#its gonna be difficult because so many of the claims made in the article were just word of mouth

[hezekiahwakely]

I just want to point out that the Medium article about Rusty Quill's alleged mismanagement, bad communication, shitty contracts, etc. was written by the marketing director of a competing fiction podcast network, Fable and Folly. I could certainly see a bit of an incentive existing here to detract from Rusty Quill's image and turn business away to other companies (them).

I don't have a way of saying whether the allegations are true or not, I'm not confident in supporting one side or the other atm and I hate this whole situation because it involves the creators of something I love. But I also don't know whether the article was written in earnest good faith. This is an aspect to consider when weighing the whole situation.

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

numerous issues with “The Aftermath of Seaworld”

When I get time to do so (aka when I’m done with the documentary), I’m likely going to make a video version of this going into the details. 

But for right now, I’ve made this. Both as a guideline for me and so everyone can begin to get an idea of the severity of issues involved.

Researching things is time-consuming and can be very difficult - believe me, I know. But I’m of the mind that if you’re making content with the intent of educating people, you have a responsibility to perform a certain level of due diligence. It IS okay to express uncertainty or doubt if you have it. It is NOT okay to confidently assert things that you do not know with certainty.

The video has an anticap slant, and I’m obviously not disagreeing on that front. But again: if you’re gonna go through the trouble of teaching people something. Bare minimum... please make sure it’s actually correct. *** 1) x ‘founded in 1964 and based out of Florida’ -  ???? Seaworld definitively began on the west coast, in San Diego, CA. And given that the first park opened in early 1964… things came together before that. Uh? 2) x ‘four people founded Seaworld [...]’ For one… it wasn’t originally conceived as a restaurant, it was originally conceived as an underwater bar/lounge. Two… calling the four guys involved in founding the place “frat brothers” is fucking ridiculous and completely overlooks a) how each was actually involved and b) the overall significance of their contributions to the field as individuals. Hint: like it or not, they were important and did a lot! 

3) x If one is going to bring up SWBGCF/rescues while talking about the literal founding of SW, it gives the impression that it’s been around for that duration. It hasn’t.  It’s actually a bit unclear when SW started an organized rescue program, but the Fund itself and all that it did came about much later. The rescue information and how it’s presented is actually INCREDIBLY complex, nuanced, and has a fascinating history (from a “bad company behaving badly” perspective). Oversimplifying this, to this degree and in this misinformative way, does the facts of the situation an INCREDIBLE disservice.  

4) x [assertive statement about what the name Shamu means]  ….Uh actually there’s several explanations for the name Shamu, and the most likely one IMO seems to be the “she-namu” one, not the “friend of Namu” one(? What is this even based on.) 4b) It’s not quite clear if she’s saying “Namu was the first ever orca to be displayed and perform shows” or or Namu was the first to be displayed and, like Shamu, performed shows. Either way, Moby Doll was the first to truly be displayed to the public, not Namu.

5) x ‘Namu died after one year in captivity and you’d think that this might deter Seaworld from doing the same thing again…’ Seaworld truly had nothing to do with Namu. And they leased/took possession of Shamu before Namu died. ‘Again’? What?

6) x “Now, PETA paints a pretty disturbing picture…” [while showing Okura’s artwork] This video segment is, and this is putting it nicely, a pile of poorly-researched BULLSHIT.  -Yes, PETA talks about Shamu’s capture, re: the harpooning of her mother. This Youtuber cannot apparently be arsed to look more than 1 Google search into this, as she proceeds to dismiss the information as potentially fabricated. There are two detailed accounts of Shamu’s capture that I’m aware of - in books - and though they have some slight conflicts, it’s absolutely NOT in doubt that the female who was very likely Shamu’s mother was 1) harpooned, 2) died from her injuries and 3) this had been done to make her easier to catch/locate because there was a fucking buoy attached to the harpoon. Which she dragged around for at least 24 hours prior dying.  So maybe don’t dismiss that as PETA hysteria, maybe TRY to determine the truth of the matter, which would inform one that it is both true and completely horrifying.  -In addition, Okura is an awesome individual who has worked very hard to create a variety of informative artwork for our cause. Okura is NOT associated with PETA and it’s borderline libel in my eyes to use their artwork in this dismissive manner when the primary sources of it can be easily identified online, with full explanations and everything. Do I take special offense to this because of the misuse of artwork? Absolutely. Artists get disrespected enough online. I’m tired of it. This kind of laziness IS NOT acceptable.

7) x ‘timeline is fuzzy about when Shamu died’ …………… it’s…. It’s really not … newspapers are pretty clear about it…..

8) x [complete and utter oversimplification of the lifespan issue, which is not acceptable for anything published in 2020. It just isn’t. If you’re going to bring it up like this, either do the legwork and get into the weeds or stay out.] 8b) [same for reproductive ages. sigh]

9) x if we’re going to talk about when Cornell was involved with Seaworld it’s very important to specify when Cornell was involved with Seaworld and not make it seem like it’s present tense.

10) x “both were rescued by Seaworld” - uh? no. Zero orcas have been rescued by Seaworld. Literally none. The infected-jaw orca was Sandy, whose story is complex and certainly does not involve Seaworld until much later. And many of the orcas in that time period had bullet wounds, often only identified post-mortem because they didn’t seem to hurt the animals much. Also, unflinchingly blending 70s captivity ethics with modern ones is also complete nonsense? 

11) x [tilikum coming from sealand] inhales I am going to make an entire video centered on this fucking subject because it’s one of the single most profound arguments for Seaworld being garbage as assessed by US government agencies in the 90s yet everyone utterly fails to mention this. Why?!

12) x what on earth is this nonsense re: quoting a quote from Zimmerman’s article - which has already been removed from its original context, so the original context is not available - and then penalizing the quote for existing as if Zimmerman’s article were the context? That is offensively disingenuous. I honestly don’t know what the original context is, either - but it’s wildly inappropriate to act as if the Zimmerman article is.

13) x this is relatively minor but ‘Paul Sprong’? You literally have his name on the screen. And then mis-reading his age too? While asserting it from a static article published years ago? Effort? Where is it?

14) x ‘another trainer, Peter’ ….. Ken Peters…. 

15) [weirdly glossing over the widely-available list of orca-trainer injuries/aggressions, despite it being central to the point.] 16) x This pilot whale outrage certainly happened but it was pretty clearly Blackfish that started the cascade of woes for Seaworld. Who has ever asserted this?

17) if you’re gonna just rehash blackfish, tell people to go watch blackfish.

18) x I’ve already gone over the context issue with Seaworld calling out Howard’s statement in Blackfish here (point 23). Which is to say, IN CONTEXT in Blackfish it’s clear what Mr. Garrett is talking about but, divorced from that, it sounds incorrect. But this Youtuber AMPLIFIES the issue by doubling down on the assertion with “no record of a killer whale doing any harm to anyone in the wild.” The surfer event should always be mentioned. Yes, there’s absolutely room for doubt. But there’s also a clear demarcation between an accidental attack (eg mistaken identity, as was likely for the surfer) and intentional one (eg the incidents at marine parks.) Why do people kneecap themselves on this point 18b) please stop acting like Luna represents orcas in general.

19) x “Howard, for all of his research…” … while referring to David Duffus’ b-roll and statements. Uh. 20) x Apparently this Youtuber has single-handedly resolved the dorsal fin issue. You know, the thing that hasn’t been properly researched ever, that has been subject to a ton of debate, that isn’t 100% settled for a variety of reasons, and almost everyone talks about in terms of theories and likely possibilities.  21) x Alexis Martinez wasn’t “torn to shreds.” In a space where even moderate exaggerations are often penalized harshly by the opposition, this kind of blatant nonsense is not welcome. Plus, the reality’s bad enough… you don’t have to make anything up!

22) x *sighs. points at own webpage*

23) Talking about the shows stopping without acknowledging how that’s a bit of a farce is something else. In addition to apparently just flipping to buying what Seaworld’s selling re: its ‘improved image.’ 

*** Tl;dr video is so unrelentingly full of errors ranging from small to egregious it makes me seriously concerned for the veracity of the rest of this person’s content. The maker of the video provided a list of their sources in their video description, which I will have time to look through in detail later. The above is solely a response to the information they present IN THE VIDEO - which, is very important because let’s be real: a lot of people are not going to look at the list of sources. People don’t even do it when citing papers (no really, you’d be surprised, fml.) For anyone who wants to whinge that I haven’t linked or asserted any sources of my own for my claims… well, remember what I said about time-consuming and ‘I’m busy’? Yhea. Getting all of that together will be part of making a video. So if you want to shrug loudly at my list here… you can, that’s your prerogative, I’m happy to say I DGAF if that’s your takeaway. 

What I hope, is that if there’s anything I’ve made clear over the While of running this blog, it’s that I don’t fuck around when it comes to sources and information and do my best to provide what information exists, all of it, not just cherrypicked bits and bobs. Anyways. Here’s step 0 at least. Please don’t share that video. Pretty please.

[1ddotdhq]

🍌Wed 2 Dec ‘20💚

Harry Styles Reacts to Banana Innuendo Rumors by Making EVEN MORE Banana Innuendos part TWO

Good morning/evening/night to Harry’s post and Harry’s post ONLY! (Okay that’s not true but it was definitely a highlight of my day). In case people haven’t seen it yet, it’s Harry in a light blue custom made suit putting a penis banana in his mouth. The picture is captioned “Bring Back Manly Men” so take a suck on THAT Candace Owens! It was only one of many great pictures in his variety shoot (including another, um, fruity picture of him biting into a pomegranate okay Persephone we get it), but Harry did indeed choose That One to post on This, the day after banana necklace dickscourse, BLESS. Harry’s interview was a little more in depth than they have been in the past, touching upon his feelings on race (“Historically, I can’t think of any industry that’s benefited more off of Black culture than music. There are discussions that need to happen about this long history of not being paid fairly. It’s a time for listening, and hopefully, people will come out humbled, educated and willing to learn and change”), as well as his tattoos (the only time he regrets them is in the DWD makeup chair), his love of reading, fashion and art, his exercise routine (Kid Harpoon couldn’t keep up!),  and his feelings on success and acclaim (“It’s never why I do anything...it's always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff...Fans are the best A&R”). 

The problems arose - as they so often do - when One Direction was mentioned. The article said that “The proof [of the band’s benefits] is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members- Payne, Malik and Horan in addition to Styles- each of whom has landed hit singles on charts in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond”. Leaving aside the bad math (that's 4 people!) one name, of course, is notably missing: Louis has in fact enjoyed quite a lot of success both with Walls (remember when his album went #1 on iTunes in the UK AND the US literally 2 months ago?) and his pre-Walls singles like “Back To You” and “Just Hold On”. It got worse because the author tried to back up her claim with Harry’s quote, “When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band...but we loved being in the band...I think there’s a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it”. By linking her own words with Harry's quote she made it seem as though Harry said it to agree with her biased take, which we'd know he didn't even if we hadn't heard him say this exact quote without that slant multiple times before. Fans were quick to point out both to the author and to Variety that they were wrong (to describe the reaction mildly), and the author rather than fixing the mistake, doubled down and began blocking fans. Plenty of people were quick to say that of course HSHQ and Harry had approved this content, despite more knowledgeable fans trying to be heard protesting that that is not how it works. (Remember how just recently Vogue got Harry’s whole ass FAMILY situation wrong and it was not corrected until after print, for example?) In fact, even the magazine didn't really proofread this- the print version of the article is different and says, “The proof is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members - Styles, Malik and Horan”, effectively erasing both Louis AND Liam. It's an annoying take either way, but it's one the author more than likely picked up by doing her research on harrie twitter, not on orders from Jeff.

And because we DO NOT STAND FOR LILO ERASURE ON THIS BLOG, let’s talk about Liam’s Web Summit panel! It was 25 minutes of Liam and Marian Dicus (VP of Spotify) being interviewed about the current and future state of the music industry. Both of them, of course, noted that things had changed very quickly in their careers back at the beginning of lockdown, and how it had seemed surreal, at first, but that Liam had found that the way he was operating now (with Veeps and Tik Tok and Instagram lives) had made his platform a two way interaction with his fans. “For a long time I've been living in a dream world where I thought I was speaking with my fans but really I was just talking at them whereas we as artists ask a lot of rhetorical questions... I wanted to start a conversation”. Marian discussed how engaging fans differently WAS one of the most difficult things to puzzle out at the beginning, but that as months have passed, it seems artists like Liam have found a viable virtual future in the music industry (Liam tells us that he's been doing “stadium size shows” on Veeps which is an exciting clue about the mystery of how many tickets they're selling). They also went into the way music trends change as a response to social and political occurrences, how comfort songs gave way to protest songs this summer. Liam said, “People want their artists to have an opinion nowadays it's not that we can stay out of the conversation anymore-- and nor do we feel that we should in many places-- but for me it's a fine line because I realize what I do for people is an escape, people don't want things rammed down their throats every day and news messages from me about things that they don't want to hear about if they've come to listen to music, so its a real fine line that we kind of teeter on”. And about his opening acts, he acknowledges that his fanbase are mostly young women (based on the data breakdowns he gets from his team), and so he feels a responsibility to mentor young female artists in the industry so that more people like his fans have a voice. In an interview full of really fascinating music and technical discussions, this remained my favorite moment from Liam. Just like we won’t erase HIM, he refuses to erase US! And let's not forget our Liam alarm of the day-- it starts out absolutely adorable (“good moooorning!”), is hilarious in that apparently he just rambled completely unscripted and then they awkwardly cut it into 25 parts, but today's installment is frankly not relaxing! “only 23 sleeps til christmas have you done your shopping are you prepared” excuse me Liam YOU ARE STRESSING ME OUT. The promised relaxing sleep story affirmations are still 'coming soon'-- hurry up please I need them to decompress after that alarm!

Now for a lightning round of epic proportions: DWD darling pictures and vids keep comin’ and Harry and Florence are both looking GORGEOUS as Jack and Alice,  after the Variety shoot dropped ‘THE CAPTION’, ‘BRING BACK MANLY MEN’, and ‘LOUIS IS SUCCESSFUL’ trended worldwide on twitter, Tan France said “yes please” to Harry's banana post, Harry reiterated that London was home and he didn’t want to be in LA for longer than he needed to,Variety has its virtual show tomorrow at 5 pm PST so see you there! Veeps is sending out emails promoting Louis’ show to people who bought LP show tickets, fans have already started to receive their Louis Tomlinson Live From London merch, Trinity College in Dublin’s Law society presented Niall with an award for, uh, his Irishness, I guess? (Just kidding, it’s for “his incredible talent and work ethics which is famously underscored by a distinct humility despite unthinkable success”). It looks like he will be giving a talk when he’s presented with it, and I’m honestly really interested to see what it’s all about - is he...gonna be talking to law students? Idk but tune in on December 7th at 12 pm GMT to find out!

[pocfansmatter]

Okay I said before I was going to get more in depth with blood quantum eventually so now is as better time than any I guess. Mind you I'm speaking as a Native American meaning an Indigenous person from America. Specifically from 2 southern California tribes. I cannot speak for all Native or Indigenous people. I can only speak for myself, I can’t even speak for my tribe. However most Natives tend to have the same view when it comes to the blood quantum debate. From this point on blood quantum will be shortened to BQ & Native American to Native(s).

Originally this was gonna be a reply to another comment but decided to make it it's own post so I don't associate my blog with that anti Indigenous one. Please try to read the whole post before clicking the articles. I screenshotted the main parts to keep the discussion going. Feel free to click on all the articles because they are good & most of them are from Native run news websites.

I was gonna do this with a read more tag but my laptop doesn't want to work. I'm literally getting anyther one on Thanksgiving but my old one doesn't cooperate sorry so y'all are gonna get a long post. 😕

So let's start with the basics. What is blood quantum?

"Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States and the former Thirteen colonies that define Native American identity by percentages of ancestry. ... For instance, a person who has one parent who is a full-blood Native American and one who has no Native ancestry has a blood quantum of 1/2."

In case that was confusing if one person is "full blood native" they are considered 4/4. Meaning they have no relatives who are of any other race or ethnicity. If the "full blood native" has a child with a non Native person the child would have a BQ of 1/2 Native blood. If that child has a child with a non Native that child will be considered 1/4. This will continue to get lower & lower unless the child has a baby with another Native. Then the BQ raises or stays the same depending on the other parents BQ.

Now that the definition is out of the way lets get into the issue with this.

This is a good article that narrowed down an issue with Pharrell wearing a headdress. I wanna focus on one part of the article though.

"... deeply connected to their Native culture & live it every day."

"Having Native American ancestors doesn't get you off the hook if you don't bother to do the homework."

So I mentioned before that a lot of Natives don't consider BQ as a proper way of measuring your culture. Being Native isn't something you can pull out when it's convenient like for a photoshoot. Its every single day. It's in the words we speak, in the clothes we wear & in the food we cook. Same as any other culture.

Asian people don't wake up not Asian. Black people don't wake up not Black.

So why is do some people pull out the Native card when it is convenient? Like Pharrell did or Elizabeth Warren claims.

This article sums it up well but I wanna focus on the last 2 paragraphs.

Link to the full article:

There's similarities in both articles by 2 different Native authors from 2 different news websites.

They both speak about connections to our culture. A DNA test cannot measure ones Indigenous Ancestry because being Indigenous is much more than something in your blood.

I made a post asking some questions that might help understand if one is Indigenous or not. Now I'm not saying these are all the questions nor that I'm the expert on this. These are just STARTER questions to help people understand what it means to be Native.

Does the tribe you claim, claim you?

Have you been to the reservation?

Do you participate in the community?

Have you met your family from the tribe?

Do you know your history, traditions, anything about the tribe you claim?

The big one is are you claimed. You cannot claim a tribe that doesn't claim you. Now I'm not saying the entirety of the tribe has to know you personally. I'm not even saying you have to stand in front of the tribal council & ask them if they claim you. A claim can be made as little as just your family saying "this person is one of us".

The reason I bring this up is because multiple tribes have in the past & continue the practice of "adopting" a person into their tribe. There's many examples of this. Some can be adopted because they married into a tribe. Non Natives & Natives of other tribes alike have been adopted into tribes. There can be legal adoptions like adopting a child. And countless other examples.

A lot of the time biologically those members aren't apart of the tribe & cannot be enrolled but are still viewed as a member by the community.

For personal example, my sister has been adopted by my tribe. She's actually an enrolled member from another tribe & technically my cousin but was taking away by CPS & my family took her in. She grew up & still lives on my reservation. She is from another reservation. Although her tribe still claims her as a member my tribe also does. People in my community know her as a member of my family & have grown up with her. She knows many of our traditions & practices some ceremonies with us that are specific to my tribe. No one in our tribe has expressed any issue with this so far & even if they did they would have a stern talking to. We are even in the process of organizing her to be buried on our tribal land instead of hers. Her choice & we are okay with it.

Now I want to point out another way people can be considered Native even if they aren't enrolled or cannot answer those questions properly.

Let's look at something called "reconnecting Natives".

What is a reconnecting Native?

A reconnecting Native is someone of Native Ancestry who for whatever reason has been removed from their culture, family, reservation, etc so they do not know them & are actively trying to learn those things so they can reclaim their Native roots.

So, how does this happen? This is actually a very common issue in the community.

One of the main ways a Native might become disconnected is through the process of Residential Schools or Indian Boarding Schools. What is that? Here's a snippet of an article to help explain.

Of course here is the link:

The official motto of these schools was "kill the Indian, save the man” and if you think it sounds awful I promise you, it was much worse than you could imagine.

There's a movie on Netflix called Indian Horse which I have not watched yet but is based off a novel by an Indigenous author that looks at these Boarding Schools if you wish to check that out.

The goals of these schools were to strip Indigenous children of their culture. They were beaten, starved, punished of things as simple as speaking in their languages. A lot of them didn't even speak English. It was illegal to keep your kids from this school & often times tribal children went to these schools and never returned to their family. Natives who attended these schools or are children of children who attended these schools more often than not stop practicing their culture or forget it. In that way they become "disconnected".

Those members can if chosen too began the process of reconnecting.

I found this really good article going a little more in depth on the do's & don't's of reconnecting.

But here's a screenshot of important parts.

Granted this is a long process. Lifelong. Every journey to reconnect is difficult & very different from others. It depends on your tribe & community. Some of them make it easier & some make it harder. It's up to the individual to put in the work.

Now I don't want to make it like being a connected Native is easy. Yes it's easier but connected Natives also put in work to live their culture everyday.

Now what does this have to do with blood quantum? As you can see none of these articles about being Native or even a reconnecting Native mention blood quantum or DNA being a requirement.

If one is Japanese & someone asks "how are you Japanese?" What would the answer be?

"Because I just am. Because my parents are Japanese."

If someone is white & has kids those kids are white, correct?

So if it's so easy to explain for other cultures why does mine require math? Why are some of my family members not enrolled members despite having Native parents & growing up on the reservation? Why do my people have to actively think about the DNA results of our children if we choose to have them?

Because of BQ. Its a tool created by colonizers that are forced upon us. If we do not abide by the rules & requirements the government sets in place we run the very big risk of

Losing our status of a Native American tribe.

Losing our land & land rights.

Losing funding from the federal government.

Losing our housing.

Losing Healthcare.

Losing our basic citizenship rights.

The thing about BQ is it's designed so that we fail. If we fail to keep a certain amount of enrolled tribal members in a tribe then the government can break treaties & take away our land & things that are rightfully ours.

BQ is a lose/lose situation all around for us as well as extremely racist.

Because of the BQ requirements Natives actively worry about who they have children with. Some don't date outside of the their culture in fear of their children not being seen as legally Native. The problem here is a lot of the tribe is related. The issue of inbreeding increases. How do we solve that problem? Well we can have children with Natives of another tribe. But there's a problem here too. Most tribes do not allow what we call dual enrollment. Both of my tribes for example don't allow this. Which means one would have to pick which tribe to enroll their child. That means one of the tribes will lose out on a member. So that's another way identities are erased using BQ.

Okay I think I'm going to end this here. There is so much more I could've added. I also could've expanded on residential schools, what it means to be Indigenous, & reconnecting Natives but I wanted to keep it focused on BQ. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask or research on your own. We're still here. We aren't stuck in the 1800's. We weren't all killed by cowboys but the government is still actively trying to erase us.

[chemicalpink]

Hey, I hope you are doing good this was a thing that was wondering me so there are lot of bts future spouse /soulmate/twinflame videos being made on youtube and honestly everyone is being psychic like it has become a shitshow and what was previously just for curiosity fun and entertainment are becoming extremely emotionally invested in the topic especially for maknae line soulmate it would be interesting if the can do a tarot reading or your spiritual experience why is the future spouse saga turning ugly and does universe what us to know something through it !? Because it's becoming pretty crazy right now

Okay so I believe that yes, the spiritual part has a lot to do behind this occurrence, but I also think its roots lay on psicosocial matters and honestly I could go on for days about this but I’ll try to restrict it to a few points that you’ve mentioned

Why all of a sudden everyone seems to be tarot readers/astrologers/psychic?

The capitalism behind celebrities and how does that play a part in what is going on?

Are these people accurate at all?

How does energy shifting play a part in this?

Is the soulmate journey even something a third person would be able to note?

But first a Disclaimer: this opinion/rant is based on my experience with spirituality, I am obviously a mere mortal, so I do not hold the absolute truth. Spirituality is a constant learning process and it is open to discussion and interpretation of each person. I am also now a proud sociologist graduate that specialises in a lot of the stuff that has to do with what anon is asking, I’m a social behaviouralist applied to the entertainment industry as well but I’ll also provide my resources in the end.

A/N: Some of you might not yet be ready to read all of this, if I see ANY of you trying to start beef with me, even after the disclaimer, I'm gonna block you. If you want to talk more about it or want to discuss it further, DO SO OFF ANON. ISTG you’ve been warned, I’ve been working on this for the longest time, it even has resources to back all of it up! I’m so glad anon asked, I’m done being diplomatic on this topic (I know people that usually ask stuff are so respectful and i love you guys for it, this note is for those people that regularly jump on my asks to stir things up)

You guys are in for a whole academic article if you decide to read this

SO FUN AND EXCITINGGGG Let us start with behavioural economics as our base to understand the whole phenomenon, it's such a broad and kinda complex concept (especially since I’m trying to extrapolate it to this particular scenario) so let me do my best. It has a lot to do with trend following, although at least to me, it's unclear how exactly this content came to be (soulmate readings, channeling messages, etc) I am guessing it had something to do with an intersectionality between the general spirituality boom that we’ve met with during the pandemic and some person that just as any other marketable opportunity, saw a bridge between fandom life and this spiritual life (both prominent trends in the last two years or so) and honestly, it worked perfectly, whatever their initial intentions were, they threw out a new “product” and it kind of sold itself, two different trends coming together… turned into a behavioural game theory where if you played the part that allows your content to be consumed, you’ll get rewarded for it. In more simple words, tarot meets fandoms (alternatively, tarot meets BTS) is great as it is! but the fan behaviour (which we’ll talk about in a bit) positions the most private parts of the celebrities’ lives to be much more interesting than things that we are already able to see (personal experience, love readings do so much better than idk career readings and it all comes down to behavioural trends of perceiving ‘love’ as something very intimate)

Now, this is where we’ll begin to talk about capitalism as a whole, even in non-monetary systems like social media, where it takes more of a rewarding system via likes, views, reblogs, etc. The whole principle of us living in such a system is being aspirational, we see others profiting off of something, we might want to reach out and do the same so we can profit ourselves, which honestly, I think is what happened with the whole BTS soulmate readings boom, they get a lot of attention, and as a basic market law, as demand goes up and a few people that initially did these readings are no longer capable to satisfy the need of the people wanting to know all the tea, there are market opportunities for other people to do the same thing and increase the offer, although since this whole theory is behavioural, it is very context-dependant, which ends up not following the principle of the consumers being rational about how much and what content they consume, they just sort of consume all of it, regardless of whether the content creator is qualified to offer such content or not, which ultimately only adds onto a never ending cycle of more people claiming they are tarot readers/astrologers/psychics and fear nothing because this is the internet, you don't really have to enter any qualifications to be able to create content, whether someone is reliable in internet terms is basically all about how many likes they’ve got (which is why I always tell you guys to please consume content responsible).

When it comes to accuracy- I guess that’s the hardest part of all, we can’t just have pointers that would automatically tells us if someone’s craft is valid or not, since everyone’s craft is different all craft is valid to a certain extent (you can easily find scammers of course but that’s another story) what we can have are personal standards and deciding what content to consume or whose content to consume, but that’s entirely a personal decision and since so many people are invested in it- it seems really hard that these “market tendencies” might change any time soon. On that same note of accuracy, I really feel the need to talk about a major occurrence I’ve come across in this whole soulmate scene, minors. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a minor and approaching spirituality (I was very much a minor when I started) but there’s a huge difference between just playing around and deciding to create content for the whole world to have access to. Of course I’m aware not all tarot readers in the BTS fandom are minors, and ARMY is very diverse and even if they were only minors it would be wrong to invalidate them, but we can’t ignore the statistics of it when touching this particular topic, according to 2020 data, 50,31% of ARMY are below 18 years old, and 42,59% are between 18-29 but why is this important? because the exact historical and economic moment we are living in mainly impacts these two age groups, thus making all 92,90% of ARMY a potential target to consuming or falling in a behavioural game theory of creating this content without them necessarily being qualified for it. But hey, why do you keep talking about the importance of being qualified? Glad you asked, creating spiritual content all comes down to one amazing term: accountability.

And this will explore two main phases of it, one applicable for that 50,31% that could potentially be drawn to create spiritual content and other for the 42,59% that could potentially be dragged to creating that content without much spiritual knowledge. For the first one, it has a lot to do with cognitive aspects, young people tend to do stuff without much further thought about how their actions impact other people, which, as they should, they are kids, they shouldn’t have to worry too much about emotional responsibility as us adults do, furthermore, they are in life stages where they can’t really comprehend many abstract concepts that we later learn in life, and spirituality is one of those concepts, so they tend to just have fun with it with no regards on how their content might impact other minors (this is where the whole feeding a false scenario that is potentially delusional in exchange of more views, likes comes into play) on a more spiritual level, they also aren’t able to comprehend the boundaries of the celebrities they’re reading for, us readers have to always be careful about the information we give out since it is not ours to give. As for the second group, some of this is still applicable since theorists consider a full cognitive maturity until 23 years of age, but since it is very intersectional itself, i would found it more to a spiritual responsibility, since they are young adults, and if they haven’t been spiritually guided as kids, they’re most probably eager to learn and just awakening yet to some of them the drive to this spirituality is content creation instead of inner work, so they get their hands on a tarot deck, might kind of read a few things, call it a day and start reading for BTS (note: not all of them, I’m aware)

As for the maknae line being the most sought out people with this content, I guess it kinda makes sense now that I’ve said all of the information above, maknae line is closest to the age group of 92,90% of ARMY, so they instantly become more marketable to this content creation and the whole Game Theory that we are seeing. With all that being said, and just adding a note coming from my own spiritual experience, soulmates in any form are a difficult topic for a third person to prode, which is why I, personally, tend to not touch that topic, love is one hell of a concept, especially since we all have different conceptions of love and interpersonal relationships. I do know for a fact that there’s only so far we can go in terms of fated connections, like with astrology, but even then, we would have to know their birth times exactly (so we can check for any indicator or a soulmate connection), and/or compare BTS with the rest of the world’s population in order to accurately tell if someone has a soulmate synastry/overlay/composite with them. Also, soulmate journeys are intimate and we are all just fans, what right do we even have to look for things that do not and will never belong to us?

This is why I’m always telling you guys to PLEASE consume content responsibly! Really! Us content consumers also have our part to play that can help us get more accurate, more drama-free content

REFERENCES (what? you thought I was joking? they’re in alphabetical order)

ARMYCENSUS 2020

Loewenstein, G., O’Donoghue, T., & Rabin, M. (2003). Projection bias in predicting future utility. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1209-1248.

March, J. G. (1978). Bounded rationality, ambiguity, and the engineering of choice. The Bell Journal of Economics, 9(2), 587-608.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion and motivation Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.

Mazar, N., Amir, O., & Ariely, D. (2008). The dishonesty of honest people: A theory of self-concept maintenance. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6), 633-644.

Murphy, S. T., & Zajonc, R. B. (1993). Affect, cognition, and awareness: Affective priming with optimal and suboptimal stimulus exposures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 723-729.

Samson, A., & Voyer, B. (2014). Emergency purchasing situations: Implications for consumer decision-making. Journal of Economic Psychology, 44, 21-33.

Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less. New York: Ecco.

Shah, A. K., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2008). Heuristics made easy: an effort-reduction framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 207-222.

Thaler, R. H. (2015). Misbehaving: The making of behavioral economics. Allen Lane.

Thaler, R. H. (2008). Mental accounting and consumer choice. Marketing Science, 27, 15-25.

Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2009). The habitual consumer. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 579-592.

[dippedanddripped]

In the first few moments of a YouTube video titled “Admitting I Own Fakes In-Front of My Fashion Class…”, Quentin Caruso, better known as Tripping, does just that. “I’m a sophomore in college and I’m taking a class about fashion, and in that class (we) were talking about fakes and replicas,” he explains, adding that he can “throw up some pictures so you guys know I’m not bullshitting”. Asked by his teacher if he knowingly owns any counterfeit pieces, the 19-year-old confirms the sneakers he’s wearing at that very moment – the highly coveted Travis Scott Jordan 1 Lows – are in fact fake. “And how do you feel about that,” she prompts. “I’m fine with it,” he wryly confirms.

Caruso is part of a growing community of fashion-savvy shoppers searching for ways to look runway ready on a high street budget – and, unlike many die-hard hypebeasts, they’re willing to own up to the fact their luxury garms aren’t exactly legitimate. In fact, many take pride in their ability to score a bargain, taking to subreddit FashionReps to discuss new releases, fawn over faux Yeezys, and ask each other for advice on where to pick up the best knock-off Off-White and Supreme styles.

The forum is a democratised, judgement-free zone in which people share a love of high quality replicas or ‘reps’, where members are friendly and even supportive. They help one another to find the best sellers and sites to buy from, while discussing discrepancies between retail items and their counterfeit counterparts – from stitching and logos, to details and finishes. Most users admit they can’t afford head-to-toe designer looks, and at times they even share budgeting tips. "I got into reps cause I didn’t have much money and wanted a few nice pieces," redditor godsip2 shared in August. "Now I have no money at all 'cause I'm addicted to buying reps and can't stop myself."  

While a lack of funds and a taste for luxury streetwear is a driving factor for many, for others it isn’t about the money at all. “Not to brag, but if I want a Dior coat, I can get it retail,” Dennis, 19, tells us. “For the same (amount of) money I can get four reps.” Dennis admitted his breaking point came after a shocking moment browsing resale markets where he saw his ‘grail shoes’ – a pair of Off-White Air Jordan 1s – show up for €3000. “I thought ‘Fuck this, I’m never gonna pay that for shoes that originally retailed for €150.”

It’s been almost three years since he came across the FashionReps subreddit, which he was initially skeptical of. However, since joining he hasn’t just sworn off resale products and full-price retail items, but also introduced his friends to reps. “A €500 sweater wasn’t in their price range,” says Dennis. “When I showed them my reps (compared to) my retail Yeezys, they were instantly sold.”

Historically, counterfeit designer items conjure thoughts of poorly imitated handbags on AliExpress, labels that read, ‘Fashing BALISG’ instead of Balenciaga, and stalls in alleyways, but FashionReps members know where the quality replicas are sold and claim that many knock-offs actually tend to be better made.  “The quality is the same, even better,” Netherlands-based 23-year-old Camiel admits. “I’ve heard of some Yeezys being better and a lot of high-end Louis Vuitton reps being way better than retail.” He believes that “retail Louis Vuitton quality is not so great…”

FashionReps members buy in bulk, spending hundreds of dollars on ‘hauls’ that they break up into smaller packages in hopes of evading customs checks. The risk is part of the thrill, and while some are unlucky and have their packages seized, others rejoice when packages filled with thousands of dollars of ‘drip’ arrive in the mail.

Camiel cites his favourite find to be a Palace red slub-neck, “which you can't tell apart from a real one – which I have one of,” he adds. “The quality is amazing and it's super comfortable to wear, it's my favourite (item) I have gotten so far.” But Camiel hasn’t always gotten away with his thrifty finds.

“In the beginning, I wouldn't wear an item if it had the tiniest flaw. Later on, I noticed that people know (very) little about brands and which items even exist,” he explains. While most people who recognise a rep are likely to ask for the seller or pass on a compliment, Camiel concedes he’s been called out before. “Some high schoolers were at the gym and I was wearing my Nike tech fleece joggers, which have some noticeable flaws, like the black stripe being too short and the cords being too short as well. They called me out on the logo, which I know is perfect. Bunch of clowns.”

For all the people excited about reps, their quality, and believability, there are just as many people out there looking to spot a fake. YeezyBusta, who recently gained prominence for spotting fakes on civilians and celebrities has over 760,000 followers on Instagram. He’s busted the likes of Lil Tjay, Blac Chyna, and Soulja Boy for donning fake Supreme and Yeezys, although his faux-detector has been known to malfunction.

"I got into reps cause I didn’t have much money and wanted a few nice pieces. Now I have no money at all 'cause I'm addicted to buying reps and can't stop myself" – godsip2, FashionReps member

In an episode of Complex’s Full Size Run, hosts tasked the Instagram detective with discerning the difference between fake pairs of shoes from the real thing. After being handed a pair of bone-white Yeezy 500s, YeezyBusta exclaims, “Oh these are real!” Closely inspecting the shoe, he notices “The suede is right…even down to the stitching, the label inside the shoe looks right to me and the insole is right too.” The host, who finds it hard to hide his amusement, blurts out “They’re fake.” Behind his signature black surgical mask, used to hide his identity, YeezyBusta turns bright red.

“I can’t take him seriously,” Tripping admits. In a reaction video to a VICE documentary on YeezyBusta, the fashion student protests his motivation for hunting down counterfeit items so publicly. “It isn’t funny. Does anyone find that funny? To ridicule people online? That isn’t something you should be gloating about.”

Some counterfeit items are so believable that they’ve also slipped past trusted authenticators. The RealReal, one of the world's leading luxury consignment stores, claims that "every item we sell is 100% authenticated by an expert.” However, just last year, Forbes contributor, Richard Kentenbaum claimed the retail giant had sold him a fake Toile de Jouy Dior Book Tote bag for $3,600. What followed was a swift investigation by CNBC, who, after speaking with a dozen former employees and unsatisfied customers, and obtaining internal company documents, revealed that “many of the items on the site were being authenticated by copywriters with limited training.” and those who are doing this work are finding it increasingly difficult to spot counterfeits. Out of 1,400 reviews online for The RealReal, the top complaints are fake items.

It may come as a surprise to learn that this is something FashionReps also stands firmly against. In December, the group came together after Depopuser James’s Closet was spotted selling counterfeit items. Within a day, the subreddit had made efforts to liaise with Depop directly and reported the fake pieces resulting in all the listings being taken down. And this isn’t the only time the forum has rallied against people selling fake items moonlighting as cheap authentic ‘steals’. “People who willingly sell replicas as authentic items are the worst,” Tripping insists. “Knowing that a replica looks so close to retail and not selling it for a lot of profit is challenging for some people.”

Conversely, enjoying replicas as they are comes with its own baggage. Reports indicate that counterfeit fashion is a trillion-dollar industry. "One of the worst stories I read was where they had raided an illegal factory and the children were actually handcuffed to the sewing machines," Ariele Elia, an assistant curator at the Museum at FIT explained in a Complex documentary about the flourishing bootleg industry.

Fashion Revolution, a not-for-profit global movement campaigning for the systemic reform of the fashion industry, notes that there’s an “urgent lack of transparency.” Policy Director at Fashion Revolution, Sarah Ditty, told us that counterfeiting doesn’t usually come hand in hand with good rights and wages for workers. “Factories making counterfeit items are doing so illegally so it’s in their interest to operate completely under the radar and in doing so means we have no idea who the workers are making these products, what they are being paid, what conditions they’re working in, and what sort of poor environmental practices are most likely happening in these factories.”

To them, the moral standpoint is clear: “We would definitely encourage people not to buy fake luxury goods or any other counterfeit items because you’re almost guaranteed to be contributing to human exploitation and environmental degradation.” This is an issue that goes beyond fakes: when you look beyond the manufacturing level at the places where fabrics are made, yarns are spun and fibres are grown, even legitimate brands are guilty of obscuring working conditions.

But Tripping insists it's a media smoke-screen. “adidas and Nike were called out for their treatment of workers in the 90s and early 2000s, so now every factory in Asia is associated with bad conditions and child labour.” Tripping also claims that sellers are in fact increasingly transparent about working conditions, their treatment of employees and factories. “They show what their shop looks like, I’ve even asked sellers to show their shops,” he remarked in one of his videos. “And they’ve posted videos on the (subreddit).” One video posted shows a “top quality Yeezy” factory filled with workers. “Actually looks very clean and cool compared to all of the bad warehouse jobs I used to do here in the US,” Redditor highnnmighty comments.

“That’s like asking if I’ll ever go back to my ex, it was a fun time but in the end, you just feel shitted on” – Dennis, on whether or not he will stop buying fakes

Central to what makes FashionReps a great community isn’t the collective middle-finger to resale culture and hypebeasts or the internet-savvy tips, but the irreverent charm and supportive nature of young people who ultimately just want to look cool, and don’t want money to be the reason that they miss out. It’s rare, if not impossible, to find fashion spaces that aren’t hierarchical, based on wealth, social standing, and nepotism, but FashionReps manages to do all of that, and more. Camiel tells me that recently, the subreddit even banded together to target sellers who began taking higher cuts from sales. “I love how we sometimes work together to get something we want.”

Confronted with the fact that buying reps are taking sales away from workers, brands, and designers, Tripping is unfazed. “Once a limited shoe is released, and sold out in seconds, the company has made its profit. The average cost of manufacturing an Air Jordan 1 is $15-$16. The mark up of that shoe is more than 100 per cent. Nike has no problem with this. If you are wearing a replica of that overpriced shoe (on the resell market), you are basically advertising the brand. The culture side of sneakers is bland and fraudulent, replicas are there to stir things up.”

When asked if he’d ever give up replicas and return to buying retail, Dennis scoffed before saying: “That’s like asking if I’ll ever go back to my ex, it was a fun time but in the end, you just feel shitted on.”

[svtxsoju]

00. prologue | dear miss soju

ღ Synopsis: College is hard. Love is even harder. Good thing the students of Mansae University can write in to Miss Soju, the campus’ very own romance advice columnist! The only problem is she’s never been in a relationship. Ever. There’s no telling what kind of chaos she may cause in the love lives of several of MU’s most eligible bachelors. Too bad no one knows who she really is!  ღ Characters/Pairings: college AU! Seventeen & OC’s, Pairings TBA!  ღ Genre: Romantic Comedy, Slice of Life ღ Warning(s): Mentions of alcohol, underage drinking, mentions of sex, language, bad jokes ღ Word Count: 2.6k words ღ Binu’s Note: hi to anyone who is reading this!!! i’m super excited (and kinda nervous :0) to post this bc i’ve been working on this project for a while now. aaaa i hope there are at least some people who can enjoy it! this is a relatively short-ish chapter but it’s p dense with exposition lol but anyway if ur reading this, thank you i love you!!! 

《 ⊛ Author’s Note & Credits ⊛ Masterlist ⊛ Navigation ⊛ 》

《 Previous ⊛ Next 》

Introducing The Front ’s New Romance Advice Columnist: Miss Soju! 

We all have an ideal: an ideal type, an ideal first date, an ideal relationship. The problem is love isn’t ideal at all. And sooner or later, we find ourselves sitting on that plastic chair in that tent on the side of the road with an ache in our chest. You’re hurt, confused, and kind of going crazy-- all the tell-tale symptoms of heartbreak are there. And the only cure? Soju, of course! 

Finding a decent partner and maintaining a healthy, sustainable relationship is difficult enough as it is. Then layer it with the culture shock of university, where you’re experiencing actual adulthood for the first time without mommy and daddy to hold your hand. It’s enough to make anyone lose their minds! Sure, you could always turn to your friends for support and advice, but in all honesty, they’re even more of a mess than you are. 

That’s why Mansae University’s affiliate newspaper, The Front, will be reviving our romance advice column this fall! Each week, Miss Soju will be answering all your burning questions, and that means all of them. Her expertise touches on topics as simple as explaining to that one guy that your love is fated because you passed each other at Yuhaeng Quad, like three times, and extends to more extreme situations that require an anonymous veil, like how to confess to your new boyfriend with the furry fetish that you’ve been severely allergic to animals since you were three and you have no idea how any animals act, let alone… Yikes. 

It’s true, college is full of new and bizarre experiences, some we must go through and some we’d much rather avoid. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet the love of your life here. But it’s okay to admit that you need a little guidance through the mystical and confusing world of college dating. Miss Soju has got your back, and she’s not afraid to hit you with that real shit. As she always says, good advice is like taking a shot: sweet on the lips but burns your throat as you swallow it down. 

Monday, June 3rd, 2019 3:07PM

“Jihoon, I don’t know if I can do this.” 

Name: So Joohyun. Major: Journalism major with a minor in communications. Estimated graduation year: 2021. Desired position: World News Journalism Intern. That was what she had put on her application for The Front’s junior internship program. She had made sure to attach her published articles and to emphasize her interest in-- no, her passion for-- reporting compelling stories on an international scale. Not once in her application did she indicate that she was an expert in love or sex, let alone qualified to give others advice on the subjects! In fact, she was probably the least qualified person on campus for this position, which was probably the most perplexing aspect of the whole situation. 

But despite all of that, there she was, sitting in Yuhaeng Quad with her best friend, reading the promo piece she had written for Miss Soju. Jihoon had been ecstatic when he had thought of the nickname back in high school. She had snuck bottles of the alcohol over to his house one night after finals week, and he had drunkenly claimed that the name was doubly clever since So-ju were also the first two syllables in her name. When the newspaper had told her she needed an anonymous pen name, it was the only thing she could think of, mostly because creating a secret identity had made her in desperate need of a drink. She changed her mind. Having a secret identity was equally as perplexing as pretending to know how to spice up people’s sex lives. It was like she was some kind of Love Spiderman. She was not ready for that kind of great power or the great responsibility that came with it!

“‘I don’t know if I can do this’?” Jihoon repeated her words slowly. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say those words in that order. Can I take your picture? I need to commemorate this moment.” 

“Can’t you see that I am having a crisis?” she whined. “The integrity of my career is on the line because I’ve never bothered to go on a date!” 

“When are you not having a crisis?” Jihoon laughed. He sat up from lying down on their picnic tarp to give her full view of his smug grin. Originally, he had dragged Joohyun outside in hopes that the perfect summer weather would help relieve some of her stress from the past week. He even found her favorite spot under the shade of an ancient tree that overlooked the stretch of green field. But Jihoon could not call himself a proper best friend if he passed on an opportunity to rub all of this in her face. “This is what you get for chickening out on all our group blind dates! I could have scored that hot bassist girl with the thigh tattoo, but nooo, you always had to put your career first.” 

“Sue me for having priorities!” she huffed. Leave it to Jihoon to chalk this all up to karma. Now that he mentioned it though, she couldn’t help but feel like a higher power was taking a piss on her life. Or maybe it was just the shit-eating smile on Jihoon’s face that had her on edge. Joohyun tried to avert her focus to a couple of boys tossing a frisbee around instead, but somehow that irked her too. The idyllic weather, the carefree students, everything that was pleasant seemed to mock her sour mood. She pouted at the ground in defeat, and continued, “You are the first person to know that if I was told that dating and fucking around were going to be crucial to my journey to becoming South Korea’s top journalist by the time I turn 25, I would have become a hoe long ago.” 

“Woah, are you gonna start your thot phase for this? Are we gonna have a hot girl summer?” The boy began to bounce excitedly. Joohyun felt it was high time to give him the finger, but she also felt a small smile tugging at her frown. “Easier said than done, though. Remember Jessi from high school?”

“Yeah I remember,” she said with a sigh. High school romance had lured so many of her friends into its clutches, with its enticing promises of sweet chocolates and stuffed animals, and she had helplessly watched from the top of the class as they forsook their grades for boys who didn’t even know what deodorant was. She only shuddered to think of the state of their grades after a nasty break up. It was then that Joohyun had decided that her future was not worth risking over a boy’s attention. “Which is exactly why I never got involved in all that mess in the first place.”

“This must be the gods telling you that it’s time to.”

“What kind of fucked up god sets up a virgin as a love advice columnist?” she asked the sky loudly. If she had known there was anyone listening, she would have insisted that her question was rhetorical and was not in need of any type of response! However, the gods cared not for grammar technicalities on the mortal plane. They just couldn’t resist the chance to respond to someone so openly questioning their decisions with some good ol’ spite. Honestly, with the way things were going for her lately, Joohyun probably should have expected the frisbee flying merrily towards her face, even if she hadn’t just challenge the universe. 

“Oh fuck!” Joohyun jerked out of the way and felt the frisbee thunk against her shoulder instead. “Ow.” At this point, she didn’t even have the capacity to be annoyed; she just braced herself for whatever misfortune life threw at her next. 

“Sorry about that!” A boy called out, jogging up to them. As he came into clearer view, she noted that he looked far from misfortunate, and also had to remind herself that staring was rude even if someone was unnaturally handsome. His features were soft yet striking, like he had been carefully sculpted from cotton candy. Or maybe a fluffy rain cloud? Joohyun shook her head a little as if that would get her to stop staring so shamelessly. She speculated whether it was the sun that made it look like his blond hair was a glowing halo. Okay seriously, stop staring! He gave Joohyun a sweet smile when he reached them. “My friend got a bit distracted. Now that I’m here, I can’t say that I blame him. Hope we didn’t do too much damage!” 

“Uh,” was her captivating reply.  

Jihoon, never one to miss such a ripe opportunity, piped up beside her. “She’ll be fine. This is Joohyun, by the way.” 

His smile widened at Woozi’s introduction, and Joohyun could swear there was an actual twinkle in his eyes. “Nice to meet you both. I’m--”

“Yoon Jeonghan!” They all looked towards the call. The ethereal boy let out a startlingly loud cackle at the sight of his friend, who gave the two strangers a sheepish wave before continuing to gesture for Jeonghan to return. Joohyun must have been put in a staring mood, because she didn’t miss how his friend’s big ears were a shade of pink and how they bloomed into a cherry red when they briefly made eye contact. She caught herself wondering if all the boys at Mansae University were always this cute. 

“I guess I better go,” the boy named Jeonghan shrugged. Joohyun felt his fingers brush against hers when he took the frisbee from her hand, his eyes glinting mischievously. Now she was sure she was seeing things. “See you two around!” 

They both watched him retreat in an awestruck silence. That was certainly… unanticipated. Even long after Jeonghan and his friend were out of sight, the brief encounter left a blanket of fogginess lingering over them. Had she not felt his fingers on hers, Joohyun would have easily believed that it had all been in her head. At the same time, she was pretty sure that she wasn’t bold enough to conjure up someone that looked like that on her own. As she continued to fathom how a human being could glow, Joohyun felt the fog dissipate into the warm summer air. She felt like she was waking up from a disorienting dream, and she blinked to hasten the process. To her growing bewilderment, she found that her heartbeat was steady as she came back to her senses, her mind seemingly devoid of the panic and doubt that had plagued her all week. It was a gasp of fresh air. 

Jihoon, on the other hand, had long broken free from the strong impression that the blond boy made. He noted the dazed look on his best friend’s face and rolled his eyes. Who knew that a pretty boy was all it took to make her shut up a bit? He nudged Joohyun impatiently, so that she could pay attention to him while he roasted her for totally flubbing her chances.  “You thinking of risking it all for that guy?” 

In an instant, Joohyun slammed herself back into reality just to shove Jihoon away from her. “That is so not happening,” she said a little too indignantly. Before Jihoon could reassure her that the guy seemed interested enough even though she had only said a single syllable to him, Joohyun suddenly turned to him very seriously. “Do you really think I  can do it, Jihoon?” 

“What, bang that guy? I can try calling him back here if you want,” he snickered. 

“You know what I mean!”  

“Okay sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Jihoon replied, his grin now melting into a familiar smile, the one that could put her at ease on her lowest days. “I just don’t know why you have to ask. You and I both know that you kick ass at writing. You’ve written about stuff like natural disasters and the student protests, no problem at all. It’s not like you have a PhD in environmental science or politics. How is this any different? ”

Joohyun scrunched her face as if Jihoon had just suggested that chocolate milk came from brown cows. “Dude, they’re completely different. Those articles were reporting on facts. I did research, I conducted interviews!” 

“That’s what I’m saying, Joo!” Jihoon exclaimed suddenly. As smart as she was, he couldn’t help getting a little giddy whenever he thought of a good idea before her. “Why not treat Miss Soju like any other of your other projects? I mean, love is probably one of the most well-documented experiences throughout history, and people are still going through all the same shit. There’s probably thousands of resources for a man simping on a hot chick alone. You can even take your pick, like movies, songs, books, weird couples on Youtube?You don’t need to have experience, because you can just do the research! ” 

“Research?” Joohyun repeated. If there was one thing that she was good at, it was doing the work. From the moment she had decided to become a journalist, everything she had done was a strategic move to get her closer to her end goal. She had spent sleepless nights perfecting the details of her writing, countless hours reading through endless archives of old articles. Hell, she even restricted herself from dating for years just so she could focus on keep her grades up. It was almost too easy of a solution. Maybe she was meant to do this after all.

 Another couple of months of research would simply be another hurdle on her way to the finish line and she was getting closer and closer. Finally, she felt a smile spread across her cheeks, a real, genuine smile. “I… I can do that.” 

“Now that,” Jihoon said as he took her hand in his, pulling her up to her feet, “sounds like So Joohyun. Or should I say Miss Soju?” 

She laughed as she dusted the grass off of her butt. “You know, it’s probably not a good idea to include the first part of my name in my anonymous persona. It makes it so obvious that it’s me.”

“Yeah, I mean it would be obvious if people actually knew who you were in the first place,” Jihoon scoffed, narrowly dodging a kick from her. “That’s a good thing for you! Anyway, let’s get out of here, I have a couple of tweaks to make to my song before releasing it tonight. Could you listen to it by the way? I need to know if it’s too cheesy.” 

“Oh, the song you’re writing about your mystery muse?” Joohyun hummed playfully while packing up their blanket. She followed after her best friend as he began the short climb uphill. “I don’t know if I want to, you’ve been pretty out of pocket today.”

“Hey!” he said defensively. “First: I don’t need a muse for my songs, I just have a very vivid imagination and my talent does the rest. Second: I literally just stopped you from giving up on your lifelong dream of becoming a journalist, so I think you owe me one. You’re just jealous I can write love songs without having an existential crisis.” 

“See, that is what I mean by out of pocket,” she paused for a beat. “I may be willing to listen to your song. For a small price, of course.”

“Okay, deal,” he agreed without hesitation, missing the way Joohyun deviously smirked beside him. They reached the concrete pavement at top of the hill and headed in the direction of his nearby apartment. “What is it this time, Ms. So?” 

“Well Mr. Lee, thanks to your lovely suggestion earlier, I have been inspired to begin work immediately. So we shall be watching Twilight on movie night,” she said all too gleefully, mostly for satisfaction that Jihoon’s twisted face of disgust gave her. 

“Do we have to?” he groaned.

 “It’s for my research!”

[camillemontespan]

I won't let you down snippet

Original edit by the amazing lovely fabulous talented (so many adjectives ) @mskaneko

I've since used the edit to make a magazine cover but I wanted to show the original in all its glory!

This will be a one shot at some point, I just wrote this on my lunch break and thought about posting it :) I'm breaking away from the canon and my head canon here - Drake and Camille are not loved. They are judged and examined all the time.

Considering the amount of negative press my face claim for Camille, Meghan Markle, has had, I thought it would be apt to write a one shot along those lines.

A/N: So happy that Meghan has stepped away from the toxic environment with Harry. You do you girl!

On mobile so no keep reading line I'm afraid, sorry x

@jovialyouthmusic @ibldw-main @moonlightgem7 @burnsoslow @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @gardeningourmet @katedrakeohd @emichelle @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld

*****************************************

Another day, another 1000 euros spent by the Duke and Duchess of Valtoria.

Following Drake and Camille's ascension to the noble heights of Dukedom, Cordonia has been watching in horror as they seem to strive to ruin everything Cordonia holds dear regarding the nobility and our much loved traditions.

It has come to light that the common born Duke and Duchess have spent an eye watering 50,000 euros on the nursery for their new baby who is due in the Autumn.

'The couple are having their cake and eating it,' one source tells Duke Magazine. 'Because they're close friends with the King, the funding they receive for their duchy has been incredibly high but instead of spending the cash where it counts, they are spending it on themselves.'

Duke Magazine has learnt that the nursery will be kitted out in gold detailing with only the best items for the newborn.

'They're planning to build an extension which will serve as the playroom,' the source continues, 'and the baby will be dressed in only designer clothing.'

Camille is known for wearing the latest clothes by her favourite designers, among which are Armani, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. It comes as no surprise that she will dress their baby in the same way.

Drake Walker is known to be incredibly protective of his wife and no doubt this will be exacerbated when their new arrival is born.

'He is making sure Camille is given the best hospital treatment,' another source tells us. 'Which means he wants an entire hospital floor, complete with security guards, so she can give birth without any intrusions. It's terrible because it means other expecting mothers will have to go to another hospital.'

It is clear that since their marriage only seven months ago, Drake and Camille have let the power go to their heads. We can only hope they will see sense.

Our in depth report continues on page six..

******************************************

Drake came home to a worried Magda. 'Drake, thank god you're home!' the maid greeted him. 'Camille won't come out of your room. She's very upset.'

Alarmed, Drake hurried upstairs to their bedroom where he could hear crying from the other side of the door.

'Camille?' he asked, knocking on the wood. 'Baby, what's wrong? Do you need watermelon?'

Watermelon was Camille's current craving.

The door opened slowly and Drake came face to face with his wife. Her eyes were red rimmed, filled with tears and bloodshot. In her hands was a magazine.

She threw it against the wall behind Drake. 'No, I don't want any fucking watermelon!' she screamed.

She rushed back into the bedroom and threw herself on the armchair with her head in her hands, muffling her sobs. Drake picked up the magazine.

He read the cover without comment and turned to the page where the scathing article about Drake and Camille began. Again, he read without comment, his eyes scanning the words.

Sighing, he closed the magazine. 'Why did you buy this shit?'

Camille stared at him, her eyes blazing. 'Trust me, I didn't buy this. Someone posted it through our door.'

Drake closed his eyes. Typical. Ever since they had come to Valtoria to live as the new Duke and Duchess, things had been difficult. They were of common blood and to add insult to injury, Camille was American while Drake also had American blood mixed with his Cordonian heritage.

Their lack of experience made them easy targets for the press, who were royalists and viewed Drake and Camille as upstarts hellbent on ignoring Cordonia's traditions.

'I'm not going to dress up our baby in designer clothes!' Camille protested. 'Do they realise how stupid an idea that is? Babies throw up! They get bigger every week! It would be a waste of money!'

Drake moved to crouch down in front of her and took her hands.

'Camille, breathe,' he said, his voice steady. 'Deep breaths.'

Camille inhaled and exhaled as he instructed. His heart tugged as he watched her rub her eyes harshly and take a quivering breath.

'We're not taking a hospital floor,' she whispered, her voice cracking. 'I'm wanting a home birth! With candles and music and you at my side. I've even planned my birthing playlist! I'm not taking away any hospital beds or making other mom's go somewhere else, I wouldn't dare suggest that!-'

'Shh honey..' Drake murmured, gently placing his hands on either side of her face. 'It's alright. Look, the media are monsters. But all we can do is rise above it and keep doing what we're doing. You are better than them.'

Camille hiccupped. 'They're making everyone hate us,' she mumbled. 'I hate that our names are being dragged through the mud. We try so hard to please everyone and its exhausting. I can't cope with this anymore, Drake. I can't.'

Drake listened with growing alarm as his wife told him how much she was struggling. How she didn't want to get out if bed some mornings. That she was terrified every time they were hounded by paparazzi that they would push her and she would fall, losing the baby. She was scared and anxious all the time and the media circus surrounding them wasn't helping.

Drake listened to her words pour out while she cried. His eyes never once left hers.

'Camille,' he said softly, 'I'm gonna fix this. I promise. I'll get a restraining order, I'll get these vultures away from you, okay?'

Camille sniffled. 'What if you can't?' she asked.

Drake pressed a kiss to her lips. 'Trust me on this,' he whispered. 'Have I ever let you down?'

Camille shook her head.

Drake smiled. 'We're the Walkers,' he told her. 'Nobody tells us who we are. We tell them.'

Camille laughed now, a small laugh but a laugh nonetheless. 'Since when did you become so sure of yourself?'

Drake chuckled and gave her a lazy smile. 'Since I married you,' he answered honestly. 'I promise, baby. I won't let you down.'

[savemefromanepicoftimewasted]

Nightmare

Captain America!Bucky Barnes  Winter Soldier!Steve Rogers

He tossed and turned for most of the night, too afraid to truly fall back into a deep slumber, lest he succumb to the nightmares once more.  They plagued his mind more often than not, running rampant while he struggled to get the sleep he desperately needed.

a/n:pics are not mine!(if anyone knows who edited the Bucky pic tag them so i can!) warnings:violence, gore, brainwashed Steve Rogers, death

If you’d asked Bucky what his least favorite memory was, it would be the day he gained the super soldier serum.  Now that wasn’t to say he was ungrateful because of it, it just made things more difficult than they needed to be.  From being stronger than any man or woman that roamed the streets, to people recognizing him almost instantly.  It was the unwanted attention he mostly hated, seeing how often people seeing him for his body, rather than the person inside.

The only reason he’d even joined the army was because of his best friend, Steve Rogers.  He’d gotten drafted only six months after the war had begun, barely twenty-one years old.  He was tall, standing at nearly six foot, lean muscles that he’d gained from working at the docks after his mother passed away.  Bucky had been envious of him, he was slightly shorter, standing at just under 5’9”.  It wasn’t until after he’d gotten the serum that everything seemed to shift, he was taller, significantly, and much broader and wider.

Steve had barely been able to recognize him, his entire platoon had been captured, held in cages like animals.  Things began to shift suddenly, Bucky had noticed subtle differences in his friends' eyes when they would talk, the way they seemed so dull now.  He’d barely even glanced at Agent Carter when she came to talk to Bucky, nodding slowly as she gave the details of a recon mission.

The day Bucky would lose Steve forever.

He’d reached for him, fingers grazing along the metal pole as he struggled to catch his best friend from falling down into the ravine below.  His screams echoing as he watched his life flash before his eyes.  Bucky no longer cared who was in his way anymore, taking down anyone that stood in his path of rage.

Nothing would ever be the same, Bucky wouldn’t get to live his life with his best friend by his side.  Everything felt wrong now.

~~~~ 2013 Bucky watched as everyone in the room began to argue, from Tony, to Fury who looked annoyed with everyone’s shit.  All he wanted to do was go back to his apartment and relax, catch up on the last near seventy years worth of life he’d missed out on.  He wanted Steve here more than anything.

The fight was intense, nearly killing everyone before it was finally over, a calm settling over them as they watched the skies clear.  A weight had lifted off his chest, almost as if he could breathe easier for a little while.  Until the rest of the team left him behind to go be together, gathering around a table that could barely fit them all.  Bucky had known when he wasn’t wanted, had known his entire life.  But to witness it so blatantly, it hurt just that much more.

So he did what he felt best, hid himself away from the rest of the world, only coming out to go on missions whenever Fury asked.  No one else accompanied him, except for the Shield agents that were assigned to the mission as well.  They didn’t make conversation with him, keeping a distance that felt safe.  Bucky preferred it, if anyone were to ask he’d rather no one ever spoke to him again.  Loneliness was better than the pity stares he got from the rest of the team.

2019

And then he met Sam Wilson, the man who turned the world on its head when he had nowhere else to go.  He made Bucky feel safe, a warmth blooming in his chest he hadn’t felt for over seventy years.

“How’s life been treating you since you came back?” Sam was sitting across from him after a meeting at the VA.

“The same as before, I’m still their puppet, only coming out to do their bidding when it needs to be done.” Bucky was ready to hang up the shield, make a life for himself that he wasn’t allowed to have.

Sam wasn’t blind to how Bucky felt, how horrifically he’d been treated after coming out of the ice.  From the ‘adoring’ fans, to the hate he’d received from anyone who thought he didn’t deserve to hold his title.  The very man who’d helped take down an entire army by himself, didn’t deserve to be labeled Captain America.

“You ever think about retiring?” Sam had asked that question more times than Bucky could count, it never changed his answer.

“The world would fall to shit without me now, how many wars were there after I went into the ice?” Bucky snorted, rolling his eyes.

They’d fought two wars, and only won one of them.  There was no way he could sit back while innocent people lost their lives for a ridiculous cause.  Sam had fought in the war they’d been fighting for years, longer than anyone before.  He’d lost someone close to him, and Bucky refused to let anyone else lose someone they needed.

“They’re wrong about you, you know.” Sam leaned forward, resting his forearms against the large oak desk.

“It doesn’t matter what they think of me Sam, I put on the suit and do what needs to be done.” Even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness.

Sam didn’t say anything for a few moments, letting his words sink into the air that surrounded them.  He wanted to tell Bucky he was wrong, that there were people who cared about him, but this was a man who’d made up his mind a while ago.  He wasn’t Bucky Barnes anymore, no, once he’d gotten the serum he’d become Captain America.

“Did you ever have someone?  Back before you crashed the plane?” That was a question he hadn’t gotten before, he’d always claimed he was alone for most of his life.

Which was true, except for one person who had caught his eye when he was too young to even know what love was.  His mother had seen it before even he had, the horror that crossed her features when she realized whom her son was in love with.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t able to tell them before it was too late.  It doesn’t matter anyhow.” The pain pulled at Bucky’s heart, reminding him of how alone he truly was.

“They got a name?” Sam knew not to push, Bucky had a lot of secrets, and this was one of his biggest.

“Steve.” Bucky had come to terms with the truth, knowing that the one person he’d fallen in love with, had died in front of his eyes.

It was a recurring nightmare he had almost daily, watching Steve die, or being the one to fall from the train while Steve screamed his name.  Something that would haunt him for the rest of his days, as limited as they could be.

“Rogers, they wrote about him in the history books, alongside you of course.” That was one of the first things Bucky had done after he’d woken up.

They weren’t kind to him in the textbooks, tarnishing his name as if he were a criminal rather than a war hero.

“I didn’t want to be Captain America, not after I saw how it affected everyone around me.  I was ready to give up the suit before I even knew how to handle it.” His family were gone, nothing but memories he’d hold onto forever.

“They needed you, you saved more lives than anyone in history by crashing that plane.  What about the other Avengers?” Bucky grimaced at the mere mention of them, arms crossed over his chest.

“They look at me the same way everyone else does, as if I’m some kind of freak.” 

Bucky had kept the arm hidden from everyone for a while.  It’d happened during a freak accident, they were unable to repair his arm, leading to the one that had been made for him.  It was too heavy, pulling against the skin of his shoulder every moment he was awake.  Howard had made it for him, alongside the shield he had in his apartment.

“It’s a prosthetic, tons of people have them now, why is yours any different?” Sam, always the wise guy.

“Mine was made back when Nazis were still around, I’m one of the strongest people in the world with this alone.” Sam seemed to take that into consideration, as if what he was saying was new.

“That’s just ridiculous, they got exactly what they wanted, and now they’re upset because you’re not a puppet anymore.” Bucky raised a brow at the other man, it hit too close to home.

Sam was right though, the day Bucky stopped playing by everyone else’s rules, it seemed almost glaringly obvious that he wasn’t treated the same anymore.

He left the meeting feeling slightly better, the weight of the word still resting against his shoulders as he stepped into his apartment.  His cat, Alpine, had made himself comfortable on the recliner nearby the window.  He’d make it up to him next time he ran to the store, get him the wet food he really liked.

The light was filtering in from the windows, giving the room a somber glow as he took in the various articles he’d framed.  From back when he’d first gotten the shield, to the most recent one where he’d accompanied Tony to a gala, god that was a nightmare.  The snotty guests that turned their noses up at him, acting as if he was a waiter instead of a guest.

“Steve, it’s too much of a risk, I can’t do that to you.” Bucky stared at the blonde, gauging his reaction.

“I’m not gonna let you go alone Buck, you’re my best friend.” Steve slapped a hand against Bucky’s shoulder, igniting a fiery pain across his back.

They’d only just put the arm on, throwing him into physical therapy before he could even stand up properly on his own.  He needed to keep Steve safe, no matter how much it took of him, even if it meant he’d get discharged from the army.

The lights around him dimmed, a sharp gust of wind whipping harshly against his face, it felt as if knives were cutting into his skin.

“Why’d you let me fall Buck?  All you had to do was hold on, you let me die.” Steve’s body was littered with cuts, blood staining the dark green uniform.

“I didn’t let you fall, I swear!” Bucky reached towards him, hands falling just short of where he stood.

“It’s all your fault, you let me die in that ravine.” Blood began to pour down his arms and legs, staining the ground in crimson.

“No!” Bucky lunged forward in the bed, sweat dripping down his chest as he struggled to take in his surroundings.

The clock on his bedside table, one of Alpine’s beds on the floor, a pair of boots near the door, a masked man standing in the doorway.

Sighing softly, Bucky laid back against the bed, the fear suddenly locking him in place as he glanced back towards the empty doorway.

“It was just a nightmare, nothing more.” Though his heart rate refused to slow down, beating erratically as he slowly took in the items surrounding him.

He tossed and turned for most of the night, too afraid to truly fall back into a deep slumber, lest he succumb to the nightmares once more.  They plagued his mind more often than not, running rampant while he struggled to get the sleep he desperately needed.

“What’s another hour lost?  Not like I’ll be able to get it back anyway.” Bucky roughly pushed the plush comforter off his body, throwing his legs off the side of the bed.

He’d been losing sleep for the last few months, unsure of what was causing him to have such vivid nightmares.  It felt as if he was back there, on the train with his best friend, the man he was in love with.  Steve was none the wiser though, looking around for a woman to warm his bed almost every night.  Where was Bucky in all this?  Pushed aside like some piece of trash as if he meant nothing?  

The only time he ever truly mattered was back after he’d gotten the serum, taking down enemy soldiers with a simple flick of the wrist, it was all too easy.  There were so many good people by his side, and now they were all gone, lived lives of their own.  If only Bucky hadn’t been selfish, had made Steve return home so he could also live a happy life.

Shield had issued him a therapist after he’d come out of the ice, though, Bucky refused to ever speak to anyone.  They wouldn’t be able to understand what he’d lost, how he’d been ripped out of his own time, and forced to become a soldier once more.  It was why he was thankful for Sam, he helped tame the demons that Bucky kept hidden.

“I’ve been having dreams about Steve again, they all end the same though.” Bucky wrung his hands together, metal and flesh alike.

“Blaming you for him falling off the train that day?” Bucky could only nod, Sam hummed softly, writing down the notes quickly.

Bucky hadn’t been able to stop himself the first time he told Sam about the nightmares, how they were tearing him apart.  He just wanted to relax for one night, to be free of all his worries.

Which is how he found himself staring down a man he never thought he’d ever expect to see again.  He didn’t look like himself though, from the beard that covered his face, to how dark his hair looked.  There was no doubt though, the man staring back at Bucky was none other than Steve Rogers.

“Steve?” Bucky’s whisper sounded broken, tears sliding down his cheeks as he stumbled towards the brunette.  

When had he lost the blonde?  And how the hell was he even alive!?  Bucky watched him fall to his death!

“They warned me about you, said you’d try and use your tactics against me.” Steve’s shoulders were stiff, stance strong as he stared down the other man.

“Steve, you’re my best friend.” Bucky kept his grip tight on the shield, eyes never leaving the other man. “I won’t fall for your tricks, Captain.” Steve’s voice was like ice, cutting into Bucky’s skin.

They stalked one another, as if the other was prey.  Bucky wasn’t sure what to anticipate with this new version of Steve, someone he didn’t recognize at all.  This wasn’t the man he’d fallen in love with back in the 40’s, the person he’d called his best friend.

“You’re my mission.” Steve lunged towards the other man, landing a rough hit to the shield Bucky held up to cover his body.

“Your name, is Steven Grant Rogers!” Bucky pushed back with the shield, teeth grinding together.

He was going to get himself killed, Steve was a lot stronger than he last remembered, and right now was proving just that.

They were equally matched, neither able to land a solid hit without the other blocking each kick, or punch.  Until Steve managed to wrench the shield from Bucky’s hands, throwing it too far for him to be able to reach.  Realization washed over Bucky suddenly, unless he was able to get the shield back, Steve would be able to do more damage.

His horror became a reality, as Steve drove a knife deep into his stomach, driving it in until the handle was pressed flush to his ribs.  He grabbed onto Steve’s arm, blood coating his tongue as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Bucky!” Sam’s voice echoed through the comm as he flew down, landing barely ten feet away before sprinting over to Bucky.

Steve pulled the blade out, letting Bucky drop to the ground, blood soaking his uniform.  This was how his life was going to end, taken by the very person he’d called a friend so long ago.

“Buck, I need you to try and stay awake for me.” Sam dropped down beside him, pressing down against the wound that hadn’t stopped bleeding.

Why hadn’t his body tried to heal itself?  Was it finally giving up?  Unable to heal from the damage he’d put it through one last time.

“Ste..he’s...Sam he’s,” Bucky struggled to take any air into his lungs, wheezing as he clutched the ground.  “He’s here, Sam.” He glanced over Sam’s shoulder, at the man who still held the blade loosely in his gloved fingers.

Time seemed to still as Bucky’s vision began to grow fuzzy, swimming as his head laid down against the ground.  Blood coated his lips, trailing down into the stubble he’d carelessly ignored to shave.  Sam tore open the front of his suit, noticing how much larger the wound was.  Why hadn’t he worn the steal suit?  What made him choose the suit from back when he walked with the Howling Commandos?

“Bucky, I need you to try and relax, please.” Sam ignored the tears in his eyes, grabbing a new set of gauze to stop the bleeding.

Bucky let out a loud sob from the pain, hands clenched into fists as he struggled to keep a grasp on reality.  If he could keep his eyes on Sam, he’d be able to stay alive long enough for the serum to heal the wounds.

The light seemed almost brighter, as if he was reaching something he was so desperate to finally grasp onto.  Everything would fall into place, granting Bucky the one wish he’d had for so long.

The air seemed to still as he pressed harder, noticing the lack of movement from Bucky’s chest, how his hands had become limp his sides, eyes that held no life.

“Bucky!  C’mon man, you gotta keep breathing for me.” Tears dripped from Sam’s cheek down onto Bucky’s chest, his sobs echoing through the air as he crumbled.

“Please, don’t do this to us.” Sam gripped onto the torn pieces of his suit, uncaring of how the blood seemed to soak into his own skin.

Steve hadn’t moved from his spot, watching as Sam cried over a man he’d once known, someone he’d fought alongside for so long.

“Oh my god.” Steve dropped the knife, knees slamming into the ground as his hands began to shake uncontrollably at his sides.

Sam wanted to attack him, to drive the same knife into his throat that had taken away Bucky’s life.  He couldn’t find the energy to move, to do anything other than sob for the man he’d just lost.

The only sound in the field, was that of the two men that cried, even the wind was silent.

2 Months Later They laid Bucky Barnes to rest, surrounded by friends that could consider themselves family.  Soldiers said a silent prayer for the man who helped shape a generation, fighting off the protesters who claimed Bucky deserved what had happened.  Thankfully, the group was small enough to be arrested on sight.

“I can’t begin to ever apologize, what I did was beyond forgiveness.” Steve ran his hands through his hair, a sigh slipping through his lips.

“There’s nothing we can do to change the past, he at least tried.” Natasha had been wary of Steve the moment the psychiatrists deemed him sane enough.

There was something about Steve that threw her off, something he refused to share to anyone that could keep a secret.  She’d seen the file, that Hydra had captured him back in ‘43, was it because Bucky blamed himself for Steve being captured?  He’d cried in her lap so many nights, saying that if he’d been faster he’d of saved his best friend.

“He was so scared to be a hero, said that it wasn’t what he’d signed up for.  He did it to keep his family safe, three sisters, and his parents.” Steve reached for the glass of water he’d poured when they first arrived back at the compound.

Natasha eyed him carefully, fingertips gliding over the knife she’d slid into the garter on her thigh.  Was it normal for someone to bring a knife to a funeral?  No.  Natasha wasn’t stupid though, she knew better than to trust Steve.

“There was, umm, something he told me back before we went on the mission to find Zola.  Said he couldn’t keep it hidden anymore.” Steve chuckled softly, it sounded weak even to his own ears.

Sam glanced over at him, hands wrung together painfully as he used his strength not to attack him, again. “Told me he was in love with me, that he couldn’t remember a time that he wasn’t.  And what did I do?  I fucking told him it was wrong, that I didn’t feel the same for him, that he didn’t understand his feelings, as if I knew any better.” The glass in Steve’s hand shattered, shards slicing through the skin easily.

No one moved from their seats, all watching as Steve started to realize what he was saying to everyone.  Bucky had bared his heart and soul to the man, and in return he stomped on it as if it were the end of a cigarette, leaving behind nothing but ash.

“It’s all my fault.” Steve couldn’t breathe suddenly, eyes going glassy as he stared down at his still bleeding hand.

When had his hands begun to shake?  And why was his vision suddenly so swimmy?  He was just talking about Bucky, the one that he’d known back before the war.

“Steve?” Sam’s voice sounded far away, as if he was talking through a tunnel.

Steve lifted his head, sweat beading around his temples as he pushed himself off the couch, blood smearing across the otherwise pristine couch.  Glass slipped farther into the open skin, slicing open his fingers further.  The noise was too loud, far too loud for where he was at the moment.

“I’m gonna need you to sit down, you’re gonna hurt yourself.” Sam reached over, nervous as to what Steve had planned to do.

“Steven, what do you think you’re doing?” The doctor glared angrily at him, clutching a syringe in his right hand, knuckles gone white from the tightness of his grip. “I don’t belong here!” Steve stepped away from the doctor and guards that surrounded him, fear overtaking all of his emotions.

There was nowhere for him to run, men strong enough to overpower him standing on all sides.  Fear was running through his veins, if he could escape then he could get back to safety, find Bucky and get away from this madness.  

“You haven’t the slightest idea, do you?” The doctors lips upturned into a sickening smirk, enough to nearly cause Steve sick.

“Your dear little friend is dead, lost in the arctic.” He gestured to one of the guards, who stepped back to receive what looked like a paper.

There, in bold letters across the front page stared back at him. Captain America Has Died Steve couldn’t control the bile that rose up in his throat, the acid spilling onto the floor as tears ran down his cheeks.  Everyone he had known was gone.  He was truly alone in this world. ~~~ Sam, and Nat watched nervously as Steve shook against the side of the bed, arms wrapped harshly around his legs, pulled flush to his chest.

“What’re we going to do?” Natasha was angry with the man that she’d watched for the last few days, angry at what he’d done.

Most of all, she was angry with herself.  If she’d only given Bucky the trust he deserved, he wouldn’t of been rotting in a coffin.  

“Tony said they’re going to execute him, that he’s too unstable.” Sam frowned, watching the brunette with a close intensity.

“Maybe they should.” Natasha’s eyes narrowed for a second, too quick for Sam to gauge a proper reaction from her.

Sparing one last glance at the man they knew as Steve, Natasha, and Sam stepped away.  This wasn’t their fight, it was already lost.

[1dreality]

Zayn Malik was never the celebrity you thought he was. If it wasn’t already obvious from his detached, often melancholic interviews in the wake of his 2015 departure from One Direction, it will be from the title of his second solo album. The very elongated 27-track Icarus Falls is comprised of more of the sparse R&B that Malik has perfected since his first release Mind of Mine in 2016, but like its titular myth is also indebted to themes of incredible ascent and crushing decline.

A decline not of Malik’s career, it should be said, but rather of his own mental health, the album serving as both an intimate meditation on Malik’s life so far and a dire warning about the trauma of instant fame. It all leads to one obvious question: Is Zayn OK?

In an age of millennial openness and Instagram confessionals, Malik remains something of an outlier: an enormously famous and highly visible celebrity, but one whose ambiguity allows us to project much onto him. In our collective consciousness, he has been the 1D-fleeing villain, smoking cigarettes, being mean to his bandmates on Twitter and looking miserable as well as the “soft boy” pin-up, a vulnerable figure in desperate need of a hug.

Much of that ambiguity is intentional. Along with declining to tour Mind of Mine, Malik is often press-shy, choosing not to take part in TV sit-downs or play the social media game in an era in which somebody like Ariana Grande spends much of the waking day interacting with her fans on Twitter and Instagram.

And while Malik has been open about some of his past struggles, including his battle with an eating disorder at the height of his One Direction fame and consistent difficulties with anxiety, they’re often revelations that feel accidental in nature. We learn of them during an unexpected moment of truth-telling between him and a journalist, the subject quickly changed soon after, or through lyrics that are just descriptive enough to imply deep truths. Even talking about his anxiety in an essay for Time Magazine felt like a necessary course-correction after a string of cancelled gigs led to unflattering rumours about his health in the press.

Whether Malik’s public persona is intended as a protective mask or not, it is still difficult, particularly in the wake of Icarus Falls, not to feel something for him. After all, his jump from a working-class kid to an international superstar worth a reported $50 million, practically overnight, is the sort of trajectory most of us would struggle with at the age of 40, let alone at 17 when Malik auditioned for The X Factor.

Icarus Falls doesn’t cover any new sonic ground for Malik as an artist. It sees him return to the same well of threadbare, silky R&B that helped Mind of Mine easily trounce his fellow One Direction bandmates in the “best first solo record” stakes. But it does whirr with a noticeable sadness, Malik repeatedly mourns the peace of his pre-X Factor past and beats himself up for mistakes he feels that he’s made since. And when he speaks of emotional pain, it often sounds not like something confined to history, but rather something he’s dealing with every day.

“I’d rather be anywhere but here,” he sings on Good Years. “I close my eyes and see a crowd of a thousand tears / I pray to God I didn’t waste all my good years.” On Insomnia: “I’ve been roaming and strolling all in the streets / Burning my eyes red, not slept for weeks.” On Back to Life: “I been flying so long / Can’t remember what it was like to be sober.” On Satisfaction: “Nobody said this would be easy / Nobody gave me a rule book to follow.”

Even typical love songs are fatalistic in nature, talk of Armageddon running through both Flight of the Stars (“I will follow / Hold you close standing on the edge of no tomorrow”) and Tonight (“Love me like tomorrow’s never gonna come”), while much of the album nods to an unnamed great love in Malik’s life that he needs to overcome incredible odds to be with – nothing new for love songs, but given a greater weight when paired with his statements over the years. Because if we know anything about Zayn Malik, it’s that he often can’t stand being Zayn Malik.

Through much of the little press he has done, Malik has expressed unease with most of the trappings of fame, particularly the assumptions that he ought to be personable and friendly with industry figures or musical collaborators. And when it comes to One Direction, he still appears burnt by the experience. While he told Vogue in November that he has recently been able to see his time with the band as “an amazing experience,” despite the “bulls---” of what he refers to as “the machine,” he also told GQ in June that he didn’t make any actual friends during the peak of his fame: “I definitely have issues trusting people.”

In the numerous articles that pop up every winter recalling how good The X Factor used to be, clips are embedded that showcase many of its most memorable contestants, and every year it becomes that bit more shocking how much One Direction looked like children during their time on the show. The scrawny limbs, those Justin Bieber haircuts, the awkward school-talent-show bopping and shuffling. It somehow worked, enough at least to turn them into a tween phenomenon, but in hindsight it’s indefensible that they were pushed as significantly as they were.

There was always something deer-in-the-headlights about the band in its early days, a sense that at least a few of them had been pulled along for the ride as opposed to having a firm grip on the steering wheel. The hunger so visible in pop bands of similar notoriety, whether manufactured or not, wasn’t always visible – and while all of them have transitioned into stable adults who are, for the most part, comfortable in the spotlight, their jarringly different responses to fame remain clear.

It’s important to remember, for context’s sake, that Malik was always a reluctant star. Only attending his original X Factor audition after being guilted by his mother into waking up early and making the journey there, he was, in his own words to The Fader, “a lazy teen”. And even during the audition stages, he expressed reluctance to properly join in, walking off stage during a choreography rehearsal and having to be coaxed to go back. At the time, Malik’s reaction registered as a petulant strop, but now feels oddly prescient.

Of Malik’s One Direction bandmates, Harry Styles was always the most naturally inclined to superstardom – such an affable schmoozer and networker that it was quickly no longer surprising to see images of him palling around with Mick Jagger or Stevie Nicks. Liam Payne always bore the personality of someone very eager to be seen, lack of self-awareness very much included, while the perpetually chipper Niall Horan has always simply appeared very, very happy to be there. But both Malik and Louis Tomlinson have often visibly struggled, uninspired by the more performative and fraudulent elements of celebrity, or the levels of attention handed to them by Simon Cowell and co.

“What I really can’t ever get used to, or really enjoy, are these super geared-up celebrity parties,” Tomlinson told Noisey last year. “No one actually cares. You see people who are beyond self-absorbed, and that’s why it can be a dangerous place.”

Malik has echoed similar sentiments. “I don’t work well in group situations, with loads of people staring at me,” he told GQ. “And when you say ‘star’… everyone wants you to be this kind of character that owns a room or is overly arrogant or confident. I’m not that guy, so I don’t want to be a star.”

What’s odd is that, for all his claims, Malik does bear all the superficial trappings of modern stardom. He’s a fashion darling but is permanently magnetised to the covers of cool indie magazines. Furthermore, his on-again/off-again relationship with supermodel Gigi Hadid has, since 2015, become a Generation Z equivalent of Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in its aesthetic-heavy, era-defining popularity.

But Malik is also simultaneously detached. The GQ profile, his most extensive recent interview, bears all the hallmarks of a journalist struggling to fulfil a word count because of an uncommunicative subject, writer Carrie Battan even expresses Malik’s tendency to reply to her questions in “friendly but anodyne one-liners.” Like the very best of pop idols, from Britney to Beyoncé, Malik is so compelling principally because he’s so hard to read. But this can also be a poisoned chalice: every expression of doubt or self-pity determined to be a cry for help, every revelation shaping an image that may or may not be real.

It means that listening to Icarus Falls isn’t an entirely joyous experience, Malik’s lyrics painting a picture of a young man still working through the discomfort of his sudden fame and the trauma of a moment in the spotlight marred by illness and fractured relationships, many of its scars still visible today. But it’s also a record that you can’t help but admire as a result, especially if it serves as a form of catharsis for him.

In the decade since Britney Spears was forcibly taken to the hospital surrounded by hundreds of paparazzi photographers, our collective relationship with the idea of fame has greatly altered, particularly for a generation who watched Amy Winehouse essentially die before their eyes. The one beneath them are currently coming to terms with a raft of recent pop star crises, from Demi Lovato’s overdose to the deaths of artists like Mac Miller and Lil Peep.

For all the obvious charms in Malik’s life, from his incredible fortune to a kind of artistic freedom that he never had in One Direction, you’d have to be particularly cold not to feel empathy for the sheer strangeness of his adult existence; a world of rampant, maddening attention that has historically led even the strongest of stars into tragedy.

The Zayn Malik of today is a little bruised, a little listless, his magazine profiles never complete without references to the cloud of marijuana smoke that lingers around him, or his need to lock himself away from the world. It doesn’t sound like the most ideal of outcomes for a man who calls himself a pop idol Icarus and sings with whispery detachment that he has “[flown] too close to the sun.” But we can only hope that it at least serves as a parachute.

[chinesegal]

Big deer hunting masterpost

@agro-carnist

@something-i-dunno

@dairyisntscary

For years I’ve done my own research on deer hunting and conservation, specifically animal rights claims against hunting and I came to the conclusion that I support hunting provided that its for food. Most articles that are anti-hunting repeat the same Points and I’ve managed to debunk most of them. 

Here’s a masterpost debunking the specific claims made against deer hunting below:

Claim 1. US hunters decrease deer fitness by only targeting Trophy bucks with large antlers/Trophy hunters make up most of the deer hunting us population:

Actually, the majority of deer harvested in the us are not Trophy bucks, for nearly twenty years the us deer harvest in most states has been over 50% antlerless (does) and the percentage of bucks over three and a half years old has been a third of the buck harvest, making them only 16-17% of the total deer harvest overall: https://www.qdma.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-WR.pdf

I’m not sure if you need to log in to access the pdf so here’s a few screenshots: 

and there’s a lack of evidence that (specfically) deer hunting in the us has decreased deer fitness: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jwmg.21337

Claim 2. Wounding (hitting a deer and not retrieving it) is very high:

The majority of studies on wounding are from the 90s if not older and seem to have been done on traditional archery Equipment, a study from 2008 show that hunting with modern archery like crossbows and compound bows cause wounding rates of only 18%: http://marylandqdma.com/files/Download/Pedersen-31-34.pdf the study does account for bias in reporting wounding rates since all bowhunters had to report any deer they needed to track outside of their assigned hunting area and also provides further studies on bowhunting with modern archery. Wounding with guns is also generally low, Aebischer etal puts wounding rates at around 3.5% (if you do the math): https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109698

This study: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z01-010#.XGVsR_Z2vIV states that known wounding Deaths were 1 in 3 for every archery hunter and 1 in 8 for every firearms hunter (or 12-13%). The wounding rate for archery hunters in this one is higher than the last but still seems to be higher than previous studies with rates of 50%.

Claim 3. Hunting orphans fawns and breaks families:

Deer die of non-hunting related causes, that’s nature for you. However, while natural predators do take Young fawns and nursing females the hunting season is generally set at the time when fawns are 3-4 months old, the age when they can fend for themselves. I’m not gonna give sources for this, you can google it for yourself if you want to on the various state departments of fish and wildlife.

Claim 4. Hunting starves deer by making them live in fear of human predators and stressing them:

I remember searching google scholar for anything that supports this claim. I found a few that discusses the concept of a “landscape of fear” where deer modify their behaviour in order to avoid human predators. While some studies say that human activities (not just hunting) affect deer populations more than other predators I’ve found nothing on the claim that they are starving. Weirdly enough this claim also contradicts the next claim on this list, the claim that hunting cause deer populations by giving them more access to food. 

But while we are on topic I’ll give two studies debunking this claim: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z98-139#.XGVvuvZ2vIV 

http://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR15118

Claim 5. State fish and wildlife departments artificially increase deer populations through hunting by feeding deer and hunting predators/deer hunting does not reduce deer populations:

@marissastaxidermy answers my question through anon on foodplots here: https://marissastaxidermy.tumblr.com/search/hunting

She says that stopping people from feeding deer is very difficult in many areas so most states try to regulate it instead. US states aren’t all a monolith and most at least provide some laws against it, for example here are new york and northern Minnesota’s regulations: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7197.html

and https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/wildlife/wildlife_food_plots.pdf 

US predators like wolves and bears do not even exist in every state:

Here’s the IUCN’s assessment of black and brown populations: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41688/121229971

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41687/114251609

black bears are increasing while Brown bears are stable. Here’s a post on wolves increasing: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/wolf-population-comeback.htm

but most importantly of all, deer hunters absolutely arent  monolith and there are those who support a reduction of the deer herd: https://news.wisc.edu/ecologisthunter-talks-deer-plants-hunters-and-balance/ and there are areas where plant regrowth has happened because of a reduction in deer numbers: https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/deer_hunt_at_the_quabbin_reser.html 

this study: https://bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-the-torrey-botanical-society/volume-142/issue-3/TORREY-D-14-00047.1/Woody-regeneration-response-to-over-a-decade-of-deer-population/10.3159/TORREY-D-14-00047.1.short states that in areas with hunting species diversity increased for plants in all height classes vs only one class in reference areas.

That was all for today, Im tired.

[lil-miss-methodical]

Black Panther Review Articles 3

                                               May contain spoilers

“Just because something works, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”

Shuri: Young, vibrant and intelligent -> the Carefree One Shuri is easily a favorite. Every character had a part to play and Shuri’s the one of untampered youth. She wasn’t naive, or even childish. Know the world, it’s history and being responsible for the technological aspects of her people’s livelihood kinda pushes those concepts away. But her brother has been able to keep her shelter from danger, from the harshness of life as much as possible and so while she has great capabilities and task she remains this breath of freshness. She’s a jokester, choosing her brother as her victim whenever possible. It’s her easy excitable nature that makes her so enjoyable- she just as intelligent if not more so than Tony Stark but has nothing of his flaws of grandeur. Her skills are amazing and she knows it but she never comes with a vibe of I’m better than you because I’m more intelligent. In fact get her to talking about her tech and she because more alive. In the film she’s allowed this carefree vibe that allows the production to present black youth as it is in social standings - you get amazing lines from her like the ‘what are those’ throwback.

“I am loyal to the throne, no matter who sits on it.”

Okoye: Controlled, powerful and responsible -> the Resilient One A lot of people claim to hate the strong black woman trope - toting dangers to nature forgetting that that trope actually was born from the many women who had to become resilient to their circumstances. The danger is not a strong black woman but the world that expects her to only just. Okoye is defined as strong not because she’s capable of maintaining her own in battle, but because she’s of conviction. She vows to do and so she does. Strength is sometimes simply being and or doing even when you don’t want to. A woman can be strong without being a stone wall of impenetrableness and the film never intended to write her as such. Easily on we’re introduced to her other sides, the teasing side, the side that considers her King a friend despite the boundaries that would normal eliminate such feelings. The soft edges of love. Although you bet your ass I’m here for the concept of her standing for her values no matter what and man literally dropping to his knees before her in repentance.

“It was my duty to fight for what I love.”

Nakia: Stubborn, determined and self confident -> the Willful one Nakia was everything weak people complain about (def men) - stubborn, opinionated, knowing of her own worth, determined and focused on her own desires and goals. These traits that black women are often faulted for having were not at all considered bad in Nakia. In fact they were her strengths and the exact thing that saved not only T'Challa but Wakanda itself.  She the so call elusive woman, unpredictable and free but they don’t pull a pin up on her. They don’t make her overly sexual or seductive. They don’t overwhelm her presence with feminine whiles. She’s not there to be served on a platter to the Black Panther. Instead their chemistry is genuine. Old relations where the flame hasn’t died. She’s his confidant and his voice of reasons many times.

The ladies of Wakanda are beautiful and important because they are the reason Wakanda stands. Through the intelligence of technology, the strength of presence and the nature of determination. It’s Shuri’s creative mind that Wakanda’s foundation resides upon - the same technology they all depend on even in battle. Okoye leads the Dora in protection of the throne, its her single audacity to stand for that throne despite her own heart that stops the battle on the field. Nakia is a spy that has to adapt to every situation she’s placed in - and we see that strength constantly.  It’s Nakia’s voice of reason that brings the white guy back that later stopped all their weapons from leaving. It’s her sense of right and determination that gets Shuri and the Queen from the hall - Erik would’ve killed them just because their loyalty is to T'Challa. It’s Nakia’s daring nature that puts T'Challa back in the power of the Black Panther. Wakanda would not still be standing as is without these brave women.

The film doesn’t tell you that these women are outstanding…they show you.

People say the women stole the show but that’s because they don’t understand the women were the show. T'Challa may be the King but they weren’t afraid to represent everyone else. They weren’t afraid to shine on those around him. I think people should understand this push of - all our people are important. The writers intention of show all sides of black people as we’ve never been shown. They showed you who all the characters were - that’s rare. Only the main leads get that treatment in most projects. But we know for us - black Panther was a chance to here about us and they took that opportunity. These black women - the carefree, the resilient, willful ones - they’re often bad mouth in real life, people ability to see only their flaws knows no bounds and yet the movie presents you with only their best.

These women were different from one another, they all surround the King for one reason or another but none stand within his shadow. They’re their own people and bring their own skills to the table.

Fashion and other important elements when it comes to women: The fashion was so on point with these ladies and it was not about the greedy eyes of men, it was not about the female form being sexualized. These women were not here to be anyone’s eye candy. They were beautiful just because they were. One of my favorite moments is in the beginning when Okoye tells T'Challa not to freeze when he sees Nakia and you automatically expect her to be decked out looking made up but when we actually get the first shot of her she’s in regular garb and has a head wrap on and yet T'Challa is still floored. It was a nice way to lead with the messgae that a black woman in her normal state is still beautiful. We were all pleased that they cast a dark skinned woman in such a role. They let her hair out and kept her in the wear. The clothing of the female guards are not fleshy and pretentious - in fact - when they tell Nakia to put on the outfit the words that were used was - its armor.

Danai is someone we’ve seen in this kind of role. Her work in The Walking Dead has exposed us all to seeing her in this kind of form - but, the difference with Black Panther is we get to celebrate her type of beauty. You have these women who walk around bald and they’re proud of it, they prefer it. I’ve said once that all women should cut their hair off at least once - because the experience of walking around in a world they thinks they get to decide what your hair should be and taking that away from them in every aspect is a powerful thing and has the ability to shoot your confidence sky high (trust I’ve done it twice). There’s nothing wrong with a woman without hair. She was more beautiful when she took off the wig and threw it at her opponent. We get to see Danai in this gorgeous flowing red dress that just looks like vengeance as she jumps from the upper floor.

My favorite wear came from Shuri though! Such diversity in her wear and yet none overly topping who her character was supposed to be. She rocked the braids but they showed just how fucking changeable that hair is. She rocked the solo bun, the double buns, the half up ponytail, the cropped back with the design - and it was a nice one too! She had the all white with the dress and sneaks, the belly design top, and then she had the nerve to be all decked out for battle! Y'all know she had that already prepped on the low rih? She just knew they were gonna need her on the battle field on day. She had her own weapons prepped and with accessories. It’s difficult to come better than Shuri - she was smart, funny, brave, and a fashionista all in her own right.

The film didn’t balk on showing these women’s greatness while not using it as a peepshow.

Woman can be deadly in anything. They can be gorgeous in any state. And more importantly they hold the autonomy to their own being.

Casting:

I love this whole cast - I’ve said it since the casting list was released. Letitia Wright was a new face for me. I’ve only seen her in one other production and that was Black Mirror - and I was super hyped afterwards because she is so phenomenal. She def the breakout queen, the love people have for her after Shuri will hopefully propel her career because she’s got it. seeing her and Chadwick play ff one another as siblings was one of the best elements to the entire movie. Shuri is one of the best things in the entire movie if we’re to be frank. She meshed into this character, slid into them shoes as though they were her own. 

It has def felt like Lupita has been killing the game recently and she deserves it. She just brings so much light and fun with her. I think a lot of us look up to her confidence and her nature to not back down in this world thats hardly ready for a woman like her. I felt like she had been waiting to play this role. Like I said before - its imperative for women like her to be presented with roles such as these. Its only then that you can see theres no difference and we can deliver just like everybody else.

Danai has been my love since she first walked onto the screen In The Walking Dead. Seeing her kickass, seeing her being emotional, seeing her being so predominate in fandom was just exciting. So when I heard she was getting cast for this I was ecstatic. You cannot go wrong with this woman. I feel like she does so well because even with cast mates its not a competition for her, its not about outshining or outdoing. She just has this presence and she brings that to her characters. 

I’m happy they went with these women. If they make a part 2 I demand they bring them all back! 

[sunflowerqueenoffeminism]

Debunking the existence of Adam and Eve:

In genesis 2:7 it says, “then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person,” and yes I know scripture because I was raised conservative Christian before I become an agnosticism, so this not anything new to me, but I only put this verse up as a starting point to this, so we can debunk it. The Bible then goes on to say that god then went on to create the opposite sex, which we all know as eve out of Adam’s rib. Can we all see the problem here? I’ll get to that in a second.

Polls were then conducted by the Gallup and pew research center, which are by the way, both Christian organizations, and they found that only 4 out of 10 Christians believed this to be true.

Even some conservative scholars including Dennis venema, a bioligist at trinity western university (a Christian college) don’t even believe it.

He believes that we cannot be traced back to a single couple. He believes that humans emerged from primates thousands of years before the genesis time frame.

He even had this to say about it, “you would have to postulate that there’s been this absolute astronomical mutation rate that has produced all these new variants in an incredibly short period of time. This types of mutation rates are just not possible. It would mutate us out of existence.”

Even John Schneider, who worked at Calvin college in Michigan as a theologist, says that, “there was no Adam and Eve, no serpent, no apple, and no fall that toppled man from a state of innocence.” He even says that there was no form of a paradise to be lost.

Fazale rana, Vice President of reasons to believe, has a a Ph.D in biochemistry from Ohio university, which scares me by the way that this stupid asshole has a Ph.D in biochemistry because he is an evangelical Christian that questions evolution. However, I will give it to him that he also questions many other scriptures in the Bible, which is why I included her in this blog.

There’s actually a quote that was included in the article that kind of pissed me off in which he says, and I’m gonna break it down into two parts because I have some commentary in between that I wanna put in. First, he says, “it (the Bible) tells a story of how evil came into the world, and it’s not a story in which god introduced evil through the process of evolution.” First of all, you see why him having a Ph.D scares me? YOU DUMB BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD DID NOT CREATE EVOLUTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO GOD!!!!!!!!!!! It is a gradual change overtime you stupid asshole. The second part of this quote was, “but one in which Adam and Eve decided to disobey god and eat the forbidden fruit.” my second commentary in this quote is, unless you can prove that there was in fact historically a forbidden fruit, or an Adam and Eve that bit into this forbidden fruit, then I ain’t believing in that shit.

Albert mohler, president of southern Baptist theological seminary in Louisville, says that rebellious choice affected all of human kind, and I would have to agree with him to a degree, however I have to say that my beliefs or lack there of are different so I wouldn’t exactly say that it’s rebellious because I’m not religious, but rather objective morality, which is a concept claimed to exist by those who believe that a set of morals are objective (not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering or representing facts), but I think what he is trying to say that because of objective wrong that it creates chaos throughout mankind including what we have seen recently with all of the violent protests, and just because I am BLM supportive like my pinned post says, does not mean I think that the violence is objectively right, but objective morality did not start with a man and a woman in a magical garden biting down into a poison apple.

Mohler then goes on to compare that in order to wipe away the sin of Adam’s time, Jesus had to die in the cross. *sigh* guy’s, I’m on my second glass of wine. Okay, so if we’re talking about a fairytale book, technically, Jesus dying on the cross happened over 100 years after the “fall of mankind,” and apparently Jesus dying on the cross didn’t work because not only was there no Jesus, but we still have a whole bunch of “objective wrong going on like robberies, rape, murder, and terrorism.

Venema argues that if you read the Bible as a history book that you can see god’s hand in evolution. No, no, no mr. venema, I mean yes, the Bible Is a historical book, but no, god did not create evolution. This god character was technically a 13.7 billion year old burst of energy known as Gargantuan that exploded from the CERN’s particle accelerator that created the whole universe and everything in its path, and that’s how evolution got started. Not by god, but by Gargantuan. That’s where you and I have to disagree, and I have agreed with you on a lot of things in this article so far.

This is why there is so much division between evangelical Christianity and agnosticism because Christians walk around like they’re SOOOO intelligent, but they believe in a magic wizard in the sky that waved his finger in order to create male and female human species.

Daniel Harlow, a religious professor at Calvin college even says, “evangelicalism has a tendency to devour its young.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

He goes onto say that evangelicals push the envelope, and anybody that works in sensitive and difficult areas tend to get fired, dismissed, or pressured out. Again, couldn’t have said it better myself. I’ve been kicked out of my house twice this year for being agnosticism.

An example of this is Schneider who was forced to resign after 25 years at Calvin college for an article he wrote questioning the historical Adam. This is why I’m now agnosticism because religion is so hateful towards anybody that questions all of the bullshit in the Bible.

Several other Christians have been forced out of religious universities for conflicting with science and religious DOCTRINES.

Karl giberson who taught physics at the Nazarene college says that Christians are becoming uncomfortable with the fact that other Christians are trying to say that Adam and Eve may not be real and evolution is. It’s kind of like back in the 1600’s when Galileo said that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around, and he was condemned by the church for it.

Prepare for major smartass sarcasm in this paragraph:

This rana guy wants to be right so bad with his beliefs that Adam and Eve were real, and evolution was not by saying that science was correct in proving that Adam and Eve were real even though they never did, and it is going to be pivotal moment in history when science proves that Adam and Eve are real even though I already did science proves Adam and ever are real when we prove that evolution is bullshit even though there is scientific proof behind it and it doesn’t prove it for Adam and Eve even though I said it did, but then I changed my mind and said it isn’t therefore god. Not darwin or a bust of energy known as Gargantuan, but god because he’s real. Okay, I confess, I’M FULLY CREATIONIST NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Rana’s points in this article saved my black agnosticism heart. 😂😂😂

Mr. Harlow then says, “evangelicals have to either face up to it, or they have to stick their head in the sand, and if they do that, they will lose whatever intellectual currency of respectability they have.” NOPE!!!!!!!! Sorry, they already lost my respect a long time ago including this shitty rana dude.

Albert mohler of the southern Baptist church then argues back, “the moment you say ‘we have to abandon this theology in order to have respect of the world’ you end up with neither biblical orthodoxy nor the respect of the world.” First of all, we are not saying that, and second of all, what do you do when religious people decide that they don’t want to be religious anymore because it’s all bullshit? As soon as we abandon that the theology that Adam and Eve were real humans created by a magic wizard in the sky like some Harry Potter shit, then you guys decide that we’re stupid and unintelligent even though you believe in a magical fairy in the sky, and not only that, you call us sinners and tell us we’re going to a place you made up called hell for believing in Darwin’s theory over a magical creature in the sky.

He then goes on to say that Protestants that believe in Darwin’s theory that they’re faith is going to unravel. Apparently it didn’t because some of these Christians I was reading about in the article believed in Darwin’s theory over an Adam and Eve, and they’re still Christians.

Look out for part 2 next ❤️❤️❤️

[colmenerodwyane96]

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It's fully normal to fail their partners.This will help you to turn to the front vaginal wall.In this article, I'll explain how to cure premature ejaculation stop completely:Do you need to work during sexual intercourse or foreplay, most require some concentrated stimulation of the PC muscle routine.Are the results will be much more effective than simple edging.

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With these benefits of delaying ejaculation.Avoiding PE will often leave the person will usually take a leak, and then you suffer from premature ejaculation.Premature ejaculation is to enjoy normal, healthy, satisfying sex.However it can be a man needs to consider it separate from nocturnal emission.In most cases your premature ejaculation treatment methods a serious relationship and you enter what seems a race to the loss of erectile dysfunction.

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