#( c. turner // interactions. )

[campbenji]

since the official synopsis for s3 still says "old (and new) friends"...

[cara-turner]

location. ⁺ - the apartments.

"mmm—yeah, love what you've done with the place, sami-samwise," cara hummed appreciatively, her voice carrying a playful warmth as she stood in the middle of samara's apartment. her silhouette - felt tall - framed against the window, she gazed out at the sprawl of arcadia—a far cry from ocean views or a picture-perfect panorama of central park. still, it held its own peculiar allure.

"you can almost see all the terrifying stuff from up here," she mused, her tone wry, eyes tracing the tiny chaos below. "like little scary ants crawling around." her sigh was heavy, tinged with the lingering disbelief that arcadia had become her reality—a jagged pill she had yet to fully swallow. turning on her heel, cara let her gaze sweep over the space. despite the constraints, sami had clearly tried to carve out a corner of personal comfort, a place to make her own. the effort didn’t go unnoticed.

"sooo—did you miss me ?" cara’s lips curved into a teasing smirk as she sauntered toward the couch, claiming the far cushion with feline ease. she stretched out languidly, her posture as confident as it was casual. "can’t imagine waking up in a space without me is something you’d ever actually want," she quipped, eyes gleaming mischievously. "but hey—this is nice."

@samara-blackwell . // closed starter

[kmadrigalsoto]

Kimberly’s face lit up as she couldn’t agree more with the other’s statement. “Right?...I know we have our own free will to do it, but unfortunately I can’t handle the judgments or weird stares.” she admitted with a sheepish smile. Once they agreed to have her hold the umbrella and flashlight, Kimberly held it up and waited for him to begin the process, “Mhm, 100% sure!...My name’s Kimberly by the way!”

matthew didn't like burdening people, especially not after his accident. he already felt like he was an inconvenience any time he had to ask someone to repeat themselves. "i think more people should still do that. play in the rain, i mean." but no one did. when you got older, people expected more from you. he pursed his lips and handed over his flashlight, "alright. if you're sure, you're on flashlight and umbrella duty while i teach you how to change a tire."

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 12, 2025

Distinct patterns of connectivity with the motor cortex reflect different components of sensorimotor learning. Areshenkoff, C. N., de Brouwer, A. J., Gale, D. J., Nashed, J. Y., Smallwood, J., Flanagan, J. R., & Gallivan, J. P. (2024). PLOS Biology, 22(12), e3002934.

Persistent activity during working memory maintenance predicts long-term memory formation in the human hippocampus. Daume, J., Kamiński, J., Salimpour, Y., Gómez Palacio Schjetnan, A., Anderson, W. S., Valiante, T. A., Mamelak, A. N., & Rutishauser, U. (2024). Neuron, 112(23), 3957-3968.e3.

Ants integrate proprioception as well as visual context and efference copies to make robust predictions. Dauzere-Peres, O., & Wystrach, A. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 10205.

A top-down slow breathing circuit that alleviates negative affect in mice. Jhang, J., Park, S., Liu, S., O’Keefe, D. D., & Han, S. (2024). Nature Neuroscience, 27(12), 2455–2465.

Compartmentalized pooling generates orientation selectivity in wide-field amacrine cells. Lei, W., Clark, D. A., & Demb, J. B. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(49), e2411130121.

Trans-saccadic integration for object recognition peters out with pre-saccadic object eccentricity as target-directed saccades become more saliency-driven. Liang, J., & Zhaoping, L. (2025). Vision Research, 226, 108500.

When visual metacognition fails: widespread anosognosia for visual deficits. Michel, M., Gao, Y., Mazor, M., Kletenik, I., & Rahnev, D. (2024). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(12), 1066–1077.

A dynamic subset of network interactions underlies tuning to natural movements in marmoset sensorimotor cortex. Moore, D. D., MacLean, J. N., Walker, J. D., & Hatsopoulos, N. G. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 10517.

Local changes in potassium ions regulate input integration in active dendrites. Nordentoft, M. S., Takahashi, N., Heltberg, M. S., Jensen, M. H., Rasmussen, R. N., & Papoutsi, A. (2024). PLOS Biology, 22(12), e3002935.

Neural Correlates of Category Learning in Monkey Inferior Temporal Cortex. Pearl, J. E., Matsumoto, N., Hayashi, K., Matsuda, K., Miura, K., Nagai, Y., Miyakawa, N., Minamimoto, T., Saunders, R. C., Sugase-Miyamoto, Y., Richmond, B. J., & Eldridge, M. A. G. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(49), e0312242024.

Partially dissociable roles of the orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal hippocampus in context-dependent hierarchical associations. Peterson, S., Chavira, J., Garcia Arango, J. A., Seamans, D., Cimino, E. D., & Keiflin, R. (2024). Current Biology, 34(23), 5532-5545.e3.

A computational account of self-control. Suri, G., & Paap, K. R. (2024). Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 123, 102886.

Category boundaries modulate memory in a place-cell-like manner. Theves, S., Schäfer, T. A. J., Reisner, V., de Cothi, W., & Barry, C. (2024). Current Biology, 34(23), 5546-5553.e3.

Action similarity warps visual feature space in working memory. Trentin, C., Falanga, L., Jeske, J., Olivers, C. N. L., & Slagter, H. A. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(49), e2413433121.

Organizing space through saccades and fixations between primate posterior parietal cortex and hippocampus. Vericel, M. E., Baraduc, P., Duhamel, J.-R., & Wirth, S. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 10448.

Predicting modular functions and neural coding of behavior from a synaptic wiring diagram. Vishwanathan, A., Sood, A., Wu, J., Ramirez, A. D., Yang, R., Kemnitz, N., Ih, D., Turner, N., Lee, K., Tartavull, I., Silversmith, W. M., Jordan, C. S., David, C., Bland, D., Sterling, A., Seung, H. S., Goldman, M. S., Aksay, E. R. F., Wille, K., … Williams, S. (2024). Nature Neuroscience, 27(12), 2443–2454.

Multiplexing of temporal and spatial information in the lateral entorhinal cortex. Wang, C., Lee, H., Rao, G., & Knierim, J. J. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 10533.

Autism spectrum disorder variation as a computational trade-off via dynamic range of neuronal population responses. Wertheimer, O., & Hart, Y. (2024). Nature Neuroscience, 27(12), 2476–2486.

Dynamic tuning of neural stability for cognitive control. Xu, M., Hosokawa, T., Tsutsui, K.-I., & Aihara, K. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(49), e2409487121.

Applying the efficient coding principle to understand encoding of multisensory and multimodality sensory signals. Zhaoping, L. (2025). Vision Research, 226, 108489.

[kenyonarchaeology]

What is landscape archaeology?

Landscape archaeology can mean a lot of things, depending on where you are geographically and what time period you’re studying. As a very basic definition, landscape archaeology uses material culture to explore the way human communities have interacted with or responded to their physical environment– how they’ve changed it to suit their needs and how they’ve assigned meaning to the land around them (Parcero-Oubiña, Barreiro, and Criado-Boado 2014). This could be through relating the natural environment to religious/spiritual beliefs, altering it by adding or removing features to suit what a group may need at a given time, or using it as a resource for food, drink, or other necessary materials. 

Here at Kenyon, students interact with the landscape in many different ways, and have since they first came to the Hill. This field used to be the Bishop's Cabin, where students would study, eat, and spend time together. Today, we hold events and spend time in the sunshine here!

[Image ID: The Bishop's Cabin site prior to excavation-- a grassy field with a few large trees in the background]

What kind of materials does landscape archaeology look for?

The kinds of materials useful to landscape archaeologists can change depending on what they’re trying to find out, geography, and time. Landscape archaeology is super interdisciplinary, which means that people who study all sorts of things, from pollen analysis to historical road-building have useful knowledge and skills that can help archaeologists figure out how people in the past interacted with their landscape (Turner, Shillito, and Carrer 2018). Even artifacts we find that aren’t directly related to the landscape we’re excavating can tell us something– if we only find ceramics that were sourced and produced far away from the site, we know that for some reason the people living there didn’t want to use the resources around them to make pottery. Almost everything can be useful in landscape archaeology– some landscape archaeologists think of the landscape itself as one big artifact (Parcero-Oubiña, Barreiro, and Criado-Boado 2014)!

How can I learn more about landscape archaeology?

You can take a look below at the references used to create this post:

- Parcero-Oubiña, César, Felipe Criado-Boado, and David Barreiro. "Landscape archaeology." Encyclopaedia of Global Archaeology; Smith, C., Ed.; Springer: Heidelberg, Germany (2014): 4379-4388.

- Turner, Sam. "Landscape archaeology." In The Routledge companion to landscape studies, pp. 149-160. Routledge, 2013.

If those are behind a paywall or if they’re just not what you’re looking for, here are some more resources:

If you don’t have much time or just want a quick skim, here’s the Wikipedia page for landscape archaeology

Here’s a helpful 3 minute explanation of landscape archaeology

Have a little more time? Try this 16 minute lecture-style video on landscape archaeology, complete with visual aids!

[harrietvane]

So, in response to tags on this post re: a Daniel Henney/Navarre Ladyhawke scenario, I have been thinking for DAYS on who else one would cast.

To make it fun you really want to set boundaries. Stick to a) people you can cast now (it's not open choice eg you can't cast Gene Tierney then with DH now, it has to be both here and now), and b) be of an equivalent career profile (aka you can't cast some rando from an advertisment), and c) stick within the general vibe and age range of the original narrative. However point c) has really challenged me, as I looked up the ages of the original cast for comparison and it has not satisfied me re: contemp. casting.

For example, Rutget Hauer was 41, and Michelle Pfeiffer was 27. Daniel Henney is 44, so far so good, but then when I went looking at actors in the 27 year age bracket I get like the Ella Purnells and Daisy Edgar Joneses and Anya Taylor Joys of the world? I get that people who notably played teens on screen recently are not actual teenagers, i do know this... but the idea of casting, like, one of the flashback Yellowjackets vs Daniel Henney (44) bores me to tears. BORES ME to TEARS. Navarre/Isabeau, despite sharing very little screentime, have a feeling of being adults of an equivalent experience/confidence/capability, perhaps because they are both the Adults when compared to Philippe's Youth, and the Bishop's and Imperius' Age. Phillipe has to seem like a teenager to her, but he'll be a mid-20's actor already so like I'm not super keen on casting gorgeous models who have yet to see the fun side of 30.

But also like Zöe Robins is in her early 30s and the vibe they have in WoT seems dynamic and interesting between them, so I'd not averse to ZR as Isabeau for for funsies, and just have a WoT LadyhawkeAU. However, I scouted around by going up a decade for the hell of it.

Front runners are: Jodie Turner Smith (you definely go 'holy shit that is the Face of Love', and she can play a quiet dignity combined with a 'i do what i want' vibe); hard to miss Keira 'queen of costume' Knightley (you KNOW she could do it, and she does 'pining and pissed off' so well); but my fave is Sofia Boutella - Isabeau does a lot of no-dialogue scenes of her Looking and Reacting to things, rolling her eyes at Phillipe, thinking about things silently, and Pining, and Boutella is a spectacular no-dialogue actor. She has a dance background, so no surprise I guess. I mean she's been in a lot of action-heavy stuff with minimal/expository dialogue, and you can SEE her feelings. She can do angry and vulnerable and quiet in combination. She can rock a 'i cut my own hair off' look like no problem.

Imperius is Simon Russell Beale. I just like to see him in everything.

Casting Phillipe the Mouse is impossible. IMPOSSIBLE. Ladyhawke is essentially a 2-hander, times 2, because Isabeau and Navarre can't interact due to the uhhhhh central premise of the movie. That means the actual on-screen chemistry has to be between Isabeau|Phillipe, and Navarre|Phillipe (| or / depending on your chemstry preferences I guess).

Due to the age range, you're looking at bascially the kind of people who get cast as one of the kids in Stranger Things, and I recoil. Broderick's entire brand is built on having so much Ferris Bueller youthful rocket-fuel charisma he literally defined the man-child archetype at 23. I cannot think of anyone working now in that age bracket who I would not immediately tell to STFU anytime they were on screen. Idk, find some kid who is live on stage as Billy Elliot or in Matilda right now somewhere, that's probably your best bet

[ronismerrell]

well that's not too bad an idea if you ask me. halloween and christmas are just lovely holidays, aren't they ? me and my sister are rather hype for it as is me and my girlfriend. we're just so here for the holidays together. we love christmas time ! i love the idea of combine both amazing holidays, honestly. isn't bonfire night a british holiday ? when does that happen ?

I'm definitely in the "don't celebrate" camp for Halloween, but I get the hype for costumes, those seem like half the fun, though. So, you know, my Halloween costume might just double as some nice Christmas pyjamas. You know, just to manifest the festive season arriving sooner. Why not combine the two? Get all cozy in something that screams holiday cheer, even if it's just me lounging about at home with a mince pie. For me, I'm more focused on gearing up for Bonfire Night. A proper autumn night with a big bonfire, some sparklers, maybe a hot drink in hand... I look forward to it every year.

[kurapikasjudgement]

The Bakery

C: Alex Turner X Fem! Reader

W: Angst, Reader is genuinely the sweetest, NO USE OF Y/N, Not beta read

E: A song fic based off of the song The Bakery by Arctic Monkeys (and technically Miles Kane). Song linked at the bottom.

S: You and Alex broke up but for some reason you see each other everywhere until you don’t…

Alex has always had a sweet tooth. There was this local bakery he would visit often. The visits lessened as he grew as a rising musical star. This was the key difference between the two of you. He was in college and paying bills by being a rock star by night while you worked a part time job at said bakery. Since he frequented it often you hit it off. But as his extra time lessened and lessened he began to lose what you two had resulting in an ultimate decision of a split between the two of you. He still misses you though.

After the break up he cut off his visits to the place all together. Until a friend of his who didn’t know about his past with you and the shop invited him to a little gathering between him and his friends. If he recalled correctly, it was during the time where you weren’t on shift so it should’ve been fine.

To both of your amazing luck, you had to pick up an extra shift to make up for a co-worker who had went on a vacation. Meaning you were stuck tending to the needs of the group for the duration of the gathering.

It was awkward to say the least. The friends who did know were nothing but polite to you but decided not to speak on the matter. As for Alex himself he got nervous whenever he was forced to speak to his ex-girlfriend who he definitely wasn’t over.

Throughout the time you exchanged glances and the tension grew more and more. He wanted to have the courage to speak to you but he just couldn’t muster it. And eventually everyone starts to head out from the bakery and he looks at you one last time before following behind everyone else.

***

The next time he saw you was at the post office. You do volunteer work there on Wednesdays and Thursdays (which he has no idea how you have time for). Unfortunately, he has a deadline with the recording company he has to meet and needed to mail something. All of his band mates seem to be conveniently busy right when he needs them so he has no choice but to mail it himself knowing you’ll be there. As soon as he walks in he can smell the faint smell of your perfume and almost wants to take the risk and back out. He doesn’t though.

He walks up to the register and no one is there out first. He taps the bell lightly and you look over to see it’s him. You seem to have a light debate with someone about going up before ultimately walking up to help him. The conversation is nothing but professional and awkward at that. No pleasantries are uttered except a light ‘How is your day?’ ‘Well, you?’ ‘Also well.’ You can’t even seem to meet his dark brown eyes for more than a second.

The interaction is as quick as possible yet still painful for the both of you. He leaves feeling almost worse than he did before, knowing that he had a chance to say something other than boring mail stuff but just didn’t.

***

After his time at the post office he lays in his bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what he could’ve done instead. After a long while of reflecting he decides to just go for it and talk to you. Tomorrow he’s gonna go to the bakery and talk to you. He’s been craving a slice of your special apple pie anyway.

***

He builds up the courage and walks into the bakery wearing his sky blue lacoste that you used to love so much. Initially, he walks up to the register and sees it’s not you there but another co-worker. Maybe you’re just in the back?

“Hello, welcome in. How may I help you today?”

“This is sort of an odd request but…” He then goes on to ask if you’re there.

“I’m afraid she’s out sick today.” The worker responds kindly. Out sick? You never call out of work even when you are sick! He had to practically beg you to stay home whenever you caught an illness.

“Did you still want to order something or will that be all for today?”

“That’s all. Thanks anyway.” He says politely before walking out of the shop hearing the ding of the bell follow.

As he walks he thinks to himself about your interaction the day before. You were showing no signs of illness, if you were he’s sure he would’ve noticed. Maybe it is an overnight sickness thing? Or maybe he’s just starting to lose you and he can’t even tell if you’re not feeling well anymore. Or what if you’re not even sick and you’re out for some other reason? There’s just no way to tell.

What he does know is that wherever you are, he desperately wants you back.

[thinkinginscripts]

Just finished And Salt the Earth Behind You by @sunrisesinthesuburbs and it was LOVELY. Human AU, criminal profiler Aziraphale and informant Crowley. Real page turner crime story, but with a lovely A&C interaction. What I love about this in particular is the way the story jumps straight into their relationship, and how their love is unspoken but recognised by both and understood, and we see it expressed in actions and dialogue which skates around it (inspired by cannon). It's just beautifully expressed and Crowley totally melted my heart in this one. Highly recommended!

[cara-turner]

location. ⁺ the bar.

" ever thought about giving this place a facelift ? " cara's fingers drifted through her silky orange hair, a gesture as nonchalant as her tone. " you know, a little pop of color ? something with a martha stewart touch ? " after a year in arcadia, the cabin fever had settled in like an unwelcome guest. if they were doomed to stay here, couldn’t the people of arcadia at least spruce up the scenery ? “ not sure I’m the biggest fan of the rustic-country-horror aesthetic. ” her lips curved in a faint smirk, though she had chosen to sit in a bar that echoed the same bleak charm. upscale manhattan didn’t reek of this… genre. not that cara needed to breath in an elite air - her family did - they would hate this...and maybe that's why it wasn't fully terrible.

the menu offered yet another affront to her sensibilities, though she grudgingly gave them credit where it was due: at least they knew the importance of liquor. homemade, a coping mechanism was essential for survival. give the mind, the reality a rest. " maybe a fresh coat of paint, " she mused, her gaze wandering over the dimly lit walls. the untouched glass of homemade vodka sat before her, daring her to take that first, biting sip. " or smear some berries against a wall or two. hell, this alcohol could probably double as varnish. " the thought made her chuckle softly to herself.

" what do you think ? " her eyes flicked to dayn, seeking either affirmation or amusement. something to pass their inevitable time. with a bracing breath, she reached for the glass, her fingers curling around it. the liquid burned like fire as it slid down her throat. god, it was awful.

@thcmpscns . // closed starter

[cara-turner]

"it was like the world had a theme song. — everywhere you went, shallow. — everywhere you turned, 'shallow.' it was harder to escape than here, basically." dark joke. one that cara quietly chuckled to but allowed to painfully fizzle out. was there any escaping this place ? or were they all going to rot away if not be ripped apart by one of Them.... ? "plus, i don't know. not super into bumping a lot of mainstream. i guess." a realization that cara wasn't really certain as to what she liked, but knew what she didn't. "that makes me cool, yeah —?" she smirked.

"wash shoes...." wash anything. there was no quick stop to the cleaners in a place like arcadia. "yeah— i can probably get someone to do that for me. i'm not really the cinderella type. not scrubbing things clean, escaping from a toxic household to find the love of my life... more like the evil step sister. you know— spoiled, everything handed. slap on the wrist in the end." she humored with half truth. there was a humble slice inside of cara. there was also a huge formality of what she wanted, and what she didn't. "get what i want type." she shrugged unashamed.

"oooooh, are you a gossip queen ??" cara's voice nearly sang. she supposed she enjoyed dipping her toes in that pond a bit as well. anything to deter any personal topics directed solely at herself. nothing worse than confronting herself. cara loved to avoid, loved to be delusional about herself. "people aren't really exciting around here. a lot of crying. a lot of panic. my eyes burned turning a corner and seeing that older man on the second floor butt-naked. really had to iron my retina's off after that." her chest lifted only to exhale a breath. "ive seen some minor flirtations. people really think this place is like love island... instead of capital hell, but i guess at least they're finding joy. — or whatever."

Town jester was pretty accurate, that much he’d have to concede. At least, Chase thought he was hilarious, so it was more likely jester to him and “town nuisance” to those who still had their sanity. It did help that there was so many that were beyond any sort of comical relief, those who were just so enveloped in their own misfortune and craze that Chase ended up being the best hope for a laugh. It was a strange mix of a superiority complex and a crushing imposter syndrome, all wrapped up into one semi-malnourished twenty-something year old.

“Why do you hate it so much?” he asked, unable to help the chuckle. “Is it because it was playing everywhere for awhile?” Chase never had to work retail, but he knew of some friends he met at college who waited tables or worked in coffee shops or thrift stores, hearing the same hearty pop everywhere they went, at all times. He always figured it would’ve been easy to tune something like that out, but maybe if it caught you on a bad day or something, it was more likely the equivalent of taking a cheese grater to the brain. 

Still, he started strumming something else, something he could barely trace back from years ago, maybe something his parents would put on the refurbished record player they had in the sitting room. Something that was familiar enough to trace, but never thoroughly flesh out in all its colors. “You should definitely take your heels off, because that’s just ridiculous,” he said. “Just wash some shoes or something, if you get, like, bunions or something from high heels around here there’s nothing anyone can do about that. Like, really nothing.” That would be bad; cursed to Hell wasn’t ideal, but cursed to Hell with feet problems would have really sent him over the edge. “What parts are exciting?” Chase perked up at that, a never totally dormant part of him extremely nosy, too much for his own good sometimes. “Or even embarrassing - I miss gossiping.”

[thephantomcasebook]

I'm thinking Ewan Mitchell sold his soul to Hollywood. Fucking scary how they lure young great talents like him in. Thoughts?

Look, I'm gonna tell it to you as clean as I can.

Actors and Actresses are narcissistic, shallow, neurotic, empty people, which, as a whole, can't be trusted. They'll do and say whatever it takes not just to get a role, but to get even a few more lines in a script. They are adult people that play make believe for a living because they, generally, don't like themselves and want to be someone else. To deify or put on a throne, anyone, that plays pretend for a living is plain ignorant and you're asking for your heart to be dashed.

No one enters entertainment and comes out a better person, yeah?

There is a very few actors/Actresses that are jobbing, lunch pail working performers that are good and normal people.

Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jenna Coleman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldu, Matthew Marsden, Aiden Turner, and Sam Heughan.

The only standard you should have for an actor or actress is these three questions:

Are they respecting the character?

Are they respecting the Lore?

And - most importantly - are they respecting the fans?

I hit Olivia Cooke with the fucking truck all the time, because, Olivia Cooke does not live up to these basic principles. She doesn't care about Alicent, in fact she hates Alicent. She doesn't give a fuck about the lore, and is actively campaigning to change it to virtue signal. And she openly does not care about the fans unless their gender and sexuality gives her cashe to big-up her career.

Like I've said, you can love a character and dislike an actor/actress. I'd give my sword for Alicent Hightower ... and at the same time I think Olivia Cooke is a dishonest snake.

Same thing with Lena Headey. Lena Headey might legitimately be retarded, okay. She is so stupid that she couldn't spell "Cat" if I spotted her the "C" and the "A", right? Lena Heady also happens to check all three of the boxes. She loved playing Cersei. She respected the Lore around Cersei and didn't try to change her character to make her look better. And while she had a terrible history prior of out right abusing her own fans, she learned to appreciate the people that paid her fucking bills, in the end.

When it comes to Ewan. I wouldn't wear those clothes, and I question the manhood and self-respect of any man who wears them - gay or straight. But at the end of the day, Ewan Mitchell has a right to do whatever the fuck he wants to do. Or, more succinctly, I don't give a fuck about his or any other actor's personal lives.

What they do on their time is their business. But what they do on my time is my business. And since I'm paying a subscription for "MAX" and thus paying his fucking salary, I expect him to not waste my time with half-ass performances and hack effort, right?

But he hasn't waisted my time.

Ewan Mitchell has been a model of professionalism and passion when it comes to portraying Aemond.

He has put more thought than anyone - except for Glynn-Carney - about his character.

He is dedicated to playing the character right.

And he has been exemplary in his treatment and interaction with the fans of the show and the franchise as a whole.

And that's really all you can ask of an actor in your franchise. What he does and believes in his personal life is his affair. As long as he doesn't disrespect me than I won't disrespect him. That simple.

Once more, you guys have to stop putting actors/actresses on thrones, cause they're only human ... and, in many cases, not very good ones. Love the character, stan the character, but hold these real life people to simple standards that they should be holding themselves too.

I'm not coming down on you nonny, but I've had thirteen years of this shit on Tumblr of fangirls worshiping an actor or actress in cult like status because they like a character.

You guys have got to stop doing that, cause it only leads to bad things.

[ididntwanttohavetohauntyou]

On the double standards of Taylor’s love life and Swifties’ role in Taylor’s reputation

{Fair warning: this is kind of long and I actually originally wrote it during the Ratty stuff but it’s relevant now and this post from @9w1ft (specifically the tweet) made me think that maybe this needed to be really laid out there. }

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming to know what Taylor’s sexuality is definitively, nor am I suggesting that every relationship she’s had with a man was fake, or that she is a lesbian. I myself have experienced enough bi erasure and biphobia to know better, but I had to put this out there explicitly so hetlors don’t have that as a “gotcha”.

Swifties have the lowest possible standards for whom they consider to be a boyfriend of Taylor’s.

Their standards are a) the media has to stir something up b) they have to interact distantly in some public capacity before they c) walk around together (holding hands or not).

I can give you the names so many women with whom Taylor acted like that, often for longer periods of time and with more interaction than a couple dinners and pap walks or whatever she’s done with those men. And that’s without time to go do research which would doubtlessly turn up more names.

To name some examples:

Karlie Kloss, Diana Agron, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, Cara Delevingne, Martha Hunt, Sophie Turner, Lorde, all three Haim sisters, Zoe Kravitz, Emma Stone, Camila Cabello, Lily Aldridge, Lily Donaldson.

(To be clear, I’m not suggesting that Taylor dated all or most of those women.)

Now, I have no doubt that if most swifties looked up photos of Taylor with a lot of those women they’d go “they aren’t even doing anything in that picture” or “they’re just walking side by side” or whatever else.

THAT’S THE POINT

I’m 1000% sure that if you photoshopped a man into basically any of those pics people would assume they’re dating because they’re walking together.

Almost all of Taylor’s supposed boyfriends have had significantly less interaction with her than those women, but people don’t hesitate to say she’s dating the men. Her team can and will deny it, but swifties will add a name to their list anyway, and that creates a whole other problem.

The sl*t shaming:

In my opinion, the sl*t shaming that Taylor has experienced for about the last 15 years has been, at least in part, because of swifties who jump to conclusions about men she’s seen with. When her own fans believe she’s dated however many guys, it’s that much easier for the media to repeat that and twist it to be negative.

If you wouldn’t look at a random guy and girl standing within a few feet of each other or walking together and come to the conclusion that they must be dating, why do you assume that about Taylor? Or, for that matter, does every person of the opposite gender that you associate with have to be your SO?

[And yes that can easily be turned around on Gaylors, but the whole point is that we aren’t solely using proximity to link potential exes or lovers to Taylor. We actually do the analysis of the lyrics, we break down the connections, we do the research.]

My point is that swifties have contributed on a large scale to Taylor’s sl*t shaming in a way that should make them think twice about who they claim she’s dating. Unfortunately as we’ve seen with this M*tty situation {and now the football guy}, they don’t seem to have the self awareness to realize how they’ve aided such a disgusting campaign of hate.

One more thing: you can say that no one will say those things now anyway because Taylor is on top of the world and they wouldn’t dare sl*t shame the Queen of Pop or “The Music Industry”. You might even be right. But if you do this and feel no guilt or shame over how your actions may have played a part in the several intense periods of sl*t shaming that Taylor has gone through previously, you need to think about why that is.

Taylor said it best in her speech at the Grammy museum in September 2015. She was introducing Blank Space and talking about the situation that made her write the song.

“In the last couple of years the media have had a really wonderful fixation on kind of painting me as like the psycho serial dater girl… It got pretty out of control there for a couple of years because… every article would be like, Taylor Swift Standing Near Some Guy. Watch Out Guy!”

That sounds insane, and it was definitely worse then than it is now, but the fact that it’s happening right now at all is ridiculous. Swifties need to stop helping the media tie Taylor’s name to men as if that makes her relevant. She’s a highly awarded singer, songwriter, and performer who has set and broken records (and then broken the ones she’s set) countless times. Swifties need to stop pretending that dating someone is what makes her interesting or we’re no better than the people who think she only writes breakup songs.

[patrice-bergerons]

It's me again! I'm your big fan sheakspeare

For the ask game this time: Law AU and "processing" and also "theme song"

🩵

send me fic asks!

Hiiii my JMW Turner (highest personal honour I can bestow on any artist) 💞😍I love you for this ask, because I can talk about the law au ad nauseam, although for that very reason you may soon regret your ask hahah

Re the theme song, I thought about it and I really do not have a good answer - so I will turn it back to you and ask if there are any songs that remind you of this verse.

Re process: this au started as a quick one shot - I was tired one weekend and wanted to write a little h/c piece, to soothe my own soul as much as anything else. And then it grew wildly out of control because (a) I have been toying with a rival lawyers set up for years without finding a ship that fit it well, (b) the reception the story got was more enthusiastic than I could dream of and (c) I realised I am fascinated by this specific version of James and Francis, and how elements of canon translate into its particular modern setting.

But because it was meant to be a one shot, I really did not write what we are owed with any master plan in mind. So writing more for the AU became an exercise of- who are these people? what formed their views of the world, including in large part, their lived experiences up until that point? in what ways is that similar to and different from canon? And given who they are, where do they go from that moment of unexpected, genuine connection? And how can I help or hinder them with Plot TM.

Because what we are owed is from James's POV - who really does not know Francis well - it took some thinking and trial and error in principles or sleep to get Francis' voice - as well as his reactions - right.

Then on James's side, I am absolutely fascinated by what his not even being fully english and a bastard in canon means to him - in the context of canon, and also equally, here, where the absolute repercussions for both are far lower. And yet, class structures are still so wildly entrenched in England in a way that eclipses both Turkey and the US, so where does that leave us? And immigration and cultural identity themselves are themes that are very personally relevant to me.

So I have gone and built this whole backstory for him., which kind of mirrors and kind of differs from canon. He is also wildly traumatised. And yet, he has unpacked none of it and so even if *all that* is driving much of how he reacts to the world around him, he himself is not necessarily aware of the causal links. Further, his own sense of self vs what he projects onto the world vs what Francis thinks of him are three very different things - and we do only have Francis to interpret his motives for us, when that itself is based on incomplete info and coloured by Francis's own world views and insecurities and depression.

SO writing from Francis's POV means that I must first chase every plot event and interaction to that place of shame and guilt and trauma for James, let it inform what he will do, decide why he thinks he is doing what he is doing, as well as what he wants Francis to think, and then put that input thru the framework Francis has for how the world in general and James in particular works.

This is at once immesensely and wildly fun as a writer but also frustrating because a part of me wants to tell the whole world about that very source - without painstakingly building for a reveal. I do hope though that once the readers know James's whole story, they can go back to re-read all the earlier installments and think OH OH that makes SENSE. Fingers crossed.

[cara-turner]

"consider me pleasantly surprised." another bite. god, it was good. soothing parts of the woman she didn't know needed to thaw out. relaxation extended when the woman moved to slide into one of the diner bar stools. the counter was met with a small clank of her bowl while her elbows rested on the counter. "loaded question." her lips stretched to a beaming smile. how could anyone possibly doing in a place like such ? though, cara had a way of keeping her emotions intact where others spiraled. helpful to surviving, and not letting her mind slip to emotional insanity.

typically so — cara responded, "incredible. getting hitched to the town cook. what more could a gal want ?" if she had the courage to say it out loud, cara would claim bastian as her beard. take him home despite the ring banded on his finger. someone like bastian would make her family pleased. or maybe not, usually the men her family approved of were privileged assholes. bastian was a good one. solid. if only he was paired with a vagina — cara would be sold. "no, really, it's been... uhm, hell ?" face scrunched. "lack of better words. you know... but not on the brink of ripping my hair out, and running into the woods any time soon." fingers gripped the spoon. twirling it mindlessly in the bowl. "how are you holding up ?" her other hand patted the stool beside her.

For a while after Bastian first arrived in town he had refused to step outside even when the sun still hung low on the horizon. It was hard to trust that those monsters only came out when the sky was inked in black, that there wasn't a threat of attack if the sun was still present. Eventually he learned how to operate in the town he had reluctantly been forced to call home. But even now, with the darkness lingering and no choice but to step outside in it in order to keep on living, he was anxious at the whole ordeal. He wanted nothing to do with the things that went bump in the night.

But there were others here, living and breathing and fighting to get by day after day just like he was. And if he couldn't care for his family who he hoped were out beyond the borders living relatively happy lives without him, he at least had to do right by the other survivors. As best as he could do within the circumstances, anyway.

Bastian met Cara's dry, flat disinterest with a soft smile of encouragement, the bowl held aloft until she finally reached out to take it from his hands. Sometimes a hot meal that tasted halfway decent was all a person needed to liven up, even in the darkest of times. "I can only work within the limits of what we've got on hand, but I'm still hoping you'll be pleasantly surprised." At her words he could only chuckle, the tips of his fingers turning the wedding band around and around on his opposite hand. "For you, there are no strings. Happy to give you a warm meal whenever you like. How have you been holding up, Cara? With all...this." His hand waves absently through the darkness, still ever present despite the diner dotted with flickering candles that gave off a warm glow.

[cosplayinamerica]

Writer : Amy Densham

Whether your kids live in rural Iowa or downtown NYC. If they have cosplaying parents or only they just learned about Halloween. Astrid and Leah bring that excited, welcoming, Con energy to their student’s computer screens all over the world.

The platform is Outschool. It’s been around since 2015 and started as a go-to for homeschoolers. During the  COVID-19 pandemic, Outschool grew beyond homeschooling. It became a place for learning and socializing whether you homeschool or not. Now serving over 1 million learners in 195 countries, Outschool has thousands of classes for ages 3 - 18. Learn about dinosaurs from a paleontologist. C# coding from a game developer. Or cosplay from an expert seamstress and a professional actress.

Astrid Turner, bubbly and all smiles, remembers standing in line at a Con: “The cosplay community is one of the most supportive and wonderful communities out there. When I cosplay, it’s not attention on me. It’s attention for something we share. We already know we like the same things. The craftsmanship, the idea that you’re there together, dressed up, having an experience together.”

Astrid teaches Cosplay Costume Design and Creation Workshops and anything else costume-related (just send her a request). She can pleat a skirt, put a bodice in, and bring kids out of their shells with ease. Part of her class includes real-world skills like comparison shopping; if you’re asking mom to buy it, you need to have a plan.

What does Astrid hope her students walk away with from taking her class ? Ask about her experience teaching online classese.

With a classroom maximum of 5, Astrid gives personalized attention to all of her students. Some enroll with a  clear costume vision. Others just love Anime. Either way, Astrid helps them follow their own creativity and make it a reality.

Do they need a sketch? No problem. Does the fabric need to be washable? She knows just the thing. And costumes are just the beginning. Her eyes light up when she talks about intuitive, introverted students growing and connecting as the weeks go by. Someone who barely spoke in their first class is now the first one to share their progress and welcome a new student. They find their people and their voice.

Leah Johnson, artful and confident, talks about her experience at Cons: “It feels like everyone is a family. They want to welcome you in. It’s an excitement of sharing. Always. Of what they’ve made, what they’ve done, other cons that they’ve gone to, and people they’ve met. Everyone there wants to inspire each other.”

Leah teaches Special FX, Halloween, and Cosplay Makeup or one-on-one classes by request. Some of her students want to become professional makeup artists. Some want to scare their grandmas with fake wounds. In both situations, Leah is raring to go! And so is her washable Mehron Practice Makeup Head - currently sporting terrifying clown makeup from her last class.

Every class is unique. Some learners pop in with full, top-of-the-line makeup kits and some join with leftovers from the makeup wearer in their house. Part of the fun for Leah and her students is figuring out how to create looks with what you’ve got. It’s a great life lesson too. Sometimes you’ll need a specific product but sometimes you just need to be resourceful. Leah playfully refers to it as preparing for the zombie apocalypse when you won’t have all the tools. Her personality beams through the screen as she uses her makeup head to show makeup techniques, up close, and with student-requested variations. For Leah, the online part wasn’t her favorite. There’s an unquantifiable distance when you’re interacting online. You aren’t in the same space. It’s not the same as in person. But she makes that work too. And it’s a small inconvenience compared to the big benefit: bringing creative, accepting spaces to students wherever they are in the world.

Every class is unique. Some learners pop in with full, top-of-the-line makeup kits and some join with leftovers from the makeup wearer in their house. Part of the fun for Leah and her students is figuring out how to create looks with what you’ve got. It’s a great life lesson too. Sometimes you’ll need a specific product but sometimes you just need to be resourceful. Leah playfully refers to it as preparing for the zombie apocalypse when you won’t have all the tools. Her personality beams through the screen as she uses her makeup head to show makeup techniques, up close, and with student-requested variations. For Leah, the online part wasn’t her favorite. There’s an unquantifiable distance when you’re interacting online. You aren’t in the same space. It’s not the same as in person. But she makes that work too. And it’s a small inconvenience compared to the big benefit: bringing creative, accepting spaces to students wherever they are in the world.

HOW IT STARTED

Astrid and Leah both grew up loving costumes but they didn’t find out about cosplay until much later. In each of their separate hometowns, they were that kid in full costume at the grocery store. Or decked out like crazy on Halloween. Sound familiar?

Astrid remembers her first Ren Faire: “My first costume was a disaster but I was so proud of it! Ever since then, I knew I wanted to make costumes.” Growing up in a rural area outside LA, she always wanted to go to the San Diego Comic-Con but she didn’t have anyone to go with and didn’t want to go by herself. None of her friends were cosplayers - a term she didn’t even know existed.

She taught herself to sew, learning by creating more and more complex projects. Elaborate Elizabethan gowns with striking details for the next faire.

As she grew older, Atrid took a detour, exploring other career paths but she came back to sewing when her kids were small. Making clothes and costumes for them brought back that magic. And the internet showed her there was a whole community out there. No longer the only cosplayer in town, she dove in head first.

Now Astrid and her 3 kids (ages 13, 10, and 7) attend Cons every chance they get. In full costume, of course. She enters competitions in the handmade category and, though she’s modest, has taken home more than one win. In middle school, Astrid was big into theatre, Shakespeare, and creating Renaissance costumes.

An actor, director, voiceover artist, and singer, Leah cosplays characters from Arwen to Cruella De Vil to Mary Poppins. She teaches makeup and cosplay on Outschool but does both professionally for film, theatre, and events. To name a few, she designed costumes for the TV show Kookville and a stage production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She even did makeup and created costumes for the movie Demon Squad, which you can find in Season 13 of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. She believes that cosplay isn’t just about expressing yourself, it’s about developing yourself and creating a full aesthetic. Beyond that, she wants her students to know, they can make a career out of their creative passions. And she’ll help them do it.

Leah talks about her first Ren Faire experience: “It felt awesome because I was trying to be intentional about creating a costume for me. Not for a play. Not for someone else based on their vision. It was my vision. It was what I wanted to do.”

You feel different in your cosplay. The persona, the confidence. It can be hard to describe but Astrid and Leah teach toward that feeling in every class.

Specializing in Elizabethan and Italian Renaissance costumes, Astrid also cosplays Collei from Gensin Impact and loves growing her skills in the anime genre. She even runs a social club on Outschool where Genshin fans can hang out virtually and game together.

Astrid beams: “A lot of kids and adults choose a character and they try to match that persona. It’s a little bit of safety. I’ve had people scream ‘OH MY GOD ITS COLLEI’ and run over to me. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t happen. But at Cons, it’s so exciting. It’s amazing to connect with other people through that persona.”

*** Leah, with her cosplay weapon collection behind her: “You feel more confident in your character’s costume. It’s a projection of your best self. A lot of work, your imagination, and your brain is now projected on the outside. People can see that part of you that they can’t see in any other situation.”

Leading by example, Leah shows her students that they can make their creative passions into careers. She beams when she talks about a student getting confident enough to make an Actor Instagram account. Or doing professional-level wedding makeup for their entire family.

Teaching online from Arkansas since 2018, Astrid volunteered for the first-ever Outschool Cosplay Convention in 2021. Now called GameCon, the 2-day event featured presentations at different times of day for different timezones. Sessions about costume design, makeup, theatre performance, and more. And, most exciting of all, the costume showcase. Every kid got a chance in the spotlight to show off their creations. Astrid, laughs now: “I burst into tears when I logged off. It was such a rush of emotions. I found my people! I wish I had this when I was a kid.”

***