#(because a lot of people haven't seriously thought about their vote before)

[gryffin-who-cannot-fly]

[ID from OP: a tweet by @JeremyPoxon, posted Nov 6 2024, that reads "[guy whose country is about to elect Peter Dutton] can't believe these idiots voted trump". End ID]

I hope y'all don't mind me adding on, but I've been doing election campaigns for years so I wanted to share some stuff.

first of all yea definitely vote 1 green! your local greens candidate will also have a "how to vote" card which might be helpful if you aren't sure which conservative fringe parties are better or worse than the Liberals, so keep an eye out for that when election day rolls around.

but also - if you really want to have your say in the future of the country and help mobilise people to be a progressive force for change, get involved!

if you want to get involved in election campaigning, the greens are ALWAYS looking for volunteers. just 3 hours per fortnight of your time could be invaluable for your local greens campaign. the greens run a candidate in every seat, because even where there's no chance of winning, having a lower house candidate is a great way to get people to vote greens in the senate - and the greens nearly always get senate seats.

volunteering for the greens is easy and fun, and I promise I'm not exaggerating by saying that. there's all kinds of different campaign activities whether you want something active or that you can do from home, it'll connect you with all kinds of people from across your community, and it's really rewarding to know you're supporting a movement that really genuinely cares about making a difference.

if you happen to be in victoria you might be able to achieve the same thing with a socialist party, but I can't really speak to that and anywhere else the greens are 100% the most legitimately outcomes-oriented political group. in victoria it depends on how fractured the socialist movement currently is lol.

if election campaigning isn't your thing, definitely look into volunteering for local activist groups campaigning on issues that matter to you. climate, free Palestine, homelessness, environment - you name it, there's people working on it and they need volunteers. if you live regionally they might be harder to find, in which case you could connect with people in your nearest city online and/or start something locally yourself.

basically, while voting is great, if you want to achieve change you have to change how other people vote too. that means getting out and campaigning, meeting people where they're at, talking to them about what concerns them, and linking those concerns to the greens' progressive, evidence-backed policy. and you'll probably get some free pizza along the way, greens campaigns look after their volunteers.

some links:

volunteer for the greens ~ https://greens.org.au/volunteer

greens policies ~ https://greens.org.au/policies

join as a member! ~ https://greens.org.au/join

p.s. the greens are still looking for candidates so if you join as a member that might be an option, especially if you have a background being involved in your community or in advocacy. just be aware that greens candidates that will actually be elected at the next federal election have already been preselected, so the ones remaining aren't 'winnable' seats. non-winnable candidates are really valuable though, both for providing a platform to talk to voters about progressive issues, and to get voters to vote greens in the senate where the seats are winnable. plus, a high greens vote makes Labor nervous and they adopt greens policies when that happens!

I'm so scared guys I'm so scared

[archivalofsins]

It's been a good while since the end of trial two and a lot has changed in the fandom overall. Even more will change over the course of trial three. I think in this area of uncertainty and impatience it's easy to forget everything that transpired.

Admittedly I'm kind of proud of my growth over this period of time and how the experience has impacted how I interact with fandom and the internet overall.

Not to sound incredibly old fashioned but I think there's still much to unpack from trial two before heading into trial three. So, the down time between the end of trial report and now has been greatly appreciated.

A lot happened.

Haruka's broken 50/50 as people highlighted the risks of him remaining unrestrained not only to himself but others.

People stating that anyone voting Yuno guilty was a pro-life conservative, politicizing her trial as pro-life pro-choice debate. Even going as far to state that Milgram was a sexist series for including her at all.

Futa's was just funny because it was a bold faced admission by the audience that they were in fact too much like Futa to properly judge him. Amongst other things.

Mu's trial was a bunch of people politicizing it in the opposite direction using a bunch of right wing buzzwords like calling it fake news, for some reason bringing race into it from headcanoning her victim as half black, then victim blaming like her victim attacked first so she deserved to die.

Shidou well fuck we need a doctor so go off king. Like it wasn't even about him it was about Mahiru I know who I really cared about here. I couldn't give one singular fuck about Shidou even now. Oh he might hurt Kotoko I don't give a fuck if he does his doctor role what he does in his off time is his business. Nobody was thinking oh my god what about the harm the guy with the medical degree can do to others here when they voted him innocent nobody cared. Like honestly he has a medical degree he can do a lot of harm but that wasn't our problem or main concern.

Mahiru ah see he hung himself and he's probably a cheater anyway. Yes some people thought it was justified to drive a man to suicide for being unfaithful. That was a weird hill for some people to build a house on but they did. I don't know a lot of people just conveniently forgot women cheat and can be abusers as well. I don't know how some forgot that but I wish I were them.

Kazui the guilty shrine- seriously a shrine? Really... Oh also men shouldn't be allowed to get divorces because it makes women look bad. Isn't that what abusive husbands were saying when women wanted divorce rights and fought for things like no fault divorce wild. No one was thinking there yeah go on cook me nothing that would be better than the poison you're trying to disguise as feminism. It'd be less detrimental too.

Amane's second trial really was like,

"Sure her mom kills cats and beats children but we can't forget she's a cult survivor too and being a parent is hard."

Bro as someone with an abusive single mom who did some shit and went through some shit um no that's not an excuse. You can't just go parenting is hard get me my taser or my childhood was hard too it's my turn to beat kids. Like not tobring up Oshi No Ko again but the Amane trial really was just chapter 141 to me in real time (read it because that got messy later in).

"She had to live through the cult too. She was having a hard time as well what about her upbringing? Do you know how hard it is to raise a child by oneself."

Her husband was at work not dead what the fuck did y'all mean by this???

What were these takes? Nobodies trauma gives them a free pass to traumatize others- wait we'll get to you hold up put those dogs back where they came from! She's a single mom of one girl meanwhile the woman with two sons and an absent doctor husband. Not doing any of this shit. She was my rock Shidou says fully meaning it. Yuno mom two kids haven't heard a word about her killing cats or beating kids. Wild it's like it's pretty easy to choose not to do the things she did. Every other shit parent here did decide to be shitty Amane's mom included.

Mikoto oh suddenly your trauma does excuse how you responded to a situation. Work hard, such sad boy. Yeah I can believe the stigmatized version of dissociative identity disorder in this one niche situation. Japan is so backwards of course they'd still write it like this they don't know any better. So, of course the other alter is the evil one and Mikoto is still the goodest of boys- Also dissociative identity disorder isn't real unless you have a certain number of alters that act x specific way that's why there has to be this many.

With a tiny hint of if the child is guilty let's just kill this man too~

Fuck Mikoto he's had it too good. Bitch could have went home in fact we see him do it in the video! Where the fuck was Amane gonna go the streets?! We saw how that worked out in her video. Snitch ass streets, if these streets could talk- Don't worry with snitch advisory they can even if you don't want them to!

Kotoko well if you think she's bad then you don't have real trauma. Also grooming can only be sexual actually I heard the term from twitter and never looked into the act of doing this ever outside of that context. God don't even ask me to define groom as a verb.

So on and so forth. It's been a lot and this all just shit I personally experienced.

Trial two showed us one of the worst aspects of humanity,

Our ability as people to use our own experiences as the blueprint for all life.

Our stubborn commitment to seeing something only one way. Because that's always been how we've seen it. That's always been how it was. Milgram trial two and the audience for better or worse put the definition of closed-mindedness on full display.

Regardless of how inclusive, progressive, or forward thinking people believed themselves to be in the moment. We saw what a commitment to only one way of thinking could cause and who it ends up hurting. I think trial two can teach people that even the most progressive leaning individuals can cause harm.

Even those who want to support marginalized individuals or are marginalized themselves are capable of causing harm. Because when we convince ourselves that the only voice that matters is our own we silence, belittle, and ignore the experiences of those around us. It doesn't matter what politically correct framing a person attributes to their belief if one is being closed-minded it will still harm others and the movement they're purporting to care about.

It will more than likely do more harm to the people one is attempting to help the most whether that is themselves or others. That's the only thing being closed-minded can do.

[icarusredwings]

TW: Mentions of SA

Not my usual content.

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Me: *Wakes up* Ah what a wonderful day! Surely nothing bad will happen today!

The news: Did you hear about Neil Gaiman?

Me: Oh, What about Neil? I love Ne-

The news: He's been accused of SA

Me: ....

The news: Twice.

Me: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!? SINCE WHEN!? WHY!? HOW!?

In all seriousness, SA is NOT a joke, and I suggest you do your own research on the case. This being said, as someone who is a victim of SA, this is not something to be taken lightly. It's all just so unfortunate, especially seeing as I looked up to him greatly as many people did.

It's okay if you are in shock, it's okay if you still enjoy his work (You can be a bad person and still write well), you can know that the author has done wrong and still enjoy fictional charaters. You can not know how to react and decide to leave a community. It's okay if you decide to wait for more information. It's okay if you take time off social media.

It's okay if you want this all to be fake. Its okay if you want this to be all some sort of fucked up political sham. You are allowed to be sad, you can feel guilty, you can feel pissed and you can feel betrayed.

That is all okay.

What's not okay is attacking those who aren't sure how to feel on the matter or those who are waiting for further information.

What's not okay is attacking those who will continue to enjoy his work (because contrary to popular belief, much like the music community you can watch/read without directly supporting the writer, such as libraries who probably already have his discs and books)

What's not okay is thinking "he would never do anything wrong" because no matter how famous someone is, they are capable of wrong.

What's not okay is shoving REAL VICTIMS under a rug and choosing to be blissfully ignorant because of a show you like. (While I haven't seen it, I have a feeling there's going to be people out there that will want this to go away for the sake of his shows alone)

And whats not okay is demanding his friends make a statement or immediately accusing them of sidding with an accused rapist. They do not owe us anything. For all we know, they had no clue. They are people, too. They deserve time to process and possibly grieve their friendship just like anyone else.

My personal take:

(not that it matters) is that, while it IS a little suspicious that this is being released right after the beef with the prime minister and David Tennant, as well as the same time as UK voting, and the fact that this wouldnt be the first time the goverment has used trans activitsts as pawns during election, This does NOT mean that i'm defending anyone!! I personally am right on the fence. If this had happened any other time then election time I would believe it right off the bat, but this is the part that's making me feel on the fence. There's an uneasy feeling in my stomach about the whole thing because in the US I've watched so many people be accused of all sorts of things during elections and 2 weeks later the same people who accused, admitted they lied for elections. So personally, I'm sitting this one out for now. Im waiting for more information. For now i'm sitting with ultimate betrayal and disgust at the thought of him doing something like this, because I've been in the spot where no one believed me. It's rough. Especially when you are young and the other person is much older. Even if this does turn out to be false, I still don't think ill be able to look at him the same way I did before.

General PSA disregarding the case:

In the US, there are politican ads on how a local senator "hates hospitals," which clearly isn't true. No one in their right mind would "want to defund hospitals".

This being pointed out, try not to immediately believe everything you see on the internet (especially around election times), and don't let them win. We know a lot of politicians' goals right now is to hurt thriving LGBT+ spaces.

Unfortunately, Neil has greated several of them with Good omens and Sandman, being in the top 100 influence writers list, our fandoms are huge and seeing how happy we all are makes the torys and many other transphobes MISERABLE.

If we are making them this upset by just drawing angel and demon pride art, that means we are extremely powerful as a fandom. It means we have a voice. Use this voice for good. Don't let these bigots tear us down just because they can't stomach the amount of happiness we have.

TL;DR: I stand with the victims, period.

If this is true, Fuck Neil, i feel guilty for ever looking up to him as a writer. If not, it's unfortunate (but not suprising) that they're targeting David's friends. Your feelings are valid, You can hate the creator and still have a loving community. They hate a loving community because all they have is hate ❤️

[milgram-confessions]

It's very annoying to see people discuss Amane innocent voters right now as though they're being really pushy about voting her innocent. When the day her video dropped, people voting her guilty boiled those voting her innocent down to being cult supporters and said voting her innocent because she was an abuse victim was a reduction of her character. Despite literally every other trial being reduced to one thing on some level. I.E Shidou's trial being reduced to his usefulness in the prison if prisoners continue to get injured. Yuno's case being reduced to a pro vs anti-abortion debate etc.

Actually, most innocent voters are capable of being annoying as hell, but the fact that the line is being drawn at people actually engaging with the story of religious trauma and abuse with seriousness says a lot. All the prisoners are murderers so making their cases about anything other than the crimes/sins they've committed is a reduction of their characters and stories regardless of how it's done. It's not Amane Innocent Voters fault that some people find the prospect of the twenty-nine year old man being taken out by a twelve year old funny, but simply put that's not the only reason people are voting Amane innocent.

Like it's funny the guy wanted a death sentence from a child since he got in here and now he's going to get one whether he wants it or not. That's like the perfect example of comedy and karma. Also if Shidou is so helpful within the prison why haven't we seen Mahiru in the Portal Timeline since she got a wheel chair and why has her health been increasingly implied to be getting worse instead of better despite her care increasing?

It's super odd to me that a broken arm and leg take six to eight weeks to heal, but it's been several months since the attacks, yet Mahiru seems to have been regressing instead of progressing. Now needing two constant caretakers and around the clock attention. So, I'm doubtful about Shidou's quality of care. He's killed his patients before and has stated he can't stop, and now Mahiru is his patient. So Amane warning her about bringing death onto herself may not have been entirely incorrect.

Shidou is the worst person to get care from. He is in here for malpractice. I don't understand why people are trusting him to do a job he already failed to properly do before now while simultaneously deciding to attach his safety and ability to possibly commit malpractice again onto another person's verdict. Especially when whatever Amane has planned is frankly beyond us at this point, and the verdict may not even impact said plan or her ability to implement it.

To me, at the end of the day, it's about judging the sin/crime. Trying to play five d chess isn't going to work here. Those are just my thoughts though.

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[useless-catalanfacts]

Is anti-Latin American xenophobia as common in the Catalan Countries as it is in Spain? I think the fact we share a common oppressor is interesting but I haven't seen a lot of support for Catalan independence where I'm from, for some reason (or maybe I'm not looking in the right places?).

I can't answer this question because I don't know how common anti-Latin American xenophobia is in Spain, so I can't compare. When it comes to systemic xenophobia, it's the same, because Spain is the one who makes the laws about immigration and who can access what, so it's the same legal system.

When it comes to political matters though, it's true that Catalan politicians and public opinion often argue in favour of Latin American countries. For example, in favour of getting paid reparations for colonization, many Catalans refuse to celebrate Hispanity Day to honour colonization (Spain's national day, October 12th), and there was a huge scandal when the Spanish king refused to apologize when Mexico asked while it was praised by many in Spain including the most voted party in Spain PP. (Actually, something weird happened with that. Two of the most famous public figures in Catalonia -the comedians Òscar Andreu and Òscar Dalmau- on their late night TV show in Catalonia's TV made a song making fun of the Spanish king and saying he's an asshole who will always refuse to apologize for his ancestor's crimes. The song was sung directed to the Mexican people and basically saying "don't you know this guy is an idiot who refuses to apologize when he's wrong, a proud ignorant who will never accept reality" things like that, sang in a ranchera. And somehow -seriously, I still don't understand how, it couldn't have been any more clearly on Mexico's side- it got misunderstood in Mexico and lots of Mexican news channels talked about it as if it were making fun of Mexicans for asking for the forgiveness. When it was openly saying that not asking for forgiveness was so basic and criticised the king for not being able to do even the bare minimum. That was a weird time, I can only think that it might come from people who found it not knowing who the Oscars are and that they do humour, but even then it's still difficult to understand how they didn't understand it as being in their favour, maybe satire is difficult to translate through cultural barriers? or maybe they thought this topic is so serious it shouldn't be joked about?. Anyway, anecdote over.)

When it comes to personal bigotry, I don't think xenophobia aimed at Latin Americans is particularly present here (Moroccans, followed by Romani people and Romanians, are the people who racism is usually aimed at), or at least I've never encountered it myself, but I'm not Latin American so I'm less likely to ever have heard it than someone who could have it directed at them. The only case I can think of is one of my friends, who is originally from Bolivia, who got insulted being called a Moor once because some racist assumed she was Moroccan for her looks. But I also have two friends whose family is all Catalan and they've also been called Moors before, so I don't think this happens more to Latin Americans than locals. However, I'm sure it exists, because sadly there's bigoted people against all kinds of people.

I don't know, I'm sorry I can't answer you better!

As always, if any Latin American Catalan or anyone else has something to add, please feel free to add in a reblog or in the comments. I would also like to learn more about this.

[kitkatopinions]

i wish people would understand that RWDE isn't a "community" lol. we are individual people who have issues with RWBY and we use a specialized criticisms tag for the show since the community can't handle criticism well. 

i've seen people in RWDE shit talk sun and tai and other faves of mine, and i just ignore and move on. why? cos i don't have to agree with every single criticism in the tag. it's crazy that folks keep thinking we're some sort of hivemind as if we haven't addressed that and debunked that a million times.

The way that people talk about rwde as if it's an organization with meetings where people who get officially sworn into the club vote on what we're allowed to think and we discuss our secret plans to bring down RWBY... It's honestly uncomfortable. And the way that they then act like they get persecuted for liking rwby themselves is also wild.

I've said this before and I'll say it again:

I follow rwde posters who I sometimes disagree with or who ship things that I personally don't ship. There are rwde posters I don't follow because I disagree with them on a lot of things. There are rwde posters who I've blocked for opinions I found stupid and/or bigoted. Other rwde posters have blocked me and though I'm not sure of the reasons, I just assume that they have them and move on. I've gotten in fights with rwde posters before (leading to blocks,) and I've gotten in plenty of debates where we more or less agreed to disagree. There are tags I have filtered out specifically because I personally find the criticism to be a bit much sometimes, like for instance I have 'anti blake belladonna' content filtered out.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And on the note of anti-rwdes acting like they get persecuted for liking rwby... Never in my whole time posting in rwde have I actually seen someone saying that no one should like or watch rwby. I've never seen it happen. I've seen pirating encouraged, I've seen people say that if you're still buying merch from RT than you're not a good person, I've seen people say they think that rwby fans need to be willing to critically look at the media they consume instead of blindly supporting everything in it without thought. But I've never seen someone say that it's wrong to like or watch rwby. Anti-rwde people just randomly invented that rwde posters have this secret vendetta where we secretly hate anyone who likes rwby without proof.

it's frankly ridiculous.

The RWDE tag - once again - is a courtesy tag used in order to keep rwby criticism separate from the main tag and easily filtered out for the fans that don't want to see criticism. But I am seriously so frustrated by all this shit lately that a part of me thinks we should just ditch 'rwde' altogether and come up with our own new thing. We shouldn't all be getting harassed and bullied and we shouldn't have white knight defenders trying to purge us from the fandom, and we definitely shouldn't get idiots who have no idea how 'tags' work and treat us like a hivemind with enforced opinions when that's clearly not the case and clearly isn't how rwde works.

[asmrtist-brainrot]

Give me any and every Scythe thought. I want to see if our thoughts are matching up (the video notes are kicking my ass)

First of all, I haven't been looking too hard at the YouTube hints that Scythe left in the community posts, so I had no idea about the puzzle apparently leading up to the announcement???

Also, video notes?

I was on the polls for the first universe to travel to so.... I did end up voting for the World of Witches because I was curious about how he'd handle the Siren.

Jay-Jay is my baby, one of my favorite bois, and I'm really worried about him, and I've been so on edge since the beginning of this whole thing.

I've been trying not to post anything about the Patreon stuff because Maverick's got hold on most of Scythe's social media right now.

I might know a lot of things y'all don't but I'll keep them to myself unless you wanna go into DMs for it.

(Putting it under the cut for the people that haven't listened to the Reddening yet. :3c)

I've been crying about Marcus for forever, I am very sad. He ded now but hasn't stopped me from simping before, so, I guess it doesn't change much?? Seriously, I have so much suppressed brainrot for him, and I am devastated he is gone.

I would have also loved more Cole because, well... He was just a silly little guy, and he was really funny. 😭

I also kind of got like a separate idea of how the World of Witches storyline will go, but it's more my interpretation. More so, the forward move for Creed and the Chosen Witch.

I feel so badly for Creed, man, this is gonna be rough.

I'm happy Siren had the mind to just... Fly away because he's got self-preservation.

It's interesting to know that Maverick can overpower Celestials.

... And strong enough to blow up a planet! (It actually feels very DragonBall Z.)

I really liked Killian and Sparkles too, so I'm sulky. I'm kind of relieved Blaine is okay, and very interested where Dominic and the Goddess of Decay will shoot for after they find out Zappy is gone. :T

Maverick had literally dropped into the Demon Hunter universe just to get Hunter to unravel and fucking off elsewhere is a little funny.

Also the small bites of...

[MatPat voice] LOOOORE.

//clears throat

Sorry about that.

But uh, also live for the thought Scythe is just angrily floating in a void - it brings me so much amusement.

He was literally just chilling in his home, and Maverick just yoink.

But anyhow, finding out who Maverick's shooting for next made my heart fuckin' drop.

~ Dari

[balladedutempsjadis]

I saw Jawan today and ...

The last film I saw on a big screen was Ponniyin Selvan, Part 2, and before I went to see Jawan I had a talk with myself. "Self," I said, "although I don't know much about this movie, I know that it is not directed by one of India's greatest directors, nor is based on a classic series of novels, nor is the sequel to the previous film which had well-developed, memorable characters even in smaller roles, played by extremely good actors. So do not expect, Self, that this will give you the same kind of experience that the PS films did."

And with that said, no, this definitely didn't give me the same kind of experience but it was really fun to see one time in a theater with friends.

Big, big, VERY BIG ENORMOUS SPOILERS. Don't read if you haven't seen the film and you want to be unspoiled.

Much like my PS2 theatrical experience, I MISSED THE FIRST TEN MINUTES AGAIN, ARGH! I was counting on previews and they didn't have previews, I guess? However, I don't think I missed out on as much as I did by missing the first ten minutes of PS2.

There were lots of things I liked about Jawan, so I'm going to start with those:

The good:

It was fun seeing a bunch of South Indian actors like Priyamani and of course Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. (More about them later.) Oh, and I did like the mini-Family Man reunion with Priyamani and the actress who plays her character's daughter Dhriti on that show :D (If only Manoj Bajpayee had been in this and/or Raj & DK had written the script, this would have been a different film altogether.)

SRK is very charming, but much more so in the second half when he was playing the much more age-appropriate Vikram Rathore. I'll get to why I liked Vikram Rathore more in the parts that I DISLIKED but I also loved that Vikram was very funny. (I always love when SRK is slightly taking the mickey out of himself which he did in the second half of the film. And I cracked up when he asked Suji if she was also his kid.) I would watch a whole entire movie of Vikram Rathore doing cool stuff.

I liked the girl gang concept a lot (I would have even liked it more if the boss had been Kaveri Amma and not SRK, but I don't think the movie would have ever been made if that were the case) and I liked all the individual actresses.

Nayanthara - she was fabulous as the task-force cop and looked so good doing action scenes. I love her.

Deepika Padukone - she's so gorgeous and I had some Om Shanti Om vibes with this, which is a movie that I really love. And the emotional parts were pretty good too.

While the political messaging was extremely heavy-handed, I did like that it came up in the movie, especially the part about voting. (When they stole the voting machines, I couldn't help but wonder if the scriptwriters had been listening to any of the insane election 2020 denialism in the US :P Was Hugo Chavez behind any of this? :P) However, maybe the script would have been tighter if they had targeted ONE social ill, instead of all of them?

Vijay Sethupathi - I will always just really like him whatever he's doing, because I'm like a duckling about movies and I imprint on actors based on what I first saw them in*, and I saw VJS in Farsi first, and loved him in that. SO ...

There was enough humor that I didn't feel like it was entirely taking itself seriously which is important in this kind of a film (though you didn't have to show people rolling around laughing to cue us to laugh, director Atlee!!) Let your script do its thing, dude! (Oh, wait, I forgot that the script was ... the script that it was. Which brings me to the bad):

The bad:

I'm sorry but the de-aging VFX for SRK was honestly a bit creepy - people drag Nayanthara for having work done, but I'll take her still-human face over the plastic-y face Azad. When he pulled the bald sock thing off his head, I really thought he was going to peel off his entire face and show "normally aged SRK" but nope!

I just threw up my hands and laughed when they discovered Deepika was pregnant just by taking her pulse. Why do they even make pregnancy tests, am I right? And I don't know about India, but surely they would have you know, taken her blood group etc. when she was first incarcerated?

Which brings me to my VAST apology to all Tamil movies in which I have shaken my head in disbelief that a man who repeatedly has his head whacked with a metal bar or banged into a concrete pillar doesn't even have a concussion, let alone a skull fracture. No, compared to Jawan, you are all PINNACLES of realism! Because SRK was shot five times, thrown out of an airplane that was above the cloudline, fell into a body of water and didn't break any bones, AND banged his head on a rock and apparently just suffered some slight amnesia. Um, ok then! (I think the part where the dude finds him and says he's keeping his promise to Azad might have been in the first ten minutes that I missed, so maybe there's some explanation for why he didn't die - but for now, I just have to assume he was the incarnation of Grigorii Rasputin. And I will almost certainly never watch this movie a second time, so it will just have to remain a mystery unless someone can explain to me in the comments or something.

The music was completely forgettable. There wasn't a single song that I can even remember the tune of, nothing catchy, no memorable lyrics etc. That WAS disappointing.

Random new subplots that made NO SENSE. Like what was the whole thing about stealing the elections with mafia money? Why was that even in there? And if it had to be in there, why didn't the SRKs just leave him to the mercy of those people who would have murdered him inventively for losing their money? And if they just wanted SRKs to kill him the way he got Aishwarya killed, then why include that subplot? None of that subplot made any sense at all. (Actually very little of that plot made any sense.)

Another thing was the women's jail/rest home. If that is prison, I am surprised more people weren't clamoring to be incarcerated. It looked much nicer than living on a farm. It was super clean and they seemed to have a ton of freedom even before Azad became the warden.

The way Nayanthara was completely sidelined in the second half. I also have no idea why she decided to marry SRK after five minutes. (And they totally stole her costumes in Chaliye from the Kannala Kannala song in "Thani Oruvan" - a far, far better song than any of the songs in Jawan. (See below)

So all in all, I did enjoy the film and I'm glad I saw it, despite its flaws. But this is not a rewatch for the nuances type of film!

*Kay Kay Menon, Tabu, and Shahid Kapoor fan for life because I first saw them in Haider. Which is definitely the best movie Shahid Kapoor has ever made, but Farzi was really excellent too and Shahid and Kay Kay were in it alongside VJS. Watch eeeeeeet!

[fadebolt]

Well, here we are. The very last poll. I didn't really have any plans on what to say here, but there's plenty of stuff to address, so let's get to them.

For starters, I love what you did what the slug hunt here, OP! I generally didn't engage much with that whole thing, seeing that there were already bunch of folks, ready to find the little critters as quickly as possible. And I gotta say, both parties did a pretty incredible job in general. There was a ton of creativity in the hiding spots and colors of the Slugcats, and a lot of them were genuinely difficult to see/find. But from what I could tell, people did succeed in like, 99% of cases, and many of the successful findings have impressed me quite a lot (like, seriously, you guys are insane, finding pretty much invisible Slugcats in mere minutes… though I'm also pretty bad in these 'Where's Waldo?' type of games, so yeah xd).

Adding 10 of them onto this post was an especially cool idea. A lot of them do sort of pop from the background, but finding all of them is still relatively difficult, so I don't mind it.

Now, as for the rooms themselves, we have one that I very much expected to appear here, and one that I did not. I went back to check if the final round of the ship-showdown had a matchup like this, and you could sort of say that was the case, if you'd consider Artificer/Saint to be an unexpected appearance (though it really wasn't, when you consider how it actually got there/how the poll-runner handled the last 2 rounds).

And before I actually get to my thoughts, I want to address a kind of complaint that I've seen on other polls - which would be that Shoreline's AI making it here, and taking away the big win, would actually be a bad thing, that also renders the whole showdown pointless. Thankfully, I haven't seen anyone make this claim, which I'm indeed very grateful for. When you have good knowledge about the community that a poll is addressed at, the results can often feel obvious, and predictable, as you notice general trends and preferences, and commonly shared opinions. And sometimes, we do think "Why are so many people focusing on A, when B is also pretty freaking good?", which can lead to us forgetting that 'A' doesn't become bad, just because it's taking away attention from the similarly good 'B'. If everyone is flocking onto something, there's usually a reason for that. A reason that goes further than just them having a tendency to follow popular trends. That's why it's important to examine those things fairly, rather than dismissively.

And of course, the showdown wouldn't become pointless as a result of an AI win, because that number 1 spot was never really the point to begin with - it was everything else around it. Getting to see the results of the fights between the lesser rooms. Giving people the option/opportunity/platform to talk about rooms they otherwise would never have thought to share their opinions about. Getting to see what does, and what doesn't make it to the later rounds. And even the Slug-Hunt minigame. I didn't keep track of this poll to see what makes it to the number 1 spot, because I knew damn well that over 99% of the rooms of Rain World have no shot at getting there. But I knew the showdown would be entertaining anyway, so I decided to stick around - to keep voting, and reading, and rambling, and reblogging. And I didn't regret that one bit.

Anyhow, what do I actually think about the final matchup itself, you wonder? Well, F01 is great, it's incredible, one of the best rooms in the game, even! Yet… it doesn't quite get up to the level of AI. Truth be told, I wouldn't consider either of these as my number 1 favorite rooms (I didn't really choose a specific one to put on that spot, cus that would be incredibly difficult, but I know for sure that neither of these 2 would be my pick). And to be honest, I highly doubt that F01 is the community's actual second place too (in that way, it's kinda similar to the shipping-poll-finals, cus there's also no way Arti-Saint is the second most popular ship).

Neither of these rooms really have any design issues, and they both work wonderfully as big moments that stick with you quite well. Their screens and layouts were really well thought out by the devs, and they fulfill their job pretty much perfectly. Yet it is AI that sticks with me more. The one that I think about more, and the one that I'm looking forward to visiting more. There is absolutely the question of "What if the layout was different? Would you still love the room this much, if it wouldn't be as well thought out? And are there any ways it could have been improved?" And the answers here will be different for everyone. If the layout was worse, I would still probably love it to an extent, but I easily could have voted against it more. And frankly, I couldn't think of any ways to make it better. Shoreline's AI had to face many incredibly powerful opponents before, and the fact that it won against them is a testament to how well made it is. After all, it has gotten someone like me to continuously vote for it - over a boatload of other incredibly well designed rooms at that.

So yeah, I'll be voting for AI, not because of how I obsess over LttM's character, but because I think the room genuinely deserves it. --------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know if there will be anything more after this.

The blog obviously doesn't have to be inactive just because we've reached the finale. There can still be smaller tournaments - such as ones where we only poll rooms from a specific region, to find out which is the best room of Outskirts/Industrial Complex/Shaded Citadel/etc. Or one where we check which is the best from a certain category, like karma gates/shelters/colored pearl locations/unlockable locations/etc. Heck, we could even get polls for modded regions/rooms. Or the blog could become focused exclusively on the slug-hunting competition, where a lot of posts and submissions could be in user-made rooms (perhaps we could even use images from that that 'rain world hourly' blog).

But frankly, the blog has been running for almost a year now, and I think Jadzio really deserves a break. All I'm saying is that it's completely up to them, whether or not this blog keeps on posting, and that I would completely understand, if they would wish to go on a hiatus. (Especially if they're planning to cover all the rooms of the Watcher DLC… cus that'll likely end up being a lot, too. Just please wait a month or two to let us experience the DLC first :3)

I suppose we'll see. Regardless, I'm truly grateful for the showdown, and all the thought and effort that went into making and managing it. I really enjoyed writing about all the polls, and I hope we'll get more showdowns like this from other aspiring Tumblr users, cus they're simply amazing! ^-^

Pick Your Favorite Rain World Room, Day 313 FINALE

There is a hidden slugcats (10) in the rooms (they can be in any color). If u can see it comment or reblog with where they are and if u are first, u get a cookie! And this time u have to give a lil discription or an rb with em circled. You dont have to get them all at once in one replay/rb.

Credit for game screenshots goes to: Rain World Interactive Map, Rain World Wiki and me

[tinyboxxtink]

"Not My Yacht" *Chapter 1?*

So this is interesting:

So "Not My Yacht" was my very first fic. Like, I'm talking VERY VERY first.

So when I started asking around about ideas for a new series, a few of my lovelies went through my one shots and this story and "Doodling" got some good votes.

So, I decided to include the one shot and just added to it for a POTENTIAL new series. We'll see how this chapter goes over.

Also I'll be including Rita Calhoun in this for the FIRST time ever, so I may need assistance from @storiesofsvu to get her voice right. I did my best here. I'll be honest I've never really watched her, just that one where that guy blackmailed her or something.

Also Also, if it wasn't obvious enough this is obviously the beginning of the SVU episode "Her Negations".

I don't want to give anything away because I haven't even really thought that far, but I'm 95% sure this is going to turn in a William Lewis situation fic. So...pretty dark. I'm just warning you NOW.

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

And yes, the results are in. There is a part 2!

You breathed in the salty air of the sea of the sunny South Hampton shore; It was a beautiful day for a yacht party.

You walked along the pier as you got closer to your boss’s boat: The Crime Wave. Her husband’s idea of a funny name she claimed as she had invited people from the office to this soiree. You were lucky to even get an invite, just being the assistant to the owner of the law firm. “Who else is going to help me dodge boring conversations with men who just wanted a "free ride” on the bosses boat?“ She had teased you; or at least you hoped she was kidding.

You really wanted to just relax and mingle among the elite lawyers of NYC, seeing as you wanted to be one of them someday.

You saw your boss, Rita Calhoun waving you down as you reached the dock space.

"Ah! There you are, for a minute I thought I’d have to mix my own drinks!” She laughed with a wink. You laugh nervously, unable to discern if she was kidding.

“Calm down sweetie, I’m a big girl. Besides, I like to make them myself, strong,” she laughed again, patting your shoulder. Crap had your face looked that panicked? Keep it cool!

“Go ahead, enjoy yourself. I’ll be here, making sure none of those damn punks tries to sneak on here for free booze,” she scoffed, nodding to a group of highly dressed teens playing chicken on the shoreline.

You nodded with a half laugh, stepping onto the yacht. It was a decent size, a second level deck and a very spacious main level. Not a lot of people had arrived yet, so you decided to pick a spot on the yachts back bench area before all the seating was taken. You began removing your over clothes revealing your swimming wear when you hear Rita greet someone else.

“Ah, Barba. You know we have flare guns on board,”

You turn to see the ADA of New York, Rafael Barba. He’s dressed in a windbreaker and what could be either a dark red or salmon polo. You realize Mrs. Calhoun is referring to the almost neon yellow color of the windbreaker, and you can’t help but giggle. It must have been way too loud because they both turn to you which caused you to immediately shut up and go back to undressing and laying out your towel, but ever so slightly still honed in on the conversation.

“You can never be too careful Rita, who knows how many enemies I’ve made in this town; someone might throw me over,” he smirked.

“And anyone here could make it look like a very convincing accident….even my aspiring protege over there,” Rita nods over to you, knowing full well what you were doing.

Barba turned and looked at you, your body frozen in mid towel thrust. You didn’t know whether to throw it over yourself or just run off the boat right there.

“I know it’s an awful jacket dear, you don’t have to keep staring at him.” She called over to you. God why did she have to be so….her.

“Jesus Rita give the girl a break, or did you invite her just to torture her on unbillable hours?” Barba scoffed with a half smile, walking over to you.

“Is it really worth the minimum wage to put up with her?” He asked.

“Mmm…it’s more for the experience, honestly.” You replied surprisingly smoothly.

“Oh….well I mean I could give you the experience without–” He started but was interrupted by your boss’s loud exclaiming.

“Yeah I’ll BET you’d give her experience Barba! Stop hitting on my intern and mingle with the adults.”

If you could dig a hole straight through the boat into the ocean you would do it right then and there.

“…..Without THAT.” He rolled his eyes, lightly flipping her the bird behind his back. You see her respond with a laugh then turns her attention back to the guests boarding.

“She’s probably been drinking since she got on the boat, yeah?” He asked you.

“I…I don’t know I just got here….” You managed to squeak out as your towel strayed from your hands. Barba grabbed it and helped you reposition it on the bench.

“Kinda windy for a yacht party, but Rita will take any chance to celebrate anything remotely resembling a boost to her ego. Am I right?” He chuckled, before sitting down on your towel.

“Just to keep it from blowing away, do you mind?” He asked, gesturing for you to join him. You nodded a boisterous “NO”, plopping next to him on the bench.

“I’m Rafael Barba,” he extended his hand to you, which you took and shook gently, praying to God he didn’t notice you were literally shaking. You had probably had the biggest crush on him since you started working with Mrs. Calhoun, he was constantly in her office challenging her with warrants and favors.

“Oh yeah I know,” you blurted out, mentally facepalming immediately.

“I see….” He raised an eyebrow. “And you are….?”

You were about to answer when his phone went off. He answered it putting one finger up and mouthing the words “one second.”

“Barba. Yeah….what? Seriously, Olivia? On a Sunday?!” He groaned into his phone with an exaggerated eye roll. He raised his hand and ran it over his face begrudgingly as he talked.

“Yeah….alright, fine. Yeah I’ll be there, give me an hour. I’m in the Hamptons. Because it’s my day off, Liv! Do you think I lock myself in my office over the weekends like a vampire in a coffin? Yeah…I’m sorry, I just…” He glanced at you.

“I was enjoying my Sunday.” He gave you a small sad smile.

“Yeah. Ok. See you soon.” He hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh.

“I’m sorry, I gotta go back to the city. Don’t let Rita push you around too much, okay?” He chuckled, rubbing the top of your head like a puppy. You felt your face scrunch up in annoyance, seriously? He thought of you as a kid?!

He obviously noticed, and quickly held out his hand again very sternly.

“Sorry, future counselor.” He said in an overly serious tone, and you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling. Again. Like an idiot.

Relieved he had fixed his faux paux, he gave you one last beautiful Barba grin as he jogged over to Rita and told her something before nodding to you once again, then walked off the boat and disappearing down the pier.

Your boss sauntered over to you, a shit eating grin across her face.

“Well Cinderella, you sure kept that cool.” She gestured for your phone beside you.

“Be sure to tell him your name this time,” she winked, handing it back to you. You glanced down at it as she walked away; she had added a number to your contacts.

“BHole Barba.” You laughed out loud. Nice. Maybe she wasn’t such a horrible boss after all….

--------------

By Monday you still hadn’t had the balls to text Rafael Barba. You had just stared at the number in your phone, imagining all the possibilities contacting him would lead to. You may have gotten so far as planning your summer wedding in the Hamptons, but nobody needed to know that.

But you had chickened out and left it alone, and now you were sitting at your desk typing up a memo for Rita when you saw him come waltzing through the door.

“Ah, Cinderella!” He smiled at you.

“Hey…” Your mind went blank, you couldn’t think of words. Wait, had he already given you a nickname?

“Cinderella?” You blinked in confusion.

“Well I never caught your name-- But I guess I shouldn’t even push it, you’ve clearly moved on and I must seem like a creep,” His train of thought proceeded out loud as he realized you hadn’t taken his number and here he was still flirting with you. Rita had given it to you, he had seen her type it in your phone. Obviously you weren’t interested, why was he pushing this?

“What? NO!” You said a little louder than you intended, actually a lot louder than you intended. You slapped your hand over your mouth after your little outburst, but to you relief he was still smiling.

“Oh? Well I suppose that’s good…” He was obviously fishing for your excuse as to why you had waited until he popped back in your face to talk to him.

“No, I um--” You racked your brain for an excuse that wasn’t “I was busy planning our lives together”.

“I….couldn’t think of something interesting to say,” You finally admitted with a pitiful sigh. You were not a good liar, and under pressure, forget about it.

Again, he still smiled-- but this time he laughed along with it.

“I mean, ‘Hello’ is always an option,” He chuckled. “Or...your name?”

“Oh!” Idiot. You hadn’t even given him your name, how was he supposed to fall madly in love with you without a name?

“Y/N,” You stuck your hand out awkwardly, Was this a ‘shake hands’ moment? Hadn’t you already met before? You stared at your hand as you moved it slightly back and forth, arguing with yourself whether or not this was necessary. Luckily, Rafael settled the argument by taking your hand and shaking it firmly.

His hands were so soft, his long fingers enveloped yours in them. You lost yourself in the moment, and before you knew it he was making an uncomfortable cough, snapping you back to reality. You dropped his hand and snapped yours back into your body like a zip cord, your face in a horrified stare.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry, that was so weird. I’m weird. I’m--”

“Well I don’t know what you were so worried about Cinderella, you’re clearly a chatterbox,” He gave you a tongued smile, referring to the word vomit you just couldn’t help spill all over him.

“Oh yeah, I’m a total word machine,” You laughed nervously. A word machine? What the fuck was that?

“...Word machine. Right,” He nodded in amusement. “Well word machine, would you mind shooting some words to my phone, or do you just enjoy this face to face thing?”

“With that face? Definitely the latter. But you can have my number anyway,” You typed a quick message and sent it to his number. Damn that was smooth! How did you do that?

Rafael made an impressed face with your line, but when he opened his phone his brows furrowed.

“Hit?” He gave you a curious look as he read the text out loud.

“Fuck it was supposed to be ‘hi’-- stupid autocorrect,” You muttered angrily. Yeah, that was more like you.

“Oh yes, the dreaded autocorrect,” He nodded while saving your number. “Turning fucks into ducks since 2011,”

“Oh I didn’t have a phone in 7th grade but I’ll take your word for it,” You laughed, but stopped when his face twisted into a mix of horror and discomfort when he realized how young you actually were.

Dammit. Why...why would you do this?

“....Right, is Rita in?” He quickly shoved his phone back in his pocket and headed into Rita’s office before you could answer.

“...Idiot!” You yelled at yourself as your hands went over your face and your face planted into your desk.

Well, that was nice while it lasted. All 2.5 seconds of it.

-----------------

“Well Barba, about time,” Rita smirked as Rafael abruptly burst into her office trying to get away from you. “Done flirting with the intern are we?”

“Shut up,” He rolled his eyes, though his face was a deep shade of red.

“Oh no, what happened? Did your dentures fall out in front of her?” She smirked.

“I’m younger than you!!” He scoffed.

“Yeah but I’m not the one trying to boff a 25 year old,” She smirked harder, making Rafael angrier.

“Can I just get the warrant I came here for, Rita?” He huffed.

“Oooh, struck a nerve there, did I?” Rita chuckled as she grabbed some papers from her desk and started to hand them to him. “Barba, for the record I’m really not judging you. If I were 20 years younger, I’d hit it too,”

“Excuse me?”

“I had a lot of ‘cats’ in college,” She winked.

“Wow,” Rafael held up his hands. “Rita, we really don’t need to be that personal.”

“Fine, but all I’m saying is if you like the girl, don’t let a stupid thing like age deter you. Don’t tell her I said this, but she’s actually very competent and organized. I would almost prefer her not to graduate, unless she'd come work for me. She’s going to be a hell of a lawyer,” She gestured outside to your desk.

Rafael looked at the ground as he mulled over what she was saying, a small smile crawled across his lips as she complimented your potential.

“I’ll take that under advisement, Mrs. Calhoun,” He nodded as he walked towards the door with the papers in his hand, a huge smile across his face now.

He walked out to find you cursing at yourself and whimpering in embarrassment at your desk. When you heard the door shut you snapped to attention and stared at him, shocked he hadn't sprinted out of the office like Usain Bolt. Even more shocking was that Cheshire cat grin now upon his face.

“I-I’m sorry, I totally meant I was--” You tried doing math trying to make yourself reasonably older.

“It’s fine,” He chuckled as he put a hand over your counting fingers. You blushed at the touch of his skin on yours again, but quickly shoved your hands under the desk nervously as you tried not to look him square in the eye. His eyes were so gorgeous you were positive staring straight into them would actually get you pregnant.

“So does Rita ever unchain you from this desk?” He smirked as he was now very aware and very amused at how nervous he made you. He may be old, but clearly he’s still got it.

“Oh yeah, if I ask very nicely she let’s me--” You tried to think of something witty, but it wasn’t coming with him staring at you with those eyes. “....Yes,” You wanted to put your hands over your face but you didn’t want it to be a ‘thing’.

“Well, maybe if you’re an extra good girl she’ll let you off your leash early tonight,” He winked.

“....Am I a dog or a toddler in that situation?” You were genuinely asking, but Rafael clearly realized how insulting that must have seemed.

“Oh no no no, I just, shit,” He tried to backtrack but if he was being totally honest, you made him nervous. Maybe he didn’t have ‘it’ as much as he thought.

You noticed he was the one blushing now, oh my god were you making him nervous? QUICK, BE SMOOTH. BE SMOOTHER THAN YOU’VE EVER BEEN IN YOUR LIFE.

“Are you asking me out, counselor?” You did your best “sultry “voice with a bat of your eyes. Were you batting them too much? What was too much? Oh god you’ve done it for too long now. STOP BATTING.

“...I don’t know, guess you’ll have to wait for me to text you, future counselor,” He was impressed by the line, and decided to bow out before either of you made idiots of yourselves again. He gave you a wink and sauntered out of the office.

Great. Now he’ll probably make you wait two days for a--

*BEEP*

Your phone went off in your desk. You pulled it out to see a text message:

BHOLE BARBA: Dinner? Tonight?

You really needed to change his contact name. But that wasn’t the point right now. He just asked you out. Rafael Barba just asked you out. You stared at in your hands, unsure of what to do. Then you realized you couldn’t do this again, you couldn’t just sit there and imagine things, this required an immediate response.

You nervously typed a reply and hit SEND:

Sire ;)

“DAMMIT!!!” You cursed your autocorrect. You instantly sent another text.

Sure***

Before you could lecture yourself again, your phone beeped again:

BHOLE BARBA: Play

Play? What did that--

BHOLE: Okay** ;)

You typed the word ‘okay’ into your text reply bubble, ‘play’ came up in the autocorrect word list.

He was joking with you. He was flirting with you. RAFAEL BARBA WAS FLIRTING WITH YOU.

This work day could not end fast enough.

[talkingbl]

This was an interesting read. Thought I'd give my perspective on OP's comments as well as my own feedback on the show/the guys. Gotta keep in mind that some part of what we saw in the Safe House was acting.

Luke - OP mentions Luke comes across as "bro-ey." I could not feel any different. IMO, Luke seemed like he was just trying to find a place to fit in on that cast. I've watched his YouTube content and have seen clips of him hanging out with his friends and he just seems like an open-minded, kindhearted guy. I really liked Luke in Safe House and only wish he was more included in the main shenanigans. He seemed a bit distant from the others until Tay arrived.

But to comment on OP's mention of Luke seeming "bro-ey," I honestly feel that's just code for too American. There's nothing in the way he acted on the show that would lead me to conclude that he's a frat boy type. I can only assume that the way he talks and looks (very western, embodying western male beauty standards) is what leads OP to this conclusion.

Khaotung - Blended into the background to me. I guess I never realized how introverted he is because, admittedly, I haven't seen much of him outside of his roles.

Gun - These days Gun feels a little more reserved. Years back, he was always smiling and playing around with someone but on Safe House (and honestly in other things too) he seems to have closed that side to him off. That said, he definitely embodied the phi role in the house and it was interesting to see that side to him.

Earth - Not sure what to feel about Earth after Safe House. I thought it was interesting that the other guys all seemed to hover around him a bit? Well really he and Mix. They seemed to form sort of an 'in crowd' and I found that very interesting. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Earth gives off an effortless cool vibe. Don't know what to feel about some things he was alleged to have said to Mix (didn't see them myself so I can't comment). All in all, after Safe House, I'm not sure if I have more interest in Earth or not though.

Pond - Pond is Pond. Literally from his social media posts to interviews to Safe House, he is the same exact person every time. He embodies Aquarius energy more so than Luke and even Neo.

Phuwin - The baby energy was very strong with Phuwin. Not much to say but that he came across as an ambivert with little issue carrying a conversation with any one person in the house.

Tay - I mean this in the best possible way; what the fuck goes on with Tay. He's like always on 1,000 when everyone else is on 12. This is how I know he's a decent actor because I only see Tay get wild like that on select reality shows. Either way, it gets me excited to see him in more series where he can show more of his range. I need him to play a father next. If Gun has nurturing parent energy, Tay has corny dad energy.

Mix - Mix just has a very home-y feeling to him (not to be confused with "homie feeling") that I think just put the other guys at ease. He seems a bit vulnerable at times (yet still completely confident/in control) and it comes off well on screen. It was cute seeing him be very affectionate with all the guys but especially seeing his interactions with the guys I've never seen him hang around before. Seriously, I walked away from Safe House seeing it very strongly for LukeMix. The chemistry was just palpable and Luke seemed to genuinely care when Mix's feelings were hurt. I wouldn't mind seeing them co-lead a romance, and I may even write the story myself lmao.

Neo - I truly think that what we saw with Neo is who he is to some extent. He's very fun and I think the other guys were very much drawn to him because it's like he doesn't have to try to be entertaining. I think people see his genuineness and are attracted to it.

[thatbipolargirl]

6-29-2022

I have been watching the January 6th congressional hearings on television. I've seen every single minute of each hearing, and I plan on watching the rest of them that are scheduled in July. Each and every one has blown my mind. I knew a lot of what happened that day just from what the news has reported, but I now know what was happening behind the scenes, especially when it comes to former President Donald Trump. After watching the explosive testimony from the witnesses, I now firmly believe Trump belongs behind bars. I didn't really think they had enough evidence before the hearings to put him in prison, but the committee has now strongly proven their case against Trump and some of his cronies such as Rudy Guliani (Trump's Attorney) and Mark Meadows (Trump's Chief of Staff). I seriously hope Merrick Garland (current Attorney General) is watching these hearings as intently as I am, and prosecutes these criminals as soon as possible.

Jeremy has to go back to work today. He has been on vacation for the past ten days. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I'll be glad for him to have some time away for absence makes the heart grow fonder. It will be nice to not have him up my ass about everything, especially food and sex, all of the time. On the other hand, sometimes it scares me to know I will be alone with my crazy brain and its crazy thoughts. He was talking to me about how sometimes he gets upset because he has to leave me alone like this, and also how worried about me he can get. I told him I wasn't planning on offing myself yet, not right now, but I didn't know how I'd feel in a year from now. I just enrolled in Mutual of Omaha for life insurance, and it has a limited policy for the first two years, so I'm at least going to try to make it until mid-June of 2024. It is only for $10,000, but it is better than nothing. That amount will pay for my cremation, memorial service and be enough to pay off my credit cards. Speaking of dying, this reminds me I need to re-do my advance directive, my will and my list of final wishes. I have several other documents to type up and print as well, so I need to go to the library soon. Luckily, it is only a few blocks away. I need to get my real laptop fixed instead of just having this Chromebook, so I can have access to those documents on my own computer instead of having to go to the library. Perhaps I will do that with some of the money we got from selling the house.

Yesterday I donated $25.00 to both the Missouri Abortion Fund and Plan C, which helps women obtain mifepristone to use for a medication abortion. I wish I could afford to donate more because I would. There are so many wonderful reproductive rights organizations, and they are all in need of donations, especially now since Roe was overturned. I am overwhelmingly scared and worried about how many women will die because they can't get access to an abortion. I know I will do everything in my power to help my fellow women, and I don't fucking care if I go to prison for doing it. There are millions of people just like me who will do anything to help women in need. Abortion has been my number one reason for voting in the past and will also be in the future.

I don't know what I'm going to do today. I still haven't started water aerobics because a) I am intimidated (especially after meeting with that personal trainer and b) because it is hard to just start. I really, really wish I had someone to go with me so I wouldn't be so alone. I need to clean and do laundry, which are both never-ending chores. I really wish I could afford a maid once or twice a week. Some things like sweeping, scrubbing floors and vacuuming really hurt my hips.

Twenty-one days until I can get a referral for a new therapist and psychiatrist. I just have to hold on until then...

[aggravatedanarchy]

It's come to my attention that ONE OF my poor girls here hasn't received any votes yet so. Propaganda! (Couldn't do it in the tags; tags Full.)

KIM PINE:

First off. Just look at her.

(I love her.)

Kim may seem like just some background or side character if you're not paying attention, I guess, but especially as you get further into the series, she's pretty important! No spoilers in case someone reading this hasn't read the comics, but I'd say there's definitely a reason Bryan's been noted to have called her the heart of the series.

I don't think she gets the appreciation she deserves in any adaptation really, although SPTO gave us more than I could have thought to ask for, honestly- but genuinely, for the place she holds in the source material? Under. Appreciated. I'm guilty of indulging in it, so no shade really, but a lot of the appreciation she DOES get... isn't really for the right reasons, imo. Like, yeah, Kim's hot. We have eyes. I Understand. But there's a lot more to her character- choke back the horniness and bare witness, please? I'm begging you? We can still be degenerates just- I need to know you Understand Her-

CHLOE PRICE:

Does she even need propaganda? How are you on this website if you don't know who she is?

First off-

Do You Understand?

Seriously, she's just. Vibes. I love her a lot. She goes through so much shit, continually, so yeah she's got a bit of an attitude- so what? At her core Chloe is a good and caring person, you just have to deserve that care to receive it. She's not afraid to stand up for herself, and to do what she feels is necessary.

Plus- canonically bi! Pretty certain! If not confirmed then if you have eyes and are literate, you will Know.

VERONICA SAWYER:

I do specify that I mean both versions, so- left side musical, right side movie (PLEASE go listen to even a single like 10 second clip of the actress who plays her in the musical production. Her voice is INSANE. If you're into musicals, you may recognize her from the STAGE production of Mean Girls, where she played Janis!)

One- Winona Ryder. Like this character got the Actor Boost for me, something that not many characters receive.

Two- Girl is just. Unhinged. Unwell. But trying so hard to be the opposite! If you haven't watched or listened to either version, please do go give it a shot. I don't know if it still is, but the movie was free with ads on yt not so long ago-

But, seriously. Once again this is a girl who goes fucking Through It. A Very Different kind of Through It, but Oh Boy does she go through it.

Plus, she has so many iconic lines. Here's a small taste (from memory, don't @ me)- "LICK IT UP, BABY! Lick. It. Up." "Dear Diary, My teenage angst bullshit now has a body count." "I've got to go home- my mom's making my favorite. Spaghetti! With... lots of oregano..."

HEATHER MASON:

Heather Mason is a 17 year old girl stuck in a horror game (and one movie! But we're not talking about that right now- also I don't mean literally stuck in a game. If you're. Unfamiliar with Silent Hill and following me...) and she acts very much how you would expect a 17 year old to reacts to The Horrors, all things considered.

Like our last two- She Fucking Goes Through It. Like, more than those two combined, tbh, not that they should be comparing their specific traumas...

I love Heather. She's, imo, the BEST Silent Hill protagonist (sorry Murphy) and has some of the best bits of dialogue or text when interacting with items. The line in the image I used here is her shortly after refusing to stick her hand in a very nasty toliet- something the protagonist before her DID do.

If you're unfamiliar with Silent Hill generally, and don't want spoilers, then skip over this next bit, because there's a line that's said to her that lingers on MANY people's minds, especially given her reaction- "They look like monsters to you?"

JEANETTE VOERMAN:

WHERE are my VTMB people? VOTE FOR HER.

Jeanette is one of the characters you get to meet and interact with very early on in the game (tragically early, almost; I wish there was more to her after you wrap up her and her sister's quests.) She and her sister run The Asylum, which is this little night club in Santa Monica- her and her sister are at odds, and navigating their rocky relationship is crucial to getting OUT of Santa Monica and into Downtown, where you meet up with some more key players for the rest of your game.

I love her sister too, just so we're clear, but Jeanette is my favorite, sorry. She's just nicer to you- admittedly because she wants things from you, but hey! In their world? I'll take it. That's leagues better than how some of these vamps treat you. (Plus, depending on your playthrough, you can match eachother's freak...)

make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. see which character is everyone's favorite

tagged by @voltfruits

And I tag No One. Use me as your excuse,,, I'll do your poll, promise. I Fucking Love Polls-

[terriblelifechoices]

It's the quality, not the quantity, of fic that makes someone a good author and you've got it in spades! And you seem to be an absolutely lovely person on top of that! :) If you want to write a ficlet, I will not say no! We haven't seen a lot of Scary Bastard! Credence, or Extremely Competent and Cutthroat and Brutal Politician!Credence, which are my favorite versions of him. If you'd like to write a fic about his day job of kicking ass and taking names (verbally of course) I'd love to read it!

Aw, thank you!  

I liked the options rather a lot.  Extremely Competent and Cutthroat and Brutal Politician!Credence was easier to write, though, so that’s what I went with.

Fear takes a long time to unlearn.  Ten years after the repeal of Rappaport’s Law, Credence is still having the same argument with politicians about why it was necessary in the first place.

The Woolworth Building, February 1943

It was, perhaps, a little mean to inflict Dag on unsuspecting politicians.  At eight months old, Dagonet’s cuteness was surpassed only by his ability to charm anyone he came into contact with.

Credence refused to feel bad about that.  He would take any advantage he could get.

Also, Dag had just hit the clingy phase, and would dramatically scream and cry if left in the care of anyone who wasn’t Credence, Percival or Jacob.  Credence really hoped Dag grew out of that soon.

Senator Bromwell actually did a double take when he saw Dagonet strapped to Credence’s chest.

Credence met his gaze calmly.  He wasn’t going to start a fight with the senator – that was more Tina’s thing than his – but he’d damn well finish one, if that was what the senator wanted.

The senator did.

“Mr. Graves, forgive me.  You seem to have forgotten that the daycare is downstairs,” Bromwell said, all solicitous concern.

“Have I,” Credence said, disinclined to continue the conversation.

Bromwell didn’t take the hint.  “You can’t possibly be serious,” he said.  “Bringing a baby to a committee meeting is ridiculous.”

“Senator Bromwell, if you find Dagonet’s presence objectionable, you are more than welcome to recuse yourself,” Credence told him.  “I, however, will be attending the meeting.”

“With a baby strapped to your chest.”

“Would you prefer it if he were strapped to yours?  I guarantee neither of you would much care for the experience; Dag’s feeling a bit wary of strangers at the moment.”

“You can’t honestly expect us to take you seriously while you’re parading a baby around!” Bromwell said.

“Seraphina Picquery signed laws into effect with my oldest two children sitting on her lap,” Credence said, using his most exquisitely reasonable tone of voice.  He’d found that it tended to have a maddening effect on some people, particularly if they were already being unreasonable.  “The very same laws we’re here to discuss, as it so happens.  There’s precedent for it, if that’s your concern.”

“Credence,” Congressman Rosewater said repressively.  “Stop baiting Bromwell.  And you,” he said to Bromwell.  “Stop taking the bait.”

Credence inclined his head.  “Apologies, Victor.”

Bromwell grunted something and sat down again.

Credence followed suit, settling carefully into his chair to avoid jostling Dag.

Congressional meetings, Seraphina had told him once, were really just so much street theater.  Except rather than amuse the audience, the performers primarily tried to impress themselves.

She was right about that.  They were like street theater.  Boring street theater, though.  No one in their right mind would ever pay to see this performance.

Credence watched the performers.  He was less interested in the performance – he already knew what most of them were going to say – but it was always good to get a read on whether or not they really believed all of the ridiculous garbage they were spouting, or if they were simply misinformed.

Bromwell believed.  He talked about No-Maj’s like Ma used to preach about witches – as if the threat of them were very real, and might erupt into all-out war at any moment.

Rosewater didn’t.  Victor Rosewater was a moderate, through and through.  He tended to vote on the conservative side of things, but when it came right down to it, all he really wanted was what was best for their people.

Congresswoman McGilliguddy believed, too, but she was on his side.  Rumor had it she had presidential aspirations, just like her many times great grandmother.  Credence believed them.  McGilliguddy had the drive for it.

“For magic’s sake, man,” she said, exasperated.  “The kneazle is well and truly out of the bag and there’s no getting it back in.  Trying to slap Rappaport’s Law back on like a bandage isn’t going to work.”

“I didn’t take you for a No-Maj lover,” Bromwell said.  The tone of his voice made it clear that being a No-Maj lover was on par with being a blood traitor.

Enough was enough.

“And just what,” Credence said, taking care to stay quiet so he wouldn’t yell, “is wrong with being a No-Maj lover?”

“Ah,” said Bromwell, some miniscule hint of self-preservation kicking in at last.  “Nothing, of course.”

“And No-Maj’s?” Credence persisted.  “You don’t seem to think very highly of them, either.”

“There’s nothing wrong with No-Maj’s,” Bromwell added hastily.  “Some of my best friends are No-Maj’s.”

“I doubt that,” said Credence.  “But one of mine is.”  He smiled.

Bromwell visibly recoiled at the mention of Jacob.  Or, more likely, at the reminder of what had happened to the last wizard who thought Jacob Kowalski had no place in the wizarding world.  Credence’s wrath had been nothing compared to Queenie’s.

“If you have nothing worthwhile to say, Senator, then please be quiet and cede the floor to those of us who do,” Credence said, still quiet.  “I, for one, am getting tired of your bigoted rhetoric.”

Bromwell’s jowly face went very red.  Credence cast a silent muffling charm on Dag.  The yelling portion of the street theater was about to start soon.

“I am trying to protect our people!” Bromwell snapped.

“From what?” Credence demanded.  “From the No-Maj’s?  They’re people.  People just like you and me, who live and love and just want to go about their daily lives.  Most of them have no idea we exist, and in accordance with the International Statute of Secrecy, most of them will continue to have no idea we exist.  No one is suggesting we start slinging spells around to amuse the No-Maj’s.”

He was so very tired of having this argument.  Rappaport’s Law had been repealed a decade ago, and people still kept trying to bring it back. And for what, he wondered.  So they could live in government-sanctioned fear and tell themselves their hate was justified?

“We can’t go back, Senator.  The only thing we can do is go forward.  If you truly want to protect our people then make a better world for them to live in.”

“WHAT DO YOU THINK I’M TRYING TO DO?” Bromwell bellowed back.  “Don’t you dare take that sanctimonious tone with me, you little No-Maj loving prick.  You’re the one our people need to be protected from!  You and your politics,” he sneered.  “You’re no better than Grindelwald.  Magic knows you sound like him, carrying on about fear and using it to justify your agenda.”

Credence froze.  If he moved wrong – if he breathed wrong – he was going to lose his temper, and he didn’t want to do that.  Not in front of Dag.  Dagonet was too young to remember anything, but Credence still wanted to set a good example for his son.

“I beg your pardon,” he said, even softer than before.  He wasn’t doing it on purpose this time.  Credence got quiet when he was angry – quiet and cold.

“I think,” Rosewater said carefully, well acquainted with Credence’s temper, “that we’re might need to take a brief recess.”

“I’m sorry, Victor,” Credence interrupted.  “But I believe the senator has something to say.  I’d like him to say it to my face.”

Bromwell said nothing.  Bullies were like that.  It was easy for them to be brave when they were standing in a crowd.

“No?  Very well.  Then I have some things I’d like to say in return.”  Credence smiled.  It was a smaller, more subtle version of Percival’s wampus cat hunting smile, but the predatory intent remained the same.  “What you are trying to do, Senator, is justify inflicting the same culture of fear you grew up in on the children who will be our future.  On my children.”  He cupped the back of Dag’s head, protective.

“Grindelwald wanted our people to rule over the No-Maj’s.  If you’re going to accuse me of using his rhetoric, you ought to read a few of the transcripts of his speeches, first.  Anything less just reveals your ignorance and undermines the point you’re trying to make.”

“You’re still no better,” growled Bromwell.  “You think your power and your name give you the right to dictate law to us.  Shall we bow to the Dark Lord Graves, instead?”

“Senator Bromwell, please stop presuming to know my mind better than I do,” Credence said.  “It’s tiresome and insulting.”  He went on before the Senator could find something to say to that.  “For the record, I don’t think my power or my name give me the right to dictate anything, but I am willing to use both to fight for what I believe in.  I have spent the past decade working on the No-Maj reforms not – as you so charmingly put it – because I am a No-Maj lover, but because our previous legislature hurt our people.  All of them, not just the No-Maj born ones.”

Credence met Senator Bromwell’s gaze and held it.  “Wizarding America normalized fear of the No-Maj.  And for what?  Because they don’t have magic?  Because they’re different?  You and I both know what the word for that is.  Any system that justifies bigotry or hate is corrupt and cannot stand.  As politicians, we cannot let them stand.  We have to do better.

“If you don’t agree with what my version of better is, that’s fine.  That’s why we have committee meetings.  But if you have nothing but fear and watered down hate to contribute to the conversation, then recuse yourself and let someone who is willing to do the work take your place.”

Rosewater eyed him warily.  When Credence remained silent for an uncomfortably long moment, he cleared his throat and said, “I suggest we take that recess now.”

Credence smiled.  “Yes,” he murmured.  “Let’s do that.”

[thedaveandkimmershow]

"It can be raining like crazy and then fifteen minutes later it's fine."

That's Kimmer, by the way, commenting on yesterday afternoon's sudden deluge of rain.

Deluge.

Of rain.

All that rain came with intense flashes and branches of lighting accompanied by thunder that was much like a bulldozer careening around an industrial kitchen.

It was very clangy is what I'm saying.

We managed a reservation at Margaritaville for lunch, scoring a table on the covered "Indecision Porch" in front of which everyone on foot passes. From our perch, it's impossible not to see certain things.

For example, a tall young man with his arm draped lazily around the young woman he's with. Kimmer thought first-date. My bet's on they're a couple and she's not super happy about it because at one point he leans down and over to kiss the top of her head and the look on her face at that moment is one of enduring it.

I noticed a number of families wearing uniforms, bright green or orange t-shirts that make them impossible to miss by family members even from low earth orbit. Which is a good thing 'cause all these families have little kids in tow.

I saw a coupla brothers, older and younger, and caught the moment when the older brother put his arm around the younger and they took off running.

Took.

Off.

Running.

I saw a father try to put his arm around his daughter but she kept ducking it. And when he finally relented... she took his hand instead. ♥️♥️♥️

I saw off-season Santa driving an electric cart, dressed from head to toe in a red warm-up suit.

I saw someone wearing a "Free The Dinosaurs" t-shirt and now I want one of those t-shirts too.

Plus, you know, I really do want to free the dinosaurs 'cause I'm environmental like that. 😁

I also realized during lunch that Kimmer's scheduled for us a vacation, a vacation, and a vacation. Right now we're on a three-and-a-half day stay without obligation, responsibility, or agenda. That vacation'll be followed by five days of all things Disney starting Monday. And the last two days are no-obligstion free time again.

Lovely!

Our lunch was also accompanied by a live steel drum band performing popular covers that caused me to indulge a mental game of "Name That Tune". I wasn't very good at it though eventually I figured out most of the songs. Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was one of the most well known along with the "Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm" song by George Michael that's actually "Careless Whisper" by Wham 'cause I just looked it up.

After lunch, it's nap and relax time. And then it's time for night bowling 'cause it's this thing we both really want to do and I stood in line this morning for nearly forty five minutes waiting to get a reservation.

We had a great time, by the way. I started off with three strikes in a row which felt really bizarre. Kimmer took a few frames to get her groove back and ended up improving her score with each game while my game seemed to get worse.

Still.

Night bowling. The missus 'n me.

♥️♥️♥️

Not long after we finished, Linzy's flight landed at Orlando International and, while we were hunting around for a dinner sandwich for her, she managed to land in our hotel's lobby.

She was pretty wiped out much as we were a few evenings ago. It's amazing what air travel takes out of you. Not sure why. And that three hour time difference is always a bigger deal than it has any right to be.

We finished the evening with Linzy getting us hooked on that Netflix series "Lupin", "a retelling of the classic French story about Arsène Lupin, the world-famous gentleman thief and master of disguise." (Wikipedia)

We blew through two hours of this foreign language subtitled action/mystery show, only stopping 'cause it was 230.

A.M.

A few hours later, 6AM, I'm up again 'cause Rachel's plane lands a little after six. It winds up landing about ten minutes after six and I meet her in the hotel lobby after she Lyfts the final leg of her journey to a most welcome sleep 'cause she's been flying all night, having a classic red-eye experience.

Now, we didn't get to bed 'til 230 this morning. And Rachel didn't get any sleep on the plane 'cause they kept it so cold. So I'm figuring she's just gonna maybe say a quick hello to Kimmer 'n Linzy before going to sleep while everyone goes back to sleep.

Haha. NOPE.

We haven't all been together as a family for a long time now and suddenly (and for the week) the band's back together again. So a lot of catching up ensues. And a lot of laughter followed by shhhhh's 'cause it's still earlyish in the morning.

At some point, though, not sure when, I nod off.

It's 10AM!

Yeah. It's 10AM and this is one of those experiences like when I used to get up super early on Sunday morning's to do my paper route and then went back to bed again after finishing it only to get up a few hours later.

It felt like a different day every time. Even after those few hours of sleep.

And so it is this morning.

While the girls remain essentially comatose after their travels, Kimmer slips downstairs to Starbucks whilst I take a glorious shower. "Glorious" in that it really does seem like a completely different day.

:-)

After clearing the room, checking out, and stashing our bags at the front desk for a few hours, the missus 'n I indulge mango smoothies by the pool whilst talking life 'cause that's what old people do. Then we're off to Trader Joe's with Santiago, an Uber driver who shared bits of life with us as we did with him. We talked about New York City where he lived before, we talked a little sights of Orlando where he's lived since oh-three, we talked a little bit Seattle where his best friend's younger brother lives (and also where we were born & raised), and then we talked a touch of Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria.

It doesn't take us long at Trader Joe's, a coupla bags worth, really, before we hail another Uber back with Carlitos from New York State… . Westchester. We talked old school sports video games as well as the challenges of proper car maintenance before dropping off again for one more best.

Burger.

Ever.

At The Hideaway Bar & Grill.

😁😁😁

Eventually, it's time to end Vacation #1 with a Lyft from our driver, Wanell, to our rental condo at Floridays. We talked the recent Haiti earthquake a little and quickly determining that all his friends and family are okay. Alive and uninjured. Then, because we were passing it, we talked Icon Park with that crazy tall rotating swing guaranteed to induce nausea and vomiting. The Kraken roller coaster was another candidate on which we all voted would produce similar results as we passed Sea World. And then, finally, somehow, we talked alligators 'n fries.

I don't know what to tell you. Rachel was super interested to hear about it.

And so on.

We're pretty much having a Maui experience here where there seems to be more time in our days. More hours than just the 24 we're routinely allotted. Because once you start having to count the time between one event and the next… your day just gets away from you. Sometimes at light speed.

And we're not doing that.

These are not full days of To-Dos. This is nearly all unstructured time. And when it's unstructured time… the day just unfolds and keeps unfolding.

It's crazy how much livable time there is on any given day.

Seriously. There really is.

Anyway, this first vacation, part 1, the one before our Disney vacation, wraps up today. And tomorrow… we dive head first into, well...

We're about to find out.

🙂🤔😁

[punkscowardschampions]

Bea & Fraze

A mess

Bea: Hey Bea: Soooo how'd you do end of term? You've finished now too, yeah? Fraze: I did well enough. No doubt you did too. Fraze: Yeah I'm done too Bea: 👏 Congrats! Yeah got a first on my big project, thank God, worked hard enough Bea: Off celebrating tonight then? What you up to? Fraze: Cheers. Nicely done, babe. Knew you would Fraze: 'Course. Whole group of us heading out on a crawl soon. What plans are worthy of a first then? I dread to think Bea: Thanks 🙂 Bea: That'll be fun, probably avoid the mongrel or go there first before the real carnage, ay? Bea: Well, trying to organise something worthwhile but everyone's being useless Bea: I'll make something happen on my own if not, I guess...What else is a girl to do, like? Fraze: No need to thank me, you put the work in as per. Fraze: It's first stop, gotta get all the free drinks flowing in my honor. Charity ain't gonna extend any further and I'm in my overdraft Fraze: If anyone can you'll figure it out, give your brain a final go before the blow out Bea: Not that my victory laps can extend as far as home Bea: Still so much to do, not sure if I'll fit in a flight back, like Bea: Ahh, tis what the overdraft was made for 😉 if it helps ease your pain, sure I'll be buying my own tonight as well 😒 hard old life init Fraze: Can't get the staff. Fraze: Yeah, I should've reckoned on coming your way though, yeah? Begging and borrowing'll be a real fucking mare Fraze: You can do a few days can't you? Work on the flight like Bea: Don't worry about it, there's no need it'll be School's out for Summer next time, so obviously I can be back then, at least for some of it Bea: Enjoy your freedom Bea: Even if it is on limited fundzzz, sure you won't let that stop you Fraze: Yeah Fraze: Goes without saying Fraze: don't put yourself out and I won't worry Bea: What, d'you wanna come and watch me work? You'll be so bored Bea: I'm doing you a favour, trust Fraze: Sounds like it Fraze: Cheers for that Bea: You're welcome Bea: I'd just be knackered, the train to London is bad enough Fraze: Fair enough. Always doing that though, aren't ya? Say hi to Joe for me next time, make it really worth while trip Bea: If I see him, I will Bea: I've not got any friends in Dublin Bea: Hardly think you or your friends want me gatecrashing your plans Bea: think what that'd do for your street cred 😂 Fraze: oh yeah a hot girl on my arm would proper tank it Bea: Would with the other hot girls Bea: Unless homewrecking is their game and I'm not feeling being a party to that Fraze: I don't play games with them so I could care less Fraze: You know I'd survive no need to use me as an excuse for not showing up Bea: How thoughtful of you Bea: Such a gent Bea: It isn't an excuse, though like I want to come back and see that Bea: Can take a look at my syllabus if you don't believe me, fucking hell Fraze: They know what they're getting, so do you Fraze: We've all got shit to do, Bea Fraze: I'm making time to have this convo right now, aren't I? Bea: Excuse me for pointing out I got a shittier deal Bea: Shut up and take it, yeah? I don't think so Bea: No one is making you, I was just making conversation or is that off the cards too now Bea: Okay, good to know Fraze: We made this deal together, don't act like I fucking forced you Fraze: You said yourself that Dublin is shitty for you so how exactly are you the martyr here, living it up in London? Fraze: Don't start, you know exactly what I was trying to say and it ain't that. Fraze: We're both busy, we both wanna pass, if you wanna see me then do Fraze: If you don't, just say it instead of wasting my time Bea: Well, its a good thing we're both getting an education now, isn't it? Bea: You act like I'm there all the time, I hardly ever go out, not like you; one rule for you another for me! Bea: Its not about want, is it Bea: and I've said I can't already so, take that as your answer if you're going to be so pig-headed about it, Fraze Fraze: If you're gonna be such an idiot then yeah, it is. Fraze: I'm not some useless pisshead, but cheers for the vote of confidence Fraze: I don't go out half as much as I want, so nah, it clearly ain't Fraze: Fine. I'll head out now then, yeah? since you're done with me Bea: Don't call me an idiot Bea: Or put words in my mouth Bea: OR put that on me Bea: obviously Uni isn't one long party but that isn't my fucking fault Bea: nor am I saying you shouldn't be going out Bea: Do what you want Fraze: Unless what I want doesn't suit you Fraze: Cheers for the permission to go out though, ma, nice one Bea: Fuck you Bea: Want me to give you a fucking pat on the back for however many sluts you can fuck in a night? Nah Bea: You've got your mates for that Bea: Don't paint me out as some crazy over-protective bitch Bea: I don't have to like it, and I certainly don't have to hear about it Bea: How would you like it? Fraze: Fuck you Fraze: you're pissed at me for wanting to see you, pissed at me for seeing other girls, I can't fucking win with you Fraze: I ain't painting you any way, that's all you. Your words from your mouth Fraze: And I wasn't offering you a peek into my little black book either Fraze: I've never held that over you so you can fuck off for suggesting it Bea: Don't tell me you didn't say things when I can see them right there with my own eyes Bea: You called me your Mum, its hardly complementary Bea: Yeah, best kept secret Bea: That's healthy, that's fun Bea: for fuck's sake Fraze: You see what you wanna see, babe Fraze: It wasn't meant to be. But cheers for calling my ma a crazy bitch like Fraze: You've gotta even more a judgey know it all since you started hanging with that cambs lot, very healthy and fun that Bea: And you believe your own bullshit Bea: I'm not buying Bea: The comparison shouldn't ever enter your head, how fucked up are you? Jesus Christ Bea: Well if I'm so fucking awful why don't you just do it then Fraze: Better than believing yours right now Fraze: How fucked up are you? I was joking 'cause you love telling me what I can and can't do. End of Bea: I haven't told you once what to do Bea: but sure Bea: its all my fault Bea: so do it, stop being a pussy and do it Fraze: stop telling me what to do Fraze: Jesus Christ Bea: You want to Bea: so why don't you? Fraze: You have no fucking clue what I want Fraze: I told you and you still don't Fraze: why don't you listen Bea: well, distance and time apart will do that Bea: why don't you find someone who's clued in? Bea: another one, like Fraze: Fuck's sake, Bea Bea: Don't Fraze: One rule for me, one for you Fraze: Stop it Bea: No Bea: Its too late Fraze: It's not Bea: It is Bea: you're not going to do it so I have to Bea: or its just stalemate and who wants that? Fraze: Bea, don't Bea: S'no big deal, happens to everyone, right? Bea: who makes it nowadays Fraze: Us. We do Fraze: Just stop Bea: Only because I'm letting you cheat on me Bea: we're letting each other, whatever Bea: it shouldn't have to be like this Bea: you'd feel less guilty Fraze: It doesn't have to be like anything Bea: but it is Bea: and i'm sick of it Bea: i need a break Bea: i'm crazy you're right Fraze: I didn't mean that Bea: Regardless Bea: the shoe fits Fraze: It fits me too then, so fucking what? Bea: The what is a why...Why are we doing this to each other? Fraze: You know why Bea: Its hard Bea: and it doesn't make it any easier Fraze: I know Fraze: What do you want me to do? Bea: Be here now Bea: but you aren't, and you can't Fraze: I'll get on a plane right fucking now, then a train as many as it takes Bea: you can't always do that Bea: and shouldn't have to Bea: thought you didn't want to be told what to do? Fraze: Fuck off Fraze: I love you Bea: Promise? Fraze: On my life Bea: Don't Fraze: I do Bea: But don't on your life Bea: I love you too much Fraze: I have to. It's true and you have to know that Fraze: You are my life, Bea. That's it Bea: Exactly Bea: I was meant to let you have a life, have the uni/teenage experience whatever Bea: then see where we stood and I can't even do that Bea: still holding you back from here Fraze: No Fraze: Bullshit. You've never done that. I'm only here studying in the first place 'cause of you Bea: That's not true, you got in on your own merit, don't do yourself down Fraze: Yeah it is and you know that too Bea: Well, you're still passing now and I've been less than helpful Bea: its a miracle I am Fraze: This ain't cambridge, babe Fraze: Or architecture Fraze: You're smart, stop being an idiot. You don't need a miracle you just need to keep working like you have been Fraze: I've not helped with that Fraze: If you seriously want a break from me, say the word, yeah? But don't make it something it ain't. For me or you Bea: Its still an achievement, Cambridge is not the be all end all people make it out to be Bea: degrees a degree and its just a piece of paper that helps us get to where we want, fingers crossed still, like Bea: you should be proud, I am Bea: but I've not been working as hard as I should Bea: Like you said, I'm always in London Bea: that's the real waste... Fraze: You can do this. If you haven't been working hard enough go from now Fraze: There's so much time left Bea: I know but Bea: No Bea: I know Bea: I have to get my shit sorted Fraze: You and me both, babe Fraze: in it together, yeah? Same as always Bea: Yeah Bea: just don't fall in love with any of them okay Fraze: Okay Fraze: I won't if you don't either Bea: Not going to happen Bea: I can assure you Fraze: Good Bea: You idiot Fraze: You love it Bea: Must do Fraze: Go out tonight though, yeah? You deserve to celebrate Bea: Ha, s'not going to be much of a celebration Bea: Isn't like I'm surrounded by friends here either lol Bea: I'm clearly just not made for it, like Fraze: I'll trade you this shower of cunts if you like Fraze: not the be all and end all either I promise you Bea: I know its true, not as if I don't have the opportunities, I just can't fake interest or maintain something that doesn't feel worthwhile Bea: So, not technically missing out Bea: Just...must be nice to be normal Fraze: I'll let you know how it feels if I ever get there Fraze: fuck knows why you'd wanna be normal, everyone in cambs wants to be you babe Bea: Come on, you're normal Bea: Mr. Average in every sense of the word 😉 Bea: too soon to joke? Fraze: come on, you can do better than that Bea: Yeah, true Bea: Currently cussing out Ronnie too, taking up all my bitchy energies, she's needy like that Fraze: Give her a fuck off from me Bea: Its been heavily implied, and returned, naturally 🙄 Bea: Needs must and I need drugs so Fraze: Not enough in all of London to make her bearable Fraze: Fuck that Bea: Not inclined to disagree rn Bea: That's Friday nights for ya Bea: what would it be without the drama Fraze: better Fraze: you've gotta ditch that lot they're doing you no favors Bea: They aren't THAT bad Bea: I can handle them Bea: and myself, for that matter Fraze: I know you can Fraze: Shame they can't handle themselves Bea: Aww babe, they won't appreciate your concern Bea: I think its cute though Fraze: Fuck off Fraze: I'm not concerned I'm ashamed to have 'em on my radar Bea: Well, its not like you've gotta be seen with them Bea: or will be any time soon Bea: much to Charlie's dismay Fraze: Thank Christ Fraze: Watch you don't get seen with 'em too much Bea: I'll do my best to lose the paps that follow me everywhere I go then Bea: I'm sure worse happens under the watchful eye of campus police, I'm golden Fraze: Valid point Bea: I know what I'm doing, babe Fraze: Keep it that way then, yeah? Bea: Don't tell me what to do Bea: Ha Fraze: Hilarious Fraze: Don't tell me not to give a shit it's too late for that Bea: You're dramatic Bea: What do you take me for? Bea: Insulting Fraze: You said yourself you've gotta sort your shit out Bea: Charming Bea: You didn't have to be so ready to agree Bea: I'm not doing anything wrong Bea: Anything you don't do yourself Fraze: I'm just looking out for you, babe Bea: I don't need you to Bea: Thanks very much Fraze: Tell me something I don't know Fraze: I'm not saying you do Bea: Then why persist Fraze: You know that answer too Bea: I know what you'd say but I don't think I agree with your reasoning Fraze: Do or don't, it is what it is Bea: No, it isn't when its MY life Bea: I'm not a fucking pet project for you Fraze: Of course you're not Fraze: What are you getting mad at me for? Bea: Because I'm not a little girl who needs saving Bea: Fuck! Bea: Because that's all I am to you Bea: STILL Fraze: You've never been that to me Fraze: Don't be stupid Bea: Bullshit Bea: Just keeping me around to fuel some kind of fucked up hero complex Fraze: You're the one chatting bullshit Fraze: For some who doesn't wanna be treated like a kid you're determined to act like one Bea: So clearly what you want Bea: Or you're just a prick talking down to me like I don't know life Bea: I know as much as you Bea: More Bea: Want to be clued in? Of course not, no one wants to hear that shit, not even my fucking 'hero' Fraze: Fuck's sake Fraze: You're a genius yeah? Happy now Bea: No Bea: Obviously not Fraze: Go get high then, that'll sort it Bea: Better than anything you've got to offer Fraze: Clearly Fraze: Don't let me keep you, off you fuck like Bea: Already am, don't flatter yourself that this was anything more than whiling away a train journey Fraze: Wouldn't dream of it, babe Bea: Sure we'll catch up next time I'm in town Bea: won't that be fun Fraze: Can't wait Bea: Toodles!