#he was livestreaming to any TV in the world

[nerdpoe]

Clark needs to get into the alien spaceship that's attacking Metropolis. Kara, Jon, and Kon are all busy helping civilians. There's a force field around the ship that's stopping him. Then an RV launches itself off of the building next to him and straight into the spaceship.

Jack and Maddie had been heading through Metropolis to Gotham to attend a tech expo. Danny and Jazz were left home, and they were getting daily updates from Jazz.

Then aliens started attacking Metropolis.

And, well, clearly none of these people know defensive driving. The GAV is more than equipped to punch a hole through that forcefield, they can tell from the readings they're getting.

So...why not lend a helping hand?

Anyways that's how the Drs Fenton ended up on the Justice League roster as resident Mad Scientists.

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dp x dc #dc x dp #phanfic #story prompt #i like to think this is post reveal #and the reveal went well #the GAV tearing through an alien spaceship #blasting down doors and shit #gets to the control room for jack and maddie to hop out and just whale on the baddie #he was livestreaming to any TV in the world #suddenly two dorks in hazmat suits that won't stop calling each other honeybunches and fudgecakes #are pummeling him with frightening efficiency

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Jk's DAZED Interview

"Jung Kook holds the instinctual and the intangible in high regard: the former is what guides his present, but his future is cradled by the latter, at least in terms of how he sees himself as an artist. But more on that later, because Jung Kook – who recently turned 26 and has been very, very famous for a decade – is thinking about who he is at this very moment. “I think I’m the type of person who is honest with their emotions,” he says. “I change quickly. I have to do the things I want to do right now.”

He was quiet then, too, though he emanated a fidgety restlessness, mentally and physically. He still has an inner itch that he can’t quite seem to scratch but it’s tempered by a new boldness and self-assuredness that he feels was missing before, traits he’s long embodied on stage yet didn’t follow him into everyday life. “When I go on stage, my wandering thoughts and feelings die down,” he says, and he’s always performed so much that the gap between his worlds didn’t seem all that vast.

“Ever since I changed my perspective, I’ve found more positive traits within myself. Rather than dwelling on missed opportunities and blaming myself for being lazy, thinking, ‘Why couldn’t I do it when I was capable?’, I accept who I truly am and focus on what I can do. There’s more to gain from doing things at my own pace. And if I want to stay in bed or watch TV all day, why not spend a day like that?”

Jung Kook debuted aged 15, and although pop culture is generally unkind to its child stars, he grew up under the watchful eyes of his bandmates who pulled him into line when needed. He is attentive, unfailingly polite, curious and wields a mischievous humour.

When recording “Seven” with writers/producers Andrew Watt and Cirkut, he was eager to do well with a genre he’d never tried before, visibly nervous at the mic and, just as evidently, chuffed when they showered him with praise.

“I want to do as many genres as possible to test myself on what kind of music I can do with my voice,” he says. The success of his debut solo single, he adds, has no bearing on what his upcoming music sounds like. “When I hear the music and it’s good, I just proceed with it regardless of the genre. It feels really good to hear people say, ‘Oh, he can pull off any genre,’ so it’d be really fun to surprise people.”

“I live thinking ‘The main character of my life is no one but me.’ No matter what environment I’m placed in, no matter who’s around me, to safeguard myself without being swept away, having the mindset that I can hold control of myself. I live trying not to forget it.”

Jung Kook, the youngest member of BTS, knows his original bunny-ish, baby-of-the-group image still prevails. “You really like that about me,” he said to fans while in London, during one of his now-frequent livestreams. “Pretend that people like that. And I only follow that. What is something that I can change? Myself, it’s my life. I need to change. I need to tell people who love me, ‘I am like this.’ I’m not forcing anyone. I always look for something new. I want to make that new thing fun. And I want to be accepted by Army at the same time.” He also addressed those questioning why he felt the need for an explicit version of “Seven”, in which the line “And that’s why night after night, I’ll be lovin’ you right” becomes “And that’s why night after night, I’ll be fuckin’ you right”. “If you felt [it] like that,” he said, “there’s nothing I can do... And if you think about it, how old am I?”

In recent years he has taken up boxing, pierced his eyebrow and lip, and added more hardware to his ears. He’s grown out his hair, and got heavily inked. “I like extreme things,” he says with a laugh. “People always tell me I look round and soft. I want this sharp, powerful image.” His debut single, Jung Kook says, “wasn’t [me] trying to break away from my image”. In his eyes, the evolution has already occurred, making “Seven” a direct reflection of who he is now. And so he was steadfast and frank during that pivotal livestream. “It was important for me to show how much I’ve grown as a solo artist through taking on new challenges,” Jung Kook explains, “rather than staying in my comfort zone or settling for the things that I was used to. I wanted to fully explain that to my fans.”

In Jung Kook’s mind, then and now, ‘more’ translates as “becoming a better and cooler singer”, he says intently. “To me, I’m not that singer I imagined myself [to be], that specific image that I had of a singer, that’s why I’m aiming higher.”

The Jung Kook of 2023 is OK with the not quite knowing-ness of that. He tries to live in the present and keep things simple, even if that’s easier said than done. “It’s impossible to not think at all,” he sighs. “You know when you think of something and it just goes on and on, down this deep rabbit hole? That can lead to positive conclusions but, for me, sometimes it led to negative ones. But now that I’ve gained some self-confidence, I’m more able to exclude those unnecessary thoughts.” In teaching himself how to quieten down his brain, he finds himself “worrying [less] about things that haven’t happened yet or thinking, ‘What if I don’t meet my own expectations?’”

But, with the power of hindsight, Jung Kook, who is working on more music with an eye towards a debut solo album, knows how far he’s come. “I trusted my gut [with my debut single] and thought, ‘Will I be able to reach the audience, and a lot of them?’ And I sort of proved that I could.” And rather than being that ambiguous grey hexagon, Jung Kook – who smiles, the widest smile his face is capable of – says, “I’d be white, and I can colour it in whatever colour I like.”"

My impressions

This interview is a confirmation to the discourse we've been having lately.

Jk lives his life in phases. He changes quickly according to his vibes on the situation and let's himself be guided by things that he cannot see.

At this point, he is revealing what he had kept from fans. Things that he already did but weren't public. I suspect it's because of where he is in life at the moment (BTS hiatus, solo career, about to enlist, just turned 26).

Perhaps, his vibes told him it's time.

Jk's words seem contradictory but a person isn't just one truth. We all have many.

And for years, Jk has been squished into a box with labels and cute nicknames. We've only seen one side of him constantly because that's what we were shown.

In the interview, they describe him as introverted but then he comes out without a shirt for the photoshoot. He wants to be extreme but he also has that one pose in the photos that scream "zero hetero here". We read about him wanting to be sharp while he just did a cute jump at the airport. I guess Jk hasn't realized that he can be all those things at the same time. I think he will realize it with time.

What stands out to me is that he wants to break free from these labels and image that the fans have of him, but he's the one labeling himself new things. Maybe he does it to get his point across? Or maybe he think that by reiterating these new things he's shown us, we will let go of the old things? In this fandom?....hmmm.

Although Jk is very much a person who enjoys being a softie, he is also someone extreme and free who wishes to do as he pleases...because everyone should he allowed to do so. Without policing.

He says there isn't a big difference between the Jk on stage and Jk off stage, which is why he was comfortable with Seven. Not because he is the het macho guy, but because he is bolder and more confident. That song is more upbeat, sex oriented, and energetic than anything he's done in the past. So all those people thinking he just said he is straight...read carefully.

I find it amusing how this article comes out just right after everyone made such a big deal out of him smoking because he states "I am like this (at this moment)." He wants to be accepted by army being "like this" but there is no way that will happen because this is a fandom that believes they have ownership of the members and have become some sort of morality police and parent entity.

I'm sure he knows of the things that were said during the smoking pictures and Seven.

Jk was harshly critiqued for saying he wanted to be better and cooler a while back and many wondered if Seven (Scooter) had gotten to his head. But I think this article shows that he's just aiming higher...like any artist does. He still comes across as someone humble and genuine. Although, he was still genuine during those other interviews where he said he wanted to be the "one and only".

It's all about your perception of his words.

Overall, I think that Jk is still searching for his true self, as one does during that age. But based on this interview, which is probably one of the better interviews he's had, old Jk is still there...but now, we have new side of him to observe. With time, we will see if this is truly what he wants or he will move on to something else.

#jikook #jungkook #dazed interview

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — March 24-30

previous week || all posts || following post

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

03-24 → BEAST posted a promotional video using footage from several different ad campaigns they've done with Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

03-25 → ColorKey posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun, announcing him as their new global spokesperson.

→ Gong Jun posted a commercial (flashing lights cw) he did for ColorKey. (1129 kadian)

→ 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ The Instagram posted a video of "Zhang Zhehan" playing guitar.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video from the ColorKey ad campaign. Caption: "Meeting trendy fans crowns your confidence. @ Gong Jun Simon is free and easy, playing with the spring colour palette."

→ 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

03-26 → BEAST posted a photo of Gong Jun from that day, advertising the live event they would soon begin. (1129 kadian) They posted another half an hour later.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted twelve photos of him from that day. Caption: The feeling of spring is accompanied by the warm fragrance. @ Gong Jun Simon is looking for a garden full of emotions in the world."

→ Gong Jun posted four photos from the same shoot to his Instagram. Caption: "The Flower God is waking up..."

→ 361° posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.

→ ColorKey posted a photo ad announcing a livestream with Gong Jun the following evening.

→ Gong Jun attended a live event for BEAST in Chengdu.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted six photos of him from after the live event. Caption: "The vegetation and vines are intertwined and delicately outline the jacquard texture. @ Gong Jun Simon 'The Flower God Arrives' lights up the vitality of spring."

→ BEAST posted a video of Gong Jun in the live event location. (1129 kadian)

03-27 → ColorKey posted two videos [1] [2] of behind the scenes footage from their commercial with Gong Jun. They later posted a photo ad featuring him. (1129 kadian)

→ Yang Yang posted four photos of himself and Gong Jun from the BEAST live event.

→ GXG posted three fancam photos of Gong Jun wearing their merchandise at an airport.

→ ColorKey posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun, advertising their livestream that would begin shortly after. (19:29, 51129 kadian (7 = 5+1+1))

→ Gong Jun appeared in a livestream for ColorKey. [full recording]

→ Gong Jun's studio posted fifteen photos of him from that day's ColorKey livestream. Caption: "Embrace each other with warmth and feel the colour temperature. @ Gong Jun Simon is comfortable and self-contained, breaking the limiting framework."

03-28 → ColorKey posted nine photos of Gong Jun from the previous day's livestream. (1129 kadian)

→ The Instagram posted a video of "Zhang Zhehan" playing guitar.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a teaser photo of his red carpet outfit. Caption: "A trailer (you can see it clearly by adjusting the lighting). @ Gong Jun Simon’s feature film will be posted in 10 minutes."

→ Gong Jun posted six photos of his red carpet outfit. Caption: "I'll start with this, see you tonight at the #TV Drama Quality Ceremony#!" He also posted six to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: "Something new How playful 🤳", and six to his Instagram, caption: "New look 😁" (originally in English) Fan Observations: - His watch in one of the photos (below) is at 5:11, with that photo in particular being higher quality than the others. Judging by the other photos, the watch was running normally rather than being specifically set to this. - The scarf is reminiscent of the black one Zhang Zhehan wore for the 2021 Viya Carnival. Gong Jun's jacket is also the same brand as the one Zhehan wore for the Viya Carnival.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted twelve more photos of his red carpet outfit. Caption: "(Plans can't keep up with changes) The silhouette lines contain the ultimate style, @ Gong Jun Simon releases spontaneity in minimalism and shows a calm posture. See you tonight~"

→ Gong Jun's studio posted another six photos of his red carpet outfit, these all of him in front of a mirror. Caption: "Through the Looking Glass"

→ Yang Yang posted three photos of himself and Gong Jun from the previous day's ColorKey livestream.

→ Gong Jun attended the TV Drama Quality Ceremony, where he received an honorary award for Star of the Year. During his red carpet interview he mentioned that he was flying out afterwards to start filming the next Go Fighting! season, and during his award acceptance they played a congratulatory video from Johnny Huang, one of the other Go Fighting! regulars. [red carpet interview (subbed)] [full award acceptance] [award acceptance (subbed)] Fan Observation: During one of the red carpet interviews, Gong Jun mentioned a noodle shop he used to go to in university. Some fans went to it and discovered that one of the items on its menu looks remarkably similar to a dish posted by Anonymous, even down to the bowl.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted eight photos of his award acceptance and performance. Caption: "Congratulations to @ Gong Jun Simon for winning the Quality Appeal Drama Star of the Year. Rise with the wind and keep moving forward!"

03-29 → Gong Jun started filming Go Fighting! season 10.

→ Tissot posted eight photos of Gong Jun's red carpet outfit, highlighting their watch.

→ ColorKey posted a video of behind the scenes footage from their commercial with Gong Jun.

03-30 → ColorKey posted six photo ads featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ ColorKey posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ The scam released the "August" short film. (see 03-09)

Additional Reading: → N/A

previous week || all posts || following post

#Please imagine me grumbling while fixing the way I mistyped color as colour in this post #Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

[louisupdates]

All Of Those Voices review | Louis Tomlinson documentary will surprise even the cynics among us

WHYNOW

Teddy Coward | 22 Mar 2023

2010 was The X Factor’s peak. Not only did it see the show’s highest average weekly viewing figures, raking in a peak of 19.1 million viewers for its final, but it also involved a list of names that have become embedded in British TV history. Cher Lloyd, Rebecca Ferguson and, of course, Wagner, the barmy Brazilian from outer-Brum; it was a year that seemed to match a genuine degree of talent with a light-heartedness.

And, of course, it brought together five baby-faced teens who would go on to produce not just the show’s most successful act but one of the most popular boy bands this country has ever seen: One Direction.

Yet because, with The X Factor, what was once pop cultural cache has nowadays become merely pub quiz fodder (the show last aired in December 2018), that snobbishness towards 1D still lingers to this day – despite the many awards its leading light, Harry Styles, picks up as a solo artist.

All Of Those Voices, the new documentary from Charlie Lightening (whose prior credits include the award-winning Liam Gallagher: As It Was and The Paul McCartney Project), reminds us that at the heart of the manufactured, Simon Cowell-orchestrated world One Direction once operated in, lie real lads. And one of those young men, Louis Tomlinson, is relatable, honest, and has overcome more than his fair share of struggle under a public spotlight.

The film’s best attribute – and the way it achieves it – is how it’s shot. It’s not so much fly-on-the-wall as it is captured with considerable trust between artist and filmmaker. At one stage toward the end, Louis and his crew joke about the seeming lack of a barrier between each other, and this feels like it was extended to Lightening, too.

As such, Tomlinson is forthright about his sense of having no control over his own (let alone One Direction’s) destiny for at least the first two-and-a-half years of the band. He casts himself as the band’s thinker in a rather shrewd creative light by telling us he’s most proud of being the member with the most songwriting credits.

But another strength of the film is that it doesn’t dwell on Louis’ 1D days. Granted, you can’t tell his story as an artist by ignoring it, but its inclusion merely paints a backdrop of what’s to come, most usefully starting the narrative arc of someone at a loss, personally and creatively, when the band announced their split in late 2015.

From here, Louis begins to build, pensively smoking and staring into empty space like any self-respecting existentialist as he contemplates life as a solo artist. Then, tragedy hits. His mother, Johannah Deakin, with whom he had an exceptionally strong relationship–mainly because of an absent father growing up (which struck a particular nerve with me) – passed away in December 2016 after her battle with leukaemia.

Replays of an X Factor performance Louis gave that very same week, spliced with personal testimony from the present day, remind us of the public gaze he was under during an exceptionally challenging period.

Meanwhile, the tragic death of his sister Félicité in 2018 is discussed in less detail but adds to the image of not just an artist but a man beset by loss, still keeping his head afloat. (A moving discussion with Louis’ grandmother provides insight into the keep-calm-and-carry-on spirit of the whole family).

These make the high points feel all the more gratifying – and there are plenty of those. From the release of his long-awaited debut album Walls in 2020 to his triumphant, Guinness World Record-setting livestream during the pandemic and his subsequent return to a global headline tour, it’s safe to say his artistic trajectory is a pretty sharp incline throughout the film.

But whereas some pop personalities might make that seem like an irksome inevitability, the setbacks Louis Tomlinson faces and, crucially, his authentically affable charm mean you end up rooting for him. Do you have to be a fan of his music? Not at all. Can you still admire the way his personhood is portrayed? Of course. And this film captures that in abundance.

Of course, Louis’ mass of fans will love it. That much is a given. But for a purely personal tale, even the most cynical among us would struggle not to find something from All Of Those Voices. Indeed, we’ve come a long way since the fakery of The X Factor.

#louis press #aotv review #why now #aotvfilm #24 march 2023

[fourseasonsfigs]

600, or a musing on resilience and love

Hello all you wonderful figthusiasts! Today is the day that I hit 600 fan figs on my spreadsheet total (not all in hand, the vast majority are in some stage of production or transport), and I wanted to take a minute to stop and celebrate what is, by all accounts, an incredible number.

This is less about me (and my perhaps fiscally-questionable use of disposable cash) and more about the fact that more than 600 individual figures of Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan were produced and made solely by fans. That this many actually exist in the world. What this is about, above all other things, is about love, and resilience, and the awe-inspiring, unstoppable combination of both.

I don't normally talk about the current situation with Zhang Zhehan and Chinese entertainment, because this blog is meant to be a little island of happiness and fun for us that love this show, love these two actors, and love seeing cute renditions of them. But 600...well, 600 feels powerful. It feels like something worth talking about.

This fandom has had half of our vibrant, beautiful soul ripped from us in the nastiest, cruelest, most contemptible way possible. This is greed and evil in the most overt form I've seen in the world, and it was horrifying to watch it unfold that August.

As overseas fans, we at least can still see Zhang Zhehan's past works, post videos and photos of him, and freely say his name as much as we want. The Chinese fandom cannot. Zhang Zhehan has been so comprehensively erased from Chinese media that he cannot even use his own name. The fandom can't even search for his name online, his pictures and videos have been removed, and any of the shows or movies that feature him that remains still available has him (literally) scrubbed from the screen.

This is what I see when I search for Zhang Zhehan on Taobao, Weidian, and Xianyu:

The Chinese fans have taken matters into their own hands, and stood up and fought back and refused to forget him. The fig makers, the doll makers, the merch makers - all of these incredibly brave, loyal, and loving fans have gone out there and dedicated thousands and thousands of hours of their own time and their own money to keeping his memory fresh, his work front and center, and his light constantly burning.

They took him from the fans, but they can't make the fans let him go.

Luckily, the fandom still has the other half of it's soul, and continues to celebrate Gong Jun and his accomplishments, and his own fiercely loyal and great heart, and celebrates the love and affection and care these two souls have for each other. Zhehan promised Junjun forever on May 5th, 2021, and the fandom honors and helps keep his promise.

Think about it. Six-hundred-plus fan-created figurines of the two of them. I don't even own all the fan figs - there's absolutely more than this, I'd estimate closer to 700.

There's Wenzhou figs, of course, but random side character in a long ago TV show? Check. Main characters? Check. Appearance(s) on a variety show? Check. Ad campaigns? (Lots of) magazine shoots? Check check. Casual airport outfit? Workout pose? Douyin moment? any number of Weibo posts? Livestream? not just one, not just two, not just three, renditions of childhood photos? Check check check.

And the figs are still coming. I have a whole list of figs in sketch form sitting in my Weidian cart, waiting to be opened for deposits. One after another, fig makers dipping deep into their precious hoards of recorded shows and magazines and photos and videos of Zhehan, designing one fig after another. Every time Junjun wears some fancy new designer outfit, fans are hard at work pairing that look with a complementary one from Zhehan's archive, determined to keep these two front and center in a country where they can't even type Zhehan's name into a search engine without it being censored.

My respect for the Chinese fandom and the fan creators is immense. They have souls of steel. Every time I hold one of these figs in my hand, and marvel at the cleverness and creativity and all the fine little details, I feel the strength of that connection to them, that iron determination, the fierce will to persevere, that pride and joy, and the love that can't be stopped. 坚强 indeed.

Yeah, 600+ figs is a trauma response, no question. For the fan makers and the fan buyers. But it's a response, all right. Today I have 600 and more tiny (giant) shouts of, you can't stop us, we're going to keep loving and celebrating and remembering him no matter what happens.

It's incredible. I don't know why 600 is the number that really hits me - I had thought it would be 500, but I blew past 500 without blinking in a frenzy of late night and early morning fig drops, and then it was Gong Jun's birthday, and a tidal wave of love and figs, and now here I am. I was at 598 yesterday and already today I'm at 612. I'll be at 700 before I know it, with a lot of remainders starting to be released and the Spring Festival coming up.

I have less than 200 fan figs actually at home, and it's ... a lot. My husband asked me a while back, staring at my display shelves, so, what's the end game here? and I just looked at him, and said, I don't know.

I really don't. I have to believe this is totally unprecedented, but then again, what happened to him is totally unprecedented. The only thing I know that if the fans keep making them, I'm going to keep supporting them.

So here's to resistance, and resilience, and love. Here's to the fans staying strong, and here's to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan. It's going to be a glorious sunrise on the mountaintop when it comes.

#junzhe #zhang zhehan #gong jun #lld #resilience #fighting back #love

[sehtoast]

Give Me Your Rage - All of You is Left to Love Ch8 (Depowered Homelander x OC)

Chapter Directory

1.5k words

Summary: Mirrorlander works Homelander into a rage, ensuing aggression and panic attack from which Ben helps bring him down. Barely any plot, just good ol hurt/comfort

OC: Benjamin Colyer (The Boys-verse Spider-Man)

He tried to keep himself occupied. Tried his best to ignore the whispering in his mind.

TV would drown it out, he thought. Maybe a movie– or the news. Seeing the chaos in the world to make his own feel less suffocating.

All it did was fuel the fire.

VNN showed a livestream of Ben addressing a crowd in regards to another supe filling a seat in The Seven. His little spider stood there, spouting off line after line of corporate sludge, winning the hearts of millions with his emotive mask lenses and honeyed words.

Used to be you up there. You used to matter like that.

His brows furrowed. A shake of the head, praying to will it away.

Now look at you. Just some useless fuckin’ slob spending every day on the couch.

Hands covering his ears in vain.

Wasting away… Sucking down all that fucking milk. Wonder how that bug of yours even looks at you, hm?

No…

The tirade was never ending, dragging on until the sound of a window shutting pulled him just far enough out of his own mind.

Benjamin was home.

The man of the hour! The voice lilted. You really let him take everything from you, huh…

“I’m back!” Ben called from the bedroom. His greeting was followed by the sound of the sink.

Benjamin’s routine upon arriving home... Announce himself. Run his head under the bathroom faucet to fix his mask-flattened hair. Phone on the charger. Supersuit stripped away. Regular clothes on.

Just enough time for the voice in John’s mind to run absolutely rampant.

He stole your life.

Stole the world’s love.

Made you into his fucking house pet!

John, toeing the line of falling into a frenzy, rushed into the kitchen to avoid Ben as his little spider started to make his way from the bedroom.

Took everything from you.

“Hey, hun?”

His voice grew closer.

Used you up.

“No…” John hissed. “No, no, no…”

A shuffling of footsteps.

Now you’re nothing… and he has it all.

“John?”

Make him pay. Do it!

His body moved before he could stop it. As if he’d gone numb to everything but the pain and rage building within.

His fist connected with Ben’s jaw, knocking his little spider’s head to the side. His hand ached from the impact, but he was already mid swing with the other before he could realize it.

Ben caught his fist with ease. He said nothing, just… pulled Homelander into an embrace. Tight, but not crushing.

John fought, at first. Tried his hardest to rip out of Ben's hold, to continue his assault, but those arms around his upper body held him firm until the grunts and growls he didn’t even know he was making turned to tears.

“Fuck!” He roared, giving one last struggle against Ben’s hold. “Fuck, fuck, f-fuck…”

“It’s okay.” Ben cooed. “Give me your rage…”

He choked on a particularly harsh sob, reaching up to clench his head and rip at the shortness of his hair in helpless agony.

Ben unfurled Homelander’s grip with ease.

“Give me what you can’t hold anymore.”

His arms wrapped around Benjamin with all the strength he could muster, gripping and squeezing as though letting go would be the end of him.

The end of them.

What has he done?

Words spilled from his lips, apologies falling over one another as he sank to his knees. Benjamin followed him down, positioning to hold him comfortably. A leg over his, arms wrapped around his shoulders, chin resting atop of his head.

Somehow, the tenderness of his lover’s touch made it all hurt even more. His sobs became more guttural, rocking him to his core. A tsunami of pain, of shame and misery, regret…

Here he was, attacking the last person in the world that gave a shit about him. Driving away the only person in the world to ever show him real love. His Benjamin.

He was trying to hurt his Benjamin.

His chest heaved erratically with breaths that wouldn’t come.

Ben began to rock him, a hand trailing to rest just above his heart.

Each exhale was interrupted by a reflexive breath in, the two stifling each other until John felt dizzy. His panic escalated quickly with each failed gasp.

"I- I c-can't b-brea-athe!”

Ben used his grip to spin Homelander, turning his love to rest against him, back to chest. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen John have a panic attack, but this was certainly one of the worst to date.

"Feel me, baby. Feel my chest." Ben spoke firm and calm, his hands at John's shoulders to steady him against the lurches of his cries. “I need you to breathe like me…”

Homelander gripped Ben's thighs, chest heaving with breaths that only further robbed his lungs of air. Every breath stifled by a spasming diaphragm.

"Eyes closed. Focus... Breathe like me." Ben took a deep inhale, letting his chest push against John's arched back. Reaching up to run his fingers through Homelander’s hair. “You’ve got this. It’s gonna be okay.”

Homelander clenched his eyes shut and forced in a ragged breath, exhaling just as shakily. Head thrown back against Ben's shoulder, body rigid as he fought desperately to control himself.

"That's it," Ben whispered, hands still holding him steady. "In…" he took another exaggerated breath. "Then out…"

They repeated this way for some time until the iron grip at Ben’s thighs loosened and the sound of desperate gasps faded into unsteady breaths mimicking his own.

A shaky hand rose from his leg, and Ben grasped it. A kiss pressed to Homelander’s hand.

"It's okay…"

"It's not…" Homelander countered weakly. "I hit you."

"You did." Tone soft, forgiving. A hint of a chuckle to soften any other edges. Ben leaned to rest his chin on John's shoulder. It didn't hurt– but telling Homelander that would only reopen another wound. "Are you okay?"

Homelander scoffed in disbelief, another round of tears stinging at his eyes. The hand still at his little spider's thigh gripped again.

"I hurt you, and you're asking me if I'm okay." A sniffle, then a beat of silence.

"I hit you…"

Wouldn't be the first time, is what Ben wanted to add. He recalled an instance of being tackled out of the sky and thrown onto a roof, but that was… another lifetime, now.

John clutched Ben's hand firm to his chest. The rise and fall of it still unsteady, but far more calm than earlier.

"I forgive you," Benjamin whispered into his ear. The next part, barely even a breath from his lips- but something that needed to be acknowledged. Something Ben knew without having to be told. Because, why else?

"He's been loud lately, hasn't he?"

Ben hadn't been home much in the past few weeks. Too many events, too many instances of violent crime stopped dead in its tracks by the web-head, damage control and paperwork.

Too little time with John.

Who else would keep him company?

Homelander sucked in a breath and held it, nodding furiously as he tried to keep himself together.

"I'm sorry, baby…" Ben cooed, his fingers traveling to trail through John's hair.

They stayed like that, seated on the floor of the kitchen, holding on to each other for some time. Ben’s fingers massaged Homelander’s scalp, and sometimes deviated from their trail to thumb at his cheekbone instead.

John’s eyelids grew heavier with each passing moment, fatigue setting in now that the rage had left him. Eventually, he felt those strong arms loop behind his back and under his knees, and he was lifted from the floor.

Ben laid Homelander on their unmade bed and tucked him in. Pressed a kiss to his brow.

John made a small sound of protest, thinking that his little spider was walking away to leave him, so Benjamin simply climbed overtop of him and made his way under the blankets. Within seconds, Homelander moved to rest his head upon Ben's chest, nuzzling into him with a defeated sigh.

“I'm calling off tomorrow." Ben declaread. "Maybe the next day, too…No, definitely the next day."

"I'd… really like that," Homelander replied, sleep lacing his voice.

Ben’s fingers danced through Homelander’s hair as he soothed him. He wasn’t one to hold back on vocalizing his emotions to John, but Ben waited until he was asleep to speak.

“You’re my world…” He whispered. “No matter what happens, no matter how crazy things may get… I’m gonna stick with you. Gonna watch you come out on the other side of this change victorious.”

His hand moved to Homelander’s cheek, where he rubbed his thumb in circles. Ben looked at him contemplatively and felt his heart swell.

“You’ve never stopped giving me those damn butterflies…”

#homelander #homelander x oc #canon x oc #homelander fanfiction #hurt/comfort #hurt with EXTRA comfort >:) #sehtoast writing #the boys #the boys tv #the boys homelander

[junjiie]

pb n jj help what’s going on with woozi, mingi, and soobin 😭😭 i hate twitter with a passion so i’m a little lost

AH OK SO . i’ll put it utc 👍 i hope i explain it ok ☠️ i didnt really keep up with what was happening with mingi but im p sure his issue got cleared up pretty quickly and i didn’t see too much hate towards him

basically they [sb, wz] were getting flamed because people noticed an anime they’d mentioned watching called made in abyss. it (quoting from google) “follows the story of an orphaned girl named riko, who finds and befriends a part-robot boy named reg, and descends with him into the titular "abyss" that leads deep into the earth, in hopes of exploring it and finding her mother.” and i think was actually pretty popular when it came out because people really liked the world building & the plot, but there was also some darker elements to it (gore, and some weird fetishy shit related to the child mcs) that people found strange. that and the fact that apparently the mangaka is kind of a freak irl was enough for people to start calling them out for reading something that i saw some people call ‘child torture fetish porn.’

personal thoughts here for a sec - i get wanting to hold your idols accountable for talking about things you think are a bit sketch (especially to a large audience such as when you’re on a livestream), but also i think some people were taking it a bit too far? going to the lengths of using a term as weighty as ‘pedo’ was something i don’t think should’ve ever came into the conversation [when being used to refer to sb, wz, & other idols who were dragged into it]. the calls to kick them out of their respective groups were also a little weird to me (with wz especially like 😭 that is one of svt’s actual backbones please be serious. plus they were never going to get kicked out because people on twitter wanted them to anyway) but . Yeah .

anw. woozi’s was cleared up because he only mentioned mia once on a stream as one in a list of animes that he’d started but hadn’t had the time to continue because of. tours? concerts? one of the two. he didn’t speak any more about it than that. with soobin, while he did specifically talk about mia on a weverse live, he did also say that he wouldn’t recommend it because of the provocative themes in the show. those things (plus if you take into account what heavy censorship it would’ve gone through before it would’ve even been thought about being broadcasted on south korean tv) stopped a lot of the hate coming towards them and i think things have (mostly) blown over now 👍 my tl is mostly ab the news ab seunghan.

i think thats it??? things were pretty bad with sb but oh my god TAEYONG?? sol i was in the trenches . hope this kind of explained tbings for u bsf 😓

#another thing.. some ppl were acting like reading dark and intentionally provocative media was a crime worst than like murder or sth 😭😭

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

Can u say this completely unbiasedly? If Louis was in Harry's place with all the opportunities, do u think he would've left the 1d boys and did everything Harry did? And if he was given the choice between 'harry level fame' and freedom and love - would he choose freedom?

I love Louis with my whole heart and I'm so proud of the person he has become now. And I loved harry so much. It hurts sometimes too see what he has become. That makes me wonder whether the opportunities changed him or he has always been this person, makes me wonder whether Louis would change too if he was given that exact same opportunities.

If we look at their fundamental choices and personalities, Louis could have chosen differently, to make more money, to exploit his fame — and he didn’t.

He could have praised the Kardashians or other reality TV stars, chosen to align with YouTubers and Tiktok stars. He could have explored these connections for tawdry, viral headlines. He didn’t.

He could have complained about the band, about disagreements in it, about Savan Kotecha, about his bandmates. He didn’t.

He could have chosen to exploit connections in industry for a short term gain— to make collabs with popular stars, to publicize famous friendships, to incite gossip. He didn’t.

He could have exploited Covid and BLM, with merch and photo ops. He could have posted about abortion rights saying the least offensive, most anodyne pablum. He could politicize politics while not taking any stands at all. He could have teased his sexuality and used it for marketing. He didn’t.

Louis could use Demand (the Azoffs’ datamining project) to datamine his fans, too. The program is open for 19,000 artists to use, so the artists can list the highest dynamic prices for tickets, AND find out what other brands their fans like for future reference. Louis kept prices very low… very, very low compared to the rest of the industry. He could have made more money. He could have datamined. He could have stayed in the wealthiest countries to generate revenue most efficiently (especially since it’s expensive to travel). He didn’t.

Louis could have charged a nominal fee for his festival. He could have sold a hundred iterations of Walls singles to squeeze more money from fans. He could have charged for the AFHF livestream without any additional footage. He could have told fans not to tape it or share it. He could have chosen bigger opening acts with more connections to industry. The fact is that he could have made more money if he wanted to, but he chose to be generous with fans instead.

Fans, love, generosity, and hard work. Those are Louis’ choices.

There’s a saying that people show their true colors when they’re faced with adversity. It’s easy to tell other people to be kind when you’re at the top of the world. It’s easy to ask others to share. But Louis is himself, has always been himself. They’re simply not the same.

#louis tomlinson

[riwrite]

from @collectalong. 😴 fall asleep on your muse (shiho and shizuku oh my goodness gracious!!!!!)

shizuku treasures every single moment spent with her little sister. it's not often they spend much time together anymore. shizuku has been kept busy with idol work ( of which she does more now than she did even while contracted with cheerful*days, since she and the rest of more more jump! need to take care of a lot of business usually left to an agency ), and now that shiho has reunited with her old friends and started performing with them, she's away from home more than ever.

and shizuku's okay with that, truly. she's immeasurably proud of shiho and the rest of leo/need. they're already coming into their own as a band and though many people across japan know her own name and face, she hopes the world will catch onto shiho's in short time.

( if she didn't know it would would upset her, she'd fawn over leo/need on more more jump!'s livestreams until every viewer recognized her sister and her sister's friends' talent. but she knows better, she knows shiho would rather get to that level on her own merit. )

this evening they're both free from their respective practices, they've each no homework due the next day, and the sun has already set. a distant bassline drifts through the house from their father in the spare room he uses as a something of a studio, and their mother has retreated somewhere into the home for the night, as well. the two sisters sit in front of the tv, on which is some anime featuring small anthropomorphic creatures that shizuku had found and turned on because she thought shiho would find the designs cute.

some time into the third episode, she feels a weight at her side, and when she turns to look at the source of it, her heart immediately melts. shiho, asleep, rests her head on her shoulder. it's something she would never do awake, but shizuku can't help her giddy joy. she's a very affectionate person where her sister isn't, and her hugs and offers of care are always rejected, so she makes sure to savor the moments like these, where shiho lets down the tough exterior and shizuku gets to be the doting big sister again, if only for a few minutes.

she doesn't move any further, nor does she say anything, fully expecting shiho to wake back up if she does. but in the confines of her thoughts, she's acknowledging just how hard her sister works, how much passion she puts into her every day to achieve her dreams with the people she loves most. the callouses on her fingertips, the conviction in her voice, the smiles that're no longer quite as rare... it's all shizuku's source of hope. the smiles of her fans are powerful, and they're something she'll never take for granted. but before she was an idol, she was a big sister, and that's something she'll be still long after she retires. shiho's happiness is her happiness, and shiho's peace is her peace. that'll never change.

#i will not get emotional abt the hinomori sisters. <- LIE #THEY ARE EVERYTHING TO MEEE #ty for sending btw!!! #collectalong #‧ in. → 「 hinomori shizuku. 」

[kiitchensiink]

ohh okay i love trench stuff i love lore stuff so tell me. Do u have any very specific headcanons u would wanna share on trench or dema. Whether that be the characters or the actual world im curious

since we're loreposting today let me roll up my sleeves and answer this lol

- Thoughts on the Inhabitants

It's said in Clancy's letters that the bishops mandated Vialism as a belief system, and the way he speaks of it implies he remembers it happening, or at least it was shortly established within his lifetime.

I think that one round of population control was enough for many of the inhabitants of Dema, especially those who knew nothing beyond the walls of their city. Many of them likely didn't need overt re-education, and just passively absorbed obedience through the constant buzzing hum of propaganda being plied into their minds. It's in the water. It's in their blood.

Tyler describes his waves of emotions, negative and positive, as seasons, and the way the albums currently established to exist in demaverse follow along this theme to me; Trench feels like the desolation and stillness of winter, and SAI feels like it exists in a perpetual summer.

However, the significance of this to me is that though Trench is cold and hostile, it's real. The chill on your skin is something you can really feel. Whereas SAI, and by extension Daytime Dema, feels like the commercialism of the perfect summer, the type you see in advertisements on TV; Ones of people dancing and smiling and surrounded by warm colours and pastels. But it's all plastered artifice upon a cold concrete structure.

We've seen both sides; First we saw the cold reality of both Trench and the city, Dema, itself. But the difference is that within Dema, there's this sense of coating this reality with a saccharine overtone.

The inhabitants who are allowed to live within the outer regions of the city itself get to experience "normal" things. They can go to bars and clubs, Clancy speaks of reading about descriptions of a "home" in books which leads him to his awakening, and they are seen to be living in comfortable homes.

However, the only time we saw this depicted was in the livestream, which is clearly shown to be a set. And even moreso, it exists within Tyler's mind as he dissociates during an uncomfortable interview with Sally and Dan... Whether or not this is the actual reality of what living in dema is like, we can't actually know for sure until we see more in the new era.

However, if we look at the previous depictions of dema, such as the VR bandito experience... The city is harsher and colder. If we rewatch Nico and the Niners, the place Tyler is held is dilapidated and brutalist.

Whether or not the world depicted in the livestream is real or not is up for debate but, operating on the idea that it IS real...

The inhabitants likely don't much realise they are being limited. They believe they have a certain amount of free will, despite the fact that propaganda meets them at every waking moment; That they are kept obedient in their comfortable lives... A happy populace has no reason to rebel or escape. Smart dictators know this.

Still though, once a person brushes up against those limits and meets the walls of resistance, they start to realise how small their allotted circle of "acceptable" existence is. They either return to the comfortable centre and keep navigating their known... Or they push up against it, and attempt to break those walls.

Which is what all of us should be doing.

#mine #tøp #sfw #letters #hope u enjoy!!! i have so much more to say on the bishops and the banditos and trench and what day to day dema is like #but this response is already so long lol so pls ply me with more questions to get more answers :3 #demaposting

[hyenahunt]

Bankara Graffiti: We Who Never Learn - 1

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: Hiyori, Jun, Tatsumi

Proofreading: Remy (JP) & honeyspades (ENG)

Translation: hyenahunt

Hiyori: Whenever he's around you, Tatsumi-kun, our Jun-kun just turns into a fanboy... How troubling.

Time: In the first year of ES's founding, towards the end of February.

Location: In a Reimei Academy classroom.

Hiyori: Hey there! So you must be the transfer student we've heard so much about ☆

Jun: ......

...Um, actually, I'm not.

Hiyori: Aaand cut! What a terrible shame it is that our broadcast of Bankara Academy[1] must come to an end today!

I've always thought you weren't the most entertaining boy, but who'd have thought it'd be to this extent? Oh, how you disappoint me so, Jun-kun!

Jun: All I did was state a fact, so why d'ya gotta rip into me this much, huh~?

Tatsumi: Now, now, please settle down, you two. First, soothe your soul with a prayer to our Father in Heaven, and then take a moment to hear each other out.

Hiyori: It feels like this process has one step too many, but you're absolutely right, Tatsumi-kun! Jun-kun, you ought to reflect on your actions!

Jun: Yeah, yeah, I'm the only one at fault here just as always, aren't I~?

Terribly sorry and all that, alright~?

Hiyori: Jun-kun! You're acting for all the world like a dog started barking at you on your way to school, and now you're simply shooing it away!

Cease this nonsense at once! Face me with the sincerity I deserve!

Jun: Gonna be real with ya, that’d be a total pain. ...It feels like we've been doing this for ages — should we really be wasting so much time like this?

Tatsumi: No, I don't suppose we should. However, I'm new to performing on these — what do you call them — reality shows.

Truth be told, I can't quite make heads or tails out of anything that’s been going on.

Jun: Reliable as always, Tatsumi-senpai! It's your first time doing this, and yet you're so calm and collected ~ ☆

Hiyori: Tatsumi-kun! Don't let that get to your head, alright!

Tatsumi: Understood ♪ Of course, I intend to keep my place as a newcomer to ES in mind.

That's precisely why I hope to learn from the two of you, who are my seniors in the way of being an idol.

They called me in for this task despite how clueless I am, so for real, what exactly should I do?

Jun: "For real!" Tatsumi-senpai, you actually used some slang! That sure doesn't happen often! If only I caught that on video!

Hiyori: Whenever he's around you, Tatsumi-kun, our Jun-kun just turns into a fanboy... How troubling.

Tatsumi: Well, colour me embarrassed. There's nothing wrong with your affections, but we're essentially in the middle of filming, so perhaps it would be for the best if we refrained from any unconventional behavior.

Jun: Gotcha! I'll do exactly as you say, Tatsumi-senpai!

Hiyori: And there he goes, wagging his tail again... Such disloyalty. Well, putting that aside —

As you're new to all this, Tatsumi-kun, I'll give you a little explanation about our current situation.

You see, this Bankara Academy is an online livestream show meant to depict us enjoying our high school lives.

Tatsumi: An online show? It seems unusual that it won't be airing on television.

I did hear that this Bankara Academy is once again a part of COMP[2], and CosPro is overseeing it, aren't they?

/I was under the impression that CosPro prefers to air TV programs in the more traditional manner, though, rather than online shows with their limited viewerships,

Jun: Bankara Academy is pretty niche, y'see~ It's got a surprisingly long history, but I heard they cut the program since viewership got pretty low.

Even if they made use of us starring in it to promote it, they'd have to bear the risk of it failing if they showed it on TV~

So they're testing it out as a low-budget online show for starters, or something along those lines, I think?

Tatsumi: I see now. Er, is it really alright to talk about such questionable topics? We're live on air right now, aren't we?

Hiyori: Well, it's supposed to give the impression of being a live broadcast, anyway. It'd be dozens of hours long if they truly streamed the whole thing, you see, so they edit it down to some extent.

What's most important is for us to just act naturally, without putting on any airs. After all, what the viewers want to see is our true selves that they don't usually get to witness.

Tatsumi: Is that so? In that case, I'll do my best.

However, I'm in a delicate position as I'm a part of StarPro, as opposed to CosPro.

And Hiyori-san, is it really alright to treat you as a high school student for this project? You've already graduated, after all.

Wouldn't that be misrepresenting you — or rather, misrepresenting your "true self"?

Hiyori: Oh, it's fiiine. In the end it's just supposed to give the impression of high school, so there's no problem even if I'm not a real high school student.

Tatsumi:There is certainly a lot of talk of impressions.

Jun: Well, it's essentially a pretty sketchy show to begin with.

Hiyori: That may be so, but it is formal work so we must see it through to the best of our abilities. Now, everyone, let's give it our all and show them a most delightful semblance of youth ♪

Jun: Haha. A high school student enjoying a "delightful semblance of youth", huh... I'd have an easier time acting as an alien from a distant planet, honestly.

Bankara (蛮カラ: ban - barbarian + kara - collar) is a term and style that came about during the Meiji era. It was meant to be the antithesis to the haikara trend, or "high-collar", a nickname for initially those who were increasingly influenced by Western culture and ideals, and eventually anything that was foreign and fancy. Haikara was named for the high-collared Western fashion that such individuals tended to wear. In contrast, the spirit of bankara was to be individualistic, true to one's self as well as the old Japanese values, and was characterised by an air of roughness and unrefinedness that rejected this new wave of foreign fanciness. Typical bankara fashion favoured traditional Japanese garments and accessories, such as the gakuran and geta (Japanese male student jacket + sandal/boots), hence the outfit theme of the card set. Here's another good source for more info.

COMP is the project that the present day events of Obbligato were a part of, intended to promote the image and popularity of schools affiliated with CosPro. You can read more about about it in the prologue of Obbligato here.

✦✦✦✦✦

✦ all ✦ next →

#jun sazanami #hiyori tomoe #tatsumi kazehaya #ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #s: bankara graffiti #type: scout #era: !! #hyenahunttl

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Anyone want another Chortle headlines roundup? I'm tired and taking some downtime in the most beautiful place in the world (that's where I am all week, if I've been a bit slow in posting), so let's have another Chortle headlines round-up.

Today in things that do not need to fucking happen:

Today in things that definitely do not need to fucking happen:

I almost called this another thing that does not need to happen, since Luxury Comedy did not give me great faith in his ability to make a TV show without Julian Barratt:

but actually they're not kidding about the star-studded thing. "Hugh Bonneville, Asim Chaudhry, Joe Wilkinson, Greg Davies, Tamsin Grieg, Mark Heap, Diane Morgan, Ellie White, Jessica Hynes, Paul Kaye, Guz Khan and Hollyoaks star Duayne Boachie have all signed up to the highwayman comedy." Yeah, I'll probably at least give that one a shot.

It's got Dominic Maxwell on it, who can go fuck himself for that time he called Andy Zaltzman a "left-behind sidekick" [to John Oliver] in 2017, but other than that the list is all right. I'm not sure exactly when I got to the point of having favourite and least favourite British comedy reviewers, and opinions on quite a few of them, but that's happened at some point in the last year.

Doesn't look all that interesting, except that there will be a Catherine Bohart special that I'll listen to. If anyone is interested in experiencing the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe from afar, the best way (that I know of... please let me know if I'm missing anything) is NextUp Comedy, streaming a whole bunch of shows, some of which are listed here:

Ones I'm interested in are Mark Watson (obviously), Shaparak Khorsandi, Ian Smith, Nick Helm (not incredibly interested in his comedy generally, but it seems like a livestream of him from the Fringe would be fun), Luisa Omielan, Paddy Young, Alison Spittle, Dan Tiernan, and I'll have to catch one Late 'n' Live. Not that I'm definitely going to see all of those, they're just the ones I'm most interested in trying to catch if they make sense. Please let me know if anyone else knows that any of the other NextUp streams happening this month are likely to be particularly good.

They're fucking not. Maybe they're welcome, but they're not appreciated. I've heard that show with people who took him up on his offer to heckle, and I've heard it without them, and the latter is much better. Don't turn up to this show to heckle, even though you're technically allowed to. He's got good material, let him do it.

1) I'd still love to see (or hear) a full Chloe Petts show, why won't anyone film one of those? 2) I briefly forgot that "Cowgate" is just my name for the time they took apart a cow at the Gilded Balloon in 2003, named after the fact that the original Gilded Balloon was in the Cowgate neighbourhood, and when The Incident took place it had recently burned down and been rebuilt nearby. I forgot that most people don't call that incident "Cowgate". In fact, most people don't call it anything, because referring to it is not a significant part of their lives. But for a tiny fraction of a second, I thought Chloe Petts was going to explain to me why they sacrificed that cow. You're right, Chloe. It was heinous behaviour. Someone make me a five-part documentary series explaining it.

God, how did a guy that annoying get made by Mark Steel's DNA?

[apple-grass-and-smiles]

Hello! The ever-sweet and wonderful @marthaskane tagged me to share eight shows that define me/help you get to know me. Without further ado, the shows!

Alias (2001-2006)

Alias has taught me the value of old LiveJournal pages and the Wayback Machine more than any other show I've ever loved. I discovered this show in 2013 when it was on Netflix and then I spent a few months in Germany, where I spent too much money buying almost the entire show on iTunes because I could not comprehend going more than a day without Sydney Bristow with me.

2. The Clone Wars (2008-2013, 2014, 2020)

I remember when this show first aired and my siblings and I had a square dance at our school (very American, I know) so we had to DVR it. The next morning we snuck down early to watch it with the volume super low so we wouldn't wake up our parents. Few shows have continuously come back into my life the way this one has. I can track a lot of how I've changed as a fan through the different ways I've viewed this show over the last 15 years.

3. Fringe (2008-2013)

I've been rewatching this show since January of this year and can confirm: it is still a nearly perfect 100 episodes of TV. Fringe manages to perfect a lot of the plot lines and dynamics that appear in Alias (both are J.J. Abrams/his collaborators projects). It manages to walk the line between a procedural and a mythology-driven show beautifully and so clearly knows what message and themes it wants to share from the very first shot. If you like exploring messy family dynamics, action, and the X-Files, Fringe is a good option for you.

4. Gotham (2014-2019)

I historically have no cared much at all about Batman. He struck me as pretty boring in comparison to every other person he interacted with. Gotham change that for me (turns out he just needed to be put next to any even more boring guy, but I digress...). Loving this show is a lesson in looking past weird choices, wacky inconsistencies, and learning to just trust that writers will give you a fun ride, even if you understand less that 15% of it. It helped me remember that the sentence "I love this show" does not always mean "here is a perfect example of perfect storytelling" and just how freeing that can be. It also gave me a beautiful little group of friends who continue to make me smile on a regular basis.

5. Blindspot (2015-2020)

While this show may not be one I post about often, it was foundational for how I interact in fandom now. It was one of the first times I was active in a fandom from the start of the show. It was the first time I was in a fandom group chat and my Tumblr friends broke containment into being people I followed on Instagram and texted. I organized a Secret Santa. It was the first time I remember actively freaking out of promo photos (1x09 IYKYK) and synopses. Almost all the confidence I have when interacting in fandoms is from these experiences. And the plot is stellar.

6. Iron Fist (2017-2018)

I can't tell you how I ended up watching this. I do not know what prompted me to turn it on but I'm really glad I did. This show has so many amazing nuggets of amazingness and its shortcomings brought me together with two of my favorite people as we tried to understand what had gone wrong and where. (This is not a good ad for the show.) I love getting to play with stories and characters that have seemingly infinite potential and getting to do it with other people who are just as committed to the story as I was meant the world.

7. The Rookie (2018-present)

I fought against this one so hard. I did not want to get into it, but as my dash filled with those gifs of Lucy in the green dress and I had my wonderful friend pitching the show to me over and over, I caved. And I'm really glad I did. The experience of watching a long season over months, one week and one episode at a time, is so different than streaming or rewatching shows and I'd forgotten how much I missed it until I got to do it again for this show. My Tuesday livestreams with my lovely friend single-handedly pulled me through so many rough spots over the last year. For a procedural dramedy, The Rookie continues to serve up some of the best characters on TV right now and consistently delivers some of the best cold opens.

8. Prodigal Son (2019-I'm in denial)

The show that owns my heart and soul. The show I'd sell my organs to get new episodes of. Returning to this show, whether I'm writing fic, doing a TED Talk in my head about the psychology in the show, or actually watching an episode, consistently feels like coming home. I did not know it was possible for someone to stick their hand in your head and pull out a show custom-made for you, but that's what this is. The characters are all so perfectly imperfect and desperate to be better. The plots are just the perfect amount of bonkers. The show being a drama pretending to be a procedural is beautiful. If you'd told me in 2019 that a show about a profiler whose dad is a serial killer and they solve crimes together would be the show that would leave an indelible mark on my life, I would have rolled my eyes because that's so cliche. 2019!me had no idea what she was on about. But I'm glad she figured it out and randomly put on this little show one night that had continued to pull me through good days and bad days and everything in between.

As for tagging other people, anyone is welcome to join but I’ll specifically tag some people I know who haven't been tagged (I think): @electricbluebutterflies, @chenlucys, @shinythinx, @rojaswarren, @meandmyechoes, @padme-deserved-better, @whitesunlars, @harrows-bones, @bpdanakins, and @violetsandmagpies.

#emily does stuff (shocker) #I feel like it's been a while since I've done a tag #which is an entirely self-inflicted state #due to not doing much stuff that isn't work or sleeping #as I tagged people I had the beautiful experience of continuing to see people that I wanted to tag #because they're great! and I love hearing from them! and I am so glad I know them the way I do! #but I didn't want to have 47 people tagged because that's just too long #and yes if you think this is about you it 110% is and I love you! #I'll chill out now #sorry but also a little not sorry for writing novels here #I don't know what anyone else could have expected though

[agentravensong]

about the Spamton's Fate speaker: what if the speaker is the Knight? And rather than actual jealousy, the knight is trying to orchestrate Spamton's downfall and manipulate the addisons into doing so for whatever reason... Plus its weird how spamton didn't know about the knight when he was still a big shot (looking at his twt post), but suddenly in Ch.2 he wants to talk to Kris about the Knight and it feels like something important related to them both after his downfall...

Hmm... I could see that, maybe.

The thing about Spamton not knowing the Knight in the Twitter post is weird, cause if we're meant to take it that all the Twitter posts are happening pre-chapter 2, then what about this one?

This is referencing Spamton's dialogue if you beat him by fighting.

An event which, pre Chapter 2, obviously hadn't happened yet.

So I think the Spamton we saw over the course of the sweepstakes is a post Chapter 2 Spamton, and his denial of knowing who the Knight is was a deliberate lie to avoid this happening again:

(and hey, doesn't that static look familiar?)

That or we aren't meant to think too hard about it.

But, back to the main point of your ask:

The main thing is motive. Like, if it *isn't* pure jealousy (which would be weird for the Knight, presumably a Lightner and someone who seems to be deliberately hiding their identity, to feel about Spamton), then what is it? What beef does the Knight have with him?

Is it because Spamton tried to be something above a Darkner, and that goes against the Knight's worldview? I could see that, especially if they are working with the Angel, as supported by your observation of the "will" connection and the stuff in this post of mine.

That being said, I wouldn't take any of the random lines in the livestream that seriously. Most likely, the Radio TV crew picked up on the references to the Angel in Chapter 2 (Snowgrave specifically) and just thought it would be fitting to reference.

Alternatively, maybe it's less personal jealousy against Spamton for being more popular than the speaker, and more frustration with how he overshadowed the rest of the Dark World the Knight made. Like, if the Knight is making each fountain with a specific goal and a story to be experienced (for the sake of the Lightner cast or for us), seeing everyone talk mostly about this side character? I can see that getting on their nerves.

#image descriptions in alt text #thanks anon! #deltarune #deltarune spoilers #spamton #the roaring knight #the other thing is the use of first person plural in the item description #but i guess you're implying that that comes from the addisons' perspective #and that the knight is using them specifically because they can connect to the light world #...but connecting to the light world is different than connecting to *our world* isn't it? would they even be able to do so? #would even the knight be able to?

[alltheselights]

I am so tired for Louis. Look at all the articles because he made a flippant comment about Up All Night (which really is my least favourite 1D album, I like a couple of songs from it but I think the other albums were better overall) and also, Louis - and the other boys too, they have also said things that pointed at this - clearly didn’t completely love the direction of early 1D, hence why he fought for the boys to have more of a say, for them to write more and have more to do with the music side of things. Which they did. All these articles about that comment, yet none of them wrote about a world-record livestream with proceeds donated to charities and his crew, the Away From Home Festival from last year, the fact that the Away From Home Festival 2022 sold out in a few days, nothing really about Walls reaching #1 on iTunes a second time (which I think is actually pretty impressive), a successful solo world tour. And people outside of Louis’ fans think this is normal? It’s not. Niall had more articles about his livestream and he sold less tickets than Louis. I don’t want to compare the boys but doing so just tells you how rotten things are for Louis. I’m just sick of this entire thing and people are using those new articles to drag Louis again - and the comment happened over a week ago! The timing just seems off, but then they always do with negative press about Louis and actions against Louis. It gets disheartening. I also admire him so much for being able to keep moving forward and keep trying, because he knows what has been done to him and he still keeps going when it would be easy to give up and just completely lose faith. How do you deal with the anger towards and the disappointment in the industry which has not been kind to Louis in many ways, if it’s something you feel you can answer?

Yeah, I saw the negative articles and negative comments on ssome of them. Thankfully, despite those articles, it doesn’t seem to have gotten too much attention - not anything like what happened with Liam a couple of months ago. I also think while the general public is hating on him, fans overall agree with him and understand why he would say that. Billboard tried to post about it and fans just bombarded the quote RTs and replies saying he spilled. 😭

I’m not sure if it was a targeted effort or just the media acting like the media, but this yet again makes it very clear that Simon Jones does NOTHING for Louis to help him in the UK press and the rest of his team does nothing to help him elsewhere in the world. He has nobody trying to get him good press and nobody trying to lessen the impact of negative press. Like you mentioned with the livestream and the upcoming AFH Festival, there isn’t even a bare minimum of normal press coverage of those things, but any flippant comment that can be twisted to make Louis look bad, they’re on it. It’s ridiculous and not anything you see with any other artist at Louis’ level.

To criticize Louis slightly for a minute though (and his team again too) - I do think that he needs to go through a fresh round of media training. I don’t want him to be a robot in interviews, but I think it’s clear that after so much time away from having to do them (first with 1D ending, then with the long break from him releasing music after Miss You, then with the pandemic), he seems to struggle with them a bit. He seems very nervous and uncomfortable in many of them, and I actually think that contributes to him repeating the same phrases over and over (”do you know what I mean?” and “to be fair” are said like 10x per interview if not more). He swears even when it’s not appropriate - for example, on U.S. radio and TV shows where it’s not allowed. I have no issue with swearing, I do it all the time, but obviously there is a time and place. And comments like the UAN one - while yes, the media will absolutely always find something to criticize, I do think there are certain things that Louis says sometimes where it’s pretty obvious that it will be used to make him look bad and I think some fresh media training would help prevent him from saying those things or help him to say them in a better way where it’s less likely that it would be twisted.

A strong team that wanted the best for him would help Louis with these things so he would feel more comfortable in interviews AND better portray himself to the general public so he could gain a larger fanbase. Louis is so intelligent and kind and big-hearted and his interviews (and the subsequent press coverage, when it actually happens) rarely reflect that. It’s so frustrating.

#asks

[banschivs]

◎ 𝙸𝙼𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙽𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴𝚁

CAN THEY USE CHOPSTICKS. she can’t,  on account of the two middle fingers on her dominant hand being severed at the knuckle and sewn back on.  before the fight with dane that took the use of her right hand,  she probably could have learned quick. give her time as a lefty.

WHAT DO THEY DO WHEN THEY CAN’T SLEEP. largely sleep is nix’s go-to when everything else is a mess,  so if she can’t sleep on top of that?  she’s one to go find arthur and veg with him in the night.  he doesn’t sleep,  and so when he’s in the house he’s an area of comfort.  they can not-sleep together.  she also has a tenancy to just drag herself upstairs to her recording room and throw out a surprise livestream of something stupid and easy and probably violent.

WHAT ORDER DO THEY WASH THINGS IN THE SHOWER. she and arthur do tend to shower together often,  and so because of that she ends up washing twice or three times even.  but otherwise when she is on her own,  she probably still spends way too long in there.  she wasn’t able to just shower freely and whenever until about,  what?  two years ago,  so excuse her for savouring it.  mostly she just washes her hair to start,  suds herself in some likely sweet scented wash that doesn’t smell dissimilar to their little girls’ wash,  shaves,  then stands to admire the wonderful thing that is a shower.  she can be a bit of a zombie about it.

WHAT’S THEIR COFFEE ORDER. she’s not ashamed to enjoy those sickening specialty starbucks drinks.  if it’s pink it gets extra points.  even with that said she’s a big lover and any stimulant she can get her hands on,  so don’t be too surprised if you’re behind her in the line and she asks for ‘as many shots as you can fit in a venti’.  leave her alone.

HOW DO THEY ACT AROUND CHILDREN. she loves her children to death and then beyond some,  and is frightfully protective of them.  but even though they’re hers,  she sometimes struggles relating to them or ‘getting’ them.  the difference is with her own that she puts all the effort and work in to do so and get better.  she talks to them like they’re her peers unless going out of her way not to for fun or whatever reason.  other children are just sort of... there,  to her,  but she is a protector of them,  given how her own childhood was destroyed so violently.  so even if she’s begrudging sometimes,  she’d actually make a perfect ride or die babysitter.  do not make her a babysitter though.

WHAT WOULD THEY WATCH ON TV WHEN THEY’RE BORED AND NOTHING THEY REALLY LIKE IS ON. she is not a big television watcher,  really.  nix’s go-to are video games and other peoples’ streams if she just wants to watch something.  that being said she and arthur enjoy nature documentaries  (nix loves wild animals and the wild in general so the natural world is always a plus topic for her).  she’ll also lounge with him is he’s watching the next shitty reality tv series,  even if things like love island make her wish her eyes would melt out her skull.

TAGGED BY.  @jokethur​ & @girlseventeen​,  thank you !!  <33

TAGGING.  @batfall​,  @shelassos​,  @fraudien​,  @filiat​,  @sluethe​,  @parieur​,  @gareththegreat​,  @exilae​,  @siennabook​,  @infernym​,  @timelovcd​ !  i’m late to the game so if you’ve already done this my bad !

#☠ abt. ⋙ 𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠.