Too Close for Comfort: Heated Rivalry and Parasocial Culture
“Parasocial” was named Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s Word of the Year in 2025. It’s a term whose relevance seeps through the cracks of the internet. According to Cambridge, it means “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know.” If you have your finger on the pulse of social media, this definition likely feels familiar. Within fandom spaces especially, parasocial relationships are increasingly prevalent. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with feeling connected to a piece of media, its characters, or even the actors who portray them — but sometimes an invisible line is crossed. With the rise of the hit TV show Heated Rivalry, those blurred lines have become more visible. Can we consume media and love it without becoming too involved? Of course. But when does admiration become too much?
When the Muppets Met Sabrina Carpenter: A hopeful revival
A familiar format returns and shows that straightforward is, sometimes, better
For a medium that is built on suspension of disbelief, puppetry has always felt incredibly earnest. There's something very simple and engaging about getting a felt creature attached to you by the buttocks to say something silly or raunchy.
Jim Henson's Muppets were the pinnacle of this medium and the testament to the “reality” of these creatures. You can barely throw an anthropomorphic rock without hearing stories about acclaimed actors forgetting that the Muppets were actually controlled by a bunch of hippie puppeteers and were not, in fact, other actors.
Cut to the modern day, where The Muppets have been sitting in a Disney warehouse somewhere being forgotten while having 1 or 2 characters dragged out for the occasional Game Awards segment. Until now…
Behind The Runway: The Collective Vision Behind ‘Roots & Rebirth’ and Aberdeen’s Fashion Revival
As models paraded down the runway on Halloween night, clad in bold hues, vibrant patterns, and unique craftsmanship, October 31st marked a fashion revival for Aberdeen with the unveiling of a collection titled Roots & Rebirth. The night signalled the emergence of a dynamic, daring, and creative fashion chapter for the often creatively overlooked granite city. Nigerian-born designer Joy Kelikume Oziomaaka, the visionary behind the London Fashion Week success Kelikume Fashion and Styling, aims to bring the concept of a Fashion Week to Scotland and open opportunities for young people pursuing careers in the fashion industry—preventing them from taking their talents elsewhere.
The brand was founded by Kelly (as she is affectionately known) two years ago after working for 15 years at Chevron. Her pivot from the energy sector to fashion stemmed from a personal love for the industry, describing fashion as “the only language I enjoy speaking.”
It’s Not Me it’s You: Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ Album Review
Mainstream British artist, Lily Allen has been thrust into the media limelight with her divorce from sci-fi series Stranger Things actor David Harbour, of which she shines a harsh light on in her second album “West End Girl”. Allen, married to Harbour for four years, wrote and recorded the entire album in ten days, delivering a real-time account of the breakdown of their relationship.
Describing herself as a “modern wife” in ‘Relapse’, Allen gives a first-hand detailing of the toll her marriage took on her, and the guilt she felt trying to be a role model for her daughters amid her weary choice to agree to an open relationship. ‘Relapse’ is an album-defining track and an honest account of Allen’s unsteady relationship with alcohol, having been sober since 2019.
Where Girls Aloud meets Fiona Apple: Medb - Glasgow’s new rising star
Glasgow’s music scene has a new star on the rise: Medb, a singer-songwriter whose unique blend of pop, post-punk, and experimental sounds has been turning heads across the UK. From her early days in Belfast to her current life in Glasgow, Medb’s journey has been defined by resilience, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to her artistic vision
Music was in Medb’s blood from the very beginning. Both of her parents were recording musicians, regularly played on local radio, and introduced her to the thrill of performing from a young age. Alongside her brothers, who also formed their own band, Medb grew up immersed in music, singing into tape recorders and experimenting on a second-hand Yamaha keyboard. By her mid-teens, she was writing original songs, setting the foundation for the career she is pursuing today.
Progeny & Power: Designer Tarika Kinney Weaves Her Matriarchal Lineage Into Living Garments
Belfast-born designer Tarika Kinney doesn’t just make clothes; she resurrects memory. Her graduate collection Progeny, unveiled at Glasgow School of Art is less a debut than a declaration. Across translucent knitwear, cast surfaces and fraying edges preserved like relics, Kinney constructs a personal archive of womanhood, ancestry and renewal.
‘Mo Chridhe’: Katie Forbes on sharing the Gaelic Language with Modern Scotland
Katie Forbes sits down with Antagonizine to discuss her art, her love for the Gaelic Language and the family that inspired it.
What does Gaelic look like splashed across the walls of Glasgow?
Inspired by her stepfather's late mother – who she refers to as Granny Annie – and her native language, mural artist, Katie Forbes, brings the language to life with vivid colours and eye-catching designs, along with phonetic spellings to truly reach and include anybody. Katie felt drawn to learning Gaelic and truly embraced the rural Scottish side to her artistic ideas.