#I'd call up Elon Musk to ask him about it

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

Okay, so if you've been anywhere online recently, you may have come across Elon Musk bringing up the issue of grooming gangs that happened over a decade ago in the UK.

And as you can guess, it's a lot of misinformation, and I partly wanted to fact check it in a post out of anger but the other part didn't want to give the "Musk Manufactured News Agenda" oxygen.

However, I just came out of an online town hall on Zeteo (I'd really recommend subscribing to them) with Medhi Hasan and Nazir Afzal - who led the prosecutions for the grooming gangs and continues prosecuting people for this to this day - and I made some notes and I might as well share them:

For all Elon, his ilk and now the Tories calls for a national inquiry on this, we've already had one and several local enquiries as well. The inquiry done for Rotherham was completed in 2013, and the inquiry done on child sex abuse nationwide was completed in 2022.

Not only were the Tories in power when those inquiries were completed, the Tories also decided to implement none of the recommendations made in these reports.

Liz Truss is sat on Twitter talking about how shameful it is that the government are not doing anything, but that second report was completed before she lost to the lettuce.

Boris Johnson called these inquiries a waste of money.

Afzal gave evidence 14 years ago to the government and asked for research to be completed on why men in Muslim and/or Pakistani communities were committing these crimes and no research was completed.

As is, however, 88% of sex offending is committed by white men according to Afzal.

Also, data about ethnicities has not been consistently collected by police. This is once again something Afzal made recommendations on 10 years ago that has not been implemented.

Overall, we've had inquiries on this and the Tories did nothing with the results of them.

Neither Afzal nor David Greenwood (the solicitor for many of the victims) believe another inquiry is needed. They feel it is time to act on the past inquiries.

Hasan did ask Afzal about David Greenwood reporting seeing evidence of police collusion with the grooming gangs. Though Afzal didn't confirm that and rather blamed the failings on incompetence, he did say that if any inquiry is needed, it would be a police inquiry to investigate these claims.

On another note, Keir Starmer did not block prosecution of Jimmy Savile. Alison Levitt's 2013 report exonerates him.

Further, Afzal talked about how he and Keir Starmer had to change policy when it came to CSA and implemented many changes.

Afzal made it very clear that Keir Starmer has not done any of the things he's been accused of, especially not some kind of collusion with the gangs.

Afzal himself has had the same accusations levelled at him. About a decade ago, his home was attacked by the far right who believed him being a British-Pakistani Muslim on the side of prosecution meant that he was there to protect the perpetrators. It was only safe for his children to go to school in taxis.

At one point, Afzal said something along the lines of "These people are as far from Islam as you can imagine." in regards to the perpetrators.

The idea that this was brown men targeting white girls was put to bed by Afzal and Hasan during it. While brown girls are 3 times less likely to come forward, there were many brown victims.

Also talking about coming forward, in speaking with victims, Afzal found that many of the victims were not believed due to classism. Working class girls were routinely not believed by police or local prosecutors.

Elon has spoke a lot recently about Tommy Robinson, aka Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, and how he should be freed. Jordan Peterson called him a political prisoner and Elon's father compared him to Nelson Mandela. Afzal rightfully pointed out that Stephen nearly ruined two different trials for this with his antics that were considered jury intimidation. The only person who benefited from Stephen's action was him and his bottom line.

Afzal spoke a lot about the victims and how no one is speaking about them or caring about them. He mentioned how focussing on the race of the perpetrators only undermines the victims. I think it's a very important point.

Further, Afzal has spent a lot of this week speaking to the victims of these grooming gangs who have been finding themselves triggered by Elon's antics. Many of them feel like the recovery they've made so far has been pulled out from under them. These people have PTSD and Elon has triggered them as he acts with callous disregard.

TL/DR: We've had national inquiries on this topic and it's the Tories who have decided not to act on them, we do not need more and what Elon is doing is hurting the victims of the crimes he claims to care about.

[verycleverboy]

Drone strike

Does anyone remember during the campaign when people were questioning the cognitive health of the now-47th President of the United States? And how all that talk kind of evaporated after the inauguration? Maybe it's time to have that conversation again, because while most of the headlines today are about Trump demanding the Department of Education should be closed "immediately", the Independent's coverage paints a picture a little more worrisome than the end of the DoE:

Donald Trump hijacked Tulsi Gabbard’s swearing-in ceremony to rant on his plans to “immediately” close the Department of Education and complain about the way American aircraft carriers launch their fighter aircraft. The president swore in Gabbard at the White House as his Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday before becoming embroiled in an hour-long question-and-answer session with reporters. Speaking in the Oval Office during the hastily assembled ceremony following Gabbard’s confirmation by the Senate earlier in the day, Trump told reporters he was planning to sign an order for unilateral tax increases on Americans in the form of tariffs on imports from countries that have their own tariffs on American imports. He then proceeded to launch into a winding description of how “billions and billions of dollars” were being “thrown away illegally” through unspecified “fraud” in government expenditures and praised Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” for rooting out the alleged “massive fraud” while complaining about his efforts being stymied by “judges that are activists.” He then turned to the subject of the Department of Education, which he said was “going to be a disaster” and compared the department to the longstanding effort to replace the Boeing 747 aircraft used for presidential transport. “We signed a very strong contract. I signed a guaranteed maximum contract, which they haven't seen in a long time, and they're saying they're getting hurt by it, but they have to produce the product, and we expect them to produce the product,” he said. “They have to produce the product. They agreed to build planes at a certain price. They're not used to that. They're used to having time and material contracts where whatever it costs, time and material, no dates, no anything, it ends up costing five times more,” he said. Trump also complained about the electromagnetic elevators used in the country’s Gerald R Ford-class aircraft carriers and the cost of those massive ships, which he said had ballooned from $3 billion to $18 billion apiece. “This is one of the biggest ships in the world. It's like landing at LaGuardia Airport, but you look at the kind of waste, fraud and abuse that this country is going through, and we have to straighten it up,” he said. Asked whether he wants the Education Department — which has nothing to do with the cost of aircraft carriers — to be shuttered, Trump replied: “I'd like it to be closed immediately” and called the department “a big con job.”

(full article)

But enough about him, let's make this about Tulsi Gabbard for five seconds: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on the new Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has unambiguously taken Putin's side in his war against Ukraine: “Tulsi Gabbard would not be qualified for an entry-level position within our intelligence community. And she is not qualified to lead it. Period. Some of the President’s cabinet nominees are hard to imagine because they are so unqualified. But for the position of DNI—putting someone unqualified in charge is not funny at all. It is life or death dangerous.”

[bopinion]

2024 / 51

Aperçu of the week

“Basically, it is always the connections with people that give life its value.”

(Wilhelm von Humboldt, Prussian scholar, writer and statesman who reformed the German education system in the spirit of Neo-Humanism)

Bad News of the Week

As we all know, genius and madness go hand in hand. No one is currently more archetypal of this than Elon Musk. It is one thing that he has used his business acumen and ruthlessness to achieve a level of wealth that the world has not seen since John D. Rockefeller. But it's another thing that he acts like a politician without ever having been elected to any office. Only recently, the “adviser to the US president” single-handedly and out of nowhere prevented a budget compromise between Republicans and Democrats and almost plunged the USA into a government shutdown.

With his commitment to Trump's re-election - with pleas in (his own and other) media, an estimated 250 million campaign donations and, above all, wise buddy advice - it almost seems as if he won the election. Not to say he bought it. Hateful comments are already referring to his boss as “Vice President Donald J. Trump”. Which apparently encourages Musk to let other countries benefit from his infinite wisdom too. At least their right-wing representatives. For example, Brexit idol Nigel Farage can apparently look forward to a 100 million US dollar donation to his far-right party Reform UK. Which at least does not have an immediate election opportunity ahead of it, as elections were only held in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland last summer.

The situation is different here in Germany, where elections are due in two months' time. And according to all election forecasts, the radical right-wing AfD (Alternative für Deutschland / Alternative for Germany) has been stable in second place for months with around 18%. And now Elon Musk comes around the corner and tweets “Only the AfD can save Germany”. In the debates that followed, one thing quickly became clear: he doesn't have the slightest idea about either Germany or the AfD. When I express a political opinion - as I do in this blog for example - it is well-founded on the one hand. On the other hand, it is a personal opinion. Musk, on the other hand, informs himself superficially at best, but still hesitantly dares to make a definitive analysis of the situation.

The problem is that a dazzling personality like Elon Musk is a role model, especially for those people who would not classify themselves as right-wing extremists but feel addressed by “Germans First”. A guy who takes risks, doesn't care about conventions and crosses boundaries. And in the end, his success proves him right. So I'd rather listen to such a refreshingly colorful parrot than the boring gray pigeon who calls himself a knowledgeable politician. Cover beats content. The political caste must finally understand this in order to stop allowing such shouters to exert such far-reaching influence.

Incidentally, the Standard Oil Company, the centerpiece of Rockefeller's wealth, was broken up in 1911 for violating the Antitrust Act. And it was all about excessive economic power. The first billionaire in history had probably simply failed to make the political system compliant in time. In 1915, correspondent J. M. Allison of the New York Sun assessed Rockefeller's life's work as follows: “[I am] a believer in the truth that there are only three perfect organizations: the Catholic Church, the Standard Oil Company and the German army.”

Good News of the Week

Unfortunately, Time magazine didn't ask me. Otherwise it wouldn't be Donald Trump who would be Person of the Year, but Gisèle Pelicot, a woman who a year ago nobody outside the Avignon region in the south of France knew. Pelicot's service to society is undoubtedly more valuable than Trump's - especially when it comes to respect for women. The weekly newspaper “Zeit” wrote: “Gisèle Pelicot does not want to be a role model and yet she is one - for her daughter (...) and for millions of women who have experienced sexual violence in their lives.”

For years, Pelicot was drugged by her husband and offered to rape at least 82 men on the internet. For years, she did not understand what her physical and psychological problems resulted from - because she was unconscious during the more than 200 acts of sexual violence. However, she conducted the trial against her husband with the maximum possible consciousness. And thus became a feminist icon. This is because she prevailed with her wish for her trial to take place in public. This “changed her role from victim to a woman who radiates strength and dignity”, according to the public broadcaster ZDF. There is now a consensus that Pelicot not only plays a major role in the #MeToo movement, but also for all people who find themselves in a victim role. As shame has changed sides.

At the end of the trial, there were not only solid verdicts against all (!) fifty defendants, but above all insights into how society can deal with taboo topics. “Rapist, we see you! Victim, we believe you!” was one of the claims chanted by thousands outside courthouses across France. This is thanks to the courage of a single woman who stood alone for so long. And yet, as President Emmanuel Macron wrote on the day the verdict was announced, she “moved and inspired France and the world”. Chapeau!

Personal happy moment of the week

We have a new car. After BMW unfortunately decided to discontinue production of its all-electric i3 model, the fourth version of that was no longer an option and we had to find an alternative. The Model 3 from Tesla was out of the question because of you know who. The Volkswagen ID-3 wasn't iconic enough for me, the ID-Buzz was too expensive and oversized. All Japanese cars seem rather boring to me, and I don't like the Chinese on principle (employee rights, unfair subsidies etc). Now it's a Mini Cooper. And because of the successful combination of go-kart chassis and electric drive, I can't wipe the grin off my face. Fun with a clear conscience makes me happy.

I couldn't care less...

...that there are people who feel cheated by the influencer “Immo Tommy”. Anyone who listens to a YouTuber on something as important as deciding on a real estate investment is even more naive than someone hoping to win the big lottery. The chance of winning is just as low. But the stakes are much higher.

It's fine with me...

...that the incumbent Minister President of Saxony will remain in office, even if Michael Kretschmer only heads a minority government (consisting of his conservative CDu and the social democratic SPD). Here, too, the AfD was the second strongest party in the state elections in the fall, but did not make it into government because the much-cited firewall held firm. And the fact that legislation now also has to convince members of the opposition on a case-by-case basis because their own coalition does not have a majority is not undemocratic either.

As I write this...

...the crooners are playing on the HomePods. For someone like me, who can't stand the typical Christmas songs from Wham! to Mariah Carey to Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and company are an extremely worthy alternative, which in some strange way fits very well into this season, but is also stylish and sophisticated.

Post Scriptum

There are families in Ukraine who have lost everything but their hope. There are children in Gaza who are missing their parents and both legs. There are still people in the world who are dying of malnutrition. And even in our own neighborhood, there are people who lack the most basic necessities after a flood, for example. Especially at this time of year, when you stop and reflect, it doesn't hurt to remember how well off you actually are. And whether you can give a little of it to those who are not doing so well. With this in mind, Merry Christmas and thank you for every donation to a good cause.

[liskantope]

Public intellectual Robert Wright, who runs the Nonzero YouTube channel (once known as Bloggingheads), just a week ago finally had the last of his weekly political discussions with his conversation partner Mickey Kaus on the channel since around the end of 2005. I've been a regular listener for the past few years (only a small fraction of their total run though, and I've never been a subscriber and so haven't seen their after-conversations in what they call the Parrot Room). Although I've always found their dynamic to be a bit cold and caustic compared to that of other pairs of conversation partners that began through Bloggingheads (Bill Scher and Matt Lewis, Glenn Loury and John McWhorter, Kat Rosenfield and Phoebe Maltz-Bovy), and that Wright in particular is unpleasantly prickly towards Kaus, I'm going to miss the sound of their voices in their weekly back-and-forths.

Here is a bit of what I humorously imagined to be their final episode (which in real life turned out to be as dry as usual and not so much of a "goodbye episode").

[Videos turn on in split screen.]

ROBERT WRIGHT: Hi, Mickey!

MICKEY KAUS: Hey Bob!

RW: How're you doing, Mickey?

MK: I'm doing fine, Bob! [holds a photo up to the camera, which shows a split-screen image of two dark-haired middle-aged men each with a microphone in front of him; the man on the right is mostly bald] I have a quiz for you, Bob. Can you guess the identities of these two men in the photo?

RW: [squinting with perhaps a feigned intensity] Let's see... is it Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, back thirty years ago?

MK: It's not them, Bob! But you're right that it's from many years ago.

RW: Are these guys more the political type?

MK: You could say that, Bob.

RW: Is it... is the one on the left George W. Bush during his administration and the one on the right Karl Rove?

MK: Closer, Bob! But they're not actual politicians. And they're not neocons.

RW: Oh, I see. So if they weren't neocons, is it possible that one of them happen to vote for Trump twice?

MK: I'll give you a hint, Bob: this photo is to commemorate the end of an era that has arrived this week.

RW: Wait a minute... [mock moment of realization] Is that us, Mickey?

MK: It's us, Bob! From almost 18 years ago, when we started having conversations on your channel.

RW: But... but how can those guys possibly be me and you? Look at those baby faces, and such dark hair...

MK: It's called aging, Bob! I'd say you should try it sometime, except, well, judging from the photo and your face as it appears now, it, uh, it looks like you have. [awkward grin at having successfully reached a spontaneous punchline of sorts]

RW: [unperturbed] Yeah, you got me there, Mickey. You know who else has tried aging? I'll give you a hint: he has a little more power and influence than you or I do, Mickey. And I've been harping on him for a while.

MK: Elon Musk isn't getting that old.

RW: [visible exasperation] I'm talking about Joe Biden, Mickey! I noted three more moments of the past week that highlight his senility, which I'd be happy to describe to you, but since this is our final episode, I'd rather just take my last opportunity to ask, is it still not too late to get him off the Democratic ticket?

MK: Since last week I've developed a new theory about that, Bob, about a plan that possibly could work for getting him to step down, one that I don't think anyone else has considered, Bob. It involves coercing him to take a seat on the Supreme Court, after removing one of the current justices by invoking a constitutional clause that hasn't been recognized since eighteen--

RW: Let me stop you right there, Mickey: does this idea of yours end with Kamala Harris taking his place?

MK: [a bit sheepishly] Uh, yeah.

RW: Because I may not have made myself clear the last dozen weeks I've brought this up, but my one condition to go with Biden not running for reelection is that I don't want Kamala Harris on the ticket either. Geez, is that too much to ask?

MK: Well then I don't think I can help you, Bob. But I'm sure I can come up with some other clever idea in time for next week's conversation.

RW: There isn't going to be an episode next week, Mickey! Today was our last chance to get Biden and Harris out of the race!

MK: Well, there are enough problems right now where Biden is concerned. Something really came to a head for him this week, and it vindicates me on something I've been railing against for quite some time. One of my favorite topics, actually.

RW: Could it possibly be the Child Tax Credit, Mickey?

MK: No, it's not the Child Tax Credit. Why would anything that happened with the Biden administration this past week have anything to do with the Child Tax Credit? Although I'm happy to discuss that as much as you like, even though it's not on our planned list of topics, Bob. I thought of half a dozen more points I wanted to make right after the last time you actually let me talk about it, which I --

RW: I can't even remember the when the last time was...

MK: Exactly my point, Bob! And yet, from back whenever that was, I do still remember just a few more arguments I wanted to make --

RW: [hastily interrupting him] Wait, don't you have another favorite topic, Mickey? Oh yeah: the influx of undocumented immigrants?

MK: [eagerly, with a smile] You got it, Bob! Undocumented immigrants and how they're driving down wages of decent working Americans!

RW: [with obvious sarcasm] Oh right, I had almost forgotten what your views on that were! That's right, now it makes sense again, that's why you voted for Trump twice, never mind him being a visible menace to our democracy...

MK: Right, uh, well, uh, it looks like Biden is going to be forced to take up Trump's policies on the immigration issue, due to the unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants into big cities full of his voting base. Guess who's talking about building a wall now?

RW: Well I potentially have a lot of strong counterarguments to make to the thesis that I know you're driving at, Mickey, but I don't think our listeners really want to be treated to the dry conversation that would ensue. The important point is, you voted for Trump twice, even though he's a threat to our democracy; let that be put into the record.

Now, I say one of us comes up with some sort of segue to the war in Ukraine.

[awkward silence]

MK: Well, it's not my job to get us onto the war in Ukraine, Bob.

RW: Shall I just dive into it then? I can talk for the next twenty minutes about something going on in the Donbas, and in Kyiv, and name several other places, and bring up the ground hardening for the winter, and how Russia can replace its troops much more easily than Ukraine can, and how Biden should be urging Zelensky to pursue peace talks, and so on, provided you're willing to nod along and interject with an empty comment or two to keep the conversation flowing. Are you feeling up for that?

MK: Sure, Bob! It's always relaxing, listening to you talk about Ukraine and nodding my head and jumping in with occasional comments and questions without really having to know what we're talking about. But do our listeners really want twenty minutes of that on our last episode ever?

[continuing with sincerity] We could have a very engaging conversation instead about the unacceptable shortcomings of the Child Tax Credit. I think I already suggested that actually, and mentioned that I came up with several more shortcomings.

RW: [gazing at the ceiling] Please, let's end on anything but the Child Tax Credit. Anything, Mickey.

MK: How about amnesty bills for illegal immigrants, then?

RW: Okay, you know what? That's the alarm, to remind us to wrap it up. [No alarm is heard, but he is glancing over at a supposed object sitting just off-screen.]

MK: You set it to go off awfully soon, Bob.

RW: Yeah well, I'd forgotten that I wanted to make this last episode short and sweet. It's our final Parrot Room afterwards that the subscribers are really excited about, after all.

MK: Do you know what I think, Bob? I think you decided on the spot to pretend that the alarm went off, because you didn't like the way the conversation was going. Do you know what I just employed there? Your favorite skill, cognitive empathy, Bob!

RW: That's not really what cognitive empathy is about, Mickey. Or the type of thing it should be applied to. But I understand, even if I don't approve, of where you're coming from here: you hear me bringing up the importance of cognitive empathy from time to time, and you couldn't pass up a potential opportunity to show me that you understand and care about the concept too, especially if it helps deflect from the fact that you voted for Trump in both his elections. And this is a natural tendency that you and others have and I should learn to expect in the future. See what I just did there, Mickey?

MK: [with half a grin] Right. Well. Do you have your list of Parrot Room topics, Bob? I have mine. [picks up half a novel's worth of sheets of handwritten notes and starts riffling through it]

RW: Yeah, well I have both of mine up here. [points to head] Want to give a run-down of everything you got?

MK: If we go through all of these, we'll have spent more than half of this conversation on what we're going to cover in the Parrot Room, Bob.

RW: Oh, well I suppose that's right. At least, given how much detail you put into describing your topics, so that I always have to stop you from completely spoiling your takes on them right away and thus rendering the Parrot Room superfluous.

MK: It doesn't matter, Bob! It's too late for newcomers to subscribe anyway, and it's our very last Parrot Room so our current subscribers are excited about it regardless!

RW: Now once again I want to make sure listeners are clear on the fact that this YouTube channel will remain as active as ever, and I'll still be having conversations every Friday night, just with other people who are not Mickey. Because Mickey here had to attend to other projects of his, projects that are so important. Which is perfectly all right.

MK: [with a loyal, slightly strained grin] That's right, he'll be talking to much more worthwhile conversation partners than me.

RW: [matter-of-factly] Exactly, my Friday podcast guests are going to be much better than Bob here. And hardly any of them will have voted for Trump even once... [holding up a solemn index finger towards the camera]... that's how high-quality my future Friday guests will be. Anyway, I don't think our listeners really want to hear us discuss actual issues in the Parrot Room this last time, Mickey, any more than they wanted to hear us discuss actual issues in our final episode.

MK: That's right, Bob, they just wanted to hear us spar and jab at each other. And I think we delivered, Bob!

RW: I think I delivered on this, Mickey, and you... Well, I suppose you delivered on this about to the extent that you usually do.

MK: [the strained grin momentarily returns] And there's another blow! Well, I guess it's time to head to the Parrot Room, where what the subscribers really want to hear is our reminiscences about the last 18 years, and how much we'll miss talking to each other.

RW: [very dryly] Oh I'll miss talking to you, Mickey. I might actually cry in the Parrot Room. Tears may be shed. I may, in fact, weep.

MK: I actually had a point I wanted to make, a take on one of your superficial attributes I'll miss the most from our conversations, Bob: the uniquely whiny, nasally quality of your voice.

RW: Didn't we already discuss this, Mickey? I thought we came to the conclusion that, although it had been agreed upon by scientists that my voice is the most whiny and nasally among all human voices, a certain presidential candidate --

MK: They did a further study, Bob, with an audio analysis, and showed that the previous conclusion was correct after all, that even Ron DeSantis' nasally voice is no match --

RW: [hastily interrupting] There you go again, giving away Parrot Room material to those who haven't paid for it! Anyway, I'm sure that all of this is motivated by your desire to take superlatives away from DeSantis, since he's running against your superlative bestie, Donald Trump.

MK: Since when is Trump my bestie, Bob?

RW: Perhaps our listeners are unaware, but you voted for him both in 2016 and in 2020, Mickey...

MK: That's right, but, uh, our listeners may not realize that it's not as though I actually ever liked Trump, I was mainly concerned about Congress not being able to pass an amnesty bill...

RW: ...even after Trump refused to promise that he would accept election results...

MK: ...and actually, uh, the thing is, I was making a calculation based on an average of predictions for the number of House and Senate seats the Republicans would take, and if I'd known that Republicans would gain so many House seats, there's actually a chance, uh, Bob, that I may have voted for, I dunno, someone else! [a little feverishly] It's the Amnesty Bill, Bob, the Amnesty Bill would be the very undoing of our country, and sometimes you have to choose between the lesser of two --

RW: [ignoring MK] Okay everyone, we're heading to the Parrot Room for some very intriguing and exclusive content, as always. Something much more interesting than Mickey's opinions on amnesty. Patreon-dot-com-slash-parrotroom.

MK: [taking out his toy parrot and speaking into its microphone] Down with the Child Tax Credit and with amnesty! Forever and ever!

PARROT: [in a high-pitched rendering of MK's voice, flapping its wings] Down with the Child Tax Credit and with amnesty! Forever and ever!

RW: See you in the Parrot Room!

[The screens flicker and blip off, for the very last time.]

[bllsbailey]

Peace in Our Time: Trump and Musk Will Reportedly Speak on Friday After Public Blowout

I picked a bad time to be in the air most of the day because it was a wild one in politics. As RedState reported, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk came to rhetorical blows over the "Big, Beautiful Bill," with an online back-and-forth lasting for hours, spanning multiple posts and jabs. 

At one point, Musk bumped several old posts of Trump calling for spending cuts, with the president responding by claiming that the United States could save money by canceling Musk's government contracts. But while I could spend time chronicling every post, I'd rather post some of the memes, because that was the one good thing that came out of the blow-up. 

So, where do things go from here? If you had asked me that earlier in the evening, I wouldn't have thought this was fixable, but apparently peace could be on the horizon. According to Politico, White House aides have already set up a phone call between the two men, set to take place on Friday. 

Signs of a truce are emerging in the increasingly bitter clash between two of the world’s most powerful men. President Donald Trump projected an air of nonchalance in an interview Thursday with POLITICO during a day of sparring over social media with Elon Musk. Separately, White House aides, after working to persuade the president to temper his public criticism of Musk to avoid escalation, scheduled a call Friday with the billionaire CEO of Tesla to broker a peace. “Oh it’s okay,” Trump told POLITICO in a brief telephone call when asked about the very public breakup with his onetime megabacker. “It’s going very well, never done better.” Trump went on to tout his favorability ratings saying, “The numbers are through the roof, the highest polls I’ve ever had and I have to go.”

Letting bygones be bygones would certainly be the preferable outcome here for Republicans. Musk has been a powerful ally, having spent nearly $100 million in the 2024 election, with perhaps his greatest contribution being the purchase of Twitter. As most reading this are aware of, the site has been recentered as a free speech platform and has been a boon for proliferating conservative messaging. 

With that said, Musk is not president, and perhaps a good night's sleep will remind him of that. That's not to say he can't disagree with Trump. Those kinds of honest discussions can often be a good thing in politics, but the way this all played out in public with such vitriol didn't help anyone. It did have Democrats practically giddy, though. We'll see if everyone can hug it out on Friday. 

[little-infj-cafe]

I had a really weird experience with my teacher the other day.

Now for context, he's not my teacher. I had him for calculus last year after I switched from AB to on-level and got a near 100 in the class. I signed up for a teacher assistant position with him, thinking I'd be helping teach calculus. Nope. I ended up being a TA for Algebra 1 instead.

He's a very... interesting person, to say the least, and I've heard really mixed things about him over the year. I don't know where he stands on any issue I care about very much. I haven't had the courage to ask him about AI. I don't think he particularly cares for politics that much—not that I particularly care what he thinks—and has given very mixed responses on things. He seems to like Elon Musk, as he said that we're "Very fortunate to be in a time with him in it" or something of the sort because of what he did with electric cars.

But one thing I am absolutely certain of is that he doesn't like psychology and said at one point in front of the class of freshmen that I want to pursue a career in "stupid science." Now, mind you, there are at least two other kids in that class who want to go into psychology for a career. Which is awesome. I love that people have a passion for studying the mind.

He said that therapists (in a different instance) are hurting people more than helping people, and if I want to be a therapist, then I should just open a workout therapy place and call it a day. Because, according to him, workout is just as affective against Depression as antidepressants it's for mild depression, mild depression you ignorant fuck not major depressive disorder-- -_-

Anyway, I noticed that the kids in my class are making some rather inappropriate jokes about schizophrenia and being gay (which isn't a mental disorder, but I heard some distasteful comments that I couldn't let go unnoticed) before the break, and I had a long time to think on it, so when I came back, I asked Mr. Algebra teacher if I could talk to the class about how what they were saying wasn't okay.

He said that I have two minutes at the end of class, which isn't nearly enough time for me to talk about everything, but whatever. What struck me as odd and probably a Red Flag was how he kept trying to refute it and say that I shouldn't talk about it too seriously because they're just being immature. I made the argument that, yes, it's immature but it's also perpetuating stigmas that we don't want going around that can seriously hurt people and that what they were saying wasn't okay regardless. He said that people back in middle school said worse things like the r-word (which was also said here, but I didn't mention it), and I said sure but this is still bad as well. He said that I WAS RIGHT TO DO THIS AND SHOULD DO THIS 99 percent of the time, and internally I was just like why are you arguing with me and trying to backtrack this accomplishes nothing. He told me that I shouldn't expect for the issue to be resolved completely. I said I didn't expect it to.

I go up there and deliver my very awesome speech that he interrupted to make me get to my point faster, I guess. After I finished, he pulled me to the side and asked me what went well and what didn't. Which just felt... weird? I said that I think it went really well overall and that I didn't think anything was wrong. He said that he wished I didn't group the conversation about the gay stuff with the conversation about the schizophrenia and ocd stuff. To me, it felt like a very clear connection but oh well. He reiterated that I shouldn't expect to see much change. I said okay.

It's been almost a month.

GUESS WHO HASN'T HEARD A SINGLE COMMENT ABOUT SCHIZOPHRENIA, GAY INSULTS, OR ANYTHING REGARDING CALLING ANOTHER CLASSMATE OCD?

ME.

Take that, Mr. Algebra teacher.

It's the little wins that help me make it through the day, but honestly, this one is just completely boosting my self-esteem and confidence about being in the psychology field in the future.

[amberinn]

Yk I think being given the death note would be the funniest thing ever, because I'd be both overlenient with people and show a lot of forgiveness even in situations where I should not give anything, but hatred and

But I'd also like first second, try my best to kill off all pedophiles, rapists, murderers, and some CEO's (Elon Musk, because he's public about his corruption and an easy target really. I mean look at him, how outspoken he is. If I've had to write a CEO's name in there I'd want to know all the shit they've been doing their whole life, if they've screwed people over, if they've. Point is I'm. Soft. Naive. I believe in the goodness of people. I believe in redemption. I believe in second chances, I believe in a lot of things I'd get flustered and look away from and try to seem tougher than I am over.

I don't think I'd be able to kill off JKR for all that she deserves it. I'm too soft. Someone else should been given the death note.

Literally. I think the problem and the solution is with the terms if anything ^those people, are called for what they are

They have no escape route to avoid accountability.

We should do that more often, in order to clear it up for people. (As heavily fearful as I am of that myself) (yikessssss..... YIKES.)

Like. I'm way too naive to be like "there's good in those people!!! they can change, they aren't doing anything too bad! :D"

because like. yes. YES YES. stop underestimating them. they are not smart, for they are not kind. I'm just NAIVE. That's what's up.

I live and give my little brother cool presents, and hear out his stories, and wish we talked more, met up more, I think he's impressive, and I go on the swingset and I look at the forest and I feel adoration.

I believe we all should live a good happy life, and that those^ people traumatised people which is. the opposite of it all. I'm not a good person either. I'm anything, but a good person. I've traumatised. I've. I've fucked it up. Like, no.

No matter how optimistic I can get, people would wipe me off this planet earth and be right for it. My little brother, and my mom and my ? aunt and my uncle ? would be miserable over it. I don't think anyone would be happy.

Maybe some strangers, maybe. I dunno. It's like when some gal from higher-up Orlen went over to talk finances with the gas firm and I was there listening like . .

It was SO RUDE to just talk about dead people, and who gets inheritances and joke.

That's a dead person, show---- respect! It's not extra money, it's not. It's NOT. Someone elses wealth, someone elses good day.

Someone died, someone will not rest in peace.

But lived a life in peace, or with peaceful moments. Or. SOMETHING. I hope there was peace and love there somewhere. I do.

And that was RUDE. I'm offended for that person. I do not like the person who went over to talk with the boss.

She's rude to my aunt and she's rude to her co-worker and what I've seen of her was her being on her BEST BEHAVIOUR and I'm offended. Nuh uh. Injustice. You are allowed to remain silent, while I judge you and shit talk you to no one in perticular on Tumblr.com

She also cursed during a business meeting, which ive asked my economy teacher whether people do that and she said they shouldn't

In front of the whole class btw . Man i love being autistic /sarcastic

I believe if all of those people ^ who cause disruption of the heaviest degree were killed life could be peaceful

This is. Waaaayyyy too underthunk btw.

Like there's cases. There's accidents, there's severity and all the other things to think abt.

Hmmmmm

Weird rant

Thank god I do not have a death note in my hands rn I think the true person under the state imposed impostor cool guy Luigi Mangione would have an easier, more professional time deciding who's death of thy demons haunting this wretched earth! would sprout improvements in life and stuff (it would be in America if I had to take a bet I mean look at this hell on earth)

[darkmaga-returns]

2/27 ASTROLABE LINKS:

(7) AGNEWSLIVE on X: "25%tip? —(He deserves it for wearing those Heelys )💥 https://t.co/McMdiaeFX7" / X

(16) Washingtons ghost on X: "How was this guy president https://t.co/TuIl0Yly10" / X

(17) Paul Suda on X: "TRUMP 47 Week 6 of 208 https://t.co/z0rmbT29x4" / X

(20) Elon Musk on X: "Thunder Dome vibes https://t.co/gYVNl1ufPS" / X

(20) George on X: "JUST IN: A new memo reveals that all transgender troops have been DISQUALIFIED without exemption by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are disqualified from military https://t.co/5oBaNuaq0a" / X

(20) johnny maga on X: "Secret Service Director Sean Curran sat down for his first ever interview and told CBS News that he was prepared to protect Trump in prison if things turned out differently. “Look, if it came to it, I'd be sitting right next to him," he said. "That's how much I care for him. https://t.co/XaBkCJku2Y" / X

(22) Curtis Houck on X: "WATCH: CNN explodes when @ScottJenningsKY asks two Democratic panelists how many of Joe Biden's staffers (who actually ran the country) were elected by voters, adding George Soros “collects your people like Pokemon cards”.... Jennings: “I'm sorry, can I — can I ask a question? https://t.co/kSUczxxKfP" / X

(24) Scott Jennings on X: "I spend most of my time repeating back to liberals their own words and ideas, only to have them - seconds later - deny ever saying them. It’s truly astonishing. This convo on @cnn 👀 https://t.co/xVNSPOFbBN" / X

(24) Eric Daugherty on X: "BREAKING: Jeff Bezos announces the Washington Post editorial board will now only write from viewpoints in support of "personal liberties and free markets." The move caused David Shipley to step away as Editorial Editor. "Viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be https://t.co/p3biJOdP1K" / X

(30) Liz Wheeler on X: "This is the story: President Trump & AG Pam Bondi committed to releasing the Epstein files. The FBI was told to deliver the files to Bondi. They did, about 200 pages. Bondi smelled a rat, because there was nothing juicy in the 200 pages, just flight logs & a Rolodex of phone" / X

(29) Savanah Hernandez on X: "I also have an Epstein Files binder but I want to correct the record: The Trump admin was originally set to announce these documents and make them available to the public in a press conference this afternoon. Bondi has stated that some of the information is already public and https://t.co/hOzxfu1FSS" / X

(29) Ian Carroll on X: "Definition of a fumble. Everything in those binders should be online in pdf format already- then you can have your con inc influencer parade if you want to burn your optics down again. If any of these guys are real journalists they will put the entire contents online https://t.co/4UTVaxoav4" / X

(31) Glenn Beck on X: "Reacting to the so-called 'Epstein Files' release. This feels like internal CIVIL WAR. President Trump needs to fly to SNDY NOW and get to the bottom of this! https://t.co/0Z9ZCQH0Id" / X

(31) Sean on X: "Now that Diddy has being arrested, lets see if they if this is just a cover up scheme like Epstein or will they actually expose what he was doing and who was involved. Listen to the deal Epstein got and what the FBI did when they raided his home it’s quite unbelievable. “The https://t.co/RjRBuBrOHF" / X

(31) Disclose.tv on X: "JUST IN - Attorney General Pam Bondi says the FBI is withholding Epstein documents from the U.S. Department of Justice. https://t.co/uWz4vlkvx8" / X

(31) FBI Director Kash Patel on X: "The FBI is entering a new era—one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be" / X

(31) House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 on X: "🚨 #BREAKING: EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED: https://t.co/aHw5fDDuur" / X

(7) Douglass Mackey on X: "“This case requires the Court to consider a malignant practice that threatens the orderly administration of justice: judge-shopping. The lead attorneys in this case— a high-profile challenge to Alabama state law—tried to avoid their assigned judge by voluntarily dismissing one" / X

(31) Peter Nooski on X: "@AuronMacintyre The Bridgeport, CT footage is nuts https://t.co/R5fLk3rvmC" / X

(31) The Connecticut Centinal on X: "Bridgeport Dem Arrested On Election Charges Says He Was Just "Following The Orders Of The Democratic Party" https://t.co/iPBfNNb2w9" / X

(5) Libs of TikTok on X: "BOMBSHELL: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) backed legislation that funneled millions to his wife’s environmental nonprofit, Ocean Conservancy. She’s been paid nearly $2.7M while the group raked in $14.2M+ in federal grants—funded by bills Whitehouse voted for! Now, an ethics https://t.co/hw7KmNc4Dz" / X

(32) Wall Street Apes on X: "Why would Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE want to know if federal workers are working? 🚨 SHOCKING: Internal sensitive data from inside the Department of Veterans Affairs Building Portfolio - VA Central Office 810 Vermont Avenue is a 618,000 square foot building - It has 2,483 https://t.co/5m7vfQepnD" / X

(32) Crémieux on X: "Today's big news is another DOGE development. This one centers on modernizing how payments occur so that they're centralized, individually-justified, and accessible to the public. If this works, there'll be clear, transparent accounting of everything the government pays for🧵 https://t.co/Rfhm73W1Yy" / X

Illegal Immigrant Killers, Rapists Aren’t Scholars — They’re Criminals – The White House

(30) Crémieux on X: "If you're wondering why the White House website now has a section where they respond to people like Michael Moore, then perhaps you haven't heard of the Comms Director: https://t.co/KKyw3lzVAw" / X

(22) Steven Cheung on X: "You shouldn’t have left your shit laying around. Clean up after yourself." / X

(21) Steven Cheung on X: "Hey dummy, I know you were fired from your reporting job because you're crummy at your job, but since you're probably panhandling and not tracking the news, this was addressed in the Oval Office presser." / X

(30) Crémieux on X: "The Biden administration harassed police and fire departments for asking their recruits to have a bare minimum level of literacy, numeracy, and physical aptitude. Today, the DOJ has dismissed all of those cases with a clear message: Competence is legal again. https://t.co/hoNWyQl7qa" / X

Statement on Trump White House Victory Against the Associated Press – The White House

(30) Crémieux on X: "This is very true. To have a smaller, more effective government, there has to be more talent among the bureaucrats, and for that to happen, the wages paid to government employees will have to rise. Singapore provides a good model: https://t.co/NA4XqavQJb" / X

(7) James Melville 🚜 on X: "The difference in body language and demeanour displayed by Donald Trump and Keir Starmer is enormous. https://t.co/EjsEV8vNFo" / X

(30) Megatron on X: "JUST IN: 🇺🇲🇬🇧Trump humiliated UK Prime minister Starmer: "Could you take on Russia by yourselves?" Everybody in the room started laughing... https://t.co/yN1KOFrSB8" / X

(21) Lee Harris on X: ""Maybe this articulates the power dynamic between Trump and Starmer" Hilarious. Trump just shuts him down 😂 https://t.co/gMf99O47GA" / X

(30) Cillian on X: "WOW! JD Vance CALLS OUT British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to his face: “I said what I said. There have been infringements on Free Speech that actually affect not just the British people, but also American technology companies and American citizens.” 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/FfGoaAQkCg" / X

(30) Kirk Lubimov on X: "Has Chrystia Freeland lost her f'ing mind?!? "The US is turning predator, and so what Canada needs to do is work closely with our democratic allies, our military allies. I would start with our Nordic partners, specifically Denmark who is also being threatened, and our NATO https://t.co/D02tGiiYLX" / X

(31) Johnny St.Pete on X: "This is why the 🇷🇴 Romanian President was arrested and how this ties in to stamping out “Trumpism/Populism”. Mike Benz explains how Pakistan is how weapons & arms are transferred to Romania over an air bridge to be used to supply Ukraine. NATO wanted to build the largest NATO https://t.co/8pQT5kwkaK" / X

(31) Daily Romania on X: "🇷🇴🇺🇲 Alex Jones goes through the list of absurd charges for which Călin Georgescu was arrested "They have charged him with stuff that sounds like it's from Alice in Wonderland." https://t.co/C7ZKhDGEjl" / X

(31) Community Notes & Violations on X: "Wow, very impressive 👏 https://t.co/thhHOjs8eu" / X

[fuckwhoeverpickedallthefunnyurls]

Me when I accidentaly catapulted myself into a situation where I have to write about the repair of an advanced spaceship engine (I know nothing about spaceships or engines):

[llama-named-pizza]

Anyone talking yet about how Elon fired someone right after publicly mocking him, and for what? Asking Elon for some contact after being ignored for days?

Meet Haraldur Ingi Þorleifsson. Born in 1977 with a genetic congenital muscle disease that forced him to use a wheelchair since age 24. That didn't stop him, though. In 2014 he founded the company Ueno. Ueno was a company that designed digital brands for various companies. The company was pretty successful, since it won various awards and Haraldur was named Icelandic businessman of the year in 2019. You can see more things he's done on his website - http://haraldurthorleifsson.com/

In 2021, Haraldur sold his company to Twitter. Not just that! He sold it as a salary so that he could pay higher taxes. He ended up paying the second highest tax in Iceland for that year (for an individual).

Outside of his company, he also aided in a project called Ramp Up Reykjavík, the intention of which is to help in installing wheelchair ramps around the city for better wheelchair access everywhere. After the success of the first project, a second one called Ramp Up Iceland was launched, with the intentions of building 1000 ramps around the country. This seems to be the site for the project - https://www.rampur.is/ - it would be great if someone who knows Icelandic can help with explaining how to donate to it?

He also created Bueno, a project that, by his own words, "a non-profit that donates money to good people doing good things". He was given The Order of the Falcon by the president of Iceland, the Icelandic medal of chivalry for contributions to social issues. He was Person of the Year in Iceland in 2022. Honestly, there's probably even more.

And this is the person Elon Musk decided to take the mick out of.

Queue March 6th, 2023. Haraldur tweets out to Musk.

[id: Dear elonmusk,

9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees.

However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails.

Maybe if enough people retweet you'll answer me here?]

[id: Elon Musk: What work have you been doing?

Haraldur: I would need to break confidentiality to answer this question here.

If you have your lawyers share in writing that I can do that then I'd be happy to discuss that openly!

Elon Musk: It's approved, you go ahead.]

[id: Two consecutive tweets by Haraldur: Among others:

- led the effort to save about $500k on one SaaS contract. Supported closing down many others

- led prioritization of design projects across the company to make sure we were able to deliver with a small team

- led design crits to help level up design across the company

- was hiring manager for all design roles

- worked on efforts to steer the company away from focusing on power users and on to younger users (because our user base is aging)]

[id: Elon Musk:

- Level up from what design to what? Pics or it didn’t happen.

- We haven’t hired design roles in 4 months

- What changes did you make to help with the youths?

Elon Musk: Would you say that you're a people person?

Attachment to the second tweet: A YouTube video named "What would you say...you do here?". The video depicts a conversation between two men, presumably higher ups, and a third man, presumably someone who works at the company. The conversation is condescending towards the third man, implying his job (a type of customer service) is useless. The video ends with the third man outbursting "What the hell is wrong with you people!" before he leaves the room - based on his body language (looking down when he almost bumps into a colleague), it is implied that he was fired.]

There are other threads with the two conversing, this one is the most notable though as this seems to be when Haraldur learns he is fired. Musk later attempts to imply that Haraldur didn't work, saying that Haraldur "claimed he had a disability that prevented him from typing". As I mentioned above, Haraldur has a disability that forced him into a wheelchair. This same disability is slowly forcing Haraldur to lose strength in his upper body and arms. Not to mention, you don't need to type to work, mister "Lines of code matters". Newsflash, people can do work without typing. Musk thinks he's the only one who can do work without typing, I believe.

It's unknown (to me) if Haraldur was fired during this exchange or before it. At any rate, don't forget that Haraldur was on a "Don't Fire" list, yet Musk still laid him off.

And definitely don't forget that Musk seems to be avoiding paying him.

[id: Tweet by Haraldur: But ok, fair enough, I've been laid off and I'm ok with that.

Next up though is finding out if Twitter will pay me what they owe me per my contract.

Or, will elonmusk, one of the richest people in the world, try to avoid paying?

Stay tuned!!]

[msfbgraves]

I always go on about Americans not knowing about class and its intricacies, but the people in The Age of Innocence certainly do, and also know that, for instance, in European eyes, they are all English and Dutch merchants and though that's nothing to be ashamed of, it is nothing to write home about either. I was born more than 100 years after that novel is set, Dutch aristocrats still think that way. It has not changed.

So they would know that Mad Men's Pete Campbell going around calling himself Peter Dyckman Campbell is being a terrible poseur. A Dyckman is a humble watchman of dykes; nothing to be ashamed of, certainly, as such a watchman must have made it big in America later on, yet, to a Dutch aristocrat, very obviously working class in ways they are not. And these Archers and Belforts and Van der Luydens know it. Because I have been screaming at my tv over that terrible lack of form. Wharton's people know society wise, they're a step down from English and Dutch aristocracy, because they're all new money. Whyever emphasise it, Peter? As least the Campbells are a clan!

And I've heard these things in The Hague growing up, though it would be extremely crass to openly discuss it. In fact, the way Wharton lays it all out in the book is not bon ton at all, it's a huge flipped bird to her milieu, but God yes, she gets it, all the inanities of the rules and who's who and the gossip and the veiled ostracism. And I used to think I must have had a stroke to worry about the fact that People Would Talk at my choices, because it doesn't seem to exist anymore, but it does and it's every bit as insane now as it was then. And she's laying it all bare and thank you, Edith Wharton, for telling me from a century ago that I did not grow up in the Twilight Zone.

I will never be one of that incrowd, but I was partly educated among them, and know enough to have the insanity of it validated. Even my own family doesn't believe it is really 'like that', and you do start to doubt your own sanity, because who would even care and am I making this shit up? No, I'm not! Though you never discuss The Rules with 'outsiders', and when you try to explain anyway (which is rude!) they think you are insane. Only one colleague outside of The Hague ever once confided in me that she thought a certain figure of speech her daughter used was 'provincial', and what did I think? To which I said, well, I'd never have said anything, heaven forbid -no, no - but since you ask, yes, I feel that this is a rather regional word and maybe she should want to point that out if her daughter was set to join other rich kids from out of town. Yes, quite, she's always felt that, but since her husband did not see what she was talking about - well, no one would have told him...- goodness, no! - Still, if she were mine I'd tell her - quite, quite, as long as we don't embarass anyone?

It's the same thing how I feel that I would have understood Emily Gilmore, even though I know I'd never be up to her standards. And I feel how stifled Lorelai feels, because these rules are restrictive af and that is of course what Prince Harry is also rebelling against. It's really like, well, if money is no object anymore, we must find other ways to make ourselves miserable. And again, the reason I'm even saying all of this is because I am disabled and have been Not Good Enough since birth, so I can't boot myself out again. Yet when I go home I see it all going on still, completely unacknowledged, and it makes me want to scream.

Bless this book for laying it all out, in a way that hopefully Americans can understand. You need to know how these people tick, because they're as dangerous and weird as Elon Musk.

[kayluh1915]

Are you still planning to write that one starker mixed media fic? The one you posted about around 5 months ago

Reference to this post.

Hi sweetie! I am, Indeed! I hadn't realized it's been so long since my "mini sneak peek." 😬 I don't want to over-hype it up, but it's REALLY long and still has a bit to go.

I struggle a lot with toxic perfectionism so I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be a while. I'd like to be optimistic and say another month or two, but it well could be another 6 months. I hope not, but history tends to repeat itself...

I just want it to be perfect! I'm working extremely hard on it and I hope I can get it finished for you guys sooner rather than later!

While you wait, I published a Starker fic back in April called "Perfect." I'm not very happy about the ending, but you can check that out if you like! Keep in mind, though, it is A/B/O. I understand that isn't everyone's cup of tea so I put some more "mini sneak peeks" under the cut!

I hope you guys like it so far and I'll keep you updated on my progress!

--------

These are subject to change and may be different once the story is finished! I also couldn't resist adding in Stucky! 😍😍

ALSO also, let's pretend Elon Musk never bought Twitter, okay? Okay.

DISCLAIMER

“I don’t think we allow children in this program, Mr…” He paused, looking at the embroidered last name on his lab coat. "Parker." Chuckles from the other interns filled the otherwise silent room. Peter gulped, his eyes darting back down to his shoes.

“I-I’m not… not a child, sir.” He stuttered, drying his increasingly sweaty palms on his oversized labcoat. Peter heard Tony shuffle the papers some more. He wasn't actually reading them and got a kick at how much more nervous the kid got the more he shuffled through everything.

“How old are you, kid?”

Peter cleared his throat before answering, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. “24, sir.”

Silence filled the room once again, the sound of Tony’s foot steps growing closer until Tony’s cisp, expensive dress shoes joined the sight of Peter’s converse.

“You’ve got a lot to prove, Mr. Parker.”

--------

--------

“What’re yo-”

"Come on, dance with me."

"Uhh, I-I a-are you sure?" Tony's smile grew wider.

"I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't." Peter hesitated, but allowed Tony to take his hand. He wasn't prepared for Tony to yank him up from his seat so fast. He tripped over his own feet with a squeak, grabbing Tony's forearm to catch himself.

"Tony!" Peter yelped. Tony allowed him to fix himself and Tony led him over to the dance floor.

They danced quietly for a moment, neither one speaking.

"So… Tony, huh?" Peter looked up at him with a furrowed brow.

"What?"

"You called me Tony."

"I-I didn't."

"Yes, you did. I think I'd notice my name falling from these cute lips " Peter blushed as Tony caressed Peter's bottom lip with his thumb.

--------

--------

"We'll be back in a little while. Call us if anything changes." With that, Steve and Bucky left, closing the curtain back behind them. Tony focused back on Peter, petting his hair gently.

"I'm so tired, Tony..." Peter said, his voice low.

Tony's heart broke. He's never seen Peter this weak before and he hopes he never has to again. "Then sleep, Honey. I'll be right here when you wake up." Peter hummed, scooting away from him as far as he could.

"What're you doing?" Tony asked, confused.

"Lay with me..." Tony huffed a small laugh.

"I don't think I'm allowed to, Peter."

"I don't care. I want you..." After that, Tony didn't care either. He toed off his sneakers and placed his phone on the guest's chair, climbing into the small stretcher as carefully as possible, being mindful of Peter's IV line and monitor wires. Once he was as comfortable as he was going to get, he pulled Peter close to him and covered them both up with the thin hospital blanket. Once Peter was settled, Tony placed a gentle kiss atop his head.