#how is not only a grown man. but a man in his 50s-60s saying

[waugh-bao]

IORR Review of the Stones’ show in Amsterdam, Netherlands (July 7th, 2022)

[sl-newsie]

American Woman (Thomas Shelby x American OC) Ch. 49: What Do You Want?

Masterlist: https://www.tumblr.com/sl-newsie/739551758747090944/american-woman-thomas-shelby-x-american-oc?source=share

I just saw some of these people only a few days ago. Now I must face them with a heavy heart. I take a deep breath and enter the dining room. Everyone is already sitting at the round dinner table with expecting looks. Johnny’s here. Polly changed her haircut. Lizzie, Ada, Uncle Charlie. Jeremiah and Isiah are in attendance. As well as one more familiar face.

“Finn, how are-oh!” 

I gasp when the young Shelby nearly squeezes all the air out of me in a tight hug. Everyone’s still looking, so I steer him off to the side to avoid more unwanted attention. When Finn finally lets me go I see just how much a year has aged him.

“It’s all changed, Verena,” he whispers dreadfully, shaking his head. “Nothing’s the same. Our family… Thank God you’re here.”

I squeeze his hand. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m going to help smooth things out. Where have you been staying?”

“I’ve been hanging around with Isiah. We’ve been studying some. I told him about all the books you showed me.”

For a moment I take in Finn’s face with a bittersweet gaze. It seems that every time I see him, the young boy I ran into all those years ago disappears little by little. Both Polly and I warned Thomas about this. Now it’s already starting to happen.

“You’ve grown up.”

Finn shrugs. “Had to. We all took a hit. After you left Tommy stopped talking. Guess he thought I’d hate him too. How’ve you been?”

Aside from possibly having my family threatened and just witnessing Thomas completely naked?

“Pleasantly well. It’s been nice to work from home but I knew I needed to be here, especially for the holidays. And now…”

Footsteps alert us back to the front of room. Thomas walks in and the atmosphere gets even more tense. Neither Finn nor I make a sound.

Thomas gives the crowd a once-over before speaking. But even when he does start he keeps his eyes down, still afraid to face his family.

“John is dead. Esme’s gone on the road with the Lees. She’s taken the kids. Michael is badly wounded, they say it’s 60/40 in his favor.”

“There’s no number, there’s no percentages,” Polly grunts. “So the hand, the hand beneath him stops falling. Spoke to someone… my son will live.”

Michael was right. Polly’s scattered mind is jumping from one dimension to another.

Thomas continues nonetheless. “Michael and John were shot because we killed someone. Vincenzo Changretta. His son Luca has come to take revenge. Men from New York and Sicily are here in Birmingham. These men will not leave our city until our whole family is dead. That’s how it works. An eye for an eye.”

Lizzie narrows her eyes at me. “What about her?”

My mournful face turns cold. “My family’s Irish side is an enemy of the black hand too.”

“It’s called a vendetta,” Thomas explains.

“Yeah, well, the bullet’s been written,” Arthur declares and holds up the bullet in question. “It says Luca. When the time comes, and it will come, me as the oldest brother, will put it into his fucking head.”

Thomas takes a breath. “There’s been some bad blood between us.”

Polly starts outright laughing and ignores Arthur’s small pleas to quiet down. Thomas gives me a quick look but I honestly don’t know what to say. 

“Until this business is settled, we stick together. We stay here… Small Heath, Bordesley, Hay Mills down to Greet. We know every face, every man has a soldier in his army. These men are professionals, so we’re gonna need more than what we have. I sent a message to Aberama Gold.”

Johnny’s face jerks up and I can already tell he does not agree. “No! No, Tom. I can get ya 50 Lee boys. You need good men-!”

“No, Johnny. For this I need bad men,” Thomas states plainly.

“Tommy, his people are fucking savages! You know, heavens, Tom.”

“So this is the plan, Thomas?” Polly slurs and stands on uneven feet. “This is the plan? Bullet with a name on it, help from a bunch of savages.”

I don't care if we ask complete nutjobs to shoot these people! 

“Moss is putting the word out, eyes and ears so we can find them. The truth is that the coppers don’t give a fuck about us. Which means… that here today in this room, we have to agree to end this war between us. Take a vote.”

There it is. This is what I’ve been pushing for. From my spot next to Finn I show Thomas my proudest smile. He subtly gives me a look that seems to ask if he sounded legit. I respond with a slow nod and he anxiously waits to hear the others’ responses.

Arthur is quick to answer. “Peace.”

The answer is slowly passed around the table. Finn agrees too, even if he never had a falling out with Thomas, and is told to be quiet.

Finn scrunches his brow. “Why can’t I say peace?”

“Arthur, let him have his say,” Thomas says and gestures to an empty seat. “Finn? Sit at the table.”

He gives me a quick glance. Did we both hear that right? Goodness. Finn’s been waiting so long to have a seat. If only it weren’t under such grim tidings.

Finn sits down and Arthur grabs his head. “Little bastard.” They both share knowing smiles.

Polly speaks up. “My son’s not here to speak. So I’ll speak on behalf of us both. Truce.”

Across the room Linda catches my eye. Unlike Lizzie, her gaze is not full of bitterness. Instead she looks confused.

“Five for peace. Two for truce. One abstention.” Thomas gives the table one last nod. 

“Why don’t you go home?” Linda bluntly asks me.

Now everyone’s looking at me. I try to inch towards the edge of the room but Thomas gently grabs my arm. He doesn't have to say anything. I can’t be ashamed of being here.

“I-”

“She can’t. The Italians are there too.” Thank you, Polly!

“Let’s get on with the war.”

Thomas releases me and rushes out before I can stop him. Let him go, Verena. Remember Thomas copes with things alone.

For all of the funerals I have attended, a Gypsy funeral seems to be the most recollective kind. We’re gathered in a clearing at the edge of town. Two horses decorated in giant headdresses pull a wagon containing John’s body and a collection of his personal effects. It’s not like Grace or Aunt Eleanor’s funerals. Instead of shoveling dirt onto a coffin it’s like a tribute celebrating John’s life. The custom of black clothes is still followed. As much as I want to mourn properly, I can’t help but wonder why this was chosen to be in a place so… exposed.

“This is how John wanted to go,” Thomas begins. “On the smoke. The truth is, we died together once before. Arthur, me, Danny Whizbang, Freddie Thorne, Jeremiah, and John. We were cut off from the retreat. No bullets left, waiting for the Prussian cavalry to come and finish us off.”

Memories of vader’s stories come flooding back. All the things he heard in the medic tent… I can only imagine what kind of evils were on the battlefield.

“And while we waited… Jeremiah said ‘we should sing 'In The Bleak Midwinter.’ But we were spared. The enemy never came. And we all agreed that everything after that was extra. And when our time came, we would all remember-”

“You would remember the extra time that God gave you,” Polly says bitterly. “But what did you do with that extra time, eh Thomas?”

Thomas doesn’t answer. Instead he stays silent as the match is tossed and flames begin spreading over the wagon. This doesn’t seem right. I just saw John a few days ago, and now he’s gone. Goodbye, John. Wherever you are, we will not forget you. And I will pray for Esme-

Bang!

A gunshot rings out and I flinch towards the sound. Half the crowd screams and the others draw their guns. Me included. Where did it come from? No one seems to be hurt- 

“At ease! At ease!” Thomas holds up his hands. “Do not return fire. I repeat, do not return fire! The men doing the firing are on our side.”

Bang! Another shot signals another death.

“I took the trouble of giving an invitation to Aberaman Gold.”

Johnny Doggs scoffs. “Fuck. Now it’s begun.”

Polly shares his disbelief. “You put this out here on purpose. Use John’s funeral as a fucking beacon. You set a trap!”

A trap… During this time of mourning? I’m about to slap him! What is this world coming to? Do these monsters have no morals?

Thomas ignores her and points to Finn. “Finn! Finn, go to the yard and light the fires.”

The young Shelby looks between him and Polly with unease. Eventually Finn does start walking and I follow him to avoid Polly as she storms over and continues to scream at Thomas. 

“How are you feeling, Finn?”

He lets out a shaking breath. “I’m torn, Verena. Part of me is sick of this headache. All this death. But then I can’t walk away. I want more.”

Something about the way he says that does not sit right. “More?”

“Yeah. They’re finally letting me be a part of things. Who knows what else I can do.”

“Finn,” I speak with a firm warning and put a hand on his shoulder. “More is not always the answer. Sometimes it’s the little things that amount to happiness. Like family.”

Finn grunts and keeps walking away. “Yeah. Family. Just look at how we’re still broken.”

I turn around to see where he was looking. He’s right. Linda’s trying to walk away despite Arthur’s orders to stay. 

Linda shoves Ada away when she tries to stop her. “I’m going home to the country-”

“You will stay here until it’s over,” Ada orders and thrusts over a house key. “Take the fucking key, Linda.”

I catch up to them and Linda gets even more irritated. “You married into this. Whether or not you think you’ve changed Arthur, you cannot change the rest of this family.”

Ada nods. “They will take you hostage. And the baby. They will use the baby. Take it. Put the kettle on, wait for your husband.”

With a tartly smile, Linda stiffly takes the key. “The only way you Shelbys will ever leave this place is in a cloud of smoke like John.” She gives me a pitiful pout. “And you, Verena, I’m surprised you’re still here. Why aren’t you with your own family?”

My eyes narrow and my mouth presses into a line. “They are safe in America under my uncle’s watch.”

“And for the record, we are her family too.” Ada puts a hand on my shoulder. “You're Shelby too, Linda.”

I smile at her kindness and shake my head at Linda’s eye roll. “I don’t know why you keep thinking you can change Arthur.”

“Oh, like how you try to change Thomas? You slip your morals and Christian values into your relationship with him, expecting him to catch on.” Linda sneers gleefully. “But he won’t.”

Are all women this dramatic? “I know he won’t. I know I can’t change this family. But I can stand by them.”

Linda doesn’t respond. She keeps walking away while Ada follows, giving me an apologetic look before they round the corner. The rest of the funeral attendees start dwindling back to town, leaving me to be escorted to wherever the Peaky Blinders are off to. I follow them to a scrap yard and try to ignore the terrible ash and smoke clogging my lungs. And I thought Brooklyn was filthy. 

At the center of the dirty yard a line of mismatched tables and chairs is set with plates and bottles of whiskey. I take a look around and notice Finn is missing.

“Where’s Finn?” I ask Thomas, who’s starting to smoke another cigarette.

“I sent him with Curly to dump the bodies.”

Why does the thought of Finn handling corpses not seem right? “It’s gracious of you to let him in on more responsibility, but please remember to keep it at bay. Finn doesn’t need to-”

“Verena, love, you can’t decide Finn’s future,” Thomas interrupts with stern annoyance. “He’s growing into a man. You’ve taught him well and now it’s time for him to take on a man’s world.”

Just then I hear footsteps behind me and Thomas pushes me aside to begin talking to someone. I huff in frustration and take a seat next to a few chatting Blinders.

“Everything alright, Ms. Steenstra?” Harry asks and tilts his rifle on his shoulder.

“Nothing I can control, apparently,” I mutter, staring at the muddy footprints.

“Well well, what have we here?” The new voice is directed at me.

I look up to face a tall man in a brown trench coat and matching homburg. His long, graying hair is quite unique than the other Peaky Blinders’, adding another noticeable difference between the two groups in the yard: The Peaky Blinders dressed in dapper suits, and this new man with three others dressed in much more modest attire. He walks up to me despite Harry making a performance of clutching his gun and looks me up and down.

“Aberama Gold,” he introduces himself with a devious look. “And who might you be? Or should I ask how much would you be?”

Thomas clears his throat. “Not for sale.”

My eyes narrow at him. “I can hear just fine.” I turn back to look at Mr. Gold. “If you think there is a price on any man’s head then you are gravely mistaken, sir.”

“I don’t see a man. I see a very fine woman.”

Thomas clears his throat again and walks over to stand behind him. “This woman is not afraid to bite back. Stay away.”

Mr. Gold does not. Instead he reaches out to grip my shoulder as one might do to a man. “You’re sturdy for a little thing.”

I jerk back and make a move of reaching for my pistol. “Do not tempt me!”

“Back off.” Mr. Gold’s face flinches into a sneer and he goes back to talking with Thomas. “You tell Mr. Strong that I’m going to buy his yard.”

Just how strong-headed is this man? He can’t just waltz in here and try to buy Uncle Charlie’s yard!

Thankfully Thomas is still not moved. “This yard has been in his family since they settled.”

Gold smirks. “But now it’s part of our deal.”

Thomas beckons to his uncle. “Charlie, come here.”

Uncle Charlie begrudgingly wipes his hands on a rag and strides over from where he’s working. From the look on his face I can tell he’s as uneasy as I am around Mr. Gold.

“I’m gonna spin a coin for your yard, Charlie,” Thomas says. 

“You going to what?” His uncle asks in disbelief.

“If it’s heads, he takes this all with my blessing. And if it’s tails, I fuck your daughter, Mr. Gold.”

Excuse me? 

My eyebrows go sky-high and it’s all I can do to keep my jaw from dropping. Mr. Gold and the man next to him are obviously just as surprised, though their reactions are far more grim. I can’t listen to any more. There’s no changing Thomas’ mind. If this is how business with these men are to be carried out then I want no part of it.

I stand from my seat and walk off to the canal. Sadly I will have to wait here until this wretched meeting is over. It’s too dangerous for me to go back alone-

“Hello, miss. Hope you don’t mind chatting.”

It’s the younger man. One with dark hair and keen eyes, wearing a brown waistcoat and a hat similar to Mr. Gold’s. If he wants to ‘chat’ about another coin toss-!

“I’m Bonnie Gold.” 

He holds out a hand for me to shake, which I eye skeptically. “Verena Steenstra. You are Mr. Gold’s son, I imagine?” 

“Ay. Good to meet you, miss,” he smiles. “You have very pretty eyes.”

Goodness. Where did this behavior come from? I’ve only known Bonnie for thirty seconds and he’s like a split opposite of his father. 

“Thank you, Bonnie. At least you’ve got some manners about you.”

He takes the liberty to stand closer and eyes me with curiosity. “I’ve never met an American before. You’re much more, um…”

I crack a smile. “Sporadic?”

“On the contrary, you’re very put-together. If that makes sense?” He pauses a moment. “Um, how old are you?”

“Just turned 23 this October.”

Bonnie’s eyes widen. “Oh! Um, you’re older than I thought.”

What is it with everyone getting my age confused? I suppose this is what happens when you’re forced to grow up too fast. I must say for a young man Bonnie seems quite put-together himself. Much like Finn, in a way. Only he seems much more calm to handle things.

“You’re not a Peaky Blinder, are you?” He observes.

I shake my head. “Not officially. Just someone who lends a hand to the Shelby Company Limited. I’m the foreign representative.”

“Makes sense.” Bonnie tilts his head. “Would you want to join the fight?”

“And bring more violence into my life? I am perfectly fine with persevering oral battles rather than the guts and glory of what the Shelbys do. I can make just as much a difference with meeting in New York than with a pistol duel. Less blood.”

Bonnie gives a halfhearted chuckle and takes a quick look behind us. “I guess I’m used to blood. You’ve never met my father, but he is one of the best hitmen around here.”

Which is why Thomas hired him. Despite Mr. Gold’s bold introduction I must trust Thomas’ judgment that he will fulfill his assignment. 

“So he can protect us from Changretta?” I ask softly.

This makes Bonnie’s confidence melt into concern. “You’re involved in this too? Why?”

“It’s a long story. Basically my employment to the company ties me into the vendetta against the Shelbys.”

Bonnie’s mouth presses into a thin line and he gently puts a hand on my shoulder. A far contrast from how his father did. 

“We do not agree to consentingly involve women or children with violence like this. Verena, I promise no one will harm you. My father can handle this.”

Although I tense up at his touch I still value his kindness. “My own safety is not my concern. It’s my family back home I’m worried about.”

“Then we’ll kill these bastards off before they can try anything.”

His words bring a small smile to my grim face. Why do I have to be in a vendetta in order to meet men as caring as this?

“I appreciate the support, Bonnie. Thank you.”

“Oi! Stay back!”

We both flinch just as Thomas storms over and causes Bonnie to hurry back to his father. Mr. Gold looks between Bonnie and I with surprise. What the actual Hell is the matter now?

“Aberama, keep your men from her,” Thomas barks and stands in front to block me from view as the hitmen group starts to sit at the tables.

“Thomas!” I smack his shoulder. “We were just talking.”

“And now you’re not,�� he states plainly. 

That cocky lul! So he can sleep with countless women but Heaven forbid I talk to another man!

“That’s not fair! It’s- I- Ugh.” I hold my aching head in defeat and try to ignore my anger. “Please tell me Mr. Gold refused the deal.”

“No wager today.”

“Thank Christ. How can you suggest such a thing? His daughters have no part in this-”

“Your family has no part in the mob business. How’s that treating ‘em, eh?”

My head snaps up and my blazing glare combats Thomas’ ice-cold one. “Watch your words, Thomas. They just might dig your grave.”

I shove past him and take a seat next to Arthur. He takes the hint that I’m in no mood to talk and leaves me alone. In the back I see Polly, Ada, and Lizzie being escorted over by some other Blinders. Ada looks pleasantly happy, but the others do not seem impressed. They take their own seats and try to ignore the rugged men at the end of the tables. All except Polly. She’s deciding to stand back and stubbornly sits down on a bench. She won’t let John’s death go. So this is how Boxing Day is spent.

I catch Thomas looking over at her and I swear I’m about to push him over there myself.

“Go to her, Thomas. Talk.” My tone offers no negotiation.

“Alright, alright.”

He stands up to go chat and apparently that’s Lizzie’s cue to start a conversation with me.

“So, Verena. Do you plan to stay long or does Tommy already have you stationed halfway around the world?”

Oh, she is so hoping for it. Sorry to rain on your parade Lizzie but I have much more deep concerns than picking a fight with you. It’s like arguing with Grace all over again. I am here to help this family! Not to give in to blindful lust!

“Hasn’t mentioned it, actually,” I answer wittily and innocent. “He wants me to stay here where it’s safe until this mob business is sorted out. I’ll do any work he needs here but I do want to be back in time for Easter.”

Lizzie hums in response and turns away to talk with Ada. Is that how things work? Every woman Thomas looks at is supposed to be set up in a line of competing mistresses? I- 

“Verena, has Edmund Colon said anything about the Sicilians?” Arthur interrupts my thoughts.

I give a low huff. “You sound like Thomas. No, not a thing. Maybe my broer tipped him off not to say anything. In fact I’m lucky to be here at all. My family’s not too fond of me working for Shelby Company Limited.”

Drip. Drip. Storm clouds roll in and rain starts to fall. So much for a festive meal. 

“I’m heading back to the house,” I declare and give Arthur a pat on the shoulder. “Tell Thomas, wherever he is, that I’ll be escorted back.”

Just then Bonnie hops up from the table and walks over to offer an arm. “Can I be of service?”

I look around to be sure Thomas is not around. Another fit of jealousy is not something I want to encounter again. I mean, it’s not as if Thomas has officially claimed any love for me. No doubt his actions towards me hint at love but no words have clarified it. 

“I would appreciate it, Bonnie.” I accept his arm and we begin walking back to Watery Lane.

Maybe my road in life isn’t set so straight. I’ve only met Bonnie for barely a day and he’s already shown so much compassion. It’s no doubt that he does not share Thomas’ suave aura or captivating eyes; but at this point I am starting to lose patience. When I first met Thomas it took weeks for him to completely open up about anything. Hell, he sometimes bottles things up even now. Thomas wants me to listen. Well, I’m tired of being expected to sit and listen like a trained dog! Maybe it’s time to follow his words and start to think about what I want.

@meadows5

[quitealotofsodapop]

[Jackpotshipping/Ace and Joker are both laughing cus "We're old as hell! It ain't happening!"]

Maybe if they only stick it in the backdoor, eh?

[Cue them learning the term "geriatric pregnancy" and both panicking Hard.]

Why can I picture Starfruit just googling it after Jackpot said the previous statement and just showing the results to them?

[One half of their twins could still be a dumpster baby/hospital freebie thats a doppleganger for their bio one - just for funsies.]

Ooh! Ooh! Thought! There is this comic that makes rounds on tumblr about some fairies replacing a human child with a changeling - but they forgot to take the human child! So, the mom is confused by the second kid and the dad is like 'hey, twins, good job, honey'.

What if that happens? Like, some demons wanted the child of the Great Sage for some nefarious reason and to keep it hidden, they planned to replace the kid, but they fucked up.

And now Jackpot is 30% certain only one had been born, but 70% are like 'hey, free baby' XD

Referencing these posts about Jackpotshipping having more kids + possible destined Eclipse Twins.

Oh gosh, Ace and Joker are just bragging about how unlikely it is for them to have bio kids at their age, meanwhile Starfruit casually starts typing into his phone like;

Starfruit: "Yeah, oldest mortal human parent was 74." Ace, pauses mid-brag: "Excuse me?" Peach: "Lao Tzu's mom was also preggers with him for like 80 years. So she was like mega-old when she had him." Ace: "Excuse me!?" Starfruit: "Yeah and with changes in like nutrition and stuff, people are having their first bio-kid like a lot later than during ancient times. You guys are like... in your 50s or 60s? You're not out of the woods yet dudes." Ace & Joker: *caught between horror at the knowledge + offended that Starfuit thinks they look that old*

[comic that makes rounds on tumblr about some fairies replacing a human child with a changeling - but they forgot to take the human child!]

I remember that comic!

And that def sounds like a scenario Jackpotshipping finds themselves in. Like they're in the post-natal room after having their single kid (surprise miracle baby), look over, and see that there's suddenly two?? Like, when did that happen???

Joker: "I mean... that epidural stuff is wild. Thing 2 coulda slid out when we weren't looking." Ace: "Makes sense. But now I can't tell who arrived first." Joker: "Eh, lets just say they arrived at the same time. No one will question it. If they do; just say shapeshifting." Ace: "Hehe, gross. Welcome to the world Two-Pair!" Joker: "Oh man, Xiaozhēn [their grown-up dumpster "MK]" is in for a shock."

(Meanwhile with the most incompetent demons ever...)

NewGods!Jin: "I 'fink we forgot a huge step of that changeling plan." NewGods!Yin: "Eh. Probably ain't important. Plus they look better as twins." NewGods!Jin: "Too right. Also I can't remember which is the one we left." NewGods!Yin: "Me either."

I'm also reminded of that brief moment in Good Omens, where the Young parents see the accidental extra baby and are like "Yo, is that a twin?" and the nurse doing the antichrist-baby-swap panics like "Uhhh..."

The Jackpotshipping twins also don't know whos the "bonus" of the pair. The spell used to create a perfect copy of the bio baby is really powerful & rare and doesn't wear off like a hair-clone does. No way of knowing who was a freebie unless you ask Buddha himself.

[beabnormal24]

Hi! For the shipping asks: 👅 💖 💔 (if you want to!)

Oooh, good one. i love answering asks.

1. 👅 (ship that you find most sexy)

I mean, Charlos, of course. I guess I don’t even need to explain myself on this one, but I guess I’ll do it anyway. I will say that in my personal opinion Carlos is the sexiest, in the sense that he has that sinuosity in his movements and that elegance and finesse in his gestures that just makes him incredibily sexy.

If you want to look at it in a figurative way, I see Carlos like Matthew Macfadyen in Pride and Prejudice, so hot in his austerity.

And Charles? Prettiest boy ever, so delicate but also clumsy and silly and sexy in that completely self conscious and self confident and effortless way that attractive people who are constantly giggling their asses off are. He’s the epitome of babygirlism and sassiness, but you should not doubt him - which is exactly what Carlos never does.

Figurative example? Jonathan Bailey as Tim Laughlin in Fellow Travelers during the ‘50-‘60s episodes.

Together? Sexiest ship alive.

2. 💖 (Ship that needs more love)

Since I am deeply undecided, I’ll offer two options.

First one, George Russell and Max Verstappen, also known as Gax. Why, do you say?

Their dynamics would be incredible, apart from the entire obvious enemies to lovers mechanism, let’s spend some time talking about their characterisation - because you all know how much I like that.

George, your next door British boy, curses in lower case and says Blimey and Crikey like it’s normal. He cares about his looks and his appearance. He’s thirsty for competition, neat, honest, proper, terribly impatient although he tries his very best to not let it show.

Now, Max? Curses in bold, replaces Hello and Hi with Shit and Fuck. Doesn’t care about his appearance as much as he cares about his own cats. He’s thirsty for competition, neat, honest, proper, terribly impatient and he lets it show.

Conclusion: they’re basically the same person, just in different fonts, similar in their dissimilarities.

One is Calibra Light, the other is Calibra Bold, and they’ll clash their horns against each other like angry deers, but then they’ll notice how good they actually look together, how good they work together, how good they match and boom…

No chances for anyone else, two puzzle pieces completing each other.

Uh, I might write something about that.

Anyway, second one? Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant. And tell me if I even need to explain myself on this one.

They are the ship, they have everything!

Logan blushing furiously and falling for Alex’s teasing and looking at him longingly and smiling like a lovesick fool whenever Alex gives him attention or jokes about his obsession with America. He’s so enamoured with Alex that he even started copying some of his attitudes, because he’s that in love.

But let’s be clear, Alex is falling just as hard, because Logan is so cute and he likes the way there’s someone who actually looks up at him - not only figuratively, lol, because Nicholas is tall - and he blushes in such a cute shade of red when he calls him Logie Bear.

Alex might be a little bit obsessed with him.

I need to write about them.

3. 💔 (ship that makes you sad)

I honestly don’t know how to answer this one, I guess it is based on personal interpretation.

I would probably say that the one that makes me a little bit sad is Dando.

Ironic, you may say, but let’s think about it for a second.

They started to bloom a little late, because Lando was still attached to Carlos and Daniel isn’t as careful around boundaries as he should be in certain situations, and although Lando has clearly grown into an overconfident young man that we love to see thriving, he does initially still need some limits - like Carlos and Oscar had religiously respected.

But then they had bloomed, they started getting along like a house on fire. People do not realise how hard it actually is to become so close in such contexts without having any strings from before - like Alex and George or Charles and Pierre or Oscar and Logan and so on.

Lando went to his house in Perth, voluntarily, just to spend time with him and do crazy stuff on his farm and have the time of his life with someone that is ten years older than him.

But they get along so well that who does even care about age differences?

But just as they started to really develop through their relationship, shit happened and they got separated.

I’m really glad they still bloomed - sharing clothes like in Monaco and sharing jet rides and visiting each other and going to dinners together and stuff - but it does make me a little sad the thought that, in some twisted way, things still tried to put themselves through their building affection.

It also makes me sad the fact that, because of all of that, they didn’t get to shine as bright as they deserved.

That’s it, hope you liked my answers and please Ant let me know about yours, too! 🩷🩷

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Sudden question popped in my head: "How old is Gran Torino?"

Dude looks like he's supposed to be 80 or 90 yet he's spry even for anime fighting heavy setting old people.

Note a lot of this is gonna be riddled with a few assumptions based on character design and general character tropes as related to demeanor. The rest is applying math to known or estimated ages.

Also some minor spoilers due to some flashback sequence images used for reference but nothing major.

Now since this is anime and across many many MANY different anime and manga the original artist or artist team tend to make character visual ages weird. I joke semi-often that kids look like teenagers, teenagers look like adults, young adults look like grizzled 40/50 year olds, and anyone past that look like they're in their 90s... unless you have a character who looks like a child. There's also even odds of the "child" being just that or actually being secretly immortal or 200+ years old.

So its possible that Torino's actually younger than he seems (shit ages you and we know he went through it). It'd also play in to his little prank/joke that he's a senile old man. I know people who look older than they really are due to one reason or another (usually stress) and I know some people in my mother's side of the family tend to look younger for whatever reason. (Some of us joke about having a portrait in the attic.)

But first: All Might is like what, 50? 60? We know he has an active career that's lasted long enough to make everyone else feel like he'll always be there. We also know he got OFA, attended U.A. (and presumably graduated), and then Toshinori got shipped off to America for his safety and to put a whole ocean between him and All Might. And since Gran Torino looked very tall at that time that means that we have a fully grown adult there (adding in to that "old people shrink in the wash" height joke thing).

All Might was dressed in a middle school uniform when he first met Nana so that means he would've been between 12 and 15 when Nana was shown talking about him to Sorahiko after Kid Toshi's dream and drive won her over. Now he's TALL but that doesn't mean anything since I remember a couple boys in 4th grade towering over our teachers so he could be a very gangly one. But to make the Izuku parallels more strong we can say that the first meeting he had with Nana was when he was around 14 or 15.

But the only thing we can really know is that Torino would have to be at least 20-ish to have a pro hero license. Dude has the attitude of someone who's been around the block a bit so let's add in another 5 years for experience as that would be long enough to know the field. That said the characters we know best from canon with similar attitudes are in their early 30s or late 30s.

So that'd make him 30-something to Kid Toshi's 14.

But there's another character I can use as a benchmark for his age: Nana's son Kotaro. 32 when he died, when Tenko (at the time) was around 5-6. Tomura is 20 by canon's start, where All Might would presumably be in his 50s. Now I always assumed Kotaro was around 5 when Nana gave him up for his safety as that is generally the age when things go start to shit for characters in the setting. It'd also give Kotaro stronger memories of Nana and better awareness of who she was (a hero) and why his kids wanting to be heroes like her set him off (not that he seemed to need a reason with his apparent temper).

So if Kotaro is 32 when Tenko was 5/6, the man would have been 47 by the time Tomura appeared in canon. All Might - assuming he's in his 50s - would've met Nana when Kotaro was... well, if All Might is 59 at the series start then Kotaro would've been 3, if All Might is 55 then 7, if he's 51 then 11.

You know what? All Might at 55 sounds fair. Kotaro being 7 at that time also means the loss would've been still fairly fresh, explain a lot about how the letter was phrased, and possibly be part of why Torino was a bit leery of Nana picking a kid. All this without it being too close to her unintentionally replacing her son with another around his age.

Series Start Ages: All Might, 55. Kotaro, 45/46. Tomura, 18/19. Izuku, 14-ish/15-ish.

1-A Start ages: All Might, 56/57. Kotaro, 47. Tomura, 20. Izuku, 16.

So assuming all this... Torino could be around 72 to 77 by the time All Might first meets Izuku.

... you can see how crazy I'm making myself trying to make sense of the timeline.

[regularme12]

The Regular Show Tickle Hcs

A/N: I realized there was no tickle content of this wonderful show, well the ones I can’t find, so I decided to make one.

——————————

Benson:

40/60: Lee/Ler

Ler:

He tickles anyone and everyone back, if they tickle him

And you better run fast and far, cause once he catches you, it won’t be pretty

He’ll tickle you even if u tell him to stop

But sometimes he’s more gentle to the sweet characters like Pops

So when Pops tells him to stop he will

Can’t say the same to Rigby or Mordecai

They’re in deep shit once Benson catches them

Lee:

The 40% of him being a lee, he absolutely hates

Like I mean HATES being tickled, it’s just not fun to him at all and he wishes people would stop when he tells them to

Like Mordecai and Rigby

Sometimes they team up on him and get him good, sometimes even bribe him for a raise, which he has to give them in order for all of this to stop

Other times, Benson just gets so fed up with their shit, he turns the tables and goes for the little one first, Rigby. Only bc he’s an easy target.

He’s really ticklish, like a 7/10

The others, like Pops, Muscle Man, Hi-five Ghost, and Skips all didn’t know he was ticklish, until Rigby and Mordecai couldn’t keep their mouths shut

They ran in the room screaming “BENSON’S TICKLISH!! HE’S REALLY TICKLISH OMG!!”

Then a red faced gum ball machine came in all pissed “SHUT UP YOU TWO!!”

Then everyone else in the room just had to test that theory out and teamed up on him again.

His worst spot is his knees, like get him there, and he’ll be cackling

He screams, thrashes and kicks, so be careful when u manage to pin him down and tickle him.

Muscle Man:

100% Ler

Ler:

He’s not really ticklish at all, that’s why he’s never tickled, he was kinda just born like that

But don’t get him wrong, he does tickle everyone else given the chance

Like the groups targets Rigby and Mordecai

They just a handful and need to be taken down a notch, so Muscle Man decided to do just that.

Tickle the shit out of both of them, wether it be at the same time or one on one, whatever mood he’s feeling

If he gets into tickle fights, he always wins ofc, like with High-five, he’s a ghost in all, but Muscle Man knows just how to get him in a giggly mess.

And Pops, Boy is it easy or what to get him down and tickle him to pieces, along with Benson?

Well, with Benson, he kinda had to put up quite a fight, but he still managed to pin him down, and tickle him

High-Five Ghost:

100% Lee

Ler:

Idek y I’m writing about him bc he’s a ghost but still

Anyways he doesn’t like tickling anyone who isn’t his best friend, Muscle Man, and Muscle Man isn’t ticklish, so yeah, I’d say he’s 100% Lee!

Lee:

He only likes Muscle Man tickling him, bc he knows the green man doesn’t mean anything by it, and he’s gentle with his touches.

It may not seem like that in the show, but off camera, he’s really sweet and soft to High-five

His death spot is, yep you guessed it, his palms

I mean, it’s literally in his name

“High-five Ghost” lol, I’m so funny…

Skips:

100% Ler

Ler:

He’s not ticklish at all

Never was

Well, let’s just say he kinda grown out of that

One day he was hella ticklish

The next, he wasn’t

Like?!

Anyways, he tickles the hell out of Rigby and Mordecai he also tickles Benson and Pops too, but when they say stop he does stop, goes with Rigby and Mordecai too

Tho, sometimes they can get on everyone’s nerves, and Skips just needs to reach them a lesson

But other times, he stops when they tell him too.

Pops:

50/50 Lee/Ler

Ler:

Pops just loves to tickle people, he doesn’t care who, or what gender, he just sees someone he knows and starts tickling them

He thinks it’s a fun game, but he can take stop as an answer, and does

Bc if someone doesn’t like the game, he won’t think it’s fun anymore, everyone gotta love it in order for him to enjoy it

He tickles Rigby and Mordecai all the time too, as well as Benson

Even if Mordecai and Rigby gets on his nerves he will still listen to them when they had enough, he’s just a gentle giant

Lee:

He LOVES getting tickled, by damn, he enjoys it too much

He actually starts asking ppl to tickle him too

He goes to Benson more tho bc Benson knows what he’s doing

Does he get embarrassed asking? Ofc he doesn’t, it’s Pops, he never gets embarrassed

Not even if he’s asking the groups trouble makers, Rigby and Mordecai, he’ll do anything to get his fair share of tickles too

His death spot is his feet, he absolutely loves it if u get him there.

He also doesn’t squirm or anything, and his laugh is cute bubbly giggles and chortles

Rigby:

90/10 Lee/Ler

Ler:

Him as a ler? Hell yeah!

He always tickles his friends, especially his childhood friend, Mordecai.

He tickles Benson too, usually to get that raise he wants.

Prolly the only effort he will put in.

He tickles Mordecai all the time as well, usually to distract him from the job Benson told them to do, but never finish

No, he won’t stop if u tell him to, that’s malarkey, crazy talk if I ever!

He loves tickling ppl, y would he stop?

He doesn’t even stop when Mordecai begs him too at that, u gotta physically pull him off

Lee:

He’s really ticklish himself, like a 10/10

He hates it too

He really hates being tickled, so he’s such a hypocrite

He won’t stop if someone tells him too, but he’s quick to get all pissy if someone won’t stop themselves

Like Mordecai? Or Benson? Or even Skips, but that’s on rare occasions (not so rare, since he’s always on ppls nerves)

He will start crying and screaming for you to stop if u won’t the first time.

He’s a puncher and a kicker, if Mordecai isn’t the one tickling him, then he’ll ask for his help

90% of the time he deserves it, so the blue Jay won’t even help him himself, he’ll prolly join in, if ever

But the other 10% someone just wants to be a jerk, so he slowly assures them off him, and if that won’t work, Mordecai would tickle them slightly to get them off his bsf

His death spot is his tail, he’ll start screaming if u tickle him there.

Mordecai:

80/20 Lee/Ler:

Ler:

He usually always tickles Rigby, if anything

He mostly only feels comfortable with the raccoon, so he’ll only tickle him every time he feels like it, or Rigby just gets on his nerves, like he does everyone

One time, Rigby got them both in so much trouble, Mordecai tickled him relentlessly until he was coughing, bro would not let that slide at all

He tried tickling Margaret but she’s not ticklish, so he never tried it again

He actually got punched once the first time he tickled Rigby, which was in first grade, Rigby had to apologize sincerely, but Mordecai just shrugged it off saying it was his fault for not stopping from the get-go.

And yes, it was in fact his fault

The blue jay should’ve stopped

But he didn’t

Lee:

Massive Lee right here!!!

Super hella ticklish, dawg.

Like a 9/10, Rigby’s way more ticklish than him tho, and Mordecai hates being tickled so fucking much, he’ll kick and punch anyone who threatens to touch him.

Like he did with Margraet… yh… it took her 1 month to forgive him, then she realized that she should’ve stopped too

So Karma’s a bitch towards Mordecai, as always

He gets teamed up on less than Rigby, but more than everyone else, bc he’s the second most ticklish person, and he makes funny reactions, plus some cute ones too

Like if he’s tickled enough he chirps like a bird and everyone thinks it’s so cute, even his childhood friend, Rigby

But Mordecai hates this weakness so much, he tries to forget ever being ticklish, but it just won’t work.

His death spot is his beak, or his wings, there really is no difference they all create the same hiccups and chirps.

[domistique]

Hello, sorry if this is a weird ask. Well, first off, I hope you are well!

I've been seeing some of your posts under the charlos tag and I wanted to know if you geniunely like both Charles and Carlos. I've seen you talk about how people only like Carlos and not Charles and I've also seen the opposite as well, so I wanted to know where you stand.

Looking at your profile, I can quite obviously see that you like Charles quite a bit, so I guess what I'm really asking is what your stance about Carlos is.

Sorry if this is something that you do not want to answer, and I hope that you have a great day! xx

you're very kind and polite! i am doing fine! no this isn't weird i love an excuse to talk 😺

i love charles. charles is my right hand arm man. my silly rabbit. as my blog suggests. i wasn't instantly big into carlos but he has grown on me a LOT over this season. i was pissed at him after spain but only for like a week? i've come to really really like him over the past few months and he's also besties with my guy from cycling so we would practically be in laws anyway. if its not already clear from my hornyposting of late i am Very into him. he's very silly goofy and also clearly very smart and thoughtful.

it's probably about 60/40 charles over carlos but in a way it's also 100/75? i would never expect a ship blog to be perfectly 50/50 anyway that's insane lol i think we all have biases and thats fine, i personally find it bizarre if you're posting normally about both of them one day and then suddenly switch up and start acting like a day one hater while tagging your hate in the main tags 😐 anyway. this is primarily a charles blog but my main ship is charlos and my second fave rn is carlos so. i also try not to be too negative on anyone on here, if i post negative on someone i will tag it with anti-their name. (reminder to filter anti driver tags they exist for a reason and that is for You so You don't have to see hate. they're a courtesy)

my recent poasting is a product of frustration. AND let me say it's not my concern what other people say on their own blogs, you do you etc, but when i keep getting baseless charles hate and shit stirring bait on my dash because people are tagging their hate posts so charles fans specifically will see them???? no holds barred idc. the level of delusion from certain blogs has stepped up a notch in the last week, so much so that it is very hard to comprehend what they are actually so upset about? (interview with charles' coach is posted where he says charles was "hurt" after singapore last year and wanted to improve his performance so he doesn't get beat by his teammate. this is extrapolated to mean that charles is a jealous sore loser that can't be happy for the team. people start claiming that singapore prompted charles to get directly involved with the process to replace carlos with lewis.) PERSONALLY i hate it when people make shit up and spread it around to strengthen their own preconceived anti-opinions. at least use something that's actually true lol and at LEAST keep it in your own circles.

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #7: 1956

One of the interesting things about doing these polls is seeing how going through each decade starts to feel like a countdown to some great cultural moment. I imagine the 60s polls will feel like a countdown to Beatlemania, the 70s to disco, the 80s to the MTV era, the 90s to grunge, the 00s to the mp3 era, and the 10s to streaming. And the 50s felt like a countdown to Elvis Presley.

So much has already been said about Elvis, from his "King of Rock and Roll" moniker; to his producer' Sam Phillips' infamous quote about making a billion dollars using a white man to make Black music; to the numerous controversies and legends that could only be attached to a figure of this level of cultural impact -- for better or for worse. As many know, one of the Elvis songs featured in this poll, Hound Dog, was a cover of the blues song originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton. For the sake of these polls, the songs will be voted based on the versions that reached the Billboard charts. However, I still found it important to highlight the song's origins. Many may also know that his rendition of Hound Dog lead to an outrage of controversy, because he had the audacity to move his h*ps on The Milton Berle Show.

If you disregard Elvis the Pelvis, however, the top of the 1956 charts may not feel all that different from prior years. We still see a lot of the traditional pop, vocal quartets, and jazz standards we've grown accustomed to. Which makes sense. Not only do changes rarely happen overnight, but the full snapshot of the culture at any given time can rarely be seen in the Billboard charts -- much less the top ten picks from said chart. However, something is definitely different.

In my opinion, the most telling evidence of this change isn't Elvis Presley. It's Kay Starr's Rock and Roll Waltz. For one, it's a novelty song -- a style of music popular in this decade and will only see more popularity as we move into the 60s. But it goes beyond that. The joke of the song is that the narrator of the song sees her parents try to dance the waltz to this new "rock and roll" music, and she's commenting on the absurdity of it. As the song says, "it's old, but it's new". Some less charitable modern listeners may even call it the "how do you do, fellow kids?" of 1956. That's how you know that something is shifting in the culture, and record labels are scrambling to catch up.

In addition to the change in sound, 1956 also brings us an expanded Billboard Chart to pull from. With more young people listening to their own music, charts began to focus more on retail record sales, rather than performances in public venues like previous years. However, we're still a few years away from the Billboard Top 100.

More information about this blog here

[toshidou]

give us those personal hcs 🫶🏻

gaz hcs:

he's the type to leave notes. lots of notes. whether he's home for a while, or just about to set off for another gruelling deployment, he'll always make sure you have plenty of little pieces of paper scattered around your shared home for you to randomly find.

his hiding spots range from the bottom of the laundry basket, to under his pillow, you even found one taped to the back of the toilet seat once. each one says something short yet sweet; a simple "i love you" or, "you look so cute when you're concentrating" with a doodle of your face next to it.

he loves to bake. whether it's sweet stuff or delicious savoury breads, he loves nothing more than to watch your face light up at the mere scent of whatever he's got in the oven that day. your favourite thing he's made was a duck cake for his niece's birthday, a bright yellow masterpiece that had this adorable 6 year old screaming in delight the second it was placed in front of her.

gaz is a family man at heart, and though he never brings any photos of them with him on deployments, he'll always make sure to call his parents on a secure line at any chance he gets. after all, he knows his family worry about him, the least he can do is reassure them he's still alive and breathing, ready to come home and let his mum fawn over "their little hero".

this means he also wants to be a dad. so fucking much. he's amazing with kids, all bright eyes and giddy smiles as he crouches down and asks them what game they're playing today. each of the kids in his family adore their uncle kyle, and every time you watch him swoop them through the air whilst making the worst plane noise you've ever heard, you can't wait to watch him cherish the children you'll have in the future.

he's a sucker for disney movies. his favourite is either the fox and the hound, or mulan. don't make him pick, because he can't. you've also watched him cry at several other disney movies. but you're technically not allowed to tell anyone about that, even if you think it's hopelessly endearing.

he loves 40s/50s/60s love songs. something about how pure and sweet they are have always had such an impact on the way he's envisioned his future relationships. that means he's nothing but an absolute gentleman; always running out in front to open doors for you, bringing you home flowers at every opportunity. and if he's away on an assignment for months? he schedules a florist to deliver you a personally arranged bouquet every month, each accompanied with a note, of course.

as a kid, he always wanted a really niche hobby that he thought would impress his friends. so that's how he finds himself as a grown adult, being able to flawlessly tap dance. it's not a fact many people know about him, the number reduced to close family and the odd very close friend, in fact if it were up to him he'd take that secret to the grave with him. but it was only a matter of time until his mum ushered you to the couch and put on a home video of him being the solo at a tap dance recital, and you haven't let him live it down since.

[c0dmic]

Regina and Leopolds Marriage

I don't know what to start with so Ima jump straight into it. I saw a post a while ago made from.. well years ago, stating that Regina was a grown woman.. Let me say this, OLDER ACTRESSES PLAY TEENS ALL THE TIME, (Nbr). For all we know Regina is 18 at the time when Leopold proposed. Some people say that if she was 19-25 (she was actually 18 during 'Stable Boy') it would not be weird. Yes, it would. Leopold was literally Regina's Father's age, if not, older. It would still be very weird for an 18 and 50-60+ year old to be married.

Some people say, "this takes place a several decades ago, it would be normal-" It doesn't make it right! Just because it takes place decades and go and it would be considered normal, it doesn't make it right. 

(just for example):

A 18-year-old in the times when arranged and forced marriage was normal, was forced to marry a 50-year-old man. Some would say, "That was normal then for 18 and she was old enough, it doesn't make it weird," ... what. I hope you see how stupid and ridiculous that sounds. Even if it was okay a long time ago, that doesn't make it okay. And again, it's still fucking weird.

Now back onto the marriage. "Regina didn't say no-" Stfu. The look on her face when Leopold kneels down and proposes is very obvious. Regina would have probably screamed out loud saying no if she could. But she didn't because her mom was nearby, and she didn't want to fuck up her already fucked up relationship with her mom by ruining her mother's advantage by saying no to the royals and she was in shock.

Now onto the rape topic. I keep reading that 'Leopold Raped Regina' , and I personally don't have a opinon on that because it was not stated and I don't want to get any backlash lol. But the most thing I believe about their marriage was the Regina was neglected and (ofc) forced to marry him.

For Leopold, he only listened to Regina's mothers 'yes' and not Regina's. And if he couldn't see the absolute shock and fear on Regina's face, idk what he saw there. If I proposed to someone (my own age bc I'm not weird) and I saw that look that Regina had on her face, I would get off the floor taking her physical and mental 'no' and 'wtf' for an answer and say sorry and leave. But Leopold didn't do that and when ONLY Regina's mother approved, he went along with it. And Regina's mother just handed Regina to Leopold probably knowing that Marital Rape could happen (ik it probably didn't, but I was just saying that what if it did and Cora just handed Regina over to that knowing that it could've be common at the time.).

Now, Leopold reading Regina's diary is disruptive of her privacy. And Regina put all those fake stuff in it and Leopold reads it. Regina is the type to always plan things out (evil or not), so she knew that Leopold would read her diary because he (probably) did it all the time. Even if she used the method of, making her diary out in the open to her father, thinking that her father would hand it over to Leopold. Or the other method of, putting it out in the open for Leopold to see, but if i was him, I still wouldn't touch the diary.

Leopold, in a scene specially states that "I know Regina is unhappy" and Leopold never does anything about it. Then he proceeds to say, "And yet I never imagined she would betray me like this," What?? Like, after being married with her KNOWING that she was unhappy and (most likely) never loved you, and you are betrayed?? Excuse me?

Then later on, he asked the Genie to "find the man who took his wife's heart". Genie asks "What are you going to do when you find him?". Then Leopold replies with, "Nothing you can be concerned with". So your saying you knew she was unhappy and feeling unloved and NEVER loved you and then your going to, what? Possibly murder? Shame? The person who might have given her hope in this terrible neglective unloving marriage?!

Not only that but him KNOWINGLY marries the woman he almost married (technically dated still engaged)'s daughter, KNOWINGLY. Adam Horowitz had also confirmed that Leopold REMEMBERED Cora. He remembered the woman he almost MARRIED.

[terrence-silver]

How do you think Terry's father felt about his son growing his hair and wearing it in a ponytail? Do you think Terry ever told him about Ponytail?

Hippies are everywhere and they have infected my son. Or have they?

--- A long, aggrieved conspiracy memoir by Terry Silver's father.

No, but all jokes aside, think about it, because speculations are all we have on the subject; basic math, Terry's father must've been born somewhere before even the 50's (maybe during the post-war era, as a member of the Silent Generation), and he'd carry with him the sensibilities and worldviews of someone from decades before the 60's and 70's, mentality-wise and that's just a guess, but it could be a fairly accurate guess. Long hair? Shouldn't the boys returning from the war come back straightened out, as they say? All grown? Hardened? Cleaned-shaved? With military discipline? Decent, strong, firm and encapsulating everything men traditionally should be? Honored martyrs, heroes and diligent workers? Wasn't that the basic promise of sending sons to war and the reward that comes in tow with it? Maturity gained in combat and service to this great nation? That means, no long hair, because everyone with long hair could've represented those slackers who, ironically, didn't go to the war in the 60's. Draft dodges, commies who read Karl Marx on campus and college rats, the way Silver Senior might've seen things. Those no-good, protest sign and guitar tottering, reefer-huffing, unwashed...you know what? Never-mind.

Because I want to amuse myself, could be really funny if Terry's dad expected his son to come home as one thing --- and he came back as the total opposite. Or several levels of opposing things, each one more heinous, baffling, confusing, contradictive and shocking to Terry's, undoubtedly, staunch traditionalist father than the other:

Long hair? Check!

Greased up long hair? Check! Maybe he can forgive the grease. James Cagney had grease in his hair too.

A strange, newfound interest in martial arts? Check!

Tattooed out...like a common sailor? Check!

Odd trips to Korea to hone newfound hobby? Check!

Bankrolling a friend's...dojo? What's a dojo?

What is a Gi? What is Tang Soo Do? What is anything?

Cobra Kai?

Does Terry have an earring in his ear? Check!

An aspirational, yet oddly intimate friendship with a military compatriot? Is...that a matching tattoo? A confused check!

John Kreese being an ideally manly man (and everything Silver Senior might've dreamed of his song being?) and an admirable company to keep and yet Terry popping out as the eccentric one, making things even more confusing? Why? Check?

Terry having brought back enough violence and bigotry with him to where Silver Senior can rest assured Terry is not in fact, (gasp!) a hippie, even if he does on occasion look like one? Like that's the worst thing one can honestly be? Check!

Terry being infinitely a puzzle to his own father who can't quite pinpoint him? A part of him could even have been scared at who came back home? Check!

I think that if Terry ever told a family member about the story and the reason why he came home with the ponytail, and the tale behind it wasn't as banal as a mere fashion movement, it could just make him more a mystery difficult to read and might even garner some initial admiration (and whispers), having had this experience and pact of camaraderie forged in combat that ''only a man could ever experience'', serving as a testament to his growth and worth in going from the thin, shy boy he left for the military as, but I also think it could make whatever sheltered, privileged individuals Terry grew up with somewhat distanced from him due to their experiences effectively drifting away from this point on and becoming incompatible (how many of them have been prisoners of war? How many of them watched a person die in front of their very eyes? How many of them have seen the snake pit? Truth is, they'd have less and less to talk and bond about than ever before, and as we've seen, this is something that followed Terry well into his old age; his interactions with individuals of wealth are extremely surface level and blase) and the very thing that should've assured that a young Terry's father will admire him for serving could've turned out to be the same thing that alienated Terry, at least a bit, from his own rich peers, making him The Other --- neither here nor there. Too weird, raw and traumatized for the upper crust 1% he was born among, and too bizarre, high and up there for ordinary individuals.

[papirouge]

gamergaters redpill podcast bros have moved on from brie Larson to Rachel Ziegler I noticed. while they also are making 50 min long videos dissecting how fictional female characters are actually more evil than real life male criminals who have committed rape, murder and organized crime rings

They only acknowledge organized crimes to own up the left somehow. Remember how extra they've been about The Sound of Freedom? They were more obsessed about lEftiSts MediAs shitting on this movie than its message. Their literally campaigned the film as "the movie the left doesn't want you to see". 99% of the right ideological standpoint relies on opposing everything the left does or says. Not proposing actually alternatives. That's why conservatives are so bad at creating new concepts, news ideas, new slang (they have to hijack already existing one such as #blue/alllivesmatter, #mentoo, woke, etc). They hate on liberals but lowkey LOVE liberal creativity lol

Or Balenciaga. I'll never forgive conservatives for turning the fight against pedophilia as a left/ vs right thing. To them it's like all pedophiles were from the left and that only the left protected pedophiles.... But if a conservative man is accused of rape? it's the left woke witch hunt!! Hasn't Kevin Spacey recent got invited by Tucker Carlson....? 👀 Lmao let's get real : conservatives don't care about pedophilia, they can't about "LEFTISTS" pedophiles. They are a lost cause.

Those grown men in their 30s 40s 50s being deadass seething about a DOLL MOVIE has to be the best example of the Western decadence IDC

Those idiots being whining day and night about their own extinction when their own stupidity IS the reason why they go extinct. Can you imagine if instead of spending hours in their basement making podcast seething on imaginary women they would go outside meet real ones, try to fix their awful personality, etc. The government shouldn't forbid selling mics to male between the age of 10 and 60. Deadass.

It's no coincidence the lots of them are roman empire simps. They follow the same self destructive moral & intellectual decadence. Very ironic to see them get so mad at gays and call them all pedophiles - those "LGBT groomers" are very close to the trv roman empire lifestyle & its institutional pedophilia. They should actually look up to them for that lmao

And they constantly be moaning about how people don't make babies anymore but how do they expect breeding when they endorse the most repulsive behavior that could exist in a man. Seeing a man whining about a little girls movie turns my eggs dry TBH and I know I'm not the one. Them being old fat and unattractive doesn't help too - but they for sure think they have room nitpicking the attractiveness of women half their age... If we could make energy out of delusion conservative men would be soooo useful....

That's why my theory is that the push for redpill/Andrew Tate content is a psy-op warfare against young men to make them self sabotaging themselves because those old farts cannot deal with them having better chance at dating young women. "If they can't have them, no one will". It's crazy how no one ever point out how those redpill dating coaches are all single. Do I need to remind them the fate of Kevin Samuels who died alone in a hotel room next to a Mexican prostitute? or that conservative man who got a very public (filmed) violent fallout/divorce with his wife?? Tate caught in DV?? THIS is their kings. They are unable to keep women, or they have to PAY them to have/keep them. Tragic.

[msfbgraves]

I always forget how YOUNG Daniel is in Knights and Pawns! He’s only 18 when he gets married, just a boy, and then by 28 he has 7 pups! I headcanon Terry as being 10 years older…so is Daniel in his 30s when he has his last pup? Such a young grandparent probably too. And considering he still looked in his early 20s in his 30s lol…

Daniel is 28 when he has 7 puppies, has a long break (grazie a Dio), is nearly 39 with the 8th pup and 41 with the last. And indeed, probably a grandparent before he is 50. And Terry is ten years his senior, you're right. And Daniel is goddamn gorgeous the whole time, and so is Terry. Beautiful pups, all, too.

I could even imagine him going into heat yet later, when he's pushing 50 and Terry 60, because they are both so very loving and healthy, but Daniel going - nope. 9 is enough. I'll make it through one heat, and calls in reinforcements from his pups to help him through it and keep their father out. By that point, he has 4 grown Alpha pups who aren't affected by his heat (too closely related) and Robby's a strong man too.

Not that Terry would go crazed - he's shown that he can resist that long before - but better safe than sorry. Honestly, by now they're grandparents (or nearly so) for sure.

(And Terry is like "sure, you're right", when faced with four Alphas absolutely ready to throw hands for their Ma, but he would not have minded getting his mate with pup one last time. He's just so gorgeous, and they both love babies... but Eli has a glint in his eye that says: "I've waited my whole life for this" so maybe not, then.)

[giornosaiyaman]

Ahsoka and Teen Rebellion

Here’s a really interesting fact about good ol Papa George Lucas. He’s a hippie-a scion of 50′s hot rod culture specifically- who loves teen rebellion.  No Seriously.

“My father thought I was going to turn into a beatnik….I’ve always had a basic dislike of authority figures, a fear and resentment of grown ups.”

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/politics-behind-original-star-wars/ Before SW, George directed American Graffiti: an early 60′s teen comedy that celebrates-and critiques-greasers, street racing, underage drinking, pranks, and rock n roll.

During that movie, a teenager, played by Ron Howard, tells his teacher to kiss a duck…without consequences.

Also, George let’s another teenager-played by Richard Dreyfuss, to vandalize an occupied cop car without consequences.

ANH is about a bunch of college hippies sticking it to the man…in space.

During Jedi, Obi tells Luke he has no choice but to kill Vader, to resolve conflict with violence. Rather than obey Obi, Luke disobeys him, chooses to save Vader with peace and love and succeeds!

So what does any of this have to do with good ol snips?

To begin with, GEORGE assigned Ahsoka to Anakin.

“[With Ahsoka] I wanted to develop a character who would help Anakin settle down. He's a wild child after [Attack of the Clones]. He and Obi Wan don't get along. So we wanted to look at how Anakin and Ahsoka become friends, partners, a team. When you become a parent or you become a teacher you have to become more respnsible. I wanted to force Anakin into that role of responsibility, into that juxtaposition. I have a couple of daughters so I have experience with that situation. I said instead of a guy let's make her a girl. Teenage girls are just as hard to deal with as teenage boys are.”

https://gizmodo.com/george-lucas-spills-all-about-clone-wars-at-skywalker-r-5033398

 If we interpret  Snips’ story through the context of George’s perspective, something becomes clear. I don’t think a single Star Wars character, save for Hayden’s version of Anakin, embodies George’s  love of teen rebellion-and his resentment of grown ups as well as Ahsoka.

Ahsoka is hotheaded, impulsive and of course defiant. She hates being treated like a kid, fears punishment, and constantly butts heads with the adults in her life. She constantly trash talks adult authority figures-Anakin, Grievous, Hondo, Tarkin, Palpatine, Obi wan, Vizla etc.

During Malevolence, Ahsoka saves Plo by defying the council. During cloak of Darkness, Snips saves Luminara by defying her. During heroes on both sides, she agrees to break the law with Padme for the sake of peace. During that same episode, one could say she metaphorically sneaks out of her home-the republic-and meets a boy in the process-Lux. She saves the citadel mission by defying Anakin. During the Padawan lost arc, she kills an aggressive father figure. During the youngling arc, Ahsoka straight up tells the kids “sometimes doing the right thing means bending the rules”. All of this subtext climaxes during her big arc in season 5. In this arc, she runs away from and defies a system of adult authority that wants to “unfairly” punish her. During this arc, Ahsoka defies Anakin when he tells her to come back. And the arc ends with her individuating from her primary caregiver-Anakin.

In my opinion, this rebellious subtext gives Ahsoka’s heroic feats a truly awe inspiring quality. As a kid, watching her made you feel like even the world’s biggest “brat”-an unruly child-could step up to the plate and deliver.

Unfortunately, all of this subtext only works when you are a teenager. Growing up means realizing that your actions have consequences and that all the rules teens stereotypically hate exist to keep people safe. Therefore, impulsive hotheaded, “rebels” like Ahsoka, or Korra, or KLK’s Ryuko Matoi, or LWA’s Akko, simply don’t fly in the real world.

[what-if-nct]

hi i exist and i had a dream about me having eggs with jj0ng. it’s safe to say that i’m finally undepressed and i’m writing a story on ao3.

which leads me to my question, how do you stop yourself from procrastinating? idk if you know, but i wanted to ask in case if you did. i do like your posts as always even though i’m shy to make any tumblr posts as of this time. i had just introduced myself to live journal and i’m using it just to make fake old posts of me thirsting over shinee, tvxq and snsd because i miss that era of being a kpop fan and i wish i lived through it myself. every time someone screams “my ovaries” would make my heart cry. i miss teenagers being… well… teenagers. it’s sad that we might not see golden content like these anymore, but at least i have a space to act like i did because i’m delulu and need to be stopped.

Hii! Wholesome dreams are definitely a true antidepressant. Oh I procrastinate all the time. I even procrastinate eating and putting up my groceries. Like I don't buy milk, eggs or real meat. It's fine but there's still hummus, cheese and tofu so after i remember that i do it. But something I do that does help me especially with posts is I give myself a deadline like you have this post half written in your drafts try to get it finished by the end of the week and give yourself an incentive. Like if I clean my closet by the end of today I can buy my whole shopping cart on whatever site I want. I think cause that's how it was when I was a kid. After school or summer camp especially if we were fussy in the morning our grandma would have some kind of treat or toy for us when we got back so we knew if we go to school that means we'll get a hula hoop or ice cream or cookie when we got back. So I think you should try rewarding yourself for when you finally do something you've been meaning to do. I hope that is helpful for you. Also don't feel guilty if you don't do something you can always change your idea if the current one isn't inspiring you I do that all the time and it always works out better than your original idea. I was a kpop fan around that time. I totally remember the my ovaries or my ovaries exploded thing. I see some current version of that and it's like "I am ovulating right now I can't handle this" but I think its usually like people a little older at least I just follow people around my age.. I've definitely said it But I think just creating that atmosphere for yourself is great. I have noticed that a lot of younger fans are extremely puritanical I've never seen anything like it. I was like 15 when I became a kpop fan so it was different and even fans of elvis and the Beatles were similar in the 50s and 60s. Like not even jokes about idols smoking are even allowed. Like honey that's a grown man. It's okay he smokes and it's okay when especially adults find him sexy when he's behaving in a sexy manner that's the idea. It's only a problem when that's all you see them for and all they are to you is a sex symbol thats the only time it's a problem. It's fine if you don't want to do that I especially think so if it's a 30 year old man probably dont do that. But don't shame those who do it when it's called for. I think it's just the vicious attacks I have a problem with. I will never forgive Armys for what they did to cupcakke, she's the same age as Jungkook for goodness sake.

[slavghoul]

Tobias Forge on Satanism, religion, etc.

Recently one of the most common questions I get here concerns the topic of Satanism – “Is Tobias actually a Satanist?”, “Are Ghost really devil worshippers or is this just a funny shtick?” and so on, and so forth. I have therefore compiled a few quotes from the man himself speaking about his personal views on Satanism and religion, as well as how the satanic themes translate into the world of Ghost. Perhaps it will help you form your own judgement on the matter.

On his personal relationship with Satanism

Sacramento News & Review, 2018

Are you a Satanist?

TF: From a strictly Christian point of view, if that means believing in a physical, half man, half-ram living in the underground, no, I don’t believe there is such a thing. I’m not the opposite either. And you know, I’m sure in the eyes of the beholder, if I was put in front of true god-fearing bible thumpers, I would probably be regarded as a Satanist just because I’m not a god-fearing bible thumper. But the concept of Satanism has many, many forms. In the last 50 years now, ever since [Anton] LaVey and pop-cultural Satanism, when that rose in the latter of the part of ’60s with the Church of Satan, and Black Sabbath and Black Widow and Coven and that sort of hippie Satanism, which at the end of the day, heavy metal, black metal, all that is based upon that cultural Satanism. I grew up with that. So from that point of view, I would definitely say that culturally, I am definitely, for lack of better way of putting it, I’m a devil-liking kind of guy. But I wouldn’t sacrifice a baby to a half-ram that I believe to be living in the underground. And I would never ever encourage anyone to do that.

Aftonbladet, 2016

I became interested in Satanism when I was 10-11, so I find it very difficult to have a clear intellectual approach to it. In the end, I became interested in it because I thought it was cool. Aesthetically, I think it's amazing. An incredibly fun and, for me, a very homey world. As I tell our children, the devil is our friend. The monsters are our friends. But I was much more convinced back then, than I am now. As a grown man, it's hard to buy the idea that if we take a shovel and dig into the ground, eventually we'll come across a half-buck in a burning inferno. Although it would have been an incredibly festive thought. What I know is that I haven't got a fucking clue. That's the only thing I'm absolutely convinced of.

Banger TV, 2019

Even though I am very, very, very fascinated with religion in many ways, I'm sort of staying in the pop cultural world when it comes to referencing the devil, and especially when I'm talking about my relationship to him. He appeared in my life through rock music, through films. I've been dressing myself with pentagrams and upside down crosses ever since I was 11 years old and was watching horror films and listening to music about Satan way before that. That's the difference I think between a musician born in the 40s that added the devil as a "hip" thing in 1969 to their musical movement, it was more an addition that they could do as grown-ups, whereas for me and a lot of my friends who grew up with black metal, death metal bands - it's part of our blood basically.

Psychology Today, 2018

I think in 99.9 percent of every so-called Satanist in the last 50 years, you would find that the vast majority of them have been introduced to the Devil via music. And it usually happens at a certain age as well. It was also the early '90s—so that was the rise of the death metal and black metal movement in Europe and in the world I guess. Especially in Sweden and Norway, it was a big thing. It was just right up my alley and it became such a powerful way of expressing myself, and how to not only deviate and differentiate myself from the norm and normal people but just like hand in glove with my way of seeing the world.

On the pop-cultural devil vs the biblical devil

Areena, 2019

What does Satan mean to you?

TF: For me personally, he or it, she... She has been such a faithful companion for the majority of my life - as a guide, as a mentor, as a symbol. The idea of the devil representing ‘evil’ as opposed to 'good’ does not… it clashes with my idea of the devil. Because the devil for me represents rock and roll, film, freedom, humor - essentially, my life and my background because it’s so coloured with so many “blasphemous” expressions. I think that’s one of the most common misconceptions that makes it so hard for people to fathom - that there’s obviously the biblical devil, and then you have the pop-cultural devil. The pop-cultural devil being very much a representative of freedom, intellectualism and liberation from the chains of handicapping worship of the three Abrahamic religions - because that’s what [these religions] are about, they’re about control. Satan represents, in the pop cultural sense, the opposite of that. In the Bible it represents evil, but I know very, very few things in the history of the world that have been perpetrated in the name of the devil that have been to the non-benefit of mankind, whereas… I mean, just look at the amount of abuse and human despair that has been caused in the name of 'good.’

Billboard, 2019

On the Satanic leanings: For me, it is very personal and important, but I struggle to define the differences between the pop-cultural Satan and the actual one – if you want to say it that way – because that’s even harder to define. [Since the 1960s, Satanism] has become a fun little thing for 20-somethings to play with. It has very much been embraced as a symbol of liberation, rather than a symbol of actual tyranny and evil. The pop-cultural Satan has an amazing importance for me, and that’s because I’m a born rebel and a natural ‘opposer,’ in that I oppose shit.

On whether there would be Satan without God: The Satan that we are most commonly referring to in the Western world is obviously a product of Christianity. Within the confines and context of Christianity, no. They cannot exist without the other. That’s the problem with the entire concept of Satanism because, depending on who you’re talking to – if you’re talking to a Bible thumper, Satan exists within the bras of women, and Satan exists within the confines of rock ‘n’ roll music and drugs and everything that would be considered quote ‘bad’ and ‘dangerous’ and ‘harmful.’ And I think that in rock ‘n’ roll and in pop culture, that is the thing that most people cling to. Satan as a symbol or symbolic role model represents liberation and free thought and fun. Intellectualism as opposed to regression and stupidity. But if you’re talking about Satan as the main peddler and the prime motor for evil – if I look at the world and I see evil, I think of ISIS and I think that’s pure evil, and that has nothing to do with a pop-cultural horned-goat half-man called Satan. So you really, really, really have to understand that the ‘Satan’ that has been embraced by artists in film, music, poetry, and art going back centuries was made to scare people.

On not being against religion but rather organized religion, and on not being an atheist

Rolling Stone Deutschland, 2019

I’m not against religion. I’m not against being religious. But I am against organized religion, the scriptures, because we know perfectly well that they are basically manifests put together by other people in order to control the rest. That’s not even a secret.

New York Post, 2018

The problem with religious doctrine, as with politics, because of its ability to give people authority, it has a tendency to attract people that want authority for all the wrong reasons, and that is what it has done across all time. But, then again, in all fairness, I am not saying that there shouldn’t be faith. It’s completely different things. The belief in something bigger and supernatural is not the same thing as linear religion.

Loudwire, 2015

I'm definitely not an atheist. Intellectually, obviously my intellect tells me one thing, but I want there to be something so I choose not to completely follow my intellect when it comes to the idea of there being a bigger being or beings that I cannot explain.

Psychology Today, 2018

I am not against the idea of believing. I am not an atheist. The whole institution of Christianity being based on that book, being based on the premise that he was conceived out of nowhere—it’s kind of hard to believe. But on the other hand, I do believe in the idea of a historic person named Jesus that was a kind of chill dude who was just telling people to chill and be nice to each other. And he got penalized for that. So I’m not dismissing the whole thing as bullsh*t. But I definitely believe that tormenting other people because of the Bible and for that to be—for lack of a better word, Gospel. I think that is not very nice.

Amusio, 2013

Are you afraid of death?

TF: I am not very afraid of death, only of the question of how I will die. I don't know what will happen to us when it's all over, but I'm not an atheist and I certainly believe in a higher, inexplicable existence out there with which we humans are more or less in contact. That's why I don't think that death is the end of our existence.

Rolling Stone Deutschland, 2019

How religious was your upbringing?

TF: Not very. I'd say that in my main home, which was with my mother and my brother, there was always spiritualism I would say. We were definitely not atheists, but it was more infused by the idea of there being greater things than what we know. But that takes the tools that we use to trigger these feelings and that comes from pop cultural powers, rather than scripture - if that makes sense. The power of rock’n’roll. The power of film. The power of a good book. And that combined sort of gives us hint that there might be something that we cannot explain.

US Time Today, 2022

I’ve always had an intense relationship with organized, linear religion, let’s put it that way. I’m very fascinated by the art and its history, but maybe not so much by the rules and the guilt.

On Satanism in Ghost

Pitchfork, 2013

The theme of Satanism, tongue-in-cheek or not, has a long tradition in heavy metal. How important is it to what you guys are doing?

TF: Well thematically, obviously, it’s alpha to omega, that’s what we’re doing. The sort of Satanism, or devil-worship, that we want to portray in the confines of Ghost, a very biblical version of goat worship, the sort of things that you see in a Satanic Panic movie. And obviously in the theatre that is Ghost, everything is supposed to feel like it’s orthodox devil-worshipping. As an audience member, you can choose to believe whatever you want to. And you can choose to partake, or you can choose not to.

Hard Force, 2015

We are not necessarily singing about God or Satan, we're singing about what we think and how we treat each other because of what we believe is God and Satan. All of a sudden, that's a way bigger scope than most other cult-oriented rock bands do, because normally it's just odes to this, that and the other.

Telegraph, 2022

When we’re talking about darkness, death, despair, it’s to express our discontent at the world. It’s our way to explain how shit things are.

Loudwire, 2018

We’re trying to make people happy about life. We’re actually quite humanistic. If you take all of these things that we’re saying and what we’re doing completely literally, and you believe that this is equal to damnation, then there’s no way that we can meet intellectually. As a human, I grieve for tendencies like that because I think it reflects on something somber, limited and regressive.