#also like every political belief i have has come from me reading at least a decent level on the subject

[paterklatter]

Please get off tumblr. You’re too young. People here are brainwashing you.

dickrider dickrider dickrider dickrider dickrider

[scintillyyy]

Hi. I love every second of your blog going "Fuck Chuck Dixon. All my homies hate Chuck Dixon." concurrent with "Dixon could often be remarkably competent as a writer with legit interesting ideas." Please never stop writing metas.

listennnnnn i hate dixon he's awful. he's also written stuff i really enjoy despite the many glaring faults.

the thing with dixon that i'm always trying to suss out tho. like, i think because current day dixon has been radicalized in a truly awful and horrendous way, there's a lot of desire to place his current day radical beliefs onto every aspect of his past works and blame everything on him and him alone as this one terrible writer who ruined all characters for ever and ever just because he's a conservative. but like. i think that because he's an awful person it's easy to place blame on him retroactively for some things that weren't necessarily solely a product of his conservatism or his fault alone.

and mmm. i never ever deny the conservatism present in his works. it's present in his robin book with tim, it's present in his nightwing book with dick, and it's present in his batman books with bruce. but people sometimes act as if he was working in a batoffice that had the current day issues it does where writers are given a carte blance to do whatever they want with all characters with little regards to continuity or character growth. that did not happen during his tim under denny in the 90s--denny o'neil was known for running a fairly tight ship (i can't find the interview but there's an interesting retrospective interview he does wrt jason where he talks about his failures as an editor and how he was too hands off and not firm enough allowing writers to do what they pleased which led him to become a much stricter and firm editor following jason's death because he learned from the experience). dixon in that interview i posted made it clear that o'neil wouldn't even let dixon touch the joker until dixon had demonstrated to o'neil he had a grasp on the character that o'neil approved of. dixon would not have been allowed to do whatever he wanted with characters like robin/tim. without o'neil putting a stop to it if he had gone too far. and for the record, o'neil was a big old bleeding heart liberal that, at the time at least, dixon is noted to have gotten along with very well despite their political opinion differences even at that time. dixon says he was an avid read of grant's work on batman. he's awful now, but at one point he was probably younger and a bit more willing to entertain ideas that weren't his own too.

so when i look back on his work as a historical work, i'm always trying to tease out the following - is this representive of dixon's brand of conservative views in particular or is it representative of a different, overall more conservative time era. and there's a lot of things that fall under the second umbrella that get attributed to the first tbh. listen i love no man's land and understand that despite my love it is full of copaganda and downright conservative ideals by today's standards. but NML wasn't written solely by dixon to push a uniquely conservative pro-cop view--o'neil approved of the story and was the editor of the office at the time. rucka was a huge player in helping tell this super pro-cop story (he even wrote the novelization!!) and nobody ever really puts blame on him for these things the way they do dixon afaik. NML being written in a 'democrats trying to be tough on crime' era absolutely means it's not solely the fault of dixon and his evil conservatism, but he often gets the flack as if it were despite the fact that he was getting these stories okayed by people on different ends of the political spectrum than him + these stories were not his evil conservative brainchild alone.

so these are the things i'm thinking when i read through his works. and maybe that gives me a rosier view than it should, but a lot of my thoughts come from "what can reasonably actually be attributed to showcasing what dixon's views actually are" vs "what might actually not be his fault and his fault alone".

and when i say that tim generally isn't the one who showcases his personal views, i'm not trying to minimize the fact that there is inherent conservatism baked in to his character along with everyone else written by dixon, i'm saying that we need to be realistic and realize that dixon did not have as much freedom to do with tim what he had freedom to do with tim's side characters. tim, after all, had to ultimately fit in o'neil's batbible framework of what he was supposed to be because tim was ultimately an IP character who was part of a batman and robin mythos that o'neil was very, very protective of in the 90s given his previous failures to maintain control of the ship. so when you consider dixon's particular conservatism in tim's books you need to consider that the vast majority of it came from the characters surrounding tim (such as his dad, dana, steph, etc) because dixon had more freedom with those sorts of characters, rather than tim himself who often doesn't have any particular opionion of his own--he's just reacting to all the different opinions being presented to him. and that's not to say that those character should be evil conservatives forever and ever--in fact, i personally think they shouldn't. but take the racist and classist inner city kids are bringing guns to school storyline in robin #25-26. as a whole it's a conservative story. o'neil allowed dixon to do the story in the first place when he could have said no. in the story tim wanders around not knowing what to do about karl bringing a gun to school--which is why he has to go to his dad and dana, who represent "go to the cops/don't be a narc options"--his dad is the one who tries to talk to karl's dad--karl is the conservative one who thinks that they need to protect themselves from inner city kids compared to tim who thinks that guns shouldn't be in school. but tim also thinks that they shouldn't go to the cops and wants his dad to handle it by himself, but eventually comes to the realization that he should have gone to school administration to begin with. in these issues, steph is also the one who dixon uses to link karl's shooting to the inner city kids who are getting bused in to the suburban schools--we talk about that panel of steph declaring herself the protector of the suburbs, but also that panel in context is within the confines of the story--steph is essentially saying "maybe the suburbs need a spoiler (to protect themselves from the inner city people coming to bring crime out to them)" which absolutely is a conservative dixonism that you can pinpoint to his particular kind politics in comparison to the milquetoast of tim's "i don't know what to do/talk to a trusted adult to get help before tragedy happens PSA/overall conservativeness" that happens. that the story itself that exists in tim's book is conservative, yes, and i won't deny that tim also has a few conservative dialogue here but to me the difference is that o'neil would not let dixon use tim drake to go on any overtly political rants or represent any specific ideology *himself* that could make him controversial with readers of the time given how protective o'neil was of not repeating his previous mistakes. you're generally going to find the more egregious dixonisms outside of tim. like "robin 1993 is a conservative book that has a pro-life storyline" (true) =/= "tim goes on an anti-abortion rant" (not true, literally never happened). tim shares blame because ultimately it is his book that presents a conservative worldview but tim as a character tends to exist as a more moderate (not completely, but more) character to have other characters present options and opinions to him rather than he himself saying he has those opinions. robin cannot take sides like that. o'neil wouldn't have let that happen.

and like. when discussing dixon my goal is never to completely absolve tim of dixon's writing. i just don't often see a need to completely rehash the tim-conservatism points because it's been discussed already over and over again to the point there's a pretty widespread misconception that tim is the ultimate dixon conservative mouthpiece who is solely at fault for all of robin 93's conservatism when actually there's a lot of other interesting places dixon's conservatism presents that are almost never discussed in comparison. my goal is not to be "tim's not at fault" or anything but it is to seriously consider and think about where i see dixon's personal opinions shining through more overtly based on what i know of the conservative mindset (as much as i don't agree with it). dissecting dixon and how he writes in consideration of his beliefs is fascinating and fun to me.

anyways he's awful.

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

hi, sorry if this isnt a good blog to send this to i just dont know where to turn atm (if this isnt a good blog to ask for help plz lmk where would be better, soz). im 22 and figuring out im sapphic & im trying to join online lesbian spaces but everyone seems so anti-babydyke and im starting to notice that being a lesbian is more about discourse and infighting than it is about wanting to kiss a lady. i thought it was about kissin ladies and thats what i want but how do i make other lesbians not hate me? i feel like all of the other lesbians expect me to have a PhD in lesbianism before i call myself that, before i consider a femme attractive, its like i have to pass thru all these hoops to prove myself even to other queers that im a real lesbian because i can name every lesbian historical figure. again super sorry if this is a bad blog to send this to i do not have a clue who to ask about this or anything im totally lost rn lol (genuinely sorry for literally being that annoying baby dyke ppl complain about rn. ignore me if you want im not gonna be tilted. thx for listening

This isn’t a bad blog to send this too. I’m just genuinely sorry you are going through this and I’m sorry if I don’t have a way to help. But I’ll try my best!! And maybe some more people in the comments will be able to help in ways I can’t.

But just know I’m sending you lots of love and that there isn’t anything wrong with you. At the end of the day, regardless of whatever else is happening, your sexuality really is just simply who you are attracted to. And that’s okay. You are enough ♥️♥️

(I’m also going into this assuming you are at least 18+, so I apologise if I’m wrong on that )

Firstly , you aren’t just seeing things. There is definitely a lot of infighting in the community. Like a lot. I would say it’s typically more intense and in your face online then it is IRL, but I’ve also seen IRL gay groups go really deep off the end with with this stuff.

From what I have read and from people I have talked to, this has sadly sort of always been a thing. We just have different waves of it and different things it might be focused on based on the time period and the world events affecting that at the time. I think in general it’s a very human thing that allllll groups do, but when you are in a marginalised, oppressed and small group of people it can feel a whole lot more concentrated and obvious because there is less room for it to go.

Again, this is just based on conversations I’ve had and things I’ve read, so take it with a grain of salt. But there has also been misunderstandings, disagreements and different beliefs on what things are , what they mean and who should do what in the community. Ranging from politics to fashion to marriage to sex to identities around butch/femme and what it means. For one piece saying something you have another saying something different.

This can cause a lot of confusion and infighting amongst people. A lot of tension at times. And because of trauma a lot of people tend to want to be around people with similar alignments in understanding and belief.

A lot of things can affect that like age , location etc.

But none of that is a reflection of you or your worth or your sexuality. And there ARE people in the same boat as you. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.

There have been waves in the past of some women using and or claiming lesbianism to be a response to sexism. We are currently living in the time after that. And because of that a lot of opinions and thoughts and actions taken place are in a response to that wave. Be it people trying to push it , denounce it , confused by it or hurt by it.

I think this has lead to some of the scaffolding of the current culture we have today.

I understand that need and drive for community and the horrible feeling that can come along when the said community feels like it is in shambles. I feel that way a lot too. And I’m sorry I can’t take that away.

I feel like I’m rambling at this point I’m sorry.

I just want to say though there is nothing you have to prove to anyone. We all figure this stuff out at our own pace. Anyone who treats you poorly for not knowing something or just genuinely not showing interest in it is on them. Your lesbianism doesn’t mean you owe anyone an opinion or a certain way of dressing or feeling. The only person you owe is yourself and that is to show kindness to yourself and be around people who respect you and love you for the wonderful lesbian that you are.

EDIT : I just re-read and you said you are 22 I’m so sorry I missed that 😩

[hchollym]

my belief that percy didn't genuinely like umbridge is moreso based on my characterisation of percy, and I was wondering if you (our resident text analysis pro) had anything on the textual side? or any thoughts? for me, anything 'positive' per see that percy says about umbridge is said in the context of professionalism - even his letter to ron, which he may have been aware could have been read by umbridge (considering we know umbridge read harry's letters later on, her screening his best friend's letters isn't a stretch). I don't see someone like percy gelling with someone like umbridge - percy likes rules and respects authority. he isn't cruel. umbridge is, fundamentally. feel free to disagree though!

I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to respond! 😭 But thank you for the title of resident text analysis pro! That's very sweet. 🥰

There's nothing in canon to really tell us what Percy thought vs. what he said, so it's all based on headcanons.

I personally think that as soon as Percy realized that Umbridge was cruel, then he definitely disliked her. Percy fully believes in doing the right thing and protecting the little guy, and Umbridge is literally the opposite.

However, we have keep in mind that Percy didn't know that right away. Umbridge's behavior wasn't public knowledge, and it's not like Percy's younger siblings were writing to tell him what was happening at Hogwarts. Fudge wouldn't have told him either, because he would have wanted plausible deniability; if Umbridge's cruelty comes to light in the media, then of course he didn't know what was happening.

So prior to Percy learning the truth, I do think he could have liked and respected her (or who she pretended to be, anyway).

At the beginning of Book 5, Percy & Umbridge are both present during Harry's trial for using magic outside of school. During this time, it becomes clear that Umbridge does not like Dumbledore and is insulted by his accusations against the Ministry of Magic (even if she addressed it in a polite way):

“I’m sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore,” she said with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever. “So silly of me. But it sounded for a teensy moment as though you were suggesting that the Ministry of Magic had ordered an attack on this boy!” She gave a silvery laugh that made the hairs on the back of Harry’s neck stand up. A few other members of the Wizengamot laughed with her. It could not have been plainer that not one of them was really amused. “If it is true that the dementors are taking orders only from the Ministry of Magic, and it is also true that two dementors attacked Harry and his cousin a week ago, then it follows logically that somebody at the Ministry might have ordered the attacks,” said Dumbledore politely.

Percy did not trust Dumbledore either (for good reason), believed in the Ministry of Magic (or at least wanted to), and would have appreciated the way she handled it so calmly instead of being brash and unprofessional.

In addition to that, Umbridge is very eloquent and talks a good game:

“The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.”

“Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress’s sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation . . .”

“. . . because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited.”

All of that sounds good - she wants to focus on education, revise and improve Hogwarts' curriculum (which is lacking, particularly in consistency), and fix a broken system to restore order (because she knows that Dumbledore is an incompetent Headmaster; see linked post above).

Percy would definitely be in agreement with all of those things (and understandably so).

Plus, it's clear that Umbridge is not going to let people like Harry get away with whatever they want (which Dumbledore did, along with showing blatant and ridiculous favoritism toward him). Percy absolutely despises unearned favoritism; he wants power and recognition, but he fully believes he has to work for it. To Percy, Harry getting treated like an exception to every rule is no different than when it happens with people like the Malfoys, and he would be all for getting rid of that.

We obviously know that Umbridge's methods were awful and she was pure evil, but Percy didn't know that initially; he just knew that her self-proclaimed "goals" were things that actually did need to be done. Of course, as soon as the truth came out, Percy was likely horrified that he ever said anything positive about her!

Thanks for the ask! 😊

[seepweed]

oh tigs i am a staunch defender of merlin... i watched it when i was like 10 when it was reairing on cbbc so it was right place, right time for me... you just gotta take it for what it is which is that it's a family tv show which, when you're not a child, is very camp that's played mostly straight and you gotta ignore the really bad cgi and focus on the dynamics and politics which i think is the most interesting bits. the uther arc in the late series is so fucking good.... anyway ily hi <33

noooo please danny DX

the show is so bad. like. SO bad. don't get me wrong, though!

i am definitely intrigued by the dynamic of the clumsy page boy (who uses this image as a cover to not get. literally executed.) and his loving bestie who is also clumsy, but in social situations (gwen) and her superior who thinks she's just some girly plagued by vividly scaring nightmares bc the only people that know better lie to her (partly to protect her and partly. idk just because?) and HER arch nemisis, the jock who is going to be the heir of this kingdom that executes part of their socity bc "idk something happened but dont get me wrong, we're the good guys". it IS really interesting

but like. coming back to the politics because i am not over the fact that they established a kingdom where "fantasy discrimination" is a core part of their believe system (magician's r evil). they adhere to this belief, they execute people of said "minority", the king (read: ruler) has a direct say in who gets executed (every magician) and nobody can challenge the ruler's believes (even morgana, one of his closest fellows fails to change his beliefs throughout season 1), this is all because some magician's hurt him in the past or whatever AND THEN this show introduces THE MAIN CHARACTER "merlin" as like this "really cool really powerful sorcerer and he can like. to tons of cool shit" but they follow that with "yeah and he is under the threat of being killed by the oppressive system in place at any given moment, WHICH THEY SOMETIMES PLAY FOR LAUGHS??? and then they let him become extremely affiliated with the system (representative: arthur - who at least seems to be able to change his mind about magic troughout season 1) AND THEN. THEY INTRODUCE SOME FUCKING 8 YEAR OLD IN ONE OF THE EPISODES THAT *LOOKS* LIKE THE MAIN CHARACTER THAT *IS UNDER THREAT OF EXECUTION BC OF HIS MAGIC LIKE THE MC* AND THEN THEY HAVE *THE MC ARGUE PRO KILLING THE KID BC OTHERWISE HIS ARTHUR (REP. OF OPRESSIVE SYSTEM) MAY GET HURT IN THE FUTURE.*

what the actual fuck?

also yeah did they not have any money for the cgi? anyways hi danny!!!!! ily too i'm so happy to hear from you again! i may have thoughts on this show later on. might elaborate :O hope that's ok...

[cmcsmen]

Catholic Man Moment - Seeking the Guiding Star: A Catholic Man's Journey in Matthew 2:1-12.

Gospel for Sunday, January 7, 2023 The Epiphany of the Lord

Matthew 2:1-12: We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.

Seeking the Guiding Star: A Catholic Man's Journey in Matthew 2:1-12

The dazzling tale of the Epiphany of the Lord shimmers with the significance of Jesus' manifestation as the Son of God. But beyond the grandeur of this event lies a thought-provoking question for every Catholic man: What star are you seeking?

As you go about your day, do you think about the image you project to others? What is your identity in their eyes? Many may label you with a digital identity, but in the real world, who are you as a man?

Consider your identity in different spheres of life - at church, with your family, among your colleagues. Do they see you as a faithful follower of Christ, a man of integrity and trust? How is your belief in the Gospel reflected in your actions and decisions?

In the quest to grow in your faith, how can you deepen your trust in God? The journey of a Catholic man is not one of idle contemplation, but of active transformation. May the light of the Epiphany guide you in becoming a man worthy of the guiding Star - Jesus Christ.

Gospel Mt 2:1-12 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010724.cfm

Said another way …

Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the wise men (also known as the Magi) who came from the east to find and worship the newborn king, Jesus. This event is known as the Epiphany, meaning manifestation or revelation, and it is a reminder of the universal nature of Jesus' message and the inclusion of all people in God's plan of salvation. The wise men followed a star, guided by their knowledge of scriptures, and were not afraid to seek Jesus despite the political turmoil and potential danger they faced. As Catholic men, we are called to be seekers of Christ in our own lives and to be a light for others. Our identity should be one of faith, love, and service, both in our personal relationships and in our communities. We should strive to live differently, with the Gospel as our guide, and continually grow in our trust and relationship with God. Let us always be open to the signs and guidance of God, just like the wise men, and let our identity be one that reflects our love for Christ.

[septicbro1005]

Vent under the cut

TW: Transphobia

So, for context, I'm gonna audition for another show relatively soon, and it's gonna be The Outsiders. Now, I've loved that book ever since I was a kid, it was my favorite. The characters, the story, it all felt amazing. I realized as I read that book more when I got older that part of the reason I liked it so much was that I wanted to be part of that found family the boys created together. I wanted to be friends with them all, but obviously, that can't happen. And with a fairly recent reflection, I've found that every time I have pictured myself as a part of their crew, I've been a man. I've been male, and I've been another brother.

You can imagine my excitement about possibly being a part of this show, right?

And my mom asked me today who I was planning on auditioning for. I know some friends of mine who are younger who are planning on auditioning for some roles, so I figure I wouldn't be the best option for Johnny or Ponyboy. So I started to explain that and before I can even finish (mind you, I'm in the car with my mom on the way to a very important appointment, so I can't exactly walk away from this conversation) my mom scoffs. And then she says something so fucking out of left field that it feels like a smack in the fucking face.

"You know you're never gonna look like a man, right?"

... pardon?

She continues on about how I'll never look like a man, no matter what "chemicals" I take or whatever surgery I get. I'll always look like a young boy or an effeminate man because of my stature and my figure. I get it, I'm a short person (5' 2" or about 157 cm) and most of the fat I have goes to my hips and backside. She also talks about how she knows I "feel like a boy" but I'm genetically female so that's all I'll ever be, no matter what I try to do.

And then when I go fucking silent because I have no clue how to respond to her, she then says "Y'know, I feel like you want me to have these conversations with you, but you get mad at me whenever I do just because I don't share the same perspective as you."

While we do have different perspectives, yes, it's not as though I haven't tried to see it from her perspective. I know I look feminine. I know that. I wish it wasn't true and I hate even thinking about it, but I know that I do. I've tried to shove myself back into that "female mold" and it worked for two years. And I was fucking miserable.

I also understand that she has had less exposure to transgender people than me. I also understand that we have different political beliefs. That's all fine. But it's not like my mom has tried to see any of this from my perspective, at least not to my knowledge.

She's never asked me further questions about how I feel about my gender like my dad has, she's never bothered to look into what testosterone does and what the side effects are, and she's never talked to me about being transgender except for when she wants to essentially scold me for it.

She still thinks I'm a fucking lesbian. I've never thought about being a lesbian because I know damn well I'm not. Men are great! I like men! I also happen to like women! I think they're amazing too! Anyone else who has a gender that doesn't fit in the traditional gender binary is amazing too!

But here she is, still calling me a fucking lesbian. She knows I bind my chest, she knows I prefer a more masculine name, she knows that I prefer to be regarded as male if I can't be regarded neutrally.

But nope. No, I'm not allowed to be referred to in a way that makes me feel comfortable at home because it's either "too hard" or it's "bullshit that people on the internet make up for attention."

I've always uncomfortably brushed aside the minor transphobic comments she's made about me and the community as well as some other bigger ones about me. I've always told myself "oh, it's fine, she'll come around eventually" and some stupid part thinks that maybe she will. But it's gonna take years for that to happen. And I think the only way it would ever fucking happen would be if I transitioned medically and showed her "hey, testosterone does more than just make your voice deeper and give you a beard. it actually changes fat placement, body shape, body odor, and loads of other shit too!"

But that's not happening. Not soon, anyway. So for now, I just have to keep fucking brushing those comments off and hope that I don't fucking snap one day.

[o-wild-west-wind]

I hope it’s okay if I add onto this, and I want to preface by saying I’m not in any way negating what you’ve said but perhaps reframing this angle—because as a brown person with an anthropology background (who absolutely doesn’t speak for everybody, so DO NOT take my word as authoritative please—multiple disparate voices are a great thing actually!) I think one has to be careful when analyzing this topic to avoid any unintentional supremacy of written-language cultures.

Personally, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing in isolation to headcanon Ed as illiterate. Do signs more clearly point to the reverse in s2? Yes! But what’s most important to remember is that literacy does NOT equate to competence or intelligence.

For one, written language has often been a colonial imposition and a tool of cultural genocide. To use Ed’s (aka. Taika’s) Māori heritage for example, a writing system did not exist before it was forced upon Māori people via colonization by missionaries. This absolutely does not and should not reflect in any way on the “development” of a culture (cultures being more or less developed is a fallacy, and there is no such thing as positive or negative cultural evolution); after all, oral and other non-written traditions are known to be as rich and have as much utility as written ones (aka. the differences are neutral in nature). Personally, prior to s2, I headcanoned Ed as being functionally illiterate in the western sense of the word partially as a means of rebellion in a situation where he would have had little control otherwise; being a child abused by a white parent (don’t forget he’s biracial and that has baggage!), I could envision him as wanting to distance himself from the parts of his identity that overtly carry that same colonial, abusive role. Is that potentially a stretch? Sure. But as someone who was never taught my own native alphabet in favor of the Latin one and had to learn of my own volition in adulthood (a process I have struggled immensely with, because the brain struggles quite a bit with language learning post-childhood in a way that has nothing to do with intelligence—reading isn’t an intuitive skill), this take on Ed helped me to process my own complicated resentment. Just like grammar, literacy is political—and we will all feel the impacts of that politicization in differentially meaningful ways.

And in a related vein, I think it’s also important to remember that while this show is not historically accurate (thank fuck), it still has established homages to historical accuracy—which includes the canonical illiteracy of at least the majority of the crew besides Lucius and Jim. This is because literacy has historically been an issue of class, and not intelligence. Take Frenchie for example, who has an obvious joke about not being able to read, and yet with Olu (also presumably illiterate) they outsmart every literate aristocrat. And considering that it’s well established that Ed does not come from a privileged life where literacy would’ve been a given, it isn’t a stretch to assume that he would have had a similar experience as the rest of the crew. I think the show does a great job, actually, in establishing that being lower class/born to poverty has almost the reverse effect on intelligence in these characters; rich characters are buffoons in comparison. Definitively illiterate characters like Frenchie turn the stereotypes of illiteracy on their head, and I think that’s actually a good thing.

Where I do think the racism lies, which is what I think you are referring to OP, is within the conflation of literacy with intelligence. Unfortunately, what happens is this sort of infantilization that coincides with the concept of illiteracy; this belief that one is incompetently unable to navigate the world as a literal genius without being able to read. But, honestly—it’s the 1700s. So many people can’t read and the world is designed to accommodate that. If Ed truly couldn’t read, that would have no impact on his ability to do pretty much…anything. It’s a neutral trait.

And to expand on this, I think the racism also happens when it is presumed that a white character like Izzy can read just because they’re white (personally, I had presumed Izzy couldn’t read either). There are non-racist ways around this, I think—I mean, a take on Izzy where he would’ve grown up more privileged than Ed in way that adds to his complex could be interesting to examine. It requires care, really—which I think is why it’s such a tricky topic, for sure. Not an impossible one, but a careful one.

Lastly, I want to point out that just because a character is a genius doesn’t mean they’d necessarily teach themselves to read just because they’re intellectually capable of it. Ed, while certainly capable of anything he puts his mind to, has clearly lived a non-stop trauma-fest of a life. Say he was never taught to read and/or write as a kid, and now finds himself the world’s most brilliant tactician. It would not reflect negatively on him to consider that he might never have been given the time to learn to read, in favor of the more relevant skills to his life. Maybe now that he’s with Stede, now that he can just relax and do things for fun instead of survival, he can learn the skill that he never needed to know before. In this era, when reading might not have as much utility to him, he may have just prioritized other things. I think many of us have also headcanoned him as neurodivergent in some way or another; it’s not racist to think of him as potentially dyslexic or else have other reading disabilities so long as you’re not downplaying his other traits. This kind of parallels the common assumption that being non-verbal, for example, makes you less intelligent or have less agency than others just because you can’t speak (it doesn’t) and I want to be careful to avoid leaning into that kind of rhetoric.

Tl;dr I don’t want to ignore the racism in the room on this topic, because it’s 1000% there, and I thank you for calling it out OP. I also thank you for the historical relevance of the X—that’s incredibly powerful historical context and I’m so glad that’s being shared!! I just want to make sure that we can have these conversations in a way that doesn’t inadvertently perpetuate stereotypes in the reverse. As someone who very openly uses characters to process the shit in my life, I don’t want others to feel like they can’t do the same if this means something to them—I mean, language & literacy learning is fucking hard, and not to be egotistical on main but it helps me process that I can still be intelligent and respected even though reading and writing in non-Latin script has me feeling like my brain is literal glue. Or I think of my dyslexic spouse, who has had to prove time and time again that they’re smart despite the fact that reading is a painful and difficult process for them.

So just be mindful, really. Use this show as a way to critically analyze race, as it gives so many tools to do. If you inadvertently perpetuate a harmful stereotype and someone is hurt by it, that doesn’t make you a bad person at all—just apologize and use it as a learning experience!! It’s the intention and thoughtfulness that matters. Because this is what art is for in the end—it’s a means to help you process the reality of the world and hopefully to grow within it. Be nice to each other and keep working to make fandom as much of a safe space ship as possible 💛

I am absolutely shocked that we're still seeing claims that Ed is illiterate. Aside from the racism of it all (why is that we have to debate if a brown man can read?), it's just clearly disproven in the show.

Aside from the massive interest Ed shows in Stede's library (part of that is class, of course, books were a rarity even on land and Ed has probably never seen so many in one place before), and the papers on his desk in his cabin, Ed is literally shown reading on screen at the party in episode 5. He seats himself at the table before most of the other guests have filled in, so it's not a matter of chance, and we're clearly shown the placecard that he had to read to let him know where to sit.

If that's not conclusive proof that Ed can read, I don't know what is.

Okay, then why did Ed sign the Act of Grace with an X? Historically, it's true that signing with an X was often used for people who were illiterate, but you know when it was also used? Indigenous leaders in North America often signed treaties with colonizing forces with an X, symbolizing that the treaties were being made under unfair conditions and they did not approve of the terms but they had no other choice. (If you're interested in this topic, check out X-Marks by Scott Lyons; it's a great book.)

I'm open to discussion about how and when Ed learned to read. Did he teach himself? I read a fanfic once where his mom smuggled books from the estates where she worked so he could learn, I love that idea. Does he like reading, or is it another upper-class thing he struggles with convincing himself he can have? Ed's relationship with literacy is definitely a worthwhile conversation to have. But there's no question that he can read, and I am so sick of reading about how a White man has to teach him.

[pompompurin1028]

Beneath a Sunshower 

Summary: Beneath a sunshower, Dazai met you, and having become attached himself to you for years, Dazai grows to be deeply fond of you

Pairing: Kistune! Dazai x reader

Genre: Hurt/Comfort (?), AU

Warnings: Implied failed suicide attempt, mentions of desire for death

A/N: Dazai's views on life in this fic is perhaps more similar to PM Dazai, since kistune Dazai is potrayed as such in official arts. Additionally for context of this fic, some facts about kitsune! Most sources I have read, and from my own knowledge of kistune, cutting off all their tails seem to be the way to kill one. I've also read that kistune sometimes attach themselves to households or people, so basically that's what happens in the fic. Also, it seems that there was the belief that a sunshower meant that two kistune are being married, in some regions it seems to be associated with a good omen but in some it seems to be the opposite, for the sake of the fic, it will be the former.

An additional note, this fic is written as a submission for @hanemiso 's dreamscape collab! And to the anon who asked me for a kitsune Dazai fic, I hope you like it!

My Masterlist

The arrival of Spring filled Dazai with a feeling of ambivalence. 

Though some part of him wished for nothing but to bask in the sensation of the warmer weather. To indulge in the feeling of the sunlight hitting his skin, and the fur of his tails when he lies beneath the peach tree, as its pink buds slowly blossom into flowers after the chills of Winter. Yet a feeling of apprehension continued to fill him. Though this feeling of unease did not seem to be discerned from rational origins, Dazai knew that his intuition rarely failed him, and this thought caused the ears that sat on the top of his head to twitch. With this, he could only come to one conclusion: there were human beings approaching his way. 

As a kitsune who has gained the ability to shapeshift into a human centuries ago, and had mingled among its societies, as he began to find familiarity within them, it was only so long before Dazai found himself increasingly repelled by them and their uniquely deceptive natures, or, perhaps the better way to describe his sentiment would be one of disappointment and bewilderment. 

Although, perhaps, it was hypocritical of him to say, since his kind was known for their mischievousness, tricking people with illusions and transfiguration abilities, which caused him to be just as guilty at least in the eyes of unspoken rules of human interactions during his time in the human world. However, what Dazai fails to comprehend is why fair and equal exchanges handled with ambiguous wordings, through which he was involved, are labelled as acts of "trickery" and "robbery" when doing so only allows for both parties to avoid offence to one another and is even seen as polite in his culture. On the other hand, honey-sweetened praise accompanied by fake smiles used to suck up to others, even though the same person may speak badly of them behind their backs, may be seen in the human world as a norm. Is increasing the schism between reality and the imagination really such a cruel deception when masks are already so often at play between humans? Or maybe this “cruelty” he had been designated with is merely a result of being non-human and other, when in fact some human beings seem to be the cruellest of all. 

But even so, he found himself continuing to watch as human beings continue with this same way of life, in their perpetually sordid complications, even as every moment seemed fleeting as the cherry blossoms in April throughout the centuries. From once involving himself among them, filled with curiosity and intrigue, to merely observing from afar as he grew to find, despite the apparent changes that occur, the hollowness which lies beneath it all. 

It was during such a springtime that Dazai found himself wondering if the years that have passed could still be worth living when human society which he had been disillusioned of, and even life itself, had slowly grown so contemptible. At some points, he even began to consider this natural born immortality he had been given, which many of his kind had described to be a gift, as a curse. 

He thought he would only be further convinced of his disenchantment with human beings when he found himself being attacked by a noble and his fellow men this Spring, striking with the intent to kill as revenge for a trick some other kitsune had pulled from what Dazai could gather. Though faced with the threat of death, part of him could not bring himself to care as he taunted the men. So close to giving him what he desires, he was almost tempted to say.  

“How unfortunate,” Dazai mumbled to himself, his ears perked up slightly, as he felt the timely first drops of rain falling from the clear sky against his skin, stinging the wound he had just gathered. He winced almost unnoticeably in response. Shifting to leave the scene after he transformed into his fox form for better agility, Dazai watched slowly as the sunshower began to distort and conceal himself and the wedding ceremony that was happening simultaneously hid him from human sight. 

Yet, as unfortunate as Dazai had stated this situation was, it was exactly under such a circumstance that he had gained the chance of meeting you, gathering herbs beneath the rain in the woods he was so familiar with. Drawn to you in that he failed to recognize your face, he found himself unconsciously pausing to observe you with curious eyes. Not knowing whether your eyes were tricked by the magic of the sunshower which hid the true number of tails, or perhaps you knew exactly what you were getting into when you decided to tend to his injuries. Though judging by how you took in the fact that he was a kitsune, he grew to assume the latter option. Yet either way, knowing that humans of this time rarely approached foxes without ill intent, and having been well aware of the cautionary tales humans weaved regarding dealing with kitsune, the fact that you not only cared for him, dressing his wounds and wrapping him in bandages, but also took him in only served to pique his interest.  

And with your kindness or perhaps foolishness, he decided, for perhaps the last time, to attach himself to a human to repay you for your care for him. His tails swayed at the thought. After all, a kitsune never lets any favour go unrepaid.

Though at first, he had merely decided to accompany you until his curiosity was sated. He has lost affection for them after all. But, he found conversely, the longer he stayed, the more fond he became of you. 

At first, bemused by the amount of kindness you showed him, with little things such as cooking him his favourite meals and made him feel welcome despite him being non-human, which extended the people who in need when they pass by your modest household tucked into the woods, even as he tried, on multiple occasions, to poke holes at the potential façade you were wearing, or to reveal the hidden intention of your actions under the guise of merely being a playful kitsune. But your actions seemed nothing but honest, you never seemed to hold back when he did decide to pull some mischief on you. Perhaps it was the fact that you lived a relatively secluded lifestyle which allowed you to hold tight to your morals and personal values, things which Dazai had little of. But the more he observed your attitude towards life, towards people, the more he wished to understand-- your thoughts, your intentions, your philosophy, though part of him often made him once again question the meaning beneath it all, causing him to poke holes at your thoughts. Yet, his actions were not done with ill intent, but perhaps a more of a child-like curiosity hidden beneath a cruel mask, wishing you could show him an answer that gnawed in his heart: What reason does he have to stay? To live for?

 “If I am being honest, I cannot say, Dazai.” he recalls you speaking gently as he revealed his struggle, with fear and reluctantly but also hope and desperation. “We are the only ones that can answer this question after all. But that doesn’t mean we’re alone in this journey, I want to believe people can inspire one another, or perhaps some meaning lies in doing so?”

Even if there had been any harshness in his way of treating you beforehand, they slowly declined with time as your actions became more endearing to him. Softened by your care, cut by the blade of honesty from your words, but also healed by your benevolence. Dazai, though he would never admit it, felt putty in your hands, and if he wasn't eased by your previous actions, he would crumble even beneath your gentlest touch. But at the same time, you cannot say you were not also wrapped around his fingers, especially when you find yourself missing his presence when he leaves, even if it meant enduring his teasing as he wraps his arms and tails around you from behind, or when you catch yourself from opening up your inner most thoughts to him. The two of you soon found yourselves incapable of letting go of each other.

Several years had passed since that Spring, yet his favorite peach tree continues to bloom its pink flowers, and the sunlight continues to warm him as he passes through the woods. Though the seasons proceed to cycle through without change, like a never ending daytime. But unlike in the past, Dazai was no longer alone. 

Laying you against his soft tails with his arms wrapped around your form as the two of you sat beneath the peach tree. For the first time in a while, Dazai felt at peace. 

His ears perking up at the sound of a drip of water falling against the leaves, Dazai quickly realized what was happening as he observed rain falling once again from the clear sky. At this, a gentle smile tugged at his lips. 

Maybe he could allow himself to believe that this is a sign of good things to come.

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[olderthannetfic]

I need advice and this blog seemed the place... I have some irl friends who are the fandomy type. They like to read fanfiction on ao3, like to ship things and headcanon characters as queer, the like. One of them at least also considers himself educated on politics, particularly left leaning politics. Generally we get along but there's one snag we keep hitting and it's in the pro shipper vs anti debate.

Thankfully my friends aren't full blown antis, at least most of them, but the rhetoric is similar. Any age gap is problematic and on one occasion (which I went ballistic over) they outright stated I needed mental help because I liked age gap relationships. I let them know this was absolutely not okay for them to say and they looked appropriately chastised but I felt like I was dealing with a child. As a problematic pro shipper, I also tend to like problematic characters.

For example, in the anime sk8 the infinity, there is a character who is violent and romantically comes on to a 17-18 year old. I could get into the whole religious aspect of that show and the plot and what not, but generally as far as anime goes this was extremely tame. It's a very stereotypical sports anime otherwise. The problem arises because I like this character, and one of my more prudish friends refuses to let me be about it. She calls him ugly whenever I mention liking him, a pedophile, has borderline called me a pedophile for liking him, and has called me crazy. This same girl was raised in a christian household and was put into a christian private school for most of her life, so I understand why she's more of the puritanical type, but at the same time she is queer and likes romance. I am queer and like romance. We could not be more different in how we approach those two aspects of our lives.

She's also the type of person to go always, and I mean always, go with the unproblematic (sometimes) guy that a story sets up in the beginning for a love triangle. Think that between Edward and Jacob she goes for Edward except for every single other piece of media she consumes.

Also, she doesn't consider herself educated on politics like the other guy, but somehow the both of them feel comfortable bringing up inherently political topics when it comes to this stuff? They mention abuse and sexuality in media as an anti typically does but their arguments are as flimsy as anti ones usually are, and they can never carry on a conversation of that sort with me for more than a sentence or two. When I bring up problematic aspects of media they enjoy and tell them they are bad people for enjoying it, they get obviously disheartened and scared. I tell them that that's how it feels but they forget the next day like it's nothing.

I really like these people when it comes to things that aren't fandom but I just can't put up with how rude they are. I wonder if someone ever taught them manners, or how to speak to people without being incredibly offensive. A lot of my other friends don't act this way even when gentle ribbing is concerned. They know when too far is too far. One of my friends doesn't even like queer media (not as in she hates it, just not her thing) and she is more polite to me when I want to talk about it than the others.

Do I just tell them to knock it off for good or keep slapping them back when they go to far? Is it even possible that I can teach them manners simply from stating boundaries?

--

With their kind, you probably need to be more explicit that it is a boundary. Express it as them violating a previously set boundary. Tell them you cannot hang out with people who constantly try to trigger you with unhealthy 'thoughtcrimes are real' fundie mindsets.

Basically, call them on forgetting the next day like it's nothing.

They don't get to both repeatedly hurt you and be your friend. They're trying to get away with it now because they think your beliefs are wacky and stupid and a minor part of you that you'll outgrow. Don't give them the moral high ground. They're being shitty friends.

There must be consequences for their actions (in the form of you staying away) or they will never take your complaints seriously.

[peaceisadirtyword]

Heathen (Ivar/Edlynn)

A/N: Hello♥️ as I promised, here’s the first chapter of the new series I’m writing. The idea came to me when I was rewatching Vikings and then I planned it while rewatching The Last Kingdom. So I started writing it, doing a bit of worldbuilding to introduce some original characters and here I am. It’s set on season 6B (I'm changing things, so it will not follow the show’s storyline). And I was really excited to write the mature version of Ivar, so I’m sorry if he seems a bit out of character. This chapter might be a bit boring, but it serves as an introduction. I hope you enjoy it, thank you for reading🥰 I will post a new chapter every Thursday at 21:00 (CET). 

Warnings: mentions of violence and war, talk of arranged marriage, alcohol... Well, it’s Vikings😅

Words: 4197 

Summary

gif belongs to @therealcalicali 

"I've heard the pagans are back" 

Edlynn raised her head. She sat next to the window, and had spent most of the time looking at the rain falling outside as she leant her head against the wall. It had been raining a lot those days. The beautiful cloth she was trying to practice her embroidery on was already forgotten and abandoned on her lap, a bit dirty with blood from all those times she had poked her finger with the needle.

The queen looked nervous when one of the girls in the room mentioned the northmen. Edlynn had also heard her father and even the king himself talking about it, whispering and with a frown, like men do when they talk about a very serious matter. They had already evacuated some of the towns near the coast, but no one really told her what was happening. 

"We must trust on our men and on God" she smiled at her "They will protect England, they always have" 

"I heard the king is thinking about evacuating the city too" other of the girls whined "What if they find us?" 

"They won't, my dear" the queen looked uncomfortable "I don't know about the plans my husband has, he won't discuss them with me, but I'm sure he'll do what is best for our people" 

Edlynn bit her lip. Queen Elsewith was nervous, she had seen her ordering the servants to start packing slowly, in case everyone had to leave the town. And there were whispers and an uneasiness that everyone had noticed. 

Next to her, her friend Mildrith leant in to speak softly. 

"I hope we can see the heathens from up close this time" she giggled. 

Edlynn had to hold back a smile. For some reason, Mildrith had a fascination for the northmen that called themselves vikings, even if everyone else was scared of them. She had been infatuated with a viking boy that worked on the lands King Alfred had given to the northmen some time ago. Even if neither Mildrith nor Edlynn had been allowed to visit those lands, King Alfred invited some of the settlers to dine in his own home sometimes, to secure the good relations with them. The boy and Mildrith had had a short but intense romance that Edlynn helped to hide from her family and the king, and since then she had been obsessed with learning about their culture. 

Edlynn could understand why, their ways and their traditions were different from the ones she had grown up with, and anyone with a bit of curiosity in them would want to know more. But no one let her learn about their Gods or they beliefs, for it was a sin. 

"I don't think we will" she shook her head and spoke softly "The King won't let them"

"Maybe they will be invited for a feast" Mildrith bit her lip, excited "And we can see them. They say they're are the same ones that took York" 

"We should go and pray" one of the women in the room stood up, interrupting Edlynn as she was about to answer her friend "For the safety of our country and our king, ask God to protect us"

Some of the women muttered in agreement, and soon the room filled with the noise of everyone standing and walking to the door. But before she could even stand, the queen approached. Quickly, Mildrith and her bowed their heads at Queen Elsewith respectfully. 

"Edlynn, I'd like to talk to you for a moment, if you will" 

She nodded slowly, and Mildrith excused herself after widening her eyes. 

"Yes, queen Elsewith?" 

"I just wanted to see if you were alright, Edlynn, these days I've barely seen you" 

She bit her lip again. The queen was always nice and kind to her, but it was still the queen and she couldn't act like close friends with her. And she definitely couldn't speak her mind freely. 

"Yes, I'm fine" she smiled softly "These days I wasn't feeling too well, I... Spent some time in my chambers just resting" 

"I was worried about you, you disappeared just after your engagement to Lord Edmund, and as I've also been there, I thought maybe I could help" 

The engagement. She had tried her best not to think about it the past few days. Even if Edlynn knew since she was born that she'd have to marry a stranger, it was still awkward to meet a man during a small feast that was announced as her future husband just half an hour later. 

In any case, she was still lucky, Lord Edmund was handsome, young and, as far as everyone knew, nice. Edlynn wasn't that upset about it, but it was still overwhelming, and the fact that she'd have to abandon the court, her friends -oh, what would she do without Mildrith?- and her family to go and live in a stranger's home saddened her. 

"Lord Edmund is a very good man that I can't wait to get to know better, and I feel honored and lucky that he chose me to be his wife" Edlynn repeated the words that Hilda, the nun that raised her after her mother's death, had made her learn in preparation for this moment. 

Elsewith smiled sadly at the young girl. It was a woman's duty, but she saw a lot of herself on Edlynn and she knew she must have been scared and nervous, even if she understood it. But Edlynn had always been a proper and obedient lady and, like many other women in her position, learnt to hide her true feelings. She'd never do anything that went against her father and the King's wishes.

"The king would never have let him ask for your hand in marriage if he didn't know he's a good man, a good warrior and a good Christian" the queen reassured her "He loves your family a lot and just wishes a good life for you"

"I know, my queen, and I will always be thankful to him and to you for how much kindness you've shown me and my family" 

Her smile widened. 

"I also wanted to talk to you about Mildrith" Elsewith sighed and started walking to the door "She really shouldn't go around talking about how she'd like to meet a northman, it's... Not proper"

"I know" muttered Edlynn, following her "I'll talk to her" 

She nodded, and just before exiting the room, Elsewith took her hand and squeezed it softly. In some way, she had always considered Edlynn her friend. 

"Remember you can come and talk to me any time you need" the queen smiled again "Women understand each other much better than men" 

"I will" she nodded "Thank you, my queen" Edlynn bowed her head again before Queen Elsewith turned around, walking to the nearest chapel escorted by two of the guards. 

__________________________________________

King Alfred threw a feast to celebrate the engagement. Usually, this kind of things weren't celebrated that much, but Edlynn's father, Lord Eldred, had been close to King Aethelwulf and was close to King Alfred,  becoming one of his most trusted men after his mother's death. Besides, Alfred and Edlynn grew up together and even if with time the both of them had learnt to keep their relationship purely formal, he still had a soft spot for her. 

Edlynn's sister had been married to a lord from Mercia and her brother was a proud member of King Alfred's personal guard. Now it was her turn to make the family proud by doing her duty and what she had been born to: Stand next to her soon-to-be-husband and smile politely at strangers that couldn't care less about her and her happiness but that queued to wish the both of them a happy marriage. 

Even if she knew that was what she was supposed to do, it was still boring. 

"The king has told me you enjoy reading" Lord Edmund, sitting next to her, was the one that started the conversation after talking with the king and her father about war. 

Edlynn was surprised when he spoke to her. It was the first time the two of them talked. She wasn't very talkative, at least not at the beginning, and didn't really expect more from him than the usual formalities. She had seen marriages like this many times, and didn't really expected him to acknowledge her much in public.

"I do" she smiled politely. 

"It's nice, what kind of things you like to read?" 

"Mostly, about history" she bit her lip nervously "I find the Romans particularly interesting" 

Lord Edmund nodded. 

"I will make sure that you have enough to read back in my castle" he said softly "And don't be afraid of asking for anything that you need or want to feel comfortable" 

That surprised Edlynn even more. He smiled at her confused face and his grey eyes fixed on hers. 'At least he has pretty eyes' she thought. Maybe their children would inherit his grey eyes and not her brown ones. For some reason, she didn't feel that overwhelmed by the thought of a young child with his grey eyes and her auburn hair.

"I knew you were special since I saw you, when I first arrived here to take an oath to King Alfred after my father's death, that's why I asked your father for your hand in marriage, and I'm pleased to know there's much more about you behind your beauty" 

His words were so sweet, and one lock of his bright black hair fell next to his face, giving him an attractive look that made Edlynn understand why many women had been glaring at her since the engagement was announced. 

"You flatter me, my lord" she tried your best to sound confident "I appreciate your kindness, thank you" 

From the corner of her eye, she could see her father and Hilda, the nun, watching her. Edlynn straightened her back and kept talking to Lord Edmund, feeling a strange emptiness inside her. 

____________________________________

Ivar knew taking England wouldn't be easy, but it would definitely be easier if he was leading the entire army. 

King Harald had the last word, and even if he trusted him enough to let him think about the strategies, it wasn't the same. Ivar made a flawless plan, he thought about every single detail, and he knew exactly what the english would do. It wasn't too hard. 

"So, King Alfred is evacuating the city" Harald emptied his drink, taking another piece of meat before his deep blue eyes fixed on Ivar, who ate in silence next to his brother. Hvitserk ignored them, focusing on the food on his plate "Should we take it?"

Ivar raised an eyebrow and swallowed the food before taking his cup to drink some more ale. 

"We need to defeat Alfred first, we can't do much with just the city"

Harald shrugged. 

"Defeating him in battle won't change much either, we need to gain some more ground" 

Ivar hummed, nodding. 

"I agree, and we should try and find something that gives us some kind of advantage over them, because we are outnumbered and we can't defeat them just by winning battles, they can assemble another army faster than us" 

"And? You're the strategist here, Ivar" Harald chuckled. In some way, he was happy to have the youngest Ragnarsson back on his side.

"We need to find something that makes them surrender to our terms and buys us some time" Ivar raised an eyebrow. 

"Like a hostage?" Hvitserk raised his head for the first time since the food arrived. He let Ivar do the talk, and stuck to fighting. 

Ivar smirked at his brother. 

"Exactly. A hostage, dear brother" 

"I don't think that a couple of soldiers captured in battle will make them surrender to our terms" Harald shrugged again "We'd need someone else, someone like..."

"The queen" 

The king raised an eyebrow at him, while Ivar smiled softly.

"Christian women don't go to battle, and we can't try and break into their camp, there will be too many guards"

"Exactly, so we need to find a moment in which the men are occupied with something else, something like..."

"A battle" Hvitserk chuckled. 

Ivar nodded winking at his brother.

"So you mean to kidnap the queen during the battle" Harald nodded slowly "It could work"

"The queen won't be far from the battlefield, and there won't be so many guards" Ivar shrugged, taking another bite from his plate. 

"We could go and meet them on a battlefield, I already explored some of the lands around here and I think it would be easier to attract them to the woods" Ivar nibbled one of the ribs "Then, we ambush them, and keep them distracted enough time to sneak into their camp and take the queen"

"And then?" Harald looked interested. Sometimes, he found Ivar's mind fascinating.

"Then we negotiate" he shrugged "We just want some land, right? The queen in exchange for that land, I think it's a fair exchange, then, when we have the land, some resources and a place to settle down, we can continue fighting, because we will be stronger" 

"But he could betray us after he gets his queen back" Hvitserk raised an eyebrow. 

"I know Alfred, he won't" Ivar shook his head "Not as long as he thinks we're willing to stop the raids and the invasion if we get the land" 

"So we lie to him" Harald pointed, and Ivar nodded slowly. 

"But first" he raised an eyebrow "We need the queen"

_________________________________

 The beds on the camp were uncomfortable. Edlynn didn't complain, though, knowing everyone had bigger problems than worrying about her not getting any sleep. 

Just two days after the engagement feast, king Alfred ordered to evacuate the city. The northmen were too close, and it was too dangerous, it was the only explanation she got when her father bursted into the chambers and ordered to pack only the necessary. Edlynn barely saw him since then, as he and Edward, her brother, would ride with the king when everyone was moving and didn't leave the king's tent when they camped, too busy with battle plans and strategies. Queen Elsewith was also with them, and Edlynn's betrothed, Lord Edmund, too. Betrothed... It still sounded too irreal. At least, he rode next to the carriage she traveled in. 

Mildrith was the only one that found the entire thing exciting. Edlynn often found her wandering outside the camp, and didn't mind how many times she begged her to stay in the tent, Mildrith wouldn't listen. 

Edlynn could sneak a couple of books inside of her trunk, hidden between some dresses, and it was the only entertainment she had. 

"They say tomorrow there will be a battle" Mildrith muttered as she watched some of the soldiers training. It was raining and the both of them stayed inside of the tent, just at the entrance so Edlynn could read and Mildrith could watch the people around. 

"The King and our men will be victorious" Edlynn repeated what Hilda said every time she mentioned the war "We have God on our side"

Mildrith frowned, as she always did when she heard that phrase, which was the only thing everyone seemed to say these days.

"I'm not so sure about that, Lynn" she muttered "They are smart and their Gods are fierce, they say that they're lead by the same one that took York" she lowered her tone "Ivar the Boneless" 

Her friend raised an eyebrow, the name was familiar. 

"Why do they call him boneless?" 

"Because he can't walk" Mildrith shrugged like it was obvious "They say he crawls around like a snake, and that he's fierce and vicious... Some even say he's the Devil incarnated" 

Edlynn rolled her eyes.

"Those are tales, Mildrith, he's just a man" she chuckled "A cruel one, a heathen, but just a man, he's just like you and me" 

"Some women say he's handsome too" she giggled. 

"Have they seen him?" 

"Yes, in York, they said he's cruel but beautiful, just looking at him felt like a sin" 

Edlynn closed her book. 

"You shouldn't go around saying these things, Mildrith, anyone would think you're in love with that heathen"

She laughed out loud, making some of the soldiers near them turn to look at her. 

"I'm not in love with him, I don't know him" she shrugged "But I'd like to see him, at least once" 

Edlynn rolled her eyes again, shaking her head before going back to the book.

__________________________________

Edlynn didn't know how to feel when she saw the men leaving. King Alfred said goodbye to his queen and Edlynn hugged her father and brother. Even Lord Edmund kissed the back of her hand and bowed his head with a gentle smile on his lips. She didn't know how to react, as she never had to say goodbye to the men when they left to battle. Should I cry? Smile? She tried her best to imitate queen Elsewith. 

"Pray for us" her father kissed Edlynn's forehead softly for the last time before getting on his horse "And may God be with us" 

She nodded slowly and kept silent as they left the camp. 

After a couple of minutes in silence, the queen walked towards her, making Edlynn nervous. Will she scold me for not doing this well? 

"Edlynn, I'd like you to join me in my tent to pray for the safe return of the king and his men"

She looked around. Some of the women looked at her, probably jealous of seeing she had the queen's favor and thinking that was the reason why she had been betrothed to Lord Edmund. 

"Of course" Edlynn nodded her head respectfully, ignoring them.

The queen smiled brightly at her, relieved to hear her agreeing. She had a bad feeling about this new war, and worried about her husband, but  also hoped to find some kind of peace on the tent. 

"You can go, there's food and wine, I'll go talk to the priest first, and then I'll join you"

Edlynn nodded with a small smile. Her eyes found Hilda's, who smiled proudly at the young girl she loved so much. Mildrith waited until the queen had walked away and then approached her friend. 

"What's with you and the queen?" 

Edlynn shrugged. 

"I suppose she's just trying to be nice, after all she understands what's like to be betrothed to someone you don't know" 

"Oh" Mildrith bit her lip, almost like she had forgotten Edlynn was about to marry a stranger "Yes, it makes sense... Anyway, be careful, people will start thinking you're trying to win the queen's favor" 

Edlynn glanced to a group of women from the court, who looked at the both of them and whispered. 

"I'll go to the queen's tent now" she decided to ignore it "Join me later? We could go to the river and maybe bathe" 

Anything to avoid thinking about the battle that was probably going to take place soon. 

Mildrith nodded with a smile and waved at her as she approached the tent. The guards bowed their heads respectfully and moved to let her enter. It was much bigger than the tent Edlynn shared with Hilda, and the bed looked much comfortable than the one they had given to her. The bedding was soft and warm, and made her sigh in jealousy as her eyes wandered around the tent. 

There was a table with some food and wine on it, and Edlynn's mouth watered as she realized she still hadn't eaten. In front of the bed, there was a table with a cross and a few candles, which was where she supposed both the king and the queen said their prayers. 

Edlynn glanced at the entrance to make sure no one entered and quickly grabbed a grape from one of the bronze plates and turned around to savor it. She loved grapes, and the best ones could only be found at the king's table. 

But as she glanced down to hide her face in case the queen entered, Edlynn noticed something on the rug that covered the floor of the tent. Frowning, and wondering why there was a dark spot just before her, she bended down to examine it, widening her eyes when she realized it was blood. There wasn't just one spot, but a trail that disappeared behind a curtain, and suddenly she realized something else. 

The guards didn't ask who I was before letting me in. 

Before Edlynn could even react, someone grabbed her from behind, putting their hands on her mouth to stifle the scream that left her throat. She writhed and fought, but there was two of them, too strong for her. Suddenly, she heard a whisper on a foreign language and then an intense pain on the back of her head as one of the two men hit the back of her head with the handle of his sword before there was only darkness. 

________________________________

Ivar was proud. Once again, he ensured a clear victory over the saxons with a flawless plan, and he demonstrated he still was the brilliant strategist everyone admired. Even Harald looked impressed to see that the risky plan to defeat King Alfred's army had been successful. Ivar seemed to read the young king's mind perfectly, and if everything had gone well with the other part of the plan, they'd have a queen waiting for them in the camp that would make things even easier for them. Hvitserk also looked satisfied, having missed the adrenaline of the battlefield and the satisfaction of killing too much. Harald admitted he was wary of those two, with Ivar's sharp mind and Hvitserk's skills in battle, they were nearly unbeatable. 

Thanks Odin any of them had given any signs of wanting the crown of Norway Harald had fought so hard to get. But he still didn't trust Ivar completely. 

But now they had a common cause, and he hoped that controlling some lands in England would satisfy Ivar's hunger for power. 

"So..." Ivar didn't speak until he had finished two horns of ale. The intensity of the battle, standing for so long and walking with the crutches left him exhausted "Do we have a queen or not?" 

The men that had just entered the tent, still wearing the saxon's armor, bowed their heads before speaking. 

"We do" one of them smiled victoriously "She's unconscious, but guarded, we had to hit her to bring her here" 

Hvitserk raised an eyebrow. Ivar had made very clear that he didn't want the queen harmed. Not yet at least, he had said with a chuckle the night before, Alfred won't surrender to our terms if we harm her. 

"She's fine, though" the other man glared at his companion "It was just a small blow on the head" 

Harald nodded, ignoring the stern glare Ivar sent their way. 

"Try and wake her up" the king ordered "We'll talk to her before feasting and resting" 

The men bowed again and left. Harald then turned to look at the brothers. In some way, it hurt to see them so close again, reminding him of his own brother, who had also been his most loyal friend. The Ragnarssons didn't have the best relationship, but he noticed they looked much closer since they went back to Kattegat after being with the Rus. He didn't know what had happened there between them, but now he was sure no one could get between them. He envied them for that. 

Now they seemed to be having a conversation in silence, with just some stares and grimaces. 

"Your plan worked" he said out loud, looking at Ivar. The youngest son of Ragnar shot him a cocky smile. 

"Of course it worked, saxons are predictable" he shrugged "And Alfred won't dare to attack us when we have his queen" his eyes shone with pride. 

"I wonder if she's pretty" Hvitserk muttered with a dreamy smile as he chewed on a piece of bread. Harald smirked at that, he understood the feeling of coming back from battle and feeling the need to have a woman after filling his belly with warm food and cold drinks. It helped to relax. 

Ivar rolled his eyes. He was never as interested in women as his brothers were, and the few times he actually was with women had ended in disaster. So he couldn't understand the obsession. 

"She's a christian, so probably not" he shrugged "Anyway, that's the last thing we should worry about" 

"There are beautiful christian women out there, little brother" Hvitserk chuckled, amused by his brother's annoyance. 

"They're weak" he narrowed his eyes "They are always scared, they don't fight and they don't have the spirit and the courage of viking women"

"How many christian women have you met, Ivar?" Harald laughed. 

Ivar frowned. He had had too much contact with christians for his liking.

"Anyway" he scowled, annoyed, as he stood up leaning on his crutch "Let's go, we have a queen to meet".

__________________________________

Tags: @mblaqgi @alicedopey @lol-haha-joke @hallowed-heathen @naaladareia @tephi101 @captstefanbrandt @love-hate-love @titty-teetee @readsalot73 @moondustmemories @therealcalicali @blushingskywalker @awkwardfangirl02 @gruffle1​ @justacripple​ @love-dria @heartbeats-wildly​ @letsrunawaytotomorrow​ @inforapound​ @sallydelys​ @hellogabysblog​ @winchesterwife27​ @hecohansen31​ @youbloodymadgenius​ @xinyourdreamsx​ @funmadnessandbadassvikings​ @tgrrose​ @lovessce​ @tootie-fruity​ @didiintheblog​ @alexhandersenx​ @belovedcherry​ @fantasydevil2002​ @xceafh​ @astrape-the-weatherwitch​ @destynelseclipsa​ @momowhoo​ @mcrmarvelloki​ @nanahachikyuu​ @valopz​ @mrsalwayswrite​ @poisonous00​ @whenimaunicorn​ @heavenly1927​

[brb-on-a-quest]

#i'll be honest that story is my only point of reference for Dante's inferno#so if you ever want to infodump about it I'd love to listen

^@igotthisaccountunderduress

Editing to add that: I did try to find your video but youtube told me it's not available :( :( :( :( (SIGH)

(I was kinda hoping someone would ask bc I do have a great idea for the fanfic plot and details I think) Disclaimer that things that seem to be fact are from my notes which means they are from the much beloved and awe/terror-inspiring Dr. V and I haven't done additional research. Also this infodump is as my beloved other english professor said is going to be like taking a motorcycle through an art gallery, so if you're interested, you should look for it :)

I actually really enjoyed reading Inferno (to be fair, I read it with one tab up and Sparknotes (my beloved) up on the other side so I could fully understand what was going on, but in comparison to the other epics/poetry that we've read in this course it's a lot more shorter and easier to understand as a translation? (this makes sense it's drastically more recent in comparison to Virgil or Homer).

Uhhh main things to note is Dante's Absolutely A Petty Italian who was exiled by Florence for being in the Wrong Political Party at the time (RIP Guelphs) and he took that so well (not at all) and started ripping on every Florentine political opponent who he hated. Like it is a spiritual commentary that's been highly influential in our cultural depections (although not doctrine), its also the rage of a middle-aged Italian Man who had survived many things. Fun Fact, after Florence Banished him under threat of death, his body was hidden under a staircase in a Franciscan(?) monestary for over 2 centuries bc Florence hated him that much. Then Florence tried to ask for his body back and Ravenna (where he's buried) said "no, you literally didn't want him, he's ours now."

So some of the things that I find Cool about Dante's Inferno are:

We get up close and personal with the sinners and find out exactly what they did to deserve hell. For example, Dante (the mc) and Virgil (his guide) talk with a lot of the sinners and find out "ok yeh this is what you did" and Dante (the mc) actually faints twice during this part of the epic trilogy bc some of these Sinners are not so different from himself. Which, IMO, feels like that needed to be emphasized. Because at least where I'm at, people seem to consider everyone in hell as monsters and that doesn't seem to be the Christian attitude to have? Like "Love everyone as I have loved you" includes people in Hell and Satan (this doesn't mean treat them good, it just means don't be a jerk and memento mori). Dante (the mc) Kinda Conveniently forgets this fact when he, as an alive person, starts blindly attacking other damned souls who he was enemies with pre-trip to hell.

Secondly, the punishments in hell are *very* physical. Like Dante (the author) fully ensures that you have full description with all of the senses and more. Things stink, things feel gross, things are bleeding constantly, things look scary, like all of the senses are engaged (part of the reason why I think it got popular and an interpretation of hell bc engaging all of the senses meant it caught a lot of reader and poetic imagination that probably scared a lot of ppl when reading), but when you go through Purgatory (which I read once in high school, so yay that's coming in handy), all of your senses start getting used less and less as you go through the levels. Like by the time you get to Paradise the only senses Dante uses is are sight and hearing. There's no smell, there's no touch, there's no taste. Which is an interesting take that probably has philosophical implications about how we need seeing and hearing to bass on beliefs and Dante (the mc) is supposed to be having a vision so those are the only two requirements.

Thirdly, I find it really beautiful that Inferno and Purgatory are inverses of each other. Because Inferno is set up so that it's an inverted cone with the layers getting smaller and smaller as their are fewer people committing more grievous of sins (there are just three people in the deepest depths of hell). And Purgatory is a mountain where there are also fewer people as you go up and get closer to heaven. It's poetic. Like of course those two things are Complementary of each other because one is showing the Divine Justice and the Other is showing Divine Mercy in Dante's mind. Idk, cool worldbuilding detail man, idk what people want from me.

Dante also was very particular with detail sometimes and not with others: so there are 100 cantos (chapters) in all of the divine comedy, Hell has 34 (bc its imperfect) and both Purgatory and Heaven both have 33. Because he was a poet he did all of this in a tertia rima style so ABA BCB CDC which is not easy. But then, again, he's a little bit random with the people he puts in hell vs heaven vs purgatory? Like Virgil, his guide, is technically a citizen of Limbo (one of the circles of hell), because he doesn't think he ever was a "Christian before Christ" like other people did. But then there were other Roman poets that he puts in purgatory Because "Oh they were absolutely Secret Christians" Like, they were living in the time of Emperor Nero where Christians were being fed to wild animals and being live human torches, I don't think there were many people would've wanted to secretly practice Christianity at that point unless they fully believed it. I mean, is it possible, yes? Likely, nah. But you can definitely tell (especially with anything related to Florence) that his moral placements are based on Vibes.

Pros: I get to write fan fiction of Dante's Inferno for one of my projects for English.

Cons: My Scary Russian Prof who is Crazy Talented has to read my fan fiction of Dante's Inferno.

[ponett]

hi i watched the new my little pony movie and it was... pretty good! it was very cute, i like the new cast a lot, there were some nice heartfelt moments that had some surprising depth, all the locations were really pretty to look at, the poppy musical numbers were fun, the character animation is really lively. it's a solid little fantasy adventure flick for kids. i do have mixed feelings about the story though. here are some casual-ish thoughts. (i posted some of this on twitter last night but i have even more thoughts now. i'm sorry. i'm so sorry)

spoilers below the cut

okay so, i liked it a lot when it was just letting the new characters play off each other, but unfortunately my fears came true and almost the entire movie is laser focused on the oversimplified extremely on-the-nose trump era racism allegory plot. i do have to cut it some slack for their good intentions, and this is a 90 minute animated movie for 5-year-olds, so there's only so much they can do. it did also have a bit more nuance than i expected at points. (it's more nuanced than zootopia, for what it's worth. not that that's hard.) and hell, friendship is magic also screwed up its attempts at similar topics, and y'all know how much i still love that show. so it's not like i hate this movie. but it has such an oversimplified "we should all be friends!" take on real issues, and it frustrates me that it completely dominates the film, being the main focus of almost every single scene

there's some interesting stuff where they show how those in power are stoking peoples' fears to maintain their own power. like the big factory in the earth pony town is essentially an arms manufacturer capitalizing on the fear of outsiders, the cops mainly exist to uphold the laws segregating the ponies, the pegasus royal family pretends they still have the ability to fly and this lie seems to be the only reason they're in power (the queen literally gets arrested the second the truth comes out lol). but then they all just kind of... see the error of their ways shortly after meeting other types of pony, and there are no repercussions? not saying this toy commercial cartoon for little girls needs to fuckin kill the bad guys or throw them in jail or whatever, but we don't even get like a "they made them turn the arms factory into something else" type resolution, and no one even really acknowledges that these characters did anything wrong. no one is considered an oppressor, the movie takes for granted that these people in power who derive their power from bigotry were just misguided, and that they'll totally change their beliefs as soon as they're presented with new information. society is fundamentally unjust, but none of the individuals maintaining that unjust status quo are at fault for doing so

i also don't know if it's a good or bad thing that there's no explanation for why the ponies hate each other now. like on the one hand at least there's no historical backstory that inadvertently justifies the prejudices (like zootopia and its story about how the predators used to eat the prey). but on the other hand... how the hell did they get from g4 to here in the intervening centuries? at my most uncharitable it feels like this whole story about how equestria used to be this land where everyone got along and now everyone is divided is a heavy-handed metaphor for The Sudden Division Of America In The Trump Era as it's perceived by a lot of liberals. history didn't logically lead us to this point, no one is really at fault, everyone just arbitrarily started hating each other at some point and we just all need to put that aside and get along again. it's almost the FiM episode about how the cowboys and the natives should just learn to share all over again. (again: i will admit this is an uncharitable read of the film)

(sidebar with BIG SPOILERS: the very end also really bugged me, but that's more just a personal taste thing. in the leadup to g5 i was excited to see them make an earth pony the protagonist. i thought that was a nice change of pace after nine seasons of twilight. but then in the end of the movie, after sunny delivers the moral, she's magically turned into an alicorn... like oh we're just doing that again huh. okay. it also doesn't really gel with this story where the different types of pony are being used for a racism/xenophobia allegory)

i feel a little bad hyper-focusing on the way the allegory falls apart like this, but like. the allegory is the entire fucking movie lol. they are constantly talking about it in every scene, the first song mentions "building a wall," the main antagonist (who may or may not be intended to evoke trump???) manipulates the earth ponies' prejudices to make them all go full fascist, etc. it is not subtle. of course, this story isn't ALL bad - the adventures along the way were fun, i was relieved when everyone realized that the macguffin wouldn't magically make everyone get along again (although realizing this DOES make the macguffin restore everyone's magic which seems to mostly fix everything, so... lol), and a message about looking past stereotypes and misinformation to befriend people who are different from you definitely isn't a bad one for a kids' film. and obviously a story with this target demographic is ALWAYS going to have to simplify reality a bit. it's just extremely obvious that they wanted to go for a nuanced topical political story that would surprise the parents in the audience and maybe teach kids a thing or two, and it turned out messy

but again, i liked the characters. it was nice to look at. it was cute. i'll gladly watch a new show with these characters. i hope the inevitable show focuses less on this political allegory though lol

anyway there's a shot of fluttershy and rainbow dash in the opening scene so 10/10

[enhyupn]

enhypen as characters inspired by animes ᯤ 

tagging @youreverydayzebra @ncityy04 @rheyom

ot7!enhypen x gn!reader, fluff, warnings: mentions of (jokingly) dying, swear words, reader’s in a maid outfit in jay’s one but no mentions of a certain gender, word count: 3.3k

a/n most of these aren’t the same as the animes mentioned but instead just inspired or loosely inspired by the plot! also some of these aren’t the same in word count and i apologise for that ]:

∷ heeseung — orange

heeseung as the new kid at school and he’s so pretty that everyone just. Stops in place and just stares at him as he introduces himself

funnily enough you already saw this coming, realising this was the same heeseung the letter you received that morning told you about

what was funnier was the fact that letter was coming from the future you

you didn’t believe it Then because like... it kinda sounds too stupid to be true

but then BOOM there heeseung is

your teacher makes him sit beside you and you’re just trying to wrap your head around how crazy all of this is

your letter even told you that he was going to sit beside you, why was all of this coming true????

you didn’t read on because you were in a rush to get to school but maybe if that letter warned you about how pretty he was, you wouldn’t of been that flustered when he started talking to you

“hey i’m heeseung!” “ummm yeah, i’m y/n... yeah”

when school ends you RACE home to get to that letter again

rest of heeseung + of the members under the cut!

your future self was gonna have a lot of explaining to do...

turns out the future you Let this same heeseung walk out of your life so now you have to fix this

“dear past me, i can’t believe i was this stupid to let him leave my life like this— how stupid am i??”

now you make it your mission to keep your barely started relationship not go rocky

and oh boy would that be a challenge for the years to come

not because heeseung’s a terrible bf, future you just gave terrible tips

everyday after that you and heeseung (like the letter said) turned into great friends

great friends as in friends that people think that are dating

soon that friendship became a relationship... and a very strong one to be honest

your letters were weirdly very accurate

a firework festival... how he confessed to you... all of it was in those letters

honestly you should scold them for letting heeseung get away!!

you secretly wanna tease them that YOU have heeseung by your side and they don’t but... you can’t really do that

you tell heeseung about the letters one day and he just. Stares at you in astonishment

because he also received letters on the same day you got them from future him too

turns out future you and heeseung both regret their decision

poor them but at least present you gets to kiss heeseung whenever you want 😇

not to spoil anything but heeseung didn’t end up walking out of your life <3 instead you two are now sickly in love

∷ jay — maid-sama

you work at a maid café mainly because you needed the money and honestly... it wasn’t even that bad of a job

i mean compared to your school president life — trying to keep teenage boys out of trouble — happily serving polite and friendly (most of the time) customers was definitely a steal

one boy in particular gave you a bit more trouble than the rest of them however

he wasn’t bad or anything, just... a serial heart breaker

jay park was always on your radar due to the fact so many people would go up to you asking you to tell him to be nicer with his rejections

he wasn’t complied to be nicer but 😍 what can you do

safe to say that you didn’t think you had the best relationship with him

you couldn’t understand him even more when you saw him prettily sitting at the tables at your work

may i add, with you in your very own maid outfit as well as a twitching eye

“y/n! looking great” “thanks m-ma-mas—” “your customer service is terrible”

and the fact he came every day after that day made you feel Terrified

and also a little excited to go to work but you’d never admit that!!!

having him stare at you while you cheerily wrote with ketchup on omelettes was... definitely not how you thought your relationship would be like

he would also make small talk too

and visit you after your shift!!! walking you home

now... his daily visits turned into genuine great conversations on the way home

you realised he wasn’t as bad as you made him out to be

he just had strong beliefs that he should only accept a confession if it’s from someone he loves

you didn’t know how... but now You Have Feelings For him.

and seeing him when smile at you every time you serve him at that little maid café... ARGGGG it drove you absolutely mad

the way he oozed out confidence... was sweet and quite literally the prettiest person you’ve ever seen... how could you not

and what other way to confess to him than at the very place your relationship blossomed at!

you wrote “i like you” with ketchup on fried rice for him... yeah

thankfully he was over the moon and Had to hold back kissing you in front of the customers

now you two were dating <3 with the help of a maid café

and that really only left you with one more question

“why did you start visiting this maid café in the first place?”

∷ jake — kimi no todoke

being the quiet student is never. a good thing

especially when you’re ostracised by your class because you never participate

you actually want to but you can’t build any confidence to do so

you never caught the attention of anyone

well... besides a certain popular boy by the name of jake sim

oh boy was this gonna be a culture shock to the girls that have a crush on him

he noticed you on the first day of school when you asked him for directions to your classroom

he won’t ever forget it, the way you had a huge excited smile on his face as the cherry blossoms fell softly around you

he quotes, it looked like you came straight out of heaven because it looked like you had wings on you

he didn’t know how to get your attention though.

every time he tried to do so you wouldn’t even look at him and would just look down at your desk

it hurt him to see you so isolated

that’s when he had the bright idea to ask you if you wanted to walk with him home

bad idea (kinda), because you did accept but you didn’t know what to do the whole time because you’ve never walked home with someone before

it was bad enough that jake was absolutely Stunning. like blindingly attractive

you didn’t know what to say at all

well until you came across a small puppy making it’s way up to the two of you

they were so cute that you just squealed out of excitement

jake was so surprised to hear Something from you that he just instantly put on this huge genuine grin

“there’s no tag on them!” your upsetting tone sent jake into haywire

he literally watched you pet that dog with literal heart eyes he wasn’t even being sutble

he takes a picture of you and he Stupidly leaves the ringer on so you hear him and everything

he was so embarrassed about it

“did you just take a picture of me?” “y-yeah” “oh... is that what people do?”

you literally had no idea how to interact with people so you thought what he did was Normal

somehow this caused jake’s crush on you to develop Quick

especially when you grabbed his hand to pull you closer to the dog

his heart was beating so fast he didn’t know what to do

he is self proclaimed the biggest dog lover but for some reason... he wasn’t even looking at the dog, not even trying to play with it

he was just staring at you with his doting eyes as you smiled and giggled while playing with the dog

he wasn’t gonna confess yet though because he still has to develop your relationship

in true shoujo romance anime fashion, he was gonna confess twelve episodes (probably a year) later <3

∷ sunghoon — ao haru ride

no i definitely did not put sunghoon for ao haru ride because i have a huge crush on kou and sunghoon... /s

you and sunghoon were in the same elementary class because... fate

you had the biggest crush on him and even your mom knew him because he was a well known figure skater

but who didn’t have a crush on him was the real question

being the young confident elementary student you were, you always talked to him

forever talking to him to the point where you two were Actually really good friends

you thought you were on cloud9

but. turns out figure skating takes a lot more training than you had thought so

you literally cried Buckets and Buckets when you found out he had to train in like russia for an unsure amount of time

there was no way on contacting him too since you had no phone, no nothing

so he left. and you didn’t know what to do with yourself

ok flash forward noises

now you’re in high school! still... gripping onto that crush you have on sunghoon

but you think it’s fine since you are Functioning without him i guess

well until you bump into someone with a very familiar voice...

“watch where you’re going” talk about passive Aggressive 🤨

and when you look up because obviously you were gonna start yelling at him

well. You just froze in shock when you were faced with sunghoon’s raised eyebrow smirking at you

and what was the logical thing to do apparently?

cry. right in front of him.

he just froze as he watched you sob while everyone stared at him

he was trying to explain himself while at the same time Dragging you Away because he couldn’t let you just cry in the middle of the hallway

now you two were at the top of some stairway as you sniffled recovering from your endless crying

“why were you crying? “how could i not when you’re here?”

turns out that sunghoon Knew you were at the same school as him but wanted you to figure it out yourself

it took you almost six months. to figure out sunghoon was in your grade.

but what next? do you rekindle your friendship or...

“i’ve changed” okay maybe that answered your question

and before he could even explain himself he just... Got up and left????? for no reason

and that’s when tsundere sunghoon started to come into play.

you constantly tried talking to him but it would end up with the two of you bickering

you walked home the same way too

weirdly enough He was very nice to you sometimes

letting you place your head on his shoulder, lovingly smiling at you, being very Oddly romantic

he was giving you mixed signals.

and there came that old elementary school crush... gearing back up for a second round

“what are we?” now you decided being bold was the right thing to do

he just stared at you and shrugged.

now here comes the water works

you started crying uncontrollably Again but this time sunghoon looked really guilty and comforted you

he even hugged you. (Wow... Development)

he then explained to you that he Likes you (omg) but he’s scared that he might have to pack up and leave you again and he doesn’t want you to get too attached

and you’re like “we have each other’s numbers this time though?”

sunghoon’s just like Ohhhh

that’s how you started dating

and rekindled that elementary crush (successfully)

∷ sunoo — toilet-bound hanako-kun

being the bold and adventurous person you are. You decided to call onto your school’s very own ghost

because you had the biggest crush on this upperclassman you needed the support of a Spirit to help you

“ummmm hey... school spirit, i’m kinda in love with someone and i heard—” “hi” and then you fall onto the ground because something scares you

turns out the spirit’s name is sunoo and you just summoned him

it also turns out this spirit was kinda cute 😟

he had offered you something like a book — telling you if you follow all the rules — you’ll end up dating your crush

turns out it was just a middle school romance book you could of bought at dollar tree.

you were rightfully mad at him Since all you did was end up embarrassing yourself

somehow during your argument, your eyes caught a glimpse of something in his pocket

you took it. because you deserved it

and ATE IT when sunoo told you that it grants you any wish when consumed

you didn’t even need to listen to any of the disclaimers because it was already in your stomach

one things turns into another and now you’re a spiritually bound fish to sunoo.

turns out what you ate was mermaid scales and he needed to eat one too so you could turn human (he told you he can’t explain it because it’s a long story!)

you two are now bonded together (4lyfe 🥺🤞) and you aren’t that happy due to the fact he was always teasing you and playing around with you!!!!

you were now his human assistant.

you helped him with cleaning the toilets and he helped you by saving you from the supernatural

very well balanced relationship

you grew very fond of sunoo as time went on

even though you almost died a few times... he was always there to save you from whatever the spiritual world had to offer

i won’t spoil anything but... school spirit sunoo seemed to have a soft spot for you too 😇

you showed him your passion for art and everything like that

you tried to dodge questions about the... y’know... why he was a spirit

knowing that it would probably hurt him

plus he didn’t have all those things coming after him for nothing

falling in love with a ghost wasn’t what... you were expecting when you first joined your school

but i guess you had no choice since he was spiritually bound to you!

∷ jungwon — whisper of the heart

you loved the library dearly, you loved reading and writing— just books in general

your favourite place was a really big cosy library a few minutes away from your house

you had always borrowed more than three books every visit

and every time you would look at who borrowed the book, the same exact name would show up each book you borrowed

“yang jungwon... he seems to have good taste in books”

you would dreamily sigh thinking about what this jungwon looked like

later on in the week you were writing a story at the park— y’know, normal things

your friend called you out of the blue for some reason rushing for you to help them

out of panic you forgot your book on the bench and didn’t realise when you had finally finished helping out your friend

to your surprise there was already someone sitting on the bench

and Reading Your Very Own Story

you literally just run up to him and snatch it from his hands because you’re embarrassed!!!

what didn’t help was the fact that the first thing he did was Laugh in your face about it .

he called your story stupid!!! and critiqued it!!!!

you just bicker with him and complain to your friend about it later that night

the next day you thought that... maybe if you went to the library again you might spot this yang jungwon

so you make it your mission to get to the library

funnily enough your plan had failed in an instant when your eyes caught a cat that you just became curious about

you followed it because it just wouldn’t stop getting away from you

it also looked like it was taking you somewhere but 😦

after a tiring ten minutes of following this cat from hell and back. It brought you to this old antique shop

you instantly fell in love with the store and everything in it

you were so distracted by everything that you hadn’t realised someone was behind you

you could feel your eyes widen when you realised it was the same boy from the park

holding that same cat you were following too????

“why are you here?” his eyes literally started Squinting at you

he then proceeded to tell you about how his vocal lessons were nearby and more importantly that the cat was His

he asks you if you want to go visit where he does his lessons and Obviously being as curious as you were, you accepted

when he brought you there you could see his eyes instantly sparkle from just being there cute... kinda

he even started to sing for you and that’s when you thought that he wasn’t that bad

some of his teachers started to join in too and before you knew it, the sun was already gone and you’ve spent the whole time with some boy that you were supposed to hate

“jungwon, who’s your friend” your body Froze in shock when you heard that name

jungwon thought you were stupid for not knowing your name and now you realise you’ve been crushing on him this whole time

(i refuse to continue on more with this because it’ll be too long unless some of you want a oneshot of this 😍)

∷ ni-ki — haikyuu

being forced by your teacher to sign up to be some volleyball team’s manager was Not that fun to experience

but there you were, managing a volleyball practice of that very own team

thankfully, it was safe to say you had a good relationship with all of them

and an even Better relationship with a certain volleyball player

nishimura riki and you were practically glued to the hip

you were so incredibly thankful that he was the first one to speak to you when you first started becoming their manager

the rest of them were tall and scary but riki was just tall and friendly

he was so energetic and just So bright that you couldn’t help but look forward to seeing him every day you had practice

he would even teach you how to play volleyball

like he’d be like “isn’t this move so cool? let me teach you it!”

at this point you could be a professional volleyball player with the help of riki

you were overjoyed watching them win their final match to compete in the spring interhigh

you were also incredibly happy to know that riki scored the winning point

he couldn’t stop telling you about it and you just kept excitedly praising him and not to play favourites but you weren’t this excited when heeseung scored the previous winning point

even though you and your team were excited, you could feel how nervous they were when they entered the huge gymnasium

they were surrounded by all the best high school volleyball teams in the country

the very first team they went up against gave them a very Tough time

you remember sweating so hard when the scores were almost the same, the other team leading in that set

you decided that. Maybe you could help

“riki! you can do it” your shouting somehow caused riki to instantly become energised

everything was a blur up until your team had Won the match

and all because you gave riki some encouragement

he literally ran to you the second they had won and almost knocked you down

you didn’t wanna tell him that he was sweaty so you just let him carry on hugging you tightly

the rest of the team was like “why didn’t you cheer us on like you did with riki?”

and when you tried to explain your face just started heating up like crazy

so you ignored the subject.

riki just took it as he was your favourite

but what you didn’t want to tell them was the fact that you had a crush on him

as if it wasn’t obvious enough 😟

[apr1lias]

Sorry for jumping in on this but I’ve read this argument and I’ve seen some people speak about it before so thought I would add some things that I know about. I hope it also doesn’t come across as biased because as we know I am a hater to my core.

Firstly I just want to talk about the drink driving thing because no disrespect, but I don’t think we should let him off because he didn’t seriously harm somebody. He was lucky, but he never should’ve been in a position where he is “lucky” to walk away from something completely of his own doing. Yes he seems to have learned from it but at the end of the day you shouldn’t even get a chance to “learn” from something like that because you should never be in the position to do it. Also the apology wasn’t an apology, in fact I don’t even recall I’m sorry being in the statement, because it was excuse and he never properly spoke about it because ducati never allowed him to lol. Also the incident isn’t the only reason some of us don’t like him, it’s because of some of the things he’s said about the racing.

Now onto Martin because I spoke about this a lot before haha. I’m not even going to speak about the slur because we all know about it and all know how awful and wrong it was, and his apology was equally terrible but I suppose at least he’s not publicly using bigoted language anymore, which shouldn’t be celebrated but hey.

There was a point a few months ago before twitter made likes private when I went to try and find out why people on here were calling him a zionist (for context: he liked a post from the isnotreali motogp commentator in the aftermath of oct 7), and found out he’d liked a tweet by Andrew Tate. I think it was some bullshit mentality quote, the kind that he seems to repost on instagram a lot, but from the guy that trafficked and abused women and acts like that was a bit of a choice. He also doesn’t follow him so I have no idea how he would’ve actively seen that unless he gets the inspirational alpha life quotes on his for you section or follows/interacts with people like Tate (then again right-wing b.s. and stuff has ended up on my for you section after I interact with leftie politics since Elon Musk ran it into the ground). But that’s all assumed like we won’t know for sure why and especially not with likes private.

There was also some of the things that he has (allegedly) said while also on the show where he made the slur, something along the lines of it’s impossible to win an argument with women or something, among some other things apparently but I never watched the thing, so I’m not really in a position to comment. I know others have touched on it before so they’re probably in a better position to clarify.

I think it’s this, (for me personally) the tweet, and the assumption from the flag discourse above that makes people question his views on women, but his political stance we won’t ever know unless he outright says it, so (barring any context that makes the TV show comments worse) it’s all hearsay. Like I know plenty of left-wing people in my country who are unfortunately majorly misogynistic so I really don’t think you label someone based on a political belief you’re not even 100% sure they have.

(Side note: I was sure that I read he used that flag because Criville used it in his career, not defending it knowing the connotations but I have absolutely no idea where when or who said it but if anyone knows pls tell me if it’s true or a myth).

And while we’re on this topic of misogyny, let’s not act like Pecco hasn’t said some misogynistic things in the past, like when he said he was acting like a girl on her period and making his girlfriend do everything when he got an injury in either 2018/19/20. If we want to play this game then unfortunately I feel like we could find something that every single person on that grid has said that is somewhat problematic regarding women, but this isn’t really a gotcha moment - which might sound hypocritical yes but you can’t make one argument for one and turn a blind eye to the one they’re attempting to lift up.

Also would just like to put out there that regarding fan interaction, it truly does depend on the day and these guys are human and you can’t expect for them to be on it all the time. I’ve been to Silverstone for three years and for the last two I’ve ran into both Pecco and Jorge and yet the only one that’s ever been accommodating or smiling from my experience is Jorge, and the only one who never has time for interaction is Pecco, not even a simple hello or anything, but people in other places or who have met then at other tracks might say the complete opposite.

That’s all I’ve got (sorry for overtaking ur post and if this is incoherent its 2am lol) but I can understand why they say these things about him, there’s stuff that points to it but to act like it’s a foregone conclusion is wild to me. I can’t lie it feels a bit like fishing for reasoning to make hate to me and trust me you don’t need to: just say you dislike him because he’s arrogant and throws others under the bus, that’s why I hated him for the best part of 3 years before the title challenge last year, and then he undid it all with the slur. But yeah, that’s some of the insight I have but it’s up to everyone to make up their own minds.

Pecco stans get more and more insane every day cause wtf now we're making accusations???

[lwt28brave]

LT2 masterpost

If it was up to me, we would get an autumn or winter EP. Since it’s not up to me at all, here, enjoy this post with everything we know so far of LT2, which is to say, not much at all. Everything here is hypothetical. I’ll be updating every time I see something relevant. A little disclaimer that while this is a masterpost (kinda), it could be read as discourse (duh, it’s also a theory), AND it’s also by me, and you shouldn’t expect me to be serious at this point.

Due to me restraining myself, there’s no reference to any of the times he’s mentioned his guitar skills and him improving but I hope you know I cried every single time.

I’m also linking my old pinned here. It was written before AFHF and around the free merch thing that didn’t lead to much, but I still think I made some good points.

Possible tracks:

Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Change

Faith in the future??

369??

Possible names:

369

Faith in the future

When is the album coming out?

Your guess is as good as mine

Friday 28th of January 2022. Almost two years after Walls. It’s a Friday. It’s a 28th. What else can I say?

Here you can find @want-to-be-loved timelines for every month.

Here you can find @berlinini’s timeline of what Louis has been up to this year (2021).

The rest is under the cut. And here you can find a PDF version where Tumblr can't tell me how many pictures I can add.

2020

He said back on May 2th 2020 he wasn’t writing anything new yet.

(x)(x)(x)

Interestingly enough, he’s said many times after that that the album’s not ready cause he has no new experiences to drawn from. I won’t call him out because he does it himself.

May 4th. He liked a tweet from DMA’s Johnny Took saying they had to go write together again. Louis has been credited as an influence for them and (kind of) participated in their previous record, so I’m assuming he meant for their music and not his, but you never know.

Nothing(literally nothing??? how did we survive) until 11th of July. We all know what happened that day. We all celebrated it. Nonetheless, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

(x) So, by the beginning of July 2020 he was working on concepts and ideas for the new album. That was fifteen months ago. I know perfection takes time but…

Brief summary of important things that happened from then until the next mention of new music:

Louis left Syco!!!! 10 days later he rescheduled the tour for the first time. He followed Matt Vines on Twitter, probably so we could publicly shame him into doing something. Also, the 10thanniversary. He followed more people I wish he hadn’t.

Then more nothing until September. Not even a single tweet. The first merch drop was on the 28th of August but he just RT’ed the tweet. He first mentioned Free my Meal on the 25th of September. Then on October 1st Walls hit #1 on a lot of countries and Louis was incredibly happy and excited about it ^^

And then, that same day, October 1st, 2020, he dropped this bomb:

(x)

He also said it was too soon to be sharing new lyrics with us (x)

And, obviously, this tweet which is actually what made me start this whole post. I would hope you know mate.

(x)

He also told us he was cooking "banger after banger" and that he was incorporating more social themes into his music (x)(x) (I believe any social issue is a political issue but that’s not the point rn).

COPY OF A COPY OF A COPY?!?!

These next paragraphs are brought to you by my mind not remembering things and me not having any links. I’m assuming COACOAC came from those writing sessions that supposedly happened in October. Or in LA but I have no idea if he actually was in LA at any point other than a Daily Mail article putting him there on December which would have been too late, but I do remember that someone said he was in the studio in LA last autumn???? A rumor. Maybe. IDK. Did I mention already all of this is very hypothetical?? Well, this is it. I can’t even remember if this was October or November or what. So, take this with a grain of salt.

I’m also… taking the liberty to assume, if you must, that Copy wasn’t meant to be a Walls reject because it sounds more mature and darker and it has a vastly different tone that Walls songs. I know he’s said that song probably isn’t getting into the album, but I want to have faith (in the future) that I’m getting a studio version. (But also, Louis, if you’re reading this, first of all GET OUT OF MY BLOG second of all, please don’t ever feel pressured again to add a song to the album because we have already heard it before. It’s your art and it should always be under your own terms).

So yeah, I believe that Copy is either one of those four songs (then imagine the other three??!!) or was written around the 1st of October date.

---End of the Intermission---

Then not much important (other than sharing more about Marcus Rashford fight against food poverty and the 2nd merch drop) until he announced the livestream on the 24th of November. (x)

It wasn’t until a few days before the livestream date we even thought again about new music (jk, I know we’re always thinking about new Louis’ music). So, December 9th/10th, 2020. Nine months ago. We got our first taste of new music!

He made sure we knew Copy of a Copy of a Copy isn't a cover! (x) (x)

(x)

Ok, so that’s it for 2020. (I feel like I’m missing something from September 17th because tweet was deleted but maybe he was still talking about cucumbers. We might never know. Unless I understand how Tumblr tags work). Expected, cause Walls was released in 2020. We needed to let it sit for a while.

2021

Another Summary: Louis third tweet of the year was telling the UK government off. So was the fifth. What a good beginning. On the 26th of January, he said he prefers pancakes over waffles. I hope he meant pancakes other than his own. More importantly, he tweeted the infamous “you lot read into things too much”. Don’t get me started, Tomlinson. Don’t. Then the 31st came around and Walls was one. He tweeted this. How wise. And Project Defenceless happened!!

15th of February!! Who cares about Valentine Day when the next day we got this? ♥

(x)

(x)

So…AN EP?? AN EP?? PLEASE RELEASE AN EP.

“I’m sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album”. Unlikely but not impossible. Also. A single would be good. This is the second time he mentions releasing something in 2021 and he sounds surer about it than the first time around.

He also said that he isn’t sure we will get a studio version of Copy. And that the best bridges from Walls to LT2 are Walls, OTB, KMM and Copy. Can’t wait!

Then we jump to March 6th when he announced he was going to create his own management company. “Sometimes action is needed first to encourage the motivation and belief”. As we can tell he was already manifesting some stuff which will lead us to the numerology stuff/Tesla… kidding. Or not. We might never know.

On the 22nd of March he answered some questions:

He told us music was still his main focus ♥ mwha. (x) I included this tweet to guilt-trip him into giving us music in case he’s reading this even after I told him to leave. ILY.

(x) I’d love to get a visual EP this autumn. Just saying. It sounds like a lovely concept.

(x)

…next (I will get into it, I promise. I’m just mad).

On the 25th he left for Mexico until April 10th. You could assume it was just for the documentary where we got ten seconds of footage or admit the obvious: LT2 its a Mexican baby!!

On the 26th (so, not so far apart from that first 369) we got the first Faith in the Future mention: (x)

Back then we were innocent people who had no idea what was coming upon us. We still have no idea because what the fuck does he mean with these. Please explain. I have one braincell and I don’t use it enough for this. I’m linking some theories.

On the 30th of March he confirmed he was already working on the documentary. So AFHF was already on the works. Will it take this long for us to get the Veeps numbers? We also got this tweet: "Got a decent chorus idea down" (x).

Same person that got the “something out this year” exclusive. If you know something share with the class. Also. Is this Change? I feel like this could be Change but I also assume he wrote Change after hanging out with his friends or being in Doncaster. But who knows.

(x) And the second mention to 369.

(x) 15th of April. The second "Faith in the future".

On the 19th of April he announced that he had something BIG for us later on the year which turned out to be the Away From Home Festival ♥♥ (x) I love him so much.

Then on the 28th he announced the 369 merch drop (which it’s probably the Walls drop? Except that the TOU and KMM ones were “drop 1 and drop 2” and this was drop 369 which, again, makes no sense) but we still don’t know what 369 means.

Into May’ 21 we go.

He rescheduled tour again. And dropped another bomb (x).

He announced he has signed with BMG as an independent artist by RTing this tweet on May 10th. The article also says that he’s already working on writing and recording LT2. The timing… we don’t know. What this deal involves… we don’t know either. Bear with me here because I have a lot to say about this.

I think the deal is only a distribution one, but that BMG are interested in Louis and what he (us) could bring to the table. They were either present at the festival or watching it, but officially they had no involvement at all with it (everything is credited either to Louis own company, 78 Productions, or Charlie Lightening’s company). That’s the case for both giveaways too; the vinyl one and the tickets for the festival.

I think it would be an unbelievably bad move not to test the waters with BMG now or soon-ish. At least a single, to see how it performs. Due to the circumstances, it’s obvious there’re certain limitations on place but I want to see how they push it, whether the radio play exist this time around and if the song is playlisted and promoted and all that… I would also love to know, since it says he signed with BMG UK, but it also states it’s a global deal, how things are going to go on the US and other countries.

Yes, yes. I know those are all questions and no answers. But I know the same as you, sadly. If any of you know more than you’re letting on… again, share with the class.

Where was I? Yes, on the 25th of May Louis had a great day writing (x). Since the first time he had mentioned he was officially writing to this date there’s almost eight months. And I believe he was writing before October’ 20.

He followed Robert Harvey that day and, on the 28th of May (why is it always the 28th???) he was spotted at the studio for the first time.

June was an interesting month for the fandom ♥. Lots of LHL content which I will love and cherish for the rest of times. On June 4th, June 9th, and June 10th he was spotted at the studio, but I believe he was there more days.

(x)

This was posted on June 6th and captioned Studio. Charlie also shared it with “Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this @louist91 #louistomlinson #LT2” as the caption. This gives me 2019 (Elton-Joint) vibes. I like it. Feels like we’re getting closer to something.

He added the Milano date on the 9th too which I’m mentioning because I’m going alone. Anyone wanna go with me please? I’m nice and I never eat anything before a concert so you can have my food. On other news. It didn’t come home.

During July he was at the studio at least three days too. Probably more. Feels like more with all the fan pictures we got. Or was that June? Anyway, July 1st and 9th we got some videos from Robert Harvey and wearesuperhi, which is who Louis has been working with the most, that we know of. I don’t know for sure they’re from that day. And on July 5th we got an article and lots of pictures of Louis looking really good outside the studio.

On the 12th of July the first fans started getting the free, 369 bucket hat and print. We still don’t know what the purpose was other than to thanks fans. Maybe that was it. I want answers and I still think it relates to a future project (see theories above), but it could also just be a bridge with the Walls breaking.

He didn’t tweet about anything interesting for a while, mostly because he lost his phone (he either throwed it in the air or smashed it who knows). Then on the 29th of July he announced the festival!

I’m glossing over it because there’s already been a lot of talk about it (rightfully) and while it was a wonderful thing, it doesn’t have much to do with LT2.

Let’s talk Change!

On August 3rd he tweeted this about the setlist.

(x)

And this (x) on the 28th! I can’t stand him.

We didn’t get it, obviously. Because who was going to get that. But we read too much into things. Alright.

On the 16thof August Dave Gibson shared this post tagged #LT2 with the eyes emojis 👀👀👀. I believe this has to do both with Change but also with whatever else came out of that Mexico trip.

(x) Last relevant tweet related to LT2 is this one.

So, on the 30th of August we got Change and we cried, and we know that Change is going in the new album. He said it. With those exact words. He also said he was “getting a feeling for it”. This has to meant he already has a general idea of the vibe of the new album and what’s going in it!!!!!! (Right? RIGHT?).

Anyway, let’s go back a few weeks because some other things happened on August. He was at the studio a few more times. Or it was suggested that he was there. On the 17th and the 18th. (Why was it so time-pressing to be at the studio instead of rehearsing for the festival? There was no studio at all on the documentary. Which makes sense, but again, then why?).

On the day of the festival we got another mention of Faith in The Future that made me feel part of a cult ngl. The words were flashing on the screen for less than a second. Okay.

And then he tweeted those words again after watching the livestream/documentary on the 4th of September (x). This is what makes me suspect it's either the name of the album or of the single.

On the same day, we got some interesting quotes about LT2 on the documentary.

“Soon I’ll have to think about me second album, which in my head I’ll get the tour out of the way and then I’ll address that. So, I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest”.

“When every day is the same is hard to feel creative and it’s hard to have any kind of proper inspiration”.

“As season started to come back, I started writing again and it was great and some of these songs turned out alright”.

And I think this is it. I might be overlooking some important details but that’s what we know and what we don’t know.

So. Conclusions. That’s what you missed on Glee. I do believe the album is, if not mostly done, partially there. And yes, this post is pointless and never-ending but it’s all in here if you need to tell Louis “Hey, you said this, mate”.