#i remember they talked abt this in a podcast once

[miy0wi]

i missed the slime twitter thing but it makes me so mad that everytime if anyone on ludwig's circle had some type of controversy or small debacle at the end of the day they would always direct the heat to him

[mxbitters]

i was really sorting books at my job in the children’s section of a library today and came across a graphic novel and for only about a split second i got to be like oh… grant morrison! since when did they write graphic novels for kids? and then i opened it up and flipped through and um.. yeah let’s just say somebody made a grave cataloging error, animals ≠ children’s book and i saved so many kids from a traumatic experience today. love u grant morrison tho

[quinnysnursery]

Do you remember the podcast episode where Chris and Nick were mean to Matt ( calling him miserable etc.), and could you write something fluffy abt the reader comforting Matt after they filmed that episode?

[🩹] bottled up | matt sturniolo one-shot

paring : little!matt sturniolo x cg!gn!reader

summary : sometimes matt's brothers are just too mean...and sometimes a bottle fixes everything

warning/extra tid-bits : nick and chris being meanies (happy ending though!), crying, use of y/n, i think that should be it!

word count : 1,037

divider credit : @v6que

a/n : this podcast episode stressed me out so bad (sorry for any typos, i'm just a girl !)

Matt left the room as soon as he could, ignoring his brother’s taunts about how he was “Miserable” and “Negative”.

He could already feel the tears slipping out from his baby blue eyes as he ran upstairs and into his room, slamming his door shut behind him and twisting the lock with a satisfying “click!”

You sat on his bed, watching the whole scene unfold. Carefully putting your cheesy rom com book on his nightstand, you cleared your throat causing Matt’s eyes widened in surprise, he’s forgotten you were here but once he remembered he thanked god.

“M-Mama/D-Dada/B-Baba!” Matt cried, holding his arms out for a hug. Your sweet boy didn’t have to ask twice because you instantly pulled him into a hug, sitting the two of you down on his bed. Matt managed to shimmy his way onto your lap as you held him in a cradling position.

“Shhh, I’m here darling. I’m here.” You comforted him, placing gently kisses atop his head. Matt continued crying for what felt like an hour, mumbling out stuff about how Chris was a “meanie” and Nick was too.

“Were they being mean to my sweet boy?” You asked sympathetically. He nodded against your now tear-stained shirt.

“I’m sorry sweetheart…Do you want me to go talk to them?” You offered, you weren’t even sure what you would say but you already had some choice words in mind. Luckily for Chris and Nick, Matt shook his head which was now resting right above your heart. Your heartbeat had always seemed to be soothing to the little.

“Okay angel, well what do you need from Mama/Dada/Baba right now?” You asked, curling the back of his hair around your fingertips.

Thinking for a moment, Matt’s hands anxiously picked at the skin near his nails. You quietly took one of his hands, squeezing some of the pressure points in it in an attempt to alleviate some of his anxiety. 

“M’ want…” Matt trailed off into a mumble, a shy blush invading his face. You smiled, looking down at the little on your lap. “Hm? What is it?” You pried, “M’ wanna bottle…” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily. 

You beamed, always delighted to give your boy a bottle, before nodding. “Okay sweetheart, can you wait here while Mama/Dada/Baba brings the bottle up?” You asked, he thought for a moment before nodding.

After some gentle coaxing and multiple pinky promises you would return, you found yourself in the kitchen. You’d managed to avoid both Nick and Chris, unscrewing Matt’s bottle and filling it with milk and a few splashes of vanilla extract.

“Y/N? I didn’t know you were here!” Chris’ voice came from behind you. You internally sighed, turning around. “Yeah, Matt said we’d hang out after the podcast…” You mumbled. “Do you two wanna watch a movie? Me and Nick were gonna watch-” You cut the youngest triplet off, “No, Matt’s not feeling well.” You said firmly. Chris rolled his eyes, “He is still Miserable Matt?” He joked, only you didn’t laugh.

“Can you stop calling him that?” You asked, your tone sharper than intended. Chris paused. “I mean- seriously. I get that you three are brothers and you're gonna mess around but like- just lay off dude.” You continued, “I…” The youngest trailed off, his eyes meeting the bottle behind you.

Both Chris and Nick knew of their brother's regression, you hadn’t always been his caregiver and with Matt’s specific age range, he needed someone to at least make sure he didn’t hurt himself. 

Realizing his actions had caused his older brother to regress, Chris’ face instantly fell. 

“I’m- I’m sorry Y/N I thought-” 

You shook your head, turning around and screwing the cap back onto Matt’s bottle. “Apologize to Matt, not me.” You said, beginning to walk back to Matt’s room, Chris following you. 

“Well not right now!” You scolded, Chris stopped and nodded. “I uh- yeah okay.” He said before sheepishly moving back to the living room where Nick was sitting on the couch.

After sliding back into the room, you were greeted by Matt who was now in comfier clothes.

“Guess what I’ve got!” You sang, gently shaking the bottle in the air. Matt giggled, his puffy eyes beginning to return to normal. 

You sat yourself against the headrest, Matt wasting no time crawling into your lap and laying his head on your chest. You cooed, whispering gentle affirmations to him about how he was a “sweet boy”, specifically your sweet boy.

Bringing the bottle to his lips, Matt hummed as the milk entered his mouth. Your little snuggled further into you, anxiety melting away by the second.

You proceeded to talk about anything and everything you could think of, from the most recent episode of Bluey the two of you had watched…to the weather in your hometown.

Matt listened contentedly, eyes transfixed on you as he drank his milk.

Just as the milk in his bottle ran dry, Matt’s eyes began to grow heavy. “Oh sweetheart…is someone tired?” You cooed, voice dripping in a softness a cloud could only dream of achieving.

“Mhm..” Matt mumbled as you began playing with his hair. “Poor thing, such a sleepy baby~” You smiled, placing a gentle kiss on Matt’s nose.

Giggling, he began allowing sleep to take over his mind. 

It’d been nearly 30 minutes since Matt fell asleep, and you decided to hold him in your lap for as long as your limbs would allow. Just as you were going to move him, you heard the bedroom door creak open.

Turning your gaze to the now open door, you were greeted by Nick and Chris’ faces peeking in. You raised your brow.

“He okay?” Nick asked shyly, you smiled at the oldest brother’s concern. “Yeah, out like a light though.” You let out a breathy laugh, the two brothers doing the same.

The two brothers helped move Matt off of you, tucking him in. 

Nick told you he already planned on apologizing to his middle brother first thing in the morning before leaving you and Chris on your own.

“Movie offer still stands,” Chris whispered, just before he slipped out the door.

[papil0nglegs]

What about the mercs with a fem SO that talks in brainrot sometimes? Would really want medic in there but it's up to you!

Mercs x Brainrot!Reader

A/n: WHY IS THE TF2 FANDOM SO OBSESSED WITH THIS IDEA? 😭 I SAW ANOTHER FIC ABT THIS AND TWO REQUESTS ASKING FOR THIS PLS

warnings: Brainrot.. a lot of images being used, it’s a shit post who cares tbh

Scout

He’s into it too

Guys it’s scout

“Scout ilysm ur so nonchalant <33”

“Thanks babe ^^ I know I’m pretty alpha”

(Oh btw the alpha thing isn’t a joke he unironically listens to alpha male podcasts)

In the middle of spy’s serious moments you’d both lip sync ‘you are my sunshine’ to each other when he’s not looking

“what the bloody hell are you guys doing..”

“…perhaps itz a coping mechanizm zince scout doesn’t have a father?”

Medic really had to take it there

The ‘fatherless child’ meme was a coping mechanism for him tho

“I’m a fatherless child, of course I have abandonment issues”

“Um babe? Idk if you should joke abt that 😚”

“Na it just makes me more sigma”

You guys love to fuck with the blu team sm with your shenanigans, esp sniper!!

Scout would have his bat and you would have whatever weapon you have with you and yell “skibidi” before jumping him

Here’s something he DEFINITELY didn’t learn from you 💯

creds to urwhouchoose2b on Tik tok

Engineer

He tries so hard to understand

Whenever you show him a meme he does the classic old person holding phone away from eyes thing

Yk the

“Ok so this is the ‘im nothing like y’all’ fish”

“alrighty, and this is..?”

“Oh that’s the Freddy five bear meme, see it’s funny cuz his name is actually ‘Freddy fazbear’ but they got his name wrong so like.. yeah”

“…I’m not sure what I’m ‘posed to say ‘bout this, but I think you belong in a looney bin”

Once he had a project that had the word “alpha” in it and he hated mentioning it to you cuz yk

“giggle”

“…what?”

“Skibidi alpha”

“What??”

Demo man

HE LOVES IT LMFAOO

he’s so energetic esp when he’s drunk so he’s happy to have someone he can share that energy with

Y’all know that “Scotland forever” meme

Well you screamed it after another victory as a joke, but when demo heard it he was confused but also excited?

“SCOTLAND FOREVAA”

“OH? ALRIGHT THEN, SCOTLAND FOREVER 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿”

cut to him butt chugging beers

Demo doesn’t get it but he has the spirit

He’ll be right there replicating the TikTok audios after taking the point

Dude is drunk 99% of the time so he’s never bothered to ask what any of this means, he’s just in it for the fun

Once you dragged him to the bathroom since he drake too many beers (shocker) but he didn’t want to do it in the toilet cuz he didn’t want to ‘hurt his dear skibidi’

“Cmon demo you have to puke it out!!”

“Noo, take me to the jawbox I don’t wanna hert me skibidi toilet”

“Oh god what have I done”

I think you rotted his brain a little too much

Spy

Don’t even get him started.

He’s so sick of your antics it’s not even funny

“Guys we all have to remember that it’s not about the money.. it’s about the skibidi.”

Passionately grabs spy’s shoulder

“How have you made it this far in life”

Unlike engie, he really doesn’t want to know about it

Especially during missions

“lol spy you’re so devious ASF”

“shhh, enough blabbering!!”

“You are not carti 😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️❌‼️‼️‼️”

You make fun of him a bunch, he can’t think of a single moment where you took him seriously

“Y/n get off the cart!!”

“If we were in Fortnite I’d have higher ground + double pump.”

[koscheicore]

*appears*

(imagine that one random time-lord in The Autons, floating mid-air)

Greetings once again,

Some more questions for you, because THOSCHEI, THOSCHEI, THOSCH-…..

Prepare yourself for a barrage of questions! (No pressure ofc)

Commencing in three, two, one..

*explosion*

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 17

21 - Headcanons for your favourite ainley pairing

24 – gimme more info about the thoschei fan incarnations that occasionally pop up on your feeds. It is vital information!!!

*looks around at the impact caused by the questions*

Whoops

Have a good day/week! :)

*disappears*

SO IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG, THAT TIMELORD... That makes sense! Thank you so much for all the quest- (loud explosion) AAAAH!

(sooo prepare for a very long post 🤣)

1. How did you get into thoschei?

(gets out from under the table) Uhhh has the noise stopped? Yea. Okay. So it all started when I heard a rhythm of four beats?? And then I think my brain got infected. All I could think about is some sad pathetic aliens hugging each other and I guess one was dead and??? then he wasn't? Yeah so I saw tensimm and I got obsessed. That was, if my calculations are correct, about 8 years ago.

2. What is your favourite thoschei flavour?

At the moment it's fiveainley! Or sevencrispy...

3. What is, in your opinion, the most toxic thoschei dynamic?

Why did I even make this question. All of them there's no salvaging the toxicity. Uhh imma go with tensimm or spydoc though

5. Any fan content recommendations?

Honestly THBU it's just. Sublime. Okay so I might have been about to cry just one chapter in? Yeah??

Also Please Attend Carefully if you want podcasts abt the Master because who doesn't.

Now, that's all sfw but on the spicy smut side, here's a fiveainley fic that plays with hypnosis. I found it interesting how the author wrote it in first person, and their Ainley voice is just fantastic. Make sure to read the tags first though!

Do also check the ppl I reblog from's profiles some of them have AO3 accts I plan on munching on when I can!

8. Favourite thoschei story?

Honestly the Master audio atm. Or the Five Doctors cuz it's really funny to see Ainley TRY... just really try... Btw 1st Doctor x Ainley!Master when

Ngl I have to rewatch all the nuwho episodes w the master on it so my thoughts might change. These two stories are consuming my brain rn

9. Favourite thing they have said canonically to each other?

"Wonder what I'd be without you"

"Yeah."

And this

11. Song that reminds me of them?

I want to make an animatic with this so badly

12. Any thoschei headcanons?

My most heartfelt headcanon for them is this if it even counts as one 🤔

17. What's an underrated thoschei pairing?

SIXAINLEY FFS SIXAINLEY IS SO UNDERRATED. More of them pls...

21. Headcanons for your favourite Ainley pairing

No I'm not picking just one >:0

Fiveainley:

-In my head the Master contacted Fivey after the whole cheetah stuff in hopes he could help him. Not talking abt how good or bad that went but Fivey can't remember anyways.

-The Master loves the smell of Fivey's sweaters. Anytime he's entered his TARDIS he's stolen a few. Fivey still doesn't know where they went.

-Oh it's definitely Ainley!Master's fault the Doctor's regenerations became weirder. Yeah after what he did to Fivey he just messed them up. Like Fivey's legs. Hey, if the Master is having trouble being in a Trakenite body it's only fair, right?

Sixainley:

-The most likely pair to do spicy stuff actually. They're both into BDSM although probably not in a sexual context exactly. No I won't elaborate

-The cat pin? Yeah that's something the cheetah Master left in the TARDIS during that Fivey visit. Six just doesn't know. The Master finds it amusing.

-The Rani has tried to block all contact with the Master because he keeps calling her to talk about his latest plan to kill the Doctor. She's so tired.

Oneainley:

-The Master actually visited 1 on a few occasions during the Doctor's past after the events of the Five Doctors, wearing disguises of course so he wouldn't recognise him later.

-He invited him to lunch and they conversed. The Master finds this Doctor kind of endearing in a way, he's the closest he has to things being alright between them anyways. Just some quiet conversations, no mention of the Master or Gallifrey. No murder intent, they just were. Two "strangers" sharing lunch having candid intellectual conversations.

-Eventually, he stopped. Why? I leave that to your imagination.

24. Talk abt your fan Doctor and Master incarnations

OKOK IM GLAD YOU ASKED... So I met this classmate who's a dw fan and as we became friends he told me he had his own fan Doctor incarnation. Eventually we started LARPing for fun and I made my own Master, then we started making up tons of stories and that's how they came to be!

ONE DAY HOWEVER... He said. What if the Master and the Doctor were bigenerated?? Yeah from the same entity but the Time Lords erased their memories. And Dhawan!Master knew this but that one bit he never told, the Doctor never uncovered it, and this is part of why Dhawan wanted to become the Doctor. And boy this broke my heart because thE IMPLICATIONS. That'd mean the Master is ALSO the Timeless Child. So now that's canon for my Master and surprise, it's been selfcest all this time except not exactly because they are not the same anymore and they can never be.

So based off that, my Master loves to make a point on how different they are whilst his Doctor searches for similarities instead when he learns this. My Master is convinced that they're destined to be the worst parts of the Doctor forever, whilst the Doctor got "the better part". So why would they make it easy for him? Gallifrey is gone anyways so let's prove they can never be the same. Let's prove they're DONE. And they're immortal too I guess so why conform with having nothing no. They're owed the Universe and they're not sharing. Meanwhile the Doctor is wondering what would be of the Master if they had lived anything similar than what they did, if they're actually the same, if there's any kindness left on them, if they could have become the Master... He's stuck on his past in a way, too, missing companions and simpler times and stuff. And I intend to destroy his hopes of truly enjoying his current self you know?

...so yeah uh we also have companions we're making and we're slowly developing all of this + some random "episodes" (plots. that is) and one of them is Dak. Dak is well, kind of a Dalek kind of not. I have no idea how this happened he hasn't told me yet but apparently Dak has the genes of one of his companions? His mind when he was a child. So he's like a curious kid travelling with the Doctor except he's got Dalek Issues (tm) and I have such awful plans for him I'm so sorry little Dak ily but Daleks can never be good you know ☺️☺️ And I also have my subconscious eating beings that hate the Master for reasons but shhh. My friend doesn't know yet.

Anyways here's my Master treating the Doctor with love as usual

-----

Hey... hey. Wait. Don't go! *looks around* Uh... who will help me pay for all the repairs??? 😭

ALSO thank you so much for that twogado recommendation I will proceed to scream

[mariasabanahabanabana]

And just because once again I find myself bored (as if I hadn't homework to do). Your favorite section returns...

✨Which Taylor Swift album gives me vibes "The last of us" characters✨

(I still can't sleep, kkkk)

1.- Tommy, soy un hombre de rancho, botas y a caballo, Miller (Tommy, I'm a ranch man, boots and horseback, Miller) - Debut

The man was - is the stereotype of an average Texan (Raza from Texas, don't ban me) someone who rides a horse, with his hat, who loves country music, someone who for some reason or another knows how to play the guitar perfectly and make carnitas asadas ( roast beef ) on Sundays after church.

2.- Joel, Finish Raising Me, Sheep Shepherd, Uncertified Country Musician and Singer, Miller - Fearless (and no, no, this is not by order)

Although he could also be a man on horseback and boots, it's also worth remembering that he 💀💀💀 half of the fireflies (and not, I'm not talking Abt the species).), a cult of carnivores and how many people will cross their Path or goals... (Actually, I think if they had shown us what it was like before meeting Ellie and blah, blah, blah life would be more creep)

3.- Sarah Miller - Speak now

I meeeeean, even her shirt screams it from the 4 winds... BTW, again, Sarah's headcanon, she would have been a fan of Taylor Swift, I've no proof but no doubt either...

4.- Tess, it wasn't your time yet, finish raising me X2, my biggest mummy issues, Seveepoulos - Red (The years may pass and I'll never write - say's correctly her last name)

*breathe heavy and slow * I don't think there's a need to explain it... (BTW, the explanation that the director - showrunner and voice actor of Joel in the video games gave in the podcast break me like a promise)

[bechdelexam]

so i was reading nellie mcclung's the stream runs fast and shes talking abt the people she met while raising money for the red cross in small town alberta during the war and she says:

I remember once, at a neighbourhood meeting in the Kolakreeka School [in Pakan], hearing one of the Ukrainian young men make a prayer at the opening of the meeting. As a young lad he had been hired by Dr. Lawford to drive him on his rounds, and had caught the spirit of this pioneer Christian as he saw his labours of love, and surprised the doctor one day by telling him that he was going to go to Edmonton, to work his way through college and would be a minister of the Church some day, and that is exactly what happened. He is now and has been for many years an ordained man in the United Church.

and she never names this abovementioned young man but one hundred percent she is talking about demetrius metro ponich. trust me on this if there were another ukrainian convert to methodism who became a minister from pakan i would be aware of it! metro ponich himself would have mentioned it in his memoirs (available at the alberta archives, fonds PR1328), or his interview with John McIsaac in '79 (digitized by the city archives and available on their podcast From the Vaults: Audio from Edmonton's Past) or it wouldve come up in Our Legacy: History of Smoky Lake and Area, or Between River and Lake, or-

[curedeity]

A few notes/headcanons about nagisa and honoka in my Watashi Wa Pretty Cure Seed universe bc tbh its a fanfic why shouldnt i just talk abt it randomly. Why should i care about spoiling my plans? (Has no plans)

-Nagisa and Honoka decided to go to college together, and by that i mean they decided they wanted to go to college nearby each other so they could live in the same apartment. It was pretty lucky that they ended up going to the same college so they could room together in the dorms.

-They started dating a few months post canon, and kept it kind of secretive until a few months later when Nagisa came out to her family. They were very accepting, ofc, and invited Honoka over for dinner once a week at least. I think they actually do this thing my mom and my dads mom do where she basically calls my mom all the time. Like, Nagisa's mom likes hearing about how Nagisa is doing from Honoka, and also getting to know her daughter's girlfriend. I think Nagisa's mom is also the one both go to for common sense advice, like how to use the washing machines at the college.

-Honoka is double majoring in physics and chemistry. She runs the colleges science club already, and is getting offered a TA position next semester, along with presenting a research subject to a professor for them to work on. She works at the colleges library right now, though isnt the best at it. She just... cant remember where everything is all the time. Shes excited to switch to a TA job.

-Nagisa is a currently undeclared major in on a sports scholarship (do not talk to me about realism). She can get kind of overwhelmed thinking about majors sometimes, but is leaning towards trying to get a degree in physical therapy. Shes in the colleges lacrosse team, and is one of the best team members, though its a very small team and league. She also considering participqting in boxing. She's actually ended up a bit involved in womens sports advocacy, and is a huge proponet of not just gender segregating sports, but is a bit mystified at how to go about change.

-Both are in their second year of college. During their first semester, they tended to come home every weekend to spend time with their families, but now only come home for breaks and holidays really. Nagisa found it hardest to adjust at first, and had trouble sleeping after arriving at college, but shes gotten used to it as the new normal and settled into life there.

-mepple and mipple are both still around. Theyve gotten a bit better at shutting up while their in class, but people definitely think Nagisa talks on her "phone" in the weirdest fucking way

-they rarely transform anymore. They havent used Marble Screw or Rainbow Storm in ages. Sometimes theyll still slip up and Honoka will think of herself as Cure White, or Nagisa will think she can jump further than she can.

-Nagisa has worked in the school cafeteria. Sorry maam. Idk if a line in the fic contradicts this bc no it doesnt. I say so now

-Nagisa likes listening to audiobooks and podcasts and will sometimes put one on in the background while she and honoka are cooking or something.

-they have a weekly documentary movie night

-honokas professors keep asking her to study abroad but she doesnt want to. She hasnt told nagisa because shes worried nagisa will think shes holding honoka back, when its honokas choice to stay.

-they are looking for an apartment to move into next year, as the dorms fucking suck.

-honoka has learned how to fix basic appliances after someone on her floor broke their toaster.

-they dont go on dates often, to the surprise of some of their friends given how stupidly in love with each other they are, but every so often theyll go hiking or picnicking specifically just to spend time outside with each other

-people think nagisa is the jock girlfriend until they watch honoka sling nagisa ober her shoulder like she weighs nothing after falling asleep on a sofa in the common room.

[the-slut-verses]

big sexy of boston harbor horror to always repeat any new important plot relevant information like 3 times cuz adhd bitches like me cannot for the love of god remember names and details and voices. it’s like this show has a “previously on” section (which imho a lot more podcasts need) but it’s integrated into the plot itself

[fatphobiabusters]

hello! i have a toddler, and her dads side of the family are all bigger, and so is she. shes 2 but can pass as 5, and Im not in contact with the dad so i cant ask him, but I was wondering if you had any resources for kids of any ages and how to support if/when she gets grief about her body from society? i already know that u shouldn't talk abt weight in front of kids, and i dont restrict things like chocolate. ive always been on the thin side but i did struggle with anorexia for a few years, which i was able to overcome when i had to eat while pregnant for her. i just want to make sure that she grows up knowing shes beautiful, u know? i constantly get comments already about how shes big for her age, i usually reply to those people something along the lines of yeah shes super strong too (she moved a chair while i was in it once!) but im wondering if theres something better i can say? even if shes 2, shes listening, and i dont want her internalizing that she like has to be strong for her body to be okay. theres just a lot of stuff that i dont know, that i want to know, to be there for her the best i can. thank u!

I'm so happy to hear you are thinking about this already! You are doing some good ground work, and I'm pleased to say there are already listicales about raising body positive kids. Does my soul good. Some places to start:

https://www.nwpc.com/teach-kids-body-positivity/

https://www.mother.ly/child/how-to-raise-kids-with-a-positive-body-image

https://more-love.org/2019/03/05/how-to-raise-a-body-positive-kid/

A podcast:

https://www.fullbloomproject.com/podcast

And to help teach media literacy:

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/news-and-media-literacy/how-do-i-start-teaching-media-literacy-to-my-preschooler

Also it's important to check in with your kid, throughout the years as they experience things related to body image, often we think as adults that something will be experienced a certain way by children when it can be the opposite. Kids are funny that way. I also want to point out (because I didn't see it but I could have missed it) that if you watch media with your child make a point of saying a fat character is cool or brave or what have you, older media won't be good for this (I cringed thinking about The Goonies) but for instance in the Pokémon xy season, Teirno is a fat boy that loves to dance and you could say "I wish I had moves like him".

Mario is fat and is the hero of his game series, comes to mind as well. Even if she doesn't realize it you'll be teaching her to respect bigger bodies that aren't hers. Because everyone is unique and I'm sure as adults we know some weird cognitive disconnects start young.

Kids might also be accidentally rude or cruel as well, so back to that check in with your daughter thing. I was in college when a 7 or so year old asked me why I was so big/fat. I said "this is the way I am, people are all different, isn't that cool". If I was 7 and another kid said that to me it'd have been a toss up between "that's a weird question" and total mental keysmash. Kids are all so unique.

It is mentioned in the links but to your concern about praising strength, a great way to get around that concern is to mix it up. Non physical traits, especially, are great to praise, children have more control over their actions vs their rapidly changing bodies. For instance you can emphasize kindness and helpfulness. It's really dependent on the situation, but a rotation of complements can foster a more rounded sense of self. It sounds like she's your only child but it's good to encourage kids in a gender neutral way. Our culture praises boys differently from girls. So don't be afraid to praise bravery, cleverness, adventurous thinking ectra along side emotional responsiveness, generosity, helpfulness ectra.

Something I didn't see mentioned but want to bring up from personal experience is, your daughter might struggle with wanting to mature and wanting to be a kid at the same time. To some degree all kids do but often bigger kids are shopping in the adult clothing section earlier than their peers, I remember being embarrassed about it, so down the road if you notice her needing the adult clothes, maybe have a talk about how she's still a kid and she can still be a kid, clothes are just clothes, and now a days with torrid you can find stuff with pop culture characters on it. (Back in my day it was very much a shift from cute fun patterns and colors to muted or jewel tones). The adult nostalgia boom is probably going to be great for kids like me who had to age up in clothing earlier. Off this, one more personal story but my mom was shorter and an apple shape, I was a pear and taller than her since I was maybe 14-16, she didn't know how to help me dress. So down the line don't be afraid of googling up how to best dress your daughters shape. I spent most of high school in jeans too tight on my thighs with shirts a size too big. Big oof.

I don't know how to finish this off just, thank you so much for caring and I hope both of you have many years of self love ahead.

[janiedean]

I feel bad for all the nice J*nsa shippers who like their ship for whatever reasons (tropes, pretty art, aesthetic appeal, whatever) and know it's not canon but get associated with the misogynistic Dany hating crowd who act like Jon being attracted to Ygritte is J*nsa foreshadowing because red hair (I guess Jon should fuck Edmure Tully too? Omg give me Dark!Jon getting revenge on Catelyn by seducing her brother!) Tell me something. I'm new to the fandom but was J*nsa popular before the show? And I've heard something about the OG J*nsa shippers being alienated by the new shippers who insisted it had to be canon and acted like the series is called, "A song of J*nsa #danysux." I don't find that hard to believe because I know people who are now ashamed of calling themselves J*nsa shippers. Like, at this point, it's not only rival shippers who hate it. Even Gendrya/Braime/Jon stans/etc have started disliking that ship. You know your fandom is a problem when people who have nothing to do with Jnsa have a problem with it.

me: reads this ask

me: iwastheregandalf.gif which I can't find now but

okay anon buckle up because I am sadly well-equipped to answer this ask but before I do lemme tell you dark jon seducing edmure to take revenge on cat is LITERALLY THE BEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD but *clears throat* ALL RIGHT THEN.

disclaimer: as anon says I have no issue with like the shippers mentioned by anon in the beginning and ngl I agree, I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO FUCKING STAKES in the j*nsa vs j*nerys war and the only het jon ship I gaf about is jon/ygritte and we all know where that ended up I just... have been here since 2011/adwd was over and all the fic around was just for the books under secret lj communities and asoiaf qualified for yuletide and I have... seen... things.... and I actually have like uh had... beef... with some people in there and I know things bc ppl who hated those others told me stuff so anyway *sigh* buckle up anon I'mma tell you the story of jon shipwars through the years

in order, the old gods help me here, under the cut bc this is long as fuck

when I got into fandom also given what numbers were on ao3 one ship was popular and it was sansan. no like sansan was lit. the only asoiaf ship on ao3 with more than 200 fics. jb had twenty when i checked first. jc had like around 100-ish because of the show but sansan dwarfed anything. I posted the first jon/ygritte fic on the ao3 tag and the fourth throbb fic and like the others were all reposts from lj kinkmemes. nothing was popular before the show except for sansan when it comes to huge numbers bc grrm doesn't like fic and it was all hush hush until the show made it impossible to control and that ship was the one with a huge enough fanbase it actually had numbers, so like... j*nsa wasn't popular in the way nothing else was popular until it got screentime on the show

now, that stated, j*nsa had a... fair amount of fic for a rareship which was mostly book-based and from og shippers that were there from before the show and liked it for what it was but literally none of them thought it was gonna be canon, like it wasn't huge or anything but it had a small but dedicated fanbase who did their own thing and thought it was fun/liked the idea but that was it

that fandom had their own niche of hcs that they cultivated and shit except that like... at the end of S5/beginning of S6 there was a surge in shipping for... well obvious reasons bc it was obv sansa was getting to the wall and that would have been all nice and good but a) it was the time puritanical shipping was starting to take root and the 'shipping sansa with sandor or tyrion is hella problematic' rhetoric had started to circle coming from sans*ery shippers mostly but I'mma not open that fucking can of worms here, b) while the ending of S5 had more of a theon/sansa spike, the j*nsa stuff started getting big

now here we have to mention my villain origin story ie: j*nsa fandom had this one stan whose name I won't make because honestly it's been years and if she's still around I don't want her to remember I exist who was a bnf, wrote for... the website that created the whole larry/carol thing etc who was really fixed on this thing that j*nsa was actually canon and started writing extremely popular meta about it. now you're gonna ask how do you know, I know because this person once wrote a meta named 'why robb stark is a dick' and I told her that it was really fucking bad meta and she took it so badly she kept on trash talking me on her blog/her podcast (I was apparently the insane robb stark fangirl l m a o good lord) and like that was when some sane ppl who argued with her informed me in pvt that she was basically harping on the CANON thing when they'd have been okay with like... it being crackshipping and that she was basically cultivating a hoarde of followers who were harping on them/the ogs and basically ostracizing them;

I would like to add that this person - before her tumblr got 'accidentally deleted' and remade it therefore deleted most receipts for, er, her so-called meta which included stuff like ned and cat raised sansa as a sexual object and only wanted to sell her like cattle - had at some point started a round robin fic thing where... some of the characters mocked openly said stuff that some of the og fans had said specifically targeting them and people in that side basically went harassing anyone who didn't agree with that specific notion

now never mind that this person basically coined an entire term to describe ppl who liked white guys and excused all their wrongdoings out of my conversation re robb basically lying about everything I said as if I didn't have the receipts and tried to sell shirts with it and it didn't work and like then she got kicked out of her own website because she was telling her commenters disagreeing pretty shitty insults (considering I was called psychotic for disagreeing with her that time I don't doubt it) I think at some point she stepped back from fandom bc idk wtf she's up to these days and I don't want to, but basically at that point the dam was broken and there was a bunch of puritanical shippers harping on anyone who didn't agree with j*nsa is canon endgame stuff

this also includes an incident when those ppl were like... passing themselves as throbb shippers and ended up trying to tell t*hramsay shippers off the theon tag based on moral reasons and I ended up arguing with all of them (and they were all from that crowd) which in turn landed me in contact with other og j*nsa shippers who were like detached from that fandom bc those same people harassed them away as well ssooooo fun

anyway when S6 happened everyone was high on it and whatnot but I wasn't gonna begrudge them that I mean... you shipped it for years, canon is delivering you, good for you, but then j*nerys happened

god j*nerys happened

aaand basically...... I mean personally I was there like are y'all seriously arguing about the best incest jon ship out there but like basically the j*nsa endgame side was like AH JON IS PLAYING DANY SEE IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, the j*nerys obv got defensive af and both sides were sort of alternatively shitting on jon/ygritte anyway and depicting any other romantic rship jon could have as abusive™ and during S8 it just got worse and like I tried to stay out of it but basically from what I'm seeing now idk how the j*neryses are doing but on the j*nsa one it's ah jon's gonna play dany anyway and she's going to go insane like in the show so SHOW TRUTHING EVERY OTHER WAY and like again denying that sandor exists or that tyrion exists and like I barely touch my corner (sansan) but I ended up arguing with j*nsa/th*nsa people on twitter who were antis and is2g it was white-hair inducing and I know for sure the sansa/tyrion shippers were harassed to hell and back throughout so FUN

and even if the show didn't go there now since everyone there banked on the jnsa endgame thing and admitting you're wrong is like... not a thing, they still haven't let go of it and attach to that ship any shred of evidence which honestly is grasping at straws half of the time (like... the sansa/alysanne parallels like guys please no) and which is why every other ship is starting to get fed up, attaching canon proof of stuff from other ships onto theirs see that batb argument and jb is platonic but jonsa is not nvm taking all the sansan stuff and throwing it on j*nsa but then denying that sansan has canon evidence (like guys I had to read sansa touching his shoulder when saying gregor wasn't a true knight wasn't meaningful and we were seeing things please) and blah blah blah

this also goes hand in hand with the fixation on like... villanizing dany at all costs and like is2g I have zero investment in dany or her storyline I don't even remember it and I don't particularly care abt her either way and sure af I'm not for j*nerys endgame but like.... some stuff I read is completely excessive esp when fixing on how she's a completely mad tyrant who's gonna have to be put down and like... guys no

(also there's some srs stannis hate in that corner which I honestly don't get why they even care abt stannis but I had to read stuff like ppl don't recognize that dany and stannis are the real villains in this saga and like........ idek)

I think most of the og shippers are gone or don't ship it openly bc they don't want to be attached to the drama but like I also think they're pissing off everyone else bc like... I mean a bunch of them also were down with sansa being paired with other ppl as long as it meant a good ending for her except those ppl were... like everyone but the ppl she has actual contact with in canon which meant that at some point sansa/gendry was a thing and like.... you can imagine why arya/gendry shippers & arya stans were fed up, and there's also this tendency to behave like sansa is the center of the entire saga which like these books is named a song of jon snow basically can we pls make peace with it and personally I've had it with both j*nsa and j*nerys people since they started with that dumbass JON/YGRITTE WAS AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP rhetoric but I'm also fed up with the total ignoring that sandor exists/depicting us as delusional and honestly I also was by proxy fed up from the harassing of the sansa/tyrion shippers soooooooooooo

there were also instances of 'well theon is an acceptable choice other than jon bc he can't threaten her' which... i mean we all know what that meant and I'm not even commenting it bc it's one AM and I have no force to but I don't have to explain why it's not a progressive take now do I

there were also metas about how cousin incest being legal in half of the world means that jondany is a worse incest and j*nsa doesn't count as such and I was basically there like guys please just fucking own up to it but honestly I chose to forgot where I read that and I couldn't find the link if I tried

tldr: no one wants to admit that it's not gonna be endgame which considering the amount of fic they have on ao3 is imvho useless bc they have more content than like.. anything I ship that's not jb or that's actually like canon *cries in joncon/rhaegar but I mean renly/loras is canon and has less fic than them* so idk what's the problem with enjoying that instead of insisting it's gonna be canon when not even the show validated it while show truthing anyway when the only show truthing that can be truthed is the small council made of minorities and possibly jon eventually fucking off with the wildlings but not like that but like most people who thought it wasn't gonna be endgame had left/were made to leave by the time S7 rolled by and at this point since wow isn't out yet everyone is fandom-grasping at straws to find stuff to discourse on and we're here beating dead horses *shrug*

so that's... how it is but I would again like to point out that I don't judge ppl on their shipping, I don't particularly care about this entire feud bc I only ship jon with ppl he's not related to in whichever way and I try to stay out of this mess bc I don't really care to argue with ppl who have already decided to bend canon to whatever they want and will have to realize that it's not what grrm wrote at some point but like I have a very good memory and the above rant is as objective as possible also bc again I don't literally have a stake in that race I just think romantic/endgame j*nsa is not a thing and that ppl should stay in their lane and not harping on other ppl who ship whatever in general but especially when their ship is the most popular thing in fandom in the first place /two cents

[bloodbenderz]

this is possibly a dumb question and a weird one, so feel free to ignore! but i was reading one of ur analyses (on the lok anarchy article) and that was a lot of fun to read and i thought u made v salient points! i was wondering if u had any advice on how one can get better at coming up with their own analyses and stuff like that. maybe it’s a lack of brain cells or maybe it’s a part of my brain that i haven’t flexed in years, but i want to be able to do that (i think it’s called “critical thinking” lmao) but cannot fathom how to do so to the point of being able to think and organize analyses/essays like this. again this is a weird q with an answer that will vary/not exist depending on who’s asked, but i dig ur analyses so here i am

thank u sm! this is a super broad question but im just gonna assume u mean literary analysis cuz thats what this blog is about (usually)

my first piece of advice is to read nonfiction. for me nonfiction has always been the best way for me to build a Framework of critical thought (for example, learning about science and its history gives me the tools to criticize modern scientific education and pop science) aside from teaching u abt historical/scientific fact, these writers will usually have ways of thinking abt things that u will not have considered before, and as u follow them thru their argument, u will not only understand Theirs better but u will also start understanding better how to formulate ur own. u can find whatever format works best for u, like, podcasts/audiobooks or print or ebook or whatever, but find some content abt something that interests u and go for it! 

when it comes to fiction, i would say my advice is to both consume a lot of fiction AND ALSO consume a lot of analysis of it. (also remember that ur mind basically functions on You are what you eat. Dont spend too much time watching trashy dramas or reading fanfiction. read/watch/listen to a VARIETY of content) as u consume content, ask urself WHY do i like this? what specifically abt it is appealing to me? why does it ring true, or why doesn’t it? notice motifs bc thats usually the easiest way to notice symbolism (for example theres a lot of mirrors and reflections in russian doll. what does that mean?) and think abt what they could represent in the story. track character development, make mental notes of a character’s motivations and ideals, and notice how the story affects them and ask if it makes sense. give urself room to dislike things (Just because legend of korra is the sequel to a show u really liked doesnt mean u have to like lok too!), but ask urself why u disliked them, and see if u can form a convincing argument abt it.

look at other people’s analysis of fiction! watch video essays and read other people’s analysis! u dont have to agree w them, but see what patterns they’ve picked out, and see if u can pick out patterns like it next time. it’s really just practice the more u read/watch critically, the more u get better at it!

for me fiction is the most fun and creative way to Apply critical thought because like. every piece has a Point to it. Nonfiction will just come out and tell u what their point is, but fiction requires u to figure out what theirs is, and bc of that there’s a lot of flexibility in how u read it. (hint: as long as the text doesnt actually disprove ur reading, that’s a valid Point! another hint: not all Valid points are Good) also, i dont wanna sound like an asshole here but theres no way to avoid it so here it is: a lot of people dont criticize/analyze fiction properly bc of their emotional attachment to it. they’ll project things onto characters that arent supported by the text, they’ll write “fix it” fanfiction that ignores or misunderstands the important themes of a story, they’ll excuse genuinely bad writing bc theyre attached to the characters (can anyone say 2020 supernatural renaissance?). its fine to be emotionally attached to a story (and if it’s a good story u WILL be emotionally attached to it) but when u write analysis of a story set ur affection for the characters aside for the moment cuz u will always end up with much fairer and more interesting analysis when u do. 

also, find somebody to talk to abt fiction or make a blog abt it! its fun to talk about and u will find it easier to form arguments when ur actively talking abt it cuz honestly i only ever have a half formed thought when i write my long posts i just sit down and start typing and i organize my thoughts once theyre already down

so, idk. tldr: read more nonfiction, read less fanfiction, write more analysis. And pay attention in english class if ur in school

[pinkhyojin]

CHOICE TAG <3

tagged by: @bumblebeeyeongkwan (thanks sea, i actually really wanted to do this one💘)

rules: answer the questions (if you want to skip one, feel free to do that too of course!). tag 3 people (or more or less, you choose really). tag your post with #CHOICE_tag so we can find each others’ posts! have fun!!

1. introduce yourself. you choose how much or how little!

hi y’all! my name is haley, i’m 23, and i got into kpop about 2 years ago:)

2. how and when did you become a CHOICE?

so i don’t super remember how/when… maybe close to when savage came out?? but i know i’d seen them around and had listened to and enjoyed some of their music, but i feel like i really became a fan after i listened to some of their vocal covers bc i am all about vocals in a group and a.c.e has 5 main vocals let’s be real😤 and then i just kinda fell down the rabbit hole!

3. what is your favorite part if being a CHOICE?

it’s so fun to talk w everyone else about a.c.e bc i feel like CHOICE are just so chill and just love the boys and the music and also love clowning the members for everything which is great😅

4. what is your favorite a.c.e song? do you prefer their title tracks or b-sides more?

tough q! but my fave is savage, with take me higher and under cover being close seconds! and i literally like ALL of their title tracks but their b-sides are sometimes hit or miss w me (but that’s pretty typical w any artist for me)

5. who’s your bias? what do you like about them?

for the longest time i didn’t have an a.c.e bias bc i love them all a lot, but it’s definitely solidified as chan recently💘 i love his voice and his stage presence, but also offstage he has a great energy and is just such a chill but fun person (also his laugh is so cute i-😭)

6. what is your favorite thing about a.c.e?

a.c.e is a group that is just so likable, they are incredibly talented and hardworking and create a space with their content that feels so comfortable to come back to again and again. they also continue to try new concepts and you can literally never predict anything that they’re gonna do (except provide amazing teaser images and music)

7. which concept has been your favorite? what kind of concept do you want them to try?

undercover my beloved💖 like looks for days and the kind of rock genre w lots of guitar was right up my alley! and i’d love them to do another bright, lighthearted concept bc they’ve been doing a lot of darker concepts recently, also music wise i just want something more vocal heavy, cuz we know they would deliver😌

8. which a.c.e friendship is your favorite? which one do you want to see more of?

i love junchan and dongchan, bc the older brother/little brother vibes are v sweet💖 i’d love to see more bk/chan just bc i really enjoyed their eric nam podcast together where they talked abt their friendship and how they’ve known each other for a really long time:))

9. if you could tell a.c.e one thing, what would it be?

i’d thank them for all the work and care they put into their music/performances! and that their talent is recognized by so many people and that i appreciate their vocals so much and also that donghun should have been meaner to yg when they were on mixnine:) (that’s a joke… but also is it?🤔)

10. which a.c.e member would die first in a horror movie?

bro… park junhee wouldn’t last a day😔 he would scream once and it would be done. we’ve seen him react to so much horror at this point that it’s too predictable, sorry jun💞

11. leave a small message for your fellow CHOICE!

hiiiii💖 shout out to everyone who makes content for these cool dudes!! y’all amaze me💞 also i hope everyone is enjoying the cb so far, and that the teaser photos aren’t taking too much out of y’all, be sure to stay hydrated🤪

i’m tagging: @minhyukmagritte / @lineegrace (no pressure tho ofc!)

[murple]

liveblog-ish pt. 2

Once again, some of these are from while I was listening, some are in retrospect. I find that typing while listening takes away from the ~full experience~

Anyways here’s my thoughts from episodes 10 - 15. spoilers, obviously.

(I forget how I formatted it last time so you’re stuck with this)

Ep 10 • Darius? DARIUS!!!! • Dont worry jared I'm just as dense as you. My friend had a crush on me for a year and almost confessed like 3 times and I never noticed • "Not trying hard enough" I'm gonna fistfight this therapist • I'm falling in love with darius by proxy • Oh god oh god camera • HELL YEAH STATIC AND GLITCHES

Ep 11 • WHAT • CASTIO?????? • OH GOD WTF • THIS IS JARED'S LAB PARTNER? THE CREDITS LADY???? • OH GOD • "Some... thing" Aghhhhhhhh • Oh god oh no oh god oh no • "Its" fuck you • Ok I'm gonna shut up and listen • Note from relisten: fuck he's being observed so much • "Creatures like those" this rules out option 1 • NO STAY AWAY FROM GROVE!!! I'm scared of dog sounds but I love him so STAY AWAY • Mr Zimmer sounds like the classic evil podcast man, like cutter • Note from relisten (bc I was too shook and angry the first time): FUCK ZIMMER • Dr rahal????? No he can't be evil too!! • "Human shell"???? • Note from relisten: this puts all the 'curse this flesh prison' in a very different light • Ok I'm gonna listen now

Ep 12 • Yup I knew they were evil therapists • Jared run away with darius. Just. Elope. • Not many notes bc I'm still reeling from ep 11

Ep 13 • IM CRYING THIS IS SO SWEET • Half of the truth is out! Congrats!! • He took that really well, but,,, oh my,,,,, the classic 'staring in horror at your loved one's scars',,,,,,, I have Emotions

Ep 14 • "Pacification of various creatures" fuck • Tbh I forgot abt this guy but he has extreme Long Term Shadowy Big Bad vibes. I feel dread about him • Yes Jamie hacker

Ep 15 • Ace mood. Pls no more details • Oh fuck did past-Jared kill Jamie's friend • I feel like my observations are highly influenced by the fact that I'm listening to this after a year long tma obsession which made me very suspicious of anything that even resembles something nice for the main character. My brain just automatically prepares for the path of deepest tragedy. Anyways I'm still convinced that Jared's past holds some pretty terrible stuff that he'll be horrified by if/when he finds out about it, including but not limited to his involvement in Jamie's friend's death. This is due to both how the blue lady said he changed so much since they last met (which ig could be referring to lots considering the whole "human shell" thing but STILL) and my "we can't have nice things" mentality • (My tone in the previous point was far too stuffy, imagine me saying all that very emotionally and distressedly like the conspiracy theorist I am) • But other than the looming dread, I'm so happy abt jared and Jamie's friendship!! Going from him thinking that he couldn't call her bc they never really talk to inviting her over to his house. Progress!!!!

• I’m completely hooked on this podcast now. Jared sounds like a Friend and I care him so much. I need him and Darius to be okay but at the same time I eagerly await the spooky horror stuff that’s bound to come next

• YIKES after the ep 11 revelation I’m so excited for the next episode,,,,, that feeling of excitement and dread and anticipation and agggghhhhh

• that rec list that said ‘here’s podcasts to fill the tma shaped hole in your heart’ wasn’t lying,,, I daresay this is better than tma. completely different vibes, but more my style (THE PROTAGONIST ACTUALLY HAS FRIENDS!!! GOD I CARE THEM SO MUCH)

• also something I haven’t really mentioned but I’m absolutely LIVING FOR is the sheer amount of queerness....... like, a canon nb protagonist??? with other nb friends???? and they actually like. Talk about gender????? (and also the whole not changing name and pronouns makes me so happy bc I also like my given name and don’t wanna change it, obviously for different reasons than jared, but it’s still nice to relate to) God it just gives me so much good happy feels, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a podcast that has so much good rep, and that’s not even starting about all the other queer relationships and how normal it all is. oh, to live in a queer small town full of cryptids.......

(also just to clarify, jared IS still using he/him, right? bc I’ve seen some fanart descriptions using they/them but I don’t remember hearing him say that he was gonna try that. maybe I missed it. I can be quite oblivious. if so, apologies, my brain decided to blank out at the wrong time and I’ll correct this post)

[audiodramatist]

top 5 survivor players 👀

AAA okay hmm this is probably more like most entertaining/memorable rather than like,, best at the game. in no particular order.

david, especially on millenials vs gen x. gonna be honest im very tired rn (just got covid vaccine) and cant remember a ton about his game but i remember being impressed

cirie, absolute genius, definitely the true mastermind of the black widow alliance, deserved to win at LEAST once

zeke, loved his game on millenials vs. gen x, less impressed by his game on game changers but still a great presence

devens. should have won edge of extinction. i ran a podcast during that season & he was just about the only thing we talked about (besides wendy and her chickens, because wow. honorable mention to wendy. keep being yourself, queen)

and of course, number one, christian. david vs goliath is probably my fav season that i've seen and he's a huge part of what makes it so enjoyable- his social game was fantastic, he was so funny, and watching him crush the puzzle segment of every challenge was amazing. i think about the endurance challenge filibuster daily. also it's so nice to see someone succeed at the game just by being genuinely kind and honest. i could talk abt christian and the rest of david vs goliath all day. shoutout to gabby too.

honestly the real survivor mvp is the david vs. goliath casting director

[transarchivist]

do you have any podcasts recs? I want to listen to archive 81 but I need some backup and I've already listened to the more "famous" ones, like all of them I binge podcasts like they pay me for me it ajsjjshfje

!!!! ok i'm sorry it's taken me a hot minute to get to you BUT i think i have a good amount of reccomendations :o

these first few are kinda "famous" but i thought i'd point em out just in case! some of them ended a few years ago and they were more well known back when they were running

wolf 359: gotta point this one out juuuust in case you haven't listened to it! amazing sci fi... would drama be the right word? it's very intense and has some really interesting meditations on morality and the self But it's also so extremely funny. complete, ended in 2017

ars paradoxica: america during the cold war, the red scare, intense government conspiracies.... And Time Travel! complicated but amazing plot and a big cast- i would recommend not pausing and listening to something else, it gets complex! mischa stanton directed it so you Know it has stellar sound design (added bonus: lgbt main characters) complete, ended in 2018

the bright sessions: people with superpowers go to therapy! plus: shadowy capitalistic conspiracies, amazing romances and phenomenal character development! i'm not a fan of romances and i Loved the ones here (it's not heavily romance focused though!) (added bonus: lgbt main characters + main lgbt romance) complete, ended in 2018. i think a spin off series is running rn tho!

the adventure zone: this isn't an audio drama, it's an actual play d&d podcast! the first season (balance) is amazing- hilarious and heart wrenching! (the heart wrenching takes a while to kick in but MAN it's so good) the first season ended in 2017. i haven't finished the second big season (amnesty) but i loved what i did listen to, same with the currently running season (graduation)

sayer: starts off as sinister night vale but with an ai and in space, evolves into a complicated save-the-world plot concerning several ais. it's in second person and it's Amazing! lots of meditations on the self and personhood. currently on hiatus but will be ending when it resumes

alice isn't dead: from the people who did night vale! starts as a trucker trying to find her wife, evolves to include shadowy government conspiracies and the power of regular people banding together. ending made me tear up it's really good! it's Big on the horror (the first ep is the only podcast that's ever truly scared me and it continues to scare the shit out of me to this day) but its Extremely Good Horror. very americana too! complete, ended in 2018.

ok that's the more well known ones out of the way, i think? i'm not too confident about how well known some of them are nowadays ^^' all i can say is that i heard abt them frequently in 2016. now onto the lesser known ones ! the ones that are complete are generally pretty short listens (relatively- they're still a good handful of hours at the least)

zero hours: by the wolf 359 people, it's a short anthology that released all at once last year. to pharaphrase/quote the official blurb: each episode is a take on the end of the world, whether the apocalypse is planetary or personal. each episode is separated by 99 years, starting in the past (1722) reaching the present and then overtaking it. surprisingly hopeful ending, made me <:')

i am in eskew: you've probably heard me holler about this before- it follows the trials and tribulations of david ward, who lives in the nightmarish and otherworldly city of eskew. 30 episodes long and complete, with a phenomenal ending! i can't rave about this enough i could Keep talking but i'll cut myself short. it's horror and it's damn good horror! does deal with extremely heavy topics, please be careful!

janus descending: sci fi horror with what has to be the most interesting formatting i've seen in ages: the two points of view alternate each episode... but one is chronological and one is backwards! amazingly done, keeps you guessing until the end! complete. follows peter and chel as they undertake a survey mission on an alien planet

midnight radio: made by @/theradioghost! big on the idea that "all ghost stories are love stories". a 1950s radio hostess gets letters from a fan. horror, big on the 1950s aesthetics, focus on the relationship between one and one's hometown. lovely ending! it's sapphic too :]

the far meridian: by the same people who did ars paradoxica! follows peri, a bit of a hermit who has extreme social anxiety, who lives in a lighthouse that suddenly begins to teleport. each morning peri wakes up and the lighthouse is in a different place! there are like... some horror elements? kinda? but it's not intense imo. it mainly follows peri learning to cope with her anxiety & helping others, with each episode usually having a one off encounter (usually pretty strange!) often has wholesome vibes. s3 is currently in production and is the final season. plus: lgbt characters, and kinda spoilers but peri uses a cane later on!

old gods of appalachia: honestly it's what it says on the tin! a collection of short stories set in historical appalachia that deal with entities beyond human understanding. they're good about trigger warnings, but it's Horror. produced by actual appalachians! stellar music, a Lot strong female characters, and a good amount of lgbt rep! killer music!! it's currently releasing but the latest short story is finished. (do listen in order though!)

the deep vault: by the archive 81 team! in an "almost-post-apocalyptic" america a group of friends chase a rumor about a secret hidden vault, only to Find it! follows the group as they traverse the deep vault. horror, actively points out capitalism a Lot, definetly has an interesting ending! amazing sound design, which is to be expected from dan powell!

tides: the official blurb is short and sweet: "tides is the story of dr. winnifred eurus, a xenobiologist stuck on an unfamiliar planet with hostile tidal forces". extremely snarky and endearing main character and fascinating worldbuilding! i don't know the status of s2, but s1 was really good!

limetown: follows one lia haddock, a public radio reporter, as she tries to unravel the mystery of what happened at limetown. all she knows is that 10 years prior, over 300 men, women and children vanished. horror, mystery, and some sci fi elements. presented in a found footage kinda way. i really enjoyed it, especially the first season. complete.

mabel: horror (big on the haunted house type specifically), sapphic romance, fun take on the fair folk/fae! follows anna limon, an in home carer who's trying to get in touch with her client's estranged granddaughter. evolves into a big fae-horror-romance-thing! really interesting romance tbh. amazing imagery and prose- lots of prose + almost poetry, but it's really good i promise. currently on a post season hiatus

spines: horror but it evolves past just horror in an interesting way (keeping the horror bits, of course). follows wren, who woke up in an attic surrounded by the remains of a cult ritual without any memories of who she is or what she was doing. she searches for answers, encountering creepy shit along the way. really interesting take on the super-secret-organization-that's-always-been-there trope! really good ending. one of the main characters is nonbinary + there's other lgbt main characters.

mirrors: by the people who did spines. also starts as horror but evolves past just horror (it's also sci fi). follows three women in three different centuries who are all experiencing the same haunting. phenomenal take on ghosts! like i can't articulate how cool this angle on ghosts is! s3 is supposed to start this year :] one of the main characters is sapphic, and her wife is a supporting character.

the six disappearances of ella mccray: also by the people who did spines and mirrors. evolves past just horror but keeps more of the horror elements? follows the 6 povs of the people who witnessed the surreal disappearance of ella mccray. each saw something different and surreal, and as they search for her, surreal things start happening to them. unsure abt the status of s3 but s1 and s2 are really good! lgbt main characters, including a trans lesbian (played by a trans woman!)

the bridge: horror. follows the crew of watchtower 10 on the transcontinental bridge that spans across the atlantic ocean. i listened to it back in like 2016-2017 so my memory is hazy, but i remember really enjoying it! currently on hiatus.

within the wires: sci fi... horror..? i listened to the first season a few years ago and enjoyed it and i've continued to hear really good things. it's by the people who make night vale! my memory isn't great but iirc the first season is a sort of romance that's formatted as a set of relaxation/meditation cassettes. it's a few seasons in and i think each is generally self contained, im unsure if it's currently running or not

the orbiting human circus of the air: also by the night vale people! again i listened to this a few years ago so im hazy. follows julian the janitor who works at a radio station that broadcasts from the top of the eiffel tower! surreal but in a wholesome way, iirc! i remember tearing up with happy tears at the s1 finale ^^' really good music! i think the second(?) season ended recently

stellar firma: i've only listened to a handful of episodes, but i've liked what i've heard. sci fi improv comedy that follows the newly made clone david 7 and the mess that is trexel geistman as they try and design custom planets. i think it's currently running but i dunno

rusty quill gaming: also another one that i've only listened to a few episodes of. actual play pathfinder (basically d&d) podcast set on an alternate earth. alex newall (martin's voice actor) is the dm. i've heard really good things from a lot of people! i think it's currently running but again i don't know for sure

right! that's. that's what i got.

i mentioned @/theradioghost earlier (shes behind midnight radio) but i would absolutely recommend looking at her rec list tag! she has impeccable taste