#idk man a lot of british people look like that. could be a picture of anybody.

[star-crossed-lizards]

the joe biden conspiracies about him being replaced or whatever are never gonna convince me of anything bc literally 80% of old men are physically identical to joe biden you could post a picture of literally any old man and tell me look it’s the real joe biden he’s hiding in australia and first of all why second of all that could be literally any man and i wouldn’t be able to tell

[theyluvkarolina]

hi

could you pls write a smau about a gymnast and lando

౨ৎHATE YOU LESS, LOVE YOU MORE౨ৎ

masterlist / rules / requests & talks with me!

SUMMARY౨ৎ y/n and lando hate each other. at least that’s what they want people to think. actually, they are in a relationship with each other

PAIRING ౨ৎ lando norris x gymnast!fem!reader

WARNINGS ౨ৎ none!

FACE CLAIM ౨ৎ Sunisa Lee

A/N ౨ৎ a lot of lando love on my account lately! might make that change 😊😊 also, ik sunisa is team usa but for the sake of the story pretend she is for britain 🥹

INSTAGRAM

y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by simonebiles, olympics, nike, and others

y/n_l/n So excited to represent Britain for Paris 2024! 🇬🇧 the new leo smacks 😵‍💫😵‍💫

2,346 comments

username1 SHE’S BACK!!

username2 i keep forgetting she is british and not from the usa 😭

→ username3 SHE’S NOT?? → username4 nope! she goes to college in the usa for the gymnastics program but she is a british citizen :) → username5 my life has been a lie

landonorris ✔︎ it’s not your colour tbh 🫤 🫤

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ neither is orange but here we are 🤷‍♀️ → oscarpiastri ✔︎ oh god here we go → landonorris ✔︎ @ y/n_l/n it’s papaya actually → y/n_l/n ✔︎ “it’s papaya actually “ 🤓 ☝️ → landonorris ✔︎ your not funny → y/n_l/n ✔︎ *you’re → oscarpiastri @ mclaren media train this man. i'm at my limit. → username6 can anyone explain why they hate each other so much?? 😭 → username7 nvm that, someone send oscar help that hes screaming for

IMESSAGES

INSTAGRAM

y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by lilyzniemer, oscarpiastri, livvydunne, and others

y/n_l/n olympics are underway 👀

1,985 comments

landonorris ✔︎ i hope you fall

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ what a supportive companion 😍 love you lan 😘 → landonorris ✔︎ i hate you too 😘 😘 → username8 these guys have no chill bro 😭

lilyzniemer the heart 🫶

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ for my best girl ❤️ → oscarpiastri ✔︎ excuse you? → y/n_l/n ✔︎ you are excused.

username10 seriously, does anyone know why lando and y/n don’t like each other?? they are from such polar opposite sports 😭

username11 i heard from somewhere that they were friends in school but had a falling out for some reason… might be due to their respective sports.

IMESSAGES

INSTAGRAM

y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by lando.jpeg, jadecarey, lindsayhoran, and others

y/n_l/n rest and relaxation 😴

3,001 comments

username12 UHMMM…

username13 Miss Y/N L/N. Who the fuck is that man?

landonorris did you save croissant for me?

→ y/n_l/n ✔︎ i did actually → landonorris then where is it 🤨 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ ready to be shoved up your fucking ass → mclaren ✔︎ i’m tired. → username14 HELP NOT THE MCLAREN ADMIN BEING OVER THEM. → landonorris ✔︎ :( → username15 THE SAD FACE 😭😭 → username16 anyone else find it strange lando isn’t commenting about the guy in the photos? i mean he teases her all the time and to just have nothing now is so strange → username17 stay delusional!!

username16 lando.jpeg like??? 🤨📸

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

landonorris ✔︎

liked by mclaren, carlosainz55, maxfewtrell, and others

landonorris J'adore Paris 🥐

3,670 comments

username17 i think lando is loving something else other than paris…

→ landonorris ✔︎ no

username18 THE MUSEUM DATE?? 🙁🙁

username19 idk who that girl is but i wish i was her 😕

y/n_l/n ✔︎ the bucket hats need to be retired.

→ landonorris ✔︎ uhhhmm??? no?? some guy said i look handsome. → y/n_l/n ✔︎ was the man a figment of your imagination? → landonorris ✔︎ rude 😒

maxfewtrell ✔︎ upset i don’t get any picture credits. i was the third wheel for nothing.

username20 WHO IS THAT GIRL??

username21 i’m telling you guys it’s y/n and when they reveal it they will be laughing in our faces.

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

y/n_l/n ✔︎

liked by landonorris, lauriehernandez, alyraisman, and others

y/n_l/n better than gold 🩷🥇

tagged ; landonorris

2,560 comments

username22 WHAT ON EARTH

→ username23 IS GOING ON → username24 IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

oscarpiastri ✔︎ what in the world.

→ username25 HELPP → username26 i think oscar finally lost it 😭😭

carlosainz55 ✔︎ put a jumpscare warning next time 😢

→ landonorris ✔︎ sorry mate, if you’re on her account you’ll be seeing her quite a lot → carlosainz55 ✔︎ yeah! i totally meant Y/N! → landonorris ✔︎ 🤨 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ HAHA POINT AND LAUGH EVERYONE!

landonorris ✔︎

liked by y/n_l/n, charles_leclerc, f1, and others

landonorris she’s a little weird and kind of mean to me but i love her 🙃

tagged ; y/n_l/n

3,734 comments

username27 IT’S CONFIRMED GUYS!!

username28 more y/nlando content ??? it really is the best day ever.

y/n_l/n ✔︎ i’m not mean 🙁🙁

→ landonorris you literally made me choke on my spaghetti. → y/n_l/n ✔︎ because you were outstanded by my beauty 😍 → landonorris ✔︎ maybe i was 🫶 → y/n_l/n ✔︎ stop i’m blushing 🫣🩷 → osarpiastri ✔︎ i missed it when you two together was a secret. → landonorris ✔︎ someone is grumpy. @ y/n_l/n get lily to call him so he stops being a baby → maxverstappen1 ✔︎ didn’t you cry when she got the first place medal? → landonorris ✔︎ didn’t you retire from the australian gp? → username29 SHOTS FIRED 😭 → username30 sassy lando is back → y/n_l/n ✔︎ oh sweetheart, he sadly never left. → landonorris ✔︎ sadly??

[pandaroboto]

Taskmaster Recording Report

This will be a long post and it has spoilers, so proceed with caution. More after the cut.

I will put in two different sections, what happened on warm-up and between takes and what they cut from the episode and I remember. WARM UP

Greg told people to stop sending sexy DMs because he would disappoint all the ladies/some guys.

He introduced Alex who came to the stage and hugged Greg's...knees?

Greg told the audience Alex was a master and could mimic any animal doing a dance style. He did a guinea pig first and it was the cutest thing, then a wolf (there is a picture of this that was used on a press release) and then a lion. When Greg asked about a dance style I yelled SAMBA with all my strength and then I saw Alex trying to samba as a lion. It was amazing.

Mark Olver asked who came from furthest to watch it and I raised my hand and said Brazil and he said BULLSHIT, you didn't come here just for that. I then explained I also was going to see Tim Key in Cardiff the next day and he was like "Oh..she did came here just for that then"

Again British people can't understand my name so I was referred as "Brazil" for the rest of the afternoon

I was also questioned about how do I watch the show and I quickly replied Youtube .

He made me list my favorite contestants to see if I could stay in the country. I tried to think which contestants were on the YouTube series uploaded. I then said Bob Mortimer, Mike Wozniak and Mark Watson (Alex smiled a bit when I said his name). Olver went " I can't believe someone in Brazil was watching the Woz fart a pile"

When I was telling I am from Brazil Alex waved at me and I was sure he knew who I was because long story short a bunch of friends really made me feel special and got me a signed book by Alex and he knew I was going to be there after travelling for 14+ hours.

At that point Greg said "Did you come for me???" and I pathetically went YES Y ES YES. He waved at me and IDK till today how I survived this.

They joked about a guy being first row and not being a fan,Mark asked who he had to fuck to get those seat and greg was pointing to himself.

They said we were clapping at the wrong places and that would confuse Alex and Greg

After the recording when I got back to London randomly meet Asim Chaudhry on Leceister Square. He was so sweet. We chatted a bit , I talked about how Sandman was big here, and that he had Brazilian fans and he got very excited and telling his mates about it

STUDIO

Sue got a massive round of applause. I think she and Julian got the big whoops from the crowd

The prize task was so much longer. Lucy went for ages talking about the ghost of the dog, and Greg kept asking questions. I knew most of it would be cut, but Greg kept mentioning during the episode and made me question how they would edit the references. They are bloody genius those editors.

Sam's Pinocchio made quite the impression, and Greg had a lot of fun with it. They talk about Pinocchio's penis, there was questions if it grew too with the lies. And Greg kept saying Pinocchio during the recording.

Sue's monkey orgy story was longer too.

When they showed Sam getting super closer to Alex, Greg mentioned Alex was very uncomfortable with touch and to prove that he got really touchy. BTW guys the amount of hand touches, and whispers behind the cards...they are insane

After the team task they were basically talking about how kinky it was, and Greg joked about Alex tied up , hogtie style and that he enjoyed. This was the thing I was most excited and I hope they put on the outtakes because I know how the fandom will be mental about it.

Greg is...MAGNETIC! Like the man demands attention and is very hard to not be looking at him. I kept looking at them at the studio and mostly ignored the tasks because I knew that I could see them later.

The live task took ages to set up and to reset after every round, Greg even joked we would spend the night there. It was more or less 3 hours of taping.

Greg interacted with us a lot because they had to reset the seesaw all the time, At one point he asked us to go "oooooh" that was show in the episode but he asked Alex using those words "Do you want the audience to oooh you while you pull it out slowly for me?" and he said with such a voice that...if I were a dude I would have a boner.

There was a point when Alex had to explain the outcome and he got it wrong and the audience corrected him to Greg's delight, he was very giggly. Sue got quite mad at Alex and the chains.

I guess it was this. At least that is what I took from my notes.

[racingliners]

🏎️💨 THE FORMULA 1 TAG GAME! 🏎️💨: tagged by @avida-heidia-5, thank you!!

(this has been in my drafts since January and I had completely forgotten to post it, so I'm going to fix that immediately. I am so sorry this took forever!)

1. Who or what got you into F1?

My Dad. The best memories I have of my Dad are watching F1 races together when I was growing up. idk how long he'd been an F1 fan by the time I was born, but I still have a very old Ferrari hat of his.

2. Who was the very first F1 driver you supported? Do you support them now? Have your opinions on them differed or stayed the same since then?

As a kid Michael because of my Dad (according to my Gran when I really really little I used to run around going "vroom vroom Schumacher!"). When I got back into watching F1 in 2013 I supported Jenson and Seb, and I still do! They're very much my beloveds.

3. Who’s your current favourite F1 driver?

Lewis!

4. Is there a driver pairing or pairings you support? What made you attracted to that pairing in the first place?

the dream teams of Seb, Britta and Antti & Lewis and Bono. I am a sucker for colleagues turned besties.

And as for teammates, Lewis and Jenson are my favourites. I frequently go onto YouTube and look up old McLaren promo videos because they're just hilarious in the best way (also shoutout to Series 1 of Tooned, I still have it on DVD!).

5. Do your parents, siblings or relatives have a favourite team and/or favourite driver(s)?

Nope, I'm the only F1 fan in my family. My parents (Mum and Step-Dad) have the odd opinion on some drivers but as a whole they're very unbothered 😅

6. Do you have any favourite races? Are there any that stand out to you the most?

I have so many for various different reasons. Silverstone 2014 & 2018 because I was there. India 2013 and Singapore 2019 for Seb reasons, Hungary 2019 and Turkey 2020 for Lewis reasons. Hungary 2021 for the whole of lap 1 and also for Seb reasons. Bahrain 2014 also sticks out because it was such a good race long battle between Nico and Lewis.

7. Do you have a favourite circuit? Can be from the past or from the current calendar.

Silverstone and Marina Bay (Singapore)

8. Have you ever been to an F1 race in real life? Feel free to tell us your experience going to one if you like.

As mentioned above I have been ridiculously lucky to go to the British GP twice in 2014 and 2018. The first time my parents organised it and the second time was via coach trip (which honestly I would recommend, it took out a lot of the stress in terms of getting to the track).

Obviously it's been a while but both years were absolutely amazing. Silverstone is a brilliant circuit both in terms of spectator facilities and seating options (idk if they still have it, but for our weekend tickets we had roving grandstand seats for the Saturday which meant we could sit in different parts of the track for FP3 and Quali - Luffield and Village are great spots!).

The atmosphere at the track is also just incredible, even during a practice session. They also open the Porsche experience centre and have cars on display (including cars that have won Le Mans!!)

I did post some pictures at the time from both trips under the Silverstone 2014 and Silverstone 2018 tags and I'm happy to post more if people want!

9. Have you ever met an F1 driver in real life?

I have not but I know someone who has 😅

10. Do you have a favourite F1 car? If so, what is it?

I have a colossal soft spot for the Brawn GP BGP001, she will always be famous 🤍💛

11. Do you have a favourite one win wonder?

Esteban Ocon purely for everything that was Hungary 2021.

12. Do you have any favourite quotes from the F1 world? This can either be inspirational or hilarious.

Lewis' post-race radio from Turkey 2020 and a (very) long list of Seb quotes

[the-invisible-queer]

Second dream was weird and one of those "I should dissect this in therapy" ones.

The whole dream takes place in Italy. I've never been to anywhere in Europe. I was staying with a few friends which included Damiano, lead singer of Måneskin and his girlfriend, Giorgia.

I guess we rented a house or something because the city was having a festival and parades and shit.

I guess me, Dami and Giorgia were in a throuple because we shared a room. Which I'm not mad about.

Me and Dami wanted to go see some parade and then get lunch after but Giorgia wasn't feeling well. Dami and I didn't want to leave her behind but she basically pushed us out the door and told us to have fun.

We found a nice spot to sit and chill as people found spots for the parade. We were talking about places we'd retire when we're old. I mentioned my dream of living and dying in New York City which he found hilarious. He said he wanted to die in a quiet little town where no one knows who he is.

He got recognized by a few teenagers and he was so nice and signed autographs and pictures while we waited. But mostly we were left alone.

Someone dressed like Perry the Platypus was selling Phineas and Ferb post cards for $5 and selfies for $15. Specifically US currency

I wanted a postcard so I looked in my wallet but only had change in British currency which idk why my brain did that.

So I missed out and Dami was making fun of me and said I should have just asked him. And he gave me a Perry the Platypus postcard he bought me while I was counting change.

We watched the parade and afterwards we were gonna go back to the house to check on Giorgia but when we texted her she texted back in all caps to have fun and just bring her something to eat when we got back.

So we went to eat at this weird restaurant that inside had a man made pond with a bridge so people could walk over it. We got a little table by the edge of the water. Talked a lot. Lost track of time until Giorgia texted if we were still alive.

Then we ordered something to go to bring for her. And that was that.

Very platonic with a dash of romantic. It was cute and weird.

And I wouldn't mind more Dami dreams like this. But I also wouldn't mind Giorgia being part of the dream.

[causticsunshine]

LTWT PORTLAND NIGHT TWO RECAP

(i was going to make a video update so i could just my ramblings out but tumblr didn't like that so i'm mostly just transcribing what i said in my last Attempt at a video recap here, and second i'll go through my pics and post some after i get some sleep!)

SO portland night two was..... i'm gonna say we truly won so far, okay?? the energy was just so on, like, i don't even know how else to describe it. it was a goofy, fun time without sacrificing any of the hard work or performance—like the band came out in onesies from what i'm assuming was a lost bet, there was cereal eating, a handstand, push ups, oli (with maracas??), and sun room dancing and jumping around with louis during kill my mind, fun little comments and anecdotes from louis... it was just such a great show and a great time and i'm so so thankful it went as well as it did!

(we also saw oli go run off somewhere while we were waiting in line? idk where he went but it took all of us by surprise lmao)

now let's talk louis: my man came out 20 minutes after expected in the outfit equivalent of a 'fifteen minutes late with coffee'—like the perpetually cold british man was wearing shorts in portland in march, when i, who have lived here for 9 years and never acclimated, was freezing my ass off before and after the show??—and gave me heart palpitations?? yes now i'm eagerly waiting for a tanktop thank you sir and no one better take this weirdly, but that man is truly a short king.... like he's still got a little height on me and harry was shorter than i thought too (like he's only 6 ft without heels on and he's often times wearing heels?), but still... that is my short king.

his energy was amazing; he was smiling and moving around nonstop, he was playing rock paper scissors and pointing out signs, he was looking at our section—his left side balcony—quite a lot like 2/3 of the show and his note changes? *chef's kiss* just immaculate. beautiful stunning gorgeous talented show-stopping incredible etc. etc.

aaaand from my pov, we could both see and hear well so my pictures and videos actually turned out decently for once, AND while i didn't get a big reaction for my sign—which i should've held up earlier and maybe not upside down for three minutes rip when he was paying a little more attention to our side—i did get a tiny smirk and some eye contact, AND earlier in the show i made a big hand heart for him fully not expecting to be seen, but he saw me!! he was standing directly diagonal to me and stopped bouncing around when he did, then made full eye contact, smiled, pointed and nodded right at me!! and i have witnesses to support my claims!!

usually some eye contact or whatever isn't something i get really into caring about BUT some really obnoxious people were standing behind us at the show tonight, like, complaining about people being 'in their seats' when i'm pretty sure they just sold 'assigned' seats so balcony wouldn't be oversold, and how they were going to 'talk to venue management' about it like a bunch of entitled, middle aged white women—to start! because then they kept trying to get louis' attention by constantly flipping him off and shit—constantly whacking my friend in the back of the head in the process too!—so when they were like 'omg he saw us!!' when i got my little moment... sorry but nah bitch, that shit was for me and me alone because i wasn't being rude or obnoxious, and i have witnesses so <3 sorry for you!

but yeah just, genuinely an overall amazing show. it was incredible to finally be able to see louis live and see him in such good spirits having what seemed to be such a genuinely great time and giving it his all. i feel truly so lucky i got to catch him tonight and got to take part in such a fantastic show, i honestly cannot wait to see him again and i hope he's feeling good and getting some much needed rest rn <3

mister tomlinson i truly look forward to the day we get to reminisce on this moment while i'm making merch for you in the hopeful near future

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Duke devlin

DUUUUUKEEEEEE!!!!

favorite thing about them: i just love his character design SO fucking much....of all the yugioh duel monster characters he feels like one of the ones that Most encapsulates "this looks like an OC I would design." red and black gambling aesthetic vibes always get me, eheheh

least favorite thing about them: ok real hit the DDM episode arc is ROUGH to get through. duke this game is fucking BORING. IM SORRY MAN. really excited to see it play out in the manga though. i wanna see his fucked up dad.

favorite line: i cant think of one off the top of my head from the show but he has a line in duel links where he's like "lord british space fighter, lauuunch your attack~" in a HORRIBLE fake british accent and it makes me laugh so hard. duke dorklin

brOTP: LISTEN. LISTEN. I THINK DUKE AND RYOU SHOULD HANG OUT. PEOPLE WHO LOVE DICE FLOCK TO EACH OTHER they should show each other their massive dice collections I know they both have!!!!!!

OTP: I ACTUALLY DONT HAVE ONE I FEEL PARTICULARLY STRONGLY ABOUT lots of duke pairings are fun and I can vibe with them--I respect duke/joey and tristan/duke sure man hell yeah!! tbh i can vibe with joey/tristan/duke too. some guy summer!!! im also a little bit like *thinks about aro duke* oh thats fun too :-)

nOTP: idk if i have one?? ive seen some people into duke/yami marik and im mostly just like ??? ????? ?????? ok man ?? i guess???? this is how i feel about a lot of ygo pairings honestly,,

random headcanon: duke is definitely the kind of dnd player who is All About tieflings and a little too excited about playing a bard. Very "i need to flirt with every NPC" energy sorry @ his DM. i love him because of and despite this.

unpopular opinion: idk if this is unpopular or not but i Love the extended part of s4 where hes just driving rex and weevil around. absolutely obsessed. love it. love this particular trio of characters interacting a LOT. OH ALSO im not as big on his DSOD design, idk.

song i associate with them: hmmm i could see everybody loves me by onerepublic mayhaps??

favorite picture of them: this picture is so fuckign funnyHHGDFHGSDG

[hobidreams]

Moonlit Throne historical clarifications/references

i want to accurately represent the history from the joseon era, but sometimes for the sake of story/ease of accessibility, things had to be minorly changed. the following is a list of creative choices/changes i make in the writing of Moonlit Throne, as well as further information about the history/culture that i’ve found through my own research 💓 i hope this can also provide some more context for those interested. this list is to be updated as the series progresses so i always recommend you read the latest drabble before checking for more info here for risk of spoilers. please correct me if i get any info wrong!!

for even more information about the world, check out the tag #moonlit history!

last updated: after drabble 43!

new information for the latest drabble will be under the moon.

king gwanghae - as mentioned in the line “gwanghae flow” & in the rest of the MV, Daechwita was inspired by this historical king & the movie about him. Moonlit Throne is not inspired by any king. any event that is similar is purely coincidental!

topknot - various sources state that only married men were allowed to wear their hair up, though this is often not the case in popular korean media. even though Yoongi is unmarried, i chose to pay homage to the daechwita MV & give him a topknot throughout the series. *** same goes for the blonde hair color!

months - traditionally, they followed the lunar calendar in the Joseon era. but i thought that that would be a bit difficult to explain for modern audiences so i am choosing to use the months/modern equivalents of dates.

yoongi’s scar - i am aware that Scarlet Heart Ryeo depicts the facial scar as a reason that someone could not become king. i haven’t found much on this in the way of historical sources, so it’s not a factor in my series!

uinyeo - aka. reader’s mom, and eventually reader herself. at the time, it was believed that women could not be treated by male doctors due to the shame of showing a man their body, even in a medical context. this position was generally occupied by a woman that was ranked below middle-class & commoner (think merchants/fishermen/etc.) as it was not a very desireable role. reader’s mom, Eun-a, is the head uinyeo, which is why she is called “su-uinyeo-nim” by others.

***i haven’t found any information that says men couldn’t be treated by women due to the Confucius beliefs, so at least in this story, reader helps out the male physicians from time to time.

eunuch - eunuchs were impotent or castrated men (had all or part of their genitals removed) who worked within the palace walls, serving and attending the royal family. they had their own hierarchy, like head eunuch, etc. it was possible for eunuchs to marry & have families of their own.

***Eunuch Kim has a 🍆! it’s just his testicles that were removed.

yoongi’s name - technically kings use temple names that end in jo or jong instead of their given names, but i’m keeping it as Yoongi!!

age - it’s revealed in the march 1858 drabble that Yoongi is officially turning 10 years old that year, but this is in Korean age. his birth year is 1849, which would make him 9 years old in age as we know it internationally. Korean tradition dictates that people age up at the start of the new year (Jan 1), not on their actual birthday. traditionally, they also add an extra year as they consider the baby 1 year old at birth, not 0 years old. to do the math, reader is two years older than him, which would make her born in 1847 & turning 12 that year!

*** the average life expectancy around that time was ~35-40, so their understanding of a teenager would be very different than ours, at least in terms of maturity. thus, even though the main characters are relatively young by today’s standards, i’ve written them to come off as older. UPDATED INFO: it seems court ladies could live up to rather elderly ages, even up to 70, so i’m not sure if the earlier statistic was just mainly for men.

birthdays - i couldn’t find any information about whether they celebrated the actual day of birth as well back then, only about 100 day milestones, etc. but it is part of Korean culture to celebrate the birthday in modern times, so i kept it in.

jeonha - similar to mama, this is how you refer to the king as an equivalent to “Your Majesty”. wangseja-jeonha is the full title for the crown prince. usually people just call him seja-jeonha.

women’s rights - how much freedom you have kind of depends on what rank you are. most of the upper court/noble ladies (yangban) are born & raised within the palace. they were very, very rarely allowed to leave (& if they were married off, then they would have to leave with like guards/people with them). it’s unfortunate but they were treated like property, passed off from father -> husband. from what i can gather, the lower ranked women (like the uinyeo) had a bit more liberty about going into town (or at least ive seen in media), mostly bc no one cared about them.... sad truth but truth nonetheless.

king’s authority - even though the king is the ruler of the entire land, he doesn’t have absolute authority over everything. generally kings in the joseon era had to listen to the advice of the court officials if they thought he was making the wrong choice.

Minister Choi’s execution - so actually there were several types of executions for people of different ranks. someone of Minister Choi’s status likely would have been given a less gruesome death via. poison (sasa or 사사). but i’m keeping it as a beheading to pay homage to the daechwita MV!

***i also came across an article that said only royal blood could be spilled on the palace grounds so i’m not 100% sure where the public execution square was located, only that there was one & it was separate from the palace. also a lot of dramas seem to ignore this rule, so i’m not sure.

perfume - this existed back then! along with cosmetics. they were a luxury item for mostly the upper class, but they definitely existed.

Queen Jeonghui’s birthday - fun fact! i borrowed this real life queen’s name first, for drabble 3. then i found out, it just so happens that her real birthday falls in November as well. it was a total coincidence haha. 

OC’s outfit/hairstyle - this is what she would have worn!

palace - the layout of the series setting is loosely based off Gyeongbokgung Palace! if you look at the map, i’ve set the private gardens at #24 (though the position of the island is different than how it looks in the map. it’s instead from the right side going towards the left), Yoongi’s private residence is #25. reader is moved into #23. #26-28 are libraries, which includes the crown prince’s private library.

*** also the palace is much bigger than you might imagine so to get anywhere takes some time & a bit of walking!

jipgyeongdang (집경당) - #22 on the map. along with #23 (below), were traditionally houses for concubines & palace maids before Yoongi moved them.

hamhwadang (함화당) - #23 on the map. where reader lives post December 1868.

sanggung - the highest rank available for women who served the palace/royal family. a woman could become a “favored sanggung” if she slept with the king, but not a proper concubine. normally from the “commoner” class.

sangmin - “commoner” class. made up about 80% of joseon’s people. were the farmers, fishermen, laborers, etc. these were the people that paid taxes and were ruled over by the nobles!

cheonmin - the rank below commoner, described in English as “vulgar commoner.” the upper classes considered these people “unclean.” among their numbers were butchers, sex workers, performers, shoemakers, and yes, uinyeo. they were normally given little to no respect at all within society.

concubine - women that had the honor of sleeping with the king. concubines had their own ranks within them as the king usually had many (think around a dozen). more info.

town - from what i can gather, directly outside of the palace is a small town. if you think of the Daechwita MV, it’s like the town that Yoongi walks through when he has black hair. this is where mostly people of the middle/lower class, like sangmin & those below that, live.

chuseok - Korean harvest festival! it means “autumn evening with the brightest moon”. it’s usually celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. that would put it anywhere around sept 9-oct 2 in our modern calendar depending on the year!

yangban - these are the “ruling class” or gentry of the joseon era. generally means their families own land, are somewhat (or very) wealthy, and they are well-educated. (think Mr. Darcy, for a British equivalent)

why does no one recognize the prince in town? - with a lack of access to pictures & internet, it was common for the normal citizens of the country to not know what their monarchs looked like. generally to identify people & rank, they had to rely on appearance. gold was a color only reserved for royalty, so only the king & his sons could wear the royal robes with gold embroidery. once Yoongi takes off those robes, it’d be hard to identify him from among regular yangban!

jeon - these are bits of shrimp/vegetables/fish/other small things that are deep fried in egg batter!

nokdujeon - this is like a small, savory pancake made with, you guessed it, mung beans!

Chun-ja calling Eunuch Kim “Kim-nim” - look. i’ll be straight with you i have no idea how a commoner would refer to a eunuch. i’m flip-flopping between his title (which i also cannot figure out bc idk which of the 18 political ranks he would be, but not for lack of trying y’all T_T) & his name with the respectful -nim. so just to be safe, i’m going with it.

***i also am not 100% on this, but i believe Eunuchs rank higher than commoners because they work in the palace? which is why Eunuch Kim uses “-ssi” for her.

hangul & hanja - so the Korean alphabet as we know it is called hangul, and it was invented in 1443. in the past, they used to use hanja, Chinese characters, to write documents.

female literacy rate - as related to above, it was rare for women to be able to read/write even up until the late 19th century. they weren’t allowed to learn hanja at all & only around 4% could learn hangul. of those 4%, it was mostly noble women, who received good education to be better wives.

***books were then thus read aloud by those literate to crowds, so people could still enjoy stories.

face - the concept of “face” is very much rooted in Asian culture. in Korea, it’s called chemyon, & is basically related to your reputation + how others see you. you can lose, build, or gain face through your actions or what rumors of you spread. for example, if parents have children with bad grades, they + the child lose face. people should strive to do things to build their family’s honor & face up. i’ve experienced firsthand how people go to sometimes extreme lengths to “save face” as the term goes. basically, if you’re going to do something shameful, it’s better to do it where no one can see. (this concept isn’t going to have a huge influence in the series, at least not so far & i use it rather lightheartedly in October 1865 but i just thought that it’s really interesting + important to know about Asian culture!)

French expedition to Korea (Byeong-in yangyo) - in October 1866, the second French empire tried to invade Korea (or Joseon as it was called at the time) because the king at the time executed seven French missionaries. after several months of fighting, Korea won with only four soldiers killed & 3 wounded (compared to France: 3 killed, 35 wounded). Joseon was able to stay relatively isolated from all the other countries, continuing the practice of isolationism.

gossip - i couldn’t find any laws prohibiting people from talking about court going-ons/battles, though i would assume that it’s punishable if you’re doing it to talk badly about the king. but even if there were laws in place, word gets around, as word tends to do. therefore, i’ve given Eunuch Kim a bit more freedom in his letters.

royal funerals - it could actually take up to 5 months for the coffin to begin its journey to the resting tomb, but i’ve expedited the timeline for plot purposes!

coronations - these actually weren’t super common in Korea or Asia in general, but it did happen once in the 1700s for King Yeongjo. i’m using that as inspiration for Yoongi’s crowning.

*** also i couldn’t find info on the exact wording that King Yeongjo used when he announced his succession to his deceased brother’s body so... i took some creative license there.

gama - how yangban & up women travelled, carried by their servants. here’s a visual!

the royal engagement - actually, Beom-su would not have lived within the palace walls. she would have lived in a detached palace that was further away from the main palace, and there would be a whole procession where the king goes to her during their wedding rites. however, i’ve seen several dramas have the bride-to-be hang around a lot, which seems to be true because she would have had to learn the customs of the palace, so i’m not sure how much she would have been around realistically. i’ve just chosen not to address it, like the dramas do.

Beom-su’s name - i chose this name for her because of one of the possible hanja for beom: “犯”, which i would pair with the hanja “秀” for su. her name would basically mean excellent invasion, which i thought was a bit cruel, slightly humorous, & overall fitting. it is normally a masculine name though! 

why are Beom-su’s father’s actions such a scandal? - so all the unmarried women living/working in the palace were considered the king’s property. he could sleep with them if he wanted to, but essentially they belonged to him. by laying hands on the maid, the minister committed a double sin because he not only was he assaulting someone, but he was infringing upon the king’s territory. 

civil service exam (gwageo) - this is an exam issued every 3 years that any man, commoner rank & above, could take in order to enter into civil service. it’s what Jimin takes to enter into the court! i’m not sure what month these were held or if it was just at the king’s discretion (could not find much info)

more on eunuch kim & the re-marriage process

royal tombs - these were often quite far away from the actual palace but looking on maps, i found that there were a few tombs rather close to the palace that people could have conceivably travelled to within a day, over several long hours on horseback!

on natural disasters - yes, in history, natural disasters like floods/earthquakes/eclipses were said to be the king’s fault because he wasn’t a good enough ruler! things like this could seriously derail the people’s trust in the king and was a big cause of concern.

on Queen Jeonghui being in court meetings - i couldn’t find actual evidence that said the queen couldn’t be at these daily meetings between officials. in fact, the real life Empress Myeongseong in the ~1870s was pretty involved in politics and was quite interested in matters of law, etc. so, i’ve decided to allow Jeonghui to be present and address the ministers alongside Yoongi!

Chunaengjeon - i kind of explain more about this already in the drabble itself but if you’re curious, it’s the only solo court dance in the Joseon era and the highlight of the dance is a moment where the dancer mimics a bird perched on a flower and smiles :’) i thought it was fitting for these two. here’s a video of a performance that i used as reference!

janae - there were quite a few different terms for couples to call each other during this time. “janae” was meant to represent wife and is kind of their equivalent to our... “honey”? it was mostly used among the commoners/lower classes to convey affection and closeness. (aka eunuch kim continues to be the cutest)

on adopting a child as a eunuch - the readings i found say that eunuch kim’s children must be eunuchs themselves if he adopts them directly, but they don’t mention anything about this particular case of a eunuch marrying a widow, aka the child is not directly adopted by Eunuch Kim himself. so Han-jae will not be a eunuch when he grows up!

american invasion of korea (shinmiyangyo) - this is a true historical event, as i’ve mentioned in my author’s note for “June 1871.” Americans repeatedly violated Korean soveriegnty and invaded their land, resulting in many, many deaths for the Korean side. they were hoping this destruction would force Korea to accept the trade treaty. Korea did not, and eventually were able to chase the Americans out of their land a month later. the wikipedia page goes into greater detail if you’re interested, and is a quick overview of the situation.

seong-min’s living situation - as i’ve mentioned earlier with the whole Beom-su situation, i’ve chosen to not use the detached palace again for this engagement as dramas tend to do.

the wedding ceremony - similar to my reasoning about the detached palace, i’ve chosen to focus on only a few parts of the marriage rites while only briefly mentioning the rest. why? well, while i would LOVE to explain all the details and intricacies of such an incredible process, i feel like that would take a lot away from the heart of the story and be distracting, especially at such a critical stage. so i’ve explained what i can, and given brief overviews where i am able. ofc i adjusted the parading ceremony because of the change of the detached palace custom. if you’d like an easy-to-read source on the whole process, please check out this link! basically the MLT chapter depicts a tweaked vers of steps 5 and 6. 1-3 happened behind the scenes, and i mentioned #4 in the “summer 1871″ drabble.

chungin - our equivalent of “white collar” workers, or the upper-middle class. this rank was made up of low-level bureaucrats, accountants, physicians, etc. some royal servants would also be part of this rank because they’re allowed to enter the palace. there is an exam (chapkwa) to become this rank!

conception dreams (taemong) - as uinyeo-nim explains in the drabble, these dreams were often seen as omens of impending pregnancy. depending on what you see in your dream, there are different interpretations. possible symbols are animals, fruits, elements of nature, children, and jewels. eg. if you dreamed of fruits, it was often considered to be a sign of having a baby girl.

other conception myths - i know from my own experience that Asians often have a lot of superstitions regarding conception and pregnancy and medical things in general. however, i couldn’t find any specific conception myths for the time period in question (most of my research only uncovered superstitions for after you’re already pregnant), so i’ve taken some creative license here, using the conception dreams and current beliefs as inspiration!

on Queen Jeonghui calling oc “dear” - since I prefer not to use Y/N, ___, etc. for reader’s name and just generally avoid mentioning it, it’s nearly impossible for me to convey the tone with which Queen Jeonghui would’ve been calling OC in this chapter. in Korean, she would be saying “[name]-yah/ah” depending on the ending syllable of the name. adding that suffix to the end of a name conveys closeness and intimacy between people. I’ve chosen to substitute it for “dear” to make things sound more natural in English. it’s not an exact match, but it’ll have to do!

[pedros-mustache-main]

mutuals as historical buildings??

now that’s what i’m talking about!!!!

@archaicmusings: the acropolis of athens, athens, greece.

i mean? duh? did you expect anything different? of course cal with her interest in classics history would be one of the most recognizable buildings of the classics age! now, don’t ask me what the heck this building was for because i don’t know. that is not my side of history, friends, and i’m smart enough to admit that.

anyways, can’t you just see cal leading a tour around the building?! she would absolutely be wearing socks and sandals and that makes me love her more. 

 @almightygwil: little red schoolhouse, farmington, maine.

this is more of a concept of buildings than a specific building, but the one pictured above (built in 1852) is pretty spot on in terms of the building(s) i would choose for ellie. 

when i think of ellie, i think of little house on prairie. i think of one room schoolhouses and lots of kids under the tutelage of one teacher. essentially, when i think of ellie, i think of the historical life i would kill to live in the mid-to-late nineteenth century (if things didn’t suck for so many people back then). ellie is warm and absolutely gives great hugs (even if i’ve need received one from her) and i would love to be her student in one of these schools. 

@im-an-adult-ish: wrigley field, chicago, illinois. 

do i know anything about baseball? barely. do i know about the significance of wrigley field? again, not really. 

what i do know is baseball is really important to meredith and so is wrigley field. i mean, her dog is named after it so that’s some indication of its importance. i do think that something about wrigley field screams “all american” and meredith is a very all-american girl (in the best possible way). 

@ineloqueent: yerkes observatory, williams bay, wisconsin. 

according to the internet, the yerkes observatory was “the birthplace of modern astrophysics” in 1892 when it was founded. i don’t know if that holds water, but i do know that tina loves stars and space and looking at stars in space. of all the other observatories i was looking at, i liked this one the most because, while it serves a specific function, it also is architecturally beautiful. it’s really european in feel (especially for being in wisconsin of all places) and we love our european tina!!! anyway, the combined natures of science meeting european architecture was what made me say, “yeah tina would be this building.” 

@dancingdiscofloof: palacio de cristal, madrid, spain.

the first place on our list that i’ve been to irl!

i had absolutely no idea where we were going when we started the trek from madrid’s palace to this crystal palace. really, i was just walking and trying not to cry ‘cause i’d only eaten bread and cheese for a week. but then! out of the blue! this beautiful crystal palace in the middle of a park. also ducks!

this building reminds me of rove for two reasons: it’s classic, and rove is classic. it’s also modern, and rove is also modern. from what i can gather, the crystal palace operates slightly like a museum. different art exhibits have been housed in the building from time to time. (when i was there, the sculptures inside were these weird, like, sandstone naked people?? idk what that was about) 

anyway, rove kinda reminds me of a museum or at least a very classy museum tour-guide.

@gwiilymslee: le mont saint michel, normandy, france.

look at that! it’s like freaking tangled! america could never!!!

all freaking out aside, audrey is absolutely a princess who deserves not only her own castle, but her own castle on an island. i think mont-saint-michel truly has this otherworldly feel to it, like something out of a novel or a movie. audrey gives me those same vibes.

@joemazzmatazz: san bernadino alle ossa, milan, italy.

another place on our list i’ve been to irl! i was in italy (among other countries) last year, and i randomly found this chapel nearby the milan cathedral. there are bones and skeletons of (supposed) plague victims decorating the very cramped room, and let me tell you, it was one of the weirder experiences of my life sitting in that room. 

i chose this for regan because, while i could have gone for the quintessential 80s punk scene and that would have fit just fine, i also think regan is a blend of the macabre and the aesthetic if that makes sense? like she’s one of those people who can really pull off the edgy, grunge vibe while also maintaining class and sophistication. that’s the general feeling i got from this chapel when i was there, so i thought it fit. 

@deacyblues: the flatiron building, new york, new york.

pearl will never not scream early 20th century to me. the flatiron building was built in 1902 and is typically seen as a landmark of the rapid growth of new york city, as well as the development of architecture in the united states. 

anyway, to me the flatiron building is iconic of the early 1920s, and so is pearl. the building has some european feel to it, too, with the way the faces of each side are carved, and pearl often speaks with this blend of american/british vernacular. really, i think what i’m trying to say is pearl reminds me of transatlantic movie-stars, and so does the flatiron building.

@six-bloodyminutes: the guggenheim, new york, new york.

there are two sides to mo. when i first met her, i was like, “huh, this girl is pretty put together. she seems like she knows what’s going on.” then i got to know her more and i thought, “oh wait. she, in fact, does not know what’s going on.” 

the geggenheim reminds me of mo because, from the exterior, it’s sleek and classic, but also unique. it makes you want to take a closer look. on the inside, it’s full of modern art that makes zero sense whatsoever. mo is much the same: put together on the outside, but on the inside, she’s full of surprises, absolutely delightful in her exuberance, and a joy to get to know better. also: i feel like if she were a staircase, she’d be the staircase inside of the guggenheim as well. 

@hijackmy-heart: casa mila, barcalona, spain.

nat is fun. like she makes me laugh a lot and she’s witty (in two languages!!) and she absolutely knows how to have a good time. much like this really strange looking building. there’s a certain whimsy to nat that i feel like this building evokes, too. all in all, 10/10 building, 10/10 person.

@kiwi-hardy: bishop’s castle, rye, colorado.

the last place on the list that i’ve been too irl! the story of bishop’s castle is strange: essentially this man named jim bishop bought land in c.o. for $450 in the 60′s, and he has been handcrafting this massive stone castle ever since. there have been legal battles (over the stones used themselves and over road signs and who controls the castle in the event of jim’s death) but let me tell you one thing: that castle is not built to code whatsoever. i was afraid for my life.

i feel like nothing captures the chaos of leah as much as the house with a fire-breathing dragon on one side, a gift shop on another, and spray painted signs all over the property that say many things but particularly “enter at your own risk”

[deeeelightfuldee]

Are you better at cooking dinners or making cakes/biscuits/sweets? baking definitely. I want to get more comfortable cooking.

Have you ever cut someone else’s hair? yes. I used to be pretty good at doing my brothers hair-- even the fading. But I’m sure I’ve forgotten it all by now.

Who was the last guest in your house and what were they staying for? probably my sister or my nephews.

How many long term relationships have you been in? blegh. not many. Whenever I’d know that it didnt have long term potential, id drop it. no sense dragging out the inevitable.

Do you sleep with all the lights out, or do you leave a lamp or even the television on? so for the longest time I kept my room super dark. I slept well. once miller died and kile broke my heart, I couldn’t sleep without the tv playing. I needed to hear something calming and voices talking so I wouldn’t be left with my thoughts. I still can’t turn it off.

Who is one person you have forgiven, but still have not “forgotten” what they have done? i think its easy to say “forgive and forget” but the reality is that once we have endured trauma we don’t easily forget. I think its kind of unrealistic. I’m trying to forgive kile but thats going to take.. i dont know how long. As for what it was... it was just betrayal.. lying. for six+ years. lots of laughing at me. 

Are you a fan of Lana Del Rey? I like some of her songs.

Do you know your blood type? o+

Do you know your mother’s birthday? Yes. its coming up. 

Have you ever been pregnant? I dont think so. I was really late after my assault but who knows.

How old were you when you first went on a plane? like 7ish

Have you ever had to take out a loan for anything? Yeah, student loans. 15k feels so daunting right now.

Are both of your blood parents still in your life? One is. My mom.

When was the last time you went apple picking? highschool maybe?

Someone asked you what you wanted, what would you say? money.. or a trip.

Have you ever been drunk at school or work? definitely not. 

How many bedrooms are in your house? four. 

Are you smart about computers? I know some stuff.

Have you ever played Just Dance for Wii? oh heck’n yeah

Do you own a Xbox 360? I had one from my brother for a little while but I traded it for the gamecube since Kile was going to send me one of the 15 he had lol. That didn’t end up happening, but its OK i really dont need more gaming.

Would you ever do a sex tape for a million dollars? oooooooo.. probably not.

So, do you need a nap? all day is full of naps to try and get over this.

What would you rather be doing? school

What sport are you the best at? maybe volleyball or swimming

Do you have a little sister? What’s her name? Nope, im the baby. 

Do you complain a lot? no, i try not to. I find complaining to be the most unattractive and yet common human trait and while there are definitely situations worthy of complaining, most of the time it just makes a situation worse than it actually was.

Would you rather go to an authentic haunted house or an ancient temple? temple

Do you like fruity or minty gum? definitely minty

Are you looking forward to any day of this month? i was really looking forward to Kile’s birthday on monday, but since we arent talking anymore then there is no joy in that. all the other special dates have been ruined by covid.

Have you ever gotten detention? Nope. homeschoolers and detention arent a thing. 

Is there a traumatic event that you’ve experienced that’s changed your life? oh sure. heartbreak, deaths, assaults, etc.

Do you buy a majority of your clothes from a certain store, or do you just pick out items of clothing you could see yourself wearing, not caring about the store it came from? no, i can’t be super picky because not every store carries clothing long enough for me.

Have any of the artists you’re fond of released new albums recently? i havent got a clue

Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet? I mean I’m very fond of cats & dogs

Ever cried so much you threw up? this is what happened the whole 2-3 weeks following finding out about Kile.

Who is your best guy friend? I suppose now that would be Nathan

What do you two do when you hang out? drives, game nights, get food/drinks, or just talk.

What is a movie that you thought you would hate but you ended up loving? Her

Do you even like horror movies? not particularly. I’ll watch them if someone else wants to but its not my preference.

Do you live in the country? i live in the suburbs i suppose.

What is your favorite accent? Some southern and British accents. <same ... i have no idea how I made the font like this.

Have you ever had a boyfriend your parents didn’t like? Not that I can think of.

Do you drink Pepsi or Coke? diet coke

What do you plan to do on your 21st birthday? my family celebrated during the day and then I think nathan took me out on the town

Do you have any person in your family with an addiction to beer? nope.

Do you take a lot of pictures? man. this question is hard. I used to love taking pictures of myself. I had much more self confidence and some of it was because kile LOVED my selfies -- or so he said. and I just had so much fun doing that. Since the heartbreak, I’ve maybe taken 10 selfies. I just don’t have any self confidence in my looks anymore. its so different now. most of my pictures now are of other people or scenery.

What kind of face wash do you use? cerave when I want to. otherwise i use water and a very particular type of fabric. 

Does drama always seem to follow you? No, i dont think so.

Does anybody in your family race? like cars? running? no.

Are you closer to your mom or dad? My mom.

How much money did you used to get from the ”tooth fairy?” I think i got it like 2x and it was a dollar.

Do you have a laptop or desktop? Laptop.

Do you like your parents? i love my mom.

Do you secretly like someone? No.

Would you ever date your best male friend? I don’t see any romantic feelings developing between nathan and I

What are you currently listening to? I have gilmore girls on.

Do you want to be single? oooof. Um. I am torn on this subject. On the one hand, i really am ready to be loved, held, protected, cared for, etc. I love the idea of building a life together with someone and us both protecting our unit. I miss supporting, cherishing, loving on someone. Yet on the other hand, im fine being single. I have so much insecurity about myself lately that I dk that anyone else needs to deal with that baggage. Idk

Did you go out or stay in last night? I stayed in. ill be staying in for some time.

Have you pretended to like someone? romantically, no. professionally, yes.

How is your heart lately? Sad. heavy. 

Are you wearing socks? not at the moment. 

What do people call you? Di, diana, dee, ana, di-nan-na, dine-uh, deenah.

Do you get stressed out easily? no, I really dont

Have you ever been taken to the emergency room in an ambulance? yes

What is wrong with you right now? im sick. im heartbroken.

Do you own something from Hot Topic? not that I know of. if I do, it’d be from like middle school. I never shopped there but people tended to give gifts from there.

Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone? Alone. maybe I havent found the right sort of person to share a bed with.

Do you still talk to the person you last made out with? No.

Have you ever seen your best friend cry? Yes, several times. 

Did you get any compliments today? No.

Have you ever gone to a beach? many many many times.

What would you say if someone asked you to get high right now? not my thing. at all.

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason? Yes.

Have you ever done volunteer work just because you wanted to? Yes.

Do you have long nails? they are healthy length. I want to grow them out a bit more. 

Do you like the gender you are? Yeah.

Do you generally look nice in photos? Not anymore

Have you ever had a stick insect as a pet? no haha

What colour are your father’s eyes? Blue.

If I handed you a concert ticket right now, who would you want to be the performer? uhhhhm, blue october

Would you ever get into a long distance relationship? maybe not anymore. 

What’s your favorite hot beverage? hot chocolate from dunkin

Did you ever play an instrument? If so what? i did. no comment.

Would you rather carve pumpkins or wrap presents? oooooohhhhhhhhh man i love both.

Do you think you’re important? I mean i offer some importance to this world but eh.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received? Hmm no idea.

Have you been diagnosed with any mental disorders? no

Have you ever moved to another state or country? If so, how did it feel to be new? No.

Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks? Nope.

What was the first thing you ate today? I haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday

If you could spend the day, doing absolutely anything, with anyone, anywhere, what would it be like? for the longest time it was to spend the day driving aimlessly and getting food and talking about everything and nothing with Kile. now, its just.. idunno. blank.

If I were to ask you how you are doing, and you were only able to answer completely honestly, what would come out? I’m not doing well.

What is the one thing that you have been avoiding that you should do? There’s a few things related to school.

Is there anything that you wish you could take back? not really, no.

What, in your mind, could make you truly happy? this whole covid nonsense going away, heartbreak to soothe, and my miller back.

If you could change one conversation in your life, what would you say differently? Would it have REALLY made any difference? i dont know. 

When is the next time you’ll change your hairstyle? Will you color it? I just changed it up so itll be a bit.

Do people normally say you’re a fast typist, or are you rather slow? Fast.

Have you ever been considered the ‘smartest person in school?’ yes. several times.

How many drugs are in your system? lol lots of meds rn to kick this. usually none.

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow? the same as today.

Do you currently have any bite marks/hickeys on your body? No. i dont like the idea of bite marks but hickeys were fun for a time. in not visible areas tho.

Do you call anyone baby? Not anymore.

What’s your current mood? Bleh.

What were you doing before filling out this survey? Watching gilmore girls

How late did you stay up last night? I took PM meds at i wanna say 8? maybe 7? I don’t remember.

When was the last time you cried really hard? its been a few weeks since ive cried about Kile. I’m in the numb stage.

Is your hair longer than your shoulders? hahahahahahah

[notashrew]

I only know like one (2) of your fave characters bcs I'm a dumbass hoe SO pls tell me about the one on your mind RIGHT NOW for the ask thing. :3c

So the thing is, I was going to cheat a little bit, because, just 0.3 seconds before I went back to answering this, I saw that ending of the movie and immediately went to thinking about Brahms Heelshire, of course :) And I just.... I can’t answer these with him. I haven’t paid enough thought of him to come up with answers.

But now everytime I saw this ask I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

SO LET’S GO WE’RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE DOLL FUCK FACE

Send me a character and I’ll list:

Brahms Heelshire from The Boy (2016)

(this is going to be one massive reference to that one Laeppavika line)

((also this is going to be so fucking horny im so sorry to everyone))

Favorite thing about them

So, like, the entire 20 last minutes of the movie is just so good. But we don’t see too much of HIM in entire movie aside from hearing about him and seeing his behavior occasionally. So gotta judge alot based on those 20 minutes.

And I love pretty much everything we see of him during those 20 minutes sfsdfsdf he’s handsome, stronk, has that... child-like side on him, wants to please.... But he also kills like a fucker and fsdfsdfgd im seeing myself into hell I just like him too much......

Least favorite thing about them

that i like him so much.............. Altho bruh please go outsite *badam tss* Get your world view fixed. Get out of tumblr.

Confirmed Brahms is a beardneck nice guy gamer

(for real tho what the fuck is with his child-voice. I know it’s there for the spooks and throwing the viewer off of reveal but it keeps going and it’s so off at that point)

Favorite line

“I’ll be good, I will.” SIR PLEASE I’M ALREADY SO GAY

To be honest I love everything he says in that certain scene, even

“IF YOU LEAVE I’LL KILL HIM, I’LL KILL HIM JUST LIKE THE OTHERS”

That’d make me turn around so fast, and not to prevent this dude getting killed. I’m gonna fucking die by the hands of this massive man child

brOTP

Does him vibing with his own doll count Look the movie isn’t giving us lots to work with idk uuuhh

OTP

Hottest take? Brahms x Malcom. Didn’t think of that, huh, Tumblr?

They’re relatively same age, Malcom has visited the family for a long time, and Brahms hasn’t yet killed him once he has visited and chatted with them. Oh how he yearns for the handsome vegetable boy....

(none really again sdfsd)

nOTP

Like said before, not much is given to work with. I GUESS I could say Greta but... I’m just gonna say any other slasher x him. I’m not big fan of slasher ships

Random headcanon

Not really a headcanon but... How the hell is this lad living inside the wall and eating scraps from the freezer left by his parents so fucking STRONK. The dude punches through WALLS like cardboard, British castle walls. And tosses people left and right like pillows. DOES HE HAVE A GODDAMN GYM DOWN THERE INSIDE THE WALLS OR WHAT

WHY IS BRAHMS SO DAMN JACKED

Also I need to know where did he get the adult magazines into his room. Did his parents give them? Did he steal them? Please give us the answers where did the literal man child receive his nudie magazines

Also how the fuck did entire child survive inside walls like a rat

Unpopular opinion

For one time in my life, I’m going to say: Him maskless is better than with the mask. The story of test audience thinking he was too handsome to be scare is amazing, but I literally don’t think the doll face mask is very good choice or makes much of sense. His face is burned? Bitch get original

Movie makers please release the maskless version I need it

Song I associate with them

None really.

Favorite picture of them

Sir............ sir please...... spare a serotonin..... i can have only so many........

[reddielibrary]

Halloween Extravagnza

Written by @gazebo-reddie

Gift for @sourmoist

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

Word count: 2832

Rating: T

"Ok, so what about....this??" Richie perused the Halloween section on Amazon. He had searched 'Halloween couples costumes' and was met with a long list of 'boyfriend/girlfriend' costumes. He could tell Eddie was very annoyed at this point and on the verge of completely blowing it off.

Eddie looked towards the screen and huffed. "Does it fucking look like I want to be a loofa?? Are you fucking serious Richie?" He rolled his eyes and took the mouse from Richie's hand.

"I would have never assumed searching for Halloween costumes would be so fucking stressful." Richie sighed and leaned back into the computer chair. He rolled back a bit and pulled Eddie into his lap. "Is there any costume you have in mind? Maybe we could just make ours?"

Eddie situated himself to be more comfortable and placed his elbow on the desk. He rested his elbow on the table and pinched the upper bridge of his nose. "I have nothing in mind."

He continued to scroll down the long list of costumes, quickly getting to his limit. "UGH!!! THIS IS POINTLESS!!" He slammed the mouse down and threw himself back into Richie's chest. He made an 'oomph' sound at the impact, slightly getting the wind knocked out of him.

"Hey calm down Eds, maybe it's for the best." Richie wrapped his arms around Eddie's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. He could see the blush on Eddie's cheek crawl up to the tip of his ear. At this point, Richie couldn't tell if it was from frustration or the way he was being manhandled by him.

"Oh fuck off you prick!" Eddie hissed at Richie and gave his knee a "love tap", as he liked to call it.

"I didn't even say anything!" Richie laughed and held Eddie closer.

"Oh my God, I can feel you smirking from a mile away!" He tried to struggle away but failed.

Richie gave Eddie a raspberry on his upper cheek, which resulted in him laughing and screaming "Richie!!!" In disgust.

As if it were a cartoon, an idea popped into Richie's head like a lightbulb. "Oh shit, I have an idea for a costume!!"

In the middle of wiping off the spit on his face, Eddie perked up. "What? What is it? Please tell me you're not joking because I really am not in the mood for jokes and--"

As Eddie continued to go on, Richie typed his idea into the search engine and smiled wide when it popped up.

"Oh hell no."

"Eddie please, it's perfect!!" Richie put his hands together in a praying motion still wrapped around Eddie.

"No Richie! I don't wanna look like a fucking idiot."

"We won't though! It'll be fun! Come on please!" Richie put on his puppy-eyes-face, which was always extreme due to his glasses magnifying his brown peepers.

Eddie stared into his eyes for a beat, then groaned out frustration. "Fuck. Fine. Whatever!" He huffed and crossed his arms, "But I swear! If I get made fun of or embarrassed, I will never talk to you again!” 

“Aight, deal! I’m happy with those stakes.” Richie placed the costumes in his cart and ordered them. “Anyways, I think there’s something worse than being embarrassed at the party.”

“You’re still caught up on that Rich? You know they’ll be happy for us. Knowing them they probably guessed it already.” Eddie placed his hand on Richie’s leg, rubbing it comfortingly. 

“Yea but what if they don’t agree...” Richie placed his hand on top of Eddie’s and squeezed.

Eddie could tell he was getting anxious and overstressed about this topic again. “If they don't, then we’ll just ditch them,” Eddie lifted Richie’s hand and gave it a light kiss. Richie loved it when Eddie showed affection, it immediately lowered his anxiety. “but you know they’ll be super happy for us. Come on Richie, its the Loser’s we’re talking about...”

“Yea yea I guess...” Richie sighed a sigh of relief and looked up at the back of Eddie’s head. He moved in close and gave it small kisses. 

Eddie laughed at the sensation and squeezed his hand. “Stop it Rich! That tickles you dip!” 

Richie ignored Eddie’s plea and continued to kiss the back of his head slowly moving down his neck. Eddie shivered from the sensation and let out a sigh. He was then surprised to feel and arm slink under his knees. 

“Oh my go-- Richie do not pick me up.” Richie ignored his request and lifted him anyway, gaining a tiny slap to his back. Eddie wiggled around, “You know I hate being picked up! DO you know how many accidents occur when people are picked up? Especially bridal style! Lots of people hit their heads on objects and get concussions-- how did I get on the bed?” 

Eddie usually never pays attention to his surroundings when he starts ranting so Richie found the moment the perfect opportunity to carry him to the bed. Richie laughed at Eddie’s flustered state and flopped down next to him. 

“Man I am fucking beat! I am ready to hit the sack, please.” He rolled onto his side and raised his arm trying to coax Eddie to cuddle with him. 

He rolled his eyes and turned off the lamp illuminating the room. He moved in closer and pressed his face into his chest. 

Richie hugged Eddie close and gave him a goodnight kiss on the top of his head. “Goodnight spaghetti boy o’ mine.” He felt a quick sharp pain in his leg and laughed. 

 “Night moron...,” (muffled speech) there was silence for a moment and Eddie said something that Richie could quite make out. 

“What?”

“I-I said...i...i love you. Now shut up and sleep before I die of embarrassment.” 

Richie smiled wide. Eddie couldn’t see because it was pitch black and his face was pressed into his chest, but he knew. 

“I love you too...”

They then drifted off to sleep in the warmth and comfort of each other’s presence and touch.

_______

Bevvie: Ok so where yall at?

Bird Boy: Me and Bill are right around the corner

Bevvie: Yea bu what about Rich and Ed? They’ve been MIA since this morning??????

Billie: Idk try calling him?

Bevvie: Ye ill do that

Bevvie: See u guys whn yal get here.

“R-Richie...” Richie grabbed at the back of Eddie’s shirt and pressed their lips harder together. From the corner of his eye, Eddie could see Richie’s phone light up. 

“Shit Beverly’s calling us.” 

“Just leave it...” Richie sighed, pressing his face into his neck, trying to avert his attention back to his lips but Eddie ignored him, picked up the phone, and answered.

“Yea?....oh yea it was just next to me so...yea we’re coming still...out of breath? No, I’m totally fine...” Eddie laughed nervously “Yea bye, see you guys later.” He hung up the phone and put it back down. 

Richie stared at him with a frustrated look. 

“You get to kiss me all the time Richie, why are you mad now?” Eddie crossed his arms and chuckled.

“I’m not mad at that you dip! I’m mad cuz you answered the phone! You know I don’t want to go to this party!” Richie grabbed his glasses from the bed and put them on. 

“Richie, oh my fucking god are you serious? We’ve talked about this party for weeks! Remember buying these stupid ass costumes?” Eddie angrily pointed at the couple's costume sitting next to them. 

Richie frowned. It’s not the party he was worried about though. Eddie seemed to have forgotten about the big secret they’ve been keeping from the rest of the world, aside from Richie’s mom who accidentally walked in on them making out once (she was completely supportive though). 

“Eddie... I don’t know if I can...,” Richie bit his fingernail from the anxiety building up in his chest “if I can come out to them.”

Eddie sighed and quickly felt saddened. “Richie...”

“They’ll be upset that I hid it from them, hid us from them. They’re not gonna want to be my friends Eddie! They’ll hate me!” Richie’s eyes started to well up. He looked down as the tears started to fall down. 

Eddie placed a hand on Richie’s cheek, wiping the tears away. “Calm down Richie, calm down.” He kissed his forehead and hugged him close. 

They stayed together for a while until Richie calmed down. Somehow, after lots of begging and consolation, Eddie convinced Richie to at least try going to the party. They put their costumes on and looked at each other. 

Richie burst out laughing. “Holy shit! You look hilarious. You look like a little gay uncle from the 70′s.” 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?” Eddie punched Richie in the arm and glared at him. “Anyways you look gayer than me! Come on you have a fucking white turtleneck on under a rainbow sweater vest!” 

“Yea but your turtleneck is yellow so....fuck you.” Richie laughed and grabbed his phone. “Let’s take a picture, Spaghetti.”

Eddie groaned and moved next to him to take a selfie. Rich took a few pictures and laughed. 

He raised his hand into the air and put on his stupid British voice. “Alright now. Let us venture off into the night and hopefully not get abandoned by the only people that love and care about me!”

“Yea yea finally let's go! We’re already an hour late...” 

They walked out of their dorm room and made their way downstairs to the lobby of the dorms.

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

Richie parked his car out front of the building and took a deep breath. 

“Alright let's crash this fucking Halloween party.”

Eddie furrowed his brow and looked at Richie in confusion. “No Rich, we’re not crashing this party. Don’t you dare think about that.” 

“Just a joke sourpuss.” Richie moved over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

Eddie laughed and they both made their way out of the car. Richie walked over to him and took his hand. He could feel the anxiety building up in his chest the closer they got to the front of the building. 

“Richie your hands are so clammy.” Eddie laughed and let go to wipe off the sweat. “Maybe you have hyperhidrosis, like when people get super sweaty and always have raisin fingers--”

Eddie looked back to see Richie standing still looking petrified. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open. He was hyperventilating and shaking. 

“Richie!?” Eddie’s heart dropped. He ran over to him and held his face.

Richie’s world was crashing down on him. He couldn’t breathe. His chest was tight like someone was squeezing his lungs. His legs trembled with fright and they soon gave out on him. Eddie fell to the ground with him, still holding his face. 

“I can’t,  I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!!” Richie choked out the only thing he could think about.

“Richie what’s wrong!? Why are you having a panic attack!?” Eddie held him close and comforted him as best he could but it didn’t seem like he was calming down. “I’m gonna go get the others! Beverly will know what to do!”

Richie couldn’t form words very well since it felt like his emotions were a tidal wave going through his brain. He tried to grab Eddie and not let him leave him, but he pulled away and ran to the party house. 

Eddie ran inside the house and looked around at the crowds of drunken college students yelling and dancing throughout the house. He panicked thinking he’d never find anyone in the crowds. He squeezed his way through the crowds looking around for firey red hair. 

He ran up to random people and asked if they knew Beverly but of course none of them knew. He ran down hallways and knocked on closed doors, even walking in on a few couples engaging in the fine sport of twister. Even after spamming the group chat, no one was answering anything.

He was at loss and out of breath. He was about to just give up and go back outside to comfort his fallen partner until he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“Eddie...right?” She was someone Eddie had seen in some of his classes, but he never knew her name. 

“Y-Yes??” He tried to catch his breath and compose himself, but ultimately failed. 

“You’re looking for Beverly, right? Someone texted me saying there was a crazed child running around asking for her.” 

Eddie nodded enthusiastically. “Yes please, do you know where she is!” 

She pointed towards the back of the house. “She’s outside by the pool! I was just with her.” 

Eddie hugged the girl without really thinking about it. “Thank you!” 

He ran out the back door towards the pool. 

“BEVERLYYYYYY!!!!!!!” 

She whipped her head around at breakneck speed. “Eddie!!” She smiled wide and stood up ready to hug him. The rest of the losers watched as Eddie grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the house. 

Beverly was tripping over her own feet trying to process all the sudden events happening to her at once. 

“Jesus Christ Eddie!!!” There were a couple times she couldn’t keep up with his speed, so she would trip a little and almost fall. “What’s going on!? Where are you taking me!?” 

“Richie!” 

Beverly could tell something was wrong so she didn’t question anymore.

------

It seemed like he had lost time because the next thing he felt was Beverly’s arms wrapping around him and hugging him close. 

“Rich omg what’s wrong? Are you alright?” She ran her hand over his head and rubbed his back as he cried onto her shoulder. He was shaking intensely and choking out sobs. 

She shushed him and held him close. 

“Eddie, what happened?” 

Eddie shrugged. “I-I don’t know! He just, like, freaked the hell out and fell to the ground. I think-I think he’s having a panic attack or something.” He kneeled down and rubbed Richie’s back. 

“Well yeah, obviously he had a panic attack, Eddie!” 

Soon enough Richie calmed down enough to gather himself. 

“Thanks, Bev.” He hugged her again and sighed. “That was a lot...”

“Yeah, now what the fuck happened to you? People just don’t randomly have panic attacks...”

A blush spread across his face as he tried to think of how to form a cohesive sentence. “Well...uh. You see. Me and-- Me and Eddie... Well uh--”

Eddie laughed and rolled his eyes. “We’re, well me and Richie are, uh, dating. We’re dating.”

Bev stared at them blankly. Richie could feel his face heating up and his throat closing. She suddenly burst out laughing, bending over and holding her stomach. “Y’all think this was a surprise!?”

Richie and Eddie looked at each other confused and lost. 

“W-What?” 

“Not gonna lie, you guys are horrible at keeping secrets. We all guessed it, but we didn’t want to like assume and make you guys uncomfortable.” 

Richie and Eddie comically looked at each other with a blank expression, then at Beverly. They broke out laughing hysterically. 

“Here I was freaking out about what y’all would say and shit! And y’all already knew!” Richie laughed and slapped Eddie on the back. 

“Ow! Dickhead...” Eddie punched him back in the arm. 

“Well let’s go find these other eggheads and introduce ourselves.” Richie grabbed Eddie and Beverly’s hands and made his way toward the house. 

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

“EY Y’ALL SLOPPY BITCHES!!! THE KINGS HAVE ARRIVED!!” 

All the Losers turned their heads towards the loud and obnoxious voice they’ve all come to love. 

“Richie!!” 

“No! The name’s Bert. And this is my lovely husband, Ernie.”

Eddie frown and kicked at Richie’s leg. “Hey guys!”

“Wait, you two dressed up as Bert and Ernie? You know they’re a gay couple right?” Bill laughed a bit in confusion. 

Mike already understood what was going on and laughed placing his forehead in his palm. “Oh Bill...if only you weren't so naive.”

Richie blushed hard as he grabbed Eddie’s hand. “Well, why else would we be dressed up as them?” 

The Losers all gasped in surprise, they all stood and ran other to them. They all embraced and congratulated the two. 

“Now that I am here, can we all go get drunk off our asses and vomit out our intestines!?” 

All at once they yelled out “Yes!!”

The rest of the night was chaotic in the best way possible. Although Eddie had originally said not to, they ended up crashing the party anyway, and by they, it was actually Eddie, who had climbed on top of the kitchen counter, drunk off his ass, and kicked over the punch bowl. It shattered on the floor, red punch spiked with vodka was everywhere, including the gummy eyeballs put in there for a spooky effect. All seven were chased out into the night by the party host. Eddie flipped them off and had to be carried away by Ben.

[purplesurveys]

961

What was the most unsettling film you’ve seen? Unsettling films are my jam, man. To name a few, there’s Eraserhead, Room, Midsommar, Eyes Wide Shut, Misery, and most recently, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Eraserhead takes the cake though. That movie always makes me queasy...

What unethical experiment would have the biggest positive impact on society as a whole? I’m a firm believer in nothing good ever comes out of unethical practices. I’ll never forget reading about an experiment where a group of newborn babies were given basic needs like food and being bathed, but weren’t shown any affection whatsoever and it was meant to see if humans can survive with just the most basic physiological needs. By the end of the experiment period half of the babies were dead. The results were honestly a lot bleaker than how I’ve put it, but I don’t wanna be a downer lol. Suffice it to say that experiment haunted me for days after reading it.

When was the last time you were snooping, and found something you wish you hadn’t? It was around a week or so ago, I’m pretty sure.

Which celebrity or band has the worst fan base? My sister is into K-pop and I hear insights from her all the time, but her one constant is that BTS breeds the most annoying, toxic fans. I’d have to agree. Ariana Grande’s fandom was also annoying at one point, but I haven’t heard much from them making a mess these days.

What are you interested in that most people aren’t? Autobiographies.

If you were given a PhD degree, but had no more knowledge of the subject of the degree besides what you have now, what degree would you want to be given to you? Why would I deserve a PhD on something I’m clearly not qualified for...I’m not sure I’m following this question right, but I don’t feel like thinking too hard about it.

What smartphone feature would you actually be excited for a company to implement? I’m happy with the features that are widespread now, but I wish companies adhere more to countries other than the common ones like US, UK, Australia, etc. I always see ads about phones being able to tell you how much movie tickets cost or track boarding passes, but those are all irrelevant here. It makes a lot of Apple’s basic apps useless on this side of the world haha.

What’s something people don’t worry about but really should? Long-term effects of poor habits like not getting enough sleep or drinking too many cups of coffee. I know because I’m guilty of this.

What movie quotes do you use on a regular basis? “I won’t think about that now, I’ll think about it tomorrow,” but I usually say it to myself, especially when I feel stressed.

Do you think that children born today will have better or worse lives than their parents? Better, but idk if that’s just me being biased because my generation will be the next parents lol. I just think that a lot of Gen X parents still have a lot of dated prejudices and mindsets that my generation was able to learn better from. For example my mom doesn’t like using people’s preferred names, especially if they’ve transitioned -_____- and I know I’d never want to set such an example for my kids.

What’s the funniest joke you know by heart? I know I’ve come across hilarious ones but I always fail to come up with one when asked on the spot.

When was the last time you felt you had a new lease on life? LOL RIGHT NOW

What’s the funniest actual name you’ve heard of someone having? It’s more stupid than funny and I know I’ve already mentioned this before, but Covid Bryant as a first and second name still takes the cake for me. My sister went to school with a girl whose name is just her surname backwards, and for a time I was really weirded out by it. But in the times I’ve seen her she really owns her name and never looks bothered by it, so I quickly stopped caring.

Which charity or charitable cause is most deserving of money? For me it would have to be organizations for animal welfare.

What TV show character would it be the most fun to change places with for a week? Post-El Camino Jesse Pinkman. I wouldn’t want to live through his chaotic shit  from Breaking Bad, but his fate after El Camino is something I’m super envious of.

What was cool when you were young but isn’t cool now? Flip phones, Blackberry phones, Roshes, Frappuccinos.

If you were moving to another country, but could only pack one carry-on sized bag, what would you pack? Phone, laptop, their chargers, important IDs, some of my favorite tops and jeans, underwear, essential toiletries, wallet, a family photo, a journal and pen, earphones, certain knickknacks to remember Gab and my dogs by. Minus the clothes, all of these are pretty tiny so I think these would all fit in the bag just fine.

What’s the most ironic thing you’ve seen happen? I don’t know. I’m not really a fan of rating the most/worst this and that stuff in my life, either. I feel like I unnecessarily rack my brain too hard for them when I take surveys to have a chill time.

If magic was real, what spell would you try to learn first? Probably something that’d keep my dogs from dying.

If you were a ghost and could possess people, what would you make them do? No thanks. I’d be the chillest ghost tbh, I’d like to just sneak up on people’s business and hang out but never interfere in them.

What goal do you think humanity is not focused enough on achieving? Climate change, global warming, alleviation of poverty. Corporations and the few people who actually have the power and money to change things only ever come up with short-term shit like donations and never look at the big picture. What problem are you currently grappling with? So many personal ones. But just like the recurring theme of my surveys so far, “I don’t want to get into it.”

What character in a movie could have been great, but the actor they cast didn’t fit the role? As much as I love Kristen Stewart, I heard she was cast as Princess Diana for an upcoming film and I’m not really feeling that decision. They could’ve gone with a British actress for starters?????? The movie is still in production but it is pretty annoying to think about lmao.

What game have you spent the most hours playing? Probably GTA: San Andreas as a kid.

What’s the most comfortable bed or chair you’ve ever been in? Luxury hotel beds are always so fluffy and comfortable.

What’s the craziest conversation you’ve overheard? Omg one time at a coffee shop Gabie and I sat beside this older couple that obviously was going through some heavy SHIT. There was a lot of animosity and tension between them and I caught the lady silently break into tears a few times. I never overheard anything but then again they sat in silence for hours until the lady finally walked out on him. Never knew what it was about but I’ve always guessed that the man did something crappy, like cheat, and was discovered. It was a really sad sight and a crazy situation to witness and I think I felt even more sorry because they were obviously in their 50s or 60s. I hope the woman is in a better place now as she looked rough as fuck that evening.

What’s the hardest you’ve ever worked? I wore a lot of hats when I was in my college org, and that was on top of balancing my acads as well.

What movie, picture, or video always makes you laugh no matter how often you watch it? That scene from Friends where Ross plays the keyboard for Chandler, Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel.

What artist or band do you always recommend when someone asks for a music recommendation? It depends on what music they’re into and if I have actually have a recommendation in mind for them. I obviously can’t suggest Paramore to someone who mainly listens to metal.

If you could have an all-expenses paid trip to see any famous world monument, which monument would you choose? I’m down for any monuments that are super ancient like Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza.

If animals could talk, which animal would be the most annoying? I’d go with frogs, but only because they get annoyingly loud in the evening.

What’s the most addicted to a game you’ve ever been? Playing The Sims, Mario Kart, Rock Band, or games in the Burnout franchise.

What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? Japan was so fucking cold when I was there. Didn’t do my research and ended up being dressed poorly, and I was so cold I could barely talk to my parents or fully enjoy my time. Sagada was also nearly unbearable in the early morning.

Which protagonist from a book or movie would make the worst roommate? Not from a book or movie, but BoJack Horseman. Diane can also be in the running as I always found her too whiny. I get that she had her personal shit to deal with, but I don’t think living with her would be good for my own sanity and mental health.

Do you eat food that’s past its expiration date if it still smells and looks fine? It annoys my chef dad to death that I don’t lol. No matter how great it looks, I’d bounce. I once ate expired Kit Kats that tasted like cardboard and that scared me off of expired food forever.

What’s the most ridiculous thing you have bought? I once bought a stupid novelty soap that to this day I’ve never even opened. It’s in one of my drawers, and I plan to just throw it out at some point.

What’s the funniest comedy skit you’ve seen? Not a fan of these but one that got to me is Dear Sister from SNL.

What’s the most depressing meal you’ve eaten? A few years ago there was a local breakfast place that offered red velvet pancakes for a limited time and I was all over that crap, so I went and ordered. The actual pancakes ended up not being any bigger than my palm, and I remember not being able to hide my disappointment once the server placed the dish on my table haha. I felt so scammed. I had to order something else to feel full, because those pancakes were stupidly small.

What tips or tricks have you picked up from your job/jobs? One of my superiors, when she was presenting a pitch to our director yesterday, kept asking questions and picking at the director’s brain so that she can get suggestions and answers straight from the director herself and so that she didn’t have to do any brainstorming anymore. I thought that was a pretty nifty and clever hack.

What outdoor activity haven’t you tried, but would like to? Hiking a mountain!

What songs hit you with a wave of nostalgia every time you hear them? Umbrella by Rihanna feat. Jay-Z.

What’s the worst backhanded compliment you could give someone? Idk, anything can be the worst depending on the context. I’m not a fan of giving those, though.

What’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched? Unsolved Mysteries’ Dupont de Ligonnès episode was a lot of fun to watch.

What was the last song you sang along to? I think it was Thinking of You by Katy Perry? but I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t sung along to anything in a while.

What app can you not believe someone hasn’t made yet? I don’t really download and use a lot of apps other than the basic ones, so I don’t care too much.

When was the last time you face palmed? Last night.

If you were given five million dollars to open a small museum, what kind of museum would you create? I’d give it away to the Martial Law museum currently being made near my university so that it can do more to show the atrocities of the Marcoses. And so that I can piss off my pro-Marcos relatives.

Which of your vices or bad habits would be the hardest to give up? Uh hating myself, if that counts.

What really needs to be modernized? Public transportation systems in this country.

[pictureamoebae]

idk how i'm supposed to reconcile my desire to not see the tories in office with my continually reinforced belief that labour leadership in general and jeremy corbyn in particular actively despise jewish people and wish me and my kind harm. there's been too many incidents, each one fouler than the last, over the past months. i want johnson out but i have no faith in the alternative's desire to keep me safe either and idk what to do

Politics.

A simple answer to a complex problem. And now a complex post to a simple question.

This will be very long, but I’m not going to put it behind a cut because it’s too important.

Nothing I say here will cut through to make you feel any more or less safe. What I want to do first is to say I do not doubt for one moment you have fears. Whatever I say next comes from as much a place of wanting you to be and feel safe as anything else. Please keep that in mind if you at any point think I’m attacking your deeply-held fears. I am not. If I’m attacking anything, it’s those who seek to weaponise your fears for their own gain.

While I continue, I’d ask you to keep asking these questions: who is saying things against Corbyn, what are their politics, what kind of world do they want to see, who do they want me to vote for, what are their interests (not as in, do they like music, but as in where do their political interests lie, how do they benefit from society under different governments)? These are good questions to ask when you hear any kind of political claim being made, whether it’s a manifesto pledge, a jibe at a political opponent, or an otherwise seemingly ‘neutral’ article in a newspaper. Everything is stated from a political position, no matter how hard someone works to hide that. And some people work very hard to hide it. Why?

First, I’ll talk about Jeremy Corbyn and his beliefs. You’ll have seen, no doubt, the picture of him being arrested for protesting against apartheid in South Africa? I’ll use this as a jumping off point because it’s in the news today. It’s emblematic of Corbyn’s lifelong approach.

One of the things that Corbyn’s supporters love about him in particular is that he’s a peacemaker. It’s also one of the things that frustrates us the most. 

Love: because his approach to foreign policy has always been one of recognising the necessity of dialogue. It proves an easy stick to beat him with because it’s seen him working to bring all sides together in Northern Ireland (something the Conservative government at the time was also doing in their own way, along with others in Labour), or trying to diffuse tensions and encourage constructive talks in the Middle East, for example. It’s why he was so outspoken in his opposition to illegally invading Iraq (we hit upon one reason here why Tony Blair might have a personal interest in discrediting Corbyn: his involvement in Iraq would be under more scrutiny with a Corbyn-led Labour Party in charge). The list is endless, and he has been proven time and time again to be on the right side of history when it comes to his desire to make peace, not war.

Frustrates: because his natural desire to make peace sees him be far too conciliatory when it comes to both internal Labour Party matters and his approach to media hostility. Backing down on open selection (also known as mandatory reselection) will be seen as one of the biggest mistakes of his leadership in years to come. Time and time again he’s held out the olive branch because his opponents demand it, only to see them set fire to the branch, crush the ashes beneath their heels, and then turn around and say “pass us an olive branch”. One criticism we hear a lot is “Corbyn isn’t a leader”, and the only time I will ever agree that his leadership has been lacking is on this matter. He should have been more forthright and stood his ground. But such is the contradiction at the heart of what makes him the good person he is: that’s not his style. He’s a peacemaker.

Back to his arrest for protesting against South African apartheid. Corbyn served on the national executive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement that was “a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa’s non-White population who were persecuted by the policies of apartheid.” At the time, the Tories were pro-apartheid, and could even sometimes be found wearing “hang Nelson Mandela” stickers at their conferences and party events. Standing up so proudly against apartheid wasn’t a popular position to hold at the time. And yet he did it, because it was right.

In 1985 Corbyn was appointed national secretary of Anti-Fascist Action. I don’t know how old you are or your familiarity with British political history, but anti-fascist action in the UK has always centred around defending Jewish people from fascist groups and attack. In the 1970s he organised a demonstration against a National Front march through Wood Green. The National Front were on the rise in the 70s, and it’s seen as something of a golden era by today’s fascists in groups like the EDL who would take us back to that, and go beyond it, if they could. This is just one example of Corbyn directly putting his body on the line to defend Jewish people and others against fascists, following in the footsteps of his mother, who was at the Battle of Cable Street. In his role as parliamentarian, he signed numerous Early Day Motions condemning antisemitism, stretching back decades before he became leader, something that has been recognised in the Times of Israel. In 1987 Corbyn joined Jewish campaigners to stop the demolition of a Jewish cemetery by Islington Council (the demolition was, I note, supported by Margaret Hodge). More recently, in 2010, he petitioned parliament to help resettle Yemeni Jews fleeing from conflict. 

There are countless other examples of his work to support Jewish people, as well as him being a friend to pretty much every other minority people you can think of. It’s not just empty words and platitudes, it’s real action, for decades.

Let me give you an extract from an ‘expose’ meant to discredit Corbyn, and tell me what you think of him after this:

“Dressed in a dirty jacket and creased trousers, Jeremy Corbyn arrived in Westminster as a new MP in the summer of 1983.

He immediately told friends that Parliament was ‘a waste of time’ with no relevance to his Islington constituents, especially the immigrant communities.

To meet them, he set up offices in the Red Rose Centre in Holloway where his door was always open to a tide of human misery: Cypriots, Jamaicans, Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans, South Americans, Somalis, West Saharans and Kurds all sought his help.

The procession of petitioners reinforced his conviction that Britain should allow unrestricted immigration – and offer the world’s destitute an open invitation to share our wealth.

In his opinion, all immigrant communities were victims of white imperialists, and the British state owed them a financial obligation. Anyone who disagreed was racist.”

This was intended as a ‘gotcha’ to prove to right wing readers what a dangerous man Corbyn is. They’re right, he is dangerous. Dangerous to fascists. Dangerous to racists. Dangerous to anyone who wants to take away your liberty, to anyone who wants to harm the vulnerable in society.

So how do we align all of this with what we’ve heard in the press over the past five years? Hopefully the extract above, which was printed in the Daily Mail, starts to make it clear what’s going on. Corbyn has always, throughout his career and before he was elected to parliament, fought tirelessly for peace, for reconciliation, for minority populations here and around the world, including Jewish people. Even before he became leader (outshining even Blair’s popularity at his height among party members), there were people of all political stripes who wanted to discredit him, not even necessarily because they disliked him, but because they despised what he stood for and continues to stand for. 

We’re not just talking about people who want to be able to say and do racist things, but people who have an interest in our political and economic system continuing as it has so they can maintain their economic, social, cultural, and political power. It’s impossible to overstate how important and crucial this point is. It cuts to the heart of everything.

Look at this, from the Labour manifesto that was launched today:

Introduce a War Powers Act to ensure that no prime minister can bypass Parliament to commit to conventional military action. Unlike the Conservatives, we will implement every single recommendation of the Chilcot Inquiry.

Conduct an audit of the impact of Britain’s colonial legacy to understand our contribution to the dynamics of violence and insecurity across regions previously under British colonial rule.

Invest an additional £400 million in our diplomatic capacity to secure Britain’s role as a country that promotes peace, delivers ambitious global climate agreements and works through international organisations to secure political settlements to critical issues.

Establish a judge-led inquiry into our country’s alleged complicity in rendition and torture, and the operation of secret courts.

Issue a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and hold a public review into Britain’s role in the Amritsar massacre.

Allow the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants the right to return to the lands from which they should never have been removed.

Uphold the human rights of the people of West Papua and recognise the rights of the people of Western Sahara.

Immediately suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen and to Israel for arms used in violation of the human rights of Palestinian civilians, and conduct a root-and-branch reform of our arms exports regime so ministers can never again turn a blind eye to British-made weapons being used to target innocent civilians.

Reform the international rules-based order to secure justice and accountability for breaches of human rights and international law, such as the bombing of hospitals in Syria, the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, the use of rape as a weapon of war against the Rohingya community in Myanmar and the indiscriminate bombardment of civilians in Yemen.

We will work through the UN and the Commonwealth to insist on the protection of human rights for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil and Muslim populations.

Appoint human-rights advisers to work across the Foreign Office and government to prioritise a co-ordinated approach to human rights.

Advocate for human rights at every bilateral diplomatic meeting.

There are an awful lot of consequences to carrying out these policies. For example, Tony Blair and David Miliband are implicated in rendition, and it stands to reason they will do everything in their power to ensure they aren’t brought to justice for it, or even exposed to scrutiny over it. On the matter of arms sales, not only does it have ramifications for one of the most profitable industries, it also cuts straight to the heart of how and why we choose the international allies we do, and the power relationships inherent in that. This isn’t just a disagreement of opinion, this is threatening to change how we’ve done international politics for a generation or more. It doesn’t get more serious than this. As far as anyone who has an interest in things staying as they are, he must be stopped, by any means necessary.

Let’s talk about antisemitism. Labour is a broad party that reflects a wide range of people and a wide range of opinions from all walks of life and from all corners of the country. It stands to reason that every opinion, thought, and position you can imagine exists in wider society will be found somewhere among Labour members, by virtue of it being a mass membership party. There are terfs in the Labour Party, there are racists in the Labour Party, there are homophobes in the Labour Party, there are sexists in the Labour Party, there are antisemites in the Labour Party – because there are all those kinds of people in our country. There are all those kinds of people in the SNP. There are all those kinds of people in the Tory Party. There are all those kinds of people in the Green Party. There are all those kinds of people in the Lib Dems. What it speaks to, primarily, is the work we have to do, as a country, to educate and counter those bigotries across society. Where they rear their head within the party they must be stamped out immediately. It must be made clear that a socialist party is no place for bigotry and hatred. I think I’ve made it clear above that Corbyn is not an antisemite, and in fact has spent his entire life fighting against antisemitism, including putting his body on the line.

It has become increasingly striking that, over the past five years, Labour has been held to a far greater standard than any other party when it comes to antisemitism or any other kind of bigotry. Boris Johnson’s comments about watermelon smiles and letterboxes get passing comment, Sayeeda Warsi saying that Islamophobia is rampant in the Tory Party and she doesn’t feel safe there is quickly swept under the carpet. Compare the endless months of hand-wringing over Labour’s discussions over adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism to the Conservative’s refusal to adopt similar recommendations by the Muslim Council of Britain over anti-Muslim bigotry.

Yesterday a prominent political journalist tweeted that a Tory candidate had been expelled for antisemitism, and in the same tweet she said that a chair of a local CLP (constituency Labour Party – CLPs are the local organising groups for each constituency in the country) had resigned. In the tweet she linked to a BBC article about the CLP chair resignation. Let’s look at what’s going on here. Firstly, she gave both of these news items the same weight by putting them together in the same tweet. Second, she only linked to the story about the CLP chair, suggesting that was the more important of the two. The CLP chair resigned not over antisemitism or anything like that, but because they were disgruntled at how the selection for their local parliamentary candidate went. If you’ve ever been to a CLP meeting you’ll know that everyone is disgruntled about something. It’s hardly national news. But of course, it is. Because it was decided at some point over the past five years that everything that happens in the Labour Party must be forensically dissected and assessed as a real blow to Corbyn, or proof that Corbyn is terrible. Whereas the real story, that a Tory candidate was expelled for antisemitism, is barely a footnote. Why? Keep asking why.

I don’t know what your opinions are about politics in the United States, or whether you follow it at all, but when asking ‘why?’ it might be useful to think about what’s happening over there and how it compares and contrasts to what’s happening over here. Think about the reaction to Ilhan Omar, the inherent anti-Muslim sentiment and racism in opposition to her, and the way her critics have tried to suggest she is antisemitic. Think about those progressives in the UK who support her and see it as ridiculous scaremongering with a political motive, and how some of those are the same people who throw as much invective at Corbyn as they can. Think about the differences in how progressive politics in the US and progressive politics in the UK are presented. Think about how the same accusations of antisemitism are made against Bernie Sanders, a Jewish man who is open about his support for Israel. Think about those things and ask whether, perhaps, the wider politics of those involved might be behind some of what’s going on.

I’ll end by telling you about me and where I live. I live in Stoke-on-Trent. We have three MPs across the city: Gareth Snell here in Stoke Central, Ruth Smeeth in Stoke North, and a Tory in Stoke South, who in 2017 very narrowly beat Rob Flello, who had been the Labour MP there for quite a while. Rob is a Catholic, and has centred his Catholicism in a lot of his politics. Ruth is Jewish, and has been one of the high profile voices to speak against Corbyn. Despite going to university with Gareth and my husband working with him for years in our previous MP’s office and being his close friend, I don’t know his religious affiliation, if he even has one. I disagree with all three of them on the basis of their politics. 

I’m very glad Rob is no longer in the party, he was an embarrassment, and should have gone years ago. Rob used his Catholicism as an excuse to pursue some awful political positions (against abortion, for example), all the while being an enormous hypocrite (I won’t spill the tea about his personal life, it would be unbecoming). I think you’d agree that it’s possible for me to disagree with his politics, and to even discuss how they intersected with his version of Catholicism, without being bigoted towards Catholics or wishing them harm or wanting Catholicism to be wiped out. My mother is Catholic. (I’m forever grateful her and my dad decided not to assign me a religion, instead leaving it up to me. Their one moment of progressive thinking!)

I disagree with Gareth’s politics, despite as I explained my and my husband’s history of friendship with him, and will be eternally angry with myself for signing his nomination papers in 2017 when he was selected as our candidate to stand against Paul Nuttall of UKIP in the infamous Stoke Central by-election. What’s important here, in our relationship and out of it, is the politics. My anger isn’t at his life, his family, or whatever faith he does or does not hold, but rather at his deceit towards us in the CLP, and his awful, awful approach in parliament towards Brexit.

I disagree with Ruth’s politics, as does my husband, despite him campaigning very hard and being instrumental locally for getting her selected as the candidate for Stoke North back in the day. I disagree with her handling of Brexit, which follows the same line as Gareth’s. They’re both at risk of losing their seats at the election, and have calculated that by doing all they can to seem as though they are Brexit MPs they’ll claw back the support Labour has already lost to the Tories and Brexit Party, not realising that support left long ago and won’t come back just because they personally keep voting against the Labour whip. In the meantime they’re making it increasingly difficult for us to oppose no deal or Johnson’s hard Brexit. I also disagree with Ruth because she’s helped weaponise instances of antisemitism as a way to discredit the left. Just as I disagree with any MP who has done that, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Because, as I have said before, it’s the politics that matter. Just as I can disagree with Rob, even on matters that centre his Catholicism, without it being an attack on Catholics, so too can I disagree with Ruth, even on matters that centre her being Jewish, without it being an attack on Jewish people. And this is where we get into the nuts and bolts of the thing.

I met Chris Williamson a while back, bumping into him at Derby train station. My husband knows him (he knows everyone in the Labour Party, social butterfly that he is), and so we went to say hi. It was the first time I’d met him. I was very clear that, despite my anxiety and hate of confrontation, were he to say anything diminishing antisemitism I was going to speak out. And I did, because he did. The weird thing about Chris is that he was long known as a wonderful anti-racism campaigner and a true friend of the vulnerable and minorities. Something twisted him. Over the past few years it’s like he decided to court controversy, to push as many buttons as he could, to see how far he could go, digging his heels in no matter the cost. I think he should have been kicked out a long time ago, once he made it clear he didn’t care about the damage he caused, either to the Party or to Jewish people, because he was on his own political crusade. I don’t believe he is personally antisemitic, but there comes a point where his actions speak louder than his words, and the effects of his behaviour might as well have an antisemitic root for the harm they cause. I’m glad he was finally kicked out, and I’m furious he’s standing as an independent, risking turning Derby North Tory at a time when the very people he says he cares about, the poor, the vulnerable, migrants, disabled people, need a Labour government more than anything else and cannot survive another five years of Tory rule.

The very real fears Jewish people hold have been weaponised by the right, who always try to seed fear over hope because it gets them votes, and likewise the whole resulting situation has been further exacerbated by people like Chris. I’m infuriated by it all, not least because I don’t doubt that a high proportion of British Jewish people genuinely are scared. But because of political interests and political positioning, their fears are being exploited and redirected away from where they should be to precisely where they shouldn’t. It should be clear to you from what I’ve posted above that you’d be hard pressed to find a non-Jewish MP who has worked more tirelessly than Jeremy Corbyn to protect and defend Jewish people against fascists, just as he has worked tirelessly to defend all minorities. At a time when the far right is on the march, burning synagogues, shooting gay people and Sikhs and Muslims, to have our attention diverted away to focus on the best hope we’ve had in generations to stop it is madness. It’s motivated by political interest, whether that’s on behalf of the Conservative party and general right wing politics (let’s not forget some important points here, like Stephen Pollard being a staunchly right wing Conservative supporter, or like Maureen Lipman announcing her ditching Labour not once, but twice – the first time being under Ed Miliband’s leadership (himself Jewish), because of his support for Palestinian rights). Politics is at the heart of it all. 

Politics is at the heart of it all.

Politics is at the heart of it all, and just as working class people are used as pawns, pitted against migrants and having their fears about precarity and poverty and security weaponised to divert attention away from the real causes of their immiseration, so too are Jewish people being used as pawns, having their real fears exploited to discredit the only chance we’ll have in our lifetimes of defeating the right.

As I said at the start, I don’t expect what I’ve written here will make you feel any more safe. I hope it doesn’t make you feel any less safe. I just ask that you think about the politics of it all, and remember those questions I asked at the beginning: who is saying things against Corbyn, what are their politics, what kind of world do they want to see, who do they want me to vote for, what are their interests, how do they benefit from society under different governments? I ask you to remember that everything is stated from a political position, no matter how hard someone works to hide that. And that some people work very hard to hide it. Why?

Lastly, I want you to know that the very core of my politics is justice. Justice, empathy, fairness. I couldn’t be a socialist without those tenets at the centre of it all. Our world is burning. Our people are dying. This is all only going to get worse. Official figures are that 130,000 people have died unnecessarily as a direct result of Tory austerity. Those figures were released some time ago, so it is surely more now. Millions have already been displaced around the world as a result of the climate catastrophe. Millions more will be displaced, in ever more horrific events, over the next few years. As people have to move around the globe we will see increasing international tensions, bloody clashes, inhumane national policies aimed at keeping those people away, more bodies in trucks, more children washed up dead on beaches, more people killed in sectarian wars. If we continue to turn a blind eye to the rise of the right, we’re condemning millions to untold suffering. If we re-elect a Tory government we’re condemning millions to untold suffering. If we turn to centrism, a system responsible for that rise of the right, a system that has no answers and wants to simply manage things around the edges, we are condemning millions to untold suffering.

What kind of world do you want to see? What kind of world do those who disparage Corbyn despite his well-documented history want to see?

Politics. The simple answer to the complex problem.

[minecraftoworymode]

mcsm peter and the wolf style

THE NOOTS

JESSE: trumpet/french horn! theyre just such heroic, main character instruments, but the french horn is capable of this like... thoughtfulness? reflective quality? its softer than trumpets who even when being "thoughtful" sound like they're monologuing, like doing a shakespearean soliloquy, rather than tastefully reading their poetry to a small group of friends in a 7/11 parking lot, you feel me. thats the French Horn vibe.

PETRA: ooh this ones a toughie. i want to say some kind of string, because romeo parallels and also strings are the second most heroic/main-character instruments... maybe she could have the viola? its a lower sound than violins, which fit romeo as twinks of the string family. and for all the shit that viola players get they’re actually pretty cool ok? they just have super big complexes about being mocked and compared to the violins all the freaking time,

LUKAS: clarinet. trust me i play clarinet and i can tell you its lukas. it’s the assigned bookworm gay instrument, if you dont hate yourself enough to play oboe-- so maybe s1 lukas was oboe but through character development transitioned to clarinet? just trust me on this one.

OLIVIA: piano........? i don’t really have a v good grasp on olivia’s vibes, but she’s a redstoner so i want to give her a percussive instrument... maybe xylophone to fit her youth? but she also seems like the most “mature” of the group so perhaps piano after all... hm. idk. IDK.

AXEL: tuba? timpani? i admit im not really super big on axel so i dont have many thoughts here. something bombastic.

THE S2 GANG

JACK: DEFINITELY some kind of brass. i’m kind of inclined to say saxophone even though thats not an orchestra instrument, just because. though do i dare kinassign jack alto sax? that seems really mean of me. hm.

RADAR: flute. nothing can match the anxiety or typing speed of a flute except for maybe the piccolo which is just a flute who had way too much coffee and is now regretting it. yeah, this is the most productive theyve been all year... but god, at what cost? (note: since the Incident, radar is only allowed two cups of coffee a day and is Not Allowed near the coffee machine.)

STELLA: another toughie... i almost want to say synth?? idk what about her gives me the vibe but i look at her and im like vogue. vogue to the music. you are the 80s businesswoman. you are the danger. you are the one who rocks

NURM: someone with one of those funky little touchpad things and each little square is assigned to a sound but all the sounds are the villager “hrrrmrmm” but in different pitches.

THE ADMINS

ROMEO: violin (and cello as secondary). man, strings are ALWAAYYYSSS the star of the show, like you cannot escape them they are like the sopranos of the orchestra, and cellos have this feral energy that literally no other instrument can match. also i guess people picture violinists/violin pieces as really cultured or something? n romeos got that whole british thing going on. its the same deal. [ng+ note: im picturing cellos playing tritones as herobrine's like musical motif. its good.]

XARA: percussion. she’s t-posing over all the percussion. drums? not sure what kind yet but theres a lot of reliance on hitting the rim to emulate a ticking sound. but just like how xara’s leitmotif has a harsher part and a softer part that makes me cry every time i hear it, pianos and glockenspiels (TECHNICALLY PERCUSSION???) are also her. pianists are distinguished-passing but you know these guys are actually losing their fkin minds at any given moment.

FRED: bassoon? id say bass if romeo wasnt already t-posing over all the strings tho he miiight let fred have bass... but i actually rly wanted to play bassoon as a kid bc of peter and the wolf and like, it fits fred. ok. its low and soft, kind of a hearthfire feeling instrument, but i would not piss off a bassoonist. 

[creativenicocorner]

5, 10, 19?

Aaay! Thank you so much!! @dreamcrow

5. What’s a crackship you love?

As a crack ship gfdkgsd oh man, my heart is set on Blinky/Strickler on that one ahaha. I already adore whatever dynamics they have together on screen - or even when referencing one another!! And honestly I think they’d make great friends!! Heck they could bond on Roman pennies, and mechanical engineering (seeing as Blinky helped build Jim’s Vespa, and Strickler made a super accurate replica of Merlin’s amulet) and don’e get me started on the quick witted beautiful back and forth they’d have

Once tried writing a Good Omens AU with all this in mind, but never quite had the energy to finish it. Let’s face is the two of them have great Aziraphale / Crowley energy haha  

10. Mutual pining or enemies to friends to lovers?

Oh man oh man, mutual pining. It leaves so much potential open!! Heck even the enemies to friends to lovers could happen within the umbrella of mutual pining (especially if one of the two isn’t ready to admit to their pining -wink- ) 

That and I’m just a sucker for two people being so equally into one another but just, not quite having the confidence to learn how the other feels. It’s so juicy and can be played oh so deliciously in so many fun ways!

19. What’s your favorite character head canon?

Weeeell there’s certainly one HC I’ve been hinting at for quite some time and have been meaning to make a proper post about - but here is what I’d like to call the Meat and Potatoes (super lean edition) of the Etruscan Strickler HC ヽ(o♡o)/

(please keep in mind I’m not a qualified historian, or anthropologist, or archeologist - but an avid lover of history )

So the Etruscans and the peoples of Etruria have been around for a loooong time, in fact there are some who believe the Etruscan language is one of the building blocks of many italic languages. And for a good amount of centuries they thrived! 

Then Rome happened, which was perhaps inevitable seeing as they were on the same peninsula - and because of that the size of Etruria changed depending on which century map you’re looking at. And although at some point Etruria spanned from Umbria to just grazing into the region of Lazio - its biggest consistent chunk existed in what we know today as modern Tuscany.

Because of this I should perhaps make it clear that I believe Strickler came out through the fetch after 32BCE during the already decline of the Etruscan language (in which Etruria is already absorbed and occupied by the Roman Empire). In fact by then only a select few, unless they were Etruscan, knew the language Marcus Terentius Varro for example, the Roman Emperor Claudius (though he probably learned it from his first wife, Plautia Urgulanilla who is believed to be Etruscan).

Now I hear what you’re probably thinking: But his/ his familiar’s name is Waltolomew Strickler? That’s not very Latin sounding for a name. 

 And you’re absolutely right!

However, Etruscans (despite occupation and absorption into the Roman Empire - and more so before) were known to be seafaring, trade was very important from Egypt to what we know today as the Greek islands and to the northern coast. Import and export was important and (as well as fighting pirates, but that’s a very fun wiki rabbit hole to fall through another time haha), and with trade comes awesome exposure to other cultures and other peoples from that culture! 

Case in point the vague similarities and non similarities between certain deities between the Roman Greek and Etruscan Pantheon! Of course each pantheon has its own variants and deities that don’t exist in another pantheon, as well as different takes on certain heroes i.e the Greek Heracles, and the Etruscan Hercle -which through a lot of found art, is perceived to be a very popular hero for a number of reasons. 

I could also go into the account of Etruscan soothsayers being well praised even by Cicero - but that’s another rabbit hole for another time - as well as a reason I like to indulge in the fact that Strickler can come across as rather superstitious at times! 

But I’m getting off topic XP TRADE we’re talking about trade, and it was important be it Egypt to the Balkans 

And with that in mind it isn’t impossible for a Northern Germanic man to fall in love with an Etruscan woman.  

1) women were treated far better in Etruria, as opposed to Rome and Athens. In fact Romans thought they were more promiscuous because of how freely and equally they were treated. 

 2) Germanic tribes treated their woman on a similar level of equality. 

 3)   As a culture of partnership, heck we are still discovering more and more about the Etruscans but we can make educated guesses through their sarcophagus covers (the reclining lovers and so on). This celebration of life lived even in the face of death. 

Very on brand Strickler imo, and if we from history can see how they treated marriage in death we can assume how marriage was treated in life. As loving and equal as possible. In short Strickler grew up with that respecting women juice (at least compared to Roman and Athenian standards) 

So name wise, Waltolomew Strickler can come from the Norther Father’s name. Vel for short, as names beginning with ‘w’ aren’t very common in Latin, Etruscan, or Italian. In fact if you go to Italy today and introduce yourself as idk, William -  there’s a good chance they’ll pronounce William as [Vee-lee-am]. 

However in Latin the use of ‘v’ often replaces the ‘w’ and ‘u’ sounds. u = v and a double u = vv (aaay get it?) And just like that a VValtolomevv is named haha

Enter the name Vel slowly over time becoming Walt over time. I could go on for paragraphs, but I know I explained the whole congnomen thing in Terpsichore, I’d have to re-check and I fear this is already getting…ah…crazy long so I’ll try and wrap it up ^^’’

Initially the real Waltolomew was supposed to be left in the woods to die at the mercy of nature because it didn’t look like the infant wouldn’t survive anyways, but when they went back to check in the woods to find who we know as Strickler the host family Strickler saw it nothing short than an auspicious miracle of the gods, or that their child managed to strike a deal with Vanth (a death god), there’s a lot of theories between the family members to try and explain how Walter’s survival is possible - but all the same Waltolomew is raised in a rather loving family!  

There’s the quiet and slightly distant Northern Father (who is occasionally homesick) and mainly tends to the olive grove. The Mother that settles the finances. The Uncle that runs shipptrades and sells the family olive oil. And, of course, The Grandmother who is very proud of living Etruria thank you very much, openly mocking romans, quick with an opinion, morally gray, with a sparkle of mischief - and someone who pretty much elbowed her way into the very serious child Waltolomew’s heart in such a way the changeling wasn’t sure if she knew his secret or even cared! 

Eventually Roman payments became too steep, the Northern Father racked up a bit of debt and was sent into the army…the Northern Father never returns presumed dead in action. The resentment of Romans grows even more in the Strickler household because of this. 

Which is one of the reasons why later in life Stricklander chooses to occasionally pass as ‘British’ aka one of the peoples the Romans couldn’t occupy and conquer, as opposed to siding with a people who absorbed the population of his home peninsula that would later be known as Italy.

 In fact I believe after being forced to work at Hadrian’s wall (which was a laughable failure, although as a Cesare Hadrian was well praised), and returning to find his host family home repossessed by Romans Walter would flee to Gaul (another location where Romans couldn’t conquer).

It wouldn’t be long until the Romans called on a 13 ½ year old Waltolomew to enter into the military just in time for the Hadrian’s Wall debacle. Where Waltolomew grows a respect for the peoples of the British isles for being able to hold off Rome for so long and so much. Afterwards he returns to the peninsula to find his home repossessed by Romans, his grandmother having passed, and his mother and uncle closer to the port and not doing so hot. This spurns Strickler’s dislike for Romans more, an incident occurs, and Waltolomew flees to Gaul (another area famous for being able to hold off the Romans), but this time to join the Gumm-Gumms 

More on that another time cause ooo boy this is a long response XP I’m sorry this got so out of hand!! 

I wanted to add my thoughts as to why and how I came to the conclusion of this HC but like I said this response is crazy long already so I’ll keep it short (for now) to: That classic ‘Roman Nose profile’ of his, the pale olive skin tone, the vague roman/greek helmet he has in his office, how his Italian VA did not do an English accent in the dub, and - uh, well, I like the idea of it haha

Oh! And here’s a picture of a supermarket outside of Sarteano named ‘Etrusco’ Look at that lil face! It probably doesn’t mean much, but it does spark joy haha

Thank you so much for your questions!! I deeply appreciate it!!♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)