#something to discuss with google and/or a tattoo artist

[svtskneecaps]

UNREASONABLY TEMPTED TO GET ANOTHER TATTOO

#not kpop #shut up vic #bc i have sunflowers on my right ankle #so hear me out #i get LAVENDER on the left side of my stomach #thereby keeping the nice asymmetricality of my legs but ALSO pretty flower in my other favorite color #AND it's easily covered for professional settings #AND i'm able to see it #cons i think my stomach skin is more likely to deform #something to discuss with google and/or a tattoo artist #perhaps ribcage?? #GAH I SHOULDN'T BE DEBATING THIS SERIOUSLY ALDJSJSJAH #I SHOULDN'T GET A SECOND TATTOO I SAID I WAS SATISFIED WITH ONE #THEY WERE RIGHT YOU GET ONE AND THEN YOU KEEP GOING....... #IF I GET TWO WHO WILL I BECOME

[trendingtattoo]

How to Choose the Perfect Tattoo Artist

Getting a tattoo is a significant and permanent decision, so choosing the right tattoo artist is crucial to ensure you end up with a piece of art that you'll love for a lifetime. With countless tattoo artists out there, finding the one who can bring your vision to life while prioritizing safety and quality can be a daunting task. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of selecting a good tattoo artist.

Research, Research, Research

Before you even set foot in a tattoo studio, invest time in research. Begin by looking for tattoo parlors in your area and reading reviews online. Websites like Yelp, Google Reviews, and social media platforms can provide valuable insights into the reputation of a studio and its artists. Look for artists who consistently receive positive feedback for their work.

Portfolio Evaluation

A tattoo artist's portfolio is their calling card. It's a collection of their previous work that showcases their style, skill level, and versatility. When reviewing a portfolio:

Pay attention to the artist's style: Tattoo artists often specialize in specific styles like traditional, realism, black and gray, or watercolor. Choose an artist whose style aligns with the design you want.

Look for consistency: Consistency in the quality of work is a crucial indicator. An artist with a diverse portfolio but consistently high-quality tattoos is a good sign.

Check for relevant experience: If you have a unique or intricate design in mind, make sure the artist has experience with similar projects.

Licensing and Certification

Tattoo artists should adhere to health and safety regulations. Check if the artist is licensed and certified by the appropriate local authorities. They should follow strict hygiene practices, use sterilized equipment, and maintain a clean working environment. Don't hesitate to ask about their safety protocols; a professional artist will be happy to explain their procedures.

Consultation

Schedule a consultation with the artist you're interested in. This is an opportunity to discuss your design, ask questions, and get a feel for their personality and professionalism. During the consultation:

Share your ideas and expectations.

Ask about their process, including pricing, estimated time, and any necessary preparations.

Discuss any concerns you might have about the design, placement, or aftercare.

Ask for Recommendations

If you have friends or acquaintances with tattoos you admire, don't hesitate to ask for recommendations. Personal referrals can be invaluable, as you can see the artist's work firsthand and hear about the client's experience.

Attend Tattoo Conventions and Expos

Tattoo conventions and expos are excellent places to discover talented tattoo artists from various regions. These events often feature a wide range of artists, allowing you to see their work up close and speak with them directly.

Trust Your Gut Feeling

Ultimately, choosing a tattoo artist is a personal decision. Trust your instincts and choose an artist you feel comfortable with. If something doesn't feel right during the consultation or you have doubts about their abilities, it's perfectly acceptable to explore other options.

Conclusion

Selecting the right tattoo artist is a crucial step in the tattooing process. It's a decision that requires research, careful consideration, and trust in your instincts. By thoroughly evaluating portfolios, checking certifications, consulting with artists, and seeking recommendations, you can increase your chances of finding a talented and professional tattoo artist who can turn your vision into a work of art that you'll proudly wear for the rest of your life.

[incarnateirony]

We need to talk about the tattoo.

I know, all lanes just cringed in variable anger or exhaustion. But listen.

I get it. I get stans just impulsively wanting to stan their fave. But right now, there's a LOT of nuanced Americas history going on here, and a lot of people--a mix of OUSA people that reasonably don't know, and US people that had a lot purposefully omitted from their textbooks--that's making this whole discussion BAD.

I'm going to say it. The best possible read on this, for Jared Padalecki, is that he's a gun nut.

There, I said it.

But what I need OUSA people to understand is how normal that is in the US, much less in texas. Even some democrats have unreasonable amounts of guns. I literally just had a teammate leave my workplace because he enthusiastically got a job as an armorer, when otherwise he's a regular dude.

Do I agree with it? No. But I need everyone, fans and haters of his both, to sit here and just realize like. This isn't the UK. This isn't whereverthefuckistan. So we need to look at it in context of the culture.

But that says as much for the defense arguments. For example, "oh, he's not a gun nut, gun nuts just APPROPRIATED IT!"

The phrase "Come and Take It" was basically the declaration of "fuck you, Mexicans, we're stealing Texas." In fact, Ulysses Grant published in memoirs that this Texas Revolution and slogan were huge motivators setting off what became the Civil War, with a similar mindset.

Resultingly, the entire thing is premised on, well, white nationalism. The thing is, white nationalists and gun extremists share a 99.9% venn diagram. But gun ownership in some degree of exception is generally accepted by the public, so they repackaged their OWN MENTALITY into one easier to onboard, and less with the nationalist associations.

Which is why I'm saying, the real best read of this, is Jared is a gun nut. How people negotiate his Joe Rogan listening, his Tulsi support, ICE sympathy, and whatever else as if they operate in a vaccuum is its own business.

But a lot of people keep screaming "It's just Texas pride!" Thanks, that's exactly what the white nationalists scream, so sit and look at where that fucking pride originates in. like we haven't heard this shit a million times about the confederate flag too. "It's about independence!!!"

Whereas the idea of History Casuals That Support Guns getting a rebranded tattoo oblivious to the history is just that. About the same energy as getting a japanese tattoo the artist lies to you about the meaning of, but dosed on politics.

So yeah. What his own fandom needs to do is come to terms with: they are not jared padalecki, they do not personally know jared padalecki, but even in the best case scenario, they may need to accept that his views on something like guns might not agree with theirs, and that their idealization is the thing that needs to prove itself as the reality, not the messages the man is inking on his skin, himself.

But don't do it at the cost of casually spraying white nationalism you don't even realise is white nationalism because you tried to google an answer and don't realize some site's source is basically breitbart.

god.

not all performers will perfectly fit your world view. in fact, very few will. But acting like people are just making it up is WILD.

It may be time to go "Hm, I like Jared Padalecki a lot, and I disagree very much with his gun politics, assuming that's what it is. I do feel he does other good things over here, but people who criticize him for this might be right."

There! Mature adult processing of reality! You can decide its scale of importance to you. But stop building AUs where people who *do* have these reasonable association concerns just "made it up" just because you don't like it either. That's up to you to negotiate your values with. It won't change the real dude.

You can either let your political views guide your fandom, or you can just eschew those, stop trying for moral high ground and let fandom guide your politics. That's your choice. But be honest about that before trying to "silence opposition" or whatever weird digital thing you think you're accomplishing.

[padfootagain]

Isle of Dogs (I)

Chapter 1 : Poker Night

Hi everyone! Here I am with a new series! It’s my first Wolfstar fic, I don’t know why it took me so long to write for these two idiots, when I’ve spent so many years reading about them! But better late than never. Before you ask, yes, the Isle of Dogs is a real place in London, and yes, I’ve chosen to set my story there only because there was ‘dog’ in the name and it made me think of Sirius, and as I was looking for a neighbourhood where I could set my story, I found that name hilarious. No other reason for me to spend three hours on Google Maps, yes, I’m sane, I promise.

I hope you enjoy my story. Tell me what you think about it!

****

Pairing: Wolfstar – Sirius Black x Remus Lupin

Warnings: none! Modern AU, tattoo artist x bookshop owner AU

Summary: Sirius and Remus have been kind of in love for a while, but are both too scared to confess their feelings. However, everything changes when their neighbourhood is threatened by a new real estate project. But if they might fail in their fight against the City, they could also find something sweeter along the way.

Word Count: 2759

It was a lazy afternoon, like Mondays always were.

Cloudy, grey day over London. Something about Mondays that lingered in the air, something reluctant and lazy. It was almost spring, with the first flowers blooming in the nearby gardens. Busy streets and cars humming outside. People hurrying to work, and some walking leisurely by. At the far end of the little square, a group of old women carrying bags filled with yarns were entering the Community Centre, followed by a young man with a leather jacket, long dark hair and something dangerous about him. A pair of knitting needles were peeking out of the black tote bag he was carrying. It was barely two in the afternoon, people were coming back from lunch and opening shops again. Around Castalia Square, the row of small shops was filled with busy people unlocking doors and getting ready for the afternoon. A flower shop, a coffee shop, a tattoo parlour, a book shop, a small grocery store… It felt busy and yet it was only Monday. Slow, reluctant Monday.

A group of children ran across the square, aiming towards the bakery at the end of the street to buy sweets and pastries for the afternoon. They made the ginger woman opening the door of the coffee shop laugh as they waved at her despite their hurry. She stole a glance inside the tattoo parlour next door, and blushed fiercely when the young man inside waved at her, straightening the lopsided glasses upon his nose.

Meanwhile, in the book shop, the door was unlocked, but everything was still quiet. Slow, reluctant Monday…

It made Remus heave a sigh, actually. He still had his brown coffee cup in his hand, that he had bought in the coffee shop nearby. It was a quiet hour in his bookshop, with only few clients visiting him so early in the afternoon. Still, he had plenty of things to do. He had new books to set on shelves, some dusting to do over the right corner of his shop. In the back, Peter was organizing the Science-Fiction section, and cleaning the shelves.

He almost jumped as the bell over the front door rang, and he turned in a hurry, relaxing as he recognized Dorcas stepping inside his shop.

“Hey, Rem! Forgot to ask you when you dropped by earlier, but are you coming to play poker tonight?”

“Sure! Who’s hosting this time again?”

“The tattoo boys. We’ll probably get very drunk, better not plan on driving after that!” she joked, the piercing in her nostril shining in the yellowish light of the shop.

“Oh dear… it’s going to be a wild night, then!”

“As if poker night was ever quiet,” Peter scoffed, joining his two friends before the door.

They could hardly deny that statement.

“There will be much to discuss tonight, though,” added Dorcas, crossing her arms before her chest. “Have you heard about that new real estate project? Some say it’s about our neighbourhood.”

“I thought no details had come out, yet?” Remus answered with a frown and a shake of his head.

The door behind Dorcas opened, and this time it was to reveal a real client. She shrugged, aiming for the door again.

“We’ll see. It’s Monday, Sirius will probably get all the gossip from the grandmas!” she added with a laugh, nodding in the direction of the community centre.

They all let out a laugh, before Peter would focus on the newcomer, listening to his question.

Meanwhile, Remus was trying not to think about Sirius Black at all. Because every time he did, it made his heart jump to picture his crooked smile…

It was a merry evening, like Mondays always were.

It was dark outside already. It wasn’t that late though, barely eight. Dorcas and Marlene were fighting over the last piece of pizza, seizing the excuse to kiss each other an awful lot. Peter and James were busy setting up the game and bickering, while Lily and Remus were lost in a conversation about this new Sally Rooney book that should come out soon. Lily was trying to be discreet as she rested her hand on James’s thigh, but the grin on her boyfriend’s face gave them away easily. Caradoc was late, as always, but he arrived with crisps in his arms from his store, and so, as usual, everyone forgave him. It was the moment Sirius chose to reappear with a bottle of whiskey and a pile of glass shots. Everyone cheered at the sight.

It was merry. Merry and quiet and familiar, almost domestic. It was a tradition. Every Monday evening, the group of friends gathered in one of the shops they owned around this small square to play poker, drink wine or stronger spirits, and talk about their week or the new gossips spreading across their neighbourhood.

Some of them lived in the apartments set above the shops, in the white buildings that sheltered their small businesses, but some lived in the neighbourhood, in tiny houses or apartments in the adjacent streets. All lived nearby though, so it was okay for them to let loose on these evenings and drink a little more than what was considered cautious or reasonable.

It was merry and familiar, reassuring. A happy routine that had settled between the neighbours almost a year before. It was the highlight of the week for many of them. It was simple, just a pizza or some Chinese food before playing cards and laughing an awful lot.

When Sirius took a seat between James and Remus, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at the man on his left. He found Remus cute. Very much so, actually. With his oversized jumper, and the freckles on his cheeks, his lopsided grin and the white scars that ran across his skin. He found him cute, with his chocolate eyes and his quiet voice, and his peaceful aura that never failed to calm down everyone around him.

He found Remus a little bit more than cute, actually, but there was so much truth Sirius’s heart could take. Besides, it was dangerous. Because they were friends, because they belonged in a group of friends that would be forever broken if things went ill between them. And because… because Sirius knew that if he let himself fall for this guy next to him, he would fall too hard. And he was kind of a coward sometimes…

He cleared his throat, pushing away a strand of hair that had escaped his bun and was teasing his cheek as he focused on the drinks again, pouring the alcohol in tiny glasses. And Remus couldn’t help but steal a glance at him. Because he found him unbearably handsome under the neon light of his tattoo parlour, with the ink on his skin peeking through the buttons of his black shirt left open, with his dark hair held in a messy bun, with his stormy eyes and this freckle under his right eye that was unbearably lovely for some mysterious reason. But Remus looked away quickly, because he couldn’t let himself feel this way for one of his friends. It was ridiculous, really. Because they were friends, because Sirius was unable to handle a relationship and Remus was well aware of that. And because if he let himself fall for this man next to him, Remus knew he would fall too hard. And he was kind of a coward sometimes…

He helped Sirius pass the alcohol around while the game finally began. It was just banter and playfulness for a while, until conversations settled on their lives, their jobs, their families... although, the banter was never too far away.

“Marls, stop cheating!” Peter complained, laughing nonetheless, while the woman next to him was leaning to peer at his cards.

“You’re insufferable, babe,” Dorcas shook her head, a fond smile on her lips.

“You want to know what Peter’s cards are? I’ll make it cheap for you,” she replied to her girlfriend, something flirtatious in her voice now.

“Hmmm… and what could that price be?”

“Marls, if you answer with something naughty out loud, I swear to God, I’ll kick you out of my shop,” James warned his friend, making everyone laugh.

She leaned to whisper something into Dorcas’s ear, and judging by the size of her grin, Marlene was right not to say it out loud.

Meanwhile, James was trying to be discreet while holding Lily’s hand under the table, but no one was fooled. Sirius often claimed that if these two weren’t so cute, they would have been kicked out of the group for being so obnoxiously in love…

“Well, I could pay that price easily,” Dorcas answered her girlfriend. “Not sure you would handle it though…”

Marlene choked on her whiskey, and all around the table laughed. Sirius dramatically rolled his eyes.

“Oh, come on, now! Get a room! I swear, if you keep on flirting like that I’ll be the one to kick you out.”

“Well, in that case, we’d better stop,” Marlene answered, laughing.

But Dorcas knew how to get her revenge instead.

“Hey, you haven’t even told us about this date of yours, Sirius!” she exclaimed, forgetting everything about the game and not playing anymore at all. “How did it go with that guy… Alex?”

“Alex? That was three weeks ago, keep up!” Sirius replied, making James roll his eyes. “No, last week I went out with Emma.”

“And?”

“And… she was amazing in bed.”

It was Caradoc’s turn to choke on his drink, making everybody laugh.

Remus tried to ignore the tugging at his heart… he downed his entire shot of whiskey to do so, but it wasn’t a full success…

“Right… and? Are you going to see her again?”

“Nah… she wasn’t that interesting,” Sirius shook his head.

“Why am I not surprised?” Marlene rolled her eyes.

“Well, it’s easy for the two of you! You’ve found each other, you annoying lovebirds… not everyone is so lucky!”

“Are you sure you’re not at all the problem, Sirius? You and the fact that you don’t want to settle down?”

But Sirius’s smile faltered, and he grew unusually quiet. Marlene bit her tongue, knowing she had touched a nerve.

But his crooked smile was soon back on his lips.

“I like to have fun, what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, nothing…”

“Well, Emma was fun enough, but not the kind I would settle for.”

“Right… so… any plans for the week.”

“Actually, I’m taking Martha to the park on Saturday, if you really want to know,” Sirius answered, picking up some crisps from the bowl at the centre of the wooden table.

“Martha? Who is she? How did you meet?”

“You know Martha!” Sirius frowned. “She’s my one true love.”

“What?”

By Sirius’s side, James and Remus were trying not to laugh too loudly. They were surprised that Marlene was falling for Sirius’s stupid joke…

“Yes! Martha! Blue eyes, amazing sense of humour! And you should see her knitting techniques! She wants to see the farm on Sunday, so I’m taking her on a date.”

“She knits?”

“Of course, every Monday, with me.”

“But… I thought only old women were there…”

“Martha might be 86, it’s still rude to say that she’s old!”

Everyone exploded with laughter, and Sirius faked outrage, making everyone laugh even harder.

“Don’t insult my one true love!”

“I can’t believe you’ve never met Martha, she’s fantastic,” Remus shook his head.

“Ha! See! She truly is wonderful!”

But Sirius seemed to remember something important all of a sudden, and asked his friends to grow quiet again.

“I almost forgot to tell you! The girls told me something very strange this afternoon…”

“I still can’t believe you spend your Monday afternoons knitting scarves with grandmas…” Peter mocked, earning a scowl from Sirius.

“Oh, shut up! It helps me relax, alright?” Sirius snapped.

“Alright, alright, what did they say? Some interesting gossip?” Lily eagerly interrupted him.

But Sirius shook his head.

“Becky’s grandson works for the City Department. And apparently, there’s a new major project for our neighbourhood.”

“Really? What kind?”

“The kind to build an awful lot of offices.”

Lily rolled her eyes.

“Where would they do that, anyway? Not around here, they’ll probably go closer to Canary Wharf.”

“Apparently, not. They’re talking about buying houses around St John’s Park.”

“Really? “

“Yeah… and she said that they were aiming for buildings. Like… proper towers.”

“Of course, they won’t do that,” James shook his head. “Here? In this neighbourhood? Nah, we’re not fancy enough for that. Besides, why would they build a skyscraper here?”

“I’m just telling you what she told me. And she said that they wanted to develop this part of town, like an extension of Canary Wharf.”

“That’s bullshit, mate,” Caradoc shook his head.

Sirius raised his hands, shrugging.

“Hey, I’m just the messenger. But I reckon that we should keep an eye out, cause that whole thing sounds like an awful lot of bullshit.”

“Let’s hope she exaggerated her grandson’s words,” Remus replied, closing this subject for the night.

The game didn’t end before two more hours, it was almost midnight when the group of friends finally called it a night. James locked the shop while Lily waited for him to go home with him. Remus lived above his bookshop, but Sirius walked with him still, even for just a few more steps, using the excuse that his house on Cardale Street was in this direction too. Remus was only half-fooled, but he didn’t protest. After all, he did enjoy the sight of the streetlights painting Sirius’s features golden.

Sirius took a cigarette, and offered one to Remus, but he declined. He always did.

He took a long drag, breathing in deeply the smoke, letting it fill up his lungs, while Remus was busy studying the black nail polish on Sirius’s fingers as he held his cigarette to his lips.

And he hated himself for it. He hated himself for it because Sirius was unreachable, and he knew it…

“Need help with the delivery tomorrow?” Sirius asked, his words a little slurred because of the whiskey he had been drinking all night.

“Well… if you have some free time around noon, I can’t say I wouldn’t need a hand. Tuesdays are always busy with these deliveries…”

“Getting new books is always fun though!”

“Sure, still… an awful lot of heavy boxes to carry around.”

“Hmm… well, I’ll give you hand at noon, then.”

“If you do, I’ll make you this pasta dish you like so much.”

“Ha, Rem!  Now, you’re talking! You sure know how to butter me up!”

He rose his cigarette to his lips again, and Remus hated the way he was unable to look away when he puffed out a white cloud of smoke…

“Right… that’s nice of you to offer your help.”

“Anything for you, Remus.”

They exchanged a smile. They had stopped walking, had already reached their destination. Still, they lingered there for a little longer, under the yellowish light of the lampposts.

The night was chilly and smelled of gasoline and rain. Nearby, some flowers had begun blossoming, it added something sweet to the scent of the street.

And Remus didn’t like at all the way his heart was beating faster because of Sirius’s words. He should have known better, should have pushed the thought away. He was just a friend…

This was just a crush. That’s what he kept telling himself. This was just a crush, it would pass…

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Remus shot Sirius a smile, trying to hide how nervous he was all of a sudden. “Goodnight.”

He turned towards the door, almost in a hurry, almost as if he was running away. Sirius wasn’t sure. Had he said something wrong?

“Goodnight, Rem!”

But the young man turned around before closing the door, and he offered Sirius a little wave. So, as Sirius waved back at him with an amused smile, he reckoned it wasn’t too bad.

Remus was cute. Annoyingly so. Really, really cute…

Sirius lifted his cigarette to his lips once more, took a long inhale, staring at Remus’s door. When he released the smoke trapped in his lungs, he did so in a sigh, before turning on his heels and heading home.

This was just a crush. Anyway, Remus was so…

He was too good. Remus was too good for someone like him.

Better think that this was just a crush then, just a silly crush. It would pass, eventually.

*********************

Taglist : @reg-arcturus-black @unofficial-jaytodd-wife

#wolfstar #wolfstar au #wolfstar fic #wolfstar series #wolfstar fanfiction #sirius black #remus lupin #sirius black fanfiction #remus lupin fanfiction #sirius black x remus lupin fanfiction #sirius black x remus lupin fanfic #sirius black x remus lupin #sirius black x remus lupin series #the marauders #marauders #marauders era #marauders fanfiction #marauders fanfic #hp #hp series #hp marauders #hp fanfiction #hp fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #series #writing

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

Lately, there's much weird energy going on regarding jm related things. Since his OST something or the other is happening, the whole insurance bill followed by company sayin "no comments" but they were backing up that bully girl and also billboard didn't posted any article on his proof video but they posted all the other members till now (surprisingly I haven't seen BTS is 7 trend yet lol) Even him in that Spotify video just sitting without much enthusiasm like he always had is all making me feel like is everything okay??! Also I'm new to this all hate/negative discourse on a celeb (haven't been in any fandom except bts) so it's bit weird to see a particular member getting hate for whatever he is doing. Would like to know your thoughts on this if you have any??

- hybe's treatment of jimin's ost is especially abysmal. i shift back and forth as to whether he'll resign with them when the time comes but it just gets more and more blatant that something's up due to the way they go about everything regarding him. it's not isolated either, they just do all they can to not care about jimin and his work.

---

It reminded me there was another similar ask so I'm including it. Eventually I would've gotten to it but now that we're on the subject 😅

It has certainly been nonstop. The change in the time release for the OST was very random, didn't and still doesn't make sense why would they do that. Everyone else released their Our Blues OSTs at 6pm. It has been a while but so it doesn't sound like the time is something crazy to care about, and in case it hasn't been made obvious by how, days after, Psy released his album at 6pm and not 11pm LMAO, I saw this explanation by traceofjimin.

And they said the time release was discussed and decided on by the artist's agency (or agencies). They know how it works and they still decided to do it. BTS used to release their stuff at 6pm kst too, it changed to accommodate USA time of release but it was 6pm until ON.

Aside from that, I really think the insurance bill and filter issues were done by akgaes. Hybe/bighit has never exactly handled any "scandal" BTS were involved in, probably the tattoo shop thing was the most they gave statements on or said they would do anything about. But usually it's just one single "we deny this" and they move on. So I'm not surprised and I don't think it's weird that they disregarded the bill issue so quickly. And also, to be honest, I don't know what else was there to say. I genuinely think the articles and the way it was dragged out was an akgae thing. Same with the filter credits for that man. Whether his personal info was leaked because someone from the company was "careless" when managing his documents (that's a very sarcastic careless), there's no way to know that. If it was leaked or sold by people that work close to him, I hope Jimin is aware and is handling it.

It also all just piled up over the already existing and recent enlistment controversy, so it's possible that media are just taking advantage of it, you know the saying "when it rains it pours".

Now, the billboard articles........................ It's fishy af. I don't know who's deciding that and if it's hybe, I don't know why would they want to alienate Jimin from album conversation like that but it definitely looks like a conscious choice to not do an article about him. It was deliberate.

About the hate, yeah.. kpop is like that, unfortunately. It definitely does not happen this often or this seriously when it comes to western celebrities. You can google "kpop anti-fans" "kpop anti-fans incidents" and you'll see for yourself. It's crazy. It's an industry and fan culture that for some reason or another has always begotten a lot of hate.

As for Jimin, I think he was like that for most of 2021, sadly. I mean, he was quiet and seemingly uninterested for a lot of their interviews, especially during butter promo. And last year he actually said on few ocassions that he wasn't feeling that happy or excited, it wasn't anything alarming but he did subtly mentioned being too lost in his thoughts and things like that. He's probably got a lot on his plate, honestly. I guess we should just wait and see; he's a person like anyone else and being under the weather sometimes it's completely normal, but it's also not too logical for us to make conclusions based on one or two clips, imo. I would like to know what he really, really, really thinks of this album tho.

Before, the times that anything controversial happened, there was always positive, good BTS content to push that negativity back or even completely ignore it; now, there's nothing like that and even the album-related content released so far is honestly nawtttt making a lot of noise so it's easy to get carried away with the negative stuff.

[feelingsmixed]

Is cultural appropriation in again?

I recently returned from Denmark’s (arguably Northern Europe’s) biggest cultural event, Roskilde Festival. In addition to a serious cold, I’ve also come back with questions about fashion. I never got this myself when I went to the festival as a young(er) person, but Roskilde is where you bring your hottest outfits and possibly experiment with your style (aged 15-20, I always just brought two pairs of shorts and a handful of ugly band t-shirts, as if I was a middle-aged rock dad). While under way for a couple of years, Roskilde showed that Y2K-fashion has really come back in style, not only amongst the techno crowd but with everyone. Everywhere I turned, I saw low rise jeans and bellybutton piercings. I can’t say that I am free from its influences myself - I have too much Adidas in my wardrobe for that. Anyways, while I won’t pretend to know anything about fashion, one thing struck me about this Y2K-resurgence: it is being accompanied by what would have been described as cultural appropriation ten years ago. When the Y2K-trend was on its way out in the 2010s, it was especially in the online feminist community criticized for cultural appropriation, as there was a tendency for white people to heavily incorporate elements from non-white cultures in their style. Many are the blog posts I have read about Gwen Stefani’s different phases of cultural appropriation in the 2000s. Now, some of these criticized trends are back. White people are wearing rhinestones in their faces approximating Hindu bhindis, flower crowns like those popular at Coachella 10 odd years ago which were then criticized by some as appropriating Mexican culture. One of the larger criticisms if I remember correctly was how much of the style originated from Black US-American culture, especially the style of R&B artists like Destiny’s Child.

I’m not going to try to determine what constitutes cultural appropriation and what doesn’t. For one, as a white woman, I don’t have much authority on the matter. I also think the discussion is way more complex than what it was made to be in feminist circles back in the day. However, what I find strange, and interesting, is how the discussion seems to have been almost completely forgotten. I haven’t come across much discussion about it in pieces on Y2K that I’ve read by chance, nor IRL. I just did a quick Google search and there are some articles and Reddit discussions on the trend and cultural appropriation, which mostly criticize today’s Y2K-followers for not acknowledging its roots in Black culture.

However, here and in other instances when the question is raised, it is quickly brushed aside. I read this article in the Danish newspaper Politiken about the resurgence of tribal tattoos which the article dubbed ‘neotribals’. The journalist mentions the critique of these tattoos when they were popular the first time around: that they originate with Indigenous groups in for example Samoa, where they experienced European colonizers forcing them to abandon the tattoo tradition while the same colonizers started getting them themselves. Confronted with this, an interviewed tattoo artist says that the resurgence of the style is something different than the original tribal tattoos, she keeps the motives abstract and that she wouldn’t tattoo something she didn’t understand. The question is left at that. I suspect that 10 years ago this would not have been accepted as an answer. Then, the artists and the tattoo owners would have to answer exactly how the tattoos are different and in what ways you can really just take a style from a culture and make it into something else which is then not appropriating.

I’m wondering whether this signals a kind of depoliticization of youth culture. After all, the original Y2K-style did come around at the end of history, pre-financial crisis. Have we moved past the politicization prompted by the 2007 financial crash? In a way, this seems counter-intuitive. There’s even more to feel politically about today: the invasion of Ukraine, the subsequent inflation and cost-of-living crisis, the mental health crisis, the climate crisis and so on. But perhaps the inumerous crises are too overwhelming to respond to politically? Perhaps it is also a sign of some backlash from the way the feminist community proliferated online in the 2010s which in spite of all the good things it carried with also tended to have endless, tedious discussions seemingly far removed from political organizing (again, the innumerable articles and blog posts on Gwen Stefani’s outfits). Maybe this can in some way be tied to the reactionary turn amongst the youth. Or maybe the trend needs to become even more in style before it will be criticized.

#y2k

[hawkland]

Destiel fic recs #3 - the (mostly) longfic edition!

It’s been a while since my last rec post - mostly because I’ve been wallowing in a number of longer fics (50-350k!) so it’s taken me a while to have enough to talk about in one post (and boy do I talk a lot, here!)

With these longer fics, I do sometimes have some caveats with my recs - or at least reasons why they might not appeal to every Dean/Cas reader. But note that if I didn’t overall strongly recommend reading the fic I wouldn’t include it in my recs here at all, so any quibbles I bring up are minor compared to my overall enjoyment of the stories. Just, I don’t want someone to commit to a long read without knowing what they’re getting into and why it might not be their thing.

I’m still not into reading complete setting AUs at this time, but a lot/most of these are canon-divergence AUs, often written/set at the end of a season and giving an alternative take on what happened next. I love those kind of stories, as it’s often so interesting to see how fans thought of what might happen in the next season (especially when it’s better than what we actually got.)

Onto the recs & discussion behind the cut!

The Sinking Ship by UnfortunatelyObsessed (114k). This is a story that ripped my heart to pieces (in a good way!). I stayed up all night to finish reading because I simply couldn’t stop once I started on it and it gave me a massive fic hanger from all my emotions. Season 14 divergence, imagine if Dean did go into the Ma’lak box to trap Michael under the ocean with him forever...and once there, he discovers that Cas has stowed away with him. Because of course Cas would never leave Dean to such a fate on his own.

I loved literally. Every. Damn. Thing. About this fic. Cas telling Dean stories to pass the (endless) time. Their small intimate moments while realizing they can never consummate physically while trapped in the box but finding every other way to express their love. The absolute heartbreak that had me SOBBING when Michael fights for control of Dean and destroys everything they’ve built together and Cas thinks he’s lost Dean forever. Sam & Gabriel & Rowena & Claire & Jack doing everything they can to devise a plan back home to try to save them both while keeping Michael trapped. Also even just the wonderfully sensitive portrayal of aroace Jack still closely bonded with Claire and Maggie and just. And just. This is a story I’ve already re-read just to savor how much I loved it and its portrayal of everyone in TFW 2.0 and their extended family, it just hit my id in all the most incredible ways and I have nothing but absolute love for this one.

Beautiful Chaos by anyrei, mugglerock (141k). Season 9 canon-divergence, in which Dean doesn’t simply abandon Cas to fend for himself post 09x03. Instead he sets Cas up in a kind of squatter’s nest in an abandoned building near the bunker so he can keep tabs on him and help him out. 

This fic definitely gets the award for FILTHIEST, HOTTEST, SMUTTIEST Dean/Cas (and Cas/other) I’ve read in, like, ever, for human!Cas turns out to be a rather insatiable sex fiend/cock slut and Dean is too up his own repressed ass to easily give Cas what he wants/needs. It is dark at times, Cas ends up in some very unsavory/non-con situations, and the authors do mention that they tried to hone in on endverse!Cas’s characterization more than what we saw in Season 9...so you might roll with it, you might not. I adored their original character Jerry the tattoo artist in this, and like I said it was seriously hot (if you are good with total bottom!Cas and Cas with others, I know those are not everyone’s cuppa). I did have a few minor issues. For one, the last chapter felt a bit rushed and hand-wavey, but clearly the authors weren’t fond of the canon conflicts of season 9 & 10 (Abbadon, Mark of Cain) and just wanted to be done with them. Can’t say I really blame them. And I did have to laugh a bit at Lebanon, Kansas apparently having such a bustling gay bar/tattoo artist/etc scene being someone from a butt-fuck nowhere American small town myself. But, SPN was never all that realistic in how Lebanon was shown (and yes I’ve spent too much time roaming around it on Google maps), so if you can suspend some disbelief this is an awesome hot/angsty/occasionally heartbreaking read.

These Forsaken Lands by destielpasta (53k). I came upon this story when looking for fics that dealt in some way with the aftermath of Godstiel. This is a wonderfully atmospheric late Season 9 “fill-in” case fic (post Meta-fiction) where Cas ends up in a small town that had been visited by Godstiel...and while initially residents have reaped much good fortune, there has suddenly been a wave of deaths/bad events and he is determined to find out what happened and set things right. He calls upon Dean for help, but Dean is fighting the Mark of Cain and it’s going to take a lot to get past its control and find a way out for both of them. Together they work on repairing an old church while trying to repair each other and their damaged relationship.

I loved this story for how well written it was, really invoking a gothic small-town/Americana atmosphere. The original characters blend in very well with the case-fic at the center of it, and the author deals really well with Cas at a very fragile point when he’s running on borrowed grace and trying to navigate Dean’s MoC-enhanced anger. It’s Dean/Cas but actually much more of a Cas character study, so I highly recommend it to my fellow/compatriot Cas-girls who love a good wallow in his head.

Mixed Emotions by Tierra469 (50k). Canon 12 “parallel” fic that then goes canon-divergent with the season finale. I actually stumbled on this while in the mood to read some Cas/ or & Mary fic after enjoying their interactions in Season 12 (don’t hate me). This is sort of two fics in one. The first half focuses mostly on filling in the gaps with some critical S12 Cas episodes, especially Cas & Mary’s developing friendship (and one night of something more). But of course Cas’s feelings for Dean (and vice-versa) are always there, and when Cas figures out a way to get his powers fully back, the question is if Dean can open himself up to be vulnerable - and express love - the way Cas needs for this to work.

This was an interesting fic in a lot of ways. I loved the author’s take on angels’ connections to their vessels and grace, it was very consistent in a way the show sometimes/often wasn’t. Cas is very Cas in not understanding privacy and personal boundaries (so he does some questionable things, admittedly, which might squick some readers). The smut is fucking HOT - though I will caution at one point it involves Cas temporarily in a younger (NOT underage) female vessel (and the story does point out Dean’s discomfort with this and some of the consent issues involved, I don’t want to spoil too much). I wanted the Mary plot resolved more than it was, but I still recommend this story strongly for the quality of the writing and unique/well-developed take on angel lore and mechanics that was quite different from what I’m used to reading.

We Are Either Here Or Not Here by petramacneary (54k) A post-season 12 fic that goes on a different tangent to how Cas returns, and what happens in the meantime. Particularly, it offers a different take on what apocalypseverse!Cas would be like—as Mary makes her own way back from that world with AU!Cas as her prisoner.

What I loved about this story: first off, BAMF!Mary is awesome here. Dean is so heartbreaking, not quite knowing what the fuck to do with this different Cas who at times is just a painful reminder of who/what Dean’s lost...but then becomes a chance for Dean to say and express some of the things he always was afraid to in the past. And when (real/our) Cas finally returns, there’s some very interesting stuff that happens with both Cas & AU!Cas and Cas & Dean that I don’t want to spoil. (And let’s also just say that when real!Cas and Dean finally get together it’s AMAZINGLY awesome. Like, hot Impala!sex. So is the artwork that goes with this story.)

You Can Keep Holding On by NorthernSparrow (353k) The longest fic I read this time around and probably the one I have the most mixed feelings about, but a while on I do keep thinking about parts of it so I do rec it with some caveats. This is a canon-divergence after the end of Season 11. Dean & Sam find Cas after he’s been blasted out of the bunker...to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Mary isn’t in this one except for a brief appearance/visit, which Dean thinks is Amara’s gift to him. Life seems good for a while, they’re enjoying dealing with mundane problems for a change, but then Cas seems to be pulling away from the brothers, spending less and less time with them at the bunker, taking a mundane job at another Gas ‘n Sip, and clearly preoccupied by something else. Or is it someone else? Dean is worried yet finally ready to accept that Cas maybe has a girlfriend, or a boyfried, but then it turns out that is not at all what Cas has going on. It’s something far more serious than that.

Honestly I almost stopped reading when the reveal happened - it’s a subject that’s very sensitive to me from personal/family experience and not something I usually like reading in fic (especially if there is a sad ending.) So I admit I jumped ahead to read how it would end first before committing to finishing it. And I am glad I did, because the author handles the subject matter with a realism and obvious knowledge of experience as well, not how I often see it in fanfic. There are a lot of emotional ups and downs but it’s nice seeing Dean in his momma-hen/mode, and Sam is so so good in this one! I think I enjoyed Sam’s characterization here most of all! And the author has a really cool/well developed angel/wing lore that hit my wing-kink pretty hard. I do think it could have all been edited down a bit - I found myself skimming parts, especially in the last third, just to get on with things. But it’s definitely a story you can disappear into for a good long time and I’ve bookmarked the author’s other works to read later, so again, I do rec it even with a few caveats.

A few shorter fics, too, just because I don’t want to forget about them...

Eleven Erogenous Zones of a Fallen Angel by almaasi (15k) Pure gratuitous wing!kink for me :) Cas uses the last of his grace to manifest his wings...but then is stuck with them in his human form and not even able to use them to fly as he used to. This presents a lot of awkward problems to deal with but also the excuse for Dean to help him keep them clean :) I did say wing kink, right? :D :D I loved how Cas seemed confused about the pleasure signals he got from bathing vs. sex vs. grooming and all of that. It’s sweet and hot and has my favorite kind of caretaking Dean in it.

Fossil Tracks by SegaBarrett  (3k). Dean & Sam & Cas and dinosaurs. How can you go wrong with that? One of the SPN stories from the Id Pro Quo collection I really enjoyed reading (and didn’t write myself, lol).

#destiel recs #my fic recs #deancas recs #fandom that ate my life hello #destiel fic recs #my destiel recs

[annetteblog]

I got a very long ask and wrote even longer reply, and now Tumblr for some reason doesn't want to publish it through asks. So I'm making a separate post, because what else can I do? 😀 I hope Anon wouldn't mind

Hi!

Thank you for such a long ask! I really enjoy replying those, although it may take some time to actually write whatever I have on my mind 🙂 However, I feel like for every question that you posed, it's possible to write its own big reply or even an essay, so this piece of mine probably won’t give them justice (but I’ll try my best.)

As usual, one big IMO.

1) Ethics, “gueer coding” and discussions

I believe I’ve already partly touched this subject here. Shortly, I think that everything the boys did (and still do) had its own purpose. They decided to put these "undertones" (or whatever one may call them) in their art. They made some statements with a very small room for interpretation. And it didn't happen once or twice. More like, it's been a consistent behaviour throughout years.

I don't buy this excuse some fans write - "oh, he just didn't know about this/didn't understand how it looked like/didn't..." So apparently, JK wasn't able to figure out shit about Troye, didn't give a damn about his GCF, didn't think how his tattoo looked like; JM didn't realize to what conclusions could lead his quite bold words about 4am or waking up and seeing JK; both of them didn't have second thoughts about the Black Swan dance; Bang PD is just a CEO who pays zero attention to BTS in general and KM actions in particular (which sometimes actually backlash, e.g. that stop gay fanservice thing after the Seoul concerts), because he clearly just doesn't care AT ALL; whatever PR service they have in BH is just asleep all the time... Etc etc etc, you got the idea

Well, if one wants to perceive JM, JK and BigHit as a group of complete morons with no brains, this "oh, they just didn't know" explanation may work. But if all of them were idiots, how would BTS become the biggest group on a planet? They are smart enough, deal with this.

And YET. KM still do what they do. It's their choice, so apparently they have their motives. You wrote it yourself too - "Jikook and BH put out all that stuff for a reason."

Keeping this in mind, I truly think it's fair to discuss queer undertones or KM's bond. It's meant to be discussed and speculated. They made it public, and they continue to make it public (and quite obvious, to be honest). Why? Well, I guess they want us to speculate.

From here comes the second point

2) Art and its interpretations

In general, I believe that any good art should allow various interpretations. That's what a good piece of art is supposed to do - provoke a thought. As well as it's quite customary to analyze and (sometimes) overanalyze art. Thousands of universities worldwide have programs which are focused on fine art, literature, theater, music, film, etc.

And why is it okay to write about Avengers or Madonna or whatever weird art you're able to find in the closest Contemporary museum (like a banana taped to a wall), but not okay to interpret BTS' songs and/or performances? Again, I strongly believe that art is meant to be discussed. Especially as cool as theirs 🙂

Actually, some popular fandom theories turned out to be true here. Since Spring Day release on Feb 2017, fans speculated about its connection to the Sewol ferry tragedy based on the song's lyrics, MV and choreo. We got this confirmation like when, December 2020? But before it was also just an interpretation.

Coming back to KM. Combining these with the idea that JM/JK/BH clearly know what they're doing and how it may look like, I don't see a problem in having various interpretation of their art. Including queer ones.

3) Escapism

Isn't all art targeted to escaping in a sense? We want to take a break from reality and/or mundane life or just gain some new experience. In this sense what's the radical difference between staring at pictures or sculptures in a museum, watching a movie, reading a book or scrolling through Tumblr reading BTS/KM centric posts? All of these are means to escape and entertain ourselves.

As for this "if they are a queer couple, is it okay to derive pleasure and 'what a beautiful love story' feelings from two members of systematically oppressed minority?" - and you would prefer doing what - ignoring them? pretending that they don't exist? 🙃 In case if they are a queer couple, I guess showing support and benevolence is even more important. Exactly because, as you mentioned, they are a part of the oppressed minority. And the hatred is/would be definitely in place.

4) Fanfiction

Oh my, what a controversial theme these days.

Firstly, some forget it was not invented in the 21st century. Even slash fanfiction (cough Star cough Trek). As for incorporating real people, it's been a part of literature for like what.. always? There are millions of different writings about emperors, nobles, military figures, lives of saints, etc. And it's not like personal opinion of people in question bothered those, who write or wrote about them. I clearly remember a scene in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, where Alexander I [Russian emperor 1801-25] after losing a battle against Napoleon, hits a birch tree with his sword while crying hard and just being kinda hysterical. Would real Alexander be satisfied with such image if he read the book? Idk 😄

About having "the right to comment on such [different from your own] experience". I suppose, if authors wrote only about what they had experienced, our literature would be 95% poorer than it is. How can one write books in historic settings if they didn't live there? How do books about future and space travel exist, if we live in 2021? Is it needed to be a part of mafia to write about mafia? What about other cultures? Should an American author write only about American people and American lifestyle or it's fine to have characters from other countries?

Writing is not about experiencing something and then making a fanfic or a book, it's more about research and compassion. If you have reliable info on your theme and are able to look at the world using different lenses, why not?

I don't perceive fanfiction as a worldwide evil. Sure, there are creepy examples as well as authors, who write fetishizing weird shit. But it doesn't mean that all fanfiction=bad and all slash fanfiction=objectification of male homosexuality. Fanfiction is just one form of fiction, it can be good or bad based on how it's written. But the label itself doesn't define anything, as well as reading it should not be a reason to accusations.

5) Jikook, shipping and politics

I'm among those, who perceive pretty much everything as a part of politics. We all exist within some political conventions and have certain political laws over our heads. And yes, it includes art. Even if an artist says something like "oh, I decided to stay away from politics, my work is beyond it". The decision to stay away from politics is also political, because apparently there was something within the political structure what made this artist say that and forced them to make this distinction between them and some institutional conventions.

And that makes me believe that shipping/supporting KM is also political. But I don't think it's necessarily bad? Basically, you decided to support potentially queer people from a country, which doesn't really approve LGBTQ+. It puts you in the opposition towards a particular government. You made a choice. You could google some SK stuff, read all that you mentioned in the beginning of your ask, and say something like "oh, that's not okay there? well, fair enough, I guess their government knows better"🤠 and forget that this KM thing even exists. But apparently you didn't

Imo, is it politics? Yes

Is it bad that it's politics? Well, no? 🙃

|

P.S. I hope I was clear enough with my ideas. Thank you again for the thought provoking ask, and I hope I'll hear from you again 🙂

And honestly, I don't think that you're problematic in any way :)

#annetteasks #jikook #kookmin #long post #jeon jungkook #park jimin #jimin #jungkook

[ourplaceinthecosmosphff]

Chapter 26. The Heart Wants What It Wants

'chaos is only understood when it is loved by the wild, not the weak’ - Zachry K. Douglas

I wondered, briefly, if my parents were as nervous as I was about that day. None of us had planned on me being back in England anytime soon, but there I was anyway. I suppose I should thank Adrien for continually attracting scandal and, therefore, needing me to distract the media from his wild American adventures.

In May, soon after my sister had returned to her previous insane schedule of ice skating training, there was a report from TMZ, of all places, that Prince Adrien of Savoy was now dating Sienna Lapa, a wannabe singer who’d come in second in X Factor a few years prior. This, we came to find out after asking Adrien what was happening, was the friend who had helped him find an apartment in New York when he decided to relocate there.

My parents and Adrien’s mother deemed it a ‘completely inappropriate choice’. Adrien’s sister, Natalie, seemed to be trying to keep an open mind -- she was and had always been her brother’s biggest defender, after all. Lourdes immediately pulled up all the videos from her X Factor journey to show anyone who’d listen, but that only made our family hate the girl more, as most of her performances involved her with too much energy and very few clothes.

“You can all be so close minded…” my sister complained, rolling her eyes, as Natalie watched the video over her shoulder with furrowed brows when she and our aunt came over for tea after the news broke. “We’re just looking out for him.” Our cousin told her. “So you’re on their side now?” Lourdes asked her. Natalie shrugged, defensive. “I think if Adrien likes her, she must be nice.” Her mother scoffed. “We all know your brother’s record with women is not stellar, chérie.” “He dated Faye!” “Exactly.” My father sentenced. “Maggie, what do you think?” Natalie asked.

As they all looked at me, expectantly, I took a moment to ponder how much this had been happening lately. I had been used to speaking softly before, to remarking carefully on things, in case someone would hear me. But as the Crown Princess, my opinion mattered in more ways than I had immediately realized. It wasn’t just the press that suddenly cared about me, my family, too, seemed more invested in my thoughts. As if my verdict could make or break anything within the family just because I was bound to be queen one day.

“I… I don’t think being an artist should mean she will inevitably ruin this family.” I said. My mother shook her head, and my Aunt sighed, but nobody disagreed.

After tea, my father asked me to stay behind as the others left, and sat me down to remind me, sternly, that being the heir – and, one day, the Monarch –, meant it was my duty to safeguard our family from anyone who, purposefully or not, my damage it.

“You think this girl will damage us?” I asked, suppressing an eyeroll. “Papa, she’s just a girl.��� “She’s American. They don’t understand monarchies.” He replied. “Not to mention she belongs to an industry that thrives on scandal and notoriety, things that do not have a place in this family.” “We don’t even know her!” I said, smiling, amused against my better judgement. “We know she wants fame.” He replied, seriously. “That doesn’t have a place here.” “We don’t even know if it’s true.” I argued.

Unfortunately, it was. I texted Adrien after this conversation, and he was as frustrated as we were, but for other reasons. ‘Its so new’, he said, ‘we just wanted to enjoy each other before inviting the whole world into it and now here we are’.

According to him, it ‘just happened’. They’d been friends for a long time, she was really supportive after his breakup and helped him adapt to New York. He moved into the same building she lives in, and they started spending more time together; before they knew it, it was more than friendship.

He also made clear he knew perfectly well how unsuitable the relationship was: ‘she’s been trying to establish her music career for a long time, so her future lies in America’, he said. ‘She also has pink hair and a lot of tattoos… can you even imagine her in mass with the rest of the family?’

I could not.

The world couldn’t, either. Press and public alike had a lot of opinions on this relationship, which became everything anyone could talk about. It wasn’t just me that gained notoriety with Louis’ death, Adrien did, too, and, with him, any girl he could one day turn into a princess.

And that was the main reason I was sent to England. An invitation for Royal Ascot was issued every year to our family, we tended not to go simply because it was far and we had other commitments. But we needed to change the conversation, so if it took putting me under a hat and in the same picture as the British royals, so be it.

I could see my parents’ tension about this plan in the way they exchanged silent glances while we talked it through, but they didn’t voice any of it. Of course, they couldn’t. Not if they wanted me to do as I was told. So, they didn’t mention Harry, and I didn’t bring him up, either.

Regardless of this, he was very much in my thoughts essentially 100% of the time, even before the Ascot plan was born. All I had to do was just keep that to myself and, if my parents did the same, we could hopefully hold onto the lie that the issue was over.

So, on that day in mid-June, I took the train early with Cadie and Auguste and my security, headed to England, with a fancy outfit safely packed away in a weekend bag, which I changed into before we arrived.

I was wearing a salmon pink, wide-legged jumpsuit that my mother had deemed ‘too modern’, with my hair styled in vintage waves under a flowery disc fascinator.

The Royal Ascot races were a society event, with the actual races taking a backseat to… pretty much everything else: the fashion, the high profile guests, the arrival of the queen and royal family later on… honestly, it was everything but horses.

As a guest, I didn’t arrive with the other royals in a very much televised carriage ride into the main front lawn, and I was glad to be able to skip it, hoping I might be able to go straight to the viewing area, free of press. Unfortunately, that was the opposite of the goal.

So, even though I arrived privately, I was then escorted to the entry lawn for socializing before the race started. Though Cadie didn’t seem to think it was necessary – which I tended to agree with –, Auguste made sure to find me a pin with my name on it, a must-wear for every guest no matter how high ranked.

“A drink would be actually helpful.” I told them. “Not until the enclosure, I’m afraid.” Cadie replied. Auguste leaned in closer. “Though my colleague may have a different view, ma’am, I feel being seen with alcohol might not be the best course of action for what we’re here to do.” “Boss.” Cadie whispered his way, rispid. “I’m your boss, Mr. Authier. Not colleague.” “Is it appropriate to discuss that at this time, boss?”

I sighed, walking further away from them and into the crowded, sun soaked lawn. One thing I hadn’t grown used to yet was the looks. Every step taken through a public area, particularly one with such a high concentration of high class people, was the target of laser focused glances from almost anyone around. I was forced to develop the ability of confidently aiming my eyes at something abstract, so I was seen as being busy, but didn’t accidentally lock eyes with anyone. It was a perfect recipe for disaster. Which is why I should have expected it.

I didn’t bump into him, that kind of thing didn’t happen at highly planned events like this, especially when you had a large entourage of people with you whose job it was to make sure you went to the right place at the right time to meet the right people. It was more accurate to say our eyes bumped into each other.

There I was, walking slowly through the crowd, avoiding one pair of eyes after the other. First using the far away stands as a distraction point. Then using the awkwardly placed decorative flowers as a distraction point. Which led to using the one very weird hat as a distraction point, as its owner was standing right next to it. But then the hat was so weird I had to see the face of the person wearing it, but she was already looking at me, so I felt awkward and looked away as quickly as possible and, in my hurry, didn’t think too much about it, so instead of a safe distraction point, my eyes found… Harry.

“Ma’am,” Cadie leaned closer, “shall we go greet the president of the Ascot association?” “What? I–” I stuttered, barely able to take my eyes off of Harry. “Sure.”

Heaving a sigh, I allowed myself to be walked around to meet the people it was important for me to meet, doing what I had been doing every day since the last time I had seen him: smiling politely, making smart, appropriate conversation, representing an entire country. All things that were painful reminders of what kept us apart.

I woke up early, I worked hard every day to hold myself accountable to my new role, keeping busy the best I could, but every night when I closed my eyes to sleep, it was his eyes that I saw. It was his voice saying ‘don’t marry him’, the tap of his hand on mine above his heart as he told me ‘it’s yours’, and every time I thought about it my whole body shivered with joy and I wanted to cry of frustration, sadness and anger that I couldn’t just embrace something that was meant to just be a happy thing.

“Yes, my parents were so sad they couldn’t make it.” I told a trustee of the event, sustaining a neutral smile as though my entire body wasn’t shaking.

Sometimes, hypocritically, I wondered why Harry hadn’t reached out, either. I knew, rationally, that it was better that he didn’t, but he had made a point of saying he didn’t have to listen to his advisors when they told him to stay away from me, but he had. Whenever I started to feel sad about this, I reminded myself it was better this way. Safer. Healthier. Then I googled him to make sure he wasn’t dating anyone new, ‘just in case.’

But now there he was, in Ascot. Because of course of the five days of this event we would both go to the same one, believing differently was something only my parents did to help them sleep at night. On my end, I knew it was going to be this way.

It’s like I was fated to always run into him after weeks or months of absence, just to remind my heart of what it was leaving behind. Destined to try and forget him just to see him again, the man I could see, but not feel. Love, but not have. At arm's length, but worlds away.

As I turned away from the U.N. Ambassador, assuring him I would transmit his best wishes to my parents, I startled.

“Harry.” He startled, too; looked me up and down, closed his eyes in frustration, and sighed. “Damn, Mary, really?” He asked, sounding tired. “Wh-what?!” I asked, nervously, drying my sweaty palms in the pants of my jumpsuit. I’d been nervous all day they were a choice too ‘out there’. “Where do you find the audacity to look this beautiful?!” He asked, seriously.

It took me maybe two seconds to understand this flattery, and that he wasn’t actually criticizing my fashion choices, and when I did I was washed by such a deep wave of relief I was almost angry.

“Seriously?!” I slapped my handbag playfully against his arms, rolling my eyes, and turned away to walk into the building, leaving him as well as my team to catch up. “What?! It was a compliment!” He said, hurrying after me, suppressing a chuckle. I was smiling in spite of myself. “Maybe, but your tone was very misleading.” He smiled. “I apologize about my tone, Mary. May I try again?” I blinked, slowly, grinning now, and he went on. “You look beautiful.”

His second attempt was all that it shouldn’t have been: intense, yearning, full of a double meaning only we seemed to hear.

Bashfully, I gulped. “Thank you… I wish I could say the same.” “Ouch?” He laughed, taking a step back. “It’s not your fault, coats and tails is just not flattering on anyone.” “Well, that’s it.” He took off his hat and immediately started unbuttoning his vest. “What are you doing?” I asked, laughing. “I will go naked before I let you see me in something unflattering.” I took one step closer and stopped his hands with mine. “Oh, my God.” I said, looking around. “Stop!”

The main building was guests only, no press, so we were pretty safe there. But there were still guests around.

“What? You started it.” He chuckled but, at least for now, stopped undressing himself. Someone behind him cleared his throat. “Sir, you should probably button up before we go upstairs.” Harry nodded, serious. “Of course. Thank you, Edward.” He subtly buttoned his shirt while I looked around; some people had their eyes on us, but nothing too out of ordinary. “My secretary.” He explained. “Trying to keep me from trouble is literally his job, so I try to listen to him sometimes, throw him a bone, you know how it is.” “I hope you pay him enough.” I told him, teasing. “Sounds like an impossible mission.” “Touché.” Harry giggled, the sight making my stomach flutter.

We exchanged a long look, the whisper of our smiles still holding on to our lips dreamily.  

“So, how have you been?” He asked, clasping his hands behind his back. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Good. Well. Merci.” I nodded. “You?” “Awful, thanks for asking.” He smiled, so it was tough to know if he meant it or not. “Oh?” “Nothing that we can fix, I’m afraid.” He shrugged. “Should I escort you upstairs?” “Oh. Uhm. Sure.”

He led the way to the elevators, our team right behind us. With our security, we crowded one elevator with no room for anyone else. Though this was a pretty safe environment, I didn’t feel safe enough to inquire about what he meant.

“So, how’s Lourdes?” He asked, upbeat. “Pretty good.” I said, nodding. “She’s skating again.” “Nice!” He broke into such a huge smile it was hard not to smile as well. “I want to see her skating, do you have any videos?” “More than I need.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll–”

I was about to say I’d send him some, when I stopped myself.

“You have her number, right? You should ask her, trust me, she’ll be delighted. She loves showing her routines to people.” He nodded, “I will.”

Though it was a very big building, the elevator stopped on every floor, where both our security alerted people it was crowded before the doors closed again. We were headed to the last, highest floor, the Royal Enclosure, which was the best viewing point for the races. It was also highly exclusive and invite only, and a person could online invite someone else after attending for four years. Divorcées weren’t even allowed in until 1955.

So the elevator ride took a long minute, which may be what gave me the courage to surrender and lean in closer to him to ask:

“Truth or dare?” He smiled to the ground, biting his lower lip, but leaned in to me as well and whispered, “Dare.” Smiling in return, only slightly annoyed I’d have to wait to ask why he said he’d been ‘awful’, I went through my head for a good dare idea. “Let’s see….” “May I remind you we are in a very public, heavily press-present event?” He whispered, still close. “Sounds like something you should have thought of before choosing dare.” I shrugged, whispering back. “Okay… get someone in this elevator to slap you.” He leaned back. “What?!” “Go on.” “How?” “I don’t know.” “Mary… I–” He sighed, looking around. His eyes paused on every person present, my staff, his staff, the security… and then it paused on the tall, slender man who he had referred to as his secretary before. “Hey, Edward, I need a favor.” “Yes, sir?” The man replied, while I suppressed a giggle. “Slap me.” The whole group looked at them for a moment, before looking away, pretending not to be overhearing. “S-sir?” “It’s not a big deal, just slap me. It doesn’t need to be strong.” Harry insisted. “Sir, I–I don’t understand!” “It’s a long story,” Harry lied, “I’ll explain later, but I need you to slap me now. Go on, I promise I won’t mind.” I bit my lip strongly to stop myself from laughing. Edward looked truly concerned, and Harry sounded increasingly more desperate. “Harry, no!” Edward said, shaking his head.

The elevator stopped in place with a melodic ‘ding’, and Harry sighed as the others filed out before us – Edward leading the way.

“Any chance you’ll slap me?” He asked, making me laugh. “Ask me again later.” I said, walking out. “But then I’ll have already lost.” He lamented. “Well, then you’ll have to live with the defeat.” He groaned, following me to a table of drinks and appetizers. There were no cameras in this enclosure, and no one else I had to be formally introduced to. As I didn’t know anyone else, this left me free to grab a drink and something to eat.

Harry, however, waved a quick hello to a handful of people as soon as we walked into the room, but continued to follow me.

“Okay, rematch.” He started. “Give me another dare, I must redeem my honor.” “God, men… it must be so exhausting feeling you have to prove yourself constantly.” He grinned. “We both know you’re judging me for not doing a dare. Go on, give me another one.” I giggled, and sighed. “Alright, remember you insisted… I dare you to…” I thought about it deeply, looking around.

There was a couple of girls a few meters away looking at us – more particularly, at him – with jealousy and desire in their eyes. I smiled in spite of myself, feeling oddly powerful.

“To improvise a poem.” He looked so confused it made me smile again. “A poem? Like, like poetry?” “Yes.” I nodded. “Take your time.”

As I took a sip of my sparkling wine, he put his hands in his pockets, looking around. I could see his mouth silently moving as he talked quietly with himself. It was an amusing sight, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice how handsome he looked deep in thought like this.

“Okay.” He nodded, seriously, approaching.

He removed his hat, brushed his hair to the side with his hand and stood unnervingly close to me.

“You're a vision in pink, I might need a drink…” He risked a look at me, but his cheeks were reddening, so he looked away again. “And I might pass out, if you gave me a wink…” I tried to suppress a giggle, as I thought any sudden movements might dissuade him from this dare. “Every day I remember, when the leaves were ember… In blue, you breezed through… your skin, warm and tender, In all of your splendor…” he looked at me again, still pink in the cheeks, but with renowned intensity in his eyes, “Waking up with me, your legs between my knees. I woke up desperate to please, and tease, with ease…”

His eyes locked on mine, intense, he recovered his color just as I felt my cheeks heaten up. He said each word slowly now, over-enunciating double meaning into each syllable.

“And squeeze, your hills, give you chills, thrills, until… Your daisy became daffodils… Asleep and awake, three days of bliss, give and take… Slow, sweet, fast or rough. Forever wouldn't be enough.”

His eyes hovered over my face, slowly lowering towards my lips, pausing there for the longest minute as I felt breathless. To the silence, I realized it was over, and struggled to think of something teasing, light-hearted enough to say to this. How to hide the way his voice – his words – made me feel?

I bit down an embarrassed grin thinking of his words. Walking in wearing blue when the leaves were ember? That was when we met last fall. Waking up with my legs between his knees? When I ran away to his home and we slept in the same bed. ‘Squeeze your hills, give you thrills, slow, fast, or rough, forever wouldn’t be enough’? That, that was… an alternate reality that felt the more tempting the more he continued to look at me.

“I don’t want to break the moment, because I feel there’s a moment here… but that was really good, right?” He asked, sounding honestly shocked.

It made me laugh out loud.

“Oh, my God, did I… write that?” He added, looking around, seemingly astonished with himself. “Did I maybe hear this somewhere? Did I accidentally plagiarized someone?” Laughing, I held on to his arm to steady myself. “Honestly, it was very good.” I managed to say. “I know! It was incredible!” “I mean, it started just okay… but it got… really interesting in the end.” “Interesting?! I think I’m a poetry miracle!”

I laughed again; throwing my head back, I had to hold on to my hat so it stayed in place.

“I need a pen and paper to write that all down before I forget it!” he added, patting his pockets. “Oh, my God, shut up.” I begged, still laughing. “Alright, alright…” He smiled. “My turn. Truth or dare?” I sighed, “Dare.” He grinned, surprised. “Oh, wow. Okay… I dare you to…” He considered it for a few seconds, looking around the room.

Silently, he grabbed my half-drank wine glass and moved to the drinks. He picked a bottle of whisky, and poured some into my glass.

“Hey!” I protested.

He did the same with the scotch, the vodka, the mango liquor, and every other bottle in the table until my glass was almost full to the brim.

“I dare you.” He said, handing me the glass. “Are you s–? This is so unoriginal.” “Just drink it.” He grinned. I smelled the contents of the glass, which smelled oddly of citric coca cola, and took a quick sip. “Oh, my God.” I complained, trying to remind myself not to yell in disgust. “You can do better, come on.” “No, I think this is enough.” “What? You drank nothing!” “Yes, but you never said I had to drink a lot, just that I had to drink.” I shrugged. He closed his eyes, and smiled, annoyed. “Wow. Such a lawyer.” I laughed. “My turn.” “Fine. Truth.” He said, rolling his eyes. I gulped, placed the disgusting concoction in my glass back on the table, but kept the smile in my lips as I asked, “Why did you say you were awful before?” His smile faltered. “Oh. You know…” He shrugged, nonchalant. “No, Harry… I don’t.” I said, softly. He avoided my eyes, but his lips sustained a humorless, emotionless smile. He took in a long breath, and looked at me. “Do you maybe have another question?” “What? No. Harry…” I shook my head, confused. “That’s the question.” He sighed. “It’s just work.” “Work?” “Yes, Marie. Work. I have a lot to do to get Invictus ready for September…” “Okay. Is that all it is? Because your tone says differently.” Still smiling coldly, he looked around, and brushed a hand through his hair, nervously. “Speaking of work, how’s your work?” He asked. “Is royal work as an heir any different?” “Harry.” I insisted, seriously, now feeling my heart beating increasingly heavier in my chest.

Finally, something snapped. He bit his lip, avoiding my eyes, then closed his eyes, muttered ‘hallway’, and walked off without affording me a second glance.

Chilled to the bone, I waited a couple of seconds before following him out, strategically avoiding Cadie and Auguste’s worried glances from nearby.

We walked out of the enclosure to the elevator hallway. It was emptier now than when we had come in, but still had a couple of people in it. So Harry passed them towards other doors, where it was emptier.

He stopped by a window, hands in his pocket, and heaved a sigh, brows creased, eyes pained. My heart ached just to watch him.

“Look, I–” He started, avoiding my eyes still. “I…” He laughed, humorless still. “Harry,” I tried, softly, “you’re worrying me.”

He closed his eyes, painfully. After a couple of seconds he opened them and stared right into mine. When our blues connected, I felt again that old chill down my spine; that feeling of being seen for all I was, that chill of knowing there was a lot being said, even if we weren’t speaking.

“Work is hard, yes, but–” He licked his lips, pausing. “I can handle it. What makes it harder, though, is that I can’t go very long without thinking about you.” I gulped. “W-what?” He smiled, a little more honestly now. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Mary. I know that sucks to hear. I just…” He sighed, heavily, and took a step closer to me. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” Feeling my stomach do a cartwheel inside, I gulped. “I… W-what?!” His smile grew now, amused. “I look around my house, and all I can think is I miss having you there. I miss waking up with you, cooking with you, talking with you all day long...” He took another step closer, now in a way where his smell was all I could breathe; still the same citric L'Occitane smell I could never forget. “I think about you every time I open my bathroom cabinet and see the toothbrush you forgot.” He shrugged. “It’s pathetic. And even now as I say it, I know it’s pointless. I know just looking at you that it’s a lost cause. And it’s not your fault, even if sometimes I wish it were. It might be easier if I had a reason to be angry at you… But you didn’t ask for this. Neither did I. I just…” he shrugged. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” I sighed, breathless. “Harry. I…” “I know.” He nodded, staring at the ground. “I understand better than most. You have a duty. You have rules to follow and a huge number of people around ready to remind you why this would be a terrible idea, and I get it. I have the same. Lower stakes, maybe, but I do, and I hate it.” He smiled, in a sad, desperate way; eyes full of yearning as they looked at me. “The truth is I think about that kiss every day.” He whispered, gently. “The truth is I think about that date we never had every day, and about everything that could have been different… The truth…” He sighed, longingly. “The truth is I think I’m falling in love with you.”

My mind was both completely blank and going a thousand miles an hour. I felt my hands… shaken. My legs felt weak. I thought of Louis’ funeral again, of trying to kiss him at the worst of times, of how much it hurt when he pulled away, of when he told he didn’t want to be something I might regret.

I remembered sleeping with Chris right after, getting back together with him without even realizing it. Of the proposal and the yelling and the months of headlines about it.

If my brother was still here, Harry and I might have been just a complicated, unique love story. But he wasn’t, and because of that everything was such a mess. I was such a mess.

And yet, here he was: loving me anyway. In spite of it all. What was the universe thinking?

“Maggie?”

My fragile, already shaken up heart went cold. I looked back to find…

“Christopher?

--- ---- ---

Royal Ascot Outfit

[A/N: I know what you’re thinking, ‘how dare you not post for 2 weeks and then leave us with a cliff hanger????’. Guys, I’m SORRY! In my defence, 2020 was a hell of a year, I had to move, the holidays were a lot, I had a guest over, and I GOT A DOG! So...........a lot has happened! But things should calm down now, so I promise to try my hardest so this doesnt happen again! Spoilers: the story is going into its next phase! Secret-relationship-angst kind of next phase. But anyway, enough about me... how have YOU been? Tell me all about it, oh and also your thoughts on the chapter? hopes for the next ones? notes? criticisms? I’ll take it all! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND STICKING WITH ME AND FOR YOUR PATIENCE! PS: Lola, my fur child, is a 2 years old rescue, loves munching ice and guilting me into petting her instead of writing/working. I also accidentally scard her out of going to the bathroom where shes supposed to so now I’m slowly moving a pet-mat through the apartment back there. Tips? LOVE YOU HAVE A GOOD WEEK! BYE!

PS 2: I PROMISE I’LL COMPRISE ALL THE CHAPTERS INTO A MASTERPOST LIKE ONE OF YOU ASKED ME TO, I JUST NEED TO FIND THE TIME BUT I WILL! Thanks for the suggestion <3 ]

#Princeharryff #prince harry fanfic #prince harry fanfiction #princeharryfanfiction #Princeharryfanfic #prince harry #brf #modern royalty au #modern royalty fanfic #fanfiction #OPITCphff #chapters

[cowboysuggest]

Lmao what did Ariana do that means she needs to get booed at Manchester?

google is free and this article does a good job of explaining but because i dont want anyone to continue to give this girl money for being shit person, here we go.

besides being a cishet white woman HEADING a PRIDE EVENT (Which is something i shouldnt need to explain why its bad.. pride is by and for lgbt people and should not be HEADLINING a cishet.) 

Racism

this is her like 5 years ago vs her now. she is a white girl wearing blackface.  and before you go “thats not blackface! thats just a tan!!!” 

this is her on stage next to nicki minaj, a black woman. she is darker than nicki minaj. this is what a tan looks like

a tan is supposed to give you a more golden sun touched look, NOT MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A DIFFERENT RACE! (also tan is a golden/yellow brown, not a deep brown... this is not an accident)

her hair, by the way, is in fact exensions. again, making her hair thicker and darker in order to pass as a poc... she steals from black musicians too... like its not news that white people steal culture from poc then market it as a new trend but... she really takes it to a whole new level and acts as if her new look is some fucking brand she made. 

remember shen she got a tattoo for 7 rings but didnt finish it and said “oh thats just fine :)” ? 

transmisogyny

in her video “thank you next” she has a man in a dress stereotype for a trans girl, then painted said person as desperate for a date.  this is a transmisogynist caracature. she is a cishet girl. this is transphobic. end of discussion.

homophobia

shouldnt have to explain why a het girl using sexualized lesbians that look like they came out of a porno for men in a music video for views isnt ok.

etc

she ignores when everyone first tried to tell her NICELY that what she was doing is wrong but as soon as people got less than kind about it, got all guilt trippy like a 3 yr old and went “why cant we just all get along its so sd to see people hating like this :(((((( be nice :(( “ 

she is friends with Pierce Morgan (known facist) and is QUITE PUBLIC ABOUT THIS, she constantly preaches the “we should just sit down and talk to people who are flaming bigots. their bigotry is just a difference of opinions ❤️❤️❤️” which is propaganda created by, surprise, the very bigots it refers to. if we dont fight or get upset then they can continue to be horrible people without consequence. 

she is now INSISTING on headlining pride, and i have seen more homophobic people than i can count say theyre going to buy tickets to pride just to see her. let me repeat that. homophobes are going to pride to see a homophobic artist. this is disgusting. this puts every gay and trans person there in danger. actually, it puts everyone there in danger because it is a pride event and any homophobes will see you there and assume youre gay anyhow so! 

tldr: ariana grande is a racist, transphobic, homophobic white girl parading around in blackface and appropriates black, latino, and asian cultures for $$$ and uses lgbt people for views.

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x08 - Say It Ain't So

EPISODE SUMMARY:

JAMIE CLAYTON GUEST STARS — Despite promising Liz (Jeanine Mason) that he’ll take things easy with his new heart, Max (Nathan Dean) sets out to find Cameron after learning that she’s gone missing. Michael (Michael Vlamis) grows concerned about Maria (Heather Hemmens) after a surprising discovery about her family history leaves her vulnerable. Elsewhere, ready to move on, Alex (Tyler Blackburn) goes on a date with Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi), and Rosa (Amber Midthunder) makes a decision about her future. Rachel Raimist directed the episode written by Eva McKenna & Christopher Hollier (#208). Original airdate 5/4/2020. 

DETAILS:

Rosa's secret identity:

"...Cousin Rosalinda from Arizona. My mom married a minor league baseball player, but when he got relocated to a team in Florida…"

"Okay, you know what, let's just go with, they're dead."

This is a Twilight reference.

Rosa about the Mean Girl's art in the cave:

"That reminds me of Stephen Powers before he sold out."

Stephen Powers is a former street artist who went commercial. Some examples of his older work here:

Other examples of his newer, more commercial work here:

By the way, speaking of the cave:

And this is some fabulous visual storytelling right here:

Max is working at the Wild Pony. Temporarily, of course.

"Turns out debt collectors don't care if you've been half dead in a glowing pod for a few months."

So much for the headcanon that Max "I've been driving the same car since high school and am a homeowner before 30" Evans is good with his money. 😆 Debt collectors don't show up that fast… not that I know from experience or anything.  😳 *backs slowly away*

Iris refers to the cave as the go to hang spot for all the artsy weirdos. So it isn't like it was specifically Rosa's cave/hidden spot.

It's the first time we've seen this particular cave other than in 2008 flashbacks.

Iris Sanchez & Rosa Ortecho. Flower, Mexican family name. 😭 The hint is there!

Also 👀 from:

The iris earned its name from the ancient Greek Goddess Iris, a messenger to the gods who was thought to use the rainbow as a bridge between heaven and earth...these flowers were named to honor the Rainbow Goddess and bring favor upon the earth.

Mimi made Maria take back the necklace.

"She said that it was too late for her and that I needed it more."

Michael has seen the necklace before, but he didn't know what the flower was when he fixed the clasp and returned it to her in 1x10.  It was 1x11 when they learned of the existence of the anti alien pollen. Michael reminds us:

"I know this flower.  Its pollen has a paralytic effect on alien abilities."

Once Maria takes it off, she can name every card Michael pulls from the deck.

Maria lists off a bunch of necklace facts from past episodes that fandom has previously noted...

Her powers were heightened when Michael had the necklace in 1x10. 

She wasn't wearing it when Noah invaded her at the gala.

And she wasn't wearing it at Woman As Warrior in 2x02 when she sensed that Isobel was pregnant.

"Kyle said you aren't an alien."

Fact. Kyle did say that.  It doesn't mean that it's a fact that Maria doesn't have alien DNA in her though.

Kyle determined that her blood doesn't carry the alien protein that's in the Pod Squad and Rosa. He is making an assumption that the protein is tied to being an alien.

He said he ran other tests, but the results would take longer to come in. 

Also, just a personal theory, what else do Rosa and the Pod Squad (and Noah) all have in common? They all spent significant time marinating in a pod full of goo. Rosa (10 years), Pod Squad (at least 50 years), Noah (60 years). Kyle has not studied any samples of alien biology from an alien who didn't spend time in pod goo. It's possible the protein is related to the pod goo, moreso than the alien biology. Again, just speculation on my part.

Maria confirms that her mom started getting sick when she was 18, just after she passed the necklace on to Maria.

"If this prevents you from having more episodes, it probably stops the neurodegeneration process too. It's not kryptonite, Maria. This is preventative medicine. Keep it on."

In 2x06 it was established that in addition to Sanders' place being a junkyard and a mechanic/auto shop, they also do tow truck service.  Now that comes into play again as Michael was hired to bring Cam's car back to Roswell for the investigation into her disappearance.  He brought it to the junk yard first though to give Max and Liz an hour to check the car for clues before the sheriff's department comes to collect it.

Max is smart too, in his own way. He quickly identified that "Agent Powell" was driving a rental car and that her gun wasn't government issue. 

However, it's only when he sees her tattoo (which Cam told him about in 1x07) that he confirms that she's actually Charlie Cameron!

(10 points to fandom!)

Max & Liz's conversation with Charlie is mostly just reminding us what we know about Charlie and Jenna's relationship. 

Liz indicates that Jenna had been looking for Charlie for months.  Charlie responds that she didn't want to be found (both things we learned in 2x04 through Cam's discussion with Jesse Manes.

Max indicates that Jenna thought that Charlie hated her, a call back to us first learning about Charlie and the matching tattoos in 1x07.

"I worked on a controversial project a while back. A lot of dangerous people want to know what I know."

(Again, stuff we learned in 2x04).

They learn through Cam's text history that she was looking for Jesse Manes (which we already knew, because...2x04).

"I'm just a guy standing in front of a tourist trap asking a history buff to shoot him with high velocity paint."

Tongue-in-cheek reference to the movie Notting Hill.

"So, you're cool playing war? Doesn't bring anything up?"

"Oh, yeah, my PTSD triggers are a little more complicated. Suffice to say, this war zone is the only place that my family actually got along when I was a kid."

"Yeah, some of my old platoon buddies actually play in leagues."

"I didn't know that you served."

"Yeah I wouldn't go bragging about it to a guy with a Purple Heart. I might have googled you."

New information… both that Forrest served, that he looked into Alex (which could be innocent OR sketchy…).

And of course this is the first open discussion about Alex's PTSD issues.

Cowboys versus aliens paintball… Alex is the cowboy, so Forrest must be the alien.

The call that interrupted Forrest's attempt to kiss Alex was from the hospital. Hence why Alex goes there to see Jesse.

"Look, if I had a little lucky charm that could stop people like Noah from messing with me, I would have that surgically implanted into my décolletage."

Have to admit, I wasn't sure what décolletage meant, so in case anyone else isn't familiar: 

"These abilities are a part of me. I'm not gonna just throw away the chance to learn about who I am. That make sense to you?"

"Yeah, actually, it does."

"You've gotten stronger this year, right?  Can you teach me to train? Learn how to control it all?"

"Look, it took a lot of practice before I could do anything without puking and guzzling acetone to kill the pain.  And you can't practice, because according to Kyle, every time you do it eats your brain."

"Look, I'll stop before it goes that far, okay? I know the signs. Besides, if you help me, maybe I can help you. There must be something that you want to know about your future."

"What about my past?"

Max meeting with Jesse at the Crashdown. This is super interesting because it's the first time Max has sat down, face to face, with a hostile human who knows he's an alien. 

"My uncle used to bring me here. That was back when it catered to a more civil clientele. People who actually respected the history of this town."

This is likely foreshadowing what's to come next week, based on the promo pics released.

Again, similar to the scene with Charlie at the junkyard, much of this exchange between Max and Jesse is just reminding us of stuff we learned in 1x04.

"The last time I saw her she came to me with questions about her sister.  And I told her that the people most interested in Charlie's device were a black ops group based out of Los Alamos. They're called Deep Sky. This is their logo. Paramilitary. And I told Jenna that what she was getting into was gonna be dangerous. But apparently she didn't listen.

Note: in case any of you are unaware, in Los Alamos there's a US DOE lab that has a long, sketchy history of weapons development.  Makes perfect since that it's where a paramilitary organization interested in Charlie's research would be based there.

The Deep Sky Logo

I compared this to a number of screenshots of alien symbols (like the ones we saw in Jim Valenti's letters in 1x12) and there were no matches.

However, fandom has already noted that the logo matches Trevor's ring in 2x06 (see that episode's details post for the photo).

"Charlie Cameron's mind is a unique specimen. Kind of like you. And there's always someone in the shadows waiting to crack those open."

"What did you do to Jenna?"

"I told her the truth. Which is more than you ever did. You're kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing, aren't you?"

"And what are you? Do you feel like a hero? All those people you tortured, all those people you killed. Turns out none of them were an enemy.  They were refugees. So you're not just a murderer, you're a failure."

"Yeah, I know. I am. But I tell you, something shifted in my brain when I had the stroke.  All the hate's gone out of me. All the fight. Caulfield is over and my son Flint has been reassigned. Look at me. I can barely walk."

Liz and Charlie in the car:

"Waitressing's really got to blow when you've grown a fully functioning heart muscle in a lab.  Or are you not the same Elizabeth Ortecho who co-authored a 2013 paper on cellular reprogramming? Some people build model trains; I do my homework.  Your boyfriend seems more like the train type."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We've discovered new worlds and changed the course of mankind from a microscope. Should I go Netflix and chill with my boyfriend or stay in the lab, architecting the future?"

"No offense, but if it's true that you've been in prison and in hiding, it does not seem like you've seen much of the inside of a lab either."

"I went too far.  I thought I was building something with real value. The thing is, anything that has the potential to create real change, it scares people. And anything that scares people is inherently dangerous no matter what your intention is."

"You could start over. Get a new identity, work at a research university."

"I've done extraordinary things. Everything ordinary is ruined now."

More exposition that we already know as Max catches Charlie and Liz up on what he learns from Jesse.

"He said Cam is headed to Los Alamos to investigate a group called Deep Sky. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No. Let me reach out to some of my military contacts, do some recon. Give me a day, we'll go from there."

Liz and Michael, in the lab, on The Science:

"I'm looking for the sample of yellow pollen."

"The stuff I swept off the floor after throwing it at Noah? I don't know. I didn't see it while we were packing up."

"Well it was here a few months back.  Did I miss an experiment where it grew legs and a fondness for the outdoors?"

"Could have been accidentally thrown away. Sample was too oxidized to be of much use, and I've been trying to get my hands on fresh flowers, but it's impossible. I think they might be extinct. Why are you freaking out?"

"Because I have a math problem. There's only one flower in Maria's necklace, but there are two DeLuca women and apparently the flower is the key to preventing their illness. This is everything from the Caulfield drives and the experiments done on Maria's grandmother. A lot of it was lost in a lab fire in the '80s, but…"

"I'll take a look."

(Aside… 👀 Lab fire in the '80s. I have a feeling that's more foreshadowing.)

"I just want you to see if anything done could be undone. I don't want you to, like, Dr. Frankenstein it. The experiments were very bad."

"My days as an alien scientist are officially over."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"'Cause it's hard not to think about the far-reaching implications of this kind of research. You don't get sick on this planet. If I could figure out why, I could eradicate all illness."

"But you can't. Because that would expose us."

"Which I would obviously never do. It's over."

Arturo's text to Liz:

Have you seen our little mouse?

"Rosalinda" is late for her first shift.

Isobel and Maria go to Michael's trailer and Isobel shows Maria the newspaper clip of Michael's mom to try to trigger a vision.

"It's not working. And I don't feel great going through this stuff without Michael knowing."

"Why not? One day this palace might all be yours."

"It's not working.  I have a business to run, and you need to go Instagram something."

"Says the social media revitalizer. Listen, word to the wise, every time Max saw Liz in a skirt and tried not to pop a bulb, he wound up setting off a fire alarm. Everytime I push myself too hard, I miss time, or wind up accidentally realizing that my mom still thinks about her ex-boyfriend Rocco, like, in vivid detail."

"Okay, where are you going with this?"

"Effort doesn't equal control. So if you want to do this you're gonna have to embrace your inner ice queen and let it go."

"I'm not great at letting things go."

"Yeah, I know.  That's hard…"

Maria's vision:

Triggered by a t-shirt hanging in the trailer.

Louise is hanging laundry

Walt runs up to her and gives her a little windmill with her name on it. (Initially I thought her name was pressed or punched into the metal, but on second viewing, it looks like it might be puff paint or something similar.)

Walt runs off to find Nora and Louise goes back to hanging laundry.

After the vision Maria's nose starts bleeding.

Max goes after Charlie to stop her from turning herself in.

I wonder if his tire screeching action guy driving is supposed to be emphasizing to the audience that he's not being as cautious as he should be? 

Deep Sky said that if Charlie "...wasn't at Sutter's grain depot by 11pm, that they would torture (Cam) to death."

Charlie heard on the call:

A train rolling by

A demonic laugh

And somehow that's enough for Max to magically know exactly where Cam is.

Alex and Jesse at the hospital:

"Hey, they said that you mixed whiskey with your medications.  That's not like you."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't know. I mean, you're my father. I can't seem to shake you."

"Yeah. I failed."

"Yes. But in what way specifically?"

"Uncle Tripp. I let him down. I never could figure out what he needed of me. And tonight I went to the bunker.  And I keep trying to crack the code."

"Liz said that you spoke to Max Evans. She said that you were half decent to him. Is that what this is about?"

"One of them killed Tripp, you know."

"An alien? Yeah. Then he hunted them. He dragged them to a torture chamber. I'm not surprised one of them…" 

Jesse slams his cane.

"He was the best man I ever knew.

Jesse tries to stand and falls into Alex, then continues to walk away.

The location that Deep Sky is holding Cam looks like a rodeo or horse arena or racetrack with a big grandstand.

There are nearby train tracks, and a warehouse where a mechanic repairs old carnival rides.

As Max and Charlie are scoping out the area you can hear both sounds softly in the background.

The sniper was watching and shooting at them from the grandstand.

Charlie is shot in the leg.

"Let me go get her."

"No. Deep Sky wants me alive. Your brain is worth considerably less to them which means it'll be splattered all over the dirt."

(Oh the irony...confirming that Charlie doesn't know that Max is an alien.)

"If anything goes wrong, call Liz. No doctors."

Max does shoot the sniper!

And then uses his powers to knock out the power (and instantly feeling it in his heart when he starts to use his powers!!!!!!) which, as @angsty-aliens very eloquently pointed out, is absurd because there was a big red lever that would have done the same thing. *facepalm*

Cam on her kidnapping:

"The last thing I remember is this weird sound. It made the hairs on my arm stand up. And this bright light, and the pain in the back of my neck like you wouldn't believe."

Cam's burn is fractals.  Like Liz's burn from Max's powers in 1x03. Top is Liz's fresh burn in 1x03, bottom is Cam's not-so-fresh burn in 2x08. Keep in mind, we don't know how long Cam was missing for.

Rosa and Iris at the "art show".

"So you said you're from Roswell?"

"Oh, I was from Roswell.  I got out and went to art school as soon as I graduated. I work for an artist now. I help her run her gallery. Yeah, I used to want to be a painter, but then I realized I loved curating art way more than I ever loved making it."

👀 I wonder what this says about Rosa's internal motivation. If Iris is the life she wishes that she had, does she not want to be a painter? Or is that her internal insecurity rearing its head.  Like, she can't even dream about that possibility because it's what she really wants above all else.  Which is why Iris then motivates her to paint and prove to her inner self that she is an artist? 

Speaking of which, here's Rosa's painting from the episode. Mucho gracias to @rosaortecho for giffing it for me since it wasn't cap-able in a single shot.

Iris's assessment of Rosa's art:

"This piece is you outrunning your demons. This is amazing. That's what you have to do.  You have to capture them and rattle the cage.  This is art. This is what you're meant to do, Rosa!"

Rosa's hallucination starts to fall apart as they dance.  She starts coughing and having trouble breathing.

"Your star sign's just out of whack."

Play on lyrics from God of Wine by Third Eye Blind, which was heavily referenced in 1x02. 

The direct quote is "your star sign's out of whack" and the next lyric is "a fraudulent zodiac"

Which, of course, is what Rosa had written on her hand before she died in 2008 and is a reference to Ophiuchus, which was Noah's zodiac obsession.

And then Liz finds her overdosing in the cave. 

The coughing in Rosa's hallucination was from smoke inhalation.  Because while passed out she started a fire with her powers.

Feels like a good time to point out that it's the same cave that she died in back in 2008, and she would have died there again if Liz hadn't found her. 😭

At the hospital Rosa tells Liz that she wants to go to rehab, but she knows she can't since she can't control her powers. 

Liz gives her Maria's necklace to borrow since it will suppress her powers and allow her to go to rehab.

Alex and Forrest at the Wild Pony:

"I still have my dad's voice in my head telling me that being seen with a man in public is an embarrassment. To my name and my uniform."

"Well, there's nothing like a dad voice to mess up a perfectly good date."

"It's also just that...I mean, Roswell's so conservative. This bar is filled with cowboys. If you want to go someplace private…"

"Look, I like you. But I don't want to climb into somebody else's closet."

"I cannot tell you how badly I want to be done with this frickin' closet."

"But you're not. And that's okay. Really. Listen, if that voice in your head ever shuts up, give me a call. Because between you and me, making out with a hot guy in public is only made hotter when it pisses off all the bigots and homophobes."

Charlie took off and left a note for Jenna. According to Jenna it says she's gonna disappear again and not to look for her.

Arturo is taking Rosa to a rehab center that Kyle set her up with "a few hours away".

Max tells Liz "let's go home." So… did she move in with him??

Liz says no though.  She says she has to open the diner and cry alone.  But instead she goes to the secret lab.  

Both Max and Liz were evading the truth a little bit here.  Liz didn't tell Max that she wanted to go to the secret lab.  Max didn't tell Liz that his heart did wonk out after using his powers and he did overdo it going after Cam. Bad Echo!!

Liz goes back to packing the secret lab up initially, but then her eyes fall into the Caulfield folders, and she stops. 

She unpacks her stolen equipment (genetic sequencer?), puts on her lab coat, and sits down to start reading the file.

Isobel brings Michael beer as a peace offering, since she's coming to admit that she helped Maria trigger a vision.  She thinks Michael will be mad, but he isn't because he and Maria already worked it out.

So Isobel tells him about the vision and seeing Louise, and specifically about Walt giving Louise the windmill. 

Michael immediately reacts, goes to a shelf, and grabs a similar windmill.

Turns out Walt is Sanders.  He pulls up in his car and Michael immediately confronts Sanders.

"It was you. You're Walt. You're the little boy in the photo.  You knew my mother."

And Sanders nods.

10 more points to fandom.

Max goes to Charlie's hotel to confront her about turning herself in to Deep Sky.

The windmill in both scenes. Until I put this together I didn't think they were the same one (because Louise's name isn't on Michael's. But other details (like the word weight on one of the legs) are the same.

"You think Deep Sky needs to have Jenna by the throat to kill her? Okay, the only way that I can protect her is from the inside."

Then the "abduction scene" happens.

It mirrors what happened to Jenna in 2x04, only to Max and Charlie.

MUSIC:

1.  Hole "Celebrity Skin"

2.  Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real "Die Alone"

3.  Shelly Fairchild "Worry No More"

4.  Marc Danzeisen "Some Things Last Forever"

5.  Joey Sykes "Sign Of The Times"

6.  I AM ORFA "Like That Look"

7.  Danny Ayer "Set Us Free"

8.  Hamish Anderson "Trouble"

9.  OMC "How Bizarre"

10.  Muscadine Bloodline "Movin' On"

11.  Little May "Hide"

#roswell new mexico #details #rnm season 2 #episode details #long post #rnm 208 #say it ain't so

[desperatelyseekingroleplay]

About Me: Hi, my name is Nik. I’m a 30+ year old disabled non-binary person, and I’ve been RPing since I was 13. I’m mostly looking for people to RP queer characters with, with a range of abilities, from abled, to invisibly disabled, to physically disabled. I like exploring and building complex worlds that have characters with varied personalities, and backstories. I’m not all about angst all the time, and prefer plotting OOC before we put any angst into our plot, but I’m not against it at all. I’m not into full blown NSFW plotting, and prefer to fade to black at a certain point, but if I’m into it, I’ll write it. I’m looking for someone 25+, who is into writing OC/Faceclaims/Bandom if you're into it.  I like supernatural, slice of life, au’s if we’re doing actual celebrities… I’m into X-Men, Harry Potter, Star Trek TNG, Star Wars, The Umbrella Academy, Marvel in general [though my knowledge of certain properties is more limited than my knowledge of X-Men.] Celebrities tend to be musicians from the post-hardcore scene, though I’ve written some wrestlers before, as well. I don’t particularly care about literacy. You can have bad grammar, bad spelling, and bad punctuation… It doesn’t matter to me. As long as I can understand what you meant, I’m down. I don’t even particularly care about length, as long as you give me something to work with. Due to my disabilities, I often have very little energy, and sometimes have brain fog. It means that there would be times where I’m not able to actually plot, but I *love* having my character build their relationship with their partner through texts, just like you would IRL if you were separated. I prefer to be comfortable with my writing partner OOC, and would like it if we could be the kind of writing partners who have an OOC chat where we send memes, songs, and the like. All of my characters are queer, even if they’re assigned a certain sex… They’re often LGBTQIA+, and my main character that I’ve been writing for the past 9 years is a genderfluid, demisexual AFAB. I’m down with doubling/writing side characters to make the world richer, and more complex.

Style: I write in third person past tense, storybook/novella style but I don’t really care about length. 1-3 sentences is fine if you can’t manage more.

Time: I’m in EST

Availability: I’m pretty much available from 6pm-5am, but there are gonna be a lot of times that I’m not able to actually plot. As described above, I’m really into having our characters chat/text in character when those times happen.

Preferences: M/M M/F F/F I’m really looking for slice of life RPs right now. Stuff like Coffeeshop [or bakery owner]/Tattoo artist [florist/shop owner] Teacher/teacher Shop owner/famous partner I’m really not so picky on this one honestly. I’m down for supernatural ships, mutants, superpowered people. I just really want to write a better world than the one I’m living in

Characters: Mostly OC’s/Faceclaims, unless playing celebrities. I’ll give a list of celebrities I play if you’re interested.

Limits: I prefer no one under 25, and that we discuss any kinks beforehand. I won’t write non-con/dub-con, I won’t write graphic self-harm scenes, and I will only do age gaps if they feel appropriate. 

Rules: Don’t God-mod my character. If you want to progress the plot, and need my character to do something in your reply, please ask me in our OOC chat what they’d do. Especially while we’re learning one another’s characters, and style. I prefer plotting things OOC, especially if they’re going to be heavy topics, but otherwise everything that occurs OOC is fine. If you’re not feeling it, please let me know, or if there’s something you want to add to it. If there’s any way we can improve what we’re doing to make you feel better about it, I’m totally in. Please understand that due to having several complex health conditions that there are going to be times that I cannot reply, but I always will do my best. I will do my best to accept pauses between your replies, as well. 

Contact: You can contact me here on tumblr, google hangouts at [email protected] , and I’m down to download Discord if that’s what you prefer.

#Desperately Seeking Roleplay #Writing Partner Wanted #Roleplay Partner Wanted #Rp Partner Needed #21+ Roleplay Wanted #Slice of Life Roleplay Wanted #Bandom Roleplay Wanted #submission

[saedii-gilwraeth-simp]

If I Could Tell Her ~ Chapter 2

What up y’all?! New chapter is up and I will be posting another quick one-shot a bit later so enjoy!

Chapter 2: Jules

~Camden, Australia~

Her room mate was prone to dumbassery. It was a trait that Jules had learnt to live with over the years and she was used to it. But no one can ever be anything but surprised when they come home from championships to find their best friend slightly drunk and googling tattoo ideas on the couch.

Jules sits beside her and Arsinoe turns to face her. Jules absently ruffled behind Braddock’s ears as she looks her friend over.

“Hey,” Jules said to Arsinoe, sitting next to her. Arsinoe had a sketchpad on her lap as well, where she was drafting new tattoos. Arsinoe absently responds in kind and side hugs Jules gently.

“Are you okay? You seem out of it,” Jules asked carefully. Arsinoe tilted her head and began to speak.

“I got upset because it’s my birthday and I miss my sisters and so I had a glass of wine while I was watching a movie but I forgot that I took my painkillers this morning and so it wacked me out a bit, but I’m not doing nearly as bad as a I was an hour ago. I got thinking and I think that we should get a best friend tattoo because, y’know, 17 years is pretty awesome and we should celebrate, don’cha think?” Jules frowned and checked her eyes to see if anything was wrong. Arsinoe’s pain killers were strong and Jules knew that from experience.

“Arsinoe?” She said gently. Arsinoe looked at her, dead in the eye. “Are you okay? I know you struggle with your birthday but this isn’t like you.” Jules whispered.

“I’m fine, Jules. Would you tell me which tattoo idea you like?” Jules glanced at the sketchbook. How it was that Jules couldn’t even draw a stick figure sober but Arsinoe could do mind-blowing artwork while drunk was a mystery, but Arsinoe’s work was astounding. Jules looked over the artwork. Some were swords, some hearts, but Jules loved the small infinity at the base of the page. It was a pair, one had a J and one an A.

“I like that one,” Jules pointed it out, making Arsinoe beam.

“Cool. I’m going to bed to sleep this off. We can go get the tat tomorrow. Love ya, Jules,” she smacks a kiss on Jules’ cheek and stands, walking towards her room, Braddock following behind. Jules picks up the sketchbook she had left behind, flicking through previous pages. She frowned deeper. Arsinoe’s art was in angry charcoal and red. Jules closed the book. She needed to keep Arsinoe’s privacy, it was something she would discuss in therapy.

She stood and walked to her own bedroom. Competition had been hard and she needed rest.

~

She didn’t know what she thought a tattoo was going to feel like, but it wasn’t this. It stung a fair bit but having researched it, she knows that wrists are not as painful as other places. Arsinoe’s ribs would have hurt more.

Arsinoe sat on the chair next to her, chatting amiably with the tattoo artist. This was her third tattoo so Jules wasn’t surprised to see her unfazed.

Jules watched the tattoo form and thought about her soulmate. She knew that Joseph wouldn’t call her to ask, they had had a tragically terrible breakup and she had known ever since that they weren’t meant to be. Add in the bisexual revelation of her late teens, she had been unlucky in love ever since.

She chose to believe that if anyone was her soulmate, it was Arsinoe. She had been through hell with Jules and Jules had been through hell with her. Jules doubted she could ever lose Arsinoe from her life, and she was glad.

“Jules,” Arsinoe distracted Jules from her thoughts. Jules turned her head to be met with Arsinoe’s sheepish face. “I’m sorry about last night. You shouldn’t have had to come home to me like that,” Jules reached a hand across to squeeze Arsinoe’s arm.

“It’s okay, A. I know what you’re like on your birthday. You just worried me is all.” Arsinoe nodded, a silent assertion that the previous nights actions would not be repeated.

“Hey Jules, guess what?” Jules raised her eyebrow at this. “You finally have a tattoo. I’m so proud.” Arsinoe says with a smile. Jules rolls her eyes.

“Hey, so I was talking to Joseph last week. He said uni was going well,” Jules said, trying not to be awkward about it. Her and Joseph had started to rekindle their friendship late last year before Arsinoe came home and it had been interesting. Jules could trust Joseph with her life, that was never in question, but she couldn’t trust him with her heart. She couldn’t forgive him after the second time he cheated.

“Oh… how is he?” Jules shrugged.

“He’s good. Wants to come around next week,” Jules says, wincing as the tattoo needle hit her wrist painfully. “Are you okay with that?” Arsinoe nods.

“Hey, do you reckon your soulmate is trying to figure this out?” Arsinoe said, intently staring at her own tattoo.

“Bold of you to assume I have a soulmate.” Jules scoffed, successfully ending the conversation.

#three dark crowns #one dark throne #two dark reigns #five dark fates #kendare blake #jules milone #queen arsinoe #joseph sandrin #iicth

[essercipertuttienonperse]

Hi! 4, 16, 19 and 29? ✨

Heyyy! Thank you for the questions! Hope you had a good day! 😘😘😘

4. Do you think it's okay to separate the artist from the art?

Okay ngl i had to Google this because i don't have a firm idea about it and i did find this article which i thought was very interesting! After reading i think I definitely agree with this point "When you try to separate works of art from history, whether that’s the moment of creation or the moment of reception, you’re impoverishing the artwork itself to say that they don’t have a relation.” which is to say that I definitely think context is an integral part of understanding art!

Then the author focuses on the question of what to do when the art you like was created by someone who wasn't a good person. And they do raise some points:

The issue here is not just “Is this artist monstrous?” but “Is this work of art asking me as a reader to be complicit with the artist’s monstrosity?” It’s the same argument that has come up repeatedly with R. Kelly, who writes songs about sex and consent and age differences between lovers, and who has also been accused of sexually assaulting very young women and girls.

“This is a person who makes music that is incredibly sexual in nature. This is someone who has written lyrics that play with the idea of age and consent, right?” “I am not somebody who is comfortable listening to somebody like that singing about sex. I would not want to send the message to him or to anyone else that I am complicit in things that it seems that he has done to young girls and women.”

And my opinion is that I agree with saying that if the art itself encourages the behaviour of the artist and/or excuses it it should not be celebrated. I do think you should be free to engage with it! But also with the awareness of what the artist has done and of what this art promotes.

Later on in the article a peofessor was talking about how he refuses to assign readings of a certain author because his work encourages misogyny:

What’s at stake for Hungerford is not just that Wallace was a misogynist, but the way she sees Wallace’s real-life misogyny replicated in his work. “We’re manipulated by the text at every moment in ways that are structurally similar to the way he manipulated the women in his life,” she told me. “In that case, the structure of the artwork bears the marks of the misogyny.”

and i get where this person is coming from but I disagree to this to some extent because i think censorship is not the right answer ! I think showing and analysing pieces of art like that is very important! Because it gives us the opportunity to teach people why that artist was wrong and also show examples of how things like misogyny/racism/antisemitism can appear in art works and also in people's minds! And that is probably one of our biggest tools in preventing things like that to happen again.

In conclusion, i don't know! I think there is no yes or no answer to this tbh, and it definitely depends on the specific cases too

16.if you had to get a tattoo right now, what would you get and where?

I don't think i'll ever get tattoos but i think i'd love to get 'to something better' in Louis' handwriting! And probably somewhere on my chest

19.what’s your favorite teacher you’ve ever had?

Easily my italian literature teacher from high school! I loved him so much! He was so smart and passionate but also he never made you feel like you were less than him and he was always open to discussions! Ahhh he was great! I miss him

29.what quote or inspirational setting do you think is bs?

Shkgjk this is a fun one.... mmm i don't know really? Probably those like 'the only thing standing between you and success is you' and 'people who succeeded just worked harder' like no??? There are SO many factors that are out of people's control!! I read once that over 80% of what our life will be like depends on the socio economic environment you were born in, just to make an example, and that is something we have no control over. And you can work hard and not succeed but that doesn't mean you work doesn't have any value!!!

#ask #irene