#2016 year end review

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #31

August 9-16 2024

President Biden and Vice-President Harris announced together the successful conclusion of the first negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies over drug prices. For years Medicare was not allow to directly negotiate princes with drug companies leaving seniors to pay high prices. It has been a Democratic goal for many years to change this. President Biden noted he first introduced a bill to allow these negotiations as a Senator back in 1973. Thanks to Inflation Reduction Act, passed with no Republican support using Vice-President Harris' tie breaking vote, this long time Democratic goal is now a reality. Savings on these first ten drugs are between 38% and 79% and will collectively save seniors $1.8 billion dollars in out of pocket costs. This comes on top of the Biden-Harris Administration already having capped the price of insulin for Medicare's 3.5 million diabetics at $35 a month, as well as the Administration's plan to cap Medicare out of pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year starting January 2025.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have launched a wide ranging all of government effort to crack down on companies wasting customers time with excessive paperwork, hold times, and robots rather than real people. Some of the actions from the "Time is Money" effort include: The FTC and FCC putting forward rules that require companies to make canceling a subscription or service as easy as signing up for it. The Department of Transportation has required automatic refunds for canceled flights. The CFPB is working on rules to require companies to have to allow customers to speak to a real person with just one button click ending endless "doom loops" of recored messages. The CFPB is also working on rules around chatbots, particularly their use from banks. The FTC is working on rules to ban companies from posting fake reviews, suppressing honest negative reviews, or paying for  positive reviews. HHS and the Department of Labor are taking steps to require insurance companies to allow health claims to be submitted online. All these actions come on top of the Biden Administration's efforts to get rid of junk fees.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden announced further funding as part of the President's Cancer Moonshot. The Cancer Moonshot was launched by then Vice-President Biden in 2016 in the aftermath of his son Beau Biden's death from brain cancer in late 2015. It was scrapped by Trump as political retaliation against the Obama-Biden Administration. Revived by President Biden in 2022 it has the goal of cutting the number of cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years, saving 4 million lives. Part of the Moonshot is Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), grants to help develop cutting edge technology to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. The President and First Lady announced $150 million in ARPA-H grants this week focused on more successful cancer surgeries. With grants to Tulane, Rice, Johns Hopkins, and Dartmouth, among others, they'll help fund imaging and microscope technology that will allow surgeons to more successfully determine if all cancer has been remove, as well as medical imaging focused on preventing damage to healthy tissues during surgeries.

Vice-President Harris announced a 4-year plan to lower housing costs. The Vice-President plans on offering $25,000 to first time home buyers in down-payment support. It's believed this will help support 1 million first time buyers a year. She also called for the building of 3 million more housing units, and a $40 billion innovation fund to spur innovative housing construction. This adds to President Biden's call for a $10,000 tax credit for first time buyers and calls by the President to punish landlords who raise the rent by over 5%.

President Biden Designates the site of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot a National Monument. The two day riot in Illinois capital took place just blocks away from Abraham Lincoln's Springfield home. In August 1908, 17 people die, including a black infant, and 2,000 black refugees were forced to flee the city. As a direct result of the riot, black community leaders and white allies met a few months later in New York and founded the NAACP. The new National Monument will seek to preserve the history and educate the public both on the horrible race riot as well as the foundation of the NAACP. This is the second time President Biden has used his authority to set up a National Monument protecting black history, after setting up the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument on Emmett Till's 82nd birthday July 25th 2023.

The Department of The Interior announced $775 million to help cap and clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. The money will help cap wells in 21 states. The Biden-Harris Administration has allocated $4.7 billion to plug orphaned wells, a billion of which has already been distributed. More than 8,200 such wells have been capped since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2022. Orphaned wells leak toxins into communities and are leaking the super greenhouse gas methane. Plugging them will not only improve the health of nearby communities but help fight climate change on a global level.

Vice-President Harris announced plans to ban price-gouging in the food and grocery industries. This would be a first ever federal ban on price gouging and Harris called for clear "rules of the road" on price rises in food, and strong penalties from the FTC for those who break them. This is in line with President Biden's launching of a federal Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing in March, and Democratic Senator Bob Casey's bill to ban "shrinkflation". In response to this pressure from Democrats on price gouging and after aggressive questions by Senator Casey and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the supermarket giant Kroger proposed dropping prices by a billion dollars

[raceweek]

hello. alexalblondo's rude anon coming here to humbly and politely beg for galex primer because i dont understand their history. george said he lived at alex's family's house at one point? how - weren't they already racing? sorry thank you humble thank you 🙏🙏

hello!!! thanks chris for the referral FKFJDKD

i have overwhelmed my alex and george tags so much that i fear i could never capture all of it but my galex key moment anthology is under the cut!!

karting/early single seaters

Alex thinks they met in 2011 but the footage in georges flip phone says he knew alex back in 2009.

Their first actual interaction (so far as they've told the world) was when alex was world champion with the intrepid karting team and bc he was their reference driver he was asked to help pick the drivers who were quick to replace him when he moved up and he picked george (and charles) so they were then part of that same intrepid driver programme for a while. Interestingly, alex was always at least one year above him bc of their ages and george says the fact they didn't really race directly against each other before 2016 was probably why they became such good friends.

They did a deep dive of their camera rolls from this time on twitch a couple years back and talked about the oldest pictures they have of each other in their camera rolls (1:25:36) which was cute.

2017

2017 is the year george basically lived with alex. They were also sharing a trainer whilst alex was competing in gp2 and george was in gp3. George was doing mercedes sim work at their factory so rented a flat in milton keynes near where alex lived but according to alex that rent was wasted money bc george had more meals at alexs' house than he did that year. Also as detailed in those links, the Great Mountain Biking Incident of 2017 occurred at this time so we have the fun mental image of george literally wheeling alex into a&e on a wheelchair bc that is an actual event that happened.

2018

George and alex both in f2 fighting for the title year wooooo!! They never really fought on track but we did get fun tidbits like when alex pipped george to the win at silverstone bc george had a slow pit stop and giggled about it in parc ferme (5:42) & these post session interviews.

also some incredible photoshoots.

2019

Promotion to f1!!! We started the year at winter testing and this nugget that they have both accepted that they are actually tied together by the strings of fate. They're doing fun media stuff like karting and bullying each other over percentage of apexs hit at the skypad (video). 2019 also the start of the umbrella sharing. They were just together a lot… more skypad analysis!!!

2019 also has MY personal favourite galex moment which was hockenheim 2019 and the 45 minute phone call galex had on the way home after george missed out on scoring what would have been his first point in f1 and only point of the season.

There was also the summer break and enjoying a training camp together, exchanging infections etc. Alex also took george to meet lily for the first time, bc that’s a normal thing to do.

There was also the rookie of the year vid, and the rookie season review vid at the end of the year. Much was happening.

2020

The year started with f1 trying to race during a global pandemic. Fun! On the singular media day before everyone realised just how stupid that was they were being annoying. The lockdowns did give us the twitch streams. George was initially so bad at virtual racing he had to secretly consult alex's brother for help behind alexs back. George was also actively seeking alex out like a missile at any given opportunity and at one point felt necessary to declare that he wasn't alexs boyfriend when someone asked if alex was going to be streaming that day. Anyway my lockdown twitchscapades tag has a post with a playlist of all the streams that haven't been lost or deleted if you want to feel joy and have a spare million hours.

Racing resumed in July with the covid team bubbles and within two races and one qualifying session george was defending alexs honour to sky sports and the world in a truly remarkable fashion.

At the end of the year alex was unemployed....even more tragic than this loss was that alexs career difficulties were so extreme he started ghosting george, which devastated him to the extent he needed to publicly drag him for it.

There was also george asking lily to post alexs n*des on instagram and lily responding with if anyone has them it would be you which was perhaps the last time george had access to his own social media password.

Despite george not liking it they celebrated alexs first podium by going golfing! and reverse! George was also gifted an alex albon signed autograph card for christmas and said that he'll put it somewhere special x

2021

The beginning of 2021 was during lockdown and there was more fun virtual gps except the only two drivers doing it were george and alex so they were just bitching and gossiping and threatening to steal strategies and abu dhabi 2016 each other. Particular shoutout to the time they had a virtual race on valentines day and alex put a suit on for it and george was baffled. Immediately after valentines day was georges birthday which lily used to thank george for letting her borrow his boyfriend from time to time.

Then the season started with george enduring the season alexless and not letting anyone forget about it. Alex was turning up to races after being locked in the simulator until the early hours posting stuff like this on instagram and otherwise stumbling over his words after getting whipped on the ass.

Perhaps the defining moment of the galex 2021 season was george pushing the williams board to sign alex so heavily that they had to actively shut him out of proceedings. Also at this time there was this cute congrats from alexs family and one from alex to georgie about the mercedes seat.

anyway here's some more random 2021 nuggets:

i've seen him topless a few times

george getting alex a good deal on a merc x

yet More golf

the handover

georges driver room

2022

They truly lost every inch of personal space in 2022 like. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. The back signing Hello.

2022 had alex having his appendix out, nearly dying and alexs family updating george whilst alex was in the icu and then when alex returned for the next race in signapore a couple weeks later (insane behaviour) george was like mmm audacious of him to be here.

Elsewhere alex discovered georges photoshoot and was making screensavers about it. Alex also discovered hair dye and george was making instagram stories about it.

other random 2022 nuggets:

george is alexs fave f1 driver excluding himself

this skit williams did of lily finding a huge picture of george in alexs driver room

whatever this image is of lily george and alex

private plane carpool

double date

2023

@onadarklingplain covers the whole year for you much MUCH better than i ever could here!!!!!

and that brings us to present where they're just as weird and freaky with each other as ever!!!

[fatehbaz]

About the entanglement of "science" and Empire. About geographic imaginaries. About how Empire appeals to and encourages children to participate in these scripts.

Was checking out this recent thing, from scavengedluxury's beloved series of posts looking at the archive of the Budapest Municipal Photography Company.

The caption reads: "Toys and board games, 1940."

And I think the text on the game-box in the back says something like "the whole world is yours", maybe?

(The use of appeals to science/progress in imperial narratives probably already well-known to many, especially for those familiar with Victorian era, Edwardian era, Gilded Age, early twentieth century, etc., in US and Europe.)

And was struck, because I had also recently gone looking through nemfrog's posts about the often-strange imagery of children's material in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century US/Europe. And was disturbed/intrigued by this thing:

Caption here reads: "Game Board. Walter Mittelholzer's flight over Africa. [...] 1931. Commemorative game board map of Africa for a promotional game published for the N*stle Company, for tracking the trip of Walter Mittelholzer across Africa, the first pilot to fly a north-south route."

Hmm.

"Africa is for your consumption and pleasure! A special game celebrating German achievement, brought to you by the N*stle Company!"

1930s-era German national aspirations in Africa. A company which, in the preceding decade, had shifted focus to expand its cacao production (which would be dependent on tropical plantations). Adventure, excitement, knowledge, science, engineering prowess, etc. For kids!

Another, from a couple decades earlier, this time British.

Caption reads: "The "World's globe circler." A game board based on Nellie Bly's travels. 1890." At center, a trumpet, and a proclamation: "ALL RECORDS BROKEN".

Same year that the United States "closed the frontier" and conquered "the Wild West" (the massacre at Wounded Knee happened in December 1890). A couple years later, the US annexed Hawai'i; by decade's end, the US military was in both Cuba and the Philippines. The Scramble for Africa was taking place. At the time, Britain especially already had a culture of "travel writing" or "travel fiction" or whatever we want to call it, wherein domestic residents of the metropole back home could read about travel, tourism, expeditions, adventures, etc. on the peripheries of the Empire. Concurrent with the advent of popular novels, magazines, mass-market print media, etc. Intrepid explorers rescuing Indigenous peoples from their own backwardness. Many tales of exotic allure set in South Asia. Heroic white hunters taking down scary tigers. Elegant Englishwomen sipping tea in the shade of an umbrella, giggling at the elephants, the local customs, the strange sights. Orientalism, tropicality, othering.

I'd lately been looking at a lot of work on race/racism and imperative-of-empire in British scientific and pop-sci literature, especially involving South and Southeast Asia. (From scholars like Varun Sharma, Rohan Deb Roy, Ezra Rashkow, Jonathan Saha, Pratik Chakrabarti.) But I'd also lately been looking at Mashid Mayar's work, which I think closely suits this kinda thing with the board games. Some of her publications:

"From Tools to Toys: American Dissected Maps and Geographic Knowledge at the Turn of the Twentieth Century". In: Knowledge Landscapes North America, edited by Kloeckner et al., 2016.

"What on Earth! Slated Globes, School Geography and Imperial Pedagogy". European Journal of American Studies 16, number 3, Summer 2020.

Citizens and Rulers of the World: The American Child and the Cartographic Pedagogies of Empire, 2022.

Discussing her book, Mayar was interviewed by LA Review of Books in 2022. She says:

[Quote.] Growing up at the turn of the 20th century, for many American children, also meant learning to view the world through the lens of "home geography." [...] [T]hey inevitably responded to the transnational whims of an empire that had stretched its dominion across the globe [recent forays into Panama, Cuba, Hawai'i, the Philippines] [...]. [W]hite, well-to-do, literate American children [...] learned how to identify and imagine “homes” on the map of the world. [...] [T]he cognitive maps children developed, to which we have access through the scant archival records they left behind (i.e., geographical puzzles they designed and printed in juvenile periodicals) [...] mixed nativism and the logic of colonization with playful, appropriative scalar confusion, and an intimate, often unquestioned sense of belonging to the global expanse of an empire [...]. Dissected maps - that is, maps mounted on cardboard or wood and then cut into smaller pieces that children were to put back together - are a generative example of the ways imperial pedagogy [...] found its place outside formal education, in children's lives outside the classroom. [...] [W]ell before having been adopted as playthings in the United States, dissected maps had been designed to entertain and teach the children of King George III about the global spatial affairs of the British Empire. […] [J]uvenile periodicals of the time printed child-made geographical puzzles [...]. [I]t was their assumption that "(un)charted," non-American spaces (both inside and outside the national borders) sought legibility as potential homes, [...] and that, if they did not do so, they were bound to recede into ruin/"savagery," meaning that it would become the colonizers' responsibility/burden to "restore" them [...]. [E]mpires learn from and owe to childhood in their attempts at survival and growth over generations [...]. [These] "multigenerational power constellations" [...] survived, by making accessible pedagogical scripts that children of the white and wealthy could learn from and appropriate as times changed [...]. [End quote.] Source: Words of Mashid Mayar, as transcribed in an interviewed conducted and published by M. Buna. "Children's Maps of the American Empire: A Conversation with Mashid Mayar". LA Review of Books. 11 July 2022.

Some other stuff I was recently looking at, specifically about European (especially German) geographic imaginaries of globe-as-playground:

The Play World: Toys, Texts, and the Transatlantic German Childhood (Patricia Anne Simpson, 2020) /// "19th-Century Board Game Offers a Tour of the German Colonies" (Sarah Zabrodski, 2016) /// Advertising Empire: Race and Visual Culture in Imperial Germany (David Ciarlo, 2011) /// Learning Empire: Globalization and the German Quest for World Status, 1875-1919 (Erik Grimmer-Solem, 2019) /// “Ruling Africa: Science as Sovereignty in the German Colonial Empire and Its Aftermath” (Andrew Zimmerman. In: German Colonialism in a Global Age, 2014) /// "Exotic Education: Writing Empire for German Boys and Girls, 1884-1914". (Jeffrey Bowersox. In: German Colonialism and National Identity, 2017) /// Raising Germans in the Age of Empire: Youth and Colonial Culture, 1871-1914 (Jeff Bowersox, 2013) /// "[Translation:] (Educating Modernism: A Trade-Specific Portrait of the German Toy Industry in the Developing Mass-Market Society)" (Heike Hoffmann, PhD dissertation, Tubingen, 2000) /// Home and Harem: Nature, Gender, Empire, and the Cultures of Travel (Inderpal Grewal, 1996) /// "'Le rix d'Indochine' at the French Table: Representation of Food, Race and the Vietnamese in a Colonial-Era Board Game" (Elizabeth Collins, 2021) /// "The Beast in a Box: Playing with Empire in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain" (Romita Ray, 2006) /// Playing Oppression: The Legacy of Conquest and Empire in Colonialist Board Games (Mary Flanagan and Mikael Jakobsson, 2023)

[stereor4t]

lesbian movies I've seen so far (review based on my tastes)

I'm going to give my opinion of the lesbian movies I've seen so far and I'm going to give them a score from 1 to 5 stars :3 it may contain some spoilers

Bound(1996)

For the year this movie was made, I was actually surprised by the END of it(fuck the obsession with killing the protagonist). I didn’t really have much faith in it by how it stars, but man, I was so surprised, I loved it, be gay do crime. ★★★★☆

Gia(1998)

God, this movie is my new roman empire, I didn’t know about Gia’s story, but the ending of the movie DESTROYED ME. the scene where shes talking with Linda and she says: now we have all the time in the world, I was so moved by it, I loved it. It’s currently one of my favorite movies.★★★★★

Lost and delirious(2001)

ugh shakespearean shit, this movie touches more than one of us when it comes to the experience of liking girls. I liked it but I felt like there was a lot of wasted potential that could’ve made it great, tbh i just wanted Paulie to be happy; the fact the Piper Perabo is in it helps the score too. ★★★☆☆

D.E.B.S.(2004)

ITS THE BEST FUCKING MOVIE IN THE WORLD, GOD. I actually hated this movie before watching it ‘cause I thought it was some dumb comedy, but god, when I gave it a chance it BLEW ME AWAY. If you want to see some lesbian spies enemies to lovers shit watch debs.  ★★★★★

My summer of love(2004)

Personally, I HATED this movie kjj, I didn’t really get ANYTHING at all, like it felt like everything was just too rushed??? like when did they even fall in love lol? Gets points just for Emily Blunt. ★★☆☆☆

Imagine me & you(2005)

Piper Perabo again and Lena Heady THE WOMAN. This movie is ART, my fav movie, it’s beautiful, comfort movie af. The true don’t let your husband keep you from meeting your future wife. ★★★★★

Loving Annabelle(2006)

This movie was made for all of us who once liked a teacher or profesor. I liked it quite a lot, but I feel like seize it’s true potential. Personally, I choose to think that the alternative ending it’s the true one lol. ★★★☆☆

Bloomington(2010)

Again for us that like fantasizing about our teachers. I like this movie but again, I feel like they didn’t really make the most of it jskdja annoying af bitching about the same but yeah, it bothered me. Anyway, i liked the movie, and I didn’t like the ending at all,I felt bad for the poor teacher :c. ★★★☆☆

A perfect ending(2012)

I know a lot of people hate this movie and think it’s shit, but I personally love it lol. Idk I remember that when I watched it it got me super emotional and i liked it a lot, dont care what anyone says to me it’s a good movie. ★★★☆☆

The girl king(2015)

★☆☆☆☆

Didn’t like it at all, boring af, i didn’t really get it, idk, i was expecting more. ★☆☆☆☆

First girl i loved(2016)

Im fond of this movie, it was one of the first ones I saw, the ending just made a me a bit frustrated, but I liked it, Brianna Hildebrand with a wig funny as hell. ★★★☆☆

Disobedience(2017)

Rachel Weisz and McAdams DAMN. Great movie, I liked it in all aspects. Although the ending wasn’t what I expected I still liked it. ★★★★★

Tell it to the bees(2018)

Mmm I think this movie is kinda meh, like it’s okay but I feel like it lacks something for me to like it, tho I didn’t get the ending, like I don’t understand the decisions each one took. ★★☆☆☆

Ammonite(2020)

Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan!!!! I liked it but I didn’t love it, I never got to understand if Mary hated or loved Charlotte. The ending got me frustrated!!! ★★★☆☆

Crush(2022)

The kind of movie you gotta watch after Gia, I liked it I thought it was silly, like very much teenage romcom sort of shit, like the Kissing Booth but for lesbians. ★★★☆☆

You can live forever(2022)

I think this is a great movie, interesting story, I wasn’t expecting the whole ending sequence, what Marike says to Jamie destroyed me, in my head theyre the young version of the Disobedience ones. ★★★★★

Booksmart(2019)

GREAT MOVIE, very entertaining and funny, I liked it quite a lot, it’s perfect to watch it with friends. Gigi is just like me fr best character ever. ★★★★★

[mediumgayitalian]

fic rec friday 9

hi!! welcome to fic rec friday. every week, i pick five fics i have bookmarked and rec them with a little review. check them out!

Yeehaw by @buoyantsaturn

Or: 5 times Will had a secret power and 1 time he didn't

yall DO NOT UNDERSTAND how much i love this fucking fic. i read it one time when i was like 16, before i started bookmarking fics, and then a couple years ago i spent TWELVE GODDAMN DAYS sifting through every fic in my history to find this. i LOVE this fic. i love will having a strange scattering of powers he doesnt really advertise. its so fun and exciting. i also love 5+1 fics w my whole soul

2. give me one good honest kiss by @ethannku

One second Jason is across from him, lounging against the wall; the next, he’s leaning in, closing the distance between them. And then the warmth is back, blooming across Leo’s face, and he’s worried he’s going to start a fire. His eyes subconsciously slide shut. He registers a soft pressure on his cheek, Jason’s hand, and Leo is certain that his face must be burning. Jason sits back before he’s set aflame, though, and a smile flickers on his face. Leo’s lips tingle. Jason’s hand is still on his cheek. Without thinking, Leo darts his tongue out to lick his lips. Cherry. “Does that answer your question?” - Or; four times Jason kisses Leo, and one time Leo kisses him back

i mentioned my love for 5+1s. this one has SO MUCH. theres a sprinkling of implied autistic leo, explicit nonbinary nico, lesbian piper, some LOVELY leo & piper moments (i love them so bad), and jason just like. deciding he is going to be obvious and start dating leo. while leo is sitting there like ?????? sir????? and setting himself on fire is so so funny to me

3. over lame jokes and laundry detergent by @rosyredlipstick

met doing laundry at 2am college au - Nico likes his alone time and is more then a little pissed off when annoying med student Will Solace throws his routine off balance.

ONE OF MY TOP TEN FAVE ROSYREDLIPSTICK FICS.....LIKE I GIGGLE EVERY TIME!!! nothing is funnier to me than nico trying to be the wickedest grouch and he just. cant. because will makes him smile without meaning to. and theyre STRANGERS?? AND THIS IS STILL HAPPENING?? like i go feral every time. also the WAY nico was eyeing him...boy i get you 😭😭

4. water splashin' and sun shinin' by @rosyredlipstick

Nico is absolutely aghast with the conditions he's forced to work under. Sure, the surf shack has air conditioning and a fully stocked snack area, and the wifi isn't bad, and it doesn't hurt that's he's in the shade all day, but how in the gods names is he expected to work when lifeguard Will Solace won't put on a damn shirt?

no trope and i mean NO trope will ever be better than both will and nico being catastrophically humiliatingly ninth circle of hell chipping away to find the tenth down bad for each other. and not doing anything about it for weeks. just constant thirsting and pining it is so so SO funny to me. that is their dynamic. and a fic where will just has an excuse to never wear a shirt and nico has an excuse (no he doesn't) to stare...they are so constantly real

5. petal to the metal by @rosyredlipstick

“How do I passive aggressively say fuck you in a bouquet?”

i think i have been doing these fic rec fridays long enough to tell yall my truth: fics written in 2016 were elite. i dont know what it is about the year, but consistently, fics, especially by prolific authors, written in 2016 have something special that just make you read them eight billion times. this was one of those fics where i read it to the end, kudosed, and then scrolled right back up to the top and read again. so so so fun. rizzed up nico RIGHTS

thank you for joining me this friday!! happy reading!!

[she-is-ovarit]

Trans research and scientific consensus

(2020) - Study of 139,829 students finds that in comparison to other students, transgender identity, especially non-binary identity, is associated more with perpetrating bullying than being bullied. Non-binary identity was most strongly associated with involvement in bullying, followed by [transgender] opposite sex identity and cisgender identity. 

(2023) 21 leading experts on pediatric gender medicine from 8 countries wrote a letter to Wall Street Journal expressing disagreement over how gender dysphoria in youth is treated, voicing concerns against things such as the affirmative model and research conducted outside of the US has found hormonal interventions for gender dysphoria to be without reliable evidence. Among these international experts is Dr. Rita Kaltiala, chief psychiatrist at Tampere university gender clinic and author of several peer-reviewed studies on trans medicine and Finland's top authority on pediatric gender care.

(2023) Landmark study from Denmark on 3,800 transgender patients pulled data from hospital records and applications from legal gender changes and discovered 43% of this group had a psychiatric illness compared with 7% of non-trans group, and despite "gender affirming care" and legal gender changes, still had 7.7 the rate of suicide attempts and 3.5 times the rate of suicide deaths. Researchers state this rate is likely even higher due to missing data.

(2016) Study finds association with increased risk of multiple sclerosis for trans women taking estrogen/reducing testosterone levels.

(2023) Metadata study shows, at best, no improvement for patients in gender-affirming care. "The conclusions of the systematic reviews of evidence for adolescents are consistent with long-term adult studies, which failed to show credible improvements in mental health and suggested a pattern of treatment-associated harms. Three recent papers examined the studies that underpin the practice of youth gender transition and found the research to be deeply flawed. Evidence does not support the notion that “affirmative care” of today’s adolescents is net beneficial."

(2011) Long term follow up of 324 transgender people having undergone sex reassignment surgery in Sweden, found that trans women retained male patterned incidents and rates of violence and had a greater significance and rate of rape and sexual violence than cisgender men. The study also found, "Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group."

(2020) Largest study to date on 641,860 people finds association with autism and "gender diversity", "Gender-diverse people also report, on average, more traits associated with autism, such as sensory difficulties, pattern-recognition skills and lower rates of empathy — or accurately understanding and responding to another person’s emotional state".

(2022) US study examining 10 years of data on 952 people finds large percentages of young adults prescribed hormones for trans identity no longer getting the drugs 4 years later. Discontinuation rate for both sexes combined = 30%. Female discontinuation rate as high as 44%. The standard disinformation pushed is that only 1-2% of people who begin medical transition end up desisting. But these figures show that in this cohort of young adults, the overall rate of discontinuing hormone treatment ranged from a low of 10% to a high of 44% within a space of just 4 years.

Abruzzese et al. 2023 'The Myth of “Reliable Research” in Pediatric Gender Medicine: A critical evaluation of the Dutch Studies—and research that has followed'

More to come.

[sgiandubh]

What happened with Barbour ?

Dear Barbour Anon,

My favorite kind of Anon, even if I know the question has recently been asked again and not in this corner. Never mind, I think it's time to talk about it, too.

I bought my first Barbour (entry-level, so olive) Bedale wax jacket 25 years ago, from their (long gone, now) shop on Boulevard Raspail, in Paris. It was a mandatory clothing item to own if you wanted to properly mingle with the law school crowd (it still is) and it ended up being one of my most prized possessions, possibly a part of me. I still have it somewhere, back home. Two more followed, along with a fetishist array of shirts, scarves, beanies and even one of those sturdy crossbody bags you can fit half a house in. So you can imagine my absolute thrill when I found out, very very late, that S had had a rather substantial collaboration with them, from 2016 and until 2019.

I am very bad with timelines, as you probably know and possibly even cackle about, but still: S was appointed as the company's first ever Global Brand Ambassador on July 16, 2016. His mission statement was very precisely defined by the brand and for some reason we'll analyze a bit later, this is important:

(Source, heh: https://www.astonbourne.co.uk/is-barbour-a-luxury-brand-unraveling-the-mystique-of-classic-outerwear/).

A shirt and vest signature collection followed in 2017 and 2018, with the contract being renewed. Advertisement was absolutely gorgeous and designed to shape a very positive image, both for S and the brand. Last autumn's SS Gin promo retained some of that irresistible aesthetic DNA and I discussed it at length.

See for yourself, Anon. The fandom endlessly discussed the first long clip (with the chocolate labrador), but I have no idea if these two have been seen, let alone debated. If they did, let that be my nostalgic mistake.

Spring/Summer 2018:

Fall 2018:

And then disaster stroke, with S's trip to Ha-wa-wee 1.0, in the spring of 2019. A short reel, featuring a rather agglomerated boat trip, was posted on socials. Unfortunately for S, it also featured an allegedly horrifying scene involving the 'traditional' bludgeoning to death of a tuna fish. Emotions ensued and as it often happens here, they spun out of control. Many people, including some of the most vocal S haters, tagged Barbour in their diatribes, filled with environmentalist indignation. They suggested this guy (who did not participate to the savagery and I would be even unsure he realized what was going on) was, by no reasonable means, a proper 'embodiment of the brand's identity, values and aspirations' (remember that mission statement?).

Tone deaf as ever in the midst of a serious PR crisis, S put friendship above anything else, and publicly praised the boat's owner, calling him 'the heart and soul of the island', if I remember well. I still would like to think he has no idea what the hell exactly happened. And then, when somebody finally (August 2019) asked Barbour on Insta about their collaboration with S, they got this politely dry, but clear answer:

"We don't have any plans for a collaboration with SH in the near future" means, in my book and to my understanding, "we are never going to work with this guy again". Truly, some people in here who dare to give morality lessons to others, should be proud of themselves: they did it knowingly and in a very organized way, using multiple sock accounts, to give the impression of a collective retching reflex. To cut the story short, the dread of any ad campaign on this planet.

The effort was genuine. The result of that collaboration was very good. Take, for example, this somewhat heartbreaking customer review by an American guy who has no idea who SRH is and who bought one of those jackets from a Barbour factory warehouse, in 2021, with a hefty rebate (70% off). Clearly something Barbour wanted to get rid of at all costs - what a pity and really what a SHAME on all those hypocrites who will never admit to a public assassination by the book:

This time, I am absolutely not sorry for the length, Anon. This is something that still makes me boil. Unfairness and cheap nastiness simply disgust me.

(Thank you, sweetheart, for the screenshot, always. You know who you are 😘😘😘).

[thepariahcontinuum]

MARZ Rising - Chapter 170: The End (Epilogue)

Okay, I've been holding off on getting emotional with my goodbye to this story and this extended AU but now's the time, so here it is:

I Started writing this story in March 2021, the fifth installment of a project which has been ongoing ever since I began posting The Downward Spiral in September of 2016…. Almost eight years of coming to a close here and I can only hope that I've done myself justice.

By coincidence it also transpired that I wrote this epilogue in the same week that the end of Rooster Teeth after twenty-one years was announced, something which made me want to work harder because this is now no longer just my send-off to the Spiral-Verse but also, as things stand to RWBY and Rooster Teeth as a whole. RWBY has been a big part of my life for these last eight years, it's the show that made me a writer and I can honestly say that my life would not look the same at all without it.

I also want to take a moment to thank every single reader who has enjoyed these stories, especially those who have left reviews and especially those few of you who have been here since the beginning.

There's also a very special thank you and goodbye I need to say here, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't: That is to the user @thesumosnipe who was the driving force to continue the Spiral-Verse beyond its' third installment, this story would literally not exist without him however he unfortunately passed away in 2022….Wish you could have been here for this.

This marks the end of an era, I'm at a point now where I want to move away from Fanfiction and begin posting my own original writing. Ideas are in place and will be taking shape in the near future.

I wish you all well now and in the future and as the late, great Monty Oum said "Keep moving forward"

FF Net

Ao3

[notwiselybuttoowell]

The Science Museum has been forced to cut ties with oil giant Equinor over its sponsor’s environmental record, the Observer can reveal.

Equinor has sponsored the museum’s interactive “WonderLab” since 2016, but the relationship is now coming to close, a move that will be seen as a major victory for climate change campaigners.

The sponsorship deal had been controversial because of Equinor’s role in Rosebank, the biggest undeveloped oil and gas field in the North Sea, which the government gave the go-ahead to develop last year.

The company also inserted a “gagging clause” in its original deal with the museum, which prevented staff from making comments that could be seen as “discrediting or damaging the goodwill or reputation” of Equinor.

The move has added to pressure on the museum to cut ties with other fossil fuel sponsors, including the oil giant BP and the Indian coal-mining conglomerate Adani.

Last year the Church of England cut its fossil fuel investments after concluding no big oil and gas company was “aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as assessed by the Transition Pathway Initiative”.

The move is a major shift in policy by the museum, which has forcefully defended its relationships with oil and gas companies in the past. In 2019, Blatchford told the Financial Times that “even if the Science Museum were lavishly publicly funded I would still want to have sponsorship from the oil companies”.

The move comes after the controversy surrounding investment manager Baillie Gifford and its ties to Israel and fossil fuel companies.

A campaign by Fossil Free Books led to Baillie Gifford ending funding for nine book festivals, including Edinburgh, Cheltenham and the Hay festival, which was the first to decline sponsorship after speakers began to boycott the event.

[maxwellatoms]

Would you trust ANY Korean studio for hand-drawn animation today? I ask because, when The Powerpuff Girls came back in 2016, I noticed how slow and stiff the Korean animation was. Since then, most Burbank cartoons animated in Korea, namely Cartoon Network shows, have been like that — mostly on 2s & with less inbetweening. Look at any Digital eMation episode of Victor and Valentino or Samurai Jack Season 5; do they animate as loosely and smoothly as Digital eMation episodes of Billy & Mandy do?

Sure I would. It would all depend on the studio and the circumstances. There are good studios and bad studios, and either of those will treat your show differently based on their perception of how valuable it is to their client. In the early 2000s Rough Draft was a top-notch studio. One of the reasons I switched over to eMation from Rough Draft was that I felt like Rough Draft was putting all of its resources into making Samurai Jack look beautiful, and we were still calling retakes on three year old issues. I knew we weren't a priority to Rough Draft, and I knew that stemmed from Cartoon Network's negotiations with them, so my griping was only going to get us so far. It seemed to me that I needed a studio that was smaller and scrappier like we were. We were putting in a lot of work on our end to make cool stuff and it wasn't ending up on the screen, so we needed people who were just as hungry on the back-end, and eMation stepped up.

There's also the fact, though, that animation itself has changed a lot in the last fifteen years. Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack's animation always seemed to have an air of "motion comics" to it. And frankly, that's part of what I love about it. It was all a throwback to the old UPA cartoons, which were built on strong, clear poses and made for the cost equivalent of a turkey dinner. Likewise, CN storyboard artists usually had around four weeks to write and draw their boards on paper, so there just wasn't time to take the effort to do anything too complex. It was all about snapping between those 300-ish storyboard drawings and momentarily savoring them for their humor and design mastery. Now we have tons of digital tools that make the basics of animation a lot more accessible to everyone, and have changed the entire studio pipeline. Things just won't look like they used to because nobody makes them that way anymore.

When I've had to choose an overseas animation studio, the network's production arm usually gives me one or three choices and tells me that's all there is. Deals have already been made. (Sometimes they make you pick two to save on costs, which (IMO) usually results in two studios that are less functional than any one of them would have been.) The studios usually have reels, so that gives you a basic idea of what they can do. You can (hopefully) find some other show creators who have worked with the studios and get an honest review. It's an important enough decision that it's worth whatever research you can put into it. Even over good bones, an ill-fitting skin can ruin the mood.

The most important thing to remember, I think, is that it's your job and your crew's job to make animating the show as easy as possible. Really, it's everyone's job to make the next person in line's job as simple as they can. Ideally, there shouldn't be a lot of questions because the materials you sent down the chain are clear.

So... yeah. I'd still trust Korean studios as much as I'd trust any overseas or domestic animation studio. You get out of them what you put into them by feeding them money and your own labor. It's quite possible that the shows you mentioned didn't do enough of either.

I imagine the overseas studios are hurting right now, so who knows what that landscape is even going to look like in a few years.

As with every step of the process making a TV show, you just sort of have to weigh your options and find the path.

Hmm. That got long.

[tgmsunmontue]

Online & Anonymous 11/16

Hangster. Explicit. Years before they meet in person Bradley and Jake strike up a friends-with-benefits relationship online. And then something more like an actual relationship.

Odd year = Bradley's POV and Even year = Jake's POV

>>Bradley chatting (bold and italics)

>>Jake chatting (italics)

2005/2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2016 – Jake

                Jake hasn’t exactly reconciled with his family. But at his grandmother’s funeral his sister had found him and forced her number into his phone, and now he exchanges phone calls with her every week or so. He always waits for her to call him, gives her a window of time that he’s available to take her call. He knows she keeps it quiet with their parents that she’s in contact with him, but he doesn’t care, she wants to talk to him and thinks their parents are in the wrong. He now gets to know what his nieces are doing, gets to see videos of first steps and words, silly little day-to-day things which he has clearly missed from his older niece. He gets to talk to his sister, and through her hear about his family, even if it hurts.

                He’s turning thirty this year, and he guesses his sister at least feels like a decade of almost no-contact is finally too much. Like somehow not having anything to do with his family would magically change anything. Like he’d somehow choose to be gay when all it’s done is made him feel like an outsider and jeopardized his career. Or her world view has just slowly started shifting and she’s trying to make up for not being there for nearly a third of his life. Part of him feels ashamed for letting her back into his life so easily, with only the barest hint of an apology. That he feels so desperate for some semblance of his family that he never stopped missing is finally back and still has so much power to hurt him.

                He knows Javy doesn’t like it, frowns every time he takes a call he knows is from Susie. Maybe one-day he’ll get to introduce them, when he thinks Javy won’t end up needing to be bailed out of jail for assault, his protective streak ten-miles wide. He hasn’t said anything to Nick either, doesn’t want to bring up the fact that he has a small bit of his family back in his life when he knows Nick can never have that. Death is a lot more permanent for a start, and while Jake doesn’t ever expect to see his parents again, he knows that they’re still alive. They might come around one day, there are always those miracles that happen.

                And thinking of miracles he’s certain it’s going to take one for him and Nick to actually meet. They’ve decided to try and stop planning to meet up, every time they plan it something happens. Instead they’ve shared their deployment dates, intentionally not making plans for anything during their periods of leave. In addition to that they’ll both turn their location on when they’re on leave, no matter how short, whether it’s shore leave or extended leave, they’ll try and find their way to each other. So while it means not making plans with anyone else Javy at least understands his desire to finally meet Nick and is happy to run interference with his family about Jake’s apparent lack of commitment to coming to stay when he’s on leave. They’ve reviewed their schedules for the next few months, there’s not any time they’re both on leave for the first few months, but there are times later in the year, so he’s just got them in his schedule with Nick??? and hopes for the best.

…            …            …

                He next sees Bradshaw at a ceremony where they’re both being awarded an Inherent Resolve Campaign medal, and if anything the asshole looks even better and Jake appreciates it while also hating it a little. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Why couldn’t his face have erupted in boils or something. He’s talking to Admiral Kazansky, and Jake can’t help following him with his eyes, hates just how comfortable he looks talking to one the highest-ranking members of brass in the room. Of course Bradshaw is confident in every setting.

                Jake still hasn’t figured out what he said or did to cause Bradshaw to not like him, the guy has got the fucking biggest chip on his shoulder and Jake is baffled as to why a guy everyone else has generally spoken of with warm regards seems to have it out for him since they met. Jake knows he’s not the best at making the best first impression, but he hadn’t been awful that he can remember. Not enough to make someone act toward him like he’s not even worth the time of day. He lets out a breath, realizes maybe he’s being a little harsh, because Bradshaw hadn’t seemed quite as annoyed with him the last time they were deployed together. Not that Jake will ever thank him for his callsign, but he’d asked how Jake was, may have even cared if Jake had admitted to not being okay. He’ll never know.

                “Lieutenant Seresin.”

                Jake does a double take, because as if thinking about the other man has made him appear from across the room. Also that tone isn’t cutting or annoyed, instead it’s almost… smooth. Not sweet, not friendly, but it’s definitely something, and it holds the promise of more.

                “Bradshaw.”

                There’s not quite a question at the end, and as he shifts to face him he catches the quick sweep of his body that Bradshaw gives him, gives his body, before dipping to his lips and holy shit, Bradshaw just checked him out. It’s not quite a sharp one-eighty from a few years ago, but he guesses they’re on equal footing now, no difference in positions or ranks, there’s no DADT, there’s nothing that he can think of. Then he remembers Javy saying Bradshaw had something going with someone. Something serious. His conscience pricks a little, but it’s not his person that he’s cheating on. He wonders if they know, that Bradshaw goes around making eyes at people and then… well. He hasn’t done anything to Jake yet but for the first time he thinks that something might actually be happening.

                “You have any plans for the rest of the night?”

                As if the blatant up-down look wasn’t enough, he’s outright asking Jake and it’s taking his brain a little to catch up, wants to come out with a quip, wishes he could seriously think of rejecting him just to give him a taste of what it had felt like. Instead he’s shaking his head, ignoring the fact that he does in fact have plans with Javy to go out for a drink and bowling.

                “You want to get out of here?”

                “Yeah,” Jake says, and god he wishes his voice didn’t sound quite so breathy. He coughs and clears it, hopes that covers it, although the way Bradshaw is smirking at him he doesn’t think it did.

                “You have a place?”

                “I’ve got a hotel room.”

                “Perfect.”

…            …            …

                It’s about a fifteen minute walk, and neither of them speak, a few people giving them respectively nods as they pass, which is normal considering they’re both in full dress uniform. Jake feels attuned to the mere inches between them as they walk, taking the elevator up to his room and then both taking their shoes off at the door like it’s someone’s home.

                “You done this before?” Bradshaw asks and Jake rolls his eyes, because while it’s not like he broadcasts the fact he’s gay, he’s over thirty and in the Navy, and DADT was repealed five years ago now.

                “Yeah, don’t need to go easy on me or anything.”

                “Oh, I was never going to be easy…” Bradshaw says, and Jake doesn’t have time to ask what he means before he’s being pressed back against the door and kissed, Bradshaw’s leg slotting between his, hips grinding against him and Bradshaw already feels half-hard. He’s efficient at undressing, his fingers working at the buttons on Jake’s jacket while his mouth sucks at Jake’s bottom lip and he can’t help the little gasp as Bradshaw’s moustache scrapes over his jaw line.

                “You got any special requests?” Bradshaw asks, and he seems like he’s a guy who enjoys sex. Laughs with his partner in bed. For the first time since they met Jake’s getting to see the friendly side of Bradshaw that everyone else gets normally. He wonders if he’ll get it when he’s not about to suck his dick. Yeah. That is what he wants now.

                “I want to suck your dick,” Jake says, arousal making his tongue thick in his mouth, the words slurring together.

                “Be my guest. I’ll take real good care of you after…”

                He can feel Bradshaw’s smile against his neck, his lips moving as he talks, his tongue licking at the tendon in Jake’s neck and he shivers as Bradshaw pushes his jacket off his shoulders, taking his own jacket off and carefully hanging them both up, grin a little sardonic as he shrugs.

                “Pretty sure neither of us want to iron them again anytime soon. Come on, pants off too. You can’t kneel in those…”

                Jake doesn’t need to be told twice, doesn’t kick them off in his haste, they are his dress blues after all, again watches as Bradshaw takes time to carefully lay them over the back of the little sofa. The way Bradshaw is watching him makes him feel self-conscious so he tries to feel confident. Obviously Bradshaw likes something he sees, because he’s here after all, and his cock is definitely outlined in his briefs and Jake’s mouth waters a little.

                He’s not even aware that he's licking his lips before Bradshaw is kissing him again, hands running over the bare skin of his arms, tugging at his undershirt and Jake strips it off and drops it to the ground, presses Bradshaw back against the wall and then drops to his knees and runs his nose up the length of his dick. It is definitely firm, maybe not quite all the way hard, but considering he’s not even got his mouth on him yet it’s gratifying that he’s maybe the reason he’s so turned on already. Then Bradshaw is pushing him away and Jake frowns up at him, wants to ask what he’s doing.

                “Condom. Safety gear’s important…”

                Of course he’d say that, and Jake doesn’t disagree. He watches as Bradshaw grabs a few condoms from his pocket, god, how many are they going to need? Watches as he strips off his socks, briefs and undershirt and he’s just as gorgeous naked as he is fully clothed; confident in his own skin and yeah, Nick was right, it is attractive. Fuck him. He watches Bradshaw watch him as he strokes his cock to full hardness and then tears the wrapper, rolls the condom down his cock, eyes hooded as he watches Jake instead of needing to watch what he’s doing. It’s hot for a variety of reasons, not least because Jake seems to hold his whole attention.

                Then Bradshaw’s stepping past, leaning against the wall looking relaxed, like he has all the time in the world, smiling down at Jake and one eyebrow raised like he’s asking a question. Jake’s isn’t going to hazard a guess as to what the question might be, just licks his lips again and wraps his mouth over the head of Bradshaw’s cock, one hand on his thigh while the other settles near the base of Bradshaw’s dick, brushing over the pubic hair. He’s never grown accustomed to the taste or texture of latex, but this is… maybe not latex? He pulls back.

                “You got your own fancy brand of condoms you carry around with you Bradshaw?”

                “Latex allergy, pays to be prepared.”

                Of course he fucking does. He wonders how he figured that one out. Wonders exactly how bad it is but he’s not making friends with Bradshaw, he’s here to get off and get Bradshaw off. So he sets about giving Bradshaw a blowjob, and he’s better at it than he used to be, uses his hands and alternates between sucking him down and licking everywhere, gently sucking on each of Bradshaw’s balls before returning to do hard and fast sucks on the head with longer bobs down to take more of him in.

                His jaw aches a little, out of practice but Bradshaw doesn’t seem to notice or care, his fingers gentle in Jake’s hair, like he doesn’t want to scare him off and Jake has to tamp down on his feeling of competitiveness. He doesn’t need Bradshaw fucking holding back from tugging on his hair so reaches a hand to cover his, curls his fingers and catches some of his hair between his fingers and Bradshaw’s and then tugs. His groan echoes Bradshaw’s, and the jerk of Bradshaw’s hips is nice too, catching him a little unaware and he gags a little which seems to turn Bradshaw on even more.

                His own cock is hard in his briefs and he lets go of Bradshaw’s hand to rub at his own cock briefly before bringing his hand to cup Bradshaw’s balls, fondles them and they’re damp with his spit from when he was sucking on them; he tugs them gently, feels Bradshaw’s entire body shudder, a wave centered on his cock moving outward.

                “Jesus Seresin… fuck…”

                Then he’s just mumbling under his breath, so good, god, your mouth, gorgeous and Jake lets himself soak it all in, likes that Bradshaw is vocal enough to let him know he’s enjoying it. Then he feels nails scraping over his scalp before Bradshaw’s entire body goes taut and Jake is feeling Bradshaw’s body jerk as he comes and the moan he makes seems linked directly to Jake’s own cock, making it throb. God he’s glad Bradshaw has already promised to reciprocate, really hopes he’s at least halfway decent.

                Bradshaw is pulling him to standing, kissing him with bruising hardness and Jake lets himself kiss back, a little breathless and more surprised. Most guys he’s hooked up don’t kiss a lot, especially not after a blowjob; usually saying they don’t like the taste, which Jake has always found a little odd considering some of the tastes of other parts of the body. Each to their own he guesses, enjoys Bradshaw kissing him and walking him backward to the bed, his hand already palming Jake’s erection through the fabric of his briefs.

                Then Bradshaw is guiding him to sit on the edge of the bed, then he’s kneeling between Jake’s spread legs, his eyes intent on Jake’s face like he’s waiting for Jake to say something but he can’t. Can’t think of anything to say that he won’t wish he said differently later so he just raises an eyebrow and makes a get on with it gesture with his hand, hopes that says enough. It seems to do the trick, Bradshaw huffing in amusement but then he’s mouthing Jake’s cock through his underwear, the warmth from his mouth seems to intensify the heat around his cock and why does that feel so good.

                “Lie back if you want…”

                “No. Want to watch…” Jake says, then Bradshaw is standing again, leaning down to kiss him and cupping his face carefully like this isn’t just a hookup and Jake wonders if he’s like this with all his hookups. Doesn’t let himself wonder about how he might be with anyone who might not just be a hookup.

                “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back. You got any lube?”

                Jake nods, makes a grabby hand gesture toward his toiletry bag like a fucking toddler and tries not to be mortified by the whole thing, mainly the grabby hands or his apparent eagerness for any and all activities that require lube. Bradshaw either ignores him or doesn’t notice, unzips it and pulls out the little pump bottle, inspecting it before nodding like its passed inspection. He grabs a towel from the bathroom and then he’s back, grabbing the pillows and making a little pile so Jake can lie back and also watch.

                “Art of compromise…” Bradshaw says with a smirk and Jake rolls his eyes but lets Bradshaw gently push him back, kissing a trail down Jake’s body, licking and sucking over his neck, down his chest, flicking his nipples with the tip of his tongue, one after the other. Then his hands are working the band of Jake’s underwear, working them down and Jake raises his hips to help. The air of the room feels cool on his cock, then he feels the condom getting rolled down, doesn’t stop himself from thrusting into the circle of Bradshaw’s fist, although kind of wants to knee him in the side of the head when he huffs with amusement again.

                Then he thinks he could forgive Bradshaw anything, his mouth tight and hot and just all the fucking way down like he doesn’t need to work up to it. Jake definitely snaps something out, but has no idea what it is, his brain not offering anything other than the black and white static. Bradshaw has definitely had more practice than Jake, or maybe just has natural talent, and Jake can’t help the little jerks of his hips as Bradshaw sucks him down again. He meets Bradshaw’s eyes, and it feels weirdly intense so he closes his eyes, suddenly feeling too exposed.

                Then he feels the fingers, Bradshaw’s fingers, slippery with lube and Jake didn’t even notice when that happened. They’re not pressing, just rubbing between his ass cheeks, pressing gently on his perinium. Then there’s a more obvious press against his asshole and Bradshaw is pulling off his cock.

                “Seresin… yes or no?”

                “Yes. Fuck yes. Come on…”

                “Feel free to tell me to stop.”

                “I’m not going to tell you to fucking stop.”

                “You can also tell me to go harder, or faster, or… just use your words and let me know what you want. Never stopped you before, hmm?”

                “Fuck you. Get on with it.”

                Fortunately Bradshaw does return to sucking his cock, but he’s now massaging Jake’s  perinium with a thumb, another finger is rubbing circles around his hole, slowly increasing in pressure and he wonders if Bradshaw’s just being cautious or…

                “Just put you fucking finger in my ass Bradshaw, for fucks sake…”

                “Just had to ask.”

                Jake thumps his head back on the pile of pillows, and his annoyance is immediately overwritten by Bradshaw no longer wasting any more time and going directly for the kill, brushing over his prostate and Jake hates how his precision in a plane is apparently a transferable fucking skill. Bradshaw’s got a hand tight around the base of his cock, like he doesn’t want Jake to come too soon. Then there are two fingers, long fingers, pressing up inside him, not gentle brushes, direct pressure and his spine feels like it’s a sparkler, sparks hitting his body all over and he arches into it.

                “Holy shit…”

                “Yeah, there we go. Come on. Want to take you apart.”

                Jake can’t tell him no. Doesn’t want to. Just gives in to the overwhelming sensations of someone intent on bringing him as much pleasure as possible. He’s never had someone seem so focused on giving him a blowjob before, although he guesses Bradshaw has already come so isn’t in any rush to get off himself. Combined with the anal play he’s quivering on the edge of coming. Bradshaw is somehow calm and collected even adding a third and fourth finger and Jake can feel himself shaking with the need to keep control. Jake wants to see Bradshaw lose it a little, but doubts if he will.

                Bradshaw wants to make him fall apart, and Jake is pretty sure he’s more than capable of making that happen now and he doesn’t have to hold back or pretend, not right now. He can let himself go, not be so careful of what Bradshaw might think. It’s sex, and Bradshaw already doesn’t like him very much, being… well, being a little bit more open and exposed is normal during sex. He can let himself have this, will let himself have this. He’s allowed to want this. Lets the pleasurable sensation of Bradshaw’s mouth and tongue on his cock wash over him, the feeling of his fingers, both on him and in him, the press of their skin together in other places where Bradshaw’s touching him. It feels increasingly overwhelming, all of his senses feel glutted; the sight of Bradshaw sucking him down and not pausing for breath or a break. The smell of their combined bodies, sweaty, the sound of his own breathing, rough in his ears. Bradshaw’s little pleased throat sounds and groans. And overlaying it all the sense of touch and he feels like Bradshaw is everywhere, in, on, over, under, around him. He let’s out a high pitched whine, can feel his orgasm cresting, about to wash over him any second.

                “Close. Oh fuck… so close. Shit. Yeah…”

                He says other things he’s sure, but Bradshaw doesn’t stop, just keeps sucking him and Jake jerks and shudders, thrusts a little into Bradshaw’s mouth before Bradshaw’s pulling himself off and peppering the skin around Jake’s thighs and groin with little butterfly kisses, fingers slowly easing out. Jake lies there, sucking in lungful’s of air as oxygen returns to his brain and Bradshaw is up and doing something… washing his hands in the bathroom apparently. Then he’s back, carefully removing the condom and tying it off before using a warm wet facecloth to wipe Jake clean. He bets Bradshaw is the type that would lick his partner clean.

                Then he feels Bradshaw straddle him, ass resting on his thighs, then he’s placing more little kisses down Jake’s neck and then around to the other side, like it’s a necklace. His moustache tickles at the same time it kind of turns him on, like he wants to squirm away and press into it at the same time. Then it hits him. Bradshaw has a moustache. He closes his eyes and imagines what it might feel like if this was Nick’s mouth on him. He knows it’s not great etiquette to be in bed with one person and imagine another, but Bradshaw will never know.

                That’s when he notices Bradshaw’s cock is hard again and he doesn’t know what to say, what Bradshaw wants to happen here. The realization that Bradshaw got hard again while blowing him makes his own cock twitch and god, he’s not even gone a little bit soft. What the hell. Bradshaw is grinding their cocks together, except it’s too light to be considered a grind, is more like the little butterfly kisses, just little touching glances before moving away and it’s a little maddening, and he wants to press into it all, both the kisses and his cock.

                “Want to fuck you. That something you’d want?” Bradshaw asks, voice low against his neck and then he’s sucking Jake’s earlobe, the pulse in his neck where he’s certain Bradshaw can feel how fast his heart is racing. Jake doesn’t open his mouth, just reaches to place one hand in Bradshaw’s hair, and letting the other grab an ass cheek, pulling Bradshaw down into him as he pushes up and their cocks and hips press against each other almost painfully and Jake just gasps. Then Bradshaw is moving, body coming to cover his and he’s so glad for it, feels anchored to the world.

                “Yeah, yeah. Fuck me.”

                “You sure? Not too sensitive?”

                “Fucking come on,” Jake mutters, breaking his silence and a flash of something passes over Bradshaw’s feature, too fast to identify. He’s already relaxed and stretched from the blowjob, shifts onto all fours so he can avoid looking at Bradshaw in the eyes while they fuck. Doesn’t want to think about why he doesn’t want that too much. Doesn’t need to watch as Bradshaw puts another condom on and slicks Jake up with more lube. When Bradshaw presses into him it’s firm and slow, unyielding and Jake groans into it, breath hitching a little, wants him to move the alleviate the discomfort and at the same time wants him to never move, to somehow press himself further in.

                “C’mon, move.”

                “Nope. Not yet…” Bradshaw mutters, and Jake doesn’t know if he’s just being difficult or if he has a reason for not moving. Bradshaw’s moving his hips in a tiny incremental grind, he can feel his balls brushing him. “You feel good Seresin. Let me enjoy it.”

                Jake doesn’t say anything, because it’s not totally a bad thing that Bradshaw isn’t moving, he’d just thought he’d want to get on with it. He can feel himself relaxing around the intrusion, can feel himself starting to grind back slightly and it seems to be whatever signal Bradshaw was waiting for maybe as he pulls back a little before grinding back in, repeating the slow short thrusts. He’s never been fucked after he’s already come, never realized this was maybe a thing that could happen, but he likes the way it’s making him feel.

                “Can you come again?”

                “I… I don’t know,” Jake answers honestly, because this is all new territory, the fact that his cock is still hard, never really went away after he came the first time.

                “Let’s find out hmm?”

                “Oh fuck…” Jake breathes, his words hot and damp against the skin of his arm as he parses exactly what Bradshaw means by that. Fuck. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

                He’s not sure what else might be part of the plan, but Bradshaw seems curious as to what will make Jake squirm, shout, gasp, swear and everything in between. He shifts with no pattern or direction between slow grinds of his hips, pulling Jake up a little and working his cock in his hand, then longer, deeper thrusts while he sucks bruising kisses to his neck and shoulders, to a fast-punishing pace, hips snapping in and out all while his fingertips dig into Jake’s hips. All of it is good in its own way, he doesn’t have a favorite although he can tell Bradshaw seems intent on figuring it out.

                Bradshaw’s body is slick with sweat, he can feel the odd drop of it hit the overheated skin of his back where it offers a little flash of coolness for a brief moment. The sheets are damp with his own sweat, he’s panting, fingers grasping desperately at the sheets as he pushes back. God. He had no idea it could be this good. Wants to comes, knows he can definitely come, but never wants it to end all at the same time. It’s when Bradshaw presses himself along the length of Jake’s back, circles his hand around Jake’s cock and starts jerking him off that he knows.

                “Think you can come again Seresin?”

                “Yes… fucking yes…” Jake hisses between clenched teeth.

                “Good. You going to come for me then?”

                “You first…” Jake gasps out, holding back through some sheer force of will and good luck.

                “Oh fuck…” Bradshaw grunts, and Jake feels him jerk, his hand on Jake’s cock stilling briefly before it goes back to stroking and then Bradshaw is murmuring your turn under his breath and Jake’s orgasm is intense, like the first one of the night never happened, his whole body arching to be closer and he slumps down, uncaring if Bradshaw falls with him. Holy shit his brain provides and Jake grins stupidly against his arm, because his brain has the right idea and he closes his eye briefly. He must doze off for a moment or two, because when he opens them again Bradshaw is almost completely dressed, just his pants and undershirt, jacket carefully folded inside out, tapping at his phone with his other hand.

                “Hey. You’re back with me,” Bradshaw says, and he’s fucking smug but Jake guesses he kind of deserves to be. Holy shit his brain repeats, and his body definitely echoes the sentiment. He’s going to jerk off remembering this. “You good?”

                “I’m good. So good.”

                “Hmm. Good. Catch you around Seresin.”

…            …            …

                He falls asleep, his body feeling well worked over and achy in the best possible way. Like a good run in warm sunshine followed by a really good jerk of session in the shower. But better. So much better. When he wakes up he still can’t believe that it was Bradshaw in his bed last night.

                Fucking Bradshaw.

                Literally fucking Bradshaw.

                He’s a little annoyed with himself. Can’t believe he’s had sex with a guy that is kind of an asshole and it was good. He wanted so badly for it to be absolute shit, to be able to tar Rooster with the same selfish-asshole brush as the very few guys he’s slept with previously. He’d taken what Nick said to heart, not pushed himself too early, but he’s had decent sex now. What he’d thought was good sex. And now he knows it was barely decent. The fact that the best sex he’s had is with someone who seems to hate him for some unknown reason is galling, but he tries not to care about it.

                God. Imagining sex like that with someone he actually likes? It’ll be amazing. He rolls over and grabs his phone, plugs it in, has to wait for it to charge up; a little distracted last night to plug it in so it’s gone dead. He probably needs to buy a new one. He goes and has a shower, brushes his teeth and pulls a face at the marks on his chest, back and hips. Ah well. Nothing to be done about any of that now. He pads back into the room and picks up his phone, looks at the new photos Susie has sent him and then goes to open Grindr.

                Nine notifications.

                Shit.

>>You around?

>>I think we could meet?

>>Same city right now?

>>Jas?

>>Guess you must be busy.

>>Damn it.

>>Seriously thought fates were finally on our side.

>>I’m out on an early flight.

>>Hope you had a good night.

                Jake feels like throwing his phone across the room but resists, clenches his jaw and swallows down the disappointment. Fucking Bradshaw.

>>I am so sorry!

>>I had my phone on silent.

>>And then it must have died.

>>Shit.

>>I’m really sorry to have missed you.

>>Pretty sure you don’t want the Grindr notification sounds coming through your phone.

>>Why do you think it was on silent?

…            …            …

                He’s glad his phone had died, that he doesn’t have to lie. Feels odd telling Nick that he didn’t check his phone because he was busy having sex. Feels worse thinking that sex is the reason he missed meeting him. He both wants to share with Nick just how good of an experience he had, but it being the reason he missed meeting him feels rude. Not that it was intentional at all, but he still feels awful, because they were obviously so close and he realizes then that Nick may have been at the award ceremony. It was a large one, with many different factions of the Navy present and he doesn’t know if Nick has figured out that they’re both in the Navy. He could ask. Or he could just drop it into the conversation and he wonders if that’s what Nick did, can’t remember exactly how Nick mentioned it now, but he knows it’s true.

                He keeps it to himself for a couple of weeks, not ready to share it. Not ready to talk about it. Still processing his own emotions, not really sure how he feels or how he’s meant to feel. How he feels about Bradshaw is all mixed in and he has to try and separate the Bradshaw he had sex with from the Bradshaw that he works with in a professional capacity. Isn’t sure how they’ll interact the next time they see each other, knows he could get Bradshaw’s number if he really wanted to, but doesn’t want to… seem interested. He’s not. He doesn’t think he is anyway. But he can’t talk to Nick about it. Not yet.

…            …            …

                A couple of weeks pass and with the pass of time he feels like maybe he’s imagining just how good it was with Bradshaw. His memory is pretty good though and after he jerks off to the memory, changing the man to Nick even if he still looks annoyingly too similar to Bradshaw because of that fucking moustache he snaps a picture of his spent cock lying against his stomach and sends it through to Nick.

>>Gorgeous as always.

>>Any particular reason I get a treat without any prompting?

>>Definitely not complaining, just wondering what brought it on, see if I can make it happen again.

                Jake laughs a little out loud, reaches for tissues and wipes himself off.

>>Nothing you did sorry, although was your name on my lips when I came…

>>Jesus Jas. You trying to get me hard? I’m meant to be going out with friends.

>>I’m not stopping you.

>>Just. I finally had good sex.

>>I mean.

>>Best sex to date.

>>Pretty sure the guy hates me but fucking hell. I can understand the hype a little more now.

>>Yeah? Jesus.

>>Ten years is a long fucking time to wait before you have a decent fuck. You going to see him again?

>>Hahahaha.

>>No.

>>Did you miss what I just said about him hating me?

>>Think we might kill each other.

>>Hate sex can be hot right?

>>Ouch. That kind of sucks.

>>Yeah. Not exactly a great romance or what I was hoping for, but beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

>>Kind of annoyed that he was so good. Makes me hate him a little bit more.

>>Hate?

>>What did he do?

>>Hate me first? I don’t even know.

>>Just seemed to take one look at me and decided not to like me.

>>Trying to not care about it.

>>Is he hot?

                Jake groans, trust Nick to cut right to the center of Jake’s whole conundrum.

>>So hot.

>>Annoyingly so. Cocky.

>>But makes him more attractive. Asshole.

>>Oh yeah. I know the type.

>>Pretty sure they are my type actually.

                Jake feels a pang then, that Nick has a type, knows enough about himself to have developed a type.

>>Yeah? You like cocky assholes?

>>Sometimes. And sometimes I want to put them in their place.

>> Put them on their knees and make them beg for it.

                For a moment Jake thinks about Bradshaw, putting him on his knees to suck him off and his brain melts a little thinking about it. He understands the appeal more now, from both sides.

>>I think I need a connection to make the sex good.

>>Yeah? What makes you think that?

>>Well, while I haven’t exactly got a positive connection with the guy, it’s still a connection. We work together. Have similar life experiences I guess.

>>He’s in the military as well?

>>Yeah.

>>Bad idea huh?

>>Well, I can’t talk. I’ve had my fair number of hook ups, both before and after DADT.

>>Just be careful okay?

>>Yeah. Of course.

…            …            …

                He’s in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when he hears about the Pulse shooting and he immediately needs to send a message to Nick to check in, knows Nick is on leave in Florida and just has to hope Nick didn’t go out clubbing to pick anyone up. He gets back an almost immediate I’m okay.

…            …            …

                It’s happening.

                It’s finally fucking happening.

                They’re both coming here, a busy and popular pool hall filled with dozens of people clearly in the military and on leave. Jake’s been here before, a few years ago, and picked up an unmemorable blowjob in the bathroom. He’s early. Over an hour early, but he doesn’t care, he wants to see Nick walk through that door. He’d said Jake wouldn’t be able to miss him and Jake has no fucking clue what that means but he’ll trust him. He’s reaching for a cue bridge when he feels someone come and stand behind him, too close to be a stranger.

                “Seresin… fancy seeing you here.”

                Then Bradshaw is pressed against his back, lips brushing against his neck and Jake presses back automatically before stiffening and pulling away. He’s here to meet Nick, not fall back into bed with Bradshaw.

                “Bradshaw. As I live and breathe,” Jake replies, voice tight.

                “You look good… want a game?”

                Jake glances at his watch, then checks his phone as well before nodding. Bradshaw shrugs off his jacket and whatever button-down shirt he had on, leaves them carefully draped over one of the bar stools. Then Bradshaw racks the balls and offers Jake the break. He can feel Bradshaw’s eyes on him like a weight, wonders if he’s imagining or projecting as he watches the way Bradshaw’s fingers stroke his cue. Knows he’s not imagining it when Bradshaw keeps brushing against him, fingers brushing his when he passes him the chalk cube. When Jake reaches to take the cue bridge from Bradshaw, he holds on to it, steps in close.

                “Winner gets a blow job?”

                Jake doesn’t choke on his own breath but it’s close, because he’s already winning, but the way Bradshaw is looking at him makes him feel like he’d be doing Bradshaw a favor by letting him. Wonders if the blowjob would play out the same as last time. God he really wants to find out, his cock already starting to get hard and Bradshaw seems to know it, too. Smug fucker. He takes the cue bridge and lines up his shot, sinks his last stripe and then hands the cue bridge back to Bradshaw and pots the black without even looking away from him.

                “I’m actually waiting for someone, but I’ll take a raincheck…”

                “Hopefully somewhere we have access to a proper bed.”

                While Bradshaw sets the table up again Jake grabs his phone, can see the notification and he taps through to it.

>> I’m not going to be able to make it. Something’s come up.

                The message has a timestamp of about twenty minutes ago and he pushes down his disappointment, schools his face into one of indifference and pastes a smile on his face.

                “Seems like Javy got a better offer. Think I’ll take my rain check now.”

                “Double or nothing?” Bradshaw asks, his eyes amused and Jake lets the curl of arousal in his gut fully stretch out. He grins slowly, licks his lips, a little of his disappointment melting away. So he might not get to meet Nick tonight after all, but at least he can have a good time with Bradshaw.

2017 - Bradley

[seeker-ophelia]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Ophelia’s Review, Part 1: The Emotion

Like most people on tumblr, I went into Veilguard for Solavellan. I needed a happy ending for them. I had obsessed and freaked and theorized for years. But before I delve into VG I need to explain some backstory. This is going to be as much a biography of me as it is a tale of my rook. And its going to be long, so you know, heads up. And Veilguard Spoilers.

I have been really struggling to get my thoughts into a coherent string after act 2 of VG. I feel like I can’t even review the game because I’m so emotionally wrecked, all I can do is tell a story. If you want to read this, be forewarned, its long, also, obviously spoilers, Veilguard. But… holy god my Rook. 

[Part 2 is here]

My first Dragon Age game was Origins, in 2009. I torrented it off Pirate Bay and played on my aging laptop that could barely handle it. And I loved it. I had never played a game like this before and loved the emotional and story-telling aspects of the game. I played as a Dalish rogue, Lelianna and Zevran were my best friends. Morrigan was the awe-inspiring yet traumatized goth-girl, and I fell for the golden-retriever bastard king of Ferelden.

I did not only watch on in broken-hearted horror as he ascended to his throne beside Anora without me, but I had him lie with Morrigan, the weirdo-turned-friend, because I trusted her, and frankly, I didn’t want to die.

And it broke me in a way the fantasy books I inhaled like oxygen as a child never did.

Because I chose to do those things. I made the choice. For right or for wrong, I was the one who decided their fate, even if those choices came back to bite me in the ass later.

I played Origins three more times over the next 5 years, through what I now call my University Years. I was broke, stressed, and overworked, and Origins became a comfort to me. I even properly bought the game with the DLCs the last time, because I had a little more money, and I figured a game that I had played and loved so much deserved it. (Never played 2, and that was my own fault). I discovered Fan Fiction because of Origins.

Then… I did some life things that I’m not going to air into the internet, but I kind of got my life together around 2016/17. I had a good job, a career even, and while I was by no means wealthy, I was okay.

And I heard about Dragon Age Inquisition, and remembered my old love for Origins, and gave it a go. I’ve always been a fantasy stan (I grew up with LotR), if you give me the option to play as a mage or an elf I’m going to do it. I wanted to romance Leliana, especially after her bad-assery in Redcliffe, but that turned out to be impossible. Because I never played 2, I didn’t know who Cullen was, and I romanced him (my love letter to Alistair). And while I liked the game, loved it even, I didn’t feel that emotional pull that Origins made me feel, and I put it aside. I’ve played some other games I’ve liked throughout the years, Fable, Skyrim, The Witcher, and I liked them all, but none of them really gut-punched me like that first fated Origins playthrough.

Cut to 2020, covid, and fuck if I didn’t have anything better to do, so I played DA2.

Oh man, I laughed at the graphics, oh it was so bad after Inquisition, how did anyone play this? And then I walked Darktown with Anders, walked slaver dens with Fenris, helped my Merrill with her Eluvian, and Isabela with her relic. And I helped my friend Varric in the deep roads. And I began to feel a tendril again of what I had in Origins. Who cared about the graphics, the gameplay, the locations, these people’s stories were what was driving this tale, and that was amazing and rare.

And I went into Inquisition with new eyes. I could not touch Cullen again, not after how he acted in Kirkwall. I knew Solas left, so I wanted to try and romance Bull (I’ve seen the youtube videos; ‘So you want to ride The Bull’). But I slowed down my playthrough this time, talked to everyone, actually spoke to Solas over and over in Haven. Indominatable focus indeed, hahren. What a curiosity you are. And I fell for fucking Solas.

A bald fucking hobo apostate, are you for real? Brain, get your head in the game. And my heart said, wait.

But he leaves! You know he leaves!  

Well, maybe I’m just destined to fall in love with emotionally unavailable fictional people.

And I played Descent and Hakkon for the first time, which were fantastic. And then I played Trespasser.

And Trespasser broke me. Just like Origins did.

And my Casual Dragon Age Days were done. I was feral.

But I also had a very demanding job. I could not just play video games for large chunks of time. I worked. A lot. I mean a lot. And in the fall of this year, I burnt out. I quit. I’ve got Real Shit going on in my life right now, and I’ve worked so much I can afford to take some time off.

And Dragon Age was there to welcome me, arms open wide, with Escapism 4.0, AKA The Veilguard. I spent hours crafting theories, making connections, playing Inquisition again, playing DA2 again, writing, actually writing Fics again. I read the comics, read TN, watched Awakening (twice).

I joined tumblr to stop being a lurker and actually participate. Joined Caitie and Kala’s patreons, just loving the hype and the theory crafting and the love for Veilguard. I love the Dragon Age world. It has helped me through so many tough times in my life, and its going to get me through this one, too.

I found community online. In tumblr, in reddit, in discord.

And I breathed Dragon Age for almost 2 months before Halloween. Solas this and Lavellan that and Fade and Magic and Titans and Gods and Love. Remember this, don’t forget about that, did you hear this theory, well what about the connection between…

To quote myself, Like most people on tumblr, I went into Veilguard for Solavellan. The companions came out, and I didn’t feel super strongly about any of them. I didn’t even feel strongly about my Rook. I had a general idea, especially because of Trick’s IGN interview, Rook/Mirror/Solas, but nothing really concrete.

And then Nadas-Dirthalen asked me about my Rook a few days before Halloween, and I had to think about it. I had to put down Solas and Lavellan, I had to put down my theories, put down the lore, and pick up this new thing. This Rook.

And I looked at it.

What did I want her to act like? What did I want her to look like? How did I want her to be? What drives her? Where is she from? What are her goals? What does she like? What does she hate?

And I weaved a new friend. Danivas (Dani, for short). Escaped rabbit slave out of Minrathous, her magic the only thing that saved her from hard labor in Dock Town or the mines, and then it was the only thing that saved her from the unwanted advances of the Tevinter Nobility. Rescued by the Dragons in her teens, she sought connection to her elvhen heritage with the Veil Jumpers, falling hard (platonically) for her mentor, her sister, Bellara. Everything she hated about herself, Bellara loved, and Bellara was flighty enough to need protecting, especially after Cyrian, so that’s what she became. Bellara’s protector. Arlathan’s protector. Protector of the small, and defender of the powerless. She will never apologize for saving Varric and the others at the cost of some stupid magic map, she would pay that price a hundred times over to save living beings.

And I made her in CC, I walked her through the streets of Minrathous, through Solas’ ritual, through Arlathan forest. My heart sang when I saw Harding again, and knew that Rook and Harding would be best friends. And I began to fall for the characters.

My Veil Jumper sister Bellara, poised but wickedly intelligent Neve, violent and troubled Lucanis, steadfast and resolved Davrin with playful Assan, towering yet growing Taash, and mystifying, immortalizing Emmerich, with his weird but I guess acceptable Manfred.

I helped Harding, Paragon of her time, discover her new mystifying magic, to find peace through pain, just as Bellara had done for Dani.

I learned all their stories. Their loves. How to interact with them, what they liked and didn’t like. And I fell, for Assan. That fucking griffon. Is so cute. How can you not love him? He’s just like Dani. Forced through circumstance to fight terrible evil, not necessarily against their nature, but certainly not what they would prefer to be doing. They are powerful and special and fierce and playful.

And, like any child, rebellious.

Dani helped Davrin through parenthood. He was a soldier, a commander, not a father, or a teacher, and though she was brash and sarcastic, she had been Bellara’s protector, she knew honey over vinegar, and pushed him to be gentler with Assan. Watched them grow together and felt such unhinged joy through their path to tulum. And then she looked up from digging her fingers into the feathers in Assan’s neck one day to see Davrin staring down at her, and thought, oh.

Her heart stuttered. And they flitted about each other for a long time. Teasing and testing, flirting and ribbing.

As she walked the steps of the Cobbled Swan to meet Morrigan, she told herself she would bring Davrin to Arlathan again, without Assan, and without any gingerwort tea. Just the two of them, and she would tell him what he meant to her.

But the Gods had different plans.  

And they had to move, NOW.

Davrin, the Grey Warden constantly surrounded by death and destruction, tried to warn me.

What if one of us doesn’t come back?

I actually let myself imagine the future.

Our future.

With our half-bird, half-cat kid.

And Dani, who had never had much hope for anything before, brought her hand to Davrins face with a soft smile, and soothed her Griffon Daddy, Var Lath Vir Suledin, Davrin.

When we win, when we beat this thing, we will come back here, and I will show you how much I love you.

Every Solas fresco I uncovered, I cried. Every memory, every revenant, even the ones I saw coming. I felt so much emotion for Solas, even as my love for Rooks Companions grew. Dani’s love for Davrin grew, in a very real, fast, surprising way.

But the Gods Eclipsed the Sun, and we had to move, NOW.

Of course I chose the Grey Warden to lead the charge against the Antaam. I needed Taash and Harding with me, and he was better suited to the roll. Harding is a scout, not a commander, and Davrin would have Lucanis for any sneaky mischief he would need, with Emmerich for any quick heals.

Imagine my relief when we met up again. I made a choice and he didn’t die, thank you, BioWare.

No, Neve, Bellara is better suited to deal with old Elvhen Magic.

And then Elgar’nan took her from me. Dani’s sister. Her home.

And she blasted through darkspawn and Blight to get to Elgar’nan, to get to Bellara.

But they had to get through Ghilan’nain first.

Fuck you Ghilan’nain if you think I’m fighting alone, my strength is my team, and I will move Fade and Titan to get to them. And Dani frees them, only to have Lucanis foiled, again. How do we get out of this? What do we do?

Upside down, she watches Davrin scale a crumbling tower, and their eyes meet.

No.

Whatever it takes.

Davrin, No.

His voice is deep and commanding, resolute and resolved.

“Assan!”

And Dani’s scream tangles with Assans as her son smashes into Ghillan’nain’s back.

The Blighted Goddess stumbles, and Lucanis and Dani fall to the ground, but Ghilan’nain’s blight is lightening, and when Dani looks up at Davrin two tentacles have speared him, his eyes wide and unseeing into the dark sky.

She screams again, Ghilan’nain forgotten, and as she watches Assan dive to the aid of his fallen partner, Dani is knocked back by a concussive blue blast; the Crow has fulfilled his contract.

The air is charged, the veil tearing here, Emmerich is yelling something at her, she must remove the dagger or this world will be torn asunder.

And then there’s overpowering, pressured silence. Grey and fog and stone and loneliness surround her, and all she can see or hear is Solas.

You were never ready to make the sacrifices that leadership requires.

Davrin. Assan. Bellara. My family. Is GONE. Because of ME.

Well, shit, kid. Haven’t you learned anything from this place? I made the choice, even knowing the risks. My decision, my sacrifice, and you don’t get to take that from me.

And Emmerich and Lucanis pull her from her prison of regret, and she knows she can’t blame herself, that would be taking away Davrin and Bellara’s agency, but you know who she can blame?

Solas.

The man my Lavellan loves. The man I swore to save. The one I started this game for. The one who made me feral for Dragon Age.

He did this to me.

Solas took away my love. By not being able to face his regrets.

And Dani became Hardened.

“Are you certain you’re alright, Rook?”

“We’ve still got work to do. I can collapse when this is over.”

“You needn’t carry this burden on your own. The rest of us will send word to our allies. You must take care of yourself in the meantime. We’ll speak again soon.”

But she was fine. She would be fine. Had to be fine. They had a job to do. Gods to kill. People to save.

It was walking past Assan’s spot in the courtyard that broke her.

Mourn Davrin?

To the Void with that.

I will avenge him.

I will kill the Elf who started all of this, forget Mythal, forget Lavellan, forget the Blight.

Mirror.

Solas cannot blame himself, that would be taking away the agency of his friends, but you know what he can blame?

The Veil.

I will end the curse that started all of this, forget Mythal, forget Lavellan, forget the Blight.

Mirror.

I will defend the small.

Mirror.

I will free the enslaved.

Mirror. 

You were never ready to make the sacrifices that leadership requires.

Mirror.

Its easier to play the villain, because that means you didn’t fail, all the damage you’ve done, all the people you’ve hurt…

Mirror.

It becomes a choice.

Mirror.

Remind yourself who you really are.

Mirror.

But will you listen?

Mirror.

Rook lays on the cold cobblestone, eyes wide, fist white-knuckled around the lyrium dagger, a battered and bruised Solas standing behind her. Her anger got her through her battle with Elgar’nan, but it will not help her here.

Rook will have to live with the choices she made. The successes and the failures. She can’t blame Solas. It's easier to blame Solas. But that’s exactly what Solas did, place blame where it did not belong, and it destroyed the world.

And her anger and hate and grief and despair swallow and consume itself into the tiniest, smallest fleck of a wisp.

Of hope.

She rose slowly, meeting Solas’ gaze, and places the dagger in his outstretched, bloody hand.

I don’t want to see any more pain on top of what Elgar’nan has done.

(Hope)

Your prison is made of regrets, and you are trapped in yours.

(I’ll not be trapped in mine)

Destroying everything won’t erase your mistakes.

(Killing Solas won’t bring Davrin and Assan back)

You have the chance, right now, to save the world. Bind yourself to the veil and stop it from failing.

And it takes the Mother, the Maiden, and the Mirror, for Solas to accept his past.

As Lavellan walked the din’an shiral after Solas, Rook walked it for Davrin.

As Varric released Dani from her regret, Mythal released Solas from his.

As Solas turns to the Eluvian, the Magic Mirror named Rook, he is forced to see his faults, and how to fix them.

His corrupted purpose is repairable. And he passes his torch to the Mirror, vowing to seek atonement for the sins of his past, sins grown and amplified because he refused to face the truth of them.

And that will probably hit everyone, because I’d wager good coin that if you’re playing video games, or reading fantasy, you’ve used escapism before, but it hits especially hard for me. Right now. At this point in my life. When my own personal veil I’ve constructed to hold back my own evils is crumbling around me because I have not faced the truth of my own past sins, my memories as demons grown and amplified and slipping through cracks because I refused them for so long. My choice.

And when Solas and Ellana walked into the sunset, I cried. And cried. And cried. Because this whole time I thought I was my Inquisitor, bare your blade and raise it high, look to the sky, for one day soon, the dawn will come, var lath vir suledin. Bellanaris. Perseverance, endurance, outlive, outlast, that is what you need.

When in reality I am my Rook. Let go of your regret. You don’t need to hold on to this, you need to let it go.

We all have to face our regrets. Accept them, and then let them go. Running from them only makes them worse.   

And I leave with the lyrics of the Veilguard Credits song, “Roll The Credits,” by Danielle Ponder:

I could feel it, I won't come down I could see it, oh, with all eyes Hold my head and saw the whole sky I never felt so damn alive And if there's smoke, then I'll be water If there's fire, I'll be rain

We were lost, but we weren't stranded We were dreamers on the run I gave my all, it was commanding And we just did this shit for fun I could feel it, I won't come down Found myself above the sky Tell my mama, tell my daddy That love is falling from the sky

Good God Almighty, I done opened my mind These holy waters left a chill down my spine

[colorful-white-ideas]

Is Bill Skarsgård only in remakes ?

This will be long. Really long.

After the relase of The crow 2024 , a lot of comments have surfaced saying that Bill only do remakes and nothing else. That he is where he is because of nepotism and that he only plays dark characters.

How about we review his trayectory according to his imdb page ? Lets see his eldest credit, how long it took him to position himself in america ( his big break) how many remakes has he done and what genres he explored.

If we go all the way down we will see that his career started in Sweden. His first credit come from the 2000's movie Järngänget where he worked with his brother Alex. Bill was 9 years old aprox. Since then he worked ocationally until his teenage years ,when he took the job more seriously , in consecuense he started to gain fame for himself in scandinavia, even nominations for some roles. Like with simple simon (I rymden finns inga känslor)

In The crown jewels ( Kronjuvelna) we have Alicia Vikander and Bill skarsgard sharing the screen, both are swedish, and later both participated in the 2012 american adaptation of Anna Karenina (Leon tolstoi novel) sadly for Bill ,being Stellan Skarsgård son did not help his small role from being cut out of the movie. Alicia is the one who gets her big break from this by playing Kitty.

Role: Captain Makhotin

But things don't end there, he may have not done it in american movies yet but he did land the role of the vampire / upir Roman Godfrey in Hemlock Grove (series), another adaptation from a book with the same name, on netflix ( small streaming plataform in the early 2010's) he did a total of 3 seasons.

In 2016 he gets another small role but in the Divergent series , in 2017 Atomic blond ( as Merkel). Now it's in 2017 at 27 years old when his first remake and big break comes: IT (pennywise) . But first lest define briefly what is a remake?

wikipedia says: A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film".A remake tells the same story as the original but uses a different set of casts, and may use actors from the original, alter the theme, or change the flow and setting of the story. A similar but not synonymous term is reimagining, which indicates a greater discrepancy between, for example, a movie and the movie it is based on

It is a novel by stephen king ,the first adaptation was for tv miniseries of 2 episodes in 1990 with Tim curry as Pennywise. In 2017 another adaptation is released and here is where we open the main debate: The 2017 movie was a remake or another adaptation? I guess is matter of perspective, while is true that the first popular reference we have about the subject is the 90'series , the new production based his storyline and character design in the book... So if you are more familiar with the book you'll call it an adaptation but if you have never read it then it'll be a remake "with differences".

The contrast beetween both vertions of IT is too big to consider the latter ( 2017) a re-do/ remake of the miniseries. You can notice that just by the approach Bill and Tim took on Pennywise. Tim's version was more human, a psycopath like in John Wayne Gacy-esque type. Bill's was a monster, not one trace of humanity in his character, it was out of this world and enjoyed playin/ torturing its meals cause it tasted better basically.

My own take is that IT CHAPTER 1 AND 2 are not remakes of It (1990). But due to pop culture they are considered as such.

Between the IT- MANIA he was in the following productions: Battlecreek , deadpool 2 ( short role), Villians, Assasination nation and Castle rock ( series). He also participated in shortfilms like: A stone Appears, Alteration and Do you like the taste of beer?

Is in castle rock where he plays another creepy role as the kid .For battle creek he is an artistic vulnerable depressed dude. In assassination he plays a misogynistic teen asshole. And with Villains we see him explore his comic side.

This is what I would like to call the transition period, besides Deadpool and castle rock, all the projects previously mentioned are in some way small projects , that he for some reason decided to take on ,maybe for scheduling reasons cause by the end of 2019 IT CHAPTER 2 was premiering.

2020- 2022

The pandemic hit and changed things, he losses momentum. The whole industry was shaken actually. Movies that were supposed to be released in cinemas went to streaming, projects were cancelled and others got delayed.

For example Bill was set to work in The northman with his brother Alex again , he was already in Eggers radar, but due covid he had to drop out: Here

He left that project because something else was scheduled: Clark. (netflix nordic) a series he helped to produce too.

From this time we got Nine Days, The devil all the time (one of his best works and one of his most underrated film. He plays Willard a traumatized ww2 veteran), Soulmates (a series - one ep. He plays a uptight gay man who finds love while vacationing in Mexico), Naked Singularity ( he's an lawyer with adhd and a weird obsesion with ears) , Eternals ( KRO) ,Barbarian (horror movie where he is just a good guy who's in the wrong place at the wrong time )

By this time he was still under the shadow of " pennywise" but he had built a reputation for himself, he was a good actor before the critic and public that followed his work. Not as popular as Alex ,for example , but he was known by now.

2023 -24

After the pandemic we enter the period I woud like to call : COMEBACK.

The projects we find here are more "commercial" because these are action films, which is not bad , it was about time, most of his films usually dont get too much of exposure or are small projects. If someone said Bill Skarsgård automatically people thought in the clown 🤡 and not in Kro, mickey, willard or Clark for example. So we see here some sort of rebrandig he's now a killing machine, a cartoonish villain and anti hero.

John wick 4.

This offer came to him thanks to a previous work he did in Atomic blonde. Chad stahlesky let him choose what character play ( here) , and he went for the bad guy. A cartonish kinda old school villain , with funny accent and great suits: The marquis de Gramont.

Now, a very common observation people do is that roles are offered to him and his just takes them. That he is like a passive actor who only plays what he's tell to play, but since Pennywise he has always talked about how much he gets involved in the making of a character. The marquis was not the exception. That annoying accent was , for example, his idea. here more about it

This participation was a breath of fresh air, and brought new eyes to him. New fans arrived, people saw more of his work and he stepped a bit away from the IT shadow. Later was confirmmed that his next project would be BOY KILLS WORLD a pure gory action film with some comedic touch for which Bill prepared hard.

Moritz Mohr: Bill is a terrific actor. The only thing we weren't sure at that point was, "Can he deliver on the action?" He basically just promised, "No, I'm gonna put in the work, I'm gonna get ripped, I'm gonna train, and I'm going to learn the choreography." Which is a huge commitment, because it's just months and months of training and rehearsing, and I'm so glad that he did it. He overdelivered sometimes, he was really committed to it, and I'm very lucky that he was, because I think the results are just phenomenal.

In BKW we see Bill has good comedic timing, as if that wasn't clear with previous projects like Villains , but here he delivers comedy without talking. Conclusion : he can also be funny.

So far we are very into 2024 and NO MORE REMAKES in sight for him besides IT and we have talked about how many movies- series ? Almost 20 since his first big job in America (Hemlock G.)

The recent fame of " remake actor " comes from the next two jobs he landed. The crow 🐦‍⬛ and Nosferatu. 🦇

The crow 🐦‍⬛: How Bill got the script on his hands? it was given to him because he is known for remakes, because of his lastname , because no one else wanted to do it ? Luckily for us , Empire magazine tell us the following:

The project was conceived to be a separate work from the 1994 movie the crow, the source of inspiration was THE CROW graphic novel of J.O Barr. Again, by this and more interviews around we see Bill as an actor who played and active part in bringing a unique version of eric. From the physique ( something he kept from filming BKW) to the aura he's nothing like Brandon lee's Eric Draven.

The big differences between the 2024 and 1994 version, are confirmmed now after its release with heavy critics of people claiming it to be a "bad remake cause it looks nothing like the original " Here I ask rethorically , so is Bill a remakes actor or not?

Remakes are in full force lately, examples are whatever Disney has been doing lately, the ghostbusters, robocop , etc. Movies that go frame by frame , super close to their media source.

The same way Dune 2022 is not considered a remake of the 80's movie , The crow 2024 shouldn't be considered one either. Not even IT. Because, primarily, the source material is not the previous movie or series, but a book or a novel. So the best term to use is , I believe, adaptation or reimagining.

But what about Nosferatu?

I'm glad you asked random tumblr reader. I'm almost finishing and this is where I want to suggest that this upcoming film is actually the first remake Bill Skarsgård has done.

Robert Eggers ( director of this new remake ) shares with anOther magazine, that he planned to film Nosferatu after The witch , that's how he met Bill , who was 25 by then ( at 25-26 he was also auditioning for IT) . Eggers recalls Bill's audition being excellent for Hutter . Unfortunatelly the project fell but they stayed in contact and planned to one day work together , Bill was later set to work in the northman , we already know how that played out.

As we see here Bill was the one trying to get the opportunity to work with the director, having another role in mind ,until Eggers proposses to him the opportunity to be Count Orlok thanks to the work he did as Bob Gray in IT chapter 2.

Eggers knew about his capacities as an actor to embody darkness while having a youthful and pretty exterior that's why he tought of him as the right choice for the project.

Once again we read an interview that highlights the joint work of the director and Bill on the character, from the psyque to the make up. He was very proactive, long conversations, audio tapes, isolation, voice coach , etc. All of which finally paid off

Bill Skarsgård has proven his desire to become a versatile actor, just by reading his imdb page we see a variety of works forming his resumee , but he has a particular preference for dark, scary , creepy roles. In this review since the Hemlock grove days he has played a total of 7 obscure characters ( from antagonist to conflicted ones). This alone is not bad, and they aren't that many either. Every actor have a genre they prefer , characters they feell more pulled to work with. Bill is a goth king and I respect that.

His career itself also proves to be the result of organic growth, although he was lucky to be part of one of the most successful and respected acting families in sweden , that alone couldn't have granted him is current success. He started in America with a small show that most people haven't heard of till this day, and was in his late 20's when he got his first big opportunity. He sent emails, he sent tapes, he auditioned, he gave his word promising to deliver a good job. He works his ass off for what he wants. He doesn't seem to be the classic textbook nepobaby.

That's why I think that considering him just a remake actor is unfair and narrow minded. Said statement reduces a still growing career full of exploration to just opportunistics cashagrab roles ... and this guy is far from being that. Also because not everything that shares a tittle or character's names is a remake. It dependes on what the creators are having in mind for the new work.

That's so , after reading the most recent AnOther magazine interview , that I came to the conclusionI expressed before: Nosferatu is his first remake . Both Bill and Robert Eggers have always in mind the 1922 movie as source of reference and they worked Count Orlok and the story around that.

He's still a rising star, and has a lot more ahead, im confident the general public will see what directors and fans have seen in him: A good mfucking actor who wants to leave a mark but in his own terms. Taking risks , exploring, chosing roles that may not look right for him but always improving himself to expand his potential and keep taking on new and more promising challenges.

Its intersting how everything connects , IT oppened the door of Nosferatu. After all the issues that came to him at the right time , and I can bet my left arm he will deliver !

*Im sorry if this was too long it took me 2 days finishing it ,i'll go to sleep now .

[brian-in-finance]

This quote from FvF Director James Mangold can be added to the one you posted:

“Whatever had been said to me before I met Caitríona — ‘She’s in this hot TV show, huge following, former model’ — this is often the kind of thing that turns me off. But what I was confronted with was a simply remarkable actress—present, fearless, emotionally vulnerable, and smart.” - James Mangold, Director FvF

Thanks for the message, Anon. 😃 Your Mangold quote is from Vanity Fair and follows Brian’s recent post with video of Jamie Dornan’s and Orlando Bloom’s, and a tweet screenshot of Mangold’s, talking about working with Caitríona.

James Mangold and Caitríona Balfe attend the Le Mans ‘66 /Ford v Ferrari premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on 9 September 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Thanks for your message, Anon. 😃

What do I think “based on reviews in everything she's done in and outside Outlander?” 😂 How To Attract Unwanted Attention Without Really Trying…

I think Caitríona will be just fine, regardless of her age (45 in October) and Outlander’s ending (filming in the next few weeks, Season 8 promotion sometime before 2030…).

It’s nice to step into the unknown and see what the possibilities might be. — Caitriona Balfe, 6 September 2024

Video 📹 from Twitter

I’d argue if every other role is typecasting, every other role is something different. 😉

Let’s look at her work released since Outlander premiered in August 2014, supportive wife/mother wise:

2015 The Price of Desire ❌

2016 Money Monster ❌

2019 Le Mans ‘66/Ford v Ferrari ✔️

2019 The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance ❌

2019 The Christmas Letter ❌/✔️

2020 Angela’s Christmas Wish ✔️

2021 Belfast ✔️

2024 The Cut ✔️/❌

2025 The Amateur TBA*

*Will she play the murdered wife? An American CIA agent or diplomat? A foreign agent or assassin? The Amateur’s version of Mrs Kravitz? 🤷🏻‍♂️ What we do know is she had her own dialect coach who is “passionate about coaching accents,” and, according to someone who attended the film’s screening in Pasadena last month, “(Caitríona’s) talent and range is bigger than anything we’ve seen.”

Does she have something bigger than small parts lined up?

As you mentioned, she typically doesn’t talk about, much less name, a project until it’s announced officially. 🍿🍿🍿

I think she’ll be offered roles, big and small, and do only what appeals to her and suits her family’s** lifestyle. She still owns the rights to Here Is The Beehive and now has some experience directing. She’ll never be bored, between time spent enjoying her family** and her interest in travel, art, music, film, fashion, literature, sports, and people.

**her actual family

You didn’t ask, but I’ll offer my humble opinion, just the same. I don’t think they’ll move abroad, regardless of her having lived for several years in New York and Los Angeles. Her and Tony’s parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews all live in Ireland and the UK. As she and Tony have done for years, I see their staying abroad for long periods during filming, but not setting up a permanent residence. I think they’ll continue to make their home and raise their son in Ireland/UK… JMHO.

Photos: FarFarAwaySite (cropped by BIF), Wimbledon, 8 July 2019, London England

Remember… as long as I keep getting cast, I don't care if it's typecast. — Chris Pratt

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 14, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 15, 2024

Five years ago, on September 15, 2019, after about a six-week hiatus during the summer, I wrote a Facebook post that started:

“Many thanks to all of you who have reached out to see if I'm okay. I am, indeed (aside from having been on the losing end of an encounter with a yellow jacket this afternoon!). I've been moving, setting up house, and finishing the new book. Am back and ready to write, but now everything seems like such a dumpster fire it's very hard to know where to start. So how about a general overview of how things at the White House look to me, today....” 

I wrote a review of Trump’s apparent mental decline amidst his faltering presidency, stonewalling of investigations of potential criminal activity by him or his associates, stacking of the courts, and attempting to use the power of the government to help his 2020 reelection. 

Then I noted that the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), had written a letter to the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, on Friday, September 13, telling Maguire he knew that a whistleblower had filed a complaint with the inspector general of the intelligence community, who had deemed the complaint “credible” and "urgent.” This meant that the complaint was supposed to be sent on to the House Intelligence Committee. But, rather than sending it to the House as the law required, Maguire had withheld it. Schiff’s letter told Maguire that he’d better hand it over. Schiff speculated that Maguire was covering up evidence of crimes by the president or his closest advisors.

And I added: “None of this would fly in America if the Senate, controlled by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, were not aiding and abetting him.”

“This is the story of a dictator on the rise,” I wrote, “taking control of formerly independent branches of government, and using the power of his office to amass power.”

Readers swamped me with questions. So I wrote another post answering them and trying to explain the news, which began breaking at a breathtaking pace. 

And so these Letters from an American were born.

In the five years since then, the details of the Ukraine scandal—the secret behind the whistleblower complaint in Schiff’s letter—revealed that then-president Trump was running his own private foreign policy to strong-arm Ukraine into helping his reelection campaign. That effort brought to light more of the story of Russian support for Trump’s 2016 campaign, which until Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine seemed to be in exchange for lifting sanctions the Obama administration imposed against Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. 

The February 2022 invasion brought renewed attention to the Mariupol Plan, confirmed by Trump’s 2016 campaign advisor Paul Manafort, that Russia expected a Trump administration to permit Russian president Vladimir Putin to take over eastern Ukraine. 

The Ukraine scandal of 2019 led to Trump’s first impeachment trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, then his acquittal on those charges and his subsequent purge of career government officials, whom he replaced with Trump loyalists. 

Then, on February 7, just two days after Senate Republicans acquitted him, Trump picked up the phone and called veteran journalist Bob Woodward to tell him there was a deadly new virus spreading around the world. It was airborne, he explained, and was five times “more deadly than even your strenuous flus.” “This is deadly stuff,” he said. He would not share that information with other Americans, though, continuing to play down the virus in hopes of protecting the economy.

More than a million of us did not live through the ensuing pandemic.

We have, though, lived through the attempts of the former president to rig the 2020 election, the determination of American voters to make their voices heard, the Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd, the election of Democrat Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and the subsequent refusal of Trump and his loyalists to accept Biden’s win. 

And we have lived through the unthinkable: an attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob determined to overrule the results of an election and install their own candidate in the White House. For the first time in our history, the peaceful transfer of power was broken. Republican senators saved Trump again in his second impeachment trial, and rather than disappearing after the inauguration of President Biden, Trump doubled down on the Big Lie that he had been the true winner of the 2020 presidential election. 

We have seen the attempts of Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress to move America past this dark moment by making coronavirus vaccines widely available and passing landmark legislation to rebuild the economy. The American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act spurred the economy to become the strongest in the world, proving that the tested policy of investing in ordinary Americans worked far better than post-1980 neoliberalism ever did. After Republicans took control of the House in 2023, we saw them paralyze Congress with infighting that led them, for the first time in history, to throw out their own speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). 

We have watched as the Supreme Court, stacked by Trump with religious extremists, has worked to undermine the proven system in place before 1981. It took away the doctrine that required courts to defer to government agencies’ reasonable regulations and opened the way for big business to challenge those regulations before right-wing judges. It ended affirmative action in colleges and universities, and it overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion. 

And then we watched the Supreme Court hand down the stunning decision of July 1, 2024, that overturned the fundamental principle of the United States of America that no one is above the law. In Donald J. Trump v. U.S., the Supreme Court ruled that a president could not be prosecuted for crimes committed as part of his official duties.

We saw the reactionary authoritarianism of the former president’s supporters grow stronger. In Republican-dominated states across the country, legislatures passed laws to suppress Democratic voting and to put the counting of votes into partisan hands. Trump solidified control over the Republican Party and tightened his ties to far-right authoritarians and white supremacists. Republicans nominated him to be their presidential candidate in 2024 to advance policies outlined in Project 2025 that would concentrate power in the president and impose religious nationalism on the country. Trump chose as his running mate religious extremist Ohio senator J.D. Vance, putting in line for the presidency a man whose entire career in elected office consisted of the eighteen months he had served in the Senate.

In that first letter five years ago, I wrote: “So what do those of us who love American democracy do? Make noise. Take up oxygen…. Defend what is great about this nation: its people, and their willingness to innovate, work, and protect each other. Making America great has never been about hatred or destruction or the aggregation of wealth at the very top; it has always been about building good lives for everyone on the principle of self-determination. While we have never been perfect, our democracy is a far better option than the autocratic oligarchy Trump is imposing on us.” 

And we have made noise, and we have taken up oxygen. All across the country, people have stepped up to defend our democracy from those who are open about their plans to destroy it and install a dictator. Democrats and Republicans as well as people previously unaligned, we have reiterated why democracy matters, and in this election where the issue is not policy differences but the very survival of our democracy, we are working to elect Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

If you are tired from the last five years, you have earned the right to be.

And yet, you are still here, reading. 

I write these letters because I love America. I am staunchly committed to the principle of human self-determination for people of all races, genders, abilities, and ethnicities, and I believe that American democracy could be the form of government that comes closest to bringing that principle to reality. And I know that achieving that equality depends on a government shaped by fact-based debate rather than by extremist ideology and false narratives. 

And so I write.

But I have come to understand that I am simply the translator for the sentiments shared by millions of people who are finding each other and giving voice to the principles of democracy. Your steadfast interest, curiosity, critical thinking, and especially your kindness—to me and to one another—illustrate that we have not only the power, but also the passion, to reinvent our nation.

To those who read these letters, send tips, proofread, criticize, comment, argue, worry, cheer, award medals (!), and support me and one another: I thank you for bringing me along on this wild, unexpected, exhausting, and exhilarating journey.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

Donald Trump was NOT convicted by Joe Biden, he was NOT convicted by the Judge, he was NOT convicted by the District Attorney.  Donald Trump was convicted by a jury of his peers. A jury, I should note, that Trump was personally “very much involved” in picking per his lawyer Todd Blanche on CNN Thursday night. And that conviction happened in the state where Trump committed his crimes after a full trial that lasted more than a month where Trump was represented by a team of very experienced lawyers who presented his best defense. That is how our Constitution and criminal justice system works. There were no surprises here. As I predicted in my article before the trial began, “Trump is going to be a Convicted Felon by June." That was based on my experience as a trial lawyer and after reviewing the evidence the prosecutors had laid out in their pleadings. Common sense said that the only reason Trump paid Stormy Daniels “hush money” ten years after their affair —but just a week before the 2016 election—was to defraud voters of the truth. To that end, Trump falsified business records to conceal his illegal scheme. The jury saw the facts as they were, hence Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts and is now a CONVICTED FELON.

Yet now we see Trump and MAGA reject the jury verdict by attacking it as “rigged,” a “sham,” etc. MAGA House Speaker Mike Johnson called the verdict, “the weaponization of our justice system.”  Marco Rubio weighed in on Twitter, writing, “The verdict in New York is a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice.”  The always awful MAGA Rep. Elise Stefanik, posted, “Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and Democrats.”  Spineless Tim Scott said on CNN Thursday night, “This was certainly a hoax, a sham” with the even worse Ted Cruz stating, “This entire trial has been a sham, and it is nothing more than political persecution.” And the list goes on and on. But this is no surprise, it’s part of MAGA telling us they reject our Constitution and the foundations of our democratic Republic. After all, Trump and MAGA rejected the 2020 election results because Trump lost. They rejected the criminal justice system when they smeared the indictments against Trump as being a sham. And now they publicly reject our jury system, which is one of the cornerstones of the US Constitution as laid out in the Sixth Amendment.

The question that must be asked is given Trump and MAGA reject our elections, our criminal justice system, the rule of law and our Constitution, what exactly do they support?! The answer is simple: Convicted Felon Trump. That’s it. [...] Let me repeat what I’ve been writing and saying for months: Don’t count on the courts, the prosecutors or a jury to save us from Donald Trump. We are the only ones who can do that by coming out in huge numbers to defeat him this November. This may sound jarring but it’s the truth: MAGA is a cancer. If allowed to metastasis, it will kill our democratic Republic that so many sacrificed so much to defend. The good news though is that the cure to MAGA cancer is right in front of us. All it takes is voting in big numbers this November.

The butthurt MAGAs crying and whining about Convicted Felon Donald Trump being convicted on 34 charges for business records falsification is more proof that the extremist anti-American MAGA cult needs to be crushed at all costs.

See Also:

Vox: Why the ludicrous Republican response to Trump’s conviction matters

MMFA: MAGA media rage in response to Trump's 34 guilty verdicts

RWW: MAGA Martyrdom Machine Portrays Felon Trump as Victim, Vows Revenge

HuffPost: Right-Wingers Are Already Promising Vengeance After The Trump Verdict

Daily Kos: Republicans choose MAGA lunacy over the law after Trump's conviction