#i’m also at a point in my career where i’m honestly just so very busy all the time and between that & other life stuff

[johndonneswife]

Ms. Venus pleasssse share your impeccable taste in the form of pinterest boards with the class, thank you. Also I miss your presence on Tumblr and I selfishly wish you had plans to come back to the fandom side of things but I’m wishing you the best from afar!!

i would totally share my beautiful boards with u if not for the fact that i had a full blown meltdown on pinterest abt yuri on ice and i have soooo many freaking yoi pins lmao and iiiit’s a lil mortifying actually. but i promise my wedding & fashion moodboards are 🤌🏻

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @66sharkteeth

66 is a comic artist and the creator of City of Blank, a WEBTOON original series. They worked in the game industry at companies such as 2K Games before entering the field of comics. They began their career in comics at Tapas, where they worked as an editor and lead typesetter, before being signed to create their own original series on WEBTOON.

Check out our interview with 66 below!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

The short answer is yeah, I’ve definitely had one. Overall, I feel like doing a lot of style studies during that time and trying to use new brushes helps a lot. In addition, because I’m a comic artist, I feel like writer’s block is in the same field, and with that, I’m really fortunate that I have an editor that I can work with, who helps me a lot there. Whenever I am stuck at a plot point in my comic, I can always go to my editor, who helps me hammer things out.

What medium have you always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

Animation. Of course, everyone loves animation. I went to school for game art and design and even did some animation courses, and I am just not cut out for it. I don’t enjoy the process, and I am not good at it. Animation is beautiful, and I admire people who can do it. I’d love for my work to be animated some day, I’m just not capable of being the one to do it haha.

Warm tones or cool tones?

It really depends on the scene! Especially in my comic, I really go with both of them, just depending on the moment in the comic. There was a major character death, and that scene was almost black and white. But normally, the comic is very vibrant, and people really like it, so when I switch it to a more cold tone, it makes the scene that much more impactful.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

Honestly, my current comic, City of Blank, takes up 100% of my time. But recently, I did a plushie campaign where I worked with Makeship through Webtoon to design the plushies and do a little bit of marketing for them. So that’s fun and different from what I normally do!

When planning a comic or a story, what do you do first, character design or character outline?

Normally, I have a design, and I fall in love with the character design, and then I find a role for them. That’s how a lot of my characters have started. Also, that’s how I’ve been tackling new projects that I want to work on after City of Blank. I just came up with a character, and I’m trying to make a story around them.

What is a convention experience that has stuck with you?

Meeting readers and realizing how much my work means to some of them. Some of them have started their own comics, having been inspired by mine. Learning that I’m part of the reason they started their own comic journey, the same way I looked to other inspiring comic artists to start mine—it means the world that I’m in that position now.

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Let’s see…bright, sparkly colors! I think just trying to make sure that the booth is eye-catching. I ended up making a big shiny banner for New York Comic Con, and I know many people stopped by because it caught their eye and they’re curious about what it is. I know a lot of people are selling merchandise of popular media. Even just a banner of your brand to get them curious about who you are and maybe interested in seeing what you make and taking a business card so they can look you up later. It’s better than someone just buying a pin and forgetting you exist. Lastly, put out a tip jar. You never know just how generous your fans are feeling.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

I’m mostly involved in the webtoon sphere! I am definitely inspired by my fellow Webtoon creators, @lark-wren, who created the series Woven. I love their work and seeing them interact with their readers on Tumblr. Same with fellow Webtoon creators, @miranda-mundt-art and @astrobleme-enterprises, who created Lovebot.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, 66! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @66sharkteeth and follow their webcomic, City of Blank, over at WEBTOON.

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Hi! I’m curious on what you thought on the accuracy of Suetonius. I was researching Augustus for a project and came across this article called The Sincerity of Augustus (or smth along the lines I don’t really remember) and in it the author states that what Suetonius had said about Augustus’s personal life and actions that was in contradiction to his morality laws at the time is propaganda and gossip at best. And he brings up how the files that Suetonius used was biased against Augustus because they were from the upper classes/Senate at the time and they were not happy with Augustus in power. However I also read that Suetonius is generally believed to be accurate and I see a lot of people cite him in their arguments. I guess my question is also what does “generally accurate” mean and what does that extend to? But sorry for the long ramble and thank you so much!

Suetonius' Twelve Caesars is valuable and useful--if you know how to read him critically. A few things to keep in mind:

Iulius and Augustus are much better researched and more balanced than the biographies that follow.

Suetonius is not trying to mislead you or write propaganda. He's earnestly telling you what he thinks is true.

However, he is opinionated, and his judgment of an emperor often biases how he portrays him, or which facts/anecdotes he chooses to include.

He can be overly credulous, like when he claims a ghost stole Julius Caesar's trumpet...

Iulius, 32

...Or when he believes the story of Caesar getting suspended from his office as praetor for starting trouble, even though the Senate didn't have the authority to do that at this time:

Iulius, 16

Suetonius is also a great example of why citing sources is so important in nonfiction. If he names a specific person or text as his source, you can often guess whether a story was true based on what we know about that source. For instance, Suetonius' story of Caesar eating perfume oil comes from Oppius, a friend of Caesar who supposedly witnessed the incident himself, and it's too weird to sound like propaganda, but it could easily be a stunt, joke or accident (Caesar: "I meant to do that!"). So I think it's probably true.

Iulius, 53

And if Suetonius quotes a letter or book, like the writings of Augustus, then the quote is almost certainly real, although the book itself might be biased:

Augustus, 51

On the other hand, it's hard to tell where the lurid allegations about Tiberius' sexual abuses on Capri came from (Tiberius, 42-45). Suetonius doesn't tell us where he heard of it, or how his source could have known such details from an isolated island a hundred miles from Rome. It's more likely that the allegations reflect rumors from people who didn't like Tiberius, perhaps from Caligula in his early attempts to distance himself from his predecessor. We should be cautious whenever Suetonius neglects to cite a source, especially for stories that are hard to prove or disprove.

He does try to name each emperor's good and bad points honestly, especially in his earlier biographies. But his bias is still pretty thick. In Iulius, Suetonius believes that Caesar's overweening ambition motivated his entire career, and to support this theme, Suetonius names several examples of Caesar plotting to overthrow the government long before he crosses the Rubicon. On closer examination, most of the anecdotes are impossible to verify, or don't make sense. Like the time Caesar was supposedly plotting against the very government he'd just been elected to:

Iulius, 9.

Caesar was ambitious, like all Roman senators, but sabotaging his own job would've been counterproductive. Suetonius himself then describes how busy Caesar's aedileship was, which implies that Caesar had always planned to use the office to its fullest.

Other biases in Suetonius' work don't come from Suetonius himself, but from multiple waves of propaganda influencing the stories he had access to. It's likely that Tiberius' miserliness and depravity were exaggerated by Caligula to contrast with Caligula's own largesse, and Caligula in turn was vilified by Claudius' regime. Emperors that die naturally tend to be remembered as neutral or positive, while those that get assassinated/overthrown are usually demonized to justify their killings. This is not just a Suetonius problem, though. You'll find it in many classical texts.

What I'm saying is, Suetonius is valuable, and he's earnestly trying to tell you the truth. He's also a lot of fun to read! But you have to think carefully about what he says:

What are his biases? What story is he trying to tell, and are there holes in it?

How plausible is the story given what else we know about the circumstances?

Does he give you a source for that story, or is it just rumor or received opinion?

Do our other sources support or contradict it? Try cross-referencing the story with Cicero, Plutarch, Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Appian, Flavius Josephus, and Velleius Paterculus. (Each of whom is also biased in a different way!)

What biases might've influenced the available texts and popular views of Suetonius' time, and thus Suetonius' own views?

Even if Suetonius gets something wrong, the fact that he thought it was plausible can still tell us a lot about how Romans in his era viewed each of these emperors.

I'm kind of surprised to hear someone claim Suetonius' sources were biased against Augustus, since Augustus is by far Suetonius' favorite of the twelve Caesars. But I'd have to read the article and compare it with Suetonius' biography to form an opinion of that.

[fablekitty]

Hey, I know I am the last person you wanna talk to rn, but my life is in genuine danger (still) because all I wanted was for a apology for the misconception.

I honestly meant no harm at all, and https://www.tumblr.com/lunarsilly/725681668334256128/all-i-wanted-was-for-fable-alologize-for-the

If you read this it will make a lot more sense.

I’m low empathetic and it takes a while for me to feel epmathy, and I think it’s hitting me like a bus

I never meant for you to be harassed anything (as I said in my OG callout posts) and I have not ONCE put your life in danger.

However, Davis has put mine in danger cuz he took some things I said in the wrong manner and it has caused me to get harassed to the point where I have to deactivate most of my accounts.

No, this isn’t ‘karma’ at all because I didn’t even want anything bad to happen to you and I didn’t mean to be malicious, all I wanted was for people to be aware that you could have possibly done this stuff, and benne like

“Hey, I have a choice if I wanna continue supporting them.” And unfollow if they please.

I have not once tried to put you or anyone else in danger, all I was doing was being like “hey, this can be seen as sams since you tagged it as such.”

Also to call you out for your ableism towards your own community.

That whole ‘no TSBS fictives and no factives’ rule is not only ableist, but it further Demonizes DID by saying that alters are their source when they aren’t,

People had a choice to support you, and I hadn’t meant for it to become this huge thing because a mess up in my wording )which I mostly wrote them at 1-5am, mind you. There’s going to be some mistakes since I was obviously running on 2-4 hours of sleep, and I always apologized if I said anything wrong in Davis’s DMs)

I get why you’re upset but this whole thing has gotten me death threats and it has also put not only me, but my family at risk.

Anyways that’s pretty much it, dm me on this app if you wanna respond.

This whole situation began because instead of trying to talk things over with me, you instead chose to cast a stone at me publicly. I’m not unreasonable. I would gladly have clarified anything you were concerned about, whether it be the claims of ableism or concerns about Lulu’s design. Instead, you publicly accused me of being a pedophile, not once, but twice. Which. I won’t lie; is a VERY harsh accusation that shouldn’t have ever been tossed out on a whim. The first was in a comment thread on one of Davis' posts, the other was a public callout post. You cannot downplay it by saying you just wanted to 'spread awareness' and 'let people choose to support me.' All I wanted to do was be left alone, and you wouldn't have it. 

You took my art and made fun of it, called me names, called my partner’s alter names, and tried to make connections to an accusation that wasn’t there to begin with. I have co-workers that follow my SFW account on Twitter. I could have lost my actual job over this. You losing your Twitter account is not comparative to my entire livelihood. You can say you never wanted me to be harassed, but you slandered and insulted me all over Twitter and Tiktok during the entire duration in which this all played out, not to mention all of the posts and videos about me being ableist and treating me like some sort of class traitor.

I only spoke out about it when I was at the end of my rope, which you also mocked and slandered, and thus the harassment continued.

Davis reached out to me about it because after doing his own research, he saw it as unfair that I was being falsely accused of something that could literally ruin my life and career and put my safety in danger.

I didn't ask him to post it, and I certainly wouldn't have asked him to take so much time out of his busy schedule to research and write that entire google doc. All of the accounts he posted there are public socials, all of which have the Lunarsilly moniker attached to them somehow. He's never really talked to me much if at all outside of this situation.

As for the comments made towards people who were clearly against you, entirely unnecessary. If you wanted people to stop and leave you alone then you should have never responded. This stirs the pot and makes more trouble, it also makes you look bad.

I can't convince people to stop attacking you, despite telling them not to come after you in my last tweet about this situation. I can't order Davis to remove your socials from the google doc. All we can simply do is drop the subject and move on.

None of this would have happened if you just came to me first instead of airing out dirty laundry into public places where you were fully aware I was in. Next time you think you've been wronged in some way, instead of acting out, take a step back and breathe. Walk away from the computer/phone and clear your head so you can think straight. That is my absolute best advice to you.

I understand that you're only 15 and probably have some stuff going on at home, and the last thing I want is for anyone to get hurt. Death threats and doxxing are wrong in general, let alone to a teenager, and if you're reading this and have done either of those things to Lunarsilly, I am incredibly ashamed of you.

As for the damage? My alter is traumatized by the claims you've made. My early design of Lunar was never canon. His design belongs to me and I can use it however I please. He is not canon show Lunar.

Speaking of Alters, I want to address the ableism thing.

Once again, all this stress could have been avoided if you’d have just come to me privately on Discord when this was first addressed. I asked you politely to please keep alters of real people from the show avoidant of fronting in the TSBS server. I asked this of you with the knowledge of what was written in the moderator handbook that each moderator must read and follow in TSBS, and had no idea it wasn’t written in the public rules. I will admit fault for not checking that. It was never my intention to come off as ableist towards you nor anyone else.

We didn’t just come up with rules on a whim. We put rules in place to try and keep everyone in the server safe and comfortable, systems and otherwise. Ultimately, the bottom line was that some of the voice actors from the show found discomfort in seeing alters of themselves and their characters in the server, and the business that owns the whole shebang also agreed, and their word is final.

I entirely understand the frustration behind having alters from the show. I have a few of them myself and so does my partner. Yes, they are not their source. But that doesn't prevent the original creators, or actual person from being uncomfortable, much like some alters are uncomfortable with doubles. Everyone's system is different. Mine isn't large. It's not small either, but my alters all do have one thing, a mutual agreement to work together and harmony. If that's something you can't control, then I'd recommend staying out of larger servers such as TSBS.

I was also never obligated to tell you that I'm a system. I don’t exactly go out of my way to make sure every individual who interacts with me is aware of this information about myself. However, if you ever took a moment to look in my discord profile, you would have known. The first line that is on my profile on Discord is “Marshmallow System-DID” and it’s been there this entire time.

All I want is to be left alone. I want this all to finally be dropped so we can move on with our lives. I’m old and tired and simply do not have the time or energy to keep putting towards this situation. Just please, move on and leave me be.

[moonjxsung]

Hi Bestie, Can I throw my hat in the ring here? Ok so I have family who are musicians (My dad and my mom. But by dad has been with big names all of that), I myself have been in a movie along with a few other things. Including studying graphic design (Big parts were marketing strategies and executing those). I notice that I am not completely affected by the marketing in K-Pop and I believe that is because of the fact that I have been in both places. I got the red carpet treatment, and I've been the fan many MANY FUCKING TIMES. So to that anon, it's honestly the marketing and the dedication of the idols to protecting and perfecting their brand. They are the masters of self control because how can you NOT CURSE SOMEONE OUT who is yelling at you to expose yourself on a street, or yell at fans who are TRAMPLING EACHOTHER IN A FUCKING AIRPORT??? There will never be a time where they leave their house and cameras aren't pointed at them. Hell they caught Chan in a CVS for fucks sake, (given the fan was so sweet and kind, kept her distance but that is a rare occurence) Think about it. They can't curse someone out, take their family to a sports game, they can't fuckin walk aloneeeeeeee... Poor Hannie. I am like Han, a socially anxious introvert who if I feel like too many people are around me, I am full on claustrophobic, panicking and asking god "WHY ME?". I digress, Nonny, it is all by design, and just take the time to back away from the content and think to yourself, "this is their job. They are very good at it. I hope that they are doing well. Not as the performer (Because SKZ are crushing it), but as the person, the people." There is a quote that a famous person said, I forgot who exactly but they said, "I am human like everyone else. I Piss and shit like everyone else. I just do my job, in front of a camera."

Omg I know this isn’t the point of this message but you’ve been in a MOVIE?? bestie that is so fucking cool omf and your parents are musicians THAT’S ALL SO COOL AHHHH

Also completely agree with this!!! I think the best way is to just step back and look at it from a business perspective and understand that especially in idol culture there is such an obligation to look and act a certain way and very little room for slip ups. I’m similar to Han too, I can get really anxious when the circumstances aren’t right and I’ll often have to leave a social scene altogether when things feel like they’re going awry and I can’t handle it. I can’t imagine not even being able to openly voice that in a career like theirs, it must be so difficult :( also side note but these airport fans…. Sheeeesh. I’ve never seen such a disrespectful group of people. The way they’ve just normalized crowding and shoving idols at airports is crazy to me ☹️

[emmedoesntdomath]

Pulitzer, to start with

you know, I feel like this was one of those moments where you side-eyed me and was like, “really, emme? really? you’ve got nothing? nothing at all?” until I admitted that I did, in fact, have headcanons for him. honestly, if that passive-aggressive-ness ain’t friendship, I don’t know what is. #friendshipislowkeybullyingandimhereforit #loveyousparkedblaze

so joseph pulitzer was obviously a real person. he was originally from hungary, and moved to the united states at age 17 as a recruit for the american civil war (“I was fighting in a WAR”). his family was wealthy, and his education consisted of mostly private tutors. when he immigrated, eventually ending up in st. louis, he brought none of that wealth, and didn’t speak even the smallest bit of english. he worked odd jobs, waited tables, and in his free time, studied. legend has it that while he was studying, he began making commentary about a nearby game of chess under his breath in german. unfortunately, the players spoke german. more fortunately, they took note of his intelligence, and offered him a job at a somewhat-prominent german daily newspaper. he accepted. 

four years later, joseph pulitzer had become a force to be reckoned with. he had successfully made a name for himself in the journalistic world, and bought his first newspaper in st. louis at 25. five years after that, he ventured to new york in search of a doctor for his health later than year, and ended up negotiating a deal for the new york world, which wasn’t doing well at the time. he was thirty. over the next decade, the world’s circulation grew to exceedingly great heights until it was the largest circulating paper in all of the united states. 

of course, these are just the highlights of his journalist career. I won’t go into detail about his political one. 

(…yeah. this man wasn’t someone you messed with. I have no idea why the newsies thought taking on him was a good idea, let alone how they won.)

and now for the fun stufffffffffff

he was the father of seven, yet katherine is the only kid mentioned in newsies??? and only the stage production??? my best guess about this is because she died at two, and so there’s not really much you could “get wrong” or offend people with (also, it reminds me of the using of philip and theodosia in hamilton, but that’s entirely besides the point). either way, what I’m saying the purpose of this was, regardless of the truth, is that THIS katherine also got sick young, but instead of passing away, she slowly got better through a very touch-and-go childhood. therefore, he’s ridiculously protective of her because that’s his daughter, dammit, and he’s not going to lose her now. 

something that I always noticed in livesies was how…american he was??? like, he brought up american football. I don’t know what’s more american than that. 

he just reminded me of every midwestern dad I’ve ever met, and I think that was somewhat intentional, so I’m rolling with it. I’m guessing the real joseph pulitzer was like this, too, so we can pretend it’s based in historical evidence. 

he goes out of his way to not act like an immigrant. this is pretty common, considering stereotypes, prejudice, and racism, but pulitzer was jewish, and very obviously so. this made his life that much more difficult, and it probably would have been easier to pretend that english was his first language and that he was as patriotic as they come. so he didn’t flaunt that he was an immigrant as well as a veteran, politician, and businessman. 

he would have never let his daughter become a journalist. or associate with someone like jack at all. just saying. 

I love how cutthroat they made him in the musical. realistically, he didn’t fight the newsies THAT much, but it’s really funny to me that this great business mogul was waging petty wars against literal children. 

he feels like he could be a surburban dad, flipping burgers and wearing a kiss the cook apron while his seven children run around in the backyard with a dog. I have no idea why. (someone draw that fanart for me PLEASE)

also, he named katherine after his wife, kate.

[thecleverqueer]

People that Bo-Katan has dated or slept with:

1.) Rook Cast-

Okay, so this one may be a stretch, but that fight that they had during the Siege of Mandalore didn’t come from just anywhere. This was probably Bo’s first girlfriend. She and Rook were young in their Death Watch days.

2.) Ahsoka Tano-

The chemistry between Bo-Katan and Ahsoka was undeniable. Honestly, Bo had the hots for Ahsoka from the moment she laid eyes on her (as clearly described in her actions). I honestly don’t blame Bo, who wouldn’t? The energy between them during the Siege of Mandalore was also very homoerotic.. and I tried to write it off, but I could find no heterosexual explanation for the long, sometimes sensual glances Ahsoka shot Bo. Also worth noting that Bo found Ahsoka worthy enough of Beskar armor emblazoned with an iron heart. I think it’s cute that they keep in touch after all of those years had passed too. They were girlfriends at some point during the Rebellion. Bet on it. Bosoka is probably one of my favorite Ahsoka ship if I’m being honest, but I don’t think they could ultimately end up together. Ahsoka is like a busy, career traveling aunt that has zero time for a healthy, normal romantic relationship, and Bo’s desire to lead Mandalore will leave her sedentary but also extremely busy.

3.) Koska Reeves-

For me, it was that moment in the seedy restaurant where Bo makes some underhanded comment about Boba Fett being a clone, then Boba goes to strike her and Koska basically jumps up, all but dumping the table over to kick his ass. Bo then has to reel the situation in. It felt further confirmed when we saw the cold distance between Bo and Koska now. They had a nasty break up.

I’m hesitantly not putting the Armorer up here. I honestly love this ship in the moment though, especially since they opted not to canonically ship Din/ Bo… which at times, I was certain would happen because heteronormativity is a disease that plagues fiction, and hets feel it is absolutely necessary in story telling when it absolutely isn’t.. but look at them not annoying me with it. I chuckled because the arguments that were made for Din/ Bo could absolutely be made for the Bo/ The Armorer, but the hets were adamant about me being crazy and seeing something that wasn’t there… to which I pointed out to them the obvious fact that neither was the Din/ Bo thing. And, so they came for me, and made me delete every anti-DinBo blog I’d created…because holy shit it is exhausting.

[sugareey-makes-stuff]

I was hoping to get this out a couple of weeks ago, but life presented a series of unexpected events and things, so here we are. Better late than never, so happy belated birthday, @vdoshu! Gosh, where do I even start when it comes to all the rare pairs doshu delves into? I’m so happy I got to know them through the Rare Pairs server, because it has been a delight to read about so many different ships I normally don’t seek out. I absolutely loved what doshu did with their fics for HP February Frankenfest 2022, where they wrote 18 works for 9 different challenges! Wowww! That had to be insane and tricky to take on and manage, but number of stories about different ships that came out of that? Amazing. Doshu certainly owned it. I love how they’re also willing to take a prompt and turn into something more, whether it be something soft and pure, fun and playful, or deliciously dark or sexy. Being able to read more about rare pairs we don’t see has certainly warmed my rare pair heart and helped me appreciate characters who don’t get the spotlight shined on them enough. Thanks for broadening my horizons, friend! And while we’re at it, here are some of my fav doshu fics: 👓 >>> They (Percy and Oliver, G, 1.2k)

Summary: In a moment of courage, Percy writes new pronouns on the paperwork for that upcoming job at the Ministry. Oliver notices.

The second person PoV is so powerful here. It really puts an emphasis on how important details and the use of words are within a given environment. As a person who accepts “they/their” as pronouns, I think we all want to make sure we have a support system of folks who can embrace us for who we are. People as a whole want to feel seen, and yes, that’s exactly this story is about. I love that Percy has that from Oliver, without even asking for it. 💖 🌹 >>> Fifty Fake Dates (Ginsy, M, 200)

Summary: She couldn't remember who had asked first, but she knew that tonight would mark fifty dates.At some point along the way, they'd stopped feeling fake.

I have no idea how doshu did it, but this is legit what Ginsy is right here! This little snippet of what they are and what they want from each other is perfect. It’s just so them. There’s desperation, sexual tension and want, but underneath all of that, there’s so much more. Love, love, love! 🥒 >>> Zabini’s Zucchini (Blaise/Ron, E, 7.2k)

Summary: There have been rumours about Zabini's massive zucchini. Ron Weasley needs to investigate.

OMG. So, I know this was based off a prompt that was kicking around from the last Rare Pairs fest, and when doshu decided to write this afterwards because it wasn’t claimed (yet), it was everything we could ask for. Like the tags say, this is crack treated seriously. Yes, it’s crack but it’s sexy, hot crack? I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve always liked Blairon, but like damn! Ron’s PoV here is well written, especially with him spying on Blaise to see what he’s up to, and lol, I’m sure you’ll have different thoughts about what one can do with courgettes after reading this. Heh. 🕰️ >>> Thursday Night, 8-10 p.m. (Hermione/Percy, M, 1.3k)

Summary: Hermione is much too busy with her career to honestly put the effort into a relationship, and while it took her some time to wrestle between her desires and her society-imposed expectations, she finds that she prefers things this way. She can seek out companionship in her friends when she needs it. She can seek out social interactions with coworkers at the Leaky after work, or at the SPEW admin offices at the weekend. And if she needs sex, she can pencil it into her planner like any other appointment, thank you very much.

I love how this is so on point from Hermione’s perspective, and how there is absolutely no sex on-screen. It’s honestly not needed. The fact that consent and negotiation is handled so well between Hermione and Percy by the way they communicate with each other...it just works. I’d love to see more of these two, since they are truly people who don’t beat around the bush and they know how to state exactly what they want. These lions do not mess around. Rawr. 🩲 >>> Leathers and Lace (Flintwood, E, 7.7k)

Summary: Things were much less complicated when Wood played for a different team.

HELLO. Okay, so this is def one of my favourite Flintwood fics because the way things are slowly revealed over time is refreshing and clever. We usually see the boys going full force when they get injured, but there’s a lot of exploration about the aftermath, especially for Marcus. And boy, does he discover a lot about himself and Oliver. Marcus’ thoughts and narrative is 10000% him, lol. Grumpy, doubtful, and he really doesn’t give himself enough credit. Also, knickers, and more than one pair! Yayy, my fav! The UST between Marcus and Oliver though is chef’s kiss, as teammates and competitors. It really crackles through this whole fic. Such a spicy read that’s so worth it! You can find more of doshu’s work on AO3. Make sure to leave kudos and comments to show appreciation for their fandom contributions. doshu, please keep blessing us with all your rare pair goodness. I hope the week is treating you well so far! :)

[greentrickster]

Hiiiii hope you’re doing wellll

Anyways I have a lot of Saturation brainrot thoughts but I have a few points I’d very much like to compliment you for, I’d love to hear your thought process if you have any regarding these

- it is so insanely cool to see a fic where the other character actually KNOWS their feelings are reciprocated, because like yeah oblivious to romantic feelings and all is cool to see, but it’s actually so RARE for a ship to be aware that their feelings are indeed mutual, and I think that’s one of the defining things that make your fic so unique in terms of being a Narumitsu story. Like it’s cool to see Edgeworth knowing this, and I love the funny scenes that come from him knowing this and sort of messing with Phoenix (playfully) with that knowledge

- Second, THANK YOU so much, for not doing that thing with like, getting other characters involved to “force these two to get together” Like yes there is a subtle push, mostly with Edgeworth being encouraged to acknowledge his feelings regarding Phoenix near the start of the fic, but after that it’s hands off for all other characters and Edgeworth and Phoenix figure out their feelings and admit to them on their own. This may be a personal thing of mine, but.. I don’t.. really like fics, that kind of like… have the AA side characters try really hard to get them together, like I get the intention is good nature, and yes I guess IRL it’d be hard watching two people who you think you’re certain are very much in love with each other, do nothing for years… but like.. I feel people forget ultimately that that isn’t THEIR decision to decide that, also like… there’s that line of consent too? Did these two character ever consent or ask to get pushed along by their friends?

It’s a tad difficult for me to put into words but like.. basically I’m just saying I appreciate you letting this be a story that very much centers around Edgeworth and Phoenix when it comes to their feelings. Yes other characters are there, but they aren’t there for the sole nature of pushing along a pairing. I like it a lot more when a pairing naturally comes to their own conclusion on their feelings, than supposedly others getting involved to give a “gentle push.” Encouragement is fine, in little amounts I don’t mind at all! But big grand actions is just kind of.. Not really something I enjoy seeing in pairing fics, I suppose.

Hi, I am doing quite well today, and I hope this finds you well, too!

In regards to the feelings being reciprocated, and how rare that is in fics and fiction, that's actually kind of why I did it this way. I adore stories, both original and fan-created, and I consume a vast quantity of them. They are my Special Interest. Combine this with my ADHD and being thirty-four, and I'm at the point in my reading career where I tend to notice certain patterns in storytelling and, if I've seen them done enough times, get inspired/motivated to try doing something different. Not saying I'm the first or only person to do this, obviously, but it is one of the key factors that drives my creativity - it gives me a chance to try new things and explore the characters and the world (and, as anyone who hangs around my blog or has looked through my AO3 works knows, I love me some world-building and character-building in interesting situations)! I'm really happy to hear that you've been enjoying the results of my exploration for this fic! ^U^

In regards to not having the characters try and force anyone together, you're welcome, and same, honestly. The only time I like characters plotting to get others together is if they're so busy making plans that they don't notice the two characters getting together on their own in the background, and then these two proceeding to mess with the plotters when they realize what's going on. That can be fun! But if it's played straight? Then it's not my cup of tea, either. Sometimes a character needs a little nudge to get the ball rolling, like Edgeworth did, but beyond that, yeah, I'd rather create a situation to allow the relationship to grow naturally than have characters within the fic manufacture the same situation.

It may have been difficult to put into words, but thank-you so much for making the effort, I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about and also this was just a lovely ask to receive in general - I've been mooshing my face in it for a few days just to soak up all the positive vibes! ^U^ <3 <3 <3

Thanks for the ask!

[dark-ambition]

Two headcanons about my version of Angel Dust that I’ve been mulling over recently.

(Under read more for length)

One being that he is very obsessive when it comes to his looks and how good his body looks, both to himself and others. He cannot handle it when others aren’t attracted to his body, not in the sense that “I need them to think I’m sexy”, but more of a deep, nasty rage where he just feels insulted and slighted if someone doesn’t show any interest, a very much sort of “you have fucking garbage taste” spiteful bitterness. That sort of egotism and bitter rage toward being seen as unattractive is a result of many factors. One factor simply because, that’s just who Angel is, he is naturally a very selfish person that loves to be the center of attention and hates it when people don’t see much to him/don’t think he isn’t worth the time of day, and another factor is because his looks are the sole reason he’s even in his career to begin with. To Angel, to stay in the game of the porn business, to continue to be the success that he is, he’s Gotta Be Sexy And Fuckable™️ to as many people as possible because if he’s not then. There goes his career, his worth as a person, his stardom, everything.

Obviously that is far from a healthy mindset, and part of it is born from Val working his ass constantly ragged in the porn scene, always constantly having to put on a sexy show for the masses every day of the week, but it’s also part of a more genuine fear response that maybe one day his own looks won’t be enough and a prettier looking face will up and take his place and then he’d be left out on the pavement.

The constant strain of his work has also affected him in another way. He’s developed a sort of latent nymphomania problem, where his body and mind have become so acclimated and attuned to sexual pleasure that it’s practically an addiction in and of itself to him. Sure, the thrill of most sex has long since worn itself out in his mind and his constant porn work has him seeing most sex as dull and drab, but also like…It feels good, it’s easy to do, and like drugs or booze, he can easily do it by himself or with someone else. It’s an addiction that he has a hard time shaking because his mind has both grown numb to the pleasure and also dependent on it just because of how much sex he does. To the point that he needs more and more of it to actually tire himself out make himself really get into it.

There are times when he can’t think of anything else to do so he just. Decides to jerk off. He’ll end up finishing, and then like 30 minutes later, he’s right back where he started so he’ll just start jerking off again, and so on and so forth, until he just spends the day in bed jacking off because he just can’t think of anything better to do. He often has a hand down his pants/has a habit of rubbing himself between his legs when he’s standing around or by himself just because again, it gives himself something minor to focus on. A little bit of sexual pleasure to take the edge off of his bored mind. Men/women, whatever a person has down their pants, doesn’t matter, he’s just willing to do it for the sake of just fucking and feeling good as a distraction, and it’s enough of a change for him to be into it, if not lazily so. He still has fun with sex, it still feels good, it’s not like he’s just sitting there staring at a wall, but he’s just so used to sex as a form of stimulus that it becomes just as openly natural as drinking or smoking, so most enthusiasm for it has gone out the window. It takes a lot for him to really get into anything anymore and if he finds someone that does give him that rush, he’ll be honestly pretty obsessed with them.

No one really notices because he always tries to at least put on a show or an effort for the person he’s fucking too. He won’t just lay there like a wet towel, he’ll do foreplay, participate, dirty talk, all that good stuff. He’s just doing it to make the sex more pleasurable for himself. Add a little kick to it to see if he can squeeze just a little more dopamine out of his system to give his orgasms more of a rush, like wringing water out of a wet towel.

[purplesurveys]

1620

Spell your name without any R's, I's, G's, or E's: Obyn.

Is there anyone on your mind? Nobody, really. I don’t usually think of people – instead, I’m always just looking for the next thing I should be worrying about lol. 

Describe your bra: It’s a black tube bralette. Do you ever want kids? I did for a time. I wanted to be a mother. But my previous relationship turned out to be very traumatic that I was turned off from that whole lifestyle altogether; not interested in dating, not interested in having kids, I don’t even daydream about my wedding anymore. I’m excited to have nieces and nephews though! I feel like I’ll live out my love for kids through that route instead. What are you looking forward to this summer? I’m so sick of these season-related questions.

How are you doing in school? I had to give a fuck for me to be doing excellently; but I didn’t care for most of my classes so I was more of a boring above average student instead. Did just enough to pass every grade without issue, but I also had the occasional achievement like getting the highest exam score in the class. In college I was more proactive in doing better since I wanted to graduate with honors, which I was able to do.

What color do you like most today? Purple.

Rain or sunny? Rain!

Live close to a beach? Not at all. You’d have to drive north or south to the provinces to get to the beachy areas. Otherwise, in this area, it’s just one concrete jungle after another. What does your hair look like, normally? Dry and frizzy. It looks a lot healthier when the temperature is lower, but obviously we never get that here, so dry and frizzy it usually is.

What are your thoughts on marijuana? I don’t have much of a relationship with it other than having a bad experience last year. I know it has a medical debate around it too but I honestly don’t know much about that side to have a stance. When was the last time you spent the night with someone? That would be two Saturdays ago when I had friends sleep over.

What song are you listening to, if any? I Need U by BTS just started playing.

Pretend that you are five years older, what would you be doing right now? In another country drinking wine even though I hate it to feel fancy.

What subjects are you good in? History and any kind of social science, really. Ever kissed someone whose name started with an X? Nope.

Any complaints? My braces are so tight and uncomfortable and I just wanna get back to eating more solid food.

What's your favorite alcoholic beverage? Cocktails.

Do you miss anyone? Just BTS.

Who's on your top friends? Social media doesn’t do this anymore.

--

1. Is there something you have been trying to learn lately? I think Korean counts? I’m always constantly trying to pick up new phrases and sayings and vocabulary to add to my mental bank. I can read Hangul at an acceptable rate now and can even distinguish satoori at this point...but grammar is just impossible to master. I never know where the nouns and subjects and verbs go hahaha.

2. If you ever feel like you are different from your extended family, in which ways is this? In some ways. I am most definitely NOT religious, which is blatant on both sides. A portion of my mom’s side is actually pretty modern-thinking (not homophobic, fine with same-sex relationships, the whole shebang) which I appreciate; though my dad’s side is generally super conservative and has the shittiest political opinions so on both fronts we’re very different.

3. When you think about your future career, do you envision yourself becoming the head honcho or CEO? If not, why not? No, I’m not interested or even knowledgeable about running-the-business type of things and don’t think I’d be capable of doing a good job at all. 4. Is there something that you are sort of weird about talking about? Like, a thing that other people find casual, but you feel uncomfortable when the subject comes up? That’s a good question. One thing would be the pandemic – all my friends are pretty well off so none of them were actually affected too much and all of their stories are just “I learned how to do this or that” “I spent all my time doing this or that”; but both my parents are in the hospitality industry and were hit pretty hard, as was our family altogether. With no money flowing into the home, every day was spent worrying if we’d be able to afford groceries, when they can be able to work again, hoping none of us get sick so that we didn’t have to spend on hospital bills, etc. It was the closest we ever got to poverty.

This is not to say that I’m ashamed of the fact that we had to sell one of our cars or that my dad had to be a delivery worker that entire time – I am especially proud of the latter – but it’s just a topic I hate venturing into only because I never want to remember the struggles we went through anymore. 5. Can you think of a time when you seriously misjudged a music artist based on their name? Oh I remember judging “Beyond the Scene” way too fucking much when I wasn’t into K-pop yet. 

6. Do you ever make negative comments about other body types? How does it make you feel when you see or hear negative comments about your body type, or a physical trait that you have (even when it’s not directed at you)? Uhm, not really but it’s also because I never get into conversations where I get to talk about different body types. As for comments...I don’t care. I feel pretty comfortable in my own skin, so hearing stuff about my body type doesn’t faze me too much. It most likely comes from insecure people, anyway. 

7. If you are in a situation where you feel like you are being attacked or not respected, how easy or difficult is it for you to stay and keep your head rather than leave in a huff? I either bite back or stay doing what I’m doing until I’m able to prove myself to those people.

9. When you think about how attractive you feel and your favorite features, are you comparing yourself to a societal ideal? Eh, not so much. Again, what matters to me is simply if I feel comfortable and confident about myself. If the answer to that is yes, that’s all I really need.

10. If you have a favorite song right now: What is it? How did you first hear it? Why do you like it so much? Closer by RM, Paul Blanco, and Mahalia. It actually used to be one of my ‘least’ favorite (or at least, least listened to) tracks off Indigo, which is funny due to how my relationship with it eventually panned out. I’m now obsessed with it and is one of my top favorites from the album.

I love the song because it’s very...honest. Real. Raw. I don’t think I’ll ever forget about the despair in Joon’s voice when he sings “Stay where you are.” 

11. Have you ever had someone that has been your friend for a while come to you and tell you they had romantic feelings for you? How did you respond, and did the friendship survive? This has happened, but I was on the other side of the coin; I was the one who did the reveal. The next day they told me the feelings were mutual, and we were together from there on out. No, the friendship didn’t survive when we broke up 6 years later.

12. Hypothetically speaking, if Hillary Clinton were running for President as a democrat against Chris Christie as a republican in 2016, who do you predict would win the election? Wow, US politics, can totally relate.

13. When you are getting to know someone new online (particularly someone male), how cautious are you of the possibility that they are serial killer/kidnapper? I don’t like making guy friends online as they might be a creep.

14. If you are talking to someone that you want to get to know, what are your go-to conversation topics? What subject makes you disappointed when another person isn’t interested in or knowledgable about it? Usually I just kind of poke different topics here and there until I can pinpoint an interest of theirs, regardless if I’m familiar with it or not, so that they can start to open up. I love to see people get all excited about the things they love :)

As for the second question, I don’t usually get disappointed! Different people are into different things, so if someone isn’t into K-pop or Breaking Bad or YouTubers or whatever, I don’t get affected and I just try searching for something else to talk about.

15. Say you have a lot of free time and want to join a club or class. You are browsing postings on local bulletin boards and online. What sort of group would you be interested in joining (e.g., book club, game group, crafts, golf lessons, etc.)? Anything related to K-pop or learning Korean history/culture/language.

16. Have you ever kissed someone that you didn’t really want to kiss (not assault, just indifference)? Why did you go along with it and how did you feel after? No. I’m asexual as asexual gets so I’m very clear about not being a fan of intimate physical contact.

17. Have you recently learned anything about your personality? If not, have you ever consciously tried to change your personality? I have recently learned that I am not as trusting of people as I think I am, particularly work-wise. I haven’t realized that I have the tendency to do 10x more work than is required of me, oftentimes leaving my teammates dry with nothing to do; until Bea told me straight up to learn how to delegate because that’s the only way everyone else can learn how to do things.

18. Are you or any of your friends in a sorority or fraternity? Would you be interested in belonging to one? I cut off everyone I know if I find out they’re part of a frat; but one of my closest friends from college is part of one. I still correspond with him but we never raise the topic of frats; but if ever it does come up I also wouldn’t hesitate to call him out on it because gross.

19. Can you recall a recent time that you were surprised, but in a bad way? Last week when I was headed to Kim Seonho’s fan meet! I was SO excited to head to the arena and get my ticket processed and get to my seat and all, but I totally missed the memo to wear blue (I was wearing the brightest yellow jacket known to man). I was already at the elevator which would lead you to the arena when it was quickly evident that I was the only yellow-wearing motherfucker out of the sea of blue, so naturally I panicked and decided right then and there that I was gonna have to take a quick sprint to the mall to get the first blue shit I’d find lmao. 

20. Do you feel uncomfortable when you receive praise for doing certain things? If so, does this make you less likely to do those things? Not uncomfortable, but I just deflect the complements haha. But I find the next question weird – why would I stop doing something when it’s clearly the ‘right’ or ‘acceptable’ thing to do?

21. Do you make spontaneous purchases often or rarely? When you are upset does it make you temporarily happier to buy yourself something new? Nah, I’m not that spontaneous anymore and have been more conscious of what I’m spending on and how much I’m saving. The most reckless I get these days is just getting food delivery and manipulating myself to think “I deserve it” because “I’ve worked hard,” lol.

22. If you have to wake up early for something, what time is just TOO early for you to be there and be presentable and sentient? Have you ever had to be somewhere that early? 6 AM and 7 AM calltimes are beyond ridiculous. Fortunately I have not had a lot of those.

23. Have the majority of your romantic relationships started with a physical attraction or a deeper connection? Deeper connection.

24. Do you ever catch any of those conspiracy shows on Animal Planet, like Bigfoot hunting or proof of Mermaids? Do those shows make your more or less likely to believe in the existence of such creatures? Nah.

25. Did you ever write a fan letter to a celebrity? How about submit something to a magazine? Yeah I submitted this written material for a magazine when they were giving away an iPod shuffle to the best entry. I never heard back from them.

--

What do you think makes you a good girlfriend or boyfriend? I’d pretty much bend over backwards to make them happy and comfortable. I also remember things, which as far as I know is something people appreciate.

When was the last time you went to the movie theaters? What movie did you see? I went in 2019 to see Knives Out which I personally had no interest in seeing but because my partner at the time wanted to, I went ahead and kept them company and tried to appreciate the movie too. I hate having to keep giving this as an answer (both because it’s been repetitive over the last three years and because of the person I watched it with), so I’m OVER THE MOON in sharing that I will be going back to the cinema this Wednesday to watch Yet to Come: Busan with friends! I have an outfit picked out, I’ve had my leave filed for the last three weeks, and I’m just so ready to go and relive the show again.

Did you ever go to a mental hospital? No. Just like the rehab question I answered in a recent survey, I don’t think we even have reputable mental health facilities here. Anything to do with issues like teenage pregnancy, drugs, mental health etc is a very underdeveloped sector here.

Do you watch the show, Ghost Whisperer? How about, NCIS? What two completely different shows haha. No, I’ve never seen either.

Do you like s’mores? Nah and I don’t like smores-flavored stuff either. Way too sweet and I dislike marshmallows anyway. Do you like to watch those old scary movies, from like 1980? I’ve seen a few, like Carrie, The Shining, and The Exorcist; loved them all.

Does your mom/dad smoke? They don’t.

How often do you take a shower? Every other night. But during hotter months, I do it daily. Do you wear flip flops in winter? We don’t have winter.

How old are you? I’m 24.

When was the last time you went to a concert? What band? Hmm...does a fanmeet count? They’re basically set up and promoted just like a concert, but since the main attractions are actors they do entertaining stuff like play games, answer quirky questions, and recreate scenes instead of sing. Anyway, I went to Seonho’s last Sunday and had so much fun. Do you ever have hallucinations? I do not.

Do you believe that weed should be legalized? I guess, for medicinal purposes. Idk enough about the marijuana discourse to have any stronger opinion though. Did you ever feel someone was following you/watching you? Not for real; I just get paranoid easily and assume people going the same route as I am and are matching my pace are following me.

Are you one of those over-obsessed Twilight fans? When I was in elementary school when it was big, for sure. I had multiple copies of the first book, attended midnight screenings, had posters up in my room, and even bought those behind-the-scenes photobooks. I’ve definitely been tamer after the movie series ended, but people still know me as the Twilight megafan and I’m not ashamed of it hahaha.

Got any scars? How about bruises? I have scars from falls I had as a kid, and one big one from Cooper. I don’t think I have any bruises at present.

Have you moved here from a different country? I’ve never moved to a different country.

Are you afraid of the dark? I’d only be scared if the situation was meant to be scary? like if I’ve found myself at an abandoned hospital or whatever, haha. But generally I am not, and when I sleep I really prefer it to be pitch black. Have you ever been stalked? Fortunately, no. Do you like when people tell you they love you? It feels nice but as I am not an openly affectionate person, I can feel kind of awkward saying it back. The only people I’m comfortable saying I love you to are my close friends.

Would you say your taste in music is in a very broad spectrum? I wouldn’t say it’s a spectrum; it’s more of straight-up extremes haha. I largely listen to K-pop/rap these days but sometimes I’d revisit my punk rock favorites. Don’t really listen to anything else in between.

Have you ever had a significant other with a mental disorder? Idk, probably. 

Do you like doing laundry? Not really.

Have any siblings? How many? I’ve got two.

Do you like beer? Dislike it but I would get a bottle if everyone else at the table’s drinking.

Do you sip your shots or down em all at once? Down just to get it over with.

Have you ever counted your scars? Back during my sh days yeah.

What website do you spend way too much time on? YouTube. I have videos playing all day, man. What is one thing that you absolutely despise about your personality? I put myself in too many inconvenient situations just so that others can have it easier. I have to learn how to be selfish lol.

What two colors do you think look best together? Beige and olive green.

Do you take any medications that make you nauseous? Nope.

Have you ever tried Nutella? Yep. I don’t like it as a spread, but I can enjoy Nutella-flavored stuff. Idk if it that makes sense? like I need Nutella to be mixed with other ingredients (Oreo bits, almonds, etc) for me to enjoy it, because otherwise I find it too sweet on its own.

Are you a person that enjoys re-reading books? No, but I like re-watching comfort shows, like Friends or Brooklyn Nine Nine.

[hellohels]

Life lately

For so long I haven’t really written down anything. Writing down my thoughts and feelings was an escape for me back then. I feel like when I am writing them, it somehow helps me cope with all the emotions I am feeling. 

I haven’t written down anything the past years, maybe because the emotions I have right now, isn’t something I want to escape from. It’s something I want to feel and let it grow in me. 

Last 2019, I got married. I got married so quickly, everyone was surprised. I was surprised to. I met my husband through bumble. When I used to use online dating apps. I do set my expectation that it will always be a fling thing. 

Don’t get me wrong, even thou I set that expectation to myself in the back of my mind. I’m still me, who is a sucker for kilig moments. I easily fall into traps. I met guys that are just into fun. I met guys who are loyal but doesn’t really go into commitments. It came to a point where I told myself, I am done looking for someone. I am done giving my feelings right away. 

So when I met Rupert, I wasn’t really expecting anything. (Hell I wasn’t expecting to getting married to him). It was one of the moments where I think oh, its another fun fling. 

The first time we saw each other, it was not the typical meet ups where you know it will end as just one hook-up. I met him with my friends. I just imagine how weird it must be for him, to meet someone for the first time and have their friends there. But honestly, the first time I met him, was the first time I also knew he was different. He didn’t really tell me to just reschedule because I was with my friends. He was okay with it. 1 green flag. 

The 2nd green flag im giving him. Was he never initiated that he wants a hook-up. I remember we had weeks of talking, meeting up to eat dinner and watching movies. From the North, he would go to BGC after my work just to spend time with me and go home. There was no intent of pushing me to go and sleep with him. 

I was very busy with my life when I met him. My out of the country trips. My career moving so fast. I have made big decisions with my life. And he was just there supporting me. 

2018 was when I first moved out from home. I moved to Pampanga for work. He would visit me in Pampanga, and go back to qc for work. I am sure, my first few months living alone wouldn’t be as easy if it wasn’t for him. 

2019 came, and my dad being himself of course has been bugging me that we should get married. Because he knows he stays with me most times. I thought, well, I am in this relationship not just for fun. I knew it was for the long run. So we decided, well. We don’t really have to wait. We got married a month before our anniversary. My friends told me to not do it. Hell I had doubts. 

I was worried that it might be too early in the relationship. But here we are, still married. I have to say it was not easy at all. Marriage is really something else. My priorities shifted. It was not just me that I have to think about. My decisions are not just for myself. I always have to consider him too. 

My life really changed. We have been married for almost, 3 years now. I know that’s not too long. But I am very happy with what I have right now. 

Coming from a very toxic relationship, I never knew this was the kind of love that I deserve. The love that I don’t need to ask for love, because it is given. Love that will not give you doubts because he never gave me a reason to doubt. Love that is not perfect, but will still choose each other. 

Now I understand that love is indeed a choice. That someone can throw everything away, because they chose to. 

The feeling of success is different when you have someone with you in the path you took. Having our own car, building our own house. I don’t think I can be able to do this, without Rupert supporting me. 

So to my husband (who doesn’t really know I write here), thank you. Thank you for choosing me everyday. For not letting me feel that I should doubt at anytime. Thank you for supporting me with all the craziness that I do. I know someday, all of our dreams will come true. And I wouldn’t choose anyone else to be in this road we’re on. 

I love you.

[hisandsnakes]

This isn’t really an argument for or against him or anyone else, but Hollywood and many other industries are full of Zionist elites who can have anyone’s career ruined (just look at how many people have been fired so far from other professions, like journalists, simply for saying “Free Palestine” or liking Pro-Palestinian posts). So honestly it’s unsurprising to me why half of celebs aren’t speaking out publicly. Also wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than just career threats across all these industries tbh. I will say though, in regard to P, as you highlighted, he is a Chilean refugee whose own parents were forced to flee (with him as a baby) from a U.S-backed and Isr*eli-supported coup that put Pinochet’s fascist regime in power. He also demonstrated a Pro-Palestine stance back in 2021 when he still had Twitter, so I think we can at least guess where he personally stands. And to be honest, given how many other celebs have been posting neutral ‘both sides’ bs, sharing misinformation and spreading Isr*eli propaganda, I’m glad he’s at least not joining in on all that shit. We also just don’t really need every single celeb to ‘weigh in’ with their geopolitical commentary because most of them are ignorant af and tend to just take publicly neutral positions, which is not helpful, at all... If they can’t take the time to truly educate themselves before speaking or are afraid to speak, then the most helpful thing they can do is to just stop opening their mouths and start opening their purses instead to support Palestinian relief funds.

This also may just be my cynical side, but I really don’t believe that that ceasefire letter which Oscar and some odd-50 celebs signed to the U.S. government is going to do anything at all to make Biden’s administration move. It’s at best a hollow effort. The U.S. government will always, always support, fund, cover up, and LIE for Isr*el and all it’s atrocities. It WANTS Isr*el in the Middle East because they are essentially their military presence there—Biden himself defended Isr*el’s existence back in the 80s for this very reason. A colonial government that has interfered, divided, destabilised, destroyed, and massacred the Middle East for decades is simply not going to bend over to some celebs writing a neural letter politely asking for them to get Isr*el to ceasefire... A ceasefire alone will not end the apartheid and oppression; it’ll just go back to business as usual. Like these celebs are using only 2% of their brains if they think a ceasefire will magically solve everything. Netanyahu must also be tried for his war crimes. The IDF must be dismantled. And the Palestinians must have their freedom restored and ALL their occupied land to be returned to them. They should have included all that in their letter too if they want their gesture to at least be actually meaningful.

All that said, I think the only actual hope is the collective threat of Russia, China, and the global South all stepping in to intervene. The West needs to be threatened at this point because nothing else is working.

(Sorry for this mini-rant in your inbox. Witnessing the world governments’ active support for this genocide is the most infuriating, devastating thing I have ever witnessed in my relatively short lifetime. My heart breaks everyday for the Palestinians.)

Well don’t be sorry because this was very interesting to read and i actually agree with all of it.

Also i didn’t know P demonstrated a pro palestinian stance a few years ago, do you remember what he said ?

Same my heart breaks for the palestinians and i can’t stand the injustice..

Thank you for sharing your opinion and for your insight on this 🤍

(I wish i could say more but english is not my first language so i can’t find the words to express all i want but you did it so that’s good!)

[artemishuntbooks]

Ugh, this romance is so cute that it made me want to die. I laughed. I cried. The spicy scenes were HOTT. I really liked this book. Especially Daniel. I loved Daniel.

Daniel. What do I say about Daniel? Maybe, where can I get one? Does he have a brother? Are there any towns like Wakan who need a new citizen? I loved Daniel. He made me sad, a lot, but I loved Daniel. Baby, trust me, you are too good for her!! NOT the other way around. Trust me. I know. I guess it’s something about both having a higher education and coming from a small town, but something in me wanted to slap Alexis so, so badly. Like, sis. PLEASE. Gather up that man before someone else does, so help me. 

Alexis. Alexis. Well, at least you come around in the end. Idk. I just, I don’t know. I understand the need to fulfill your parents expectations. Like, I really, really do, but at some point? You gotta cut the cord babe. Sever it. With a knife. I just kinda feel like this was a long time coming? And, honestly, get better friends, bitch. Like, seriously. If they would make someone you love feel uncomfortable, they aren’t true friends. Like, if her career was so important to her? I totally understand that. That is a legitimate concern. But worrying about what some randos think about who you’re dating? Ugh. Puh-lease. I got so frustrated with her.

I loved Wakan. I thought I came from a small town, but Wakan? That’s a true small town. I wanna live there. And write novels there. And fall in love there. Be still, my heart. Also, I loved the animals in Wakan. Daniel’s dog. The town pig. The BABY GOATS!!! Please. All you need is a horse and a miniature cow and I’m sold. 

I also love a good friends with benefits to lovers. This isn’t the way I typically like my friends to lovers trope, I much prefer a good 4+ years of friendship first, but it was so cute. I love that Daniel and Alexis really seemed to know each other. They are friends first. They know things about each other. This was kinda dulled by the fact she was hiding so much, annoying, but I liked that they had chemistry and seemed to fit together well. It wasn’t a “you’re the only girl in the story” and “i’m the only guy in the story” so naturally they had to be together. They seemed to fit and that’s nice. I loved how they met, too. Like, babe. Meet uglies for the WIN!

Something else I found really interesting in this story is the fact that there was a lot of open, honest discussion about mental health. I think Alexis should’ve stayed in therapy, I think it would’ve helped her a lot, but I’m glad that she convinces her ex to get the help he needs. 

Something that kinda “icked” me was the fact that this is an age gap romance. I’ll admit, it’s not one of my favorites. I think an age gap can lead to a very uncomfy power dynamic, especially in situations like Daniel’s where his support system isn’t that great. Like, yes, he had to mature very quickly at a young age, but all that means is that he doesn’t have a familial support system to help him vet his future partner and ensure that she’s not taking advantage of him emotionally. I don’t think Alexis would do that. I think this is the best possible example of an age gap romance. However, I think it can be an issue sometimes. I’m glad that he was able to start his own business and be financially independent before they got together. It evens the playing field between them and gives him more agency in their relationship. 

Ultimately, I really liked this book. It was sweet and fun and gorgeously written. I highly recommend!!

Until next time, 

AJ

[twelvedaysinaugust]

I’m that long anon…Happy to say what I see. Sorry this is long again!

How does Harry view Larry? I have no idea. It’s so hard not to push one’s own viewpoint on him. He’s never mentioned it and I find that interesting but I also recognise the strategy. If he were to, he’d be giving attention to a mass of people whose attention is already possibly quite annoying/invasive. He never does that with anything controversial in the fandom. He does not give.

More Larry: right now, a number of Larries are using dirty tactics to defame his partner, really going for it as seriously as they can. I couldn’t know if he’s aware of that. If he is, I imagine he’d find Larry annoying or hurtful or cruel, something like that? But that’s me projecting. (Before anyone says it, I know there are Harries doing the same thing, and I know it’s not all Larries etc.)

I don’t know how he views Louis, but the fact that he’s not been seen with him for years is telling. 

I don’t know if he ever hated Louis, what I can glean from videos is that there are many times where he is irritated by Louis. Louis treats him initially like a pet - people like to see this as kindness, and maybe it is, but it’s also deeply infantilising on Louis’s part, and quite weird. Harry plays along, he plays along with all of the 1D stuff, he’s totally able to do that (because it’s work?) and is good at it, but there are times even early on where his face is kind of like ‘kill me now’. I see H+L and I don’t see cute; but I can see why people do, especially if they were young teens at the time.

The Euphoria thing is interesting because it happened around the time Harry was seriously starting to get into acting. He has a whole layer of connections in that world that only surface very occasionally. He went to see Jeremy O Harris’s play in NYC around that time. Jeremy’s gay, very accomplished, very well-connected. Harry seems to have a good number of similar contacts (think My Policeman producers/directors as well: it’s all an ecosystem). I imagine that was his reason for the follow, and nothing to do with Euphoria - but that’s conjecture. Of course he never spoke out about Euphoria; if he was annoyed by it or found it funny or whatever, we will never know. He never, ever does talk about anything Larry-related.

Sweet Creature falls into that category. I’ve listened to that and he was put on the spot, and it sounds to me like he wants to say ‘this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard’ but he has to fudge it, and does it badly. He will not give you the goods, he will not give any credence to Larry even by denying it. That was the only time I think that he even came close?

I think his marketing team made the Discord server aspect to You Are Home to keep the attention of the young Larries occupied, not to market to them per se. I honestly think it was as simple as that. Give them a few puzzles, they like that. It felt to me like keeping the kids busy while the grown-ups talk. Sorry. I know that sounds terrible but it kept a lot of chatter on Discord and away from the older market that he’s very definitely marketing to these days. 

I think he doesn’t treat Louis any way, he doesn’t do anything to link to him. Or to Liam, or even to Niall when you think about it, and he seems to like Niall. I think it is his strategy to only acknowledge the band in positive terms (he had fun, he learned a lot, it was a great opportunity) and not to go any deeper than that. He doesn’t talk about the individuals; Larry is a talking point for some fans, he won’t acknowledge it; that’s not singling Louis out for poor treatment. Logically, it’s not. He has just decided to not ever go there. His ambition is to have his solo career, and to accept the 1D days with a superficial amount of affection and humility, but I don’t think it interests him at all to deal with it further, and that very much includes Larry. (I do have more opinions on why he doesn't try to combat Larry but they aren't really for a blog where lots of people believe Larry is real. I'm on thin ice enough as it is!)

But who knows! None of us knows anything much. Unfortunately!

Thanks for coming back. I guess I have a few thoughts.

I really don’t see Harry and Louis’ early relationship the way you do. I can certainly see tension between them, especially later on. But I think Harry was actually quite infatuated with Louis. Four minutes before Louis’ famous AIMH tweet, Harry liked a tweet saying that he must be heartbroken now that Louis is with Eleanor. So I don’t think Louis’ feelings were one-sided. And maybe Harry was annoyed by Louis’ behavior some of the time. I can think of instances where that might have been the case. But I think that was the exception, not the rule. Most people who think Larry was a one-sided/unrequited thing see Harry as the one with the biggest crush and deepest feelings, so it’s interesting that you say the opposite.

Here’s my post on the Euphoria episode. Harry’s involvement was much more than a social media follow. Jeremy O. Harris credited him with an “assist.” This is actually one of the few times when Harry’s behavior towards Louis seemed very personally vindictive to me (I’ve compared that episode to revenge porn).

Larry talk was banned on the Discord server. I would agree with the previous anon that the actual marketing campaign on Twitter and Instagram targeted Larries. The puzzles and cryptic clues appealed mostly to Larries, and by the end, it was only Larries who interacted with the campaign. I do think the “Halfway home” connection was intentional. The replies under the YAH tweets were very telling and Manos Xanthogeorgis (head of digital marketing at Columbia) said “we read everything” and talked in depth about how the campaign was oriented. It doesn’t directly prove that Harry and Louis were in a relationship. But it does prove that Harry and his team leverage Larry for marketing.

It seems like we’re coming from very different places (which is fine) because our view of the past is very different.

[devilofsf-cisco]

Final Confessional

Mentions: Astrid, Chris, Emmie, Riley Notes: Cisco’s confessional

“Cisco! Hi, we hadn’t seen much of you for these confessionals.”

Cisco eyed the producer while taking a seat in front of the camera, adjusting the mic clipped to his shirt collar. He casually shrugged, “Er, well that’s easy enough to explain. I didn’t have much of a reason to come here.”

The producer tilted their head a little, “Well, as we told you before, the confessionals are asides where you can speak honestly to us about happenings on the is--”

“Oh, I know what the purpose of the confessionals are.” Pointing to himself, he said, “I work in the business, remember?” He then smirked, “What I meant was that there wasn’t anything I had to say in private that I hadn’t said out there on those cameras.” He jutted a thumb over his shoulder to the bungalow door a little ways away and behind him.

The producer suppressed an eye roll but Cisco could see the urge in their face.

“So,” he said, prompting them to continue on with the confessional.

“So,” the producer echoed, “How are you feeling about going home soon?”

“Relieved, mostly. No offense to the island or the people who are used to living out here but I’ve learned that I wouldn’t be suited for living out here. It’s beautiful out here, absolutely, but I’m looking forward to going back home.”

“And you and Astrid?”

Cisco waited, even leaning in after a few seconds for more of the question to come. When it didn’t, he asked, “Yeees?”

The producer quietly let out a sigh, “What plans do the two of you have once you’re back home?”

“Dates. Loads of dates.” He smiled, “Yeah, we’ve both got to get back to work, but we also have some overdue time with our dogs, and we plan to enjoy some dates that we couldn’t do with the restrictions of being here.”

Seeming to have satisfied the producer, Cisco then asked, “What about you lot? Have you got plans once all of this wraps?”

Clearly taken aback, the producer blinked and attempted to recover with a small, tight laugh, “Well, I’m sure we all do, but right now, we’re more interested in you and the other ship-mates. You came to the island already friends with Chris. Do you plan to hang out after you’re back home or will you two take some space from each other?”

Cisco immediately snorted, “You make it sound like he and I are dating instead of Astrid and me, and Chris and Juniper.” With a mocking and more posh weight to his accent, he joked, “Yes, I think some time apart is exactly what Chris and I need in order to grow closer together.” He chuckled, “C’mon. Chris is like another brother to me. We’ll hang out together when our schedules allow for it. He’s a working actor in a new relationship with a baby on the way. Frankly, he’s got bigger things on his mind than entertaining my smart arse.”

Again, the producer’s expression tightened, “Fair enough. Although you were one of our late arrivals, do you have any advice for future ship-mates?”

“Yeah, I do.” He then looked directly in the camera and said, “Take things in stride, enjoy it all as much as you can, and when you’ve got feelings for someone, just tell them, alright? Don’t dick around with playground games. Life’s too short for all that.”

The producer pursed their lips, obviously dissatisfied by his brazen language but gave a curt nod. “Thanks, Cisco. You can go.”

Smiling, Cisco reached for the mic to un-clip from his shirt, “Spectacular. Thanks.” And with that, he rose from the stool, leaving the mic pack behind to head back out, thankful that the confessional was over. There was a good reason he pursued the career of stunt work, getting to be on camera without having to participate in very many, if any interviews similar to this one.