#this is also old af from like january!

[tariah23]

Also???

[apocalypse-shuffle]

“Stand Up On Your Toes” w/ BRUCE•W

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Bruce and you are in bed, your partner minimally damaged from his regularly scheduled nightly duties and for once in a long while in bed with you before four in the morning.

You were the only person who could get him to stay his behind home so it was an early night for you too. Normally you’d stay awake till two to monitor everyone before Alfred took over.

You are taking full advantage of said forced bedrest though. So while he’s pouting you’re cuddled up to him and scrolling through TikTok, cause why not? This specific challenge or whatever comes across your screen and you watch it in mild interest.

That is until you get to thinking. Could you do that? It wasn’t a move you pulled out because putting your hands on somebody's dirty floor was not it, but maybe you could do it just this once?

Plus you were in the manner, a speck of dust didn’t land on something for more than five seconds before Alfred was coming after it with extreme prejudice, so the floor definitely wasn’t dirty.

Decision made you climb out of bed. Now Bruce’s gaze had already deviated to you because you’d let the TikTok repeat for a while now but he doesn’t even bother to continue pretending like he was still looking at the notes from the last WE meeting he missed.

You turn the volume up and glance over to see your husband not at all hiding his interest, face open in question. You nod towards the phone.

“I can do that right?”

He hums and reaches over to look at your screen. “You're perfectly capable of a lot of things. I don’t-”

He gives the video a critical look for two beats. When he looks back up to answer his voice is tinged with amusement.

“Can you do this?”

You just grin up at him as Kevin Gates’ deep voice dools out instruction on top of the beat.

Bruce only looks more intrigued, face soft in a way it can’t be outside of the manor, as you bend forward at the waist with your legs spread apart.

“We’re about to find out.”

It would be kinda embarrassing if you face planted or something but you’d find a way to survive.

And Bruce wouldn’t dare laugh. Not where you could tell at least.

Okay, so maybe you can do it. Really well. And maybe - just maybe - you managed to pull a surprise Pikachu face out of Bruce. And maybe you disregarded a little bit of the “rest” part of “bedrest” afterwards. Who’s to say.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

NOTES: It’s short af, but hope you enjoyed!

Alright, so I didn’t get this out for January because I fell asleep so… I’m mostly just mad at myself but yeah. I know the trend I used is not a thing anymore but this is also kinda old, and I don’t really care.

Happy Black History Month!

[zillaphoneswag]

I’ve seen this discussion floating around lately about people being annoyed by the amount of marathons being put out instead of new videos and honestly? It’s a bit unfair to the cast (a seemingly unpopular opinion but I’m generally pretty unpopular already).

They already shoot several videos for a whole week in one day and who knows how many times they do *that* in a week. And it’s also the beginning of January. Everyone deserves time off, no matter the job. Fuck it I’m at university as a top student and an intern and if I didn’t get some time off from that I’d probably die.

Not to mention they were going to post those videos anyway. They have marathons for *everything.* Better to do it now during time off versus when the work schedule starts up again and they get back to filming new content. It’s like when I post old oneshots or random stuff I’ve written in the interim on AO3 because I have a big ass project that’s taking a lot of time because it needs it.

Finally with Sword AF, I think it’s just important to be patient. It’s some of my favorite content of theirs. But that shit takes *time,* speaking especially as a DM myself. You think campaigns take long to play? They take even longer to write. Besides, this is clearly Damien’s passion project. If they need more time, they need more time.

I’m sure everyone can agree that we’re not just here for the content, we’re here for the people. The cast makes the content worth watching. And while some of them move on, while it’s sad, Smosh has a great track record of finding some *amazing* people to work with them.

Plus you can still follow the cast with their other projects. Angela has a short film coming out at the Sundance Film Festival. Those projects get nominated for Oscars! If we appreciate these people like we say we do, then we’ll be happy for their successes outside of Smosh.

This got wayyy longer than originally intended but at the end of the day, we’re all a family. This fandom appreciates these people in their own ways and at the end of the day that’s what brings us together. Love you Smosh family!

[civilotterneer]

so you picked an otter as a sona cause you swim a lot makes sense, but why a north american river otter specifically? also why'd you become a furry/when?

(btw civilotterneer is a FIRE username. goated af for that)

Well, it's an interesting story, but one that'll make sense after some wine, I'm sure. Trying to understand the machinations of my mind is like reading a boring quantum physics textbook that'd be more entertaining if burned for s'mores.

Short answers:

North American because I AM North American. Also freshwater swimming mammal, which is what I am IRL.

Why: basically always was a furry gamer (played animal races in every video game or DND thing), just decided to be real about it instead of hiding it internally

When: January 2024

That quantum physics textbook is written out below should you want the full deal and answers, as well as the famous Civ IKEA story.

North American, well, yes, I am

Otter=swimmer. Same page, right? Well, I initially was going for a sona that was a mammal and swam. I thought about a beaver, as they build things like damns and live in water, but didn't like the look as much. I narrowed onto the mustilid family because I like the snake cats, as Ze Frank calls them.

North American River Otter was actually because, well, I'M North American. Being from the US, I was wanting something at least from the same continent, but I was also wanting something that swam in fresh water, since that's what I swim in. The NA River Otter, was just the right amount of all of these.

When and Why

As to when and why: the why is probably because I've always been a closeted one. I always played the Khajiit Skyrim character, the Leonin or Dragonborn DND character, the most animal-like race of any game where you get to pick your character. I had a lot of furry hate for a long time cause I saw it as disgusting. Funnily enough, this was my take on being gay as well, so I guess I can blame my Christian raising for that. Turns out, the stuff I was repulsed by the most were later revealed to be aspects of myself that I likely hated because they were a part of me and I didn't actively realize it.

I can't really tell you why I was this way, just that it's always been a part of my life and its only as of recent I decided to reflect on it and live it without hiding. I also came out as bisexual (I'm currently mostly just gay, but I wouldn't mark out finding the right woman to marry still), about a year and a half before becoming a furry, so the path was kinda laid out towards getting over those old self hates.

The when is probably officially January 2024, but I started investigating around December 2023 when I decided to commission a ref sheet for what I thought would be my sona. But later, after finding @galileogb's otter model for VRChat and attending PDFC, I fell in love with this model and the idea of furry, and thus it was my sona.

The IKEA Story

There was one hiccup in that month of January, however. Just before finding Civ's model, I wasn't happy with that sona ref sheet I had gotten, and I couldn't redraw it in personal art for lack of ability. I had been questioning whether being a furry was what I wanted, so around that time, I decided to give up the idea. BUT, I was driving to Phoenix to go to IKEA and grab some furniture, and somehow I was stopped for lunch and learned that PDFC, Phoenix's early January Fur Con, was occurring. Somehow, I thought it was a good idea to just see what was going on. While I basically just sat in a corner for the whole time, a very nice, older lady sat next to me, asking how I was. She had an awesome opossum suit that was veiled, and kinda looked like a Dishonored character but with green accenting. She really made me gather up my courage to take a second look at furry stuff cause I wasn't sold by just being there alone. The next day I found the Civ base model, and the rest is history.

I think I can literally blame three things for finally giving in to becoming a furry: IKEA, that nice older lady, and @galileogb. I can't really thank yall enough. I hope to go back to PDFC this year and give that lady the real thanks she deserves if I can find her.

On the case of the Civil Otterneer name, that was just a random perfect thought I had. I knew I'd impart my civil engineering work into my sona cause if this sona was going to be as large a part of my life as my work, then there should be some reflectivity. Then, I just thought Civ was a good shortened 'name' for him to be personable after coming up with the whole thing.

Story time finally over. Anyone got another bottle?

[superwingshine-world]

Super Wings Birthday by their Zodiac

Start from today, I won't make "Happy Birthday" content anymore because I'm very busy (also lazy af) so I will make this to sum up all Super Wings birthday by their zodiac with the day and month in order (I'll add S8 characters too)

Aries:

1. Jett: March 23th, 2004 (20 years old)

2. Poppa Wheel: April 1st, 1979 (45 years old)

3. Marc: April 2nd, 1999 (25 years old) (Earth age)

4. Tony: April 5th, 2004 (20 years old)

5. Tino: April 15th (3540 years old)

(Tino doesn't know his birthday so Super Wings decided to take the date he was found are April 15th as his birthday)

Taurus:

1. Scoop: April 25th, 2005 (19 years old)

2. Jerome: April 26th, 2004 (20 years old)

3. Crystal: April 28th, 2004 (20 years old)

4. Roy: May 6th, 2004 (20 years old)

Gemini:

1. Bello: May 27th, 2004 (20 years old)

2. Leo: June 1st, 2004 (20 years old)

3. Sally: June 5th (3540 years old) (I don't know exactly her age but in a episode of S8, Sally said that her birthday are the day she was found in this place by Jimbo and in an episode that Tino and Sally team up, she said she born along with Tino so I think she same age as Tino)

4. Badge: June 20th, 1986 (38 years old)

Cancer:

1. Mira: June 27th, 2004 (20 years old)

2. Sky: July 5th, 1997 (27 years old)

3. Taki & Tiki: July 8th, 2008 (15 years old) (cuz they're from parallel universe so they 3 years old younger, if they're in original universe, they're 19)

4. Sunny: July 13th, 2004 (20 years old)

Leo:

1. Zoey: July 29th, 2003 (21 years old)

2. Chase: August 5th, 2002 (22 years old)

3. Big Wing: August 12th, 1987 (37 years old)

Virgo:

1. Dizzy: August 26th, 2004 (20 years old)

2. Remi: September 2nd, 1998 (26 years old)

3. Shine: September 11th, 2002 (22 years old) (Earth age)

4. Lime: September 17th, 2004 (20 years old)

Libra:

1. Donnie: September 23th, 2004 (20 years old)

2. Marty: October 10th, 2007 (17 years old) (20 years old in original universe)

3. Ellie: October 15th, 2004 (20 years old)

4. Jimbo: October 17th, 1981 (43 years old)

5. Rover: October 19th, 1979 (45 years old)

Scorpio:

1. Swampy: October 29th, 2002 (22 years old)

2. Traver: November 10th, 2005 (19 years old) (22 years old in original universe)

3. Todd: November 12th, 2004 (20 years old)

Sagittarius:

1. Paul: November 29th, 1986 (38 years old)

2. Willy: December 5th, 1973 (51 years old)

Capricorn:

1. Grand Albert: December 22th, 1946 (78 years old)

2. Neo: December 29th, 2002 (22 years old)

3. Golden Boy: January 4th, 2004 (20 years old) (Earth age)

4. Bucky: January 7th, 2004 (20 years old)

5. Narae: January 12th, 2000 (24 years old)

Aquarius:

1. Astra: January 22th, 2004 (20 years old)

2. Sparky: February 17th, 1994 (30 years old)

Pisces:

1. Storm: February 27th, 2001 (23 years old)

2. Lucie: March 5th, 2008 (16 years old) (19 years old in original universe)

3. Kim: March 10th, 2006 (18 years old)

4. Golden Girl: March 14th, 2005 (19 years old) (Earth age )

(Golden Girl also from original universe like Tino and Golden Boy so I will take her age in original universe)

5. Flip: March 20th, 2005 (19 years old)

[ethicstownpod]

If it's alright, I'd really like to hear more about January's 'Some Kinda Gender'. I understand it might be a spoiler/private so no pressure I'm just really interested

I think everything January is and/or isn't going to do in coming seasons is fun to find out as it happens. We've heard him do a lot of thinking about things he's done, but really only 1.5ish episodes thinking about what he's actually like as a person. And, more importantly, what he'd like to be like as a person. That is, if he can even get over the fact that he isn't one.

But I'm more than happy to talk generally about gender performance in s1 and generally. Buckle up, it's probably going to be a bit of a long one! I'm really into this, lol.

So before I really got to know any of the St Kilda cast I got to see most of them act at table reads. Spectacular experience, they're all incredible actors and fascinating people. But Rhys and I were never at a table read together, so the first time I properly met him he was just a regular human guy. As the script Naomi was working on currently stood he was going to play someone's boyfriend and I was like 'yeah, sure. This is a human man who could be a boyfriend.'

Then at like 2am the director came in and was like 'English accent! You're the villain now!' We'd been hanging out for a couple hours at that point. Rhys is vibrant, but a very gently spoken person. And I wasn't at all thinking 'Oh no, he can't do that' because like,,, that's his job. But I was very interested to see what he would do.

The first time I see him on set he has the whole villain get-up on and it is camp. Not in a camp-but-as-a-compliment way, thought it was cool af, but literally 2000s cartoon queer villain camp. Slicked hair and make-up that matched his suit. And I was like okay, damn, blinked and this dude got a whole new gender, good for him.

And then, to no one's surprise and to my absolute delight, he acted the fuck out of that campy outfit. Snippy and cocky and commanding. And obviously I knew, y'know, from being alive, that anyone performing 'camp villain' is doing a specific gender performance, but it was so cool to see someone I had got to know out of costume do that.

So I was thinking about this - and the other times I'd seen Rhys act in the interim - when I was doing final script edits/deciding what January/Ian would sound like. January was always going to have his voice actor's natural accent (as long as they weren't American, lol) and that was intentional.

The only actual vocal note I gave Rhys when coming up with an Ian voice was to go deeper, but I also told him that ep 8 was kind of Ian's campy villain monologue. He's just talking to hear the sound of his own voice at that point, he could have just killed Artemis and saved himself a lot of trouble.

Ian, as he tells you, has been pretending to be this January persona the whole time. And for most of episode 8 you have no reason not to believe him. His name is Ian. He can prove he was putting on a voice. He has a wife, not a spouse (yeah, I know a wife is a spouse, but he'd never say wife, would he... hmm...), a teenage daughter, not two young children. And everything January said was a lie.

BUT THEN! He gets upset, and his voice just... slips. That doesn't tend to happen when you're speaking in your natural accent.

Ian is just a persona too. He's this hyper-masculine husband, father, son, politician, bread-winner type turned old-timey camp-horror-villain and that's all a performance.

More importantly than being Ian, January isn't real. He isn't an anxious, fumbling, queer-in-a-librarian-kind-of-way radio host. But he also isn't this super-masc intimidating politician type; hence, when we actually meet Ian he's just,, kinda gay.

Everything is a performance for January and it must be exhausting. Someone just decided he was a human man one day, and sure he wants to be a human man, but he has no idea how to do that. He needs a break to figure out who he is. Unfortunately he instead did some murdering about it, so he probably won't get one.

[lightofunova]

As the year draws to a close, I find myself looking back at the past year and I just need to state how absolutely crazy it has been for me.

This blog will be one year old in January, which it’s so funny that it’s already almost been an entire year since I started posting and interacting? It isn’t the official birthday yet, but I just want to thank everyone for reading and interacting and supporting me this past year. I’ve met so many wonderful people in the community who have pushed me to want to do better, and who I want to interact witth more but my own shyness and nerves prevent me from doing so.

You all have truly spoiled me this year by allowing me to share my silly ocs and stories witth you all, and just by listening to me I am already content. Thank you truly from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be a part of this community, for being able to create my own little corner here just to act silly.

And I have so many new friends I haven’t said a proper thank you to, for one reason or another. Maybe due to being busy or me being too bashful to admit it over late night calls or to even start a conversation in dms. Before the year is out I want to right that.

@symphonies-of-silver I know that I’m not someone who is super close, but honestly I started askblogging because of you! You made me want to do it and seeing Ginjiro and his story begin to unfold, I was inspired to do my own. I wish I could talk more with you in dms, you seem like such an amazing person and I love hearing about your ocs and ideas honestly, I’m just shy haha. I can’t wait to see what ideas you craft up in the coming year, it’s always something to look forward to.

@lustrous-dawn Gosh, I’ve always adored your writing style so much, I often find myself reading over your words and wanting to be more eloquent with my own sometimes haha. You always inspire me to write more than draw, and you’d be surprised how many little blurbs and drafts I’ve made this year about various things haha. You also showed me that, it’s alright to just do your own thing. It’s fine to just post whenever you want, what you want, and how you want. I don’t think I realized that when I started but now that the year had been ending I’m starting to realize it, even if you told me that a bajillion times over calls haha.

@askdeoxys Gosh, I don’t know what to say sometimes when we talk. You have done alot for me this year over calls and chats and games, I mean hell I wouldn’t be using a tablet now if it wasn’t for you. You really know how to cheer someone up when they’re down, and all of the conversations we’ve had this past year have been so much fun. I never thought I would be ending 2023 having accomplished so much, You egg me on to do the things that matter in life. The advice you give is always dead on, and even if I don’t listen to it it’s just because I’m a silly adult who thinks she knows better haha. Thank you for supporting me so much this year, I really do appreciate it.

@ceruleancavesmonster Golly gosh bestie, it’s been so long since we became friends, it’s wild to see how far everything has come. I know things have been busy af lately, but I can’t believe how far we’ve come! When making this I was so worried it’d be a dumb idea, but I just appreciate all the love and support you’ve shown me this entire year. From getting excited over my posts to helping me think through plot lines and ideas you really have been my biggest supporter in all of this. Just thank you so much for sticking with me through all these years, I can’t wait to see what happens next year 💙💙

And to all those I didn’t mention just know that I appreciate you more than you know, you all gave me something to work towards, something to inspire me in one way or another. Thank you so much for supporting my blog, and I hope you’ll stick around for another year in the making.

[kariachi]

Okay, looking at the history of Alan's page on the wiki, look into age shit. Going to try to keep my "I was literally there" commentary to myself.

~~

First mention of his age comes on April 28 2010, claiming it was stated by McDuffie but with nothing backing the claim.

It then back and forths a bit between his age being listed as 10, being listed as in his teens, or not listed at all based essentially on 'you don't have proof he's that young' 'you don't have proof he's not' and presumably 'guys he's like an inch shorter than Ben and built like a teen' it seems, eventually being left on 'he's 10'.

On January 2 2011 McDuffie is asked if the wiki is accurate as far as Alan's age and answers with "No, he's 11". This claim isn't added to the wiki, it seems nobody was citing any sources at the time.

On January 15 2011 the wiki is altered to show Alan as being 14 in AF, though the same page also lists him as 11.

January 16 2011 sees the 11 removed and replaced with fifteen.

An January 20 2011 the page is again altered to list him as 10 in AF and remove the mention of his age from the main body of the page.

On June 20 2011 somebody alters the wiki to state that he's 12 during AF, again with no citation.

This is changed back on June 24 2011.

On October 8 2011 the page is again changed to state that Alan is 14 in AF.

The page stays this way, including through multiple edits by the seeming originator of the 'Alan is 10' concept, until July 6 2014, when his age is removed entirely from the page.

The next time we see his age listed is after a long stint of the page being partially broken, on November 23 2014, listing him as 14 in AF.

His age is then removed again on January 18 2015.

And it stays like that until February 13 2019, when his age in AF is listed as 10 again, this time at least with a damn citation. The first, by the way, up until that day nobody was citing shit.

And that's how shit remains to this day.

~~

Now, doing this for 2 reasons. One- to back up my claims that 'he's 10' is inaccurate, there's a reason it was changed in the first place after that first comment from McDuffie ended up staying up nearly three years. And these weren't inactive years either, there were plenty of people going in and editing shit. Two- to give me a time to start looking to see if I can find where McDuffie clarified his age- somewhere between Jan 2 and Jan 15, probably closer to the latter.

Probably I won't be able to find it, it's been ages since the forum was taken down, and surely if it hadn't been lost to time somebody would have tracked it down by now, but I have to try. It just, burns at me so damn much, I have to make as strong an attempt as I can.

So, here I am off to search...

~~

And back several hours later with nothing to show for my trawling of archives, and I did fucking trawl. I've got 80 tons of shellfish and not a sign of this damn post because there's a massive chunk gone between the thread page fuckers managed to find and the next one I could get my mitts on.

Also the fucking site this thread page can be found on. It has like 70-odd pages from the old McDuffie site saved, all of them random single pages. How did this happen? Who set this up? The Internet Archive has shit in small batches, but this shit is just individual pages with whole chunks unaccounted for between them. Fucking weird. If nothing else these fuckers need to get in touch with each other and share what they've got.

~~

In the end though, I think this is if nothing else a solid reminder to archive shit. And to cite your goddamn sources when you're editing a wiki! Seriously, how the fuck did it take over twenty years to get a single citation on Alan's page? If people had been doing that from the start we would have had far fewer problems because we could just go 'this is what was said'! But no, now we're here, with me having to submit to the fact everybody is going to take a sarcastic remark as gospel despite contradictory evidence on the fucking screen until all knowledge of this fandom fizzles away!

Sorry, sorry, was trying to stay off that soapbox.

But, as important if not more so than the citations on wikis thing is still, back shit up people. Archive crap if you can. The Internet Archive has a Firefox extension, you can literally set it to automatically archive pages you go to. Because if this whole situation brings anything into the spotlight, it should be the fact that it's real easy for information to be lost to time. One man died, and because so much wasn't backed up, hundreds of pages, we've lost entire huge chunks of WoG and worldbuilding that now exists only in the heads of the people who were there to read it.

'The internet is forever' only holds true if we put in the effort, because otherwise everything from fandom crap to news articles to instruction manuals can vanish in a poof of lost funds and lost attention. If we wanna know shit later, we've got to store it now.

[oswinsdolma]

i've been reading a bunch of modern aus lately, and i've noticed that quite a lot are a bit uncertain about how the british education system works. it's not a problem by any means, but for anyone who wants it, here is a brief explanation:

we don't say "grades", we say "years", e.g. 7th grade would be year 7. we also don't say things like freshman/sophomore/senior etc. it's just the numbers.

however, some primary schools split into infants and juniors, infants being from yR-2 and juniors being y3-6

we also have a national curriculum all throughout compulsory education, which means everyone studies the same thing, more or less. there are discrepancies at GCSE/A-level with different exam boards, but in general, most people take either the same, or very similar exams, and are taught the same skills.

you start primary school when you are four or five in year R, and continue through primary school from years 1-6.

at the end of year six, you take the SATS, which are a really insubstantial national standardised test for english, maths and spag

it is also optional to take an exam called the 11+ at the end of y6. if you pass, you can go to grammar school. these can be state or private, and are basically redundant nowadays, and just used so parents can say that their child passed the 11+ and got into the Smart School. These are usually single gender and low-key cult like, but otherwise, are exactly the same as normal state "comprehensive" schools.

secondary school is from y7-11. at the end of y11, everyone takes the GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). you have to do english, maths and sciences, plus several other subjects. most people have between 7-13 GCSEs, and if you fail english language or maths, you have to retake until you pass, even into college.

GCSEs are graded on a scale of 9-1, 9 being an equivalent to A** and is the top 1% of the students who got 7+, and 1 being an F/U. the pass mark is a 4.

the grades you get in your GCSEs are kind of irrelevant, except they determine which subjects you can take for A-level.

After secondary school, you have to stay in full time education for another two years (allegedly, though ik a few people who dropped out), and most people do A-levels (Advanced Level Exams). Instead of doing loads of subjects like at GCSE, you pick 3-4 and study them for two years. these are a LOT HARDER than GCSEs.

if you do four a levels, you're kind of a try hard. honestly, if you do it, good for you, but as a cultural thing, so many people who did four a levels were the most insufferable people who only did it to gloat, and then couldn't handle the workload.

oh, also this entire system is pretty much 100% exam based. for 2/3 of my a levels, i had a coursework essay that was pre graded, but it was only worth 20% of my final grade, and those were rare occurrences. at GCSE, unless you do art or something like that, everything is exam based.

A-levels are graded on a scale of A*-E, and then a U if you literally get nothing. which happens more often than you might think.

this is the bit that i see a lot of people get confused about. in the UK, we don't call university "college". college, to us, is where you take your a levels. if it's an independent institution, it's a "college/further education centre". if it's attached to a secondary school, it's called a "sixth form" (because y12 was year six of senior school in the old system).

i'm sorry i'm trying to be as clear as i can but our education system is complex af

your A-level grades determine where you can apply to uni, which you HAVE to do through a system called UCAS.

UCAS (the university and colleges admissions service) is a national system where you put in all your details required to apply for uni. you start it in the june of y12 and send it in by January** IN MOST CASES

to apply for uni, you need to list all your qualifications/details, predicted grades, personal statement essay and teacher references. this all gets submitted by your school.

HOWEVER. if you are applying to medicine, vet, dentistry, oxford or cambridge, the deadline is in october, and you have to submit written work, do multiple assessments and do rounds of interviews in addition to everything else (would not recommend).

you can also apply to conservatoire for music/drama schools, which tend to have their own deadlines and systems because they're not technically universities

okay nearly at the end

the closest thing we have to an Ivy League is the Russell Group, but it's not as prestigious. Russell Group unis tend to be higher ranked, offer niche courses and demand high grade requirements.

Oxford and Cambridge are not normal universities. i CANNOT stress this enough. you apply through ucas, but the courses themselves are unique and highly competitive (the one i applied for had like 10 spaces)(i got rejected lmao). also they are arranged in colleges within the uni, so it's like a collection of tiny unis linked by a larger institution. colleges are not subject specific and most of them have weird cults. if you're writing oxbridge students, google it, not just for accuracy, but because it's absolutely hilarious.

interviews are also more like interrogations. i was reduced to tears on several occasions, and you also have to swear not to reveal the questions you were asked (everyone does it anyway but STILL IT'S WEIRD). for example, one of my interviews, i was given a poem about feet and asked to analyse it on the spot over a blurry zoom screen. they don't ask you about yourself. they don't ask you about school. they just quickfire questions at you for forty minutes and roll their eyes when you take more than a few seconds to answer.

we also don't have majors/minors. you choose one subject that you apply for specifically, and spend 3-7 years studying that subject pretty much exclusively. the only deviations from this might be if you were taking archaeology and took an art history class or something — everything is really closely related.

we can also drink at 18. not that an age limit has ever stopped anyone in the uk from getting drunk. getting pissed in a field is a major pastime for anyone from the ages of 12-28. it's a problem.

instead of having dorms at uni, most people live in flats. there will be like ten people on a corridor with a shared kitchen. you only live in university housing for your first year, unless you are at oxbridge, in which case i think it's mandatory to live in your college for your whole course.

community college and private universities aren't a thing either. when you apply to uni, you apply to student finance (unless your parents are absolutely LOADED and pay for you) and get a loan for your tuition, and also a maintenance loan based on your household income, which is used to pay for rent, food, etc. you cannot be exempt from financial aid but a lot of people do not receive enough, particularly in recent years when the cost of living in the uk has gone up so much.

university is roughly £9-10k per year (depending on where you study) which is a Lot. but why are people in the US paying hundreds of thousands of dollars, are you guys okay???

also, if you're scottish, university in scotland is free. they also have a standard four year systm rather than the three year system in england and wales (idk about ni i didn't apply there). why?? because the english government is absolute shite and they got rid of the state university programme for england (blame the tories)

don't do your research on the student room. just don't. for your own sake.

and a couple more cultural things before we leave off

we all wear uniform until we get to year twelve. everyone. even the four year olds.

Nottingham Trent university is just the butt of so many jokes and I really don't understand why (they're not even the lowest in the league table 😭😭)

Durham is full of Oxbridge rejects who are in denial about it, and is also the butt of a lot of jokes

everything i have mentioned so far is about STATE education. private education runs on different tracks: you have prep schools, which run from yR-8, and senior schools that run from y9-11, and most of them have attached sixth forms. there is a massive cultural and economic divide between state and private school kids, because they get so much more help applying for uni, and also there is so much nepotism in our government. like. politicians wear their old school ties in parliament so they know who to give favours to. it's AWFUL.

some private schools are so fancy they loop back around and are known as "public schools". they're schools like Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Marlborough, etc. really old institutions that basically guarantee you a place at oxbridge because of family legacy (though this has got a lot better over the last decade or so)(but they still have an unfair advantage).

a lot of compulsory education schools are really religious because education in the uk used to be run basically by the church, and the church still own a lot of schools. universities though, even the ones with roots in the church, are atheistic, their religious links symbolic or supplementary to their main purpose.

okay that ended up being way longer than i thought, but i hope someone finds this useful when writing, or at least interesting.

[sternbilder]

Ranking my favorite 2023 K-pop comebacks

I feel like 2023 was a year where I followed kpop comebacks especially diligently bc of my newfound interest in dance, and since it's 2024 this means an entire year has passed now of This

here's a list of my 10 personal favorite title tracks this year, happy new year all!

The Top Ten

1. Monsta X - "Beautiful Liar"

listen. when I said

in january of last year I meant it with my whole ass and I stand by it an entire earth year later. this song fucks So hard

firstable Yes I'm sad this is their last cb with most of the group in a while but also jesus what a banger to go out on

I love the guitars, the looks everyone is serving, the funky little twist in the song structure after the second verse, plus thinking always about lovemelovemelovemetellmetellmetellme + the chains + kihyun with a literal goddamn whip + the gunshot sound effects punctuating joohoney's verse. chefs kiss

2. Taemin - "Guilty"

god taemin is back and you can just feel the catholicity through the screen. the haunting vocals. the delicious string textures throughout (the way the arpeggios shift to pizzicato for the second verse!). the 6/4 time (the only choreo I learned this year that was not to an 8 count). the fucking through the shirt grab. the bridge which they extended in the MV specifically to squeeze in Even More Yearning™.

this is a perfect cb and I will say the rest of the album is also flawless and my favorite out of this list. honestly this probably would have been first if not for the fact that I personally just liked beautiful liar so goddamn much. thank you taemin. no notes.

3. SHINee - "HARD"

aka the song I previously described as "2 baddies, but Good" (no really, they have same key signature & near identical song structure. listen to them side by side with HARD on .95 speed if you don't believe me)

anyway, like 2 baddies this is SM-flavored af but I love the old school hip-hop vibes in HARD soooo much. I've had some people tell me they found it weird and off-putting but to me it's effortlessly cool but also earnest and just. fun? (not only the music but also the visuals? hello? the fashions in this MV) def gotta be one of my most played this year

4. Lee Gi Kwang - "Predator"

ok now for a dark horse pick. I feel like in the borderline 5th gen landscape nowadays older groups are often forgotten (even though hello! 2nd gen bgs are back from the military now and are having a Moment) so people perhaps understandably overlooked this one but god this song is a bop.

is it just criminal by taemin part 2 but less sexy and with a lower budget? yes. but the song is an absolute bop and the choreo slaps in its own right so imo it's a very worthy homage especially given it captures its exact gender of "pathetic sadboy making horny mistakes and needing to dance abt it" so so perfectly,

5. Exo - "Cream Soda"

tbh not what I was expecting from an exo comeback and I was surprised that I ended up liking this so much given I didn't really care for the prerelease tracks, but the more I listened the more this grew on me?

ofc it's an exo track so the vocals are 100 emoji but the chorus and melodies are simply addictive and the choreo for this one is also just a ton of fun (the sexy little head swipe,)

also I love the outfits in this MV (everyone keeps saying this is the Weed aesthetic but honestly? with korea's whole Thing? this is exo's macklemore-style thrift shopping and/or raiding grandma's attic for hidden midcentury treasures phase. to me.) but thank u @ the universe specifically for giving us back silver haired baekhyun. bless.

6. VIXX - "Amnesia"

another underrated release tbh! this initially gave me guilty vibes w/ the abundant use of pizzes since they were released around the same time but I also just independently love this song

I feel like it's a very mature song that takes itself seriously but not in an overly self-absorbed or cheesy way (another comparison I might make is to leo's losing game from last year), the chorus is poignant and hits hard because it's so earnest—maybe especially so since they were down to 3 with this cb—but man that melody is just so gorgeous, like it haunts me

7. Dreamcatcher - "Bon Voyage"

ok if I'm gonna be real it wasn't a great year for my faves—while I liked OOTD and reason they weren't top 10 worthy for me, mx had 1 excellent release before having most of its members yoinked by the military, and I didn't love either of oneus's cbs this year

that being said! I did still like bon voyage! while I preferred the first 2 in the trilogy it still felt like a good and fitting finale, bittersweet and full of equal parts regret and hope

in many ways it feels like a harkening back to classic dreamcatcher with the Big Anime Opening Vibes™ but more somber and grown up, an unexpected summer anthem from these queens,

8. TXT - "Sugar Rush Ride"

it's been a busy year for txt and while I'm not super familiar with them and their releases are sometimes a bit hit or miss for me, when they do hit they HIT

I actually considered chasing that feeling for this list too but despite adoring the take on me-ness of it I ended up nixing it after adjusting for recency bias

sugar rush ride though, I feel is a bop that stood the test of time with its catchiness and surprisingly dark undertones, and is also one of my favorite choreos I learned this year by far like. come on. it's the epitome of Boy Group Hot.

9. Taeyang - "Vibe"

this song lived rent-free in my head for MONTHS, god it's so catchy

I actually missed when my local studio taught this song but I liked the choreo so much I learned it on my own which, predictably since it literally features 2 main dancers, was not easy but extremely worth it bc just like the song itself it's just really fun

other than that what can I say. the MV is nothing special but otherwise it's just a really solid song with Big feel good energy.

10. Kiss of Life - "Shhh"

ok,,,,,,,I don't really follow rookie groups that closely bc generally I don't feel like I'm the target audience but. out of this year's new groups I did especially like kiss of life's debut!

the MV doesn't do much for me tbh but musically it sounds uncharacteristically mature to me, in a good way—it has a subtle confidence about it that I like plus excellent vocals, and is (possibly hot take?) what I was hoping to get from newjeans this year as a continuation of their debut last year tbh

Honorable Mentions

Jungkook - "Standing Next to You"

this one just felt like cheating bc it's technically an English single and there's probably some recency bias here but I can't not mention it bc I simply love this track. I'm not even a BTS stan but it's just a jam with great vocals and instrumentals (the big band notes and MJ influence! please!) and the choreo is also SO ridiculously fun, both the chorus and the dance break

BTOB - "Wind and Wish"

this is just a wholesome song that makes you feel good, like is it a lil bit cheesy? yeah, but it's also Good Vibes Comma the Song, wearing its entire heart on its sleeve in the most endearing way. it's nostalgic and mellow and full of love for its friends and a zest for life

also special shoutout to the bridge, which in such an otherwise lowkey song did not have to go that hard and yet it Did?? that harmony gives me chills, 100% certified vocal kings would cry again

Shownu X Hyungwon - "Love Me a Little"

this is a pathetic meow meow song in the best possible way and was sadly beat out by the other slightly better pathetic meow meow songs on this list (guilty, predator, amnesia) bc it was just a really good year for them but I still think it deserves a mention bc first of all yea boi @ my mans shownu being free from the military but also the instrumental/dance break at the end is dark as hell and also SO fucking tasty

Infinite - "New Emotions"

another 2nd gen group that quietly had a renaissance this year! this song is simply a bop and while the song itself is not as memorable as some in the top 10 the choreo is actually really fun

also myungsoo looks really ridiculously fine as center in the first chorus and that's the last thing I have to say about this song,

Key - "Killer"

honestly I really liked both of key's cbs this year but I feel like killer was slept on somewhat, it's got a hint of sadboi but it's tempered by the upbeat 80s pop style, plus the grungy mullet and beret outfit from the MV was a fucking Look and a Half

And my favorites per month

January: Monsta X - "Beautiful Liar"

February: Purple Kiss - "Sweet Juice"

March: Onew - "O (Circle)"

April: Lee Gi Kwang - "Predator"

May: Dreamcatcher - "Bon Voyage"

June: SHINee - "HARD"

July: Exo - "Cream Soda"

August: MAMAMOO+ - "dangdang"

September: Key - "Good & Great"

October: Taemin - "Guilty"

November: VIXX - "Amnesia"

December: TVXQ - "Down"

[kimikawa]

NaClYoHo, The End

Things Done (FINAL DAY)

bought Christmas cards for immediate family

mailed things for work

submitted things for work (late)

used up some more cosmetics and samples

As I am in Japan, the end of the November has already arrived for me. I found my original list of things I wanted to do in November, and there are many I did not get to in the end. One, at least, I had already said I was going to do at the end of the month, as it was donating a box of things, and it seemed best to do that when I was done going through things.

That end did not come. Not yet, at least.

Some of it is because I work nearly full-time hours at my job, and I try to stream when I get home. Because of these, some ideas like descaling my bathroom (the water here is a bit hard), so for now, I am still scrubbing when I remember to.

Other problems were financial. I simply just couldn't replace things that needed to be replaced until after I could pay off my credit card bill, and so some things will get done in December or January instead.

NaClYoHo was not just about the things I did not, or could not, accomplish. Time management is a problem I have, and some of the reason I didn't do things like go through more of my closet for things to donate is because I decided to change my focus from preparing things to donate to using up things - or making empties, for cosmetics.

I used up cosmetics and other toiletries - or finally got rid of them because they were old af. I went through my spices and things, and got rid of empty bottles and expired things. I cooked the dried beans I had bought ages ago (and learned I will never ever fucking do it again; canned forever, my stress levels were through the roof). I made chocolate cake, which I hadn't done at all last year when I had zero time at all. I got rid of expired medicine and tidied up my tea collection.

I also, with some sadness but with more understanding and conviction, parted ways with some crafting supplies. I hadn't touched them in years, and I simply do not have the time and space for them. I also am not as interested in doing those as some of the other hobbies I have picked up and also set aside. Those sewing supplies do not even belong to a past version of me - only an idealized one, who has time and space and money for a sewing hobby.

But I don't have those, I am not that person, and I honestly prefer editing my streams into YouTube videos.

While I didn't accomplish all the things on my list for NaClYoHo, I did change my goals, so it's understandable that what I had wanted was unfinished. I also don't feel guilty about not doing them, which is the surprising part. I think a lot of what I got from this was learning to reframe things. Time I spent editing videos or baking a cake was still time well spent, was still working towards my goal of something better for myself, whatever that is.

That said, autoplay podcasts combined with monotonous cleaning tasks meant that 20-minute cleaning sessions always became longer. I am not great at stopping a task part way through. Some of it is not knowing when I will get back to it (time issues, again), not having the space to leave it out (unless it is my laundry, because that is the exception for some damn reason), and some anxiety related to leaving something unfinished. So I often kept working, long past the end of a podcast episode. Only using the sleep timer stopped me from going until I finished whatever I was doing, and even then, sometimes I would just keep going.

Time is my main enemy.

My final thoughts are that it was easier to be motivated to clean this month than other months. Laundry is the modern Sisyphean task, and dried beans are a nightmare to rehydrate, nevermind use. I have zero respect for timers, and I change goals, which is fine as long as I respect myself when I do.

[tragicclownwrites]

How old is everyone in "F" is for Family?

First things first, I hope you're excited for the second to last chapter(s) of "F" is for Family! 🥳🤩 Thanks for sticking around!

Given some of the timeline specifics that come up in this chapter, I felt it might be helpful to give you an explanation of how old everyone is supposed to be in my fic, so these time skips don't feel as random.

Math admittedly isn't my strong suit but I've double-checked my calculations repeatedly and am feeling somewhat confident in the numbers I came up with.

DISCLAIMER: Like most things that come up in my fic, these ages are just my headcanons. Don't take any of this as actual fact or canon! The one thing you should take away from this is that cartoon logic is weird AF which makes it hard to say anyone's ages are canon tbh.

Explanations/ramblings - and SPOILERS - below the cut!

♥️ Tragic 🤡

SpongeBob

I'm starting with our favorite little yellow friend here because I think he is where much of the age discussion first came up - starting with a certain driver's license that showed up in the episode, "Sleepy Time."

It says he was born in 1986, which would mean that we just celebrated in 37th birthday in July. However, there is one problem with this... the episode in question's debut air date is January 17, 2000.

If we go off the idea that he is canonically 37 as of July 14, 2023, this would mean that he was only 13 YEARS OLD in January 2000. In my country (the U.S.), if SpongeBob was 13, he wouldn't be old enough to:

Work at the Krusty Krab, especially not full-time.

Live on his own without a parent and/or guardian.

Attain a driver's permit, let alone a license. He'd have to wait another two years just to do the former.

I've considered the possibility that perhaps this episode doesn't actually take place during the actual air date. However, SpongeBob's driver's license also kinda debunks that theory. The expiration date is listed as December 14, 2003. Driver's licenses typically expire up to five years of issue date (depending on the state or country). This would, thus, confirm the episode takes place during 2000 or even earlier than that - making SpongeBob even younger than 13.

Seeing as SpongeBob is confirmed to be an adult during the series and is eligible to do the things listed above, this doesn't really add up.

Therefore, while I do think SpongeBob is an adult who is likely in his 30's, I don't think he's actually 37 years old (assuming he even ages).

It's also worth mentioning that they removed his birthday from later appearances of the license, leading me to believe they didn't really think that through initially. Interestingly, the expiration date has remained mostly consistent so... 🫧✨cartoon logic✨🫧

Now, to put my fanfic headcanon hat on for the duration of this post.... 🤠

Based on the timelines in my fic, I actually think his age is closer to 32-34 years old at the absolute most.

I believe I've mentioned somewhere in the story about how he and Squidward started working together about a decade prior to the events of the fic. This would mean that SpongeBob was in his early twenties when he began working at the Krusty Krab. which makes much more sense than him being 13 lmao

Squidward

So, I don't actually know how I came up with Squidward's age in this fic aside from general fandom headcanon, though I did see somewhere that his birthday is October 9, 1977 - making him 45 years old.

However, given what my analysis above revealed, I'm going to take this with a truckload of salt (especially since the actual year isn't confirmed in any official capacity). If this were true, he'd be ~21 years old in May 1999 (i..e, when "Help Wanted" premiered), which I don't think is accurate for him not to mention super awks. He was likely closer to that age when Jim was still working there.

I do think he's at least close to BlackJack's age and a bit older than SpongeBob, Todd, and Stanley. Therefore, my headcanon age for him is about 38-40 years old.

Harold & Margaret

In Harold and Margaret's origin story during this chapter, Harold and Sherm's ages are the only ones explicitly given. At the time of the story - which takes place roughly 53 years ago - Harold was confirmed to be 15 years old and a freshman in high school. Given that she was also a freshman at the time, Margaret is likely the same age.

If we do the math, Harold - and presumably Margaret - are about 68 years old at the time of FifF.

Sherm & Jolie

As previously mentioned, Sherm's age is also confirmed: he was 12 years old and just started junior high (6th grade in U.S.) when Harold and Margaret's story takes place.

In his and Jolie's own story - which happens about 46 years prior to the present - Sherm and Jolie are both freshmen in college, making them about 19 years old at the time.

Again, if we do the math, Sherm - and likely Jolie - are about 65 years old in the present day.

Blue & Sally

Unlike Harold and Sherm, Blue's age is not directly confirmed in Harold and Margaret's story. However, it is confirmed that he was a senior in high school, and he was old enough to drive. Based on this info and his younger brothers' ages, Blue was about 18 years old during this time.

In chapter 4, Blue also mentions that he'd been on the police force for 35 years. It's worth noting that the average amount of time people spend in the police academy is between 2-4 years. Assuming Blue enrolled right out of high school (as the story implies) and joined the force ~20 years old, he would've been around 55 years old when he officially retired. I like to think he was more ambitious/eager to climb the ladder when he was younger but grew more content staying in his police captain role since its already pretty senior and he had a family at that time.

Blue and Sally's origin story takes place about 41 years in the past from the fic's start.

In this story, Blue is described as being "one of the youngest lieutenants the force has ever seen." I can't recall how I got to this number if I'm honest, but I rounded his age to about 30 years old here as it is still young but not too young as to be unrealistic. I also felt it made more sense in the timeline for him and Sally to have had BlackJack a few years later (I.e., after she got released).

If we do the math from there, Blue would be around 71 years old during the time of the fic.

It's not mentioned anywhere, and she is deceased, but my headcanon for Sally is that she's about 1-2 years younger than Blue. Therefore, she'd likely be about 69-70 years old if she were still alive. In chapter 5, BlackJack reveals that “[Sally’s] been dead for ten years,” so she was ~59-60 when she actually passed.

Todd

From this picture, it's clear Todd shares some physical similarities with SpongeBob. Therefore, I felt that it would be likely for them to be close in age as well.

Starting from chapter 2, when we first meet Todd and the rest of the family, it's implied that Todd is at least "slightly older" than SpongeBob. He is also explicitly mentioned to be Stanley's older brother throughout the fic.

In chapter 5, we get the following exchange between Todd and SpongeBob:

Todd: “Besides, I am the oldest one here, so it only makes sense." SpongeBob: “Todd, we’re the same age –” Todd: “But I’ve got two months on you so that still makes me older."

Based on this, we can discern that Todd is also somewhere between 32-34 years old. Since he's two months older than SpongeBob, his birthday would take place sometime in May.

Stanley

While Stanley's canonical age is also not given, I got the impression that he was a bit younger than SpongeBob in his episode, "Stanley S. SquarePants." Stanley's curiosity about the world around him and his absentmindedness could be contributing factors to this, though that's not really indicative of age. In actuality, I felt it was SpongeBob taking him under his wing akin to a mentor or older sibling that really solidified this idea.

Therefore, in FifF, he's the baby of the group. 😇

Speaking of which, in chapter 13 (mini spoiler for next chapter when it goes live), it is mentioned that he was a baby while his older brother was a toddler - which would make Todd between the ages of 2-3 years old at the time.

With this range in mind, Stanley would be a few years younger than both Todd and SpongeBob, making him about 29-31 years old in the fic (assuming the other two are ~33).

BlackJack

BlackJack's age (in my headcanon) was more dependent on Blue's age between the time he met Sally and when they realistically would've had him together. I also felt he'd be closer in age to Squidward than he would be to his younger cousins.

Assuming his parents had him shortly after Sally got released from prison, BlackJack would be roughly 37-38 years old in the present day.

Grandma & Grandpa (Dotty & Simon)

Grandma and Grandpa SquarePants - or as I've named them, Dotty and Simon - met about 76 years ago.

While most prima ballerinas are slightly older than this (~25-30), Dotty was about 20 years old when she met Simon. He was likely a few years older than her, so I'd presume he was about 23-24 at the time.

With these numbers in mind, Grandma is about 96 years old during the events of FifF. While he is deceased and I didn't mention how long he'd been gone, Grandpa was likely between 97-99 years old when he passed.

[missviola-arts]

Jesus, has it really been a year since I've posted here?? I'm sorry for vanishing like that!

Couple of life updates!

I got an amazing job in the field of organ donation last November, but currently I'm taking a small break from recovery and I'll be taking tissue from our branch to our main office on weekdays.

I also got a dog in January. She's a mini aussie, and she's just turned 8 months old. She's precious, and she keeps ripping up my carpet.

Additionally, we welcomed my first niece into the world last July. I can't believe she's already a year old. Time is wild.

I've had a couple of surgeries since I last posted, the biggest of which was spinal surgery to improve my quality of life. It was really a game changer. I still have some pain, but it pales in comparison to the agony I was living with constantly before.

Needless to say, I've been busy af. I won't make any promises to upload more frequently, but I do want to at least make an attempt to get back to drawing more when I can make the time! Finger crossed I see you all again before August 2024.

[fucktanner]

here we go, i’m just gonna hope i can make some internet friends.

so,

my name is tanner. i’m a bloke i’m single af and married 😎 i’m based in australia. (and no, homie we cannot tell what happens and who dies because we’re one day ahead of u americans.) i was born on april 2nd , 2008. (omg my birthday is in 11 days .) i’m OBSESSED with olivia rodrigo (if you couldn’t tell already) and jenna ortega. i’m mainly gonna post anything i feel like on here (yes i will do posts abt liv and jenna) anyway, i listen to heaps of music and most of its a combination of rap and pop music. i like to listen to olivia rodrigo, sofaygo, playboi carti, kerser, chillinit, huskii, jack harlow, freewyo, travis scott, don toliver, and heaps more!! i like a few movies. i used to be shyt scared of scary movies and now i can’t get enough of them. like, i watched scream 5 like august/october last year and i loved scary movies after that (and omg scream 6 was amazing) i recently watch scream 6 & scream 1. (the original.) and they’re all really good. i watched scream 6 with my aunty, nan & cousin. when it started i got like, heaps of adrenaline (please don’t think i’m crazy.) i play a few video games. i used to play a whole lot of fortnite. honestly died in me o really can’t get back into that game anymore. i play minecraft. and a lot of car games. i run a jenna page on instagram and soon gonna hopefully start a liv page ♡ my favourite songs rn are: jealousy jealousy by liv, got damn! by faygo, never seen me fall (ft. jean.) by kerser, mama by rudy mancuso, servo by huskii, and kids are growing up by the kid laroi (hopefully he drops wjh soon 😿) i’m currently studying street art, money counts, and forensic science in school. i don’t have many friends anymore, i mean. i talk to some of my old friends from primary school. (which is like 3) i also think thats the main reason i’m antisocial and always in my own world all the time. i’ve always had a small circle of friends. like if i could, i still wouldn’t want a heap of friends. i recently cut someone off (bc they weren’t the most honest and nicest person. they also believed rumours that weren’t true.) which makes my circle even smaller. one of my best friends would be my cousin for the most part. like they’re cool. and i can trust them lol. which it’s usually the opposite with most people. i was in my first relationship from Sunday, October 30th it ended on Saturday 28th if January this year. i won’t lie, i loved her i just personally think i’m better off by myself. that’s all i’ma say, let me know if you have any questions / concerns. :)

[reachingforthevoid]

Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space

I rewatched this serial on 29 January 2023. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this tale; it was one of the stories selected for what felt like endless repeats in Australia when and where I grew up. I also read the novelisation back in the day. Watching it in order for the first time is revelatory. The sheer amount of change in just four episodes, even as there are features that have become familiar. 

This serial was first aired in January 1970, 53 years ago to the month, and if back then you were lucky enough to have access to a colour television set then you’ll be watching Doctor Who in full colour. The new opening credits and logo take advantage of this massive change in television production and reception. But, it’s disappointing that with the switch to colour we don’t see anyone who isn’t white. 

On the original transmission dates, it's been about half a year since audiences watched the Time Lords pass judgment on the Doctor and sentence him to exile on twentieth century Earth without Jamie or Zoe, and a change of appearance. Audiences would have waited with bated breath as to what this new Doctor would be like… But, before we get to the familiarly oddball amidst all this colourful outside broadcast glory, we get straight into the mysterious ‘meteors’. Keen observers will spot the UNIT insignia on the ties of the man and woman we first meet. It’s not that long before we see the first recognisable face, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The script neatly brings new audiences and old up to date at the same time as briefing UNIT’s newly summoned scientific advisor, Liz Shaw. Her scepticism is priceless. 

Meanwhile, the TARDIS arrives and a man collapses out of it into heather smack bang where the ‘meteors’ are landing. He’s taken to a local hospital, and hilarity ensues. For the first time, the audience learns that the Doctor’s physiology is not human: two hearts, unrecognisable blood, etc. Of course the medical staff think everyone is pranking each other. There’s a wheelchair chase, and the Doctor’s escape from hospital involves him singing in the shower and nicking clothes and a car. Jon Pertwee is the Doctor right away, just as Patrick Troughton inhabited the characters from the get go when he took over. No mean feat given how William Hartnell created the role; an unlikely, irascible old coot of a hero against the stupendous popularity of the Daleks…

Pertwee’s Doctor is a conjurer, a magician who uses science for his tricks. His delight at seeing Lethbridge-Stewart again is a picture. This new Doctor getting on instantly with UNIT’s scientific advisor is such a joy, even as he betrays her confidence. He might look like an old geezer, but he behaves like a naughty schoolboy. His intelligence shines through, as does a love of gadgets and a late 1960s, early 1970s psychedelia-inspired dashing Victoriana. He is what the production team have been building up to for a while.

The story itself is pretty good. The mystery of the meteors that aren’t, a toy factory that’s gone weird, and scary men with a plastic countenance are threatening. This serial is a great model on how to reinvent a series. The shop window dummies coming to deadly life is creepy af, even now. However, for all the changes in appearance, we have mind control bobbins that the Doctor buggers up along with a weird alien force that wants a new home. 

The astute among you may have noticed that I’ve stopped using ‘Dr Who’ and am now using ‘Doctor Who’. I’m following what’s in the credits for the character’s name, except I don’t use the full stop for the abbreviation of doctor because it’s superfluous.

[rainbownomja]

Update on Soup!

in case anyone here would like one cause I just realized I never did that here (my b.)

Soup did great in surgery, they found *8* hair ties taking up about half his tummy space. They showed em to me and everything (fascinating but also gross af.) It’s honestly kinda baffling how much he did not indicate in any way about having that much foreign stuff in his gut. Cats are weird man.

(I feel I should also mention this boi barely plays at all, he wants snuggles and nothing else. No play, only pets. And I’ve never seen him give any shits about a hair tie ever. Except for once in January which was the only time I’d seen him even play with one (and then swallow I THOUGHT on accident. That’s also a story for another time.)

Point being, He’s been playing me from the start so he could monch on his forbidden snack. Needless to say the apartment has been checked (again) and there are no more lingering for him to consume anymore.

Two days post op and he’s pretty much being his normal snuggly Soupy self (maybe a little more sleepy but he’s also always been a v sleepy old man and is on a couple pain meds. Which honestly? Same dude.)

He’s bumping into walls way less too (the magical force field (e-cone) took a bit of time to figure out for his anesthesia addled brain, which tbh he already only had like two brain cells available at any given time under normal non-drugged circumstances. So you can imagine his continued (hilarious) confusion as I gently redirected him away from walls and doorframes)

But he’s got a handle on it now and seems all and all not totally miserable! He even visited me in my office today during my DnD game which is huge progress from barely leaving the bedroom yesterday.

Also, he finally used the litter box today (I cannot express in words how much relief that has given me. It’s astronomical. And honestly Praise the sun it finally happened, because my brain can’t handle any more continued extreme anxiety at this point XD. My brain bucket is too full on the anxiety juice)

I’m a very tired kitty nurse but it’s worth it to see him feeling better.

So that’s the update! I’m gonna go cuddle my boi and promptly crash now. 💛💛💛