#it's just so perfectly done because the previous episode

[francesderwent]

[copperbadge]

I was diagnosed with depression when I was seventeen, the "this will probably keep happening your whole life" kind of depression, but aside from some really rough moments in my mid-twenties I coped pretty well; by the time I was living in Chicago I could see a depressive episode coming and I had techniques to ensure I got through -- kept going to work, kept making and eating food, kept myself and my home clean.

By the time I went in for my ADHD assessment I hadn't had an episode in a couple of years, and when I had they weren't particularly severe. So when I got the ADHD diagnosis and started studying what that meant, it seemed evident to me that what I'd been experiencing wasn't depression but rather exhaustion from unrecognized burnout. Which was a good thing -- it meant that with medication it probably wouldn't happen much or if it did it would be very mild.

But it turns out that clinical depression and ADHD can coexist! All discovery is useful, but this one was a real pain in the ass.

For the last couple of weeks I haven't had a ton of energy for doing anything, in a way that I recognize from previous episodes. The coping mechanisms did kick in; I pulled way back on chores and hobbies, focused on keeping caught-up with my job, made sure I was doing the minimum level of cleaning and didn't worry too much that I wasn't doing more. Looked after the cats, made time and saved energy for socializing. Didn't have much energy for longform writing but I had enough focus to work on short stories, so I messed around with those.

I'm okay in the specific way where I'm not a harm to myself or others and perfectly competent to run my own life, I'm just not real happy about any of it.

The longer I go managing my mental health and the ADHD, the more important the "show jumper" metaphor I came up with has become for me. Because yeah, firing on all cylinders and with Adderall I can basically do any task I aim myself at -- but with depression, even with the medication, it pulls backwards into "Okay, well, I guess put the horse over the jumps it'll take, not the ones you want it to take."

But I've been maintaining decently and this morning it turned out I wanted to cook a bunch of food, so even though what I really need to be doing is mopping the floor and vacuuming the rugs, I'll take "cooking enough pizza sauce to drown a small animal while boiling some pasta" and "making a nice loaf of beer bread". And hopefully the burst of energy means it's resolving itself, and the floors will get done sometime this week when I don't have to be baking bread or making pasta salad.

I'm very carefully saving my second daily Adderall dose until I'm ready to do the massive stack of dishes the cooking led to. Gonna take this horse over the goddamn dishes jump whether it likes it or not.

[wannaeatramyeon]

Seong Taehoon x Reader: Sleepover

Requested. G/N. Fluff.

Technically the first sleepover wasn't a sleepover, if only because there was very little sleeping done. Heh.

Neither was the second or third.

The fourth, tonight, however very much was.

At least for you. Snoring quietly away, peaceful in the land of slumber.

Taehoon wonders if it would be mean to nudge you awake. The cruel side of him wonders if a gentle kick aimed your way would be well deserved.

Because while you are sleeping soundly, sleep evades Taehoon again. And not in the fun way like the previous times.

If he realised what your sleeping habits actually are like, he would have reconsidered this.

Hours ago, when it was still dark and the sun wasn't starting to peek over the horizon, you shuffled and moved around, mattress bouncing with each movement and Taehoon bouncing too. Until you were cuddled up to him. Timing it perfectly just as he was starting to doze off.

Taehoon sleeps warm, ok. Cuddling is fine, but cuddling through the night is off limits.

He tolerated it for about a minute, which he thinks is already too generous, and moved you off him without disturbance.

You kindly responded by elbowing him in the ribs as you turned over. Completely oblivious, still snoring your stupid little head off and Taehoon briefly thinks that he should throw an elbow your way too.

No, no.

He swallows down his frustration. Gives you a glare in the darkness that you can neither see nor feel but it makes him feel better and tries to drift off again.

Almost fast asleep and then you start muttering.

Fuck. It's annoying but nothing a pillow over your head, he means over his head, covering his own ears obviously, can't solve.

He does just that except-

You scream. Short and shrill, caused by some hellish nightmare (or maybe this entire episode is Taehoon's nightmare) and his eyes snap open.

He's just about to shake you, check if you're ok, maybe just be spiteful and give you a taste of your own medicine but he hears you mumbling again and fuck. fuck. FUCK.

You're still fast asleep.

He doubts you have woken up at any point in the night and it's now 4am. Even the goddamn birds are singing and more than anything in the world, he wishes birds, especially those outside his window, do not exist.

(He could also wish that you weren't here so he could go to sleep, but he thinks that's a step too far.)

Resigned to his fate, to the bags under his eyes, to a day of sluggishness; he has one more failed attempt before he gets up. Decides to be productive, start the day with some stretches, and some Taekwondo movements.

Taehoon throws you another dirty look. Sees you dozing so sweetly he can't help but forgive you for his sleepless night and sneak a kiss to your forehead.

You stir. Gaze at him groggily, "You woke me up," you accuse.

You think his reaction, his growl and the "What the fuck!" as he storms off is a complete overreaction.

[orphicdreamers-wp]

Something In The Orange — Luke Hughes

Summary: In which while cleaning out his bedroom at the lake house, Luke convinces himself that your relationship isn’t over.

Content Warning; Angst with a happy ending, Luke kinda being a dick in flashbacks, mentions of a breakup, sad luke & reader, flashbacks in pink, Quinn & Jack plotting.

Pairing; Luke Hughes & Reader

Coming back to the lake house had been hard for Luke. Especially coming back without you by his side. You two had been together since freshman year of high school. The first summer that Quinn and Jack had the lake house was the first time you went with Luke. You two spent that summer in bliss, which led to you practically living there with them during the summers. Quinn had set ground rules that you were the only girl allowed to spend the night at the lake house.

But you and Luke had broken up in February, on Valentine’s Day as your luck would have it. You had been stressed with your clinical exam for your pharmacy tech program and had expected that night to be a time to relax. You and Luke had never done anything extreme for Valentine’s Day. You usually ordered take out and watched a cheesy romance movie. You entered your shared apartment and began to remove your shoes and socks and made your way to the bathroom and began to peel your scrubs off and tossed them on the floor.

You let the hot water rake over your body and wash the stress off of your shoulders. You stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around your body as you made your way into the bedroom. You dried off and pulled one of Luke’s UMich hoodies over your head, slipped into a pair of sweatpants and fuzzy socks before climbing into the bed and opening your laptop and turned on the most recent episode of Gilmore Girls as you reached on the beside table for your glasses. You had nearly fallen asleep when the living room door slammed.

You jolted upwards as your boyfriend entered the bedroom. He was dressed in a freshly pressed suit with his curls framing his face perfectly, “Hi baby, you look nice.” Luke scoffed as he undid his tie, “I looked nice an hour ago when our reservations were. Why are you home? You were supposed to meet me there, I left you a voicemail.” You frowned as you reached for your phone, checking it and finding no voicemails or texts from him, “I don’t have any message from you Luke, I didn’t know.” Luke scoffed, “Bullshit. You could have sent me a simple text saying you weren’t feeling dinner.”

You rolled your eyes, “I wouldn’t have said that, I didn’t get your message. Don’t turn me into some evil person because your upset!” Luke ran a hand through his hair, “I’m not doing this with you. I can’t, you’ve been somewhere else all year since school started. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t prioritize me.” You felt your throat tighten, “So what? Your breaking up with me because of a miscommunication? That’s what I get from you after 5 and a half years? Seriously Luke?” Luke shook his head, “I just can’t be another one of your things Y/N. I can’t.” You sniffled as you stood up and reached for a duffel bag in the closet and began cramming clothes into the bag along with your school stuff. You shook your head as you walked into the living room and put your shoes on. You walked out of the apartment without another word

Luke sighed as he entered his bedroom at the lake house. He hadn’t been back since the previous summer, so he knew your touch would be lingering over him. He was proven correct as he entered the room. On the dresser beside the door he was met with a small star shaped ceramic dish with a few rings and a necklace inside. A travel size bottle of perfume sat beside it and a soft pink lip liner nearby. As he furthered into the room he was met with more of your stuff. A swimsuit hung on the desk chair in his room. A Polaroid photo of you and Luke at some carnival the summer earlier was taped to the wall. Luke found a small box and began to put your items in the box.

You sighed as you discharged a needle into the biohazard box. You and your friend, Beth had volunteered to run the health clinic at UMich during the summer. You needed the cash and you had no summer plans since your breakup. The past 3 and a half months had been lonely for you. You found yourself wanting to call Luke nearly every day. Whether you were drunk at a bar and thought of something funny, or you had a good day at work and wanted to tell him, or you were rewatching Gilmore Girls and Luke and Lorelai had their first kiss and it made you think of him. But you held your pride.

You furrowed an eyebrow as your phone vibrated, you felt a sense of panic consume you when you saw the caller was Quinn. You excused yourself from the area you sat at and pressed the phone to your ear, “Quinn, what’s up?” Normally Quinn would have felt bad about lying to you, but he was tired of his baby brother moping around the house. He bit his lip, “It’s Luke, he’s hurt. Can you come?” You felt the blood rush from your face, “Yeah, I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at the house.” You turned to Beth, “I gotta go, bye. I’ll text you later.” You grabbed your bag and got in your card and drove to the lake house.

You slammed the car door and hurried inside, using your key to unlock the door. The house was eerily quiet, “Quinn? Jack?” Your heart was beating into your throat and ears when you saw him. Luke emerged from his bedroom shirtless rubbing his face in his hands, “Y/N? What are you doing here?” You felt like you couldn’t breathe, “Quinn called me. He said you were hurt.” You and Luke let out simultaneous sighs. Luke nodded, “I’m fine. You shouldn’t have come.” You shook your head in agreement, “Yep. I’ll let myself out. Oh here.” You peeled your key to the lake house off the key ring and handed it to him, “I don’t need it anymore.”

Luke hummed as he held up a finger, “I actually have something for you too.” He returned to his room for a brief second and returned carrying a box, “Figured you’d want this back.” You nodded as you blinked harshly keeping tears at bay, “Thanks Lu. I should get going, don’t wanna leave Beth at the health center alone for too long.” You walked out of the house and got into your car and made your way down the street.

You got to the end of the street when your phone rang with a call from Quinn. You sighed as you set it to speaker phone, “So any other lies I should be expecting dumbass?” Jack scoffed lowly, “Stop the car Y/N.” You looked into your rear view mirror, “You two are seriously following me now?” Quinn spoke, “Pull the car over now.” You pulled onto the side of the road and got out, “What could you boneheads want from me? If the plan was for him to stomp all over my heart then goal achieved.”

Quinn scoffed, “He isn’t over you Y/N, I swear I heard him talking to Ethan or Rutger about you last night.” Jack nodded, “Yeah then he made me and Z get trashed with him and he ended up crying about you.” You shook your head, “This isn’t fair to me. Not when I’m finally picking the pieces of my life up. Especially not after he insinuated that I chose everything over him. I can’t do that again.”

Jack shook his head, “He’s changed and he didn’t mean it. Just go back and talk to him. Tell him all that you just told us.” You shook your head as tears spilled down your cheeks, “What if he doesn’t want me?” Jack pulled you into a brotherly embrace, “Then he’s an idiot. But I know he isn’t. Go.” You wiped your face as you got back into your car and returned to the lake house. Quinn and Jack watched from the street as you stood on the porch.

You pounded on the door and felt a small breath of air as Luke opened the door. You felt your voice waver, “I am mad as hell at you. You are the most infuriating person I have ever met. I have never met someone so annoyingly perfect. You Luke Hughes, I have never ever loved someone as much as I love you. I don’t care about any of that stuff anymore. I just want to be with you.” Luke’s eyes softened, “You are the most infuriatingly stubborn person I’ve ever met. I’ve known from the first day I met you that you were the most special person in the world. I don’t want to be anywhere with anyone without you.”

You pulled him into a soft passionate kiss, your hands threading through his hair. A soft groan left Luke’s lips and hit yours. You pulled away as you breathed heavily. Luke looked down at you with lidded eyes fluttering, “I knew you’d come back to me.” You kissed him, “Shut up and kiss me. We have a lot of time to make up for.” Luke grinned as he pulled you in the door, “Thank god for my brothers.” You grinned, “Thank god for your brothers.”

[yamujiburo]

POKEMON SERIES RANKED (IMO)

I get this question a lot and haven't made an updated list with Journeys

Original Series (S1-S5)

Sun & Moon (S20-S22)

Chronicles (S0)

Diamond and Pearl (S10-S13)

Advanced (S6-S9)

Journeys (S23-S25)

Black & White (S14-S16)

XY (S17-S19)

Original Series (S1-S5)

OS had that first season charm. Very unpolished, still finding its footing but super enjoyable for those reasons

Probably the strongest series comedy-wise

That GORGEOUS 90s anime style

Main character dynamics were REALLY strong

Ash's personality felt much more like a shitty little 10 year old which was entertaining

Dub writing was also the best hands down

Sun & Moon (S20-S22)

Honestly tied for first with OS for me

REALLY fun ensemble cast! They do a fantastic job giving each character enough time for you to get to know and care about

Excellent modern anime style that perfectly fit the vibe of the season and allowed for some of the best character animation of the show's run

Finally figured out how to write Ash like a 10 year old again (but in a kind/sweet 10 year old way as opposed to OS)

Very different from previous series in terms of the formula they'd follow. Doing a school series instead of another "8 badges to championship" plot felt new and fresh!

This series genuinely made me cry the most (MEMORIES IN THE MIST!!!!! LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME)

Chronicles (S0)

Fun concept! It was really nice to see more of the side characters without Ash there. We get to see more of Misty, Tracey, Daisy, Brock, Ritchie, Oak, Delia, Butch, Cassidy, Jessie, James and Meowth!

Stylistically really nice. Just solid drawings all around and it retained the 90s anime style in digital form more successfully than other digitally done series imo

BUTCH AND CASSIDY!!! Team Rocket centric episodes!!! Training Daze!!!!!!!

Idk how possible it would have been (seems like a TON of work) but it made me want one of these in between each season, where we'd follow the characters that Ash had just said goodbye to for the next region.

Diamond and Pearl (S10-S13)

Series I grew up with! Honestly I was kinda a hater as a kid but having watched it back, I love the series

Love that Ash and Dawn were bros. They had a really fun dynamic.

Debatably peak Team Rocket. They had some of the best Team Rocket centric episodes this series.

Contests were really fun and a bit more figured out compared to the Advanced series

Fun, memorable rivals for Ash (Paul and Barry) as well as Dawn (Zoey, Kenny and Jessilina sometimes)

This is unfortunately where I stopped caring about Ash as much. He feels kinda watered down for the next couple series.

Advanced (S6-S9)

Pretty tied up with DP for me

Really fun series! Still had some of that early Pokémon charm

I appreciated that they put Ash in more of a mentor role for May (but he still had a lot to learn himself).

Ash and May constantly butting heads was really fun

May was a very compelling character to me, being very clumsy, kinda lazy, directionless, not really into Pokémon, etc. But then over time, she comes around and finds something she's interested in!

Journeys (S23-S25)

I love the episodic take as well as the way they let the characters jump around from region to region at random

Goh was a GREAT travel companion to Ash. They contrast each other nicely, have moments where they get on each others' nerves but still get along and have a mutual admiration for one another.

It was fun that they made Goh's thing catching every Pokémon (the motto of the entire series) so they could focus on Ash just training and prepping for Worlds.

Amaaaazing style. Took the great parts of classic Pokémon, roundness of SM and blended em together for a really fun look.

Black & White (S14-S16)

I don't think it's that controversial to have BW this low haha

I did enjoy Iris and Cilan but it felt like the writers didn't reaaally know what to do with them? Also this was their first time in a while not having Brock and it shows. I feel like Brock was successful because he was grounded and lower energy compared to the rest of the kids. Having 3 pretty eccentric characters is kind of a lot. No hate to the characters in the slightest, there was just not as much balance.

I think maybe they leaned on Cilan and Iris for more comedic relief because they killed the comedic relief that was Team Rocket this series. I appreciate them trying something new with Jessie, James and Meowth but I don't think it worked very well lol

XY (S17-S19)

I've ranted about this series a lot LOL. I get the appeal of it, but it just wasn't for me. I felt like it was the weakest comedy-wise and took itself a bit too seriously for my taste

My main gripe is that Serena, Clemont and Bonnie all like,,, worship Ash. By doing so, Ash begins to feel like a side character because we're constantly looking at Ash through their eyes. There's so little conflict within the group so their dynamics feel really flat. I think this dynamic could have worked if they leaned waaay more into Ash being a mentor and maybe feeling the pressure of having to be a role model for the people around him.

Team Rocket very much feels like an afterthought in this series. They did in Journeys as well, but at least in Journeys they were doing something silly and also had a handful of episodes dedicated to em.

Outside of that, the episodes weren't super memorable for me

I think it's just frustrating because there was sooooo much potential character-wise

[yuurikatsukienthusiast]

Another thing that I love about YOI is that Victor and Yuuri's love goes beyond your average idol/fan relationship

Because typically, a plot line like Yuri on Ice's is almost always a recipe for disaster. They had every opportunity to make Victor this huge egotistical asshole who cares for nobody but himself, therefore turning his relationship with Yuuri into something toxic and unhealthy.

But they didn't.

Instead, they decided to make Victor one of the silliest, lighthearted characters on the show. He's a supportive, energetic, loving character who spends the entire series being over the moon about helping his lover reach his full potential.

Victor isn't perfect. He has many flaws. His emotional intelligence lacks in many areas, and he isn't great at comforting people. His pep talks can be tone deaf and he tends to like the attention he gets a little too much at times. and yes, he may be a bit overconfident at times (even if that confidence is earned).

But never once has his 'living legend' status ever affected his love and desire for Yuuri.

He truly sees Yuuri as his equal, and he loves him like breathing.

This much is obvious throughout most of the show, just based on Victor's actions, words, and open affections for Yuuri (more of this is talked about in my previous post). But it becomes even clearer in episode 10, when we get insight on the real reason why Victor showed up to Hasetsu to coach Yuuri.

All it took for this man to fall head over heels for Yuuri was a drunken dance (and maybe some dry humping...)

Their relationship is so perfectly set up. All of Victor's flirting, instead of being something creepy and predatory in nature, was just him being oblivious to the fact that Yuuri had no recollection of the banquet. He'd been trying so hard to get Yuuri to acknowledge what had happened that night by teasing him and making moves on him, and Yuuri was clueless the entire time.

It's such a silly concept, but it really does change everything.

I'm so glad that Victor and Yuuri's relationship didn't turn out to be something toxic and uncomfortable, and I'm glad Victor doesn't follow the stereotypical idol/celebrity character norms. They made his character extremely likable and easy to love, and made Victor and Yuuri's relationship into something so incredibly beautiful. The entire show was so well done, and the amount of thought that was put into each and every detail is evident.

There is so much to love about Yuri on ice, and this is just one small example of that.

[alocon]

A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be [6] - Max Verstappen

written by alocon

Note: Name and Part One based on the song A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be by Jess Benko

Summary: After a lot of rumours on twitter, all is revealed in an episode of your podcast

Before you read: Use of Y/N (sorry!!), angst (kind of), THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SENSITIVE CONTENT. LIST BELOW, PLEASE BE WARNED THAT IT WILL CONTAIN CHAPTER SPOILERS. Look after yourself

WARNINGS: Discussion of pregnancy, loss of a child, and other difficult subjects such as mental health and cheating

NOTE: There is social media at the end which is important to the story but I can summarise at the start of the next chapter so don't worry if you can't read this, you will get a summary next chapter x

fc: Blanca Soler

[Previous Part Here][The Masterlist]

A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be [Part Six] - MV¹

youruser

liked by maxverstappen1 and others

youruser: Hi all! I know that recently there have been a lot of rumours about the end of the 2018 season and my break up with Max, as well as allegations of me cheating on him. I have already discussed these rumours and clearly stated that it is not true, as has Max. However, I feel that you still haven't been given enough of an explanation on the situation as a whole and I am finally in a situation where I am able to talk about it. I am making this post for a fair warning that this episode of my podcast will contain themes which may be sensitive to some individuals. The warning list is written below...see more

view all comments

maxverstappen1: Proud of you for being able to discuss that

youruser: Thank you Max

user1: Any guests or just you?

youruser: Me, Max, Charles, Seb and Kimi

user2: Not her trying to make money out of this situation

youruser: As has been stated since I started my podcast in 2018, all money goes straight to charity. Earnings from this week's episode goes to The Pregnancy Association of Europe, a charity that looks into why pregnancy goes wrong, if there is a way to prevent it and gets help for those who suffer loss during pregnancy. (A/N: MADE UP CHARITY FOR THE STORY X)

charles_leclerc: Might've cried a little bit whilst filming this, but I think we all did.

maxverstappen1: I did

----

Pole Position Podcast - Episode 75: Let’s Talk Babies w. KR7, SV5, CL16 and MV33

Y: YOU, M: MAX, C: CHARLES, S: SEB, K: KIMI

The podcast started off with Seb sitting in the middle of the sofa. There were two people sitting beside him: Charles and Max. Then, on one of the mini seats to one side of the sofa was Kimi and to the other was an empty seat for you, you were behind the camera. 

Y: This is a very different episode of the podcast. Right, can we check our audio syncs up before we start? 

You placed your headphones on, counting down for everyone to clap. They did and the audio synced up perfectly from each mic. You returned to your seat. The table, which was usually bare apart from the notes from the episode, including questions and other things, had no paper, instead having a variety of foods. You looked at the camera. 

Y: Alright, hello everyone. Welcome to the Pole Position podcast. Hope you’re all doing well. This is episode 75 and I am here with four lovely people, rather than one or two like I usually do. So, one by one would you guys like to introduce yourselves? Char maybe it’s best if you start because you’ve done this many times before?

C: *he nodded* Hello everyone, I’m Charles Leclerc. I am a Formula One driver who drives for Scuderia Ferrari. I’ve been on this podcast a lot. I’m basically the co-host at this point.

You chuckled

M: Hi, I’m Max Verstappen, I am a Formula One driver who drives for Red Bull, and a 3 time world champion.

S: I’m Sebastian Vettel, a retired Formula One driver who has driven for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin. I am a 4 time world champion.

K: And I’m Kimi Raikkonen, also a retired Formula One driver who has driven for McLaren, Ferrari (twice), Lotus and Alfa Romeo… Did I miss one?

Y: Sauber, right? When they were sponsored by Red Bull and Petronas?

K: How did you remember that and I didn’t? You’re basically a child.

Y: How am I the child here, both of those two are younger than me.

C: Wait, we are?

M: Yes??? She’s August 23rd, I’m September 30th, you’re October 16th.

C: 1997? *He looked at you, still confused*

Y: Yes, how did you not know that? We’ve known each other since we were 3, Charles.

C: I thought you were ‘98 for some reason.

K: Come on, even I knew that.

You clapped your hands, getting everyone’s attention.

Y: Right, back on track. Today’s episode is a more emotional one. As you know, when I started my podcast, I didn't really properly explain why I started it. I kind of summarised it, I think I said that it was something recommended by my therapist to talk about life. But I’ve never really used it to talk about the deep stuff. So today we’re going to talk about why I actually started this podcast and what happened in late 2018.

Y: I know people will be wondering why I need 4 other people to explain this with me. After the end of 2018, my brain kind of suppressed most of the more minor details and stuff so some of it I don’t remember much of, which is why these 4 are here, to kind of put all of the pieces together. So… Where do we start? With the breakup or the tests?

C: What one happened first?

M: You told me that the tests happened on Thursday evening so maybe the breakup.

Y: Alright. Max, do you want to take the lead on this one?

He nodded.

M: Alright so I broke up with Y/N on the Thursday morning before the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2018, aka Media Day. In hindsight, that was a really shitty thing to do. Everyone was really surprised by it because I absolutely was a dickhead when we split up. However, what I should’ve done is been completely honest and discussed my reasoning. I broke up with Y/N because my dad threatened me with an inappropriate sexual photo of her which he had somehow got his hands on. Likely egged on by Christian. I didn’t know how he got his hands on it, I don’t know what happened, but he had threatened to have it leaked if I didn’t break up with her, so I deemed it for the best and I did it. But the real issue was that I didn’t tell her why. I didn’t keep her in my life, I completely pushed her away. Again, a beyond stupid mistake, possibly the worst of my life. 

Y: Yeah, so that happened, it impacted me pretty badly. 

S: I think that’s an understatement there, no?

K: Just a bit. I remember her completely breaking down to me over it straight after it happened because she didn’t want to worry you two and she didn’t want to ruin Max’s friendship with Charles.

Seb, Charles and Max all looked at you. This was new information for the three of them. 

M: I’m still, genuinely really sorry about that. I feel so bad about the way I did it. 

Y: Max I’ve already forgiven you for it.

M: And yet I will apologise until the day we die if you let me.

C: ANYWAYS, so then in the evening I get a text from her basically saying “Hey, can you come over, it’s kind of important.” And I know this woman’s tendency to underreact in situations so when she said kind of, I took it as “likely very important” and headed straight there.

Y: Do I underreact or do you overreact?

M: Both

K: Both

S: Both

Y: Great.

You reached for a tortilla chip that was in a bowl on the table and took a bite after dipping it in salsa.

Y: So Charles comes over, asks what's wrong without hesitating. I didn’t even get a hi out, just opened the door and boom. Question. So I explained to him how I had been feeling kind of weird and I’d been feeling sick and tired all the time but it had been happening for a couple weeks and I knew it wasn’t sickness. That’s as far as I remember before the tests.

C: So I was like “oh, that’s weird. Have you had your period recently?” You said no but it didn’t usually anyway, I don’t know how it works.

Y: Basically, a side effect of the contraceptive pill that I take is that it stops my period. So either way I wouldn’t know just from that sign.

M: You still take it?

Y: Yeah, I do.

M: Are you actually getting laid?

Y:... Anyways, moving on.

Max laughed at that as Charles continued talking.

C: So, because it would probably cause some media attention if she went to buy tests or I went, we asked Hanna to and she was more than happy to. So she and Seb came over with pregnancy tests and dinner and like a LOT of ice cream just in case because we decided that we can risk our trainers yelling at us to cheer her up. I was not aware that her and Max had broken up by this point. I don’t think any of us except those two were.

K: And me.

C: And Kimi. 

S: So anyways, me and Hanna come over and we sit on the bed and talk whilst Y/N is downing water like there is no tomorrow, you know, so she could take the tests. And then she did the tests and we spent the next 5 minutes talking whilst we ate some of our food and then she checked the test and she was pregnant. We were all happy for her because, and correct me if I’m wrong here, guys, weren’t you two like kind of casually trying at this point?

Max looked at you and you smiled, indicating that he could answer.

M: Kind of. We were to the point where we wouldn’t complain about being parents so it was a kind of situation of “if it happens, it happens but if not, so what”.

C: So then she got a little upset and we were like “why are you sad, weren’t you guys okay if this happened?” and that’s when she told us that they had split up earlier that day. So, really, like god awful timing. 

Y: The rest of that evening was just kind of like them cheering me up. I tried to contact Max but he had blocked me, which I didn’t really understand at that point.

M: It was so I could not call or text because I didn’t want the photo to be leaked.

You nodded.

Y: So I think it was me, Charles, Seb, Hanna, Kimi, Minttu, Lew, and Val, except Lewis and Valtteri didn’t actually know. The others did though. I think, before this podcast gets released, the only people who know are the people here, Christian Horner, Fred Vasseur, Hanna, Minttu, my mother…

M: Christian knew?

Y: Yeah, we’ll get into that later, though. And Fred knew because I had to call him to be like “I have to go to the hospital about this tomorrow, I can’t race this weekend. And he’s family to me. So rather than racing, I went to the hospital. Hanna and Minttu came with me. Turns out I was 8 weeks along. I was like “shit, if I have this baby I’m going to miss so much racing” but apparently I was safe to drive after the 20 week mark until like the start of the 8th month as long as I was more careful than usual and got check ups after every race. SO overall I would’ve missed maybe like 6 races, so I was like, right. I should tell Christian, you know? Warn him. So I told Christian and he instantly started complaining, being like “What if this what if that? This is why we should’ve hired a man to drive”, that kind of stuff. But I think that was the heat of the moment. But then he doesn’t change and he tells my mother for some reason because he knows her and she kicks off and basically disowns me and tells me that I am not making a good choice and that I’m crazy and stuff. Fun. Anyways, going into December, I was really really overwhelmed. I don’t know what it was like from an outside perspective but it was shit from mine. 

K: Terrifying.

You all turned to look at Kimi. The entire 20 minutes of the podcast so far, he hadn’t had much to say, which you got because he’s Kimi Raikkonen.

K: From an outsider perspective it was terrifying. From my perspective, at least. Seeing the way you were so stressed and you wouldn’t eat as much. You were no longer happy, you were constantly anxious, even about how you looked, if people could tell, if you weren’t looking as nice even though you looked fine. It was really scary seeing you go down such a path, especially after everything your mother said to you. 

You sniffled slightly, getting emotional as you never really publicly opened up about this stuff. Charles and Seb agreed at this point.

Y: So then, a couple weeks into December, I can’t remember the exact date.

C: December 11th.

Y: December 11th, I was feeling strange. I had really bad stomach pain. Like awful. I just figured, for some reason, that it was because of the fact I hadn’t eaten much yet that day so I decided to sleep it off, see if I felt better in the morning. And, before we get into this, this may be slightly graphic and it’s a lot more graphic than I described to Max and Seb and Kimi so please be warned. I wake up in the morning, about 3am. And I sat up in my bed and I felt something wet on my lower body. So I was like “What the fuck” and I turn on the light and, uhm.

You paused, taking a deep breath in an attempt not to cry. You felt a hand slip into yours and squeeze. You looked to see Max looking at you with those soft, beautiful eyes. He was looking at you in the most gentle of ways. You felt yourself tipping over the edge slightly, voice cracking as you began to speak again.

Y: I turned on my light and I just saw red. Like, my bedsheets, which were usually white, were just red. Everything was red. I don’t remember too much after that, other than just feeling numb. Charles had been staying with me at that point. Max had just moved out and Charles’ apartment had flooded so I invited him to stay in my house until the apartment was sorted. I don’t really remember much, I don’t know if you do, Char.

C: I do. May I?

You nodded.

C: So I wake up because I hear a scream. Like not a happy one. Just a shocked sounding scream. So of course I went straight into her room to see if she was okay and the lower half of her bed was covered in blood, her shorts, her legs were all just covered in blood. It was, excuse the explanation, like something out of a horror movie. And she just… kind of sat there. Frozen. It was like she couldn’t move or speak, she just sat there. Kind of void of all emotion on her face other than her crying. I remember taking her phone and calling her baby doctor person, because she gave her phone for emergencies. And she answered and I apologised for calling so late and explained the situation because of the amount of blood just… Didn’t look normal. And she said to take her to the hospital if I was concerned. So I did and we went to the hospital and they sorted everything out. I don’t remember exactly what it was but either way we went home and we spent the next week or so just camping in, eating junk food, trying to relax and at least attempting to be calmer. I think it wasn’t until the new year that you told Christian. 

Y: Yeah, I started therapy like a week after the miscarriage. And then, on the 29th of December was when you two, Han and Mina found out, I think?

S: Yeah, I remember Hanna sitting down when we got there.

K: You being late, as usual

S: Yeah, yeah. So Hanna asked how you and nugget were, which is what we had nicknamed the baby and you just kind of cracked. You started crying and they asked what was wrong and that’s when you told us that you had miscarried. So we went out and tried to make sure you had the best day of your life. 

Y: That’s where the photo came from as well. The photo of me and the “mystery guy” whose face was blanked out was just a photo of me and Charles hugging because I got a little upset. I will post the photo here and if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple music, the screenshot of the story with the date attached is on my Instagram story highlights.

Y: So then I told Christian and he told my mother once again and also then proceeded to use it against me. BUT that’s all we have time for today. If anyone wants, we can do an episode purely based on my RBR treatment. Just let us know. Have a lovely day, I’ve been your host Y/N and we will see you next time.

Max, Kimi, Seb and Charles all said goodbye before the episode ended.

-Word Count: 2.6k-

Hi all!! Here's part 6, more drama unfolding. This story will continue to slander Christian Horner btw. In this story he is an awful person because it made the plot better x Anyways hope you enjoyed Max going on a podcast (well, two) because she asked him to so it was worth going on. Have a good day x Alocon

Taglist: @c-losur3 @itsjustkhaos @reidsworld @d3kstar

[13thdoctorposts]

At some point 13 fans needs to actually put the numbers to paper on the era's audience numbers, because my recollection is that they're perfectly on par and at times even better than Capaldi's and several of the latest specials. I'm tired of haters whining about 'everyone hated it' when they mean misogynists targeted it and boycotted it from the very instance of a rumour that 13 would be a woman.

Peter Nolan from Blogtor Who did a post on the numbers after the airing of Power of the Doctor, in one section of the post he compares the Whittaker and Capaldi eras…

“It’s remarkable then, that the Whittaker era of Doctor Who is overall on course not only to retain the audience it was given, but actually very slightly grow it. The average Thirteenth Doctor was watched by 4.67m viewers, up 0.12m (2.6%) on the 4.55m average of the Twelfth Doctor. It’s median viewing figure of 4.21m, meanwhile, is 0.34m (7.4%) lower than Capaldi’s, representing the boost Whittaker’s average is given by the large audiences for her first series. But overall, we haven’t seen Doctor Who just do a respectable job all things considered. Rather, it actually got ratings that would be good a decade ago.”

You can check out the whole article here https://www.blogtorwho.com/doctor-who-power-of-the-doctor-viewing-figures/?amp=1

As you can see the Whittier era did quite well especially when considering it had to fight to get through the Pandemic, which people seem to like to act like isn’t a big deal with their revisionist history of how difficult that time actually was. Not only were millions dying and getting sick, people were losing their jobs and lock downs were keeping people at home and a number of parents learnt how hard it was to home school your child even with a teacher on zoom, some while also having to work full time at home. This isn’t to mention the ridiculous amount of restrictions on how they could make the show and keep everyone safe. Sadly they also just didn’t have budget, it was why they needed Disney to come in. In the Who Corner to Corner podcast Chibs talks about how he wanted to do a new years special after Flux but was told there was no budget and he couldn’t do it but he wanted there to be a new year special so he ask if he used monster from the cupboard (a couple daleks they had sitting there) a warehouse and only 2 guest stars could he do it and they still told him they didn’t think so but he told them they were doing it and then we got Eve of the Daleks, one of my fav episodes of the run.

This goes to show the show was struggling to afford to make episodes it had no real money for marketing. If series 12 and Flux got the marketing series 11 did of course we would have seen even bigger numbers but Chibs stated in his Radio Free Skaro podcast from Gally One in 2023 that the only marketing budget they had after series 11 was marketing that could be done on the BBC that’s extremely limiting. They also didn’t have a brand manager unlike all previous eras. If you can afford a brand manager you’re not going to choose to not have one and having one probably would have also help quite a bit.

It’s not 2008 anymore, even Tennent couldn’t pull his 2008 numbers and that was with the big Disney budget to make the show and market the show, and they had a year to market the show and the most well known Doctor, so considering that vs what Chibs had to work with the Whittaker era is a solid era of Doctor Who. It just came at a time when the Budget was struggling, and the TV landscape was changing along with a campaign to try and destroy it before it began simply because they chose a Woman to be the Doctor, as demonstrated by the fact the BBC had to release a press statement backing Whittakers casting and the change to a Female Doctor. And that did have a snow ball effect of people picking everything apart to an insane level they do not do with any of the episodes from the male Doctors episodes a lot of which could be seen as far more problematic.

All this to say could the numbers had been better? Yes, if they had budget to market the show the way it needs to be marketed in a landscape with a million competing shows on far more streaming services than there were regular channels back in the day. But did the show do well with the limited resources it had. Also Yes.

[acertaincritic]

Episode 9 & the season overall

MEEEEEH

Do I need to say more?

Like yes, fine, overall, it's not as bad as the previous two seasons. Overall, this was the best season since season 2.

But let's be honest, it's not some high benchmark to clear.

Structurally, this episode's problem is that it's the final episode yet it has the structure of an early-in-season episode. It solves a personal issue of Rayla and it deals out Aaravos's backstory, and it even recaps early seasons! If not for Aaravos's return in the end, this could've been the first episode of the last season. It still could've been, just move his return one episode earlier and the rest could stay the same. No reason Aaravos can't explain his backstory to Claudia after she lets him out. The whole "cast spell with love" was a bullshit excuse.

But the most prevalent issue of this whole series is its refusal to put its heroes through any meaningful trials or tribulations. Any time they have any meaningful choice to make, the story ultimately makes it so they don't have to pay the cost. Some examples:

Rayla decides to lose her hand instead of killing Ezran - Zym just breaks her hand-cutting bracelet.

Callum decides to use dark magic and regrets it - he just gets primal magic he can use with clear conscience. He arguably chooses wrong and then he's still given the good magic in reward.

That also entirely nullifies his initial choice of "use dark magic or have no magic." He just gets good magic.

Claudia kills a deer to heal Soren's legs and in the end... Nothing? She gets ugly I guess? Soren is perfectly fine, it doesn't matter that such a powerful dark magic was used on him, at most it's Claudia who bears the cost, and it's not clear what "looking ugly" really does, if anything at all.

The Dragon Mom ignores her injury and pretends she's fine - when she stops being fine she just stumbles across a healer by accident.

Or just this season:

Callum gets healed from using dark magic by a ritual. They say it's dangerous but eh, it seemed pretty easy, half an episode and done, and he's fine and has his primal magic. No cost.

Rayla thinks she'll have to choose who to save, but in the end her parents are at peace and happy to go. She doesn't really have to choose, she just goes with what the other people choose.

The Sun Queen strikes out at her brother's forces and in the end nothing happens to her lol. That whole Z plot line was ultimately a nothingburger. The big sun dragon wasn't even needed to release Aaravos. You could've entirely cut it out and just have Claudia sneak into the castle to get the egg!

And so on and so on. And it's just so tiring, because we're dangled nice stuff in front of us, like a possession arc, but then nothing happens.

Claudia just lets Aaravos out like she's intended for three full seasons. It's just dull. It's boring! It's, well, it's the definition of meh.

Guys tell me, seriously, am I the weird one? Is it weird for me that I expect the heroes to have to deal with complex issues and hard choices, and not the villains? Am I asking for too much?

Because it feels like the creators had some nice epic pictures in their heads, like Katolis burning or a big battle among the Sun Elves, but they just can't or won't commit to them. They don't write a meaningful story to accompany those pictures. All the heaviness is put on the antagonists, while the heroes, if they have any issues, typically resolve them within one episode - like the Sun Queen had a one episode long "arc," but she just had to listen to a story and she's perfect and flawless again! Callum's arc of struggling with dark magic and possession is the only such one, and it still came to an anticlimactic, easy end with the cleansing ritual.

Yes, the show can still do something with it. If I had more trust in this series and its writing, I'd say that sometime in the next season, Callum is going to use dark magic to save Rayla, breaking his promise, and then she'll be unable to kill him, breaking her promise, and they'll need to put themselves back together and come back from that.

But... I don't have any trust in this series at this point. They used false advertising in the trailer! There wasn't any scene with Callum having black eyes this season, yet they even used it as a thumbnail?

So with my zero faith in the writing of TDP, I'm presuming there will come a moment when it'll look like Callum might use dark magic again, but he'll then refuse and instead of suffering any consequences, he and others will be promptly rescued by someone, like maybe the Dragon Mom coming back during the final battle or something like that.

Because the heroes just got to choose right and they'll suffer no consequences for it. I guess the moral of the story is "just be good and things will work out on their own." In other words... "trust in God/Fate."

Amazing. That's exactly the message to teach kids, instead of "sometimes doing good is hard but it's still worthwhile" or "be smart and creative and you'll find a solution" or idk a hundred other messages this show could've had.

Like seriously, the setup where humans don't have inborn magic and elves do is such an amazing one. It could've been a story about humans outsmarting elves, about figuring out other ways to use magic, about not letting their lack of power put them down.

But nooo. Instead it's a story about those born powerful being always good and beautiful, and only a couple of them are bad apples - usually because they're deceived by one particularly bad apple. And if you're born without power (privilege, khy khy) you should just accept it and you'll be rewarded by fate/those with power.

This show is progressive?

[aroaceleovaldez]

So, in your last post about the Percy Jackson TV show, I felt you lacked a few pieces of information/points. While it is true that the CGI in the film is pore and not constructed well, please note that while they have a large budget Disney has made a lot of restrictions to the show. In the original scrips there was a significantly larger amount of violence that would have needed more CGI. This was latter edited out of the script due to both restrictions and budget cuts for other parts in the show(sadly). Also to bring into prospective Sea of monsters the movie was made 10 years ago. Inflation has juristically affected the way money is used in films. Another thing to note is typically movie budgets are less than TV shows because they only are filming for one larger block of time. TV however they can take years meaning the acters need to be paid even for the time off set. This is not to say movies cannot take years, but it is to show that TV shows are filmed longer. I would also like to say I am genuinely not trying to be rude or unkind about your opinion and thoughts on the subject. I am just someone who has a different insight into the topic because of the things I know about the topic (I myself, am an actor and for the most part I think this is why the CGI was not the best as well as some of the script work). 

I did actually calculate inflation for Sea of Monsters versus the PJO TV show. We know the PJO TV show allegedly had a budget of $12-15 million per episode. For comparison, this is the type of budget Disney+ usually uses for stuff like The Mandalorian. I was doing a generous underestimate for the entire season which comes out to $96mil (12mil per episode x 8 episodes). Sea of Monsters' budget was 90mil. Here's that inflation:

So lil over $120mil. Going for a top estimate for s1 of the show (15x8) that's $120mil. And as far as I'd heard that may also not include stuff like budget for casting for the show. They are still roughly in similar ballparks.

Regardless of this - as an animator, i can tell you there is no excuse for that wonky CGI trident other than it being extremely quickly done. That's literally a transform error, like ctrl+t type stuff. That is a lazy and cheap trident, probably because Disney notoriously overworks and cheaps out with their CGI. The CGI problems in the show are majority because Disney's being cheap about it. This shows in nearly all the CGI in every episode.

If they had to remove violence from the script and so remove CGI scenes with it, then theoretically they should have more room in the budget for more or better CGI where it already is in the show. That money doesn't just vanish. Changing that in the script gives them less of an excuse, actually.

Also, as i mentioned in my previous post - if you don't want to CGI hydrokinesis, don't pick the franchise where the main character's defining power is hydrokinesis. If you can't have much violence, DON'T PICK THE GREEK MYTHOLOGY SERIES WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER BEHEADS TWO PEOPLE IN THE FIRST BOOK AND IT ONLY GETS BLOODIER FROM THERE. You cannot have PJO without some level of violence. It's kind of very inherent to the series. Rick actually talks in his original Teaching Guide for The Lightning Thief about how, in argument against attempts to ban TLT (in this specific instance for "being too violent"), that monsters in the books poof into golden dust for a reason, because then they haven't "died." There is no blood. They can and will come back. Because it's fantasy. That is the excuse for all the violence. Of which there otherwise technically is a lot of.

If you are doing live action PJO you are going to have to have some amount of violence (and there is absolutely a level that is perfectly suitable for a PG13 audience. The show right now is leagues below that level. PG13 just means parental guidance for under 13 - this majority has to do with concerns about children under 13 replicating behavior on-screen. Past 13 kids know better than to do that, which is why that rating is a thing. There are plenty of film/media/etc that are way more gory and violent and are still PG13). You are going to have to CGI monsters/creatures to some degree regularly (alongside demigod powers like Percy's hydrokinesis even more regularly). And between those two things, characters are going to have to look like they're physically interacting with the CGI at times. Disney is capable of doing this. Disney does have the budget for this for the show. They're not doing it because they're being cheap. Disney has done this before and does it regularly. This is not anything new. It entirely has to do with CGI not having as many unions. They have no excuses. If they didn't expect to run into these problems then they clearly did no planning for what adapting the series would entail and didn't think at all of what the series actually featured before diving into it. And they have no excuse for that! That is step one!

[thefeastandthefast]

Hands down, favorite scene of this whole drama and one that made me feel something more than just different degrees of amusement:

Princess Wanning tossing her hair back to dance for the king of Dai, dressed in pristine white silk, helpless rage which cannot be vented cracking through the studied blankness on her face. Such a sharp and elegant recontextualization of all the aggressive swishing and twirling we see her do in the previous episodes.

Following closely in second place would be the scene of her wading shivering into the milky blue river surrounded by fiery autumn foliage and the red of her blood seeping out into the water all around her. The physician refers to her numerous miscarriages, but her grim, expectant, tearless face in that scene implies that they were abortions done with whatever means she could manage (likely the only assertion of agency possible in her position).

To be completely honest, Wanning's storyline is the only one in this drama that consistently triggers genuine emotion for me, even before we got the brief flashback of her years as a hostage to an enemy state. I am obviously extremely well-entertained by the production's commitment to the pulpiest of melodrama rendered with the lushest of visuals, but the lack of even the possibility of actual danger and failure for our protagonists takes much of the tension out. Yes, Xue Fangfei has trauma responses to her experiences, but we know that her commitment to vengeance carried out with morally clean and justifiable methods will still succeed in making every last villain in her path pay. We're assured of her eventual happiness and success before the story even begins because of genre conventions.

The protagonists live in the fantasy world of 爽剧- a genre meant for the purpose of the viewer's visceral, lizard brain satisfaction. The noose of the drama's world and its rules will always loosen for our female lead Xue Fangfei because this type of narrative demands it.

I went into the drama knowing this was the genre, so it's perfectly meeting my expectations... but I think if Xue Fangfei was forced to operate within the same social strictures as her female opponents instead of having her endeavors facilitated by the pulled punches of internally inconsistent world-building, this drama would have been elevated to something ultimately much more satisfying and enduring. The Story of Minglan is still the pinnacle of historical drama 爽剧 for this reason.

But Wanning doesn't live in a 爽剧; she's in a psychological horror, one where every single one of the inescapable rules of a ghoulish feudal, patriarchal world compounded to get her into the situation she ended up. For all her seemingly limitless power and privilege once Wanning returns to Yan, they are insufficient to undo the permanent damage to her status as a virtuous woman in her society and her own perception of her womanhood in such a paradigm.

I'm speculating that the king of Dai probably died painfully at her hands at some point (I'm still at episode 36, so I don't know if it's addressed later!) But in the end, Wanning's righteous fury has very few easily embodied targets for righteous vengeance, unlike the wrongs done to Xue Fangfei and those she takes under her wing- wrongs which neatly trace back to specific villains to be eliminated. And of course, XFF’s personal beef with these villains just so happen to align perfectly with the noble goals of king and country.

Even when Wanning playacts her sick little romance with Shen Yurong, a brutal emotional clarity always breaks her immersion. She has a complete lack of illusion about the world in which her story operates. She was sacrificed for the noble goals of king and country, for peacemaking, and so she knows she will get no satisfaction from those who permitted and benefited from that sacrifice. So, for me, watching her do whatever the fuck she wants in response to that unrightable wrong and indulge every selfish, horrifying, nihilistic whim is more 爽 (viscerally satisfying) than anything else in this show.

[wishful-thinking64]

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #01

I think that C.H.E.R.U.B. could work as a good foil to I.M.P. but the show (like everything else) utilized them in the wrong way. I actually liked their debut episode and how it played out although if there's one thing that I'd change about it, it would be not having Cletus, Collin, and Keenie get kicked out of Heaven. I'd do this for four reasons. #01.) The team would still want to get even with I.M.P. whether they got kicked out of Heaven or not. We know this because when they initially attempted to go home, Cletus threatened them by saying, "This isn't over," alluding to the fact that we would've seen them again regardless. #02.) Rather than having C.H.E.R.U.B. appear in random episodes (looking at you Season 2) they could appear as proper competitors to I.M.P. going forward with us not only getting to gradually see more members of C.H.E.R.U.B. but also develop a better understanding with how Heaven works, how they treat their Heaven born citizens, and possibly foreshadow how corrupt Heaven is since that's the angle Hazbin Hotel is going for. #03.) Cherubs are literally Heaven's equivalent to Imps. While they wouldn't fully understand how or why the members of I.M.P. are so messed up on account of not being demons themselves, they could, to an extent, empathize with how the members of I.M.P. are mistreated by higher classes. Like, imagine having an episode where both companies are competing over another human being but unlike their previous encounters, I.M.P. hasn't been landing as many deals lately meaning that both business and money have been tight. Naturally, they'd want to secure as many hits as possible and would be pissed to see that C.H.E.R.U.B. is here AGAIN to interfere with their business. Throughout the episode it'd be a close call, though I'd have C.H.E.R.U.B. win in the end so that I'd have someone like Blitzo say, "Oh, look at you! I bet you guys feel real proud for messing with our incomes, huh?" And one of the Cherub's could say something to the extent of, "Incomes? Wait, you guys don't just do this for fun???" Then have it be revealed that the Cherub's genuinely believed that I.M.P.'s business solely existed for some sick and twisted pleasure when in actuality, it was to preserve their livelihoods in Hell. After conversing about it a bit more, I'd have the members of C.H.E.R.U.B. talk among themselves before deciding that, "Y'know, we've done our part. So we're gonna leave but IF something WERE to happen once we've left then there'd be nothing we could do about it." Effectively, letting I.M.P. secure their hit since C.H.E.R.U.B.'s job is done as well as have plausible deniability if any one of their higher ups ask, "Hey, what the hell happened to this guy that you saved?"

#04.) My final point, is that their organization thematically clashes with what I.M.P. aims to do perfectly. I.M.P. wants to kill humans in the living world whereas C.H.E.R.U.B. wants to save them ensuring they live their human lives to the fullest and bidding farewell when they're ready to go. It's simplistic yet effective. Sorry for the long read, I usually go into depth with my opinions. Also, side note, does anyone actually know what the hell C.H.E.R.U.B.'s acronym stands for??? This has bothered me since their debut episode because I'm pretty sure we've never been told what it means.

[fatalwhims]

@tristampparty's Tristamp Anniversary 2024

Day 4 - Episode Four: HUNGRY!

Continuing with gifsets featuring my favourite tracks from the tristamp OST. Thoughts under the cut!

Previous days: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

I think that "Undertaker" is a nice track for the introduction of Wolfwood. It has this unsettling whistling tune because who the heck is this mysterious character that has shown up and is perfectly fine after being hit by Meryl's jeep? Then there are those quick notes played by the violin around 0:43 into the track which sound playful to me, and Wolfwood offers us some moments of comedic relief, like his outrageous burial service.

When I first heard "PLANET ZAZIE" used in the episode, I had no idea it was called that. It's the track that plays when Wolfwood finally reveals the Punisher, but it's also the reveal of Zazie. I do like how well it's used in the scene, with the heavy guitar rifts lining up with shots of Wolfwood and the more "exotic" (for lack of a better term, which is actually ironic since Zazie is indigenous to NML) interludes lining up with the shot of Zazie.

Anyways, I'm behind because you know...life. Going to try to catch up and finish these! Though that also means there's going to be no Episode 5. (I've been trying to re-watch episodes before doing these so I could potentially include tracks that I don't actually have on my playlist, but appreciate in the context of the episode. But truthfully I didn't have anything from episode 5 and don't have the energy to go back and rewatch it since I have eps 6+7 done already and I just want to get them posted ahhh).

Anyways, approximate timestamps from the episode that I grabbed these shots from:

Undertaker - 5:43

PLANET ZAZIE - 17:40

[clarina04]

In my previous post, I talked at length about why I think Winters and Eugene Roe are the second most perfect pairing after Winnix, so I'll share my opinion on my third place winner, which is Roe and Speirs.

Unfortunately, we don't see them together much during the series, only once, (they don't even communicate with each other) but knowing both of their personalities, I think they'd have a lot of potential.

Basically, they're both introverts, they don't talk much, they keep a few steps away from everyone, but while Roe is respected and loved for who he is, Speirs is more feared and people try to avoid him as much as possible. They're similar, yet they emanate so much different energy, and I think we all feel that perfectly. Eugene has a positive aura that makes you feel safe when you look at him. He's aloof but a sweetheart, caring about the people around him, their needs, their injuries, their physical/mental health and trying to do all he can to help keep them alive. People trust him implicitly, because Eugene has proven time and time again how good a person he is and how conscientiously he carries out his duties. We viewers also like him a lot (for me, he and Winters are the absolute most sympathetic characters).

And then there's Ronald Speirs, who we immediately know as a ruthless, cold-blooded killer, incapable of empathy for either enemies or his comrades. People are spreading malicious rumours about him, which we as viewers can decide whether to believe or not, although I would add that the directors/writers have done a perfect job in this regard, as they have created the character of Speirs in such a way that it gives you the creeps. Just think of the intense, lifeless look he gives others, his emotionless face, his mechanical demeanour, his silent movements reminiscent of a beast stalking its prey, his harsh words... It's as if the creators of this show deliberately wanted us to believe everything bad we hear about him without doubting it.

And now the justification...

We know that Eugene is there to save lives by being a medic, but Speirs doesn't believe at all that he or any of his comrades can come home alive from this war and he makes no secret of that (think of the scene with Blithe in the third episode). Unlike Winters, he doesn't try to inspire those he sees as afraid or desperate, but on the contrary... he even dampens their spirits by showing them no empathy. He tries to make them understand why it is good to be able to turn off their emotions completely and function like a machine, but this attitude only makes them more afraid (again, I can cite the case of Blithe, who was just as terrified as before after Speirs' "advice", but when Winters was there and he tried to shake him up so he could keep fighting, the curse was broken, because once he fired his gun, he was no longer afraid, and that was thanks to Winters).

Just think how interesting it would have been to listen to a conversation between Speirs and Roe, where their world views clashed. They don't even need to talk about these things specifically, just a mere sense of how different their mindsets are. As they would try to make the other understand their own point of view. Roe, who believes in God and prays to him regularly, and Speirs, who can no longer believe in anything and who has long since accepted that he is dead.

And the other thing I would have also watched at least one scene of is the two of them getting into a fight about something. Again, I can only cite the scene in episode 5, where Eugene is yelling at Winters and Welsh for not paying attention to how many ampoules of morphine they gave Moose when he was accidentally shot. Imagine how much more tense the already incredibly tense situation would have been if Speirs had been there instead of Welsh and Roe had been yelling at him. Because I'm pretty sure he would have yelled at him the same way. Eugene doesn't look like he's afraid of any of his superiors, and it's well illustrated in this scene. Even Winters and Welsh respect him, they let him lecture them, because they know exactly that Eugene is right and I have a feeling that Speirs would have reacted the same way they did. He would have kept quiet and I think this because in episode 10, when Grant is shot in the head, Speirs does everything he can to save him. That's the only scene where we see him and Roe together (I wish we could have gotten some interaction on how it all went down between them) and when they find that brain surgeon who finally performs the operation. Here it becomes clear that Speirs actually does care about his people and is not a heartless monster who doesn't care about anything because "we're all dead anyway". Like everyone else, he is tired of the horrors of the war, fed up with it all, and this incident was caused by a drunken idiot, not an enemy soldier. As it was said in the episode, people died the same way after the war was over. And Speirs didn't want any more unnecessary casualties. Enough had already died. That's why he was so desperate, and why he searched everything he could to find the right person to save Grant's life, the one he stayed with all along, interlaced his fingers with his and stroked the back of his hand. And in the meantime, there was Eugene, to whom he didn't speak, but together they fought for the life of a comrade.

The series doesn't reveal what kind of a man Speirs was before the war, (nor about Eugene) but he is certainly more empathetic than we get to know him in the very first episodes. He had his oddities, he had his unsympathetic manifestations, but overall I don't consider him a bad person. He's just a victim who's been emotionally destroyed by the war, but by the end of the show I think he's pretty much back to his old self, or at least changed if he was always like this. He's resurrected.

Overall, my opinion is that they deserved more screen time and interaction, because very interesting conversations could have been generated, which might have even deepened their relationship. Eugene could have been the one to change Speirs' outlook on life with his thinking, or at least help him understand the importance of life and why they are fighting (my god, the amount of angst and hurt/comfort that could have come out of this... I still can't believe the creators didn't take this opportunity and see the potential in the two of them...). And of course I can't forget how intense and satisfying it would be to watch two such strong characters bickering, shouting at each other to prove themselves right, and wondering which one would break first, which one would finally see that the other was right... which one would apologise first and in what form.

[thegoldenhoof]

Poison into Positivity - Why we should have revisited The Talent Show.

Prefacing this, that as a Izzy lover, I loved the Calypso’s birthday episode. Perfect. No notes. Except that maybe it should have been longer 

But boy did Ed get done dirty in that episode (and Stede but I am making my peace with this is just who Stede is. Being a better person was never his character’s motivation).

Perhaps nothing has bothered me about the whole of Ed’s arc as the poison to positivity comment because, Girl! Where? What exactly did you do to earn that? Ed threw some money at the problem and sat back which made sense in a sad way because it is a very Stede way of doing things. At least Season 1 Stede ( but again we are not talking about Stede here). And Ed was following his cues. This is Youtuber apology the sequel.

But in contrast, imagine if we had gotten The Talent Show- Take 2

A repeated problem that many posts have talked about in this season is that it was unwilling to face the trauma that it set up and look it in the eye and deal with it. So much of the show had become “shit happens move on”.

But revisiting the  idea of The Talent Show for Calypso’s Birthday party would have been amazing imo and here is why…

The Chekhov's gun was already set up with Lucius mentioning it in the previous episode

This season had been spoonfeeding us Season 1 flashbacks and references and this would have fit in perfectly with the pattern. 

Ed’s side of it was as set up with him not remembering the show at all. We have been told repeatedly that Ed rewrites his memories/forgets things that are uncomfortable to him. 

Repraising the talent show would have worked as a shorthand for Ed actually confronting his past and would have been an opportunity to genuinely make himself vulnerable in contrast to the youtuber apology.

It would have reminded the crew that this was still the man who they cared for at one point, who just did some fucked up shit because he was hurting.

It would have shown the audience that the crew was able to look at a painful past experience and rewrite those memories with a better version if it-  a stand-in for them moving past the trauma of the Kraken era and being willing to rewrite those memories with this new Ed.

Izzy could have joined Ed’s song putting it in contrast with Izzy’s anger and confusion of Season 1. 

Ed is singing some old song. He hears the uneven stomp of the peg leg behind him and stops. Cue bad memories.

Izzy’s voice takes up the song. He turns back to look at Izzy and he is revealed to us, in all his Drag glory, looking equally nervous until they both give a tentative smile and continue with the song.

Ed turns to Stede pulling him into a dance. Izzy turns to Calypso kissing her hand. They are singing the same song but the have their own people to dance with now. 

a) This would have given us a peek into their joint past, a happier time and laid a foundation to the relationship they are hinting at in the death scene with  Ed’s “You are my only family” because we haven’t actually seen that relationship between them in either of the seasons.

b) It would have given us a transition between the earlier drunk Izzy-avoidant Ed scene and the absolute tonal whiplash of the next day morning after scene by having an on screen truce/resolution.

c) It would have shows them as two people on diverse paths who are even now still tied by their past. They too are trying to rewrite what that past should mean now with hopefully better associations.

This means we lose La vie en Rose the, I’d make that sacrifice for some actual character growth. (We could still have had that performance over the end titles/longer post credit maybe?)

8. This would actually fit in with the message of turning poison into positivity for both Ed and the crew and Ed and Izzy.  It would also have had Ed make an emotional investment in that transition and not a monetary one so he has actually earned that comment.

9. It would have made Ned’s interruption much more painful because Ed is trying to make amends for something he did here and another consequence of his actions have come crashing in.

Cue Stede killing Ned but now it doubles down on the “You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here beside you helping you (however badly) too” message.

Overall…

The larger events of the episode don’t change. 

Just a few dialogues here and there and maybe trim the Ed giving money to the kids scene (Because what? Why? I dont care u gave them a knife. Those kids are getting murdered within a couple of days. Good job Ed!).

 So little changes. And yet there was so much potential for shifting the tone and not putting all their eggs into the one basket that they were planning to smash with a hammer.

[jujumin-translates]

[A3!] ★ Main Story | Act 14 - DREAM CATCHER | Episode 14 - Tales of Our Travels

*Door opens*

Izumi: We’re home.

Sakuya: Welcome home!

Kazunari: Yawnnn~, we’re home.

Chikage: Someone’s looking sleepy.

Citron: I am sure you are all wet-ragged~.

Kazunari: Jet-lagged~. We slept a little on the plane.

Misumi: We brought you lotsa souvenirs~.

Banri: Did ya collect triangle stuff in the U.S.?

Misumi: Yeah! I got a triangle flag, a triangle chocolate bar, triangle cookies, a triangle hat, and a triangle mirror.

Misumi: I also got a triangle bag and a triangle keychain and…

Itaru: The more he pulls out the more they all start blurring together.

Yuki: I got some cosmetics for you, Azu-nee and Azami. They’re overseas limited edition. I also found the one you asked for.

Azami: Thanks. This is the one I wanted. I could’ve imported it, but that would’ve been crazy expensive.

Azuma: Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.

Muku: I got lots of chocolate and sweets for you, Ju-chan.

Juza: I’ll be set on sweets for months now.

Kumon: And I got this really good ranch dressing I had over there. It’s not just for salads, you can put it on potatoes and pizza too.

Omi: Huh, you don’t see something like this in Japan too often. I’ll use it for dinner tonight right away.

Kazunari: Frooch-san, I got some alcohol too. I got this whiskey that they don’t sell in Japan.

Sakyo: I look forward to drinking it.

Kumon: I got a musical pamphlet and some limited edition merch too~.

Tsumugi: I’d love for you to show me the pamphlet later.

Tasuku: How was it?

Kumon: It was the best! I wish I could’ve seen more of them!

Guy: I see. I would like to go see one again as well.

Homare: Shall Winter Troupe take a training trip too?

Tsumugi: If we did that, I’m sure plenty of performances daily.

Tsuzuru: Oh, Summer Troupe’s back. Perfect timing. The script’s done.

Kumon: Really!? I wanna read it!

Tenma: Let us see it.

Tsuzuru: Huh? No, shouldn’t you take some time to rest fir--?

Kazunari: We’re crazy motivated right now because of all the inspiration we got over there!

Misumi: We wanna act right away!

Tsuzuru: I-Is that so? I guess I’ll pass out copies then.

Muku: Wahh, I can’t wait to read it!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Tsuzuru: While taking in all of your requests this time, I made sure to keep in mind the idea that everyone was playing a lead role, just like with the debut performance.

Tsuzuru: Also, last time the characters were separated based on their original stories, but this time they’re all together like one single team.

Tsuzuru: So I think it’ll bring out the colors of Summer Troupe even more than before.

Kazunari: Sounds like a hella fun adventure for everyone~!

Kumon: My role’s the Genie of the Ring! I’m so happy I get to be friends with everyone!

Tenma: We all need to get over our jet lag before rehearsals start for real, though.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Yuki drawing*

Yuki: …

Tenma: Drawing the rough drafts for your designs?

Yuki: Yeah. I need to get the ideas I got from our training trip out.

Tenma: Are our costumes gonna change from our debut performance like Spring Troupe’s did?

Yuki: RomiJuli’s costumes were changed like that because I had the passage of time and the change in the characters’ situations in mind while doing them, but I’m not so sure for this…

Yuki: They’re still a work in progress. I’ve still gotta talk to Azami too.

*Phone buzzes*

Tenma: --.

Yuki: If you’re gonna yap on the phone, do it outside. It’s distracting.

Tenma: Yeah, yeah.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Cat: Nya~.

Misumi: Yeah, the moon is perfectly round tonight~. It’s the perfect night for a walk.

Tenma: No, but, that’s not--.

Tenma: …Got it.

Misumi: ?

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