#can you tell I have my tin foil hat on

[xceanlynx]

They were your coven for hundreds of years. You had no feelings for any of them? I had complicated feelings.

Interview with the Vampire (2022-)

[ganondoodle]

(idk if anyone wants to keep hearing my opinions on totk book stuff but-)

apparently it says that rauru DID have kids, multiple even, which yeah... is kinda necessary for zelda to even be connected to them so much so that sonia can SENSE a blood connection (which, even with all the excuses with magic, is just a little too far for me to suspend my disbelief bc its over, OVER, ten thousand years worth of generations that seperate her from them that one lil touch of the hand can sense that (feels more like an attempt to make you care about them or .. see them as zeldas "better" parents just bc they exchange a few nice words, i never got the feeling they were 'better' parents and its also kinda disrespectful to her actual parents, like sure rhoam wasnt the best but i wouldnt call rauru better just bc he was polite)- i could see maybe the light power of hylia or sth but since its the coolest dude that ever lived rauru now that had it which still doesnt make sense and makes me unreasonably annoyed and she can sense BOTH of their powers in her? nah) the fact theres NOTHING about them in the game itself is just so ... no way they planned any of this

i dont think theres anything they can do or say that wont make be believe they either

are making it up alla 'fix it in post' mentality trying to hastily explain stuff the game never bothers to do to try and appease fans or let it appear as if they thought about it at all

something went really REALLY wrong during development, which kinda seems likely given how the game turned out (im sorry i cannot let go, its not just the writing, the game design too and how little was changed in the map while being so damn expensive, i dont know how people dont feel scammed q_q)

given that they (allegedly) spent the last entire year of development on polish (where??? where????? huh??? like it would make it more understandable (EXCEPT for the price) if there was alot of trouble, which was also bc it got delayed and ... turned out like this, but they dont want to say it, especially given their reputation, with that quote i have heard way too many times 'a delayed game blah blah') i just??

are they just gonna go and do it like they did with kashiwa (kass)? "they uuuh where flying around the whole time ony cool sonau tech maschines, you just dont see or hear from them ooooorrr they were uuuuh out of the country at the time" (sending invitations to other continents to join their glorious kingdom ;) )

(bet they are also gonna say they did all the stuff like ... moving the shrines around (lol?) and lifting the islands up into the sky- which is still weird bc ... didnt they also say they were living in the sky before coming to the surface?? so where?? did they park all their islands on the surface and the mystery kids had the keys so they had to repark them back into the sky after they returned off camera?? xD also why are the islands so different as an environment if they where from the surface? like even the STONE up there is different- and if they were first in the sky then on the surface and the nback in the sky .. why is there not a single yellow tree or grass in the past- you cant really argue that it changed bc they were up there so long bc .. nothing else changed, the suddendly and totally always there sonau buildings are largely in prime condition, only some slightly moldy, and what we see of the glorious past looks barely any different from the present, aside from like ... some standard trees shuffled, no castle yet and that glowy uwu filter DESPITE that stupidly long time frame between it)

[tototalks]

Now three quarters of the way through Captive Prince and I’m currently devouring this book like a vulture with its face in a carcass.

More ✨thoughts✨

- Love how there’s a whole conversation where everyone is sitting round eating grapes like “oh wow yeah Kastor was really beat up about the death of Prince Damianos. He looked real sad.” and Damen is just like… stood there… very alive… two feet away in big ol’ gold chains metaphorical sign over his head saying “NOTICE ME” lol

- On that note, spidey senses are telling me there’s no fuckin way Laurent doesn’t know who he is in a very “you killed my brother prepare to die” kinda way… unless he doesn’t?? Like am I wearing the tin foil hat?? Am I the fool?? Have they pulled a fast one on my dumb ass??

- Omg Nicaise. My heart kinda breaks for him. He’s a thirteen year old boy trying to survive by any means necessary, and if he’s gotta stab a bitch in the leg with a fork to do it then so be it. I support him.

- Ancel really is 💅that girl💅 in the same way Margaery Tyrell was that girl. He’s manipulative, he’s beautiful, he can spin fire, he’s out for someone to buy him a Birkin. Legend.

- I am, once again, requesting nice things for Erasmus and desperately need a whole training arc of Ancel teaching him how to use his looks to get what he wants. Glad my boy is safe. (Is he? Please say he is. Damen was on his best behaviour.)

- “He’s too old for my uncle’s taste.” SIR?? EXCUSE ME SIR????? 🚨🚨🚨 🚩🚩🚩 🚔🚔🚔

[wannabanauthor]

I have a BuckTommy idea/prompt:

Tin foil hat time

What if Chimney was trying to get Buck to date again so he could tell Tommy and get Tommy to realize what he’s lost?

So Chimney sets Buck on a blind date with a super hot gay guy, but it’s all apart of his plan. He knows Tommy well enough to know what restaurants he frequents and what nights.

But before Buck arrives, the guy finds Tommy sitting at the bar in the restaurant and starts flirting with him. Maybe the guy even mentions that he has a hot date in a few minutes with this bisexual guy.

Once Buck shows up, the date gets up and greets him, and makes sure Buck doesn’t notice Tommy.

Tommy, however, sees the whole thing, and panics because he didn’t expect Buck to start dating again so soon, and Buck’s date is an asshole for flirting with Tommy before Buck showed up.

So Tommy is stuck between letting the date happen and probably progressing, or he can be honest with Buck that his date was flirting with him until Buck arrived.

Tommy calls Chimney in a panic, and Chimney tells him “you should definitely let Buck know that his date is a flirt”.

Tommy is torn on what to do, but Chimney gives him that final push. Instead of confronting them, Tommy texts Buck “your date was flirting with me before you showed up”.

Buck gets the text is excited to see it’s from Tommy, but then he reads it and goes bright red.

Meanwhile his date asks “is something wrong?”

Buck says “Yeah, you were flirting with my ex-boyfriend before I showed up.” He looks around for Tommy and sees him leaving out the front door.

Buck ends the date and follows Tommy outside to confront him.

He’s nervous but is happy to see Tommy again, but he’s also a brat and gets snarky with Tommy and calls him a coward for leaving him twice.

They start arguing about their breakup, and Buck says “I’m in love with you, asshole, that’s why I asked you to move in. I wanted a future with you. It you didn’t want one with me.”

Tommy is stunned and starts to cry, but Buck is not having it.

He starts asking “Why am I not good enough to fight for? Why did you leave me? You wanted to protect your heart, but you destroyed mine.”

Tommy says, “I’ve been through this enough times to know when it’s time to go. You’re still new to things. It wouldn’t have worked out between us.”

Buck says, “I’m not those other guys! I’m me, and you keep dismissing my feelings as if I haven’t been in a relationship before. Just because you’re my first boyfriend doesn’t mean my past relationships don’t count toward dating experience. Do you not love me, is that what it is? I’d rather you tell me the truth so I can move on.”

Tommy whispers, “I’m in love with you too, and I’m scared you’re going to leave me. I’m sorry, I should have been honest with you from the start or even before we made it to six months. I just wanted to enjoy myself for once and not think about the future , but I fell in love with you so hard and unexpectedly that I didn’t know what to do.”

“Do I need to propose or something to convince you that I’m serious? Hell, should we drive to Vegas to get married to prove to you that I��m in this for the rest of my life? What do I need to do to prove to you that you’re my last?” Buck asks, crying now too.

That of course spooks Tommy again, but Buck isn’t allowing him to leave this time.

“Tell me, please,” Bucks says between sobs.

Tommy kisses him. He lets his hand wander through Buck’s curls, and pulls away when he needs oxygen.

“I love you so much, it hurts,” Tommy says.

“Then stay. Talk to me. Let’s try counseling or something. There has to be a better way than just ending things,” Buck suggests and Tommy nods.

Buck has a huge grin even with the tears. He kisses Tommy, and they just hold onto each other while crying.

Chimney gets a text the next day from Tommy, “you’re a dick, but it worked”.

End scene. What do you think?

[justkeeptrekkin]

I think Aziraphale was planning to make a move at the party.

so I went into good omens s2 actively looking up spoilers because I couldn’t cope with watching it and not knowing what the end of the season would have in store. 

I therefore found it REALLY interesting seeing how Aziraphale behaves at the start of his party, considering I knew how he responded to Crowley. 

One instance we see this is how furtive and coquettish he is when he tells Crowley to ‘wait and see’ (seen below). Like there’s a surprise for Crowley, as well. It’s actively flirtatious.

This is the face of a man who is *bashful*. This is a teenager before a school dance. He is excited about Nina and Maggie and nervous and he is living variously through them, of course. I also, genuinely, think he was planning something to do with Crowley. Like, this is the face of a man who has thought to himself, ‘I’m going to show Crowley how I feel about him, and he doesn’t even know it!!!” 

more under the cut:

Then of course we have the DANCE SCENE. This is an explicitly romantic affair that Aziraphale has orchestrated. It’s clear that both Aziraphale and Crowley are projecting massively onto Maggie and Nina, consciously or not. He’s designed this evening to be a meet-cute/match-making event, and Crowley knows this. So yeah, it’s really transparent what Aziraphale’s doing when he asks Crowley to dance.

Thing is, I don’t think he’s being oblivious here. I don’t even think he’s planning on just taking a risk. I think this is Aziraphale making a move. This is Aziraphale being wholly himself, happy, silly, playful, vulnerable, and openly affectionate with Crowley. 

That’s why when Crowley’s trying to warn him that something’s wrong, he ignores it-- it’s scuppering his plans to sweep Crowley off his feet! This evening is meant to be perfect!

Let’s look at the dance invitation moment:

^ The serious look in his eyes here. Like he’s steeling himself to just make that leap of faith and be brave. Knowing that Crowley will probably think he’s taking the piss.

^ the innocent vulnerability of this moment. Tell me this isn’t a much younger Aziraphale asking his crush to dance with him at prom. He’s been planning this and he so desperately wants it to be like how he’s imagined it, but he’s also terrified. Look at how nervous he is! He’s being so brave. You know he’s thinking ‘It’s finally happening! I’m doing it!’

^ a very blurry image of Aziraphale’s nervous little giggle as he takes Crowley’s hand and drags him over for a dance. He’s absolutely buzzing of the anticipation and nervous energy and the butterflies! He’s so happy and so YOUNG here and it is so so pure. god the little laugh he makes as well-- like he knows it’s forbidden, that it’s cheeky and silly, that he’s living his lil Jane Austen dream here. 

Ok, so then we have the moment with Beelzebub and Gabriel. We all have foamed at the mouth at how he looks at Crowley here when he realises that they can run off to Alpha Centauri, too. And that it’s possible for them. When he instinctively grabs Crowley’s arm... good lord. 

It’s like Aziraphale’s dream has come true here. He is seeing validation of what he has started to plan. He’s seeing that this isn’t just a pipe dream that he’s indulging in. He can be happy with Crowley! 

Then of course, Metatron comes along and offers what he thinks -- in his abuse-victim mind-- is the perfect alternative. By going to heaven and bringing Crowley with him, he’s pleasing everyone! (Right?) ((I will discuss this in another post...)

I mean, this is literally all just conjecture, obviously. I am wearing my silly little tin foil hat. but when you pair all of this with the fact that he literally gazes with heart eyes at Crowley for the whole season, is pretty flirty, lets Crowley come to his rescue... we are seeing an Aziraphale here who is acutely aware of his crush on Crowley.

[ultimate-marysue]

Magnus Protocol ARG

Im not sure if someone else has already done this (most likely) but I've been re-readin the magnus institute excell with all the kids names. Since the tests where psychological in nature I thought maybe I could figure out if the "Connor" Dyer profile worked for Alice. But I think I've found out something about Sam. This might be the most tin foil hat theory I've had in a while but it makes sense! I've connected the dots!!!!!

There's a couple of things I need to stablish first:

The names seem to be ranked from lowest to highest score on the empathy test.

Sam scored the highest, Gerry the second highest (Dyer is closer to the middle of the list).

The tests seem to relate to cognitive development, especially related to morality and empathy.

The Asch test measures your "conformity" aka, how susceptible you are to peer pressure. Basically, they ask you a question, everyone before you gives the wrong answer, and the test is whether you would give the correct answer or go with what the others said.

The Milgram test measures your obedience when in conflict with your morality. The (very) abridged version is: they tell you tu punish someone by shocking them with increasing voltages and if you refuse they ask you to continue. The experiment goes on until reaching 450 volts or if the participant completely refuses even when ordered to continue.

We know the Institute was trying to find Subjects, Agents and Catalysts (there's an amazing post about this from @alice-apparently )

Okay so I made a little excell with the relevant info:

Both Gerry and Dyer show low conformity and obedience levels. Which, knowing Gerry (and maybe Alice??) makes complete sense. We can assume that they both chose to give the correct answer even if everyone else answered differently, and they also refused to administer the punishment even when directly ordered.

Sam on the other hand, mr "would rather die than complain about being forcefed cake" did in fact go with what most people said instead of the correct answer. He also finished the Milgram experiment, going against his moral compass to obey the instructions.

I think they were trying to find viable subjects to groom into avatars for the eye. Hear me out. The kids with the lowest empathy score show high scores in the Milgram test (makes sense, they don't care as much about hurting people) but from 80% empathy forward no one scores high. No one except Sam, the one with the highest empathy score.

Why not just pick the one's with the least empathy? the least empathetic kids were also the youngest and the ones with lowest cognitive developement (I do not go in deph about the other test but you can see the scores for yourself here). This kids aren't useful yet, because maybe they'll become more empathetic (And as such, more resistent to the Milgram test) as they grow up/develop.

Not Sam. He has perfect scores in every single development test, he has the highest empathy and yet he's the most likely to be influenced to harm other people.

In episode 10 Sam confirms his obsession with finding out why they didn't chose him despite having the highest scores. Gerry was the second highest and he didn't get picked either. My theory is that Sam was indeed chosen, and the fact that he shows no survival instincts when it comes to figuring this mystery out is prove.

His test results show someone whiling to file useless papeworks with extremely personal information because "well, you're supposed to even if no one reads it". Also Teddy leaving for a job that somehow didn't actually exist smells like somebody trying to free a spot in the very Eye-coded OIAR. A spot that Sam is more than happy to accept.

I don't know if this is an incredibly long con to condition Sam into the perfect vessel for the eye or if the Magnus Institute had to change plans after burning down. If it's the latter I can see them being very happy when their specialest little boy signed up for the OIAR and fell right into their laps again. Either way, Sam's fucked.

[brawlingdiscontent]

In 2.2, when describing his apparent incompatibility with Lestat, Armand says: “He tasted like vermouth and annihilation." Then, in 2.6, when Real Rashid is making Daniel his drink the following exchange happens - Daniel: Little more vermouth next time Rashid. Rashid: I can make another. Daniel: No, it’s good. It’s just his [gesturing to Armand] were better.

I know it means something but what?? *Puts on tin foil conspiracy theory hat* (Especially since the internet tells me that vermouth was invented in Italy in the late 1700s but only popularized more broadly in the mid-1800s.)

Current most conspiracy-based theories:

Daniel caught that remark from Armand in 2.2 and has since been drinking Vermouth-based beverages as a repellent (like citronella for mosquitoes).

If Daniel was already drinking a vermouth-based cocktail in season one - Armand deliberately invoked it here to make Daniel feel self-conscious about his drink order, and indicate that he is not AT ALL interested in kissing Daniel (à la 'I wouldn't let you near my neck' --the lady doth protest too much, methinks).

Anyone else have ideas?

[toorusmoon]

iwa (30) swears that he’s married to a child oikawa (29) every time oikawa requests to have an alien-themed bday party. so one year, iwa pours his heart into making tin foil hats instead of party hats and baking oikawa a jelly bean filled alien shaped cake so that when it’s cut all of its “guts” spill everywhere. (it’s been oikawa’s dream cake since he saw the movie alien) he puts makki in charge of decorations/music and mattsun is in charge of keeping oikawa distracted because lord knows he would ruin his own surprise.

oikawa obviously suspected that iwa was up to something extra special for his birthday this year, but nothing could’ve prepared him for what was next. the evening of his party, makki dressed as an alien, pulls a blindfolded oikawa into his car and tells him that they “will reach the base soon.” oikawa who typically doesn’t like surprises is overflowing with excitement and giggles, so much so that even mattsun isn’t immune from fondly smiling at his fluffy-haired best friend.

upon arrival, oikawa is dragged into their home; all he can hear is eerie sci-fi noises and static beeping. the blindfold was removed and he saw that his entire living room was transformed into an alien spaceship. from intergalactic wallpaper to colorful lights, iwa made their home feel like oikawa was transported into a different world. inside this “space ship” he saw all of their friends dressed up as different colored aliens (iwa promised to buy them all dinner if they complied) while taking it all in, oikawa felt something being strapped to his head. after reaching up to touch it and realizing it’s a tin foil hat, he starts sobbing.

frantically, iwa is suddenly running up to oikawa in a huge inflatable alien costume wiping tears from his face while asking what’s wrong. the only response oikawa could muster up was a giggly tender kiss and an “i love you” although oikawa didn’t answer directly, iwa knew that it meant “thank you, this is everything i dreamed of” and passionately kissed him harder to say “anything for my tooru”

their sweet moment was interrupted by a cough from kuroo with a smug look on his face. oikawa finally gets a good look at iwa for the first time and realizes that his alien inflatable costume says “take me to my leader” oikawa teasingly asks “so where is this beautiful and talented leader you are searching for? i hope you find them.” instead of playing along with oikawa, iwa simply puts a crown on his head with the word “leader” engraved on it and says “i have already found my leader. my moon and my stars. i will continue to find them in every universe. in every lifetime. tooru, you are my guiding light and there’s not a single alien that could keep me from ever being with you”

[clytemnaestraes]

It has been speculated that sansa might've been unconsciously warging into a bird to see marillion in the sky cell

When she closed her eyes she could see him in his sky cell, huddled in a corner away from the cold black sky, crouched beneath a fur with his woodharp cradled against his chest.

Sansa I, AFFC

I wonder if something similar was going on in these passages in Sansa VII, ASOS

Drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover's kisses, and melted on her cheeks. At the center of the garden, beside the statue of the weeping woman that lay broken and half-buried on the ground, she turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes.

Sansa goes into a trance like state after closing her eyes, and when she's opened them she starts building winterfell. Could it be that she warged into a bird flying above winterfell, which helped her replicate its layout so effortlessly? In fact, the very moment after closing her eyes, her head is filled with thoughts of winterfell. Following these thoughts, perhaps her warg abilities helped her to warg into a bird flying above winterfell.

She could feel the snow on her lashes, taste it on her lips. It was the taste of Winterfell. The taste of innocence. The taste of dreams.

Dreams are heavily associated with warging in asoiaf, so the strategic placement of this word here could be a hint.

So we have Sansa closing her eyes and entering a trance of sorts (by the time she opens them the sky is lighter so a considerable amount of time has passed, and she doesn't remember falling to her knees, suggesting her faculties were directed elsewhere). Then we have her mentally engaging with the snowy landscape of Winterfell in a dream-like state.

And then there's this:

Sansa closed her eyes to see them in memory. "They're just white lumps."

When littlefinger asks her how the gargoyles in Winterfell look, she has to explicitly close her eyes again to bring them to mind. Now again, it might as well be that she is drawing from her "memory" to imagine how they look, as she herself narrates. Or it might be that this is another classic unreliable narrator trap that we've seen the author use. There's a thin line between "imagining" and "warging" and if we assume this is among sansa's early unconscious attempts at warging, it would be hard for her to tell the difference, and she would rationalise what she saw as mere memory. Sansa building winterfell is brimming with symbolic importance, and I don't think anything in this scene would've made the cut if it didn't mean something, so this tidbit can be read as the author emphasising and reinforcing his earlier hints.

I'm not saying that any of this is absolute. I'm merely speculating. You are free to disbelieve all of this. I'm open to being wrong, perhaps she just has an extremely vivid photographic memory and grasp on building layouts and stuff for all I know. Sansa's warging abilities or lack of thereof doesn't affect my love for her as a character. I might even be venturing into tin foil hat territory here, but I just wanted to share something that struck me.

[himluv]

DA: The Veilguard Predictions/Theories, pt. 3

Okay, last one, I promise. And this one is, uhhhhhh, real strong on the tinfoil. Bear with me.

Read part 1 here :)

Read part 2 here :)

3. DA:D’s Real Big Bad™

Okay, this is probably my most outrageous and unsubstantiated theory - but it’s also the one I’m most excited for. Buckle up, kids, because I think The Architect is back! 

So, when Bioware released the Dragon Age Day 2023 Thedas Calls trailer, Mark Darrah mentioned in the corresponding blog post that there was more to the trailer than just location reveals, “for those who listen closely.” Well, lemme tell you, I listened real close over and over again until something struck me.

“All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign.” 

That voice… I know that voice, don't I? 

“I do not seek to rule my brethren. I only seek to release them from their chains.” 

The Architect told the Warden in Dragon Age: Awakening that it intended to use Grey Warden blood to return self-awareness and “freedom” to the Darkspawn, freeing them from their tethers to the Archdemons. 

But this was not The Architect’s first plan. No, its first plan was much, much worse. In The Calling, Maric, Duncan, Fiona and the other Grey Warden’s meet The Architect in the Deep Roads and learn that its plan is to spread the Blight over all of Thedas, thus ensuring a “lasting peace”. Nevermind that two-thirds of the population wouldn’t survive the process. **stares in solavellan**

A “lasting peace.”

“The peace and comfort of my reign.”

Now, sure, The Architect has stated that it doesn’t want to rule over its brethren, but that was in 9:31 Dragon. It’s been working on this plan since at least 9:10 Dragon (when The Calling takes place) and Dreadwolf is likely to take place somewhere around 9:52 Dragon. The Architect has had 40 years to scheme and experiment and come to the bitter realization that – if there is to be peace – it may have to rule after all. 

And I’m sure Corypheus’s rise and fall did not go unnoticed by The Architect. With Solas’s machinations putting a ticking clock on Thedas’s existence, perhaps The Architect feels the pressure to end the Blights once and for all, and bring its corrupted brand of “peace” to Thedas.

When you need to spread the Darkspawn taint in record time, what do you do? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe awaken two Archdemons simultaneously and unleash them upon the world? (as a treat?) After all, there can be no more Blights once all the Old Gods have been corrupted…

Which would directly pit The Architect against Solas AND the protagonists of DA:D. And, basically everyone, because no one wants a double Blight and/or to suffer a continent-wide Darkspawn plague.

So, yeah. That’s my super-duper tin-foil hat theory for Dreadwolf (now The Veilguard). Obviously, I could be completely wrong about everything. There’s so much lore in Dragon Age, and yet so little of that lore is unequivocally proven true. It’s all in-world texts that can be – and frequently are – wrong. So, even with exhaustive research and codex mining, there’s ALWAYS a chance that some fundamental piece of “evidence” turns out to just be… incorrect. 

In my opinion, that’s part of what makes this series so. effing. compelling. The whole world feels like an excavation, one where every interaction holds the potential for yet another clue. So, even if I am wrong, I can’t wait to learn the truth.

[thr4shit]

Shout out to the bullshit that is going to stuff because family made you!!

(Venting about our mother again because holy FUCK, holidays bring SUCH BULLSHIT out of her...)

I love when our mother buys tickets to things and forces us to go with her because she pulls the:

"Now I look like an asshole 😟"

Card because she told other people that we'd be there (without telling us) so now we "HaVe To" when we mention not wanting to go.

And now we're listening to her spout doomsday bullshit and try to get us afraid and anxious and all paranoid like her, with her aggressive "oh my god! I need to do this and this and this and this and this!"

(She keeps texting us asking if we can help her get like, soil for gardening, a rain barrel, a shit ton of books at risk of being banned, etc. While also asking if we'd gotten any of this ourself.)

I UNDERSTAND fear. I UNDERSTAND being worried for the worst.

I DO NOT understand trying to drag OTHERS into full blown DOOMSDAY PANIC and trying to pull them into your own (as described by some of us internally and our father, rightfully so) "Tin Foil Hat" type attitudes.

Nor do I understand being forced to go somewhere because you try to push pity...

But I WILL go, because I just so happen to WANT to see this movie. It's got us curious. We're NOT doing this for her.

We haven't done things for her in years. Because she hasn't proved that she won't use us for them, yet.

Eh, but who knows. I could just be being a little bastard about this. Has happened before. 😒

[santae-salt]

re: 765787462678298624

the revealed blog turned all their posts to private within the last day or two. claiming that there was information that was dangerous to santae staff and users (never specified) and they would return if something. and now today they've completely deleted the blog, meaning all those privated posts are lost.

this happened after a few things -

1. Santaesecretsrevealed commented (and later deleted) on jinogasux-fr's post regarding being banned and having their ID requested, giving information that had not yet been shared by jinogasux-fr (and later was). this was information that /only/ santae staff and jinogasux-fr would know. screenshot can be found on this post: 765600201568354304

this means that if the revealed blog wasn't run by staff, santae staff have /no issue/ sharing private support ticket information to an unknown, anonymous third party (albeit one that has been supportive of the site) tumblr blog. both options are bad obviously.

2. a few days prior, santaesecretsrevealed responded to the part 2 of the post mentioned in the current pinned comment on this blog (trying to be vague for you cloudmin!). this included screenshots of discord conversations between CJ and an artist who had apparently drawn /some/ of the NPC art (notably they did not include some of the more egregious examples from part 2)

again, if this wasn't run by staff, CJ or whoever else had no issue sharing private DMs /to an unknown, anonymous third party/ that had not been released by the artist in question. the artist's name was NOT censored and it was enough that it was easy for me to find them.

3. santaesecretsrevealed also posted the supposed ask they got regarding the dox information that santae-salt and santaesecrets received.

the big difference is that both of the other blogs refused to post the information for safety concerns, but revealed posted it anyway with /horrible/ censorship. like, no solid bars just scribbles over /most/ of the information, and leaving the ex-staff's online alias uncensored making it easy to connect their RN to said aliases. this was later updated by revealed to have solid block censors, but i noticed they kind of acted like it wasn't that big of a deal and oops they just made a mistake hehe get off my case :). normally who cares about the online names, but to my knowledge said ex-staff has done /nothing/ besides be associated with santae.

this situation also made me more confident that staff was the one who participated in sharing the dox info. too many connections, too little care about the information.

i also noticed that they were one of the few vocal, oh Ken/Lurapets was years ago!! this doesn't even matter he's so different now!! and completely ignoring how his actions back then are repeating themselves today.

tin foil hat time: i will admit to sending specific asks to that blog to see what they would and wouldn't respond to. and it's quite telling imo. any of my non-emotional hey what do you think about this thing santae did recently (like asking for jinogasux's ID) were ignored (and were not otherwise addressed in their other posts). but anything that could be easily dismantled because it was an opinion or had so many random explanations (like the art issues), were answered. despite claims that they post everything.

anyway it's gross and bad!! i have no issue with someone trying to show the other side of things, but it's obvious that santaesecretsrevealed had an agenda beyond showing the truth.

☁️

[sn33z3s]

in defense of “if you weren’t a fucking asshole”

(what better time to write “meta” than hours before a season premiere. after all, style is dead. or was it that it’s just boring? no, wait, it’s toxic??)

this doesn’t have a thesis, it’s just some leftover thoughts from last year - mostly pertaining The Church Scene, because of course - and featuring some hot stan marsh characterization takes i guess

let’s start with the gay glancing at your ex-childhood best friend

so, this framing is loaded because it's the narrative of their whole thing: kyle chasing stan. stan usually comes to kyle's rescue in absurd (but solvable) situations, whereas kyle often has to fight stan to provide emotional respite. they're thinking of each other here; it's distinct how stan looks back, rather than this shot cutting at kyle. stan's explosive reaction is still pretty presumptuous, but kyle was, even if unintentionally, asking for stan's attention - which is typical

in a sense, this scene is their wordless language; the kind you share with said ex-best friend but it’s gotten worn from overuse, and as a result, you’re both communicatively stunted, so now that you’ve reached out again after 40 years, the first step to any comfort or solace is [the scene above] and a homoerotic spectacle:

well, i don’t need to tell you what that public spectacle is; you already know

stan leads his paranoid outburst in the church by accusing kyle of knowing something which would be impossible for kyle to know; in You’re Getting Old/Assburgers kyle also reaches out to stan, who turns him down, yet still asks that kyle basically read his mind and comfort him

kyle is not a stranger to demanding unrealistic things from stan as well, but kyle calling stan “asshole” packs that punch since contemporarily the fandom usually assumes stan as more emotionally forward or in-touch with himself. however, in the church, kyle is pointing out that stan is clearly repressing his feelings, desires, traumas, etc. and kyle has used a similar approach before:

in my last meta, i wrote about how stan is pretty firm in not instantly accepting kyle's olive branches. of course, the thing is, kyle's olive branches are bent sometimes, let alone how he approaches asking for stan's forgiveness before the broship splits. kyle doesn't apologize: he just expects stan to move on

(also, i love the "divorced couple" coding before we even reach Post-COVID.) anyway, the show clearly acknowledges stan as "agreeing with kyle no matter what," and the first time stan and kyle fight in canon, it’s a big deal

i always return to how i don't see kyle or stan as at fault in most of, if not all, of their fights. this especially applies to YGO & Assburgers since it's one of their most significant “break-up” arcs. still... kyle's "if you weren't a fucking asshole" in the church scene is so satisfying. (and 100% excellent voice acting on matt stone's part; the punchy delivery at the end of that line is what makes me revisit it often.) when i put my tin foil hat on, it does sound like decades of resentment built up. if this post had to have a thesis, it’d be, “here’s why kyle had every right to call stan an asshole in that moment,” but the Stan Can Be an Asshole, Too meta is for another day. after all, my last meta also revolved around the trouble i have with framing stan as an exclusively passive character (rather than predominantly passive) 

by “decades of resentment,” i mean simmering for kyle since, you guessed it, episodes such as You're Getting Old and Assburgers. i talk about YGO & Assburgers a lot, i'm sorry. but i was thinking about the church scene as i browsed the south park wiki on the official site: "Kyle can only deal with so much of Stan's negativity." (obviously, matt and trey themselves do not write or even moderate the Comedy Central studios wiki, so take all of it with a grain of salt.) i like that wording, though, and this other part of the blurb too: "Stan's ego can get in the way of their friendship [referencing Guitar Queer-o]" 

kyle not being able to handle stan’s negativity these days is more often harshly critiqued than anything about stan’s ego. that detail does, in many forms, relate to the stan jock characterization discourse, but that’ll also have to wait for another meta. i can say a couple of things about it to tie up this post, though 

yes, kyle fails to comfort stan in the YGO arc. at the same time, i don't think his positivity is always maligned. after all, the YGO arc isn't stan vs kyle, it's stan and kyle vs. growing up; this is their contemporary theme. and yes, for a kid, kyle can have that emotional maturity

Tegridy Farms and Post-COVID have cemented stan as south park’s protagonist – though, in my opinion, he always has been it, especially since Bigger, Longer, & Uncut – and protagonists are like, the character archetype that receives the most self-projection. yet this emotional angle is comparatively still a fairly new framing of stan’s character. now that this show is narrated in such a way that we see even more of the world of south park through stan’s eyes, fans watching may feel extra inclined to think of him as only ever depressed. but being sad is not all stan does and never has been

not only is this frequency fairly new to his character, i would go so far as to say that there’s a difference between the contemporary stan angst arcs and older episodes like Raisins, YGO, and Assburgers. being sad is not “natural” to stan (whatever that means), it is thrust upon him. most recently, this is randy’s fault. yes, we are meant to - and i hope that most do - sympathize or empathize with stan, but my point here is that he’s a little bit more belligerent and bullish than the fandom currently gives him credit for

[angelthefandomobsessed]

Project Eden's Garden: Character Names Explained

After my first post on the animal symbolism in P:EG, I've been wanting to make a follow-up analysis based on character names. Anyone who's ever written anything even remotely creative has Google'd 'name that means *insert something vaguely representing character here'. That's a rule of the universe, you cannot change my mind, we've all done it, and we will continue to do it.

Of course, this isn't always the case. Sometimes we name characters based on people we know, or just because we've always liked the names. I'm still fairly confident that some good ol' fashioned 'Behind the Name' and 'Nameberry' scouring might have occurred.

So, let's see what the names of our cast actually mean!

Damon Maitsu:

'Damon' is a name of Greek origin meaning 'one who tames', or 'one who subdues', originating from the word 'dama' (of the same meaning). The legend of 'Damon and Pythias' holds a moral of true friendship, where (TL;DR) Pythias and Damon's friendship astonishes the tyrant of Syracuse, saving them both.

What's more interesting about this name, is that it's one letter away from the word 'demon'. In the Bible (yes, we're going back to there, and this won't be the first time), the word 'daimon' is used once, meaning 'demon'.

'Maitsu' is a little bit tricky to pin down. It doesn't seem to be a common name at all. It's listed on 'NamesLook' under the meaning 'Emotional, Systematic Mind, Serious' which seems promising at first, but it's a numerology website - the meaning is based on numerology rather than the name itself. So, I threw it into Google translate at it came back as 'Mights' (a lot of Western words sound similar to their Japanese counterparts because it's literally the word written in Japanese characters (Katakana, in most cases)).

'Howtopronounce' described it as a feminine forename, which... I feel kinda doubt, given it's the only place mentioning it.

Breaking the name up yielded far more topical results, however.

'Ma' - devil - 魔

'Itsu' - five, when, comfortable, one(?)

'Itsu' will require a little more digging (this has devolved into a conspiracy board, huh?). We can pretty confidently rule out 'when'. While that's arguably the most common use of 'itsu', it doesn't make too much sense as far as naming conventions go. I read somewhere that 'itsu' can mean 'to freeze', but I haven't seen anything else to back it up (I think the person might have been mistaken).

'Comfortable' seems a little odd, though not implausible. What's much more interesting is the possibility of 'itsu' referring to a number. The name 'Itsuki' can mean a lot of things. Two of these apparent meanings caught my eye: 'five trees' (as a surname), and 'that one moon'.

Numbers. The word moon is 'tsuki', but tree is 'ki'. Itsu-ki - five trees. Ma-itsu - five devils or the (singular) devil. 'Five' seems more likely (because this is all very complicated to my brain, and for the life of me I can't find a reliable source saying 'itsu' can sometimes mean 'one', if anybody knows what's up please clue me in! I'm pretty sure that 'tsu' can mean 'one', so maybe that's what they meant?)

As far as I can tell, the kanji for character names haven't been released (if it has then I am truly Boo-Boo the fool), but this would make Damon's name look a little like this (I'm not fluent in Japanese, so don't take my word on this, I'm mostly winging it here)...

Damon - デイモン (katakana)

Maitsu - まいつ (hiragana) - 魔五 (kanji)

SO, in conclusion, Damon has some pretty strong demonic roots behind his name. This ties into his overall snake motif, and could potentially (don't mind the tin foil hat here) be hinting towards Damon being involved in the killing game..? 'Mara' (Ma-ra) is the enforcer, so following my bizarre name logic here, she would also be a 'devil'. Maybe Damon is actually associated with Tozu and co. but doesn't remember it (a snake in the grass, if you will).

Eva Tsunaka:

'Eva' is of Hebrew origin and means 'life'. It is also (to nobody's surprise) deeply Biblically relevant. It's a variation of 'Eve', as in, the first woman.

'Tsunaka' was easier to track down than 'Maitsu', but it still seems uncommon. According to a website called 'Japanese Names', it's made up of the kanji for 'harbour' (or 'ferry') and 'inside' which... isn't super enlightening? I could jump through hoops to make a Noah's Ark parallel, but that seems like a reach.

Putting the two meanings together we get something along the lines of 'inside the harbour'. The word 'harbour' (as a noun) describes a place where boats moor. As a verb, the word could be used to describe someone protecting something; to harbour a runaway, or to harbour a victim. In that sense, Tsunaka seems like an almost angelic name, promising protection to others.

Wolfgang Akire:

'Wolfgang' is a German name derived from the words 'Wulf' (meaning - wait for it - 'Wolf') and 'Gang' (meaning 'path'). Therefore, 'Wolfgang' is often interpreted as 'travelling wolf'. It's probably best known as being Mozart's first name, but I personally think it was chosen for the irony factor - having a guy named 'Wolfgang' be represented by a sheep is a perfect irony.

This name could also be interpreted as 'one who has the ways of the wolf' (someone who follows the path of a wolf).

'Akire' consists of the kanji for 'reveal' (諒) and 'clever' (怜)... Or, 'truth' and 'wise'. This makes a lot of sense, given the whole 'lawyer with the moral high ground thing he has going on. It almost seems like a play on the typical Danganronpa protagonist, a little tongue-in-cheek about revealing the truth.

Grace Madison:

'Grace', to nobody's surprise, shock or horror, means 'grace'.

'Madison' could be taken to mean 'strength', or it could mean 'Matthew's Son' which launches us right back to the Bible. Apparently, the name Madison used to be a pretty unpopular 'boy name' but skyrocketed in popularity for girls after the 80s film 'Splash' was released.

Grace's surname might just be a reference to Madison Moman, a teenage golfing prodigy (fun fact, she has a blog titled 'Live Laugh Golf'... icon behaviour).

Toshiko Kayura:

According to the highly academic Wikipedia, the name Toshiko can be read as -

I'm noticing the word 'child' (子 is the 'ko', as seen in the word 'kodomo'), which adds up with Toshiko being so young. 'Genius child' is very Danganronpa, since that's kinda half the premise, and 'graceful' plays into the flamingo motif. There was a Princess Toshiko, but I can't see anything of immediate interest that links the two. If I had to guess, Toshiko's name encapsulates her childhood genius, implying that it defines her. Her character development might involve her overcoming this idea and redefining her identity.

Kayura is made up of the kanji 香由良, which have a variety of meanings. 香 can be read as fragrance. 由 means reason. I also noticed some cases where this kanji is used to describe a noble lineage of some sort, which could link with Toshiko's princess namesake, but that might not actually work here, just food for thought. 良 means excellent, good or skilled - makes sense with the whole 'child genius' thing.

Since she's a matchmaker, I could see her talent being hereditary and built from tradition. The way she dresses and acts is very proper, suggesting she's carrying the weight of someone's expectations - since she's only fourteen, it seems unlikely that these values were self-encouraged.

Ulysses Wilhelm:

The name Ulysses has an interesting history of usage. At first, I assumed our Ultimate Historian got his name from Ulysses S. Grant, a civil war general... He was also the 18th president of the USA, which I did not know, what a plot twist, I just thought he was the war guy. This could very well be the reference, but 'Ulysses' is apparently the Latin version of 'Odysseus'. Because of its link to The Odyssey 'Ulysses' can mean journey.

Oh, also, it can mean 'wrathful', we'll get into that.

(Huge tangent incoming, you might want to take a water break before this)

So like. I know I said in my first post that owl boy was probably going to die early, and I still kinda stand by that, but... His name means wrath. Biblically that's pretty big, right?

If the Killing Game is the Garden of Eden then what is the mastermind? Satan, right? Or maybe that's wrong. Maybe the mastermind is God. Metaphorical God, but still. Ulysses has a keen memory, not to mention he writes down everything that happens because he struggles to remember non-historical things.

Maybe that's not entirely true, though. Maybe he's trying to hide how knowledgeable (dare I say... omnipotent) he is. Maybe his skills are mostly analytical and his aptitude towards history is just a byproduct of that. Y'know... like how the Ultimate Analyst made an effective Ultimate Fashionista because she could analyse trends.

Okay, so maybe it's not that plot beat again exactly, but it's still pretty interesting.

Ulysses mentioned the classic 'those who do not learn from history' thing, but wasn't that what they were doing in the prologue? They looked at an old case and learned from it. Maybe there's a bigger element in there that they missed.

If Ulysses is wrath, then he could be 'divine wrath', which is basically when God gets angry but because he's pure and loving, it's a necessity and devoid of guilt or relevance or... something? It's wrath but from a high horse. Let's go with that.

What I'm trying to say is that Ulysses is the mastermind and that the killing game is a social experiment designed to end all conflict, idk, something like that.

(Tangent over)

'Wilhelm' is a German name that apparently means 'Will Helmet'. I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, will helmet do what? Is the helmet filled with willpower? In all seriousness, I think it's supposed to be a protection thing (because Ulysses is symbolically God- okay, I'll stop).

It's also a historical name which would match 'Ulysses'.

Desmond Hall:

'Desmond' means gracious protector, which suits him well based on his general 'we'll escape you guys, honest, nothing bad could ever happen' demeanour. However, that's just one website's interpretation, the most common meaning would be 'from south Munster', but that's far less fun.

'Hall' as a surname, interestingly, could mean 'kind' or 'forgiving' which comes "from the belief that Viking thanes were eternally benevolent to those who lived within his hall" (quote is from a website called Select Surnames).

Alternatively, it could stem from someone living in a hall.

Diana Venicia:

Diana, Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, maidens, etc. Princess Diana, of Wales, the people's princess, etc. Lots of famous Dianas to choose from here, but as a general meaning, Diana could mean 'sky', or 'daylight'. Most likely, this name was chosen because the goddess Diana was said to be beautiful.

Or... because of its connotations with the moon. The tarot card 'The Moon' is a card of divine feminity and of secrets.

I swear to Ulysses God this girl is hiding something.

Venicia means 'desire', 'love' and 'happiness'.

Jean DeLamer:

Upon first Google (which is all this is, this is for fun, do not take this 10000% seriously, I've probably messed up several times throughout this whole spiel), Jean means 'God is gracious'. He could be named after Jean Lafitte, a French privateer who had a killer stache. If I had to put money on it, I'd go with the latter.

'DeLamer' translates to 'of the sea' which... is easy enough, thanks for that, moving on.

Jett Dawson:

Jett is a type of black stone. To quote 'The Bump's description of this name "Jett is the guy in a leather jacket who’s cool, composed and confident. The name’s intriguing meaning, “black stone,” also gives it an edgy and glamorous allure". Jett is also evocative of something fast, so I think this is a case of 'cool name, cool guy'.

Jett was also the name of Judah's firstborn son in the Bible, but I don't know what to do with that info, so...

Dawson could either mean 'Beloved' or 'Son of David'. I find 'Beloved' far more entertaining, it makes me think of that locket GIF that was everywhere a while back.

Kai Monteago:

Kai is most notorious for meaning 'sea'. I don't know why, but that's been ingrained in my brain for years. I have a sneaking suspicion it's the Disney Channel's fault... did they have a surfer boy named Kai at some point state "My name means sea"?

'Monteago' (not 'Montego', there were a lot of search results for that) can mean 'friendly' or 'charismatic'. 'Charismatic' makes more sense here.

Kai seems an unusual name to have for the character, so if it was chosen in direct reference to something, it could be a setup for an ironic punchline. If Kai is executed, for example, he might 'drown in a sea of his own fans'. Or someone could drown him. Alternatively, water symbolises emotion.

'Mark 'Mayhem' Berskii':

Oh, hi Mark.

This one's a little unorthodox. 'Berskii' isn't a surname that's super searchable. In fact, googling 'Berskii name meaning' shows this character on the front page... after a few 'Berski' explanations. I tried putting it through an anagram decoder, and it sure does have the word 'bikers' in it, but that seems random. Berski apparently means 'Influencer, Freedom Lover, Charisma', which doesn't scream Mark... maybe freedom-loving?

Google translate says it's Malay for Skiing.

Urban dictionary says it means, "God. Berski is all mighty. Typically used as a nickname for the bro-est of the bros. If someone calls you Berski, you should be truly honored."

9/10 doctors can't tell where this name came from.

I am the one doctor who can tell you that 'Mark Berskii' is an anagram for, brace yourself... 'smirkier'.

Another case closed.

So anyway, the Biblical meaning of 'Mark' is 'polite', but it also correlates to 'Mars' from Latin, meaning god of war so...

I dunno, it's all a mess, Mark lives up to the pseudonym 'Mayhem'. He's a cool guy, if anyone has any ideas on his name, let me know!

Wenona:

Wenona is a Native American name meaning 'first born daughter'. I don't have much else to say beyond that. I think it's a very pretty name and I'm interested to see where Wenona goes as a character.

Eloise Taulner:

'Eloise' means 'famous warrior', which is a very literal take on her character, but I respect it. As the Ultimate Fencer she is, straight up, a famous warrior. Some other websites claim it means 'healthy' and 'wide', but I prefer 'famous warrior'.

'Taulner' is another case of 'this isn't quite a name, what do we do'. 'Taul' is Estonian for 'table', according to Google Translate... 'Tau' means 'Yes' in Hmong.

Honestly, I just think she has a neat name all around.

Ingrid Grimwall:

'Ingrid' is a Scandinavian name that means 'fair' and 'beautiful'. This name is derived from 'Ing's Daughter', with 'Ing' being the old name for 'Freyr', the god of summer and a bunch of other things. Something interesting to note: Freyja was depicted as having a chariot pulled by big cats. It's a bit of a stretch, but maybe Ingrid's lions are a super roundabout reference to that.

Maybe every character is a metaphorical god here, who knows, symbolism is wild.

'Grimwall' is a very cool surname, and could be compared to 'Grimwald', meaning 'fierce might'. I don't have much to say here, I feel like Ingrid's name is more vibe based than context-based.

Cassidy Amber:

'Cassidy' means 'clever' and 'curly-haired'. At least, that's what the first search result said. A few search results down, however, gave me this: "Cassidy name meaning is she who entangles men".

Hm. Interesting. Very interesting, since her assigned animal is a spider.

I don't know where this site got that from, but I'm going to roll with it because it's very, very fitting.

'Amber' is also quite interesting. When I think of amber, I think a bug encased in fossilised tree resin. A bug trapped in something... The spider imagery continues. Honestly, this name is super interesting (especially since Cassidy was on my sussy mastermind list... I should probably make a post specifically to theorise on the mastermind, I work it into these way too often).

Conclusion:

So, I started writing this a month or two back, got through Damon, Eve and Wolfgang's analysis, and then shelved it because my brain hurt. I woke up this morning and realised that I should probably finish this post. It was a lot of fun, I felt like I was making some crazy revelations when things made sense... and when they didn't, I just kept telling myself "meh, it's a cool name, it doesn't always have to make sense".

Anyways, if you enjoyed this feel free to comment your thoughts or reblog adding to it. Have a good morning/afternoon/night!

[wa-royal-tea]

Previous | Beginning | Next

(Transcript & Translations under the cut & here - Click Pics for HQ Version!)

@thebrixtons​​​

Symphony Manor, Holan (8:30am)

*alarm rings*

Alfie: Good morning, cutie.

Catalina: Mhm, morning.

Alfie: Go back to sleep, it’s still early.

Catalina: Nuh-uh. I’ve been sleeping a lot lately.

*light switch clicks*

Alfie: You should be resting a lot, Lina. You’re still recovering from your injuries.

Catalina: I’m fine. You’re overreacting.

Alfie: Am I though?

Catalina: Yes, you are. It’s been two weeks. I feel better now. I can walk too.

Catalina: And I can do more than walk. If you know what I mean.

Alfie: Tempting, but, I don’t want to take the risk of hurting you. So, I’ll keep my hands to myself until I’m sure you’re fine.

Catalina: Urgh, you suck.

Alfie: *chuckles* Stay in bed. I’ll bring breakfast to you.

Catalina: You’re treating me like a child again.

Alfie: This time, for a good reason. I don’t want you to tire yourself out. And the doctors said that it’s going to take a while before you can make a full recovery.

Alfie: Please listen to me, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt again.

Catalina: *groans* Fine.

Alfie: Good girl.

*door opens and closes*

Tweet 1: an INTRUDER AT THE PALACE ?? fr ?? they got into a whole fight with alfie and #trashlina

Reply to tweet 1: they prob tried to put her in her place💀the bitch deserves it

Reply to tweet 1′s reply: stfu stop being a hater

Tweet 2: I feel sorry for the guests that already arrived. Ppl are dying around the world and they wasted their money on a wedding only for it to be postponed.

Tweet 3: LMAOOO THEY CANCELED THEIR WEDDING !!!! move over #trashlina, its marie’s time to shine ✨

Tweet 4: wait? they postponed their wedding? why?

Reply to tweet 4: the palace hasnt said anything … pelik (weird)

Tweet 5: atp i’m anti-monarchy, because what the hell is even going on?

Tweet 6: idc what everyone else says, i’m standing by alfie and lina 😔 nobody deserves what they’re going through

Tweet 7: how much do u guys wanna bet that they’re lying about the intruder? 👁👁

Reply to tweet 7: i saw a tweet from a former staff and they said nothing even happened … let’s put our tin foil hats on 😬

Reply to tweet 7′s reply: korg ckp ni boleh pakai otak tak? (ppl, can we pls think with our heads for 2 seconds?) stop jumping to conclusions you guys annoy the hell out of me.

Tweet 8: The hate she’s getting rn is unfair. Why’d you guys assume the worse of her?

Reply to tweet 8: Are you fcking fr? Did you forget what she did the other day?

Tweet 8′s OP replies: The apology thingy? You’re mad at her for that? I didn’t realize the marie stans are brain dead when it comes to Lina. She was doing the right thing by apologizing for something she didn’t even do. I bet if it was your fav who did this, you’d be praising her to the skies. Be serious.

*door opens and closes*

Alfie: What are you doing?

Catalina: N-nothing.

Alfie: Are you reading tweets on twister again? Stop reading those. It’s full of shit.

Catalina: I can’t help it. Last week was supposed to be our wedding day but it got postponed because of me.

Alfie: You didn’t ask for this to happen. And those people don’t know what actually happened. They’re just talking out of their asses right now.

Catalina: *sighs* Whatever. It already happened. Did your mum said anything about the wedding date?

Alfie: She said the wedding has been postponed to next month. The latest it would be is in two.

Catalina: But what are we gonna do until then? Don’t tell me you expect me to be in bed everyday?

Alfie: Mum said she’ll give us a new schedule to make up for the tour. She wants us to do joint engagements to build your reputation again. Right now the people are divided in half when it comes to you.

Catalina: Not surprised.

Alfie: Don’t think too much about it. You have me and the others to support you. And this time, if you did mess up, I will tell you. No sugarcoating. But, I won’t be an asshole about it.

Catalina: I’m a bit scared to hear what you’re going to say but thanks for listening to me.

Alfie: It’s no big deal.

Catalina: Oh, I forgot to ask. Did your mum said anything about my assistant? Since, y’know, Rowena’s not really in the picture anymore?

Alfie: She’s considering Anna to be your permanent assistant. The accusations against her has been dropped because Rowena confessed that she lied.

Catalina: Thank god. I liked Anna. I knew she won’t do it.

Alfie: Yeah. I’m just glad Anna still want to work with us. I heard mum said that she was a student Auntie Athy sponsored back in Cordelia. So she’s trusted.

Catalina: Is she a spellcaster like Lucy too?

Alfie: Nope. She’s a normal human. Like us.

Catalina: Oh, that’s cool. But what happens to Rowena now?

Alfie: She’s still under investigation. Your mama thinks it’s impossible for her to work alone. There must be someone helping her out and they’re trying to pry the answers out from her.

Catalina: Hmm...

*phone rings*

Alfie (to the phone): Hello, mum? Yeah, I’m at home.

Alfie: What? Are you serious?

Alfie: I...I see. Okay, I’ll tell her later. Keep me updated. Bye. Take care too.

Catalina: What was it? Did something happen?

Alfie: It’s Rowena.

Catalina: What’s wrong with her?

Alfie: She’s...she’s dead.

[hephaestuscrew]

Hi! im relistening to Wolf359 again and upon listening to Pan-Pan(ep29) ive come to notice a bit of a parallel (?) to Need to Know (ep35). Minkowshi not telling the crew about the cracks on the fixtures and how in less than 100 DAYS that the whole station could go down no matter how many repairs they make due to not wanting to add more weight and hopelessness to an already high stressed situation vs Kepler not telling anyone shit bc he doesn't see that as none of their business (I may be overlooking something tho, i have to relisten to that ep once i get off work)

I'm trying to see if there's an actual connection there or am i on my tin foil hat biases again.

Thanks for the ask! I ended up writing far more than I expected about this, so I'll put my response below a cut.

TLDR: Minkowski and Kepler make a similar choice to withhold information, but for very different reasons. Minkowski is motivated by her responsibility to protect her crew. Kepler is motivated by his desire to maintain his own power. This relates to their different ideas about leadership.

I think there's an interesting comparison to the extent that these are both cases in which people in authority positions have to make decisions about who to share critical information with. Minkowski and Kepler both withhold information from their respective crews that is very relevant to their future survival. They both use the phrase "need to know" in their justification for doing this. When Hilbert asks why Minkowski hasn't told them about the cracks, Minkowski's first response is "Because… you didn't need to know." Kepler talks about the idea of 'need to know' quite a bit, but perhaps the most notable instance for this comparison is when he tells Jacobi "That mission parameter [about the potential for alien duplicates] was marked for black archive clearance. Need to know. And you didn't need to know."

But I think the similarities between Minkowski and Kepler's approaches to withholding information pretty much end there. I believe that Minkowski is telling the truth when she says she didn't tell Hilbert and Lovelace about the cracks because they'd "suffered enough". She doesn't tell them because she doesn't want them to lose hope. She doesn't tell them even though, as Hera says, doing so might make wrangling them easier.

For Minkowski, knowing something that she doesn't tell the rest of the crew is something that weighs on her. I think you can hear it in her voice when she tells Hera that she won't tell Hilbert and Lovelace about the cracks "not today". I think you can hear it when she breaks down towards the end of Pan-pan ("Just like the cracks, and the station just keeps falling apart. And there's nothing I can do, and I am sorry.")

In contrast, I don't think we are given any reason to believe that Kepler feels a sense of regret or conflict about the knowledge he doesn't share with the rest of the crew. Of course, he regrets the consequences of losing Jacobi's loyalty and his control of the station. But Kepler's reaction to Jacobi challenging him on his secrecy is focused on standing by his decision and justifying it. Unlike Minkowski, Kepler refers to Goddard rules when defending his decision not to share information. He didn't tell his crew that Lovelace was probably an alien duplicate because he believed that doing so wouldn't have supported his objectives. That's sufficient reason for him.

I think this is actually a good illustration of a key difference between Minkowski and Kepler's attitudes towards leadership. For Minkowski, leadership is first and foremost about responsibility - the responsibility to be a good Commander and keep her crew safe. (Other leadership priorities are more prominent for her early on, but by season 2 I believe that's her primary motivation and I think it's always been a key part of her concept of leadership.) In contrast, for Kepler, leadership is first and foremost about power - the power to push mission progress forward, the power to order and manipulate and threaten in service of the bigger picture. And information is power, so why would he share it if he doesn't have to?

Those contrasting ideas of leadership underlie their choices when they withhold information from their crews. Minkowski doesn't tell her crew everything because she wants to protect them from losing hope. Kepler doesn't tell his crew everything because he wants to be the one holding all the cards - he'll only reveal information to others when doing so supports his aims.

To come back to your original question, I think there's a connection here, but it's less that the writers are deliberately encouraging these comparisons, and more that Minkowski and Kepler are both people in leadership positions in a life-threatening environment, and that inevitably necessitates decisions about who to share information with. And very different leadership priorities can motivate similar choices in not telling people things they would want to know.