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probablydinosaurs · 3 months

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this was originally a twitter thread but mehhhh. the audience of one-two here get my insane venting instead. its 3am. I've had a rough day and I just want to list it out from worst to least worst. sorry if this is venting. again 3am. 1: my sister showed up completely unannounced, and waltzed in a fight with my other sister and her husband at their place. she had good reason to be here (she's homeless and is a fuckin ice age here. that's not a problem. we are glad she went to us for help.)-sadly she's an entitled fuck who begged my dad for cigs when we have NOTHING BUT A ROOF to give. its SCARY how poor we are. She was also VERY TRANSPHOBIC, which was not on my sister's bingo card this year. mainly about trans woman and their "complaining". my already shit sister saying terf shit was not smth i thought id hear. i was very upset about that. i haven't talked to her bc ik if i do, il cry but I've been giving her the silent treatment unless it's akward. 2: i have covid. had symptoms since like the 13th (i joked that i got it for my birthday) and its been a nightmare. i can't sleep. Eating sucks. my nose hurts. i think i blew a blood vessel in my eye. its just been the worst. 3: due to being unable to sleep, im wildly manic at 3am. i have nothing to do and no one to talk to. and im unreasonably upset that people on tiktok think Spongebob is a kid. like boi your face screams "post movie" pleaaasseee educate yourself on cartoon history. he is an adult! 4: after ALLL of this like 7 mins ago, the fire alarm randomly beeped a few times. luckily not a lot but still. stressed me the FUCK OUT. nothing is on. i think bc its the FUCKIN ICE AGE OUTSIDE, the apartment is a TAD too warm (witch its not. my feet are frozen)

5: found out today that scientists didn't start using real menstrual blood on pads/tampons till AUGUST OF LAST YEAR??? WTF WERE U USING BEFORE? That's why pads are always off SOMEHOW. SOMEHOW there's an issue. and tampons never fit right. they have been fuckin guessin for decades 6: my new cat is a needy hoe. I'm used to it but with covid and barely being able to walk/exist, her sweving between my legs is a nightmare. I always have to throw a bottle cap down the hallway just so she doesn't get in my room. 7: been on upsetting media tiktok. why the fuck is there a fandom forming around a vent cartoon about S/A???? like I won't say its bad but that's not a FANDOM THING! yall are fucked up (also it parodies the peewee's playhouse op and that bugs me. i love peewee.)

interlude: my needy hoe of a cat is named peewee (well to my mom, it's now Princess Pipsqueak but thats not a good name to say in frustration as I'm trying to exist down the hallway. also, we thought she was a boi at first and she has a face that looks like paul Reubens's. I still see it. 8: I have used up all the TP and tissues in the house and have been using paper towels to blow my nose, which is roughing up my already red sore nose. I put gold bond on my nose and it BURNED but now it feels smoother. 9: i feel like i annoy people with my Hannibal hyperfixation. i have yet to truly let it spread here but it's EVERYWHERE ELSE. (and il probs reblog this onto my hannibal blog so hiiiii) and yet it feels like no one cares. ik it's a bit niche, upsetting not everyones thing but Ive NEVER loved smth more and it hurts when i don't talk about it I just. want to get someone into it. someone else got me into it and it means a lot. I hope they are doing ok. I'm grateful they gave me my favorite hyperfixation ever. I've littrally never loved anything more. and I've been into a LOT of stuff. i was called annoying by an ex friend because i got into things too much. and to them, "too much" was anything that wasn't "i like this thing. i think this thing is good and cool. lets rp weird incest about it." (i hate my teen years) but like. that ex friend would HAAAAATE by hyperfixatiing now. i have friends to ENABLE ME NOW. 10: just added this one. kinda put two and two together that corp vtubers birthdays most likely aren't their real birthdays. everyone is celebrating a graduated corps bday and yet they moved to another company and like. no birthday in sight. and it feels weird to latch onto their old persona's bday when they are right there with probs a new (and more real maybe) birthday. you can actually go celebrate with them whenever their "new" birthday is and yet you are clinging to the past. especially since they are THRIVING where they are rn and were not happy as a bigger corp.

thats a bout it. thanks if u saw this and read. its ok if you didnt. i just had a LOT go on lately.

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jaeheewillalwaysbemyfav · 3 years

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Y’know what’s interesting? The brothers are thousands of years old. Time probably doesn’t matter to them. What if a year for them is equal to a hundred years for us? What if MC can’t age while in the Devildom? So when MC goes back, they either age instantly and die, or travel a hundred years into the future. Theories, my dude.

Time is super weird in the Devildom! My memory of the specifics of the lessons and events in them is shit, plus my app is hella slow, so I can’t provide Citations, but the way time seems to work down there (and in the celestial realm) is weird af

(Under the cut is a lengthy rant about time and worldbuilding)

The characters reference thousands of years or more super casually, and iirc Mammon mentions in earlier lessons that demons can regenerate from either death or severe injuries. But then there’s talk of Levi collecting anime merch in the Celestial Realm, Belphie visiting circuses, and probably other weird anachronisms that don’t add up.

Also, we are literally talking about DEMONS AND ANGELS. You know, the Biblical ones who have been around for allegedly all of human history. Asmodeus was a demon before and during the First Temple era of Judaism (he was one of the many demons Solomon forced to build the temple, fun fact), aka roughly 1000BCE. And they talk about thousands of years in the CELESTIAL REALM TOO!

How Long was the Celestial War? How long has the Celestial Realm and the Devildom existed? Did they exist before the human world? We haven’t actually seen much of how the afterlife works in Obey Me, is the Devildom really Hell the way we understand it? Bc pretty much everything we’ve seen has been just demons. Most even seem unfamiliar with humans and human culture, aside from eating them/their souls. (Levi’s interest in human world stuff seems to be pretty niche, on par with, well... otaku stuff, or Satan’s snobby intellectualism vis a vis human stuff)

Also there’s a whole line of Demon Kings! They have a mausoleum “where old kingS rest” or wtv, PLURAL! Diavolo wants to unite the three realms, has the Devildom been at war with the Celestial Realm since before the brothers fell? There must’ve been some sort of conflict, right?

Not to mention The Time Travel Incident.

What does time mean in a world where there’s literally a guy who can rewrite the flow of time as he sees fit (when Diavolo lets him, of course)?

We, that is the fandom, tend to treat The Incident of Lesson 16 as something that happened directly to MC, which it kinda did, but MC also witnesses their own death? And then it’s somehow undone? And Barbatos is like “no worries everyone, I have stitched together the fabric of reality so that all these disparate timelines have collapsed into one, you’re welcome :)”

And like bro???? I have questions??? Like SOMA level questions??? Is the og timeline just Gone and MC is the only survivor of it? Did everyone else’s memories just kinda collapse into one person?

And (spoilers for S2+, so the 20s+30s lessons) HOW DOES THE REAPER’S CANDLE CAVE WORK THEN?!

Also, more pressingly, after S1, MC leaves the Devildom for a year, then Solomon brings them back. The brothers act like pretty much the same amount of time has passed in the Devildom and the human world so??????????

There’s so much to try and square when considering how time works in Obey Me.

It’s a hot mess and I kinda love it and hate it.

WHERE’S THE DEVILDOM/CELESTIAL REALM HISTORY CLASS SOLMARE

#Anonymous #obey me #obey me theory #obey me headcanons #mine #follow for more incomprehensible rants and musings about TIME #seriously tho feel free to ask more questions about this kind of thing #i'll happily elaborate on most of the stuff i said in here #*clenches fist* i love works inspired by the Bible so fucking much #it's why i dream of one day making a Very Jewish take #on the whole spn/lucifer/good omens/the myriad of other bible fanfic out tehre #if goyim are gonna appropriate kabbalah why can't I dammit #at least i'll /try/ and be respectful about it #speaking of #if any of y'all wanna hear about my Jewish Thoughts/Headcanons/Secret Wishes #re: the obey me characters #lmk when i open requests and I Will Rant

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brawltogethernow · 4 years

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How much can you tell about a fan from how much they like Raimi Spidey

Who you are based on your Raimi Spider-Man opinion:

1. The best Spider-Man adaptation! You don’t like new things and don’t adapt to change well. You’re probably an older Millennial or Gen X. You respect an iconic scene and cheesy drama and don’t retract your enjoyment of something when the pressure is on you to do so. You like adaptations of superheroes more than the comics.

2. The most comic-accurate Spider-Man adaptation! You have never read a comic these films were based on. You may have never read any comics. You read or heard this opinion somewhere and are parroting it, and may think you can verify it’s true because you read one Avengers issue from after 2002 where Peter Parker cameos. You have high potential to become a deep comic nerd someday who will be embarrassed you ever said this so watch out for that.

3. Revolutionary for its time, paved the way for later comic book films, pared down the source material out of necessity - respect without enthusiasm You’re a little jaded but you’re trying not to let it get you down. You’ve gained immunity to MCU hype. You were happier before you did, but you can never go back. Analyzing fiction is second nature to you.

4. I just hate them Toby McGuire is consciously on your list of celebrities who could not get it. You turn over interests fast and see disliking things as its own activity, a dark mirror of fandom. You have strong negative opinions of properties you have not personally checked out and you’re happy that way because dissing stuff with people makes for good conversation.

5. Must a movie be “good” to like it? Is it not enough to have colors moving on the screen very fast. I respect you. You’re the better timeline version of the first category. Self aware and witty, a little insecure.

6. They’re bad because [thirty minute list of flaws] Wow you’ve thought about these movies a lot. You like review and analysis series like CinemaSins. (You may have a flaw list for CinemaSins specifically: It’s just an example.) Possibly an aspiring writer. You’re very plugged into pop culture and it doesn’t really occur to you to avoid media just because you don’t think it’s good.

7. I liked the first two when they were newer but they didn’t age well. Your persona is very go with the flow, not very opinionated. You consume media casually. In school you liked whatever bands your classmates did.

8. I have a soft spot for them but the effects are bad. You like MCU Spidey. You overestimate how empathetic and discerning you are. You don’t judge quickly but you do judge heavily.

9. I can’t hear you there’s only room for one Spider-Man movie in my brain WHAT’S UP, DANGER?

10. The third one ruined the whole trilogy! THAT’S what ruined it for you? You’re not wrong but your taste is unreliable.

11. I love [ship]! You’re very resilient. The weird kid. You glom onto stuff you like and don’t let go. Natural resilience to acting because of peer pressure, though you can take emotional hits from it. Probably internet friends with the three other people as deeply invested in this version of this ship as you are. Excitable in both positive and negative senses. You still use ff.net a lot. Above average vintage and otherwise lesser known comic knowledge but your attention is divided. The rare media targeting you is the 2017 cartoon if you’re a Parksborn and the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane comic series if you’re a PeterMJ.

12. Uh I saw one or two in theaters? I don’t really remember them. You only read this list this far down because you like seeing people discuss their pet topics regardless of whether you understand them. May have to hit up a search engine to be sure what “Raimi” is.

13. Directly responsible for a lot of bad 616 trends, weird storylines, and character assassination. You’re a dyed in the wool comics nerd. Don’t get so mad you forget why you even like superhero comics. Go drink some water. You pirate media because capitalism can’t sustain how much you read.

14. Directly responsible for a lot of great 616 storylines!!!! Also a dyed in the wool comics nerd but all your favorite storylines are in the early aughts (and maybe late nineties), which was a formative time of your life. You like dropping niche comic trivia as talking points, also from this era. You not only actually go to comic shops but also have a pull list. Pour one out for the Ultimateverse amirite?

15. Peter sure turned into a giant spider and gave birth to himself because of this movie lmfao. You embrace the humor and weirdness in situations to stay sane. You know weird history or science facts and like to pepper them into conversation. Your ideal history rant is arranged to be reminiscent of that meme with the guy knocking over a giant domino with a row of successively smaller dominos. You feel the most enjoyable parts of comic community are online. You might be on Twitter. You could beat the above category in a trivia-off but would probably flub the execution due to being put off by them. You vibe with nihilism memes but you care just under the surface.

16. My blurry half-remembered impression of them isn’t negative You’re nice. You like cute desserts. I feel like you had an anime phase and go to cons.

17. Garfield Spider-Man sucks!!!!!! That’s not actually a Raimi opinion but you think it is. Low humor is just humor to you and you don’t see that as a problem.

18. I’ve been waiting for you to PRAISE the Amazing movies actually? You like Taylor Swift and would be super down for it if Kindred turned out to be Gwen Stacy. You’ve been screaming for years. You don’t like the Raimi films but don’t have time to get down on them while defending your own maligned property. You know Fant4stic was objectively not great but you’ll defend it. Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield live in your head rent free. You like to curl up and watch some good looking people having a tragic romance okay.

19. Spider-Man 3 is a cinematic masterpiece. You like shock humor and stoke attention from internet trolls on purpose. You discern your own opinions and don’t give a damn about anybody else’s.

20. I’m very two cakes meme about Spider-Man content! Raimi good! MCU good! Webb good! All the cartoons are good! I see a red mask and a thwip and I riot. A pure soul. I don’t understand you, but that doesn’t reflect well on me.

#raimi spiderman #spiderman #horoscopes #spidey #marvel #i'm a 3 with a little 6 13 and 15 #mirrorfalls #asks answered

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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RECS: Want to Watch Old Anime? Discotek Has You Covered

Every anime season brings a new roster of hits, but the shows of the past recede into the distance. Certainly, there are some exceptions and niche fans keep the spirit of ongoing series like Gundam alive. But with the continued emphasis on new and exciting anime, it’s tempting to forget the multitude of great shows and movies that already exist. The Discotek label has fought consistently over the past several years to ensure that anime’s past is preserved. Run by industry stalwarts, they’ve done the impossible time and time again: they tracked down the masters of cult OVA Project A-Ko, painstakingly restored the 2001 remake of Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier from thousands of damaged tapes, and much of their best stuff is now available for streaming.

If you’re looking for something a little different or simply looking for a new show to watch, why not travel back into anime’s past? Here are some great TV series and movies as enjoyable today as they were when they were produced.

These are just my own recommendations, picked from the great sea of Discotek titles. But if you want to explore further, and check out titles including real-life inspiration on Yoko Taro, Sister Princess, you can find their shared Crunchyroll catalog list here.

Note: The titles listed are largely only available in the United States and Canada.

Movie Night

Urusei Yatsura Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer

One of the best-known anime directors ever, Mamoru Oshii first made his mark with an outrageously popular animated sitcom: Urusei Yatsura, the series that put the queen of romantic comedy manga Rumiko Takahashi on the map. Oshii struck a balance throughout the TV series between hilarious comedy and experimentation, but it was in the second Urusei Yatsura film, Beautiful Dreamer, that he really went all out. This surreal time loop story keeps finding new ways to defy audience expectations throughout its runtime both as an atypical Urusei Yatsura tale as well as a sterling example of just how imaginative and ground-breaking the Urusei Yatsura anime could be at its best.

GoShogun: The Time Etranger

GoShogun: The Time Etranger is that classic anime standby: a film completely different in tone and content than the franchise that spawned it. Released four years after the original 1981 super robot series, The Time Etranger spends much of its runtime focused on the dreams and anxieties of sole female cast member Remy as she lies in a coma at the hospital. Examining “what happens after” a final super robot fight, it remains an enjoyable film with smarter writing than you’d expect. The Time Etranger is also a notable favorite of the great 80sanime Tumblr.

Night on the Galactic Railroad

Kenji Miyazawa’s novel Night on the Galactic Railroad might be best known to English-speaking audiences as a reference point for anime like Mawaru Penguindrum and Galaxy Express 999, but in truth, it’s one of the most beloved Japanese children’s stories ever written. An anime film adaptation was released in 1985, directed by the famed Gisaburo Sugii and scored by Yellow Magic Orchestra member Haruomi Hosono. Also, the characters are all drawn as cats! While slow-paced, it’s a strong adaptation that captures the charming and whimsical spirit of the original novel.

Other Discotek movie recommendations:

All the other 6 Urusei Yatsura movies

Jin Roh

Like the Clouds, Like the Wind

Ringing Bell

Mecha

Giant Gorg

Folks talk up director Yoshiyuki Tomino as the key creative force behind the original Gundam. But don’t forget Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the talented character designer behind both Mobile Suit Gundam and Zeta Gundam. His most personal anime project is Giant Gorg, the story of a young boy who stumbles across a giant robot on a mysterious island. Rather than a Gundam-style war narrative, Giant Gorg is a proper adventure story in which the young cast spring from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. A white whale in American anime fandom for years, it was finally licensed for distribution in the United States in 2015. Don’t forget this fantastic mash-up between the Giant Gorg OP and the Perfect Strangers theme!

youtube

Mazinger Edition Z

In Mazinger Edition Z, cult-favorite director Yasuhiro Imagawa reimagines Go Nagai’s classic robot series to create a unified setting packed with pulpy thrills and conspiracies: The giant robot Mazinger has a past history involving the Greek god Zeus! The villain Baron Ashura is recontextualized as a deeply tragic villain with the best story arc in the series! We’re even given Tsubasa Nishikori, a Go Nagai staple who here becomes Imagawa’s best-written female character!

Mazinger Z is absolutely suffused with the spirit that made Imagawa’s earlier masterpiece Giant Robo so beloved and is an essential watch for any fan of that series. Not to mention that it ends with a cliffhanger brutal enough to make Go Nagai jealous.

Other Discotek mech recommendations:

Dai-Guard

Gunbuster 2

Tetsujin 28

Comedy

Cromartie High School

Anime comedies speak to the time that they were made, but there’s something uniquely timeless about Cromartie High School. You could say the show is funny because it’s set in a high school whose roster of delinquents includes a robot, Freddie Mercury, and a gorilla. But I think it goes even further than that: Cromartie High School is funny because its rowdy delinquents live lives just as boring as our own. When I watch Cromartie High School, I think not “what weirdos!” but “same, bro.” True in 2003, true in 2021.

Other Discotek comedy recommendations:

Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan

Cat Girl Nuku Nuku

Golden Boy

Samurai Pizza Cats

Drama

Key the Metal Idol

Key the Metal Idol is a truly weird series. Directed and written by Hiroaki Sato, one of three animation directors who brought anime film masterpiece Akira to life, it’s the story of an android tasked by her creator to become human by making 30,000 friends. It’s a series that skewers the entertainment industry but is also loaded down with science fiction exposition. It’s a series that’s deeply in love with the work of David Lynch. Key the Metal Idol is flawed and idiosyncratic, but it’s also a genre-busting original far ahead of its time. And the opening credit sequence rules.

The Twelve Kingdoms

Fantasy anime are a dime a dozen these days, but for my money, no recent title comes close to The Twelve Kingdoms. The series has its share of magical creatures, epic duels, and even more elaborate fantasy worldbuilding than you can shake a sword at. But most of all, it’s a story about people and growth. Twelve Kingdoms puts its cast of scared teenagers in a crucible and subjects them to intense pressure until those teenagers realize, to their shock and genuine awe, that they can handle anything the world throws at them. Twelve Kingdoms deserves consideration along with Berserk as one of the greatest works of epic fantasy that animation has to offer.

Other Discotek drama recommendations:

Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting!

Honey and Clover

Kaiba

True Tears

What are your favorite older anime? Is there an anime BluRay or DVD you treasure most? Let us know in the comments!

Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. When he is not evangelizing Kaiba to his friends and neighbors, he sporadically contributes with a loose group of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? You can find him on Twitter at:@wendeego

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a feature, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Adam Wescott

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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fingersfallingupwards · 4 years

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ULTIMATE Beatlemaniac Tag!

Thank you @femininehygieneproducts for making this whole THOROUGH thing, and a big thanks to @ourladylennon for tagging me!💖

How long have you been a fan? I liked them from a young age (yellow sub was my chidhood JAM) but only REALLY got into them about eight years ago. It’s been off and on since, so I still don’t consider myself an expert the way some people are on this website.

Favorite Beatle: Paul, but I spend a lot of time disliking him hahaha.

Favorite era for music: Mid-to-late Beatles. There’s no doubt their early stuff is a bop, but I love the sounds they were able to start putting together later, so complex and so wonderful!

Favorite era for lewks: Gottta be moptops. These lads just glow in black and white. A close and controversial second is White Album, “our lives are falling apart” chic.

Favorite song: Julia not a popular choice hahaha. Second would be Two of Us— whoever it’s for it’s a bloody masterpiece! Lady Madonna is also quite high up. It’s just a bop!

Favorite album: Revolver with a close second/third being the US release of Magical Mystery Tour and the White Album.

Unpopular/Controversial Beatles opinion: I don’t really like any of the boys. I’m fascinated by them, and I have a huge respect for them! But as people I’m just like…. You are the type I dislike. (lmao, still dedicated years of my life to them.) Also, I like John’s heroin-hair. I didn’t know it was heroin hair when I first saw it!

A song everyone loves but you dislike: The Long and Winding Road. I DESPISE this song.

A song everyone dislikes but you love: Wild Honey Pie/Honey Pie. I love these songsss.

Your fantasy involving The Beatles: find out what happened in India. Maybe get trapped in an elevator with Paul and, after being Aggressively Normal, ask him the details.

Tell us about the moment you knew you were a fan: Paul’s hip and leg bounce when he plays the bass.

Did you ever have a genuine ‘The Beatles suck!’ phase before becoming a fan? I don’t think so actually. I think I thought Hey Jude was really weird when I first heard it, but otherwise I was like, this is the band that’s music is in all these commercials.

Favorite Beatles book: I haven’t read many books actually. I think I’d go with Geoff Emerick’s because it’s definitely flawed and biased, but also has some humor about things and a personal, (appreciably self-centered) take. I also love all the details about recording Revolver. So vital!

Thoughts on the old generation of fans: I’ve mostly had positive interactions with the older generation! They were really nice when I was first getting into the fandom and I learned (and still learn!) so much from them! Lennonistas are a different matter...

If Hollywood were to make a high budget Beatles biopic, what is one thing you desperately hope they include? Fuck bio-pics. Honestly there is too much agenda involved when making one. They don’t make people human, they make them less human imho.

Do you read/write fanfic?: I do both! I’ve been destroyed by stunning authors and question my worth as a writer A LOT but I also have fun and feel a certain pride in some of my things. This fandom has lasted so long and I think that’s amazing! I hope people continue to write in this niche💖

Are you the only one in your family/friend group to enjoy them?: both my parents like them! But not as much as I do.

Are you a shipper?: It could be said.

Favorite movie starring/made by them?: Ooh, Yellow Sub, but in actuality I don’t really love their movies. Let It Be is worth a watch though also PAINFUL.

Do you believe in McLennon?: yes & no (keeping this answer because exactly.)

General opinions on McLennon?: This pairing is the only RPF pairing that I find entirely PLAUSIBLE. I think people (especially the public) have been remiss not to treat their relationship (considering John’s likely-if-not-ensured bisexuality) with the same prejudice they treat opposite sex pairings. It’s disgraceful there hasn’t been actual published essays on the subject. There’s so much there! (of course, with some folks still in alive and others guarded by estates, well…).

If you got to change ONE thing about their history, what would it be and why?: The Jesus comment. I think it really poked John into dangerous territory mentally. He wasn’t ready for it.

What song has the best vocals?: Hey Bulldog! John’s screeching laughter and the barking is just so good. Chosen on both skill and joy-factor.

What song do you feel had no effort put into it?: Nothing actually comes to mind. Maybe Long, Long, Long. But also I just get bored of that song. The drums are good, but the rest of it is just… ugh I don’t get it.

What is a well talked about moment in Beatles history you genuinely believe to be false?: Gonna agree and say “Yoko breaking up the Beatles.” Uhhh, if you don’t think John and George had a LOT to say in the decision you aren’t giving them credit I don’t think.

What is something you KNOW to be true, but often gets erased in their history?: John and Paul were equals.

Least favorite look from a Beatle(s): Difficult, but gotta be Blond Paul McCartney. Stuff of nightmares.

Favorite look from a Beatle(s): Paul fresh in the black and white era. He looked too good in black and white.

I’ll tag... @drivenalphabitchpaulmccartney @20forthlin-road @paperbackwaiter @princessleiaqueen @thisbirdhadflownx and @esherdemo Hope ya’ll tag me in your answers so I can read~! 💖

#fingersfallingupwards #ULTIMATE Beatlemaniac Tag!#this was so fun!💖#looking forward do your fic @ourladylennon~

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joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh · 3 years

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I watched the first 5 episodes of Attack on Titan, woah!

First of all, context. I watched the first season of this show like, between 6 and 7 years ago, before the dub had even aired, and it was my first subbed anime. I don’t remember how or why I got into it, but I did. Watched the whole first season in probably a single sitting, literally never ever rewatched it, never saw the recaps or any of the OVAs or really any content beyond that singular first season. There was an abridged of it that I watched and I think rewatched, maybe by TFS? And then my primary engagement with the show afterwards was just following fanpages of it on Instagram. Oh also I played the Tribute game tons because it was and is poggers. I can’t even say for sure how emotionally into Attack on Titan I was back then - I think my weird barely pubescent need to fit into some niche meant I just latched onto the cool music good visuals show and cracked the same unfunny jokes everyone in that fandom made. I didn’t even remember who Marco was but you’d see me saying “half the man he used to be” all the time, cringe as shit. But like, yeah, it sure was something I’d seen.

Anyway, then I just sorta fell out with it as I was falling out with anime in general. And when I got back into anime in like, 2016, my new focus was cute girls, and I never cared to revisit Attack on Titan. So the second season came and went, as did the third, and the third part 2, and I just passed on all of it. And now the final season is coming up.

Now I think in my heart of hearts I have always wanted to revisit the show. Maybe I want to reward that early teen investment by completing the thing, maybe I want to see my MAL numbers go up, maybe I want to watch a really popular and beloved shounen that I have a history with. I can’t say for sure why I felt like rewatching it, I just did.

Of course, feeling like rewatching it and actually rewatching it are two different things. And what prompted me to rewatch the show for real? Fuckin KHANTEHNT baby! Nate Bestman and Digi are based pogchamps and I love watching them talk about shit, so if I can revisit an early teens sweetheart and get good external enjoyment from it by listening to those two? Why the fuck not? So once I finish this post I’m gonna go listen to that and it’ll be epic.

Anyway as for my feelings on these first episodes, wow this show’s kinda boring huh. When titans are attacking there’s a great feeling of fear and disaster, and a lot of interesting mysteries have already been set up, plus some quite on-the-nose political allegories are already pleasant, with that lord that Pyxis was hanging out with being this fat rich fuck who demands security from something that poses no immediate threat to him meanwhile the poor are literally dying in the streets as we speak, the titans already on them and pisspoor living conditions and food situations keeping them worse for wear even before the titans show up. Makes me wonder when in the hell this show turns into that imperialist propaganda that many detractors insist it is. I mean maybe Hajime Isayama’s not a great person, but this early on the show I’m not really sensing that, and I mean separate the art from the artist and stuff. Guess we’ll see where it goes.

But like all that aside, you’re sorta just watching one-note characters stand around and talk and be very one-note for a good chunk of these 5 episodes. For a show with one of those “don’t get attached to anyone” fandoms, at least from my memory of the fandom circa 2014, it’s kind of ironic how little I give a shit about these characters. Also my knowledge of future story spoilers tells me that nobody important dies ever. But we’ll see how right that may or may not be.

Artwork’s still extremely good, soundtrack still goes super hard, though there’s quite a lot less animation than I remember. When the show is animated it tends to look really great, the armoured titan charging that one wall and anything with 3DM gear or whatever you wanna call it being particular standouts, but beyond that we’re fairly static. I don’t really mind, again the art’s super good, but it’s just something I don’t remember being the case.

So I mean, this show’s fun to look at, it’s got a lot of intrigue, and when it wants to create a horrific atmosphere it’s pretty good at that. But the moment to moment is pretty dull, these characters not engaging, and the tone when it’s not horror is just any other generic shounen, with Eren getting to scream at people about how MC he is and Sasha being the aggressively unfunny comic relief.

I have to assume my favourite character when I first watched the show was Levi because of course it was, though from these 5 episodes I’d probably go Armin. He’s a pretty simple trope, nerdy weak kid that’s insecure because he wants to be able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk, but it’s a tried and true trope for a reason and he’s the character with the most obvious arc set up, ergo he’s someone I can be quickly invested in. I don’t recall him playing a major role in the rest of the season though so we’ll see if that changes.

But yeah I’m watching this now. Uh, when I got MAL in like 2018, my recollection of this show was so damn limited that 5/10 felt like the only score that was reasonable to give, though for that very same reason of no recollection it’s probably the score I was least confident about. But watching what I did today, yeah, 5/10 is seeming fair enough.

#attack on titan #i think that's my tag for the few bits of content i already have for the series #19.11.20

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tophatsftw · 4 years

Text

I read this auto straddle post, and it spoke to me. let’s go lesbians.

what people are fighting about on Twitter

falconer

sensitive, white girl Ikea decor

being in the Midwest (cheese)

which craft stores are ethically sourcing their wool

why pie charts suck

Having multiple conflicting feelings at the same time

Mitski’s right hand in the Geyser music video

Nora Ephron

trying not to be a U-Haul Lesbian and also being a U-Haul Lesbian

Bottle-feeding kittens

my dog & her various doggy woes

being Very Online™

homophobic 80s-90s action/horror movies

Cate Blanchett

large appliances

screaming and crying in socially inappropriate spheres

Sandra Bullock’s entire filmography

Vermicomposting

unlikely instances of near death experiences

the neopets stock market

animals that look like people

Kristen Stewart’s facial expressions

Apocalypse prepping

Satanic philosophy and history

why queers love My Chemical Romance so dang much

casseroles

cultivating hobbies in your 20’s to feel alive again

a fascination with straight people’s behavior

I also am extremely into bees. Like, my dudes, you have — I swear to you, on my mom, that this is an absolute fact — never, ever met someone who knows or cares about bees as much as I do. Everybody says, “Oh, I love bees; hell yeah, save the bees!”… but they’re only ever talking about the European honeybee, apis mellifera, a species transplanted from its original endemic territory to support large-scale agriculture, a practice that has had a purely negative impact on the earth and upon ourselves ever since humanity’s shift to agrarian society from hunter-gatherer culture circa 3000 BCE. Have any of these people who “love bees” even HEARD of solitary species? Do they know about thyreus nitidulus, the neon cuckoo bee? It’s blue! It’s beautiful!

intersectional Satanic feminism

boobs??!

eating a 1lb bag of Sour Patch Kids in under an hour

MILFs

Cringey mid-2000s teen dramas that had too few lesbians

Paul Giamatti’s film and music career

baseball caps worn backwards

Amish romance novels

everything about donuts

wholesome thirst trapping

the Venn diagram of Janelle Monae and Carly Rae Jepsen fandom

insulting men who say gross stuff to me in my DMs

…cooking pasta?

saying embarrassing things that make me want to die in a hole

going on 100 first dates without ever getting a second

Committing to a bit that was never that funny to start with, but now that I’ve started you can pry it from my cold dead hands

knitting penis-shaped pillows

identifying what episode of The Nanny it is based on C.C. Babcock’s hair

running long distances very slowly

puppets, just all types of puppets

communications cables and antennas

girl groups of the ’60s

moss

The Devil Wears Prada Cerulean Monologue

telling people to quit things they should quit

power tools one can rent from Home Depot

Hayley Kiyoko (I’m a three-time award winner of the “Most Likely to Mention Hayley Kiyoko in a Piece Not About Hayley Kiyoko” award at [redacted publication])

Irish country singer Daniel O’Donnell

golden retrievers

geology, specifically volcanoes

Fyre Festival

The Boys Are Back In Town

Film bros and how to shut them down

ruining vegan cakes by accident

having two straight women as best friends

loud eyeshadow

horses, Jodie Foster

Which Lana Del Rey Song to Make Out To

Mid 2000’s MySpace/Emo Culture

lesbian weddings (not my own)

Charcuterie Boards

the perils of being Very Tall Indeed

media to watch while stoned

escape rooms

18th century satire

basket-weaving, I am not kidding do you want to see a picture of my basket

Hannibal Lecter

History of the ball-point pen

swords

old dyke stuff

I’m not a sex toy expert, but I’m sure I could learn

drawing ugly stick figures

70’s soft rock

A-Camp

Big Little Lies, the audiobook of Big Little Lies

middle aged actresses

Bath and Body Works candles

consuming popular media years after everyone else and letting people enjoy it again vicariously through you

how to take care of a backyard above-ground pool impulsively purchased at Target in Denver, a place with no water and weird weather (an ongoing investigation)

spending money I don’t have to support women on Kickstarter

a deep knowledge of 1800s British literature that I did not ask for

treating your plants as your children

HORSES

Should a Duggar ever come out, I am READY to write that article yesterday

aggressive inline skating

Barbra Streisand; circus history

identifying British birds

being an Appalachian in New York during the Year of Our Dumpster Lord 2019 when the New York Times seems determined to profile everyone I’ve ever been to Walmart with

being friends with theater people

how to make couples fall in love with you even when they totally thought they were just going to “try” a threesome “once” lol

Linoleum

#autostraddle #lgbtq

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moiraineswife · 5 years

Text

Ep 55 Caleb Meta

Warning: This post will contain a)- Spoilers for episode 55. If you haven’t seen it yet BEGONE. b)- Angst. Bc. Caleb. c)- yelling. if u haven’t worked out already: these posts are not planned. these posts are not thought-through. these posts are not edited. these posts are a stream of consciousness shrieking at the void that is u lot. Enjoy.

So. Uh. That episode was like..................A lot. Lots to unpack. LOTS. So I’m just going to touch on Caleb and the very specific niche deliciousness of him being completely and utterly retraumatised in that episode and how it may or may not pan out in future.

Meta under the cut bc it got Long.

So, DIVING IN: the nature of trauma in itself is repetition. Nightmares, flashbacks (of all their various forms) are ways in which the trauma itself repeats. Basically your brain Cannot Cope with what’s happened so it tries to just put you through the same thing over and over again like process this please.

Caleb has been dealing with that for at least a decade since the original trauma took place. Then we pile on the (highly symbolic and super-interesting in a really fucked up way bit of magic that is Modify Memory (i assume) which I have to meta on more in future) which is effectively a false memory that was removed (that his parents were guilty/in his twisted-logic mind deserved what they got) which makes a very interesting mirror for suppressed memories (again: big trauma thing. In which your brain Cannot Cope so hard it just blots the bad memory out of existence entirely) so he’s a whole mess of being trapped in an endless cycle of his horrible past (PTSD is a Trip, y’all).

This is...An echo of that but it’s something new. It’s very much the same KIND of thing, so it plays in to the trauma-repetition, but it’s a new incarnation of it. History repeating itself, etc, etc, delicious irony, all that great stuff fiction-creators live for.

It’s going to be deeply upsetting for Caleb. (No shit, Taryn). But it so beautifully, and terribly, feeds in to his deep-rooted fears that he is a toxic person, and that those around him are destined to get hurt (by him, not by him, it doesn’t really matter to the guilt brain, it’s all just fuel for that fire).

For example: Liam spoke on Talks about how, regarding Molly’s death, Caleb almost expected it because yup, that seems about right, par for the course. It’s one of the big reasons he’s been extremely reluctant to let the Mighty Nein get close to him (he’s directly said this in canon at this point, in his conversation with Beau).

He feels dangerous. He sees himself as dangerous. Partly because he sees himself as being constantly in danger, and by extension, those around him are also in danger. That’s external.

The internal part of him has been screaming ‘you killed the two people who loved you the most in the world in an unprovoked attack because you’re a monster’ for over a decade at this point. Not only does he not deserve any of these people, he feels like he’s destined to hurt them, no matter what he does, or how hard he tries.

This, uh, reinforces that in a very deep, obvious, and painful way. Not to mention the fact that, not only did he hurt them he hurt them with fire. Again. So it’s almost exactly the same pattern of shit coming back to haunt him for a second time:

Trent: Mental manipulation magic - fire - dead loved ones Demon: mental manipulation magic - fire - nearly dead loved ones.

It’s Bad. It’s Real Bad. That boy is going to have the panic attack of his life when he recovers from the immediate adrenaline rush of the fight. It’s not going to be pretty.

It’s going to drive home everything that little voice inside his head that sounds like Trent has been telling him since he joined these people. It’s going to undo all the struggle it’s taken to ignore that voice up to this point because don’t you see what happens when you get close to people? They can be used against you. You can be used against them. They become your weakness and you become weak because you care. Because this hurts. And if you were stronger, and smarter, then it wouldn’t... etc etc etc. *insert emotionally manipulative bullshit here*

BUT!

I actually think this could actually be good for him in a really weird way?

Hear me out:

Caleb has been living in a trauma loop for over ten years at this point. He’s been going over the same memories again and again and again, but he hasn’t done anything with them. He hasn’t actually fully processed what happened to him. And, and this is the biggest part: he hasn’t had anyone to push against.

It takes a lot to recognise abuse. It takes a lot in the modern world when there are phones, helplines, the internet and, let’s be honest: awareness. There are words for these experiences and there’s more chance of, accidentally or deliberately, stumbling across help out there that can look at a situation from an outside perspective and go: this is fucked up.

This is what Caleb needs.

On his own it’s almost impossible for him to recognise what was done to him and fully process it and begin to heal from it in a healthy way. Caleb has not actually started the process of recovery for anything that happened to him yet because Caleb does not yet recognise/understand what there is to process/recover from.

In Caleb’s mind, he is a monster. He did an unforgivable thing because he believed his parents deserved it as they were traitors. He broke because he was not strong enough to handle what he’d done. He was sent to an asylum and since escaping he’s just been afraid. That’s the only emotion he’s got towards Trent right now: fear. And it’s suppressing all logic, self-awareness, and the ability to think rationally about what went on.

Caleb was abused. Caleb was manipulated, mentally, emotionally, and magically. Caleb was a vulnerable kid who was deliberately chosen, carefully groomed, and then skilfully brainwashed by a figure with an enormous amount of literal and emotional power over him. Caleb was abused.

Caleb does not see this.

Caleb does not recognise that he was abused.

And I think this is where a lot of issues with Caleb kinda stem from in fandom? Because people look at him and just...How can he NOT understand that he was manipulated. Huh. Maybe he wasn’t. Because it’s just that damned obvious how could he not understand this?

Abusers rely on that. Abusers rely on their victims not understanding what they’re doing to them. Particularly when their victims are young, with relatively little real-world experience, and absolutely no grounding/preparation to recognise or combat any of this, in a society that is more accepting of the kind of teaching that radicalised Caleb than most are.

Caleb needs an outside perspective to look at what he went through and go ‘you know that’s fucked up, right?’ He’s kind of had that from Beau and Nott but not enough. Someone has to sit him down and go through every piece of what happened and be like ‘this is not okay’ ‘what he did to you was not okay’ ‘this is called abuse’ and then consistently validate those experiences until he understands.

Caleb has over ten years of trauma to process and unlearn. That...That does not happen overnight. That does not happen because your new friend looks at you and goes ‘yeah that was fucked up, dude’ and suddenly it all crystallises in your mind and becomes clear. That takes work. And effort. And a willingness to feel something beyond fear for your abuser and Caleb is Not There yet.

What this last fight does, though, is open up the possibility of Caleb starting to accept this a little bit.

Jester: “What the fuck, Caleb?”

Caleb: “I am sorry...They got inside my head.”

This is actually....Kinda huge for Caleb? Actually it’s kinda massive. This is Caleb experiencing a trauma incredibly similar to what he went through when he was younger (but on a much smaller scale, with far less dire outcomes) and being able to look at it and, still apologise, but explain that he was not in control of himself, and that ‘they got inside his head’.

This is the step he needs to take with Trent, too, this is the same admission that he needs to make to himself, and this is the first step that has to happen before he can even begin to start processing and healing his trauma. And he needs help with that.

This is not the part where I say I expect the mighty nein to become Caleb’s therapists. But they can be friends, they can be a support network, but most importantly: they can be an outside perspective.

They can’t process his trauma for him. They can’t work through his issues for him. They can’t take away any of his grief, or his guilt, or his pain, or his PTSD. They can’t make what Trent did go away. But they can point it out.

They can raise a red flag. They can point it out and say ‘this is not okay’. They can put a name to it. They can validate it. They can do the things that Caleb cannot do himself, which is look at what happened and be able to acknowledge, without the burden of guilt, and the fact that it’s so much easier to blame, and hurt, and punish himself than a figure he’s terrified of, and say that it was not okay, and explain to him what happened.

They can help him acknowledge his abuse and then he can start to help himself heal from it.

But this fight is, essentially, a microcosm of Caleb’s past. And I hope that if (when, please god when) the mighty nein, who were all either a)- directly charmed themselves, or b)- resisted the effect but were aware of its intentions and capabilities, do not react the way Caleb expects them to react (ie: the way he reacted to himself) with anger, and hatred, and blame, that’s going to start unlocking things.

I don’t expect a massive breakthrough next episode, don’t get me wrong, this is going to be a long, careful, painful process. But I think even the acknowledgement that someone affected that way by magic, or by emotional abuse, is not themselves, and is not, ultimately, to blame for what they may have done (or weak/somehow complicit in ‘allowing’ themselves to be targeted/victimised) is going to prove a really big thing for Caleb in the future.

Just that acknowledgement that they don’t blame him for what happened, that they understand he wasn’t himself, and that it wasn’t within his control to stop what was happening could, I think, prove huge in terms of his recovery further down the line...

TL;DR: Caleb experienced his past again on a much smaller scale with this fight, but having the party around him to react to him/it and reach out to him, and tell him it’s okay and that they don’t blame him will do A Lot for unlocking his potential recognition of abuse and recovery down the line.

#caleb widogast #critical role #critical role spoilers #liam o'brien #cr spoilers #cr2 #cr2 spoilers #meta #critical role meta #caleb meta #my meta #imma just leave this here #long post #text post tag #abuse tw #emotional abuse tw #trent ikithon #is a trigger warning all of its own

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pacificwanderer · 5 years

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I’m in my 20s and honestly the first time I heard about Reddit was because of Star Wars, specifically TLJ. Is that weird? I knew and watched Star Wars but I wasn’t in the fandom until TFA. I saw TFA and thought it was ok but then I kept on thinking about Kylo and Rey. After a few months, I was hooked and obsessed. During pre TLJ, reylos on tumblr keep on discussing things like leaks and rumors on this ‘Reddit’ website and I had no idea what it was. I looked it up and the rest is history lol

Hey Nonnie,

I can’t remember how or why I found Reddit, but I’m both happy and sad that I did because boy howdy do I waste a lot of time on that hellsite lol. I don’t think it’s weird not to know about it, or that you just kind of started learning about it. I have a bunch of friends that have no idea what it is, and others that are more obsessed than I am lol so I guess it just depends on your level of internet interest.

It’s really great for niche stuff (and also horrible for the same reason), but I’ve learned a lot about like writing and kept up with SW while I surf around. I also love it for travel advice and for the personal anecdotes and AMAs.

It’s pretty amazing how many people got into the ST after TFA and TLJ (and specifically because of Reylo). It’s a really remarkable story that definitely draws people in (even the people who say they hate it, can’t stop talking about it). Reddit is fun for some like tangible leaks (set leaks, photos), but man is their speculation BAD lol. I have to go in with blinders sometimes to keep myself from getting pissed off.

Anyways, the internet is huge and I’m always discovering new ways to waste time haha. Hope you have fun on r/starwarsleaks, Nonnie!

Cheers!

#reylo #asks and answers #anonymous asks #ask pacificwanderer #it came from reddit #anonymous

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harrysdimples · 6 years

Text

sooo...it’s the legend @btapants’ birthday and me and my main partner in crime daria @britneytshirt both came up with this idea and whipped up a lil somethin somethin for celine to read! we just want you to know how loved you are celine and how you influence us all to be better people! we all love you and had a few things to say :)

@bidonnas (aka mik): i followed celine like ages ago bc i was looking for more harries to follow and she seemed so sweet and, like, a Quality™ blog and we've been mutuals for ages as well and we like sent each other asks for like ask games and tagged each other in tag games but we didn't start talking more until the first gc in like march of this year and i do not regret a single thing of entering that gc bc i got to meet my birlfriend, now my bife. we've just gotten closer over the past 6 months of being in so many different groupchats with each other and i love everything about her. she's funny, she's kind and sweet, and she loves mamma mia. i mean, who could ask for more?? fjdkgksdljkfg celine deserves the whole world and all the love in the world and i love her so so so much!!!!

@guccifloralsuits (aka violet): Celine, you already know it but literally love you tons, you make my experience as a harrie stan so much brighter :) I'll always remember the #funkirk days and times we've been throught - from the discourse days to the crazy concerts & I can't wait to see what this next year for you & us brings! You're so easy to talk to and fun to share this experience with! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL MY LOVE TO YOU 💖

@annaonvinyl (aka essie): Celine, Celine... I believe we've been mutuals not for that long and i do remember checking my notifications and seeing that she followed me i kid you not when i say i nearly had a moment because i would constantly see her posts and people talking so nicely about her. i can now understand why people kept saying sweet things about Celine, i mean she's amazing! if you aren't following her please do me a favour, go to her blog and press that follow, just... do it. celine is so sweet and funny, her blog is the perfect mix of aesthetic and relatable and not to mention she's so freaking stunning? i mean... have you seen her? model material, i'm telling you. so in conclusion what i want to say is celine is gorgeous and so nice and i love her! tanti auguri bella! spero che tu abbia un bel anno davanti a te e tutto il meglio vada per te! goditi la giornata e sorridi molto (scusa il mio italiano arrugginito)

@signofthebis (aka petra): Happy birthday, Celine! ❤❤❤ You know why I followed you. Because of the tags you wrote under my bta pants gifset. And I knew in that moment... this is a person that gets it and I need her in my life. And then I was lucky enough to get into the biconic gc you started and I got to get to know you and wow? You're amazing. You're so funny and incredible and just... I stan forever??? You're truly a queen. ❤❤❤❤ One day your selfies are gonna kill me because you're that gorgeous. And honestly? What a way to go. So Celine, I hope you're having a wonderful day and may your life be filled with only the best of luck, may it be full of love and kindness because that's what you're giving to us and you deserve the same it in return. Ily ❤

@flowerfeasts (aka dani): I followed celine like a year ago because i used to see all my faves tagging her on my dash, so i thought she was very important and cool and i remember waiting like a few weeks to follow her cause i somehow thought that would increase the chances of her following me back? lmao anyway, i still think she is very cool and i LOVE her fashion sense and she is a libra! that means she is awesome

@harryandcats (aka lejla): CELINE MY ANGELBOO!!!! I’m sooo bad with words and tbh?? there’s not enough words to describe how much u mean to me anyway smh you’re one of the sweetest, funniest and smartest (let’s just not mention your posts and the things you say something BDJDNDNDB) and loveliest people I know!! you’re also so silly sometimes but in a very cute and endearing way bdndn I could talk to you about literally anything, be it something deep or something random like poptarts bxjdndn speaking of poptarts we truly gotta meet someday and you’ll have to buy me lots of things and in return you’ll get the biggest hug of your life!!!! sounds like a plan if you ask me anYWAY I lov u with my whole heart, you’re my love, my life, my wife, my gf, my bitch, my boo, but most importantly: my dumbass ✌🏻😔 I hope you have the loveliest day!!!! Happy Birthday, Celine!! 💗🌈💕

@harrysnotechanges (aka kristyna): Celine 💕💕 you are so funny and such a kind and generous person (not to mention gorgeous, ugh it’s not fair). I’m pretty sure I first started following you because of your url (I mean how much more iconic could you get,,, and I couldn’t agree more, the bta pants were the best pants Harry has ever worn tbh) and I stayed because you’re just an amazing human being. Ily 💕💕💕 Happy birthday!

@gettingdizzy (aka sav): I LOVE CELINE she is super kind and funny and like a little sister to me!! talking to her always makes my day better :) im not even sure why i started following her we probably got put in a gc together or something but im so glad i did!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ILY

@nofoookingway (aka jess): Oh boy, lil Celine. The cutest bean I’ve ever seen. I know we don’t speak anymore bc I’m trash and got too overdramatic about a stupid lil thing, but I’m so glad that we still follow each other and I see you on my dash every day. Your posts never go without a typo, even if it’s just the tags, and that’s probably my favorite thing about you. You’re so expressive and so weird in the best of ways. I’m pretty sure you’re starting uni (if you’re not smack me), but I know you’re going to kill it. It’s hard af, and it’s gonna suck. You’re gonna hate it sometimes, but believe me when I say I know you can do it and that you will have a blast once you find your niche. If I can do it, you sure as hell can. I wholeheartedly believe that. Anyways, I hope your birthday is just as fun and amazing as you are. ilysm 💛💛

@leesh (aka leesh lol): HAPPY BIRTHDAY CELINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope u have the absolute best birthday ever bc it’s what she deserves and i hope harry makes an appearance again looking absolutely fabulous bc it’s also what she deserves (maybe wearing the bta pants? yes i’m putting it into existence!!!!). i honestly can’t rmbr how or why i started following you, maybe it was a gc or maybe i just liked ur blog, i have a terrible memory, but i am SO GLAD whatever the reason I DID. i love seeing ur posts on my dash and i love seeing what you’ve got to say and i also love talking to u in gc’s and stuff. ur a cool gal and i’m glad we had a chance to become mutuals and pals. again i hope u have the best way day ever and get spoilt rotten. i love u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💖✨

@kiwiintro (aka kayla): Happy Birthday Celine Bean! I hope it's amazing I love u and you're so iconic and amazing and ur an actual Meme™️ sometimes anyways again I hope your birthday is amazing and have fun being 1(one) year older ❤

@harryftvans (aka teresa): celine my dearest witch princess and gentle air spirit happiest of birthday wishes to you!!! someone’s getting old lol anyway I wish u all the best and hope you have a great day and that a lot of other great days will follow because u only deserve happiness and love and ~good vibes~ in your life!! stay ur amazing self, you’re always so chill and laid back (which is nice in this hectic world gksndn) and even when you pull a zayn on us at the end of the day you’re always there for us, being supportive and it’s always a delight to talk to you and hear stories from you!!! great britain is blessed to have you for the next couple of months/years (hope u have a nice time at uni I believe in u) so yea enjoy your day hope it’s filled with lots of love and hugs!! i’m glad you’ve been brought into the world and i’m glad we were out in the same group chat I couldn’t imagine my days without u, love you v much💕

@pinkflaredpants (aka iris): No offence but it's been a whole ass year since we first heard medicine and still no fuckin studio version of sott.

@britneytshirt (aka daria): celine, remember the day we became mutuals? it’s definitely been a year(+) now, can you believe it’s been that long? i followed u not really expecting to be followed back and u followed me about .02 seconds later and honestly i was a lil shocked. so i put my insecurities aside and decided to text u and u said u just saw my url and liked it and followed me. like?! *harry voice* craziness right? anyway, i like to think of u as a little present from life. when we started talking i was very lonely and literally cried myself to sleep every other night and having a friend, you, to talk to made me realise nothing is ever that bad and in a way... gave me hope? you mean so much to me. you’re always fun to talk to, u always have the funniest things to say. and most importantly, i know i can always count on u for whatever, you’ll be there to listen to me. so thank u. i’m so grateful i have a celine in my life. i love u

me (aka moi): so....celine, where do I even start? from those very first few months when I joined this fandom in september last year we were close friends. we started our first conversation about old 1d memes and the rest is history. I don’t think there’s been a time in the last year or so where I haven’t spoken to you, and I really couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. I look forward every day to chatting with you in the gc and i’m always just in awe of how accepting, loving, caring and truly inspiring you are as a person. I love hearing you speak italian in the rare voice messages you send, and especially your selfies (I will hold the belief that you should be a model to the grave I think tbh). you inspired me to love myself for who i am and we’ve grown as friends into something I never thought i’d reach. i’m never going to be able to fully articulate the weight you hold in my life or the impact you’ve had on me, and i’m bad at expressing my feelings anyway, but I just wanted you to know how LOVED you are, by me, and from everyone here. I can’t wait to eventually meet you once you’re settled over here and I can’t wait for the memories and shows we’ll make in the future. thank you for being you, and please never stop being your amazing self 💕

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bentonpena · 5 years

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Capitalism made niche nerd cultures cool

Capitalism made niche nerd cultures cool http://bit.ly/33WcEGj

Welcome to Summer Cooldown, our weeklong tribute to all things cool in pop culture. Through our role models of chill and our misguided attempts to emulate them, to the DGAF heroes so defiantly uncool they’re ice cold, we’ll attempt to define the undefinable and celebrate the characters and questions that shaped us.

For a long time, there were certain hobbies and interests that were deemed untouchable by the general public. Comic books, video games, hard sci-fi, high fantasy. You know, nerd stuff.

But now those nerdy things are all the biggest and most popular things in entertainment. The Marvel Cinematic Universe. Star Wars. Fortnite. Game of Thrones. They're all titans of modern pop culture.

There’s one explanation for why this has happened: capitalism.

In our capitalist society, money reigns supreme. It runs everything. If something doesn’t make money, it might as well not exist. If something is popular, it’s most likely making some people a ton of money.

It’s weird if you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame

People want that money, and people who have power are going to do what they can to get it. Sometimes that means investing in something that’s already big and successful. Sometimes that means investing in something promising to turn it into a big success.

One way to know if something is going to be successful is if it already has loyal consumers, and nobody is more loyal than nerds.

Capitalizing on comics

There aren’t a lot of casual comic book fans. Sure, you can dabble in comics, but if you want to really get into comics, you need to commit.

Comics aren’t a cheap form of entertainment. If you want to keep up with a few big series, you could be dropping hundreds of dollars a year. Some people spend over a thousand to read all their favorite series, and that’s just money down on current comics. What if you want to read some old series to get more background on your favorite characters or check out more work from your favorite authors and artists? That takes cash.

When people invest themselves financially into things, they usually end up investing their emotions as well. Plus, people naturally form allegiances with the things they like. Look at sports fandom. If you’re a Marvel fan, you’re going to defend your allegiance, and it’s going to be really hard for anyone to get you to stop loving Marvel.

Marvel stans aren't going anywhere.

Image: bob al-greene / mashable

With that rabid audience, it was only a matter of time before bigger and bigger investors came along to do what they could to increase the scale of that audience. How do you do that? Use a mainstream medium.

You may not be able to get mainstream audiences into comic book shops, but you can take stories and characters from the pages of comics and put them in movies.

Hollywood appeal

Comic book movies are nothing new, but they’ve never had the cultural dominance they do now. Companies like Sony and Warner Bros. proved that heroes like Spider-Man and Batman could be successful on the silver screen, but these were already some of the most well-known superheroes in history.

Still, by investing in these projects, rich people used their money to create another reliable revenue stream.

And then came the rapid assault of nerd stuff popping up absolutely everywhere. Movies targeted adult audiences and the respect these movies were earning from critics and award shows saw them reaching wider and wider parts of the population.

All of a sudden, having some sort of knowledge about these properties became desirable, because these properties were what people were talking about. News sites expanded their beats to cover nerdy properties as more people’s interests were piqued. YouTube channels built around nerdy properties blew up more and more.

And then came Disney.

In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment and helped spark an entertainment revolution. With the money and advertising of Disney, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to root itself into the center of pop culture.

A little over 10 years ago, most people had never heard of Thanos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, or Doctor Strange. Now, it’s weird if you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame.

If you don't know who this is, you're not cool anymore.

By pouring more and more money into its properties, which now also includes Star Wars, Disney managed to shift the balance of entertainment into the palm of its hand. Disney’s net worth shot up from $62.5 billion in 2008 to $98.6 billion in 2018 according to Statista.

And as the saying goes, a rising tide carries all ships.

United nerds stand

As superhero movies became mainstream, other adjacent nerd interests saw a similar rise.

One of the biggest shows of the past decade was Game of Thrones. If you’re a kid who hasn’t played Fortnite or Minecraft, you’re an outsider.

Discussions around these topics are no longer relegated to specific internet forums. Everyone is talking about them. Entire websites rely on them to keep them afloat. Why do you think I have the job I have right now?

It’s just part of the pattern of capitalism

Companies and investors funneled money into niche nerd cultures to blast them out into the mainstream, and the mainstream is eating it up. Game of Thrones fan theories get millions of views on YouTube, and then mainstream websites turn around and signal boost them to even more people.

These nerdy properties are becoming more and more ubiquitous as more and more people continue to make money off them. Ignoring all of them now would be like if you ignored M*A*S*H when there were only three TV stations. Inconceivable.

To nerds of the '90s, '80s, and earlier decades, the current pop culture landscape may shock them to their cores, but really it’s just part of the pattern of capitalism. Somewhere, a creative group of people pull something brilliant out of the ether, it grows among a small, dedicated group of fans, and then rich white men come in and turn into a money printing machine for themselves by marketing it to the masses.

Tech via Mashable! http://bit.ly/2KzLn52 August 23, 2019 at 06:02AM

#IFTTT #Feedly

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miniwolfsbane · 5 years

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Copied from @andalite-angel post. Edited slightly.

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, etc. are allowed.

Biospecialist, Marco/Rachel, Sam/Rahne, all cannon Disney Princess pairings, the two young kids Pacific Rim Uprising, Lancitty, Evo Kurt/ Amanda, Jott in Evo. Skyward??

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or ***** that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Fanfic writers and Evo romy, adult Jubilee x Gambit, others.

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Never gonna be big on Evo Romy ever again, will forever hate Rahne x Roberto, Sam and Rahne with anyone but each other!!

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Evo Romy...somtimes. Because it does sorta make sense IN FANNON, but not in cannon. And Jean x Scott, because it’s so iconic, but I only like them in Evo, so...yah.

E - Have you added anything cracky crazy/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

See my fan fiction.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

The Little Mermaid and Star Trek have been there for 95% of my life.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, Sam/Rahne, Ariel and Eric (first when I was 5, even though I wanted to be Ariel), Rachel Tobias (first when I was actually gettin into fandom), Jake/Cassie (Animorphs), Clark/Lana, Clark/Lois (I think??) and Chloe/Ollie, Romy (even in Evo at a point!), and now Eliza and Goliath in Gargoyles. I keep saying I’m not a shipper, but I think I’m just a subtle one that pines and doesn’t read a lot of fanfic, but my heart swells over seeing my OTP on screen

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

TV Shows and Western (superhero) Animation mostly, but also a few animes.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

I was annoyed by the Agents Of Shield fandoms behavior for a while, but I’ve never stopped liking any fandoms because of Tumblr.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

SuperWhoLock, Riverdale...some other popular teen shows.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Tie between Sailor Moon and Gambit I guess, but I’m sure there are lots of others. Sailor Jupiter has a good arc as well, even though she doesn’t have a lot of character development TBH.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

Roberto Dacosta’s super strength power is pretty cool and he’s a chill guy. And rich. (I just realized that a lot of X-Men characters are rich, actually. Gambit, Xavier, Warren and him. Holy crap.)

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon. TAS Rogue too, because she seems fun to hang with, and who wouldn’t like to be called “Sugah” all the time?

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

MORE GAMBIT (and comic Nightcrawler) IMAGINES!! And just more love and less fan wars across all fandoms, really.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Hero by Chad Kroger. Ship: Romy or Mollyx Remy. Character: Gambit or Angel.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

For any fandom? A mad scientist and a famous baker get together after the scientist contacts aliens, resulting in a warring invasion on earth.

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

To be perfectly honest, The Smurfs because we’re a Christain household and we found it had stuff in it we didn’t agree with. I was three. Other than that, I’ve only given up one other fandom permenantly that wasn’t what I thought it was and chosen at a bad time.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Kurt and Kitty in Evo, and Logan and Kurt is cool, but I don’t actually pay much attention to it.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Hmmm. One that isn’t too boring? Remy isn’t (wasn’t? He is married now) particular about a woman’s height and is comfortable enough with himself to date a woman much taller or shorter than he is. (Remember, Frenzy was freaking 6′7 before she got rebooted to a normal height and it was implied they had history.) For a while it was a wish of mine they’d pair him with a short gal, because all X-women are physically clones of each other, minus Rahne, Kitty and Jubilee. Blargh. Oooh, just had an idea for a new art project to make the girls look individual! ^_^

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Besides the above? Uh...headcannon that Remy smells good and his hair is silky to the touch and yes I’m a sick, weird little person, I know. Haha, not really. I’m not much of a headcannon person.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

* Gambit: Hot, suave, lit, accent, good cook, romantic, my fictional ideal man (told you, I’m sick and weird). * Sailor Jupiter: Sweet, loyal, living on her own at bloody 14 years old, strong physically and emotionally, had trouble believing/finding her feminity like me, tall (not like me!), brunette character, thunder powers. * Tuvok (Star Trek): My second crush ever, calm, reflective, hot grandpa, sarcasm galore, strong, suffers emotionally and physically, POC and like the only black vulcan that I know of, cute little boy chest, that butt (XD), frakin’ hot.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Surprisingly, one I haven’t talked about yet and that I’m not really fandom-y about. Rapunzel from Tangled. When I saw the movie, I was attached to her immediately. I’d grown up homeschooled and at that point I’d been caregiving for one of my parents for six years at that point, unable to move out and get married and have much of a life, so I was always metaphorically in a tower too. I have childish interests, am artistic and creative, have done LOTS of self-insert art like her, and am a generally happy person (even if I don’t always show it and don’t smile enough). So, out of every character in my many fandoms, I relate to Rapunzel the most. Also, I have only 2 things of Tangled merch-the movie, the soundtrack, and a gorgeous bedspread that’s actually based on the show, but doesn’t look like it. (I don’t like it’s animation/character designs, so it’s been hard to get into it.)

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

OMG, do we have to go here? Anything over-sexualized or kinky or just plain gross/weird. (v***, gore, ect.) There’s this one X-Men:Evo artist on DA that would be brilliant, but I can’t stomach their gallery because they feel the need to do a few v*** and bondage pics amongst otherwise G-rated pictures. *throws up* IT’S A SHOW FOR 7-YEAR OLDS!!

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Huge guy, Tiny girl! (but it looks...weird...in live action. *Good Luck Charlie flashbacks*.) Also age differences. Some people are put off by Usagi and Mamo’s age difference in Classic, but I think it’s cute and they were really chaste about it. Specifically, I liked the part where he told her to do well in school for some reason.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)? Holy crap, Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables. No one on my dash is into them though, it’s a real life thing. Long story.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

I have written more self-inserts than is probably healthy, but at least I’ve mostly gotten past my teenage phase of thinking anime guys are hot and it’s extended to Gambit as well. I’d much rather see him be portrayed by a living, breathing actor semi-bringing my fantasies to life than as a drawn character. Well, not that I’m not happy seeing him animated and his voice in Evo is still super hot, but that’s another thing. Anyway, on that note, I wish XM:E weren’t a dead fandom and I could get more reviews instead of just faves/follows. I get so frustrated, because I’m not writing my fics for myself, I’m writing them to finish the story and for the fans. I know OCs/SI aren’t everyones bread and butter, but when you work hard on something, you want people to enjoy and appreciate it on it’s own merits. My regulars dropped off the planet and the fandom is just not that active online. (It’s still kind of active though, otherwise the Gambit and other prints on Steven Gordon’s online store wouldn’t have sold out so fast.) I wish it had been as creative as the MLP fandom, but even that wouldn’t have saved it. Thankfully, there are a few people “keeping the faith”, like Coldfusion180 and some others. They haven’t abandoned it and people have made AMVs for it in recent years, long after the shows cancellation. I know we’ve all moved on in one way or another, but it’s still nice to see the love for the show and it’s characters going strong, even if we’re now a niche fandom, tiny, but there. And even if I don’t get another single review up until the last in the series, at least I can say I finished it, if nothing else. Even if your fandom is dead, keep supporting it. If we don’t keep the characters alive, they die and are forgotten. They need us.

https://fanfiction.net/~miniwolfsbane

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thesixthstar · 7 years

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Ok so in my Invented Languages class our first reading was the introduction to a book by the guy who made Dothraki (also an article about a lawsuit involving Klingon and copyright but thats a post for another time) and he talks about early online conlang community and how a TON of the knowledge and experience accrued by those folks in the early days is basically lost to the new, almost totally de-centralized conlang people (i say people and not community here for a reason) of the modern internet and even though theres people who are still around with that knowledge and the original conlang listserv is apparently archived somewhere safe and sound, no one has ever really bothered to put that collective knowledge into, well, a collection.

And this reminded me of something thats really fucking bothered me about the way we’ve moved into modern internet. And I say this with a total lack of perspective, since i’m a fucking internet baby in comparison to these people. I started my Internet Experience in elementary school with Neopets and then in 2006/7 ish i lied about my age to be on DeviantArt in middle school. I’m not exactly an internet grandma here, much as i feel like it.

But the thing about it is theres a FUCK ton of communities like that where no one has really bothered to go in and make a decent record of what happened. And sometimes thats fine. We dont always need to know about when 2 people got into a heated debate over the N64 or something. But broadly speaking, the history spent on weird little niche communities with email lists, or forums that are gone now or w/e can be important history to record, and in cases like the one with the conlang community, can contain extremely helpful practical resources for people working on things like that today.

I think there needs to be an effort to go and collect and preserve the major points of history in things like that. And things like FanLore and various wikis do part of the job but fandom is really only one minor part of things.

And another issue I have with how things are moving forward is that the internet is fucking huge, and structured in such a way that these little communities are becoming impossible to have. Which. Is fine by some, and may be impossible to stop, but I think there is actually a problem with it.

It used to be the internet brought people with similar interests or what have you together. If you had a topic in mind, you could find people talking about it and probably some resources or some nice folks willing to help you get in with it. At this point, if you have a topic, theres just too much going on to really know where to start. Even if there is some starting point or a littl community somewhere its so easy to get lost in everything else.

So imo i think there needs to be a major curatorial effort to sort of curb that effect, and idk if theres a really effective way to do that on any scale really, but at the very least I sort of wish that, as a whole, that sort of curatorial skill/contribution was more valued. Right now, mostly what i see in that way is fandom stuff; masterposts of media stuff and occasionally fandom networks and FanLore type records that are extremely inconsistent with what gets recorded or not bc of the nature of the experience.

And all of those seem pretty low priority and idk how to finish this post but it bugs me and idk how I can get myself involved to start fixing it myself, especially since i dont have a significant internet presence to start a big project but anyways now this is typed up and I’d love to hear from other people how they feel about this or any relating experiences or ideas or something.

#tag

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junker-town · 6 years

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Our favorite SB Nation stories of the year

I am a lucky man.

As an editor for this website, I get to spend my days reading the work of the internet’s most talented collection of writers and reporters. And with the year winding down, I thought it only fitting that I collect just a small list of some of our favorite stuff we did this year.

I hope these can bring you some joy, open your mind to a new experience or perspective ... or at least give you something that can, however momentarily, provide you an escape from the family this season. Happy holidays from all of us at SB Nation.

Profiles

The future of tennis is here

Whitney McIntosh went to the U.S. Open to watch the legends of the game, and got swept up in the whirlwind that was Denis Shapovalov, the 18-year-old Canadian with the stringy blonde hair and the too-big smile.

How the process failed Jahlil Okafor

Jordan Brenner’s excellent profile showed Okafor at his most vulnerable — stuck in a void, failed by the Process, and spending his days at the movies, a 7-foot-tall Walker Percy character brought to the NBA.

The day Chris Long gave a season’s worth of game checks to charity

Charlotte Wilder spent two days with the Eagles defensive end as he decided to donate all his game checks of the season to charity, and dug in to find out why he had abandoned the Patriots ... and why he still played the game.

A day with Hornets assistant coach — and NBA lifer — Stephen Silas

Paul Flannery’s fascinating profile gives you a window in the life of an NBA assistant coach, its long hours, and the precise work that goes into preparing for every game.

How Mike Gundy came home and built Oklahoma State football

Bill Connelly traveled to Stillwater to get to know the man behind the mullet, and learned a lot about the changing program (and what T. Boone Pickens has to do with the whole thing).

Adventures

Escaping Kakuma: Soccer and the pursuit of meaning inside the world’s third-largest refugee camp

Louis Bien’s journey to Kakuma, a massive refugee camp in Kenya, goes beyond reporting on a soccer league and tells a painfully human story of dreams deferred and the cost of war, but manages to maintain hope throughout. One that stays with you.

How a soccer team embraced Atlanta's culture and captured the city

Atlanta native Harry Lyles Jr. went to an MLS game and came away with a new appreciation for his city, its fandom, and the beautiful game. Plus an unforgettable cameo from a security officer who may be Atlanta’s biggest soccer fan.

The 2017 Astros are a beautiful fit for the city of Houston

I wasn’t expecting Grant Brisbee’s funny, freewheeling report on this year’s Astros teams to leave me choked up, but that it did. A beautiful and perfectly crass essay on a team that a city needed.

Houston Cougars football is trying to fit the city that’s too big for a belt

I’ll be damned if any national sports blog this year wrote better about the city of Houston. Spencer Hall’s story of the University of Houston football team turns into the story of the city itself, its music and food, its grotesque, hulking beauty.

Racing the past in Jonesport, Maine

Charlotte Wilder’s loving story on lobster boat racing in a fading Maine town is serene and heartbreaking, and introduces you to a cast of ragtag, charming characters you will never forget.

The Wizards are finally capturing D.C.'s attention

Mike Prada’s piece on D.C. and the Wizards is a story of a team, two perfect stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and a city that’s changing so quickly it at times feels unrecognizable.

Forget San Diego and L.A., these are the StubHub Chargers

I loved this story — Louis Bien went to watch the Chargers play in their tiny, weird soccer stadium and, quite wonderfully, found the beauty in it.

College football at Fenway Park is a crass, silly money grab (and it’s beautiful)

Come for the opening sentence — my favorite of the year — and stick around for Charlotte Wilder finding the beauty in a big ole crash grab of a football game at one of baseball’s temples.

I watched Cubs-Nationals Game 5 in a D.C. bar and saw sports at its most casually upsetting

Alex Kirshner went to a bar in Washington, D.C. for a Nationals game and came away with a beautiful observation of baseball fandom at its most banally miserable.

Can NASCAR save itself when Dale Earnhardt Jr. is gone?

Charlotte Wilder’s deep dive into the world of NASCAR goes beyond a look at a sport at a crossroads. It’s also a story of inequality and hate, of fear, and the unstoppable force of time.

Leaving Tampa with Clemson fans, the happiest family in the country

Richard Johnson perfectly captured a fanbase at its most deliriously happy, the spiritual opposite to the Kirshner piece above. The disbelief, the joy, the alcohol ... it’s all there, rendered clearly in the moment by Johnson.

The Marlins are completely weird, but one day they’ll be a baseball powerhouse

Grant Brisbee may have jinxed the Marlins with this article (to be fair, I don’t think any of us saw the Jeter purchase and firesale coming), but it remains a beautiful, sharp, hilarious portrait of a franchise and a city.

Fiction

17776

Describing Jon Bois’ 17776 is a foolish endeavor. It is a look at the future of football, sure — as its unnerving false opening page tells us — but it is also a grand, Pynchonian exploration of time, meaning, and (im)mortality. As funny as it is haunting, this is a work I look forward to reading for years to come.

Investigations

Why do NFL teams ignore kickers?

I adored this story, a look from Adam Stites at the world of NFL kickers, who are underratedly important, excellent at their jobs, and with one notable exception, expected to coach themselves.

How do NBA players avoid injuries when they jump 3 feet in the air?

Tim Cato has found a niche industry in examining the beautiful minutiae of the game of basketball, and this was one of my favorites. He asks: How do men that are this tall and this strong manage to jump so high in the air ... and not break an ankle every time?

How the NCAA's investigation into Ole Miss trapped a Mississippi State player

Steven Godfrey’s richly reported and finely wrought investigation into the NCAA’s case against Ole Miss — and how it trapped a Mississippi State player in an inescapable, bureaucratic nightmare — is a necessary read for anyone still holding out hope for the ideals of amateurism.

How the Rockets made the wildest scheme in basketball analytics work

Another lovely breakdown from Tim Cato, who traveled to Houston (again, we owned Houston this year!) to find out about the grand experiment and how it was working. This season, his intuition has been proven even more spot on.

The NCAA didn't believe Donte Moncrief's brother could buy a car. So they launched an investigation

Steven Godfrey again shows us the inner workings of the NCAA, as well as its double standards and hypocrisies, with deep reporting and a clear head. The documents he obtained — including a letter from a hotel manager who had been duped by an NCAA investigator — bring the story to life.

A comprehensive timeline of Ezekiel Elliott's domestic violence case

Sarah Hardy worked tirelessly to report and compile a comprehensive timeline of the domestic violence case against Ezekiel Elliott, and in doing so built the most comprehensive, clear look at the case available. This is necessary and strong journalism.

Ezekiel Elliott's suspension and appeal, explained

Working alongside Hardy was Jeanna Thomas, whose own deep reporting and understanding of the league, its rules, and the criminal justice system, resulted in this excellent piece which provides a reader a complete understanding of a complicated and drawn out NFL saga.

A definitive timeline of Colin Kaepernick’s journey from football stardom

Tyler Tynes and Harry Lyles Jr. pored through countless stories to compile this definitive timeline of the Colin Kaepernick saga, illustrating how a solitary man’s protest sparked a national movement.

NBA players explain why they are going vegan and vegetarian

Kristian Winfield took an interesting idea and did the reporting to bring the story to life — identifying a trend in NBA players eating healthier and talking to the players themselves to understand why this is happening, and how it’s changing the league.

LeBron James' incredible taste in wine, explained by 4 experts

A perfect internet story — Tim Cato took a LeBron James Instagram post of his wine collection and got digging, speaking to wine experts and finding out that James’ taste was just as good as his game on the court.

Soccer’s ugly sexism is keeping women from coaching the beautiful game

This sharp investigation from Stephanie Yang combines deep research, statistical analysis, perfect anecdotes and a level head to illustrate a major problem in soccer.

How Pacers fans fell in and out of love with Paul George

Whitney Medworth does brilliant work every week capturing the ephemera of the NBA in her “B-Sides” column, but I also love her work on the Pacers and its fanbase. She perfectly broke down a relationship in this story on Paul George, a story I didn’t know I needed until I read it.

The State of Louisiana v. Cardell Hayes

Tyler Tynes dove fully into the case surrounding the killing of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith, and showed not only what happened that night, but how a city, region, and history had come together to create a fatal and heartbreaking moment.

I watched in bewilderment while a man tried to return butternut squash because he thought it was cheese

James Dator’s first-person masterpiece on a trip to the grocery store. It seems insane, but this is the story I will probably remember the most from this year. How could one forget it?

Essays

My awkward, long-lost GeoCities page about Michigan football makes me feel 13 forever

Louis Bien’s nostalgic journey to the early world of sports blogging is fun and funny and sweet, an earnest look back at a time that was awkward, yes, but innocent and perfect in its own way.

There and back again: An immigrant's dream of being a soccer player

Zito Madu’s gorgeous essay on returning home to Nigeria, and facing the family that stays there, is so much more than just a postcard from a foreign land. It is a heartbreaking rendering of the idea that “you can’t go home again,” a look at what happens when dreams are forfeited, when you realize that you will never — can never — become the person that, as a child, you thought you might be.

I’m a Falcons fan. Not even 28-3 can break me.

Most people read Steven Godfrey for his richly reported investigations into the seedy underbelly of sport, but he’s at his most pure, and funny, when he’s raving about one of his favorite teams.

When the levee breaks

Spencer Hall’s preseason essay, for Every Day Should Be Saturday, is a look ahead at the coming year in college football, sure. It’s also a raw look at a nation Hall is struggling to recognize, at a time when it seems like finding hope for new beginnings is as impossible a task as there could be.

Bulls in 6

I don’t know if this is an essay, a rant, an argument, a devastating work of a broken man or a masterstroke of genius, but nothing made me laugh harder this year than Ricky O’Donnell’s “Bulls in 6”, a piece that manages to rip down an organization and show an undying love for it all in a few hundred words.

Bill Connelly for College Football Commissioner

Bill Connelly is not just one of our writers. He is also our candidate for College Football Commissioner, a job we desperately need to exist. (If only for Bill to fill it.) In his candidacy, he diagnoses all that’s wrong with the sport, and offers some beautiful solutions.

From Baghdad to Iwo Jima, an anthem for the dead

Matt Ufford’s wrenching essay manages to look at the current national discussion surrounding the protests in the NFL and beyond, and contextualize them from the perspective of someone who has served in the military. Run on Veteran’s Day, this piece changed the way I thought about protest, service, and what we mean when we thank those who serve.

NFL ratings are down because teams have no incentive to be good

Spencer Hall took a (quite frankly stupid) national debate about why people were tuning out of the NFL and examined it in purely economic terms. By taking out the heated rhetoric from both sides, he coolly shows what’s gone wrong with the league, and why no team ever has any incentive to be innovative, or good, in any way.

There is no escape from politics

Tyler Tynes’ comprehensive and bold year-end essay looked at a single weekend in the NFL — where players came together in protest as a response to Donald Trump — and showed how 200 years of history had led to that very moment.

Paul Pierce always knew how much time he had

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a player, but Paul Flannery managed to do so with grace and style in this goodbye to Paul Pierce. Flannery not only tells the story of the player, but of his relationship to the city of Boston, and examine why both were exactly what the other needed.

The NCAA has never had control

Jason Kirk and Mike Rutherford manage to take a look at the NCAA in 2018 and, in a few choice words, tear the whole thing down to its foundation. Kirk’s intro especially is one of my favorite things we ran on the site this year — a vicious, brief deconstruction of the entire amateur sports model.

The NBA isn’t just a diversion anymore

Paul Flannery took stock of the league at last season’s All-Star break and wrote a comprehensive, clear, and beautiful piece on the state of the league he’d been covering for years.

‘Unity’: The word the NFL is using to avoid talking about Colin Kaepernick

Zito Madu’s short essay on the weekend of protest in the NFL managed to identify a troubling trend, write it out beautifully, and define the national conversation for weeks.

What did I miss? Hit me up in the comments and share your favorite writing from SB Nation this year.

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