#nbd 2016

[the-good-ol-art-corner]

on my knees can you draw IB Oswald

As a fan of the InkBlots? Damn right I can!

Reblogs > Likes, Thank You!

[caruliaa]

actually yea iv already claimed youre on your own kid idc. iv packed bonded to it so intensely im shaking violently. its my song now. and i havent even heard it.

[yonpote]

ok heres how i split up the dnp eras (loosely based on dan's timeline in his interview w anthony)

2009-2011: the Sillies era :3 dan refered to it as being a dumb teen just posting cuz he was bored, which is like, thats what all of youtube culture was at this time. they met and like fell in love or whatever you know the lore dont you. phil moved from his parents home to his first apartment in manchester, and dan technically moved to uni but really he moved into phil's apartment to take advantage of his washing machine and ps1 and. yknow. other stuff. they officially moved in together in 2011 yippee hooray, the phanchester apartment holds a special place in my heart

2012-2013: THE SHIFT. they started getting Serious about youtube as a career, doing more stuff w the radio, superamazingproject started in 2011 but THE SHIFT is very easy to observe when you compare the first season of sap to the last season. ALSO. they were NOT A DOUBLE ACT AND NOT GAY 🙄. it could also be called the No Homo era lmao idk this is when a lot of shitty things were happening wrt leaked information, harassment of their families, and just generally becoming more in the spotlight especially while still in the closet being a horrible experience. but also, they moved to london and got cool opportunities with radio stuff and were starting to actually make a living on this shit.

2014-2016: Peak Dan And Phil™ Era. at the height of their popularity. they realized oh shit, we ARE a double act and not only does everyone enjoy us best as a double act, WE enjoy working together. tabinof, tatinof, dapgo, still doing the radio every month up until they start touring, 7 second challenge app, gamingmas, what the hell DIDNT they do during this time period (what they didnt do was uhh take care of themselves and not overwork and not blur their work and personal lives so much to the point where they felt like the whole apartment was a film set.)

2017-2018: Gay Softlaunch Era (aka post-baking aka glass closet) the baby steps toward authenticity, moved to the double apartment to separate work and life, ii's whole theme, dan talking abt depression, phil getting the quiff, both of them being gay as hell in every way other than saying it explicitly. important things of note: TRUTH BOMBS dropped, Interactive Introverts happened, still uploading gaming vids and honestly by the end you could feel their fatigue. and then they hiatused dapg.

2019-2022: ok these four years each feel like whole eras in themselves, but also theres an overarching theme. THE GAY ERA.

2019: im gonna futher split this year in half. first half- dad left to buy milk so other dad is taking care of us. rough six months for dannies im sure. important phil thing of note- he changed his film set from his "bedroom" to a fairly basic but cute shelf backdrop. honestly prob didnt wanna keep pretending that was his bedroom considering.... second half- DAN AND PHIL GAY. dan uploads his magnum opus. phil comes out via tweet. they go to japan and its really gay and it's The Trip to japan for them like yes they first went in 2015 and again in 2023, but Japhan 2.0 Was The One. what does this mean? proposal? anniversary? idk exactly but it was gay as hell dude and theyve talked about that trip with such love in their hearts.

2020: Phandemic (sorry that was bad) but also where tf is dan again? even with the big C-word happening, it was business as usual for phil, regular vids but make em gayer, caught a pigeon nbd, and end of the year introduces the Stereo app show Phil and Phriends where he's had chats with pj, louise, his brother, seth everman?????, and finally. dan reappears. they reveal that they bought and FULLY PLANNED a house together and are ready to move!

2021: they don't move house for another like six months! basically their house was (and is??) still being worked on AND they were in lockdown AND turns out at the end of last year, they were kicked from their Life apartment and were now living in the Work apartment so you can imagine what all of this can do to their psyche and lowkey they were getting sick of each other like it wasnt just bordering on phivorce it was nearly Phurder. Phidow. but to fill the time so that DOESNT happen, my favorite fucking thing ever happens: Lockdown Lads (and all the other names). the first taste of what a dnp podcast would sound like, with the added bonus of chaotic listener interaction. oh yeah also dan wrote a mental health guide book whatever (IM KIDDING I REALLY LIKE YWGTTN I WROTE LIKE TWO REVIEWS ON IT NOW) and they finally become Homosexual Homeowners. theres quite a bit more dnp content this year, dan being on phils channel a bit more, the phodcasts, dan's gay and not proud special.... oh yeah and hometown showdown i guess AND TEXT VIDEO 2!!! my favorite and my namesake!!!!!!!

2022: Prophecy Year..... but they didnt get married. dan returns with another longass video to say: hey i hate being a youtuber and also youtube majorly fucked me over. but also fuck that im gonna do a weird talk show and ALSO GO ON TOUR WITH THIS APOCALYPSE THEME! phil actually... slows down this year. more dan uploads than phil somehow??? but also Dan Is Leaving me is posted and i go completely insane and become the deranged individual you see today. WHICH FINALLY LEADS US TOOOOOO

2023-present: The Unhinged Era. dan's tour was a huge Emotional success for him but uh not without its hiccups due to management and all that and i think he and phil finally realize. Fuck It Who Cares. dan flies back to england FROM AUSTRALIA to make sure he can be with his future ex-husband on his birthday. CAKE HEART EMOJI. YELLOW PLAID SHACKET. they go on a gamer date and post a picture of playing footsies in a cab. THE PHUDE HAPPENS. they go to japan again and while this one will never be The One it was still a well earned holiday this time with bryony! and they took a bunch of very cute film camera pictures.... THIS IS ALL JUST THE FIRST HALF OF 2023 BTW. in phil news, he talks about going to therapy and figuring out how to manage his anxiety!!!! he changes his hair again!! he hires an editor, phan is his otp, he teases about the gaming channel a couple of times but so many of us already dropped any hope of that returning- OH WAIT WHAT THE FUCK?!!!? HUH!??!? they returned, and more chaotic than ever before. the gayness upped to the max, the Weirdness on full speed, the Horniness at Very Scary Levels Oh God Stop Talking About Dogging, phil can swear uncensored now???? and this energy has continued into today...

[batbabydamian]

Hey, I started reading Robin son of Batman because of your recommendation (I literally have a print of your post on my phone to not forget lol). Honestly? One of the best things I ever read!!!

Thank you for opening my eyes! Damian has been one of my favorite characters for over a year, but I didn't read/watch much of him because of school, life (and probably an executive dysfunction in the mix).

Maya is incredible. I loved her.

I haven't finished all the issues yet, but do you have any other recommendations?

WAH this makes me so happy, i'm glad you still gave it a shot even with how busy life is!! ;v;

i’d love to give reccs, and i’ll try to go a beginner friendly route! tbh you can pick up whatever here, but since you've read R:SOB i’d immediately follow up with Batman and Robin (2011) #1-8! this first arc is what’s referred to in Maya’s introduction, and it's just. so good.

Main Books

Batman and Robin (2009)

Dick as Batman with Damian as his Robin!

#20-22 Tree of Blood: Dark Knight vs White Knight arc is done by Tomasi and Gleason, the team for the next Batman and Robin series

*Batman and Robin (2011)

Bruce and Damian figuring out their relationship as both Batman & Robin and father & son

imo you can enjoy the ride and read straight through this but i’ll add context to avoid as much confusion as possible since there’s the occasional tie-in or offscreen events, like Damian’s death nbd

Batman Incorporated (2012) #1-10

events leading to Damian's death - affects Batman and Robin (2011) from issue #18

kind of a tough read especially with how Talia's written, but a lot of iconic bits like Batcow, Damian's vegetarian declaration, Alfred the cat, "We Were the Best, Richard."

Robin (2021)

another self-discovery adventure, particularly after Alfred’s death and a fallout with Bruce (and questionable writing choices from his last Teen Titans run)

Batman and Robin (2023)

currently ongoing! after a number of events, Bruce and Damian are back as a duo

Damian Dynamics!

Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) #7, 10-12

arc where Damian meets one of his first Gotham friends, Colin Wilkes

Batgirl (2009) #5-7, #17

Steph and Damian dynamic! "the bad cop, worse cop" dysfunctional duo

Red Robin (2009) #13-14

early Tim and Damian dynamic that of course includes fighting haha. funny enough, accidentally my first intro to Damian LOL

Teen Titans (2003) #89-92

Dick!Batman has Damian join the Teen Titans. Start of Damian and Rose Wilson dynamic that’s extended in Robin (2021)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Damian meets Cass and has a brief team up

Gotham Academy (2015) #7

Damian meets Maps Mizoguchi! they have a few other meetings, but outside of that the series itself is a great read!

Robin War Event (2015)

Robin War (2015) #1, Grayson (2014) #15, Detective Comics (2011) #47, We Are Robin (2015) #7, Robin: Son of Batman (2015) #7, Robin War (2015) #2

Duke and Damian dynamic! not exactly beginner friendly but these are the main issues in order for the event! you can also read the TPB version for everything including Tie-Ins

Nightwing (2016) #16-20, #42, #43

#16-20 Nightwing and Robin arc!

#42 Dick on a mission to save Damian! the one appearance of "Wiggles" the dragon

#43 Dick, Roy, and Damian team-up

New Talent Showcase 2018 "Catwoman: Pedigree"

Selina, Damian, and Alfred the cat

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Robin vs. Ra's Al Ghul (2018)

Selina, Damian, and Cheese Viking - Damian's fav game shown in Nightwing: Rebirth (2016)

Monkey Prince (2022) #1-4

Marcus Sun Shugel-Shen's main comic, but Damian features as a fun dynamic here before they're in more serious circumstances in Batman VS Robin (2022)/Lazarus Planet event

Superman (2016) #10 - 11

the beginning of the Super Sons! featuring Maya!

Super Sons (2017)

solitary arcs but there’s a few event tie-in issues later

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018)

literally more Super Sons adventures lol galactic shenanigans yeehaw

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 

Super Sons time shenanigans feat. the Justice League

Robin 80th Anniversary (2020)

"Boy Wonders" - brief Damian feature as Tim considers his next step in life

"My Best Friend" - Jon's thoughts on Damian and their dynamic

"Bat and Mouse" - refers to Damian's unfortunate Teen Titans (2016) run at the time of release which follows up with Teen Titans Annual #2 where Damian briefly gives up Robin

Extra Comics!

Superman/Batman (2003) #77

Kara and Damian in a Halloween team-up! also the appearance of "Li'l Matches" lol

DCU Halloween Special '09 "Cavity Search"

Damian out on a solo mission for Halloween night. Immediately after is Tim's Red Robin story "Then and Now: Our Father's Sins" which is more somber in contrast but also a good read!

DCU Halloween Special 2010 "Robin the Vampire Slayer"

a Dick!Batman and Robin story featuring the vampire Andrew Bennett

Cursed Comics Cavalcade (2018) "The Devil You Know"

Halloween themed comic with a sweet short story of Damian alongside Solomon Grundy

DC's Terrors Through Time (2022)

"Trick or Treat" a Super Sons Halloween story

"The Haunting of Wayne Manor" Damian and Deadman story - in the end, Boston kinda refers to Nezha's possession of Damian in Batman VS Robin (2022) which was happening at the time of this release

Batman: Li'l Gotham (2013)

lighthearted series that instantly makes me smile with the silliness and Dustin Nguyen’s art i love this dearly

Secret Origins (2014) #4 "A Boy's Life"

a retelling of Damian's origin story

Detective Comics (2016) #1001-1005

Batman and Robin vs the Arkham Knight (unrelated to the game)

Truth & Justice (2021) #6/#16 - 18 Digital First version

cute story of Damian’s birthday! Juni Ba’s art is so fun!!

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) “Special Delivery”

short story about Damian! and poisoned pizzas. completely forgot the artist Sami Basri drew Rebirth Damian here before catboy Damian lol Cass’s story “Sounds” is also cute! Marcus makes his first appearance in "The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes"

DC VS Vampires (2021)

Damian makes appearances throughout this elseworlds book, but the one-shot DC VS Vampires: Hunters (2022) is vampire Damian-centric!

Batman: Black and White (2021) #5

“Father & Son Outing” short story written and drawn by Jorge Jimenez!

Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #20-23

#20 “My Son” Talia and Bruce focus

#20 - 23 “The Murder Club” 4 Parts

Tiny Titans (2008) #33, #39, #45, #47

a few appearances but SO CUTE, LOOK AT HIM

*Batman and Robin (2011) reading guide

i'm mostly trying to avoid the "what did i just walk in on?" kinda feeling when i first started reading comics LOL i'll list the comics where events take place, but you don't necessarily have to read them to go through this book since things are usually explained as quickly as possible in the first page or so

#0 Someday Never Comes

Talia and baby Damian before he grows up to meet Bruce

#1-8 Born to Kill

just an incredibly solid arc for Bruce and Damian!

#9 Court of Owls Tie-In Issue

Damian VS a Court of Owls Talon. While Bruce is occupied with a home invasion of Talons, Alfred makes a call for allies to protect targeted Gotham public figures from Talons. During Batman (2011) #1-11

#10-12 Terminus

Damian challenges the previous Robins sans Steph

Batman Incorporated (2012) is occurring at this time where Talia has placed a bounty on Damian and there's small mentions of that

#13-14 Eclipsed/Devoured

mostly solitary arc! end of it leads into the Death of the Family event

#15-16 Death of the Family Tie-In Issues

Damian and Joker face-off... Alfred's been kidnapped by the Joker, and Damian goes looking for him. During Batman (2011) #13-17

#17 Life is but a Dream - Death of the Family Epilogue

a sort of subconscious check-in through the dreams of Damian, Alfred, and Bruce. Nightwing (2011) #17 features Damian encouraging Dick after Death of the Family events

#18 Undone "Requiem"

Bruce dealing with Damian's death from Batman Incorporated #8

other reactions to Damian's death: Dick in Nightwing (2011) #18, Tim in Teen Titans (2011) #18

#19-23 Denial, Rage, The Bargain, Despair, Acceptance

Bruce through the stages of grief with some batfam appearances in each. also introduces Carrie Kelley into continuity as Damian's acting tutor.

Batman (2011) #19-20 also addresses Bruce's loss

#23.1-23.4

these could be skipped - villain stories, also related to Forever Evil event.

#24-28 The Big Burn

optional Batman and Two-Face/Harvey Dent arc, #23.1 is part of this story!

Damian's resurrection and return

#29-32 The Hunt for Robin

Ras took Talia and Damian's bodies from their graves, and Bruce goes after him.

-> Robin Rises: Omega

continues events from #32. if you don't want to jump to this, basically, Glorious Godfrey and a bunch of parademons from Apokolips are here for a chaos shard which Ra's put in Damian's sarcophagus. at some point, Bruce gets a hold of the shard where he sees a vision that leads him to believe Damian can be resurrected. Godfrey ends up taking the shard, along with Damian's body since it was emitting the same energy.

#33-37 Robin Rises

Bruce hellbent on retrieving Damian from Apokolips and reviving him

-> Robin Rises: Alpha

necessary to read and continues events from #37! Damian's back with a bang lol

#38-40 Superpower

Damian adjusting to having superpowers and being alive again

Annual #1 2013 Batman Impossible

sweet (and funny) one-shot of Damian sending Bruce on a meaningful scavenger hunt around the world while Damian gets to be the cutest Batman for a bit

Annual #2 2014 Batman and Robin: Week One

one-shot takes place during Damian's absence. after Bruce and Alfred find a mystery gift left for Dick, Dick recounts a story he had told Damian from his Robin days.

Annual #3 2015 Moonshot

one-shot Batman and Robin adventure on the moon!

...and of course after Batman and Robin (2011), Damian's story continues in his first solo Robin: Son of Batman (2015)!

[rosekasa]

25!

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

genuinely, hearing people aggressively complain about how much they DESPISED season 5 and how ladynoir is DEAD and adrienette are HORRIBLE TERRIBLE etc etc. like yeah even i felt a bit disappointed by s5 and i still complain to my best friend about how much i miss ladynoir but at the end of the day. is it that serious.

when i say im sick of hearing it it's more that im sick of people coming to talk to ME about it ajeked which im lucky doesnt happen anymore bc i just stopped spending time w people like that. i once was on a vc with some friends and was streaming myself drawing adrienette and they all went on a 20 minute tirade about how AWFUL they were and i was just like oh my god. what is happening right now. do you even like the show.

maybe im just very used to being in fandoms where you get fed SCRAPS from canon. like. imagine being a yoosung stan in 2016 and fighting for your life. imagine being a MIKAYUU stan in 2018. a MIKAYUUNOA stan. to me i feel like the whole point of fandom is to just take canon and roll with it. like i feel like the whole point of creating fan work is that you are in some way or another at least a LITTLE BIT frustrated by canon (why dont my blorbos kiss. i will make them kiss) but it's nbd because that's? normal?

[rainbowdaisy13]

NBD this tweet is from

2016

[bisluthq]

https://www.tumblr.com/bisluthq/755362343191461888/but-idk-travis-just-gives-me-the-vibe-of-someone?source=share

That's not what I meant. OP was saying that Travis is emotionally mature and if she wrote the Lover line, he would do this and that and that. I was trying to say that I think when things were good and he was very much a simp for her Joe also did the same stuff. This due to things Taylor said and sang. I don't agree with you that he never did anything or tried to change. I think in the beginning he tried to make her comfortable and attend to her needs as much as he could. She had high defenses and he tore them down, took her under his wing etc. I also think Taylor was extra cautious when it comes to trusting people.

I also believe that maybe with time he wasn't as patient anymore or keen to do what she wanted him to do. For whatever reason. And it's hard to talk about this when we don't know what exactly bothered her in his behaviour (She never outright told us he was maybe very physical or a hugger with women or that he needed more boundaries or something like that), what he did in response or what she wanted out of him.

Do you really think she told him a lot of times she felt jealous and insecure and he said let it go, you're being silly and nothing else. And she was ok with that for years? Because I don't. Like I said I think where things were good, he was like whatever what do you want to me do then and did it. And when things weren't so good he was like ok Taylor I am not doing that. We have been together for years, I trust you and I hope you can do the same for me because otherwise this doesn't work

mmmm idk because the jealousy theme is on EVERY album about Joe. Whatever he did, it didn’t help or do much. As you say, we don’t know what precisely he was doing that was bothering her - whether it’s just very close friendships (we know he’s got a lot of close female friends), whether he gets physically comfy with women (I also think that’s likely because we’ve seen him very physically comfy with all his friends), but whatever was bothering her didn’t meaningfully get fixed in the six and a half years. He clearly kept telling her it’s nbd and she kept trying to believe him but given that line in SLL like… no it’s something that bothered her from 2016 all the way through to 2023 tbh? And maybe it was just a fundamental incompatibility idk. Like again to relate it to myself, I NEVER worried about my ex cheating and she never worried about me cheating (even when we broke up and I did see someone else like she told me she doesn’t want to know about it or care that much). I *do* worry about my current partner and he worries about me. We’re making a lot of changes to try and like… demonstrate that we are making meaningful changes idk?

[terriblygrimm]

loled to myself this morning at how everyone on earth makes priscilla out to be a vicious heartless golddigger and decided to do 1 second of research into the matter to conclude that as expected, the internet is hysterical and off base. to me, she seems like she’s just out there trying to do her best and handle her enormous life.

disclosure: i did this for my own knowledge because i was curious. i’m not out here trying to engage trolls or tell anyone what to think.

read that she was really hesitant abt priscilla but ultimately thought coppola did enough research and made it “spot on”. she cried when she saw the film. she elaborated by saying that when you live with someone so famous during a crucial part of their life you go through many ups and downs and experience their struggles and fears alongside them. also that all of her/their privacy is hard to give up and hard to share so she doesn’t want to give out too much because she wants some of it for herself - that’s theirs and theirs alone. which, ultimately leads someone with common sense to believe (who didn’t already assume) that the elvis & me novel (and priscilla) are just the most dramatic snippets of their relationship (without lots of context).

she also went on to say that she vowed not to remarry as long as elvis was alive because she didn’t think he could handle it - and not only did she not, but she also kept that promise long after his death. saying she never wanted to remarry after him, that no one “could ever match him”.

i also knew next to nothing about lisa marie and the drama surrounding the estate and/or their relationship - but again, one quick search and applying my years of doing estate work as a paralegal makes it clear that priscilla was challenging the validity of a purported amendment made in 2016 which removed her (and barry siegal) as co-trustees (and instituted lisa’s children instead) to the graceland trust. which fine, lisa probably did want that, but it was stated that in the amendment, lisa’s signature was not her “usual signature”, her name was misspelled, and the amendment was never given to priscilla during lisa’s lifetime which was an expressed term of the trust. it was also never witnessed or notarized. so, given that, questioning its legitimacy is an entirely expected thing to do. it’s hardly insidious 😂. especially during such an emotionally difficult time. a contract is a contract. even if lisa did want to change the doc without priscilla knowing, she was legally required to give it to her and she didn’t. also, a settlement of 1 mil plus a graceland burial is hardly “gouging” of her daughter/granddaughter’s money. graceland is worth what? 718 million? and ppl complain about priscilla getting some money after keeping elvis’ legacy alive and graceland relevant for the past 50 yrs? lordy. not only that but the attorney for riley even stated at the proceeding’s conclusion that everyone is unified and happy and ready to move forward.

but funny how the narrative of “evil priscilla sues her granddaughter” became so popular. this instance is the most uneventful, run of the mill thing lol. obviously we don’t know the absolute truth or facts of the situation (and i did not look up the proceedings), but if a document isn’t witnessed and notarized it’s always ground for suspicion. also, if someone’s signature isn’t their usual signature, it arises the question of coercion or signing not in your right mind. so, like i said, entirely expected and nbd.

priscilla is also human and fallible, so i’m sure she’s made mistakes, bad business dealings or even acted recklessly or spitefully over the course of her lifetime, but she continually speaks to how much she loved/loves elvis, lisa and the family legacy. she clearly still burns a candle for elvis and does her best to keep things moving forward and alive and relevant. i don’t blame her for wanting to make sure things are secure and in order as she gets older.

i also know practically nothing about lisa, but it seems like she was troubled (?) to some extent (she reminds me of britney spears a little in that way), so i’m sure some of priscilla’s “controlling and hovering” over her life was misconstrued protectiveness and burden-bearing. i’m sure mistakes were made, but i highly doubt she was the manipulative vulture ppl make her out to be. (it’s like the britney situation - everyone advocated for her “freedom” when in reality she’s clearly ill and her state rn is pretty questionable imo).

i also don’t blame priscilla for not having issue with priscilla being made. it’s controversial but it’s 2023 and she probably figured it was timely and likely to get good reception. she’s surely had an incredibly difficult life, and wanting some of her truth (the ugly truth) to also be known and added to the legacy must be validating. because elvis was a flawed person, a product of his time, and likely very cruel at times.

anyway those are my two cents and i think the internet is a plague. not looking to engage stans or fact police, just wanted to get my thoughts out there. not tagging.

[starlit-dreaming]

me, thinking rationally: you dont need anymore wips and you still have chapters you wanna finish--

my brain, screeching: WRITE FICS FOR THE SHIPS THAT HARDLY HAVE CONTENT BE THE BITCH ASS CHANGE YOU WANNA BEEEE

me: bUT I DONT HAVE TIME

y'all,,,,, i'm SCREAMING here i wasn't even actively thinking about it but wham!!!! now i GOTTA write fics for it because i just looked at the ship tag on ao3, and its a pretty small ship as it is, buT LITERALLY MORE THAN HALF IS JUST LOVE TRIANGLES WITH A DIFFERENT SHIP AS END GAME, MULTISHIP ONESHOTS, SOME SMUT CONTENT

like,,,,, ok whatever aged up smut is fine. multiship oneshots is great. its fine that a ship you want isnt endgame. ok. nbd.

but when the ship tag literally 41/4,337 (sub-fandom) fics, or 41/64,445 (fandom) fics i'm gonna cry

these are fics from 2016, and i've already read and bookmarked the old ones, and their ship tag on tumblr has some old content that i've already liked (i took a glance through the tag a few minutes ago, and literally stuff i've seen years ago)

if nobody's gonna do it theN I WILL I'LL WRITE THE GODDAMN ONESHOTS WHENEVER I CAN SOBS

if anyone can give me fic ideas i'll (platonically) love you forever

[dajo42]

just distributing a bunch of pokeball pattern vivillon from like 2016 on surprise trade because i had a whole box full nbd

[mrs-mikko-rantanen]

So I'm pretty sure my primary computer has a virus. Nbd. Ive got my old one. That I haven't used since 2016. Thats password protected. That I cant remember the password to.

[wroteonedad]

Songs for Early Autumn

Look, LOOK, I know that it is literally still August, but the weather this summer has been so bad that I am ready for all the leaves to fall off the trees and to go to a pumpkin patch again. I am writing this as a storm starts and the rain falls heavily over the garden beneath the balcony. The thunder begins to rage louder and that starts to scare me because I hate hearing loud noises that I am waiting for. I put my noise cancelling headphones on to drown out the noise. At first, I started to listen to a Podcast. It was Emma Chamberlain's Anything Goes series where she's discussing the concept of living in Los Angeles. The thing is I hear all the time about how good Podcasts are when you need background noise while you focus on something else, but I found it unbearable to listen to. It made my brain fog up, as if hearing someone else speak meant I needed to focus all my attention on what they're talking about, even if they are essentially saying nothing. So I swapped back to listening to music and I already feel so much clearer ??? I feel like I want to listen to Podcasts if only they weren't so distracting for me.

Anyway kinda back to my point. This selection of songs that I wanted to feature is very much directed for the girlies who watch Gilmore Girls (or maybe not I have actually never watched the show), adore the aesthetic of the Autumn and perhaps enjoy a pumpkin spice latte. I promise this list will not simply contain Sweater Weather by The Nbd; but let me just create a visual representation for the type of vibe I'm trying to go for here.

I took all these pictures from Pinterest btw, even made a whole new account just so I didn't have to Google search stuff like 'autumn aesthetic we heart it'

Without any further ado, here are the songs:

Reaper - AS YOU SOW (2018)* The Cardigans - My Favourite Game (1998) Francis Lai - Un Homme Et Une Femme (1966) Miley Cyrus x Stevie Nicks - Edge of Midnight (2020) Kate Bush - The Wedding List (1980) MOTHXR - Touch (2016) Mareux - The Perfect Girl (2021) Rendez Vous - Sentimental Animal (2018) High Sunn - Ramen Waitress (2017) Nicolas Jaar - No One Is Looking At U (2015) Shygirl x Bjork - Woe (I See It From Your Side) (2023) Still Corners - Midnight Drive (2013) Jeff Buckley - So Real (1994) Eleven Pond - Watching Trees Bedroom Mix (2012) Gang Of Youths - What Do I Do If The Fire Goes Out? (2017) Weyes Blood - Andromeda (2019) Boa - Twilight (2001) Twin Peaks - Making Breakfast (2014) BLOXX - Novocain (2016) Anika - He Hit Me (2010) Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do? (2006) King Krule - Dum Surfer (2017) Wolf Alice - Sadboy (2017) Moses Gunn Collective - Dream Girls (2016) Le Tigre - Phanta (1999) Chargaux x Soft Glas - Lullaby (2014)* BLAISE MOORE - Yyz (2016) Crystal Castles - Year of Silence (2010)

*A couple of these songs mentioned in the list are no longer available on streaming platforms and upon further search, it seems the two artists whose music is not online anymore is due to removal of all of their music. However, I have found some Soundcloud links to the tracks and they are also still available on YouTube.

Happy listening to my playlist for the season and hopefully I will remember to do things like this more frequently.

[thepalmofyourfreezinghand]

Well tbf she had two serious relationships that lasted almost 7 and 2 years respectively followed by 2 rebounds. I dint think that is way too much or concerning. The 2016 mess was a different beast and even this break up is her most life changing break up. She lost so manu things a future together, plans,a whole other life,a huge part of her. Unfortunately she is a bit rogue rn and acting out which i expect to continue because this one hurts.

Yeah, that’s why I said that I don’t know her! If she were my friend I’d be concerned and at least talk to her. But global superstar Taylor Swift knows more about herself than little old me haha. It’s also about perspectives: I PERSONALLY would find it a bit concerning, but somebody else who has different perspectives and a different way of living life than I do (Taylor’s included) might be like nbd.

[kiwidotcom]

yall im about to expose myself so bad right now but i cannot believe what just happened to me happened. 

ok backstory. i got completely burnt out in 2020. like had to quit my jobs and stay at the hospital. its been really really hard to get back to work since.

 but then i started working at this place called mission possible. its a work placement non profit that helps people get back into the work force. its actually amazing and im so grateful for it. its needle and litter pick up, plaza washing, power washing, landscaping etc. i just tell ppl landscaping because as grateful as i am im also embarrassed as fucking hell. And i feel guilty as hell because its not like i think anyone in the program should be embarrassed!!!! i swear!! its just, hard when no one i know is .. failing at life... quite like me. and i love mp so much, but it kinda sheds light on that.. so its hard. I’m always thinking someone i know might see me. but surprisingly only one person i know ever has and ive worked there over a year. and it was nbd

and additional thing im anxious about is that people think im doing community service. strangers have asked me multiple times. sometimes its fun because im always like ‘ya i robbed 100 banks’ . but still. 

ok backstory part 2/2 i dated a guy in 2016. he was my first everything. so kind of a big ass deal. but its not like i harboured feelings. i broke up with him yadda yadda. hes had me blocked since 2018. not because anything happened. but last summer he unblocked me out of no where and hit me up to catch up, we made plans but they fell through. and we hadnt talked since. 

Guess who i saw while working today. 

When we talked last summer he mentioned he lived in that area. him and his girlfriend were just having breakfast. AND oh my god so (lol) i looked worse today than average because i was with someone last night/ this morning so i looked messier. and they have the same fucking name lmao. very different as people but they have the same name. anyway. i acted a DAMN FOOL and was ridiculous. it was painful. 

i messaged him that we need to catch up when im not wearing the high vis/ steel toe ensemble. i require vindication. 

.

he asks me if im doing community service. he makes a joke but he genuinely asks. 

i reply with a joke and say no. he then says “we both assumed it was community service"

Fucking y'all

:|

so if you want to feel better. i ran into my ex and after i left, him and his girlfriend discussed how im likely doing community service. 

someone end me pls

[softgrungeprophet]

assigning the coffee bean gang (in my au where they start college in 2005) actual phones instead of vaguely describing random phones for 2004-2006 stuff

(also laptops) (unnecessarily in-depth)

considering i'm on 2007 now in terms of plot i prob should have done 2007 instead but peter's going to be using his (prepaid/for emergencies) Nokia until the heat death of the universe probably (or at least until it can no longer connect to networks) (unless... he IS getting a BS in engineering...) (no jk i'm sure the fantastic four will hook him up when they give him a suit in 2016) so that's really nbd.

peter's Nokia is obviously an affordable phone designed to be no-frills, durable, and also designed for use with prepaid cards apparently (at least according to wikipedia) so i figured that would fit. it's not the notoriously indestructible 3310 but it's close enough considering most of their phones, including this one, have a reputation for durability, so, also important for a man like peter lol

i picked flash's cause it looked cute and seemed affordable... Like yeah I can see a jocky little closeted queer in 2004 getting that... I just think it looks nice and i can see him using it for a bit. also cause i wanted him to have a flip phone.

MJ's is FLASHY and when i saw it i was like she HAS to have this—the cover is customizable too so it's like. okay. girl. yes. it seems like it comes in other colors, though it was unclear to me which were available in the US, but the white and blue seems like the most common/popular color option and also the other options were all either black/navy/boring or else... blue and red... and as funny as it would be to give MJ a spider-man colored phone i didn't want to do that XD though the white and blue gives me huge johnny storm/fantastic four vibes.

i didn't mean to give all the poor kids Nokias but it turns out that there were not a whole lot of companies making cellphones in the mid 2000s and nokia has a lot of entry-level/affordable phones lol

harry gets the high end sony phone: a fancy camera phone (k700) that he then replaces with that nifty-looking sony walkman swivel phone in the beginning of 2006. plus the white and orange color scheme suits him imo and he seems like he (and mj) would be the most hip to music.

i also didn't intend to give gwen and harry both the same brand of phone but when i saw the z500a i was like... that's JUST "what if gwen was turned into a phone" lmao like the round shapes... the blue color... there she is. and it seems reasonably priced but not cheapo which seems about right for gwen.

i also decided that in the end of 2005 Norman is either gifted (you know, like corporate networking gifts between CEOs) or buys himself a Samsung, Bang & Olufsen Serene phone, which is a very strange, square, business-oriented fashion phone indeed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serene_(phone)

also it's $1275 which. For a regular clamshell camera phone... IS insane. But it is form over function and he doesn't exactly use it for texting or photos. It's only for calls. Also it's European.

idk if it was ever available in the states but he's norman osborn, he can do whatever the fuck he wants

As far as computers, BOY it was HARD to figure out which laptops were available at what price points in the mid 2000s cause basically everything prior to 2006 on the wayback machine was just not archived all the way or redirected to errors 💀 i spent way too long trying to find a good laptop for flash than is reasonable for something that gets mentioned only every once in a while.

Peter doesn't have a laptop yet, I'm still figuring out when I want him to get one. He's taking some programming classes, but his focus is on materials science and shit like thermodynamics so honestly I think he can scrape by using the school computers and computer labs. I was thinking possibly 2010, especially since he actually has a job then (well, it's part time, but it's more stable than the Bugle stuff on its own) Peter's only source of money from 2005-2009 is like... student loans and Bugle freelance so I'm like, eh.

but for Flash I decided he would have an Acer Aspire, NOT because I have one, because I fucking hate this thing, but because it was the cheapest one I could find scouring the wayback machine mostly fruitlessly. Like. I THINK it's a <$700 laptop. but also. I'm really not sure.

so Flash's dad gets him a 15" Acer Aspire 3000 for his birthday a few months before the gang starts college, so that's the computer Peter is using half of freshman year since Flash lets him borrow it. It's ugly but that's not the point. My main goal for Flash's laptop was "cheap as fuck" cause it may be a birthday present but there's no way his dad paid out the ass for a laptop for his idiot son

Gwen gets a 12" Apple iBook G4 (late 2004). So it's just like. white. The compact size and stuff seems like it would suit her, though the internet says the ibooks had a lot of... problems. I considered giving her a more sciencey laptop but this was a christmas present she got in senior year of high school and her original plan IS a nursing degree so I figure she would just use whatever mid-to-high end computer and she just seems like an apple girlie to me

this was, by the way, apparently Apple's "budget" laptop. But the thing about budget laptops in 2005 was that apparently they were all still $1000. lmao, sorry, "$999."

anyway

Harry gets something EXPENSIVE. And I know what you're thinking—he's a macbook boy right? Well, no, because those didn't exist in 2005. And he's got this GOAL right? He wants to impress his dad, he wants to be Smart like Gwen and Peter, he wants to be the STEM Student with a STEM Student Computer.

So Harry gets a 14" IBM ThinkPad T43.

Which also happened to cost over $2000.

I know that's like, well shouldn't PETER, the ENGINEERING student have that but Peter is poor. Peter is not buying a $2000+ business laptop with a *checks notes* built-in fingerprint reader.

Later on after macbooks are invented (in 2006) and harry is out of college (in 2009) he's definitely going to be the type of person who owns a macbook, and when they introduce rose gold (in 2016) you know he'll be all over that. the ThinkPad is just not very stylish or his speed at all. he's an artist at heart being pushed into a STEM box.

Also at home, he DOES have an iMac. Specifically a PowerMac G5.

Why did I pick that one? Simple: it was the most expensive one i could see on apple's website in the wayback machine.

god apple keyboards are so fucking tiny.

MJ also doesn't have a laptop for similar reasons as Peter (they're fucking expensive and she's poor) but I'm considering giving her one of those compact mini computers in 2006, like, oh you have two phones? No it's actually a PSP—sorry I mean a pocket computer based on PSP technology lmao

talkin about the Sony Mylo COM-1:

LOOK AT IT. It's too groovy not to give her.

also it's cheaper than a laptop by at LEAST $400, and doesn't need a phone plan or anything so it seems like it would be of use to her for instant messaging and stuff. she still has a phone though. she just also has a not-phone-technically-computer that looks exactly like a phone. actually idk if this thing can send calls... did they have wifi calling in 2006? i think so... well either way.

ah, clearly time well spent today.

still don't know when or what kind of computer peter gets. i think i'll just have him build a PC or something later on, when he's in grad school, or maybe a netbook

update: harry is going to buy a macbook air in 2008 and give his thinkpad to peter who will use it until it breaks (and (free?) upgrade it to windows 7 but still be using office 2003 in 2010, as well as having a linux stick cause he's that kind of nerd, and probably openoffice.org) -

BUT I'm still having him build a compact PC in 2010 with hobie's help that should cost <$400 and will run Ubuntu (because he's THAT kind of fucking nerd) (and because Ubuntu is free, otherwise this would not be a <$400 pc) that he mostly uses for homework in his masters program, watching porn—i mean movies, and light stuff, though possibly also may have some kind of CAD software as well... cannot run games but peter isn't a gamer anyway. he's not even much of a programmer or 3d modeler tbh (though he DOES do these things intermittently for spidey stuff)... but being able to do homework at home instead of the library has its upsides (plus he can still use the laptop harry gave him when he's out of the house so he doesn't need to rely on library or computer lab for word processing etc.)

(also he does analog film photography but being able to edit scans of his photos at home is a nice luxury)

[pazrexton88]

Indian-Canadian Ram Tumuluri’s company accused of corrupting Malta deputy premier’s official

Leaked documents show that a company linked to Sri Ram Tumuluri, the CEO of UK-based Causis Group, made several undeclared payments to a senior Maltese official.

A controversial Indian-Canadian businessman whose company has recently signed an Rs2,800-crore deal to supply e-buses to Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) is facing fresh allegations of corruption – involving Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne’s office.

Leaked documents show that a company linked to Sri Ram Tumuluri, the CEO of UK-based Causis Group, made several undeclared payments to a senior Maltese official. The payments are linked to a deal in 2015 when Sri Ram Tumuluri’s firm, Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH), won a privatization tender to manage three hospitals in Malta, despite having no relevant experience. The hospitals are St. Luke’s, Karin Grech, and Gozo.

The controversial takeover of Malta’s state hospitals has now taken an extraordinary further twist, with leaked banked transfers showing a series of suspicious payments to the chief political advisor of Malta’s health minister Chris Fearne.

Carmen Ciantar received a total of €443,500 Euros from Gozo International Medicare Ltd – part of the VGH group – in less than four months.

The money came from the firm’s account at the Dubai-headquartered Emirates NBD Bank. It then transferred a €750,000 “loan repayment” into an account at Bordier & Cie Geneva, a Swiss private bank, registered to a Panamanian entity, Glotal Finance Inc., which also referenced Ciantar.

The first of the initial payments, described as travel expenses reimbursements by Ciantar, came six weeks before VGH was granted a 30-year concession to run St. Luke’s, Karin Grech, and Gozo hospitals.

At the time of the transfers, Gozo International Medicare was one of several offshore companies at the heart of the complex secretive ownership structure of VGH. Transaction reference numbers provided in the leaked banking tranche indicate there were at least 15 invoices submitted to Gozo International Medicare by Ciantar – dating between October 6, 2015, and February 25, 2016.

Carmen Ciantar is listed on LinkedIn as CEO of Foundation for Medical Services, a government entity that manages public healthcare across Malta. In a statement on its official website, Ciantar states that the foundation has a “zero tolerance approach towards any form of bribery.” She is also his chief of staff at the health ministry but that role is unpaid.

She was first put on the public payroll as CEO of utility firm ARMS Ltd in 2013 by Fearne’s disgraced predecessor Konrad Mizzi.

Ciantar is one of Malta’s highest-paid officials after she was given a €163,000 Euros a year package by Fearne himself – in a process which the country’s auditor general described as “irregular.” In July 2017 it was revealed that Ciantar had been seen in the foundation’s offices since the previous May because she had been working full-time on Fearne’s election campaigns.

Fearne has repeatedly insisted he had nothing to do with the talks which led to Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) taking over the running of the state hospitals. Fearne, who is now deputy prime minister, was parliamentary secretary of state for health in Mizzi’s ministry when VGH was granted the much-criticized 30-year concession on 30 November 2015.

A damning Maltese National Audit Office (NAO) report into the scandal supported Fearne’s version of events, revealing that neither the health secretariat nor the finance ministry was involved in the discussions.

In a subsequent Facebook post, Fearne said he was “absolutely not involved” in any of the reported pre-tender talks mentioned by the Auditor General.

“I did not even know about the existence of the Memorandum of Understanding,” Fearne added. The MoU was an agreement signed between the government of Malta and the shadowy businessmen behind Vitals Global Healthcare.

Konrad Mizzi, Fearne’s predecessor as health secretary, gave a different version of events. Mizzi, now an independent MP, claimed an evaluation committee had presented a report on the project to the cabinet, where ministers had given it the thumbs up.

“In fact, the cabinet was involved in every stage of the process and approved every contract that was signed,” he said.

There is no evidence to show that Fearne knew of the payments to his chief canvasser, but the sheer scale of the payments is certain to prompt calls for further investigation by opposition politicians.

In February this year, a Maltese judge ordered that the three hospitals be returned to public control, prompting independent MP Arnold Cassola to call for Mizzi and Malta’s former prime minister Joseph Muscat to be arraigned.

Lawyers acting for Sri Ram Tumuluri, former chief executive officer of Vitals Healthcare, have threatened legal action against The Shift, a Malta-based independent online news platform, for describing him as an “international scammer.”

“Tumuluri has been declared an international scammer and the main culprit in scams worth crores of rupees by Malta, Canada, and the European Union. Serious allegations have been leveled against him and the Supreme Court in Canada has also made serious declarations about him,” BJP MLA Ashish Shelar said during a debate in the Indian parliament about tendering for electric buses from Tumuluri’s London-based Causis E-Mobility company.