#however i do live in the uk and have done for a long time so am familiar

[f1fantasys]

The Best

Summary - Ex's who find their way back to each other after a tough few races for Lando.

Warnings - 18+ minors DNI, swearing, fingering, fucking :) - you know the rest.

You'd dated Lando for 2 years until you broke up about 7 months ago. The pressures of your modelling jobs and his F1 career slowly slid their way into your relationship until it became too much for the both you. You didn't break up because you stopped loving each other, but rather quite the opposite. You loved each other so much but at the same time you were both straining your relationship. Missed texts, missed calls, missed dates. There was just never time to be simple girlfriend and boyfriend. Being away from each other for too long, only to be sitting in the same room doing your own thing and hardly talking to each other, too busy concentrating on what had to be done for work. Eventually though, you decided together that it was the best for both mental and physical reasons. You never told anyone, but the breakup was the hardest thing you had gone through. You loved Lando so much and to suddenly stop having him in your life was awful. There were countless nights after where you would stare at his contact, almost calling him and telling him you needed him back, but you had to hold your ground. Especially since he seemed to have moved on from you pretty quickly - which only made it hurt more. Weeks after you breakup he was constantly spotted with a new girl on his arm every time he went out. You really tried hard not to look at your socials but at the same time you couldn't keep your eyes away.

Both living in Monaco, there were a handful of times you had seen Lando around. It was actually always an almost awkward encounter, even though you didn't end of bad terms. You'd just say a quick ''hi, how are you'' before moving on.

It was until he was seen with the same girl, multiple times. Regularly going out, holding hands, kissing, all captured by the paps. Your heart broke at how quickly he found someone, yet here you were, still trying to find yourself after the breakup. A lot of people on twitter were convinced that this new 'relationship' of his was just a PR stint - that they weren't actually dating. This gave you a sliver of hope.

Max and Ria, whom you were extremely close with, hardly talked about Lando in front of you, however they did let slip that Lando never talked about his new flame to them, so they knew as little as you did. Recently though, maybe the last 2/3 weeks, there was not one new picture of them, no news. Nothing. And you weren't complaining.

The Monaco GP had just finished. You'd watched it from your balcony with all your best friends from the UK, Max and Ria included. Lando has had a pretty frustrating last few races. He was had placed P2 3 times now, so close to the front, just not getting the edge to overtake Max. You could tell from his body language after the races how much he was beating himself up. He was always too hard on himself. You wished he would see just how talented and loved he is by all his fans. Yet again in Monaco, he was P2. 0.7 seconds behind Max. This time though it broke your heart to see how sad he was, how angry he was to not cross the line at P1. About two hours after the post race interviews and everything had concluded, you got a missed call from Adam, Lando's dad.

It wasn't a surprise as you still kept in touch with Lando's family but you did think it was weird for his dad to call you after a race like this. Wearily, you answered.

''Hello?

''Hey Y/N, how are you?'' he asked.

''All good Adam, how are you guys? Is everything ok?''

''Yeah we're all good. Maybe Lando not so much.. you know with the race and all. I actually called to see if you would be okay to come over and be with him. He's really been beating himself down the last few races and you were always the one who could calm him down. He's actually been talking a lot about you recently and I thought maybe it would be good for you to see him.'' he said.

You stayed silent for a few seconds. Of course you wanted to be there for Lando but you weren't sure if you were willing to let your heart break again when you left him.

''I-I..'' you started but Adam cut you off.

''I know it's a lot what I'm asked for. But I know you didn't end on bad terms. I think he just really needs you right now.''

''Okay, I'll come over.'' you said, still second guessing yourself.

''Thank you so much, Y/N, really.''

You told your friends you needed to be somewhere, luckily no one asked many questions, Either too drunk or tired to care. You changed into some shorts and a hoodie, looking at yourself in the mirror. You were going to see him after a while, and you wanted to look decent at least. So you fixed your hair and applied a little powder to yourself, not that Lando would even notice to be honest.

The drive to his house had your mind spiraling. What would you say to him. What would he say to you being there? Maybe he wouldn't even want you there. 'Shit' you thought to yourself as your parked in front of his penthouse.

You took a few breaths to calm yourself down before walking up his front door and knocking. Cisca, Lando's mum opened the door.

''Y/N, it's so good to see you'' she said, pulling you into a hug.

''You too Cisca'' you told her before Adam joined you and started talking.

''Thank you so much for coming, it sure means a lot to us and I'm sure it will mean a hell of a lot to our boy. He's in his room.'' he told you.

Once again, collecting your emotions, you walked to Lando's room. The door was closed so you took a deep breath and gentle knocked. You could hear him shuffling around, so when he didn't open the door or say anything you told him it was you.

''Lando, its Y/N. Can I come in?'' you asked.

The noise on the other side stopped. Within the next few seconds the door flew open.

There he stood. Eyes red and puffy, staring into your soul, mouth quivering and nose sniffling. But at the same time, beautiful as you remember. Curls brown and messy, eyes bright and blue. You both literally stopped breathing for a moment. Just taking the moment to take each other in. You didn't look any better to be honest. Sleepless nights thinking about him, eye bags formed under your eyes.

He broke the silence.

''Y/N'' he whispered.

You couldn't make out if he was relieved or happy to see you, or angry. You suddenly felt like you had to justify why you were here, standing at his bedroom door.

''I--, Umm, your dad asked me to come over and check in on you'' you started. But as you continued he came closer to you. So close that you could feel his breath on your face.

''Can I hug you?'' he asked.

And your heart broke into a million pieces.

You didn't respond verbally. You just pulled him to yourself. Arms wrapping around his head while his found your waist and pulled you flush against him. You could feel and hear start to gently shake and silently sob. It took everything in you not to cry. You had to be strong for him.

''Lan, please. Don't cry. Come on. You're stronger than this. Please don't beat yourself up. Please.'' you whispered as you soothed the hair on the back of his neck.

He gently pulled away and pulled you into his room before closing the door and making his way to sit on his bed.

''I'm so fucking useless. Can't even get past the same guy on track. Race after race. It's bullshit and I'm sick of it.'' He said, resting his face in his hands.

You let out a breath and made your way to sit next to him.

''Lando, look at me,'' you said quite sternly, so he did. You started rubbing his back.

''You are not fucking useless. You are one of the most talented drivers out there. If you weren't good enough, then trust me, you wouldn't be within seconds of the race leader. You need to just have faith in yourself and give yourself time. Me, your family, your fans, everyone knows that you are the best out there - and it's only a matter of time until you get P1. You've done it before, and you'll do it a thousand more times. It hurts to see you blaming yourself after every race. As much as you are alone in the car, you know there are other things- and people who determine how your race goes.''

His gaze on you was so fixed, so intense that you almost felt shy now. But you were telling him the truth. In your eyes, he was the best, and his time to shine would come soon. You knew it.

Small tears continued to slip out his eyes so you gently wiped them away.

Lando clung himself to you again, making you engulf him in another hug.

''Just be positive Lan, you're doing so well. And you'll continue to get better.'' you said.

You don't know how long you stayed like that, a while for sure, before Lando spoke up.

''I'm so tired, can we cuddle?'' he wearily asked.

You so wanted to stay with him and comfort him, but your head was telling you not to. You stayed silent for a few seconds when he spoke up again.

''Please? Just for a bit. I'll give you a t-shirt to change into.'' he said.

''Okay'' you eventually told him.

Since he was still in his race suit he quickly found you some clothes to change into and disappeared into the bathroom for a quick shower.

While he was showering it took everything in you not to imagine him standing there, letting the water run down his warm, tan, muscled body, not to mention other parts of him that you so deeply missed. When you were together, your sex life was incredible. You knew each others bodies inside out and it was a big part of your relationship.

You really needed to get those thoughts out of your head though. You weren't here for that, You were here to be here for him.

You quickly changed your clothes into his before scrolling away on your phone waiting for him.

He emerged from the bathroom in just a pair of shorts, no t-shirt and you had to stop yourself from staring. He pulled back the covers and climbed in the bed, gesturing for you to do the same.

And for the first time, he was the little spoon. He curled up into a little ball and you hugged and cuddled him from behind. Playing with his hair and massaging him gently. It felt good to be this close to him after so long. You missed having his body pressed to yours, you missed smelling his scent.

Lando seemed to have settled down after a while, both of you drifting into a light slumber when you heard him talk.

''Thank you for being here for me, Y/N.''

''Always, Lan'' you said, finding his hand and squeezing it in an assuring manner.

Slowly, he turned his body so he was now facing you. Your hand stayed in his hair, gently twisting his curls all the while you both stared at each other, longingly.

He bought his face closer to yours. Again, so close that you could feel his breath fanning your face. His eyes wandered down to your lips. You knew that look all too well. He wanted to kiss you.

''Lan'' you mumbled.

''Please'' he begged.

By now you couldn't contain yourself, so you nodded your head.

In no time he crashed his lips to yours. It was messy and desperate. As if you were both starved of each other. In no time Lando's tongue was in your mouth, searching for gold. He nipped and sucked at your bottom lip as you moaned into the kiss and pulled him closer, so now he was hovering over you.

At the back of your mind you knew this was wrong. But you couldn't help the feeling of having him kiss you as if his life depended on it. You pulled on his hair as his lips left yours and traveled to you neck, quickly finding your sweet spot.

By now both of your breathing was heavy, both gasping for air but not stopping your activities what-so-ever, the kiss getting sloppier by the second.

You felt Lando's hand reach the hem of your shorts, itching to slip past them, but you stopped him. You knew you couldn't go further without leaving with a broken heart again.

''Lando no, I can't.'' you almost sobbed even though you so badly didn't want him to stop.

''I need you, Y/N. I've needed you since you walked out the door 7 months ago.''

Now you had tears stinging the corners of your eyes.

''And not for sex. For you. Your whole being.''

''What about her?'' you couldn't help but ask.

His face immediately dropped.

''It was nothing. The other girls were just to get my mind away from you and then my socials were blowing up. So they got her and me to pretend, so I didn't look like a douche with a new girl just to fall deeper into a hole.'' he spoke quickly.

You were shocked, but let out a sigh of relieve.

Lando kissed you again, re-assuring you. ''You're the only one I want. I don't want to rush things if you're not ready t be together again.''

You didn't say anything, you just kissed him again, and took his hand back to it's place on your hips, slightly nodding at him to continue.

Lando's hands slipped on the inside and he cupped your sex. Your breath hitched in your throat and you grunted through his movements. His thumb found you clit and immediately started rubbing circles on it, while his middle finger slipped into you with ease due to how wet you were for him.

He snaked his head under your oversized hoodie and latched his mouth to your nipple. Sucking and biting down at it which had you writhing under him. Desperate for more.

His finger continued sliding in and out of you before he added another.

''Lan, please'' you begged him for more.

He quickly sat on his knees and removed all of your clothes, leaving you bare naked under him. You toyed with the strings of his joggers but he swiped your hands away. ''The nights' gonna end early if you do that'' he said, showing you the first smile he had this evening.

You pulled him back down for a kiss and he snaked his way down your body, settled between your legs.

You cunt was glistening with juices, clenching around nothing, begging for attention. So he licked a stripe up, collecting all your juices on his tongue before using them to easy his way into you.

You were a moaning mess by now. Body so relieved to be getting attention from the one you craved the most, pulling at his hair and scratching his shoulders, surely leaving marks.

He continued his onslaught on your pussy until you felt that all familiar warmth building in your stomach and within minutes you released your cum all over his face, gasping for air - the both of you.

''Fuck, Y/N, so good'' he said through breaths, coming up to kiss you again. Both your mouths a mess - full of spit and cum.

''Need to feel you in me, please'' he begged him between breaths.

This time Lando wasted no time in shedding his joggers. His member springing free, slapping his stomach, red and angry, with pre cum already dripping through the tip.

You gasped at seeing how angry it looked. How delicious it looked. You took him in your hands and started pumping him, causing him to be the one gasping this time, dick twitching in your hands.

You sat up slighlty and licked the pre cum off the tip, making Lando buck his hips forward, latching onto the headboard to keep himself up.

''Hmm, fuck, Y/N' he said as you took as much of him in your mouth, sucking and licking at him.

''Not gonna last long if you carry on'' he said, so he pulled out of your mouth and pushed you to lie down again. But instead he changed his mind and roughly man handled you to turn your body over so you were now on all fours.

He swiped his cock through your folds, collecting more of your juices and finally, placed himself at your entrance before pushing in, fast and hard.

''Ah, oh, Lando'' you said through gritted teeth.

He wasn't making love to you. He was fucking you, straight away. He gave your cunt no time to get used to the intrusion after having gone months without it.

''That's it, Y/N, so tight for me, walls clenching around me so nicely'' he whispered i n your ear as his hand found its way around your throat, turning you on so much more.

You latched your hands onto the headboard and steadied your body, coming back to meet him halfway, bodies slamming into each other.

A few grunts and moans later your brain remembered where you were. In Lando's house, with his family in the lounge down the hall.

''Fuck Lando, everyone can hear us.'' you said, trying to slow his movements.

''Hmm, let them. Don't care. Just wanna fuck you until you can't walk anymore'' he said, body still slamming into yours.

It almost felt as if sad Lando was gone and now angry Lando was back. And he was fucking his frustrations and anger into you. Using you to help him feel better about yourself. And you wouldn't have it any other way.

In no time you were silently screaming his name, your juices gushing all over his cock, before you pulled out and flipping you over again, only to slam into you again.

You wrapped your legs around him as tight as you could and pulled on his curls.

Lando had his eyes closed ''Might not me the best fucking drivers, but definitely fucking my girl the best. That's it baby, taking me so well'' he grunted through gritted teeth, before lowering his mouth to your nipples again, showing them no mercy.

Hearing him call you his girl instantly had the butterflies brewing in your stomach again, edging closer to your orgasm. You could feel his movements start to get sloppier by the second as well, the both of you barely able to keep your moans in.

All that could be heard in the room were grunts, moans, and bodies slamming into each other, sticky juices all over.

You orgasm came with no warning, and as soon as you released you felt Lando empty his warm milky cum into you, dick twitching, so overstimulated. Your body was a shaking mess underneath Lando's as he let his weight fall on you and slumped down on you, which you didn't mind at all.

You stayed there, just holding onto each other, catching your breaths and your mind up to what just happened.

Lando's dick was softening inside you so he gentle pulled out, eyes never leaving yours. You whimpered at the loss of contact but he kept you distracted enough by lowering his mouth to your cunt, sucking up a mixture of both of your cum, and leaning back up to kiss you and make a mess on your face.

You moaned into the kiss again until Lando got up to get a warm towel to clean you both up.

After doing so, he climbed back into bed and this time you were little spoon, back in your place.

''Seriously Y/N, thank you for being there for me today. I miss you so bloody much and this time I'm going to put the work in to make us work. I love you fucking much baby.'' he cooed into your ear and you squeezed his hand.

''I love you too Lan. Promise me one thing though?'' you asked.

''Yeah?''

''Stop being so hard on yourself. You are the most amazing person I know and I want you to see how special and talented you are. Please'' you begged him.

You felt him nod his head. ''Yeah, I'll try. Thank you.''

''And I've missed you more than you can ever imagine. I love you Lan. You're it for me.'' you whispered back, before he kissed you gently.

You'd finally found you way back to each other.

[macknshift]

[ ☀️ 🗺️ 🪼&👙 ] for your marauders reality pleasseee 🥺🙏

YIPPEEEEEE THE DR I LIVE MY MERMAID PRINCESS FANTASY IN!!!! (thank u for the ask pooks)

𐔌 . ☀️ ⋮ DAYS OF SUN ֹ ₊ ꒱ what are your go-to summertime activities? do you and your friends plan big garden parties with all the fruits and snacks? maybe a charcuterie board? possibly a water balloon tournament?

day-to-day, i do three things; swim (in a lake near my house. it's enchanted to not have any creatures or illnesses in it, Thank God!) read, and tan. i lay out in the sun for so long every day. i know that logically i don't have to care about tanning bc i'm a metamorphagus and i can change my skin color at whim (which i don't do?? btw??? i've seen ppl say that they do and i am NAWT a race changer good lord) and also the sun is not that strong in my hometown, but i just like laying in the sun and getting a nice bit of outside time. i usually bring an enchanted mp3 player so i don't have to bring any electronics with me lol

otherwise, i just like popping in and visiting my friends where they live. i think i visit remus the most (mainly bc we're bffs but also his family is so sweet (his younger sister adores me, i'm like her idol or smth lol)) but i go see james specifically a lot too. (euphemia hooks me up w some of the best food i've ever had in my entire life LMFAO) my friends obviously come and visit me too, so it's not like i'm the one travelling to them 24/7, but it is a really fun activity to just go floo-ing around the greater UK area lol

𐔌 . 🗺️ ⋮ WORLD WIDE MAP ֹ ₊ ꒱ if you could have one fantastic trip where would you go? why would you go there? what intrigues you about that place? are there certain activities there that have attracted you there?

i would LOVE to visit japan. japan is overall a bucket list country for me anyway, but i can imagine that the magic system there is probably pretty different. besides that, i just really want to go to the studio ghibli museum y’all 🙏🏻🙏🏻 like PLEAK just once and i will be a happy clam i promise i will be!!!!!! i honestly don't know who would come with me tee bee h. i feel like logically i could drag remus with me he would basically go anywhere w me and probably (weirdly) alice fortescue? she's japanese (adopted by the fortescues!) and i know that she likes to travel based on her and frank planning on taking a gap year once they graduate (they graduate 2 years before i do!) so maybe? mayhaps? alice would come along? i think i could also convince marlene too. she's on a "my parents want me to stay inside SO I MUST TRAVEL!" kick rn (which like, good for her tbh)

𐔌 . 🪼 ⋮ COLORFUL JELLYFISH ֹ ₊ ꒱ okay, we're going to the biggest aquarium in the world. where are you dragging me first? to the large sharks? the exotic fish? fish tank tunnel to watch the fish above us? or are you mad at me because you wanted to go get ice cream instead?

on top of the whole. u know. mermaid fairy princess vibe i try to have, i deadass think i can talk to fish. like, not shitting you, i think i can. or at least like. dolphins. (they’re kind of terrifying but my mom’s patronus is one so i’ve learned to appreciate them LMFAO)

personally i looove just running around and seeing all the little guys. like the tiny ones that get overlooked for the Big Kahunas™️ bc that’s just how i am as a person i think??? idk i’m just a “look out for the little guy” type ig. besides that! however! as i mentioned in the marvel dr answer, i do tend to go insane for the fish tank tunnels. in my cobra kai dr i’m sooo excited to go to the sekai taikai solely for that aquarium i’m so srs LMFAOOO obvi barcelona *said in the voice of that kid from booksmart that says s-es as ‘th’* will be super fun but like!!! aquarium!!!!!! i am getting off track lol

𐔌 . 👙 ⋮ DOTTED BIKINI ֹ ₊ ꒱ what are your dearest summer pieces? a swimsuit that highlights the color of your eyes and makes you feel good? an old band tee you put on after you're done swimming? a new top with pretty flowers on it?

*kim crawford dance* THIS MY JAM!!!!!! the little collage i made above is pretty much the vibe for my summer clothing! i'm ngl, i dress pretty much the same every single season, just varying amounts of skin showing 😭😭 i'm a metamorphagus as well, so i change my hair color based on whatever i'm wearing that day too. i normally stick to those same pastels & everything, and of course the vibe is pastel mermaid princess, so my hair is either the typical pastel pink (what i make my 'default') OR a bright blonde with streaks of whatever color i'm wearing that day (usually pink, purple, or blue streaks!) which i think is super fun.

jewelry wise, i stick to the same jewelry i wear all year (i have a heart-shaped locket necklace from my parents that has a photo of me and my family & a photo of my nuna and bamp (my grandparents) and another necklace that has a sea star pendant from my mom. i wear a crap ton of rings, with various jewels and things and a few separate bracelets, including a charm bracelet with a charm for each year i complete of school, which is super fun. kind-of pjo vibes a bit?) BUT! i wear a lot of arm cuffs? i think they look super cool, and it kind of adds to the whole beach-y vibe. it's kind of ironic that my ass lives in (lowkey) dreary belfast, ireland, but it's alright!!! i travel a bunch!!!

[florsial]

you should totally talk about ur lily more😔 (pleasepleaplepleasepleaspeleaapleaase)

Sigh, I have a very love-hate relationship with Lily with how some of her fans can get. Unfortunately, I did post about her at some point but took it down. Truthfully, I do love her in my own personal way.

Anyways, here's some headcanons:

-She's from Spain and was raised Catholic. Her family moved to the UK and unlike Petunia, Lily settled kinda well while Petunia wasn't used to the sudden change in environment. They moved when Lily was 10 and Petunia was 12.

-I feel like people will hate me for this, but I think her friendship with Severus was one of the most important ones. First friend-first love kinda of thing. They were each other's first person and even when they part ways, Lily will still feel fond of him even when they both wronged each other (because there is no way in hell two lonely teens weren't gonna hurt each other one way or another). Modern AU version of them is just two teenage girls who don't know where the boundaries of romantic-platonic end and begin which causes a lot of weird feelings and toxicity (don't ask how I know that)

-She's like one of those people who are like "Stop doing that, you're making me stressed", and the other person just placed a book in a different place. There is always a certain way she likes things done because she feels like works better, so if another way is introduced, she will be skeptical about its efficiency

-I don't see her reading fiction books all that much. She would much prefer biographies to draw her life inspirations from, literature essays to validate her internal points, and poems for small readings to just relax with. I think if she would read nonfiction, they would definitely have an overall message that she obsesses over. However, I think she would LOVE magazines.

-Not all that into movies, I don't think she would have the patience to watch them.

-We as a fandom must never forget her skill for potions. I think in the muggle world, she was very into chemistry (I've always found this funny stereotype about religious people not liking stuff like chemistry)

-Much more easily agitated during the war. Her head was constantly filling with regrets and a back-and-forth desire to run back to Petunia or stay with the Order. Once Harry was born, she kinda had this melancholy look about her, she won't be able to return or try to make amends with her sister for a long long time, or if she's even able to. At every meeting, she had a frustrated look in her eye but when she was pregnant/after Harry's birth, she just looked like she was reluctantly accepting a terrible fate. She's happy with the family she's crafted for herself but also misses when she didn't have to go through the loneliness of making one for herself because she had Petunia and that was more than enough for Lily.

-I don't think she regrets helping muggles at all. That's not what I'm saying. I'm more in the thinking that she wanted to the comfort of her own family in a such difficult time. Jealously when Regulus dies, Sirius can finally mourn and put his family to rest while Lily fears for her family's life every day as they live, living in regret and feeling like an outcast. James and his parents and her desire for her mother when she's pregnant, yes Effie is kind, but she isn't Lily's mom. Remus has the comfort of knowing his family is safe because Lyall is a wizard, and the same can go for Peter. Lily's family probably doesn't even know what was happening.

-All that anger and frustration kinda boils over and I WISH that JK Rowling made her more angry before her death. Lily's life was unfair! She deserved to yell and scream, plea for her son's life but also cuss out Voldemort. Screaming and crying (literally), shaking with fear but also anger, and I know, female characters can be soft/sensitive/emotional, it's not a bad thing. It's just I wish she was more angry/a mess because she was seen as a witty, sharp-tongued girl! This stereotypical fierce redhead! I would've been fine with her simply pleading for her son's life even in the most pathetic way (no shame) but her personality was established as being very fierce by JK Rowling!! But this could honestly be just me and yes, I know, situations change people sometimes. I just wished there was more anger, or maybe I'm angry on her behalf lol

-Teenage Lily is the helpless romantic, the girl who reads real-life love stories to prove love is real, the girl who cheers her boyfriend on the field, and the girl with gum and finished homework notes that could be given to anyone who needed them. But 20-21 year old Lily the tired woman who cried for her mother when she had her first child, the tired woman who wanted her sister's hugs again, the tired woman with sickly green eyes and moved too slowly for a woman in her early 20s, and the tired woman who watched everyone like a hawk at Order meetings that talked of more death. She sits in the corner, the chair seemingly too big for her, or anyone for that matter, and watches with frustrations simmering under her eyes. Sometimes give a cutting remark that Sirius laughs to.

[williamrikers]

On the subject of consent in recent BLs

In this analysis, I will take a look at several love scenes in recent Thai BLs, how they frame consent and the sexual agency of the characters, and why those matter.

(KinnPorsche deserves its own post: I’m sure people have already written in detail about how much emphasis is placed on issues of consent/non-consent throughout the show and how fundamental consent is to the relationship arcs of both KinnPorsche and VegasPete, and I won’t belabor the point here. Also, special shout-out to The Warp Effect for what it brought to the conversation about gay sex, but TWE isn’t technically a BL so I decided not to include it in this analysis.)

I am going to take a closer look at the following shows in this essay: Not Me, The Eclipse, A Boss And A Babe, Step By Step, and La Pluie.

Not Me and The Eclipse predate the other shows by two years/one year respectively, but I feel it is valuable to include them here because both show very explicit negotiations of consent that I feel are spiritual successors to the wonderful scenes we’ve been getting in the other three shows.

Why am I even writing this? There used to be an unfortunate tendency in the genre to have a power imbalance between the “seme” and the “uke” character, which translated into the seme deciding when to have sex and what kind of sex to have—and even though recently, several shows have done good work in dismantling the seme/uke dynamic and questioning the associated stereotypes, it cannot be denied that the archetypes are still an important part of most BLs, and even in cases where the tropes are played with and questioned, understanding those subversions still requires a knowledge of and familiarity with the original tropes on the part of the audience.

However, gone are the days of Until We Meet Again and Dean’s “I’ve waited long enough, make sure you’re ready.” (I enjoyed UWMA a lot but that was. Yeah. Not Great.) Now, we see characters actually talking about and negotiating their limits, and doing what feels good to them.

Let��s start from the very beginning. Not Me was an absolute trailblazer in this regard, and not mentioning it here would be a gross oversight. The first time Sean and White have sex, it happens in their version of the beach episode. (Which, in Not Me, is the two characters briefly living in a tent inside an abandoned building. This show is the best.) Sean and White are removed from their usual environment and protected from the outside world by two barriers: the walls of the old house and the tent that’s literally enveloping them and giving them a space that is unequivocally theirs, shared, in which neither one of the characters has any sort of power over the other. And what happens in that space when they’re about to have sex is extremely interesting: the first thing Sean asks is whether White is afraid of him, which White denies. The following exchange goes like this: White: "So, what are we doing?" Sean: "What should I do to you?" White: "That’s up to you." (Watch the whole scene here.)

I find this exchange incredibly meaningful because this already turns the seme/uke dynamic that can be found in a lot of other shows on its head. OffGun as a branded pair can easily be stereotyped into the seme/uke dynamic just because of their physical appearances, and clearly spelling out that both characters have agency in this scene is incredibly important.

And then it gets better! Sean assumes that White is sexually inexperienced (which is not true but the fact that White was actually in a relationship with a woman back in Russia never comes up again after the pilot episode, so maybe the show expects us to assume this, too), and suggests they try different things and White can tell him what he likes and doesn’t like. Compared to the stuff we’re getting now, this scene isn’t very high heat at all, but it’s one of my favorite intimate scenes ever because them asking each other “Do you like this?” after every kiss, every touch, is so incredibly unique and transports a wonderful sense of figuring out sexual pleasure together, as a couple.

Sex in Not Me is not something one character does to another, it is something that is discovered and shared together, and we even get an afterglow scene in which they gently tease each other about their fast beating hearts. (And don’t get me started on the importance of White choosing to ask Sean whether Sean is okay with White not being like Black in that moment right before they have sex, because he doesn’t actually want to have sex with Sean as Black! He wants to discover and share intimacy with Sean as White, as himself, not as his brother! The layers!)

Anyway, I think that scene paved the way for a lot of the conversations around consent we’re now getting in BL, just because it is so explicitly, unashamedly putting forward a definition of sexuality that has nothing to do with one character actively giving and the other passively receiving, but frames intimacy as something that is built together. (More on giving and receiving later!)

Now, moving on to The Eclipse. I decided to include the first time Akk and Aye have sex for a different reason: while we don’t really see them actually talking about consent, we see them practicing non-verbal consent. Let me explain. Akk’s and Aye’s whole thing is teasing each other. At first, Aye is usually the one doing the teasing, but Akk gets the hang of it towards the end of the show and teases his boyfriend right back. When they’re in Akk’s childhood bedroom together, Aye clearly alludes to the fact that he thought they might use this opportunity to have sex for the first time, which Akk pretends not to understand, all while alluding to it himself. I love this guy. (Watch the whole scene here.) Anyway, Akk says he wants to sleep, lies down and once again, tells Aye jokingly he just wants to sleep, clearly expecting Aye to do what other BL protagonists do at that point and not take no for an answer (sidenote: I HATE the “saying no as foreplay” trope with a passion and as far as I’m concerned it should die already).

However, Aye is not like other BL love interests, and he backs off. He stops touching Akk, lies down with his back to Akk, showing Akk that he takes him by his word: if Akk says he wants to sleep, Aye is going to let him do just that. So now, it’s on Akk to say that, no, that’s not what he meant, can Aye please come back to cuddle. And then Akk is the one to escalate from cuddling to kissing, which is extremely important: we know that Aye has been ready to have sex with Akk since forever, it’s Akk who’s been having hangups about intimacy this whole time.

They don’t put consent into so many words on this show, but Aye shows Akk that he respects his limits and that Akk only has to tell him he doesn’t want to do something and Aye will take him at his word.

So, these are, to me, two foundational scenes of establishing consent: one that shows consent as something that is established verbally, as an ongoing conversation, and one that shows consent as something that is established physically, by showing your partner that you respect their choices and limits by way of simply acting accordingly.

Now, let’s get into the fun part: scenes we got so far in 2023. I’m writing this post on the 13th of June, and I’m sure this year still has some great things in store for us, especially because Step By Step and La Pluie are both ongoing and neither of the main couples are actually together yet at time of writing. However, they’ve both already given us AMAZING scenes on the topic of consent, so I feel it is worthwhile to write about those already.

I want to start off by talking about A Boss And A Babe.

Let me just preface this by saying that the intimate scenes in ABAAB are some of my all time favorites in BL ever, because in them, sex is something that is just so normal. When Gun and Cher have sex, we don’t see them very passionate, excited, reluctant or wide-eyed innocent (which are some of the emotions traditionally associated with sex in BL). On the contrary, in every single scene that shows them being intimate, both characters are incredibly calm. They’re certainly happy to be with each other, but in a subdued way. Someone described their second intimate scene as them seeming like they’ve been married for a few years. They’re both just… incredibly normal about having sex with each other. It’s simply something they like to do together. It’s a part of their romance but it’s not more or less important than any other aspects of their lives.

And consent is at the very heart of it.

When Gun and Cher have their first time, we see Gun explicitly asking for consent two times: first, “Can I kiss you?”, then, “Can I do more?” The second one even comes with the promise that if Cher says no, Gun will immediately go to sleep without mentioning it again. And then it is on Cher to say yes, to pull Gun close and kiss him to show him that he is comfortable with taking things further. (In the show, these two questions were shown apart from each other, I cut together a version of the whole First Time Scene in its entirety, watch it here.)

Now, things get more interesting: the second intimate scene shows Cher initiating the encounter (watch the whole scene here). Cher pretty consistently falls into the uke category, both physically and as far as characterization is concerned, but he’s certainly not shy in the bedroom. And this time, he’s the one who asks for consent from Gun: Gun asks “You’re starting it?” and Cher’s response is “Can I?” Despite him being framed physically lower than Gun, basically at Gun’s mercy, he still seeks confirmation that Gun is okay with the way things are going. Not to overstate it, but to me, this feels revolutionary. Once again, we’re being shown that sex is something two people do together, as a shared activity, and that the “seme” character isn’t expected to just be up for it. He, too, has the right to say no.

On this show, sexual agency is taken extremely seriously, and it is clear that both Gun and Cher give each other space to decide what they’re comfortable doing. This is shown in non-intimate scenes as well: there are so many moments on ABAAB in which the characters negotiate physical touch and closeness, asking each other for hugs before actually hugging each other, Cher leaning on Gun’s shoulder in the car but not allowing Gun to touch him because that’s not what he’s comfortable with in that moment, and so on. (The only exception to this otherwise pretty consistent rule is the kiss in the car scene, which I’m still extremely confused about because it seems to go completely against Gun’s character. Who knows what happened there.)

Of course, the fact that so much emphasis is placed on negotiation and consent isn’t surprising on a show that has such obvious kink undertones and whose Our Skyy 2 entry basically consisted entirely of Dom/sub roleplay at work—I’m just saying, I think someone on the writing team is way into BDSM and knows all about the importance of enthusiastic consent from all parties involved, and I would like to send them flowers.

Step By Step hasn’t really reached the point where we can analyse the dynamic between the main couple (although we can take some educated guesses based on the interactions we’ve seen so far). However, last week’s episode had an extremely important scene between Pat and Put: Pat wanting to have sex with Put, then changing his mind mid make-out (watch the whole scene here). I really like the way this scene was done. No matter how shitty Put treats Pat at times, in this instance, he immediately understood and respected Pat’s change of mind without Pat even saying or explaining anything—at the end of the episode, Put says to Pat that Pat should tell Put when he feels ready to have sex. (We already know this will never happen because of course, Pat and Put are not endgame, but I do appreciate the sentiment.)

BLs rarely include a whole storyline in which the protagonist is in an actual, serious romantic relationship with someone other than his endgame love interest (hi Moonlight Chicken!), or if they do then just to up the angst factor. In this case, however, I feel that this scene raises our expectations for Jeng even further: if the guy who is definitely not a romantic match for Pat treats Pat with this much respect in the bedroom, then Jeng has to do at least that and then some. I do feel confident that Jeng won’t disappoint in this regard, but it’s fascinating to see a show frame this kind of respect as the absolute baseline minimum, with the endgame love interest expected to do even better.

Now, the one you’ve all been waiting for. The one that made me write this whole essay in the first place: La Pluie.

Oh boy. Where to start.

A week ago, we got an incredible make-out scene on Saengtai’s floor, which ended in Patts stopping the encounter because he could tell Tai wasn’t really comfortable taking things further—@bengiyo talked about that scene in detail here. And then, three days ago, La Pluie gave us the most unique, trope-defying, timeline-changing blowjob scene of all time, and I want to talk about it.

Tai and Patts are making out on their bed, Tai is not ready to go “all the way” and stops Patts from undressing him. We see a very realistic frustrated reaction from Patts, who nevertheless immediately stops and accepts Tai’s wishes—it is clear that Patts does not expect things to go any further at this point, and that he won’t pressure Tai into anything.

And then, Tai offers to blow him.

(Unfortunately, this show is only on iQiyi so I can't link to it, but you can get a good impression of the scene here.)

I mentioned the concepts of giving and receiving earlier: other people have said this more eloquently than me, but there is a tendency not only in BL but also in wider society to view sex in terms of giving and receiving, with a lot of expectations and stereotypes attached to the roles during different sexual acts. On other shows, that blowjob might be framed as a consolidation or an apology, something that the giver does out of a sense of obligation without enjoying it much. Not so on La Pluie! Tai is shown incredibly happy and satisfied afterwards, both when they’re sleeping next to each other, as well as on the morning after (see also @ginnymoonbeam's post about that here). Tai offered to blow Patts because he simply wanted to, not motivated by guilt or anything of that sort. And he genuinely enjoyed it! In the post I linked above, @bengiyo points out that La Pluie consistently centers queer desire, or more specifically in this case, male desire for a male body; much in the same way that the camera fucking loves Force’s body on ABAAB: the sensuality of the skin, the hands, the abs, the flat chests, the broad backs and shoulders of these men is explicitly emphasized, and Tai’s desire for a dick in his mouth is made absolutely crystal-clear. Of course, since this is a TV show and not a porno, we only see Patts’s thumb in Tai’s mouth instead of his dick, but the imagery, the implications, are clear as day.

And it is such a gentle framing, too: Patts caresses Tai’s lip lovingly, Tai opens his mouth slowly, seductively, then faces Patts’s crotch with a soft look on his face. We do get a clear sense of this encounter as tender, and gentle, and most of all, desired. Tai’s queer desire is at the heart of this scene, and at the heart of the afterglow scene as well. He wanted this man’s dick in his mouth, openly suggested it, showed Patts he was sure about his decision after Patts asked him whether he was, and ended up clearly happy and satisfied with the sex they had. This post, also by @bengiyo, goes into more detail on that.

This, once again, shows us sex as a conversation rather than a series of predetermined acts, shows us sex as a shared activity, as something that can be wonderful and intimate and make people happy without following what society views as “the correct steps”. I think this is extremely important because one part of queer identity is figuring out one’s own relationship to sexuality, one’s own desires and needs, and BLs that ignore this aspect fall a little short in my opinion. Sure, those men are kissing, but do they experience queer desire? Do they experience joy in their queer desire?

For me personally, a show that does not shy away from these questions is a lot more meaningful than a show that does, and consent is at the heart of it all. By framing sex as a conversation, as something that is built and shared together, the shows I looked at here are actively positioning themselves against the idea that there should be predetermined roles for partners during sex, and instead suggest that queer joy can be found in communication and consent. Understanding sex and intimacy as something that is built together, with both partners as equals in conversation, is just as radically queer as a man waking up with a smile on his face after giving his soulmate a blowjob the previous night.

And quite honestly, a male character who clearly, passionately, unquestioningly communicates that he wants a dick inside of him—that is incredibly sexy. But maybe that’s just me.

[nightmaretour]

I hate to do this, and it's a long shot I know, but things are getting desperate and it seems like I'm going to be waiting WAY longer than I should be for something that's fairly urgent.

I'm a disabled trans man living in the UK. Recently I was found to have severe anemia, and came up with my FIT test (gastrointestinal cancer screening) a few months ago, and was referred for a colonoscopy to find out the cause, since it looks like I'm having a slow but constant bleed through my GI tract. However, my referral has been awaiting review for over three months now. I'm not even on the waiting list, I'm waiting for someone to decide if I need to be on the waiting list. Since then I've started having GI symptoms such as pain, intermittent loss of appetite, etc. as well as my anemia worsening significantly.

This is of course pretty urgent, but it looks like I'll be waiting months longer once I finally get on the waiting list too. I really have no choice but to get it done through a private hospital, because of the time sensitive nature of, you know, potentially having cancer. I managed to put some money away out of the backpay I got from PIP, but it's not enough.

[ID: A screenshot of an email that's says:

Dear Mr (name blocked out in red),

Thank you for your website inquiry. For your information, the cost of an initial consultation with one of our consultant gastroenterologists is £280."

It then lists the names of 3 doctors as links, all blocked out in red. The email continues,

"The guide price for a colonoscopy is £2,339. For further information, including appointment availability, please don't hesitate to contact the medical secretaries (followed by three names redacted in red) directly on (phone number redacted in red) or call the private patient team on (phone number redacted in red). End ID]

Currently I have around £1,400 stashed away from PIP backpay I got after they royally fucked things up (however I may need to dip into this at points if I find myself struggling). Together the consultation plus the colonoscopy will cost £2,619, which leaves me about £1220 behind. I know I'm most likely not going to get that much from this, but I honestly have no choice but to try my luck here. I really don't know what else I can do.

I really don't like asking for money from people for nothing, but I have a Ko-fi store where I sell handmade screen printed patches, and I'll be adding more designs to it over the coming weeks when I have the time and energy to make new screens. I'm also offering commissions for custom band patches! (Due to Kofi's TOS I can't officially offer patches for bands without their permission.). Below are a few examples of my work:

[ID: 5 images of patches printed in white on black fabric, all sewn onto a worn looking black denim jacket. All are sewn on roughly in red floss, aside from the last one. The first says "only dates I want are tour dates". The words "dates" and "tour dates" are larger than the other text. All of the letter As are replaced with spade symbols. The second is the logo of the band Cop/Out, which is the band name with rough, jagged edges. The third is the logo for The Prodigy, which is the band name in sharp. Zig-zagging letters. The fourth is the logo for the band Subhumans, a stylised skull shouting into a microphone. The fourth is the horizontal silhouette of a crutch. With the words "Talk shit" above it and "get hit" below it. Unlike the rest it is sewn on in black, and the edge of an embroidered back patch is visible just above it. End ID]

I know a lot of people aren't doing well financially right now, and that there are people in far, far more dire situations who probably need your help far more than I do, but I would appreciate any purchases of patches or help you can offer so, so much. Even just sharing the post would be enormously appreciated.

Current progress:

£115/£1220

And of course as pet tax, here's Cynder :)

[ID: A photo of a female wild type leopard gecko laying spread out on a smooth rounded rock in a glass fronted tank. Her head is sideways and raised, looking at the camera with one eye. She looks relaxed and curious. Behind her a large piece of thick tree bark and a plastic cave can be seen. End ID]

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

The Times

Extracts: The hardest year of my life: Prince William opens up about Kate’s cancer

The Princess of Wales had major abdominal surgery in January. She later revealed that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer had been found. The King also had cancer diagnosed and began treatment earlier this year.

While the princess has spoken about her own journey back to health, William gave the first indication of his own experience as he marked the end of a successful four-day visit to Cape Town.

Speaking in the Portside Tower in central CapeTown, which had been set up as a hub for his Earthshot prize week, William sighed and said: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”

“But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.”

“But from a personal family point of view, it’s been brutal.”

While some commentators remarked on him appearing to be “relaxed” as he hosted the Earthshot prize ceremony on Wednesday evening, William implied that looks can be deceiving.

He said: “It’s interesting you say that, because I couldn’t be less relaxed this year. But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going. I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too.”

The past two years have seen a major shift for William. As heir apparent after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, William has increasingly adopted a statesman-like role.

In 1947 his grandmother gave an address from Cape Town in which she pledged to serve for her whole life — whether it be long or short.

Nearly 80 years later, William was there under his own steam — with a week of engagements to celebrate the initiative he started four years ago to promote environmental innovations. However, he is also stepping into a more diplomatic role.

William met President Ramaphosa for a wide-ranging discussion. Alongside David Lammy, the foreign secretary, William discussed the relationship between the UK and South Africa. Antony Phillipson, the British High Commissioner to South Africa, described it as the “highest level” meeting.

So, does William relish the double-edged sword of responsibility and freedom that comes with his new role? “It’s a tricky one. Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot? Then, yes. And that’s the future for me. It’s very important with my role and my platform that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful.

“So, the Earthshot [prize] is a culmination, if you like, of all that put together. But it takes a lot of work, and there’s a lot of unseen stuff that goes on, a lot of meetings, a lot of people coming in, a lot of chatting and phone calls, letters, all trying to sort of make the Earthshot get to being the best possible entity it can be.”

But he admits he is frustrated sometimes by the slow pace of businesses and governments to adopt new green technologies.

He said: “I’d like it to be more a team sport. And so, when you go and approach people and say — like business or whoever, or even government — when you approach them and say, ‘Listen, we’re building this incredible thing, please come on board’, some people are extremely fast and keen to it. Others take a little bit longer and it’s those people who take a little bit longer, I’m like, ‘Guys, we just don’t have the time’.”

“So, yes, I get a bit frustrated that it takes a long time to convince people that this is worthy of their attention. But I guess that’s the nature of a global environment prize, you start from scratch and it’s going to take a bit of time.”

William may well have limited time in this role. After all, he doesn’t know how long he will work on these projects as Prince of Wales or when duty will call him to take the top job.

Wednesday night’s ceremony was the biggest of its kind, broadcast live across the world via YouTube and a major African broadcaster.

It opened with a performance of the Lion King’s Circle of Life, which started with a pre-recorded video from the top of Cape Town’s Table Mountain and ended with a live performance in the megadome, a purpose built venue for the awards ceremony, which took 600 people several months to construct.

“I don’t know about everyone else, but hearing the Lion King gets me quite emotional,” the prince said. “But the key thing is really the impact. We need to translate the sort of effort that we put into the visibility of the prize and particularly the visibility of the solutions.”

He hoped his children were watching but may have to wait until he gets home to find out what they thought of it. No doubt that’s wise, given some of his other comments about the discerning opinions of his children, particularly Princess Charlotte.

After the final question about his new beard, William laughed. Even that, it seems, has been somewhat traumatic.

He said: “Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears the first time I grew one, so I had to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second, and I convinced her it was going to be OK.”

After the year William and his family have had, many will hope it will.

[biancadoes1]

Hello! I've been in fandoms for over 20 years, and I honestly thought I'd seen it all. But then, while watching the promo tour for Bridgerton Season 3, I fell into the Polin rabbit hole. The chemistry between Luke and Nicola was undeniable, and it hooked me in quickly. However, as I explored more of the fandom, I was surprised to see how toxic things could get.

In my previous fandoms, I shipped characters, not the actors portraying them—except for Harry and Louis from One Direction (and that experience brought its own share of hurt: matching tattoos, song lyrics, all those signs…we truly thought “Larry” was endgame). This fandom feels similar. Many fans wish Luke and Nic could be together in real life, but at what cost? Our own sanity?

Let’s be real: the odds of them being in a real-life relationship are incredibly slim. The obsession with “Easter eggs” that supposedly hint at something more? I’ve been down that road, and it’s unhealthy. Years have passed, and that Harry/Louis relationship confirmation we hoped for never came. I see the same patterns here with Luke and Nic, and it’s disappointing to see fans clinging to these little hints instead of simply enjoying the incredible work they put into their characters.

A critical point to consider: would anyone be comfortable with a 29-year-old dating a 16-year-old? Of course not. So why is it suddenly okay now, just because they’re older? When JD became legal in the UK at 16, Nicola was nearly 30—an adult, while he was still in his teens. Even now, he’s still significantly younger than she is. If she truly is dating someone this young, it’s disappointing. It brings into question the kind of person she actually is, and maybe that’s why many fans resist admitting she could be in a relationship with JD. It’s easier for fans to uphold the idea that Nicola is perfect than to accept that she might be making choices that don’t align with the values we thought she stood for.

Nicola has long appeared to be a woman of strong character who took charge of her career and made independent decisions. Ignoring what’s happening now could hurt her public image and even her integrity. It’s one thing to admire the professionalism and maturity she’s shown on screen and in interviews, but it’s another to look the other way when things don’t add up.

So, what would it take for fans to accept that she might actually be dating JD and not Luke? The recent photos of her with JD in a residential neighborhood, having dinner with no reason to expect paparazzi, seem like a pretty clear indication that this might be a real relationship. It’s time for fans to face the possibility that Nicola isn’t as flawless as we might want her to be.

Part of the reason we might all want Luke and Nic together is because they have undeniable chemistry. But maybe it’s also because Nicola doesn’t fit the stereotypical “attractive” mold that society pushes, and we like the idea of her getting the handsome, tall guy. It’s possible we’re projecting our own insecurities, hoping to manifest a romance between them—and that’s not fair to either of them.

And yes, as much as I’d love to see Luke and Nic together in real life, the truth is, they’re actors. Their job is to bring their characters to life so we want to watch the show, so they can succeed, gain visibility, and open doors to new acting opportunities. Maybe we haven’t considered that their chemistry is simply the result of them doing their jobs well. If they’ve done their part so convincingly that they’ve made fans believe in their on-screen romance, isn’t that proof of their talent as actors? They’ve played their roles beautifully, and it might be time to let that fantasy go.

If we don’t want to end up with heartbreak, frustration, and sleepless nights, it might be best to step back and enjoy Polin as they are in Bridgerton. Let’s appreciate Luke and Nic’s talent without digging into their personal lives. And where are all these so-called “anon experts” even coming from? The way they hype up every little “clue” is exhausting. For your own sanity, take a step back from the speculation—don’t put yourselves through what we Larry shippers went through.

For all of our sakes, let’s step back, enjoy the characters, and leave Luke and Nic’s personal lives out of it.

Thank you for your thoughts, anon.

But I disagree heavily on multiple points you make and that's fine.

I like to leave these topics open for thoughtful discussion.

[docholligay]

Choose Your own Adventure: June 2024

Listen the quality is middling and I really really wish I had more time to work out the rough bits of this but it's 3021 words which is more than I've written in a month in a long, long time. So thank you all so much!

I’ve had nightmares ever since I was a kid. 

I guess that’s not actually all that impressive, plenty of people can say they’ve had nightmares since they were a kid. No, what I mean is, I’ve had the sort of nightmares where I dream too deep, and I can’t escape, since I was a kid. 

You ever dream too deep? Where you know you’re dreaming, but you can’t get yourself out of it. The most insane things can be happening around you--once I was trapped in Picasso’s Guernica, after I saw a picture of it in my sixth grade social studies book--but it must be real, because if it weren’t real, you could wake up. 

I was doing that. I couldn’t wake up, but I was in the most fucking insane situation of my life. Not a quite a nightmare, too strange to be a nightmare. Sitting in a historical house in England, surrounded by a bunch of people that aren’t real. Completely fake. Internationally trademarked, even. 

The fact that they weren’t real, however, wasn’t keeping me from building a fire in a glorious marble fireplace  while noted fictional characters Fareeha Amari and Haruka Tenoh moved furniture around, trying to get a space for everyone to draw their boundaries for the night. 

It was tense. Tension’s a lot more fun when you’re writing it instead of living it. 

Lena dropped an armful of wood beside me and crouched down, looking at the arrangement of logs. It’d be fair enough to question what I was doing. I’m good at building a fire, great even, but that supposes a number of things are true. I don’t know if they’re true here. Does wood even cure in the UK? It must, wood cures everywhere, but it’s just so goddamn damp here. 

“Set of matches upstairs.” She picked at the edge of one of the logs. “If you need.” 

I didn’t want her to go upstairs. I don’t know why, but it prickled across my skin. I don’t like it. There’s something odd about this place, beautiful as it is. Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted to wander around every inch of the house. The carved woods, the hand-knotted carpets, no one to tell me I couldn’t touch it, running my fingers across the flocked wallpaper. But I didn’t want her to. 

“Well, I’m just gonna look around here,” I stood up, stepping toward the mantle,  “has to be a match somewhere, it’s a fireplace for fuck’s sake. Can’t light it with hope. No need for you to run around all hell in the dark.” 

She chuckled appreciatively and got to her feet. 

“Oh, I’m alright.” She scratched the back of her head, “I’m the only one knows where it is. Improve everyone’s mood a bit, warm fire.” 

I’ve had these dreams all my life. The fastest way to get out of them, is to follow the rules of them. My brain wants these worlds to be real, and so they have to be real. If I call it a dream, if I try to break out, it closes in tighter. Dream people don’t like to know they’re fake dream houses like to stay firm on the ground. These dreams are waves to be ridden. That this one feels more real than anything I’ve ever had is all the more reason to be careful. All I needed to do was get through it. As soon as the tow truck pulls up, I would just fade into the dawn. I’ve done my part. 

But the reality of it. Even looking at Lena, I couldn’t imagine the perfection of her. Everything’s the way I know it, but have never seen. Her eyes are bright and brown and filled with stars. Her smile is crooked and constant, completely unself-consious. Her messy hair with its chestnut glimpses in the light. All perfect. But things I hadn’t imagined, either. Things that were completely correct, but I could never have written down. The barely-visible scar on her arm, from breaking it as a child. The rips in her sweater, lovingly darned. 

Was it like this for God, that his creations were made more real in their own time? 

Wow, comparing myself to God, that’s a fascinating level of arrogance on display as I’m freezing to death. 

“Haruka!” I call out behind me, “Can I use your lighter?” 

Lena looks at me. I shrug. 

“She smoked when we were in the van.” 

“Oh yeah!” She laughs and adds a small piece of tinder to the fire, “I forgot. She’s been round the backside of every pub we’ve stopped at.” 

Haruka tossed it, not leaving Mina’s side, not wanting to join the conversation. It doesn’t matter. She’s still young, and annoying, and I don’t expect it. If I could have picked, I’d meet forty year old Haruka. But the lighter is more important now, one step closer to waking up to my three year old running into the room. I’ve done this plenty of times. 

First fire. Then phone.

_________

Lena watched the fire catch, and then rose to her feet, offering Doc’s shoulder a pat. Everyone would be a better mood when they were a little warmer, and maybe Lena herself could cast off the strange feeling that had come over her since she went into the house. The house wasn’t talking to her, the house didn’t know her, the house wasn’t creeping around her like the ivy on the side of the house. 

Course not. 

That didn’t mean, though, that things weren’t odd. 

Fareeha was moving together couches and piling in bedding from another room. It was a good idea, they’d probably all have to spend the night here, and Lena ignored the twinge that she shouldn’t be using the fine coverlets, the down pillows. It was just like a thought said in another room, anyway. 

She should go apologize. She thought it would be funny to scare Fareeha--and it was--but Lena did whatever came to her mind first, and never thought a day, a month, a year past it. She should have known it would bother her, having spent so much time trying to professional in front of two people who wouldn’t know professional if it slapped them across the ass. Who, honestly, didn’t care about how well Fareeha ran the organization. 

But Fareeha did care, and Lena had upset her, and she cared about Fareeha even if she was an annoying stick in the mud who never met a rule she didn’t like. When you care about people, sometimes you have to pretend you care about other things as well. 

So she went to Fareeha’s side, and touched at the pillow on the couch in front of her, fluffing it slightly. 

“Listen, earlier, that’s the sort of thing you more or less expect from me andI I thought it’d be a bit of fun, and---alright, what I --I didn’t mean to embarrass you. In front of the posh poodles. Or what ‘ave you.” 

Fareeha barely looked up at her. “Who said that you embarassed me?” 

Lena gave a short sigh. Well, she’d done her part. Fareeha’s pride was what it was, and there wasn’t much to be done about it. 

“Right.” She looked at the shadows the fire threw upon the wall, squinting as if she could almost read them. “Strange place.” 

She said it quietly, almost to herself, but flicked her eyes back to Fareeha’s, knowing she would hear and hoping she would confirm it. Not quite a whisper, but most certainly a private conference. Fareeha said nothing, her eyes simply meeting Lena’s in silent assessment, but nothing was not a denial. Right, of course. Fareeha, for whatever her faults might be: Her stubborness and pride, for example, qualities that Lena herself most certainly did not embody, or, if she did, embodied them in a much less annoying way--for all that, she trusted Lena. She didn’t think Lena was crazy. 

She took the silence, as she took most silences, as leave to continue. 

“Don’t you wonder about this rain?”

“In England? No. I absolutely do not.” 

“It doesn’t rain like this.” Lena shook her head, trying to ignore the shadow play on the wall.  “It drizzles, London fog, grey, all that. Does this seem a drizzle to you? For hours now. Doesn’t strike you as odd. Just a bit? Something is not right.” 

Fareeha smiled. “We are,” she waved a hand and clapped it heavily on Lena’s shoulder, squeezing. “on a windswept moor, or something. You don’t hear ghosts, just Heathcliff howling.” 

Lena took a few steps back and shook Fareeha’s hand off her shoulder. 

“Right, first off, we ain’t in Yorkshire, this is Surrey. Buy a map. Second off, you’re really proud of finishing that book. Third off,” It reached a stage whisper, a wide gesture, “don’t bloody patronize me! Fareeha!”

“Fourth off, there’s a ghost in Wuthering Heights.” 

Lena and Fareeha both looked over to where Doc had appeared beside them. Lena didn’t much care for anyone to have quiet feet but her. 

“You think this house is haunted?”

“Not necessarily, I’m just givin’ a book report. I guess. Anyway,” Doc broke from Fareeha’s gaze, “Everyone’s mood would prolly greatly improve with some food.”

Food? 

When did she eat last? She ran back in her mind, trying to figure out what it had been. They’d been at the Spoons, for some ungodly reason ordering chicken katsu, and what had she had? A little pizza. A pint. Alright, two pints. She should be fine. She spent a lot of time talking, didn’t she? At least, Fareeha had said so, but you know--

She saw the pizza box in the back of the van, more than half full. 

“Right! I’m ‘ungry, is all.” 

Plenty of people who were supposedly experts in a thing that had never happened had said plenty of things about her, after the slipstream, and most of them had been only too happy to suggest Lena be tossed in the bin like a broken toy. She’d never be right, you know. MIght never talk again, then did, might never take care of herself, did that too, might never be able to work again, check, and she would have had her pilot’s license back immediately if everyone at the CAA wasn’t so bloody straightlaced. She had done it all, everything they said she wouldn’t. 

Might even be a danger to herself or others, for all she’s talking about seeing the pasts overlapping, about screaming into a London that was covered in soot that was under siege by the Vikings that was bombed to the ground that was her living room.He’d never let that go. She’d been a bit forgetful and chatty, with a tireless body, since she was small, but now everything she said and did was some proof of his theory. Everything was proof of an ‘unquiet mind’, never mind that they’d been happy enough to recruit her busy, loud mind before. She’d hated that insufferable prick the most, and that was quite the accomplishment. 

No one thought she was crazy, why was she thinking about this? Why was she thinking about the house? She was hungry. When she was hungry, it was easy for her to jump tracks. Happened all the time. 

Fareeha was looking at her carefully. 

“I have meal replacement bars in my bag. You can have any of them.” 

If there was anything worse than Fareeha’s constant criticism, it was her occasional concern. 

“Oh, right! The blueberry kale one.” Lena gave a bright smile, “Not to betray me English right of resignation to misery, but ‘ave we tried going the kitchen?” 

“I can cook. I’ll help.” 

___

I don’t know why I volunteered. Other than I knew exactly what kind of meal replacement bars Fareeha has stashed in her backpack, and even if there were only a few scant things in the pantry, it would be beter than a bunch of bars with the name “Superfood slam” or “Supergreen.” 

Also, I genuinely did think everyone would be better off with some food. I don’t know what Mina’s up to in the corner with Haruka, but she keeps giving me this stare, like she’s trying to peer into my soul. She knows something’s up with me. 

I just have to keep going until it’s finished. Six am comes real early.

“Alright.” Lena shrugs with a smile, “I can probably manage not to kill anyone, so between the two of us it’ll be a regular feast.” 

You’re actually a pretty decent cook, I want to say, you took an A level in food studies in a desperate attempt to get what you needed to qualify as a pilot. You grew up helping cook. You may be the best cook in this room who isn’t me. But I need to remember I don’t know these people, at least to them. 

Remember the dream about the opera? Remember telling your seatmate the end of the story? Remember how the stage caved in, remember how it dragged you down, remember how you forgot to believe in the dream? Remember how dark it got? Lena is a stranger to you and you don’t know anything about her you couldn’t have read in a magazine somewhere. 

Relax and enjoy the dream. Hell, maybe it’ll give you some ideas for that crushing writer’s block you’ve had. It’s easy, everyone agreed to send you two off, there was a flashlight given over, and you more or less understand the layout of older houses--why does this place look so familiar anyway? It’s not the Moss Mansion. It’s not the Biltmore.--so you thought you could find the kitchen. Easy. 

But why are there so many things I would never imagine? Why are the cell phones different? Why--

“What about you, then?” Chipper and bright. 

“What about me?” 

We were wandering the first floor, looking for a dining room, which would suggest a kitchen. The walls were dark, carved in relief squares with pictures and saints’ portraits hung, all of them watching, some directing, some whispering, but all watching. 

“You know,” she swung the flashlight in front of her, “Married. Kids. Sunday league team. Just making conversation in the dark.” She laughed at herself. “Nothing important.” 

“Yeah, married. Daughter.” I’m never sure how much to say, how to keep from betraying myself. I suddenly remember I’m not supposed to know anything. “Oh, you?” 

“Nearly there!” A sliver of moonlight hit her face, and the beauty of the joy in her face was illuminated in silver like a holy manuscript. 

“Going to ask ‘er next month, when we go on ‘oliday. Oh, but she’s beautiful. And so kind. Patient, which to ‘ear me family say is the only reason she can tolerate me. I don’t know ‘ow I ended up so lucky--you imagine, girl like ‘er, in me family’s pub with the sticky carpet and--but that doesn’t matter, i did manage to charm her, and now I’ve got the ring.” 

There was a strange twist in my stomach, then. Something deep and sick inside me, like I ws aboard a tossing ship. 

“Never really saw meself settling down, not that I didn’t want to, but it’s a dangerous life, mine, and--”

Ah. Guilt. That’s what it is. 

“Here it is.” I half-ran through the dining room. I couldn’t listen to her be in love anymore. “Kitchen.” 

___

Doc was flipping through the pantry, muttering to herself as she took the tops off a few spice jars, sticking her nose over the top. 

“Boy, no one here’s been particularly burdened by seasoning.” She set the jar of smoked paprika back down with a clink. 

“Yeah?” 

“Everything’s old.” She reached into the pantry again. “Least in here.” 

Doc moved away from where the unhappy jars sat, and went to another cabinet. People teased Lena, said that she never paid attention to anything, but the problem, Lena had often observed, was that she paid too much attention to everything, and it was hard to keep it all catalouged. Looking at Doc, watching her mutter to herself, the way her fingers drifted over surfaces, the way she bounced when she walked and how her eyes wandered. Lena couldn’t be sure, you could never really be sure of anything like that, but there was something kindred between them. 

“You’re a bit like me, I think.” Lena jumped up onto the countertop and opened a tall cabinet, revealing nothing but some old glassware. 

“No,” Doc shut the cabinet with an annoyed thump, “You’re a little like me.” 

Didn’t ask how she meant. Didn’t even think about what Lena might have been saying about it. Didn’t disagree. Doc stopped in the middle of the room and nodded. 

“I’m older than you, I mean. I came first.”  Doc shrugged. “So it’s you who’s like me. A little bit.”

She stood in front of the few cans they’d managed to gather and threw a pot on the stove, turning on the gas and striking a match all in a swift and praticed motion. The burner lit without dramatics. 

“Anyway, who the fuck wants to talk about it? Congratulations, we’re both twitchy and weird. Want to place bets on who can sit still the longest? Short game. Hand me that knife, will you?“ 

Lena sat down on the butcher block counter, her arms around her knees and watched Doc as she popped open cans and began to toss them in the pot. Not everyone wanted to talk about what made them tick, and it wasn’t even as if Lena had necessarily wanted a deep conversation about it. It was only an observation, an extension of friendship. Maybe she’d embarrassed her by noticing. Lena’d felt that way herself a time or two. It doesn’t always feel complimentary to have someone tell you they know you’re odd. Not every family was like Lena’s about it. She grabbed the knife and extended it toward Doc. 

Kill her.

Lena jumped back with the ferocity of it, the knife clattering to the counter. Doc turned to her, eyes narrowed. 

“What is it?” 

Kill her before she kills you. 

For next month

[deke-rivers-1957]

Guy Lambert's Rank

Disclaimer: For my tier list I’m basing this off of a one on one fight with no weapons or no outside interference. If a character has to rely on a weapon to win they’re typically ranked lower. If a character has to fight more than one person at a time, I’ll look at it on a case by case basis. Age, size and general background are factors that will be taken into consideration. Since a lot of those details are going to be up to interpretation as these are characters and not real people, feel free to share your own thoughts.

There doesn't appear to be anything specific that tells us when this takes place. I am not European so I'll do my best to breakdown context clues. For one there is the obvious fact that the G-men have Beatles mop-top hair styles which was extremely popular in the mid 1960s. Jill essentially being sent to a boarding school also showcases the time period. Going to one is seen as a combination of both living up to the prestigious family history she has and also Uncle Gerald trying to control her rebellious nature. With the large influence of US popular culture since WWII, traditionalism in the UK started to dwindle. This resulted in young Londoners to take on more counterculture beliefs including the dance scene. Coupled with the Belgian police chief having a 1964 Volkswagen Sedan, we are solidly in the mid 1960s.

Guy does not have a canon age. We don't get to see his passport so we only have the fact that he can work in places that sells alcohol to go off of. Belgium and the UK have unrestricted age limits once you are 18. Since Guy is able to get specific VISAs for England and Belgium for his shows by himself, he is clearly an adult. Therefore the only thing I can base it on is how old Elvis was. Double Trouble was filmed in 1966 making Elvis 31 so therefore Guy is 31 as well.

While Guy did get punched earlier in the movie, that doesn't count as he had no intention of fighting anyone. One lucky hit doesn't make you a good or bad fighter.

This fight scene ended with an actual death. No weapons, no interference. Just making the best use of your environment. While it looks unrealistic for Guy to chop through wood, they prefaced this by having this unnamed hitman (which according to elvis.com.au was named Morley and was played by famous character actor Michael Murphy in his film debut) explain that this wood is so old, it would break easily.

We know nothing about this hitman so I can only base his age on Michael Murphy's age. Since he was born in 1938, that makes him a couple years younger than Elvis. This would make Michael about 28. Michael is stated to be about 6 ft 1 which also gives him a height advantage over Elvis. For Guy to cause him to fall down that broken pile of wood resulting in his death, there has to be a relatively equal amount of skill. His stamina must also be pretty decent since this was not that long after a performance involving rigorous dancing.

Guy hitting Claire and Detective Grayson from Scotland Yard does not count. While he did not have to rely on a weapon, it was essentially two on one and most of the action occurred out of the view of the camera. This was possibly done on purpose because they couldn't show Elvis hitting a woman. Therefore, only his fight against uncle Gerald's hitman will count.

We don't really know much about Guy's combat experience since he doesn't mention anything about the military. So we have to consider him to be an otherwise ordinary man in his early 30s. He can stand his own ground against a hitman and someone from Scotland Yard though.

Since Guy is in his 30s, there is the issue of physical decline. As a performer, that is a reality worth considering. We don't know his injury history pertaining to his performances, therefore we don't know how long he can maintain this level of activity. If he was a bit younger, I would put him in A. However, he is above 30 so as of right now he will go in high B tier.

Tagging: @eapep, @mercsandmonsters, @atleastpleasetelephone, @almightybigbrain, @without-him,

@vampireego, @elvispresleyxoxo, @thelonelyheart, @vintagepresley, @arrolyn1114,

@angelelvis, @auntbee22, @southcarolinawoman, @smokeymountainboy, @hooked-on-elvis,

@underthememphissun and @valloos.

[lesser-vissir]

This might at some point make it out of drafts, but having had someone ask me to explain why I think the black genocide framework isn't useless or accurate, I wanted to get some notes down about that.

Now obviously, whether systemic racism (and by extension all systemic oppression) constitutes genocide is a purely semantic issue. Under a more traditional definition of genocide, it obviously does not. Systemic oppression often lacks intent by virtue of being a self perpetuating system. Moreover, genocide has always been a matter of scale, and less than 1 in 100 dead is pretty solidly outside the traditional boundaries for genocide.

However, using the definition proposed by the black genocide framework makes them systemic oppression genocidal definitionally so long as it causes disproportionate harm to a specific group.

Of course, unsaid in all of this is that other systemic oppression must therefore also constitute genocide, which is part of why I think the expanded definition isn't particularly useful. Where is the line drawn? I think you could argue very heavily that gay people face a genocide under that definition. The AIDS crisis becomes a genocide and in many ways so do the other systemic issues surrounding homophobia. Trans people quite obviously face a genocide under this definition as well, especially trans women. The global south is under a near constant state of genocide by this definition.

But we can also move to lesser greviences. Are women being genocided? There is undeniable systemic misogyny, some of which is quite severe. Under this definition, it would be fairly trivial to argue as such. Same with diabetics and disabled people in general. Pretty much any group could conceivably call their oppression genocide using this definition.

This overly broad definition turns any instance of oppression beyond a personal level into genocide, and that's part of why I don't think it is a useful framework. It makes the term genocide meaningless.

However, it is important to meet the original proponent of the theory where they were at. Namely that they did not believe systemic racism was actually genocide either! The usage of the term was rhetorical sleight of hand in order to generate momentum towards ending systemic racism.

The goal was two-fold: first to galvanized members of the black community by stressing the extent of their oppression, and to force non-black and especially white people in the US to treat systemic racism with the seriousness that they would treat a genocide. (Which as we know means they wouldn't care but🤷)

Seeing as this only really works for a short period of time before either the public rejects the new definition and no longer considers it a genocide, or the term becomes watered down and genocide loses its status as the most evil thing that can be done, the strategy has long since lost any effectiveness.

Which leads me to the second big issue I have with the theory: it breeds a conspiratorial mindset in its followers.

I mean, we've all seen some of the posts coming out of the community that believes in that, especially the seme/uke duo. It just,,, does not accurately describe reality lol

If you took them at face value you would believe that the vast majority of the black us population was either dead or in prison, which just isn't true.

And, I'll open up a little here, I live in a majority black area of Chicago. While it's certainly not a rich area, the people living her are doing quite well for themselves. No one's going hungry, they've got some disposable income, things aren't great but they're not bad.

I'd wager that experience is closer to reality than some of the genuine delusions I have seen posted online wherein there is no hope for black usamericans to live a stable of happy life.

Finally, there is no political utility in describing systemic oppression as genocide. What original political utility it had has been spent, and it now is an active detriment in terms of mindset. Moreover, there is nothing gained in terms of theoretical understanding of the forces that shape systemic racism, nor does such a framework provide any solutions.

Plenty of scholars have addressed this topic, both from within the black community and without, and the best argument against this framework is that it simply does not offer as much as class-based analysis or other analysis of systemic oppression which offer actual paths towards fixing these issues

In fact, many have argued, such as Orlando Patterson, a reductive framework like this one actively hinders progress forwards as it removes black people's agency and frames them as perpetual victims, undermining the nuaced intersections of race, class, and culture that actually shape the dynamics at play.

We can see this quite clearly among a lot of the usual offenders, wherein it is clear they believe black people are ontological victims. It's part of why they lash out so hard whenever the relatively privileged positions of black usamericans is brought up.

Anyways, that's my thought on that. It's a pretty rough post, written while high in the middle of the night, so please interpret this generously and don't get hung up on specific wordings. It's not a treatise lol

[ostensiblynone]

MAY 21, 2000.

Noel leaves the tour and flies back to England before taking a plane to his Ibiza holiday home to spend some quality time with his wife Meg and their three-month old daughter, Anaïs. A press statement is released, saying that Noel has quit overseas touring, though it's strongly rumoured that he may play the British and Irish dates in July and August. Oasis decide to honour their remaining European live commitments - all 30 of them - with stand-in guitarist Matt Deighton, former Mother Earth frontman and Paul Weller sidekick. After three days' rehearsals in France, the band resume the tour in Milan on May 30. At this point, Liam is the only original member of the 1993 lineup on-stage. Curiously, the band has Noel's blessing to continue, and he happily lets Deighton use his guitars and rig.

Liam takes to wearing an Elvis-style TCB (Takin' Care Of Business') patch; however, it's fair to say that at this point no one knows if Oasis have a long-term future. Meanwhile, the Noel-sung Sunday Morning Call is released as a single.

So why did you let the band resume the tour? Noel: (Passionately) Because it was the best way. To Liam's eternal fucking credit he carried it off and saved me a whole load of shit with the lawyers. I was actually fucking quite proud of him - it was good for Liam that he could actually go out and do it.

Weren't you wounded, though, that your band was carrying on playing without you? Noel: No, not all, and I mean that actually most fucking sincerely. I got a phone call from the manager [Marcus Russell] saying, "Look, if you don't come back we're going to be fucking taken for every penny that we've ever made," and I'm like, Fine, but I can't go back, not after what's happened. There were about 50 people on the road and they'd all seen what had happened, and I wasn't going to go back and travel on a separate bus or a separate aeroplane - that's like the fucking Troggs or something. They said they were going to have to carry on, so I said, That's fine. Liam: Did I have something to prove to myself? No. Yeah. Maybe. My whole fucking thing is, whether people believe me or not, it's nothing to do with me being the big boy, it was to do with the band. It's not just me and Noel. We're just two brothers in a fucking band, I just happen to be the singer, he happens to be the songwriter, I happen to be good-looking, he just happens to be a good songwriter, that is all it is. The other three guys are still as important. So we just went on and done it. I know what I'm fucking doing, Whitey knows what he's doing, Gem and Andy know what they're doing, we're not dickheads. We just didn't have Noel Gallagher there. It was nothing to do with me, it's to do with the spirit that is around Oasis - and the spirit around Oasis is a bit of a lunatic. He's the dog's bollocks when he wants to be. He's a nutter.

Did it sound different? Liam: Yeah, it sounded punky. All it was missing was Noel's backing vocals. It was really punky, straightforward and that was it.

JUNE.

The Noel-less Oasis zig-zags it way across Europe - through Switzerland, Austria, Germany Poland, Holland, Sweden and Denmark. The music is unpaired, chiefly due to the lack of brotherly harmonies and the added texture of the dropped, Noel-sung material. Some critics also rue the lack of fraternal banter, which leaves the performances somewhat one-dimensional and a trifle pedestrian. Nevertheless, the crowds seem happy, and at most gigs only a handful of fans take up the promoters' money-back offer.

JULY.

After a six-week sabbatical, Noel does, indeed, return for the Irish and UK shows. The first is at Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin, on July 8. In attendance is mother Peggy Gallagher, the person ultimately responsible for all this in the first place. Fraternal relations are still shaky, and Noel stays at a different hotel from the band, flying home alone straight afterwards. Liam, meanwhile, reportedly holes up in a bar and drinks 15 pints of Guinness. By all accounts, the show is magnificent.

Is it true that Liam didn't show up for a pre-gig meeting? Noel: Classic! Yeah, because he's fucking Liam and it's like tit for tat. He actually called the fucking meeting, so I was like, Fine, and we were all sitting there waiting and it's like, Oh, he's not coming. He's in the bar. Liam: We were meant to have a meeting but I couldn't go (laughs)...

Was it because you were still angry with Noel for quitting the tour? Liam: No, it was me and him - I was as much to blame as he was. I dealt with my shit and whatever. I wasn't angry with anyone, I just wanted to get on with the fucking gig and do it. Noel: The first time we actually saw each other was on-stage in fucking Dublin. And what I thought was really fucking cheesy was at the end of Acquiesce [Noel's paean to their fraternal bond], he comes out and fucking puts out his hand, knowing full well that I'm not going to go (whips hand away in spiteful playground fashion). The world media is watching, our mum's in the crowd, and he comes over and shakes hands and that was the big fucking defining moment of the tour. I just thought, Fucking hello...

MOJO Magazine "We're Sticking Together" - The Full Story [page 2] | January 2001 Written by Pat Gilbert

[totally-california]

The World’s Issues (and What Californians can Do)

For once this isn’t satire, so please actually pay attention. This is about the situation with Israel and Palestine.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE SITUATION: This is a big one. It’s a huge issue that needs to be addressed; almost everyone knows that it’s happening. For those that don’t know, Hamas, a terrorist organization, took Israeli hostages into the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s response was initially viewed as acceptable before immediately doing a 180 into violence. They began to bomb the Gaza Strip, displacing millions of innocent Palestinians from their homes. This already happened prior when Israel took over Palestine in 1948, but now the bombing has led to the people that remain are close to dying, potentially starving, or have been killed. Many people need donations and funding to stay on their feet to pay for things like medical aid, and one of the only ways to get out had been Egypt, until Hamas made the border into Egypt to dangerous to cross.

THE US’S CONNECTIONS: The truth of the matter is it’s actually very hard for the US to immediately cut ties with Israel. While it may seem like a good idea, and in many ways it is, it’s actually a bit more difficult than just placing an economic sanction. This is mostly because so many people in the government were pro-Israel in the past, and it’s hard to instantly break off when something bad happens. However, this issue has been happening for months, surely they’d have changed, right? This is because something so totally ingrained into people takes a long time to change (such as being raised to be racist or homophobic), and let’s be honest, most of America’s politicians are old. While that doesn’t justify their behavior, the fact that many politicians are politically calling for a ceasefire is a step in the right directions. We need to make sure they keep going in that right direction, however. All they need is a little push. Which brings us to…

WHAT CALIFORNIANS (AND OTHERS) CAN DO: What can you do to help these people? For starters, vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Donald Trump has repeatedly stated he would help Israel “finish them off”. You can read this in his Agenda 47 or just watch one of his interviews. And if you’re thinking of voting third party… um… the third party candidate is a little out of it as well. Like, actually kind of insane. (Look up the dead bear/roadkill situation for more information) Kamala, meanwhile, has vocally stated she wants a ceasefire twice (so has Tim Walz). While this isn’t directly cutting ties with Israel, it’s better than what the other candidates are doing. Push her. When you vote, say you’re on the fence about what candidate to pick but that helping Palestine would definitely help persuade you. The next thing you can do is donate to help them. Many of the donations I DO know about are from the UK, so you may have to look up an exchange rate, but I’ll search for some more. Here are some that I’ve found:

One warning I have for you: if you do decide to actively protest, DON’T protest and interrupt someone for 40 minutes in a rally. You’re just going to worsen the situation for ALL parties involved. The whole thing where the protests interrupted an already established rally is NOT a protest- it’s public interference. I know it may be tempting to interrupt a rally for protesting, but DON’T DO IT. Michigan is a great example of what NOT to do. (Kamala’s reaction wasn’t the best either, but for a spur of the moment response, most people probably couldn’t have done much better). And don’t automatically assume someone is a Zionist just because they don’t have ‘save Palestine’ written all over their blog. Edit: Something else that does not help is immediately considering anyone who is Jewish pro-Israel. That’s not how it works, and it’s not true.

Now, Gaza and Israel, unfortunately, isn’t the only conflict going on around the word. (Especially with North Korea, and the war between Russia and Ukraine) It’s just one of the only ones being talked about, sadly. Now there’s also protesting in Bangladesh, due to its corrupt government, and several hundreds of other human rights violations around the world (price of Healthcare in Pakistan is one that comes to mind, as I recently did a school report on it) I can’t even list them all. (I’ll be back with more, I hope. School is starting soon and I might not have time). For now, we need to help who we can- but we also need to fix our economy. That means we can’t always be Team America World Police. We can’t let people get hurt. But we can’t ignore ourselves either.

Help Palestine. To truly make America great again, we need to help those that need it. It even brings up the question of if America was ever great in the first place. But right now? Everyone needs help. So we need to make sure we are capable of helping others, as well as ourselves. Stay safe, vote, and spread the message.

[terminal-doll-theatre]

[vibrant-dol] CURRENT KNOWLEDGE IRRELEVANT i wanna know how your funny guys feel about living in dolville >:]

!!!!!!! OMG hi!!! OOH that is a fun oneeeee hmm

Clara the Phantom:

It's like- Fine. I guess. It's fine. She just needs to get through this week and everything will be okay. (And then she needs to get through the next week. And then the next. and so on forth.)

Because her family's been entrenched in the system of the orphanage for so many generations and because she really just. Avoids the church and all that, she can't really quite conceive of an alternative. She can just... Be glad she wasn't exposed to the 'real world' sooner.

Despite how much she detaches herself and downplays it all, she does sometimes, in a small and despised part of her mind find that she prefers to be at Eden (the canon dol character)'s cabin, or at the underground farm. But it's fine. She doesn't feel much of anything. She would never lie to you (hilarious lie)

Lettice the Heavensent:

Sheltered as shit even after turning 18 so she doesn't see the full extent of it. Only ever really sees Wolf Street, Nightingale Street, The Woods and sometimes as a rare treat sneaks off to the cafe or the hookah parlour. shh. However, she does play Emotional Support Doll/Minor Religious Guide for people a whole lot, so she hears things. And she sees the state of the statue in the temple. And she sees and experiences a lot of what happens within its walls!

So as little of the town she sees, she fears for it greatly and she knows that in her current situation at least, she is. Quite miserable, despite how much she tries to distract herself from that. She's pretty torn on the whole thing, between a sense of duty, even if mostly to people that have only abused her, or been too forcibly kept in the dark to help her - and leaving and finding some sort of life for herself (SCARY! Freedom is SCARY! Living under the thumb is miserable, but SAFE and FAMILIAR!) I need her deprogrammed SO bad.

Esmee the Astray:

For starters, the twins are French-Japanese and spent their like... Early childhood in France, so they are vitally, out of towners! (They got abandoned </3) So they know that this town is WEIRD. I think a bit of them just thinks it's a British thing though, even if they did likely live in another part of the UK before DoLtown. As for Esmee specifically... After ceasing to actually Show Up to the temple, she's found a. Weird, sick sort of comfort in this place. She likes pain! She yearns to be wanted, but "knows" that's not possible off of her own merits, so to be pursued to be raped and abused is... Good enough!!! She's the type of person that seeks out Morgan on purpose, enough said,,,,

Yeah. She knows the town is Fucked with a capital F, but she's sort of managed to twist her psyche and her perception of things so thoroughly that she now believes that if she didn't have to pay Bailey for both herself and her sibling's Wretched Existence, she'd Thrive here! She loves violence and she's managed to maintain her angel tf this long! (This ofc only matters because if she falls and becomes a demon, she will no longer be identical to her identical twin.)

She loves it! Chaos Reigns and she doesn't care about the deeper issues! Just leave her alone and let her roleplay marriage with her unwilling rapist headmistress in peace!

Eden the Pianist (My OC Not The DoL Character):

Eden however HAAAAAAAAAAAAATES it here. To the point of being sort of mildly agoraphobic. They desperately desperately desperately want to go back in time, to when everything was fine (lie. their parents sucked enough to ditch them) and they were happy (another lie) They hate seeing what this town has done to Esmee, who they try to remember as having been Happy and Innocent until this filth town Ruined her. And as much as they'd both have you believe - and try to have themself believe otherwise, they do feel the town corrupting them sometimes.

They deal with that and various other issues of theirs by throwing themself fervently into the temple and indulging in mountains upon mountains of self-deception. They're very good at it. In truth, a lot of their worse impulses would be there anyway, but they find it much much easier to just... Blame it all on the town. (Certainly not on their repression or on the really unhealthy worldviews and relationships they've developed to sustain themself off of) They're only an initiate, so they don't know a whole lot of temple lore, so they do sometimes find themself cooking up strange little crackpot theories about why the town is the way it is. They sort of hate themself for being too "weak" to be able to save up enough money to get themself and Esmee out of there tbh. Not very good at making any money at all.

DFIJLKM;hukml this was such a fun ask ty htrbgipfoipjok;mcijpk;vlnj

[buriedpentacles]

Do you have any resources/thoughts on storm spirits?

I’m studying in the American south and we’re at the tail end of hurricane season now. The last three months we’ve had three tropical storms, a hurricane, water spouts, and a tornado.

The first tropical storm, I went outside to scream bc I was furious abt my work. (It’s like they’re trying to get ppl to quit. I’ve worked there less than a year and a half and I’ve been here longer than 80% of the ppl I work with, including my manager.) But I was screaming and it felt like the storm was screaming with me. It was great to have a companion in my anger; I usually just bottle it up, I’ve never done anything like this before. The lightning was huge, the thunder deafening, and the rain so thick you could barely see across the street.

I was kinda egging it on, being like “yeah, fuck them! Cmon!” Which felt great but there were times were I was like “maybe I bit off more than I can chew.” Lightning hit the top of our building twice. The whole world went white and I genuinely couldn’t hear for a minute.

I know storms are dangerous and versatile and I had no intention of trying to control it, but in the future, is there anything I could do to spiritually prepare?

Now I want to say that I usually live in a place that gets hurricanes so I took all the physical precautions. Standing three feet from the front door under the concrete awning so I wasn’t even in the rain, no metal, no umbrella, first aid kit, water, and nonperishable food stockpiled upstairs, etc

I apologise for taking so long to answer - things have been HECTIC for me!!

If there's anyone who works with storms/weather magic/spirits more regularly, or has experience with hurricane spirit specifically PLEASE feel free to reply, comment etc and add your thoughts and suggestions!!

First, I live in the UK - we certainly have stormy weather but are not used to dangerous storms like hurricanes so I cannot provide a lot of practical advice that you won't already know. When working with any sort of natural disaster, you MUST take the necessary precautions. Research, Research, Research. Listen to locals and experienced storm-farers and prioritse your safety above all else (though it seems you're well educated and prepared). Storms are fierce and powerful, they definitely align strongly with extremely strong emotions like anger and a LOT of other practitioners (including myself) see them as a companion to our anger, as you said. Some practitioners do specialise in weather magic and seek to control storms - I don't nor do I reccomend it, they're not easily controlled and their energy often retaliates against attempts. However, from my experience any form of weather spirit prefers offerings of emotion over physical offerings (though they don't go amiss). Give up your anger to a storm, let your emotions be washed off by rain, present your soul and feelings while you bask in the sun. To spiritually prepare for storm work, I would say figure out what you want from it. If you give the storm a unbridled yet undirected push of anger, you get a powerful burst of energy that goes everywhere. Focus your anger, find your intention. Do you want to simply release your feelings, give them up to be whisked away by the storm? Let that intention be made clear. Are you asking the storm to give you energy? Make sure that is clear, offer an exchange of your feelings for their power.* Do you want to ask the storm a question? Make clear how you want the answer to be presented.

Storms have a lot of powerful and wonderful energy, sometimes its nice to just sit and watch and experience it. Make sure that intention is also clear, let the storm know you are simply a respectful admirer. *This is where you may want to collect storm water or have a set item that will "store" this energy to be used later. Or you can choose to ask the storm to imbue YOU with their power in the form of confidence or righteous anger.

[hetaliaimaginesin2022]

Imagine the Allies and Axis at a rave with a female partner?? Female partner invited them to a rave! Came back from edc and I miss it already!

I'm so jealous, I've wanted to go to one for a l o n g time, I'm glad you had fun! I'll be splitting this in two posts, one for the allies (this first one) and a second post for the axis :) I hope you enjoy

The Allies' Partner Taking Them To A Rave

TW// alcohol and drug use mentioned (past and present)

America • Alfred Jones

Alfred is looking forward to attending one with you the moment you start talking about your interest in them, as in his few hundred years of being alive, he's been to more than a few raves

He's really only been to some big ones in the US though, so he's not too knowledgeable of the rave customs overseas and he will not think to research them beforehand

Because of this, he definingly rocks up in a colorful outfit more belonging to the late night EDM scene regardless of the setting, and even if he sticks out like a sore thumb, he still has a blast

He just loves the loud music and the crowded environment, using his time to mingle with the other attendees, making sure to spend the majority of his focus on you

In fact, it does not matter your height or size, this boy is incredibly strong and he wants you to sit on his shoulders at least once

When the party ends and you two walk back to your little hotel room, he's talking energetically about it, already excited for the next one you two attend together

This is a side note, but he has done acid before and, if you two are close and he trusts you, he will do it again if you two talk it over beforehand

Canada • Matthew Williams

No no no no no

He will be more than happy to help you get ready or listen to you talk about it afterwards, but he's really not comfortable with the environment

He mainly likes to spend his time in nature out on hikes, surrounded by nothing but wilderness and the chilled northern air, raves however, are a loud, crowded, and hot environment, which is exactly the opposite of how he's like to spend his free time

His one issue, however, is that he has a very hard time saying no to his darling partner, so if you ask him, he'll try his best to go to one with you

At first he doesn't enjoy it in the slightest, but after some help from you (and probably smoking a bit of weed,) he relaxes a little

He absolutely stays away from the center of the warehouse and keeps mental track of where the speakers are, and honestly spends the most of his time outside (he could hear the music from the parking lot tbh)

The next morning, even though he's very burnt out, he admits he had fun, but kindly asks you to never invite him to one again

You both spend the afternoon relaxing and recharging together in a quiet calmness

China • Yao Wang

He's around 4,000 years old, he's lived a long, exciting life full of interesting and unique experiences

A rave, however, is (unsurprisingly) not one of them

In fact, he was mainly unaware of the entire subculture before you have told him about your interest

It was very hard to convince him to go to one in the first place, and he knew he wouldn't enjoy himself as soon as he heard the music from outside the building, but he decided to bite his tongue and let you enjoy your night

The entire evening, he just looked out of place

His long hair was tied back neatly, and he was wearing his regular clothing, he had a near constant expression that looked like something crossed between vague confusion and him having a headache

He ended up not particularly enjoying the night, but at least he got to experience something you would talk positively about (plus Hong Kong thinks he's a bit cooler, so it's something)

He doesn't want to go to another one, but doesn't stop you from attending anymore and will always let you talk about them

England • Arthur Kirkland

He would never admit it, but back in the 1980's when warehouse parties started gaining popularity in the UK, he attended a few raves now and then

He much more preferred the underground rock or punk scene opposed to EDM, but a loud fun illegal event is a loud fun illegal event, so who is he to complain

He was pleasantly surprised when you asked him to accompany you to one though, and he readily agreed (he didn't necessarily express his excitement)

When he gets there, he parties

The kind of music that's playing is a bit out of his norm, but he integrates into the environment surprisingly well, dancing (or an approximant of it) along with the music with you

He doesn't tell you in full, but he's very touched that you invited him and because you felt comfortable enough to do so, he offers to bring you to an underground punk/grunge concert

Attending these kinds of events sort of becomes your guys' thing

France • François Bonnefoy

When you asked him if he wanted to go to one with you, he didn't know what to expect, though he went in excited for the new experience

He's kind of enamored with the flashy and colorful rave fashion in the US raves, and while he wouldn't dress up himself, he loves seeing any special costume, makeup, or accessories you have on for it, and he'll try his best to take any pictures for you if you ask

As for the night itself, while it was very loud and cramped, he still had a lot of fun, dancing and spending time with you

At the end of the night, he's pretty exhausted and ready to go to sleep, but he immediately takes a shower when he gets to your shared hotel room before borderline passing out

He sleeps in quite late the next morning

Later he tells you that he wouldn't want to make it a too frequent of an occurrence, but he wouldn't mind going to another one with you

Russia • Ivan Braginsky

He had never considered attending a rave a single day in his life before you asked him

Much like China, he knew they were a thing, but he didn't really know any specifics

However, seeing as you were the one who asked him, he immediately agreed as soon as the words left your lips

While he had heard you talk about raves before, he didn't really know what to expect, but as it would turn out, he's a very useful person to have around in a rave

He's fun and agreeable, and incredibly tall and intimidating, so there's automatically a bubble of air around the two of you, the other people trying their best not to bump into you or the man you're with

Plus? You'll literally never lose him!!

He's so tall that, on the chance you do get separated, he's like a beacon sticking out of the crowd

As the night closes and fades to sunrise, he walks you two home safely, talking about how much fun it was

He'd go to another one with you, though that's not saying much, considering he'd do anything just to spend time with you

[ivalice-tifalucis]

Jason.

Suddenly I want to talk about Jason (it's a very long talk).

I realize I never talk about this here, but I often compare him to Queen's John Deacon. There are few similarities. The "silent" one, the underrated one, the one who prefer tea when the others would prefer wine, the one whose lyrics always about life, the dark horse, the one who is not confident with singing, the one who left the band and never be seen again.

The thing about John Deacon is that I never feel sort of bereaved, longing, or sad that he is no longer in Queen. I am a Queen fan since I could barely speak english thanks to my dad and the moment I learn that he left Queen so many years ago I was like that's ok. That's because even though Brian and Roger are the spine of Queen, the heart and soul will always be with Freddie and Freddie died 32 years ago. New fans had their hard time accepting it when they searched for Deacy but they quickly realized time has gone long and he has been living a peaceful private life. It's easy for us to let go of Deacy, because Queen regardless how good Adam Lambert is now, is over the moment Freddie died. There are no what ifs when talking about Deacy leaving Queen and public life. His statement is also clear and undeniable that he left because he thought there should be no more Queen after Freddie.

But the thing about Jason Orange is that he left at the height of Take That fandom. They just had Robbie back and they released Progress and it was very very success album and tour too. Three years later, people expect something but Robbie's not coming back and so did Jason. It feels anticlimactic for fans even though it may not be for him. There are no impromptu. Unlike the rest of the members, Jason doesn't have social media but he also didn't do or say anything leading up to that day in 2014. Take That was perfectly fine ship and suddenly one of their longest standing member at that time jumped the ship without lifeboat that could help him return. He swam to the nearest island and not planning to swim back to the ship ever again. Sure he made a statement through Take That's PR but it's just a thank yous. Something is not told and as fans we left to wonder why did he leave. What had gone wrong in the background??

Toxic fans would often like to think it's because of Robbie because Jason didn't like Rob in the 90s and, while often written off in newer documentaries or autobiographies, was the one who propagated to kick Robbie Williams out of Take That (as stated by the man himself in Look Back, Don't Stare). It's easy to make Robbie Williams a scapegoat, isn't it? However, Jason himself said back in Progress era that Robbie came back to Take That was the final piece of puzzle. Gary in his book A Better Me also said that Jason always wanted Robbie to return and felt like his job is done when he got to see all his boyband friends in the same room again.

However, it still doesn't answer the question to why did he leave? I have a habit of wondering over unimportant things and sometimes, especially now, my mind wonder about Jason and why exactly did he leave. I have some theories, it might not satisfy you but bare with me.

Here's a gif of Jason so you won't get too tired reading this post lol

First theory: tax evasion scandal. I'm not gonna pretend to be a foolish fan and not know that sometimes in 2014, Take That faced a huge backlash thanks to this scandal. Those annoying 40-50 something British guy who love to make this tax evader joke to state they never like Take That to look manly can never escape me every time I go around social media about Take That. Even though it rarely talked about among Thatters, I feel like if they are not known more now than they are a decade ago it's because this scandal still affecting them in the eyes of UK public, who are their major target market. I could also argue if only they make another big break this scandal will be gone from people's mind but sad to say they haven't done anything bigger than Progress even until now, not that I don't like III, Wonderland, and This Life, I do. But me and all of you (roughly 30 people around here) and I'd estimate less than 2 millions most royal Thatters out there who are interested are not enough. Back to the tax scandal, it is a fact that Gary, Mark, and Howard are part of the scandal but not Jason because his finance always managed by his twin brother, so I heard. I wonder whatever went behind the scene could might affect Jason's decision to leave.

Why? Because if it is true that he left because Progress is enough, he could have stated he would be leaving since after Progress or any time between 2012 to early 2014. Why did he have to wait and drag this for too long? Also, I wonder if this is why they are so sensitive about Jason leaving at first. Remember in Robbie's autobiography when they were really angry at Rob for accidentally blurted it that Jason would leave before official statement?

Second theory: anxiety, illness, physical problem or other health problems. I often wonder about this too. Progress era is the ultimate era especially for old school Thatters (lol sorry to the actual ultimate era). Who would have thought that "I'm rich beyond my wildest dream", the greatest britpop star living in private mansion in Beverly Hills with around 10 entourages including his gf, Robbie Williams, could ever reunited with Take That? I can only look this like history book and only recently realized how crazy it is. It happened. In his Netflix documentary, even his management didn't believe this that he'd rather earn so little yet did so much effort for Take That rather than earning another hundreds of millions of dollar doing another solo tour. But it happened, he needed it, the rest of Take That needed it, and we're glad it happened. And then, imagine Never Forget. One of the best Take That song ever, made in 1995 but released when Rob had left, so before 2010 this song had never been performed by Robbie Williams. The moment that all Thatters had been waiting for, to see all five members of Take That perform this song life, without others backing the others, as the original single intended. The only era where they can do this, and it only ever happened once (1). And then Jason...

And then they never did it again. Throughout Progress live tour, Jason didn't sing a single note by solo. His part in Never Forget was covered by Gary. You could even argue that his mic was never on during any of Progress live performances and I would believe you. So much downgrade than The Circus Live where he did an entire section singing two songs with his guitar. What was going on??

Why? He stated few times he was never confident in singing. Even Nigel Martin Smith berating him in the 90s for being the one with the worse singing voice (arguable though because he actually has decent voice). I'm glad Take Two era gave him the confidence to try albeit shyly. However, maybe eventually his anxiety won sometimes between 2012 to 2014. Plus the fact that we know he can't do breakdance forever. He was in his 40s at that time. Even current Take That dance lesser and lesser than they were in previous era. Maybe Jason thought there should not be more dancing in Take That. Maybe he thought his body would no longer able to. Maybe he's not strong as he used to be. He's ill? Idk, only Jason knows.

Third theory: settling down in private. It could be just my headcanon but think about it. We always joke he might as well marry to the bench because he's always photographed alone in his own thoughts. Some people even randomly thinking is he gay? He has that swag though, but I don't think at least he himself think that he's gay(?).

Lol this iconic pic

But what we never talk about is that he did have girlfriends in the past. He has been photographed by paparazzi in the past with "mystery" women (yes women as in plural) which I will not share here. He had a public relationship with Catherine Tate after all.

I genuinely think Jason is the kind who would drop everything to keep his family safe from public. This is after all the same guy who despite the height of his career barely show his family to the public, except his mom probably, but then again all TT moms always have media presence since day 1. Being in kdrama fandom and see korean actors and actresses who literally just dropped their career for their family and their privacy, I can see Jason would do just like that. Why not? He has achieved and experienced everything there is to know about being a celebrity. He doesn't feel the need to. And I feel like his relationship with Catherine Tate, since she also a public figure, was so gobbled down by media that maybe he thought this isn't right to have people judging his partner. If one day Jason appear with a wife and a child, I won't be surprised at all. I would be exploding in happiness that this theory is correct though.

Also I'm happy to see Catherine Tate returns to Doctor Who with David Tennant. I just know then that she actually is known for being in Doctor Who. I had no idea who is she outside being in Happy Now music video 😂

My theory outside Jason leaving:

Take That (and their management) know where and how Jason is (to some extent). In the interviews often Gary, Mark, and Howard would be asked about Jason to which they would say they didn't contact him for ages. Or joke that they tried to email him but then maybe he only have flip phones and doesn't even have a computer to answer the email. Look, he can be a hermit but man living in first world country and doesn't have even a smartphone to answer email in 21st century is ridiculous. I believe they still talk or see each other once in a while, especially with Howard, who tweeted that he met Jason in 2018. Hell, I feel like even Rob has seen Jason at least once between 2014 to now. I don't know, just a hunch.

His privacy is protected by Take That management and also by most of public. Continuation from previous bullet point. Yes. Because do you remember when there was George Michael's art auction in Manchester and some celebrities who came there are photographed clearly. But not Jason. It's hard to find that picture again but I found it and that's just the only the bigfoot sightings of Jason Orange that I know of because it happened after I know Take That deep enough. Between 2014 to 2017, how many sightings that I didn't know? Where if other celeb would have crystal clear pictures taken but not him on the same occasion? I wonder. Also many people claimed that they met Jason in public space in around London or Manchester, but mostly Manchester. So he is not as hermit as they would like you to think. Maybe if you go around there and if you just lucky, you might come across a wild Jason Orange.

Goddammit this guy.

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At the end of this post, thank you for reading this until this part, guys. I really miss Jason like all of you. He is truly an enigma but no matter what would always have special place in every Thatters' heart. Awww...I cringe a little when I wrote that.

Regardless my theory, I can only wish he lives a good and happy life. If you have something to say, you can also add here in the reblog or reply, or dm me, let's chat.

Also I put all Jason sightings on my tumblr with this tag called The Bigfoot Sightings of Jason Orange (because he is as blurry as bigfoot sightings).