#ALSO this post is about the first episodes

[thegreatgoatby]

Here's how I think each of the digital circus members got stuck in the game, based on what we learnt in episode 5

Going in order of who I think arrived first, I think Kinger got there because he worked on the game. He mentioned 7 years of computer science for this and also seemed to know a lot about the game. And if it's true he got there first, that would mean he's been in the game for multiple years for the building to be abandoned now. This would also explain why he is so crazy, being stuck there for years is bound to make anyone lose their mind.

Ragatha in ep 5 said that she worked in real estate, so I think she could have been trying to sell the building or was looking it over and got stuck in the game from there. Goose also said she arrived after Kinger.

Jax I have no idea. There's not a single clue I have to how he got there. I like to think that he was just a pathetic loser and was being bullied into going into an abandoned building like in those movies. I don't think this is true at all but it'd just be funny as hell since I have no other theory.

Gangle I think had the darkest reason for ending up in the digital circus. I honestly think she was going into the abandoned building to kill herself. Based on a lot of things she said, I think she had given up on life and was planning to end it before she got trapped.

Zooble might have been exploring the abandoned C & A building just for fun, just based on their one line in ep 5.

Pomni I think had the same reason as zooble, exploring an abandoned building just for fun and ended up trapped in it. But, since Pomni said she posted videos about it, I wonder if that's how they could end up being saved. If someone saw Pomni's video. I don't know how she would post it if she got stuck, but maybe someone finds her camera or something and sees the footage. Just throwing ideas out there.

Also have multiple reasons for believing the C & A building is abandoned, based on the imagery of the computer being old. Also the fact that I think the AI in the game is starting to glitch out now because of how old the game is. But that's just a theory, a game theory.

Yeah that's all. just some random ideas thrown out there cause I really enjoyed episode 5 👍

[themathomhouse]

I have to assume you're deliberately misunderstanding prev at this point, but on the off chance you're not I will repeat what they have explicitly said one more time, with some of my own emphasis because tbh Lucas isn't an especially bad example of what I was talking about. He's just the best known on tumblr. He is, however, awful at acknowledging the work his first wife did on Star Wars and how much that contributed to the success of the trilogy, and, exactly like prev said, has tried to take the reins himself in the subsequent years and demonstrated exactly why she was needed in the first place.

George Lucas isn't a bad film editor. He's also the person who wrote the script and directed (the first) Star Wars. I think it's fair and accurate to say that the (first three) Star Wars films are a product of his vision - and where he was inspired and helped by other directors and collaborators, he's actually great at acknowledging their contribution!

With one exception.

Marcia Lucas is an excellent film editor. She isn't the only editor who worked on Star Wars at all, but, as prev said, the team who worked on the films overall win awards for being particularly good - and Lucas himself acknowledges that he's not the best editor or director! He didn't direct episodes V or VI because he is actually capable of understanding where his strengths lie. This is why he hired other people to edit his films!

One of those people was his then-wife. They are now divorced. Likely because of this divorce, and also because the divorce was partly caused by Star Wars, he now fails to tell the story of how the Star Wars films were kind of a mess when they arrived at the editing suite. Marcia (who had also edited his previous films, because she is a professional film editor and an excellent one) understood his vision and also made several changes without which most people who worked on the film say it would not have come together. George had great ideas, the effects would have been great, but it just wouldn't have sparked a phenomenon the way it did without her work. And he himself used to acknowledge this!

Until they got divorced. Which was right as Episode VI came out. And now he doesn't acknowledge her as much as he really should - and if I remember correctly, Spielberg has called him out on this!

Like I said, I actually don't think he's a particularly egregious example. He's someone who usually is great at acknowledging his collaborators and he's often good at acknowledging where he needs someone else to do something because they are better at it. He hasn't made a film that's anywhere near as good or interesting as the original Star Wars honestly in no small part because he actually has taken a producer role or co-writes or generally just doesn't want to be the director as much since Star Wars. Where he has done, like prev said with the tinkering with the original trilogy, and like EVEN HE says about episodes I - III, the result is just not as good as it could have been.

I'm basically commenting here because your misunderstanding of prev comes off as incredibly bad-faith, especially as this post is constantly just tagged as George Lucas in a way that honestly? I don't think is fair. But prev was actually very specific as to what they were referring to with him, and they're right! Like. Famously right. But I'm hoping that I'm wrong about the bad-faith and this will help both you and others see where prev was coming from, as well as tbh maybe people could tag this as F Scott Fitzgerald because that man literally stole segments out of his wife's diaries without telling her until she read it in his published works, that's more what I was getting at.

I've also just spent all these paragraphs giving context to Lucas mostly because of other posts, when what you're saying is that not only do accolades mean nothing, but it apparently also means nothing that he is not actually a professional film editor. The editing team, of which Marcia was part, was composed of people whose entire job is to edit films. That is why he hired them instead of doing it himself.

okay but if you ever see a male creative who had a string of great work and then everything else he did was dogshit, go to the "personal life" part of his wikipedia and look at his relationships. you'll either find a major tragedy he didn't recover from (completely understandable) or, more likely, there was a woman in his life doing uncredited shit editing his stuff or contributing generally and she's not there anymore.

I told a friend about this phenomenon in literature and he called me weeks later like, I remembered what you said about women doing uncredited work when tim burton came up. he made a string of bangers then everything else just was nowhere near as good. the timeline matches perfectly to when he was with this german visual artist (lena gieseke). he's done some good work in collaboration, but if things were dug into I suspect we would find she did a lot more than people realise.

so yeah whenever you look around like wow women didn't work in history, or, women aren't auteurs, or, there just aren't as many great female writers - societal reasons for that aside, half the time they absolutely did.

[losvroomvroom]

watching carlos's cafelito episode finally. here's some interesting tidbits. disclaimer: my rusty ass high school spanish + the autotranslate captions. hopefully i haven't misinterpreted anything.

gets along with gaëtan because they're both workaholics who love to be on the phone in their days off

can only be comfortable in a road car when he's not driving if his father is the driver

found out about the lewis -> ferrari move from rumors before ferrari told him and then called fred about it for confirmation (Ferrari When I Get You Round Five Thousand!!!)

BIG eye roll about the whole concept of red bull god bless

pleased little chuckle when the interviewer brings up how much jv likes working with him god bless

very optimistic about williams' prospects for the 2026 car, not thrilled about the 2026 engines but is reserving judgement on the cars themselves

talking again about how his mother managed the father-son relationship, telling sr when he was too harsh, reinforcing sr's advice when jr was sick of listening to him, etc

very excited to be a double uncle (both of his sisters have kids)

has realized that you have to celebrate a good moment in motorsport when you reach it, they may not happen very often due to the number of things that have to go perfectly

listens to podcasts about team building and leadership... he had some trouble expressing what he meant in spanish (presumably bc the podcasts are in english) but he was talking about the importance of no-blame culture within a team

likes to start post-race engineering meetings by listing all the things he did wrong during a weekend before criticizing the team or the car or whatever, which helps other team members admit mistakes without fear

he's a very shy guy and really likes his privacy. the interviewer said something like "i like that you're famous, i like that everyone knows you" and he was like "it's getting worse." and then implies that he should be less famous than instagram influencers. go-to example of "a celebrity" justin bieber. wishes he could drive his nice road cars in peace. embarrassed to talk about his billion nice road cars and drive them around. drives his golf so he won't be noticed.

he and pogacar are neighbors actually. carlos's push days on the bike are pogacar's recovery days

lists swimming, cycling, and synchronized swimming as the sports that require the most dedication

re his father retiring -- "if the stopwatch says you're fast, why would you retire?"

interesting stretch where he talks about when he has to battle fernando (says fernando's always very clever) and also about navigating the teammate relationship (says it's hardest one to manage)

always goes over races with his father, the evening of or the day after

signed his first ferrari contract at 9am in his pyjamas during lockdown

respects nadal & jon rahm (golf) a lot in terms of their attitude and approach toward sport. extremely tough on the field but respectful & humble, which he thinks is the ideal

says he comes across as an affable guy in interviews because he's become calloused to them but he is still shy & pretty reserved except when he's with his 3-4 closest people. tries to maintain a distance to people he thinks might be less trustworthy ("pirates", he calls them)

loves madrid SO much (not a new fact)

loves to talk about his karting program for kids 6-8 (his "minions"), says it's important to support the grassroots of the sport, wants to make it as affordable as possible

says his best friends now are the same as his best friends when he was like three years old. he doesn't make new friends easily and he's very closed off to new people. very important to him that he's kept the same friends his whole life and doesn't get why everyone doesn't do that. (adding this to the "carlos has strong and somewhat unusual views about the concept of friendship" evidence folder)

rapid fire questions segment. cerebral or passionate?--cerebral. what are you missing in your life?--more time for golf, i'm losing my swing. best driver in f1 history?--senna. who would win in the same car? alonso, sainz, verstappen?--sainz. advice from your mom?--be respectful, behave, smile more. what f1 drivers would you go to dinner with?--lando norris & charles leclerc. any advice?--smile more. the whole world needs to smile more. will you be a world champion one day?--someday, but I hope soon.

[teambyler]

Teambyler: I'm gonna disappear when Season 5 comes out

I will avoid the internet like the plague.

I will stop posting on Tumblr, or anywhere. I won't respond to messages.

People are already talking about how if there's a Byler kiss they'll change their PFPs to show it. I love us Bylers, you're all crazy in a good way, but I can't see any of that shit.

I HATE SPOILERS. Plus, as I promised in my big Byler video, I need to film my GENUINE FIRST reaction to each episode. PLUS, I need to give commentary to each episode and edit those reaction videos for YouTube. I won't be able to quickly do all that.

This is my plan:

Nov. 26: I watch the first episode. Over the next couple days I edit my reaction and post it on my Patreon. They'll be edited... I think a pure unedited reaction from ME will be too boring, as I pause frequently and double-back a lot. My Patreon videos will still have me react to the whole episode though. My public video will be substantially shorter than that. (You can't post a complete reaction on YT.) I'll do these as quickly as possible for each episode.

Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22: VOLUME ONE REACTIONS go up on YouTube.

Dec. 29, Jan. 5, 12: VOLUME TWO REACTIONS go up on YouTube.

Jan. 19: FINALE REACTION goes up on YouTube.

Also, because people will want to know specifically how *I* react to things and what I think about XYZ, I'll withhold from engaging with the fandom between November 26 and when that LAST reaction goes up on January 18. (I MIGHT share my thoughts on things that I already I publicly react to, though.)

So prepare for a "drought" from me!

I REALLY need to cut myself off for this to happen. If for some reason the media wants to talk to "that lawyer who made a Byler video" that in itself tells me too much! So I'll make sure to avoid being reached by them as well.

I can't even look at the dashboard of my own channel for a while. For example, if my Byler video suddenly gets a million views that tells me more than I want to know! =D Actually, I can't see ANY Byler video for a while because if any of them are hugely popular that tells me too much. Aaaaugh!

-teambyler

[cokoakeostuff]

NEWS 🗣️

Okay first of all I didn’t die or something.

This post is about the future of my comic and a little context of what happened. There aren’t really any bad news don’t worry.

As you can imagine from the photo I’m still working on HP 🥳 And I don’t have intentions of canceling it, I enjoy my story.

Now a little explanation, you can read this part only if you are interested, lol. Basically I went through a really… Not that great episode of my life, (also college and my semester finals, it was kinda hell) So basically I had no time for drawing and also I didn’t have the energy or motivation to do anything. That is basically it, really summarized. Plus I’m going through an art identity crisis so… Don’t mind if it looks kinda different, I wasn’t substituted with a clone after my death, I promise lol.

Also Im probably posting the next episode this week (finally) so… Yeah, that’s all, I missed u guys.

[aftersunsz]

#1 DAD (SIDNEY CROSBY)

summary: Ever since Sidney learned about Vivien’s pregnancy, he’s determined to be the best dad ever

an: here’s a slightly late Father’s Day post :) also this has a time skips sorry about that :/

what to expect series

November 2016 (3 Months)

“What is my beautiful wife craving this morning?” Sidney asked Vivien as she finally woke up. It was one of Sidney’s rare days off and so far, they’ve spent most of the morning in bed watching episodes of ‘Charmed’. Vivien had recently gotten addicted to watching the show after a work friend recommended it.

“Everything.” Vivien yawned and snuggled up to her husband.

“I can get you that,” Sidney chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “What does my Lovebug really want?”

“Lovebug is craving . . .” Vivien thought about all the ice cream she had been eating lately. She knew she had to eat proper food before ice cream. “Would you hate me if I say our baby is craving non breakfast foods?”

“Technically it’s close to lunch time so . . .” Sidney nodded at her so she could continue.

“Mac and Cheese and some nuggets . . . Oh! And cheese pizza but with the really gooey cheese.” She started listing the foods items.

“Okay . . Does our baby wants anything else?” Sidney started getting up, picking up his pants from the floor.

“And green grapes. They have to be green, Sid. They taste so much better.”

And soon, Sidney was off to pick up everything Vivien had told him she wanted. It didn’t matter that he had to go to multiple stores, he was getting everything his girls wanted.

—

February 2017 (6 Months)

Sidney stood in the nursery that he had just finished painting. The color Vivien had chosen was a pretty light green. The couple had decided to wait until the birth to know the gender. Why? Well when Vivien’s mother, Alice, was pregnant with Vivien, the doctor had told her that she was pregnant with a boy. As a result, Vivien had to sleep in a blue nursery and wear blue and gray onesies instead of pink or purple.

Speaking of Vivien, she was currently at work. While her boss insisted that she could work from home, Vivien wanted to spend her time in the office surrounded by people and not by the TV and vanilla ice creams

Sidney sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day and started walking towards the door when he looked at the doorframe. Vivien had recently told him about all the height markings on her childhood bedroom’s door. Like his wife, Sidney also had height markings on his doorframe. He ran his fingertips over where he or Vivien would mark their child’s height. That instantly brought a smile to his lips.

—

April 2017 (8 Months) Game 1

Sidney had reportedly told Vivien to stay home so she could be more comfortable watching the game, but she wasn’t going to miss it. She sat in one of the suites with her and Sidney’s parents and Fleury’s wife and kids. They were all quite protective of her. Every time Vivien moved to adjust her sweater or try to get up for food or water, she would get told ‘are you okay? do you need something?’ It was starting to get annoying for her, but she knew it was because they cared about her.

First period had gone by and still no goal from either team. While Fleury’s wife talked about her kids’ grades in school, Vivien got a text message from Sidney.

“How is he already on his phone? He just got off the ice.” Vivien looked up from her phone to try to find Sidney, but he was already gone. “He’s asking if I’m okay.”

“If you don’t respond right now, he might come all the way here in his gear just to make sure.” Veronique said.

So Vivien quickly replied back.

Yes. I’m with Veronique and our parents. Focus on your game, captain.

Seconds later, his reply came.

If you or lovebug need anything, let me know.

How? You’re going to be playing in a couple of minutes.

Pens staff have my phone when I play in case something happens

Babe, I love you but I am fine 100% please stop worrying and win the game for your lovebug

Yes ma’am

When second period came, so did the goals. Vivien tried her best to cheer for the team, it wasn’t easy celebrating when she was eight months. In the end, the penguins got the win. A win for Lovebug.

[linnlarsnhansn]

SKAM 10 year anniversary podcast -

English translation

NRK is celebration a decade of Skam (😭) with a nine episode podcast. You can listen here

I'm collaborating with @kosegruppie who will be posting my translations and make subtitled videos with them. Make sure to follow them here on insta for all the latest!

Below the cut you'll find the transcript of the first episode (I've skipped a few summaries, the radio hosts watching the show etc, but all cast and crew interviews are there!). Enjoy!

From 03:50 

Torkil Risan: It’s hard to measure that kind of thing, but Skam has to be Norway’s biggest tv show success. It was a small productio with low budget, had unknown actors and no traditional marketing. But the show would go on to break streaming records, set the agenda for public debate and take part in changing the language both in Norway and abroad. It would change the lives of many young people and entertain hordes of adults, and not only in Norway, no. There were people using their free time to translate the Norwegian episodes to a steadily growing international audience. Episodes were downloaded both illegally and, well only illegally really. But whatever. People all over the world were watching Skam. Skam has, up until this point, nine international adaptations, with Sram in Croatia as the latest one - it came out in October 2024. And all of this, that is the Norwegian original version, is created, written and directed by one person - Julie Andem. 

JA: It became very difficult after a while to film and keep the storylines secret, because we were recorded wherever we went. Especially the outdoor scenes. Like at Nissen there were suddenly hordes of fans from all over the world when we were supposed to film, so that made it a bit difficult.    

TR: And you can’t picture what it would become like when unknown 16 and 17 year olds get cast in a new show at NRK.

JA: Before these actors got their roles, at the last round of auditions, I had a talk with each one of them where I said: “I don’t know how big this show will become, it can become nothing, but it might become big. And if it becomes big and you become famous, you give away part of your freedom - the freedom to be anonymous to people. Today, when you’re on the bus, having a bad day, no one bothers you. But after you’ve become famous, people will walk up to you and want to talk to you and you can’t get away from that. When I call you next week and give you the role, if I do, I’ll ask if you’ve thought that over, and what you think of it - because you have to think that over now.” And I said that to each one of them before they got their parts. And then I think it was Josefine who said, we talked later about what I had said, that she thought “that lady is delusional. She’s making a small P3 show”. My talk went in one ear and out the other. 

JA: It’s hard to imagine things like this for people that haven’t experienced success like that, and what it demands of you afterwards. And the freedom you lose to be anonymous. It is a really difficult pressure and it can be challenging. We thought a lot about it throughout and one of the main reasons that we ended Skam when we did, was because of that pressure on the young actors.

TR: Is this an ongoing conversation with the cast? 

JA: I always think - there’s no one outside of it who understands what we experienced with Skam. So the best ones to talk to, always, about these things are the cast and the production team, who understand it and have the same feelings. 

TR: That Skam also changed the lives of those who created it, we’ve established. I am curious about how Julie Andem, who has no clue how big the show is going to become, created these characters?

JA: As I remember it, I did loads of research with the target group to understand what that group, girls in Norway aged 16, needed, what stories it needed. And I think my goal was to develop 10 characters who could fit into a universe about them. That’s where I started. And the plan was that all the characters would develop in a way that they could carry their own season. So all of them were developed as main characters. I created them before the seasons, before the storylines. 

TR: In September it’ll be ten years since Skam was released. It was released more like an event than a traditional tv show. Short clips could be dropped at any point during the week and people in the show posted on social media. It was Mari Magnus who was responsible for these digital updates. 

MM: All the characters, even if they don’t have open accounts on social media, have a bunch of email addresses. I have a box full of sim cards and burner phones. Everyone had a facebook account. They were private, but it was so that it would feel a little real if you searched “Isak Valtersen”.

TR: Someone else that became well known to the audience, was media professor Vilde Schanke Sundet. She saw the format as unique enough that she had to start doing research on Skam while it was still possible. 

VSS: I binged the entire first season one night. I remember laying in the cosy corner at home, watching on the ipad. I went to bed at 2:30 am and thought “now I understand what they are talking about”. I was interested in analysing it the same way researchers have been interested in analysing multimedia storytelling - how the story is built, how you make the different components, what it is NRK wants with this show, what it is trying to tell. And you become so drawn into the story that the ability to analyse goes a bit up and down through the different seasons. 

TR: What makes Skam different from other tv shows?

VSS: There’s both things that make it very different and things that are very similar. Because the dramatic curves are similar to other dramas we know of. It’s love triangles, good vs evil, the struggle to find yourself, all things similar to the high school/coming of age genre. And it’s well made, but that’s not what’s groundbreaking. The groundbreaking part is how the story is told. You're doing it real time, so if you’re following the blog it will appear very close. You never know when something is coming. It’s unpredictable, it drags people in. It’s based on the needs of the audience. They did loads of research when developing the show and it appears closer when the setting is a Norwegian high school than an American one. That makes it different and innovative. I think all the fans know they are fictional characters, but they feel much more real because we are not sitting down in front of the tv to watch, they are just there in your everyday life. It’s much more at the top of your mind than other things you watch and put behind you until the next episode is released. 

TR: The way Skam was created made it special. But that was not the most important part for Morten Hegseth. 

MH: The format has been given too much credit. It was a good format to post clips in that way, but the reason it was so good was that the content was amazing. It wasn’t the publishing strategy that made Skam an international phenomenon. 

(Skip to 13:26)

TR: Before they created Skam, the show creator Julie Andem and a few others made in depth interviews with young people in the target group. And the challenges Eva has in season 1, was pretty common with the group. 

JA: What is that life like? When you’re coming from secondary school, where you have a friend group and a familiar and safe environment and you’re thrown into a new universe. Everything is starting over and you have to find your place again. But she starts out as a girl who has become totally dependent on her boyfriend. She’s been thrown out of the friend group because of the choice she’s made to be together with her boyfriend, with Jonas, and that makes her dependent on him. 

TR: A successful way to independence is to become friends with a confident, stylish and cool new girl, like Noora. That, despite being good in Spanish, isn’t as crazy about russ as the other girls Eva start’s to hang out with - Jente-Chris, Vilde and Sana, who has concrete plans to fix a spot on a russebuss. And there you have our girl gang. Do you, the listener, think they are cool? Are they supposed to be cool?

JA: Socially, in school, they are not a cool group. That’s what the first storyline is about. The Pepsi Max gang are the cool, pretty girls and the other girls are not so cool. But I think they are very cool.

TR: What about the boys, aren’t they cooler?

JA: Yeah, they do at least have cooler references and masks. I’s more important to them to be cool. So they might be “cooler”.  

TR: To actress Lisa Teige, it was a bit like starting a new school - moving from Bergen and start working as an actor in Skam. How much of Eva is really in Lisa? 

LT: In the beginning I felt very different from Eva, because she went through very different things, I thought at that time. But things like finding friends in high school, I do identify with. I didn’t have that boyfriend drama, at least so early on. But looking back at it now, I would say I see myself in a lot of the things Skam talks about. I’ve also been in girl drama, had partner problems and the vulnerability in finding new friends. But back then, I felt the need to be like “No! I’m not going through the same things as Eva right now”. But really I did eventually go through those things. 

TR: And like Eva, Lisa did find some good friends on Nissens’s school yard. 

LT: I remember I noticed they were a few years older than me. I thought they were incredibly cool. That was my first thought “shit, these are cool people with experience”. It felt very cool to be part of that group. And I have so many good memories from the set with all the girls together. Especially because there’s a lot of humor surrounding the Vilde and Chris characters. They improvised many funny parts and we were laughing so hard on set. The dynamics of the group was really good. 

TR: But Bergen, where Lisa is from, and Oslo are two different cities and they have different accents. 

LT: Some things were difficult for me, as someone from Bergen. Like when I was supposed to say vors (pre-game) for the first time, which I had never said before and I don’t think I had ever been to one. And they said vors in the Oslo dialect and it was so difficult for me. I had to call mum and dad back home to ask how I was supposed to say the word. 

TR: Eva is also one of the characters who is making out the most in the show. And here both Lisa and actor Marlon Langeland, who plays Jonas, got thrown into the deep end from the start. 

LT: We had a workshop before filming, where we got to know each other and we played some games, as warm up. But to start kissing that person is something totally different. I remember dreading that quite a lot, because we were making out the first day of filming. 

LT: And that’s the kind of thing you dread a lot, but when you first get going it’s very mechanical in a way. You don’t think about what you’re really doing and it’s like “can you place your hand there”, “turn a bit that way” and “make the kiss a bit more intense, because it looks good on camera”. 

(skip to 27:19)

TR: Mari Magnus mentioned The penetrators, the coolest russebuss at Nissen. 

MM: Penetrators has a song, that’s on Spotify and I don’t know if it has been said before, it probably has, but *whispers* it’s Tarjei. 

TR: That’s rapping?

MM: Yes. 

TR: So they guy singing lines like “Penetrators cums on your face, the weather report says flooding, it’ll rain cum”, that Tarjei Sandvik Moe, who plays Isak. Tarjei went to Nissen himself during this time and managed to sneak in several references to actual things going on in the school. And to blur the lines between the fictional and reality was one of the show’s goals. To make the show as real as possible they had instagram accounts and could start chatting with each other on friday evenings. 

MM: It was a Friday evening and Julie was probably at work and we posted a photo on Jonas’ account, a Big Smalls reference, that he tagged Isak in. And we are logged into one account each, one on Isak’s, one on Jonas’. And we decided to have some fun in the comment section, hoping that maybe three people would see it, but that these three would have such a weird experience that they in school on Monday would say “You won’t believe what I say on instagram on Friday”. So Isak and Jonas drag Eva into it, but Eva is on a russebuss. And the audience is so cool, there are fans playing along and commenting things like “I saw you in the cafeteria today” “what did you get on your maths test?”. This is week two maybe, and those things we could do a bit more strategically at the start to get the engagement going.  

TR: It’s a bit slow in the beginning, but interest in Skam grows quite fast. So to chat as the characters on instagram becomes too difficult, there’s too many others taking part in the conversation. And some audience members were more engaged than others. One of them was Julian Dahl, who was very active in the comment section. Active enough to get mentioned in the show. 

TR: You’re living alongside these characters and sometimes that creates problems. Because Eva wants Jonas and Isak to go with her to the revy-party but they can’t. Why not?

Isak: We can’t

Jonas: Why not? 

Isak: The tickets to Kindred Fever. 

Jonas: I had totally forgotten that. 

TR: You’re excused if the name Kindred Fever doesn’t ring any bells. They had a mini hype right around the time when this was released and they happened to have a concert the same day as the revy-party. 

JA: The only reason we picked that concert was because it was Oslo that day. We just thought what band could they possibly be interested in that’s playing in Oslo that day?

TR: To make the right references is hard when you’re making a show. How do you know what 16 year old boys are saying, doing and would post? Sometimes Mari Magnus asked the actors to do it themselves. 

MM: In season one we sent Isak, Eva and Jonas out on the town with some phones and told them to make some content as if they were a friend group eating burgers in town. And they came home with loads of nice stuff we could post. 

(Skip to 33:40)

TR: I’m at your disposal - you can ask questions about the show and leave your thoughts and tips. There’s many easter eggs and symbolism in Skam that might be fun to dig deeper into if we come across it. There’s a messaging function on NRK radio. You could for example ask, like I asked Julie Andem, why is the show called Skam?

JA: We had loads of suggestions and we hung big sheets of paper at the auditions where they could write suggestions for the name of the show. And we got a lot of strange ones and Ingvild Marie Nyborg, who was on the team, came up with Skam and no one of us hated it, so that was the one. 

TR: Do you remember any of the ones you hated? 

JA: I remember “the 99:er gang”. 

TR: I’ve found some questions the fans are wondering by sneaking around in some of the many Skam online fan forums: Like, who in the Skam universe is Lisa Teige? 

LT: During the auditions I very much wanted to be Noora. Especially when I was 16 I thought Noora was super cool. But I do feel closest to Eva. I recognize myself in the insecurity and the fun parts and being someone with principles. It’s a boring answer, but it is Eva. That’s why I got to play her.  

[chameleon66]

TADC Headcanon/Theory

Is Jax Transgender or at least trans coded?

This sounds like a very typical headcanon in just about any fandom and I am most definitely far from the first person to have the idea of Jax being trans. But I didn’t truly think of it until episode 5 of The amazing digital circus.

Two moments in the new episode that really made me think of this. One is when Jax mentions masculinity twice in one singular thought in regards to his avatars design.

Now it’s unclear whether or not these designs were auto generated or designed for each specific person who enters the circus.

But speaking with the second idea in mind, what if they base character designs off of the characters own thoughts/opinions of themselves.

Zooble having an unclear sense of identity being a toy with removable and swappable parts.

Ragatha being the emotional support of just about everyone and also the victim of (implied) abuse from her mom is a rag doll plush toy.

Kinger and his wife are both chess pieces which fit together with them being the king and queen piece respectively since they’re married.

And Gangle is the literal embodiment of the term masking and fragile.

(I couldn’t think of anything for Pomni).

What if Jax’s digital avatar is defined as male because that’s what he thinks of himself as, even if he before the game was biologically female.

This would probably make Jax a little more “Ok” with being trapped in the circus than everyone else. Even if Jax doesn’t remember his dead name or even the name he gave himself he probably remembers that he’s trans since it’s canon that all the players remember their lives before the circus.

Since they all didn’t know one another before the circus, all of the rest of the cast would just think of Jax as Jax and not give too much of a second thought about how he chooses to label himself.

Now, I am not transgender and even if I was, I would not get the right to speak on behalf of all trans people. But I do have some friends who are transgender or that identify outside of the gender binary and after a consultation with them I can see why Jax may see being in the circus a little differently than everyone else.

One problem all four of my friends/acquaintances brought up is their new identity not being accepted by others. Things like being constantly dead named, being misgendered even after being given their proper pronouns explicitly, and being bought or forced to specifically gendered clothing they don’t feel comfortable wearing.

One friend described it to me like this. Imagine you have worn one particular brand of shoes your whole life that somebody else bought for you but over time you grow as a person and learn you don’t feel right wearing those specific shoes, whether that’s because of style or whatever else. So you buy yourself a new pair of shoes that feels right to you but everyone else just always asks what happened to your old shoes and when you try to explain why you wanted to wear these specific shoes they don’t listen all they hear is “I wanted to be different from everyone else.” Or “I’m experimenting with things but will go back to normal when I get bored.”

This is why online spaces like social media apps may be considered escapes of those who have transgender identities. Since they say their name is whatever they want it to be and same with their pronouns and just about everything about themselves and no one will tell them they’re wrong or that they’re just going through a phase.

The digital circus parallels this in a sense since they’re all essentially strangers to each other they could actively choose what they say about themselves and what they don’t to form the “Persona” they have in the circus.

The second moment from episode five that gave me this idea is when Jax gets put in the maid outfit. His reaction to it is very negative and it’s clear he isn’t happy to be wearing it. (Look for the screenshots of it at the bottom of the post).

Now this part of my thoughts feels kind of rigged to me since to be honest I don’t know any men who’d be ok with being put into a maid outfit (Or women for that matter) but to this feels like how in media trans men often get labelled as being femboys or are still feminized thereby making their transition seemingly a meaningless fact.

In reality this over feminization of trans men can lead to a lot of feelings such as gender dysphoria, depression, anxiety along with many others. Of course I do not speak for trans people in the slightest so it’s important to take these feelings on an individual basis and not assume.

Though it is interesting to me just how upset Jax gets over it and then later Zoobles comment of never seeing Jax this upset before. One thing that also stood out to me is how Jax picked up his skirt before going to chase after Gangle. I would’ve thought that Jax wouldn’t have thought to do that if he hadn’t worn skirts or dresses in the past, probably pre-transition.

Afterwards you can also clearly see Jax feeling both horribly embarrassed and uncomfortable which is again understandable even without the possibility of him being transgender.

Though one aspect of jax being transgender I do like thinking about is how it would impact his relationship with the others.

Kinger might be confused for like a minute before someone explains it to him but would otherwise be unbothered by it whether or not he forgets.

Pomni would also probably be supportive along with Gangle.

Ragatha I’m not too sure of. While I doubt she’d ever be outwardly malicious towards him especially in regards to something like this, she may not turn on her ESA attitude she has for everyone else at the reveal of this information.

With Zooble I feel there may be some bonding with the two of them over the reveal of Jax’s trans identity. Now it’s clear in the canon of the show that they can’t stand each other but Zooble may grow a little sympathy for Jax if it ever were to happen in the show that Jax is trans, after all they both know the feeling of not liking themselves and wanting to change themselves to find what feels right for them. The only difference is that in this headcanon/scenario Jax already found it.

Jax is a character of many secrets. What does his room look like? What happens when he holds his breath? What happened to the supposed friend he used to have? Along with much more.

Now Jax canonically being trans is in all honestly probably never gonna happen but do enjoy the idea of it and wanted to share my thoughts with all the other TADC fans there are on Tumblr.

[to-be-spared]

I'm gonna cry just imagining the look on Kentas face when Kim comes for him

okay anon I hope you won't mind me using this ask to vent about the aftermath of the kiss and how that leads us to kim rescuing kenta (HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT EPISODE)

(already vented about the kiss here. Just in case.)

ALRIGHT.

so right after the kiss where is kenta at. (screenshots quality is going to be: ass. Sorry)

what breaks my heart about kenta (thanks a lot garfield) is that he almost looks apologetic.

as i discussed in my other post, kim took a huge risk with regards to his own feelings and vulnerability when he kissed kenta, and kenta is way too familiar with heartbreak to not see that. but he himself knows he just can't let this go. he can't just get tony get away with it, he has to stop him.

but something does shift in the way kenta acts with kim - he's constantly touching him now.

(first screenshot was supposed to be kenta touching kim's leg. I was just done trying to take screenshots not going to lie)

now obviously these aren't casual touches, they have a very specific purpose - keeping kim safe. kenta wants to make sure kim is constantly within reach, and constantly safe.

you know what it is. it's like by showing his own feelings, kim has allowed kenta to care. it's like kenta cared before the kiss, but he wasn't sure he was allowed to show it. I don't know if I'm explaining this well, so apologies if I repeat myself, but.

I think Kenta clearly cared for Kim before the kiss. In an undefined way, sure, but he wanted Kim close. He could rely on Kim. He trusted Kim. Which, arguably, for Kenta is pretty much everything.

But Kenta didn't know how Kim felt about him - for all he knew, Kim was reluctantly but diligently following Pete's request.

And now that he knows - now that he knows, he's allowed to show care the best way he knows how. Keep Kim safe.

Kenta also becomes suddenly aware of how Kim reacts to him - also because Kim reacts to him far more openly.

So where are we at. Kim cares about Kenta enough to kiss him, enough to follow him into an idiotic plan, enough to want to keep him safe.

Kenta knows. Let me repeat that, Kenta knows. In the sense that, not only has Kim told him. Kim has shown him in a way that Kenta can't deny.

And that's when Kenta tells Kim trust me and asks Kim to leave him behind. Which is arguably a low blow. Kenta is making this a trust issue, when it's really not. Not to mention, Kim is wildly out of his depth (he says so himself), so he can't think of an alternative on the spot.

Kim is so fucking upset.

But I also think Kenta was making himself vulnerable here in more ways than one.

I think Kenta is sacrificing himself and answering Kim's own sacrifice (when he kissed him, if I'm still following my previous post).

Listen, Kenta doesn't take self sacrifice lightly, not at this point. He doesn't care about his life much, that's for sure, but he's fought so hard to get the information he wants from Tony, he's not taking this sacrifice lightly.

He is giving up on his mission. Except that it's all backwards. It's not to save himself. It's to save Kim.

AND SO.

You know the only place left to go?

because now they both know!! And when Kenta is going to thread his fingers through kim's hair I'll lose my mind!!!

And Kenta won't be surprised because he knows at this point, he knows Kim will rescue him. He's already done it. But he'll be surprised because now he knows it's not just because Pete asked Kim to keep an eye on him. It's because someone finally, finally purely and simply cares that Kenta is safe.

[pacifistcowboy]

for real!!!!! i went from finding jax a douche and just hoping he gets humbled enough to get over himself, to being SO DEEPLY INTRIGUED by his character and so eager to see where things go from here!!!! he suddenly has so much depth to him and i actually want to know why he is the way he is!!!

his upset over being put in the maid dress hit surprisingly close to home, and i think that was enough for me to suddenly understand jax in even a tiny way and to gain a smidge of sympathy for him, so now i really want all those layers of protection and meanness and deflection to be unraveled and his truth laid bare. i really want the others to figure out more and more about the parts of him he tries to hide until the reason for his behaviour becomes crystal clear he has no choice but to face it, probably for the first time, and amongst people who wouldn’t shame him.

it probably won’t go smoothly at all, but i really hope it ends well for him and the others, eventually. or maybe he does just double down, but then the others will be able to call jax out with more precision and clarity which will hopefully finally get to him and he won’t be able to go around being a jerk constantly anymore lol

With some anxieties quelled, I have a moment from episode 5 I haven't brought up about Jax that is 100% projection

Remember the bar segment where Jax kept making offhanded comments about Zooble's work?

My headcannon is Jax grew up somewhere unsafe for lgbtq people, somewhere that made it necessary to hide that you were "one of them 🤮" if you didn't want to have your life abruptly ended

Zooble couldn't figure out what the jab was supposed to be with the comment above. I have two reasons for why that might be. The first being, they're desensitized to Jax's behavior after dealing with it for so long. They're so used to Jax being a jerk that it's second-nature to assume malicious intent.

The second being, Zooble grew up somewhere a bit safer for queer folks. Somewhere that didn't require hiding who you are 24/7. The difference in life experience could be enough that they never had to learn "queer code" to survive

Personally, I see the bar segment as Jax attempting to connect to Zooble while trying not to out himself to everybody and having it fail spectacularly

[bingbipplebop]

Sooo i was gonna wait till I finished everything to post him but unfortunately won't happen for a bit T_T but I really really wanna show people soooo This is a smurfs oc I made his name is Batty ^_^ he/they

(second photo is just for a better look at his wing—im still practicing the style while attempting to mix it with my own so there's a bit of struggle making things looks right DX which is also why it's cropped . If I redraw it ill post)

Thought of him after I saw this thing while exploring a cave back in March heehee cool right 🫶 n the brainy weresmurf episode gave me ideas (i have an au about that episode too thats kinda connected but that's for another timee)

I don't really know what his deal is , maybe a subspecies of smurfs that live in smaller versions of these .... I remember doodling different kinds of these smurfs when I first came up with the idea but I've never drawn or thought about any of them again except Batty he was just my fav xd

I had a story in my head (that I may turn into a fic or just explain in detail in another post once I work out little details if anyone's interested ^^" I still wanna post more about him) basic premise was some smurfs in a cave farther away from the village to get an ingredient or papa smurf maybe—and then the formations catch brainys eye (i was thinking it wouldnt make as much sense for him to be there too but i feel like he'd want to help . And papa smurf sent him with whoever else went because brainy ... Was being brainy ) (also I gave him a thing with batty he just has to be there to start it bro) the cave smurfs would be hiding since they don't like to be disturbed/are sleeping but ehem Someone trips over a rock and batty gets annoyed and goes to see what's going on . And they're all like Woah . What are YOU!!!!! youre a WEIIIIRRRDDD looking Smurf . blablabla but despite being skeptical soon batty is buddies with them and even offers 2 go to the village sometime when the sun is down.....He's tired

ofc.. there is more as i said but for Here thas all

~~

Random pieces of an unfinished comic I was making a week ago a where Batty visits the village during the day (he usually comes by at night if he does at all) and since his vision is already bad being partly bat and all the sunlight made it worse, brainy brings him to a more comfortable place and lends him his glasses 😌 I gotta doodle him w his own style,,,i have ideas but I gotta research a little again😋

Batty is supposed to have claws btw but I forgot to put them here

[frangipanilove]

TWD Daryl Dixon season 3 first four minutes

Aaaand we’re getting Sirius symbolism right off the bat:

I’ve talked about how and why dog references are Sirius symbolism in about a million other posts already, so I won’t do that here (also mostly everything I ever write about is built on the theory of the Sirius symbolism, so pretty much all my posts will likely have a reference to it, search for “Sirius“ on my blog and about 15 000 posts will pop up). But a very brief recap; Sirius the Dog Star is the star that “disappears” from the night sky, only to “resurrect” after having been gone for some time. TPTB have been using Sirius symbolism as a metaphor for death and resurrection since the pilot episode, and that symbolism was inextricably linked to Beth and her disappearance (and hopefully eventual “resurrection”) in 4x13 Alone.

The name Sirius comes from Greek and means scorching, glowing, and Sirius is called the Dog Star because it’s a part of the constellation Canis Major, or Greater Dog.

And what do we get in the opening minutes of season 3? A conversation about canned hot dogs. HOT (scorching, glowing) DOGS (Sirius the Dog Star). IT’S LITERALLY THE FIRST PIECE OF DIALOGUE OF THE SEASON!

@wdway suggested that the special occasion could be Beth coming back from the dead. I agree, resurrections deserve celebratory hot dogs indeed.

Also, canned hot dogs? Is that even a thing? Any Brits out there who can share with us if their country’s culinary heritage includes canned hot dogs? Or, was that entirely made up for symbolism purposes? 👀

(Thanks @wdway for the heads up and the screenshots)

[sequinsmile-x]

Scared To Call Them My Friends and Be Broken Again

She’s 54. She shouldn’t care about hearing her friend refer to someone else as her best friend, but it hurts because she isn’t only 54. She’s also 6. And she's 16. And she’s always the new kid with loneliness as her only true companion.

Emily overhears a conversation between JJ and Penelope, and it upsets her more than she thinks it should.

-x-

Hi besties,

This has been living rent free as an idea in my head since I saw the clip of JJ and Penelope in 18x04 where JJ calls her 'the best friend' floating around on tiktok.

Naturally, my brain went straight to 'what if Emily overheard them saying this' and here we are. I hurt my own feelings a little bit with this one.

Also, make sure to check out songs of innocence and of experience by @ssaemilyhotchner, it's an amazing post ep fic for the same episode, and is more proof as to why Hotchniss should have happened xoxo

As always, let me know what you think <3

-x-

Warnings: mentions of grief/loss

Words: 2.4k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

“No…I mean, you’re the best friend.” 

“I knew what you meant.” 

She wasn’t meant to hear it; she knew that. It was an exchange she wasn’t privy to, but one she’d caught the tail end of when she stood outside Penelope’s office, her hand stuck frozen in mid-air where she’d raised it to knock on the door. She’d left without saying anything, unsure why she had gone in the first place, distracted by the gut punch she hadn’t seen coming and didn’t entirely understand. 

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

“No…I mean, you’re the best friend.” 

“I knew what you meant.” 

On her drive home, Emily keeps replaying JJ’s words to Penelope in her head. A vicious loop she tortures herself with as sadness and something close to rejection swirls in her gut, feelings she’d locked away decades ago breaking out of the box she’d put them in. She feels nothing short of ridiculous for how upset she feels, or for how she has to blow out a slow breath and tighten her grip on the steering wheel as her vision briefly blurs with tears. 

She’s 54. She shouldn’t care about hearing her friend refer to someone else as her best friend, but it hurts because she isn’t only 54. She’s also 6. And she's 16. And she’s always the new kid with loneliness as her only true companion, flitting from place to place in a way that had often made her wonder if her classmates ever remembered she’d been there at all. It’s a feeling that had never quite faded, no matter how long she was in one place, no matter how long she’d been in DC now, no matter how strong her foundations were, there was always a thought in the back of her mind that it could all slip away. A feeling that something was behind her, ready to reach out and snatch it all away, the phantoms of her past always in her peripheral vision, hiding in the corners of every room until she turned to look at them, always gone as quickly as she had seen them. 

It was something that had only been made worse by Will’s sudden death. A long, lingering fear that always sparked in her gut if Aaron took a little too long to reply to her texts, or if the kids were a little late home from school, suddenly ignited. 

“No…I mean, you’re the best friend.” 

Her relationship with JJ had changed since Will died. She knew it was because she was her boss, because she had to be the one to gently push back on her decision to come back to work so soon. Emily was responsible for her, she was responsible for the whole team, and sometimes that had to come above the friendships with them that she held dear. 

She knew that wasn’t all of it, that the change in dynamic between her and JJ was, in part, because her family was still intact. She had her husband, and her kids had their dad. That was something JJ and the boys would never have again. It made Emily feel guilty in a way she knew she couldn’t do anything about, and whenever she got home - especially with the onslaught of cases recently and Voit being Voit - she’d immediately snuggle up with Aaron, wrapping her arms around him wherever she found him to try and soak in some of the love he always had ready and waiting for her. 

She clenches her jaw as she pulls up onto the driveway, tears burning in her eyes again now that she is home. It’s something that happened more than she’d care to admit, just the sight of her house enough to remind her what she had, what she’d fought so hard for. The thought of the love and safety and warmth that filled their home in abundance enough to make the walls around her heart she’d once prided herself on, the walls that had never been as sturdy as she always allowed people to think, to shake and crack. 

“No…I mean, you’re the best friend.” 

She shakes her head at herself as she turns off the engine, “Get it together, Emily,” she mutters under her breath. She grabs her bag from the passenger seat, wincing as she catches a glance of herself in the rearview mirror, sadness and exhaustion shining in her eyes in a way she knows Aaron will notice immediately.  

She’s still digging around in her purse for her keys when she hears the lock in the front door click, and she sighs in relief when she looks up and finds her husband standing in the doorway waiting for her. 

“Hi, sweetheart.” 

She smiles and she steps words him, stamping her lips against the corner of his, her hand on his waist as she slips past him, “Hi,” she says, turning to look at him as he closes the door behind her, “Were you waiting for me?” 

“Always,” he says, winking at her as she playfully rolls her eyes, “I heard the car,” he says, taking her purse from her before he pulls her into a hug. She leans into him, her arms around him in an instant, her hands on his shoulders as she anchors herself to him. She feels more than hears the way he breathes in, a sharpness to it that settles in her chest as he holds her back just as tightly, “Are you okay?” 

She chokes on a sound she thinks is supposed to be a laugh, and she presses her face against his neck before she pulls back to look at him and shrugs, “I don’t know.” 

“Want to talk about it?”

She nods, but she looks around. “Where are the kids?” 

“Well, Jack is in New Haven,” he quips, and narrows her eyes at him, unable to fight the smile he makes break out across her face just like it did whenever she thought about the fact their eldest had gone to her alma mater, not Aaron's. “Oscar is at Dylan’s birthday party, so he’ll be home in a few hours, hopped up on sugar,” he continues, reminding her about how enthusiastic the 11-year-old had been that morning when he talked about his best friend’s bowling party and the gift they’d got him. “And Alice is reading in her room.” 

She hums, “I’ve never met a 9-year-old who loves reading as much as she does.”

“She’s smart,” he replies, cupping her cheek to make her look at him, his warm palm against her skin the first time she’d noticed that her gaze had drifted to where their daughter’s room is, “Just like her mom,” he adds, pressing a kiss against her lips, “Shall we go talk in the kitchen, dinner is almost ready?” 

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” she says as she links her fingers through his, letting him tug her towards the kitchen. There’s a bottle of her favourite wine already open on the counter, the cork out so it can breathe, and she turns her head to kiss his shoulder, “You’re the best husband I’ve ever had.”

“I’m the only husband you’ve ever had,” he quips, smiling as he pulls out a stool from the kitchen counter for her to sit on. 

“And you’re well on your way to keeping it that way,” she replies, winking at him as he pours her a glass of wine. He sets it in front of her, and she wraps her hand around the stem, letting herself get distracted by the feel of the glass against her skin. He waits her out, makes a point of doing so as he continues to make dinner. He knew her better than she knew herself some days, and this was one of them. “I…” she trails off and blows out a shaky breath, feels it rattle around in her lungs as she laughs humourlessly at herself, “I overheard JJ and Penelope talking and…it made me miss my friendship with them.” 

He tilts his head curiously at her when she looks up at him, his expression neutral as he focuses on her entirely, the sauce he’d made for dinner now on a low simmer, “What do you mean, sweetheart?” 

“Since Will died, I’ve had to be the boss, you know? I’ve had to have hard conversations and make decisions so I can keep us all safe,” she says, her lower lip trembling as she looks down at her hands, twisting her wedding rings around her finger, “It makes being JJ’s friend hard, because on one hand if I lost you…” she swallows thickly at the thought of it, her throat tight as she has to shake her head to rid herself of the image, “If I lost you, I think I’d do the same thing. I’d throw myself into work. You did the same thing after Haley, so I get it, but…as her boss…”

“You know how dangerous it can be,” he finishes for her, and she nods, grateful that he’s closer now, his hand on her knee as he slips onto the stool next to her. “It’s not easy being in charge.” 

She chokes on a sound she can’t name, and she rests her head on his shoulder, “It isn’t. I don’t know how you did it for so long.” 

He kisses her temple, “Well, I had a pretty good view of your desk from my office, so that helped.” 

She laughs, for real this time, and she pulls back to look at him. She runs her fingers through his hair, it was longer now than it ever had been, salt and pepper flecks at his temples, and she loved it, loved that this version of him had only ever belonged to her. 

“I…I heard JJ tell Penelope she’s her best friend,” she says, scrunching her nose up as she says it outloud, her cheeks burning pink with the way it sounds. “It hurt more than I think it should,” she shrugs, “I feel stupid for being upset about it.” 

“It isn’t stupid, Em,” he says, reaching out to catch a tear that falls from her lashline before it can hit her cheek, “You’re allowed to be upset.”

She hums, “I don’t know, it feels selfish and juvenile,” she shakes her head at herself, “But the moment I heard it I felt like a teenager with no friends again, even though I’m in my mid 50s for fuck sake,” she looks down at their hands, embarrassed to say the next part out loud, “I guess I always thought I was their best friend too.” 

“You, Emily Prentiss-Hotchner, are the least selfish person I’ve ever met,” he says, his eyes soft when she smiles at the use of her married name, “And you know they both love you so much. Things are just hard right now, and it will all settle down in time,” he smiles at her in a way that never fails to make her stomach flip, “And in the meantime, if it helps, you’re my best friend.” 

It makes love swell in her chest, the admission somehow more powerful than an I love you would have been in that moment, and she leans forward to kiss him, her forehead against his when she pulls back.

“You’re my best friend, too.” She tries to breathe him in, but is met with the smell of burning instead. “Honey, the sauce-” 

He’s up and on his feet before she’s even finished talking, cursing as he lifts the pan off the burner, and the pure domesticity of it loosens the heaviness that had settled into her chest. She hears a familiar set of footsteps coming into the room, and she turns to look at Alice. 

“Hi sweetie,” she says, opening her arms up for a hug that her little girl immediately returns. “Did you enjoy your book?” 

“I finished it,” Alice replies as she pulls back to look at her, “I need a new one from the library tomorrow.” 

Emily chuckles and pushes Alice’s hair behind her ear, “I’m sure we can arrange that.” 

“Why don’t you two go sit in the living room?” Aaron suggests, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he looks at the ruined sauce, “I’ll try and rescue dinner.” 

Emily looks at Alice, “Does that sound good to you, sweet girl?” 

Alice nods enthusiastically and wraps both of her hands around one of Emily’s as she stands up. As soon as they are in the hallway, she stage whispers, purposely making sure Aaron hears her, “Do you think Daddy will order in pizza because he ruined dinner?” 

Emily laughs and winks at her daughter, “I think he might.”

When they sit on the couch, Alice settles against her side and rests her head on Emily’s shoulder so she can look up at her, “Mommy? Can I tell you a secret?” 

Emily nods, running her fingers through Alice’s hair again, mentally making a note that she and Oscar were likely overdue a haircut, “Anytime, baby. You know that.”

Alice looks over her shoulder to make sure they’re still alone and whispers for real this time, “You’re my best friend.”

It takes everything in her not to burst into tears, because she realises Alice must have heard some of her conversation with Aaron, and her sweet, beautiful, little girl was now doing her best to cheer her up. Emily smiles, desperately trying to hide the shake in it, and she kisses Alice’s forehead. 

“Can you keep a secret?” She says, matching Alice’s whisper, smiling when she looks up to see Aaron standing in the doorway with a pizza menu in his hand, and she winks at him, a silent acknowledgement that he was there, that this was a moment they were all sharing, before she looks back down at their little girl. She feels better than she has in weeks, lighter than she thought was possible in the fog of grief and sadness that had laid over them all since JJ had called about Will. It would take a long time to get back to normal, but this was a start, and a well-needed reminder that she wasn’t alone and that she never would be again.  “You’re my best friend, too.” 

[bagelsenjoyer14]

The Nice and Accurate Script Book: In The Beginning

Hey everyone, now that I've returned from the dead, I wanted to start a small series where I essentially list all things I found interesting or funny in the Good Omens Script Book episode by episode so we can talk about it ! I don't have a set schedule on when I'll update this series as I plan to read the script and post for my own enjoyment rather than for a deadline

Now, Lets begin!!

I haven't watched season one in a long time so some thing's I mention may also be in season one, but Crowley's response to Adam and Eve's rejection from Eden already opens up a lot about his character. What we know so far is that Crowley was also rejected from Heaven after his first offense and it's both heartbreaking to see how he may relate to Adam and Eve but also a little reassuring to see that he hasn't been conditioned by his experiences to see being curious and wanting to learn as a bad thing, and that he even continues to drill Aziraphale about his doubts of God minutes after meeting him

Small discovery, but I find it interesting that Crowley's wings were origionally supposed to be Grey. Maybe this could allude to Crowley being in between Heaven and Hell and having "his own side".

Learning that this song was meant to origionally play in the beginning after an Azicrow scene leaves me with a lot to think about with their relationship and how it parallels with Gabriel and Beelzebub's.

CROWLEY GETTING CHASED BY THE POLICE BECAUSE OF HIS SPEEDING HABIT ?!?

This makes me want to know what Crowley's real name/ his sigil looks like???

Crowley being relatable

I remember this being mention in the series, but I still find it so interesting and honestly scary how Hell can just download things into his mind. Maybe could be an interesting plot to explore in a fanfic?!??

Just love this scene and how they know Aziraphale's name and order :)

I love scenes where Crowley is just chaotic

Crowley being relatable part 2

It seems like the origional script of the show had alot more of a darker twist to it or had scenes that where a little more grotesque

Crowley being relatable part 3

The fact that Aziraphale says sugar rather than shit is the highlight of my week.

I also didn't take a picture of this but I find it interesting how Crowley and mice where referenced a lot of times in the beginning of the episode (and the deleted scene) seeing as his a snake and naturally their predator. Crowley so far reminds me a little more of book Crowley than TV Crowley as he still has a little more of a chaotic evil streak and I always enjoy seeing Crowley's bizarre side quests.

Let me know what you think !

[murderbot-moodboard]

Episode 7 of Murderbot, plus recently discovering some new songs to love, has inspired me to assemble the two Murderbot TV playlists I'd started—one for Murderbot, and one for Gurathin—so they're now ready for listening.

First, four notes:

1) These playlists are "living documents" and subject to further tweaks. Season 1 obviously isn't finished yet, and regardless, I still edit my "finished" playlists as I discover new songs, find ones that fit better, decide one doesn't actually work well, etc. I also do my best to make them generally enjoyable for most people, but I am but one person with one person's music taste, so take that as you will.

2) Since the plot for 'Murderbot' Season 1 overlaps with the plot for 'All Systems Red,' my TV playlist for Murderbot has most of the same songs as the beginning of my Murderbot Diaries playlist, "Murderbot Mood." (That one is linked in my pinned post if you want to check it out.) However, I've also added and changed a couple songs in both playlists, so there's something new even if you've listened before. Some of the songs are based on things that will probably happen by the end of Season 1 based on All Systems Red, so spoilerish alert?

3) Much of the Gurathin playlist is Twenty One Pilots songs. This is on purpose, and partly because "Jumpsuit" was the song that inspired the playlist. (It has a line in the middle that— well, I'll let you listen and find out *grins evilly*.) It's also partly because when I was getting my latest autoimmune flare under control, there were a few days when I was in too much pain to do anything besides lie in bed and listen to comfortable music, and I ended up listening to Twenty One Pilots' "Blurryface" album on repeat. During that time, I realized their music is punk as hell, I relate to it on a deep level, and a lot of it also sounded like Gurathin and/or Murderbot.

(We could also discuss the fact that I "discovered" most of their music fairly recently, because "Blurryface" came out while I was attending a hyperconservative religious college that severely restricted the music we could listen to (and restricted when women students and teachers were allowed to wear pants). But that's a whole other post about "things I laugh about now because looking back they were kinda fucked up.")

4) I've seen a few fun-looking Murderbot song recs and playlists come across my dashboard which I didn't have the energy to check out at the time (see above autoimmune flare and moving). I'm absolutely open to suggestions and recommendations for my playlists, as long as your feelings won't be hurt if I decide not to include them. I was given really good suggestions which I added to my Murderbot Mood playlist last time, and at least one song on there I discovered through another fan playlist. So feel free to comment on this post if you have any songs you'd like to suggest. You're also more than welcome to add any songs from my playlists to your playlists (this might be a given but I'll say it just to be sure).

Okay, I think that's it! Now for the playlists!

Murderbot Season 1 Mood:

Gurathin Mood:

[starryaida]

Hate hate HATE when people say that Anakin and Padmè had nothing in common and try to paint their relationship as solely an "opposites attract" type of situation.I get why some people might think that on a superficial level but seeing how those two have been my hyperfixation for years i will NEVER do superficial.

First of all,what i find an integral part of Padmè's character comes from a (sadly) deleted scene from aotc where she talks about helping a bunch of refugee kids resettle on a different planet after their sun imploded.The childern where never able to adapt tough and die.Part of this is still mantained in the novelization as we can see here:

but to me,an integral part of this specific scene is something that was only in the script;i sadly couldn't find the picture I was looking for but in it she explicitly says that she tried to save them but failed.Which is exactly the kind of expression Anakin uses first to talk of his mother then of her.She knows what it's like to want to save someone,to try to help them and not be able to,and watch them die in front of you,that happened with those kids,that happened with Cordé.She's able to sympathize with him because she shares that feeling.

They're also explicitly presented as extremly stubborn and reckless people,like in the scene where they leave for their refugee ship and Typho and Obi-Wan talk about their worries.

About Padmè's stubborness it's also really important to note that aotc starts with her refusing a security detail until Palpatine urges her to accept,showcasing not only the trust and respect she has for the man,but that her,like Anakin,also falls victim to his manipulations,like we see in episode 1.

Speaking of tpm,a huge plot point in the movie is Padmè and her people being failed by the system,just like Anakin was on a different scale.

She obviously believes in the republic wholeheartedly but she has recognized issues in the diplomatic/bureucratic machine,and can't blame Anakin for being almost disillusioned with it,as she almost tought the same at only 14.

Padmè and Anakin were both extremly intelligent,stubborn,brave and idealistic individuals who were failed by the system and by the adults who failed to protect them several times.And this is just scratching the surface on both of them.This is clearly not all there is of their relationship,as the codependecy and mutual obsession warrant a completly different post,but it at least sheds some light on some of the similiarties between the two.