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idkfitememate · 1 year ago

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Mora is a God’s Best Friend Pt. 1

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૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : GN! Mora Reader x Liyue

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 4.6k

໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : Fluff, crack, reader is slightly angry, only slightly tho I promise :)

Now, you wouldn’t say you were a greedy person… which would be a huge lie because holy shit you were compared to a dragon by your friends more times than your own mother said she loved you-

When you got your paycheck - which was a very handsome paycheck mind you - you hoarded that to the best of your abilities, but when you saw something you had to have? Bought. Spent all your cash on it.

… You have to many plushies-

You weren’t exactly an avid believer in the whole “money makes the world go around!” thing, but it certainly helped. Like, have you seen how happy Elon Musk is? That bitch living the life and you want that too.

But despite your adoration to money…

THAT DID NOT MEAN YOU WANTED TO BE IT!!

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🎂🍩🍰୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

When you woke up from a nice nap after a long day of hard labor- I mean work, you couldn’t see. You also couldn’t feel your arms or legs or… well anything in general that one would say when describing their body.

You did have your five core senses though, which is nice. Well… minus sight-

You couldn’t move, and whenever you would scream the people you heard around you - their voices were muffled… were you in a pouch?? - did nothing to help.

You continued for what you assumed to be hours, never once paying mind to the fact that you never got hungry or thirsty or ran out of breath. Then you felt warmth.

Something large and warm wrapped around your form which scared the shit out of you because as far as you were concerned, you were still very human sized. You continued to scream into the darkness as you listened to the… transaction (???) going on above you and-

Wait a minute. You recognized that voice.

A lot of your money went to Genshin Impact in your day, you were what was known in the fandom as a “whale”, did I mention you got payed handsomely?

Yeah it was enough the basically be a sugar parent for all your friends.

So you heavily related to a certain character who was constantly characterized as helping another with his money problems.

Can you guess who it is?

I’ll give you five seconds to guess!

5…

4…

3…

2… fuck it I hate the suspense-

It was Childe!

And hearing his voice above you shattered what you may have thought was happening to you. Yes you may or may not have thought you were being kidnapped-

You then felt yourself get placed on another warm surface and oh god-

“All repairs will be made in a timely manner! Thank you for the patronage!”

You flipped through the air with a small ‘whoosh’ and landed back in the hand.

… WERE YOU FUCKING MORA?????

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍭🍫🍪୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Being merged to a weapon wasn’t fun.

Well at the very least you weren’t “merged” with a weapon. For some reason the blacksmith couldn’t find a way to use your specific mora body to upgrade Childe’s bow.

So there you sat as a glorified decoration. Right on the front of the bow.

But you did find something out, the second you felt yourself attach to the bow, you could suddenly see! And you could very tell that you were in Liyue, which made sense. And when you coughed on accident, the blacksmith jumped and looked around, before shrugging and turning back to her work, which meant you could now be heard as well!

All five senses back baby!

Only shitty thing was that you couldn’t move on your own, and you now noticed you were no longer hungry nor need to breathe, as well as sleep.

So you were stuck.

For four days.

Unable to speak or move.

I mean, you were still figuring out your existence yourself, no need to get anyone else involved with the process since you were beyond confused.

You’ve read the Isekai stories - and fanfics - but you had never read one personally about being isekaied as money. Yes, you have seen the vending machine one. And the one where he gets turned into a dummy ASMR head mic-

Not the point!

You were just trying to figure out how to… exist (?) like this. Which was pretty hard when coming to terms with the fact that you’d never eat your favorite foods again.

Never again…

“Thank you so much for choosing our services sir! Have a nice day!”

You were suddenly picked up and placed in the gentle care of Childe - ironic sentence I know - and off you both went.

You want to know what a weird sensation is?

Being a bow and feeling someone pluck your string.

Now yeah, that sounds super sensual but it felt more like someone… pulling your hair?? You couldn’t really place it but that was honestly the closest equivalent. Feeling him rub his hands all up and down your… body (?????) was a new experience to. Again, not sensual, just ticklish? And it sucked trying not to giggle-

God this was weird and confusing.

“Well I’m free for some time… I’m sure a little practice won’t hurt…”

Oh good god you could not catch a break.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍧🍮🍬୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

A new fear had been unlocked within you.

You, a piece of mora crudely attached to a psychopathic killers bow, had just been de-summoned.

And it hurt.

BAD.

No one will ever know what that was like, the feel yourself fading, every atom slowly falling away into nothingness, and then the silence. That cursed silence. Deep dark blackness was what you felt for what appeared to be thousands of years to your still human brain.

Never again would allow yourself to feel that pain.

As you were summoned, you continued to stare off into the distance, coming to terms with what you had just witnessed while ignoring every word that came out of Childe’s mouth.

Something or other about practicing you couldn’t give a shit.

You only watched the changing scenery around you as you and Childe wandered aimlessly through a forest.

Then he dropped to his knees suddenly, which cause you to silently curse and sputter in shock.

Did you mention you got good at that? Being silent? Because you did.

Being that you were placed on the front of the bow, you could see perfectly where he was aiming, that being a small bird that you had to squint - how you squinted? You don’t know - to see.

It was ridiculously far away, covered in leaves. You were also slightly scared because Childe was being silent.

Childe. Silent.

Not two words you ever expected to put into the same sentence - again - but here you were.

You felt the bow string being pulled back, and him lining up the shot.

Then, you felt something course through you.

Obviously it was the Hydro infused arrow he knocked onto the string, but something else flowed through you.

You could feel yourself reaching, trying to connect with something to better control this sudden power flow, and then you found a great source.

His Hydro Vision.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍰🍡🍪୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Childe was a seasoned soldier and fighter, literally anyone who met him could tell you that.

He kept that fact near and dear to his heart, that fact being why he fought so hard, to become stronger and finally find that fight that would be the end of him.

He longed for the day where he would be strong enough to fight his mentor, and weak enough to die at someone who he saw worthy enough to end his stories and legacy.

… Legacy was such a funny word to the man as all he could think of when it was spoken was his second, stronger form, Foul Legacy. Ironically, that’s what he though historians would call his stories in the far future - he would never admit how close it was due to the Electro Delusion that sapped away at his life, slower due to his strength but sucking away his soul nonetheless - would call it, a Foul Legacy.

He was self-aware enough to understand that people hated him, yet oblivious enough to leave his family in the hands of The Rooster, a man known for leveling cites before they even had the chance to riot against himself and the Tsaritsa.

He was complex in the same way he was so easy to understand.

Just as how he allowed the world to see his Vision but kept his Delusion hidden.

Just recently he had gotten his bow repaired after a… well not a hard mission more so than it was annoying.

And by the Archons it was beautiful! Any and all scratches and marks had been repaired, a new layer of pain was an added, a stronger string was restrung into it and just… mmm she was beautiful.~

The finishing touch was the little golden emblem stuck directly on the front. So shiny and pretty…

He just had to take it for a test run!

Nothing too big or anything, just a little hunting as he hadn’t indulged himself recently. Just a couple small birds or mammals nothing anyone would notice.

… No that isn’t a human corpse nu uh ya stupid-

Besides that wasn’t with his bow! That was with his blades it doesn’t count!

But anyway, he quickly spotted his first target of the day, a little finch, and aimed.

He noted that his bow, while still heavy, felt much more sturdy and the current string was stronger than his last, most likely due to the whole “new string” thing rather than being better because that old string had weathered a lot.

He quickly knocked his first arrow and took a silent breath in, calming his shaking hands and the butterflies in his stomach. Of course neither were from fear or nervousness rather than they were from excitement and dare I say ecstasy. A smile forceably carved itself into him skin as he watched how easily Hydro infused itself with his arrow.

Though almost immediately after, he felt a sudden surge of power coming from not him nor the arrow, but the bow itself.

Specifically the small golden piece sitting front and center.

This was either an unknown or well known fact depending on who you asked, but the bow was Childe’s worst used weapon. He was much more skilled with a blade - like his duel Hydro blades or the duel-bladed polearm he wielded as Foul Legacy - and he even had some experience with a catalyst, but bows just seemed so.. cowardly. Even with his catalyst he was near to his opponents as its attacks were based on his fighting style, but he personally believed that bows were for the cowardly.

Those who wanted to fight but were too weak to even dare step foot onto a battlefield.

At least that’s what he thought before Capitano shoved a bow into his arms as he complained about needing something more to do. A new challenge.

And it opened his eyes.

Bows were not for the weak rather that they were for the stealthy. Something Childe was not the best at.

He was honestly more of a ‘punch more and talk later’ kind of guy. But the bow was forcing him to learn and grow, which was more than welcome in his book.

But this power was not something he had accessed yet. Hell, he’s barely felt anything like it with any other of his weapons. Closest he has ever gotten to this kind of power would be with Foul Legacy, and even then it’d be a stretch.

He’d even have the gall to say he could never feel this kind of power from his Master.

He watched as the area he sat in was bathed in a blue glow was his Vision and the arrow he still held grew brighter and brighter. With that, a gold shined through as the small golden piece on his bow - which now that he looked closer looked almost exactly like a piece of mora, just with the details buffered out - also glowed.

He couldn’t remember picking up any kind of ‘enchanted’ mora, just one random one he found on the roads right outside of Liyue.

It didn’t seem off in anyway-

His thoughts were cut off as Hydro swirled faster and stronger around him, knocking him off his knees and onto his ass, his grip on the arrow and bow tightening.

All the animals ran - of course including the small finch he was aiming for - from the sounds and lights, and something deep and primal inside of him wanted to run as well.

Something screamed that he wasn’t supposed to see this, to feel this.

Something was wrong.

Soon enough he couldn’t keep his grip on the arrow.

He let go.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍪🍫🍩୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Everything was a blur to you.

All you knew was that you had to let go of this build up of power.

You had to.

Something bad would happen if you didn’t and god damn it you weren’t about to find out.

You truly, desperately, just wanted to go home.

The songs of narwhals and whales comforted you.

‘You will be okay’ they sang.

You would be okay.

Just let go.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍡🍪🍬୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

People in the city watched in shock as a forest not too far from the harbor became a light show of Hydro and golden light.

Small animals and creatures ran towards the city, this including monsters, but nothing stopped to attack. In fact, it seemed like everything was too scared to even consider attacking.

Ningguang and her guards quickly ran outside to asses the situation, meeting up with fellow Vision Holders on the edge of the city.

However, Xingqiu and Yelan seemed… out of it. And on top of that, Childe - though he wasn’t her favorite he was strong and could be of help - was no where to be found.

“Does anyone have a grasp on the situation?” Nigguang asked, only to receive shaken heads and no’s.

“I tried to get close,” started Xiao, “But something knocked me back. I was able to hear the Harbinger’s screams from inside, and from what I could gather, he doesn’t seem to be the… direct cause.” Despite what he said, Xiao seemed a bit upset at the fact that Childe wasn’t the true cause, likely just wanting an excuse to beat him up a little.

The Geo ridden Lady huffed befit finally turning her attention to the two Hydro users who seemed entranced by the lights.

“What are you-“

“They call to us.” Xingqiu cut her off.

“They sing for us.” Yelan finished.

Nigguang looked back to everyone else who simply shrugged, before noticing Zhongli also looked out of it, though before she could get a word out, he also spoke.

“It’s so calming… I have not felt true peace like this in…”

He didn’t even finish his sentence. His eyes, unlike the two Hydro users, were entranced by the golden lights that highlighted the light show.

Nigguang’s face was filled with confusion. Though she shook it off.

And again, before she could give out any orders, she was interrupted.

Though not by anyone, but by the lights themselves.

A flash of blue light blinded the group.

Then, the song of a group of narwhals and whales filled the sky.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍩🍮🍧୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Blue and gold light enveloped near all of Liyue, the show being noticeable by all surrounding nations, Mondstadt especially.

And the air filled with the song of Narwhal and Whale alike.

A miracle of All-Devouring Narwhals and All-Encompassing Whales swam into the sky, dancing through the clouds.

They flew gently over Liyue, the nation having been stunned into shock and stillness over the whole situation.

Nigguang watched with bated breath as they sailed by the Jade Palace, only exhaling when they passed with not problem.

Keqing watched from beside Nigguang, mesmerized at the trail of celestial power flowing behind them.

Xiao rushed up buildings in order to get closer, but was knocked back by the sheer force of their power, though he was caught by a worried Ganyu. Both landed by an armed-and-ready Shenhe, who was more than ready to attack if need be.

Xingqiu and Yelan simply stared up at the miracle, their Visions resonating with Hydro energy they released. They felt empowered, and could feel the pure raw and unfiltered strength rolling off them in waves. They wanted to be close to that power. Wanted to feel that power.

Something deep inside them wanted that power.

Everyone in the city watched as the miracle flew just above their homes and businesses, making their presence all the more apparent as they bathed the golden city in royal blue.

This continued until a small bird was dumb enough to try and take flight to get away.

This bird being the one Childe had targeted- not that anyone knew.

The Whales and Narwhals corralled the bird, forcing it to fly higher and higher into the clouds, and it wasn’t long before all ginormous creatures followed behind it.

Then an even brighter flash of blue echoed across the skyline, small star-like glitters falling to Teyvat then fading from existence before they could touch its surface. A small amount of feathers followed after.

Nigguang could feel her jaw drop.

All that… to kill a bird?????

… She was going to need a week off just to comprehend what had just happened.

Keqing pat the woman on the back, sighing in tiredness as well.

She had a sneaking suspicion that Childe may have had something to do with this… event. Gods the paperwork she was about to be loaded with…

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍬🍯🍩୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Childe had figured out what primal instinct had led him to hide in the cave he was currently tucked in.

Foul Legacy.

He had yet to really tell anyone, but due to his time in the Abyss and its creation, it was safe to say it pretty much had a mind of its own. Which wasn’t bad as it would help him to doge attacks or alert him of presences he may not have noticed himself, but the shrieking and crying he heard from it deep in his soul was enough to tell him that this whole situation was wrong.

Nothing about what just happened should have been… well it shouldn’t have happened to say anything.

He could still hear it, resonating deep inside his soul, Electro cracking out whenever he heard a noise he couldn’t identify.

It was protecting him.

As he would for it.

He didn’t dare draw another arrow from the bow in his grasp, not until he learned what the fuck just happened. Including the fact that for some odd reason, he desperately wanted to just… stare(?) at the Narwhals and Whales until they disappeared, luckily Foul Legacy snapped him right out of that and told him to find shelter.

He did have his Hydro blades out, however, patiently waiting till he - and Foul Legacy - felt safe enough to exit.

A sudden loud caw of a bird made him flinch - not his proudest moment - and kick the bow to the side. What he wasn’t expecting was the loud string of curses that came from… the… bow..?

So now it was pinned to the wall by one blade and a foot, the other blade pointed directly at… it? There were no weak points on a bow..?

…Were there..?

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍮🍨🍪୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

This is not what you wanted.

First, you get isekaied against your will; you didn’t even remember how you supposedly DIED… if you DID die anyway…

Two, you were reincarnated as MONEY. FUCKING MONEY. How does that… who comes up with that??? A fucking high schooler who has nothing better to do than write shitty fanfiction????

And finally, three… HE KICKED YOU!!! WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO THREATEN YOU?!?

You didn’t understand your powers, what the FUCK just happened, why Hydro just… became?? you??? And why on gods green earth you had to be MORA. You’re never gonna get over that you became MORA???? Like??? Really??????? Money????? You mean, you love the stuff but COME ON-

Jesus fuckin’-

Huffing at the man before you, you finally decided speak to this bitch before you because how dare he.

“Listen here-“

You were cut off by the blade moving closer to your body(??????) and Childe growling - yes. Growling - at you.

“No you listen. I don’t know what you are but what in the name of the Tsaritsa was that?”

If only this man could see your eye twitch.

“No how about YOU listen? I don’t know what the fuck that was, but I plan on figuring it out now could you PLEASE MOVE YOUR DAMN BLADES FROM MY FACE?!?!? God…”

The Hydro blades slowly removed themselves from your face, as did the boot. But you were then picked up by the man, held shockingly gently in his grip.

“What… are you?” He asked hesitantly.

“I… I honestly don’t know how to answer that question. But I’m pretty sure I’m that little Mora piece on the front.” You answered. You forced yourself to calm down. This wasn’t his fault, just so happened to be the guy who picked you up… this was going to be a mantra for a while…

“Oh… so your this little thing right here?” You felt his fingers wrap around you - and you mean your real body - and pull. Fear immediately filled your being.

“Wait! WAIT!-“ He tugged you right out, rendering you silent.

When he pulled you out, your body glowed and you reverted back to looking like a regular piece of mora. Engravings and all.

You, meanwhile, were screaming your head off, as you now knew that if removed from a weapon, you’d just be a regular ass piece of money again. Immediately you mind started racing, wondering as to way, and the only thing you could come up with was the Elemental Energy, but lore wasn’t really your strong suit… you just liked the pretty women and men…

You felt yourself gently being pressed into the slot carved for you in his bow, and started talking again.

“NEVER! Do that again, please. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t do that. You know how terrifying it is to be able to see and speak then move a couple inches and no longer be able to see or have others hear you? Fucking horrifying I’ll tell you that…” you watched the man shiver before sighing.

“Noted. Um… anything else I should be made aware of before I ask anymore questions?”

You jumped on the opportunity.

“Whenever I am apart of your weapons. Don’t. De. Summon. Them. Hurts like hell. Ever felt your molecules beings torn apart bit by bit? Not fun, don’t recommend it.” Again, Childe shivered.

“Now… you really don’t know what that was out there?” He asked again, and you sighed.

“I wish I did. I’ll admit, I was thinking of that one move you use as Foul Legacy where you summon a Whale… and a bit of your master…”

You watched as Childe’s eyes lit up.

“You know of Foul Legacy? And of my Master?” Then his eyes darkened.

“How do you know of them..?” You shivered… as well as money can shiver anyway.

“Uhm… magic?” You asked, a noticeable tilt in your voice.

His glare then lightened up.

“Oh! Like… when you attach to a weapon, you suddenly gain a bunch of knowledge on that person?” Holy shit he just gave you a way out!

“Uh… yeah! Yeah that’s exactly what it is! You figured it out! Sorry I was uh… hesitant. Just didn’t want to reveal all my secrets, you know?” Holy shit. Holy fuck. Please work please work-

“That’s really amazing! A magical piece of mora… with the ability to make your attacks beyond that of a God’s… heheheh…”

Oop. Shit. That was not good.

“Listen. I’m not going to do anything for you without my consent, you got that? I’m not even here of my own free will mind you. Just gained sentience in your bag and all of a sudden I’m a bow. This is going to be a symbiotic relationship or I’m finding someone else, alright?” You spoke up, not even hiding the fact that you were… well a little more than concerned with what he just said.

“… What are you going to do if I don’t respect your wishes?” Shit fuck shit fuck-

“… I will scream next time you use me.”

And into a standstill you both sat.

He stared at you and he could feel you glaring into him. It was probably weird feeling a bow glare into him. New feeling he never thought he’d feel before.

“… Alright. Taking someone’s free will isn’t really something I do anyway. So don’t be fearful… comrade?” Was he asking your name..?.. Eh. Comrade is nice and you don’t feel like giving it out so meh.

“Comrade works. And uhm… yeah.” Welp that was awkward. Good job 👍🏾!

The two of you continued to stare at each other in silence for a few moments.

“So… what’s your favorite dish?”

“I can’t eat asshole-“

“Childe!”

The mentioned man whipped his head in the direction of the call, honestly scaring you with how fast it moved - you are a hundred percent sure you heard a crack.

By the covered entrance of the cave stood Nigguang, Keqing, Zhongli and both Hydro Vision users. Nigguang was the one to call him.

“What are enough doing out here? Do you have any idea was caused… whatever that was?? And - as much as I hate to ask - are you alright?” She was firing questions out at an extreme speed, making both you and Childe dizzy.

“Uhm… I was hunting, I… haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about! And yes , I am okay. Thank you for asking?” You knew he sucked ass a lying but like… how did that sound convincing in anyway?? The hesitation just made it worse!-

“You haven’t the foggiest clue, you say…” Keqing asked while glaring at the ginger. Ed She Ran lookin’ headass-

“Yep! No idea, not the slightest idea, definitely wasn’t my bow or the enchanted mora on it! Nope not at all.”

The group looked at him, and he looked at them.

They looked at him, and he looked at them.

And this went on for several minutes before this super smart man said:

“Yep, not me at all.”

And before anyone coup ask questions you groaned, forcing all attention into yourself before tearing him a new one.

“You dumb motherfucker! “I haven’t the foggiest idea😢” my ass!”

“How did you say that?-“

“Shut your bitchass up before I sew it shut. I should beat your ass for that. How they fuck you gonna say some shit like that and expect them to just go “Oh okay!😚” like some dumbass?”

“No really how-“

“I will slap the stupid outta you don’t fucking test me ginger bitch. Fatherless. That’s why your father sold you ass off it’s cause you so DAMN stupid, Jesus.”

“Mora?”

“What do you fucking want you cunt.”

“… We’re still in front of people.”

“… I will not hesitate to shoot all of you-“

… Nigguang was going to have so much paperwork tonight.

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : MORA!READER MORA!READER MORA!READER MORA!READER MORA!READER LETS GIVE IT UP FOR MORA!READER!!!!! ૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა˖⁺‧₊˚

They’re here you guys!!!! Get happy get wild!!!! Holy shit that ending was mild!!! I hate it!!! Anyway-

This is gonna SAGAU because… meh. But that doesn’t matter! Their here! But I’m not done yet, next thing on my checklist is humanizing the animals (Main ones) so I’ll be be radio silent for a bit again lmao (unless I choose to post shit which is very likely-) ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Mora!Reader! More is, of course, on the way! ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა

Have a magnificent day/night my dears!~

/)/)

( . .)

c( づ♡ Loves you guys!! <3

#genshin impact sagau #sagau x reader #sagau #x reader #x gn reader #gn y/n #yandere x reader #yandere x you #Mora!Creator

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mariacallous · 4 days ago

Text

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, publicly at least, are on good terms.

Yet when it comes to the staff in and around the new administration, it’s a different story. Just two-and-a-half weeks into Trump’s second term in office, a fissure has begun to emerge following Musk’s DOGE takeover of the US government, according to a half-dozen Trump loyalist Republican aides and advisers inside and around the administration who spoke with WIRED.

“I think it’s more the staff who have an issue with Elon than President Trump,” a Republican aide familiar with the discussions around DOGE and the administration tells WIRED. This staffer, like others, requested anonymity to relay sensitive conversations due to fears of retaliation.

In the space of a couple of weeks, Elon Musk and his associates have taken control of multiple government agencies, and a cadre of young and inexperienced engineers with ties to Musk have been given access to some of the most highly sensitive federal systems through DOGE. As Musk’s associates tore through the federal apparatus over the first weekend of February, a ride-or-die MAGA Republican operative who knows President Trump personally confided something to WIRED they never thought they’d find themselves saying before the past two weeks.

“There could be a collision course coming here at some point,” they said when asked if there’s a brewing freak-out over Musk in Trumpworld. “He’s getting too big for his breeches.”

The motivations of the people WIRED has spoken with cover a wide range. Some Trump campaign veterans hope White House chief of staff Susie Wiles will intervene, while other Republican operatives think the emerging rift is a problem despite having no personal animosity toward Musk. Others stand to gain personally or professionally from a Musk ouster.

Beyond increasing frustration over Musk causing headaches for the administration—which many of these Republicans consider to be more optics issues than full-blown policy disasters—the Republicans who spoke to WIRED had little to no idea what the proper chain of communication is supposed to be between agencies and the White House.

On Tuesday, Trump went on Fox News to declare that the new DOGE staffers were actually working in the White House, even though he said he hasn’t seen them. Minutes prior, a senior White House official told WIRED that “DOGE is part of the White House” now. (Confusingly, Trump established DOGE by repurposing the existing US Digital Service as the US DOGE Service, an agency under the Office of Management and Budget, via executive order.)

The Trump White House official said DOGE checks in with them “every day.” Yet when asked about the nature of these briefings and if they could offer any specifics as to whether they take place on a schedule or with early morning priority, a common practice for those tasked with liaising between agencies and the White House, they had none.

The DOGE briefings are “as needed,” the senior White House official said.

What distinguishes this staff-level discontent from the grumblings during the transition about Musk’s proximity to and influence over Trump at Mar-a-Lago is that actual policy decisions are being made—so many and so fast that it's hard for even the president's most loyal foot soldiers to keep track.

While the staff’s qualms with Musk are rather straightforward, nobody seems to know how to handle the high-velocity and high-volume nature of the DOGE government takeover.

“Listen, when the process is going this fast, from extreme outsiders, the communication is bound to be a mess,” says Matthew Bartlett, a Republican operative and former State Department official under Trump in his first term. Bartlett says the rest of Washington is getting their first real taste of the Silicon Valley–influenced attitudes driving much of the private sector, now in the form of twentysomethings from DOGE appearing on government calls.

“I mean, listen, this goes to the old adage of Steve Jobs … finding you in the elevator and saying, give me 10 seconds to tell me what you do, and justify your job,” Bartlett claims. “That is legendary stuff in the private sector—and maybe it worked—but, there are so many nuances to government that it makes addressing and making wide, sweeping changes highly problematic.”

Republicans who landed administration jobs aren’t exactly shocked a possible rift is emerging. “Can't say a lot of that surprises me to hear,” an administration source familiar with the discussions tells WIRED. Sources say many people have turned to Wiles as one of the only people who could even attempt to reign in Musk.

“Some of it is, she’s gotta balance being the gatekeeper to the president and having Musk kinda going rogue on a lot of this stuff,” says the second Republican operative familiar with the discussions. “I think she’s very smart and very talented, and very loyal to President Trump, so she’ll think about how to navigate that best.”

That, of course, depends heavily on her boss’s desire for any sort of gatekeeping or insulation from the possible looming Musk implosion many of these Republicans are bracing for.

“I’m just hearing the president is entirely enthusiastic about his efforts, and they are working together very closely,” a source close to Trump who speaks with the president regularly told WIRED. “And that comes from someone at the very top. Not him, but someone under him.”

Without any tacit approval to step out in front of the boss, the staff are left with no other viable options to express their reservations about how Musk has been operating.

Trump’s own awareness of what DOGE is up to appeared to be in question after his Oval Office news conference on Tuesday.

Shortly after he suggested that the federal government should deploy the young DOGE staffers as air traffic controllers—“We should use some of them in the control towers, where we were putting people that were actually intellectually deficient,” the president said—the same senior White House official quickly dismissed the comment as a serious proposal.

“Lmfao no,” the White House official told WIRED in a text message. “You guys need to learn how to cover him. He was making the point that smart bright people need to be ATC’s [sic.].”

Trump simultaneously suggested the DOGE staffers are young and “very smart,” but also that “some are young, and some are not young. Some are not young at all.” He has also insisted everything is fine around Musk’s role in the administration, and that the billionaire “can't do and won't do” anything “without our approval.”

Several Republicans in and around the Trump administration declined to speak on the record about Musk, with one GOP operative summarizing the dynamic as too hot to touch.

“Off the record—yeah, I’ve heard about some of this. But, look, as of now, I’m gonna keep out of the space between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful man,” a Republican operative in Trumpworld told WIRED in an encrypted message, followed by a smiley face emoji. (This Republican later agreed to let WIRED use this quote under the condition of anonymity.)

“I have to believe a lot of this is a performance by people who are worried about getting fired,” a Trump adviser said of the staff’s patience wearing thin with the world’s richest man.

The dynamic between Trump’s loyal aides and Musk, already riddled with varying degrees of mistrust over Musk bringing in his own people, is made all the more complicated by the X owner’s relationship with Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ entourage. Musk’s ongoing work with the firm Pathway Public P2 Affairs, which is staffed by several alumni of the DeSantis campaign, continues to irk MAGA loyalists who thought DeSantis’ allies would be frozen out of the consulting space after Trump’s victory. Now, they’re in “these positions of influence … especially with Musk,” says the second Republican operative. This is a particularly fraught dynamic when it comes to Wiles, who was iced out by DeSantis after she helped him become governor of Florida.

“There’s concern about Musk and others being involved with people who went to the mat for Ron DeSantis and spent hundreds of millions of dollars against Donald Trump,” they later added, after claiming the collision course with Musk could happen sooner than expected.

There were also several Trump advisers ready to go on the record to publicly bash Musk for what they considered to be his bungled get-out-the-vote effort through America PAC after the general election, should Trump have lost. WIRED reported extensively on the working conditions of door knockers for contractors for America PAC, including a group of canvassers in Michigan who were driven around in the back of a seatless U-Haul moving van and threatened to have their pay and lodging withheld if they did not hit their quotas for Blitz Canvassing, a subcontractor for Musk’s PAC.

“Operatives that really know what’s going on, people want an audit of America PAC for the sake of America First,” a Republican operative tells WIRED.

Some of these Republicans, it seems, want a DOGE for Musk’s outside political operation. “The point is, who is auditing?” says the second Trumpworld operative.

What’s most notable about these Republicans reaching the limit of their patience with Musk is that for the most part, they were pretty big fans until recent weeks.

“I think people have been very annoyed by it,” said the Republican who wants an audit of America PAC. “And I mean, look, I think Elon's really important. Everyone's grateful. It's just sort of an unnecessary situation.”

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alexfromjersey · 1 year ago

Text

𝓛𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓓𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 & 𝓢𝓸𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓜𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓪

jenna ortega x g!poc

summary: jah and jenna struggle with the long distance.

warnings: mature language, mentions marijuana

a/n: shortest chapter I ever wrote for this series but dont say I never gave yall nothing. ngl I be forgetting that I made Jah a streamer/influencer 😂. Imma start incorporating more like social media aspects to here cause this was fun

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Series Masterlist

ONE WEEK LATER

“Yo I’m the greatest friend to ever walk planet Earth bruh. Davis finally let his balls drop and now him and Diana are going on a date together” You gushed to the brunette.

“Finally” Jenna chuckled.

It was currently 11 p.m. in London, which meant it was 6 p.m. in New York. Jenna just finished filming for the day and she needed to hear your voice. This is the first time in a week she's seen your face.

She was still on edge about Neil and hasn’t told you. She didn’t want to bring you into her mess and potentially end up finding out about her past. So she kept it to herself.

Your eyes were glued to the screen as you played Call of Duty, "Yeah I told him I'll help him plan his date since he wants to impress her."

"How sweet of you. I didn't know you had a sweet side to you sour patch kid" Jenna teased.

You stick your middle finger up at her to which she lets out a cute little giggle.

"So what's up with you? How filming going?" You asked and pushed your headphones behind your ears. Jenna had tried to stop the thoughts that ran through her mind a mile a second just now. But it was difficult when you looked good with a white tank top on displaying your tattoos, grey sweatpants, your chain dangling from your neck which she wants to grab at, and your glasses on.

After a moment, Jenna snapped out of her thoughts to answer your question, "It's going fine. Tim is forcing me to have a stunt double for the majority of my stunts which sucks because he don’t even know I’m pregnant" Jenna answered.

“Probably got that intuition” You shrugged.

“I guess. But other than that, filming is fine. Quiet little London Town that I can’t remember for the life of me” Jenna said and laid down in her bed. She let out a yawn.

“Go to sleep mamas. Call me when you get up” You said.

“No I wanna talk to you. I haven’t seen your face in a while” Jenna pouted.

You smiled, “But you need sleep. I know you probably have to get up mad early.”

“Yeah around like 4” Jenna sighed.

“See. Call me when you get me I’ll be up” You said.

"Okay," Jenna pouted. She hangs up the phone and turns over to stare at her ceiling.

She felt tears start to gather under her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. She was struggling with the just being friends with you. Each day, her feelings for you grow stronger but it was still something holding her back from pursuing you. She needed to figure it out quickly because she don’t know how much longer she can take it.

🤰🏻🩵

As the phone hung up, you let out a sigh and rubbed your face. You missed her badly. You wished you could just book a spontaneous flight over to London but you couldn’t…just yet.

You needed a distraction. You grabbed your phone and hopped onto your most used app, Twitter (you was not calling that shit X or whatever fuck Elon named. Fuck Elon Musk).

@bronxsheisty: can't wait for you to get home, we ain't got to go nowhere

Immediately, you started getting replies and quotes on your tweet.

@shiestylover: uh oh who’s this about 👀

@ghostridingwhip: jah is possibly taken? yeaaaaa let me go jump into oncoming traffic

@highondatgreen: it’s about me duh

@fnthechat: omg potential song lyrics! DROP THE SONG NOW

@modernbussywhip: i might have an idea and y’all never would of guessed it

@ghostridingwhip: oh do tell @modernbussywhip

@modernbussywhip: nah I need more evidence to support my claim but imma dm you my theory so far @ghostridingwhip

@bronxshiesty:

@modernbussywhip: oop-

@bronxshiesty: u should like share with the class @modernbussywhip

@modernbussywhip: i should share u with the class? couldn’t agree more

@bronxshiesty: oh that’s not- @modernbussywhip

@modernbussywhip:

@munchiesinmycrunchies: day 293792873 of asking for music

@ExclusiveShiestyUpdates: day 293792873 of waiting for an Instagram pic

@bronxshiesty: heard @ExclusiveShiestyUpdates

You exited out Twitter and went to Instagram. You found a pic you took yesterday and decided to post it.

bronxshiesty posted on Instagram after a while.

liked by jennaortega, davison, and 14,574 others.

bronxshiesty i was told to post on here so here u go

View all 9,836 comments

davison 🥶

↳ bronxshiesty u know the vibez

kaicenat god did

↳ bronxshiesty god did 🫣

elfanum big bronx all day 💯

↳ bronxshiesty everyday word 💯

↳ user3836 amp x shiesty collab?

↳ bronxshiesty @elfanum @kaicenat 👀

bbq.days i spy with my little eye a 5’1 boricua in the likes

kaydotnyc_ when u streaming

↳ bronxsheisty sometime tonite

mrenriquemelendez has started following bronxshiesty

aliyah.ortega has started following bronxshiesty

natalieortega1 has started following bronxshiesty

corneilo.millers has started following bronxshiesty

You don’t know what prompted you to click on Neil’s profile but you did. You saw that he was followed by Jenna and Jenna’s mother and he was a businessman. You followed back everyone and closed out your apps. Your eyes then glance down at the flyer on your coffee table. You grabbed it and exhaled deeply. You typed in the website in your phone and hit the registration button.

Here’s to opening more opportunities.

🤰🏻🩵

"I did it" You inhaled the smoke from the blunt. You leaned over and passed it to Davis who took it.

"Did what?" Davis questioned.

"I signed up for the competition. I kept staring at it on my table and just said fuck it" You shrugged and fixed your pants that were riding up your legs.

"Aye let's go" Davis cheered. He dapped you up to which you rolled your eyes at him with a smile.

"You need a musical stage name. You already got a streamer name but it won't be catchy or marketable to the music industry" Davis stated.

"I was thinking just Jah" You answered.

Davis puffed out a cloud of smoke, "Just Jah? I mean it flows sorta...Just Jah or JJ. It's aight"

"No dumbass I mean just my name Jah" You laughed.

"Oh! You could get away with it" Davis said. You knew he was high as a kite right now cause he started acting slower than usual when he was intoxicated.

The two of you then hear a ding from your phone. You grabbed it and saw it was a video from Jenna. You click on it and it starts with her showing her belly.

"Officially 14 weeks pregnant and the baby is the size of a navel orange," Jenna said and showed her belly. It was protruding more now but she was still able to hide it. Only if you got super close to her stomach you'll see she's pregnant but ain't nobody getting that close to her. "I want some oranges now. My appetite has skyrocketed now but luckily my boobs are not as tender anymore, thank god-"

In the background, you heard someone call Jenna's name. She sighed before turning back to the camera, "I have to get back on set but I just wanted to give you a quick update on us. I miss you and two months need to come quicker" Jenna said and kissed the camera. You smiled at the video and rewatched it again.

NYC 🩵:

miss you too 😘❤️

i also want some oranges now

"You know for two people to say that they’re just friends. Yall sure do act like a couple." Davis asked.

“No we don’t. Two friends can’t say they miss each other now” You questioned.

“I’m not talking about that. It’s your body language and the way you act around each other that’s unfriendly like�� Davis said.

You suck your teeth, “You go to Hollywood and become an expert in body language and shit.”

“I’m just saying. The two of you need to stop whatever the fuck this is and just get together.” Davis shrugged.

You sighed, “You don’t think I want that. I haven’t been in a relationship in mad long. But something feels different with her like different in a way I never felt in a relationship before. I miss her being around, talking to her, and even just showing her around the Bronx. It's weird feeling this way...a good weird.” You finished off the blunt in your hand.

"It's called love nigga" Davis laughed.

“Alright let’s settle down. That’s a big word to be assuming” You said.

Davis chuckled, “Have your ever been in love before?”

You open your mouth to answer yes but you stop yourself and really think if you actually been in love or not. Sure you’ve been in relationships with girls before but they never made you feel like this. You never felt this way about a girl before.

“I’m guessing that’s a no” Davis chuckled.

“Shut up” You grumble and placed your hands in your pants. You get comfortable on your couch letting the effects of the marijuana relax your mind and body. Davis started drifting off to sleep next to you. But suddenly, your mind starts to overthink about the prior conversation.

Shit, now this was gonna be on your mind all night.

🤰🏻🩵

a/n: i want someone to take care of me like that black woman be taking care of her pitbull on TikTok

taglist: @grandpatrolnut @raven-ss @fanboy7794 @morganismspam23 @cinffy23 @darklron @cheesybacon1 @octavias-next-meat-bite @playboysaleen @niqmandu @zaclewiss @yescruzzzzzzz @silentfor @gemz5 @alwaysdangerouschild @onceblinkarmyandmore @melonfruit442 @zataracloud @nepobaby08 @jennasslut @rimaybank @jaewu @j3nc0re

#jenna ortega #jenna ortega x reader #g!p reader #nycxhollywood #jenna marie ortega #jenna ortega x oc #jenna ortega x you #Spotify

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loutnoot · 20 days ago

Text

Forbidden Lovers

✦ Paring: Donald Trump x Elon Musk

✦ Word Count: ~900 words

✦ Summary: After being inaugurated as the 47th POTUS, Donald Trump finds himself alone in the Oval Office with his forbidden lover, Elon Musk.

✦ Wanings: 18+ satire, implied sex, misogynistic topics, getting off on the idea of persecuting women, false encounters, not proofread/edited (I had a vision)

✦THIS IS A JOKE!!! All actions and encounters in this post are FICTIONAL!! Although Donald Trump and Elon Musk are REAL PEOPLE, I AM NOT AT ALL associated with EITHER OF THEM!!! I would also like to note that this is NOT A FANFICTION!! It is fiction, but I am not a little fanboy over Elon Musk and/or Donald Trump and their weird ass gay-coded relationship!! Thx <3

Trump's POV:

As I walked through the White House, a feeling of nostalgia struck me. I found myself in the same place I was just four years ago, today. Back then, I was full of so much hope. . .so much certainty. . .and now here I was, more scared and uncertain than I have ever been.

I held my wife's hand just moments ago, but my nerves were still ablaze. Melania has been very bitter towards me. Her period has lasted six years three months and ten days now since she refuses to have sex with me.

"Hey, Donald." My thoughts were interrupted by Elon as he spotted me down the hallway.

"Elon. . .please, join me." I welcomed him into the Oval Office, locking the door behind us.

There was a moment of silence as we looked into each other's eyes. The tension in the air grew thick and I feared Elon could hear my thoughts. With the way he stared at me; it almost seemed he could.

"Are you doing okay, Donnie?"

My heart fluttered. Every time he used that nickname, I'd fold. The first time he used it was when he was begging me to allow him to lead my new Department of Government Efficiency. I just can't say no to that face.

"I'm scared, Elon. It was a miracle that I got the majority electoral votes. I just don't understand why. . .I don't deserve this." I sighed, my hands in my pockets and my head down.

"Donald, remember that only 150 out of the 538 electoral votes are that of women." Elon stated. It made total sense. "Those women who voted for Harris only had a small dent in the men who voted for me." I stated. . .but paused. "What about the citizens? Women outnumber men by 2.5 million."

Elon laughed, walking closer to me. "Don't you know? Electoral votes are all that matter, which is why you and I put more men as representatives than women. So that men always win."

Of course. "Oh, Elon. You're always able to calm my suspicions on voter fraud. I just wish that. . ." He was now inches away from me. I could hear his breath and see the wrinkles on his face. My eyes flickered down to his lips. I could feel my palms grow sweaty.

"What are we going to do? I have concepts of a plan." I whispered. There was no need to be any louder with how close he was to me.

Elon brought his right hand to my left cheek. My breath hitched at the contact. I could feel my cheeks flush. "We'll figure it out. Or we can hire someone else to figure it out and then blame them when things go wrong."

I smiled, leaning into his touch. "You always know what to say." I confessed.

"That's why we are best friends. So much money we hold, that only we can understand each other." Elon whispered, batting his eyelashes at me.

For a few seconds, we stared at each other. An urge grew within me, I only wished that he felt the same. Realization came upon me, and I pushed myself away.

"Oh, this is wrong! I already declared that a relationship was between a man and a woman! Any other same sex encounters are immoral. . .ungodly." I sighed in disappointment.

"Donnie. . ." Elon came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Remember New Year's Eve?" I could feel my face grow hot.

"How could I forget?" I muttered. "That was the best experience I have ever had."

"When we kissed, Donnie. . .it meant something to me. How many times do I have to remind you of our hypocrisy and the fact that we can get away with anything because we're white married man? There's nothing wrong with watching another man masturbate." His words made me smile in realization. The memories of that night flooded my mind, causing me to let out a breathy laugh.

"Donald. . .please. Know that everything will be okay. We can do this. . . together." Elon grabbed my hands and turned me to face him, bringing a hand to his lips and placing a kiss upon my knuckles.

I felt my heart skip a beat as I paused to take in his words. "You're right. So many accusations on my head and yet. . .I get away with it, because I'm rich, white, and married. I wish I could be with you forever." I confessed.

"Don't be gay, Donald." Elon said.

"Don't worry. . ." I paused, leaning closer to him. "I have socks on." I said before placing my lips to his in a totally straight and passionate kiss. One that could only be shared between too unhappily married men.

As we pulled apart, there was a loud knock on the door.

"President Trump! We must begin signing these executive orders." I heard my Vice President, Vance, call from behind the doors. Vance's voice broke me out of my fantasy and forced Elon and I to break apart.

"Of course, Vice President Vance. I will be right out."

Elon and I shared a final look before I unlocked the door and motioned him out. We shared a longing look as he left the Oval Office.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Donnie." Elon said, smiling and waving goodbye.

"Goodbye."

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

AGAIN!!!! THIS IS A JOKE!!! All actions and encounters in this post are FICTIONAL!! Although Donald Trump and Elon Musk are REAL PEOPLE, I AM NOT AT ALL associated with EITHER OF THEM!!! I would also like to note that this is NOT A FANFICTION!! It is fiction, but I am not a little fanboy over Elon Musk and/or Donald Trump and their weird ass gay-coded relationship!! Thx <3

#donald trump #elon musk #political fiction #trump uwu #fuck elon #elon uwu #trump x musk #trump x elon #fuck trump #maga #fuck maga #satire #republicans #democrats #POTUS

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itsallpoliticsstupid · 2 months ago

Text

The US Presidential Election 2024 - A mini Deep Dive into what went wrong for the Democrats

I would say this will be my last post on the US Presidential Election of 2024, but we all know it won't be.

I wanted to bring all my thoughts together as to what I perceive the biggest issues for the Democrats were, and how this needs to be rectified in 2028. Well, they won't listen to some random person on a Politics blog with *checks* 44 followers (oh hi, thanks for following), but this is my opinion.

And interestingly, it all starts with the sale of a certain social media platform.

October 2022 - Elon Musk buys Twitter

In my personal opinion the acquisition of Twitter was a major contributing factor to how the election was won. Elon Musk has never been quiet about his Political leanings being closer to the Conservative ideology and how he believed that it was wrong to silence those on the right for their views. So Trump et al. Going as far as to reinstate their accounts.

We all know that Twitter has now become a very toxic place. With extreme ideological views. I feel it was easy to use this platform to peddle a more Trump ideal for the election. It's still one of the biggest platforms out there, why wouldn't it be used to try and win an election. And without it, it would have made things significantly harder for the Republicans to reach a larger audience.

Anyway, this isn't just me twitter bashing. This is me actually analyzing what the situation is.

So back to what the Democrats did wrong.

Joe Biden confirms he will run for President

I believe the election was lost from the moment that Joe Biden made the decision to stand as President for a second term.

This is where everything fell apart, and set a tone for the remainder of the election. Joe Biden was not medically fit to run for the Presidency, and it had been so clear towards the end of his first term as President. You could see he was struggling in front of camera. Getting words wrong. Forgetting the most basic of things. It was a bad look for the Democrat's, and something that the Republican's could easily jump on.

It meant they could capitalize on it and make the Democrat's look like a party of weak leadership.

By the time he dropped out, Kamala Harris had approximately 100 days of campaigning. It wasn't enough. It didn't allow her to really put herself forward as an ideal candidate.

Which leads me to...

Kamala Harris - what did she stand for?

Outside of the right to healthcare/abortions I can't name what Kamala Harris stood for in this election. To me she was a status quo candidate at a time where American's needed assurances due to the increase in cost of living; terrible wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; and high levels of immigration.

Regardless of how bad Trump's policies were (and as we are seeing they are BAD) they were offering an alternative. One that people have been crying out for because they're struggling with the most basic things in their life.

Unfortunately the alternative is likely to make things significantly worse for the American people. But when somebody is saying they will lower costs for you, it's something you take at face value. Especially if you don't necessary understand the impact of raising tariffs or the removal of the affordable care act.

It's just sad that the Democrat campaign was so bad and didn't offer an alternative, it allowed this to happen.

Celebrity Endorsements

I was in two minds about what to put next. This or negative campaigning. But I think this one works.

Whilst Trump was backed by people like Elon Musk, I don't believe he had anywhere near the level of celebrity endorsements that Kamala had, and it very often doesn't work in a persons favor for a couple of reasons.

The first is I think there was a heavy reliance on people listening to their favorite celebrities when considering who to vote for. But in many cases, people will see an endorsement from Taylor Swift, or Misha Collins, or Bruce Springsteen and think 'well, what the hell do they know about what I am currently facing.' A lot of people will view celebrities as out of touch with the reality of today's world.

I'm not saying this is always the case. But that's what the average voter who has zero understanding of Politics will think. That somebody who has millions in the bank will never understand the struggles of having to hold down three jobs to feed your children, or pay your mortgage. And yes, there is a level of cognitive dissonance there because they don't think the same for Trump or Musk, but they seem them as a ruling elite who have the knowledge to make things better for the country. Not just a 'bleeding heart liberal' who just hates the right and has no business being in Politics.

I see the second that it took away from Kamala Harris as a candidate, and shielded a lot of the issues that she had. I think the endorsements worked for Obama because he had charisma. He offered something different. But for Harris, it was just a shield to show she had nothing.

And really, for the reasons above, it was a shield that didn't work as many people were turned off and inevitably chose not to vote.

Negative Campaigning

It never works. It's as simple as that. It never works.

And ultimately I feel that's what the Democrat campaign boiled down to. Being as negative as possible about the Republican's. About their views on abortion. About how many of them are Russian sympathisers. About Trump's health. And that always leaves people thinking 'they can't be that bad though.' And I think a lot of people got turned off by voting Democrat for that reason.

There is more. If I was to do more research I could continue for hours with this. Maybe I will come back with a part 2 when I have had more time to digest everything. But right now, these to me have been the biggest drivers behind the Democrat's losing the election.

And not the fact Kamala Harris was a woman like some people who like to believe.

It's time for the Democrats to stop burying their head in the sand and listen in time for the 2028 election.

#politics #election 2024 #democrats #us politics #american politics #2024 presidential election #us elections #kamala harris #donald trump #joe biden #bruce springsteen #misha collins #taylor swift #celebrity endorsement #republicans

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sevdrag · 1 year ago

Note

hello sev i am sorry to bother you but. if you have the time. could you PLEASE elaborate on how you thought elon musk was a tumblr meme i have not been able to stop thinking about it

So. The first thing you need to know about me is that I haven't been able to follow the news for the last, like, well. About 10 years. First I was in a black-hole-of-employment, and then once 2016 hit, reading the news just made me unhealthy levels of furious. So I stopped doing it for my own sanity. This, more than anything, allowed me to live a blissful life where Actual Husband could update me every weekend on anything important, while I had a drink in my hand. I ignored as much news as I could during those years, cause it turned me into something horrible. So! That's the foundation of this story.

I also don't pay attention to, like, famous people and stuff. At all. I thought the band was called One Directional, okay? I am happy in my little corner.

The second thing to note is that while I'm quite intelligent, I also am incredibly scatter-brained. It's the ADHD.

The third is to note that I'm a heavy Tumblr user. I've curated my dash here to show me, mostly, things I like to see. It's relaxing.

So I saw all the memes about Glup Shitto and Blorbo and a million other made-up Tumblr names (whatever they were back in like 2015-ish) during my daily lunchtime scroll, right? SO when I see a post about a guy named Elon Musk, paired with something absolutely fucking ridiculous, my brain just goes: Oh. Tumblr made up another meme guy. This one's rich. That's funny.

I don't remember, but I'm possibly even reblogging stuff about Elon Musk during this time, still thinking it's a meme name. I mean, look at it. Elon Musk. Sorry, dudebro, but your name be dumb.

Elon Musk wants to build his own spaceship. Okay, Tumblr. Sure. It's like a Tony Stark that's just buttfuckingly stupid. I get the meme. Cause, like, he does crazy fucking stuff, right? Crazy stupid stuff. Gotta be a meme. Tumblr's really going for it, I think. Alright.

Anyway, Elon Musk comes up in a Discord GC one day, and my friends are talking about him like he's a real person, and I just said:

Hold on. I thought he was a meme.

Chat, of course, is silent for a drastically embarrassing amount of time, and then explodes.

And that's how I learned, in front of a bunch of friends, that Elon Musk was NOT a tumblr meme character, but a real-life idiot doing real-life crazy ass shit. It took me a humiliatingly-ass time to realize it, and I DO still get Sevdragged about it to this very day.

tl;dr due to my head-in-the-sand tendencies and my love of Tumblr, unlike the rest of you, I had a blissful period in my life where Elon Musk was completely made-up.

I wish that were still true.

#elon musk #shitposts by sev #thanks jorts #sevdrag gets sevdragged #its okay #the story is actually too funny to not share #sometimes i am an idiot

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kawaiibunnora · 8 months ago

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Top 10 Game Changer Episodes

In lieu of the recent WatchMojo video, Top 10 Best Game Changer Episodes, I feel like making my own top 10 Game Changer eps in spite of them. (fyi I will be grouping any repeating episodes into one unit. Ex: Sam Says, Sam Says 2, and Sam Says 3 would all count for "Sam Says")

10. Bingo The reason this episode makes it into my person top 10 is because of how many times I was caught off guard. The plot twist AFTER the plot twist made this episode such a fun watch. Also I love seeing the cast torture Brennan by making him "defend" Elon Musk /lh

9. Deja vu Everybody do the Wenis! The Wenis is a dance. Everybody is a genius who knows it in advance! This episode has such a great cast and the reoccurring bits were so fun. I loved how they started bribing Brian to stay quiet, and I'm personally just a huge sucker for time loops (one of my favorite games is In Stars and Time)

8. Yes or No Do I even need to explain this one? Just go watch the clip if you dont know why this is here. Look up "Brennan Lee Mulligan monologue" and you'll understand why this episode is in the top 10. The only reason the episode isnt any higher is because the bulk of the episode is pretty forgettable.

7. Second Place Another Brennan monologue!!! Honestly, If Brennan stares into the camera and monologues for a solid minute or two, that episode is guaranteed to be in the top 10, but, what puts this episode above Yes or No is the episode itself. The cast is so full of life and passion, and Brennan's consistent philosophy throughout the whole episode makes it one of the greats.

6. Don't Cry I have been a Dropout member for 2-ish years now. When I first became a member, I binge-watched all of Game Changer. Or at least I thought I did. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I saw someone mention Don't Cry and I had no idea what episode it was. So I went back, watched the episode, and was in tears by the end of it. Not only is the episode a beautiful gesture for an amazing writer and comedian, but every word spoken felt genuine, which made the entire episode so much more impactful.

5. A Game Most Changed Every single Dropout cast member is extremely talented, but not once have I seen an improve show as breathtaking and skillful as A Game Most Changed. The amount of skill and talent that is required to improvise an entire Shakespearean play while being thrown those curveballs- the insane coordination between the three actors, with each setting the others up for points. Despite playing for points, the cast frequently set up the others to succeed, favoring storytelling over winning. Absolutely beautiful.

4. Escape The Backroom Pure, unadulterated entertainment. Watching 3 grown adults go ape shit trying to solve puzzles and escape an escape room while unsubtly threatening their captor. Brennan, Lou, and Siobhan have such good chemistry as a team, leading to some of my all-time favorite Game Changer clips. The creation of an entire story for the escape room was inspired, and Sam's switch at the end was just the cherry on top.

3. Sam Says Whenever I have a friend over and I want to show them one Game Changer episode to represent EVERYTHING that Game Changer can be, I show them Sam Says. Each episode has an amazing cast that bounces off each other, and each episode continues to surprise and delight me. Personally, I think Sam Says 2 is the best, but all 3 are fun, high-energy, and insane. Perfect for comedy television.

2. Survivor The tension. The trust. The drama. The betrayal. And, most importantly, the funnies. These episodes have it all and more! In a game where relationships ARE the game, we, as the audience, get invested in each player. And as Brennan seemingly schemes and plots his way to victory, Lou manages to rival Brennan and best him in a game of trust and loyalty. Survivor truly shows what Game Changer can be, and as we see in later seasons, the show keeps evolving from there.

1. Make Some Noise Season 1, Episode 2. SEASON 1, EPISODE 2. Clipped so much that it got it's own show which is now clipped even more. The reason many people sign up for Dropout (and for good reason), this episode puts 3 of the most talented comedians in a space to just be funny. These episodes not only contain some of the best Game Changer moments, but they contain the best Dropout moments, the best impressions, and the best jokes I've ever heard. It's no wonder that these episodes got spun-off into its own show, which is now one of the primary advertisements for Dropout in the form of YT shorts. Brennan, Zac, and Josh are all so talented in drastically different ways, and by putting all three together, something magical happens. Make Some Noise is the gateway into all of the amazing content on Dropout. It is the best episode of Game Changer without a doubt. Season 1, Episode 2, Game Changer, Dropout.tv.

#dropout #game changer #make some noise #college humor #sam reich #brennan lee mulligan

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blazehedgehog · 20 days ago

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What do you think of the whole TikTok situation?

It's about control. The United States government is losing control of their propaganda. Mitt Romney recently admitted that the "nationwide support for the Tiktok ban" was more about preventing people from seeing the truth of what was really happening in Gaza.

Since Tiktok was restored, users have noted it's a little more difficult to search certain terms, like "fascism." Less results come up, and in some cases, no results come up at all, even though there used to be content there.

But the thing I want people to keep in mind is what's observably happening to Twitter right now: when Twitter was purchased, it was revealed to be a lot more left leaning then we thought. And by his own admission, Elon Musk bought Twitter because he wanted to destroy its left-leaning tendencies and forcibly drag it to the right. (Or, you know, drag it towards whatever this hand gesture is supposed to mean)

But you know what happened when he did that? Twitter lost 75% of its userbase. People don't actually want that. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

If people are going to Tiktok in search of some greater truth that the American government doesn't want them to see, they will find a new place to get it from. And the harder the American government squeezes, the more obvious the propaganda looks.

For what it's worth, I never used Tiktok. I never had an account. Friends link me Tiktoks, and I follow a Tiktok repost account on here (which only posts maybe once a day), but by and large I have avoided the service for the same reasons I avoided Vine.

I have been around long enough that I know if I indulge my attention span to embrace its worst tendencies then it actively makes me a worse person. It's like eating nothing but junk food. You become fat and lazy and your health deteriorates. Ingesting material designed to feed a bad attention span just makes your attention span worse.

Also, it's just chock full of people stealing content, there's almost no money to be made, the metrics are insane, and most short form content is just plain old straight up annoying as hell. It is cocomelon but for teenagers. My brain does not deserve to rot and neither does yours.

Drew Gooden has a good bit about this, when talking about how so many videos only exist to waste your time, about how there are two types of videos: the most obnoxious six seconds ever recorded and something that did not need to be six hours. And how weird it is that people forgot there can be a middle ground between those two points.

Vine did not last very long. Quibi did not last very long. If this is the death knell for Tiktok, so be it. May it drag Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts down with it.

#questions #Anonymous #tiktok #youtube shorts #instagram reels #vine #quibi #drew gooden

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goodluckclove · 2 months ago

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A Meandering Ramble on AI Art Because I Have a Cold and I'm here to Hopefully Not Start an Argument.

Okay, so I had someone comment on some post I made about writing advice that causes shame, and they decided to add the clarification that my words didn't apply to people who use AI in their writing. I responded, mainly saying that I saw their point, but that I'd say shaming someone who uses AI in any fashion is far more likely to just get that person to double down. They seemed annoyed by me saying this for a variety of reasons. I blocked them because if someone says "it's not my job to educate" it's rarely an earned perspective and it only reminds me how it's not my job to have a conversation with them.

It is my job to make too-long essays about things to help me process thoughts in a way other people might find interesting. So for your consideration I have a sort of wandering, cough-syrup addled Think Piece about AI art that is not pro-GenAI, but also doesn't just say fuck AI and fuck anyone who uses it because that is also wrong. I have a ton of links that I'm hoping are right, as well as a ton of outsider/folk artists, as well as a few AI artists I think are great.

Also there's a drawing of Link I did. He's nude. There's no dick but it's still very bad. He's either about to eat trash off the ground or he's screaming at a bit of hot dog.

Enjoy???

I mean I get it. I'm also easily aggravated by the type of person who is staunchly, aggressively defensive over Generative AI tools. They might be the kind to talk about the "democratization of art" and how genAI means anyone can be an artist. This line of thinking makes me very angry - not because I don't think anyone can be an artist, but because the fact that so many have been sold on needing some Big Tech start up to make that happen is infuriating. Anyone can already be an artist.

Anyone can be an artist. Anyone. Anyone can be an artist! This has been a case for a long, long time.

I get the sort of novelty of image and text generators. I'll go ahead and say what other writers might be unwilling to admit - if there was a provably ethical LLM I would absolutely love to collaborate on it for a project. The ethics of a lot of genAI is debatable - truly coasting on legal gray areas and hidden opt-out buttons - but it's enough that I'm not into it. Even without the practices of OpenAI, a company where every headline I see around it makes them sound comically sketchy. A lot of the reasons why I wouldn't collaborate with an LLM as they are now are the same things that would keep me from collaborating with another human writer (Maybe stealing, almost certainly wrong about potentially important things, loved by Elon Musk, ect.).

But I don't see myself ever using a genAI to do the entirety of any of the writing process for me - because I enjoy writing. I've been doing it for a long time now. I am objectively skilled enough that a select populous of people are willing to pay me for it on purpose, and since I find it fun and fulfilling I have yet to found a form of even minor automation that appeals to me.

But I also draw and paint, and I am far less skilled at that than I am at writing. I could certainly tweak at various Midjourney prompts to create something visually cool, but if I did that I'd be robbing myself the joy that came from trying to draw Link from Legend of Zelda from memory (he's either eating trash or lamenting his fallen lunch, I can't decide).

My wife saw this and their first note was that he "looks like the Grinch". Their second note was that his ass should be bigger. They also drew the fart cloud. Collaboration. This was the hardest I've laughed all day.

If you're a person who uses AI to help in art, or to do the entirety of image/writing/music creation - at this point you have to know the arguments against it. GenAI uses energy for each output - more for images than text, probably even more for videos. But so do tons of other things.

I did my best to research and calculate, and it seems like every 100 outputs of genAI images uses roughly .29 kWh, which is the rough equivalent of three hours of streaming video, running a Dyson vacuum cleaner for an hour, or using an average microwave for 10 minutes straight. It also uses water to cool the servers, right? A lot of water during a time of looming water scarcity across the globe. It's pretty likely that the water is being reused through a closed-loop system, meaning the 16 ounces that are spent for every 5-50 queries on ChatGPT aren't likely to go to waste. But with the exponential spike of data centers being built - some in parts of the country that require far more water to stay cool - that's still a pretty big water footprint. It does good, useful things for society and it's also used for crimes. This is true for most technology. But it seems, from what I've seen, that the parts of AI that are the most accessible to the public at large (GenAI mainly, run by a select major companies) are the ones most likely to be used for questionable purposes right around now.

But in all honesty I don't imagine a majority of people using genAI are using it for crime, or even deepfaked nudes. It's happening, but I imagine that's a loud minority. I don't even think most people using it to tout about being artists. I imagine most people just find it novel, or an accessible way to get into a craft that otherwise feels unavailable for them for whatever reason.

For a lot of people with no experience in forming any sort of creative practice, the concept of a machine that can fairly effectively mimic the styles of existing artists without their consent might come across as inconsequential. It might even get harder to find that understanding as you get deeper and deeper in the practice of genAI art - which, as far as I understand it, removes the creator entirely from developing an individual style.

When I say style in this point, I don't mean a completely original perspective free of any outside influence. I mean a combination of background, influence, and medium used that allows someone to recognize you in your work without you needing to say you made it. I know my writing is not entirely original. I can happily list what I've been influenced by. At the same time, I've heard a lot that people can tell my writing just on paper without my name attached at all. I believe there are ways to train a genAI to create an effect similar to this, but I'm also certain that it would require a technological influence that most people using the main programs out there don't have.

Because there's good AI Art. I'm not afraid to say it. There's AI art that I find super interesting and would pay money to see. Anna Ridler created a piece called "Mosaic Virus" that uses machine learning to generate a morphing video of tulips blooming that changes based on the market value of bitcoin. She created her own dataset. This rules and I love it. 1 the Road is an AI-written novel composed across a massive real-world road-trip by Ross Goodwin, a creative technologist. I won't call him a novelist - but neither would he. He did strap a surveillance camera on the car he drove, rigged it with a microphone and GPS, and put a shit ton of effort into something I will say sounds abstract and pretty rad.

The AI artists I think that don't really struggle to sell and exhibit and overall collect accolades for their work, from what I've seen, tend to be people who put a ton of effort into the structure of the AI itself. The artists who create from existing programs are limited by what that program is trained off of, unless they alter or edit their work after the fact.

And I know people who do the latter. My own view on how valid of a choice that is depends on the intent of the work, the meaning behind having the foundation be generated, and how you choose to credit it once it's done. In a lot of cases I just sort of tend to wonder why people think they need the machine to start at all.

I get it's hard to start making an individual piece. It's even harder to start making art at all, especially if you were taught to think somehow that you aren't a "naturally creative person". If that's you then I'm sorry, because that means you somehow internalized a pretty terrible lie.

We're a creative species. Just because it doesn't fit within the deeply narrow spectrum of Marketable, Blockbuster, Bestseller Creativity, doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile.

You can only draw stick figures? Great maybe you should give one of them a hat and then he'll be a Hat Guy. You can't even draw a straight line? Sick, sounds like these are going to be some Wiggly Stick Figures and at least one of them will have a hat. That rules.

You don't know what to write? What if a guy bought a new hat? What if the hat was cursed? What if the guy was Naruto? I don't know man I've taken a lot of cough syrup today and most of my suggestions are hat-based, I'm finding.

People might give you shit. They might give "constructive criticism" - a phrase I learned quickly that people online use very loosely. And that can be scary and discouraging. I'm not going to try and say you should do it anyway because it's the Ethically Right thing to do because I have seen the way some people treat newer artists and it made me so fucking grateful I didn't share really anything I did online until I was pretty settled in my own personal vibe.

But if you use genAI because you think it does something you can't otherwise do - you can do things too. And it might be worth trying sometimes, even if you never share it. You might think it's bad - but if you don't treat that like a failure of your character it doesn't feel as important.

Might I offer as example - my son, Fart Ass Trash Link?

My child. My legacy. My wife insisted that sometimes Link would go fully nude. I understand now that they were fucking with me.

#hot takes i guess #long reads #on art #on writing #i actually don't want to attach any ai tags to this #i kind of think both of them will be upset at me

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 months ago

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Leopards Are Telling You That They Will Eat YOUR Face

By Paul Krugman

Opinion Columnist

Do you know this widely cited meme, introduced in a 2015 tweet?

“I never thought leopards would eat MY face,” sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.

It’s hard to explain why this is perfect, but it is. If Donald Trump wins, there will eventually be a lot of sobbing among people who voted for him.

Some of this will involve the frightening reality of authoritarianism; if you think you’ll be unaffected by a second Trump presidency because you aren’t undocumented or Puerto Rican or a Democratic politician, I encourage you to reassess. But I’ll get to that next week. Today I want to talk about more prosaic economic issues.

Many analysts have pointed out that Trump’s proposed tariffs would hurt most Americans, with only high-income individuals gaining enough from his tax cuts to make up the difference. Trump, of course, insists that taxes on imports — which are, essentially, a sales tax — won’t hurt American consumers. But, as The Washington Post reports, corporations are already getting ready to raise prices.

The inflationary impact of tariffs will, however, probably be only the beginning of the pain for millions of Americans if Trump wins. Over the past few days, two people who will very likely have a lot of policy influence if Republicans prevail have let the leopard out of the bag on what else we should expect from a Trump administration.

Perhaps most notably, Elon Musk — who Trump promises to appoint as the head of a government efficiency commission — says he could cut “at least $2 trillion” in federal spending, around 30 percent of the budget, declaring that it would be relatively easy given the amount of government waste, although he recently acknowledged that doing so “necessarily involves some temporary hardship.”

Those remarks alone tell you two things. First, that Musk doesn’t understand federal spending. Second, a new Trump administration would probably inflict a lot of hardship on millions of Americans, and it’s unlikely that it would be temporary.

Does the government waste money? Of course it does; so does every large organization — do you believe that every dollar Tesla disburses is well spent? But anyone asserting that waste accounts for a large fraction of federal spending really has no idea what the government does.

The federal government is best thought of as an insurance company with an army. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, military spending, plus veterans’ benefits and interest payments on the debt account for about three-quarters of overall spending. Much of the rest involves essential functions of government, from operating the courts to providing air traffic control.

So any attempt at spending reductions on the scale Musk is talking about would necessarily involve savage cuts in programs millions of people depend on. Trump has said that he won’t cut Social Security or Medicare, but his tax proposals would undermine their finances, and he conspicuously hasn’t exempted Medicaid, which covers around 70 million people.

Musk-style spending cuts, then, would almost certainly result in hardship for many Americans.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson is promising “massive reform” of the Affordable Care Act — “no Obamacare,” he declared. We don’t need to speculate about what that would mean. In 2017, Trump and his congressional allies almost passed a health care “reform” that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would have increased, by 2026, the number of Americans without health insurance by 23 million; those losing coverage would disproportionately be Americans with preexisting conditions, who need insurance most.

Many potential Trump voters are probably unaware of what’s in store and imagine that Trump would just snap his fingers and “fix” what he insists is a terrible economy. The reality, however, is that America’s economic performance under the Biden-Harris administration has been very good, especially compared with that of other countries. We’ve grown much faster than any other major wealthy nation, and we’ve substantially outperformed projections, both those made before Covid-19 struck and those made at the beginning of the Biden administration.

This achievement, says The Wall Street Journal, is “remarkable”; The Economist calls it “glorious.” Neither is what you’d call a left-wing rag.

It’s true that we had a burst of inflation in 2021 and 2022. But that was a global phenomenon; other nations had similar bursts. Furthermore, inflation has come way down, and although many remain upset, understandably, about the higher level of prices, most workers, especially the lowest paid, have seen wages outpace inflation since the start of the pandemic.

By the way: When Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign proclaimed “It’s morning again in America,” both unemployment and inflation were substantially higher than they are now.

Would Trump do even better than Biden? Or better than Kamala Harris? There’s an unusual consensus among economists that Trump would preside over a worse economy, especially higher inflation, than Harris.

If he wins, many Trump voters are likely to experience buyer’s remorse.

Will they express their disappointment at the ballot box in 2028? They will if they can. But that assumes a free and fair election. Trump has given us plenty of reason to believe that if he wins, 2024 may be the last time America has anything resembling that.

#election 2024 #economic plans #Paul Krugman #Leopards will eat your face

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