#Yes that is WV in there he gets to party

[humanelemental]

Different anon, but yes to everything you've said! I'm still so disappointed we got absolutely nothing in the flashback. Like not confirming Rio as the other parent and not getting to at least see the happier times between them (this could have easily been a quick montage). I think this is where 95% of my issues with the Agathario storyline fall. Without Kathryn and Aubrey's incredible chemistry, this pairing would have fallen completely flat. And no comment on Billy lol Such a bland character.

This got away from me so I’m tucking it under the cut.

Yes! That’s why Jac saying all of this post show high key pisses me off! Because from where were we supposed to draw these conclusions that she supposedly wanted to be very obvious. Surely it wasn’t the script. Surely it wasn’t the cut content. Surely it wasn’t how the character’s are written with each other.

For God’s sake, Agatha says Rio’s name one time and it’s not even to her. I was starting to wonder if she even knew her by that name. There’s no terms of endearment, not even angry name calling. She never addresses her at all. And to me that’s such a frustrating detail! Like this is your ex wife? Agatha has a pet name for everyone, good or ill. But nothing for Rio?

Like we had that scene in episode four, which to this day will go down as the most longing I’ve ever scene. And not even a whisper of baby? Sweetheart? Honey? Like Agatha was locked in and fucking cradling the mother of her child and nothing? Same with episode 8. Rio pushes Agatha to the point that after their meeting she crashes out on the road and we don’t even get a “thats enough Rio!” They’re talking about Rio taking their dead son’s soul and we get no reference to this not just being an ex or a former friend but her fucking wife??? Not even a, “you killed our SON!!!” Which wouldn’t have been accurate but it would have fit with what is clearly Agatha’s narrative.

Also also, if we’re crashing out anyway and I’m telling the love of my very long life that she only brings me pain and I never want to see her again? I’m absolutely throwing it in her face that she left me with our son’s cold dead corpse to bury alone with my bare hands in the fucking woods. And, I hate to say it, I think Agatha might be pettier than me. So there’s no way she’s letting that shit go. You cannot convince me that this show wasn’t just being written off the cuff. There are too many moments that just fall flat in really weird ways for this to have been the vision from the beginning.

Also^3 what the fuck was with them giving us no information about the Darkhold, how Agatha got it for real, when she got it, why ect. I mean we can assume, God I’m tired of that, that she was trying to bring Nicky back based on how she acted with Wanda. But beyond that, we have no information on this very pivotal part of her history. And it kept getting brought up, so I hoped we would see something on it.

I completely agree that Kathryn and Aubrey, and the other talented actors and actresses, carried this show in spite of the script. So much of both of their characters come from their physical acting it’s insane. Like can you imagine how bland Rio would be if it wasn’t Aubrey’s adorably unhinged self playing her? Girl said she was eating flowers on set. Like ma’am that’s in zero shots of the final show. She was just out there literally chewing on the scenery. And Kathryn can say more with an expression than most soliloquies. Plus she so consistent with how she physically plays Agatha it’s nuts. Like yes on set for AAA is understandable, but she brought the same mannerisms from WV. Like the finger thing she always does. It’s so crazy impressive.

As a final note, I really liked teen when he was a kind of goofy/sarcastic sidekick that kind of gave off the same vaguely unhinged vibes that Agatha and Rio give. Like the parts where he’s helping blackmail Jen only to turn around an hour later and offer her stale party favors? Peak Teen for me. Also I want to clarify I mean no hate whatsoever to Joe Locke. He’s brilliant and has a wonderful future as an actor ahead of him. I just hated that we lost half the show to him.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Tony carked 4.5 years ago and people are still dickriding him while bashing Wanda (and the rest of Team Cap). That's kinda impressive.

Is there a movie I missed that addressed all that? I must have missed it as I don't remember ever seeing anything even remotely close to those claims. Stark was never held accountable for how he made his fortune, if anything he had a whole movie that showed his anxiety and PTSD but we never got to see either Wanda or Pietro's pain until the bomb scene in WV.

"He took responsibility"? When? He just stopped selling weapons, that's not the same as taking responsibility. When it comes to Steve or Wanda, these fans want imprisonment and torture even death, but with Stark it's enough that the "feels" guilty.

It's very nice to say he "felt guilty" but was that ever shown in the movies? Did he ever do anything besides throw money at problems or take jobs from the citizens of NYC via Damage Control? Feeling guilty is free but it doesn't make us like the character, especially when the narrative does everything in its power to defend and justify him. (While at the same time condemning actual victims and blaming them for shit that was not their fault. Yes, I'm talking about Bucky here)

Not to mention I didn't see much guilt when he kept on pushing for more control by designing the Helicarriers' turbines, building Ultron behind the team's back, signing the Accords and creating Edith. Is that a man who has learnt from his mistakes and is trying to "overcome his past"?

They say Stark is not responsible for the death of Wanda's parents because he didn't sell the nukes himself, but Wanda is to blame for the creation of Ultron even though she wasn't there and she didn't even know what/who Ultron was until she met him at the church?

Steve should have known it had been Bucky who killed the Starks and he's vilified for not telling Tony, but Tony can just "feel" guilty over the things his company did while he was partying and getting drunk and that's enough accountability?

Come on...

[dearweirdme]

you know I have always been one of the first in lines fighting to defend Tae from that rumor, I'm 100% positive that is mediaplay still but something shifted these days as in yes it was mediaplay but ultimately Tae did choose to take part in that paparazzi walk( albeit he didn't look happy at all I think I have reasons to believe that even if he was somehow coerced he probably was made to feel like he had some negotiation power too) and honestly I guess I felt more adamant to defend him bc i saw how much he tried to fight the tide and separate himself from all of that ( the wv live in the airport, these insta pic changes being the last example etc and seeing ppl disrespecting his agency and his right to state himself his own truth really pissed off me a lot ) but I started to think these last days what's the point in him doing all of that when he agreed to do that walk and he must know what would happen otherwise why did he even agreed, what is he even fighting himself doing little things to separate himself from being associated to this person when he will forever be associated,for the gp and fandom itself and as you said once this will be in the historial of his live forever? By doing all of that it's like he made us, the fans who cared for him and were paying attention to him fr want to defend him too and literally fight air because there is nothing to defend when he did that walk, when the purpose of that walk being met. I'm not saying he did any of that with the purpose of having fans fighting on his name at all, I don't think so but that's what happened, I guess I'm feeling disappointed these days bc i see no need for him to even fight against all of this when this issues reached the levels it did when he chose to do the walk. I'm also disappointed bc i think anything he might do that would have been considered brave and important about his identity before loses weight completely now, him smooching jk's cheek on the party and uploading it, him being bold etc bc no one but a small group of ppl considered delusional by everyone will see this for what it is. He can do a lot now only bc no one it's going to take him/it seriously.

I used to be pissed by Holland behavior that one time but I even kinda can get the frustration now. Tae is safe or at least has reduced the risk at a minimum now to do whatever bc everyone thinks he dates women. And some ppl be crowing him as an LGBT icon when some other idols have actually exposed themselves honestly to a lot more without any security plan to fall back into. And that actually feels like being brave and doing something. Not making everyone who supports you look like a delusional clown and make the thought of you being queer laughable to most ppl. Moonbyul being a pretty good example of someone who has been direct and brave.

Im sorry I really needed to vent, I have loved Tae for a lot of time ( not that i dont love him now but sometimes i cant shake the disappointment and the distaste of not being able to enjoy his content without seeing him being constantly related to ppl I don't like at all) and I'm open to anyone making me feel different about this situation

Hi anon!

Let me give you my perspective on this and maybe that will make you see things differently as well.

Tae is moving within certain boundaries. It is most likely that there are actual clauses in his contract that tell him what he can and cannot share publicly. That goes beyond plain saying that he is queer. That also goes for the level of queerness he can show through art and media. Basically I feel he is able to show queer media and art, but not adress it as such. Going beyond that would probably mean he’d be breaching his contract, which could lead to monetary penalties… and when it goes too far he could be kicked out of BTS (not that I think it would ever go that far). I think it’s possible that with this new contract, things have become more loose though. BH/Hybe doesn’t want to lose Tae, because he is one of the most popular members and losing any member would look bad. So I think there was some leverage there.

In my opinion it should not be underestimated how bad things still are for queer people in SK. Artists loose their careers over it stil. People like Holland are absolutely very brave and I hope within time there will be more and more like him. But you cannot compare one person’s choices with that of another’s. I think Tae possibly discovered his sexuality when he was already under contract with BH.. that would mean he had the choice to either hide, or to break his contract… leave BTS… and be left with a shitload of debt (because you don’t simply leave a contract). He would have no perspective of any career after that.. losing all his dreams and all chances of having any influence at all. It is an impossible choice maybe.. or maybe not.. I don’t know. Has he chosen to leave BH would his life have been easier, better? He would still have had to deal with severe homophobia. So I don’t think Tae had much options but to hide in the first case. It is not something he chose.. it was basically decided for him. Contracts are no fun anon, they basically chain them to the company in many many ways. I don’t think Tae ever had the option to be as open as Holland. And I think that is something he struggled with greatly. So if that walk was something he agreed to just because it would give him some more room to be authentic, I am absolutely not holding that against him. It doesn’t make him bad or whatever, it makes him someone who needs a bit of room to breathe.

In general I don’t feel Tae owes us much. Speaking for myself, I am here completely voluntarily and completely aware of forever being shit on by the rest of fandom. I’m of the opinion that both Tae and Jk aren’t actually fighting to be out and open.. so that probably makes my perspective on this different than yours. I think they’re just trying to live their lives and what we see of them is just stuff we pick up on.. because we pay attention. I always see myself as a bystander and not a participant in this. But.. that’s just me ofcourse.

So how did we end up here; Tae doing a walk with Jennie. Looking at it from a practical side, it was only one walk.. half an hour tops. If we assume he did agree to it and he wasn’t actually forced all the way, for him that was probably doable, and if he traded that for more freedom to be authentic.. to insert more queerness in his work (which is eventually what people will remember him by), then I think the trade probably looked worth it. Ultimately it wasn’t a fair choice ofcourse, because trading anything for freedom to be yourself is insane.. freedom should always be yours. But I do think the company possibly sold it that way.. and being used to having no freedom for years, maybe to Tae it did seem like a chance. It is ofcourse also possible they made him do this, but it’s not something I’m leaning towards personally.

It is not something Tae would’ve done/come up with himself. Tae didn’t go “yeah, I want to do a papwalk with Jennie for fame and attention”… people are right when they say he didn’t need that. He was not enthusiastic. And I think he was very over it all soon after.

The way I see it.. is that possibly Tae gave away a small part of himself to do something he felt is necessary in a broader way. His new mv is so important! To have such graphic display of queerness is so important! Especially from someone as famous as Tae. Imagine all the young queer fans he has seeing that! Tae knows what kind of influence he has. He has probably missed seeing representation like that himself when he was younger. I think this is what matters to him most and personally I just applaud him for that. Taennie will be nothing but a blimp on our radar in a few years, but his songs and mv’s… I think those will have an actual impact on many lives.

[lxvenderhxzehv]

(katharine isabelle) [the Scream Queen]. Please welcome [Valkyrie Mcvrise (She/Her)] to Huntsville, WV. They are an [43]-year-old [VISITOR] who lives in [TOWN/]. You may see them around working as a [UNEMPLOYED]. They are looking for [Art Mcvrise] their [Ex-Husband] Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive.

Bio:

Name: Valkyrie Mcvrise

Nicknames: Val, Kyrie

Age/DOB: 43 October 31st 1980

Gender: cis-female she/her

Sexual Orientation: fuck around and find out

Personality type: The Scream Queen

Relationship status: Single

Occupation: Unemployed

Destination: In Town

Role: Hunter

Family: Mother, father, and 2 younger Sisters

She was always a handful, always harsh. What did her parents expect when you name your daughter "chooser of the slain". She Struggled a lot with her peers, getting into fights. Finally her parents decided to put her in private school. Sure enough Valkyrie shaped up. When she was ready to go to college her parents set her up with this guy named Archibald, she gagged at the name. He sounded like a dork. Her assumptions were right he was a total dork. But he was Charming and sweet despite their parents setting them. The two hit it off, they were at least friends who dated....there really wasn't much a romantic relationship there but Valkyrie did care for the man. And when he asked her to marry him she said yes. It was the right thing to do for the family, for her parents to finally leave her alone and to know she was taken care of.

She wasn't really into what Art was doing, she could follow along well enough. Didn't give him much flack for it and helped where she could. She didn't think anything of her involvement until she ended up in one of his Ghost hunting Videos. Everyone loved her so much so that she got discovered by a casting Director who asked her to come out and Audition for a roll in his small budget horror film. She went and did it for shits and giggles. She ended up getting the role and about a year later the movie came out it blew up Valkyrie's career. Countless of movie offers were coming out, red carpets, parties, she was living the life. And of course she Dragged Art around when she could. But on the nights that he wasn't around Valkyrie Sought out other companionship. Thus began the Infidelity. She quickly figured out that most people would do anything for her, to get with her. she was the last person who need to posses this power.

Art had eventually found out about the affairs, and while for years it was a constant fight. She would cheat, he would find out, they would fight, have makeup sex and the cycle would continue. They decided to separate, not officially yet but at least spend some time away from each other. It was a few months later that Art called Valkyrie to come to his fathers funeral. It was there that Art had handed her the Divorce papers.

it's been 2 years now since they finalized the divorce. Valkyrie still bugs him from time to time. Still lingers, He was such a Huge part of her life, She owes her success to him. When she noticed he hadn't posted or they hadn't talked since the fall she was getting concerned. so she took matters into her own hands and went after him.

[quickthinkingharkertwins]

Please welcome Quincey Harker (HE/HIS/HIM) to Huntsville, WV. They are a 27-year-old VISITOR who lives in TOWN. You may see them around working as the TRAINER AT ABS-OLUTE GYM. Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive.

quick facts

Name: Quincey Remus Harker Nickname: Thinks it's hilarious when people call him Quill Age: 27 Faceclaim: Otto Farrant Pronouns: He/His/Him Sexuality: Yes Moral Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Occupation: Trainer at Abs-olute Gym Role: Hunter

[+] appreciative, content, unperturbed, faithful [-] addictive personality, poor impulse control, destructive, crass

background

Quincey might be Quill's twin, but since birth it was made clear he'd be coming in second his whole life. His dad even calling him the spare heir, he thinks maybe his dad was trying to motivate him but it had the opposite effect. What was the point of trying to one up Quill? It was easier to just let his brother handle things and back him up, he got all the perks with half the work.

When their dad pushed them to befriend his former clients friends, Quincey didn't see anything wrong with it. Even when his dad added that it was their job to keep them safe and out of trouble, why wouldn't he cover for his friends? Getting paid to hang out with them and just enjoy the high life, there were no downsides to it.

While Quill was pushed to watch out more for Cosima Mariott, Quincey was pushed to watch out for Fleur Villiers. For once he felt like he got the harder of the two jobs, Fleur was fun but wild. When she asked to start dating to avoid being cut off, his dad and brother were in full support, pointing out the advantages to the match. It never hurt to have a good looking girl on your arm and he did like Fleur, besides they both knew it was for show. So what if he stopped sleeping with anyone else and they moved in together, it was all part of the image right?

When one of their friends during their party bus trip asked to drive during Quincey's turn he thought it was hilarious, and with Fleur's encouragement happily handed over the wheel. He still feels guilty, Quill not hesitating to remind him that he fully blames Quincey over their situation. He's mostly trying to just keep relaxing, getting a job as a trainer and stay close to his friends, though with the way Fleur is acting has him worried that things are about to change in a way he won't like.

misc

Like his twin brother, Quincey spent summers in Texas with their grandpa on their dad side. While he tried to get rid of his accent, it tends to come out more when he's comfortable or drunk.

Sometimes he wishes he'd asked if he could live full time with his grandpa, it just seemed easier and like less pressure, but the idea of disappointing his brother and friends kept him from following through.

He knows his friends can be a lot, but genuinely does care about them even if their friendships were built on superficial reasons. They're his people and he'd do anything for them, at least with them he's never felt like second best.

[cainsign]

i was tagged by finch @technofinch to talk about my ocs which i love doing!! anyone who wants to do this, rb and add on with your ocs! the only thing i love more than talking about my ocs is hearing about other people's ocs 😁

under a readmore bc i will get rambly about river

general:

name: River Samuel Chase (< Samuel is his father's name)

alias: Piper (for when she finally gets her head out of her ass and decides to transition)

age: 22 in 2003, which is when the majority of his story takes place (i.e. born in 1981)

spoken language: English

sexual orientation: Gay (but once she transitions she'll realize her attraction to butch ladies)

occupation: Dock worker in the great lakes region (was previously a gas station cashier in WV)

favorite:

color: Probably green... I never think about my favorite color so I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my ocs' either sorry ☹️

entertainment: River likes a lot of stuff... live music, mostly country or bluegrass, arthouse films, getting crazy drunk at house parties...

pastime: Reading probably.

food: I think River's a biscuits and gravy kinda guy. Ironically it's kind of a "safe" food for him when it comes to ED stuff (which he does have i just haven't mentioned it yet because it's not relevant to his journey). Probably not a lot of good biscuits and gravy in michigan though :(

drink: I don't drink alcohol but insert some alcoholic drink that tastes good but gets you drunk quickly

have they…

passed university: No! He will end up going to college later in life and becoming a teacher but that's not happened yet.

had sex: Yes

had sex in public: Yeah his parents weren't super approving of his sexuality so I'm sure there were semi-public hookups in like. public parks or whatever

got tattoos: Matching one with his brother (his bio brother) that is a bird in flight on his right shoulder

got piercings: No

got scars: No

are they…

a cuddler: He really wants to be but is ashamed of his desires so doesn't actually cuddle often.

scared easily: Nah

jealous easily: Definitely not, River doesn't gaf. He has very little issue with cheating, being cheated on, or being the other party someone cheats with. This is not necessarily a good thing.

trustworthy: Um if you ignore the cheating stuff yeah he's pretty trustworthy. Just don't leave your man alone with him.

family:

siblings: IT'S COMPLICATED*

parents: I mean, everyone has parents, right?

children: No. He got a trans guy pregnant once but they aborted that thang.

*(river sibling rant. INCEST TW) so river has one biological half brother, bluejay, who he grew up with. river is in love with bluejay. part of the reason he left WV with adam is because he is in love with his little brother and is terrified of hurting bluejay. he misses bluejay a lot but has tried to replace their relationship with the one he has with adam.

adam and river are pretending (but it's so serious) to be brothers to everyone they know, while engaging in a secret relationship. there isn't really any point they quote-unquote "break kayfabe" about not being bio related. river likes having an older brother figure who feels protective of him and adam anjoys imparting his own form of wisdom onto river.

[pfritz21]

Also, Jason Aldean is signed to a label owned by BMG, based in Berlin, Germany, population 3.85 million.

The label he’s sign to? BBR Music Group, based out of Nashville, TN, population 715 thousand.

The author touches upon where he was born. Macon, GA has a population of about 150K.

And, AND…. He didn’t write this song. Four other people did.

AND, the only was he’ll make any money off it is with the ticket sales to his shows. He already had to cancel one on his current tour due to heat exhaustion for partying too much in the sun before a show. IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT (source: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/on-jason-aldean-abruptly-cancelling-his-show-in-hartford/)

Text from the article if you are unable to view it:

“I didn’t know why people kept mentioning “small towns,” but assumed it was a pop culture reference I was missing.

So, I googled it.

Jason Aldean, a country singer I've never heard of and will probably never think about again after people stop talking about him, recently released a song called, "Try That in a Small Town."

The song, if you've not heard it, threatens violence on people who do various things like car jacking, stomping on a flag, “cussing out” a cop, or robbing a liquor store at gun point.

A friend of mine pointed out that Aldean is from Macon, Georgia, with a population of over 150,000.

That’s… not a small town.

I’m from Logan, WV. Population is 1,400.

I came from Chauncey, WV, a coal camp in Logan. Population is 283. I am actually from “Chauncey Holler” (Hollow). Population is probably fewer than 100 people.

I’m from an actual small town.

I’m descended from the Hatfield/Vance clan of Hatfield and McCoy repute. I’m cut from the Shawnee resistance to the Indian Removal Act. My ancestors were freedmen. My ancestors mined the coal that kept the pacified middle class warm and cozy in their domesticated complacency.

And yes, if you come to an actual small town as an outsider and do things that seem threatening to insiders, they’ll handle it internally.

That much is true.

What Jason Aldean is talking about isn’t anything like what people from actual small towns would say. In fact, you won’t hear from them at all because it is not in the ethos of people from insular, isolated communities to try and posture with the outside world.

They don’t think people are actually going to come there and try to burn their crumbling infrastructure and rob their single-wide trailers and their dead grandma’s house they squat with duct tape and cut up trash bags for windows.

No city person is traveling to the middle of nowhere to steal your Aunt Gert’s Buick Skylark, Jason.

They don’t carry enough jugs of oil and coolant to pull over every few miles and top it off because they have not been waiting on that black lung settlement for over a decade to get their car fixed.

Noey (Noah) Mullens, the town mechanic, passes everyone’s car inspection because no one cares about regulations. The police would not ticket Aunt Gert, either, because when most everyone is that Poor, the police know better.

The police don’t “cross that line.”

No one is afraid of getting caught or being reported because no one is looking.

No one cares. No city folk care. No suburban country music singers care.

They’re invisible.

Police do not have much of a role in small towns. People do handle things on their own. No one is spitting in a cop’s face in a small town because Officer Joe Sias and his brother Don aren’t patrolling.

They probably never fired their weapons on the job at anything other than a rabid raccoon or coyote, and they’re considerably less armed than the average citizen. No one calls the police to report crimes.

But in a small town, you are very likely to be robbed by your neighbor’s adult kid with a meth or oxycontin addiction. They’ll steal your grandparents’ cancer and hospice meds and your tube TV.

And no one riots in a small town because they can’t afford to reach the power structures that left them so poor.

At nights, people steal the flood grates around small towns for scrap metal. They loot abandoned houses and businesses for copper wire and metal pipes to scrap. No one is ever going to revitalize those structures, so people just look the other way. By day they pick up beer and soda cans on the side of the road— for scrap.

Anything to avoid the mines.

Aldean’s video shows b-roll of protests, property destruction, violence, and generally unrelated incidents in big cities.

Nobody in those videos cares about what’s happening in somebody’s small town. This is the suburbanite white dude fantasy version of Scarface. It’s the product of having no sense of personal identity and appropriating some ill-imagined mixture of actual generational Poverty culture (which is not a white phenomenon) and a wholly American mythos of having a closed culture that worships assimilation.

They often don’t think they’re racist because they often do genuinely like their Black and Brown neighbors who fish and hunt with them and go to their churches and whose kids are on their kids’ little league team.

They have a vision of living in community that they can’t bring to reality because things have changed since the boomer generation's good hand. They have dreams of being financially successful if they just work hard enough, but those dreams are not coming to fruition because they’re an American myth.

They’re trying to hold on to a sense of grandiosity characterized by surviving struggles they never experienced and by having values they don’t understand or have no connection to.

They are angry at anyone defying the order because they cope with the loss of hope for a mythical future by trying to blame people being crushed by the systems that are also eroding the white working class (at a slower rate).

The rate has been so slow, they don’t realize their sentimentality about how great this nation is came from lies they were told and an identity that is as empty and illusory as the history they learned in school.

It’s the equivalent of trying to be the proverbial “golden child” to an abusive parent, maintaining the illusion that the truth-telling “scapegoat” is actually the problem.

That’s the “great again” that people like that bank on. The proverbial “New Jerusalem.”

Is the song racist?

That’s the wrong question, because it’s oversimplified.

Is the song a mediocre by-product of a mass delusion that white settlers have agreed to maintain because they too had their identities stolen by colonialism, so that they are also defined by Uncle Sam’s toxic legacy as the golden child who is too cowardly to ask questions, hear the truth, accept accountability, or fight back?

Yes.

This peacock of a song is a blatant and pitiable attempt at being unable to accept that they only get a pass from Uncle Sam when they assimilate into a fictional character that upholds the colonial ego of Big Daddy Nationalism and Mama Manifest Destiny.

Unpacking that everything you’ve ever been told is a lie is hard work, and they’re not cut out for that because they’re not actually workers.

They aren’t the cheap labor they benefit from. Their “small town” fantasy is as sincere as their “honest worker” fantasy.

They need to consult their ancestors, and not just the ones who got free [stolen] land.

My “small town” ancestors shot the sheriffs and the deputies, they burned whole towns to the ground, and they led the most violent uprisings in the history of Uncle Sam’s invasion because they did not see the people upholding the status quo as “their own.”

Jason Aldean has no idea who “his people” are. They’re not “small town” people. They’re the middle mass, the embodied entitlement that one inherits when they come from a legacy of settler colonialism, slave trading, and evangelical purity culture that justified genocide.

They’ve been convincing themselves they’re fighting for something noble for so long, they see the loss of that illusion as a threat to the only identity colonialism left them with— generic whiteness.

What he can’t handle is that he’s not a “good ol’ boy,” he’s just a bully doing the business of an abusive parent to preserve the illusion of the “pillar of community.”

If he knew how to be in community, he would not be building a cult following on nationalistic propaganda.

#SmallTown #trythatinasmalltown #Melungeon”

[transcourier6]

a vague, messy list of things i like about fo76

atmosphere. i really think the game nails it. petrified corpses litter the wv wasteland, folks who were instantly turned to ash when the bombs fell. some look up to the sky, frozen in a now-silent scream. others are curled up in bathrooms, closets, corners of houses, trying anything to help mitigate the effects of the initial blast. others, still, are half-trapped under rubble, reaching out for help that never came. with wastelanders, the potentially contemplative solitude that i'm sure was present in the initial game is lessened. but places like the wayward contrast the harshness of the wasteland with how warm and welcoming the characters there are, and there are still moments where the player's left alone with the wasteland's grim reminders of death, terror, scarcity, and classism.

the wildlife. don't get me wrong, i understand why older FPSes like fo3 and nv wouldn't want to waste the, like, CPU or whatever it'd take to render a bunch of non-hostile, mutated animals. but i really enjoyed seeing ghoulish squirrels and beavers, electric frogs, and pretty normal looking foxes, all things considered. it makes the wasteland feel infinitely more alive, having weird little creatures around that don't immediately try to kill you. serves as a reminder that the world's continuing on, even after everything.

the robots. there's a smug protectron who took over the university he was meant to guard, pointing out that, technically, he's the highest ranking member of staff, so it's his now. skinner's a mr. handy whose owner(employer? Designated Human?) lost a close relative and reprogrammed him to believe the delusion that that person was still alive, and now he laments about seeing ghosts. polly's an assaultron that's part of a found family consisting of two humans and a ghoul. i could go on.

the ghouls. the ghouls in this! mwah. love 'em. they're ostracized, especially since sentient ghouls are kind of a rarity. none of them fully understand what's going on, and the idea of them becoming feral is a fear for all parties. since ghoulification's such a new concept, their relative immortality's only hinted at, with lucky lou being a ghoul in his 90s who doesn't feel his age. we don't get many ghouls who are that age, they're usually 30 or 230, and it's refreshing to see a newer game bring up the idea of going from an elderly human to a mutant who'll live another 150+ years. what a paradigm shift that'd be! what a strange situation for him! love it.

the criticisms of the american government, which bethesda doesn't usually touch. when the overseer started talking about using gold as currency to slowly replace bartering, i was happy to see that i could have my character point out that bartering works. when she mentioned bringing back the old economy and old government, i was able to say that the old government was what brought about ww3. that the systems weren't working then. that a more anarchist society brings about its own freedoms. and there's plenty of general stuff about pre-war classism, but i'll probably make a post dissecting that once i'm deeper into the lore. and yes, one could argue it's hypocritical to critique america and capitalism in a game with microtransactions and uncle sam costumes, but i doubt the writers have any control over that.

[nostalgiachan]

Aw ye, time for more OC redraws, this time featuring: Pretty Keyboard Lady Accidental Alcoholic My First D&D Character (aka WHY DID NO ONE ROLL A HEALER OH GOD) and The Angriest Boy

Character lore below the cut! 

#21: Selene Lumiere Coueri/Selene Amour Idea: The elegant goth keyboardist Story: D.A.R.K.

Oh my God with that name though, especially with a character whose hometown's in West Virginia. Yet another member with a HIM reference name, this one to bassist Mikko Paananen aka Mige Amour.

Selene is the keyboardist of the band, and as elegant and composed as they come. Both she and the band refer to her as the designated hot chick, though I was careful to point out she's an intellectual and spends most of her non-music time reading. She also only apparently needs glasses when she's performing.

#22: Mige Enkeli Idea: Hard-partying, laid-back drummer Story: D.A.R.K.

Oh, hey, one of the people I named after Finnish men is actually a Finnish man. I don't know if he's the most flattering portrayal of a Finnish man, but I knew fuck-all about Finland at the time. Like Selene, Mige's name comes from, well, Mige the bassist; meanwhile his last name's the Finnish word for angel.

Mige had attended a private school in West Virginia for a few years (which was based on the college prep school I'd attended which was a horrible, shitty place, but it attracted some international students so it gave me an excuse to have a Finnish dude in WV...because I guess I didn't think of exchange programs) and had kept in touch with the friends he'd made there after he returned to Finland. One of them mentioned that his younger sister, Selene, was putting together a band, and Mige was compelled to return to the States and join as their drummer. And it worked out pretty well for him.

Except for the fact that apparently I wrote the man as a chainsmoker and a constant drinker. He's still a nice, chill sort of guy, but Adult Nost is like, "Oh no, I think I wanted 'guy with some vices' but I overshot the mark into 'alcoholic' instead."

I do have one intentional alcoholic, but we'll get to him later probably

#23: Sydan (II) Idea: WHY DID NO ONE ROLL A HEALER? Story: Gamers' Club D&D 3.5e game

Ah, my first tabletop character. For the last two-and-a-half years of high school, I was in the Gamers' Club, a tabletop/TCG/LARP club. We started a D&D 3.5e game and I specifically rolled a character based on what we needed in the party - for some godforsaken reason, nobody rolled a healer, so I made an elven Cleric of Pelor the sun god. That game fuckin' ballooned to, like, 10 characters and our club pres made the terrible decision to split the party about a year in, which took forever to resolve, and some weeks we wouldn't even play because people wanted to play Magic: The Gathering instead, and then one of the players started a villain campaign for the freshmen, so yeah, that shit never concluded before most of us graduated. We tried to set up play-by-post over AIM in the days before Roll20, but we got through one game before it fell apart.

But to tell the story in as much of a nutshell as I can: Sydan was a 106-year old elf who had been adopted by a cleric in a small village, wherein lived Lewar the halfling rogue, Twinkles McGee the half-elf druid, Fred the half-orc barbarian, Monk the Monk (human, I think), and Chaos the human mage. One day, the village was obliterated by a lich and his undead army; our intrepid heroes managed to get some villagers to the undercroft of the church, but everyone else was killed and zombified, including Sydan's adopted father. So, when the coast was clear, the squad led the survivors to the nearest town, Sydan wrangled some shelter and employment for the villagers because she was the only one capable of speaking, I guess (more specifically, I was one of the four players who actually roleplayed), and they set out to figure out just how the hell to take the lich down.

This is about the clearest part of the story I remember beyond brief moments like a dwarven bard managing to castrate a hydra with a spear; Sydan giving the later half-elf ranger a phobia of celestial summons because he failed a perception check as they were falling out of the sky and she summoned a celestial griffin to save them both; asking if Sydan could use Monk's ability to turn his skin to diamonds as a catalyst for resurrection spells (No); and our DM having to deus ex me a bunch of diamonds because a squad of party members managed to get themselves killed almost to a man during a fight.

As for Sydan herself, I'd intended for her main goal to be putting her undead father to rest and avenging the village, but as I said, we never managed to get there. I played her as a nice, polite, helpful young woman who was a dutiful cleric, but had her little quirks like being obsessed with rapiers and having an occasional spiteful streak. But BOY OH BOY, it's hard to roleplay with that many goddamn people at once, only four of whom tended to pay attention.

#24: Enosin "Sin" Alexander Idea: Former loyal soldier of the dictatorship turned rebel, secretly a living weapon, SECRETLY secretly a DOOMSDAY weapon Story: Year Zero (based on the Nine Inch Nails album of the same name)

Ah, yes, my first attempt at mature storytelling. Good gravy. Like "Experimentals", this story actually has seven chapters posted on my dA. If you really want to read it, go for it. Most of it is cliché and dull, but boy oh boy does Act VI get uncomfortably misogynistic. Full disclosure.

The story flips POVs in a few chapters, but our main character is Enosin "Sin" Alexander, a captain of Lord Gerardis (aka G) of the dystopian city of Lacryma and colleague of captains Hime and Luris. While overall, he's loyal, he questions his lord's plans for the impoverished Outer City, wondering why he won't share the wealth of the affluent, yet tightly controlled, Inner City. But that becomes the least of his concerns when G is informed of a strange find at a planned city expansion site; a mysterious glowing tree with a human figure embedded in it. As soon as G retrieves the tree man, he tells Sin to wait in his quarters in the White Tower, the seat of the government, until he calls for him.

A week passes, and Sin doesn't hear from G, so he takes matters into his own hands and goes to G's lodgings; there, he finds that not only has the room been trashed, but there's some documents he hasn't seen before lying around detailing both the tree man, now named Absolution, who apparently has the power to create life from nothing, and a project to build a weapon in the shape of a man that G had started 27 years ago. Said weapon was then raised as a normal human and had joined the Lacryma Army: it was Sin.

G was intending to use Sin as a weapon to obliterate other cities, people and all, then have Absolution rebuild those cities however G saw fit, thereby conquering the world. Well, Sin didn't take kindly to this. He took to this so unkindly, in fact, that he made straight for the White Tower labs with the intent of killing Absolution and G, hacking up every guard that stopped him along the way (because why wouldn't he use a sword instead of a gun?).

While he managed to stab Absolution in the chest, G found him before he could finish the job and proceeded to beat the absolute Christ out of him before leaving him for dead on the lab floor and sweeping Absolution away to who-knows where.

Meanwhile, two young Outer City rebels who had broken into the White Tower to steal intel and parts for a superweapon of their own, Alucard and Rez, found the dying Sin and brought him back to their hideout. They believed that if he could be persuaded to join them, he'd be a great asset to their cause of overthrowing G; of course, their leader, Taris, made sure to inform him that if he didn't accept, they'd kill him. Sin, convalescing in their base and boiling with rage, accepted...and as soon as he was left alone, he started to have a freakout because he could now hear the voice of the weapon speaking to him and it wouldn't shut up until he carved a capital G into his hand.

Chronologically, Act VI was the last completed work to happen, wherein his former compatriot Luris happened to have found him at the base (which was a problem because if she knew, then G almost certainly knew). Sin had never liked Luris because her specialty was seduction and assassination, and because she'd apparently started to even murderfuck Inner City citizens just to keep her skills sharp. Luris tried to convince him that she'd abandoned G, and that she'd always been in love with Sin, but he knew better. He played along until the clothes started coming off, got her on his bed, and then whipped out the knife he apparently kept under his pillow and stabbed her to death.

Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

I know Teen Nost was going for "The weapon was making him slowly lose his mind and become this angry, monstrous thing," but much like accidentally making Mige an alcoholic, I accidentally made Sin a misogynist.

As for what was supposed to be the rest of the story, since Sin now knew G was definitely coming for the rebels, they'd need to get their superweapon up and mobile immediately. The rebels would fight their way to the Inner City,  and return to the White Tower, where G and Absolution were waiting. Absolution would pull a little coup of his own against G, because Absolution had no interest in G's world domination plan. Instead, he was much more interested in Sin's inner weapon, the Great Destroyer. He wanted to activate Sin to kill absolutely everything so he could create a world for just the two of them.

They have a fight, Enosin wins, Enosin Man~

More specifically, the Great Destroyer would be activated, but Sin would manage to contain the damage to the Inner City, he'd fight and destroy Absolution, and then he'd probably fuck off to wander the Earth while the survivors picked up the pieces.

This is one of those stories that I come back to from time to time just because I feel like there is still a worthy outline here, and Adult Nost might have the chops to make something a little more interesting with it.

[tetriquinn]

Dream SMP locations/moments/characters as their respective canon Homestuck songs.

/rp /dreamsmp (based on characters, not creators)

Source: I said so.

SUPER LONG LMAO

The links go with the descriptions above them. Mobile formatting makes the list really confusing. Sorry about that.

The entire SMP. I tried to assign this to a specific event but I couldn't. Eternity is just too powerful. It literally has the best moment in all of Homestuck music history. That kind of raw energy cannot be defined by a single event. [Eternity Served Cold] Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur joining - L'Manburg War

[Sburban Jungle]

Pogtopia/Manburg War

[Welcome to the New Extreme]

The First Disc War(s, if you include the other disc-related conflicts)

[Showtime - Imp Strife]

The first half of the Final Disc War

[You Killed My Father (Prepare To Die)]

The second half of the Final Disc War

[Showtime - Piano Refrain]

The Eggpire after Tommy died (Yes I know I’ve made this joke before shut up it was my best meme)

The Banquet. Before the... y’know... murder part.

Actually no, The Banquet including the murder part.

[Pumpkin Party]

Ghostbur entering the prison

[Love You]

Revivedbur exiting the prison (er, just kinda showing up where he died I guess

[Hate You]

Manburg Festival (October 16th)

[Harlequin]

January 5th (New L'Manburg Festival + Ranboo's Panic Room)

[Dark Carnival]

The period between Tommy's death in the Prison and Tommy's revival

[Heir Of Grief]

Ranboo & Fundy's ice cream shop; Niki & Puffy's flower shop

[Moonsetter]

Revivedbur and Quackity with the burger shops

[Beatdown]

Ranboo and Tubbo with the burger shops

[Candles And Clockwork]

Jack Manifold. Just. In general. (AND NO IT’S NOT JUST A SOLLUX JOKE YEAH THAT’S RIGHT I SAW ONE OF YOU FUCKERS MEDIA SHARE THIS ONE TO HIM LAST WEEK)

[La2t Frontiier]

That little arc where Tubbo was trying to be a detective instead of mourning the violent and brutal death of his best friend

[BL1ND JUST1C3]

Doomsday

[Even In Death - T’Morra]

What? You thought I was going to say Carne Vale? You thought Doomsday was [S]: Game Over? Amateurs.

When Dream and Techno inevitably break out of the prison because let’s be real that’s happening one way or another (bonus points if Techno finds out about Dream manipulating Ranboo and goes apeshit)

[Carne Vale]

My DSMP sona when she encounters someone who manipulated the kids

Las Nevadas/ Casino Q

[Black]

The Syndicate lmfaooooooooo (I’m only half kidding here)

[I’m A Member Of The Midnight Crew but it’s the nice a capella version that everyone likes because it’s objectively the best one]

That one time Tubbo finally went to visit Tommy in exile and thought he [S] Game Over’d himself

[Flare]

The stream where they created Church Prime

[Creata]

PLEASE let Tommy just go apeshit ONE time every time he does even one SMALL THING for himself the entire fucking universe turns on him please he deserves to let it all out and kick actual fucking ASS EVEN ONE TIME COME ON

[Valor]

Tales From The SMP/ Karl in General

[Temporal Shenanigans]

Karl’s karaoke nights (yes I know this one isn’t a canon song but it’s a mix of 3 canon songs plus Space Jam okay it counts)

[Slam Jam]

Anyone remember the Karl Reef?

[Fuchsia Ruler]

Wilbur turning a drug van in the woods into an entire country

[WV: Become the Mayor of Cans]

The Dreamon Hunters, my absolute beloveds. My favorite arc on the entire SMP.

[At The Price Of Oblivion]

Tubbo sitting over the remains of his country on L’Manburgian Independance Day earlier this month (yes I’m spelling it as “Independance” because that’s what their constitution said okay it’s their fault not mine)

[Three In The Morning Aftermath]

Tommy leaving Exile (or him being revived I guess idk)

[Savior of the Waking World]

If Sapnap ever DID ANY LORE COME ON MAN YOU HAVE THE MOST POTENTIAL HERE

[Time On My Side]

The big final battle against The Egg that we never got :(

[Battle Against an Unfathomable Enemy]

Enderwalk Ranboo it’s literally perfect

[Black Rose / Green Sun]

I don’t think I even have to tell you what this is for. Look at the title. You’ll know.(Dream in the Prison in case you’re seeing this way in the future and don’t have this context)

[Constant Confinement]

Ranboo & Fundy doing dumb shit together (the good ol’ days)

[Wacky Antics]

I could use this for an actual, plot-relevant location, but no their SCUFFED-ASS NETHER IT HURTS SO BAD PLEASE SOMEONE JUST FIX IT IT’S SO GARBAGE (except for the portal hub that looks really nice)

[Underworld]

Ranboo’s lil’ Ender particles (chat) jammin to fuckin’ Cabinet Man or some shit during lore

[Arcade Thunder]

Tubbo’s execution

[Trials And Execution]

Clingyduo when they actually get to fight/hang out together canonically

[Skiain Skirmish]

Revivedbur (yes I’m serious)

[Hardchorale]

Dream XD

(I FORGOT IT HAD THE FLOWEY LAUGH AND I GOT WHIPLASH WHILE TYPING THIS DUSIGYUSIHV)

[Lordling]

Dream getting posessed by the Dreamon and having to be exorcised (yeah remember that? Probably not.)

[Sunslammer]

The Inbetween and The Other Side fighting to get Karl to listen (Another one I’m pretty sure is canon)

[Derse Dreamers]

The final battle of the SMP. It’ll happen eventually. It can’t last forever, you know

[Rex Duodecim Angelus]

This went from a shitpost to a very long, fairly accurate (and fairly full of memes) analysis help I’m so tired.

Honorable mentions that I couldn’t add because they’re technically not canon songs:

Eret all the time

[Let Me Dance, Let Me Glisten]

The Eggpire just being able to understand The Egg (I say sarcastically, as if I don’t have this song written in a fictional language memorized)

[Futma Kul Shemtor (Hymn of the Horrorterrors)]

[tinseltownie]

Avengers Age of Ultron let’s go bitches

HAHAHAHAHAHHA SHIT LANGUAGE

I cannot express how young these bitches sound

Fuck Wanda forever for her Tony mindfuck it literally was his worst nightmare and he watched it come true

Remember when Clint wasn’t a murderer

I forgot the hulk and the black widow were supposed to be a thing

This movie’s first fight scene is beautiful and this is the only time the avengers were actually a proper team (not the only but whatever)

Lol @ the hulk wearing beats

I love these people hanging out, give me 12 hours of this

Fucking “revels”

“He’s fast and she’s weird” boyoooo

The avengers tower interiors are freaking sexy, Tony’s got good taste

Clint- “I don’t have a girlfriend” convenient

Science bros what’s upppp

Remember when AI was like a deep mystery thing and now it’s on our phones

RDJ sciencing is... hot

Omg the party scenes were glorious but like... who are all these people???

I miss Bucky goddamn

Please keep Josh Weirdman away from the black widow forever thanks

I hate when everyone gets mad at Tony. I’m so protective of him because his intentions are so freaking good and pure. Like is he a dumbass sometimes? Yes! Do I care? No.

Also he says “that’s the endgame”

They were supposed to lose together 😭😭😭

He’s right about the avengers being unable to work together they’re all stupid

The wonder twins parents story is so different from the WV tv show lolllll love inconsistencies

Oh hey Wakanda mention and vague bg music... nice

They keep calling W and P “enhanced” Disney didn’t own “mutants” yet 😂😂😂

Tony is the glue that holds this group franchise together in all forms

Ultron is f u n n y

Thor is not ‘immune to Wanda’ mighty

Idris Elba special appearance... even then Marvel’s contracts were air tight

Stop tryna make Steve and Peggy happen are they mad

Not Tony saving everyone from the angry hulk what a vibe

I liked when it was just the six of them that was nice

Tony’s lil wave to Laura and “these are smaller agents”

Thor just yeets off to Asgard is that possible??

Not Clint calling the avengers his mess... excuse you sir I am a mess

Steve’s pile of wood v Tony’s pile of wood is aggressively funny

Tony just wants to go home 😭😭 fuck everyone else he’s my hero

Chris Evans ripping wood with bare arms is... hot

Tony’s nightmare was that all his friends died and he didn’t and the exact opposite happens... just cruel.

Nothing but our wit— my life motto

Gotta love vague “destroy the world” villains. So vague and so boring

They used it to make a frisbee 😂😂 Yes. Yes we did.

Humour was on point this film

Why are they all separate I hate this... like Thor has a full infinity stones subplot what

The twins are weirdly affectionate it’s gross

The Audi integration is real

Natasha on a motorcycle is... hot

Yeah I hate Wanda in this one

Have I mentioned I love Tony

Banner saying “I’m caught in a time loop” lolllll

Remember when Joss Widiot wanted to show Vision’s penis that was fucked up

“Age” of Ultron... it was like ONE week at best

What is this “3 minutes” bullshit

A lot of these sets look familiar

Steve is a good speech giver I will give him just that

Okay I should just google this but is Sokovia a real place

Why don’t the avengers just... let global extinction happen? Like everyone dead at the exact same time and move on with your lives???

Who gave Clint the authority to make people an Avenger

That Nick Fury entry was CHEESY but boy do I love it

RIP pietro and all the ocean life lost in the rubble

Vision’s one liners have always been gooood

That one shot of Cap, Thor and Tony walking together making Thor feel better.... that’s some good shit

Tony DOES build pepper a farm I’m gonna die

WHY CANT THEY EVER HUG

Why do people hate this movie it’s freakin lit. Yeah the villain is lil basic but there’s some great character development that carries through the rest of the series, it’s consistently funny, the pacing is perfect, the avengers powers work very very well together, a hero actually dies which is actual stakes for once, they learn their lesson as a team, vision is created, neat future tie ins, cute lil happy endings and avengers compound montage.... Like what more do people want from a superhero film??

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

We’re fast approaching President Biden’s 100th day in office and already Congress has passed a massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package; helped usher in Biden’s history-making Cabinet picks; and approved a measure in the House that would give undocumented immigrants, including those currently with temporary protections under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a pathway to citizenship.

To understand just how much of the president’s agenda is getting through Congress and the extent to which various members of Congress support that agenda, we’re once again tracking how often representatives and senators agree with Biden and how that compares with our expectations, based on Biden’s 2020 vote margin in the member’s state or district. (If this sounds familiar, it’s because we did the same for former President Trump.) We’ve also added a number of new features to help illustrate how members of Congress vote relative to one another and identify the outliers in each party. (Hint: Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Krysten Sinema of Arizona might not be the only thorns in Biden’s side for the next several years.)

A member of Congress’ “Biden score” is just a simple percentage of how often a senator or representative supports the president’s agenda. (We calculate this by adding the member’s “yea” votes on bills that Biden supported and “no” votes on bills Biden opposed, then divide that by the total number of bills on which that member has voted and we know Biden’s position.) As we did during the Trump administration, we’re relying on the Office of Management and Budget’s “statements of administration policy” to determine the administration’s stance on a bill. To read more about what types of measures we’re tracking, check out our detailed methodology post from 2017 — it’s about Trump-era congresses, but the same rules still apply. And, as a reminder, these ratings will update through the 117th Congress.

It’s early yet — we have just 13 votes that aren’t related to the confirmation of Biden’s Cabinet,1 but there are two interesting trends we’ve noticed at the margins so far: 

Republicans are not unilaterally voting against Biden’s agenda

After Biden was elected last year, story after story predicted that Republicans would thwart his agenda as control of the Senate remained in limbo and that Trump retained an ironclad grip on the party. And while the latter is still  at least partially true, it’s also not yet entirely clear the extent to which they’re impacting the GOP’s ability to compromise. Republicans, for instance, haven’t entirely stymied Biden’s agenda. 

Sure, no Republican in the House or Senate voted in favor of Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill. But in the Senate, many have backed his Cabinet picks, and in the House, Republicans and Democrats have found common ground on bills like reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and allowing farmworkers a pathway to legal immigration status. 

Now, it doesn’t mean these bills featured overwhelming bipartisan majorities, but 140 different House Republicans have voted at least once for something Biden supported. And for some members who fall in this category, the choice appears to be a matter of political caution. Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton — two of whom represent districts Biden either won in 2020 or was competitive in — are so far the GOP members backing Biden’s agenda most frequently.

House Republicans who back Biden the most

The 11 Republican House members who vote with Biden’s positions most often, and how often we anticipated they’d vote with Biden based on their district’s 2020 vote margin

Representative District 2020 vote margin biden score plus-minus* Brian Fitzpatrick PA-1 D+ 5.8 76.9% -2.1 Chris Smith NJ-4 R+10.5 61.5 +43.8 Fred Upton MI-6 R+4.5 53.8 +20.3 Carlos A. Gimenez FL-26 R+5.6 46.2 +16.4 John Katko NY-24 D+ 9.0 46.2 -42.3 Jeff Van Drew NJ-2 R+2.9 46.2 +6.2 María Elvira Salazar FL-27 D+ 3.2 41.7 -26.0 Don Young AK at-large R+10.1 40.0 +20.8 Tom Reed NY-23 R+11.2 38.5 +21.8 Mike Bost IL-12 R+14.2 33.3 +19.5 Adam Kinzinnger IL-16 R+16.0 33.3 +21.6

*Plus-minus is the difference between a member of Congress’s actual Biden score and his or her predicted Biden score.

Sources: U.S. House, U.S. Senate, Office of Management and budget, Daily Kos, @unitedstates

But not all House Republicans are interested in backing Biden’s agenda. About one-third of members — 72 total — have completely opposed everything on Biden’s agenda so far. This includes Biden’s coronavirus stimulus package, but also things like increasing the waiting period for background checks on gun sales, expanding unionization and collective bargaining rights and an omnibus police reform bill named after George Floyd. (Only a handful of Republican representatives supported these measures.)

One thing we found surprising, though, is that even some of the most pro-Trump House members, according to our tracker of Congress and Trump, have supported at least one item on Biden’s agenda. Take Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, for example, the House’s No. 2 Republican who ended Trump’s term with a 98.2 percent Trump score rating overall. He was among the 121 House Republicans who approved a special waiver to allow retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense. (Austin’s appointment required this waiver because he had only been retired from the military for four years, instead of the seven years required by law.) Even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — who supported Trump’s agenda 97.3 percent of the time — supported the same waiver. Granted, this is the only Biden-supported bill that they’ve backed; as such, both Scalise and McCarthy still rank very low in terms of backing Biden’s agenda with a Biden score of 7.7 percent so far.

In the Senate, every sitting member has supported Biden at least once (yes, even Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Mitch McConnell). An important caveat here, though, is almost all of the Senate votes so far — save for the COVID-19 aid package — were on or related to Cabinet confirmations.

However, the top Senate Republicans backing Biden’s nominations so far shouldn’t come as much of a shock, considering many were long seen as potential Senate swing votes or are members of the so-called G-10 — a group of 10 deal-making moderate Republicans who reportedly want to negotiate with Biden and other Democrats. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine leads the pack with a 91.3 percent Biden score. She’s followed by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (90.9 percent), Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (87 percent), Utah Sen. Mitt Romney (87 percent) and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (78.3 percent).

The usual suspects back Biden in the Senate

The 10 Republican senators who vote with Biden’s positions most often, and how often we anticipated they’d vote with Biden based on their state’s 2020 vote margin

Senator State 2020 vote Margin Biden Score plus-minus* Susan Collins ME D+ 9.1 91.3% -1.4 Lisa Murkowski AK R+ 10.1 90.9 +18.9 Rob Portman OH R+ 8.0 87.0 +12.3 Mitt Romney UT R+ 20.5 87.0 +29.3 Lindsey Graham SC R+ 11.7 78.3 +8.7 Shelley Moore Capito WV R+ 38.9 77.3 +40.6 Richard Burr NC R+ 1.3 75.0 -7.6 Chuck Grassley IA R+ 8.2 73.9 -0.5 Mitch McConnell KY R+ 25.9 73.9 +22.7 Mike Rounds SD R+ 26.2 73.9 +23.0

*Plus-minus is the difference between a member of Congress’s actual Biden score and his or her predicted Biden score.

Sources: U.S. House, U.S. Senate, Office of Management and budget, Daily Kos, @unitedstates

To be sure, a lot of what we’re seeing now among Republicans is pretty small in the grand scheme of things (i.e., supporting Cabinet nominations isn’t that surprising when Republicans don’t have enough votes to block them). Perhaps we’ll get a better sense of which GOP senators want to work with Biden via Democrats’ big infrastructure proposal, but if Democrats move to pass that via budget reconciliation, we still might not have a sense of who those senators are, as Democrats won’t need their votes. At this point, it’s unclear how many real opportunities for bipartisanship there will be, especially if Biden tries to push items forward that are consistent with what Republican voters want, but aren’t necessarily in line with what their GOP representatives want.

Democrats who don’t side with Biden are in the minority

Meanwhile, most Democrats support Biden 100 percent of the time. 

In fact, the only time Senate Democrats have bucked the president’s agenda was when 14 of them voted against granting Austin’s waiver. This wasn’t a major flashpoint in the party, as Austin’s confirmation was never really in jeopardy. Instead, it mostly mirrored what happened when Congress approved a similar waiver in 2017, as many of the same Democrats expressed opposition to making a similar exception for Trump’s former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.

At this point, the two senators who have arguably received the most attention as being potential roadblocks to the president’s agenda — Manchin and Sinema — haven’t actually voted against any of the things Biden supports. Now, this is in large part because, again, almost all of the Senate votes so far were on noncontroversial Cabinet confirmations. And any controversial policy proposals both objected to, like raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, have been cut from the final bill. So the two senators are still exerting their power to block legislation in ways that aren’t captured by our data. That’s why we should keep an eye on these two members — and others from the more moderate wing of the party — going forward, especially when it comes to their votes on Biden’s infrastructure and climate proposals.

In the House it’s much of the same: Representatives who don’t vote with Biden 100 percent of the time are the exception, not the rule. Even members from competitive districts that Biden lost — Iowa Rep. Cindy Axne, Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright and New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim — are completely supportive of the president’s agenda. 

There have been some defectors in the lower chamber, though. And those members fall into two main categories: Progressive Democrats who were against supporting the Austin waiver and lawmakers from competitive districts. 

Let’s examine the latter category first. Maine Rep. Jared Golden, who won one of the most competitive House districts, only has a 53.8 percent Biden score — the lowest among all House Democrats. Why? Well, Biden lost his district by nearly 8 points last year and Golden only barely wrested his seat out of Republicans’ grip in 2018.

So far, Golden has voted against Austin’s waiver, legislation allowing farmworkers to get legal immigration status, increasing the waiting period for federal gun background checks, requiring background checks for all gun sales and the coronavirus stimulus package, among other things. Beyond Golden, other members in competitive districts to watch are Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind (76.9 percent Biden score), Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar (92.3 percent) and Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (92.3 percent). Biden either lost their districts or won by fewer than 5 points in 2020, so we can likely expect for them to continue to deviate from Biden’s agenda.

Progressive Democrats have long criticized establishment members of their party as too centrist and cautious, but so far the measure that the largest number opposed was also the Austin waiver. Excluding that, the most liberal Democrats — including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley and New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman — have supported Biden 100 percent.

So, to recap: Democrats in both chambers are, so far, largely unified, with some more interesting splinters in the House among members facing competitive reelection bids in 2022. And in the Senate, we’ll likely see more fissures among Democratic members as Biden moves to pass more controversial agenda items. At this point, though, it’s hard to know what the progressive wing will do with Biden’s later proposals since they don’t really have the votes to bring legislation to the floor on their own and their main power will be — similar to Manchin and Sinema — in blocking bills.  

There’s definitely not enough data to make sweeping statements about how senators and representatives are taking to Biden’s presidency. But at this early juncture, it’s fair to say Republicans might not be completely against compromise and most Democrats will be in lockstep with the president. We’ll continue updating our interactive as more votes are recorded along with publishing stories about the most interesting trends we see as the administration gets to work. 

[ashyblondwaves]

I’ll fill in for music anon! I have no idea what to ask but here it goes!

What are your go to songs at the moment? Do you have different playlists for different moods? When you are sad do you put on sad music to wallow (I know I do) or something else to cheer you up?

Do you think Wanda and Vision have a sexytimes playlist? Do they sometimes use music rather than words to let the other one know they’re in the mood?

What songs to Wanda and Vision sing in the car with the kiddos that they all LOVE to sing together?

Do Wanda and Vision do karaoke? Are they any good?

Do they like to play that dancing Wii game?

Do they ever sing to cheer the other person up?

Do they sing with the kiddos at bath time to keep everyone happy?

When Wanda and Vision are away from the kids on a mission do they play songs and think of them and miss them?

Do Wanda and Vision play instruments? Do they do recitals with each other?

Anon 🥰 you’re the best, coming to my aid when I’m missing my music Anon. Sorry this is 24 hours late. I totally passed out last night lol. But let’s do it now, okay?

What are your go to songs at the moment? Do you have different playlists for different moods? When you are sad do you put on sad music to wallow (I know I do) or something else to cheer you up?

Go to songs right now:

- Montero by Lil Nas X

- Streets by Doja Cat

- Stateless by Faux Tales

- Orbit by Rezz

- Now I Dream of You by Animadrop

I don’t have mood playlist. Just one big main playlist called “👑 Absolute Bangers 👑” it’s got a little over 300 songs on it right now but I’m adding more daily. I just shuffle that and listen to it. I have an instrumental music playlist and movie score playlist and that’s about it.

If I am like BIG sad, hell yes I put that sad music on. I need to try to make myself cry so I’ll feel a little better. If I’m a tiny bit sad I usually just put in my Absolute Bangers playlist and get lost in the beats.

Do you think Wanda and Vision have a sexytimes playlist? Do they sometimes use music rather than words to let the other one know they’re in the mood? Oh you know those dirty birds have a playlist. And all either of them have to do is put on Yakety Yak and it’s ON. I don’t make the rules. That’s just what gets them going.

What songs to Wanda and Vision sing in the car with the kiddos that they all LOVE to sing together? I noticed the boys were watching Yo Gabba Gabba on WV that show had some bangers so I bet they all sing that in the car. “There’s a party in my tummy, so yummy so yummy.” My kids are almost grown and I still sing Yo Gabba Gabba tunes.

Do Wanda and Vision do karaoke? Are they any good? They totally have an at home karaoke machine. Vision is terrible but he gives it his all. Wanda can hold a note but usually ends up laughing out of embarrassment. The boys just wail out anything current.

Do they like to play that dancing Wii game? Looked like the boys do! They’ve tried to get Wanda and Vision into it but it didn’t go over well, so they just play on their own.

Do they ever sing to cheer the other person up? Oh they sure do. Song depends on the mood, but they definitely sing as a means of comfort. It usually ends up in fits of laughter but that totally counts!

Do they sing with the kiddos at bath time to keep everyone happy? Sometimes, sure. Wheels on the Bus, anyone? Other times the boys are just content to make bubble bath beards and yell Ho Ho Ho!

When Wanda and Vision are away from the kids on a mission do they play songs and think of them and miss them? When you’re away from your kids everything reminds you of them and makes you miss them so yes absolutely!

Do Wanda and Vision play instruments? Do they do recitals with each other? Well, Vision plays Ukulele and could probably realistically learn any instrument quite quickly. Wanda I’m saying would be great on violin she’s got the hands that can be super gentle or super lethal. I just get violin vibes from Wanda

[mlmdarkfiction]

[ points gun ] all of the horror asks

*insert joke abt the Gun Kink anon here*

Slasher Film: What are some of your favorite scary movies? I fucking love the Chucky movies. Which is ironic because as a kid was terrified of them (although I think that’s more due to my father tormenting me with Chucky and I was around maybe 3 or 4 so), I mentioned before I really liked Oculus even though it’s not a “slasher film” it is a scary movie so? And obviously I fucking love the Evil Dead movies. 

Jump Scare: What is a fear that you have? A fear that I have hm. It’s hard because the older I get the less I’m afraid of impractical things. Empty bathrooms is one that gets me, and I know for a fact that fear comes from my father making me watch IT as a child because of the bathroom scene, and aside from that I think I’ve mentioned I still get uncomfortable hanging my legs off the edge of a bed because something can grab my feets (Thankfully I sleep currently on quite literally a mattress on the floor so that’s not a fear I’m confronted with often)

Haunted House: How much would it cost to get you to stay in a haunted house? So I not only believe in ghosts, but believe I’ve had experiences with them. That being said, ya boi broke as fuck and has been homeless. I know the worth of a dollar. 5$ bucks a night and I’ll stay anywhere, haunted or no.

666: Do you have a lucky number? Not really? Although when it comes to having to pick I’m partial to evens. 

Bloodbath: Baths or showers? Both have their downfalls. Uhhh I’m gunna go with bath, even though I don’t enjoy baths, just because were my legs are fucked up and I can’t stand up very long on my own without my leg braces there’s less chance of me hurting myself if I take a bath lmao. 

Found Footage: Have you ever posted a video on YouTube? God this is embarrassing as fuck but in elementary school I made Sonic AMV’s that were INSANELY popular. 

Scream Queen: Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? Probably not. The people I used to celebrate Halloween with (working on a haunted trail, going to their halloween anniversary party, ect) are no longer in my life as my brother broke up with one of them so :/ Last year I worked on their trail though with a weird Amanda/Leather face type character I came up with. And then for the actual Halloween Party I went as Taako from the DND podcast The Adventure Zone. 

Here’s my butcher costume from the trail though. I should really make an oc based around this. A DUDE TOLD ME I MADE HIS DAUGHTER PEE HERSELF on his second round through the trail and I thought he was gunna kick my ass but he seemed thrilled.

Pumpkin Guts: Do you like pumpkin spice lattes? Pumpkin spice is okay. After a while it makes me sick though. One of my alters a couple years ago ate a whole pumpkin spice roll in one sitting and I was just “Why...why are you like this”

Grave Robber: Have you ever tried to talk to a ghost? Like I said! I believe in Ghosts and believe I’ve lived somewhere haunted. That being said, we used to have a touch lamp, and I would ask it questions. The way the lamp would work is one touch is on, another touch brighter, a third touch off. So I’d use that as a scale to talk to the spirit. I don’t remember if it was two for no or one for yes or vice versa, but I’d ask yes or no questions and the lamp would react.

Claw Marks: If you could own an exotic pet, what would you choose to have? Ahhhh I dunno. I had pet rats for a while there and they’re very good boys. I don’t think I’m a big pet person on my own maybe.

Cryptid Sighting: What cryptid fascinates you the most? I answered this one already!

Cult Gathering: Are you a part of any organizations? Nope! I am a very boring individual.

Friday the 13th: Do you like to go out or stay in on Friday nights? Uhh I feel like I’d probably enjoy going out on Fridays if I had anything to do or money or friends but I’m an under 21 year old broke college boy with no irl friends so usually I stay in and just stream movies with friends?

Devil Horns: Are you an angel or a devil? Well if my forced extremely religious upbringing has taught me anything it’s that I’m the devil!

Bloody Mary: Do you have any urban legends specific to where you’re from? Aside from Moth Man originating here I don’t really know? I used to live near this weird part in the woods called Devils Chair that was supposed to be for summoning demons or some shit but was really just a makeout spot for teens. I’d pass it everyday when I walked home from work. I think I took nudes there once lmao. 

But nah I think WV is one of those places where everyones too worried about their methed up cousin murdering them in their sleep to worry about urban legends.

Spooky Scary Skeletons: What’s your favorite dance craze? I don’t..have one? is that a thing people are supposed to have?

Vampire Bite: Have you ever had braces? AAA leg braces?? lmao. but no not like teeth braces. I was supposed to I think as I have like...a HUGE gap between my front teeth but ?? 

because we all know I’m bad at medical care I don’t think I saw a dentist as a child, and the last time I saw one was three years ago when the pain from my wisdom teeth was so bad i caved and had to get them taken out. 

Butcher Knife: Can you cook? Somewhat ? I mean I can. I’m not totally confident, but I can like cook enough to survive ya know?

Possessed Doll: Are dolls creepy or cute? It honestly depends. SOME DOLLS JUST GIVE OFF BIG HAUNTED DOLL ENERGY other dolls are bapy must protect. It just depends on the doll. 

Witches’ Brew: What would be put into a potion to summon you? why would anyone want to summon me oaidknsa

chunks of obnoxiously covered lipstick moss a fabric swatch of a hawaiin shirt And a koolaid jammers

[a-wandering-fool]

Via Daily Wire:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), another potential swing vote in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation, strongly signaled a “Yes” vote on Wednesday when he announced his reviewing process.

According to Manchin, he will base his vote on Kavanaugh’s life from age 22-53, not his life in high school, which Democrats have increasingly scrutinized in the past weeks amid allegations from Christine Blasey Ford that the SCOTUS nominee sexually assaulted her at a pool party 36 years ago.

“I am looking at the gentleman as an adult from 22 to 53, thirty-one years of professional service,” Manchin told Al-Jazeera. “I am looking at him as a father. As a person in a community, how he interacts with his community. I am trying to put the human side to it.”

==================

Thank the #MeToo movement for this.   When you signal that men are by default guilty whenever a woman makes a claim of assault, you are going to get pushed back.   Not just by men, but by the mother’s of boys.

Karma baby....   Karma....

[parodyroyalle]

Reblog 

More claims Rmm identifies as Mediterranean. 

“She looks of Mediterranean origin and claimed to be so in the past” 

Yes. 

Not the first time we heard that. Malta. Italian. Sicilian. Caucasian. 

We’ve read it all through various PR outlets note that many articles are hard to locate now but most exist thanks to blogs like Skippy.  

What one may ask is with the race agenda? 

And now it’s reported that PC is racist? 

Clearly an agenda. I hope he sues. 

That is because there was an actress model now goes by Angela Dal Riata who was once approach by the backers. She spoke out and then magically an article appeared with another person claiming to be approached with PR articles to boot! Why not AD? AD is known for her interview on Vlad TV back in the day “is he kind” was her response to a dating question. She also came from a broken home and shared her story about a specific dish commercial. Sound familiar? She was a social media star in the mid 2000′s and the creator of the Be Inspried tag line. It was based on her story of loosing her family and traveling the world to find them as a missing child who was adopted. 

Weird right?

It get’s stranger: 

( hint: no such thing as coincidence )

She was on Instagram with EJ who sat with RM at Soho House for an interview with KC company. EJ said in the video that when the bad man play the good people must work harder. EJ was at WV with RM and a connection to GC and AC. A left entertainment according to social media because of human trafficking that was experienced and was introduced to JE in Miami while with AE the former mistress yacht girl to Billionaire PB. She claimed on social media PA is innocent as was at a party in London around the time she was approached by backers. in 2017 while on HT as a handmaid she recognized another handmaid as being at the London party as the ring leader of the gifted girls to surprised PA. This was released on social media between 2014-2019. Both RM and AD were on suits. It is reported that on her way to a charity office in Toronto AD was mistaken for RM and told to walk on set. AD was not on suits at that time but would go on to be in the last episode before the election usa donald trump reportedly. 

6 degrees of separation. 

Remember: We are all linked. Not ranked. 

View Video Here: Markle and Emmanuel Jal at SoHo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McV1GT6RTzA

This only scratches the surface.

Are all the allegations against RM because she is breathing? How absurd. 

RM admitted to being a fraud and is a found out bully and liar who uses race as a way to bate people into conversation and harbor her image from being exposed for what her true nature is: an unkind person who uses others to achieve gain while playing the victim. This individual most likely suffers from a personality disorder called narcissism however I am not a Doctor only someone who as experienced narc rage and abuse. I feel sorry for those who turned nasty on online forms trying to fight on behalf of what they thought this person represented based on a false projection. I truly feel bad for them. They do not know who they truly are supporting as their are allegedly many backers who wish to see the monarchy fail. Why is that stupid? Who goes up against a 1500 year institution? Ballzy doesn't even cut it. Generations support HMTQ including my family. Why? The Queen is the kindest person.

The really interesting point about AD is they identify as autistic and don’t forget. 

It’s all fun ang games right? No. Lies about the BRF are no joke. 

** Credit ** The only bloggers to report this is DZ youtube and LLU tumblr. 

Both bloggers house burnt down same time frame? Coincidence? 2019?

Both bloggers live in different parts of the globe? USA and CAN/UK.

Long Live The Queen. 

** We are a multigenerational supporters of the BRF.  

** Allegations Speculations and Opinions

Charles isn't my favourite person, but calling him a racist when he clearly is not is absolutely vile. The tender way he treated Doria at the pantomime wedding would not have happened if he were. How can anyone call Meghan 'black'? She looks of Mediterranean origin and claimed to be so in the past. She also claimed to be Caucasian on her cvs. In order to look black, she has to use self tan and half a ton of bronzer. I'm sick of the constant race baiting since she came on the scene.

It really is disgusting.....she is pure evil.....and thrives on hate❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️