#no. because if they tickets are a good price. I'm fighting for this

[chqnified]

"Who would you go with though"

........ That's not the point. Let me go.

[ottogatto]

I would like to submit two ideas because I think I'm poking something but not going in fully, so I would very much like your opinions and additions about it (of course, as long as they remain in good faith *side eyes possible antis viewing my post*).

Marauders and surface-level rebellion

I've finally put to words something that really bothered me with the Marauders, though I don't know the name for it.

It started when I read a reblog that said:

I remember Brennan saying “laws are just structured threats made by the ruling socioeconomic class” during an episode of D20 and we truly just had to stan immediately

This is something dear privileged white woman Rowling didn't realize/understand well, since she held a high socioeconomical status even during her """poverty""" stage. It's known that, despite seeming to be defending ideas of fighting against fascism and "pureblood" supremacy in favor of acceptance of the other, her books reek of colonialism/imperalism. The story of the Marauders, a gang of privileged boys like her, is an in-world replica of that problem where Rowling betrays yet again her actual mindset.

The Marauders adopt the "bad boys who break rules" to get style, while completely losing/staining the moral sense in it.

Let's take piracy.

Some people pirate stuff because they consider that the stuff they'd like to get comes from unethical companies that abuse their employees or use modern slavery, or people who spread harm against certain minorities (like Rowling against trans people and thus the LGBT+ community), so while they may want to access the content, they don't want to give them money and might even encourage pirating their stuff to make them lose money.

Some pirate stuff because otherwise it's lost due to unfortunate "terms of use" -- see video games companies like Ubisoft (deletes gaming account after a while), Nintendo (does not bring back old games), etc.

Others pirate stuff because they just don't have the money but they still want to try the stuff that might make them happy and forget that they're poor -- reasoning that the company isn't losing any money anyway, or not much, since they wouldn't have been able to pay for it in any case.

Others pirate stuff because they consider the price ridiculously high or they consider it shouldn't be something to pay for at all. (Like education stuff -- isn't education supposed to be free for all, so that it can actually uphold everyone's fundamental and unconditional ( = not conditioned by wealth...) right to have an education? Oh and before anyone asks: I've DEFINITELY bought the ~15 expensive books that's roughly worth 500€ in total and that my uni asked I buy to study and get my degree...)

Rowling's Marauders is a group that would pirate stuff just because they'd think it would give them an edge, because they'd think it would make them cool to be seen as "talented" hackers who "defy" companies. Companies... that their own friends and families would own, and as such, would find that kind of behavior funny and entertaining (while they would trash other people around for considering it).

Another example. In society, in history, it's been proven time and again that breaking rules -- going against the law -- is an eventuality that's important for everyone to consider, if they want to defend their rights. Anti-racism, feminism, LGBT Pride, etc, advanced because people broke rules. In USA states where abortion is currently being banned, women and minors (+ their close ones) must now consider breaking the rules to get an abortion. (Privileged people don't give a fuck about those people, and if they suddenly decide that (moral) rules don't apply to them and they will get an abortion, they will just take a plane ticket to a country where abortion is legal, fiddling with legal stuff if necessary thanks to the lawyers their fortunes can afford and the lobbies that they're instituting.)

Revolutions happened because people broke rules too. I particularly like the 1793 Constitution in France Because it asserts that the people have the right to break rules and riot if the power in place threatens their fundamental rights:

Article 35. - Quand le gouvernement viole les droits du peuple, l'insurrection est, pour le peuple et pour chaque portion du peuple, le plus sacré des droits et le plus indispensable des devoirs. Article 35. - When the government violates the people's rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of rights and the most essential of duties.

(Of course the power in place would state and enforce and make use of propaganda to say that it's completely illegal and illegetimate and that those who riot for legitimate rights are terrorists!)

Breaking rules is at the core of anti-fascism, anti-dictatorship, anti-totalitarianism. Breaking rules is essential when those rules are abusive. Too often, those who put those rules in place really are only setting their rules of the game to establish their power over the others. Or as the reblog says: "laws are just structured threats made by the ruling socioeconomic class".

Rowling's Marauders break rules because they are the socioeconomical class in power. As such, no one can do anything about it, no one will really tell them down for it. They get excused and justified and romanticized by their peers, just like billionaires & politicians are excused by their peers and notably mainstream media (which is owned... by other billionaires). They break rules -- not because they think it's necessary and the morally right thing to do despite the dangers it puts them in -- but because it makes them feel powerful, important, invincible, which for them is very fun. As Snape says: James and his cronies broke rules because they thought themselves above them:

“Your father didn’t set much store by rules either,” Snape went on, pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. “Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. [...]”

They break rules because they're allowed to.

Which is why, in reality, the Marauders aren't really breaking rules or defying anything or opposing an actual big threat. They're a bunch of jocks who are having fun in the playground that's been attributed to them thanks to their status and family heritage (others wouldn't get the same indulgence because they don't get that privilege).

They break rules because they want to look cool, to be the "bad boys". The message has been compleyely botched. Especially with Lily actually finding this hot.

Because Rowling finds this hot:

[...] I shook hands with a woman who leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, 'Sirius Black is sexy, right?' And yes, of course she was right, as the Immeritus club know. The best-looking, most rebellious, most dangerous of the four marauders... and to answer one burning question on the discussion boards, his eyes are grey.

(Anyone has an eyes washing station?)

Another quote:

"Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married."

(Nevermind the eyes washing, anyone's got some bleach instead?)

Stanning James Potter for being the leader of a gang that prides itself on breaking rules and always getting away with it -- it feels like stanning Elon Musk for being "innovative" and "a daring entrepreneur" despite being a manchild who exploits workers and modern-world slavery to play with his billions while always getting away with it.

They're not being "rebels" -- they're being bullies and flexing the fact they can get away with it thanks to abundance of privilege. Those are the tastes of a posh British white woman. She wanted the facade -- not the substance (that is, if she ever understood it).

You might say that they did oppose a big threat, the Death Eaters, but again, it's botched because:

they target a lonely, unpopular boy who's best friends with a Muggleborn Gryffindor, rather than baby Death Eaters like Mulciber, Lucius, Rosier, Avery, Regulus, etc.

The leader sexually harasses the Muggleborn Gryffindor because he's sexually jealous of the unpopular boy who dared not take the insult about his chosen House and shut up. Lily is treated as an object, they don't listen to her, and they barely speak about her later. (Lots to say to show that, which I won't do here because this is not the main subject.)

When the Marauders do join the Order, they do it... because they primarily want to adopt a rock-n-roll style and play the "bad boys" again. Or at least that's the message that's given to the reader:

They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair; his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter's guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, tuneless rock band.

(God, the Prequel is so cringy.)

They don't choose Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper, they don't tell him they changed to Pettigrew -- even though he literally was their war leader -- James uses the Cape to fuck around even though he was supposed to be hiding with Lily and then Harry (until Dumbledore takes the Cape from him)... and eventually, their group exploded, with James killed off, Sirius thrown to Azkaban, Peter (the traitor) hiding as a rat and Lupin going off to find jobs to survive.

Why did that happen? Because they thought of playing their part in the Order like going on a teenage adventure rather than engaging in a resistance organization. It was, first and foremost, about playing "the bad boys" and having fun.

(Harry half-inherits this. While he doesn't break rules just to look cool, and actually has several moments where he does break rules because it's the right thing to do -- like under Umbridge or, of course, when Voldemort takes power -- he does often get pampered when he breaks them in his earlier years. By Dumbledore, but also McGonagall, however much Rowling tries to sell her as a "strict but fair" teacher. Or by Slughorn, now that I think about it. That's something that enraged Snape, as it brought up memories of Harry's father -- Snape's own bully -- getting the same treatment.)

It's not a coincidence that Rowling not only failed to properly convey through the Marauders the true value of breaking rules, but also lusted over them for adopting that "bad boys" trope. It speaks to her own privilege -- she who never had to put herself in danger and go against the law in a risky attempt to protect herself or other less privileged people.

(Here's a useful read to expand on those worldbuilding issues.)

2. Dark Magic, obscurantism and conservatism

For context: Opinion: The Dark Magic/Light Magic Dichotomy is Nonsense (by pet_genius).

The idea of "Dark Magic" as something that's repeatedly told to be "evil" magic and where you cross the line of the forbidden, while hardly putting in question that notion that was (for some reason) enforced by wizard society, is another blatant example of Rowling betraying her mindset of privileged British white woman.

Rowling couldn't put herself in the minds of a society of "outcasts (witches & wizards) deeply enough to consider they would not see any magic as "Dark" at all (being a ""Muggle"" concept), or that Dark magic is only magic that requires something unvaluable to be traded off -- like one's soul or health or life or sanity. Instead, she has Dark Magic defined as "evil" magic, even though her own books show that you can do evil stuff with normal magic, and that you can do morally good stuff with Dark magic. This thing happened because Rowling could not think past her own little world and instead she poured a conservatist mentality (+ typical "Muggle", anti-witch prejudice) into the HP (wizard society) worldbuilding without considering that there could, in fact, be fundamental differences between the two worlds that include thinking of magic differently. (This has a lot to do with Rowling's wizard world being a pro-imperalism fest.)

"Dark Magic" feels like a lazy, badly-executed plot device to tell the reader who's a good guy and who is not. Because of course, that's how things work in real-life, huh… (Did she ever hear of "don't tell, show"?) It's used as an excuse to define who's evil (teen Severus) or not (James), who's worthy or not -- not how their magic was used. Which is a BIG problem:

“I’m just trying to show you they’re not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are.” The intensity of his gaze made her blush. “They don’t use Dark Magic, though.” / “Scourgify!” Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape’s mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him —

Even worse, Rowling doesn't follow her own in-world moral framework. Dark magic is acceptable for some people (Rowling's partial self-inserts: Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione to Marietta...) but not for those that Rowling hates (Snape, who ironically represents the closest thing to rebelling by unapologetically obsessing over the Dark Arts). Again, this is at best unadressed in-world hypocrisy, at worst an expression of in-world and out-universe privilege (I get to do this and stay a good guy, but you don't).

There could have easily been rightful criticism of whatever could be defined as "Dark Magic". What if Dark magic was just something defined as "Dark" usually because the power in place doesn't want the people to touch it? Is abortion or contraception or a sex-altering or a goverment-threatening spell, Dark Magic? Is foreign or ethnicity-specific or female-centered or queer-centered magic, "Dark"? How about showing why (Muggle-raised but also neurodivergent) Severus thought Dark magic was so great, showing his point of view, while also establishing where the true limits are? If Lily can't be the one who sees past the "fear-mongering anti-intellectualism/propaganda", how about Harry being the one who does, thanks to him relating to Snape on a personal level? How about making Hermione go from someone who condems Dark Magic, to someone who entirely changes her point of view and understands that this is all bullshit -- effectively showing the dangers of only following what the books say, without putting them into question or thinking by yourself? How about a nuanced view of Dark magic as something that requires a significant sacrifice, which is conceivable for something they see as equally or even more important [Lily's life for Harry; Snape's soul integrity for Dumbledore]? How about making the Death Eaters, people who deviate that legitimate interest, rather than just evil guys who thrive in Dark magic for its supposed added evilness? How about showing that Dark magic was just a notion invented by Muggles to throw "witches" (real or not) to the burning stakes -- later taken by the witches and wizards in power to define, in the magical community, what was okay or definitely forbidden because it's the trademark of those who represent a threat to the magical community (understand: people who riot or strike or protest against the ruling socioeconomical class' politics)?

But there was none of that.

"Dark" magic in HP merely seems to be a weird concept that at best accidentally takes the form of an in-world obscurantism, at worst is just the trademark of someone who cannot imagine a "hunted, ostracized" community with a different culture and mindset than her own. Aggravating is the fact that she used "Dark magic" as a plot device to magically cast some people as good and others as never bad – again, probably reflecting her own questionable mentality.

The fact Rowlnig invented the notion of Dark Magic and had her world consider it seriously as an evil thing instead of being open-minded seems to be less telling of her wishes to show a wizard society that can be as prejudiced as the muggle one, and more of her own bizarre world where you must be evil if you are knowledgeable in or interested in certain "taboo" things (RIP neurodivergents).

Rowling glorifies the Trio and the Marauders for breaking rules. Yet when it comes to actually breaking expectations and norms, notably in the wizarding society -- like the use of another magical species as slaves, or the blatant anti-Muggle prejudice held by everyone including "good guys" (or anti-centaur while we're at it), or stupid anti-knowledge prejudice like "Dark magic is evil" -- there is none of that. At best, it's surface-level opposition that comes out as white savior syndrome. At worst, the protagonists make it their noble code to enforce those norms, and "sinful" characters (Snape, for one) are punished for not conforming. Too often, those sinful characters are punished by the "good guys" with the very thing that they apparently oppose so fervently.

Without ever adressing the fact that those characters were ("morally") allowed to do that because it was just, in the end, a matter of who gets the privilege to do that, and who does not.

There.

Do you have anything to say to develop on those ideas? I feel like I'm reaching my knowledge limit and I'd like to see if those ideas can be expanded.

[ellephlox]

Embers and Ashes

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Summary: It's not easy to keep a low profile when you've got the power to heal, but you've managed to carve out a home for yourself in Hell's Kitchen. By day you're an assistant at a literary agency, and by night you mend broken bones and bloody cuts. It's a double life that constantly forces you to question your morality, because the wounds you seem to magically heal don't vanish forever — they've got to eventually go somewhere.

But after you make the mistake of healing the wrong people, you become Daredevil’s next target, and suddenly your double life becomes far more tangled than you could ever have predicted.

Set post-S3. Slow burn Matt x Fem!Reader. Chapter one will be posted here on tumblr, but ensuing chapters will be uploaded to AO3. You can read Ch. 1 on AO3 here, if you'd prefer.

Warnings: Description of injuries and profanity.

Most normal people in the city dreamed of being an Avenger. 

You overheard them at work constantly, ever since it became increasingly commonplace for people to crop up with super-strength or freakishly accurate aim with a bow and arrow:

“I actually ran into Spider-Man this morning — the real Spider-Man! I begged him to sign my arm, obviously, because there was no paper around, and he actually did it! Look, right here. I'm going to get it tattooed after work.”

“Well, last night I had a dream that I was recruited by the Avengers. It was absolutely amazing, Debbie — Tony Stark wanted me to be his girlfriend! God, it was fantastic. He even let me try on his Iron Man suit.”

“Oh, I’d give anything to be enhanced. I’d want to be able to fly. Or teleport. Any power, really, if it could get me a one-way ticket to fighting with them.”

“But did you hear my friend got threatened by Daredevil the other night? That red horned suit is gone, though. He’s in that black suit from the days when we called him the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. I’d love to run into that guy — he’s so strange, isn’t he? Handsome, in a mysterious way.”

At this point in these types of conversations you always tried to tune them out. Their rosy idea of enhanced ignored the things that you saw whenever footage of the Avengers was shown on the evening news. After the battle in New York, they raved about Captain America’s strength, that magic hammer of Thor’s, and the way Dr. Bruce Banner metamorphosed from a man into a monstrous hero, as though it were the best thing in the world to have super-powered abilities.

But when you had watched that footage on the news, after the battle was over, all you saw was the blood. The bodies. The expressions on the Avengers’ faces, of the anguish and turmoil they had witnessed. Being enhanced was a curse, not a gift, and you came to resent the word itself — not for the political controversies it provoked, but for its connotation. In the mouths of anyone else, enhanced was a good thing. 

But you knew. 

As you held the temples of the man lying in front of you, his skin burnt severely from his fingers to his wrists, you knew. 

He writhed, his hands flopping like gasping fish. They were scorched as though in a paisley pattern, leathery and swollen. Second-degree, if not third-degree burns, you thought, as the man jerked away from the light emanating from your own hands, but you kept your grip steady. Slowly the skin began to return to its normal color — splotches fading like they were diluted, heaves of scars sinking back and reshaping as though they had never been there, the energy of his wounds transferring into your hands and through your bloodstream. 

You knew, better than anyone, that every gift had a price.

 

TWENTY-ONE HOURS LATER

It was snowing, yet your hands were blistering. 

The plows hadn’t come through yet, and there wasn’t much foot traffic on this side of Hell’s Kitchen, so the sidewalks were thick with snow. Despite your best efforts to hop in the few existing footprints, snow kept falling down into your boots. Your toes were numb, and your ears felt like they were about to get frostbite; you weren’t dressed for the weather. There hadn’t been time to grab a hat and thicker socks when you left your apartment, because you were more preoccupied with the searing burns that were popping like budding flowers on the palms of your hands. They weren't yet to the severity of the burns you had healed on Lynch's hands the previous night, but it was only a matter of time before they began to worsen. 

Only one more block. 

It was past midnight, and all you wanted was to be in bed, curled up with your pillows and quilted blanket, but just before falling asleep, you’d felt the skin tear open on your hand as though someone were holding a blowtorch to it. It was unnerving. You'd estimated another eight hours, until morning, before the energy you had taken from Lynch's wounds would make itself known.

Clearly I was wrong. You seethed with irritation at yourself and at the fact that Lynch had burned his hands in the first place as more snow collected in your boots. A warm pair of socks would be really, really nice right now.  

But situations like this came with the job, even if most people didn't realize it. Whenever people discovered you were able to heal — and they never truly knew it was you, because you were careful to keep your identity obscure — they assumed it was simple. As though you could just lay your hands on someone’s bleeding wound and it magically stitched itself back up. Poof, problem solved! Sort of like all those Avengers your coworkers persistently chatted about. Yeah, if only healing were as easy as doing a few fancy finger movements to open up a portal into another dimension. Doctor Strange doesn't know how good he has it.

Because fancy finger movements definitely wasn't how it worked for you. It wasn’t even close. 

You inhaled sharply as another burn made itself known, this time higher on your hand. A quick handful of snow against the welt soothed it slightly, but not much, and you picked up your pace down the street.  Your destination was an unassuming brick building, wedged between a hardware store and auto repair shop. LYNCH FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM, read the sign outside, underneath a layer of graffiti. It was one of your closest friends who owned the funeral home, and the previous day he'd sent you an emergency call for help, though you still hadn't heard the story of how he'd burned his hands in the first place. Not that it mattered much. You didn't ask questions very often; healing was your only responsibility. 

There was no one else on the street. There wasn't even much light, because most of the street lamps that weren’t burned out had been buried in a pale coating of frost. Your thoughts turned abruptly to the reports of the so-called vigilante Daredevil, who had reportedly been back on the streets lately. With what you had done in the past, and even with what you were doing now… well, you hoped you never crossed paths with him. Quiet streets like this always made you wonder if today was the day you’d run into him, but it had never happened. Sometimes you wondered if the media simply made him up as a fear tactic to keep crime off the streets of Hell’s Kitchen. 

You hurried inside the funeral home, searching for the only person who you knew would be up and about. Please, be here, please, please…

He was. “Grey,” the man at the desk said, surprise crossing his face when you burst into the crematorium. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Grey . Just like the word itself, it was ash on your tongue. It wasn’t your real name. Years ago it had been bestowed on you as a code name, a way to keep your identity impersonal from the people you worked with. But it stuck, and now you could count the number of people who knew your real name on one hand. 

“Emergency visit, Thato,” you said, showing him your hands. “I’m sorry. I thought I could manage it until tomorrow, at the very least, but—” You cringed as another burn blistered forth, erupting on the pad of your thumb. “Ow. Shit.”

Thato got to his feet, wincing in sympathy. “Never apologize for this. It’s not your fault.”

You shook your head. “I should be getting better. Improving… this . And I’m not.” It was true. For years, you had been at this same level. If you healed someone — which wasn’t really healing , if you were being technical; it was more like taking their injury and transferring it elsewhere — you could only hold onto it for a short amount of time. 

Option One was taking that energy from the injury and transplanting it onto someone else — typically, a corpse. You had a strict policy for yourself to never inflict a wound from someone else that you’d healed onto someone who didn’t receive the wound in the first place.

Option Two was just holding onto that energy until it began to manifest itself on you instead. And that was never pleasant. 

Case in point: the damn burns on my hands right now. 

You glanced at the door to the morgue. “Please tell me you’ve got bodies in for cremation?”

“As a matter of fact, one arrived tonight,” Thato said, and he put his hand gently on your back to steer you inside. “Let’s go.”

The morgue was cold. Goosebumps pricked up your arms. Thato worked quickly, and within a minute he was pulling out a storage drawer. A woman, her body pale and lifeless, slid out in front of you. 

Even when the bodies were dead, this was never easy.  You averted your eyes, opting instead to look at the ceiling, and placed your freezing hands on the sides of the dead woman’s head, against her temples. Gradually, after a minute, your hands began glowing — not the yellow glow of the man the newspapers called the Iron Fist, nor the red glow of that Avenger you’d seen on television, Wanda Maximoff. Instead, it was a pale slate color, as though smoke itself had become a source of light. It was this color that earned you your nickname. 

“Grey,” your brother had told you, lifting your chin up roughly to stare you down. 

He wasn’t really your brother, but he might as well have been. You’d known him as long as you could remember. Kane was the one who raised you, who had been with you since... for a long time. “Got it? Here with us, that’s what you’ll answer to.”

“But my name is—”

“No. When you’re with us, you don’t use your real name,” Kane said. Of course, just like your name wasn’t really Grey, his name wasn’t truly Kane. “You use Grey instead, okay? Grey Arztin, if anyone ever asks for a last name.” He handed you forged identification papers. 

“Why Arztin?” you asked, reading the name, and fumbling over the pronunciation of the word. 

“It means doctor, in German. Come with me. I have people for you to heal.”

“But I’m not very good at it.”

“Then you need to practice that ability. It’s going to be your greatest gift someday, Grey.”

The energy pulsed in your own temples as it transferred to the corpse, and slowly you began to feel it drain out of you. There was no comparable feeling to this moment, when the build-up of pain was finally relieved from your mental storage space — your cache, you liked to call it.  And, suddenly, burns just like the ones on your own hands bloomed across the white hands of the dead woman — raw, fiery welts, discolored in the center and streaking from her wrist bones to her fingertips. They were identical to the burns that had stretched across Lynch's hands the day before, down to the charred bit of skin just below the thumb knuckle. When the energy was gone, you dropped your hands, and the smoky glow faded.

The few burns that had already marked your own skin were still there, of course, because your healing abilities could never fix what had been done to your own body — yet another shortcoming of your power — but they wouldn’t get any worse. It was over. 

The corpse was rolled back into her drawer. The family would never know that her hands now bore severe burns that hadn’t been there at her time of death. She’d be cremated tomorrow, Thato assured you. It would be as though you had never even touched her. Guilt curled in your stomach at her desecrated hands. Maybe she had been a pianist. Those hands might have been held by someone else, once upon a time — a mother, a lover, a child. She could have used those hands to climb mountains or type out a novel on a laptop or serve plates of food at a restaurant. 

Now, because of you, they were mottled and burnt. 

“She’s dead,” Thato reminded you quietly, once you were outside of the morgue and back at the funeral home desk. “She’ll be burned anyway.”

“I know.” You played with the edge of the desk. “I just always feel bad. It feels like I’m… spitting on her memory, or something.”

“It’s a price you have to pay,” he agreed. “But it’s in exchange for the good you do, each time you use your skill. You even bore some of the price yourself.” He nodded at the burns scattered across your own hands. “I don’t like to see you feeling bad, Grey. Anything I can do?”

You smiled. “It's okay. You already helped me. Thanks, Thato. Really.” 

I don’t want to keep doing this, you wanted to add. I’ve had enough of all this. The healing, the transferring of the injuries and scars and bruises, the role I’ve played in Hell’s Kitchen. I’m done.

You wanted to tell him, so badly that it made your chest feel tight. Thato had been your friend for as long as you could remember. But if you told him, then your brother would find out, and if your brother found out…

Well, Kane wouldn’t be very pleased with you. He'd see it as a failure on your part, or worse, a betrayal. But it didn’t matter anyway, because you couldn’t leave the organization. Not after everything Kane had done for you, and especially not while you were the one thing that stood between him and death every night that he risked his life. 

You tightened your jacket around your shoulders before heading back out into the night, towards your apartment. You took your time; your earlier exhaustion was gone, and with your hands bandaged now, you were able to appreciate the falling snow as it amassed silently, insulating the streets from the sounds of the city beyond. 

But you might not have had such a leisurely walk back if you’d happened to tilt your head upwards and look at the roofs — if you had been able to hear the footsteps above as someone followed you in the shadows, if you had known the man they called the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen stalked you, having listened to every word of the conversation in the crematorium.

[greenerteacups]

Hello! I love Lionheart (literally started four days ago and have read continuously since and am, in a word, Obsessed).

One thing I've noticed that is a common theme among Dramoine fics is how Draco gets away with his pureblood ideology and essentially has no consequences (besides Hermoine's anger/disgust) until his eventual redemption arc through their romance. However, I've noticed that your fic is unique in the way that Draco is constantly held accountable, especially backlash from Ron (btw, love the way you characterized Ron, my boy deserves some justice) and Harry, but especially through Hermoine, who fights back in any way she knows how. So my question is: what are your thoughts on this common trope within the Dramoine fandom? Do you think that Draco's eventual love for Hermoine negates the harm that he's done in the past?

I absolutely believe that love can be redemptive, but that doesn't mean you redeem yourself by loving. It's not about how you feel, it's about what you do. You can love someone a whole lot, but if you don't treat them well, and make a real effort to be good to them, well — I mean, I'm not saying it doesn't "matter," because everything always matters, but I wouldn't say that love has really changed you. Which is to say, I don't know that it's really love at all.

Draco can't be made better by the fact of loving Hermione, but he can make himself better because of it. Reasoning past, getting over, and making amends for his past wrongdoing should — ideally — be part of that development. Now, this is assuming that you want to do a real, honest-to-God, "I'm going to drag this horrible little wet blorbo kicking and screaming into Heroism" redemption arc. Maybe you don't! Maybe you want to write a story about two fucked-up people who fuck each other up more. Maybe you want to write about a bad man who isn't held accountable, and the kind of person that produces. Draco Malfoy can be many people, depending on where you take him, and many of them are interesting without being particularly nice or good. And you can still do great fiction about that! Romances with and between horrible characters can be totally delicious. I'm a big fan of 'em. But the kind of love I personally prize the most — the kind that makes us, if anything can earn this word, really, truly holy — is a love that's so selfless you are willing to be changed by it, and to change for it, and to constantly reforge yourself in order to do justice to the object of your love. It's veneration. It's finding in each other a reason for goodness. That's what I think real humans should look for, and so I guess I can't help trying to write about it when it comes to fake humans.

So when we talk about love as the catalyst for a redemption arc, I think what we mean is: love can awaken you to the personhood of others and ignite latent capacities for empathy that might not have existed otherwise. It opens you up to new ways of seeing, of being — James Baldwin in The Price of the Ticket has a brilliant quotation that captures it perfectly:

"If your lover lives in Hong Kong and cannot get to Chicago, it will be necessary for you to go to Hong Kong. Perhaps you will spend your life there, and never see Chicago again. And you will, I assure you, as long as space and time divide you from anyone you love, discover a great deal about shipping routes, airlines, earth quake, famine, disease, and war. And you will always know what time it is in Hong Kong, for you love someone who lives there. And love will simply have no choice but to go into battle with space and time and, furthermore, to win."

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

An Update from anonymous in Israel and a personal note from me:

*Hamas threatens execution of the hostages.

*1000 Israelis murdered on Israeli soil. The numbers keep rising. There are a few hundreds struggle for their lives in hospitals.

*At the strongholds of Hamas in Gaza whole neighborhoods were wiped out.

*Deputy commander of a Brigade killed in a confrontation with terrorists from Lebanon. Must be Hezbollah. Israeli doctrine is the commanders physically lead which can have a high price.

*The White House was lightened with blue and white Israeli colors. Solidarity. Will take it even if don’t like the occupants right now. We miss Trump.

*The Head of the Joint Staff of the US had a talk with the IDF Chief of Staff about making American Military support in the region stronger. My Interpretation: American fleet is on the way to deter Iran and Hezbollah from joining the war. We in Israel don’t like it. Israel should not rely on anyone else. Specially not Biden. Again , we miss Trump. On second thought it does feel good to know we are not alone even if the move is symbolic.

*Netanyahu -“What we will do to Hamas will eco for generations.” “We will treat them like ISIS” (like treating ISIS.)

*Biden – “11 Americans were killed in the attack”.

*My ____told me that the largest hospital in the North (Rambam Hospital) is converting the parking structure to a hospital space. It’s the north. Could mean preparation for a war in the north with Hezbollah.

*IDF- “Tens of terrorists were eliminated in the past day.”

*IDF – “So far we attacked 1707 targets.” Air Force.

*The leaders of the US, Germany, Italy, UK, France in a joint statement condemning the attack, warning others from joining the war and saying they support Israel. The Globalists are supporting Israel. I wonder why and for how long?

*The popular Telegram channel in Gaza is pleading not to publish names of terrorists because “the IDF is bombing their homes”. Some terrorists will be homeless and familyless. There is a black list of all the involved. Israel is known to have a long memory. All the involved directly or indirectly are going to die. I am sure.

*American Israeli in Miami – a wealthy guy- is organizing an operation room with volunteers. Arranged and arranging flight tickets for Israelis who are reservists abroad who want to come to fight. The numbers are confidential but I am sure that there are thousands who are coming back to fight. But the airport is closed. But airlines are getting prepared to help with this effort as soon as they can.

*Speaker of the National Security of the US (or whatever it is called) John Kirby is choking on live TV when asked about the images of the kidnapped. He is saying they have no direct intelligence of Iran’s involvement in this attack. (Israel will know the whole chain to the top shortly. From prisoners and other means).

Love, Shalom & God Bless you all my friends.

From me, GRITS on Tumblr:

I'm sharing the updates to encourage prayer. God loves EVERY human being, no matter your family of origin. Even those who deny his existence or seek to destroy Him are loved by Him. Why? Because He is Elohim who created everyone. He made a covenant with Abraham and God will NOT break His promises. If the entire world turns against Israel (and according to prophecy Ezekiel 38 & 39), that day will come), God alone will fight for them. This does not mean their government is good or righteous. Their government is corrupt just like the American government. It does mean that God keeps His promises in spite of politics and in spite of governments.

If you would like to pray for our world, I recommend reading aloud & meditating on the Psalms. We all have our favorites but in light of current events, start at Psalms 120 and just keep going. There are many translations. The ESV The NCV The CEV are more modern but less flowery/romantic.

If you are a Christian, you are commanded to "Pray for peace in Jerusalem" (psalm 122:6)

We don't need to understand the politics. Our job is to pray for peace.

For my friends here who are not Believers, I offer you the psalms. There is something very special about these words. We believe they were inspired by God Himself and preserved for thousands of years by a small group of Hebrew people. It was out of these tribes that God gave us our Lord Jesus who we believe is the prophesied Messiah, the Christ.

The Jewish leaders were expecting a political messiah to rescue them from a corrupt government---a political KING. God sent them a lowly, adopted son of a carpenter who waited until age 30 to begin a 3 year ministry. Jesus came not to be served but to serve. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Unfortunately they didn't realize their greatest need was not political, but soul salvation.

Jesus, God's only son came to be the bridge between us and the Father.

Allegedly (Steve) founder of Apple Computers said, "God sent His son on a suicide mission but we forgive Him because He gave us trees."

I can see how people feel that way, but it was more than a suicide mission---It was a redemption mission: Him for us. One day we will all stand before our Creator and none of my "good works" will be enough to overcome my sinful heart. I was born a sinner but Jesus stands in the gap for me. I deserve death as the penalty for my sinful heart but Jesus defeated death. Now I will live forever with Him. You can too.

Maranatha!

[sleepis4theweak]

Question for the Foodie Siblings AU (asking for research purposes)

How does the Battle Nexus work? Like would they be fighting creatures or would it be more like fighting other people? Is it always to the death?

I was holding off on answering this- because I have not thought about that at all hehe...

I think that the Battle Nexus would work in that there would be both fighting of creatures and other people. It would be mostly to the death.

I'm putting on my business cap rn to think like Big Mama. I'm just gonna make up how the Battle Nexus works... but I'm gonna try to make it logical and cost efficient.

So: I think that to have only fights to the death wouldn't really work. You would have to be replacing people constantly. Not very cost efficient. Sure, she could kidnap people, but again, that takes resources, time and money. It's much better if she can convince people to come to her.

And she can do that easily, I mean she has a very popular business going on. I imagine that (kind of like Senor Hueso's whole pizza death maze thing) people would join for fame and maybe a little reward.

I think she would also want to have fights to the death though. She is running a business, and a very aggressive one as well. People would probably like to see blood and guts and the desperation that comes with knowing you are about to die.

So I think it would be a range of different tournaments. AND- having a range means that she can price differently :)

So, you would have the baby fights. People fighting other people, not to the death. Maybe just for glory and a small prize. Tickets would be cheap for those I imagine. I also think that these people would be allowed to come and go as they please. You could pay a fee to enter, try to win, and if you don't, you can pay some more and try again! She covers her costs with the profits from the people entering and the people buying tickets.

Then you might have fights with creatures. Animals/creatures are easier to replace. They can be killed, and you have some of that desperation and excitement without having to worry about replacing your competitors. I imagine that the people entering this one might not need to pay. They already miiiight die from the beasts. That's a high enough cost, so she wouldn't want to dissuade people from entering by making that cost higher. People who win would probably get a prize again. I don't think she would bother associating with or manipulating these people either. I don't even imagine she would heal the losers either. Maybe the winners. Idk. Tickets to watch these would probably be more expensive.

Finally you would have the all out tournaments. Fights that may or may not be to the death. But these are the big costly ones. The ones where damage is done to the arena and she may need to cover the cost of someone getting injured. Here's where I'd imagine she'd be more involved. And here is where I imagine Milkshake would fit into. These are the tournaments with a big prize. Milkshake, of course, isn't going to get that prize. Maybe anyone who defeats her is promised a prize? Anywho- these are the battles in which she has players set in place. They are bloody and you have to pay more than the others to watch. I think that these would also be the ones Lou Jitsu was in. If she can slip someone in there that she doesn't have to pay, but still keeps the crowd interested, then she's definitely gonna do that! She makes a lot of money off of these games. And probably also has other stuff like gambling to make money off of for these.

-----

And for anyone wanting a Foodie AU character to be in the Battle Nexus: I don't think that those who compete in these type of fights would interact a lot. So if a character is regularly entering the 'baby fights' for the money prize, they aren't gonna interact with Milkshake. But a good fighter in a 'baby fight' might catch the eye of Big Mama! You never know who might be a good investment ;)

I'm not sure how much sense all of these makes, I'm a bit tired rn. But if you have any more questions- feel free to ask me!

AND- @mikebeanz, if you have anything to add lemme know! I'll add it in :)

(especially if it relates to Milkshakes because now I have some ideas mwhahahahaha...)

[mammondrivesamazdamiata]

Obey Me! Boys as Baristas in a coffee shop

I myself am a barista and so I feel qualified enough to make assumptions :P Enjoy

(includes foul language lol)

Lucifer

- The opening manager

- Clean freak

- Always has a rag tucked into the pocket of his apron

- Arrives fifteen minutes early every morning and complains about it

- Keeps everyone on task during rushes

- Will passive aggressively argue with customers

"I want a medium cappuccino. Don't make it a latte. I don't want milk to the top, I want about two inches of foam."

"Ma'am, please do not speak to me like I don't know what I'm doing. I'm aware of what a cappuccino is and how to make it. Unless you'd like to come behind the counter and make it yourself?"

- Will snap at his crew when he's stressed and apologize for it later

- Freaks out when nothing is stocked

Mammon

- Strictly an order taker on most days

- Can not remember recipes to save his life

- Constantly gets into these long, drawn out conversations with customers and has to be reeled back in

- Honestly great at customer service, but totally fake

"Bye, guys! Have a good one!" *Turns around* "Holy shit they were fucking annoying."

- Has a crush on every good-looking person that comes in

- Pretty good at memorizing regular customer orders and tries to have their order saved into the POS system before they arrive

- LOVES making pup cups. He considers it the best part of his job. Will argue with Satan over who gets to hand it out

- Always gets stuck mopping the floors because no one else wants to do it

- Will straight up eat espresso beans

Levi

- Actually a very good barista

- Memorizes recipes and measurements really fast

- Can be seen carrying multiple drinks in his arms during a rush

"I've got the entire first and second tickets, so don't worry about those."

- So bad at customer service. So awkward. Not allowed to take orders unless he knows the person

- Will start dancing on the line when he thinks he's alone. Runs to the back and hides when he realizes a customer was standing at the counter watching him

- Eats a single croissant on his break

- Puts 6 shots of espresso in his drink every day. Lucifer is deeply considering cutting him off

- Won't take a bathroom break until it's an emergency

Satan

- The baker

- Usually opens with Lucifer to catch up on baking. He hates this and ignores Lucifer the whole morning

- Loves to decorate cupcakes and sugar cookies for the holidays/seasons. Always gets compliments on them

- Him and Asmodeus always come up with the specialty drinks every month

- Fights with Diavolo every day about making the coffee shop a cat cafe instead

- Would rather make food orders than coffee orders

- Gets stuck prepping everything

- In charge of inventory orders. Won't even ask anyone to help him because he doesn't trust them to do it right

- Gets so frustrated during rushes

- Will slam things until he's forced to step outside to take a breather

- Will argue with customers if they catch him on a bad day

"Jeez, seven dollars for a latte? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, yeah, it's a dollar-fifty up-charger for oat milk."

"That seems ridiculous!"

"Listen, I don't make the prices, lady, now are you going to give me your money or not?"

Asmodeus

- Employee of the month

- Literally so good at customer service

- Everyone loves working with him because he's constantly getting tipped

- Addresses regulars by name and compliments them

"Liz, did you change your hair? It looks so good!"

*Gasps* "I love your nails! Where do you get them done?"

"Good morning, Ron, are we just doing your small French roast today?"

- Is also confident in his ability to take orders

"Wow, I really am just a delight to talk to."

- Always leaves milk on the counter or forgets to close the fridges after making something

- Keeps forgetting to empty the espresso pucks after pulling. Pisses off Levi to no end

- Likes making cold drinks over hot drinks

- Doesn't even like coffee. Drinks chai lattes almost exclusively

- Flirts with customers

- Refuses to count registers

"Nah, I'm too cute for math 😊"

Beel

- Closing shift manager

- Keeps getting in trouble for sneaking bites of food between orders

Lucifer: "Beel, you cannot keep eating pickles out of the container when you're not wearing gloves that's cross contamination."

"Try and stop me."

- Every customer's barista crush. He's completely clueless to all advances

- gets hangry and snaps at his coworkers

- eats some pasta salad and is perfectly fine afterwards

- Closing shift always calls on him for customer complaints because he's such a large individual and can be really intimidating

- Will procrastinate the closing list all day and haul ass for the entire last hour to get it done on time

- Holds a lot of grudges against his coworkers but doesn't say anything to avoid conflict

- Will be fine all day but blows up at the slightest inconvenience

- Likes to take the trash out so he can decompress in peace behind the dumpsters

Belphie

- Hates his job

- Only works there because Beel convinced him to apply

- So clumsy

- Always spills drinks

- Won't argue with customers but glares at them from across the counter

- Counts registers at the end of the night

- Complains about everything

- Wants to start the closing list five hours before the cafe even closes

- Will purposefully mess up drinks for customers he doesn't like

"One Soy latte. You're all set." *Under his breath* "Joke's on you, bitch, that was 2%."

- Talks about putting in his two weeks every month but never actually does it

- Always forgets to write dates on items he opens

Diavolo

- The owner, obviously

- Has no idea how to do anything, so he leaves the brunt of cafe work to Lucifer and Barb

- Tried to make coffee for a customer once and forgot to put espresso in it

- Hands things out to the wrong customers, so the boys have to remake orders constantly when Diavolo's working with them

- Has to be restrained from making terrible business decisions

Diavolo: "Hey, what if we did a Bloody Mary bar on the weekends?"

Lucifer: "Not happening."

Diavolo: "Well, it's a good thing I'm the owner and can do whatever I want 😝"

Lucifer: "WE DON'T HAVE A LIQUOR LICENSE."

Diavolo: "Oh... How do you get one of those?"

- Goes on a cruise every month and leaves the cafe to be run by his employees

Barbatos

- Exhausted

- Handles all finances

- Sees a mouse one time and loses his mind

- Clean, clean, cleanCLEANCLEANCLEAN

- Quietly cries while he signs paychecks

- Has a nervous breakdown every time the health inspector stops by

- Stops Diavolo from making OSHA violations

Undateables as customers! (bonus)

Solomon

- Kind of a dick

- Leaves 50 cent tips

- Always complains that his black coffee is too cold

- Will not drink it unless it's 200+ degrees

- Always asks for a sleeve even though he's been told multiple times that it's already built into the cup

Simeon

- Gets a really complicated drink but all the baristas love him so it's okay

- Large iced dirty chai with 2 shots of espresso and oat milk, light ice

- Usually leaves a tip that's more than his drink

- Gossips with everyone that works there

- Super patient no matter how long it takes them to get his order out

- Diavolo keeps trying to give him a job, but Simeon is smart enough to kindly refuse

- Brings his work and sits in the lobby for hours

Luke

- Orders a hot chocolate (frozen or hot depending on the time of year) with whip cream and rainbow sprinkles

- One time he burned his tongue so bad that Lucifer gave him free drinks for a week

- Luke would just put the amount the drink cost into the tip jar instead because he felt bad

"You could pour hot coffee in my lap and I'd probably apologize to you."

- Asked for a job once. Mammon convinced Barb not to hire him on grounds of "he's so annoying."

[prpfs]

💀🐺

Hi hi! I'm in the mood for some good old fashion mxm werewolf/vampire stuff but with a twist. Medieval fantasy. Oh, almost forgot to add, I'm 22! (So 18+ roleplayers only! Thanks)

Looking for someone interested in playing Muse B! (The vampire)

Themes I'm hoping to include:

Dead dove, hurt/comfort, whump, angst, drama 👀

And before you ask, yes I'm alright with sexual content between the muses.

I was thinking setting-wise, it's a society where vampires took over. That sort of thing. Humans .. those that haven't gone into hiding, are used for food, and the other major supernatural race (werewolves) were subdued and used as military or guards for the vampires. Or entertainment via fighting rings.

Muse A is a werewolf who was born and raised to be entertainment for vampires in a fighting pit. It's all he knows and in that type of environment, violence and being nothing but a feral creature were encouraged. He knows how to speak, but just barely. He's quick to anger, and pretty much does as he's told by whatever handler is running the fighting pit.

Muse B is a vampire, a high ranking one. Maybe a prince of a well known coven? He immediately becomes enamored with Muse A after the first time he saw him. And continuously buys tickets to go see him fighting in the pit. Muse A is a fan favorite, known for his ferociousness in the fights. Rather than giving quick, clean, kills, he drags it out painfully for his opponent, to the delight of the spectators. Earning him sponsors and a few special privileges. Muse B, haughty and entitled, tries various times to buy Muse A off of the company that runs the fighting ring, only to be continuously denied because Muse A is the company's money maker. Until a corrupt ring master is bought off at a high enough price and sells Muse A to B

At first, Muse B treats A like an exotic pet, putting him in a luxurious room with "toys" and any type of food he wanted, and taking him out to events whenever he wants to show off to other high society types as a way to one up everyone else. But Muse A proves to be a little too feral for this type of life style. Constantly ripping whatever fancy costume the servants forced him into, making a mess of his room, trying to escape, growling and trying to kill anyone that got near to him. Though Muse B grows fond of A, even a little sorry for him. So he begins trying to train him in secret, how to speak properly... How to control himself, etc etc. At first, Muse A is wary, thinking all of this is a trick but as days turn into months, he even begins to like the vampire.

Think villain with his attack dog dynamic. They start falling in love. That kind of thing. Then we can go on from there (yanno, wing it. Or plot 🤷)

I roleplay on discord!

like if interested!

[aleatoryw]

Kayfabe au?? 👀

*clears throat* At some point between the high republic era and the prequels era, the Jedi order realized they were flat broke. rent on coruscant had been steadily increasing as more and more galactic governmental organizations headquartered themselves there, and being an order of peacekeeping monks who spent their days mostly in quiet meditation didn't exactly bring in a ton of cash. so they decided to start holding their practice spars in a public amphitheater, and charging a few credits for admission. people outside of the order have long been fascinated by lightsabers and lightsaber fights, so what's the harm in showing off a bit? it's not like this will eventually lead to restructuring the entire order around flashy combat and stage personas and an organized fight schedule... right?

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the best fighters in the entire galaxy. his events always draw huge crowds and surging ticket prices. his compelling plotline ("killed" the heel who took his master out of the ring) is part of it, his dramatic (sensationalized) forbidden romance with a mandalorian duchess is part of it, and his dashing good looks are a substantial part of it. but still, Kenobi isn't happy. the new president of the Saber Combat League is also a senator who seems all too content to use the League as a distraction from the outbreak of war across the galaxy. shouldn't the Jedi be involved in this? (they aren't. but shouldn't they be?)

said senator, Palpatine, is also pushing them to their limits. more fights, more dangerous stunts, more real injuries. the plotline is getting more and more convoluted as the fighters who bring in the most credits have to face each other over and over again, for increasingly ridiculous reasons. he thinks he has fought his own padawan, Anakin Skywalker, about a hundred times now. (Anakin is one of few people with more star power than him - a past as a champion podracer, a chosen one origin story, and an open secret marriage to a queen-turned-senator will do that.) Popular heels are brought back from "the dead" - including his least favorite, Maul.

in addition, while the league has long been welcoming of reoccurring villains from outside the Jedi order, some of the people who have been set up in fights recently seem... off. they couldn't possibly be... sith, could they? no one has seen a sith in centuries. surely Maul, the man who wounded Qui-Gon and ruined his career in the ring for life, was lying about being a sith? surely Dooku, a man who left the order to pursue politics, is lying about being a sith? it's just promotion, right? He's skeptical of Palpatine's leadership (and how much profit he's making off the Jedi), and he especially doesn't like his burgeoning friendship with Anakin.

now because i'm a ventrobi shipper, the inciting incident is Asajj first appearing in the ring as his newest enemy - a heel. she was recruited from the slave gladiator arenas of rattatak and is desperate to not. go. back. but he doesn't know that, because she doesn't say much in the locker room before the fight. he just knows she's intense and vicious and hot. and their fight chemistry is so good, they end up slated to fight each other again and again. Anakin is acting like he's not jealous (he is, mostly because he ends up fighting unknown nobodies and he craves a challenge); Satine is upset because there are now rumors of an affair in the tabloids (they haven't been a real couple in over a decade); and Qui-gon is wary about this new woman's connections to Dooku. but Obi-Wan can't stop himself from leaning into their flirtatious banter, and pressing for more information about her.

at some point, Palpatine decides that the script calls for Ventress to be written out of the plot. in a moment of vulnerability before the fight where this is meant to happen, she breaks down and tells him about what it will mean for her, and Obi-Wan realizes that to save her, he might have to go against Palpatine, and maybe break kayfabe in the process. they improvise, and in the big moment when he's supposed to realize she can't be saved and run her through, he instead says he's realized he's in love with her, and they share a big dramatic kiss. the crowd goes insane. Ventress goes from a decently popular fighter to the hottest ticket in town, even when she's fighting other people. anakin is furious, not only because palpatine is his new best friend, but also because no one upstages him like that. Qui-gon is... pleasantly confused, but proud - whatever happens from here, it's going to be messy, but if anyone can right this league, it's his stubborn former padawan.

the best part about this insane unhinged au is you can ship whatever you want in it. Cody is Obi-Wan's manager, Padme is a guest of honor at every fight, any Jedi or villain you like can be in the ring. it RULES and i have so much fun with it. it is not written anywhere (except here)

[ratherembarrassing]

2023: weeks 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 [13 feb to 19 mar]

this is madness. it's been a crazy busy month. i'm currently in my fourth hotel. let's go.

VACATION!

new york: greenwich village was home for the first week of my vacation. a part of manhattan that i liked to visit a lot when i lived in brooklyn but never a place i've managed to spend as much time as i would like... and still have not. the marlton hotel on 8th was delightful although i encountered far too many australians for my liking. the lobby bar was, as warned of in every single review i read, absolutely packed with people just chilling/drinking/working at all hours of the day, but it was honestly a hoot.

new york coffee: i am notoriously hateful of american coffee, because it's revolting, but the game has been changed in the last few years. every morning i went somewhere different as i set out for the day, and every day i was rewarded handsomely with a decent-to-perfect latte. thank you for embracing the milk based espresso game, new york. i cannot extend my compliments to california.

art: i managed to hit up two art museums i've been to previously (the met, the guggenheim) and two that i had not (the whitney, the frick) while in new york, and the completely out of character pre-modern kick i've been on heavily influenced where i had the most fun.

the guggenheim is home to my very favourite painting, franz marc's yellow cow, but half the permanent collection was down for an exhibition, so he was gone. however, i had seen marc's fighting cows at the met a few days earlier, in which my good friend the yellow cow is hanging out in the background, so i was content.

the met was full of all the classical architecture things i have spent the last few months being weird about, and so is every street in new york, so i was having a great time and my phone is full of photos of completely random buildings all over manhattan. but there was something really satisfying about walking through parts of the building i viscerally remember not having any interest in previously and being like, i know you guys now.

the frick was a similar experience, kind of, in that i have a clear memory of passing on going because i knew it was full of old paintings. not exactly my thing, for the most part, more of an incidental acquaintanceship from often being housed in the same building as art i prefer. i don't remember what specifically prompted me to go this time, but an inadvertent consequence of deep diving architectural history is that i acquired a whole art history education that i never really had, and like, what a difference that makes.

the whitney had a hopper exhibition showing that had pretty much everything he ever painted except for nighthawks, which was weird.

shows!: "are you going to see any shows while you're there?" "is there any other reason to even go to new york?"

this was documented as it happened, but i experienced classical music live for the first time while unintentionally very, very drunk. i've settled on this having been an incredible experience, well done me.

i saw funny girl. it's actually incomprehensible how good lea was in this given that, okay, so. wait, context. so what actually happened was, i had tickets for funny girl on the friday night and the ny phil on saturday night, and lea was out sick friday AND the saturday matinee. i got an email about her being out at 3pm but didn't see it until 6pm, and somehow i still managed to switch both tickets to seats in almost the exact same location and recovered like $100 of the original price in the process. so after being off sick for two shows lea was, honestly, fucking incredible. it's so irritating, but it is what it is.

jessica chastain is currently doing a doll's house (i think it technically opened on march 9 but it's been in previews for weeks). this was wild, as far as these things go. extremely minimal, bordering on avant-garde maybe or just throwing a lot of singular things that other productions have done into a pot together. spoilers for the key staging moments: it started with nora on stage for a solid 10 minutes before curtain (there was no curtain), while the house lights were still up and people were still wandering into their seats and talking, and ended with her walking out through a door at the back of the stage directly onto the street behind the theatre in a moment so baffling i am still chuckling every time i think about it. it wasn't perfect but it's going to stay with me.

an assortment of other things i bought/experienced in new york

an australian goes to an nhl game: i thought i could come to like any sport, but this was really just not my thing. also, the shouting from the crowd during the national anthem made me genuinely uneasy.

the post-metrocard subway. people had commented to me and have asked since if new york "felt different", and this might be the only place where it did feel different. the subway felt empty, and nobody uses the emergency exit anymore, and no more metrocard just feels wrong.

an american biscuit from popeyes. it was delicious. at the time i said i was coming around on the biscuit thing, but then i had one with gravy in california and it was just wrong.

a whole bunch of writing implements and notebooks from good for the study, which happened to be across the street from my hotel. it's maybe one of the hardest things to buy in australia now, as everything else has become easier and this one specific category of goods has not. i spent so much money it was ridiculous. ask me about my pens.

the apple charger adapter kit, because i accidentally packed my european adapter and had planned to use my apple brick exclusively as my means of charging all my shit. so now i have one for everywhere on earth, and that feels like a challenge.

which also lead to me walking past zitomer, because somehow i spent half my time in new york on the upper east side, and tar had reminded me of that new york magazine article about the women who shop at zitomer, and anyway now i own $22 lipbalm in a zitomer lipstick tube.

also, because travel seems to somehow always destroy my hands, i now own hand cream that smells like orange tic tacs. that was from whole foods, though.

los angeles: i drove! in california! pulling out of that avis parking lot was honestly one of the more terrifying things i've ever done. socal was experiencing some weather, and i had to drive to long beach, and i'd spent 20 minutes trying to figure out the carplay controls in a mazda (fucking insane) and it was going to get dark soon, so i had to go. in the end it was great, and the last day i spent driving all over the place and i am fully committed to doing the entire PCH as a trip sometime soon.

the pie bar: it was february 24, which is twin peaks day, so i dragged everyone to this place we found on google, and i ate cherry pie for the first time and it was fantastic, and like the ten or so of the rest of us all had different kinds of pies and everyone enjoyed the hell out of them, so this place was fucking awesome. also they gave us a candle to stick in leah's pie so we could sing happy birthday.

broadway cocktail lounge's karaoke night: long beach really was batting well above its average this night. maybe it was the weather keeping everyone local, but there was a woman who sounded like stevie nicks who did gold dust woman and i'm honestly still thinking about her all these weeks later.

santa monica: a lovely place to be! i stayed at the fairmont, which was very funny because i had previously had brunch in the restaurant there without realising it was the same place. anyway, five star hotels are hilarious and i love them. they brought my ubereats order to my door at nearly midnight, which makes them infinitely better than the intercons that i've stayed at that make you come down and get it yourself. i will but up with that at a four star hotel, but not at a five! i'm kidding, but not really lmao.

disneyland!: go on a rainy monday in february! waltz right into every right! do the star wars rides twice! i fucking love disneyland and will go in the heat when it's packed and queue for an hour for most things, but this was super special just getting to do anything. the new star wars ride is so fucking awesome! take your kids to disneyland!

then i ate a final lax panda express and headed home.

FIVE SHOWS IN TWELVE DAYS!

angel olsen @ melbourne recital centre: i will admit i was jetlagged as fuck and might have nodded off for a second in my front row seat. nonetheless, what a babe.

bikini kill @ forum: happy international womens day! this was all ages gig with a lot of tiny little kiddos there with their cool mums and it was a great time to be in a room with a lot of people there for the vibe.

florence and the machine @ rod laver: that woman is a god damn witch, and i will not be told otherwise. fucking mesmerizing. it's just a fucking treat to see the person who makes some of your favourite music be incredible in front of you.

lorde @ sydney myer music bowl: MUNA opened for her and they slapped.

carly rae jepsen @ forum: the most fun i've had at a concert in ages. i was sweaty and exhausted and full of joy by the end, and unlike everyone else there i didn't get covid. midway through the show i got a text that my 6.30am flight the next morning had been cancelled and that was also very fun!

haloumi baos at blondie bar: this is the always busy spot outside the melbourne recital centre / southbank theatre. they came with pineapple jam. it was so good i went back a week later for pre-lorde dinner and sat on a tiny tiny bench to eat them.

sydney: i am in it. i'm here for work, but yesterday i had brunch at pina in potts point, and this morning i had brunch at porch and parlor and wandered around bondi before i had to spend a few hours working. i'm here for another week and a half, so tell me fun things to do.

THREE COMEDIES IN TWO WEEKS!

am i being unreasonable (season 1, bbc): i watched this on the flight to lax, i had no idea what it was and no way to find out, and let me tell you: that was wild. one of the most intriguing and fucked up and funny things i've watched in a while.

extraordinary (season 1, hulu/disney+): this show is so charming i want to scream. luke rollason, oh my god. he's just a little guy!

the flatshare (season 1, paramount+): i dunno. did anyone else watch this?

okay i'm done, goodbye.

[lea-heartscxiv]

Renga Valentine's Day

Renga were the second winners in this poll and here is the date they had on Valentine's Day this year on our sims gameplay.

You can see all images (because here it can only be uploaded 30 images) and extras of Renga in our Blogger. (From me and @van-yangyin)

Blogger: English | Español

Read their date below the cut line ↓

It was getting close to 7:30pm and Reki and Langa started to close Dope Sketch store.

An hour before...

Oka: Reki, Langa, I'll leave you here to close whenever you want 😉 I have a date. Reki: With a new woman? Oka: Don't be so nosy, Reki. Langa: If you don't mind, we'll close before 8pm. Reki and I will go see a movie.

Oka: And have you already chosen it? Langa: No. Oka: Then let me recommend one for you two. 😁 «Reki, that's what you get for being nosy» - thinking. Reki: WOW, a special recommendation from Oka. Okay, tell us what you have to offer us. 😏

Oka: "桜の木に吹く風" (The wind among Cherry blossoms), it's a nice friendship between two friends, also one of the main themes is skateboarding. 😁 Reki: Oka, you're a genius! Oka: You're welcome. 😁 Langa: You must really like it to be smiling like that. Oka: Sure... I went with some friends and we had a lot of fun. And there they did some spectacular tricks. Maybe they give you some ideas. 😁 Reki: Okay, so tomorrow we'll talk about the movie, Oka.

Oka: Of course 😁 «You're welcome Langa, I'm sure Reki will hold on to you tight 🙌» - thinking.

So following Oka's recommendation; about closing when they wanted to; they were going to close it at 19:30h. When the time came, they packed up, changed clothes, turned off the lights and closed Dope Sketch.

Langa: I can't wait to see that movie.

Reki: Yes, especially because during the year it's very unusual to see skateboarding premieres... Although it's weird that I'm not familiar with it...

Langa: Reki... Maybe some of the other main topics are not so much of your interest?

Reki: Maybe, although that sounds even better, it means I'll enjoy it even more!

Once they closed, headed towards the movie theater and saw that two premieres were announced on the billboard.

They went inside and looked to see in which room the movie was being shown.

Langa: Room 1.

Reki: This must be the movie Oka recommended.

Langa: Reki... The shadow that appears on this poster has red eyes... Doesn't it remind you of someone?

Reki: *a shiver ran through his whole body* ... No! He doesn't remind me of anyone... He doesn't have a longboard so...

Langa: So we're thinking of the same person.

Reki: Well then I hope the character doesn't remotely resemble "that person", because then the story is going to get boring. 💦

Langa: But at least it will have good tricks.

They went to get two tickets and Langa also bought popcorn. It was half price so was quite cheap. They entered the theater and sat down to wait for the movie to start.

Reki: Do you think movie will be good? I don't see many people sitting down.

Langa: Well, movie starts at 8:30 pm, there's still time, Reki. It will probably fill up with more people little by little.

Reki: By the way... Why did they put on the ticket that movie is rated for 16 years and over?

Langa: There might be street fights, don't you think that would be a good reason?

Reki: But if skateboard fights aren't so dangerous... Unless are on "S"...

Langa: But it can be if are street fights.

Reki: Well, we'll see. It looks like movie is about to start.

When the film starts, Reki sees something weird about it. Why were most of the shots taken at night? Well... Okay... He knew that most of time he skateboarded with Langa, it was at night, especially if they were on the streets in the car lane... But... Why did all the shots and soundtracks seem like they were made expressly to be scary? After a while Langa had eaten all popcorn without leaving any for Reki, he seemed to be very excited about the plot. On the other hand, Reki thought that Oka had put more "tricks" than he was actually seeing on stage.

Langa still thought that guy with red eyes reminded him of "that person" although seen from a different point of view and more now that he was half an hour into the movie.

Langa: Reki, the guy with red eyes looks sad and full of anger, are you sure now that ghost doesn't remind you of someone?

Reki: Gho... ghost?!

Langa: Yes, a 御霊 (goryoo), I think it's called that way. ⁽*¹⁾

⁽*¹⁾ 御霊 (goryoo) are vengeful Japanese ghosts from the aristocratic classes.

Reki was so deep in his thoughts thinking about everything Oka told him that didn't understand much of the plot...and begins to realize that the movie is not romantic at all but... SCARY!!!!

Reki: Langa, are we leaving now?

Langa: But... The story is very interesting...

Reki doesn't hear anything and runs out in panic, towards the exit of the room.

Langa is left alone, sitting down.

Langa: I'll have to buy the Blu-ray to watch the ending with mom, I'm sure she'll like it.

While outside the room it can be hear:

Reki: OKAAAAAAA!!!!

Reki runs to the washroom in a panic and Langa runs out of the room and into the washroom with him.

Reki: Oka I knew it, he knew it was scary!

Langa: But Reki, the story is interesting, and tricks even if they were few seemed good.

Reki: I'm sorry, Langa. You know how I'm with anything scary....

Langa: It's okay Reki, I'll buy the Blu-ray and watch it with mom. 

Reki: Are they going to release Blu-ray of that?

Langa: I don't know, but they usually release Blu-rays of everything after a while.

Reki: You're right, hehe. Can I go in the bathroom for a minute and then we'll head to the Skatepark?

Langa: Sure. *spends some time* Reki...

Reki: Uh-huh?

Langa: I'll always be by your side when you're scared, so you can hold on to me tight... Like when in Miyakojima...

Reki: Thank you, Langa... Although you know that my fears are stronger than I'm... Shall we go to the Skatepark?

Reki and Langa arrive at the Skatepark and the former gets very close to the latter.

Reki: Langa, I know Valentine's Day is celebrated differently in Canada, but this is my gift for you. 

And gives Langa a kiss on the cheek.

Langa: Reki... Do you want to try tricks from the movie? They seem pretty easy to perform, I don't think they put much thought into doing something new.

Reki: But... You know I haven't seen almost anything...

Langa: I'll show them to you!

Reki: Okay, I'll follow you!

[AN: The mod we use for the skateboards doesn't allow the switch between Regular and Goofy, so here both are shown as Regulars, imagine that Langa has his right leg in front. Next time surely we'll make special poses if skateboards are used]

They tried performing several of the tricks shown in the movie, in which Langa was right, Reki saw that they hadn't innovated much.

Reki: Langa

Langa: Reki

Reki: Shall we go there?

Langa: Yes.

Both of them vibrate their mobiles and start reading the notification they have received from "S". (Read here if you want to know what Reki and Langa are reading.)

Langa: Reki, are you reading it? I want to participate.

Reki: Okay, but as soon as you participate I will challenge you to a beef. I'll get to give you the chocolate to prove my love, and I'll defeat all the other Regulars that stand in my way! And for me it won't be allegorical.

Langa: I can't wait for the day!

Reki: By the way, ADAM is also participating, if you see you can challenge him.

Langa: Yes, I'm sure many will challenge him to a beef and he'll have as much fun as I.

Reki: You're right. Joe was left wanting last time... But come on, Langa, go ahead and register if you want to. So I can challenge you to a beef. I want to be one of the first who wants to give you a chocolate.

Langa: That's it, Reki. Be that as it may, I'll always enjoy your chocolate.

Reki: But this time I'll give it to you, and I'll defeat everyone who wants to stand in my way!

Langa: This time?

Reki: I'm just saying, Langa.

~The End?~

Maybe you want to read too:

JoeCherry Valentine's Day | Miya Valentine's Day | TadaAi Valentine's Day | Shadoka Valentine's Day

[niallschesthair]

and aspect i've been forgetting to mention on the topic of pricing for the eras tour is the fact that lots of artists have managed to go on tour with relatively low prices because they have relegated almost all floor tickets to standing only, meaning people will have to arrive early to fight for their spot and won't be able to move at all once they're inside

one upside this way of selling tickets is that you can pack people as tightly as possible and sell at capacity, if the venue has a capacity for 10k standing then they sell 10k floor tickets. this is good for getting as much people inside the venue as possible and keep the prices lower, but i think the downsides of this are obvious to everyone. this practice not only encourages camping and the quite honestly unsanitary conditions we've seen at shows lately like for example people peeing on the floor at harry styles' shows because they're either trapped in the crowd or don't want to risk losing their spot, but it's also a safety risk and a crowd situation waiting to happen, especially at the barricades.

taylor has always taken her safety and the safety of the audience as a priority and this tour she took it a step further by eliminating the standing pit altogether and making the entire floor assigned seats, meaning there's no risk of crowding. this is really good when it comes to ensuring the safety of the audience but it reduces capacity by giving everyone a certain amount of space plus a chair, she completely eliminated the need for camping and instead of selling at capacity she organised in a way that prioritised fans' safety

she could have made a standing only floor with a ridiculously overpriced pit, she could have packed the floor and fit more people in there than there currently are, and the costs would be reduced because there's more ticket availability but she would have to risk everyone's safety and experience for that so she decided not to.

she did the best she could with the pricing and distribution while still prioritising people's experiences and safety, and i'm sure that's a choice she had to fight for because i would bet actual money her tour managers told her to do standing floor to sell as many tickets are possible per venue.

[alarrytale]

I think Louis needs to be more aware of his immense privilege too. He earned £33m in 1d in five years and only £17m so far in eight years as a soloist.

He brags about selling out arenas like the 02 as if he started out playing in pubs for years and really had to fight to find an audience, when the reality is that he left 1d with a massive fandom who filled Wembley Stadium four times in 2015. It's no big deal that out of those 400k he now has 20k at the 02 but he acts as if it's a miracle.

Louis complains about 'greedy fuckers' but he fits that model himself by constantly bringing out new merch lines. His ticket prices are as high as he can get away with and astronomical in Latam. His Asian tour wasn't going to make a huge profit so he cancelled it as casually as you'd cancel a coffee date.

Harry has many faults but at least he doesn't behave as if he's a man of the people who has the same problems as his fans. He doesn't go round with a chip on his shoulder calling artists who are more successful than he is greedy.

Hi, anon!

This is the last ask i'm going to answer on this, because it seem like some of you are not mature enough to handle us talking about one of them without comparing them to the other. When i answer an ask talking about Harry's problematic behaviour, that's not me saying Louis isn't problematic too. That's simply me talking about Harry's problematic behaviour. Okay? They're both problematic, and some find Harry's behaviour to be more problematic for their own reasons and some find Louis' to be more problematic for other reasons. That's fine.

I'm a larrie who loves them equally. When you send me an ask like this, trying to say that Louis behaviour is more privileged than Harry's, when we were talking about Harry, i'm just going to defend Louis. Same if you do it to Harry.

Yes, they are both rich and privileged, compared to us normal people. However, Harry is Sony's golden goose and has access to every resource he wants, he gets invested in, and he's had relatively easy way to the top. He has an advantagous image that makes him look good. He's has immense privilege in the music business.

Louis has not, not at all. Every victory for Louis in the music business there is hard work behind. It's an uphill battle for him. So 20k in the O2 is something to celebrate. His image is immature, homophobic and rude to his fans. That's not giving him any favours. Looking at all that's been done in Louis' name, it is a miracle he's got fans at all. As i've said before, he's succeeding despite his image.

I think Louis isn't raking in the money like Harry does, but i think he needs to start making money on touring. I think he cancelled Asia because playing it would be at a loss they couldn’t afford. The handling of it was piss poor though. In latam i think he can price tickets like that because of the demand. It's in latam he actually can make some money from touring. I don't think it's about greed. It's about the balance sheet.

You say Harry doesn’t go around saying he's a man of the people. Do you forget Harry's Grammy speech where he said "this doesn’t happen to people like me very often"? I assume he meant a normal lad from a tiny village in England with no extra privilege. To me he's like Louis, they both still see themselves as the persons in the same positions as they were in before they got rich and famous. I don't think they see how things have changed for them and not for others. Louis still sleeps in bunk beds in the tour bus, he hasn't got any airs or is friends with people for their celebrity status. Take away the money and he is a normal guy. You can’t say the same about Harry. Also there are many celebrities more successful than Louis who are greedy, so he is right.

[skepticalarrie]

Hi Allie me again! About the cancellation was more like if Louis is okay with a more low key promo not focusing on the huge success then he must be aware the engagement dropped a bit and they're not doing anything to expand so there's a risk of cancelling shows like the asian tour if they go too big (if that was the reason I'm just speculating). I just say that cause I know fans get sad and Louis too so I don't know..

The Harry bit was about a feeling I have that they're kind of reinforcing this antagonistic relationship between them. Articles about how successful and privileged Harry is while Louis isn't, that weird bit about jealousy and his comments about the grammys all picked by tabloids in negative ways. Everytime they keep saying how average and simple northern lad Louis is while Harry is a Hollywood star, how Louis would basically despise anything H loves, even talking about radio success or ticket prices. Surely they're aware of the fandom's debates so it's kinda obvious the fights will happen, right? And now Lisa saying that about RS - which I really don't think Louis would be considered regardless - it's like... everyone KNOWS what is gonna be brought up. I know they come from years of mortal enemy narrative just felt maybe a bigger push this era - and it's annoying

Hey! Thanks for coming back. I think this comes down to what I was saying to the previous anon, not sure if this is about him being “okay” with low key promo, I think the music he’s interested in doing is not exactly mainstream, it’s not what he did before specifically to get radio plays. It’s a different approach, and that’s fine, it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be getting decent promo and radio opportunities, and that’s what is so frustrating about him being blacklisted. He doesn’t even get the chance. About the tour, apparently a lot of other artists got the same kind of issues Louis did with touring in Asia, so maybe it wasn’t ticket sales after all. And even if it was, I don’t think his engagement is dropping, at all, quite the opposite. Although I agree a good chunk of his fanbase is confused (to say the least) about a few decisions recently, especially about stunts. He’s playing a dangerous game, but not sure if this has anything to do with him being blacklisted or Sony contracts.

As for Harry, yeah, I get what you mean about the “enemies narrative” being reinforced and how frustrating that is. But I don’t necessarily thinks it’s on purpose at this point, I think it’s natural because of how big Harry has gotten in the last few years, the far away he gets from being associated with 1D - because of his own individual success - people will go back to the fact he is the “successful one” and put they all against each other. It happens in every boyband, people were conditioned to think like that although nothing even close to that ever came out of their mouths. They’re obviously very supportive of each other, look at Niall sending Louis his songs and everything.. Imagine putting the blame on him for directly blocking Louis from doing something. It’s dumb.

[parkquimin]

TF141 + Valeria and their relationship with kpop

Valeria:

Not a big fan but is smart enough to know that there's a shit ton of money in kpop.

She probably buys up like all the tickets ever for concerts and then charges 10x the original price. The original scalper.

I think if there's a group she likes, she'll save the best tickets for herself.

Also she definitely buys up all the merch and sells them at extremely high rates too.

I think she also uses them as bargaining chips. Like if she's talking to an important business person or whatever she's like "oh I heard your kid likes (insert group), I happen to have tickets to them I could give you a good discount on them"

She probably posted something negative about a big group just to stir up drama and quickly learned to never do that again because her location got leaked LMAOOO

She probably thought about hiring some of the stans because how tf did they even find her???

Gaz:

Idk why but I feel like he's an ultimate stan.

Knows some of the dances, but isn't super dedicated to learning them

He definitely has photocards, lightsticks, albums, etc.

Had a VISCERAL reaction when he was called in on an emergency during KCON and he had to sell his prized P1 ticket.

WHEN he's off duty OMGGG.

This man has like 4 different devices set up ready to get tickets (he's fighting Valeria for them).

If he's on base or on a mission and the time is right, he'll make the rest of the team open the ticket portals so he can have a higher chance at getting tickets.

Cried when he didn't get Stray Kids tickets and then screamed when they released more dates in his area.

Cries for like half of the concerts he attends and his voice is unusable the next day

Price:

I feel like he's not into it and MAYBE he knows like "Red" by Hyuna cause Gaz played it once and liked it.

MAYBE does a little research just to know what Gaz and Soap are screaming and giggling about

He hit Gaz with "I heard one of those kpop people you like on the radio" and Gaz just stared.

I feel like he set one foot into a kpop store because he got Gaz for secret santa and he grabbed the first thing he saw, paid, and never looked back (Gaz appreciated the effort)

Mixes up different groups' names (not even on purpose he just can't remember all of that info)

"Why are there so many people in NCT"

"Why are they called "Seventeen" if there are only 13 people in it"

Ghost:

I feel like he's heard it in passing, but doesn't really listen to it.

Maybe there's a couple songs where he bops his head to the beat but then nothing further than that.

Probably gives Soap and Gaz concerned looks when he catches them in a corner giggling over a piece of paper smaller than his hand.

I feel like he's been to ONE concert because he lost a bet to Soap. Soap would've gone, but it was a group he didn't know and he thought it would be funnier if Ghost accompanied Gaz. Ghost agreed mainly because he'd get to spend time with Gaz (he loves his teammates)

He watched all of the fans scream and cry and was lowkey scared

Soap:

He is more invested but not as dedicated as Gaz.

He probably learned a couple dances with Gaz and likes the more popular groups like Twice and EXO.

Would go to KCON if there were enough groups that he liked and just to bond with Gaz.

Gaz lends Soap his albums because he "needs to learn to appreciate art more"

Soap ends up getting a couple of albums of his own, and I KNOW him and Gaz trade photocards and do reveals for each other

Watches with concern as Gaz screeches at his computers when it's time to buy tickets.

Doesn't freak out when he sees other people with kpop merch in public, but he'll give them like a side eye LMAOOO

----------

I'm ngl I've never played COD and I recently just started getting into the characters, so please lmk if you think I've mischaracterized anyone in this post! I'm happy to make edits and do more research but I just though this would be a fun thing to write :). Also thank you so much for viewing my work, it means so much to me as a beginner writer <3

[thelaughingserpent]

Just get convicted of the fuckin crime and get sentenced to stay cozy at home with no social media allowed or some shit, idiot.

Sure it's fabulous delicious news, but I'm bummed because we know how it'll end, and it'll still suck so bad. I wish this was it, but I hate having to tell people, this isn't gonna end with him left gibbeted at the crossroads. Revel in whatever I'm given, I will. But I expect nothing, I have no faith in the fight.

I ignored the Jan6th hearing, I'll ignore this too. Wake me up when it's over. I'm done keeping up with the times, ESPECIALLY now the Mr. Epilepsy is on my case. The consequences for what these people have done will NEVER be given to them. Not in this life. They've built a nation to coddle them perfectly.

I'm just saying, man.

Place in the correct part of town, have a sewage system underneath. The tourism would be INSANE. Build an attraction, a line/ticket system, charge for selfies in front, charge ADDITIONAL for each yard closer to the gibbet you get to stand. I'm just sayin.

Look, Corporate America, I know that he's been a rich feast for your unfathomable greed in the media and politics all his life. But IMAGINE what people, and WHICH people would pay to stand in front of a still-alive gibbeted DT? And even after the coroner calls it(and imagine who and what people would pay to be there for THAT historic event alone) the party wouldn't STOP there, Mr insatiable Corporate America sir. You have just included a new attraction! New context! Return customers! And... added a new time limit.

Now customers across the globe will only have a certain amount of time to get their selfies while he's still recognizable as who he was, the clock's ticking! Can you get your pictures, your selfies, (your wedding proposals, you know someone would do it) in front of a "Not decayed beyond recognition DT?

As unpleasant an experience as it would be, think of how many world politicians, even those we quarrel with, would still pay any price to have a photo of a US president decaying in a gibbet. They may use it as propaganda against us, but since when have you cared about THAT Mr. Corporate America? Just say it's our monument to our shittiest head of state. And when the dessicated remains collapse into simply bones, he gets his funeral. Fully serious, straight faced, as though we hadn't just done that to him.

Just sayin.

Just as our good fail their opportunities bring hope and change, so too does our Evil squander a chance for avarice and cruelty. Perhaps that's the problem we face, as a people? Between the wielding the forces of light and darkness, we suck at both.