#and there’s been crazy amounts of hate directed at us since the last poll | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hearthandgnome · 4 years

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Warning, long post. TL/DR at bottom.

Okay so I've got a real hot take about the primaries.

And I'm just gonna stress this now. This is by no means fact checkable and is closer to a conspiracy theory than like, an actual reality we need to worry about. So please don't come at me for spreading false news. This isn't news. Its just a theory.

But I high key think our elections have been rigged again.

In short: my theory is that the obscene number of people that were running for the primaries who have since dropped out, never ACTUALLY wanted to run. They were just there to collect and hand over votes to Biden.

And I know that sounds nuts but let me walk you through my thought process here.

1- Not a single person I've spoken to or heard of, either in person or online, has said they wanted to vote for Biden. He was literally no ones first choice. Even the more conservative centrist end of people were saying Bloomberg before Biden.

2- a common joke amongst late night hosts has been just how ridiculous it was that sooooooo many people were running and how no one was willing to back down or quit, even when they had no chance.

3- Beyond just your pride, which will hurt either way, dropping out after voting has already started makes no sense. Spending all the time, money, and resources, on a presidential campaign for months if not years, just to drop out in the first week of the primaries makes no sense. At that point it's not like you can get your money back. So why drop out at that point?

Dropping out just before, when you see your polling low, makes sense. Cause it means not splitting the vote. But after? That means people that already voted for you don't really get the chance to vote their second choice. Their votes are basically just given to whoever you endorse.

Which brings me to

4- Pretty much every candidate who has dropped out after voting began has given their delegates to Biden. Like, even the ones who had basically nothing in common with his campaign. Even the ones who said they hated him the whole time they were "against" each other. And even the ones who claimed to be more progressive and aligned with Bernie when discussing their views and plans.

And I know I'm not the only one who has noticed this cause I've seen the memes, as well as the serious posts, all talking about how ridiculous it is for the media to claim Warrens delegates should go to Biden "cause he was the 2nd choice for most of her voters". Like no. He wasn't. She was Bernie's direct competition. They had incredibly similar campaigns. Warren and Biden had NOTHING in common policy wise.

5- The web domain for Bernie sanders currently redirects you to a donation page for Biden. Like You click the link thinking its for Bernie, and the only way to figure out your actually donating to Biden instead is to scroll up first or see it after you've already donated.

These above factors, mixed with a variety of other little things that just don't add up, have me pretty convinced there's something shady going on.

And the most probable cause in my opinion is a rigged election.

I know that seems like it would be hard to do. But honestly its pretty simple.

Copious choice splits the vote. Which makes it easier for them. So that was step one.

Then step two. Misleading voters into thinking these planted candidates are more progressive, which seeds false security by making them think they will endorse Bernie or another progressive candidate if they do drop out.

Step three is collect votes and delegates early on then drop out and give them to Biden. All of a sudden Biden has all the delegates and is somehow winning despite a huge portion of that being votes he didn't actually earn himself.

Step four will be people giving up and letting him win the primaries. They are literally already trying to end the primaries early and hand the win to Biden as I type this up.

And honestly.

I don't think step 5 will even be giving Biden the presidency. I don't think he's involved at all actually. I wholeheartedly think it'll be giving it to trump.

I think rigging the primaries in favor of Biden is jist phase one in a two part plan to get Trump re elected. And here's why:

1- Our last elections were hacked by the russians in trumps favor and there was literally 0 backlash for that for either of them.

2- Trump and his team just learned that they literally can get away with anything including trying to rig elections. He literally was impeached for this and got away with it. Soooo why shouldn't he do it if he knows its allowed for him?

3- There's no real know incentives for anyone with the ability to rig elections to rig them in the dems favor. The agenda of rigging elections is gaining power and money and it can only be done if you have some of that already. And who do the rich powerful people want to be in charge? Not Biden. And for SURE not Bernie.

4- Speaking of the impeachment trial.

Remember way back when the whole impeachment case story broke? Remember people making jokes about the fact that trump chose Biden of all people to get dirt on? Remember people thinking it was ridiculous cause there was no way he was gonna win the primaries?

Well. This is adding an extra layer of conspiracy to this conspiracy theory. But what if the plan to rig the election was already being formed back then?

What if Trump knew that Biden would eventually be the one running against him because he knew it would be rigged as such?

And I know your wondering why they would want Biden to be the one against trump as opposed to any of the other guys.

Well. Have y'all read the responses to the primaries so far? Everyone hates Biden. Like yeah we hate trump more. But I've already seen posts of people saying voting for Biden would be "just as bad".

I'm seeing people lose hope in Bernie winning or their voices being heard. And I'm seeing in fighting amongst people who are mad their first choice didn't win. All of this means potentially low voter turn out.

Especially amount younger more progressive voters who have taken a "Bernie or Bust" mentality.

And we know what happened when we take that stance. Cause its the same one that happened last time.

I know Hillary wasn't a perfect person or candidate either. And I too would have preferred Bernie in the last election.

But all that: "she's just as bad" "my votes don't count anyway" "id rather vote 3rd party than her" "Bernie or Bust"

All that.

Is how he won last time.

So all I'm saying is. Them rigging primaries in favor of a candidate they know most of the democratic voter base actually hates, makes it a lot easier to secure trump gets re-elected.

And the people potentially being pissed that Bernie lost primaries twice in a row wont help.

Even if my whole crazy theory is wrong. Even if their is no real evil plot being done here. That last point still stands.

If by some bizarre twist of fate. Biden wins the primaries. Be it honestly or by stealing delegates from the drop outs. He's still better than Trump.

Be prepared for that other shoe to drop.

Be prepared for the memes and social discourse trying to convince you not to vote or to throw away your vote on a 3rd party.

Be prepared for what ever dirt trump was trying to get on him to be released.

And know that he will STILL no matter what. Be better than Trump.

And in case I am right. And we are in the middle of an attempted coup.

Then this next part becomes twice as important.

If you live in a state that hasn't voted yet. PLEASE show up for Bernie.

I hate telling people how to vote. But mathematically speaking the only possible outcomes at this stage are Biden or Bernie. So for the love of god stop wasting votes on the other guys. Its almost as bad as voting third party for the actual election.

Plus if I'm right there's a 50/50 chance of those underdog votes being party of the conspiracy and going to Biden in the end.

If Biden really is your 2nd choice then fine. This doesn't apply to you.

But if you hate Biden and you prefer the more progressive stances, and your hoping for someone similar to Bernie, then just fucking vote Bernie.

Cause we learned from Warren that we cant trust ANYONE to give their endorsement to Bernie when they drop out.

So vote Bernie.

And if y'all don't, and we end of with Biden. I don't wanna hear any complaints.

If we get Biden then we gotta vote Biden. End of story.

Cause if Trumps re elected its game over.

He's already talking about extending his term limits or straight up erasing them. He wants to be a dictator and he's WELL on his way to achieving that.

He's proven above the law. And when the system fails the only hope left is the people.

Its 100% on us to make sure trump dosnt win. Its 100% on us to stay vigilant and not fall for the BS designed to turn things in his favor. It's 100% on us to show up, speak up, and carry a big ass stick of democracy.

Sorry for the long ass post. But I've been getting more and more suspicious/nervous by the day.

TL/DR: The primaries may or may not be rigged in Biden's favor. And that might be part of an even bigger plot to get Trump reelected. Don't waste your vote on 3rd party or underdogs. Please fucking don't inadvertently hand the election to trump.

And remember that I'm not a news source. Just a concerned citizen who worries too much and is hoping to inform/ warn people about a possible threat to our democracy.

#primaries #Bernie #conspiracy #your vote matters #vote democrat #vote them out

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artificialqueens · 6 years

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Follow Your Arrow Pt.1 (Trixya) - Pichitinha

A/N: I am back with even less plot than the last two times! I bet you didn’t think that was possible, but it is. Anyway, Trixie’s an aspiring country singer and I am obsessed with Brandy Clark ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It’s on AO3 as usual and you can find me here as @pichitinha. Enjoy!

Katya has spent the entire afternoon checking the clock behind her every five minutes, yearning for it to go faster, to reach 5pm soon so she can log-off her computer and get the hell out of the suffocating building.

It’s nearing 7:30pm when she manages to do so. She’s tired, all the muscles in her body hurt from sitting down on her horrible chair and her mind has practically given up at this point. She’s angry, she hates the place and the job and, okay, she doesn’t hate the people because she doesn’t really hate anyone but by god are they boring and no help at all in making the day any better. She’s also sad, she’d been looking forward to going over to Alaska’s so they could watch the new episode of their reality TV show together but she’s missed it because one stupid client had kept her for over two hours longer than she needed to stay.

She wants to quit so bad. She really wishes she could.

As soon as she hits the sidewalk and looks over to the bus stop where she’s supposed to go, she sees her bus there already, the last passenger climbing in. She makes a motion in its direction, considers running and yelling and raising her arms to call the driver’s attention, but she’s a bit far and knows the chances are small. Her body aches and she doesn’t have it in her. She settles for the fact that the next one will take at least thirty minutes and that she’ll be home in just a bit over that if she walks, so she starts walking in long strides.

She’s never walked home from here before, but she knows the city and she knows the way. She takes this opportunity to look around, to see what’s changed in the streets she’s known since she was a child but hasn’t visited in a while. She’s surprised by the amount of new stores and bars and clubs in what she remembers being a fairly residential neighborhood.

She comes to a stop in front of a bar. It looks like it’s themed, part sci-fi, part medieval, sort of steampunk style. She can faintly hear the sound of music coming from the inside and it sounds live. It’s a man and he has a nice voice and he’s singing some sort of acoustic version of a song from N'sync.

She can’t say she isn’t curious.

Usually Katya avoids bars, thinks it’s easier to not tempt herself even though she’s fairly grounded in her sobriety for a long time now and can easily be around alcohol with no issues, but she needs to go in and see what this place is about, thinks about having a cool new place to bring her friends one day so they’ll stop saying her outing choices are always weird and the same. Maybe then they’ll just be weird but new.

She enters and she immediately loves the crowd around the bar. It looks like a regular bar - as in, non-gay, which is a type of place she hasn’t visited in a while - but everyone seems weird which is something she appreciates and it makes her feel at home. There are people dressed in steampunk costumes, there’s a crowd on the biggest table that is all in cosplay and Katya thinks they’re celebrating something, and around the bar there are people dressed in all possible different styles.

Near the stage she sees the sign: Variety Amateur Cover Tuesday. The guy on the stage is finishing his cover of Bye Bye Bye as she sits down and soon a girl in punk clothes comes in and starts singing something that Katya thinks is from The Clash, but she might be wrong. She figures that that’s what variety means, that they have all different musical styles, and Katya looks around to see that everyone is there for that, that everyone is simply enjoying all the songs from different styles and she smiles.

She orders herself a ginger ale, decides to sit in for a few songs before heading back home to take the shower she so desperately wants and needs, and upon closer inspection she sees that there’s a list close to the bar with the names of the people that’ll be performing and what musical style they’ll be doing. She figures which one is the girl singing right now, and if she’s right the next one will be country.

That’s a drastic change. She hopes the girl - Trixie Mattel, says the paper - will be able to hold the crowd.

Soon enough the girl is leaving the stage to a round of applause and oozing country style comes in the person Katya assumes to be Trixie. She has her guitar on her hands, she’s wearing blue cowboy boots that don’t quite go but don’t quite clash with her yellow dress either, and her hair is definitely going for full Dolly Parton fantasy.

“Hi, I’m the gal that’s not here a long time, but I’m here for a good time, Trixie Mattel!” she says to introduce herself and fixes her guitar on her lap as she sits on the stool, and Katya can’t help but laugh at her remark. “Despite the hair and the style I will not be doing Dolly today. I hope you enjoy, though.”

Trixie adjusts her short pink nails on the guitar strings and starts a slow but catchy melody. When she starts singing, Katya is blown away by her voice. She doesn’t know the song, has no idea who the artist is, but she finds Trixie’s choice good because the lyrics are incredible. She sings with emotion and Katya finds herself wondering how much of the song applies to her own life.

“- it’s been a forty-hour week, and it’s only Tuesday -”

“Uhuh,” Katya hums in agreement to the words and raises her glass slightly, and she’s mildly surprised when she realizes that Trixie notices it and smiles a bit at her as she keeps on singing.

“- she lights a cigarette out on the balcony

When she gets a couple minutes to herself -”

She raises the tone at that, the words leaving her mouth in a beautiful strong tune, and Katya nods again, but this time Trixie’s looking down at her guitar, her fingers looking agile and natural on the strings as she keeps singing to the crowd, never once faltering.

When the song is nearing its end she stops playing the instrument and follows the rhythm using only her voice, and Katya knows that that’s a fairly common practice for singers, but as someone who sounds like a strangled eagle, she’s in awe.

“- So she’s a mom and a dad and a taxi driver

When the baby’s sick, she’s an up-all-nighter

A hand and a shoulder and a referee

A real life hero if you ask me

‘Cause those kids ain’t gonna raise themselves -”

She plays a couple of final notes on the last verse, lets the sound end together with her singing, and Katya finds herself clapping louder than anyone in the room when she bows. Trixie’s eyes turn to her and she smiles one more time, and then she’s leaving the stage, going on the opposite direction from Katya.

Katya bites her lower lip and looks down to her watch. As much as she wants to get home, it’s still early and she can spare a few minutes. She looks around, checks every corner to see if she can find Trixie, but the singer is nowhere to be found. Soon the stage is taken again, this time by a guy to whom Katya pays no attention at all as she orders another soda and keeps looking around, convincing herself she’s not waiting for Trixie to appear again even though she most definitely is.

The guy on stage finishes his R&B - in the back of her mind Katya thinks he sounded good and she claps, but she’s not really sure - and the next person on stage seems to work for the bar as he’s giving an announcement.

“Hi, everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the songs, we’ve been getting really good reviews on our Tuesday night variety shows. Please don’t forget to vote on your favorite artist of the day when you leave, we wanna know who to invite back for our other shows. Enjoy the rest of your night!”

Katya glances around the room one more time, and when she fails to see a high blonde Dolly Parton hair, she drinks the remainings of her beverage and moves to the exit. She sees the voting poll on the wall, and looks carefully for Trixie Mattel on the list.

Check.

Katya has never, ever in her entire life worked late unless she absolutely needed to, so when she insists to her coworker that she can stay and finish her report on the following Tuesday, everyone thinks she’s going crazy. She shrugs though, doesn’t want to explain because for one thing they’re not her friends, and also she feels a bit silly.

Katya’s never, ever willingly listened to a country song before either, but as Three Kids No Husband remains on the repeat, she guesses things can change - although this is not the version she wishes she was listening to, no matter how good the singer’s voice is or the fact that the song is in fact hers.

She leaves around the same time as last week, just a few minutes early just in case, and speeds up to the bar. She looks for the same spot on the counter, it has a good view of the stage, and glaces at the list of the day. She figures they’re at the person right before Trixie, and she sighs in relief at not having missed her, although she immediately scoffs at herself. What is she, a teenager?

She claps as the person on stage finishes her song and soon Trixie appears. Her hair is a lot different this time, it’s tied on a messy bun - the kind that for sure was made to look that way, as the front frames her face perfectly - and the rest of the outfit fits together better. She has on yellow cowboy boots this time and a cute white dress with yellow ribbons on them. Just the same as last time her lips are pink, and she brings them to the mic to greet everyone.

“Hi, I’m the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, Trixie Mattel!” Katya doubles over laughing and it doesn’t seem to go unnoticed by Trixie. “I hope you guys enjoyed last week’s song because I’ve got another one from the same artist. Thanks for voting for me!”

She once again hits the strings with dexterity and Katya notices they’re not painted this week. She starts singing and her accent seems stronger in this song, which starts slow but soon builds up and, as this time Trixie’s standing up, she starts swaying to the sound. It’s incredibly cute and Katya’s hypnotized.

“- There’s no crime of passion worth a crime of fashion

The only thing savin’ your life

Is that I don’t look good in orange and I hate stripes -”

Trixie doesn’t sing only with her mouth, she performs the song as the words leave her and the face she makes in the chorus is so perfect you’d swear that said cheating guy from the song is right in front of her at the moment. Katya is once again wondering how much of the song applies to her life, doesn’t think anyone can sound so sincere without relating to the words to a certain level, and she really, really hopes that today she manages to at least say hi and ask her that.

When Trixie finishes singing she claps loudly again and Trixie still makes a point to let her know she saw it. She leaves the stage and Katya finally looks at the bar, realizes she hasn’t ordered anything and asks for a virgin cocktail, her mind to focused on where Trixie could be to fully care which one.

As the bartender hands her the glass, though, she feels a tap on her shoulder.

“Call me out on stereotyping but you do not look like a country enthusiast.”

She turns around fast, recognizes the voice, and in the fast motion manages to spill part of her drink on her own hand.

“Oh! Hi. Uh, yeah, I guess I’m not really a country fan. I like your renditions, though.”

Trixie smiles again, and maybe it’s because she’s close, but it looks so much more honest now. It’s at the same time smug and shy and Katya finds herself smiling back.

“I’m Trixie,” she says raising her hand.

I know, Katya thinks. “I’m Katya.”

“Well, Katya, can I join you for one drink? I gotta go soon, but my throat is really dry.”

“Of course.”

Trixie orders her drink and only once she has it in her hands that she turns back to Katya, who’s sipping on her straw and staring at her like an idiot.

“So, you like my shows?”

“From the bad jokes at the beginning to the last strum of you guitar.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t laugh, I see you from up there!” She’s laughing as she says it and it’s the first time Katya notices she has dimples. She loves them. “But anyway, I love when non-country folk like my country music. Well, not mine, but you know.”

“It’s quality music, though. You sound very sincere when you sing it, almost like you’ve lived it.”

Trixie smiles lightly at her, takes a second to sip her drink and Katya can see her thinking about what to say.

“Well. There’s definitely no husband, but there are no kids either. And I’ve definitely never found my boyfriend with another woman in our bed. But I do think I look bad in orange.”

“I doubt that,” Katya replies without thinking, then clears her throat quickly before continuing, doesn’t give time for Trixie to reply to that. “You have a boyfriend, though?”

Trixie laughs so hard that her head falls back and no sound escapes her mouth.

“Oh. Oh wow. No. I most definitely don’t.”

Katya knows that tone. She knows that laugh, knows that look, understands perfectly what her body language is saying. She recognizes every bit of her actions in herself, many many times before.

“Cheers to that,” she offers raising her glass, hopes Trixie will get it and that she’ll be as excited as Katya is right now.

She smiles and raises her glass, her blue eyes as clear as day. “Cheers.”

Katya has a total of six blouses, three skirts and two pairs of pants that she uses to go to work, combining them absentmindedly every morning, not really caring much whether they match. She sits behind a desk all day, shoulders down in boredom, and the only people that see her daily outfits are the bus driver, a few people on the streets, and the receptionist.

So, yeah, she feels a little self-conscious when it’s Tuesday morning and she’s wearing a dress. It’s not a fancy dress by any means, and it’s definitely not new, she wears it quite often to all types of events such as visiting her parents or having friends over to her place. She’s never worn it to work though, and she wonders if anyone will notice. She hopes they don’t, she hopes no one asks what’s the big event as she knows they normally do, because she can’t really find it in herself to say that she wants the country singer from the weird steampunk bar to notice it.

She does, though. She really hopes she notices it. And she feels a rock at the bottom of her stomach at that thought, that feeling. How long has it been since she’s felt interested in anyone beyond a mere sexual attraction? Real fucking long.

She plugs in her earbuds as she steps out of her house and for the first time since she got this job and started making this route to the bus stop she doesn’t hear the sounds of the city around her. She never listens to music on her way to work, always minds her surrounding and the life going on around her, always pays attention. Today she has a deep country singer blaring two songs on repeat on her ear, and she closes her eyes to see if she can hear Trixie’s voice over it.

The day itself drags, uneventful as usual, and Katya is ready to leave by 5pm even if she knows she’ll probably be waiting for over an hour at the bar just to see one performance. She waits for maybe half an hour but finally gives in, tries to walk calmly towards the bar and wonders where this infatuation came from when she’s never been one to develop feelings before being with someone. She’s much more of a one-night-stand-turned-into-relationship kind of person than a pining-for-ages-before-sex.

She likes adventures though, likes the unknown, the mysterious side of life. She’s excited about this, and she doesn’t let its uncertainty deter her.

She enters the bar and it’s a lot earlier then she usually arrives; it looks like it literally just opened. They’re setting up the stage and the ambience music is pleasant, and either way Katya takes a moment to once again appreciate the crowd, takes a deep breath as she sits down and decides to eat something while she waits, doesn’t want to hang around for so long just waiting for Trixie to appear.

She can’t stop herself from looking around, finishes her food and her drink and tries to move her eyes away from the door where she thinks she’ll come in unless there’s a back entrance for performers. It’s still early and she’s anxious, so she exits quickly for a cigarette because she’d need one anyway but also because she wants to calm down a bit.

She’s almost done with her cigarette when she hears the faint sound of a guitar. She curses and runs back in, can’t believe she sat there for so long just to almost miss her now.

She comes in in time to see Trixie start singing, she’s once again standing up and she has on a pink dress with a full skirt that dances around her legs as she plays and sings, and Katya doesn’t miss the way that her eyes keep moving to the spot where Katya was sitting the two weeks before.

She also doesn’t miss her smile as she sees Katya by the entrance, bites her lips as she considers whether or not she imagined that wink.

“- There ain’t no mall - no Waffle House

But there’s always something to talk about -”

Trixie doesn’t falter though, whether she winked or not, and she actually laughs a little at the lyrics as she sings them, as if they bring a story to mind. She imagines it briefly, a town with nothing going on, one school and one factory maybe, wonders if that’s the kind of place Trixie grew up in and how she presents herself so poised and outgoing on stage if that’s the case.

“- Yeah, it’s a big day

In a small town -”

As usual, Katya doesn’t even notice she’s clapping fiercely until everyone quiets down around her and she only stops her palms when Trixie looks at her before leaving the stage. She looks for the closest seat, doesn’t want to move and have that as an excuse for Trixie not finding her, and wonders if - hopes - Trixie will come find her.

She does and she has a big smile that makes Katya’s stomach give a somersault - but she also has two drinks in her hands, which makes Katya’s stomach drop.

“Hi, Katya.” She sits down as she slides one of the glasses to her and Katya takes one second away from her dread to consider that Trixie remembers her name.

“Hi!” she says as she takes a hold the beverage, but doesn’t near it to her face. “I missed your entrance joke.”

Trixie squints her eyes mockingly. “It was on purpose, wasn’t it? Don’t lie to me.”

“Of course not, how would I know if your jokes are improving if I miss them? Duh!”

Trixie laughs and sips on her beverage, and Katya knows she should do the same, but she keeps her hands steady on the glass, both resting on the table.

She might as well just say it, right?

“Uh, thanks for this.” She nods towards the glass. ” I don’t drink, though.”

“Oh.” Trixie raises her eyebrows.

“I just-”

“You don’t have to explain. If you don’t drink, you don’t drink. I’ll order you something else.” She moves her hands to take the glass back to herself but Katya holds it possessively, not really sure why.

“You don’t have to-”

Trixie just rolls her eyes. “Tell me what you like, I want to buy you a drink.”

Katya’s in the middle of protesting, but closes her mouth shut at that. I want to buy you a drink. She gulps and lets go of the glass, which Trixie takes to herself.

“A virgin version of whatever that is will be fine.”

Trixie nods and goes up to order it and Katya feels herself relax again.

Is this a date?

Trixie sits back down with a new glass now in front of Katya and she takes it thankfully.

“So, are you from one of those small towns you were singing about, Trixie?”

Trixie considers her, gives off a tiny smile before looking at her again.

“I don’t know, would you say that an hour drive to the nearest McDonald’s would qualify it as such?”

“Oh my god.”

“Oh, yeah. I mean, to be fair I’m from Milwaukee. But like, the middle of nowhere part of it.”

“Hah! Of course. How did I not notice it before.”

“I mean, I’ve lost my accent, so.”

She says it seriously and Katya isn’t sure whether she’s joking or if she really thinks she did, so she tries not to laugh. She fails though, finds it adorable the way she flushes a little and smiles back as she giggles.

“Humf, don’t talk to me about accents, miss Boston.”

Katya leans in. “If you must know, I’m Russian.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Da.”

Trixie squints her eyes. “Are you serious?”

Katya nods and sips on her drink, searches for Trixie’s face to see if her eyes are following her lips. She thinks they are, but she’s always been one for projecting. “I moved to Boston when I was three, though.”

Trixie rolls her eyes and slaps Katya’s arm playfully, and so what if she thinks she feels sparks where their skin touches? “That doesn’t count!”

It’s easy, natural talking with Trixie. Flirting, she considers - maybe. It’s been so long since she’s felt this immediate type of connection with someone, she’s not sure if she’s seeing to much into it.

She sips on her drink again, smiles around the straw at Trixie, and her heart’s as light as a feather when Trixie does the same.

Oh boy is she screwed.

Katya ends up leaving the bar much later than she intended for a Tuesday night and still when she gets home she realizes she didn’t ask Trixie for her number. She feels like an idiot for the rest of the week, walks past the bar a few times in hopes of running into her, but apparently she really only goes over on Tuesdays. She settles for the fact that she’ll only see Trixie the following week, isn’t exactly comfortable with how sad she is at the thought, thinks it’s completely crazy she’s already this deep into something - is is even something? - with someone she’s practically only spoken to twice.

It had been for hours though. So much laughter, so much in common. It’s rare that people will get her dry humor so effortlessly, that they’ll laugh so hard and give her all that attention. She wants to repeat that so bad, wants to sit at a bar for a few more hours and then maybe a restaurant and then a café and then anywhere really.

She might want to date Trixie. God, what is happening to her.

Next Tuesday she gets to the bar early again, but this time she refuses to get up from her seat. She won’t miss Trixie’s entrance again, wants to hear every word she has to say and wants to be very attentive to her eyes. She hopes they look at her.

She’s looking so forcefully to the stage she almost misses it. But there’s no way to not notice her pink jumpsuit and long wavy beautiful hair. She’s stunning and Katya’s is unsurprised.

“Hi! I put the pal in high school principal, Trixie Mattel. My first song of the night is going to be a sad one, so please forgive me.”

First song? Katya sits up straighter at the thought. There’ll be more.

She starts the first few chords and the tune itself already saddens Katya. She doesn’t know what Trixie will sing, but she knows she’ll get emotional.

Trixie’s voice is raw as it runs over the words, it’s pain and it’s earnest and Katya knows Trixie’s said she doesn’t always relate to what she sings but that just makes it more awestrucking, really, that maybe all of this emotion in her voice might not be real. How does one fake that? And how could Katya possibly know when she’s being real considering this?

“- Since you’ve gone to Heaven, I’ve struggled with goodbye

And broke a lot of promises I made the day you died

Wish I was more like you, less like myself

And I wish that I could talk to you 'cause I could use your help -”

Katya can’t particularly relate to the words at this moment, thankfully has her entire family living close by and finds happiness in their presence. She can imagine it though, what would be like if a tragedy like that were to strike. She wonders briefly if Trixie’s lived it. The thought saddens her.

When she finishes singing she comes down by the front of the stage, doesn’t bother with going backstage to drop her guitar or whatever it is she usually does in there. She makes a beeline for Katya and sits down by her side, her lips curved in a beautiful smile that makes Katya almost forget all of the sorrow that her words just cause her seconds ago.

“Hey! I’m glad you got here in time to see my first song.”

She’s glad Katya’s there. Maybe it’s not so bad that she’s infatuated.

“I’m glad I did, too. I didn’t know people could convey so much emotion through a song.”

Trixie blushes slightly, almost imperceptibly below her makeup, and Katya is delighted at the sight.

“Yeah, well. I went to drama school.”

“Oh? So you don’t really relate personally to the song?”

Trixie chuckles a little, and Katya knows that whatever joke she’s about to say, it’s gonna be sort of depreciative. “I don’t even have a dad!” And she laughs awkwardly, as if that’s ok as opposed to just not.

“Oh.”

“I had a step-dad growing up. But it wasn't… let’s just say that the chances of my brother being an alcoholic were higher with him than without.”

Katya remembers those lyrics in the song, something about a brother not being sober, and she gulps down the lump in her throat. Trixie doesn’t notice though, for the first time seems to be solely focused on herself, and she takes Katya’s silence as an indication that she should tell more.

She doesn’t have to, but Katya’s happy to listen.

She tells her things that Katya thinks she herself would never tell a stranger, maybe not even a friend, if she was in her place. Tells her childhood traumas and long lost dreams and the hardships that she went through before finding herself in a city she still can’t call home.

And she’s real, she’s so real. Katya can now see the difference between the stage honesty and this by a million miles. It’s astonishing really, it’s beautiful and heartbreaking the way she’s holding herself now, so vulnerable and sincere, and Katya keeps thinking back to how true she sounded as she sang earlier. Goosebumps raise on her arms.

Katya gathers the courage to touch her arm, decides to share a bit too because it seems only fair, but right then they announce Trixie’s name on stage and she remembers that she’d said she would perform again tonight.

“I… I’ll be right back, if you’ll stay?”

She looks uncertain as she asks, sort of in a hurry as they’re waiting for her upstage, and it baffles Katya that she even has to ask. She’s deviating from her regular way, putting on nicer clothes, listening to country music. She’s not leaving that bar before Trixie finishes performing.

“I’m not leaving this bar until you finish performing.”

She’s lost control of her mouth apparently, but as Trixie simply laughs before dashing off to the stage holding her guitar, Katya can’t help but giggle to herself.

“Ok, so this one will be a little more chipper than the previous one. I hope you enjoy it!”

Katya knows she will, is convinced that Trixie is somewhat a sorcerer for getting her hooked up on country music, and she can admit she’s pleasantly surprised at the topics of the songs Trixie’s been choosing.

She loses it when Trixie sings “rolls herself a fat one”, though. This might just be her favorite.

“- You know life will let you down

Love will leave you lonely

Sometimes to only way to get by

Is to get high -”

Katya can’t stop her smile as Trixie sings, almost laughs because yes, she agrees wholeheartedly, but also because Trixie definitely doesn’t look like the type that does.

Katya enjoys the song throughout, and she’s pleased to realise that so does the rest of the bar, as they clap and agree as she sings, send her off with a round of applause at the end. This time she goes to the back of the stage, probably off to put her guitar away and drink some water, but before she does she searches for Katya’s eyes, as if confirming she’s still there.

Katya feels her gaze at the bottom of her stomach. She readjusts on her seat.

Trixie is back within minutes, seems happy that Katya’s still there. She’s happy, too. “I should’ve known that the way into the audience’s heart was to talk about weed.”

Katya laughs but feels a bit ashamed because she also felt more enthusiastic today. Instead, she deflects, “Well, which one are you? The woman getting high on her kitchen table or her teenage self that’d frown upon it?”

Trixie shrugs. “I mean, I got high once.”

“Once?” Katya wants to hide her surprise, but she really can’t.

“Yeah. It was stupid, I was trying to impress this friend. It made me impossiblyhungry-”

“Yeah,” Katya agrees, but apparently Trixie’s not finished.

“I mean, horny.”

Katya almost falls off her chair. “What?”

Trixie doesn’t seem to notice how dry Katya’s mouth has gone, only nods as she moves the straw around on her drink. “Yeah, like, full-on horny. If I were ever to have a threesome, that’d be the day.”

Katya can’t do much but stare, does not want to picture Trixie being high and horny, but can’t really help it. She gulps and focuses on her drink, hopes Trixie can’t tell how bothered she is at the moment, hopes further that if she does, that she’s not uncomfortable with it, but when she finally manages to look back at Trixie, she can’t help her surprise when she sees her smirk.

Oh, okay.

“How about you?” Trixie asks when Katya still can’t find anything to say.

“Thanking god everyday for the mary jane.”

She laughs, but doesn’t break their gaze. “Maybe we could smoke together, someday?”

Katya’s breath catches on her throat, her hands freeze around her glass.

It made me impossibly horny.

Maybe we could smoke together.

She looks inside of herself for the Katya that usually doesn’t get flustered and that goes to bars and can easily get a girl. She really wants that Katya to help her now.

“Absolutely. I always have a joint at home.”

This time Trixie’s the one that stares, her eyes searching and considering. Finally she grins and sips on her drink.

“I guess I’ll have to come over.”

Trixie doesn’t come over that Tuesday, but Katya didn’t expect her too. And she’s not too bothered when they part ways, because Trixie tells her she’ll be performing there Saturday as she won the weekly polls and she invites Katya to watch her. And Katya manages to agree immediately and to offer her phone number just in case.

Trixie says she’ll text her so she can have her number too, but she doesn’t, and it’s not until Thursday that Katya realizes she’s an idiot who managed to give her old number.

She gets to the bar Saturday on the agreed time and looks for Trixie everywhere, wants to explain herself before she goes on stage, doesn’t want that stress roaming on her head stopping her from enjoying the show.

Then she sees a short pale blue dress and massive wavy blonde hair and she knows she’s found her. She tries not to stare at her figure as she strides over, wants to reach her before she disappears.

“Trixie! Hi!”

“Oh, hey.” She seems uncertain when she sees Katya. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“Of course I came. I fucked up last time and ended up giving you the wrong number, that’s my old phone. I’m sorry.”

“Oh!” Trixie exclaims, readjusts the guitar strap on her shoulder. “That’s fine, do you want to-”

Whatever she was about to say, she’s interrupted. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Trixie Mattel!”

She looks over at Katya, bites her lip, but Katya just reassures her.

“Go on, I’ll sit down somewhere.”

She watches her go and then she looks around. It’s a full house - it is a Saturday - so there are no tables, but there’s an empty stool on the counter and she hops on it.

“Good night everyone. Thanks to all of you who voted for me on the weekly cover night. I’ve been singing songs by Brandy Clark and today I’m just gonna shift a bit and sing a song she wrote for another singer. I hope you enjoy.”

The crowd cheers and Trixie smiles and Katya can’t help but smile, too. It’s another cheerful song, still undeniably country, and Trixie’s voice once again takes the room in stride.

The lyrics are great, too, and Katya feels confident today when Trixie looks over at her when she sings the chorus.

“- Make lots of noise

Kiss lots of boys

Or kiss lots of girls

If that’s something you’re into

When the straight and narrow

Gets a little too straight

Roll up the joint, or don’t

Just follow your arrow

Wherever it points -”

She orders herself a water, drinks it without stopping to breathe and orders a second one.

It’s today.

When she least expects it Trixie’s saying her goodbyes and leaving to the back of the stage. Katya straightens her back, waits for her to appear. She’s there quicker than ever, looks for a stool and when she can’t find one just stands leaning on the counter really close to Katya.

“When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight?” Katya asks her, watches the small dimples appear on her face again as she laughs.

“I’m not really a fan of straight things.”

Katya laughs. “Me neither.”

Right then the person on the stool next to Katya gets up and Trixie sits down, ordering a drink.

Katya’s not backing down.

“So, kissing lots of girls?”

Trixie shrugs, Katya sees her trying to stop her smile. “I’m more interested in kissing this one particular girl as of recently, actually.”

Katya nods, swallows down the nervousness. “Yeah, me too.”

“Maybe we could roll up that joint, now?” Trixie offers, looks expectantly at Katya.

She takes a deep breath and smiles. “We definitely should.”

#trixya #trixie mattel #lesbian au #country singer trixie #fluff #pichitinha #she's done it again folks i LOVE this (again from tiff sorry about it)#rpdr fanfiction #follow your arrow

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ds4design · 7 years

Text

What I Heard From Trump Supporters

After the election, I decided to talk to 100 Trump voters from around the country. I went to the middle of the country, the middle of the state, and talked to many online.

This was a surprisingly interesting and helpful experience—I highly recommend it. With three exceptions, I found something to like about everyone I talked to (though many of the things they said I strongly disagreed with). Although it shouldn’t have surprised me given the voting data, I was definitely surprised by the diversity of the people I spoke to—I did not expect to talk to so many Muslims, Mexicans, Black people, and women in the course of this project.

Almost everyone I asked was willing to talk to me, but almost none of them wanted me to use their names—even people from very red states were worried about getting “targeted by those people in Silicon Valley if they knew I voted for him”. One person in Silicon Valley even asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement before she would talk to me, as she worried she’d lose her job if people at her company knew she was a strong Trump supporter.

I wanted to understand what Trump voters liked and didn’t like about the president, what they were nervous about, what they thought about the left’s response so far, and most importantly, what would convince them not to vote for him in the future.

Obviously, this is not a poll, and not ‘data’. But I think narratives are really important.

Here’s what I heard.

The TL;DR quote is this:

“You all can defeat Trump next time, but not if you keep mocking us, refusing to listen to us, and cutting us out. It’s Republicans, not Democrats, who will take Trump down.”

What do you like about Trump?

“He is not politically correct.”

Note: This sentiment came up a lot, probably in at least a third of the conversations I had.

“He says true but unpopular things. If you can’t talk about problems, you can’t fix them.”

“I'm a Jewish libertarian who's [sic] grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Over the last few years the mainstream left has resorted to name-calling and character assassination, instead of debate, any time their positions are questioned. This atmosphere became extremely oppressive and threatening to people, like myself, who disagreed with many of Obama's policies over the past several years. Intelligent debate has become rare.”

“It's a lot like political discussion was in Soviet Union, actually. I think the inability to acknowledge obvious truths, and the ever-increasing scope of these restrictions makes it particularly frustrating. And personally, for whatever reason, I find inability to have more subtle discussion very frustrating--things are not white or black, but you can't talk about greys since the politically correct answer is white.”

“He is anti-abortion.” Note: This sentiment came up a lot. A number of people I spoke to said they didn’t care about anything else he did and would always vote for whichever candidate was more anti-abortion.

“I like that he puts the interests of Americans first. American policy needs to be made from a position of how Americans benefit from it, as that is the role of government.”

“He is anti-immigration.” Note: This sentiment came up a lot. The most surprising takeaway for me how little it seemed to be driven by economic concerns, and how much it was driven by fears about “losing our culture”, “safety”, “community”, and a general Us-vs.-Them mentality.

“He will preserve our culture. Preservation of culture is considered good in most cases. What’s wrong with preserving the good parts of American culture?”

“He’s not Hillary Clinton.”

“I’m Mexican. I support the wall. The people who have stayed have destroyed Mexico, and now they want to get out and cause damage here. We need to protect our borders, but now any policy is like that is called racist. Trump was the first person willing to say that out loud.”

“I am socially very liberal. I am fiscally very conservative. I don't feel I have a party--never have. I grew up in a more socially conservative time and picked the "lesser of two evils" during elections. Now, the more socially liberal side supports bigger governments, more aid and support and that money has to come from somewhere. I see what's deducted from my check each week. I'm OK with never being rich but I'd like more security and that doesn't come from more government spending.”

“We need borders at every level of our society.”

“I’m willing to postpone some further social justice progress, which doesn’t really result in loss of life, in favor of less foreign policy involvement, the opposite of which does."

“Brown people are always the out-crowd. I think subconsciously, part of the reason I supported him was a way to be in the in-crowd for once.”

What don’t you like about him?

“The way he talks about women is despicable.”

“Everything about his style. We only voted for him because this election was too important to worry about style.”

“I don’t like most things about him. The way it worked is we got to choose one of two terrible options.”

“I think our nation needs Trumpism to survive long term, and to me that supersedes almost every other reservation I have. My issue is with Trump himself--I think he's the wrong vessel for his movement, but he's all we've got so I'm behind him.”

“I think the rollout of the immigration executive order is emblematic of a clusterfuck, to be completely frank.”

“I now believe the Muslim ban actually makes us less safe.”

“Isolationism and protectionism at this point is insane. We've done that before.”

“I, too, worry about the dishonesty. His relationship with Russia, his relationship with women. His relationship with questionable financial matters. These all worry me and were they to continue I would lose all respect.”

“He continually plays into a character that he has created to rile his fan base. Accepting anti-semitism, white nationalism, or hate emanating unnecessarily, creates a vacuum of fear on social media, on television, and around the dinner table. Even though the policies may be similar to that of any recent Republican President, the behavior to act so immaturely sets a bad example for children and undercuts many cultural norms, which more than anything causes disruption to our sociological foundations.”

“I hate that he discredits the press all the time. That seems to forebode great evil.”

What are you nervous about with Trump as president?

“The thing I’m most worried about is war, and that he could destroy the whole world. I think I may have underestimated that risk, because he is more of an alpha strongman that I realized when I voted for him. Otherwise I still like him.” Note: Most people weren’t that worried about war. More frequent comments were along these lines:

“I know he’s taking strong positions on certain foreign issues, but I feel in negotiations you need to do things to move the needle and when a whole country is watching its hard to keep a poker face, but at least his business track record overall gives us reason to believe ultimately stability will prevail.”

and

“He’s crazy, but it’s a tactic to get other nations not to mess with us.”

“I worry he will drive us apart as a nation. I believed him when he said that would stop with the campaign, but I haven’t seen signs of it so far.”

“I am nervous that his mental health is actually bad.”

“I worry he is actually going to roll back social change we’ve fought so hard for. But I hope not.”

What do you think about the left’s response so far?

“You need to give us an opportunity to admit we may have been wrong without saying we’re bad people. I am already thinking I made a mistake, but I feel ostracized from my community.”

“The left is more intolerant than the right.” Note: This concept came up a lot, with real animosity in otherwise pleasant conversations.

“Stop calling us racists. Stop calling us idiots. We aren’t. Listen to us when we try to tell you why we aren’t. Oh, and stop making fun of us.”

“I’d love to see one-tenth of the outrage about the state of our lives out here that you have for Muslims from another country. You have no idea what our lives are like.”

“I’m so tired of hearing about white privilege. I’m white, but way less privileged than a black person from your world. I have no hope my life will ever get any better.”

“I am tired of feeling silenced and demonized. We have mostly the same goals, and different opinions about how to get there. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe you’re wrong. But enough with calling all of us the devil for wanting to try Trump. I hate Hillary and think she wants to destroy the country of us but I don’t demonize her supporters.”

“I’m angry that they’re so outraged now, but were never outraged over an existing terrible system.”

“The attacks against Trump have taught me something about myself. I have defended him and said things I really didn't believe or support because I was put in a defensive position. Protesters may have pushed many people in this direction BUT it is ultimately our responsibility and must stop.”

“I'd like to also add that the demonization of Trump by calling him and his supporters: Nazis, KKK, white supremacists, fascists, etc. works very well in entrenching Trump supporters on his side. These attacks are counter-factual and in my opinion very helpful to Trump.”

“So far his election has driven our nation apart. So far I see most of the divisiveness coming from the left. Shame on them. I don't see it quite as bad as during Nixon's era but we are truly headed in that direction. I could not speak with my parents during that time because political division would intrude. This Thanksgiving and holiday season were as close as I've felt to that in 40 years. We are increasingly polarized. It doesn't seem to be strictly generational, though that exists. There is an east coast-west coast, rural vs. urban, racial, and gender division forming now. It has the potential to be devastating.”

“The amount of violent attacks and economic attacks perpetrated by the left are troublesome. My wife and I recently moved to the Bay Area. I was expecting a place which was a welcoming meritocracy of ideas. Instead, I found a place where everyone constantly watches everyone else for any thoughtcrime.”

“Silicon Valley is incredibly unwelcoming to alternative points of view. Your curiosity, if it is sincere, is the very rare exception to the rule.”

“There is something hypocritical about the left saying the are uniters not dividers, they are inclusive and then excluding half the population with comments on intelligence and irrelevance in the modern world.”

What would convince you not to vote for him again?

“War would be unforgivable.”

“If the Russia thing were true, I’d turn against him. Why don’t y’all focus on that instead of his tweets?”

“Give us a better option, and we’ll be happy. But it needs to be a moderate—Sanders won’t win.”

“I’ll happily vote for someone else. There’s a lot I hate about Trump. But our lives are basically destroyed, and he was the first person to talk about fixing that.”

“Generally hard to say. Extreme corruption would do it.”

Second person in the same conversation: “I don’t care if he’s corrupt. Y’all voted for Hillary and she was the most corrupt candidate of all time.”

“Another worry is an escalation of overreaches between him and the left that culminates in the breakdown of our system of law. I'd hold him responsible for that.”

“If he were to get the US involved in a major military conflict (I think the odds of this have actually decreased versus Hillary, but I'm willing to be proven wrong). If he were to substantially increase the cost of doing business (by increasing regulation or taxes for instance).”

“I'm socially very liberal. If he were to do something like restart a war on drugs, try to restrict rights of LGBT, or make first trimester abortions difficult or dangerous, I'd rethink my position. I think these type of things are extremely unlikely though, especially with an election a few years away the country as a whole becoming more socially liberal.”

“I think if 2008 happened again (further into Trump's tenure, so that causation can be shown, hypothetically), the base would evaporate.”

“Based on Trump's history before politics I don't believe he is racist, sexist, homophobic or bigoted. If that were true it would supersede everything else since it would be even worse for individual liberty and freedom than any freedom of speech restrictions or increases in government size proposed by the Democratic Party.”

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