#man remember when i first launched this blog

[godricgryffinsnore]

fred weasley x gf!reader who’s actually incredibly smart. and fred fucking loves to listen to her ramble abt something new she learned, all dazed looking, with a big grin on his face as he stares at her lips move. and when he gets cuteness aggression, he’ll grab her face and kiss her all sloppy, no matter where they are. his favorite thing ever is watching his super smart gf become incredibly dumb when he fucks her. (she doesn’t have to be ravenclaw, she’s just smart kinda like hermione)

Brains and Bedhead ♡ : A Fred Weasley Fan Fiction.

pairing : Fred Weasley x fem!reader.

summary : A playful and passionate look into Fred Weasley’s love for his brilliant girlfriend—where wit meets worship, rambling turns to romance, and being smart has very unexpected consequences.

warnings : Suggestive content / implied sexual activity, Light smut (no explicit scenes, but strong innuendos), Mild language, Overwhelming fluff and humor, Fred Weasley being absolutely feral for his genius girlfriend. Please let me know if I missed any.

author's note : English is not my first language, so please forgive me for any grammatical errors or spelling errors. Re-blogging is completely fine with me, but please don't copy my work. I love you all. Enjoy <3.

della's note : Anon!!! Your request was so good, I almost finished the entire fiction in one night!!! IT WAS SUCH A CUTE FIC TO WRITE AND MY BRAIN WAS SCREAMING WITH LINES AND IDEAS. THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING, ANON!!!!

word count : 0.6k

main master list <3

banners : @seldomstardom and @saradika-graphics

There was something almost divine about the way her mouth moved when she was excited about something. Fred Weasley didn’t quite believe in religion—unless you counted Quidditch or pranking professors—but when his girlfriend started talking about something she’d read, or theorized, or revolutionized in her pretty little head, he stared at her like a man at church. Worshipful. Dazed. Slightly drooling.

She was currently mid-ramble, pacing their shared dorm room with parchment tucked under one arm and her dressing gown half-falling off her shoulder—hair in disarray, wand stuck in it like a quill forgotten behind a poet’s ear.

“And if you apply vector transfiguration to a binding hex, you could theoretically reverse it—Fred, are you even listening?”

He wasn’t. He was staring. At her lips.

At the way they curved, pursed, twitched with thought. She was all bright-eyed brilliance and he was the dumb puppy who’d been hit by Cupid’s Howler.

“You’ve got the prettiest little mouth, you know that?” he murmured, leaning against the wall, hair a mess and shirt half-buttoned.

She blinked. “That’s not relevant to the theoretical implications of—mmf!”

He launched. With a gleam in his eye, he crossed the room in three long-legged strides, grabbed her face in both hands, and smashed a kiss to her lips—sloppy, breath-stealing, completely derailing.

“Fred—!” she gasped mid-smooch, but he just kept kissing her, chuckling between breaths.

“You’re too bloody smart for your own good, sweetheart,” he murmured against her mouth. “Makes me wanna kiss you stupid.”

And Merlin did he mean it.

She melted instantly—speechless for once, brain gone fuzzy like someone cast a silencing charm on her intelligence. She clung to his shoulders like they were anchors, and Fred felt the smug grin curl on his lips.

“Was that a theory on transfiguration or just dirty talk?” he teased, pulling back only an inch.

“I—I don’t remember,” she mumbled, dazed, eyes glazed over.

Fred beamed.

── .✦

He loved how clever she was. Really, he did. The way her mind worked was poetry with teeth. She could predict potion reactions like chess moves and memorize spells faster than anyone in the year.

But his favorite thing?

His absolute favorite thing was when that big, brilliant, overachieving brain of hers turned to mush.

Because when he had her in bed—her limbs tangled in sheets and her pretty lips parted with breathless gasps—his genius girlfriend became the most delicious, mindless, babbling mess he’d ever seen.

“Oh, fuck—Fred, I can’t—I can’t think—”

“Yeah?” he rasped, dragging his lips down her neck, utterly pleased with himself. “That clever little brain all scrambled now, love?”

She nodded, glassy-eyed, and he nearly groaned with how hot that was.

“You’re so good at everything, except thinking when I’m inside you, huh?”

Her only reply was a whimper.

── .✦

The next morning, he found her in the library, hair tied up again, glasses perched on her nose, and seven books stacked in front of her. She looked like a war general preparing for an academic siege.

Fred leaned over the table and whispered, “Still recovering from last night’s brain damage, darling?”

She flushed a deep crimson but didn’t look up.

“Shut up, Weasley.”

“Oh, that’s Mr. Weasley, certified IQ destroyer, to you.”

She shoved a book in his face, but he could see the smile tugging at her lips.

Fred kissed her temple and whispered, “I love you, brainiac.”

She rolled her eyes, muttering something about dopamine receptors and oxytocin, but he swore he saw her blush reach her ears.

And as he walked away, he turned and whispered, “Same time tonight?”

She didn’t answer. But she did bookmark her page with trembling fingers.

[furiousgoldfish]

(Feel free to just post this on ur blog with or without a response. I just thought I’d leave this here in ur ask box. But if you have advice I’ll definitely take it)

My mom is… something, that’s for sure.

To preface, I’m 20, her one and only child (daughter) and I feel like I’ve had to parent her more than she ever parented me. Your blog (and my friends) have helped me to realise that.

Sometimes she’ll start talking in a younger voice if it’s just me and her at home and she’ll call me “Mommy.” And it’s weird and idk. Just 10 minutes ago she told me “You’re going to come and sit outside with me, right mommy?” And she’s always been like this, even as far back as I can remember as a child. And we weren’t playing a game or anything. She was just Like That sometimes.

And it’s not some sort of inside joke or anything. Sometimes she’ll do the same thing to my dad and call him daddy, but it’s definitely not a sex thing.

My mom also likes to make me promise her that I’m living with her forever, as well as giving her grandkids (I don’t want ANY KIDS), and she gets mad at me when I dispute either of those things with her. And then I have to comfort her because”I made her cry and it’s all my fault.”

She is also able bodied 100% and yet makes me get her everything. It feels like I can’t leave, and that I’m always waiting on her hand and foot. I do have a car, and I do have money (that she has some control over, but I’m gonna make another bank account and move it over bit by bit so she’s not suspicious). She wants me to just live at home and take care of her because she’s always nauseous and the hospital isn’t able to fix it. Doctor told her it’s probably something mental.

And she’s such a different person in front of people vs at home.

She also tells people that my graduation day (I just finished a degree) is HER graduation day because “She worked hard for it.” And then she laughs about it! She said the same thing with my high school graduation. Nvm living vicariously thru me, I’m doing all the work and she’s trying to take credit!

Idk man just a little something I needed to get off my chest. I’m tired, boss

🍓Strawberry Anon

I got cold chills when you said she called YOU Mommy. That is... next level of parentification, I'm stunned. That is one of the creepiest thing I've read, I'm still chilled from reading that. That is nightmarish. There is something deeply wrong with this behaviour. That is not a harmless role reversal, you are a child, you need a parent, she doesn't, she's responsible for providing you a parent. And she just launches into this play with no explanation like it's normal? Horrifying.

Abusers forcing you to comfort them after forcing their own projections and desires onto you is also disturbing, she shouldn't have expected any of that of you in the first place, and you having to comfort her makes it seem like you're responsible not just for her expectations, but for all of her emotions. In general, children shouldn't be forced to comfort their parents, parents need to to turn to other adults, someone with the same emotional development to get comfort, or go to therapy.

I think it's possible she's sabotaging your social life or opportunities in life by forcing you to be her constant servant, it's true you'd be tied to her and unable to do your own activities, be out with friends, be out dating or having fun, you have all of that taken away from you. This is also not fair, you should not be responsible for her in this way, in this situation people can hire in-house help or turn to their adult family members, not a daughter! This should not be on your shoulders, and sabotaging your own life.

Her being a different person at home vs in front of people just confirms she knows she's abusive and that people would not take that well, so she acts a different persona that will make her social image better. It lets abusers get away with a lot if they can play nice in public and make people disbelieve that this person could be abusive in private.

The graduation thing, one of my parents tried to do that too! Really everything needs to be about them, they can't handle not taking credit for everything good, while pretending all the bad stuff is not their fault. I think your mother is a narcissist.

You deserve credit for everything you did. You also deserve your life to be about you, your desires, your dreams, your decisions. You should get to have a fair chance, to do anything you want to do, for yourself. If she was a normal person, she'd be unable to stand the guilt of taking your life away from you. This isn't normal.

Thank you for sending me a message, and I'm sorry you have to deal with all this, I hope you get away from it! I don't exactly have an advice, but I want you to know that they took all of your decisions from you, and I want you to consider what would you want to do with your life if you were free, and didn't have all of this weighing you down. You deserve that kind of life, where you are supported in chasing your own wants and desires, without having to consider what your mother would think of it, and whether she'd just try to take the credit of everything you did your entire life.

[h3art-love]

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ `✦ ˑ

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ `✦ ˑ

Welcome, Wanderer.

Hi, you’ve found my introduction—I’ll now be launching this blog finally… I don’t want things to be too formal, so I’m valore. You can call me Val, or heart if you like. I don’t care, but the main purpose of this blog—We arrive in my shifting and somewhat LOA diary.

I’m also autistic, so some things you say depending in how much trickery—will be complicated for me to understand.

I am also Afro-Latina, but I’m not Hispanic…I won’t explain how that works just use google! My special interests are: gaming, astrology (capricorn rising, gemini moon, and virgo mercury), the occult, and many more I cannot name because my memory likes to act fragmented.

─ ⊹ ⊱꒰☆꒱⊰ ⊹ ─

Shifting Journey So Far?

In December 2019 to be exact, I remember watching a video on YouTube and behold! Shifttok ensnared my impressionable brain, but don’t worry I wasn’t there as much I actually put more effort into doing the actual act of shifting. I started my shifting journey because of—escapism. I did get some successes…

For instance, I wasn’t actually there—I was still here, but my nose burned and, mind you, I have a very strong sense of smell. The scent that invaded my nostrils with no permission was…lavender. Yes, lavender. Then, I think, I felt the grass beneath me as my bed felt strangely pokey and extremely itchy. This was a couple years back, but it wasn’t my first shifting attempt—I just fell asleep back then.

My most confusing, successful shift I can remember was in the summer of 2023. Honestly, I’m bordering on if it was just a dream, but it was blurry at first my eyes weren’t wide awake. Then it cleared on me as if I popped on some glasses—then I fell asleep because I didn’t care, and I was very tired because of my horrid sleep schedule.

By the way, my eyes weren’t completely open they were closed. THEN I opened them which is why I said that prior. Just to clear up confusion for you!! I felt nightstand light shine on me, but at the time—I slept with the light off, so I didn’t think much of it. I woke up and it was off?

Fast foward, fall of 2024 I shift causally using loa. It wasn’t anywhere special though, but a win is a win. Where did I shift ya wonder? Oh, it was here 🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️. Honestly, all I wanted was for my terrible AP bio teacher to poof for a day, and she did. Golly, I was so happy it worked. When I chatted with my classmate and teacher—they confirmed they weren’t here that day. Uhm, the thing is, I didn’t go to school that day 😭😭😭😭. Ironic, isn’t it?

Another shift, it was that SAME damn teacher I was tired of. I think this day I was taking a shower, and I didn’t contradict the thought of it. It just popped up and I’m like, “ok.” I went to bed and woke up… I was walking down the hallways, until I saw a substitute at the door?! Oh boy! A smile ETCHED itself onto my face, and happy hormones ejected themselves naturally into my immune system!!!

My reality I’m targeting is—a streamer dr where I am a rich gal living her best life with a cool fashion company, while having a delicious slow burn with her man!? Yum yum! My purpose is to just yap on here until I perma shift, and bam I’m out of this prison. I mean technically I am all the time, but eh ykwim.

At my core, who am I supposed to be?

Ironically enough, I struggled a lot with this question in my middle school years. I dissociated so much my literal x-friend, at the time, literally had to tap on my shoulder and bring me back to ground, because calling my name wouldn’t work. I slept in class so much so that’s all I became known for. I wear scars on my petite figure that I wish would fade, but oh, dear, it won’t so that’s why shifting was so appealing to me at the time. It still is now.

I know I’m meant to be a healer, and just give out love—not so much till’ my heart breaks for good, I get used to the point I cry, and so much more. I mean that’s how I got my user name—“<3 love”

Oh dear, how did this get so melancholic already? Anywho, I hope starting this blog is worth it because…Uh, I don’t have anything better to do, and my grammatical skills need some DESPERATE sharpening.

DNI LIST!

Homophobes, transphobes, racists, pedophiles, “dark romance enjoyers,” and etc…You GET the picture. I’m not going to lay here all day and list it out. Also, anti-shifters and people asking for donations or wtv…I have a very very common thing that is called brokenness, and this is just meant to be a silly blog…idk what I can do for u ngl.

I also do not want weirdos on here, but hhhh a certain type. To elaborate like before a dark romance enjoyer—I’ll keep it straightforward; think of something as grotesque as Haunting Adeline. I don’t feel like saying more lol.

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹જ⁀➴ `✦ ˑ `✦ ˑ

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

queer signalling: louis and harry living their beautiful queer lives, collected by me

since we must take note of our fellow queers when they signal that they are very much one of us, despite being closeted. since i've had a very very queer few years thanks to them, thanks to their signalling, thanks to them being brave.

(!! this list isn't exhaustive, and if i've forgotten your favorite, by all means let me know. there's always room for another edition. it's been a while since i made a compilation and felt there was a need of a new one on my blog. this one goes a few years back, since my last one dates from 2021 :'o. so yeah. here we go.)

harry in my policeman, playing a closeted queer man, based on the book that's long been one of his favorites. lauded by the director and co-stars for how well he portrayed this character, how well he understood.

harry wearing a green flower on his chest for the mp premiere, placing himself (once again) in the same line of history as oscar wilde.

louis's green flowers on his initial 28clothing jersey at the first afhf, which includes bonus roses and 28s all around

the entire late night talking mv bc!!!!!

louis's rainbow stage lights during sibwawc. he really did that. every single night.

the entire dazed magazine happening. “I’ve always tried to compartmentalise my personal life and my working life,” he explains. / “I have unlocked an ability to be myself completely, unapologetically,” he says with conviction." / “I think through my own sense of self and personal journey, I am realising that happiness isn’t this kind of end state.”

louis's gay exit songs: most notably 'ever fallen in love (with someone you shouldn't've)'

harry flirting with stanley tucci

louis and his gay ass tank tops !!! we must point it out !!!!!!

all along

harry kissing a pride flag during harry's house ono in nyc

rainbow flare during the btm mv

harry being gifted a mask of his own face at munich n2, which prompted him to say that he feels like he's wearing a mask sometimes

28 in a triangle for 28clothing!!!!!!!!

kit connor soft launching 28 clothing. a young actor starring in a queer coming-of-age series, who was forced to come out after being accused of queerbaiting. he was the first one, besides louis, to wear 28clothing

harry's grammy's speech "people like me" (which ppl sadly misunderstood), echoing what he's been saying on tour for years. this doesn't happen to people like him. if they only knew, right?

harry's freddie-inspired outfit for the grammy carpet (which also brought back his theme for clown/jester fits, like harryween 2021 n2. wonder why)

louis's merch graphic where a boy is trying to smash a glass ceiling

harry posing for david hockney, actual living legend, gay artist of the ages. "Styles seems to know how lucky he is, adding, with a tinge of disbelief: “I’m in awe of the man with enough one-liners for a lifetime.” As to what those one-liners might be? Styles and Hockney’s mutual silence on that question suggests that what happens in the studio, stays in the studio."

louis having suspicious visuals during back to you, the only visuals of that type on tour

harry's 2022 harryween outfit: dressed as danny (literally. he did that. he went grease on us.) but wearing sandy's jacket

louis at barricade aka held safely in the arms of strong security personnel

harry singing man, i feel like a woman and still the one with shania twain. while wearing a rainbow discoball jumpsuit (parallel with kacey musgraves wearing a rainbow dress to sing it with him years ago.)

louis's gay ass merch for the away from home festival

harry dressed in nina ricci by harris reed, an explicitly gender-fluid line. "At 18 I found myself living in london creating ruffle blouses, corsets, fabric flowers and flares from my kitchen floor (...). My creations at the time were met with nothing but criticism for being “too feminine” or “costume”, teachers said I should focus on “menswear” or “womenswear”. l remember it really wasn’t until I started dressing for myself and who I was that it all clicked. @harrystyles was my first ever client who embraced the fun, fluid and expressive clothing I was creating."

continuous bluegreening. to name a few: harry's werchter fit, all this time lights, satellite caps in two colors only, louis's smiley flickering bluegreen on tour in 2022, the james cordon shit, louis in uncasville. enjoy this post here

harry's snl shoot unseens: him as ariel

louis out in amsterdam at a gay bar

harry going to the women's only swimming pond (on a day it was open for men, but this is important to me okay)

harry's use of orchids in his visuals during 'she' during love on tour '23

the 'hairy mermaid' tour visuals

harry as a mermaid during the mfasr mv. as a supreme physical manifestation of harry as the mermaid he truly is inside. but in his true form he gets chopped up and consumed. literally

as it was mv and its parallels with the matrix, hints to harry as the woman with the red dress.

louis jumping up on barricade against the one spot where a pride flag was draped over it

oh yeah that exact same thing happened in 2022 too

harry forming a skirt with a pride flag in brasil after his pants ripped

that gay ass denim getup with the fur collar?? while wearing the fucking peace ring????

harry and phoebe breaking gender norms in the tpwk mv dance. no i'm not over it yet shut up

louis wearing a basquiat t-shirt, another famously queer artist joining the ranks

harry bought an actual genuine basquiat. flex

harry dressed in skirts for gucci

"happy pride! happy pride! 'tis the season! can you tell i'm relaxed?"

"isn't all of this sparkly bi music?"

satellite mv rainbow planet tshirt

louis's bigger than me promo where he's literally george michael like??? IM SORRY???????

harry kissing lewis capaldi at the brits

harry kissing nick kroll at the dwd premiere. lol

and... harry as friend of D O R O T H Y. sang over the rainbow. we all cried. especially me at this clip of harry glancing in relief at his band after over the rainbow.

[writtenbowss]

MORE WINGED SINNER READER X ADAM PLSSSS🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️ i love their chemistry and the whole massage thing was so cute, could we maybe get an aftermath of when reader wakes up?? or a whole separate story of the two, ur choice!

- 🦝anon

OFCCC BESTIE!!! WELCOME TO THE BLOG OMG

also I agree, I like their chemistry of just... Cocky asshole and cold but easily soothed reader,,,, like MMMM

Welcome racoon anon!! Enjoy your stay!!

Rough awakening || Adam x winged sinner!reader

---

Safe to say Adam was not expecting to be punched awake after falling asleep with you on his chest, when you punched him he launched up and you fell back, head lowered as you attempted to gather your thoughts.

You had just woken up from a nice nap, almost forgetting about what caused you to fall asleep like that, but seeing Adams resting face was enough of a wake up call to realize you fell asleep on him. Your face flustered when you realized you were coaxed asleep by him, and being pissed off you punch his face, which is where you two are now.

Even though you tried to hide your flustered face, he instantly knew you were blushing from your visible ears turning a light shade of pink, he smirked and spoke cockily "hah! Don't try to hide it cold tits, I know you enjoyed me massaging your back!"

Angrily, you got up off the bed and stormed out of the room muttering curses and telling him to shut up, as he reaches out to you, you not even bothering to look in any mirror to fix yourself up for any interaction with the other hotel inhabitants.

You passed by angeldust who was making his way downstairs when he saw how you looked, looking a bit surprised before attempting to speak to you "woah, what happened to you? Ya look like you were gettin all hot n' heavy with someone!" He said while making the sex gesture with his hands

Even though you wanted to tell him fuck off, you knew better, you're here to redeem yourself after all. So you storm into your room, slumping to the floor as your wings relax, having been tense the entire way to your quarters. Turning your head, you see yourself in the mirror, your hair is a bit messy from the nap, face flushed from embarrassment and slight anger, and clothes in slight disarray. Now you know what angel meant.

Instead you curl into a ball, bringing your wings to surround you so you don't have to look in the mirror anymore, hoping that those damned thoughts come back. Why would anyone be interested in you? Everyone in hell either wants to kill or have sex. Sometimes both. You had learnt that lesson before, reluctantly remembering your own first days in hell as your fingers trace over the faint scar on your left wing, being slightly covered by the feathers that you've become accustomed to.

Quickly burrying your head into your arms, wanting to forget that time, you're stronger now. You won't let anyone ruin your chance to get to heaven and finally have that security of safeness, not even the stubborn, cocky, annoyingly handsome first man....what are you thinking?! It's ADAM, the same man who destroyed the hotel and attempted to kill your friends!

Squeezing your eyes shut, your mind wanders, beginning to form the very face of the man who you despise...but that stupid smirk of his just pisses you off in the best way possible.

-----

Yawners.... Adam POV soon? 🤔

-Ash (this guy has me in chokehold HELLO??) (also this may end up being a series uhmmm) (potential series name?? Send suggestionsss)

[12minuteairquoteactressairquote]

Thank you for taking it way back and remembering the real reason people hate her and hated this relationship wasn’t because of her corn or friends or racism. No, no.

When the murmurs first started, people knew of the age difference. People were looking her up then. It was a HUGE factor. Even that DM lady on her podcast said she didn’t have access to a lot of info on him but that seemed out of place for him because he dated close to his age. Even damn Melissa (DM) didn’t buy it herself lol.

And when this launched and went public, no one knew about her racism but I remember casually coming online and seeing the most absurd fan reactions at that time. People were crying “he lied!! He said he was single and he lied!!” People DMing me how sick they felt. Like get a grip!

Does anyone remember the mysterious “fan letter” that floated around Twitter? This long ass manifesto of why they were disappointed in him and not who he portrayed to be? I think it was his team personally who leaked that but it made the rounds. Sadly so many were sharing it like “yesssss this!!!” Then the word parasocial got over killed.

And sadly so many fans in private DMs would constantly say over and over “he needs to be single when this ends. Like he has mental health issues! He needs to stay single.” And they don’t hear themselves. Many people have a mental health issue. It doesn’t require you must remain single the rest of your life lol. People self projected like crazy and now the racism and corn created the perfect excuse to hate her. And now people only talk about that but that wasn’t known until like a month later after they went public. For an entire month, people lost their shit because of the age difference and the fact he did that laser focus interview acting like he was a single man. I mean rightfully so people should be upset with her mocking the minority communities but I laugh at people who say that is the sole reason. Stop kidding yourselves, please. I hate the whole “you’re just jealous” trope but sometimes…it was true. That was literally the entire thing! All that weird FS talk that went around proved this. Someone says she likes pancakes and people were ready to kill each other yelling “he would never be with someone who likes pancakes!!” As if you personally are in his friend’s circle and know him.

His team never marketed him as an actor. They marketed him on his looks and being the internet boyfriend so fans could fulfill their fantasies of being with him and thus make money. I do believe Jenny probably did start this. I was an outsider looking in but I recall seeing fan comments on things like “eww she’s so basic or ugly. Why is he with someone like her?!? She doesn’t deserve him!” I remember thinking it was mean despite not liking her cause I just didn’t like her as a person myself (fat shaming & homophobic tweets and standup) but like damn!! His fans be crazy!!

So many fans literally only liked him for his looks and would even come visit Boston from overseas because they were gonna find their favorite white boy!! Yes this was something people openly bragged about on Twitter. When the D pic leaked, so many coddled and came to his defense to delete it and “protect his privacy!! He made a mistake” while continuing to save it on their phone and share via DMs. I came into this fandom during this and I swore I got sent that pic over 60 times with people saying “you need it in color? I got you!” Like I cannot emphasize enough that I’m tired of seeing that man’s schlong. So much for protecting his privacy huh? Nonetheless the fans who knew his addresses and would willingly share in DM. Again - Why? So much gets shared privately too that is insane behavior.

People only were “fans” for his looks and the fact he was single. Period. Suddenly he’s with someone and all the “ugh he’s so ugly, I have no lady boner” started. C’mon!!! Good for y’all for recognizing Nazis are bad but look at the blogs who say they only care about his work and by work they mean “omg I can’t wait to see what his hair looks like!!” No one cares about the acting. They care he’s hot and is single. That’s it.

I need to put this conversation to bed. I have a lot to say but folks are argumentative. It can pick up when the they ain't together no more drops🤣🤣🤣. I'll say I'm surprised that no one has really brought this "His team never marketed him as an actor. They marketed him on his looks and being the internet boyfriend so fans could fulfill their fantasies of being with him and thus make money." up. It's actually a thing I thought about when the married news happened. Think about it; how many male heartthrobs are married? How many are single? How many took years to get married? A lot of male heartthrobs actors stay single, in long term relationships, marry late in life(George Clooney) or marry their complete equal so women can't hate(ryan reynolds, brad pitt, tom cruise). Once they are truly off the market unless they do what george, ryan, Brad and Tom did fanbases take a nosedive cause we can either no longer thirst the man or stan the hot couple. Chris has not given any of his strong female fanbase a reason to stick around; especially since his acting is weak. His wife is an average looking lazy cam girl bum who he can't even kiss properly and he looks miserable.

This was long, but one good thing Chris has done was to get me talking more about what looks like Hollywood intermost workings. Thank you Chris Evans.

[iron-hearts-ablaze]

❤️ and 🍪?

MY EXPERIENCE IN THE ROLEPLAYING COMMUNITY

❤️ my first roleplay memory // Man, if we're talking over all; it'll probably be changing my MSN name alongside my best friends so we could RP our favourite characters after school. Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts and DC mostly. But if we're talking Tumblr only; I remember trying to set up my Ayato (Tokyo Ghoul) blog on my own for the first time. My previous blog, that didn't last long, was mostly set up by a friend. Sitting back and finally being happy with the design and launching it still makes me smile. I miss Ayato... RPed him for 6 years. What a little shit 😆

🍪 my favorite roleplay memory // I remember when positive call-out posts became popular to do. One of my favourite memories is logging into my Ayato blog and seeing someone had tagged me in a post praising my work, aesthetics and how I am as a person. How it was full of comments of people saying how much they loved writing/talking with me. I honestly teared up. I was in a very very dark place at that time and incredibly lonely, so just seeing people enjoying my online presence meant the world to me.

// Look at this little shit. What a character arc. Why do I always like the side characters more than the main character? 😆

[bloopitynoot]

What I Read This Week: 02/23/2025

I am a librarian, and unrelated to stereotypes about my profession, I do read a metric shit-ton in a week. Most of it is fanfiction but hey, I thought maybe it's time I share my reads?

This is what I read this week:

1 A Life Without Regrets by naqaashi (163,907)

Summary: After his death at the first siege of the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian is thrown back in time to when he was nine years old, just before Jiang Fengmian took him to Lotus Pier with its wavering affection and unpayable mountain of debts. He decides to take the second chance he has been offered, to live freely and without regrets.

As it turns out, a life without regrets involves: 1. Avoiding all attempts to be adopted so you can launch your career as a rogue-cultivating-assassin, while 2. Juggling a hit-list comprised of the cultivation world’s Who’s Who, and 3. Desperately missing your not-boyfriend who picked the worst ever timing to confess his undying love for you.

Murder and mayhem to follow.

This fic was incredible! Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if this was the highlight of my reading week.

I love when a fic has copious amounts of authors notes for context or translation etc and this one did.

stunningly written, happy endings all around, and a compilation of all the types of fics I love; time-travel, immortals, musical cultivation, BAMF protagonists. Just brilliant

2. Heaven Official's Blessing by MXTX Chapter 44-50

Summary: Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedication and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise, can also fall…and fall he does, cast from the Heavens again and again and banished to the mortal realm.

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time. Now only a lowly scrap collector, he is dispatched to wander the earthly realm to take on tasks appointed by the heavens to pay back debts and maintain his divinity. Aided by old friends and foes alike, and graced with the company of a mysterious young man with whom he feels an instant connection, Xie Lian must confront the horrors of his past in order to dispel the curse of his present.

I've just about finished book 3! I'm reading about a chapter a day and live blogging the experience. you can follow along on the Bloopitynoot reads TGCF tag

NO SPOILERS PLS.

So far I am loving it!

3 We Know The Game (And We're Gonna Play It) by huachengzhu (akaje) (6,087)

Summary: "Lan Zhan," Wei Ying says solemnly. "We're no strangers to love. You know the rules, and so do I."

…Hang on.

"A full commitment's what I'm thinking of…"

"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan sighs. Wei Ying pauses and glances innocently at him. Like he doesn't know what he's doing.

OR;

Five times Wei Ying rickrolls Lan Zhan, and one time Lan Zhan rickrolls him.

A cute and absolutely fluffy palette cleansing fic

they are so weird and deserve all the happiness; even if it includes Rick Astley

adorable, only cuteness here

4 The Phantom of the ...Warm Red Pavilion??? by MysteryTeacup (159,999)

Summary: Shang not-yet Qinghua has a problem - Shen Qingqiu is getting too close to finding evidence that he's a spy! His solution? Explode the sect rumour mill with Shen Jiu's tragic backstory and claim he's renting a room in the Warm Red Pavillion to work on a musical masterpiece.

Shen Qingqiu has a problem: he's not writing a musical masterpiece but now his Shizun wants the non-existent piece performed for him before he ascends! His solution: grab the little rat who's responsible for this mess and make him help.

I said that fic 1 was the best read of the week, and then I read this one.

omg I was wheezing basically the entire time. This was so funny, the situations were unhinged.

my god the feral energy, the happenstance, the PRODUCTION!

Brava brava bravissima!

5. I Don’t Try to Remember, but Forgetting is Hard by ThereBeWhalesHere (21,856)

Summary: Wei Wuxian awakens in Cloud Recesses with no memory of his life or the people he loves. That also means he has forgotten all the reasons he ever had for pushing Lan Wangji away. Working with Lan Wangji to get his memories back from the yao who took them, Wei Wuxian can't imagine why he ever thought they couldn't be together.

This was the sweetest little (comparatively to my other reads this week) temporary memory loss fic

When you have to convince the hottest guy you have ever seen that you are VERY sure you are a cutsleeve.

So sweet :'3 The boys figured it out

That's all I read!

Shorter reading week, but it has been busy so I'll let it happen.

As usual if you have recs, I am always taking them- my inbox is open! Similarly if you'd like recs, I am currently reccing for MDZS and I can do some SVSSS recs as well.

[fightingthetides]

'small things' for Yamamoto <3

[Original] ||Accepting|| @ukigumos From a meme tag in my other blog

Readmore, because it got long (~18k) when I went through canon source, because there isn't too much content for me to go through in threads (yet).

When thinking about Hibari, you mostly think about his grouchy cat-like temperament, but there are sides to him that make him an interesting person to figure out. Sure, he’s got a temper and sure he seems uncaring at first, but that’s not necessarily true- if you know where to look. Each person has various facets to them, ‘duality’ if you will.

There were some memories that Yamamoto had of Hibari that could give others some insights into the otherwise ‘fightophile’ skylark that everyone feared (for good reason).

To begin with, the time when the Ring battle between Vongola 10 and the Varia were going on, Hibari had left some lasting impressions on Yamamoto. What sorts of impressions you ask? Haha! Alright, alright, he’ll tell you.

During his battle with the Gola Mosca, anyone could tell just how formidable it… no, he was? Man, the arena sure looked intimidating. There were gatling guns around the perimeter that would shoot any moving object it sees within 30m radius, pressure sensitive mines buried underground, and the walls were entirely covered in barbed wire.

Hibari, named the strongest of the guardians, is their ace. The way he walked into the arena so calmly and confidently—man… he’s just really cool! Gola Mosca could fly like some kinda jet pack fighter all Zuzuzuuuuuu, and Hibari went bakbak!

That was it.

So anticlimactic, but that’s what makes him so cool. He walks in, wins without breaking a sweat, and hands the ring off. That really was what gave off a dominant stalking black panther vibe to Yamamoto.

“Now, you, the one sitting over there. Come down here. Until I bite you to death, monkey boss of the mountain of monkeys, I can’t go home.”

This fight was way more interesting to watch. Xanxus stepped on a landmine and used the propulsion to launch himself to the side. He drew Hibari into the line of fire of the gatling guns, but both of them seemed unperturbed by the nuisance around them. The only thing on their minds was to fight- and win.

Hibari managed to force Xanxus to raise an arm in battle though he said he won’t raise an arm. Pretty sure he fought aiming to force him to raise an arm to gnaw at his pride a little bit. Just a theory of his.

Gola mosca started going crazy then after having shot Hibari in the leg.

Some stuff happened after that but… that’s not really relevant right now.

The next thing that happened during the Ring Battles was when everyone was poisoned by the uh… huh, they never were given a name, were they? Whatever it was! They were all poisoned with something that could subdue an elephant- but that’s not enough for Hibari!

Yamamoto distinctly remembers hearing the heavy sounds of metal slamming into metal as Xanxus and Tsuna were having their own battle. That stubborn guy really managed to get himself up onto his feet, beat a pole to death and free himself of the poison.

He then fought Prince Belphegor, the genius. He couldn’t see the battle happening himself, but he knew that Gokudera was helped by Hibari’s quick thinking and swift actions. With him released from the poison, he could help Lambo.

The guy is secretly a team player when he needs to be. He came all the way to help Yamamoto get the Rain ring to be freed from the poison.

“You would mess up the discipline if you die don school grounds. If you want to die, go do so outside.”

That is so like him to say. Yamamoto likes to believe that Hibari was really telling him to get out there and do what he does best: be there for his friends as support. Even though he was beat up pretty badly, he still tried to move- probably to seek the others who were in need of help. That’s when Yamamoto suggested a player change, which he agreed to, handing off his ring to Yamamoto.

In the meanwhile Gokudera saved Ryohei and ye, the rest is history!

The stoic guy may mask some of his concern or care behind Namimori, but he does have the ability to work with others… on his terms. There was something about seeing him beaten but still silently intending to do more made Yamamoto realize just how much responsibility and drive Hibari had.

It was so much that even Yamamoto had to feel impressed by it. That’s their ace for ya! Leading by example, showing the rest of the guardians the kind of level they have to get to.

No wonder he considers them all as weak herbivores, huh?

(ref ch. 118-120, 127-128, 130)

-

What else was there? Ah! That representative battle with the little guys? He can’t forget about the time Hibari really joined another team JUST so he could have his fun in fighting strong opponents and also be unhindered by ‘crowding’. That is so like him, haha!

Hibari came out with a baby atop his head instead of one of his little birds. The resemblance of the two is uncanny, and someone may have leaked the information to the rest of them at one point that the two were actually related. How exactly, he didn’t know, but it seems that the bloodline runs strong.

Anyways, it really didn’t take long for Ryohei to have lost his ‘match’ against Hibari. Yanno how it is, Ryohei runs in head first, forgets about protecting the watch and loses instantly. Really speaks to Hibari’s focus, Yamamoto thinks.

He may like to fight, but he’s goal-oriented. He won’t forget about his task: defeating his opponents. Any opening to destroy a watch will be taken advantage of, even if it means the ‘fun fight’ comes to an end quicker.

“There was actually one other reason that I didn’t join your team… your team is full of people I really want to bite to death.”

Yanno? Yamamoto was kind of excited to hear that from him at first. He’s usually only ever referred to the guardians as weak bugs or herbivores, so acknowledging that he wanted to bite some of them made it seem like he acknowledged their strength a little bit.

Yamamoto really admires Hibari’s strength and his drive, so being regarded as worthy enough to want to bite to death (and it not being something related to having broken a rule to warrant it in the first place) was a good thing.

Okay, it’s also kind of a bad thing, ahaha! Yamamoto doesn’t know how to feel about having Hibari boring holes into the back of his head because he wants to fight.

As much as Yamamoto find challenges to be fun, Gokudera and he had their roles to play as support for their boss.

“You aren’t the same species as me, you’re just bugs. Weak little bugs.”

Ah… maybe he should take that back. Maybe he didn’t quite see them as worthy then. Maybe that’s just him taunting them, trying to goad a reaction out of them to rile their fighting spirit?

You think he’d answer if asked?

(Ref ch. 361 + 363)

-

Hmm… some other memory that made a lasting impression on him? Ah, there was that one time he found Hibari injured and had coaxed him into allowing being escorted to the hospital. On one hand it was shocking to see him injured to begin with. It wasn’t anything fatal, but it was still significant enough to be worrying.

Initially, Hibari was being stubborn in wanting to be left alone, to deal with his injuries by himself- but you know Yamamoto! He’s a stubborn one! Like one of those Shibas who will stamp their butts to the ground and allow their leash to squish their face beyond recognition as their owners desperately beg to go home.

Hibari has a nice view of Shiba Inus, finding them loyal and intelligent- which isn’t wrong! Many know them for their willful nature. They’re quite loyal and loving if you’re close to them.

He still thinks about it every now and then, but maybe it’s the whole tranquility thing, that allowed Yamamoto to slowly coax Hibari into allowing him to take him to the hospital. If you were to ask him, he thinks the big turning point is the apple rabbits. His tune really changed once Yamamoto mentioned cutting some apple rabbits for him.

Not only that, when they approached the hospital, he not-so-subtly reminded Yamamoto about the promised apple rabbits. Guess it’s true that the guy has a soft spot for cute little animals. It as a bit of ‘gap moe’ as Haru termed it.

“Hahi? Sure, Hibari-san is still a bit scary, but when he’s surrounded by cute birds or a little hedgehog, the cuteness factor cuts some of his scariness! He gives into them if they speak upon Haru’s behalf you know? It’s scary and cute!”

When Hibari asked if Yamamoto would allow it to be lonely, he honestly… thought it was kind of cute? For a guy who was a lone wolf and hated crowding, he was quick to suggest allowing the lone apple rabbit to have a friend. He did hear that rabbits were social creatures and should ideally be kept in pairs, and if that was the thought process, it was kind of cute that Hibari would be so considerate towards apple rabbits.

It was like he could see what Haru meant by Hibari’s consideration to cute little animals by listening to them or by wanting for them to have a companion to not feel lonely.

Now if only he could be that considerate towards his human companions, right? Haha! That would be a dream- or maybe a nightmare in Tsuna’s case. Poor guy would probably have a heart attack.

Now, Yamamoto had absolute confidence in his vision. As not only an athlete but a swordsman, his vision and his hearing were sensitive. He didn’t miss the smallest hint of a smile upon nudging the two apple rabbits closer together.

What neither of them would know was that both parties were thinking something was cute in that very moment.

It came as a surprise! Hibari and cute in the same thought? Gokudera and Ryohei both would rush him to the hospital for a brain scan if they’d heard him say so. Mn? Maybe Haru would agree with him?

Not gonna lie, it was kinda nice sharing apple rabbits together. It is possible to have a conversation with Hibari and it not evolve into: Let me bite you to death for [insert some kind of Namimori rule here].

Huh? Cheating? Look, Yamamoto can’t remember all the rules, okay? There are some real arbitrary rules there- like, ‘no crowding’!

Eh? What was so impactful about this? Ahaha! Yeah!

No, huh? Hahaha! YEAH! That’s all you’re getting from him!

Truly, Yamamoto isn’t beating the Shiba Inu allegations.

(Ref thread ehe)

[stupendousfoxthing]

Hi 👋

I am new to your blog and I've enjoyed it so far. Thanks for opening up your asks by the way. Just wanted to find out from you how you got into believing in Taekook if you are willing to share.

Thank you! I used to answer questions for anons years ago but kind of hit a wall when I was getting hundreds of asks a day and a lot of them were trolls. I still have the same beliefs about Taekook and I've been chatting with people here for the last few months and I like the vibe. So I hope I can add something worthwhile to the conversation. It's funny because when I first became a Taekooker Tumblr and YouTube were my first preferred places for discussions. I got into this in the latter half of 2016. I had been a BTS fan since 2014 but HYYH era pushed me to do a much deeper dive not just into them as artists but who they were in their lives outside of that. I was falling down the rabbit hole of watching compilations of sweet BTS interactions (all members) on YT, and I just happened to see a comment from someone who said they had been a Kpop fan for a long time and had seen a lot of ships but the only one they actually thought could be real was "V and Jungkook". I'm JK biased, so I was like "oh really?" 😂 At the time there weren't really analysis videos everywhere the way there are now (and I don't watch those because I find them cringey), but there were two very active accounts called Maknaez and cutetaeboy(I think???). They basically just updated every few days with new Taekook "moments". No analysis, just pics and video clips compiled. As I said, this was second half of 2016. The Smart Event had just happened. Bon Voyage season one had just aired. Wings era was beginning and then launched them into awards show season. It was a wild time to find Taekook. For me, something just clicked right away. The Smart Event was so intriguing, and the Bon Voyage cuddle is still as mind-blowing to me now as it was then because it's so clear and so intimate. I started keeping up with them constantly and found some Taekooker friends. Award show season was CRAZY. I still remember pics and videos of the "I'll be your man" moment hitting the timeline and I was finally like "oh so they're actually dating, good for them" 😂 (bonus wider angle showing JK softly touching Tae's hand after he sang) Here I am 7+ years later and it just keeps adding up, I think it is pretty simple math. A big moment for me is the Citi Field nape kiss. It's probably still my #1 just because for me it's the one moment that has no platonic explanation. And I'm absolutely sure because I was at that concert. No one is going to tell me it was fanservice, because I was in that venue watching the big screen and I know for a fact that it was hidden from view. I actually met one of my Taekooker friends for the first time that night after the concert and neither of us knew it had happened, but you better believe we were screaming at each other in dms at 1am when the first pics and videos started popping up on Twitter. That was a crazy moment. Solo era further confirmed everything for me. I feel like this is already getting too long so I won't start going off about everything that happened in the last year and a half because I'm sure we'll get around to discussing it eventually. I hope this is a satisfying answer to your question, and thank you again. ❤️

[culttvblog]

Sapphire and Steel: Assignment 1, Part 1

I see I have somehow never blogged about Sapphire and Steel's first assignment so obviously that must be rectified at once.

I have to say that I love the beginning of this one inordinately. The atmosphere is perfectly set by the sound effect of the wind outside the house, the parents reciting nursery rhymes with Helen, the clocks' ticking which abruptly stops, and the way we see Robert essentially alone on the ground floor of the house. All of these things are a classic cinematic way of setting up a scary atmosphere: this is why it's always raining in film noir!

Robert naturally becomes concerned when everything suddenly goes quiet, and the original sounds are replaced by a strange noise. He calls to his dad to ask what's happening, but receives no answer. He finds both parents have disappeared and he is actually alone in the house with his little sister Helen. She tells him that their parents have 'gone', but that is all she can say. Considering this is the first episode of the show, the invasion of time is perfectly depicted, with pipe and book just abandoned.

Into this situation walk Sapphire and Steel for the first time, without explanation, invitation, or warning: they just turn up at the door.

One of the things which interests me, considering this is the first episode of the series, is the development of Sapphire and Steel's characters. I have to say that Steel arrives fully formed, subtle as a sledge hammer, and really can't be doing with anyone's shit. Sapphire is, I think, slightly more mutable. On the one hand, her role as the sympathetic one who understands humans is already fully present. However she also has a hint of Steel about her, when she tells Robert that the policeman, with his idiot pen and idiot notebook, won't be able to help them. This just strikes me as so much like the sort of thing Steel would say that I actually wonder whether it's a line that got passed from Steel to Sapphire.

However there is another way in which Sapphire acts quite steely in her first appearance. After telling Robert that the policeman won't be able to help them, she immediately launches in to quite a forensic analysis of the house, its contents, and the situation, without regard to the fact that they have just walked into a situation where the two children are going to be, at best, mystified. She does this even before she bothers to introduce them to Robert and Helen.

Of course it has to be Sapphire who does do the introducing when it next happens. She's not just the slightly more steely version of her character that I have described above, she also has a magnificent aspect of being a blond bombshell, a sexual aspect to her which is completely absent elsewhere in the series. As soon as she introduces herself to Robert, visibly he realises that women aren't just mothers, falls in love with her, and announces that her name is beautiful. Seriously, Sapphire doesn't go around having males fall in love with her in the rest of the series, but this is an aspect of her character here that I love enormously!

Robert's character is a reminder for me that the series was intended as a children's show. I would put the actor at about fourteen or fifteen: not a child in the way the little girl is (and not that long before would have been old enough to have been out of school and at work in the UK), but not an adult. Remembering that the series was intended for children resolved the dissatisfaction I was going to express with having someone so young as the 'straight man' for the narrative: he's placed in a literal older brother role, as the nearest thing there is to an adult in the household, who of necessity has to do the explaining to Sapphire and Steel because his little sister won't. The way he is placed in this pseudo-adult role is only unsatisfactory is you expect the show to act as if it is an adult show. Doh. That said, he is an excellent blank canvas for Sapphire and Steel to explain the whole idea of their work and the show: he has the right questions scripted and is exactly what is needed.

On the subject of children, I feel slightly bad that Helen has the most peculiar effect on me: she irritates me beyond all bearing. At points where Robert is trying to get her to do things, that are important and about saving themselves, she just announces that she's not going to. At another point she wanders off into the out-of-bounds bedroom when everyone thinks she is asleep. Frankly the child is a liability and you would expect that their parents would already have warned her that one day she would come to a sticky end. This is a completely personal reaction, that frankly I would rather she spent the entire show in silence and just did what she was told. In fact she could even just be unseen as well as unheard. Call me unfair, but that's what I am.

I have a criticism, which is that I'm afraid there's an element of pseudo-history here, which you would really expect Sapphire and Steel to be on top of, because Sapphire just knows about the nursery rhyme without having to look it up and would not be restricted to earthly sources. You would expect her to know that the idea that Ring-a-ring-a-roses is related to the plague, is in fact not true, and it is of more recent origin than you would think. If you know this it's a bit incongruous in a TV programme where the entire problem is because there is an old house full of old things. You may consider this nit-picking, but we're talking about the legendary Sapphire and Steel here and so I have to appear to be critical and not just roll over on my back and let it wash over me.

It is perhaps my long-term fanaticism about this show that manages to miss the obvious fact that it was made in a studio and not necessarily on a huge budget, but I think that adds to the charm. It also doesn't matter that the account of the elements in the titles is apparently complete nonsense, which I know bugs a lot of people: my own view is that since the show is fiction it's allowed to tinker with the structure of the universe.

Phew, it feels really good to be blogging about a Sapphire and Steel again, and I'm reminded that it really does take extensive repetition and discussion, always that sign of quality television.

This blog is mirrored at

culttvblog.tumblr.com/archive (from September 2023) and culttvblog.substack.com (from January 2023 and where you can subscribe by email)

Archives from 2013 to September 2023 may be found at culttvblog.blogspot.com and there is an index to the tags used on the Tumblr version at https://www.tumblr.com/culttvblog/729194158177370112/this-blog

[resurrection-of-soul]

Flashback | PSYCHOBREAK 14

Writer: Akira (日日日)

Characters: Koga, Adonis

Koga: Thanks, Adonis. I’m okay now. So long as you’re here, I’ll be fine. With you by my side, there ain’t nothin’ for me to worry about!

[ For the best viewing experience, please read directly on my blog! ♪ ]

Time: Present day. Two weeks after the launch of HELLSING, UNDEAD’s new initiative.

Location: In the Tohoku region, at one of the venues for HELLSING’s national tour.

Koga: “♪~♪~♪”

Koga: (Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me?) (Why am I feelin’ so frustrated!?) (This is supposed to be a dream come true!)

Rei II & Kaoru II: “♪♪♪♪♪”

Koga: (Ahh, a bassline so heavy it feels like it’ll tear your body apart! Soul-stirrin’ rock 'n' roll!) (The audience is ecstatic, stompin’ their feet to the beat! It’s a hellish feast!) (We’re — UNDEAD is — the greatest, strongest rock band! Our sound makes the world tremble!)

Koga: (This is what I’ve always wanted! The way our senpai kept wastin’ their time on frivolous shit instead a’ workin’ towards the same goal as me always made me so upset!) (I was frustrated, dissatisfied, angry!) (So, why! Even though I’m currently surrounded by people who’ll do whatever I want — even if they are fakes!) (Even though I’m finally gettin’ to make the best music ever, just like I always wanted!) (Why do I feel…! Get your shit together, Oogami Koga! What are ya, a puppy that’s been abandoned in the rain!?)

Koga: (Right now, why does it feel like I’m all alone—)

Adonis: Oogami.

Koga: …Tch. My bad, Adonis. I know, I gotta focus.

Adonis: It’s true you seem more low-energy than usual today, but that is not what I wanted to say. After all, I’m feeling just as off as you are. As they say, “one man’s fault is another’s lesson.” Before criticizing others, we should first reflect on ourselves. That is what I have always believed.

Koga: You really neeever change, huh? That’s real reassurin’.

Adonis: I believe I have grown at least a little.

Koga: I mean on a fundamental level. Makes me kinda jealous.

Koga: Cause me, I’m hopeless. I don’t even understand myself. This right here is the biggest national tour UNDEAD’s ever been on. It’s s’posed to be a dream come true, but I feel strangely restless. It feels just like that time when we first stood on stage together as UNDEAD Hey, how did we win back then? Was it cause Sakuma-senpai came to save us right when we needed it most, just like always?

Adonis: That is not how I remember it happening. During our debut match, Sakuma-senpai never set foot on stage. Yet, it was not a problem. The delinquents who were going around causing trouble in town ended up fleeing from the fight, or rather, they scoffed and ignored us — we won by default. However, we did not know that would happen. So the three of us — you, Hakaze-senpai and I — did the best we could at the time. We did not just run away; we fought. That is why we won. Even if it was just a bloodless walkover, a win is still a win. I’m still proud of that experience. It was my starting point. Even now, I do the best I can in each moment, just as I did back then.

Koga: Haha. That’s right, you’ve always been this way. It was exactly the same during last year’s Repayment Festival. Or hell, even before that, when I was lured into actin’ as fine’s attack dog. No matter how miserable things got or how inevitable defeat seemed, ya never gave up, standin’ by my side ‘til the very end. Thanks, Adonis. I’m okay now. So long as you’re here, I’ll be fine.

Koga: With you by my side, there ain’t nothin’ for me to worry about! “♪~♪~♪”

Adonis: …Thank you, Oogami. Those words truly make me happy. It feels like my efforts have been rewarded. But as I said, that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.

Koga: Hah?

Adonis: Our senpai are behaving somewhat strangely.

Koga: ……!?

Rei II: “♪~......”

Kaoru II: “...... …...”

Koga: Nn!? Wh-wh-what the hell’s wrong with those fakes? Their movements are strangely jerky― D-did they get damaged somehow’!?

Adonis: They’re precision machines… I have been training, so I’m still okay, but maybe they could not handle the grueling pace of a national tour.

Koga: Damn it, get it together, ya pieces of junk! The tour ain’t over yet! Ya can’t just break down here!?

Adonis: Don’t cause a scene, Oogami. We shouldn’t draw attention. Let’s try to distract the audience before either they notice something’s wrong, or our senpai stop moving completely. It’s time to move onto the next song. If we release smoke as part of the intro, the audience won’t be able to see us from their― Hm? Even without any direction from us, a lot of smoke is already being released.

Koga: D-did some attentive staff member notice what was happening and take the initiative to’ help us out!? But no, wait, aren’t we s’posed to be the only ones who know those two are fakes?

[ ☆ ]

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[luminary-rainchii]

I Saw ur rb on my cohost post. One thing i gotta say since the markiplier tag is empty is that i get to hog the tag to put my sphinx ego au forward lolol (idk if you remember this au when i told u about it but i finally launched my blog ! Its mythos-egos !)

Your post is highkey the first time I've heard of Cohost, but I'll be looking into it later! Also I think I do remember that! Man it's been forever since we talked, or since I like checked out your stuff lmao

But, hi !!

[andersunmenschlich]

A Vanishing Post

There was a Tumblr post containing a video of two interviews done by the same interviewer, one with someone from Hamas, the other with someone from Israel.

I reblogged this post and saved it as a draft because I intended to add a transcript (and summary).

The post disappeared from my drafts. I went to the blog where I'd seen it, and it wasn't there either. I couldn't remember any other usernames. I couldn't remember the interviewer's name or the names of the people they were interviewing.

I'm a stubborn cuss, however, and I pummeled Google until it turned up the video I remembered.

The interviewer was a man named Marc Lamont Hill, the host of Al Jazeera English's current affairs program Up Front. The person from Hamas was Osama Hamdan, the senior spokesperson for Hamas, and the person from Israel was Danny Ayalon, Israel's former deputy foreign minister and former foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu. The date was October 13, 2023.

A Brief Summary

Hamas shot rockets from Gaza into Israel, then attacked multiple places on foot, killing people and taking hostages. Israel cut off Gaza's food, water, electricity, etc., and started bombing it.

Interviewer: Hamas, why did you attack civilians?

Hamas: Civilians, non-civilians, potayto, potahto. They're invaders who have been stealing our land and lives, killing our men and women and children, for 75 years.

Interviewer: How can you attack Israel when you know the retaliation will kill innocent Palestinians?

Hamas: Israel is always killing innocent Palestinians no matter what we do. They kill us if we're violent. They kill us if we're peaceful. And no one in the world cares. We might as well at least try to resist.

Interviewer: Israel, why are you hurting and killing everyone in Gaza, civilians included?

Israel: It's Hamas's fault—they won't surrender and they won't let the civilians leave. So we're going to keep hurting and killing those civilians until Hamas either surrenders or lets the civilians leave. This is all Hamas's fault. Look what they're making us do!

Interviewer: Hurting and killing civilians is bad.

Israel: Yes, but it's not our fault! We're not bad! The whole world is on our side because we're in the right here! Hamas is bad! They're making us kill innocent Palestinians! .

full transcript below readmore

Hill On October 7th, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza, followed by a coordinated incursion into Israel by Hamas fighters. Scores of unarmed civilians were killed and many taken hostage. In response to the attack, Israeli prime minister Netanyahu swore, quote, "a mighty vengeance" against the group.

Israel has since retaliated with a complete siege of Gaza, launching air strikes that razed entire districts, killing hundreds and injuring thousands in the Palestinian enclave.

On today's show we'll delve deep into the conflict. Coming up in the second half of the show, we'll speak to the former deputy foreign minister for Israel and former foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, Danny Ayalon. With us first is senior spokesperson for Hamas, Osama Hamdan.

[cut, show title]

Hill Osama Hamdan, senior spokesperson for Hamas, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Hamdan Thank you.

Hill On October 7th, Hamas launched an attack when they launched thousands of rockets into Israel. Militants entered the country and took scores of civilians hostage, including women, children, and the elderly.

While the right of resistance is absolutely secured for all occupied people under international law, the use of force is not unlimited, and targeting civilians and taking hostages are war crimes.

How can you justify attacking civilian targets?

Hamdan Well, thank you for having me. First of all, I have to say that this is the story from the Israeli side, which is not really true. I have to turn you to Oren Ziv, who is an Israeli journalist. He was today in Kfar Aza settlement, and he said there is no evidence that Hamas slaughtered children.

I'm sorry that the Israeli government is using that to commit its crimes in Gaza.

So this is the first part of the answer: we have also some Israelis who are telling this has not happened, and it's used—it's a story, a fake story, used to kill more Palestinians. But this is the, the other part—

Hill But the question was "how do you justify attacking civilian targets?" That was the actual question. One second, nono, the question was "how can you justify attacking civilian targets."

Hamdan You are asking the wrong question.

Hill No, no, no; the question was "how can you justify attacking civilian targets."

Hamdan You are asking—you are asking the wrong question.

Hill We may disagree on what the right question is, but I do want—I would like you to answer this question. How do you justify attacking civilian targets?

Hamdan But this is a wrong question. This is a wrong question, and I'm not going to the same game of the Israelis.

Hill I'm asking a very clear question about civilians. Let—let me ask a very direct question: have any civilians been killed?

Hamdan Well, I don't know exactly, because this is what is told by the Israelis. What I'm telling you is that for this Israeli government—

Hill You—you just cited Oren Ziv: he says civilians were killed.

Hamdan No, he didn't say—he said, "no evidence that children were slaughtered."

Hill [incoherent sound]

Hamdan I don't—I don't—

Hill He said—he said, "dozens of bodies of Israelis murdered in their homes."

Hamdan Excuse me!

Hill Those were his words.

Hamdan You are—you are wasting the time. It's your time. It's not my time. You are wasting the time.

Hill All right, let's pause for a moment, sir. My question is, if you find out that civilians have been killed, would you consider that justified or would you consider that unjustified?

Hamdan There is—three hundred children have been killed today in Gaza by the Israelis. Two hundred women have been killed today, by the Israelis, in Gaza. One thousand two hundred children were injured. One thousand women were injured today, just today and yesterday, in Gaza.

You are asking me the wrong question. You have to ask about what is happening in Gaza, which is under the siege for the last seventeen years, which is under the offensive Israeli attack for the last four days.

You keep asking about the Israelis: why don't you ask about the Palestinians?

Hill So, so that's a—that's a fair—

Hamdan Can I understand that you don't care about the Palestinians?

Hill Sir, sir, sir, that's a, that is a fair question, that—

Hamdan Excuse me! I have to continue. You are asking about the Israelis. You don't ask about the Palestinians. No one cares about the Palestinians. This is the story: the story is the occupation. 75 years of occupation for the Palestinians. We have to talk about the occupation and how the Palestinians are looking to—for this occupation, and how can we make an end for this occupation.

This is the story! It's not the story about what you are asking about.

Hill Okay, I—I, I understand your perspective. To be clear, after this interview I will be interviewing a representative of the Israeli military, and I will be asking him about Israel's war crimes.

I absolutely acknowledge that Israel has committed war crimes. In fact, I have written a book with a whole chapter about Gaza and the war crimes that have been committed against Gaza there, so please do not suggest to me that I do not take this issue seriously. However—

Hamdan Thank—thank you—

Hill However, let me finish, I—I allowed you to finish—

Hamdan —thank you for clarifying that—

Hill —yeah, so, so now—

Hamdan —thank you for clarifying that, but I also—

Hill —now that—sir, sir—

Hamdan —you can't compare—

Hill —sir, I—I'm not comparing anything, but—

Hamdan Okay.

Hill —please allow me to finish. My question for you is, "Is everyone living inside a settlement a legitimate military target for Hamas?"

Hamdan According to the international law, the settlers are not civilians.

Hill So, sir, again, human rights organizations have said the legal status of settlements under international humanitarian law does not negate the rights of the civilians living there.

The fact that a person lives in a settlement, whether legal or not, does not make him or her a legitimate military target.

So, in light of the fact that human rights organizations would argue that even if settlements are illegal the people living inside of them are still considered civilians, how do you see, moving forward, Hamas's vision of whether or not settlements are legitimate military targets?

Hamdan Well, uh, the "legitimate" thing which I believe in is that Palestine is our land.

Our people are living on our land, challenging the occupation for the last 75 years. On those 75 years, the women, the children were killed by the Israeli soldiers, the Israeli settlers. Their homeland was taken. They were replaced by Israelis who came from everywhere in the world. They talk different languages and they claim that this land is for them.

If you ask any one of them about the grave of his father, he will take you to Poland, or to Argentina.

But if you ask any Palestinian about the grave of his seventeenth grandfather, he will take you to some place in Palestine, showing you the graves, telling you, "This is where my seventeenth grandfather was buried"—or maybe before that.

We are in this land from the days of Jesus Christ! Don't ask me about those settlers and those soldiers who are killing my people every day, every time—and this is the fact which creates the resistance of the Palestinians. The Palestinians did not start the war.

Hill Let's talk about the Israeli response to the Hamas attack, which has been horrific.

Israel is bombing Gaza and has declared a complete siege. It's cut off food, fuel, and water from being admitted to over two million people. Thousands of Palestinians are going to die. One resident from Khan Yunis said, "This is a bloody war that is different from previous wars. What is going on right now is total annihilation."

We see this horrific response by the Israeli government—my question for you is, "Have the actions of Hamas over the past week made things worse for Palestinians on the ground?"

Hamdan The Israelis have done this before. They did that in 2014. They cut the electricity from Gaza, in 2014, for seventeen days. They cut the aid for the hospitals. In 2014, two thousand five hundred Palestinians were killed. In 2021, more than one thousand Palestinians were killed. No one remembers the numbers, because they are only Palestinians.

But I want to tell you, they were shocked by what had happened to their army. Eleven military points were attacked by the militants of Hamas. The soldiers were killed, or taken as war prisoners, and the Israelis were shocked. This is the main troops attacking Gaza for the last ten years: they fall down in a few hours. This is a shock! They want to get back the image of Israel army. They want to show everyone that Israel can destroy everyone—

Hill That's an interesting point, sir—

Hamdan —by the supervision of the American and the support of the—

Hill —that's, that's an important point you're making. You're saying that Israel sort of commits to a certain kind of response when it looks bad; that Israel responds disproportionately, and that Israel already wants to use this as a pretext for destroying the Palestinian people.

I'm saying, if you know that's going to happen, then how do you calculate the decision to launch an attack, knowing that a university is going to be bombed, knowing that power is going to be cut off, knowing that fuel's going to be cut off, knowing that people are going to die because of the Israeli response—if you know that, why do you still make the attack?

Particularly when the Palestinian people don't have a say in whether or not that's going to happen?

Hamdan This is a good question. You know, the fact that the Israelis are killing the Palestinians on all the ways, all the times.... For example, in West Bank, in the last ten months, more than five hundred Palestinians were killed.

Most of them were civilians. They were shot in the streets, just demonstrating peacefully against the Israeli troops!

The fact that everyone has to understand is that this occupation is killing the Palestinians all the time. He's not giving them any chance to have normal lives. He's not giving them the chance to be independent and to have their independent sovereign state—even after thirty years of signature of Oslo agreement, he's not implementing any international resolutions. He doesn't care about the international law.

So we are facing this fact: the Israelis are killing you if you are treating them peacefully or if you are resisting them.

At the end of the day, the occupation is still there. So it's better to resist than be slaughtered daily without even resisting the occupation.

Hill What was the goal of last week's actions? What was the immediate goal of last week's actions—what would you say the target or goal was?

Hamdan The goal is to make an end for the Israeli attacks against the Palestinians. To make an end for the Israeli attacks on Jerusalem, [place name I couldn't catch], in West Bank; taking over the lands and to lift the siege on Gaza.

The Israelis are planning for a long, long occupation on Palestine, and I think if they don't get the lesson from what has happened the last four days: this army will not protect them. Their violence will not protect them. Even if they were supported by the United States. If they want to be protected, they have to acknowledge the Palestinian rights and to implement the international resolutions which gave the Palestinian people their rights—without negotiations.

Those are rights. No one can negotiate our rights.

Hill Osama Hamdan, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Hamdan Thank you.

[cut]

Hill We tried repeatedly to get an Israeli Army spokesperson on the show to respond to Hamas, but they canceled the scheduled interviews. For more on the developments in Gaza, we are joined by Israel's former deputy foreign minister and a former foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Danny Ayalon.

[cut, show title]

Hill Danny Ayalon, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Ayalon My pleasure.

Hill Danny, last Saturday, the 7th, Hamas launched a devastating attack. Thousands of rockets were fired towards Israel, and hundreds of Hamas fighters crossed into the country. There are reports of horrific killings of Israeli civilians: a clear, clear violation of international law.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the Gaza Strip into, quote, "rubble," and the government announced a, quote, "complete siege of the enclave."

Since then, we've seen mass bombing in Gaza, with reports that hundreds of civilians have been killed—and while the actions of Hamas are a clear, and I want to emphasize that, a clear violation of international law, isn't the collective punishment of all Gazans also, by definition, a war crime?

Ayalon Not really, because the situation is very clear.

You know, as you mentioned—rightly so—Hamas perpetrated an attack (which was a surprise attack, the IDF was caught unprepared), and they got a major victory for the first 24 hours: but who was this victory against? Babies and children and all families that were massacred in bed. The IDF was nowhere to be seen. When the IDF came back, now, they pushed them back into Gaza.

Now, the problem with Hamas is that they're committing a double war crime, because they are targeting only civilians, and they're using their own civilians, the poor Palestinians of Gaza, as human shields.

What Israel did gave them a fair warning, and I think this is the only way to do with them, is we told the Gazan people to clear the area temporarily so we can go and take Hamas out—and then, of course, they can come back.

So this, by definition, is not a war crime.

We understand the plight of the Palestinians. They deserve their dignity and everything else. But nothing justifies butchering families.

You know, this day, as you mentioned, the 7th of October, was the day that more Jews were killed in 24 hours than any other day since the Holocaust. So you see, I mean—

Hill Without—without question, respectfully, this is a devastating moment. An extraordinary act of violence that, again, is a violation of international law. But you said a couple of things that I want to push you on.

The idea of collective punishment is one of the things that we're talking about here.

Electricity has been cut. Power has been cut. Fuel has been cut. The Gazan people right now are being punished for the actions of Hamas. How is that not, by definition, collective punishment?

Ayalon Two things. First of all, Hamas has turned Gaza into an enemy state. So there is no law, nothing in international law, that compels a country you are in a war with, to supply them the electricity. Now, what do they use the electricity for?

Hill As, as—as an occupying power, international law does say that you have certain responsibilities by law... but before we get there, even if we—we'll hold it for a moment, the power thing—there are residential buildings being hit. There are hospitals being hit. This is a densely populated area. The idea of being able to run away or to escape or go to a safe area seems impossible.

Also, according to your own military representatives, you've abandoned the idea of knocking on roofs: that is to say, giving a warning, of dropping a non-explosive munition on buildings before people go.

So people aren't getting a warning, they have nowhere to go, residential buildings, schools, and hospitals are being hit.

How is this not, again, an act of collective punishment, and how is this not a target of civilians—unless, of course, you're regarding everybody in Gaza as an enemy combatant?

Ayalon Okay, well, I hear you, I hear you. But again, what we gave the population is a fair warning.

What would you do, you know, what would you do if—

Hill What—what, what was the fair warning? This—I just want to make sure we're on the same page here. Benjamin Netanyahu told everyone to leave the area. Where were they to go?

Ayalon Okay. Very, very—I mean, this was thought out. It's not something that we tell them, "Go to the beaches, go drown yourselves," God forbid, not at all. There is a huge expanse, almost endless space in the Sinai Desert just on the other side of Gaza.

The idea is—and this is not the first time it will be done—the idea is for them to leave over to the open areas where we and the international community will prepare the infrastructure. You know, ten cities with food and with water. You know what, just like for the refugees of Syria that fled the butchering of Assad a few years ago to Turkey. Turkey received two million of them. This is the idea.

Now, Egypt will have to play ball here, because once the population is out of sight, then we can go. You know what the Palast—what the, what Hamas did. You know, we—

Hill When the—you said, "the population out of sight," is that practically possible in such a densely populated area?

And, and forty—you have two million people in a densely populated enclave. Forty-seven percent of the inhabitants are children. Is it reasonable or plausible to think that all those people are going to relocate to this excluded area and be safe from a bombing attack? And again, the warn—we're saying there's warnings, but there are numerous reports on the ground that there are no warnings, that people are getting hit, that families have been killed from these attacks!

Ayalon I'll tell you in a practical manner what we should do and what we can do. Create, like in the past, in history, a humanitarian corridor. When there is a humanitarian corridor—and we have been discussing this with the United States—then we can guarantee, in this corridor, that nobody will get hurt.

Now, again I say there is a way to receive them all on the other side for temporary time in Sinai. Because, what did Hamas turn out on Gaza, Gaza—

Hill On the other side? Are we talking about—are you, are you saying, "the other side," they go to Egypt?

Ayalon Yes. Absolutely, absolutely, and Egypt will have to play ball because this is—human life is at stake, and if you are—

Hill [disbelieving laugh] But, but sir, human life is at stake because you're cutting off power, you're, you're shutting down hospitals, you're bombing residential buildings—

Right now, there is a hospital that does not have sufficient power. There is a hospital where people are literally going to die. And Israel's energy minister Israel Katz said, "No electrical switch will be turned on, no hydrant will be open, no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home."

Now, the ICRC spokesperson Hisham Mhanna said that by cutting that power "hospitals are going to turn into graveyards."

This is not an ideologue. This is the International Committee of the Red Cross. They're saying that because of your country's actions—not the actions of Hamas, not the actions of Egypt, but because of Israel's actions—the hospitals are going to turn into graveyards.

How is that not a war crime? How is that defensible by any standard?

Ayalon First of all, the war crime, if anything, is Hamas. They are the ones. And I know exactly what you're talking about. Hamas does not allow—sometimes, when they can, they keep those civilians captive. They don't allow them to run away, because this is what they want.

Now, I know the area. And I suppose you're talking about the main hospital, which is the Shifa Hospital.

Hill Yep.

Ayalon The Shifa Hospital has been turned into a Hamas bunker. If Hamas wants to save them, they should just leave their arms, come out, and nothing will happen. But as long as they keep the Shifa Hospital, just like schools and kindergartens, as bunkers and they fight out from there, there is no law—there is no law in this universe that protects them. And this is what we're doing, and this is why the world is—

Hill Sir, sir! Sir, is there any independent reports—are there any intelligence reports that show that the Shifa Hospital is primarily a Hamas bunker and not an actual medical site?

Ayalon Yes, and you know—and you know what—

Hill W-where? Who? Where?

Ayalon A-and you know what, mark my words, and, and you can show it again, because I know it's recorded. When this war is over and we bring in the international press to Shifa and to all the bunkers, the underground tunnels that Hamas has created in Gaza—ask intelligence services of every country in the world, they know it—but anyway, what I'm saying is—

Hill No, no, no—just to be clear, for the audience's benefit, no intelligence service has claimed that. Not one government has claimed that the Shifa Hospital is a Hamas bunker. That is your claim, and I want to be very clear that that is your claim.

And you're saying that you don't have any reports, but that I should just trust you.

Ayalon No!

Hill Mark your words, trust you, and later on it'll be proven true.

Ayalon I'm telling you, everybody will see.

Hill Okay.

Ayalon After the war is over.

Hill Fair enough.

Ayalon Even—

Hill I have—I have to move on just in the interests of time, but I want to continue on the same vein, because the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, said that he was deeply distressed by Israel's announcement of a siege on the Gaza Strip. He said that the humanitarian situation, quote, "will only deteriorate exponentially," and that crucial life-saving supplies, including fuel, food, and water must be allowed into Gaza.

So the UN is saying, "You must do this." You are saying you're not going to do this. How do you—

Ayalon No. We're not, we're not saying that.

Hill He's saying "do it immediately." What I'm saying is, what you're—he's saying, "do it immediately."

Ayalon I got you. I'll tell you exactly what we're saying. I'm saying, we will do everything for the Gazan people, once—and now we demand immediate surrender, unconditional surrender of Hamas. If Hamas people come out with their hands up and clear their weapons, believe me, everything will be restored to Gaza. It is Hamas, in Hamas hands. If they care—

Hill Okay, now I understand. Thank you for clarifying that, sir. I think we're actually on the same page here. You're saying that once Hamas leaves, you'll grant the Gazan people food, shelter, fuel, electricity, hospitals, schooling. And if Hamas doesn't leave, then they'll continue to starve and die in hospitals.

You are defining for the international community, right now, collective punishment.

You're saying, "Until Hamas acts differently, the two million people in Gaza are going to be treated this way. And once Hamas acts differently, these two million people in Gaza will be treated better."

That is exactly what collective punishment is: you're holding them accountable for the actions of others; that is the definition, the textbook definition, of collective punishment, sir. Now, you—you may accept that that's what you want to do, but this is absolutely a contravention of international law.

Ayalon Well, I'll tell you exactly—no! Had we had no—if we had pushed them into the wall—we're not pushing them to the wall! We want to open a humanitarian corridor so they can leave. But if Hamas—

Hill So that who can leave? Citizens? You're saying civilians can leave, but only through the Rafah Border, correct?

Ayalon At this point, yes.

Hill So they can't—

Ayalon Because, where else—

Hill Your country! They can come into Israel!

Ayalon [big fake smile, long pause] I'm telling you one more thing I want to say—

Hill I-I want you to address that point—

Ayalon [another big smile]

Hill —don't just smile, sir, respectfully. You're saying—

Ayalon [smile vanishes] I'm not smiling!

Hill —they, you're making a corridor, they can go to Egypt—you're bombing them! You say you want to save them, but you—they can't come in.

Ayalon I—first of all, I'm not smiling. I'm crying in my heart. I'm crying in my heart for all the butchery of thousands of Israelis. Why do you think the world is with us? Why do you think the world is wise? All the international media was there.

So don't talk to me about collective punishment, don't talk to me about humanitarian—these are new rules of the game.

There is no coexistence with Hamas, which is worse than Isis, and we will not stop. We are allowing the population to leave. But if Hamas will surrender, there won't be any problem whatsoever.

Hill Danny Ayalon, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Ayalon Pleasure.

Hill All right, that is our show. Up Front will be back next week.

[end cut, show title]

[nickgerlich]

Ready, Set, Shop

Remember when Black Friday signified the beginning of the Christmas shopping season? Yeah, I do, but it is fading fast. There is little reason to camp out overnight at Best Buy these days when all the good sales are done and over with six weeks earlier.

Like what is going to happen starting real soon, a mirror of how the most aggressive (maybe I should say scared) retailers approach the first week of October. The leaves haven’t started turning, much lass fallen, and here they are going for the end zone on the first play of the game.

Once again, Target, Walmart and Best Buy will be dueling it out with Amazon. Target’s blitz starts 1st October, with Walmart on the 9th, Amazon on the 10th, and Best Buy also the same day. If there is an upside, at least you won’t have to wear a winter coat.

But if anything, these early sales once more tell us just how nervous retailers are with the current economy. In a recent blog we looked at holiday sales predictions, which, after accounting for inflation, are flat. It’s just that holiday retailing has started to mimic the old line about voting in Chicago: Vote early, and vote often.

And if we start shopping early, there is hope that we may shop often as well. A retailer can dream, right? Actually, Target is offering a deep discount item every day until Christmas Eve. And Best Buy is offering a $50 reward certificate to be used in December if you spend $500 in October.

But I am already seeing signs of pre-holiday Christmas pricing to try to lure people in. This week at the local Walmart I noticed their house brand 65” TV model for $368. I know, it’s a private label and not rated as highly as a Vizio or Samsung, but good grief, that is cheap. My first 55” TV cost about $1200. Today, they have almost become an impulse purchase.

“Honey, what do you think about getting a big screen for the kids’ room?”

It is in setting patterns like this that consumers will quickly learn that they can cherry pick, because there will almost certainly be recurring sales events every week until Christmas. Adding six weeks to the shopping season may be ridiculous at some level, but then again, it also makes it open season for shoppers. If people are willing to sit tight and make retailers even more nervous, there might be even better deals down the road, and without freezing off your nether regions camping on the sidewalk.

Not surprisingly, I wrote about this last year for my students. I also pointed out my reciprocity rule: One gift for you, one for me. To be honest, I could have been lazy and just dusted off that blog and reposted it, because I said pretty much the same things I am saying here.

I know. It’s not like the six-week lead time happened all at once. Holiday shopping has been inching longer and longer for about a decade. Initially it spread into early November, then late October. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Amazon or the others launching a Christmas-in-September sale next year.

It is when there are economic uncertainties that retailers are the most nervous. The lore is that 40% of a retailers’ sales comes in the six weeks preceding Christmas. This will have to be revised to 12 weeks now I suppose, but it does underscore just how important the holiday season is. Fail here, and you fail the entire year.

There is also the sobering fact that in our consumer-driven economy, we have almost completely lost sight of any religious significance. That is a blog for another day and worth exploring, even without dipping my feet into the pond of any specific religion. When Santa is the reason for the season, you know we have gone a little bit off the rails. It’s like none of the religious super heroes can hold a candle to the man with the white beard.

If I were you, I’d start watching all the sales announcements that will drop in the next week. There might be some great bargains to scoop up, either for your loved ones, or yourself. Reciprocity, you know.

Besides, it’s easy to justify spending money on yourself when it’s on sale. And why wait until Black Friday to venture out? It’s too cold then anyway.

Dr “Ho Ho Ho!” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[bills-bible-basics]

Is the Truth Social Network a Dud? #Christian #BibleStudy #Jesus https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/is-the-truth-social-network-a-dud/ IS THE "TRUTH SOCIAL" NETWORK A DUD? -- My Firsthand Experience With the Truth Social Network As I have mentioned before, it took almost two weeks for me to get into the "Truth Social" social network once I had registered with them on my iPhone during the first week of March of 2022. If I recall correctly, my wait list number was 1,090,253, or something close to that. I don't remember the exact number now. I made a Facebook timeline post regarding my initial experience with Truth Social around the middle of March. Oddly enough, I can no longer find that particular post on my Facebook timeline. Or maybe it isn't so odd, considering how Facebook chooses to operate. Many of you reading this commentary will already understand what I mean by this. Then, after my Truth Social account request had finally been approved during the second week of March -- it does require a lot of patience -- and I had gotten into their social platform, when they announced that they were going to begin verifying accounts so that users could have a red check mark displayed next to their name, I submitted a verification request for my account. Well, after a few days, I received an email from Truth Social in which they outlined the criteria which they use to determine whether or not to verify a person's account. Before proceeding, let me point out that joining Truth Social, and being a verified user, are two separate things. In other words, anyone can make an account request, be accepted into their social network, and make posts and interact with other users, without ever being verified. Being verified is an additional optional step which confirms that a person is who they say they are. As occurs on some other social networks, its purpose is to engender trust in that particular user so that other users will interact with them, and have confidence that the posts -- or truths -- which are being made are true, and are actually being posted by that person or entity. But here's the thing. What I have discovered thus far in my almost one month with Truth Social, is that insofar as verified accounts are concerned, the people behind Truth Social are really only interested in verifying high profile conservative influencers, such as Sean Hannity, Dan Bongino, Kevin McCarthy, Dan Scavino, Maria Bartiromo, Breitbart News and the like. Two of Trump's sons -- Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump -- also have verified accounts, as does Melania Trump. Even The Babylon Bee -- which a lot of people often quote, as if what the Bee says is true, when it is really all satire -- has a verified account there. Country music star Travis Tritt also has a verified Truth Social account. A few high profile personalities for whom I expected to find verified accounts when I just conducted my Truth Social search, but for whom I did NOT find verified accounts, include Ivanka Trump, Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Kayleigh McEnany and Kellyanne Conway. Conway does have a Truth Social account, but it is not a verified account. From reading certain news reports from recent months, what I also discovered is that prior to its official launch to the general public, the Truth Social team sent out special invitations to many high profile VIPs, encouraging them to join Truth Social. This endeavor even included sending out invitations to some of former president Donald Trump's most vocal critics. Oddly enough, even though Truth Social was specifically set up by and for former U.S. president, Donald Trump, so that he could have a free hand to express his views without any kind of censorship, to date, Trump himself has only made one post there. Weird. He -- and his views -- is supposed to be the main attraction and the magnet which draws millions of other conservatives to Truth Social; and yet the man hasn't even posted anything yet. I am not sure what to make of that. In contrast to the aforementioned VIPs, sad to say, my initial impression after one month's usage of the Truth Social network is that all the rest of us are viewed as small potatoes, and are basically ignored; meaning that we don't get much exposure -- if any at all -- on Truth Social. We most certainly will never be considered for a verified account. This became clear to me when I read the email which was sent to me by the Truth Social staff, which just so happens to have "@vip.truthsocial.com" in the email address. In my view, this email basically says to me "You are not important enough." Following are the full contents of the email. Decide for yourself if I am wrong: ----- Begin Quote ----- A red check on TRUTH Social lets users know that an account of public interest is genuine and not an imposter, impersonation, or parody. In order to receive a red check your account must be authentic, active on TRUTH Social, and noteworthy. We will consider noteworthy people and organizations in the following categories: * Government * Brands, companies, and nonprofits * Journalists and news organizations * Sports (including esports) * Entertainment * Activists, influencers, and organizers For an account to be verified, you must be an active user of TRUTH Social. TRUTH Social users will be considered active users upon completion of the following steps: * Your account must have a complete profile name with a profile image. * Your phone number and email address must be confirmed. * Your account must be actively posting content. To be verified on TRUTH Social, you will be asked to provide the following information to confirm your identity: * An official website that confirms you or your organization’s identity. * A valid official government issued identification document, like a passport or driver’s license. * An official email (i.e., a branded email address that matches your official website). Or * Announce on your verified Twitter or Instagram account where users can find you on TRUTH Social. The announcement must not be removed for six months. ----- End Quote ----- To prove my point, consider the fact that even though I have been a member of Truth Social for about a month now; and even though I have made over sixty posts thus far, many of which are my politically-oriented poetry, some of which even support Donald Trump; and even though I have openly declared that I am a Christian in my user profile; to date, I have only acquired four followers. That's right, folks; only four people in a month's time. I don't know any of them on a personal level. For all I know, some of them may not even be real people. They could be bots. Furthermore, even though I have advertised my Truth Social account on Facebook multiple times, none of my 5,000 Facebook friends have joined me on Truth Social. As if the previous points aren't already enough to discourage my ongoing participation on the Truth Social platform, consider the fact that no one has liked, commented on, or shared -- what Truth Social calls "retruth" -- any of my posts. It is as if no one is even seeing them, just as now occurs on Facebook. After all, it seems to me that if other Truth Social users were actually seeing my posts, surely I would have received at least a few likes and comments by now. Yet I have yet to receive a single one. Why do I believe this? Because as I mentioned earlier, I have specifically shared poetry -- as well as some graphics, videos and commentaries -- which are clearly conservative and/or Christian in nature. Unless I am wrong, conservatism is supposed to be a strong attractor on Truth Social. So why aren't the fish biting? The discouraging truth of the matter is that the ONLY interaction I have seen, is when I have commented on OTHER users' posts, and those other users happen to be big name accounts such as Sean Hannity, NASA, Cute Animals Doing Stuff, Science Videos, etc. In case you have missed one of my main points, it is this: It should not matter if a person is a VIP, high profile politician, popular social influencer, well-known celebrity or not. If any individual is willing to provide whatever proof the Truth Social network requires in order to verify that they are who they say they are, then Truth Social should be willing to verify their account. By failing to do so, and by only verifying VIP accounts, they are in fact already practicing discrimination, and dividing their users into different classes on their network. They are creating an elite class, and a peon class, and they are no better than any other social network which does the same thing. This ought not to be, in my opinion. So the aforementioned has been my personal experience on the Truth Social social network thus far. Unless the situation changes soon, I honestly cannot justify spending a lot of time on their platform. As bad as Facebook has become for those of us who embrace Conservative and Christian values, it still gives me more exposure -- as little as it may be -- than Truth Social, and that is not saying a lot for Facebook either. https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/is-the-truth-social-network-a-dud/?Is%20the%20Truth%20Social%20Network%20a%20Dud%3F