#whoomp for the win

[whumpforthewin]

2023 Year of Whump - Restrained with Belts

Ah… I meant to have this out much sooner… whoops. I’m still going with the Year of Whump Prompts but imma jump around. Thank you for your patience.

“Wake up little one.”

Liam jolted awake nearly falling out of his chair in the process. He took a moment to frantically look around. He was a large dining room, there was food in front of him, and Sylas just off to his side.

“Good, you had been out for a while, wouldn’t want you to sleep through breakfast,” Sylas said. His voice was deep, soothing. If he wasn’t lying Liam would assume it was to keep his prey calm before he killed them.

Liam shied away from that thought. He couldn’t, he didn’t want to think about that right then.

The next thing he realized was that he was tied to the chair and wouldn’t have actually fallen out of it. The chair solid. He couldn’t tell if it was bolted to the floor or not but it would take serious effort to move it. Effort he wouldn’t be able to muster.

There were leather straps with belt buckles on the arms encircling wrists and he could feel similar on his ankles.

“Breakfast?” It didn’t feel like he had been sleeping that long. Although sleeping in a cage wasn’t all that pleasant so it wasn’t a surprise he didn’t feel rested.

“Oh course, you need to eat so that I can eat,” Sylas flashed a smile at him, Liam refused to believe he saw fangs. Sylas was just a Crazy coworker that kidnapped him.

“How, how can I eat with these on?” Liam asked tugging and rattling the binds. Half to make a point and half to test their strength. And there was no way he was breaking those straps.

“Not to worry.” And Sylas picked up the fork and stabbed a home fry. The thicker hashbrown did smell good and Liam’s stomach decided to rumble at that time. But he kept his mouth closed.

“Now don’t be like that, little one. I don’t want to hurt you. Which means you need to eat.” He offered the potato again.

Liam turned his face away and gasped at the sudden pain in his neck.

“Ah, you’re feeling it this morning. I told you I drank from you last night, before you had awoken.” He reached for Liam’s neck and Liam cringed but all Sylas did was brush his fingers over Liam’s throat. “I wanted to see the wound so I didn’t heal this one like I had been. So you’ll be sore. But not to worry, you’ll get used to the feeling.”

“I don’t want to, just, please, I won’t go to the police, just let me go. You’ll, I‘lol just leave you alone, please,” Liam begged. He had never had a stalker before. But he couldn’t imagine getting away from them was a smart thing if they wanted to be close to the person.

And he realized he was right when Sylas’s lips tilted into a small frown. Then he sighed. “I had hoped you wouldn’t resort to this. But it seems you need some time. That’s okay. I’m a patient man.” He set the fork down and pushed the food back.

Then he walked behind the chair and Liam only had a moment before he was dragging the chair back. He yelped and jerked to look at him. He wasn’t even straining with the heavy chair.

“I’m going to keep you in here,” he said pushing open a door to a dark room. “I’m nearly done with your room. Hopefully I’ll be able to move you into it tonight or tomorrow. Perhaps some isolation will do you some good.” He dragged Liam in the small room.

Liam jerked and tugged on the restraints. “Wait, no, Sam, Sylas, we can talk about this. Please, let’s just—“

“Good day, little one.”

The door clicked shut plunging Liam into darkness.

[p-redux]

Hi P, long time follower here. I guess it was inevitable that more people would order a copy of Cait and Tony's marriage certicate since it's a matter of public record. Besides @brian-in-finance there's another blogger, I think they're a shipper or former shipper but I'm not sure, named @hurleyburly who posted it earlier this morning on Tumblr. It is a picture of the copy on a table. No doubt that it is real. Oh and they didn't redact all the info like Brian did and it shows Tony's father's name and I remember on your old Twitter I think it was when you were posting your Tony family friend source info you said that Tony's father's initials were J.P. and that's what the certificate shows! You're proven right once again lol. At this point, I don't know how any Shippers can deny Brian didn't photoshop anything and Tony and Cait are definitely married. And Sam's past girlfriends have been real. The truth has been there all along but they just refuse to accept it. Anyways, thanks for still being here, I don't know how you've done it. Truth does win out I guess.

Hi Anon, I woke up to 4 Asks with this same info about another blogger posting their copy of Tony and Cait's marriage certificate. Thanks for letting me know. I went and looked at @hurleyburly and sure enough, it is a very real copy of the Tait marriage certicate. I'm not going to reblog because I've already posted and it seems like overkill, but people can go look for themselves. Whoomp, there it is AGAIN. And it does put a smile on my face when I can add another ✔ next to something I said sources told me years ago and it's proven true. Yep, Tony's father's initials are J.P. JUST LIKE I SAID.

As for me, I'm still here because I knew I had the truth on my side all along and eventually it would come out. And it has. So, so satisfying. And also I'm a bad bitch who doesn't scare easily. Obvi. 😙

I'm going to go make a big tub of popcorn and laugh and laugh at what Extreme Shipper Tinhats will come up with this time to justify their faux ship.

[justthishumanheart]

i have this stupid condition that is so frustrating. for whatever reason, my body has decided that my intestines are no longer my own, but now some alien entity that must be destroyed at all costs. it is all maintained by daily medication that I will take the rest of my life. i had a very stressful october and november, and the toll it took was to drain me of more blood. my vampire self will be going in for a couple rounds of blood in the next couple weeks along with an iron infusion (which if you’re anemic, it’s seriously a miracle worker). when one loses a lot of blood, much of the body starts to change quickly. it causes tinnitus that is pretty loud, restless leg syndrome (which means I can’t sleep), a yellow pallor to my poor skin, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite, loss of sensation, loss of taste and smell, loss of air to the muscles, and very very quick muscle fatigue.

so yeah, super sad blah blah blah. whatever. don’t cry for me argentina. this isn’t a cry for pity so hold on haha. so my daughter’s dance crew does this yearly daddy/daughter dance night before valentine’s day. i have been a bit nervous about this because i was really worried about making it through the full hour of dancing that was coming up. but there was nothing that was going to keep me from going.

we get there and stretch and warm up and i’m already out of breath. the only one haha. this is difficult for me. i’m not used to it. i had endless energy before this disease. this is so strange a thing to happen. we get through warm ups and i’m feeling ok. breathing hard, but ok. then starts the dance battles. all the old 90s moves vs the daddy/daughter team on the other side. we nailed it of course! by the time we end i’m about done. heaving breathing, trying to keep muscles from the cramping that’s already happening by stretching outside in the fresh air where i can take my mask off. i’m just drinking in air at this point haha. my offspring turns to me and really quietly so no one can hear, asks if i’m gonna be ok and if i need to rest for a bit. i grab her water bottle, down what’s left, and tell her we got this. fist bumps and back in. 

she’s one brilliant kid man. just shines so bright. i’m so proud of her. we had to say our favorite thing about the person we came with. she chirped right up with me having the best taste in music. which...obviiiii. for her my favorite thing is how brave she is in confronting her fears. she has killer anxiety. it keeps her from doing things she wants to do. but she overcomes it at times. and when she does man...she’s lucy in the sky with diamonds shining on like crazy. 

it’s my favorite thing because i am not so brave in confronting my fears. but i did tonight. i took a page from her book, showed up, and gave it my all. danced like death was watching. he looked angry too. as we cabbage patched and sprinklered and running manned around the room the whole thing was a big fuck you in the face of death. some day he will win. but until then, I will not go gently into that good night and into the dying of the light. i go dancing. boisterously. gregariously. to loud, cheesy 90s hip-hop. with my daughter by my side. so what do we say to the god of death? not fucking today...whoomp there it is because this is how we do it ;)

[dramajib]

Tunnel, Episode 1, semi-live-tweeting-esque thoughts.

This show is starting out not at all with the vibes I was expecting. Which just has me worried that all this meet cute gruff exterior adorableness is going to implode, soon, in the most spectacular fashion.

It hasn't escaped my attention that the sleazy reporter dude refers to the victims of the killings as "women in skirts", and that Yeon Sok, is, in fact, a woman in a skirt. But surely the tragedy isn't going to happen this soon.... right?

Whoomp. I didn't consider the little sister angle. On the one hand I'm glad our meet cute is still intact, but on the other hand I am a sucker for platonic relationships, and am sad we aren't get to see this one more.

I already love the constantly vomming maknae (I only wish this character had been a girl so I could have thrown some "OMG SHE'S PREGNANT who is the baby daddy" speculation in the mix) and am not thrilled by this huge guilt trip he's been thrown.

Okay, turns out Gwang Ho is a good sunbae who tries to (gruffly) knock some sense into his maknae.

I was relieved when the doctor said the time of death was before Chun Hui's boss spoke to him, but I also appreciated what Gwang Ho said about it not really making that much difference - because realistically you can't save everyone, and you can't let each inevitable failure break you, because that means letting the bad guys win.

Also, I will be thrilled if the serial killer is a woman after all. Hey, a girl can dream.

So for the sake of a recap, in the rest of the episode, Gwang Ho basically forces his boss to admit there is a serial killer on the loose, after finding dice marks on the victims feet. They're missing victim number 5, but he does find a rich high school student with a giant backyard of dead murdered dogs, and he's making his behavioural analysis jumps and connecting the dots that his peers aren't trained to/don't want to.

He knows, and we know, that the creepy student did it, but we can't quite prove it yet. So he heads off to canvas the crime scenes again, and we circle back to the opening scene of him getting his head bashed in.

This episode managed to put in two instances of foreshadowing that ignited completely opposing reactions in me:

No, thank you very much, I am not looking forward to him not coming back to take you on this Han River cruise for your birthday and not bring you roses;

But hot damn if I am not two thousand per cent here for watching maknae become the chief and Gwang Ho having to work for him in the year 2017.

If he ends up in maknae's son's body I am going to need several moments to gather myself.

Other general thoughts from this episode:

I LOVE the 80s scene shots - Gwang Ho dejected after the funeral, walking home in the rain, the funeral itself, the city before its been built up... just gorgeous.

I can't wait to see what sort of stupid symbolism this whistle necklace is forced to play.

That flickering lantern better have a purpose in driving the plot forward.

I don't think I realized when I picked this drama up what a stellar cast it has. Or perhaps that's why I added it to my list in the first place, and then forgot in the ensuing years.

And on that note I am going to bed. As much as I'd like to start the next episode right away, this one took me about 3 hours to finish, because I kept pausing in between for dinner/tea/a shower/cleaning up/general adulting. But I have no plans for tomorrow (apart from watching the last episode of Youn Stay) so fingers crossed I come back to this drama.

[flusteredmountainman]

Bullet-pointed predictions I have for each of the new 3 routes

For like an in-depth prediction I did of Muriel’s one a couple months back see this old thing

So a huge commonality in the first three’s arcs (as I mention in that linked post) is reconnecting with family (both found and blood) and so I first and foremost think that this will be present in each LI’s route; I’ll go into more detail on what I think this will look like for each of them individually, plus upright/reversed end speculation based on the definitions for their patron arcana.

***Spoilers for Muriel, Portia and Lucio’s routes so far and references to Nadia, Asra and Julian’s routes***

I’ll start with Muriel because I’ve already talked to his route the most and I think it’ll be the easiest place to start!

Muriel:

The role of family in his route:

Obviously as we’ve seen so far, Muriel has a lot of unresolved feelings of abandonment, shame, self-loathing and loneliness associated with his family and the fact that they’ve abandoned him. 

He’s already had the very beginnings of opening up to MC in his last book (The Hermit - very fitting), and he will perhaps continue to do so

I think a central theme for his story will be reconnecting with his family and hearing their perspective on what happened for two reasons: firstly because of one of the options for MC’s response to this discusses that he actually doesn’t know his parent’s reasoning and that maybe they Did want him, and the second relates to Nadia’s route and her arc with reconnecting with her sisters

In her route, similarly she vents about how annoying and patronising her sisters were throughout her life and you can either agree or posit that maybe they were just trying to help/showing they cared about her (reversed vs upright choice)

I’m also hoping he generally creates a stronger support network - I think at least Portia, Nadia and Asra (and maaayyyybe even Morga but that might be pushing it) will end up helping him and MC in the confrontation with the devil at the end - just based on who we’ve seen interacting with him the most in positive ways so far

Upright meaning: Look inside yourself for the answers you seek. Take time for introspection in the days ahead.

He’ll recover from his trauma, recognise himself as a person who is deserving of love and support and who has Needs (including like. a bed. lol.)

Honestly I don’t have a lot else to say ‘cept that bc I said it already so kjaefjef check my aforementioned post if you want More for my favourite man

Reversed meaning: Be wary of retreating too far within your own mind. Others still have valuable things to share.

He decides that he needs to handle the confrontation with the devil alone - probably erring more on the side of self-sacrifice than anything else and/or seeing his sacrifice as just (still blaming himself for his trauma, he believes that his only way to “Redemption” is by falling on his own sword, so-to-speak)

Portia:

Oof, Portia’s a tricky one so far.

The role of family in her route:

So, obviously she has a lot of baggage with Julian. Some of this is hinted at just around her arcana’s definitions, but I’ll get to that soon.

She’s a compulsive secret-hoarder and collects information about everyone around her. I think this is probably a hang-up that she has around control - or loss of it. She doesn’t have security or wealth or even anyone to permanently look after her/mentor her (Julian left and Lilinka - her adoptive grandmother - passed away leaving her to fend largely for herself).

I think that information is the one thing she feels that she has control over, because so much of her life has been out of her hands (and also just chasing Julian around trying to clean up his messes)

She’s literally a head servant as her job -so much of her life is being told what to do and also telling others what to do. I think she fears loss of control in her life, but she’s also never been in a position where she’s been able to be an active agent and do things just because she wants to do them. 

She craves validation, safety, and support and that’s why she found herself in this employment role with Nadia - and even then in Nadia’s route (and her own), she’s terrified that Nadia will abandon her in a heartbeat - even though she literally nursed her for years and has been nothing but loyal. Girl has some Mad abandonment issues

Edit: Portia ultimately blames herself for the people around her leaving and thinks that people will only stay if she can be useful in some way - hence why she so doggedly pursues Julian's innocence because she thinks the only chance she has of him staying is if she can literally fix his mess

Largely I think her arc with her family will be about her feeling emboldened to be honest about her feelings and letting Julian know in a meaningful way how much his absence impacted her, but also realising that she Actually Can lean on Mazelinka (who she obviously loves but has made Many excuses as to why she’s too busy to see her - probably again a thing of “if I control when and where I see you, then I can’t get hurt in this relationship”), Nadia, and probably also Asra and some of the other servants even?

Upright meaning:  Believe in your inner light. You may have endured great hardship, but it only makes you shine brighter.

Idk man lol this is honestly quite vague. 

I think this will prolly be a similar thing to Muriel - just specifically confronting that Yes, she’s had a hard time of it but she shouldn’t let that impact her quality of life

Also probably a lot of stuff around her realising she’s worthy of love as a person and that the people who love her won’t abandon her

Reversed meaning:  Now is not the time to despair. Keep believing and let your star shine bright. The world needs you

Again.... aefkjfkae...... very vague.....

I think she won’t be able to let go of her fear of abandonment generically - or alternatively will perhaps? Try to bargain with the devil? I could see a similar thing happening with her that happened in Nadia’s reversed end - perhaps she believes she can save the world/MC by offering her servitude to the devil and being beholden to him? This is Fully a reach, I honestly have no idea :P

Lastly, Lucio:

Don’t worry, I’m not dunking on him lol. I don’t like him but that doesn’t mean I don’t have Thoughts about his route.

The role of family in his route:

Well. This one is clearly quite literally maybe the messiest out of these three (I mean that literally, in terms of, the amount of blood lol)

Obviously, he has a lot of baggage with both of his parents. I’ll disclaimer and say that I personally don’t see Morga as abusive - that doesn’t mean people can’t - but I’m making speculations specifically about their relationship just based on the in-game context clues we have and nothing else

As a person, Lucio is ultimately obsessed with power and attaining it. He’s clearly insecure and is desperate for any sort of validation, which is made messier by his natural sense of entitlement. This combination means that he chronically chases power, thinking that leadership means being able to do whatever you want to do with no consequences (e.g. in his route and also in Nadia’s when he briefly discusses killing people as count/countess) - and especially he thinks that if he has the power, the wealth, and the status then he’ll get the validation that he desperately craves. 

As count, he throws lavish parties and spends a lot of time with the vagabonds in the south end - trying to win petty devotion and admiration with meaningless shows of wealth meanwhile his people are starving and suffering in the flooded district. He just wants to be popular at the end of the day, he doesn’t care about actual leadership or using his power for good, unselfish reasons. He claims his people love him, but it’s hollow, ornamental love based upon flash, not substance

Morga as a parent is harsh - she’s critical and derisive at times, but it’s also clear that she does love her son (specifically how she says she spoiled him by never letting him get hurt). Lucio as a teenager grew up somewhat spoiled and expected that power would fall to him by virtue of heritage from his mother when he came of age. 

I think that Lucio didn’t get what he needed from Morga necessarily as a kid, and as a result he craved that first position of power because he saw it as a source of validation he hadn’t previously had - and when it was denied him, he became resentful and even murderous towards his parents. 

Woof, long fucking paragraph. I do think that Morga and Lucio will end up reconciling in his route somehow. I think it’s central to his character and to filling the void inside of him that he learns that you can’t buy people’s love - also just because his whole story and entry into the world was sparked by that essential conflict with his mother. I think it would feel weird narratively if that weren’t at least addressed - whether or not it ends in reconciliation

Upright meaning:  Shake off his veil: you are not trapped. There is always a way out of even the darkest places.

I think that this will be a redemption arc for Lucio. I think that in order for him to be redeemed he’ll have to relinquish the devil’s influence over him - which will involve addressing the wrong he’s done and apologising/trying to atone for it (whether or not other LIs accept his apology is another thing - as they all have very valid reasons not to)

I think the “way out of the darkness” for Lucio is in giving up his quest for power. He will learn that it’s ok to just be Lucio as a person, that he can be vulnerable and responsible for himself, and that people will love him as he is and not for the way he throws his money around

Reversed meaning:  It is time to clean house: purge the things that harm you from your life. Take back your power.

Now this literally includes the sentence “take back your power” so. whoomp there it is. Lucio can’t let go of his power-hunger and becomes even more selfish and self-righteous.

I think also unfortunately this will mean he will literally probably kill some if not all of the other LIs, and also (especially) his mother. He will see anything that challenges his power as opposition to be removed, and he will rule (alongside the devil? who knows) in chaos and blood.

Ookey!! kajefnkae glad I got that out of my system. If I missed anything/if people have their own ideas/thoughts I’d love to hear them! Have this giant essay lol, we’ll see if anything I predicted comes true in the next several dozen updates eh? B)

[pastrytown]

character list: bunster and buck

send me a character

LONG POST UNDER CUT

Bunster

favorite thing about them : OH It’s his logic 4 shore.... Like “Obviously heaven is terrible for a guy like me, everyones too happy!” (Goes to hell)

least favorite thing about them: Oh he’s too persistent. Any type of challenge or bet/deal he wants to come out on top of. He’ll do anything for the thrill of winning and that’s prolly like... His main addiction.

favorite line : Anytime he’s like “WHY. would you do that” to Tippy and just quickly follows up with “Right, eternal torturer. Make my life worse.” LIKE anytime he falls back into ‘Tippy is my best friend who happens to be an asshole’ 

brOTP : Tippy or Rinko like theyre both very good as friends

OTP: Bunster/Buck 

nOTP: Bunster/[REDACTED]

random headcanon: I guess it’s canon because i licherally write him but, he’s FUCKED alot w his soul we’re talking about seeing if he can cut it or blacking out memories he doesn’t like which, is a terrible Idea. Really.

unpopular opinion: uuuhHhh I geuss that I Think his ending should be him getting got Like he’s escaped SO MANY DEALS it’s justified that he’s gonna get a Big Bad Comeuppance.

song i associate with them: Curses -Crane Wives Hell -The Squirrel Nut Zippers (the video is VERY Bunstercore) / Turn off the lights-Panic! at the disco

favorite picture of them:

This one is gonna be a fav b/c it came from when I was figuring out Bunster outside of being my sona!! (even if the Gaia Bunster is different from Tippverse Bunster whoomps)

Buck

favorite thing about them : Him trying to ground toon logic like the slow shift from “What?????” to “Oh okay. I guess I’ll just accept this” TO “Okay I’m gonna try this toon logic stuff”

least favorite thing about them: He’s the opposite of Bunster in terms of Persistence, If Bunster’s the unstoppable force Buck IS the immovable object so when he gets depressed/gives up on anything HE HAS GIVEN UP!And it’s :(.

favorite line : “....Be quiet” (said with worry)

brOTP :  I WANT him and Rinko to be friends again but

OTP: Bunster/Buck I ALSO LOVE pre[REDACTED] Rinko/Buck I just ;___;

nOTP: Uhhhhh (spins wheel) Buck/tippy

random headcanon: He doesn’t even notice it but he has an infinite cigarette carton is infinite, now if he realizes that it’s infinite it’s gonna run out. Oh for softer, he goes to sleep last and is a light sleeper at that, prolly do to fear/paranoia of being attacked when his guard is down.

unpopular opinion: Buck wearing his mask yet going by his real name when fighting crime shows how dumb of the ass he is

song i associate with them: The Sadness Runs Through Him- Hoosiers  / Cops and Robbers- Hoosiers / Hungover in the City of Dust - Autoheart

favorite picture of them:OH THE SMOOCH SKETCH YOU DID BUT I CANT POST IT TILL YOU POST!!!

[davidzschwartz]

"whoomp! (there it is) - self para.

D.C., Jan 2008.

“Why isn’t anyone talking about this?”

“Shut the fuck up, Schwartz.” David is pushed out of the doorway by Linekar, short and stocky with a bark of a Pitbull’s, and he motions for David to follow him with his index finger. “You’re going back to LA.”

“Los Angeles?! Why?”

“Boyle quit. Obama-Clinton debate is yours.”

All anyone cared about were the elections. The Politico, a new and modern venture hoping to revolutionise the way politics is covered by devoting solely to national politics with video cameras, couldn’t afford to waste resources on corruption allegations that came from questionable sources. Even if they could be backed up to form a some-what credible story, David would probably lose his job for spending his time on something other than the elections. Better to catch Obama stepping out of the airport, flashing a smile with a wave of the hand than report a possible charge against a Representative no one cared about.

“You got your passport?”

“Yeah.” The alternative is unheard of, but David checks for it anyway. In this moment, he makes what would become the gravest mistake of his life: he takes the column snippet and folds it into his passport.

In this moment, his obsession begins.

D.C., June 2008.

“Who the fuck is that?”

David ignores his colleague’s question as Wayne takes the liberty of hovering over his shoulder, rummaging through his file.

“Julian Berkeley? I thought Harris told you to kill it.”

“It’s after hours, Wayne. How I choose to spend my free time is not up to Harris.”

“Not just your free time though, is it?” Wayne retorts smug as ever, shooting David a wink. He skims over the articles, barely interested. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were some psychopath after Berkeley.”

Irritated, David rolls his eyes, finally looking up from his laptop. “Can I help you, Wayne?”

Wayne drops a file on David’s desk, flashing a winning smile as he walks towards the door. “You’re on the Senate elections now. Say bye-bye Obama.”

D.C., September 2008.

Getting dropped to cover the Senate elections from the presidential elections may have been a hit to the ego for most, or a stall in the career, and for David it was both but more. There was a silver lining, after all. More time to follow the investigation, closer observation of Berkeley during his Senate campaign.

By now, he’s gathered enough information, sensitive information, to cover one whole wall hidden by a big wall hanging that avoided awkward visits to the bedroom. However, most of it was circumstantial.

On his lunch break, he tried to call the judge assigned to Representative Julian Berkeley’s corruption case, again. They’ve been nice enough to grant him interviews, multiple ones at that, but David wanted more. He wanted to see if they’d be willing to work on an arrangement; one which they’d exchange any kind of information that wasn’t yet public, specifically names.

“What do you mean?” A shiver goes down his spine. “What do you mean, he’s dead?!”

L.A., November 2008.

If David was supposedly obsessed with the case before, then it is all he lived and breathed for now. And he is astounded at how little attention it received. Was he surprised? No. They got rid of a judge, they could get rid of the press. Not everyone, though. Not him.

Once again, David is back in Los Angeles covering the Californian Senate debate – Berkeley vs Cogdill.

Perhaps it is his fault for getting too involved with the case, letting his personal feelings cloud his judgement as he’s arrived at the venue with vengeance. He watches Berkeley debate like a machine. He’s almost impressed. After the last round, David moves with an almost violent motivation to hound Berkeley to get the answers he deserves. What the judge deserves.

Video camera in hand, he carefully manoeuvres around the crowds of voters, security and staff to wait in the hallway outside Berkeley’s waiting room for his return. One question: “please can you comment on Judge Purnell’s death”. It would be straightforward, simple. Over the past week, David has been rehearsing it relentlessly. It would be enough.

However, the roar of passion fills the venue once again and Julian Berkeley enters the scene. Step by step, David sees deeper into Julian’s eyes. There’s nothing. He can’t find the callousness he’s been looking for. Paralyzed, he’s rooted to the spot, standing in front of the door.

“Excuse me,” Julian says with a smile.

A pause. “Apologies, Mr. Berkeley,” David mumbles before stepping backwards.

D.C., April 2019

More then 10 years later, there aren’t enough wall hangings to cover the walls.

He doesn’t need it either. The mappings are so ingrained in his mind David could almost recite every little detail regarding the dismissed charges against Berkeley. Up until this point, he used to be able to describe every statement, every transcript, every record without being able to link it back to Berkeley.

Not anymore.

David can hardly believe his ears as he listens to the voicemail. Phone logs, emails, and now this. All the muscles in his body freezes much in the same way as when he first saw Berkeley’s empty smile. This was everything he ever needed that would tie all the tails he’d found from 2008 until now to Julian Berkeley.

From the statements for the corruption charges in 2008 to the plane crash of the appointed judge that same year to paying off media outlets and getting his charges fully dismissed in 2016. How the fuck could this guy sleep at night?

There’s a twist of the stomach; a horrible, sickly feeling as the realisation creeps into David’s bones at the lengths he’s gone to obtain this information. Lengths that aren’t perhaps ethical, or legal, and could result in him behind bars along with Berkeley. Lengths that cost him months of rent and most of his savings. Was it worth it? Yes.

David spends the next following nights writing up a report, not a story, on everything he’s learned so far regarding the Berkeley case. He realises there are a few details he cannot remember, like the colour of the judges walls or the colour of Berkeley’s shoes. Once completed, he hails a taxi. It drives straight past Politico’s office and straight for the Oval Office.

A few years ago, before the case was fully thrown out, David attempted to publish the story with what he had. To no surprise, it was blocked by the editors once again due to lack of credibility. It was a reach, they said. Apparently, everything David had to back his claims were purely circumstantial, which he didn’t believe at the time. However, now, with the mountain of gold shit on his lap, he understands why they didn’t want to publish the story. This is is what they wanted. But this, with the way things stands, once handed over, Politico and the Oval Office are both going to want David to explain how he got to these conclusions. However, one had already denied him the chance of exposing the truth, he hoped the other would prove more dedication.

Fixing his visitor badge to sit parallel to his shirt pocket, David looks up as a staff member – the secretary? He can’t quite remember – finally approach him.

“Mr. Schwartz,” she greets. “What can I do for you?”

“You need to show this to the Madam President.” David is blunt, a little too much perhaps, which even stuns the staff member. He hands her the file and report, regardless.

“What is it?”

“Highly classified information. She’s going to want to see it.”

“May I ask what it is about?”

“Is she in?”

“She is.”

“Will you give it to her straight away?”

“If I know what it is about.”

David pauses. He wipes the sweat off his forehead and takes a deep breath. “It’s about Mr. Vice President’s corruption charges.”

[jdmainman123]

Yeah and I saw the reason why he built these 3/4 all because of the gay speed boat

AGAIN IS THAT THE CALL YOU GUYS OUT OF BLACK SKIN FAMILY ARE RUNNING THE ENTIRE FACILITY FULL OF 3 FT 4-IN KIDS BUT ANOTHER FISH LAKE INSULTS

You know let's be honest with ourself this guy built it with the intention of just hurting kids

BUT I DID SEE THE SPEED BOATS AND oh we're going to retract our statement and speed boats aren't power yachts are power like 50 ft A SPEED BOAT VERSUS A YACHT A YACHT WOULD WIN BY A LANDSLIDE IN A RACE

Whoomp there it is

NOTHING FUNNIER THAN SEEING YOUR DAD WHITE TRASH FAMILY ON A FISH LAKE DRIVING AROUND SPEED BOATS and I'm building a new 3/4 facility to hurt all these kids for it

I WOULD HAVE KILLED MY PARENTS IF THEY DID THIS TO ME BUT I THINK YOU BLACKS ARE TOO STUPID IS WHAT THE REPORT SAID

[whumpforthewin]

2023 Year of Whump: 1 - Caged

I am going to make this a series. Idk if I’ll do it weekly but I am going to try. Happy 2023 Whump Community!

He woke up slowly, head pounding so much he figured he had hit it when he passed out. How much did he drink last night? He hadn’t gone that hard since college.

“Ah you’re awake.”

Liam whipped his head around to the voice, which was a mistake. “What, what happened?” He groaned.

“Yes, you may be feeling some… side effects. I assure you they will ware off.”

Finally Liam got a good look at his surroundings. And the first thing he noticed didn’t make sense. He was… in a cage? Second he noticed the other person in the room.

“Sam?” Liam’s mouth felt like cotton as he tried to speak. Theo was wearing a suit, not unusual but he felt… off. He was holding himself differently.

“Actually while you’re here please, refer to me by my actual name, Sylas,” Sam, or Sylas?, said calmly. He seemed to speak differently as well. Liam hadn’t had many conversations with him but he’d had a few.

“Okay… what’s going on? This, this isn’t funny,” Liam as as sternly as he could.

“Oh, it’s not meant to be funny. You see, I saw an opportunity so I took it. Your blood has been singing for me for months. But I’ve only taken a little. Made you forget immediately after. But now, I couldn’t resist. I needed to have you.” He made his way over to the cage and Liam scooted back as much as he could. “And now I do. The cage is a precaution until I get your room finished.”

“Y-you’re talking crazy,” Liam whispered. “You, you sound crazy!”

“No, no, dear, I sound like a vampire.” And Sylas grinned, showing off his sharp canines and he eyes flashed red.

“No, no, no, no. That. Vampires aren’t real, you’re just, you’re a crazy guy that kidnapped me!” Liam started to rattle the cage until Sylas slammed his hands down on it make Liam jump.

“I can assure you we do. But I drank from you last night, so I’ll give you some time to calm yourself.” Sylas stood up and flicked off the lights.

“Wait, wait! You can’t leave me in here!” Liam shouted.

“Good night, little one.” And the door shut.

Liam started gripping the cage and rattling it. He jerked on the door. There was a padlock, he wasn’t breaking that.

He slammed his shoulder against the wall. He wasn’t sure what else to do.

All too soon he was sore and tired. He slumped against the side of the cage. He would figure it out after a short nap…

[dreamcatcher1stwin]

Pentagon!!

WHOOMP THERE IT IS

fan or not: HELL YES they are my ult bg!!!!

how long i’ve been a fan: Since a bit after Like this era started

the first song i heard by them: Can you feel it! 

my favourite song as of now: HIKARI I WON’T STOP SCREAMING ABOUT HIKARI but since that’s a japanese release, for a korean song my fave is Off-road

the first mv i saw: Can you feel it

my favourite mv as of now: aghhh????????? Like this has to take this win

who my bias is: BABY HYOJONG HE HAS MY HEART

[jakeguentzels]

Last season our song after wins was Walking on Sunshine. This season? Whoomp There It Is.

[jos-corner-of-the-world]

Wonho - Overwatch

“Guys! GUYS!” Wonho said, running into the living room.

“What?!” Kihyun asked, jumping a little from his spot on the couch.

“The Overwatch tournament is on!” Wonho said, grabbing for the remote.

“Okay, and? You’re the only one here right now that wants to watch it so watch it in your room.” Hyungwon said, not letting go of the remote.

Not wanting to miss anything, Wonho ran to his room and fired up his laptop.

Opening the Twitch website, Wonho smiled at seeing the tournament as the featured stream.

Wonho has liked Overwatched since it’s release last year.  After competitive teams started surfacing, he started watching different ones to find a favorite.

One stuck out to him more than anyone, if for the name only, at first.

“Alright, we’re a few minutes away from starting the best of five finals between fan favorite Lunatic Hai, and underdog Monster eX. MX comes as somewhat of a Cinderella story in this.  Barely beating out every one of their previous competitors to make the playoffs.  Then showed tremendous team work in the playoffs, sweeping their series to make it into the grand finals.  Monster eX also has the only female competitive player from this series so far. Y/N is the team captain, having founded the team only weeks after the release of the game last May.”

As soon as the camera left the announcer, your face popped up.  Your team was on the stage behind all of your designated computers, and the camera man happened to be on you at the moment.  You smiled and gave out a few peace signs before winking cutely to the camera before it panned away.

Wonho felt the fanboy in him rejoice.

He smiled to himself, feeling proud of you, even though he had never met you in person.

Is this what our fans feel for us when they see us? He asked himself.

He grabbed his phone and sent out a tweet from his personal account.

“Currently watching OW tournament. I know who I’m rooting for, how about all of you? MX fighting!”

He set his phone down on the table and turned his full attention back to his computer.

The first two maps were dominated by Lunatic Hai. Wonho had never felt so intensely about a video game, as he did when he was watching you play.

He kept going back to his phone, tweeting out words of encouragement to your team.

Some of the guys came and went as they watched it with him, but Wonho was glued to his computer.

He was getting more and more excited as the time went on.

The third map could have been the last one, but Monster eX came back from behind to win it.

The fourth map was dominated by Monster eX and before Wonho realized it, they were on to the final map that would decide it all.

Wonho had put his laptop on his desk and was pacing around his room, unable to contain all of his emotions.

“You’ve got it bad” Changkyun said, walking into the bedroom.

“What?” Wonho asked, not tearing his eyes from the screen.

“What are the chances that you meet her?” Changkyun asked him, watching him pace.

“This isn’t about y/n.  This is such an intense final,  you have no idea.” Wonho responded.

“Yeah, and why are you watching it at all?”

“Because of yn of course.” Wonho said, before realizing he’d finally admitted it.  He’d never actually said why he started watching Overwatch so much, but they all kind of guessed.

“Whoomp, there it is.” Changkyun said, laughing as he walked back out the door.

Wonho was jumping up and down in his room, excited for grand finals outcome.

“Holy shit! That was so good!” Wonho yelled into his empty room. His attention was drawn back to his computer at the sound of them announcing the trophy ceremony.

“Well, we’re here with MX and Y/n.  How did you guys come back from 0-2 to win the finals?” the announcer asked.

“Great teamwork. It sounds cliche, but without communication, your team isn’t going to accomplish anything.  I prefer to play tank with Winston, but Lunatic Hai is such an amazing team that I knew for the last 3 maps I needed to play support instead, because they’re really dominant and get kills easily. So I switched to Mercy and that was kind of a turning point.” you said, smiling widely at the trophy.

“Coming into this tournament, you guys were pretty much unknown in the competitive world.  You have been playing as a team since launch, but this is your first time doing a tournament, how do you feel about getting that win?”

“It feels great.  We wanted to be solid as a team before entering into tournaments.  We thought, the more experience we had under our belt, the farther we would go.  I think it was the best decision for us a team to wait. I can’t thank the team enough for all the hard work we’ve all put in and how much of my crap they’ve had to deal with.” you said.

“Alright, last question.  Is there any meaning behind the name of your team?”

Wonho’s interest was peaked tenfold.  He knew it was more than likely just a coincidence that your name was Monster eX, but now he really wanted to know.

“Do you want the real story..or the story the guys came up with?” you asked, smirking at the rest of your team.

“Oh, this should be good...what’s the real story?”

“Oh, that’s simple. I’m a huge Monsta X fan.” you said shamelessly.

Wonho’s mind was blank.  There was no way that he had heard correctly.

“You’re talking megastar group Monsta X?” The announcer clarified.

“Absolutely.  When I first got the team together, I already had the name in place.  I thought it was just going to be a fun way to pass time, but then we started gaining popularity on streaming sites and in the game.  By that time, it was too late to change the name.  Sorry guys.” Wonho watched you turn to the rest of the team, giving them a huge smile.

Wonho wasn’t sure what he was feeling.  It was a mix between joy, and for some reason, anxiety.  He had been following your team for a year, and now he knew that you were just as much of a fan of his as he was of you.

“Funny you should say that, we’ve been following twitter feeds on the tournament and Monsta X’s Wonho seems to be a fan of your team.” the announcer said.

“No shit?!” you said, before realizing you’d swore. “Sorry.” you said, not sounding sorry in the slightest.

Wonho laughed lightly to himself as he continued to stare at the computer screen.

“There are multiple tweets from him...such as...MX fighting...You guys got this...and lastly, that’s the best ending to a tournament I’ve ever seen, y/n as Mercy is the way to go!”

“I honestly don’t know what to say to that.  It’s both exciting and slightly embarrassing to know that. Because now he knows I’m a fan of his also. So, um, just gotta say..MX FIGHTING!” you said, pumping your fist in the air.

Wonho watched you on his computer screen in a state of awe.

“Y/n, your fangirl is showing” one of your teammates said.

“I don’t care. This is the best day of my life.”

Mine too Wonho thought to himself.

“We did a little research and found out that Wonho is also a fan of Overwatch.  He’s said in many interviews that he likes playing in his spare time.” the announcer said.

“Yeah, I’d heard that. If you’re watching Wonho, hit me up sometime. I’d love to challenge you to a 1v1 mystery duel!” you said, knowing it was probably a long shot.

“Oh, we have a challenge.  Can’t wait to see if anything comes of this.  Once again, congratulations to Monster eX on their first tournament victory!!”

The stream had cut away from the team and back to the announcers, but Wonho didn’t notice.  He was too busy looking up the contact information for your organization.  He was never one to turn down a challenge.

Part 2

[parkerbombshell]

Addictions and Other Vices 660 - Time Warp 1994 Part 3

Addictions and Other Vices 660 - Time Warp 1994 Part 3 BOMBSHELL RADIO TIME WARP Saturday's 8am-10am EST bombshellradio.com Repeats Sunday 2am-4am and 2pm-4pm EST This week on Bombshell Radio we Time Warp into 1993 Part 3 two hours of selected tracks, This is Addictions and Other Vices 660 - Time Warp 1994 Part Three I hope you enjoy! "I do believe Marsellus Wallace, my husband, your boss, told you to take ME out and do whatever I wanted. Now I wanna dance, I wanna win. I want that trophy, so dance good." Loser / Beck Linger / Cranberries Because Of Love / Janet Jackson Anytime You Need A Friend / Mariah Carey I'm Ready / Tevin Campbell Stroke You Up / Changing Faces Come To My Window / Melissa Etheridge Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) / US3 Because The Night / 10,000 Maniacs Gangsta Lean / DRS I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) / Meat Loaf Funkdafied / Da Brat Can We Talk / Tevin Campbell Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm / Crash Test Dummies All I Wanna Do / Sheryl Crow Return To Innocence / Enigma Said I Loved You . . . But I Lied / Michael Bolton Shine / Collective Soul Any Time, Any Place / Janet Jackson And On And On / Janet Jackson Shoop / Salt-N-Pepa Please Forgive Me / Bryan Adams When Can I See You Again / Babyface 100% Pure Love / Crystal Waters Whoomp! There It Is / Tag Team Read the full article

[typhlonectes]

Suggestions on how we win back the country from the Right

‘Data-Driven’ Campaigns Are Killing the Democratic Party

Over four straight cycles, Democrats have suffered historic losses. Why? Because they learned all the wrong lessons from Obama’s success.

For four straight election cycles, Democrats have ignored research from the fields of cognitive linguistics and psychology that the most effective way to communicate with other humans is by telling emotional stories. Instead, the Democratic Party’s affiliates and allied organizations in Washington have increasingly mandated “data-driven” campaigns instead of ones that are message-driven and data-informed. And over four straight cycles, Democrats have suffered historic losses.

After the 2008 election, Democrats learned all the wrong lessons from President Obama’s victory, ascribing his success to his having better data. He did have better data, and it helped, but I believe he won because he was the better candidate and had a better message, presented through better storytelling.

Yet despite losses on top of losses, we have continued to double down on data-driven campaigns at the expense of narrative framing and emotional storytelling...

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/data-driven-campaigns-democrats-need-message-214759

It’s Time to Give Up on Facts:  Or at least to temporarily lay them down in favor of a more useful weapon: emotions.

Several years ago, when my last name was different and my politics were less entrenched, I worked for a nonpartisan fact-checking site. We analyzed falsehoods in political speeches and ads and email forwards: No, there won't be death panels. No, Sarah Palin didn't cut funding for special education. Yes, Obama was born in America. No, he wasn't in the video for “Whoomp, There It Is.”

We called many of these “zombie rumors”—we would try to smack them down, but a few months later, there they would be again. Over the three years I worked there, more and more zombie rumors massed at our door. We just kept plugging away, calmly stating the facts, because that was our job, but inside our well-insulated office we were screaming. What was the point of working so tirelessly to uncover the truth when the falsehoods never died?

But it’s never going to work. Facts are not the opposite of lies. Indeed, to defeat lies, we may have to—temporarily, in a targeted way—give up on facts... 

Read more: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science                    

*** Don’t think of a rampaging elephant: Linguist George Lakoff explains how the Democrats helped elect Trump

Democrats played into Trump's hands, Lakoff says — and they won't win until they learn how to frame the debate

George Lakoff didn’t start off in the world of politics. He was a founding father of cognitive linguistics, starting with his 1980 book, “Metaphors We Live By“ (co-authored with philosopher Mark Johnson). The book showed how immediate, concrete experience — bodily orientation, physical movement, and so on — structures our understanding of more complex and abstract experiences via “conceptual metaphors” such as “Consciousness Is Up,” “Love Is a Journey,” etc.

Facing the rise of Newt Gingrich in the 1990s and bewildered by how he and other liberals could not make logical sense of conservative ideology (what do gun rights, low taxes and banning abortion have in common?), Lakoff found an answer in conceptual metaphors derived form two contrasting family models explicated by Diana Baumrind as authoritarian (“strict father” in Lakoff’s terms) and authoritative (“nurturant parent”), as described in his 1996 book, “Moral Politics.”

His 2004 book, “Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate,” drew on a wider range of cognitive science and gained a mass audience, but failed to fundamentally change how liberals and Democrats approach politics, as was richly illustrated by the recent election of Donald Trump.

But Lakoff is nothing if not persistent, and has penned an election postmortem like no other, “A Minority President: Why the Polls Failed, and What the Majority Can Do.” It rearticulates the arguments of his earlier books...

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2017/01/15/dont-think-of-a-rampaging-elephant-linguist-george-lakoff-explains-how-the-democrats-helped-elect-trump/

[leoxrobertson]

Bettering yourself, part 7: making something

There is an epidemic of low self-esteem across the globe. It’s not endearing if you don’t do something because you’re underconfident—it’s just irritating. It’s failure by default, which means you reach the point where you would irritate people less by making the thing you’ve always wanted to make, even if it’s a fucking monstrosity, than by moping around with inertia.

I would say the real fear is not the quality of the product you haven’t made but whether or not you’re bothering people, by making them look at you or whatever.

I just received feedback for a short story I wrote about an artist. Another writer said it was interesting she (the artist character in my story) wondered whether or not her art was doing anything at all, let alone about to receive an award. I thought, ‘An award? Why would he say that?’ Then I remembered that most people who make art probably imagine a big crowd of people cheering around them, some golden statuette in their hands, long before the piece is finished. I used to have that illusion, of course, and losing it was hard work, but it’s gone now. Instead, I simply think life is better when you do the thing than when you don’t, and I’m not saying that’s good enough for me; I’m saying it has to be. I have to accept the reality of the situation and use it to my advantage, rather than hide away from it and pretend it isn’t going on.

There are central truths about making art, and every artist must choose how they personally respond to the questions. What’s the point? What if it fails? What if no one notices? What if I don’t win the competition? What if I do but I’m far from the best anyway and I know it? Now, many people might comfort themselves by saying the realisation of these fears is unlikely. They might say, ‘But you never know! You might be the best, win the thing, make the point in the way it hasn’t been made before.’ Fair enough, but I think the more interesting answer is to the following question: Say the worst happens—how do you proceed anyway? Answering that question is what gives an artist persistence, which may well be their most important feature. And no talk of success or failure: I’m a firm believer in “You only fail if you quit”; and yet that doesn’t necessarily mean you succeed by persisting, does it? I don’t know.

I don’t mind how the artist answers the questions, but I will be concerned if they haven’t addressed the questions at all. I don’t have time for the art of someone who isn’t conscious of the world around them. But whether or not someone acknowledges these questions and chooses to find an answer to them—either explicitly or otherwise (if you paint a painting, it’s implicit that you think there is a purpose to its existence, for example, whether or not you sat and asked yourself if there is)—these questions still exist in the universe.

So say you make the thing: you could still fail to get it in the right hands of people. But how do you know whose hands it’s supposed to be in, given that we discount how complex other people are? You can’t fundamentally know one way or another, which means you always run the risk of pissing off a few people. I get it: but that doesn’t mean don’t try and find your audience afterwards. Maybe only every tenth person is a keeper, fine. Haruki Murakami said managing a bar prepared him for writing, because even if only every tenth customer returned, eventually he had enough of a clientele base to run a business. But rejection and the difficulty of securing an audience aren’t unique to the writing world.

The universe is 71.4% dark energy, 24% dark matter, and 4.6% STUFF. Physicists might be excited by what’s in that 95.4%, but not me, ahaha! I mean, you’re one in seven billion, occupying this little space on Earth, which is some infinitesimal percentage of the stuff we can see, which is only 4.6% of the stuff there is, and you’re so concerned with your own personal destiny, wrapped up in your everyday bullshit, miraculously, as I say, but way too much. Just make the thing, please. Just go, whoomp, there it is. A little less nothing in the universe. That’s pretty damn neat.

If you really can’t do it, who cares? No one asked you to do it anyway. Now doesn’t that thought suck? So don’t think it; just make the thing!