#because that would have been a really interesting plot! Ted is a perfect picture of kindness except to this one guy he can't fucking stand

[asteria-argo]

my favourite thing about chapter four of To All The Better Places is watching absolutely everyone losing their minds about Teds perspective

[fangirlandtheories]

3 6 8 9 16 22

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I'll be honest, I don't involve myself in the drama of the fandom so if it's a take I wouldn't agree with, odds are that I didn't see it as I don't actively seek out things that don't interest me. I will say this, and I'll say it carefully: If you want to look at Billy as a tragic character because of his traumatic life, that's fine, but that doesn't excuse everything he did. He's an inherently complex character and it's possible to hate that someone is racist and also hate that that person was abused. I don't know if that really answered the question or not, but it's a take of my own.

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

Honestly all of us 😂 We all annoy each other for different reasons. I will say that nothing has made me more angry than the Steve/Eddie vs the Chrissy/ Eddie thing. It's not even how the fans of either interact with each other, it's the fact that Joseph and Grace have been dragged into it. They're actors playing a role and shouldn't have to play mediators for fans. They definitely shouldn't receive hate or backlash either.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Specific to Steddie shippers: That Eddie is perfect or Steve is perfect. They're both loveable doofuses that absolutely don't know conflict resolution. It's definitely not all pet names and snuggles but massive arguments and silent treatments.

9. worst part of canon

God I could go on for so long that you would almost believe that I don't like the show.

I think ultimately it's that up until this season there hasn't really felt like high stakes or consequences. Steve and Robin were tortured and left with just bruises and a shock blanket. The injuries the characters have sustained would leave someone sidetracked and bedbound in the real world but they constantly shake it off. It's like the only consequences occur when necessary to the plot. Steve gets bitten by bats and strangled twice: Let's tie a shirt around his waist and have him get dizzy once. Eddie gets bitten by bats: Kill him for sad value.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Mike

No haha... Unless...

I'm really not into Kas!Eddie or vampire Eddie. I'm all for bringing him back and if that's the way that the Duffers want to do it: Great! It's a sound theory and it makes sense to the plot, it's just not something I am really into when I'm reading things like fanfiction.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

Here's a plot twist: I'm not going to talk about Steve or Eddie for this one.

Here's a comprehensive list of little things that I love that don't get enough conversation:

1. Ted Wheeler's little comments

2. Murray Mother Fucking Bauman

3. Joyce's (Winona's) eyebrows

4. The dedication to the fact that it's 10 pm and none of the parents know where their children are and don't ask

5. Erica and Dustin's friendship/ the passing of the DnD torch onto the next gen

6. The inclusion of Holly

7. Steve's plaid walls and car picture

8. Nancy "New Hair Every Season" Wheeler

9. Eddie having pretzels and weed in his lunch box

10. The sibling dynamics

11. Steve's butt in those jeans

12. Dustin's quirky style never changing and his mother who loves him so dearly.

Quite literally I could go all day but this would be the longest post.

[babygirldennis]

This shit is fake bby!!!

Here she is.. My masterpost of all the dumb, illogical bits of info contained within these s15 “leaks” that make me fairly confident they are complete bullshit. It also includes my little tinhat theories that have absolutely no evidence.

I will be putting it all under a Readmore in case you don't want to risk it or if you simply Do Not Care

First up, I'd like to point out that these call sheets repeatedly give very detailed backstories to characters that have few lines which conveniently paints a picture of each episode's plot. And I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm wrong, but after looking at other similar casting calls, they only ever include the demographic and necessary skills.

Basically who in their right mind would write up casting calls that give away so many spoilers? Seems like that could cause and issue if they were leaked lol. But anyway that's my 1st point. But onto the actual content

So the conceit of this episode as a whole is that during the pandemic, the gang "gamed the system" and received three (3!) Loans to start businesses that went bankrupt. One of these businesses is implied to be the one started by dee and charlie who end up selling to Qanon shaman. Already this is so impossible baby.

1. We've already seen the gang try to get a loan and it didn't work. They don't have good ideas. Ur telling me, they managed to finagle 3 separate loans for 3 separate business ideas from an actual bank?

2. Maybe I just have bad reading comprehension but how does one have a business that is both fictitious and bankrupt?

3. If the customer is supposed to be Qanon shaman, an actual real life guy, why are the only descriptors white and male? They say he's shirtless so are they going to paint on all of the tattoos he has? And if so, doesn't that kind of ruin the dramatic reveal when charlie "throws in" the viking helmet? Why would he do that anyways? Sus.

Moving on

Alright this episode would fucking blow for obvious reasons but im going to refrain from looking at this through my gay dennis thruther lens because im biased.

Purely from a narrative standpoint, a woman hasn't been shown to be interested in dennis in nearly 5 years during the wade boggs episode. Ever since, every single woman he approaches has been actively creeped out by him. And now I'm supposed to believe that 3 "smart, passionate woman" (In Their Twenties!!!!!!) agreed to go on a date with him? And Anna even slept with him! Just because he what? Agreed with her? I'm not buyin it.

Plus the concept of this scenario lacks any potential for comedy. When iasip gets political, they always discuss a very specific topic using hyperbolic situations and flawed metaphors. If this is supposed to be a political episode, what ultimately lukewarm point would rob be trying to make here? So far we know they're ranting about

The patriarchy

Privilege

Socialism

No more personal responsibility(?)

The... nature of power in society(??)

How on earth would an episode like get approved? This shit sounds like a Ted talk. It sounds like it was written specifically to sound like a political episode so boring and pointless it would generate outrage and mile long essay posts from Tumblr users and reddit users alike. Almost like this one lol.

On a completely unrelated note, do not try and convince me that Frank "casual cock ring wearer" Reynolds is unable to perform.

Jeez this is getting out of hand fast. Let's move on

Ok now we're starting to getting into the Ireland of it all. Let me go on a bit of a tangent here about all this.. Now I thinq there are just 3 possibilities. Either this is all a publicity stunt and there is some truth to the Ireland rumors, the entire thing could be bogus from some weirdo fan (ps, if a fan did write this I want you to know I fucking hate you. You did this to me), or it is a publicity stunt but Ireland is just more bullshit.

I am going to assume it was a publicity stunt, otherwise I just wasted my entire evening and I can't have that kind of mentality rn. Additionally, I'm Going to tinhat here for a second and say that the Ireland rumors are true, but the details are different.

I say this because if they were going to do filming in Ireland, they probably figured that that information would be impossible to hide. In essence, my completely unfounded hypothesis is that this leak was their fucked up little way of controlling the situation while simultaneously messing with us.

Ok tangent is over, returning to the casting calls. From the looks of it, dee starts a "scam" acting class and has some very devoted students (Note that Tony was also the name of the porn shop owner. Seems weird!) Presumably after the gang replaces her with a monkey as the title suggests.

Honestly, there isn't too much here that's a red flag to me... seems like a nice little dee-centric episode that is the link to the Dublin angle. Assuming I am At All right, this could be a genuine plotline for Dee. However, the monkey could be a red herring and there could be a whole different side plot with the guys. who's to say. Next one!

Ah yes this is the dennis we all know and despise.. no red flags for me here really, I'm also running out of steam because idk if it shows, but I am majorly sleep deprived atm. Anyway I'm going to the next one

Okay this is where things start getting weird again ough a migraine just hit, anyway back to my earlier point about how casting calls would never contains major spoilers bc the people who see these wont be under any kind of NDA..

These ones reveal that bonnie dies. Again, that info wouldn't be in a casting call.

But also they suggest charlie has a irish penpal named Shelley who is his biological father. First off charlie is illiterate, although as pointed out by @undeadbreeze shelley could also be communicating in symbols. However, this scenario is still unbelievable to me for a couple reasons:

1. Bonnie's last name is Kelly obviously, and we know it's her maiden name because Jack's last name is also Kelly. But Shelley's last name is... also Kelly? In the context of this big ol hoax, it feels like it was written to show that look! his last name is the same as charlie's! That's how you know that's his dad! But It would be way too big of a coincidence if charlie's dad happened to have the same last name bonnie.

And 2. There's the whole mystery of charlie's long-lost sister from 'charlie got molested' but never any mention of a brother which according to this, shelley has been pretending to be his brother for years. And we all know how much rcg loves their continuity, it seems uncharacteristically lazy to just tack this on without any prior buildup.

And finally let me talk about mac for a second and specifically the line in gus's summary "both are gay men who are attracted to the priesthood for all the wrong reasons"

Iasip has commented on pedophilia in the priesthood many times in the past which leads me to believe that they are implying that mac is a pedophile? Please let me know if I completely misread the implications of that statement, but if not, then that is completely insane and one of the biggest indictators that this is fake. Mac is awful, just like everyone in the gang but he is definitely not a pedophile.

However even if i did completely misread that, it's still proof this is fake.. For all his faults, Rob put a surprising amount of care and effort into mac's coming-out. It hasn't been perfect, but Mfhp in particular firmly established that mac's faith is integral to his identity so Its unlikely that rob would throw all of that away for a cheap shot at priests.

Ok my brain is irradiated sludge at this point, but in conclusion. I hope that 1. I'm right, at least about it being fake (Otherwise damb that'll be so humiliating for me) And 2. This eases ur fears a bit. I don't want to lose all faith in future seasons bc I love iasip and miss the gang. If you read this far youre insane but I literally love you so goddamn much because I spent so so long tapping this out on my silly little phone

Please feel free to add on or message me your thoughts and opinions I need to know I'm not the only one who uhhh went a bit insane. And finally: whoever made these is a cunt. Mwah.

[jacespunkdad]

so i’m rereading hunger games as i’ve mentioned before and here’s a compiled list of little details that i think should be included if they remake it into a series or something

honestly the movies were really great and naturally there’s stuff that needs to be cut for it to fit in a 2 hour window but...if there was more time...here’s what i want 

- first of all it needs to be rated higher (r or ma). the punch of these books have did not hit as hard in the movies because the violence had to be toned down. and to be fair i wouldn’t have been allowed to see them if they were rated r in 2012 HOWEVER. i think it’s necessary

- casting should actually fit the ages of the characters i know there’s laws for working with actors underage but having the leads be in their 20s literally defeated the whole point lmao

- also katniss and gale aren’t white and neither is haymitch i don’t think actually so can we fix that. love the original actors to death they did a great job but i think actors with olive skin and gray eyes will do just as good a job

- we need madge. she is an icon and deserves respect

- we need avoxes!! they technically were in the movies but they were mentioned once and then they were always just vibing in the background. we need to have the redheaded avox and there should be a flashback scene where you see katniss and gale witnessing her get caught in the woods (i forget her name atm)

- katniss’s mom’s battle with depression, let’s talk about it! barely mentioned in the movies

- also katniss’s dad! they literally showed a picture of him once in the first movie and never talked about him ever again which is not fair because he seemed like a very lovely man. i want to see clips of him singing and teaching young katniss how to hunt! justice for mr everdeen rip king

- katniss thinks about her and gale’s adventures in the woods (TM) during the games and i wanna see some of them on screen. mainly the one where they buy lady i love that one

- on the subject of parents more of peeta’s dad! idgaf about his abusive mom i know she’s technically more important to the immediate story but if she gets a scene he deserves one too. peeta definitely gets all his good genes from him

- cinna is clearly a gay icon and he needs to have a boyfriend. give him a bf

- portia has the EXACT SAME ENERGY. give her a gf. also can portia have lines please in the movies she was just. there

- more of katniss’s prep team!!! would honestly die for them. they should’ve had more than 3 scenes they provide perfect comedy relief

- katniss and peeta constantly having matching outfits during the prep for the first games another great comedic moment

- peeta’s prosthetic leg! representation matters

- also district 4 tributes should’ve been hanging out with cato and co. everyone forgets district 4 is a career district (and that finnick was a career) all the time and it makes me upset

- and prim was just? at school. while her sister is fighting to death. i want a scene where they flash to her sitting in a god damn cafeteria watching the games like WHAT 

- gale’s family!! 

- the movie did a good job showing the ptsd but they can do more showing peeta and haymitch’s struggles with it besides just katniss

- district 8 was always starting shit and i think that needs to be addressed HAHA

- bonnie and twill! i genuinely thought i made them up or that they were from a different series until i finally got to their part

- also we just need more district 12 stuff all the district 12 action in catching fire was cut out basically

- for instance the detail that the head peacekeeper would take advantage of starving girls by essentially whoring them out to him for money or food? let’s talk about that because holy shit

- there’s so many scenes of katniss and peeta doing domestic things together without even realizing it and it makes me so happy i love them. the cheese buns! peeta drawing pictures for katniss’s family book! taking walks around town! his art! 

- and i specifically want the scene where katniss comes home to the peacekeepers waiting for her and haymitch and peeta are just casually sitting in the den playing chess and effortlessly roasting her in their efforts to cover for her and also stealing her candy. love that scene so much 

- also right before that katniss legit jumped out of a 25 FOOT TREE???? HELLO???? idk how they’d film that honestly but i wanna see it 

- district 12 gets so ugly and bad after thread shows up and they didn’t really show it at all i wish they had it’s so horrific to read about

- darius!! he should’ve been in the movies. the scene where he shows up as an avox fucked me up SO BAD when i was a kid

- the whole plot line about the capitol using a green screen every time they report on district 13 was so interesting and such a twist and i remember going :O when i read the first time i wish it had been included

- haymitch’s games!!! genuinely one of my favorite backstories i’ve ever read in any series ever. they need to show it especially considering that he was against 47 competitors instead of the normal 23 like that’s nuts

- katniss, peeta, and haymitch “training” for the quarter quell. i want a montage

- just cinna’s line “portia and i spent a lot of hours looking at fires.” there’s so many moments of subtle humor in the books that got taken away and i think they help balance out the story so well

i’m about halfway through catching fire so i will update with more thoughts. thank u for coming to my ted talk

[stennnn06]

if the show were to bring sam back, what would you hope to see?

besides the obvious, and that is andrea/sam staring across the room at each other with HATRED in their eyes? jk. (im not kidding.)

no but seriously, if we ignore odie’s scheduling issues and pretend we could have her back on the show, sam is like... the perfect CHARACTER plot hole filler. ignore actual plot, because like - what even IS going on in this show ever? but i’m talking like emotional, DEEP, character plot holes that i just wish we could have more exploration with. [and i know, we have too many characters, there’s Crisis which makes no sense, etc. but lets just...indulge me for a sec. you asked! lol]

sam gives the perfect excuse to dive further in lena’s past - have some flashbacks, make some shit up, do whatever. show more about their connection prior to Reign.... with her, lena and jack back in metropolis - it doesn’t even have to be gay, it can just be like... giving lena more substance besides her family drama (which i LOVE, and you all know i love). but we also know sam and jack gave lex and lillian THE BUSINESS too, and i wanna hear about it. i wanna see lena-sam’s first meeting. i wanna see sam’s reaction to lex’s bs. i wanna see lena tell sam she’s moving to national city and have sam make fun of her for it but ultimately support her. i just wanna see more reasons why lena is so GOOD.

sam also gives MUCH more weight to andrea and lena’s relationship as well. rojascorp is already pretty great with what’s implied, but if i can’t have true previous-history reigncorp (which we know happened, but for canon we’ll pretend it didn’t), then i picture something like from @i-am-robie ‘s wedding date AU where sam and jack are just like Team Lena forever, and the shade they throw against Andrea after her betrayal would be HUGE. sam, who we know has been ACHING for a real reason to hate andrea the whole time would be all OVER it. and so it makes andrea more well rounded than just the weird (ex)girlfriend vibe and nonsense with leviathan...and is just so JUICY. so then you’d have this present day tension where sam wants to defend lena, and andrea is reeling with how to put their relationship back together, and she hates that lena loves sam so much enough to save her life...and lena is just like -- i’m a luthor i don’t have friends (but literally you have just as many as kara at this point). and they’d go round and round and i’d get my sam-andrea hatred, but they’d probably be forced to work together to help lena against lex, and it would be SO FUNNY and delightful. andrea having to listen to sam? sam having to follow andrea’s lead? oh GOD.

plus then, it also puts kara in this weird position of like.... where do i stand with lena? oh god i HATE my boss but i have to pretend to like her....and SAM is here, and she REALLY hates andrea, and i really like sam.... and oh boy this is uncomfortable for everyone. like i could watch a show that just revolves around that for.... more seasons than i’d like to admit, lmao.

and then there’s also alex and kelly. who i REALLY want to be invested in, but i struggle when im just handed a relationship that took 2 episodes to develop. BUT if you insert sam (NOT to break them up) just to have a conversation - like imagine she meets kelly? and she feels all these weird feelings about what she almost had with alex, but she realizes kelly is so amazing, and she sort of has to deal with stepping back and allowing alex to be happy. that’s some DRAMA right there, but its in a good way. and it gives dansen more weight, because its just this added thing that makes you think. idk that’s just one suggestion out of many.

then, because everything is fake and time doesn’t matter and we retcon things in canon anyway simply due to laziness, i think they could dive deeper into her story overall as a kryptonian - make some shit up and have her actually have some kryptonian background, and her and kara can go down that entire path of really figuring themselves out and sharing this history together. it can be the friendship we always should have had for kara, where there’s an equal who struggles and UNDERSTANDS and has to come into their own. even if sam doesn’t keep her powers (i’m ok with either one, just explain it - although i’m always down for her to have SOMETHING).... it would just be great growth for kara without it having to be about a love interest. and maybe lena helps her figure out her powers or develops a weapon or two for her - OH AND BONUS - maybe she joins alex to fight some serious street crime. WHO KNOWS.

anyway, thanks for coming to my Why We Need Sam Arias forever Ted Talk.

[lovemesomesurveys]

Have you ever watched a movie in class/school that made you cry? Yes. I took this adulthood and aging psychology class and I forget what it was exactly the documentary we had to watch was about, but I remember being on the verge of tears because it reminded me of my grandpa who passed away. 

What’s the earliest you could go to bed at night and feel okay about? Uhh, I don’t know? Just whenever I fall asleep.

What is you favorite type of lunch meat? Turkey, salami, and bologna.

What time of the year do you dislike the most? Summertime. 

Do you put ketchup on your scrambled eggs? Ew, no. 

What is your favorite color to wear? Black.

Are you an overachiever? No. Especially not these past few years where I haven’t done anything at all and put like no effort into anything. :/ At least when I was in school and things were better than how they’ve been the past few years I was productive in school and put effort into things and into myself. I’ve just given up. 

What physical feature do you wish you had (i.e. freckles, curly hair)? Perfect teeth.

What fictional character (i.e. Bambi, Scarlette O'Hara) would you marry? Uh, I definitely don’t want to marry Bambi... anyway, I’d say one of the characters Alexander Skarsgard has played.

How long have you gone without shaving (girls- legs, armpits; boys- faces)? I don’t know, a couple weeks or so.

Did you ever go through a phase where you wrote bad poetry? Ha, yeah, when I was like 16 during my emo days. They’re so cringe.

What is your favorite thing about your life? My family.

Have you ever painted a picture of somebody? No.

How many real bfs/gfs have you had? I honestly haven’t had a real, serious relationship.

Did you enjoy your past relationships? With Joseph I did.

Name a comedy that you like. Bridesmaids.

Could you wait until marriage for sex? Yeah, but I don’t plan on getting married.

What’s the best Nirvana song? Lithium.

What was the last thing that impressed you? Hmm. I don’t recall.

When was the last time you were in a pet store? It’s been awhile.

What nationality is your last name? Irish, I think.

What’s your favorite kind of chips and dip? Wavy Lay’s chips with ranch and French onion dip.

Who was the last boy that you saw cry? My brother.

Does your mom know you do surveys? I don’t think so.

Have you ever had a serious injury? Yeah, the one that made me a paraplegic.

What was the last thing you achieved? Uhhh.

Would you enjoy being famous? I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to be famous.

What’s under your bed? Some medical supplies.

Do you enjoy travelling? Yes.

Have you ever belonged to a club? If so, what was it? I was in a couple clubs in high school and the psych club in community college.

When was the last time you drank strawberry milk? It’s been a very long time.

Have you ever managed to collect all the fast food toys in a set? Hmm, I don’t recall. I might have.

Do you have a clock in your room? Yes, apart from the ones on my laptop, TV and phone, I have an actual wall clock as well.

Did you have a good driver’s ED teacher? I didn’t take driver’s ed.

Which of Britney Spears’ songs is your favorite? Hmm. Probably Toxic, Slave 4 U, Boys, and Lucky.

Does mind over matter work for you? Sometimes.

Are you paranoid? I definitely can be.

What is the best thing about winter? Christmastime and the weather. I love that time of year.

Have you ever been truly in love? I think so.

Are you currently planning a trip? No, I wish.

How many plants are in your home? Zero.

What is your favorite possession? All my stuff.

Have you ever felt like you were too nice and way too often overlooked? Yeah. I’ve been used and taken advantage of back in the day for being too nice.

What movies have tripped you out? There’s been a few.

Did you rollerblade as a kid? Do you still rollerblade? No.

Would you ever settle into a relationship that wasn’t right for you? Do you know friends who are in relationships just so they have someone to sleep with at night? I’d like to say no, but I allowed Joseph to use and play me for 3 years, so. I knew deep down he didn’t feel the same way as I did and he didn’t want to be in a committed relationship with me, but I didn’t want to admit it. I liked the attention and the good times we had and I didn’t want to give that up. I would hope that now that I’m older and have experienced that I wouldn’t allow it to happen again. And yes, I had a friend who put up with a whole lot worse for that reason.

Would you take a dirty picture of yourself for someone you are dating? I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that. I don’t want that floating around or existing at all out there.

Do you use earplugs or a sleeping mask when you sleep? No.

What summertime treats do you love? Milkshakes and ice cream.

How picky are you when it comes to choosing who to kiss or not kiss? I mean, I have to be interested in the person and feel comfortable doing so.

What do you hate most about moving? The packing and unloading.

Do you feel that having sex anywhere but a bed is more exciting? I wouldn’t know.

Do you drink 5 hour energy drinks or any other kinds of energy drinks? Just the Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink.

Has anyone ever whistled at you? Not that I know of.

Do you like scarves? No. I don’t like things around my neck like that, it drives me nuts.

Is your father homophobic? No.

Do you take gummy vitamins? No. I don’t take vitamins at all, currently, although I really should.

Have you ever applied make-up on a guy, for any reason at all? No.

Who would you like to meet before you die? I mean, I certainly wouldn’t mind meeting Alexander Skarsgard.

If your dream was to be a model, and a big opportunity came up, but you had to be nude, would you take it? I don’t feel comfortable being nude when I’m just by myself, I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so publicly. Absolutely not.

What’s the most ridiculous conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard of? There’s been a lot, but of course I’m blanking at the moment. Most are pretty crazy, though.

If Heaven and Hell exists, where are you going when you die? I hope that  go to heaven.

Who is the person that you are afraid of losing, above everyone else? My loved ones. 

What is one thing that pisses you off pretty much everyday? Ugh, seems like just about anything can. I’m so irritable and moody all the time.

Is there anyone you know that you feel should consider therapy? Yeah, me.

Do you like any of the songs on Twilight, or the actual movie/saga itself? I loved Decode and Super Massive Blackhole. 

How old was the first person you kissed? He was 15 and I was 16.

Will you be a strict parent one day? I don’t want to have kids.

Last person to stand up for you? I don’t recall the last time I needed to be stood up for.

Have you been to a baby shower? Yeah, I’ve been to a few.

Who were you with the last time you went to the movie theater? My mom and brother to see Candyman.

What’s your favorite high school memory? I liked the rallies and some of the assemblies.

Do you like relationships, or do you prefer to be single? Being single is best for me.

What is one adventurous thing you’d be willing to do? I don’t know. I’m such a scardy cat.

What subject at school did you absolutely hate? Math.

Italian food or Chinese food? Italian.

Do you like to make flash cards when you study? That wasn’t my usual study method, no. I preferred taking notes.

Has anyone ever told you that you’re a good singer? Ha, uh no.

Do you ever watch TED talks, live or online? I only watched those when they were shown in some of my college classes or was assigned to for homework. I’ve never watched any on my own.

I dare you to write the name of a person you strongly dislike. I don’t feel that way about anyone.

What do you think about Marilyn Manson? I have nothing to say about him tbh. <<<

Biggest trouble you’ve ever gotten into at school? I didn’t get into trouble.

Do you own one of those “professional” DSLR cameras? No.

Does it bother you when you see a 6th grader with a bunch of gadgets? I don’t care.

Did you buy yearbooks every year in high school, or did you not bother? Yeah, I got all 4.

Do you have Restless Legs Syndrome? No.

Jalapeños: yay or nay? I loved jalapenos back when I could eat spicy food. Jalapeno poppers were bomb.

Did you ever play Minecraft? No.

Did you ever have a Club Penguin account? Were you a member? Yeah.

Do you know anyone that seems to not have any common sense? Ha, yeah. 

What do you think is the biggest injustice that was ever done to you? I’m the victim of gun violence that made me a paraplegic at just 7 months old.

What type of person angers you the most? Abusive people and sick, perverted assholes.

If you could change your appearance, how would you alter it? There’s a lot I’d like to change. 

Describe your first relationship? It wasn’t much of one but we had the title, ha. It also only lasted a few months.

Describe your last relationship? He used and played me and then kicked me to the curb when he was done.

Can you honestly say that you always practice safe sex? I’m a virgin, but I absolutely would practice safe sex. That’s very important. 

Why do you think your most favorite film touches you so deeply? You just really feel, connect, and relate to certain things, like the characters and/or plot line and it has some kind of effect on you.

What do you want people you meet for the first time to think about you? Hopefully something good.

Do you feel protective over someone? My loved ones.

What perfume/cologne do you wear? I’ve been wearing this beachy scented body spray. I need to get a new one for fall.

Where did your vehicle come from? I don’t have my own car, I don’t drive.

What was the color of the bridesmaid dresses of the last wedding you went to? I’m totally blanking.

What is your favorite way to eat chicken? Boneless chicken wings and chicken tenders.

It is your birthday. You hope the cake is: White with buttercream frosting.

What do you wear to bed? What I wear during the day, which is either lounge shorts or leggings and an oversized tee or t-shirt dress.

What were you doing at 8pm last night? I was eating dinner and watching Gilmore Girls.

[veronicalodgestylecompendium]

Chapter Twenty Four: The Wrestler

I had honestly forgotten about the Wrestling plot line Riverdale had. I think I blacked it out due to trauma.

We start the episode with *SHOCK* another embellished sweater! This one is black with a contrast colour collar, and, fun fact, the collar part is also worn by Betty AND Cheryl at one time or another through out the series. Honestly, I’d love to go to the wardrobe warehouse for this show. I wonder if they have an aisle SPECIFICALLY for all the embellished sweaters worn through out the series cause there’s a lot! Tear drop pearl necklace is back. She’s has not been replaced and is safe for another episode.

Now, there’s a lot going for this outfit, so let’s take it piece by piece. The polo. I mean, this is a full on polo shirt, not the fun zip up ones she’s worn before, this is a button to the top, contrast collar and sleeve, polo top. I weirdly love it? I mean, it reminds me of the much less fashionable versions I used to wear in primary school… but I still love it. Especially paired with this skirt. THIS SKIRT. Where can I start on this skirt. I’m obsessed with it. The embroidered floral pattern. The matching colours in the polo and the floral pattern. The FIT!  It fits her like a glove. It showcases everything it’s supposed to. How does Veronica Lodge wear a full button polo shirt and skirt and make it look this sexy? I’ll never know.

This dress has always been interesting to me. It’s 100% a Ronnie dress, no doubt about it, there’s just a lot going on with it. First, there’s the deep v, which is such a contrast to her last outfit of nigh neck button polo I’m actually getting whip lash. I feel like there’s something to take here. Her last outfit was school Veronica, just like last episode, she’s playing the part of the school girl who knows nothing about her parents dealing. She covers herself up more to show her innocence to those around her. This outfit though is worn predominantly at home around her parents, and around Archie, who is soon to be let in on her parents innermost dealings. This is the dress of a Mafia Princess TM who has her fingers in all the pies and is enjoying every moment of it. The cut out back also eludes to this point, all the more to show when you’re the one in charge. The bow belt is the perfect accessory for this. It’s VERY classic Ronnie, she’s worn this belt many times before, it ties the outfit together, bringing both school girl Ronnie and Mafia Princess TM Ronnie into the same outfit.

And here we are, back with school girl Ronnie, in a white sweater none the less! Featuring a contrasting trim and tie neck detail, this sweater is the picture of school girl innocence, as are the pearl embellished pumps we last saw in the last episode. The skirt is an interesting factor for me. Veronica has been playing more with patterns in her skirts this season (see 208 and 207) and this embellished paisley print one is no exception. It’s so… colourful! I honestly don’t think we’ve seen anything like this on Veronica before, nor, from memory, do we really see anything like it since. It’s such an out of the box choice, but I truly do love it, even though there is SO much going on with it I don’t quite know where to look!

Just. Enjoy this screen cap. I found it like this, I swear.

SLEEP WEAR! This is new. Navy satin with a green/blue lace trim is just my cup of tea when it comes to sleep wear. I would assume it would be worn with a matching pair of satin shorts (Veronica hasn’t really been the long pants type so far) but unfortunately this is the only look we get of this particular sleep set.

Check out that plunge neck! Again! Our girl is here to cheer on her boyfriend and what better way than to encourage him that to look her absolute best? This dress was originally sold with an almost crew neck neckline. The plunge neckline was a very considered choice by the costume department as they would have had to alter the neckline significantly to make it that deep. Like I said, our girl is out to encourage her boyfriend. The thing I love about this dress that is very hard to see in the episode, is the double scallop detail on the waist, which is covered by her pearl bow belt in this scene. Truly devastated that this detail never made it on the screen, it makes the dress even more Veronica.

Offt. I say that, because THIS IS A LOOK! Can you hear me screaming ‘over the knee boots’ from where you are? I mean. The blazer. The mini skirt. The bow leopard print mock neck sweater. THE BOOTS. I must say, this is so much more visually appealing to me than the last time our girl performed as a pussy cat. What can I say? I’m just not into tails… ANYWAY. I fully love and support this outfit. The oversized blazer is fitted to her perfectly, it’s a tailored oversized blazer, and I would expect nothing less from our Ronnie. There are so many textures going on in this outfit, from the velvet of her boots to the leopard print shirt. I truly never though one could look sophisticated wearing leopard print pearl embellished pussy cat ears… but I guess I’m happy to be proven wrong.

Total: Seven.

Ted Baker Count: Sixteen.

Tear Drop Necklace Appearance: Yes! She’s still alive and kicking!

Favourite Outfit: This is actually hard today. I loved the polo top/skirt combo, but I also loved the performance outfit. We’ve got a tie today my friends!

[kaypeace21]

Byler hints in the background of s1-3

Honestly, this should just be called- ‘my autistic brain casually (and without even trying) notices shit in the background, but never mentioned it- because I thought it sounded too crazy to talk about’ XD. But the symbolism and Easter eggs give my byler-shipping heart so much life. So I thought, since you guys prob. didn’t notice it- I’ll mention it anyways.  So here goes.

Drawings/rainbows

There has been a theme in s3 about how Mike equates ‘falling for girls’ as a part of growing up, and his feelings for Will as something childish that he has to has to grow out of. 

- confessing to El : “A feeling … yeah, like, something… like OLD PEOPLE say it sometimes”.

- “And Will too. I was thinking we could all have new presents to play with and *scoffs* Sorry, that made me sound like a 7 year old... (apologizing to El)

- Mike getting in a fight with Will (after d&d), and saying they can’t be close anymore: 

Mike says, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”, and then he tries to ½ apologize only to say, “I’m not trying to be a jerk. Ok? But We’re not kids anymore.” Explaining, this is just the way things are-boys fall in love with girls, get girlfriends, and this is just a part of growing up (heteronormativity).  He tells Will “I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? We were just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?” And poor Will who is probably more aware of his feelings just responds. “Yeah, I guess I did. I really did.” And of course Mike immediately apologizes for being an “ asshole”, after this.

But here’s the thing! Mike actually does wish he didn’t have to grow up and that he could play games with Will (without girlfriends) for the rest of their lives. His room, in s3, SCREAMS that he’s trying to grow up/act straight... but he can’t let go of his feelings for Will. 

He literally takes down his old childhood poster from s1-2 for a more mature/adult poster. But on the same wall (where the old poster used to be) he hasn’t removed a single d&d drawing Will has given him. He’s pretending that he’s grown out of d&d when Lucas is around- because he’s emulating how (the straight) Lucas acted, all season. But Mike has it BAD (and is seriously pinning) for Will! Like, I love Will but his art at 11 years old isn’t so great to justify it still be on Mike’s wall at age 14.  He’s just that whipped (and literally can’t part with a single drawing Will has ever given him) XD

Like... it’s cannon that Mike caresses Will’s drawings 

He’s that ‘ dumbass blinded by love’ who thinks anything Will’s draws is a perfect- masterpiece. Mike could literally see Will draw scribbles and think it’s amazing! Like in s2 he just guides his hands through the scribbles he drew on the wall- no joke! XD

However, what’s interesting though is the one other things he took down from his wall. In S1 Mike (before he even met El)  has a heart sign, with a red heart being propelled by a rainbow. Yet in s3 , the season where he’s ‘obsessing’ about El- it mysteriously disappears. However, in the first ep of s3 when Mike is making-out with El we see a emergence of the heart being propelled by a rainbow (in El’s room) as a drawing. Probably signifying Mike participating in compulsory-heterosexuality and that no matter how hard he tries- he’s not straight!

So given the fact he can’t part with any of the pictures on the wall...you better believe Mike still has that giant binder filled with every drawing Will has given him . And he’s probably hidden it away , with the rainbow heart sign (because he knows it would look suspicious to have laying around). 

-Also, Mike literally has more rainbow symbolism than Will (and has had it through every season) XD

-the s2 ref being the most on the nose) Forbidden fruit + rainbow = queer forbidden romance. And during the 80s, that rainbow-apple poster in the AV Club was suspected to be in reference to Alan Turning (the gay ‘father of computers’).

Animal easter eggs that relate to byler and the upside down/supernatural-plot .

tigers- Mike keeps a tiger poster (which was right next to that rainbow-heart sign) in his basement through s1-3. In s1 we see Will also has a tiger drawing, which is later put on the wall (like a poster) in s2.  Sara Hopper (like Will ) had her death faked by the government (and had a tiger plushie in s1)- and Kali probably had something to do with it since in the prequel novel ‘suspicious minds’ had Kali talk non stop about her fav animal , tigers.  Theory  here. But again, Jancy is also connected to tigers as a romantic symbol (just like byler).

sharks- The Duffer brothers themselves said they based the s1 demorgorgan off of sharks, which Nancy even references in s1. Mike and Will have shark iconography in their room/basement. Will has a jaws poster shown in s1-2, and Mike has shark toys visible in s2. The shark (and bear) symbolism hint at the fact that Will created the upside down/demorgorgans/mind-flayer using his powers- theory here.

bears- Will since s1 has had bear symbolism around him. Bears symbolically represent  “wisdom” like ‘Will the wise’ and were associated with the demorgorgan/upside down in s1 and 2 as well . Max and Nancy compared demogorgans to bears- and Nancy and Jonathan used a bear-trap to capture a demorgorgan in s1 . 

But s3 made bears a romantic symbol- Mike was going to buy a golden teddy bear for El as a romantic gesture. The golden bear had a bowtie (it’s male). And the gray bear that Mike gives to her, was originally Will’s (as shown in s1 &2). This gray bear is coming right in between Mike and El (at the end of s3). They even kiss , while El presses the bear right in between them.  In conclusion these romantic bears represent Will. * I mean that whole awkward kiss (where Mike’s eyes are open and he doesn’t kiss back- happens in Will’s room, in front of Will’s open closet,  with Will’s bear smushed between them (pretty blatant foreshadowing).

dinosaurs- This one is probably a stretch but we see this boy has tons of dinosaurs (at least 6). He starts to info-dump on El about how much he loves them. But, she has no interest. And if the wtf look didn’t make this obvious.

She even gets up and walks away, ignoring his tangent about dinosaurs. 

She literally couldn’t care less about his interest in them. 

But in spite of this, we see Mike gave her Rory in s3 (since it’s in her bedroom). And in s2 we see him sadly look at Rory, with 2 other dinosaurs in frame. This, along with s1 implies he has a huge collection of various dinosaurs .But his collection is missing one of the most popular dinosaur species... the brachiosaurus (the long necked dinosaur).

And right after this scene in s2 scene, we go to Will’s room. And he has a huge brachiosaurus! This boy couldn’t even afford a halloween costume and had to have his hand-made by his mom... but he could afford this huge -fancy dinosaur replica? I bet Mike bragged about his dinosaur collection to Will (like he did with El). But Will being a nerd, was actually impressed. So Mike actually gave him his best/fav toy in his collection- kind of like what he did with Rory.

frogs- This is the most hilarious thing to me. I laughed for like 20 minutes on my rewatch. In s1 Will has a GIANT stuffed plushie of a frog next to his jaws poster and teddy bear. I’m dead! Will doesn’t even disagree with the “frog face“ insult. 

He’s just like ‘well, he’s my frog face’ . Time to snuggle with this frog that looks just like Mike . Will is so in love but also low key savage dragging Mike like that. I can only imagine Dustin and Lucas saying “nah, you don’t look like a frog”. And poor baby-Mike asking Will what he thinks, and Will not being able to lie, just saying “ Well... some people like frogs.”  XD

We also see that in s2 the frog is missing but the Jaws-poster, coin jar, and the bear (we later see El holding in s3) remain .Probably to indicate this is when Will started to subconsciously suppress his feelings for Mike. Although @theclericwill pointed out -that , instead, Mike may have used the frog-plushie as a pillow... for his frog-face XD

Throwing shade at Mileven/mileven shippers in s2 

In the Montauk pitch (later named Stranger things) they describe the Mike and El dynamic by saying “ If Mike is the Eliot of our show,Eleven is our Et.” (AKA they’re from different planets)

-In s2 , Erica  is forcing He-man and barbie to make out. Lucas angrily separates the two. And then this discussion happens.

Erica: “Hey , They’re in love!”

Lucas (livid- and standing right next to a rainbow): “No, actually,  they’re not. They don’t even exist on the same planet.”

Not to mention I doubt it was a coincident they had a (bratty) pre-pubescent girl be the proxy for most mileven shippers.Like not all mileven shippers are bad, but almost all the toxic ones (that the Duffers have to deal with) are tween girls. And to the Duffers, only a child could think 2 people are ‘in love’ after a week of knowing each other. Or that El could understand such things like romance- given the fact that her and Mike are from different planets (given how El has no experience with the outside world).Mike even says in s2,  he can’t hate Max because he ‘doesn’t know’ her (despite knowing her as long as he knew El). Meaning he doesn’t love El since he doesn’t know her. 

Plus, El told Mike, he treats her like ‘garbage’ and ‘a pet’ . And Finn after s1, said that the Duffers told him Mike thought of El as a puppy, and she is even compared to Dart (a demo-dog in s2). Mike asking Dustin, angrily “What, You have a bond? Just cause he likes nougat (eggos)?” Being a  blatant dig at people obsessing over this shallow aspect of their relationship.

Mileven was also compared to that  of family members. In s1, right before they kissed, she asks “will you be like my brother?” (while wearing Nancy’s dress). And Mike also referred to her as his ‘cousin’ . Not to mention, El loved ted’s laz-eboy chair (and Nancy said Karen and Ted “never loved each other” ). And right before Karen is about to cheat on Ted - she looks at him sleeping in the chair (and the lyrics are ‘I should have walked away’). 

It’s pretty hilarious, since so many people try to ‘no-homo’ byler by saying Mike thinks of Will as a brother/or family- yet, their relationship has never been directly compared to a sibling (unlike mileven).

People also seem to not realize Mike lied in s2 (just like he did in s3). He thought El was dead in s2. He told Max it “got her like it did bob” and then he made a spectacle in front of everyone saying “I never gave up on you”. Which was a blatant lie (since he just told Max a few minutes earlier, she was dead -_-). Mike simply blamed himself for her death (he said they needed her to save Will and even referred to her as a “weapon”). So when she died he felt the most responsible- and was hoping she was alive (and would answer his call) to alleviate his own guilt. Not because he loved her (that was an act). When he saw Will’s dead body, but heard his voice, he went on a rescue mission to save Will (from another dimension). But, Mike didn’t even bother going into the woods after seeing El outside his window (something he did for Will in ep 1, during a storm). And then in s3 Mike couldn’t even bother to call El and apologize- but ran to apologize to Will in the woods during a storm (bringing that whole parallel -full circle).

Plus, El told Mike, he treats her like ‘garbage’ and ‘a pet’ . And Finn after s1, said that the Duffers told him Mike thought of El as a puppy, and she is even compared to Dart (a demo-dog in s2). Mike asking Dustin, angrily “What, You have a bond? Just cause he likes nougat (eggos)?” A blatant dig at people obsessing over this shallow aspect of their relationship.

Bob and Mike parallels- the Rubik cube

Both are unathletic, smart, love comics, the only 2 to not treat Will ‘different’- and would do anything to protect their loved ones. And they also had crushes on Byers in childhood, and tried to give their Byers normalcy (despite them not being a ‘normal family’). They purposely display, and have Will -mirror Joyce- and Mike -mirror Bob- in multiple shots, throughout s2.

And both Mike and Bob are AV club leaders. Bob mentioned in one of the  earlier episodes  that he founded the Hawkins Middle AV club . And Mike later grabs Bob’s Rubik cube, and mentions this after his death (to solidify the connection- even if subconscious in our minds. He even proclaims after this “we can’t let him die in vain” . And this is when Mike makes the plan to help Will (before El shows up). 

gif credit: cath-avery, dailystrangerthings

[axelroy]

ʻ   /   let  me  introduce  you  to  a  prized  member  of  our  honors society ,   axel roy-dreyfus .  this   cismale  cancer  has  been  a  student  at  our  institution for seven years  and  is  currently  a  21  year  old  junior.   through  the  halls ,   he  has  always  reminded  me  of   aron piper  ,   but  there  is  always  more  than  meets  the  eye ,   like  the  fact  that  he regularly takes acid to inspire his artwork .  coral  cape  has  made  their  future  just  as  bright  as  their  smile ,   i  assure  you .ʼ (   muse 17 ,  riley ,  20 ,  cst ,  she/her   )

pheeeeew as if i couldn’t love aron piper more, s3 of elite rlly did me like that jesus fjdkslgjdsf anyway PLS like this or dm me or discord me idc, i would love to plot with all of u <3333

TWS: drugs, depression, death, car accidents, a really fcking long intro post aha !

if u wanna be extra in the mood when u read this …………… pls feel free to have this audio post playing in the bg while u peruse. i have been crying listening to this all week. thanks for coming 2 my ted talk here is axel now !

NAME — axel roy-dreyfus.

NICKNAMES — axel, ace, a. 

PRONOUNS — he/him.

AGE & DOB — 21 & august 10, 1998.

PLACE OF BIRTH — new york city, new york.

NATIONALITY — french-american.

MAJOR — visual studies & psychology.

EDUCATION — cape coral international school.

CLUBS — honors society.

* BACKGROUND OVERVIEW !

axel was born the only child to two loving parents, an american father whose family has run a large media conglomerate for decades ( i got insp from hbo succession ok ), and a french mother whose family has a large hand in the development of nuclear energy in france ! so like ........ $$$$$$

there were probably a hundred timelines in which axel became a spoiled brat, but the universe was fortunate and brought two of the most kind-hearted souls that were ( relatively ) uncorrupted by the power and wealth that their families brought ( they were the youngest in their families, probs. youngest child syndrome *coughs* me ). he grew up in a loving household, one that was open and generous—their four empty bedrooms were always available for axel’s friends to stay over if they needed, 

axel learned from their optimism, from their generosity—why be manipulative, when his family had the means to procure anything with ease ? it was a dangerous bubble to grow up in, but his parents, being forward thinkers too, saw him as an equal growing up. they’d tell him all the family drama as they rolled their eyes. needless to say, they didn’t have to work too hard to get by in life, to live in luxury.

TW DEATH. on the eve of his parents’ anniversary when axel was sixteen, a sophomore in high school, his parents died in a tragic car accident in paris on the way back to the airport. he was left devastated, alone in a home with no one to return to. END TW.

while he wasn’t around at cape coral, he was sent to live with his uncle ( his father’s brother ) and aunt, where he finally got immersed into the cutthroat life of the roy family, no longer skirting the edges of the family business. he would constantly get compared to his cousins all the time, which he hated. his aunt and uncle also expected him to follow in his family’s footsteps and continue working at the family company—which he also despised, but didn’t voice openly. he’d known about the shady deals, thought the monopolization of media was an evil he’d want to avoid.

finding it hard to express his pain and loneliness after his parents’ death, axel started taking up art and painting more seriously than just a hobby. he painted and painted and painted, staying after school in the art studios just to let his emotions out somehow. and he became talented—garnering interest from his teachers, his peers, the portland community, and eventually worldwide with his social media following.

TW DRUGS. but the art didn’t spark out of nowhere—he certainly needed help, both to inspire his works, but also to relieve the pain of loneliness, to help him transition from his old life to a new. it was weed at first, but he slowly started dabbling in acid, cocaine, and molly, amongst other things. END TW.

now at cape coral, he’s continuing pursuing his career as an artist, with a humble following, slew of awards under his belt, a few international articles published about his unique genre ( see @ canvas section on my pinterest board here ), and has been invited to have his work exhibitioned in a galleries across the nation. 

* PERSONALITY !

axel certainly hasn’t lost the positive charm that he had grown up around, with parents like his. he’s pretty go-with-the-flow ( in a sense, far less uptight than his cousins, and probably many other cape coral students ), preferring to stay on the sidelines than get into the spotlight ( unless it’s the art scene ! ). 

he’s generous, and sometimes doesn’t realize when he’s being taken advantage of—another trait he’s probably received from his parents, who were far too giving for their own good.

he’s kind, but not a pushover—he’s becoming more confident in who he is, and won’t back down from pushing back in conversations, nor let his friends make terrible decision for themselves. sometimes he’s a bit stubborn in that capacity.

he’s a pretty good listener, and with his share of heartbreaks and pains, he’s been known to give pretty good advice while he’s sitting at his easel, painting away. whether or not he chooses to follow that same advice himself—a little less certain.

he certainly still focuses on his studies—being part of the honors society—as he continues to pursue a double major in visual studies and psychology. perhaps the interest in drugs came first from his interest in the mind itself. so, he’s definitely an academic, but he likes to have fun, too.

ambitious, yes—in the artistic development sense. otherwise, spontaneous, for sure. he’s chasing highs and new experiences that will inspire his artwork in the future. 

he’s fiercely loyal to those who he trusts, but wouldn’t necessarily go too far out of line to protect them. he’ll certainly go out of his way to pick someone up in one of the several cars he has ( he’d never had the heart to sell his parents’ cars ), to chat about problems, to work things out—but he probably doesn’t have the chops in him to break laws for people. but he’d never sell them out—he’d just stay silent.

sometimes he tends to zone out, sketching doodles on his notebooks and napkins, reveling in unique natural color combinations, being fascinated by shapes and lines. but he’ll also be the first to apologize for zoning out.

* CHARACTER TROPES !

TW: DEATH, DRUGS — growing up, axel roy-dreyfus was your classic BOY NEXT DOOR. shining smile, perfect manners, star on the cross-country team who had a charming smile and a brain, too. he was raised that way on purpose: picture perfect, for the only child of a roy and a dreyfus, two completely powerful families in the media world. but their expectations were not met because of strict curfews, or perfectly tied ties, no—axel wanted to be perfect to make them proud, because he loved them. because they were strong but caring, who saw axel as an equal. he never called them ‘mom’ or ‘dad’, but ‘william’ and ‘diana’ instead—they were his best friends, they never hid anything from him—not the family drama, not company secrets. they were the perfect little family, one that his friends often envied, but sometimes good things fall apart.

their little picturesque bubble burst quickly when his parents passed away in a car accident when axel was sixteen, and he was thrust into the bustling life of the roy family. though he was privy to the family drama through the lens of his parents before, he never realized how deeply cutthroat and horrible business could be. he would be constantly compared to his older cousins, would be on the receiving end of inquiries about where he would be attending college (cape coral, of course—their entire family’s alma mater). he found himself playing the role of the CONTENDER, often, battling unrealistic expectations to keep his family happy, yes, but more importantly, himself sane. but with axel’s loneliness, with his sadness came an awakening. unable to properly express himself with words anymore, he turned to art. and people realized that he had a gift like no other.

art became a refuge for him—he’d spend hours upon hours in the studios at school, and when he outgrew them (or rather, found other means of inspiration through pills and other substances), he moved his creative space to his dorm, his apartment—wherever he had space to just be. people started catching onto his talent: teachers and professors first, then peers, classmates, friends who supported his endeavors. purchases made their way across the world and his name became more and more familiar. his art is raw, vulnerable, not for the aesthetic but for the emotion elicited from symbols, colors, shapes. it’s his own genre, one that people have been more and more intrigued by these days. it’s gotten to his head, a little, surely—that he’s made a name for himself outside of the roys and the dreyfuses. he now has a bit of confidence behind him, being able to list his earnings and the recognition he has received at local galas—and people are starting to accept him for his future, too. it fuels him, makes him a HOTSHOT, but of course, not everyone knows about the measures he takes to ensure his creative juices keep flowing.

outside of his own personal journey, axel is known to be a loyal friend. the relationship he had with his parents certainly prepared him to be the shoulder to cry on, to give sage advice to people in need. he jokes that his apartment is now half an art studio, half a therapist’s office, by the nature that many people swing by to chat while he paints (sober, or not). he relied on his friends when his parents passed away, not exactly receiving the emotional support from his family that he needed. in that way, he’ll never sell someone out, never tell someone’s secret without their permission. in the perspective of those he cares about, he could be labeled a FERRYMAN, one who helps guide those who are in need of advice or just someone to talk something through with.

* PLAYLIST !

erase — omar apollo:

i don’t mind, my head’s in the sky thinkin’ of you, oh, feelin’ for you, oh oh it’s cold right now, i miss you for life it’s not going away, i thought i’d be okay, yeah

TW: DEATH, CAR ACCIDENTS — this song might more relate to axel’s relationship with his parents more than an ex-lover, though it could pertain to the latter, too. his parents, who died in a car accident on their way back from a trip to paris four years ago, where axel’s mother is from, were his inspiration, his support, his best friends. axel had an incredible bond with his parents—especially, given he is an only child. his parents nurtured a gentle but passionate soul in a family that was full of cutthroat, cold businesspeople. their death sparked his interest in expressing himself through art, as he couldn’t find the words to fully describe his pain and emotion. he misses them dearly, still sometimes finding it hard to navigate life without them, and dedicates his life and art to them everyday.

easy love — lauv:

keep comin’ back, guess you could say i’m attached last time we called it a wrap, i came beggin’ and all that you’re like a habit, it’s bad i got a habit, it’s bad oh no, i’m not even mad

TW: DRUGS — this song describes his personality and love life—unfortunately, he can be a bit reckless when it comes to his own well-being. he certainly dabbles in more than a few drugs, acid and marijuana mostly, to enhance his creative abilities, as it was a piece that he had painted during an acid trip that garnered him the fame and respect he has now. he tries to rationalize it as a creative process, as something necessary to push his artistry to the next level. similarly, in his love life, i imagine that he gets himself into rather toxic relationships. although he, himself, is a selfless person, especially to those he is loyal to, he sometimes doesn’t exactly realize when things are unhealthy to him—bad habits, you could say. he’ll keep crawling back to people as long as they make him feel good, even just for a night.

vincent — don mclean:

now I understand what you tried to say to me and how you suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them free they would not listen, they did not know how perhaps they’ll listen now

TW: DEATH — this song describes axel’s life as an artist, in the eyes of someone who appreciates his craft. his extended family, including his uncle and aunt whom he now stays with during holidays and family gatherings, don’t quite appreciate nor understand his interest in art. he has struggled, since the day his parents passed away, to get them to understand how much art means to him, and how it’s not just a phase. now at cape coral, where he is being nurtured to reach his fullest potential, he wants the chance to join a residency program after college in paris to reconnect with his mother’s family’s roots—he’s already garnering attention from a worldwide audience. he still faces a lot of backlash from his family, and it affects him more than he would like it to.

* AESTHETICS !

thrift shopping, talking on the rooftops until three am, poems scribbled on masking tape, dried flowers, french music on a record player in the background, paint-stained hands, hoodies on a sunny day, waves crashing on the sand, unfinished sketches on napkins, vintage film cameras, whiskey breath, exposed brick, clean unmade sheets, spontaneously bought train tickets, rose petals, writing letters to his parents, subway chatter, graffiti-ing positive messages on highway tunnels, cigarette smoke, art galleries circled on city maps, coffee under a paris awning.

* HEADCANONS !

he has an instagram page, showcasing his artwork, that has 82.7k followers at the moment. he doesn’t post his face or anything about him personally, just cryptic descriptions of vulnerable art.

he keeps his two last names out of respect and love for his parents—not, like many people believe, to be able to milk the advantages to being born to two families that control great media conglomerates in the world.

one of his most damning vices is cigarettes. he smokes them to feel calm, and often needs someone to swat them away from him.

his apartment is full to the brim of canvases and paintings—it’s honestly a zoo. layers of works line the walls of the hallways, whatever’s newest being the furthest out. there are some hidden gems laying around, if anyone were interested in checking.

he has ear piercings—much to his extended family’s dismay. he never used to wear it around when his aunt and uncle were present, but ever since his newfound confidence has bubbled up in his chest, he doesn’t care anymore.

he’s bisexual.

there’s an enormous chalkboard in his apartment too, and visitors are encouraged to draw and write messages on it—as long as they don’t erase his grocery list. he finds inspiration for his work on there a lot.

he’s a 3x state chess champion—it’s a skill he was taught as a kid, and likes how he had practice reading people from the game.

there’s an apartment in his name in the 7th arrondissement of paris, where he escapes to from time to time, the musée d’orsay is his favorite place on earth.

axel absolutely adores train rides. the ride from new york city (where his aunt and uncle live, and where his parents used to live) up to cape coral is some undisturbed peace where he likes to just sit and think, enjoying the changing colors of the autumn leaves.

* WANTED PLOTS !

these are just like stubs and rando ideas i had ……… pls feel free to pick and choose and mix and match idk i’m also ok at brainstorming ig PLEASE MESSAGE ME I WANT ALL THE PLOTS AND ALL THE ANGST OK THANKS !! i also have a WANTED TAG here

TW DRUGS

a best friend ( preferably since childhood ! ): give me guzman n ander vibes, where the two have known each other since they were little, have been through thick and thin, is axel’s biggest supporter in his art. ( insp: x ) OKF DSJO BUT PLS GIVE ME THIS ……………… 3x07 guys, come on. we all know.

childhood friends / best friends / ride or dies: likely other cape coral students who have been around a long time, they’ve seen axel through his ups n downs, were there for him when his parents passed, and get up to shenanigans at galas and charity events. the elite kids basically. they’re the siblings he’s never had, he’d protect them with his life and offer advice and paint things for them !

someone who goes with him to art museums pls he’d be super excited and cute and tell them everything about high renaissance art and theories of design patterns

good influence, someone who will swat cigarettes out of his hands and keeps him working on his assignments when all he’d rather do is paint. they keep him in line, and although axel might whine a little at first, he really values their friendship and them always looking after him. i’m thinking rebe/ander vibes from this season.

on the other hand, a bad influence, who might introduce him to different drugs, trip on acid with him as he paints, maybe causes him to spend his enormous trust fund on random shit.

tour guide, axel is good-natured and caring, and that doesn’t stop with the current cape coral students. even if some of his peers and his family might scorn him for being more open to them, he wouldn’t hesitate to show some of the new students around and show them the ropes. besides, he knows what it feels like to want to make a name for yourself.

former roommates (probably a cape coral student), who may or may not have been close. 

current roommates (probably also a cape coral student), who may or may not mind the fact that he’s been filling their apartment with enormous canvases, probably super super close friend to his, probably someone whose family probably is close to his, too. 

neighbors, there’s a lot of possibility here !! maybe they hated the way axel seemed to blare his speakers when he’s painting and tripping, they could be friends who storm each others’ rooms when they’re having bad days. his couch is practically a therapists’ couch at this point.

a critic, who pushes him to be a better artist. to dig deeper, to think further, to challenge himself and his abilities — which might be his downfall, considering he’s already diving into drug use.

his uh ……… first male hookup ??? this probably would have happened maybe like a year ago after him n giuliana broke up !!! he came out as bisexual in high school but had a long-term gf for a while so it would have been his first time rlly experimenting ya feel

on that note other hookups that he might have slept with during this ??? trying time

* MORE !

i’ve got a pinterest board here fjdklsf if u got this far and wanted to check it out ! pls pls plot w me i want all the plots *grabby hands* feel free to msg me on discord or here on ims !!!

[bi-hop]

Heart Host Theory

So, I recently reread Ava’s Demon and rekindled my love for the comic. It was a lot of fun! But, naturally, I started forming theories based on some of the clues left in the panels. That, combined with the AIW parallels, has led me to believe that Heart Host will be quite the interesting character. 

 Full disclaimer: I absolutely do not pretend to know a single thing about where the plot is headed, so take all of this with the necessary grain of salt it requires! This is all just speculation, plain and simple. My only credentials are that I’ve read a bunch of theories and really love Alice in Wonderland. 

The theory is under the cut!!!

I’ll be referring to Heart Host as ‘H’ for the rest of this post.  First off, let’s look at their icon on the cast page.

Obviously, we don’t know what their name is, or what they really look like yet, but the silhouette  can tell us some things!

- H is wearing a crown. (I’ll come back to this later.) 

 - Their shape is a heart. (I’ll also come back to this later.) 

 - H is smoking a pipe. (Believe it or not, I’ll also come back to this later, albeit briefly.) 

 - They have fluffy hair. (Not crucial, but fun to note!) 

 - And, finally, they have an almost cat-like ear. (Which is cute. That’s all.) 

‘Why does this matter?’ Let’s move on to some panels.

We’ve all seen this page, and it’s been analyzed to kingdom come, so I’ll keep this brief. 

If you look here, there‘s a snake with heart shaped eyes and body patterns. Said hearts are pink. 

This implies that H is represented by snakes, much like how rabbits are associated with Ava, as an example. 

But wait! There’s more! 

If you look here, the color of the vial with the sleeping pill matches the color of the hearts perfectly. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to predict that H and Sloth are linked. 

Now, if you remember Formspring, you might remember what Michelle once said about Sloth.

Because Sloth and mushrooms are connected in this, one can infer that H’s demon is this:

See the snake like tongue? The mushroom protrusion? Yeah.

And if you’re wondering why the pipe is relevant... both mushrooms and smoking a pipe can count as a drug, so to speak. Pair that with the sleeping pill in their vial and the imagery there makes perfect sense.

So! What about the crown? 

Well, in the two Alice books by Lewis Carroll, there are three queens.

The Red Queen and White Queen are lesser known, but that’s because they’re from the second book. (Interestingly, Alice does in fact become a queen at the end of the book, due to playing as a pawn for most of the game. Now, I’m not calling Ava a pawn in Wrathia’s plan to kill Titan, but... She’s a pawn in Wrathia’s plan to kill Titan.)

And it’s absolutely obvious who the third queen is.

The well known and very temperamental...

Queen of Hearts.

That, paired with this panel...

... makes H come off as a threat. 

And I’d argue that they are a threat! Just... maybe not in the way we all picture.

Here’s the thing. 

The Queen of Hearts isn’t so much of an antagonistic character as she is an obstacle. Just like how all of the other Wonderland characters are, essentially, obstacles to Alice during her journey.

In fact, her behavior around Alice is quite mercurial. During their first interaction, she blows up at her for acting rudely, but then proceeds to loudly invite her to a croquet game. Alice even manages to avoid being ‘sentenced’ to execution for the entirety of the game, unlike the rest of the players (sans the King and Queen). While they come into conflict again at the climax of the story, she still isn’t really a villain at all. She just has incredibly warped logic. 

That being said, here are my thoughts.

1. H is not meant to be a completely faithful interpretation of the Queen of Hearts.

I certainly think they are royalty, and maybe they will have their moments of irrationality and anger at some point in the plot, but they’re just based on the character. 

And 2. H is a threat... but they’re a threat to Ava’s pact.

Ava and Wrathia made a pact. The terms were simple. Ava has to help Wrathia kill Titan. In exchange, Wrathia will give Ava a new life.

Later on, Ava demanded a change. She wanted an ‘entirely different life’.

However, as Tuls said...

It’s currently not clear if Wrathia will in fact be able to accomplish Ava’s demand for an entirely different life, despite giving Ava her heart as collateral. 

However, it can definitely be argued that Ava’s side of the pact, if it does in fact remain unchanged, is easier to accomplish than Wrathia’s. 

After all, Wrathia wants to defeat an absolutely gigantic conqueror.

Ava just wants a new life where people miss her and love her. 

And while I doubt her side of the pact is fully fulfilled despite Wrathia believing otherwise, it’s absolutely reliant on her relationships with others. 

Here’s where H comes in.

A failure of pact results in  a ‘monster of failure���.

In their case, the way this would be accomplished is  in a few different ways. 

- Wrathia does not give Ava a new life. This doesn’t sound likely though because Wrathia desperately wants to go back to ruling and wouldn’t want to be fused permanently with someone she loathes. Also, she has a child to think about. If bringing Ava back to life counts, then she already accomplished too.

- Ava does not kill Titan.

Ava already has her doubts about the plan. Killing the owner of their part of the universe? Recruiting other pactmakers when her anxiety is so bad? It just seems like a pipe dream.

And, above all, her dream is to be loved. Appreciated. 

She lost all of her friends and loved ones because of Wrathia’s influence. She lost it all.

Now imagine if someone did love her. 

That someone loves her and appreciates her, just as she wants. And said someone doesn’t think killing Titan is feasible.

It’s too hard. Too risky. It’d just be easier to give up on that dream and live a simpler life. A better life. Why worry about Titan when you can just be happy? 

The Queen of Hearts was never an antagonist.

The Queen of Hearts was an obstacle. 

And what better obstacle than a snake? A careful, cautious, dangerous creature... who lies waiting in the grass to strike? 

TLDR; H is not dangerous to Ava personally (at least, not intentionally), but they are absolutely dangerous when it comes to the pact that Ava and Wrathia share.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[xloveyouanywayx]

Day 1

Everything reminds me of you and it makes me so sad. 

I had to change my phone background but now that you’re not the first thing I see when I look at it, it hurts just as much because I know I have to forget you. I also changed my computer background and I’m afraid to close the windows that are open because I know that it’s not you I’ll see and it will make me sad. I wasn’t able to change my status on Facebook. I just hurt too much. It’s silly because it’s not like anybody would know, I could hide it, but it just makes it way too real. I’m not ready for that. I still have hope. And as this one guy said in a TED Talk, hope can be destructive with a broken heart.

I can’t play words with friends. It only reminds me of you. I want to play with you, I wonder if there is anything wrong with continuing our games. But I know I shouldn’t. I’m just terrified about the day the games will expire. Have we expired too? I have kept playing with Scotty. Sometimes, I can’t open the app, it just gives me anxiety. Other times, I go as if nothing has changed. I think it’s because sometimes, it feels just the same. The distance, the time difference. It’s just when I realize that I shouldn’t reach out that I remember why it’s not the same. Not the same at all.

I did Adriene’s yoga for a broken heart this morning and I was thinking that maybe you were doing it too. Is your heart broken as well?

I was offered a chance to go visit farmers in the Kickapoo Valley today but I said no. I don’t think I’m in the right state of mind. Am I sabotaging my research? I don’t know. But what would it look like for me to burst into tears because the country side and the farms remind me of you?

I so wanted to text you last night. But I didn’t. I hope you’re gonna text me first. But I know I’ll probably cave first. 

I don’t know who to talk to about all this. I am kind of lonely here. Scotty has been of great support but it makes me a little uncomfortable. He’s still your friend before mine and I can’t have him be too close or I’ll never get over you. I talked to Saida and I’m seeing her today. She is always so good with this, so helpful. She said that it’s ok for me to miss you and love you and want to see you and talk to you. I really do. I miss you. I love you. I want to see you, hear your voice, talk to you. She asked what I would do if you showed up at my door today. And I know exactly what I would do, but I know you’re not gonna show up. You’re not one to really fight, at least for our relationship. And it hurts so much.

I can’t believe all this has been written before 10 am. I know more is coming because there is so much more left to the day.

I wonder if I should tell Mike about our break-up. He’s understanding and only wants what’s good for me. I don’t know if I’ll be ready to write my exam on Monday. I’m such a mess. Update: I emailed him. 

Cooper has been so helpful. He keeps snuggling with me. He’s so sweet and caring. I’m so grateful for him right now. He lies down next to me and let’s me pet him for a long time. I think he knows something is wrong. His body is warm against mine and it feels good. Sometimes it feels like he’s almost purring. I love it. He sheds a lot though, there is cat hair everywhere.

Things that reminded me of you today: Jeeps, Cooper’s tavern, the Capitol square, a picture of a knife just like yours, milkshakes.

When I cry a lot, I get cat hair in my mouth. It’s everywhere in the apartment. It’s both disgusting and a little funny.

I texted you today after I received the Ragstock gift card. I don’t know if I should have because immediately after I started freaking out. You responded quite quickly but I realized that I had been holding my breath the whole time. I had a panic attack. It was the first one ever. My heart was beating like crazy, I couldn’t breathe, I wasn’t able to cry either. I understood then that knowing that you might never respond, that you didn’t have any reason to, that it was probably better if you didn’t, almost crushed me. It didn’t last long but after that I felt weak and exhausted. I just want you in my life and knowing that you can’t be because we both need to move on and heal is hurting me.

I believe that you should try to get help. Because what you carry – the fear, the shame, the anger – is preventing you from letting go of the past. You’re still mad and ashamed of what happened to you and you can’t get on with your life and love. I so wish you would be able to fix that in time for us to still work out. But I know it probably won’t be the case because you might never get help at all or because when you do, it will require time and it will be too late for us. That also breaks my heart. I want you to get better and be happy, but God, I wish it could be with me. I was worried this was going to happen. I told you once how our relationship would end up being this moment in your life where you realized you had to do something so you would get better. And ultimately, that’s all this is gonna be in your memory; a turning point to something better. With someone else. It breaks my heart. Because you are amazing and I want to be by your side forever. Once you’re healed, you will be glowing and I want to be there. I just know this isn’t healthy to wish for.

I went to the garden today. God, what a mess it is. A lot happened there since I last went. It looks like my life. Or my heart. Or my head. Messy, confusing, polluted, damaged. It’s not surprising. I only stayed an hour but I cleaned out as much as I could. I didn’t do a very good job, I wasn’t as thorough as I should have been. You’ve always done such a good job of cleaning up, never letting anything that wasn’t supposed to grow and take over. I let things grow. I let the mess gather until it’s just too much and I can’t handle it anymore. The tomato plants look great though. They’re almost a foot tall. I can’t believe I grew them myself from seed. I am really proud. I’m very worried that I won’t be able to take good care of it though. The whole thing is just so big. I will never be able to eat everything that grows on there. I wish you could be here with me to work on it and reap the reward. I can’t believe that it has happened a second time. Last year already, I had started the season alone when I had planned to share the plot, the time, the food, and the memory with someone. Here it is again. I had dreamed of that plot being ours, for real this time. And now you’re gone. You’re not just gone to another place. You have also left my life. It hurts.

I found this podcast that I like. I searched for ‘broken heart’ and it came up. It’s called Head to Heart. I love how the speakers are so honest about their pain, their flaws, their fears. It’s easy to identify with them. They’re Christian and it’s interesting how they include God in their conversation. I’m not religious so I replace it by love in my head and it speaks to me a little more. I don’t think I’m wrong to equate God with love. It got a little too much though in the 3rd one. Maybe it’s because I can’t really relate to what they’re talking about when they bring up their experience talking to God and having him respond. It makes me curious though. I kind of envy them. I wish we could talk about it. I wish you could give me your point of view. I think by your side I could have started to believe in God. In some ways. Well, I’m sure you’re going to like it.

I broke my rule again today and texted you the link to the podcast. I don’t know if I should have. I just felt like this was really helpful and I want to help you. Because of all people, you’re the one I know understand what I am going through because you’re going through it yourself. You thanked me and told me it was hard not to talk to me, that you missed me. I read your message and my hands were shaking. I want you to miss me. I want you to regret all of this and fight to fix it. But before we can fix us, you need to fix yourself. I probably need to fix myself too. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. You, you kind of know where to start. You said you missed talking to me and I almost invited you to talk to me anyway. Because I miss the sound of your voice. I miss you. But I am not your therapist, I can’t help you get better. I’ve tried and I wasn’t able to. This is something you have to do on your own. I hope you get there. I hope you feel better. But there will be days where I miss you more than I can handle and I will reach out to you. I will force myself to wait until I can no longer hold it and I think after some time, my need to talk to you will fade and I will feel better. I hope when I feel the need to talk to you, you will let me in. I would understand if you don’t however, I know you need to heal too. Gosh, I can’t believe how much I love you and how much I miss you. This is hard. So, so hard. I know what we had wasn’t perfect but I think we could have made it pretty amazing. But that would have required you to be able to give yourself fully and be ready to jump in, which you weren’t and I get it. It just makes me sad.

I have this lump... down there. It wasn’t here yesterday and it hurts a little. I think it might just be an ingrown hair but it’s quite large under my fingers, bigger than a grain of rice. I saw it this morning and it worried me. Then I forgot about it. Tonight, I have this small area of my thigh that feels weird, like it’s cold or wet when it’s not. I wonder if this thing is maybe pushing on a nerve. I’m also wondering if it’s a ganglion. It’s not exactly located where it’s supposed to so I’m not sure. My biggest guess is that my body is reacting to the pain and stress in my heart and brain. I hope it’s nothing bad. I’ll call UHS on Monday to schedule an appointment. I tried to do it online but wasn’t able to and, on the phone, they can’t do anything. What’s the point of all this, really?

Talking about Monday, Mike responded to my email about my exam and moving it back a little more. He was so understanding and helpful. He told me to take my time to feel better and to email him again on Tuesday to let him know if I would want to start on Wednesday. He said that if I needed more time, he would make it work. He’s so kind, I feel so lucky.

It makes me sad that I’m telling you this here. I wish I could tell you in person, either by text or on the phone. I wish we could just chat like we used to. I miss you. I miss you so much. I understand why you want to stay friends with your exes now. Because you’re all I had in my life and I don’t want to lose you. Right now, I would be ready to keep texting you about random things as if nothing had happened. But I know this can happen. I’ll never get over you if we do that. If I were certain you would get help and then come back to me, then maybe I’d do it. But without this promise, I just can’t risk the pain. I wonder if that’s something we should talk about. Should I ask you if you’d be willing to recontact me when you’re better to see if we can try again? But what if I’ve moved on and because of what I said, you didn’t. Can we say that we’re taking a break? Is that really a thing? Is that healthy? Would our issues – your inability to commit, my mistrust, your attachment to the past – come back to ruin our relationship a second time? I don’t know how people do that. It’s so terrifying.

I’m starting season 4 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt tonight. I hope it’s still funny. You should watch season 3 and catch up. I wanted to watch Coco on Netflix but I figured I should keep movies for when I’m taking a break in my exam and binge watch the show now that I can say I’m trying to get better. Update: It was good but only 6 episodes!

Good night darling. I love you and I miss you.

[actutrends]

When the FBI Thought a High Priest of Satan Was Trying to Kill Ted Kennedy

POLITICO illustration with pictures from Deanne Fitzmaurice/Polaris and AP

David Gambacorta is a writer-at-large at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has likewise written for Esquire, Longreads, The Ringer, The Baffler and The Marshall Task.

The FBI and Secret Service representatives made their method through the streets of San Francisco’s foggy Richmond District area, about 2 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, toward a narrow Victorian house that looked like it had tumbled out of the shadows of Alfred Hitchcock’s creativity. The structure rose 2 floors to a dramatically angled roof; nearly every inch of the exterior had been painted the color of midnight.

The firms had actually spent the lion’s share of 2 weeks in October 1980 pursuing a case that had all the ingredients of a prospective media firestorm, one that could stimulate the nation’s most traumatic political memories. Now– on Halloween– their digging had led investigators here, to 6114 California Street.

It was called the Black Home, and stories about what went on behind its walls had actually been the topic of curiosity and speculation for more than a decade. The representatives climbed up a brick staircase, and knocked on the jet-black front door.

They were soon satisfied by a bald, middle-aged man with a goatee: Anton Szandor LaVey. LaVey, the high priest of the Church of Satan, was once rumored to have actually played a mystical function in the death of a previous Hollywood star.

A day previously, Senator Ted Kennedy had left San Francisco after marketing for President Jimmy Carter, whose basic election showdown with Ronald Reagan was inching better. It had been a long, tumultuous year for Kennedy, who was then in his late 40 s. He ‘d attempted to wrest the Democratic governmental election from Carter; when that bid failed, Kennedy resorted to playing the role of a great celebration soldier, summoning the remnants of his household’s old Camelot magic as he crisscrossed the nation to win over citizens for Carter.

Running for president had also awakened a worry that Kennedy had attempted to conceal even from his closest confidants: that he would be assassinated, just like his bros, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Anonymous tormentors had been sending out Ted Kennedy handwritten dangers considering that the late 1960 s. “Teddy has to die,” promised a note that was when mailed to his dad. The death threats only increased when Kennedy was on the project path in1980

What Kennedy, Shrum and a handful of other staffers didn’t understand was that a person early morning that October, teletype machines had actually clattered to life in FBI field workplaces across the nation with a fresh transmission, seven pages’ worth of new intelligence information. The bottom of the first page consisted of a plain message: “SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY– VICTIM, CONGRESSIONAL ASSASSINATION STATUTE.”

An informant had actually called the FBI workplace in downtown Chicago and described that a plot to murder Kennedy was being set in motion. It’s a story that has actually never been told until now, a bizarre piece of history that ended up being public only when I discovered records of the examination that the FBI silently released in June in The Vault, the bureau’s online FOIA library. The files described a plan that apparently involved cash, drugs and the mob. And according to the informant, the ringleader– the male who supposedly desired Ted Kennedy dead– was none besides Anton LaVey.

Fourteen years previously, in the spring of 1966, the nation was marked by discontent and experimentation. It was a perfect environment for provocateurs, a fact that was not lost on LaVey, then a 36- year-old showman who declared he ‘d worked in the past as an occult private investigator and a performer in a traveling circus.

That April, he invented a brand-new role for himself, shaving his head and forming the Church of Satan. LaVey arranged his church around a philosophy of self-indulgence and excess– aptly mirroring the times– but still experimented with devil worship motifs, vamping in a cape, and using a bulbous ring that he declared could give little children their dreams. His Jaguar even had an individualized license plate: SATAN9. “Individuals like to have a hell of a time, do not they?” LaVey asked during an interview around that time with Joe Pyne, a syndicated talk program host.

P.T. Barnum had a circus tent, and LaVey had the Black House, where he kept a pet lion and performed routines. LaVey’s stagecraft attracted the attention of some Hollywood players, like Sammy Davis Jr. and the actress Jayne Mansfield, who was reported to have had an affair with LaVey. In one, Mansfield playfully clutches a skull while LaVey fans his cape out beside her, and in another, she prepares to drink from a chalice that he cradles in his hand.

The decade that followed shown to be a duration of transition– for both LaVey and Kennedy. LaVey cut back on his public performances, and started composing books that cashed in on the popular culture fascination with films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist “He had ended what he called the ‘stuffed rat and tombstone’ news protection which had mainly been released in guys’s publications,” explains Magus Peter Gilmore, the Church of Satan’s current high priest, in an e-mail. “He was now giving his time to more major conversations of his philosophy, beyond the flamboyant and creepy trappings which initially brought him attention.”

Throughout the country, on the other hand, Kennedy was wrestling behind the scenes with concerns about his political fate. Advocates had once expected him to get his killed siblings’ mantle and try for the White House, yet the 1972 and 1976 governmental races found Kennedy on the sidelines, incapacitated by the specter of his 1969 car crash in Chappaquiddick that resulted in the death of a traveler, Mary Jo Kopechne, and resulted in him pleading guilty to leaving the scene of a mishap.

But Kennedy’s hesitancy faded by the end of the years, and he was heartened by early surveys that showed Democratic voters would prefer him over Carter in a governmental main fight. “He was running for president because he really thought President Carter was not dealing with concerns that were important,” says Stuart Shapiro, a previous Kennedy senior staffer.

Running for the country’s highest workplace, however, increased the chances that Kennedy might end up being a target for some psychopathic potential assassin who might lurk, confidential and unnoticed, at a busy rally. It was no idle risk. In March 1980, a tipster in Charlotte, North Carolina, got in touch with the cops after overhearing a group of males in a cinema boasting that they planned to assassinate Kennedy in Pittsburgh, with some taken M-16 rifles. A project volunteer in Trenton, New Jersey, got a phone call from a man who vowed to assassinate the senator when he visited the city in May.

Aside from blurting, “They’re going to shoot my ass off the way they shot Bobby,” while on a congressional flight back from Alaska, Kennedy shied away from sharing his assassination fears with aides or family members. “I remember being in Iowa, and when we ‘d first go out there, the Secret Service would produce this huge space between him and the crowd,” Shrum tells me.

Independently, Kennedy sought out his physician and political advisor, Larry Horowitz, and handed him something important. “It was a letter my daddy had written to me at the start of his presidential campaign, in case he was assassinated,” Patrick Kennedy, his youngest kid, remembered in his 2015 book, A Typical Battle: An Individual Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Health Problem and Dependency Kennedy took to calling Patrick from the road every night– his method of letting his adolescent kid know nothing bad had occurred.

The informant who contacted the FBI in 1980 stated he ‘d received a call, too, on October20 The caller had identified himself as LaVey, the informant claimed, and disclosed that he wanted the man’s help with a strategy to murder Ted Kennedy.

The FBI and the Secret Service knew two things for certain: LaVey still lived in San Francisco, and they needed to get a deal with on the case– and fast.

Detectives didn’t have to contend with Twitter or Facebook, digital echo chambers that years later on would make political discourse more toxic and develop ideal shipment systems for giants to share threats.

The FBI’s San Francisco workplace pulled records it had on LaVey dating back to the mid-’70 s, when a tipster informed the bureau that LaVey had actually bought pistols, a shotgun and a rifle. Other files revealed that LaVey had actually once allegedly been “interested” in signing up with the National Socialist White People’s Party, which had been known, in an earlier incarnation, as the American Nazi Celebration.

LaVey had no arrest history, however he ‘d been linked to a disaster once previously. His relationship with Mansfield had actually reportedly ended with LaVey’s putting a curse on Sam Brody, the actress’ attorney and partner, assuring that he ‘d pass away in a vehicle crash. The unlikely ramification– that LaVey accidentally caused Mansfield’s death– persisted long enough to fuel a 2017 documentary, Mansfield 66/67

The Chicago informant– whose identity is still being concealed by the FBI– informed representatives that he ‘d had supper once prior to with LaVey, who discussed to him the Church of Satan’s beliefs. When they supposedly reconnected by phone in 1980, LaVey informed the guy that he owed the high priest a favor. His alleged directions were simple: In a week approximately, the informant would receive a bundle, and he should transport it to a mob employer on the South Side of Chicago; the mob would, in turn, get Kennedy. After the phone call, the informant was checked out by a member of the Church of Satan, whose purpose “was particularly to talk about the satanic cult and the plot against Senator Kennedy,” according to FBI records.

The informant informed the FBI that LaVey was going to fly to Chicago on October 27, bring with him eight kgs of hashish and an unknown amount of cash. Taking no chances, the FBI, Secret Service and DEA sent out agents to O’Hare International Airport to obstruct flights from San Francisco and capture LaVey, like something out of Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can An attempt at keeping an eye on a phone call to LaVey also failed.

The Secret Service had polygraphed the informant prior to the fruitless airport search. “Outcomes were inconclusive,” private investigators kept in mind, “due to use of drug.” They continued. They had to discover LaVey. “I was a young representative when President Kennedy was eliminated, and [investigated] some leads on the case,” states Francis Mullen, who had risen to executive assistant director of the FBI by1980 “When Bobby was assassinated, I was in Los Angeles, collaborating some of the leads on that case. If a danger had actually been available in on the third brother, we ‘d need to take it seriously.”

A lady who responded to LaVey’s door informed them that he was traveling, and would not be back for numerous days. The investigators alerted her they had information that recommended “an attempt may be made on LaVey’s life,” according to the records. They encouraged the female to get a hold of LaVey and urge him to make himself available for an interview.

Kennedy’s Secret Service detail was kept in the loop about the potential danger, however it’s uncertain whether the senator was mindful of the examination. The FBI began to see disparities in his account.

Detectives returned to the Black Home a 2nd time, on Halloween. And this time, when the door opened, they came in person with LaVey. For several years, he had actually taken pleasure in toying with individuals’s imaginations, blurring the lines between efficiency and something darker. And now he was faced with no-nonsense federal representatives, and they weren’t in the mood to mess around.

For a guy who referred to himself as the “Black Pope,” the prestige of being linked to an FBI examination may have been a welcome advancement when he was very first seeking attention for his church. This older version of LaVey, however, decided to come right out with it: He had absolutely nothing to do with any assassination plot.

” LaVey advised that of any political authorities, he has the highest regard for Senator Kennedy and his family,” according to the FBI records. And LaVey could have compassion with the dangers that Kennedy typically received; he informed the representatives that he had actually been the victim of physical and spoken attacks because of his position in the Church of Satan.

LaVey examined his current phone messages, and saw that he ‘d received calls from the Chicago location on October 23 and October27 But he told the representatives that he didn’t know the identity of the caller and had not tried calling the number that had been left for him.

And after that LaVey shared some surprising news with the representatives: His function as the head of the church was all a charade. Most of the church’s fans, he stated, were “fanatics, cultists, and weirdos,” the records show. “[H] is interest in the Church of Satan is strictly from a financial point of view,” the agents kept in mind, “and spends the majority of his time providing interviews, writing material, and recently has ended up being thinking about photography.”

Satisfied that Kennedy’s life wasn’t in danger, the FBI and Secret Service returned their attention to their informant. If he had an explanation for why he bothered to send out the firms on a while goose chase in the first place, no agent bothered writing it down.

This wasn’t the last time that LaVey popped up on the FBI’s radar. In the late 1980 s, the bureau would examine a wave of accusations about kid sex abuse that was apparently linked to satantic churches, including LaVey’s, sustaining a so-called “Hellish Panic.” The accusations were never ever substantiated. “Our company has actually constantly been above-ground about its law-abiding beliefs and practices, so wild stories are generally seen to be precisely that– not having any basis in reality,” Gilmore, the current high priest, tells me.

LaVey died in 1997, and the Black House was later taken apart, replaced by a relatively generic-looking condo.

For Kennedy, the LaVey case– such as it was– was simply another strange subplot in a life filled with them, the expense of being a Kennedy and leading a public life. No threat ever proved worrisome sufficient to convince him to give up his Senate seat, which he held up until his death from glioblastoma in2009 “You either live your life or you don’t,” Shrum says. “And he chose to live his life.”

The post When the FBI Thought a High Priest of Satan Was Trying to Kill Ted Kennedy appeared first on Actu Trends.

[ireview-icarly]

iPilot

How adorable are these lil fuckers?

There’s your warning to know that even if I’m talking about a kids show, I will not have kids friendly language.

So this review is going to be a little different from the others. For one, it’s my first one. Unless I’m perfect, a word never used to describe anything I do, I’m probably gonna change things up a little bit as I go with this. So I’m saying I don’t expect my last review to be like this one. For another, before I get started on the actual review, I’m going to be explaining some things. So let’s get started on that, shall we?

First of all, I’m watching the episodes on my tv. Therefore, it isn’t often that I will be taking screenshots. That also means I will be using images from the wiki and whatever I find on google. I figure, since they’re put online without a warning or a watermark, they’re free to use. So probably all of the images (and gifs, as I’ll be using a lot of those) I use for these reviews aren’t mine. It also means the consistency of the screenshots and images will be a little different, but I’ll try to edit them if they need to be edited. For this one, I broke down and found the episode on some illegal streaming app on my laptop and took screenshots for the parts I couldn’t find them, but I’m going to be trying to avoid doing that in the future.

Second of all, shipping. I’ve seen the wars, I know how crazy it can get. I’m hoping, as the series has been over for quite a few years now, it will have calmed down enough that we can be civilized about this? I’m not going to get deep into this until the review for iDream of Dance, that specific episode for a reason.

Third of all, my rating. Now, my system is pretty easy. At the end of each review, I’m going to rate it by giving it however many stars out of ten I think it should have. It’s going to be on plot, humor, character, conflict, and my own personal overall enjoyment of the episode. My rating for most of those will be done objectively but the last category is simply opinion. I’ll break it down even clearer in the end.

Now let me warn you, I’m in an intensive Creative Writing program and before that English was my best subject in high school and middle school. What does this mean? It means I’m long winded and I over analyze the shit out of things. Just be prepared for that.

I think that’s everything! Bout time we get started, no?

So we open up the show, not with one of the main characters, but of a man in his office laughing at something funny. This man, as we all know, is Ted Franklin, the principal of this here institution. He’s played by Tim Russ and he’s awesome.

The gif button on tumblr is honestly great, I’m so glad for it. I just type in iPilot and boom, we have Principal Ted Franklin laughing.

I love Principal Franklin, he reminds me of my old principal. Mean spirited teachers with sticks up their asses do exist (in fact, we’re about to meet one in the iCarly universe!), but some teachers don’t get into the profession of teaching if they hate kids (though I will admit some do it just to have a job to pay them bills). This is the first meeting we get of our guy Ted here, and it lets us know right away chill and appreciates humor. But we’re not here for him.

No we’re not here for her either.

So this woman, who we know to be Ms. Briggs, though she hasn’t been introduced yet, is played my Mindy Sterling. Briggs is obviously upset about something, but we don’t know what yet. “She is right outside,” Briggs says, and then we meet our action girl.

This girl is named to be Carly, so if you’ve never heard of or seen the show (and you don’t know that this show was made for Miranda Cosgrove), you know right away that this is the main character. After all, it is iCarly right?

Okay, let’s get right into over analyzing the scene. That’s what you’re here for, right? Now I’m going to be watching the show in a few different ways. I’m going to be watching it now, in 2017, at 20 years old, with the knowledge of what happens in the show as well as how successful the show ended up being. I’m also going to be watching it as if it’s 2007 and I’m watching for the first time.   (Can we talk about the fact that the show has now been on for over ten years? Insane, right?)

So now, let us go back to 2007 when this aired. For the past few years, we have seen this girl as Megan, Drake’s evil little sister that likes to torment him and they’re step brother, Josh. Going back to the mind of myself in 2007, when Miranda Cosgrove steps through that door, all I see is Megan.

Now, Meagan- I mean Carly has been sent to the principal’s office. So, since she’s been sent to the principal’s office, we get this sense that Carly’s a trouble maker, kind of like Meagan, right? I mean, look at this smirk?

We can now see that Principal Ted was laughing at a picture of Ms. Briggs’ head photo docked (photo shopped) onto a very large animal, which is debated between a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus. And really, it’s obviously a rhino, come on Principal Ted.

So yes, it seems that Carly is quite the troublemaker. Very similar to her twin, Meagan. Only... there’s something here we don’t know. In the beginning, Carly seemed hesitant to admit to doing this, and she’s fidgeting in her chair, and looking downright uncomfortable. If she was really a trouble maker, wouldn’t trips to the principal’s office be just a Tuesday for her?

Briggs brings up her father, and we find out through some dialogue exposition that her father is out of the picture, at least for now, because he is in the military and is stationed in Europe. She is being looked after by her older brother, Spencer. Who is an “artist”.

Interestingly we see here Carly loses her composure when Briggs mocks Spencer’s chosen profession. So we see that she is protective of her brother. And interesting difference between Carly and Meagan, who her brothers usually needed protection from.

Sigh. I like Carly but sometimes I miss Megan.

So Principal Franklin lets Briggs decide on Carly’s punishment, and she assigns Carly to tape the school auditions on Saturday. Carly, who has a Cuddlefish concert she was looking forward to attending, does not like this. As she basically pees herself running from the office after correcting Briggs on the animal she was turned into, we get the sense that maybe Carly isn’t like Megan.

The screen goes black and the theme song starts. Let’s talk about the theme song, as there won’t be many other times where we’ll do this. Dan Schnider, the creator of this show, also created All That, Kenan and Kel, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, Drake and Josh, and more. All of those shows had great theme songs. Everyone knows the All That theme song, as well as the Drake and Josh one. iCarly continues this trend with Miranda Cosgrove singing Leave It All To Me with the help of her older tv brother, Drake Bell. You know it’s coming when you hear a character (that has not yet been introduced) say “In 5... 4... 3... 2...” and you can’t help but sing along.

As for the visuals, we see someone typing in the iCarly web address into a browser, and then... what’s this? Interestingly, for the first time, I notice that it doesn’t actually go to the iCarly website, but some sort of video player.

I mean, that’s just not iCarly.com.

But I did use the this picture as a reference when I was decorating my blog, tell me how you guys like it.

We see the player zoom to different videos, and little mouse clicks the Actor’s names up. It’s cute, it matches the show, I feel ten again.

I’ve only done one scene so far. It’s very possible I’ll be the only one to read this, but if not, tell me if you think I should shorten these reviews! I do think this one is going to be much longer than the others, as everything is introduced and I’m talking about things I won’t always be talking about (like the theme song, the settings, the transition from D&J and more). It’s my first review, so just tell me what you all think.

So the next scene is in a school hallway where we see a blonde girl pushing a boy up against some lockers.

She seems nice.

Apparently our boy in the yellow called who we know to be Sam aggressive, and she did not like that. How interesting, I always thought Sam prided herself on being aggressive. She wants to be called “Pretty” and “Sweet”, and while pretty is fine, sweet doesn’t seem to be the type of descriptor I would think she’d want. I’ll keep this in mind for later, though, as I could be wrong.

Sam IS aggressive, we see it for ourselves. She also seems to be pretty intimidating. So how funny is it that Carly can bring her down in no time by pulling her by her hair? Could anyone get away with this? We know, because we’re from the future, nobody else can do this. It’s a good way of setting up their relationship.

What we find out next is that Carly DIDN’T put the teacher’s head on a fat animal, it was her blonde friend. Carly took the blame for her because Sam might have gotten expelled. That’s a harsh punishment for a little prank, but perhaps she was on disciplinary probation. ...Do high schools have disciplinary probation? I only heard of that in college. I also only ever got detentions in high school and a warning at college, so I don’t know much about this trouble making life.

Anyway, I liked the way they introduced Carly. They did it in a way that made it seem like she was more like Meagan, and then you see that she’s actually the opposite. We already know within the first five minutes of the show that she’s a good kid, as she could take the fall for Sam’s prank and not get into too much trouble. And we can also see that she’s loyal from the way she sticks up for Spencer and takes the fall for Sam. She’s a little skittish and high strung, but from the first scene we know it’s not so much that she can’t have a laugh. Cool girl, that Carly Shay.

Sam hasn’t been introduced as Sam yet, but she’s played by Jennette McCurdy. We already know a lot about her from her first scene too. As I said before, she is aggressive and intimidating, but not to Carly. By her fashion, she’s a bit of a tom boy. She is the troublemaker, and when she’s not slamming nerds against lockers, she’s a pretty chill bean.

The Brunnette and Blonde duo where one’s more girly (usually the brunette) and one has qualities that are more typical for boy characters (usually the blonde) has been beat into the ground, I mean we even had Miley and Lilly at this point. It’s not like this is new and refreshing. It’s almost standard for a female lead children’s show. I don’t mind, it’s just something I can’t help but notice or point out.

Carly wonders why Sam is her best friend, my guess is it’s because Sam’s the yin to Carly’s yang. Sam says it’s because she’s a lovable person (as she pushes the kid again).

Alright dude, now you’re just being dramatic.

So now school’s over and Carly seems to live in an apartment building. As she’s getting out her keys (since when do the Shays lock their door?!) she drops her water bottle. Out comes a little blue blur to pick it up and we meet this guy.

This, is Freddie, Carly’s neighbor. This tiny lil muffin is played by Nathan Kress, and he grows up hot. Huh? What? Who said that? Anyway, he’s speaking very quickly so you wonder if he’s overzealous or if he just has to pee. Apparently Freddie likes to look out his peep hole and watch Carly go home. That is creepy and I know he grows out of it eventually. I’ll be glad when he does. I won’t be using this blog to talk about these sort of topics, but can we stop normalizing creepy stalker behavior for boys? That would be great, thanks.

Anyway, it’s lighthearted, it’s funny, well it’s supposed to be anyway, so whatever. Carly is quick to set him straight but he says a quote that I see every so often on this website with 100s of thousands of notes.

At least he’s not saying “You will love me Carly Shay! I won’t take no for an answer!” so I’m cool with that. Also the way Nathan delivers the line so casually causes me to giggle every time. He also offers his camera to be used for recording the auditions. Carly totally glosses over the fact that it’s weird that he knows this. I like Freddie. I like Freddie a lot. But I don’t like Freddie in this episode, at least not so far. Freddie having a crush on Carly is a very well known part of his character, but he’s not quite as obsessive in the series as a whole as he is in this episode. I don’t know how long this will last but it’s not quite as funny as the laugh track will suggest.

Speaking of, let’s talk about the fake audience. I don’t quite remember it being so obvious when I was young, but it is for me now. I just spent the past couple of weeks re watching another show I’m a fan of, Boy Meets World, and they also have fake laughter in the background. But even that isn’t quite so obvious. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but I wish it weren’t there in the first place. I know Zoey 101 didn’t use a laugh track, and D&J may not have either (but I’m not sure). I wish iCarly didn’t use one as well.

iCarly is very good at introducing characters. The first time we meet Spencer, he’s hanging from the ceiling taking a picture of a robot made of empty soda and water bottles. It’s a pretty cool robot, and it’s iconic as it’s in, I believe, every episode of iCarly ever. This is the only time I can think of where it’s not in it’s usual spot.

I want the story of the Shay family. I don’t think we ever know what happens to the mother. Carly says she’s in eighth grade and Spencer is 26. This means Carly is probably around 13 or 14 years old, which means there is at least a 12 year gap between them. That’s a pretty big gap! Who was a surprise? Were both of them a surprise? We’ll never know for sure...

I’m pretty sure Spencer’s character is consistent throughout the show, which is cool. And he and Carly seem to have a pretty good relationship, which is even cooler. Carly can’t use Spencer’s camera because he turned it into a squirrel. Spencer is played by Jerry Trainer, who at this point we knew as Crazy Steve. We hear it in his yelps of pain. I’m so glad we got more of Jerry Trainer because he’s such a good comedic actor. The way he laughs before showing the squirrel makes me laugh every time.

So Carly shows up on Saturday for the talent show and is surprised to see Freddie there with way more technical equipment then strictly necessary for a school talent show audition.

What an adorable little peanut. He’s so small. So now we know Freddie is a bit of a tech nerd, and I mean that in the nicest way. We also get the first glimpse of a pear laptop, which I always found amusing. He’s still hyperactive in this way that makes it seem like he has to pee, and it’s cute, it’s just not funny (to me).

That being said, when Sam walks in, his whole persona changes. Before he reminded me of Colin Creevy from Harry Potter. Colin was cool, but he wasn’t a main character in any part of the books so we didn’t get so much of him that he became annoying (to us). Freddie is a main character, he has to have more to his personality then “overzealous kid with a crush on Carly” and in this scene we get to see more of it. He’s into technology so he’s probably smart, and the excited little kid seems to be who he is when he’s alone Carly but not all the time. Cool, I can deal with that, considering from here on out they’re not alone that often. And like I said, he grows out of this eventually.

He does scream a lot though.

This scene, however, sets up the next seasons of iCarly. Freddie is techy, Sam is mean, they bicker, Carly watches. I wonder why Carly doesn’t say anything to make it stop. She does look annoyed. By their interaction, we know Sam and Freddie know each other. Maybe at this point Carly knows it’s inevitable and just waits for it to die down.

Sam crosses a line and Freddie’s ready to pack up and go, but all Carly has to do is smile and bat her eyelashes and say “Please Stay,” and he does. It’s deliberate, you can see she’s putting on a face and voice and knows it will work. Not my favorite thing about Carly, it’s sort of manipulative. But I like that our girl isn’t perfect.

So some guy named Jeb who is like a cross between Sinjin and Robbie, both from Victorious, does a one man skit. It’s weird, there’s no context, it’s like 5 seconds long. Sam and Carly make fun of it, it’s pretty funny stuff. 

The bad auditions continue until a girl starts to play the trumpet while hopping on a Pogo stick. Which is actually pretty cool, cause I can’t stay on a Pogo stick for longer than two seconds. The next kid tells a joke that is apparently not that funny, he looks a little bit like Miss Briggs so now it’s open season on the lady. They focus on her crazy pointy boobs, and I remembered that before so I was looking to see how crazy pointy her boobs were in her first scene. They don’t seem that bad to me. When I hear crazy pointy boobs I think of Madonna’s famous bra... or Kim Possible.

Freddie thinks they’re funny, he records them, but they stop pretty quickly to get to business and keep watching the auditions. One of them is the beat box kid. Beat boxing is actually really cool, unfortunately this guy sucks. Still made me laugh though.

Sam and Carly are at her house and Carly puts her foot on Same’s face to wake her up. They must be REALLY close because, personally, I wouldn’t let anyone put their foot on my face. I think I read somewhere that Dan Schneider has a foot fetish... feet do make a lot of appearances in this and Victorious...

Carly checks to see if Freddie put the audition videos up on... Splashface. Splashface sounds like it would be a knock off Myspace, which might have still been a thing when this came out, or Facebook, but the way it’s set up is like YouTube. So most likely it’s a combination of everything.

The casual way Sam says she hates Ms. Briggs, I love. It’s so real to me, just the way I would start a conversation about hating someone. Carly discovers Freddie did not put the audition videos up, but instead put up the video of Carly and Sam making fun of Ms. Briggs’ ta tas.

Carly is freaking out while Sam keeps a cool head and points out only 27 people have watched. Apparently Sam doesn’t know that 27k actually means 27 THOUSAND as Carly informs her in the loudest way possible. I always love when Carly screams so loud that Sam falls out of her chair, it’s hilarious.

How did it get so many views? 27,000 is a lot for a short little video of the girls making fun of a teacher. My theory? It was known that the auditions would be up that night so the participants went online to see their auditions and found Carly and Sam being funny instead. Ms. Briggs is probably a teacher that most students dislike, so it wouldn’t be surprising if some friends started to send the video to their friends like “Hey this is so true!”. Alums would see it too so getting a couple thousand isn’t that surprising. From there I guess it takes off. It probably helps that the picture is so clear, with Freddie’s HD camera, and the girls are pretty.

So now Sam’s freaking out along with Carly who says she can’t remove it without Freddie’s password. Sam learns Freddie lives across the hall, which is interesting so I have to analyze it for a second. Sam and Carly are best friends, Freddie and Carly are neighbors, Sam and Freddie know and don’t like each other. That’s the extent of the relationships within this trio right now. I have no idea when Freddie came into the picture but it would have to have been sort of recently, right? Unless Carly and Spencer just moved into the apartment, wouldn’t Sam be over enough to know that Freddie lives across the hall? Maybe Freddie was new to town and that’s why Sam didn’t know? I’m just figuring out the origin story here.   

Wait, before we move on, Carly is doing a lot of typing on that computer. What on God’s green earth could she be typing? Someone tell me.

Anyway, Sam runs across the hall even though Freddie would be asleep because, according to Carly, it’s after midnight. Sam breaks in anyway and pulls Freddie by his feet while he’s screaming. Where? Is? His? Mom? We know she wouldn’t just sleep through Freddie screaming like that, maybe she’s working late? Anyway, this is, to me, the funniest part of the episode. TOO MUCH FRICTIONNN!

And then,

WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU??

I can’t breathe, and ten year old me is rolling! I’ve seen the pilot a lot, probably more than any other episode they have. I’ve been mouthing some of their lines with them, but this is one I have to say with him every time. I love that line, it’s never not funny.

Also he is adorable, so small with his matching pajamas and everything, I love it. A little cabbage patch kid. (How many different things can I call Freddie before he grows and his voice gets deep in season 2 hmm?)

Freddie swears he edited them out before he uploaded and goes to the computer to check (doing a lot of typing and I don’t understand what he could be typing because isn’t it already up) and discovers his mistake. It’s a plausible mistake. I do a little video editing and he likely made two files with very similar names and put the wrong thing up.

Freddie works to get it removed, which it will be, tomorrow morning. Why... does it have to wait until morning? And does it mean it will be removed later on that same day, as it’s technically morning if it’s past midnight, or the next day?

Freddie reads them the nice comments people left on the video. I wonder what the mean ones say... ‘cause we all know there are mean ones. Appealing to the girls’ egos certainly helps them calm down. It makes sense as the girls are attention seekers. I don’t mean that to be a bad thing, but you have to like attention to upload yourself online every week for views, so it fits with what we know of their characters as long time viewers of iCarly, and it introduces an important aspect of their characters for first time viewers.

At school on, I’m guessing, Monday, the girls give Ms. Briggs the auditions on a DVD. Remember when those were a thing? Anyway, she hints that she saw the video but not much more comes of that. When they tell her about the interesting performances, she shuts them down without a moments hesitation.

(Also Beat Box Boy comes back, and he still had a microphone! Why? I have no idea.)

Carly and Sam get back to Carly’s apartment and Carly is ranting about Ms. Briggs not giving some talents a chance. So we learn that something that really gets to Carly is how controlling adults can be. Interesting aspect of her character that I’m sure is going to play a big part in the show. Look at who she has as a guardian? Spencer is pretty chill and probably lets her do a lot of things she wants to do.

We also introduce Sam’s love for food and ham that stays with us until the end. Freddie comes over too, and it’s a more casual hang out. No one addresses this but I have to because is this something Freddie would have done a week ago? Are they already starting to be closer? I can see the forming of the trio already.

Carly then gets the idea to put on a show for themselves, which is awesome. I love that Ms. Briggs says no so Carly gives people another opportunity to express themselves and they can still show it to their friends and family. It goes in line with what we just learned about Carly, she likes for her and others around her to have the freedom to express themselves. Sam’s down, so long as she doesn’t have to do much work which conveniently puts Carly as the lead (but in the actual webshow Carly and Sam pretty much share the lead).

Freddie wants to have a part as the technical producer, and, in my opinion, Freddie plays a HUGE role in why their web show becomes as successful as it does. Some advice to up and coming Youtubers? Editing has a large part in your success. If it was just Carly and Sam standing in front of a camera with no editing or effects or camera work, iCarly wouldn’t be as big as it gets in this universe, I promise you. Freddie’s importance gets brought up later on in the show, and I’m glad. In this scene it sounds like they’re doing Freddie a favor, when they should feel lucky Freddie wants to have a part. I also think it’s says something that he’s the one that names iCarly.

So I’m watching both the extended version and the cut version, and for the most part the shorter one is usually a couple of lines cut from a scene. This one, however, is different. In the shorter one, when Sam insults him, Freddie flips his shit and starts screaming again, but it’s funny because he calls Sam “Lady”. I’m amused (I’m easily amused). In the long one he says the same line, “You got a big mouth, lady!” but he doesn’t yell it, and Sam and Freddie continue to bicker until they start just making nonsense sounds at each other. Carly soon joins in. This is the first time I like the shorter one better. The long one is weird, the way the trio make weird sounds isn’t that funny, and I like Freddie’s delivery of his line in the short one better.

Spencer runs in with a weird mannequin thing and Carly asks if she can use the third floor as a studio, which he... sorta agrees to. He looks like he’s struggling with the “Parent” part of all this, which makes sense because he’s not a parent. He’s her brother.

So, let’s talk about the Shay apartment.

This is another iconic part of the iCarly universe (and just so you all know, when I say iconic, I mean iconic for those who watched iCarly). If you see this set, you know it’s iCarly! It’s so cool and fun and energetic and colorful, and there are dozens of little knickknacks, it was probably really fun to decorate!

It’s also big as hell. I’ve seen some big apartments, I’ve LIVED in some big apartments, but none of my apartments had THREE floors and an elevator! Well okay, one of the apartments I lived in had two floors, but there were only two rooms on the second floor. And we didn’t have an elevator!

It makes me wonder about the layout of this building. Are all of the apartments like that or certain ones? If her apartment is on the fourth floor but she has three floors, could she also get in on the fifth and sixth floor? Or did the Shays maybe get a deal where they could use the apartments above them on the fifth and sixth floor for more space? (That’s what my mom and I did, although, as I said, it was only two rooms). More questions I’ll never have an answer to.

It’s the night of the first show now and a lot of time has passed. We’re missing a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. Because, let’s see. They had to make the website, which was mostly Freddie but i’m sure Carly and Sam were there to put in their ideas of what they wanted it to look like. Not to mention, when did they decide to make it its own website in the first place instead of just uploading videos on Splashface? They had to confirm the date with all of the talents and they had to put together, if not a script, then a basic outline of how the show will go. Plus, they had to do promoting online, in their school, on the street, and in more areas to let people know they were doing this so there were probably flyers and such. They also had to set up the third floor and decorate it to how they wanted it to be. This is probably weeks, maybe months later and we missed all of that set up. I’m not really complaining, that would be hard to fit in, I’m just observing.

Carly and Sam talk over each other while explaining the plan, it’s cute, I remember thinking it was impressive on my first watch. When Carly and Sam run out of the elevator, Carly throws Freddie a bottle of juice. It’s a small thing and it’s easy to miss but I like that it was added in. It was smooth and it shows that they’ve all hung around each other long enough to be able to pull things like that off.

So the first webcast starts and it’s clear they have at least a little bit of a script going. I think it’s impressive that there’s a clear difference between when Miranda and Jennette are acting as Carly and Sam, and when they’re acting as Carly and Sam doing the webshow. Carly and Sam are still themselves, it’s just different enough that you can see when they’re putting on for the camera.

We also get our first glimpse of the website.

Freddie must be a prodigy because I couldn’t set up something half as cool now, let alone at thirteen. I’m no tech wiz, but I’m not too bad with technology. Either way, the website looks great. It’s bright and fun and energetic, which is good as it goes with the theme of their webcast. Spencer’s picture is up there with them, which is cool but surprising as he never really plays that big a role in the webshow and likely had no plans to join it as this was being set up. As Freddie is just the camera guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just Carly and Sam up there. It’s cute that they’re included, though, considering Spencer was probably the funds behind everything.

We can also see the little “LIVE” at the top of the screen, and their watermark at the bottom. You can see a little notice where people can send in their videos, so they opened it up to more than just the students at their school. It’s clear a lot of work went into this.

They did the random dancing button without the random dancing voice. My eye is twitching, this is blasphemy.

There’s a small interaction where Sam goes off script and Carly tells her to stop it and it’s, again, very real and like I said before, I appreciate that you can see the difference in when they’re putting on for the camera and when they’re not.

I’m not going to go into the details about the talents, they’re all cool and abnormal. Like the Figure It Out talents when that was on. It seems like a fun show, I think I would like it if it were real and I was younger. Because we can’t just look at the show, we have to look at the show inside of the show. Carly and Sam’s reactions are part of what makes the show (inside the show) fun and entertaining, so I can see how people would want to see more of them after the first episode.

Their sign off is a little long but I had a small smile on my face the whole time, I like it better than most of the ones I see on Youtube. Carly and Sam are cute and fun to watch. I can see why their show takes off. When the first episode ends, they’re all rightfully excited when the show ends and they jubilantly talk about how much fun they had (and pogo girl is included how cute).

The next scene has them look at the view count, which has 10k more than it did before. It’s a cute scene, we see the parallels between their reactions to having a lot of views the first time and their reactions to having a lot of views this time. Spencer just sort of watches as they jump around and scream.

But he joins in eventually, which I think is pretty much what his role in the webshow is as well.

I take back my earlier comment. the funniest moment in the show is when Sam suggests they have a party and the other two are all “Yeah that’s such a great idea! That would be so cool!” and Spencer’s just “Yes. Yes we should.” It’s the delivery. Watch the episode lol.

So they have a “Crazy Hat Party” which is cute (ten guesses what my favorite word is), we keep skipping time and I want to know how these things come about. I know it would be too hard but I’m still interested in knowing. That’s my own problem, not the show’s.

Sam has the best hat, she really took the theme seriously.

Sam and Carly are approached by two girls at their party who ask for their autographs, it’s the weirdest part of the episode to me. I’m not going to say it’s impossible that they get popular enough with one webshow to already be signing autographs, even if I think it’s a little weird. But don’t these girls know Sam and Carly? They were invited to their Crazy Hat party at least. It’s not like they’re random girls off the street. I don’t know, it’s weird. I get what they’re trying to do but... meh.

Carly and Sam are a little thrown by this too, but sign it anyway and talk about the possibility of becoming famous from this. Two boys approach them and they’re all giggly. The boys call their webshow “hot” and it’s weird again. What was hot about it, exactly? Was it the boy squirting milk out of his eye? It was the boy squirting milk out of his eye, wasn’t it? Also they’re wearing normal hats. It’s not a normal hat party, it’s a crazy hat party. Geez.

Spencer chases a kid around the apartment, it looks like it might be the Ms. Briggs looking kid. Carly’s dancing and tosses her hat, it’s a well known little clip.

So what are my overall thoughts on it?

I’m going to breakdown the way I rate the episodes even more now, I hope it makes sense. So I’m going to score the episode in different categories on a scale of one to ten. For each category if I rate it a 4/10 or higher it gets at least one star. If I rate it an 9/10 or 10/10 it gets two stars. Not overly complicated right? Who knows, I might change that.

Plot: solid. Sam does something bad that gets Carly and Sam spending their afternoon recording the school talent show auditions. One thing leads to another which leads to Carly and Sam, unimpressed with their teacher’s dismissal of other students’ talents, decide to make their own web show. I think it’s plausible, I’m going to score it a 10/10. I’m not going to always be so nice, but there’s really nothing wrong with the plot. ★ ★ 

Humor: WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU really does get me every time and Jerry Trainer is great. There were other moments in the show that made me laugh, but I couldn’t help noticing there was a lot of scream based humor. There’s nothing wrong with it, when done right I love it. (See the quote above and anything Spencer says in the future). But sometimes it was funny and sometimes it wasn’t. And Freddie’s crush still does nothing to my funny bone. I’m going to give it at 7/10. ★☆

Character: All of the main characters were great. They were well rounded, we didn’t get the sense that they were suddenly created, but more like they had lives before this episode. Aspects about their characters were introduced that stay true throughout the run of the show. I don’t mean to harp on the subject, but I can’t give it a perfect rating because of Freddie. 9/10. ★ ★

Conflict: It seems like in the middle of the episode the main conflict is going to be taking the video off the web, and what comes of Miss Briggs finding out about it. However, nothing really comes of that. I would say a conflict present in this episode is trying to find a place for the characters to express themselves. Still, everything was pretty much smooth sailing for the crew. They didn’t have to find the equipment, Freddie already had it. They didn’t have to find a studio thanks to the convenient third floor. They didn’t even have to think of a name or who would be the main girl. With all this in mind, I’m gonna give it a 3/10. ☆ ☆

Finally, Overall Enjoyment: I have watched the pilot episode more than any other episode of the show. I think I can safely say I enjoy it. It’s a favorite of mine, so I’m giving it a 10/10! ★ ★

So the overall rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ 7/10.

This may seem like a little bit of a complicated rating, but I’m doing it this way because I feel like if I only did five stars all of the ratings would be 3/5 or 4/5. For example, this episode would be a 4/5. This shows my opinion a little bit more. I’m still deciding on things so this rating system may change.