#*multiple people & countries can be at fault and they're all still just people/countries like you/your country*

[frogeyedape]

I'm tired of seeing antisemitism on my dash, in all its subtle forms. War is an atrocity, and Israel is not unique in that. Where is the outrage against Russia's ongoing genocide of Ukrainians? What about China's genocide of Uyghurs? What of all the other atrocities being committed around the world? Why is there *so much attention* devoted to hating Israel and seeking, not an end to the conflict, but the end of Israel? Is it just that they're a little country, an easy target to potentially dismantle, compared to the big fish of Russia and China?

Keep calling out the atrocities, by all means, but for the love of humanity maybe broaden your targets and reduce your own genocidal wishes?

Any ideology that says: "They did horrible things so 'they' [the group they belong to] all deserve to die horribly" is an evil one.

[matan4il]

Just wanted to send some love your way 🩵 Im a left-ish diaspora Jew who had, up until really recently, taken the stance that the conflict between Israel and Palestine was too complex for me to fully understand. I appreciate blogs like yours because they have genuinely helped me understand and see through the narratives that both sides are equally at fault, or that Israel is some colonialist war machine bent on gobbling up all available territory at the expense of everyone else’s lives.

It’s kind of frightening for me to have a stance at all, when the people around me were all silent on October 7th but have no issue hanging Palestinian flags outside their homes and filling their social media with slogans that they claim are simply “anti Zionist” but are absolutely anti-Semitic.

I don’t know how to explain to them that YES my heart bleeds for every average human in Gaza who genuinely does want to just exist, but that doesn’t meant that I think the onus for peace lays exclusively on Israel’s shoulders, and I don’t support disbanding Israel as a country. I worry a lot about being too one-sided or simplifying things too much; I still feel very much like I’m sitting in a middle position, due to those concerns. And it’s scary that it still wouldn’t be enough for people — FRIENDS, even — around me.

Sorry for the ramble. Thank you for your informative posts. Speaking as someone who finds a lot of joy in fandom stuff, I really hope the tides turn so that kind of thing can occupy more space in your mind than worrying does 🩵

Awww, Nonnie! I am hugging you SO MUCH!

My heart aches, because you're absolutely right. It doesn't matter how much we'll denounce racism, they will still call us racist. It doesn't matter how often we state that we want life and dignity for both Jews AND Palestinians, they'll still accuse us of supporting genocide. It doesn't matter if we'll criticize the government, they'll still claim we're brainwashed to silence our voices.

So if it's not about our actual beliefs and positions, what's it about?

It's about the fact that we're Jews. And we're told that we can only be "good" Jews if we throw our fellow Jewish people under the bus, even though for every other minority, solidarity is encouraged and celebrated. We're only "good" Jews if we give up our native rights by adhering to a narrative that paints us as colonizers of our own ancestral land, even as native rights are upheld as vital for every other indigenous group. We're only "good" Jews by doubting the multiple testimonies of rape and baby beheadings, even though every victim is supposed to be heard and believed. We're only "good" Jews if we agree to give up the right to self defense, which means we give up the right to live safely, to live peacefully... really, if we give up the right to live, period. All while telling us this is due to the value of all human life. They're literally gaslighting us with "All Lives Matter," and it's the same crowd who could recognize the issue with that slogan, when it was used to silence black people demanding that very same right.

We do not have to go along with this modern "witch test," where they try us by dunking us into water, and the only way to be "innocent" is to die drowning, so if we didn't, then we're witches, and we die still, because they burn us at the stake. I refuse to collaborate with the erasure of Jewish identity, history and rights, which leaves all Jews stripped of protection, vulnerable to abuse, and I will keep speaking, even if they call me every dirty name they can think of for recognizing the Jewish right to live, and to live in our historic homeland, especially as we have always been willing to live here side by side with others. Whatever they say about me, at least I won't be a tokenized Jew, that they can use to bully other Jews into silence.

We absolutely can be pro-Israeli AND pro-Palestinian, rather than turning anti-Israeli to "prove" we're good, pro-Palestinian Jews.

I'm sorry, IDK if I'm actually helping here! Just know that you're not alone in feeling this way. Actually, the fantastic Mayim Bialik also talked about this recently, so I'll give you her eloquent words:

(this is just a part of the vid, you can find the whole thing here)

Thank YOU for the kind words! And may we all get back to just being able to enjoy fandom as the fun, escapist hobby it should be. Sending you lots of hugs and love! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[moregraceful]

i was talking to my best friend last night abt how renn faires are on the list of weirdly specific things i would ever want to travel to north america for, and i had the realisation that if i was flying 20+ hours to the us (blergh) i would wanna go to california specifically because i wanna see sports with you and have you explain all the gay little narratives in these ahl and baseball teams i otherwise don't care about. so. talk to me about what kinda cuda and giants games you would wanna go to with me and who i should be paying attention to :D

this is suuuuch a juicy question also don't toy with my heart!! i have met an Australian friend in the us before! granted they were headed to college and San Francisco airport was the stopgap but still!!! sometimes Australians come here!! on purpose!!

first of all i think Gilroy (sort of the very most south you can go in the bay area and still pretend you are in the bay area but actually it's just the beginning of the valley/farm land) has a pretty big renn faire if I recall correctly so if you truly wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of uh. Gilroy. you could and should come here. also Gilroy has a garlic festival which you can buy all sorts of garlic foods at, such as garlic ice cream. USA! USA! USA!

second of all: ahl and giants narratives. this is so long I am so sorry

The San Jose Barracuda: We Found Love In A Hopeless Place

Okay so before I get into it. this is a heartbreaker bc it's the offseason and we just lost all our old fucks (CRISCO COME BACKKKKKKKKK) to "I hate this org and can't afford San Jose and as an ahl journeyman have way better prospects across the league" as well as many of our YOUNG fucks on expiring ELCs to "the org didn't develop you properly and we are saying that's YOUR fault and we are giving up on you, goodbye" AND (i think this is the most rage-inducing) ALL of last season's goalies to "the goalie coach is a nightmare who actively harms my development and I as a an Olympian can do better elsewhere." I actually love it here and am not screaming in rage at all times.

SO. THAT ALL SAID. I am not sure what narratives we will get next year!! (This is my hypothetical dream future when you come in the fall for several weeks.) But from who is still on the roster and what I know of the kids we just signed, there's still the regular gay narratives!! William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau are basically soulmates not because they have a red string of fate but because Thomas Bordeleau just arbitrarily decided to hitch his wagon to William Eklund's star and then just refused to stop being obsessed with him. Thomas Bordeleau is a freak. I also very partial to our Russians, who are maybe not gay in love but they are a tender little best friendships polycule who love each other So Much. Artemi Kniazev and Nikolai Kynzhov and Daniil Gushin are like what if we took the three most random people in the entire country of Russia and put them in San Jose. Very we found love in a hopeless place <3 Goosh bullied Kni around and then Kny came back for LTIR and he started bullying Goosh and now they're all very happy together bullying Kni. Pour one for Kni. My best boy Nick Cicek lost like. ALL. of his boytoys, but we just signed a kid who was on an ATO last year who according to rumors was obsessed with him and honestly I love that developing narrative. Last year Adam Raška and Tristen Robins were roommates with Montana Onyebuchi and while I fear Montana is not long for this world, Rasky and Robbie were deeply bros in a way where EYE feel they probably hooked up while crossfaded SEVERAL times and if ANYONE wants to talk about it maybe they should SEND ME AN ASK AND A PROMPT.

Also, we just signed Ethan Cardwell of Showbound Podcast fame and while I have listened to maybe two and a half episodes of his podcast, I have been told him and his cohost are like DEEPLY gay for each other (his cohost has MULTIPLE Cardwell jerseys. INCLUDING ONES HE HAD TO HAVE CUSTOMIZED) so I'm excited to see what little baby Cardsy gets up to since clearly he has love in his heart. We also just signed another Giant Russian Baby named Artem Guryev and I'm soooo excited to see him because during prospect tournament him and Montana were gayasses in the box and I personally feel he has love in his heart too. I assume Kny is not forever with the Cuda since he, you know, is a genuine NHL player, so I am hopeful Artem steps up to bat as Big Guy Who Loves His Russian Friends.

AND FINALLY. we have lost all our dads but we have retained our DAD, Captain Andrew, and I severely underestimated his potential for love last year so I'm going to be paying close attention to him and in my secret dream diary entitled ZERO'S VACATION IN CALIFORNIA, he has another old man to love and I get to tell you at length against your will all about it.

Honestly the whole thing with Cuda and player romance is that I would have been having a big ol RPF blast all year to detriment of everyone who followed me solely for Bordeleau content all year if the fucking smm had not perceived me. Like if she had just not said anything, I would have been merrily talking about my boys in situations all year! But I couldn't!! so I missed a whole year of being silly 😞 But honestly, I am beginning to feel that my life is too short to stay hinged, so maybe next year I can go back to saying stupid RPF shit and pretending the org has no knowledge of me.

Anyway that's not really what you asked. The thing about the AHL as a game it is a) often violent and b) often very stupid. I love the AHL so much and vastly prefer the live experience to NHL hockey, but it is NOT the NHL on a skills level. And some of this is just because pacific division AHL hockey is much like pacific division NHL hockey -- we're shit and we know it -- but a lot of it is just. not good high skill hockey lmao. Very smashy. Very falling over for no reason. So when I want to sell people on going to a Cuda game, I'm like you either gotta go for the one where the Cuda are playing a worse team than us or you gotta go for one with the most Shenanigans. (or for $2 hot dog Saturdays.) So I would say the following games are high ticket (to me): the Tucscon Roadrunners because for reasons unknown to all of us, them and Cuda decided last year they were going to kill each other in real life to the point that both head coaches got fined; and the Colorado Eagles because for some fucking reason up in Loveland, CO, they are drinking horny for friendship juice and they bring that juice everywhere. Sometimes I watch the Colorado Eagles and the Cuda play each other and I'm like wow. When an AHL player loves another AHL player very much...

IN CONCLUSION: Barracuda/Roadrunners game at the beginning of the season before everyone's spirits are crushed, or Eagles/Cuda mid-season when the Eagles have had an IV line of friendship all year and they start getting weird on ice and the Cuda respond appropriately.

However honestly, because the Pacific division mostly plays within their division with only a handful of games in the Central, you end up seeing the same teams upwards of like 7 times a year. By the end of the season it gets really JESUS CHRIST, YOU AGAIN?? so I really recommend going to early season or midseason games before the teams get worn out on each other and stop playing their best because they're so sick of the monotony. In my secret Zero dream diary, you come early-mid September so that before we get into hockey season, you can see some:

BASEBALL

The thing about me and baseball is that Oracle Ballpark, where my beloved Giants play, is literally my favorite place in the entire Bay Area. I know I'm supposed say some hike or some free thing not dependent on capitalism, but I can't. It's Oracle Ballpark. In the later days of the season, when the moon rises over the bay during a night game and you can see it reflected on the water behind the scoreboard during a game...god there is NOTHING like it. It's beautiful. And while Giants are like not garbage this year (not good to be clear, just not garbage) so the ballpark is a little more filled out than the past couple of years, some of my favorite games are night games when the stadium is half-full and me and my friends can just kick back in the upper deck and chill with our beers (them) and our cokes (me) and enjoy the ballgame and hang out and talk. Back when baseball games were the correct length (upwards of three and a half hours), my friends and I would turn into philosophers and each other's hypemen and talk all manner of little dramas and deep longings while watching the Giants blow a lead in the later innings :') Now games are shorter (two and a half hours), so there's less time to really sink into the vibe, but still plenty of time to enjoy a good ice cream sundae and talk shit about the team.

The other thing about the Giants is that while their ballpark is a whole mood, they have been COMPLETELY vibeless for the past like six years. That has changed because ??? life finds a way ig. But the Giants are slowly discovering the Whimsy (to quote our greatest A's philosopher and pillar of our community tumblr user pindergarten) mainly on the back of: Blake Sabol.

We picked up Blake Sabol in the Rule 5 draft which frankly I don't understand at all, but the gist of it is that he has to remain in the major leagues and the Giants can't touch him or else they have to give him back to the team he came from. Giants DON'T want to do this because he is a great utility player who can be put in basically anywhere and do a good enough job. Blake is enjoying this and bringing much needed whimsy to the team. Him and one of the pitchers we signed this year Sean Manaea were the FIRST SAMOAN BATTERY (pitcher/catcher) and Blake loves him so bad. Some our of new bb Giant call ups from the minors ("new" they've been up for a couple weeks now) such as Casey Schmidt are full of joy when they look at Blake and often act out of Whimsy around him. I also am very fond of Patrick Bailey bc while he is a catcher (technically Blake's position but Blake moves around a lot), he seems to enjoy being around Blake and since Blake is in this great place in the org where he can't really be moved for a year without the Giants taking a hit, he doesn't seem to be too, too worried about Bailey taking his spot and can focus on being a vibes guy and proving to the org that he'd be a good fit as a utility guy who can kinda slot in anywhere. It's cute :')

Casey Schmidt is very interesting to me as a concept because all the old fucks on the Giants are obsessed with touching him 🤨 Fellas...?? Casey seems to love my big old man Brandon Crawford so much and it's very charming to me. Both in a "he fucked that old man" way and in a "he loves his PAPA" way.

For non-Blake or Casey romances, the relievers are always up to some nonsense. I think they are a big polycule honestly. We have a set of twin relievers and while I'm not taking this in an incest way, I will say there always seems to be some general chaos going on in the bullpen and frequently it's their fault. ALSO, while I love thinking about Mike Yastrzemski and Brandon Crawford as everybody's old gay grandpas on the team, what REALLY u gotta pull for is Mikey and his college boyfriend Tony Kemp who plays across the bridge with the Oakland A's. They are boyfriends! They are best friends! They are So In Love in a VERY real way and every once in a while one of the local papers such as the Mercury News or San Francisco Chronicle get a bee in their bonnet and will write some bananas romantic article about them when the A's and the Giants play against each other. It's VERY romantic and honestly tho I am shipping everyone with Blake Sabol, I must admit that the two of them carry the entire Bay Area narrative on their backs.

As for games!! Honestly I hate going to rivalry games with the Giants because the vibes are so fucking toxic, so really we gotta go to some random ass middle of the week games and maybe one weekend game with some random team no one in the bay area cares about. It is not really the game that matters so much when you are in the ballpark, it is the experience. If you want to watch a rivalry game, watch on it on tv because the vibes are so godawful when we play any of our rival teams. Like I won't even go to Giants-Dodgers games anymore because the vibe is so bad. So really we can see any team that the Giants are not historic rivals with and have a great time!!

ALSO in my secret Zero Comes To California, Experiences Sports dream diary, we go to a) the Oakland Coliseum (in my dream diary, the A's remain in Oakland) and b) we go to a San JOSE Giants games, which are the SF Giant's minor-minor-minor-minor league affiliate and are basically a WHOLE vibe. Like all my complaints about income inequality and sports players living below the poverty line are amplified a thousand-fold with single a baseball, but the vibe at the ballpark is SO good. It's tiny, the churros are great, the crowd is usually super into it, no matter how big or small the game is, the mascot is fucking terrifying, the level of play is actually very good despite how far down the minor league rungs it is, and!! It's a great place to draw, especially on a weeknight when it's empty. Imagine: me you our notebooks (or I guess you draw on a ipad, because you are trained in the art of iPad drawing) and some minor league baseball!! Also they are down the street from the Cuda. While I do not know what the fuck the Cuda are up to, they're calling this year's opening game Freaky Friday with the SJ Giants and are partnering with the SJ Giants this year which is a) long overdue and b) good for me personally because I love wearing Giants gear to places where the Giants are not playing.

IN CONCLUSION: Come to the Bay Area 🌉 We have THREE professional baseball teams, TWO professional hockey teams, a professional men's basketball team, a professional men's football team and we are getting a professional women's league football team omg I'm so hype. For your 20+ hour plane ride agonies, I will take you to AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. We also have great hiking and outdoor spaces, great if very cold beaches, great Asian and Mexican food, great museums, great aquariums, my friends are awesome, and also I am here and I love you.

(AND we have an American football team who are quite good but all I've ever heard about their fan experience is it grossly expensive and people get stabbed at games, so we are saving our money and going to multiple baseball games. I hope you understand 😅)

[miss-rum-hee]

Hey, it's me again. Since your ask box is rarely open (I'm assuming to avoid trolls and idiots spamming you with nonsense), I feel there's a new problem with bigotry. It's very important.

Since Oppenheimer came out there's been discourse on if Hiroshima and Nagasaki were okay or not. Sadly too many dummies are out here saying they deserved it.

Here's some of the stuff they say as to "why"

"It stopped the war/Japan didn't surrender/An invasion would have been worse": This one I'm not gonna say is right or wrong because official sources and historians debating on these things still so whether you believe that is up to you.

THE BIG ONE I AM SICK OF: Using Japan's wrongdoings as a whataboutism dogwhistle. I'm sick of seeing people be like "But Pearl Harbor/Nanking Massacre/Southeast Asia invasions/Unit 731/Torture!". I get it, those were all awful, but the fact that you justify killing random strangers based on the actions of their military and government, when THEY'RE the actual ones at fault, is stupid and racist. They do this with Russians too and occasionally Chinese people. For them "Dictator = everyone" when it comes to dictatorships (the only one they can tell the difference with is North Korea, any other dictatorship, NOPE!)

To add to the point, many people (Americans and Southeast Asians) forget that America has been menacing them for, like, ever! Ever heard of the My Lai massacre? Just like Nanking, Americans slaughtered and r*ped Vietnamese people. The Pearl Harbor idiots forget that America literally bombed Laos and Cambodia, MULTIPLE TIMES. Filipinos still worship Americans as if America didn't actually bomb Manila when there in WW2 to target the Japanese, yet killed WAY MORE FILIPINOS IN THE PROCESS AND THE FILIPINOS THINK THE AMERICANS "SAVED THEM FROM THE WICKED JAPS". Everyone is rightfully mad that the government has "not said sorry" (they have multiple times but they were hollow because the government is very fringe and they try and make that stuff seem okay and don't tell the whole truth in schools), but nobody is mad or racist towards Italians, nobody seems to care that Italy never apologized for their actions, even the countries victimized by Italy. Even during the war nobody really cared. Despite the fact that Italy also has a very fringe government now and Mussolini's GRADDAUGHTER is in one of the parties and is a simp for her grandpa.

The worst part of all of this, I've seen critics of the bomb and surviviors actually harassed and cyberbullied by Japanophobes. Here's some of the examples: There's a trend of people calling Japanese people who don't like Barbenheimer "nationalists", "tankies", "Japanese imperialism apologists", etc, who "need to cope/get a life/cry about it", and they don't have even mercy on CHILDREN. I saw a quote from a survivor someone shared that was a father talking about watching his son die slowly in front of him. And guess what, some Filipino came along and was like "WHAT ABOUT ALL THE FILIPINO KIDS THE JAPANESE KILLED?!", and my mind was literally BLOWN. Look, that was awful, I get it. But I have no respect for you. The NERVE of you to make it about yourself. This isn't ABOUT Japan vs. the Philippines. THIS IS ABOUT AMERICA VS JAPAN. Go complain on a post about the Philippines. This is a PARENT and his SON who may I say, was 4. Yes, 4. And this fool essentially said "This 4 YEAR OLD is a soldier responsible for the deaths of my people's children!". Dude, the children had nothing to do with it. I don't support defending anyone's war crimes and that includes America, but at least those were adults. CHILDREN can't even process anything that's happening and you're mad at THEM?

America and its simps really need to stop thinking they're good nd that they can't commit war crimes. They wanted to get revenge and kill as many people as possible. They wanted to show off to Russia. They literally had internment camps for the Japanese PEOPLE which has even less excusable reasons and merit than the bombs. There's nothing else to it and no matter if worse could have happened, there's no justifying the killing civilians and children part. These fools are mad at the wrong people.

On the bright side, a lot of the people who used the first point are actually willing to admit that they killed random people and that they wished it didn't happen. And I respect those people because they actually can tell the difference or still recognize Japanese criticism and Japanese survivors and deaths were not just "tankies getting what they deserved".

Look up my reblogs for more info, and check Twitter and Youtube comments under Oppenheimer criticism videos and you'll see the racists in all their glory.

So yeah, if people like Oppenheimer that's fine, it apparently isn't trying to make the bomb seem okay, but the criticism has attracted dumbasses making fools of themselves. And people should watch movies like Barefoot Gen, Godzilla, Tora Tora Tora, and Grave of the Fireflies after for some blatantly and UNBIASED takes from Japanese people, rather than American "Icky Japanese Tankie" movies.

Honestly that whole discourse is a fucking mess rn, I ain't even touching it with a 20 ft pole

[stellocchia]

I think it's been more than two months since I pushed my "Wilbur is remembered far more competent than he is" agenda in your asks.

So let's rectify that, shall we?

Wilbur is pretty fucking incompetent. He's never been that amazing charismatic smooth talker we characterize him as (not that I'm not absolutely behind that too)

Like. Who did he ever successfully smoothtalk? The Lmanbergians? None of them were ever hesitant to join from the very beginning and Eret betrayed them pretty easily when Dream manipulated them.

Techno? Techno wanted to join them, he was the one who reached out to them. There was no convincing needed and Wilbur never convinces Techno of anything Techno wasn't already willing to do by himself.

Dream? Definitely not during the revolution and Dream's support during Pogtopia was Dream following his own agenda, not being influenced by Wilbur in any way.

He couldn't even get Quackity to let him into Las Nevadas.

Nah, the only person Wilbur ever smooth talked is TommyInnit. The fucking powerhouse of this cell. And even that's not completely true. Tommy hasn't been convinced by Wilbur of anything since the very beginning of the Lmanberg revolution. Not during Pogtopia. And not even now (it's not smooth talking if it's just exploiting mental exhaustion and trauma and all that. Tommy isn't convinced of what they're doing.)

Really. Not even Tommy, per se.

He just got Tommy extremely loyal and attached to him.

And honestly, that's all he needs.

You don't need to have influence over everyone, you just need to have strong influence over the right person.

And that's what Wilbur had and has.

Wilbur's accomplishments are just pretty much him having a vision and Tommy throwing himself at it to make it come true.

Wilbur had the idea for L'manberg but Tommy was the one leading the troops. Tommy was the one who negotiated for their independence and got it when Wilbur was negotiating their surrender. Tommy was the one who FOR NO REASON built the escape tunnel they escaped through when Dream blew up L'manberg and he was the one who built the lil panic room at the end. Tommy was the one who's home became the embassy to L'manberg (something Wilbur very much pressured and kinda manipulated him into btw. I'm never not gonna mention that lil detail when the embassy comes up)

Wilbur had the idea and stood around looking pretty. My guy literally stood around looking pretty, without armor, during battles. Just. I love him.

And let's not forget that Tommy was fckin great at being the general. The SMP was so much better equipped and still, L'manberg was kinda winning. To the extend that Dream saw the need for TnT (which was hidden) and the betrayal through Eret (which was hidden)

Dream felt the need to pull two deceitful moves to keep if not even gain the upper hand.

If I'm not mixing stuff up here, correct me if I'm wrong.

And stuff like the tunnel weren't even expected of Tommy. My boy just thought of that on his own and did it on his own. Noone knew it existed. Noone expected it to exist.

After independence Wilbur is implied to have been leading but he generally wasn't around too much. Tommy was keeping order in the more face to face kinda way. He tried to navigate people's personal conflicts and make sure things didn't escalate and just. He did so well.

And Pogtopia? Oh, Pogtopia.

It's a bit more difficult here, since they were no longer on exactly the same side and goals are more muddled but still.

(and I want to make it clear that I'm in no way trying to shame Wilbur for mental health issues or anything. This isn't about that. I'd never fucking even imply that)

Tommy kept morale high. He made sure that other people were fine, when there was a chance. He tried to reassure Wilbur when Wilbur was spiraling, he asked Tubbo if he was happier, he told Tubbo to be safe, he recruited Quackity when he saw the chance while making sure that Quackity's intentions were sincere enough (he didn't just naively offer Quackity a place in Pogtopia and risk it being a trap).

He avoided any kind of destruction to L'manberg as much as possible.

He rallied people.

Really, his one actual flaw was not "turning" on Wilbur. His unwillingness to give up on him or even just incapacitate him or limiting his ability to act as he wanted was what ended up costing him everything. His unwillingness to interfere with Wilburs plans beyond talking to him and threatening him with a crossbow that one time ended up making the 16th possible. And he can hardly be blamed for that.

And Wilbur, during Pogtopia... Well... Nobody liked him, he made everyone uncomfortable and most people just kinda tolerated him because... Yeah...

Without Tommy troop morale would have been abysmal thanks to Wilbur. He constantly put himself and his side down, labeling them as villains and thus morally inferior. He pitted his own people against each other, spread paranoia between his people. No communication or actually planning involving other people. Still refused to wear armor.

And don't get me wrong, that's the point. He wasn't on their side. Obviously Tommy added more to their victory, Wilbur didn't want their victory. But still I just wanna praise my boy Tommy, he was. So amazing. Boy fucking peaked.

He's so good in tactical warfare or whatever you call it.

And I wanna just make it clear that this isn't criticism of Wilbur. Not at all. This isn't criticism at all. This is just about the big fanon perception of Wilbur as this great and mature leader.

Tbh this is actually more about showing people how amazing Tommy was and PLEASE I WANT FICS TO HAVE TOMMY BE MORE OF AN EFFECTIVE POWERHOUSE

Regarding my former ask I just wanted to clarify again that I'm not trying to critique Wilbur or anything.

It's really just that I think it's hilarious how people remember him as way more put together and competent than he really was.

-

Yeah, honestly one of the biggest disservice people have done to c!Tommy in this fandom is fail to portray him as the badass general that he actually was. Like, sure, Wilbur's title was as "general", but he never did anything for it. He gave a few speeches, but then the work was left up to Tommy. Like, genuinely, rewatch the Eret betrayal vod, Wilbur says it openly that he's leaving it in Tommy's hands. And Tommy does manage to lead his troops into an advantageous position! They get their enemies to retire at one point during the very first battle!

Then, of course, there is the betrayal, but, once again, Tommy didn't give up. He built the tunnel for their scuffed escape beforehand and, when everyone was just about ready to give up, he went against Dream in a duel and then traded the discs for their independence without loosing a beat.

Tommy was a BIG asset during that war!

Wilbur mostly was and still is kind of a wreak. And it's not his fault, 'cause mental health is an absolute bitch and he wasn't doing too hot after the war, then it got worse with Pogtopia and even worse during the 13 years in Limbo. And now we are where we are now with Wilbur being... not a great individual.

But still! In Pogtopia Tommy was the de-facto leader. And yeah, that was because Wilbur wasn't on their side anymore, but they didn't entirely know that. Or didn't wanna see that.

Tommy himself was hoping that Wilbur would "come back around" if he managed to get back their country. That was a big motivator for him. And he did everything that was in his power to do to not lose either Wilbur or L'Manburg. He tried talking to Wilbur multiple times, tried persuading him that there was another way, he never bought into Wilbur's ideals, he recruited people and he lead the troops once again. It wasn't Techno that lead the troops (despite him being a much better fighter) it was Tommy. And once everything was exploded and Techno and Wilbur betrayed them? Well he kept encouraging people. Literally I'm begging everyone to watch that vod! Tommy was there at every step of the way, telling Niki that it wasn't over, telling Quackity to keep fighting and, after that, you know who was there to validate Tubbo's presidency? To rally people behind him? It wasn't Tubbo. Tommy gathered everyone by the L'Mantree and got their spirits high once again.

He is just genuinely amazing.

And, like, yeah now Wilbur managed to manipulate Tommy to an extent to be by his side. But that's not that much of an accomplishment anymore because Tommy has just been through so much that he's exhausted now, as you said. Like, remember when Tommy said he wanted to be on Wilbur's side because "he gets things done"? Well, I'm still waiting to see that one honestly...

[mack3030]

Are you okay?

Seriously CWB, are you okay? Because you seem to have lost touch with reality and I am starting to get concerned. Let me break this down for you.

PEOPLE ARE PISSED BECAUSE YOU DOXXED PEOPLE. AND TRACK THEM. AND YOU HAVE A HISTORY OF ACTING HOMO/TRANSPHOBIC. AND YOU TREAT THE COMMUNITY/YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE SHIT WHEN THEY QUESTION YOUR ACTIONS. THE MESH ACCUSATIONS....DON'T MATTER.

This community can forgive you for mesh shit. I mean look at how well Leosims is doing even though they're a blatent thief. Sonyasims got a slap on the wrist even though she was copying from SL and from other sims creators side by side in blender. That's not the issue chicka. Never was. The issue is, instead of dealing with it like the professional you claim to be, posting your mesh proof and letting it be, you then posted my personal information, lied and changed your story continually, posted doctored images, got a whole bunch of shady sock puppet accounts to help you, and misgendered a trans man. All while your history of trans/homophobic comments have been made public. Then you had the fucking audacity to make vauge legal threats towards the community as if a lawyer will remotely take a case like this where you openly posted information to harrass someone. And what's funny is, in your mind, you are so out of touch with the possibility that you could have FUCKED up that you have to concoct some sort of story that this is all my fault. That somehow I am behind all of the accounts coming after you. Because to admit that all of these people are different people who are pissed with you, would be admitting that you have wronged the community you claim to be a part of, and they are giving you the consequences of your actions. So what's your legal plan. Please tell me. You gonna sue anyone who reblogged my post? Anyone who remotely spoke out against you and told you to apologize? How about the moderators of the sims 4 facebook groups and reddits who've banned you recently? Are you going to go after them? What about all of the discords moderators and admins that have been warning people away from your content? Are they going to get summons? How are you going to find the information of these people? Because I promise you twitter, discord, tumblr and reddit are not going to give you their information over an internet fight over sims items. Because if they've not taken down posts for harrassment/slander/etc, they don't see that there's any legal reason for it to be considered that.

By the way, this is just my unofficial count here but I can count at least fifteen DIFFERENT individuals from various states/countries, etc who have all spoken out against you during this. Not just me. My quarentine is registered with my work and my county of residence. It's an official record in my state that I was sick with COVID and forced to stay home during certain dates (12/10-12/16 of 2021). You can ask multiple friends of mine here on simblr that I have on discord, they'll tell you I was not on simblr or twitter at all during that time and was in bed sleeping or playing minecraft. I do not have the time, nor inclination to try to hack your twitter or make sock puppet twitter accounts. And considering the fact that Twitter probably I.P banned the person that made that account to harrass you...if it were me, I'd not have access to twitter. Plus, twitter could check the I.P of the person who made that account and check it against my own I.P address. They'd not match. Ask twitter support if you're so damn sure it was me.

^ Proof I still have access to twitter.

You are literally here trying to say that I'm here messaging all your supporters....

Here's the people I've messaged here on tumblr most recently. Only one of them is someone who is a former supporter of yours, and they messaged me first, because they are sick of your B.S.

And here's my twitter messages. Proof I'm not sending shit to your followers.

And here's my lastpass vault, showing people that I literally only have one twitter account to my name that is public. Because I don't remember shit when it comes to passwords so I use a password keeper.

And here's proof that myself, lovechildllama, and u/mommy-fetish are not the same people, as we're here talking on discord about useless shit. Having bonded over being needlessly attacked by you. :) Oh, and let's also talk about what will happen if this goes to an actual courtroom. YOU WILL HAVE TO STATE, UNDER OATH, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST YOU. INCLUDING THE DOXXING AND TRACKING OF PATRONS. BECAUSE THE MESHES SWEETUMS, ARE ONLY A PART OF IT. You will have to admit if you shared patreon information with other creators, and name those creators that you shared that info with. You will have to admit to harrassment and posting of information for the purpose of harrassing. You will have to admit to posting obviously doctored screenshots. You will not be able to legally lie and change your story. You will have to be honest. You will have to admit to breaking the TOS of Patreon, which could very easily end your career as a creator. Plus you'd have to prove damages, which is hard to do since you've only gained patrons. How do you think your creator friends who are outside of the line of fire...the ones you've been sharing your tracking info with...will feel when they hear you might have to name them if you pursue this? That by accepting information from you about patrons and then banning them, they are participating in something also against Patreon's TOS? Also, you'd have to prove that I was out here with malicious intent intending to come up with something completely false without any sort of evidence or data to back it up. But when other reasonable people see your stuff and compare it to secondlife meshes and assume you either made them or copied them....

It's really not like I pulled these accusations out of "thin air". It's similar enough that a reasonable person might doubt you. So here's my advice, my honest to goodness, well meaning, intending the best for you advice. If I were you, I'd do this: 1) I'd apologize, publicly for the trans/homophobic comments, and apologize to u/mommy-fetish for calling them by their dead name and repeatedly misgendering them. And I'd mean it. Really mean it, because the community's gonna be pissed if you fake it. 2) I'd use those "awesome" mesh skills of yours, and make sure that when you make shit, that it doesn't look remotely close enough to any secondlife item. You decide you wanna make a lamp that has a log base? You look up log base lamps on secondlife and make sure your mesh can't be mistaken for those and that you make it look original enough that people can't assume that shit. 3) I'd lay low. And by that I mean I'd stick to posting on your patreon and not post in sims groups or on twitter or discord. I'd leave the community alone and give it time to forgive you for your shit. Since this community seems to have the memory of a flea. Because right now, people are not happy with you, and if you post trying to shill your wares, you will get the wrath of those people on you. I'm sure you've seen that recently. 4) I'd reflect, and I mean REALLY reflect on your choices as a creator and the company you keep and if you want to surround yourself with the people you've got around you now. Because I can tell you, that the people you've chosen to align with right now are people who are out for themselves, and not out for you. They will give no fucks about you if it means they are in danger themselves. That goes for your creator friends, and for your patrons. Think about what choices you've made as a creator and if they actually allow your patrons to care about you for you and your creativity/personality, or because they are dependant on you to give them pretty things. Hint: Right now, it's the latter, and that's the only reason they're kissing your ass. 5) I'd give up on the idea of a lawyer entirely because the amount of people you'd have to prosecute and the amount of countries you'd have to figure out laws/jurisdictions for would be enough to make a lawyer want to scream. And that'd be assuming they'd take the case of someone who literally is using money made by violating a company's TOU/EULA to pay them, and that's assuming you could afford it with the amount of people you'd have to go after. Also the people you'd prosecute would also be able to possibly get Patreon, EA, and maybe even some of those social media companies on their side as part of the defense, since your actions on those sites have been less than stellar, resulting in you being banned from certain communities. (I mean you publicly posted someone's info for the purpose of harrassment to reddit, instagram, twitter, etc? Do you think those companies would be happy with that?) 6) I'd stop lying to yourself. Admit you fucked up, accept it. Grow from it. And move the fuck on. Stop trying to lie to yourself and spin tales making yourself the victim. Admit you were human. And move the fuck on. And last .... 7) Stop doxxing and fucking tracking your patrons and treating people like shit in the community. Because here's the deal. Pirates are gonna remove your fucking trackers as they find them anyway because they know you track, so there's no point. You're only losing people by making them worry about tracking, so stop it. The people who are using your items from your patreon without paying probably wouldn't have paid you anyway regardless, so stop having a stick up your ass and stop violating people's fucking privacy.

All this crap is, is the consequences of your actions and choices. So stop digging your hole, and do better. You are at the point where you can still repair your reputation with the community before it's damaged forever, but you're quickly circling the drain and it will get worse unless you put a halt to the shit show now. Eat your humble pie, admit you fucked up, apologize to the community, and do better. Because otherwise, people will never forget the shit you did, and you will be untrusted for a long time. Because you're already on the shit list of some of the major mod creators/communities

You have the power to stop the shit. Only you. Because while you're here claiming I'm tearing the community apart, I'm actually here bringing it together, and although they may not agree on maxis match versus alpha, or which sims game is best, they CAN agree that you've been acting like a jerk. Again. Do better.

[sasquapossum]

Since driving seems to be the subject of the day...

Part 1: The Country Lord

There once was a lord who lived in a country mansion. He would never drive a supply wagon himself, oh no, but that doesn't mean there were none. There was a constant stream of them coming and going, with both workers and supplies for the populous household. When the lord wanted to go visiting or into town himself, he had a driver - in fact a whole team of driver and attendants - for that. Then he decided that all these wagons were an eyesore, and they were banned from the front driveway. They still came, of course, only by a slower and more arduous path to the back door. If there was an accident, the lord would administer harsh discipline to whoever (he felt) was responsible ... and likewise if the flow of goods was disrupted. His servants were, of course, miserable.

This lord has his modern equivalent. It's the urban dweller, often an affluent tech or finance worker, who never tires of telling people they don't drive but also never tires of telling others how they should drive. Their apartment is full of goods ordered online and delivered by car. They order takeout multiple times per week from their favorite niche restaurants miles away, and therefore also delivered by car. If they need to go somewhere too far away to walk but not well served by public transportation, they don't hesitate to call for an Uber or bum a ride from a friend. They don't drive themselves, but that's mostly because - like the country lord - they have other people to do their driving for them. They're not only kibitzers but hypocrites as well.

Part 2: Byzantine Failures

In computing, there's a distinction between simple and "Byzantine" failures. A simple failure is when something just stops - a computer stops computing, a router stops routing, a cable stops ... err, cabling. Whatever. A Byzantine failure is when one of these components acts in arbitrarily difficult or even malicious ways. Instead of not sending any messages at all, for example, it can delay or corrupt messages. This is much more difficult to program for. In fact, the general case is known to be hard to solve for even with infinite time and resources. (Bitcoin claims to achieve this BTW but - even if the claim is true - it's in a hideously slow and costly way.)

Here's the problem: human attention and reaction speed are not infinite, but the modern urban aristocrats like to pretend that it is when they dispense their advice and policy prescriptions. "The driver is always at fault" they say, as they resist any suggestion that pedestrians take any responsibility for safety. If you suggest that it's a good idea for someone in the road at night to wear something light or (even better) reflective for their own safety, they claim you're putting the onus on the victims. Some will even reach for the rape analogy, which I believe is pretty offensive to victims of actual rape (just like comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, proving again that extremists at both ends of the political spectrum have way too much in common). As though an accident is the same as an assault. As though the issues of third-party risk (which I'll get to) or split attention are the same. As though anyone's claiming that drivers shouldn't be held accountable for their actions, as opposed to merely being drivers. What a cheap rhetorical ploy. A false analogy and an appeal to emotion all at once.

3. Defensive Behavior Is Good

Here's the reality. Less capable drivers exist. Distractions exist. Accidents happen, even with no misdeed or malice. A light changes, or someone else changes speed or direction, and the driver's eye is drawn to it. It's a reflex, and usually a beneficial one, but in that tenth of a second that they're distracted by one change, they might not notice a second. Human eyes and brains set hard limits on how many events per second a person can notice and respond to. If your sudden appearance distracts someone, that can cause an accident injuring other people, and damn right you would share some responsibility for that.

If you enter a shared space, you bear some responsibility for keeping it safe - for yourself and for everyone else as well. In the case of drivers interacting with pedestrians, this means reducing surprises as much as possible. You know what's more ridiculous than suggesting that people should show some concern for safety when they're in the road? Suggesting that it's OK for someone to crouch behind a mailbox wearing dark clothing at night and jump out into a busy city street at literally any moment, and we should still blame the driver who didn't see them in time. The "ambulance chaser" kind of lawyers would love it, but running society for lawyers' benefit isn't a great idea. Drivers should absolutely be held accountable for anything they do wrong that contributes to an accident, not because they're drivers but because everyone including pedestrians should. Being pro-pedestrian should include being pro-pedestrian-safety and that means everyone doing their part.

[roach-of-rivia]

About Cyberpunk's controversy

Important: Im going to give my opinion here, so i ask you guys to kindly respect it and i invite you to open my private chat and i will gladly and respectfully debate about it with you.

The begginig

The last CM of the Cyberpunk Twitter account made a joke about assuming someone's gender.

("Did you just assume their gender?")

Personally, I don't find it offensive. I enjoy dark humor as hell.

Also, here in my country, Spain, there are some ppl going mad about the gender pronouns stuff. At a point that is so ridiculous even trans people laugh at them. So it's kind of a meme here.

Next

This person was fired, and i really disapprove this decision.

None should ever be fired bc a joke. This was a joke made with good intentions. This person wasn't meant to hurt trans ppl. Although, I understand it was made in a inappropriate situation.

So, I wouldn't have fired this person, but instead make them to apologize and be more careful next time.

The end

CdPred apologized for that and now here's another person controlling the account .

Ps: even if it was a bad joke, one person (and more a CM) doesn't represent the whole team.

Now, about the racist accusations towards The Witcher 3.

The skin colour of npcs

They're white bc the games happens exclusively in Nordic countries.

And in the medieval ages.

So, why there aren't black ppl in the game?

There are, but why so few? Bc these countries (which would be Poland-Germany for Novigrad, Velen and White Orchard, Italy(?) For Toussaint, and Iceland for Skellige) are very very far from Africa and the southeast of Europe (I mean countries like Turkey, in which ppl have mostly brown skin).

So:

There's multiple times we are asked where are we from, and if we answer "Kaer Morhen", we will always (as long as we are outside Novigrad/Velen and White Orchard) get "That's so far away!" As a reply.

So, despite of being from the continent we are told we come from far away lands.

Now imagine: how would it be for ppl from Africa (for example) to get from there to Toussaint? (Which is the one most to the south) In world full of danger, like monsters or bandits; a world in which even white ppl are racist to other white beings just bc they're shorter (dwarfs) or have long ears (elfs), how a black or brown person could survive? Or worse, who would want to go there?

So, of course bc climate there can't be black ppl growing out of nowhere.

Not only climate changes between maps; accents, customs, music, npcs tasks, clothes, swords, armors...and animals does too.

Why are animals important here? Bc as we humans change our bodies in order to survive better in different climates, animals do too.

So, it's not like CD Pred ignored this.

They acknowledged it both with animal and human npcs.

We find different type of wolves, bears, rock trolls and horses in Skellige we can't find anywhere else. (Plus, sirens can only be found there)

There are unique monsters (Archerspores, Shaelmaars, Silver Basilisks, Wights, Giant Centipedes, dracolizards, scurvers, and all the expansion vampires) animals (panthers, peacocks, pheasants) and even plants (like the tulips) in Toussaint.

As in each map there can only grow certain species of animals, happens the same with humans.

And that's the reason why "there aren't" black ppl.

The actual black ppl in the game

There are several dark skin characters.

-By the fault, we encounter a black succubus as protagonist in a secondary quest in Novigrad.

-In the dlc

°Hearts of stone: (SPOILERS AHEAD) We get captured by a group of ofiris (One mage, at least 5 ofiri warriors and the dead prince).

Then, near Olgierd's mannor, we get to meet an ofiri merchant and an another ofiri mage (I'm not sure if he was really a mage..)

°Blood & Wine: In Madragoras party we get to see another Ofiri magician.

(End of SPOILERS, you can now continue reading)

So in total we have: 11 brown npcs.

What I like about Hearts of stone: it feels well implemented, it feels right with the dlc theme (as we get introduced to ofiri sabers thanks to Olgierd). It feels like true diversity.

We we get to chat with the ofiri merchant, one of the first things we say is "You are so far away from Ofir". He even tell us about the beauty of his land.

It feels really nice talking to him, it's a very interesting and friendly chat. That's why is so cool, bc is a unique character, with a unique story line (also they have unique accents and facial features).

Summary: the npcs are very aware of distance between 'maps'. That's why it is not racism, it is following the world's logic.

If it were racism, Hearts of Stone would be a lot different.

Also, one of the important members of the (CD Pred) team is a black man so..

What does this have to do with Cyberpunk?

There were a lot of ppl calling CD Pred racists bc of this TW3 matter.

Now that Cyberpunk trailers and gameplay has been revealed, we can see all human races mix together in the same city.

Why? Bc in the future (or even now) it's completely normal and logical to be npcs of all skin colours and genders.

This shows that CD Pred aren't racists, they just make logical (and high quality) worlds and eviroments.

One matter solved.

Now, the transgender ad controversy.

First of all, I don't find offensive at all, the opposite, I think is good that trans ppl are shown in games as normal as cis ppl.

Also, the artist explained why their penis is so visible: they wanted to show how corporations sexualize and milk to the last drop everything, they wanted the ads to be as much aggressive as possible. The wanted to give players the feeling that corporations control everything, even us. (You can find out more googling for interviews)

So it is not transphobic.

It make offend some ppl, but it wasn't meant to be offensive.

They also let us customise our character the way we like (like the sims), it can be as you want.

CD Projekt Red isn't a transphobic or racist studio!

Thanks for reading me.

Ps: I'm sorry if I have grammatical mistakes, this is not my main language.

Update:

If you still believe they're transphobic after this.. then i dont know what would make you change your mind..

Tweet here

[luverofsupernatural]

Vent of my nightmare

So, I have woken up from a nightmare two hours earlier than I normally wake up.

And this is just to give insight into the shit my brain is struggling with.

My parental units have somehow made it into my apartment and are staying over. I'm trying to go to sleep, but my sister is on a call with me. For a solid give minutes, it is silent, she starts to talk, and then my father opens my bedroom door and just stares at me for a solid minute. I play the I'm sleeping card like always.

He leaves, and I can hear that they for some reason have a new dog. And then there is muffled arguing, and then there is my father hitting my mother

So, my sister tries to ask me to record what's happening, but I have to shut my laptop because father is coming into my room again.

He catches me, and a weird kind of chase ensues. I somehow managed to get near a vent, stretch it open, climb inside and run to the convenient stairs behind the vent.

They follow and give chase all the way to the fifth floor, do I hop over railings, dropping a floor at a time, to get down before they do. I get back to my vent and try to close it on the way out, and then I have to just run out of my apartment, not grabbing my key, because I am kinda fearing for my life at this point.

I get to the first floor restaurant and meet a waitress and ask her to help me. But then my parental units catch up and disagree or something. So, she did us down for a chat. I don't remember what was said, besides that it seemed fault was shifting to me for multiple reasons: a) "they're your parents", b) we don't like undesirables in our establishment, like this kind of rowdiness. Is this going to be a problem? (To which I'm like, I don't want them here)

And I think I wrote this in after waking up, but my mother is crying and wondering what she's done to make me hate her so.

And honestly, there is no one single event that triggered it. One could have been the final straw, but it's not like it was all peachy and one day I flipped out.

----------

If you can't tell, this is actually how I feel towards them. It's the small things I remember: never being whole heartedly congratulated (i.e. it was expected I'd do well), being shamed about my boob size and how heavy I was, always feeling like I had to abide by their will or get yelled at when in their presence, being scolded/rebuked for trying to share my passions, constant yelling and arguing, my mother's constant complaining, jokes (but not really) that my job is to financial support them when they're older, my father's need to always been seen as correct. And the final straw: an incident happened in 9th grade that required a few week of professional help afterwards. My mother, when I'm 4 years older admits that she thought everyone was overreacting to it. In fact, they were not overreacting and I needed serious help longer than a few weeks that I never got.

And this isn't even going into how they believe the narrative that blm protestors are looters, or immigrants are dirty filthy people (or they are trying to turn this country to anarchy), the COVID-19 vaccines are safe, or the less stated one that anyone who isn't straight isn't right.

My mother still believes that I shouldn't be so harsh with her because we have different "political" beliefs. But honestly, why would I associate myself with someone who actively upsets and sours my mood (minimum)? Olive branches are for trivial things, not human rights

I just wish I could make a full clean break, but my sister still lives with them, and they hold my tax records.

I hate that I had to grow up and unlearn anything they every taught me; I am proud to say that my life is shaped by trying to never be like them. But I'm still deeply scared by what I endured, and I don't know how it can be fixed

[wavesofinkdrops]

If you're still taking requests, RusAme, anything domestic, with them out and about getting to do Normal Human Stuff, but still kinda unable to shake that they're nations? Any genre and length is perfect!

Thank you for the prompt, I love it! Ngl, I really had fun with this one. No warnings, except these two being forgetful dorks. It’s unabashed fluff.

Lapsus Linguae

“Ivan, come on, you don’t want to be stuck here all day!”

“As long as I am here with-”

“That isn’t gonna work because - trust me - you don’t wanna be here all day. You really don’t,” Alfred clarified as Ivan fiddled with his phone. “We can go inside the mall and then you can take advantage of the free wifi to send an answer.”

Ivan  pocketed the device before extending an arm ahead of him. “Lead the way, Mr. Jones.”

Alfred hastily grabbed his wrist and began leading the both of them to the mall, Alfred listing off every item he needed to buy. Ivan barely listened, having heard the list a total of seven and a half times - with multiple edits - since landing in D.C. Alfred was about halfway through the list when they arrived, before turning to Ivan to gauge his initial reaction.

Ivan had never been in an American ‘mall’, but Alfred had described them to him enough times that he knew that they were extravagant. Though he hadn’t been actually prepared for a four-floor extravaganza such as this.

“Well?” Alfred asked, and Ivan sent him a questioning look. “First impressions, big guy, whatcha think?”

“Ah - this is…” Ivan thought of how to describe this. “It is very like you.”

Alfred looked like he was trying to decide what to think of that, and seemed to find himself happy with the comment. “I’ll take that as a compliment, now let’s go, we don’t have all day.”

It wasn’t long before Alfred had dragged Ivan into fifty different shops, and Ivan could only imagine what Alfred’s credit card bill would look like. New Halloween decorations, clothes and even food (Alfred was the driving force of the trip to the mall, after all, so food was mandatory) were packed into several bags, Ivan having to carry many of Alfred’s (he only had a single one for himself, and that only because Alfred had deemed him in need of a new, all-American suit - ironically enough, it was a Burberry suit).

They had been there for hours, and Ivan was glad when Alfred suggested taking a break in the food court. After having gotten themselves sodas and - after Alfred complained about almost starving himself without noticing - something to snack on, they weaved through the tables and people in the court.

Alfred stopped abruptly, and Ivan noticed him waving at someone - who, he had no idea. He saw no-one he could recognise.

“Come on, let’s go greet them!”

Apparently Alfred had said who ‘they’ were, but Ivan hadn’t heard him. Ivan only followed Alfred to the table where two young men, one with Caucasian features, the other with relatively Eastern features - around Alfred’s apparent age - were seated.

Alfred immediately bounded up to them with their tray in his hands, having started chattering away with one of them already. It was clear Alfred knew this man well, Ivan could notice how comfortable he was around him. The other man was still seated and more silent, so Ivan gathered this was either a friend or boyfriend that Alfred had not yet met.

As he approached, Alfred turned to him and nodded him over. “Andie, this is Ivan, the boyfriend I told you about. He looks scarier than he is,” Alfred laughed, and Ivan had half a mind to retort before he remembered they were in the company of people. “Ivan, this is Andrew, he’s an intern at the White House.”

When Andrew didn’t look at Alfred, he mouthed ‘norm’.

So that was the play. Alfred’s go-to was that he was Junior Assistant to the President, or something along those lines, and Ivan was ready to play along.

“Hello,” Ivan said, extending his hand to the young man - ‘Andrew’ - before Andrew then introduced his companion.

“Nice to meet ya, Fred’s told me quite a bit about you,” Andrew said, and Alfred muttered a no, I haven’t before Andrew continued. “This is my boyfriend, Daniel. Alfred’s been… he helped me a lot when I first came to the White House.”

Alfred turned to Ivan. “He was afraid that with the new boss and his… er… points of view, that Andrew wouldn’t be able to easily include himself in the work. Luckily, I’m gay too, so I told him to just ignore whatever the boss thinks because he’s only there for four years,” Ivan heard the undertones of ‘if even that’, “and hopefully we’re there to stay a bit longer.”

“Do you guys wanna sit or…?”

Alfred looked around him. “Well I can’t see that there’s a lot of space to sit, so if you guys don’t mind we’d be happy to hang out for a bit.” Alfred said as he and Andrew sat down, Ivan soon following suit.

Andrew turned to Ivan. “So you’re from Russia, right?” Ivan acquiesced, and Andrew continued. “What do you do there? Alfred said something government-related, that you met at a diplomatic meeting or something?”

Ivan nodded with an amused look aimed at Alfred. “Yes, we met when our Foreign Minister met with your boss, I was involved in coordinating the press and public appearances.”

“Oh, right. I’ve also thought about doing public relations and stuff, but haven’t decided yet. Although because I have a degree in international relations I think I’ll end up somewhere else,” Andrew laughed. “What’s it like?”

Ivan really had very little idea what dealing with organising the press was like. He rarely cared enough to know how it was done, just that it was done with as little fuss as possible. “Busy,” he answered quickly, and he saw Alfred’s unimpressed look.

“He’s not too chatty,” Alfred pointed out.

“You compensate enough for the both of us, Alfred,” Ivan jabbed, and Andrew laughed. Alfred rolled his eyes, before turning to Daniel.

Pleasantries and basics exchanged, Alfred had managed to drag everyone into a whirlpool of embarrassing, incredible or otherwise unbelievable experiences and random bits of trivia of the relationship of the two countries (both political, and the one that the two humans were unaware of).

“No, no, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” Alfred shook his head, and set his hand on the table authoritatively. “The reset button wasn’t an embarrassing mistake, the misspelling was the fault of Russia-ah-ans who decided to mess with the government and give them the wrong translation,” Alfred explained, and Ivan scoffed.

“Blaming American impotence on Russia, how very typical,” Ivan countered.

“How do you-” Andrew started asking, but luckily Alfred gave him no time to ask as he threw himself into another story.

“I plenty take care of my own mistakes, when they’re mine,” Alfred said warningly, but with a joking tone.

“Say that to-” Ivan cut his sentence short, as he realised that perhaps mentioning business that technically really shouldn’t be under Alfred’s jurisdiction would arouse suspicions. “To the dishwasher, that you have yet to fill from last night. Instead of blaming me for making food in actual plates.”

Alfred remembered himself, and huffed. “You still could have just used recyclable plates, just sayin’ I wasn’t in the mood for dish-washing.”

“What was that you said-”

“Anyway!” Alfred cut off, as if he hadn’t heard Daniel’s beginning of a question. “Any stories you guys wanna share?”

And they managed to pull the conversation back onto less dangerous tracks.

“Oh! Ivan’s gotta remember this one - you were there - remember that one time?” Alfred was already laughing, and Ivan had no idea about what Alfred was on about.

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

“When you and I were both in that plane, and - and you decided, you - oh my God,” Alfred was wheezing.

“What did he do?” Daniel asked, trying to make sense of what Alfred was getting at, while Ivan’s memory flashed back to the day and he almost burst laughing.

“I jumped out of the plane without a parachute,” Ivan completed, before both he and Alfred laughed, Alfred managing the words ‘vodka’ and ‘soft snow’ before Ivan remembered their company. He hoped the two, very much human people, wouldn’t notice.

“How are you alive?!” Andrew asked, incredulous.

Both countries froze up. “He,” Alfred started. “He was hospitalised-”

“But how is he alive?” Daniel repeated, almost staring at Ivan.

Ivan remembered the boy had said he was specialising in aerospace defence. Of course he would know about the technical aspects of jumping out of a plane.

“I - er - did have a parachute with me,” Ivan attempted.

“He just…” Alfred tried.

“I just didn’t open it very early, I thought I didn’t have one,” Ivan finished.

“He got a broken leg and a couple fingers and-”

“There was at least a rib involved. And a concussion,” Ivan was listing the most basic injuries he could think of, and hoped they wouldn’t ask too many more questions.

It was then that Alfred checked his watch and gasped. “Ivan, dude, the time! Man, sorry we gotta cut this short, but Ivan and I gotta run, we’re having some family over tonight,” Alfred explained, and the other two looked slightly dumbstruck by the very high-speed exchanges that had occurred.

“Oh, ‘course!” Andrew said. “I’ll see you Monday then, yeah?”

“Yeah, totally!” Alfred stood, and Ivan did the same, giving hasty goodbyes before directing himself, Alfred and their bags to the exit. Only once they were outside did they pause for a minute.

“That was real damn close,” Alfred said.

“It has been a while since I have been in the company only of humans, long enough to have a conversation. I’m sorry if I traumatised them.”

“Nah, man, I led you to it. I sure got some explaining to do at work, though,” Alfred chuckled. “C’mon, let’s go, we do have a lot to do.”

“I think they might think I am some kind of living dead,” Ivan joked as they made their way to Alfred’s car, before loading all the bags into the trunk and driving off.

“Well, not like that’s any different from anyone else, now, is it?”

Ivan chuckled, pulling out his phone. He groaned. “I forgot to answer the e-mail.”

Alfred glanced over, smiling. “Was it anything important?”

“Slightly.” Ivan sighed, beginning to type out a response. “My boss was wondering where I’d vanished to a week before the scheduled meeting.”

Alfred laughed and nearly swerved slightly. “You didn’t tell him?! And you tell me I’m childish!”

“Just drive,” Ivan muttered.

He could already smell the food he was going to cook for Alfred today, and considered on how best to approach telling his boss to kindly allow him some respite for the holiday.

[punkscowardschampions]

Ali & Caleb

Ali: I know I've got no right to now but I'm worried about you, Caleb, I still care Ali: I mean, I fucking love you but, you don't need to hear that right now Ali: But we do need to talk, and soon Ali: It can be purely about the kids, nothing else Caleb: Why? Are the kids still all good? What's wrong? Ali: They're all fine, no emergencies Ali: but its about Singapore Ali: I'm still going, I have to Ali: but I'm not taking your kids away from you, you know? I don't want it to seem like THAT Ali: so we should arrange when I can bring them back or if we could split their time between us or Ali: I need help working out what's best Ali: for them Caleb: Do what you gotta do Caleb: I'll have €s there to see the bubs Ali: Right, okay Ali: you don't want to add anything else, no questions? Caleb: Nothing you can give me an answer too that I wanna hear Caleb: You feel that? Ali: Try me Caleb: Why'd you let me think she was mine too? That's fucked, Ali Ali: Because I thought she was too Ali: If I had any inkling of a doubt I would have shared it but Ali: Part of the unlucky (and unfuckinglikely no doubt you reckon) 1-2% Ali: It was one person, one time, when we weren't together Ali: Might think that sounds convenient but I'd happily talk you through the dates Caleb: He gonna show up and wanna play daddy to them all? Ali: No Ali: He doesn't want to be a father to his own child Ali: never mind yours Ali: no one can ever take them from you, Caleb, no other man Ali: I would never let that happen Caleb: She's so beautiful how can he do her like that Caleb: Fuck Caleb: But you talking them to another country Ali: This was always on the cards, before any of them, I've always said I was going to go to the Uni, I have to Ali: just...well, you don't want to come now, but you could Ali: you could Ali: I could pay for another place for you, I'll find a way Ali: and, I need to tell you something else but I want to know you're somewhere safe and alone so you can process it properly because Ali: Fuck Caleb: How can I, man? We had plans, plans that didn't include none of this Caleb: Can't pretend she's not there Caleb: I'm at the restaurant, it's empty Caleb: What the fuck else you gonna hit me with? Ali: No Ali: I know Ali: Not everything goes according to plan Ali: Oh Jesus Caleb: I was vibing that you were having my second son Caleb: Not a whitey's daughter Caleb: Understatement of the galaxy Ali: Don't talk about her like that Ali: I wouldn't change her for your second son Ali: She's here, she's my fucking daughter and I love her Ali: I'm not going to pretend otherwise or get rid of her for you Ali: Not even for you Caleb: Shit sorry Caleb: You know I'd never ask Caleb: This ain't on her Ali: I know Ali: whatever happens between us, if her dad ever comes around, no child deserves to be raised believing shit like that about themselves Ali: its wrong and I won't participate in any of it Caleb: I know Caleb: She's part of you, she'll have no worries Caleb: Not about feeling loved Ali: Drew's her Dad, Caleb Ali: it's Drew Caleb: O quê?! Caleb: Você está de brincadeira comigo? Ali: No, I'm not Ali: I'm sorry Caleb: You're sorry? It's chill then Caleb: Fuck Caleb: Puta que pariu Ali: What else can I say? There's nothing else I can now Caleb: That it didn't go down and he wouldn't betray me like that Caleb: That you didn't Ali: I'm not going to lie Caleb: Now you ain't Caleb: You have been since that night Caleb: Letting me think he's my bro Ali: I thought it was for the best Ali: it was a mistake and one that would never happen again Ali: I can see I was wrong now Caleb: nah nah nah you thought it was easiest & I'd never have to be knowing Ali: Well, frankly, from my perspective it was none of your business, yeah Ali: Don't make it sound like I cheated on you Ali: we weren't together, remember? you were sleeping with multiple people at the time, its not as if this was the evil plan the whole time Ali: I wanted to spare your feelings, however misguided, from knowing he would do that Ali: but yeah, I did it too because I was drunk and alone and scared, and you can count that as betrayal but don't put things on me that weren't there Caleb: Don't be making it about that Caleb: I don't care if you're riding with the whole postcode Caleb: he was my brother, Ali Caleb: You didn't have to go there with him Ali: You're right Caleb: I loved you both Caleb: Eu não quero falar com você Caleb: I can't Ali: Please Caleb Ali: Don't go Ali: I'd rather you called me every name under the sun Ali: Please Caleb: Please what come to singapore and raise my best friend's kid that he's refusing to step up for? Caleb: Keep loving you like you're my whole world Caleb: Be a happy fam Ali: well Ali: I know that isn't going to happen Ali: I know that's all gone but Ali: I love you Caleb: But you're sorry so it's all good Caleb: Para! Caleb: I'm not hearing that from you rn Ali: I didn't say that Ali: I'm not Ali: What do you want I'll do anything Caleb: Turn back time and walk away from him Caleb: If you were so alone and scared you shoulda called me! Ali: I can't Ali: and I did call you Ali: you weren't there, you were meant to be looking after the kids so I could go out with my friends and you bailed without warning Ali: but it wasn't petty revenge for that, before you even think that Ali: you weren't there, at all, not for me, not emotionally even when you were physically Ali: why did you want a second son so bad? it isn't Junior's fault, he was just a baby, Caleb Ali: I thought that was it, because even if you still cared for me, you couldn't- wouldn't- care for him like we needed Ali: and yeah, i fucked up, and now everything is ruined Ali: but i already thought it was Caleb: Don't be putting that on me! I love both my kids Caleb: I love him madly Caleb: You got me, I struggled going from when it was so chill to the two kid madness, it got me fucked up Caleb: But I'm not trying to change him like you wouldn't her Ali: I'm sorry Ali: I shouldn't have said that Ali: I was remembering how it felt Ali: I'm his Mother, you gotta understand how much that shit hurt me Ali: even thinking for a second you didn't love him Ali: Like this poor fucking baby who Drew won't even see Caleb: I did you so wrong, I feel that, every day I carry that but I can't turn things back Caleb: If I could I'd go so different Caleb: Harder in better ways, you know? Ali: Well, neither can I Ali: Therein lies the dilemma Ali: We can't go back Ali: We have to go forward but how and where to Ali: we can decide that Ali: we have to Ali: for their sake's Caleb: And ours. I don't wanna leave you unsupported again Caleb: I'm grown now I can be better with it Ali: So can I Ali: should I not go? I can't see how that would make anything better but Ali: maybe I'm just being selfish Caleb: You have to, gatinha Caleb: You was right before Caleb: Everything we have to work through can still happen Caleb: I'd be selfish making you stay Ali: I don't want to leave you Caleb: I know Caleb: Você é o mundo para mim Caleb: I don't wanna miss you Ali: Trí na chéile a thógtar na cáisléain Ali: Can't you come? Ali: Genuine question as much as it is begging Caleb: I don't wanna be a part time dad but that isn't how we should play this Caleb: I'm mad hurt Caleb: I wanna just be in love with you but Ali: I know Caleb: How can I look at that perfect baby and not see how my bro treated me? I can't do that to her or you Caleb: She's half yours and it's a big half but it's still his kid Caleb: Shit, man Caleb: we in circles Ali: Yeah Ali: But you can do it Ali: I know it can't be me who asks you to Ali: but I know you have enough love and room in your heart Caleb: Where you at? I wanna come and be with the kids for a while Ali: At my Mum and Dad's Ali: Come see them Ali: Any time Caleb: They gonna have that? Your rents aren't my biggest fans Ali: Of course, they're not pricks for the sake of Ali: they know this is on me, not you Caleb: Still. Maybe let's go take them out Caleb: Softplay or something Ali: Okay, softplay it is Ali: do you want me to come or just drop them with you Caleb: Come with Caleb: I meant what I said, don't wanna be missing on you Ali: Okay Caleb: You down if I come in 20 Caleb: I know she'll have a routine Ali: We're good to go Ali: if she needs to nap or gets fussy I can always go for a walk 'round Caleb: We got this Ali: We do Ali: Mo shíorghra Caleb: A chéadsearc

[pabluesman]

The latest rant:

A common picture of the Republican Party is that of a cabal of big-money plutocrats, rubbing their hands gleefully as they kick starving children into the cold and knock retirees over for the Social Security benefits while lighting cigars with $100 bills. And while this is useful as agitprop, it creates a divide in the discussion of serious issues. Granted, there are some on both sides of the aisle who are craven and corrupt, and unfortunately they also make the most noise. It also doesn't help that the top figures in the party -- trump and his staff (Spicer, Conway, et al), Ryan, and McConnell -- further this perception with their words and actions, but such is a topic for another day ... The thing is, though, almost all Republicans are working with the best of intentions. They honestly believe that their proposals and actions are in the best interest of the American people. So why is there such a gulf between Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, trump and normal people? My opinion? It comes down to a fundamental difference in how progress is measured. The Republican Party measures everything in terms of dollars and cents. This is fine as far as it goes -- it is a completely objective measure, with no wiggle room for interpretation. Something costs what it costs, and revenue is revenue, and the numbers are going to be the numbers whether you like them or not. As a result, for many things this is fine ... but there are aspects of the things the government does that do not translate well into currency. Things like quality of life for a family that can no longer afford health coverage. Or environmental quality. Or lives lost fighting bullshit wars on false pretenses. The modern Republican Party is, on paper, dedicated to the idea of fiscal responsibility. They believe that deficit spending is fundamentally bad, that social welfare programs impede individual initiative, and (at least, on the far right) that many of the problems faced by marginalized populations -- the poor, people of color, and so on -- are the result of moral failings at the individual level. Proposals presented by the Republicans are centered around the idea of "if ya ain't got the dough, don't spend it." Nowhere is this demonstrated more clearly than in the following statement made by Rep. Mo Brooks on May 1:

“My understanding is that it will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool. That helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they’re healthy, they’ve done the things to keep their bodies healthy. And right now those are the people—who’ve done things the right way—that are seeing their costs skyrocketing.”

On the surface, this seems like a pretty cruel, heartless stance. After all, what Rep. Brooks appears to be saying here is that if someone gets breast cancer, say, then it's their own damned fault for not living a clean life and they deserve to pay more for insurance as a result. Now, everybody knows this is bullshit, and it's a pretty safe bet that's not what Rep. Brooks meant. My guess is that he was speaking more to the apparent fairness of premium amounts, taking a position that people who need more health care should be paying higher premiums. And while this does seem like a reasonable proposition, it misses the point entirely on how insurance is supposed to work (the people who need less subsidize the people who need more, thus spreading the cost more or less evenly ... but diving into the intricacies of health insurance actuary is way beyond the scope of this article). This illustrates a higher point, though. Whether it stems from ideology, or the need to maintain viewership across the basic cable spectrum, or just pure salaciousness, we have been trapped in a cycle of "gotchas" for the past several decades. Barack Obama says "So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion ..." as a statement on small-town America's reaction to steady job losses over the prior twenty years, which is clearly evident when the entire quote is used:

"Our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

However, the right-wing shriek factory chose to highlight a specific phrase in a manner designed to generate the most outrage, furthering the narrative of Obama as a Kenyan Muslim terrorist atheist communist dictator, hellbent on taking away everyone's guns and forcing them to adhere to Sharia law (which, let's be fair, almost none of the target audience knew anything about except what they had heard from the right-wing shriek factory in the first place ... and not for nothing, but it is impossible to be a Muslim and an atheist. Just sayin'.). To be fair, this sort of nonsense happens on the left as well, but again ... a topic for another article ... The thing is, there are actually very few Republicans who hew strictly to this line. The vast majority of them do not agree with ideological purity at all costs; instead they adopt a stance of "Okay, I have my ideology, you have yours, and there has to be some agreeable middle ground." For example, as you may have guessed, I am a liberal. Very liberal. Not quite to the anarchist extreme of some, but definitely more than most. One of my best friends is a hard-core conservative Republican. We argue about politics all the time, and rare is the occasion when one of us makes a solid enough argument to change the other's position. Despite this obvious mental deficiency on his part (kidding, and he knows it), he is a wonderful stepfather, a good and decent person, and regularly kicks my ass at pool. And this is the fundamental point. Republicans are not, by nature, evil. They are not the sort of cartoonish, sinister villains portrayed in the media, any more than liberals are all a bunch of skinny, stoned, granola-munching whiners with acoustic guitars militantly guarding against trigger words. Republicans just have a different viewpoint from Democrats. That's all. They are both still Americans, they both still love this country, they both still respect the Constitution. Go to any firehouse, police station, military barracks, elementary school, restaurant, grocery store, auto shop. Unless there is only one person there, chances are pretty good that there will be a roughly even split between conservatives and liberals. And I guarantee that the EMT who is driving the ambulance taking you to the hospital doesn't give a hairy rodent's posterior about your political affiliation, the only concern is getting you to the goddam hospital. This is what we, as a society, are losing sight of lately. It is incumbent upon all of us -- right or left, Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal -- to always remember this, and to accept the fundamental humanity of those with differing views, and to allow the respect that is born from this acceptance to be shown. And it has to start with a decision on which media outlet to frequent. Yes, there are no purely objective sources. Every media outlet has some sort of political leaning. It's only natural, considering they are all people. Where the differences lie is in how this slant is addressed. Some, like Breitbart and the Daily Wire on the right or Occupy Democrats and the Palmer Report on the left, make no bones about their political leanings. Which is fine, as long as people understand that their content is all opinion, not fact. Others, like the New York Times and the Washington Post on the left and the Wall Street Journal and Forbes on the right, acknowledge their political stance but strive to keep it from coloring their reporting. Yes, sometimes they are better at it than others, but they all have one common characteristic: when a mistake is made, they cop to it. Publicly. They issue retractions and correct the erroneous information. If there are enough retractions credited to a specific reporter ... well, that reporter is then out of a job. So I urge everyone reading this -- both of you -- to ask the following questions when considering a news source (not including articles clearly labeled as opinion pieces):

Does this news source use objective language, or are there subjective terms (excluding quotes) used to attempt to sway the reader to a particular way of thinking about an issue? For example, the Daily Wire recently published a story about funding being pulled from a Shakespeare in the Park production of "Julius Caesar" because it depicts the assassination of donald trump. While the story may be true, and it is not at all uncommon for theater companies to adapt Shakespeare to modern settings, the Daily Wire uses language like "objectively despicable contents of this production" to describe the play. Rather than just reporting on the "who, what, where, when" of the issue, the Daily Wire attempts to apply a value judgement to the play, thus robbing the reader of that opportunity.

Can the story be verified by multiple reliable sources? For example, if you see a story in the New York Times, or Forbes, or the BBC, or even the Daily Caller, can you also find reporting on that same topic from another source? This excludes the latest practice in which someone creates content that may or may not be factual and distributes it to like-thinking outlets, who then publish it blindly (basically, what happens here is that the article appears in multiple outlets, with identical or near-identical language).

In the case of erroneous reporting, does the source acknowledge it and issue a retraction? This only applies to factual errors. For example, an article about Ivanka Trump's clothing line that reports on a pair of shoes costing $2,500 when they are actually $250 deserves a correction. An opinion piece stating that they are the butt-ugliest things to come down the pike since the Pontiac Aztek does not.

It is vitally important that we all -- Republican and Democrat alike -- do our due diligence when consuming media. It is only once we emerge from the shriek factories on both the left and right and into the light of day that we can start to find common ground on the issues facing this nation today. Please like and share my page at http://ift.tt/2rkD9UV for more.