#also Jonas is involved at some point

[twotales]

I like to imagine that after “The Game” Evan, John, Radek, and Rodney started playing table top games together.

[etapereine]

i am once again proposing persuasion au tadejonas

"we met years ago as teenagers early 20-something conti riders and fell in love hooked up but my late mother's best friend protective new teammate(s) convinced me it was in both of our best interests to break it off and now i've spent the last seven three years pining for you while you've spent the last seven three years low-key hating me for breaking your heart when suddenly oops we reunite when your sister rents out my family's house we're both on the podium together at itzulia and-"

[captainofthetidesbreath]

Thoughts on parallels between the scene where Phineas beats Sherman and where Imelda tortures weepe?

Jonas Spahr is there, and he's also not having a good day. 😔

So, I initially meant that as a joke about how I'm a huge fan of Jonas and will obnoxiously take any opportunity to talk about him. I do think there are many parallels and resonances between these scenes, and there is much to say about the four characters named and the central action of nearly killing someone for the sake of the Trust, but those angles are more obvious and more likely to be recognized by most. (And I'm willing to talk about some of those as well, if asked again. Or, if there's a specific aspect you'd like to hear about, let me know.)

In terms of my interests, it IS a pretty interesting point to be made: Jonas Spahr is there, watching. It's integral to both scenes that Spahr is a witness; he's even the ONLY witness in the Arca. His role as such is also explicitly recognized by the active character in each scene:

Since this is about the cabaret and Arca scenes specifically, I won't spin off into an entire commentary and analysis of Spahr's role as an observer and witness. For now, we'll have to content ourselves with the short version just for context, but I can go into it at a later time.

The heart of it is: thus far, his role in the narrative is a generally passive one that largely centers on watching and observing. It's the first thing he does as a player in this story. He steps back and watches how Phineas handles the Ginsberg situation, and the narrators remind us four separate times in 1.03: Mica:

Deeds of Valor—and Caenum, apparently—need to be witnessed, after all! Thing is, Spahr does a lot of watching but, until more recently, doesn't really SEE all that often. He is for a long time a passive, immovable, unreadable observer to events as the eyes of the Trust. He is that witness for much of events he's involved in, for better or (more likely) worse.

After Phineas attacks Sherman, Spahr himself is quick to identify this problem with himself in 2.02: Ascendancy, that he is watching and looking but he is, perhaps intentionally, not seeing and noticing:

The incident in the cabaret and the incident in the Arca are directly connected and bound together by Spahr as witness. Phineas attacking Sherman and Imelda torturing Weepe are moments that Spahr is truly seeing, bearing witness to events and comprehending them, their context, and their implications.

In both, he bears witness specifically to the damage that the Trust causes and the ways that it harms people inside and outside of it. Phineas and Imelda believe that Spahr will witness something else—Phineas hopes that Spahr will not be witnessing a failure where Imelda hopes that Spahr will be witnessing one—but what he is seeing instead is the raw brutality that the Trust and its systems and pressures naturally engender at their logical extremes. He immediately recognizes it to be a horror:

Spahr experiences a dread born of comprehension typically reserved for moments of understanding in eldritch horror. Sucks to be the guy whose role is to see things and you end up actually comprehending some of them! And comprehend them in these two scenes he does.

Spahr doesn't do a ton in terms of active action in either scene—the cabaret scene is notably set off by his mere presence, and he ultimately freezes in the Arca scene—but in each, he does ultimately move to attempt to stop what is happening. And, notably, he does so under his own power and motivation.

That said, he fails to prevent a significant amount of the damage. He moves fast enough to prevent Phineas from killing Sherman, but too late to prevent the harm done to Sherman and all the spiraling consequences of this. He is frozen into a paralysis by Imelda's threat, so he fails to follow through and stop her, stop the harm done to Weepe, and again stop the spiraling consequences from this.

Twice, once in each scene, he fails to meaningfully prevent the harm done here. He attempts to stop them when he is standing here in the room with them, but by then it's too late. ("Too little, too late," as Sherman will eventually say.)

Obviously, Spahr is not the sole bearer of responsibility in either incident. Phineas and Imelda have an immense amount to answer for there, and the system of the Trust itself created the conditions that one way or another pushes them and Spahr to do as they do. However, both are incidents that he in some way has allowed. He reflects on having not seen, or even ignored, the signs of what was brewing inside Phineas and what he was being pushed toward; he helps engineer this intervention and stands by while Imelda locks Weepe in the Arca, never asking enough questions.

He has allowed both to happen. When he begins to feel the emotional aftermath of each, in 2.02: Ascendancy and 2.17: Compensation, the narration of his internal monologue even uses that wording:

They're both critical scenes to Spahr's development as someone whose role is largely passive, both within the Trust systems and within the narrative. Just as much as he is to be seen, he is also very much here to see—and to refuse to see. To stand by as a passive witness to horrors and allow them, silent and impassive and watching. He can try to intervene, but he's already facilitated this.

He is coming to understand his part in this, in brutalities such as these, with horror. In the aftermath of the Arca incident, we see him increasingly discontent with his role in the Trust and desperately in search of ways to stop what he can. He is not yet successful, but his vision is very much clarifying. His arc turns around these scenes as paralleled experiences for him in his narrative, as moments that he witnesses, allows, and fails to stop against even his own belated efforts. These two scenes bookend his growing comprehension and self-reflection throughout season two.

Twice now, it's been asked of him: What are you refusing to see, Jonas? What horrors and brutalities are you allowing to happen? Will you always be intervening much too late?

Third time's a charm, perhaps.

[andhaveapleasanttomorrow]

if you could scientifically engineer a new boy band what do you think theyd be like. what traits would they have

you've successfully baited me into writing over a thousand words on a topic I don't know very much about

as far as scientific engineering goes I don't need much aside from a willingness to let me puppet them around and make them dance. it's better if they're not engineered, I think, for the concept I've been tossing around in my head. I've been thinking about a few different things in tandem, one of them being some recent attempts to create a "western kpop[1] group," which haven't really been crazy successful, and wondering what it would take for something like that to work. for one thing, the only western kpop groups I know of have been girl groups, and at the risk of overgeneralizing I don't think the idea would work as well for a boy group, mainly because there are less male kpop fans and therefore less guys who would be eager to undergo that kind of training/lifestyle or have dreams of becoming that kind of "idol." I've also seen people say that a north american "mindset" isn't conducive to the idol lifestyle as it exists in korea because of cultural differences but I don't know how much I'd agree with that. I do think that rather than trying to get them to be precision-built silicon dolls like modern kpop idols it would make more sense to counter that and have them be more "real" and perhaps a little "rebellious," but like, not in any actually potentially subversive or offensive way. so I guess it would help if they had that feeling.[2] I think that would also make them more appealing to the general public, which is where kpop falls short. the language barrier doesn't help.[3]

another thing I've been thinking about is how important the accessibility (or perceived accessibility) of a star's personal life is now, in american pop. this is a big part of why taylor swift is so huge and I think another snagging point for kpop. people feel that it is very important that stars have "authenticity" and things like this, and like to do things like compare their lyrics to things that happened to the star, and so on. so for my perfect boy band there would have to be a sense that they were heavily involved in the creation of their songs somehow. (to be fair, I don't think this is unheard of in kpop.)[4] a third thing I've been thinking about is this idea of the "fictional real boy band" (the monkees, the jonas brothers, big time rush.[7]) I've been thinking about it because I don't really understand it. the first two at least were genuine stars, and big time rush wasn't like, globally renowned, but, you know, they did okay. where I get stuck is in understanding why people liked them, it doesn't seem like it should work; the contract between the pop star and the audience already has a fiction/reality dissonance that both parties just sort of have to accept, but starring in a television show with fictionalized versions of yourselves seems to be turning that upside down and violating it somehow. but people liked them.[8] the jonas brothers managed to make something of a real comeback, at least for a little bit, although I'm sure that was 90% fueled by nostalgia.[9]

anyway the fact that there's a precedent makes it odd to me that no one has attempted to modernize it with social media. I mean, obviously pop stars use social media, kpop idols do livestreams and tiktoks and things like that, there is a connection to the fans in that way, one direction even had their video diaries when they were teens, I'm more thinking of like an "influencer house" type of situation. this is where I think it becomes a bit unethical. I think as it is there's another little contract, where the audience understands that celebrities make certain kinds of posts online as promotional work and most of what they're saying isn't actually "coming from the heart," and celebrities know the audience knows. there's probably two ways to curveball this; lean way into it and turn it into an "I-know-you-know-I-know" thing, or obfuscate it entirely and pretend it doesn't exist.[10] the latter is really hard to accomplish and I'd really like to see it done successfully. the drive to call people nepo babies or industry plants is really strong these days, but so is the drive to feel like you know a celebrity on a personal level, so there's a bit of a tightrope situation here. basically my idea is to put the monkees on tiktok. but I don't want the audience to know they're watching the monkees, I want them to think it's real. also yaoibaiting is mandatory (also not unusual in kpop). imagine you follow a group of roommates online because they make funny posts about each other, but they're also incredibly famous, and they make music together, the lyrics of which can easily be interpreted to be about each other, like fleetwood mac. I want to create parasocial bonds that could topple empires. not for money I just want to see it happen

there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge because I don't know anything about the music industry and I'm also not entirely sure why kpop (or anything) "works," in a societal sense, or why exactly american pop has been so heavy with soloists for so many years when that wasn't the case before. I also don't even really listen to pop music, I mostly read what other people say about it because I find the social aspect of it more interesting. I like thinking about it so I'm going to continue thinking about it

[1] here used to refer to the specific management/training/production model of the idol industry in korea rather than a catchall for "korean pop" [2] I don't know how exactly that would be executed, I'm bad at predicting what people will clock as "cool" or "phony" because I have my own axis of how I perceive that kind of thing. [3] I do have a theory that part of the reason western kpop hasn't been panning out so well is that kpop fans are largely koreaboos and even if the idols are managed by korean companies they won't go as hard for them if they're not korean because they lose that sheen of the "culture," and because they don't get to call them unnie. if you don't create a group that's mainly geared towards kpop fans (because, I think, the american general public doesn't have an appetite for that kind of group anymore), you don't have that problem [4] I've also been thinking about 5 seconds of summer, and how they were, I think, the last really big actual band boy band, who like played their instruments and shit. don't talk to me about waterparks and twenty one pilots and fall out boy [5] and whatnot because that's not what I'm talking about and besides waterparks is overrated. I've never listened to their music but I can tell they're overrated. my point is my boys wouldn't need to play instruments, and anyway if they did then how could they do their little dance moves?[6] [5] they're all too old to be boy bands. [6] granted… I do think the general public would be more responsive to a real band-type-band than a pop group right now, but I don't have any real reasoning behind this [7] hannah montana's not a boy band but I suppose she also did this, the difference being that the actual star is "miley cyrus," not "hannah montana." [8] obviously there's something to be said that the target audience for most of these were like, 8 year olds, who don't have a very good grasp on the reality/fiction thing anyway, which is probably why I can't understand it [9] nostalgia is, of course, the only thing running the cultural engine these days, which is why I'm even thinking about this in the first place- it's weird to me that with the "y2k" thing being very popular there are no really big mainstream american pop groups like there were then [10] you could also just violate it and not filter the pop star at all, but that's less of a curveball and more of a foundational destruction, and would fall apart very quickly

[mercurytrinemoon]

Astro observations: celebrity edition part 2 aka latest news roundup

⭐️ Dua Lipa announced on her instagram that she's actually a Gemini rising as opposed to Libra. Now my Gemini detector told me that ages ago but I accepted the Libra rising just because it's my default token "plain good looking and polite" sign BUT it actually now makes much more sense in terms of house placements. Her Venus is now cazimi in the 3rd house - house associated with creative writing and thinking. The ever-changing and fast-moving Mercury is now in her 4th house of family and home situation and she's actually been always moving a lot between England and Albania. That healthy domicile Mercury as well as the Sun-Venus conjunction in the 3rd shows her close connection to family overall.

Funnily enough, her discovery took place during Mercury station in her 4th house. Talk about finding out your true roots (astrological, in that instance).

⭐️ We also now have the birth time of Elon Musk, who turns out to be a Cancer rising. Jupiter in his 5th house of children now makes perfect sense with his 11 kids (and probably counting).

⭐️ If you're wondering why Ariana Grande is the way she is, look no further than Moon conjunct Jupiter - aka her 7th house ruler multiply; as well as both being square to the Sun. Usually Sun square Jupiter can point to legal issues and excess while Sun square Moon often points to broken families. Now add that together and you have… a homewrecker, yaaay!

⭐️ I was thinking a lot about Blink 182 and Tom Delonge (his chart resembles mine a bit) due to him rejoining the band last year and now releasing a new Blink album. Natally, he has a retrograde Gemini Mars so I looked at his progressed chart to see the stationary period. Turns out his progressed Mars stationed direct early 2014, followed by progressed Sun entering Aquarius. Early following year the band announced that he left permanently. One of the things he focused on was research on the UFOs and work with the government. Of course, keep in mind progressed Mars stations for quite a while and his issues with the band lasted throughout the whole 2014 so it makes sense that the final split occured a year later. And why Mars? Well it can literally speak about our focus in life and our direction - where we put our energy. Not to mention Mars rules his MC so it brought him a massive turn in his career. So makes sense.

⭐️ Britney Spears just released a memoir book. Putting aside the questionable fact on who really wrote it, it stirred up a lot of drama. Her chart is one big mine but today I'm only focusing on current transits: she just had an eclipse in her first house of Libra. That eclipse landed right on her Pluto, which natally squares Venus (talking about toxic relationships and exposing them). Pluto itself is making last hits to those degrees as well as it's stationing direct in the late Capricorn. Interestingly I think Jupiter being in her 8th house can point to this as well - it lights up all the secrets and talks about working on past traumas. Now, you're also probably thinking, why was she involved with so many iffy people in her life? A lot of things in her chart point to that but what always struck me was her 7th house ruler - a malefic Mars - being in her 12th house of enemies. And it squares Neptune so they're also liars and exploiters.

⭐️ There's been A TON of celebrity breakups during this Venus retrograde season but I'm gonna quickly focus on Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner because their charts are an interesting example. Their synastry is mostly having planets in sister signs but this also means that if one of them gets hit with a transit, so is the other. Involve Saturn in that transit and you get trouble. Saturn is currently in early Pisces, where Sophie has some of her planets in the 12th house (loss, enemies). Her Mars (disputes, cutting) is at 4° of Pisces while Joe's Mars is at 7° Virgo - right opposite that. Saturn transit stirred up some proper drama: and Saturn is also coldness, being restrained and cut off. On top of that they also have their rising signs in the opposite signs of Aries and Libra and we just started having eclipses in those signs earlier this year.

Not to mention Joe's Leo Sun got hit by Venus retrograde and a Uranus square. Among other stuff.

FUN FACT: according to my research they met for the first time in October of 2016 when Jupiter was in Libra. So, interestingly, not only they had Jupiter going through their angles but Jupiter in their Davidson chart is in Libra.

⭐️ Taylor Swift is currently going through her 10th house profection year (Leo). It would make sense then that her career would take a turn this year considering that Venus was retrograding in Leo. Of course as it turned out she had a massive succes with her ongoing world tour, which is said to become the highest grossing tour of all time.

⭐️ A Vogue article popped up about Rita Ora's and Taika Waititi's wedding that took place a year earlier (they kept all the info and date private until now). Jupiter played a huge role in them getting married (as it often does, especially for a couple like them, who have it strong in their charts, which I wrote about HERE). At the time of their wedding Jupiter was at 8° Aries, which for Rita is that sweet spot between her Sagittarius Sun and Venus (4° and 10° respectively) and Leo Jupiter (13°) - as it completed a grand trine in her chart. Transiting Sun was also 12° of Leo, highlighting that trine even more.

Man I love astrology.

For Taika it was pretty prominent as well although his Jupiter aspects were more sign-based. He had a Jupiter return; his Moon is somewhere in the middle of Sagittarius so he received these fire trines as well. Interestingly, at the time of the wedding Saturn was at 22° Aquarius - exactly opposite his Leo Sun but also sextile his natal Jupiter. So for him it had a bit of a Saturnian flavour that called for stability and maturity.

⭐️ Similarly, I just read the other day that Frances Bean Cobain got married earlier this month. She has a Venus-Jupiter conjunction on top of her Virgo ascendant (interestingly Kurt had the trine between Venus and Jupiter - so seems like a family pattern). Also interestingly, transiting Jupiter is currently trining both her Venus and Jupiter (on the day of the wedding it was trining Venus exact), thereby her natal pattern got repeated. Jupiter is also her 7th house ruler.

Her now husband, Riley Hawk is having a nice transit of that Jupiter over his Taurus Moon - and remember, Moon rules the women in your family as well as your wife.

[mariacallous]

BERLIN — The latest effort to craft a path to survival for Germany’s beleaguered rabbinical schools is underway — with help from thousands of miles away in California and Jerusalem.

An American Conservative rabbi and an Israeli Reform rabbi have been tapped to lead seminaries associated with the University of Potsdam.

The Los Angeles-based American Jewish University and its Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies this week announced a “groundbreaking partnership” with the Central Council of Jews in Germany to promote “sustainable” Jewish clergy training at the University of Potsdam.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Ziegler’s dean, accepted the Central Council’s invitation as the founding leader of a new German seminary associated with the Masorti or Conservative movement.

“It’s absurd to have an American rabbi running the school,” Artson said he told the Central Council. “The only thing more absurd is not having a school.”

Meanwhile, Rabbi Yehodaya Amir, professor emeritus at the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, will oversee a liberal or Reform seminary being launched at the university.

The new leaders are stepping into a tumultuous situation.

The University of Potsdam has long been home to two rabbinical schools, the liberal/Reform seminary Abraham Geiger College and its Masorti/Conservative sibling, Zacharias Frankel College, founded in 1999 and 2013 respectively by Rabbi Walter Homolka.

But in late 2022, Homolka resigned from all positions in German Jewish institutions following allegations that he had abused his power and created an atmosphere of fear among students and staff. He eventually sold all his shares of Geiger and Frankel for 25,000 euros to the Jewish Community of Berlin, which intended to keep them going.

The organized Jewish community has since struggled to fund the schools, which previously had the Central Council and the German government as their main backers. In the wake of the Homolka scandal, the Central Council had declared it could no longer support the institutions as they stood. It announced plans to revamp rabbinical training so that no one figure would wield too much power.

This month, the council announced a new foundation to support two new schools — a liberal one named for Regina Jonas and a Masorti one named for Abraham Joshua Heschel, both pioneering rabbis in early 20th-century Germany with global and enduring significance. They are also launching a cantorial school under the name of the 19th-century composer of Jewish liturgical music Louis Lewandowski.

Now, the council has made official its chosen partners to operate the schools — and for both it looked outside Germany.

For the Masorti seminary, it turned to Artson, who also served as dean of the Frankel seminary after Homolka cold-called him to ask for his support — a request that he said had conferred a “sacred mission” upon him.

“I thought that this was an opportunity to step up and to help Europeans get the training they would want, to energize the Jewish community,” Artson told JTA. “And that’s really what we’ve done.”

Artson said he anticipated a limited future for his involvement and that of his fellow Ziegler dean, Rabbi Cheryl Peretz.

“We see our role as stepping in and launching this important program, and then at some point getting out of the way so that Europeans can run it without us,” he said.

Current rabbinical and cantorial students were told last week — as eight new rabbis and cantors were ordained — that they will be invited to transfer seamlessly to the new seminaries.

As for what might change for them, Artson said his focus was on “bringing transparency and equal funding and stability” as well as building stronger ties to the global Masorti movement. “This will be a way of organizing a rabbinical school that’s answerable to the public and will be able to last,” he said.

Amir, the HUC professor of Jewish thought who is heading the liberal seminary, said he was heartened by the fact that the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the North American Reform movement’s rabbinical association, was prepared to certify the new program, meaning that its graduates would have the same status in the movement as Geiger’s.

“The fact that the CCAR is considering to grant us such a status by now, before we have even taken our first steps, is a solid and wonderful expression of trust,” Amir told JTA.

Josef Schuster, chair of the Central Council, said support from the two movements augured “a good day for rabbinical and cantor training in Germany and a good day for the Jewish communities in our country.”

The appointments have elicited dissent. The World Union of Progressive Judaism and its European sister organization accused the Central Council of failing to involve them in their plans and of endangering “the unity of the Jewish community.”

And Berlin’s official Jewish community — which, as owner of the original seminaries, has the most to lose — lashed out over the selection of Artson in particular, noting that he has faced allegations of sexism at Ziegler.

Gideon Joffe, the community’s president, accused the Central Council of “conducting a public defamation campaign against the Abraham Geiger College.”

He added in a statement: “Even the appearance of an abuse of power, as is clearly evident in the allegations against Rabbi Artson, is unacceptable for the management of a rabbinical seminary,”

The investigations add to ongoing tumult at AJU and Zeigler, where Artson has worked since 1999. The school recently sold its campus in Los Angeles and slashed tuition in a bid to attract more students.

A third-party investigation of the sexism allegations commissioned by American Jewish University found no systemic misconduct, according to AJU, which did not release the full report. A second inquiry, by the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, is underway.

Artson would not comment on the ongoing investigation, except to say it “is wrapping up.” But he noted that the first investigation found “no systemic homophobia or sexism” at Ziegler. “And so I’m really focusing on building the future.”

The statement is “unworthy of them,” Artson said about the Berlin Jewish Community, known by its German nickname Gemeinde, meaning community. “But I understand that in the moment, they’re letting their emotions run things.”

He added, “I think that the Gemeinde does many valuable and important things, and we certainly want to be able to support them in those enterprises, too, just not in this particular instance.”

An irony of the new arrangement is that in seeking to distance rabbinical training as much as possible from Homolka, who chose the Gemeinde as his successor, the Central Council has selected a rabbi who long worked with him. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Artson had expenses covered but took no salary while working with the Frankel seminary.

For his part, Artson said he remains inspired by Geiger and Frankel, figures who helped make Germany a powerhouse of Jewish innovation in the century prior to the Holocaust.

“I have in my office portraits of both Rabbi Geiger and Rabbi Frankel,” Artson said. “They remain founding figures, even if their names are no longer on the school.”

But the two new namesakes — Heschel, who narrowly escaped Germany in 1940, and Jonas, the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi, who was murdered at Auschwitz — are “also very special,” he said.

[joeey-dee]

Something that always confused me were the people claiming Oliver didn't love Sara, wasn't really interested in her....

Right. That is why he was the one pursuing her and making the first step, initiating their involvements EVERY SINGLE TIME!

He begged her to come on the Gambit with him, she was having some serious doubts and Oliver went all caps on her "PLEASE" with exclamation points like seriously? How desperate was he to get her to come with him? But sure, it was just about sex cause Oliver Jonas Queen wouldn't have been able to pick up just any woman simply to have some physical fun with while travelling. He was begging his girlfriend's sister to join him on a trip with his father on a freaking Yacht which made keeping their affair a secret pretty much impossible.

On Lian Yu he risked everything to save her, to keep her safe and to protect her time and again. He was the one who initiated the kiss on the Freighter. He was the one making it very clear to her how he felt and what he wanted. Cause, there's no way that kiss was cause he wanted to get it on... it was a "we may not see each other again because I might die and I need you to know how I feel" kind of kiss.

When she came home, he did everything within his power to convince her to stay.

He was once again the one pursuing her and initiating their relationship.

He was the one taking their involvements to the next step or trying to "We should think about getting a more permanent place.

" - "we? are you asking me to move in with you?"

Oliver also didn't want her to leave. Tried to stop her even when knowing he can't.

And the look on his face in 3.01 when she showed up and his "I hope so" after asking if she'd be around more permanently again.

Oliver Jonas Queen loved Sara Lance dearly, completely, selflessly and unconditionally.

Sara was the one he chose time and again.

"I chose you." Was true in more ways than simply his choice between Shado and Sara.

Oliver was willing to risk everything, including his life for her years before he became a vigilante, had proper training or suffered any sort of losses.

Irresponsible, "selfish" according to him, immature playboy Ollie was willing to die in order to look for Sara after the Gambit sank. Mr. "I detest swimming" would've jumped back into the freezing, stormy seas of the North China Sea had Robert not held him back.

But sure, it was just a fling and she meant nothing to him.

Okay, I'm done ranting now. But just saying, there was no one Oliver took more risks for than Sara. Saving Felicity or Laurel after years of training doesn't measure up to him saving Sara, getting between her and a gun etc with little to no training and a much bigger chance of him dying.

But that is just my humble opinion.

[allamericansbitch]

I think they think it's a dig to Joe, because of the whole pain and trauma bit as in he didn't wanna marry her, she was dying inside because of it and the relationship not going well so rumours of them being married caused her all that pain. It's not new information by any means but it just makes swifties enraged because he didn't wanna marry her and who wouldn't etc etc. Not gonna lie to you, seeing everything that happened since April and how Taylor herself has been handling it herself I would have doubts myself and if anything I don't think he regrets his decision at all. Imagine how much of a nightmare it would be if kids were involved? Would we have a Joe Jonas and Sophie media war kind of thing?

It's sad for me to say this but Taylor and her friends are in mid thirties right now and it's expected you have grown out of some high school like behaviours. Liking tiktoks and posts and trying to shade your ex is like...at this point one would know better to do the shit talk in private. There's also a big power inbalance here, Taylor and her friends are not regular people, they are celebrities so all these things don't have an audience of 10 people. Even if Joe said something, he has even less power in the public eye than Calvin so everyone would destroy him. He knows that for certain, Taylor knows too and is so incredibly shitty she's putting him in that position. It sucks that he hurt you, but he's also a human being with family and friends who hurt for him. His family also just suffered a family member's death last month so I think they are also not 100% mentally ok right now. You're putting him in a worse position than the one you once were in. Is that like some kind of joke to re-enact reputation but this time she's the one starting a hate wave towards the person she credited so much for helping her ride hers?

you know what's also interesting? Travis ex implied he was with her and strung her along with the marriage thing too. But swifties response is/was that he wasn't sure because she wasn't the one for him like Taylor is. And sure that could be true, but makes you think he did the same thing or similar to what they think Joe did or didn't do and in this case because it's Taylor and they don't think he can get anyone better than her you don't see anyone saying well maybe he didn't wanna marry her, because he was also not sure she was the one

the fact that they do not see taylor as a human and admit that she might have flaws that dont make her a perfect partner and joe committed the cardinal sin of not forcing himself into a marriage is insane to me, and its also insane that literally anyone cares about this. like move on. but sadly it's almost impossible to move on because taylor keeps reminding us lol. and she knows he cant say anything, she knows shes got an army of millions who are so brainwashed they cant even think for themselves at this point.

and their extreme bias toward travis is insane. they turn a blind eye to everything he does because they think hes a god or something now. if it was discovered joe was excited to meet trump, made fatphobic tweets, called women breeders, played for a racist team that vocally supported Israel, etc..... i have a weird feeling it wouldnt get brushed over like it is for travis.

[tuttocenere]

Opera videos that are 10/10 to me

Some recordings I've seen that I personally think are perfect and amazing, listed for your convenience, in chronological order. I have posted about most of these before and probably will again.

Händel, Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724), Glyndebourne 2005

The opera: It's Julius Caesar in Egypt. Someone loses his head, Cleopatra seduces a guy, her brother is king but not very good at it. This opera is 4 hours long and a lot of stuff happens.

The video: Beautiful choreographies, strange meditations on British colonialism and gender, great costumes too. Lots of stage blood.

Notable singers: Danielle De Niese, Christophe Dumaux

Official link: Glyndebourne Encore, there's also a low res version on medici.tv, there's also a 2013 revival on Met on Demand.

Mozart, Don Giovanni (1787), Festival Aix-en-Provence 2017

The opera: The bad man gets punished. It's Don Juan.

The video: A minimalist, "Brechtian" production. The acting is excellent, the costumes and gestures are very effective, everyone involved is super hot. The camerawork is the best I've seen.

Notable singers: Nahuel di Pierro, Isabel Leonard

Official link: medici.tv, it used to be on Youtube but alas.

Rossini, Le Comte Ory (1828), Metropolitan Opera 2011

The opera: It's a fun farce about a youth who tries to seduce a countess and ends up in a threesome. Peak Rossini.

The video: A very Disney-esque production with simple sets and fairytale costumes, excellent acting, wonderful all around.

Notable singers: Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau, Michele Pertusi, Stephane Degout, Joyce DiDonato (yes, all of them)

Official link: Met Opera on Demand

Gounod, Faust (1859), Metropolitan Opera 2011

The opera: A very simplified version of Goethe's tragedy Faust, a scholar makes a deal with the devil, seduces a girl, then regrets it.

The video: Instead of a 16th century devil, the seducer here is 20th century science. Basically Faust is a scientist who works for the military, his work haunts him and kills everyone he loves. The video itself is serviceable, I just really like the concept.

Notable singers: Jonas Kaufmann, Rene Pape

Official link: Met Opera on Demand

Verdi, Don Carlos (1867), Paris 1996

The opera: Based on Schiller's tragedy Don Carlos, it's about a crown prince who is very bad at his job and in love triangles with literally every other character. Heart-rendingly sad. I love it.

The video: This is pure eye candy, everything is unbelievably aesthetic and well shot, the gestures are fantastic, there's a lot of stage blood at one point. Mildly 90s camp but in a good way.

Notable singers: Thomas Hampson, Roberto Alagna, Waltraud Meier

Official link: medici.tv

* Mostly based on whether I think the opera and production and video (and audio) are good. Very much my personal taste; I'm not an expert. I'm linking to official (paid) ways to watch them, all of them can also be found on the internet in various places, but the subtitle situation might be dire. Enjoy responsibly.

[jalwyn21]

This! If anything, the fact that he stayed so long with her makes me think he might be a super empath.

It's a known fact that narcissists specifically target people who are very empathetic or very kind because those people are easier to manipulate. Factor in what literally everyone who has ever known or worked with Joe has said about how lovely he is and how sensitive he is to other people's feelings and how he wants people to feel safe on set along with what was happening with the hate train against Taylor in 2016 and the way she probably did make herself seem like the completely flawless victim, it's not surprising at all he would fall for her. And let's be real, at the age of 25, he was probably extremely flattered that an international superstar would be so interested in him that he didn't think about anything else. But obviously reality had to sink in for him at some point and we have Taylor's own music to tell us that she did keep a tight leash on him to keep him from leaving with all her manipulative behavior. But eventually he did manage to break free of her and now he's thriving even with the negative attention that she keeps trying to thrust on him. And even the way she harnesses her fanbase is such a red flag. What other celebrity does that to the extent that she does. I have my criticisms of Selena Gomez but even she told her fans to stop harassing Hailey and Kylie while Taylor is actively encouraging her fans to go after Joe.

There is one thing that I feel doesn't get talked about which is how she suddenly became besties with Sophie Turner when she was divorcing Joe Jonas. Now, Sophie was in a very vulnerable position because of the divorce and the way Joe was slandering her in the media by calling her a bad mother in an effort to stop her from getting custody of the kids so she could take them back to England to live a quiet life like she'd always wanted. And then suddenly in the midst of all that, Taylor involves herself and starts doing pap walks with Sophie Turner? I don't actually blame Sophie because I understand she must have been desperate and you really don't see much of her nowadays anyway. But what reason did Taylor have to get involved with the woman her ex was getting divorced from if not to gain clout as some big feminist. Bear in mind this was happening while she was still getting some heat for Matty Healy and the private jet thing so she was in need of some good pr. And it worked because the articles that should have been about how Sophie Turner was being treated became about what a girl's girl Taylor was to be supporting Sophie as Joe J's ex. It's funny because fans accuse Joe of going after Taylor when she was at her most vulnerable when Taylor literally did that with Sophie. And when was the last time we actually saw or heard her say anything in support of Sophie aside from the pap walks?

I think being with Travis works for her right now because it gives the illusion of her having moved on as well as give her the opportunity to be in the spotlight with a partner who also loves it as much as she does. But it is going to backfire on her because one narcissist can't exist peacefully with another one. At best, they will have a messy breakup where she will once again claim victimhood. At worst, they will eventually destroy each other.

At any rate, we can literally see how much better off Joe is away from her and the less attention he gives her or her fans the better off he will continue to be. I hope he spends his birthday celebrating with friends and family, knowing what a lucky escape he's had and that he deserves so much better than her

I'm sure he had a great birthday. He is well loved by both friends and family... and basically every woman he meets...

[b14augrana]

The idea about fight what if nena and other players are warming up in the sideline as they are not in the playing 11 and the match is going on when from behind the place they are standing some unruly boys are making crude comments about the girls and nena loses it when they boys insult alexia about her coming back from injuries and contract renewals and calls her bad words and being homophobic... Nena before any can stop just jumps into the stands and punches the boys and she is also punched back .. the game is stopped due to commotion and marta and ona is pulling nena back who is screaming insults at the boys and the girls in the field are rushing into it and securities are involved.....nena is taken back to changing room for treatment while the boys are taken away by security... After some investigation from the camera and the on lookers the boys are banned from the stadium for life while nena is suspended for three matches but she doesn't care... Well to say nena has a long talk with the barca club, coaches and the veterans while sporting a black eye

She sits through a whole lecture from Jona about getting into fights and her suspension, but she doesn’t really care that she’s getting told off. All that matters to her is they didn’t get away with talking bad about Ale and they never got to the point of talking about anyone else

[birues]

may I have some “theron: i don't trust like that” for the wip roundup pls 🫶

Oh this one is delightful! Thank you beloved 💜💜💜 Theron gets his first debriefing from Jonas Balkar about this new strange owner of Nar Shaddaa's Sith cult. takes place right after act 1. My man had no idea what fate had in store for him 😭

Theron takes a sip from his caf. “An extraction operation then.”

Jonas shoots a lopsided smile. “Well, that was the plan, but it might’ve gotten a lot harder. Or easier. We don’t know yet. When you were away, the cult changed hands. And the first thing the new owner did was…renovation.” Jonas points at him with the pen Theron just threw at him. “Yeah, close your jaw. I didn’t think one of their own would get him sooner than we would either.” 

Theron’s face hardens. This is either incredibly good news or a total mess. No wonder even Jonas is tense as if he’s riding a hammerhead into the minefield. 

“Who is the new owner?”

His fellow agent abruptly stands up. “Now this is the interesting part.” 

He projects a figure to the holo, clearly taken from a public speech. The figure’s arm is reaching, like a promise. Their style is made up of a mixture of robes and expensive-looking armor. Black, dark purple. The skull mask follows suit, is it taken from a real creature? Their upper arms are bare and donned with geometric tattoos, the green hue of their skin clearly shows in the holo. A Mirialan. 

“This is our gal,” Jonas announces with all the gaudiness of a reality show presenter. “The current owner of the Cult. They call her the Great Healer. She’s even changed the Cult’s name accordingly.” 

Theron puts out a dry snort. “She looks more like someone who would unleash great diseases, not otherwise.”

Jonas shrugs. “It certainly sells better than ‘Screaming Blade’. Cozier. Eh, people ought to call you that when you clean up the most obnoxious plague that scorched the Nar Shaddaa refugee sector for years. No matter how much you look like you’re the embodiment of terror.” 

He raises a brow, that’s no small deed.. but…  “I doubt she did it because of the goodness of her heart. What do we know about her? Must be a big shot if she managed to dethrone a rooted parasite like Paladius. ” 

“Well,” Jonas drawls, “Not exactly. She was just an apprentice.”

“An apprentice took down Paladius?!”

“Wait until you hear other things she is involved. Remember Nomar Organa? House Organa’s precious Jedi Master? They have confirmed it was her who killed him. Colonel Malcom declared her as a high-priority target the next day.”

Theron blinks. “You’re saying this apprentice has not only killed an established Sith Lord, but also an experienced Jedi Master?”

Jonas doesn’t seem fazed at all. Theron bets on his next R&R time, the asshole even enjoys witnessing him being completely dumbstruck. “If it makes you feel any better, she isn’t an apprentice anymore, those were old news. Intel says she retired her master permanently and took her place.” He wiggles his fingers through holo.  “With Kallig’s body count, Darth Zash should’ve seen it coming from parsecs away.”

“Kallig?” that name sounds familiar. “That’s her name?”

“She only took the name recently. I asked the Jedi. There was actually a Lord Kallig during Tulak Hord’s time. Our Kallig Jr. claims to be his descendant. There’s no way to know for sure, of course, other than the glaring fact that she is insanely powerful… It doesn’t matter, even if she isn’t related to Kallig, she has claimed his name.”

[etapereine]

pretty please 🦅, 🧐 and 🤡??

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

for longer fics, i definitely outline - although that may look different based on the fic. for the martian au it involves a literal scene by scene including time stamps but the scene descriptions are kind of vague. for shorter stuff it varies, but i’ll usually have a few bullet points that are broad plot outlines or general vibes that i’m going for. that said, some of my favorite things i’ve written were done pretty much in one or two sittings with very little outlining.

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

one could in fact argue that i spend too much time researching and not enough time writing, but alas. i do a lot of cross-referencing race schedules and such, since these boys are all over the place all the time and i can’t keep track of them otherwise. i also spend a decent amount of time looking up “how far from ____ to ____” or “weather in ____”. half the time the really in-depth research (hello, top olive oil producers and austrian professional football teams) goes absolutely nowhere, but what can you do.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

at one point my jonas/juan fic featured an epilogue with the jumbo visma group chat sans jonas and i had a lot of fun with the texts and chat nicknames. (highlights included “demolition dylan” and “slovenia’s next top model” - sepp came up with all the nicknames himself thankyouverymuch)

fanfic writer emoji asks

[thesilentmedium]

What a Tree-t || Jonas & Cassius

TIMING: When the goop was still around SETTING: The Bread Cemetery PARTIES: @thesilentmedium & @singdreamchild SUMMARY: Jonas find out the lonely man online was actually his former history teacher. WARNINGS: None.

He hadn’t made it a habit of eating actual food as of late, but he felt a need to appear at least human so as not to get into (more) trouble than he was already in. That’s how Cassius found himself at the entrance of the Bread Cemetery, a name he found he couldn’t pass up. After all, anything with a more macabre name made the goth vampire feel right at home. Knowing he couldn’t back down after coming all this way, he stepped through the threshold and into the bakery. As soon as he looked over the counter, he saw a familiar face. 

He couldn’t remember exactly when the younger man behind the counter had been his student, but it was enough to turn the blood in his veins to ice. He was hoping it wasn’t too long ago. He already knew he was starting to overstay his welcome in Wicked’s Rest for having ten years’ worth of students already. Before he could talk himself into leaving, the younger man looked up at him and smiled. There was a hint of recognition in his eyes. 

Shit. 

Taking a step toward the counter, Cassius rocked back and forth on his feet and clasped his hands behind his back. “Apologies, but after being a teacher for so long, I’m bad at remembering all the names.” He spoke, an apologetic smile spreading across his lips. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the man, and suddenly, it clicked. “Jonas!” He spoke, pointing a finger at him and nodding his head, then remembering further details about his former students. Apologies, he signed as he spoke. I had forgotten that you were hard of hearing.

Jonas had been a little bummed out lately due to Zane putting distance between them, not that he would ever complain. Zane needed space and Jonas would give it to him and if Zane decided he wanted to stay friends permanently then Jonas would honor that too. What else was there to do? Fighting for something someone else didn't want would just lead to negative feelings between them and Jonas wasn't much of a fighter to begin with. No he would simply support Zane as best he could without overstepping the other man's boundaries. He still wanted to be close to the other man even if there were no romantic feelings involved. 

Jonas let out a little sigh, almost not noticing the figure approaching his counter. Normally at this time of night the bakery was mostly empty, giving Jonas time to lose himself in his thoughts. So when a form did finally enter his field of view Jonas was startled, standing up straight and opening his mouth to apologize before recognizing the man in front of him. It was his highschool's AP European history teacher. What was his name? He should know all of the girls in school had a crush on the young man, there had been quite the buzz when the young man joined as a new teacher, Jonas had also found him quite handsome in his younger years.

Though his teacher still looked very much the same as he did ten years ago. Jonas normally wouldn't think much of it past a very good skin care routine if it weren't for the fact he knew vampires were very much real now. The baker racked his brain for the man's name, feeling a little bad that his former teacher seemed to still remember his. “I must admit I am not very good with names either.” He took a little moment longer before the name clicked, “it is good to see you again Mr. Hawthorne.”

He wasn't sure if it was still appropriate to call him that given that he hadn't been his student for quite some time, but Jonas had never learned the man's first name. “Welcome to my-.... my mother's bakery. Is there a particular pastry you are interested in?”

Cassius smiled as the former student said his name. It was nice to be remembered, even if one had to work hard to think of it. As a teacher, he had long taken it as his job to remember as many of his students as possible. It was no secret among the students and faculty that he was popular with his students; he was young and dressed differently from everyone else, and it also helped that he wasn’t too hard on the eyes, either. He took that in stride, though. He was long used to boys and girls alike acting embarrassed in front of him. 

Jonas had been in his first class of students when he had first moved to Wicked’s Rest, and he had been a good student. The more well-behaved and astute the student was, the more Cassius had a chance of remembering them. Well, them and the ones that annoyed him incessantly. Thankfully, that wasn’t Jonas. After being a teacher for as long as he had, he didn’t get nervous when transferring schools. He was a seasoned pro, even if he had to act like he wasn’t when first starting in a new place.

“Please, you haven’t been a student of mine in a decade.” The vampire waved a hand at the younger man. “Call me Cassius.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, Cassius realized he hadn’t introduced himself when they conversed online. “Seems that we were talking with one another without realizing it.” He explained. “You invited me to stop by, so here I am.” 

Cassius looked at the various baked goods behind the glass counters. As a vampire, he didn’t really have an appetite of sorts. Not for food, anyway. Still, he’d eat from time to time to keep up appearances. But as of recently, he hadn’t been doing so. “Your mother's bakery, hm? Well, you do a fine job taking care of the place.” The vampire nodded his head once, hands still clasped behind his back. 

“Cassius it is then… I invited you to stop by?” Jonas took a moment before realizing the man he had assumed was some lonely soul on the internet was in fact Cassius. He felt a little embarrassed, so confidently inviting his former teacher to stop by for a chat. Did people normally keep in touch with their high school teachers? He didn’t think so in fact he was pretty sure most people actively avoided their former mentors. High school was an awkward time for everyone involved and while he was sure he never did anything embarrassing in Ap History, there was always a chance he forgot something the older man might remember. “You are the man who dislikes rabbits. I did not know that about you before. Or that we would end up having a conversation about vampire trees.” 

Jonas offered a warm smile at the praise, “I am glad you think so. I hope she comes back soon and enjoys what I have added to her store.”  The bakery had definitely become more lgbt themed since he took over. Jonas hadn’t meant for it initially but the customers seemed to take to it rather well which only encouraged him to add more. With the addition of pride pins, thanks to Andy’s suggestion, and little flags it had become quite the hot spot for the queer folks of the community and he enjoyed giving them a place to feel accepted. 

That was something the young man had struggled with in his youth, perhaps not due to the fact he felt romantic attraction to other men but more to the fact that his father never did seem to want to accept him since his birth. It didn’t matter if Jonas was gay or straight to Jacob, he was worthless all the same. His senior year had been a particularly hard time for the young man. It was the same year he had run away with Lil. 

“How have you been Mr-... Cassius? Have you figured out anything else on what a tree vampire might look like?” Jonas did his best to get his mind off the past. It had been easier to do when he wasn’t constantly surrounded by it. 

Not able to deny that the entire encounter with a former student was a bit uncomfortable for him, Cassius shoved down the feeling. He wasn’t about to leave just because he knew the guy. “Yes, bunnicula and evil vampire trees.” He chuckled as he signed, rolling his eyes at himself. He tended to act a little silly online from time to time. Because if not online, then where? He looked around the shop, noticing the little pins and flags everywhere. “It’s good that you’ve made a place where people can feel welcome and safe.” He said, smiling softly at the representation of different orientations around the place. “I’m sure she would be quite proud of your accomplishments.” 

Cassius had long had a reputation in the school for being the best teacher to go to when kids were having trouble with bullies or accepting their own identities. He had a pride flag decal on the window of his classroom door to let students know that it was a safe space. He didn’t exactly hide that he wasn’t straight, but he wasn’t actively announcing it to the world either. 

He blinked as Jonas began to speak to him, drawing his attention back to the present. “I’ve been… well, as well as one can be when surrounded by strange goo.” He decided to answer. One couldn’t exactly thrive when unhoused. “Oh yes, I have considered what it looks like.” He laughed at the idea, shaking his head. “Definitely a dead tree, spindly arms, and a classic hole in the middle of the trunk with fangs. Has to be a vampire somehow, yes?” 

He looked at the different pastries, deciding he couldn’t leave without buying something. “What’s your favorite?” He asked, pointing to the display case. He felt bad knowing that he wouldn’t really enjoy it. Sure, he ate food occasionally, but it was more to keep up appearances than actually needing it. He drank blood for that.

“I am glad you think so.” It was all Jonas could hope for really. His mother was as dear to him as Lil was and her opinion of him mattered a whole lot. She had accepted him from day one and made sure he knew it. She was also the reason for his kindness, she had hammered it into his skull more often than not that people needed someone good in their life that would accept them no matter what. It was probably why he was so good at his other job. Ghosts, afterall, were just people who at the end held onto something so tightly it kept them with the living. 

“I am sorry you have had to deal with the goo. If you need any help with a place to stay or just food in general please do not hesitate to ask.” Jonas was already handing out his leftovers to the folks in town who needed it the most. His home also currently had vacant rooms to offer up, at least to those he knew. Sure he hadn’t met his former teacher in years but that didn’t mean he would turn him down if a room was needed. “That does sound about right for a vampire tree, though I do think it should also wear a cape. I believe those are often worn by vampires in stories.” He had never seen Zane in a cape but this was a fake tree vampire, why not have a little fun with it? 

Jonas beamed at the question as he reached around to pull down a still warm loaf of pumpkin bread. “This is the best for an autumn night! Especially with milk or a nice tea. I can cut off a few pieces if you do not want the whole loaf. I will take what you do not wish to have home with me.” The perks of being the baker, he often had the first pick of leftovers. 

Cassius waved a hand in dismissal. He didn’t take hands out he didn’t need, even if they were coming from a place of compassion. “I’ll be alright. There are people out there that need aid far more than I do. But I do appreciate it.” He was lucky, he had wealth in abundance and didn’t need to worry about where he would stay to avoid the sun. Sure, he’d lost a few things, but they were replaceable. Things were always replaceable. 

His thoughtful expression turned into a smirk at the further discussion of vampire trees. “If I were a vampire, I’d wear a cape.” He spoke with an innocent smile. Of course, he was a vampire and, in fact, did wear capes. He was a horrific stereotype of a vampire and he didn’t care. “Then again, I would wear a cape even if I wasn’t a vampire.” He admitted at last, knowing he dressed like a Goth kid’s dream come true. 

As Jonas began to show off his recommendation, Cassius smiled softly. It was nice to see former students of his out in the world doing what made them happy. It was good to see Jonas in an element that made him happy. “Well, I don’t want to deprive you of leftovers.” Cassius signed with a glint of mischief in his eyes. “I’ll take a few pieces, sure.” He clasped his hands behind his back, waiting patiently as Jonas did his job. It was always hard for him to talk to former students. Of course, the other former student he’d run into not that long ago had been Lil, Jonas’s sibling. Still, he was good at faking through his discomfort when needed.

Jonas offered an understanding nod, “Hopefully they can get the help they need.” If it weren’t for the stalkers and break-ins into his own home recently, Jonas would have readily opened up his house to those in need. Fear that one of them would come inside, however, kept those doors closed. What he was doing by offering the leftovers to those in need would have to suffice, the bakery was much more public than his home and with so many eyes it was doubtful the people following him would try anything.

“A cape would suit you wonderfully.” Jonas had always been a strong supporter of wearing what makes one happy. He didn’t see the logic in mocking someone for putting on something a little out of the ordinary, they were comfortable and having fun. There was also no harm done to anyone else so what was the big deal? His own cross dressing was supported by this ideal. Dresses and skirts were comfortable, just because he was a man didn’t mean he should avoid them. Cassius in a cape or the typical goth get up was very much the same. Who was he hurting by being a little more showy? No one. 

Jonas set about cutting the slices and carefully wrapping them in a bit of brown paper, finishing it off by holding the package closed with the bakery’s custom sticker. “These go well with a nice cup of tea or coffee.” He smiled as he slid the parcel over before ringing the man up. “If you are ever in need of pastries again please do keep the bakery in mind, I would be more than happy for you to stop by again. Perhaps I can go about changing your mind on rabbits. I do make some bunny themed sweets for easter.” 

As the packaged pastry was slid toward him, Cassius gave a bright smile and nodded his head. “I’ll be certain to keep your business in mind when I’m in need to sate my sweet tooth.” He took the package and held it close to his chest and gave a nod of his head. Once his total was given, Cassius handed over his card, then pocketed it again when it was given back, making sure to give a good tip when it prompted him. “It was good to see you again, you were always a good student. I’m glad to see you doing well for yourself.” Cassius looked around the shop once, then nodded again. 

“It may be a lost cause on the rabbits, but I’m always willing to hear out someone’s point of view. I’m always open to being persuaded otherwise.” The blonde grinned before heading toward the door, looking over his shoulder and quickly signing “It was good to see you, Jonas. I’ll be sure to return in the future.” And then Cassius slipped back out onto the street, sweets in hand and a smile on his face knowing that both Jonas and Lil were still in Wicked’s Rest, doing well for themselves. He did his best to remember as many of his students as he could, knowing that he had a small part to play in shaping them, at least where history was concerned, at least.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Interest in Gaylor seems to be on the rise after Taylor’s breakup, and some fans are speculating she might be preparing to CO (as what identity is another question - like with Harry there is debate over her label). Obviously Taylor has had many confirmed BFs, but I wonder if she were to CO (and I’m doubtful of that at least near term but am not the most informed) it would be simpler for her than Harry bc many of the men she’s been linked to have had speculation about their own sexuality. Harry, Tom, Jake, Joe…

However, I don’t think it’s wrong to think a key part of Taylor’s success has been her ability to make fans feel connected to her life through the her songwriting which includes referencing specific men (the red scarf, the stitches, the london boy, and so on). If she were to CO does she lose fan trust? Maybe not as some already interpret her lyrics through a queer lens and understand the concept of “stunt” songs (and she has many songs not necessarily about her or romance at all). Like you said just publicly dating a person of the same sex without giving a specific label would be the slow burn way for Harry or Taylor to CO as gay (if one or both identify that way) without completely canceling out past public relationships. Society does sadly seem to be moving backwards in some areas but there does seem to be more understanding sexuality is not a checkbox, fixed state for everyone.

I definitely don't think that the fact that there are rumours about many of the men Taylor has dated makes it simpler for her to come out. I think one of the complications of coming out, after you've publicly been linked with another celebrity, is ensuring that they are not outted to.

For Taylor, I don't think this is as much of a problem as it used to be. Joe Jonas and Jake Gyllenhaal may have sex with men, but Sophie and Joe's relationship is pretty persuasive, as is the collective impact of Red Taylor's version on Jake's image and life. But I definitely don't think it makes it any easier.

In terms of coming out, I do think that if Taylor has been attracted to women and she wanted to share that, she could probably do quite an amazing job of retelling her story so that people experienced it as an expansion of what she had already shared. It is her super power. See how people are so quickly recasting her and Joe's relationship.

Emotions around shame and having to keep stuff secret are very relatable - I think Taylor could write about being confused about her feelings, feeling like she had to hide them, and even revealing specific songs are about women in a way that brought people in. It also helps that Scott Borchetta sits there as a very easy villain who would only need to be gestured at.

I don't think it's useful to understand publicly dating someone of the same sex as a slow burn way of coming out. It's coming out - it's just coming out in a different way. Coming out does not have to mean revealing all previous relationships were fake (and it doesn't mean that all previous relationships were fake) and I think it's really useful to distinguish between the two. At the moment, celebrities just don't reveal previous relationships are fake, unless they happened years before. I think it's useful to take that as a starting point, rather than assuming coming out involves revealing previous relationships are fake.

[bestofsophieturner]

Sophie had haters for a long time, from the very beginning of her career. Those who didn't love Sansa, they projected it on Sophie and they were angry that Sophie had many fans and that Sansa had fans too, so they started looking for something to find fault with in order to spread hatred to ignorant people. After all, everything that the haters accuse her of is all made up and not real, for example, some likes of some posts about Megan and the royal family in the director's account, it was during the dubbing of the cartoon, where many famous actors were involved, who also liked the same posts, but as hate, it goes only to Sophie, because her haters want to hate her and invent all kinds of things. And people also forget that actors do not always manage their Instagram account. And so for everything that her haters are spreading hate on her, it's the same as the smear campaign that Joe is running and the fact that her new haters, or rather fans of Joe and the Jonas Brothers, are writing all kinds of things about her, so who cares. By the way and throughout Sophie and Joe's relationship she had haters from his fans so some people hated her because she married him and took away their dream or they wanted Joe to be with someone they fantasized about, there were rabid fans of the couple Joe and Demi (although I didn't think they should be after the Jonases did with Demi), and Priyanka's fans were hating her. I hope I have written everything clearly, otherwise it seems to me that my thoughts are chaotic. So in conclusion, who cares about the haters and their worthless opinion, they are poor people who should be ignored. I think Sophie herself is already used to haters and has learned not to pay attention to them, and I hope that Sophie knows that people are very supportive of her, that the majority is on her side.

Everything was clear no worries. Exactly like you, I think we should just ignore them at this point. Sophie needs all the support she can have. Obviously she'd have some people disliking her and criticizing her... nobody has zero haters. But if we pay attention to them, they will have more importance. It's absurd to look at what they're saying...