#and Justin is like I legitimately break down like that

[detaia]

mentopolis ep 2 highlights:

1. The Fix with his animal facts is sheer poetry. "I don't think you're the tail of a swallowtail butterfly. I think you're the butterfly"?? holy shit?? thats so sweet and poetic and beautiful??

and everyone goin "aww" at everything The Fix does he's so beloved and its only ep 2 like Brennan said there's nothing fans of play love more than a murderer. ughh The Fix using his Protector and Loyalty features to help Conrad 🥺🥺 what a perfect character I love them

ALSO. "Did you know that more than half the bones in your body are in your hands and feet?" and "Whenever someone says I'm going to break every bone in your body I think thats ridiculous! It'd be way too much work! But I could break half the bones in your body"

2. Mike Trapp committing 1000% to being a student and farming so much moxie only to spend seven just to freak a guy out. his fuckin "I. am. a. STUDENT" fuckin killed me

3. Also so many moments in this ep where Brennan just fully exits standard play just to talk about how much he loves what his players are doing. Like when Conrad goes to hug Justin in combat and Brennan's like aww that's so sweet take a moxie. Or when Brennan comments on how Hank's facts are genuinely nightmarish and in Adventuring Party him saying that breaking his own fingers and going "just kill me man" was how he Brennan would react in that situation.

4. Conrad's "So...how long you've been fixing?". And the. the whole scene in Nostalgia's. Conrad's coffee grounds. Anastatia's room temp vodka. Hunch's the experience of a root beer float for the first time. Imelda and Novelty. Dan Fucks asking for pancake syrup. and The Fix just wanting a calzone. absolutely perfect.

5. the way they did the reveal with the giant screens ahsidifjfifi so cool

6. Hunch at the start IDing the goons by tasting their blood Mike Trapp everyone

7. Gods the whole thing with Wilton and Dan Fucks and the balls and Dan Fucks being like "keep it up one day it'll happen. I love you brother" and Freddie hearing blunt force trauma to the head and being like "Wilton you gotta get down to the balls ASAP"

8. udhhdjsjsgklgk the wordbuilding in Conrad's home with the memories and The Fix being challenged by memories and feelings that come from a place of conscience cos by design shame and guilt and memories when we didn't do right by others or ourselves are not pleasant. They force us to confront our behaviour and the consequences of our actions and it's not gonna be pleasant. but it COULD be. In the same way that conscience can make us feel bad when we don't follow it, it can also feel good to so the right thing despite how difficult it is and the idea that for Elias Hodge his conscience is a lil street urchin and their idea of a banner day would be if Elias held a door for an old lady.

9. Hank saying The Fix doesn't think the job of the mind is to control itself and Brennan's mind exploding and being like "this season's good for me in a lot of ways" eheheheheh crunchy

10. The Fix running his thumb along the ice skates and thinking of Ichabod a kid in the home for wayward interests that isn't there anymore wahh 🥺

11. awawaughh Conrad telling the story of how Elias stood up for his lil sis and got cut up by some bullies using the skates...and that's why Conrad keeps them and that's why he doesn't deserved to be listened to....and The Fix going "I think its time to unlearn that lesson" with somber sincerity and Conrad shaken to his core the captions say "(thoroughly impacted) Okay." as Conrad reacts ajdididjjd. The Brennan commenting about how they talked about balls so much this season and he legitimately almost wept then AJJAKAKSKSKDNBFJD

[brianjaeger]

2024 Academy Award Best Picture Nominees Guide For Those Who Haven’t Actually Watched Them

In a year when the names of pretty much every movie are combinations of random, non-descript words, and with a lineup of films that few people did actually watch or even legitimately know what they’re about (except Barbenheimer) - the Academy really tested the flimsy premise of this now decade-old bit.

But tis the season! So sing along with me! My awards have a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R!

My awards have a second name, it’s C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-E-H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D-W-I-L-L-S-O-O-N-B-R-E-A-K-I-T-S-P-R-O-M-I-S-E-T-O-T-H-E-U-N-I-O-N-S-A-N-D-C-R-E-A-T-E-A-L-L-O-F-T-H-E-S-E-M-O-V-I-E-S-W-I-T-H-A-I-I-N-T-H-E-F-U-T-U-R-E!

So, let’s dive in for this 10th rundown of the Best Picture nominees!

American Fiction

What Florida Governor Ron DeSantis calls critical race theory.

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

German Fiction is what those who planned to vote for DeSantis call Zone of Interest.

If this wins, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty will announce it as La La Land.

Tracee Ellis Ross plays the role of Dr. Lisa Ellison. Other original names for characters were Myra Lucretia Taylor as Dr. Mary Lucretiason, Michael Cyril Creighton as Dr. Thomas Cyrilson and Sterling K. Brown as Dr. William K.-son.

Anatomy of a Fall

About 6-foot-2 and roughly 200 pounds at the time that he slapped Chris Rock at this awards show in 2022. 

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? They call it Anatomie D'Une Cheese.

I thought it was a bit lazy that in order to play the half-blind son, director Justine Triet just put an eye-patch on Milo Machado-Graner and exclaimed, “Mon Dieu! Ze garçon is now half blind. Voir!

Eric Clapton’s least favorite Best Picture nominee.

Barbie

A sharp and immensely profitable attack upon the patriarchy and a film that became a rallying cry for female empowerment in Hollywood that garnered no Best Director or Best Actress nominations but nabbed a nom for penis-owning actor Ryan Gosling.

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

Hi Barbie!

One day during childhood, I agreed to play Barbies with my two sisters and my brother. But we played Saved By The Bell with Ken as Zack Morris, an Aladdin doll as A.C. Slater and various Barbies as Kelly, Jessie and Lisa. It was civil until I got bored and used another Ken doll to be Screech and all of a sudden gave him the power (ironically…Screech's last name was Powers) to fly and then pretended he was flying over the Dream House and farting and pooping down (also ironically in light of Dustin Diamond’s later activities) on everyone causing my sisters to scream at me while I cackled with laughter. Not really a joke. Just a real crystalized childhood memory that I'm sadly still kind of proud of and also still think is very funny.

Next year, the Polly Pocket movie will be a tremendous hit, break down traditional gender norms, and Austin Butler will be the only one nominated for an Oscar for playing Paul E. Pocket.

The Holdovers

A story about a group that has nowhere to go after they are abandoned in New England…the 2020 Patriots.

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

The lead role called for a “stubborn, curmudgeonly” character and Paul Giamatti just materialized on set.

To achieve Giamatti’s character Paul Hunham’s trademark lazy eye, Alexander Payne enlisted the help of Anatomy of a Fall director Justine Triet who came on set and addressed Giamatti’s right eye, saying, “Bonjour, eye! Do some work, s'il vous plaît. (Pauses for a beat.) Sacre bleu! Ze eye refuses to work. Zis is a lazy eye!”

This is the first collaboration between director Alexander Payne and actor Paul Giamatti since Sideways which now makes sense since there are various points in the film where a character, with absolutely no context or prompting, sips a glass of merlot and spits it on the ground screaming, “Merlot is the worst liquid in the universe!” But it was a bit much when the last scene of the movie was Paul Giamatti looking directly into the camera and saying, “Fuck you, merlot,” before the credits rolled.

Killers of the Flower Moon

Ernest in the Army. Ernest Scared Stupid. Ernest Goes to Jail.

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

Leonardo DiCaprio initially turned down the role when he learned that his romantic interest in the film, Mollie Kyle, was 137 years old, saying, "Maybe without the 7!"

IMDB lists this movie’s runtime in years.

Scorsese rejected composer Robbie Robertson’s first score for the film that included “‘Up on Cripple Creek…Is Where They Found Anna’s Body’”, “I Shall Be Released…Is What King Hale Tells Ernest While In Jail”, “The Weight…Of His Transgressions Caused Ernest to Testify Against His Uncle” and “Ophelia…Is Probably The Name of One of The Background Osage Women Characters, Oh Come On Marty, Just Put It In The Credits, People Love This Song”

Maestro

Seasoned musician Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) discovers-and falls in love with-struggling actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as an actress - until Leonard coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Felicia’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Leonard fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. Then, he pisses his pants at the Grammys.

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

Early critical reviews of the trailer focused on the “Anatomy of a Face”.

Just like in “A Star Is Born”, Bradley Cooper took vocal lessons to actually perform Leonard Bernstein's classic “Hallelujah”. (What’s that? There are two Jewish Leonards?)

Cooper spent nearly 45% of the film’s budget on that epic final battle scene between Bernstein and Lydia Tár.

Oppenheimer

Julius Robert Oppenheimer Schmidt! That's my name too! Whenever I got out, the people always shout, “There goes Julius Robert Oppenheimer Schmidt!” Na-na na-na na-na-na!

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

In an alternate scene, it's revealed that the exchange between Oppenheimer and Edison by the pond that caused Albert to react so sadly when walking past Robert Downey Jr. is that Oppenheimer tried to sneak a fart but then said, “Oh no. I just Oppensharted.”

Nolan took some liberties with the true story. In reality, the U.S. killed between 110,000 and 210,000 Japanese citizens…with kindness.

Since ABC does not include the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards during the broadcast, we will not see Cillian Murphy’s acceptance speech for Best Seated Mangina.

Past Lives

This film follows the stories of the characters’ souls across time, and the stories are interwoven as they advance, showing how they all interact in their “past lives”. The film explores how people's “past lives” are connected with and influence each other and…wait a second. Nope. That’s Cloud Atlas. (Do not watch Cloud Atlas.)

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

Due to scheduling conflicts with Poor Things, Emma Stone was unable to play the female Asian lead this time.

However, in the North Korean version of the film, Kim Jong Un played the role. And all the other roles. And won all of the Oscars. Ever.

This movie is a prequel to the movie Lives.

Poor Things

From Pixar comes the story of little Sally Sangiovese, a newly bottled red Italian wine who is separated from her Sangio-family and sent to the wine cellar. There, she’ll befriend Nelson Nebbiolo, a wizened red from the Piedmont region who is coming up on 30 years in the cellar but still hasn’t gotten over the loss of his Spanish love, Tia Tempranillo, who was pulled from the cellar for a quinceañera dinner the year prior. Together, the two will hatch a plan to release themselves from the cellar to reunite Sally with her family and Nelson con su amor. Along their adventurous aging process, audiences will discover that even when the bottle appears half-empty, you simply decant dampen the spirit of these…Pour Things!

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert:

Max McCandles was actually the original name of Lumière from Beauty and the Beast.

Unfortunately this story of a British woman receiving a brain transplant isn’t about J.K. Rowling.

This is the first movie written by new AI trained only on Dr. Seuss books, Kanye West’s Twitter feed and the dreams of Gary Busey.

The Zone of Interest

Rudolf the conflicted Nazi! Had a garden full of rows! Of plants his wife liked to tend to! Horrifically juxtaposed! Then one sunny German day, Hitler came to say, “Rudolf of the triple Reich, won't you Holocaust tonight!” Then, how he wrestled with morality! As he puked and thought, “Why me?!” Rudolf the conflicted Nazi! This one’s really hard for comedy!

3 Things To Casually Inject Into Conversation To Prove You Saw The Movie And Sound Like An Expert…All Word-for-Word What Was Generated by ChatGPT:

The popularity of the film has already led to a sequel, Höss Party 2.

Probably also the title of one of the Mission Impossible movies.

I actually did watch every other movie nominated for Best Picture this year, but The Zone of Interest is the only one I did Nazi!

[difeisheng]

Incoherent Post-Watching (like JUST finished watching) TUA S3 Thoughts, Go (Spoilers Ahead):

diego and viktor both looked great this season (i didn't understand you diego people before but yeah ok i get it now)

i miss old ben i really do :(

connected to the first two points: yeah sparrow ben is an asshole but HELLO JUSTIN MIN 👀

rip to over half the sparrows i guess???? i really thought based on the promo they'd all have bigger roles but i guess not

PLEASE LET FIVE REST. LET HIM HAVE A BREAKDOWN. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH

legitimately can the universe stop making five suffer and even give him a day or so to process his trauma i don't know how much longer i can do this

five stans did win this season tho. drunk speech, every shenanigan, outfit changes, suit??? nice

luther and sloane. hm. i- ok. sure. maybe im just aro but that felt VERY rushed

luther and allison???? holy shit allison went dark this season that was messed up

also: damn. therapy won't make a fucking dent in anyone's issues here, it's official

klaus just being immortal. sounds about right

maybe i was just reading into it too much but why were characters having random tension

we're all agreed that lila is bi and she fucked stan's mom right

lila + diego being improvised parents was really cute actually, i liked that

OKAY back to the tension thing. were they trying to suggest that klaus and sparrow ben slept together after the wedding??? was that just robert and justin being themselves coming through??? what??

i mean ok klaus is already a canonical would-be clonefucker and sparrow ben never knew him before so Technically- nah im not going down that road. mostly

the whole 'party at the end of the world' vibe was nice. also the wedding. what a shitshow lmao

FUCK reginald hargreeves. dude is shit in every iteration five im so sorry why won't any of your siblings just listen to you

and alongside reggie's fucked up plans, this season was more gory than i was expecting it to be even though the injuries sustained were temporary

how do i cope with the ending. jesus christ. also why is sparrow ben there but not sloane

fjfjfkdkskd diego and sparrow ben yelling at each other in spanish and korean. i wanna know if that was improvised or not

allison and diego beating up people at a confederate bar <3

ok may add more thoughts later but it's past 6am now, i need sleep

(but just once more for emphasis: GIVE FIVE A FUCKING BREAK)

[buckybeardreams]

"You're a good Alpha, you know that?" Bruce commented when Sam came back for Bucky.

Sam hummed.

"With the scent of alcohol clinging to everyone, I can't help it. I'd never be able to sleep without knowing everyone's safely tucked away. I'd prefer having them all in the same room as me, but none of the beds are large enough to fit us all."

"You need a pack nest," Bruce said casually, but there was something knowing in his eyes.

Sam just hummed in agreement.

Tony and Justin were tangled up in the middle of the bed when he laid Bucky down. He tucked a lock of hair behind Bucky's ear and kissed his cheek, lingering again. Everything in him screaming at him that he couldn't leave three intoxicated Omegas alone. Except Bucky was the only Omega there. Sam had just been around long enough, seen them as Omegas long enough, that he had accepted Tony and Justin as his to protect.

Bruce looked up in surprise when Sam returned, stopping in front of him.

"Your turn," Sam said softly but firmly.

"I don't have an intoxicated scent to drive your instincts crazy," Bruce pointed out.

Sam leaned down, his hands on the back of the couch to brace himself.

Bruce gasped at the invasion of his personal space, his heart rate speeding up, but Sam backed away just as quickly.

"I can smell beer on your breath," Sam said with a small smirk and a teasing light in his eyes.

Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Are you gonna insist on carrying me like a damsel?" Bruce snarked.

Sam chuckled.

"I can carry you like a child if you'd rather."

Bruce blushed, setting his book down and getting up.

"I'll pass," He mumbled.

Bruce didn't argue when Sam tucked the blankets in around him. He might not be an Omega, but Sam was an Alpha and he was in that protective Alpha mode. Bruce knew better than to go against him, because he'd probably just end up being settled.

Most Alphas didn't usually try to settle Betas or other Alphas, but only because they lived in a place where pack instincts weren't fostered. It was obvious that Sam had spent enough time cultivating a sense of pack and retraining his instincts to accept Alphas as his to protect and care for that he had awakened his pack instincts.

There was no doubt that if Sam had a pack, he would be the pack Alpha. Bruce logically knew better than to fight it, but he was surprised that he didn't really want to fight it. He easily relaxed into it, letting Sam tuck him in and run his fingers through his hair, and mumbling night when Sam told him to go to sleep.

Sam did one more pass through the Penthouse, rechecking the rooms to make sure everyone was still safely settled in bed, before his instincts allowed him to slip into bed behind Tony and go to sleep.

.....

Did I write a full chapter that is legitimately just Sam worrying about everyone and tucking them in??

Yes, yes, I did, and it's the cutest shit ever.

We have some serious pack vibes going on here and I love it.

This is also the only Tempting chapter I've finished since my break from posting started and it's currently ch 61... Guys, there are at least 7 chapters that have to be finished before I can post this chapter and this is why posting as I write is a challenge for me lol

Also I wasn't gonna have Wade claim Peter in this part but... It happened

[lilium-major]

so on this page and tbh in a lot of the fandom we like to equate taylor swift songs, specifically from like folklore and evermore, to ATYD and i’m not even gonna lie this has become a legitimate hobby of mine - trying to see it from different angles and perspectives. but can we take a moment to talk about “exile” with bon iver?

i’m going to kind of break it down and analyze how it relates to ATYD below the cut :) ATYD SPOILERS I REPEAT ATYD SPOILERS: it’s about the very very end, like last three or four chapters.

ANALYSIS BELOW:

the first verse, i believe is from grant’s pov.

in my brain this whole interaction happens in those last few chapters of the book, in 1994, when sirius goes back to the apartment and grant leaves. he’s talking to remus here, seeing him and sirius interact and knowing it’s over. it would take him

five whole minutes to pack me up and leave me with it

is an allusion to grant leaving that day to go to his job in brighton, and knowing remus is going to move on and spend that night with sirius.

the whole part,

i think i’ve seen this film before, and i didn’t like the ending

is about how he found remus, the state he was in, when sirius left the first time in 1981. he knows what happened, he knows how messed up remus can get. he knows that if anything happens, he’d be broken to see remus again, like, he can’t do it.

you’re not my homeland anymore, so what am i defending now? you were my town, now i’m in exile seeing you out.

this part’s about grant’s jealousy. you were my town, you were mine, and knowing that he can’t have that now, or that he never really did.

the next verse changes from justin to taylor singing, and it also changes from grant to remus’s pov.

this verse? BRILLIANT. we need to take a moment to acknowledge that these guys are poets - this stuff is so, like, profound? ughhhh

so anyway though, remus is talking to grant here. he knows that grant knows he is the second choice - sirius’s understudy, if you will. and he knows grant would totally “get his knuckles bloody” for him.

second third and hundredth chances

balancing on breaking branches

those eyes add insult to injury.

this part is the chances that grant gave remus, and not the other way around. despite remus’s misery and addiction and mental illness, and despite his lycanthropy, and the magic, and the sleeping with castor issue, grant was always loyal. always. even when most people wouldn’t be.

the final part of that verse is about how even though he knew what he really wanted sirius and that he was making the right choice, oh, he would still miss grant.

i think i’ve seen this film before, and i didn’t like the ending

remus knows what he’s doing. he knows he’s stepping back onto the tightrope and that he might get hurt again, but that’s not now. he knows he’s going to miss grant and that he’s causing him pain.

i’m not your problem anymore

this is one of my favorite lines in the whole song, because of how much it encapsulates remus’s self worth issues - it’s about when he tells grant, “i haven’t always been fair to you”. it’s about how he thinks all he is is a burden.

you were my crown

it’s cliche, but grant really was a diamond in the rough. huh, maybe remus has a type?

ok oh my god i don’t even want to do the next part because it’s accurate and hurts like hell but we’re going to do it. AGHH

we always walked a very thin line

yep.

you didn’t even hear me out

NOT GRANT SLANDER, but to be fair, there was like NO discussion of grant leaving. he just packed, said he had a new job, and left - and while remus was happy to have sirius back OUCH that must have hurt. BUT ALSO, this part is sung by both justin and taylor, or, grant and remus, so it’s also grant kinda silently echoing his little bit of remorse for remus always wanting sirius.

you never gave a warning sign (i gave so many signs)

okay, so there are basically two ways to interpret this. the first is to stick with the script: grant = justin and remus = taylor. and in that case, i would say that grant could be, like, angry here? maybe at sirius; but also maybe at remus. what happened between grant and remus during the school year he was away is up for interpretation, but i think this could be grant mad at remus that sirius was kind of back in the world and not even telling him. and the remus echoing is like him admitting that he has always loved sirius a little more.

BUT the way that this makes more sense to me is to flip the parts, and remus telling grant that he never gave a warning sign in terms of picking up and leaving, and taking the new job. and grant’s “i gave so many signs” is calling remus to realize he wasn’t in love with him.

UGH THIS BRIDGE. ok, so the whole

i never learned to read your mind (never learned to read my mind)

is just another whole thing about them never really being on the same page, and how grant would never understand remus as much as sirius did.

BUT

i couldn’t turn things around (you never turned things around)

is flipping parts again, and it’s remus half assed apology about not ever really getting over sirius, and grant agreeing that he couldn’t.

the rest is flipped though, and it’s each of them trying to see each others’ perspectives.

-

for the rest of the song, they just do the chorus and the bridges again, so i don’t think it’s worth breaking down farther - especially since i have typed so much now that my keyboard is slowing down. oh my god i love analyzing folklore - any other likeminded people that would like to see more of this?

[mermaidsirennikita]

This article Netflix planted on People.com underlines how much Netflix needs to like.... Invest in actual quality romance content (quality content in general, according to the stock market, but like... if you want a solid romance audience, solid romance content especially).

Like... Let's break it down.

The Royal Treatment--so bad, a waste of Mena Massoud on a horrible, annoying heroine, not hot at all

Through My Window--admittedly flawless, has never done anything wrong in its life, funny and sweet and surprisingly hot? European romance movies > apparently

Tall Girl 2--was Tall Girl a romance or was Tall Girl a collective trauma either way I've had Enough

Love and Leashes--actually this was very cute and I did like it a lot, not sure if it handled d/s as well as it could have but I did love the male sub/female domme situation. COULD'VE BEEN HOTTER BUT I WILL ALLOW IT.

Along for the Ride--so we're adapting Sarah Dessen books but we're adapting the... less interesting... Sarah Dessen books? I enjoyed this book back in the day but it's no The Truth About Forever or Just Listen and certainly not a This Lullaby (Peak Dessen)

Persuasion--would be super cool if Henry Golding was the male lead and it had different people in general aside from Henry Golding

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between--we love a Jordan Fisher and I remember enjoying a Jennifer E. Smith book once upon a time, but... I am weary of high school romance... I am weary of Jordan Fisher being in high school romances... He is 27.

Don't Blame Karma!--I mean the summary is so vague I have no clue but Mexican romance movies do tend to > American romance movies so

Lady Chatterley's Lover--Actually do love the book, and we love Emma Corrin on this blog, though tbh I wouldn't call Chatterley a romance.... at all. Highly influential on modern romance and the portrayal of sex in lit in general, but not a romance.

Love in the Villa--actually love this cast and this premise is very cute but I know it will fuck like a Hallmark film which is to say not at all so that's a bummer. (Also the delusionality of hooking up with a white British guy on your Italian vacation... If visiting Italy doesn't give you an aversion to all white British men 40 and under, I don't... I don't know what to say, life must be good for you.)

A Perfect Pairing--I like Victoria Justice, do not care either way about this Australian man, however this sounds like a cute premise that would be even cuter if they were actually gonna fuck, which they aren't

Purple Hearts--a singer/songwriter falls for a marine, gag me, there are many things I'd advise doing during your dating life and falling for a marine is not one of them

20th Century Girl--this actually sounds cute, wish it wasn't about teen life, but okay

Falling for Christmas--Christmas!Overboard with Lindsay Lohan actually could work

The Noel Diary--maaaan This Is Us ain't even over yet and Justin Hartley's already in Netflix holiday movies? Chrishell's reach is far

The audacity that they don't have 365 Days: This Day, the sequel to a legitimately hot and romantic movie (more erotic drama than Romance Proper but waaaaay more romance proper than half this shit) that got NUMBERS for this platform... Lol the inability to embrace what works (sex, romance, anthological and innovative content) is why we are here, Netflix.

[stage-props]

This is pretty different from what I usually post but because I know a lot of people don’t have access to The Washington Post:

Basically, without exaggeration, we’re legitimately on the brink of civil war. Trump supporters have invaded the capital building and Trump is cheering them on, still claiming he won the election.

In the notes I’ll reblog this with the link to a full pdf of the article

Thousands of President Trump’s supporters are in Washington for rallies Wednesday to falsely assert that the presidential election was stolen from him. Many in attendance see the demonstrations as a last stand for Trump on the same day that Congress votes to certify that President-elect Joe Biden won the election. Trump — who lost the popular and electoral college vote — continues to dispute the results, without evidence, and has encouraged his supporters to attend the rallies in the nation’s capital. He took the stage about noon to roaring crowds, claiming he had won the election. At the U.S. Capitol, throngs of protesters pushed past police who were trying to block them from entering the building as senators inside debated the certification of the presidential election. Some were able to breach security to successfully enter the building.

TEAR GAS RELEASED, IN THE BUILDING ON THE TERRORISTS, DEMS CONDEM TRUMP ONLINE

Throngs of pro-Trump supporters bust through security barricades and stormed the U.S. Capitol Building where they entered the U.S. Senate chamber and forced police to deploy tear gas inside. Lawmakers, tweeting from inside, captured a terrifying scene with many Democrats assailing Trump for provoking his supporters to attempt what some called a coup of the federal government. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) wrote that he’s in the House Chambers and has been “instructed to lie down on the floor and put on our gas masks. Chamber security and Capitol Police have their guns drawn as protesters bang on the front door of the chamber." “We were just told that there has been tear gas in the rotunda and we’re being instructed to each of us to get gas masks that are under our seats,” Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in a video he posted on Twitter, referring to the area under the dome that connects the House and Senate sides of the building. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called it a “coup attempt.” He later reposted a Twitter message from Trump and said: “You are not protecting the country. Where is the DC guard? You are done and your legacy will be a disaster.” Many Democrats also blamed Trump for inciting his supporters. “This is thuggery at its best...And the flames are being stoked by the person currently in our #WhiteHouse. Donald Trump is responsible for this. #TrumpThugs,” tweeted Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.). Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), who wrote that she and her staff are “safe” and “following protocols,” said, “This is a situation provoked by President Trump & Republicans that is rapidly deteriorating. It needs to end quickly & peacefully,” she added. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), wrote that “violence is always unacceptable. Even when passions run high.” He added: “Anyone engaged in violence—especially against law enforcement—should be fully prosecuted.” 

TRUMP SUPPORTERS CLAIM THEY ARE NOT DEMOCRATS OR REPUBLICANS, THEY ARE ‘TRUMPERS’

Mary Ann Wilbur gasped as three men slowly made their way up the balcony wall while those who made it up unfurled Trump flags. She approved. “We’re tired,” said Wilbur, who came to D.C. from Massachusetts. “We’ve been pushed and pushed and pushed, and we’ve had enough.” “The people are angry,” she said. “Nobody’s listening to us, Republicans or Democrats. We’re Trumpers.”

TRUMP CONTINUES TO SUPPORT PROTESTERS AND ENCOURAGE THEIR COUP

President Trump, who repeatedly urged his supporters gathered on the Ellipse earlier today to march to the U.S. Capitol to demand that Congress overturn the election, tweeted a call to “stay peaceful” as some of those supporters broke into the Capitol building. U.S. Capitol Police were unable to hold back throngs outside the building, some of whom pushed their way inside. With the House and Senate on lockdown inside the building, Trump asked for “support” for the police force trying to maintain order.

PROTESTERS BREAK BARRICADES AND PROJECT NATIONALISTIC CALLS, CLAIM THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS BETRAYING THEM

Just before 1 p.m., a group of primarily White men pushed, then toppled the barricades, storming through them to the grassy fields leading to the Capitol. Several Capitol police stood guard but could not hold back the tide. Hundreds scaled and kicked aside the barricades, yelling “forward!!” as they ran upward. Some tried to reach the steps of the Capitol, but were stopped by law enforcement. A few who made it through and scaled metal construction structures were tackled by police. After a few minutes of the crowds yelling “USA! USA!”, dozens of law enforcement descended down the steps to boos

“Fight for Trump!” “Make it louder!” said a woman south of Constitution Avenue. By 12:15 p.m., people were beginning to peel off and head east. “Off to the Capitol,” one woman said. “Let’s go!” Toward the middle of the president‘s speech, more people began streaming toward Capitol Hill, where Congress was preparing to certify the electoral college vote  

TRUMP TELLS PROTESTERS THAT THEY WON

“We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved,” Trump said, falsely claiming that Biden’s victory was based on fraudulent vote counts. “We won this election, and we will never give up.”

This is from some of my own research when communicating with historian Professor Justin Brunette from PPCC

When asked what his feelings were on the situation, he states as follows:

“Honestly, this is right on the knife-edge of an insurrection, and thus potential civil war.  Nothing like this has happened in American history since the Civil War.  So I am anxious too, if I'm honest.”

This is ongoing as of 1/6/2021 1:40pm Mountain Time Check the notes for the link to the full article

[violetmuses]

Middle of the Night || Rick Flag (18+ MINORS DNI)

TITLE: Middle of the Night || Rick Flag (18+ MINORS DNI)

POINT OF VIEW: First Person

FANDOM: “Suicide Squad” Universe

CHARACTER: Colonel Richard “Rick” Flag

PAIRING: OC Lorraine Tucker + Rick Flag

STORYLINE: One night, Lori and Rick allow themselves to carry out one of their biggest fantasies. Will either one of then win this dark, but much-needed Cat-And-Mouse chase?

WARNINGS: SMUT (18+ Minors DNI) Adult themes, Predator + Prey kink, strong language, etc.

J Krew: @nerdysuperchick @a-reader-and-a-writer @babblydrabbly @lacontroller1991 @shadowkittybucky @loverhymeswith @justin-hammers @weallhaveadestiny @xoxabs88xox @katjnordstrom96   @skvatnavle @11thstreetvigilante

________

2021

Lorraine-Tucker Flag

We had rules set in place long before tonight would even happen between us: Mutual consent. No potential weapons involved. Check in with each other. Stop immediately if needed.

Glancing out of the window for a second, I bit my lip as soon as the front headlights of his beloved truck beamed closer and closer towards the driveway.

We had agreed to only work out this fantasy at home to avoid scaring people in public.

If the wrong cards played out, people might’ve assumed a worst-case scenario about me being chased down outdoors and gotten Rick arrested or charged with legitimate crimes.

Home it was, then.

The moment his truck pulled into the driveway, I immediately ducked away from the bedroom window and crawled onto the carpet flooring to hide underneath the bed first.

Since most lights were out tonight after I ate dinner here alone, this place was shrouded in darkness. In return, I was left to just listen for his booted footsteps and that intoxicating Southern drawl once he entered the house.

“Baby?” Only seconds later, those booted footsteps echoing from downstairs. Even his voice called out towards me, using pet names at first. He must’ve decided to start slow instead of plunging into our mutual chaos right away.

Don’t respond. Not yet. I thought to myself.

Faint shadows of moonlight from the window served as my only brightness.

Right now, I still hid underneath our bed, almost curving my body to hug both knees and wait. Wait for him, wait for the sweetest man of my dreams to break and tear me down, just starving to witness my existence.

“Lo-Lo?” The drawl of his still adorable voice beckoned somewhat closer now, probably heading towards our guest room bathroom located here upstairs.

He hadn’t shattered yet, which still gave me time to process if he remembered what we planned tonight. My heart raced then dropped at once, still anticipating the moment that he’d finally switch and soon transform into my greatest desire.

What did he choose to wear? Could he wear dark clothes to lurk through the house like a shadow and use me as his only target? How would we take each other on in the best way possible? How would he address me once the tables turned? The outcomes were now endless, forcing my whole body to quiver from within.

“Lori?” His voice gave out one sing-song tone and offered this slightly villainous chuckle. That Southern accent drawled once more, rasping as if his patience finally hung by its invisible thread.

At the same time, I couldn’t even tell where his voice echoed now, leaving my clothed core to throb at the center of these shorts already.I closed both eyes and bit my lip once more, hiding a quiet whimper and resisting the urge to call out, hence giving this placement away.

He could’ve been anywhere.

“Girl, I know what you want. Just come out.” He knew. He fucking knew. I balled one knuckle to cover my mouth, still throbbing at the center of my shorts.

I always knew that if this man singularly called me “Girl” while using that damn accent, it was over. Sometimes, his brow would wrinkle in the name of lust or he’d fold both tattooed arms over his broad chest, only giving myself seconds to exist alone before absolutely destroying me.

At that moment, I allowed myself to crawl out of hiding, just peeking at the ajar door before slowly venturing out towards the darkened hallway. At first, his silhouette wasn’t there and I walked further down, tip-toeing just in case.

“Daddy?” Turning one corner, I played along with his game and whistled, calling out towards the shadows that kept him away.

As if lighting struck, his too-familiar footsteps raced out of nowhere, only cushioned by the carpet flooring. I nearly darted in return, fighting back delicious laughter of my own and hoping that he wouldn’t catch up first.

“I know it’s you, Girl. Why you runnin’ from me? C’mere.” From the shadows, his drawl worsened for the better, growing with both frustration and nearly shaking between breaths. He must’ve hardened between those strong legs, already asking for me to take him.

“Wasn’t gonna make this easy, Baby. You want me? Come on.” I teased him, biting my lip once more and gently rubbing both hands together even though we couldn't see each other up close yet.

“C’mere, Lorraine.” Rick used my name for once, offering respect, but slowly losing patience once more.

“Thought you liked….” My voice cut off suddenly. Before I could even finish uttering that sentence, his hand finally caught my wrist between the shadows of our darkened hallway. His fingers sported leather, surprising me right away.

At that exact moment, the lights turned on, revealing his entire form at last.

Rick dared to come home in a variation of his 2016 combat uniform, camouflaged from head to toe. Even one of his Task Force X caps returned, shielding those perfect hazel eyes underneath its shadowing brim. My heart thumped immediately, feeling lost in the moment myself.

He then pulled me in by the wrist until our chests touched, no longer giving ourselves space away from each other. The silence only called for peace unless I wanted to stop everything altogether. I nodded, consenting for more. So much more.

“Weapons?” I asked, probing him just in case. He knew our rules and knew how to play along correctly. I reached outward to pat him down and checked just to be sure, even though I always trusted that this man would keep me safe.

“No, Ma’am. Just like we agreed.” His gloved hand released my wrist, but that voice shook, still drawling through obedience before we planned to go on.

“All right. You’re clear. Continue.” I clipped my words, asserting this role of superior as if Rick needed to work someone else again. He nodded in return, but closed both eyes like he wanted to switch back with some kind of dark magic.

Right away, the palm of his one fingerless glove returned to grasp around my wrist. He then spun me around, jerking my body just so my back pressed against his clothed chest. Yet, the jackpot arrived when my ass pushed against the center of his crotch, rubbing against his erection.

“Feel that? If it wasn’t for our rules tonight, I’d handcuff your pretty ass to the bed right now.” His breath warmed against my ear, hissing between words. Chills ran down my spine.

“Baby…” I whimper, already using my ass to start grinding against him. He even dared to gently place his gloved hand around the pulse of my throat, not yet squeezing of course.

I ended up being spun around once more, forced to face him eye to eye as his clothed erection still haunted me.

Underneath the brim of that damn cap, his hazel eyes bore into my soul, leveled between lust and shock as we continued grinding, trying to find layered friction before reaching that boiling point together.

“C’mere.” His teeth clenched and he rasped first to break our silence, reaching out with his glove hand to gather my hair. I nodded once more to give this man more consent, finally desperate for him to take everything out on me tonight.

The bedroom door slammed behind me before I could even think twice and he scrambled for me to be undressed, at mercy for his touch. We didn’t even reach the bed and caged ourselves just feet away from the back wall.

His camouflaged pants didn’t even completely come off, only stopping at the knees as his boxes dragged down, almost revealing that leaking erection.

“Condom?” I took control, hoping to goodness that he wouldn’t take long to find one in here.

“Sure.” His rasp calmed down, but he hurried on behalf of us both, opening and closing one nightstand drawer before rushing back towards me.

“Hurry up!” I clenched my teeth, finally losing patience this time around.

“Sorry.” He apologized. As soon as Rick slipped on the condom, he walked closer and closer again until our bodies met.

When I looked down, he’d lined up with my entrance, waiting for more consent. I nodded just before wrapping my legs around his waist.

“Shit!” The moment he plunged, I cried out, hiking up and down as he carried me with each thrust.

“Thought about you all day.” His voice whispered towards my eardrum as I wrapped both arms around his neck, trying to keep myself balanced.

“Still mad?” I asked, overwhelmed by each spear into my core. “Thought you wanted to chase me down, boy.”

“Fuck the game.” Even as Rick briefly moved to turn his hat backward, the gesture somehow angled himself deeper into me, which prompted another whimper to escape my lips.

“I’m gonna…” I shattered, breathlessly declaring my breaking point for me. His hazel eyes peered towards me once more, staring with nothing short of love this time. No more chaos as he held the back of my curls.

“Shit.” He called to me, sending his down release of warmth into my core soon after.

_________

We shared the shower together for the first time in quite a while, not separating for the rest of that night. Even the covers and sheets of our bed felt like clouds, welcoming our bond once more.

“Hey,” I turned my head while facing him in bed later that night as our bare chests touched.

“Hi. You okay?” He asked, smiling before kissing the top of my head between these flitting shadows of this bedroom. His thumb caressed my cheek, gentle against my skin now.

“Yeah. Are you okay?” I questioned him, of course making sure that he was comfortable too.

“I’m fine. That was hot.” He chuckled, genuinely happy.

“Thank you for my birthday present, Baby.” I kissed him, smiling just before falling asleep in his arms.

[shiishki]

okay wait, i changed my mind. you should answer all of these questions as well, if that's what you want from me >:)

oof there's a lot of it, that's what i get for wanting to be ✨aesthetic✨

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

vowels (and the importance of being me) - hunny

honeypie - jawny

pretty young thing - michael jackson

mirrors - justin timberlake

sunflower - red orange county

paradise - rude-a

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

a therapist.

ok someone else.. uhh,, my grand grandma because i only have scratches of memories but i dunno if that counts since she passed away...

*rummages through ancient scripts* uhh ok someone who isn't dead.. uhm,, tommie? yeah I'd like to meet them if i could meet anyone on earth

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

ok, the closest german, english or polish book? nvm i have english

"suddenly was. So I just said thank you a few times too, and Mum" ironically this is one of the normal lines in this book

4: What do you think about most?

the fact that I'll have to do something after school. and I don't know if i want to go to college or get a job bc i have no legitimate idea on what to do with my life. it gets overwhelming, just the lack of knowledge about the actual experience.

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Ok

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

with, tho i sleep with just shorts in summer

7: What’s your strangest talent?

not sure if it's a talent, but i can fall asleep anywhere

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)

girls are pretty. boys are pretty

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

by me, yes. no one else has written a poem about me specifically. nvm, tommie wrote one and it shall rest on my wall, or desk, i need to find a place for it

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

uhh i think last month?

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

i don't think so, but i am hella afraid of the possibly gigantic, terrifying things in the ocean depths that humans haven't discovered yet

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

yep, beloved legos as a lil child

13: What’s your religion?

i can't ever remember the name, but i believe gods (from all religions) exist in some way or form. so i believe in different pantheons and etc.

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

walking my doggo, skateboarding, thinking about how to make the lives of my characters worse

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind it.

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

uhmm the arctic monkeys? or the strokes

17: What was the last lie you told?

i know what i want

18: Do you believe in karma?

yes, the rule of three specifically

19: What does your URL mean?

i don't know. it's something me and my sis came up with and that's just my whole identity now.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

uhh greatest weakness.. i can't finish things. strength is that I'm very stubborn so maybe I'll finish that thing out of spite

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

i grew up thinking crushes were like unicorns. my ex was odd enough to argue with that i didn't love her if i didn't have a crush on her. but I think if i had to guess.. selena gomez, especially in the role of alex russo in wizard of weverly street

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

nope

23: How do you vent your anger?

i write angry letters. sometimes they're sad letters. i write a lot of letters. except i never send them out and no one made a movie about them :}

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

jars and witchy bottles, books? scented candles

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

phone calls are stressful enough as is, i don't need you to see my reading off what i frantically wrote to not stumble over my words

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

i think so, yes, but that won't stop me from becoming better

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

hate flies buzzing right by my ear, love cat purring

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

what if I'd been born in a place where it was illegal for me (nonbinary) to live, in a time when others thought of me as a curse?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

they be chilling.

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

right arm, doggo, left arm, pillow

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

fresh air and doggo, because doggo is with me and I can't live without open windows

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

i dunno tbh

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

which one is less homophobic?

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

every gender is my opposite gender. selena gomez and justin timberlake

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

to make it easier for people down the line

36: Define Art.

make thing, thing goes woo

37: Do you believe in luck?

yis

38: What’s the weather like right now?

it's nice actually, very sunny, slight breeze

39: What time is it?

12.59 am

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

i don't, but i once crashed into a fire department vehicle with my bike. bike ded.

41: What was the last book you read?

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

i legit ass don't know what gasoline smells like.

43: Do you have any nicknames?

many variations of my name, aka. Luce

44: What was the last film you saw?

i think it was Robin Hood: King of Thieves, but it might have been that half of spider-man homecoming i managed to watch with my poor internet

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

oh man i dunno... it's not an injury, but i was very sickly as a lil kid and almost died :)

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

once, years ago

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

hmmm horizon zero dawn i think

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

proud pansexual ^^

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

not really, i don't think they're big enough to be actual rumors,, meh

50: Do you believe in magic?

yis

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

meh. they suck, i know they suck, that's it.

52: What is your astrological sign?

cancer ♋

53: Do you save money or spend it?

i attempt saving. attempt

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

for my own money, sweets. i bought lizards for my cats so they can brush their teeth from my dad's amazon acc

55: Love or lust?

luv

56: In a relationship?

nope, i buy my own cookies

57: How many relationships have you had?

1, kinda toxic toward the end, very stressful, don't recommend

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

nu ><

59: Where were you yesterday?

on the fields walking my doggo

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

yep, a pastel pink hoodie in my closet uwu

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

yis, thicc warm socks

62: What’s your favourite animal?

cats

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

cuddles and food.

64: Where is your best friend?

bold of you to assume i have a best friend.

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

tommie-hildebrandt, kageyuji, nekomas-kuroo, joyful-soul-collector

66: What is your heritage?

I'm a demon boi from Poland tho that's not a thing to be proud of, i mean, look at the economy. awful.

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

sleeping, trying to sleep.

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

Pinkton. or Satan.

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

this is such an odd combination of words i had to look it up. yea.

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

a friend who won't laugh at me when i ask them to order smth for me because I'm too anxious to.

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

excuse me? i am saving the doggo wtf. f u boss, I'm gonna sell my tragic story to the news.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) i tell my parents. b) live the hell out of them uwu c) nope uwu.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

trust.

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

history maker - dean fujioka :]

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

3332

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

communication, trust, some more communication.

77: How can I win your heart?

let's not pretend to be something else to please each other, and bring some bitter chocolate.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

maybe. it could. i don't have a say in it since my sanity is held by tape.

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

eat the pizza. stop caring about others not liking me/parts of me. just living for myself uwu.

80: What size shoes do you wear?

uh i dunno how the american sizes work and i don't wanna look it up so, 39, 40 fits too.

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

demon boi

82: What is your favourite word?

socks.

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

the bloody organ that sits in your chest and pumps blood into your body so you don't die.

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

uhm im not sure if that counts as a saying, but fake it till you make it

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

blinding lights - the weeknd

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

oh a normal question people use for ice breaking, sea blue and pastel variations of it.

87: What is your current desktop picture?

like my wallpaper? or the actual picture that sits on my desk? or how my desk looks like atm? it's ugly, a lot of papers and pens and schoolbooks.

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

donald trump. or the next asshole who'll try to take the rights of the lgbt and poc away

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

this. this is the question.

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

yo there's a pizza somewhere in the refrigerator, want me to heat it up? we can have a sleep over and talk about our feelings :3

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

telekinesis! or shapeshifting! i could do such fun things with telekinesis ^^ yeah I'd totally eat some radioactive veggies

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

that time my "friends" got me into shoplifting, half-hour is more than enough to punch some sense into my brain and develop good music taste

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

can i save this one? i don't think i have an experience horrible enough to be erased haha

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

sleep as in.. uh no thank u. but I'm down for a sleep over with sam smith ^^

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

just me? what about my pets? my fam? it's lowkey illegal for me to go just anywhere without them owO

uhhmm, greece. imma become part of the greek pantheon out of pure spite. and maybe toronto canada.

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

not any that i know of o.o

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

i think i may have but i honestly don't remember

98: Ever been on a plane?

nope, i dunno if i like planes, but I'd probably sleep if i were on one.

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

yeet.

[topconfessions]

Can u explain how rituals and stuff works in the industry?? Like I heard rumors and conspiracies stuff but is always odd and hard to believe and also can u tell names how many pple do it?? Just singers or actor/actress too???I always tough that pple only sleep around but not the rituals so I'm very curious about this. Recently I read an interview from an ex famous singer from th 80 and he talk about how mafias worked with famous and sponsored them(like sinatra) Thank you so much !

It doesn’t matter how hard it is to believe it’s true. the general public turns their nose up at it cause they process hearing this as like..some hoodoo voodoo hocus pocus when it doesn’t literally go down like that. it’s like very dirty business with demonic intentions and more alternate methods of making things happen or shutting people down.

If I gave you names I’d be typing all night cause honey it’s legitimately EVERYONE and those people like tinahse or certain singers who are just floating about but never peak / hit big time haven’t sold out yet or don’t have much to offer. Sexual favors, sexual casting and sponsorships do happen by default though,

Rihanna, Beyonce, and Ariana grande are the biggest ones who do this but ariana throws bad luck spellwork on people who pose a threat to her in her character or personally as she’s very jealous and she puts spellwork / spirtual entity influences onto her tracks and singles. There is a korean movie called “white: melody of the curse” and a T-ARA idol acts in it. please look it up on youtube. it’s about a struggling girl group who can barely break in and get any fans or an all kill, they move into a shabby agency studio then find an old CD / music with a really good song. They don’t know that the studio / song is haunted aka tainted with the bad luck scorn of the deceased lead singer. I “think” the original girl group died in a fire in the agency or something bad happened to them. Anyways long story short: the new girl group take the song as theirs and promote it then they instantly get to like SNSD status as a group. Everything changes overnight for them cause this song has a spiritual influence on it that affects listeners through the vocals and mixes.

each girl group member begins paying the price for stealing the dead girl group song and conjuring up their rest. I think only one lives to the end while the others are trampled to death by their own fans until one idiot girl plays the song again on karaoke and it’s implied they die at the end.

WHEW THAT WAS AN EXPLANATION BUT DO YOU GET IT?

and yes mafia’s and mob groups back music singers too especially in Asia.

 Justin Bieber said record exces tried to get him to have sex with a young boy who was not sober and drugged up at a wild house party once and he got freaked out then dipped. Demi lovato got sexually assualted by a disney executive. Jamie Lynn spears child is most likely dan schinders from nickeldon etc.

I’ll make a future post on how it’s done but it’s more grounded and simple than you may think but it’s demonic. like how people tell you not to fuck with ouji boards cause it will really bring out demonic spirits? that’s kinda how all this stuff is.       

[datingintampafails]

Chapter 22: Jaden*

“Better Together” Jack Johnson

I matched with Jaden*, and based on his main picture, a professionally taken headshot, I got the feeling this guy was out of my league for sure. I matched with him one time, my opening message being about his eye color, with some adjective I cannot remember, but the 24 hour window expired before he responded. A couple days later I saw him profile again, matching for a second time, my opener this attempt was simply “hello again.” He answered with “Let’s hang out.” I ask him about his intentions and he says no clue, asking me about mine. After explaining myself, he says he is “in the EXACT same boat.”

After that, I tried to get him to fill out the dating application. He refused, despite me telling him essentially I’d be asking the same questions anyway. He said he would rather learn about each other in person, which is fair. Since this is more or less the same time as Allen*, I tell him the same thing regarding waiting to get tested before I go out and meet anyone. He says “that’s nice of you.” I suggest instead a virtual drink and he just replies that he hates these times. I agree but acknowledge that at least I’m trying and once I’m negative we can get drinks in person. He asks when I took the test and I admit that I haven’t taken it yet and am getting it the following day. “At least you’re honest” he tells me. I tell him I don’t see the point of lying, which he says is a “good trait.” I make a joke about him being a realtor and that his job is not lying but putting positive spins on things and he finds that really funny for some reason.

I request that since he wouldn’t take my dating application, if I can at least ask him the most important question. He says “Yes” then “I do not like anal.” I sent him a full line of “haha”s. “Oh wait that wasn't the question sorry haha” was what he said next. Funny. “That’s a very important answer too… I’m glad” I tell him. Then I asked the actual important question, regarding children, and at first he said “I want kids, couple, not for at least 5 years or so.” I give him a “womp womp” essentially saying, wrong answer. I explain myself and then he says “Lol that'll probably be my path. [Kids are] too pricy and I want to travel and build my career.” The question with this 180 remains, is that how he really feels or is he trying to appease me? Either way it seems one of the answers was a lie or at least less truth.

After this, I send him five messages, two related to what he said, one saying I like his vibes and want to go out once my test is back, a follow up after he doesn’t reply a day later saying “if you’d like to of course,” and then “officially no rona” two days after the previous message when I got no responses. I figured this dude was bored, but he hadn’t unmatched me yet so I figured I’d still sort of try. He finally responds to that last message with a “yesssssssssss.” He tries to make plans for that afternoon but I tell him I’m working. I ask him about Saturday night, he says he has no plans so far and I say “You do now” with a wink emoji. We plan the night, settling on me cooking dinner and having some drinks at my place. I thank him for motivation/a reason to clean my house. The reason that I chose night, is I actually have a date scheduled as well with another guy for lunch.

He asks me about weed, if I smoke, getting Peter* flashbacks here. In my blurb about my feelings on weed, I specifically tell him “I prefer not on one on one time that someone be high.” He simply says “I dont act like a little stoner but I get it” I ask follow up questions which lead me to finding out he habitually, daily, smokes marijuana. I ask him about how that works during the COVID pandemic, he says that the price has gone up but otherwise it’s the same. I then inquire about what he’s up to that night. No response.

Then it’s past midnight and officially Saturday, the day we are supposed to meet up. I ask “Sooooo gameplan?” No response. I don’t want to keep messaging and messaging, so I just see if he will come back out of the woodwork. The guy that I was supposed to have lunch with messages me around that time saying unfortunately he cannot make lunch anymore, so that’s cancelled. I don’t see the point in telling Jaden* that my afternoon has freed up or anything like that.

When the day comes, my friend invites me to the beach and I say I’ll come since my daydate was cancelled and “I’m pretty sure that I’m being stood up for my nighttime date as well so I don’t care.” As we drive up to the beach, I see that lady and her two kids from when Ethan* and I was at the beach. I’m sure it's them. I’m weak in my vulnerability so I actually break down and text him, telling him that I spotted them. I do not expect a response. My friend and I had a good time at the beach, but got rained out so our four hour trip turned into only two. It was really hot outside though so we were okay with it being cut short. Still no word at all from Jaden*.

Now when it is 6:30pm, I feel that officially I have been stood up. By this point, I'd already cooked dinner and had finished it, so even if he did magically appear I would tell him too bad. I message him to redeem myself, “Well if you actually wanna meet up let me know. I’m pretty busy so my time is valuable” I also add a stone faced emoji, because I’m sick of this shit, frankly. An hour after that, he messages me “hey!!” I for some reason don’t get the notification, and when I check my phone about 40 minutes later, I just reply “lol hi.” An hour and a half after my response, he gives me his number and asks me to text him. Here’s some screenshots.

My phone rings and it’s him. “Are you in an SUV?” I am and I jump as a figure appears to my left, it is him. The lightning storm going on has transgressed into a full on rain. We quickly hug hello as he escorts me to the door and the safety of no rain.

Once inside, I am greeted by his lab, a really nice pupper that I give lots of pats to. I’m then introduced to his friend. Jaden* offers me a drink, I let him make me a drink with some local rum. It is made way too strong, and I add some of my sparkling juice to the mixture to try and soften it up. It marginally works, but I just slowly sip on it.

Both Jaden* and his friend are outgoing and friendly, we talk about random stuff, shoot the shit. Honestly, thus far I am getting along better with the friend, not in a romantic way, but just a regular way. Jaden* is a little too talkative, occasionally interrupting, and loud. I cannot tell if he is drunk, high, or whatever, but he just seems a little off. Since I have no baseline of what he is like sober, it’s hard to tell. Jaden* brags about me, essentially saying that I was so nice and awesome and was going to make him dinner, which I make a point of adding “oh don’t worry I still made it, I just ate it myself” to be cheeky. He continues talking about miscellaneous other stuff, mostly things I cannot connect to at all, as it relates to other mutual friends the other two have.

He stops at one point and says “oh! You said I have some explaining to do so here you are” and he goes on to say that he went to watch the Barcelona soccer game with friends, and upon them winning, continued the celebration with drinking all day, he repeats a few times, “it’s not a good excuse, but it’s an honest one.” I shrug and say “I mean that’s okay.” He goes on to tell another similar story about when he was in college and skipped hockey practice, again like “it’s not a good excuse but it’s an honest one.”

Then another friend comes by, it’s a female. She is nice and seems to be long time friends with them both. They (meaning the two friends of Jaden*) are discussing plans to go to another bar or something in a little, but they end up sticking around for another hour and a half. Jaden* mentions he’s hungry (munchies??) and upon looking in his fridge, there’s nothing to eat except literally lunch meat. He eats the lunch meat, offers me some, which I decline, and actually goes back a second time to eat the rest of it after 5 minutes. He complains he’s still hungry so I say I’ll look up food options for him. He orders food (McDonald’s) and offers me to get whatever I want, I’m barely hungry so I opt for some small fries and a small frozen coke.

Jaden* has prepared some weed and puts it in a vaporizer, him and the male friend partake, both myself and the other woman decline. He now brings out a guitar and tries to play the beginning of a song, making us all guess what it is. He plays so sloppily and in combination with the guitar being out of tune, I have no clue. He repeats the set of notes like five times before revealing it’s the beginning of “that one Jack Johnson song.” Upon later googling, it was “Better Together.” He asks everyone if anyone knows anything on guitar, I sheepishly go “oh I used to play as a kid, I know like one song.” I take the guitar and play the one song I know by heart on guitar in fast succession, Beethoven’s Fur Elise. They’re all just staring at me blankly, confused that this quiet chill chick just whipped out legitimate guitar skills out of nowhere. I also continue to just strum on the guitar while everyone talks, just to have something to do. Jaden* takes the guitar back to try and tune it with some app on his phone. He complains about how the app doesn’t really work to tune it and that it is still out of tune. The guitar gets put away.

Jaden* now is complaining about how he “ordered his food an hour ago and it’s still not here;” it has been fifteen minutes. His friend believes him; “it has not been an hour” I say so as to not sympathize with him. He is again bragging about me, and talking about how nice I am and that he liked that when we were talking on Bumble. The flattery is something I’m immune to but I thank him. Next he goes into a long winded story about when he partied with Justin Bieber back when he was dating Selena Gomez, “he could have had any girl he wanted at that party” he attested, “but he didn’t and he even went upstairs to talk to her on the phone. Biebs is loyal.” Also don’t really care about Biebs so I was not impressed by this anecdote. We did randomly bond over liking old Adam Sandler movies, specifically my favorite, Little Nicky, and agreed we’d watch that tonight. Randomly his dog jumped up on the couch next to me and I noticed that the dog had a boner, which was awkward and I pushed him away so I wouldn’t get humped.

The friends finally left a little before 1 am, I told Jaden* that I wanted to get going by 2 since I had stuff to do the next day and needed to get back to my dog. He says that’s fine and then gets mad about his food still not being there after at this point long enough to bitch. Now that he’s a little closer to me, I can smell his breath and it is horrid. It smells just like butt. I assume from a mix of the smoke and alcohol he had been drinking all day.

He calls McDonald's and gets in an argument with the lady. It’s really weird and off putting. On the phone he is saying how he’s worked at restaurants and know how the system works with delivery services, and the fact that they’re “still working on it” means such and such. They claim it’s already been picked up despite the app saying it hasn’t. He says he is just going to order from somewhere else. I’m arguing with him that nowhere he orders food from is going to get there quicker at this point and to just wait. Finally the UberEats updates and it will be there in 10 minutes which calms him down. He remembers he has a cookie and goes to eat it. I do find it pro status that he microwaves the cookie for a little bit. He asks me if I want some, I say sure, but then he tries to spoon feed a piece to me. I go with it; the cookie is actually pretty good. He offers me another piece, again spoon feeding it to me. A little weirdly intimate.

We go back to the couch to finally start Little Nicky. I’ve seen this movie countless times at this point so it’s not super important that I pay attention. He briefly rubs my shoulder and it feels good, I try to convince him to give me a full shoulder rub, and offer one to him as well. He gets his, I successfully break out a knot in his shoulder. When it's presumably now my turn, I get that same shoulder rubbed for maybe one minute, then he stops. Disappointing. He attempts to kiss me quite a few times, and I unenthusiastically peck/kiss back, but again, his breath is rancid so I’m not trying to get too close to that.

The food finally arrives. There’s no straws so I tried to open the top of my coke and it accidentally splattered on the (brown) couch. I run to the kitchen to get paper towels and come back to clean it. I apologize and he says it’s ok.

He’s eating his food, and is of course to my dismay chewing with his mouth open/smacking his lips, so if it wasn’t already a no go, it now officially was. I stay with my promise to just hang a little longer though. He snarfs down his food, I eat some fries and eat my frozen coke with a spoon. He’s done eating and we go back to spooning to watch the movie. He keeps lighting kind of humping me, which is just super weird, and I ignore that it’s happening. He seems to be completely flaccid which makes it even stranger.

After maybe 15 minutes, I notice that he’s no longer really laughing at the movie or doing anything, I peer back and realize this dude is sleeping. Great. I just lay there and continue to watch the movie. Honestly, I almost drift off to sleep a few times too; it’s late and I’m bored/tired. I check my watch and it’s now 1:58am. I start to get up and say “ok it’s almost 2, I gotta get going.” He awakens and grumbles at me.

He becomes legitimately angry at me for actually following through with what I said I was gonna do. “What the hell I thought we were gonna hang?” I tell him that like I came over but told him we weren’t hooking up so that shouldn’t have been an expectation. “I see, leaving at exactly 2, wow.” I’m just gathering my things and not saying a word. He mumbles at me and I cannot make out half the words he says, but says something like “I don’t think I’m the guy you’re looking for.” I respond, “I can’t really understand you right now, but yeah that’s okay.” It is clear to me this guy is not compatible with me whatsoever.

I’m still trying to be more or less not a total bitch, so I give him a peck on the forehead goodbye. I was holding my open frozen coke, so unfortunately in leaning over I again still had a little of the drink on the sofa. Whereas last time he was calm about it, now he is pissed. “AND YOU JUST KEEP SPILLING SHIT ON MY COUCH! GET IT TOGETHER!” He is being a jerk and I am no longer standing by and being friendly, “I’m gonna fucking clean it up again chill out, damn. You don’t have to be such a fucking asshole” He repeats yelling at me about his couch, that is the same color as the beverage so besides it looking wet, it will not stain. “Whatever” I say. I double check I have all my things, as the last thing I would want to do is have to come back here to get a belonging of mine. He is staring at me as I do this like “hurry up and leave. ”As I have my things and I’m about to head out the door, he randomly becomes nice again, “alright catch you later” “probably not,” I respond as I close the door behind me.

I shake my head to myself as I leave and at least the rain has stopped. I actually even feel tears sort of welling in my eyes. I am tired of having such terrible experiences, getting slack from guys I barely even know, having to put on a smile, some make-up, and put myself out there, just to be treated like shit. I drive home without incident, I think about blocking his number, but I figure that can wait until tomorrow. I get home a little before 2:30am, greet my dog, let her sniff me since I smell like another dog at this point, before changing into my pajamas again.

Later that morning, I get a text from Jaden*:

I have no reason to continue the conversation after that. I figured I would be honest because, why not. If I can at least try and teach him a lesson for the next woman, then my suffering will not be for nothing. Another night I won’t forget, similar to Peter*, but at least he did have a clean apartment before I came along.

[jess-rewatches-prodigalson]

Episode 3: Fear Response

You know the drill. Thoughts with time stamps coming your way.

SPOILERS AHEAD

0:55 - Is Martin really that delusional? He killed people and he thinks his wife isn’t going to divorce him?!? 

1:23 - “A woman overlooks things.” No. I’m sorry. But Jessica’s mother sounds kind of awful. No one should have to overlook “things” in a marriage. Communicate people. Don’t settle. Compromise. Love. Forgive. Don’t overlook red flags.

1:47 - Lay down the law Jessica. That’s my girl. This is the moment I fell in love with Jessica. 

3:19 - Malcolm leaves his phone in another room when he sleeps? Good for him. My technology addicted ass could never do that. Plus it’s my alarm clock so you know - there’s that. 

3:30 - Jessica owns the building Malcolm lives in. This raises a lot of questions for me about Malcolm’s finances. He was clearly getting paid by the FBI. I assume the NYPD is also paying him. Does he have access to the family money? Is he paying rent for his loft? Or does he live rent free because it’s the “family building”?!? The finances of people who grew up rich is such a mystery to me. How does it work when your rich parents are still alive? 

3:49 - He flung himself out a window. He was having a nightmare and it caused him to fling himself out a window while he was still asleep. This. Boy. Needs. A. Hug. Also real sleep. And peace. 

4:48 - “I just watched you throw yourself out a window.” Did you see Malcolm’s facial expression after she said that. It was a look that says “I know I’m broken. I don’t like it. I’m sorry. I’m doing my best. I’m ashamed.”

5:10 -  He knows. He knows his mental health is a mess but he lies to his mother anyways. He wants to be brave for her. He doesn’t want her to worry about him. She’s suffered enough. She’s worried enough. He doesn’t want to be a burden. My heart breaks for Malcolm in this scene.

5:35 - Look I have personal issues with shrinks but I’m really happy Malcolm has someone to talk to. Also she’s such a cool therapist. She’s kind and respectful without being demeaning and coddling. 

7:00 - I LOVE that Malcolm is sitting with his legs folded. It’s super cute. Also it reinforces the idea that he’s in a vulnerable state.

7:22 - Does Malcolm have social anxiety? The way he approaches this crime scene it almost looks like he’s rehearsing what he’s going to do/say when he arrives. It’s a very common social anxiety habit. 

7:38 - He took enough lollipops to share. That might be the sweetest thing in the world. Gil looks so happy. Dani and JT look so confused. I wonder if Malcolm is sharing lollipops to subtly tell Gil that he’s seeing his therapist and he’s getting help. 

8:11 - Another awkward Edrisa and Bright interaction. I’m cringing. 

8:50 - Do you ever wonder what Mr.David’s job description is? I do. I mean does he just stand there watching Martin all day. Is he supposed to talk to Martin? Is he supposed to prevent Martin from hurting himself? I mean I love Mr.David but if Martin is alone in his room why does Mr.David need to be there? Martin is chained to the wall. 

10:10 - Oh hell no. That’s nasty. Also Malcolm looks way too excited about the brain removal. 

10:34 - Ok. So I don’t ship Maldrisa. BUT that little smile that Malcolm just gave Edrisa is warming my cold, dead heart. 

11:05 - The victim was scared to death. Malcolm is currently suffering from increased mental distress caused by his father and extreme night terrors. And now the victim has been scared to death. Irony? Foreshadowing?

12:03 - hahaha Gil’s face. He’s like “I can’t explain that boy’s behaviour.”.

12:07 - STOP. Right now. Does Malcolm really have his own desk?!? So he’s like officially employed right? This isn’t some irregular consultation gig that Gil has arranged. Our boy has a desk. Our boy is permanent. I am so happy. 

12:30 - Mr.David doesn’t deserve to have to bend to Martin’s will.  “Could you mute that please”. That man better be getting a pretty penny from this job. 

12:40 - How does Martin get this case info?!? I don’t see the newspapers/newscasts mentioning the incision on the side of the victim’s skull. 

13:30 - Oh and whose fault is that Martin? Ugh. I wish Martin just wouldn’t talk to Malcolm anymore. He really aggravates Malcolm’s anxiety.

14:33 - I am both touched and slightly creeped out that Gil has been staring at Malcolm through a window while he was on the phone. 

15:07 - Fanboy alert. It’s honestly so freaking sweet to see Malcolm this excited....but it’s really not the time. 

16:10 - What exactly does Jessica do all day? Does she just watch the news and keep tabs on her children? That’s kind of sad. For Jessica. I wish she were able to have more of a social life despite what Martin did.

17:12 - Ainsley, sweetheart, I love you. I see where you’re coming from. But your Mother did the right thing for you. You shouldn’t have to remember a monster. 

18:40 - Dang. Dani looks beautiful in that shade of blue. 

19:30 - Do you ever wonder why Malcolm doesn’t carry a gun with the NYPD? He’s qualified to carry a gun since he used to work for the FBI. Do you think he’s not allowed to carry one since he’s technically not a police officer with the NYPD? I prefer to believe that he refuses to carry a gun with the NYPD because he’s terrified of what he might do with a gun. To a suspect. To himself (presuming he stores it at home when he’s not working).

20:12 - Again. Malcolm is not a killer. Look at his concern for Dr. Brown in this scene.

21:21 - JT’s writing the report. Do they all have to make a report for every case or do they take turns writing a single report (like a group project) for every case? I’m very curious. 

21:23 - oooooohhhh Dad is angry. And concerned. 

21:50 - Do you ever wonder what classes Bright took in university? I do. He has a degree in psychology but he seems to know a lot about specific medications, medical conditions, and medicine in general. Is that because of Martin? Maybe? But a lot of his knowledge seems way beyond what a 10 year old could understand and retain. 

24:10 - I love this scene. It suggests that there was a point in time when Gil and Jessica talked frequently. Maybe they were even friends. It suggests that they bonded over how much they love Malcolm. Makes me wonder what kind of a relationship Gil has/had with Ainsley.

27:48 - This. This is how much Jessica loves Malcolm. Yes she oversteps boundaries and she can come across as cold and distant. BUT she is willing to see a man that terrifies her. Who caused her so much pain. A man that she hates. Simply because she wants to keep her son healthy and safe. That right there is a good mother. 

28:28 - This is my favourite running gag of the series. I genuinely want to know what JT stands for. If it’s not something ridiculous like “James Tiberius” or “Justin Timberlake” because JT’s parents were big nerds I will be so disappointed. 

29:00 - This conversation about trust and respect between JT and Malcolm is everything. It really solidifies their friendship. You can tell that from this point onward JT is much warmer toward Malcolm. I love this. So much. 

29:15 - What branch of the military was JT a part of? Marine? Air Force? Army? Navy?

30:08 - Malcolm’s list of diagnoses. Yikes. :( My heart is shattered.  

30:21 - The look in Malcolm’s eyes here. Just. No. Ouch. That hurts. This boy needs a hug. 

32:30 - I kind of don’t feel bad for this woman. She kind of sucks.

32:50 - I like to believe that JT is texting his wife in this scene. I like to believe he’s telling her about how he got stuck babysitting the weirdo who keeps guessing what his name stands for. 

32:52 - I’m sorry. What? What did JT see that caused him to get out of the car. Malcolm hasn’t called him yet and that house looks normal on the outside. 

34:14 - The fact that Malcolm can empathize with killers is beautiful and terrible. It’s a wonderful quality but it’s probably not great for his mental health.

34:55 - That’s a concussion.

36:15 - I get the feeling that half the time when Malcolm’s talking down a killer he’s really talking to himself. That breaks my heart.

36:38 - Malcolm’s manic guesses of JT name is very concerning. I’m worried for this boy. I really hope someone got him checked out for a concussion.

37:12 - Ugh. Don’t look at her like she’s a piece of meat. 

37:33 - The way Jessica and Martin interact really makes me question what their married relationship was like. Did they argue a lot? Did they show a lot of PDA? I have questions.

38:30 - The way Jessica insults Martin is my favourite thing. It’s freaking hilarious.

39:10 - If Martin is a psychopath he legitimately can’t feel pride for his children. Right? So he’s lying here?

40:40 - What was the whole story? What did Jessica do? Was it the alcoholism? Is that what he’s referring to?

42:00 - DUDE. Please don’t drug yourself. You are so desperate for answers that you’ve become self-destructive. I want you to be safe. 

I love this show. Ugh. If you read through any of this - thanks for hanging out. I hope to post my thoughts on the next episode soon. 

[quakerjoe]

But we’ve seen another marked strategic shift. Over the past few weeks, Trump started very pointedly attacking governors who have been aggressive in utilizing measures such as “shelter-in-place” orders to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus. While it had occasionally popped up in his briefings, it reached its apex on April 17 with a series of utterly bizarre tweets that called for three Democratic-controlled states to be “liberated,” a move that one think tank specializing in domestic terrorism fears could act as a dog whistle for right-wing attacks.

On paper, this shouldn’t have been as big a shock as it was. Trump has made a political career out of covering up for his own failures by trying to wage war on others and deflect the damage onto them. When candidates that he lustily endorses eventually lose, it’s because they simply weren’t MAGA enough, after all. So, by declaring verbal war on governors (even, in some cases, Republicans who are working to bend the curve), Trump hopes to lift himself up off of the canvas by dragging the governors down.

Is it working? The early evidence is in, and the answer is: nope, not so much.

First, let’s stipulate something right off the bat: Trump’s COVID-19 response has always drawn a shockingly mild, if not negative, reaction from American voters. This is especially true when you compare him to other global leaders. Even our neighbor to the north, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who just limped out of an underwhelming reelection bid for his party last year, finds himself with a job approval rating as it relates to COVID-19 in the low 60s. Trump’s national numbers, meanwhile, have been decidedly mediocre: of the over 150 polls on the COVID crisis that have been conducted nationally, Trump has been under 50 percent approval in nearly three-quarters of them.

In FiveThirtyEight’s tracking of national polls, the most recent polling average for Trump on COVID-19 has been trending underwater, with approval at a tick below 46% and disapproval just over 50%. These are bad numbers, so bad that the only global leader doing consistently worse in terms of public opinion than Trump is Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, whose actions amid this crisis have regressed from merely odd to extraordinarily disturbing.

Meanwhile, we here at Daily Kos Elections have been tracking how voters believe their states have responded to COVID-19, a response which, not surprisingly, has often been more proactive and, frankly, more coherent in most cases than the Trump administration. We can then compare how voters grade their state governments vs. the Trump administration

The trend was apparent from the get-go, and had changed very little over the first full month of the “safer at home” measures employed by most states. By a substantial margin, voters approved of the performance of their governors during the COVID-19 crisis over the Trump response, and often by an outsized margin.

Taking every poll in our database (which dates back to late March), governors find themselves with a net approval on COVID-19 of 69%, as opposed to just 24% who stand in opposition. As we see on the right, virtually every governor polled since March, in states as blue as California and as red as Wyoming, saw their COVID-19 approvals running well ahead of their 2016-2019 gubernatorial election margins. This was true even in swing states. Consider Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who narrowly won election in 2016 and whose COVID-19 approval rating has ranged from the 60s to the low 80s.

Meanwhile, in that same time frame, in those same states, President Trump’s approval has been slightly underwater on COVID-19, with approval at 46%, and disapproval at 49%. Again, remember that this is a cross-section of states, a group that included deep-red states like Wyoming, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

What’s worse for Trump: unlike most of the Governors (Cooper of North Carolina being a notable exception), he has to stand for reelection later this year. If you look at the diagram to the right (expertly done by our own Daniel Donner), you’ll see a LOT of data points that lie below the diagonal line. The simple translation? Trump’s approval, both on COVID-19 and in general, lies below his 2016 margin of victory in a number of pivotal states.

For a guy who won election in 2016 by drawing the political equivalent of an inside straight, these kinds of seismic shifts, even if they are smallish in terms of raw numbers, could be pivotal come Election Day 2020. We saw a rather shocking example of that in data released earlier this week in Ohio, a state Trump won rather easily in 2016, but a state where a.) his COVID-19 approval and fav/unfav numbers were slightly underwater in a Baldwin Wallace poll, and b.) after showing him up narrowly in the previous month’s polling, the same poll found him fractionally behind Joe Biden in a state that would be comparably low on the Biden target list.

Given the disparity graphically depicted above as well as Trump’s chronic insecurities, it is perhaps not surprising that he suddenly turned to a somewhat incoherent but very direct attack on the governors.

There have been a total of 17 polls in states that were in the field either during or after Trump’s “liberate!” tantrum. They have been in an cross-section of states (some states have been polled more than once), with seven polls emanating from Clinton 2016 states and 10 polls emanating from Trump 2016 states:

Florida (two polls)

Michigan (two polls)

Minnesota

North Carolina

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

New Mexico

Ohio

Pennsylvania (two polls)

Rhode Island

Texas

Washington

Wisconsin

So, has there been movement from the earlier polling? The short answer is: yes, but it might actually be marginally worse for the president than the governors he has taken to attacking with such gusto.

TIME PERIODTRUMP AVERAGE COVID-19 APPROVAL/DISAPPROVALGOVERNORS’ AVERAGE COVID-19 APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL

3/20-4/1648/47 (net: +1)69/23 (net: +46)

4/16-PRESENT43/53 (net: -10)68/24 (net: +42)

It’s still early, and the sample size is relatively small (with just 17 polls). But you can see some legitimate movement here.

The slight erosion of gubernatorial approval numbers on COVID-19 is not surprising on two counts. For one thing, it is not unreasonable to assume that as these various “safer at home” lockdown orders move into their second month, there will be some attrition in support among those who have grown weary of quarantine. For another, now that Trump has set his sights on the governors and his acolytes are generating astroturf protests in state after state, it stands to reason that some MAGA all-stars took the cue and now view their Democratic governor not as a responsible leader, but the autocrat in charge of a state desperately needing liberation.

But what is more notable is the trajectory of the COVID-19 approval numbers for President Trump. His numbers, while never good, have reverted close to his consistently mediocre job approval numbers, and are clearly lower than they were earlier in the crisis.

There are any number of reasons why this shift might be taking place.

It could be, as many have speculated, that Trump simply does worse when he is the center of attention (which might be the real reason why Trump very publicly mulled bagging his daily COVID-19 wankathons). I mean, it’s not often that someone in a position of national leadership has a moment of pure catastrophe in the way that Trump did last week with his … unique … suggestions about COVID-19 treatments. Trump can brag all he likes about how many people WATCH this daily dose of presidential wisdom (“better than The Bachelor!”). But it is quite obvious this constant attention is not earning him higher marks from the viewing public, whose estimation of his COVID-19 performance is sinking markedly.

A second explanation is that he has turned off moderates willing to give him a chance at the start of this crisis with his increasingly uneven and often incoherent public performances, as well as his combative approach to many state governors. After all poll after poll has shown that over a month into the crisis, voters are still very aware of the need for social distancing, and far more concerned about lifting measures too early as opposed to lifting them too late. Therefore, his “liberate!” rant last week might have lost him significant yardage with a persuadable audience.

If you break down some of the polling data by ideological group, the results are striking. In a poll released Monday by Siena in hard-hit New York, we see that Trump’s COVID-19 approvals have diminished substantially over the past month, from a 41/56 approval spread in March to just 34/65 now. But the main driver of that has not been partisan Democrats tired of Trump’s sniping. Indeed, their numbers couldn’t drop much more than they had, with Trump’s disapproval inching up from 79% to 83%. Where the dramatic shifts occurred were among independents (where disapproval of Trump’s COVID-19 response jumped from 52% to 66%) and, perhaps most notably, among Republicans (where disapproval of Trump’s COVID-19 response almost doubled from 15% to 27%).

Another plausible explanation is that it’s entirely possible that relying on a small network of partisans and extremists in his own White House, coupled with binge-watching Fox News, combined to give Trump an errant view of the landscape. After all, his rants against the governors were no doubt predicated on a belief that he could make the voters mad at them, rather than being mad at him. But look at the data.

Trump specifically attacked the governors of three states in his “liberate” tweets: Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia. While we don’t have fresh data in Virginia, we can see that, in polls taken since the tweetfest, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is polling at 70% job approval, while Trump languishes at 40% in a state he nearly won in 2016. Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has arguably been the biggest and most consistent target of abuse from the president, had a statewide job approval of 63%, while Trump trailed far behind at 47%, in a poll conducted on behalf of … wait for it … Fox News.

Taken as a whole, the data indicates that we are, as we have been since the start of this crisis, largely relying on our governors for solutions to help the citizenry, and largely rolling our eyes at the enfant terrible who occupies the White House. Which, given the kind of assistance that the federal government could be providing with competent leadership, is a huge net loss for the country. But it also could prove to be a huge net loss for Trump politically as the 2020 election year heads into the summer.

Read More

[oh-ranpo]

I have some thoughts on the last season of 13 Reasons Why, and I need to get them out, so I’m going to post them here. Feel free to come chat with me about them! Spoilers under the cut so don’t read if you haven’t and are going to watch season 4!

Okay, so the cop saying “typical, a mexican starting a fight” or whatever it was that he said when breaking up the fight between Diego and Justin... what ever happened with that? Were they just going to casually make that scene racist and then never... show a resolution? Like, it quickly became about something else completely and then it is just left... hanging out there. Never revisited... nothing. What the actual hell?

HOW is Clay still so highly esteemed after everything he did and everything that happened? Like, I get it, the poor guy had a mental break but... he escapes a mental health hospital, shows up at his therapist’s house in the middle of the night, they talk, and then they just... let him go? His whole story confused the hell out of me because he gets away with doing so much with little to no consequences? Maybe I just have an irrational distaste for him, but really?

Don’t even get me STARTED on how Clay treated Justin in the first half of the season. “He must have switched the samples.” Are you kidding me, Clay? You claimed that this guy is like your brother, and yet you keep forcing this ‘junkie’ narrative on him, even when he’s trying his best to get his life together. I know you’re stressed but... not cool dude. And then the way he treats Justin at the ‘find your drink’ party? I don’t think I’ve ever disliked Clay more.

There are very few fictional characters that I’ve watched die in a show and felt like I legitimately lost someone I cared about......... Justin Foley is one of them. I can’t believe they started this season with him turning his life around and then they give him AIDS. Like.... fuck off, 13RW. Fuck off.

When Alex kissed Zach on that rooftop, I screamed for joy. I wanted them to be together so bad. When Zach turned him down, my heart was broken. But Alex and Charlie... those two are my babies and I love them together so so so so much.

Jess and Justin... not a fan of their toxic-ass relationship, even though they did kind of end up together in the end. That relationship helped tear Justin apart and I’m... I’m not here for it. Sorry, Jess. (not really)

Am I the only one that was shocked that Alex’s dad knew about Bryce? I couldn’t remember if they talked about it in the third season or not, but when they were talking about it in the tent on the camping trip, I was 👀

Also, sorry, didn’t really ever feel bad for Monty. Maybe that makes me terrible, I don’t know, but yeah... 

The ending of this show was just so... ???? Like, at first, it’s allllll about finding out who knew that they framed Monty for Bryce’s murder but then that kind of takes a backseat to whatever bullshit Clay is up to, and then at the end, all about Justin. I get that there are multiple moving pieces, but I was almost annoyed every time Winston came on and got all threatening about how he knew who it was and how he’s about to go to the cops. Also, these football players wanted justice for their boy, and then they give up too? I guess this gets kind of resolved when we find out it was Clay the whole time but still. 

There were so many things that were started and then never really resolved in this season. It felt much more chaotic and sloppy than the others, though I actually enjoyed it. I loved Alex and Charlie winning prom kings, and I loved how they did all of that. There were a lot of things I really liked, but then so much that didn’t make sense.

It’s a damn good thing that this show is over, because I could not watch it without Justin. I cried 4-5 times watching that final episode. It wasn’t fair for him and his storyline. 

But anyways, if you have any thoughts or feelings, feel free to send them my way! 

[bucket-of-rice]

Grappling with attention, suchi with friends, and so, so much soccer: A week in the life of Morgan Rielly.

Justin Kloke. 16 Jan 2019

(HEADS UP! this is a long post)

In a Maple Leafs season with high expectations and the hopes of making a legitimate push in the Stanley Cup playoffs, no player has had a more transformative year than Morgan Rielly. For one week, The Athletic was granted a glimpse into the life of the Maple Leafs’ star defenceman.

Saturday, January 5

Just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Morgan Rielly takes his place in front of an army of reporters and cameramen at the front of the Maple Leafs dressing room. His blonde hair walks the line between well-manicured and messy as he eschews the high and tight look of so many of his peers. He wears a slight stubble on his face, shorts, non-descript Black Nike trainers and large white socks bunched up just over his heels.

At first glance, the 24 year old looks more like a suburban father out on a diaper run than he does a Norris Trophy candidate. As Rielly speaks, there is no trace of ego. An outsider would be hard-pressed to believe Rielly has scored 44 points in 40 games, which at this point is tied for the lead among NHL defencemen.

“I feel like I have room to get better,” Rielly tells the scrum. “When you look, recently, we’ve had some losses and it’s important we all take that upon ourselves as individuals and try to get better.”

The Leafs welcome the Vancouver Canucks that night at Scotiabank Arena, Rielly’s hometown team. Rielly has become accustomed to being sent to speak for the Leafs ahead of a game. He has not just taken steps, but leaps and bounds this season to become the team’s number one defenceman. In training camp, Rielly confided to one of his best friends on the team, Jake Gardiner, that he was going to be “more assertive” offensively this season.

As such, it’s curious that the league’s highest-scoring defenceman was left off the All-Star Game roster when it was announced a few days earlier.

But Rielly still has a shot to get to San Jose and his first All-Star Game: Throughout this week, fans can vote for him as part of a “Last Man In” campaign. One player from each division will be selected.

Not surprisingly, Rielly, who has been hesitant to speak about his own personal accomplishments all season, isn’t viewing this week as a try-out for the All-Star Game.

“I don’t think it’s going to change anything,” Rielly says, shaking his head. “Voting is what it is. It’s based on a lot more than just what happens on Monday night and then Thursday night.”

After a five-game point streak through December that saw him net 11 points, Rielly has cooled, going pointless in his last three games. It is his longest scoring drought of an otherwise scorching season.

Tonight’s setting is seemingly right for Rielly to get back on track.

“I’d be lying if I said I just treated it like every other game,” Rielly says of facing the Canucks.

He knows all of his buddies back in Vancouver are watching, and he understands expectations surrounding his play might be heightened.

At 6:35 p.m., Rielly and the Leafs exit the dressing room, but not until famed Canadian astronaut, and noted Leafs fan Chris Hadfield quickly scoots through the blocked-off area directly outside the dressing room.

Rielly is the 19th player out of the dressing room. He stops to share a choreographed handshake with Mitch Marner that ends up looking more like an entanglement of hands than it does a high-five. They both burst out in simultaneous laughter.

“I like it in basketball when it’s a little bit more elaborate,” Rielly says of special handshakes among teammates.

Midway through the first period, Rielly sees his fortunes change. He throws the puck on net from just inside the blueline and John Tavares tips it in. It’s part of a comprehensive performance from Rielly in which he generates six scoring chances.

The Leafs humiliate Rielly’s hometown team, 5-0.

Still, Rielly isn’t interested in personal accolades, including breaking his pointless drought.

“People always ask me about points and stuff,” Rielly says. “I genuinely don’t think about it. I used to when I was younger. As you get a bit older, you put it out of your mind and you just worry about playing.”

Rielly will hang around Scotiabank Arena after the game until half-time of the Dallas Cowboys-Seattle Seahawks wildcard playoff game. He then quickly drives home to his Trinity Bellwoods apartment. He pours himself a glass of red wine and makes a beeline for his couch to watch the second half of the game and unwind.

Rielly won’t call himself a wine connoisseur by any means, but he’s met enough people through his NHL career that have influenced his taste in wine. He favours wines from Napa Valley instead of more traditionally popular countries like France and Italy. When he gets together with his parents, he always chooses the wine, even if they do talk a big game after recently returning from a trip to Italy.

“I know what I like now,” Rielly says, nodding his head confidently.

Sunday, January 6

Rielly arrives at the Leafs’ practice facility at 10:00 a.m. for a noon practice. He’ll get a bit of physical treatment, stretch, take part in a team workout around 11:00 a.m. then be part of a team meeting at 11:30.

When Rielly does take to the ice just before noon, there is a full-size dummy on the ice that goaltending coach Steve Briere uses to simulate screens for the team’s goalies.

Rielly has other plans.

“Me and (Gardiner) like to shoot pucks at it because we think it’s funny,” Rielly says.

Sunday’s practice is short, totalling just 25 minutes. The team avoids working on structure, instead opting for a variety of three-on-three games meant to, in Rielly’s estimation, “just keep the motor running.”

With the rest of the day to kill, Rielly considers his options: he’s interested in seeing ‘Vice,’ or perhaps spending time with Auston Matthews, Frederik Andersen and Tyler Ennis, all of whom are single and have established a routine of dining out and seeing movies together.

Rielly is all too aware that it’s important to have hobbies outside of hockey and not simply spend his personal time on the couch.

But Sunday is different.

“Today’s going to be about football,” Rielly says.

It’s the final day of the NFL’s wildcard weekend, and Rielly wants nothing more than to park himself on his couch to watch.

“I do believe in preparation, being rested and being aware of what you put in your body today,” Rielly says, perhaps using this as an excuse to spend a Sunday afternoon vegging.

Rielly’s interest in football isn’t just a passing one.

His father, Andy, was a Raiders fan after working in Orange County, California as a carpenter when he was younger. Morgan and Andy would drive down together from West Vancouver to Seattle to watch the Raiders play the Seahawks. When Rielly was seven and the Seahawks played at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, the two braved the freezing, snowy conditions by buying entirely too many blankets which they still have, and use.

“I’ll always remember that,” Rielly says.

His interest became even more deep-seated when he began playing fantasy football. Rielly’s incredible season isn’t just limited to the ice: He won the team’s��fantasy football league.

His pick for the Super Bowl is the New Orleans Saints, led by Drew Brees. He admits to being mesmerized by one of the all-time great quarterbacks.

“He’s one of the only guys who I’ll watch the entire game and not change the channel. When I watch that team play I just think about how good they are. Their offence just clicks.”

Monday, January 7

Game days are always the same for Rielly. After waking at 8:00 a.m., as he does every morning, and throwing on the first clothes he can find, he’ll drive along Lakeshore Boulevard to the Scotiabank Arena, arriving no later than 8:45.

He’ll mosey around the dressing room, striking up a conversation with whichever teammate he meets.

“It takes me a while to wake up,” Rielly says.

Breakfast always consists of two eggs, over easy, with one notable exception.

“If I’m really hungry I’ll have these blueberry pancakes we have,” Rielly says. “They say they’re supposed to be good for you but I don’t really believe them.”

More coffee follows. Rielly will tape his sticks for the game while waiting for one of his favourite parts of his day: The pre-game soccer kick about. Players organize a tournament and whoever lets the ball drop is out of the circle. The last man standing gets a point, and the first player to three points wins.

“I’m the best guy on the team. You can ask,” says Rielly. He never played much soccer growing up but he has honed his skills.

The first team meeting is at 9:50 followed by another at 10:00. If the morning skate is mandatory, Rielly will take the ice.

If not? More soccer.

“That’s harder than pre-game skate,” Rielly says.

Lunch is served at the Platinum Club, a restaurant just steps away from the dressing room. He’ll always eat pasta in rosé sauce, and will always sit across from Gardiner. After lunch, Rielly grabs a cookie, a bottle of water and returns home.

He naps earlier than his teammates, generally from 12:30-1:30. Once he wakes up, he’ll open his laptop and pore through the endless stream of news stories emerging that day, paying particular attention to any stories his mother has sent him.

Rielly arrives back at Scotiabank Arena by 4:00 p.m. His pre-game meal is simple: toast, and, more coffee.

At 4:25, Rielly enters the trainer’s room for a thorough stretch. He’ll wait for Gardiner to finish his stretch immediately afterwards and a one-on-one game of soccer follows. First to 10 points wins.

By the end of that game, more teammates are waiting on the sidelines to join in. Another tournament commences.

At 5:00, Rielly enters the dressing room. The team’s penalty kill meeting begins at 5:12 sharp. He’ll then chat with defence partner Ron Hainsey about the evening’s matchup. Rielly is a fan of poring over the game notes on the opposition to see if any trends stick out.

Another meeting at 5:30 follows before…another game of soccer.

Rielly eventually has to be pulled away from his teammates for more stretching before getting dressed for the game.

Tonight’s game is one to forget for Rielly and the Leafs. After giving up two second period goals against the Nashville Predators, the Leafs throw caution to the wind and abandon their defensive structure in search of the tying goals. In doing so, they expose themselves and are exploited by a very good Predators offence. They add two more goals in the third period and the Leafs lose 4-0.

Rielly is unable to break out of the Leafs own zone as he has all season.

“It was an example of them clogging up the ice and making it difficult for us to generate offence,” Rielly says. “And that can be frustrating.”

Tuesday, January 8

It is a day off for Rielly and the Leafs. Rielly begins his day by running a few errands, including a stop at the bank, all fueled by a few iced coffees. He makes his way to Ossington Avenue where he meets Ennis, Andersen and Matthews for a sushi lunch.

The push to get Rielly into the All-Star game begins to ramp up. The Toronto Raptors post a short video with Pascal Siakam in a Rielly jersey encouraging fans to vote for Rielly.

Matthews also posts a photo of Rielly from lunch on his Instagram story, trying to generate more votes.

The four of them then move on to a local theatre for a matinee viewing of ‘Aquaman.’ Nothing special, according to Rielly, even if he is into superhero movies.

By the evening, the weight of two games over the past three nights catches up with Rielly. He’s exhausted, and can’t be bothered to cook. He says goodbye to his teammates and walks across the street from his apartment to Oyster Boy and saddles up to the bar.

He’s a fan of spending his evenings alone at the restaurant bar, often bringing a book, such as Thomas L. Friedman’s ‘Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations.’

As increased attention on Rielly’s social media ramps up, he needs drown out the noise. He isn’t entirely comfortable with all the attention. He plugs in his headphones and listens to an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience with a plate of oysters in front of him.

Wednesday, January 9

Wednesday’s practice ends with a competition born out of a discussion among Leafs teammates: Who’s better at taking faceoffs, defencemen or centres? Rielly has only taken two draws in his lifetime. Last season, with the Leafs trying to kill a 5-on-3 penalty and one Leafs forward already kicked out of the dot, Rielly was called in to face off against Henrik Sedin. He lost.

Assistant coach D.J. Smith drops pucks as the two groups bark after every draw. In the end, perhaps against the odds, Gardiner leads the defencemen to a surprise victory. A round of cheers breaks out among the Leafs defencemen.

Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri often debate whether forwards or defencemen have harder practices, and Rielly hopes this competition settled the debate.

“It was brewing for a couple of days,” Rielly says, “so I’m glad we squashed it.”

After practice, Rielly and his teammates board a flight to New Jersey in advance of tomorrow’s game against the Devils.

Rielly takes his seat near Gardiner, Kadri and Hainsey for a heated game of poker. Rielly has never considered himself much of a poker player, aside from killing time on his phone with a poker app. It’s the camaraderie he enjoys.

“I’m not a good player. I like being involved in making fun of guys,” Rielly says with a mischievous grin that is as commonplace to Rielly as his dad socks.

Nevertheless, he wins big on the flight down.

Previous attempts via social media to bring attention to Rielly’s “Last Man In” vote were only a start: On Wednesday night, Gardiner helps the Leafs go on the offensive. Gardiner films a series of short clips with players hamming it up for the camera in an attempt to influence voters and boost Rielly’s case for the All-Star Game.

Rielly was alone in his hotel room at the time, getting ready for a team dinner and was unaware of what Gardiner and the team were putting together.

“If I was, they wouldn’t have gotten out,” Rielly says.

When he returns to his room after dinner his phone blows up with notifications. He can only shake his head and text Gardiner to plead for the videos to stop.

Thursday, January 10

The majority of the Leafs don’t travel to the Prudential Center for a morning skate, so Rielly and Gardiner play soccer at the hotel on their own.

“I rinsed him,” says Rielly.

More videos continue to roll in on social media, encouraging fans to vote for Rielly.

Rielly tries to block out the added attention by continuing his routine. The Prudential Center offers a roomier space for the team’s pre-game soccer than many arenas. But that could only increase the attention on Rielly.

“He’s a target man,” says forward Andreas Johnsson, who is also one of the better soccer players on the team.

Rielly isn’t fazed. If anything, he believes Johnsson’s admission proves his superiority.

“If it’s Royal Rumble, you go after the best player, because you want him out early,” Rielly says.

The Leafs get the bounce-back effort they needed, a comprehensive 4-2 victory over the Devils. Rielly registers one assist and it’s one worth remembering. His patient highlight-reel pass looks almost effortless but still brilliant.

The Leafs don’t leave the airport in New Jersey until just after 11:30 p.m. Rielly finally arrives home just before 1:30 a.m. It’s a late night, but Rielly still sets his alarm for 8:00 a.m. the next morning.

“You have about 12 coffees and go about your day,” says Rielly.

Friday, January 11

As Rielly begins skating laps around the ice ahead of practice, the results are announced by the NHL: Rielly will not be going to the All-Star Game. Sabres forward Jeff Skinner is the final Atlantic Division representative.

After practice, Rielly is swarmed by reporters. Asked repeatedly what it would have meant for him to have been able to go to the game, Rielly deflects. He can’t imagine what it would be like to experience something that didn’t happen.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Rielly says repeatedly of the vote. The feelings of self-consciousness over the attention were a little too much to bear.

He’s already making plans to return to Vancouver and spend some quality time with his eight-year-old yellow lab, Maggie. Time away from the spotlight would serve Rielly well.

After a nap to recuperate from practice, Rielly and Ennis meet at Lee, a trendy Asian fusion restaurant, for dinner. Rielly is a massive fan of Susur Lee but even more so, considers living in Toronto as a way to expand his culinary palette.

“There’s a lot of diversity in this city,” says Rielly. “That is true certainly with the food. There’s lots out there that you can try, and find what you like.”

Saturday, January 12

By Saturday afternoon, the focus has shifted away from Rielly’s All-Star Game snub to that night’s opponents, the Bruins. After losing two of three regular-season meetings so far, questions continue to swirl about whether the Leafs have the mettle to combat the Bruins should they meet again in the postseason.

Rielly understands the questions, even if he doesn’t like them.

“If you’re a journalist and you look at the history, that’s the narrative I would write too,” Rielly says. “I don’t think there’s anything there that we’re afraid of.”

As the Leafs prepare to take the ice, Rielly takes his normal position in front of the silver Maple Leaf logo in the dressing room hallway to the ice. He wears an “A” on his sweater and is beginning to take more responsibility on this team. So much so that, as strong a year as he is having as an individual, he would trade it all for greater success as a team.

“That’s the end goal,” says Rielly, with the admission that the Leafs need their best players to be performing at their full capacity to succeed. “That’s why we’re here. We want to win hockey games. It’s not about what we do as individuals. That’s a trade I’d make for sure.”

In the second intermission, with the Leafs trailing 3-2 and slightly deflated, Rielly pipes up. His message is simple: Stay positive. He reminds those closest to him in the dressing room that the team is at home, down by just one goal and that they were getting their fair share of scoring chances.

“To hear voices, I think it’s good,” says Rielly. “You feel like there’s something that has to be said, whether you’re a young guy, old guy, it doesn’t matter.”

The Bruins hold on for the win. There were long stretches throughout the game that Rielly felt the Leafs were in control. It’s hard for Rielly not to imagine another playoff matchup.

“When you look at the standings, there’s a chance we’ll see them again,” Rielly says. “That’s something you always think about.”

Rielly returns to his apartment, alone with his thoughts. He tries not to let losses fester too long. He genuinely tries to find the positives in the game, and then “flushes it,” before practice the next day. Rielly is happy to have some time to himself. If there will be no reflection on his breakout season in public, the only time it might come is on his couch, free of distraction.

“I like my own space,” Rielly says. “My mom always commented on that, the way I liked to — not necessarily be alone, but — more or less, be alone.”

From the outside, Rielly may never live a more enviable life than he currently does. He does not allow for the admission that in playing the best hockey of his professional career, his profile has been raised dramatically. Even when his family visits and he dines out with his mother, she cannot get over how many people around Rielly are staring, whispering and pointing in admiration.

Rielly doesn’t want to notice the added attention, or have himself singled out for what could be one of the best offensive seasons by a Leafs defenceman, ever.

“I don’t think we’ve accomplished our end goal yet,” says Rielly. “Yeah, things are good if you look at it right now, but I think they could be a lot better. I don’t think our focus is enjoying everything that’s happening right now. We have bigger goals. And to reach that end goal, I think then we’ll be able to take a step back and look around a bit more.”

The following day is a practice, and Rielly has his alarm set for 8:00 a.m.

[mego42]

Top 5 cheer up websites

Honestly idk why I decided to do the top 5 thing, they were all super hard for different reasons. In this case bc I felt like I haven’t had a like, go to I want to laugh website since dan o’brien left crack and gawker shut down, tbh but turns out that’s lowkey not true and I did have 5!

1. archive of our own (I mean, on the one hand, duh! it’s where the fic lives! but also a shout out to the entire organization of transformative works and everything they do, they’re basically the guardians of fandom, so much of what they do is either invisible or widely misunderstood and transformative fandom would not exist the way it does without them, their existence and origin story makes me so incredibly happy)

2. lainey gossip (holy fck do i love lainey. not only does she cover the best stuff but I desperately appreciate the way she breaks down the mechanisms behind the gossip? I legitimately learn so much about PR from her which is super handy for my job tbh. she’s incredibly smart and while she definitely skewers people when they deserve it, she’s not like, mean for the sake of being mean? her stuff is always tempered by a desire to understand and explain that I appreciate)

3. nyt cooking (lowkey feel like a dick putting this on here bc you need a subscription to access but their library of recipes is 😘👌 and has the advantage over pinterest of not being variations on the same 23 things over and over with varying amounts of mayo)

4. nyt/gq (these are on here for one caity weaver, I’ve been reading her stuff since she was at gawker and have followed her ever since. she’s absolutely hysterical in a really like, idk subtly unsubtle way? lowkey at a loss for how to describe it but she’s fantastic, has a v v clever way with words I deeply appreciate and her celebrity profiles for gq are amaaaazing, I still sometimes think about her justin bieber piece and burst into giggles. she did a piece on traveling across the US by train for the nyt that legit made me laugh so hard I cried)

5. pajiba (my go to for entertainment news since gawker stopped being a thing, they’ve got a fantastic staff, full of incredibly funny people)

send me a top 5 and watch me have an existential crisis