#it doesn't really matter in the great scheme of things tbh. just a thought

[barbrububble]

Another detail is, Curly is a captain/pilot of the freighter spaceship, which aren't being manned anymore. Sure he probably has the highest paycheck out of the crew (how high tho? it's fucking Pony express) and probably better qualifications (again, by Pony express standards) but he's not automatically "moving towards bigger and better" after this layoff, Jim is fucking delusional from envy (Jim is not primarily worried about money like others, he wants to be capable of being good at something and dealing with life and problems, he sees these as innate qualities of Curly that he, Jim, simply lacks)

[clandestineivory]

Affogato Cookie x Healer Reader

Summary: The guy who keeps getting himself into the most weirdest situations (exiled) and the healer who followed him because they KNEW he wouldn't get far without someone else helping him. (aka; "help I'm hurt, I need a savior" x "you fucking moron why would you fall into freezing river water") Written with 2nd pov <3

TW: Wounds but not graphic, kinda angsty but not..? idk. Highkey self-indulgent tbh. He's like some kind of shunned creature I love him other: This ain't even headcanons that much, it's just weirdness uploaded into this thing. This doesn't even need to be seen as romantic now that I think about it. It could be really close buddies y'know..

Affogato Cookie used to come all the way to where you worked because of ANY minor scratches or splinters. Being the oh-so kind and considerate healer, you helped him (even when you knew damn well that he had a higher amount of medical knowledge needed for an advisor)

And this guy was highkey dramatic half of the time, and would treat you more like a friend or a gossip-companion than a doctor.

You helped him when he first appeared in the Black Citadel, which was quite a while ago, by the order of Dark Cacao Cookie when he found the stranger in the snow.

You were the one who often heard his complaints and rants about Dark Cacao Cookie in the first years he became an advisor.

- "Thank you for treating my wounds, y/n, now I'd really like to get back to talki-" - "I would rather watch you get hurt by a cream wolf and stitch you up again than hear you complain about the King. Just put matters into your own hands if you're so mad about his ideals and his thoughts on the kingdom." - "...that doesn't sound like a half-bad idea." THIS BITCH REALLY TOOK THAT SERIOUSLY, DIDN'T HE?

You were there when you watched his exile occur (more like his immediate retreat). When his disciples were in chaos because of the Great Wall breaking, you slipped away with him, watching when Caramel Arrow Cookie asked to hunt the advisor (or, ex-advisor?) down.

He seemed lost. Of course he was, he had just failed a scheme he had tried to devise and plan out meticulously. You two didn't speak for a while.

But you just had to ask: - "Royal Advisor, are you alright?" - "I got beat by a group of measly travelers. Like it was child's play. Do you think I'm alright after trying so hard to fight, trying to obtain enough power, only for it to crumble away?"- "I'm worse than 'alright', y/n. You wouldn't understand." - "...Affogato Cookie, help me understand."

And he did. Well, he tried to. He was pretty bad at explaining his emotions and past. It was messy, and he went quiet sometimes, like he was hiding the way his voice would tremble at certain moments and failing miserably when he tried to talk again.

But you tried to get it. And he seemed to like that, even if there was no fancy throne, or overly sweet food and banquets. Just the two of you, staying together in some old cave in the mountains while the chaos from the Kingdom subsided, far away with nothing but your first-aid kit and a spare blanket.

You two stayed in that cave for a while. Snowstorms were bad, and besides, it was too mentally taxing to go back out.

Affogato Cookie had huddled close to you. Seemed like his clothes, even with so many pretty layers, could not shield his body from the biting cold.

So, with the consideration you practiced from years past, you let him have the blanket...even with some back and forth. - "You take the blanket, y/n. Your clothes aren't suitable to the cold." - "Neither are yours, you moron." - "But you deserve it more. I'm ashamed that you want to care for me even after I've failed and got beat by children.." - "Affogato Cookie, I'm the healer, and I order you to keep that blanket and stay warm-"

Note: it went on for a full minute before you two came to a compromise to share the blanket instead. Yay for teamwork, i guess?

You noticed that he fell asleep pretty slowly. Sometimes his eyelids would droop, then he shifted a bit and tried to grab a bit more of the blanket, then not (because he says, "it's too hot now" oh, cool, call me Fortuna i guess because HOW are you hot in the middle of a snowstorm bud, pick a side)

But eventually, he drifted off into slumber, curled up like some kind of tall creature who simply needed a place to reside and be seen. Cared about. Understood.

And it was strange, seeing him in this light. A softer shade instead of the confident and self-assured dark indigo he portrayed himself as.

It was kind of nice, seeing him with this quiet tint of lavender.

[ln4norris]

Hot take: George will not be dropped by Mercedes even if Max becomes available. Yes, Toto has praised Max relentlessly before, but the truth of the matter is, Toto is not the sole person to call all the shots at Mercedes. Ineos and Mercedes-Benz each own a third of the team also. It would be unwise for them to drop a driver who drives well, doesn't complain to the media every time something within the team goes wrong, doesn't cost an exhorbitant amount, isn't used to the car, and doesn't have a loud-mouthed entourage who tattles to the press constantly. Unless everybody loses their collective minds overnight.

And please do not say "Ohhh but what about Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz", from the surface, these two situations look similar, but they really are not. Fred was scheming for a Lewis for a long time before the swap, we could see their interactions on camera as well as Lewis's slowly cooling relationship with Mercedes. In contrast, Toto this year has been incredibly firm that he no longer wants Max. I know Toto is a two-faced asshole but it has been multiple interviews now where he has firmly locked down the driver line-up. And yes, Lewis is incredibly expensive, even more than Max, but also remember, Ferrari has far too much money than they know what to do with.

P/s: Kimi being prioritized over George is nonsense. Siri pull up the clip of Toto standing on the barriers giggling and smiling at George on the podium

Certainly! George is a great driver, I think Mercedes would be losing a big asset to the team if they were to drop him.

I don't think that George will be dropped by Mercedes, but controversially I think if anything drives (ironically) George out of the team, it could be a case of him being unhappy with not getting the prioritisation that he may feel he deserves. I don't think it would be a massive thing, but rather a quieter ordeal where maybe he doesn't extend his contract and signs with a team that will give him what he wants - though this is all theoretical and I don't think it would happen for a few seasons at least because I definitely see an extension coming soon

Sometimes I think Toto wanted Max more than he let on and Max just let him down, and now there's this sort of tension around it all - I could be reading that completely wrong, of course, but I find myself thinking who wouldn't want Max on their team?

Lewis' move to Ferrari was shocking to me, tbh. I remember around the time it was announced I had gotten a taxi back from a night out and spoke to the driver about it when we heard it on the radio, I wasn't the only one to be flabberghasted 😅

Obviously, when you look back at it, you can sort of match up the puzzle pieces and see the bigger picture. Like you say, Ferrari are loaded! If any team can buy out Lewis, it's them (which I know they didn't, it was an exit clause in the contract, etc)

Ahhh I don't think I ever said that Kimi is getting prioritised now, but I can definitely see it happening in the future! I am certainly not doubting Toto's love for George, either. But maybe I'm biased because I am sooo jumping aboard the Kimi hype train, I am right there with all the other fans

Kimi WDC 25? I'm kidding, I'm sorry

send me your most outrageous, controversial and unpopular thoughts/confessions about F1!

[callmesel]

Not sure if you wanted to play or not

if you don't feel free to delete

but got any thoughts you want to share on Percy?

any unpopular opinions?

Any ships you'd like to see more of?

I have some thoughts but they are all so random that there is no way to categorize it so it is going to be just me yapping

Percy is a theatre kid. I have a headcanon that Hogwarts has a theatre club somewhere and he has being going there since first year. It was just for extra credit and then he found that he actually enjoys it and he is really good at it. That poker face had to came from somewhere. But he stop after the become prefect but there are some times that he had directed the plays because prefect duties and he is really happy to help. Bill was one of the prefects who help him when he was part of the cast so he feels nostalgic whenever is his turn.

Kind of realated to the last one, he knows how to play the piano and the violin. Tbh, any of the strings suits him in my mind. I want to think that aunt Muriel made all the Weasley kids go in a full manners and etiquette course and playing the violin because the piano is too easy and your kids need something to make them stand out from the rest was part of it. But the only one that took it seriusly was Percy, I think Ron is also able to play is but he was lazy and bored by it as a child, buit he is pretty good at it. Not saying that he is good at it, he is mediocre at best but he knows how to play. What he can paly really well is the piano. He has long fingers and a delicate hands so I think he would be great playing soff symphonies or ones that required to move you hand around the keys. Having long fingers is really useful if you don't have a really big hand so I think it would be easier for him to reach the keys in the cornerrs.

I want to think that he was a bug and insects kid, but not like the ones that goes around looking for them, no, that is Charlie. He just watches them. Like, Charlie gets the bugs and he just puts them in a jar and Percy is just there watching over them. They do that with every animal Charlie finds, half of the time is both of them watching over the animal, the other half is Percy taking it as his and only his so now is Bill thing to make sure that they don't have and infestation of ants in a week. That is how they got Scrables.

He likes laying over Oliver's thighs sometimes. It's just in some special ocations and when he is feeling really tired or they are alone in their room he does it but then he is kind of embarassed because of the position. Oliver has told him multiples times that he is okay with it and that there is no issue, and Oliver himself has done the same with Percy but he is just kind of ashame. This might be a bit of projecting but when I'm aware of how I'm actually position or how I look in set position I become really selfaware and it's really unconfortable and I feel that Percy would have the same problem. He is aware of everything that his body is doing and when he isn't he then questions himself. It isn't always negative but most of the time it is.

He does journaling. He owns like a hundred notebooks from all the years he has being journaling. It's more of a common place book if you know what I mean, but it's really organised and colour coded. He has a colour scheme depending of the topic, the feeling and how is expressed. Even though it's really organised, you can't really understand his thought process because it jumps from a topic to another. And the colours and notes, because he sometimes goes back on what he has written to comment on it an reflect on it, are kind of distracting you from the actual reading.

He has a library somewhere in his house. I don't think his collection is small but if its, it doesn't matter because it's also categorise in the following way: muggle author or magical author, genre of the book,with a tier list, top shelf is a 5 star book and the lowest shelfs are the one stars, and arranged in an alphabetical order according to their title and not author. He doesn't really care about the author except if he really likes them. If he does, he has a special shelf for them and their books.

He doesn't really like bubble tea that much but he drinks it when Penny buys him some because he is not going to make her feel that she has waisted her money and she looks so happy to gave the new flavour that she discovered in a near shop that he can't just say no. And sometimes he actually likes it and tells Penny, which makes her happier.

He had a crush on one of Charlie teammates who was really friendly with him once and when Charlie found out he went crazy and told his teammate to back off and let his little brother alone. It was just onesided and like a puppy love than anything else but Charlie is Charlie and didn't think before saying dumb shit. Now he jokes about it and Bill is like "bro". But Bill is not better, when he found out the also went crazy and was like "TEN FEET APART PEOPLE". They just didn't know how to deal with their little bother having a crush because in their mind he was still a baby like all the other siblings. It's more of the age gab they have, because Bill and Charlie are like just one or two years and with Percy is like 4 and 7 so it's a big distance, specially in their teenage years.

He likes having his head stroked, it reminds him when his mother use to do that to calm him down during the war and it just calming in general. It's better because when he is cuddling with Penny or Oliver, they just do that without thinking and he really likes it. Has he told anyone about it? No. Would he tell anyone? No. But he is happy with them.

There is a spot in his back that is you press it he will bend. It's a reflex he has but doesn't really know why. Fred and George has used it to mess with him and they always get screamed after but its worth it. Ginny has done it too, specially when he isn't listening to her and she thinks it's really urgent so she press his back and he just flips. She doesn't get screamed because she is Ginny.

He has two favourite siblings, Ginny and Charlie. I don't think I have to elaborate.

He has read fanfiction about polititians before, and his hogwarts teacher. Penny writes them and sometimes Percy will asked Penny for an expecific trope from some characters of a book because he can't write it himself. Penny is thrilled whenever this happens and sometimes things excalated and they end up planing a full novela about how Lockhart is in love with Snape but Snape is rejecting him because he is in a toxic relationship with Mcgonagall, where she was cheating on him with Pomfrey . There was this one ocation that Flitwick heard them and ask Mcgonagall if she had anything to tell him something and Mcgonagall was like "wot?"

And also about the ships, I shipped him with Snape back in 2021 but it was because of this one fic that it was super good for my standars. I cried a lot. Like it had destroyed me when I read it but I re read it a few months back and it was a bit disturbing, and more if I was reading it when I was 13. It's called Tacenda and it was really good depicting their relationship and how fucked up it was, specially because it started when Percy was still and student and he was like 15/16 but you still wanted to root for them. Or at least that is how I remember it. I really liked fucked up dynamics that can easily end up as an abused relationship. Now I can read anything that isn't fluff because it makes me anxious. I also remember that it has just been finished but it took me a month to finish it.

Sometimes I wish to be able to read stuff like that without a care in the world but with that bitter after taste.

I think that is all for now, i can't really think properly lately so if there is a lot of typos or incoherence, i'm sorry

Thanks for asking because I would have never really posted anything similar :D

[xx-cringe-factory-xx]

Hi! Its the DoH anon again!! And sick! thanks for the cool tag. recently (literally just tonight), i *may* have opened up to me being also a "prince of time" (i still have my qualms but honestly its a pretty cool classpect and somewhat fits, so am not complaining). so one of my other combined classpects could be the Overlord of Paradox (Prince of time + Page of Space). Can you analyse this one, please? Thank you as always! - DoH anon (who turns out to... not be so DoH, apparently) 🌌☀️⌛

LETS GO WE BOTH PARTIALLY PRINCES (im theif +prince also THEY'RE THE OPPOSITE ASPECTSLIKE ME (light+void) so cool) vmdsfsddv (also yeah so real and valid to realize you're different from what you originally thought you were)

------------Overlord of Paradox------------

one who is serves an aspect through destroying an aspect or destroys an aspect through serving an aspect

you litterally have the aspects/classes of some of the characters that are either loved or absolutely hated on in homestuck (dirk, Tavros, jake, jade, Dave, kanaya as ell as some others TwT)

woah sooo you have both of the big important aspects. time and space. like they litterally couldn't have a session with out you if they didn't have any other time of space players.so you likely have a lot of pressure put on you. which could obviously might push you to make quick decisions without having the time to put in enough thought which tbh makes sense for a prince.

a scheming page can get as bad as a thief if they have the wrong motives. you may feel isolated at times cause of you're space aspect and your prince class may make it feel like you're the only one who really sees the bigger picture. which honestly others probably struggle to understand why you do what you do. I recommend that you take a minute to evaluate you're possibilities and options before acting, but I do understand if that can be difficult sometimes.

pages tend to be really hopeful and want the best thing without fully understanding how to get their. but like with Tavros, you can get to that point if you work extra hard for it. be careful not to get stuck only focusing on bigger pictures and stuff. being a time player you'll try to get one step ahead and prolly fumble a bit. you'll believe other's will be against you in some way. you'll try to avoid getting attached to people and things. which you are prolly really good at.

also one thing princes and pages have in common is that they think they have to be better or at least something they aren't. and while pages are Great at keeping up that act princes are not. seeing you're a page of time you'll be great at pretending and avoiding getting attached and getting people to keep up with THEM instead of slowing down for others even if the NEED to slow down for their own mental/physical health. but seeing your a prince of space you might really try and expect people to not like you or to not understand you, but chances are they at the very least partially understand.

an overlord of paradox's powers would prolly be a bit simple but they could be VERY powerful if used right. things like the ability to teleport, make portals (or like some kind black hole type thingy basically it suck in things that get too close ig?) as well as the ability to slow or speed up time for specific people. maybe even be able to create whole new timelines or jump between them.

weapons are pretty simple, but prolly requiring a lot of skill though. Blades lots of Blades. doesn't even matter what size or kind. could be a javelin, a katana, a knife. as long as it has a sharp edge to it.

:3

[leiandroid]

i finished daiya and loved every second of it 😭😭😭 such loveable characters, thrilling games, great rivalries 10/10 need act 3 like i need air

(some (many) thoughts below)

FIRST OF ALL i'm surprised terajima ended it at the west tokyo finals and not actually take us to koshien ?? i'd assume if he were to continue it (🙏📿🤲🛐) act3 would be the koshien run and not year 3 bc i mean for the STORYTELLING they GOTTA win koshien right? RIGHT???

there were a few decisions that didn't quite get through to me tbh !!! introducing takatsu and his backstory only to not have him make first string, and then bring in kaneda as the 4th pitcher who proceeds to have 0 panel time or any thing shared about him, when tojo was seen to still be practicing pitching and previously mentioned he wasn't going to give up on pitching was an odd choice.

logically speaking, i'd suppose kaneda was the 2nd string pitcher who's definitely had more game experience pitching along the year which would make him a better choice.

but in terms of storytelling, we built a relationship with both takatsu and tojo. drafting takatsu into first string and have tojo as backup pitcher/and keep his batting order position(?) would have felt more meaningful.

unless of course terajima has a continuation in mind with and this is currently not the real end of the manga, but yeah it just seemed like a weak decision. but i suppose it's not entirely significant in the grand scheme of things.

also i'm surprised for koshien they removed both okumura and yui. i thought for sure yui would stay and yuki would be benched. though yuki is a powerful batter when he makes contact, yui is more reliable. not that it matters much since we didn't get to see the koshien run ;_;

ichidai v. yakushi..........when amahisa's smile just DROPS when he sees raichi crying?? MY HEART...MY SOUL...I LOVE THESE CHILDREN 😭

and the narumiya/miyuki hug PLEASE LAWDDDD...narumiya acts like a total princess but he really loves miyuki doesn't he 😭😭 he wants to see miyuki do his absolute best and i just love that about them. i really loved that no matter who seido beat, their opponents wished them to take the top.

the sportsmanship is UNMATCHED!!!

and the timeskip??? AIN'T NO WAY MY BOY KANEMARU IS CAPTAIN LMAO i thought tojo FOR SURE. he seemed like the best fit in terms of temperament and people skills. ofc, the best choice between all these kids is yui, but he'll be cap in his 3rd year 1000000%

ANOTHER THING……i really do NOT want to be that guy but….sawamura bebey??? i feel like there were too many times that furuya stole the show 😭 look, their rivalry is amazing, just such a positive and wonderful depiction not dependent on them being petty and mean to each other but genuinely supportive. best rivalry frfr

i honestly do not mind if the point of the story was that sawamura is not the best pitcher in seido or the story, and that the point was that no matter who he'd face he'd try his damnedest to become better (like hello? from having 0 control to absolute precision pitching and a wealth of pitches in his arsenal?) you're doing amazing honey…

(and he also kind of alluded to that with sawamura's realisation that the baseball world is endless and he still has mountains to climb)

but i just feel like terajima set up so many storylines for furuya (i.e. narumiya, hongo). so if we did follow their koshien run, we would actually want to see hongo v. furuya bc we need that payoff. hongo set his sights against furuya, and hongo is furuya's greatest obstacle. and that would mean sawamura would have to take the backseat again and again.

sawamura's best game was against ichidai, not in the finals v. inashiro; and then after that giving him minor inflammation so he can't even debut at koshien. it's just decisions that make me wonder why we weren't truly allowed to appreciate the culmination of sawamura's efforts.

winning koshien in sawamura's second year makes the most sense storywise, but it would not be sawamura's shining moment. it wouldn't feel satisfying if furuya didn't have his rematch against hongo, and komadai fujimaki losing before the match with seido would also be unsatisfying.

did terajima write himself into a corner bc he realised he wouldn't be able to end koshien with the ace in a satisfying manner, having set things up to be in furuya's favour instead? seems that way tbh!!

however, i would have still liked to see it! even if furuya is the one to do it all, there are so many things terajima could do to make it okay!!! like sawamura giving up the final to furuya in acknowledgement that it was his fight to take against hongo. bc in the end, within the story, terajima kept asking the question of what an ace truly is, and he can make us sit in sawamura's head for a chapter to reach that answer on why it's okay to let furuya have that moment, and then he goes to coach kataoka to volunteer furuya to pitch that game or smth.

because what better way is there to show the true team spirit, the fighting spirit, the seido spirit, of what an ace is willing to do for the team? how sawamura truly embodies this from his core to his radiant energy, uplifting everyone around him, being the true definition of tenacity and hardwork. the beating heart of seido.

i think that would have been an amazing development and show of character.

and then ofc, a timeskip in their 3rd year that shows us that for all these reasons, he is once again their ace.

also mima texting miyuki every chance he got even until the end (i won)

[freakygirlie]

Hi. Itk here. Believe me, don't, doesn't matter. Thought I'd drop (after you summoned ha) by given the chaos and try to enlighten the ones who choose to believe me, as much as I'm capable of.

The first thing I wanna say is: stop trying to figure out their relationship. You most likely never will. Fans are stuck on both extremes, when the actuality of it is far more in the middle (perhaps even up or down and all around ha). It's complex and strange and not at all "normal" (as normal as they could be, anyways).

It's not as simple as "oh they're just a closeted couple who engage in bearding and have kids and behind closed doors they're just a regular, old married couple and a big, happy rainbow family".

Doesn't sound like itk info, believe me, I get that but observing the fandom I'd say it almost is because most fans simply hang on extreme simplistic ideas of what their relationship is.

Second thing I'd like to say and unfortunately seems like it's not at all obvious but: do not believe anything they share publicly. Not saying they're lying compulsively, but they are public figures and they have a lot at stake to just casually drop the actual truth of any given situation.

Just don't. The same salt you have regarding itks, have towards them. It'd do you some good...Believe me. Unless you are involved in the entertainment or political life, you cannot even begin to fathom what it's really like, the level of manipulation, falsehood and well, overall deviation of it. It's quite disturbing tbh. So just always take whatever's said and shown with a good amount of salt. With public people hardly anything is accidental or casual.

I think the most prominent question now is...Why? Why would they do something like that? Regardless if you have the ingenuity to believe the little scene they made or not...Still, the question lingers.

With my level of "in the knowness" I cannot for sure say the real reason, yet from the pieces I've collected so far, seems to be a multiple gain scheme. It was a high risk, they were well aware, and it paid out in the way they were expecting, minus small bumps here and there. But overall it seemed to have worked in their favor. How in the hell, one would ask?

Believe me, I used my best sneaky capabilities to find out exactly why but they were smart enough to keep this one locked tight, minus a few loose lips. And from those all I've heard was that "whatever the purpose was, it worked out".

As weird as it may sound to the innocent mind, it's actually not at all, given that even leaked nudes are not at all leaked or accidental, and those tend to (at least in the past) get immense amount of backlash. It's not the first time famous folks fake a fight, surely won't be the last.

A lot goes into public image, it's not black and white as "well but it looked bad on Jensen", "it looked bad on the prequel", etc. You'd be surprised as how little this truly matters given the level of manipulation they are able to pull on the public. And well, even with them...It happens all the time. Both made mistakes far worse than just "not telling my bestie about my new project" and fans would eventually let that go and put them back on the pedestal.

So just remember, always: not in the industry? then don't judge anything because you simply do not understand how it works.

Another piece of itk information I can give besides "this was planned and it worked" is: they are fine. From what I've heard they are not fighting over it or going through anything more dramatic than what they usually have been going through ever since they met haha.

So just sit back and chill out. Breathe, read fanfiction and remember that we will never truly get answers, because even what comes out of their mouths are most of the time carefully thought out and directed to have a specific meaning and effect (why do you think Jared mumbles and rambles so much?).

Another interesting piece of itk: you know how they always say they never fight? Even though that sounds insanely hard to believe even if they were just friends because who knows someone for that long and is constantly together and never fights? Unlikely, right? Yes, as obvious as that was. But unfortunately a lot of you seem to believe that, given the level of shock you had for this little twitter feud (as fake as it was). Yeah. They fight. A lot.

They fight as much as individuals in their situation would. Like I said, not at all what most people absentmindedly seem to think it is. They go through a lot. Way more than anyone who isn't in a similar situation would understand. It's messy, although they try their best to make it simpler in the ways they can.

On top of being in a very complex situation, they both have strong personalities and one of them is quite hard to "pin down". So altercations happen a lot, but they know how to deal, and they are exceptionally good at making sure that doesn't interfere in their work (oh well, at least not any work that doesn't benefit from intense emotional exchanges, anyways 😉...chemistry isn't something random, you know? haha).

I find it quite...interesting (to put it nicely) that a lot of hats easily believe they are a couple that lies constantly about almost every aspect of their lives, yet, they cannot believe they would fake a social media narrative. It makes no sense whatsoever.

It'd do you all good to be a little less tendentious and look at them as, you know...Humans? They are not what they seem to be, just as you guys also take in different versions of yourselves in different situations, they do too. And don't be so hopelessly naive to actually believe they see fans as "hashtag family". This is their work. And as grateful as they are for supporters, they certainly do not consider them family. To the point of never lying and trusting you with their life.

I'm sure they love their fans, but come on, saying they would never lie because that's mean to fans is just beyond naive. They've been doing it all along and oh, another interesting info? They don't think they're doing anything wrong.

Yeah, sounds weird, you'd think they'd feel guilty. But again, unless you were media trained, you'd never get it.

From years now if there's one consistent info I've gotten was this: they don't feel obligated to tell you anything. They believe they are doing "what they are supposed to do, the right thing for everyone involved".

So. Yeah. And hell, they are right about not being obligated to say anything about anything, I guess.

Well, I hope that was helpful or at least entertaining. It's hard to share info without accidentally making it obvious who I am for the lurkers (sure you guys were well aware that they lurk around the fandom). But it's safe because as long as I don't provide evidence, I'm fine. Just walking a thin line between sharing and not sharing something too specific that would be easy fir them to know who has that info and although they can't do anything against itks, they can manage to cut us off somehow and I enjoy having access lol, so that'd be a bummer.

Anyways, take itks and J2 themselves with a ton of salt haha! You are lovely, btw, you seem very kind and I enjoy your blog very much! much love!

itk anon everything you said was <333 and i agree with like almost all of it. very nice analysis and ask thank you ! i don't always believe everything j2 put out but the whole stunt being a false narrative just seems wrong so idk what to make of it. regardless i myself can sometimes get carried away in my star-struck love of j2. and i am a tinhat so well :) and now they look to be really good and taking a break from here was well worth it <3

''You are lovely, btw, you seem very kind and I enjoy your blog very much! much love!'' i love u so much hope u have a great day !

[humbuns]

Opinion on kenhina? 👀

i know i probably seem like a hardcore kghn fan, but kenhina has a special place in my heart because it's just so cute????

I just feel like these two bring out the dorky side of each other, where they can geek about volleyball, games, or anything that they're interested in together and talk about it for hours and hours (They definitely seem like the type to have long phone calls where they both fall asleep before getting a chance to hang up because they wanted to continue talking with each other)

They both are also competitive so imagine them just like fighting for hours to be the winner and then spending the remaining of the day talking about stats, what they thought the other did was cool or what they can do to improve for their next match lol (it's like a mutually symbiotic relationship of wanting to defeat each other in the great schemes of things but also help)

kenhina also gives off the same vibe I have towards kghn where it really doesn't matter how they turn out to become, they're soulmates, platonic or romantic in every form. they just like being around each other and that's all that matters to them tbh (big queerplatonic vibes imo)

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

ahh thanks for finding the photos quote !!

really appreciate your response and i agree with you that i don’t think john was necessarily out here playing 5d chess as an elaborate scheme but that he was looking for a change tho perhaps did not have a fully formed map of what that might look like or rather how that would inevitably alter the band dynamics long term.

and tbh, i kinda understand that, seeing as george and ringo weren’t too affected by his decision at the onset. they continued to talk and work together subsequently after johns i want a divorce comment. it didn’t seem to change much in terms of their relationship and speaking terms.

that said, on the other hand, i understand paul taking that comment at face value, seeing as john was explicitly directing that comment to him as a response to his suggestion (i think your daft, etc.)

just jumping to another similar related point, but this incident and reaction to it actually makes me think of the story paul has told countless times about him and john having very heated rows where it would reach a tipping point, then John would slowly pull down his glasses and say to paul “its only me.” and it makes me think of something pete shotton once mentioned about john, that as friends the moment you took what john said serious, you were done for. and so maybe there’s a variation of that somewhere inasmuch as john wanting to separate himself from the entity that has enveloped his whole teen/adult life to that point (the beatles) but not entirely forgo his relationship with paul (or george and ringo for that matter). and he probably thought it wouldn’t change things (by that i mean their overall friendship and love for each other) too much, and that inevitably paul would come around just like they always did after a fight and not take his divorce words as the end all be all that Paul did take it as. For that i think of his comments in the st. regis interview from 1971 where he’s told the reason paul took things to court to end the partnership is because john had said he wanted a divorce, to which john replied that’s a stupid reason to go to court lol.

and in the end, i do agree with one of your subpoints that perhaps if paul had offered another possible alternative to the then current setup of the beatles, john would have been open to reconsider. derek taylor says as much in an interview shortly after paul “announces”the breakup “if paul were to approach john and say, ‘let’s do it together again’, he probably would; with no more words, he probably would do it.”

Sorry for all the word salad, if it’s bothersome i won’t send anymore long asks, just had a lot of thoughts !

Agree with most of this, tbh, although I think probably John did foresee some sort of change in his relationships with the band quitting, I just doubt he fully saw all that entailed. My kind of General Take on John and Paul is they were sort of living this post-nuclear lifestyle with how great a role their intra-band relationships played alongside their family life but they kind of.... idk decided on not pursuing that. Sorry for talking about my Nuclear Family take again but not elaborating much lol.

Anyways John is such a difficult guy to read at times cause he legit doesn't seem to have Had A Plan most of the time lol.

[ckret2]

"Why the heck does Alastor's hair look like that??" headcanon

Guess what trivial question I’ve put so much thought into that it turned into full-blown character analysis???

With deepest thanks to @arachnohoebia​ for illustrating the many stages of Alastor’s hair, because I'm a writer still trying to figure out how pen pressure works.

I headcanon that Alastor's hairstyle is not static, but rather that it goes through several distinct stages depending on his mood. This is based on the assumption that when he gives "sheer, absolute boredom" as his primary motive, that he's telling the truth; and this boredom, combined with his lack of focus & inspiration, is probably lowkey depression. He's in Hell, can you blame him?

So, without further ado:

Phase Zero: Starting Point

Alastor is bored and nothing matters. Life in Hell sucks. Nothing entertains him. Who cares about his hair? His coat's been tattered for the last thirty years and nobody's said anything. Whatever.

Phase zero is the default state before the Great Alastor Hair Cycle™ starts over, and a phase that can continue indefinitely before the cycle restarts. In this phase, Alastor has roughly shoulder-length hair, sometimes longer depending on how long he's been in this phase. It's all red and it's an awful, hideous shaggy mess. His ears have vanished behind a forest of red fluff. His bangs are always in his face unless he pins them back with cheap plastic dollar store hair clips.

Phase One: Dapper Dan

Alastor's zest for (after)life has suddenly been restored. Maybe he got himself recruited on somebody's doomed-to-fail get-rich-quick scheme, maybe he agreed to serve as bodyguard for a loser who gets in trouble every other day, maybe he offered to help out a princess with a dumb hotel—anyway, he anticipates the next five years of his life are gonna be an absolute riot.

He gets a nice hair cut, it's only a few inches long now, he dyes it the same shade it was when he was alive, he starts slicking it back into his preferred 1920's hairstyle. (In the 1920's, the style for men was pretty much universally "short and slicked back with oil," with hairstyle variations mainly depending on how boring the particular slicked style was. I prefer imagining him with finger waves, personally. Just because they look cool.)

He even trims the awful hair tufts previously hiding his ears so you can actually see them. He looks nice. He looks classy. He's sophisticated as hell.

At any time he feels sufficiently inspired, he can hop from any other phase straight back to phase one.

Phase Two: Slipping Standards

Things are still pretty nice, but his initial new enthusiasm for his latest source of entertainment is wearing off.

The roots are starting to grow back in red, but whatever, he can touch the roots up later, you can only really see it along his hairline anyway because he's still got his hair slicked back. Most days. Some days he can't be bothered with pomade. Some days he's like "yesterday's pomade is still in my hair, it keeps most of my hair back, it doesn't look too bad" like who cares, he's the radio demon, he's been wearing the same frigging coat since the thirties.

Phase Three: Slipping But Like, More

That hilarious get-rich-quick scheme he was helping someone else with went belly-up faster than he anticipated, and it WAS funny as fuck, but now he's bored again and has nothing to live for.

He's completely given up on slicking his hair back. His roots are about as long as his dyed tips. His ears are slowly vanishing under chaotic bursts of fluff that stick in every direction, it's perpetual bedhead around his ears. He's like whatever whatever once it grows out a little bit more it'll look fine around his ears again, it always does.

Phase Four: tbh this is all of us at this point in quarantine

His damn bangs are always hanging in his eyes. In a fit of frustration, he just hacks at his bangs with a pair of scissors. It trims off all the dyed bits and the bangs now look terrible. Because they look terrible, from now on he's always fussing at them with his fingers, trying to get them to look a little nicer.

It doesn't help. But he can see and that's what matters!

Phase Five: ~*Canon*~

His ears have vanished behind his hair again, like a well-trimmed tree disappearing under a sea of kudzu. The hair on the back of his neck is long enough it keeps trying to get under his collar and it's driving. him. crazy. In another fit of frustration, he grabs a razor to buzz it all off, but he doesn't have the sustained attention span for that, so he just flips up his hair, shaves the bottom half of the back of his head, and leaves the rest untouched. Now his hair isn't rubbing his collar and the long part will hide where he shaved his head! It, like, doesn't though, his hair hangs in the back weird and keeps exposing bits of his half-assed undercut.

This is the phase he's at when we're introduced to him in canon.

Phase Six: Honestly Just Sad

Alastor is bored and nothing matters. Life in Hell sucks. Nothing entertains him. Who cares about his hair? His coat's been tattered for the last thirty years and nobody's said anything. Whatever.

Ultimately his bangs will grow over his eyes again and he'll trim them again, the rest of his hair will get long enough to reach his shoulders and he'll hack the ends off. No dyed hair will remain.

And from there, he'll have returned to Phase Zero. Sometimes he'll pin his bangs back so he can see. Periodically he'll hack off more hair in weird ways to keep it manageable. But he's not leaving Phase Zero until something inspires him to jump back to Phase One and give it a proper cut and dye.

[hyena-frog]

I personally don't understand people who think that Virginia 'can't win on her own'. As if she has to prove herself or she is 'too nice' and has to learn 'how to violence'. Just because Sevro's solution for everything is cutting some fingers or worse, doesn't mean he is always right or that Mustang's work to keep that balance and play within the designated lines is not badass or interesting. She is the only demokratic ruler and her own people gave her absolute power of decision making to end the war at any cost. What's not great about that!?

If Virginia was indeed 'too nice', she would have perished long ago - last absolute cinnamon roll we saw was Julian and we all know what Society thinks about people like him. Just because she plays by the rules, doesn't mean she has no claws - she wiped a terrorist's memories away for fuck's sake. Now that the rules have been extended, you can bet your ass that she'll take more than one page out of Nero's playbook. After all, she said it herself, she tamed herself, but it's fun to let the lion out.

Agreed 110%! I don't understand people who give Virginia shit in general tbh. I mean, how do you not fall in love with her immediately? How are you not ride or die for her from the get-go? It boggles the mind.

Those arguments, being "too nice" or being unable to win on her own, are reaching and easily debunkable. The lack of reading comprehension. 😒 If you don't like her, then whatever. I may not understand how that’s possible, but it really isn’t necessary to make shit up, you know?

Virginia can't win on her own, huh. The nerve! Where would Darrow be without her? Dead. Many times over. He would have bled out after Cassius stabbed him if Virginia hadn't helped him. And it was Virginia who brought the Howlers back from the Rim weeks in advance of Darrow actually needing them, just in case. So many things would have gone wrong in Morning Star if she wasn't at Darrow's side (and if Ragnar hadn't gone out of his way to make sure she'd be there, the absolute legend).

Perhaps it's Darrow who can't win on his own? But that sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? All of his successes were achieved through teamwork. Darrow acknowledges this many times. It's the same for Virginia. While it's simply not true that she can't win on her own, it’s also untrue that the inability to win on your own is a bad thing. The whole argument doesn’t make any sense.

The idea Virginia still needs to “prove” herself despite doing so plenty of times already throughout the series is frustrating. The fact of the matter is, the success of the Rising relies just as heavily on Virginia's intelligence as it does Darrow's battle skills. The Solar Republic simply wouldn't exist without her. Fitchner never had a clear vision of what "after the Society" would look like and neither did Darrow for a long time. The war effort needs a conscience and a vision for the future, otherwise it's just endless bloodshed. Virginia helps Darrow see beyond the bloodshed. Plus, Darrow has no interest in politics. He'd be the first to admit he’s not good at the slow game of political maneuvering. But Virginia thrives in that environment. In Dark Age, Darrow even admits his current predicament is a consequence of not trusting his wife's way of running the Republic, and he vows never to do that again.

Sure, Virginia doesn't get into physical fights often, especially now that she is Sovereign. But politics is no less perilous a battlefield. I feel like because the political battlefield isn't as flashy and fast paced as a literal one, people forget the constant danger she is in, even before the Senate's betrayal. Silenius' Stiletto is a delicate tightrope act she has to perform every day to drag progress forward while keeping her opponents in check. This requires a level of self-restraint, clear-headedness, and badassery, that no other character can achieve.

Virginia is not "too nice." She is practical. And often, is it practical to play nice. Not every confrontation is best solved through violence Sevro. We all know the line: Virginia is the mustang that nuzzles the hand; people know they can work with her. That’s why the people chose her consistently for ten years, over literally everyone else in the solar system, to run this new government. And her steadfast resolve to gain Imperium legally, to not force her will on the people, proved to them again that she won’t abuse this ultimate power to end the war.

No, Virginia may be reasonable but that doesn't mean she is too nice. If she was too nice, she wouldn't have used her relationship with Cassius to protect her family. She wouldn't have shot Cassius in the throat with an arrow. She wouldn't have promised Ephraim he would "die shitting in a foreign bed" if he skipped about on their bargain to return the kids. She wouldn't have zapped the Duke of Hands' entire personality from his head. Like you said, she never would have made it this far if she was truly toothless. She's practical, and sometimes the practical solution doesn't require violence, but creative thinking.

Speaking of creative thinking, one thing Virginia doesn’t get nearly enough credit for is abolishing the death penalty immediately after Adrius was hanged. That wasn't her being "too nice" or too lenient on her caste. Yes, she feels life in prison is the moral option over the death penalty. But she knows her people. The punishment for the worst criminals in Deepgrave is a Gold's worst nightmare. Life in prison denies a Gold their desire for a glorious death, to be remembered through the ages for their deeds in battle. The Republic's justice system sends a clear message: "Mess with us, and you won't get your notoriety or fame, you'll only get obscurity and shame and sucking algae through a tube until you die naturally of old age." That to me is crueler than hanging.

Virginia’s mind is her greatest weapon, but more than that, her greatest strength is how she applies her intelligence. Her ability to read people, and to communicate, is greatly underappreciated imo. These skills require nonviolent interaction yet they yield great results. There are many examples of this. She used her natural charisma to gain Octavia's trust. She brokered an alliance with the Rim when she thought Darrow was dead. She held the Republic together for ten years despite constant, increasing animosity from the Vox. She refused to torture Lyria and was able to see she was not lying about being an unwitting pawn in the kidnapping scheme and was rewarded with information and a new ally. She figured out exactly what Sefi was planning for Cimmeria, even manipulating the situation to her advantage without Sefi realizing it. She knew Victra was going to bargain with Sefi for the kids, without being told. In her own words, this is simply what she does.

There is a quote in Iron Gold that caught my eye: "Communication is the soul of civilization." (532) Now, this line has nothing directly to do with Virginia. This is Ephraim trying to get a rise out of Gorgo. But it fits Virginia perfectly, doesn’t it? The Republic is able to exist as a civilization because it has such an amazing communicator at its center.

Virginia is such an excellent communicator that she is even able to get parties who refuse to communicate with her initially to reciprocate communication eventually. She convinces Sevro, Dancer, and even Victra to stop freezing her out and work together. She does this by speaking their "language." She knows exactly what to say or what to do to get them to finally listen to her. Revealing she already knows exactly what is going on works for Sevro, providing hard evidence of conspiracy works for Dancer, and proving her actions (showing her scars) works for Victra. This isn't to say she never makes mistakes. She shouldn't have called the Wardens on Darrow, for example, just as Darrow shouldn't have kept the meeting with the Society "diplomats" a secret from her and the Senate. But more often than not, her nonviolent communication skills yield valuable results.

As for Virginia apparently needing to learn how to use violence… While Victra and Sevro’s feelings were justified, their actions at the end of Iron Gold and the beginning of Dark Age were just wrong, wrong, wrong imo. Freezing out Virginia did nothing but delay the return of the kids. It's frustrating to think how much heartbreak could have been avoided if they'd just put their heads together from the moment the kids disappeared. And what exactly did Sevro's rampage through Luna's underground accomplish? Some dead Syndicate thorns, sure. But that tantrum put a huge target on Sevro's back. As Virginia said, one lucky sniper and boom, no more Sevro. What would Victra have done then?

While it may feel like Virginia would have achieved more if she just beheaded some people, she has a responsibility as Sovereign to consider the bigger picture. She has to consider the Stiletto. If the Vox saw her offing some fools it would have added credibility to their smear campaign. The people would have lost faith in her and think she turned into another Octavia. Whoever replaced her could use her actions to justify their own dictatorship. Violence was simply not practical for her until she legally gained Imperium. Now though… 😈

Virginia's over here playing 3D chess while everyone else is playing Connect Four, but this still isn’t enough for some people. After the clone gets the better of her, she gets flack for not being an omniscient god and just knowing her twin brother laid out a plan to clone himself ten years ago. Tut, tut, should have seen that one coming, despite the lack of evidence. If only she’d punched some people. (Can you see I hate this argument with every fiber of my being?)

In Dark Age, Ozgard says this about Electra and Pax: "She is better fighter. He is more dangerous human." (184) Well, Pax gets it from his momma. Pax and Virginia may not be able to throw devastating punches but in many ways, their intellect is what makes them the greater threat to their enemies.

Thank you for the ask!