#Chinese social media is just... Something else

[meraki-yao]

Taylor did a Q&A on bilibili!!! (it's in English but only with Chinese subtitles)

[brokenpieces-72]

Prom Knights

Gotham Knights x f!reader

Scenario: It's prom night, and you are super excited because your crush asked you out and you got advice on your outfit to look perfect for them. You got a loud dress and cut your hair. Originally you were supposed to take a limo, but your crush texted you to say there were some issues so you just get dropped off. When you get to the doors and wait for your date you text them to see where they're at. He texts back saying he and his date are almost there. The whole thing was a set up by him and your mean girl bully. You feel humiliated when you go to confront them, and they make it worse with mocking. You rush out, and call for help. Hopefully they weren't on patrol tonight.

When you call Barbara you're choking back tears as hard as you. You feel so stupid. When Barbara picks up she's bright and professional, right up until she hears your tone. Big sister mode activates, and she's asking what's going on. You tell her you just want to be picked up, and she comes to get you. When she sees the cut hair and the dress she's immediately hugging you and getting you in the car. During the drive back to the clock tower where she made sure you had a comfortable change of clothes, she asked if you wanted to make any stops for food.

You get sat down at the clock tower to properly explain what happened, self esteem low, and blaming yourself for not thinking it through. Like your crush would eve- NO! None of that! Barbara is not gonna sit here, and listen to you hate yourself for something that was the fault of a group of immature teenagers. You're wonderful, kind and generous to give them a chance. If they can't see your worth, they're blind, enough said.

Barbara then gets out her phone and asks for their names, and socials if you have them. Vengeance can be a dangerous thing, she knows, but this? This was personal and well deserved. While you shower to get the crap out of your hair and off your face, changing into your comfy sweats (including an oversized hoodie), Barbara gets to work on her laptop. She don't need the bat computer for this shit, she was willing to make it personal. Accessing their social media and using your phone (with your permission) she tracks your bullies' socials and gets to work messing with them. First she exposes them online, leaving multiple comments on their prom posts calling them out, along with posting screenshots of your text conversations. Second she gets the guys to help by posting comments from time to time to ensure no amount of deleting can erase your bullies' exposure. Finally, and you've finished your shower by now, and are curled with a mug next to her, she sets up bots and spam messages to be sent to embarrass them and subscribe them to free trials for a number of things that make you laugh and gasp.

You still insist you aren't worth it, and she just gives you a hug and reminds you, that sometimes it's the small saves that make being a vigilante fun. Especially when she gets to see you laugh and smile. Now would you prefer pizza or Chinese? What movie do you want to watch and throw popcorn at?

Okay so originally you weren't going to call Jason. You work with him the closest and you know he can take revenge to a whole new level. Honestly though, you can't think of who else to call. When he answers and hears your unsteady voice and sniffles, he knows. You just ask him to pick you up, and to bring a change of clothes but he already has an idea of what happened. Jason hangs up and as he gets your clothes, he calls up Tim. Tim is a little confused because Jason doesn't usually ask for help, except for maybe Barbara and Dick, but that's it. When Jason asks about you though (you and Tim go to the same school), Tim looks around the venue and just sees your laughing tormentors mockingly imitating your pain. Jason just asks for their names, and Tim gives the main two. Then Jason asks for a massive favour. Tim agrees, he hates them too.

Jason finally shows up with your change of clothes and wow yeah short hair and that dress? Not important, you need to go back inside that venue. You really just want go home, miserable this once in a life time night got ruined because you were gullible for a few minutes. No no, you need to go back inside. Trust him. But you're a mess, and they'll just mock you more. Clean yourself up, get changed and then come back. He'll wait. You do so, and you go back into the dark dance hall with him. Your tormentors see you, and decide to mock you for pulling a new date from off streets, desperately trying to make yourself look good. Jason straight up crosses his arms as they talk, and half way, he barks at them to shut the fuck up. They should be lucky he wasn't willing to deck a couple of losers who will only ever peak in highschool. They don;t get the chance to protest before someone goes up on stage to announce winners for prom night.

Most of them are via draw and you did win yourself a gift card. Lucky you stayed. Then your tormentors were voted king and queen. They of course rub it in your face as they excitedly hold hands rushing up stage like some cheesy highschool movie couple. You ask Jason if you could go now. He tells you to wait, focusing on the stage as the crowns are given, pulling out his phone to record. The two of them stand happily, waving like celebrities... And then the buckets of soapy, foamy, water get dunked on them. You cover your mouth in shock, and yeah it's childish, but Jason has a grin on his face, before texting Tim, "Thanks".

He takes you to the clock tower after. You rewatch that video with him a few times, smiling. He didn't have to do all this. Jason did. You're his friend and basically his sister. That's what older brothers should do.

You don't need to call Tim, Tim is likely already there, and saw it all happen. Wow people are pathetically stupid sometimes. He did warn you about it a couple times, but didn't want to overstep. Seeing the situation there's a hint of guilt. Doesn't take long for him to get a text that says "you were right". Not a message he wanted to see, and not one that goes unanswered. Tim leaves to find you, and enlists Bernard (I know he's not in Gotham Knights, I don't care) to help him. The two of them find you feeling miserable.

The two of them come over to you and sit next to you, letting you cry it out. Tim has already sent an extra text to Barbara, asking if she has any dresses in your size and if she can bring one to the venue. Bernard takes you inside to help clean up the runny makeup off your face, while Tim gets the dress for you. While you get changed they wait, brainstorming ideas of how they could get revenge. Tim thinks small bits of revenge can be petty, but this? Nah, this was justified. You got humiliated and your heart broken all at once. No way your bullies walk away from that Scott free.

You come out and they plan to hang with you for the rest of the prom. No way they were risking you being alone with that couple. It's small but you figure the best revenge is to prove that shit like this won't defeat you. Whether the bullies liked it or not you did have people who cared about you, you have friends. This was your night, the same as everyone else! Live a little. Unfortunately, your tormentors refuse to let you be happy. The girl decides to try and ruin the dress, that fits well enough by trying to come up and apologize to you. Tim is about to get between you two, but you already know what she's planning seeing the messy food she's brought as a 'peace offering'. Oh she's so sorry, it was all just an innocent prank, she's so glad you were able to come back to enjoy yourself, awww. As soon as you see the hand with the cupcake move, you swipe it from her, and take a bite. Oh wow you're glad you didn't miss these. Her stunned look is enough to make you smile, but what Tim does is pure classic gold. Tim fake trips with a drink in his hand. OH HOW HORRID HER DRESS, HAIR AND MAKE UP ARE RUINED!!

Tim just hands her the glass, saying the drink is called Karma. You burst out laughing as Bernard pulls you into the crowd of other students, with Tim close behind. God you guys look like corny teen movie kids, but you don't care. Was it childish? Maybe. Do any of you care? Nah, it was worth it.

When you call Dick he says he’s busy but will be there in a bit. He asks if you want to stay and he’ll grab you something to change into, or if you want to just head to the clocktower. Honestly you don’t really know. You wanted to enjoy yourself tonight, but you feel humiliated.

When he arrives he gives you more comfortable clothes to wear, but still nice, and offers to be your date for tonight since your other one is a piece of garbage. Yeah, Tim is in there too, so why don’t all four of you hang out and you enjoy being a normal teenager for a night. He knows you put a lot of work into school and your night life, along with work. Tonight you get to forget everything. Live for a minute. Yeah he brought a suit. Yeah you can have a hug too.

You go in and you just avoid the popular pricks, while looking for Tim and his date. The four of you enjoy yourselves and you don’t feel alone. Of course you tormentors can’t let you have a nice night, that would be asking too much. The girl tries hitting on Dick, but he’s not having it. Just constantly repeats no thank you, no, and please leave us alone. Didn’t stop her from taking minor jabs at you. You didn’t want to start a fight or give her a reason to make your night worse. Dick wasn’t having it. He’s getting frustrated now, and is close to doing some he really doesn’t want to do. All it takes is a final comment as she turns and walks away. He makes another comment about her rear after she made plenty of friendly comments about his. Oh she didn’t like that. Not like her ass existed to begin with.

You burst out laughing, unable to hold it in. Tim is shaking his head but laughing alongside Bernard. The girl’s date kept her from going off on Dick, who just sat there with the “I don’t care” grin. You grin and enjoy the night while the two bullies get dragged off by chaperones, telling them they are way out of line. Once the night is done and Dick even offers a slow dance, you go back with Tim and Dick to the clock tower. He says he’s sorry you had a shitty night at the start. If you want to just chill with him and Barb in the clock tower for the rest of the night he’d be up for that. You do and you have a good time. No more tears. You have family and friends who make you feel special no matter what.

Taglist: @yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @tai-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846 @graystorm444 @chibiduck @reaperxxxxzz @danielle143 @sobbingnshtting @cringeycookies @cryingpages @dcnocap207 @reaper-chan666

[badasgirlfriend]

Love On The Down Low - Bada Lee Social Media AU - 031

pairings: bada lee x zhong lei

prev - masterlist - next

TW: grooming

a/n: would've could've should've is the song she wrote </3

taglist: { @1luvkarina , @hallotherenicetomeetyou @fillthwvoid , @kdacase @prilux @jjlovesbada @waveartistry , @dkluvs , @pinksults, @tikitsune , @b1ackbunny , @adaiasafira, @froufrousnowman , @99ycs, @badaslali , @italiekim , @saturnushasmyback , @heedoya @fairiechuu @itsbokutosjuicyass , @tnu-ree @jesuschrist2006 @asweetcollide , @ssivinee , @downbadforbada , @starryelling , @pupbistro , @dexthzone , @smoooore }

Numbness

That's what Bada had been feeling ever since she got that message. There were no tears or screams, just silent suffering. Her eyes were dry and she felt hollow inside. She was staring at her blue notebook she got with a pen in her hands

'Whatever you think, sorry but I don't give a fucking shit'

But mostly, she was mad.

She felt a burning anger within her. She was mad at the people who didn't believe her and continued to throw so many words at her without hearing her first

'Sorry, I don't give a fuck that your life is medicore'

She was angry at the company she basically brought back from failure.

'That you screwed up and are unable to leave the shithole'

She was mad at that girl who, for no reason, decided to destroy everything she has worked for. Playing the victim while Bada is the actual victim

'For you to think that my success is related to your failure"

Bada felt a growing sense of dread and anxiety. She had a feeling that this story would end badly for her, and she didn't like where it was headed.

Trapped in a nightmare with no way out

"Your delusion is top-notch fuck it"

Her eyes remained glued to paper that was filled with lyrics. Her attention was focused on the song she was working on, not even glancing at the girl who just entered the studio. She sighed and scribbled the mistake she had accidentally made, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Bada heard the chair next to her being pulled out, but she didn't look her way. Lei remained silent as well, not making a sound.

Lei stared at her, Bada's hood was up, hiding her face perfectly. She moved her eyes to read what she was writing. She cracked a smile, happy to see Bada get her motive back.

She wanted to say something, but everything that was on her mind felt embarrassing. Lei wasn't used to having this problem with anyone else. In fact, she was always the one striking up a conversation, you can never keep her mouth shut. But ever since she spent all those nights thinking about the butterflies she gets everytime she hangs out with Bada, something changed

Oh she's so fucked

"What's worse?" Bada spoke up, and Lei's eyes immediately darted towards her

"Being wanted but not loved, or loved but not wanted?"

"Uhm depends in what situation you put it" the shorter girl answered "But for me, I prefer a situation where both love and want are mutual"

Bada only nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Same" she muttered and closed the notebook. She then pulled her hood down, and tried to fix her messy hair

Lei felt sorry for the girl. Her eyes felt dead, and her eyebags were only getting worse day by day. Compared to when she first came and now, she lost so much weight too

"Let's celebrate" Bada bent down down and took out a small convenience store white cake from from the mini fridge.

Lei eyed her suspiciously taking a sip of water "What is this for?"

"For me getting kicked out of my group"

The chinese girl almost choked on her water "what- you got kicked?" she asked in disbelief, she didn't think it would come at this point

Bada's head whipped around in the blink of an eye "N- no oh my god, I said it wrong. Maybe I'll get kicked, I don't know they're thinking about it. If they can't win against the girl then yes"

"Well fuck your CEO and manager" Lei muttered, throwing her bottle on the floor in a fit of rage. "This whole situation should've ended months ago. That company is so greedy and corrupt, just hungry for more attention and money"

Bada couldn't help but grin as Lei continued to angrily ramble and curse everyone. It was oddly adorable how she would grab the hem of her shirt every time she was mad and play with it. Bada also noticed the way her heart began beating abnormally, and she couldn't help but feel a tug of affection for this girl. She'll ignore it for now

It will go away

"It's okay. We'll see how it goes" Bada replied "We'll see what happens" She passed a fork to Lei, and they began eating small bites of cake without even bothering to cut it.

"You didn't tell me you were a YG trainee."

Lei shivered at the mention of YG, her mind going back to those haunting memories of her time as a trainee. The voices of the other girls and stagf constantly putting her down, the pressure of being perfect, the abuse and neglect, most importantly him

"Yeah" Lei's mouth suddenly went dry at the thought. " How do you know?"

"I saw your 'YG songs' file" Bada said

"Oh, should've changed the name" she uttered "I was for five years then I left"

"I don't blame you" Bada sympathized. "It's a good thing that you left. They're known for keeping trainees forever without ever making their debut."

"It's not because of that" Lei sighed, avoiding eye contact and looking towards the computer. "I was forced to leave. They forced me to go, and there wasn't much I could do about it. It's a long story"

Lei's cheeks reddened when she felt Bada's hand grab hers.

"We have time" Bada said, reassuring her.

2016

Lei's whole body was shaking, and tears would run down her cheeks. She was trying to hard dance perfectly, but she simply couldn't anymore. The pressure was taking a toll on her, and she couldn't keep up no matter how hard she tried.

"Hey are you alright?" a voice said behind her. She wiped the tears from her face quickly, her eyes still red

She turned around to face the person, and her eyes widened as she saw who it was. It only took a split second for her to recognize him as her senior, she was too embarrassed to look him in the eye. Instead, she bowed and kept her head dangling low "Y-yes Im fine thank you"

He smiled softly at her and laughed. "It's obvious you're not, here take my water bottle."

"It's unnecessary really," she was about to deny his offer, but his playful glare won her over. "Thank you."

"If anyone's giving you a hard time, just tell me. I'll have a talk with them," he said with a lighthearted tone. He winked at her, and Lei blushed hard "How old are you anyway?"

Lei cleared her throat and replied "15"

He smiled at her amused "Really?" He eyed her up and down smirking "You look much older"

If only she knew..

~

"I was 15, and he was 26" Lei muttered, their chairs now touching. Lei rested her head on Bada's shoulder and closed her eyes, Bada caressing her hand

"I was young and dumb" she continued "and he was older and manipulative. He took advantage of my age and innocence to mold me into what he wanted me to be."

Bada's nails dug into the chair, and her grip tightened. She clenched her jaw so harshly that she could feel the tension in her jaw muscles "Who's that man"

Lei sighed "The famous Kim Jihoon, Korea's pride, funny title if they only knew"

This hit Bada like a brick. Suddenly, all the rumors she had heard among some trainees made more sense. Bada had met him many times, and he had always been nice, but there was always this weird feeling about him. It was like something was off and not quite right.

"At first, he started buying me drinks and snacks during practice. Then it turned more serious he began gifting me jewelry. Months went by and we started dating. I was on cloud 9 from happiness, everything felt perfect. I thought I was going to debut, and I was dating every girl's dream boy."

Bada bit her lip at Lei's confession, feeling a mixture of anger and sadness.

2017

Jihoon sat next her, smiling as he looked at her. "You look so cute like this. You should make your hair into little buns more often" he ran his thumb over her cheek gently, making her smile.

"It makes me look so childish though" Lei replied, feeling embarrassed.

"Nah, you look pretty, you're a big girl" he said, leaning in close and brushing her cheek with his lips. Jihoon pressed his body close to hers, but he immediately backed away when some of the other girls entered the hallway. They instantly began to giggle and greet him with playful flirtatious smiles, and he smiled back.

Lei felt a pang of jealousy and envy as she witnessed this, feeling completely insecure compared to these pretty girls. They were older than her, way prettier and about to debut soon. Everything Jihoon was looking in a girl

"Can't let them see us, right?" Jihoon laughed teasing her, and Lei's smile fell

She was his, but he was never hers

~

"We had been dating for a year, and I often felt uncomfortable with some things he wanted me to do. I just felt so confused because he was older and wiser, and he was an idol. He always used that as his excuse whenever I questioned him." Lei's hands began to shake as she tried to explain the emotions and situation she had been in.

Bada closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears. She placed an arm around Lei's shoulder and reassured her "It's not your fault-"

"It is, it was always my fault"

2017

Jihoon slammed the practice door and shouted, "What the fuck Lei?"

Lei took a step back, her hands shaking behind her back, feeling nervous and scared. She tried to get her words out but her mouth was dry and she felt too overwhelmed to respond.

Jihoon cursed again and began to brush his hair with his hands. "I told you not to talk to me in front of the others. God you're so stupid and immature"

Lei said quietly and sniffled "Im sorry, please don't leave me"

Jihoon frowned and sighed, pulling her closer to him and wiping away her tears. "Im sorry for yelling but it was your fault baby, you made me really mad" he continued "But I'll forgive you"

Lei whispered "Why do you never talk to me when we're around other people?"

He placed his hand under her chin, gently lifting her face towards him. "They can't know about us because then they'll say that you debuted because of me"

Jihoon placed a sweet kiss to her forehead, and he looked at her with a playful grin. "We don't want that to happen, right? So let's keep it a secret."

'He's older Lei, he knows what he's doing'

He moved to kiss her lips, but she quickly turned her head away. She didn't know why she felt so uncomfortable with making out with him, but she has to, other girls would let him do things like this "I'm sorry Jihoon I don't really want to-"

He looked at her with a smirk "Shh it's okay don't worry. I know you're inexperienced, but it's okay. We'll take things slowly and learn together."

~

"He used me in so many ways, and I just let him. Chenle was so against our relationship, and I told him I broke up with him just to get him off my back." Lei explained, feeling a mix of guilt and shame

Bada's mind was flooded with so many emotions. She wanted to hug Lei, kill that motherfucker and burn down YG Entertainment.

"I noticed that he would always ask for my lyrics journal and I gave it to him since I thought it wasn't a big deal. But he never gave it back to me. One day I was at the cafe when I heard his newest song playing. I recognized it instantly because it was my song that I've written."

Lei paused and took a deep breath, Bada squeezed her hand in comfort. "His whole album was filled with songs I wrote, he changed nothing. I was so angry that I texted him saying that I'll tell Yang HyunSuk about what he did."

"Three hours later, I got called to his office, where Jihoon was also present. Jihoon started accusing me of selling his songs and leaking information, and even stalking him. Everything he said to Yang HyunSuk, he believed it without a doubt. Yang HyunSuk offered me two options: they can sue for stalking and selling their songs, or I can leave the entertainment and the country for at least five years and the police won't get involved"

Bada sighed sadly and rubbed her face, feeling awful for the girl "So you chose to leave"

Bada felt sick, her girlhood, her dream everything was taken away from her. Lei didn't deserve what she went through, at such a young age

"I had no choice but to leave," Lei replied softly, smiling faintly at Bada "We weren't financially stable, and in this society, who do you think they would believe?"

She shook her head sadly. "A man who's admired by everyone or a young girl who no one knows? They would never choose the girl."

"I went back to my parents after everything and worked for a year before coming here to live alone. It wasn't easy, but I made it work because I had to. I wanted to continue pursuing my dream but I couldn't. I just had to move on and let it go"

She was so used to this pain that it became normal to her. But damn did she feel sorry for herself

She was young

Bada quickly wiped away the tear rolling down her cheek before Lei could see it. She then took her hand and gently held Lei’s face, making her look at her directly.

"You were just a kid, and you didn't deserve that. He was 26. And I don't want you to blame yourself, it was never your fault."

Lei gave a quick nod of her head, trying to fight back her tears.

Bada pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. She whispered in her ear "I'm so sorry you went through this alone. But you did it in the end, and I'm super proud of you."

Lei held her firmly as well, hugging her as close as their chairs would allow them to. Neither of them minded the uncomfortable seating position and just wanted to stay like that

"And when my hiatus is over, If you want, we can go together in Korea. I'll be by your side so you can finally speak up and tell your story. Everyone deserves to hear it from the heart."

Bada whispers this in Lei’s ear with a gentle voice "And you can't hide your talent" Bada said as she pulled away from the hug and logged in on the computer. "Why stop your dream for a fucked up man, his life is going to get destroyed either way? You can get your songs back and sing them like they're supposed to, and we'll make sure everyone knows the truth and knows that you deserve better."

Lei nodded softly and let out a small, broken chuckle. "I'm sorry this turned depressing so quickly"

Lei clicked on her YG files and pointed to one of the songs "I wrote this after I realized everything he did to me"

"Can I hear it?" Bada asked

Lei didn't reply, she just played the song, Bada listened carefully from the start to the end. Each word was like a knife in her gut

She felt sick

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Sam Harris

Published: May 13, 2024

This is a transcript of a recorded podcast. 

* * *

Well, I suppose I should say something about the campus protests. There is a lot of anger and confusion out there. Just how much of a problem is this?

There is no question that much of the chaos we see online is performative—which is to say that it’s being staged for the cameras. That doesn’t mean that it is entirely insincere. But it is interesting to consider whether the events themselves would have happened, or happened at this scale, and have this character, absent an ability to broadcast them on social media.

Of course, this concern relates to far more than what is happening on college campuses in response to the war in Gaza. The combination of a smartphone and social media appears to be driving our species crazy. We’re all effectively walking around with a television studio in our pockets. And the question is, what is this doing to us?

So, this is just to say that when I see video of crowds of very smug and very hostile kids at our finest universities, effectively supporting Hamas, I’m a little slow to conclude that this tells me everything I need to know about the scope of the problem. As I’ve said before, the entire aftermath of October 7th has convinced me that I have been almost totally asleep to the current reality of antisemitism. So I do think it is a far bigger problem than I realized. But I still don’t know how informative it is to see a video of some imbecile at Columbia or Harvard shouting for the Jews to “go back to Poland.”

What I can say is that the response of these universities has been totally inadequate and hypocritical. Their policies around protests have clearly been violated and have been for months. And, as many people have pointed out, it’s the obvious double standard here that constitutes antisemitism. I’m less worried about the specifics of each ugly incident than I am about the fact that the administrations have been tolerating behavior that they simply would not tolerate had the objects of all this derision and abuse been anyone else. If these colleges had any number of people shouting that blacks should go back to Africa, or that trans people deserve to die, these students (to say nothing of professors who said such things) would be expelled. And this is clearly what should happen to the most uncivil actors here. All the kids who have been physically preventing Jewish students from accessing buildings on campus, threatening them with violence, simply because they are Jewish, should be expelled. Without question.

Even if you concede that Israel is totally in the wrong, this would not justify the behavior we’ve been seeing on campus. Imagine that China was doing something awful and worthy of protest—which, of course, China often is. It has put 2 million Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims in concentration camps, where they are reportedly subjected to torture, and sterilization, and forced labor. Where are the protests? Apparently, no one cares. Not a peep out of Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, or Yale. But let’s say that all these activist students started caring about China’s abuse of their Muslim population and were protesting that. Imagine how the universities would respond if these protestors started targeting other students on campus, just because they happen to be Chinese—as though ethnically Chinese Americans or even Chinese nationals at Harvard could be culpable for what the Chinese government was now doing. Imagine them not letting Chinese students access buildings. This would be immediately recognized to be morally insane, and at odds with every core value of a university, and there would be zero tolerance for it.

But the analogy actually understates the perversity of what’s been happening—because many of these students are not merely protesting injustice and cruelty and innocent death, and just happen to be harassing the wrong people. Rather, many of them are supporting injustice and cruelty and innocent death, explicitly. “Globalize the Intifada” isn’t a call for peace; it’s a call for the indiscriminate murder of Jews. I’m willing to cut college kids a fair amount of slack, but you mean to tell me that students at Harvard and Princeton and Stanford don’t know that Palestinian intifadas entail a fair amount of suicidal terrorism and the deliberate murder of noncombatants? (The deliberate murder of noncombatants.) I might have been confused about a few things when I was 19, but I was never that confused.

How did the kids get this turned around? Well, there are many reasons, but here is one: Qatar, the petrostate, has given tens of billions of dollars to US, Canadian, and British universities. Qatar has given more money to western universities than any other country on Earth. The regime that controls Qatar is directly governed by the theology of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot. Where Jews are concerned, the Muslim Brotherhood is a fusion of Islamism and Nazism, and actually genocidal in intent. Through another radical group, American Muslims for Palestine, the Muslim Brotherhood funds the student group that has been one of the primary organizers of these protests, Students for Justice in Palestine. They also fund a group of very confused Jews at these protests, Jewish Voices for Peace. This money trail was exposed by Charles Asher Small at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. Qatar also owns major soccer teams in Europe, and Al Jazeera, the so-called news organization, which has the same journalistic integrity as Russia Today. It’s just a fountain of Islamist lies. All of this amounts to a psyop on the West, and on Western education in particular. For decades, we have had Middle East Studies departments funded by Islamist theocrats and antisemites. Why have we tolerated this malicious exercise of soft power? It seems that money and oil are still just irresistible.

Students For Justice in Palestine, wrote the following in response to the atrocities of October 7th:

National liberation is near — glory to our resistance, to our martyrs, and to our steadfast people! … Resistance comes in all forms — armed struggle, general strikes, and popular demonstrations. All of it is legitimate, and all of it is necessary.

This was their immediate response in support of the intentional massacre of families and the taking of children as hostages, before Israel did anything in response. That’s the moral vision that inspired these campus protests.

However, direct funding by Islamist theocrats is only one strand of influence, as I’ll discuss. There is also the identitarian moral panic that has deluded the Left for years, which I have covered a lot on this podcast—which maps every conflict in the world to an oppressor-oppressed narrative. Again, I don’t want to exaggerate the scope of the problem. But it is pretty appalling that the largest student protest movement since the 1960s has distinguished itself by being this confused about what is really going on in the world, and is lending support to groups like Hamas, that represent the annihilation of everything these students should value.

The next time I see a job applicant from what used to be a great university—Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or even my own alma maters —Stanford and UCLA, which have been terrible—my first thought will be, were you one of these imbeciles who couldn’t figure out who the bad guys were on October 7th? Really, the brand damage to these institutions has been extraordinary.

We now know that hundreds of professors at these schools support Hamas—which again, is a genocidal death cult. That’s not my opinion; that is how Hamas describes itself. They want to kill all the Jews on Earth and to die as martyrs. That is the recipe for being an antisemitic, genocidal death cult. Any professor who supports Hamas should be fired—as you would fire any professor who openly supported the Nazis in the immediate aftermath of a Nazi atrocity. This is not a first amendment issue. No one has a constitutional right to be at Harvard, in any capacity.

And I can say with confidence, that the first good schools to accomplish a hard reset here—admitting that they have lost their way, purging the DEI bureaucracy and theocracy that they built over decades where the best of intentions grew malignant and metastasized… the first universities to fully reboot a commitment to Enlightenment values—No more money from Qatar, you idiots. No more stealth Islamism in your departments of Middle Eastern studies. No more reverse racism against Asian and White applicants. No more identitarian victim culture. No more dowsing for racists. No more whinging about Halloween costumes. No more intersectional arsonists pretending to put out fires that they started. Just great books, and great teachers, and real research, and no more fucking apologies… The first elite schools to do that, will win so much support and good will, and an avalanche of applications and donors, they’ll solidify their reputations into the next century.

I wouldn’t even know where I would want to send my daughters to college at this point. Happily, we don’t have to think about this for a couple of years. But all the best schools, and even the second and third best schools, appear to be in the process of destroying themselves. Again, I realize that it’s a minority of students protesting on even the most beleaguered campuses. But it’s the response of the institutions themselves that has been so reprehensible.

As a result of all this, there is a widespread sense in the Jewish community that more must be done to combat antisemitism. There is even a bill that just passed the House of Representatives, the “Antisemitism Awareness Act,” which would make it easier for Jews to make civil rights complaints. Unfortunately, this bill seems to conflate certain criticisms of Israel with antisemitism. I will grant that most people who claim to be anti-Zionist at this point are probably also antisemitic. This is pretty obvious from what they are saying and not saying. It used to be the case that you could be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic. My friend Christopher Hitchens certainly was that. And I was sort of that, at one point. But I’m not sure it’s a position one can truly occupy now.

October 7th changed my thinking on this. I remain uncomfortable with the concept of any sort of religious ethno-state. But given the murderous antisemitism of so much of the world, given that almost every country that has had a population of Jews has at some point actively persecuted them and driven them out—literally, almost any country you can name in Europe or North Africa or the Middle East had done this at some point. Given the tolerance of this reality by billions of onlookers—well, then the Jews clearly need their own state, and it should defend itself without apology. We have the two largest religions on Earth, Christianity and Islam, which encompass half of humanity, whose theology has reviled the Jews as eternal enemies for thousands of years. If half the world hated the Yazidis like this, and if much of what the world believed about them amounted to a deranged conspiracy theory, I would say that the Yazidis need their own state too. I’ll be happy to revisit the issue in a hundred years after we have made some moral progress. But until then, count me a committed Zionist.

However, I think talking about “Zionism” is totally counterproductive. We should talk about Israel’s right, as the lone democracy in the Middle East, to defend itself. I also think that focusing on antisemitism at this moment—as much as it really is a problem—is the wrong approach to addressing a much more fundamental problem: which is the hatred of Western civilization coming from so many of its own inhabitants and beneficiaries, and the very real clash between the West (which includes Israel every other civilized democracy) and Islam—in particular Islamism and Jihadism. Depending on the context we can call it “radical Islam” or “Islamic extremism” or “Islamofascism.” Call it whatever you want, but what you can’t do, honestly, is say that this species of belligerent lunacy has no connection to the mainstream religion of Islam.

Why do I think that a narrow focus on antisemitism is mistaken? There are many people on college campuses now who support Hamas—which is as antisemitic, on its face, as supporting the Nazis. However, I think that hating Jews is not really what many of these people are about. As I said, some of them are Jewish. So what explains their behavior?  Well, they hate the West, or think they do. They hate Western power. In the American context, they hate Whiteness, perhaps above all—and they think the sin of racism subsumes everything. In the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, they consider the Jews white and the Palestinians black. Is this utterly moronic? Yes, it is. At least half the Jews in Israel are Middle Eastern or North African in descent. The only black people you’ll find there are Ethiopian Jews, some of whom are fighting for the IDF. So kids, all your concern about white privilege, as you bounce between lacrosse practice and Starbucks is misapplied here. Should you be kicked out of Yale for being this stupid? Probably. But your stupidity is not quite the same as antisemitism.

Yes, antisemitism cuts across this landscape in ways that are very depressing, and I’m not seeking to minimize it. For instance, as you move rightward along the political spectrum, you meet more and more people who effortlessly recognize the derangement of the Left, and the sickening apologies for Islamic fanaticism that come from people who imagine that Harvey Weinstein is the worst person who ever lived—whereas there are whole societies in the Muslim world where a person like Weinstein would be considered unusually well-adjusted in his attitude towards women. The Left is still full of the sorts of people who blamed Salman Rushdie for the fatwa that forced him into hiding for a decade, and which finally got him nearly killed onstage in New York, after 33 years of looking over his shoulder. These are the same people who blamed the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists for having had the gall to get themselves murdered in Paris. These imbeciles on the Left range from current darlings of alternative media like Glenn Greenwald to members of elite institutions whose very purpose is to defend freedom of speech, like the PEN America Foundation.

As you move rightward in our politics, you meet more and more people who easily see the insanity of all this—words are violence but clitorectomies and suicide bombing is somehow indigenous wisdom and the voice of the oppressed? But then, of course, as you move further rightward you meet more and more people who hate Jews: As scheming globalists who want Americans to fight in foreign wars—perhaps today in defense of Israel, or Ukraine, which happens to be run by a Jew. But this allegation goes back to WW1 and WW2. Both world wars were instigated by Jews, don’t you know? This is Tucker Carlson’s audience—the Great Replacement cult. When things went sideways over at the Daily Wire, these are the geniuses who followed the crackpot Candace Owens into the abyss—and finally got a chance to tell Ben Shapiro what they really think of him and his fellow Jews.

But, of course, if you land on just the right spot on the Right, among old-school Evangelical Christians—then you can find people who can generally be counted upon to worry about the fate of the Jews, and who will defend Israel, which is a relief frankly. But their support comes with a strange twist—because they expect that when temple is finally rebuilt in Jerusalem, and Jesus returns—well, let’s just say he won’t be in a mood to debate the finer points of theology with the Jews. So, Evangelicals are philosemitic only up to a point.

So I don’t mean to downplay the reality of antisemitism. A vastly disproportionate amount of hate crime in the US is committed against Jews. It’s not against blacks, and it’s certainly not against Muslims, despite what the Islamist front group The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) would have you believe. In fact, a lot of this crime comes from blacks and Muslims themselves, who just happen to do more than their fair share of hating Jews. Jews are about 2 percent of the population, and they have always received around 50 percent of the hate crime. Even after 9/11 they received far more hate than Muslims did in America. Since October 7th, the number of incidents has soared, and this is in response to the worst atrocity perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust.

So if you’re Jewish, or even if you’re not, and you think all of this is seriously alarming, I think you’re right. And I’m sure I will do some future podcasts and other work on the problem of Antisemitism. But I also think that Jews should not try to compete in the Oppression Olympics that have deranged so much of Western culture. The direction of progress is not to convince the rest of America that we Jews have it worse than blacks and Muslims, or just as bad. And I don’t think the UK is going to sort itself out by becoming more focused on its Jewish population as a victim group. We simply have to get past the politics of identity. And we have to defend Western values. We have to defend, not identities, but the ideas that make freedom and tolerance possible. We have to recognize that there are real threats to freedom and tolerance in this world, and identity politics is one of them. Another happens to be coming from the fastest spreading religion on Earth which has some 2 billion adherents. Are all Muslims a threat to freedom and tolerance? No. But almost all of them are doing a terrible job of acknowledging, much less combating, the dangerous fanaticism that is seething at the core of their religion.

So I don’t think we need a new Jewish media platform to compete with the malicious fantasies that pour forth from Al-Jazeera, as harmful as those have been. We need the New York Times and BBC to become morally sane again. Again, I’m not suggesting that antisemitism isn’t a problem; I’m suggesting that a real defense of Western values would solve that problem, among many others.

Nevertheless, it is easy to see why some of our kids are confused about Gaza. They are being inundated with misinformation about Israel—that the Jews are settler colonialists, that they have built an apartheid state, that they are guilty of genocide. These lies didn’t start on October 8th. They’ve been promulgated for decades, and it seems that no matter how patiently one corrects them, nothing changes. And the photos coming out of Gaza certainly don’t help. As I’ve said before, there is no political analysis or moral argument that makes sense of images of dead children being pulled out of rubble.

It is also natural for people to look at the history of conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and imagine that there is some moral parity between the two sides. In fact, because Israel has become more powerful, most people imagine that the responsibility for the ongoing conflict falls more on the Jews. Israel is now perceived to be the bully with advanced weaponry, and the Palestinians are merely victims, throwing rocks. Even in the aftermath of October 7th, when you have an avowedly genocidal organization like Hamas, butchering noncombatants and taking women and children hostage, and firing rockets by the thousands purposely into civilian areas, we still have vast numbers of Westerners—and a majority of our own youth, apparently—believing that Israel is in the wrong. And that it effectively has no right to defend itself, or to even exist.

Leaving other variables aside—like the identitarian disgrace of wokism, the oppressor-oppressed framing of everything that has become standard on the Left, as well as the frank anti-Semitism that we know is there—what we are seeing on our college campuses is only possible because people don’t understand the threat that Islamic extremism poses to open societies everywhere. Again, what’s happening on our college campuses is many things, but the level of moral confusion required to support Hamas and to demonize the people who are fighting Hamas, requires that one not recognize what Hamas is.

And in a way, this is also understandable. It is natural to imagine that people everywhere are more or less the same and that they basically want the same things in life. It is easy to see how one might think that normal people would never resort to violence of the sort we saw from Hamas on October 7th—burning families alive on purpose, raping women and cutting their breasts off and then killing them, and shrieking with joy all the while. Normal people wouldn’t do this, couldn’t do this, unless they have been subjected to some unendurable misery and injustice. They must have been driven insane by their own trauma. Let’s leave aside those who claim that those things didn’t actually happen on October 7th. Most people understand what happened, and yet given the assumption that people everywhere are more or less the same, the very extremity of the violence we saw on October 7th seems to put the moral onus on its victims, somehow.

And this weird distortion of moral intuition casts a shadow over the whole history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The fact that the Palestinians could have produced an endless supply of suicide bombers during the Second Intifada—and that they would target noncombatants, even children, with this barbarism—that itself was considered proof that they had been pushed well beyond the brink by the Israelis. Otherwise, normal human beings would never behave in so extraordinarily destructive a way. It is easy to see how uninformed people could make this assumption. This was a very useful point that the writer Paul Berman made twenty years ago in his book, Terror and Liberalism.

Similarly, people assume that groups like Hamas, or al-Qaeda, or even the Islamic State, attack Western targets for more or less normal political reasons. They think these movements are anti-colonial, or straightforwardly nationalistic. And so they think that the extremity of their violence is once again, at bottom, the fault of Western powers. The chickens have finally come home to roost.

While understandable, these assumptions have been obviously wrong for decades—for longer than I have been alive even. To believe any of this now, as almost every secular person does by default, certainly as you move left of center politically, is to be totally deluded by a masochistic fantasy. And it is a dangerous fantasy because it is being consciously weaponized against, not just Israel, but against every western society. Islamic extremists know that most of us, especially in our elite institutions, are simply drunk on white guilt and self-doubt. They can see that we live in a perpetual circular firing squad of sanctimony. They know that if they just use the word “racism”—even though it has absolutely no application when we are talking about the fastest growing religion in a hundred countries—they know this word settles all arguments, left of center, no matter idiotic the person is who wields it. They know that we are constantly worried about being the bad guys. They know that our kids find it very easy to believe that we are and have always been the bad guys. And they have been manipulating Western society for decades. And they have been aided by legions of useful idiots on the Left.

And so there is a pervasive inability and even unwillingness on the part of journalists, and politicians, and scholars to recognize the degree to which sincere religious belief and identity drive conflict in the Muslim world—between rival sects and between Muslims and non-Muslims. There is a fundamental lack of understanding about how Islam differs from other religions here. In fact, it is widely considered a symptom of bigotry to even say that Islam is different from other religions in any way that matters.  

There are over 50 Muslim-majority countries. None of them are good places to live if you care about human freedom. This is very unlikely to be an accident. Who would imagine that killing people for blasphemy or apostasy would have a chilling effect on free thought? Who would imagine that the explicit denial of political equality for women might have something to do with its absence throughout the Muslim world? Even noticing the connection here, between explicit religious doctrines and the unambiguous abridgement of human rights, is thought to be a symptom of “Islamophobia.”

I want to make a couple of basic observations about Islam, that have the virtue of being important and uncontroversial—or at least they should be uncontroversial, because they are quite obviously true.

And if you think I’ve said all this before, and it bores you—well then just think about how I feel. I wouldn’t touch this topic ever again, if I thought other people were doing an adequate job of it. There’s a spell that simply has to be broken here, because it threatens to ruin everything. And if you don’t see it, as so many don’t, you are just blind.

From the point of view of Islam, our world is divided into two realms: the realm of belief and the realm of unbelief. This is something that Islam shares with Christianity, of course, but the similarities pretty much end there. There is no “render unto Caesar those things that are Caesar’s” in Islam. Rather, Islam is meant to totally subsume a person’s life and the governance of society. It is intrinsically political. Therefore, the modern distinction, upon which so many of us have placed our hopes, between Islam and Islamism—which is the explicit intrusion of the religion into politics—is just that, a modern distinction. It is one that we hope can be made true and effective—and we hope that the latter orientation, that of 20th century, aggressively resurgent political Islam, can be resisted and ultimately extinguished in modern societies. But this secular distinction has little traditional justification, if any. This is where the differences between Islam and Christianity become highly relevant, and ominous.

Take a moment to consider this, as though for the first time:

Muhammad wasn’t the Muslim Jesus. It’s important to notice that the man was not crucified. He was a statesman and a warlord. He fought in dozens of battles and was victorious. And in Islam, Muhammad is the very model of the ideal man. Just imagine how Christianity might be different if Jesus routinely had his enemies killed and their wives taken as sex slaves. You think it might be just a little different? Do you think Christianity might be just a little different if Jesus had been less like a hippie with a steady supply of MDMA and more like Tony Soprano?

The first Muslims didn’t spend centuries, as the early Christians did, as outsiders being oppressed by their unbelieving masters. They tasted political power from the very beginning. The first Muslims created an empire more or less immediately after the death of the Prophet, and then they just crushed everyone for 500 years. Unlike Judaism, Islam enjoins its followers to spread their faith—the one true and completely correct faith—to the ends of the Earth. Christianity is also a relentlessly missionary faith, of course, but from its inception, it was a religion of weakness—again, Christ was crucified. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth,” remember? Islam, from the first moment, was a religion of power. The idea of non-Muslims ruling over Muslims, or even having equivalent power alongside them perpetually, has always been anathema. It’s an error to be rectified, through spiritual struggle, sure, but also through physical violence. The fact that Islam has failed to achieve dominance in our world—and has proven, for nearly a thousand years, to be quite backward and weak—is a perennial source of humiliation. By the light of the doctrine, it makes absolutely no sense. It is a sacrilege. From the point of view of Islam, the status quo is intolerable.

And this general attitude of affronted dignity, this yearning for victory, which century after century has been out of reach, affects everything that Islam touches. It is why the history of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians has been so hopeless. Have the Israelis made mistakes? Of course. Do the Jews have their own religious fanatics? Yes. But the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians has been rendered hopeless from the start because for a majority of Palestinians, and for vast numbers of Muslims in the region, the mere presence of a Jewish state in the holy land is totally unacceptable. It’s a “nakba”—a catastrophe. It is a perversion of a sacred history. And it is an abject failure of the mission of Islam—which is to conquer the world for the glory of God. And, above all, to never forsake Muslim lands once they have been conquered, which of course Palestine once was. As it is said in the Koran, “Kill them wherever you find them and drive them from the places from which they drove you.” This is not a religion of peace, it is a religion of conquest and submission.

There is a lot to criticize in all religions. And I have certainly done my fair share of that. But it is simply a fact that the doctrine of holy war and a love of martyrdom—and an utter intolerance for blasphemy and apostasy—are central to Islam in a way that they are not central to other religions. 

Of course, not all Muslims want to live this way, and that is wonderful. That’s why our world isn’t in total chaos. But the problem is that when you look at the worst examples of jihadist barbarism and atrocity—the behavior of Hamas on October 7th, or the Islamic State on every day of the year—it is very difficult to say how these people are getting Islam wrong. To be clear, I’m not saying that there is only one Islam, and that the extremists have it right. I’m saying that they don’t have it obviously wrong. Their version of the faith is all-too-plausible.

What did the worst members of the Islamic State do that Muhammad himself didn’t do or wouldn’t have approved of? That is a very difficult question to answer. And the fact that is a difficult question to answer, is increasingly a problem for the entire world. If you ask the same question about Jesus or Buddha, it’s a very easy question to answer. What is Hamas doing that Jesus or Buddha didn’t do or wouldn’t have approved of? Everything.

I recently stumbled upon an article in The New York Times from 15 years ago. I doubt the Times would publish such an article today. It’s very short, so I’m going to read you the whole thing.

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Fighter Sees His Paradise in Gaza’s Pain

By Taghreed El-Khodary

Jan. 8, 2009

GAZA CITY

The emergency room in Shifa Hospital is often a place of gore and despair. On Thursday, it was also a lesson in the way ordinary people are squeezed between suicidal fighters and a military behemoth.

Dr. Awni al-Jaru, 37, a surgeon at the hospital, rushed in from his home here, dressed in his scrubs. But he came not to work. His head was bleeding, and his daughter’s jaw was broken.

He said Hamas militants next to his apartment building had fired mortar and rocket rounds. [Notice the detail here: next to his apartment building] Israel fired back with force, and his apartment was hit. His wife, Albina, originally from Ukraine, and his 1-year-old son were killed.

“My son has been turned into pieces,” he cried. “My wife was cut in half. I had to leave her body at home.” Because Albina was a foreigner, she could have left Gaza with her children. But, Dr. Jaru lamented, she would not leave him behind.

A car arrived with more patients. One was a 21-year-old man with shrapnel in his left leg who demanded quick treatment. He turned out to be a militant with Islamic Jihad. He was smiling a big smile.

“Hurry, I must get back so I can keep fighting,” he told the doctors.

He was told that there were more serious cases than his, that he needed to wait. But he insisted. “We are fighting the Israelis,” he said. “When we fire we run, but they hit back so fast. We run into the houses to get away.” He continued smiling.

“Why are you so happy?” this reporter asked. “Look around you.”

A girl who looked about 18 screamed as a surgeon removed shrapnel from her leg. An elderly man was soaked in blood. A baby a few weeks old and slightly wounded looked around helplessly. A man lay with parts of his brain coming out. His family wailed at his side.

“Don’t you see that these people are hurting?” the militant was asked.

“But I am from the people, too,” he said, his smile incandescent. “They lost their loved ones as martyrs. They should be happy. I want to be a martyr, too.”

-

That’s the end of the article.

This is the problem. We don’t have to get into a time machine and sort out the history of the region. We don’t have to talk about 1948 or 1967. Without this specific form of religious fanaticism, the conflict between Israel and her neighbors would be an ordinary conflict. It would be easy enough to negotiate. It would be possible for the Jews and Muslims to decide to build wealth together. They could have turned Gaza into an absolutely gorgeous resort on the Mediterranean. If all you care about is the well-being of the Palestinians, you should want them to be free of this lunatic ideology that has made them impossible to live with.

But for some reason, most academics and journalists refuse to recognize what is being revealed in an article like this. They desperately want to think that specific religious doctrines—like the idea that martyrs go straight to Paradise—are either not believed by anyone, or if believed, have no effect on a person’s behavior. This is without question the most mystifying and infuriating form of ignorance I have ever encountered.

Of course, we all desperately want to believe that there is a clear line of distinction between the real fanatics, in a group like Hamas, and the Palestinian people. And this will be true for many Palestinians, I have no doubt. Those people are effectively hostages. But it’s not true for all Palestinians, and it’s probably not even true for most of them. For instance, whenever polled, support for suicide bombing against civilians has always been sickeningly high among Palestinians—around 70 percent. Support for specific terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah generally ranges between 40 and 60 percent. So we’re not talking about just a few radicals.

Have you seen the videos of Israeli hostages being taken into Gaza on October 7th? The images of blood covered girls being dragged into vehicles and onto motorcycles? Have you seen the men swarming around these hostages, celebrating their capture, shouting Allahu Akbar? Put yourself in the minds of these men. Perhaps you can understand all this jubilance and malice being expressed over captured male soldiers—like the Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia. But imagine celebrating the kidnapping of girls—some whom have clearly been raped and seriously injured. In one of these videos, a young woman appears to have had her Achilles tendons cut so that she can’t run away. Imagine celebrating the capture of a terrified woman holding her children. Can you imagine this?

After 9/11, as an American, traumatized by an act of terror of a sort that we had never seen on our shores, imagine if Seal Team Six had captured some random Saudi women and children and paraded them as hostages through Times Square? Can you imagine dancing for joy and spitting in the faces of these terrified women? Imagine our soldiers dragging the mutilated bodies of other Saudi noncombatants along the sidewalk. Can you imagine people coming out of their offices and shrieking with joy and stomping on their bodies? Can you imagine Israelis doing this to the bodies of Palestinian noncombatants in the streets of Tel Aviv? No, you can’t. Culture matters. Beliefs matter. So whether they belong to the organization or not, the people you see in those videos are the same as Hamas.

Once again, I need to touch the handrail here, so you all don’t fall over: Am I saying that all Muslims are dangerous fanatics? No. Are they all aspiring martyrs committed to waging jihad? Of course not. And that is a very good thing. Do all Christians believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus? I am sure that many, many millions at this point don’t. It is, after all, getting harder and harder to believe such things. But it is, nevertheless, true to say that a belief in the physical Resurrection is absolutely core to Christianity. This is not controversial. It’s like saying Apple builds smartphones. Any debate on that topic is a fake debate. You want to be a Christian who thinks that the Resurrection was just spiritual, or metaphorical? Great. You’ve changed the religion. You’re making progress. We love you for it.

Any debate about whether Islam really teaches, at its core, a worldview that justifies the barbarism of Hamas, is a fake debate, because Islam does teach this. And much depends on the majority of Muslims worldwide reframing, and ignoring, or otherwise relinquishing some of the core tenets of Islam. Because they are absolutely at odds with our common project of building open, pluralistic societies. Acknowledging this and demanding that Muslims themselves acknowledge this is not bigotry. It is basic sanity. The opposition between radical Islam and Western values is an existential concern for Israel, and it could one day become an existential concern for the rest of us. 

Am I saying that things are hopeless? No. In fact, it is a very hopeful sign that several middle eastern regimes appear to want normalized relations with Israel at this point. And the fact that the Saudis and Jordanians helped repel Iran’s recent drone and missile attack on Israel was also very promising. However, the fact that Arab monarchs and dictators can see the wisdom of changing their policies toward Israel does not mean that attitudes have changed on the so-called “Arab street”—and what the street will tolerate will limit what even dictators can do. These attitudes will, once again, be massively informed by Islam. There is also the fact that any Arab solidarity with Israel against Iran might have less to do with truly shared human values, and more to do with the sectarian schism between Sunni and Shia Islam. But if these autocrats want to drag their countries into the modern world, I’m certainly rooting for them.

However, the deeper principle is that there is a clash of civilizations between traditional Islam and Western values. And what we are seeing on college campuses is a very successful manipulation of Western weakness—wherein we can have our values of tolerance and diversity and self-criticism and compassion weaponized against us.

Ask yourself: What is it that we want and are right to want, and must defend without apology, in the West? Rational conversation, individual freedom, the rule of law, the consent of the governed, the peaceful transfer of power, a strong civil society, and yes, tolerance of difference—where that difference doesn’t put all other good things in peril. What do these good things give us? They give us open societies, where scientific progress, and creative intelligence, and increasing wealth, and social mobility, and personal security, and public justice, and a healthy environment, and institutional transparency, and a generous social safety net are, more and more, the norm. Obviously, we have imperfectly secured these goods, even in the best societies on Earth. But it is just as obvious that some places have none of them—and worse, some people, some groups, and even whole cultures don’t want most of these things. It is time to admit that not everyone wants a good life as you and I understand it. “Hey kids, Hamas does not want what you want. They would throw your LGBTQ+ friends off rooftops. And, I’m sorry to say, many Palestinians want what Hamas wants.” This is a hard truth, and it has made peace in the Middle East so far impossible.

The people of the future, and perhaps our future selves, will know what we can’t know now: which is, how we handled this moment: how or whether we rose to the challenge of having our deepest principles used against us. Carefully inverted and used against us—freedom of speech, tolerance of diversity, self doubt—these virtues can be used against their adherents cynically and with evil intent. That is what Islamic extremists are doing all over the world. That is what their organizations are doing inside our own societies. This is not a conspiracy theory. This has all been publicly visible for decades. And they are being facilitated by useful idiots, as is now especially evident on our college campuses.

Of course, we are also being played by Russia and China and perhaps other hostile foreign actors who are fanning the flames of our own partisanship and hysteria. But part of that hysteria is that many of us now perceive any effort to limit the spread of misinformation and social contagion to be the first signs of Orwellian repression from our own government. We live in a country where people go berserk whenever they learn that the government can access information, through a court order, that they themselves routinely give to random apps and other services just for the sake of convenience. It is utterly childish to imagine that our interests as a nation are best served by total institutional distrust—where we have people like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange hacking and leaking state secrets continuously. Most people haven’t spent five minutes imagining the gravity of what must be in every US President’s daily briefing. We have to grow up and do what it takes to protect our society from people and groups and foreign adversaries that actually want to destroy it.

Of course, it’s true that fighting terror and confusion can put the very freedoms we seek to protect in jeopardy. It is also true that in the presence of sufficient terror and confusion, we will embrace a regime of surveillance, and censorship, and even violence that could seem to justify the fears of every conspiracy theorist—and make it seem that the real threat to liberty is coming from our own side, from our own institutions and from our own government. We have to perform this highwire act successfully.

We can’t forget our actual values. Take immigration: Providing sanctuary to real refugees fleeing violence, and welcoming immigrants who are seeking better lives, and who want to build those lives in the West, is one of our core humanitarian values. We don’t want to get rid of that. Emma Lazarus’s poem inspired by the Statue of Liberty, which is now inscribed on a plaque there: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!” That’s not just sentimental bullshit. That's the best of America. It’s never quite been our immigration policy. It’s always been aspirational. But we want to be a country that is strong enough and generous enough to be a light unto the rest of the world. Emma Lazarus, incidentally, was Jewish. The Great Replacement started there, fellas, with the Statue of Liberty. (You might want to get on that, Tucker. That’s your bread and butter right there.)

The question is how can open societies like ours maintain their values, and even improve them, in a world where we have real enemies? You don’t have to be a xenophobe or a Christian Nationalist or a Nazi or any other species of asshole to recognize that some people are coming into our societies with no intention of ever sharing our values. Again, this is about culture—ideas and their consequences—not the color of people’s skin. If we imported a sufficient number of communists into the United States, it would be no surprise if we one day discovered that we had a problem with communists seeking to demolish the very foundations of our economy. And it would serve us right—they were wearing their antipathy for capitalism on their sleeves the whole time. They were telling us, ad nauseam, what they want to accomplish—the destruction of capitalism. How could we be surprised if a massive influx of committed communists eventually posed a threat to our way of life? Similarly, if we import a sufficient number of Islamists and jihadists, we will eventually have a problem with political and militant Islam. This is guaranteed. And to my eye, much of Western Europe already has this problem to a degree that it should find intolerable.

It is completely rational, and not at all an expression of bigotry, as an American, to not want to follow Western Europe down that path. Does this mean that I was in favor of Trump’s idiotic ban on Muslim immigration? No. Given that we need to win a war of ideas within the Muslim community, given that we need to inoculate Western societies against Islamic extremism, some of the most valuable immigrants we could have, in my view, are truly secular Muslims, truly liberal Muslims, and above all ex-Muslims. We want people who come from Muslim-majority societies and who understand exactly why life in those societies is not as good as it is in the West—not just because we have more money, but because we have better values. We want people from Pakistan and Iran who are appalled by religious fanaticism. Put these people at the front of the line. There is not a shred of xenophobia, or bigotry, much less racism, implied by anything I have said on this podcast.

But let’s not lie to ourselves that our societies can absorb an endless number of profoundly ideological people who only feign tolerance of diversity because they are in a position of weakness—and who, when strong, will seek to impose their religious strictures on everyone else. The truth is, Islamists (to say nothing of jihadists) seek to impose their religion on everyone else even from a position of weakness. And Western Europe has been groaning under that pressure for decades.

As with immigration, so it is with free speech: I think the US is in a much better position than other country because we have the First Amendment. But the First Amendment isn’t a perfect guide for private platforms and publishers in deciding what speech to disseminate, or to amplify algorithmically, or to sponsor. We are simply drowning in lies that are rendering our society increasingly ungovernable. This problem exists equally, if differently, on both sides of our political landscape. Right of center, some of the most prominent voices in alternative media regularly launder Russian propaganda—about elections, and US foreign policy, and the War in Ukraine, and vaccines. Left of center, there is almost pure confusion about Israel and its enemies. At our best universities, we are witnessing a zombie apocalypse of profoundly misinformed kids. Of course, broadcasting divisive lies is generally legal, because it is protected by the first amendment. But that doesn’t mean private platforms and civil society organizations shouldn’t do something to contain the problem.

As I’ve said many times before, if liberals remain confused about Islamic extremism, the appetite for rightwing authoritarianism is going to continue to grow throughout the West. We need to do everything we can to avoid this.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Halt & Catch Fire: Part Four

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2k

Warnings: canon angst and violence, extra angst

Summary: You're done being a puppet in their plans. You're done letting them control you. You're finally going to take back your life by becoming something you didn't know was possible. your eyes are opened to something better and God forbid anyone who disrespects you.

Season Ten Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. I love seeing any and all comments <3

x

The next morning, reports of another death come flooding in. Some college girl died in her room with the doors and windows locked. The girl's dorm is blocked off with yellow caution tape. Where Sam and Dean lifted it to go underneath it, you yank on it to break it so you can get through. The detective on the case is there, and she starts spilling the beans when she sees their FBI badges.

"Delilah Marian, the roommate, found her this morning after an all-nighter at the library."

"Strangulation?"

"Yeah. Some sicko used the power cord from the computer."

There is a nail kit on the bed so you grab the nail file and try to peel the device off your neck. Dean sees this and snatches the file to which you give him a deadly glare.

"Stop," he hisses.

"Maybe if I was let go, I'd stop."

"No."

Sam clears his throat loudly and gives you both a side-eye glance. "Suspects?"

"None yet. The odd thing was the door was locked."

"Have you talked to any of the other girls who live here?"

"Most of them have already left for spring break, but the roommate was really helpful. She gave us all of Julie's passwords. Nowadays, the only way to find out anything about teenagers is through social media. Trust me, I got two of them. Excuse me, agents."

"Vengeful spirit, much?" Dean says once the detective leaves the room.

"Yeah, but is it Joey or another ghost?"

"I don't know." Dean takes his EMf reader out and scans the computer. Again, like a Christmas tree. "First, it possesses a truck, then it possesses a computer? Both are machine-related kills."

"You think we're dealing with a 'Ghost in the Machine'?"

"Maybe, but if it is the same ghost, they usually anchor themselves to a place or a thing. How is this one jumping from one machine to the next?"

Sam takes Julie's laptop so he can search through it later.

"Come on, let's go find Delilah." She's not hard to track down since she stayed to see what the outcome of the investigation would be. She's eager to talk if it means they catch her roommate's killer. "We really appreciate your help, Delilah. We know this can't possibly be easy. Did Julie, by chance, know a student named Billy Bass?"

"Everyone knew Billy. He was the President of Sigma Theta Delta, one of the biggest frats on campus."

"Did Julie know Billy's brother, Joey?"

"I don't think so. I didn't even know Billy had a brother."

"Did she have any enemies? Any reason why someone might want to hurt her?"

"No. Julie was really popular and super-sweet. I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt her."

There's something she's not telling you. You know a liar when you see one.

"You know we're federal agents, right? Lying to us is a big-time offense," you cross your arms.

"I'm not lying, Agent. There's just... nothing else to tell."

"Mmhmm."

Dean is hungry (there's a shocker) and Sam wants to break into Julie's computer so they take this to the cafe on campus. What if you were to run away? Would they be fast enough to catch you? Maybe not but they have that damn remote. If you want to get away, you need to get that remote.

"Alright, a café au lait for the lady." He hands Sam a coffee cup. He has a lot of food you know will only go to him. You don't eat or sleep. "For me--"

"A heart attack?"

"This is unreal. Look at this. I got Italian. I got Chinese. Serve yourself froyo. College is better than Vegas. What do you have?"

"Unfortunately, a lot of nada." Dean slaps your hand away when you try to grab a cookie off his plate. You don't eat but that doesn't mean you don't think cookies aren't delicious. "I hit up Julie's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Instachat, Snapchat, and A.I.M. There is nothing but posts on Rush and 'Fifty Shades of Grey', the movie, not the book."

"Yeah. I didn't get half of that."

"It doesn't matter," Sam scoffs. "Now I'm going through her deleted files."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah. I mean, nothing ever really gets deleted from the Internet. You knew that, right?"

"Yeah," he nods.

"He didn't know that. I bet his nudes are just floating around on the internet somewhere," you say.

"If you put them there, I'm gonna kill you."

You smirk.

"Here we go. This might be something. it's a deleted Instachat from last night right around the time of death with someone named PrincessElsa8. 'Liar. I know. You'll pay.'

"Well, this Princess Elsa's a bitch. What's 810?" Dean asks when he looks at the screen.

"I don't know. Maybe a date?"

"Or a time of day. Maybe an area code?"

"No, the area code is for southeast Michigan. You know what?" Sam types something into Google. "Here we go. There are three addresses in town that have 810 in them."

"I'll see if I can get this to go," Dean gestures to his food.

You're almost half-asleep in the back seat as Sam and Dean drive around town looking for the addresses. When they realize it's not the house they're looking for, they move on to the next one. Luck would have it that the last house on the tour is the one they need. A woman walks out of her house and makes her way down the sidewalk.

"Yeah. You got it. Thank you Detective Petranzyk. We will keep in touch." Sam hangs up the phone. "So, PrincessElsa8 is not some crazed cyber killer. She is a third-grader from Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, who is obsessed with Frozen, and she was fast asleep when the Instachat occurred."

"Who say that coming? A hack job. Shocker," you sigh. The woman who left her house is carrying a garbage bag that she takes to the nearest utility pole. The pole is covered in flowers that she yanks off and shoves into the bag. "Someone's angry."

"Come on." You three get out and approach her. "Excuse me, ma'am. May we ask what you're doing?"

"Um, throwing away dead flowers. Is that a crime?" she asks when she sees the badges.

"It's not a crime, just a little strange seeing as how they aren't dead."

"It's not so strange when it feels like they're taunting you. My husband was killed in a car accident here nine months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Boo Fucking Hoo. Get over it, lady.

"Thank you. We were newlyweds. We never even made it to our first anniversary, and to have to be reminded of that every time I look out my window or leave the house..."

"That's understandable. Forgive me, but did you notice anything weird after your husband's death? Any strange disturbances?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Do you have any idea who is leaving the flowers?" Dean asks.

"Some teenage girl. I think she goes to the college near here 'cause she's always in Greek letters."

"Do you know her name?"

"No, but she has long red hair."

"That little minx," you say. "I knew she was lying."

Dean calls Delilah but she isn't answering the phone. While you wait for her to call back, Sam looks up the woman's husband who died in the car accident, Andrew Silver. Again, you sit at one of the cafes on campus so Dean can get more food.

"This is Agent Grohl again. Listen, I know I told you to call at your earliest convenience but scratch that. Call ASAP."

"Look at this. Andrew Silver, a twenty-nine-year-old High School teacher was killed in a fatal accident. The car burst into flames. Silver's body was burned beyond recognition, and he is believed to have been killed upon impact."

"So, Andy dies at 810 Downs Drive, then he torments Julie with 810 on her computer. What's his beef with her?"

"Yeah, and what's his connection to Billy?"

"Does it say where he's buried?"

He wasn't. He was cremated."

"So, no bones and he's not tethered to any object that we know of. How is Andrew haunting his victims?"

"Are you gonna eat all that?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, do you want some?"

Sam rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Dean can eat almost anything and it doesn't matter how much of it he eats. It amazes you how much he can put away. He's almost done with his meal when he gets a phone call from Delilah, and she is terrified out of her mind. You meet at her dorm and learn that her friend, Kyle, was killed in the rec room on the first floor. Dean stays downstairs to gather more information from the detective while you and Sam talk to Delilah in her room.

"Are you okay?" Sam asks.

"Not really," she whimpers.

Dean walks into the room five minutes later. "Death by decibel. Kyle's brains were jellied by his speakers. Oh, and get this, the clock on his stereo stopped at 8:10."

"Again?"

"Mm-hmm." He turns to Delilah. "Look we know you're the one leaving the flowers at Andrew's accident. So, why don't you just tell us what happened to Andrew that night?"

She looks nervous but keeps her mouth shut. She knows something.

"Delilah, please. This is the third death in five days. Who knows who's gonna be next?" Sam pleads.

She still won't talk so you're just gonna have to make her. You grab her hair and yank her head back forcefully. She gasps and stares at you with fearful eyes.

"Spill. What did you do to Andrew?"

"Y/N!" Dean yanks you off her and she begins sobbing. "That's enough!"

"Okay, I'll tell you," she cries. "The car accident wasn't exactly an accident."

"You just have to be forceful sometimes," you say and shrug off your husband. "Tell us what happened."

"My friends and I were on our way back from a party and they were all on their phones, the driver included. I'll spare you the gory details but we ended up almost crashing into Andrew. He went off the road and we didn't. He crashed into that pole and we didn't. We watched as the telephone line fell onto his car, electrocuting him to death. It started a fire and we didn't want to get caught. Not to mention Kyle was driving with a suspended license. Billy was worried about going to jail but Kyle convinced everyone it was okay to run. I wanted to go back but no one else did. Billy made us all promise not to say a word.

"I shouldn't have let them talk me out of it. It was wrong, and now we're being punished." Sam takes out two salt containers and hands one to Dean. He doesn't bother handing one to you. "Seriously, what are the chances that three out of the four of us die in one week? It can't be a coincidence."

"It's not a coincidence. It's a ghost. It's the vengeful spirit of Andrew Silver."

The brothers begin salting the room while you stand in the middle of it with your arms crossed.

"A ghost?"

"Yeah, they're real. This is sort of what we do."

"So, you're like Ghostbusters?"

"They are, I'm not. They're kind of forcing me to be here," you say.

"Shut up," Dean snaps at you. "First things first, you need to stay inside the salt circle while we take care of him, okay?"

"How do you take care of him? Please tell me you know how to take care of him."

"Did you not hear him when he said this is kind of what we do? Of course, we know how to take care of a man ghost."

"As blunt as she was, she's right. Usually, a ghost is tied to a place or an object. If you get rid of the object, you get rid of the ghost. With Andrew, it's different."

"What's he tied to?"

"We're working on it, but if we can figure out how he's traveling, we can figure out how to stop him."

"You know, this might be a Shocker situation. The paper said that he died from a collision, but Delilah says that he died from electrocution. Maybe that's how he's surfing. He's using the power lines as a conduit," Dean says.

"That would make sense with the computer and stereo kills but not the pickup. I mean, the truck runs on gas."

"Then it has to be something else, then."

"Alright, I'll go back to the accident site and check it out. You two stay with her."

"Take me with you."

"No, you're staying with me," Dean says and grabs your arm.

"Touch me again and I'll break that arm," you snap and yank your arm out of his grasp.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[daenystheedreamer]

How prevalent is American history in ur country? We literally learn nothing about Australia or NZ. I'm curious :)

(i did my schooling in australia so this is just aussie info) so in primary school (ages 6-12) we don't learn american history, just australian. mostly about captain cook, our gold rush, ned kelly, the stolen generation. i hated it i hated learning about captain cook it was so boring to me 😭 and of course its not done under any analytical lens of like critical race theory or under a wider scope of colonialism but thats another story lol. oh god and when they taught us about the stolen generation they of course said nothing about the state of australian racism to the indigenous population today.

we did learn about ww1 and 2 but only ever in the context of the pacific theatre. like we got gallipoli drilled into our heads. we did learn about the holocaust in year 8, but again not very america-related

in high school (13-18), our history classes start off still australian history (though there was the holocaust semester). around age 15 (year 9 for us) you can pick elective classes and those history classes and politics classes are more global. not american-centric, but since america looms so large we learned more about it.

honestly the thing is though that we DO learn a lot about american history because it's so soaked into media and culture. you just know about 1776 or the civil war or civil rights etcetc through movies and news and culture. a lot of people choose to be ignorant though and choose to act like 'oh thats not our business'

apologies for the long answer its just very complicated!

personal opinions under the cut

but it's never taught fully, and i think that's a huge problem. race in australia is pushed under the rug, its considered rude to bring it up. like by acknowledging racism you're doing racism. and especially its considered something of the past, like "yeah we were racist to the chinese in the gold rush" and "yeah we were racist to the aboriginals" ~bUT WERE BETTER NOW~ eugh

i think its really important for education to not be nationalistic. obviously we need to learn our country's history, but i'm also a filthy globalist and think everyone should be educated about everything. american history IS important to learn. there's this problem here where people call things like race or war or whatever 'an american problem' 'oh the americans always make things about race' 'the americans expect everyone to know their history" and its like well yeah its annoying but we SHOULD learn of course we should!

the US is the world's superpower. everything that happens in the US affects everyone else. whether its culture wars, social change, imperialism etc its something we have to learn. rahhh sorry this is all like personal qualms. you have no idea how maddening 2020 was. it was like all my classmates realised there was a world beyond our school.

[susansontag]

another viewpoint I’ve had that I go back and forth on is the idea of trying to make the term ‘propaganda’ neutral in the english language. it’s actually already neutral in other languages, it doesn’t have the same negative or shady connotations.

the reason I think this could be helpful is that, ultimately, the term propaganda in its mainstream usage is very hypocritical. people will say chinese films are CCP propaganda, but they wouldn’t apply that same thinking to hollywood films, despite their also being a cultural export that, among other things, does reflect the economic, cultural, and political context in which they’re made, and can be used as a tool to convince those within and outside the USA that life there is good. in this way, if we were applying the term fairly, all cultural exports at least have some kind of propaganda purpose or usage, even if that’s not necessarily their main intention or sole function.

and tbh, socialists seem to do this too at times. though they might acknowledge the USSR had propaganda, they still use the term mostly negatively to describe western propaganda in the corporate media (my experience here is admittedly limited and input by socialists would be helpful). and that’s absolutely fine, because 1. it is propaganda, and 2. it’s a kind of propaganda that they believe is aligned with the interests of the ruling class, and thus hostile to the interests of the working class. so like, that’s all fine. but my point is that pro-socialist propaganda can still be considered propaganda, it’s just propaganda that we believe to be in the interests of the majority of the human population.

every social movement has political propaganda. it’s very useful. it’s meant to be persuasive and it’s meant to convince people to accept your viewpoint. when new governments after a revolution release propaganda, they are only being smart and doing what everyone else does. I think it could be beneficial to reclaim this definition of propaganda because it would incentivise people to analyse their own country’s media in a more critical way, and to see that propaganda as a tool for social control is something that they are also subjected to, and is evidently something that is both useful and popular to employ.

but then I go back and forth on this because there’s a question of whether honesty and transparency should be factors that are considered in whether something should be labelled propaganda. for example, if the corporate press relies on what are effectively lies, omissions, ‘half-truths’, or obfuscations of our reality to try and convince the masses of their messaging, then that is obviously dishonest messaging. is it this dishonesty that should prompt the use of the label ‘propaganda’? should media that is ‘honest’ (for who? can anything ever be considered an honest reflection of reality when it’s produced by people with subjective and personal experiences?) not be labelled so? would it be unfair to label media that is truly ‘honest’—again, if that can even exist—propaganda?

I have absolutely no idea, I go back and forth on this.

[jjngkook7]

Regrets (Yoongi)

Ceo Au! / Angst w a happy ending(ofc haha) / Implications of smut but not smut / Ex’s back to lovers

Summary: Yoongi had worked hard to get where he was currently at. He's never felt any remorse despite lying, stealing and playing dirty to be successful. The only time he's ever regret any of his actions was when he lost her.

______________________________________________________________

Despite his best efforts not to roll his eyes, Yoongi’s annoyance was evident by how hard he was pinching the bridge of his nose. These meetings made him rethink how much his presence was needed. He didn’t trust anyone enough to not be here just in case there was something he needed to be in the loop about but he also knew that all these meetings were a waste of time.

“Is there anything else that anyone needs to add?” Taehyung, Yoongi’s personal assistant asked.

Before anyone could speak, Yoongi had already mentally checked out. He had already begun to close his laptop and was thinking about taking an extra long lunch.

“Oh yes! Next week, Home’s higher ups will be partnering with us until the end of the month. Everything is prepared for them.” one of Yoongi’s employees said.

Shit. He had completely forgotten. How could he forget? He had drawn multiple exaggerated circles over this date and set a reminder on every device he had. Not only was Home a very important client but she worked there.

“Thank you for that reminder. If there’s nothing else anyone needs to say, have a great rest of your day!” Taehyung chimed.

As the employees left the conference room, Taehyung kept his boxy smile on until the last person left before closing the door and scowling.

“Could’ve been a fucking email yet again.” Taehyung sighed, flopping onto one of the chairs not caring whether or not he rolled into another chair or the table.

Yoongi sat still in his seat, his mind going a million miles a second. The thought of taking a long lunch had completely left his head and all he could think about was their reunion. It had been almost half a year since they had broken up and he hadn’t heard a word from her since. The only connection he had of her were the bits and pieces of information regarding her work since their careers intertwined. One time, Taehyung showed Yoongi a photo she posted on Instagram with some guy which prompted Yoongi to then delete all the social media apps on his phone. Yoongi was a hard worker to begin with but after she left, he poured all his energy towards his company and rose to the very top. She was there from the very beginning and it was a shame that she wasn’t there when he finally made it. Back then he was only able to take her to the restaurants in their neighbourhood where they ate shitty pasta and stale Chinese food but now, he could give her anything she ever wanted. Granted she was never materialistic and seemed to enjoy their cheap dates instead, it was Yoongi who wanted more. In her own words, he would never be satisfied and he used to argue against that but now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Don’t tell me you’re not over her.” Taehyung chuckled.

Yoongi’s eyes darted over to Taehyung who was sitting directly across Yoongi watching him with a knowing look on his face. His elbows were against the table and his chin resting on his clasped hands.

“We just signed a multimillion dollar contract and she’s what you’re thinking about?” Taehyung sucked his teeth.

“You haven’t changed at all.” Yoongi retorted, leaning back against his chair.

“And you have?” Taehyung shot back.

Yoongi closed his eyes and drummed his fingers against the conference table trying to block out Taehyung’s presence. Taehyung had been his partner from the very beginning. From eating expired sandwiches in their rented basement suite to drawing out the blueprint of this company to partaking in phishing schemes to now being one of the leading production companies in the world, he’d take a bullet for Taehyung but fuck was he annoying sometimes.

“Anyways we have three more meetings this afternoon so in the meantime, practice smiling or something.” Taehyung said before leaving Yoongi alone in the conference room.

Yoongi's phone buzzed and as if the universe was mocking him, it was his calendar reminder for next week. With a few taps, he set another reminder to alert him 24 hours before their reunion.

____________________________________

She smoothed her skirt as she anxiously waited for the elevator to reach her floor. This was a big day for her. The company she worked for was partnering with the top leading production company in the world and she was tasked with making sure everything was ready for her team. Unfortunately, her ex was the CEO and whether she liked it or not, she would have to remain professional and courteous. As the elevator reached closer and closer to her destination, she felt her heart begin to race. She hadn’t seen Yoongi in six months and still had so much pent up anger towards him. One, because he never fought to keep her and essentially opened the door for her to walk out of and two, because despite being the one to initiate the break up, here she was walking back into his domain. Yoongi always got what he wanted.

As the elevator doors opened, she was sure she was going to throw up until a familiar face greeted her with his signature smile and loud voice.

“Welcome!” Taehyung boomed, with his arms spread wide open.

“Taehyung!” she reciprocated his excitement, gladly accepting a big hug from him.

Taehyung was Yoongi’s eccentric friend whom she grew to love. He had a pretty face with a good heart to match even though he was the brains behind all the grimy shit they used to do together. She didn’t only lose Yoongi when they broke up but Taehyung too. She had become good friends with him, often confiding in him when her and Yoongi were going through their rough patches. Taehyung was also the one who supported their breakup near the end of everything. Taehyung and her had kept in contact for a little bit but life became too busy for both of them ultimately leading to their friendship taking a huge hit as well.

The first hour consisted of Taehyung taking her on a tour of their building as well as introducing her to anyone who walked by. She began making bets on who he was fucking based on their interactions. To her surprise, Taehyung hadn’t hooked up with anyone. “I’ve turned a new leaf. It’s not a good look for a boss to have sex with their employees, you know.” was what he said before whiplashing her with the number of people he did hook up with at her company.

“And this is your office for the month.” Taehyung smiled, unlocking the door to a small room.

She marvelled at the sight before her when they walked in. With their floor being so high up and her desk beside the window, she had the entire view of the city. If it weren’t for Yoongi being the CEO, she would’ve asked to have her office here permanently. Home was a great company but her office was located on the first floor giving her a beautiful view of the sidewalk.

The clearing of Taehyung’s throat reeled her back into reality and she stepped away from the window.

“Your office is right next to Yoongi’s so that communication between you and him will be easily accessible.” Taehyung stated matter of fact.

She hoped Taehyung didn’t see her wince at Yoongi’s name. All that mental preparation she did when she found out that they’d be partnering with his company seemed to serve no purpose now that she was here.

“Speaking of Yoongi, is he here today? There are some documents that he needs to sign.” she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

Taehyung nodded as he pulled out his phone to check the notification that just came in. She waited as Taehyung typed away at his phone before putting it away.

“Sorry I have somewhere I need to be.” he sighed and she waved her hand in front of her face letting him know that it’s no big deal.

As Taehyung made his way out of her office, he quickly ran through a list of meetings coming up and people she needed to know-all of which she made no mental note of.

“Oh!” he suddenly exclaimed, popping his head in past the door frame, “be nice to him today. I don’t think he slept at all last night.”

She stood still for a minute after Taehyung’s exit just trying to sort out her surroundings. She decided to go see Yoongi about those documents later-as late as she could push seeing him and set up her space. She made her way to her desk, placing her bag on her chair. There was a note and a small gift basket she hadn’t noticed earlier due to her excitement over the windows. The note was every corporate thank you card, even down to the font. Welcome and thank you for your cooperation and partnership. Please accept this gift basket on behalf of our team. We’re excited to work alongside you!

The gift basket however was not your typical chocolates and bottle of wine. She felt her stomach turn and a lump begin to form in her throat as she carefully looked through the basket. Inside were all her favorite snacks. Snacks that one would find in specific mom and pop ran convenience stores and snacks that only Yoongi would know she liked. Letting out a shaky breath, she pushed everything aside and unpacked her bag. It had been very hard rebuilding herself and putting together her new reality without Yoongi. Yoongi gave her no closure and then proceeded to do very well without her. It would have to take more than some gift basket to move her.

As the day went on, she had actually forgotten about seeing Yoongi. Between making sure everything was well on her company’s side and making sure the merge with Yoongi’s company would be seamless, there was no time to be sentimental or nostalgic. Her eyes stayed on her computer screen after telling whoever was knocking on the door to come in.

“Sorry, give me one second…I just have to send this email really quickly.” she apologized, typing as quickly as she could when she heard the door close from behind whoever it was.

“Take your time.”

Suddenly the email became irrelevant as her fingers slowed down to a halt. She tried her best to piece together what was left of the email she had to send with her mind clouded and foggy. When the ‘sent’ notification popped up, she swallowed the lump in her throat from earlier and slowly raised her head. She locked eyes belonging to a face she missed so much and also didn’t want to see.

“I hope I didn’t intrude or anything.” Yoongi said.

“No no, I’m basically done for the day.” she replied.

“How was the first day here?” he asked.

As she talked, Yoongi had to remind himself to not let his eyes wander. After half a year, he was only to make eye contact with her which wasn’t fair. In the years they were together, he had memorized her body like a prayer. He knew where every beauty mark was and where every scar from childhood injuries lay. He still remembered how she liked to be touched and if she let him, he’d have her writhing and moaning under him. Yoongi had to give up a lot of things to be where he was at and he didn’t care. Some of the things he had to give up were essential to his wellbeing such as sleeping and eating but those things took up time and as the old saying goes, money is time and time is money. Her leaving however was his biggest loss that he’d never recuperate from.

“I’m glad to hear everything went well today,” Yoongi nodded, “we’re excited to have everyone here in the next few days. Taehyung said you were going to see me to give me documents to sign but since it’s almost the end of your work day I thought I’d swing by instead.”

“Oh yes!” she dug through her bag grabbing the papers, “sorry it’s just been so busy. I meant to see you but lost track of time.”

This was kind of the truth. She had been very busy but she also did try to avoid seeing Yoongi as much as she could. Now that he was here in front of her, she had nowhere to hide. As long as she remained professional, there shouldn’t be an issue.

“Is this all?” Yoongi asked, sorting the papers on his lap.

“Yes, that's the last of all the paperwork Jin needs from you. I’m glad you came to see me because that was the last thing on my lis-“

“Jin?” Yoongi cut her off, eyes still on the papers.

To most people, Yoongi’s cadence remained in one tone. It was hard to hear any inflection from the way he spoke but she’d known him for so long that noticing any changes in his voice was like second nature.

“Yes Jin, the founder of Home?” she would be shocked if Yoongi didn’t know, after all, they were partnering together.

“I know who that is,” Yoongi scoffed, “I just didn’t expect you guys to be on a first name basis.”

Her brows furrowed trying to figure out Yoongi’s point, “Besides being my boss, Jin and I are very close.”

“So you’re fucking him?” Yoongi asked. The papers on his lap now forgotten on his lap as he leaned back with a raised brow.

After letting her body go into shock over what Yoongi said for a few seconds, she closed her laptop and chewed on the inside of her cheeks. She was no stranger to his bluntness but his audacity was something new.

“First of all, he’s married and second of all, my personal life is none of your business. Now if there’s anything else you need from me let me know otherwise I’m done for the day.” she said between gritted teeth.

The air between them grew heavy and tense. Neither of them wanted to move or say a word. She was not interested in any games he felt like playing and Yoongi was not interested in any small talk.

“I’ll have these scanned for Jin tomorrow. Have a good night.” Yoongi finally said as he got up to leave.

He hoped his scanner would be able to do its job because in the midst of their stare down, Yoongi had crumpled a few of the papers.

“It’s nice seeing you again, Yoongi.” she said although the sentimental words did not match her tone or the resentment in her eyes.

Yoongi didn’t reply as he walked out of her office.

________________________________

Yoongi kept his eyes glued on her and Jin who were sitting on the other side of the conference table chatting. Despite both of them being at the top of the food chain, Jin and Yoongi were polar opposites. Jin was approachable and had a friendly demeanour that people seem to gravitate towards. Yoongi was incapable of engaging in meaningless conversations which is why he made Taehyung the face of their company. Although Jin was nice, he was getting on Yoongi’s nerves. The man had a laugh that echoed through the room and seemed to never run out of things to talk about. As annoying as Yoongi thought Jin was, she seemed to love his presence. The both of them had been joking and giggling about nothing since they sat down.

“You’re fucking staring dude.” Taehyung whispered in Yoongi’s ear.

Realizing that Taehyung was right, Yoongi averted his gaze to his laptop screen which had been untouched for so long that the apple logo was bouncing back and forth. Once everyone that needed to be here had entered the conference room, Taehyung began his performance.

“Thank you everyone for being here!” Taehyung clapped, “we’re so excited to be partnering with all of you and thank you once again for choosing us.”

Yoongi didn’t even attempt to clap along with everyone else. If anything, the irregular rhythm made his head hurt. She stifled a laugh when she looked over at Yoongi who was very obviously still waking up. Business and money he was fluent in but people, people were too complicated for him. It wouldn’t be a far reach to assume that this was probably his third cup of coffee so far.

As the morning meeting went on, it was interesting to see how different the two CEO’s were. Jin enjoyed making jokes when he spoke and tried to make statistics and numbers sound fun while Yoongi spoke in a very matter of fact way and hardly smiled. It was funny watching Taehyung and Jin have a pissing match for the title of ‘Most Entertaining Person In the Room’. By the end of the meeting, no one was having Jin and Taehyung’s jokes anymore as everyone’s workload had tripled.

“Lets,” Yoongi suddenly called out, all eyes were on the guy that only said one sentence since the meeting started, “end. I think we all have a good idea of what to do. Have a great day everyone.”

This would be the first thing Yoongi has said so far that she agreed with. She quickly delegated tasks between the members on her team and followed them out of the conference room. She made her way to her office and let out an exasperated sigh at the calendar she hastily created. Every day was booked from start to finish and she would definitely have to be doing overtime starting today.

______________________________

And overtime she did, every night for the past week. With her company being so much smaller than Yoongi’s, she and her members were always the last ones to leave the office. It seemed like the workload was affecting the higher ups too because she hadn’t seen Jin, Taehyung or Yoongi at all. Their doors were always closed or they were in a meeting anytime she needed to speak to one of them. Tonight was no different. The basket of snacks she received had slowly disappeared through the week and as the hours passed, she could no longer ignore her hunger. Considering that she’d be here for a few more hours, a little break wouldn’t hurt. Closing her laptop, she made her way out of her office to the kitchen. She would never get used to how bright and noisy the building still was after hours. This environment was so different from Home. Everyone clocked in at 9 and left exactly at 5 but it seemed like people never left here. As she ventured down the hall, the floor eventually got darker and quieter. The smell of freshly brewed coffee got stronger the closer she was to the kitchen. She wondered who would be drinking coffee at this time and as she rounded the corner, it made sense.

“You’re still here?” Yoongi asked, eyebrows slightly raised.

“I’m surprised you’re still here too.” she replied.

Yoongi gave her a shrug and reverted his attention back to the coffee machine while she scoured the cupboards for whatever she could eat. Yoongi watched as she stood on the toes to peer through all the drawers and felt the corners of his lips turn upwards. He always found everything she did endearing and even after half a year, the sentiment still held true.

“I can order food for you if you want.” Yoongi cleared his throat.

She turned around, her cheeks red from embarrassment.

“It’s on company card.” he continued.

“Wouldn’t that be your money?” she laughed.

Yoongi chuckled and took a seat at the lunch table, pulling out his phone in the process. Without any apps besides what’s used for work, Yoongi quickly downloaded a delivery app. He sucked his teeth when a page requiring him to input his information and credit card popped up.

“I found a granola bar.” she said meekly.

He hadn’t noticed that she was standing beside him peeking at what he was doing on his phone. When they locked eyes, the both of them bursted out into laughter. Perhaps it was how much they had been working which made them a little delirious but this situation was so familiar and amusing. As their laughter died, an awkward silence began to fill the lunch room.

“I’m gonna head back to my office now that I found something to eat.” she waved her granola bar in front of his face.

“Do you want a cup of coffee with that? It should finish brewing soon.” Yoongi quickly said, hoping it didn’t come out too desperate.

She didn’t drink coffee at this time or anytime after noon but there was a bottle of melatonin on her bedside that did the trick whenever she couldn’t sleep.

“Sure,” she smiled, taking a seat across from him, “but just a little.”

The coffee was long forgotten after it had finished brewing. Yoongi listened attentively as she divulged into all the gossip from her personal life and she found her jaw continuously hanging from all the rumours Yoongi confirmed regarding all the celebrities he had worked with. The work piled on their desks seemed to not matter as they took back all the time lost in the six months they were away from each other. It was so easy with Yoongi because he always made her feel so safe and heard. It was so easy to love him.

“Wow, it’s almost nine!” she gasped after seeing the time flash on his phone.

This seemed to surprise Yoongi too. He really did mean to make one cup of coffee and bury his head in all the paperwork on his desk.

“Did you drive?” Yoongi asked.

She shook her head explaining how much easier it was to train than drive where she resided.

“Let me give you a ride home then.” he said, getting up and cocking his head towards the lunchroom door.

She drummed her fingers against her thighs as she tried to make a decision. There was no way she could get her work done at this hour and it would be nice to not take public transit so late at night. She bit the inside of her cheeks knowing that this was a very slippery slope.

“Okay, thank you.” she forced a smile, following him out the kitchen.

The car ride back to her place was quiet. Both of them tried to make small talk before deciding that it was better not to say anything. She sat with her hands in her lap, grasped tightly together. Being so close to him in such a confined space made her stomach flip. She was also too scared to touch anything in case she damaged the interior of his car even just a little bit. How much Yoongi made and how important he was definitely reflected in what he was driving. Leather seats, tinted windows, and butterfly doors. He really did seem to do just fine-even better-without her which was a kick to the gut and a hard pill to swallow.

“That’s me.” she said, pointing to her apartment complex.

Yoongi pulled aside and put his hazards on. Despite arriving at her place, her body didn’t move. She didn’t want to leave just yet.

“I’m um,” Yoongi began to speak, avoiding any eye contact, “I’m sorry for how I acted last week. It was unprofessional and uncalled for.”

“Thanks for the apology,” she smiled, “and for the ride home again.”

He nodded and tried to reciprocate her smile. Yoongi had thought about their reunion many times, playing different scenarios in his head. The one where she ended up working with him and where he was an asshole definitely was not one of the scenarios. Yoongi had all the money he could ever ask for, loyal employees and a nice car but right now in front of her, he felt like an idiot. His daily life consisted of sleepless nights, pointless meetings and going home to an empty penthouse. There was a time when he would obsess over all these useless things he had now but everything he owned was replaceable. By the time he realized that she was the one constant in his life, it was too late.

“It is really nice seeing you again, Yoongi.” she said, once again the sentimental words not reaching her sad eyes.

Whatever happened first was a blur as Yoongi’s fingers were tangled in her hair and her hands desperately grabbed any inch of his skin. Mutters of apologies from Yoongi were swallowed by her as she didn’t want him to pull even a centimetre away from his lips.

“Fuck! I’m sorry!” she gasped, when her heels accidentally scraped against the passenger door.

Yoongi cupped her cheeks and brought their foreheads together as they both tried to catch their breath.

“You could rip this whole thing apart, I don’t fucking care.” Yoongi chuckled.

She hated how she leaned into his touch, wanting more of him. All that work she did in six months, out the window the moment he gave her any time of day. The moment shared between them quickly came to a halt when a car began honking repeatedly from behind. Yoongi rolled his eyes and let his back hit against his chair as he glared at the driver from his side mirror. She hastily grabbed her things and left as quickly as she could to not upset the driver even more. She felt her anxiety rise when Yoongi’s car didn’t drive away, instead the passenger side windows rolled down.

“Goodnight,” Yoongi sighed, “see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Yoongi.” she waved and watched his tail lights disappear in the distance.

____________________________________

Yoongi meant to speak to her about what happened that night. He didn’t know if he was going to apologize or if he was going to suggest they get back together, he truly didn’t know what his MO would be but he knew he had to talk to her. That was the plan at least until he got into work the next day. He had a bunch of urgent voicemails to get back to and it seemed like everything down the chain was going wrong. It if wasn’t a manager wanting to break a contract deal then it was another production studio wanting to negotiate a contract that they were happy with just a few days ago. Yoongi had to be in five places at once. The few minutes he did have to himself were filled with thoughts of her and what he was going to do. The clarity hit him when he realized that these issues at work would never go away. He would be needed constantly and being at the very top had a lot of risk involved. The best course of action was to leave that night as it was and relish in the memory of finally holding her and kissing her again for as long as he could. As of right now, he couldn’t offer her anything more than more papers and files to organize.

“Yo Yoongi, conference call in 10 minutes.” Taehyung’s voice appeared.

Yoongi sighed and glared at him. He had told Taehyung many times to knock and not just barge in but that man was as stubborn as they come.

“Whoa,” Taehyung whistled, putting his hands out in front of him, “caught you in a foul mood huh?”

Ignoring Yoongi’s very obvious agitated energy, Taehyung made his way behind Yoongi’s desk. He glanced down at all the files and papers the older one had spread on his desk.

“Did something happen?” Taehyung asked, nodding in the direction of an empty spot on Yoongi’s desk.

Yoongi’s poker face remained as he gathered all the documents he needed for the conference call.

“Like you said, we just signed a multimillion dollar contract. I don’t have time to think of things besides this contract and all the bullshit that’s been going wrong.”

Taehyung leaned against the drawers behind Yoongi’s desk and drummed his fingers against them.

“Remember that one time when we had 24 hours to fix a technical issue or our company was going to lose a bunch of clients?” Taehyung asked.

“Yeah,” Yoongi chuckled, “we were so fucked.”

“I went to get drinks and had a very long lunch that day. There was another time when one of our recording studio got broken into and we had a full schedule of recording the next day with some pretty important artists. I also got drinks and had a very long lunch to catch up with an old friend that day. I think I took a nap too.”

“Besides getting fired, what’s your point?” Yoongi snapped, both impressed and annoyed by Taehyung’s almost reckless behaviour.

“We had so many fires to put out but I still made time to live, Yoongi. And fuck it, even if our company fails, we still walk away able to provide for ourselves for a long time.” Taehyung sighed.

Yoongi got up and turned around to meet Taehyung’s eyes.

“We worked too hard and sacrificed too much to just let it fall over some dumb shit you want to waste your time doing.”

“I sacrificed maybe getting arrested for scamming people,” Taehyung scoffed. “you sacrificed your relationship. I didn’t know she was a waste of time.”

Yoongi’s arms fell to his sides as he stared at Taehyung. Little did Taehyung know, Yoongi had taken her picture out of the frame and kept it inside his jacket pocket. The picture frame meant nothing as it laid in his trashcan but he didn’t have the strength to throw her picture away.

“This might be your last chance, Yoongi.” Taehyung said.

“Conference call in 5 minutes.” Yoongi huffed, before walking out of his office.

________________________________

She hadn’t seen Yoongi in almost a week. He left her feeling confused, angry and sad. It was as if they had broken up all over again. If he had just wanted to fuck her, it would’ve been very obvious. But when they kissed, he was just as desperate as her. It was hard knowing someone like the back of your hand and then forced to be total strangers. It was even harder knowing that you were still in love with this stranger.

“Thank you everyone again for being on time. I’ll keep this morning's meeting short and simple so that we can all go back to work.” Taehyung smiled.

He waited until everyone was looking at him before continuing.

“As you can see, Yoongi isn’t here. He won’t be here for the next week either. There are some business matters that he needs to attend to out of town so any inquiries can go through me.”

After that bit of information, she stopped listening and began to draw random shapes in her notebook. Yoongi wouldn’t be here when her company went back to their own building. What was supposed to be a month was short as the merge was successful and being in Yoongi’s building wasn’t necessary anymore. She wanted to see him again but she was not going to initiate their meeting. Yoongi owed her so much and closure was going to be up to him. If she never saw him again, it would be on him. As much as it would hurt, she would eventually learn to put herself back together one more time.

“Hey, woohoo!”

Taehyung snapped his fingers in her face and waved his hands around to get her attention. She straightened her posture and looked around the empty meeting room.

“Oh shit, sorry I zoned out completely.” she groaned, running her hands through her hair.

“It’s all good,” Taehyung laughed, “literally nothing important was mentioned.”

Taehyung watched as she slowly gathered her things. She looked tired and her energy hadn’t been the same for a while.

“Everything alright?” Taehyung asked before she could make it out the door.

“Yeah!” she nodded, feigning a smile.

“He’s going to reach out.” Taehyung nodded.

She looked at Taehyung with curious eyes but didn’t ask what he meant.

“In the meantime,” Taehyung yawned, “you should make a list of things you want him to apologize for when he does.”

She laughed and shook her head which brought a genuine smile to Taehyung’s face.

“See you later Tae.” she waved.

______________________________

Yoongi looked back and forth frantically between his watch and the airplane. He wondered what was taking so long for everyone to board. In the midst of his restlessness, his phone began to ring and he wanted to throw it through the window. In the past 24 hours, he had to meet with three executive producers, convince a client to stay and got word that her company was leaving their building today. Their time zone difference was three hours and if he wanted to talk to her, he should’ve done it yesterday…or two weeks ago.

“What is it, Taehyung?” Yoongi answered.

“I miss you too,” Yoongi could see Taehyug roll his eyes on the other end, “how’s it going?”

Yoongi brought his phone away from his ear and stared at Taehyung’s name flashing on the screen with a baffled expression.

“You’re calling me to ask me how it’s going?” Yoongi hissed.

“You have such a way with words you know?” Taehyung teased.

“Taehyung, I swear to God I am going to-“

“They’re leaving tonight.” Taehyung cut him off.

The airport was bustling with people trying to get home and every ten minutes there was an announcement over the intercom. It was the worst place to think.

“I know,” Yoongi said, “I know.”

“You’re still over there for two more days.” Taehyung continued.

“I’m actually on my way home right now but my fucking plane is delayed.” Yoongi cursed.

“Need me to put on some possible fires for tomorrow?” Taehyung asked.

Yoongi felt his body suddenly relax and a gratefulness for his friend that he should’ve felt for a while now.

“Thank you, Taehyung.” Yoongi sighed before hanging up.

He sat down and buried his face in his hands. His plane was delayed for an hour which means Yoongi had an hour to figure out how to make everything right.

___________________________________________

She looked out the window and tried to burn the view into her brain. She would miss having this space so much. It was nice working in a setting where she saw actual sunlight everyday. Jin promised to buy her a calendar that had a different scenery every month to replace this beautiful view. She walked back to her desk and laughed at the ridiculously large box Taehyung’s team provided for her to pack up her things when all she had was her purse, her laptop and some pens. Despite the last day in Yoongi’s building, she was yet again the last to leave. The emails didn’t stop coming in and her list didn’t grow any smaller with things to do but at least the merge was successful. She decided to leave all her emails for tomorrow and call it a day as the sun had already set. She closed her laptop and looked at all the snack wrappers decorating her desk and floor. As much as she didn’t want to do a deep clean of this office, at least she would get to relish in the view for a little bit more.

She was only five minutes into her clean up duty when the notifications from her email could no longer be ignored. She found herself deep in work, with a pile of wrappers on the corner of her desk. Her office phone began to ring and she decided to ignore it, not wanting to stay longer than she had to. Eventually the ringing stopped, but her personal phone began to vibrate.

“Are you fucking kidding m-“

Her breath caught in her throat when she read the name flashing on her screen. She felt her body begin to slightly tremble and her heart race. With hesitating fingers, she answered the call.

“Not very professional of you to answer personal calls but not work calls.” Yoongi’s monotone voice spoke.

He hadn’t called her in a really long time. Six months to be exact.

“Why are you-um, do you need something?” she stammered, feeling extremely embarrassed afterwards.

“I heard your team is leaving tonight.” Yoongi replied.

“Yeah we are. It’s been nice working here though.” she answered.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Yoongi continued.

A silence passed between them as she tried to figure out what Yoongi wanted and as Yoongi tried to figure out what to say. She figured he was in a car by all the traffic noise she could hear in the background. Whether it was someone driving or him, he was going very fast.

“Did you call me just to say goodbye?” she laughed.

“Actually I called hoping you would stay.”

She steadied her breath as her heart hammered through her ears.

“Yoongi you don’t get to do that.” she whispered.

“I know-“

“You don’t get to decide when you want me and when you don’t. You don’t get to disappear and reappear whenever you want.” she cut him off, feeling her eyes water up.

She heard his car rev followed by honking.

“Isn’t that what you did?” Yoongi scoffed.

She rolled her eyes, the feeling of anger all too familiar.

“Why? Because I left you? Me working here was a coincidence.” she spat.

“Why did you leave?” Yoongi asked, the tone of his voice changing to one with remorse.

She leaned back on her chair and stared blankly at her laptop screen.

“I didn’t want to.” her voice came out quiet.

She had a loud screech from the road and glanced over at the window to locate where the sound came from. She slowly peeled her cell phone away from her ear when a familiar black car pulled into the street in front of the building, the parking careless and unaligned with the curb.

“What the hell…” she whispered to herself.

The person who stepped out of the car seemed like they were in a rush. Their bag was slung over their shoulder as they ran into Yoongi’s building.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner.” Yoongi’s voice from the other end brought her attention back to their phone call. He sounded like he was out of breath, “And I’m sorry for being an asshole the entire time you’ve been here.”

She heard an elevator ding from his end.

“I’m sorry for just letting you go. These last six months really sucked and I know I fucked up.” he continued.

The elevator on her floor opened and she heard footsteps coming towards her office. Her cell phone was now laying on her desk and she stood up from her chair, her heart refusing to slow down.

“I’m really sorry.” Yoongi panted as he turned the corner into her office.

His phone was by his side and his eyes wide with desperation. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Yoongi’s usual polished appearance was absent in the presence of his untucked shirt and uncombed hair. He dropped his bag onto the floor beside his feet and slowly approached her. His footsteps were hesitant and his breath labored.

“I left because we couldn’t keep up with each other anymore.” she finally said, stopping Yoongi in his tracks.

Yoongi stood still. He found it hard to catch his breath but not from the running earlier.

“I needed more from you and you needed this.” she said, arms gesturing towards his building.

“But it was for us.” he answered as he clenched and unclenched his fists to release the anxiety building up in his body.

She stared at him with a slight smile on her face while her eyes watered, “I didn’t need any of this Yoongi, I just needed you.”

With a defeated shrug, she leaned against her desk and felt her tears stream down her face. It still hurt like it did six months ago. It took so much strength to leave Yoongi and even more strength to get over him but in the end, she just wasn’t strong enough yet. In a few short strides, Yoongi was by her side holding her in his arms. He gently pushed her head onto his chest where she could hear just how quickly his own heart was beating. Not a word was said between them as they melted into each other's embrace. She allowed her tears to flow onto his shirt and closed her eyes to enjoy as much of him as she could. Yoongi watched her body slightly relax as he stroked her hair, the lump in his throat getting harder to swallow after every sniffle and sigh escaping from her. After a while, he brought a hand under her chin and slowly lifted her head, his heart clenching at her tear stained cheeks.

“I know I got carried away,” he mumbled, remembering all her text messages that he left unanswered and all the dates he forgot, “but you always had me. You still have me. I should’ve-I…I shouldn’t have let you go like that. I’m so, so sorry.”

Hearing his words only made her cry more. She wiggled out of his hold and buried her face back into his chest.

“You really suck.” she mumbled, eliciting a chuckle from Yoongi.

“Can you give me another chance or do I suck too much?” he teased and laughed when he felt her jab his stomach with her fist.

“I’ll do it right this time,” Yoongi continued, “I’ll take more time off and work less and just-“ his breath hitched. His desperation for her and the realization that she could turn him away was too much, “let me make it all right again.”

He felt her untangle herself from his hold before looking up at him.

“Yoongi you’re busier than ever and with this merge I am too.” she sighed, her hands holding onto his.

“Technically you guys work under me now and I am approving of us for a two week vacation break beginning of next month.” Yoongi knew there was a lot at risk on the business side but if Taehyung can get drinks during the middle of the work day and nap, then fuck it.

She watched as his thumbs stroked her hands in his grip and wanted to laugh at just how much control he had over her. She wasn’t strong enough to get over Yoongi but was strong enough to possibly get hurt again.

“Taehyung said I should make a list of apologies you owe me.” she jabbed him again.

“I expect that list on my desk by next week then," he laughed as he cupped her face, bringing her closer to him, "And I’ll make it all up to you.” Yoongi whispered, sealing his promise against her lips.

Authors Note: Hi!!! Sorry I haven't been writing. I am infected with the unmotivated and uninspired bug. And thank you for all the suggestions of writing in a way that is inclusive for everyone. I've just had this one shot in the drafts for like weeks so I didn't change anything. Anyways, thank you for reading and the support!

[alloveydovey]

Ok, random thoughts on dramas I finished watching this month (some of which I've been dragging out since July).

Meet Yourself (cdrama) 10 ⭐️

It's the first cdrama I've seen that I felt was well-acted and felt genuine. Perhaps because the ML has a personality and isn't simply some stone-cold dude and the FL (who I was obsessed with) is mature and insightful.

It’s very light and yet deeply meaningful. Yes, it could be a little draggy at times (could have been shorter), but I can't really complain because I didn't want it to end. You really find yourself falling in love with the entire town, as well as most secondary characters.

A Time Called You (kdrama) 8

It was really emotional, but I lost interest in episode 9 and wanted it to end. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t fully understand what was going on or because, although I like time travel plots, this one was just too twisty for me to get.

King The Land (kdrama) 8/8.5?

People complaining because it had no plot— what do you mean? The plot was ✨love✨

I mean yeah, I get it, though, because I started it in August and finished it in October (I got low-key bored on episode 11). The .5 is only because Yoona and Jun Ho’s chemistry was insanely good, like the kind of chemistry where you feel like you're intruding on them or something.

My Lovely Liar (kdrama) 7.5

This one was all over my fyp on tiktok, and I'm not sure why everyone was so into it.

I initially started to watch it because of Kim So Hyun. The first eight episodes were okay. I wasn't particularly intrigued by the mystery of who the killer of the ML’s girlfriend was, but it was enough to keep me going. But, later on, I just wasn't into it at aaall. The ML and FL were cute, but i didn’t feel any spark between them :\

Here We Meet Again (cdrama) 8

Another cdrama with good acting 🙌🏽 lol I swear I’m not bashing Chinese dramas, it's just I watched some questionable ones. I wasn’t that much into the whole work thing but, let's be honest, I only saw this one because FL and ML were the cutest and had an insane chemistry.

Why I Dress Up for Love (jdrama) 9

Workaholic social media girl moves into a house with four roommates and ends up having a situationship with one of them.

This is my fourth jdrama (Only Just Married, The Fallen High School Girl and The Crippled Teacher, and A Girl and Three Sweethearts), and it is without a doubt the best one and most likely a future all-time favourite. The obstacles the characters experienced were not too deep, but enough to soften you, and the chemistry was excellent. It was simple, natural and cute. An overall feel good 👌🏽

Destined With You (kdrama) 8.5/9 still not sure lol

Okay, I’ll be honest, this probably doesn’t deserve a 9. That whole extra point is for Rowoon's face and Bo Ah's cuteness.

I feel like the writers of this one got down and began pulling out pieces of paper from a bag full of common clichés that are currently used in dramas. Past lives lovers? Check. Sort of enemies to lovers? Check. Rich ML x Poor orphan FL? Check (although a little twist with the mom being the cutest mother ever) Mean ex girlfriend who can’t get over ML? Check. A culprit dressed all in black who is after the FL? Check. I don’t know what else but I’m sure there’s more… and it should have been boring but somehow they made it work?!?! And I was so into it?!? The comedy was comeding, the chemistry was chemistring, the Samsung phones were samsunging (?), Subway was there, music was banging? Magic was entertaining, even the angsty moments were hitting.

Like yeah, I don’t know. Maybe it was Rowoon and his perfect face or maybe this was a really entertaining and romantic watch. Anyway, a 9.

[excessive-vampires]

Dealing with Demons Chapter 3: What Could It Hurt Part 1: Riley

Masterlist with CW

Taglist: @demyxdancer @softvampirewhump

For three weeks Riley didn't think about Avi, work kept them too busy to worry and when the demon hadn't shown up again they assumed that Avi felt that their earlier conversation was enough to get the Bureau off their back.

Riley had considered telling Coleman about the conversation, or at least that Avi knew where the base was and where Riley lived, but couldn't think of a way to phrase it that didn't make them seem idiotic for letting a demon drive them home.

Then people started dying. And the detector spells used at the scenes indicated demonic activity. At first Riley was convinced it was Avi doing the killing, but the profile that they put together didn't fit avarice motivated murders. For one, nothing was stolen from the victims, and their deaths didn't all lead to any one person getting wealthier or keeping what wealth they already had.

What the victims did have in common was their high social status, and their attendance at a highschool reunion a month before the killings started.

Despite this connection, the Bureau was out of leads. No former classmates of the victims seemed to have any involvement at all in the occult, and it was rare that the first magic someone ever did was to summon a demon, it was a pretty complex and obscure ritual.

The case was weighing heavy on everyone's minds, almost completely overshadowing the missing person cases that had been everyone's first priority before. And no one had any idea what to do next. Or how to deal with the demon if they needed to confront them. Knowing how to banish them was one thing, getting them inside the necessary rune was another.

Riley was doing extra research at home, combing through the suspects' social media for anything that might possibly be related to magic and finding nothing.

They pulled out their phone to order a pizza and opened up their contacts list. There it was, right at the top, Avi's number.

What could it hurt? A lot of things, actually, stupid question. It would be extremely dangerous to contact a demon and ask it for help hunting down another demon. And if Avi was the one doing the killings, it would just let them know the Bureau was onto them.

But Riley really didn't think Avi was the culprit, they trusted the profile they had created and, even though they had witnessed Avi kill a man, they didn't think serial murder really fit the demon's style. And a summoning spell brought the summoner the spirit that could best fulfill their desire, Riley just couldn't believe that Avi was the best fit for this.

And they also didn't know where else to go from here. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Riley had a moment of clarity where they realized that they were the type of person who never initiated conversations with friends, but nonetheless they were about to do so with a demon. Something about Avi just brought out a boldness in them that didn't exist in any other situation. Maybe Riley just got stupid in the face of overwhelming danger.

Riley almost hit the call button, but that seemed more risky. What if they were the kind of person who hated talking on the phone? No, a text was safer. Less chance of interrupting something important.

Riley thought very hard about what exactly to say for several minutes, after they had something they thought might be okay they read it outloud.

"Hey, this is Riley. I was wondering if you might be able to help me out with a case I'm working on. I understand if you can't or don't want to, just thought I'd ask."

That sounded good enough. Send. Then instant regret as soon as they heard the whoosh signifying that the message had been delivered. With every passing second they started to panic more and more, but then their phone dinged.

"Sure. I'll pick up dinner on my way to your place, do you like chinese food?"

A demon was on their way to Riley's house. And they were bringing take-out. This was definitely the most surreal thing to ever happen to them. There was so much dissonance in Riley's mind that they were just numb to the fear now. They texted Avi their standard Chinese take-out order and put the bare minimum amount of effort into tidying up their small apartment. Then they sat on their couch and waited.

Soon there was a knock at the door. Riley opened it to find Avi, smiling and holding plastic bags full of food. They were dressed more feminine and more casual than before, but they still looked like they had put effort into their outfit. Their short hair was once again messy in a stylish way that matched their stylish sleeveless look. Riley was suddenly aware that they were wearing only a worn t-shirt and old sweatpants, an outfit they used as pajamas. They weren't even nice sweatpants.

Riley blushed but Avi ignored it as they stepped into Riley's home and carried the food over to the coffee table. The demon set down the food then plopped down on Riley's couch.

"Nice place. I like the posters."

Riley had several posters, most of them autographed, from concerts and podcast live shows hung up on their walls. It wasn't the most professional decor, but a home should reveal something about its owner. At least in Riley's opinion.

"Thanks. You listen to a lot of podcasts?"

"Sort of. It's a long story," Avi replied dismissively.

"Okay... Oh! Thank you for getting food. Here, let me..." Riley fished their wallet out of their bag and got out some cash, which they offered to Avi.

"You don't have to," Avi said casually, waving a hand to dismiss the offered money.

Weird move for a creature of avarice, but it made sense if they were trying to get in Riley's good graces.

But the thought of being in debt to a demon, even if it was less than twenty dollars, put a sour feeling in Riley's gut.

"I insist."

Avi shrugged then took the cash. They fished a plain wallet out of their back pocket and carefully organized the bills before sliding them into place. After realizing that they had been staring at the demon, Riley sat down in a chair next to the couch. They still had a ton of questions about Avi's life, but now was not the time.

Reaching into one of the bags, Riley pulled out their lo mein. They noticed there was more food there than they had asked for. It wasn't too unusual though, back when Riley was in high school people would always say they were too skinny and try to get them to eat more. They'd filled out some in the decade since then but their grandmother at least still gave them extra large portions whenever they came over for dinner. Avi didn't really seem like the nurturing type though, because they were a freaking demon, and Riley was considering asking about the extra food when Avi grabbed an egg-roll and bit into it. Riley stared at them.

"So, what's this case about?"

"You eat food." The words slipped out before Riley realized how rude they sounded. Avi didn't show any indication of minding though.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It tastes good."

"You can taste!"

The demon smiled.

"As a fan of life's luxuries it's important to me that I have use of all five senses. And I happen to be lucky enough to be able to do so."

Avi was officially the most powerful demon Riley had ever even heard of. Most demons could only spare enough energy to manifest sight and hearing, but Avi apparently had smell, taste, and touch as well. And that was on top of being able to look fully human. As if showing off, Avi fished a styrofoam cup of soup out of the bag, opened it, and inhaled deeply through their nose before taking a sip. Riley's mouth went dry, and they had to force themself to keep eating so as not to offend the demon.

"So, the case?"

"Oh, yes!" Riley quickly chewed and swallowed the bite of noodles in their mouth. "The case. There's a, uh, a demon that's going around killing people."

Avi raised their eyebrows.

"It's, um, it's not you, is it?" Riley asked nervously.

"No. People don't tend to call me for deals involving murder all that often." Avi's explanation was nonchalant, like they weren't discussing ending a human life.

"That's what I thought," Riley blurted out, just in case Avi was angered at the suggestion. "But, I had to ask."

"I understand. So," the demon leaned forward. "How can I help?"

Riley went over the details of the case in between bites of food. Avi asked for clarification on a few details and otherwise actively listened. This was starting to feel like just a normal business meal Riley might have had with Mike or Sil or another researcher, and their apprehension began to fade.

"Does it look like the demon is the one doing the killing or the client?" Avi asked.

"How would we know?"

"Demons tend to kill humans by just pulling out their souls unless it's personal. It's the most effective way." Avi's casual tone just made their statement all the more disturbing.

Fear started to seep back into Riley's voice as they remembered the day at the warehouse. "Oh. And, uh, what would that look like?"

"There would be no obvious cause of death. It'd be like they just suddenly stopped living for no reason."

"Well, the victims were stabbed through the heart, so it's probably the client doing the killing then."

"Then you should be able to find physical evidence of them at the scenes. How many have died so far?"

"Three. All in less than a week."

"Hmm. What number of deaths is the minimum a human would sell their soul for?" Avi posited.

"I'd say it depends on how much they value their soul," Riley responded philosophically.

There was a silent moment as they both thought.

Then Avi sighed. "I don't know how much more I can help you. If you knew where the demon was summoned I could tell you what type it was, and if you had any main suspects I could tell you if they'd made a deal if I met them in person, but other than that I have nothing. Unless you want me to check on every single person who was at the reunion, which I won't do for free."

Riley didn't want to think about what Avi would ask for as payment. "That's okay, thank you for even just listening to all of that."

Avi tilted their head. "I asked you before if you liked your job, and you said you did, but it must be hard keeping this from your friends."

"I, uh, don't really have too many friends outside of the Bureau so the secrecy isn't really a problem. And, y'know, my family knows the truth, which is good. Even if sometimes I wish they didn't."

"Why?"

"Oh, uh, my parents don't approve of me working with magic, they think it's too dangerous and alienating. They might be happier if I actually was a dental hygienist. But, uh, we don't talk much anyway because of the other way they think I'm alienating myself from society." Riley crossed their arms over their flat chest.

Avi's expression had more sympathy in it than they'd expected from a shapeshifting incarnation of greed with no family. "That's too bad, Riley, really. I'm sorry."

Riley suddenly felt embarrassed at having gotten so personal with a freaking demon of all things. Even Mike and Sil didn't know some of the stuff Avi knew about them. Their face got hot and they looked towards the floor.

"Thanks, thank you. And, um, it's fine because my grandmother is really supportive about everything."

"That's good."

Riley was desperate to change the subject to anything other than themself.

"Your tattoos, do they mean anything?"

Avi had several bright designs swirling over their pale skin from their shoulders to their elbows. They weren't real, Riley knew, just part of the demon's chosen appearance, but they figured there might be a reason Avi decided to present themself with such colorful adornments.

"They're just things I like," Avi answered. "This one's actually an album cover." They pointed to a patch of color on their left arm. Riley looked at it closely.

"Oh hey! I know that band, they're great!"

Avi's face lit up.

"Really? Have you heard their new stuff?"

"Yeah, I have their new single on one of my playlists."

"You make playlists?"

"Um, yeah. I have a significant commute and I'm usually too tired on my way home to listen to podcasts. So, music. Mike and Sil think they're pretty good."

"Can I hear them?"

Riley was usually more than willing to share their playlists, but this wasn't a regular social interaction, Riley wasn't trying to become Avi's friend. And playlists were something that felt deeply personal to Riley, they felt like a part of their very self. And they were understandably hesitant to do anything that felt like giving any part of themself to a demon. But Avi had helped with the case as much as they could, and brought Chinese food with them. Plus, over the course of their two real interactions Riley had basically shared their whole life story practically unprompted. Riley felt they owed them.

"Yeah, let me give you my Spotify info."

Avi handed Riley their phone and they pulled up their profile on the Spotify app before returning the device to the demon.

"Well, I had better get going, it's getting late," Avi said as they took back their phone. "Feel free to call or text if you want to talk more about this case. Or another case. Or anything else," They continued as they walked to the door.

"Sure thing. Goodbye."

"Bye, Riley."

Riley sighed after closing the front door. Avi hadn't really been enough help to justify the danger in contacting them. Although, after tonight Riley was pretty convinced Avi didn't mean them any harm. And, on the upside, Riley didn't have any shocking information about the case that they'd have to explain to Coleman how they'd gotten.

They were tired enough as they got ready for bed that they didn't think too much about the evening, but as soon as they were under the covers with the lights off they realized they would have to act normal around everyone at work tomorrow morning, and not like they'd spent the previous evening doing something very dangerous. And on top of that they wouldn't be able to let anyone know what they'd learned about Avi without looking like they had a death wish.

They groaned.

[dellovestorant]

I can’t lie but I’m a little bit nervous of George’s future.

It seems like Kimi is in the seat nest to him next year, but Toto has also made no secret of his desire to get Max. I have no doubt he will be booted if he’s outperformed by Kimi, and Max wants the Mercedes seat.

On the other side, I hate how Mercedes have treated him. I hate for him to lose out but if they don’t trust him they need to let him go. So conflicted

Ok I'm going to start this answer with a PSA:

If you're going to come in my ask box to doubt George's future at Mercedes based on Toto Wolff's actions and words you are not going to like my answers very much.

If George ever leaves Mercedes it will be on his own terms, not Toto's. Toto also does not hold every single decision making power within the team. If he did, Lewis would've gotten whatever he wanted with his contract contrary to the cult's beliefs. The big 3 at Mercedes Benz hold more power over driver line-ups and everything else essentially than Toto ever will.

Below the cut is a whole deep dive into the dynamics that is the board of management and their decision making power if any of you want to read.

Let's start with the fact everyone knows for certain.

Mercedes F1 team is controlled by Mercedes Benz, Toto Wolff and Ineos. They each hold 33.3% of the shares in this company.

The current board of management for the f1 team consists 2 reps from all three of the above entities. Markus Schäfer, Michael Schiebe for MB, Johnny Ginns and Andy Currie for Ineos, Toto himself and Rene Berger (Toto's business partner). Oh and Carrie Donaghy as company secretary but she's not a major player.

Ineos tbh is kinda there to just pay the amount in salaries and other things Benz didn't want to pay for. They don't actually hold much weight in driver line up decisions and will probably go with the one that causes less chaos. Jim Radcliffe is also a tad bit more focused on football than F1 at the moment and who knows if Johnny Ginns even exists. They won't fight Benz or Toto on driver line-up decisions.

So technically, it means it's Benz vs Toto 50-50 you would think when it comes to massive decisions. Not really actually.

Without Mercedes, there is no Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 team. Now you may ask why Mercedes Benz is delving into the business of Mercedes-AMG (you shouldn't it's pretty much common sense).

AMG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Benz. Their current CEO, Michael Schiebe, used to be the chief of staff to Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes Benz. Schiebe also currently reports to Markus Schäfer. These names sound familiar? Schiebe and Schäfer are essentially the right and left hand men to Kallenius and the 3 of them make up the big 3 I was referring to earlier.

Now they'll give and take in negotiations, this isn't a dictatorship obviously but if Ola's set on something I have a feeling it's very hard to change his mind. And currently George is performing to a standard that would absolutely not give anyone really any ammunition to replace him.

He's also continuously being used by Mercedes Benz in certain promotional things and activities entirely outside of F1. That douyin account is a right indicater of that, the chinese GP next year will be telling that's for sure. That Targa Florio drive for the Bandini Trophy? The trophy is awarded for people's performances in motorsport in the past year. Lando won the 2023 version. Take a look at his season vs George's 2022 season and tell me who should've won the 2023 trophy. And then take a look at those two's 2023 season and tell me who should've won this year. The significance of George winning the trophy this year? It's the 100 year anniversary of Mercedes' Targa Florio win, it's 130 years of Mercedes in Motorsport and a whole bunch of anniversaries for Mercedes Benz as a company. An 18 year old is not going to generate what Mercedes Benz is doing with PR, at least not to the level George is. He might match George with the F1 team's social media activity but not Mercedes Benz. We're talking about the company that has had Roger Federer as an ambassador since 2008 and will continue to have him as an ambassador.

The board is also quite protective of George if you've noticed. They've let publications run their mouths about Kimi's testing results however they like until they started reporting the kid was beating George's times. Then Shov came out and said like 3 times testing times are not that representative. The whole email saga came out in Canada and who turns up in Barcelona for the very next race? Ola.

Schäfer and Britta Seeger (now she's a woman you just have to stan) were also in Monaco. You won't see Michael Schiebe at an F1 race anytime soon though that man is allergic to dealing with anything motorsport related in public yet they've just put him in charge of another racing company.

That recent post by Mercedes F1 with Ola appearing in Brackley and Brixworth? It could be entirely planned but considering what had just happened and the fact Ola has not being placed in center stage of Mercedes F1 socials in like ever, it's an interesting appearence to publicise for sure (why that man was talking batteries though to people at Brackley I do not know and frankly I doubt I would want to).

Like I said, if George is not at Mercedes anymore, it would be entirely at his discretion. Plus if he leaves, Redbull is going to be right there knocking on his door regardless of their junior drivers. Just take a look on how Christian Horner and Helmut Marko speaks on and of George.

Also why do people keeping thinking Kimi will get outperformed by George? Have some faith please guys.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Hello, this is the Oldie Chinese Diaspora Anon™️

Anon here voiced a frustration that I think we all share, from time to time. The commentators have brought up some very important points, but I think it may be important to show you a fuller picture. It’s not just about a concept of freedom, but what it can actually mean.

First of all, to say there are few, or no incidences of fraud in the Chinese BJD community is objectively false. The infamous Baidu BJD Tucao Bar (

) and it’s more updated counterpart on Weixin exist because of three reasons – it’s a place to vent within a community, a place where two sides of a dispute can come together to share their side in a court of public opinion and finally, to call out and expose scammers. The following examples are all in Chinese, of course – but how else to show you what’s really going on unless you actually see for yourself? Now, the extent of what’s considered a “scam” is stretched far and wide, but included are common complaints about how individual indie artists have inconsistent pre-orders (https://tieba.baidu.com/p/8126795911 ), long wait times (http://c.tieba.baidu.com/p/8446099713 ) the quality of the resin from these indie artists are brittle/streaky/full of bubbles (https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7657831519 ), as well as horrid communication with customer service (https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7216544824 ).

Other scammers have:

Sold counterfeits as real: http://c.tieba.baidu.com/p/6319214040

Attempt to claw back prices after receiving a second-hand doll (usually banking on the seller being afraid of a bad feedback) http://c.tieba.baidu.com/p/8422233115

Scams that occur during trades (didn’t send anything, send trash instead of dolls, recalled a package while still receiving something from the sender, etc) https://tieba.baidu.com/p/6138333817

Running away with down-payments: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7546265316

Cheaters trading across different fandoms: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/6237611363

What’s the use of this “social credit system” if it doesn’t really stop the scamming, then?

I think I may have mentioned this earlier; the point of a social credit system is more about controlling a population’s aggregate behaviour than the behaviour of individuals. It’s there to quash dissent instead of keeping a community crime-free. Think about it this way, BJD collectors are a small, niche market with a high price tag. And if the Chinese government is lax enough to allow rampant counterfeit foods and medication to go on for years (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpA_RwEtLE&t=33s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYr87XCAa48 and https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56080092 ), would the system really protect a small group of rather privileged individuals? You might ask, “Hey, OCDA, aren’t these people caught? That means the system works, right?” The answer is, “Yes, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more of these people who were never caught.” I think we have all heard that just because something’s immoral doesn’t mean it’s illegal. Legality is never the bottom line that we should hold each other accountable to, but these folks get by banking on that their immorality will never be caught, and unless they were caught, what they do aren’t illegal.

On the other hand, the government is quick to stop anything that could cause a social stir. No matter how big the topic might be (human trafficking, public corruption, the existence of COVID, you name it), if there was too much interest in a topic that the government deemed “unsuitable” (if it gives you an answer at all), it can be rubbed out of social media overnight. This is possible because 1. There’s only one kind of social media, which is closely monitored by the State and 2. There’s the Great Firewall of China and scaling the wall can incur a fine and sometimes even probation. The person who started the whole furor may be invited by the police for a talking-to (or just disappeared, either way.)

BJDs are small fry, we know that, so where do minor “scams” lie? Yes, it is inherently frustrating as a consumer to realise that one cannot reinforce trade laws across borders or hold non-registered sellers under the same scrutiny as a registered company. I understand that personally as a victim of a bungled preorder as well. But this so-called “Social Credit” system is never the way to go. Not even Black Mirror or Minority Report can replicate the reality that’s inside China, folks. The truth is worse than fiction.

~Anonymous

[yonemurishiroku]

This is a different anon then the one that mentioned this before, but about the really popular twitter post about shipping only percabeth has some shockingly hateful comments :(( There were multiple twitter posts in that thread saying that people that shipped percy with anyone other than Annabeth should k*ll themselves or go to hell, twitter is getting to be just a very scary place in general for pjo multi shippers.

Eh. twitter has never been a safe place for shipping. Not as far as I know it. Since the dawn of shipping culture and the emergence of social media, there have always been people who are parasocial enough to death-threat someone else over, literally, 2D pixels.

Jesus Christ, I experienced it myself LMAO. Albeit on this hellsite called Tumblr.

Anw. A few words about this. These words apply to all fandom, not just PJO (unless it's a irl/real people fandom, then Idk ab that lmao)

I remember something I read from the Chinese fandom: The shipping culture, down to its very core, has never been about morals or righteousness or canon or whatever appropriate thing you come up it, but the genuine joy you yourself gain from the experience. It's about you.

Does it mean you win when your ship is canon? No. Absolutely not. That's just a narrow-minded view. The winning one is the one who gets the most joy out of this whole shipping delusional, imagining thing, regardless of the nature of the ship or whatever that is. Are you happy? Yes? Then you win!

Whoever said otherwise does not understand the purpose included in the shipping term itself.

About the specific post, I would suggest that you block whoever shows hostility that way on sight, especially if you're in the US or whatever country that enables gun possession I guess...

I mean. Where I live this shouldn't be too much of a critical issue, but I'm kinda worried when the Western Twitter users start getting... vicious (?) when the possibility remains that they would very much likely go to whatever they had in mind, with... dangerous weapon... to boost.

And it'd be so, so, so absurd to get killed over a fictional ship. it just isn't worth it. Not that death-threating ppl is worth it, but it's hard to change stupid opinionated dogmatic people's minds on the other side of the screen, so. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Don't risk your (online or irl) safety over it.

By the way it's the 21st century. who tf cares about going hell. I'm the manifestation of Satan itself, ok!? If you're worried about going to hell, just hit me up, I'll prepare the president's room for you with the view overlooking the tormented souls of those who think their fictional morals are worth more than real people's lives. I'll build you a sanctuary for you to create whatever the hell you want and god can try to pry it out of my black and blue hands. TRY ME.

Now, excuse you, I'll just go brainstorm a bunch of non-Percabeth ships. Damn I'll run a freaking crackcanon/crackship week if I have to.

[themaiden05]

Fate ( part 2)

pairing : kartik aaran x fem reader

part1 ; https://www.tumblr.com/themaiden05/714953202326437888/fate-part-1?source=share

kartik couldn't stop thinking about her. Y/n , Y/n , Y/n it was all he could think about. how could he love someone he doesnt even know so madly? he didnt have an answer for that . she was making him feel all kinds of emotions and not just love, she was making him anxious at time , what if she believes all the kriti x kartik shipping going around the internet? what if she ships them too? what if she has a boyfriend? what if she has a fiancee? no no that cant be ,she's can only be y/n aaryan tiwari ! he wouldnt let any duffer's surname even get close to her. what if she's already married ? what if she is out of his reach already? His thoughts were getting ahold of him. He even called his sister Y/n once , good thing she didnt pay attention . he searched her up on instagram , facebook , twitter but there were a million women with the name Y/n, Not knowing her surname made it worse. a lot of public profiles , and profiles with a Dp was out of the way , kartik knew what his y/n looked like, he didnt even need to look at the screenshot he took, her face was imprinted onto his heart . but then there were a lot of profiles with no profile pictures or random profile pictures . he wasnt even sure if her name was her account name so social media was a fail

"any lead?" kriti asked . she was as dedicated in finding kartik's dream girl as he was

"nope, nothing yet"

" what if we just ask the principal of the college for some info?"

"and what are we gonna say? hello sir! I am in love with one of your students , so can I get her instagram id and biodata. he would kick us both out"

"yeah! youre right. did you get anything else from the college website?"

"NO , what we found before was the only thing about her in the entire website"

" you know what Im hungary, lets go eat something . Ive heard there's a new chinese restaurant in town" kriti said standing up from her chair

"no yaar , Im not hungry!"

" I heard its near lourde college"

kartik jumped up from his seat

"what are we waiting for? lets go , Im so hungry!"

kriti laughed at his newfound excitement

"ya lets go"

kartik and kriti had done their best to disguise themselves. they dont want the pap to spread yet another rumour of them being heads over heel in love with each other. the huge glasses , beanie ,mask and hoodie were certainly doing there job . no one has recognised them yet. they find a table and sit facing each other.

"oh my god kartik"

"what is it kriti?" kartik asks .

"its-

kriti didnt even have to finish . kartik could sense the familiar scent . he could hear someone sitting on the chair behind them. he turned around. she was right there. His y/n . In a satin green dress, her hair opened and flying slightly in the wind. Her eyes are searching for someone. kartik's heart drops once he sees the guy walking towards her , smiling . he sees her smiling back . The smle he always imagined shed give him when he says how beautiful she is to him , The smile she'd give him when he gets her flowers and give her a pecks on her cheek before leaving for shooting. But he isnt the one getting that smile from her right now and it breaks his heart . He isnt some kabir singh to go out there to force her away from him. she looks happy and thats what he'd want the most , for her to be happy

"sorry , I'm late "

"its ok adi"

kartik hears them talk. kriti is ranting about something but kartik can focus only on what you are saying.

"ehh, youre wearing this green dress again?

"its my favourite dress adi "

"it looks shitty"

what kind of a man is he ? who talks to their girlfriend like that? if he doesnt like the dress why doesnt he just tell it to her nicely? why is she letting him talk to her like that? a million question runs over his head

'' Im gonna use the restroom real quick"

"ya ok but dont take ages. I have to go soon after this , i cant be stuck with you for too long"

stuck with her? where did she even find this douchebag from ? who can't even spend some time with her? Is she hurt from what he said ? has she gone to the restroom to cry?

"im gonna go check on her kriti"

"what!? kartik but-" kriti doesnt even finish before kartik jumps over the chair and walks over to the restroom.

as kartik walks in he sees y/n standing in front of the mirror. she doesnt look like she cried but what if she's really good at hiding emotions

"y/n" kartik calls out.

"who are you?" she looks terrified . thats when kartik remembered his glasses mask and beanie , he looks like a goddamn serial killer. he takes off his glasses and mask

"kartik aaryan?"

"you dont have to call my entire name like that! just call me kartik or koki"kartik ranted out . he could hear his heart beat out of his chest. he could see her blushing

"what are you doing here?"

"oh my friend wanted to try out this restaurant!"

"The restaurant or its women's restroom?"

"oh shit ! this is the women's restroom? great here we go again . I swear im not a pervert , fate just brings me into women's restrooms sometimes"

"fate?" y/n starts laughing . she looks so pretty to him doing so

"this is yours i assume?" kartik takes out her badge from his pocket. good thing he takes it everywhere with him to remind him of her

"oh yeah ! i had lost it the day i met you at another women's restroom"

they both chuckle and walks out kartik puts his glasses and mask back on . he wants to say and ask a lot more but the fact that she has a boyfriend waiting for her stops him. he still muster up the courage to ask her full name but before he could finish they are interrupted by someone. its adi he is still looking down at his phone as he speaks

"i have to go now "

"but we didnt even order yet"

''oh come on man, we'll do this some other time and besides i promised riya from office a movie together"

kartik is on the verge of losing his shit . how can he talk to his girlfriend like that and choose another women over her? why isnt she saying anything?

adi takes his eyes of his phone and looks at the man in front of him

"who's this duffer?"

kartik loses his shit completely and punches him on his nose. adi stumbles back in pain

"thats what you get for treating youre girlfriend like that "

"bhaiyya!!!" y/n runs from kartik's behind to adi

"bhaiyya?oh fuck" kriti always told kartik he's dumb and now it was as if he has realised it

"what the fuck man? who's girlfriend? what girlfriend?" adi asks while covering his nose with his hand

kartik runs over to him

"im so sorry bhaiyya! there was a huuuge misunderstanding"

"whaaaat!? who the hell are you man and why the hell are you calling me bhaiyya"

"you are her bhaiyya , youre my bhaiyya why does it matter bhaiyya?"

y/n chuckles at kartik's remark and their eyes meet . kartik is so relieved that this man he just punched is no one other than his future brother in law but it really was kind of a bad first impression but he'll make up for it

"y/n ask this guy to leave" adi grunts in pain

"koki ! leave"

"koki? so no more kartik aaryan"

y/n blushed and looked down

"ill get going now bhaiyya do put some ice on it itll be alright"

"get outta here dickhead before i punch you back"

"ok ok" before he left he leaned closer to y/n

"you know where to find me" and he walked away from his y/n who was now a blushing mess and her brother a bloody mess.......

(bhaiyya: brother)

to be continued......

[izscha]

What sort of skills do you think each of the monks shared with the others? Did Clay teach the others gardening/lassoing/animal caring/whittling/sewing/etc? Did Kimiko teach the others electronics/social media/video games/makeup/fashion/skincare routines/etc? Did Omi teach the others reading and writing in Chinese calligraphy traditional for the scrolls/formal martial arts forms/meditation/etc? Did Raimundo teach the others pranks/soccer-futbol/chess/etc?

Just what sorts of exchanges and enrichments do you think the four of them brought each other while they got used to living together?

I have this headcanon that Kimiko teaches the boys (Raimundo and Clay specifically) on how to change up their style a bit, more so for Raimundo cuz I reckon he'd be interested in the current hot fashion in Japan. Clay would participate only cuz he likes investing time with his friends' interests.

Raimundo and Clay would also share and practice cooking recipes from their native countries with each other, since both of their diets are pretty similar to each other. (I have a strong feeling Clay would be a big fan of Brazilian food, especially when it comes to meat.)

I like the idea that Clay teaches Kimiko how to sew, cuz that gives Kimiko the advantage of modifying her outfits even further.

Since they (probably) live in China, Omi could bring his friends to nearby rural villages every time there's a national holiday event/festival going on as a means to teach them about the culture he grew up with.

I saw someone else's headcanon that the monks would teach each other on how to speak their native languages respectively, so the temple life slowly feels like a multilingual hub. I very much enjoy that headcanon.

My headcanons pretty much consist of them doing cultural exchanges between each other, which is something I wish they explored more in the original show.

[freedom-barricades-bighero16]

Chronicle of Abuse v2

Hey guys... I need help.

I've been thinking about what kind of a person my sister really is, whether all this is just sibling rivalry or she's actually been abusing me for years. I've talked to many counsellors, support staff and my therapists but they don't seem to have an answer. Maybe you'll know the better terminology to describe her behaviour and I'll let you be the judge.

When we were toddlers

Has hit me before.

Has sent me a threatening note. She even explained what it meant to me: She is allowed to hit me (repeated three times) and she is allowed to scream at me.

She abandons me whenever her friends / my older cousin comes along.

Always made me play the bad guy in our games, or in my drawings.

When we were children

Again with the threats. She threatened to tattle to our mum by using a "special device" to send her notes, and I was petrified because she would scream at me instead of disciplining me properly.

Slammed me against a wall once during a fight. I cried and my parents asked her what did she do, and she said that she did nothing.

When she first went to middle school, her own bullies got worse so she kind of took it out on me (can't really blame her for that)

Started creating some really weird stories. When I expressed that I'm uncomfortable with them, she gets angry and I have to pretend that I liked them.

Jumped out into the road many times just to avoid a dog, and throws a tantrum every time she sees one (which is a lot). You have no idea how much her dog phobia traumatized me

Sometimes says I'm not allowed to do certain things while doing the same things herself.

Told me many times that our parents are spoiling me and that I'm an entitled little brat, and she would get very upset if Mum and Dad finally agreed to get me something but she didn't have the same exact thing. In fact, now when I get something for myself, I'm kind of still dreading her throwing a fit.

After Mum almost divorced Dad over not having a cake for her birthday, my sister threatened that she would throw a tantrum like Mum did if she doesn't have a cake for her birthday. (She told me this when we're alone, I think. I forgot if Dad was present too)

My Dad has told her to not scream at me many times, but she never listened to him.

When we were teens

If I told my parents that I'm disagreeing with what my sister said (I often had to whisper), she would get really close to my face and GROWL.

We went to the same primary school and were both bullied by our classmates. When I cry, my sister tends to just tell me to shut up.

She got into Harry Potter and Game of Thrones for a bit, continuing on the weird stories. She would also read out the books in an accent that sounds more like English (which personally, I found very pretentious). I couldn't leave or she'll yell at me.

She tried to pressure me into dating boys when I came out as bi, and was very dismissive and asked me if I'm making everything related to LGBTQ+ when I came out to her as gay, and tried to adopt a more butch look.

Technically this doesn't count as affecting me, but there was a time where my sister wanted a manga but my Dad said no, so she threw another tantrum until he finally bought it for her.

She literally said "You're not allowed to treat me like this" when I'm unhappy with her. It happened a few times I think.

Demanding me to take a post down on my social media if it had swear words.

She would scream at Smokey like she did with me whenever he bit her (basically, being a typical baby kitten). I told her to not do that, her response was "What else can I do apart from screaming?"

When we are adults / Present day/ Ongoing

The transphobia. She once told me that she has heard of trans people saying that what Rowling said isn't transphobic, but now I'm pretty sure she was lying to me.

Constant, overt anti-Chinese racism. This happened after I told her her rants about dogs in the family chat are making me very uncomfortable.

Just being dismissive to literally anything that has to do with me, even when I'm trying to warn her about a cryptocurrency scam that I almost fell victim to.

So, there you have it. That's as much as I can think of right now.

I've heard from some friends that my sister might be a narcissist, while my parents often told me she has a lack of awareness of things/inertia and that she's very blunt in general. It almost felt like they're letting her get away with the stuff she did.

I've been trying to find support for dealing with a possibly abusive sibling, but I don't seem to find anything. I need your help. Please. I don't know what to do.