#endeavour promotional stills

[morse-perez-and-davenport]

Endeavour Series 1 promotional photos © Jonathan ford

[autolenaphilia]

It's funny how clearly uninformed a lot of criticism of Mozilla and its browser Firefox is. Like people say "it's just another corporation, out to make profit, just like Google." And that ordinary users promoting Firefox are just giving them free advertising.

It's in basically any post criticizing Mozilla, including on this site. Like using tumblr search I quickly found a post that was largely positive, but argued that Mozilla operates "under capitalist incentives" And outside tumblr I found a blog post out on the interwebs that criticized Mozilla and outright wondered "I don't know if Mozilla's business model ever made sense, it makes a lot more sense if it's something closer to a nonprofit rather than a commercial entity."

Well, let's research the Mozilla Corporation, see what that business model actually is. Let's begin that research by going to the wikipedia article, and read the two introductory paragraphs. And it turns out that it's "a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation", which is a non-profit.

"The Mozilla Foundation will ultimately control the activities of the Mozilla Corporation and will retain its 100 percent ownership of the new subsidiary. Any profits made by the Mozilla Corporation will be invested back into the Mozilla project. There will be no shareholders, no stock options will be issued and no dividends will be paid. The Mozilla Corporation will not be floating on the stock market and it will be impossible for any company to take over or buy a stake in the subsidiary."

Turns out that it is not just "closer to a non-profit", it is literally a non-profit. Turns out you only needed two paragraphs on wikipedia to learn that, the most basic online research possible, which basically every post I found criticizing Mozilla failed to do.

This is entirely different from any other entity calling itself corporation, which is all about creating profit or money for its shareholders, the "capitalist incentives" spoken about earlier.

If you read further into that article, you will learn that the Mozilla corporation literally only exists separate from the foundation for tax and legal purposes, but it's still a non-profit operation.

This makes it reasonably immune from the enshittification process I've written about before. there is no incentive to fuck over the experience for end users for the sake of shareholder profits, like what tumblr is doing right now.

It means that Firefox is an exemption to the rule that "if something is free, you are the product", because there is no product to produce profits for shareholders, it's a charitable endeavour for a free and open internet, as laid out in the Mozilla manifesto.

This doesn't mean non-profits make corruption impossible, there is plenty of corruption in non-profit foundations. But unlike actual capitalist corporations, it doesn't have the greed and corruption built in. And if you are going to criticize Mozilla and Firefox, which it does sometimes deserve, you should have your basic facts straight before doing so, if you expect me to take you seriously.

[songsofadelaide]

Soshiro wasn't a stickler for rules. However, he didn't like seeing officers flout rules, either. He always stood somewhere in between sticking to the rules while not being a strait-laced, by-the-book kind of leader.

With that being said, he really had no qualms about workplace relationships as long as they didn't get in the way of his officers' jobs.

Soshiro couldn't be completely against the whole thing. Not when you were around. If he were being honest, though, he would've been one of his Captain's biggest headaches if not for his great respect for her. Mina liked order, and she always took pride in an orderly Third Division. For her own Vice Captain to become the main source of mayhem would spell trouble for her.

Good thing he liked staying out of trouble. Save for a few exceptions. Involving you, his favourite Platoon Leader. Not that he'd ever outright admit it, too.

He did admit to how you piqued his interest the moment you decided to enlist in the Defense Force. You were a retired fencer, your papers bookmarked with a recommendation by the Japan Fencing Federation— but whatever skill with a sabre you have would prove useless, seeing the force's growing preference for automatic firearms. Fortunately, that wasn't the case for the Third Division. They'll always have room for blade masters, or at least that's what you've been told during the Presentation of Enlistment Certificate Ceremony.

And Soshiro liked how good you looked in your formal uniform. He'd never admit that outright, too, unless he wanted to be accused of favouritism for real. (Or worse: predatory behaviour by a senior officer.)

While you were mostly a reserved and unassuming person off the field, many of your colleagues called you a raging tempest in missions, the kind they'd get swept away in if they ever got in your way. You endeavoured to accomplish every task as swiftly and efficiently as possible— without breaking ranks, of course. Your tenacity was rewarded in the form of a promotion to Platoon Leader, an unexpected but welcomed opportunity. Soshiro seemed to agree with the Captain that you were a worthy investment and that other officers could stand to learn a thing or two from you.

You tried not to pay too much mind at the Vice Captain's growing interest in you, though you had to admit that it was pretty flattering. The second strongest person in the Third Division placed a lot of stock in your ability to get the job done. And though you've had your shortcomings, your accountability endeared yourself to him even more.

(So much so that Mina had to remind him of his position. She had no qualms about workplace relationships as long as they didn't get in the way of her officers' jobs. As long as order was maintained, too.)

Even you couldn't help your curiosity when you caught wind that this year's new recruits were an exceptional bunch— and that one happened to share tremendously intimate history with the Captain. It was a sizzling hot press release you couldn't help but sink your teeth into when Tae started talking your ears off about it.

You tried not to make that much noise as you both made your way back to your personal quarters that evening, but your topic was far too interesting to just stop and drop��� it was about your usually pensive Captain...

"Do you think the Captain will start softening up?" You couldn't help but muse as you helped yourself to your canned coffee.

"Doubt it! This is Captain Ashiro we're talking about," your fellow Platoon Leader remarked. "Then again, she's still a woman..."

Pretty much, you thought to yourself. Woman or not, a person's relationships shape the way others view them. Officer Hibino's revelations about his shared childhood memories with Captain Ashiro painted her in a new light, unveiling her as a tender girl in her youth— more human than machine like everyone else thought her to be...

"I heard something interesting about you, too," Tae said, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "One of the rookies said they already knew you from before. When you were still a professional fencer."

There's only one, you sighed to yourself this time. "It must be Haruichi-kun. If you must know, Tae-chan, Izumo Tech sponsored my fencing journey, especially when I was just starting out."

"That's not all, too," she chuckled at your slight change of tone. "Last I heard, the kid might even have a crush on you."

"That is not true at all," you elbowed her and laughed at her statement. "That's probably the most absurd thing I've heard in my entire life. Haruichi-kun is—"

"Why do you think it's absurd? I think it's ridiculously truthful," came the voice of a man from behind you.

"Vice Captain! G-Good evening!" You squeaked and managed a salute as Soshiro made his approach. He didn't look like he was ready to retire for the night just yet, but was just hanging around.

"Kafka's tales have made the rounds, huh?"

"It's hard not to get roped into the gossip when it's so interesting," Tae said with a grin. "And with a Captain like ours who's so well-loved and well-respected, it's pretty tempting to hear what kind of person she was when she was just a kid."

"Yeah, she really went for her goals and succeeded," you nodded in agreement. "She's awe-inspiring."

"We're all aware of how amazing our Captain is," Soshiro stated with the same recognisable cheer in his voice. "But what's that thing about you and one of the rookies again?"

"Y-You mean about me and Haruichi-kun, Vice Captain? I-I mean Officer Izumo—"

The redhead standing right next to you could only purse her lips to prevent herself from laughing out loud, because by the gods, only she and a handful of other superior officers were aware of their Vice Captain's vested interest-turned-infatuation with you. And this was their Vice Captain getting all jealous and territorial with you.

"I'm just gonna go ahead and turn in for the night," Tae said as she nudged you before breaking out into a salute directed at Soshiro. "Good night, Vice Captain!"

"T-Tae-chan?!" You could only call out to your fellow Platoon Leader as she disappeared into the darkened hallway leading to your quarters. A little whimper of defeat left your lips as you turned back in the direction of your Vice Captain. "Vice Captain—"

"Are you two close?"

"Huh?"

"You and the rookie."

Close wasn't exactly the right word for you two. Haruichi was your main sponsor's son. You've met a lot of times before and have nothing but great respect for each other. A silly crush doesn't do him any justice. That rumour was made in poor taste and faith.

You shook your head at your superior. "We're familiar with each other, but not really as close as everyone thinks."

"Is that so?" Soshiro said, not at all sounding convinced. "If I ask him, will he say the same thing?"

"I suppose," you replied to him with another small sigh of resignation. "I'm sorry, Vice Captain. It's not a nice rumour, if you ask me... I feel sorry for... the rookie for being embroiled in this mess."

"Don't apologise because of that," he said as he reached out for your hand. "If you're going to apologise, at least say sorry because I heard it and believed it."

You can confirm now that he wasn't there to reprimand you at all since his hold on you was both tender and solid. There was a storm in his wine-dark gaze— languid but brewing, and the way he looked at you made you want to dive right into the depths of his eyes.

"Hoshina likes you."

It was a thought you pushed at the very back of your mind ever since your Captain first let that slip when you took a bath together once. You thought she was joking at first, but she didn't take it back at all.

"But you didn't hear that from me."

And she even followed it up with, "don't let your personal feelings get in the way of your work"— like hell this revelation won't get in the way of your work!

You didn't want to think about it at all but here it was, staring you right in your face.

"Vice Captain, can we t—"

No, what were you thinking? The moment you say you want to talk about it will change everything. You'll blur the fine line between superior and subordinate. He'll cease being just your Vice Captain and become something else.

Something more.

"If you want to talk, let's do it somewhere more comfortable," he told you as you caught the twinkle of expectation in his eyes. You were likely playing into his hands now, so what else could you do but dance to his rhythm?

"Yes, of course. My personal quarters are nearby," you said, pointing in the direction of the dimly lit hallway that Tae disappeared into moments ago. "If... If it's all right with you..."

Soshiro didn't speak as he eyed your embarrassed face, but his mischievous, victorious cat-like smile did all the talking for him. It was he who opened the door and led you in, his hand warm on the small of your back even though you extended the invitation to him. And though you said you wanted to talk to him— to clear the air and rid yourself of this trepidation and hesitation that you felt— very few and far between words were exchanged that night.

You liked him too, after all. Now all those times your eyes met even though you were just about to look at him made sense. He's had eyes for you ever since.

You drank deep into his wine-coloured eyes while he helped himself to your warmth, the tempest that you were now in his arms as a single beam of sunlight he wanted to keep all to himself.

And keep you he did.

When word got out that the female rookies caught Vice Captain Hoshina leaving your room early the following morning, you already expected to be summoned to the Captain's office that very day.

But instead of being vexed about the situation and her Vice Captain's unusually poor judgment, Mina had a rather amused expression on her otherwise normally calm face as she sat across from you two.

"What happened to not flouting the rules, Hoshina?"

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to get caught!" Soshiro shot back at her, though there was very little he could do in the face of his Captain's evident thrill at his predicament.

"I can turn a blind eye to this, but the rumours are already out there," she continued. "I suppose I'll have to mete out some form of 'punishment' for you both. Just to make an example out of you."

"I-I'll accept whatever punishment you have in mind, C-Captain!" You exclaimed with a stiff and deep bow. You've never been reprimanded by the Captain ever since you first started out in the Third Division. For you to be sanctioned for the very first time... I've really done it this time!

"On second thought, I'll just have you two file this instead," Mina stated as she handed you a single sheet of paper with a header in bold letters that read Workplace Relationship Disclosure Form. "As a formality. It's also a written promise that you won't let your relationship get in the way of your jobs."

"That's it? Piece of cake!" Soshiro said with a smile as he read out the form. "We'll file it now and—"

"You'll file it at headquarters yourselves," she said with a small smile as she stood up from her desk. "Other than that, I hope you two managed to talk things out. You're dismissed."

"Headquarters?! Captain Ashiro! We'll do anything! Just don't make us go there! It's such a pain to get there!" He pleaded with the Captain this time. "We'll tell everyone if we have to! I mean that's not a bad idea, too, so they'll know that we're together! But we're just going to be normal about things, we swear!"

"Just how normal are you two going to be?" The Captain said with a small laugh, just like the one you heard from the rumours. "Just promise me you won't let this affect your work. I have great faith in you both, after all."

"Roger!" You exclaimed in unison, followed by your shared tender laughter.

"Good. Now do 30 laps each before training starts again this afternoon," Mina replied to your enthusiasm with another small smile. "I'm really not letting you guys off the hook that easily."

"Th-That's fine, Captain! We-We'll make a start now!" You stammered before she could change her mind about your choice of consequence, throwing her a salute before eventually jogging out of her office.

"Don't make her run your laps, Hoshina. She'll do it for you without even you asking."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Captain. As if I'd let her do all the heavy lifting herself."

"What do you plan on doing about the rumours?"

"Let them talk. It's even better for us. At least they know now who she belongs to."

[gguk-n]

Balancing Act (Daniel Riccardo x Jung Hoseok's manager!Reader)

No face claim. Pictures from Pinterest

Wishing Daniel all the best with his future endeavours 😭😭

Series Masterlist

{Reader's POV}

When I had joined BigHit, I has started working as an assistant to BTS's manager. He was a kind and helpful man, who made transitioning to the job so easy. The boys were also very kind and understanding. It was a blast to work with them honestly. Later, as I gained more experience I was assigned to other groups. I did miss hanging out with the boys; I missed Hobi the most.

After I had stopped working with BTS, that was when I realised that I had a crush on Hoseok. I told myself it was due to the close proximity or the fact that he was just kind, but he was kind to everyone. And I decided to bury those feelings since K-Pop agencies didn't take dating lightly. Even though I barely saw Hobi at this point, my heart would always beat really hard and I would find myself looking for him in common spaces.

Whenever Hobi had individual schedules, I was brought back. The first time I had to work with him after I realised that I love him was nerve wrecking to say the least but Hobi's energy made me feel right at ease and I've never felt so relaxed before. I practically became his personal manager after Hobi started having individual schedules. He was a joy to be around and his energy and laughter was infectious. The tiny crush I had denied having had turned into a full blown infatuation. But, what was I supposed to do when Hobi would smile and sweetly greet me, even going as far to get me coffee. I couldn't not love him.

I was travelling with Hobi for his performances and the final promotion shooting before he was supposed to go for his mandatory military enlistment when I realised I had to tell him. The major reason being that I felt like maybe he liked me. It was the way his eyes would look at me or the way he would softly utter my name. I just felt it in my bones, he liked me. Oh, how wrong I was.

"Hope, congratulations on a successful promotion and preparing so much for ARMY" I said patting his back. "Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you" he laughed his infectious belly laugh. "No no, you are very talented. You could've managed with out me" I insisted. "Nope, my english is so bad, I would've never left my hotel room if not for you" he reasoned. I smiled at him, this was the right moment. "Don't mention it Hobi, just doing my job. I wanted to talk to you about something" I said, it made my tummy rumble and knot up. "Sure" he said turning his full attention on me. I breathed in deeply before saying, "I like you a lot, I've liked you for a while. Will you go out with me?" I asked looking at my feet. I heard Hobi sigh, this wasn't a good thing; "I'm sorry, Manager Y/L/N." he mumbled. The last name hurt. "I've never liked you that way and I'm sorry if I ever gave you the wrong impression. You are a good friend and colleague who I'm grateful to have but I don't feel that way" he apologised. I laughed dryly, "Yeah, it's okay." I sighed trying to hold back tears. "Let's still be friends. I don't want to lose a friend because of my stupid mistake" I croaked out. "You won't. I promise" he said trying to hug me. I walked back. "I have to give the company report on your schedule and stuff. Good luck with the military. I'll see you once you're back" I shouted out backing away. I had tears in my eyes as I turned the corner.

I may have cried myself to sleep for a few days after that but knowing Hoseok was leaving for the military and I wouldn't have to see him for a while made things easier. I knew I needed a change of scenery and pace so I took a few months off and went on a vacation.

I was in Spain when I met Daniel. He was charming, charismatic and easy to get along with. He would make me laugh and had great joy remembering how we met. "Excuse me" I asked tapping the tall man in front of me. He was wearing a hat and sun glasses. "Hi, Nice to meet you. Would you like a photograph or an autograph?" he asked turning around. I was so confused. "No, I just wanted directions. Can you help?" I asked. He tipped his sunglasses down his nose, scanned me up and down, "You are breath taking" he whispered. I felt a blush creep up my face. "Thank you" I mumbled pointing to a name on my phone, "Do you know where this is?" I asked. "Sadly, I don't but my friend does." he said calling his friend 'Carlos', he sounded Spanish when he spoke to me and gave me the directions. I thanked the two men and started walking in the directions when the taller man with an Australian accent ran up to me, "Hey! I'm Daniel and I don't know if this is crazy but you are so pretty and I just can't let you walk away so would you like to go on a date with me?" he asked. "Sorry, I'm trying to get over someone right now" I said apologetically. "Nothing better than a shoulder to lean on as you get over a stupid man" he winked. "Let's have a drink together. You can tell me all about your relationship woes and I will patiently wait for when you are ready to date me" he laughed. "I don't drink with strangers" I pointed out, walking away.

After that, I met him in Austria again. It was as if the stars were aligning and that's when I finally agreed to have coffee with him. He was a great listener and would give good advice. As I spoke to him and got to know him, we did end up on a date, a few weeks after Austria. I was continuing my trip in Europe and he had work in Europe, it seemed. It was only after a few dates, did he tell me that he was a Formula One Driver. I almost didn't believe him until I Googled him. I may have spent way too much of my time watching Daniel Riccardo funny videos and his interviews and his race highlights.

We decided to keep our relationship on the down low for a while since I did have to go back to work after my vacation. The vacation was the best thing I did for myself. Daniel would visit me if he was at a race near by which was many months later since he was in Singapore and Japan but I cherished every moment I got to spend with him. After his season was over, he was in Seoul to spend some of his holidays with me. I loved waking up to Daniel in bed or to a nice cooked meal when I got back from work. He would joke about being my stay at home wife and we would laugh as we enjoyed the meal. We would explore the streets of South Korea and even going on small weekend getaways so I could show Daniel around.

He did return to Australia to spend time with his family but we would constantly be texting each other or on call. After almost a year of dating, Daniel asked me to come to a race of his, specifically Spain since that was the country where we first met. I cleared up my calendar and I was off.

danielricciardo

Liked by y/n.y/l/n and 1,298,032 others

danielriccardo Happy 1 year baby!!🥰🥰I've never been happier than I've been with you!! I love you!!❤️❤️

y/n.y/l/n aww!! You make me the happiest. Love you too babe❤️❤️ landonorris both of you are like the otters that hug each other while floating away.🫢Congratulations btw❤️ maxverstappen1 congratulations to the cute couple❤️Hope you won't forget me Daniel🥲 user7 OMG!! They are literally the same version of each other🥹🥹 user8 I need a boyfriend like Daniel😭😭 user9 The photography skills😘��� user10 It's so cute!! Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary❤️❤️

y/n.y/l/n

Liked by danielriccardo, uramyhope and 356,930 others

y/n.y/l/n Happy 1 year to the man who never fails to make my heart flutter!!😭😭Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever!!😘😘Love you more than I can explain🥰🥰

danielriccardo you're gonna make me cry.😭Love you most!!❤️❤️ y/bff/user both of you are so cute, I'm feeling very single😭😭 user11 I've known her since she started in BigHit, can't believe I might watch her get married😭 user12 both of them are happy viruses😌😌 user13 cutest couple on and off the grid🥹🥹 user14 Hybe should sign Daniel, he can be their model😏😏 user15 they are making me believe in love🥺🥺

After the Spanish race, I wasn't able to join him any other races due to work until that fateful call; "hi babe" I chirped. "hey" he greeted, his voice heavy. "What happened?" I asked. "Nothing" he hummed. "Don't lie to me" I reprimanded. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" he chuckled. "Nope" I grinned. "Now spill Danny" I prompted. "It's just.... they might be booting me by the next race" he sulked. "What? Are they crazy? How could they do that? Is this allowed? Can I file a complaint?" I rambled. He laughed. "No, and it's okay. It was gonna happen, I had a feeling" he said. "Now I feel bad, I should've taken time off to see my wonderful boyfriend race" I sulked. "It's okay, you can come to Singapore" he pointed out. "yes!! We'll celebrate!! It's your last race in F1 and we're going to go out with a bang" I said already making plans in my head. Daniel smiled at me, "I can't wait"

I flew to Singapore on Thursday; I will always regret not going to more of his races. We had a blast, there was a rumour going around that Daniel was leaving but there was no official announcement so he couldn't say anything. I spent the better half of the weekend consoling Daniel and trying to make the best of the situation. After the race and the interviews, we walked out of the paddock hand in hand, "I'm so proud of you. Being in a sport for 12-13 years and giving it your all. Being smart, talented and wonderful, being one of the best drivers and helping others learn from you all with a smile is hard, in any field let alone something like formula one. Being a friend when you are all competitors is a talent. I love you so much for doing so well" I said, stopping to cup his cheeks and kissing him. "I love you Y/N" he said in tears. "I love you more" I smiled. "No more crying, you are the best driver" I stated. "To you" he corrected. "And that's all that matters Riccardo" I pointed out. "yes it does" he hummed and started walking out hand in hand. "I'm gonna mooch off you now" he laughed. "I will gladly let you mooch off me" I smiled. "Love you Dan" I said taking his hand to my lips and pressing a kiss. "And I love you" he kissed my hand.

We were both saps but we were each others sap. I couldn't have hoped to meet someone better than him and some one who loves me more than him.

[transmutationisms]

the idea that 'science' is an unmitigated and inherent social good---a politically neutral and universally beneficial process of accumulating knowledge---is wildly ahistorical and dangerously, wilfully ignorant of the role that science and its purveyors / practitioners have played in imperial and colonial expansion. warwick anderson went so far as to say that colonial medicine was better understood as a discourse of settlement than one of health promotion, & we can see this quite easily in, for example, french doctors' use of the nostalgia diagnosis to guide colonial policy in algeria in the 1830s, attempting to securely settle a french population there; or in the development of a science of 'water cures', spa treatments considered to mitigate the insalubrious effects of foreign (particularly tropical) environments, for which the french army by the 1890s granted routine medical leave because the 'health' of its soldiers was not a matter of individual interest but a state resource.

but medicine is in many ways an easy case when it comes to the relationship between science and the state; all too often we still seem reluctant to acknowledge, for example, the pursuit of economic botany and animal / plant breeding in the early modern period as contributors to discourses of acclimatisation and proto-eugenics, sciences that were given state financial support on these utilitarian grounds & not for any high-minded general pursuit of 'knowledge'; or the development of navigational instruments and knowledge from the 14th century or so onward as a project explicitly funded and intended to permit faster, cheaper, more reliable colonial exploration and travel; or the sheer amount of research in physics and chemistry that has been and is devoted to weapons development or natural resource extraction; or the promise of space travel as a further possibility for obtaining raw materials as well as for settlement---often marketed in terms and visual rhetoric explicitly comparing the 'space colony' to its terrestrial precursor: 'the final frontier', depicted as both lush tropical paradise & as rugged american west, waiting to be conquered & brought to heel.

i am of course not hostile to 'science' in any totalising way; this would be as indefensible a position as the automatic 'defence' of all such practices; they're not monolithic or intrinsically doomed to serve state interests. but it is simply irresponsible to pretend that the scientific inquiry into something---describing it, measuring it, taxonomising it---is inherently a social good, or that the pursuit of 'knowledge' is ever an apolitical endeavour. knowing, seeing, & measuring the world grant immense power; states and empires know this. scientific inquiry is not tangentially related to imperial and colonial expansion; often it is a critical piece of the machinery by which these processes occur. wilful ignorance of this fact in favour of an optimistic conception of science as a universal social good is not just inaccurate but propagandistic & an advancement of state & imperial interests.

[misskattylashes]

Alex post 2018 – some ruminations

I have been doing some thinking about the change in Alex from pre TBHC to post TBHC and I have come up with the following ruminations;

Yesterday (1 October) two things happened. The audiobook of The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade was released, and Louise posted a very awkward photo of herself and Alex, with some weird reference to an anniversary that makes no sense (but I’m not going to speculate about that). Alex provided the music for the audiobook of Harauld Hughes, and yet I don’t know one person who has listened to it, instead what are we all talking about? (me included) The photo of him and Louise.

I was there from the beginning when little Alex was being hailed as this wonderkid, a little Yorkshire tyke who wrote like Alan Bennet or Jarvis Cocker. The word ‘genius’ was banded about often. Even in the subsequent years, with all the high profile ‘romances’, the speculation about Milex, and all his image changes, people still spoke about what a great musical talent he was, but it all seemed to stop at AM5.

I’m not going to talk about TLSP because that is an equal endeavour with Miles, this is focusing purely on AM.

It was as though Tranquillity Base Hotel and Casino was like Alex finally dropping all the pretence and revealing to the world exactly what kind of genius he was….and no one liked it. From then on something in him changed. We get dramas in the press about him being a love cheat, whereas up until then he had been portrayed as a romantic who went from monogamous relationship to monogamous relationship. Suddenly he becomes this lothario, breaking hearts and causing lots of fans to become more invested in his love life than his musical output.

By the time of The Car, he had practically given up. We get a handful of studio interviews and some written pieces, and that was it. Until it has got to the point that nowadays Matt is the group’s mouthpiece. Alex can’t be bothered at all. He seems more interested in taking part in awkward pap walks and photoshoots with Louise, than he does promoting his own music. How lovely it would have been when AM was voted one of the greatest albums of all time, to hear him reflecting on it. He didn’t have to give away his secrets about subject matter, but he could have spoken about the recording process and what was happening with the other boys at the time. But nada. Matt had to do it.

It is like Alex has become his own self-fulfilling prophecy. The fans didn’t like TBHC (‘puncturing your bubble of relatability with your horrible new sound’) and it wounded him deeply, so he’s giving them little in return except things to gossip about. Let’s face facts, lots of stars have messy love-lives, but they also have high court injunctions in place that stop anyone talking about it. Even Taylor, if she’d had the threat of the law coming down on her, wouldn’t be able talk about Alex. But she’s allowed to and fuels the flames of interest in his love-life rather than his talent. Then of course we have Louise and her strange behaviour, and their weird relationship, which once again fuels speculation. Again, she could be instructed not to interact with fans, but she is allowed to come after them, creating controversy, which Alex becomes involved in without saying a word, but he gets tainted with her brush.

I always thought his troubled 2018 was down to problems with his relationship with Miles, but after a little digging around and finding stuff out, him and Miles were perfectly okay by 2018. I think their troubles were in 2017 after the intensity of EYCTE, but those two can’t stay apart for long, and that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that TBHC was the first album where Alex finally bared his soul, his ‘this is me’ moment and when people rejected it, he was hurt. Let’s not forget that Alex doesn’t know anything but being famous. AM is his world, and it’s like he loses perspective. Yes, people don’t like the new material and the direction the band is going in, and yes, probably half of the people who went to see them on tour went to scream at him, but none of that matters. Time is going to move and so are the AM fanbase. I am sure both TBHC and The Car got them new, different fans who aren’t interested in heartthrob Alex and his messed up life, but instead the beautiful music he makes and his genius with words, which is still the same as it was when he was 19.

I have a sneaky feeling AM8 will be AM5 mark ii, purely to please the fans, which is a shame because AM5 suited the time and space it was in, but not now. He should be able to make the sort of music he wants to, either solo, with Miles or AM.

Anyway, they are just the ruminations from my flu-riddled brain. In a nutshell, after TBHC Alex lost sight of himself and to quote his own lyrics, I would quite like to grab both shoulders and shake him and tell him to snap out of it.

[nordleuchten]

Idk if you’ve already answered this but how much English did Lafayette know before he came to the colonies? Did he practice English when he came to the colonies outside of being surrounded by English speakers? Did he speak French while he was in the colonies?

Dear Anon,

thank you for the question!

La Fayette spoke very little English before he came to America. At this point in time and in his circles of society French was the universal and cosmopolitan language and therefor the need never arose for him to learn English, unlike for many of us today. He certainly met British officers in France, and he also spent a few weeks with his uncle-by-marriage in London – said uncle was the French ambassador to Great Britan. It is reasonable to assume that La Fayette caught on to some expressions and phrases but nothing that could be called a substantial understanding of the English language.

He was however determined to learn English as soon as he decided to embark for America – as he told Washington, he came to learn and not to teach and understanding English was vital for getting along with the locals, the troops he hoped to command and his fellow officers – it was also a sign of respect since many French officers who came to America never bothered to learn English.

It took approximately six weeks (depending on weather, the type of ship, etc.) to cross the Atlantic Ocean at that time and La Fayette (after his seasickness abated) used the time to learn English. Therefore, when he finally arrived in America, his English was still very much a work in progress, but he could hold simple conversations. He and his party arrived in America on June 13th 1777, and this is an example of his English skills on August 13th:

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, p. 103.

This is the earliest known letter that La Fayette wrote in English, and it is believed that he had help in writing it. For comparison, here is an excerpt from his first letter known to George Washington from October 14th:

Give me leave, dear general, to Speack to you about my own ⟨business⟩ with all the confidence of a son, of a friend, as you favoured me with those two so precious titles—my respect, my affection for you, answer to my own heart that I deserve them on that side as well as possible—Since our last great conversation I would not tell any thing to your excellency, for my taking a division of the army—you were in too important occupations to be disturbed—for the Congress he was in a great hurry, and in such a time I take my only right of fighting; I forget the others—now that the honorable Congress is settled quiete, and making promotions, that some changements are ready to happen in the divisions, and that I endeavoured myself the 11 september to be acquainted with a part of the army and Known by them, advise me, dear general, for what I am to do—it is not in my character to examine if they have had, if they can have never some obligations to me, I am not usued to tell what I am, I wo’nt Make no more any petition to Congress because I can now refuse, but not ask from them, therefore, dear general, I’l conduct myself by your advices. consider, if you please, that europe and particularly france is looking upon me—That I want to do some thing by myself, and justify that love of glory which I left be known to the world in making those sacrifices which have appeard so surprising, some say so foolish[.] do not you think that this want is right? in the begining I refused a division because I was diffident of my being able to conduct it without Knowing the character of the men who would be under me. now that I am better acquainted no difficulty comes from me—therefore I am ready to do all what your excellency will think proper—you Know I hope with what pleasure and satisfaction I live in your family: be certain that I schall be very happy if you judge that I can Stay in america without any particular employement when Strangers come to take divisions of the army, and when myself by the only right of my birth should get in my country without any difficulty a body of troops as numerous as is here a division

“To George Washington from Major General Lafayette, 14 October 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-11-02-0515. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 11, 19 August 1777 – 25 October 1777, ed. Philander D. Chase and Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2001, pp. 505–508.] (01/02/2025)

You can read the letter just fine and understand what he wanted to say but there are still mistakes and especially when compared to his letter to Hancock.

I could imagen that La Fayette used his convalescence after the Battle of Brandywine to further study English, but I have no hard proof to that. With Washington’s aide-de-camps, particularly John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton, he was surrounded by people who knew both French and English and were willing to help him and translate for him if need be. But by all accounts, being surrounded by English speaking people and very eager to learn (and having a talent for languages in general) La Fayette fairly quickly got the hang of it.

While in America, he also spoke French. He spoke French with some of the Frenchmen there (other officers, soldiers, his own staff) and famously translated for General Washington and General Rochambeau during the Conference at Hartford in September of 1780. He also still wrote some letters in French – there are for example a number of letters to Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson written in French even though the majority of La Fayette’s correspondence with these and other people was in English.

I hope that answered your question and I hope you have/had a lovely day!

[galedekarios]

Idk if you’ve been asked before but what are your thoughts on EARLY early access Gale? The Gale that has bandages on his arm in some early promotional art? There’s an old Auntie Ethel vicious mockery line for him: “I can smell what’s under those bandages wizard! You’re all rot and ruin.” I always wondered if the orb was originally going to have nastier side effects. Like it was making Gale fall apart slowly OR maybe Gale was trying to become a Lich to better handle the orb before being abducted by the mind flayers so he’s in this half alive and undead state when Tav meets him. I feel like that last one would explain the necrotic damage he emits when he dies better. Anyways those are just two tiny details that I roll around in my mind from time to time. I might be thinking too deeply about it. Maybe the writers just wanted to figure out a way to show how much the orb was hurting Gale and the bandages were a start but for some reason they decided against it.

i loved early access gale. there were a lot of uncharitable reads / bad faith takes about him back then, ranging from him being the secret bbeg, the ultimate and guaranteed betrayer, the absolute, to being myrkul because he had a triangles on the robe he was wearing (no, i'm not joking), etc etc etc.

personally, i always loved his character, though, and found him the most interesting and intriguing out of the companions.

overall, i think that he's not that much changed - however, as with all companions and a lot of the npcs, some things have been whittled down or away entirely by larian due things like fandom feedback, but that's a discussion for another time.

i don't subscribe to the lich idea myself, because i think that's not something that gale would want for himself for a multitude of reasons. having said that, however, i always enjoyed this theory:

so, early access gale had this key art, which is still one of my favourites:

left hand wrapped in bandages, the almost stone-like texture of what little you can see of his skin.

adding to that, as you also mentioned, ethel had these vicious mockery lines for gale:

Auntie Ethel: I can smell what's under those bandages, wizard. You're all rot and ruin.

and

Auntie Ethel: Come to greet death early? You'll be a lovely spectacle.

to add to this, this was the way gale talked about the orb and what he thought it was, as well as karsus:

Player: I was wondering about that “mighty lord” you told me about in your story. Gale: Ah, yes. Karsus Karsus was perhaps the most powerful wizard that ever lived. The child-who-would-be-a-god, the elves called him. And he tried. With a spell of his own devising he endeavoured to usurp in one fell swoop the power of the goddess of magic.  Mystryl, she was called then. Imagine what it must have felt like. To be a god. To know yourself to be untouchable. To be mistaken. As Karsus aimed his spell at her she began to unravel, and with her, the entire Weave. Too late did he realize what he had unleashed. It would have been the end of everything had not Mystryl sacrificed herself.  Gale: The goddess of magic is all magic. By dying, the entire weave was lost, and the spell that challenged a god failed. It was the end of Mystryl, the end of Karsus, and the end of an entire civilization. As the child-who-would-be-a-god was turned to stone, his empire came crashing down around him. The floating cities of Netheril were no more. An event that came to be known as Karsus' folly. Player: So at that moment in time, all magic was gone?  Gale: For a spell. Mystyl was reborn as Mystra. Upon her return, the Weave returned with her.  Gale: Now, so many centuries later, I tried to follow in the footsteps of Karsus, not to destroy Mystra, but to prove my love for her. I tried to control only a fraction of the magic that was unleashed that fateful day. I merely sought to return one tiny diamond to an imperfect crown. Gale's Folly one might call it. History. Repetition. It's the way things go.

some of this is still in the game.

more lore about karsus's folly:

Unfortunately, his choice was a terrible mistake, for one of the responsibilities of the deity of magic was to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Lacking the ability to do so properly, magic surged and fluctuated. With her last remaining bit of power, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the Weave, causing all magic to fail. The flying cities of Netheril plummeted to the earth. The severing of the link also killed Karsus and transformed him into stone, and the last thing he saw was his entire civilization being destroyed because of his actions. This was to be known as Karsus's Folly. The stone form of Karsus eventually landed in a part of the High Forest, now called the Dire Wood.[8] The city of Karse was built around its base. Karsus was never accepted as a petitioner by any god, nor did he go to the Fugue Plane when he died. Instead, his soul was bound to the Material Plane. Those with experience in pact magic could call up his vestige, where he appeared as a giant blood-red boulder,[5] like the one found in the High Forest where his petrified form landed.[8] Blood burbles up from the top of the stone, trickling down the side facing the summoner, pooling at the base. [x]

there are also lines of gale referring to this corruption he carries within as a "taint" and a "shadow", corrupting him "within", affecting his blood as well (another thing that carried over to release).

i think what might have been originally planned (and again, some of this did carry over) is that the orb not only affected gale's magic, but also his body even more severely (it still does to an extent in the release version even though this part is very, very sadly almost entirely glossed over).

putting all of this together, i think that by absorbing a part of that magic unleashed on the day of karsus's folly - the failed magic, the severing of it, karsus turning into stone, petrifying him - might have affected gale in a similar, albeit weaker fashion.

"history. repetition. it's the way things go."

karsus's folly.

gale's folly.

perhaps as the game continued this petrification might have spread, from his hand, up his arm, to his shoulder, and on, either by leaning onto the darker aspects, or by the treatment failing (the consumption of powerful pieces of weave).

maybe that concept was then turned from petrification, to a sort of corruption/rotting that ethel referred to in her lines.

either way, it would have been interesting to see, for sure.

[morsesnotes]

You know what? Prey is unironically great.

The cinematography is gorgeous. You can tell they were making the most of filming in the summer for the first time.

The music stood out to me as particularly good, especially in the menacing scenes. It really rises to the occasion of being Jaws-inspired.

It's a strong episode for Bright, but really so many characters get a chance to shine here:

Strange has his conflict of being promoted over Morse

Trewlove's "Maybe I like grim" scene

Thursday is still recovering from Blenheim Vale and is too emotionally invested in the case

Debryn's absence was felt and you get insight into him being the Morse of Pathologists

Sam bonding with Morse and Thursday

The actors of the week delightfully lean into their campy characters, and there's so many funny moments. Morse is in prime bitch-mode with Strange now being his boss.

My favorite thing about it though is how it gradually reveals what's actually happening. At first it's all standard - weirdo rich family, sketchy men hanging around, etc. Then around halfway through they start wondering, "Wait, could this be a creature?? Nah there's a reasonable explanation." But as the murders go on that seems harder to believe, and uh-oh, the weird family used to own big cats. The rest of the episode Morse is desperate for evidence that it's someone who wants everyone to think it's a tiger, and you assume he'll be right because surely it's not going to go there? It's a fake out.

Then in the last 20 minutes it switches to "Oh fuck it's definitely a tiger oh god".

Easily one of the most entertaining episodes of Endeavour.

[the-real-sasuke-uchiha]

What would be your ideal ending for Sasuke ?

In one word, anon, justice. I really don’t care a lot about everything else. If he marries or has children, if he wins or loses the fight with Naruto, if he goes travelling or whatever. The least he deserved was justice and reparation, and he got nothing of that.

Sasuke deserved an ending where his rage was validated. Where he received a formal apology. Where the genocide of the Uchiha was not swept under the rug (if the wishes of Itachi were to be respected, at least acknowledge the oppression and exclusion that they suffered from Konoha and clear their name from the suspicions raised after the Kyubi attack). Sasuke should have not been forced to show remorse in the end. Remorse for what, anyway? He had nothing to feel sorry for, he did nothing wrong. He didn’t even punish half the people that deserved to die at his hands. What does he need to atone for, when deranged villains went on without consequences? Sasuke was a victim of genocide. The least the perpetrators could do was apologise and be thankful he didn’t materialise any of his threats to burn Konoha to ashes.

Sasuke deserved to see the two counsellors that remained alive fired, prosecuted and punished. He deserved to be honoured and awarded for saving the world and for his crucial role in ending the war, and all he got was ostracism and a condescending scolding from his former teacher.

Sasuke deserved compensation. He deserved to see his clan honoured and remembered. He deserved to get returned any property, document, or information Konoha had gotten from the Uchiha after the massacre or during their unlawful surveillance, including any body parts or any other thing stolen for any of Danzo’s grotesque endeavours. He deserved to see the Root disbanded, any of its willing members investigated and punished, and Danzo declared a traitor, a child abductor, a genocidal trash, a corrupt and a conspirator.

Sasuke deserved to see his friend, his so-called “like a brother” standing by his promises and doing something to change the world for the better. Sasuke did not deserve to be alone and remorseful working for a place that never officially repudiated the darkness and the ways of the past. Sasuke did not deserve to see the enabler of the extermination of his family glorified in the form of a painting in the Hokage’s office. And the same for the fascist that spread racist pseudoscience about his family to justify their segregation and oppression. He did not deserve to see those that promoted the genocide of his clan working as counsellor for his so-called friend, who still hears them in his office.

And, of course, Sasuke deserved Taka, too. He deserved to be with them, to honour the promise he made to Jugo. Their unconditional loyalty and friendship. He deserved comfort in the friends that he chose and that were ready to fight the world for him.

And, I think, anon, Sasuke deserved to pursue his revolutionary ideas to build a new world without the darkness of the Shinobi system. Sasuke did not deserve to have all his personality, his character and his soul killed for the sake of the main character’s victory. We know the main character had to win, still, there was so much potential in Sasuke. We deserved to at least see them improving the world together. Making efforts so the future generations never had to experience what they went through.

Anyway, sorry for the long rant, I don’t think I surprised you with any amazing idea for an ending, as everything I mentioned has been discussed before by many others. I apologise also because it took me ages to answer.  I hope you are having a wonderful time, anon, please take care.

[pentrologram]

What Normal People Do - 7

You reach a discovery.

warning for one use of the f-slur and implied homophobia (from a minor, unnamed, unfaced character)

it's been three whole weeks... i'm sorry, y'all. at first i was gonna publish this on my birthday, then the sunday after and now it's been two weeks. anyways, hope you enjoy :)

ao3!

ghost/soap/gn!reader (established ghoap)

Something's Happening To Me

Maybe you’ve been sidelined a little.

Johnny has really started to boom with his online endeavours- he started a TikTok account, which he had told you excitedly about a month ago. Mostly, he posts videos about his Etsy shop and how his art process works, but… Well, he’s also Johnny. He’s bright and bubbly and that lures some odd hundred thousand followers to his account- perhaps they didn’t come for his personality, but they sure stayed for it. His following nearly triples when Riley becomes a fixture in his content.

It's good to see Johnny thriving on something he hadn't even considered a possibility not even three months ago. He's enjoying his new community, you can see it, in the way he's always excitedly talking your ears off about new friends and new experiences he's being invited to or planning or participating in or setting up. It's awesome seeing how he gets some recognition at a nearby art museum he sometimes goes to film content at, how the museum has started to carve away time for Johnny to sit in utter silence and just... be. They also let Riley in, which earns them more brownie points.

After a month or so of you tagging along with Johnny’s endeavours, the same museum hosts a sponsorship for Johnny, letting him come in any time he wants in a secluded part of the museum, away from prying eyes. In exchange, the museum gets some of his framed artwork for his own exhibit in the museum. It's a win-win, really, for Johnny and the museum- Johnny and Riley get a good time and his TikTok page grows, and the museum gets basically free publicity and a fresh, cool new artist to bring into their fold.

It works wonderfully for both parties involved and before you know it, other small museums are doing the same- inviting Johnny over to sit down and make content while talking about the exhibits the museum has. Johnny being Johnny makes it hard for the promotional videos to be uninteresting, though, and they only serve to further Johnny’s following.

Summer is rapidly coming to a close and you can tell by the almost violent influx of fairs being held. There are apple fairs, tech fairs, scissors fairs, knitting fairs, sewing fairs, flower fairs- you name it and there's probably a fair for it. The people of Durham are enjoying the good weather before the blunt end of fall drops and makes the trees turn grey and the grass lifeless. 

Johnny gets invited to his fair share of the ‘good-weather-craze’ fairs, and you do too by extension.

He’s invited to make a showing of some of his art or to open a stall to teach random people how to use charcoal properly or even doing face painting for toddlers, once. It's quite enjoyable for you, being able to see Johnny in his natural element and see other people get infected by the magic that is so uniquely Johnny. It feels like you’re passing his pure goodness on.

Seeing Johnny squint his eyes as he leans forward in his plastic folding chair, carefully keeping a squirmy six-year-old still with callused hands as he paints flowers around the kid’s cheekbones inspires a steady thump-thump in your chest, but the feeling is promptly shoved down. Now, nor ever, was a good time.

Simon and you are along for the ride as you watch Johnny bloom before your eyes. He’s talking to a group of admirers animatedly at an outdoor art bazaar while you and Simon enjoy milkshakes from a purple-haired man and his cat.

Simon’s already halfway through his while you’ve just started to lick the whipped cream, and you’re about to tease him when someone walking by bumps into you with a rushed apology. The whipped cream smudges on your chin, making Simon’s brow furrow. He bends down a little to wipe it off of your chin with his finger, before licking it off, startling a barked laugh from you. If you had turned a little, you would’ve seen Johnny staring intently from where he was.

“That’s- oh, my god. That’s disgusting.” You giggle. Simon smiles from underneath his mask- you’ve gotten better at reading his emotions, such as now, when his cheekbones raise and his eyes crinkle. He grunts.

“Couldn’t let it go to waste, could I?”

The comment makes something flutter in the cavity behind your heart. You know exactly what it is, of course, but. Well. Now doesn’t feel like an appropriate time for those feelings to ruck their way up. Simon and Johnny are happily together- honestly, you’re convinced they’re married and never told you. It simply wouldn’t be fair of you to push these feelings onto them when you know they don’t reciprocate.

“C’mon, love. ‘S go back to Johnny.”

The next time that pesky lighthearted feeling comes back is when Johnny gets invited to a restaurant for a small, intimate talk with himself and 200 other influential people in the area. The restaurant itself is more art-focused than most, boasting authentic pieces from the greats- such as Picasso, a Rothko, and even a Monet. As a gift, Johnny gives the restaurant three pieces- first, a sculpture he made ages ago but was still proud of, and then a matching set of two canvases. One was of a shapeless, nameless figure (Johnny) and a big, hulking figure (Simon). They met halfway, in the space between the canvases, in a kiss. You were invited, of course, and you had pulled out one of your nicest outfits for the occasion.

The three of you had been led to your table, surrounded by other people. Most of them weren't artists and were likely just very faithful regulars, but the effort was appreciated all the same. You listened to quite a few speeches from persons you had never heard of while you were served very fancy and very good food. Simon didn't eat, too uncomfortable to slip his fancy cloth mask from his face in the presence of so many people.

When all the plates are cleared, the visitors either leave or explore the art installations. Simon was hungry and apparently fancy restaurants didn't offer takeout boxes, so Simon and Johnny left early, leaving you alone.

You wandered around before finding Johnny's exhibit near the other smaller, less-known artists. You stand and stare for a second until someone else comes to admire with you. You give them a small smile, noticing their appearance as.. odd. All black while wearing a ski mask. They put a gloved finger up to where their lips might be before uncapping a thick, industrial-grade Sharpie. Suddenly, they lunge forward and scrape onto the canvas:

F AGG OT

In the heat of the moment, you gasp before lunging forward with them, making the person press the sharpie harder into the canvas. They're more agile than you, though, slipping away. In a fit, you throw Johnny's sculpture after them, and with perfect aim, you hit the back of their head.

They grunt and you, still enraged, shout something along the lines of 'help'. By the time the manager finds you, the person has long since escaped and you're crying from the lack of adrenaline and also the guilt of knowing you broke Johnny's sculpture. The manager is kind, though, helping you calm down and gently instructing you to call Johnny so you can tell him what happened.

Johnny and Simon are there again within the hour.

Johnny sort of... sadly stares at his defaced artwork with you and Simon on either of his sides. The cleaning team sweeps up the remains of the sculpture, and they ask Johnny if he wants to keep them. He just shakes his head and doesn't watch as they dump the clay shards.

The manager comes back and Simon leaves to ask her about security cameras, leaving you to hold Johnny's hand as you both stare at the wall. The guilt gnaws painfully at your gut.

"I'm sorry," you whisper. "I saw them. And I didn't- I didn't do anything." You say, hanging your head. While you had thrown the sculpture at the assailant, it hadn't done anything at all. They had gotten away. And when you think about it logically, they probably would've left the sculpture alone, seeing as their motives were purely and singularly homophobic. You weren't keen to tell anyone of your accident.

"Nothin' we can do, bon," Johnny says quietly. He squeezes your hand. "Nothin' we can do."

Simon comes back shortly, frustrated, and that's when the fluttering feeling comes back. He's not trying to upset Johnny but he's also mad- mad that there are no security cameras in this part of the art wing, nobody to protect the smaller artists' work. You know you shouldn't but you're secretly relieved- nobody will know that it wasn't the vandalizer who broke Johnny's sculpture.

It takes a while for Johnny to get back to his usual bubbly self. It's a moment of mourning, being brought down to earth, remembering that terrible people exist in the same world that Johnny does. The police get involved at some point, and you think that helps him. Just a little.

It takes a little while for things to go back to normal. You and Simon are there every step of the way, making him smile when it seems the hardest. Maybe your reassurance isn't needed all too much, but the guilt of everything compels you to be as useful as humanly possible. That means bringing baked goods around, helping with Riley when Simon is preoccupied, and helping ship out old orders from Johnny's Etsy. It also means helping Simon moderate the comments on Johnny's Tiktok page- ever since the vandalism incident, there's been a significant flux in hate comments.

Simon thanks you for it over tea when Johnny's out with some friends.

"'S been hard for him." Simon laments, surgical mask foregone as he cradles his little plastic cup of tea, dwarfing it with his two massive paws. "He's doin' a lot better now, thou'." You nod. Simon sighs and downs half the cup. "A real fancy exhibit's goin' up a week from now. And.... Well, Johnny got invited to display som' stuff. But... I don't know if it's gon' be the right thing for him."

"Yeah, but... Well, doesn't it sound like a good opportunity? Have you asked him?"

"No," Simon says sheepishly. "But-"

"You should." You cut him off with. "It could... I don't know, be like exposure therapy or something. Ask him." You press.

"Yeah." He grunts.

That's how you find yourself in a modern, sleek building, inside, watching Johnny give a speech in front of a whole wing dedicated to his artwork. There are Men In Black-like security guards there, to prevent any future vandalism. The light in Johnny's eyes is back and it warms your heart to see.

"Bonnie!" Johnny says, giving you a toothy grin as he bounds off the stage to strongarm you into a hug.

"You did great." You tell him the second he releases you. His grin is almost blinding.

He's about to continue the conversation before another bright-eyed well-wisher comes about. You smile at him before leaving him to his admirers. You sniffed out Simon nearby Johnny, watching like a protective guard dog. Eventually, you decide to slip out by yourself. You feel so fancy, in your finery, looking at Johnny’s lovely pieces, wandering around while cradling a glass of bubbly champagne.

Johnny’s display for the night is influenced by the fall season that’s on your heels. There’s photorealism of Riley in a white cloth like a ghost (you never thought that he could do photorealism, but then again it’s Johnny) and there’s a few of an environment- his flat, you know, specifically that of a messy bed and a singular potted plant. A single green tree surrounded by bunches of yellow ones.

You have one or two too many glasses as you wander aimlessly. Just as you’re about to throw in the towel, tired from the alcohol and fancy shoes, you come across a little crowd- which is odd, as it was a free-form exhibit, meant to be processed at your own pace.

Curiously you squeeze yourself through, peering up at the piece hung up along with a few other viewers.

It’s a white canvas with two black charcoal figures; one you can easily recognise as Simon, what with the familiar broad shoulders and the hulking frame Johnny loves to draw, but there’s an underlying softness to it, a gentleness as he hunches over the second figure, his brows tight as he cradles the other figure’s hand.  It takes your mind, impaired by the alcohol, some time before you’re able to see the other figure for what it is- you. Yourself. It makes you gasp and nearly topple over from shock- Johnny had rarely ever included anyone else other than Simon in his work, and that had only been one time, and it had been his mom. Seeing yourself, dwarfed by Simon, warmed your heart and yeah, maybe you cried a little.

It probably wasn’t the most normal thing to do, but, well. You had reached an epiphany- that persistent throb in your chest wasn’t just attraction.

You loved the two of them.

<- back next ->

[fraeuleintaka]

Capcom Museum Investigations Sketches

This is the 66th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 15 days left until release!

Today's topic: concept art sketches from the Capcom Museum Ace Attorney Investigations Exhibit!

The Investigations exhibit on the Capcom Museum website has tons of amazing artworks, backgrounds, sketches, promotional material and even the old promotion video for Investigations! The exhibit itself might be closed by now (sadly) but you can still access all the art and stuff they posted including these sketches below. They're originally from the artbook but I had first seen them on the Capcom Museum website and they're lovely so I wanted to talk about them.

This one shows a bunch of concept work done for the life-size figurine of Miles for the Investigations promotion booth back then. The highlighted parts are considered to be particularly important for Miles to look like Miles, that includes the line between his eyebrows and the lock of hair standing out at the back of his head. It's often exactly these kinds of details that make characters suddenly look wrong if they're missing even if you don't actively notice them when they're there. I also love the image of Miles with just his waistcoat on, we've never seen him like that before! (Definitely gonna use this for future fanfic endeavours.)

The next two sketches are particular favourites of mine, they're from the Investigations main trio and I always love seeing them together! The first one shows them rushing to get somewhere (the scene of the crime, most likely). Miles is running in front, very focused and determined, followed by Gumshoe closely behind, with a more concerned look on his face. Kay looks like she's flying or jumping from somewhere above them, her arms stretched and her scarf flapping in the wind reminiscent of an action hero. It's a wonderfully dynamic image, even at the sketch stage, and I'd love to see a fully drawn and coloured version of this. It's amazing how all their personalities come through in such a simple action and how well their team dynamic comes across. Miles as the serious leader, Kay always rushing in headfirst as dramatically as possible and Gumshoe lacking a little behind but always there to support. So nice!

The second one shows them sitting on something (probably a bench) and, again, I love how their personalities and dynamic is expressed in just the way they're sitting! Miles is in the middle with his hands folded on his crossed legs and facing slightly upwards with a very serious expression like he's thinking about something particularly difficult to figure out. Kay is on his left fully croaching on the bench instead of sitting like she could jump up at any time, ready for action. She doesn't look quite as serious but still contemplative propping up her chin with her arm and looking off to the side. Gumshoe has his legs parallel to each other, his feet on the ground and his back straight, the perfect picture of how to sit on a bench. He looks completely relaxed with his hands in his lap and a happy smile on his face. Such a nice contrast between the three! I'd love to have this one fully drawn and coloured too but it's great in the sketch stage as well.

The last piece is a series of sketches done for the cute little comic that came with the Investigations 2 orchestra soundtrack (the final version with translation can be found here). Just from the sketches alone you can roughly tell what it's about, the intro is dramatic with Miles, Kay and Gumshoe all looking distressed, then the reveal that Kay and Gumshoe are wearing baseball gloves and hiding, to a final extremely rough sketch of Miles finding his broken King of Prosecutors' trophy with the culprit clearly being a baseball. Great little comic and the sketches already deliver so much! It's honestly amazing that Gumshoe would agree to playing catch in Miles' office considering he's the one who cleans and is so protective of it. Maybe he thought, in his naivety, that nothing would happen or that he could clean any mess they made before Miles returned... At least it was "only" the trophy that Miles isn't so attached to anyway but I can't imagine him being very happy about them playing ball games in his office 😅 Daily shenanigans of the Investigations crew!

[quasi-normalcy]

I'm going to be honest, I watched HBomberGuy's Tommy Tallarico video and my immediate impression was: This guy reminds me of Donald Trump. Not just in the sheer quantity of lies that he told, or the defrauding of investors or anything else like that, but just. That pathological need to appear like the awesomest, most successful, winning-est person ever. Lying about appearing on MTV's Cribs and then, when someone asks if you had a Cribs appearance, claiming that you had "a couple of them," even though you have none. Paying Guinness to give you three bullshit "world record" awards, and then running off extra copies so it looks like you have seven. Slagging off a game in a review and then, when it becomes a runaway hit, claiming that you composed for it. Like it goes beyond mere shameless self-promotion, to the point of seeming like a mentally unhealthy obsession with what other people think of you.

And then I thought about my ex's stepfather, who was very much a man in this mold. A crummy businessman and failed politician who met defeat in every endeavour, but still somehow managing to be a raging egomaniac, literally sending out Christmas cards talking about how awesome he was (he got to write their family's Christmas cards because he was convinced, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that he was a good writer). And at the time (this was many years before Trump entered politics), I just assumed that he was a singularity. Like, I wanted to study him under a microscope because I'd honestly never met someone like that.

But then Trump ran for president and was elected, and I suddenly realised that there must be millions of Americans exactly like that. I think that a hyper-individualistic culture where celebrity is all must breed them.

[foxufortunes]

So like, I was gonna add this onto my post about the Raven's win percentage and how that compared to lacrosse with NCAA Exy and NCAA Lacrosse being about the same age, but I figured I'd put it here so everyone can see, because this is what I mean about the exy timeline being complicated and why zero losses makes sense over 30 years.

And yes, I know AFTG is not aiming for hyper realism grounded in reality, but I like figuring out a cohesive timeline for things like fics it's TRC all over again. Also I just like to think way too deep about this things, and if I'm descending into madness over these things you're coming with me.

That said, the timeline of exy and Evermore as much as I can make sense of it:

So, the exy/Evermore timeline in kind of a mess and a great example of how adding more makes something make less sense. What we're going to do is take the books at their most concrete fact and say that Tetsuji and Kayleigh invented exy 30 years pre-canon, and for ease of timeline we'll call it exactly 30years. So, here we go:

So our base line in 1976 (for the record NCAA Lacrosse was formed 1971, this is what I mean when I say they're roughly the same age). Tetsuji and Kayleigh were in university and in Japan, but it's not clear at what point in their studies they were and how long they had left to go at university.

Nora's EC says that Tetsuji was reaching out to the NCAA before he graduated. During his last semester he was reaching out promising funding and himself as a coach. So this is, at most a few years after exy was created unless Tetsuji had the slowest university career ever.

The next fall semester NCAA Exy officially starts with Ravens vs Trojans at Castle Evermore. So, as I've said before, the Big 3 were in on the ground floor. This is why they're so dominant, but that they started with the Ravens means they should be more competitive. The Raven's won the first match 13-12 and if it's that close at the start, the idea that the Raven's undefeated 20year+ streak is because they've been around longer loses all ground.

Evermore was the first stadium completed, followed by the Golden Court for the Trojans and Pride Court for Penn State Lions (which is such a cute name, I want a book on them please Nora). Pride Court was delayed but Penn State kept up training, while USC and EAU had their courts built at impossible speed. For reference, building a sports stadium, from first plans to completion is at speed roughly an 18month endeavour, if everything goes right, but depending on how you read the point above this could be just a few months. Either way, it's very fast. Other universities had pop up stadiums or played at the bigger stadiums of the Big 3 or local stadiums until theirs were complete. Ironically, given his apparent treatment of his female players, a lot of Tetsuji's funding came from getting women on board, promoting how co-ed the sport was.

The first pro teams were formed around the first graduates from the NCAA league. So 5 years after Evermore and we get a professional league.

And the US Court 2 years after. So 7 years from the start of the NCAA competition and we get a national team.

Then exy is in the Olympics the next year. So 8 years from the first NCAA game for exy to be Olympic recognised (a generous estimate makes that 1988, 1992 at a push, 14-18 years pre-canon and roughly a decade pre-foundation of the Foxes).

The problem with all this, of course, being that the book in only chapter 2 of TFC says that Kevin (born in 1986) and Riko were around with Tetsuji when Evemore was still in the blueprint stage.

Now, there's a couple of way I can think to maybe square this all. Firstly, obviously the 30years is a rough but that should mean closer to 30 than anything else, but to be generous either way, we're looking at between '71 (35years pre-canon) and '81 (25years pre-canon) and the later timeline can square a little better. It's also possible our Castle Evermore is a new stadium and the first Castle Evermore is an old one they've knocked down and replaced at the new one is the one Kevin and Riko were around for. It's also possible to be more generous with Tetsuji's university career: say he was in his first year in 1976, did a longer/postgrad course and stayed for say 7 years giving us 1983 for his graduation, then be generous and say "next fall semester" actually means '84 (which is still fast for a stadium) for Evermore's completion and the NCAA starting, which gives us the '92 Olympics.

So, let's work backwards instead. For Evermore to be being built while Kevin and Riko "already had custom racquets" we'll be generous and lowball age 2? So, we'll work with Evermore opening around '88. Even working with the most generous estimate of when exy was invented (1981, 25years rather than 30) that means, assuming Tetsuji spent his freshman year in Japan, he was in university for 6 or 7 years (depending on how you read next fall). Putting us at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and making NCAA exy 20ish years old.

[todomitoukei]

Adding to the people who don't like the endeavour redemption asks, it's worth noting the fact that all the characters around Endeavour are reduced to be Enji's dick rider because Horikoshi is trying so hard for the readers to like Endeavour. Number 1; Hawks. I'm so, so, so, so pissed this happened to Hawks' character. He got the best buildup where the character should be (either become the leagues new ally or change after Twice's death), but he became Endeavour's supporter because he apparently is optimistic. Ironically, no one called him Keigo and stayed just Hawks, HPSC really brainwashed him, huh? (my boy, Hawks, let's go to Ao3). Endeavour sidekicks ironically became the sidekicks because that's their entire personality. One of them should've died by Touya's fire. Then there's Inasa. I love you, Inasa, but you finally found out the reason why Shoto's behaviour like that during the recommendation exam and yet you praised his abuser??? Horikoshi, what the hell are you doing??? There's also Izuku and Katsuki. These two were horrified to learn what happened to Shoto during sports festival, but suddenly, when they became Enji's interns, everything is fine and dandy? (When Izuku told Shoto that Shoto is apparently ready to forgive Endeavour, I physically recoil. The obvious parallel between Shoto/Izuku and Endeavour/Katsuki pissed me off. One person is a grown man, and the other is a teenager. This writing should not be parallel, but that's another essay, so I'll leave it to just that). And Natsuo... sigh. Anyway, Horikoshi is really trying to make us like Endeavour because when Rei is helping Endeavour in that timeskip or children holds Endeavour doll, or when the hero ranking is still there because Hawks is apparently inspired by Endeavour, it feels like Horikoshi is trying to tell us "Everyone loves Endeavour so you can also love his character" iaskkxaaxh,axh,bxakbshdqqnoqdh,nlaknzalns

Also, did someone ask Shoto if he's doing OK after the war arc? (except when he's in the hospital). If I were his teacher, I would've been wary with Endeavour. Horikoshi is so focused on Endeavour that he completely forgot who's the real main character of the Todofam plot.

End of the rant. Thank you for reading this until the end.

^Hwks got to be up close to this man and still chose to go with Endvr??? People asked him if that was his girlfriend and that didn't even make him think??? Like what if he was my girlfriend? Not even once? Boo.

And now he was promoted?? In charge of the hero commission??? when he can't even prioritize the PRETTIEST man ever?? Not to mention the fact he got the chance to be friends with best blond boy twice and instead decided to become besties with worst blond boy and proud denim wearer instead??

It's seriously so unrealistic. The fact people call Touya Mr. Daddy Issues when Hwks is so much worse. Touya just wants his OWN father to do the basic thing of loving him.

Touya should've busted Hwks' dad out of jail and become besties with him. Dad swap or whatever.

[laurfilijames]

fic authors self rec! when you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. (if you feel like it, no pressure.) spread the self-love 💖

Hiya!!! Thank you so much for sending this to me! I always love these asks and I think it's so important to encourage self-promotion and love for our own stories 💗

5. Bulletproof (Jax Teller x female reader, one-shot) I love this one because it shows a softer side of Jax I wish we got to see more of. He's vulnerable and realizes the fragility of life in this fic and makes sure his girl knows how much he loves her without saying it.

4. Breathe (Will Miller x female reader, series, on-going) Ahhh my baby!! This story started it all in my endeavours of writing for Charlie's characters. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go with this fic when I started it, but now the plot has grown since the initial idea and I'm excited to continue it. It's getting a little angsty at the moment, but I always make sure Will gets his happy ending.

3. Easy Access (Will Miller x female reader, one-shot but I'd like to write a second part for it) This fic was so fun to write. The thought of this still makes me shiver and I would sell my soul to have this be real life. Will is happy and laughing and having the time of his life and I think we all need more of that for him.

2. Fallout (Jay Mills x female reader, series, on-going) Oh Jay 🥵 This is by far the raunchiest fic I've ever written. Jay deserved more and I'm here to deliver that for him. He's an underrated character and this is an underrated fic in my opinion, but I've had a riot writing it and look forward to getting back to it soon. If anyone wants to see the filth that Laur can come up with when she doesn't hold back, this is it!

1. Like My Dreams (Pete Dunham x female reader, series, on-going) Peteeeeeeeee!!!!! My hooligan. We're completely ignoring canon here and changing his fate because I refuse to accept any of it. Pete is alive and happy and in love and is so smitten and sweet and this fic just brings me so much joy. I love immersing myself in East London and extending the story and all the wonderful characters from the film. This fic is my passion project and has my heart and soul.