#I'm very intransigent about these things

[psychedeliclulu]

I really like it when a ship has a characteristic object or element that represents them 🤭💕✨

For the same reason I don't like when for example...Yu grabs Adachi's tie. That's a Doada symbol.

Same thing for ☯️ it's for Shuada, I would never use it for Dojima and Adachi 😤😤😤

But I really appreciate when to increase the angst (in scenarios where his love is unrequited or he doesn't have the courage to expose himself) Adachi lets others use the tie so he can imagine Dojima in that person's place! That doujin and fic are delicious, gourmet food 😩👌🏻❤️‍🔥

[tashid4]

I literally ran over here cuz I just saw a clip of a hiphop dancer and ballet dancer dancing together for the olympics and I'm like OHH??

Perchance hiphop dancer!bakugou and ballet!reader???? I WANT TO KNOW UR THOUGHTS.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. PLS THIS JUST AWAKENED SMTH IN ME

(SORRY IF THIS TOO LONG???)

You were often training a bit later than the other dancer. You were a perfectionist, your moves needed to be clean, smooth and precise. Ballet was intransigent, one mistake could ruin all of your efforts. That is why you were still in the dancing, you've been in here for hours now and the sun had already set. You did so many pirouettes that your head was spinning. So many jumps your feet were bleeding. But it still wasn't enough. You needed to be perfect. After a particularly hard spin you fall to the ground, your body not able to handle the pressure. Your body couldn't handle the effort your brain wanted to make.

"Damn, that was definitely interesting" a voice came out of nowhere. It was a bit mocking but the tone of his voice made you curious. Deep and cold, you could feel all his confidence through his voice. You turn around to see where the voice was coming from. That is when you first laid your eyes on him. His blonde messy hair were stooding out in the darkness of the room. His cherry red eyes were locked on you and you were scared they might see through the deepest places of your soul. He was way too relaxed compared to you.

"Are you done ? I want to train" it kinda surprised you because you never saw him before. You were here everyday and you know everyone. Moreover, he definitely didn't look like the type to do ballet but you could be wrong. "Oh yeah sorry. I'm leaving" "Good."

You start to pick up your stuff and finally take off your pointe shoes. Since when have you been wearing them ? Probably a few hours now. While you put your things back into your bag, the blonde haired boy

settled in front of the mirror. He was wearing a black tank top, revealing his surprisingly muscular back. And a baggy jean which fell perfectly on his ankles. You couldn't look away from him. There was something about him that made you admiring, it was almost obsessing. When the first notes of music sounded and his body began to move, your jaw almost dropped. It was the first time you saw someone dance like this. Every move was perfect, coordinated but most of all it was passionate. It was almost as if he he didn't have to think about the next step.

At the end of the song, you realised you had been sitting on the floor for almost 5 minutes, not moving an inch, your eyes focused on him. When he noticed you were still here, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Like what you see?" your cheeks immediately turn red. Of course you liked it how could you not. The way he danced was absolutely mesmerizing. He music started again and he went back to his choreography. You had to summon up all your motivation to get up and leave the room, and not only because your feet were hurting like crazy...

For several days afterwards, you trained until your feet were bleeding, until your legs were shaking and until the hiphop boy was back in the room. He was always coming really late, when everybody had already left. It was only you and him at this time of the night. But but your conversations are always very brief. It was only a few words and often it was only him making fun of you for training too hard. But one night, he decided to come earlier. He wanted to see you dance, he wanted to see you really dance. Because everytime, when he entered the room you were too exhausted to perform a simple choreography. He was dying to see your true potential. That is why he showed up at 8pm, bag on his shoulder, when you had just started rehearsing your pirouettes. When he saw you spin like this, he immediately understood why you were so tired every night. They were perfect. The way your legs and arms move was so graceful he'd think you were an angel. He studied you for a very long time, never getting sick of it. He doesn't know why his chest feels so weird, why his heart feels so full when he looks at you dancing with your sheer white skirt.

After a moment you finally realise he's here, you deduce that it's time for you to leave. "I'm sorry. I'm leaving." But when you start to head toward your bag, he grabs your wrist. Your heart skips a beat when you feel his hands against your skin. They're soft, and strong at the same time.

"Wait..."

He went to turn the music back on. When the first notes were heard, both your bodies began to move in rhythm. Your moves where slow, controlled and elegant. His were strong, fast and unpredictable. It was so different yet so similar. Your two bodies sometimes touched, in which case he'd grab your hand and spin you around like you were the most beautiful thing he ever saw. You danced like this for a while, disconnecting your brain, all you could think about was his body moving in time with yours.

When the music stop, you look into his red eyes, losing yourself in it. "Where did you learn to dance like that ?" your question made him smile "I never learned, it's just something i like to do" "I wish I could be as talented as you without needing to train like crazy." He let lout a small laugh, amused by your response. Your faces were only a few inches away and he couldn't prevent his heart from beating way too fast when looking at your eyes. "You don't have to train so hard, just let your body express itself."

"There's actually something my body wants to do, but i'm not sure if it's reasonable" Your tone and the look in your eyes changed when pronouncing this last sentence. Mentally debating with yourself, you were thinking about your next move. Your heart was racing and your face was growing red.

But in the end, the blonde haired boy didn't give you time to think about it. He grabbed the back of your neck and gently glued his lips to yours. Kissing you, silencing all the voices in your head.

[michanvalentine]

So, I started my second playthrough as Astarion. Partly because I wanted to try romance with Shadowheart (I'm not sure I would have succeeded with the vampire available at the camp, lol), partly because I wanted to understand Astarion's character even more deeply. Fortunately, having already played the game I'm going significantly faster (and therefore my husband probably won't ask for a divorce). At the moment I don't want to talk about this second experience of mine, but only express some of my reflections regarding the character of Astarion. I certainly won't say anything new, but bear with me, I'm of a certain age and I only finished the game recently! xD

Astarion: It's not fair, darling, I wanted to be the only one holding knives to other people's throats!

Browsing the web I often read that Astarion is evil. I think instead that judging him is all too easy, if we consider his vulnerabilities. And yes, that's exactly what it's about: vulnerability. Because Astarion doesn't have the means to defend himself or approach the world in a way that we would consider healthy. For example, Tav/Durge could easily take advantage of him and Astarion would let him do it, which is uniquely sad (spare me, I only saw it on YouTube, I would never dream of doing something like that to him). As much as he tries to disguise it with his charm and his sharp tongue, Astarion is a victim. At the beginning of the game he still thinks and acts as if he had never left Cazador's pleasure chambers, despite the freedom he has gained. One of the very first things he does is prostitute himself for Tav/Durge's favor, hell! And if they wants, Tav/Durge can act towards him as a surrogate master who decides for him (what he can or cannot eat, whether or not to bite the perverted blood merchant, etc); and, again, Astarion will let them do it, because he is used to it that way. And when things go differently, he is surprised and doesn't know how to react. Astarion knows nothing else. He is literally incapable of anything else. Cazador himself says it, in a truly chilling way. Because it's damn true. And sad. In the mind of the abuser, the one who created and shaped him, it is clear as day: without a figure to refer to, for better or for worse, Astarion does not know what to do with his life. Not anymore. Not after Cazador made him his obedient puppet. For 200 fucking years. In fact, Cazador is certain that without the presence of Tav/Durge (the alternative) Astarion will return home to him. Even if it means sinking into a nightmare again. Or even die. Because Astarion has nothing and no one out there for him. And it's such a real concept that it breaks my heart, because even in real life abusers scorch earth around those who are unfortunate enough to end up in their clutches. So that they can never escape from them.

Astarion: I mean... five minutes ago I was in the kennel... and now I have to save the world without even a bit of therapy?!?! Of cooourse, what fun!!!

Yes, Astarion was once a magistrate. And no, not a corrupt magistrate; there is no evidence of this in the game and as far as I know the old concept for his character has been discarded. On the other hand, I have the clear feeling that he was a rather severe and intransigent magistrate, yes, which may have led him to the tragic night of the attack by the Gur. In any case, the person he once was is dead and buried. Cazador took it. Eradicated in 200 years of torture and replaced with another existence: the vampiric one. And we know well what the rules of vampiric society are: Vellioth passed them on to Cazador and Cazodor to Astarion. So the magistrate (with all his wealth of experience) is no longer a part of him that Astarion can appeal to extricate himself from the complexity of the situations he suddenly finds himself experiencing, free from the control of his master. The boy doesn't even remember what color his eyes were anymore! And that's why he is completely defenseless. And scared. Even the possibility of finally being able to decide causes him deep anxiety.

By defenseless I mean that he does not have the skills (or at least a shred of self-esteem) to manage relationships or situations in an adequate and healthy way, let's be clear. Therefore on many occasions he acts or reacts (and it is how he behaves, let's underline it, not what he is) selfishly or even cruelly. Often just to give himself a tone and not always feel miserable as usual.

So I wonder if someone who has just begun to live again, to rediscover the world and himself, can be called evil. At the end of his quest Astarion himself will declare in front of his tomb that he must figure out who he is and what he wants. So the Astarion we met at the beginning can't be the real Astarion, right? It cannot and must not be the Astarion on which to base an objective judgement. Not to mention that being evil and performing evil acts are two completely different things. Wyll is a good guy, yet he made a deal with a devil, for example. In extreme situations even the kindest and most sensitive person in the world could find themselves carrying out controversial actions. None of us will ever know what we are capable of, for better or for worse, until we find ourselves in similar situations.

If we then consider the context in which the character of Astarion moves, I wonder more about why there is such a stir. In Faerûn killing, threaten or deceiving are the order of the day. For everyone, including heroes. Lady Ailyn is literally a beacon of hope, a demigoddess daughter of a good deity, yet she can be terrifying. The way she punishes the wicked is inhumane, violent. Outraging the body of the downed enemy is not a good deed. It even goes beyond punishing the evil one in question. For us in the real world it is a crime punishable by law. For her it's a personal matter, of course, we know this from her story. So why can't Astarion enjoy violence and blood? He is a vampire, he cannot eradicate certain instincts. And it's great to hear him say it in his own voice, point out the hypocrisy and the double standards: "It turns out no one actually cares about murder, as long as you murder the right people." And after 200 years of impotence, tasting power and enjoying it seems to me at least the least. Of course, it's not a good thing when it comes to bending others to your will. But, as stated, carrying out an evil action (or boasting about it, because Astarion often barks and doesn't bite) does not necessarily mean being evil.

Astarion: I see you there, stumbling. Pathetic. Leave room for the professional, who better than a rogue can move lightly on the thin line between good and evil?

I think that saying Astarion is evil is completely flattening his character. People are not that simple, nor are circumstances or where we come from. At the beginning of the journey he behaves like an asshole, yes, and exceeds in his base instincts which he must learn to control. But he is willing and able to learn and that makes all the difference in the world. Of course this depends on Tav/Durge, on the player himself, the only one who can show him another way. Or not.

I also add another consideration; and I get involved too because I'm human and not a saint. In living everyday life we ​​are much more similar to the character of Astarion than to the classic hero. In small things, of course, we mind our own business, we try to avoid trouble, we compete with others to achieve a goal to the detriment of competitors, we don't risk our lives for complete strangers, at most we call the police; effectively letting someone else deal with it. All this while having a normal life, without having to fight for survival. We lie, we talk badly about someone behind their back, we hurt the people around us. Then maybe we'll apologize... but I'll tell you a secret: Astarion is also capable of doing it! So I wonder if sometimes it's so easy to be so hard on him because in him we see the worst traits of human beings, our worst traits. The ones we reject. Just as Astarion is harsh towards those who share his same fate, because: "I just... I never want to see these little scraps of misery again. The world doesn't need to know my shame."

To top it off, the game and interactions change depending on how the player approaches their adventure. The choices I made in my heroic playthrough probably led me to see a part of Astarion that was decidedly human and not very monstrous. And despite my heroic (and rhetorical, lol) acts, his approval was always pretty high. Let's say I had fun defeating him with my patience, unconditional trust and so much kindness. I will never forget his line at the brothel: "Eugh, dont' be so nice to me! It makes me want to be nice back." Priceless.

[french-unknown]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒: luffy, zoro, nami, usopp, sanji, robin 𝐂/𝐖: toxic relationships (kidnapping, mentions of death, suicide blackmail) and there is no love in them 𝐖/𝐂: 3.5k +

| m a s t e r l i s t | - | p t . 2 |

You had just arrived on an island that you recognized immediately since one of your closest family friends lived there. Happy, you wanted to go see her immediately but you were stopped by Luffy who asked to accompany you. You laughed and, despite his pouting that he tried to convince you with, you refused. However, you placed a kiss on his lips before leaving.

Your parents' friend recognized you at first glance and you fell into each other's arms within seconds. You were happy to see her again after all this time, so you started talking for a few moments until she finally sighed.

"I’m sorry about your mom." she declared sadly. Not understanding what she meant, you raised your eyebrows. She continued. "For her illness? I know it must be hard for you. I'm surprised that you're not with them; have you already said goodbye to her?" A drop of sweat ran down the back of your neck and, confused, you explained to her that you didn't know what she was talking about. "Your mother is terminally ill." she elaborated. "They told me they sent you several letters about it, so I thought you knew." You shook your head in shock.

At the same moment, a commotion was heard on the other side of the store window. You saw a group of Marines running past while shouting that they had spotted the Straw Hat Captain on this street. Panicked, you picked up your things and greeted your parents' friend before running away since, if Luffy had been targeted, you weren't going to stay on the island.

When you arrived at the boat, without being noticed by anyone, you went directly to see the captain to explain your situation and that you would like to leave the ship for a few months to go and see your family. But, to your great astonishment, Luffy refused. You insisted and yet he remained intransigent: You will not leave the ship. You then insisted even more so that he understood your need to be with your loved ones but, as you turned your back and announced that you would leave anyway, the world went black.

You woke up in a cramped room while the rocking under your feet as well as the smell of wood and salt water confirmed to you that you were still on the Sunny. Suddenly, a ray of light passed into the room and you saw your captain smiling through a trapdoor in the only door. Behind him, you noticed the Soldier Docker System  with the doors to Franky and Usopp's workshops in the distance.

"Let me out, Luffy!" You ordered, confused but mostly annoyed. "Nah!" he responds with his characteristic smile. "You are not allowed to leave. Your captain forbids you!" You frowned in concern before speaking. "You can't do that, Luffy. I can leave whenever I want and you have no right to stop me." He laughed as if you had just told a joke. "Well I'm doing it anyway! You'll stay there until you promise me that you'll always stay by my side. And don't bother shouting for the others to come get you, I told them that you stayed on the ground with your friend. See you!"

And he closed the hatch, leaving you alone and in the dark again in the Sunny's hold. You didn't quite understand what had just happened to you but you felt in your gut that you weren't going to like it.

Since the Straw Hat Grand Fleet was formed, you have become very close to the other crews and, in particular, to a group from the Beautiful Pirates that you found very interesting. They had refined manners, their styles were fun with their wigs and mustaches and, above all, they had a lot of conversation. So you gradually started to spend more time with them to find out where they came from and what they had been through. As a result, it took up your time with your other friends from the Straw Hat Pirates even though the majority of them didn't pay much attention to it.

After a while, when the fleet began to run out of supplies, it was decided among the captains that you would stop at the next island to get them. About thirty members were designated among all the crews to go and recover the goods. Among them were, among other things, all your friends from the Beautiful Pirates as well as Zoro. You were not worried at all, so you wished them good luck before returning peacefully to your activities.

Unfortunately, not all of them returned.

Zoro returned to the boat first, some blood on him, announcing that they had been attacked in the mist by a brigand who had taken advantage of the lack of visibility. Seeing nothing, he therefore wanted to inform other pirate but he got lost. A wave of worry ran through the fleet as a feeling of revenge grew within the ranks. Finally, slowly, a few other members of the other crews came back and everyone explained the same version: they had been attacked by a brigand. Everyone looked terrified except Zoro. Only your friends did not return and you lost all hope when you saw Farul returning to the boat. The horse, panicked, began to neigh and rear as soon as he noticed the swordsman in your ranks. Crazy, it took a lot of effort for Cavendish to master it.

When the fog lifted, no bodies were found on the island and rumors began to grow among the pirates that they had been killed by a demon.

That evening, after your feelings had been numbed all day, you felt your walls crack before completely collapsing. You began to mourn the loss of your friends and their mysterious disappearance. Unable to believe this demon story, you began to imagine what had happened to their bodies or what they had been thinking during their last moments.

The crow's nest hatch opened and you saw a green head slipping through it. Zoro approached you as soon as he saw you and, when he was close enough, out of a cruel need for comfort, you took him in your arms. He nevertheless closed his arms around you despite the surprise and then rested his chin on top of your head. You were immediately reassured by his presence and surprised that he accepted your hug so well. However, you didn't complain and stayed in his arms, talking about your loss, while he continued to hold you against him and stroke your back.

From there, a routine settled down.

He came to join you every evening to take you in his arms before letting you evacuate your sadness. He was so supportive that after a few months, when he confessed, you thought it was the kind of support you needed in your life so you accepted.

You were upset. For several weeks, without knowing why, certain very specific memories of your adolescence had come back to your mind, like an afternoon of fishing with your father and his crew mates. Or a boarding with rival ships. You were experiencing these flashes in an abnormally precise way with the details, the smells, the exact conversations and the emotions associated with them.

All the members of the Straw Hats knew what was happening to you and supported you in their own way. Nami, above all, was a huge pillar for you. You had already gotten along very well with her when she joined the crew after you and Zoro, but now she was even more attentive. She listened to you talk about how much it unsettled you to have these outbursts of impromptu memories that you hadn't thought about in a long time. She helped you a lot to unload this emotional burden that was overwhelming you.

Once again, you were alone in the shade of the navigator's mandarin trees. You closed your eyes, exhausted, and the sound of the sea began to lull you. The waves passed and rolled under the hull of the ship or crashed against the wooden planks. Then others took over and it started again and again.

Suddenly, a cage of fear closed around your heart before crushing it and you were plunged into another memory. You were on your father's boat, lying in bed, but something was wrong. It took you a few seconds to untangle your thoughts and realize that you were tied hand and foot. Your wrists and ankles were burning from the uncomfortable friction of the bonds against your skin. A cloth gag also covered your mouth to stop you from screaming. Suddenly, a noise in front of you made you raise your head and you came face to face with a person you had never seen before. Unlike everything around you, this person's head was fuzzy. The only thing you noticed was that it was a girl around your age with orange hair. She abruptly sat down on your lap, making a faint citrus scent waft through your nostrils, before you felt something cold against your cheek. A ray of moonlight passed through your shutters and reflected against the blade placed under your eye.

"I finally catch you." the presence whispered with its face inches from yours. "You were so attractive on the last island that I couldn't help but get on your ship. You are so... these last few days I saw you laughing on the deck and talking to those dirty pirates, but you... you..." And you saw her face move closer to yours until you felt pressure against your lips through the gag.

At the same time, screams were heard from the other side of the door and footsteps echoed on the deck. The girl on your lap groaned before slowly getting up without taking her eyes off you. You saw her grab a large bag from near the door before you closed your eyes. The next day, when you opened them again, you rose unhindered—and without memories—from your bed to discover that your loot had been stolen during the night.

You came out of the memory with a start, your heart beating a thousand miles an hour. You were sweating as your breathing ran out quickly. Above you, the branches of the mandarin trees quivered.

"Slept well?" Nami asked happily.

The battle raged and you attacked as best you could despite the circumstances. Indeed, shortly after arriving on the island, you were found by the Marine who had launched the assault but you were not at your best because of relationship problems which prevented you from concentrating completely.

For several months now, you found that Usopp was becoming more and more restrictive: he no longer wanted you to go on dry land when you docked somewhere, he wanted you to spend less time training to spend more time with him, he preferred that you talk less to the other male members of the crew and the list went on a lot longer. And the worst thing is that he always had justifications! Either he reminded you that it was him who created your weapon and that he regretted it because it had replaced him or he confided in you in private how the other male members of the crew made him doubt his abilities and that the fact that you preferred to talk to them rather than to him meant that you made him insecure.

As the battle finally ended in your victory, a cry from Zoro alerted you. Running up to the swordsman, you saw Usopp's body at his feet. His rolled-back eyes shocked you, as did the pool of blood that was gradually forming around his body. A memory from the day before came back to you: "I want to take a break." You told him, and he replied, "I would rather die than live without you." You froze, your eyes locked on his broken body as Chopper came running in to examine him. Above him, Zoro was explaining that he had seen the sniper suddenly completely stop fighting in the middle of the fight. He had managed to reach him to protect him but Usopp had taken serious blows in the meantime.

The whole crew was tense. You heard the slight sniffles from Franky as Nami collapsed next to her friend, her shoulders shaking in fear. A worried frown also narrowed Zoro and Robin's gaze. Sanji, for his part, was nervously smoking his cigarette while Luffy, the most terrifying of all, was dead silent. After a while, Chopper ended up reassuring you that he was still alive but that he had to be transported back to Sunny immediately.

As soon as he was placed in the infirmary bed, the morbid wait began. For days, you took turns next to him so that you would be immediately informed if he woke up and, for days, you saw the faces of the crew deteriorate more and more. For your part, more than worry, it was guilt that burned your stomach like acid. Was it your fault he stopped fighting? Was he going to die because of you? How would the crew react if he died?

Finally, Usopp woke up much to everyone's relief. He reassured them by blaming it on fatigue and they ended up leaving both of you alone in the infirmary. Their relief made you feel even worse since you weren't relieved that he was alive; you were relieved that he didn’t die because of you. The sniper then asked you to join him in bed and wrapped his arms around you. He placed a soft kiss on your forehead.

"I was so scared when you told me you wanted to leave me." he started to whisper. "I wouldn't survive if you left me."

And, too terrified of what might happen if you broke up, you stayed.

While you were going to the bathhouse as Sanji had asked you, for a surprise, you met Nami. The navigator laughed slightly and admitted that she already knew what was waiting for you because Sanji had talked to her about it all day and asked for her help to prepare it.

"You're lucky to have him." the redhead kindly said. "It’s obvious that he loves you."

You blushed at the remark and you continued on your way. As soon as you knocked on the door, Sanji immediately opened it with a big smile before kissing you excitedly and pulling you into the room.

The bathroom had been completely redecorated. The main light was off and had been replaced by a myriad of candles that smeared the room and illuminated it with a soft, flickering and welcoming hue whose intimate atmosphere was accompanied by the rose petals deposited everywhere. On the furniture, the floor, where it formed a graceful path towards the bathtub, and finally in the latter where the flowers overhung the hot water covered with a white foam that looked like pieces of cloud in the half-light. A sweet smell of cotton and flowers evaporated from the hot water and perfumed the room. On the side of the bathtub, he had specially folded the towels so that they fit into a pyramid among the petals. Dazzled by the atmosphere and the efforts he had put into it, you didn't know what to say. Suddenly, you felt him press against your back before wrapping his arms around your waist and placing a kiss on your neck. His skillful hands, which he took so much care of, then began to undress you while he spoke in your ear.

However, as you took over and the excitement also rose on your side, you finally found yourself in your underwear in front of him and his charming face froze. You felt in your stomach that something had changed in the mood.

"You're not wearing the lingerie I gave you?" he asked, and though his voice was kind, you sensed something was wrong.

You looked down and looked at your lingerie set, which was very pretty but was indeed not one of those that Sanji had offered you.

"This one looked great on the mannequin." he continued in the same oddly amiable tone. "But I told you that I was preparing a surprise for you. You couldn't at least wear the ones I brought you?"

A feeling of shame intensified in your mind in the form of a huge lump that settled in your throat. Under his judgmental gaze, you felt the urge to cover yourself, ashamed of your body and the clothes you had chosen to cover it.

"I spent the afternoon preparing a surprise for you and you can't even do that for me. I've been collecting these damn candles and flowers for weeks on different layovers so you don't realize it. And you come like that?"

"I can go change if you want?" you asked, ashamed.

He then took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it with annoyance, then exhaled dryly the smoke which polluted the sweet smell in the room. He put the lighter back in his pocket and turned on his heel.

"It’s no use, you’ve already ruined everything." he huffed, irritated. "All those efforts were stupidly ruined, you're lucky I love you. I'm the only one dumb enough to do that."

And he left, leaving you alone in your underwear in the bathroom, which now smelled of cigarettes, next to this bathtub with the foam half gone, and surrounded by those thousand petals and candles that had lost their sparkle.

You were running but you didn't know where you were in the boat, you were totally confused and lost.

A long time ago, you didn't know exactly how much, you wanted to leave the ship to have a drink with a local with whom you had gotten along well. You had prepared yourself, ready to leave, but before you walked through the door, you had passed out. When you woke up, you were tied up somewhere in the dark. After a while Robin ended up finding you but, when you started begging her to free you, she told you that it was she who had locked you up.

From that moment on, the shock had finally dissipated and given way to fear. You had known her for years of sailing together and if there was one thing you knew about Robin, it was that she was the type of person to follow through on the things she cared about. She came almost every day into the room to talk to you or simply to look at you. Only that. But today, you don't know how, your ties have loosened enough for you to escape. You then waited for her to make her daily visit while praying that she would not notice the state of your restraints.

You then counted to one hundred as soon as she left before escaping.

So you found yourself running through the corridors that you guessed were the Thousand Sunny but, in your blind panic, you were unable to find your way. After a while, at the corner of a corridor, you saw a lighter spot on the wall a few meters away. You recognized the shape of an ear sticking out of the wall as you approached. You immediately stopped as quietly as possible near the wall and didn't move. You cover your mouth with your hand to stifle your wheezing. The ear moved a little but remained still. After a minute without any new movement, you felt your heart begin to slow down with relief. Suddenly, a small "boing" sounded in one of your ears and something soft touched your cheek. You turned your head to the wall beside you, where the noise was coming from, and fell face-to-face with a dull blue eye watching you. Horrified, you could only watch as the azure iris bore into your eyes.

You immediately started running again but it was too late.

You could only make a few steps before a hold on your ankle knocked you down. In the process, you felt a hundred arms and hands come to cover you and pin you to the ground. You felt them rest and press on your calves, your thighs, your back and even your neck and your head. Some encircled their palms around your ankles and wrists while others held you down with pressure. As you wanted to scream - lost for lost - you felt a hand grow on your shoulder and come crashing down on your mouth to drown out any noise you might make. Paralyzed, you could only let it happen when an arm blossomed between your shoulder blades so that a hand slipped into your hair to hold your head back. Now looking up, you saw Robin appear at the end of the corridor before quietly approaching you on her long legs. She walked over to you before kneeling down next to your head, keeping eye contact.

"Did you really think I wasn’t watching you?" she asked in her lifeless tone.

𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @iheartamora @bontensh0e @opchara @idsmash717 @lys-ada @xomingyu @parkyrr @yasmiinberkaa @dozcan123 @anotherproblemsos

[gardenschedule]

A collection of Beatles quotes about the breakup

I know I'm preaching to the choir on tumblr.com because people here examine the breakup with empathy, nuance and critical thought. BUT these quotes are convenient if you ever get caught up in frustrating arguments online with male boomer beatle fans who think John and George hated the band and couldn't wait to escape while Paul was desperate to get back together. Sorted by band member and chronological order.

Quotes from/about Ringo:

1969:

People really have tried to typecast us. They think we are still little moptops, and we are not. I don’t want to play in public again. I don’t miss being a Beatle anymore. You can’t get those days back. It’s no good living in the past.

Ringo Starr, 24 March 1969 while filming The Magic Christian in New York

1970:

Ringo?  He was the peacemaker for John, George and himself to Paul and was shaken to find Paul intransigent to the point of saying some pretty blunt things.  But none of the Beatles is vindictive, and pettiness is their natural enemy, and when Paul released his album, Ringo sent a telegram congratulation him on “Maybe I’m Amazed” (one of the tracks) and meant it.  Ringo has a lot of heart and more soul than most and since he knows he will be a Beatles to the grave, he will cooperate should it all come together again.

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

“The Beatles have not split up. We are waiting for John to get back and then we will have a friendly Beatle chat and see what we are going to do. I keep looking around and thinking, ‘Where are they? What are they doing? When will they come and talk to me?’ This is supposed to be a press conference to promote my new film. The other Beatles aren’t here, so I don’t want to be answering questions for them. I hope to see Elvis in Las Vegas before I return to England. But, I will not be in the States for very long.”

The Beatles Off the Record (Keith Badman)

1971:

The Beatles might yet stay together as a group. Paul is the greatest bass player in the world. He is also determined. He goes on and on to see if he can get his own way. While that may be a virtue, it did mean that musical disagreements inevitably rose from time to time. But such disagreements contributed to really great products. […] I was shocked and dismayed, after Mr. McCartney’s promises about a meeting of all four Beatles in London in January, that a writ should have been issued on December 31. I trust Paul and I know he would not lightly disregard his promise. Something serious, about which I have no knowledge, must have happened between Paul’s meeting with George in New York at the end of December. […] My own view is that all four of us together could even yet work out everything satisfactorily.

Ringo Starr’s affidavit – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

No one doubted that Starkey would go along with the majority.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

Later/unknown year:

RS: But that’s only Imagine. You know what I’m saying? Paul with his Band on the Run. We all started on a bus and small clubs and things like that, but Paul is that type of person. Paul wanted to do it all over again, and he did. And he went through hell. He went through hell. I mean, now he’s not talking to me and that’s too bad, but he started again from the bottom to do the Paul McCartney show. I don’t wanna do it anymore. I did it once.

All You Need Is Love – Peter Brown & Steven Gaines

Quotes from/about George:

1969:

“Yeah, quite definitely, but I’d like to do it with the Beatles but not on the old scale, that’s the only drag. With the Ono Band and me playing with Delaney and Bonnie there’s no expectations because it’s really quite anonymous, you just go and do whatever you can do. Once the Beatles are advertised and all the crowds come along they expect too much. I’d like to do the Beatles thing, but more like Delaney and Bonnie with us augmented with a few more singers, and a few trumpets, saxes, organs, and all that"

Interview conducted by Roy Carr, NME, 20 December 1969

1970:

George was greatly disappointed that Paul should come off like he was injured by Klein (business manager) whom George believes to have greatly eased the effects of the present and insured the safety of the future. George view is “Did you have to be so nasty. You can go so far but you can never get back, and you can say things which get in the way forever. For me, I would be glad to play with all of us again.”

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

Q: “You think the Beatles will get together again, then?”

George: “Well, I don’t… I couldn’t tell, you know, if they do or not. I’ll certainly try my best to do something with them again, you know. I mean, it’s only a matter of accepting that the situation is a compromise. In a way it’s a compromise, and it’s a sacrifice, you know, because we all have to sacrifice a little in order to gain something really big. And there is a big gain by recording together – I think musically, and financially, and also spiritually. And for the rest of the world, you know, I think that Beatle music is such a big sort of scene – that I think it’s the least we could do is to sacrifice three months of the year at least, you know, just to do an album or two. I think it’s very selfish if the Beatles don’t record together.”

WABC-FM, May 1, 1970

The Harrison quote that went around the world that spring was purely optimistic: 'Everyone is trying to do his own album, and I am too. But after that I'm ready to go back with the others.'

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

1971:

The only serious row was between Paul and me. In 1968 I went to the United States and had a very easy co-operation with many leading musicians. This contrasted with the superior attitude which, for years past, Paul has shown towards me musically. In January 1969, we were making a film in a studio at Twickenham, which was dismal and cold, and we were all getting a bit fed up with our surroundings. In front of the cameras, as we were actually being filmed, Paul started to ‘get at’ me about the way I was playing. I decided I had had enough and told the others I was leaving. This was because I was musically dissatisfied. After a few days, the others asked me to return and since I did not wish to leave them in the lurch in the middle of filming and recording, and since Paul agreed that he would not try to interfere or teach me how to play, I went back. Since the row, Paul has treated me more as a musical equal. I think this whole episode shows how a disagreement could be worked out so that we all benefited. I just could not believe it when, just before Christmas, I received a letter from Paul’s lawyers. I still cannot understand why Paul acted as he did.

George Harrison’s affidavit – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

“In a “Come back Paul, all is forgiven” mood, George Harrison said this week: “I wish we could all be friends again. It’s a drag that things are as they are, because Apple is now becoming much more what we originally wanted it to be. “Personally I’d like to see Paul back at Apple and let him do what he wants to do. After all the new studio is his studio, too, and I’d like to see it all happening for us all.”

October 1971 Record Mirror

When John finally hinted that he would be willing to play with George when he appeared at Madison Square Garden. “Well, maybe I can come and help ya,” he said. “That’d be nice.” George glowered at John. Then George’s anger really burst forth. “Where were you when I needed you!” he snapped. It was the first of a series of explosions, each of them followed by moments of tense silence. “I did everything you said. But you weren’t there,” he repeated. “You always knew how to reach me,” John would reply evenly to each of these outbursts. There was no doubt in my mind, watching those two, that George’s anger with John had been accumulating for years. It was exactly the kind of situation that John usually ran from. But I could see in that moment that he loved George enough to remain calm and still as George drilled away at him. George said that repeatedly in the past he had sung what John wanted him to sing, said what John wanted him to say. Because John wanted it, George had gone along with the decision to go with Allen Klein. In the nearly four years since, John had virtually ignored him, a fact that pained George deeply. George’s voice grew even more harsh as he blasted John for his sudden appearance, as if out of nowhere, to offer an evening’s worth of help. Yet again George said furiously, I did everything you said, but you weren’t there.”

May Pang, Loving John

1973:

"George came into the office and said, 'I wanted you to know before anyone else. We're leaving Allen.' I said, 'Why?' And he said, 'We'll never get together again with Allen managing us.' And that was it. They left. George always had that distant hope."

Allan Stecker, Mojo interview 2023 (on Monday April 2 1973)

"[Allen Klein] made [John, George and Ringo] feel financially and artistically secure,” Steckler reckoned. So why did they decide that Klein had to go? Steckler believed he knew the answer. “George called me and said, ‘We’re not re-signing with Klein,’” he recalled. “I asked him why, and he said, 'The only way The Beatles can get together again is if Allen isn’t there. I’m ready to do it, so is Ringo, and I think we can persuade John to go along with it. But if we’re going to work with Paul, we need to get rid of Klein.’"

Peter Doggett, You Never Give Me Your Money

1978:

Personally, I’m not opposed to the idea, if it’s done through mutual agreement. But the pressure seems to be bigger than any of us, and when they talk of sums like $50 or $60 million, it’s almost a farce. I know Paul’s booked for the next few years, and John may have lost interest in the idea. Ringo and I are closest on it; we both feel it’s not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely, if only because of the legal and business maze that would have to be resolved before the four of us set foot on stage together.

M. George Haddad interview with George Harrison for Men Only magazine (Nov. 1978 issue)

Quotes from/about Paul:

1970:

On the eve of the release of the Beatles new movie and album “Let it Be,” Paul McCartney said, “I quit,” or “I think I quit,” which is roughly the same thing. As a publicity stunt, it’s as good or bad as any stunt they ever appeared to pull. But like every stunt they never did pull, this isn’t one either. McCartney’s declaration of independence was entirely impromptu, spontaneous and personal and so far had the group’s lines of communication become crossed that none of the Beatles really knew when the album would be out, or whether, nor did they greatly care.

...

I guess the way it stacks up now and the way it was around the time when Paul dropped the big on is that he wants right out of it all and they don’t.

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

"John's reply was that I was daft!" He then said he wanted to leave the Beatles and wanted an immediate divorce. None of us really knew what to do about the situation, but we decided to wait until our film 'Let it Be' came out in April. I got bored and made 'McCartney' instead!"

Paul McCartney, in his first magazine interview since the split, tells FLIP's Keith Altham... "THE BEATLES ARE FINISHED!"

When we had to go to the studios, Linda would make the booking and we’d take some sandwiches and a bottle of grape juice and put the baby on the floor and it was all like a a holiday. So as a natural turn of events from looking for something to do, I found that I was enjoying working alone as much as I’d enjoyed the early days of the Beatles. I haven’t really enjoyed the Beatles for the last two years.

Paul, Interview for Evening Standard • Tuesday, April 21-22, 1970

Klein tells George he will get him more money and he tells Ringo the same. He tells them all that there are four first-class Beatles, not two and John doesn’t mind being told this. Paul doesn’t like any of it, none of it. He has a father-in-law who is also from New York and his name is Lee Eastman. Lee Eastman is also a toughie, but his manners are more formal than Klein’s and some people like him. Paul would like Eastman to be the Mr Big Apple needs. John wants Mr Klein to be Mr Big. A year passes. It is 1970. Paul still doesn’t like Klein but John digs him more than ever and George digs him more than that and Ringo doesn’t mind him. Paul? He is so uptight about Klein he only leaves the Beatles, that’s all.

As Time Goes By - Derek Taylor

1971:

Klein: “If Paul McCartney doesn’t get his way, he bitches. He may have a choirboy image in the press and with fans, but I’m here to tell you its bullshit. If anybody broke up the Beatles, it was him.”

Allen Klein, Playboy: A candid conversation with the embattled manager of the Beatles. (November, 1971) (note: obviously we should not trust a word Klein says, but at this point why isn't he repeating John's party line that he wanted a divorce?)

I think John thought I was using this press release for publicity-as I suppose, in a way, it was. So it all looked very weird, and it ruffled a few feathers. The good thing about it was that we all had to finally own up to the fact that we'd broken up three or four months before. We'd been ringing each other quite constantly, sort of saying, 'Let's get it back together.' And I think me, George and Ringo did want to save things. But I think John was, at that point, too heavily into his new life-which you can't blame him.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

1972:

“We planned a big festival for one afternoon in Central Park, and ‘Imagine’ was the theme. Each retarded person from an institution would be paired with one able-bodied volunteer – twenty-five thousand people in the park. The issue arose whether the retarded should come to the matinee concert at Madison Square Garden. Obviously it would be a huge revenue loss. So Allen Klein and John just bought $50,000 worth of tickets and gave them to the retarded kids and volunteers.” Suddenly John got cold feet, after the concert had been sold out for weeks. “John said he didn’t want to do it,” Rivera recalled. “He said he hadn’t played in public for years, he hadn’t rehearsed with a band, he was just too nervous. …When they had that rush of insecurity, Yoko told me that she and John called Paul and Linda. They said, ‘Let’s bury the hatchet and appear together at the concert.’ Why Paul said ‘No’ I’ll never know.” Rivera and others managed to calm John’s fears and get him to start rehearsing with Elephant’s Memory.

Jon Wiener, Come Together: John Lennon in His Time. (1984)

“A few months ago, John asked us to do a concert with him at Madison Square Garden (note: same concert as the above quote) and it’s a pity now that we didn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it at the time but we will do things, I’m sure. I don’t see any reason why all four Beatles shouldn’t be on stage at some time all playing together and having a good time. I don’t think you’ll ever get the Beatles reforming, because that’s all gone. The Beatles were a special thing in a special era and I really couldn’t see it all coming together again. But I think it’s daft to assume that just because we had a couple of business upsets we won’t ever see each other again, or that if John has a concert some time we won’t go up and play on it.”

Paul McCartney, interview with Ray Connolly in The Evening Standard, December 2, 1972 (source: The Ray Connolly Beatles Archive)

“Don’t ever call me ex-Beatle McCartney again. That was one band I was with. Now I’m not with them. I’ve got another band. We won’t do things the same way any more. We’re not so bothered in trying to please other people all the time even though we obviously don’t try to displease them. All we want, in Wings, is to please ourselves with our music, That’s all.

“If people start fan clubs for us, do that kind of thing from the past, well, fine. But we won’t start one. I just get irritated by people constantly harping on the past, about the days when I was with that other band, the Beatles.

“The other Beatles get together and that is fine, but I’m almost always in another part of the world. The Beatles was my old job. We’re not like friends – we just know each other. But we don’t work together. so there’s no point keeping up old relationships.”

“All I know for sure is that I’ll never be conned again. I’m 30 now and, after what I’ve been through. I should know my way around. I get angry with fans, who interrupt my life, even now. I get fed up with the feeling that I was losing my identity, becoming some kind of legend, not a person. And I’m downright angry with the people who keep trying to get me back with the others again.

Paul McCartney and 'that other band'' by Peter Jones, in the Liverpool Echo, 13 December 1972

There’s no hard feelings or anything, but you just don’t hang around with your ex-wife. We’ve completely finished. ’Cos, you know, I’m just not that keen on John after all he’s done. I mean, you can be friendly with someone, and they can shit on you, and you’re just a fool if you keep friends with them. I’m not just going to lie down and let him shit on me again. I think he’s a bit daft, to tell you the truth. I talked to him about the Klein thing, and he’s so misinformed it’s ridiculous.'

Paul interviewed by student journalist Ian McNulty for the Hull University Torch, May 1972 [From The McCartney Legacy, Volume 1: 1969 – 1973 by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, 2022

1976:

“The truth is very ordinary. The truth is just that since we split up, we’ve not seen much of each other. We visit occasionally, we’re still friends, but we don’t feel like getting up and playing again. You can’t tell that to people. You say that and they say, ‘How about this money, then?’ ‘Or how about this?’ And you end up having to think of reasons why you don’t feel like it. And, of course, any one of them taken on its own isn’t really true, but I was just stuck for an answer, so I said I wouldn’t do it just for the money anyway. And I saw John last time, he says, ‘I agreed with that.’ But there’s a million other points in there. A whole million angles. “I tell you, before this tour, I was tempted to ring everyone up and say, ‘Look, is it true we’re not going to get back together, ‘cause we all pretty much feel like we’re not. And as long as I could get everyone to say, ‘No, we’re definitely not,’ then I could say ‘It’s a definite no-no.’ But I know my feeling, and I think the others’ feeling, in a way, is we don’t want to close the door to anything in the future. We might like it someday.

Paul McCartney, Rolling Stone: Yesterday, Today, and Paul. (June 17th, 1976)

Later/unknown year:

“John phoned me once to try and get the Beatles back together again, after we’d broken up. And I wasn’t for it, because I thought that we’d come too far and I was too deeply hurt by it all. I thought, “Nah, what’ll happen is that we’ll get together for another three days and all hell will break loose again. Maybe we just should leave it alone.”

Paul, November 1995 Club Sandwich interview

“ELLEN: So was there ever a time when both you and John Lennon wanted to reform the Beatles? PAUL: There was a time… let’s put it this way: there was never a time when all four of us wanted to do it. And each time it was always someone different who didn’t fancy it And I’m actually glad of that now. Because the Beatles’ work is a body of work. There’s nothing to be ashamed of there. In the end we decided we should leave well enough alone. The potential disappointment of coming on and not being as good as the Beatles had been… that was a risk we shouldn’t take

Paul McCartney, interview w/ Mark Ellen for Radio Times. (October 20th-26th, 2007)

Quotes from/about John:

1969:

JOHN: The point is, if George leaves, do we want to carry on The Beatles? I do. [inaudible; drowned out by mic feedback] And I’d just get another member of the group and carry on. But if The Beatles split, well, I’ll get another group. [to Paul and Yoko?] I’m a singer not a dancer, baby! Woo-hoo!

January 10th, 1969 (Twickenham Film Studios, London)

Friday, 21 March, John: “Everything we do, we shall be doing together. I don’t mean I shall break up The Beatles, or anything, but we want to share everything.”

The Beatles Off the Record (Keith Badman)

MICHAEL: But funny enough, the other day, when we were talking, he said that he really did not want not to be a Beatle. He said he really looked forward – not, you know. Meaning he didn’t want that screwed up.

[T]he Beatles are always discussing, “Should we go on or shouldn’t we? Why are we together for now?” And what it gets down to is I like playing rock n’ roll and I like making rock n’ roll records. Now, I’ve got either the choice— if I want the whole LP to myself — is to get a few musicians together. Now, I know that— I’ve played with other musicians — just very rarely, but occasionally I’ve played with them — and it needs some work together to get anything going. I don’t like session men, so I try not to use them. I don’t like violinists or anything these days. I try not to use anybody but the Beatles. And if I wanted to make a record I’d chose the Beatles! I can say, “Give me a ‘Be Bop A Lula’”. So therefore, we’ve got that going. And even from a commercial point, when we discuss it, “What’s the biggest selling name? Beatles or John Lennon and The Fabs? Or George Harrison and The Fabs?” Which— Where’s our biggest market? It’s Beatles! Who are our closest friends? Beatles! Who do we have the most arguments with? Beatles. So Beatles is it!

John Lennon and Yoko Ono give a series of interviews at the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London (Friday, 12 September 1969).

JOHN: See they’re growing up too, you know. And uh, we all want Beatles still cause it’s, it’s a big power and it’s good power, you know. And we’ve no intention of splitting it, you know. Any of us. I can’t be specific about it, you know. But obviously, I’m deeply involved with Yoko, it has some…you know, maybe less reliant on the others but so it goes for the others too, you know. That as we’re all sort of branching out. Which we were occasionally all the time, you know. Like I did How I Won The War, I wrote In His Own Write and Paul wrote the music for Family Way, etc. and George went off to India with sitars and that. So it’s only, you know. We nip off and come back and do some work then nip off again, you know.

John and Yoko gave several interviews on September 12, 1969

[Will] The Beatles split up? It just depends how much we all want to record together. I don’t know if I want to record together again. I go off and on it. I really do.”

John Lennon, interview w/ Alan Smith for NME. (December 13th, 1969)

JOHN: I was really losing interest in just doing the Beatles’ bit – and I think we all were – but Paul did a good job in holding us together for a few years while we were sort of undecided about what to do, you know. And I found out what to do, and it didn’t really have to be with the Beatles. It could have been, if they wanted… But uh, it got that I couldn’t wait for them to make up their minds about peace or whatever. About committing themselves. It’s the same as the songs. So I’ve gone ahead – and I’d have liked them to have come along.

YORKE: Did you ever try to get them into the peace scene?

JOHN: I did a little at first, but I think it was too much like Yoko and me and what we’re doing and trying to get them to come along; and I think they reacted. I hassled them too much, so I’m really leaving them alone. Maybe they’ll come along, wagging their tails behind them, and if not, good luck to them.

John Lennon, interview w/ Ritchie Yorke. (December 23rd, 1969)

“This is why I’ve started with the Plastic Ono and working with Yoko . . . to have more outlet. There isn’t enough outlet for me in the Beatles. The Ono Band is my escape valve. And how important that gets, as compared to the Beatles for me, I’ll have to wait and see.

NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS DECEMBER 13, 1969

1970:

Why do you think he [Paul] has lost interest in Apple?

That’s what I want to ask him! We had a heavy scene last year as far as business was concerned and Paul got a bit fed-up with all the effort of business. I think that’s all it is. I hope so.

John Lennon interviewed by Roy Shipston for Disc and Music Echo (February 28, 1970)

John’s view is: “Okay. If this is it, this is it. We’ve all left the Beatles anyway.” If Paul were to approach him and say, “Let’s do it together again,” he probably would; with no more words, he probably would do it.

The Party's Over for the Beatles - written by Derek Taylor

Now even Lennon was prepared to hint at a positive outcome: 'I've no idea if the Beatles will work together again, or not. I never really have. It was always open. If somebody didn't feel like it, that's it! It could be a rebirth or a death. We'll see what it is. It'll probably be a rebirth.'

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

'Eventually,' McCartney recalled, 'I went and said, "I want to leave. You can all get on with Klein and everything, just let me out." Having not spoken to Lennon for several weeks, he sent him a letter that summer, pleading that the former partners 'let each other out of the trap'. As McCartney testified, Lennon 'replied with a photograph of himself and Yoko, with a balloon coming out of his mouth in which was written, "How and Why?" I replied by letter saying, "How by signing a paper which says we hereby dissolve our partnership. Why because there is no partnership." John replied on a card which said, "Get well soon. Get the other signatures and I will think about it.” Communication was at an end. Yet the press continued to believe, fired by hope more than evidence, that it was only a matter of days before the four men healed their wounds. The stories taunted McCartney, who fired off a letter to the prime offender, Melody Maker: 'Dear Mailbag, In order to put out of its misery the limping dog of a news story which has been dragging itself across your pages for the past year, my answer to the question, "Will the Beatles get together again?"...is no.' He had finally pronounced the verdict that was missing from his self-interview in April: the Beatles were no more.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett (note: John is stalling)

For McCartney, and maybe Harrison and Starkey as well, this signified hope. ‘For about three or four months,' he recalled years later, 'George, Ringo and I rang each other to ask, "Well, is this it, then?" It wasn't that the record company had dumped us. It was just a case of: we might get back together again. Nobody quite knew if it was one of John's little flings, and that maybe he was going to feel the pinch in a week's time and say, “I was only kidding.” I think John did kind of leave the door open. He'd said, “I'm pretty much leaving the group, but...” McCartney testified in 1971, ‘I think all of us (except possibly John) expected we would come together again one day.

You Never Give Me Your Money – Peter Doggett

John: George was on the session for Instant Karma, Ringo’s away and Paul’s – I dunno what he’s doing at the moment, I haven’t a clue.

Interviewer: When did you last see him?

John: Uh, before Toronto. I’ll see him this week actually. If you’re listening, I’m coming round. (Note: as AKOM point out, Toronto was before the divorce meeting. Why is he pretending it never happened?)

Feb 6th 1970 (audio snippet approx 1:14:00)

Interviewer: What about the Beatles all together as a group?

John: As soon as they’re ready, you know, we had half the Beatles on again at the Lyceum Ballroom. Uh it was George and me but we also had Delaney and Bonney and 17 piece band we had on, it was a great experience. Uh it should be like that you know, if we were doing that and all the Beatles wanted to come it would be great, and it would be no great thing about ‘oh the Beatles are coming back on stage’ like they expect, sorta of, Buddha and Mohammad to come on and play. I keep saying that, but that’s the fear the Beatles have, including me as a Beatle, about performing. It’s such a great – so much expected of us, you know, but you see George has been on tour with Bonnie and Delaney playing and I’ve been drifting around playing, it’s just playing isn’t the hang up. It’s going on as the Beatles that’s the problem for us.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:23:00)

Interviewer: Do you care about making another Beatles album?

John: I think Beatles is a good communication media you know, and I wouldn’t destroy it out of hand or dissolve it out of hand. So that’s what I think about Beatles.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:41:00)

Interviewer: Why do you think rumours like this start?

John: Because there was a lot of tension around the Allen Klein coming in days and the ATV thing going on, and the Beatles were under a lot of pressure and we had to be together all the time, fighting and arguing and listening to all the different business things. And so we’re taking a break from each other like we always did after a tour end. The business thing is like a heavy tour, in it we may get back in abbey road and a couple of singles and under a great strain you know, doing that business. And so now we’re just taking a break from each other.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:41:00)

You can’t pin me down because I haven’t got- there’s no- it’s completely open, whether we do it or not. Life is like that, whether I make another Plastic Ono album or Lennon album or anything is open you know, I don’t like to prejudge it. And I have no idea if the Beatles are working together again or not, I never did have, it was always open. If someone didn’t feel like it, that’s it. And maybe if one of us starts it off, the others will all come round and make an album you know.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:43:00)

In 1964 I produced a book, they were asking me that then, and why should I not write a book? The Beatles wanted me to do it, they wanted me to do these LPs, you know, they have nothing against it – I want George to produce and record any records he wants to. It doesn’t interfere with Beatle time, I use my own time to do other things and so do they. The Beatles will remain, there’s no doubt about that. And we’ve been saying it since She Loves You, we’re together and that’s it.

1970 (audio snippet approx 1:45:00)

I just uh I wanted to do it [announce the breakup] you know, should’ve done it. I think damn, shit, what a fool I was. But there were many pressures at that time, I think Northern Songs and all that was going on, it would’ve upset the whole thing. (Note: again as AKOM point out, the Northern Songs fight ended the day before the divorce meeting. Why would the pressure of Northern Songs impact John's decision not to announce the breakup?)

Lennon Remembers

1971:

INT: I asked Lee Eastman for his view of the split, and what it was that prompted Paul to file suit to dissolve the Beatles' partnership, and he said it was because John asked for a divorce.

JOHN: Because I asked for a divorce? That's a childish reason for going into court, isn't it?

John Lennon interviewed by Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld at the St. Regis Hotel, September 5, 1971

Well, there was this Japanese monk, and it happened in the last 20 years. He was in love with this big golden temple, y’know, he really dug it, like—and you know he was so in love with it, he burnt it down so that it would never deteriorate. That’s what I did with the Beatles.

John Lennon, interview w/ Alan Smith for NME: At home with the Lennons. (August 7th, 1971)

MCCABE: Let’s talk a bit about Paul’s aversion to Klein. From what we’ve read it seemed as if this wasn’t there in the beginning, even though Paul wanted the Eastmans to run things. But it came on later as things progressed. And yet despite this, we gather that Klein was still hoping that Paul would return to the group.

JOHN: Oh, he’d love it if Paul would come back. I think he was hoping he would for years and years. He thought that if he did something, to show Paul that he could do it, Paul would come around. But no chance. I mean, I want him to come out of it, too, you know. He will one day. I give him five years, I’ve said that. In five years he’ll wake up.

MCCABE: But Klein is still hoping?

JOHN: He said to me, “Would you do it, if we got your immigration thing fixed? Or if we could get rid of the drug conviction?”

YOKO: And people don’t understand, you know. There’s so many groups that constantly announce they’re going to split, they’re going to split, and they can announce it every year, and it doesn’t mean they’re going to split. But people don’t understand what an extraordinary position the Beatles are in, you know. In every way. They’re in such an extraordinary position that they’re more insecure than other people. And so Klein thinks he’ll give Paul two years Linda-wise, you know. And John said, “No, Paul treasures things like children, things like that. It will be longer.” And of course, John was right.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, interview w/ Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld. (September, 1971)

It was true, that when the group was touring, their work and social relationships were close, but there had been a lot of arguing, mainly about musical and artistic matters. I suppose Paul and George were the main offenders in this respect, but from time to time we all gave displays of temperament and threatened to ‘walk out’. Of necessity, we developed a pattern for sorting out our differences, by doing what any three of us decided. It sometimes took a long time and sometimes there was deadlock and nothing was done, but generally that was the rule we followed and, until recent events, it worked quite well. Even when we stopped touring, we frequently visited each other’s houses in or near London and personally we were on terms as close as we had ever been. If anything, Paul was the most sociable of us. From our earliest days in Liverpool, George and I, on the one hand, and Paul, on the other, had different musical tastes. Paul preferred ‘pop-type’ music and we preferred what is now called ‘underground’. This may have led to arguments, particularly between Paul and George, but the contrast in our tastes, I am sure, did more good than harm, musically speaking, and contributed to our success.

If Paul is trying to break us up because of anything that happened before the Klein–Eastman power struggle, his reasoning does not make sense to me.

John Lennon’s affidavit – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

JOHN: Yeah, Gilbert and Sullivan. I always remember watching the film with Robert Morley and thinking, “We’ll never get to that.” [pause] And we did, which really upset me. But I never really thought we’d be so stupid. But we did.

WIGG: What, like splitting like they did?

JOHN: Like splitting and arguing, you know, and then they come back, and one’s in a wheelchair twenty years later—

YOKO: [laughs] Yes, yes.

JOHN: —and all that. [laughs; bleak] I never thought we’d come to that, because I didn’t think we were that stupid. But we were naive enough to let people come between us. And I think that’s what happened. [pause] But it was happening anyway. I don’t mean Yoko, I mean businessmen, you know. All of them.

October, 1971 (St Regis Hotel, New York)

Q: "Did Klein hope to get Paul back into the group?"

JOHN: (laughs) "He came up with this plan. He said, "Just ring Paul and say, 'We're recording next Friday, are you coming?' So it nearly happened. Then Paul would have forfeited his right to split by joining us again. But Paul would never, never do it, for anything, and now I would never do it."

St Regis Hotel Interview, September 5th, 1971.

John would say things like, ‘It was rubbish. The Beatles were crap.’ Also, ‘I don’t believe in The Beatles, I don’t believe in Jesus, I don’t believe in God.’ Those were quite hurtful barbs to be flinging around, and I was the person they were being flung at, and it hurt. So, I’m having to read all this stuff, and on the one hand I’m thinking, ‘Oh fuck off, you fucking idiot,’ but on the other hand I’m thinking, ‘Why would you say that? Are you annoyed at me or are you jealous or what?’ And thinking back fifty years later, I still wonder how he must have felt. He’d gone through a lot. His dad disappeared, and then he lost his Uncle George, who was a father figure; his mother; Stuart Sutcliffe; Brian Epstein, another father figure; and now his band. But John had all of those emotions wrapped up in a ball of Lennon. That’s who he was. That was the fascination.

I tried. I was sort of answering him here, asking, ‘Does it need to be this hurtful?’ I think this is a good line: ‘Are you afraid, or is it true?’ – meaning, ‘Why is this argument going on? Is it because you’re afraid of something? Are you afraid of the split-up? Are you afraid of my doing something without you? Are you afraid of the consequences of your actions?’ And the little rhyme, ‘Or is it true?’ Are all these hurtful allegations true? This song came out in that kind of mood. It could have been called ‘What the Fuck, Man?’ but I’m not sure we could have gotten away with that then.

Paul McCartney, on “Dear Friend”. In The Lyrics (2021).

Q: “If you got, I don’t know what the right phrase is… ‘back together’ now, what would be the nature of it?” JOHN: “Well, it’s like saying, if you were back in your mother’s womb… I don’t fucking know. What can I answer? It will never happen, so there’s no use contemplating it. Even if I became friends with Paul again, I’d never write with him again. There’s no point. I write with Yoko because she’s in the same room with me.” YOKO: “And we’re living together.” JOHN: “So it’s natural. I was living with Paul then, so I wrote with him. It’s whoever you’re living with. He writes with Linda. He’s living with her. It’s just natural.””

St. Regis Hotel Interview, September 5, 1971

1973:

My last question was inevitable… Any chance of us seeing the four Beatles on a stage or record together again? “There’s always a chance,” grinned John. “As far as I can gather from talking to them all, nobody would mind doing some work together again. There’s no law that says we’re not going to do something together, and no law that says we are. If we did do something I’m sure it wouldn’t be permanent. We’d do it just for that moment. I think we’re closer now than we have been for a long time. I call the split the divorce period and none of us ever thought there’d be a divorce like that. “That’s the way things turned out. We know each other well enough to talk about it.””

John Lennon, interview w/ Chris Charlesworth for Melody Maker. (November 3rd, 1973)

MINTZ: Would you want to initiate that happening?

JOHN: Uh… Well, I couldn’t say. [long pause]

MINTZ: If you could, I mean is it something you would like to see yourself doing?

JOHN: If I could… I don’t know, Elliot, because you know me, I go on instinct. And if the idea hit me tomorrow, you know, I might call them and say, “Come on, let’s do something.” And so I couldn’t really tell you. If it happens, it’ll happen.

MINTZ: So it’s not something that you would totally rule out as never taking place again?

JOHN: No, no. My memories are now all fond and the wounds are healed. And if we do it, we do it, if we record, we record. I don’t know. As long as we make music.

November 1st/10th, 1973 (Malibu, Los Angeles): For Eyewitness News on KABC TV Los Angeles, Elliot Mintz

1974:

“No, no, no,” he answered and he meant it. “I’m going to be an ex-Beatle for the rest of my life so I might as well enjoy it, and I’m just getting around to being able to stand back and see what happened. A couple of years ago I might have given everybody the impression I hate it all, but that was then. I was talking when I was straight out of therapy and I’d been mentally stripped bare and I just wanted to shoot my mouth off to clear it all away. Now it’s different.

“When I slagged off the Beatle thing in the papers, it was like divorce pangs, and me being me it was blast this and fuck that, and it was just like the old days in the Melody Maker, you know, ‘Lennon Blasts Hollies’ on the back page. You know, I’ve always had a bit of a mouth and I’ve got to live up to it. Daily Mirror: ‘Lennon beats up local DJ at Paul’s 21st birthday party’. Then we had that fight Paul and me had through the Melody Maker, but it was a period I had to go through.

John Lennon, interview w/ Ray Coleman for Melody Maker: Lennon – a night in the life. (September 14th, 1974)

John seemed to be in a very strange state of mind about the dissolution. From the hints he had dropped since we had been together, I had learned that John’s departure from the Beatles had essentially been Yoko’s idea. Without Yoko to drive him forward, he felt strangely ambivalent about officially ending the Beatles at that moment. By nature, also, he felt inclined to take a position opposite from that of Paul McCartney. Paul desperately wanted that agreement signed. Whether or not it was the best thing for him to do, John, on principle, was inclined not to want to sign it.

May Pang, Loving John. (1983)

I’ll tell you exactly why I said that. We had a business meeting to break up The Beatles, one of the famous ones that we’d been having — we’re still having them 17 years later, actually. We all flew in to New York specially. George came off his disastrous tour, Ring of flew in and we were at the Plaza for the big final settlement meeting. John was half a mile away at the Dakota and he sent a balloon over with a note that said ‘Listen to this balloon.’ I mean, you’ve got to be pretty cool to handle that kind of stuff.

George blew his cool and rang him up: ’You fucking maniac!! You take your fucking dark glasses off and come and look at us, man!!’ and gave him a whole load of that shit. Around the same time at another meeting we had it all settled, and John asked for an extra million pounds at the last minute. So of course that meeting blew up in disarray. Later, when we got a bit friendlier — and from time to time there would be these little stepping-stones of friendship in the Apple sea — I asked him why he’d actually wanted that million and he said, I just wanted cards to play with. It’s absolutely standard business practice. He wanted a couple of jacks to up your pair of nines. He was one great guy, but part of his greatness was that he wasn’t a saint.

Paul McCartney: An Innocent Man? (October, 1986) (note: John is STILL stalling)

At that moment, John was at his most unpredictable. Suddenly his fears that his money was going to be taken away from him, that he was going to be cheated, that he had to have as much money as possible, had all come into play. This was also John’s way of resisting the reality that the Beatles were officially about to come to end, and that Paul was about to prevail.

Loving John, MAY PANG (1983)

1975:

“At the time I was thinking that I didn’t want to do all that Beatles—but now I feel differently. I’ve lost all that negativity about the past and I’d be happy as Larry to do ‘Help’. I’ve just changed completely in two years. I’d do ‘Hey Jude’ and the whole damn show, and I think George will eventually see that. If he doesn’t, that’s cool. That’s the way he wants to be.”

John Lennon, interview w/ Chris Charlesworth for Melody Maker: Rock on! (March 8th, 1975)

1976:

“I’ve always felt that splitting up was a mistake in many ways” John Lennon has said, and he believes a Beatles revival “would undoubtedly produce some great music.”

Australian Woman’s Weekly, 1976

1980:

“I and the other three former Beatles have plans to stage a reunion concert…” (Part of a statement in the legal disposition brought by Apple Corps against the ‘Beatlemania’ stage musical for trademark infringement. John was referring to an event that was to be filmed for a documentary being put together by Neil Aspinall. It was abandoned/shelved after John’s death, but ultimately became the Anthology project)

John Lennon, 1980

“Just days before his brutal death, John was making plans to go to England for a triumphant Beatles reunion. His greatest dream was to recreate the musical magic of the early years with Paul, George and Ringo … (he) felt that they had traveled different paths for long enough. He felt they had grown up and were mature enough to try writing and recording new songs.”

Yoko Ono, quoted in The Beatles: The Dream Is Over - Off The Record 2 by Keith Badman

[windvexer]

Hi chicken! Apologizes if this is something you have answered in the past, but how would one get rid of entity attachments? Why do they occur and how do you identify if it’s attached? Additionally, for example, if something followed you home and won’t leave even after banishing and it got through your protections and wards, what do you do in this case?

(Entity attachment anon!) I forgot to ask, is it possible for entities to attach even if you’ve layered personal protections on? I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone having this problem but I’m deeply curious.

Hi, Anon! Major UPG post alert ^-^

So this is a huge topic and I'm afraid there are no easy answers. If we're talking about entity attachments, what I've mostly experienced are entities who are just targeting people because they've already got a foothold.

I find the "energy cord" theory to be more effect than cause. In other words, if a linking energy cord is present it's because the spirit is haunting a person; the cord doesn't cause the haunting, but rather reflects and demonstrates the relationship between two or more things.

I don't know if I really believe in "attachments," specifically. Sometimes, certain spirits can become fixated on a person in the interest of causing harm or for deleterious personal gain, but this doesn't necessarily mean there is any special magical link between the spirit and the person being haunted. It's not an attachment so much as it is targeted harassment.

But I'm also a little hesitant on the topic because IME, it's very easy to interpret "a spirit is upset in my vicinity" to "I am being victimized by a negative spiritual attachment."

Also, if it sounds like something the Warrens would say, I'm extra hesitant to adopt it into my worldview.

For example, plenty of unpleasant spirit encounters happen because a spirit accidentally got trapped inside of a household. It's upset and it wants to leave, but the practitioner is taking steps contrary to solving the actual issue. If a spirit is trapped inside the house and the practitioner responds by redoubling wards and commanding the spirit to leave, the issue becomes intransigent; the practitioner doesn't understand why the problem is happening, so they are taking actions that seem rational, but in actuality can't solve the problem.

My take on resolving unwanted spiritual intrusions is therefore a pretty practical, but boring one: resolving them requires an understanding of why they are happening, and how to form an appropriate action plan centered around effective sorcerous techniques.

There are plenty of reasons why a person could have attracted unwanted spiritual attention, and they're all boring stuff too: You stole something from nature that wasn't yours to take, you worked magic in a place you shouldn't have worked magic in, you targeted someone who has their own spiritual protectors, you're behaving like someone who needs to learn a lesson and the lesson has arrived, you accidentally opened doorways that spirits stepped through, you modified the spell without understanding the steps, you started getting involved in things that were none of your business and now business is getting involved with you, and so on.

It's never "an evil spirit followed me home for no reason and walked through all of my wards and now it's attached to me."

It's always "oh yeah, last year I made a promise to a nature spirit in that park to bring it offerings every week, but I forgot, but trees are supposed to be cool, right? No, I don't remember the promise ritual I performed, but I do remember that I invited the spirit to come visit me whenever it wanted. Hey, wait, is that why it could walk past my wards?"

From time to time, the exact cause of an unwanted spirit haunting can't be discovered, or doesn't matter. Some times unwanted spirits kind of just do float in and start causing problems, but those problems are resolved through effective sorcery. This means not only casting effective spells, but also employing an effective strategy.

If the banishing didn't work, it was either an ineffective spell, or an ineffective strategy. The angry dryad isn't being banished because the jar wards you put up 18 months ago have a clause about always protecting invited guests from harmful magic. It doesn't matter if you're casting a good banishment; it's a bad strategy to resolve the situation.

This is probably going to sound a little mean of me, but if someone said that a spirit just walked through all of their protections and wards and can't be banished, my immediate assumption is not that it's a powerful spirit who has become specially attached. My assumption is that the person is working with ineffective magical techniques.

So a lot of dealing with unwanted spiritual intrusions isn't just attack and defense. It's also investigation, diplomacy, and strategy.

You ask if it's possible for a spirit to become "attached" to a person even if they have lots of personal protections, but I'm not sure my beliefs agree with the question itself. Could a spirit force a harmful connection with someone who is extremely well-protected? Maybe, but I doubt it. At a certain point, a point not even very difficult to reach, protection becomes so all-encompassing that it is transformative.

But also, having many protection amulets isn't the end-all, be-all of protection against unwanted spiritual attention. I suffered from unwanted contact for years that my strongest banishing and protection couldn't touch, and then immediately resolved it with a basic spell that employed an entirely different strategy.

At the end of the day, though, effectively dealing with unwanted spiritual intrusions can be complex and require a lot of different skills to appropriately tackle, even if the situation is easy to resolve once you understand what's going on.

So if you've found yourself in a pickle and there don't appear to be any doors leading out of the fun house, then I'd recommend just hitting up a spirit doctor. Not to speak too broadly, but it's the job of such folks to remedy problems caused by spirits.

Various doctors have various specializations, but many of them are able to directly intercede on your behalf or at least provide the information necessary to resolve the issue.

[sad-chaos-goblin]

About WHY the Metatron made the job offer

I have been thinking about what the Metatron's motivations could be for promoting Aziraphale. Since I am currently quite convinced by the Lie Theory (here is the meta that converted me) I am certain the true purpose of the "promotion" was to separate Aziraphale and Crowley.

But why?

Many reasons. Here's what I've thought of so far:

- "Makes it look like there's an institutional problem." The Metatron may have actually been quite disinterested in A/C up until the Beelzebub & Gabriel incident. But, now that it's happened once, he can't allow it to happen a second time. (Specially as Beelzebub & Gabriel defect and run off together. Their happy ending is a direct challenge to both the concept of "hereditary enemies" and the unrelenting loyalty Heaven and Hell demand).

- The Metatron canonically knows all about Crowley and the questions that caused his fall. Aziraphale has already shown that he is much more of an independent thinker than the other angels. It's easy to infer that this is partly due to Crowley's influence leading him to question Heaven's actions. Metatron would want to stop this before it gets any further and get him back in line (although I think we all know our angel is well past the point of no-return).

- They are EXTREMELY powerful together. Their "tiniest, most insubstantial, fractional half a miracle" was anything but. Imagine how powerful their combined miracles would be if they performed them without holding back. The Metatron is afraid of this, it is too huge a power to be wielded by two beings that are proving to be very defiant of the status quo. (I realise the huge miracle thing could just have been caused by Gabriel being connected to them when performing it, but I am not convinced by that theory. I strongly believe that them being incredibly powerful together is going to be a Thing in S3).

- Getting Aziraphale to return to Heaven as Supreme Archangel means the Metatron is once again his Superior. It restores his control over the rebellious, demon-fraternising angel. It's a show of Heaven's power and dominance.

- And one more reason: the Metatron is an absolute DICK.

If anyone has any additional input or comments about this theory I'd love to hear it.

Additional thoughts:

Yes, Crowley is a huge influence on Aziraphale but the only reason he can be of such influence is due to the angel's pure innate goodness + his willingness to break the rules when necessary (going as far back as when he gave away his flaming sword). It's a goodness that pushes him to accept Crowley challenging his beliefs, to not follow Heaven's mandates blindly, a goodness more complex and nuanced than the intransigent and unforgiving concept of "goodness" espoused by Heaven. A goodness that understands the importance of shades of grey.

The Metatron may have got Aziraphale to go back to Heaven but he has absolutely not regained "control". He may have the upper hand right now but the angel is not being submissive, he is being strategic. He knows this is the only possible course of action right now in order to eventually have a safe future with Crowley. I'm unsure if he has realised yet that the system needs to be completely brought down, or if he still thinks he can fix it. But he's definitely going to eventually fuck some shit up and it's going to be so satisfying to watch.

[batsplat]

Tysm for your deep dives into MotoGP I LOVE your posts no matter how long or short, you have such a keen eye and pen for weaving history with narrative and the psychological patterns of the sport. 

I was hoping to hear your take on the decline of the Japanese manufacturers in MotoGP. I’ve only been into the sport since the end of 2023 so still super new!! And I’ve learned so much from ur blog 🙏🏽

Ive been seeing some takes on here about how a lot of prominent MotoGP podcasts present the decline of Yamaha and Honda as a result of the Japanese “culture”. Idk if you’re an avid podcaster so basically there’s this narrative of the Japanese as an isolationist developer which refuses to bring in/poach European engineers and copy off Ducati bc of national pride + historical dominance . Also that they’re too risk adverse and slow to develop and test new parts on the bike.

I Totally agree with the tumblrinas that this  seems very one-note (and racist) analysis to say a “cultural difference” is the ONLY thing influencing the Japanese teams decline over the last decade. Would you know/could guess of any other factors that could’ve led to this decline in performance? Sorry for the long ask <3

never apologise for a long ask, and that's very kind!!

I haven't seen the tumblr takes but I do listen to the podcasts - and yup, some of the discussions of the japanese manufacturers make me pretty uncomfortable. on a semi-related note, sometimes feels like motogp for an individual sport is oddly preoccupied with questions of national character and broad strokes generalisations of entire countries/linguistic groupings/continents? idk, I can't articulate it well, but I do think it's a thing... in any case, the cultural essentialism when it is directed at japan often threatens to take on quite a condescending, patronising tone. essentially propagating a narrative that the wise europeans need to go over to japan to teach them their ways etc etc... it's really not great

now, the problem we're faced with here is that like a lot of people, I get most of my motogp news from the guys who are also doing the podcasts. which means that I am inevitably pretty reliant on them in forming my own opinions on this sport - like,, I'm not going to know all these other factors for the current struggles of the japanese manufacturers if they don't tell me about them. that being said, sometimes it's an issue of framing more than it is of the actual content of the reporting. to the best of my knowledge, it does seem true that japanese manufacturers have stagnated in part because they haven't hired widely enough, including probably from the europeans. this isn't because europeans are inherently better at designing bikes - the japanese manufacturers did dominate the sport for decades, after all - but that's just how things go sometimes... centres of knowledge shift, it's easy to fall behind. right now, for the current formula of the sport, getting yourself dall'igna or a dall'igna protege seems like the way to go. it's not some uniquely japanese national pride or intransigence that has made them so sluggish in embracing the new era... it's mostly just human nature that you're going to be resistant to change if your way has been the right way for a long time, right

worth pointing out that plenty of manufacturers can be arrogant about this kind of thing, including the italians. look at ducati's complacency after winning the 2007 title that sent them on a bit of a downward spiral until around 2014 - not helped by how they didn't rate their star rider and only had a wake up call when they gave their national idol an unrideable trash can for two years. which brings us to another reason for why the japanese manufacturers are doing so badly: the margins being so small nowadays. like, in absolute terms, honda/yamaha aren't dramatically further away from ducati than ducati was to honda/yamaha in circa 2012, but everything is just a lot closer now and you've got a million ducatis plus an assortment of aprilias and ktms to reliably slot into that gap. doesn't help!! so suddenly you're finishing p14 rather than p7 in the championship... a related factor is how strong satellite teams are nowadays; in the alien era, riders not on a factory bike were generally at way more of a disadvantage than they are now. that era specifically also featured quite a 'weak' grid for various reasons related to the impact of the financial crisis, teams lacking resources and dorna making up the numbers with crt bikes, etc... the point is that while on paper ducati's wilderness years look considerably less catastrophic than what's happening now, the strength of the current grid has made honda/yamaha's situation look even worse than it otherwise would. what's happened to the two traditional powerhouses in the series is pretty unprecedented, but not entirely so

that being said, obviously honda and yamaha are in serious trouble - and have been for a while now. you can kinda get into the weeds with both of them about how their competitive situations have developed... honda's overreliance on marc, for instance, their willingness to build a bike nobody else could ride - or how yamaha traditionally treated their satellite teams as customers rather than partners, plus how they never really managed to respond to long-standing rider concerns about the bike that went all the way back to when they had valentino/jorge on their team. (yamaha being chronically underpowered is something that does actually crop up in the mid noughties and never quite went away - there's something kinda fascinating about how motogp bikes in some respects seem to have quite an immutable character.) I wrote a short 'how did we get here' post for honda specifically - and as mentioned in that post, setting aside fabio's 2021 title, the decline for yamaha basically started when the switch to michelins and ecu happened in 2016. on the flip side, you can also focus on the ducati side of the equation and figure out how they've gotten so good, from how they've pushed the sport on in their technical developments with the wings and infernal ride height devices and all of that... how aprilia and ktm have been more willing to just straight up copy them, while the established powerhouses have been more reluctant to change their ways. you can point to how the pandemic (plus the war in ukraine) impacted different manufacturers to differing extents - including of course in making the third japanese manufacturer leave the grid entirely

which is all well and good, but it would still be interesting to get a bit more insight into why it's the japanese manufacturers specifically that have been flagging so badly. it feels like there's a pretty obvious next step here - get some takes from japanese people themselves. this does feel like something english language reporting on motogp in general is woefully short on given how big a role japan plays in the sport... journalists seem far more likely to discuss what has been reported in italian or spanish or german or whatever sources than drawing from japanese publications. which feels like a problem!! I have a twitter list with a few japanese accounts that talk about motogp, and I've tried to poke about to figure out some answers to this issue before. one bloke who seems to be quite well-respected and established in the paddock is akira nishimura, who writes for this japanese site and also occasionally publishes columns in the japanese version of motorsport dot com. now, I'm aware that getting one japanese perspective and drawing conclusions solely on the basis of that isn't ideal, but I reckon getting one japanese perspective is still better than getting none at all. so let's get some of his thoughts!

firstly, here is an article about the transfer of 'brainpower' between suzuki and honda after suzuki left the sport. I thought this was really interesting in terms of discussing some of the structural factors at play here that can help explain why there haven't been more outside hires:

isn't this helpful? cut out all the essentialising bullshit, and here we have some actually useful context. even namechecks the dall'igna move from aprilia to ducati as something that wouldn't really happen with japanese manufacturers - and yes, that does feel like it would be a problem if it means you're trying to figure out this aero business with no outside help. also helps contextualise how the big name hires made by yamaha and very recently honda are pretty significant, given how relatively unprecedented they are. and here is another article about how japanese companies are structured, in the context of poorly timed reshuffles at honda. again, it's not about the japanese needing to be 'shown the way' or some such crap... it's just that right now, the people best equipped to figure out the current formula of bikes are probably being employed by some european manufacturer or other and you probably want to get them on board. you hire their guys and copy their tricks, tale as old as time

then there's this column from last year about ducati's current dominance, which is useful in both giving us some insight about what some of the japanese discourse looks like as well as in providing explanations for the current malaise

that's really the main takeaway, isn't it - it's all part of the competitive cycle. sometimes it's european manufacturers who have had the upper hand, sometimes it's the japanese ones. there'll always be some competitive paranoia and mudslinging going on, as well as heavy criticism of those who are currently losing out - and at times people will get pretty racist about it. also makes sense that a more closed-off approach to knowledge sharing would help you when you're the ones currently winning, right, whereas it'd hurt you when you need to have some knowledge shared with you... ducati is doing really well because they happened to crack the code for how to build the best bikes for this current era in motogp, and the japanese manufacturers probably should have been faster in copying them. that's how it goes sometimes

also - while I haven't differentiated between english language reporters in this post, it is worth pointing out that the bloke I've been citing has been published on the motomatters website and was on an episode of the paddock pass podcast when news first broke of suzuki's withdrawal back in 2022. that one's obviously primarily just focused on suzuki - but it's still interesting, not least because suzuki was at least doing better than honda when they withdrew from the sport. the episode also discusses some historical context surrounding the last time the sport was in crisis in the late noughties with the financial crisis and kawasaki's withdrawal. then there's a thursday paddock notes episode from motegi last year, which included this exchange:

Q: Akira, is it enough to change personnel in Japan, or do you think there also needs to be some harder implementation of a program in Europe? I mean, we see Cal Crutchlow is doing a wildcard appearance this weekend for Yamaha, he was talking a little bit about Yamaha's processes and it does seem that there needs to be kind of a harder effort on both sides of the world for the Japanese to make some big strides quickly. Nishimura: I think only changing personnel doesn't change anything. Probably they will - it's my personal impression but probably they have changed their engineering philosophy, or their organisational structure itself. And [I would say] changing, or fixing. [...] Even if they bring some more from Europe to Japan, that guy cannot work how they want to. So the problem is down to structure itself or their management in engineering.

look. it's a complicated topic and we're not going to get into all the nuances in one tumblr post. obviously you'd want to get a bunch more sources than this from inside japan to get a better sense of what's going on. I am not an expert on the japanese labour market and kind of just have to take this reporting at face value, which isn't ideal. but let's just finish this post off with a list of plausible-ish-sounding reasons for why the japanese manufacturers been struggling so badly (x, x, x):

smaller margins between bikes, more competitive european manufacturers, and the strength of satellite teams exaggerating how far behind honda/yamaha have fallen

ducati bringing in dall'igna, the subsequent aero revolution, and the fact that the other european manufacturers have been more willing to copy ducati than the japanese manufacturers have been

japanese manufacturers being less willing to employ outside hires in their important roles, limiting the extent to which they can make use of ideas already developed elsewhere

a more sluggish development rate, leading to a bike that isn't changing fast enough to deal with the scale of the problem they're facing

somewhat nebulously characterised differences between european and japanese manufacturers, criticising the working process of the latter - in particular their conservatism in making changes to the bikes

the delayed impact of cost cutting measures implemented after the 2008 financial crisis, which has forced manufacturers to rethink their approach to testing. having to operate from both a japanese and european base - in particular in the context of the pandemic - has hindered the japanese manufacturers

a more substantial language barrier between test riders and engineers than in european manufacturers - paired with a conservatism in not letting enough race weekend testing happen. there has been a post-dall'igna cultural shift away from that conservatism in european manufacturers that has helped them progress faster

ducati making better use of their satellite teams, partly by running more bikes and partly just by treating them better (cf yamaha scaring off their satellite teams)

so yeah, I agree with the distaste for some of the english language reporting on this issue - though my issue primarily isn't with the actual content of the reporting as much as it is with how it's being framed, how the problem is being diagnosed. you can say that the current approach to testing probably isn't ideal and also that they need to be poaching more brainpower without talking about how all this reflects the japanese national character or whatever. just... dial down the condescension, guys. and maybe tell us what japanese sources themselves are saying now and again

[ofprevioustimes]

Not to be romantic on sinday but reflecting upon what is the ultimate proof of love and respect that Helen would expect from a partner is to be someone who is willing to defend her but not protect her. Someone who will be able to stand aside and let her embrace danger if that is what she must do, because they understand and respect her reasons. Menelaus is that kind of person to her. It's part of the reason why she chooses him. There are politics involved, sure: Tyndareus has already joined Mycenae and Sparta through Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, but that bond is yet strengthened by Helen's and Menelaus' marriage, as later on Tyndareus also arranges to marry Hermione to Orestes, which makes it clear to me that he was indeed planning to make it all into one big legacy. For Helen, too, there are political reasons involved. You can bet that she would do anything in her power to prevent marrying any firstborn prince - she very much intended to be queen of Sparta. Among the second sons, the most influential was undoubtedly Menelaus, through his closeness to the Mycenaean crown. But politics isn't all there is to her decision. Although I'm not too sure about how the timeline works with Agamemnon's and Menelaus' period of exile in Sparta, I like to believe that Helen may have gotten a chance to meet him long before the gathering of the suitors. That could be an advantage or not, depending solely on the merit of his character, which was absolutely in Menelaus' favor - and I'm not even talking about the fact that she fell in love with him, which she absolutely did. She would be willing to sacrifice love for the sake of ruling beside the right king, but she didn't have to. Aphrodite seemed to have agreed to her plans at least that one time. His temperance balanced her impatience just right. Her pragmatism balanced his affability. When her intransigence may become a problem, he is there to set things right, just as Helen is there to keep him grounded if his heart gets in the way of his better judgement.

It was a politically arranged marriage, yet there was love from the beginning. There was love and yet that was not the reason why she chose him. She chose him because his own nature made him the best candidate to occupy the throne beside her own.

[qqueenofhades]

Might I request Helnink sharing their country’s winter/holiday traditions with each other?

"I don't care how traditional it is in Fjerda," Nina says warningly, putting her hands on her hips. "I am not eating lutefisk."

Matthias gives her a slightly hurt look, as if they're finally reunited (well, mostly) and working on actually reconciling, and the first thing she does is go and slander his country's terrible, terrible food. The winter solstice is an observation of particular significance to Djel -- something about the renewal of the year, the holy light returning to the fallen world after an eternity of darkness, and so forth -- and Nina would think there would be more joy and cheer to it, but of course, Fjerdans are suspicious of anything that looks too much like fun. There are other traditional foods, to be sure, some of which she might even voluntarily consume. But when it comes to lutefisk, no. She is putting her foot down.

"Fine, then," Matthias huffs. "What do they do in Ravka, then?"

"We have lots of things," Nina informs him, "that people actually like to eat. Babka, kalach, sochivo, peljmeni, tvorozhniki, just to name a few. I'd cook some for you and we could have a contest, but that might throw you into terrible religious disfavor."

Matthias throws a sour look at her, as if to point out that by virtue of deserting his homeland and his calling, his military training, his order of humorless witch-hunters and all the rest, and taking up in carnal cohabitation with a Grisha demoness, that pretty much does for any scrap of his religious favor anyway. Nina laughs, then bites her cheek, feeling slightly guilty, and pads over to put her hands on his chest. "I can, if you want," she adds. "And I'm even willing to take a stab at some Fjerdan food, but no lutefisk. What else?"

He thinks about it. "Pinnekjøtt," he says, after a moment. "It's a special rack of lamb. Same with juleribbe. And there's rice pudding with sugar and cinnamon, risengrynsgrøt. Marzipan, apples, almonds, hot spiced wine." He pauses, eyes going briefly distant. "My mother used to make marzipan candy. A long time ago. It was one of my favorite things about Yule."

"Well, then," Nina says briskly. "We'll just have to find Fjerdan marzipan somewhere in Ketterdam. If we did make a whole dinner, do you think Kaz, Jesper, and Wylan would want to come?"

Matthias snorts. His opinion of their new cohorts remains unavoidably low, though there's a grudging and very unspoken respect between him and Kaz. Jesper is always up for any party anywhere, of course, and Wylan will perforce tag along. Nina's up for eating most things, and even despite her intransigence on the issue of lutefisk, she does want to do something to make the holidays special for Matthias. They're not quite as tentative around each other as they used to be, but after how long he spent rotting in the guts of Hellgate -- it's the least she can do, that's all.

"What else?" she says. "Is there a service? Do you have to go prostrate yourself for hours in front of some frozen ash tree, or -- ?"

"Some of us," Matthias says with considerable asperity, "do still take the gods seriously. What about you?"

"Ravkans go to church, usually. Kneel in front of the icons of the saints and ask for their blessings." Nina hasn't been religious for as long as she can remember, and frankly, after what she saw the so-called Sankta Alina do in the Fold, the way she used black merzost to bring back her defunct otkazat'sya lover, she's especially suspicious of anyone or anything proclaiming to be pure and holy as sunlight. "I don't think I'll be doing that this year, though," Nina adds, half to herself. "I've never really wanted to."

Matthias briefly looks as if he is about to deliver a stern sermon on her lack of pious sentiment (truly, why does she like this man so much?) but then sighs and gives in. "All right," he says -- and look at that, the big bad druskelle, actually making compromises. Maybe there is hope for them after all. "As long as we get the food."

"Oh." Nina rises on her tiptoes to kiss him -- just on the cheek, but still, and at last, he does not flinch away. "When it comes to Nina Zenik and food, you can always count on me."

[real-time-twilight]

Breaking Dawn in Real Time

September 8th, 2006 (Friday)

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous 🌖

🌄 Sunrise: 6:43 AM

🌅 Sunset : 7:46 PM

Breaking Dawn, Pgs. 145-224

Ch. 8 ("Waiting for the Damn Fight to Start")

Ch. 9 ("Sure as Hell Didn't See that One Coming")

Ch. 10 ("Why Didn't I Just Walk Away? Oh Right, cuz I'm an Idiot")

Ch. 11 ("The Two Things at the Very Top of My Things-I-Never-Wanted-to-Do List")

5:30 PM (Approx.) - Jake argues with Paul about Paul hanging around when Rachel (Jacob's sister, Paul's now-fiancé) isn't home, and breaks his nose; Jake retreats to his room and contemplates the rapidly growing number of pack members who have imprinted (an occurrence which is supposedly rare), and his discontent at waiting for the news of Bella's return as a vampire, or her death

6:00 PM (Approx.) - Unable to sleep with Paul laughing in the living room, Jake leaves for a walk

6:05 PM (Approx.) - At the beach, Jake meets Quil babysitting Claire; Jake asks Quil if he ever thinks about dating until Claire grows up; Quil tells Jake he has no interest because Claire is his only concern; Quil returns Jake's question and tells Jake that he should maybe try dating and move on from Bella.

6:15 PM (Approx.) - Jake and Quil hear Sam howling to call a meeting; Jake heads off while Quil takes Claire to Sue Clearwater's House; while Jake is en route, Seth informs the pack that Bella and Edward returned the previous week and that Bella is supposed ill and quarantined at the Cullen House; Jake takes this to mean that Bella has been turned and that the treaty is broken, giving the Pack carte blanche to eliminate the coven

6:18 PM (Approx.) - Jake and Leah arrive to the clearing where the pack has gathered; Sam is reticent to attack, feeling that the Cullen's should not be punished for Bella's decision

6:22 PM (Approx.) - Quil enters the Wolf Chat; Jake and Sam continue to argue; Jake returns to human form, deciding to confront the Cullens himself

6:30 PM (Approx.) - Jake returns to his house to get his bike, but its waylaid by Billy, who asks him to help him into the house; Billy asks Jake about the pack meeting, and tells Jake to leave the Cullens alone

6:35 PM (Approx.) - Jake leaves on his bike

6:50 PM (Approx.) - Jake arrives at the Cullen House and is greeted by a somber Carlisle; Bella asks to see Jake, who immediately realizes that Bella is still human and that something is very wrong with her, as she looks extremely ill; Bella reveals that she is pregnant

6:53 PM (Approx.) - Edward tells Jake to go outside with him, Bella asks them not to fight; Edward and Jake go out and Edward confirms Jake's suspicion--that Bella's pregnancy is killing her and that they cannot abort the pregnancy, even by force, as Bella wants to carry it to term and is being supported by Rosalie, Emmett and Esme.

7:02 PM (Approx.) - Edward proposes that Jake try to convince Bella to terminate Edward's child and, if she wants children, to have them with Jacob instead; Jacob says that Bella will never agree to that, but promises, on Edwards request, to kill Edward if and when Bella dies

7:10 PM (Approx.) - Edward and Jacob return to the house; Edward asks that Jake and Bella be left alone to talk; Rosalie reluctantly leaves Bella's side; Jake tries to convince Bella, who insists that she can survive the pregnancy long enough to give birth, with the intention of being turned as soon as the baby is out

7:14 PM (Approx.) - Jacob switches tacks, reminding Bella of what Edward will do if her plan fails, but Bella remains intransigent; Jacob asks why she is suddenly desperate for a baby, and Bella explains that she doesn't want to carry the pregnancy through because she wants a child, but because she wants to have Edward's child (despite the fact that it bruises her when it kicks)

7:17 PM (Approx.) - Jacob indirectly hints at Edward's suggestion and Bella realizes how desperate Edward is

7:19 PM (Approx.) - Bella asks if Jake will come see her again; Jake says he doesn't want to watch her die, and leaves

7:20 PM (Approx.) - In the woods, Jake transforms into a wolf, greeted by the relieved and furious thoughts of the pack; Sam orders Jake to return at once; the shocked pack are apprised of Bella's condition in Jake's thoughts and rush to meet him about ten miles from the reservation

7:23 PM (Approx.) - The anxious pack conclude that the unknown nature and swift growth of Bella's child poses a threat which must be eliminated, even at the cost of Bella's life; Jacob and Seth object, but Sam uses his authority as Alpha to force them to comply, and begins to formulate a strategy

7:30 PM (Approx.) - Quil and Embry try to engage Jake in planning the attack; Jacob defies Sam, invoking his own unclaimed authority, as the great-grandson of the previous Alpha, and splits off from the pack

7:35 PM (Approx.) - Seth catches up with Jacob, having chosen to follow him instead of Sam; Jake tells him to go back, but Seth refuses, and posits that his decision may not even be reversible, pointing out that neither of their minds are linked to the rest of the pack anymore; Jacob reluctantly allows Seth to stay

7:40 PM (Approx.) - Jacob and Seth arrive at the Cullen House and warn them of Sam's intentions; Seth leaves to run the perimeter of the Cullen's exclusion zone; Emmett calls Carlisle who had gone hunting with Esme; Edward thanks Jacob, who asks after Bella: Edward says that Bella is worse

7:43 PM (Approx.) - An irate Alice (her clairvoyance stymied by the wolves involvement) demands to be brought up to speed; Seth reports no sign of the attack yet; Jacob leaves to patrol with him

7:50 PM (Approx.) - Seth meets Carlisle and Esme and fills them in

7:52 PM (Approx.) - Seth returns to wolf form and suggests that Sam will have abandoned any plans of attacking now, having lost the vital element of surprise; Jacob recalls his conversation wherein he agreed to kill Edward if Bella dies; Seth, very put out with Jacob for this, begins to howl

7:55 PM (Approx.) - Jacob returns to the house; Edward informs Emmett, put on alert by Seth's howls, that it was a false alarm, and that it seems unlikely that Sam will go forward with the attack

8:00 PM (Approx.) - Jacob patrols outside the house and sees Bella in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV, through the windows; Jake returns to Seth to begin an all-night patrol.

[chthonic-cassandra]

18, 28

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

I answered this question once already, but will give a different answer this time - Adriana (third vampire bride in my version). I adore her and love writing her, but the nature of how I've characterized her means that her focus and priorities often aren't the same as those of either the main characters of the series or of me as the author. I felt strongly about her point of view being in the series, but it took some tricky finessing to get that to work.

There's also a scene in Complicity where finding a realistic reason for her to go along with the other character was one of the hardest character things I did in the series. I'm still not totally satisfied with how I did it.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

Intransigence, the penultimate part of Compromise. I am deeply proud of all parts of the series I finished this year, but this one was in many ways the true emotional climax and I am very attached to it. In particular, the ways that it mirrors and inverts the first story was something I worked hard on and am quite pleased with.

[catiuapavel]

what do you think ozma's quest to reform lodis actually entails? i find her dialogue with lanselot in the law route to be very interesting because she is so harsh on him and his methods! but it's not as if she personally sees anything wrong with torturing people, invading foreign countries, installing puppet leaders, etc etc etc. i think she is incredibly interesting because we recruit her, but the story doesn't try to convince us that she had a sudden moral breakthrough or anything. but she appears quite sincere when she talks to lanselot. i really wish we knew more about what's going on behind the scenes in lodis. i think finding out what happened to hobyrim and learning that she can't trust the dark knights played a big part in it, obviously, learning that she was playing the part of a pawn for someone else's plotting...

You raise a really interesting point which her ending(s) always leave me thoughtful about! I'm in agreement there is certainly a bulk of hypocrisy on Ozma's part, and I like that Lanselot points it out in Reborn.

(Top 3 funniest things he's ever said though)

One of my favourite things about her is that she does very little to appear sympathetic, which is unlike the other people you can recruit who either do a better job of hiding their worst qualities or show a much greater ability to change. I agree there is absolutely no moral breakthrough from her at all!

Still, being the victim of all this manipulation has definitely lifted the veil from her eyes... Sometimes to recognize something is wrong, you need it to happen to you, I suppose. She participated in using some very condemnable means because she believed in Lanselot's course of action but I also think she was misled and only saw the tip of the iceberg (still though... a very sharp and nasty tip). So I'm inclided to think she didn't realize the grip Lanselot and Balxephon had on the High Priest and the rest of Lodis. So now that she knows, I do think she's sincere about reforming Lodis and turning it away from authoritarianism in order to do right by her people.

That being said Ozma isn't just any soldier or any Lodissian citizen, she is a noblewoman from one of the most prized and influencial Houses in the empire and they're written as directly responsible for a lot of reprehensible things Lodis has done, starting with expanding and enslaving neighbouring nations. The game makes it clear corruption, Lanselot and Balxephon aren't the only problems with Lodis and I'm less convinced with Ozma's desire to reform this.

Her exchanges with Andoras (and specifically the one in Tzorious Field) make me think she has a loooong way to go before considering these issues.

That being said, I don't think it's completely impossible either. She knows Oz, her beloved twin brother, guilty of having betrayed her and I think this has been a blow to her personal conceptions of family. Hopefully this also leads her to become intransigent about torture as well since Ozma displayed a bizarre "Whatever my brother does is fine so long as I don't have to witness it" stance while coming down on Barbas and Martym for slaughtering civilians (which I always thought was her most blatantly hypocritical quality tbh).

By the end of the game, she does show an ability to question what's right and wrong. Timidly still, but there is something budding there.

(This is probably the most guilty and humble she appears in the entire game. This isn't much but hey, it's a small self-aware step)

Honestly I see two possible and believable developments for Ozma. She can try and make Lodis a less corrupted place, try and free it from Lanselot's iron grip and turn a blind eye to the rest, ignore the suffering Lodis brings onto the rest of the world. Or she can go further still, better herself and her House by aknowledging all the wrongs it's done. That would need her to let go of her pride and go against her upbringing which would also be an interesting and valuable perspective. I'm also convinced this would be significantly harder without Hobyrim who has a strong head start on her in this regard, and generally appears more compassionate and principled.

Imo if a continuation had been written, this would have been one of the most important points to follow-up on and I'd have been interested in an Ozma whose flaws lead her to half-baked and hypocritical measures or in an Ozma who has to reconsider all she's known and her own morals. At least not knowing for sure allows me to consider both possibilities.

Also thanks for sharing your thoughts and enabling me to blabber about My Beloved Ozma like this! It's nice to read other people have pondered that aspect of her character!

[nancydrewwouldnever]

From things I've heard about Chris.... no, he doesn't listen to a lot of advice. Someone recently used the word "petulant," and that's an impression I've gotten from some things I heard. He doesn't take criticism well at all, and I think sometimes even suggestions that don't jive with what he thinks sound like criticism to him./ Could you please elaborate, Nancy? I'm new to the fandom and I feel like the last weeks seems like a Pandora box was opened lol. Or can you please tell where can I find more info about what you said?

Unfortunately, I can't really link to those things. These were just little aside comments during JS round one on different blogs and forums. Little comments here and there about him ignoring suggestions from his team from commenters who actually had "ins" at the time with people who worked for his people. The sense you got was that he could get very intransigent and stubborn, to the point of petulance.

[philosopherking1887]

And saying "well, some Jews are anti-Zionists" doesn't get you off the hook. Imagine you said that all African-Americans who vote for Democrats are evil thugs who deserve to die, and if someone called you an anti-Black racist, your reply was "well, *some* African-Americans vote Republican, so I don't hate all of them." That's exactly what "I hate Zionists, not Jews" sounds like to most Jews.

Many, many historically oppressed ethnic groups want self-determination, which, if they aspire to democratic government, means a state where they are the majority. This is not the same thing as wanting an "ethnostate," where only members of a certain ethnicity can have full rights as citizens; it is simply the desire to have a place where they are not a vulnerable minority, subject to the whims of majority populations that have a history of becoming violently hostile or otherwise targeting them for repression. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo had every right to want an independent state after Serbia's attempts at ethnic cleansing/genocide. Black Africans in South Sudan had every right to want independence after years of civil war with the Arab-led government in the north. Most Leftist/left-leaning people around here are very pro Scottish, Welsh, and/or Northern Irish independence from the United Kingdom. Many support Catalan independence from Spain, after their history of cultural and linguistic repression under the Franco government. I'm not sure whether a majority of Uyghurs in Xinjiang support independence from China, but if they did, they would be within their rights to demand it. And no Leftist would object if any of these groups insisted on drawing the borders of the new state to ensure that the ethnicity whose self-determination was at stake constituted a majority, though of course they would rightly object if everyone else were kicked out or relegated to a second-class status. (Indigenous New Caledonians are quite right to object to France giving a lot more French citizens the right to vote there, probably to dilute the Kanak vote in any independence referendum! That doesn't mean they're demanding an ethnostate where only Kanaks have rights.)

Zionism is the Jewish desire for self-determination. Historically, the problem for that ambition was that the Jewish population was not geographically concentrated anywhere; that was why there were various proposals for places to put the new Jewish state, including Uganda (for some reason) and Greenland (presumably because it's relatively sparsely populated). There were many reasons why the movement ended up converging on the historical homeland of the Jewish people in the Levant, some of which look ugly to us now. The displacement of much of the Arab population was a historical wrong; the continued occupation of the Palestinian Territories and the intransigence of many Israeli governments on laying the groundwork for the establishment of a Palestinian state, to fulfill Palestinian Arabs' equally legitimate aspiration for national self-determination, are ongoing wrongs.

But we have no time machine to go back to 1948 and undo what was done (which seems to be what many Leftists are advocating for; if you had a time machine, why not go back a few more years and prevent the Shoah...? Oh right, you don't care about that). A Jewish state has now existed for 75 years (despite some people's frankly infantile insistence to the contrary); about 7 million Jews, somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the world Jewish population, are now geographically concentrated there. Should they all be displaced to make way for an Arab state not only in the regions where they now make up the great majority, but "from the river to the sea"? (Recall the Arabic slogan that the English phrase only loosely translates: it is not a demand for abstract freedom, but for a different ethnicity's dominion over the whole territory.) How many Jews would have to be displaced to fulfill the demand for all descendants of Palestinian refugees to return to the plots of land their ancestors owned? (It was wrong for ethnic Armenians to displace the Azeri inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s; was it therefore right for Azerbaijan to displace the Armenian inhabitants in 2023?) And if satisfying that demand made it impossible for Jews to *also* fulfill their demand for self-determination -- which, again, Leftists around here seem to think is a generally acceptable, even righteous demand for historically oppressed ethnic groups to make -- why does the first claim necessarily outweigh the second? (The idea of having two states with overlapping territory and citizenship/jurisdiction not determined by territorial borders is kind of interesting, but I have serious doubts about how viable that is in practice.)

something I don't think goyim realize is that the vast, vast majority of jews, at least in my circles (reform plus some conservative american) self id as zionists. I know there are groups that are antizonist, the ultra-orthodox communities in new york for example, but by and large, if you meet a jew or know a jew, especially an older one, they are a zionist. this is why "antizionism not antisemitism" doesn't work. because almost all jews are zionists. in that they believe israel should exist, not that all of its actions are great (because I have to explain that every time I post about this bc goyim have defined "zionist" as "evil person" and "zionism" as "evil beliefs"). so if you hate all zionists and want all zionists to die and think all zionists are evil, congrats! you hate almost every jew, want almost every jew to die, and think almost every jew is evil. and if you think the vast majority of an ethnic minority deserve to die you're a bigot against them. you can't separate jews and zionists because most jews are zionists. you are convincing yourself that there's two separate independent groups here when by and large there's massive overlap. are you beginning to understand the problem?? please??

[scentedchildnacho]

Naomi Uman: A Gaze

They told me to forgive judy she doesn't actually know what she does....so I did try to help her think deductively and tell her the common public does know these are suicide pogroms

She told me if I didn't have business there that i had to leave so I said I dont at this level of crisis have business with anyone....i would have to be one of those people that goes to jail after a binge privilege instead of just learning world literacy patience....

Then i said Judy this is a mental place I suspect that suspecting their not mentals is false reasoning and their mentals they cannot do current jobs Judy mentals truly cannot do things in this type of economy

Then I asked Judy if she accomplished any form of triage........and she said I just don't see behind the scenes so I said this is a crisis place and you actually have to have a triage social purpose to ask people to leave like place people or restart their federal social or actually accomplish something social and moral

Well mentals are about mass murder in Nazi germany too and I'm from the states so I know that experiencing the relevance of laws isn't a new emigration that can thieve and just go away to its first sponsor nation

There are laws Judy their student crises and neuroplasticity history changes things and it's not okay to emulate intransigent people it's weird to not let people economically recover

Arabs become more and more relevant here because things get as distressed as Europe and I can't just go grab wallets about a cup of coffee

Jobs their brains can't change with history and new policy and protocol and it's not okay to promise them things will be okay

Then trump comes around and it's they won't make people leave more for their health and safety they won't regularly close business so people leave the coast line more for their health and safety then floods

That's me about current poverty I have to be sent to Judy so jobs can be viewed as just selfish criminals and they try to turn sal armies into jails to put all the jobs in....

That's Dachau concentration camp....that would be the relevance of Phyllis chesler and madness theory

I don't know I tend to favor resistance Judy because I found out I believe death is only a liminal state and the idea life ends is impossible....and I don't want to go to jail for hyper profit that just hurts people sometimes when I can just resist and not go to hell ...

Don't tell me to go to hell

That's me about the above video and latin american vet pride if your going to be really German gay and kill everyone funding a navys lewd mean gay parties then their going to finally get ya Judy if ya play Judith fest

Well the situation is hyper politic...Ed....so it's still not retarded to think slowly and basically about composition it just lashes and batters eyes like Vietnam native comparisons creepy lights everywhere

Well they may be are just mentals so their not a new species and they do fit in with some bodies company in some way though

I am going to leave though to cities companies largely employ mentals I just hate current jobs to eating disorders and how people manage space just to be a mean witchy person....

Something about the eating disorders bothers me the worst.....its just never a good company if eating disorders can be used too physically

Their eating disorders and people used them very physically and made them interact socially too much when if people achieve boney it's just smell the tea and do your imagination to talk about later and model and look pretty

I don't think normally and it bothers me when normalcy can tolerate deliberation

I guess giving to jobs never repairs roads or gives people not jobbed a job so gosh I must feel really disciplined to not have to make Leo go to work at job thief migrants from here to there

Candombes tango they appropriate art forms like trail from here and buy European property off us and make fun of our deepest absence art form so European governments make them learn what they require from us so

So after that little to nothing gave back after that brutal of a niche consumption day I try to not give business anything so Irish Leo doesn't catch em with business not theirs

I was white so people like me about fair to jobs sees their innocence and attempts at pleasing everyone and doing the best they can do I know they don't appreciate criticism but Irish people tell me their bad people

Giving to jobs and there still is a lot of landscape destruction car malfunction weird occurances policing never improves security is never satisfactory if jobs is given things

Why are cops always going around being huge unfeminine men that enjoy doing gross male things sexually......than bonding together shooting at a female jogger from a car.....I don't know it's really huge Nazi gay male time and nothing is done for anyone

Most gays know to do hetero time to cultivate their feminine sensibility...I didn't like him as a speaker at first till he was like he just can't understand why two gross males want so much time together when they could become feminine and trans

I don't at first understand the politically incorrect unsympathetic at first