems to undo what the first part of the spell does), she was rewriting a spell that was already in existence. The words even rearranged on the page for her.

Granted, I like the idea of Twilight standing on the shoulders of giants to earn her wings (finishing Starswirl’s spell) but what a way to end the series: with the book that opened in the first episode closing, implying that Twilight and her friends became legends.

But, in the end, I’m glad we didn’t get that version of Magical Mystery Cure, because what we did get, and what came after, was worth anything that was lost.

More Pony? I’ve got that! I do reviews and editorials! Check out the last three things I’ve done here:

Fame and Misfortune, Triple Threat, and Campfire Tales Reviews

Year of the Pony

Featured Artists of the Post Include:

Derpy’s Accident by GlancoJusticar Apple Siblings Vector by 773her Bramble Vector by CheeseDoodle96 FlutterDragon by Skyfries Rarity’s Nightmare Night by GlancoJusticar Zecora Vector by Stabzor Sunset Vector by KeronianNiroro Sombra Vector by Fercho262 Octavia Vector by WishDream Applejack Vector by Midnite99 Rainbow Dash Seapony Vector by GreenMachine987 Twilight Picture by The Shadow Stone 

Go check out these talented artists! They’re nice enough to work really hard to make these vectors available with credit, so go appreciate their talent and hard work!

What Never Was and Might’ve Been

[galaxies-unknown-a]

“What is a ‘homie’, and why would I kiss them goodnight?”

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 3 Episode 15: The Semi-Finals (Commentary & Guesses/Clues)

Hello fellow Masked Singer lovers! It’s that time of the week aka Ana’s Masked Singer recap time, my favorite time of the week especially now during quarantine. Wow, we are now at the semi-finals with only 4 contestants left, I can’t believe it, we are almost to the end of these recaps & I am not gonna lie, I am a bit sad about it. Anyways, again, we will be honoring the judges with some trophy emojis because they are getting there and I am kind of shook, but this time I am also gonna give the judge with the worst guess ever a poop emoji because it was a horrible guess. This segment is called “Panel Spotlight.” Ok, so having said that, let’s get started! (Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead, proceed with caution.. don’t say I didn’t warn you)

Alright, to begin, we have the masked contestant who came in 4th place which was: 

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

THE RHINO 

Alright, am I surprised? Nope, not at all. Am I a bit upset? Yup, a little bit, but again I saw this coming so not that surprising. However, if it were up to me, he would’ve left after Frog, but I digress, I don’t control these things. Anyways, about his performance of Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw, it was one of his best performances I feel. No, it wasn’t super performance/dance heavy but it was really strong in terms of vocals & he played the guitar which was amazing. No, he wasn’t the strongest, but I also don’t feel like he was the weakest. 

Anyways, the Rhino was revealed to be... 

BARRY ZITO 

Yay another one that I figured out woo hoo!! I am not a baseball fan myself (not a sports fan in general haha), but my dad is & through some Internet research I kinda figured it out (also thanks to CinemaBlend’s clues & theories... the guy who hosts it knows a ton more about sports than me especially with how the clues match up). Anyway having said that let’s look at the most recent set of clues & how they match up to Mr. Zito:

In the clue package, he was talking about a monumental event that happened recently, which was the birth of his 3rd baby boy a few days before the performance. 

#9 in toothpicks= he was 9th pick in the 1999 MLB draft 

For the after performance clue, it was called the “closer look clue” where the clues were on the contestants & they had to go very close to the judges for those clues to be seen. Rhino’s was a baby elephant pin which again alludes to his baby. 

Now time for the PANEL SPOTLIGHT:

Alright so yay we are giving 2 🏆 to two panelists, Jenny McCarthy (not surprised) and Ken Jeong (very surprised). Also, never thought I’d say this, but Ken nailed it with saying he appeared in JAG season 9 episode 9 (even though that’s not what the 9 meant but whatever let’s give the man some credit for once in the season) 

However, the worst guess aka the 💩 was the guest judge, comedian/former SNL cast member Jay Pharaoh, who guessed freaking Blake Shelton. His legit logic was um idk any country stars but I do know Blake and he’s tall so yup that’ll work. Terrible logic if you ask me. 

Alright, we finally have our 3 finalists going into next week’s finale. To honor the finale, I am going to put them in reverse order as to where I think each of them will be placed (and no it’s not based on how much I like them, it’s more objective with a dash of subjectivity... you’ll see.. I’ll explain as I go): 

3rd Place: Night Angel aka Kandi Burruss    

(Side Note: These guesses are so obvious that they are making side to side pictures of them when you search the contestants on Google Images... These photos are not mine, I didn’t make this, it was already made, so even the media is catching on) 

So, as for why I put her in 3rd place, I feel like she’s good and all but Frog gets hyped up way more than she does for some reason so he might go farther than she does in terms of placing. If it were up to me, she would’ve been runner-up, but objectively Frog is probably going to be placed higher because he’s an audience favorite. 

As for her performance, she sang How to Love by Lil Wayne (aka Robot) and honestly it was one of her best performances. It was her most energetic by far and it was very memorable that she took a risk by performing a song that is way out of her typical bubble (aka vocally challenging songs by strong female singers) so I commend her for that. However, I wasn’t wowed with her performance as much as like Jenny was (she hyped her up way too much like damn). 

As for clues, here’s what I got: 

In the clue package, she mentioned someone she lost, calling them a guardian angel. Kandi lost her brother Patrick when she was 15 in a car accident, so that’s who she’s referring to since she has stated that he is her guardian angel. 

Her closer look clue= a moon pin = featured in Rashida’s song from 2012 “Legs to the Moon” 

Now time for the PANEL SPOTLIGHT:

Alright so yay we are giving the 🏆 to her hype beast, Jenny McCarthy who has guessed her for a while but I am still going to give it to her because she kept insisting.  

However, the worst guess aka the 💩 goes to Ken (unsurprisingly) who guessed Ciara (even though that would be cool for her to be on a future season) who is (or was when the show was being filmed idk) pregnant & Night Angel isn’t pregnant as you can tell by the above photo. So, ya that’s a no on that Ken, but hey at least you got Barry Zito. 

2nd Place: Frog aka Bow Wow 

Alright, so pretty much I put him at 2nd place because the dude gets a ton of hype on the show, but he’s not my favorite by any means so no way in hell am I putting him in 1st place even though he might win sadly (I genuinely don’t think he should win, but whatever... it is what it is) 

As for his performance, he sang Naughty by Nature’s Hip Hop Hooray and ughhhhh this again... I’m sorry I sound like such a hater, and if you like the frog, I’m so happy for you, but like he keeps doing the same thing over & over again, it’s starting to get annoying. He keeps performing such similar songs every time & he isn’t a strong singer/rapper, so I personally feel like he should have left ages ago and he is way overhyped on that show. 

As for clues, here’s what I got:

In the clue package, he was playing basketball with the Men in Black & also got strike by lightening= he starred in a basketball movie called Like Mike where his sneakers got strike by lightening & he gained Michael Jordan’s skills

1000 on an album= he was on the Millennium tour 

Her closer look clue= mom pin= mom upside down is wow like bow wow get it? & also he is very close to his mom, she was his manager when he started his career as a kid

Now time for the PANEL SPOTLIGHT:

Alright so yay we are giving the 🏆 to Robin Thicke & guest judge Jay Pharaoh (who took me on a rollercoaster ride with his explanation) for guessing Bow Wow (Robin is persistent & did that mom upside down is wow thing so I gotta give him points for that) 

However, the worst guess aka the 💩 goes to Jenny (yup I said it) who said Chance the Rapper, which like what? Seriously? What clue made you think that? 

1st Place/Predicted Winner of Golden Mask: Turtle aka Jesse McCartney 

Ok, ok here comes me being a bit subjective here... yes I have a soft spot for the Turtle/Jesse McCartney, but I have literal reasons why I think he should win that aren’t “I am just in love with him & he gives me the feels,” I swear they’re legit. First, he has an amazing voice, falsetto on point man. Next, he can stand toe to toe with the Frog because the dude can dance. He just has the whole package while Frog can only dance. Can Frog hit those beautiful falsetto/high notes? I don’t think so... mic drop, case closed, Turtle’s winning! (I predicted Fox last season, and I feel good about this one) 

As for his performance, he sang Jealous by Nick Jonas and it was full of falsetto (how many times can I say that word without sounding snobby?). I freaking loved it, it was fun, energetic, and dare I say sexy... yes, I just called a guy in a Turtle costume sexy, I am embarrassed for myself as well. 

As for clues, here’s what I got:

In the clue package, he spoke about his love for Robin Thicke, apparently he is a Robin super fan = well Mr. Jesse McCartney did cover Robin’s song, The Stupid Things on his Beautiful Soul album in 2004.

Back street sign= he did tour with the Backstreet Boys in 2005 & 2013, but he isn’t a member of the boyband (we will get into that in a second)  

His closer look clue= a big diamond ring on “that finger” = he got engaged to his girlfriend, Katie Peterson, on September 2019 

Now time for the PANEL SPOTLIGHT:

Alright no  🏆 for the panel because everybody was way off, and I am annoyed at how way off they were because they kept getting caught up with the whole Backstreet Boys clue. 

However, the worst guess aka the 💩 goes to Nichole, because even though she guessed a Backstreet Boy like everyone else (her guess was Nick Carter), the fact that she guessed Jesse last week & then changed her answer irritated the living hell out of me... like girl you were right for a split second & now you are so wrong. 

Anyways, that's it for my second to last recap (damn, I can’t believe it). Stay tuned for next week because we have not 1, but 3 reveals that we will be talking about so no more guessing, just commentary... I am very excited for the finale. Do you agree with my predictions? Let me know in the comments. See you guys next week for the last time (until fall because season 4 starts around then).