#A short article about The New Society

[jd-patz]

“A SHORT ARTICLE ABOUT THE NEW SOCIETY”

In order to realize his vision of the New Society, Marcos made a number of explicit commitments in his declaration of martial law. His vision represented a great hope for the Filipino people to lead happy and satisfying lives. He was widely regarded as a superb leader and orator.

PHOTOcredit: Martial Law Museum

[arenakoraine]

THE NEW SOCIETY

The period of the New Society in the Philippines began on September 21, 1972, under the leadership of Ferdinand Marcos. During this time, efforts were made to promote Filipino literature and culture. The Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature continued to recognize outstanding Philippine writers, while attempts were made to discourage pornography and other forms of literature deemed to have negative moral influences. The government played a significant role in reviving traditional plays such as the Tagalog Zarzuela, Cenaculo, and Embayoka of the Muslims. Filipino poetry during this period often focused on themes of patience, cultural traditions, and appreciation for nature. Additionally, radio and television remained popular, and the annual Pista ng mga Pelikulang Pilipino showcased Filipino films. Many performing artists in radio moved over to television because of higher pay. Moreover, organizations such as PETA, Repertory Philippines, UP Repertory, and Teatro Filipino contributed significantly to the development of plays during this time. Meanwhile, newspapers shifted their focus to news on economic progress, culture, and tourism, and bilingual education led to a renewed focus on national identity and resolving societal problems. Overall, the New Society period was marked by a renewed appreciation for Filipino culture and an emphasis on national identity. While efforts were made to promote literature and the arts, the government also sought to maintain moral standards through censorship and regulation. Despite its challenges, this era left a lasting impact on Philippine society and culture.

Reference:

The Period of Activism and the New Society. (2014, November 3). Philippine Literature. https://group4lit1webpage.wordpress.com/period-of-activism-and-the-new-society/

Photo source: https://group4lit1webpage.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/download-3.jpg

[jeomee]

Photo Credit: https://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/promises-of-the-new-society/

The "New Society" was a term coined during the rule of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, which aimed to transform the country into a society free from poverty, corruption, and political turmoil. Although Marcos promised to implement policies such as land reform and infrastructure development, his authoritarian rule and human rights abuses stained the vision of a New Society. Today, the Philippines still faces challenges such as poverty, inequality, and corruption. However, the path towards a truly new society must prioritize democratic participation, social justice, and respect for human rights. Achieving this requires genuine political will and accountability from those in power.

Reference: https://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/promises-of-the-new-society/

[dopeanchorcherryblossom]

By Japhet Quitzon

About 31 million Filipinos voted for Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., catapulting him into office as the first majority president in the post-1987 Philippines. He won over Filipinos across the socioeconomic spectrum and age range. Many international observers wonder how Filipinos elected a Marcos to the highest office in the land after driving the family out of the country just 36 years ago. On their decades-long road to Malacañang, the Marcoses worked tirelessly to rehabilitate their image. Most recently, social media emerged as a critical platform for fostering nostalgia for the martial law period, glamourizing the Marcos family, and whitewashing the history of the Marcos regime.

 

Social media disinformation in the Philippines overwhelmingly favors the Marcos family. Some of the most sinister aspects of the elder Marcos’ regime, such as the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement) under martial law, are now innocuous viral TikTok background music clips. TikTokers around the Philippines played “Bagong Lipunan,” a martial law era march, to their older relatives to gauge their reactions. Some of them happily saluted and marched in place to the music. Meanwhile, thousands sing along to a new, pop-rock version of the song at Bongbong’s campaign rallies. Under the cheery tune is a dark truth—under the “New Society” extolled in the song, the Marcos administration heavily curtailed freedom of speech, press, and assembly. The administration victimized over 100,000 people—killed, tortured, imprisoned, or disappeared. From 1965 to 1986, the Marcoses stole between $5 and $10 billion from the country, setting back Philippine development by decades.

Reference: https://www.csis.org/blogs/new-perspectives-asia/rebirth-new-society-cautionary-tale-36-years-making

[aronarchy]

A copy of the first reading list, if you dislike clicking on Google docs links:

The liberal news media is working overtime to silence Palestinian voices. As we sit thousands of miles away, witnessing the massacre through social media, the least we can do is educate ourselves and work to educate others. Apartheid threatens all of us, and just to reiterate, anti-Zionism ≠ antisemitism.

Academic Works, Poetry and Memoirs

The Revolution of 1936-1939 in Palestine: Background, Details, and Analysis, Ghassan Kanafani (1972)

Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries, Rosemary Sayegh (1979)

Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment, Mazin Qumsiyeh (2011)

My Life in the PLO: The Inside Story of the Palestinian Struggle, Shafiq al-Hout and Jean Said Makdisi (2019)

My People Shall Live, Leila Khaled (1971)

Poetry of Resistance in Occupied Palestine, translated by Sulafa Hijjawi (Baghdad, Ministry of Culture and Guidance, 1968)

On Palestine by Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky (2015)

Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on the US-Israeli War Against the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé (2013)

The Politics of Dispossession: The Struggle for Palestinian Self-Determination, 1969-1994, Edward W. Said (2012)

Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique, Sa’ed Atshan (2020)

Stone Men: The Palestinians Who Built Israel, Andrew Ross (2019)

Ten Myths About Israel, Ilan Pappé (2017)

Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question, Christopher Eric Hitchens and Edward W. Said (2001)

Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape, Raja Shehadeh (2010)

The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East, David Hirst (1977)

Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom, Norman Finkelstein (2018)

Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky (1983)

Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations, Avi Shlaim (2010)

Politicide: Ariel Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians, Baruch Kimmerling (2006)

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, Norman G. Finkelstein (2015)

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, Jehad Abusalim (2022)

Nakba: Palestine, 1948, and the Claims of Memory, Ahmad H. Sa’di and Lila Abu-Lughod (2007)

Peace and its discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East peace process, Edward W. Said (2012)

Three Poems by Yahya Hassan

Articles, Papers & Essays

“Palestinian history doesn’t start with the Nakba” by PYM (May, 2023) 

“What the Uprising Means,” Salim Tamari (1988)

“The Palestinians’ inalienable right to resist,” Louis Allday (2021)

“Liberating a Palestinian Novel from Israeli Prison,” Danya Al-Saleh and Samar Al-Saleh (2023) 

Women, War, and Peace: Reflections from the Intifada, Nahla Abdo (2002)

“A Place Without a Door” and “Uncle Give me a Cigarette”—Two Essays by Palestinian Political Prisoner, Walid Daqqah (2023)

“Live Like a Porcupine, Fight Like a Flea,” A Translation of an Article by Basel Al-Araj

Films & Video Essays

Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight (2021)

Naila and the Uprising (2017)

Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory (2015)

Tell Your Tale Little Bird (1993)

The Time That Remains (2009)

“The Present” (short film) (2020)

“How Palestinians were expelled from their homes”

Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists (2011)

Born in Gaza (2014)

5 Broken Cameras (2011)

Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege (2021)

Al-Nakba: The Palestinian catastrophe - Episode 1 | Featured Documentary

Organisations to donate to

Palestine Red Crescent Society - https://www.palestinercs.org/en

Anera - https://support.anera.org/a/palestine-emergency

Palestinian American Medical Association - https://palestinian-ama.networkforgood.com/projects/206145-gaza-medical-supplies-oct-2023

You First Gaza - https://donate.gazayoufirst.org/

MAP - Medical Aid for Palestinians - https://www.map.org.uk/donate/donate

United Nations Relief and Works Agency - https://donate.unrwa.org/-landing-page/en_EN

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund - https://www.pcrf.net/   

Doctors Without Borders - https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/palestine

AP Fact Check

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-misinformation-fact-check-e58f9ab8696309305c3ea2bfb269258e

This list is not exhaustive in any way, and is a summary of various sources on the Internet. Please engage with more ethical, unbiased sources, including Decolonize Palestine and this list compiled by the Palestinian Youth Movement.

[covid-safer-hotties]

“You may now become who you thought was disposable”: COVID-19 Politics and Ableism - Published July 4, 2024

Unpaywalled link available in the link to our archive! A taste below!

“You may now become who you thought was disposable”: COVID-19 Politics and Ableism Andrea Kitta Journal of American Folklore, Volume 137, Number 545, Summer 2024, pp. 321-330 (Article) Published by American Folklore Society For additional information about this article muse.jhu.edu/article/931461[37.228.238.33] Project MUSE (2024-07-09 12:59 GMT) American Folklore Society

This essay critically examines the intersection of COVID-19, Long COVID, ableism, and health care disparities in the United States, emphasizing the transformative impact of COVID-19 as a mass disabling event with a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. I also bring an autoethnographic lens to my experi- ence of COVID-19 and Long COVID, underscoring the importance of recognizing the diverse and often untellable experiences of individuals with disabilities and challenging the prevailing ableist perspectives embedded in society. I raise ethical considerations of storytelling in the context of Long COVID and urge researchers to embrace empathy and a more inclusive approach that challenges traditional notions of objectivity and distancing within academic research. I call for a collaborative approach between disability studies and folklore studies, encouraging scholars to interrogate and explore the traditions shaped by experiences of disability.

On December 13, 2020, disability advocate Imani Barbarin created a TikTok where she stated in the caption: “COVID is a mass disabling event. Things will never be the same. Never. You may now become who you thought was disposable” (Barbarin 2020). Barbarin was not overstating what is happening in the United States. In addition to the overwhelming number of US-based COVID-19 deaths (1.07 million as of November 1, 2022, according to the New York Times COVID-19 Tracker [New York Times 2023]), there is also an alarming number of cases of post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or, as it’s more commonly known, Long COVID. Long COVID happens in anywhere from 5 percent to 50 percent of COVID-19 infections (although most medical experts agree the rate of Long COVID is somewhere around 20–30 percent of all infections). Long COVID affects women at a 22 percent higher rate than men (Sylvester et al. 2022:1391), and one study of Long COVID listed over 200 symptoms (Davis et al. 2021). The most common symptoms are fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, brain fog, sleep disturbances, depression, joint pain, and dysautonomia (a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that typically presents as the inability to control temperature, breathing issues, and other things the body normally controls automatically).

Current estimates of those affected by Long COVID in the United States are between twenty and forty million. COVID-19 has also been shown to reactivate other viruses (Gold et al. 2021; Chen et al. 2022; Su et al. 2022), and one current theory is that Long COVID is the result of the COVID-19 virus continually being reactivated in the body (Klein et al. 2022). The latest research out of Yale University shows that COVID-19 cases entail cellular changes to the B and T cells, lower levels of cortisol, and that the virus can reactivate other viruses (Su et al. 2022:891–2). A recent study with more than 154,068 participants showed that “in the post-acute phase of COVID-19, there was increased risk of an array of incident neurologic sequelae including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, cognition and memory disorders, peripheral nervous system disorders, episodic disorders (for example, migraine and seizures), extrapyramidal and movement disorders, men tal health disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, sensory disorders, Guillain–Barré syndrome, and encephalitis or encephalopathy” (Xu, Xie, and Al-Aly 2022:2406).

Both COVID-19 and Long COVID exposed inequities in the US health care system, with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) populations dying from COVID-19 at much higher rates than White people at the beginning of the pandemic. Compared to White people, Alaskan Indian or Alaskan Natives died at 2.1 times the rate, Black people at 1.7 times the rate, Hispanic or Latinx people at 1.8 the rate, and Asian Americans at 0.8 times the rate (CDC 2023). According to the Washington Post’s analysis of CDC’s statistics, the rate of White people dying from COVID-19 became equal to the rate of other groups beginning in October 2021, then (except for the Omicron wave) increased, primarily due to White people being unvaccinated. Strangely enough, the equalizing trend wasn’t because death rates dropped for BIPOC people, but rather was due to the rise of the White death rate. Tasleem Padamsee, Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University who researched vaccine use and who is a member of the Ohio Department of Health’s work group on health equity, stated: “Usually, when we say a health disparity is disappearing, what we mean is that . . . the worse-off group is getting better. . . . We don’t usually mean that the group that had a systematic advantage got worse” (quoted in Johnson and Keating 2022).

Additionally, at the time of this writing in Spring 2023, the pandemic has been declared as “over” despite the fact that around 400 people are still dying per day in the United States and that those dying tend to be people with disabilities and the elderly (New York Times 2023). It’s difficult to imagine a situation where 400 deaths a day are deemed acceptable, yet here we are. Many people are desperate to “get back to normal” and seem to care more about going maskless or dining indoors than they do about those who are dying of COVID-19. Those who are unvaccinated and unmasked also seem to not understand (or not care) that the longer they continue on that path, the longer the pandemic will take to dissipate. Simply put, the majority of people do not seem to care about people with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised, and their increased health risks due to the pandemic.

People with disabilities are an unrecognized health disparity population, and they died at much higher rates during COVID-19 (Krahn, Walker, and Correa-de-Araujo 2015). The National Council on Disability found that 181,000 people with disabilities in long-term care facilities died from COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic, making up one-third of COVID-19 deaths at that time (National Council of Disabilities 2021). The report is worth quoting at length.

In addition to disproportionate fatalities, key findings of the report include:

People with disabilities faced a high risk of being triaged out of COVID-19 treatment when hospital beds, supplies, and personnel were scarce; were denied the use of their personal ventilator devices after admission to a hospital; and at times, were denied the assistance of critical support persons during hospital stays. Informal and formal Crisis Standards of Care (CSC), pronouncements that guided the provision of scarce health care resources in surge situations, targeted people with certain disabilities for denial of care (National Council of Disabilities 2021).

Students with disabilities were denied necessary educational services and supports during the pandemic and have experienced disruption and regression in their behavioral and educational goals (National Council of Disabilities 2021).

The growing shortage of direct care workers in existence prior to the pandemic became worse during the pandemic. Many such workers, who are women of color earning less than a living wage and lacking health benefits, left their positions for fear of contracting and spreading the virus, leaving people with disabilities and their caregivers without aid and some at risk of losing their independence or being institutionalized (National Council of Disabilities 2021).

Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, and Blind persons faced a profound communication gulf as masks became commonplace, making lip-reading impossible and sign language harder (National Council of Disabilities 2021).

[ohnoitstbskyen]

I cannot stop thinking about "The Last Great American Dynasty"

There's an obscure, independent folk singer-songwriter whose work I've followed since she released a double album debut during the pandemic. It's all moody, introspective pop-folk - acoustic guitar and pianos against the occasional 808 beat.

While I'm clearly not the target audience, there is one song in particular that has stuck with me ever since the very first time I heard it.

Let's discuss.

Sources and further reading:

--- WIKIPEDIA ---

Rebekah Harkness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebekah_Harkness

Standard Oil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil

High Watch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Watch

John D. Rockefeller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller

The Ludlow Massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre

The Homestead Strike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike

--- ARTICLES ---

Vogue - The Outrageous Life of Rebekah Harkness: https://www.vogue.com/article/the-outrageous-life-of-rebekah-harkness-taylor-swifts-high-society-muse

Small State Big History - Rebekah Harkness, the Scorned Socialite of Watch Hill : https://smallstatebighistory.com/rebekah-harkness-the-scorned-socialite-of-watch-hill/

St. Louis Magazine - The story of Rebekah Harkness is way more complicated than Taylor Swift lets on: https://www.stlmag.com/culture/music/the-last-great-american-dynasty-rebekah-harkness/

St. Louis Style - Who is Rebekah Harkness and Why is She the Star of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Last Great American Dynasty’?: https://www.stlouis.style/throwback-thursday/who-is-rebekah-harkness-and-why-is-she-the-star-of-taylor-swifts-the-last-great-american-dynasty/

SF Gate - Everything you think you know about the Winchester Mystery House probably isn't true: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/real-story-of-sarah-winchester-mystery-house-12552842.php

New York Times - IS THERE A CHIC WAY TO GO?: https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/22/books/is-there-a-chic-way-to-go.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

[foreverisntenough]

‘OURS’

Summary: You were his and he was yours but what would it be like adding one more? Thrust into a whirlwind romance you never could’ve imagined that became your forever love. You continue building a new life across the pond with a very beautiful Scouser. A sequel to the ‘You’re Mine’ fic.

INDEX

Warnings: This series is 18+ and will contain fluff, suggestion, SMUT (unprotected sex,) pregnancy, parenting, mental health struggles, eating disorder, self doubt, body image issues, daddy kink, angst, alcohol consumption - not sure what else really… if i miss anything please lmk!

Note: Thank you for reading! Please be sure to like, comment, or message me what you think of the series! Try not to nitpick with any real pregnant/ baby logistics it’s better if you just read along happily :)

Chapter 25 - Honeymoon Heartthrob | ‘Ours’

word count - 9.8 k

Your dad had slid the New York Times under your door. He read it everyday and refused to switch to reading online but today you were thankful for that dated quirk of his. There was a short article in the latest issue announcing your nuptials, it was the first of a few publications your wedding was about to be in but this was particularly special and something you’d always dreamed of.  A Page Six article profiling societies happenings covering it had been traditional in your family, a New York dynastic family and layering Trent’s profession only heightened the focus on your wedding. 

“Good morning to the most beautiful wife.” Trent yawned sleepily running his hands down your bare back. You laid on his chest and woke up slowly the day after your wedding, tangled in bed dressed in nothing but bed sheets and morning sunlight. You hummed nuzzling your face further into him, loving the feeling of his warm skin on yours. 

“Morning, Mr. Alexander-Arnold.” You cooed with a tired giggle. He tilted his head inquisitively towards you. “Just wanted to say my surname.”  You smiled shyly, pulling yourself up his body using your arms draped around his neck, bringing your lips closer to his. 

“C’mere baby.” He whispered bringing you into a soft lazy kiss. His lips felt like heaven. Your lips pulled into an uncontrollable smile though mid kiss as you fell into a childish laugh. “What? What’s up with you, silly girl?” Trent asked as his own lips curled into his signature devastatingly handsome smile.

“This is weird…” you whispered to him ghosting your lips over his. “Like my husband is in my childhood home. I don’t know I can’t explain it.” You smiled back at him pretty sure you did a poor job explaining the really strange emotions you were experiencing this morning. Nothing was negative, things couldn’t be further from that but it just was crazy you had a husband now in this house, often when you entered through the doors you reverted back to feeling 16 again. “… and you’re hard right now too, T!” You giggled like a school girl blushing over the handsome boy in bed with a smug teasing grin.  

“Well, my wife isn’t wearing clothes so that’s really on you innit? You didn’t even bother with the t-shirt of mine that I know you packed, which by the way yes, I’m also aware you stole it, pretty girl and while you may be beautiful, theft doesn’t suit you.” He flashed you a cheeky smile and kissed the bridge of your nose. 

“Stoppp!!” You continued your childish giggles when Trent dropped his hands to the curve of your ass, kneading it, pushing your core further into him and unavoidably so you could feel him growing harder beneath you. 

“You’re on top of me!! What do you want me to do here!?!” He laughed holding you to his body.

“T! Our families are in the house right now!” You squealed childishly as if you didn’t enjoy the feeling of him. There would not be a single day of your life where you didn’t get the slightest bit of satisfaction from turning him on. To be fair, your parent’s house was massive. No one’s bedroom was remotely near the one you were staying in. There was an unspoken decision made to put you and Trent over in the south wing, everyone else staying in the north.

“Two things, beautiful. One, that’s never stopped you before, not even in the first week of knowing you and two, that definitely didn’t stop you last night.” His tone dropped down an octave and into a whisper as he began nibbling on your neck. You hummed in pure delight, letting your faux opposition drop. “Just be a good girl for me, yeah?” He cooed softly, running his tongue down your skin. He groaned as you started to work your hand up and down his length with some of your spit. 

“Just the tip, okay?” You cheekily teased knowing that was never going to happen. ‘Just the tip’ had never happened once in the years of your relationship and it definitely wasn’t going to start day one of your marriage. Trent rolled his eyes.

You had spoken to Bentley Brown from GQ, the man you had run into at the airport what felt like ages ago at this point and what had originally been discussed to be an article about yourself in GQ had escalated into into not only that, but another colleague of his had tacked on the idea to do a spread in Vanity Fair for an inside look into your wedding day. Deciding to give publications inside access to the biggest day of your life took a load of convincing but ultimately it did seem kind of cool and surreal that some of the largest publications in the world thought your day, Trent and yours love life was worth covering, you thought it was, of course, but the fact that they believed other people would want to read and have a look was wild. To say your Instagram following had grown in the last few years would be an understatement, so the intrigue about the wedding day was obvious. Although, you kept it all fairly under wraps. No one except those working the big day or attending it knew anything about it. That said, ‘coverage’ you allowed them was maybe a bit too big of a word, you allowed fairly minimal access to the more intimate moments, it was more like just having an additional camera crew around that weekend.  After your cheeky morning with Trent you had a photoshoot scheduled for said Vanity Fair piece. The shoot would take all day but it wasn’t so much of an inconvenience. You and Trent went to the beach early with the film crew, no one else, not even Teddy. It was a simple concept… you in a white bikini, Trent in linen trousers cuffed to avoid the water, and shirtless. Naturally they had pitched that you’d have a classic soccer ball, like the black and white octagonal ones to mess about with on the sand. It was playful and cute but also gave off a real luxury, old money vibe and you liked that you’d have the these photos forever, they’d be timeless. 

“Just a reminder that Bentley from GQ is coming to the house after our honeymoon for the like actual interview for his piece.” You cooed to Trent as you let a woman oil your legs for the photos. You assessed your body in the mirror as she worked the product in as the sun got higher in the day. The photographer nearly ready all the security and confidence you felt in your wedding drained. You felt it all drag out to sea with the crashing tides. 

“Yeah, I remember, baby. It’ll be great. Don’t look so nervous or remorseful about it. You won’t regret this. I wouldn’t let you do something that would hurt you.” He spoke softly coming to your side pressing a kiss to your cheek. A younger girl capturing content for social posts for the publication catching the interaction. 

“Do you mind giving us a minute?” You looked sheepishly around the room at everyone simply doing their jobs. You could feel a panic attack coursing through your veins, aggressively bubbling towards the surface and you did not care for that aspect of you to be captured. Trent placed his hand low on the small of your back and moved you away from the crowd of people. “T… I don’t look good. I don’t want to be photographed like this. Like I get the look. If I hear ‘young, fit, and sexy’ one more time I think I’m going to start crying.” Your body began to shake. That was part of the creative brief the photographer had been pushing. The fact that Trent was a professional athlete naturally it was going to be an element of the story but your fitness, your body type, your sex appeal for the masses was being really honed in. 

“C’mere sweetheart. You say the word, we call this whole thing, alright?” He whispered, pressing his nose to yours. You shut your eyes gently and let out a sigh and shook your head. “You look unreal, baby, honest. You know Ty has already spoken with both teams and in any interview, any of the photos they can’t mention your health, no postpartum, weight loss, fitness regimes, your body, it’s all off the table. If this, though...” He paused gesturing around you two out at the horizon where all the lighting for the shoot was being finalized. “This if it is upsetting, or it’s too much, you tell me, I'll be the fall guy, whatever you want, I will do for my beautiful girl, the most beautiful girl. I got your back, baby.” He flashed his signature toothy smile back to you. You pouted up at him as he swiped his thumb over your cheek. You dragged your hands down his bare chest and gripped his waist. You dropped your forehead to rest against him. 

“Thank you.” You whispered out quietly. “I’m sorry. I just don’t feel like I look good. It’s just a lot.” You embarrassedly admitted to Trent. He picked up your face by taking your chin in his hand. 

“You… are absolutely stunning. Every second of every day. Alright? Do you understand me?” He smiled before kissing your pouty lips. You’d be lying if his words didn’t make you feel a little better but it didn’t change your reflection. You went back and got ready for the shoot comforted by Trent but plagued by your anxieties.

“Where’s Jay and Judey? Where did they go?” Lauren cooed with a laugh pretending to look for both Jude and Jadon outside at your parent’s pool. A luxury in your life was always having someone who wanted to babysit Teddy for you if you were busy. Right now you had about 20 people who would but Lauren and Winnie took today along with Jadon and Jude. At the moment, their much too large frames were obviously hidden behind a tree although that wasn’t all that apparent to Teddy.

“Don’t knows!” Teddy yelped desperately helpless. “Win Win help!” She cried out with a huff starting to dislike the game they had begun playing ages ago. 

“Hmm... did you look over there?” Winnie giggled seeing Jadon shove Jude slightly more out into the open.

“Judey!!!” She squealed, running over to him. He laughed and scooped her up swinging her around.

“Ah! You found me, you’re too smart f’me Ted. You’re much better at this game than your daddy.” Jude joked with her. He had never played a hide and seek esc came with Trent to be fair but he’d take the opportunity to take a jab at him but also knowing it would elicit some sort of response from Teddy. 

“No Judeyy!” She humphed with a scowl. “My dada best. Dada is best!” She told Jude with some real vigor before he naturally had to concede to her puppy dog eyes. 

“Okay, okay, you’re right, fine. Dada can be the best.” He laughed rolling his eyes. He’d never convince her otherwise. Trent was everything to Teddy and in turn simply the best at everything across the board. She nodded with a proud smile. 

The following day you were laid out on the beach on a towel over the hot sand. Winnie laid next to you, Lauren and Jude in two chairs off to the side a little bit more in their own world. Trent was out in the ocean playing with Teddy and he looked glorious. The way his strong back muscles flexed in the sunlight that reflected off the water. The way the water ran down his tanned skin. It was a sight and on top of that seeing your little girl giggling away in his hold as he tossed her around in his muscular arms had you just about drooling and evidently Winnie understood the attraction to the scene in front of you two. 

“Somedays I think I get the pregnant thing.” She cooed honestly tilting her head a little bit and letting her sunglasses drop further down the bridge of her nose to get a clearer view of Trent and Teddy. Jadon was up back at the house with Marcel and Tyler so she assumed she’d be in the clear to make the comment. You furrowed your brow and let out a snide laugh. Winnie wasn’t exactly looking to start a family anytime soon and she made that clear from her recent purchase of Plan B this month but to say she didn’t think about being a mum at all at some point would be a lie. 

“That’s honestly so sexy.” Lauren chimed in from further away overhearing the conversation, her actions reflecting Winnie’s, the pair of Celine sunglasses of Jude’s she had on falling down her nose just the same. Jude rolled his eyes unimpressed with the entirety of the topic and definitely with Lauren’s interjection. He reached over and moved his her sunglasses back up her nose to their place. She laughed and kissed the inside of his palm.   

“Go get mama!” Trent cooed plopping a soaking wet Teddy onto her own two feet on the sand after he plucked her out of the ocean 20 or so minutes later from your conversation watching them.

“Oh wow!” You let out a breathy laugh when that very wet but cute little girl ran up to you and laid directly flat on top of your back pushing your body further into your towel unexpectedly. “Hi my beachy girl.” You cooed, continuing your laughter, very aware the weight on top of you could only be your Teddy.

“Mama!”  She giggled as she wiggled more, getting comfortable wrapping her now sandy arms and hands uncomfortably around your neck. 

“You didn’t want to dry off? Daddy didn’t want to get you a towel?” You asked Teddy but more so craning your neck to find Trent. Teddy was smart obviously but she didn’t know being wet and sandy would be a bother. She just wanted a cuddle, Trent… Trent knew what he was doing. 

“No, mama.” She unfortunately adorably answered you with a giggle. You shook your head and pulled her to your side before sitting yourself up right a little more. 

“Of course he didn’t.” You finally locked eyes with him and shot him a glare purposefully brushing some sand off of you to emphasize your point of feigned annoyance. He winked back at you and you simultaneously loved and hated that your heart faltered. “Want to tell me what you and daddy have been doing in the water for so long?”  You asked her pulling Teddy into your lap. She clumsily sat on your thigh and smushed her cheek against your boobs. 

“Errmmmm.” She drew out her moment of ponder with a cheeky smile looking at Trent for assistance. He just shrugged with a goofy smile silently telling her to keep thinking. “Oh! Mama! Dada and I swimmy with fwishies.” She yelped excited to relay her activity. God knows what that really entailed because you were in the north east of the united states it wasn’t really a swimming with fish type of place but Trent was imaginative and silly with her so despite your adult realities you knew they were having fun. 

“Yeah, Ted’s a better swimmer than the fishies, aren’t you?” Trent cooed squatting to your level next to your towel. Your eyes immediately and unavoidably darting to his crotch. You bit your lip and tried to avert your gaze  but Trent was faster sucking at his teeth in mocking disapproval for the raunchy direction of your gaze while you were talking about swimming with your daughter. 

“Dada! Go wawa ‘gan.” Teddy pleading looked to Trent with big brown eyes and batting eyelashes. She fussed in your arms so you let her go and allowed her to stand up. 

“Okay, want to go back?” Trent asked with a fun smile back to her. It made you melt how good he was with her. It didn’t matter how tired, how annoying, or whatever it was,  the ask was, if it would make Teddy happy he’d do it. You pulled at her ruffly pink one piece swimsuit before letting her scamper off adjusting the bottom bit around her bum. 

“Coming back for you.” Trent whispered, leaning forward into your ear. His warm minty breath hitting the shell of it sending a shiver down your spine causing you to lose focus on your task at the moment. He kissed your skin a few times and not in a silly lovey way, it was in a ‘I saw you staring at my cock and now I want to give it to you’ type way. Your lips curled into an embarrassed but excited smile. 

“Tay mama!” Teddy huffed annoyed that your hands were still holding her back by the fabric of her swimsuit. You laughed and apologized finally fixing it to your satisfaction and letting go tapping her cute bum setting her off and on her way to run to Trent. 

The sun was close to setting almost entirely, it was far past when you should've eaten dinner but you just couldn’t bring yourself to leave the beach and definitely not leave your current position laying on Trent’s chest on a towel. You were still awaiting to have your fun with Trent, but at the moment the feeling of the warm sun, Trent’s skin, the terry cloth… and all of a sudden tiny grubby hands pulling at your arm draped across him interrupted it all.

“Mama share!!” Teddy yelped standing above you and Trent in a huff. She had been preoccupied playing in the sand and building castles with Marcel but per usual once she had clocked you and Trent were together without her, her focus shifted fast as did her emotions, they transitioned straight into envy.

“No, sorry. Dada is mine.” You annoyingly and cheekily cooed back to Teddy flicking your eyes to her then back closed knowing it would rile her up. Who Trent belonged to was becoming a bigger and bigger debate in your home especially as Teddy was getting better and better at expressing herself. 

“You’re so greedy. She’s barely two. Learn to share” Trent whispered in your ear joking with you smiling through his words, his juicy lips moving pressed against your forehead. “Ted, come here, baby.” Trent cooed, pulling Teddy’s hand off your arm and over to him. She awkwardly stepped over you and plopped herself to take a seat on one of Trent’s thighs. Your bodies were a jumbled Alexander-Arnold family mess.

“Mmm, I love daddy the most.” You hummed teasingly before you made the beloved ‘mwah’ sound kissing Trent’s cheek. You kissed him, keeping your eyes locked on Teddy in mockery. Her brow furrowing shocked you were being so blatant, usually you conceded to her quicker than this.  

“No! Mama, no!” She yelled moving herself a little further up him and letting her body fall forward onto Trent’s chest attempting but unable to wrap her arms around him in a hug. She stretched her neck out and pushed her lips towards him echoing your ‘Mwah’ noise. You threw your leg over his other closet to you, the free one Teddy was not on and subtly rolled hips only gaining his attention obviously. 

“Baby, relax.” Trent laughed, running one of his hands over his face covering his massive smile. It was a dumb game of possession but of course he loved the attention and the cheek of it all. 

“Dada!” Teddy squealed once more reaching for his face with her hands adamant she received a kiss in return. He of course gave it to her. He cupped her cheek and gently pecked her identical pout. “My dada.” She stuck her tongue out at you, wrapping her arms around his neck. Your jaw slacked in offense but you couldn’t stop your laugh. What had Trent done to your little girl that she was that competitive and not only that but that sore of a winner.

“Daddy pay attention to me too!”  Winnie teased watching the tug of war. Teddy whipped her head around with frustration Winnie was piling on. She ran over to her with a huff yelling an adamant ‘nooo.’ 

“You just need me so badly, yeah? Marrying you wasn’t enough for you.” Trent cheekily rolled himself over top of you. He steadied himself above you resting on his forearms before dropping his body weight onto you squishing your boobs against him, to his delight. He pressed messy kisses all over you before gripping his hands behind your neck and pulling you into an aggressive make out. For a moment where you forgot where you were caught in the haze of his kiss. 

“Okay, okay get off!” You giggled pulling away from the kiss with a stupid smile after you heard Lauren whistle making fun of you two. 

“What mama and dada doing?” Teddy asked Winnie, turning and pointing at you two nearing on rolling around in the sand. Winnie pickled her gaze off her and glanced towards you. 

“They’re gross. Your parents are gross." Winnie laughed, shaking her head with a smug smile, jokingly covering Teddy’s eyes with his hands. 

“Alright, fine, fine. Can I say my teenage boy comment of the day though.” Trent cooed rolling off your side bringing his nose to push against yours.   

“Shoot, T.” You giggled brushing your nose left to right against his giddily excited to hear what he had to share. It was kind of a running joke you’d fallen into lately. You had made fun of a cheeky comment Trent had said to you in passing ages ago that it was like something a teenage boy would say so he now would preface his juvenile comments.

“Your boobs look so good in this.” He whispered slipping two fingers under the strap of your bikini top. His warm hands sliding against your skin. “Just want to peel this off.” He quietly spoke just to you. You felt butterflies fill your stomach. His dragged his fingers up under the straps material towards the tie behind your neck.

“Mama!” Teddy yelled wrangling herself away from Winnie deciding that she was not done trying to prove her point who Trent’s was not happy his focus was soley on you.

“Her timing is so good.” Trent whispered to you pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. Your lips curled into a cheeky grin. You gripped his face with one hand preventing him from turning his attention to a running Teddy. 

“Can take this off later, daddy.” You hushed with a subtle wink before pushing off his chest to stand yourself up. “Come here my cutie girl. We can share daddy, okay?” You cooed to Teddy scooping her up in your arms spinning her around loosely. She nodded with a 'tay' wrapping herself around you. Trent puffed out some pent up air taken aback by your comment before standing up having to adjust his shorts.  

“Do you think we should just bring her?” You cooed softly in the night sitting on Trent’s lap around a bonfire. It was late half the house had turned in, half of you still outside, Teddy learning about the art of the perfect s’more from Tyler. You watched them with a smile but you felt a tinge of guilt and sadness thinking about leaving for your honeymoon without Teddy. 

“Baby… she’s our whole life, you know how important she is and you’re the most amazing, sweet, beautiful mummy to her but please give me my week of just my Y/N.” He cooed with an exaggerated pout.

“I can do that.” You turned to face him more, still seated on his lap. His hands slipping from your waist up your exposed back and under the sides of your top moving cheekily closer up to under your boobs.  

“I want days of the most ridiculously small bikinis, I want these tits in my face all day…” he hummed, squeezing his hands around your ribs momentarily trying to be coy. He pulled you back while moving his lips closer to your ear. “I want my sexy, slutty, horny Y/N just for me for a whole week please. Let me fuck you all day on the beach. Let me eat you out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’m begging you.” He whispered with a deep breath imagining it all.

“You don’t have to beg, T.” You quietly giggled. “Trust me I will be there, all of that guaranteed. It’s not that big of a shift to make. I have something to ask though…” You whispered back to him brushing your thumb over his high cheekbone staring back into his big brown mahogany eyes. He hummed inquisitively interested in what your question would be. 

“Well you’ve never fucked your wife on a flight before so I was just wondering…” You giggled with a whisper.

“Baby, baby, baby.” Trent cut you off gripping your face with one hand smushing your cheeks together.  “You’re mad if you think that wasn’t already happening Mrs. Alexander-Arnold.” He pressed a kiss to your lips and you giggled shutting your eyes. The light from the fire pit warmed your face and as Trent watched your nose scrunch up from your sweet laugh, he knew that he made the best decision of his life marrying you. 

You boarded your flight to the Amalfi Coast for your honeymoon and eagerly cuddled up on Trent’s seat with him wrapping yourself around him. You took a selfie video on your Instagram stories pinching his cheek and kissing his face repeatedly with the text overlay ‘finally a holiday with my husband’ and posted it to your close friends… or so you thought. You did not. The internet set aflame knowing that the wedding had finally happened.

“Ready for tomorrow?” Trent cooed nuzzling into you on the plane tucked under a blanket with you sleepily holding on to him. 

“What’s tomorrow?” You whispered back, running your hand over his head. You looked at him with questioning eyes because while some days of your honeymoon were pre planned and reservations were made, others you just left blank to go with the flow of the day and relax. Day one was set to be that but evidently not according to Trent. 

“A day for you, organized by me.” He informed you with a sweet smile that you thanked your lucky stars you got to see everyday. It was so beautiful. 

“Mmm interesting. What’s that entail?” You hummed moving your arms to drape over his shoulders. Shifting your position from the side of him to perched yourself on top of his lap, straddling his waist. You tilted your head slightly to admire his perfectly crafted face and waited for his explanation. 

“Everything you love, baby.” He answered you with a cunning grin. You raised your eyebrows. It was really sweet he had taken the time to think of making plans for you two as a surprise but it did run through your mind quite quickly that you hoped you packed outfits for whatever his plans consisted of. 

“So just a day with you?” You teased him, leaning forward to kiss his shoulder. A day with Trent was everything you loved. Anything with him was always amazing. The best day ever but again and again in different fonts. 

“Well…” he laughed. “I’m a given, I’m included in the day’s package but just trust me, alright?” He cooed and you nodded. Once you had landed, you made your way to a luxe hotel nestled on the rocky coastline of the Mediterranean. When you first broached ideas of where to go for your honeymoon it was a little bit of a joke that you should go to Italy because you went to an Italian restaurant on your first date and had told Trent it was ‘regular.’ He had said he wanted to honeymoon somewhere 'regular' so he could just be with you, focus on you, not have to worry about anything but it wasn’t a joke for long when you started researching and found this surreal hotel to stay in. Your suite was secluded and discreet with large windows overlooking the sea. It was a chic space with a few rooms, a lemon grove, terrace, and pool, just for you two. You were ready for bed after your travels but of course not without some cheeky fun in the shower with your new husband first.

 

“Up! Let’s go, wife.” Trent popped out from his morning shower and tapped your ass a few times as you laid sleepily in the king sized bed surrounded by morning light.

“T…” you groaned. You could hear his snickering giggle. You rolled your eyes but couldn’t hide the smile it evoked on your face. It was quite possibly your favorite sound in the whole world. “What we’re not going to do is call me ‘wife’ again.” You quipped with a teasing yet sleepy smile. 

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” He laughed between a few kisses to your lips coming to sit on the edge of the bed next to your body. You knew he was kidding but so were you. “My beautiful, perfect, love of my life… can you please get up so we can get our day started and I can dote over you."

“That’s much better.” You giggled, kissing him before slinking off the bed and grabbing his hand pulling him behind you. He looked at you confused for a moment. “Well, you’re not going to let the beautiful and perfect love of your life shower alone are you?” You asked with a sly expression continuing to pull him into the ensuite. 

“Nah, I would never.” Trent responded, dropping the towel he was still in. He was still slightly damp but that wasn’t going to stop your morning plans. You had no intention of showering alone on this trip. Your day was perfect. Trent finally caved and did a pilates class with you on a rooftop, private of course, not a shot Trent was going to subject himself to embarrassment of not being spectacular at something out in the public eye but he’d do it for you. He wasn’t bad to his credit but he more so just was enjoying his view and it wasn’t the seaside he was so enamored with, it was you. You sported a Nike x Jacquemus white halter top and tiny shorts. Following your workout was a shower, not spent alone, a massage and a few other spa treatments interspersed with a breakfast.  You changed into embroidered, lace-trimmed linen mini-dress from Prada and gold heeled sandals after for some shopping. You went to Mui Mui for you and Louis Vuitton for Trent buying the latest collections, telling them to ship it all home for you, not carrying a single thing. After your spree you had a lunch at a beach club and despite a car being arranged you asked Trent to walk there which initially you had thought would be a nice time outside in the summer sun and coastal air. That changed quite quickly though. 

“The cobble stones are not my friend.” You pouted towards Trent after you stumbled for the umpteenth time. He shook his head at you. This was very much your idea but he would gladly listen to your complaints anyways.

“Nah, those heels you’re in are not your friend.” He quipped back with a smug grin. You only furthered deepened your pout and the crease in your forehead. 

“You said you liked them.” You looked at him with doe eyes only pausing to place one of your hands against a colored concrete wall on the side of the small narrow street to fix the strap of your shoe. Trent came to your side and bent down for you to fix them.

“I do, you look sexy in them. And I’d like if you would keep them on f’me when I fuck you later but right now your nails digging into my shoulder every 5 minutes so you don’t fall… not my favorite thing.” He cheekily laughed, standing up and leaning close to your ear. He rubbed his nose against your cheek.

“I’m sorry.” You apologized and you let go only to fumble once more. 

“Take them off.” He demanded with a silly expression.  

“They make the outfit, T.” Your pout returned in full force. You liked the fit and you didn’t want to ruin it. So what if you were late for the reservation at the restaurant that you’d been dying to try and had bookmarked on your instagram for a year… oh yeah… you did and he knew that.   

“Nah, take 'em off.” Trent’s smile dropped as he demanded as he squatted next to your feet again helping you undo your heels. You frowned but that changed as he guided you by your hand around him to climb onto his back. “Let’s go, pretty girl.” He grunted, readjusting his arms placement under your legs. You giggled and nuzzled your face into the side of his neck with a ‘thank you’ carrying your shoes in your hands now. You had lunch and then headed to the harbor to board a yacht late in the afternoon. To your surprise a few of the items from your shopping in the morning that Trent had pushed you to get were aboard already for you. You had gotten a metallic knit set from Loro Piana to wear with a white bikini underneath and a new pair of white oran Hermes sandals.  You stayed there for ages out in the sun until it set and then you had dinner on the deck of the bow. It was romantic and special. Plenty of flirty touches and sweet memories shared. You docked as the evening rolled almost into morning. 

“Now what we do is up to you, baby… I, yes, Trent Alexander-Arnold, your husband will take you to a club to dance and get drunk and make out with you in the middle of crowds just like I know you love or I can take you home just like I know you love." He explained to you. You found yourself in the mix of an intimate private club not long after that question was broached. You could feel the too many cocktails you had coursing through you, intoxicating you more and more by the moment but you weren’t sure if it was them causing the warmness in your chest and tunnel vision or if it was just Trent's effect on you. You were falling in love with him all over again with every thump of the bass, every touch of his hands, every flash of strobe lights, every kiss of his lips, you didn’t feel like you were parents for the moment, you just felt in love. You turned in his arms and nuzzled your face into his skin before licking up the side of his neck and down his jaw.

“Wow, so it was a good drink?” Trent laughed into your ear for you to hear. You had just finished a cocktail Trent had ordered but wasn’t loving. He said it was down to the flavor but the pink color and floral garnish was what you believed that he didn’t want. 

“I want to have your babies.” You hummed ignoring his initial question just in your own world.

“That’s good because you already got one.” He continued his laughs looking at you in wonder. You looked gorgeous clinging to him swaying in the club lights. There was a slight sheen to your skin from the warmth of the evening making you glow and little glimmer of lust in your eyes. You were in an impossibly scandalous GCDS dress you nabbed earlier and Trent was fucking really happy you had. 

“I want more.” You giggled, ghosting your lips over his. You attempted to drop your hand to palm over his growing bulge. 

“Nah, we’re leaving. I need you all to myself and in absolutely nothing but your jewelry, baby. Let's go." He gripped you with his hand on the back of your neck with some aggression. You felt your heart palpitating and you felt your pussy throb as he kissed you one last time in the club.

You caged him upon entry into your suite back at the hotel. You dropped to your knees in front of him. You felt the carpet settle under your knees as you ran your hands up his thighs before undoing his belt. He leaned back into the wall behind him letting you get to work. You let some spit drip from your mouth onto his hard cock as you played with his pre cum already leaking from the tip. You tapped your finger over his slit, drawing his arousal away creating a string of it connected to your fingertip. 

“You’re a fucking phenomenal wife.” He grunted as you moved to slowly take his whole length at once in your mouth. You cupped his balls and gently massaged them. He uncontrollably let out a moan he couldn’t control as you sucked his cock, letting it hit the back of your throat again and again. “Shit, that feels so good, baby... I remember when you sucked me off for the first time. Fucking hell.” He whimpered, letting his head drop backwards. You knew exactly what he liked now. You didn’t that first time but you figured it out quickly. You knew just where he was most sensitive. Every moan, choke, and gag coming from you taking him had him fighting for his life to not cum. “Good girl, just like that. Baby, I gotta cum. I can’t. “ You nodded running both of your hands up his strong thighs again. Trent knew that queue, something he had learned you liked since that first night. He ran his fingers through your hair and gently but securely grabbed your face letting him self fuck your mouth. You could feel your own wetness dampening your panties more and more until your focus shifted to the sensation of his warm cum filling your mouth and running down your sore throat. In swift succession you found yourself on top of the dresser in the room, legs spread open, Trent now on the floor between them. He had pushed your dress up your thighs before peeling those already soaked panties to the side teasing you relentlessly before his fingers found there way to play with your pussy.  His name fell from your lips in a hoarse moan the moment you felt his fingers running through your wet folds. With his fingers between your legs now, you were practically dripping for him. You looked down at him with your jaw slacked and lidded eyes. He unraveled you with each movement. 

“That feel good, baby?” He mouthed moving his mouth from your knee, dragging his perfect, dreamy, pouty lips closer and closer towards your core. The anticipation alone had you reelling. 

“Please, baby. I want you.” You begged with a whine. Trent wasn’t going to make you wait. He was on a high after the head you gave him. His fingers making quick work sinking knuckle deep inside you, his luscious lips finding your clit with a suckle. His fingers hit the perfect spot inside you with every thrust and curl of their tips. Your back arching uncontrollably. A puddle on the surface of the dresser you were sitting on formed, your juices running down his hand. The way his breath felt against you, his skillful tongue, the force of his fingers, it all had you rushing towards your first orgasm of the night. 

“Tell me baby. You gonna cum f’me? Am I gonna make you cum? You gotta tell me.” you could sense that his muffled words were said with so much smugness and self satisfaction. He knew you loved this and you knew he did as well. His big brown eyes flashed up to your shut ones and he let out a cheek laugh. The vibration only pushing you closer. You nodded, unable to say any words. You let out a pornographic whine though when he flattened his tongue against your clit letting out a growl tasting you. “You taste so good. Want this pussy everyday of my life.” Trent shut his eyes a little consumed by his own pleasure of your taste. He dragged his tongue through your folds again and again slurping you up. You were a complete mess. You could barely keep yourself propped up against the wall behind you. Your pussy clenched ruthlessly around his fingers. 

“T… T….” You whined. “Please. I’m cumming.” You whimpered with gasps of air and cried. Your pussy was dripping all over his face, you were absolutely soaked but you couldn’t think, your mind had gone blank.  

“Let go, baby. Be a good girl f’me. Cum f’me.” Trent said sternly instructing you and you wasted no time at all. He licked and sucked and toyed as you withered against the dresser. Your orgasm was never ending.  Trent persistently kept his finger at work inside of you, slowing slightly but drawing your high out.  “Good girl. So fucking good f’me.” Trent cooed as you attempted to hold onto his muscular arm to prevent him from moving any more. He gave way and removed his fingers as he worked kisses up your warm skin all the way up to your neck. He kissed your lips with his before he drew away and forcefully pushed his thumb in between your lips. You willingly opened them for him and looked at him doe eyed and desperate for more. He kept your lips agape as he slowly spit the taste of your cum into your mouth before hungrily kissing you again. Trent picked you up and you wrapped your legs around his waist. He carried you over to the bed and laid you down crawling on top of you. Not long after you were crying out his name again and again as he thrusted in and out of you. "Whose making you feel this good, baby, tell me.” He commanded you and you continued whining his name. 

“T… I’m gonna cum again. You’re gonna make me cum, baby. Trent oh my god.” You moaned pulling him down to you more by the back of his neck dragging your nails then harshly down his muscular back. He rested his forehead against yours sweetly as he continued to rail into you. 

“Cum f’me baby. Feels so good. Doing so well f’me.” He whispered between the lewd sounds of your squelching pussy. His thrusts sped up, rolling his hips into you as he chased his own orgasm. 

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I love you so much T.” You whined as your eyes rolled back. You inhaled a sharp breath feeling a lightheadedness come over with every stroke of his. He kept his beautiful brown eyes fixed on you. The pupils in his dark eyes dilated when he felt his cock pulse inside you. Every movement was slow, deep, and intentional. His lips curled into a smug smile hearing you tell him you loved him. You were completely his. You dragged your ankle down his back muscles. He was so gentle yet harsh all at the same time. Your pussy tightly clenched around Trent’s  cock and then fluttered. 

“Such a good fucking girl. Shit! Baby, I love you. Gonna cum. Shit. Take it all f’me” he sunk his teeth into his perfect lower lip. You silently begged him to. His head tilted back. Ropes of his cum filled the velvety inside of your pussy. He pumped you full gradually and slowly stilling. Your own orgasm crashing over you. Your pussy continued to flutter as you panted beneath him. Your chest rising and falling. He softly stroked your hair and gently kissed you. “I love you, baby. Did so good f’me.” You smiled breathlessly as he kissed you again in a way that you could feel just how much he adored you with each one. He loved you more than he could ever articulate with words but you could always feel it in the silences. He got off the bed and then cleaned you up before he tucked you neatly back in his arms. 

“Sleeping in?” Winnie asked with a coo and a laugh when Trent answered her facetime. She was looking after Teddy with your parents still out east in Montauk at their house. Your family didn’t get to see her as often as Trent’s did so she was a welcomed intrusion. 

“Yeah, yeah. You okay?” Trent asked through a yawn while groggily running his free hand over his eyes. 

“Yeah, good. Sorry, I tried to call Y/N.” Winnie explained starting to feel bad seeing Trent look so tired. 

“She’s still asleep.” Trent informed her through one more yawn. You were both naked under the covers of the bed. You shifted on top of him annoyed by the rumbling of his voice in his chest beneath you and the volume of it in the quiet late morning... well at this point it was essentially the afternoon. 

“Baby…” you groaned pushing your fingers to Trent’s perfectly plump lips. It wasn’t long until he heard a very familiar giggle getting closer to the phone. He could see your mum chasing Teddy in the kitchen corralling her over to Winnie.

“Can you wake up f’me?” Trent asked you likely for the millionth time of this trip and billionth time in your relationship. If you were in bed with him, you never wanted to move. He tapped your bare ass under the blankets.

“No, I’m sore, baby.” You whined pushing your face into him. Trent smiled down at you thinking your stubbornness was cute. Winnie’s eyebrows raised with a smug smile at your comment. Your mum less than impressed with the crude innuendo. Teddy popped herself up onto Winnie’s lap. Trent let out a gasp as did she. You didn’t put two and two together you were too tired so he tried to wake you once more. 

“Can you wake up for this cute girl on the phone then please?” He laughed, giving your daughter a silly smile through the screen. They caught up momentarily before situating yourself to lean onto Trent’s shoulder as you woke up more. 

“My baby girl!” You quietly sang. “You look so sleepy, did you just wake up?” You asked her with a pouty smile. She looked adorable. It was obscenely early for them and ridiculously late in the day for you. Teddy wasn’t great at sleeping when she was away from you and Trent and you could see it on her tired face. She was in her little pajamas and it made you want to just reach through the phone and squish her. 

“Mama…” Teddy whimpered out. It was mere seconds before she started bawling her eyes out. Teddy didn’t realize how much she missed you before she saw you, heard you. Winnie had kept Teddy diligently occupied since you parted ways. You worried that the days you had fled to New York after the final at Wembley before the wedding might have made things worse, her attachment to you worse, that she feared you'd leave unexpectedly again. You sat up in Trent’s lap some more. You shuffled and let him pull your back to his chest as you adjusted the sheets to cover your naked bodies. 

“Oh, it’s okay, Teddy girl. You’re probably having so much fun at the beach though and you can tell me all about it so soon!” You tried to console her from afar. You actually couldn’t wait to sit with her and hear her babbling away explaining to you all she’d done in her jumbled words. 

“We’re okay, right?” Winnie cooed, smushing a kiss to Teddy’s cheek reassuring her things were fine. She tried to tickle her tummy but to no avail, Teddy was upset. “We’re just tired and we miss you but tell mummy and daddy what we’re going to do today, Ted.” Winnie looked at her patiently waiting for her to speak up.

“Find my mama dada shell.” Teddy sadly mumbled with the most heartbreakingly cute puppy dog eyes and her lips rolled into an agape pout. She looked between you and Winnie making sure she was right about their plans to find shells to bring home for you and Trent, and that you heard her.  

“That’ll be so much fun! Can you find me and you matching shells on the beach?” You asked her and her pouty lips slightly turned upward, liking the idea. 

“Baby bear, you know what else you have to do today?” Trent cooed resting his chin atop your head in bed still. She looked at him with a tilt of her head before leaning back onto Winnie, getting comfortable. “You have to show Win how good of a swimmer you are!” Teddy’s eyes lit up. It was like she had forgotten that she was going to be able to swim this week due to how much she missed you both. 

“I heard Win is an even better swimmer than daddy.” You cooed cheekily. Trent dropped his head to come and bite your earlobe in retaliation to your remark. You let out a soft ‘ow.’ Winnie started to laugh. Teddy’s face pulled into a scowl not really believing you and for not really liking the idea that even someone she loved as much as Winnie was better than her dad. “Can you call me later and tell mummy who was better?” You asked and her scowl transformed into a greedy conniving grin excited to have something to do for you. Your phone call ended with a few more tears but it was okay ultimately. 

“I miss her…” You quietly whispered into Trent’s bare chest as you ran your hand up and down his warm skin.  

“I know, baby, but we're having a good time.” He reassured you, running his hands over your body. His hands on you always were comforting and were proving to be nothing less than that in this moment again. 

“Yeah, no, you’re right. Gotta make the most of our Teddy free time.” You laughed a little sadly. 

“Yeah, and we will. So what do you want to do today, beautiful?” He asked you with a smile after a sweet kiss to your shoulder after brushing some of your hair behind it. 

“You …” You cheekily responded with a little giggle rolling your body into his some more.   

“Yeah? Alright.” He greedily smiled and jumped up almost immediately at your words from the bed.

“Where are you going?” You laughed as his agile movements coming around to the other side of the bed and moving you towards its edge before picking you up. You wrapped your legs around his waist. 

“C’mere. Gonna make you cum on every. single. surface in this room.” He whispered to you between soft kisses. 

“That so?” You questioned his ability teasingly with a raised brow. “Wow, good luck to you.” You giggled with excitement, very aware he’d be more than capable of making that happen.

“Don’t need it.” He said softly with a wink pulling the straps of your tank top down. You gasped feeling his lips glide down your neck following his hands to your boobs. 

“That was cute.” You cooed after he kissed your cheek gently as you cuddled in the hotel bed after a very fun couple of hours messing about.

“Cute? I just fucked you for 3 hours, baby. Give me a little more credit than cute damn.” He quipped a little taken aback that was your response. You were more so just referring to the sweet kiss he just gave you after his more juxtaposed and rough way he just fucked you earlier. 

“Yeah, that was hot, sexy, dadddy, not this… this was cute mushy T.” You cooed in a softer voice cuddling into him.  

“You love when I’m a melt for you. Well don’t worry I am for the rest of my life. You’re like a witch.” He continued and at first you had a soft smile on your face but the latter of his words had your face twist in confusion. 

“Excuse me…?” You giggled not entirely sure what he meant calling you a ‘witch.’

“Nah, you know what I meant. I just don’t know what you did to me.” He explained with an adorably innocent face. His big mahogany brown eyes pooling into puppy dog ones just the way Teddy’s had earlier in the morning. He pulled them out of his arsenal as if to convince you had in fact done something.

“I didn’t do anything to you!” You squealed, whipping around out of his hold to face him with a playful expression on your face. Your cheeks started to hurt from being pulled so high and so filled. 

“You did. You do every day. Make me fall in love with you again and again and again.” He cooed, pulling you slowly back into him by taking your bottom lip in his hand. It was an unorthodox way to bring you in but it was sexy but simultaneously cute. 

“You’re cheesy…” You cooed with a soft kiss before tucking back into his arms getting settled again. You wiggled against his body with your back to his chest once more rolling your head back onto his shoulder. “I love cheese.” You giggled starting to get hungry all of a sudden. 

“You’re so fucking cute, baby” He leaned around you and bit your nose causing you to wince and shake him off after he kept his teeth bit into you playfully for a bit too long for your liking.  

“Do you ever feel like young when we’re like this… like alone, you know?” You asked him, falling into a more serious tone. You flicked your eyes up to him and waited for his response.  

“We are young baby.” He corrected you.  “Dare I say… we are ‘young, fit, and sexy'” He laughed a little. He was directly quoting and mimicking the way the photographer from your shoot with Vanity Fair had sounded and said again and again on repeat. 

“You know what I mean…” Your face fell a little. It looked less spirited in a way. “Sometimes I think like I get caught in a mum mode. With schedules and football and Teddy and I don’t know just life, it feels like… I don’t know, I probably sound stupid.” You got quieter at the end of your sentence starting to go shy moving a mere centimeter off of Trent but he caught your emotional and physical shift.  

“I understand baby. You don’t sound stupid at all. It makes sense. What can I do to make you see how much fun this ‘life’ really is though.” He cooed and you gave him a sad smile with a shake of the head. It was sweet but you head let your mind fall down a rabbit hole. “Come on. This is amazing. Let’s live a little, have some fun, fuck let’s have another baby.” Trent said it the same way he said ‘let's get the Mui Mui bag’ you had looked at and wanted the other day. 

“That’s fun to you?” You asked him a little surprised. You obviously weren’t talking about the ‘making’ component of babies but more so the home life with them. Yes, if you really deeped it it was so special, so perfect in it’s imperfection. Teddy’s face  alone made you want another baby but  the way she smelt,  the way she was developing a personality, when she asked you questions, when she first laughed, even ridiculous things like her hair getting longer or her growing out of her clothes, it was all beautiful and… maybe a little fun. 

“Yeah I’m having the most fun, aren’t you?” Trent asked you with a childish look on his face. You started to giggle. He was really fucking cute. It was hard to think the nights of no sleep were all that bad when they were with him.

“Yeah… I’m happy, T.” You cooed softly craning your neck upwards to come and give him a kiss. His lips were soft and pillowy like the always were. They were home.

“That’s all I ever want, all we ever need. Me and that cute little girl we made, that’s all we want.” He kissed you once more. You fell into a comfortable silence for a while cuddling in bed looking out the big open windows watching the waves of the sea crash into the cliffside and the breeze ruffle the long curtains framing your view. 

“Thank you, baby.” You softly whispered, breaking the quiet lull in the room.  

“I mean I really enjoy that as well so no need, baby.” He let out a breathy laugh, kissing the top of your head. You slapped at his still bare chest. “Alright, alright. Tell me for what, beautiful, what are you thanking me for?” he asked you more sincerely looking around you to make full eye contact.

“Our life, what you’ve given me, the whole thing. Everything.” You cooed softly cupping his cheek feeling yourself get a little more emotional than you thought you’d get today. You adjusted your place in bed and felt your body brush against his and while there was a sliver of your brain that was turned on, the majority of it felt all of the solace Trent had ever given you through that touch.  

“I mean I could say the same to you.” He quietly responded, keeping one of his hands tightly wrapped around your waist making sure you knew he had you. Literally and figuratively keeping you safely nestled with him. “I’d do anything to make you happy, baby” He pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“Like call room service?” You cheekily giggled with a smiley that just about shattered Trent’s heart. It was perfectly innocent and yet filled with seduction. He didn’t have a shot in hell against you.  

“Wow… so you get to make jokes now. I see. That’s how it is now, baby? What do you want? The usual even though we’re in Italy?” You nodded before he rolled his eyes causing you to laugh like a little kid loving that you had him in the palm of your hand. “Honestly… An absolute melt. An absolute melt for you.” He muttered, reaching for the phone to order for you.

“What should we bring her?” You asked Trent seated on the terrace of a gorgeous restaurant high up on the coast. You and Trent had a game you did to find Teddy things on trips as gifts. It wasn’t about what she liked the most but a game solely between you two, to rile the other up about ‘winning.’  

“Oh I already won… I’m bringing mummy home.” Trent cooed with a boastfully proud face. You shut your eyes and shook your head in disapproval. 

“That is not how the game works. Mum and dad are off limits as gifts. Also, haven't you won enough today? Do you need to just rub it in my face? you won straight sets… twice, T!” You laughed making fun of his rare ability to be a sore winner. “Don’t you want to be nice to your wife, let me win a game or two, huh?” Trent’s face scrunched into a thinking expression.

“Erm.. nah, think I’m nice to my wife in other ways.” He cooed with a cheeky laugh sticking his tongue out at you. 

“Absolutely intolerable.” You giggled with a massive smile. 

“Absolutely beautiful.” He echoed following your faux jab at him, reaching his hand out to stroke your cheek.

“You’re beautiful… it’s the only way you get away with all your bullshit, baby.” You laughed, taking his hand in yours. “Beautiful beautiful boy.” You cooed. Trent shot you a cheeky wink before taking a big bite of his pasta chewing his obnoxiously big bite. You stuck your leg out under the table towards him hidden by the tablecloth and glided your foot up his thigh eventually to his crotch gently played around. Trent coughed, his eyes going wide, choking on his food a little. You laughed a little and shot him a cheeky wink of your own in return.

•

Thank you for reading! Please like, comment, or message what you think of the chapter 🤍

Next part - Chapter 26 xx

[turtlesandfrogs]

Here's the actually* short notes for the course, "The Science of Well-Being" from Yale on coursera, which is available for free. Mostly focusing on the actionable steps.

Point the first: We/society at large is often wrong about what makes people happy/have a sense of well being. Unless you've been reading into motivation, happiness, flow, etc, already, in which case you're likely right on track.

We adapt to both good things and bad things, so neither one effects us as much as we think they will. Our brains adapt to, and filter out stimuli after a while. If we want to get the most enjoyment out of something/life, we should increase variety and take breaks. Like, drink a different kind of tea every day, or take breaks when listening to music. Also, practicing gratitude, savoring (pausing and intentionally appreciating the good moments in life), sharing experiences with others, and recalling past moments of joy. Also, you can practice negative visualization, when you on purpose think of how awful the world would be if you didn't have something that you do have.

A good job is one that allows you to practice your signature strengths and enter the flow state.

The income-increased happiness plateau is somewhere between $75k and $500k- but I found a recent article** after the comments to this effect, and "Yet is important to note that the relationship is weak, even if statistically robust. The correlation between average happiness and log(income) is 0.09 in the experience sampling data, for example, and the difference between the medians of happiness at household incomes of $15,000 and $250,000 is about five points on a 100-point scale. The flattening and accelerating patterns are even smaller modulations of a small effect. However, the emotional effects of other circumstances are also small. KD reported that the effect of an approximately four-fold difference in income is about equal to the effect of being a caregiver, twice as large as the effect of being married, about equal to the effect of a weekend, and less than a third as large as the effect of a headache." Which says to me I'm making the right move by going to a 4 day work week :P But seriously, that's great news.

We think in comparisons, and comparison is the thief of joy. You can reduce consumption of images of people who are richer, cooler, more skilled, etc than you, and that will help prevent mood deterioration. You can also reframe to compare to yourself in the past.

Being kind makes you and everyone involved happier. Buying things for others makes you happier than buying things for yourself. Giving to charity makes you happier if it builds social connection. (Why the focus on buying things to make you happier? Why not on actions you can take to make yourself or someone else happier? Probably because giving someone $20 is easier from a study's standpoint.)

Get 7 or more hours of sleep a day.

Move 30 minutes a day.

Meditate- look into mindfulness, loving kindness.

Social connection- doesn't have to be a romantic relationship! Just interacting with others, even strangers, makes us happier (still sounds fake to me, but I'm like a mega introvert). Spending time with people you like is good.

Having free time is important.

Create an environment that supports what ever change you're trying to make.

WOOP = Wish, Outcome, Obstacles, and Plan. "What's your wish for your goal? What's your best outcome? What are the obstacles? What's your if-then plan?" Really helps with actually accomplishing your goals.

*I realized I said short notes before, but then somehow that ended up being super long.

** Income and emotional well-being: A conflict resolved by Matthew A. Killingswortha, Daniel Kahnemanb, and Barbara Mellers

[i-love-your-light]

too many thoughts on the new hbomberguy video not to put them anywhere so:

with every app trying to turn into the clock app these days by feeding you endless short form content, *how many* pieces of misinformation does the average person consume day to day?? thinking a lot about how tons of people on social media go largely unquestioned about the information they provide just because they speak confidently into the camera. if you're scrolling through hundreds of pieces of content a day, how many are you realistically going to have the time and will to check? i think there's an unfortunate subconscious bias in liberal and leftist spaces that misinformation is something that is done only by the right, but it's a bipartisan issue babey. everybody's got their own agendas, even if they're on "your side". *insert you are not immune to propaganda garfield meme*

and speaking of fact checking, can't help but think about how much the current state of search engines Sucks So Bad right now. not that this excuses ANY of the misinformation at all, but i think it provides further context as to why these things become so prevalent in creators who become quick-turnaround-content-farms and cut corners when it comes to researching. when i was in high school and learning how to research and cite sources, google was a whole different landscape that was relatively easy to navigate. nowadays a search might give you an ad, a fake news article, somebody's random blog, a quora question, and another ad before actually giving you a relevant verifiable source. i was googling a question about 1920s technology the other day (for a fanfiction im writing lmao) and the VERY FIRST RESULT google gave me was some random fifth grader's school assignment on the topic???? like?????? WHAT????? it just makes it even harder for people to fact-check misinformation too.

going off the point of cutting corners when it comes to creating content, i can't help but think about capitalism's looming influence over all of this too. again, not as an excuse at all but just as further environmental context (because i really believe the takeaway shouldn't be "wow look how bad this one individual guy is" but rather "wow this is one specific example of a much larger systemic issue that is more pervasive than we realize"). a natural consequence of the inhumanity of capitalism is that people feel as if they have to step on or over eachother to get to 'the top'. if everybody is on this individualistic american dream race to success, everyone else around you just looks like collateral. of course then you're going to take shortcuts, and you're going to swindle labor and intellectual property from others, because your primary motivation is accruing capital (financial or social) over ethics or actual labor.

i've been thinking about this in relation to AI as well, and the notion that some people want to Be Artists without Doing Art. they want to Have Done Art but not labor through the process. to present something shiny to the world and benefit off of it. they don't want to go through the actual process of creating, they just want a product. Easy money. Winning the game of capitalism.

i can't even fully fault this mentality- as someone who has been struggling making barely minimum wage from art in one of the most expensive cities in america for the past two years, i can't say that i haven't been tempted on really difficult occasions to act in ways that would be morally bad but would give me a reprieve from the constant stress cycle of "how am i going to pay for my own survival for another month". the difference is i don't give in to those impulses.

tl;dr i hope that people realize that instead of this just being a time to dogpile on one guy (or a few people), that it's actually about a larger systemic problem, and the perfect breeding grounds society has created for this kind of behavior to largely go unchecked!!!

[ofmdrecaps]

08/28/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Samba Schutte; Guz Khan; Leslie Jones; Nathan Foad; Bronson Pinchot; Connor Barrett & Brian Gattas; Fan Spotlight: OFMD Colouring Pages; Never Left Podcast Raffle;

== Rhys Darby ==

New line up information for 'Rhys Darby's Saying Funny Things Society' on Oct 1st in Largo LA!

Source: Rhys Darby's Substack (free version)

If you're not already subscribed to Rhys' Sub Stack, please do, there's some fun content there, including Bill Napier videos and daily drawings by Rhys! This weeks Bill Napier Weather Report

Source: Rhys Darby's Substack

Rhys and Rosie's son Finn's band "Great Big Cow" has a new music video out on youtube! Wanna support the Darby family? Check it out!

Source: Great Big Cow Youtube

== Taika Waititi ==

Looks like Taika's gonna be at Eden Park on 09/29/24 for the Haka Record event!

Source: Taika's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

New Article about Kristian Nairn's book -- as well as a mention of OFMD! Thanks @adoptourcrew for the share!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Con O'Neill ==

Con recently performed "An Invocation" by Ben Tufnell! Thanks @ringasunn for sending the info my way!

Source: Ben Tufnell's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba out with his beautiful baby <3

Source: Samba's Instagram

Next up in Samba land-- the absolute sweetheart Katrina aka kmostran over on twitter was kind enough to share her birthday gift with the rest of the us! Samba did a quick cameo for her, and talked about all our clowning <3 Happy belated birthday Katrina, and thanks for spreading the love!

Source: Katrina aka kmostran on twitter!

== Guz Khan ==

BTS of Man Like Mobeen!

Source: Guz Khan's Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan keeping us all on our toes with laughs and love!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram Stories

One of Nathan's Projects-- 'Dope Fiend' is heading to Denmark for the Mix Copenhagen (LGBTQ+) Film Festival from Oct 25-Nov 3rd!

Source: SungazerProduction Instagram

== Leslie Jones ==

Leslie rocking a SERIOUSLY slick white suit for The Daily Show!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg)

Source: Leslie's Instagram

== Bronson Pinchot ==

Bronson's back with more Ned Low shorts! Not sure why but it wont let me share it properly-- so you'll have to visit on instagram here.

Source: Bronson Pinchot's Instagram

== Conner Barrett & Brian Gattas ==

Our darling Hornberry, and Siegfried celebrated 18 years together on September 27th!

Source: Connor's Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

Our friend @patchworkpiratebear is back with more OFMD themed Colouring Pages!

Source: Patchwork Pirate Bear's Tumblr

= Never Left Podcast Raffle =

Are you a patron of Never Left Podcast? Would you like to be? Well nows the time to support your favorite podcast by joining their patreon! They're giving away one of Ed's Emerald rings!

Source: Never Left Podcast Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Since I am fading fast tonight lovelies, I'm going to go ahead and replace tonight's Love Notes with goofy Moo Deng memes, hopefully they make you smile like they did for me <3 Sending so much love your way, hope you are making it through the weekend safely (especially you folks getting hit by the hurricane). Please reach out to the crew if you need some help loves <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Danielle Peterson (@hollabackcards)

Source: Tulip Season on Tumblr

[fredwkong]

Alphaworld File 1: Oral History

The universe is multifarious, constantly diverging as new choices are made. Spinning away through time, these alternate realities become locked away from our own, so we can never know exactly what would have happened if a single choice was made differently.

Except, sometimes, two of those worlds, careening through the upper dimensions, happen to converge. As they slide past each other, they may line up just so, each leaving behind fragments as they continue their journey into their divergent futures. You’ve never heard of this, because the remnants, mostly data, are swiftly collected by various government agencies and collected into reports on the intercepted reality.

This report collects various scientific articles, personal journals, news reels, and even a documentary series from one such reality, codenamed Alphaworld. In this world, gay men have not only become the norm, but have seemingly replaced all other people. In this world, society is stratified into an apparently biological hierarchy of homosexual castes, based on men’s physical characteristics and psychologies. Upon finishing the following fragment from a peer-reviewed article that was a trace recovered from Alphaworld, please select the next fragment you would like to consume.

X

An Oral History of the Creation and Initial Spread of the Alpha Phenomenon, by Alpha Dr. Jose Martinez

Until recently, it was not known what sparked the spread of the Alpha Phenomenon which has wholly remade the world in recent years. This was until Alpha Joshua Dearfoot, who resides with his Betas in rural ex-Ontario, stated during a livestream on OnlyFans that he is the original Alpha.

Alpha Dearfoot does not interact with Betas from outside his harem unless they renounce their current Alpha. As this research team contains no unbonded Betas—Alpha Dr. Martinez says we can’t spend too much time with non-harem Betas—we investigated among those close to Alpha Dearfoot, conducting interviews and surveying in the local area to discover as much as we could.

Joshua, as he was known before the emergence of the Alpha Phenomenon, was a PhD candidate in nanotechnology, with a secondary focus in physiology. Photographs kept by his father (Beta to Alpha Sean Barehill) reveal that through his youth and young adulthood Joshua was physically unimpressive, with a physique not even reaching the base level expected of a Beta.

According to a classmate of Joshua’s from university (Beta to Alpha Liam Oliver), Joshua was studious but insecure: “I mean, I used to push him around all the time for being a fa— gay kid. Gay and a nerd? In the Old World, that was, like, the worst thing.” When asked about whether he has properly apologised, the Beta said, in a rapturous voice, “Oh, yeah, Alpha Dearfoot was my first. He disciplined me so well I could barely walk, I came like four times. Then he told me to come join Alpha Liam’s harem. I mean, he wasn’t Alpha Liam then, I was one of the first guys to go full Beta on campus.”

It appears that Alpha Dearfoot had a difficult youth, growing up unable to meet certain Old World expectations of manhood. The masculine stereotypes of Native Americans also seem to have weighed on him, as he was entirely unable to meet them. As his father told us, “Joshua was a sweet kid, but he got bullied for being too short and scrawny, not matching the image of an “Indian” in all these bigoted kids’ heads. He was obsessed with growing bigger, which is why he went into physio.” Remember, in some communities it is normal for a Beta father to continue to refer to his Alpha son by his first name.

According to Sigma Harrison White, a former lab partner of Dearfoot’s who fucked us on his lawn in exchange for this interview, Joshua was obsessed with creating some way to become more manly. “He spent some really long evenings in the lab,” said Harrison while one of us squealed in the grass beneath him. “One morning he came out with this manic grin on his face, said that he’d finally done it, and ran off. Two weeks later, he came back a full Alpha.” At this point, Harrison’s pace slowed down as he became contemplative. “It was only after he started hooking up with all the queer guys on campus that we started becoming Alphas and Sigmas and stuff, too.”

Did Alpha Dearfoot intend for the Alpha Phenomenon to be infectious? A Beta from his harem claims not. “He got home from school one morning all excited about some project he’d finished,” the Beta told us—it seems that he and Alpha Dearfoot were childhood friends. “The next day, he seemed a little different, a little more muscular, more assertive. He seemed really satisfied for about a week, then he got scared. He just kept getting bigger. The day he got taller than me and nearly broke a bar at the gym doing deadlifts, I started feeling the Beta change.

“I went to him and started telling him about my muscle gains and all the weird thoughts and sensations I was experiencing, and he got really scared,” the Beta continued, his eyes distant. “I started to comfort him, and that was when we felt the bond form. It felt so right for him to be my first, to finger me open and fill me with his still-growing dick.”

While we pressed for more details about what may have been the first Alpha/Beta bond in history, the Beta refused to disclose more information, claiming that it was private to him and his Alpha. For the reader’s imagination, see Figure A to find a picture of Alpha Dearfoot from his Instagram profile.

Alpha Dearfoot appears to have intended to create a nanomachine-based masculinity booster, and the transmissibility of the Alpha Phenomenon, as well as the behavioural and sexual changes it induces, were unintended side effects, perhaps introduced in the particles’ replication process. The effects of the Alpha Phenomenon on aging and physical fitness may also be unexpected consequences of Alpha Dearfoot's programming efforts.

According to Alpha Young Baek Hyeon, who lives in the former New York area with a mixed harem, he and Alpha Dearfoot attempted to “date,” an outmoded practice common in the Old World, during the early weeks of the Alpha Phenomenon’s spread. “Alpha DeWayne and I work well together,” Alpha Young told us by video call, “but we’re both pretty chill even since we changed. Alpha Dearfoot and I couldn’t even stand to be in the same room once I had transformed. He’s one of the most territorial Alphas I’ve ever met, he can barely stand to have another Alpha within a mile of him.” As Alpha Young spoke, we watched a well-trained Beta enter the room with a plate of apple slices and present them to his Alpha.

“He was really torn up about it, too. Even though we couldn’t stop yelling at each other in person or over the phone, he left me a ton of really sweet voice messages about how much he’d liked me before we became Alphas.” Alpha Young took a bite of apple and ruffled his Beta’s hair, causing all of us to shudder with phantom pleasure at the affection. With a contemplative expression, Alpha Young said, “No, I don’t think he meant for any of this to happen.”

While this study has yielded plenty of useful biographical information about the man apparently responsible for the Alpha Phenomenon that changed the world, we appear no closer to understanding the precise mechanism of that change. With better access to the programming of the nanomachines, perhaps it would be possible to reduce the natural aggressiveness of the Alphas, allowing Alphas like Dearfoot to return to their studies or jobs if they so wish. In the following section, we will propose potential opportunities for further research in the effort to isolate the Alpha Phenomenon.

Or vote on Strawpoll here: https://strawpoll.com/wby5A0vw8yA

This series is my way of celebrating reaching 2000 followers! I hope you enjoy this glimpse into Alphaworld and vote on what file you would like to see next. There is no strict update schedule, so you good boys better be on the lookout for a new chapter you can vote on ;)

[demonslayedher]

The first fanbook tells us that lately, Mitsuri is hooked on "youshoku" (Western food) like pork cutlet and omelette rice, so her expenditure on food is pretty extreme.

Nowadays, these Japanese-style "Western foods" are pretty ubiquitous but not actually things you run into much in "the West." The ingredients and recipes have changed here and there with how long they've been around, so a nerd buddy who knows Tokyo better than I do (and who is a Mitsuri fan) insisted I try out what these things would have tasted like in Taisho. That's why she took me to Rengatei, where some of Mitsuri's favorite dishes were born.

I'm going to let this food blog do the talking about the restaurant itself and how it has the credit for creating many well-known dishes, including pork cutlet and omelette rice. It's an interesting, short read.

We'll focus most on what Rengatei might mean for Mitsuri, and on that note, I'll call your attention to the fact that this food blog article first mentions looking for a similar restaurant with a long history in the Azabu Juban area. Mitsuri is from a spot that was known as the Iikura neighborhood of the Azabu area in the Taisho period, and what is now known as the Azabudai area. Back in the Taisho period, this was a glitzy shopping and entertainment area where Mitsuri would have had many options for popular Western style restaurants. Even today, Azabudai feels like an area meant for people who make far more money than I do.

So, if she was spoiled for choice closer to where she lived back then, would she have bothered going over to Ginza, another glitzy shopping area of Tokyo, to visit Rengatei? The restaurant opened in 1895, a year or so before she was born, so it would have been well established, but not exactly new. To that I say, let's assume she'd have had plenty of opportunities to go to Ginza. It's perfectly reasonable to assume she might have visited the restaurant that developed some of her favorite dishes. Even today, Rengatei plays up the retro atmosphere with the table setting and wait staff uniforms.

Thing is, despite the retro feeling of modern-day Rengatei, this building was constructed in the 1960s. Mitsuri's wouldn't have seen the place in the same way you can see it today.

The kicker is that it would have been the same Meiji era recipes.

My friend who took me along asked for my thoughts on the food afterward, and we arrived at the same conclusions about it being not amazing, but feeling a little imperfect compared to many other versions of these recipes that we've had. Like you can tell these were freshly developed and on the homestyle side. I had the omuraisu (omelet rice, as it is better known today instead of the long o-mu-re-tsu-rai-su* as it used to be known), and she had the tonkatsu (pork cutlet, which is also a shorter way of saying po-o-ku-ka-tsu-re-tsu*, with "ton" for "pork").

*Both the KnY fanbook and the Rengatei menu use old, long names, though there was some linguistic variation like ka-re-ka-tsu or ka-to-re-to until the current names were settled on.

So why were these sorts of foods such a big deal? There were a lot of new foods introduced to the Japanese diet over the course of the Meiji period, especially meat, since Japan was very influenced by Buddhism and not widely in the habit of eating it (but you can always find exceptions, and different strains of Japanese Buddhism vary in how much they condemn certain lifestyle choices). Many new meat dishes, like curry and sukiyaki (or rather, gyunabe as Rengoku knew it in his bentou), were fancy and expensive and novel in the Meiji period. Perhaps more surprisingly, eggs were also a luxury item (though they have a complex history in the Japanese diet).

Granted, by the time the Taisho period rolls around, a lot of high society in Tokyo has already had some time to get used to these new menu items being a thing, and how much they were adopted into people's lifestyles varied as much as how much they adopted Western attire and houses. On that note, it is very interesting how in the flashback to Mitsuri's family life, they live in a very Japanese-style home and visit Japanese-style establishments and eat Japanese-style sweets, but by the time we join Mitsuri for Hashira training, there are Western elements to her home (though it is not clear if she lives with family or not), and she eats Western style sweets (beekeeping has a long history, and Western methods of beekeeping were introduced in Meiji long before Mitsuri was born). We can see how quickly what was normal for Mitsuri changed over the course of her life, so it's possible she really hadn't been in a habit of eating Western food until closer to when she joined the Corp. While I'm sure Rengoku was happy to eat anything, his home and tastes still seem to lean distinctly non-Western in comparison.

Anyway, so how was the food at Rengatei? Back to that topic!

I usually associate restaurant omuraisu with being impeccably fluffy, and with a variety of sauces and rices seasonings to choose from, even if ketchup is traditional. However, this omelet had a distinctly flatter, more inconsistent texture than you usually get with standard restaurant omuraisu. It's closer to just the usual flat, bumpy, but at least smoothly beaten omelette you'd be more likely to accomplish at home. Even the ketchup had a bit of a freshly-blended quality to it, but I can't exactly say I'm ketchup connoisseur. For all we know about Mitsuri, she might be.

The pork cutlet was, as you get into it yourself instead of having somewhat pre-cut strips like at many tonkatsu establishments, very clearly a hunk of meat. My usual image of tonkatsu is a evenly tenderized, evenly cooked hunk of white meat, with a stretch of fat along one side. Not so with this--the textures and darkness and lightness of the meat, as well as the amount and distribution of fat, was more typical of a cut of meat that is first and foremost meat; not a uniform product. My friend really loves tonkatsu, and says she prefers this juicy, not-quite-perfected version. Because it is a greasy dish, this is why Rengatei introduced the convention of serving it a bed of shredded cabbage to aid in digestion, which all of Japan has copied ever since.

As a brief note, most online sources say "yeah, Rengatei invented tonkatsu (but we're all probably copying the same source)." It seems there is another restaurant (Ponchitei) that claims to have invented tonkatsu before or after 1897, and for what I've poked around, the claims for Rengatei's invention aren't clear, but 1899 seems like the most likely time it entered the menu (I saw a claim for 1890, but the restaurant didn't open until 1895...).

Anyway, tl,dr; I did feel I was eating something closer to what Mitsuri would have known and loved by having eaten at Rengatei.

I also felt it went to show why her food bill was so high, because Rengatei is not cheap (like, about twice what I'd typically be willing to pay). You're paying for some ambiance and history here, as opposed to just a standard meal. Also, it is worth noting that although there is scant official information for the parent restaurant in Ginza, there is a lot more information for an off-shoot restaurant in Fukagawa that opened in 1928. That includes a short, cute English article introducing Western foods.

But hey, despite the stiff prices, I was full and satisfied after one plate of omuraisu and a couple bites of pork cutlet. Mitsuri-chan has a Hashira salary, so she can afford as many servings as she likes.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

In the past, I’ve spoken AT LENGTH about Hobie Brown’s dialogue lines, and it’s because I think every single one of them are interesting on their own level - each telling us more and more about his character.

I’ve almost gone through them all - ALMOST. But if there’s one line that I find to be super interesting - and super misunderstood - it’s this one.

What does Hobie mean by - “Eh, What of it?”

It’s one of his shortest lines, but I think those four little words can tell us a lot about Hobie, not because of what he said - by WHY he said it.

Often when people reference this line, they say that this shows that Hobie is unaffected or apathetic to canon events - either as a whole, or his own. We usually assume that this is some insight into his background in some way.

But I think this might be something else. Would you believe that this line was him looking out for Miles?

It’s been a while, but hear me out on this. So the question I’m answering today is - ‘Why does Hobie say this? And what exactly is he trying to tell Miles?’

[A SHORT-ish essay where I break down one of my favorite of Hobie's lines. Because I miss writing essays lol]

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

Now, I know we all know the context of this scene - we’ve probably seen it dozens of times now - but I just want to reiterate why we’re here in this moment and what’s happening, just so we can begin to get inside Hobie’s head.

The scene takes place shortly after Miles meets Miguel, and in order to explain, Miguel gives Miles a seemingly rehearsed speech starting with ‘This is Everything.’ The ‘Everything’ speech is a basic introduction to the Spider-verse, to canon events and how they bind all Spider-people together.

At this point in time, Miles has not mentioned his father or his incoming canon event. And Miguel has made no indication that he plans to tell Miles that he’s an anomaly - there’s no reason to, so long as Miles plays along.

So from what we can tell, this speech is something every Spider-person gets.

But what exactly is Miguel trying to do?

I think it’s safe to say that The Spider Society is a cult of personality in many aspects - but not towards Miguel - but towards Spider-man as an entity or, more accurately, an identity.

And in this moment, he’s trying to portray the personal tragedies of Spider-people as a part of a bigger narrative. Miguel is showing recruits that their trauma is not just an individual scar, but a collective one shared for the greater good.

Sounds cultish? Well, because it is. There are many ways you can explain this, but I think Psychology Today’s article ‘Understanding Cults’ says it best.

What does that have to do with Miles?

Miguel is showing Miles his trauma along side all others as a way of ‘creating’ or solidifying his new identity as Spider-man, in order to suppress his own identity as Miles Morales. In order for Miles to submit to canon events for the ‘greater good’, he must choose his identity as Spider-man over his individual identity of Miles Morales.

He shows Miles’ his own canon event, beside dozens of other Spider-people facing the same trauma, in order for Miles to feel included, apart of something bigger than himself. This, of course, is a common tactic of real life cults - the prevailing idea that the victim is apart of a larger, inescapable - often religious - narrative within the universe.

In this moment, Miguel is trying to thread Miles into the fabric of the Spider-verse, in hopes that in doing so - Miles will be more inclined to submit to the tragedy of canon events.

In short, he wants Miles to feel guilty and sorry for those around him.

And it’s working.

Let’s look at the sequence of events in this moment. Miguel introduces Miles to ASM-90, the Death of George Stacy. As soon as he hears the words ‘Captain Stacy’ - Miles looks to Gwen. We can see the concern on his face, and the somberness on Gwen's. Already he is starting to feel the weight of the others’ emotional reactions.

Next, he looks to his most trusted person - Peter B.

Already, Peter B. is facing away, clutching Mayday to his chest. We don’t just get a shot of Peter B’s back - but we also get a shot over Peter’s shoulder. And we see Miles, and his growing worry. This shot signifies, to me, that this moment isn’t just about the canon events of each character - but Miles’ emotional reaction to it.

Miguel’s tactic of guilt-tripping his working. Because look who speaks next.

Miles says to Peter B. - “That happened to you?” - But it’s not Peter who responds. It’s Jess. Undoubtedly, Miguel’s biggest ally in the room. Jess says to Miles -

“And me.”

Jess works for Miguel. And in that moment, it seems like she’s trying to drive home the point that this whole presentation is about. I mean, think about it.

If we are to believe that this speech is a routine one, given to new Spider-recruits to tell them about the existence of canon events, then Jess saying this ALSO isn't unique to Miles. Her saying this, her reiterating Miguel's underlying point in all this -

‘We’ve all faced your trauma - we’re all like you.’

In this moment, we don’t ever SEE a shot of Jess’s canon event - because that’s not the point. We see Miles’ reaction, because that’s what this is truly about. Miles’ feelings, his emotional connection to these people, in order to manipulate him into empathy - and conformity.

But then we get to Hobie.

“Eh, What of it?”

As always, Hobie stands out of the crowd. 

He’s always the one to think differently and to choose his words carefully. And we know for a fact, he’s always on Miles’ side.

When we watch this moment, many people assume it’s some insight to his background. That maybe Hobie was responsible for his own canon event, or have grown apathetic to the idea as a whole. And while those are interesting theories - I think the answer is much simpler.

Hobie isn’t saying “What of it - what happened to me isn’t a big deal.”

He’s saying - “What of it? What does any of this have to do with YOU?”

Think about it, most times we say ‘What of it’, it’s meant to mean ‘what relevance does that information have?’ or even ‘why does it matter?’

Let’s look at an example. Let's say someone eats your friend’s powdered donuts, and your friend questions the group, looking for the culprit. Someone might say ‘X, your favorite food is powdered donuts!’ X might say ‘Yeah, and what of it?’ - as in ‘Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?’, as a way to show that the information being mentioned is true, but also doesn’t affect the situation.

And that’s exactly what I think Hobie is saying.

Hobie isn’t downplaying his own trauma but saying ‘What of it?’, he’s telling Miles - “Okay, but what does all of this have to do with anything?”

What does their canon events have to do with Miles, and his feelings? Why should Miles have to take on their trauma and their pain, when he just got there? 

Hobie knows that Miles followed Gwen, and that him and Gwen care about each other deeply. Upon their reunion, Hobie can see that Miles looks up to Peter - he knows that seeing them in emotional pain hurts Miles too.

And Miguel knows this as well. Miguel probably knows that the best way to convince Miles is through Peter, and Gwen.

But that shouldn’t matter. Miles shouldn’t have to relive their tragedies in his own life just because they went through it. He shouldn’t feel guilty for trying to be different or choosing his identity over the mold Miguel is presenting him.

Sure, Hobie might’ve been hurt in the past. He might still be hurting - but this isn’t about him, it isn’t about any of them.

It’s about Miles, so what does his pain have to do with it? Why should Miguel get to bring up their trauma, and make them rewatch it, for the sake of pulling Miles’ heartstrings?

Why should Miguel get to weaponize their canon events for his agenda of getting Miles to conform? What they’ve been through has nothing to do with it. And Hobie knows this.

So literally, ‘What of it?’

In this moment, Hobie isn’t focused on himself - he’s focused on Miles. So when he says ‘What of it?’ this isn’t a comment on his past experiences, it’s a comment on Miles’ current predicament.

‘Yes, that happened to me, but what does this have to do with you, Miles?’

This interpretation follows the characterization we've seen of Hobie this far.

All of his words to Miles are chosen carefully, all of his words are there to back Miles up - and support him in some way. It’s all Hobie’s thinking about.

And we can see it in Hobie’s face.

Back to the scene. Jess says “And me.”

For a second, Miles’ eyes lingers on her. But after a moment, his eyes goes to Hobie. Hobie, the guy Miles has already decided is cooler, more level headed, a friend of Gwen. Already in this moment, Miles it looking to Hobie’s reaction because he no longer sees Hobie as a threat. In this moment, he’s looking to Hobie for support.

But look at Hobie’s face.

For a moment, he looks visibly somber. For a split second, we’re shown the emotion on Hobie’s face, he’s looking down, lost in thought. [I'm screaming iAHHH i want to know what happened to him SO BADLY he looks so sad :((( I'm gonna cry but also I'm editing this drunk so I'm extra emotional :((( Sad Hobie :((((]

And then he realizes that Miles is looking at him.

But why would the animators show us that, if he truly didn’t care about his canon events? What would be the purpose of this shot?

I believe this split second shows that maybe, just maybe, Hobie does have scars from his canon events, ones he still thinks about, ones that still illicit and emotional response from him.

But when Miles looks at him, immediately, his expression changes.

He tucks away his feelings and returns his attention to Miles. He chooses to set aside his aside his trauma, to play it off and hide it away, because he knows that if he doesn't - Miles will internalize that pain, and that guilt.

In that moment, Hobie can tell that Miles is looking to him for some reason. And that reason is support.

In that one moment, Hobie takes the chance to push his own trauma aside - to be the voice of reason for Miles. The voice to tell Miles that ‘whatever happened to us, has nothing to do with you’.

By saying "Eh, What of it?"

These four words, often thought to be Hobie playing it cool, could be so much more.

It could be one more push to Miles to choose his own path - and it echos back to Hobie’s first monologue to Miles:

In this moment, Hobie chooses to remind Miles, that this isn't about them, or what any of them have been through.

It's about him, and his independence. Hobie is imploring Miles to reject Miguel's narrative - to reject the collective identity of Spider-man.

Because to Hobie, that's what being Spider-man means. Independence, and individuality. He doesn't want Miles to carry his burden, or anyone elses.

And I think this line is the perfect example of that, it shows the depth of Hobie's dedication to Miles, and what Hobie believes in.

________________________________________

In every scene, in every shot, and every line - Hobie is looking out for Miles in anyway he can. And although this theory doesn’t tell us much about his past, it re-enforces who Hobie is as a character: an agent of good and a driving force in Miles’ story.

Maybe Hobie does have canon events he’s still grappling with, and skeletons in his closet. Maybe we’ll one day understand the meaning of his blue laces. But in that moment, none of that mattered. This is Miles’ story, not theirs’, and Hobie knows this.

And that’s true punk tactics. I love Hobie Brown so much i could cry AHHHHHHHHHHHH

_________________________

SOOOOOOO I know it’s been a while but if you read this far - THANK YOU SO MUCH. Sorry if I’m a bit rusty at this, but this is something I’ve been wanting to write about for months now! And Im SOOOO happy its finally done GOLLLY JEEEE

Anyway, here’s Hobie. Bless up.

(right is actual photo of me writing this drunk as hell in my bed lmaooooo im so turnt right now Im sorry if this dont make sense anywayyyyy hes so fine whys he so perfect Hobie I Love YOuuuu wtfffff)

BYE.

[liver-f4ilure]

Academy Maniacs Article Translated

NOTE: I may have missed a part but this is the whole article.

———

ISSUES: KONKURENTl calendar dated January 28, 2013

"Good-natured boy."

The defendant in the case of "hammer throwers" asked for freedom

Author: ANGELINA SALOMATOVA

The Irkutsk Regional Court received the criminal case against Artyom Anufriev and Nikita Lytkin, who, according to the investigators' version, were operating in Irkutsk Akademgorodok from the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2011, killing six people and attempting to kill eight others, on August 13 last year. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the term of detention of the defendants, who have been in Irkutsk SIZO-1 since their arrest on April 5 last year, expires six months after the case is filed with the court, on February 13.

However, according to the court, by that time the case cannot be considered on its merits: it took the prosecution six months just to announce the evidence collected in 49 volumes. At the hearing on Wednesday, January 23, the lawyers started presenting evidence, having summoned the first witnesses and experts to the court. Also ahead is the debate of the parties and the final decision. In this regard, the judge put the issue of extending the period of detention on the table. The defendants, who have already been behind bars for almost two years, as it turned out, are not averse to being free. After a short break in the session, which took Artyom Anufriev to communicate with his lawyers, he asked the court to change the measure of restraint to a custodial release.

"All the fears of the investigation about my being on the outside are groundless. I will not be able to influence the course of the investigation in any way, I will not be able to put pressure on witnesses, I will not be able to destroy evidence either. I have places of study, work, residence, at least I had them. I ask to appoint a measure of restraint not involving imprisonment," said Anufriev. The lawyer supported the position of the defendant: "He is socially adapted, as he has a mother, with whom he lived and can continue to live, he does not intend to hide. In addition, he really can not influence the course of the investigation, as all the evidence is already in court, the judicial investigation is coming to an end".

The mother of Nikita Lytkin did not insist on changing the measure of restraint, leaving the decision "at the discretion of the court", but said that her son had long and deeply repented of the crimes committed and, in her opinion, "is not dangerous to society". Despite the defense's arguments, the court decided to extend the detention for three months, until May 13.

"The defendants are accused of particularly serious crimes against the person, committed over a long period of time. Each of the incriminated acts is punishable by imprisonment for a long period of time, including up to life imprisonment. In selecting a measure of restraint, the court took into account that, being at liberty, they could continue criminal activity and escape from the investigation. These circumstances have not fallen away and have not changed," the judge read out the ruling.

A new stage of the judicial investigation, during which evidence will be presented by the defense side, began at the hearing on Wednesday. Among the first lawyers invited an expert on information systems to the court, with the help of whom they found out the subtleties of data exchange in social networks, in particular "VKontakte", in which, according to the investigation, the defendant Anufriev kept extremist correspondence with acquaintances. According to the expert, the correspondence history stored on the server of the social network could theoretically be changed, which Artem Anufriev himself did not know anything about, and therefore, the information seized from the storage can not be evidence in the case.

—

Artyom Anufriev also denies that he was involved in a vicious correspondence, claiming that he gave the password to his social network page to one of his acquaintances, who left compromising messages on his behalf. The court has yet to sort out the evidence; the unique network IP address from which the defendant accessed the Internet may be used to identify the user of the social network. In addition, Anufriev, who chose the policy of denial of guilt, in his defense stated that in the protocol of on-site testimony, held on April 11, 2011, there is a signature made on his behalf by another person. At the request of the state prosecutor, a handwriting examination was appointed, which was entrusted to the Irkutsk Laboratory of Forensic Expertise.

Recall that at the first stages of the investigation, Artyom Anufriev and Nikita Lytkin fully admitted guilt in committing a series of crimes. However, during the judicial investigation, the first refused to testify and said that he had incriminated himself under torture and threats of investigators "with trouble in the detention center". Since then, the defense lines of Anufriev and Lytkin have been divided. The side of the senior defendant, Anufriev, who is charged with, among other things, involving the minor Lytkin in particularly serious crimes, insists that the defendant could not have been the organizer and ideological inspirer of the extremist community, as the prosecution believes.

In order to prove this, the lawyers called to court a woman who knows Artyom Anufriev "from diapers". The witness, who spoke first on the defense side, said that Artyom Anufriev's mother was a close friend of her own mother and the long family friendship allows her to characterize the defendant. "Artyom is a good-natured boy, polite, I have never heard a bad word from him," the witness said. - He is enthusiastic and capable. In character, soft, kind, driven. They had a boy who was always organizing something - basketball, tennis. Unless you called Artyom and invited him, he wouldn't go. They had a music group; when the organizer left town, the group broke up. Artyom's mother offered to create a new group, but he couldn't because he doesn't have organizational skills.

The witness testimony, according to the defense, should refute the prosecution's thesis that Artyom was the brains and inspiration, while Nikita was the executor. The woman also said that Anufriev's mother did not approve of his friendship with Lytykin. "She believed that this young man does not do anything, badly influences Artyom, interferes with his studies. Always tried to stop their friendship," the witness stated. The court has yet to assess the arguments of the defense. The hearing will continue next week. After reviewing the evidence of both sides, the court will consider possible motions to supplement the judicial investigation, after which the debate of the parties will begin and the judge will make a final decision.

[contemplatingoutlander]

JOURNALISTIC CHOICES: Telling the Truth vs. "Bothsidesism"

Ben Raderstorf does a great job in this article discussing the dilemma modern journalism has in covering a lying, dangerous authoritarian like Donald Trump, without "appearing partisan." Raderstorf argues against bothsidesism, and in favor of good journalists just simply telling the truth.

[T]he best way for independent, fact-based media to win back the audiences they’re losing to polarization is to not chase them.... But rather, to double-down on independence, objectivity, and honesty. To report reality as it is and to let the chips fall where they may. To draw a hard distinction between the normal political jockeying of healthy democracy and actions that threaten our system of government.   Back in 2022, in response to questions from reporters about how to discern between those two things, we wrote a report on how experts understand threats to democracy: The Authoritarian Playbook: How reporters can contextualize and cover authoritarian threats as distinct from politics-as-usual. 

"Modern autocrats don't crush journalism — they corrupt it." 

Raderstorf also talks about how 21st century autocrats like Viktor Orbán (who is a role model for Trump) apply pressure in subtle ways to eventually "corrupt" journalism.

These days, many autocrats don’t just smash printing presses, throw reporters in jail, and be done with it. Often they pursue a more nuanced, and more insidious, strategy.   With a combination of intimidation, coercion, and financial manipulation, they slowly corrode the independence and autonomy of the press until it ceases to be a meaningful check on power. The media still exists; it’s just an empty shell, a useful facade.   Put differently, modern autocrats don’t crush journalism — they corrupt it. 

[See more below the cut about the role of "anticipatory obedience" and the changes in leadership at CNN and The Washington Post.]

[edited]

"ANTICIPATORY OBEDIENCE": An Explanation for Why CNN and The Washington Post Changed Their Leadership

Raderstorf mentions how the two journalistic outlets that Trump targeted most vehemently as president are the two that eventually replaced their leadership--and as a result, weakened their journalistic integrity.

In an article this week in the Columbia Journalism Review, my colleagues Ian Bassin... and Maximillian Potter ... dive into several case studies. They connect troubling dots suggesting that Donald Trump deployed the Orbán strategy in his first term to greater effect than many realize. [...] In their piece, Ian and Max explore the two major instances in Trump’s first term when he attempted to wield the powers of the presidency against journalists for coverage he didn’t like. First, by threatening to block a proposed merger between CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, and AT&T. Second, by looking to raise shipping rates on Amazon, whose owner, Jeff Bezos, also owns the Washington Post.  In both cases, Trump mostly failed to carry out his threats. But… it’s also true that both CNN and the Post subsequently went through high-profile leadership shakeups at least partly in response to Trump. For CNN, this was Chris Licht’s short-lived tenure and disastrous efforts to make the network “more neutral.” For the Post, it was Bezos installing a new publisher: “Will Lewis, a former Rupert Murdoch executive who has spent most of his career in right-wing media.” [...] Timothy Snyder writes in On Tyranny that autocratic leaders often succeed simply because the media, business leaders, and civil society look ahead to possible repression and move preemptively towards self-preservation. What he calls “anticipatory obedience."