#i just have a lot of feelings on this topic lol

[sophieinwonderland]

hey i hope this doesnt come off as aggressive!! i dont know much about this topic so thats why im asking: when medical professionals and scientific sources mention "multiple personality states" outside of discussions about dissociative disorders, how do you know theyre referring to systems or distinct identities seen in plurality? i just see the defense that sources like the ICD-11(?) mention multiple personality states existing without trauma, but at least to me that seems like kind of vague phrasing that could be a lot of different things. has that phrase ever been scientifically defined? sorry if i sound like a dummy writing this lol like i said im not very educated on this and i really would like to know more

It's no problem!

The phrase they use is multiple "distinct personality states."

I believe the "distinct" wording is what's pulling a ton of weight here, as it seems to refer to separation from each other and them having their own identities. "Personality state" may appear in other contexts. But I can confirm that after browsing the first 10 page of Google Scholar, every link using the phrase "distinct personality state" is related to DID and using it as a stand-in for alter.

That specific phrase just hasn't been used outside of DID, which is what makes it pretty huge when the ICD-11 comes out in 2019 and says you can have multiple distinct personality states without a disorder. It's a specific phrase that's just always been associated with DID alters before that point.

And remember, the ICD-11 itself uses this phrasing synonymously with alters as well.

But it is still unclear what being "distinct" means in this context.

In The Haunted Self, it's mentioned at one point that they believe BPD also involves dissociative parts, but that those have a less distinct sense of self than in DID.

I suspect this is likely the meaning of the word in the diagnostic criteria, but I haven't been able to find a source for that.

But the example of spiritual mediumship would reinforce that definition, IMO. Spirit channelers regularly commune with other agents who have their own names, autonomy and distinct senses of self separate from the host's.

There is a pretty big portion of the endogenic community, in fact, who are plural for spiritual reasons.

With this context, I feel it's safe to say "distinct personality states" are being used to mean the same thing as what we would describe as "headmates."

[allylikethecat]

i saw you post about ao3 etiquette and i wanna say if anyone has been mean to ally i will fight you

Haha I have been very lucky that for the most part people have been so kind and lovely and wonderful and supportive! ❤️ I did have one experience with an anon (On AO3 and on Tumblr) that wasn't very nice over the summer, but I know their anger was coming from a place of their own personal hurt. While I was upset in the moment I have some very lovely mutuals who were so kind and supportive and encouraging. These days I hope that user is doing better and that they have been able to find their own inner peace. My mom always says that "hurt people, hurt people" and I just really hope they are doing well and wish I could have helped in some way.

BUT I don't think it's a bad idea to remember that we are all doing this for FREE and for FUN and if you come across a fic that you don't agree with, are triggered by, or that contains content you don't enjoy, it is your responsibility as a reader to hit the back button and remove yourself from that situation, especially when tags are used appropriately as well as additional, more detailed warnings in the author's note. Everyone has different life experiences and something that might be triggering and upsetting to one person, could be a way to heal and process for someone else. One person's trauma and life experience is not more valid or more "correct" than someone else's and personally I find it really important that we treat everyone and their experiences with respect. If I'm upset or bothered by something, or even just that I don't really like, I know that I personally will go "hm this fic must not be for me" and then go and find one that is.

And on that note! Thank you so much for the support 🥰 (No need to fight anyone though! We are all here to have a good time and my goal at least here on my blog is to cultivate the happy good vibes!) Thank you for sending in this ask! I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying my fics and I hope you continue to do so! Happy Monday and have a great week!

❤️Ally

[caluupin]

Finished TGAAC around 2 1/2 weeks ago but only finished the doodles today. but still, here ya go!

[brjeauregard]

The reaction to FCG casting turn undead and it affecting Laudna is wild to me. They were on an island surrounded by undead, it would have been absurd for him to not cast it.

The discourse has also made me realize that a lot of people watch the show for very different reasons than me. I love interparty conflict. Some of my favorite moments from every campaign has been when an argument or fight breaks out between the characters. The cast is so good at embracing the tension and staying true to their character's stance even if they're wrong or escalating the situation and I eat it up every time. These characters can't grow without conflict and, especially in campaign 3, will walk on eggshells around each other unless everyone knows how the party feels about something.

It seems like a lot of people only watch the show for their favorite characters or for the romance (which to clear is completely fine. I'm not saying that people are enjoying the show wrong or that I'm watching it the right way). The cast have said before that they also love conflict and have made it clear that they will stay true to their character in tense moments. Some fans have a tendency to purposefully misinterpret actions and motivations or disregard any trauma that a character has experienced that might explain their behavior. Laudna is allowed to hate the gods and has every reason to, but the first decision FCG ever made for themself was to follow the Changebringer. It makes perfect sense that hearing her, and some other characters to a lesser extent, talk negatively about the Changebringer is frustrating after they've been constantly FCG that he needs to make choices for himself. That doesn't mean that FCG is right or the Laudna is wrong, but their actions and beliefs make sense.

It's also wild how no one is talking about how Fearne almost didn't heal FCG because of turn undead. There's been a lot of talk about how pettiness is her love language but putting your friend's life at risk because he made Laudna run into ocean is more than petty. She ultimately healed them so it's not a huge deal but she established that she values Laudna more than FCG.

I hope they talk about the fight next episode so everyone is on the same page about turn undead and what's going to happen next time they encounter undead.

[cheekblush]

i'd rather be friendless than to constantly have my boundaries disrespected

[creekfiend]

At the same time as "this rule doesn't make sense to me and you can't adequately explain it to me so I won't be following it" is often a strength if you're questioning power structures, I have absolutely seen that weaponized by some autistic people as like "but why CAN'T I say xyz incredibly bigoted thing! No one will explain this to me! Therefore the rule is stupid!" LOL i think it comes from the same place

You have to temper it with critical thinking and a desire to take people on good faith about certain things. Like their experiences.

[astrxealis]

hi guys please wish me luck for my college entrance exam tomorrow for one of my dream schools xoxo

[daz4i]

how and why is there discourse about whether or not certain queer identities exist/if people should be allowed(???) to use them. why is "people know their own identity better than you ever could, and they're the only one who get a say on what they are" such a tough concept to grasp

i think if you find yourself offended by the label someone uses (especially if they're a stranger) or think it invalidates your own, it's a good idea to look inside yourself and question why that may be. more often than not, it's a result of insecurity or uncertainty of your own identity (or many other things, but i won't make a whole list here). whatever reason it is, until you resolve it, you shouldn't take it out on people for having an identity you don't understand

many have said it before but it's worth saying over and over. infighting only helps our oppressors. conservatives don't care if you're a cis gay or a xenogender aegosexual aplatonic lesbian, they hate all of us either way. trying to fit in by going for people who are easier targets for them isn't gonna help you, it'll just alienate you from your own community, and you're never gonna please them. the momentary rush you get from hearing you're not like "one of /those/ gay people" is not worth it and is gonna do more harm in the long run, i assure you

also, it is important to me to say this, but having some less than nice kneejerk reaction caused by confusion about an identity you don't understand doesn't mean you're a bad person or anything. as long as you aren't mean to that person, and you take a second to think smth along the lines of "wait a minute, this isn't any of my business" after having said reaction, you're good 👍 a lot of reflexive reactions we have to things are ingrained into us simply by. well. living in a society 🤡 and you're not terrible for having those thoughts. it's your actions that matter, and your second thought (the "wait, why did i just think that?") is more defining of your actual character and morals than your reflex. i know that having thoughts like this, even tho they're unwanted, can very easily make one spiral, so it's important to me that whoever needs to hear this knows this doesn't make you a bad person 🙏 you're good, keep taking actions to be good, accept other people even if you don't understand them, and you're on the right track :)

[rpfisfine]

my friend pisses me off soooooo bad

[whentherewerebicycles]

therapy was “helpful” and I “liked it” and sigh I’ll “keep going”

[bibiana112]

Hhhhhhhh I wanna be hired so bad

[drones-of-innocence]

Hi Drones! Love your Mareach fanfics (literally top notch💯). I was wondering, what are your thoughts on the movie (assuming you’ve seen it😅)? I have a few thoughts on it, but would love to hear yours!

Hey there!! I appreciate the ask! (And OMG thank you for reading my fics, that's so sweet of you 😭)

I have finally seen the Mario movie and I do have a lot to say haha, and I'm cool with sharing my broad thoughts this way, but if you're looking for a more in-depth discussion then I'm happy to discuss more in a PM!!

Just a brief disclaimer; my opinion reflects only my personal preference! I don't have any problem with disagreement or anyone who feels differently.

I will say the movie was a lot of fun! It was so surreal to see the Mushroom Kingdom on the big screen, and to hear such familiar melodies in cinematic arrangements. It was downright magical, actually. There was plenty to laugh and be amazed at, and so many references that had me grinning the entire time!

About the plot though 😅 There are pacing and some narrative critiques that I've seen so I won't say anything beyond that. The most important thing for me is I believe in the merit of a children's movie being all fun and silly, but I also really feel like this film went out of its way to avoid social commentary at its own expense. Not for no good reason; I know Nintendo does everything possible to keep the Mario franchise as family friendly as possible. But in terms of an impactful story, it fell sort of flat in my view. I feel as if it could have benefitted from some kind of social commentary beyond it's shot at subverting the damsel-in-distress trope.

(That in particular felt like performative feminism in a sense. Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was a sincere attempt at empowering an iconic character. But the default answer in a lot of media to empowering women these days seems to be "make her strong the way that the men characters are." A girlboss, I guess. It feels performative for me because it reaffirms with the idea that strength in character can only be relevant/seen within masculine qualities, and writers can just say "but it's a woman!" while continuing to disregard more feminine examples of strength. It's like a Get Out of Jail Free Card to acknowledging gender inequality.

Like, the problem wasn't that she's a damsel-in-distress; the problem is how pervasive the trope of damsel-in-distress used to be across the board. Except now, pop culture has sort of swung the other way. The problem isn't the girlboss character, the problem is that the girlboss character is perceived as the only correct way of writing "strong women characters." It's just sort of missing the point. The problem is still the same; women characters are stuffed into the same small box of behavior, attitude, and ultimate role depending on what's trendy at the time. I love the damsel-in-distress trope. I also love the girlboss. But it can be tiring to see that same story over and over again, feeling as if there are only a few options for writers to portray women, and realizing that it represents a sort of confinement of understanding for what women are allowed to be in real life for social acceptance, too.)

I get the desire to avoid politics and social issues. I really do, but in my position (studying social sciences), I see social issues as unavoidable. To go without acknowledging them is to ignore them, and from a story perspective, to go without them also kind of makes it boring?

I've seen the argument that it's a children's movie, therefore it doesn't have to be complicated. That's absolutely valid. I wish I could go back to having no thoughts lol. But it's my personal preference to watch a film that makes me think and consider the world from another point of view. And in response to that argument, all I can really say is basically my favorite genre is children's films that have social commentary. (See The Iron Giant, Wall-E, The Little Prince, Megamind, Beauty and the Beast, literally any given Studio Ghibli film. All of these have something to say about society contained within them.) I kind of wish the Mario movie had an interesting point to make in that context, but it didn't really, and that's okay. That's just why it's not one of my favorite movies.

That being said, there is plenty to love. The character designs were absolutely adorable. The Mushroom Kingdom was more than I could have ever dreamed of, and the way Mario and Luigi's brotherly relationship played out was just so beautifully written 🥺 I love that this will undoubtedly expand pop culture's regard for Mario, and maybe draw others into my silly little corner of the internet where I just sit here and publish my fluffy Mareach fanfiction 😆

[carolinanadeau]

In Praise of Sally Ann Howes

As I've made it one of the purposes of my blog to share photos and songs and general positivity about the wonderful English actress Sally Ann Howes, I thought I'd make a post to talk in much more detail about all the great things about her and why I adore her so much!

This classy English beauty possessed a highly expressive face and eyes, an astonishingly powerful soprano, a great sense of humor, and the world's most charming laugh. One thing I cannot stop saying about Sally Ann is that she did not and does not get nearly enough credit and recognition for her immense talent and prolific career, and it's precisely for that reason that I'm here to do my part in giving it to her!

This overlong rambling post is a combination of biographical information and my personal fawning over her performances... whatever I felt I most wanted to put out there in the world and what I'd like people less familiar with her to know.

Click on Keep Reading and I'll take you on a journey!

As she preferred to work on the stage and didn't really pursue a film career, the catalog of Sally Ann's work that can still be viewed today is unfortunately small - though you can find almost all of her early films on the internet if you look hard! In her early film days, mostly made before she was able to pursue her true passion of musical theatre, her extraordinary singing talents weren't utilized by the producers at all.

However, we were fortunately blessed with exactly one musical film role from her, and it's an iconic one: the aptly-named role of Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), the golden-haired, golden-hearted candy heiress who falls in love with and eventually marries Dick van Dyke's character Caractacus Potts after joining him and his children on a madcap adventure. She's a sweet, intelligent ingenue with hidden depths and one of my favorite sorts of character arcs - the uptight, lonely woman who becomes more and more warm and open as she discovers newfound freedom and joy in life and falls in love.

There is something about Sally Ann that just glows in every scene of Chitty, and it's not only that bright blonde hair! The way she widens her eyes sometimes, the way she raises her eyebrows, her gentle and soft presence in the happiest scenes, and the particular airy lilt she has to her speaking voice are all so distinctive and appealing, and I can't take my eyes off her. And her smile! When I say she glows it's barely even a metaphor, the woman just emits light. 

(Funnily enough, I started to realize that many of the laudatory quotes I've found about her also refer to her in this way, like this quote from a 1965 TV Guide article, from playwright Sidney Kingsley: "She's luminous as an actress. I mean that literally. In Brigadoon she really lit up the stage.")

For me, I'm weak for any actress who can do the defrosted-ice-queen trope so incredibly well. Truly starts out as closed-off and prim, and nearly reverts to that state when she and Caractacus have a Big Misunderstanding near the end, but in the scenes where she's happy and carefree, the warmth just radiates off of her.

She also has the most adorable chemistry with Dick van Dyke in an annoyances-to-friends-to-lovers relationship that absolutely shaped my young brain. Whenever Sally Ann and Dick glance at each other, whether with irritation and frustration early in the film or with warmth and affection later on, their chemistry is obvious and natural, and there's so much expressed in each one of those glances. One has no difficulty believing that these characters are going to be very happily married.

(Here's a cute on-set interview where she talks about, among other things, how easily she and van Dyke clicked.)

While I acknowledge that the character of Caractacus Potts was absolutely originally planned to be an actual Englishman, Dick van Dyke played him with an American accent, and to me they will always be an adorable English-American couple. It's a whole part of the charm of this pairing to me!

Sally Ann also had a great relationship with child actors Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley who played Jeremy and Jemima Potts, and did her best to help make them more comfortable and happy during the many very long days on set. Having been a child film star herself, she knew a great deal about how difficult and alienating it could be. The genuine affection the three of them shared is obvious in their scenes together, especially in the extremely adorable "Truly Scrumptious" number, and it really makes the developing mother-child relationship between the characters so believable.

The beach scene, where so much of the relationship between Truly and Caractacus and the Potts children is developed, is incredibly cute and heartwarming, and a lot of that rides on Sally Ann's performance and how her previously prim-and-proper character shows herself to be warm and loving, once she (literally) lets her hair down. We've already seen how happy the Potts family is together; now we see how Truly fits in perfectly and makes them all even happier.

Look at her! Literally glowing!

(One thing I should mention: I think both the plot and the love story of CCBB are greatly improved if one just treats the "dream sequence" as real events, which was possibly the original intention anyway, so just note that is always the perspective I'm coming from here. It's the only way to make some things make sense and for the characters and their relationships to fully develop.)

"Lovely, Lonely Man" is Truly's big solo moment, and was probably the least comprehensible part of the movie to me as a kid (lol), but is now indisputably one of the very best parts to me as an adult. It's an exquisitely beautiful love song, especially the bridge, and I somehow love it more and more every time I rewatch it. Sally Ann's dreamy, graceful movements and the way the whole scene is shot make her look like a princess, and the slow build of the song is masterfully done. She has this distinctive crisp way of articulating her words while singing, especially the closing consonants like N and M, that I just love to listen to. The string section and the building countermelodies are so beautiful it makes me want to weep. Everyone involved in creating this scene and song deserved an award, I'm being so serious. While it's not the highest of soprano songs and doesn't fully show off Sally Ann's astonishing range, she shows an incredible amount of vocal control here through the many diminuendos and crescendos, and she's mesmerizing to watch and listen to. One of her "glowiest" scenes, for sure!

While I've seen people call this song irrelevant to the plot, I strongly disagree - the romance is part of the plot, of course, and while I didn't fully understand the meaning as a kid, this song establishes how much Truly's outlook on life and hopes for the future have already changed since meeting Caractacus, and how much happier she is with the poor Potts family than she's ever been in her life of luxury. Plus, now we know for certain that she's head over heels for Caractacus, but he doesn't know... increasing the dramatic irony of the pining and yearning to follow!

In the reprise of "Hushabye Mountain", which was sung in a much earlier scene by Dick van Dyke alone, Caractacus loses the will to continue the song because he's overwhelmed with emotion thinking of his children being held captive. Truly comes in to aid him with the final verse - another pivotal moment in the developing romance - and Sally Ann's singing here is nothing short of breathtaking.

And of course, I can't neglect to mention the "Doll on a Music Box" number, where Sally Ann, who was not a trained dancer and in fact considered herself to be "appalling" at it, performs an incredibly precise, incredibly impressive clockwork song-and-dance number while on a spinning turntable! She practiced it so well that she managed to successfully complete the shot in a single take, prompting the stage full of extras to burst into applause.

This is another important character moment for Truly, though it's disguised in a diegetic performance: though it's another thing that went over my head as a child who only got to see the movie once, the lyrics about being trapped up on a music box and longing to be freed by love pretty clearly symbolize how trapped the real Truly's high-society life makes her feel, and how she yearns to break free from class restrictions and live happily-ever-after with Caractacus, as it's only with him and his family that she really feels free.

Then there's that incredibly warm romantic look that Truly and Caractacus share at the end of the song when she silently acknowledges the love confession he's just made while singing in counterpoint with her, though they're still in a dangerous situation and can't give themselves away by appearing too human and breaking their disguises... sadly this vital moment is cut off on all the Youtube videos of the scene I can find, because none of the people who clipped it understand that that's the whole point of it all, apparently. But here's a gif!

The character of Truly doesn't exist at all in the original (quite different) book by James Bond author Ian Fleming - surprising, I know, given her name! - and, honestly, the fact that Truly and the romantic subplot of this movie exist are why it had such a strong impact on me as a child, and very much why I fell in love with it again as an adult. Even though the score is wonderful anyway and the story is charming and magical, I can confidently say that I would not have become as completely enchanted or had such a strong desire to revisit it again and again if there'd been no Truly and no love story. The fact that Sally Ann's performance makes Truly so loveable is, obviously, a pretty crucial factor there.

Sally Ann's delivery of "Well, Mr. Potts... now you'll have to marry me!" after Caractacus kisses Truly... that slide from prim mock-outrage to the playful, warm, you-can-hear-the-smile-in her-voice conclusion is flawless. Not even exaggerating when I say that this was the moment that made me into a hopeless romantic as a 9-year-old child. Sure, this wasn't the first movie I'd seen where two people fall in love and live happily ever after, but I distinctly remember that this was the first romance story that had me in a giggling, kicking-my-feet, "I ship it so hard" state of mind. And after revisiting it as an adult for the first time last year, I have confirmed that yes, child me already had great taste in fictional romances!

Oh, I could say so much about the difference in her body language between the two scenes where Caractacus carries Truly out of her car that's become stuck in a pond. The first time, Truly is affronted and extremely embarrassed by the situation, holding herself so stiffly and awkwardly to avoid an accidental embrace that she causes him to nearly lose his balance and drop her. The second time, when they're in love and they know it, she snuggles right up into his arms without hesitation and it's the cutest thing ever. Sally Ann was 5'6" but looks so tiny in that scene!

(And that kiss! Maybe I'm getting off-topic here in terms of strictly focusing on Sally Ann's contributions, because Dick van Dyke deserves tons of credit for making this kiss so good... but wow, the kiss. Several times I have called it "the Most Kiss they could have gotten away with in a children's movie." Again, giggling, kicking my feet etc.)

While Truly's costumes and hairstyling are rarely historically accurate (the film is set around 1910), the stylized nature of her fashion is iconic and memorable in itself. Sally Ann also completely pulls off playing a fresh-faced ingenue who is 12+ years younger than her actual age - and I do wonder if the aging-down of Sally Ann is at least part of the reason why Truly wears her hair loose throughout most of the movie! Either way, it works perfectly and I was shocked when I first learned how much older she was than her character. (If you watch her in The Admirable Crichton, where she is also in Edwardian costume and was closer to Truly's actual age, she really doesn't look all that much different. If anything, I think she looks even more glowingly beautiful in Chitty!)

Also, as for Truly wearing her hair down... it may just have been an intentionally anachronistic stylistic choice, but in-story, I think it actually contributes to her character by showing a willingness to flout convention and pursue whatever will make her happy instead of what's expected of her, which happens to be a key theme of her character arc.

Another thing that led me to adore Sally Ann as a person as I learned more about her over the last year: in the 1960s, she appeared as a panelist in quite a few episodes of the game show To Tell the Truth (as well as a few episodes of Password), and these can be found on Youtube. I really adore how her personality shines through - she's unfailingly bubbly, witty, self-deprecating, and a bit quirky. Just listening to her speak is a delight and she has one of the best laughs I've ever heard. Here is one of my favorite little moments that I clipped. 

By all accounts, she was a delightful person to know and work with, witty and clever, very professional, and very serious about her craft. She also always maintained a great affection for and pride in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and her role as Truly, which is always a wonderful thing to know about an actor in a beloved role.

Another bonus: here is a super charming interview with her after a backstage disaster at What Makes Sammy Run? on Broadway.

She was also, along with Twiggy and Diahann Carroll (as Julia Baker), one of the first three celebrities to have her likeness made into a Barbie doll.

Two of her earlier films I recommend are the comedies Fools Rush In (1949) and The Admirable Crichton (1957), if you can find them (hint-hint, you can.) You may also be able to find the 1966 TV movie of her reprising her Tony-nominated role of Fiona in Brigadoon with Robert Goulet, and although I feel like the oddly close-up way the film was shot kinda does a disservice to the actors at times, it's still amazing to be able to see and hear her in a role she performed on Broadway.

Richard Rodgers once called Sally Ann "the greatest singer who ever sang on the American musical stage." Now, I don't quote this to claim this superlative as some kind of objective fact. If you know anything about me, I am very, very strongly opposed to pitting women against each other and all the Golden Age sopranos are absolute queens who deserve crowns, no matter how much mainstream success or present-day name-recognition they have/had. I just think it's phenomenal that she received such high praise from a man who worked with many of the best musical theatre singers who ever lived... and to think, many people today have never even heard her voice. Without her performance as Truly Scrumptious, it's possible almost nobody would in the future! I am so glad that Sally Ann's lasting legacy was ensured by such a beloved film role.

Sadly for us, many of the theatrical roles which she originated (and thus, for which cast albums featuring her exist) were in shows that either flopped quickly or at least did not enter the theatrical canon, so she never achieved the level of mainstream recognition she clearly deserves. But Sally Ann also played such legendary and challenging roles as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Fiona MacLaren in Brigadoon (for which she received a Tony nomination), Maria Rainer von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Anna Leonowens in The King and I, and, much later, Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. She received great acclaim for all of these performances and, judging by what we know of her process on My Fair Lady, was excellent at making roles distinctly her own and never merely imitating another performer.

Even in her iconic original role of Truly Scrumptious, you don't get to hear the true full power of Sally Ann's extraordinary soprano. For that, I highly recommend listening to "Another Time, Another Place" from Kwamina (1961), and "Something to Live For" from What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). I'm always sad that we don't have any recordings of her in her "fiery" star turn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, but you can at least hear her do a Cockney accent, be silly, and sing "With a Little Bit of Luck" with Bing Crosby here!

If it weren't for the enduring success of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, few people might have even heard of Sally Ann Howes today, and that would be a terrible loss. I cannot overstate that I am so grateful that we all know who she is because she played this role and we get to see her give this radiant performance of a character that's all her own. Maybe this sounds strange, but I think the fact that this was Sally Ann's only musical film role (and the ONLY role most people will ever see her in) makes it even more precious, and makes everything she brings to the character that much more distinctive and unique and special.

Both for all of the talent and charm she brings to the role itself, and everything else that I and many other fans have been able to learn of so much of her otherwise-obscure work because of it, the world is incredibly lucky to have the lovely Sally Ann Howes immortalized as our Truly Scrumptious, and I wouldn't have it any other way 💖

[milflewis]

Ok, Valewis + ☕️. We all already know how you feel about them, but let's go

sob i think everyone and their mam knows how i feel about them but you’re right imma scream anyway

it’s the amount of time and energy and care that they put into their relationship. it’s valtteri coming into mercedes knowing he’s on a one year contract, knowing the garage is so divided, knowing in the way that every other driver on the grid last year knew what happened with nico and lewis but also didn’t know. it's lewis coming from the shitshow that was brocedes and not caring about val - that one this or that video where he was asked jenson or val and he went 'i dont care' to waxing poetry about valtteri whenever he gets the chance.

it’s val waiting on his car to congratulate lewis in silverstone. it's brazil 2021 and lewis saying to tell val that we can get them !! it's jeddah 2021 and val's 'i think me and lewis may be the best teammates in formula one' and the way val watches lewis when he's sitting down, exhausted, and asks if he's ok and gives him space. it’s lewis nearly missing the podium in baku 2018 to say sorry to val and tell him that the win should've been his.

it's 'in this picture, lewis was trying to kiss me, it was a really confusing moment' and 'this is an interesting picture because i wasn't sure if valtteri wanted to kiss me or not'. it’s writing love letters on main and zooming in on val’s face and posting this in front of your 23 million followers. it's 'he's the best teammate i've ever had'. it’s 'you’re greater than you know'. it’s the 'dream team. thank you lewis'. it’s val giving lewis aesthetic nudes of his bare ass in front of everyone and looking at him Like That bc they’re not like the other girls and they swap nudes as well as helmets. it's 'not that i don't already have something to remember you by'. it’s the way lewis is so careful about the space around him but will push into val’s space without even thinking about it and val will throw his arm around lewis and lewis won’t even blink. it’s the casual easiness. it's the being each other's safe space in this insane sport. it's the playing video games together during the delayed quali of the italian gp 2017 and lewis being a sore loser over val beating him. it's the way valtteri melts when lewis talks to him, goes all blushing and flustered and 🥰☺️. it's sharing flights. it's valtteri posting pictures of roscoe on his story and not lewis. it's the way they gravitate towards each other, even when they're not teammates. it's 'we're starting side by side, it's pretty cool. i just saw him and we were both smiling. it should be fun. if somebody had told me in bahrain we're going to be starting side by side with lewis, i'd take it'. it's 'valtteri has just been a great teammate'. it's 'when i can't win the title, i want lewis to win it'. it's years of hearing lewis sing and talk to himself through the motorhome walls. it's val saying that he told lewis he was a better driver than he was. it's lewis absolutely losing his shit and giggling so much he nearly falls off his chair while valtteri tries to explain why he knows exactly how long a beaver's dick is.

it is ofc the parallels and narrative foils of coffee being one of val’s greatest loves and one of the things lewis hates most in this world. it’s lewis ‘coffee doesn't taste good though does it’ hamilton and valtteri ‘i need to give you good coffee’ bottas and valewis 'we've had coffees between races travelled a lot together' like. shut the fuck up

send me a topic + ☕️ emoji and i’ll tell you my honest opinion about it

[coquelicoq]

Speaking of crosswords, I made a new friend that loves them (her personal record for the nyt mini is 13 seconds!!!) and we were doing paper plate awards and I made hers a super basic crossword and she was so excited she cried a little!

Anyways I told her she should start trying to write them, considering she says she literally sees crosswords when her eyes are closed. Just wanted to share since you are The Crossword Person in my brain lol

that's awesome! i hope she tries it out and has fun with it! i think writing crosswords enhances the crossword-solving experience because you better understand what goes into it and can really admire a clever theme or an elegant fill in a way that you might not have noticed otherwise. at least that's been the case for me! it also makes me way crankier now when i see a poorly done puzzle, but you win some you lose some. best of luck to her!! <3

[waywardsalt]

anyways while it wasnt the first loz game i ever played, a link between worlds was the first zelda game i finished and i distinctly remember that the whole reveal about ravio being lorule’s version of link flew the fuck over my head the first time i beat it. i dont even know when it clicked there’s a good chance i didn’t get it until i saw people online talking about it i think i just saw ravio take off his hood and was like ‘oh he looks kinda like link i guess’ and didn’t fully make the connection