#middle class uli verse

[weepylucifer]

Harry: Here's some life advice for you, kid: don't ever get romantically entangled with the middle class

Steban:

Ulixes: Um. 😬

[yellow-yarrow]

the middle class Uli verse made me think about Mühsam and how his father wanted him to be a pharmacist instead of an activist/writer, and refused to give him money, forcing him to be in a position where he was like "I wish my father died so I had access to my inheritance and I hate that he's making me think this, why can't he be kind to me", anyway I can totally imagine Ulixes having that kind of relationship with his father

[cutie-pinay]

ULI

IC STATS

(  BOLD ALL THAT APPLY. italicize leaning or former. )

[ WEALTH ]

$ FINANCIAL: [ wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty ] ✚ MEDICAL: [ fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / not applicable ] ✪ CLASS: [ upper / middle / working / street trash / unsure ] ✔ EDUCATION: [ qualified / overqualified / unqualified / studying / other ] ✖ CRIMINAL RECORD: [ yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no ]

[ FAMILY ]

◐ STATUS: [ married / engaged / partnered / single / divorced / verse dependent ] ◒ CHILDREN: [ has a child or children / has no children / wants children / verse dependent ] ◑ RELATIONSHIP WITH FAMILY: [ close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) deceased ] ◔ AFFILIATION: [ orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parents / not applicable ]

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between ♦ disorganized / organized / in between ♦ close-minded / open-minded / in between  ♦ calm / anxious / in between ♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between ♦ cautious / reckless / in between ♦ patient / impatient / in between ♦ outspoken / reserved / in between ♦ leader / follower / in between ♦ empathetic / unempathetic / in between ♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between / realist  ♦ traditional / modern / in between ♦ hard-working / lazy / in between  ♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown ♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown  ♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ BELIEFS ]

★ FAITH: [ monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic / it’s complicated ] ☆ BELIEF IN GHOSTS OR SPIRITS: [ yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ] ✮ BELIEF IN AN AFTERLIFE: [ yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ] ✯ BELIEF IN REINCARNATION: [ yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ] ❃ BELIEF IN ALIENS: [ yes / no / don’t know / don’t care ] ✧ RELIGIOUS: [ orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious ] ❀ PHILOSOPHICAL: [ yes / no ]

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ SEXUALITY: [ heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual / demisexual / don’t know / don’t care ] ❥ SEX: [ sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless ] ♥ ROMANCE: [ romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless ] ❣ SEXUALLY: [ adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious / inhibited ] ⚧ POTENTIAL SEXUAL PARTNERS: [ male / female / agender / other / none / all ] ⚧ POTENTIAL ROMANTIC PARTNERS: [ male / female / agender / other / none / all ]

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ COMBAT SKILLS: [ excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ]   ≡ LITERACY SKILLS: [ excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ] ✍ ARTISTIC SKILLS: [ excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ] ✂ TECHNICAL SKILLS: [ excellent / good / moderate / poor / none ]

[ HABITS ]

☕ DRINKING: [ never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ] ☁ SMOKING: [ trying to quit / never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ] ✿ OTHER NARCOTICS: [ never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ] ✌ MEDICINAL DRUGS: [ never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ] ☻ INDULGENT FOOD: [ never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ] $ SPLURGE SPENDING: [ never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ] ♣ GAMBLING: [ never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ]

[garudabluffs]

Versatile Forest Whitaker goes from crime boss to music man

“He chose to act, he says, because it allows him to explore his connection to other people.”

READ MORE https://whmp.com/news/030030-versatile-forest-whitaker-goes-from-crime-boss-to-music-man/

'Fresh Air' Remembers Cokie Roberts, A Founding Mother Of NPR    

ROBERTS: “We have a famous story in our family, but it's a very useful story for someone who is a journalist to have as her sort of formative story about the press. My father ran for governor in 1952, but the real sort of race was throughout 1951. The election was in January of '52. So I was 7 throughout the race. I was just turned 8 when he got - when the election happened. It was in Louisiana. It was at a time when it was pretty much a one-party state. You had a first primary and then the second primary was the election. And he came in third - very bitter, unbelievably nasty campaign, nasty by Louisiana standards.

(LAUGHTER) ROBERTS: And well, remember this is the middle of the McCarthy era, all of that. And he came in third. The person who comes in third in a situation like that is very influential in terms of the runoff and how he throws his votes and the rest of it. The counting had gone on all night long. And the phone rang the morning after the election, and my sister, who was 12, answered the phone. And the person on the other end asked to speak to my father, and she said he's asleep and he's been up all night. No, I will not awaken him. And the guy on the other end says, well, what does he think about the election? And Barbara says, well, he knows he lost and...(LAUGHTER)ROBERTS: But then she at 12 had the sense to say, you know, who is this anyway? And he said that he was a reporter for the afternoon paper. And she said, look, I'm only 12 years old. You can't use a word I said to you.(LAUGHTER)ROBERTS: And that afternoon's paper came out with the headline "Source Close To Hale Boggs Concedes Election." So...(LAUGHTER) GROSS: Oh, no.ROBERTS: Oh, yes. And that is a - and that kind of thing happens much more often than any of us would like to believe.”

READ MORE https://www.capeandislands.org/post/fresh-air-remembers-cokie-roberts-founding-mother-npr

https://www.uua.org/worship/words/quote/silent-about-things-matter

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mlk-our-lives-begin-to-end/

“King made a similar yet less direct statement in the Brown Chapel in Selma, Ala., on Monday, March 8, 1965--the same date noted in the News’s photo caption and also the day after protesters met police violence after attempting to cross a bridge on the way to Montgomery, the state capital.

King, who would shortly lead a crossing of the bridge before turning around, said in part: "A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true."

Here’s King’s remark in context as we found it on an East Tennessee State University web page: 

READ MORE https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2017/jan/06/dan-patrick/half-true-dan-patrick-martin-luther-king-saying-li/

Soon after moving into a small fourth-floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan, Guthrie wrote the war song "Talking Hitler's Head Off Blues".  This was printed in the Daily Worker newspaper: then "In a fit of patriotism and faith in the impact of the song, he painted on his guitar THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS."[2]  Anne E. Neimark (2002). There Ain't Nobody That Can Sing Like Me: The Life of Woody Guthrie. Atheneurn Book

“THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS”    second verse, same as the first                                         Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down

"Illegitimis non carborundum", which is supposed to mean "one must not be ground down by the bastards", although it is largely faux-Latin, with "carborundum" (intended to look like a Latin gerundive) actually referring to silicon carbide, a type of abrasive. “I’ll tell you the weird thing about it,” Atwood told Time magazine about the quote this spring. “It was a joke in our Latin classes.   READ MORE https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/handmaids-tale-nolite-te-bastardes-carborundorum-origin-margaret-atwood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7CghaM-ULY

Why We Build the Wall  Anaïs Mitchell 

Released: 2010

HADES “Why do we build the wall? My children, my children Why do we build the wall?” CERBERUS “Why do we build the wall? We build the wall to keep us free That? s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free” HADES How does the wall keep us free? My children, my children How does the wall keep us free? CERBERUS How does the wall keep us free? The wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That? s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free HADES Who do we call the enemy? My children, my children Who do we call the enemy? CERBERUS Who do we call the enemy? The enemy is poverty And the wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That? s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free HADES Because we have and they have not! My children, my children Because they want what we have got! CERBERUS Because we have and they have not! Because they want what we have got! The enemy is poverty And the wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That? s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free HADES What do we have that they should want? My children, my children What do we have that they should want? CERBERUS What do we have that they should want? We have a wall to work upon! We have work and they have none And our work is never done My children, my children And the war is never won The enemy is poverty And the wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That? s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free We build the wall to keep us free

Wealth Is A Moral Hazard    

“We’re told that public benefits create moral hazards because they make people dependent on the government, and there’s nothing worse (according to this common theory) than giving a poor person the sense that they don’t need to work for a living.” .

READ MORE https://www.wvpe.org/post/michiana-chronicles-wealth-moral-hazard

“Let It Be”: The truth behind Paul McCartney’s heavenly visit from Mother Mary

"Despite its intensely personal meaning, McCartney has remained good-natured about some of more pious interpretations.”

READ MORE https://aleteia.org/2017/12/29/let-it-be-the-truth-behind-paul-mccartneys-heavenly-visit-from-mother-mary/

Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down - Kris Kristofferson

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/the-irishman-martin-scorsese-nyff-review-890718/

[weepylucifer]

For the dialogue prompt: 24 with Steban and Ulixes? :)

24. “You’re trembling.”

A loud knock at the door pulls Steban quite brusquely out of sleep. The bedside clock shows somewhere around two in the morning, and for a moment he's tempted to pull the blanket up around his ears and wait for the knocking to go away. But, he figures, this late at night it can only be an emergency, so he extracts himself from the blanket, puts some clothes on and goes to open.

Uli is outside, which is odd, because Uli's supposed to be on the other side of town, and a great, nameless turmoil is in his face. He looks so pale and shaken up that it wakes Steban fully, and he doesn't even gripe about the lateness of the hour.

"Uli?" he asks. "What's going on?"

"Oh- Steban, I..." Ulixes says, then looks him up and down and, studying Steban's sleep-mussed form in his underwear, seems to realize that it's the middle of the night and how highly unusual and alarming this all must seem. "I'm sorry, I should have waited until tomorrow, I didn't consider... I didn't mean to wake you up. I only... only needed..."

The words leave him in a confused jumble, and he's practically vibrating with that unnamed emotion. "It's okay," Steban says. "Did something happen? You're trembling..."

"I..." Ulixes takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I finally told my parents. About us."

"Come inside."

Steban sits back down on the bed. Instead of joining him as expected, Uli starts pacing. This moment had to come sooner or later, and they've both been aware of that, but now that it's finally here, Ulixes seems profoundly unsettled.

Steban doesn't quite know what to say. He feels absurdly guilty considering his own, relatively harmonious family life, which has done nothing to prepare him for the present situation. He's gotten the awkward "tengo un novio" confession out of the way months ago, resulting in nothing but some good-natured ribbing from his cousins and a promise to his mother to bring su novio around to dinner. With Ulixes, things... were bound to be more difficult.

"I take it things didn't... go well," he says as delicately as he can manage.

Ulixes huffs. "Well... they didn't immediately take me off the will, which I suppose constitutes a net win."

"Still..."

"Most of the fight was about politics, really."

"Which is... better?" Steban attempts.

"Eh. My father seems to think it's all... a phase he expects me to grow out of. Like obviously once it's time to take over my share of the family business, I'll obligingly turn into a lap dog of capitalism. Because that's just what humans are like, everyone acts in their own self-interest, everyone's weak to the promise of money, and someday I'll see reason and admit that to myself. You know how he is. He has his views on how everything is, and nothing I say will ever get through to him. It's like... it's like, to him, I'm not even there."

Steban hasn't met Ulixes' father and therefore doesn't know how he is, but he feels it's not the time to bring that up. Instead, he asks, "What is the family business?" because, come to think of it, he doesn't think Uli has ever told him. "What does your family do?"

Ulixes waves a dismissive hand. "Nothing. Father owns shares in Saint Baptiste."

Ah. And there's the reason why Uli never told him.

"Wow. Maybe you can score me some antidepressants?" Steban says, trying to lighten the mood, but he's not good at jokes, so it falls utterly flat. A bit sheepishly he adds, "I'm sorry, Uli."

Ulixes ceases his irate pacing and suddenly slumps. When he sits on the bed, he looks defeated. "If only he would yell or throw me out or hit me. Then at least I'd know I made an impact. That I'm not just some nuisance to be easily brushed off. That I matter at all."

Steban reaches over and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Ay, cariño," he says quietly.

"They didn't even really mind the gay stuff as much as I thought they might. 'As long as you keep it to yourself', they said. Same with the communism. But then I... I told them your name and some stuff about you, and then... suddenly, they minded."

Right. They asked him where I'm from and what my family does, and he told them. Steban nods.

"Mother said some things..." Uli pauses, discomfited. "Things I don't care to repeat."

"Well, I don't care to hear them," Steban says bluntly, because he can imagine fairly well what kinds of things Gottwaldian bourgeois might say about him. It doesn't come as any kind of surprise. He knows Uli doesn't think of him that way, and that will have to suffice. "Come here," he suggests and pulls up the blanket, shifting to make room.

Uli complies all too readily. Until now, the force of his righteous anger and indignation have kept him going, but his energy seems to be running out. When he curls up against Steban, he is silent, and he burrows underneath the blanket and smushes his face into Steban's chest like he doesn't want to make eye contact. This is, Steban knows, still the only way Ulixes can sometimes accept comfort. Uli is not well-versed in physical contact. One discovery that came with their relationship becoming physical is that Uli doesn't really... know hugs, or kisses, or pats on the head. Well, Steban knows all these things in abundance, so he wraps his arms around Ulixes and nuzzles into his hair. Uli has not taken his glasses off, so they poke awkwardly into Steban's shoulder, but that's okay.

There's still a tremor running through Uli's body, and Steban recalls that, while he insists he was never physically harmed, Ulixes does fear his father. It makes Steban wonder what it must have been like for him growing up east of the river, surrounded by the bright and impersonal ease of wealth and never acknowledged or touched. He doesn't really know what to do about any of this except call his own mother at the earliest opportunity and thank her for every kiss, every cuddle, every little sacrifice that compounded over the years. For now, he strokes Uli's back and murmurs, "Shh, shh, you'll be alright, I'm here," and hopes it will be enough.

[weepylucifer]

Random hc that Ulixes was made to learn an instrument as a kid, a fancy one, like piano or violin, and he feels kinda embarrassed by it all (his parents were able to afford music lessons for him! how bourgeois!) but still practices sometimes because he sometimes gets weird mental images of serenading Steban it could be useful to spread plasm in some way haha

[weepylucifer]

same anon as before honestly they would be sooo bad at dancing. though i think one could do something where through some series of miscommunications they come to believe the other can dance, and they both independently learn so they could dance together. as for music choice i’m picturing a waltz type thing i feel like they take themselves too seriously for much else

steban is like "hm uli grew up bougie, i bet he knows ballroom dancing and all that. i should find someone to teach me it" meanwhile ulixes has never danced in his life

steban might have learned marietti for whatever the elysium equivalent of your cousin's quince is, but ulixes doesn't know what any of that is, so this information does not help him at all

[weepylucifer]

the most thrilling to me abt middle class uli verse is that he might initially even try to hide it from steban bc he's so ashamed of his capitalist family but then when steban inevitably finds out about it he's just like "omg my uptown girl 😍"

[weepylucifer]

how long does it take steban to twig that a. he's getting fat and b. ulixes is doing it On Purpose because i am hopelessly into the whole character-interpretation-through-feeding thing. and also with kim i can imagine nobody really noticing him gaining because harry's so much bigger both in physique and personality. but then harry can't come in one day and people figure they have to shift away to let kim through by himself. but he's so cool and just shuts down any attempts at bullying him easily

oh, a good little while. and it's revealed through outside influence. he visits home one day and his mom tells him. like, lovingly prods and teases him all "your new boyfriend feeds you well, huh, mijo?" and steban's like "huh? what? oh... i guess he does..."

and it takes even longer to figure out the On Purpose part, bc it's not the MO he'd expect from uli. it's not straightforward sadism and it's not some kind of revolutionary roleplay thing. so what could uli possibly be getting out of this? (i don't think steban knows feeders exist.) then again, he's Noticing now that uli keeps bringing him treats and grocery shopping for him. so he's just squinting at uli like "is he...? no, it couldn't be... and yet???"

yeah kim would be unflappable abt it. he's comfortable, harry is happy, and it's nobody else's business. people def try to bother him abt it and he just does The Eyebrow and goes "And What About It?". everyone finds very quickly that there's not much about it. a 40-something man is getting a little gut, and life goes on in fast-paced jamrock

[weepylucifer]

concepts i reference without providing any context as if everyone fully understands, when they actually are just things i made up:

uli's humongous dick

glowing antlers

deer form

30-something steban is thrown in the pale

plasmic hair

sticking his head in the swallow

nilsen's ghost invisibly watches his comrades in the shower

career politician verse (post-retour police state revachol)

steban tries to buy nachos at the frittte and has a mental health crisis

middle class uli verse

innocence AU (darkest corruption arc i can possibly think of)

hygiene boy

steban gets turned on by leftist infighting

miscellaneous mesque diaspora thoughts

mazov got piranesi'd

various hedonism-based fetishes and the ways they clash with mazovian thought

el guerrillero (not che)