#i guess im a historian now idk

[apathyfairy]

buying used stuff is fun sometimes bc u can find relics from the previous owner and i think that's so cool like in this video game i bought there is this cheat code written in the back of the manual and also on what is so clearly a ripped off piece of this kids homework

[b4kuch1n]

blood loss edition

[electricabsolution]

how

john martin is my guy of the week tbh. the depth in his paintings is utterly insane.

[in-restless-walks]

okay i don't know sorry if this is a weird ask but right now im high and watching a youtube video of simon and garfunkel singin the boxer in the concert in central park and idk i got like a vibe from them so my question is are you a simon and garfunkel historian? do you know the context of their relationship during that moment? i don't know you i just searched simon and garfunkel and ended up in your blog so forgive me if you are not that kind of fan or something idk. i know that simon and garfunkel is big on tumblr but idk sometimes is like in a yaoi kind of way sometimes is like an ironic meme i dont know what im saying tbh im sorry for this. anyway if you don't know could you give me some blogs recomendations so i can ask them? is this a weird thing to ask? do i sound crazy? again im really high and this is taking too much to write because i don't know if i make sense sometimes i forget what word i put before the word i'm writing. anyway. can you help me with my issue? thanks a lot! oh for context i don't really know simon and garfunkel lore so just in case i need context i just know their relationship was like weird like sometimes they got along and then they missed each other or something? okay thanks! <3

Wow, okay, thanks for sending this, and first of all, I hope you enjoyed getting high, LOL. I guess there's nothing like getting high and starting to wonder about the yaoi side of Simon & Garfunkel.

I am not a Simon & Garfunkel historian, so to speak, but I have been a fan for quite some time and I have read all the biographies there are to read, I have done my fair share of research into them, so I do think I know a bit about the S&G "lore". Ever since the first time I saw the Concert in Central Park and seeing the same "vibe" you did during The Boxer, I've also 'shipped' them. That is to say, while I do not think that they were ever in a romantic relationship and everything that that entails, I don't rule out at all that anything of a sexual nature happened between them. Other people seem to think that too, hence the 'yaoi' posts you see on tumblr.

Their relationship was/is a really complicated one and I'm not sure any of us know exactly what happened to make them where they are now - supposedly on no speaking terms. I mean, Paul said in his recent documentary that Art turned from someone who 'got it for him" into someone he hopes never to see again, which...ouch x 1000.

For you and for everyone else getting into Simon & Garfunkel, here's a little crash course.

TL;DR they're both idiots who got along reasonably well if it wasn't about their professional business. Their creative differences re: music (and personal grievances) were always so large (as were their egos) that they followed a pattern of getting together to try (again), fought, were on no speaking terms for a decade, thought to give it another try, and repeat, ad infinitum. In fanfic terms, they are the epitome of strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies to...

1950s

Paul and Art are childhood friends. They lived a few streets away from each other in Queens, NY, and they went to the same school. They're the same age, born three weeks apart. They formally met when they were eleven, at the school play for Alice in Wonderland (Paul was the White Rabbit, Art the Cheshire Cat). Soon after, they started recording songs in their basements, trying to copy their heroes, the Everly Brothers. They got signed by Big Records by someone called Sid Prosen, called themselves Tom (Art) and Jerry (Paul) and released a fairly successful single called 'Hey Schoolgirl' when they were 16, which even made them go on Dick Clark's American Bandstand show (footage sadly does not survive). Paul recorded a song by himself, without telling Art, while he called himself True Taylor, and Art found out, 'shattering' the friendship with Paul for the first time. (It seems to have never recovered to how it was before). I coin this the True Taylor Incident™️. Alledgedly they didn't speak to each other for a couple of years after graduating high school (1958-1962-ish). During that time, Art recorded a few songs as Artie Garr, and Paul did as well, as Jerry Landis.

1960s

Paul went to study in Queens College, NY, and Art went to Columbia University (there he met his blind roommate Sanford, which is a whole other interesting side story). Paul and Art got reacquainted with each other, performed as a duo again and managed to get signed to Columbia records to record an album in March 1964, which was to be released in October 1964.

Meanwhile, Paul often went to England and mainland Europe (France, Denmark, the Netherlands...) and there he met Kathy who became his girlfriend (Hence, Kathy's Song, and "Kathy I'm lost, I said" from America). He also recorded a solo album while in the UK, called The Paul Simon Songbook. Art went to visit him a few times.

Their first album, Wednesday Morning 3AM, flopped; Art stayed in school and Paul went back to the UK. The album did contain the song The Sound of Silence (acoustic version) and a really interesting thing happened in late 1965 when someone decided to put electric guitars to the track and suddenly it got airplay. Paul was in Denmark when the song was really starting to do well on the charts, and he had to rush home to NYC when the song became number one.

Then, Paul and Artie were suddenly famous! They quickly recorded another album with several songs that were on The Paul Simon Songbook, but now Art's harmonies were on there. They did a lot of tv performances in 1966 and 1967 and toured mainly in the college and university circuits. (I will link some tv peformances and so on later, in another post).

I'm skipping over some things now, but in my opinion, trouble for their relationship really began again when they started recording their album Bookends and Paul had been writing music for The Graduate (Mrs. Robinson) (1968). The director of The Graduate, Mike Nichols, had asked Art and Paul to act in his next movie, Catch-22, but Paul's scenes got cut, and Art went to Mexico on his own for the better part of the first half of 1969, just when they were supposed to record their next album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Tensions ran super high at that time. Plus, Paul had written the song Bridge Over Troubled Water for Art to sing, but he later said that Art first refused to sing it (Art said that he wanted Paul to sing it in a lovely falsetto voice) and later, during concerts, Art took standing ovations while finishing the song, while Paul was jealous that he didn't get songwriting credits on stage. Paul also said that Art was leaving him to do movies...not long after Catch-22, Art got invited to play a role in Mike Nichols' next movie, Carnal Knowledge. (see also: Why Don't You Write Me...."if it's only to say that you're leaving me"). The whole Bridge Over Troubled Water album is one big breakup album.

Meanwhile, Paul had gotten married to Simon & Garfunkel's manager's ex-wife (I still can't fathom this) and Peggy also kind of encouraged him to go solo. Paul also claimed that his musical interests and Art's were drifting apart, so eventually, they split in 1970. Artie thought they were only taking a break, and allegedly he didn't realize they were really done.

1970s

Both starting solo careers, they reunited a few times as well, such as for the McGovern benefit concert in 1972, and most notably in the second Saturday Night Live episode in 1975 (tell me they're not flirting the whole time). Paul had even written a song, My Little Town, that the both of them performed for the reunion and was featured on both of their (solo) albums There was also a reunion for Paul's The Paul Simon Special (1977), the Brittania Awards (1977) and some other benefit concerts.

1980s

Paul was approached by a concert producer about playing in Central Park and maybe doing a few songs with Art, and Paul was like, I can't very well play support to Simon & Garfunkel, so it was decided that the whole concert was supposed to be the both of them. And time it was, what a time it was! Safe to say the concert was a success, even though they were fighting again (Art wanted to stay as close to the accoustic sets they used to do in the college performances, and Paul wanted a big band on stage). The interviews before the performance are awkward as usual, but it seems that for the performance itself they kind of set their differences aside, and they seem to be having a good time on stage, as good as it gets with these two. The back rub during The Boxer is...I can't explain it, but that was a lovely gesture by Art.

Because the concert in Central Park had been so successful, they were going to bank on that success and do a whole reunion tour AND a reunion album in 1982-1983, but that seems to have been a very miserable experience for them both. Their body language in interviews says it all. It culminated in Paul wiping Art's vocals from what was supposed to be their reunion album and releasing it as a solo album. Safe to say they were on no speaking terms again for a while, lmao, especially when their professional endeavours were concerned. They did hang out sometimes in private, because Paul had married Carrie Fisher and Art was seeing Carrie's friend Penny. Then Paul got famous with Graceland and Artie was once again, forgotten.

1990s

They got inducted in the Hall of Fame (another miserable experience), Paul did another concert in Central Park (without any sign of Art this time) and they did a few reunion concerts in NYC and so, but neither of them looked very happy about that, if you ask me. In fact, the less they had to look at each other, the better. There was apparently one instance where they were fighting and someone had to stand in between them, or they would have physically started attacking each other? Sounds like a lot of fun, huh? Start of another decade of not speaking to each other.

2000s

After getting a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, they thought it was a good idea to get together again and do a reunion your, and that seemed to work, for a while. They toured the United States (2003-2004), Europe (2004), Australia/NZ and Japan (2009) and were about to embark on yet some more shows in the fall of 2010, but then Art Lost His Voice (you can see this happening right in front of your salad at the April 2010 Jazz Fest, but they were still very chummy then).

What happened in 2010...no idea, but it wasn't good. And then Art made things much, much worse when he did an interview in 2015, called Paul a Monster, and idiot and a jerk, and how could he leave a successful formula like Simon & Garfunkel behind and no amount of groveling that Art has done since (like begging Paul to call him in an interview) has helped. They are still on no speaking terms.

Now all we can do is wait and hope they come to their senses and kind of make up before they die. Under no circumstances do I still want them to sing together, but damn, if all of us don't want them to just both sit on the edge of a park bench, like bookends, I don't know anymore.

My take on the whole thing: they were good friends as kids, Art never got over the True Tailor Incident and that stayed with him forever; he always saw Paul as someone who could betray him in the blink of an eye. Paul was envious of Art's looks (and height); meanwhile Art wasn't a songwriter, so Paul had that advantage over him. It's not a good balance to be in such a close partnership. Perhaps at one point something did happen between them, complicating things even more, because can you really hate someone that much if you don't have strong feelings for them either? In later years, it seems to be mainly the "creative differences" about the music that was causing a rift, but maybe after all is said and done, perhaps Carrie Fisher said it best "not only do I not like you, but I don't like you personally." Paul 'cheated' on Art with True Taylor and, like any other one half of a (married) couple, he tried to get over it, but never could. (and maybe Paul is a jerk lmao. But Art was no angel either).

I've skipped over a lot of things, so if you have more questions, shoot. There are quite a few of us who are posting regularly about them, and who know about everything I've written above. In fact, there's a Tumblr community on S&G now (see my pinned post) but so far there haven't been many people interested in joining, lol, so if you want in, let me know. People could do a lot more theorizing there, haha.

[aita-blorbos]

The Historian (???📦) interjects Reflects upon the text A Walk Off

From the Delta Downstream Events Horizoned An End of an Era

A Constellation From Recorded Eras Opposing Rising Stars Dam breached, Immateria flooding, Conflagration assured above tide The Historian buoys the Vault

Upstream, Nucleosynthesis A failed Sun, A failed Son Downstream, Supernova(Supernova) History rhymed A flat circle A Walk Off The Historian Retreats to Safety

A dead zone The new Son Quinary Calls Game

Stars Preserved Runners scattered, Scattered On Second, The Vault opens Runners take Safety Or Scoring Position Escaping or Approaching Horizon History repeated Deicide [MELTING NOISES] The Historian calls Safe update uh idk man i dont work here anymore anyways my place is the trench not the vault dont even know what theyre saying half the time think they want to know if they were in the wrong for leaving when the sun(sun) exploded was a whole thing cool colors though thats my guess at least opened the vault for any teams who didnt wanna die though so they didnt just leave also i dont know how i got this saw this thing before but i guess they did too guess im like a proofreader now funny that im the proofreader guess they didnt like the other guy anyways im gonna go back to the trench its hot out here and i dont know where i put my cool shades

[fictionfixations]

what the fuck?

[Marquez's power grew stronger by the day during Cyrille's tenure, and his thugs soon retained absolute discretion throughout the Qlipoth Fort as they issued their draconian decrees. The nickname Cyrille the Fool spread throughout the people, and they grew more and more dissatisfied with this puppet Supreme Guardian and her ministerial allies.

In the 14th year of her tenure, rebels among the Architects hatched a secret plot to overthrow Stefan and his cronies. The rebels won over the Silvermane Guards' Captain and planned on luring Cyrille and Stefan to the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone where they could launch a coup.

That day, the Supreme Guardian Cyrille attended the military exercise as expected, but the rebels never found any trace of Stefan Marquez. The captain played them at their own game, dispatching a fake patrol of Silvermane Guards into the restricted zone with Cyrille, and pushing her into an arsenal chest. The guards then rushed to the far north of Belobog and, under cover of darkness, shoved the unconscious Supreme Guardian in the arsenal chest over the edge of the cliff.

The rebels carried out a search operation for three days and three nights in Belobog, but never found any trace of Minister Stefan Marquez. To this day, people still attribute the death of the seventh Supreme Guardian and the disappearance of Cyrilla to Marquez's political conspiracy — a claim that, according to Belobog historians, to this day remains inconclusive and unproven.]

(if there are any typos, in the text above im sorry but its a lot of text)

okay so i read this because. yknow how in hoyofair (that one with the mix between genshin and star rail. i wasnt interested in star rail but it was there so i watched it anyway. but yknow like Cyrille's Doll? that one creepy one about her. so i decided to read the thing and um..)

so. listen.

he manipulated a child into trusting him and relying on him for everything. that everything would be okay and all that shit. but it was all for his own gain

then when the rebels were going to do something he got his guards to fuckin shove her in a box. AND THEN PUSH HER OFF A CLIFF? WHAT.

and. bruh was just never found? HELLO? WHAT? EXCUSE ME? okay i mean its fair i guess cause idk you could die somewhere out in the snow and never be found but like

HUH?

[I started keeping a diary because of Mr. Stefan. He said that keeping a diary is a good habit for a lady to keep. He also said that keeping a diary is a very lonely affair, and that if I'm scared of being alone, I can just read aloud the diary to him.

To be honest, it's really hard to keep a diary because nothing interesting happens to me — I won't read this part to Mr. Stefan as he'll get sad, and I don't want him to be sad. I wish I were my sister, because she knows everything. She always tells me fun stories and is always telling me about the interesting people she meets.

It was only later that I realized most of my diary was about Mr. Stefan. Sometimes it's recounting our conversations, sometimes it's recording what I've learned from him, sometimes it's simply recording my mood while I wait for him to visit again.]

HHhhh

[I know you must be nervous right now, Cyrille, but I hope you can remember what I warned you before: Don't be intimidated by loud and empty threats. As long as you stand firm and follow my advice at all times, any pushback or complaint is just temporary white noise — something that will fade away as we draw closer to the end of the plan and ultimately become a picture painted together by us.

I sometimes still think of when I met you, more than ten years ago. You were a timid little girl back then, too shy to talk and lacking confidence in yourself. But I found something special in you — a one-of-a-kind temperament that even a genius like Cyrilla doesn't have. And it's precisely because of this unique talent of yours that I decided to stay with you, and help you build up the beautiful future that you deserve.]

okay so that thing that she has that Cyrilla doesn't have is either him buttering her up OR its that Cyrilla is smart enough to know who to trust and when she's being manipulated while Cyrille isn't. That's not to say that she's dumb, but it's more like because she was a kid and never got pushed to do anything else, that she could just 'rely' on Stefan that turned her into who she became, like just a puppet while Stefan has a bunch of power in the background.

i wonder if theres more on this but i dont think its ever explained what happened to her sister (she just went missing). maybe Stefan really did take Cyrilla out. Anyway it'd also be all too easy to lie and be like 'i looked for her but i couldnt find her' since it'd already been awhile since then right with no finding in sight? so it could hardly be expected to find anything. i just dont believe him when he claims that.

[Remember, Cyrille — you just have to trust me. I would never lie to you.

Your sincerest friend, Stefan]

yeah and you can go fuck yourself stefan what the hell?

im so startled by this quest im not gonna lie

[kiwibirdlafayette]

Its Gays on A Boat! (working title)

There's a multiversal threat, and theres only one group of idiots that can stop it! Its taking out the S1 Mianite world and its comin for the rest of the universes in the vast SMP Multiverse o nooo

Mianite spin off pitch; Post DSMP; canon divergent. uhh fills in what Sonja was up to during Isles and after the fact. mostly just random ideas i had i cant write prose for shit

A few years after S2 Sonja and Wag get kinda left behind. Tom returns to Astrakheins with Alice to find himself, Jordan depressedly goes off to become a pirate, Tucker leaves the universe to pursue other things

The two of them end up gettin into more powerful magics outta boredom (which Martha doesnt really like all that much) and in her explorations, Sonja stumbles upon the idea of necromancy. i dont have it fleshed out but. she talks to Philza (whos in the S1 world with Techno, pre-SMP Earth) who introduces her to Kristen. exploration of Capsizes limbo and basically she brings back Capsize

Canonically SMPEarth takes place right before Isles. and uhh While Jordan and Tom have reunited when Martha and Alice send the two back in time to investigate x thing idk i didnt finish the series yet (Mianitian Isles) Sonja is kinda just tryna help Capsize find herself again bc she didnt come back right (big ol memory issues). Post Isles Tom ends up on their boat with no idea where Jordan went (spoiler: bro ended up in the End of the DSMP, pulled there by XD) Jordan gets involved with the DSMP Syndicate bc of Phil and Techno

((theres a gap in story here but tldr; before the nuclear bomb that resets the server goes off, the trio find Jordan and take him and Tubbo- maybe also Ranboo and Michael- onto the boat and they fuck off to.... somewhere. Phil and Techno have their own way out i personally like the Syndicate ending Phil wrote i dont wanna mess with it))

A lot of it kinda focuses on the four reconnecting and repairing their faults of the past and a continuation of this multiversal threat that Jordan was investigating on the DSMP which i cant really explain yet. basically think world historian but a lot worse with quintessence stuff

like Jordan trying to make it up to a Capsize for how he treated her, but who doesn't remember him that well, Jordan reconnecting with his son that he basically had to abandon when the Realm of Mianite was falling apart, the tension between Sonja and Tom, where Sonja has kinda been Capsize's friend all this time while he was gone and regretting not being around, Tom helping Capsize through this revival state relating his own experience where he cant remember the ghosts of his past life all that well- and more!

also shenanigans. tons of mianite-style silly shenanigans cause we love some absolute 180 contrast in these damn things

other maybe plot points

Furia. yea theyre back

redbeard coping with the fact his sister is back. havent decided how much she remembers of him for angst reasons >:]

if i stick to ranboos canon ending for their character, them finding ranboo in the nether at some point

tom really leaning into the godhood of bein mecha dianite

meeting their origins alts from starborne kingdom of dianite when the timelines start to get fucky and blended together

motanite returns, and most of the Ruxomar Alts (including Spark whos been in the vast expanse with S2Ianite and comes back to roast Jordan)

Waglington. just waglington.

ok thats it for now. ill take questions i guess i know its very disorganized bc im still writing OSMP stuff and im tryna to not do two at once

[wafflecat2]

Rating every teacher + Miriam in scarlet and violet how well would I enjoy their classes:

-------------

No. 8 - Dendra

Eventho her classes are about pokemon battles/related to battling, I think she's also the PE teacher. I mean look at her.

Eventho I can see her very suportive towards her students, I still would die in them. Don't like PE AT ALL. My experiences with them weren't great so thats why she's last

No. 7 - Tyme

Okay

As sweet and supportive she is, there's now way I would actually enjoy her classes. I like her as a person, but because I suck at math and it gives me anxiety - Nah. Just Nah

Shes a good teacher, but I don't really know when she's gonna explode like she did to Clavell. So sorry Tyme.

No. 6 - Salvatore

Kinda same with Tyme. He's cool and all, but how he sometimes acts... eh don't really like it... I know it's meant as a encouragement and tries to make the classes more fun but sometimes it's kinda... pushy? You know?

He's kinda 50/50

No. 5 - Miriam

Eventho she is the school nurse and don't have a teaching license [yet], I think she could be nice heath-education-teacher-thinggy (don't know the right word)

I think she's nice, but just because I can't have nice things, probably wouldn't like her classes as much I hoped.

No. 4 - Saguaro

He's a fucking chad okay? He's my dad now. Im not really into cooking but would 100% enjoy my time there. He's so adorable and cute! I mean, so MANLY that he wears pink and has some embroidery in his apron. Also uses pokemon he likes and not what everyone expects him to have.

ALSO THE FUCKING SLOPOKE CUP 😭😭😭😭 It's just so damn cute

But yeah, would enjoy his cooking classes

No. 3 - Jacq [almost forgot him]

Man, do I like biology. Is it humans or animals give it to me. Don't really like the history aspect that much but still.

He's kinda clumsy and forgets lots of things. He's also chill too that he rather show us videos than actually teach. Also can see that students tends to lie him about having homework so he always kinda "huh, I thought I did give.... OH well it's not that important" and then Clavell hears that and stares at him and the Jacq's like "oh shit"

Yeah, he cool

No. 2 - Raifort

HISTORY, LET'S GOOOO!!! Give it to me!!

Love history. So cool and interesting to learn about the past. I want to study history and become historian too so heck yeahh!!

I can see her being strict but wouldn't probably mind that. She's cool

No. 1 - Hassel

Do I really need to explain?

This man right here. Love him.

So yeah. Im the art kid so anything related to art and crafts is really nice! Don't really like all the mediums but learning new things is cool.

Hassle can be strict too but in a good way. He definitely would give all his students the best grades, but he really can't do that.

I guess usually with art, the teachers don't actually rate the atrwork itself, rather the techniques and how well you used them in the said artwork. And also how you behave in the classes maybe can affect the grade too.

So thats why you may not have given the best grades but idk. Im not a teacher and don't really want to.

BONUS ROUND!!

I know Clavell is the director, so he'll mostly do paperwork than teach, but it would be fun If he did!

When I was in school, the principal taught something sometimes. It usually was kinda easy and quick so they could have time to do the paperworks and staff.

Idk what Clavell would teach, but hell yeah, his classes would be fun. Would enjoy my time there!

[minarcana]

RP trope tierlist

logging in from being AWOL due to The Inherent Stress Of Being Alive in order to post a dash meme that doesnt require thought

tagged by : @marionmaverick tagging : @aetheryic and anyone else whos online and happens to see this

ponderings on tropes behind cut and fel free to DM me if theres any of this bullshit u wanna write with me [audible winking noise]

ok hear me out. college aus are S tier and high school aus are D tier because as an adult i refuse to be invested in the goings-on of high schools and also the high school au offers fundamentally less options for insanity. college aus are here for me to make jokes in because anything in a college setting can happen. colleges are weird. this applies to both teachers and students. all the drama of ur school au with the added bonus of plots like "i have to hunt a professor for sport like some kind of CIA sting operation because he doesnt respond to emails and isnt in his office hours so come help me corner this guy". that, inherently, rules much more than "i still live with my parents because im 17". this is an unskippable monologue.

sharing a bed/fake relationships are all excuses for me to write incredible yearning, which i love and is my strength.

all folklore/historical/royal/magic/crossover aus rule. also i am a historian with a focus on literature/folklore/religion so obviously im Into It

we dont talk about my deep and abiding love for omegaverse unless ur also into omegaverse. i have a sprawling universe for all my muses in my brain. please dont judge me.

sex pollen is superior to fuck or die as a trope. i hold this true and sincere to my heart because of the specific kinks which i have. this is my skippable monologue cutscene in which i expound the delicate differences between the two. [REDACTED FOR LENGTH]

amnesia/death bore me generally. dark is fine so long as its not simply pure angst with no redemption. i enjoy angst but not pointless torment. yknow? miscommunication also bores me because its too easily solved and becomes unrelatable at a certain point of extension

crackfic and humor are different things, crack to me requires ooc. only chumps require breaking character to make jokes. skill issue.

i dont even know how id write a time loop thread bc 1. idk how itd work in general 2. every time i hear time loop i think of the fate/hollow ataraxia doujin that makes me laugh perpetually where archer gets stuck in a timeloop where the resest point is him getting boned. would be incapable of writing a time loop seriously bc id just be like "yeah but when can i make it reset so when the character wakes up theyre getting fucked like DAMNIT CAN I AT LEAST WAKE UP DURING THE FOREPLAY SO IM NOT SURPRISED BY IT bc thats my sense of humor"

now you too much about me as a person i guess but its been so long since i wrote i have to vomit thoughts apparently.

[thatonelightyear]

✨, 🦉, 🔮 and 💎

thanks :D

✨ Do you have any nicknames?

A : not really?? i mean i guess light is a nickname around here maybe.. idk ive never really had any lol

🦉 Are you a morning person or a night owl?

A : depends- used to be a huge morning person but now def edging towards night owl...

💎 What’s your most prized possession?

A : dont have one in particular, actually but uh my warship models would be amongst that list. probably my keyboard and mouse setup too XD also my cars diecasts... hotwheels... yeah. BUT most of all my google docs with all my stories. my blood sweat and tears really (as you can tell im damn indecisive)

🔮 What’s your dream job?

ideally, a writer, but if not, then a doctor (naval historian would be cool too)

[aristotels]

lowkey pet-peeve: people referring to croatia as an eastern-european country when we are not

rant abt croatian geography due to eurovision making me think abt this, feel free to add your own thoughts or info, its just a rly confusing thing all together

this has nothing to do w me being embarrassed of “being eastern” (or wanting to be seen as western) its just. Incorrect. and ive had the question of our geographical position drilled in my head since first year of geography in school, so whenever i see people doing that i go like “you’d get an F on the exam”

croatia actually belongs to 3 geographical groups - central, mediterranean, and south-eastern europe 

balkans wouldnt be accurate either, as not entirety of croatia is in balkans, but i guess itd be more accurate than eastern europe? (btw nobody agrees on this so idk the right answer. if you tell a croat we are in balkans, you will either get someone sighing and somberly shaking their head like “well of course, just look at nepotism” or someone throwing a bottle of rakija at you and screaming “don’t insult me”.)

not even neutral sources agree, even on geographical basis, even though it does look like (to my layman eyes) that we are on balkans. but then again, its also a question of cultural identity. like, you wouldnt say greece is a balkan country, despite obviously being a part of the peninsula. southern part of croatia which is on balkans doesnt have balkan culture - we belong to the southern/mediterranean europe, and our architecture and music are like italy’s or greece’s. 

historically, again, you could put us in balkans due to relations with serbia and centuries-long ottoman occupation. but that’s just a part of croatia, so not the entire country.

and then there is also the historical question of west vs east bloc, since yugoslavia (yes, we were a socialist federation) wasnt a part of ussr (we reaaally didnt like each other), and we were neither west nor east but a part of the “non-aligned” movement. actually, rest of yugoslavian countries wouldnt be eastern european either (serbia included), but balkans, or south-eastern europe, or in slovenia’s case neither, but central europe.

so what is croatia? a bit of everything but certainly not eastern europe, or central europe, or balkanic. “slavic” would be the only correct descriptor.

however, i did get curious and google, and apparently croatia is considered east europe by some sources, but fuck me if i know how or why since that is not accurate. so now im assuming people are grouping it based on just.............. prejudice or something, and i think it says a lot about western countries who dont bother to learn different geopolitical groupations so it just boils down to Progressive West (them) and Backwards East (everyone else). which now makes me wonder what places croatia as eastern but not greece, despite greece being more geographically to the east? i feel like this division has a lot ot do with finances and poverty, and not other factors, which is actually rly shitty. and then we obviously have to ask ourselves WHY is west so progressive, and east “not” but thats for a whole different rant bc i burned my brain w this and i cant think anymore

btw dont mind me ranting, im constantly puzzled over our status too because its just. rly confusing. and to quote that post “i cant answer this without at least 3 historians and an anthropologist present”, just also throw in a geograph

in the end, with this rant i have answered nothing and have just confused myself more.

im sorry, the spirit of my cunty geo teacher always screaming about croatian geopolitical position posessed me. she was not very happy about croatia being part of the balkans. then on other hand, my history teacher absolutely insisted we are on balkans.

sry i need a drink

[suyunsgf]

Man I wanna re watch haikyuu even tho I’m reading passed the show

[aryaarianne]

tbqh i don’t care what jon or arya look like in edits/fancasts/etc so long as they resemble each other. thats what really bothers me about some fancasts (and the show). 

its sort of like how casting went in the hp movies. like, ok, harry couldn’t have green eyes. that’d be fine if they gave his mom blue eyes too, but then lily had brown eyes, and the thing about him having his mother’s eyes no longer makes sense (cause hell the actress - not her fault - didn’t resemble him at all). 

its like that - the looks aren’t so important as the relationship it represents, but if the looks are out of sync, then we lose that whole effect, which is a pretty crucial element of both characters’ arcs and personalities

[malachiexists13]

After finishing Mitsuhide's route for the second time, I decided to try and play Kenshin's. Which I started yesterday. I made this decision because Kenshin seems like an interesting character and he's probably one that even after two years of playing the game, I still know barely anything about. Like I know that he's the opposite of Chevalier in which when he falls in love with MC, he becomes more gentle. I know somewhat about him having a pet bunny. And I know the stupid reasons that historians assumed he hates women and came up with that theory that he was a woman. I also understand that Kenshin is described as yandere.. But if I could survive Mitsuhide's romantic route, I can survive Kenshin.

Who the fuck am I kidding. I made an entire post complaining about it.

But that's as far as my knowledge goes. Well, I also know that he has trauma or something and that he randomly assaults his employees as stated by Sasuke on more than one occasion but whatever. I can't remember what I thought of Kenshin back in 2018 when I first downloaded the game. I honestly don't even know if I acknowledged Kenshin back then. All I remember is the part in the prologue where Mai saves Nobunaga and then the part in chapter 1 of Nobunaga's route where he tries to use Mai as a cup. Dont- dont ask.

But after redownloading the game two years later? I still didnt care about Kenshin lol- It wasnt until I discovered the fandom side of things that I really started to pay attention to him. And the more I saw, the more intrigued I got. So now, here I am, playing Kenshin's route. I only started it yesterday so I cant say much but.. My opinion of him has already changed multiple times. And I dont know if thats a good sign since my opinions of the others remained mostly consistent til later on-?

Currently what I've noticed is that 1.) Kenshin does not seem to hate women. He was just raised on misconceptions and doesn't seem to have an interest in romance. Which- fair. And 2.) Kenshin reminds me of Mitsuhide in an odd way? As in the fact that he's telling Mai to live her life how she wants, to not let others dictate how she lives. He tells her to be herself. Not the whole he constantly teases her for his own amusement and for a reaction and makes her want to scream. Not that at all, I dont even know if Kenshin has a sense of humor. Leaning towards no. But, what he said is very similar to what Mitsuhide said in his route, except it was later on. Around the undercover mission part. Kenshin literally says this shit in chapter two, so mans is movin' a lil fast but thats alright.

Thats at least my current opinion. Kenshin seems to put up a front that he enjoys battle and bloodshed, but deep down he feels a sense of duty to protect others. Even if he doesn't acknowledge it himself, thats what Im noticing and thats the direction my brain went in. Which I guess adds up to the whole "he's secretly gentle" ending? Idk. But I currently have no problems with Kenshin's route. I actually find him to be a bit amusing rather than scary or anything negative. Barely one chapter in and I was already laughing at how stupid he can be.

Im not sure if I'll make another post like this as I play more. Or maybe I'll make an entire post explaining my opinion once I finish his route? Dunno yet.

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

I am curious: what are your favorite scenes from your main ships (date, dair, derena...)?

scenes involving milo don't count, sorry!

for me, it's really not just scenes, but body language & just in general, how they are with each other, you know? dan and serena grin at each other and hug SO much, you can tell that being around each other in s1 made them both so happy, and even after that glow fades the way they look for comfort in each other... top level stuff. the way blair looks at dan... we never see her as radiant at any other point. she was not looking at anyone else like this. and gosh, dan and nate. they're both so comfortable around each other that there's absolutely nothing weird about like. discussing that one ex girlfriend whom they both share AND both were in love with. there is literally no other duo who trusts/enjoys each other's company so much that they're comfortable in a love triangle. (probably because they're more in love with each other than with the girl, but that is not the point. or is it?)

anyway, more specific answers. under the cut. this is one of the longest answers i've ever written on this blog possibly but you KNEW that would happen when you sent this ask, didn't you? (affectionate)

derena: i tagged one of my ds reblogs as 'the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one' and like. look at them! this hug from 1x10 kills me in the best way. they are both the literal embodiment of :D when they see each other! i love 1x10 as a whole moment, their entire thing at cotillion is so sweet and they're both so happy. the fact that he is talking about his chemistry teacher during this kiss in 1x07. that bit at the end of 1x05 when they talk about their siblings (being there for their sibling because of fallible parents being a derena parallel makes me simultaneously really sad and really soft, tbh). 1x05 gives me SO MUCH SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT but the way they walk off together arms around each other does something to me - these are two people who are still getting to know each other but who really like what they see, and who trust each other and. are just having a good time together! back when derena was my OTP, the 1x11 "your story's about me?" was absolutely a fave, too, and i still adore it, albeit in a different, more nostalgic way. i like a dan who writes cute stories about serena. no empty shell sabrina van skoneker bullshit. she is so much like you, daniel! you'd be shattered if she did this to you. don't do this to her. tbh, most derena moments from s1 are just A+ romance. the bit in 2x02 in the jitney is so funny, they're SO bad at being exes. the bit in... 3x03 i think?? i don't remember... on the contrary. when they're talking about dan's fling w/ georgina and serena's relationship with carter, the ease with which they talk and how happy/supportive they are of each other's new relationships... yeah. love to see it.

i also really like any instance of them having honest/open conversations. 1x13, talking about how serena is concerned about blair. 1x08, serena talking to dan about feeling jealous of vanessa. this bit from the touch of eva or whatever that episode is. 4x04 i think. this is the conversation everyone is trying to get dan to have and he's avoiding EVERYONE else. derena interactions in 3x21 (can't find a gif right now) - the fact that dan is with serena when her dad abandons them, the fact that he goes all the way there with her. 2x07, "i'm really glad you're nate's friend. he really needs someone like you right now" (though i'm cheating, that's technically a d/n moment too klhdflkgf). there's a bit in s4 where he's advising her against having an affair w/ colin, i don't remember the ep number, but the way he takes her side so easily and naturally and puts due blame/responsibility solely on her professor... yeah. 4x10 i think this ep is?? idk. but like my tags say, im sentimental about this moment because while what dan was doing was irresponsible, sneaking her out of the ostroff, he was the only person in this episode who was actually talking to her and listening to her and taking her seriously. nobody else was doing that!!

i probably have more moments i'm not remembering, but we're only 1/3 into this answer and LOOK AT THE WORDS, good lord, i'm sorry.

dair: my favourite dair episode is hands down despicable b (5x21) which i have heard is an uncommon answer. i just love the conflict resolution of it all, okay!!! 1x04 & 2x08 are like. standard answers any dair shipper will give, and i'm no different. i love dan being able to give blair advice and blair actually taking his advice even though they're not friends yet!!! be right back, yelling at the intimacy of it all!! 5x16, with their getting together (this little kiss and dan being so startled by it), blair admitting a flaw she genuinely does have and dan saying it's not awful because it's her, which is just. romance at its finest. those vows, good lord. 5x18.... they're having fun! blair showing up at the loft in lingerie for dan... the delight on her face.... (i know this moment blows up in their face but when she's there she looks so happy and proud of herself and this was like THE moment when i was like. oh. dair is really the heart of this garbage show huh).

i think for me, the thing that really sells dan & blair together is the serena of it all. both of them love serena more fiercely than anyone else, and that is what brings them together. (fwiw i definitely think nate loved serena this much and this deeply, too; the writers just wanted to pop the serenate balloon, which even i think was extremely unnecessary and ooc.) but (& i have so much meta about this) their relationship grows beyond serena. their entire s4 arc is SO good. i love how comfortable around each other they are, in such an adult way, in the sense of like. they both bring so much stability to each other? morgan tagged this edit "the marrieds" and like. yeah. b offers to help him shave. they're having breakfast & reading the paper together.

all the love declarations we got that weren't a simple 'i love you.' be your charming wonderful self (how could she not love you/ tell me what would make you happy, dan) i told chuck he doesn't have my heart anymore (you spent your life earning the keys to set you free when you were free all along!!!!) dan's pep talk to blair in 5x21 (already linked a gifset earlier, here's another one if you want i guess). there's definitely more... but honestly, the way the dair arc was executed was so good - while i do have my complaints, i also think keeping those aside, it was SO close to perfect. i love dan & blair's banter and gradually becoming closer and closer and closer. it felt very organic and real and GOSH. the way penn & leighton looked at each other while playing dan and blair...... it's just SO MUCH.

date: this is the hardest, because it's. *screams*. maybe you saw me losing my mind over those 2 seconds of nate handing dan a waffle? i love almost every scene with these two, even the hellish s6 breakup scene. my favourite episode for d/n (& also favourite gg episode in general) is 2x06 - i love the homoerotic subtext of it all. nate pretending to be dan because dan's name is the first name that came to his head. dan flirting w/ nate while tied to that thing, in his underwear. them becoming friends. and 2x07 as a follow-up to that! dan getting nate to live in the loft with the humphreys for a while. i am so soft.

4x09 is a terrible episode in general, especially for serena my beloved, but the d/n moments in that one? off the CHARTS. this weird overly macho flirting, in some ways THE most iconic d/n line. this entire finish each other's sentences nonsense. someone (i think it was ana but im not sure?) compared the energy of those scenes i just linked to the book blairenate love triangle resolution, blairena choosing each other over nate in the books, date choosing each other over serena in the show (if only! RIP.) after the saints & sinners ball, this cute little moment of 'youre the only one who understands me. please tell me they went home together. i mean. how could they not have.

3x07, them watching vampire porn together. a tag i used on ao3 (& also on here, once) is 'nate brings out the himbo in dan'. here is a prime example. 'is she levitating?' i don't fucking know, dan, what do you think?? (i was telling my partner that that's what i love abt dair vs date. around blair dan is an intellectual, a librarian, an art historian, a museum curator. around nate it's like dan is competing to be #1 himbo on the show. can my girlfriend actually fly? i don't know, dan. i can't believe you're seriously asking such a question.)

3x12 pep talk. (sorry about the shitty quality!) essentially nate telling dan that he (dan) is hot and that he shouldn't talk himself down so much.

dan making nate gay in his book. you know. his book from which blair found out he was in love with her. nads (who i will not tag in this billion word long gushy meta, because i value her sanity) once called inside "wish fulfilment' and. i mean. yeah

nate checking dan out at the derena wedding continues to be hilarious. hilarious in the same way as dan sexually fantasising about nate. canon really went 'let's give ivy some special easter eggs' and i appreciate them a lot!

i love the way they are around each other - so quietly attuned to each other. i showed my sister my date!husbands gifset, and she was like. yeah they're so married. and it's just stuff like how dan looks for nate over his shoulder, it's not even an active action, it's as easy and natural and intuitive as breathing, checking to see if nate is still there.

oh, that wasn't as hard as it could've been! okay. cool. im SURE there's more things i could scream about, because it's DN, the fact that they're non-canon makes me THAT much fiercer about them than dair/derena, to be honest. so many dots to connect!! anyway.

[autogynocrat]

I have a weird question. Idk, I’d like your advice. Why you? I don’t know.

I am ugly. Like, very very ugly. I am very short, I’m prematurely balding (not like, a slight receding hairline either. Giant spot, no hairline, close to being entirely bald on top of my head and I’m only 22). I have these horrible dark circles under my eyes I can’t get rid of. Im fat (though I am going to the gym to take care of that, at least). I’ve been compared a lot to Gru from Despicable Me and Uncle Fester from the Addam’s Family. But like, I’m a young guy. People will like make jokes about me looking like a pedophile a lot. Like random people, sometimes people I don’t even know, will just tell me straight to my face that I look like a pedophile. “Cancer patient,” that’s one I hear a lot

I don’t know, I’m just very depressed by it all. You have to learn to live with yourself, but it upsets me a lot. Beauty is actually something I really value. I think beauty is one of the most wonderful things on the planet. I really believe all that “beauty will save the world” stuff. I wish I were beautiful more than just about anything… but I’m not. I’m ugly. I’m really very truly ugly. I’m ugly in the superlative. I look at my peers, like people my age. They’re all so young and so beautiful in their own way.

I wouldn’t even mind being an ugly old man, if I could at least spend my youth with some youth, y’know. If I could spend a few years looking like Pietro Boselli or something, I’d be so happy and wouldn’t mind turning 40 and going bald then.

I don’t know, it just fucks me up. I hate hate hate being ugly so much. I don’t know what to do. Like I’ll just be doing anything, and I’ll catch a glimpse of myself (or someone will crack a joke) and I’ll wish I could be sucked into a black hole.

I’ve thought about therapy but this is embarrassing to admit in person, y’know? And what would they say? “You’re not ugly.” I know what beauty is, I know I don’t have it.

What am I asking you? I guess advice, I don’t know. Really I guess I just need to vent. Especially anonymous venting. You’re a good looking guy, what would you do if you were ugly?

one day my beauty will fade and my plan is to pivot into a sense of personal style that looks good anyways but also not learn to not worry about it because by then i will have hopefully established myself in ways that matter beyond aesthetics

do the best with what you've got and let a kind heart shine thru ur actions theres more to beauty

would recommend shaving your head entirely, keep working on your physical fitness, dress sharply. i think going for kinda a librarian/old timey history professor or traditional menswear vibe would probably help complement you more aesthetically as like a bald dude

i dont know what your career plans or talents are right now as a 22 year old but you have a lot of options and so if beauty is like such an important value to you maybe you could look into pursuing some sort of artistic career, or become an art historian, a fashion designer, something along those lines, theres more than one way to pursue beauty