Is there anything support the populat interpretation that old valriya and valryians in general are more feminist, and progressive than the rest in Asoiaf?

Anon, thank you! I've been wanting to address this for awhile, so I'm going to actually answer this really fully, with as many receipts as I can provide (this ended up being more of an essay than I intended, but hopefully it helps)

I think there's in fact plenty of evidence to suggest that Valyria and the Valyrians in general were anything but progressive. Valyria was an expansive empire with a robust slave trade that practiced incest based on the idea of blood supremacy/blood purity. All of these things are absolutely antithetical to progressivism. There is no way any empire practicing slavery can ever be called progressive. Now, the Targaryens of Dragonstone have since given up the practice of slavery, but they certainly still believe in the supremacy of Valyrian blood.

And I'll see the argument, well what's wrong with believing your blood is special if your blood really is special and magic? Which is just-- if anyone catches themselves thinking this, and you sincerely believe that GRRM intended to create a magically superior master race of hot blondes who deserve to rule over all other backwards races by virtue of their superior breeding which is reinforced through brother-sister incest, and you've convinced yourself this represents progressive values, then you might want to step away from the computer for a bit and do a bit of self reflection.

And remember-- what is special about this special blood? It gives the bearers the ability to wield sentient weapons of mass destruction. It's also likely, according to the most popular theories, the result of blood magic involving human sacrifice. So there is a terrible price to pay for this so-called supremacy. Would any of us line up to be sacrificed to the Fourteen Flames so that the Valyrians can have nukes?

And if you are tempted by the idea that a woman who rides a dragon must inherently have some sort of power-- that is true. A woman who rides a dragon is more powerful than a woman who does not ride a dragon, and in some cases, more powerful than a man who does not ride a dragon, but that does not make her more powerful than a man who also rides a dragon. Dragonriding remained a carefully guarded privilege, and Targaryen women who might otherwise become dragonriders were routinely denied the privilege (despite the oft repeated "you cannot steal a dragon," when Saera Targaryen attempted to claim a dragon from the dragonpit, she was thrown into a cell for the attempted "theft,"words used by Jaehaerys). The dragonkeepers were established explicitly to keep anyone, even those of Targaryen blood, from taking them without permission. Any "liberation" that she has achieved is an illusion. What she has gained is the ability to enact violence upon others who are less privileged, and this ability does not save her from being the victim of gender based violence herself.

Politically speaking, it is also true that Valyria was a "freehold," in that they did not have a hereditary monarchy, but instead had a political structure akin to Ancient Athens (which was itself democratic, but not at all progressive or feminist). Landholding citizens could vote on laws and on temporary leaders, Archons. Were any of the lords freeholder women? We don't know. If we take Volantis as an example, the free city that seems to consider itself the successor to Valyria, the party of merchants, the elephants, had several female leaders three hundred years ago, but the party of the aristocracy, the tigers, the party made up of Valyrian Old Blood nobility, has never had a female leader. Lys, the other free city, is known for it's pleasure houses, which mainly employ women kidnapped into sexual slavery (as well as some young men). It is ruled by a group of magisters, who are chosen from among the wealthiest and noblest men in the city, not women. There does not seem to be a tradition of female leadership among Valyrians, and that's reflected by Aegon I himself, who becomes king, rather than his older sister-wife, Visenya. And although there have been girls named heir, temporarily, among the pre-Dance Targaryens, none were named heir above a trueborn brother aside from Rhaenyra, a choice that sparked a civil war. In this sense, the Targaryens are no different from the rest of Westeros.

As for feminism or sexual liberation, there's just no evidence to support it. We know that polygamy was not common, but it was also not entirely unheard of, but incest, to keep the bloodlines "pure," was common. Incest and polygamy are certainly sexual taboos, both in the real world and in Westeros, that the Valyrians violated, but the violation of sexual taboos is not automatically sexually liberated or feminist. Polygamy, when it is exclusively practiced by men and polyandry is forbidden (and we have no examples of Valyrian women taking multiple husbands, outside of fanfic), is often abusive to young women. Incest leads to an erosion of family relationships and abusive grooming situations are inevitable. King Jaehaerys' daughters are an excellent case study, and the stories of Saera and Viserra are particularly heartbreaking. Both women were punished severely for "sexual liberation," Viserra for getting drunk and slipping into her brother Baelon's bed at age fifteen, in an attempt to avoid an unwanted marriage to an old man. She was not punished because she was sister attempting to sleep with a brother, but because she was the wrong sister. Her mother, the queen had already chosen another sister for Baelon, and believed her own teenage daughter was seducing her brother for nefarious reasons. As a sister, Viserra should have been able to look to her brother for protection, but as the product of an incestuous family, Viserra could only conceive of that protection in terms of giving herself over to him sexually.

Beyond that, sexual slavery was also common in ancient Valyria, a practice that persisted in Lys and Volantis, with women (and young men) trafficked from other conquered and raided nations. Any culture that is built on a foundation of slavery and which considers sexual slavery to be normal and permissible, is a culture of normalized rape. Not feminist, not progressive.

I think we get the picture! so where did this idea that Valyrians are more progressive come from? I think there are two reasons. One, the fandom has a bit of a tendency to imagine Valyrians and their traditions in opposition to Westerosi Sevenism, and if Sevenism is fantasy Catholicism, and the fantasy Catholics also hate the Valyrian ways, they must hate them because those annoying uptight religious freaks just hate everything fun and cool, right? They hate revealing clothing, hate pornographic tapestries, hate sex outside of marriage, hate bastards. So being on Sevenism's shit-list must be a mark of honor, a sign of progressive values? But it's such a surface level reading, and a real misunderstanding of the medieval Catholic church, and a conflating of that church with the later Puritan values that many of us in the Anglosphere associate with being "devout." For most of European history, the Catholic church was simply The Church, and the church was, ironically, where you would find the material actions which most closely align with modern progressive values. The church cared for lepers, provided educations for women, took care of orphans, and fed the poor. In GRRM's world, which is admittedly more secular than the actual medieval world, Sevenism nevertheless has basically the same function, feeding the poor instead of, you know, enslaving them.

Finally, I blame the shows. While Valyrians weren't a progressive culture, Daenerys Targaryen herself held relatively progressive individual values by a medieval metric. She is a slavery abolitionist, she elevates women within her ranks, and she takes control of her own sexuality (after breaking free from her Targaryen brother). But Daenerys wasn't raised as a Targaryen. She grew up an orphan in exile, hearing stories of her illustrious ancestors from her brother, who of the two did absorb a bit of that culture, and is not coincidentally, fucked up, abusive, and misogynistic. He feels a sexual ownership over his sister, arranges a marriage for her, and even after her marriage, feels entitled to make decisions on her behalf. It is only after breaking away from Viserys that Dany comes into her own values. Having once been a mere object without agency of her own, she determines to save others from that fate and becomes an abolitionist. But because Game of Thrones gave viewers very little exposure to Targaryens aside from Daenerys, House Targaryen, in the eyes of most show watchers, is most closely associated with Dany and her freedom-fighter values. And as for Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon, being a female heir does not make her feminist or progressive, although it is tempting to view her that way when she is juxtaposed against Aegon II. Her "sexual liberation" was a lesson given to her by her uncle Daemon, a man who had an express interest in "liberating" her so that she would sleep with him, it was not a value she was raised with. In fact, she was very nearly disinherited for it, and was forced into a marriage with a gay man as a result of said "liberation." She had no interest in changing succession laws to allow absolute primogeniture, no interest in changing laws or norms around bastardy despite having bastards; she simply viewed herself as an exception. Rhaenyra's entire justification for her claim is not the desire to uplift women, bring peace and stability to Westeros, or even to keep her brother off the throne, it is simply that she believes she deserves it because her father is the king and he told her she could have it, despite all tradition and norms, and in spite of the near certain succession crisis it will cause. Whether she is right or wrong, absolutism is not progressive.

And let me just say, none of this means that you can't enjoy the Valyrians or think that they're fun or be a fan of house Targaryen. This insistence that Targaryens are the progressive, feminist (read: morally good) house seems by connected to the need of some fans to make their favorite characters unproblematic. If the Valyrians are "bad," does that make you a bad person for enjoying them? Of course not. But let's stop the moral grandstanding about the "feminist" and "progressive" Valyrians in a series that is an analogue for medieval feudalism. Neither of those things can exist under the systems in place in Westeros, nor could they have existed in the slavery based empire of conquest that was old Valyria.

more show bloopers

they're (the monsters' actors) are doing a car scene and Neil and Aaron's actors together decide to turn on the seat heater of Kevin's actor, all the way up, just to get him to say "bloody hell my arse is on fire"

then it becomes like a running gag, especially between the twins' actors, to unsuspectingly turn on each other's seat warmers uncomfortably high

Neil's actor accidentally confuses the twins:

Neil, speaking to Aaron's actor: look Andrew-

Aaron's actor: *gently and seamlessly turns Neil's actor by the shoulders to face Andrew*

Neil's actor: look Andrew-

Andrew's actor: hi!

not a blooper but Dan's actress is tiny, the smallest person in the cast, (the twins' actors are 5'7-- it's the best thing that could've ever happened to them) which has no significance except for the fact that this girl can and will fall asleep ANYWHERE and the cast has loads of evidence of her knocked in every possible location on set

a scene on the bus where Andrew's actor is walking towards the very back, where Andrew sits, except some of the prop luggage/exy equipment is sticking out into the aisle of the bus and he trips over it face-first and just. disappears completely from the frame. one second he and the camera are moving in sync and the next he's just. gone. flat on the floor.

(Aaron's actor almost pisses himself laughing)

they're shooting a deleted scene of Renee and Andrew sparring together and at one point Andrew's actor just cracks up and Renee's actress is like ?? and he goes "your sound effects." and explains to her how every time she throws a punch she makes like a "whoosh" or "pow" noise and she goes "!!! i didn't even realize??"

on set of the locker room and Kevin's actor is sat in Kevin's stall being spontaneously serenaded by Matt's actor

that scene in tfc where the monsters take Neil shopping and Nicky is talking to him as he pulls out clothes for Neil to try on. except every so often Nicky's actor pulls out the most ludicrous article of clothing and offers it to Neil's actor with a straight face. at one point he holds a lime green mesh bralette that was also a turtleneck and had stirrups (??) up as if to see if it'd fit Neil and Neil's actor just loses it. while he's clutching a clothes rack trying to catch his breath and the people behind the camera are trying to train their hysterics, Nicky's actor turns to the camera, still holding the bralette and goes "where the hell did y'all even find this? i don't think even Nicky could pull this off" *eyes Kevin's actor* "buuuut if anyone could surely it-"

Neil's actor climbing off the top bunk bed except he misses a step and tumbles gracelessly to the ground

Allison's actress nails Aaron's actor right in the face with her ponytail in a scene where they're getting ready for a game and psyching themselves up. he wasn't even going to let it ruin the take but six seconds later she stops and turns and goes "did i just hit you?" and he's like "yep" and she grins and goes "so sorry babe"

Renee's actress is having trouble with a line and by the fifth time they have to restart she's cussing up a storm and Matt's actor pretends to be shocked and goes "Natalie Renee Walker. you're better than that" and she turns to look at the camera and goes "he just learned my full name this morning. if you can't tell"

the scene where Neil puts Andrew's hand under his shirt but Coach's actor pulls a look-into-the-camera- like-hes-on-the-office with a "y'all seeing this shit?" expression so they have to start over

see also about that scene: they're in the middle of a take and Andrew's actor randomly and without changing his Andrew-expression goes "are you flexing your abs right now?" and Neil's actor goes "sorry I'm nervous..you can feel that?" and he goes "yeah" and there's a beat of silence of presumably Neil's actor just flexing his abs. Andrew's actor goes "that's impressive. hot" Neil's actor goes "thanks man"

they're shooting a scene in the lounge and Allison's actress is in the middle of a line when she notices a real picture of the boys being idiots on the set photo wall and starts giggling and goes "sorry sorry i had never seen that one..caught me off guard. okay let's go again.."

it's not even supposed to be a blooper but they didn't know they were rolling so there's a blooper of Neil's actor telling Aaron's actor "you're 5 and I'm 10. I'm twice the man you'll ever be. bitch"

the scene where Kevin shows up with the queen on his face except Andrew's actor thought they were still rehearsing so when he appears in the doorway to the bedroom after hearing Kevin and Neil making noise it's with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders the way he had been doing throughout rehearsals

(they ended up keeping that in the scene. Andrew first appears wrapped up in his blanket, all tired and shit. he realizes what's going on and starts to become more alert and as he walks towards Kevin to inspect his face, he lets the blanket fall to the ground. it's grand and dramatic and all, but so is Andrew)

a whole bunch of clips stitched together of when they filmed the Foxes working out in the gym. in the show it's a brief montage but there's loads of unseen content of the cast just fooling around- dancing to music on the speakers and flexing ridiculously and exaggeratedly lifting weights and shit

the scene in the car where Andrew elbows Neil hard in the ribs but in this blooper Aaron's actor joins in and it becomes both twins just pretending to beat Neil's actor up

(Kevin's and Nicky's actors in the front seats are just staring ahead, driving like nothing's happening and shaking their heads going "kids")

Dan's actress keeps laughing during a scene where Dan and Matt kiss and during one take where she's trying to calm herself down by putting her forehead on his shoulder you can hear Allison's actress in the background go "i can do it instead if you want" and Matt's actor smirks at the camera over Dan's head and Allison's actress goes "bitch not you I meant me kiss her"

just. one scene where Neil barges into a room (as he does) but the actor underestimates the set so when he throws the door open it quickly rebounds to smack him, full-body..as the door slowly swings back open you can see him crumpled on the floor in the doorway clutching his elbow

Andrew and Neil's actors are about to do a scene and suddenly you hear a loud "pucker up boyssss" in the background. it's from Allison's actress (who didn't even need to be on set that day) and Neil's actor glances over at her, grins and goes "what are you even doing here. get out. leave" and she just sits in his production chair and settles in to watch

if you look closely you can find a stray exy ball here and there in places where they shouldn't be. that's because most of the cast (but especially Matt, Kevin and Renee's actors) like to nick exy balls from the set of the court and toss them around in between takes..and apparently leave them all over the place

not a blooper but. the cast went through a lot of intimacy training before they started filming (for both like aggressive and soft intimacy) and they're all naturally very close as well, so whenever they shoot a scene where one of them has to pretend to hurt another (physically/emotionally/etc) they always make sure to check in with them in between takes and once they've finished to make sure they're okay

they're shooting on set of the lounge a scene that's supposed to be right before afternoon practice and at one point Coach's actor tells Aaron to get the cart of racquets (i forgot what it's called in the books) and so Aaron's actor gets up and moves out of frame while Coach's actor keeps talking. and all of a sudden there's this earth shattering crash that makes everyone flinch HARD. and then you hear Aaron's actor (who literally was only supposed to take the cart and roll it across the room in the background of the shot) say "i am SO sorry" in the most horrified whisper

Coach's actor eating shit while walking off the bus

Kevin's and Andrew's actors need to do a bit in a scene where they turn their heads at the same time to look very intensely at each other (as per Kandrew) and they simply cannot do it without cracking up it's terrible

Andrew and Neil's actors are on the rooftop and they're supposed to be staring at each other, all intense. but then there's this huge, awkward, horrifying sound from somewhere below and at first it looks like they'll be able to stay professional and just ignore it. but then Neil's actor bows his head to his shoulder and puts his fist to his mouth to try to contain himself and they have to restart ("sorry sorry. but just...did something just..die?")

Kevin and Neil's actors have to get all up in each other's faces but then, practically nose to nose, Neil's actor goes "i don't remember my line" "mhm" "you have lovely eyes" "thanks mate" "we should start over" "let's." ..THEN they back down

Dan's actress pointing her exy stick at the camera "hi I'm Captain Dan Wilds and YOU [wink] are watching Disney channel" *does very shitty drawing of the Disney logo*

Coach's actor forgets which of the Foxes he's supposed to be addressing so he just says "you little shits" and it ends up sticking throughout the whole series because it's so in character

they have to restart the scene where all the Foxes first meet so many times that by the twentieth time Seth's actor goes "I'm fucking concerned-" Nicky's actor jumps in with "yeah sweetie we know"

and cut

Fell into a rabbit hole of rewatching Age of Calamity cutscenes (since I don't have the game) and

this game is so needlessly dramatic

"it whaaaat" - Revali

Robbie is an icon and there needs to be more of him

the DLC memory scenes are the best cutscenes in the game

Terrako singing ballad of the goddess 😭😭😭

Baby Zelda is so cute

Terrako is OP

I love how the entire game starts all dramatic and then there's just E G G

Also the opening credits of the game imply that the tapestry is about the Calamity where BOTW Link failed??? Either that or Terrako existed at the same time as the OG Calamity which works for me!

Terrako is the main character prove me wrong

Baby Sidon is too pure for this world

I like how Zelda narrates the game. You could almost see it like she's narrating it to her kids or something and I think that's really cute

Sidon's adult voice actor is so over-the-top lolll

I love Daruk so much

"None of this makes any sense" No Daruk it does not

I love Riju's voice actor

I love how Patricia gets her own name tag too

This game varies between incredibly dark to incredibly funny/corny and I love it

Astor my beloved your laugh is terrifying

Khoga is an icon too "you're my best lackey!!!"

Mipha is so tinyyyy

Urbosa is such a mom I love her so much

Hell yeah Vah Ruta flood Hyrule Field!!!

We need more evil magicians in Legend of Zelda. They're all so iconic

Rhoam is actually pretty likeable at the end of the game ngl

Baby Sidon is so so so tinyyyyyy 😭😭😭😭😭

Yunobo's eyes are so funny

Tulin is a sweetheart and not even Revali can escape his cuteness

Khoga's hair is so hard he can't put the thunder helm on oh oy goddd that's hilarious 😂😂😂

Urbosa, Rhoam, and Zelda's mom had to have been a threesome

I didn't need Khoga to be such a dad but here he is... best dad for the best lackey

Astor has followers??? Like he's a cult leader??? *stores that information away for later* Well to be fair they kinda died in the only scene they were in lol

I can tell Robbie's voice actor had a blast doing this

Also this game lowkey reads like a Kingdom Hearts game lol So much random, corny goodness is here and I love it

went through your chores choreman tag, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities. in the past, I mostly focused on hilson and huddy and whatever wilson and cuddy are called but never the fellows. you have correct opinions on valewis and middle-aged men being not normal about each other, so you are definitely right about choreman. tell me more about choreman, please, bc your taste? impeccable.

hi! so first of all

you have correct opinions on valewis and middle-aged men being not normal about each other

is the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, thank you :')

ok coming round to your ask — i feel you because one my first watch i didn't care abt choreman much, all my focus was on hilson and huddy as well. hell, i didn't even like chase till midway through s3 lol even though foreman was my favorite since episode 1.

second watch though, is usually when i notice the smaller details, and the funny thing about choreman is that i am damn sure all of it is entirely unintended. which is fine! the writers paid more attention to hilson/huddy, chameron got some attention (though not a lot), and then foreteen became a thing too. but if you're paying attention only to chase and foreman, it's a RIDE. which i am putting under a readmore to be considerate lol

so season 1 starts off with foreman being the newest member of the team. it's clear they get on fine in the beginning — we see them having lunches together, chase answers foreman's questions about house's insanity, etc. but by the time the vogler arc starts, it becomes clear that foreman, in all his judgy glory, doesn't actually hold a very high opinion of chase; he obviously thinks chase is a spoiled selfish nepo baby who doesn't care about his job. when vogler wants them to fire someone, foreman's vote is for chase. and then he's sort of proven right when chase goes behind their backs to help vogler. from that point onwards the lunches together and jokes become snark and derision, and it's obvious they're not friends.

season 2 is more of the same, pretty much — until euphoria. i can't emphasize enough how meaningful that moment is, with chase and foreman's dad in the chapel. it's really such a small moment, especially at first glance. foreman's dad doesn't know how to talk to him; he's religious, he's got a spiritual perspective on everything (including his wife's alzheimer's) and foreman doesn't. on top of that foreman clearly doesn't visit his family much. he's not very religious, and this seems to be a bone of contention between them. it's clear rodney cares about his son a lot; he just doesn't quite know how to express it. he finds chase in the chapel (as we know from s1, chase is religious too, to put it simply). chase, who has recently lost his own father, who has been watching rodney do his best with his son while his own dad never bothered, has very simple advice. "tell him you love him." barebones, straightforward, and that's exactly what rodney does. when foreman is at his worst, his father holds his hand and says "i don't want to miss you" and that is what gets through to foreman. and it's such a little moment! but it means a lot for foreman and his dad, and it goes a long way to show that chase does understand foreman better than anyone thinks he does.

season 3. things begin to change. it turns out chase is working in the NICU as well, because apparently his shithead of a dad cut him out of his will for reasons we never find out. the tritter arc happens. tritter plays chase, and everyone easily accuses him of betraying them. unsurprising due to the events of s1 but sad because it's obvious chase has changed. chase's frustration and exhaustion at being singled out is clearly visible. none of them are friends, but chase especially tends to be singled out; he's the butt of most of house's jokes, cameron finds her daddy issues jabs hilarious, and foreman mostly ignores him. chase and cameron start an fwb arrangement. foreman loses a patient and begins considering leaving ppth. house sabotages him. chase, who understands people better than anyone thinks he does, figures it out. tries to talk about it with foreman, except foreman — who is ashamed — cuts him off and tells him "i don't like you. i never have, and i never will" which obviously takes chase aback. he refuses to write foreman a recommendation letter. house bullies foreman more than usual. chase stands up for him and gets himself fired for the trouble. foreman leaves. cameron quits.

season 4. foreman has no choice but to return to ppth. surprise, chase and cameron never left either. initially foreman seems annoyed to see chase, especially since chase is betting against him, but chase doesn't give a fuck and continues hanging around foreman. foreman sort of lets it happen because sometimes in life you just have to pick your battles and he's already dealing with house and the fellowship hunger games. the infamous exchange between house and wilson happens ("foreman seems protected. maybe he's gay." "does he become an idiot around chase?") which honestly sums up their entire relationship development pretty well. but we'll get to that. s4 is quite short due to the writer's strike that was going on at the time, and ends with a whopper of a double episode that still makes me cry like a little bitch. at the very end, when everyone is dealing with the aftermath of amber's death, we see foreman sitting alone in a diner booth — until someone places a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. he looks up, smiles, and moves aside to make place. it's chase. he and cameron join foreman for dinner. just like old times, eh?

but something's changed.

season 5. house and wilson are temporarily broken up, which house deals with very normally. as in he hires a PI to stalk wilson and also be his substitute bff. the PI digs up dirt on everyone — except foreman, who is squeaky clean. this should be a good thing. to foreman, it is not. everyone calls him boring so he goes off to find chase like AM I BORING???? and chase is like. um. yeah? though you're not so much boring as intensely repressed. then again you do have a tattoo so what do i know. foreman's rationale for asking chase is that chase doesn't care about him enough to lie to him. still, Means Something that when he wants an honest opinion, he goes to the one guy he claims not to like at all. foreman gets offered a clinical trial. thirteen is in it. she's on the placebo. foreman, who's begun dating her, is in a Dilemma. who does he go to for advice first? you guessed it; the guy he claims he'll never like. they have lunch together, and chase tells him not to be an idiot. foreman, establishing a precedent he will continue to act upon for the rest of the show, is an idiot. more stuff happens which i will not elaborate upon. suffice to say they're clearly friends now, despite whatever foreman says because, as established, he's an idiot. also, many scenes of chase and foreman having lunch together. as people that hate each other do.

chase gets engaged with great difficulty and a very Healthy ignorance of the dynamics of his own relationship. foreman "kidnaps" him and gets drunk at his bachelor party, chase gets drunk too, and foreman wraps his arms around him from behind and convinces him to have one more shot. chase is holding a stuffed kangaroo and leaning into foreman. it's all very ... you know. colleagues. yes. then chase licks a stripper and goes into anaphylactic shock, because that's just how his life is. when chase is being wheeled into the hospital, he begins to tell cameron about the party, and foreman, who claims not to give a shit about him, quickly puts his oxygen mask up to shut him up and save him from cameron's wrath. fun times. s5 failmarriage bachelor party you will always be famous.

and then. whoo boy. season 6. s6 my absolute beloved. chase kills a genocidal dictator. or, if we're being pedantic, commits actions that directly lead to his painful death. foreman finds out, confronts him. he's the head of department because house doesn't want to be. this is a high profile case. it's his ass on the line. chase tells him why he did what he did, and asks that if foreman wants to call the cops, at least let him know so he can tell cameron first. foreman considers this, goes "naw" and, acting upon the previously established precedent, covers up the murder. in s5 he was at risk of losing his license; here he's straight up at risk of jail. it's all gucci though. friendly reminder of his insistence he doesn't give a fuck about chase. anyway. chase suffers from obvious ptsd and confides in foreman as they examine some dude's long decomposed remains. foreman covers for him when cameron begins getting suspicious. chase tells cameron and she, while previously a-ok with murdering the dictator, is now all GASP. HOW DARE. HOUSE HAS CORRUPTED YOU. DIVORCE! DIVORCE FOR YOU FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS! chase is understandably upset. foreman is like "i get you dude i just had a breakup too ://" and chase is like be SO for real right now. s6 goes on; chase fits in well with 13 and taub, and it's clear this team is actually friends. including foreman and chase.

also. the karaoke scene. wilson pays house's team to take him out with them so he can stop thirdwheeling him and sam. everyone does so individually; chase and foreman do it as a pair. foreman even negotiates a higher fee; presumably to split with chase. they do karaoke together. looks very much like house is thirdwheeling yet another couple. they have fun, though.

season 7 is the season of the famed chastity belt episode. episode 1 itself starts off with shenanigans, as these two along with taub and 13 try to acquire a neurosurgeon. cuddy wants them to hire a female doc to replace 13. chase hires a hot woman whose resume he fundamentally misunderstands. foreman bullies her because he's mad house didn't ask him. chase is like "can you like, not?" and foreman is like. "shit. you right. ok, i will not" and sticks up for her. doesn't matter, she gets fired anyway. the takeaway is that when foreman is power tripping and chase calls him out, he actually listens. as in, pays attention and values chase's opinion and then corrects himself based on it. they've come a long way. they have a lot of fun moments, like playing rock-paper-scissors to see who has to babysit masters; chase being the world's worst wingman to foreman at a wedding; chase whining to foreman that he didn't get put on a billboard and foreman calling him a pretty boy and a swimsuit model. as one does.

stuff happens. huddy break up. 13 comes back. she's real sad because her honestly? her life kinda sucks i can't lie. masters leaves. they get a patient who won a lottery. chase and foreman get into a discussion where chase is like "well you're worried what it means for the hospital that cuddy's mom is suing house and cuddy, so obviously this means you're repressed as fuck." foreman is like "you're HORNY" and chase is like "am not! i am Going To Wait For True Love now." it's a bet. chase has to try to get a rise out of foreman. no one knows what's at stake here, since they don't discuss money, favors, or anything else changing hands. foreman does say, out loud, in front of God and house and country, that if he wins he gets to put chase in a chastity belt. no one is fazed by this. no one is weirded out by this. no one finds it strange. probably it's a given to them all that foreman constantly wants to dom chase. he does it enough in the workplace anyway. nothing new there.

(they both lose the bet, by the way.)

more stuff happens. huddy break up some more. house gives her living room a nonconsensual renovation. house becomes a temporary part of the US prison industrial complex.

season 8 starts off with many changes — foreman is now dean of medicine, and there's no diagnostic department. taub has fucked off to new york, and chase is off surfing somewhere. 13 has found herself a girlfriend. good for her! but then chase and taub come back. two new fellows join the team. foreman tries to boss house around. it goes as well as you'd expect. chase tells him off for being too restrictive and bureaucratic now. foreman is like "shit, you right" and lets them do whatever they want to the patient. chase gets the right diagnosis. the day is saved. this is their first case back.

more little moments. chase and foreman hang out at taub's house while foreman ruminates on the ethics of his relationship. chase plays peekaboo with babies while taub stews in his own jealousy. it's cute, honestly.

then chase gets stabbed, and foreman, for lack of a better word, panics a little. in that he literally can't figure out whose fault this is, so the obvious solution is to get someone else to make that call. he calls in his old mentor. he knows that if it's his fault, he will be fired. he blames himself a bit, wondering if he should've reined house in more. it's ruled to be nobody's fault. chase, reacting in a Normal and healthy manner, starts sleeping around again, then falls in intense Like with a nun. foreman disapproves. the nun ditches him after a religious experience on the surgical table. chase is sad until house yells some common sense into him, and he returns to the team. they get a case with a little girl. chase finds out the little girl's mum is experimenting on her. next scene is literally foreman interrogating the mum while chase stands behind him like they're some medical crime fighting duo. that'd be a fun spin off actually.

treiber, a pathologist who's got beef with chase, gets sick. house and wilson have fucked off to have a grand adventure. everyone panics. foreman tells chase to stop fucking up the case, but also doesn't take him off it. chase puts his entire pussy into solving the case, and decides to leave the team. foreman tells him "about time", indicating he's thought for quite a while that chase has outgrown the department, and is capable of running his own. they hug while a soft romantic song plays in the background. their scenes are cut with those of house and wilson. not sure who the romantic song applies to; probably both pairings if the lyrics are any indication. listen to it here.

more stuff happens. house fakes his death to drive off into the sunset with wilson. foreman is like, i know JUST the guy to replace him!! and hires chase back, the natural conclusion to chase's arc as a doctor. this is a job that foreman has failed at before, and he is trusting it to chase. they've come SUCH a long way. by the end of the show, not only do they respect each other immensely as colleagues, they are close friends who give each other's opinions a lot of weight, and also they are literally parallels to house/cuddy by the end.

also foreman wants to put chase in a chastity belt. there's that, too. may he one day realize his dream. amen.

Hello, I hope you don't mind me asking (and sorry if you've answered this before), but how did you get that 80's anime art effect on your summer Amy and Rouge? Did you use any specific brushes or textures? They both look so amazing!

I dont mind at all! I got the gist of it from this video, but I'll show exactly how I did it under the cut! And thank ya <333

First off, here's the base flats and lineart, no effects or anything

To start the effect, I added a multiply layer at 35% with a soft yellow color as a clipping layer over the flat color layers

Next, I shaded it on a normal layer so I could pick all the shading colors myself and added lighting with a light yellow color on a 30% add layer. You can choose the shading/lighting colors yourself or use layer effects like multiply or add, its just personal preference!

An extra detail I added was changing the layer effect on the shading layer from nothing to a 3px watercolor edge, that gives the shading the neat lines on the edges. I think this is a firealpaca specific setting tho

Next, I added a 35% static overlay on top of all the color layers to give the picture its texture. Some programs have noise filters built in, but I like to just google static overlay and copy paste it in lol

The next step is to copy and paste the lineart, drag it underneath the crisp lineart, and apply a gaussian blur filter to it at about 3-4. You also might wanna tone down the opacity

Then I put ALL the layers into a folder, and put a 15% opacity normal layer over it with a bright yellow to warm it up to make it give it more summery vibes, but also to reduce the contrast between the lineart and colors. I think that rly helps give it the retro anime vibes

Last step! Save the image as a png or make a folder containing all the layers and apply a chromatic abberation filter to it

And thats everything!

Hi again, Miru! I need your opinion on something as an old onceling. Do you think there's still room for new oncelings to do an analysis of something in the movie, or maybe interviews, or maybe the fandom itself? Is it possible to find a way to output new content? I look through archives and it honestly feels like the entire movie has already been picked apart way back in 2012 - 2014. Your thoughts?

As we are all unique individuals who have gone through different experiences in our lives and no experience is the same, yes there can always be some new perspective that someone can bestow through their watch of the movie.

For example, in 2020, 8 years after the fandom began, @floooopafloooopa made several analyses on aspects of the movie that I personally had never seen anyone else delve into, and I was really impressed by them. My favourites include the one comparing Once-ler and Thneedville to Disney and EPCOT: [link] and of course the 85 page analysis comparing Once-ler to the Beatles and other popular people and aesthetics of the 60s and 70s: [link]

And another example, just recently I happened to revisit The Conservative Lorax video on YouTube from 2012: [link] and although I know many youtube comments are the most worthless comments in the world, I still found some interesting perspectives from people in the comments even in the past year, talking about capitalism. Here's a topic that really stayed with me: One person said "a real capitalist would replant to make a profit" and another said "a true capitalist would farm the trees instead of cutting them all down" to which others replied:

These comments were all made only within the last 3 years. I doubt these people have even seen the 2012 movie.

So now if you take these ideas and think about our dear Oncie...yes, he is still a dumbass for not thinking about maintaining his resources and then being shocked that he ran out of trees, but there are evidently people out there who would've instead called him dumb for not planning to immediately move on to capitalize on the next big thing, like air. Some people would've agreed that short term profits are the smart move! This, or the Once-ler should've moved on to synthetic fibres to replicate Thneeds, or that he should've planted GMO trees that grew really fast, patent them, then also patent the air they produce (and then we wouldn't need O'hare anymore). But we all know what genetically modifying truffula trees can cause... 🧟 haha. So the 1st comment up there has a point - the story really is more of a metaphor for respecting nature rather than trying to say something specific about business decisions.

And look! I just gathered and put together a mini analysis on the subject of "sustaining your resources vs how far the Once-ler actually could have gone in the other direction". In 2023! So yes, I believe there's room for more analyses.

Not to mention that concept art for the 2012 movie keeps gradually being shared over the years well beyond 2014: [link] I pretty much consider it new source content which can then spark new analyses, as well.

As for anaylses on the fandom itself...I would just advise to be careful and respectful if you're wanting to talk about anything from the past that you weren't a part of (having been in the fandom for only a month in 2012 doesn't count either, iykyk), since many past oncelings are still around even if they're not active in the fandom anymore, and it hurts to get misrepresented.

I'm feeling unhinged today so here we go

Tom Bombadil theory, but this one's a bit out there, if I say so myself. So basically Tom Bombadil is Melkor.

Yeah. Let me explain:

We know Melkor poured himself into Arda

We know that in terms of health, morality and happiness, he just became worse

When you think about it, Arda before the coming of Elves was creepy but beautiful. But later, as he became worse, the lands around his fortresses became darker and more barren, like his soul.

This is the serious bit. Now for the funny-ish bit:

So when Melkor was tossed into the Void, the parts of him that were bad and evil and whatever bled into the earth started corrupting everyone else, blah blah. But whatever was 'good' in him — his urge for creation, his desire to make things and all that — coalesced into a form of him that was ONLY the good things.

And THAT'S what Tom Bombadil is. He's all the good, kind, sweet things about Melkor that could never actually exist because of whatever reasons all rolled into one. He sings to all the dark and old and wild things and tells them to sleep, and they listen because they know that there was a part of him that was their lord. He knows how to quiet them because he doesn't hate them. He says he was there before the Dark Lord came from Outside (before he got much too twisted). He calls himself the 'Eldest' (which he is).

As for Goldberry?? She calls herself 'river-daughter'. She could be a Maia of Ulmo, I guess? Or she could be a Valie of the water, since there seem to be two for each thing (I like to connect Melkor to sorrow/grief as well along with Nienna). So she could be a Valie that represents the youth/vivacity of water, while Ulmo is the more subtle, steady element of water.

You know what, yes. To summarise: Tom Bombadil is everything good about Melkor rolled up into one, and Goldberry is the Valie who thematically goes with Ulmo. She came with the intention of watching over Melkor-Bombadil, but they fell in love and now live a peaceful, domestic life free of evil. Dagor Dagorath will basically be when Tom Bombadil turns evil, which is probably never.

Something I've just come to realize about the show version of Interview with the Vampire and its framing device is how much it connects to that confessional scene at the beginning.

Because in a very odd way, that's what this is: not solely an interview, but Louis' confession of his sins, writ large for the world to see.

The thing is: in Catholicism, confessions are private, between you and the priest. No one is supposed to listen in. Unless you are planning to harm someone, the priest is never supposed to tell anyone what you've said. You truthfully say what you've done, and, at the end, the priest is supposed to give you a penance to perform that lets you repent.

Louis tries to confess back in 1910. He tells the priest everything honestly, about his family and his work and his drinking, and he...never gets any penance. He doesn't get any method for repenting, because Lestat kills the priest. Whatever method he would have received to forgive himself for drinking and pimping and hiding, it doesn't arrive, because the priest is dead and unable to give it.

And over the next hundred years, those sins get so much worse than anything he did while alive.

In a weird way, I think he's still trying to chase that. He never got penance and he wants it. Louis wants to say everything that he's done and get rid of all the guilt he feels in a way that satisfies the Catholic side he was raised with.

Except...it's an inverse of how Catholic confessions are supposed to work. For starters, he's lying, to himself and to Daniel, which Daniel calls out repeatedly. He has Armand listening in, providing commentary and stopping him at points. And he wants to broadcast it to the world at large, so that everyone can hear exactly what he's done.

Which provides him a very brutal form of penance, which Armand himself calls out: suicide, by way of vampiric revenge.

To sum up: I don't think Daniel's wrong to say that Louis is using him like a whore paid to hear him talk. But I also think that, to some extent, Louis is trying to use him as the priest who will give him a way to forgiveness.

Except it's wrong. Because he's not really confessing to everything he's done. And Daniel knows that.

girl spill-

OKAY SO….to start off i love listening to podcasts and i listen to quite a few with f1 journalists who have some insight into daniel, red bull and the whole vcarb situation.

and based on what i’ve heard, the visa/cash-app deal is really big within red bull. specifically because not only have they already had an existing deal with red bull that’s worth a LOT, they are also the title sponsor of the vcarb team. and with the whole “RB” fiasco thing (not being named racing bulls or having any other sort of team name besides the title sponsors) f1 is essentially forced to call them “visa-cash app RB” or whatever. so they obviously have a LOT riding on this deal. plus with everyone roasting them about this team name (let’s be honest, rightfully so) they have a LOT banking on them being good.

so let’s get to the daniel ricciardo part which in my opinion is very essential to this deal. daniel is arguably one of, if not the most marketable driver on the grid. he is not only talented and well known but he’s also a veteran driver who knows what he’s doing, which is something that this new team, in a transition period desperately needs. and even if this team name is shit, they can market daniel (and yuki too) to people and be like “hey this is what we bring to the table.”

another thing too is that the vcarb team is going to have a much closer relationship to red bull than they’ve ever had in years past. they’re moving their factory to milton keynes. they’re utilizing as many parts from red bull that they can within the regulations. they want to be competitive this year, and their whole goal is to get rid of this junior team mentality that everyone seems to have about them. so what better way to do that then to have one of the most recognizable and veteran drivers on the grid be on your team and get you to where you wanna be.

we all know that alpha tauri made huge improvements last year and were decently competitive in the last few races. and i think having both daniel and yuki on the team had a huge impact on that. so if i’m totally honest i think daniel’s performance, his influence and his expertise within the team is a huge reason why this deal even happened in the first place. i don’t see visa/cash-app (both huge american based companies) investing heavily into f1 like they are, if daniel wasn’t a part of the deal.

also this is just my opinion but if vcarb or whatever they’re gonna be called is actually competitive, and performing well (getting podiums, being at the front of the pack) i’d love to see daniel stay and be at his own team. as much as i think we love to talk about the red bull seat, we all know that daniel is never going to be the priority while max is still there. and honestly? just seeing daniel being happy with racing again is the whole reason i’m here, and i actually feel like the vcarb/rb/alpha tauri team (whatever we’re calling it) could be REALLY good for him.

p.s. - this is all dependent on if vcarb is actually competitive too. if they’re shit and daniel is outperforming that car and yuki then 100% i think get him into that red bull seat because he deserves it. and also who’s to say in 2025 he couldn’t move up to the red bull seat too with perez maybe being gone. that’s also a huge possibility too. and i wouldn’t be shocked if that happened. however, i highly, highly doubt it will happen this year, just based on the current situation.

Ooo, do elaborate on botw sucks!! As someone who's never played but had friends hound me to play for years, I'm curious to hear the other side of it

honestly i don't have a good or like well-thought-out way of putting it which means people will have me drawn and quartered for this. but people like talk about how the Exploration Is Good but i found in my experience i'd walk around an empty field with no music playing bored out of my skull to find a shrine which had a basic puzzle, or a little camp full of a handful of the same few enemies and it just. failed to grab me. i was like. unable to comprehend how anybody got deep enough into the game to see things like divine beasts or whatever which i'm sure are actually cool because they are more carefully crafted set pieces. because the game just. is an extremely large field of mostly the same few things over and over. playing breath of the wild, to me, feels like grinding for loot drops in an rpg or something, except instead of like, even engaging with combat systems or having to optimize your grinding strategy as a little puzzle, the thing that slows you down is completely empty space, fields full of grass and nothing else. it's sinfully boring idk how anyone could like it. every time i thought i had intuited something cool like blowing up a wooden crate next to a bokoblin camp to get at their stash of valuable materials i would be rewarded with, like, an apple and a mushroom. and it's like. okay this is nothing. every weapon feels like total ass to use i nthe beginning and you have hardly any inventory space to begin with, you have to upgrade your inventory space. to me this doesn't feel like an interesting constraint that makes you play creatively and be resourceful it just made it feel like i was cycling out shitass toothpick for shitass toothpick to poke at the same few enemies with. i can sort of understand the idea that as you make your way to a larger landmark you stumble upon interesting things that distract you, i think that's a cool design philosophy but i don't think botw pulls it off because none of the distractions are *interesting.* i'll do a shrine because the rewards are too necessary to pass up, not because i really care about the puzzle. and maybe it's just not for me. that's fine. but. eugh.

My Chapter 22 Commentary

“We aren’t going on a date!” “Yes, we are!” The beautiful boys that you are. I love the start to this chapter, their combined prettiness hit me like a truck ngl. It was also such an odd feeling seeing Kagiura’s hair still left in the same position as we last saw it months ago. Feelin like we’re on earth while Kagihira are on the Miller planet in Interstellar, time speeding by for us but inching ever so slowly for them. Anyway, they’re adorable here. And Kagiura is getting prettier by every chapter.

I love how much bolder Kagiura is now too; probably emboldened by Hirano’s initiative in choosing the location of the 10 seconds last chapter. And Hirano. Hirano, once again, saying no to something with Kagiura, then realizing he’s actually at least somewhat okay with it (if not more).

Chapter 22: Slowly but Surely. The Gap Between Givers and Takers Like everyone else, I’m soooo encouraged by the name of this chapter. Like. This is really happening huh. Things are really changing for Hirano in real-time, and he’s becoming very incrementally more aware of it. And the tagline is so ooogh… is it referring to the palpable difference felt when you are the giver of touch (by extension, affection, and by extension, love), is it referring to the gap slowly and ultimately diminishing to the point that there is no longer a difference felt whether one is the giver or taker and the effect felt is the same no matter what? Is it referring to the widening discrepancy between our boundless acquisition of our planet’s resources and what our poor earth is physically capable of supplying us with hence sending us further past the point of no-return for ecological sustainability? Only sensei has the true answers.

“We’re just going shopping! No one calls that a ‘date’!” “People go on shopping dates all the time!” Kagiura continuing to fight the good fight. He’s right, Hirano. I mean if even uniform dates exist, surely anything can be a date…

“How long?” “It’s a secret. But I’ll tell you… Once you fall in love with me.” Honestly, I don’t really know specifically, but I feel like the fact that sensei did a throwback to Hirano wondering how long Kagiura’d been in love with him, is more significant/relevant to the future storyline than we think right now…  

Other than, you know, Kagiura cranking up his rizz to MAXIMUM DRIVE Niibashi putting distance between him and Kagiura in front of Hirano is so funny. Even funnier is Kagiura’s adorable little “Niibashi’s mad at me because I’m missing a button :D” happy-go-lucky air here while he grins ear to ear. I also love the different ways both Niibashi and Hirano get angry around Kagiura hahah. Kagiura really is the perfect easygoing friend for that kind of personality. Still thinking about somebody pointing out the fact that Kagiura’s button was shown missing since the chapter cover for #20…

“Shall we skip practice today? I feel bad monopolizing you every day.” Please monopolize him until the end of time. Niibashi just quietly simmering in the background like my dinner. Hirano looking up at Kagiura in such a cute little way while holding the ends of his sweater, why the frick does this give me such domestic vibes.. Ha ha it reminds me of Kagiura holding Hirano’s ring folder when he was fixing it up in the nurs e ‘ s  o f  f  i     c     e         .            .                    .

I’m sorry I am now looking at the symbolism for paper cranes (the ones in the background on the table behind Niibashi calling Kagiura a slob, and well, it’s not much, it’s just stuff like honor, good luck/fortune (hmm), loyalty and longevity (hmmmmm)… Slowly but surely…

Sewing privileges transferred. Niibashi’s organs eroding from the inside-out from seeing (and probably simultaneously remembering everything Kagiura’s told him Hirano has done/said) every speck of affection dripping out from every crevice on Hirano’s gay little face and body.

“There’s nothing I can’t do if I put my mind to it.” Including realizing your growing romantic feelings for Kagiura, right? Man the way Hirano keeps poking/hurting himself in the process of trying to fix Kagiura’s button/make up for wrecking it himself… makes me emo how he doesn’t mind getting hurt if it’s all for Kagiura’s sake aghhhh byeeeee… Love all the fond smiles Kagiura gives when Hirano says something cool, gahhhh… they love each other so much… I cant handle them…. “Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn even with something like this?!” “I’m just messing with you.” Aaaand there’s his first smile of the chapter, followed by the next one 6 pages later (and one of my favourite panels of Kagihira together ;___; laughing together and relishing purely just being with the other….

Can’t remember if someone said this already, but I don’t know if it’s significant here, them both being on one side of the window frame’s shadow (the ‘centre line’ (Romance: don’t cross the line)). I mean it’d make sense I guess, since what Kagiura initiated wasn’t super romantic relatively speaking, albeit still a very affectionate gesture. Either way though- no lines were crossed, for sure.

Bony shoulder… hard thigh from the lap pillow… the physical awareness of each others’ bodies…. the way Kagiura rubs his head on it like he’s a cat on a scratching post… I digress. Love how sensei does lighting in her manga. The shadow that separates part of Hirano from Kagiura on the page after Kagiura told him it makes his heart race. Oooh…

...It doesn’t make mine race, though. But… It’s still not bad at all. What if I died. No but for real, this hurtssss because Hirano’s thinking to himself how he doesn’t physiologically feel the same as Kagiura, but he still enjoys the contact. He still likes touching it. Even if I’m not in love with you the way you are with me, I still want to be with you Kagi-kun.

I also want to mention something. I’ve kind of picked up this little.. thing.. of counting the panels of their ten second touching as if each panel is a second. Now, I’m too lazy to look through right now but there was at least one time when it equated to about 10 panels, 10 seconds, right? Well here, I’m counting 14 panels of his head being on Hirano’s shoulder. I was talking with friends about this and we were so unanimous about the fact that this was *not* 10 seconds long. Okay, it could’ve been, but c’mon, between all their talking, do you reallyyyy think Kagiura was fully counting the whole time. Be for real

Oh… Was that 10 seconds already? Back to the lighting. MAN. So good. The shadow on both the boys as Kagiura removes the weight of his head from Hirano’s shoulder. I hope his shoulder felt lighter. I hope it felt wrong to feel so light. Just like when Kagiura removed his arms from around Hirano after the hug and Hirano shivered a little. I hope each and every continued loss of weight and warmth is an accumulated strip torn off of Hirano’s psyche, and I hope he reaches the point where he is just a building torn to shreds whose only hope for reconstruction is the handyman responsible for the teardown in the first place.

God I just noticed Kagiura’s made that smiling while looking down face before, in chp 17, and Hirano just watches him so closely… but that wasn’t after touching. However in chp15 it was after their first 10 sec touching, but he wasn’t smiling, he looked blushily anguished, and Hirano was observing him in the panel right before it, top left, just as he is here…

Oh Hirano…bold of you to think Kagiura’s only been teaching you basketball…

It’s so crazy how Miyano dispels all this manga-obtained BL wisdom and yet does not have the intuition to put 2 and 2 together from what is coming out of Hirano’s mouth. It’s okay, not everyone can be Tashiro/Hanzawa…

Also, I feel like everyone’s processed it long enough that it’s just normal now, but Hirano admitting his heart raced during the hug and it not being mentioned at all (not even in motherfreaking SFX) up until this point is insane. It’s insanity. What other finer details are being kept under wraps til much later? Anyway, so I guess Hirano’s parents aren’t the hugging type ;_;  

Love the Hiramiya banter. And Hirano’s chibi face in the, “Yeah, right???” panel. Aaaand cue Exhibit #2(?) of Hirano’s selective hearing in full display. So frustrating yet funny. Miyano literally giving out the secrets to the universe FOR FREE and Hirano’s out here like “man I really need the secrets of the universe, whatever shall I do”

I mean, personally, I don’t think we can know for sure yet if his heart was beating hard during the hug from surprise or from ~something else~, until they, like, schedule in a hug or something. Pencil it into their busy schedules in advance and know it’s coming and be fully prepared for it only for his heart to start racing again despite the precognition and become totally ruined inside and out, only then will I sleep soundly at night-

And then the infamous: When he’s around…it’s so much easier to focus. God I wish I could see him 顔が見てえ…Kao ga mitē…I want to see his face…. instant ruination. thrown asunder further into uncertainty. I’ve definitely had crushes where my infatuation developed while at a distance, pondering how much I think of them, and then leading to further physical reactions within their proximity. I feel… good things will come of this date. Though it’d be nice if Kagiura hugged Hirano during the date, to further nail down Miyano’s quote of how much they wanted to see the person, and then getting embraced after.

Ahhh… Hirano pissed off, then receiving Kagi’s text and instantly relaxing and smiling…and regaining the focus to study. Not to mention Hirano adding a date-like activity to their very non-date date. And calling it “not a date, but...”

I’m going to throw them into the sun. /lovingly

https://www.tumblr.com/petit-papillion/742595050403446784?source=share

Its sad that they didn't trust charles to be the leader of the project. Now they're talking about him learning like he was some rookie. He will be 28 when lewis arrive, in his seven season at f1. That's his prime

The story of an unexperienced charles learning by having a wdc teammate already happened in 2019. They decided to send the wdc away and supposedly were going to focus on charles as the new leader, but that never happened. And now they're selling this lewis move with the same story again, "a opportunity for charles" he will learn", as if time hasn't passed. Maybe it's because charles looks very boyish still so it's easy to sell the apprentice narrative.

Honesty I wouldn't be surprised if after 2028 max eventually decides to try ferrari, they will boot charles away without ever actually giving him the car to win and trusting him to lead the project.

Hi Anon! Respectfully, hard disagree. I don't think this is a matter of Charles being inexperienced/an apprentice, who needs someone to learn from. Charles is a very capable and accomplished driver himself. That doesn't mean there aren't still things he can learn from someone with many more years of driving experience (in a championship-winning car no less) than him. It would be the same if Alonso had joined the team. Fernando is a very cunning driver who has often used his seniority in driving experience to his advantage. To not see it as an opportunity to learn new or improve existing skills, would be foolish.

I think Ferrari also hopes Lewis' knowledge of how Mercedes operates as a team, comparing their car to the ones he drove for Merc, etc. will be beneficial to help the Ferrari team grow. There are many reasons for Ferrari to want Lewis on their team, that are not needing someone else to lead the project.

Time will tell whether I am right in my assumptions, but I truly believe that they are not discarding Charles as their hope for next WDC. They know that Charles is extremely well liked all around, he is a marketing dream, the tifosi worship the ground he walks on, and after everything he has been through (both in his personal life and with Ferrari), it would be a true fairy tale if he was the one to bring the championship home again at last.

As for Ferrari booting Charles out for Max... Not going to say "inconceivable", because stranger things have happened in F1, but I'd find it highly unlikely with the current people in place at Ferrari, and what I know about Max (which, granted, is not a lot). Let's not forget they were at risk of losing Charles after Silverstone, and they ended up replacing Binotto with Fred, who has a strong relationship with Charles (and Lewis for that matter). And then they gave Fred pretty much free rein to hire/fire as he saw fit to make the team stronger, (with some of the first people to go being those who did not appear to be supporting Charles as the #1 driver).

I do feel like there is a risk of Lewis getting credit for turning the team around when he arrives in 2025, when it is clear that Fred has been working hard to make changes since he started last year. And Charles's input is clearly more valued now. His feedback/suggestions being implemented in car development, strategy, etc. So I really hope that Ferrari can already show this year that they are making giant steps forward, and Charles can pocket a decent number of podiums/wins. Of course there's no telling how dominant the Newey/RB/Max combo will be this year. We may just be looking at another season ending with 23/24 wins by RBR...

In closing, here is a lovely quote from John Elkann at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix: "Charles is a very strong driver with enormous potential, and there is no reason why he cannot become world champion."

3, 26, 30 : )

Heeeeyyyy! :)) Thanks for the ask!

3. three songs you were recently obsessed with

Unsurprisingly, these are all Good-Omens coded. Because everything is now, lol. The first one is the Ineffable Divorce song I can't get out of my head. This is the "sad" version. :(

A little melancholy, but beautiful, and moving towards a happy ending.

This one's my hope for Season 3, with the boys snug in the South Downs Cottage.

26. three favourite non-English songs

This is just about impossible to decide, but I'm going with three upbeat ones I think you might like. Baba Yetu was composed as the title song for Civilization VI. It's lovely.

My ex introduced me to this band, but I really like them anyway, lol.

This one's not on Spotify, which is too bad, it's a great song. Very uplifting, as long as you don't know Finnish or go look up the lyrics. 😂

30. three songs you really want your followers to know (for reasons other than all those above)

This is a lovely song that's applicable to Aziraphale & Crowley, the Tenth Doctor & Rose, or just life sometimes.

If you're a geek or a nerd, and are/were a girl, you might need to hear this one. If you're a guy, you definitely do.

And last but not least, this was the first song I ever heard of Great Big Sea's, which was my favorite band for many years. Could also be Muriel's song for Crowley. Yes, everything is Good Omens, what about it? 😂

Escort Mission

Music loudly filled the streets that were so crowded that people had to push their way along them. Shops had their doors and windows thrown open and the scents of freshly baked goods, fish, cooking meat, alcohol, dirt, and sweat was everywhere.

Ares pushed his way through the crowd with Olli in tow. He wasn't quite sure where he was going but he was too hyped up by the activity to really care.

After entering the city the two boys had split away from the others to get 'a lay of the land' - or at least that was their excuse. In honesty, they were eager to try and find Jack and Erya and see the sights. It wasn't often they were around so many people so as far as they were concerned - earning money could come later.

Olli mentioned wanting to get a a better look at the castle so both boys had decided to make their way through the crowd towards it. But with the crowd as dense as it was it felt like that mission would be impossible and after starting to grow weary they decided to duck out of the crowd and down an adjoining alley to another busy, but less dense street.

"We'll never make it at this rate." Olli huffed as he crossed his arms and looked up at the Castle in the distance. Ares pressed his hand to his forehead to block out the sun and looked in the same direction, "Yeah... maybe we'll hafta wait until later?" "Yeah." Olli pouted, "But then what do we do until then?" "I dunno?" Ares replied with a shrug, "Guess we could go try 'get 'collect' some coins?" Olli looked slightly disgusted and shook his head, "No way! There's no one here worth stealin' from and I ain't about to nab a purse from just about anyone. I only wanna steal from the rich!" Ares had to grin and shrug his shoulders at that. He didn't really feel like fighting that. Instead he joked, "I didn't say 'steal' you Magikarp head!" "Hey! Yer the Magikarp head, not me!" Olli countered as he started walking again.

The two boys looked around for something to either earn them money or for something to occupy their time. It didn't take long though for Ares to spot something - it was a boy on the other side of the street. Given the way the boy was dressed and held himself, Ares could easily tell that he was outside his element and looked as lost as he did out of place.

Ares looked thoughtful for a second and then elbowed Olli in the ribs to get his attention, but before the other boy could protest he then crossed the street towards the stranger.

"Hey-" He called out to the other - but before he could add anything else Olli ran up and cut him off...

"Hey are ya lookin' fer somethin'?" Olli jogged across the street without even looking first... luckily there were no carriages or horses that dared try to make it through these streets during the festival so he didn't get run over.

@theonceandfuturesun

15- Write about your ship spending a lazy afternoon together. For Viveka and Gortash! Make that man RELAX DAMN IT

"Working hard?"

Gods damn it all. There went a screw. Gortash pulled the goggles over his forehead, wrinkled with annoyance.

"My dear, did it ever occur to you to knock before you enter someone's workshop?"

Viveka gasped in mock offense. "An assassin would never!"

He rolled his eyes and pulled the goggles over his eyes before he set to work on welding another piece.

Viveka seemed to have other things on her mind. He felt her cool hands on his bare skin, felt the ways the seams of her gloves caught on the hairs along shoulder.

"Do you ever do anything but work?" He could practically feel her smirk as she leaned down to kiss him on the nape of his neck. Gortash suppressed a shudder. "Though I suppose all work and no play makes for the perfect recipe in building a tyrant."

Alright, this was getting distracting. He felt her trail her kisses along his neck, his shoulders, down the middle of his back. He killed the fire in the torch and pulled his goggles away before he turned to her, ruby-red eyes caught round and wide in surprise.

"Some killer you turned out to be," he teased. "Are you always this irritating with your prey?"

"Just the ones I like." Her lips met his and he could not help but sigh into it. His body easily enveloped her into an embrace, the sounds of their kiss echoing off the metal hulls scattered about his workshop.

Cold hands snaked up his torso, resting on his chest, sharp nails gently scratching him here.

"Should I be honored that the very Chosen of Bhaal has come to darken my doorsteps this way?"

"Darken your doorsteps? Here I thought you delighted in my company."

"Truly? Have I given that impression?" But before she could protest he silenced her with another kiss.

"Well, you're half-dressed."

"More comfortable this way."

"Mm-hmm, and not something for my sake?"

"You flatter yourself too much, my dear."

"I am the spawn of a great and terrible Lord."

"So you keep reminding me."

She yelped playfully as he swept her into his arms, holding her tight against him. "Fine, troublemaker, since you can't seem to keep your hands to yourself."

"Oh boo hoo."

They busied themselves that way all afternoon, content to sate themselves in each other's bodies, long after the gold and red hues of the dying day flooded the workshop to make way for the evening's darkness. What he wouldn't give, he thought, to spend the rest of his days like this, like a god among men.

Finland is number one in Poland's Viral 50 💚. Slovenia is second by the way. And also Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Armenia, Moldova, France and Czechia are all trending above Sweden and fit in top15. Which I think kind of shows how middle of the road their song is (I'm not going to say it's bad, because Loreen is a good singer, but it really kind of goes is one ear and out the other without leaving a trace), and that people want something more memorable and crazy from Eurovision.

It is kind of interesting that after watching both semis and the grand finale, I was able to kind of accurately predict who would be a qualifier, but the finale voting was one big mystery to me 😅. Why didn't Slovenia, Austria and Czechia get more points? Why was Germany lower than Poland? What is even happening in the heads of the juries?

But Finland is definitely going to be remembered. And I think Swedish commentators know that, and it really bothers them it's your country that captivated people hearts, and they turn offensive out of some wounded pride.

This new made me really happy ❤ Not only that Cha Cha Cha is number one, but in general that Eurovision is so relevant nowadays that it is able to make the competing songs (other than the winner and the country’s own entry) go viral. Tattoo was ofc viral in many, many countries even before the contest which is really not surprising seeing how it embraces the pop hit pattern and is ridiculously catchy, but seeing non-English songs even higher really warms my heart.

There are always going to be surprising results, but the running order and competition in the same genre do have an effect. Obviously I do not have the answers, and this is speculation only.

Slovenia qualified and 78 points is not a bad result at all, considering they also got points from 14 different countries. The withdrawing of North Macedonia and Montenegro likely had an impact on their total score. Before the grand final Slovenia was 23rd in the odds which is in line with their result of 21st place. In my view Slovenia was since the beginning always more of a fan favourite than a real contender. I once read a take saying that only diaspora and fans vote in Eurovision, which is supported by the fact that Joker Out got their highest points in the final from Croatia, Serbia and Finland (got to support Käärijä’s boyfriend 🥰)

Austria was hurt by the running order in the grand final perhaps more than anyone. It has been shown that the running order doesn’t affect the juries as much as the televoters, perhaps because the juries are required to watch the whole show from the beginning to the end while the regular viewers might miss the first few songs. Juries did raise Austria to the 8th place which is once again a great result in my opinion, for a country that usually doesn’t enjoy that much of neighbour support. In general despite the country it is really hard to place higher than around 15th place when opening the grand final – Belgium came 10th in 2016 but was only 16th in the televote. Other reasons for Austria's low televote score might have been the quality difference between first and second semi final, and the voters all gathering to support Finland when it became clear they were the only ones who could challenge Sweden.

Czechia got their second ever top 10 result, second best result ever and best result since Mikolas Josef’s 6th place in 2018, so I wouldn’t be disappointed at all. Perhaps they suffered having to perform between Finland and Australia, which is something I expected could happen.

Germany is one of the Central European countries that cannot trust their neighbours to support them, as we have unfortunately seen many times. In general, succeeding with a rock/metal entry in Eurovision is very difficult and rare, although there are a couple of exception which I probably don’t even have to mention. In March I got this ask and made a prediction based on how well rock/heavy entries similar to Blood and Glitter usually have succeeded in Eurovision (21st-24th place), so I’m not that shocked by their result. Sad of course, but not surprised. (I expected UK be last, but I guess they got some support points for being the host). My guess is Germany also once again suffered from being a direct qualifier (not having the same bond with viewers as semi-finalists do) and competing against Australia and especially Finland, who have similar-ish target audience.

As for Poland I need to remind that they have a huge diaspora – their highest points came from Ukraine, Ireland, Lithuania and United Kingdom. Most people who knew and cared about the infamous NF result were Polish viewers themselves and Eurovision fans, and neither of those groups can give negative votes. To Blanka’s credit we must admit that the performance improved massively since the NF and Solo as a light and campy female pop didn’t really have any genre competition, and it isn’t as divisive as metal or heavy rock is.

Juries are asked to focus their vote on 4 main sets of criteria: Vocal capacity of the artist(s) Performance on stage Composition and originality of the song Overall impression of the act

Regardless of how angry I am of the ridiculously high jury points to Sweden this year – and almost every year, really – I think they were pretty consistent with their ranking this year. We can argue about Cha Cha Cha being more original than Tattoo, but we can’t argue about Käärijä being weaker singer than Loreen or Marco. Juries always put more emphasis on the vocal capacity and singing skills than televote does. That is also why what the fans call “boring ballads” tend to be higher than campy uptempos and ethnic bops, because the latter rarely require expectional vocal techniques. My hot take is that juries are necessary to evaluate objectively the actual technical skills of the performers and prevent us from having to sit through another year like 2008 with Leto Svet, Baila El Chiki Chiki, Dustin the Turkey and Wolves of the Sea kind of atrocities.

I love the last chapter 🥺 Käärijä is the people’s princess 💗 I think @suspiciouslandlady put it best in this post. Sweden cannot take that all the attention and love is not directed at them. They cannot take that we are celebrated instead of them. They cannot take that their "former Eastern part of the kingdom" is acknowledged at its own right and not just as the lesser neighbour country. We are so used to being forgotten between Sweden and Russia, the weird Nordic that has their own strange language none of the others understand, always the oppressed, the underdog in contests and sports. We might have lost once again, but this time the world is on our side and the spotlight is on Finland. And that is hard for our neighbours to swallow.