#even if i generally can predict where the show is going/know what its trying to say. i wanna see THEM do it

[pinkeoni]

Maybe I need to see season 5 so I can appreciate season 3 more

[lilacstro]

💌messages for collective

I have lately been very drawn to ocean and ocean sounds. So this felt nice. i was willing to make a pick-a-pile post, but I felt rather drawn to do a collective reading. I have made a new oracle deck by myself and am working on creating a studio ghibli tarot deck!! Decks used: biddy tarot, poesis oracle, vessel oracle, inquire within oracle, my personal oracle Let me know suggestions about the broadcast channel if any (:

☆how do I know if this reading is for me? if you find yourself relating to the energy check, you can know this reading has some messages for you!

Paid readings open

support me on ko-fi :)

Energy check:

I was hearing "true blue" by Billie Eillish just when I wrote the title of the reading which was supposed to be a pick a pile, but instead turned something else. Specifically the lines "I tried to live in black and white but I am so blue". Maybe someone here is not over a person or a situation, especially from past. Maybe you felt you are over it, but its resurfacing especially showing effects emotionally. I am seeing that someone here is actually is experiencing some kind of delays and setbacks in the sense that things are either literally delayed or maybe you are getting something completely different from what you've been wanting. I am hearing "going bananas". There is a lot of fear inside, a feeling or I may rather say, tricking yourself into thinking you're at rock bottom, when you probably are not. There is problems in seeing things clearly. I see many of you here are rejecting change, and its either out of fear or attachment or there is self doubt that you would not be able to change, not able to "hang up". Now this can actually mean being stubborn in doing something a certain way, not hanging up on toxic people in your life that you deep down feel are not for you. There is a tendency of liking predictability that needs to change, sometimes things do not go as planned and they are for the best. Someone here could have watched or probably needs to watch "spirited away" or studio ghibli films in general because I am seeing a lot of my oracle cards with studio ghibli imagery in them fall out. I feel many of you could have created spirals mentally, projecting your opinions and views rather than seeing things and people for they are. Fix your posture is one another thing. Some things I am seeing are meditation and yoga, either you are thinking about doing it, or you should do it. There is a lot of drained and stagnant energy, and there is a need to recharge, start fresh. If some of you use crystals, recharge them, especially by the ocean. I am specially hearing "I wonder where did they go, their energy was no nice", so if anyone of you is thinking of quitting something you feel you are good at, or because you aren't seeing results, please do not go away. It feels like last one year could have been very chaotic, extremely inconsistent in what showed up for you. Next one year things would change. If this sounds like you, this reading is for you. I am also hearing travel, change in location. Someone will call you, either your inner calling or maybe some person or situation, you would need to get up and leave, and this will start a change. The lesser you "try harder", the more you would be able to find things easily. Let things come to you, they are not as out of reach at all as you are feeling. I am hearing Mitski, and the lines "moon tell me if I could send up my heart to you" and "nothing in the world is mine for free, but my love is mine all mine". I am also hearing "mistakes are reversible". I would suggest doing mediations under shower, maybe waterfalls or putting ocean sounds on while doing meditations or even before falling asleep. You are likely to find peace, clarity and sharper intuition near water.

Tarot:

There are some recurring themes from the energy check, and this confirms to me that this in line with what we have talked about before. I feel many of you are wanting to travel or at least move past what you feel has trapped you. I am constantly seeing the "world card". Also, if its possible, please go on a field trip or some kind of drive. I do not feel you guys are in proper hermit mode, but there is lack of being able to socialize properly. Maybe you do not talk as much as you could or used to. I am hearing "practice", now practice for breaking repeating cycles, or a subject or something else, is upto you. There is some conflict on the inside, with the past. Maybe you are reminiscing about someone from the past though they were not good, or maybe you feel wronged and unjust about a past situation lately. Inner conflict. Someone here could feel "it would never get better", and "i would never be/have enough". Feeling something right on the chest. But here is the solution: The moment you start doing something small, starting slowly, things would shift for you. You do not have to take a leap, you have to start small, start slow and let life work itself out for you. There is a happy ending here, you would find a wonderful partner, someone would choose you as their happy ending and you would make the right choice too, but let it take some time, start small and slow, but show up consistently. You are always changing, shifting and change is the only constant, do not fear it. Do not fear the unknown. I am hearing "you can move mountains too". There is a need to return home, return back to the present and start with what you have, even if you do not feel satisfied. I am feeling called to take out to see timings, take it if it resonates: Things would change fast for you the moment you start changing is one thing, the moment you take charge. Apart from that, Libra season, and the next fortnight, 1year. Someone here is about to meet someone, probably a romantic partner soon.

take care xoxo~

[sansacherie]

so allegedly based on episode 5 leaks, alicent tries to vie for regent while aegon is (temporarily) incapacitated.

predictably, there have been stupid takes from both sides of the fandom. i just know that y'all rhaenyra fans (and a lot of the general audience) aren't going to realize that alicent would be asking for something VERY different than what rhaenyra wants. a queen regent is not the same thing as a queen regnant, and there have been examples of queen regents in westeros before. call alicent a hypocrite on everything else (which is a whole other discussion) but i will fight anyone who tries to call her a hypocrite for this. not to mention if the other leaks its true it's obvious that the writers are trying to draw a parallel between rhaenyra and her where rhaenyra also gets undermined.

but moving on to the aegonwives- just as i call out daemonwives/viserys fanboys when they piss me off, im going to do same with you lol.

ive seen comments like "alicent cares more about having power than the fact her son almost died" im sorry but have you actually seen the episode yet or are you just jumping to conclusions? dont get me wrong, the writing HAS done aegon dirty, so a lack of faith is understandable, but that doesn't mean abandoning all common sense especially when there have been times y'all were wrong about something. like i haven't forgotten how so many assumed alicent saying "proceed cautiously" was after blood and cheese and yet turns out it was the small council deciding what their next move should be after aemond killed luke.

anyway, i honestly don't know how based on a single line you can interpret alicent wanting to be regent in that way. if anything, her wanting to be regent shows her LOYALTY to aegon. she put him in that position (pushing his claim) so she owes it to him to be his regent while they wait for what is to become of him. it doesnt matter if she hasnt ruled in wartime, she has to help her son somehow. according to these same leaks, alicent is also suspicious of aemond. if that's true, then yeah it makes perfect sense why she would want to be regent. what's the bet y'all would get mad if alicent despite her suspicions, doesnt have any objections to aemond taking over? she can never win. i love aemond BUT depending on what they do with it he has put her in a situation where alicent can't really confront him for aegon because that would mean making alicent's other children and granddaughter even more vulnerable than they are now

finally, ill end it here by bringing up that according to professional reviews from people who've seen past episode 4, alicent has been described as someone who "screams for vengeance when her son is scarred in battle" now how does that scream indifference or lack of love??

[prettygirl-gabi]

Can I have this dance

---

---

Rating: General Audiences

Warning: fluff

Category:F/M

Fandom: SEVENTEEN (SVT) (boyband)

Relationships: !College student Wonwoo x !College students f reader

Summary:

Trope: she fell first;he fell harder

---

Hiiiii everyone who is reading! Welcome to the sixth installment of my new mini series called "Oi! Not this again!" They do not have to be read together or in order! I hope you all enjoy!

---

The first time I saw Wonwoo, he was absorbed in a book, tucked into a corner of the campus library. It was one of those rare sunny days between relentless storms, and everyone was outside; everyone but Wonwoo. I suppose that’s what caught my attention first—his quiet defiance of the beautiful weather.

I remember staring a bit too long, marveling at his unbothered concentration and the way his glasses slipped down his nose slightly as he leaned into the text. I didn’t realize I was blocking the aisle until someone bumped into me, sending us both stumbling.

“Sorry!” I blushed, catching myself on a nearby shelf. As I straightened up, my eyes met Wonwoo’s curious, slightly amused gaze.

“No problem,” he said, his voice a calm counterpoint to the fluttering in my chest. “Find anything good?”

“I, uh, I was looking for a book on ancient history.” It was a lie, rather embarrassingly, as I held up a random novel I’d grabbed to cover my ogling.

“Interesting,” he mused, pushing his glasses up. “That’s actually a fantastic read if you’re into dark fantasy. But for ancient history, you might want to check the next aisle over.”

“I’ll do that, thanks.” I hurried away, heart pounding a little less with each step away from the encounter. Little did I know, that was just the beginning.

---

It wasn’t long before I saw him more often, and I made it a habit to visit the library—rain or shine. Our paths crossed enough times that by our fourth encounter, we were on a first-name basis. By the seventh, I had gone from casual ‘hello’s’ to seeking out his company amidst the stacks.

“You really like that seat, don’t you?” I teased one day, leaning over the table where he was predictably settled.

He looked up, the faintest of smiles on his lips. “It’s got a good view.”

“Of what? Dusty books?”

“Of interesting people.” The way he said it with such straightforward honesty left me flustered, and he chuckled softly at my reddening cheeks.

“Well, be careful. You might go blind squinting through all that dust.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll just let it happen slowly,” he quipped, eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

---

Over time, our banter became a comfortable routine. I fell for his quiet wit, the effortless intelligence in his words, and how he seemed to notice the little things about me that no one else did. I, Y/N, the girl who fell first—without even realizing it was happening until it was too late.

I think he noticed how I’d linger around him, doing my homework at his table or asking his opinion on random topics just to hear his voice. But if he did, he never showed it, and that left me in a constant state of anticipation—a wonderful sort of torture.

---

It was during one of those infamously rainy days that our routine took a turn. I was running late, making a mad dash across campus, drenched and out of breath as I finally burst into the library. Wonwoo looked up, eyebrows raised as I skidded to a stop beside him.

“Well, look who’s turned into a drowned rat.”

“Thanks… for the… observation,” I huffed, trying to wring out my jacket and catch my breath.

“Here.” To my surprise, he pulled out a spare hoodie from his bag. “Take this. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Are you always this prepared?” I teased, accepting his offer with gratitude.

“Only when I know you’re coming.” His words were smooth, but there was a sincerity in his eyes that sent warmth pooling in my chest.

We spent the next few hours in companionable silence, broken by occasional laughter and shared thoughts. But as the library announced its closing, I groaned, realizing I’d have to face the downpour again.

“Hey Wonwoo, got another spare jacket in there?” I joked, standing up and looking out at the torrential rain through the glass doors.

“Not exactly.” He stood, slipping on his own jacket and tucking his book under one arm. “But I have an umbrella.”

Despite the rain, the walk back to our dorms was strangely peaceful under the shared cover of his umbrella. The campus, shrouded in mist and the soft rhythm of the falling rain, felt intimately ours.

“I love rain,” I admitted, feeling bold under the cover of the night. “Everything feels so alive, so… full of possibilities.”

Wonwoo tilted his head, studying me with that penetrating gaze of his. “Do you dance in it?”

“What?”

“You said it makes you feel alive. Do you ever dance in the rain?” His question was so unexpected that it left me speechless for a moment.

“I… I’ve never tried. Have you?”

“Not really. But there’s a first time for everything.”

Without warning, he stepped out from under the umbrella, holding a hand out to me as the rain quickly soaked his hair and clothes. I stared, heart skipping a beat.

“Come on, Y/N. Let’s dance.”

I hesitated only for a second before taking his hand, the umbrella forgotten on the ground as he pulled me into the rain. Laughter bubbled out of me, our hands intertwined as we awkwardly spun and twirled, stumbling over invisible puddles and each other’s feet. Wonwoo’s deep, melodic laughter mingled with mine, his carefree grin making my heart do somersaults.

It wasn’t a graceful dance, more an exuberant, joyful mess, but it was perfect. The rain was cool against our skin, the world around us blurring until it felt like there was nothing except us and the moment.

Eventually, breathless and soaked through, we stopped, standing close enough to feel each other’s warmth despite the chill. His eyes, usually guarded, were soft and open in a way that made something inside me flutter.

“Y/N,” he murmured, tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear. “I think I’m falling for you.”

My breath caught, eyes wide as I stared up at him. “Wonwoo…”

He gave a small, self-deprecating smile. “I guess I fell harder, huh?”

Our laughter filled the night again, and as his arms circled around me, drawing me into a tender kiss brushed by the rain, I knew we’d found something extraordinary in each other—a love that, like the rain, was refreshing and endless.

---

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-Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

-prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

[junosmindpalace]

Hi, loved your last dcst headcanons, so here's another idea.

We all know that they the team travelled by ship the most. Well, how about a modern AU, characters (Ryusui, Senku, Tsukasa, Ukyo, any others you like) taking their s/o /friend on a trip?

Like, method of transport, why would they decide to do it, what will they do at the destination. If that's not too specific, of course.

hi there! thank you for your request! i love imagining the dcst characters pre petrification in modern era  !!

SENKU:

When Senku suggests trips, they can be mostly last minute and pretty unexpected.

He’s mostly hush hush about all the details as he plans it, which is evident when Taiju found out last minute about his plans to go to Africa. 

It’s almost the same for you, but with a little bit more of a heads up so he knows how to prepare. 

Nevertheless you’re still caught off guard when he randomly suggests or asks if you’d want to come on a trip somewhere with him, usually motivated by an experiment or scientific curiosity. 

As for the destination, I think it depends. We know he’s not below just keeping his locations to some place locally. Dude is traveling all over the world on impulse.

So you’re really trying your best to predict whether or not you’ll be flying over to the next continent or taking a train ride when Senku suggests a trip. 

Method of transportation also depends on the destination. Again, if it’s somewhere faaaar far, plane is the way to go. If it’s within the country, however, you’ll mostly likely be taking some trains. 

The destination itself, no matter what it is, is also something that will always leave you surprised. Whether it’s some remote place or a museum or whatever it is that is the source of Senku’s curiosity, most of the time Senku is going with a clear idea of what information he wants to get. So he’s primarily focused on that.

But he encourages you to find amusement for yourself, too, and would absolutely love it if you helped him with his research. 

RYUSUI: 

Hou boy, where even to begin with Ryusui and travel. 

Method of transportation is obviously the first thing I have to talk about; you’ll be traveling first class, absolutely luxuriously, no matter where it is you’re going. Could be a ten minute trip into some place locally and you’ll still be getting the best accommodations money can buy.

Whether it be on a plane, train, or bus, or one of the Nanamis’ personal jets and helicopters and what not, you’ll be smooth sailing (literally and figuratively) the entire way. Ryusui might also be pretty eager to take you on his ship once it finishes, so be prepared for some eager talking and insistence to come along with him, and even more eager captaining. 

The destination itself, similarly to Senku, can be pretty spontaneous, or at least it seems that way to a lot of people. He’s quite used to suddenly springing up trips he wants to take; he probably has the means to up and leave whenever he wants. 

But no matter what it is, he always encourages you to tag along with him with a boisterous laugh or a solemn expression, depending on the goal of his visit. No matter what, he loves commanding his ship and showing you all the fascinating things he’s learned about them in the time he dedicated himself to its art. 

Again, similarly to Senku, the trips are often motivated by a sudden desire to do, see, or obtain something that he isn’t able to with his own two eyes or hands within the country. And as Ryusui wants to act on his desires as soon as possible, most of the time he gives staff a day to prepare pilots and vehicles. It’s also time he gives you to consider his offer of tagging along. 

Seems a bit unfair, but Ryusui always brings you back in one piece! And you may also find some fun in his eagerness to include you in his activities.

TSUKASA: 

Probably the most normal when it comes to traveling. As in there aren’t any insane locations or high end accommodations. 

The most frequent kind of travel Tsukasa generally does (or suggests for you to tag along on) is to the hospital where Mirai resides, or to MMA fights and related interviews. He probably trusts you enough to see those vulnerable parts of him, and it may also contribute to some sort of comfort he feels when he gets lost in his head and heart full of hard feelings and thoughts. Having someone he cares about just standing by the corner and giving him a small smile helps ground him and offer a small smile back. 

That doesn’t mean trips are limited to these occasions, however. Most other trips would be dates; nothing too high end, but still fun and heartfelt events that pop up locally. And of course, if there’s a specific place you’d like to visit, Tsukasa is more than happy to come along no matter what it is. 

Unless you receive accommodations for interviews and scheduled fights, most of the time the two of you will either be taking the train, driving, or walking, depending on where it is you’re going. Tsukasa loves walking through parks and beaches with you the most. 

UKYO:

Don’t know how much time he’d have for traveling, generally speaking in terms of his work, so they might be sparse/few and far in between. 

But just like Tsukasa, trips would probably be more casual and planned out a little more compared to Senku and Ryusui’s seemingly impulsive and loosely structured trips to wherever for whatever. 

Ukyo probably intentionally plans bigger trips like day outs or overnight trips around the available time he has off from work. He looks forward to getting to spend some time with you doing something fun and interesting. 

He would probably want to plan the destinations alongside you, too. The itinerary is carefully compiled together, but not too rigid as to cause stress. They’re usually anywhere and everywhere; cafes and restaurants never before visited, parks and scenic routes, and perhaps some stores in between. He’s more than happy to tag along to anywhere you want to go. 

Mode of transportation also depends on where you’re going, but like Tsukasa, the most frequent modes of transport are driving, by train, or by walking. Though he hates getting stuck in traffic jams, so public transport and walking are usually his go-to’s.

No matter where it is, though, Ukyo is just happy to spend some time with you, especially if your separate responsibilities have been keeping you apart.

[discobiscotto]

“Signor Marcovaldo is my father, call me Alberto, Alby…or Maestro 😏”

If we’re talking predictability in design, adult Alberto was NOT easy. I had literally nothing to work from. No (living?) family to compare to, no hints at what kindof quirks he may develop. I had nothing!

All I had was that (assumed) deep-seated desire to be accepted, useful/helpful, and not left behind…..that, and yanno, that Charisma In Excess (as a KID no less, dude calm that shxt down or you’re grounded lol)

Alot of pawing around in the dark and just going with what felt right to me.

I took some cues here and there. Some pretty forward and commonly accepted (“You, the big strong one.” etc), others subtle and unassuming but I ran like the wind with it?

Anyway, here we go. What’s the deal with this walking bowl of spaghetti anyhow?

This will be a two parter. His seamonster form requires a separate post.

Alberto as I said is a bit of a wild card. He doesn’t have as much of an obvious blueprint compared to Luca or Giulia.

His physical appearance for his human form was based solely on environmental influence.

Physically I imagined him to be a bit rough around the edges. Kindof gaunt but not so much that he looks sick or weak. He’s pretty much just one big muscle. Not an ounce of fat on him. Nothing but sinew. Very toned and muscular but certainly not huge. He’s just solid and FIT.

He’s a guy from the docks. He’s a fisherman. He’s salty and peppered in scars. Heavy calloused hands. He picked up smoking at a young age. He spends endless hours in the sun, thus he’s still very freckly as an adult. His impulsive ass got a tooth busted out in a fist-fight. Five o clock shadow and untidy sandy facial hair. I imagined his hair growing more “out and up” than down. Tight coils suggest he’d likely have a ‘fro or pomp, so I combined the two, keeping that old Alberto “top heavy” hairdo lol.

Profoundly Italian, so he’s pretty furry everywhere. Being a hard worker for years, excessive sun exposure, substance use, he looks alittle “older” than he actually is. (Pushing 34 ish).

I made him very tall, 6’4” ish. I admit, I love a good “Tall Man x Small Man” dynamic, so that’s definitely a shameless “luberto-centric” choice lol But I also considered a funny “goldfish” concept where just like a goldfish only gets bigger when his bowl is bigger…perhaps nature was trying to make him “compete” and measure up or even end up bigger than Massimo. 😆

If there’s one thing I learned from “Ciao Alberto” it’s that Alberto has a deep desire to be useful and accepted. He tries through the entire film to impress Massimo and in turn hope Massimo accepts him and sees Alberto can be just as good at his knife-wielding barrel heaving badassery as he is.

Alberto ultimately ending up as a fisherman by trade was an easy choice. Not only do I write what I know (being a Mainer in the coast with a deep affinity with fishermen and shipbuilders) but it is the ultimate way to show his love for Massimo. To help carry on the legacy.

Alberto has mastered some unlikely skills as well. Not as unlikely as you’d expect though considering his desire to impress Massimo.

So consider this:

-Alright, Massimo is great at cooking. Alberto sucks EPICALLY at first but over time, his motivation to measure up to his hero and dad-figure makes him an amazing cook? Check.

-Massimo likes to sing. Alberto picks it up and finds he’s an Unreasonably Excellent Singer and prodigious musician who plays by ear? DOUBLE CHECK.

(Note: The lore and reasons behind this and Alberto’s mandolin will be a blogpost on its own eventually)

-Alberto being a competent and prolific/productive fisherman resulting in the family biz growing and delivering outside of Portorosso? Definitely a proud moment for Massimo.

So to me it all checks out, and drives home Alberto’s strong gumption and the next generation being better than the generation before. As a parent, I subscribe to this goal. I want my boys to be the “Big Strong Ones.”

There’s also the bit that Alberto is a bit of a lush and a party animal. Charismatic, has a bit of a Casanova complex. Charm pouring out of his ears. Why? Well, dang, I really don’t know. I guess bringing it back to that “Charisma In Excess” statement at the beginning of this, it just felt right somehow. I had it so that he really wasn’t all that conventionally attractive but had a level of animal magnetism that’s hard to resist.

There’s lore behind that too…but will be reserved for his “Fish Form” post.

I dunno, it’s probably cus he’s Italian. It could be that simple. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[kitsu-katsu]

I was talking with someone about just how canon the ineffable husbands are in good omens and I brought up how Gaiman said that what they have is canonically a love story (which is really reflected in the show, with their moments of vulnerability towards the other, their despair at the thought of losing one another, their comfort with eachother, the way they stick together through millennia even when they're never trying to, etc), but they don't have labels, as they don't have genders and the human conception of intimacy eludes them as ethereal beings that aren't human

And the complications with that

Because this person I was discussing with is not as versed in fandom discourse, and so they're only now finding the vocabulary of "queer baiting" to talk about that Sherlock show

And so they're like "I hope I see Crowley and Aziraphale absolutely eat eachother's mouths, it has to be canonized" and I'm standing here like. It is canon though. Like they won't add some "hetero romance" cop-out last minute. They are canonically in a love story. What's interesting is how the label-less queerness of it can also explore non-binary aspects and an aroace perspective on what "love" is

And they're bummed out because if they don't "absolutely eat eachother's mouths" it doesn't feel as canon to them. And I'm still standing here in aroace like. Bro. There are so many forms of relationships. A kiss on screen doesn't have to make it any more or less canon

But at the same time, from the amatonormative perspective, I get how the kiss on screen is seen as the end all be all. Because in general media, the main pairings will have the kiss at the end. And they will live happily ever after with that

Before the kiss it is only as canon as the kiss is predictable, and after the kiss, you can point to that one scene as "the moment it was canonized for realsies despite even people in the show making constant remarks about this being an obvious thing"

And I kinda hate it

I just wish the whole community wouldn't have to keep its guards up like this so much to discern whether something is coming from a genuine place of wanting to tell a story for a queer audience or about a queer subject or if it's all just a ploy to get our money, spit in our faces, smile at the traditional homophobic crowd and fund some conservative party with it

Because then we wouldn't have to play it by the boring straight rules. If everything points to it being obvious, then why is an intense kiss necessary? Why is it all you want? Why can't this represent a qpr? Or a loving relationship where intimacy in the form of a kiss just isn't something the characters want? Or a more open thing instead of being a purely monogamous arrangement? Or something completely new, a dynamic you can only describe in an essay lest you don't make their chemistry justice?

Aren't all of those just a much more under-thought about queer dynamics than what "I want these characters to kiss eachother until they can't remember their names on screen or else it isn't canon enough" can convey?

But at the same time, without something as concise and strong in media language, how do you make sure it won't all stay in just subtext and the reason it looks like clear text to you is because you're starved for queer stories and have become way too accustomed to reading between the lines?

I mean, it's also been proven to not be an absolute in instances where the text goes ham in letting you know what it's saying, when it's not implying, it is just telling. For one, Rose and Pearl in Steven Universe never did share a kiss on screen, and nevertheless we all know what was going on there

Idk, it's complicated and it's 1am, and this is all just a ramble, but I am in my aroace hating amatonormativity mood and the sentiment that characters being a canon thing without an explicit kiss bums someone out to the point they say "ok, ok, I get the whole nb ace ethereal beings that aren't human idea, but I want something more explicit because it doesn't feel canon enough" when that isn't strictly necessary for the story to get it across just got me in a weird mood and this is about so much more than good omens, I needed to try and word it out and might as well put it out there

Just. Why does queerness have to be allonormative and also amatonormative to be valid in the eyes of the queer masses necessarily? You'd think we'd figured out that queerness goes beyond just the L, G, B and binary T by now

[darcytaylor]

As someone very interested in psychology and also someone who had realised that humans react to traumas and triggers in a very predictable pattern, Im very fascinated by Luke.

1. On one hand, we have Nic who praises his support, sensitivity and kindness at every turn. Other cast endorse her. We saw him being tender and loving with his ex. Jade also constantly kept praising him on how loving and considerate he was. We saw that kindness and considerate behaviour in the BTS and the promo tour. What we gather is a soft, tender and considerate human.

2. Then we also saw his hot boy summer, dating very young women, the total lack of care for the show, cast and crew that brought him so much fame, totally dropping the ball on promotion, not even being nice to the girl he claims to be his gf. The f boy basically.

Who is he? I personally believe its the first, because so many attest to that, we saw that behaviour on video. But then why the current act. He is definitely going through something? Whats it? Heart break? Insecurities? Why would he risk his career for any of it? I just couldn't make sense of it.

I think that he can be both? I think that humans can have multiple sides to them. One of the things that Nicola said in the most recent Bridgerton podcast was that it's okay to have different sides of yourself and that it doesn't negate either version of you.

“And then you can come home to the person you love and be super soft and be like, you know, I'm baby here today. Like that, you know, that's all fine. And you shouldn't have to hide one version of yourself or feel like one version of yourself negates the other because it doesn't.”

I know that in this instance she was talking about women in general, but I do think that the same applies to men as well. There can be multiple versions of any person. It all depends on where you are, who you are with, what you feel like on that day, what is going on in your life, what has happened in your life.

I think that the age old debate of whether people are good or evil kind of applies. It's a question that really doesn't have a definitive answer. I think that everybody has the ability to be both, so in the end everybody is both. Everybody has the ability to have good qualities and bad qualities at the same time.

But then Luke has the added pressure of being in the spotlight. Everything he does is looked at under a microscope. But that is the nature of his career, that is the nature of being a celebrity. Right now I think he may be at odds as to what he is wanting to present to the world, I think he may be trying to figure that out. It's impossible to know what is going on in his head.

I also keep coming back to people saying he is so much like his character (his cast mates saying this). And I think that the audience always take it as Colin's good qualities. But Colin as a character also has bad qualities, and his cast mates may also be seeing some of that (obviously they would never voice that out loud).

But I don't know Luke personally. I have no idea what kind of person he is. What he presents to the fans may not be who he actually is.

But they always say that when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

(I could probably continue to expand on this and go more in depth, but I have to head to work!)

[zvaigzdelasas]

So-called “neural networks” are extremely expensive, poorly understood, unfixably unreliable, deceptive, data hungry, and inherently limited in capabilities. In short: they are bad.

“Machine learning,” in the 1990s, came to mean “statistics-like data analysis methods that lack theoretical justification.” They are applicable to “messy” or “complex” data, meaning ones without the simple properties required to make traditional methods work. In this sense, they are “more powerful.” However, there’s no general reason they ought to work when they do, so it’s difficult to guess whether they will be adequate for particular uses.

It is also difficult to tell whether they are working. With traditional methods, there are principled ways of checking adequacy and understanding failures. Machine learning practice substitutes a purely empirical test: how well does a statistical model predict currently available data?4

That is justifiable only if future data will be sufficiently similar. It may be difficult or impossible to reason about whether that will be true. It is hard to know what the future will be like even in general; and the relevant measure of similarity is unique to the specific task and specific model. This makes it even easier to fool yourself with machine learning than with traditional statistics. It implies that responsible use requires near-paranoid distrust, and still greater commitment to on-going monitoring of accuracy. “Artificial intelligence” is currently almost synonymous with applications of a single method, error backpropagation. That is a statistical method misleadingly described as “neural networks” or “deep learning.” Backpropagation is currently applicable to tasks amenable to no other known method, but suffers major drawbacks.[...] I often put “neural networks” in scare quotes because the term is misleading: they have almost nothing to do with networks of neurons in the brain. Confusion about this is a major reason artificial “neural networks” became popular, despite their serious inherent defects. I will often refer to them as backprop networks, for that reason.[...] In most situations, well-understood traditional statistical methods, or machine learning methods that are less expensive and more understandable, work better.6 Plausibly, many times when people try backpropagation first (misguided by hype) and it works well enough to get put into use, alternatives would have worked better. When backpropagation succeeds quickly, it may be because the problem is trivial: for example, nearly-enough piecewise linear. In such cases, backpropagation is expensive overkill. For some tasks, however, backpropagation can produce astounding results that no other current method can approach.[…] Backprop networks frequently fool their creators into believing they can do things they can’t. This is not due to deliberate intent on their part. It’s due to non-obvious properties of statistical behavior which are hard to detect and hard to overcome.[...]

Backpropagation frequently finds ways of “cheating” by exploiting spurious correlations in the training data. Those are accidental patterns that show up reliably in training, but that don’t hold true where the network will be used. (The chart above is a funny example.) Finding spurious correlations is often easier for backprop than solving the problem the creator cared about.

Backprop networks work by interpolation: guessing answers based on similar cases in its training data. They are inherently unreliable when given inputs dissimilar to any they were trained on.[...] Network training is metaphorically similar to learning how things are likely to go from experience. The training data are like past experiences. They are situations (inputs) together with their results (outputs). Recommender AIs are trained on databases of past events in which people with particular traits did or didn’t click on particular ads. Language models are trained on databases of bits of previously-written text and what came next. “Interpolation” means guessing, when given a particular input that is not in the training data, that the correct output will be similar to the training outputs for the most similar training inputs. For example, paleontologists can estimate the length of sauropod dinosaur species from a single femur, if that’s the only known fossil. For some other species, there are complete fossil skeletons of known total and femur length. Given a new femur 2.0 meters long, it’s reasonable to estimate a total length of 20 meters, based on the nearest two species, one with a 1.5 meter femur and 15 meter total length, and another with a 2.5 meter femur and 25 meter total length. This is a linear interpolation—you just draw a line between (1.5, 15) and (2.5, 25), and find where 2.0 lies on it.10

Some people dismiss backprop networks as just doing interpolation. This is a mistake, however: the word “just” minimizes what interpolation can do [!]. Networks interpolate based on “similar” training data; but similar how? In the case of femur lengths, “similar” is just numerical closeness. But what makes two sentences similar? “The quokka bit the mayor” is similar to “The mayor bit the quokka” in one sense, and similar to “The head of the town council was savaged by an illegal pet marsupial” in another. How would you rate those similarities numerically? Finding a task-relevant measure of similarity accounts for backpropagation’s power[!]. Training creates a “latent space,” in which numerical closeness equates to similarity for prediction. “The quokka bit the mayor” and “The mayor bit the quokka” have identical words in a slightly different order. However, the distance between them in a text generator’s latent space should be large, because what follows is likely to be quite different. On the other hand, “The head of the town council was savaged by an illegal pet marsupial” should be quite close to “The quokka bit the mayor,” even though they share only one word. The sentences mean much the same thing, and can plausibly be followed by most of the same things. Backprop networks “just” do linear interpolation in latent space. But the results can seem like magic, or at least “intelligence,” if training manages to get meaningfully similar inputs close to each other in latent space. You can think of the latent space as abstracting a task-relevant ontology of categories from apparent features [!!!!!]. That predicts task-relevant similarity. Then it is apparent that good performance requires dense sampling in the latent space. Latent space is unimaginably huge and weird. Interpolation is linear, but latent space is highly nonlinear. Superficially similar inputs may correspond to very different places in latent space (as with swapping the quokka and the mayor). Given a new prompt, unless there was some training input that was nearby in latent space, the network’s output will likely be nearly random. This is why backprop depends on “big data”—vastly more than people require to learn anything.[...] What would be a good dinosaur length estimate if you found a 6 meter femur? This is termed an “out of distribution” input: nothing anywhere near that big has been recorded previously. You could scale up linearly and estimate 75 meters, but you’d probably be wrong. In this case, the linear estimate would not be an interpolation (between known cases), but an extrapolation (outside the range of known cases). Extrapolation is highly unreliable. [...] On this basis, we should expect poor network performance when there there’s nothing relevantly similar in its training data. We should expect any AI system produced with statistical methods to be unsafe in open-ended real world situations, which are vastly weirder and more complicated than any training data set.12 And, this has been the common experience.13[...] Is it feasible to get them to just notice when an input is out of distribution and refuse to proceed? As with the previous approach, this might help somewhat, but if the noticing method is also based on backprop, it won’t be reliable either.[...] So if people are really intelligent, how do we deal with stuff “way out of the training distribution”? In other words, situations unlike any we’ve seen before?21 What do we do that isn’t mere interpolation?[...]

The standard answer is that we apply reasoning. We can use a chain of deductive or causal logic to figure out a correct answer to a novel problem, or an effective course of action in a novel situation. For example, we might suppose that scaling up a sauropod linearly to 75 meters is implausible because weight grows as the cube of length. We might, further, reason about different body plans that could accommodate a 6 meter femur. We might use mechanical engineering stress analysis techniques to check their plausibility.

Many researchers assert that backprop networks don’t, and maybe can’t, reason logically, which is why they aren’t really intelligent. So, they say, that needs to get fixed somehow—either by coupling the backprop network with a logical reasoning system, or by training the network to reason itself.[...]

A “neural network” is simply a mathematical function, like a quadratic: ax²+bx+c. Unlike a quadratic, which has three fixed parameters (a, b, and c), current networks have billions.

The result of training is a network. That is, training produces a function with the parameters set to values that cause its outputs to approximate the training data. Once training is complete, the parameters are fixed permanently.

Training doesn’t change the form of the network function, just its parameters. The form is mainly fixed and chosen by researchers.5 This architectural choice is usually critical to performance, for reasons that are poorly understood.[...]

Backpropaganda claims that trained networks are inherently incomprehensible. They work by intuition, not rationality. They are holistic, where the failed symbolic AI approach was reductionist. Their intelligence is spread throughout the network, which in recent systems contains hundreds of billions of adjustable values. They contain no explicit representations, so it’s impossible to take them apart to find out what they’re doing.

As we saw in the reverse engineering section, this is false. Backprop networks are composed of small, specific bits with identifiable functional roles. They don’t work by holistic intuitive woo; they perform sensible computations, understandable in engineering terms.

However, the myth is convenient for both technical people and the decision makers who put systems into use.

For technologists, the supposed inscrutability frees you from an engineer’s moral responsibility for understanding what your product is doing and how. That’s hard work, and much less fun than building cool demos.

For decision makers, inscrutability is an advantage if it makes it infeasible to hold anyone to account for bad consequences.1

Inscrutability also frees technologists from understanding the messy, non-technical details of the particular real-world task you apply backprop to. It probably involves people, who are annoyingly unpredictable, so technologists don’t like thinking about them. Backprop is supposedly a universal learning method, so it will figure out everything about the task for you, and you never need to know.

[viharbinger]

Hi okay I have a really really cute ask So in the 3.2 trailer, it’s shows Haypasia lying down and Scara watching over her. If you don’t know, he’s doing this because she is his only follower, so he’s taking care of her/looking after her (bc she’s his ONLY follower) What I’m asking is if it’s literally just that concept, but Haypasia is replaced by us, aka, the reader. So it’s basically just Scaramouche watching over us whilst we’re lying down and then we wake up and see him and it’s all just generally cute stuffIt can be seen as platonic or romantic, I’d personally prefer romantic

pairings: scaramouche x gn!reader

warnings: hurt/comfort? Reader is a heavy sleeper lol — I wrote half of this when 3.2 archon quest was not out yet so therefore I'm writing everything blindly so this is either gonna be completely inaccurate or I just predicted the future B-)

a/n: LMFAO I find it funny af that scaramouche's only follower/worshiper is his PARTNER HAHAHA imagine having no fans 🤭

masterlists

Way before the Balladeer even became a God, you, his life partner stayed by his side the whole way. You hadn't ever renounced him after all he's done and been through but instead comforted him through it all.

You both lived in an isolated home somewhere in Inazuma's Narukami island, alone yet a long way from the city. Living like that has its advantages of course, mainly to protect yourselves against whatever meddling business the 6th fatui harbinger had gotten himself in.

Now that he's finally gotten the Raiden Shogun's electro gnosis from a certain shrine maiden, he's on foot again to archons-knows-where. And he tells you the news when you're both sitting on the porch of your tiny and cozy home.

"You're leaving already when you just got back?" Maybe it was the Gods playing favourites but the sun kissing your skin and the wind blowing against your hair certainly made you glow.

The sun was shining over the horizon, and the birds were barely awake. You were in your comfortable pyjamas and he on the other hand, was adorning his beautiful silk navy blue and white kimono that morning, rather than his usual fatui harbinger attire. Your eyes are struggling to keep open as you woke up a mere 10 minutes before.

Scaramouche brings himself closer to you as he sets his baggage down, the one that he needed to bring along as he was going to go out on yet another journey alone. He cups your hands together and brings it to his lips to give it a gentle kiss.

"It's just some unfinished business I need to take care of. I'll come back for good. I promise." He whispered, brushing the stray hair that was over your eyes. He kept his palm on your left cheek whilst rubbing his thumb under your eye gently. His touch was delicate, like as if handling you too much could break you like porcelain glass. He was almost too afraid to leave you.

Several weeks passed.

You barely heard a word from him, but you have heard such news of an eccentric wanderer roaming around the lands of Sumeru. It wasn't much to go by but alas, at least you're aware he's living and breathing.

Now after achieving the power of the gods, his mission was almost complete. The power allowed him to do all things necessary. He was about to make his next move when his ears perked up in alert; as if someone was calling for him.

He doesn't mistake it's your voice. The voice he's been trying to replay in his head for weeks. He's afraid that if he doesn't, he'll forget how you sound like, how your voice could make him feel like a bed of roses.

You were repeating his name, like you were begging him for something. His usually hardened gaze softened in guilt at the thought of you in despair of his absence. He wishes he could just teleport straight to you right then and there, but even gods have their limits.

By nightfall, Scaramouche was still adjusting to his powers. He wanted to try and do anything within his power to attempt to even be closer to you. That is, until he found himself in a dream-like state.

He felt he could move freely, almost as if he were a ghost. He prompted himself to take this to his advantage and visit you in your sleep. And there you were, cuddled up on your bed.

The home that was once cozy and sweet felt uncomfortable. The room you were in was unkept and the bed was undone, some pillows are on the floor and the blanket was dishevelled. He notices of course, that you were sleeping on his side of the bed instead of yours. And the tears that were continuously flowing from your eyes were hard not to notice.

He called out your name. You couldn't hear him. He was right next to you, within arms reach, yet you couldn't hear or even see him.

The puppet wasted no time in at least trying to comfort you. He kneeled down besides you and pushed the hair sticking to your face from the tears. He cupped your cheek, wiping the falling tears with his gloved thumb. He was like a guardian angel.

You were far too deep asleep to notice a thing, but he didn't want to wake you. All though it was very dark out, the dark eyebags were clear as day to prove to him that you needed the rest.

He leaned down to press a kiss to your temple, he whispers sweet nothings and an "I'll be back soon." It's not like you could've heard him but you definitely felt the breath of air onto your ear like as if someone was whispering a secret to you.

By the time you woke up you were met not with your partner, but his scent was in the air. Like it was when he was still around in the house. He visited you.

Just days later, you heard a rushed knock on your front door. It was dawn again and your hair was a mess. You walked to your door barefoot, mumbling incoherent words that could be insults as you were woken up from your beauty sleep.

When you opened it, it was your partner. He was there, in the flesh. His breathing was haggard, yet he smiles anyway. His hat was held on his hands like he took it off when running so much.

Your eyes tricked with tears, and hugged him tightly. "You were there, right? That night!" You wailed and your head was on his chest. "Yes, and I'm sorry for not coming sooner." He rested his chin to your head and brushed your messy hair gently, careful enough not to tug on it.

You finally came to your senses and picked your head up from his chest. You backed up from him and pushed him in anger. But not in a way that could definitely hurt him or make him fall. "Just who do you think you are, waltzing back home like as if you didn't disappear after weeks and didn't even bother to send a letter!" You cried, yet he remained his composure from calling you stupid things. He knows what you've been through during his absence and just wants to be with you.

He cups your cheeks and rubbed the tears off with his thumb, as he's done many times before. His eyes wore a gentle glow and the sweet smile on his face was blinding. It's not often you see a man so in love.

"I'm done with everything. I took care of it, I promise I'll be here for as long as I live." He tells you, with genuine and charm in his tone. He leans forward to press a kiss to your forehead. And another on your cheek. And then another on your temple. And again and again in every other place and you couldn't stop yourself from cry laughing.

You stopped giggling when he makes sure to stop and leave a kiss on your lips. A long, tasteful and blissful kiss. You could still feel the warmth on your lips even after he pulled away. He ends it by just leaning his forehead to yours till the only thing you could hear from each other was your breathing. Even when he's away for so long, he'll always count on you to wait for him.

I hope u like this dear requester because I don't think I'm that good in writing actual fanfics LOL I'm only good at headcannons

[butchdarling]

Just got The Left Hand of Darkness from the library again and I like the author's note so much I'm just gonna post the whole thing

Science fiction is often described, and even defined, as extrapolative. The science fiction writer is supposed to take a trend or phenomenon of the here-and-now, purify and intensify it for dramatic effect, and extend it into the future. "If this goes on, this is what will happen." A prediction is made. Method and results much resemble those of a scientist who feeds large doses of a purified and concentrated food additive to mice, in order to predict what may happen to people who eat it in small quantities for a long time. The outcome seems almost inevitably to be cancer. So does the outcome of extrapolation. Strictly extrapolative works of science fiction generally arrive about where the Club of Rome arrives: somewhere between the gradual extinction of human liberty and the total extinction of terrestrail life.

This may explain why many people who do not read science fiction describe it as "escapist," but when ques- tioned further, admit they do not read it because "it's so depressing." Almost anything carried to its logical extreme be. comes depressing, if not carcinogenic.

Fortunately, though extrapolation is an element in science fiction, it isn't the name of the game by any means, It is far too rationalist and simplistic to satisfy the imagi native mind, whether the writer's or the reader's. Variables are the spice of life.

This book is not extrapolative. If you like you can read it, and a lot of other science fiction, as a thought-experiment. Let's say (says Mary Shelley) that a young doctor creates a human being in his laboratory; let's say (says Philip K. Dick) that the Allies lost the Second World War; let's say this or that is such and so, and see what happens.... In a story so conceived, the moral complexity proper to the modem novel need not be sacrificed, nor is there any built-in dead end; thought and intuition can move freely within bounds set only by the terms of the experiment, which may be very large indeed.

The purpose of a thought-experiment, as the term was used by Schrödinger and other physicists, is not to predict the future indeed Schrödinger's most famous thought- experiment goes to show that the "future," on the quantum level, cannot be predicted- but to describe reality, the present world.

Science fiction is not predictive; it is descriptive. Predictions are uttered by prophets (free of charge), by clairvoyants (who usually charge a fee, and are therefore more honored in their day than prophets), and by futurologists (salaried). Prediction is the business of prophets, clairvoyants, and futurologists. It is not the business of novelists. A novelist's business is lying. The weather bureau will tell you what next Tuesday will be like, and the Rand Corporation will tell you what the twenty-first century will be like. I don't recommend that you turn to the writers of fiction for such information. It's none of their business. All they're trying to do is tell you what they're like, and what you're like-what's going on-what the weather is now, today, this moment, the rain, the sunlight, look! Open your eyes; listen, listen. That is what the novelists say. But they don't tell you what you will see and hear. All they can tell you is what they have seen and heard, in their time in this world, a third of it spent in sleep and dreaming, another third of it spent in telling lies.

"The truth against the world!"-Yes. Certainly. Fiction writers, at least in their braver moments, do desire the truth: to know it, speak it, serve it. But they go about it in a peculiar and devious way, which consists in inventing persons, places, and events which never did and never will exist or occur, and telling about these fictions in detail and at length and with a great deal of emotion, and then when they are done writing down this pack of lies, they say, There! That's the truth!

They may use all kinds of facts to support their tissue of lies. They may describe the Marshalsea Prison, which was a real place, or the battle of Borodino, which really was fought, or the process of cloning, which really takes place in laboratories, or the deterioration of a personality, which is described in real textbooks of psychology, and so on. This weight of verifiable place-event-phenomenon-behavior makes the reader forget that he is reading a pure invention, a history that never took place anywhere but in that unrealizable region, the author's mind. In fact, while we read a novel, we are insane- bonkers. We believe in the existence of people who aren't there, we hear their voices, we watch the battle of Borodino with them, we may even become Napoleon. Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed

Is it any wonder that no truly respectable society has ever trusted its artists?

But our society, being troubled and bewildered, seeking guidance, sometimes puts an entirely mistaken trust in its artists, using them as prophets and futurologists.

I do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that the awen cannot come upon them, and the god speak through them. Who would be an artist if they did not believe that that happens? If they did not know it happens, because they have felt the god within them use their tongue, their hands? Maybe only once, once in their lives. But once is enough.

Nor would I say that the artist alone is so burdened and so privileged. The scientist is another who prepares, who makes ready, working day and night, sleeping and awake, for inspiration. As Pythagoras knew, the god may speak in the forms of geometry as well as in the shapes of dreams; in the harmony of pure thought as well as in the harmony of sounds; in numbers as well as in words.

But it is words that make the trouble and confusion. We are asked now to consider words as useful in only one way: as signs. Our philosophers, some of them, would have us agree that a word (sentence, statement) has value only in so far as it has one single meaning, points to one fact that is comprehensible to the rational intellect, logically sound, and- ideally- quantifiable.

Apollo, the god of light, of reason, of proportion, harmony, number-Apollo blinds those who press too close in worship. Don't look straight at the sun. Go into a dark bar for a bit and have a beer with Dionysios, every now and then.

I talk about the gods; I am an atheist. But I am an artist too, and therefore a liar. Distrust everything I say. I am telling the truth.

The only truth I can understand or express is, logically defined, a lie. Psychologically defined, a symbol. Aesthetically defined, a metaphor.

Oh, it's lovely to be invited to participate in Futurological Congresses where Systems Science displays its grand apocalyptic graphs, to be asked to tell the newspapers what America will be like in 2001, and all that, but it's a terrible mistake. I write science fiction, and science fiction isn't about the future. I don't know any more about the future than you do, and very likely less.

This book is not about the future. Yes, it begins by an- nouncing that it's set in the "Ekumenical Year 1490-97," but surely you don't believe that?

Yes, indeed the people in it are androgynous, but that doesn't mean that I'm predicting that in a millennium or so we will all be androgynous, or announcing that I think we damned well ought to be androgynous. I'm merely observing, in the peculiar, devious, and thought-experimental manner proper to science fiction, that if you look at us at certain odd times of day in certain weathers, we already are. I am not predicting, or prescribing. I am describing. I am describing certain aspects of psychological reality in the novelist's way, which is by inventing elaborately circumstantial lies.

In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while read- ing, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find- if it's a good novel- that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have been changed a little, as if by having met a new face, crossed a street we never crossed before. But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.

The artist deals with what cannot be said in words.

The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words. The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words.

Words can be used thus paradoxically because they have, along with a semiotic usage, a symbolic or metaphoric usage. (They also have a sound- a fact the linguistic positivists take no interest in. A sentence or paragraph is like a chord or harmonic sequence in music: its meaning may be more clearly understood by the attentive ear, even though it is read in silence, than by the attentive intellect.)

All fiction is metaphor. Science fiction is metaphor. What sets it apart from older forms of fiction seems to be its use of new metaphors, drawn from certain great dominants of our contemporary life-science, all the sciences, and technology, and the relativistic and the historical outlook, among them. Space travel is one of these metaphors; so is an alternative society, an alternative biology; the future is another. The future, in fiction, is a metaphor.

A metaphor for what?

If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words, this novel; and Genly Ai would never have sat down at my desk and used up my ink and typewriter ribbon in informing me, and you, rather solemnly, that the truth is a matter of the imagination.

Ursula K. Le Guin

[theuntitledblog]

WWE SummerSlam (2024) - REVIEW

I used to look forward to the annual SummerSlam event ever since I started watching WWE following SummerSlam 1996. That event, much like this one, also featured a stunning betrayal in one of its pivotal matches when Paul Bearer betrayed the Undertaker for Mankind. So SummerSlam played a significant part in discovering my love for wrestling, I even bought VHS tapes of SummerSlam 1988, 89, 90, 91, and 92 as I retrospectively discovered that era of wrestling. SummerSlam 1996-8 remained highlight events during my time of watching WWE but with the exception of perhaps the 2000 and 2002 event, SummerSlam to me never quite felt as important again compared to the other Big 4 events of WWE.

Perhaps part of the issue is that SummerSlam lacks a unique concept; Royal Rumble and Survivor Series have always been built around a particular match type while WrestleMania has always been the biggest spectacle of the sport. SummerSlam has had moments over the years but to me at least it just hasn't felt quite as important to the other 3 ... maybe that's just me, I don't know. The point I'm trying to make is that the 2024 SummerSlam was the first time in as long as I can remember that the event did feel that it had that same gravitas as the other Big 4 events. This is a show that didn't have a diverse card in terms of match type; there were no tag team matches, triple threat, cage, ladder or any other creative match that other events have utilised. This was a stadium show with 7 singles matches that all had a long-term story at its centre and whose outcomes would redraw the map of the main roster. OK, sure, the match outcomes were generally what I predicted, but while watching the event, there were moments where I doubted those outcomes as the in-ring drama drew me in. SummerSlam 2024, for me, has been the best event PLE since WrestleMania 40 and even then, maybe slightly better in some respects.

MATCH 1 - WWE Women's Championship: Liv Morgan (champion) vs. Rhea Ripley

SummerSlam got off to a very strong start with this opening match, which was never going to struggle in terms of story, but when it came to the in-ring action? I wasn't sure, but that doubt was more about Liv Morgan than Rhea Ripley. There's no question that the Liv Morgan of recent years couldn't be more different than the way she was during her time with The Riott Squad, but even then there's been something about her that hasn't always convinced despite defeating Ronda Rousey for her first World title. Her scrappy style in the ring, the constant underdog presentation didn't help the feeling that she was often punching above her weight when stepping into the ring with the likes of the Four Horsewomen, Asuka and even Rhea Ripley. However, since returning at the 2024 Royal Rumble, things have felt felt very different with her. She had a strong showing in the Rumble and Elimination Chamber, and the post-WrestleMania storyline between Morgan and the Judgment Day has been an unexpected hit. She's looked convincing in the ring, the storyline with Dominik has been captivating week after week and this is by far the best program she's featured in where she looks strong.

So, going back to my doubts regarding the in-ring action for their match at SummerSlam? I needn't have worried. This was a fantastic match from start to finish that thankfully, didn't feel like a complete mis-match. Rhea Ripley got to show off her superior strength and looked superb and Liv Morgan likewise worked in some good offense and felt like a threat with a clever injury angle that I honestly couldn't tell was real or not judging by Ripley's excellent selling. But this was a match where you sensed something was going to happen, but you just weren't sure what exactly. In the end, it was exactly what this match needed, and while Morgan got the major win, the post-match betrayal with Dominik will absolutely be what this match is most remembered for thanks to tolheir performances, the crowd reactions and even the commentators. It's an outstanding start to SummerSlam in a match that delivered more than I could've hoped for.

****

MATCH 2 - Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (champion) vs. Bron Breakker

How do you follow an outstanding opening match? By being something different. This was an interesting match as firstly, this was pretty much the only match on the card that came down to the in-ring action alone. The second thing was that out of all the matches on the card, this is the one I would've changed to maybe a Triple Threat Match and include the likes of Jey Uso or Ilja Dragunov rather than just duplicate the previous PLE. That's not to suggest that this match was bad because it wasn't, but by the end of the night this was the one that I had pretty much forgotten about. It was a short match that cut to the chase by having a dominant Bron Breakker win his first Intercontinental title. It certainly made sense although it didn't offer up any surprises and seemed to realize that they couldn't outdo the match beforehand. I'm excited by what's to come with Breakker as champion but I still kinda felt that their match at Money at the Bank was the better one and I'm not sure what was achieved by delaying it till here. I guess that's why I'm the fan and not the booker.

***

MATCH 3 - United States Championship: Logan Paul (champion) vs. L.A Knight

The rise in the popularity of L.A. Knight has genuinely surprised me and seemed to come out of nowhere following his feud with the late Bray Wyatt. I'm certainly no hater of Knight, but I'd be lying if I said I was a big fan or that his matches were something I particularly looked forward to. But if the match with A.J Styles at WrestleMania proved anything is that he can put on a show and deliver some fun, if not classic, matches. On the other side, you have Logan Paul, who I've stated before is so much better in the ring than he has any right to be. The decision to put the US title on Paul was a controversial one, and I had hoped it might boost the profile of a title that's never felt as prestigious compared to the Intercontinental title. I don't know if they achieved that, although Knight's victory here was a genuine feel-good moment and a just reward for a star whose stock has been steadily rising. The match wasn't the best on the card, but it benefitted from a good story coming in, plus Paul makes for such a dislikeable heel that I was really rooting for Knight here. It was a physical back and forth clash with Paul really showing the consequence of the physicality. A super plex spot looked scary as Paul seemed to struggle to get into the right position on the way down, and it made me and my friend wince. But this was the right result that rightfully rewarded Knight, who I think is an ideal choice to try to elevate this title. I just hope they build upon this moment.

*** 1/2

MATCH 4 - Women's Championship: Bayley (champion) vs. Nia Jax

Nia Jax is clearly enjoying what has been her best run since returning to WWE. She has looked better, been given better storylines, and most of all, she's been impressive in the ring and has put on some great matches with the likes of Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch. Her triumph in the Queen of the Ring tournament was the right decision and has given Nia a well-deserved push into a position that she probably should have reached earlier. Bayley likewise has also had a good run since the Royal Rumble which included a major title win at WrestleMania and a solid reign as champion even if the reign itself hasn't been as quite as memorable as her heel run as champion with Sasha Banks by her side. I liked the Damage Contrl angle and felt that the group didn't go over as much as they probably should have but her Royal Rumble and World Title win at WrestleMania seemed to come out of nowhere and was a recognition for what has been an outstanding career. But you definitely got the feeling that this was Jax's time and while the crowd disappointingly didn't seem to be into parts of this which admittedly didn't have strongest story of the two women's matches on the card. The match itself was pretty good in itself, where both came out looking strong, and the crowd did wake up following the powerbomb spot on Jax. The Tiffany Stratton dynamic with Jax will intrigue going forward, but the only question mark for me is where does Bayley go from here?

***

MATCH 5 - CM Punk vs. Drew Mcintyre with Seth Rollins as the Special Guest Referee

Things couldn't have gone worse for CM Punk at the Royal Rumble. One of the most anticipated in-ring returns in recent memory for a star with so much baggage and drama hanging over him, and it ends with a major injury. In any other circumstance, this would've been a disaster, yet WWE managed to create one of the most compelling storylines and bitterest of feuds in as long as I can remember. This was perhaps the most anticipated match on the card and where one of the major participants hadn't wrestled in nearly 7 months! It's testament to the quality of the change from the McMahon era to the Levesque era of WWE that a match like this can be so anticipated and main event worthy.

I don't know whether Seth Rollins was really needed but I don't think his presence hurt things either especially since it's a reasonable assumption that Rollins vs. Punk is one of the next major feuds to come. I really liked how they built up the tension as much as possible with Rollins delaying ringing the bell while both Punk and McIntyre looked ready to tear each other apart. The match was very physical and was just oozing storytelling throughout and the crowd absolutely loved it. A big thumbs up for the call back to the conclusion of the main event of SummerSlam 1997 as well. I sometimes wonder whether matches like this work as well for a live audience especially when the more story driven moments and exchanges in the ring can only be heard by the viewers at home. Whatever the answer is, what doesn't change is that the in-ring action was good, CM Punk looked great in the ring, the match was filled with compelling drama and delivered on the night.

****

MATCH 6 - World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (champion) vs. Gunther

No other superstar has risen to the top faster or thrived more during the Triple H era of WWE than Gunther. What he lacks in visual flair is more than compensated by his ring presence as a dominant heel in hard hitting matches. Not since Brock Lesnar has a superstar felt as legitimate in the ring as Gunther and it's crystal clear just how much he's valued by WWE in the way he's been booked since arriving on the main roster. His record breaking run as Intercontinental champion is legend in itself and his only pinfall loss felt like the natural next step for what felt was an inevitable run as a World champion. I'm a huge Gunther fan so this is a big moment as a fan but the only downside is that this comes at the expense (sort of) of Damian Priest whom I equally felt was finally coming into his own as champion. It's fitting therefore that two of the biggest rising stars in WWE right now put on the best match of the night.

Did it have the best storyline of the night going in? No however the build-up was helped by some personal jibes from Gunther in the last couple of weeks all the while WWE has been promoting the story of Damian Priest's wrestling career that has helped give things a more personal edge. The brawls they've engaged in on Raw have certainly helped bring a little more heat to the match which made the hard hitting action land even harder. Priest and Gunther looked more than a match for each other with both landing heavy moves including chops which drew blood from The Ring General himself. There were moments where I thought that this might end in a more conventional manner but at the same time there was that sense, given the progression of the night, that more drama might be on the way and in that respect I was not disappointed. Finn Balor's betrayal has been a long time coming and completed the implosion of the Judgment Day which turned out to be one of the biggest takeaways from SummerSlam 2024. This is a match that has redrawn Monday Night Raw considerably while at the same time elevating everyone involved. This has injected new life into the Judgement Day storyline, set up Priest and Balor on a path for what could be a career making feud and and of course elevated Gunther into the main event scene as World champion. This for me was the best match of the night in terms of in-ring action and while maybe the drama of the opening match was tough to beat, in terms of long term consequences this could be even more far reaching.

****

MAIN EVENT - WWE Undisputed Championship: COdy Rhodes (champion) vs. Solo Sikoa

I've got to be honest that I never saw this coming. It's strange to think that for so long we were so focused on the Bloodline storyline with Roman Reigns as Undisputed Champion that we didn't really stop to consider what might happen afterwards. Did anyone really expect to see Solo Sikoa as the next leader of the Bloodline or in the main event for the Undisputed title? I certainly didn't and credit is due for making this new line-up of the Bloodline as credible a threat as possible with the introduction of some new faces that has generally been a success. It's taken some time but with patience and some key victories at Backlash and Money in the Bank, Solo Sikoa for me looks comfortable in this spot and to be fair he and Cody Rhodes put on a very fine match to close the show.

But ... like some of the latter matches of Roman Reign's run as champion, this sadly fell prey to a sense of predictability. The Bloodline rules stipulation that was put in rather last minute was a mistake for me in that it essentially sign posted what we should expect. It's not like this hasn't worked before and I'm not suggesting that this spoiled things, but given the ending of the still rather recent WrestleMania, it just felt too similar and worse too was that the crowd were in on it and waiting. The crowd therefore never seemed too into this match despite the efforts that Rhodes and Sikoa were putting because they knew the match wasn't going to end before that moment occurred. Roman Reign's return stole the show in that match and was the biggest talking point of the main event, not Cody and not Solo which is a shame because they put on a good show.

*** 1/2

OVERALL

I thought this was an incredible SummerSlam and probably best one I've seen in many years. I was surprised how this was a single's match only card but the storylines leading into each of them more than made up for it. Were the results to be expected generally? Yes however the drama involved within each made this event feel like an important one especially in how they've redrawn the dynamics of both Raw and Smackdown going forward.

FAVOURITE MATCH - Damian Priest vs. Gunther

LEAST FAVOURITE MATCH - Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

FAVOURITE MOMENT - Dominik betrays Rhea Ripley

LEAST FAVOURITE MOMENT - The scary looking superplex during L.A Knight vs. Logan Paul.

EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS - Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

COULD’VE BEEN BETTER - Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker

UNSUNG HERO - Jelly Roll

[circular-bircular]

sorry i just had an epiphany i think everuone already knows this but like. for AGES i have had issues with syscourse. ive always wondered why anti or pro endos wouldn't listen to the other side even when they're agreeing on something and ive always wondered why people think pro endos are grooming the other side and why people think anti endos are fascistic but its literally all just ignorance and closed-mindedness. and resistance.

i think there's this deep fear of looking at the other side and agreeing with them and this deep fear of being wrong and this deep fear of things you don't understand.

i think peopke genuinely have trouble putting themselves in eachother's shoes. especially since they're so scared of the other side being right. so they don't listen. an anti endo could be the most pri endo antuk endo in existence (if that makes sense) but because they use an arbitrary label that doesn't even have nuance people wont listen. and vice versa! and because people don't listen, because people dread the thought of even interacting positively with the other side, they get a lot of things wrong and have a very closed-minded view.

that's also why both sides are stereotyped as harassers. you can SEE harassment. but if you don't go out of your way to engage with people who are reasonable and nice, of COURSE you're only gonna see the people who go out of their way to break their DNI. because you don't even look into the rest of the people! you just take things at face value!

(general you is used here, this isn't at the blogger) pro endos and anti endos can have good posts! but you're so scared of the other side, you have this very detrimental us vs them mentality, you can't see why someone would feel the way they do, you have trouble understanding, so you dig in your heels and REFUSE to understand instead of TRYING.

so many problems, so many syscourse posts could have been avoided if people just LISTENED to the other side.

and now that ive had this epiphany, half of syscourse now seems silly and useless to ne.

I kind of want to tackle this from my own shoes (however ironic that may be).

When I was using syscourse labels like anti endo and pro endo, it was more than fear of realizing I was wrong about my beliefs. It was fear of isolation and harassment for interacting with the other side. I have been completely ostracized and traumatized in the past for interacting with the “wrong” person.

What broke me out of that was finally being so, so broken down by not understanding my own disorder that I finally reached out to @justanothersyscourse in an attempt to understand dysfunction VS disordered and what the fuck those words meant in context. I do not say this with any joking or levity, JAS unironically saved my life that day. Would I be alive today without that conversation? Probably, yes. But I wouldn’t be where I’m at in recovery. I’d be a very different Circ.

I was scared to reach out, even privately, because I figured JAS would make a post about it. He was supposed to be an Evil Anti Endo, after all, and clearly he would harass me. (I also have a lot of issues with tumblr messenger due to prior issues with users via DMs, so I was scared of harassment directly from him). And the thing was, I wasn’t really scared of JAS or his followers hunting me down if he made a post.

I was scared of what the pro-endos around me would do to me for “speaking with the enemy.”

Knowing what I know now, I’m shocked and alarmed at how many people are feeling this same way, but it’s not surprising. After all, current theories show that one of the core things that leads to the development of DID is disorganized attachment. Most CDD systems have no stable support structure. So… enter syscourse: a place where individuals are labeling themselves for you.

SAFE vs UNSAFE.

Anyone who isn’t the same label as you is labeled unsafe, because you can’t predict them; they’re not the stable, safe belief you know. And if you start interacting with UNSAFE, then suddenly, you are also deemed UNSAFE — meaning you lose the attachments you had.

It’s absolutely terrifying, and we’ve witnessed it time and time again in syscourse. I lost those pro-endos I used to have by becoming a “filthy high and mighty sysmed centrist.” I lost anti-endos by “traumatizing traumagenic systems and calling them endos.” I lost so many people, immediately isolated for my apparent crimes of Talking About The Other Point. 

The tag is filled with triggered, dissociative people, all screaming about various transgressions. Someone broke a DNI — unsafe. Someone fakeclaimed someone — unsafe.

And those laws and rules kept us alive! They were what was needed for so long. And maybe, just maybe, these people still need those rules to survive. Maybe it’s not yet safe enough for them to attempt the unsafe.

Today while working on the house, I finally burst out and shouted, “I need to be a bitch about this, and even if you yell at me, it’s the only way I can communicate: I need to do something alone!” I set a boundary and nothing more, but it took every last ounce of energy I had to set it, because I was going against every single brain pathway I had that dictates that setting boundaries is unsafe.

That’s what I see in syscourse, now.

I think it’s more than just, “they’re scared the other side is right.” I think it’s just… they’re scared. So many people are scared. And they can’t get out of it.

So they don’t ever try.

[lemonhemlock]

Do you think S3 will be for the greens because this is not it. Rhaenyra and co are getting all the juice. They get a cohesive narration at least. Sure most of it doesn't make sense but the pov of her with Jace is far more compelling as a concerned mother and a son she loves and takes seriously vs Alicent and Aegon, who she thinks of as scum. The blacks are getting the sympathy vote. Maybe S3 will focus more on the greens though I can't foresee it going well after this abomination of a season. Seven hells and all that. How on earth they are going to save the greens after this Idfk. They are ruined. It was supposed to be Rhaenyra who slowly descends into madness.

So, I know there is a lot of talk going around about what exactly constitutes "bad writing" and what is just copium from fans who are simply disappointed that their headcanons didn't come true and, to answer this ask, I'm going to try and give my take under the cut.

To begin with, I think it's normal for people to whine and rant about the direction of the show, even if they're just disgruntled that the writers made different choices for the characters. It's early days! We are very much in the midst of things and there hasn't been enough time to go through the five stages of fandom grief or whatever. However, I do find it short-sighted and (I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't want to mince words either) childish how some are using this as a launching pad to present themselves as the the depositories of true media literacy, because their preferred interpretation of whichever character came true at the expense of another. All this, of course, to take swipes at people who had other interpretations they considered annoying or delusional. IDK, I am just of the opinion that it contributes to fostering an unwelcoming space where fans start feeling circumspect when it comes to engaging in the fandom because they fear committing to any opinion for fear of ridicule.

I would therefore ask people to consider that, the way TV shows are made, there probably existed in that writers' room various directions they could have taken (some complimentary and some contradictory) and it naturally follows that one version had to win out against the others. So, to think that because some people sat down in a meeting and decided to settle on Interpretation A instead of Interpretation B somehow means you were right all along and all the others were wrong and that makes your takes superior is just dilly-dallying. HotD as a media production has many decision-makers involved in its creation, it's not just one person whose textual hints you correctly deduced using reasoning skills: there are probably people in there arguing just like we are about what Aemond should do or what Alys should be like and they might also disagree with each other and have different ideas.

Anyway. I look at HotD as a living, changing organism that can morph according to who is involved in its adaptation, not as a fixed, pre-determined thing that I can "guess" at and correctly predict. What if they change the writers this summer and S3 retcons everything we've seen? What then? It's a ping-pong fandom blaming game that disguises a quest for self-validation through parasocial projections and I don't think is very productive. If you ask me, it doesn't seem to me that these writers have much a clue what they're doing half the time.

As a general rule, some changes from the book I am probably not going to like to matter what (and I think that tracks for most people; everyone has their particular preferences). But I honestly think I could have been OK with them in the end had they been executed better and I am going to give a couple of examples of what I believe constituted "bad writing".

For instance, I really wasn't wowed by the scene in which Otto gets fired. The plot and acting choices fell flat to me. Aegon is too... unresponsive and Otto's monologue falls apart at a minimal examination. It's not necessarily the idea of Otto criticising Aegon that I'm so turned off by - I know it is a talking point that the shattering of the image of the greens as a family is what's making others salty. But consider the fact that it's illogical and directly contradicting to Otto's own actions. Last season in episode 9 he was planning for a long time to have Rhaenyra assassinated, with the approval of all members of the small council sans Beesbury, and Alicent had to become angry and put her foot down to defend Rhaenyra. The whole dramatic "the King would not wish for the murder of his daughter" line. Now Otto is mad because Criston sent someone to assassinate Rhaenyra? It's been a few weeks between these events and nothing happened to Otto so that he might have a change of heart.

It just takes me out of the story and prevents me from enjoying any bollocking he might give. It's too goofy. These writers want the greens to have conflict, but they don't know how to create engaging and believable sources of conflict. It's baffling because the sources of conflict are so many, yet, instead of choosing a reasonable element that might create differences in opinion, they have to invent stupid shit that compromises the entire process. Otto could be mad at Aegon because Aegon has been making lots of rash decisions or is turning the Red Keep into a whorehouse or whatever. But he hasn't literally done anything. He is shown to be impatient and impulsive but has always heeded the advice of his councilors when they started arguing back, so what gives? What is so unbelievably bad that could cause Otto's and Alicent's attitudes towards him?

Speaking of Alicent, a short while ago, she stood in front of a dragon in a desperate attempt to protect her son. You might think a traumatic event like this would cause a person to re-evaluate their relationship. It would be a normal reaction for Alicent to think her son has been disappointing overall, but, even so, it looks like she really doesn't want him to die after all. At least in the short-term? But, no, it's like the even had no bearing on her and she keeps acting like Aegon is the worst king alive when he hasn't made any grave mistakes - has actually been acting quite tame since then.

This is what drives me up the wall so much - all these traumatic things happen to the greens and they have no reaction to them. Apart from Aegon crying over Jaehaerys, on the whole, they are so emotionally passive. Maybe when in the midst of something gruesome they are 15% sadder, but they get over it quickly and return to their baseline gloominess. This is so easy to see and criticise, yet I am certain there is someone out there who is going to read this and think that I just want them to wail and dramatically bellow out a Hamlet soliloquy. "Everyone grieves in their own way". And, again, I find that kind of conversation tiresome because I can't help but read a disingenuous intent behind it - there is no way they are not being dishonest in refusing to acknowledge that the lack of emotional dynamism is an element many people find deeply unsatisfying in fiction.

I've said it so many times now, but the writers are constantly shying away from associating the greens with any kind of positive emotion (apart from a couple of measly scenes like Aegon being happy when interacting with Jaehaerys and the Alicent/Gwayne scene - which came in episode freaking 6 out 8 btw). When you have an entire group of people whose emotionality is so static, their part of the plot falls flat, too, because it looks like there are no stakes, nothing matters, they're going to be as miserable no matter what happens to them, so why bother? It prevents the viewer from getting invested and it's just plain boring to witness. A scene like Alicent charging at Rhaenyra with a knife would never have happened this season the way these characters are being written. She would have gone straight back to bed after the maester stitched Aemond's wound.

And this is such a huge and pervasive problem with the show right now that it does feel gaslight-y and duplicitous to be counter-acted with arguments in the vein of "you're just mad because you disagree with the characterisation". I know it's not always coming from a place of malice, but it is a little frustrating, what can I say!

Coming back to the ask, I am in the minority now when I say that, on the contrary, I think TB are written in a more interesting way because at the very least they behave like people! They are shown having emotions commonly associated with people, not robots. They grieve together, they bond, they are devastated - Rhaenyra had an entire mini-arc of needing to find Luke's remains herself in order to grieve and they all held a funeral together and were quite touched). They fight for real or have mini-arguments or are disappointed in each other. They talk it out and sometimes they make-up and sometimes they don't (like Daemon fleeing Dragonstone). They have emotional range.

Yes, it can get a little boring sometimes - I do not necessarily disagree with those complaining that Rhaenyra is constantly shown being undermined by her Small Council. A queen struggling to be taken seriously and trying to please everyone while also looking for ways in which to minimize harm is not going to be the most riveting topic to watch, but it's also not not interesting, you know what I mean? Not a long while ago it was a hot topic of conversation to say that TV executives should bring back filler episodes because it allowed characters to breathe and everything did not have to be so dramatic all the time. Well, this is what a filler episode would look like.

Ultimately, this group of writers are not too far off D&D's level of understanding themes. The books were about how, beyond legal arguments, feudalism and patriarchy are systems in which sometimes even siblings start turning on one another because of issues like inheritance, to devastating effects: they are not systems conducive to happiness or prosperity. Instead, the show is about a villainous side vs a righteous side. They won't be able to get away from this fundamental bastardisation of the text, because they never bothered to understand what it's about and so they'll just change whatever they have to and introduce as many non-sensical elements in the adaptation to fit this misjudgment. As a result, I don't think they'll be able to satisfactorily correct S3, but I hope at least they will make it less annoying.

There are still two more episodes to go, but, my goodness, even disregarding themes, this season is scoring so low in the rewatchability department. It feels like drudgery to get through.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The Bear's legacy

The series finale has already been announced

I still think Sydcarmy will be endgame, of course. But most importantly, I also think that all Carmy said in this scene in regards to HIS LEGACY (because that's what he was talking about, not just legacy in general but his own based on what he learned from the legends that taught him well) is the clearest foreshadowing of what Storer has in mind to wrap The Bear up.

I say all of this now because I believe S4 will be the last one and after this S3 we were just served my mind keeps wandering to: HOW CAN WE GET OUT OF HERE?!?! HOW WILL STORER GET US OUT OF THIS. HOW WILL HE CLOSE THE OPEN LOOP HE LEFT US STUCK AT IN THE SEASON FINALE:

I already went over my idea of how the endgame for the entire series may look like here, before watching S3. But that was just an assumption (yet fully compatible with what I will elaborate on below).

These previous posts of mine, also tap into The Family tree concept and I suggest you check them out for context as well:

The tree

Found Family

What I think will happen in whatever way Storer wants to go about it is that even though The Bear, the restaurant will not go under, at least not as a result of this bad review:

Eventually, it might close its doors like Ever did (after getting 1 or more stars for Sydney), so Carmy can live and escape the prison of his own design that Richie mentioned:

Now, I'm prepared to make a formal prediction based on the script presented in ep 03x07 → Legacy, which I cross-referenced with LWTH.

And the parallelisms, which would take a way longer post than what I have time to make right now, all point in this direction:

The team will spread around the world/country to open their own restaurants/bakeries, etc. - This happens either in the post The Bear era or even if The Bear remains open.

Or in other words, like Storer Carmy said:

This will be the case for each member of the family:

And because the show is about "found family", they still find a way to remain together, even if at some point they go their separate ways to carry on with The Bear's legacy elsewhere as Carmy foreshadowed and just like Carmy carried on with Michael's at some point, which was the kickstart of the whole series.

Thus, it will be a full circle.

IMO, and this is unrelated to the book, The Bear will close its door eventually or change its name and Sydney will open her dream spot, maybe where The Bear once was or elsewhere. Carmy will change careers and will crossover into other arts, such as painting. Let's not forget that he's already an artist of the culinary arts, so it will not be too much of a stretch. He seemed to have found his peace once in Copenhagen doing this and he keeps coming back to it, even now, as he hits rock bottom, he keeps turning to this type of art to try and cope:

He never seems to drift too far away from it.

I think this is where he's headed post The Bear. Back to his solace (which will include Syd too).

And this is what comes to mind → an Austenian happy ending for the entire family that was foreshadowed in 03x07 "Legacy".

The ending will be all about carrying on with Carmy's legacy or better yet, "Sydcarmy's Legacy", one way or the other. Kinda like this fic narrates here.

And I can't wait.

Bonus track: I hope they leave the door open to continue telling this story on the big screen, which if you didn't cheat and carefully read the Found Family context post I linked at the beginning, you now know was Storer's original idea for The Bear. This, unlike all I mentioned above, is indeed a stretch. But... a girl can dream.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 절대 그이/My Absolute Boyfriend

My Absolute Boyfriend is the 2019 Korean live-action adaptation of the Watase Yuu manga "Absolute Boyfriend." (There are two other adaptations, one Taiwanese and one Japanese.) It tells the story of a woman who has just broken up with her celebrity boyfriend, and the robot who becomes a real boy by falling in love with her.

(And yes, the reason we started watching it was because of Yeo Jingoo, since the tantalizing prospect of "that guy who played Han Juwon, playing a robot boyfriend" was too amazing to pass up.)

I need to note right off the bat: I am not usually a consumer of bippy k-dramas, romcoms, or het romance in media in general. No shade to anyone who likes these thing; they're just not my regular cup of tea. So if your tastes are akin to mine, you may have looked at the poster and been like, hm, no thank you.

Thus I am here to try and sell you on it even if you are not a fan of these genres.

This show is so unwatched that (as far as I can tell) there is nothing for it on AO3. There are a mere eight hits for the manga, Zettai Kareshi | Absolute Boyfriend, but there's nothing at all for this adaptation. This is an absolute crime, for reasons I will detail in the forthcoming five reasons to watch (above and beyond the simple pleasure of watching Yeo Jingoo be a handsome goober, though that remains a serious point in its favor):

1. Balls entirely to the wall

You know those Tumblr posts where someone comments and is like, at no point could I have predicted what the next word in that sentence would be? Yeah, that, only the sentence is the show.

This show is absolutely bonkers. It is absolute storytelling mayhem. It is gleefully head-clutching weird. Someone told it that girls like exactly three things -- cute boys in adorable outfits, cute boys with their shirts off, and cute boys in Situations -- and it is ready to deliver.

I could tell you what the plot of the show is, or at least I could try, but that wouldn't convey the sheer volume of shenanigans it gets up to. I feel like every time it had a flashback montage (set to one of its six licensed pop songs), I was like, oh yeah, that happened.

The thing, too, is that it's so self-aware. This show knows precisely what it is, and it's having fun with it. The acting is often melodramatic, but obviously very consciously so. I'm not going to say the show never takes itself seriously (because it does -- see my point #5), but it never doesn't know exactly what it is.

Browsing the MyDramaList page, I can see that a lot of viewers had lukewarm feelings on the show as a whole. (Normally I don't make the mistake of reading the comments, but since this is such a non-property in English-speaking fandom, I had to go find out what the hell.) And yeah, I can imagine that if you came into this expecting a more straight-faced entry in the genre, what you get could be confusing and alienating.

If you watch this, take off your nitpicker's hat. There are many, many points that do not make sense. Just go with it. Let the cute boys take off their shirts. Kiss a robot. Embrace chaos.

2. A++ Girlfriend

Eom Dada is great. She's just so weird. I love her and I absolutely understand why those two boys want to get with her.

She is a special effects makeup artist who runs her own three-person team that specializes in sci-fi/horror properties. One of the first things we see her doing is mixing up a bunch of different types of fake blood, because, hey, a lot of different stunt people are going to die today, and you can't just use one type of blood for everybody!

She is a dadgumn professional, is what she is.

What she isn't, however, is a pick-me, not-like-the-other-girls girl. Several times, she gets dressed up real cute and femme, and she never expresses negativity toward her more girly-girl friends. It's not that she's rejecting femininity so much as that her vision of femininity is big enough to include creating beautiful fake severed body parts. When someone describes a female character as "quirky," I cringe reflexively. But that's what she is! She's got quirks! She's a nice, normal girl who is also a big weirdo.

Since I did go read the comments, I found out pretty quickly that a lot of viewers hate her. Part of this, I'm sure, is just your generic vitriol you see aimed at any woman in a show, because holy fuck, we sure do hate women.

But I think part of it may come from how she's not asking "how high?" every time those boys tell her they'd like her to jump. There's some real viciousness out there toward women that turn down men, epecially from other women. Without getting too much into psychoanalysis about it, an awful lot of hate gets directed from other women toward the female ex-/partners of desirable men, much of which comes from the terrible assumption that if you were in her position, you'd be appropriately grateful! You'd treat that boy right! That lucky bitch doesn't know how good she's got it!

...You see how that's bad, though, right? Like, really bad and toxic?

Eom Dada tells those boys "no" when she doesn't want what they're offering. She's realizes early on that setting yourself on fire to keep your partner warm is terrible, so she stops. She's going to make them wait until she wants it -- and if she never wants it, well, those boys just get to keep right on waiting!

Read me loud and clear: I'm not saying the only reason to dislike Eom Dada is misogyny. Sometimes you just don't like a character! It happens! It's legal! What I am saying, though, is that when you look at a lot of the hate toward her all at once, certain trends emerge, and they're more than a little bit ugly.

And I think that's unfair because she's an absolute pumpkin who deserves all the smooches and spicy noodles she wants.

3. ...Are they gonna kiss?

And by "they" here, I don't mean Girlfriend and Robot Boyfriend, who obviously smooch. I mean Robot Boyfriend and Ex-Boyfriend.

They hate one another! They make heartbreaking sacrifices for one another! They're vicious rivals! They team up to solve mysteries! They're incredibly suspicious of one another! They trust one another completely! What the actual hell is going on with these two? Because oh boy, the show itself sure doesn't know.

Their relationship yo-yos constantly throughout the length of the series. They're never friends, but they get weirdly close on several occasions, including rescuing one another from terrible predicaments. They also both seem fascinated with each other, above and beyond how they're competing for the affections of the same girl. The actors have some solid chemistry (much of it comedic) in their shared scenes. They're certainly not afraid to get right up in each other's personal space.

This isn't queerbaiting, it's not using gay as a punchline, it's ... something, that's for sure. And by that I mean, I don't know if I've ever seen a more powerful vindication of the principle that the optimal solution to every love triangle is a threesome.

This to me is one of the flaws of the show, that it has decided it must never acknowledge the strength of their independent bond outside of its place in the central love conflict, and to keep from doing so, it keeps nuking Ex-Boyfriend's character back to square one. He learns about love and trust and growth! ...and then we need the plot to have a which boy will she choose??? conflict, so he's got to unlearn all of that real quick so he can be a real dillhole again. If it didn't feel obligated to do that, things would get sexy fast, I'm just saying.

Here is the main reason I'm baffled that I'm getting no AO3 hits for this: These three would be one hell of a throuple. Where are my bisexual horndog fix-it fics where all three of them wind up sharing Ma Wangjoon's comically large bed?

4. Weirdly healthyish messages about romance?

I mentioned earlier that het romance in media is not my thing, and one of the main reasons it's not is how many just gross messages it delivers about normative gender roles and behaviors.

This show absolutely starts that way. Robot Boyfriend is raised on all your classic romcoms and taught that love is all about giving everything with no concern for your own well-being, while at the same time overriding all your partner's objections because you know what she really wants. When he first latches on to Eom Dada, he's kind of your classic overbearing comedy stalker who doesn't take no for an answer, because True Love.

And then ... he changes. He realizes that his romcom education is not going to help here, so he decides to figure out what kind of boyfriend she actually wants. Once he does that, he starts to figure out that he wants to be loved too. And that's when things get interesting.

He never stops being pretty forward about things, but it becomes far more playful when he's not pressuring her, just reminding her that the offer is still on the table. Eom Dada then responds by becoming clear about how she definitely wants to take this boy out for a spin -- just at her own pace, when she herself is ready for it.

It makes an interesting contrast to how, when she was with Ex-Boyfriend, all she wanted was for him to acknowledge her (which he wanted to do too, but couldn't, for absolutely bonkers reasons, because this show is just Like That). The two of them are still in love, but the show makes it clear that being in love doesn't mean you're going to be good together -- and it doesn't mean you have to forgive the bullshit your ex-partner pulled back when you were together.

But the love triangle isn't even the sole source of romance! There's a whole 'nother love ... triangle? quadrilateral? Whatever, you've also got Robot Boyfriend's charmingly goofy MIT-educated co-creator/trainer/big brother, who becomes the object of affection for at least two of the supporting characters.

My take on this is that Handsome Robot Hyung deserves the whole harem: the boss lady who can pick him up, the cute thirsty girl who does yoga, and the sweet gay-coded boy who is so impressed that he knows robots. (This is another tragic casualty of the NO HOMO attitude of the show, where that boy should be treated as a legitimate love interest, but can never be. But we know better!)

I'm used to seeing love triangles solved in one of three ways: 1) one point on the triangle gets demonized so significantly as to make the other one the obvious choice; 2) the eventually unchosen point gets given a Consolation Prize Significant Other so we don't fell too bad about how they didn't get chosen; or 3) one point dies or is otherwise removed from the narrative, letting the other two hook up without guilt. None of those things happen to either of these love polygons. Despite some genre-appropriate catty, melodramatic speed bumps, everything gets resolved in the manner of adults with reasonable amounts of emotional maturity. It's weirdly kind of nice.

(This isn't to say there's no toxic bullshit that slips in -- for instance, I still don't know what to make of that one arguing couple, or what Robot Boyfriend says to them. It's just much less than I expected.)

Your mileage may vary about the choices the show makes at the very end. It's not how I would have ended it, sure, but I also don't think it could have ended any other way -- remember, this is a show that never forgets what it is. It is contractually obligated by its genre conventions to keep certain narrative promises. If anything, I think it's interesting how much it feels it can get away with leaving hopeful yet unresolved, up to and including how many people are still comfortably single at the end of the show. Partnered romance isn't always the solution to everything! Sometimes you've got your career and you've got your friends, and now you've got some time to work on yourself! Maybe it won't always be that way, but it sure is right now. And that's great.

5. A surprisingly sophisticated meditation on memory and mortality (say that five times fast)

Real talk: In the past four months, I have lost a lot of people, places, and animals who were very dear to me, and had some close calls with a couple more. It has sucked exactly as much as you think it has.

So yeah, in the last few episodes, I blew through some tissues.

To a certain degree, it's exactly the kind of melodramatic tearjerker narrative you'd expect from a property like this. And let me tell you what, there is nothing wrong with getting a good, sappy cry going because of the overwrought dramas of fictional people. There are plenty of objectively mediocre shows and movies I put on because I know I'm going to be a blubbering wreck by the end.

This show, however, has the extra layer of interest that Robot Boyfriend is both Boyfriend and Robot. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that having a guy designed to be reformatted every time a new person smooches him adds a whole lot of interesting layers to what counts as death and mourning.

Add that to how Eom Dada is still grieving the loss of her beloved father, who taught her everything she knew about her career, and you get some surprisingly moving little moments that creep in through the wacky hijinks that make up the rest of the show.

Look, it's nothing I'd ever teach in a Philosophy seminar, or anything so profound as that. But it's quiet and nice, and it has more depth than I expected, and it all hit me right in my tender little feels box. If that's the kind of thing you're open to, you could do a lot worse.

Thinking about giving this one a shot?

Viki's got the series in its full 40-episode run. (It's actually 20 hour-long episodes split in half because of commercial break rules, if you're wondering why it's sometimes Like That.) So does Tubi. I guess your choice then becomes which one's ads you'd rather sit through.

I think if you go into this with the attitude that you're just going to go with it all and laugh at how zany it is, you're in for a fine time. Whether or not you think it's good is up to your standards of quality. But it's hard to deny that it's a whole lot of fun.

And then get your ass to AO3 and give me some OT3! Mama needs these three cutie patooties to smooch~