#Sell my business in Illinois | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

littlemissmiller · 4 months

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𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑠

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐦

Pairing: drug dealer!coriolanus snow x fem!reader

Summary: (au) Your last summer before college and Coriolanus is still just as in love with you as the first time he saw you, but all of high school you’ve been taken. Meanwhile Coriolanus isn’t looking forward to college, but at least he can still make money dealing drugs. During the last week of school, he notices how fragile your relationship has become and something makes him think he still may have one last chance with you before the summer is over…

Warning: 21+ (mentions or drugs/ drug use) eventually smut, mentions of masturbation (m and f), mentions of oral (m and f receiving), jealously, slight obsession, possession, toxic relationship, slight stalking

Word count: 4k

A/N: hello all! my first series! soooo i’ve had this idea in mind for a while, but it felt like a summer write/read and i figured since a good amount of y’all are high school age or older this would appeal more and now that the school year is over i figured y’all have more time to read too. also i have another joel fic so that is coming soooon (closely followed by a billy fic) i’m so excited about this one like…i had so much fun writing it and i’m guesssing it’s gonna be like 12 chapters long…idk we shall see :) i hope you enjoy

Series Masterlist | Playlist

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

Coriolanus is ready for the summer. He’s so sick of school, even though he excels at it. He barely has to study and usually did his homework last minute and still got all A’s. His grandma had encouraged him to go to college next year, even though school didn’t quite interest him anymore. He thought about joining ROTC once he got to campus, but truthfully, why would he give up his little side deal for some army pricks and a “free” ride to college when business was about to be booming.

In his sophomore year, Coriolanus had taken up dealing drugs. Mainly he stuck to weed or psychedelics like mushrooms or acid, and occasionally ecstasy. He didn’t dare sell hard shit and he always made sure his stuff was clean. He had help. From time to time, his friend, Sejanus, would steal from his mother’s medicine cabinet. Xanax, Valium, whatever Mrs. Plinth’s psychiatrist would prescribe, he would manage to steal a few whenever his mother decided not to take her meds that day. It was a system that worked well for Coriolanus, and a system that he would need to maintain. Which is why he decided to go to college only about an hour away from his town. Being from a small, rural town in Illinois didn’t leave Coriolanus many options except the big public school close to the city. A booming college town, where Coriolanus knew he’d be able to expand his “customers” and still manage to keep up his means of getting the drugs he sold.

Luckily enough for him, Sejanus was attending the same college as Coriolanus. Which meant “visits back home” were opportunities for Coriolanus to stock up on his stash and sell. He would be able to tag along with a homesick Sejanus frequently, or at least that’s what Coriolanus predicts given how nostalgic he has seemed to become in the last couple of months. It’s Sejanus’s new favorite hobby. Recalling old memories and moments from the past. Some of which Coriolanus didn’t even realize how much those mundane moments Sejanus’s brain clinged to. How much he cared about their hometown and especially his family. Coriolanus didn’t understand. It wasn’t like he was going halfway across the country, unlike you.

You were bound for California, had big dreams of becoming a cancer researcher for a children’s hospital, and absolutely over the moon to be going to Stanford. Coriolanus wasn’t as thrilled. He had long desired you, wanted you as his own, but since the first week of freshman year you had been so out of his grasp. Too distracted by someone on the football or basketball team, and by your sophomore year you had gotten with one of those football players, Devon. Coriolanus still saw you around however. You and him had shared every AP science course since sophomore year and you considered Coriolanus to be a school friend. That was all. Yet, all of the science classes you and him had spent together left plenty of room for you to chat about Devon. And for some reason you felt safe to talk to him about whenever he would do something to upset you. But you never left him.

So, Coriolanus had watched you from afar, longing to have you all to himself. As high school went on, you only grew more and more beautiful and Coriolanus would often imagine you laying bare before him on his bed. When he was home, he couldn’t help but jerk himself off to the image of you with your hand on your wet core, playing with your clit in between your fingers. That’s all he could picture as he pumped his length in the shower most nights. One hand against the wall the other stroking himself as he pictures you begging for him to fuck you. Your soft pleas tumbling from your beautiful lips like a prayer.

Why couldn’t he have you? Why did some himbo athlete have to have you when Coriolanus was clearly superior to him. He didn’t blame you though. Devon was popular, which made you popular by default and after being in a relationship for so long, he knew it wasn’t easy to just leave someone like that. If anything he blamed himself for not getting to you first. For not asking you out when he had the chance.

Not thinking you’d be interested, the one time Coriolanus had gotten an opportunity to ask you out was freshman year. It was after biology class right before winter break and Coriolanus wanted to take you to a movie. You were his lab partner that day and it’s all that was on his mind. When just the right moment arose, he first asked if you wanted to meet later that night to finish the lab so they would have less homework over break, but mainly to see if you were free to hang out. Coriolanus was quickly let down when you informed him that you would’ve liked to, but your family was going out of town to visit your grandparents for the holidays.

“I’ll just have to finish it when I get back from break.” You had sighed

And that was the only real time he’d had talked to you still single. What a pity given it was the last week of school now. Exams were nearly over and Coriolanus had told himself to give up on you, but he couldn’t seem to let you go. Even though it was the last week, and graduation was this weekend, he still desired you deeply. More than the day he met you. Coriolanus watched you in AP Literature as the class went over the study guide. You twirled your hair, bored and just as ready for the relaxing summer break as he was. He tried not to gawk, but he couldn’t help it. You looked so god damn precious today. Your green plaid skirt just barely followed the dress code and your white shirt was ruffled around the edges and fit your body nicely. Your black converse high tops dangled above the floor. All he wanted to do was take you into a bathroom stall, bend you over, bunch up your skirt and admire your ass. He bet it was soft and round. He imagined a pair of cotton, white panties under it all, soaked. His cock started to harden in his jeans, so Coriolanus moved in his seat to hide his stirring erection.

The bell rings about ten minutes later and thankfully he’s settled down enough to where his bulge isn’t quite so obvious. He snatches up his book bag and looks up. As the last few students file out, you are asking the teacher a few questions. Coriolanus gets up and heads for the door. As he passed you, you finish your conversation and quickly move to catch up to him.

“Hey!” You shouted

Coriolanus paused at the door, turning his head to look at you

“I know it’s exam week and you are busy, but this physics lab is going to be the death of me.”

Coriolanus couldn’t believe it. Were you about to ask for his help outside of class? You had always been going to him for help with your science classes. Even though you had managed to score higher than him on every exam in science, for some reason physics was killing you. So all semester, you had been asking Coriolanus for help during class, but only during class. You never asked to finish your work with him after school.

“Are you asking for my help?” He smiles

Personally, you don’t want to take away from his time since Coriolanus seemed like the type of man that valued his free time and didn’t like to bother with school outside of school. In addition, his mysterious, stern demeanor was intimidating and you didn’t know if you were bothering him while he was trying to make money. You knew he dealt drugs and frankly, the idea of that scared you too, so much as you need his help and your science classes and in all honesty, you were just afraid to ask him for anything at all.

But Coriolanus always assumed it was because of how protective Devon was. Which was also true. He didn’t like you talking to other guys outside of class, and he was particularly wary of Coriolanus. It was no secret that he was handsome. Coriolanus had built his own reputation as someone who slept around. And as much of a neanderthal as Devon was, he damn well knew that Coriolanus looked at you like you’re his prey.

“Yes” you sighed

“I don’t mind.”

“Really”

“Not at all. I’m free tonight.”

“Thank you so much. You have no idea, I’d seriously be lost without you.”

“Of course!” He chirped

“I appreciate it. Wanna meet up at Panera after school?”

“Sounds good.”

You smiled, waved and walked off

Fuckfuckfuck you said “lost without him.” That felt so personal. And your sweet smile. Why are you so perfect. Your hips sway as you walk away and Coriolanus’s cock starts to get hard again, until he see’s something that makes him want to repulse. Your boyfriend approached you from the other end of the hall. Devon came up to you,hugged you and groped your ass. What an obnoxious ass, can’t he tell you don’t like that kind of attention in school. He gave you a sleazy smile and Coriolanus turned his attention away.

After school, he headed to Panera as instructed and waited for you. You pulled up, your boyfriend dropping you off in his 2016 White Mercedes C-Class. You walk inside and find him sitting in the back.

“Hey. I’m going to order food. Did you get something?” You asked

“Nah I’m not all that hungry.”

“Okay!” You smile and walk to the counter to order.

You came back quickly, sat beside Coriolanus, putting your book bag between them. You pulled out you physics textbook, laptop and the lab. As you explained why you were confused, Coriolanus explained the material to you, but was so tempted again. So tempted by the way your knee peaked at him and when you crossed your legs, letting more of your thigh show, he nearly fell apart. He hated how desperate he was for you. How badly he wanted you. He’d do anything just to hear you instruct him to get on his knees and bury his face in between your thighs.

When your food came, he refocused his attention on your homework. Why couldn’t he control himself? Why was he so drawn to your temptations today? You always looked so beautiful, but Coriolanus felt feral.

“Ugh what am I going to do next year without you in my science classes!” You sighed

There you go again. Making everything sound personal and intimate. Clever as always, Coriolanus replied.

“Well good thing you have my number right?”

“Yeah, but we won’t be in the same class and I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s not a bother” he follows up quickly

“You’re always so sweet. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime…” he smiles

Your phone buzzed, it’s Devon. You pick up and he seems annoyed. You tried to calm him down but somehow he figured out that you’re here studying with Coriolanus.

“You’re being ridiculous ok. Let’s just talk when we get back to my house…busy…with what?” You speak in a harsh whisper. “Ok whatever… just come back and drop me back home. Ok please?”

Coriolanus acted like he didn’t notice, but he watched in agony as tears welled up in your eyes. You took a deep breath, close your eyes, and swallowed your sadness along with the last sip of your Cola. Even though he should mind his own business, he couldn’t contain himself. He had to ask if you were ok. Besides, it's not like you don’t already confide in him during class anyways.

“It’s ok. I’ll be good.” You said, your lip quivering

You excuse yourself to refill your drink and Coriolanus packs up his things.

What a fucking insecure dick.

Coriolanus knew that you’re not the type to cheat. If anything Devon would cheat on you in a second. As protective as he was of you, he seemed to have a different set of rules for himself. Coriolanus saw Devon at parties, how’d he flirt with other girls when you weren’t around, or check out the cheerleaders at games. Yet you couldn’t have any real guy friends, and he truly couldn’t stand Coriolanus.

“You sure? I could give you a ride home since he seems…”

“No it’s fine…he’ll be here soon anyways. I appreciate your help.”

Your lip quivers slightly and you hide your face as you pretend to yawn. It’s something you’ve learned to help you to hide your tears and prevent you from falling apart into a big mess. But Coriolanus saw right through it because he had seen it before. He wanted to hold you, tell you to dump Devon and be with him instead. He would kiss you, to show you just how serious he was. He imagined delicately stroking your chin with his thumb and forefinger, guiding your face to his and kissing you deeply. He would be slow, tender, his lips simply ghosting over your own. He would still hold you daintily, his breath fanning over your face as he told you how much he loves you.

You look outside, turning away from Coriolanus, stifling your cries as a single tear rolls down your cheek. Coriolanus can’t help it; he has to say something.

“You know if you ever need someone to talk to I don’t mind. Sometimes it’s easier to tell someone you’re not as close with. Because then it’s like you’re speaking into a void and it doesn’t really matter what you say. But at least you got it off your chest.”

You pause for a moment and look back at him. You contemplate the offer and as much as you want to just talk his ear off about all the ways in which your boyfriend sucks, you’re afraid that he’ll just be more upset with you, thinking somehow he’ll find out.

“It’s ok. I’ll just vent to my mom when I get home.”

“You sure?” He asks, trying to hide his desperation

You reach out and touch his forearm gently. Your affections burn on his skin, your fingertips branding him.

“I’m sure. Thanks anyways.”

You release him, giving him a small smile. You feel like you should apologize and he simply smirks in approval, his eyes following your hand as it leaves him. Then your phone buzzes again. It lights up with a text from Devon and Coriolanus glances outside at the parking lot. He sees your boyfriend pull up, park, and exit his vehicle. For a moment he thinks your boyfriend is about to walk in, but he simply pouts against the car like a grumpy toddler.

“Good luck with your other exams. I know you’ll do fine.”

You walk off, quickly gather your things and walk out the door. He watches you leave and his eyes peer out the window. You trot along to Devon’s car innocently, scared like a newborn deer. He stares at you hawkishly, arms crossed. He shoves his body back into the car once you make it onto the other side, starting it up and you disappear behind the door as it closes. Coriolanus hangs his head in frustration and sighs. You didn’t deserve him.

You belong with him. You belong with Coriolanus.

He felt a tinge of unease thinking about it, not wanting to become as possessive and obsessive as Devon, but he really meant it. He felt he would know how to treat you like a queen. Give you lots of nice things or if you needed cash to buy something you wanted, he’d give it to you. Sell more weed and Xanax to get you whatever you want. But if he could have you, hold you, treat you right, and tell you how much he loves you, he felt like you would want it just as much as he did.

When he gets home, Coriolanus heads up to his room. His cousin and grandma were out shopping for their dresses to wear to his graduation. Coriolanus had picked out a nice pair of black slacks, and a white button up. He wasn’t one for ties normally, and given the heat, he didn’t want to feel too constrained. It was hanging up in his closet, facing him as he enters his room, along with his cap and gown. He sits down at his desk, placing his book bag down and getting his laptop out. He decides to check his grades one last time even though he already knows what it will say. He logs on to his school's website.

Coriolanus C. Snow

Student ID: 1008452024

Current Standing: Senior (Academic Honors)

Current GPA: 4.0

Accumulative GPA: 4.3

Spring Semester 2024

AP Physics A

AP Literature A

European History A

AP Calculus A

Political Science A

Latin Studies A

The corners of his mouth slid up into a half smile. He was of course not upset with himself, but knew that school was the only thing he was really good at, but completely hated. He was still going to go to college, just to get a degree of anything and why would he miss out on the opportunity to sell to his target market. Even though he hated school, and was dragging his feet to go to college, Coriolanus had bigger ambitions. He thought that even if it meant four more years of school and lectures, getting a degree might lead him towards a better career. Coriolanus often heard of people getting into politics and getting intern jobs working for Senators and Representatives. It was truly the only thing that appealed to him. Even though he excelled in nearly every course, politics and civics seemed to have taken over his attention more than his other subjects. And his teachers noted how he seemed to have more interest in those classes versus science or math. So he thought that maybe college could offer an opportunity for him to get him to a place of power, which not even he realizes how much he desires that kind of control.

Then his phone vibrates, taking him off guard and away from his thoughts. It’s you. He immediately picks it up. He can sense your emotions through the phone and the immediate sniffle you give him, confirms his suspicions.

“Hey what’s up?”

“Oh I just had a quick question on this lab I realized I left the last question blank. Do you think we could FaceTime real quick?” You ask tentatively

“Sure.”

You transfer the call to FaceTime him and he picks up. He put the phone against the wall and your beautiful face appears. It’s slightly blurry because of the connection, but Coriolanus can still make out your beautiful features although they are covered by your clearly upset face. You had been crying, hard, your eyes slightly red and puffy.

“So what’s up” Coriolanus continues quickly

“Yeah so it's talking about how I’m supposed to connect my parts of the equation to the students equation in the problem but also explain the reasoning for why part b) works with part a) and show mathematical reasoning.”

Coriolanus smiles and begins to break down the problem in the lab and you start to frantically scribble down on your page, occasionally glancing up showing that you understand and are following along. All the while, he’s just as focused on your beautiful, round eyes, as they concentrate on his words. He tries desperately not to picture those same pretty eyes looking up at him, you on your knees, naked and sucking his cock. He knows that your eyes would look just as attractive and engaged by him. He shakes his head to refocus, but he’s hard under his desk. Luckily it’s just a video call, because his bulge is ever so apparent. Once Coriolanus finishes explaining it, you smile and sigh in relief.

“That makes sense. Thanks Coriolanus…”

“See, next semester I can still help you like this, you know.”

“I guess you’re right” you smile back “is that your bed?” You ask, pointing behind him.

“Yeah.” He confirms, turning around to look at it.

“I like the comforter. Your room looks cool by the way” you follow up

His bed sheets are navy blue plaid with red and white stripes in a grid style pattern. He looks around his room and admires his decor. Coriolanus occupies a room on the top floor. It wasn’t quite cramped like an attic, but it was close to the roof. It was cozy, with a slanted wall. The back wall was uncovered brick, with a wood ceiling. Coriolanus had put a few of his favorite band posters up as well as some vinyl covers. He tried to keep things simple with his bed against one wall and his desk against the other. He had a laptop that sat on his desk and a TV that screwed onto the wall above his desk, which he easily fit his PS4 under.

“Maybe you should come see it in person sometime” he suggests, not realizing what he has said.

When he does, he mentally kicks himself for being so forward, and your eyes dart down to the ground in your own room.

You stupid ass.

As he curses himself, you glance back up with a smile

“Hopefully I can see it at your graduation party. Assuming you're having one?” You follow up

“Possibly. I wasn’t sure, but my family wants to throw me one. What about you?” He asks

“Oh yeah I’m sending invitations out to the whole grade. We are having it at our country club, me and Devon. It's kinda a combination party I guess.” You explain

“Oh fun”

“It’s gonna be at the end of June so when you get the invite, let me know. You can text me and I’ll tell my dad.”

“Yeah sure. Well I won’t keep ya any longer.” Coriolanus nods, his lips sporting the most charming smile and you match his expression.

“Ok well, if I don’t see you much at school then I’ll see you this weekend at graduation?” You imply, unsure if he would even bother going since he almost never attended non-mandatory school events.

“Yeah, I’ll see you there for sure”

“Hey just real quick, earlier today with Devon, it’s just he gets a bad temper and makes assumptions”

Coriolanus nods, not wanting to scare you off, but he’s invested in having you tell him what more upsets you.

“I’m sorry, that sounds frustrating.”

“Well I guess you’ve always been there to listen so I just wanna say thanks for all these times. You know it’s funny though we get into these fights and I talk to you and feel better then he goes back to normal, well at least for a while then he gets back into his ways, so I’m just hoping he’ll mature more in college. Stop acting like a toddler sometimes” you smirk

Oh you poor thing, you don’t even realize how bad he truly is. You don’t even realize you're stuck in his toxic cycle. Coriolanus wishes he could swoop in and take you away. Treat you better. Coriolanus gives you a sympathetic smile and continues to show he’s listening to you. After a few silent moments, you say goodbye and hang up. Coriolanus feels like he can breathe again. You overwhelm him to a degree he didn’t even think was possible. Which he feels it between his legs, his cock is still rock hard.

Fuck you get him so worked up it’s unbelievable. He knows he’ll have to handle his member in the shower before dinner, but for now he smiles to himself. Coriolanus leans his chair back, mouth agape as he sighs at the ceiling. Maybe he could have a chance with you after all. He doesn’t want to get too hopeful, but something tells him he might just be able to get his chance with you before the summer ends.

꧁🝮❤︎︎🝮꧂

#coriolanus snow #coriolanus fanfiction #coriolanus smut #coriolanus snow x fem!reader #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus x you #fan fiction #tbosas #tbosas fanfiction #tom blyth characters #tom blyth #tom blyth fanfiction #smut #smut fanfiction #hunger games smut

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tomorrowusa · 1 month

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« Donald Trump thinks that we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very rich. But take it from an actual billionaire; Trump is rich in only one thing – stupidity. »

— Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, speaking Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention.

That was just one of many zingers the governor lobbed at Weird Donald.

youtube

Trump is certainly not a highly successful businessman. He's a nepo baby who got a huge bundle from his wealthy real estate developer daddy and stupidly squandered it on useless failed projects. Savvy or stable geniuses don't declare bankruptcy 6 times.

Trump's big break was getting that gig on The Apprentice. He portrayed a successful businessman in the series. Sadly, a lot of Americans have difficulty distinguishing between so called "reality TV" and real life.

The New Yorker published a long article about Trump and The Apprentice in December 2018 and related how TV producer Mark Burnett helped create the Trump success myth. Here are two key excerpts.

Trump had been a celebrity since the eighties, his persona shaped by the best-selling book “The Art of the Deal.” But his business had foundered, and by 2003 he had become a garish figure of local interest—a punch line on Page Six. “The Apprentice” mythologized him anew, and on a much bigger scale, turning him into an icon of American success. [ … ] "The Apprentice" portrayed Trump not as a skeezy hustler who huddles with local mobsters but as a plutocrat with impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth—a titan who always seemed to be climbing out of helicopters or into limousines. "Most of us knew he was a fake,” Braun told me. "He had just gone through I don’t know how many bankruptcies. But we made him out to be the most important person in the world. It was like making the court jester the king." Bill Pruitt, another producer, recalled, “We walked through the offices and saw chipped furniture. We saw a crumbling empire at every turn. Our job was to make it seem otherwise."

Yep, "a crumbling empire" is a great metaphor of where Trump was prior to The Apprentice. He's no self-made man but somebody who egotistically leveraged the mythology which Mark Burnett created around him.

Random idiots on the street would have done better than Weird Donald if they had gotten that much money from a rich daddy.

^^^ They left out my favorite: Trump Vitamins – fortified with B and S.

#donald trump #trump is a failed businessman #weird donald #trump bankruptcies #the apprentice #mark burnett #j.b. pritzker #election 2024 #vote blue no matter who

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thatblackravenclaw · 2 years

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Pen Pals

a/n: you guys know how Andrew Garfield’s parents are British but he was born in L.A. but he still has a British accent that’s not extremely British with a little bit of an American twinge? that’s what the reader sounds like. also, i go by the grades of everyone in the books so Cho and the reader are a year older than the golden trio and a year younger than the twins.

Blog Details | Let’s take a trip

Fred Weasley x Black!fem!reader (Ravenclaw)

warning(s): british slander bc im a raging american (RED WHITE AND BLUE MF THESE COLORS DON’T RUN BITCH lmfao please believe me when i say im joking), cursing, mention of drugs and alcohol use, tooth rotting fluff

word count: 3.3k

“Are you writing to that British boy again?” I hear from over my shoulder.

“Yes, and have you heard of personal space?” We erupt in giggles as I push her away.

I close my notebook and move from my desk to my bed. The foot of my mattress is barricaded with boxes. I look around and see my childhood home become empty and filled with boxes and buckets. The walls that were once painted with polaroids of my friends and family from over the years is now back to its basic color of brown that was painted when I was born. My desk is no longer covered with knick-knacks and clutter. The room is just empty. I’m happy that my mom got promoted so my dad gets to go back to his hometown, but it’s going to be hard leaving a place I’ve spent ¾ of my life in.

My mom is a Magizoologist. She came to the United States 20 years ago for a business trip. My dad is a Dragonologist. Their paths crossed when she came to help take a look at a sick Dragon. He showed him how their sanction work and over time I guess they became close because 3 years later I was born.

We used to go back and forth between Illinois and England for about 4 and ½ years before mom decided to just move here. I guess the distance was just a little too much for them, so she decided to move here and now we’re moving back.

I lay down on the bed and stare at the ceiling. It’s scattered with glow in the dark stars that I begged for when I was 7 and ten years later, here they still stick. I’ve been asking dad for four years to take them down. He always said he’d get around to it.

The air feels dry, and my throat is scratchy. I’m trying my best to hold my tears at bay. I love England. It’s a second home to me. Whenever I’m out for summer break I go to my grandparents’ house in Norwich. This is different though. I’m going to be living there now. The British accent I had when I was younger has faded overtime to an American-British hybrid. I’ll surely be made fun of for it.

Maya lays down next to me. We’ve been best friends since the 3rd grade. Just the two of us against the world. Now I have to go through the rest of university without her.

“Maybe it won’t be bad. The worst part is going to be eating their food.” Her jab pulls a smile to the corner of my lips.

“I’ve heard the food at Hogwarts is actually pretty good.”

“Not possibly better than Ilvermony.”

“Never!” I dramatize the word with a gasp. Really selling it as if saying Hogwarts food is better than Ilvermony is a federal offense.

The dust settles and a silence washes over us. It’s a comfortable silence. Soaking in our last moments together. I know it’s not forever. I get to come back here on holiday, and she can use the floo network to visit me, but it won’t be the same. This is the person who has a key to my house because she’s considered family. The same person who that brings me an extra banana nut muffin every day before school just because she knows it’ll bring a smile to my face. I won’t get that anymore.

“What time are you guys leaving tomorrow?” Her head turns towards me, but I keep my eyes trained on the popcorn ceiling in fear that the tears I’ve been holding back will give me away.

“Early. I think 6. We’re meeting the realtor with the keys at 7, so we need to make sure that all of our stuff gets transported this in one fell swoop since we’re apperating there and apparently mom came up with a spell to have our stuff apperate to the new house.”

“Hm. Have you told British boy that you’re got accepted into Hogwarts?”

“Fred doesn’t even know what I look like. Let alone that I got accepted to the same school as him.”

“HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE?” I slap my hand over her mouth and shush her.

“Bitch, shut the fuck up. My parents are right down the hall and don’t know I have a pen pal. They said it was dangerous because people pretend to be someone they’re not, but what the hell?”

She pushes my hand off of her mouth and sits up. Her back meets my headboard and she straight ahead at the door.

“Do you know what he looks like?”

I nod my head yes before rolling off of the bed. I feel to the last page of my journal and find and find a polaroid of him and his brother George from when they went to something called The Quidditch World Cup. I do a quick look over before making my way back to the bed and offering my hand to Maya. She looks at the picture and you can almost see her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

“He has a twin brother?”

“No it’s just someone he met at school.” I resist the temptation to roll my eyes at her comment, but the attitude goes completely over her head.

“Is he single?”

“Maya!” I exclaim with my jaw dropped. “What? You can have a twin and I can’t?”

“Oh hush. You said yourself that you don’t even date white boys.”

“That was before I saw this one. Besides, he’s a ginger so he’s exempt from that statement.”

“I’m really going to miss you Maya.” We make eye contact for the first time in a while and her eyes soften.

“I’m gonna miss you too Angel.”

She looks down at her watch and tells me that it’s fifteen minutes to ten meaning it’s almost curfew. We share one last tearful goodbye as she walks out of my bedroom door for the last time.

. . .

Sure enough, at 5:45 my dad woke me up and told me it was time to get ready to leave. I had taken one last look around my room and made my way downstairs to meet my mother so we could all leave. Right as the clock struck 6, my parents let me grab the powder and be the first to see our new home.

I stood in the foyer and tried to convince myself that it isn’t the best house I’ve ever seen. It’s got a cottage core vibe going on, on the outside. It’s cozy, but big enough for all of us. I wanted so badly not to like it. We went to the backyard and there’s a small river filled with a family of ducks. To the right there’s something that looks like a shack, but bigger. My parents then explained to me it’s my own apartment. That’s when the smile broke across my face. I was finally getting my own space.

The house tour didn’t last long due to the tight schedule we are on. I ended up just waving my wand and letting the magic unpack my stuff as we were right back in the fireplace. Why? Because tomorrow is the first day of school and I have not done any school shopping. The stuff on the list differs a little bit from the shopping list we had for Ilvermony so dad thought it best to wait until we got here. We had to go to Diagon Alley anyway for everyone to open up a bank account.

Now, I’m standing in Madam Malkin’s getting measured for everything. Once I’ve been basically poked and prodded all over my body with clothes pins, I stare out the window and watch everything and everyone pass by. As if someone had played a slow potion button, I see a whole family of red heads walk down the cobblestone and sure enough one of them is Fred. I snap my head down and try to cover my face with my hair. I don’t know why I did that. Once again, he has no idea what I look like.

“All done. You can step down now.” I look over to Madam Malkin and grab my uniform and robe out of her hands. I thank her and rush out the door. Thankfully my parents are done with their list too so we decide to go home.

. . .

The next 18 hours go by quick. I didn’t get a chance to really enjoy my apartment or decorate it due to packing up my trunk since we once again left early in the morning for transportation.

The train ride was painfully boring. No one told me how long it is from England to Scotland. I sat with some mundane people whose names I don’t remember. They were also half asleep and exchanged pleasantries only out of politeness. We bought some stuff off of the trolley and then went back to our own worlds.

At one point it became a little suffocating and I needed to pee so I got up and started walking through the cars when I heard a “Have you heard from her yet, Fred,”. I had stopped before becoming visible to their compartment. He told them no and that he was a little worried. That’s when I remembered that Maya distracted me so I never got to finish the letter.

At the moment, I’m standing at the front of the line of 1st years because I’m new as well but I’m older so I get to get sorted first. My hood is up and I’m looking at the ground, suddenly interested in my shoes. Professor McGonagall informs everyone that I’m a new student from the American wizarding school and I feel my face heat up, knowing the amount of comments I’m about to get from everyone.

She calls my name and I carefully walk up the stairs. At this point my hood is still up so no one has gotten a clear view of my face. I want to do a big reveal of sorts. I sit down and let the hood slide from off of my head. There’s gasps from all across the hall. Some whistles from a few guys. Whispers from a few girls. A handful of people conveyed nonchalant expressions which I greatly appreciate over being fawned over. My eyes gravitate toward the Gryffindor table and I catch Fred already looking at me. His friends are nudging him with an elbow while also looking at me. I guess that answers the question of if he told his friends about me or not. I can’t decipher how he feels, but the adoration on his face calms my nerves enough.

I break our eye contact to look back down at the floor as not to fall off of the stool. I make haste to the Ravenclaw table. I greet everybody and they instantly start asking questions. I laugh as I can’t understand them all at once, but it’s funny hearing them squabble like seagulls. A hand is placed over mine and I look in the direction of where it came from. A beautiful Asian girl gives me a small smile.

“Hi y/n, my name is Cho.” I return the smile and tell her that it’s nice to meet her. A silence washes over the table. I become befuddled and look around to distinguish if I did or said something wrong.

“I thought you were American?” Someone says from the other side of the table. I don’t catch sight of who said it, but respond, nonetheless.

“I am. Well, I’m half. My mom is American and my dad is British. I was born in Manchester but was raised in America.”

An understanding nod is shared amongst the table in hearing vicinity and the conversation ceases as someone else is sorted into Ravenclaw.

. .

After dinner the prefects give the first years a quick tour of the castle and show them to their houses. Cho snuck me with the other 5th years. I’m thankful as I far from want to be touring the castle with a bunch of children. Besides, I have a map of the school and I’ve created a spell that can bewitch the map to help me find my classes.

We make our way up the many staircases and are faced with a large door with an Eagle head as the knocker.

“The only way to enter the common room is by answering a riddle. If you get it wrong, then you have to stand here until someone else comes and says the correct answer or until someone from the inside opens the door.” She says to me. I nod my head in understanding.

“Wanna try it?” Another Ravenclaw asks me. A male. I believe his name is Talbott. I nod my head again and step closer to the door.

“When young, I am sweet in the sun. When middle-aged, I make you gay. When old, I am valued more than ever. What am I?” The voice bellows as the Eagle moves its beak. It shakes my core a little bit.

I look around at the other Ravenclaws. Some with quizzical brows. Some with a knowing look. Others just looking and awaiting my answer. The answer would have caught me up if it weren’t for the last clue; “When old, I am more valued than ever.”

“Wine.” There’s a click sound as if unlocking a lock, and the door slowly opens. Smalls cheers are shared as we walk in.

I’m stuck at the entrance of the threshold inside by the sight in front of me. It’s probably the most gorgeous room I’ve ever seen. The ceiling is coved and gives the illusion of a clear night sky. Stars litter the ceiling and give off the effect of actual twinkling. A blue velvet couch sits in front of a fire, with matching chairs on either side. What really catches my attention is the enormous statue of Rowena Ravenclaw in front of a bookcase. We never had anything like this at Ilvermony. Our emblem was a serpent and we would just have those displayed in various parts of the common room. I watch as everyone goes to various parts of the room while some go behind the bookcase. Cho grabs my hand and also brings me behind the staircase. She shows me that behind this staircase is where the dorms and bathrooms are. I follow her up the staircase and to a dorm. The rooms inferior to the common room but not any less gorgeous. The beds align with the wall as each dorm is in the shape of a tower.

“I see you got the middle bed. Seems fitting as you’re new.” No malice in her tone, though I can see in some way it might have seemed like it.

I sit on the bed and exhale. Truly exhale. This whole journey has been happening too fast. Now that I’m sorted into a house, everything else seems easy. I went over my schedule with Cho and we have all the same classes except Defense Against The Dark Arts. I guess I’ll survive one class without her.

“Well come on lazy bones.” A different girls says to me. Anastasia I believe.

“What?” I sit back up and ask with pure curiosity.

“It’s time to get ready for the party.”

“What party?”

. .

The beginning of the year party. The party where everybody gets blacked out and regrets it in the morning since we start classes at 8 am.

I believe I heard someone earlier yell about flower. A Hufflepuff I believe. I had put on the sluttiest thing I owned and made my way down to the party with everyone else. None of us wear heels, as not to be caught by the caretaker.

The party is in full swing when we open the door the ballroom. The lights are dimmed, but the strobes of light are pungent. We barely make it to the drink table without bumping into everyone on the way. At the drink table is a tall red head with another tall read head which I can only assume is me about to be dealing with the consequences of my own actions.

“Excuse us,” Cho exclaims at the two while trying to push our way to the punch bowl. They look our way and go to move but freeze when they set their eyes on me.

“Y/n?” Fred asks/yells.

“In the flesh,” I yell back.

His smile reaches his eyes as he pulls me in a hug. My face in brought into an awkward place where it’s not quite his chest but not quite his stomach either. I wrap my arms around his middle and hug him back. He smells like cinnamon. I welcome in the scent as we hug for a few more seconds. I can only imagine what Cho is thinking right now.

We pull back at the same time and he begins to speak again. I can’t really hear him over the noise of the ballroom. I look in the direction of the entrance of the room and point to it. He nods his head and we walk towards it, hand in hand.

The door closes behind us but we still stood with our hands intwined.

“Pen pals for 4 years and you didn’t tell me you were transferring.” He exclaims while keeping his voice down.

“I wanted to surprise you.” I say sheepishly.

“Considered me surprised.” He smiled no longer reaches his cheeks but its more somber.

We hear footsteps coming from the far end of the corridor. He pulls me and we start running. I don’t know where we’re going but I trust him. A giggle threatens to out my mouth as we are going up the maze of stairs.

After what feel like forever, we make it to the floor that the Ravenclaw tower is on. I see that Gryffindor is also on this floor. In the middle of both is a spiral staircase. Great. More stairs. He leads us up to a room that looks like a classroom with multiple astronomy tools and an openness to the outside.

“Welcome to the Astronomy classroom.” I unknowingly let go of his hand as I look around in amazement. There’s a celestial sphere with all the constellations on it. A fancy telescope by the balcony. It’s quite literally the Ravenclaw common room in classroom form.

“Gods, this place is gorgeous.” I walk onto the balcony and stare up at the sky. All the stars twinkle and the moon is full.

“As are you.” I turn my body around and face him. He walks up next to me without breaking eye contact.

“Not a disappointment, am I?”

“Only a little. I expect more of an American accent.” I laugh at this before looking down at my shoes.

“You and everyone else. It’s there a little bit with certain words and phrases.”

. .

I sit on the ledge and we talk for a bit. Not much to tell considering I know almost everything about him and vice versa. We talk about school and the people here which eventually leads to the topic of dating.

“Anyone here you fancy yet?”

“You could say that.” I look into his eyes and see if he’s able to read in between the lines.

He leans in and I hear my breath hitch. My fingers grip the railing. His eyes jump to my lips and back to my eyes.

“Who is it?” We both know.

“He’s in Gryffindor. Tall red head with freckles. His brothers are also in Gryffindor.” We inch closer.

“I might know him. What’s his name?” 3 inches apart.

“Ron.” He rolls his eyes at the answer with a chuckle.

“Shut up,” and then he kissed me.

Fred Masterlist | United Kingdom

#fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley fic #fred weasley x reader #fred weasely x y/n #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x ravenclaw!reader #fred weasley x black!reader #ravenclaw!reader #ravenclaw reader #black!reader #black reader #fred weasley fluff #harry potter fanfiction #Harry Potter fic #harry potter fluff

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years

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Fighting the privacy wars, state by state

In 2021, Apple updated its mobile OS so that users could opt out of app tracking with one click. More than 96% opted out, costing Facebook $10b in one year. The kicker? Even if you opted out, Apple continued to spy on you, just as invasively as Facebook had, as part of its competing targeted ad product:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/23/state-of-play/#patchwork

The fact that Apple — a company that has blanketed the world with anti-surveillance billboards — engaged in deceptive, pervasive surveillance reveals the bankruptcy of “letting the market decide” what privacy protections you should have.

When you walk into a grocery store, you know that the FDA is on the job, making sure that the food you buy doesn’t kill you — but no one stops the grocery store from tracking literally every step you take, every eye movement you make (no, really!) and selling that to all comers:

https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/02/16/forget-milk-and-eggs-supermarkets-are-having-a-fire-sale-on-data-about-you

America’s decision to let the private sector self-regulate commercial surveillance is a grotesque failure of duty on the part of Congress, which has consistently failed to pass comprehensive privacy legislation. There are lots of reasons for this, but the most important is that American cops and spies are totally reliant on commercial surveillance brokers, and they fight like hell against any privacy legislation:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#axciom

The private sector’s unregulated privacy free-for-all means that cops don’t need to get warrants to spy on you — they can just buy the data on the open market for pennies:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#ppp

The last Congressional session almost passed a halfway decent (but still deeply flawed) federal privacy law, but then they didn’t. Basically, Congress only passes laws that can be sandwiched into 1,000-page must-pass bills and most of the good stuff that gets through only does so because some bought-and-paid-for Congressjerks are too busy complaining about “woke librarians” to read the bills before they come up for a vote.

The catastrophic failure to protect Americans’ privacy has sent human rights groups hunting for other means to accomplish the same end. On the federal level, there’s the newly reinvigorated FTC, under the visionary, muscular leadership of Lina Khan, the best Commission chair in a generation. She’s hard at work on rules to limit commercial surveillance:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/12/regulatory-uncapture/#conscious-uncoupling

But FTC regs take time to pass, and it can be hard for ordinary individuals to trigger their enforcement, which might leave you at the mercy of your local officials when your privacy is invaded. What we really need is a privacy law with a “private right of action” — the right to go to court on your own:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/01/you-should-have-right-sue-companies-violate-your-privacy

The business lobby hates private right of action, and they trick low-information voters into opposing them with lies about “ambulance chasers” who sue innocent fast-food outlets for millions because they serve coffee that’s too hot:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/12/hot-coffee/#mcgeico

With Congress deadlocked and privacy harms spiraling, pro-privacy groups have turned to the states, as Alfred Ng writes for Politico:

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/22/statehouses-privacy-law-cybersecurity-00083775

The best provisions of the failed federal privacy law have been introduced as state legislation in Massachusetts and Illinois, and there are amendments to Indiana’s existing state privacy law — 16 states in all are working on or have some kind of privacy law. This means businesses must live with the dread “patchwork of laws,” which serves the business lobby right: they must do business in potentially radically different ways in different states, and small missteps could cost them millions, in true fuck-around-and-find-out fashion.

As Ng writes, these laws don’t have to pass in every state. America’s historically contingent, lopsided state lines mean that some states are so populous that whatever rules they pass end up going nationwide (the ACLU’s Kade Crockford uses the example of California Prop 65 warnings showing up on canned goods in NY).

As Congress descends further into self-parody, the temptation to treat the federal government as damage and route around it only mounts. It’s a powerful, but imperfect strategy. On the negative side, it takes a lot of resources to introduce legislation into multiple states, and to win legislative fights in each.

Think of the incredible fuckery that the coalition of Apple, John Deere, Wahl, and other monopolists got up to defeat dozens of state Right to Repair laws, even snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in New York state, neutering the incredible state electronics repair law before it reached the governor’s desk:

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/02/17/more-details-on-how-tech-lobbyists-lobotomized-nys-right-to-repair-law-with-governor-kathy-hochuls-help/

Indeed, the business lobby loves lobbying statehouses, treating them as the Feds’ farm-leagues, filled with naive, easily hoodwinked rubes. Organizations like ALEC use their endless corporate funding to get state legislation that piles farce upon tragedy, like the laws banning municipal fiber networks:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/15/useful-idiotsuseful-idiots/#unrequited-love

The right has always had hooks in state legislatures, but they really opened up the sluice gates in the runup to the 2010 census, when a GOP strategist called Thomas Hofeller started pitching Republican operatives on a plan called REDMAP, to capture state legislatures in time for a post-2010 census mass-redistricting that would neutralize the votes of Black and brown people and deliver permanent rule by an openly white nationalist Republican party that could lose every popular vote and still hold power.

Of course, that’s not how they talked about it in public. Though the racial dimension of GOP gerrymandering were visible to anyone on the ground, Hofeller maintained a veneer of plausible deniability on the new REDMAP districts, leaving the racist intent of GOP redistricting as a he-said/she-said matter of conjecture:

https://www.klfy.com/national/late-gop-redistricting-gurus-files-hint-at-partisan-motives/

That is, until 2018, when Satan summoned Hofeller back to hell, leaving his personal effects in the hands of his estranged anarchist daughter, Stephanie, who dumped all her old man’s files online, including the powerpoint slides he delivered to his GOP colleagues where he basically said, “Hey kids, let’s do an illegal racism!”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pked4v/the-anarchist-daughter-of-the-gops-gerrymandering-mastermind-just-dumped-all-his-maps-and-files-on-google-drive

Sometimes, laws that turn on intent are difficult to enforce because they require knowledge of the accused’s state of mind. But there are so many would-be supervillains who just can’t stop themselves from monologing, and worse, putting it in writing.

As bad as state politics can be, they’re still winnable battlefields. Last year saw a profound win on Right to Repair in Colorado, where a wheelchair repair bill, HB22–1031, made history:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair

That win helped inspire Rebecca Giblin and I when we were writing Chokepoint Capitalism, our book about how Big Tech and Big Content rip off creative workers, and what to do about it.

https://chokepointcapitalism.com

Many readers have noted that the first half of the book — where were unpack the scams of streaming, news advertising, ebooks and audiobooks, and other creative fields — is incredibly enraging.

But if you find yourself struggling to concentrate on the book because of a persistent, high-pitched whining noise that you suspect might be a rage-induced incipient aneurysm, keep reading! The second half of the book is full of detailed, shovel-ready policy proposals to get artists paid, including a state legislative proposal that works from the same playbook as these state privacy laws.

If your creative work entitles you to receive royalties, your contract will typically include the right to audit your royalty statements. If you do audit your royalties, you will often find “discrepancies.” We cite one LA firm that has performed tens of thousands of record contract audits over decades, and in every instance except one, the errors they discovered were in the labels’ favor.

This is a hell of a head-scratcher. I can only assume that some kind of extremely vexing, highly localized probability storm has taken up permanent residence over the Big Three labels’ accounting departments, making life hell for their CPAs, and my heart goes out to them.

Anyway: if you find one of these errors and you tell your label or publisher or studio, “Hey, you stole my money, cough up!” they will pat you on the head and say, “Oh, you artists are adorable but you can’t do math. You’re mistaken, we don’t owe you anything. But because we’re good natured slobs, we’ll offer you, say, half of what you think we owe you, which is good, because you can’t afford to sue us. And all you need to do to get that money is to sign this non-disclosure agreement, meaning you can’t tell anyone else about the money we’re stealing from them.

“Oh, and one more thing: your accountant has to promise never to audit us again.” As Caldwell-Kelly said when we talked about this on Trashfuture, this is like the accused murderer telling the forensics team, “Dig anywhere you’d like in my garden, just not in that corner, I’m very sentimental about it.”

https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/e/amazon-billing-amazon-for-amazon-feat-cory-doctorow-and-rebecca-giblin/

Now, contracts are a matter of state law, and nearly every entertainment industry contract is signed in one of four jurisdictions: NY, CA, TN (Nashville), and WA (games companies and Amazon). If we amended the state laws in one or more of these to say, “NDAs can’t be enforced when they pertain to wage theft arising from omissions or misstatements on royalties,” we could pour money into the pockets of creative workers all over the world.

Yes, the entertainment giants will fight like hell against this, and yes, they have a lot of juice in their state legislatures. But they’re also incredibly greedy and reckless, and prone to such breathtaking and brazen acts of wage theft that they lurch from crisis to crisis, and at each of these crises, there is a space to pass a law to address these very public failings.

For example, in 2022, the Writers Guild of America — one of the best, most principled, most solidaristic and unified unions in Hollywood — wrested $42 million from Netflix, which the company had stolen from its writers:

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/wga-wins-42-million-arbitration-netflix-1235333822/

Netflix isn’t alone in these massive acts of wage theft, and this is certainly not the only way Netflix is stealing from creative workers. There’s never just one ant: if Netflix cooked the books for writers, they’re definitely cooking it for other workers. That means there will be more scandals, and when they break, we can demand more than a bandaid fix for one crime — we can demand modest-but-critical legislative action to fix contracts and prevent this kind of wage-theft in the future.

The state legislatures aren’t an intrinsically better battlefield for just fights, but they are an alternative to Congress, and there is space to make things happen in just some of the 50 state houses that can ripple out over the whole country — for good and bad.

[Image ID: Blind justice, holding aloft a set of unbalanced scales; in the lower scale is a map of the USA showing the state lines; in the higher scale rests the capitol building.]

#pluralistic #states rights #laboratories of democracy #privacy #gdpr #federalism #contract law #chokepoint capitalism #wage theft #redmap

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phanamu · 3 months

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I'm having a highly self-indulgent writing day so I'ma post a thing I just wrote about some OCs I got rattling around.

Peer beneath the read more if you're curious.

Have you heard? There's a new shop in Elmerton.

It's on the corner of 31st and Ocean Avenue, you know, where the old jewelry store used to be? It was bought up recently by a single mom with two kids. Sweet lady, very pretty, Greek. Goes by "Faye" or something, though I don't think that's how it's spelled. Don't ask me to even try with their last name, all I got was that it started with a K.

Anyway, this shop, it's called The Serpent's Nest. I think it earns its name on account of all the snake details in their decorating, especially the wallpaper. It sells occult stuff. You know: crystals, incense, bells-books-and-candles. She uses the old display cases to show statues and burners and cards and stuff instead of jewelry and she turned the bay window into a reading nook for people to try before they buy.

Not that kitschy kid stuff either I'm talking at least three double-sided bookshelves worth of spellbooks and junk written by people who take it serious. The ones that tell you what to do when the sixth moon is in the house of whatever, like they got in the Skulk and Lurk. The kind of stuff that would make most people ask what she does every month outside October if she wasn't setting up shop next to the most haunted town in Illinois.

Oh, and she's got a massive herb and spice section along the left wall and a fridge at the back so that she can make that crunchy health-nut money, too -- almost everything homegrown and homemade, apparently, or else sourced local. She said she had a garden or greenhouse on the roof of the building she keeps tended, along with a couple of those big boxy beehives beekeepers got. I guess they own the building and live on the upper floor.

Anyway, I got a really nice pomegranate honey for my granddad there, and she let me put up a flyer for his yarn stall at the Farmer's Market on the board she's got next to the door. Showed up the Wednesday after, too, and actually bought something. Like I said, sweet lady.

She doesn't dispense drugs, far as I know, but she's apparently working on getting a pharmaceutical license. Getting in on that holistic medicine business too, I guess, though she was pretty quick to tell a guy that his eczema problem is probably better taken care of at a doctor's than anything she's got. Pretty sure she was letting him down gently, but you know. Classy.

Yeah yeah I know I sound half in-love but if you'd seen her you'd get it. She's got that classic dark lady witchy thing going with the long purple dresses and the smoky eyeshadow and bold brown lipstick. She keeps her black hair tied back in this scarf up-do thing and she has curls and waves my sister would kill for. I know her eyes are brown but I swear that they look gold in the right light. Whole family has that, actually. And she's got this little smile like she knows something you don't but you can find out if you pay attention.

Some people get all the charisma, I tell you. Must be great for business. Well, when she's behind the counter, anyway. Sometimes it's one of her kids instead. Day and night, those two.

The older one is built like an Amazon and dresses like she either just got back from beating the hell out of a punching bag at the local gym or like she just got out from under a car that needed a tune-up. She works that whole atheleisure style with a long braid and extra grease stains. Maybe a leather jacket. Killer smile, must be another family thing, though hers made me feel a little bit like she knew she could crush me like a soda can if I crossed her and it's lucky for me that she's in a good mood today. Pretty, but intimidating, y'know?

Name's Diana, if I heard her mom right, though they were speaking Greek at the time so that's just a guess. I pity the guy who tries to hit on her mom while she's in earshot.

The other kid? Man. That one is... Well, they look like their mom? Except. Shorter and sharper. And more dark, like, dressing for your funeral but there's an MCR concert later kind of dark. You know how some people in that scene do. They didn't tie their hair back so it was just curl city like a cross between a Gothic dandelion and a sheep from hell, add some silver jewelry. Their eyeliner had wings clean enough to slice a man but they're also flat as a board so I mean. Hard to tell if they're a boy or girl.

Hey, I'm not saying that to be mean! They look like the kind of person that either likes confusing people, collects knives, or both. They were professional enough behind the counter -- not your typical glass-eyed Daria wannabe -- but they had this way of staring into your soul like they were debating how hard it'd be to pick you out from between their teeth if you took too long to get your change out of your pocket. Not sure if I ever actually saw them blink while I was working that out.

I only got some of their name because their sister wrangled them into something like a human shape when they had their shift change. Still speaking Greek, mind, so it was either Andre or Andrea. Something like that. Wasn't like I really had room to ask for clarification when they were up the stairs so quickly. Barely even heard their footsteps hit the ground.

I think the both of them are going to Casper High next semester. I tried to give their mom a heads up about our whole ghost thing, mention how Phantom pretty much called dibs on our airspace. She didn't seem too worried, but hey. The new people rarely do.

Anyway, it'll be nice to have a fresh source of ghost gear that doesn't have the name Fenton on it, even if it is a little old school. Assuming any of it works, I think those three are going to do pretty well for themselves around here. Can hardly do worse than the old mayor, right?

So. Wanna go?

#Mu Speaks #Fanfiction #Mu Ocs #danny phantom oc

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astra-galaxie · 1 year

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"Oh, yes! Why, Gray is the one who helped me start up my… new business, such a handsome young man… he did a lot for me." - Heather Queen

Biographical information

Full Name: Heather Queen

Alias(es): Hotshot Queen

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Status: Incarcerated

Age: 58 (season 1)

Birth: 1955

Race: Human

Nationality: American

Origin: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Residence:

Grimsborough, USA

Chicago, Illinois, USA (formerly)

Profession(s): Drug Dealer

Family: Summer Queen (niece)

Profile

Heather is a tall woman in her late fifties with short platinum blonde hair and sharp green eyes. She dresses like a trophy wife from a sixties movie, with a long red dress and a fur housecoat hanging loosely off her frame. Her jewelry is equally as extravagant, with rocks the size of ping pong balls in dazzling colours on her jewelry.

Height: 6'0"

Age: 58 (season 1)

Weight: 145lbs

Eyes: green

Blood: AB-

Synopsis

Heather was a suspect in the murder of Gray White. She was a drug queen who used to operate in Chicago until she was caught and arrested. She spent a few years in prison before her lawyers managed to get her out early on a technicality, and she proudly walked free. She moved to Grimsborough for a fresh start and to find new clients.

She knew Gray had returned to Grimsborough years prior, and Heather looked forward to… catching up on lost time with him. The two had a special business relationship, one that Heather enjoyed immensely. Gray was young, strong, and good-looking… It didn’t hurt that he was exceptional at following orders, either.

Approaching Gray with the offer to join her new business was simple; the man needed money for his daughter’s medication, and Heather offered him an easy way to get it. Plus, she was feeling generous and decided to pay him for… Extra services. The private kind.

Heather knows Gray was ashamed to sell his body for money, but he loved his daughter more than his pride. And the nights they spent together were filled with passionate lovemaking… Even after years apart, Gray still knew how to light Heather’s fire. She never wanted their private time to end… But then, two officers arrived to inform her that Gray was dead, burned so badly he was unrecognizable.

Of course, Heather’s love for handsome men couldn’t be stopped even when grieving for Gray. She was enchanted by the man who had come to interrogate her. The woman… Not so much. Sure, the female officer was beautiful, but Heather wasn’t attracted to women, so she was much more interested in her partner.

Though she might not have been if she had known Nathan had been calling her a bitch in Hindi…

Heather would be proven innocent of Gray’s murder, but that didn’t mean she wouldn't be going to prison for other reasons. After Adalet and Nathan made a search of her house and discovered drugs, Heather was arrested for possession and sent back to prison. She was furious at being locked up and forced to wear the hideous orange jumpsuits again, but she knows her lawyers will get her out early, just like before. It was only a matter of time…

(Spoiler alert, Heather will serve her entire sentence. Chief King ensured there was no way for her to get an early release after finding out about her inappropriate behaviour towards Nathan and disrespect of Adalet.)

Story Information

First appeared: Harvest Murder

Trivia

She's a cougar

Even though she sold drugs, she rarely consumed them herself. She preferred alcohol

She financially endorsed her niece’s BDSM club and would visit whenever she was in Chicago

When she heard that Summer had been arrested for murder, she was disappointed, but she was proud of her niece for ridding the world of such a disgusting man

She has had plastic surgery and uses a LOT of makeup to keep herself looking young

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad)

Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad)

Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)

#criminal case #astra's ocs #my ocs #criminal case grimsborough #grimsborough

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beardedmrbean · 7 months

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nypost (com/2024/02/16/us-news/tiffany-henyard-dresses-gangster-citizens-say-she-acts-like-one/)

I've seen you run a few stories about her thought you might get a laugh out of this.

Oh yes, she's a lunatic, can't wait for her to get hit with RICO charges or something similar.

If the wording on that link is any indication that may happen soon.

Dolton, Illinois — Mayor Tiffany Henyard attends meetings dressed as a movie gangster and her residents say she plays the part – retaliating against them unless they do her bidding, The Post can reveal.

Henyard channeled drug kingpin Nino Brown from the 1991 gangster movie “New Jack City” at a 2023 gathering, an ensemble meant to intimidate, her critics claimed this week.

“People look at politics like a joke, it’s like a mockery right now because of all this stuff,” Village of Dolton Trustee Kiana Belcher told The Post. “She comes to board meetings dressed like Nino Brown.”

During one meeting dressed in the ensemble, Henyard, 40, signaled for a DJ to blare Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” as she sashayed around the room to punctuate a point she was making, sources said.

Henyard committed to the character, carrying a small stuffed dog to evoke a scene from the 1991 crime classic where Nino menaces and batters an underling, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The former burger joint owner turned local politician is under fire for allegedly plundering Dolton’s coffers for personal extravagances, and using law enforcement allies to oppress opponents.

Lawrence Gardner, 57, told The Post Friday Henyard shut down his trucking business because he refused to renew a $3,500 contribution to her political war chest.

Gardner claimed he made an initial donation to Henyard, but her minions kept coming back for more.

“I made the payment,” he said. “Then every year she started coming and required the same thing, and we had a problem about that.”

When he refused, Gardner said city officials fabricated claims he was illegally selling alcohol and yanked his business license.

“What is she Nino Brown?” he said. “Anything she wants done, she gets them to harass you. She likes nobody. If you are not doing what she say, if you are not doing how she’s saying to do it, you are a problem. She don’t like them.”

Gardner said Henyard and Village of Dolton Police Chief Lewis Lacey have blocked dozens of local businesses from operating because they failed to make the required payments.

The Post heard similar stories from numerous locals who claimed they had recieved harassment from police acting on Henyard’s orders.

Belcher also said former Dolton Chief of Police Robert Collins admitted to her the mayor had asked him to target people.

Henyard’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment Friday.

Trustee Belcher also said Henyard is averse to working mornings.

“She doesn’t wake up until after 10:00. I knew her before, she’s not a morning person. She’s a late night person,” she said.

Former Dolton Mayor Riley Rogers, who lost to Henyard in 2021, questioned her sprawling security detail and allegedly profligate spending.

“Some people take it as being glamorous by having a bunch of police officers around you and being escorted and being driven around,” he said. “I never had a security detail as mayor.”

Like other locals, Rogers said Henyard’s outflow of cash has come as a shock.

“I tried to stay away from the money,” he said. “It’s not your money so you can’t use it like it’s your piggy bank.”

Henyard, who recently met President Biden during a White House visit, has squelched inquiries into the town’s finances, critics argue.

The books are so bad, some said, that Dolton police cars might have to be repossessed.

Vocal community member Sherry Britton, 55, said she voted for Henyard — and now wishes she didn’t.

“It was a vote that I regret,” she said. “Please put that in there! It was a vote that I regret deeply. When she got into office, she just shut everyone out and she went into the opposite direction. She became this tyrant and dictator.”

Britton speculated that that Henyard is having mental issues, and compared her to rapper Kanye West.

“It seems like her aspirations and goals are for her to be a reality star,” she said. “She didn’t [previously] wear all that make up. She just now thinks she’s this reality star. I don’t know this for sure but they say she is filming a reality show, because the cameras are always with her.”

Former trustee Valeria Stubbs, 56, has known Henyard for 15 years.

Like others, she questioned her expenditures — including more than $1 million on security and another $2 million for an ice rink that only opens when she’s hosting an event.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” she said. “And I have been involved in the political arena ever since I was 18.”

A small village of about 20,000 people just south of Chicago, Dolton is submerged under $5 million in debt, according to reports.

Her salary is $224,000 for being mayor of a town of 21,426, went to look at one of the other articles I ran on her for that number, which is lunacy.

So ya that RICO thing is gonna hit I'm thinking.

#anonymous #nunyas news

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ohc-and-the-music-tapes-archive · 1 year

Photo

Review of the Circulatory System’s show, Flagpole, 14 July 2004

[source]

transcript:

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, THE LAY ALL OVER ITS Flicker Theatre & Bar Wednesday. June 30

I woke from a hard late afternoon sleep and a spy dream; spies that cling to the ceiling and under floorboards. It was blustery and I was to head to Flicker for "acoustic" Circulatory System. Good thing I got there in time, as the night would sell out. Even the outdoor seating was retracted. Even a woman who'd flown from Boston for just this concert was turned away I felt an out-of-season "Christmas Carol" window scene on my back as dozens of hopefuls did their best Tiny Tims, hoping to get a crumb off the feast inside. The dimly lit theatre lengthened my awake/ asleep fog as the opening act readied.

The Lay All Over Its were down from Chicago, with Jason Ajemian on double bass and vocals, and Nori Tanaka on drums. Ajemian plays in free- jazz trio Triage, though he’s no stranger to the rootsier approach; his Born Heller duo with Josephine Foster is a new kind of Americana, highly idiosyncratic with an eye towards the past. Tanaka, originally from Fukuoka, Japan, now calls Illinois home. He plays in various configurations with the likes of Jett Parker and Tatsu Aoki. demonstrating remarkable flexibility and spontaneous adaptations. And so it began. Washes of cymbals and toms and strumming and singing in perpetual motion arched like Gorecki's “Third.’ Harmonics, drones, displacement of rhythms, headbobbing throughout. Circular sheets of pulse modestly dispatched (from Tanaka's kit. from his heart

Taps to end, like the rain.

Then bowing—sad, multivoiced broken folk—beautiful, as drums entered again, but it took a while to notice their intermittent punctuations. More frenetic, this kind of heavy still had forward momentum with no obvious subdivisions. The audience was quiet. A major key explosion and the drums dropped out. It was a train what kept rollin’ in the brushes and a hard-formed triplets. Ajemian in his upper reaches sang what I couldn't understand—but didn't need to— overtop “No. no. no, no, no, no. no.' his intonation like on a Smithsonian Folkways recording. Patter of snare, scratch of bow. it sounded timeless. Plucked pointillist ghost notes, pizzicato expressionism, continue drum creating rapid call and response. Busy with high flourishes like Little Richard slowing and starting. Deep African groove book-ended by knotty swing jazz vamps to a sparer rat-a-tat percussion solo Drums front and center, just as they've been the whole way, though now we focus on the undercurrent. A chance to stretch, to fixate on cells of rhythmic exchange. Bass entry on cue in seamless integration. More raw singing, like a field song, and it stopped.

I was still that (good) groggy, maybe more so; my spy dream seemed reality as people may well have hung from the ratters and snuck through doorways, in expectation. (And I'd love to check out Circulatory System's record collections; the in-between band music was cool-headed.) We waited in this calm... Finally, with spare sustained tones, Will Hart sang “been such a long time" (if it had. all was forgiven) over a gentle propulsion. Julian Koster sawed away his echo chamber opera. This continued until drummers Hannah Jones and Derek Almstead kicked in with the big beat; it was Pink Floyd planetarium. King Crimson angularity and classic-rock catharsis as John Fernandes' bass clarinet bottomed out. Soon traditional instruments were traded for two pitchers of water, pouring from one to the other as Lay All Over Its’ Ajemian added high sparkle and low bow. There was even kissing of the microphone, close up.

On to Pete Erchick’s keyboard bass pulse and a big stadium sound, a nice slurry clarinet break all mellowed out in staccato rhythm through the changes, an expanded sense of time. As Hart chanted “one by one" all stopped and resumed together, an Arnold Dreyblatt insistence and calm. The System shifted from jazzy to straightforward rock and back. A living cross-fade to slow dirges into Beatles-disco speedup-hushed freakout. The last suite: a mid-tempo shuttle, a guitar and voice reduction, some trading bass. “Now is the only time." Easy waves as Fernandes walked backwards down the center aisle with some sort of noisemaker. I slept well, spies be damned.

Erik Hinds

#Circulatory System #Will Cullen Hart #Julian Koster #Hannah Jones #Derek Almstead #John Fernandes #Pete Erchick #The Lay All Over Its #Jason Ajemian #Nori Tanaka #reviews #2004

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tamaraozzienorthernilrealtors · 14 days

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Fed Rate Cuts: Sell Your Home Faster and For More in 2024! Here's How

Fed Rate Cuts: Sell Your Home Faster and For More in 2024! Here's How https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTHpDB9-DfI The Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate cuts could bring in more serious buyers and create competition for your home. Here’s a tip: when buyers can afford more, bidding wars become more common, and that could mean your home sells for even more than you expect. Ready to take advantage of this market shift? Contact us today! 🔗 Stay Connected With Us. 👉 Facebook: https://ift.tt/FZmTgcD 👉 Instagram: https://ift.tt/WnpGsYV 👉 Tiktok: https://ift.tt/EvoxXcL 👉 Linkedin (Tamara): https://ift.tt/aGQmr21 👉 Linkedin (Ozzie): https://ift.tt/LrWR1iJ 👉 Website: https://ift.tt/cI1gvGS 📩 For Business Inquiries: [email protected] ☎️ Contact Us: 📱 Tamara: (815) 790-0835 📱 Ozzie: (815) 347-2843 ============================= 🎬 Recommended Playlists 👉 Homes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx5YSpQE6JQ_hXVzC_yQBN-fxuEF76or8 👉 Homes Selling Tips & Advice https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx5YSpQE6JQ9O7qSrJeMvWym1Ri0KYS-p 🎬 WATCH OUR OTHER VIDEOS: 👉 Discover Brookside Meadows: M/I Homes' Best-Kept Secret in Marengo, IL | New Home Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeYYnTHsdgs 👉 Ultimate Comfort and Style: Tour 20616 Beth Court in Marengo, IL!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5tE_OcHnw 👉 You Won't Believe What's Inside This Custom Home in Marengo, IL! | Tamara & Ozzie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjVW1nnZ03c 👉 Exploring Huntley, Illinois: The Ultimate Community Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7b5p0TqIGU 👉 3 Tips To Help You Sell Your Home Immediately https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CEMD46JMQI ============================= ✅ About Tamara and Ozzie Northern Illinois Real Estate. Hi! We are Tamara Berman and Ozzie Martinez, McHenry County area specialists. We make selling your home a smooth experience. Serving McHenry County and Northern Illinois, we know the area and what it takes to sell a home. We’re now adding more content for Empty Nesters and fellow Baby Boomers. Tamara's Story: "My true joy is working with people I connect with. The ever-evolving real estate industry keeps every day exciting. I thrive on challenges and finding innovative solutions." Join us and meet Ozzie, who brings intelligence, creativity, and humor to our team. Together, we're navigating real estate and cherishing the people we meet. Subscribe for multiple videos every week and stay connected! ☑️ Legally required licensing information: Century 21 New Heritage 11802 Main St. Huntley IL 60142 847-669-9555 Illinois Lic # 475.178891 For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: [email protected] 🔔 Ready to sell your home effortlessly? Subscribe for top real estate buying & selling tips, property tours, market updates, and expert analysis! https://www.youtube.com/@tamaraozzienorthernilrealtors/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= #RealEstateTips #MortgageRates #FedRateCuts #SellYourHome #EmptyNesterHomes #IllinoisRealEstate #HomeSelling2024 #HomeBuyerTips #RateCutsBenefits #CrystalLakeRealEstate ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information we provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and our YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Tamara and Ozzie Northern Illinois Real Estate. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube channel is provided. © Tamara and Ozzie Northern Illinois Real Estate via Moving to Illinois with Tamara & Ozzie https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsxJCexscWIJEFcD8myJr4A September 11, 2024 at 02:15AM

#propertytour #homeforsale #luxuryhome #luxuryrealestate #realestate #realestateagent #realestatetips #homeinvestment

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into-the-center-of-things · 2 months

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day five: looking at local chicago southside sights

"paper-thin thorax

humming with hidden lyric

sharpened by the sun"

Today was a bit slower, which was a relief. I haven't really "traveled" beyond camping the last few year, meaning stayed overnight at a destination with a detailed agenda and whatnot. Not saying that either of us have a like, official itinerary but a lot of exploring is being had which I love a lot.

We cut through the beautiful campus belonging to the University of Chicago. As we walked @germfreeadulthood kind of gave me a tour, pointed out various buildings and their purposes or focuses. The campus feels huge and architecturally cohesive—apparently it was modeled after one or the Ivy League schools, so that checks out. Also, they have an ice skating rink which I found funny (pictured below).

Anyways. The Farmer's Market was bustling, very busy with students and families. It was kind of hot but it was really cool to see the kind of stuff people were growing and selling in Illinois versus the Farmer's Market I have gone to in California. My favorite was probably the tofu booth (just different kinds of tofu and dipping sauces to try) or the guy selling navy bean pie that tasted almost exactly like a pumpkin pie (he had samples out and they were delicious).

I also liked the sheer amount of zucchini I saw, if I wasn't taking a train back I would definitely have bought some back to make zucchini bread or something.

I got a pastry that had tomato, feta cheese, and basil in it, and it was very, very chewy and bready. @germfreeadulthood got something similar, both were very good. We sat in the grass in the shade and ate amongst other people. I felt kind of tired and headachey, which was weird, and I was kind of worried I was getting sick or something. @germfreeadulthood gave me some immune support throat spray, though, which tasted weirdly good, so I am hoping I am just tired and not coming down with something...

Erm. Anyways. We decided to go check out some bookstores, the first being the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore near campus.

I was impressed that the poetry selection was actually pretty big, and I leafed through the entire shelf and the books they had felt kind of random, but interesting regardless. I wonder how a co-op bookstore accumulates its collection, how does it choose books to sell back to those here at UChicago, what does it do with the books no one wants? I saw a lot of poetry I wasn't familiar with, or things I thought would be not verybpopular among the general public. For example, they had an anthology of Fence as well as an edition of Chelsey Minnis' books Zirconia and Bad Bad together, which felt a bit rare or special. But that may just be me being pretentious.

They also had some copies of The Best American Poetry of 2023 (Elaine Equi was the editor—coincidentally she grew up in Chicago, and apparently teaches in New York now), which I haven't actually seen printed yet until now. I saw that Amy Gerstler was in it and also Dorothea Lasky! Which was cool, very happy to see that.

The prices were standard and if I had like, a real salary job and was local I absolutely would have bought a few things. I didn't even really look at the nonfiction which I maybe should have but the poetry shelf was just that good.

More on the next post...I am yapping way too much about books and taming way too many pictures of them...rip...

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carolap53 · 3 months

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Your Epitaph TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman

07/03/2024

"He will bless those who fear the Lord- small and great alike." Psalm 115:13 What will be written on your epitaph? How do you want people to remember you? What type of legacy will your life leave behind? I interviewed a very successful and powerful man one time for a magazine when this question came up. The man ran an international business that is a household name to all. He was a professed Christian, but he had difficulty answering my question. "I always knew someone would ask that question some day. I am not sure I am any more prepared to answer it now either," was the man's answer. He grappled for a few nice words, but it was clear he had not seriously considered his life much beyond his business success. It is said of George Washington Carver that he got up early in the morning each day to walk alone and pray. He asked God how he was to spend his day and what He wanted to teach him that day. Carver grew up at the close of the Civil War in a one-room shanty on the home of Moses Carver - the man who owned his mother. The Ku Klux Klan had abducted him and his mother, selling her to new owners. He was later found and returned to his owner, but his mother was never seen again. Carver grew up at the height of racial discrimination, yet he had overcome all these obstacles to become one of the most influential men in the history of the United States. He made many discoveries with the use of peanuts and sweet potatoes. However, after he recommended farmers to plant peanuts and sweet potatoes instead of cotton, he was led into his greatest trial. The farmers lost even more money due to the lack of market for peanuts and sweet potatoes. Carver cried out to the Lord, "Mr. Creator, why did You make the peanut?" Many years later, he shared that God led him back to his lab and worked with him to discover some 300 marketable products from the peanut. Likewise, he made over 100 discoveries from the sweet potato. These new products created a demand for peanuts and sweet potatoes, and they were major contributors to rejuvenating the Southern economy. As he made new discoveries, he never became successful monetarily, but he overcame great rejection during his lifetime for being black. He was offered six-figure income opportunities from Henry Ford, and he became friends with presidents of his day, yet he knew what God had called him to do. His epitaph read: He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world." [John Woodbridge, More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 312.]

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jayconner-raisingprivatemoney · 3 months

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How to Use Private Money More Than Once at the Same Time - Real Estate Investing Minus the Bank

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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This day in history

#15yrsago Elderly woman prohibited from photographing empty swimming pool “to prevent paedophilia” https://web.archive.org/web/20080726021844/https://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html

#15yrsago Living on the Edge: Danny O’Brien’s talk about moving our personal info off Web 2.0 and onto our computers https://www.oblomovka.com/wp/2008/07/24/video-from-living-on-the-edge-opentech-2008/

#15yrsago Cameraheads in Seattle protest CCTVs in public places https://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/in_case_you_forgot_the_city_is_recording

#15yrsago Yahoo Music shutting down its DRM server, customers lose all their paid-for music the next time they crash or upgrade https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/07/drm-still-sucks-yahoo-music-going-dark-taking-keys-with-it/

#15yrsago British ISPs sign up for surveillance and throttling of accused file-sharers https://web.archive.org/web/20080908081432/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4387283.ece

#15yrsago Brit academics call for Bletchley Park funding https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7517874.stm

#15yrsago New York Yankees ban sunblock “to fight terrorism” — sell replacements at $5/oz https://nypost.com/2008/07/22/sunblockheads-at-the-stadium/

#10yrsago Machine vision breakthrough: 100,000 objects recognized with a single CPU https://ai.googleblog.com/2013/06/fast-accurate-detection-of-100000.html

#10yrsago Book-scanning brings the 19th century to life https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/07/22/how-google-rediscovered-the-19th-century/

#10yrsago 14-year-old girl who was called a “whore” for her pro-Choice sign expresses disappointment in adult world https://web.archive.org/web/20130723222641/http://www.xojane.com/issues/billy-cain-tuesday-cain-jesus-isnt-a-dick-so-keep-him-out-of-my-vagina

#10yrsago Goths of Kenya https://thinkafricapress.com/goth-nairobi/

#10yrsago 3-Bee printing: tricking bees into making wax sculptures https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/film-80-000-bees-work-together-in-a-mould-to-make-a-3d-sculpture

#5yrsago Half a billion IoT devices inside of businesses can be hacked through decade-old DNS rebinding attacks https://www.armis.com/blog/dns-rebinding-exposes-half-a-billion-devices-in-the-enterprise/

#5yrsago Europe fines four electronics companies $130,000,000 for price-fixing https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/24/europe-fines-asus-denon-marantz-philips-pioneer-for-fixing-prices.html

#5yrsago Liberaltarianism: Silicon Valley’s emerging ideology of “disruption with economic airbags” https://www.wired.com/story/political-education-silicon-valley/

#5yrsago Court orders carriers to remotely brick phones that have been smuggled into prisons https://apnews.com/article/ccd7b6429a7f43228f88c17ca469c92c

#5yrsago Voice assistants suck (empirically) https://www.nngroup.com/articles/intelligent-assistant-usability/

#5yrsago Illinois’s “anti-corruption” Republican governor handed out $300,000 in cash at a campaign rally https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/23/illinois-governor-rauner-cash-giveaway-736244

#5yrsago America’s economic growth has come from subprime borrowing by the poorest 60% https://web.archive.org/web/20180724011828/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-consumers-insight/mortgage-groupon-and-card-debt-how-the-bottom-half-bolsters-u-s-economy-idUSKBN1KD0EM

#pluralistic

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blogger360ncislarules · 4 months

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t was, by every objective measure, one of the most devastating days of my life,” Dallas Jenkins recalls.

The Midwest-born director and son of a best-selling author of Christian novels had for years struggled to build a Hollywood career and had finally landed his big break: directing a movie for Get Out producer Jason Blum, who shared Jenkins’ belief that there was an untapped market for elevated religious fare. Their film — 2017’s rom-com The Resurrection of Gavin Stone — scored “insanely” well at a test screening and their hopes were high.

“I was at home with my wife and shell-shocked,” Jenkins recalls. Gavin Stone ranked 18th at the box office and opened to just $1.2 million. “I mean, we were crying. I thought this was my chance. I had finally got in the door. I was working with one of the most prolific and influential producers in Hollywood, who liked me. And it just completely failed. I thought, ‘Maybe this is the wrong business for me.’ ”

But within weeks, Jenkins had another idea. This one was for a TV series, which would go on to gather a flock of more than 200 million viewers worldwide who have watched at least one episode, largely driven by word-of-mouth. The show has also sold an incredible $63 million in theatrical ticket sales after becoming the first series to screen an entire season in theaters. It even has its own annual fan convention. All this, and you’ve probably barely heard of The Chosen, which tells the story of Jesus and his disciples across a planned seven seasons (the long-awaited fourth season will begin streaming June 2).

Yet to hear Jenkins tell it, the fact that The Chosen is still obscure to many is a very good thing. The 48-year-old producer is convinced his addictive, character-driven, serialized drama has the potential to reach new heights of mainstream popularity now that he’s made a global distribution deal with Lionsgate and the show is edging toward its most dramatic story beats yet (including a devastating, multi-episode crucifixion sequence).

His new studio partnership is a major step toward producing a slew of other modern takes on biblical stories that he’s developing. How about a Moses show? “Moses was like a reluctant Tony Soprano,” Jenkins pitches. “He was the head of the largest family and didn’t want to be.” Or Noah’s Ark? “The story of Noah is basically Parenthood on a boat,” he says. And, of course, he’s got plans for a Chosen sequel and prequels galore.

Get ready, the Jesus Cinematic Universe is coming.

“One of the most exciting things is that so many people tell us they’re into the show in the same way they’re into Marvel or DC,” Jenkins says. “But we didn’t do it cynically — ‘Let’s create a Marvel experience and find content that fits.’ It started with the content.”

“I WASN’T EVEN GETTING IN THE DOOR TO BE REJECTED”

As a teen growing up in Zion, Illinois, Jenkins’ interest in filmmaking was sparked by watching movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and It’s a Wonderful Life. His fascination made him a bit of a rebel in his conservative, evangelical community. “The relationship that church folks had with Hollywood was almost exclusively antagonistic,” he says. “If the church engaged with Hollywood, it was usually in the form of a boycott.”

Like some movie-geek version of Kevin Bacon’s dancing character in Footloose, Jenkins would fantasize about making his own Oscar-winning film and secretly practice acceptance speeches in his bathroom mirror. “I wish I could say that ended when I was 15,” he admits. His community’s assumption that Christianity and Hollywood are mortal enemies, he figured, didn’t make sense.

“I remember fairly early on thinking that if we believe faith is relevant in the culture, then what’s stopping us from making things like others do in Hollywood who have their own message or agenda?” he says. “The best filmmakers are personal and have a voice. I thought: ‘Well, what’s wrong with me having my voice?’ ”

At age 25, Jenkins moved to Los Angeles and tried to build a career. He had one advantage: His father, Jerry B. Jenkins, co-wrote the best-selling Left Behind franchise — those apocalyptic, Book of Revelation-inspired novels that sold more than 60 million copies and spawned several films and games from 1995 to 2007. The elder Jenkins helped bankroll his son’s early filmmaking. “Dallas was embarrassed by a lot of Christian media and was saying, ‘We have to do this better,’ ” Jerry B. Jenkins recalls. “He didn’t want to be known as a Christian filmmaker. He just wanted to be known as a good filmmaker.”

Dallas adapted of one his father’s stories, Midnight Clear, and then shot a Capra-esque fantasy called What If. Neither popped. “I didn’t face a lot of rejection,” he says. “I wasn’t even getting into the door to be rejected. My movies weren’t on-the-nose evangelical enough to get a lot of success in that world, but I also wasn’t a good enough artsy-indie filmmaker to have a Sundance hit.”

Then Jenkins scored that deal with Blum, which seemingly gave him everything he wanted: an opportunity to make a wide-release, mainstream film with Christian values. “Dallas was friendly and talented and had a profound understanding of his audience — things they would respond to, and the things that would rub them the wrong way,” Blum recalls.

But when the movie’s crushing opening weekend numbers rolled in, Blum had to make the dreaded call.

“I said the same thing to Dallas that I’ve had to say to other directors,” Blum says, “which is this: ‘I’m sorry. I wish we could have delivered a hit for you.'” It’s a line that’s devastating in its politeness and lack of blame.

“I bet on the right guy, but the wrong project!” Blum adds. “I was one too early.”

“JESUS IS A BAD MAIN CHARACTER”

Like a protagonist in one of those faith-based movies that he finds so cheesy, Jenkins did what a despairing, down-on-his-luck Christian is supposed to do: turn himself over to a higher power. “I truly surrendered,” Jenkins says. “Instead of trying to make another big movie, I figured I’m going to do what I feel is best, what is most honoring to God and to my wife and people I care about. I’ll make anything.”

Jenkins shot a humble follow-up: a short film for his Harvest Bible Chapel megachurch’s Christmas Eve service (well, not that humble — he had a $100,000 budget). The short, written with Tyler Thompson, was about the birth of Christ, but told from the perspective of a shepherd. Jenkins had played with this idea before, having made another short about Jesus on the cross that focused on the two thieves being crucified alongside him. He discovered that following the lesser-known supporting characters in a classic divinity story gave his films a grounded and relatable feel.

During filming, Jenkins was struck by The Big Idea. He was jogging on a treadmill and bingeing HBO’s The Wire when he thought: What if somebody told the story of Christ in an ensemble drama series that jumps between different sociopolitical points of view like in The Wire, while focusing mainly on supporting players? This was two decades into the Peak TV boom, when streamers and cable networks had scrubbed their vaults for every piece of familiar rebootable content they could find, yet somehow nobody had tried updating the so-called greatest story ever told. “I thought, ‘Man, this could be so cool. Whoever does this is going to look really smart.'”

Also, potentially, massively controversial: The last filmmaker who dared to upend biblical storytelling conventions on a large canvas was Martin Scorsese with his widely boycotted 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. Jenkins didn’t want to become a pariah in his own community, yet also believed he couldn’t tell this story right for modern audiences unless he moved past Christian storytelling tropes.

“I know this sounds bad, but Jesus doesn’t actually make for a good main character,” he says. “He doesn’t learn anything. He doesn’t grow. He doesn’t struggle.”

Jenkins partnered with Angel Studios, which at the time was called VidAngel and mainly known for selling sanitized versions of popular movies for Christian home viewing. The company proposed a crowdfunding model like the Kickstarter campaign that revived Veronica Mars — why pay for something yourself if you don’t have to? Jenkins thought the crowdfunding idea was “ridiculous” and was stunned when they raised $11 million in their first round — a record for a TV or film project.

The first season of The Chosen is ultra-low-budget and uneven, yet still effective, with rural Texas doubling for Judaea and Galilee. (Jenkins’ production facility is in the tiny town of Midlothian.) The cast is full of ethnically diverse actors doing Middle Eastern accents. The story opens with Jesus as an adult, just as he’s starting to gather his disciples.

Right out of the gate, Jenkins and his co-writers made creative moves they knew were risky: Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish) is an alcoholic and sex abuse survivor. Matthew (Paras Patel) is a tax collector on the autism spectrum. Some of the oppressive Romans are rather likable. The show’s early protagonist is Simon (Shahar Isaac), who’s introduced having a fistfight in the street. “Simon has the biggest and most temperamental arc, and we thought, ‘He’s the James Kirk of the story,'” Jenkins says.

The pilot drew inspiration from The West Wing, with Jesus showing up in the last five minutes just like President Bartlet did on the NBC hit. (The show is like The West Wing in another respect, as it rivals Aaron Sorkin’s drama for its sheer amount of walking-and-talking — much of the show is likable bearded guys wandering around chatting.)

To cast his messiah, Jenkins hired Jonathan Roumie, an unknown actor who so effortlessly looks the part that he’d been teasingly called Jesus by friends for years. Roumie’s got the sad eyes down, and his Christ comes across like a warm and affable therapist with a desert-dry sense of humor. “Dallas tried to temper my expectations, like, ‘Look, this probably won’t go anywhere, but at least it’ll be a couple of episodes of work,'” recalls Roumie.

In some ways, the show’s lack of money for effects made it better. For scenes where Jesus performs a miracle, Jenkins considered several options. “Are we going to change his voice?” Jenkins recalls. “Are clouds going to come in? Are we going to have his eyes roll back in his head like Bran on Game of Thrones?” He decided to stage miracles in ways that were as non-flashy as possible. When Jesus fills Simon’s nets with fish, his boat abruptly luges to the side with a loud thud and Simon looks stunned. It’s the simplest filmmaking trick (a jump scare, actually — Jason Blum would approve), and it works.

Angel Studios debuted The Chosen on its app in 2019 in a bid to launch a new streaming service. It opened with a disclaimer warning viewers that creative changes were made to the Gospels and some character backstories and dialogue had been invented. “People just needed to know that I know that this is different and difficult,” Jenkins says. “I’m not apologizing — this is such a dangerous show that if I cared at all about what people think, it’d cripple me.”

CONTROVERSIES: BACKPACKS AND PRIDE FLAGS

The Chosen‘s viewership took off during the pandemic. Seasons have since sprung up on Netflix, Peacock, Hulu, Prime Video and The CW. The crowdfunding model has continued, with Jenkins as the face of the show, posting frequent production updates on social media.

Amid the growth, Jenkins has navigated tricky issues. Some evangelicals have slammed the show for its deviations from Scripture, its contemporary dialogue and the characters’ laid-back demeanor (Jesus dropped a wink!).

“I don’t think it’s modern at all,” Jenkins pushes back. “I think 2,000 years ago, people laughed and rolled their eyes and said casual things and had metaphors and colloquialisms. The very things that some people feel a little uncomfortable with are the things that have caused the show to be seen by millions of people. It feels modern because we have always seen these characters portrayed like they’re stained glass windows or statues.”

Some gripes can be incredibly specific, such as skepticism that Jesus ever wore a backpack. “They couldn’t have thought of a backpack back then?” Jenkins counters. “Two straps on a container is just so modern?”

There was a larger uproar over Mary Magdalene having a relapse in season two after she was saved. Yet that departure from Scripture led to one of the most affecting moments in the show, particularly among those in the recovery community, when Jesus welcomed her back (“You redeemed me and I threw it away,” Mary said, and Jesus drolly replied, “It’s not much of a redemption if it can be lost in a day, is it?).

Yet the show’s biggest controversy was sparked by behind-the-scenes footage released last year. An online video included a brief glimpse of a pride flag on a Chosen crewmember’s equipment. That might sound inconsequential, but for a significant segment of The Chosen‘s viewership, it was a scandal that incited, as Jenkins dubbed it, an “intra-Christian culture war.”

The conservative press accused the show of hypocritically endorsing “sin” and going woke (“The Chosen Can’t Serve Both God and LGBT Activists,” fumed a Federalist headline). Many threatened a boycott if Jenkins didn’t apologize and make changes to his employment practices (“Christians, just like we boycotted Target and Bud Light, we need to boycott The Chosen,” declared right-wing sports writer Jon Root).

Jenkins says he was filming an episode when the news broke, and he could see the affected crewmember staring at his phone. “People had figured out who he was and were calling for him to be fired,” Jenkins says. “He was like, ‘I didn’t want to bring this attention to the show.’ And I told him, ‘I love you. Do your job. Don’t worry about it. Let me take care of this.'”

Jenkins, who politically describes himself as a libertarian, posted a 19-minute response on YouTube. In an age of hypersensitivity to online outrage, and of studio controversies typically being addressed with brief, lawyer-approved PR statements, Jenkins’ message was refreshing in its thoughtful detail and polite-yet-firm refusal to kowtow.

“Everybody loves our cast and crew members … and they have widely different beliefs that go across the entire spectrum,” he says in the video. “We don’t have a political or religious litmus test for who we hire. We don’t police individual workspaces or social media. If this issue bothers you, that’s fine. But that’s not something for us to be concerned with or try to change. We are not a church.”

That last line, however, is a bit debatable.

“I TITHE A PORTION OF MY PAYCHECK TO HELP THE SERIES”

The Chosen is now a big deal, with some famous fans starting to emerge (“Just finished season 3 of The Chosen and I absolutely love it,” country star Blake Shelton posted on X last week, with Gwen Stefani chiming in, “Obsessed!”). Its fan convention, ChosenCon, is going into its second year in September and expected to bring in 5,000 fans. There’s an online merch business (their “Binge Jesus” T-shirt says it all). Earlier this year, Fathom Events screened the show’s upcoming fourth season in theaters. It’s a relationship that began with screening a single Chosen special coming out of the pandemic.

“That was the first time we really got confirmation that we had a tiger by the tail here,” says Fathom CEO Ray Nutt. “The audience reaction was spectacular.”

When fans approach Jesus actor Roumie, they don’t just want a photo. Couples want him to marry them, others want to touch him. They call him Jesus and suspect he might have some kind of healing power.

“It’s not the ordinary kind of celebrity encounters,” Roumie says. “It’s like people have things deep within their heart that they want to share with you, or they say the show has changed their lives — they haven’t been to church in 20 years and now they have a relationship with God. I’m a bit of an introvert, so I start to get a little anxiety.”

The show has creatively evolved, as has Jenkins’ strength as a director (he’s helmed every episode). In season two, there’s an impressive 13-minute continuous shot showing the disciples busily working a crowd that is waiting to be healed by Jesus. Jenkins’ team worked all day to get the ambitious take and nailed it during the final minutes of daylight. “You can actually see the sun going down during the shot,” Jenkins says. “At the end of the take, we ran out of light, and I burst into tears because there had been so much pressure.”

One of his proudest moments, Jenkins likes to say, was when he turned on Prime Video and saw The Chosen on the streamer’s most popular list along with Cocaine Bear. If that’s not getting Christ into the cultural mainstream, what is?

Yet as the show receives more media attention, there’s a term that makes Jenkins bristle: “faith-based.”

“I’m not ashamed that I’m an evangelical,” he says. “I’m not ashamed that it’s a show about Jesus. But we really do believe that the show can be watched by anybody, and we just don’t want people turning it off before they watch it because of a label. I’m not trying to, through the art, convert anybody or preach anything. It’s a historical drama.” The show’s internal surveys found that only about half its viewers are practicing Christians.

Religion is arguably mixed with the show’s business side, however. It’s hard to imagine a secular show being able to draw 12,000 fans to a Salvation Army camp to appear as extras over three days of filming, making their own costumes, and even paying $1,000 each for the privilege (it’s a savvy TV business model when your extras pay you).

Funds for the show’s first three seasons were raised by Angel Studios’ Pay It Forward service — the same crowdfunded method employed to make the polarizing sex trafficking movie Sound of Freedom a hit. In addition to taking a percentage cut off the top, Angel initially distributed the show exclusively on its app, which, as The Chosen LLC’s president, Brad Pelo, puts it, was “very, very confining.”

In 2022, The Chosen severed part of its Angel Studios relationship, claiming breach of contract, and replaced Pay It Forward with a nonprofit ministry called Come & See. Jenkins posts messages urging fans to make tax-deductible donations to Come & See, and there’s an implicit missionary angle to the pitch: By supporting The Chosen, you’re helping spread Jesus’ message to new audiences around the globe. The ministry also helps to arrange screenings of The Chosen in places such as prisons and churches, and has translated the show into 50 languages (toward an eventual goal of 600).

Wrote one viewer on The Chosen‘s subreddit, where fans sometimes worry that the show doesn’t have enough money to continue: “I tithe a portion of my paycheck to help fund the series. I get little thank you notes from all over the globe. It’s honestly incredible.”

One starts to wonder if Jenkins is the guy who’s not only figured out how to revive biblical epics for the streaming era, but also how to do so for televangelism in the YouTube age. When I press Jenkins as to why he still needs fan money four seasons into a production that’s being heavily consumed across so many platforms, he insists that fan support is essential to the show’s survival and that the streaming deals and merch sales haven’t come close to paying for production. Season four cost $40 million, and season five is only partly funded even as they’re currently filming. The ministry also helped pay for a $50 million production backlot, which includes two full-size soundstages.

This week, The Chosen wrapped arbitration with Angel, where it won a release from a crucial part of its original deal which gave Angel the show’s first distribution window. Once the show gained popularity, Jenkins and his team felt that debuting episodes on Angel’s app had become a hurdle towards securing more traditional backing. The show being available on so many streamers at once, Jenkins says, has been a double-edged sword.

“All of the funding for the production currently comes from Come & See; the license agreements we have with the streamers are not big,” Jenkins says. “It’s not a lot of money because they didn’t have exclusive rights to it. Until there’s an exclusive arrangement, or until somebody gets the first window, we absolutely still have to rely on donations.” The arbitration is also holding up the release of the show’s fourth season, which will get a streaming date as soon as a verdict is rendered.

Jenkins contrasts his situation to that of the other disruptive showrunner building a TV empire outside Fort Worth, Texas. “Taylor Sheridan has [MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios] financing his stuff and probably doesn’t have his own company of 65 employees,” he says. “We have to generate our own profits. We are one of the most watched shows in the world, and yet even successful TV shows aren’t profitable for the first few years. Normally, a studio will say, ‘Let’s pump money into this show that we have made from our other projects.’ We don’t have that.”

Surprisingly, Jenkins and Sheridan haven’t met, though Jenkins would love to have a chat. He has questions about how to successfully grow one show into many. In addition to those Noah and Moses ideas, Jenkins envisions a Chosen sequel about the Book of Acts and the rise of the early church, a Ruth and Boaz movie, and an animated series for kids set in the world of The Chosen.

Like Young Jesus?

“Not that,” he says. “But we’re talking about a lot of Old Testament shows and spinoffs; we’ve already laid some Easter eggs for them — no pun intended. I don’t think the Old Testament is any trickier to do than The Crown or Rome or Vikings. We think we’re close to another tipping point.”

THE MOST DEVASTATING CRUCIFIXION EVER?

The Chosen‘s entire sixth season will cover just one day, Jenkins reveals, with the crucifixion itself taking hours of screen time. The plan isn’t to indulge in Mel Gibson-style torture à la The Passion of the Christ, but rather emotional devastation, taking advantage of how viewers will have already spent dozens of hours with Roumie’s yoga-studio-friendly messiah.

“In most portrayals, Jesus is on the cross, and you just see a bunch of people weeping and he’s being tortured and mocked,” Jenkins says. “We want to stress Jesus’ desire for comfort and connection with his friends and family. And that period of time lasted several hours, which hasn’t been portrayed before. We have the time and I have more tools in my tool belt for the crucifixion than other filmmakers had.”

Jenkins likens the season’s potential impact to, of all things, The Walking Dead gorily killing off fan favorite Glenn in season seven. “That was abnormally upsetting for audiences not just because of what happened, but because by then you cared so much about the person,” he says.

A rollout in theaters for seasons five and six is certain (though not yet planned), and in the meantime The Chosen won’t be Jenkins’ only work landing on the big screen. He recently completed filming Lionsgate’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, based on Barbara Robinson’s children’s novel about a group of impoverished kids staging a holiday play. The movie will test whether Jenkins can make a believer-nonbeliever crossover hit that’s set in modern times like the other films he tried before The Chosen came along. “It’s total chaos, and then, because of their poverty and outsider, tossed-aside, disadvantaged status, then end up closer to the story of Jesus than the regular people are,” Jenkins says

Jenkins’ father, unsurprisingly, is awfully proud of all this. “Somebody asked me recently when I thought The Chosen would surpass Left Behind in its impact,” Jerry B. Jenkins says. “That ship sailed a long time ago. The funny thing is Dallas used to be known as ‘Jerry Jenkins son.’ I’m now known as ‘Dallas Jenkins father.’ May it ever be so.”

Dallas, however, has some concerns. He doesn’t want to be seen as selling out to Hollywood, even though, to some degree, that’s precisely what needs to happen for his company to grow. He worries about screwing up — specifically, getting canceled. It’s one of the reasons he posts so many candid videos. He wants to put his own failings online so nobody else does it first (and, perhaps, build an army of supporters who will stand by him).

“I’m a flawed guy and I don’t want my own flaws to get in the way,” he says. “I used to struggle with pornography. I make inappropriate jokes on the set. My wife always says, ‘Your mouth’s going to bring you down at some point.’ I don’t want to trip on a land mine.”

Especially now, when he’s getting the Hollywood success and status that eluded him for so long. “I used to dream of being in meetings with the people who work for the people I’m meeting with now,” he says. “It’s fun to sit in a room with some of the most powerful people in Hollywood, who say, ‘We’d love to work with you.’ “

Do power players actually watch The Chosen, though?

“There’s always someone else in the room and they’ll say, ‘For two years, this person has been telling us we need to meet with you because they’re obsessed with it.’ “

Yet Jenkins long ago stopped giving those awards speeches to his bathroom mirror. “This show will never get an Emmy,” he says. He likewise used to make ambitious five-year plans, and swears he doesn’t anymore.

“I was always trying to please people,” Jenkins says. “I needed affirmation. I needed to be taken seriously. Now I genuinely — and I’m not just saying this — my only goal and hope and dream is to make season five, which I’m making now, as good as it can be, and to be a good husband and father. Some of the things that are happening now are things I used to greatly care about. And I think they’re happening because I don’t care about them anymore.”

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