#so many people who don’t vote for these conservative pieces of shit tell you not to vote for the exact reasons you end up hating who you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hanzi83 · 1 year

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Blue Check Yourself Before You Blue Wreck Yourself

I always think to myself that there is no way we as human beings can’t become even more of a parody than what we have already become. But now we are obsessing over blue checkmarks, and if you didn’t already think that some of these public figures could be anymore like whack packers, then you will find yourself continuously surprised by how much the world of showbiz and Hollywood has expanded into the world issues, and I try to look at shit through a pro wrestling lens because even though I might not understand the specifics and certainly don’t consider myself an expert, I can see when different people set the seeds for something bigger to go down which makes me look at situations and predicaments and where it is being placed and how much more evil people start to embrace and instead of looking at this shit at a larger and enhanced view, because we like to compare public figures to regular people, so if they mess up like most human beings do we tend to think that we can forgive people and move on, but there is a chance when you are someone in the upper echelon, that you will continue to go down the regressive path even more, and you won’t seemingly mind about it because there will be more like minded people who believe in what you believe despite thinking that the establishment opinion is the only one that can be forced. Like the establishment hasn’t relocated to the online sector and the alt media sector. Just look at how many of these people who gave you shit for even voting for the “lesser of 2 people” in elections, but then the same people will now make that argument for the right wing people they embrace and suddenly that whole “There should not be any billionaires” talk is now “I love what Elon is doing because it is hilarious” like you rather watch the world burn for the sake of your shitty behavior to feel entertained, and people don’t think entertainment hasn’t scrambled people’s brains. So I don’t get all this talk about how billionaires are super evil, but the ones certain people love are the ones who are better. And people feel comfortable embracing this because they know the end goal is going to lead to a far right wing takeover even if good hearted people on the actual left have to dumb down the villains. This is why people don’t get on board with this gimmicked hate, because it feels both sides have this in common that they are so eager to hate their enemies, they would opt for hating them under the guise of a lie, and when you do that, it shows me that when other important issues take place, you’re able to fucking lie about other shit. I never understood the concept of encouraging Elon to buying this app as an own, and it feels very much like how closet Trump people who knew where the world and trajectory were going, would encourage him to run and now it feels people who will have their “conservative red pilled” moment where they flat out embrace Elon Musk, his ilk, and the constant use of sports entertainment to be forced to side with someone in the argument. I forgot who said this, I can’t really remember and I would ask someone to tell me if they did know, but my blogs are irrelevant so no one's gonna chime in to correct me, but when being served 2 plates with a bit of shit on each plate, people would opt to take the plate with less fecal matter, while I would wonder why people are not asking why they are always being served plated with feces on it to begin with. So it feels like people eventually buy in, and now people needed Elon to buy the app because it has found a gimmicked way for why this app is completely going to go to shit, and when we talk about what he is doing and calling it out, you won’t get far with it because if you limit what these people are capable of, then you don’t have a full view of what they could organize and this is why when I say someone is smart and genius, to me those are neutral words because you can be a piece of shit wrapped in dead possum skin, but you can still be smart and I feel if you downplay people being smart, you will never know what threat level these people are operating at, you think Elon gives a shit that his Tesla rocket exploded, it became part of the discourse and gave others social equity plus it keeps hammering home these people are dumb while their fan bases will pretend they are geniuses in the most pretentious ways possible, and instead of dissecting that these are cult members being funded to defended their boy, people have to pretend it is under the guise of “fans being too insane” like yeah some of these people are not mentally well, but it is way more complicated and these cult members, they think they have woken up the the “establishment” narratives but still insist on pretending that these people they ride for are the ones who reaffirm their beliefs because it is presented in such a comedic lensing and it is online and when something is online, it now automatically means that there can never be an agenda behind it, that of course unless it’s under the liberal framing. Because saying shit for the liberals is the only grift possible, and people who wanted to be thought leaders in this world and had some genuine good things to put out there have now sold their soul for cheap and they think because others online have like minded views as them that somehow everything because under the guise of “entertainment” you don’t give a shit if the world implodes more because a lot of you think you are on the winning side but you can’t even admit that part of it, you have to make it seem you are on the “less popular” side because only the hacks in MSM hates the figures you align with, so now I am supposed to believe that the far right wing grifters are somehow a lot more truthful and they could never possibly argue in bad faith because the same arguments 10 years ago have not aged well since the game is advanced. So not only do they try to be on their side of the fence, they have to present it as anti establishment and being 100 percent genuine because the exposition of them also being hypocrites will bother them to no end, that is why they all need cult members to coddle and protect their behavior. They have to be so sociopathic that they have to make their side look like they are the victims while they shit on other people who have genuinely been victimized by the system. They will shit on the cogs who happen to be millionaires while bending over for their funded billionaire leaders they pretend not to have any ties to.

So what storylines will we get from this “No blue checkmark era” like when going on twitter to consume the storylines and what is playing out, now we have to make this even more parody because celebs will pretend they are so against the system they don’t care for a blue checkmark, but they will end up giving a shit. I will bet it will play out where some celebs have fake accounts that will get many followers and they will have blue checks, since the name of the game is everyone ending up looking like an idiot. They have already exhausted the storylines, Elon Musk is in his Vince Russo era of WCW. I will say I did like how some of the people going at the alt right online are blocking the blue check marks because that exposed that the ones who were boasting about getting to run amok and get their accounts boosted that it doesn’t mean shit when it is to their echochamber because they thrive on having to deal with conflict. I can barely keep up with discourse, now I have to know which celebs still have blue check marks, and is that supposed to symbolize they are on the heel side but they have to pretend that they don’t want it? I can’t keep up with all of this but you know what maybe the app and the site should just implode. Maybe this would be the best thing. If it goes down, I know any remaining relevancy I have is out the window, my twitter is gradually losing followers daily and I really hope there is some symbolic meaning like if it reaches zero, it means they strike down on me, at this point this is how I feel about this world and the direction it is headed in but the fact we have to play it like this billionaire idiot doesn’t know what he is doing. This is gonna dominate the entire discourse over and over and there is gonna be constant news about it, there will be documentaries, I am already looking at who will play people in the movie for all the discourse in the last decade. The storylines are taking a wild turn, you know that is true when Charlie Sheen has been put into this discourse. Now we are gonna create a divide of people shitting on anyone who has a blue checkmark, and they will act like victims for being hated because they basically had to pay for a participation trophy. Like I know Stern Show fans always bring me up randomly as an excuse to reiterate how ugly I am and how pathetic I am, some will be nice about me, not really fully defending me but it is just funny that as pathetic as I look and what my existence has turned into, I am at least not crying over not getting a blue checkmark, I never wanted one. That is genuine. People told me to angle for one and I never cared about the amount of followers I had. Even when I was growing an “audience” I assumed most of them were probably bots, and I got that rub because Howard Stern was on twitter and then a bunch of us connected to the show just got an increase. I never paid for followers. I was fine with 2000 followers. I might get my wish because I have went from 14,000 to 11.2 thousand over the last several years. But it is amazing how much the twitter app turned into glorified sports entertainment. I think me becoming irrelevant on social media and in life in general happened at a perfect time because I can’t imagine having people to constantly interact with on there who have turned into sports entertainers, none of the discussions are actually legit and it is more people being try hard with putting on their own dialogue that resembles their favorite shows. Things are just repeating and then I take all of this in and then I repeat my points in a blog. I never say I am a perfect person, I clearly have my own flaws, but how can those flaws truly heal if everyone else has aspirations to get worse, and the funny thing is the worse you become the better you look aesthetically. People don’t seem to be getting better and it feels like we are trying our hardest to be as edgy and horrible as possible and it reminds me of the attitudes of the early 2000’s, where it was getting so out of control because entertainment was becoming so prominent and it became the era of people having the shit handy where they could now emulate their favorite performers, whether it was being a rapper, being a comedian, doing shit the Jackass crew did, watch these mafia movies and emulate behavior in it and now this era we have people now putting on a show, there is funding and incentive for people to be able to pull off stunts that will go viral online because it is still under a comedic lensing and it fuels more culture wars online and creates more divide and all of this for the sake of entertainment. I am not any better because I am still looking at this shit and how it will all collapse. They insist on me being alive for some reason, maybe I have to see how all of this shit will play out but until then you will have to read some of my shitty thoughts taking place, and hear about my theories about how all this AI music is coming out and instead of saying this is how the process has always been, I always just assumed they had clones who didn’t know how to function doing the rapping etc, but I guess the more realistic take would be it could be AI, but people don’t think AI has existed in previous eras but now I am allowed to perceive this shit has been done for a long time. Listen to Eminem’s revival and I am starting to think most of that shit was probably AI. And now we have gimmicked ways to bring shit out now because we will continue to manifest the entertainment we have consumed our entire lives, and I feel like an asshole who is trying to break the 4th wall, and I don’t think that is some revolutionary role but when you are seeing people dive into those roles and there is no turning back, what else can I really do. There is no point in having genuine conversations when people are working with a script. How do I deal with that? I could use this time to read more books or watch television/movies I haven’t watched because I have been wasting my time with the wrestling and the social media shit, but maybe I am just better off doing rewatches of Sopranos and then when I am at gatherings I act like Ralph Cifaretto quoting Gladiator much to everyone else’s chagrin. But maybe breaking away from all of this shit might be the answer but only if I can implement it and stop writing and talking about it. If I get invested into shit, I feel I have to fully invest, especially with the discourse and when stuff I didn’t know about circulates again, I get even pissed off I didn’t realize, like here is an example, one of the dudes from Celino and Barnes died, and I had no fucking idea, I kept seeing one of their ads and I am wondering if Vince McMahon broke them up since he doesn’t like tag teams, but I didn’t even realize one of them died until a few months ago. I better stop this blog, it is starting not to make any fucking sense and it is going in random places but I need to fucking jot shit down to write. I figure I might as well publish it.

I wanted to bitch about more wrestling discourse, but it seems like whenever I do bitch about the discourse, the people who pay attention to what I write or say will use their resources to constantly have all the narratives and discourse I hate on mainstreet, I have to be a little bit flattered because all of this hoopla to piss off a mentally ill man in his basement, like no one in the masses pays attention to me, you are controlling the narratives and dictating discourse, does it really bother you that much that I have an opinion on the way this shit plays out but the funny thing is the people who claim they don’t gaslight and use the “cool narrative” to act like the word has no meaning and it is true, it gets beat into the ground but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but this constant worked shoot shit hasn’t made me want to watch the product anymore or enjoy it as is and I wonder if all of this shit was worth it because all it did was show me who online is compromised and how cultish everyone is and the ones who are now becoming worse because of this are the ones who still point at other shills like they are any better and when you look at it at its core, it makes me realize all these people who wanted the “change” are more like Vince McMahon than they would like to admit, especially when you have people create cartoonish narratives for Vince or any other institutional boss. I am not saying I know everything but when I see people discredit others to push a fake WWE vs AEW war it gets really tiresome. Like now I have to hate Moxley because for this worked shoot shit, he had to read a horrible script when he was doing a podcast where he didn’t even sound like he believed in it, all to facilitate a shitty return for someone who has to become the new Hulk Hogan, I have to now not want unscripted promos because Hangman improvised on his own when I believe all of that shit is planned. People will make comparisons of why fucked up people in the industry are always wanted back, despite being problematic and the shills will pretend they did get “rid” of the people who were problematic, but what you did is you had them “canceled” so they could go to the right wing to save their career. These people don’t care if problematic abusers are in the industry, they will cover for all of the ones who have to be salvaged but I have seen so many public figures go down that route that I can assume most people will have scandals to their name. And people who pretend like the person they Stan for is better than an exposed problematic person, are the funniest because they will then have to practice their acting when they know the day will come one of their favorites are also problematic and when their heroes become that problematic, they will then show their true colors and defend that person. I know there are people who are connected to the company who pretend to be against them, and other weird shit they do will get upset that I am not too enthralled with Punk coming back, it isn’t that I don’t want him back but holy shit. But I have dealt with this kind of discourse constantly for over the last 25 years on the internet and I really think the tactics have gone to another level and it all serves people who can’t let go of their attitude era fetish. As much as I hate the twitter storylines, I might as well be invested in dead celebrities somehow getting their blue check back, that lackluster creative is better than this constant bullshit online, like “OH LOOK REGAL MIGHT GET FIRED AFTER HE TRIED TO GO BACK TO WWE'' How about these companies are connected and people are being sent out on loan to AEW but they will go back, but now we need this shit to facilitate more worked shoots because Regal is gonna be playing a heel for the social media shit, if you played a heel a lot in your fiction, you will end up playing a heel for the “real life” discourse. I would buy in this discourse more often but I feel buying into dumbed down narratives just makes us fucking become dumber and the worst part is, we then think we are smarter. I don’t think by me putting this out that I am smarter than everyone but I also don’t have to take everyone’s word if I have seen patterns play out. How many times do I have to keep letting them play out and I have to act like a dumbed down baby face from the 80’s and early 90’s. At this point I have become exhausted and bored by the narratives. Like I am not even in the mood to have a funny hot take about the absurdity of Afro Man running for president, like this would’ve been the biggest topic 15 years ago but this doesn’t even make it in top 10 for the hour, everything is such a theatrical parody, that news like that doesn’t mean shit anymore but it is not surprising since everyone from the past is resurfacing in more sitcom ways. I don’t even know what the fuck I am trying to say anymore, I think all of this shit has broke me. I am really alive in the wrong era.

#Hanzi 2023 AEW Elon Musk Blue checkmark #Paid Twitter Blue storyline random thoughts scattered wrestling mental illness opinions

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mywitchcultblr · 3 years

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IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE NICE TO YOUR OPPRESSOR

Hey i'm back with another critical post and rant guys, it’s incredibly hilarious that some people thought your freedom from your slavers and oppressor can ONLY/ALWAYS HAVE to be won by peaceful and nice way, the fucking truth is you can’t be nice towards people who enslaved your people, you can’t just ask nicely and beg people who brutalized your people and taking advantages of your people to stop treating you less than how they treated their dog.Yes peaceful protest and peaceful method will always be an important part and one of the most idealistic way for the marginalized group /the oppressed to win their rights and freedom, WHEN PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO LISTEN. It seems like some people in the fandom tried to judge the struggle of minority and oppressed group in thedas with modern values and perspective, some people are so angry when a former slave like Fenris and Anders or even people like Briala (she’s actually more privileged than Fenris and Anders or many other elves out there, but, she is still an elven woman in Orlais court) tried to win the freedom and rights of their people through violence. HOW THE HELL YOU CAN BE PEACEFUL WHEN PEOPLE ARE JUST DISREGARDED YOUR SUFFERING AND YOUR PEOPLE SUFFERING AS IF IT’S JUST NOTHING (because let's admit it those people reap benefit from oppression and slavery) Oppressed people in Thedas only have very few allies outside their own people, no one ever cared about them or listened to them because powerful people reaped benefits from their suffering, and the peasant are too uneducated and brainwashed by their nation and the chantry anyway. THE MARGINALIZED GROUPS IN THEDAS DOESN'T HAVE UN TO PROTECTED THEM FROM WAR CRIMINAL THERE’S NO AGENCY OR FORMAL ORGANIZATION THAT CAN PROTECT MINORITY IN THEDAS FROM SLAVERY AND OPPRESSION THEDAS DOES NOT HAVE NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION TO HELP SLAVES AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE FOR FUCK SAKE THEDAS DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THERAPIST TO HELP TRAUMATIZED PEOPLE (especially for slaves in tevinter, elves, southern mages, and ex-qun members) You can’t just expected them to be polite and nice when their position is precarious and no one are willing to listen to them. FREEDOM IS NEVER GIVEN, BUT YOU HAVE TO WIN IT YOURSELF. As a southeast asian woman, i can confirm that Dutch and Europe never cared or humane enough to free my people from their slavery system. My great great great great grandparents had to waged war against them so my people wouldn’t be treated less than a dog, fucking murdered, brutalized and raped again. OKAY, i get it now, some people will lose their shit if/when they see the oppressed fight back, retailed in a non-peaceful way against their Oppressor and Slaver because they don’t like to see violence, BUT those kind of people are fine with keeping the same old system that murdered and brutalized other people because: 1. Maybe they are conservative and conservatism is obsessed with keeping old awful system because they are used to it. 2. Same kind of people who said that marriage equality and protection for LGBTQA+ people rights is ‘too progressive for our time’ or ‘it happen too fast’ 3. People who are so concerned with the ruling class even though the current ruling class brutalized and hurt so many people for their own agenda and profit, because they will also make money/have privilege if that same ruling class system and power is still unshakable. 4. Same kind of bullshit people who always scream that ‘the changes happen too fast! You can’t do that! What about the majority/privileged people feelings? Sure the marginalized group will continue to suffer if the same old system is still being used, but what about the ruling class feeling and our feelings? wahhhhhh” Then these kind of people channelled and expressed their perspective and believes as i write above in Thedas/ when they are talking about stuff that happened in Thedas.

It’s understable if you prefer to see changes throughout peaceful way IF there are instrument and agency that can help the oppressed to win their fucking rights, and helping to make changes to happen peacefully. But if the privileged and powerful choose to eliminate any kind of way for the oppressed to win their rights peacefully and for peaceful changes? What the fuck did you expected then? Hell yeah of course the brutalized people will rebelled !

You know the chantry, nations in Thedas, seeker and templar never allowed for people they enslaved and oppressed to win their rights and freedom peacefully, because those asshole piece of shit people reaped benefits from SLAVERY. Some people cannot accept the fact that sometimes change and your freedom and rights cannot be achieved with peaceful way, because the ruling class/majority tried to make it impossible for the oppressed to let’s say have access to information, have access to education, vote or even saying their opinion at all (or access to many place that other people can access or even going outside of their prison tower like what happened to the mages and elves before their successful rebellion!) There are people who can’t just accept the fact and confront the reality that the world and life is cruel especially towards oppressed people and minority, a lot of times the only way for them to make people listened to them and respecting their freedom and rights is throughout rebellion /war and bloody violence.

COME ON DON’T TELL ME THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WHO WILL SAY THAT ‘THE MAGES AND SLAVES UNDER THE QUN SHOULD TRY TO BE PEACEFUL! THEY WHINE TOO MUCH!” AND SOMETHING LIKE “THE ELVES ARE BAD BECAUSE THEY RESORTED TO VIOLENCE! ELVES ARE TERRORIST!” When we finally see what will happen in the next dragon age

#anti templar #anti chantry #mage rights #elven rights #equality #justice #social justice #dragon age 4 #dai #dragon age #true #i hate oppressor #fuck oppressors #anders was right #briala #fenris

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seymour-butz-stuff · 3 years

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Last we checked in, disgraced loser president Donald Trump had been pitched on a crazy idea: Why not become speaker of the House if Republicans take that chamber in next year’s midterm election?

You see, the speaker doesn’t actually have to be an elected member of Congress, even though that’s how it’s always worked out. The Constitution pretty much gives the chamber all say in who they pick, with zero requirements. A right-wing radio host floated the idea to Trump, and he responded with a “very interesting.”

Now we know that Trump has found it more than just “interesting.” He likes the idea so much, he already told Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that he wants his job.

KILMEADE: "Would you be for President Trump becoming speaker?" MCCARTHY: "You know, I've talked to President Trump many times. He tells me he wants to be speaker. And I think he should be president."

This hasn’t even been a one-time event! By McCarthy’s admission, Trump has mentioned this “many times.” He uses “tells” in the present tense, to indicate an ongoing discussion, as opposed to the past-tense “told,” which would suggest that the matter was closed and settled.

And even more importantly, this exchange happened on Fox News, which means the conservative media is on the case, and will continue to make it a thing for the foreseeable future.

As mentioned in my last piece, the conservative fantasy is that Trump takes the job for 100 days, impeaches Joe Biden just because, and then quits to run for president. Does it make sense? No. Would Trump ever actually do any work? No. Would he get his shit together in 100 days to actually accomplish anything? No. Would anything even remotely looking like “policy” happen in that time? No.

All this points to the conservative inability to quit Trump. They won’t get him back in August, no matter how much QAnon thinks they will. And they don’t want to wait until 2024. The desperation to stick with someone who has been essentially ousted from all major mainstream outlets is beyond weird, all the way to outright pathetic. Trump is a loser who cost their party dearly, and they still can’t quit him!

But there’s another factor at play: We know that Trump can’t get his people to vote in elections when he’s not on the ballot. It’s the Republican Party’s most vexing problem. If Trump is on the ballot, a whole mass of people show up who are otherwise electorally invisible. They certainly didn’t turn out in the 2017, 2018, 2019, or Georgia Senate runoff elections. While Republicans represent a dying demographic—older, rural, white men—Trump on the ballot gives them a fighting chance. Without him on the ballot, even Trump’s begging and pleading won’t turn out his people. That’s why we have Democratic governors in blood-red Kentucky and Louisiana.

So there’s little chance of Trump being literally on the ballot. (No one sees him running for a House seat.) But what if he’s essentially on the ballot? What if the conservative message is, “We get Trump back, AS SPEAKER, if you vote!” Would that turn out his hidden deplorables? And would any such boost in conservative turnout overcome an expected liberal boost in response to that horrific possibility?

All interesting questions for sure. For now, Trump hasn’t floated this scheme publicly. Things will get far more interesting over the coming year if Trump starts talking about being speaker at his public rallies.

Meanwhile, could McCarthy look any more pathetic? He could’ve ditched the Trump albatross after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Now he’s sitting there looking like a chump as Trump tells him—repeatedly—that he wants his job.

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tailorvizsla · 4 years

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A Proper Mandalorian Courtship - Chapter 4

Title: Fire (Or Some Mando Slice of Life) Pairing: Paz x OFC, OFC x OMC, Paz x Reader Word Count: ~6800 Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Sort-of graphic description of an injury and its treatment.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 📚 My Master List 📚

Tag List: @hdlynn @princessbatears @ffiiggyy

If you want to be tagged, let me know! :)

[flashback]

Paz returns to the karyai. Zephyr is with Norj in the nursery, safely shielded from the shit-show that is about to happen. Three minutes after his return, Armorer strides back into the room amidst pure silence. Mere seconds later, Zeli and Liam slink into the karyai, buckets firmly back in place. Neither even dares to look up as they come stand in front of the table where Armorer is standing. She stares at them for several moments. The silence drags on, his heartbeat roaring in his ears.

“You broke your Oath. Why?” Armorer asks, in a tone that some might regard as casual.

Paz knows better than that. Armorer is livid. She has probably gone from incandescent rage to calm and back several times. They take too long to respond, and she finally loses her temper.

“Why?” Armorer barks sharply at them.

“I have no explanation,” Zeli says, her voice wavering slightly.

“I have no explanation,” Liam says hoarsely.

Like a cold autumn breeze rasping leaves across the ground, whispers erupt through the crowd, and sends a wave of prickles down his flesh.

“The Tribe cannot come to a decision regarding your punishment,” Armorer says, her voice like ice. “Twelve votes for marriage, twelve votes for exile.”

The two of them exchange a look between themselves. He knows what they are thinking: there are twenty-eight adults in the Tribe; since the Alor usually abstains from these votes, the stalemate should have been broken.

“One individual abstained from the vote,” Armorer says, her tone calm and cold. “Thus, the decision falls to me.”

She withdraws her own dagger. Though beautifully ornate, it is honed to a lethal edge. It has taken many lives over the years. It is only fitting that it decides their final fate with the tribe. She does not hesitate to drive the blade under the tongs. Marriage. It shocks him to his core. Of all the people here, he thought she would vote for exile. She withdraws, her entire body tense. No one dares to argue, though he can hear angry mutterings.

“You will marry,” Armorer says flatly.

“What about – “ Zeli starts to say.

Zeli dares to look at him. Paz tightens his jaw, biting into the sides of his cheeks to avoid the caustic response. Here, right now, he feels no sorrow. Only anger. Pure unadulterated rage. While he simmers, Din growls. She quickly looks back down.

“What about Zephyr?” Liam finally asks.

How could a buir even hesitate to ask about their child’s wellbeing? Paz is beyond disgusted with Liam.

“What about Zephyr?” Armorer repeats, enunciating each word carefully. “Did you think to ask yourself that before you bared your face to Zeli?”

“Did Paz see our faces?” Liam asks.

“No,” he responds. “I did not look.”

“Then why take our helmets?” Zeli asks quietly. “I would have thought you would want us gone…”

Paz does not look at either of them.

“My Oath to this Tribe comes before anything else. If I had not acted – if I had walked away, pretending I had not seen what I saw, I would be complicit in this blatant disregard for the Oath we all swore,” Paz says, every word carefully modulated to remain as neutral as possible. “I did what I could to ensure the best possible outcome for Zephyr, which is more than I can say for either of you.”

More muttering, though it is a lot quieter than before. To drive the knife in deeper, he continues. He cannot help himself.

“Regardless of what has been done to me, I am no liar. I still have my honor and my integrity.”

This time, everyone remains silent.

“Do you wish to exchange vows?” Armorer asks, her voice silky soft.

“We…we will exchange them,” Liam says.

His voice is hoarse. Pained. Paz feels his lip curl in disgust. The two adulterers turn to one another. Quietly, they exchange their vows. With each word, Paz feels his stomach tighten to the point of pain. He wants to throw up, but he forces himself to witness their farce of a marriage.

This is not how it is meant to be. The riduurok – the marriage bond – is formed from love. To a Mandalorian, especially one as conservative as him, marriage is an oath of loyalty, fidelity, and unconditional support.

Marriage comes from a love that is formed from mutual admiration and acceptance; from whole-hearted, joyful surrender to ones’ other half. It comes from the type of respect that grows deep, strong roots. It culminates with two people joining their lives as one, from the moment the vows are spoken until the day they go marching far, far away.

Marriage is not the love that is formed from passion, lust, and deceit. When the heat leaves their hearts, and the nights grow cold, their roots will dry and weaken. They will not grow together and become one. There will only be rot stagnation until there is only distance and bitter resentment. He can only pray that Zephyr does not suffer further.

When they finish exchanging their vows, Armorer sighs and retrieves her dagger. One by one, the others follow suit. No one looks at them. Paz turns to exit. He will not be able to make them suffer the way he wants, but at least he can make them hurt a little. He can make them know how much he despises them for what they have done. Before he leaves, he pauses next to the newlyweds.

“My congratulations to the newlyweds. It is my greatest hope that the two of you will find peace and prosperity together,” he says calmly, coolly. “My gift to you.”

He reaches into his pocket and withdraws the ceremonial blade he had hoped to give her one day. Then he flicks it down onto the table, embedding the tip into the table before Zeli. She lets out a choked sob. Liam exhales and looks away.

“Paz,” Zeli starts to say.

“Please, ner vod,” Liam tries to say. “I am so sorry – “

“Do not ever address me by name again, demagolka,” he hisses at them, finally unable to keep his temper under control. “You are dead to me.”

He turns around before either of them can speak to them. From there, Paz heads back to his room. He hesitates at the door for just a moment. Then he exhales. The sooner he gets this done, the easier it will be. Entering, he finds Din already in the process of cleaning out Zeli’s property, tossing everything carelessly into a crate. He pokes through whatever Din has already packed to make sure nothing of his accidentally ends up in there. Paz unfolds another crate and starts going through the main room, listening as Din occasionally mutters an expletive or insult.

He finds several things that had once been at home with his – her second pair of boots, a bright pink sock, and a book. All of it goes straight into the crate. Piece by piece, he removes her from his life, each article erasing part of their eight years together. Like all other wounds, this pain will eventually heal, but he will not be the same as he was before. He can only hope that his new course in life will allow him to become a better man.

From here, he watches Din strip the bedding off the mattress. He balls it up and dumps it in the bottom of another crate. Paz turns away as Din flips the mattress over. Paz has never been one to get emotional about objects, but he cannot sleep there. He will replace it eventually, but it will do for now. A firm knock at the door makes his shoulders tense. He hadn’t the foresight to tell them to stay away, that their belongings would be left at their door.

Din is at the door before he can respond.

“What?” he asks.

A gloved hand pushes a basket into his arms.

“Take care of alor’ad,” Neten says. “He’s the only one…who can kick our asses the right way, you know?”

“Thanks,” Din says gruffly. “I’ll let him know.”

He shuts the door. Before Din can put the basket down, there is another knock. This time, it is more insistent. Din opens the door again.

“Hey, Reva - what the fuck – “

“Damn it, Djarin,” comes Revala’s voice. “Grab the other end, would you?”

“Let me put this down,” Din says indignantly.

Paz watches as Revala and Terys push a mattress into the room, brand new and still wrapped. He blinks a few times in utter confusion.

“Uhm…where did this come from?” Din asks, as he backs into the room, holding his end steady.

“Eh, Terys just had a spare one laying around,” Revala says briskly. “Thought the old man could use better support for his back.”

“Yeah, we got sick of hearing him bitch about it,” Terys says. “Every other fucking day. My back this, my back that.”

The other man drops a linen bag onto the couch.

“We’ll just help tidy up,” Terys says, going straight to the bedroom.

Paz watches in silence as the two of them swiftly push the old mattress toward the door.

“Don’t want to hear you bitching about your back, okay?” Revala asks, her voice choking up.

Suddenly, Paz realizes that Terys and Revala had been planning on moving in together. That they had bought the mattress for themselves. He did not even suspect they had been in a relationship, much less being at the point of moving in together. Sudden guilt wracks him.

“Yeah,” Paz says. “I won’t. How much – “

“If you even think about trying to pay me back, I will stab you in the kriffing balls,” Terys says flatly.

“You just want any excuse to touch his balls, don’t you?” Revala asks in a saucy tone.

“Oh, fuck off,” Terys snaps.

Paz holds both hands up in surrender. The two of them disappear, bickering between themselves. Paz helps Din set the bed up on the makeshift frame. It hangs over the edges a bit, but it will do until he can replace the frame. Din unpacks the sheets and snorts.

Paz stares at the monstrosity Din has lifted out of the bag. The sheets are a violent shade of pink with fluorescent green stripes. As if the eye-watering combination is not bad enough on its own, whoever had designed the pattern also included lines of tiny black taun-tauns running parallel to the stripes.

“Holy hell,” Din breathes. “That man has no taste.”

Paz hears the grin on Din’s face, and he can’t help himself. From losing two people he once loved all the way to his Tribe rallying behind him to support him through the clusterfuck his life has suddenly become…today has been a bizarre, surreal ride of emotions. He can only laugh. Hard. Din chortles a bit, though he is clearly worried about him.

“I’m keeping them,” Paz announces.

“You’re insane,” Din retorts.

“They’re great,” Paz shoots back as they get the bedding back in place. “They add…uh…character.”

Nothing in the bag matches. One pillowcase is fluorescent orange, while the other is black. The flat sheet looks like someone spilled a child’s watercolor palette onto a dirty tissue. It might have been bleached by accident at some point, but he cannot tell. At least the thick blanket is a relatively normal shade of brown, despite being made of cheap velour-like fabric.

“They certainly add something,” Din says, as they take a step back to survey the horror scene laid out in front of them, “But I’m not sure it can be called character.”

Paz nods, suddenly sober.

“Hey…thanks,” Paz says to Din.

Din responds by grabbing him by the chest plate and headbutting him hard enough to make his teeth rattle in his skull.

“If you need anything, send me a message,” Din says.

Cheekily, he reaches into the basket Neten had brought by. He grabs a beer and a handful of the snacks. Then, with a jaunty salute, Din leaves. After locking the door, Paz goes to the basket and takes out the alcohol. He pops the cap and takes a big swallow. He grimaces. Far too bitter, no flavor. He drinks it anyway.

Turning to the bottle is an unhealthy coping mechanism that has claimed a number of his brethren, but he has no plans to make it a habit. Tonight, he just wants to be numb.

[end flashback]

“My fayshe feels funny,” Paz says to Din, who sighs.

“Doctor Shen, Paz is starting to slur his words,” he calls out through the door.

No one responds.

Paz tilts his head to the doorway as Doctor Shen and Armorer argue in the main room. Well, it really is not an argument. The two of them are just repeating themselves over and over in different ways, trying to tell the other what needs to happen. Armorer says the bucket does not come off due to the Oath. Doctor Shen says that the bucket comes off. The two of them have been going around in circles for a while now, long enough such that the pain medications were starting to lose their edge. It is not until Doctor Shen brings up the fact that traumatic brain injury can render him completely useless to the Tribe that Armorer relents.

“Then we blindfold you,” Armorer says.

“How the fuck do you expect me to treat him with a blindfold on?” Doctor Shen asks in exasperation.

“That is the only way,” Armorer says.

“Can I use the deep tissue scanner?” Doctor Shen asks bluntly. “I technically won’t be looking at his face – just the bones and tissue underneath the skin.”

Armorer falters.

“Can you assure us that you will not know his identity?”

“Yes,” Doctor Shen stresses.

“Very well, do what you must to ensure Paz’s health and preserve his identity,” Armorer says.

“We are going to discuss this oath with the rest of the Tribe, Armorer,” Doctor Shen says flatly. “There must be an exclusion for medical professionals.”

“Doctor Shen – “

“Armorer,” Doctor Shen hisses through her teeth.

“I will leave you to your work, Doctor.”

Paz snickers as Armorer gracefully concedes defeat. It has been such a long time since he has last witnessed Armorer backing down from a fight. Then again, there is an unspoken rule – the chief medical officer outranks even the Alor when it involves someone’s health.

Coming into the room, Doctor Shen wheels the bed over to the deep tissue scanner. She positions the arm of the machine over his head. Then Din takes over, draping a sheet over everything to keep him from being seen. Once it is set to the deep scan mode, he removes his bucket. He grimaces as the bright light stabs straight through his pupils and into the back of his head.

“First of all, how many times have you gotten your nose broken?”

“Lost count,” he remarks.

“Fuck’s sakes. Hunters,” Doctor Shen hisses. “Stay still. You’re going to feel a bit of a tickling sensation in your teeth. I’m trying to set the bone fragments without causing further damage.”

Searing pain jolts down the side of his face. Paz gasps.

“Only a sadist would call that a tickle,” he groans.

“Din, jab this into his neck, right into the jugular.”

“What is it?” Din asks.

“Painkillers,” Doctor Shen says. “Now go do it before I take it back.”

“Aye, Doctor,” Din says. “I’m gonna stab you, okay?”

“How long have you been wanting to do that?” Paz asks.

“Stop moving,” Doctor Shen growls.

Din laughs as he jabs him in the neck. After a few seconds, Paz feels his head swim.

“N-now that…that’s the good shit,” he slurs out. “C-can’t f-feel my face.”

“That particular cocktail contains a bacta infusion as well as anti-inflammatory drugs that are targeted specifically to brain tissue. There’s also a mild muscle relaxer in there for your neck muscles. So, hopefully, that’ll keep you still.”

Paz relaxes, nearly falling asleep as Doctor Shen works to reposition the bone fragments in his face through the equipment. Once his nose is put back together, she gives him another injection to stimulate the bone cells and help support the bacta infusion. She reaches under the blanket, wearing latex gloves.

“Alright, I have to do this part by touch, since I can’t look at your face,” she says. “Stay. Still. I don’t want this falling into your mouth or your eyes.”

With one hand resting on his cheek, Doctor Shen’s other hand disappears. Then it returns with a strip of quick-set stabilizing bandage. She quickly maneuvers it into place. It heats up uncomfortably as it dries.

“That will keep the bridge of your nose in the right shape,” she says. “You can wear the bucket, but please be careful putting it on and taking it off for the next few days.”

“Sure thing, doc,” he says.

Din returns to his side and slides his bucket under the sheets.

“Hey, you cleaned it out,” Paz says. “Thanks, ner vod.”

“Your neck is fine, no damage to any of the nerves, muscles, or vessels,” she says. “But those muscles are going to hurt if you agitate them again before the bacta can do its job. I don’t want you doing anything stupid, Vizla.”

“I won’t do anything stupid,” he insists.

“You’re a hunter,” she retorts sharply.

“Point taken,” Paz says. “Nothing more vigorous than light sparring, then?”

“No sparring at all,” she says. “You can lift weights and jog for the next week. No sparring until I’ve had a chance to check your muscles again.”

“Can I go shooting?”

“Handheld blasters only, nothing heavier than a child,” she says.

“Fine,” he says. “Light shooting.”

“Alright, I’m happy with where you are right now health-wise,” Doctor Shen starts to say.

“Does…does this mean I can leave today?” Paz asks as he carefully puts his bucket back on.

Then he reaches out blindly, trying to remove the sheet from his face. Doctor Shen takes the sheets away, tossing them at Din. The unspoken command is clear to them both. Din goes and puts the sheets into the bin to be washed and sterilized.

“Absolutely not,” Doctor Shen says in an exasperated tone. “You have a concussion, Paz. We take brain injuries seriously around here. Your ass is staying in that bed overnight. In the morning, I’ll decide if you can leave.”

“Doctor Shen, please,” Paz says. “I have something very important that I need to do.”

“No. Your only job right now is to heal.”

“Please? It’s extremely important,” Paz insists.

“What is so important that you want to risk further brain damage?”

“Well…I have a date,” Paz says. “So, surely, you understand – “

Her head shoots up.

“Oh, no,” Doctor Shen says. “You are staying in bed and you are cancelling your plans.”

“But – “

She turns around slowly. Paz swallows as the inky black visor of her helmet tilts down toward him.

“Alright, I’m cancelling my plans,” he says. “No problem at all.”

“Good,” she says, pacing closer to his bed, looming over him. “I would hate to have to pull rank on you.”

Paz grimaces to himself under the bucket. The last thing he wants to do is piss off Doctor Shen. He knows she will make him stay another night if he mouths off. So, wisely, he stays where he is, hoping to be put out of his misery soon.

Din sends a message, informing him that he will be getting him some clean clothes. Paz sighs and closes his eyes. Doctor Shen allowed him to wipe some of the blood off with wipes, but everything from the chin down is saturated in blood. Once she can confirm the bacta is working and that the pain medications have not caused any adverse reactions, she will let him have a proper shower.

When you see Din come out of medical, you approach.

“How is he?” you ask, trying to keep the worry from your voice.

“Concussed,” Din sighs. “Idiot broke his nose, but he’ll be fine once the bacta kicks in.”

You nod. A broken nose and concussion aren’t too bad.

“Does he need anything?” you ask.

“Nah, he’ll be – “

Din suddenly stops talking as he tilts his head. Then slowly, he turns his head to look at you. You wait, hoping there’s something you can do.

“You know what, I think he might need a clean set of clothes,” Din says, in an odd tone. “But I need to take care of some stuff. Can you grab him something to change into?”

You jump at the chance to help Paz.

“Absolutely,” you say. “Did Doctor Shen specify visiting hours, or - ?”

“He’s going to have a checkup in two hours,” Din says. “Take stuff to him then. He’ll appreciate whatever you bring him.”

“Okay,” you say. “I can handle that.”

Din nods. A few minutes later, a message from Din pops up in your HUD, containing Paz’s door code. Immediately, you return to your room and grab one of your larger storage bags. Chewing on your lower lip, you consider what he might need for an overnight stay in medical. Pajamas, clean clothes for tomorrow, and toiletries. A small smile crosses your face – he will need his snacks, too. Warmth spreads across your cheeks as you stride down the hallway toward the officer’s quarters.

Paz always enjoys eating whatever you cook, even when it means he sneaks something off behind your back. You have long since started making extra so he can have some as well. He is also considerate and polite, a far cry from some of the coarser company available in the Tribe. You decide that you will be as considerate with him as he is with you.

Once at his door, you type in the code and let yourself in. His room is huge, you think enviously to yourself, as you look around. He also seems to have half the armory stacked on tables and in bins around his room. Along wall, he has a large table with neatly organized tools and a few partially assembled blasters.

Turning toward the bedroom, you hesitate. This is his bedroom, his personal space. You almost feel like you are trespassing here. Taking a deep breath, you shake your head, and move forward. Din gave you his code. If he didn’t trust you, he would not have given you access to Paz’s private space. You step in and head toward the shelves opposite the end of the bed. There, you find his clothes. Tonight, he will need pajamas, so you grab one of the soft-looking flannel sets. For tomorrow, you grab a suit, a set of padding, and a cowl in matching dark grey.

In one of the boxes on the lower shelves, you find compression shirts, shorts, and socks. Those are also added to the bag. Finally, you find his shower caddy and grab it as well. Once you are finished there, you leave the bedroom, and come into the living space. Stopping by the couch, you pick up the book on the table and add it to your bag. From there, you make your way through the karyai and into the kitchen.

He will need something edible to keep his strength up. You’ve had hospital rations before and they are unpleasant, to say the least. No flavor, no spice, and certainly no heat. Doctor Shen says that the rations are bland to ensure the patient can rest and heal, but you think she secretly enjoys the torture.

In the bottom of one of the bins, you find your cake supplies. You check the time. One hour and fifty-two minutes before you can see him and drop off supplies. Plenty of time to make him a small cake and get him some snacks. Exactly two hours and a minor burn later, you finish your gift to Paz. One small tray of uj’ayali cake, made with your dwindling stock of spices, syrup, and wine. You wrap the entire thing in parchment paper and include a fork.

Then you go to the stasis unit in the corner and steal some of the cheeses, crackers, and a small container of pickles. There, something to tide him over. In one of the bins, you find some apples. You take two for him so Doctor Shen cannot complain about him eating too much cake.

You would not do this for anyone else. You love your Tribe, but Paz is special to you. Nervously, you stop that train of thought before it can even depart the station. Paz is your friend first and foremost.

Glancing around, you take in your mess. It is extensive. Well, that all can wait until later. Paz needs you more than anything needs to be cleaned up. You turn the lights off and make your way to medical, hefting the bag onto your shoulder. You wait patiently inside the main room, listening as Doctor Shen scolds Paz for something or another. When Doctor Shen steps outside of the private room, she does a blatant double-take.

“What can I do for you?” she asks.

“I’d like to see Paz,” you say. “Is it okay if I go in?”

Doctor Shen pokes her head into the private room.

“You okay with seeing more visitors, buckethead?”

“Depends,” comes Paz’s voice. “Who is it?”

“Shu’shika,” Doctor Shen says.

“Sure,” Paz says. “Send her in.”

You step in, noting that Doctor Shen is watching you, her head cocked to one side. As soon as you come into the room, she follows you to the doorway, carrying a tray of equipment. Paz is resting on the bed, his legs crossed at the ankle, and his boots on the floor.

“Hey,” you say, echoing his words from earlier.

“Hey,” he repeats. “So, uh, what brings you here? What is all this, anyway?”

“Din said he has some really important stuff to work on, so I volunteered to get you some supplies,” you say to him. Digging into the bag, you grab his book and hand it to him. “Din sent the code for your door, by the way, I didn’t like break in or anything.”

Paz’s head jerks up at your words.

“Din…sent you the code?”

“Yes,” you say. “He was in such a rush to go finish his work. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” he says, in an odd sort of tone. “I am so glad I cleaned up last night.”

You laugh as you hang the bag onto one of the wall hooks.

“I also came to see if you’re okay,” you say quietly, “And to see if you’d like some company?”

He nods in response.

“You want to stay and keep this cranky idiot company?” Doctor Shen asks, as she goes to the deep tissue scanner in the corner.

Paz growls as you sit down next to him.

“Well, of course,” you say. “Why wouldn’t I come see Paz?”

“I don’t mind,” Paz says. His voice takes a mischievous tone. “You did say you didn’t want to speak to Lyras. So now you don’t have to talk to him.”

You laugh, relief filling you. Then you clear your throat a bit.

“I…I also wanted to give you this,” you say, holding the tray to him.

He takes the tray from you, still slightly warm from the oven. He unwraps it and stares down at your offering to him.

“Uhm…my buir always said to eat plenty of uj’ayali if I was injured,” you say.

Inexplicably, you feel yourself blushing cherry-red, the heat filling you all the way down to your bellybutton.

“Where the hell did you find uj’ayali?” Doctor Shen asks.

“I-I made it,” you stammer out.

Oh, gods above, why did I even come here?

“You made this for me?” Paz repeats, his tone so gentle that your breath catches in your throat.

You nod earnestly at Paz. Thankfully, he does not seem too weirded out by your forwardness. In fact, he might even sound a bit happy at it.

“You made… You made - ?” Doctor Shen asks.

You can feel her incredulous stare through her bucket.

“I have some of that wine that you like,” you admit softly. “I kept a few bottles…for a special occasion.”

“Thank you,” he says, his voice sounding almost awed. “I really appreciate it, Shu’shika.”

“I’ll go finish something else,” Doctor Shen says, backing toward the door. “Uh…somewhere else.”

She shuts the door, leaving the two of you alone. As much as you appreciate the doctor, you are grateful that she has work to do. You have not had a lot of time with Paz in the past few weeks, so you would like to make the most of your visit with him today.

“Would you like to try some?” you ask. “I can wheel the privacy curtain over, if you’d like. We can…we can hang out. Since we can’t go shooting.”

Hopefully, he will not think that you are being clingy.

“Yeah,” he says, “I’d like that.”

You beam at him. You have no idea why Doctor Shen would say he is cranky.

Doctor Shen finishes putting her equipment into the autoclave just as Din carefully peers into the room, edging in as if expecting to be attacked. She looks up at him. He has to know about you and Paz. She goes to him.

“Did you know about Paz and Shu’shika?” she asks him in a low tone.

“Yes,” he says. “Are they - ?”

“Yeah,” Doctor Shen responds. “I’ll let her stay until I close down for the evening.”

Din nods just as they hear what seems to be a minor explosion down the hallway. Doctor Shen almost purses her lips as she hears Garan’s familiar bellowing. There is nothing new about this situation – some idiot hunter has rightfully earned their tongue-lashing from Garan. He takes nothing from anyone, especially not hunters.

“What’s all the noise down the hallway for?”

“I don’t know,” Din says. “Maybe someone left the water on again?”

They listen for a few moments, the occasional shout drifting back to them. She turns back to Din.

“Is Paz serious?” she asks.

Doctor Shen knows you well – after all, she has been caring for you for years now. Even as a child, you tagged along after her, pestering her endlessly with your questions and tendency to injure yourself. She was there when you put your bucket on at thirteen. She watched you grow up to become a skilled, competent, and hard-working member of the tribe. It is everything that she could have wanted for you.

“Dead serious,” Din responds. “He’s been thinking about this for a while. He went to Armorer two nights ago to talk to her about courtship.”

Doctor Shen feels relief fill her stomach. If there is a hunter she trusts, it is Paz. He is a good man and will not take advantage of you. Doctor Shen knows that you are an adult, but she still sometimes sees the little girl you used to be, complete with a busted lip and two scabby knees.

“Good,” Doctor Shen says to him. “Shu’shika might be a walking disaster, but she is our most precious disaster.”

Someone taking an interest in you was bound to happen eventually. She cannot help but to be overjoyed that it is a hunter of Paz’s caliber. Before Din can respond, they hear Garan shout your name.

“Where is she?” Garan roars. “If she’s not already dying, I’m going to kill her – “

Din grabs the surly mechanic by the chest plate and shoves him back out into the hallway.

“She’s busy,” Din says in his most menacing tone. “You will leave her alone.”

Undeterred, Garan shoves him back. This time, Din slams him up against the wall, pinning him in place with one arm against his chest plate and one finger pointed at his visor.

“I. Do. Not. Care,” Din hisses.

“This is the third time her carelessness has gotten something caught on fire,” Garan growls. “That little shit – “

“That little shit is busy,” Doctor Shen says from the doorway, her voice like ice. “Go back to the kitchen and take care of the mess. I’ll send her by later.”

Garan snarls but eventually concedes. Din grabs him by the shoulder and forcefully marches him away from medical. Doctor Shen goes to listen at the door. She hears only your combined laughter. Nodding to herself, she goes back to working on cleaning the equipment.

Din makes sure to keep Garan going forward to avoid letting him interfere. It is rare that you and Paz can spend more than a few minutes alone, so he wants to ensure that the two of you have as long as possible to talk and get to know each other a little better.

“Why the fuck are you even involved?” Garan asks moodily.

“It’s none of your fucking business,” Din says. “Workshop, I assume?”

“Yes.”

He escorts Garan to the workshop, where they pick up the parts they will need to replace the melted circuitry and charred air vent. Din carries the bag without protest, even as Garan complains with every single step. In the karyai, they find Dezha and Armorer at the kitchen window, watching as Terys finishes putting the flames out. Jalyn is by the backmost kitchen vent, trying to waft the smell of burnt wine and sugar out with a tea cloth. Din knows better – Jalyn is just here to snoop like the shameless little gossipmonger he is. Regardless, Din shoves Garan into the kitchen and bodily blocks the doorway.

“What is the problem?” Armorer asks, looking between the two of them.

“Just making sure Garan fixes everything in time for dinner,” Din says.

“Apparently, poor wittle Shu’shika is so busy I can’t yell at her for her carelessness,” Garan snaps moodily in his direction as he starts unpacking the components onto the counter.

“Yes. She is busy,” Din confirms.

Terys puts the fire extinguisher into the cabinet. Then he looks across the counter. Din can see the wheels turning. A few seconds later, Terys looks up sharply, having come to the logical conclusion.

“Did she make her special uj with wine syrup?” Terys asks slowly.

“She didn’t clean up after herself,” Garan interrupts as he shoves a pile of dirty dishes over. “And she didn’t even leave any for us. Brat.”

“Yes,” Din confirms. “Just for him.”

Garan continues grumbling as Armorer and Dezha look at each other. They come to the same conclusion.

“I will help you tidy up,” Dezha cuts in smoothly. “We can overlook this minor mistake.”

“Again?” Garan asks, turning to Dezha. “This is the third time, Alor. This has got to stop. We can’t afford to keep replacing everything her kriffing hands touch.”

“I am aware of that,” Dezha says. “But we will overlook it this time. I’ll talk to her when she is finished.”

Din leads the cleanup effort by picking up the charred pot. He tosses it straight into the trash bin. He will have to buy a new pot before Hannah discovers one is missing. Din pauses. Then again…Hannah will overlook any mistake as long as she knows that Paz is trying to court you. Din wonders if he can enlist their cook’s help in ensuring the process is as smooth and painless as possible for the rest of the Tribe.

Armorer starts sweeping the powder from the fire extinguisher into a neat pile on the floor, while Dezha works on wiping the counters down. Jalyn just keeps fanning the acrid air toward the vent. Judging by the wide grin on his face, he seems to have caught on already, though Din cannot fathom why he is still here. At long last, Garan seems to realize that something isn’t quite right. In the middle of replacing the filter, he pauses, and looks around, slowly taking stock of his present company. Everyone is quickly working to put the kitchen back in order in time for dinner.

“Why are you all here?” Garan asks slowly.

“Good question,” Hannah says, as she puts her apron on. “Why the hell are you crowding into my kitchen, anyway? And why do I smell smoke?”

“It was a minor incident,” Armorer says, cutting Garan off. “We are rectifying the problem.”

“Minor?” Hannah asks, picking up the charred remains of her pot out of the trash. “Did Shu’shika set another pot on fire? Gods above, someone needs to have a serious talk with that girl.”

“That’s what I tried to do earlier,” Garan says, “But nooo, Din said she was too busy to get a proper tongue-lashing for her kriffing carelessness.”

Din looks at Hannah.

“Shu’shika is looking after Paz,” he says diplomatically.

Hannah blinks, turning to look at him.

“Shu’shika…and Paz?” she asks.

When Armorer nods, Garan drops his wrench onto the counter. It goes clattering onto the floor. Garan wordlessly stares at each of them in turn. The only sounds that can be heard are Jalyn’s snickers and the sound of the tea cloth he is flapping at the vent.

“You’re shitting me,” Garan says as he shakes his. “Oh, no. No, that is not happening. I absolutely forbid it.”

“And what authority would you have to interfere?” Armorer challenges immediately, coming forward a step, her hand falling to the hammer tucked into her belt.

Din cracks his knuckles threateningly, though he is certain that his muscle will not be needed here. Armorer is lethal with her hammer. Garan sinks down to a seated position on the counter and rests his face plate in his hands.

“We are not going to survive this,” Garan says in a defeated tone.

“That is an unfair over-exaggeration,” Armorer scolds. “They are good together, Garan.”

“Do we know when he intends to propose? He won’t make us – her wait too long, will he?” Hannah asks nonchalantly, as she starts sorting through the ingredients for dinner.

No one is fooled by her tone. Everyone knows where her mind is – the bonfire feast. Hell, Din has found himself thinking about what he will bring back to celebrate their marriage. He has already purchased a scope for Paz and set aside a small piece of bes’kar for you. Now, he needs to figure out what food he is bringing, but that can wait until later. He doesn’t expect the two of you to marry for at least six months, if not more.

“Paz managed to give himself a concussion before they could go on their first date,” Din says. “It isn’t happening for a few months at least.”

Hannah and Armorer both seem to sulk at his words.

“You know, it might not be so bad,” Terys says. “He’s a bit older, you know. He will look after her. Maybe get her trained up so she can actually start participating in hunts on the regular?”

“We can only hope,” Garan sighs dejectedly. “We can only hope.”

Jalyn puts the cloth down and picks up his cane. Carefully, he picks his way back to them. Din wonders what the little shit-stirrer is going to do next.

“Oooorr,” Jalyn says, somehow splitting a single-syllable word into three. “Imagine what it’s going to be like once he finally knocks her up. Can you imagine them having a few Vizla brats with his temperament and her propensity for accidental arson?”

Silence fills the kitchen. Garan lets out a low noise of distress. Armorer and Dezha exchange a look. Din thinks that any child that you and Paz name as your own will be perfect the way they are, even if they end up being prone to damaging their surroundings. Hell, under the right conditions, that could be a benefit in combat.

“Regardless of their unique personality traits,” Armorer says. “Anyone who interferes will be made to regret their actions most severely. Be sure to pass that along with your gossip, Jalyn.”

“Please, everyone here wants more children to look after,” Jalyn says dismissively. “If there was a way to get them married tonight, we would do it.”

Garan picks up the bottle of wine and checks it. There is a quarter of it left. Garan shrugs to himself and lifts the front of his bucket. He chugs the wine down straight from the bottle. He wipes his mouth with the back of his gloved hand and lets out a rude belch.

“May the gods take mercy on us,” he says.

demagolka - someone who commits atrocities. Paz chooses this word because they risked hurting a child just so they could carry on an affair.

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csykora · 4 years

Note

Hiii. So I had a quick question about Oshie. I’ve been seeing these compilations of hockey players that are Trump supporters in my TikTok feed, and TJ always seems to be on them. I honestly had never heard about it before, so just wondering if you knew or have heard anything about that?

This is a good question to ask. I’m not happy to be asked, but I want you to know it’s not at you for asking. You’re doing fine.

Information we have:

Early in the 2015 presidential campaign, Oshie attended a rally to hear Donald Trump, who was a conservative candidate flirting with Independents and not yet the Republican nominee, speak. I can’t show you the picture of him, which I believe with his daughters after the rally, because it was on someone’s social media 5 years ago, but that’s the gist.

Presumably after that he went home and the next year he voted. I do not, and should not, know who he voted for.

He is not politically outspoken on the internet: I’m not saying that’s a virtue or a flaw, it’s just part of the information we have to work with. He has spent the last five years using his twitter to promote Native youth hockey, Alzheimer’s research and adaptive programs for people with physical disabilities, and John Carlson. In recent years he’s also used it to like and retweet other BIPOC players and the NHL diversity initiatives. He does follow the President. He also follows a bunch of bakeries, National Geographic, and the ‘Genius’ series about Aretha Franklin, which I bring up not to make him seem cute but because I’m trying to make a point here about my research process: I wasn’t 100% sure of something I almost wrote, so I reread the last 5 years of his twitter before I wrote it, and those are the only remotely interesting things.

Thoughts:

There’s a lot of political history behind Native voting blocks that I would want to talk about (if we were in person, discussing sincerely) but I feel weirdly idealistic or like I’m doing a kind of virtue-signaling if I just rolled into that without acknowledging the issue that many hockey fans don’t know or acknowledge that Oshie is a Native American man.

Capitals fans, fans who identify as quite liberal, lots of people assume he’s White or, if they do know, still like to call him “basically White’’. (Because that’s a fun history to make fun of!) His identity doesn’t ‘excuse’ if he did vote for Trump or whatever views he may or may not hold that we don’t know about, but I hesitate over:

non-Native Liberal people on the internet thinking they know what’s in Native people’s political interests and just assuming how Native people vote without exploring that political history!

non-Native Liberal fans on the internet yelling at other fans, who will include Native fans, not to celebrate the most famous Native American man in the sport, when they might have had to reckon with a lot of way more important shit to get to this point

I wrote more, and took it out. I’m tired. You know? 5 years. I lost my dad and mentor around then, actually. Still feels like yesterday, and also, super not.

There’s a lot of really big shit that hadn’t happened yet back then.

I don’t mean ‘he couldn’t have known what was going to happen in the next 5 years, if he did support Trump back then.’ I mean that WE have 5 years of things, on top of centuries of them, that matter more than making cute little TikTok listicles.

I think about the 2015 campaign a lot. It was a colossal failure of the free press—we’ve all grown around the idea that everyone should figure shit out for themselves, but research and journalism are actual jobs that take deep effort and training and the public should have had access to information that we now take for granted way earlier.

We need to reckon with how we know what we think we know before it happens again.

My first mentor liked to say that in his Mexica way of thinking, history isn’t a line of progress or a circle that repeats, but a spiral: we come back around to the same sort of moments that have happened so many times before, and if we look down we might feel like we’re in the same spot, but it doesn’t have to be exactly the same.

In that spirit, I’d like to ask:

WHY are these LISTS?

Like, just a bulleted list of names? That’s zero-calorie information-free bullshit.

I don’t mean there isn’t anything to the story, I mean that that is a useless, wasteful, infuriating way of not saying anything about a something that might be important.

Why are we still doing this?

Why is a person telling you something is bad but not telling you what the bad thing was? You have a story to tell on someone? How they did you or your community or someone harm? Tell it! Tell people what they did, how it hurt, what to do now!

You don’t have all the pieces to string a story together yet? Get out there then!

Get in the dirt and dig. Do research. Cite your sources. Get every piece you find between your teeth and bite down hard to know if it’s real.

Why is someone just sharing a list with nothing in it? Why would they not share more? I have a lot of thoughts on that too, but I also took that out, because after the last decade of manufactured confusion and the sins it’s led us to, they’re not kind thoughts. But hey, maybe they’re onto something real—great! Then, again--they should get out there and dig until they find the heart of it and then cite that shit.

I’m turning off anon asks for a couple days or until I remember. Take care everybody.

#Anonymous

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somethingusefulfromflorida · 3 years

Text

If the Democrats had one spine between them, this is what they should do

Nuke the filibuster, then immediately propose an amendment to bring it back for legislation and judicial appointments

For executive appointments, I don’t really care; the president can fire a secretary at any time for any reason, so it doesn’t matter how many senators voted to confirm them. We need a government, so it doesn’t make sense for congress to be able to block department heads when the president can just name acting secretaries until the actual secretaries get confirmed.

Next, push through legislation to expand the Supreme Court, but do not immediately fill the seats; let the Republicans know that if they don’t agree to play fair, then all bets are off. They want to keep the filibuster just as much as we do because everybody likes to threaten to get rid of it; if we actually get rid of it, then nobody gets to use the threat anymore, and we have carte blanche until it is restored through bipartisan amendment.

The SCOTUS seats become the next threat; either pass the amendment and send it to the states, or we start packing the court with all these wonderfully qualified, young, liberal PEOPLE OF COLOR. Republicans would never negotiate like this, they would just do it, just pull the trigger and get what they want. They’d get shit for it from the other side, but their constituents would love it and their approval ratings would skyrocket. Democrats need to be more diplomatic, and by showing restraint they can have plausible deniability (though the media would tear them a new asshole either way, so damned if you do, damned if you don’t). They’re not cheating, they actively want to limit their own power and restore bipartisan cooperation; that’s the biggest olive branch we could offer the Republicans, and if they don’t like it then they can go fuck themselves.

If Democrats got rid of the filibuster, there’s nothing the Republicans could legally do to stop them. Their best bet would be litigation with the 6-3 conservative SCOTUS, but then the Dems could just pack the court to get favorable rulings; does this sound familiar?

“I LEARNED IT BY WATCHING YOU!”

So, the Republicans can either pass the amendment and enshrine the filibuster into the constitution, OR they can let the Democrats run wild and hope for civil unrest and eventual war, because that’s the only thing that could conceivably stop a party with unlimited power.

Now, of course, this could immediately backfire on the Democrats. They could do it, and the Republicans could just pretend they don’t care and bide their time until the next election. They take back power and they’ll have the Democrats to thank for handing them a post-filibuster senate; the point of changing the rules is to stop the other side from gaining power ever again (2020 - 2022, Republicans are passing anti-voting laws because they hope that will make them win in 2024; Democrats need to balance this by doing the same thing in their own favor). But this back-and-forth is why the Supreme Court is so important. Liberal justices could regulate conservative laws, but once the Democrats show their hand and signal that they’re willing to change the rules, Republicans will use that to their advantage; we expand the Supreme Court now, they’ll expand the Supreme Court twofold (or perhaps something worse) the next chance they get. The idea is not to give them that next chance. It’s what they do to us, but our party is just too stupid or too unwilling to do it back to them.

Republicans change the rules to win, while Democrats never change the rules because they see the rules as sacred. Politics is a game; most people think it’s something intelligent like chess, when really it’s mindless like Mouse Trap. Sure, Mouse Trap has rules, you can sit down and play it as it was intended, but if the object of the game is to Trap a Mouse, then you’re more likely to do it by setting up the trap and playing with it by itself like a toy. Democrats play by the rules, rolling their dice and moving their mice, collecting cheese wedges, setting up the trap one piece at a time, whereas Republicans immediately set it up and let it go, winning on turn one. That’s against the rules, but there’s no higher authority holding them to the rules anyway! The Supreme Court used to be like parents, enforcing the rules and telling the siblings to play nice together, but now the parents have been replaced by the cheater’s best friends who let them get away with anything they want. It’s a total conflict of interest, but they don’t care because they get to win!

Nuke the filibuster, amend the constitution to bring it back, threaten to go full liberal if they don’t, then actually follow through on their threats when they don’t. That’s the only language they know, these are the only compromises they’ll listen to; force their hand, or they’ll shit all over you. They’re willing to change laws and steal elections to stay in power, then turn around and project their own crimes onto the other side, “we’re not cheating, YOU’RE cheating!” And this is all done while the filibuster is still in place; Democrats need to acknowledge that they can’t win by following the rules if the other party is cheating. The other party has said the rules don’t matter anymore, so it’s not cheating for the Democrats to stoop to their level, fair’s fair, it’s just business.

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letterboxd · 4 years

Photo

Pride: 25 Queer Films To Love.

Dating Amber writer and director David Freyne introduces our London correspondent Ella Kemp to 25 of his favorite LGBTQIA films.

A coming-out, coming-of-age film, David Freyne’s Dating Amber follows “baby gays” Eddie (Fionn O’Shea) and Amber (Lola Petticrew), who act as each other’s beards in order to stop speculation about their sexualities. Released on Amazon Prime Video in the UK for Pride month, it’s winning praise from Letterboxd members as a “charming” and “gentle” comedy-drama “full of loveliness that extends beyond the Irish accents”.

Lola Petticrew and Fionn O’Shea as Amber and Eddie in ‘Dating Amber’.

As the number of films by and about the gay and trans community expands, we asked Freyne if he could narrow down a list of ten favorites for us. The answer was no—instead, we got 25!

“There are so many extraordinary queer films beyond this list, but all of these films just really affected me when I saw them. Some were the first time I saw queerness on screen, while I deeply identified with others. And, as a filmmaker, each of them makes me braver to fight to tell stories that aren't always easy to get made.

“They are in no particular order because I don’t want to bump into Barry Jenkins (which is obviously going to happen) and have to explain that he is number five on that list (that he will definitely read) for no specific reason. It’s just a technicality.”

David Freyne’s 25 Favorite LGBTQIA+ Films

My Summer of Love (2004) Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski

Paweł Pawlikowski’s film feels like a dream that sweeps you up along with it, helped along by incredible early performances from Natalie Press and Emily Blunt. The hypnotic use of Goldfrapp's ‘Lovely Head’ is probably my favorite use of a song in any film ever. Their drug-fuelled dancing was a massive inspiration for Eddie and Amber’s baby steps into Dublin’s gay scene in Dating Amber.

Weekend (2011) Directed by Andrew Haigh

I never fail to cry buckets at the end of this heartbreaking gem. It’s small in the best sense of the word. Two people fall in love over one intimate weekend. Their gayness is both incidental and totally fundamental. It’s so delicate and moving. Andrew Haigh is a master.

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) Directed by Jamie Babbit

Jamie Babbit’s debut is a brilliant, campy comedy about a cheerleader sent to a conversion therapy camp. I love it for all the reasons many critics (at the time) disliked it. It is subversive, quirky and defiantly upbeat. And it stars Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall. Enough said.

Paris is Burning (1990) Directed by Jennie Livingston

I’m not saying anything new when I say that Paris is Burning is necessary viewing. It’s a hilarious, moving and eye-opening look at the (mostly) Black trans women in New York’s ball scene. It is a glimpse into the lives of these extraordinary people who risked everything to live authentically, for themselves and each other. And at a time when our trans family is so under attack, it is vital to see such iconic figures from our community. You’ve probably seen it. Re-watch it. Also those end notes will make you cry.

Happy Together (1997) Directed by Wong Kar-wai

As with all Wong Kar-wai’s work, it is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It’s a tough watch, a portrait of a toxic, failing relationship. But it looks beautiful. They’re miserable and co-dependent. It’s abusive and awful. But it’s great. It really is a great film. I’m not selling this one well. Just watch it.

Moonlight (2016) Directed by Barry Jenkins

Definitely worth watching after Happy Together. Not just because it will make you feel better, but because Barry Jenkins has noted it as a big influence. Also, Moonlight is a masterpiece. You know that, of course. Side note: I realize I’ll never be able to create a hand-job scene as powerful and tender as Jenkins did here, but, in Dating Amber, I made three comedy hand-jobs. Take that Jenkins!

God’s Own Country (2017) Directed by Francis Lee

You can feel Francis Lee in every frame of this film. It’s personal filmmaking at its very best, with wonderful performances from Josh O’Connor and Alec Secăreanu. And it has the most beautifully romantic ending that you only realize we lack for LGBTQ characters when you see it laid out so wonderfully. When we were trying to finance Dating Amber and people suggested it was too Irish, I’d just reference God’s Own Country, which is so defiantly Yorkshire, and they’d shut up. Also, Secăreanu’s jumper with a thumb hole is my style icon. Bring on Ammonite!

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) Directed by Marielle Heller

Marielle Heller is such a brilliant filmmaker. This film is based on the memoir by Lee Israel who forged letters by famous people to sell. It’s a genre piece that feels like it could have been made in the 70s. But what I love about it the most is that it is a rare example of a film that centers the friendship between a lesbian and a gay man. Why do films usually treat us like we exist in totally separate worlds? Anyway, it’s a joyous watch.

Tangerine (2015) Directed by Sean Baker

I’m obsessed with tightly plotted films and Tangerine doesn’t waste a frame. It’s 88 minutes of pure wit, charm and entertainment in line with the best of old-school Hollywood. You instantly forget that Baker’s film is shot on an iPhone and just get swept up in the extraordinary performances of Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez. It’s such a mystery they don’t work more. (Reader: it’s not a mystery. It’s because they are Black trans women, and the industry is shit.)

Portrait of a Lady On Fire (2019) Directed by Céline Sciamma

We all bow at the alter of Céline Sciamma. This film is perfection. The sparse-but-powerful use of music, exquisite photography and extraordinary performances that burn beneath the stillness. The final shots of Adèle Haenel will feed your soul for a year. (Side note: face masks have never looked so stylish.)

Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) Directed by John Schlesinger

This was John Schlesinger’s follow up to his best-known film, Midnight Cowboy. A middle-aged gay doctor (Peter Finch), and a divorced woman (Glenda Jackson), are both in an open love triangle with a younger, bisexual sculptor (Murray Head). It’s quite low-key and far tamer now than when it was released, but it’s a beautiful film and Schlesinger’s most personal. He was one of the few openly gay directors of his time. And Jackson’s performance steals it.

Far From Heaven (2002) Directed by Todd Haynes

Todd Haynes’ stunning film will make you immediately go out and discover all of Douglas Sirk’s glorious technicolor melodramas. Julianne Moore’s performance as a wife who discovers her husband is gay will break you. Dennis Quaid is also terrific as her closeted husband.

The Watermelon Woman (1996) Directed by Cheryl Dunye

Cheryl Dunye’s low-budget debut is a seminal queer film. A video store worker and documentarian (played by Dunye) starts a new relationship while becoming obsessed with ‘the watermelon woman’, a Black actress forgotten by history. It’s lo-fi, funny and a, far too rare, film about race and sexuality.

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) Directed by Stephen Frears

It may have been the first time I saw gay characters on screen and, at the time, it petrified me. But what an amazing film about love, acceptance and the power to change. Fun fact: Daniel Day-Lewis spent a year as a tumble dryer in preparation for his role.

Beautiful Thing (1996) Directed by Hettie MacDonald

Hettie MacDonald’s coming-of-age film is so lovely, honest and tender. James Harvey adapted it from his own play of the same name. The soundtrack is almost entirely The Mamas and the Papas. I am surprised some cigar-smoking West-End mogul hasn’t attempted a musical adaptation. Or maybe they have, I don’t know.

Pride (2014) Directed by Matthew Warchus

Such a purely entertaining film while being urgent, political and deeply moving. Beresford’s script is a masterclass in plotting and if you don’t cry at the end then you are dead inside. Sorry but that’s just science. Also it has the most emotional postscript coda since, well, Paris is Burning.

Love is Strange (2014) Directed by Ira Sachs

Ira Sachs is one of my favorite current filmmakers and criminally underrated. I mean, he’s appreciated, but he needs to be lauded. Love is Strange is such a charming and quietly devastating love story about an older gay couple who lose their apartment and have to couch surf with relatives. It’s one of the most effective films in dealing with the rental crisis in big cities, something he does equally brilliantly in the follow-up, Little Men.

A Fantastic Woman (2017) Directed by Sebastián Lelio

Sebastián Lelio’s film is a beautiful story about one trans woman’s grief after the unexpected death of her older partner. But what makes this film so spectacular is the captivating performance by Daniela Vega. We need to see more of her on screen.

BPM (Beats per Minute) (2017) Directed by Robin Campillo

It’s a film about the AIDS activism of Act Up in 1990s Paris. What makes this so incredible is how joyous it is. Strobe-doused dance scenes punctuate this film that will make you want to take to the streets and fight for your rights.

The Queen of Ireland (2015) Directed by Conor Horgan

This documentary by Conor Horgan follows Ireland’s most famous drag queen, Panti Bliss (aka Rory O’Neill). It’s about his life, a legal battle (a bunch of homophobes sued Rory for calling them homophobes on national TV) and the staging of a show in his hometown. Central to all this is Ireland’s historic vote on marriage equality, something that Panti was a powerful figure in. If you want to laugh and have your heart soar in seeing confirmation of how a once painfully conservative country moved to love and equality, watch this.

The Kids Are All Right (2010) Directed by Lisa Cholodenko

Lisa Cholodenko’s feature is a warm, witty and realistic look at a lesbian couple and their children. Every performance is pitch perfect. I can’t believe it’s a decade old and that we have had so few similar films since.

Booksmart (2019) Directed by Olivia Wilde

We need more joyous films with queer leads and Olivia Wilde’s debut is just that. Set over one night of belated partying, we follow best friends Molly and Amy (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever), one of whom happens to be a lesbian. It is just so much fun to watch.

All About My Mother (1999) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

I mean this list could just be an Almodóvar filmography, but All About My Mother just happened to be the first of his I saw and it blew my little gay mind. It’s simply about love in its truest sense. Almodóvar said it best with his dedication, “To all actresses who have played actresses. To all women who act. To men who act and become women. To all the people who want to be mothers. To my mother.”

Female Trouble (1974) Directed by John Waters

You can’t have a queer film list without John Waters, and this 1974 classic is my favorite of his. It follows Dawn Davenport (played by the legendary Divine) from teen delinquent to the electric chair. It’s hilarious, irreverent and distasteful in the ways only Waters can be.

Saint Maud (2019) Directed by Rose Glass

Rose Glass’s debut film isn’t out yet and so technically shouldn’t be on the list. But I saw at a festival last year and loved it, so there. It’s a horror film about a private nurse (rising star Morfydd Clark) who tries to save the soul of her deviant and lesbian patient (the always-brilliant Jennifer Ehle). It’s eerie, stylish and the sort of debut all us filmmakers wish we had. Shut up, you’re jealous!

Related content

MundoF’s Opening the Vault: a chronological history of queer interest and LGBTQ+ cinema.

Leonora’s list of Films by Transgender Writers and Directors.

Out of the Closets and Into the Cinemas!: meeting queer folks in dark rooms.

New Queer Cinema

Queer Films Everyone Must See

Queer, Black, 21st Century: A Pride 2020 List

Autostraddle’s Top 200 Lesbian, Bisexual & Queer Movies of All Time

Brianna’s list of LGBT+ Animation

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marcholasmoth · 4 years

Text

OSRR: 2283

i did a bunch of work today. kinda exhausted.

i attended and took notes in class, i cleaned my room and went through my wardrobe to get rid of stuff in the first real clothing purge of the last like five years, and then i did all of the assignments that were due for earth science before 6pm, which was weird for me bc i usually do them after everything else during the day. but i had time, so i did them early. i also listened to two sections of math lecture, so i can do homework for that section tomorrow, and maybe get a head start on the rest of my exhaustive list of homework for each day of the rest of the semester. quite literally, i made a list. numbered it, put in all of my assignments and when i'd do them, so i have it all laid out in front of me so i can keep to the schedule, because if i fall behind any more i will not finish the semester. but i have to, and i have to have something to show to my professor tomorrow to let her know i'm not giving up, but that instead it's my mental inertia that is really preventing me from being productive. mental inertia is what i'm calling my brain's unwillingness to do a single fuckin thing on any given day. because of the definition and practical understanding of inertia, it means though that if i want it to move, i have to move it myself. i have to push it. because that's really what i'm dealing with - an unwilling blob of disaster that has a decent ability to function if it ever gets off its ass. so i need the motivation to push that blob until it starts sliding. lots of principles of physics here: inertia, forces, static and kinetic friction. yknow, the drill.

anyway, i'm proud of myself for today, even though it feels like i missed doing stuff. breaking things down into specific details helps me, so having a day-by-day calendar that goes line by line telling me what i need to do on a given day will help me push my dumbass brain into gear. it's a variation, i suppose, on the block method of task organization andrew tells his clients about. sticky notes worked for a semester. a detailed planner worked really well for a semester. so now, straight-up pads of paper will have to work for the rest of the semester. i need to rotate my methods so i don't get complacent and ignore things, like i can easily do if things are uniform and are exactly the same. which is why a list is easier i guess, because yes it's all supposed to look the same, but it's a different visual thing than a wall of brightly-colored sticky notes that end up blending into the faded yellow wall. which is a problem i have. so. i'd like to go back to the planner thing, but that also worked best when i was on campus and not stuck at home for school stuff.

also i talked to joel a little bit today. sort of a normal interaction: he asked me if i wanted to fight, i begged for death, he said no, i said why, he gave some bullshit answer, then we changed the topic. kinda funny tbh, that's sort of our way of checking in on each other. it allows me to actually tell him how i'm feeling, and while he doesn't give up much information himself, a lot of it is supporting me and my nonsense and buffoonery as i simply exist as a ball of Anxiety™ that stress-cleans and vibrates in place as i contemplate the tasks i must complete. today was an anxiety day, so i told him. [it's nice to tell someone things about my emotional state and for them to take me and what i say at face value instead of trying to break me down into pieces of "drama" and "not drama," because that's what my mom does. if i feel too much, her first response is "what's real and what's drama," or "you're being dramatic," or some other equally bullshit gaslighting of my emotional state that's fuckin fragile in the first place. like, listen linda. "what's real" all of it. "what's drama" none of it, you moldy peach pit. i feel what i feel, and you are not allowed to tell me that what i'm feeling isn't real, so shut your mouth and sit the fuck down, you melted stick of unsalted butter.] but yeah. joel actually listens and i love the shit out of him for it.

and lastly, i watched a christmas movie. by myself. before thanksgiving. but. in my defense, it was about a struggling writer at a writing conference who ends up repeatedly unknowingly bumping into the keynote speaker, a published author of whom she happens to be a fangirl in increasingly embarrassing situations at first. and then they're paired as writing buddies for the conference, and he gives her pointers and they banter and work together and it's just really cute and the Drama occurs when he's trying to tell her he's the author but she keeps rushing to go somewhere and it's the keynote and the author walks in and it's HIM. THE DRAMA. THE BETRAYAL. THE YEARNING. and then he comes to her dad's house and surprises her on christmas day with a letter from a publisher bc her revised copy of her manuscript was really good bc of all the help he gave her and the experiences they shared and all the good stuff and she said it was basically a happy ever after, to which he replied, "i guess it is." and then she says, "so kiss me already," and points to the mistletoe above them and it's SO CUTE AND SWEET AND I ALMOST CRIED.

but anyway, i feel like a hypocrite because christmas!! shouldn't!! happen!! before!! thanksgiving!! that's!! a!! rule!! and i HATE IT when people put up christmas decorations in early november, but at this point i'm accepting that it's something that gives people joy so i really shouldn't step on that. it's just. learning to accept that people enjoy certain things and i should encourage them instead of rag on them for it. i'm not perfect. i'm still learning. and i want to be a kinder person to people, more loving and accepting and supportive, and i'm slowly overcoming my own hatred of things as i grow and distance myself further from the shit that made me this way. i'm learning! if i make a mistake please tell me gently, because i want to be better but i also have RSD and i WILL shut down and tear myself down forever if i am told harshly bc that's just how i am. i'm trying to get over it a little at a time by accepting things as time goes on, but in the meantime i need help. so that's all, i guess.

thanks for reading and for caring, i love you guys and i hope you're enjoying things that being you joy, even if other people give you shit for it. i will do my best to support you!

also if you're in the US and are of voting age and are registered and haven't already voted, GO VOTE TOMORROW. some states have same-day registration, so bring an ID and go register if you need to. this election will determine our futures - i know so many of us are in circumstances that would be harmed if we had another four years of the racist orange peel in office now, so i know many others who may straight-up die because of it. we need protections. we need to have our rights protected. we need to have our lives protected. and we can't do that with the damaged candy corn in office for any longer. he'a already fucked with us enough. we can't afford any more of it. now i'm just angry ranting. please, go vote for joe biden. politics is like public transit: if there's no train going exactly where you need to go, you don't just not get on the train. you take the one that gets you the closest, and work your way from there. that's joe biden. and, if biden does indeed win, our fights aren't over. we have people we need to protect from the conservatives and racists and white supremacists that exist goddamn everywhere. we need to keep reminding people that it's our responsibility to take care of one another in every way we can. there's a laundry list of things that needs to be fixed; unfortunately they won't happen all at once. so we have to keep fighting, no matter who's in office. VOTE.

VOTE.

#molly rambles #operation srr #osrr #2000s #2200s #sunshine boy #vote #vote for biden #settle for biden #seriously #thank u

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yobaba30 · 5 years

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~Tim Wise

The racism would have been bad enough.

For Donald Trump to tell a person of color (or four in this case) to “go back where you came from” if you don’t like America under his leadership, would have sufficiently demonstrated the racialized demagoguery that has defined his presidency.

But amid the discussion of Trump’s latest demonstration of race-baiting, there is an even simpler problem with the President’s claim that criticizing America is tantamount to hating it and that one should leave before doing so.

Namely, those who criticize America for its shortcomings are the ones who genuinely love it, and this has always been the case.

Those who refuse to critique the country for its failings are the ones who despise America.

They are not patriots but cult members, blindly devoted to a piece of land upon which they were simply fortunate enough to have been born in most cases. But they carry within them not one iota of understanding as to the principles of the nation.

After all, America is an idea, not just a piece of real estate.

It is an idea that has attracted millions from around the world, even when the nation’s leaders have failed to live up to those principles, as has so often been the case — and as many of us believe the case to be still now.

And why?

Because even when a nation falls short, its potential is what inspires.

It’s like your kids. They may be pretty decent at 11 or 12, but what excites most parents is the potential you see in them to become something truly amazing. And if your children were still the same people at 23 or 35 as they were when they were pre-teens, you wouldn’t hesitate to criticize. You would push them, and not because you hated them — far from it — but because you knew they could be better, do better, and achieve a level of maturity not yet reached.

The same is true with nations.

Those who chant “love it or leave it” are poison to the idea of America, because they would never have pushed America to become in practice what it promised it was on paper.

Indeed, people like that never have, because such prodding requires critique and critique is seen as treason.

These are the kinds of people who would have been satisfied — were satisfied, in fact — with the system of enslavement. To condemn the founders for enshrining it in the Constitution or for owning slaves themselves in many cases would have been deemed insufficiently patriotic, and so the likes of these remained quiet.

This is why they attacked even Thurgood Marshall, the nation’s first black Supreme Court Justice, for daring to abstain from the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution in 1987. When Marshall noted, accurately and inarguably, that the document had been flawed at its inception because of its willingness to legitimize slavery and white supremacy, he was pilloried. Not because he was wrong, but because saying it supposedly demonstrated his contempt for the country he then served on its highest court.

Even as he admonished the country for betraying its principles, and insisted that the principles were what make America special, he was condemned — condemned by people who hate and have always hated those principles.

These are the kinds of people who would have been satisfied with segregation, and the second-class citizenship afforded people of color for most of the nation’s history. People who said “America love it or leave it” didn’t join the civil rights movement to push for change. Because to them, calling for change was tantamount to hating America, and so the likes of these remained quiet.

These are the kinds of people who would have been satisfied with children working in factories and mines, women not being allowed to vote, and companies being allowed to shoot striking workers, among other indignities. Because to condemn these things would have been seen as ungrateful for the majestic wonders of the American experiment, and so the likes of these remained quiet.

At every turn, those who deem themselves conservatives have opted to retain the status quo, whatever it happened to be at a given moment. And if that status quo left millions of Americans out of the American dream, so be it. They should suck it up and shut their mouths because to complain is to hate America.

But all of this is wrong.

Ask yourselves, truthfully, who really loved America more? The cops pictured here in Birmingham, attacking a peaceful demonstrator for daring to challenge racism? Or the man being attacked?

Who really loved it more? John Lewis, pictured here being arrested in Nashville for protesting racial injustice, or the cops arresting him and the white onlookers, most of whom supported his arrest?

Who loved America more? Was it these men: Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, whom Klan-affiliated police officers in Mississippi murdered for daring to register black folks to vote?

Or was it these tobacco-chewing shit kickers — the guys who killed them and then sat back and laughed at their trial, proud of their murderous deeds?

To ask the questions is to answer them.

Those who remain quiet in the face of injustice and unfulfilled promises are the ones who detest the very idea of America. They do not seek to achieve their country in principle, but rather, only to revel in its cheap and gaudy symbolism as a means of feeling superior to others.

To them, love of country is about slapping a flag bumper sticker on your truck that says “these colors don’t run,” not working to make the country’s practice consistent with its promises.

They are the types who think patriotism is blasting Toby Keith lyrics about putting a “boot in your ass” because it’s the “American way,” and reciting the words to the pledge of allegiance before a sporting event. They care nothing for American ideals and care nothing about the Constitution, other than the part about guns. To them, America is like a football team, not a value system.

But what progressives understand and what those four congresswomen understand — the ones being attacked on the campaign trail with chants of “send them back” — is that true love of country demands criticism.

Those who love their nation fight for it to be what it claims to be, precisely because we believe it capable of the feat. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t bother.

Donald Trump is right: If we don’t like it, we can leave. The fact that we don’t — that we stay and struggle to attain our country — is the ultimate act of love.

It is love the likes of which Trump and his minions cannot understand because it goes beyond nationalistic bluster and mindless chants of “U.S.A., U.S.A,” and seeks to make real the blessings of liberty that are too often still unfulfilled.

It is the right that hates America and always has.

They are the ones who do not belong here and do not deserve the promises of democracy, because, at root, they have never believed in it.

#rascism #trump #MAGAts

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tomshufflepuff · 6 years

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PLEASE VOTE

I don’t talk much about politics on here and not that many young people under 30, that I know of at least, give a shit about elections and politics and all of that. But this is important.

Midterm elections are coming y’all. And we need to vote for the people who will do what’s right for EVERYONE in this country. Not just white people. Not just the 1%. Not just the ones with some sort of power. Every. Single. Human. In. This. Country.

I myself don’t identify as a democrat or a republican. I do say I’m a liberal though mostly because I believe in equality for women and those of the lgbtq+ and people of color (not saying conservatives don’t, but that’s a main difference because they’re more what’s called traditional. BUT not all of them are!)

My family is either independent or democrat. My grandmother yells at the tv every day and calls Trump an “orange piece of shit” and my mother on the other hand, and myself we both see not that many democrats doing anything about the corruption and nastiness in our government. That’s why I don’t identify as a democrat either know I have many of the same beliefs as the modern democrat party.

This is going to sound stupid with the paragraph I just stated above. But please don’t not vote just because someone is of the opposing party. I’m voting for people who have the same views as me and who I think will be fair for every person in this country. Not democrats, not republicans, not independents or wigs or whatever. My grandmother herself categorizes Republicans for not having simple human decency and I keep telling her to not do that. I don’t agree with them but I’m not going to categorize all of them.

We the people have a goddamn voice. And we need to vote this November. It’s so important. I don’t care if you support Trump or Obama or Hilary, I don’t give a flying fuck. Vote for equality not just for the rich and pretty white people. Vote for those who will actually contribute to making American a safe and fair for everyone. I don’t care what your views are. Push political parties aside for a fucking minute and have some empathy and basic human decency for those living in fear and who are treated unfairly in this country based on the color or their skin, sexuality, gender, religion, ancestry, etc. One of my best friends isn’t an LGBTQ supporter but he was happy for them when same sex marriage was legalized here back in 2015. He looks at the character of a person instead of their sexual orientation and that’s what we need to do.

We’re the fucking future of this country. We need to let Congress know that their jobs are depending on us. WE get to decide whether or not they get to continue to be a part of our legislation. WE get to vote. WE get to voice our reasons.

I ask you as a fellow citizen and American, to please help me promote change. We’re not even 2 years into this current presidency yet many people close to him have been convicted and plead GUILTY on MULTIPLE criminal charges, he himself has admitted to crimes on Fox News. He continues to disregard the deaths of hurricane Irma and Maria that hit Puerto Rico last year. This is more than just politics. This is standing up against a bully and recognizing right and wrong.

Again, I don’t care if you support him or not. I don’t but that doesn’t mean I’m just not going to vote for republicans entirely. The Republican Party was created to mostly end slavery and racism less than 200 years ago.

Whether you like it or not, birth control is a part of health care. I take it because it helps regulate and control my menstration and I’m not ashamed of that. Millions of women take it for pain and cramps. It is birth control. And it is my right as a human with a vagina to decide what I can and can’t take that will impact my health.

Vote for fairness

Vote for equality

Vote for those who want to see change

Black lives matter. This movement was not created to show that black lives are more important than anyone else’s. African Americans are fed up with racism and segregation that is still going on in this country. I am a white American and I understand that these people are just trying to say that their life is just as important as mine. That their life is just as valuable as is a white man’s.

Lgbtq+ community should not fear their human rights on marriage

Women should be able to chose what happens to their own bodies and what health care they can receive.

Muslims should not fear of those who will commit hate crimes and heckle them for their religious beliefs. You wouldn’t like it if someone did it to you, so why are you bullying them? Freedom of religion is a part of our first amendment so don’t forget that. They are not committing hate crimes or any crime just by believing in something different than your god. I shouldn’t hate to repeat what I was told when I was three years old but treat others the way you wish to be treated.

Dreamers who arrive here from another country in search of a better life for themselves and their families, shouldn’t be shamed for that.

America was built on immigrants. Let’s not forget that. These people pick their asses up and travel far so they can provide food, water, clothing and a roof over their family’s heads. Who are we do deny them that decent human right? Who are you to deny a dreamer that?

And I beg of you to not only do it for our country and our future, but for other countries as well. The entire world has their eyes on us, America. I don’t care what party you associate yourself with. Not all republicans are against equality for ALL humans, not all democrats are lazy shits.

Even if you’re not currently residing in the United States, I encourage you to spread the word. You would be helping with millions of people and their future. You would be providing a safe haven for every person. Especially if you’re one of the US’ allies!

The world is going to have a closer look on our home for the next couple of months. Let’s show the world and our country that we’re the future, and that we’re fucking done with corruption, bullying, hate and discrimination.

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onisionisacanceronthisearth · 6 years

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Onision Follows who? Twitter Part 3

Continuing what I was doing before my little break from this blog is the next instalment on the people Greg follows on twitter. This one will be dedicated to the more iffy people Greg follows. Some of these people very strongly suggest his true feelings on certain topics and it is quite interesting to me.

I thought the above account was anti-trump because how could it not be? If it is it’s because they feel trump isn’t enough of a white supremacist. They sound like a 15 year old’s guide to being an “edgy” anti-feminist on the internet. I’m not kidding, they combat actual racism with “wanting to be the victim”. They refuse to believe that any woman who accuses someone of rape is telling the truth. It’s such intense all-or-nothing thinking that even the borderline in me is wondering if this kid’s ok. It’s almost adorable really. Side note, Greg also follows Bernie Sanders.

Someone being Anti-sjw doesn’t mean that they’re a terrible person, someone saying this tweet in response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal is.

Also someone who is a known and documented racist raises a red flag in my book. Part of it I feel bad for though as much of her racism is internalised against herself. She also defends PDP’s comments even after Felix has stated himself that his comments were out of line. She’s also a Trump supporter (yet Cyr isn’t allowed to not vote Hillary, something he wouldn’t have done if he lived in a battleground state). She has a pretty terrible history throughout her youtube career which is quite unfortunate as I remember liking her tutorials back in the day

Not a super terrible person like the previous people but he probably contributes to Greg’s belief that all stoners are pathetic losers. Or is Greg’s comedic muse. I think that last one is potentially the worst

A parody channel of Hannah Minx. For fuck's sake Greg! You dated Hannah for two weeks many years ago and she broke up with you! Are you really still that obsessed that you're following a damn parody account? And then you actually collabed with her? This woman has played Jaclyn in an Onision video in August and then Hannah in a video two years ago (aka two years after the real Hannah left Youtube). Also, Hannah left youtube 4 years ago, Annah, why are you still parodying her? At this point it isn't a parody, you're literally copying her. I think she’s trying to be another Onision channel but also trying to make her own successful cosplay channel at the same time. Oh, she also made a 50$ gofundme so she could buy pizza for herself because she spent 300$ on ComicCon tickets for herself and her daughter and apparently her sacrifice is not being able to buy pizza now.

Already talked about Toby but just a reminder, Toby is a piece of shit

Preface on the next person, I don’t know enough about him to make any form of an opinion. The only reason I’m including him here is because his beliefs are totally against what Greg claims to be for.

This guy has a channel basically dedicated to be a counter to the arguments some people make on the left. Again, no idea about him as a person or much of his views, I just know Greg isn’t the type of person to subscribe to and hear out different points of view. That’s why I’m including him as an “iffy” follow. For all I know he’s just a conservative person and not racist or sexist in any way unlike Daddy Donald and I’m not about to assume the worst about him

#onision follows who?#anti onision

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bookofdan · 4 years

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The Trump-Biden Debate

via Wait But Why (waitbutwhy.com)

In case you missed it, here’s a transcript of the first Trump-Biden Debate:

Chris Wallace: Good evening. I’m Chris Wallace and I welcome you to what I predict will be a very bad personal experience for me. There will be six 15-minute segments, each on a different topic. At the beginning of each segment, both candidates will get two uninterrupted minutes to respond. The remainder of the segment will be open discussion. The audience has agreed not to be trashy. Both campaigns have signed off on these rules, so for sure nothing will go wrong. And with that, let’s welcome the candidates.

[CANDIDATES ENTER]

Wallace: Let’s start with the Supreme Court. President Trump, you nominated Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the court. You say the Constitution is clear about your obligation to nominate someone to the court. Vice President Biden, you’ve called this an abuse of power. To start, why don’t you both explain your positions.

Trump: Amy Coney Barrett is a perfect nominee. Conservatives love her. Liberals love her. Chris Wallace loves her.

Biden: Amy Barrett would repeal the Affordable Care Act. And besides, the new thing is that you have to wait until after the election to nominate someone.

Trump: Not sure what you’re talking about, because last I checked a presidential term is four years, not three. You want to instate Communist medicine.

Biden: I don’t want to instate Communist medicine. I want to expand Obamacare.

Trump: Your party wants to instate Communist medicine, and you’re scared of them.

Biden: I may be scared of them but I am the Democrat Party now, so even if I was and still am scared of them, I’m not anymore. They’ll do what I say now. And how about Covid? The president killed 200,000 people. Roe v. Wade.

Trump: You would have killed 2 million people by not banning China. Not Roe v. Wade.

Wallace: K let’s go back to healthcare for a minute. Mr. President, over the past four years you have promised to replace and repeal Obamacare, but you have never in these four years come up—

Trump: Yes I have.

Wallace: with a plan—

Trump: Of course I have.

Wallace: to—

Trump: Of course I have.

Wallace: replace—

Trump: I got rid of the individual mandate.

Wallace: Oba—

Trump: The individual mandate was a joke.

Wallace: macare.

Trump: The individual mandate was the worst part of Obamacare.

Wallace: I am the moder—

Trump: The individual mandate sucks dick.

Wallace: I AM THE MODERATOR of this debate and I would like to be treated as such. You have never come up with a plan to replace Obamacare. So what is the Trump healthcare plan?

Trump: I’m cutting drug prices. Insulin is like water.

Wallace: Uh huh. How about you Joe? Why do you want to end private insurance?

Biden: I don’t want to end private insurance.

Trump: You’re literally friends with Bernie Sanders.

Biden: No I’m not. I want to—

Trump: You’re a piece of shit Joe.

Biden: I want to make sure—

Trump: A sad little man.

Wallace: Stop picking on Joe, Mr. President.

Trump: You care deeply about Bernie Sanders. You like Communist medicine. Anyway I asked the doctors and they said Obamacare is a disaster.

Biden: He doesn’t have a plan.

Wallace: Changing gears, Joe some of your colleagues are talking about ending the filibuster and packing the court. What’s your stance on that?

Biden: My stance is that voting is good. Americans should vote. It’s easy. You just go to the polling place, you wait in line, and then you go into the booth, and you push the little switch down for the candidate you want to vote for. Sometimes it’s not a switch.

Trump: You gonna pack the court, Joe? Tell us about how you’re gonna pack the court, Joe. The radical Left is pulling your puppet strings Joe. You and I both know it Joe.

Biden: Shut up, man.

Wallace: This is going well. Okay next segment. Covid-19. There have been more than 7 million cases in the United States and more than 200,000 have died. The question is, why should people trust you more than your opponent to handle this public health crisis?

Biden: 40,000 people a day contracting Covid. 200,000 people dead. He has no plan. He knew in February. He lied. He panicked. He complimented China. He has no plan. He’s playing golf.

Trump: I saved lives. It’s China’s fault. You wanted to let Chinese people come here. Dr. Fauci and all the Democrat governors said, “President Trump did a phenomenal job.” And they’re not the only ones. All of the other people said it too. “President Trump did a phenomenal job,” they all said. I did a phenomenal job. The gowns, the masks, the ventilators, you don’t know how to make a ventilator, the vaccine is here, any week now. You could never have done the job I did because you’re a random old man. You couldn’t even do swine flu. Swine flu is a disaster.

Biden: He panicked. People died. And more people are gonna die unless he gets a lot smarter—

Trump: Did you just use the word smart? You lied about going to college at Delaware State. You were the worst student at Delaware State. You’re a dumb fuck Joe. I know it. Chris Wallace knows it don’t you Chris.

Wallace:

Trump:

Biden:

Wallace: Mr. President, you have begun to increasingly question the effectiveness of masks. Are you not in favor of masks?

Trump: Masks are tremendous. I have a mask right here in my pocket. I wear masks when needed. Masks have said I’ve done a phenomenal job. Joe wears masks even when it makes no sense. He wears them when he’s 200 feet away from me. He wears a mask when he’s sleeping.

Wallace: Mr. Vice President, is that true?

Biden: If you wanna open a business, you gotta have a plan.

Wallace: Sir, I was asking about masks.

Biden: Oh masks? Sure, you gotta have a mask.

Wallace: Alright next segment. The economy. Mr. Trump, you go first.

Trump: It’s a big dick economy.

Biden: No.

Wallace: Okay how about taxes. Mr. President, apparently you pay $750 a year in taxes. There’s a girl my daughter knows who’s 15 and she works in a movie theater on Sundays and sells the candy. And she pays more than $750 a year in taxes. So is this true, Mr. President? How much did you pay in taxes in 2016 and 2017?

Trump: Miyyons.

Wallace: Miyyons, sir?

Trump: Miyyons and Biyyons. I don’t pay taxes because the Obama administration said I didn’t have to.

Wallace: Joe, what’s your plan for taxes?

Biden: I’m gonna build this economy. I’m gonna make jobs. We’re gonna buy American. We’re gonna buy American ships. American steel. American buildings. We handed him a booming economy and he blew it.

Wallace: But did you actually hand him a booming economy and did he actually blow it?

Biden: Sure, whatever. He talks about the art of the deal. China has perfected the art of the steal.

Trump: China buttered your son’s belly.

Biden: China did no such thing.

Trump: And then, Joe? You know what happened after that? Your son went to Moscow. And you know what happened there Joe? Moscow buttered your son’s belly.

Biden: Nothing happened there.

Trump: Sure did Joe. The mayor of Moscow’s wife. She buttered his belly slick.

Biden: You wanna talk about families Trump? How about your family. With their grease and their shoes. It’s not about families. It’s about the American people. It’s about families.

Trump: Oh and how about Ukraine?

Wallace: You know what? Time to move on to—

Trump: Ukraine buttered the shit out of—

Wallace: Mr. President.

Trump: Ukraine buttered him up real good.

Wallace: Mr. President.

Trump: Shut your mouth Chris. What about Ukraine Joe?

Wallace: VAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Trump:

Wallace: Now I’m gonna say something and I want you to listen right to me, Mr. President. I have had it up to here with you. Any more misbehaving and I will put you in timeout.

Trump: And you know what else—

Wallace: I will put you right in timeout, Mr. President. And then you’ll be sorry. Now I want you to stop being a bad boy, is that clear?

Trump: How about him? He should get timeout too.

Wallace: Well frankly, Mr. President, you’ve been the badder boy.

Trump: He’s been plenty bad.

Wallace: For the next segment, we’ll be talking about race. Why should voters trust you to deal with the race issues facing this country? Mr. Vice President, we’ll start with you.

Biden: I’m all for race. It’s about equity. About equality. About equanimity. Equilibrium. Equinox. We need to fix the systemic equity of racism and fragility in this country. And this president has done none of that. He wants to fix the systemic equity of the Nazis.

Trump: The blacks love me. Everyone knows that the blacks love me. I have blacks come up to me on the street all the time and tell me they love me. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and I have done more for the blacks than Joe could ever dream of. Joe won’t say law enforcement. Why won’t you say it Joe? Why are you such a puppet Joe? You’re the radical Left’s toy. You’re a yo-yo. The radical Left won’t let you say law enforcement because they bounce you like a yo-yo, Joe.

Wallace: I want to turn to the subject of protests. In many cities, things have turned violent. Portland, for instance, is a certifiable madhouse. Mr. Biden, have you ever called the mayor of Portland or the governor of Oregon and been like, “wtf?”

Biden: I don’t have their numbers. Otherwise I would have. Do you have their numbers Chris? If you do, text them to me. And besides, they’re taking care of things just fine.

Trump: Yeah Joe? They’re fine? They’re literally murdering people in the streets, which is a disaster, and no one in Portland cares.

Wallace: Mr. President do you like or not like white supremacists?

Trump: No of course not. I don’t not like, or don’t not not like any of the people.

Wallace:

Trump:

Wallace: Mr. President, what is your message to white supremacists?

Trump: Get your guns but don’t fire till I give the word. Anyway the Left is committing 99% of the violence right now.

Biden: Oh baloney. Antifa is an idea, not an organization. I heard it means anti-fascist, in which case heck, sign me up. And anyhow who hasn’t thrown urine at an old lady on a bad day? The Antifas are just like you and me.

Wallace: I’m having an awful time here. I’m really upset and I want to leave and I’m having a bad, bad time. For the next segment, let’s just go with “why should you be president over your opponent?”

Trump: There has never been a leader who has done more than I’ve done. And I don’t mean just U.S. presidents. Mandela. Attila the Hun. Caesar. King Tut. None of them did as much as I’ve done. I unified this country. For the first time in U.S. history, I ended division. I have the first 100% approval rating. And how about judges. I have 300 judges. I have judges up the ass, Chris. You know why? Because Obama and crazy Uncle Joe forgot to fill the seats. Who does that. No one does that. You forget your keys, sure I’ve forgotten my keys, I’m human, we all forget our keys, sometimes I leave my keys. But leaving judges is a disaster.

Biden: This man has made the country weaker, sicker, poorer, fatter, sloppier, and slipperier. When I was Vice President I went head-to-head with Putin, but Trump is Putin’s little puppy. His cuddle-bunny. His bushy-bushy-boo-boo.

Trump: At least Putin’s not my sugar daddy, like he is to your son.

Biden: K speaking of that, fuck off. Second, you talk about the military being losers—my son was in Iraq and he was no loser, he was a patriot.

Trump: Which son, the loser or the dead one?

Biden:

Wallace:

Trump: I don’t know the dead one, but if I recall, the loser got thrown out of the military, dishonorably discharged for having a nice time with his cocaine, only to then head off on his famous belly-buttering tour.

Biden: His belly is dry!

Wallace: Oh for fuck’s sake. Let’s move on to climate change. Mr. President, what do you believe about the science of climate change, and what is your plan to confront it?

Trump: I want clean water and air. As far as the California fires are concerned, the forest floors are full of dead trees and leaves.

Wallace: Okay but what do you believe about the science of climate change?

Trump: I want clean water and air. I’ve planted a biyyon trees. We’ve got to pick the leaves up in the forest in California. Every year I get the call. California’s burning again. Because again they didn’t pick up the fucking leaves. You know in Europe, they pick up leaves.

Wallace: Joe?

Biden: I want to get rid of fossil fuel plants and invest in renewable energy. I want to transition to electric cars and make green buildings and create millions of new jobs.

Trump: He’s talking about the Green New Deal. The 55 quadrillion dollar Green New Deal.

Biden: The Green New Deal is a plan that’ll pay for itself. It’ll work great.

Wallace: Do you support the Green New Deal?

Biden: Of course not. I’m talking about the Biden Plan. Who said anything about the Green New Deal?

Wallace: Mercifully, we’ve reached the final segment of my extremely awful night. Election integrity. How confident should we be that this will be a fair election?

Biden: There is no evidence that mail-in ballots are problematic. Trump is trying to convince people not to vote. Listen to me America. Get out there and vote. If I get enough votes, this whole thing is over and the bad man can’t hurt you. It doesn’t matter what he says, if I get enough votes he’s legit not in power anymore, how rad is that.

Wallace: Mr. President?

Trump: A squirrel’s ass, Chris. That’s where someone found a ballot the other day. A squirrel shit out a ballot in a park in Philadelphia and a man picked it up and guess what? It said Trump on the ballot. Big shocker there. This is what happens with mail-in ballots. They end up in a trash can in a river in the woods in the backcountry and then eventually the trash can gets caught up in an eddy, we both know how eddies work Chris, and it washes up on the bank, and then a squirrel gets into it and eats the ballots. Half the country’s ballots have already been found in eddies and in squirrels, and all of them were votes for me. Mail-in ballots are a fraud.

Wallace: One thing we all know for sure is that this election is going to be a shitshow. Will you accept the results of the shitshow and tell your supporters to accept the results peacefully?

Trump: If there’s no fraud, yes.

Wallace: Is there any foreseeable outcome where you lose and you don’t say it’s fraud?

Trump: No. I’ve already talked about the squirrels. If I lose, we’ll need to end the country.

Wallace: Biden?

Biden: The country can go on if I lose.

Wallace: And that concludes what will end up as a stain on my career even though it clearly wasn’t my fault. Thank you, and goodnight.

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chicagoindiecritics · 4 years

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New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: MOVIE REVIEW: Irresistible

(Image courtesy of Focus Features)

IRRESISTIBLE— 3 STARS

Jon Stewart’s new film Irresistible holds a broad and powerful mirror up to the lies and guises of America’s election economy. Right when you think an outspoken personality like the beloved former host of The Daily Show is going to shout from his now-taller cinematic pontiff a chosen side or favorite, he remarkably doesn’t. This is an even-handed farce of finger-pointing where both political sides have dirty hands and the media in the middle is wholly and equally complicit. Stewart unleashes this cringing astonishment in a surprising movie that pulls your leg and also very rug right out from underneath you.

The political labels are coming at you for full exposure. If that’s a porcupine you try to avoid (astounding social acrobatics if you’ve got them), good luck. However, if you need a way into Irresistible consider the lyrics of heartland rocker and political centrist (who knew) Bob Seger’s 1978 hit “Still the Same.”

You always won, every time you placed a bet

You’re still damn good, no one’s gotten to you yet

Everytime they were sure they had you caught

You were quicker than they thought

You’d just turn your back and walk

You always said, the cards would never do you wrong

The trick you said was never play the game too long

A gambler’s share, the only risk that you would take

The only loss you could forsake/The only bluff you couldn’t fake

And you’re still the same/I caught up with you yesterday

Moving game to game/No one standing in your way

Turning on the charm/Long enough to get you by

You’re still the same/You still aim high

There you stood, everybody watched you play

I just turned and walked away/I had nothing left to say

‘Cause you’re still the same/You’re still the same

Moving game to game/Some things never change/You’re still the same

The simple song is a recurring background musical motif that echoes the deception happening from the red and blue directions of this movie with pure white citizens being manipulated in the middle. Between the insincere sameness of the bets, charms, aims, bluffs, tricks, and more, line after line of Seger’s ditty nails a piece of the duplicitous characters in Stewart’s film.

The guileful gamblers of Irresistible are political strategists Gary Zimmer and Faith Brewster played by the twosome of Steve Carell and Rose Byrne. Each are fantastically introduced during the 2016 national election in front of small gatherings of faceless press with their eager microphones, flashbulbs, and cameras. Letting you know exactly what kind of outrageous people they are and the type of movie that contains them, both proudly proclaim their job is to lie straight into faces. Their matching responses are delivered precisely as if it were one of the sterilized and scripted soundbites we tend to expect. Instead, it’s the veracity we never hear but should be able to decipher.

LESSON #1: SPIN WITHOUT SHAME— With their finely stretched fabrications, Gary and Faith relish this cruddy combat, veiled as “working with” not “working for.” Truth be told, they don’t value the people they’re collaborating with or studying. Both spin doctors blow off teachable moments with zero regrets under twisted mantras that state “people have to do shitty things in the service of the great good.” That’s the slime of supposed dignity they wash their hands through and shine their smiles with. If you don’t know the type, you’re falling for the fake shine.

The post-election hangover of Donald Trump’s historic Presidential victory has left the Democratic pusher Gary crushed and desperate to expand the base of the party so lacking in rural American support. When a low-ranking staffer shows Zimmer a viral video of a former Gulf War Marine Colonel named Jack Hastings (Academy Award winner Chris Cooper) standing before a city council meeting speechifying needed support for welfare programs in the small (and fictitious) town of Deerlaken, Wisconsin, his eyes light up. He sees “a Democrat that just doesn’t know it yet,” “Bill Clinton with impulse control” and “Bernie Sanders with bone density.”

Gary is so convinced he can make something of this utilitarian unicorn he travels to the swinging Badger State to turn him into a mayoral candidate. The completely city-slicking 2%-er who is used to getting his ass kissed and avoiding carbs jumps right into his awkward elbow-rubbing in the land of beer, streusel, cheese curds, and Carthartt. After coaxing Jack to challenge the incumbent Mayor Braun (veteran character actor Brent Sexton), word travels faster than the town’s dialup internet among the kindly denizens and a race is on.

LESSON #2: DOES EACH PARTY HAVE A TYPE?— Here come the warped “liberal” and “conservative” labeling assignments that demand side-choosing. Why? That’s because a duel between analytics and polling (personified by smarmy supporting turns from Topher Grace and Natasha Lyonne that could fill their own spinoff movie of competitive banter) reveal an alarming amount of trends and descriptors in every person. Chris Cooper, with his silvered mop and down-home cadence, is perfectly cast to be a principled fellow not bound by any porch-rocking. Anchored by his astute daughter and unofficial public barometer Diana (Mackenzie Davis), his character is fluffed up to become someone and something he is not purely for the sake of appearances. That created image moves needles, television graphics, and checkbook covers.

The full orchestra of Gary’s war drums draws national media attention to this humble hamlet as well sparks the invading arrival of the vapid bitch Faith to back Mayor Braun. Armed with their micromanaged minions, mucky millions, and salacious scalpels for scandal, the two rivals thrown down an oral sex wager to whomever’s candidate can win this parliamentary pissing contest. Let the zany pandering and placating begin.

LESSON #3: PATRONIZING IS A TWO-WAY STREET— Echoing Lesson #1, Gary and Faith’s professions are that of micromanaging shit shows. Inconsequential things are inflated to manufactured influences. The strategists do not care to connect unless there is an angle of personal or professional gain. The by-products of the wannabe geniuses thinking they are above their targets are perverted presumptions and massive condescension, with an emphasis on the “con” prefix. Not every hayseed is a mark. Plenty of fat cats are as well.

LESSON #4: THE INSANITY OF THE MONEY IN POLITICS— With the one-upmanship of “spend to start” and “spend to stop them,” the rinky dink stuff is soon over. Framed in comedic setups and montages, frivolous millions are poured into Deerlaken and the PAC influences crop up next. At a fancy fundraising party in New York, the out-of-his-element Jack mildly unloads on how stupid the preening glad-handing stage is. Even that emboldened and honest truth doesn’t change the deep-pocketed donors. No one bats an eye and that’s not good. The course of all this is a financial food chain all its own, one where, during the very telling end credits of Irresistible, a research subject poeticizes “money lived happily ever after reveling in its influence in politics.” The real question should be what shady sunset does the money ride off into.

LESSON #5: COMPARING THE END RESULT TO THE PROCESS— On the eve of the climactic election, Zimmer comes right to Hastings telling him his chase is about extremely simple math behind all the streamers, fireworks, and media mound. The goal is to outvote the other person by merely one vote. Screw all the analytics and polling when the ballots open. In his experience, the tawdry theatrics are forgotten when there’s a winner to celebrate. That is all the more reason why the perceived importance of the result, even for a small-town mayoral election, is maddeningly worth the quality of the chase.

LESSON #6: WHERE IS THE BLAME?— The cog of the dramatized machine in Irresistible that comes out the cleanest and most dutiful is John Q. Voter. The “fickle mob” public are the ones who must be discerning enough not to snort the spin or guzzle the cable TV conjecture. It would be easy just to slap a “satire” label on this movie and take none of it seriously. That would be a mistake. Stewart and company play us all because we, the people, deserve to be played. Yet, it still has a stance begging whoever is watching not be a part of any future blame. Color that as hope out of the shocking sarcasm.

There are places in Irresistible where the mockery is as thin as a pesky mosquito’s wings as it draws patriotic blood and passes on diseased ideas. Other spots are as thick as quicksand made with indomitable behaviors that seem insurmountable to rescue if this was the real thing. Preposterous is the point. If you think you have the movie all figured out when it debuts on streaming platforms on June 26th, you have another thing coming.

Bring it all back to Seger. The grand game is exposing the hypocrisy and Irresistible builds to the swindle of swindles to make this very valuable point, one prominently placed now in an election year. If you have an open mind, which can be a challenge for far too many folks on the swinging national pendulum of personal politics, you may come to enjoy the razor sharp cut of your Stewart’s biting jib. Irresistible becomes an immediate pre-election time capsule and a deserving place for rubbing our nose in our own shit, forcing us to see our gullibility, inaction, and ignored responsibilities before history repeats itself… again.

LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#891)

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