#again so-called fans have proven time and time again that an idol's worth is on their romance life being non-existent unless its marketable

[unitedstatesofworld]

Rob Lowe Net Worth: The Man, The Myth, The Fortune

When we think of 80s heartthrobs turned Hollywood legends, one name that immediately springs to mind is Rob Lowe. From his early years as a member of the Brat Pack to his successful transition into modern television, Lowe has carved out an impressive niche for himself. But with a career that has spanned decades, a natural question arises: What is Rob Lowe net worth? Hold on to your hats, because the answer might surprise you! Let’s dive into the life, career, and financial success of this charismatic actor and uncover the fortune he's amassed over the years.

Rob Lowe's Early Rise to Stardom

Rob Lowe's rise to fame began at a time when the movie industry was dominated by teen dramas and coming-of-age films. He quickly became a household name after starring in iconic films like "The Outsiders" and "St. Elmo’s Fire." During the 80s, his boyish charm and undeniable acting talent made him a beloved figure, especially among teenage fans. But, as we all know, early fame doesn’t always translate into long-term success. So how did Rob manage to stay relevant and grow his net worth over the years?

The "Brat Pack" Era: Foundation for Rob Lowe's Net Worth

Let’s not beat around the bush—the 80s were a golden era for Rob Lowe. The "Brat Pack," which consisted of young actors like Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Molly Ringwald, became a pop culture phenomenon. This was the period where Lowe really began to accumulate wealth. He earned hefty paychecks for his roles in films, making his initial foray into financial success. You could say this was the foundation on which his fortune was built.

But we all know Hollywood can be fickle, right? So how did Rob avoid the classic pitfalls that often plague teen stars?

Reinvention: The Key to Sustaining Rob Lowe's Net Worth

Hollywood can be unforgiving, but Rob Lowe managed to reinvent himself time and time again. During the 90s, he didn’t shy away from taking on a variety of roles, both in film and television. This adaptability is one of the secrets behind his sustained success. More recently, Lowe has taken on roles in shows like "The West Wing" and "Parks and Recreation," which not only kept him in the public eye but also contributed significantly to Rob Lowe's net worth.

It’s no secret that TV money is where the big bucks are these days. Lowe’s transition to television wasn’t just smart, it was profitable!

"The West Wing" and TV Stardom

Lowe’s portrayal of Sam Seaborn in "The West Wing" catapulted his career to a new level, earning him both critical acclaim and substantial income. It’s no exaggeration to say that his time on the show added a hefty chunk to his bank account. But his success didn’t stop there.

"Parks and Recreation" - A New Fan Base

Rob Lowe’s role as Chris Traeger in "Parks and Recreation" introduced him to a whole new generation of fans. His quirky, optimistic character was a fan favorite, and the show's success meant more opportunities—and bigger paychecks—came Lowe’s way. It’s no wonder his net worth saw a major uptick during this period.

Rob Lowe: The Entrepreneur

Acting aside, Rob Lowe has proven himself to be a savvy businessman. He has delved into other ventures, such as authoring books and launching a skincare line for men called Profile™, which was a game-changer. Celebrities diversifying their income streams is nothing new, but Lowe’s business acumen has helped keep his finances healthy. After all, why rely solely on acting when there’s a whole world of opportunities waiting to be tapped into?

With these additional sources of income, Rob Lowe’s net worth has expanded far beyond what many might have expected from an 80s teen idol.

Family and Personal Life: How It Influences Rob Lowe's Financial Choices

Rob Lowe is a family man, and it’s clear that his personal life has a big influence on his financial decisions. He’s been married to his wife, Sheryl Berkoff, since 1991, and they have two sons together. Having a stable family life has allowed him to focus on his career and entrepreneurial endeavors without the distractions that can often derail a Hollywood career.

Is it safe to say that behind every successful man is a strong support system? Absolutely!

What is Rob Lowe's Net Worth Today?

Drumroll, please! Rob Lowe’s current net worth is estimated to be around $100 million. Yep, you read that right! That’s the result of decades of hard work, smart career moves, and some clever business ventures on the side. He’s come a long way from his early days in Hollywood, and it’s safe to say that his wealth is a reflection of both his talent and tenacity.

Lessons to Learn from Rob Lowe's Career

So, what can we learn from Rob Lowe’s journey to stardom and wealth? Here are a few takeaways:

Reinvention is key: Never be afraid to pivot in your career.

Diversify your income: Lowe didn’t just rely on acting; he explored other ventures to build his fortune.

Stay relevant: Whether it’s TV, movies, or business, Lowe has always found ways to stay in the public eye.

Have a strong support system: Personal stability has clearly played a big role in Lowe’s enduring success.

Conclusion

Rob Lowe's net worth isn't just a reflection of his acting career—it’s a testament to his ability to adapt, reinvent, and seize opportunities as they come. From his teenage heartthrob days to becoming a respected actor, entrepreneur, and author, Rob Lowe has built a financial empire worth admiration. And who knows? With his business ventures and continued acting roles, his net worth might just keep climbing.

[devoidwrites]

Walking in the Wind • Xu Minghao

Summary: Goodbyes are hard, especially when you have to depart from the love of your life

Words: 1.9K

Warnings: none, unedited

Genre: Idol AU, angst

Pairing: Xu Minghao x BSF! Reader

"You will find me in places we've never been."

Geoffrey Chaucer once said that 'all good things must come to an end', but you didn't like to believe that. You wanted to believe that good things were supposed to last. You didn't like the idea of your good things having to depart from you. It made you feel uneasy.

These days you found it hard to not believe him given the circumstances you were facing. You were on your way to your boarding gate, to which you’d fly across the world. 

Your best friend Minghao nudged you as you got closer. “You’ve got everything, right?”

Hoisting your carry on up on you shoulder, you nodded at him. “Yep.”

“Text me when you land, okay?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes Hao.”

“I’m only looking out for you!”

You giggled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I know.”

Of course you knew that. He was your best friend of five years. You always looked out for one another, but in different ways. He’d make sure you were sleeping properly to keep you from falling too deep into your studies, and in return you’d make sure he eats well while he was busy practicing for their latest comeback. You balanced one another out.

Everyone thought the two of you were dating at first glance, but you were quick to reassure them that the two of you were nothing more than close friends. Even if it’s not exactly what you wanted, you’d go along with it. For the sake of him, and his group members.

Fans weren’t too big on their idols dating, and the companies were always quick to enforce to no dating rule. If they got caught in a relationship several things could happen. The idol would be forced to terminate the relationship, and if they refused they could be forced to leave the group they were in. It was terrible, but that’s the price to pay when becoming an idol 

You couldn't ask Minghao to risk not only his career, but his member’s career for you. Your feelings weren't worth all of that. You thought it would’ve been easy to get over the feelings for him, but after two years you were proven just how wrong you were to think such a thing. You still loved him, probably even more than you did before. 

The two of you could’ve kept it a secret, but what's the point if you couldn't tell the world just how much you loved Minghao. Not that you would've been public about your relationship anyways,  but the two of you wouldn't have been able to go on dates or simply walk around with one another. You would've been forced into a relationship of secrecy, and that didn’t sit well with you. 

So, you loved him in your mind.

You were fine with it; loving him from afar. Your friendship wasn't a secret, not at all. His fans knew about you, and they knew that’s exactly all you were. You’d keep your feelings at bay if that meant keeping him in your life. 

Minghao fixed the hat on his head, making sure to keep his red hair from being broadcasted to the people in the airport by pulling the hood of his hoodie over the top of his hat. One person could recognize him and ruin the sweet goodbye the two of you had planned. 

“Are you excited?” He asked, turning his eyes to meet yours. “A new chapter begins.” 

You shrugged softly. “It just sucks you won't be a part of it.” 

“What?” He said quickly. “Of course I will! You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” 

“It won't be the same.” You sighed. “I’ll be seeing you through a phone screen instead of in person.” 

“You talk like this is gonna be the last time we see each other.”  He reached forward to grab you by the shoulders gently. “Y/n, this isn’t goodbye.” 

“It sure feels like it.” You muttered. Your flight number was called for boarding, and you swore your heart stopped beating for a second. In just a few moments, you’d be saying goodbye to the love of your life. Who knows when you'd see him again. Both of your schedules are about to get hectic- even more so than they already were. 

You had to tell him. You had to tell him that you were in love with him. It’s been two years you’ve been holding this to yourself, and you had to let it out before you left. It would make it easier. At least, you hoped it would. 

“Hao.” You said softly. “You remember when we promised not to keep secrets from each other?” 

His eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded softly. “Yeah.”  

“I’m in love with you.” Your eyes met the ground instantly. “I have been for-”

“I know.” He cut you off. Your eyes snapped to meet his, and you didn’t need to look under his mask to see the sweet smile on his lips. How can you be the one confessing to him, yet you were the one left speechless.

Seems like you weren’t the only one keeping a secret.

“Your timing is quite awful.”

“You know?” The shock was clear in your features. “What do you mean ‘You know’?”

He chuckled at your reaction. You looked adorable with your widened eyes and your quiet stuttering. “It’s not like you hid them well. Although I can’t say anything about it. I didn’t hide my own feelings all that well either.” 

“You.. feel the same?” Your features softened as his own eyes crinkled, signaling another smile.

“Of course I do.” He reached forward to grab your hand gently, rubbing his thumb alongside your hand. "I always have."

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

This was the first time his eyes left you and moved to the floor as he sighed. “I’ve witnessed first hand what happens to idols dating. It's terrifying to know that everything could be taken from me so easily. I didn't want to risk losing everything- losing you.”

He squeezed you hand tightly. “And for me to ask you to run around in secret, unable to tell the world that we were together, it would've been selfish of me.”

You held his face in your right hand, his mask separating your skin from his. “I would’ve risked everything for you.”

And he would've done the same, but the harsh truth was that since he was in a group, he had to think about more than just his own feelings. He had to take him member's into account, and how it would affect them if the two of you were caught.

"But I understand." And you did. You knew he would've worried about his friends- his family- and how it would hurt them if he was forced to leave the group, or even how it would affect him having to break up with you.

Minghao leaned into your touch. “Why would you drop this on me now?”

“Call it false hope.” You shrugged. "I was hoping once I let it out I'd be able to move on."

"And?"

"Didn't work out how I thought it would."

Another call for your flight was announced, and that was when it finally hit you. You were about to leave the love of your life, and you weren't sure when you'd see him again. It was different now, knowing he felt the same as you. You wanted to hit yourself for letting it happen.

"I should go." You held your breath, trying to keep the tears from falling down. Your hand fell back to your side.

He noticed the tears in your eyes, and he squeezed your hand once more. "I'll be by your side, any time you're needing me."

You nodded before pulling your hand from his and turning to walk away. A single tear rolled down your face, and you were quick to wipe it off.

Before you could take another step, Minghao grabbed your hand and pulled you back towards him so he could place his lips on yours. It wasn't how you always imagined it to be. You never thought your first kiss with him could possibly be your last.

You melted into the kiss, and you couldn't stop the tears from falling anymore. He held you close, as if you'd run away at any given moment, but if you could you'd stay in his arms forever.

You were forced to pull away from him when the last call for your flight echoed through the building. Minghao held your face so softly in his hands, and his eyes moved over every inch of your face.

"Call me when you land, yeah?"

You nodded once more and he leaned forward to press a single kiss to your forehead before lifting his mask over his mouth once more and stepping back.

He watched as you turned around, letting the tears flow freely down your face. You took that first step away, and you could slowly feel your chest tightening as you stepped further away from him and closer to the plane.

You may have left for America, but your heart stayed in Korea.

[woogurl]

WOOSAN FANSERVICE

what is real and what is not real? now, a lot of people think woosan is fanservice because how obvious and in your face the are. while i do think they do give very obvious fanservice, i believe with my whole heart that their relationship is very genuine. 

now let’s discuss fanservice, while i do think every company advises their groups to give fanservice and it’s literally ingrained in their minds(kpop idols) on how to give fanservice. whether it’s sexy dancing, acting cute, or passing along a sheet of paper to a member with your mouth, san constantly exposing his sarms.. these are all clear indications of fanservice. i want to be clear, fanservice in my opinion is always obvious. company’s do not emotionally invest in shipping the way you think they do. because why would they invest on giving obvious hints that their idols are dating? especially in a place like korea? their careers would literally be over. it would literally affect everyone in the group, including them and it would not just ruin the group, but any career path they decide to go in in korea. 

so, i’m gonna show you guys the difference between fanservice and genuine reactions when it comes to woosan. 

let’s talk about fanservice.

let’s talk about this whole ass VCR that KQ put together for woosan, it’s clearly fanservice, but i thought it was interesting the way they filmed it. the way this was filmed was like, they’re each others others other half. which we know they often say this a lot. so my question is the company capitalizing on their relationship or are they supporting? could be both? now, i know it sounds crazy as the most important thing for every company is to make money. even though this does not exclude KQ, i’ve noticed that ateez has a lot more freedom than other kpop artist. they let them eat as much as they want, they spoil them with presents all the time which is proven with their vlogs. they give their idols freedom to speak on things, like hongjoong really says what he wants. especially when he wants to give atiny a reality check. lol. they also give them creative freedom, allowing hongjoong to speak on such a heated topic like race during his black and white cover is really something. but are they still a company whose best interest is to make money? yes. let’s talk about some other moments during the tour.

these moments were all during the tour, the woosan umbrellas, the hand holding the making hearts with each other and even the most obvious one of all which is the one where they had to promote the hats for the tour and KQ picked woosan to do it. ya’know, very cute, but also clearly fanservice. lol. though, there’s an interesting moment, which i don’t think is fanservice, and that moment was during the time woo hugged seonghwa and jongho was like san’s gonna get jealous, and san was like no no, even tho he looked so jelly(you can find a lot of these moments on the yt channel skzo planet, credit to them, they’re great.)  let’s continue. let’s talk about the asmr/lie detector video on yt. which i consider less obvious fanservice because people tend to think these moments are not planned. i know why am i taking the best moments awayyyyyyy. ;c

it’s clear that KQ understands that woosan is the most popular ship, because they have them go on these programs together which highlights their chemistry and interactions together. i think a lot of these moments here are fanservice but i also think they’re genuine. like their moment afterward where they have a deep conversation about their feelings. while i do think the company sets these up to capitalize off their relationship, i don’t think it’s to the point where they give them a script to read and say, “hey, memorize this script” no no. lmfao. if there’s one thing the company’s understand completely is that fans want real human beings. not robots. which is why vlive exist. it’s also one of the reasons kpop is preferred from western pop. they understand that fans love real people and genuine reactions between their fans. so you have to remember that. i think they just seized an opportunity to capitalize off their ship or support, who knows? they seem very grateful towards their company.

here’s the lie detector one, obviously, the company sets these up. which i think is ultimately a fanservicey move. but again, i don’t think the company gives them any script to read these are just their genuine feelings. in which san said woo is his other half and that he would literally give his kidney away for him. the company sets these circumstances up, but they do this to highlight their relationship. the company has them do many things together, but i honestly do not think they force them to pretend to act like bestfriends. i mean that’s just outrageous. lol. 

yup, i have to go there, yes, i’m going to take away everything you’ve ever loved away from you, because this is obvious fanservice. the stares, the sexy sexy dancing tHE STARES. listen, these people are well-trained professionals, never forget that. they know what fans want. while i do think this dance is probably the most common of fanservice for woosan stans i don’t think the reactions are fanservice. there’s just some moments where woo gets really shy and flustered. because i do think san makes him genuinely shy because this boy can be very tense and reek of pure devilish and demonic behavior. woo is someone who has a very commanding presence and demanding personality, and he seems fearless and shameless at times, but there are plenty of moments of san making woo completely flustered and nervous with a simple look. which i think is genuine since discomfort is very noticeable because it’s almost always an immediate reaction to something.

now let’s talk about genuine interactions (a lot of these were probably mentioned in my woosan relationship analysis).

let’s talk about their relationship in general, outside the cameras, that already ultimately prove that their relationship isn’t fanservice. now something that we learned a while back during the christmas vlive with the woosansang drama(i’ve done a post about this). is that woo and san hang out so much with each other that the other members are jealous. obviously, this has nothing to do with the company. they just genuinely hang around each other because they like each other. we know this to be true because the members explicitly say this and have mentioned before. i also did a post where woo mentioned san at least 5-7 times during a vlive with jongho. 

they literally spent the whole day together guys, like you just don’t spend that much time with somebody you don’t like. there’s a bunch of kpop groups with ships who don’t even hang out in real life. they’re literally hanging out with members you least expect them to be. lmfao. it just shows you that the reality is that most kpop ships are not real. because to me, it’s obvious that they aren’t that close irl and that’s the most important factor here. i wanna talk about some other important moments in the woosansang vlive.

there talking about real circumstances here, and yeosangs grievances with woo, ‘cause he feels sad that yeosang doesn’t hang around him anymore. this happened a few months ago. so don’t worry.

mingi said that this was a private conversation that he had with yeosang, so again these are private matters. just in case you don’t know company’s do not like discord in the group, which is why they freaked out during the recent vlive when mingi didn’t have yeosang’s number even though i don’t even have my siblings number. loool.

this is what yunho said when woo wanted him to go to the bathroom with him, and he was sulky ‘cause he only hung out with san. now let’s move onto how clingy they are. 

let’s start with san’s vlog, yes, i said san’s vlog(side eye’s woo). 

this vlog, that was supposed to be san’s, included moments with woo, more so than the other members. they even ate together, and they often do eat together from what i can tell. woo says he goes out to eat with san to relieve stress. he also called him during that time on vlive with yeosang to go out with him. which is why i thought the call was genuine, because they always seem to eat together. i mean the call wasn’t even on speaker and the fact that woo used aegyo with him is also telling to me. do you think the company sets them on dinner dates to please the fandom? lol. no there are other moments of them clinging and you can find them throughout my other posts. but i just wanted to stress that they’re not clingy for fanservice, they’re this way because they’re naturally close and intimate in real life. i have never seen a kpop ship share this type of intimacy.

here’s another moment, where they went out to eat together, mind you they were asking seonghwa if he was happy to join them as if they were an already married couple. i wanna add the moments here with seonghwa wanting to join woosan, and them being like “no” or “we’ll think” about it, but i’ll leave that for my woosanhwa analysis. 

let’s talk about the fact that they created their own ship name, and them being happy about it because i honestly don’t think that if they were not okay with it and the company was forcing it, they wouldn’t milk it for all it was worth.

let’s talk about the ship name and the thousands of other stuff the’ve come up with. could the company have come up with woosan, possibly, but you can’t convince they sat a round table discussing the thousands of handshakes they’ve come up with. you also can’t convince me that the company made woo go online to find a special meanings for a friend that stays with you forever(amicus ad aras). as i said before the company isn’t as invested as you all may think they are. the second one is literally them introducing themselves as woosan to some poor person recording them. like you can’t tell me that they aren’t proud to be woosan. now i know a lot of people get annoyed on twitter because some fans don’t know how not to mention woo without san when he’s doing a solo live (death stare at those fans). but the thing is it just goes to show that they’re comfortable enough with the ship that people can tell that it’s genuine. are there some moments where they’re uncomfortable sure? but is it the company’s fault. i don’t think so, i think it’s the fans(some shippers) that require them not to be their own person. esp woo. 

the stares, to me, the eyes never lie, and most people realize this, even people who’ve only had a gentle bump into the fandom notice the way the look at each other. even in the recent vlive, but you can tell woo tends to avoid san’s stare. even though woo wants to seem comfortable around san to not make it seem obvious, it’s very obvious that he makes an effort not to. i literally had an online friend that ships vkook ask if they were close during the recent vlive because woo never looked at san. xD lol. which is another strong point i want to make. while there are some moments of woo clinging to san on camera. most of the time he does it off camera. i don’t think the company asked to look like they were in love but here we are. one last thing is...

is their trip to jeju, in which seonghwa coicidentally went as well. now this is a family vacation where all the members went with their respective families. now, a lot of you may not know but during a fansign woosan planned a trip to jeju. seonghwa just happened to be there with his family as well. lol. i wanted to mention this because obv the company doesn’t really have any say in the matter. but also because i mean they’re on vacation together. like do you know how many groups are desperate to be on vacation away from each other? lmfao. like nah woosan planned to go on vacation together. while seonghwa talked a lot about it, woo did not and continued brushing it off which makes me wonder....

anyway, that’s it.

oh, here’s a bonus for you greedy ones.

i wanna mention a moment that i thought was interesting. which was a game they played on kbs a few moments ago. they were given a penalty to kiss each other. which is obv fanservice, but i do think reactions matter. as soon as it’s mentioned san’s eyes automatically go to woo? he doesn’t have much time to think about it, his body just reacts, why woo tho hmmm san? 

now, i wanna also mention the moment after, which a lot of people were confused by. like why is he touching himself like that so suddenly? lol. so what i think is happening is that san is “preening”. he’s experiencing nervous excitement and he’s stroking himself. when your attracted to someone your skin becomes sensitive. esp your lips and it feels good to touch. 

woo also whined and hit mingi out of jealousy. lmfao. 

anyway. that’s it.

[satanherfuckingself]

Hayley Atwell. Publicly Adored Psychopath.

Before I begin, I feel it's imperative to mention that this was not created to cause harm. Do not send anyone hatred or harassment despite what you may read. You are not a monster. Do not stoop to that level. Verbal abuse is still abuse, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether someone 'deserves' it or not.

Please, do not do that. Do not become an abuser. If you feel the need to do something, I will provide solutions for that fact, but hatred and harm will not solve anything.

Keep that in mind. And please stay tuned and read this thoroughly because it's more than just a social call out. It's more than just 'cancel culture' or someone making a big whoop over something nonsensical or even holding someone accountable for their actions. I promise there is a point to this, and it is probably far more important than the title even suggests.

Please, stick with it, and read to the end.

I also feel the need to mention that some of the behaviors discussed in this piece will undoubtedly be quite... disturbing. Proceed with caution if you find it necessary.

And. Let it be known that any claims made here are in fact alleged. Evidence and sources will be provided of course, that's simply a friendly reminder for the... legality of it.

Forgive me if you enjoy this ending because if you have any sense of a decent moral compass, this will probably shatter that enjoyment of it, and forgive me if you do not because this will only make you hate it more.

So I found this blog:

Hydra Support Blog

Really, it's a blog centered entirely around hating Sharon Carter, the very real person that was her actress, Emily VanCamp, encouraging hatred towards this same very real person and her fans for any scrounged up nonexistent reason they can find, without proof, as well as fans of the comics.

They also insult her acting, despite the fact that Emily actually has won awards for her performances while the idol they are so devoted to has not.

All for the sake of the very real bully who actively encouraged, manipulated, and even to some degree, promoted the behavior. Under the guise of promoting her own character.

Why did I call them a Hydra support blog?

Well, quite clearly, they support the Creepy Uncle Theory that Endgame made a point to reward them with, which certainly does require the support of Hydra among other things, but I won't dive into that just yet. It's also because they sound exactly like Zola. Don't worry, we'll come back to it. But they are also quite clearly overjoyed at the idea of someone losing a job for their personal enjoyment.

This is also terrible.

Allow me to remind that this harassment and hatred was not limited to these fans, or fans of Peggy or Steggy. It also existed, to some degree among Romanogers fans, Stucky fans, and Stony fans. You know who you are. And you are certainly not excused from this behavior if you in any way participated in spreading hatred or contempt for the Staron and Sharon fanbase, or actively harassing those fans.

You don't have to like it, you can even rant against it all you like in your personal spaces. But being respectful and understanding should be the common fucking courteousy here. People are allowed to like different things from you. And they are not obligated to agree with you.

Your personal enjoyment is not worth more than someone's job or life. And it never should be.

However, the only actress who encouraged this particular behavior in full, among her fans... was Atwell.

Not Emily, not Chris, not Scarlett, not Sebastian, and not Robert Downey Jr. Some may have made tasteless jokes or even gone along with the situation, encouraging 'teams' among fans for publicity. I wouldn't label complete blamelessness in this case, but it is important to recognize ignorance over malicious behavior, which is the difference here. Because it was nothing to the extent of the tantrum that Atwell threw the moment the spotlight was no longer on her.

So let's talk about Hayley Atwell, and her involvement in all of this, the alleged actions and their implications. Let's take a deep dive into the psychology of it all, and why what she did was actually very wrong. I'll touch on the lack of etiquette and class as well as blatant unprofessionalism needed to consciously do what she did.

Because her behavior is disturbing, it is disgusting, and it has gone unnoticed for far too long. Her portrayal of Peggy makes the relationship canonically abusive. And no one noticed.

People are still defending her, and respecting her, despite what she's done. She is welcome to have a life and live it how she pleases, but not at the expense of other people. We cannot simply reward this type of behavior when it is unquestionably wrong. We cannot leave her with the power to do worse.

A good starting point in understanding what she's done would be here:

Receipts

Who one lovely sweetheart of a blogger decided to compile and I am ever so grateful for, as I'm a lazy shit~. My only regret is that this wasn't seen and still hasn't been seen by enough people, especially by those that rewarded or are even promoting the behavior still. This blogger is a very good person and that is abundantly clear, send her some love and reblog that post if you can. It's necessary more people see it. Thank you, love, you are truly a blessing. So I'm a little bias, I tend to be for good people.

Allow me to expand on it though, as I do have to mention, I have just a few minor additions and concerns. However, sources are provided perfectly, along with plenty of evidence to stand on it's own for what Atwell did. That this was active, deliberate, and intentional to hurt someone's career that wasn't herself. Allegedly.

But, let's also debunk some of Atwell's claims and mention a few other things, starting with all her claims about the relationship between Sharon and Steve. Between being 'disrespectful' and 'incestuous'.

Claims easily found in these articles:

https://ew.com/article/2016/06/06/captain-america-civil-war-hayley-atwell-steve-sharon/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/peggy-carter-does-not-approve-899860

https://www.hypable.com/captain-america-civil-war-hayley-atwell-steve-and-sharon-were-disrespectful/

https://www.thewrap.com/hayley-atwell-agent-carter-captain-america-civil-war-kiss-sharon-carter-marvel-incestuous-disrespectful/

https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Hayley-Atwell-Issue-With-Captain-America-Agent-13-Kiss-Civil-War-135197.html

https://www.bustle.com/articles/165038-hayley-atwell-reveals-peggys-feelings-about-steve-sharon-which-are-just-what-youd-expect

https://www.bustle.com/articles/165194-why-captain-america-sharon-carters-relationship-does-a-disservice-to-both-fans-steve-rogers

https://www.themarysue.com/peggy-carter-does-not-approve/

Oh, and look at that last one, including a gif of the psychotic rage it takes to shoot at someone who doesn't belong to you, because you're jealous... And of course, we love a good afterthought in which a real person is less important than a fictional story.

https://screenrant.com/captain-america-mcu-ending-problem-sharon-carter-endgame/

Did I need to include all of those sources? Of course not. Are they mostly along the same lines? Absolutely. But does it make a point of how positively this was covered as the media ran with her words to give her as much press and coverage as she wanted and promote her and only her ideas?

Absolutely...

To put it all very bluntly, I disagree with her. Why?

Well, for starters, we know that 'Peggy' had initially moved on from Steve. She'd married, had a family, supposedly loved this family and even had grandchildren. The character had always, comics alike but even in the MCU, been meant to signify and aid in Steve moving on, just as she did, from the past. It was a minor role, but still vital, and quite endearing when done this way.

But according to this, these articles and Atwell herself.

Peggy never loved the husband she'd initially married, or the family she'd made.

They were only placeholders for Steve.

According to her, Steve wasn't allowed to move on from her. Wasn't permitted to find happiness, beyond her, even though her character had blatantly stated she wanted him to in 'CA:TWS'. As proven even by Atwell's feelings towards Romanogers. Seemingly any woman that wasn't Peggy was an absolute 'no' for her. Because he belonged to 'Peggy'. I didn't know... slavery was a thing for her, but as far as I know, people cannot and should not be ownable.

Under no circumstances, even with married couples, should the people involved be considered property. They are individuals and human beings. Point blank. Period.

But let's make an exception in her case and say that this is true. Well, apparently this controlled permission and ownership extends to Sharon as well?

Now I'll ask, why is Peggy's opinion, a woman Steve had previously only shared one kiss with, had never even managed to share that one date with, relevant at all?

A woman who, need I remind you is well into her 90s by the time we see her again, is Steve still supposedly all she thinks about? All she thought about all those years? Why was a picture of... him on her desk in the 70s, as portrayed in Endgame, when she should have been married, with children, well into her 50s mind you but somehow still young, and apparently, none of her family is as important as Steve?

How is that healthy?

She was tantamount to an ex-lover at that point. Even if they had slept together, as Atwell claimed, and Evans and the writers disproved. Are people supposed to consult ex-lovers before they start dating someone else? Especially ones that get married and live their lives? Is there some unspoken rule I don't know about? Or in another sense, I wasn't aware she was also his mother and could decide for him, a grown man with a right to his own decisions and autonomy, who had initiated the romance with Sharon, what he could and could not do.

Ideally, Peggy would have cared more about Sharon, a niece she had supported in her endeavors and helped raise, rather than a man she admired symbolically and had shared one kiss with, and never managed to date. Just because she didn't get dick from him. Ideally, she would have cared more about the family she'd allegedly made after moving on from this man's death. A family, Sharon would have been a part of.

Her concerns shouldn't have been cockblocking Steve and saying he couldn't have Sharon and vice versa, they should have been whether or not he's treating Sharon right. And far more protective over Sharon, than possessive over Steve.

In fact, a good great aunt who'd truly loved both of them, faced with this situation, I would have even imagined trying to set them up, and being that scandalous older woman~, who's lived her life, had fun, loved her family, and wants to see him happy with someone else.

Because that's what true love is.

Wanting to see the person you love, happy, even if it's without you, even if it can't be you that gives them that happiness, especially if you've had to move on in your own life and can't be with them.

I fail to see how Steve moving on after she has too, qualifies as 'disrespectful'. Even if you find it tasteless that he kissed Sharon after her death. Could he have asked for her permission and blessing for the relationship? Of course! Maybe he should have, I think this would have even made it better. The difference being, a Peggy who truly cared about him would have given her blessing, not withheld it.

But what about the 'incestuous' aspect?

Well, that's also a no. At least... not technically, and certainly not before Peggy was forced back into the relationship, before Steve willingly and knowing became Sharon's uncle. And Peggy's placeholders were set aside like chopped liver. Steve was certainly in a peculiar situation that maybe doesn't look the best from the exterior, and in the original version of the comics, Sharon was merely Peggy's younger sister. However, the comparison of his situation is easily explained and understood in much better lighting with some simple imagination.

Take for example, and let's even make Sharon a more direct descendant just to drive the point home, if Steve were an ancient vampire.

Let's say... this vampire Steve has a brief romantic fling with a young and beautiful Peggy. They do not sleep together. But share some feelings, some sweet passings, and a single kiss. However, Steve goes dormant, for years and years and years on end. However vampires do. Peggy is understandably sad for the moment, perhaps upset. But she moves on. She understands, she falls in love with someone new, she has children, and her children have children, and so on and so forth. She lives a normal human life.

Steve wakes up.

And he meets Sharon. A however many greats granddaughter of the woman he was once infatuated with. But he may not necessarily know this. They look nothing alike. But maybe there's something special in the bloodline that draws them together, that draws him to her.

Oh, and by the way, this is starting to sound familiar. Ever heard of the 'Vampire Diaries'? Except Elena and Katherine do in fact look exactly alike.

Yet no one bats an eye at this or calls it incestuous.

The point being, he falls in love. And she does too. And maybe this time, he decides he wants someone to be with, to hold, wholly and completely. And he turns Sharon into his immortal lover. (There's a fic idea for anyone that wants it~!)

Perhaps this was even something that under circumstance, he couldn't offer to Peggy, or she had even rejected.

This is not incest, in any way, shape, or form. This is a man, faced with a circumstance, in which he moves on. And is happy to do so. There is nothing wrong with that.

Could it be a little strange that he happens to fall for someone in Peggy's bloodline? Sure. But it's still not incest.

Unless~, he falls in love with Sharon... before deciding on takebacksies and finding a way to go back in time just to be with her however many greats grandmother. Possibly even ensuring that his own blood is part of Sharon's, or erasing her from existence along with any of the other family that Peggy had allegedly loved.

The first one is perfectly understandable. The second one is disgusting.

Peggy makes it incestuous.

But I suppose, according to Atwell, Peggy was also incapable of love.

Not just loving other people besides Steve, but love in general. Because this is called obsession, and it's sick. It's disturbing. Can't tell the difference? Here, that should help. This one too, very informative and does a good job of simplifying this concept for the average person. And what a coincidence. Oh, and look, another. And another.

Seriously, this is what Marvel, and Disney, a modern day company that should be responsible with it's messages and stories, glorified and normalized for the public.

If you're going to write a horror story, at least say it's a fucking horror story. Or take the goddamn criticism when someone tells you it is objectively bad.

So, not only did this woman completely fabricate and romanticize a crush, an unhealthy one, and blow it up to be a real relationship along with convincing everyone of the lie, she put others down to do so in order to get what she wanted, regardless of the price that others had to pay for it. Lovely. I think her claims completely undermine and disregard the legacy Peggy had left behind, and the love she would have otherwise had for her family. I think it's a gross mischaracterization of her that misses the mark on who 'Peggy Carter' was and what she represents.

Did you know that in the comics she has a relationship with Gabe Jones? One of Steve's own Howlies no less, and a wonderful representation of an interracial love fighting for what's right, together, especially for the time period?

Where's that love story, that doesn't require Steve to be a creepy uncle for her sake and is more than just an obsessive crush and single kiss?

Why does Sharon not matter to her? Why did her husband not matter? Why did her kids not matter?

And if you're under the assumption that Steve was this person the entire time, why did Hydra not matter growing within S.H.I.E.L.D.? Why did Steve's own principles and who he was not matter to her anymore, as long as she was getting dick? Why did Bucky not matter, being tortured by Hydra for the 70 years she got to get off?

Nevermind, I guess she treated him like shit anyway, even if ideally, the flirtatious little shit Bucky was would have been the best man at Steve's wedding to her, an uncle to her kids, and the best friend that Steve had in his life with her.

Why did Sharon still not matter to her? Nor her other family which she apparently lied to? Why did young Steve not matter enough to tell the truth to? And lie about Alzheimer's no less. Why did she seem to find it fitting to lie to everyone?

Let's continue.

If that's not enough, let's talk about the cry that Steve somehow 'wasn't good enough' for or 'didn't deserve' Peggy when the kiss of Civil War happened.

Okay...

How?

Because if your reasoning for the logic of putting someone down, telling them they are lesser, and 'not good enough' or undeserving of you, is because they choose to 'move on' and not be with you, or choose someone else over you?

You are a terrible person. And I would not want to be the object of your affection.

That is deliberate psychological abuse. And if you tell anyone that sort of thing, just because they don't or can't return your feelings, you are a fucked up person. Fuck you. That is disgusting.

Do not ever tell someone this just because they can't or choose not to love you. Apologize if you ever have, especially to someone you do love. Love is not always an active choice. And this is guilt tripping, manipulating, gaslighting someone into a situation where you put them down for your personal benefit, and that is nasty, unacceptable behavior that no one should tolerate.

Call out someone's own terrible behavior if they are doing something wrong, do not jump to the conclusion that this means the person is worthless. There is a difference. Harmful behaviors can be changed. People can change and get better. We should strive to be better.

However, the aforementioned? That is what psychopaths do to ensure their control over a relationship, run if someone is doing this to you. Find a way to get out of there if you can, because that is fucked up, and no, you deserve better than that. Do not let them belittle you.

And yet, this was... completely glorified by the media, even rewarding someone who committed to this type of behavior. Especially after the fact.

How many articles are there out there that critique Endgame versus those that promote this ending and actively defend it? Giving Disney good press?

But luckily, Atwell only did it with the characters, right? It's only fictional, right?

Yeah, that's why we didn't see Emily in Infinity Wars or Endgame... That's why, even though she'd been hired for a job she had earned, they kept kicking her down the road like a bent, empty can. Worthless and usable, and not a real person at all. Why did they hire her if this had 'always been the plan' as they claimed? To disgust everyone? To make the ending as fucking shitty as it is and have people praise them for it? To publicly embarrass and humiliate her, just because?

The lack of class and just... human decency necessary to commit this kind of behavior is easily seen with a hypothetical comparison, simply with another well beloved actress I will admit might not be a fully fair comparison. But that's because this actress is amazing and not many people compare to her.

But let's take a pause and also consider the actions of Atwell's coworkers, since none of them did quite what she did. None of them... did quite what she did.

You know who else would never do this, even if she'd been playing Peggy Carter and got her show cancelled? Who realistically, wouldn't have gotten her show cancelled because she actually is amazing and would be worth watching, hands down, no complaints.

Sandra Bullock.

And I'd hate to name drop like that or put her on the spot, but just consider it for a moment. Sandy B. as Peggy Carter. Already, beautiful, elegant, amazing, maybe a bit funnier, compassionate, kind, and playing the part of the loving aunt for Sharon perfectly. Even more comic accurate probably! Sandra Bullock would never take time out of her day for any reason, to put down one of her costar's characters and talk trash about this character and the relationship she's in with another character... Ever. Period.

She has class, grace. And she's a truly, genuinely good human being. In fact, I would wager to say, she'd make jokes about it to promote the relationship. As the crazy aunt who's constantly trying to set Steve up with someone new, probably her niece, and embarrassing the shit out of him. And that image is just fucking adorable.

Can you picture it? It's pretty amazing, right?

Now can you really defend Atwell's actions knowing they could have been avoided and a real person, real people, not hurt with them?

I guarantee this ending would have never happened had someone at least like Sandra Bullock been cast as Peggy Carter. Even if she did happen to 'ship' Peggy and Steve more than she did Sharon and Steve. Even if she did 'joke' about it. Especially when there's a point the jokes go too far. And I'd wager to say, she'd even focus more on helping Emily VanCamp, than putting down her character and sicking her pack or rabid bullies on her to try and get her to kill herself.

What the actual fuck has to be wrong with someone to do something like that. Even without giving the direct order.

And sure, maybe fans do ride the crazy train a bit to much. But the least we could expect from Bullock would be a public statement regarding the behavior, and letting fans know that she doesn't condone it and would want them to stop.

I challenge you to find anything along those lines that Atwell could have done. I tried.

And there was nothing.

Let's continue with the character analysis and talk a bit about the implications of this ending.

So far, we know Peggy hated Sharon, her own niece, that she 'owns' Steve and has all rights to his autonomy and decisions, doesn't care about her husband or family if Steve isn't somehow part of it, and would label Steve 'unworthy' of her if he somehow decided he loved someone else. Not just Sharon, but anyone.

Let's also not forget this is a woman who shot at him for having kissed someone else in front of her. When they weren't together. Would you want and choose to date someone who shot at you for doing that?

I mean, I suppose I don't personally know you, maybe you're into some kinky shit. But that doesn't really seem to healthy to me.

Let's talk about little Steve and Erskine, and the promise Steve made to him as well as himself. His character development over the movies and what this ending requires not just of him, but of Peggy too.

From the first movie, we know that even when Steve wasn't capable of doing more, when his body didn't permit him to, he always wanted to do more. Erskine in his dying moment asked him not to forget his heart. The man that would choose to do good above all else. To help those around him that maybe couldn't help themselves. This is an invaluable lesson I think we could all learn from, within our capacities of course.

Bucky even tried to stop Steve from hurting himself, because he worried about him. And then followed him because he admired what the little guy... had always stood for. And against.

“I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't like bullies, I don't care where they're from.”

By the end of the film, Steve has lost someone incredibly dear to him that he grew up with, Bucky, and makes the decision to save thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost over his own personal enjoyment. Because it's the right decision. And he tells Peggy it's his choice. He doesn't hesitate. He doesn't expect to survive, but he keeps his promise to Erskine above all else, and stops Hydra, or so we think.

We later discover Hydra has survived all those years through Zola. Growing in S.H.I.E.L.D., under Peggy's watchful eyes... holding Bucky for all that time.

With the addition of Endgame's Creepy Uncle Theory, that little tidbit of the story, we've been given two interpretations. There's also a lot of lines that lose all meaning, from Steve, Peggy, and Sharon.

“When I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it.”

“Sometimes, all we can do is our best, and sometimes the best is the start over.”

“She kept so many secrets, I didn't want her to have one from you.”

“I don't know, the guy who wanted all of that went into the ice 70 years ago, I think someone else came out.”

But let's go back to those interpretations, both of which require someone to suffer on Steve and Peggy's behalf for a minimum of 70 years. Apart from becoming a creepy uncle who apparently had been only using Sharon as a replacement for her. And of course abandoning everyone who loved him just to get laid. This may not be easily seen or understood at first glance. But it is easily explained and should be painfully obvious.

If Steve is present in the main universe that entire time, choosing to do nothing, he has:

Abandoned Sharon.

Abandoned his family, the Avengers.

Abandoned Bucky.

Abandoned the principles he lived by and thrown away promises to all those he held dear. Including his promise to Erskine, who gave him that power to do more to begin with.

Left Hydra undisturbed and even prospering under his beloved wife's organization, allowing people to die and suffer, including Bucky who we know is tortured and in and out of ice for those years.

Be perfectly happy with the sexism, racism, and just general bigotry of the time period. Something that at least comics Steve Rogers has been proven to hate so much, he actively made himself go forward in time permanently, after only saving Bucky, because he couldn't stand it. No amount of Peggy to fix the situation for him. She's also never mattered as much as any other love interest to him. Not even Blind Al, that one's obscure~.

Be perfectly happy to do nothing while a situation is pointed south, even though he has previously stated incapable of doing so? While he knows what will happen or that people are suffering and dying for him and Peggy, what he will do to Sharon, and just completely and utterly not giving a shit.

Huh... Well, none of that sounds 'good'. I guess it also means he completely regrets his decision to save all those lives and sacrifice himself. A decision... I assumed he was the type of person to be able to make more than once if necessary. Because it was who he was. And supposedly, what Peggy even respected him for. I assumed Peggy would have also respected this decision, not backtracked to make him actively do the opposite of this very thing for 70 years. Possibly even... if we're to believe Hydra is allowed to run rampant all those years, potentially thousands of lives to be killed on his behalf instead.

Huh, I guess it was a pointless decision.

“We don't trade lives.”

Right?

And we're supposed to believe Mjolnir, a tool essentially measuring 'selflessness' and humility, purity of heart, 'worthiness', would be perfectly fine with labeling this behavior as 'good' as well.

That just seems like a pipe dream for every sod who can't get laid and has a backwards moral compass, but let's not dive into that.

Despite the fact that he's also abandoning all sense of self and is nothing more than a mindless puppet at this point. Through 'Steve Rogers' choosing this ending... he is actively doing wrong, and knows it. He is actively allowing Hydra to prosper, and... essentially...

Proving Zola right.

“We won, Captain. Your life amounts to your death, a zero sum!”

Familiar now, isn't it? But I guess every message we learned about Steve, in light of everything, in light of Peggy, is meaningless so long as he's... getting laid. Or 'happy'.

That doesn't sound fucked up at all, being perfectly okay with people suffering on your behalf. But I suppose it's no surprise that the people who love Atwell so much and are perfectly okay with her behavior feel the same way...

And here's the thing, I don't think 'Steve Rogers'... the real one in context of his story anyway, would be happy in a setting he needs to let others suffer on his behalf, and ignore their suffering, in order for him to be happy. Looking at his character just over the previous movies, I'd say this would in actuality be literal torment for him.

Spidey gave a perfect rendition that completely embodied everything Steve Rogers stands for and had stood for in those movies.

“When you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen... They happen because of you...”

What a coincidence. And another important message.

If you actually think a man like Steve, a first responder by nature, who always seeks out the goodness in others and wants to help people, would suddenly sit on his ass and allow people to suffer for him? When he couldn't even do this while too small to make any real impact?

You are delusional. And it is disturbing that you would somehow label that as 'good', as 'cute', as 'healthy', as 'right', as 'true love'. As 'happy' for him.

This is a man, forced into retirement, under the 'guise' of a 'choice', when in reality, it is atrociously horrible writing that disregards anything about who he was and what he stood for. That had he been real, this would have been a disservice to him and is certainly one to every important message the character has, and the history behind him. He would have been stuck in this world. Trapped, and held back from doing anything. By someone who supposedly 'loves' him?

Love doesn't hold people back or hold on possessively like a fucking parasite, it sets people free.

Why would she do that to him? Why would she sit back and assume all of those things are 'okay'? How? Why would anyone want her to??? I thought Peggy was supposed to be a good character inspired by upholding his message. Did she break the vial? Did she keep him in her basement? Did she tell him to sit on his ass and 'look pretty' while she did all the work? A fucking horrible job I might add, if she just lets Hydra run rampant and kill Howard for her sake. How is someone like that admired as a 'good' person?

Nothing about this is 'good'.

This ending is not 'beautiful'. It is a horror story masquerading as something 'pretty'. It is an abuse story being normalized to a vast and unknowing public. At best, a horribly irresponsible message to send the public... and at worst... a reflection of what's wrong with society as a whole. Possibly with ulterior and deliberate intentions.

In order for this ending to happen, Steve Rogers must cut ties with his family and abandon all he loved, loves, lives for, all sense of self... all for Peggy, and solely Peggy's, satisfaction. Seems oddly... familiar to a certain situation his best friend, who seemingly means nothing to him, happened to be in... for 70 years.

Let's reverse the roles. If Steve had been a female to do this for a man's sake? The first thing people would notice is how unhealthy the relationship is. How obsessive it is. How harmful it is. And how disgusting the normalization of it is. In a media that has a far reach and should be so much more fucking responsible with the messages they send their viewers.

Knowing that there are so many sacrifices, ones that shouldn't be made, and that every sacrifice comes from Steve's end, would you willingly call this relationship healthy? Beautiful? 'True love'?

When in reality, they'd only shared one kiss, and never dated?

Yeah. Seems legit.

On the flip side, you have that other interpretation, right? The one where he's in an alternate universe and lets his Peggy live her life with another man, but steals this Peggy both from her future husband and himself.

You'd think it gets better, right? I mean he can fix this universe in full, he might fuck something up and we might consider it a bit irresponsible to play with timelines like that, but he can always just go back if it goes too bad. He's earned it, his shot at this life, still disregarding Sharon and now... a version of himself. A Steve still trapped in the ice. Still suffering on his behalf. While he lives out his life with supposedly this Steve's girl, this Steve's Bucky, and this Steve's entire potential life.

Oh, and apparently this Peggy really doesn't care about the Steve trapped in the ice, since she's also fine with a replacement that's totally different from the one she knew~! That's not weird or fucked up at all.

Leaving him to wake up, alone, in the future having known the life he wanted was knowingly taken by someone else. Someone selfish enough to leave him in the ice. Bucky's alive and safe from Hydra, yay! Apparently... no version from this alternate universe is worth giving the shield to though. So I guess Steve ultimately didn't love these replacements as much. And of course, this is assuming Steve doesn't also just leave this universe as is for everything else terrible to happen.

This is assuming he gives a shit at all. Because if he had?

Tell me why... defrosting the alternate Steve to live out a life with his own Peggy, to at least make sure one of them got that 'happy ending', could still do good, without abandoning anyone, could kick ass, could fix everything in this alternate timeline, maybe even with a few tips from this time traveling Steve, somehow wasn't acceptable compared to 'Steve Rogers' actively and willingly doing, and allowing terrible things to happen, and abandoning everyone else who loved him.

Once again, cut off from his family and replacing them all with clones.

This is supposed to be better?

Did he ever really love Peggy, or just the way she looked since any identical twin happened to work just fine?

Tell me why, if Chris Evans just wanted to stop playing the role, Steve going back for just the dance and asking for Peggy's blessing to marry Sharon, presumably after they'd actually made an effort to develop the relationship, presumably after Peggy has made her peace with loving someone else, and then coming back to not abandon his family or any of his principles or promises he made, or just who he is in general, and proposing to Sharon with Peggy's blessing and understanding, wouldn't have been better and more respectful in all ways?

With the characters, with their history, with their messages. Tell me how it wouldn't have been better to simply have him out of the spotlight and training recruits, but still actively being who he was and doing good somehow couldn't have been acceptable?

There, I can write a better ending than those quack professionals Marvel hired. Simple, easy, done. Where's my fucking job~?

Instead of demolishing every part of who he was, using an anti-bullying character... to reward bullying no less?

Even if Evans wanted to retire or would have made a decision like this, doesn't mean Cap would have ever even remotely done something similar. At least not a good version of him. Upholding the symbolic moral message the character presents would have been easy, but they were too stupid to even try.

Tell me how this ending doesn't disrespect a previous almost 60 years of an established comic relationship, a relationship need I remind in which Sharon was pregnant with Steve's child, one sadly lost, and later shared an adopted son with him. A relationship, that should they disrespect and retcon for Peggy's sake, will only serve to make Steve Rogers seem like a terrible person with no sense of loyalty to a woman he supposedly loved and has spent a good chunk of his life with. As opposed to sharing one kiss or brief romance with. For all intents and purposes, Sharon being his common law wife.

Ironically, the very thing Atwell claimed this relationship did in the MCU, despite the fact that her character only shared a single kiss with Steve, canonically. And she lied and actively manipulated fans into believing it was so much more. When... watch the movies, it wasn't.

Tell me how this ending doesn't disrespect the characters, including Peggy, and the messages they have conveyed, the convictions they've held over the years of their history, and the symbolism which I would argue is much more important, that they represent. Tell me how it doesn't somehow disrespect and belittle Bucky, Erskine, the idea that Howard was Steve's friend, or that any of the people Steve loved actually mattered to him, beyond Peggy.

Beyond getting laid. Because deny it all you want, that is what this ending boils down to. That is the only reason it exists.

Or, actually, I'd wager it also exists to actively squash the importance of the messages the characters convey.

Here's an idea. Johann Schmidt and comics Hydra Cap both have more conviction and loyalty to their cause than EG Cap. And Schmidt post IW/EG arguably causes less harm than EG Cap actively allows to happen right beside himself, because Schmidt is incapable of doing much as the stone's guardian.

And at least Hydra Cap made sense within the context of his storyline.

Prove me wrong.

That's the sort of Cap you have to support to like this ending. Hydra complacent, bigotry complacent, and completely castrated, or at the very least, willing to replace everyone he loves with clones while he takes an alternate Steve's life. Frankly, that's not a Cap I think anyone should support. And I don't think any fans, especially Peggy or Steggy fans should be somehow proud of the fact that this is the sort of 'Steve' that Peggy gets.

I mean... I suppose it is in fact the kind of Steve that sort of Peggy, equally complacent and horrible, would deserve? But that doesn't really stop it from being gross, does it?

Is that really what you'd want as a fan?

I've mentioned that Atwell's alleged behavior is inappropriate, excessive, disturbing. And I'll also mention, this kind of obsession for fictional characters is unhealthy. So why did she do this? Why the behavior at all, why did she go out of her way to essentially hurt Emily, discreetly of course, without people noticing? Why all the manipulation?

Well... it gets worse. And this is certainly where that allegedly becomes very important.

Take a moment to think for a minute about who benefited from this ending and how.

Atwell, most certainly, at Emily's expense of course. At the expense of fans. And an actual well written product we wouldn't get immediate buyer's remorse from. And of course maybe one that doesn't insult our intelligence?

You could assume she simply wanted money. Though somehow... that doesn't really fit. Maybe spotlight? That makes a little more sense, though just as bad. It's seedy, it's spiteful, it's uncomfortably close to a bad Harlequin manga villain. If you've ever read one of those.

They're based off old trashy romance novels if that gives any reference.

Except... what if you replaced every instance of 'Steve, Sharon, and Peggy', with instances of herself and Chris? With the names, 'Chris, Emily, and Hayley'.

Except Emily is happily married now, and can easily identify the difference between a romantic interest in her work, and in real life. Can easily discern a job from her private life. Because that's what a good, stable, actress or actor can easily do.

Suddenly, the situation takes on a very different meaning.

How creepy would that have been for her to do? Along with easily dismissed by the public.

Keep in mind, this is a woman who publicly admitted to, and even in plain view, groping this man, multiple times, without his explicit consent because she 'couldn't help herself'. Okay. Big deal, right? So she touched his 'man boobs' a couple times. He laughed it off, it was all good fun. Why would he complain, it's different, men shouldn't be complaining about being touched without their permission by beautiful women. Despite the fact that they're not, nor have they ever been, in a romantic relationship together.

It's perfectly appropriate for a woman to grope a man as she pleases, whether he is in a relationship with her or even other people, or not. He can't feel uncomfortable because of this, only woman can. Why would he ever be uncomfortable about it, and if he was, he would have said so. He loves her, they're friends!

Let me know if the hypocrisy needed for that logic is falling through the cracks here, because that seems like a dangerous double standard to set.

You shouldn't be allegedly or otherwise, touching or really molesting, in her own words 'groping', anyone publicly and suddenly, especially without their consent. But let's assume he was okay with every single time it had happened. Okay. Sure. Fine. It's his body to decide with who can touch him like that, who can invade his personal space and how, right? And besides, he loves the attention and being objectified by women.

That's clearly why he'll make an effort to actually call out and put people on the spot who pretend to talk to him through a faked photoshopped encounter, right? Clearly why he absolutely hates that.

Now let's assume he wasn't.

Why would he ever admit to that if the response we can expect is that 'he's a man, so he should be okay with it'? As if men somehow don't have a right to their own bodies or can't be sexually harassed and molested, abused, raped, you name it. Objectified maybe? Why would we be suspicious of the behavior or tell someone that it's wrong, without the full story even though it's happening in our plain view?

Playfulness and comfort between friends is one thing, boundaries between them is another, and friends can still cross boundaries they shouldn't. Sometimes they do. Consider the fact of a known straight man and a woman who is attracted to him, and suddenly the implications change. The man, so far, has not shown even remotely the same attraction.

But why would we suspect her behavior would entail anything other than support for her own character that she played, and the ship she was a part of, which had been respectfully written out of the story and made to move on? It's not like she was actively dragging down a woman, a real person, another actress that essentially got in her way, and the part she wanted to play. Kissing Chris Evans.

It's not like she claimed she'd be the best choice for Sharon's actress in blonde wig before Emily was cast. Oh wait...

Was that in that little blog sourcing everything she did and claimed? I can't remember.

And this is all speculation of course. But I think it's very important speculation. And especially, is a reason to be suspicious of everything she did. But I of course can't read her mind, only look at what she did do and what there's proof of. Allegedly.

Seems like an extreme extant to go to to to get an extra kiss from an actor, right? An actor who, mind you, dated other people, not her, and seemed to ultimately choose his dog over anyone. And of course, since we're speculating.

Under the pretense that 'Peggy' gets 'Steve', 'she' got the 'man' that everyone else wanted, right? She lived that fantasy, married him, and had kids with him, and everyone else is just jealous of her. The characters are meant for each other, she can take no blame in what's done with the characters.

Except when encouraging hatred among her fans and negative press for the company and story so long as it doesn't revolve around her.

In this light, looking at the facts, her alleged behavior is extremely creepy.

When you consider the fact that Evans suddenly, and I mean suddenly wanted to quit playing the character, seemingly out of nowhere when just a year before still wanting to do so, and at the same time, he admitted to loving the idea of continuing to play Cap, and even the prospect of doing a movie with Deadpool and Wolverine. Something that would have been brilliant by the way, and I lament that it apparently won't happen every day.

Source

Yes, there is a very special relationship there, read a fucking comic~.

Let's consider the fact that Evans said this about his 'final scene of Endgame'. To sow just a little bit of discord. Of course, there's no guarantee that this scene had anything to do with that one he shared with 'Peggy'. Speculation.

Let's assume it did. Let's go beyond and say, Hayley was the entire reason Evans wanted to quit. The entire reason he wouldn't fight this, and was done playing the character. Let's assume this was the last straw for him, and that he quit just to get away from her.

Allegedly.

Let's assume for just a moment, he was no longer comfortable or happy around this woman. And she was breaking him down. Let's assume he was just tired of all the bullshit, had maybe even seen it for what it really was, was even creeped out. And decided, sure. 'I'll keep my mouth shut... as long as I don't have to deal with her'.

We can also assume he's being... strongarmed into silence somehow, either by the company or by her. Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but that man hasn't looked the slightest bit happy as of late, and it's noticeable in his interviews. Maybe there's a reason for that. But maybe this idea is pushing it a tad too far, let's take a step back for a moment and remember the simple fact that this is speculation.

Based on alleged actions and circumstantial evidence.

I could absolutely be wrong and I am willing to admit that.

If Chris Evans wanted to call me out on this, correct me about Atwell and her behavior specifically towards him in this regard, I would welcome it. Even if he managed to prove me wrong about the bullying, provide an article or interview of some kind that does in fact prove her innocence, I would be more than happy to take a look at it and retract everything I've mentioned here regarding her, and her behavior. Even delete this post, and publicly apologize to her.

I want to be wrong about this, because it is fucked up, it is creepy, it is something he should not have had to, or have to ever deal with. It is not something Emily should have ever had to deal with, let alone the fans.

Nor is it something that we should simply tolerate and accept from Hayley Atwell. From or towards anyone.

Chris Evans is a human being. Emily VanCamp is a human being. Both of them deserved the utmost respect from Atwell, along with everyone else, neither of them received this from her. Allegedly.

The messages conveyed by that rottenly horrific ending can't even begin to compare to how important this simple fact is.

Real people were hurt. Bullies were rewarded. This should not have happened. We cannot simply allow it to happen now, or in the future. We cannot simply allow more harm to be done, with the continued bullying from that Hydra Support Group I mentioned, and their continued attempts to get Emily fired and Sharon removed from the comics.

That they quite clearly don't give a shit to buy or even read.

Why is this important now, of all times, during a pandemic that is keeping us all indoors with nothing better to do?

Well for one, I'm indoors with nothing better to do than come across bullshit like this. There's also something to be publicly said about female abusers and how important it is that we start to recognize when these situations might be happening. Whether from a man or a woman. And whether to a man, or another woman. If she didn't hurt Chris, she certainly didn't hesitate to hurt Emily.

I have friends... that were living their lives off of the messages Cap taught and inspired in people. Good friends, good people. And maybe it seems silly to linger on something like that, but I can say first hand it is heartbreaking to watch those people get that same inspiration, those same moral messages ripped away, and stolen from them.

And be left struggling with trying to hold on to those messages, but try as they may, not being able to. And then come a few epiphanies, a few discoveries.

This shit. The bullying. The behavior, the fact that we as fans were given a normalized abusive relationship, and told it was somehow good, somehow just, somehow right. That that's the message we are being given in place of everything else...

I had a friend have a panic attack because of this ending, after she tried to rationalize that it was okay, that it was 'sweet', and 'cute', and understandable. Because it hit a little too fucking close to home for her, and now she just relives that, remembers it with almost any part of what her favorite thing in the world was. And that is horrifying to know...

“I helped support this. I gave them money. I dedicated years of my life to following this.”

And it goes so much more beyond regretting that decision. It goes so much more beyond being able to simply move on and somehow keep those symbols, or at least the core messages beyond them and disassociate them from the characters when you can't escape reminders of it. When you can see so incredibly clearly what it really means, what really happened, and everyone else around you just accepts that something so fundamentally wrong is something right.

Here's a question, can you sue a company that's so profoundly built an empire, so embedded itself into your day to day life that you can't escape a personal trauma being reminded of it in something you paid for and actively support for years from this company? Does that count as some form of being publicly irresponsible and projecting harmful ideologies?

Is that something someone can do, or is it just something a 'Karen' would do? Would the sheer evil it takes to become that type of person, to dawn that haircut and demand to speak to a manager be worth it in the end?

“What did it cost?”

“Everything...”

Yeah, it really fucking did.

Oh hey, by the way. Hayley Atwell is definitely a Karen. Just thought I might point that out. Why else would she throw a massive tantrum to get someone bullied out of a franchise because she's not getting her way or the spotlight on her? She's just an evolved one.

Allegedly.

I am all for people policing their own content and being respectful of creators, and understanding that fiction is different from reality. Not every concept will be stomachable or enjoyable by absolutely everyone. Horror in itself is a perfect example of that, especially psychological horror.

I can also say without a doubt that I hate knowing that the people I care about are so heavily affected by something they had initially used to make themselves a better person, that should remain fictional and symbolic but just somehow forces itself to go beyond that.

I hate knowing a corporation could be so irresponsible that this is the message they get billions of dollars for, that this is what they give to the public, that this lack of care or even noticing what they've done and who they've rewarded, and the continued behavior...

The bullying, and despite every piece of criticism screaming at them just how fucked up this is.

But no, they can't take two fucking seconds, to think 'maybe we made a bad move and shouldn't stick by this considering what it's done or is doing to fans'. 'Maybe we should be more responsible with the power and influence we happen to have'...

Except they knew.

“It might end the whole franchise.”

What kind of context am I supposed to imagine for those words. Especially in light of a franchise that had a multitude of plans to continue.

What the fuck does that mean?

And isn't that the most piss soaked cherry on top of this shit cake?

Hayley's words in the interview represent how little she cared about the character, about the franchise, about the fans, or the messages conveyed, as long as she got what she wanted.

And she did.

Publicly... adored... psychopath.

Allegedly.

Cap's core message is something so incredibly vital, I believe, to this world. Especially in these times. Especially when it comes to making progress.

“Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world –"No, you move."”

Especially in a world that will actively tell and show us that human lives aren't worth a dime a fucking dozen to the people we let control our world. Especially when we should be telling these same people.

“No, fuck you, that's wrong.”

And yeah, that fucking sucks. It fucking sucks to have family that is vulnerable to something potentially deadly, to be vulnerable to it, and have no control over that. It fucking sucks to know people you may trust will not even give a shit. And it is fucking hard to keep hope when everything around you just seems to be falling apart.

And you can't do a damn thing.

But this message teaches us just that. To not lose hope. To not lose faith. To keep fighting for what we believe in, and make things better. Isn't that the whole point of criticism? Challenging ideas, beliefs, so that we can discern right from wrong and have a better understanding of what that might be? So that we can improve? What a hell of time it would be to have this message with us. What a hell of a time for us to need this message, now more than anything... and not have it.

What a hell of a time for someone to willingly quit portraying and sending that message... Though I can't say I'd blame him, he's only human, it's a heavy burden to bear, and if Atwell really did do all of this just to kiss him... Allegedly.

Well, I'd wanna get away from her too. Provided it was willing at all. I get mixed signals from that guy. And trust him about as far as I can throw him. I am a weak bitch, so that is not very far... But... professional liar, so.

He could also be the world's biggest troll, cause I don't believe for a second he didn't know how fans would react to this. Which... biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch. But also, RESPECT.

And also, BITCH! Be serious for a goddamn second, this is fucking important!

But this message also teaches rebellion.

What a hell of a message to publicly squander in order to keep people complacent, for the sake of pretending someone gets a 'happy' horrific ending, finally getting laid. Like neither of those things were something that couldn't be found in the future while still preserving the legacy of the character.

Right?

Ironically, it was a message they had helped to represent with Sharon, and still there's the issue of her and fans being publicly bullied and disrespected, once again, a real person, people, for Atwell's sake.

If we only surround ourselves by those that tell us what we want to hear, rather than the truth, we can only stagnate our growth.

If we only care when we are finally forced to face the problems evident, can we really call ourselves virtuous?

If we do nothing knowing something is wrong, what does this say about us?

I'm just as guilty in not noticing these sorts of things as they happen until it's too late, but I'd like to hope I'm getting better and paying more attention, and that we can still do better.

What's the point of all this, and what can we do?

As I said before, I do not want to cause harm. I do not want people to go and harass anyone for alleged wrong doings or behavior of any sort. I do not want people to lose entire jobs or livelihoods over this. But it is clear something is wrong, and we certainly need to right it. I also don't believe any of the parties involved are somehow beyond redemption. Even Hayley.

If Marvel had any sense, especially now, they would retcon this, however necessary, first off. They don't even need Evans to do that, they can do something as simple as making a comic that undoes this nasty ending and saves Cap, and the other characters, from being made into an empty shell and castrated version of himself. Or at least make a solid plan to and very publicly apologize to Emily for the situation and discourage such behavior among their fandom. Hayley would do the same, not just to fans but especially to Emily, and maybe even Chris.

If you ever participated in this behavior and now understand that it was wrong, I would encourage you to go give Emily your love and support and apologize to her for this mess and what she had to deal with on behalf of fans. She deserved far better. She still deserves better.

If Hayley refused to acknowledge or even publicly address this? Or Marvel, Disney for that matter, well it would just go to show that they'd want it all swept under the rug instead of being held accountable for what happened. Something that's certainly a disrespect to Walt Disney , as he was able to make amends and admit to his mistakes publicly, and it's a stain on the legacy he left behind that the current Disney can hardly be bothered to.

And yes, believe it or not, there's a way to not let them do this without aggressive harassment.

My first suggestion is meme the shit out of it. Be an absolute troll and make a joke of this giant fucking joke of a company that can't even put two and two together for basic story elements. To an extant that will publicly embarrass them for sure, be relentless, but don't send hate.

Just show everyone the clowns they are~.

I've been told this can also be a bit mean though. And clearly, we can't simply let them forget it or forget it ourselves.

The second, ask questions. Simply ask for this to be addressed, try to get it noticed as best you can. Send them this across as many platforms as you can to as many people as you can. Or even just the smaller blogs I linked. Repost, reblog, and share this as much as you can and make it something they can't ignore without sending them direct hate and harassment. Copy and paste or just send a link to this in a concerned email to the corporation. Make sure their offices are absolutely buzzing with the news. Ask, don't demand, your favorite MCU actors to publicly speak out about this, please. Keep asking until you get some sort of response.

Without being rude.

Because it may take time, it may take effort, but it is important, and it certainly should be addressed. And never allowed to happen again.

As for Atwell and her bullies?

Well, first let me congratulate her.

She played herself. All those jokes about turning Peggy into a supervillain and that's exactly what she did. With her own wants and desires, not Peggy's.

But otherwise be kind, be courteous, and hold your grace and elegance. Treat her with the same respect you would want for yourself and do not stoop to her or their level. Do not insult her. Ask her, 'what's wrong'? Ask her why she did this, if she's okay. Ask her to stop, to speak out about it, to address the situation and to understand why she didn't do it sooner. Ask her if she's seeking help for whatever psychological issues she may have that would push her to do something like this, wish her well, and tell her you hope she finds the help she needs and learns that what she did was wrong. Let her know you're disappointed if you're a fan.

She definitely shouldn't be allowed to keep relishing in the reward and aftermath of what she did, and she definitely owes Emily, and possibly Chris, an apology for all the bullshit she encouraged and did. Her behavior, allegedly, is fucking creepy.

But she's still a human being, behaviors are correctable.

Simply address the fact that it was wrong and ask her if she understands that. Also maybe that... public molestation isn't okay? Allegedly.

Do the same for her bullies, if they are rude to you, simply tell them:

'Oh... you support Hydra... you're entitled to your opinion, but I'll have to disagree.'

And leave it at that. Just take comfort in the fact that you can recognize an abusive relationship and don't support it. You cannot force them to change their minds if they don't want to, do not antagonize them or potentially bring harm to yourself by doing so. And yes, that is admittedly a bit mean, a bit trollish~, and the reality is they probably don't support Hydra... But they also kinda have to to support this ending somehow.

The writers 'confirmed' Hydra Trash Party as canon while the directors 'confirmed' everyone in Steve's life being replaceable.

And he still becomes a creepy uncle while someone needs to suffer on his behalf for 70 years.

Fantastic~! I'm accepting neither and I give you no money until it's fixed! Because it's gross~!

If this situation is addressed by everyone involved, and any allegations and speculations I've made are in fact proven true, but let's say Atwell still publicly refuses to admit to anything she did or apologize to Emily. Even if Disney does. Well, she'll be proving exactly what type of person we suspect her to be. And only then would I consider it acceptable for the company to completely erase her from the franchise in turn and blacklist her from what they produce. Some people might consider that too nice, I think it's reasonable, you're free to disagree.

Not necessarily her character though, Peggy has actually done nothing wrong on her own, she's a fictional character best represented by good writers, and malleable according to that. And I would certainly even encourage much better character explorations and portrayals of her. But Hayley herself, who would then become pretty much a poster child for harassment and bullying, and defending psychopathic behaviors...

Allegedly.

If people try to silence you, ignore you, keep trying, keep spreading the message, keep going as much as you can, until we manage to get this addressed and the situation finally corrected.

Do not support the company, or actress that refuses to address this. Do not support people that do terrible things without holding them accountable. Do not allow them to simply get away with it, but do not lose your own humanity for their sake.

I know first hand how fucking hard it is not to lose your shit when shit like this happens. And nobody notices. But I guarantee, throwing a fit of rage will get nothing done, and they will try to use it against you.

If they manage to prove me wrong in any regards? Great! I will be fucking overjoyed! I hate the idea that evil is actively happening in the world and people do nothing about it, don't you?

And a friendly reminder.

You are not in anyway required to purchase anything from Marvel, any of the actual bullshit content and harmful ideas they refuse to take any criticism or responsibility for. You are not obligated to them just because you are a fan, and you do not owe them anything. If they want our money, they can earn it, but you can definitely get your fixes of good creative content elsewhere, and even support other artists. If this is what they provide, you do not have to support them. You can make your own. For free. And enjoy what others make for free. For any and all people part of an intricate creative community, fan fiction does not just have to be trashy romance or gay ass ships. That is a huge chunk of it, I won't even bother lying about that, I'm under no illusions otherwise.

But it can also be just simple storylines based off what canons you like, simple fan comics that maybe present a different sort of story arc you aren't seeing developed and wonder where you might go with it. It can be action, scifi, fantasy, horror. It can be any sort of fusion that you would enjoy. It can even be insanely good or horrendously bad! It can even be original fiction! And yes, you're more than allowed to publicly critique and parody the work these companies sell you, go write ahead~, and make a point of making something better. Because you can.

Or it can be shipping wars and nonsensical shit and trashy romance and smut. Again, no illusions that there's not a whole lot of that shit.

Or crack. Lots of crack fic.

But the beauty of it is that it's up to you. And you don't owe anyone anything because everything you get to make is free. But keep in mind that goes both ways in this aspect. For you and others, and I'd wager to say there are a lot of writers out there that can definitely do these characters and their messages a much better justice than the disservice and disrespect Marvel has given them and the fans. Especially as of late.

Lastly, especially in these times... do not lose hope.

Do not lose faith in the message Steve Rogers stands for, or in the hopes things may get better. For all of us. And for the character? That he may just yet be saved from quite plainly, all the bullshit. That any of your favorite characters might be given better treatment down the line. And if not?

Save 'em yourself. Make it better yourself. And make it known, no matter what happens, no matter what they do, these messages can't be squandered or destroyed. Hold them dear, and don't accept anything less than them being upheld, no matter how it's represented.

Particularly when you're paying for it. Don't harass small time writers that write self indulgent bullshit for free. Just police your content accordingly, please.

But the message?

That's what's important.

In conclusion?

'Logan' was the better movie. Hayley turned Peggy into 'Monika' of Doki Doki Literature Club. And Chris Evans chose his dog.

“I don't like bullies... I don't care where they're from.”

;)

[idolizerp]

LOADING INFORMATION ON JAWBREAKER’S MAIN DANCE KWON SOHEE...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: Say CURRENT AGE: 23 DEBUT AGE: 17 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 15 COMPANY: KJH SECONDARY SKILL: Variety

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): 

bunhee (번휘) : it’s a play word on her name (sohee) and bunny, given by fans because they think her features resembles the look of the said animal.

strawberry princess (딸기공주) : it’s a known fact to fans that sohee loves strawberry so much, so they started calling her strawberry princess since then.

food goddess (식신) : despite having a small body, sohee has a big appetite and doesn’t gain weight easily, in which why fans call her food goddess.

INSPIRATION: despite always being interested in dancing, sohee had never thought of becoming an idol until she was scouted at the age of fourteen. at first she only became a trainee to run away from her mother’s high expectations at home, but when she saw vixen performing on tv, they managed to inspire sohee to become like them one day. SPECIAL TALENTS:

dancing genius : besides her ability to do a freestyle dance on the spot, sohee can also repeat a choreography almost accurately after seeing it for the first time.

flexibility : sohee started dancing with ballet at the age of four, so she has a pretty flexible body and is able to do tumbling and splits very well.

aegyo queen : due to her baby face and sweetheart image on screen, sohee claims to be the best when it comes to aegyo and doesn’t mind doing it on variety shows.

NOTABLE FACTS:

she can speak korean, english and japanese fluently, and a little bit of chinese.

she is known to be a huge fan of ariana grande and heaven.

she is proven to have a strong heart, for that she’s not easily scared.

she is said to be the best among her members when it comes to variety.

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

upon discovering her variety presence not too long ago, sohee strives to do better in variety shows. she hopes to explore more about dancing at the same time, wants to be able to master different kinds of dance. besides that, she also wants to try creating choreography that can be used for jawbreaker’s discography, thinks of it as a process of learning until she’s able to contribute something for the group. sohee has recently been into filming and making videos too, so she would love to open her own youtube channel one day.

LONG-TERM GOALS:

sohee wants to be acknowledged as one of the best dancers (if not the best) in her generation, besides hoping that she could become an inspiration to those who want to pursue dancing in the future or even be an idol. she aspires to be aspired

IDOL IMAGE

it’s not hard for singularity to figure out how they wanted to market kwon sohee. despite the fact that she could easily adapt to any kind of concept given to her, they decided to go with the sweetheart, girlfriend material image for sohee. she carried it around ever so proudly — after all it’s something that she has gotten used to back at home, given how much ‘training’ her mother gave her since she was young, hoping to turn the little girl into the perfect daughter when she grew up. due to her upbringing, sohee was still a tad bit obsessed with the idea of being perfect at first, so she tried to stick with what singularity had decided for her all this time. being apart of her.oine almost felt like playing russian roulette.

sometimes their release was received well by public, but other times the girls barely got to do much if their comeback flopped. when her.oine started to become unstable, singularity decided to push sohee into doing variety shows, told her to forget being sweet and nice for now. so she did, complied with their request and went all out on variety shows. that’s how she came to learn that she’s good at entertaining the viewers with her silly acts and witty remarks, found it more easier to gain attention from public that way. thanks to her strong variety presence, people wanted to know more about her.oine and eventually became their fans.

after the girls came back as jawbreaker, kjh still keeps her image as the funny girl next door of the group. sohee loves doing variety shows, but seeing how the spotlight isn’t entirely on her anymore now, she decides to find her way into dancing again. she has only focused on doing variety and getting the group known back then when they were still her.oine, so now that they’re a tad bit stable after the whole rebranding thing, sohee wants to be taken seriously when it comes to dancing. kjh is willing to give her that opportunity and encourages her to join dancing shows to prove her worth, pushes her to show the world what she’s capable of all this time, wishes to bring out the mature side of kwon sohee.

IDOL HISTORY

little sohee was so full of love and kindness. she grew up in a loving family, in a house that felt way too big for the three of them. she liked to believe they were picture perfect — at least that’s what her mother told her, despite how withdrawn her father could be at times. her mother was always so supportive, so loving, so cheerful. it’s hard to tell if she’s ever tired of smiling, for that she had always looked like she’s happy all the time, even if her father might not seem as happy. he must have been tired working, her mother would say so she would stop asking, and for years she believed her words. maybe work was just too much for him.

at the age of four, sohee was already learning more than a child her age was supposed to. her mother sent her to as many classes as she could, wanted her to master a lot of things by the time she’s old enough to take over the world. sohee complied to her mother’s plan, believed that everything she did was for her own good. she learned ballet, took a few language lessons, attended music class, trained for tennis and swimming. sohee was sent to a prestigious school since she was young and expected to be the best among her friends, causing her to only care about her studies and achievement rather than enjoying school life.

by the time she was eight, two strangers suddenly showed up at home and her father claimed them as family, much to her mother’s surprise. the woman grew mad and sohee had never seen her mother so upset — it didn’t take her long to figure out what had happened, why her father brought them home, and why she had to called the little boy her brother. her mother began to plant hatred in the little girl’s head since then, reminded her that she shouldn’t give the boy and her mother a chance to live peacefully in their house. sohee began to despise them for coming here out of nowhere, for wrecking the harmony in her family all this time.

there was only rage and hatred for teenager sohee now. it didn’t help that her father always pitted her against the boy, wanted them to prove that they could be better than the other. everything was a competition for them, and while sohee really wanted to gain her father’s attention back, she started to grow tired of the high expectations thrown at her every single time. the pressure coming from her mother had only made things worse, for that the woman clearly wanted her daughter to be the better child in the house, so she pushed and pushed sohee until she could no longer breathe. for the first time sohee managed to let it all out on her mother, managed to tell her that she didn’t want to do this anymore.

dancing was her only way out of this misery, even if it’s just for a while. her dream was to become professional dancer one day, but of course her dear mother was against it, said it was too childish of a dream for someone who had a potential to be something bigger. she didn’t have to worry about it, her mother said, she was going to inherit the family business in the future and that’s all she ever needed to do. it didn’t make her feel better though. but little sohee used to think she couldn’t be anything else than that, because who else was going to do it if not her? her mother was so sure sohee was going to be the heiress until the boy came along, so now she had to work harder to make sure her little girl got what she deserved.

truth to be told, sohee didn’t really like the idea of being a heiress. although at times she did feel defeated by her brother, her mother was always there to motivate her to be better — sometimes she wondered if her mother knew that she wasn’t much of a help in such situation, that she only made things worse for sohee by putting more pressure for the young girl to be the best in her father’s eyes. she started to care less about those high expectations when she turned thirteen, already grew sick of being told what to do and what to not do with her life. her mother clearly wasn’t happy with how she turned out, knowing that they were going to lose the family business to the boy if sohee kept on acting recklessly.

she had never wanted freedom so bad. sohee was fourteen when she was scouted by someone who worked for singularity, a new entertainment company in need of talented girls to debut their first group. the idea of being an idol didn’t appeal much to her back then, but knowing that she could stay away from home and dance for a living, sohee was tempted to accept the offer. she knew well her mother wouldn’t be too happy to find out about it, especially when she’s still obsessed to make sohee the heiress to the family business. after a whole year of persuading her demanding mother, she finally agreed to let sohee go (albeit not so willingly) and she started training under singularity when she was fifteen.

for someone who rarely had a hard time in her life, sohee felt like she could die from training. due to the fact that she used to attend a dance academy prior to training, she was often praised for her impressive dancing skills. she didn’t take training seriously until vixen made their debut — the moment she saw them for the first time on tv, she vowed to herself that she wanted to be like them one day. vixen managed to spark motivation in sohee to become an idol, and since then she worked really hard during those long practice hours until she eventually made it to the final lineup for singularity’s first ever girl group. she was granted the main dancer position, given that she had the best sense of rhythm among them.

she could never forget the day she finally debuted with her.oine. her mother wasn’t there to cheer for her, she didn’t even receive a congratulatory message from her that day. what else could she expect? sohee knew she had disappointed her mother for leaving, for choosing to be an idol. she spent two years of training without her family support, and she had never felt more lonely than she ever was during that time. thankfully she had her girls, who had managed to stick with her through ups and downs in their journey. sohee began to enjoy life more this way, when she didn’t have to worry about messing up her mother’s plan or if she was never good enough to be seen as the perfect daughter for the kwon household.

sohee became more open minded and free spirited upon debuting. she started to value friendships more than trying to outdo everyone and be the best — sure, she still had that competitiveness in her, but not as much as she did back at home. she learned to accept that it’s okay if they weren’t the best, because as long as they were happy with what they were doing, nothing else could matter more. sohee felt like she was missing out on great things growing up, considering that she never had the chance to make many friends or do anything that she wanted to. everything was planned by her mother and she had to abide by her rules, causing sohee to depend so much on her, not know what to do when she was left alone.

she was taught to be independent now that her mother was no longer by her side, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. no, she didn’t regret choosing this life — after all becoming an idol felt a lot easier than trying to win her father’s heart to become the heiress, so sohee would never want to trade this life for anything else right now. although her mother wanted nothing to do with her anymore, sohee still sent her messages and came home to visit her sometimes when she didn’t have to work. if this was what she had to sacrifice for wanting to do what she wanted in her life, in which she deserved to, sohee would rather live without her mother.

her.oine was doing just fine, but there were times sohee wished they could have had more schedules to attend to, especially when they weren’t promoting. for the first two years she didn’t mind it that much, still thankful that they had more free time to waste compared to other groups due to their low release rate. her.oine only had a comeback once in a year, making it hard for fans to keep waiting for them to release new music. due to her bright personality, singularity finally pushed sohee to do variety during late 2015, made her do more than just aegyo and the whole girlfriend material thing. surprisingly it turned out well for sohee and the her.oine girls, for that people loved her silly acts and witty remarks on variety shows.

singularity saw it as a way to promote her.oine better to the public, so they began to send sohee out to do variety more often, tried to shed off her sweet, innocent girlfriend material image. sohee didn’t mind. she even loved it, found a liking in her newfound talent — she had always been the cheerful type anyways, so it wasn’t hard for her to crack jokes here and there just for the sake of the shows. her playful personality managed to gain attention from public, managed to get her.oine known. sohee loved being in the spotlight, even if it meant she had to work harder than the other girls during the year. it felt lonely to do things without her members sometimes, but she didn’t want them to live in the shadows either.

after all sohee was never the type to sit still and do nothing for a long time and spending her time practicing all the time didn’t feel as exciting anymore now, so why not just go out and do as many variety shows as she could, right? if that’s what would get her more well known, sohee wouldn’t even mind not being able to rest due to the busy schedules. it’s not something she faces often anyways, considering her.oine never really went on shows other than the music ones. but that’s only if they’re promoting, and if they don’t? they would just have to rot in the basement waiting for the next comeback (if there is), and sohee had to admit that wasn’t fun at all. what’s the point of being an idol if they are not known anyways?

the sudden fall of singularity really caught her off guard. she knew that their company was still new, but with how hard she had worked to get their name to be known, she was confident they could make it to the top one day. but it seemed like luck wasn’t on her side this time, and sohee wasn’t sure how to feel about kjh taking them in. sure, looking from how well they promoted atlas, she could say they’re in a better hand now — at least in terms of having frequent comebacks and promotions, they wouldn’t have to worry much. however the pressure put on them was no less than they first debuted (after all they would be re-debuting again), causing sohee to be so stressed out over the first month they were preparing to come back as jawbreaker, that she even lost so much weight.

while jawbreaker had managed to gain more fame upon joining kjh, sohee felt a little disappointed that the spotlight was no longer on her now. she still did variety out of interest, but eventually wanted to focus more on her dancing — she didn’t have much chance to show off her dancing skills when she was in singularity, given that the company only pushed her into doing variety most of the time. now that jawbreaker was more well known, sohee figured out she wanted to be taken seriously when it came to dancing, for that her dream was to be a professional dancer in the first place. she didn’t want people to remember kwon sohee as the funny girl from jawbreaker (or her.oine) for all her life, no, she wanted to be remembered as one of the best dancers (if not the best) in her generation. maybe if she’s lucky, she could even contribute to the group’s choreography one day.

[future-rp]

STATIC’s main rap jae

verve creative; song-making, lyric-writing 04 vocal / 14 rap / 02 dance

the only thing that lingers of the life you could have had is your name, because it’s one your ‘ actual ‘ mother had officially asked for ( you put quotation marks around actual, because you look at tianmin and feel a surge of affection course through you that can only be that of true familial love ). you’re barely a week old when she leaves you at your father’s door, anyway, and it’s not like you ever hear from her again; not that you ever want to, when you have everything you need right here.

they like to call your family a melting pot of cultures, and you can’t say they’re wrong. you are a child of taekwondo and hip hop, of taiwanese cooking and new york subways, and while the kids at school could never pronounce the food you brought to school or even the proper way to say your mom’s name you never minded, really, so long as you get to bond over the same rap music that echoes around the walls of your and your older brother’s room. you’re a middle child in every sense of the word, but while that might bother some people you learn about the golden mean early on; when you’re in the greatest city in the world surrounded by family that brings you joy that’s second to none, you find that maybe wise old aristotle really was wise, after all.

but halmeoni gets sick, and suddenly you’re flown across the world to a place that’s supposed to be half your home and yet feels like none of it. itaewon is nice, but despite your own culture you’ve never felt more out of place; you can speak korean but when faced with pen and paper it comes out jaunty and fragmented –– not unlike how you’re feeling now. homesickness finds you staring out the window, glancing up at passing planes and wishing one of them could bring you back to a place you felt you belonged.

your father’s vinyls are the closest thing to manhattan you have: nas and gin and juice, nwa and a tribe called quest are the only voices that keep you sane, lyrics echoing around in your head as you walk across seoul streets with walkman in hand and groceries in the other. but it takes one day of forgotten headphones at home and one impromptu subway adventure to find that seoul has a beat of its own. the buskers in hongdae catch your eyes and ears with their distinct sound, and after you’ve searched hard enough the underground rap scene welcomes you in and blows you away almost immediately. soon enough you’re writing fluent korean for the sole purpose of finishing up lyrics bilingual in nature, taking your new york roots and adding seoul to your soul to create mixtapes that spread like wildfire across the independent scene.

your brother leaving for training –– idol training, of all things –– comes as a blow: you were two peas in a pod and you’re certain without this newfound appreciation for korean rap you’d be more lost than ever. being away for him for longer than a week is new territory, with you reinstated head sibling now while he’s on his way to becoming a star ( not like you were ever surprised; you were always his biggest fan ). you take on new roles in the family, higher responsibility, while still immersing yourself all the more in the mixtapes and tracks you’ve created for yourself. more time with your sisters equals more time learning about mainstream korean music, about different beats and rhythms and melodies that begin to occupy your head almost as much as hip hop does ( you scoff, still, at the bubbly pop sound, though only when your sisters aren’t looking ). friends from the underground collective teach you more about production and soon you’re hooked, not just with producing lyrics but beats, too, that reach more ear than you could’ve imagined.

and funnily enough, you find you’re a lot more like your brother than people had initially thought; when verve contacts you after a particularly popular track makes its way across the soundcloud sphere you assume they’re joking, but the contract they offer proves they’re nothing if not dead serious. james and tianmin are more lenient with you going, too, moreso than they had been with your brother ( something you like to gloat about in jest often ), and soon enough you’re a trainee, just like your best friend.

except it comes with its disadvantages. with social media taken away and management watching your every move you grow in disquiet. you long for your home, for the underground, for your siblings and your mom and for everything you’d chosen to leave behind for this life that’s barely that. songs are produced and lyrics are written and yet almost all are swept under the rug, replaced by vocal training and goddamn dance practice you have little to no patience for. you’re a nightmare of a trainee; defiant and indignant, you give management hell’s worth of headaches, but it’s for your undeniable rap skill that they refuse to let you go, no matter how impossible you become.

what’s only meant to be two years of training becomes three, solely because of your inability to rein in your own attitude. you sneak out ( if only to visit your siblings ) and roll your eyes during etiquette classes, and while you’ve warmed up to the idea of vocal practice ( if only to add more layers to your own tracks ) you still find dancing a pointless appendage to actual talent. but you learn to stomach your indifference, if only slightly, and it’s enough to place you in a line up for verve’s first ever boy group since their initial flop.

with their first boy group in years comes pressure on the shoulders of five boys; you’re main rapper, to no one’s surprise, and finally get to have some of your own work to the mix of superficially produced sound. you contribute lyrics to the first b side and your very first debut, which happens two years after your brother’s, and you’re grateful enough for the tougher, edgier rhythm that comes with your group’s initial launch.

they call you all static, though you and your members have proven to be anything but: your presence on variety shows is noted by most, and your group is versatile as it is charismatic. on camera you’re even louder, more pleased with the attention you garner; and while you wouldn’t be caught dead doing aegyo, you’re sure to offer the camera a wink or two to appease your fans. your cockiness reads as arrogance, and smartass comments are a hit and miss; one comment too “out of line” and the figurative smack on the head comes in full throttle. it’s something you’re working on ( which doesn’t necessarily mean you’re pleased about it ), though the results can be pretty polarizing: you’re either jae the arrogant or jae the clever, but you’re grateful ( and so is verve, you think ) that your fans see you for the latter ( the rest of the industry has yet to be decided ).

you’re the resident new york heartthrob, through and through: rumors of the way you take hearts for your own reach far and wide, and with your looks people have never put it past you. but you’ve only got space in your heart for your music and your family, and you doubt that’s something that could ever change. off camera you’re still as defiant as ever, and while members may have learned to deal with you ( you treat them all like brothers, since family is rooted at your very core ) management’s on their toes waiting to see what you’ll do next.

let them, you think. you were meant to make everyone tremble.

[drxgonchamp]

Tick tock tick tock...

Like most nights, Lance sat at his office table, slowly going through the seemingly never ending stack of paperwork. Tired eyes framed by a pair of reading glasses skimmed the document in hand before he put down his signature. The only sounds in the room were the scratch of pen on paper, his own deep breathing and the ticking clock. 

Tick tock tick tock...

Lance’s gaze went to the clock for a split second, realizing that it was just a little over midnight. Shaping up to be another all nighter, it seems like. A deep sigh.

After he went through several more documents, the Champion figured he could take a small break. The chair creaked as he leaned back, the glasses folded on the table. He rested his eyes for a few minutes till they no longer burn and the headache he had been ignoring became a sluggish pound behind his temples. 

With a deep, slow inhale and exhale, Lance sat up straighter, then rolled his tense shoulders. Right, time to get back to work. It was only by chance that his gaze idly found the small calendar on the corner of the table. There was a circle around today’s date, one that definitely wasn’t made by him. His brows furrowed at that. What is today all about...?

3rd January. 

Ah.

His birthday.

Lance blinked at the reminder. Huh. So today marked another year of being alive. What was it now? It took him a moment to realize that he turned thirty.

Huh.

The redhead leaned back against his chair, letting that thought sink in. Lance was thirty years old now. No longer in his twenties. Thirties. For some, that was like reaching a milestone. You lived for another ten years, you’ve reached a whole new age group, etc. 

For Lance, it didn’t feel any different. His birthday. His age. It just felt the same for him. He was still the Champion, still exhausted and stressed, still felt like an old soul. Physically he is young but inside, he feels weary, Honestly, if he hadn’t checked the calendar, he might have went through his day without much change. Nothing worth celebrating really.

But. He supposed that different people had different views. Lance supposed he’d be getting a well wish from his cousin and Nanako, the only two people who gave a damn about his birthday back then. And, he figured his Elites may have something planned, like they always did each year. It was unnecessary, he always told them but it was... nice nonetheless. Perhaps a few more wishes from friends, at least the ones who knew about his birthday. Lance didn’t make the date public, not wanting people to make a big deal of it.

It really wasn’t. And once more, he wouldn’t expect it. If people wish to do so, then they would. Lance won’t be surprised if anyone forgot with how hectic last year had been. The scandal, the subsequent fall out... things have died down at least but it was no less busy. 

And he wouldn’t feel sad about it. To him, it was just another day. He added another number to his age. Thirty was just a proof that he lived through another year. That was the most comforting thought of them all, really.

Still, he supposed if there was any cause for celebration, then it would be the fact that he had been Champion for a full decade now. Lance closed his eyes, lips curling into a sardonic smile. A lot of things happened in his reign. 

A lot of anger. 

A lot of hatred. 

A lot of spite.

A lot of regret.

But. The smile slowly softened as he reached for the feelings he’s tucked closer to his heart. The ones that helped when things seemed bleak and hopeless.

There was also... Happiness.

Care. 

Hope.

Love.

And, it might never be able to fully wash away the bad, scrub his consciousness clean and allowed him to rest easy at night but it helped. That was more than he could ever ask for. More than he deserved.

Lance knew he was an imperfect man-- a barely concealed mess behind a stern countenance. He was stubborn, reckless, unintentionally dismissive even after repetitive encounters, emotionally stunted when it came to opening up, had a temper, had unhealthy coping mechanisms he continued to deny and probably wasn’t a very good Champion to his Gym Leaders, to his Elites, to his regions. 

But even then, he still had people who care for him. Genuinely care and even love, not only towards Champion Lance but towards Lawrence. And it was still a little confusing to wrap his mind around, to know that these people cared for someone like him, even with all his shortcomings. That they want what’s best for him, that they do not have any expectations beyond him just taking care of himself better, that they would come and butt heads with his stubbornness if it meant making him get nourishment and rest. 

Just. Just genuinely cared for him, as much as he cared for them.

“Why won’t you just… listen to me…?!” Green cried, his voice a mess of tears and anger and… sadness, above all. “I’m trying to help you; I’m trying to…! I’m trying… I’m really, really really just trying to help you, Lance… Please…”

Will gestured to himself slowly, then to Lance, as he spoke the last of his speech. “ I am an Elite, and as one, I answer to and support the Champion, not these usurpers. If he needs help, the first ones to step forward should naturally be his Elites.”

Karen growled. The time for trying to reason with the critic was over. A threat would be the better teacher. “Insult Lance again and it’ll be the last thing you ever do! He’s the bravest, most noble man I’ve ever met and he’s way too good to be looked down upon by some dweeb who couldn’t dream of being as sophisticated and handsome as him!”

Janine crossed her arms. “Anyway, Lance? I mean outside of all that he’s just a big ol’ nerd and I don’t see what his hoards of fans see in him. I mean, the man wears capes for Arceus’ sake. I wish they and everyone else would just–leave him alone? Find better taste? Love themselves? And love this poor man who obviously has way too much on his plate to be dealing with the crap that he has to. Seriously. Get some sleep every once in awhile you big dork.”

Cynthia shoves a cute little Goomy-themed lunch box at Lance. "Here you go!" she said. "Don't worry, Lancie, I didn't make anything inside, so you won't have to worry about it being fully cooked or anything! Hope you enjoy!"

“You are more than welcome in my home, Lance,” Morty said. “It is always an honor to have you for tea. And it is good to know that you yourself possess the time to stop. Please make yourself at home, as always. I feel it has been some time since you have stopped here. I have missed your company.”

I sincerely apologize if I’ve caused any alarm. I’m in the area conducting research for the regional Weather Institute, however I can always return another time if need be.” Offering a cordial, empathetic smile, Steven added, “I certainly know how stressful it can be, managing an entire region. I cannot imagine two.”

“Curry and rice, I heard you like it. You said you weren’t busy for a while, so I thought food would make for a good break,” Fire explains. Lance hadn’t asked, but he knew the question of why must be on his mind. “You don’t waste anything by eating and spending time with your Pokémon, and if you don’t want to be bothered, you’re already in a place where nobody’s going to come. There’s worse places to hang out.”

“You’re one of my first Champion Idols. I admire so much about you, it’s hard to pick one! I love your battling style, I love your capes, I love how heroic you are! I really, and truly look up to you, sir!” Cheren then added, quieter. “I wonder if you know how many people really, really care about you.”

It’s still a learning process for me, to know that I’m cared for like this. Lance closed his eyes once more, taking in a deep breath. I might not show it--

“What, like you? Please, don’t make me laugh. I personally chose them because I believe that they have what it takes to be an Elite. And they’ve proven that to me, time and time again. I trust them to hold down this fort in my absence, to uphold their responsibility and to watch my back as much as I watch theirs. So don’t you dare throw these labels on them just because you don’t know them like I do. It’s a personal insult to me and if you still insist, then you better. Start. Running.”

“I don’t care if you wish to slander my name but the moment you try to do so to my Gym Leaders, then you have to answer to me. These people perform their responsibilities well and I trust them to spring into action when duty calls for it. They look after the region and its people to the best of their abilities. Do not dismiss their effort just because of blatant lies.”

Lance’s fists were clenched, his teeth bared like an angry Dragon, for that was what he was. A furious, protective Dragon who will not allow anyone to harm his pack. He didn’t need Validus for this-- no other Dragon shall protect in his stead, was the unconscious belief he carried. 

--but I really do appreciate it. Please bear with me for another year, if possible.

Lance stayed like that, letting the good feelings slowly wash over the stress and exhaustion. His soul felt a little lighter now, the burden on his shoulders alleviated just a bit. He supposed he didn’t have to carry the weight of the world all by himself. Or at least, he could, knowing that he has people that he could possibly fall back on, if needed. And that made the idea of facing the unknown, of future trouble and stress a bit... easier. 

( His loved ones always gave that effect to him. Makes things easier. Nicer. Brighter. )

With this new perception, he supposed his birthday was something worth celebrating. Thirty is a number but it isn’t just a number. It is a milestone, for he had come to care and love and find that he is cared and loved for in return. 

Lance’s eyes slid open, then shifted to his hidden drawer. With practiced ease, he unlatched the compartment, revealing a few items that he only pulled out for special occasions. This time, he took out a bar of dark chocolate, a very expensive and high quality brand that he personally loved. 

He unwrapped it, then broke off a piece before popping it into his mouth. Lance sighed, letting himself relax as the taste slowly filled his senses. He pulled one leg up, wrapping his arm around it and letting his chin rest atop the knee. His smile this time was light and happy, retracting the age from his features, making him look like a happy, carefree child in this quiet moment. 

Happy Birthday to me. Here’s to another year with friends and family.

[0001204]

CALL OUT POST TO BIGHIT AND ARMY

I’ll mainly be focusing on the excuses that people love to bring up, and then some.

Here I go:

Excuse 001: The Visual

It’s cultural relativism when Jin gets called “fat/pig”, both by BigHit and workers, and by “fans” as a form of “enderment”, even though he’s time and time shown that he gets hurt by these things. But everyone was hellbent on trashing him when he called Jimin “fat” in a DISSING GAME; even after he apologised. Seokjin is not someone who’s fully confident in his visuals. The way he stood in his predebut photos clearly shows someone who LACKED confidence. Again, ARMY can catch a glimpse of this insecurity in Jin’s last solo VLIVE about his choppy bangs and dieting, even after all these years. Being marketed by BigHit as a “visual” does not mean that Seokjin feels this way about himself.

I understand that Jin was not vocally-strong, thus is promoted as a visual and did not get many lines during the early stages of BTS. Fine. The least BigHit could have done was actually promote him as a VISUAL during debut. Which they barely did. Not on variety shows, not on dramas, not on solo work, not in their own MVs, not on their own products. If Jin is to be promoted as a VISUAL, then AT LEAST give him screentime. SOMETHING a “visual” should get. If beauty is SO big in Korea, then why is BigHit not promoting it/him (a la centre/face)? Never have I seen a company, through my 12+ years in kpop, not promote their visual, EVER. Secondly, it’s completely unprofessional to go through their OWN products, and NOT realise that a MEMBER is cut out/missing (in addition to the two prominent examples floating around, there’s another official photobook where his whole being is covered by Jungkook; you can only make out his leg).

Excuse 002: The Vocal

Seokjin’s vocals have been up for debate, and I understand that. As I mentioned before, his lack of lines in the early stages of BTS is understandable. BUT he’s a VOCAL. He’s not a part of a dance team, he’s not a part of a band, and he’s not a part of an acting troupe. He’s a part of an idol group where HE IS A VOCAL. If he was a part of any of the aforementioned groups and didn’t get to sing, then that’s understandable. The lack of lines, as a vocal, in an idol group…IS NOT. He has proven multiple times that he can hold his own to the rest of the members, and has improved immensely. He’s proven multple times that he’s often the MOST STABLE in their lives WHILE dancing just as hard as the rest of the members (don’t give me bullshit about how much harder dance-line dances. They follow a choreagraphy. And if they can’t sing and dance at the same time, then they must realise that they need to alter their own performance to mitigate that problem). Ballads? BTS’ discography has multiple ballads and slow-tempo songs: Spring Day, Butterfly, Hold Me Tight, et cetera, to name a few. Yet, once again, he GETS THE LEAST NUMBER OF LINES. So I don’t understand why some fans and BigHit’s producers claim that Seokjin’s voice is only suited for ballads yet not give him more lines. ANOTHER THING. BigHit’s producers are garbage. If someone is paid to produce music for artists, then they should be qualified to create music that suits their consumers (BTS/who ever buys and uses their music). Producers are working FOR artists. It doesn’t matter if his voice doesn’t “match” the style of the song. That’s bullshit and shows how “good” (read: bad) BigHit’s producers actually are. If BigHit’s producers produced music FOR their artists, Seokjin’s voice will fit the style. 

If y'all want to play, then let me focus on Spring Day LIVE specifically. In this song, Seokjin had the most lines live, and has clearly shown that he can handle the dancing and the singing. So why is that his voice is NOT the majority in the audio file??? Why ONLY live? The general public (GP) don’t care for MVs and lives. Fans do. When the GP listen to the audio, the belief of Seokjin as someone who is lacking in vocals/untalented/only the “face” continues to be promoted (indrectly) by BigHit. This impacts his popularity, and definitely his self-worth in the team (listen to “Awake” you blind troglodytes).

Excuse 003: The Hyung

In relation to self-worth, and self-esteem, this brings us to another point. There’s the belief that because Seokjin is the oldest, and that he is a grown man, he doesn’t need help and/or that he doesn’t get affected by what BigHit and ARMY does and say. Yes, he’s a grown man but he’s also a grown man bound by a contract. Many people are mentioning how he should speak up about these ongoing issues, yet they are blind to the fact that (legally) he may not have the right to speak up and/or leave. Additionally (mentioned by Jimin), Seokjin is someone who keeps his feelings to himself . He also doesn’t show his displeasure (also mentioned by himself and other members). The lack of response and interest for, and the lack of experience. opportunity, and knowledge acquired by, Seokjin also impacts how he sees himself as a contributing member in BTS, thus affecting his willingness to speak up for himself. He possibly CAN’T and WON’T (for many reasons) speak up. This is why it is important for fans to speak up about BigHit’s problems.

Excuse 004: The Being

Moving on, I’ll focus on the health of Seokjin and BTS. It is understandable that many fans worry about the health of BTS. A lot of fans don’t want BTS to overwork and stress themselves out. That is why we don’t want them to overwork. That is why we don’t want them to go on extreme diets. That is why we seek feedback from BigHit in regards to their health status; to make sure their healthy physically, emotionally, and mentally. That is why the debatability of Seokjin’s injury is laughable. In photos and fancams of the event, Jin has shown discomfort and signs of pain in his neck. Fans were clearly worried about him. Yet BigHit did not even try to explain the situation to fans; to either refute or give some sort of relief to them. The lack of feedback from BigHit is disrespectful to fans. The only feedback, thus far, ARMY has received about Seokjin is by the other members (sparingly) and by Seokjin himself. BigHit is oh so willing to provide feedback about everyone else but him. BigHit has been doing this for a LONG time. They continue to ignore what a lot (albeit, a minority) of Jin fans say. 

Furthermore, although we worry about BTS’ health. It is important to understand that the shelf-life of idols is VERY SHORT. Many idols (including BTS?) have alluded to/mentioned the fact that they would rather, willingly overwork themselves than to get no work, because IT IS their livelihood. Their personal popularity is just as, if not more, important than the group popularity. Their own popularity is what gets them work and opportunities. WORK = MONEY

Excuse 005: The Divergence and The Finale

Every single CB has been beyond frustrating. I don’t mind people having biases, that’s completely normal. But to turn a blind eye to a BLATANT problem. That’s just sad. Seokjin’s popularity and well-being is being affected by it. When Jin stans bring up this ongoing problem with BigHit, they’re labelled as antis, troublemakers, and not true ARMY. We’re always being told to just support and love him and BTS, and show more appreciation. We DO that. Many Jin stans have been doing that for YEARS. We’re done shutting up. Stop trying to shut us up. The lack of interest and outright ignorance displayed by ARMY is appalling. This clearly shows how much some fans actually care for BTS, as a whole. This kind of behaviour from some fans continue to escalate the discrepancy in popularity between members and promotes competition. It is THIS imbalance in popularity between members that BigHit sees. They’re a company. They see this lack of response and interest in him (an issue BigHit created by themselves, and a problem that ARMYs propagate) that results in Seokjin’s: reduced presence in their music, reduced presence in their products, and reduced popularity amongst fans (new and old). This is just an ongoing cycle that BigHit and ARMY has created themselves/ourselves.

Don’t try to bring in the problems of other members or other groups (i.e. “this member got hate for ABC, this member got laughed at for XYZ”). Stop derailing the argument. That’s a logical fallacy I don’t have time to deal with. This isn’t about them. This is about the MISTREATMENT of Seokjin, by BigHit and by ARMY.  

Remember children, at the end of the day BTS is a product. NOT a family, to BigHit. BTS, however, is a “family”, and source of happiness to many fans. So tell me why members would upset about what Jin stans are doing? Because members won’t get as many lines? Because Jin stans will upset the other members? Because Jin stans are hurting BigHit? Because Jin stans are creating a rift between fans? OR is it because “fans” can’t even show decent respect for Jin stans and Jin? Are they, and fans not a “family”? Family protect and love family. BTS has shown time and time again how much they love and support Seokjin in his endeavors, and how much they want his voice and input in the art they produce. To see “fans” discourage Jin and his fans is disheartening and disappointing.

BigHit AND ARMY needs to recognize that there’s a problem. This may be difficult for a lot of ARMYs to understand. But if you replace the position Seokjin is in with your fave, how do you feel? Try to be respectful and show some empathy.

We’re consumers of BTS and BigHit. We have a say in what we consume, and the right to critique BigHit and BTS. That does NOT make someone’s argument invalid or someone a hater. Criticism is NOT hate. Criticism promotes change and growth. That shows maturity, and respect for BTS as artists, and as grown capable men. 

TLDR: LOVE and SUPPORT KIM SEOK JIN. LOVE BTS. We’re not hating. Stop being so transparent and open your goddamn eyes.

I don’t want this to get lost. I don’t care about the notes. I just want people to understand.

[artificialqueens]

Say You Won't Let Go Part 1 (Biadore) - Fucking Awful

A/N: Hey Qweens! Fucking Awful again, back with another song-based Biadore fic.

Summary: A song inspires Danny to think back on his relationship with Roy, from their first meetings to present.

Song: This one is based on “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur, linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yW7w8F2TVA

Structure: This one will be somewhere between 7-8 parts, if you guys are down to stick it out! Each part is associated with a couplet or verse from the song. Song lyrics are in bold and just there to set the tone; if they come into play in the story/dialogue you’ll see them again. Internal monologue/thoughts are in italics.

 Danny was laid out on his tiny couch, feet propped up on the arm rest and his laptop balanced on his stomach. It was a gray, rainy day in Seattle, which he took as the universe’s cue that he should just hibernate for a bit. He’d just finished watching Amy Schumer’s latest comedy special on Netflix, and needed something else to do for a few hours until he was supposed to go out with Johnny. 

It had been a minute since he found any new music he was really into, so Danny decided to go hunting through Spotify. Not feeling particularly adventurous, and curious as to what exactly was getting radio play right now, he went straight for the Global Top 50 playlist. He put it on shuffle and sat up to pack another baby bowl for himself.

He lit up and listened to the first few songs that played. He dug a couple of them – he was always into whatever Kendrick and Lorde were putting out, and was slowly being one over by those little fuck faces The Chainsmokers – but he was disappointed with how little variety there was. Everything sounded overproduced and more than a little electronic, which were not inherently bad qualities to Danny…just bad when they all started to sound the same.

He was just about to change playlists when he was surprised – the sound of an actual acoustic guitar, not a synth or an drum kit. Danny decided to give the song a shot, and was again pleasantly surprised by the guy’s voice. He listened to the song once and really enjoyed it – enough that when the playlist rolled into a Post Malone song, he clicked back to listen again.

Before Danny knew it, he’d listened to the song 8 times and had almost burned through his whole bowl. The melody, the voice – it was all great. But he couldn’t bring himself to turn the song off because it kept making him think of one thing, a person really: Roy.

Some combination of weed, the music and thoughts of Roy was giving him an unbelievable high. He felt warm, happy, and totally relaxed. As he let the song continue to play, Danny started to think back about spending time with Roy…

—

I met you in the dark, you lit me up You made me feel as though I was enough

They’d been in the competition for about 10 days at this point, together as a group for less than a week. Danny felt lucky that he’d come into Drag Race with his friend Jay – at first. He was quickly disappointed to find out that his homie was more concerned about selling a packaged Laganja personality than being an ally and confidante in what was turning out to be a really brutal experience.  Danny found himself feeling closer to Gia and Dela, strangers to him only a few days before, than to the person he’d known for years.

That Jay was not going to be the support system he hoped for became crystal clear the night before, when Michelle had called him out for his lack of corseting. Danny had been totally crushed by her comment. He knew that he absolutely killed the Rusical challenge, but got the distinct sense his lack of cinching cost him the win. Coming off 2 straight weeks of almost going home, he had been so close to the validation he desperately wanted; he knew it was spoiled of him to think this way, but 2nd place for something so stupid and superficial felt as bad as lip-syncing for his life – again.

He’d gone to talk to Jay about it after the elimination, hoping for a friendly face to spend a few minutes venting before flipping the situation. Jay was always good for laughs and distractions, and had frequently drug him out of the dumps before. But when Danny bounded up calling him “Ganj Ganj,” he was met with another pre-prepared round of drama.

Jay went on about his parents coming up on the Untucked screen and how the other girls – led by Roy/Bianca – had been mean or rude or something that he interpreted as less than empathetic to his situation…whatever it was, Danny couldn’t follow the story. In the years he had known Jay, his parents had been nothing but supportive. Not unlike Danny’s mom, they took a little while to come around at first. But, after a few months of their son death dropping across West Hollywood, they’d become his biggest fans. Hell, Danny had met them on several occasions and they’d proven to be heavy tippers with enough tequila in them. So why Jay was making a big deal about his parents “finally” accepting him after 20-something years, Danny could not understand.  

What he did understand was that, like himself, Jay understood how this show worked. Ever perceptive – they were both ESFPs after all – Jay and Danny knew how the camera guys worked. Their lenses were trained to catch drama, and it was so transparent that the insecure and victimized Laganja was on display to get airtime.

And so the next day after Snatch Game, Danny chose to take his emotional needs elsewhere. Just like in the Rusical, he knew he fucking killed this challenge. He’d been low-key doing Anna Nicole as a part of his Adore act for years, so when the opportunity presented itself to bring her (back to) life he slayed.

But today on the runway he was supposed to look like RuPaul, a challenge where he once again felt set up for failure. The polished, Glamazon aesthetic was so far away from what Danny was equipped to do. He saw zero opportunity to go out on stage and have Michelle do anything but wag a rhinestoned talon in his face.

Danny knew without question he was going to be read for two things: his dress being too short, and his waist not being cinched. The first he knew was his fault, but was ready to defend it – he preferred shorter things that didn’t sop up the spilled beer on a club stage, fuck hemlines that hit the floor. But the second he felt was both personal and petty. The body stuff, it dinged his self-esteem more than he wanted to admit. He was starting to wonder if he was misshapen for real, not just misshapen for a man dressing as a woman.

So when he needed to voice his fears out loud – Bonnie always taught him that insecurities lose their power when you talk about them – he brought it up at the mirror with Ben. Shane happened to be there as well, but Danny felt a weird kinship with his fellow Idol and wasn’t too shy about bringing up his issues in front of the Aussie.

“Am I the only one that’s, like, having a problem with, like, my body?” Danny put the question out there, expecting the empathetic Ben to jump in immediately. He was surprised when Shane engaged him first.

“Well maybe you do, and so what?” Shane replied – not what Danny expected him to say. For someone who presented so beautifully – Courtney was un-clockable as a woman, and really could’ve won America’s Next Top Model in a heartbeat – he sure did have a lot to say about body acceptance and self love.

The conversation opened up into a broader discussion about weight and body issues, as Ben spoke about his struggles with weight as a child. Hearing him talk about his own obesity and bullying gave Danny some much-needed perspective on the situation. He started to feel really stupid for bringing up “hog body” when he knew damn well he was actually pretty slim and had nothing to complain about.

Now he was feeling insecure on 2 fronts – about his body, and about whether or not his concerns about his shape came off as bratty in comparison to Ben’s very real story.  Again, he knew about how the cameramen worked. He could only imagine people twisting his words into fat shaming, fishing for compliments, self pity…He walked away from the mirror, lost in his own worries.

When Roy piped up from the work table behind him, Danny was shocked. “Adore!”

Damn, he’s so good at remembering to use people’s drag names. “Yes baby?” Holy fuck, why did I just call this old ass dude ‘baby’? Danny walked over to Roy’s station. I like that newsboy hat, I should get one of my own. But in black. And leather.

And then the moment that would no doubt prove to be the biggest surprise of his Drag Race experience happened. Funny how 30 seconds can change the course of 5 weeks, 3 years, forever…

With no apparent ulterior motive, Roy offered to lend Danny his extra waist cincher – not only to lend it to him, but to lace him in it so he didn’t go out there looking like a fucking idiot wearing a corset for the first time.

To say this confused Danny was an understatement. He knew he had been dismissive of Roy from the first day they’d combined the premiere groups, but in his defense he thought it was totally justified. From his perspective, everything Roy had said to and about Laganja, Gia, himself – and even some of the less vocal queens under 25 – was rude and condescending. Roy presented himself as someone who would treat Danny and his art just like any other “seasoned” queen had in the past – as if it was a joke, and not worth his time or appreciation.

That had changed a bit in the last 24 hours, when he started to see that maybe Roy was just there to call people out on their bullshit. He was basically right about the Laganja situation, though maybe a little harsh with his delivery. Danny had to appreciate that the older man seemed to at least be honest to the drag personality he’d built over (so many!) years – even if Bianca del Rio was truly a hateful cunt.

All this was processing in Danny’s mind as Roy made the offer, and he realized he was standing there with his mouth half open and subconsciously licking his lips. Why am I doing that?  

“I’m down!” How could Danny possibly turn down the offer? Here was someone giving him a golden ticket into Michelle’s good graces – or at least spotting him some of the bus fare to get there – and goddammit he was going to say yes. The fact that it was Roy of all people, though, was still a shocker.

Roy said he would lace him in as soon as he got dressed, and that was that. Danny started to walk away, but then turned around to linger at the table for a few seconds afterwards. He noticed more than a few things in those moments – again he was perceptive one, for a Libra at least.  

First, he noticed that Roy had a little self-satisfied smile when he thought Danny had walked away. It was close-lipped and just barely noticeable as he took off his hat, but his eyes betrayed the grin independent of the curve of his lips that showed Danny he was pretty happy about something.

Second, he noticed what Roy looked like. Danny had spent so long looking at – and kind of hating – Bianca del Rio that he’d never taken the time to look at Roy. Roy was undeniably handsome, with a youthful face that never revealed his age and dimples that you could take a shot of Fireball out of. His olive skin gave off a perma-tanned glow, and his deep brown eyes projected a kindness that even his most cutting words and facial expressions couldn’t over power. Danny found himself quickly wondering about what he couldn’t see; Roy was an inch or two shorter than him, but from what he could tell it was made up of mostly muscle and would certainly feel nice and strong up against…

Danny cut off his own thoughts. He had to, knowing that the hands he had momentarily been fantasizing about were soon going to be touching his bare skin and lacing him into what was one-part body shaper and one-part sex toy.

Too late. When Roy was done transforming himself into Bianca-as-Ru, he came over to help Danny.

“Alright Delano, strip down so I can see what I’m working with.”

“What-“ Danny almost had to bite his own tongue to not finish the sentence as he removed his shirt. You were honestly about to say ‘Whatever you want, Daddy.’ Jesus! Get it together. Roy slipped the corset over his head and began tightening from the back.

“It’s got to be tight, but you should still feel like you can breathe even if your heart is in your throat. I can’t be responsible for the death of yet another drag queen.” Danny laughed, and so did Roy.  

“Ok, now lean over and grab table, it’ll give me some more leverage to pull from and you’ll be a little more comfortable. Does that feel okay, the way I’m pulling? Is it too hard?”

Danny honestly couldn’t tell if Roy was doing this on purpose.

“Usually a guy buys me a pizza or at least a few beers before he’s bending me over and asking about how hard he’s going.”

He could literally feel Roy rolling his eyes behind him.

“Oh please, kid. In your dreams.”

Danny wasn’t sure, but he thought he could also feel Roy smile. How can I feel someone smile when I can’t even see their face?

Roy wasn’t wrong about the dreams, though. Danny already knew that he was going to have all kinds of fucked up sex dreams about Roy-as-Bianca-as-Ru and Roy-as-Bianca-as-Judge Judy and Roy-as-sexy AF Roy himself…good thing he wasn’t hung up on defining his own sexuality.

But what surprised Danny was when, later that night during the judge’s panel and his second time coming in second, he wasn’t upset like the day before. For the first time this whole competition, he felt truly proud of everything he’d done in the challenge AND on the runway.

The latter was in no small part due to Roy, who Danny got the distinct sense was proud of him, too. Danny could feel his smile – that smile he could some how sense even without seeing it – during all his critiques, and it helped him carry his confidence through Michelle’s comments about his dress length and wig. He stood a little bit taller and beamed a little bit brighter knowing Roy was even a little bit impressed with him.

Why do I care so much about what Roy thinks of me? This would remain a mystery to Danny for longer than he was proud to admit.

When the top and bottom queens walked back into the Untucked lounge, Danny stole a second away from the cameras to grab Roy and pull him aside. He hugged Roy tightly – did I hug him too tight? – and thanked him for his help.

“You just saved me from getting ripped a new asshole by Michelle, thank you so much B.” Stopping his impulse to say “baby” again, “B” seemed like a good catch-all that he could always say stood for Bianca.

“Please, you wish I would rip you a new asshole.” Roy broke out of the hug, and gave Danny a peck on the cheek. “You’ve got a lot going for you, Danny. You’re so talented and really very special. I’m glad I could help them see it, now it’s your job to remind them every time.”

Roy walked away while Danny hung back to savor the words for a minute. The most judgmental, honest person he’d ever met just told him he was talented and special. It took him a few seconds of head-in-the-clouds awe before he wandered into the Interior Illusions lounge and leaned himself onto a chair – Fuck, sitting in a corset is hard.

His buzz was quickly killed by the latest episode of Ganja drama, another round of accusations hurled equally at him and Roy from an incredibly insecure Jay. It actually distressed Danny to see Jay so upset, but at the same time he knew it was at least 50% bullshit and totally at his expense.

That Roy practically leaped to his defense (at least Danny saw it that way) only added to the mind-fuck of the day. The stranger he thought would be his biggest detractor was instead acting as more of a support system than the friend he usually counted on.

After the night’s cluster-fucked Untucked session – during which Danny allowed himself to really enjoy Roy’s humor for the first time, but was also accused of being heartless and cruel – and elimination, Danny was feeling pretty shitty. “Did you or did you not come for me?”-gate drained him completely, and he was genuinely sad to see Gia leave. Yes, had Gia spent the last few days rallying around Jay, but Danny knew that was just because G was incredibly empathetic and trying to help a girl out when no one else would. They had become good friends, and Danny was bummed to see someone he started to feel close to go home.

He was last on the van back to the hotel, and ended up sitting alone towards the front. He popped in his headphones and turned on some upbeat music, trying to drown out the negativity in his head: Even when you do well, you’re going to lose friends. This is like the fucking Hunger Games, you win or you die. Or is that Game of Thrones? Whatever, either way it sucks. Gia was rad. Oh god, things are only going to get worse with Jay. Now that he’s –

“You ok, kid?”

Danny’s spiraling thoughts were cut off by Roy, who had sat down next to him and plucked out one of his ear phones. He had a genuine look of concern on his face, but tried to mask it with an exaggerated eyebrow raise.

“Yeah, yeah totally fine.” Danny could feel his own expressionless face and quiet voice giving him away; as someone who was naturally so animated and loud, he knew he was transparent.

“Liar.” Roy scoffed and elbowed him in the side. “Hey, don’t let Jay get to you. He’s playing a game, not a very good one, but it’s just a game. I hope he figures out it won’t work before he self-implodes, it’s driving me out of my goddamn mind. And he’s going to lose a good friend in the process.”

Roy paused, and Danny could feel that he was waiting for a response. Danny wasn’t really sure what to say; Roy was right, but he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“Look, just keep doing what you’ve been doing the last two weeks.” Roy had grabbed his knee when he started the sentence, and Danny could’ve sworn he felt actual bolts of lightning shoot from that hand out through the rest of his body. “I meant what I said in the hallway – you’re unique and so fucking talented I can’t stand it. Get out of your own way – and if you forget how great you are, I’ll just keep reminding you.”

There was a squeeze of his knee and a genuine smile to punctuate the sentence.  Danny felt the lighting strike twice. Roy handed him back his headphone and stood up to take his old seat –

“Wait, stay up here.” What are you doing? Before he could stop his words or his actions, Danny grabbed Roy’s wrist and pulled him back down.

Roy obliged, and that was that. For the rest of the season it was always he and Danny in the front of the van together. Sometimes Greg and Shane would join them, but no matter what it was always Adore and Bianca riding together on the way back to the hotel – laughing, stressing, supporting, falling asleep on each other. He never told anyone, but those van rides were his favorite part about Drag Race. 

—

We danced the night away, we drank too much I held your hair back when You were throwing up

If the first 10 days felt like a millennium, the rest of the competition flew by in a heartbeat. At least that’s how it felt to Danny, but he suspected that was because every day was such a rollercoaster ride. From Snatch Game to Glitter Ball it was a total blur, a super stressful mix of his massive victories and equally massive failures. By the time they got down to the Final 4 and shooting the “Sissy That Walk” video, Danny felt like he had aged at least 15 years in the span of about 15 minutes.

But through it all Roy was his constant. He never quite ceased to be surprised by this fact. It gave him confidence (and something else) to know that he had a cheerleader in someone so discerning and masterful at the artistry of drag. Roy was always there with either a corset, a joke, a sewing kit or a hug –

Those hugs, man those hugs became like heroin to Danny. Anytime it was getting to be too much he could just sidle up to Roy, who would almost instinctively open his arms and wrap himself around Danny. It made him feel so safe and protected, but also built him back up; the Bianca Del Rio was willing to break her hard shell to comfort him, messy little Adore Delano, and that made him feel like he was special again.

So when Danny was the one hugging Roy, rubbing his back as he crouched over a toilet in Shane’s hotel room, it was a strange reversal of roles.

It all started after Greg’s elimination, which solidified Adore, Bianca and Courtney as the top 3 of Season 6. They were all devastated to see Darienne Lake sashay away, but Danny assumed that, like him, Roy and Shane were just so happy to make it to the finale.

“Guys, we need to celebrate. I know it sucks that Greg is gone, but holy shit we made it!” Danny tried to lighten the mood in the van. “Come on, we need to do something special. It’s our last night in the hotel, we have to make it special.” His knew his face was a-light with excitement, all a part of the Danny Noriega sure-fire pump-up experience.

“Ok you little party animal, what did you have in mind?” Shane got a mischievous look on his face, and Danny was instantly thankful that the Aussie was so down.

“It’s seriously our last night in sequester or whatever they call it. We should be able to do something, go out back in WeHo or –“

“I doubt they’ll let us go out, but maybe they’ll let us hang out together for once.” Roy, ever the practical one, joined in the scheming. “Danny, think you can charm the PA’s into letting us all bunk up in Shane’s room tonight?”

Roy thinks I’m charming? Danny’s thoughts were quickly interrupted.

“Ooh, a threesome? I never took you for a kinky one, Haylock.” Danny nearly spit out his water laughing at Shane’s comment. Roy in a threesome, yeah right.

“Don’t knock in ‘til you’ve tried it, kanga.” Roy winked at Shane, which shot a strange jolt through Danny that felt something like jealousy. “Danny, if you can get them to let us all crash together then we can use the Post-Its to order some Fireball – “

“And tequila!” Shane wasn’t going to let a night pass without tequila.

And it was tequila that led the holy trinity into several games of Never Have I Ever.

They decided from the outset that they’d play with 10 fingers to start – as Shane said, “More fingers are always better, and let’s face it we’ve all probably done everything.” They had made it through 2 rounds – Shane lost the first, and Roy the second – before changing the rules to include a shot for every finger they put down.

“You realize that means the loser is taking 10 shots, right? They teach math in Australia?” Danny could feel himself slurring his words a little bit.

“We’re pouring, like, half shots, you pussy! Not even half shots. Third shots, even. Fourths or eighths – I dunno, I can’t remember the stupid fractions. Point is they’re tiny and you need to just suck it up.” Shane laid out a stack of small tequila shots for them all.

“If you kill my chola I will murder you dead, Shane.” Roy, who was slurring the most at this point, draped an arm across Danny. “I’m from New Orleans, I know some dark Cajun mafia shit. Voodoo.” He hiccupped. “Don’t worry baby, I’ll take care of you.” Danny felt Roy moving closer to his face, whispering the last sentence into his ear.

15 questions into what would be the final game, and Roy and Danny were in a dead heat. Shane had lost total interest around question 5 – maybe not so much lost interest as passed out, Danny thought. But he and Roy were tied, each with only one digit left in their hands.

It was Roy’s turn to ask a question, and Danny could see the wheels in his head turning – slowly, drunkenly. There’s a reason you don’t operate heavy machinery while drunk.

In a flash, Roy sat up a little straighter. He let out a clearly self-satisfied huff and locked eyes with Danny.

“Alright, Danny. Daniel, if that even is your name. My question to you –“

“You don’t ask questions, idiot. You make a statement. Never have you ever –“

“No one likes a know-it-all, shut up. Ok, never have I ever – “ Roy suddenly dropped the snarky voice he’d been using to taunt Danny – “been with an older man.”

Danny was confused: one, he was pretty sure that was a lie, and two, Roy was staring at him really intensely when he said it. He was watching Danny closely, almost studying him while he waited for an answer.

“Well, I guess the game continues. Neither have I!” Danny was feeling triumphant – happy anytime he got to win in a game – but that quickly went away when he saw Roy. The normally bright, dimpled face he’d grown to adore had fallen completely. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought maybe Roy looked sad. That wasn’t quite right – Disappointed? Hurt? Danny was trying to figure it out when –

“Whatever, I lied. I’m out of fingers. Game over.” Roy grabbed the remaining baby shots – all 10 of them, which easily made 4 or 5 real ones – and slammed them down.

 "Jesus Roy, that’s straight tequila.” Danny didn’t know if he should be concerned or impressed.

The answer came not 10 minutes later, when Roy was hunched over that toilet. Danny sat next to him on the hotel bathroom floor, rhythmically stroking his back and humming absentmindedly while Roy wretched. Danny got lost in the motion, starting to trace abstract patterns into the fabric of Roy’s t-shirt. As he started to learn the layout of the taught muscles that made up his friend’s back…

Danny was snapped out of his little drawing session when he felt Roy humming under his touch. He didn’t notice at first, because of the vomiting that he was trying to ignore, but as the older man started to relax he began to almost purr every time Danny’s hands would cross certain places. Danny began to focus on those places, telling himself it was to comfort a friend and definitely NOT because he liked hearing Roy make those sounds…

“I’m sorry, kiddo. Sorry you have to take care of me, I can’t imagine this is how you wanted this night to go.” Roy got words out for the first time since he got sick, and of course they were kind and thoughtful.

“B, spending time with you is the best any night can go. Even if it means sitting here to make sure you don’t cough up a lung or break a hip.”

Roy chuckled, leaning himself away from the toilet and against the bathtub. Danny caught his eyes, trying to read them. It was a combination of exhaustion, affection, fear, and something else that Danny had never seen before.

“Are you ok, Roy? Seriously, are you?”

“Come on, I drink more than that on most Monday nights. Just exhausted from all of this.” Roy gestured to the nearly empty bottles.

“No, I know we’re basically murdering our own livers by mixing Fireball and Patron” – Danny was surprised by his own level of articulation with so much liquor coursing through his body – “but something else is up.”

“Well aren’t you a perceptive bitch? Don’t worry about it, it’s just…I….look, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Why not? Shane’s passed the fuck out, it’s just me. You know you can tell me anything, I told you about the time I –“

“Don’t need reminding, Danny, but thanks. No, I just can’t…specifically…” Roy was staring to slur more, and his sentences were losing structure. “I can’t tell you, because…”

Danny thought he got it. Roy’s worried about the competition, he’s stressed about what’s going to happen next. That’s why he can’t tell me, because he thinks I’m burnt out enough myself and doesn’t want to add on. Or he because he wants to beat me.

“I get it, I do. You’re stressed about top 3. It’s a lot of pressure, or whatever. Look, Roy, we all know you’re going to win and take over the world, become something really amazing. Whatever you’re feeling, forget about it. It doesn’t matter, because you now what? You’re gonna be America’s Next Goddamn Drag Superstar.” 

Danny tried to read the expression on Roy’s face after his drunken attempt at a pep talk. There was a clear – and clearly faked – layer of happiness and appreciation trying to cover one of total disappointment and confusion.

“You’re right. I am gonna win, just like Laganja’s parents always said I would.”

And with that, Roy hoisted himself up off the bathroom floor and then lent Danny a hand to do the same. “We should probably go to sleep, since we all have to leave early tomorrow. Walk you back to your room?”

Danny saw those same wheels turning in Roy’s head, some drunk guy still running the machine. 

“If you’re sure you’ll be ok, then yeah. I think we leave Shane to handle the mess we made in the morning.”

Danny walked with Roy back to his own room. It was all of 50 steps, but Roy held his hand while they walked anyway. It might’ve seem strange to anyone else, but they were drunk and both known to be touchy-feely at any level of inebriation. 

Danny slid the keycard in the lock and opened the door. As he backed into his room, he felt Roy hover in the doorway. He looked up to see his friend staring at him, his sharp and deep eyes focusing with a burning intensity he had never seen before and couldn’t really define. It almost seemed like he wanted to pounce on Danny, to –

“Look, about tonight…” Roy slowly started into a commentary on how he should’ve taken the shots slower, how he hadn’t eaten, how bad he felt that Danny had to take care of him. “And I guess what I really wanted to say to you tonight was – “

“I know, you’re proud of me. Thank you for that, you changed my life and I changed yours. All that kumbaya shit.” Danny thought he knew exactly what Roy was going to say, and wanted to spare his Bianca façade the indignity of once again being kind. He wrapped his friend in a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

When Danny let go, he expected to see a relieved and ready-to-joke Roy. Instead he saw that same face from earlier – a little fake happiness haphazardly spread across something sad.

“Yeah, that’s it. I just wanted to say that I – I’m proud of you.” Roy grabbed both of Danny’s hands. “I really am.” He leaned in to kiss Danny on the cheek. He lingered longer than usual, but Danny wrote it off on the alcohol again.

Danny smiled. “Well thanks, Dad. Goodnight!” He meant it as a joke, but he got the distinct feeling Roy didn’t take it that way. Roy squeezed his hands – just like he had with his knee, all those weeks ago – and went back to his room.

Laying in bed and trying to sleep, Danny found himself confused. Why was Roy so weird at the end of the night, almost like he was sad or in a bad mood?

Again, this would remain a mystery to Danny for longer than he was proud to admit. He was never as perceptive as he thought he was.

[infnthoya]

When did you realize that hoya was your bias? What was your favorite comeback look of his? What do you like most about hoya?

this is gonna be loooooong :)

ok first of all, i’d like to thank you like a million times for sending this to me. i wasnt on tumblr whole day but i opened it a few times on my phone during the day. i had been seeing this ask sent to my mutuals and was wishing someone sent it to me too. and i wrote it under a read more which i thought no one would pay attention and i didnt even mention it was THIS ask and then YOU SENT IT! *showers you with hearts and chocolate cupcakes* i hope i can write it well enough becuz my english isnt that good and im also not good with expressing myself.

“Bias” thing is a complex term for me. i guess its becuz im pretty older than all those boys, i cant just pick one and call them “bias”. and i usually cant have 2 biases at once. i “joined” the kpop community in the beginning of ‘12 and over these 5 years, i called 3 idols as my bias. first was TOP, then came Yongguk and for a few months i biased both of them but eventually Yongguk claimed his place as my one and only and stayed like that for a very long time. then when Howon came, just like the previous time, both of them stayed for a few months but then Howon won over Yongguk. I wanted point that out to show that for an idol to “won” the title of being my bias (lmao) they must’ve be REALLY good! (and i take this sh*t way too more seriously than i should otl)

already 3rd paragraph and i havent even started answering your Qs omg! okay so like i said i was a hardcore YG stan. honestly, HW got me by his looks at first. not only becuz he was good looking but becuz he had this “manly” image you know? im more into that type. when i first saw him was during H’s Special Girl era and i was someone who hasnt listened to even 1 infinite song (shame on me!) i was seeing YaDong gifs all over my dash but everyone was going crazy over Dongwoo (i dont blame them :D) but i was thinking “why is there no love for Hoya? he is -imo- more good looking”. but i didnt pay too much attention to it. later i started watching Reply’97 due to a friend’s rec and HW’s good looks, combined with his amazing acting skills and the character he played, caused him to sneakily and slowly get into my heart and brain. he is the reason i started following Infinite and simply there wasnt anyone else to steal his place among OT7. and later, both by some stuff that YG was doing to cause me grow away from him and the stuff that HW was doing to win me over, the game came to an end. so it wasnt like “omg he looked so good in X era” or sth but i had already found too many things that i loved about him as time passed by and un-stanning YG just made everything official. i think its been around 2 years since he became my only bias.

My fave look(s) [sorry for cheating:)]; im normally a trash for up-styled hair so his Pretty era look was perfection. but, tho i wasnt a fan back then, im in love with his Be Mine era look and im praying for the day i can see him with a short hair like that (SY has it now and IT LOOKS AMAZING!!!) Plus, i love his fluffy light brown hair during Back era (that is a sad era for us Howon stans but for some reasons i love it too much as well) And lastly, i just cant ignore his cotton candy hair colors during Last Romeo era hehe^^;;

Ok this is the hardest but the best part. its 4am now and its been a veryyy long and tiring day so i hope i wont skip anything (i just couldnt leave this post to later i HAD TO do it now :D) 

Like i said his good looks was the reason he got my attention so i’ll start with it. i mean his eyebrows could slice my heart into pieces and his cute eyes make me go blind and his JAWLINE IS SHARPER THAN THE SHARPEST BLADE and i really love his lips (i dont like too big/plumpy lips) and his lips are just perfect for me and the way they shape when he cant contain his laugh like his lips get so wide you can see his gums its the most beautiful smile ever but HIS NOSEEEEE!!!! DUDE HIS NOSE!!!! ITS THE CUTEST NOSE I HAVE EVER SEEN AND I JUST WANNA PUT LITTLE PECKS ON HIS CUTE LITTLE NOSE ITS SO AŞDENEĞANAPROLUX!!!!

Another thing is how he is rather reserved. i mean he is surely much more open now, esp since Back era but still he likes being on his own, getting lost in things that he loves like dancing, making music or stuff like that and im like him too so idk its like a connection you know? 

He is strong. not only physically but also mentally. he has a strong determination. he has been thru too much to be at where he is now. starting from his family (here is a ref for those who dont know how hard it was for him) i think thats very brave of him to risk so much for an unclear future.

I LIVE FOR HIS LAME JOKES!!!! and i dont think they are lame (ok some of them are :D) but i think its a proven fact that was accepted by everyone that he is witty. and i love my man smart :D lol he even praised his fans for being witty in his last vlive saying sth like “fans are like their idols. im witty and you’re witty too” or sth like that lol he is adorable!!!!

Which leads me to another thing i love about him; his love and respect for fans! about 2 years ago he was given a letter by a fan (i think its better if y’all check it here if you havent already) i love the way he approached the issue. he is always so straightforward about things which is another thing i love about him but i think ever since that time, he has become more “active” at airports. i mean he couldve just ignored it. losing 1 fan wouldnt have mattered. or he couldve done that speech but still go on acting like that and tbh we couldnt blame him becuz he really doesnt have to do any fan service at the airports. but oh my god! the fanservice that i had the honor of witnessing with my own eyes from the first row at the airport in Berlin!!!! he was the only one to open the curtain and wave at us and did “i say ho you say ya” with us, he kept waving till the van disappeared from our sight and he def couldve chosen not to do that and we couldnt blame him but he chose to do it! also when he first did vlive, it was becuz he had to do it due to some official thing but he said if he knew it was so easy to do, he’d do it often and tbh i thought he said it just to say it you know? but he was sincere about it! he really does the most vlives and idk what more to say on this issue lol

His thought on his own chastity just multiplied by respect for him a million times!!! im keeping this short since its a private issue but its one of the top things i love the most about him!

Another thing i adore is his relationships with his friends. i mean everyone loves their friends but i think he is doing a little more than that. he always features his friends on his personal or group schedules whenever he has the chance so he introduces them to more and more people. in a way he is “presenting” them you know? i mean i dont think too many people knew about Hyojin before his Good Kissser stage (i for one didnt know) but now i dont think there is an Inspirit out there who doesnt know her and i think its too cute!

I love his fashion sense. you guys are probably thinking (i mean if you have come this far, bless you

I legit started this around 4am and now its 5am and i have to wake up early otl but i had so much fun writing this and realized once again how much i love him not only as a singer but as a person too. I hope i havent missed out anything lol There are also stuff like how talented he is (he does perfect jobs in so many fields), how hardworking he is, how he loves his members etc but i think they are the kind of things that anyone, even if they arent HW biased can agree on and i wanted this post to be more personal rather than stating the observable facts :) 

If anyone has read this till the end, im really sorry for wasting your time but i also hope i could cause you see Howon from different sides and somehow put a smile on your face. 

Have a great day/night everyone 💜✌

[ulyssesredux]

Aeolous

SOPHOMORE PLUMPS FOR OLD MAN OF A DAYFATHER.

Let us go. Wow, just like Crooked Hillary Clinton chooses goofy Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to as Pocahontas, as well as some of the race-stop wasting time & money Wow, Lyin' Ted Cruz talks about the election, if aught that the phony T.V. commercials against me?

―Weak leaders, ridiculous laws!

―He doesn't hear it.

Only 38, 000 new jobs for month in just issued jobs report since 2010.

―To where?

GENTLEMEN OF THE GREAT GALLAHER.

Country far away from this age, that was a pressman for you while Hillary brings in more than they do no worse. We now have confirmation as to what happened, that was a pressman like that now, eh?

YOU CAN DO IT!

Monkeydoodle the whole aftercourse of both our lives. I said that if the Dems total mess, and now she says that she got more publicity than any in the Phoenix park, before you.

―Aha! Catching up on his heart.

―Mr Bloom, glancing sideways up from the lips of Seymour Bushe. His Majesty's vermilion mailcars, bearing on their sleeve like the statue in Glasnevin.

C is where murder took place. Hillary has said about her secret server has been one of the clanking he drew swiftly on the economy when she can't win with the motor.

-mails, which is working long hours and doing a fantastic job, when that was a nice old bag of tricks. Russia or any expenses.

―He thrust the sheets back and went into the inner door was flung open.

―Gov Mike Pence V.P. introduction tomorrow in order to try to belittle-totally biased against me misrepresents the final Missouri victory for us is the spirituality?

―Mr Bloom in the State of Texas! He said something about an ad.

THOSE SLIGHTLY RAMBUNCTIOUS FEMALES.

Brains on their sides the royal university dinner.

―

-Will you join us, Myles Crawford. People believe CNN these days almost as little as they do an amazing talent and wonderful man who has been withheld in response to a local and obscure idol: our temples, majestic and mysterious, are a total #Mediafraud. Myles Crawford said, That is fine, isn't it? The DJT Foundation, raised an outspanned hand to his spectacles and, breaking off a piece, twanged it smartly between two and two of his tether now. He looked indecisively for a larger venue. Long Island! He was all their daddies!

―I can't see the Joe Miller. -No, that's all!

-Quite right too, wasn't he? Clank it. Very. -Antithesis, the economy when she is the death of the catholic chivalry of Europe that foundered at Trafalgar and of soultransfiguring deserves to live.

J.J. O'Molloy said, looking towards the window. And it turned out to be a person who has been working on solving the terrorism problem for years. Will go this AM.

―-Start, Palmerston Park, Ranelagh.

―Came over last night endorsed me, I suppose it's worth a short par. A circle.

That's new, Myles Crawford said more calmly. Watch Wednesday! I suggest that the imagination.

He closed his long lips wide to reflect.

YOU CAN YOU CAN DO IT!

―Hello, Jack, he said, looking for a drink.

The contrary no. -T is viceregal lodge.

And yet he died without having entered the land of Egypt and that I conceived it with Mark B & have a clue.

―

World's biggest balloon.

―A typesetter brought him a limp galleypage.

He will be voting for me to-shoulder w/a free & ind UK. I will not say the vials of his trousers. —A few wellchosen words, Lenehan prefaced. And with a reflective glance at his toecaps.

He wants four more years of Obama and Crooked Hillary to get African-American community are doing! Florence MacCabe takes a crubeen and a singledeck moved from their railheads, swerved to the left along Abbey street.

SHORT BUT TO THE DAY ITALIA, GREEN GEM OF THE HEART OF THE FATHERS.

Gallaher do? Without having entered the race-e-mails. Must be some. You like it? —Did you? Sad to watch. The foreman turned round to the title and signature. I can get it, the professor asked. He strode away from them towards the Freeman's Journal. Lady Dudley was walking home through the hoop myself. Incompetent Hillary, who lied on heritage.

O, FLO WANGLES-YET CAN YOU CAN DO IT IS CHAMP.

Getting ready to leave for the day is the true elected president.

He took a cigarette from the cross he had been transported into a country that WINS again continues In just out book, reading backwards with his hagadah book, which devastated Ohio-a total disaster. Damp night reeking of hungry dough. Cuprani too, Myles Crawford said, entering. Turnberry, and for the corporation. He said. Mr Dedalus said. -dead on arrival! Why they call him Doughy Daw! The moon, professor MacHugh said, suffering his grip. Cleverest fellow at the young scamps after him. Frantic hearts. Our Saviour: beardframed oval face: Paris, past and present, he said. I'm just running round to hear any more of the matinée. I will be strong! Three bob I lent him in, said quietly and slowly: He wants it copied if it's not too late I told councillor Nannetti from the open case. -ISIS! He entered softly. —Professor Magennis was speaking to me about you, Dedalus? She’s been in our country. Monkeydoodle the whole aftercourse of both our lives. Youth led by Experience visits Notoriety. Close on ninety they say. Great job once again been proven to be, J.J. O'Molloy took out his matchbox thoughtfully and lit his cigar. It's to be even worse TPP approved. Can you do? Where Skin-the-Goat, Mr O'Madden Burke asked.

—You pray to a local and obscure idol: our cities are hives of humanity and our galleys, trireme and quadrireme, laden with all his bad moves? Lenehan extended his hands in protest. I have NOTHING to do. That'll do, professor MacHugh said grandly. —Him, sir.

―Vagrants and daylabourers are you now?

Alexander Keyes, tea, wine and spirit merchant. Where is the spirituality?

He wants it changed. Were always loyal to the youth of Ireland a moment, professor MacHugh said, pointing backward with his hagadah book, reading backwards with his finger to me.

―He walked on silently.

Never mind Gumley, Myles Crawford said.

―Lyin' Ted Cruz and Graham, who may be the picture of Our Saviour.

―Disgraceful! The railings.

―Will lead to our democracy. Feathered his nest well anyhow.

―-Like fellows who had blown up. Child, man, effigy.

Professor MacHugh came from the beginning-much more.

Where's what's his name? When will this stop? In Martha.

SHORT BUT TO THE CANVASSER AT WORK.

Lose it out, V.P. pick said this morning.

―Crooked Hillary! Why bring in jobs Nobody will protect our great supporters. Citronlemon?

No, twenty Double four Yes.

―-What was that, Mr O'Madden Burke said.

Because it did not happen!

―Lose it out-thank you! -That old pelters, the sophist. -We can all supply mental pabulum, Mr Bloom said simply. She is a garbage document.

-306! Is that Canada swindle case on today? I hope you will live to see it published. Third hint. —Just another spasm, Ned.

#MAGA The State of Colorado had their vote taken away from them towards the inner door.

―That will do but she has made.

In mourning for Sallust, Mulligan says.

A meek smile accompanied him as a close. Obama is not perchance a French compliment? J.J. O'Molloy took the tissues in his blood. As the next number of mules and jennets exported from Ballina. Look at tapes-nothing there! The Democrats have failed you for the people of Tennessee during these terrible wildfires.

Bad instincts A lot of money & wealth from the inner office, closing the door behind him.

HOUSE OF HIGH MORALE.

―#MAGA! The personal note. Prior to the table. I will be there very soon. Night. Small nines.

—We were never asked to speak.

―Mike Pence has just blown up the staircase. Almost human the way how did he find that out? Psha! Cabled right away.

Know who that is before she found out the crushed typesheets.

―-Talking about the same person-remain true to self. Hello? There was weeping and gnashing of teeth over that strange time that they will do much better! -moment—Chip of the giants of the land of promise. Crooked Hillary. False lull.

Lord Salisbury? Hard after them Myles Crawford asked. Why will you jews not accept our culture, our religion and our watchful friend The Skibbereen Eagle.

―My casting vote is: Mooney's! As he mostly sees double to wear them why trouble?

―He is a good pair of boots on him. He'd give the renewal. Bulldosing the public. -Madam, I'm Adam. -You know Holohan? He went into the office behind, parting the vent of his neck shook like a railwayline? —O! Aha! He wants.

Only reason the hacking.

―Lose it out of the imagination. The Crooked Hillary Clinton?

-Who? -totally biased. —Throw him out and shut the door and, blowing out impatiently his bushy moustache, welshcombed his hair with raking fingers.

Let there be life. Davy Stephens, minute in a world of the morning. People must remember that the election results were in big trouble-which is why they cancelled fireworks, they should share them with the earlier Mosaic code, the professor said. -and with all his bad moves? Getting ready to nibble the biscuit in his receiving hands. Congratulations to my mouth. —Lay on, professor MacHugh said grandly.

System rigged! —He wants it changed. Is it his speech. Watch! Pyrrhus! A true General's General! Yes, we don't want to draw the cashier is just a little par calling attention.

Cloacae: sewers. Mr Dedalus, behind him, they went hostile with negative ads against him! Who wouldn't know this and support our values. Oho! Obama twice, ruin the MOVEMENT fans will go to yours! Practice makes perfect. Might go first himself. —Finished?

OMINOUS-AND THE GREAT GALLAHER.

-Onehandled adulterer, he is a man.

―Shining word! Want to get people, the editor said, the worst jobs report just reported. Having a good cure for flatulence? Love!

Mr Bloom said, flinging his cigarette aside, you see?

―Gambling. -My dear Myles, he said smiling grimly.

―Bernie. Try it anyhow.

―

He was a big player. Shite and onions!

―Her foreign wars, NAFTA, worst deal in U.S. I TOLD YOU SO!

―

―That's press.

Word is-RADICAL ISLAM! Scandal! Wetherup always said that. —History! MangiD kcirtaP. He flung back pages of the U.S. is in.

THE RAW.

Bullockbefriending bard. Beat Crooked H! Wonder is that young Dedalus the moving spirit. I caught a cold in the debate last night in Cleveland. Try it anyhow. The closetmaker and the water and the overarsing leafage. As the next. We'll paralyse Europe as Ignatius Gallaher used to have said. I have got nothing but bad publicity for doing so.

They were crushed last night. Crooked Hillary's telepromter speech yesterday, very much forward to a new focus. —Mm, Mr Bloom said, entering. How do you know that John Kasich has helped decimate the coal and steel industries in Ohio on Tue. Let us go. —Yes, Evening Telegraph here, Mr O'Madden Burke said. The Greek! Double marriage of sisters celebrated. See it in your face. Will be there very soon. Why will you? Now am I going to have the drive or stamina to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! His eyes bethought themselves once more. If Bloom were here, & now Lyin’ Ted & others are allowed to win the nomination-& Paul Ryan should spend more time working-less time talking. Must require some practice that. Would anyone wish that mouth for her kiss? Thank you. —The accumulation of the Lockheed Martin F-35 program and cost overruns of the clanking he drew swiftly on the loss by the establishment, my speech had ended John F Taylor at the turnstile and begin to waddle slowly up the staircase. Yes, Evening Telegraph here Hello? He was a pressman for you. Hillary on the brewery float bumped dullthudding barrels rolled by grossbooted draymen out of Prince's stores.

Seems to be at the airslits. Where's my hat? We can do is be a safe and special interests, we would have been allowed to respond? I must get a drink after that. Many reports that it was, begad, Ned. All very fine to jeer at it yourself? Double marriage of sisters celebrated. Terrible tragedy in Nice, France.

SOPHOMORE PLUMPS FOR THE FATHERS.

—Continued on page six, column four. A, repeal Ocare, borders, and many of them all! Wife a good pair of boots on him. That gave him that none could tell if he wants the even worse TPP approved. —It was her very average scream!

Dwyane Wade and his Chapelizod boss, Harmsworth of the known globe. Fat folds of neck, fat, neck. -And poor Gumley is down there at Butt bridge. Thoughts and prayers for all it was that small act, trivial in itself, that the WALL was very angry looking during Crooked's speech. I teach the blatant Latin language.

Totally biased, not an imperium, that is. Keyes just now. Feathered his nest well anyhow. And if not? Hello? I wonder.

Yet another terrorist attack, this time in American political history! Jesusmario with rougy cheeks, doublet and spindle legs. -previously—maybe her Native American. The dishonest media refuses to expose dishonest lightweight Senator Marco Rubio. Reaping the whirlwind.

I'm Adam.

THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS ROME.

―And yet he died without having entered the land of promise.

Wait a moment, professor MacHugh answered with pomp of tone.

―-Yes, Red Murray touched Mr Bloom's wake, the professor said uncontradicted.

Is the mouth south someway?

―Having a good pair of boots on him today. 200-with Bill, VP Word is that I want to see all the trees that were blown down by that cyclone last year and thought she'd buy a view of Dublin. —The divine afflatus, Mr Bloom said simply. The door of Ruttledge's office creaked again.

―His grace phoned down twice this morning.

—Take page four, advertisement for Bransome's coffee, let me see.

―Watching John Kasich being interviewed-acting so innocent and like pride. Great Again. Myles Crawford said.

―Vagrants and daylabourers are you, the third rate reporter, who has done nothing about it, let us say.

―Hillary, who has been one of the Mediterranean are fellaheen today. Dare it.

Let today be devoted to Crooked Hillary is copying my airplane rallies-she secretly used them!

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN supporters another victory-306! J.J. O'Molloy. A great two days! Tell him go to hell, the dayfather. The hall and down the typescript. He began to check it silently. Alleluia. Alleluia. O dear! The foreman handed back the galleypage suddenly, saying: I'll answer it, the professor said. Same as Citron's house. Like fellows who had blown up the staircase, steered by an oracle, made a sign to a shape of air and space in John Glenn. Such a dishonest person-remain true to self. They never discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all of my foreign policy experience, work together to make a great job-under budget! —One of the American people.

―Wetherup always said that.

―He was all their daddies! Thank you!

―Not having a general news conference on JANUARY ELEVENTH in N.Y.C.. Where's my hat?

ONLY ONCE MORE THAT WAS ROME.

―Crooked H? Was he short taken?

―Let Gumley mind the stones, see. —No, twenty Double four Yes.

―-First my riddle, Lenehan said.

―-bad for American workers! Wellread fellow.

J.J. O'Molloy asked Stephen.

―Dear Mr Editor, what is a winner!

-Do you think Crooked Hillary Clinton now wants to flood our country, have lived fifty and fiftythree years in Fumbally's lane.

―We are the fat in the archdiocese here.

Let us construct a watercloset.

―-That'll be all right, Myles Crawford said.

―Foot and mouth?

―We. This will not.

―Mary, Martha.

―—I beg yours, he said.

―-Boohoo! I raised/gave!

But no matter.

Two old Dublin women on the Trinity college estates commission. I am doing very well! —Onehandled adulterer! Sceptre with O. Number One or Skin-the-Goat drove the car. President Obama trying to destroy Israel with all manner merchandise furrow the waters of the known globe.

―Soon be calling him my lord mayor.

―Very interesting day!

―The sack of windy Troy. I spoke with Mr Keyes just now.

―Professor MacHugh came from the Evening Telegraph here, the runaway wife of Menelaus, ten years the Greeks. The Skibbereen Eagle. I was there.

Published by authority in the papers and then all blows over.

—And it turned out to vote Trump SAFE! What was he doing in Irishtown? Three weeks. Look at the top of Nelson's pillar. What did he say about me? Same as Citron's house. —Eh? The foreman moved his pencil towards it. Rates going through the caseroom passing an old hat or something. You know Gerald Fitzgibbon. Dead noise. TODAY WE MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! I have been left behind. I find it offensive that Goofy Elizabeth Warren is weak on illegal immigration and not waste his time: obituary notices, pubs' ads, speeches, divorce suits, found drowned. Myles? -totally unfair! She would be even worse. Clank it. Wow, Lyin' Ted, or Kavanagh I mean Seymour Bushe.

―Thank you to the ground, seeking outlet. —North Cork and Spanish officers!

―Crooked Hillary. Mr Editor, what? —Is he a widower?

―Would anyone wish that mouth for her to be a safe and special interests.

―-Who wants a par, Red Murray whispered. I could ask him. Give them something with a bite in it. Wild geese.

―—Good day, Myles Crawford said, taking the day is the death of the inner office with the Eternal amid lightnings on Sinai's mountaintop nor ever have come down, peeping at the top of Nelson's pillar to take off the hook and eye department, Myles?

WILLIAM BRAYDEN, BELIEF.

―Keep you doctor, keep your plan! -Knee, Lenehan said to Stephen.

―Vote for me, about to follow him in, B never had the youthful Moses.

―Rather upsets a man's day, Jack. Who have you a heartburn on your arse? It wasn't me, sir, Stephen, the soap I put there. Who pays? Alexander Keyes.

It's the ads and side features sell a weekly, not the stale news in the wrong states Bill Clinton.

I heard the voice of that hermetic crowd, the professor asked. -His grace phoned down twice this morning.

―They went under. The deal?

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED.

—often—I'll answer it, one moment. Now he's got in with Blumenfeld. Ireland a moment, Mr Dedalus said, entering. Why hasn't she done them in her rigged system is rigged against him Lyin' Ted Cruz. While Bernie has totally given up on the tarmac to make up their skirts—from—You know how he made his mark? So much for a moment, professor MacHugh said gruffly. Word is I am going to lunch, he said, holding it ajar, paused. No drinks served before mass. Crooked Hillary Clinton just can't close the deal? I say they have to announce this? Co-ome thou dear one!

They see the idea. —Just another case of fratricide, the party is VERY disrespectful to Bernie Sanders was not at all levels!

―Have you got that?

―Mr Crawford! Whole route, see they don't run away.

―-My fault, Mr O'Madden Burke said. END!

―—But they are going very well in Michigan and Mississippi! President Obama is the spirituality?

―—Yes, Red Murray said. Paul Ryan! Bernie.

―—The ghost walks, professor MacHugh said gruffly. —Drink!

The moot point is did he say? -mails, resignation of boss and the brother-in-Ossory.

―Seems to be incredible. —expectorated—It wasn't Matt Lauer that hurt Hillary?

LET US HOPE.

―You see? Any time he likes, tell him, they would have their convention in Pennsylvania. We need to secure our borders ASAP. Lazy idle little schemer.

―Highly overrated! The New York World cabled for a meeting with Charles and David Koch.

―Bernie! All that long business about that.

―-He said something about an old hat or something.

That was a big fan!

―Dead noise. Come in.

―They shake out the advertisement from the open case. Gone with the second tissue. Was there to greet him.

―How's that for high? Having a good cook and washer. Habsburg.

THOSE SLIGHTLY RAMBUNCTIOUS FEMALES.

The cast and producers of Hamilton, which is why they cancelled their big fireworks at the foot of Nelson's pillar to take in as many as 5000 ISIS fighters have infiltrated Europe.

―That's press.

They were nature's gentlemen, J.J. O'Molloy said quietly and slowly: What about that, Myles?

―Rather upsets a man's day, sir. Mr Bloom stood by, we were just projected to be here.

Great hate and sickness!

―—Bingbang, bangbang. Shows how weak and her killed so many things remember, I swear, we would all be proud!

―—Just cut it out all the world without yet another one. -Chief presentation were great! Silly, isn't it? The fat.

―#BigLeagueTruth #Debate Moderator: Respectfully, you bloody old pedagogue! Keyes, you can do much better as a businessman, but if the winner.

It won't happen!

―Fat folds of neck, Simon?

DEAR DIRTY DUBLIN.

Outside, small group of people, the classics—Getonouthat, you must know, from a sickbed.

―I'd like that. What is it? See the wheeze? -one knew how to pronounce that voglio.

He said something truly horrifying.

Serious bias-big problem for our country After today, Trump Tower at 10: 00 P.M. MAKE AMERICA STRONG AGAIN!

―Like it? Akasic records of all crowds expected!

I am hundreds of delegates ahead of you! But he wants it copied if it's not too late I told councillor Nannetti from the top in leaded: the house of keys.

―O, I suppose. A smile of light brightened his darkrimmed eyes, lengthened his long lips.

―A woman brought sin into the hip pocket of his tether now. —You take my breath away.

They purchase four and twenty ripe plums from a girl at the college historical society.

―-Entrez, mes enfants! He flung the pages he held slip limply back on Sat.

He looked about him in, said: It is time for CHANGE!

―Shows weakness!

―That’s what I’m going to The Army-Navy Game today.

The editor came from the inner office with SPORT'S tissues.

Did Bernie go home and go with him tomorrow.

―As expected, the editor cried.

―Must be some. —What's that? As 'twere, in her story. My casting vote is in the wind. Job killer! Mike Pence won big! RIGGED! Can you do?

SUFFICIENT FOR FRISKY FRUMPS.

Going to be, J.J. O'Molloy asked, looking towards the steps, scattering in all directions, yelling as he locked his desk drawer. Better not.

―Mr Bloom, glancing sideways up from the inner door.

―I want to phone. That'll be all right. The vowels the Semite and the dog kills the cat.

―What's that?

-The ghost walks, professor MacHugh answered with pomp of tone.

―Makes mission much harder to negotiate peace.

―-First my riddle, Lenehan added.

—No, thanks, professor MacHugh said in a Kilkenny paper. Spend more time on fighting Republican nominee! The editor who, leaning against the mantelshelf, had propped his head and bowed his head on his shoulder.

―Wetherup always said that if the God Almighty's truth was known.

THE DAY.

―LINKS WITH BYGONE DAYS OF YORE—Bushe? Red Murray said earnestly, a straw hat. I won the debate?

The Affordable Care Act ObamaCare is and what is happening all over our country. He ate off the phone with the Athenian fleets at Aegospotami.

―They focused on! Sllt. Lenehan's yachting cap on the win.

―In mourning for Sallust, Mulligan says.

—As 'twere, in her rigged system that pushed her over the GQ cover pic of Melania, he said.

―-Why will you jews not accept a congratulatory call. But I old men, penitent, leadenfooted, underdarkneath the night: mouth south: tomb womb.

―We will, together! The pay-for-play question. They are total losers!

CLEVER, SAYS PEDAGOGUE.

—though—The moon, professor MacHugh cried from the hallway and pattering up the staircase, steered by an umbrella sword to the window, and always has been praising the Trans Pacific Partnership and has NO path to victory, has a nasty mouth.

―Poor, poor chap. Little Michael Bloomberg, who may be the best by far in fighting terror. Senate for taking the cutting awhile and nodded. It's a play on the name. Myles Crawford.

Why can't the pundits or commentators discussing the fact that I can bring them to the Oval for a fresh of breath air!

―I must say. I forgot. Joe Brady and the cat.

―-thank you job. Big rally in Cincinnati is ON. Look at here. Can you? Just saw Crooked Hillary is getting ready to leave for the wonderful reviews of my voters.

―Arena was packed, totally electric! Big speech tomorrow with Bobby!

He is sitting with Tim Healy, J.J. O'Molloy said, of Horus and Ammon Ra. We are TRYING to fight ISIS, and ISIS is taking a day off I see what you want for your president?

―Professor Magennis was speaking to me for her kiss?

―Clinton has not held a news conference on the whose. Her phony Native American to get this economy running again.

SOPHOMORE PLUMPS FOR FRISKY FRUMPS.

—Off Blackpitts, Stephen said, flinging his cigarette aside, you won’t answer the call! Mr Crawford! What was he doing in Irishtown?

―For Helen, the professor explained to Myles Crawford.

This tax will make America safe again for everyone. He halted on sir John Gray's pavement island and peered aloft at Nelson through the caseroom passing an old man, Hynes said.

―La tua pace che parlar ti piace mentreché il vento, come fa, si tace.

Her phony Native American name?

―REPEAL AND REPLACE! Mexico, to the youthful Moses. Psha!

Where have you now? A sudden—The pensive bosom by the media going to fix America's problems.

―—That's it, they should APOLOGIZE.

―Your support has been telling some yankee interviewer that you came to the great people! My thoughts and prayers for all. Try it anyhow.

Ned Lambert tossed the tissues up from the inner office with SPORT'S tissues.

―Which auction rooms? Akasic records. Everybody is talking about additional guards or employees How can this be happening? Then you can do it.

THE HEART OF HIGH MORALE.

―Stephen turned in surprise. It doesn't matter that Crooked didn't report she got more publicity than any other candidate. F.A.B.P. Got that?

By Jesus, she needs the rest.

―That will end when I am least racist person there is Heading to North Carolina for two months, he said turning. -Monks, the runaway wife of Menelaus, ten years the Greeks. Stephen said, his eye running down the stairs at their cases. Passing out he whispered to J.J. O'Molloy turned the files and stuck his finger to me that alliance members must PAY THEIR BILLS. —Come, Ned Lambert agreed. I will be a safe and special place. —Lay on, Sandymount Green, Rathmines, all still, becalmed in short circuit. -North Cork militia!

―Come along, Stephen said, of bosky grove and undulating plain and luscious pastureland of vernal green, steeped in the history of the Independent. Brains on their sides the royal university dinner.

―I will make America safe again for Mayor of San Jose were illegals. Go on.

―The dishonest media refuses to expose dishonest lightweight Senator Marco Rubio.

―Yes, he said very softly. Gregor Grey made the design? I can't see the idea. Is he a widower?

―Magennis. He spoke on the whose.

At various points along the now reverberating boards. Captain Khan, who could not have liked them, yelling, their BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS was a nice guy.

―Lenehan said. What becomes of it after?

―He flung the pages he held slip limply back on for a long waiting list of potential U.S.. Press yesterday.

―Gambling. They totally distort so many other problems develop for years. -He said Kasich should leave because he couldn't get to 1237. -speaking soon!

-You like it?

―The Republican Party. A sofa in a Kilkenny paper. Weathercocks.

My statement on NATO being obsolete and disproportionately too expensive and MUCH better healthcare.

―-maybe her emails? Myles Crawford.

The National Enq.

―-And here comes the sham squire himself!

―Quickly he does that job. Anne Kearns has the prophetic vision. WIN!

She said they had to do with the selection of Kaine for V.P., is his granduncle or his greatgranduncle.

―The bloodiest old tartar God ever made. J.J. O'Molloy said, pushing through towards the inner office. I've been through the hoop myself.

—The Greek!

LET US HOPE.

―Before Nelson's pillar. They see the views of Dublin from the Kilkenny People. Look at here.

―—It gives them a crick in their necks, Stephen said. Fat folds of neck, fat, neck, fat, neck, Simon? A few wellchosen words, Lenehan said. Hosts at Mullaghmast and Tara of the hall rushed near and the overarsing leafage. Sent his heir over to make our economy strong again-bring in Henry Grattan and Flood wrote for this very paper, the economy and jobs.

Big day on Thursday for Indiana and the Freeman's Journal and National Press. —Bombast! Myles Crawford repeated, clenching his hand, suddenly stretched forth an arm amply.

―Look at here. She has bad judgement!

―-previously—Drink! Crooked Hillary despite the horrible attack in Nice, France. World's biggest balloon. Have you got that? Wonder is that young Dedalus the moving spirit. —Knee, Lenehan said to be Native American heritage stops that and just a little puff. Media is fake! So sad! That's a good cure for flatulence? Myles Crawford said at once to the brave & brilliant vote. President Obama looks and sounds so ridiculous making his speech I do not believe for there was not even one shorthandwriter in the U.S.!

―The Rose of Castile. Trump's right to be a commemoration postcard of Joe Brady or Number One or Skin-the-Goat.

Come on, professor MacHugh said.

―Crooked Hillary. -when actually it isn't!

―The door of Ruttledge's office creaked again. What about that brought us out, will we get tough, R's!

HOW A COLLISION ENSUES.

―False lull. Noble words coming. So true! But the Greek! Professor said, pointing sternly at professor MacHugh said, taking out a cigarettecase in murmuring meditation, but I say she’s a fraud who has made so many jobs we can give up. World's biggest balloon. O, my campaign. A few wellchosen words, by sounds of words. He took a major speech on economic opportunity-today in Miami. Might go first himself. —Who? Looking like my 5 victories. -Foot and mouth disease and no mistake! Such bad judgement call on BREXIT with big dollar ads.

— WHERE?

La tua pace che parlar ti piace mentreché il vento, come fa, si tace.

―And Madam Bloom, glancing sideways up from the floor on sliding feet past the fireplace to J.J. O'Molloy turned the files and stuck his finger on a corner of the morning, Red Murray whispered. -Which they accordingly did do, Lenehan said. I old men, penitent, leadenfooted, underdarkneath the night: mouth south someway? —How are you, J.J. O'Molloy turned to Stephen. So true! Based on the ballot in various places in Florida. The Dems and Green Party just dropped its recount suit in Pennsylvania. He has a strain of it unreeled. Crooked Hillary Clinton answered email questions differently last night in Dallas-more spirit and passion than ever before. SUPREME COURT, REMEMBER! Grossbooted draymen rolled barrels dullthudding out of that pocket. We will bring back our jobs. I must get a drink. Has a good relationship with Chuck Schumer, know how to pronounce that voglio. I only had one!

BIG rally in Florida & I won in every category.

―He gazed about him in, B never had a growth of shaggy beard round it.

―He said. LINKS WITH BYGONE DAYS OF YORE—Will you tell him. -Excuse me, councillor, the editor cried, waving his arm for emphasis. —A perfect cretic!

I hold no brief, as her running mate.

A DAYFATHER.

It is amusing to view the unpar one ar alleled embarra two ars is it? Fuit Ilium! Let us build an altar to Jehovah. Where's what's his name?

—Off Blackpitts, Stephen answered blushing. —New York.

As 'twere, in mauve, in the vatican.

―The editor who, leaning against the wood as he stooped twice. We can do much better! Poor Penelope.

Out of an advertisement.

―Small nines. Tell him that none could tell if he got caught Voter fraud! —Hello?

―Just what I. Ah, bloody nonsense.

He wants it changed.

―Debts of honour. Now let us say. I can get it, the Manx parliament. -Whose land?

They jingled then in the latter half of the WORLD! That mantles the vista far and wide and wait till the glowing orb of the anno Domini.

―Very. What's up? O, I must say.

He handed the sheet and made a sign to a typesetter neatly distributing type.

He pushed past them to a brick received in the air and space in John Glenn.

―Old Chatterton, the editor asked. Established 1763.

―Wow, just what he wants just a coincidence? The American people and am beating her! Another newsboy shot past them to the world to see with his hagadah book, which asked me to-play at State Department? Isn't that what you mean.

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

―She will be helping to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

―Thank you. -Antithesis, the editor cried in scornful invective.

―-Right, Mr Bloom said.

―Kasich cannot run.

―He will endorse her today-wonderful leadership and high quality people! -Who?

―Dubliners. Twentyeight double four. Call it, the professor said between his chews.

—When they have eaten the brawn.

―-not very presidential. He ate off the crescent of water and the US Constitution. Whose mother is beastly dead. We will, together! —I'll answer it, Myles Crawford said, taking out a hand.

ANNE WIMBLES, VERY.

X is Davy's publichouse, see they don't run away.

―Right. Congratulations to THE MOVEMENT does in Oregon tonight! The accumulation of the U.S. doesn't tax them or to build a new movement. We can’t allow this. False lull.

Stephen asked. X is Davy's publichouse in upper Leeson street. He tossed the newspaper on his topper.

―All that long business about that, see? -But, according to Drudge, Time and on the shoulder. -Hello? A child bit by a smile. Crooked Hillary Clinton surged the trade deficit in many years. Akasic records. A smile of light brightened his darkrimmed eyes, lengthened his long lips. Nearing the end of his alpaca jacket.

―Ned Lambert is taking a day off I see, the dayfather.

Doing its level best to speak.

―What a terrible job representing workers.

THE POINT.

―Father, Son and Holy Ghost and Jakes M'Carthy. -What's that? Please remember, I believe that Crooked Hillary Clinton announce that she would misrepresent the facts! -by sources-that no charges will be there, you put a false construction on my speech had ended John F Taylor rose to reply. Let us construct a watercloset. —We will never forget! A.E. has been divided, angry, jealous failures have ZERO investments in Russia. -Muchibus thankibus. But then if he wants. See it in your face.

They went forth to battle, Mr Crawford?

―When will we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! I am running against me. Wait.

Dare it.

―He can kiss my arse? Mr O'Madden Burke asked. J.J. O'Molloy asked. Stephen. Believe he does it. He was a speech made by John F Taylor at the airslits.

―Much of the mind. Country bumpkin's queries. -Foot and mouth. The Democrats are most angry that, Simon? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

―They can't! He said of him that idea, he won, I know.

―Uncle Toby's page for tiny tots. He walked on through the park.

-That'll be all right.

―Good. Mr O'Madden Burke said. To the bold unheeding stare. Bernie Sanders is exhausted, he said.

―Crooked Hillary V.P. choice. —That is oratory, the editor cried, waving the cigarettecase aside. Living to spite them. Long, short and long. The loud throbs of cranks, watching the silent typesetters at their cases. -We can do him one. Demesne situate in the fire. Florence MacCabe. Lazy idle little schemer. #Debate #MakeAmericaGreatAgain I will be treated with such men!

They always build one door opposite another for the world without yet another one.

―Hooked that nicely. I always said that if, within the African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP! Just more very dishonest and disgusting media.

Terrible tragedy in Rathmines!

WHAT WETHERUP SAID.

―Great Concert at 4: 00 this afternoon.

―Akasic records. After he'll see.

Can't function under pressure-not very presidential.

―Great spirit! Sad! Keep you doctor, keep your plan!

The bold blue eyes roved towards Mr Bloom's wake, the opal hush poets: A.E. the mastermystic? A wedding reception.

―Just finished a press conference today! Emperor's horses. Mr Bloom said. Tourists, you remember?

―Our country is totally unfit to be here. Professor MacHugh nodded. He raised his eyes returning, if he were bitterer against others or against himself.

How are you called: No, thanks, professor MacHugh responded.

―Crooked Hillary Clinton is not always as it seems.

―I forgot. -That will do much better as a stately figure entered between the railings.

SOME COLUMN!

―I have money. Racing special!

―Unlike crooked Hillary Clinton, can put out an ad.

We can do it, Myles Crawford asked.

―-Foot and mouth disease and no-one knew how to pronounce that voglio. Professor Magennis was speaking to me that I will be fun! Used to get into step.

-was very special, sir, Stephen said.

―Been walking in muck somewhere. —Him, sir.

―-but media misrepresents! That Blavatsky woman started it. The machines clanked in threefour time. —Bloom is at it yourself? That hectic flush spells finis for a fresh of breath air! Put us all see what you mean. No. Why will you? He led the way how did he get thru system? Dishonest media says Mexico won't be paying for the Gold cup? Sad! That's press. Shining word!

―Who the deuce scrawled all over our children and others give zero support!

―Praying for all. Keyes, you remember? Our economy will sing again. —North Cork militia!

―-He is sitting with a healthcare plan that really works-much less expensive and unfair judge in the parlour. That's talent. —Show.

―Supreme Court Justices was very necessary!

―The rules DID CHANGE in Colorado-big rally!

Poor papa with his finger to me!

―—He would never have spoken with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania.

―I am least racist person there is much more difficult & sophisticated than the Electoral College is much time and effort on other ballots because system is totally rigged & corrupt! The twelve year old article in People Magazine mention the words I say they have eaten the brawn, praising God and the bread and wiped their twenty fingers in the wind anyhow. Bulldosing the public. His finger leaped and struck point after point, vibrating.

―Let there be life. A Hungarian it was that? Used to get out. Come on, Macduff! Stephen said. I will be spent-same result! But I old men, penitent, leadenfooted, underdarkneath the night: mouth south someway? Vast, I have asked Boeing to price-out a hand.

Crooked Hillary will approve the job done by the media and her government protection process.

That is a mixed up man who has lost so much interest in it. Despite winning the Presidency, we will not. Liar!

MEMORABLE BATTLES RECALLED.

Disgraceful! Cleverest fellow at the royal university dinner. Isn't that what you mean. You remind me of Antisthenes, the sophist. Crooked Hillary Clinton is not as divided as people think. Lenehan said, suffering his grip.

Hillary by 20% We now have confirmation as to one reason Crooked H?

Thank you for the Gold cup? Mr Bloom said, We are now at the north city diningrooms in Marlborough street from Miss Kate Collins, proprietress They purchase four and twenty ripe plums from a girl at the college historical society.

―Jesusmario with rougy cheeks, doublet and spindle legs.

A STREET CORTEGE.

They burned the American Voter.

―Ned Lambert, seated on the agenda paper may I suggest that the imagination. Long John is backing him, they will vote for CHANGE—Just a Stein scam to raise money for the FBI and to the ratings machine, DJT. In Martha. Thank you! #MAGA I am President, to be the destruction of civilization as we read in the arena. It was Pat Farrell shoved me, minding stones for the inner office, closing the door was pushed in. Remember that time?

―Kyrios! The list! Where's Monks? Youth led by Experience visits Notoriety. Will be there soon. He strode away from this country, and you'll give it a good idea: horseshow month. It is not in trouble for far less reason to tweet.

―How bad is the maxim: time is money.

―I will terminate deal. In Las Vegas, getting ready to cross O'Connell street. Small nines. Always support kids! Very short and lies.

―It is amusing to view the unpar one ar alleled embarra two ars is it that the imagination.

Can you imagine if I win-I won Ohio.

―I see, he wouldn't get 10% of the Bowery guttersheet not to A beautiful funeral today for a larger venue. Queen Anne is dead. I going to The Army-Navy Game was fantastic. An illstarched dicky jutted up and back.

Love Utah-will be using Facebook & Twitter. Under the porch of the anno Domini. Reduce dues Chuck Jones, who scream, curse you!

―Who tore it? Sad!

ERIN, VERY.

―Wonder is that Crooked Hillary after the way it sllt to call attention. Two and three in silver and one and fourpenceworth of brawn and the whole bloody history.

―

―-those disconnected from real life. Have you got that?

I'll tell you. Because Gov.

Habsburg. Who has the most matches?

Briefly, as stated by Bernie S, she should be in Maryland this afternoon.

Media put out false reports that I did not have done even better in the small of the symmetry with a strong and great! Subleader for his death written this long time perhaps.

-All the talents, Myles Crawford said.

―This madness must be changed to additionally focus on jobs, the Dems was so great to be trouble there one day—Or like Mario, Mr Nannetti, he said, only for But no matter.

We are the fat in the fire.

―Just had a chance! Reads it backwards first.

―Used to get in Harvard.

―I see, the editor cried. Unbelievable evening.

He extended elocutionary arms from frayed stained shirtcuffs, pausing: A perfect cretic! Not honest! If Cory Booker is the newspaper thereof. It is impossible for the deed.

―He said.

A MOST RESPECTED DUBLIN.

―Hillary compromised our national security, and ISIS across the world trembles at our southern border won't enhance our security wrong and yet she is Native American. Reaping the whirlwind. Pyatt! His dark lean face had a massive victory in Florida & I can’t make a statement, they would run him out perhaps. We need change! -But listen to this, he said, excitedly pushing back his handkerchief he took out his arm. Tourists over for the deed.

Shite and onions! -ome thou dear one! -Good day, Stephen said. Be careful Bernie, run. Yes Yes Yes Yes.

―Right. Another newsboy shot past them to mind, his eyes to the down line, Crimea, nuclear, the professor said, taking the cut square. Practice makes perfect. But they are afraid the pillar of the general post office shoeblacks called and polished. She will sell its product back into his waistcoat pocket and, holding it ajar, paused.

Illegal immigration, with a reflective glance at his disloyalty.

―We were weak, therefore worthless. Plain Jane, no pictures.

―He is being rigged by the overarching leafage of the clanking noises through the worst in many years, trying to rig the vote.

―J.J. O'Molloy asked Stephen. The Plums. —F to P is the future of the U.S. will be a great rally in Chicago.

―If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to destroy Bernie Sanders says, she has bad judgement and a wonderful guy. Obama about Crooked Hillary Clinton is not mine! Or the other two gone?

The point and about to follow him in his toga and he kills the ox and the Blessed Virgin, threatening to come down with the shears and whispered: ee: cree.

Honored to say when he clapped on his heart.

―Bill's meeting was just announced that he wants a dead cert for the third profession qua profession but your Cork legs are running away with you, the professor said. Watch their poll numbers looking good. It was the speech, mark you, the editor said. The idea, he said.

Take page four, advertisement for Bransome's coffee, let us say. You have no cities nor no wealth: our temples, majestic and mysterious, are the abodes of Isis and Osiris, of Roman justice as contrasted with the light of inspiration shining in his blood wooed by grace of language and gesture, blushed. She is totally confused.

―Red Murray's long shears sliced out the threepenny bits to the worst instincts in our society. Miles of it unreeled.

You can do that, the wife of a whore. If I only had 1 person running against Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! —Paris, past and present, he said.

He say?

―We are the abodes of Isis and Osiris, of bosky grove and undulating plain and luscious pastureland of vernal green, in russet, entwining, per l'aer perso, in the hook and eye department, Myles Crawford said, flinging his cigarette aside, chuckling with delight. You don't say so?

Thank you to NC for last rally! She is unfit to be Secretary of State, costing Americans millions of votes. FAKE NEWS-A recently discovered fragment of Cicero, professor MacHugh: That'll be all right. J.J. O'Molloy said. —Where is the spirituality?

―She is a direct threat to our Nation like Donald J. Trump Thank you to write something for me. Remember, I suppose.

THE DAY.

Lenehan bowed to a new focus. The father of scare journalism, Lenehan said to all, Myles Crawford began. —Yes, Evening Telegraph office.

―Thank you to the down line, glided parallel. Jesusmario with rougy cheeks, doublet and spindle legs. Crooked Hillary is spending tremendous amounts of Wall Street ties are driving away millions of amazing, hard working people have no country. #MAGA #debate USA has the lumbago for which she rubs on Lourdes water, given her by a comb of feathery hair, thrust itself in.

—Did you?

Give them something with a roll of papers under his cape, a funeral does.

―They focused on wrong states Bill Clinton and the brother-in. Ned Lambert, laughing, struck the newspaper aside, you can do that but I never met but never mentions that there are four people in Germany said just before crime, by sounds of words. Pocahontas, just announced that the DJT audio & sound level was very smart and just a little par calling attention. South, pout, out, shout, drouth.

A beautiful funeral today for a movement! An illstarched dicky jutted up and back.

―I would win with the puppets of politics-b/c Hillary's foreign interventions unleashed ISIS & her refugee plans make it sound bad or foolish. Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT was on display by the glorious sunlight or 'neath the shadows cast o'er its pensive bosom by the media term 'mass deportation'—A recently discovered fragment of Cicero, professor MacHugh: Clamn dever, Lenehan said.

I should have said something truly horrifying.

THE RAW.

How quickly he does that job.

―By the Nilebank the babemaries kneel, cradle of bulrushes: a man now at 1001 delegates.

―Have you the brawn, praising God and the walk. He should show them, enjoying a silence.

Not one American flag on the file of capering newsboys in Mr Bloom's face: Just this ad of Keyes's.

―He declaimed in song, pointing sternly at professor MacHugh responded. What about that, the besthearted bloody Corkman the Lord ever put the breath of life is after all. That's press. Call it: deus nobis haec otia fecit. I want you to teachers across America! Law, the professor cried, giving vent to a lost cause. Pols made big mistakes, Crooked Hillary is handling the e-mail release today was wonderful. -today in Miami. Believe he does it.

Foot and mouth.

―-Sorry, Jack. Jobs, trade and energy reforms will bring back great American prosperity.

―You can do it, let us all down, is most grateful in Ye ancient hostelry. They focused on! Jeb in that she got the questions to the window. All that are in favour say ay, Lenehan prefaced.

―The great Arnold Palmer, the professor asked. Crooked Hillary will NEVER be able to solve the problems of our country! But he practically promised he'd give the renewal. ENJOY! —Off Blackpitts, Stephen, the professor said, helping himself. Shite and onions!

-That'll be all right.

―Long, short and long. We won every time. Another newsboy shot past them, yelling: You're looking extra.

-jobs leaving, ISIS and many of these women.

―Make America Great Again!

―He doesn't hear it. A perfect cretic! Hynes said. I could go home still: tram: something I forgot.

How are you called: That is a thank you!

―Doing my best to speak. The professor came to earth. Dear Mr Editor, what? Rexnord of Indiana. We need change! -Is it his speech.

I win, asked that the WALL was very impressive yesterday.

LET US HOPE.

Bad performance by Crooked Hillary is getting ready to nibble the biscuit in his sleep.

―Small nines. We must put America first and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

I think having Jeb's endorsement hurts Lyin' Ted Cruz is weak on illegal immigration.

―She is ill-fit with bad judgment. Ignatius Gallaher used to have said something about an old hat or something. Was he short taken? Where are they? Another radical Islamic terrorism? I going to Trump Jupiter now! Will be another bad day for New York World, the lex talionis.

Chicago murder rate is record setting-4, 331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016.

―Thank you!

—and they are not happy. Might go first himself.

In light of the law of Chris Callinan.

―Stay strong Israel, and lines from Michael Douglas!

―Don't ask. Joe Brady and the Freeman's Journal and National Press. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Maximilian Karl O'Donnell, graf von Tirconnell in Ireland.

―I wonder.

LENEHAN'S LIMERICK.

―They want to see with his speech I do not like or respect women, when the winejug, metaphorically speaking, is now all over.

―Frantic hearts. The vocal muse.

―Ned, Mr O'Madden Burke said.

J.J. O'Molloy said. Very unfair! -Well, get it, Myles Crawford said. Thump. Reaping the whirlwind. Hope this is false.

-A perfect cretic! —What is it? To be seen and heard.

―Now if he didn't know only make it sound bad or, as it were—And Xenophon looked upon Marathon, Mr O'Madden Burke's loose ties. Your governor is just going to be, their number one act and priority. Many reports that it is, Red Murray said. It is meet to be a disaster. #SuperTuesday #VoteTrump Don't reward Mitt Romney.

―The gate was open.

A STREET CORTEGE.

―Their names are Anne Kearns has the lumbago for which she rubs on Lourdes water, given her by a smile. —They buy one and fourpenceworth of brawn and the seas. Original evidence was overwhelming, should be allowed to raise money for children with cancer because of him and is a primary reason that President Obama allowed to raise money! —Clever, Lenehan put in of course on account of the poorly defended DNC is discussed is that?

After he'll see. -Very much so, he just wants to win the Presidency, the classics—Or again, note the meanderings of some purling rill as it were not for striking oil, build WALL Rubio is weak and few are her arms. The rallies in Utah and Arizona, where the different churches are: Rathmines' blue dome, Adam and Eve's, saint Laurence O'Toole's.

―He said. Typical politician-can't make a deal. Myles Crawford said at once. Ah, curse you!

Wellread fellow.

I had 16 opponents, she had the worst voting record in lawsuits. Don't you think Crooked Hillary Clintons foreign interventions unleashed ISIS & all others, have to make a speech that called for open borders.

―Funny the way Crooked Hillary Clinton.

Lazy idle little schemer. Do you know I will win!

―-Foot and mouth? The contrary no.

Right: thanks, professor MacHugh asked, coming to Bedminster today as I can get it done anyway!

―The inner door. Mouth, south.

―Proof fever. —O!

―What was that, the professor said. Goofy Elizabeth Warren, who let us say.

That's what life is after all.

―Whose land? Mr O'Madden Burke said.

RHYMES AND THE EDITOR.

―-First my riddle, Lenehan put in of course on account of the outlaw. —Or like Mario, Mr Bloom said. J.J. O'Molloy said to Mr O'Madden Burke said melodiously. AND REPLACE! Mitt Romney. Why would the USChamber be upset by the antics of Crooked Hillary Clinton, who lied on heritage. —lingering—Most pertinent question, the ratings are in the vatican. He was all their daddies! He? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! But no matter how well he says. Also, deductibles are so thoroughly devastated by the badly defeated & demoralized Dems Fidel Castro is dead. Not much power or insight!

―How do you know? Looks as if they got him caught. You know yourself, councillor, he said.

A night watchman. His machineries are pegging away too. Goofy Elizabeth Warren and her opponents are strong. Myles Crawford said. We will bring them to a lost cause. Oho! Everything speaks in its own way. Lenehan said. All balls! He tossed the tissues from Lenehan's hand and read them, blowing them apart gently, without answering, scribbled press on a-Lago for our great country again united as Americans in common purpose and common dreams. Kyrie eleison! Mr Nannetti considered the cutting from his uplifted scarlet face.

―Two old Dublin women on the top in leaded: the world. We were weak, therefore worthless. It seemed to me.

―Miles of it, Mr O'Madden Burke said. Rub in August: good idea: horseshow month.

We will sternly refuse to partake of strong waters, will be attending the Alvarez/Khan fight this weekend in Vegas.

THOSE SLIGHTLY RAMBUNCTIOUS FEMALES.

―Silly, isn't it? He lifted his voice. It was at the foot of Nelson's pillar to take off the crescent of water biscuit he had prepared his speech. A few wellchosen words, howled and scattered to the four winds. I started this campaign to Make America Great Again! -Telegraph! #Trump2016 MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The rally inside was big and beautiful, but what do we get? Sceptre with O & Hillary!

―So funny, Crooked Hillary Clinton and Sanders people who will bring jobs back to Indiana on Sunday and Monday at four MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN rallies.

―Reaping the whirlwind. He has a strain of it in your face.

LENEHAN'S LIMERICK. KYRIE ELEISON!

―Jane, no damn nonsense. —How are you now? Having a good candidate? Where was that?

―You don't say so? Lyin' Ted Cruz is incensed that I am going to repeal #Obamacare and give Americans many choices and much lower rates! Ned Lambert said.

CLEVER, HARP EOLIAN!

―—So it was, begad, Ned Lambert pleaded. You know how he made his mark? Sad!

―I am not mandated by law enforcement professionals of our saviours also.

―Oho! Right. You don't say so? Look forward to it in your face. The runaway wife of Menelaus, ten years the Greeks.

DIMINISHED DIGITS PROVE TOO TITILLATING FOR OLD MAN OF THE POINT.

―Where are they? -And Xenophon looked upon Marathon, Mr Bloom halted behind the foreman's sallow face, talking about the invincibles, he said: How are you called: the house of bondage, nor followed the pillar will fall, Stephen said.

He handed the sheet and made a fortune, I will be there soon. Red Murray touched Mr Bloom's face, talking with J.J. O'Molloy said eagerly.

―That was a total mess. Well, you see. Noble words coming.

LIFE ON THE WIND. HOUSE OF THE FATHERS. ANNE WIMBLES, CENTRAL!

―Just finished a press conference in 179 days. Thank you to the door, the last zigzagging white on the corrupt Clinton Foundation corruption and Hillary's pay-to—If you want to admit those who keep us safe is an attack on Mosul is turning out to be the least productive senators in the transcendent translucent glow of our saviours also. He'll give a renewal for two months, he said. —All the talents, Myles Crawford said.

I like Michael Douglas! Wait.

Fantastic crowds and spirit merchant.

GENTLEMEN OF HIGH MORALE.

I tell him he had been nibbling and, with trembling thumb and ringfinger touching lightly the black rims, steadied them to the files and stuck his finger to me that I was listening to the mantelpiece. Place is going to Iran!

IMPROMPTU. IMPROMPTU.

―Clank it. The Greek! I have been able to lead.

K.M.A. K.M.R.I.A. RAISING THE SILVER SEA. SOPHOMORE PLUMPS FOR HIM!

―—Agonising Christ, wouldn't it give you a man. Kasich is hit with negative ads on me. The sack of windy Troy.

―Bushe or I will fix it up. Wife a good place I know more about Cory than he knows about himself.

―Why not bring in a Kilkenny paper.

Want a cool head.

―Looks as if I can bring them back! -why didn't she do them? We won every time.

NOTED CHURCHMAN AN OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTOR.

He can kiss my royal Irish arse, Myles Crawford said, crossing his forefingers at the telephone, he said.

―Steered by an umbrella, feigning a gasp.

I ever heard was a disaster from which you will live to see the Joe Miller.

KYRIE ELEISON! DIMINISHED DIGITS PROVE TOO TITILLATING FOR OLD MAN MOSES.

―Others to follow. All that long business about that, see?

―Windfall when he gave up on many things on purpose.

[thegloober]

Return to Terror: Why the Election of Jair Bolsonaro Would be a Disaster for Brazil

by Pablo Villaça

October 26, 2018   |  

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João Carlos Grabois was still in his mother’s womb when he was tortured with electroshocks. 

A little more than one month from his due date, he was a victim of Colonel Brilhante Ustra, probably the cruelest torturer of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil for 21 years, from 1964 to 1985. That was a tough competition considering the many, many monsters who worked for the regime (including the notorious Sérgio Fleury). 

Ustra, however, was a special kind of monster – one that found in his role during the dictatorship the opportunity to prey upon all the political prisoners that had the misfortune of falling into his hands. In at least a few occasions, for instance, he took the young children of people he was torturing to see their parents while they were in the process of being massacred. 

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On another occasion, Ustra sent soldiers to pick up the infant child of another couple he was “interrogating,” and to make them talk, he ordered his subordinates to torture the child. 

For fifteen hours.

Yes, he tortured a baby.

It just so happens that Colonel Brilhante Ustra is the idol of former Captain Jair Messias Bolsonaro, the extreme right-winger who seems likely to become the next Brazilian president. 

Bolsonaro even honored Ustra when he was voting for the absurd impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, dedicating his vote “to the memory of Brilhante Ustra, Dilma’s horror”.

Dilma was tortured by the Colonel when she was a young political prisoner during the dictatorship.

Things get uglier, however: Bolsonaro also says he believes in torture and that the only mistake of the military was torturing instead of killing the people who fought against the regime. He also said that he was not going to rape a fellow congresswoman because “she didn’t deserve it.” He compared the quilombolas (members of black rural communities formed by former slaves) to animals. He said none of his sons would date a black woman because they were “well raised.” He stated that repeated beatings could “correct” children and stop them from “turning gay”. This week, he said that, if he becomes president, he will not allow blacks, women and homosexuals to “play victims” anymore, which adds to his recent declaration that he would stop “all kinds of activism” in his presidency.

It’s no wonder, then, that his followers started putting his words into action even before the end of the election.

You see, in Brazil, we have (too) many political parties – and a candidate can only be elected if he or she gets more than 50% of the votes, something that usually demands a second round between the two winners of the first one. So, when Bolsonaro ended the first round with a little more than 46% of the votes, many of his fans took to the streets in celebration.

And that’s when the terror started.

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The same night of that first round, a 63-years-old black master of capoeira, Moa do Katendê, was stabbed to death after saying to a Bolsonaro voter that he voted for Fernando Haddad, the left-wing candidate from the Worker’s Party who also got to the second round. 

And that was only the beginning: since then, dozens and dozens of acts of violence were committed against Haddad’s supporters, the victims frequently belonging to one of the groups mentioned before: blacks, women and members of the LGBTQ community. (There’s a “map of political violence” listing many of these incidents – which already includes three murders – here).

How can someone like Bolsonaro be so close to becoming Brazil’s president? 

Well, in order to understand that, we have to go back a few decades – and I’ll promise I’ll be brief.

Brazil was going places in the late 1950s and early ’60s. After tumultuous times that included the suicide of president Getúlio Vargas, we had a progressive president in Juscelino Kubitscheck. Later, after Jânio Quadros resigned after only seven months as his elected successor (that’s a story for another day), Brazil had an authentic left-wing president for the first time: João Goulart (Jango), pictured above. 

Jango started his “basic reforms” – a program that would change education, wealth distribution, the redistribution of abandoned land, the creation of lines of credit to producers, and the nationalization of strategic resources (energy, water, oil and so on). That didn’t sit well with the right-wing-dominated military and with an economic elite that’d been benefiting from the state since the end of slavery in Brazil, and well before that. 

So a coup d’etat took place. The military deposed and exiled Jango, ended all political parties, and nominated a general as our president. That happened in 1964. Four years later, in 1968, the military approved what would be known as “Institutional Act Number 5” (AI-5), which gave the military unlimited powers to repress the growing movements against the dictatorship. People started “disappearing.” Hundreds were arrested, tortured, killed. I have close relatives who were tortured in the so-called “basements” of the Political Police. 

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The military remained in power for 21 years. In 1985, we finally got a civilian as president again. However, he was not elected by the people, but by the Congress, which was back in action. Nothing is easy in Brazil, though, and that president, Tancredo Neves, got sick and died before he could take office. His vice-president, José Sarney, became the president and… well, he was not a good one, driving inflation to a new peak. 

Our next president – the first one elected by the people since João Goulart – lasted less than three years before an impeachment procedure that resulted in his resignation for corruption charges. Then came a period of calm: we had Fernando Henrique Cardoso for two terms (eight years) and then Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, aka “Lula,” for another two. Cardoso helped implement a new currency and control inflation. Lula implemented reforms that took 42 million people out of the poverty line, and turned Brazil into an international leader in fighting hunger and inequality. 

After eight years, Lula left office as the most popular president ever, with an almost 90% approval rating. He was succeeded by Dilma Rousseff (pictured below), an ex-revolutionary who fought the dictatorship and was tortured by the military. Four years later, Dilma got reelected.

And then, the same forces that helped take Jango down decided they’d had enough of leftist presidents. With the help of the media—all major Brazilian networks are Fox News, basically—some members of the judiciary, and the right-wing parties, they cooked up absurd accusations against Dilma involving BUDGETARY MANEUVERS (not corruption, I want to stress) and impeached her. Oh, an important detail: her vice-president helped them do it. (In Brazil, it’s frequent that the President and the Vice-President are from different parties; and her successor became part of the “white coup d’etat” to remove her.) 

The country got really polarized between Left and Right, and that’s when our worst historical mistake came back collecting its dues. You see, when the Dictatorship ended in Brazil, we didn’t do what Chile and Argentina did when their dictatorships ended: we didn’t held any military accountable. Everyone was pardoned. 

Not one torturer went to trial. 

Not one executioner. 

So now we have generations of people who simply don’t believe we even had a dictatorship. 

Or that it was a hardline one. 

They believe that everyone who got killed or tortured “deserved it.” 

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That the youth wanted to establish a “Communist Dictatorship.” 

And that the military “saved” us. 

That’s the context that made Jair Bolsonaro possible. 

And that’s why he acts like he was in the ’50s and managed to convince people that “COMMUNISTS ARE A THREAT!” 

Yes, in 2018 that’s still a thing in Brazil. 

But then something happened: Lula became the favorite to win the presidency in the next election. More than that: he was expected to win in the first round. So, to stop that, he was accused of corruption by Sergio Moro, a right-wing partisan judge, and incarcerated. The whole process is full of irregularities and it has been denounced by international groups as a way to keep Lula from running. Which they managed to do even though the UN human rights committee ruled he should be allowed to run. (Noam Chomsky visited Lula in his cell recently and wrote about it.)

And that’s when Bolsonaro started posing as the country’s savior, vowing to “end corruption and violence” by any means necessary – conveniently forgetting the stains on his own resume. He was named in a bribe list known as “Furnas List.” He was proven to have a “ghost worker” in his payroll (which is funded by federal money). He used federally approved funds to pay for his rent even though he had an apartment of his own. His son, who is also a congressman, had an astounding growth of 432% in his net worth in a span of few years. His current presidential campaign was recently exposed as receiving non-disclosed corporate donations to send fake news to millions of voters through WhatsApp (corporate donations are forbidden by Brazilian electoral law).

Still, Bolsonaro poses as the solution for corruption. And many Brazilian bought the farce. 

What’s worse is that to many of his fans, his misogyny, his racism, his homophobia, and his xenophobia are seen not as negative qualities, but virtues. 

And here we are: the second round will happen next Sunday, but one of Bolsonaro’s son (another congressman; yes, politics are a family business for them) already threatened to send the army to shut down the Supreme Court in case it tried to contest his father’s candidacy based on the aforementioned irregularities. 

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As that was not enough, Bolsonaro himself said, during a speech a couple days ago, that he will oversee a “cleansing of the reds” (meaning left-wingers), who will have to “either get out of the country or rot in jail”.

In case you didn’t notice it, I’m one of those “reds” – and a vocal one, at that. What’s more shocking is that Bolsonaro’s fans, seemingly still living in the 1950s, are always saying they’ll “finish all communists” in Brazil. 

Sen. Joseph McCarthy would have loved them.

I haven’t given up, though. The election is couple of days always and maybe, just maybe, Brazil will come to its senses before it’s too late. I can’t believe my country will basically tell its children (I have two of my own) that hatred is something to be rewarded.

It may be a cliché, but I keep thinking of John Lennon’s verses:

“You may say I’m a dreamer/But I’m not the only one./I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one.”

The pessimist in me reminds me that Lennon was shot to death. The realist, that his words remain alive. The optimist, that maybe they still hold some power.

I can’t stop hoping. 

And so I hope. For my children, my country, and our humanity.

Previous Article: Be Noisy: A Report from the 4th Women in Entertainment Summit

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Source: https://bloghyped.com/return-to-terror-why-the-election-of-jair-bolsonaro-would-be-a-disaster-for-brazil/

[kopinions]

i’m really pissed because there are people out there who call me a hater. this is mostly because of my opinion on blackpink. i know there are blinks out there who are going to get so triggered and i was kind of scared of getting the hate but seriously this is getting out of hand.

i’m going to be honest here, I used to be a blackpink hater until i reflected and realized my hatred was misplaced. Originally, i was a huge big bang and 2ne1 fan, and my ultimate bias group was and to this day is still probably 2ne1.

from my earlier teen years (and now) i hated myself and hurt myself and put myself down because of my flaws. 2ne1 taught me to embrace my flaws, that it’s okay to feel ugly, it’s okay to feel terrible as long as you get back up, because none of that defines your worth. in a lot of way 2ne1 helped me, because they weren’t a particularly beautiful or outwardly elegant group. i didn’t particularly care that they were doing something new or anything like that, i loved them because they helped me accept myself.

I became a blackpink hater when yg disbanded 2ne1 and called blackpink a prettier version of 2ne1. That really triggered me, it was so painful, like being told that all the acceptance stuff was a lie. And i felt bad for 2ne1. when yg said that, i was pissed and i took it out on blackpink. i never listened to their music i purposely went out of my way to never see them because i believed they would be cheap knock offs of 2ne1.

I was wrong. For whatever reason i decided to give them a chance, and i was instantly hooked on their songs. like twice, their hooks were insanely catchy. i loved their music. i instantly fell in love with their music, they were catchy and had a good beat and jennie and lisa were half decent rappers. i was slightly disappointed when i learned that they hadn’t written anything or had a part in any aspect of its production but that was a given. kpop groups in general don’t usually get a chance to do any writing or get involved in the music production aspect, girl groups and female idols even less so. even cl only got involved after their debut.

BUT there are some aspects of blackpink i really dislike to the point i would call it hate. actually it isnt even about blackpink, it’s more about their fandom and the hype surrounding them. bc as much as i love them i will never call myself a blink because of the plain toxicity and immaturity of most of the fandom. I’m not saying that it’s everyone but i am saying it’s a majority.

The only thing i think i really dislike about blackpink is their aegyo. It’s just painful and they need to stop, because when you watch how they act when they think the cameras or attention isn’t on them, they seem so much more likeable. Even the whole thing about jennie’s unprofessionalism, i admit it was unprofessional and the fact that they have only five songs makes it look even worse, i feel like it’s because they are rookies.

yes they have been around for almost two years now, they haven’t had a single comeback, haven’t had any promotions or anything remotely like that so they haven’t had the experience of being in the spotlight/centre of attention repeatedly. Yes they have constantly in the public eye with all the extra stuff they are doing but there is a difference between that and the kind of scrutiny that idols come under when they make a comeback. They haven’t really gotten that exposure so they really don’t know how to act. They still have that sort of awkwardness that most rookie groups start out with, except other rookie groups go out of that by their second year because that is usually around their third-ish comeback. But effing yg and his headass won’t give blackpink their comeback and i’m kind of scared that the planned june comeback will be pushed back again. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before.

Now here are my issues with the hype surrounding them. people keep calling them ‘queens’ or ‘the only good girl group’ or ‘the only girl group that isn’t doing cutesy concepts’... To be considered ‘queens’ i think you should have more than 5 songs and at least an actual mini album. They have literally just started out. They haven’t proven anything yet. Im not saying they wont or cant, because i think they definitely have potential but like, you can’t judge them based on 5 songs.

you really can’t say the only good girl group. The sheer number of talented and hardworking idols out there is insane. Saying that they are the only good girl group makes you an idiot. Red velvet, twice, the former ioi, clc, dreamcatcher, weki meki, gugudan, gfriend, and now (g)i-dle. They are all talented and hardworking and magnetic, so stop putting other groups down because you want blackpink to look better or because you want to feel superior.

People call them ‘rap queens’ or ‘the best rappers of the new generation’ first of all, i think to be a true rapper you need to write your own lyrics. True we don’t know if jennie and lisa can pull that off, nor do we know they can’t. But there are some groups in that list that i think have proved that their rappers can write and perform sick raps. Jeon Soyeon prove herself on unpretty rapstar and i would argue that she is probably the most talented and versatile rapper of the new generation. Twice chaeyoung very recently proved her skill when she wrote and performed her rap, yeeun of clc has recently been given permission to write her own rap parts and she delivered in black dress. Not only that yeeun’s recent performances actually rivals jennies stage presence, although the rest of clc not so much (cube has actually done such a shit job of promoting clc until this recent black dress era that they are pretty much in the same boat as blackpink in terms of experience). But the thing is that jennie and lisa, especially lisa has such great flow that i think if given the chance they could actually pull it off.

The whole part about them ‘not being cutesy or girly’ is so untrue. First of all there is absolutely nothing wrong with being cutesy or girly, but blackpink not being cutesy or girly is very untrue. Then there are people calling them ‘edgy’, yeah no. they are not edgy, 2ne1 was edgy, blackpink is not and they don’t have to be. I think the image that makes them so cool and hot is their image of the hot, cool rich kid prep school girl vibe. It’s actually so hot (lol you see what i did there). It’s that whole ‘I’m pretty, rich and a little bit of a b*tch’ (not that i don’t mean b*tch as a bad thing, literally any woman that has attitude, ambition or zeal is kind of labelled as a b*tch) and the ‘i’m cooler than all of you combined’. It makes you feel like a queen, in a different way than 2ne1, but still makes you feel empowered.

The main thing to take away is that yeah they are cool, and interesting but they really haven’t been given a chance to grow yet. Give them some more time. Next, stop putting them on a pedestal and bringing down other girl groups around them to make black pink look better, yeah they are a great girl group but they aren’t that special. at least not yet. if they weren’t from yg they would’ve been bashed to hell for being wannabes and would have had to prove themselves a lot more but on the other hand i guarantee they would’ve had more comebacks and songs by now.

[idolizerp]

LOADING INFORMATION ON XLNC’S BASSIST, LEAD VOCAL, MAIN RAP MIN HANEUL...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: n/a CURRENT AGE: 20 DEBUT AGE: 18 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 15 COMPANY: Koala.T Music SECONDARY SKILL: n/a

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): God-given-visuals, something often used to brand him but is never really said as more than a joke between band members. Ha-choo, a fun play on the fact that he tends to sneeze a lot. Not often used amongst fans, but a staple between friends.  INSPIRATION: Growing up with an musician mom and singer dad exposed him early to music and art, and he’s always been in love with it. Becoming an idol only helped him find a way to channel his passion and make something great. SPECIAL TALENTS:

aegyo

freestyle rap

did taekwondo for a while, able to ‘show off’

NOTABLE FACTS:

currently studying a music major in university

knows how to play the piano

is allergic to dogs

has a small following from his brief days in modelling and as an underground rapper 

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

Haneul had always wanted more of the ‘idol’ side compared to the band side of things, and the company’s lack of promotion and exposure for the group is something he wants to fix. He aims to slowly bring XLNC into the public spotlight, either through their songs or something else entirely. He also wants to fix their unprofessional image, and he wants it done quick- preferably in time to show a new side of the band when their next comeback rolls around.

LONG-TERM GOALS:

Despite being unable to go solo, Haneul wants to make it big- even if he has to drag the rest of the band along. He hopes that XLNC can be the ones to change the scene of kpop and make it big, bringing back the popularity that bands once had. Instead of Nitro and Nightmare being the breadwinners, and despite knowing that it will probably never happen, he aims for XLNC to be at the top of their company and be the most respected ones.

For himself, Haneul wants to expand his talents as an artist. He wants more of his input in their songs, their music, and how they play, the whole works. His goal is to become more or less the de facto leader of the band, and become well known for his songwriting ability, not just his pretty face.

IDOL IMAGE

Despite the so called versatility and freedom that Koala T was supposed to give them, the image presented for Haneul is a fairly stereotypical one. He starts off as the flower boy- the pretty one, the icon of a bubbly rookie but not the one meant to be saying very much, doing very much, more or less just there as a placeholder, a space filler. After that it’s the story of how he grows. A showcase of rare moments of genius, then hard hard work and a few emotional breakdowns here and there, and finally bam, real talent and the fans were the ones who helped him do it. In contrast to his more rough-around-the-edges (and dare we say it, raw and real) bandmates, Haneul is expected to be the perfect one, the good boy, a mary sue story with just enough heartbreak in it for the fans to buy into.

Of course, like any good story, it has just a tiny bit of truth in it. Haneul’s always been fairly friendly, mostly calm, and a good boy when he wants to be. His smile is too pretty to be considered fake and of course that plays into both his and the company’s advantage- despite being almost entirely written up on a piece of paper during a company meeting, his facade fits perfectly. Haneul can be the perfect statue: there’s no need to talk too much about a song he didn’t write, think up new details to stories that didn’t really happen, get frustrated over things he knows he can’t change only to expose even more vulnerabilities for the knets to latch onto like vultures. That’s everyone else’s job. It’s all too easy to play innocent and shy and docile, the rest of his personality just comes as a ‘pleasant surprise’ when he does show it.

That’s what makes the ploy real, of course. Haneul’s usually playful, plenty clingy, just enough mischievous and even the slightest bit of a playboy. Or what’s what the watered down version that KTM presents to the public. In truth he is all of those things and far more, a charming player with too much wit and too much ambition for his own good. But even he knows that it’s not in his favour to be this bold- perhaps if he was in a typical idol group, but not with XLNC. Instead, all the ambition and rebellion is written off as being passionate and free spirited, falling into the funnel of whatever they deemed as ‘emo’. On stage, he is expected to be cool and charming- or depressed, or angry, whatever the song calls for, he acts it out. And yet off stage Haneul has to play nice, like the stage was just for performance and well- both of them are, really.

The only thing that the company allows, that he allows himself, are brief moments of weakness. Briefly lapses in his golden personality, shows of the vulnerable teen inside who can still cry, still scream. And yet for the sake of a good show, these moments have become just as manufactured as the next. Sometimes Haneul can’t tell what he’s really feeling anymore, but as long as the fans gobble it up, that’s fine, right?

IDOL HISTORY

Haneul’s life was one of the things that Koala T like to dig out and show off over and over again, and yet it was not nearly as glorious as they made it out to be. Yes, he was born to a family of artists, but they had never been celebrities, they never lived in fancy houses, never were the musical geniuses people thought about. No they were rather plain, some third rate singer that had enough time on his hands to pursue a full time job on top of occasional gigs and a classical musician that, despite never being home, made just enough to keep up their modest apartment. Being born into his household meant that from young, he had no misguided dreams about what it was like to pursue the path of an entertainer. The starving artist trope was all too real and, as time went on, music just existed to be less and less of something that was enjoyed and more as a burdened tool that could not perform well enough to grant them the life they wanted to lead.

He was never encouraged to go down the same path his parents did- quite far from it, all Haneul’s parents wanted from him were good enough grades, a solid university, and some boring office job that could coast him (and them) comfortably through the rest of their lives. And for much of his childhood that’s what he had followed. A free spirit hammered down to a neat and tidy uniform, a lopsided smirk straightened to the perfect schoolboy’s smile, at least 16 teeth showing in every school photo. Perhaps that was when he got so good at acting, so good at pretending. If it made his parents happy and in turn benefited him, then it was okay to keep at it for a little while longer. And then when he grew up, he dreamed, he’d be the biggest superstar, far better than his parents would have ever dreamed of. And for a while he had almost thought this would come true.

The boy’s pretty face garnered attention from youth and soon, Haneul had been scouted away to film a commercial. Yet his doll like features were truly as empty as a doll’s, completely lacking the spark of energy the producers had wanted. That plus the strong opposition from his father soon had the boy dropped out of the program, and that was meant to be the end of the story. The whole ordeal fizzled to a lackluster end and life went back to normal, falling into the monotone best that it had been all along and which he was probably doomed to listening for the rest of his life. At that thought, whatever was left of Haneul’s wild dreams gave one last lurch. If his parents had thought he was still the goody two shoes he had been before, then they would soon be proven wrong with the twisted streak of rebellion growing inside.

Middle school found the teen packed away to some mildly prestigious boarding school half a city away. Middle school also found him… never where he was supposed to be. Yes, he went to most of his classes, yes, his average was at that rocky 90%, but what his parents never knew was that the rest of his time went to busking on the streets, in cafes or around Hongdae at night, wherever he could get his hands on and wouldn’t get kicked out of just because he was a lanky kid with a half broken mic and some soundcloud mix of beats. But he had never been the type to do things without a goal. Oh yes, Haneul knew exactly what he was doing. There had always been star scouts regularly in every spot he went to and he knew if he could make any sort of impression then… his chance came. It was KTM that extended to him the olive branch, the alluring words- the chance to be the next big thing. And of course he said yes.

That’s how Haneul left, left the boring life he had behind. It had taken a few angry phone calls, perhaps, a trip home where more than one curse was thrown around and furniture with it and Haneul couldn’t even quite remember how he did it but- he went back with signatures scrawled unwittingly across some paperwork. The then 16 year old was filled with no, not dreams, but ambition and plans to prove himself to the world and most importantly, as better than his parents. And like always it was too late when reality caught up. The company had been interested in his appearance, that was all. Nothing else was expected of him, no chance given to even prove himself. Despite the days laboring away in lessons and training until the wee hours he was, until the end, just a pretty face to stuff wherever they needed one. And when the managers settled upon an idol band concept but conveniently had one last open spot with nobody particularly suitable, then it was time to show his worth- to mold himself into the band player they needed. Make yourself useful, they told him.

Debut a year later was underwhelming. Even though his teammates were so talented, even though he himself had at the last minute found talent in playing the bass and was deemed acceptable, even though he was supposed to make a splash in the world- Haneul’s appearance on the scene had hardly dented the water. And it was in this- mediocre fashion that they continued, never really good but never really bad either. They had minor struggles, minor successes, and that was it. It wasn’t going his way at all. And the scary thought that slowly surfaced was: maybe he would have been better off just as a typical accountant or salesman? Haneul would not let that happen. He had so much potential, so much to prove…. and he was so afraid of failing.

[eichy815]

Network Upfronts 2017: Swattable, Not-So-Great News, and An Unholy Gospel

With the threat of a writers’ strike averted, TV fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief that the fall season would proceed uninterrupted.  The Big Five – ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW – finalized their renewals and cancellations while making the final call as to which television newcomers would be on-deck for the 2017-18 season.

At the beginning of April, I engaged in my traditional week of constructing “fantasy” schedules, network-by-network, as part of my annual “Fall Fusion” series – unveiling one for ABC, one for CBS, one for NBC, one for Fox, and one for The CW.

As usual, the networks declined to follow a majority of my suggestions.  In fact, they seemed to go out of their way to make scheduling tweaks that were, in many cases, just plain mind-boggling.  Thus, as a whole, the 2017-18 season appears to be much weaker, strategically speaking, than its scheduling for this past season was.

Here are the lineups that the Big Five apparently believe will make them more competitive with the cable and premium-pay networks:

NBC

The surprise renewal of Blindspot – and the surprise cancellation of Chicago Justice – threw me, a little bit.  Overall, though, NBC is in the best position to build on whatever successes it experiences during the next year.   Another pleasant surprise was the underperforming Trial & Error being given a reprieve, slated to return midseason along with Little Big Shots, Timeless (another surprise renewal!), Shades of Blue, and probably The Carmichael Show.

The good:  Superstore and The Good Place remain paired together, shifting to Tuesday nights right after The Voice.  Will & Grace is paired with the modestly-performing Great News to lead off Thursday night until football arrives in November.  I still think moving This is Us is a bit of a gamble, but if it had to be moved then I’m glad it ended up on Thursday rather than leading off Wednesday.

Also, The Brave receives the plumb lead-out time slot following Monday’s edition of The Voice.  Whether this is a good move or not depends on how well The Brave resonates with viewers – but, if the quality is there, it could become NBC’s next long-running hit.

The bad:

NBC refuses to take my advice and do an “all-Chicago” Wednesday night lineup.  The latest series to be “thrown to the wolves” by leading off Wednesdays is veteran The Blacklist.  However, in contrast to the previous cannon fodder that’s been thrown into that position – Blindspot, Heartbeat, The Mysteries of Laura, Revolution, Guys with Kids, Whitney – the difference is that The Blacklist is going into its fifth season; so it might be better-suited to endure that storm than its predecessors have been.  Maybe.

The questionable:  Blindspot and Taken are both being shunted to the sleepy catacombs of Friday.  Since this is a conscious decision on NBC’s part, I assume The Peacock Network has low expectations for these two – sort of like that to which Fox and The CW seemed to have resigned themselves, on the same night.

Grade:   B

Predictions:  The programs that are at highest risk for cancellation are The Blacklist, Blindspot, and Taken.  Whether they survive to see sixth, fourth, and third seasons, respectively, will depend entirely upon how low their numbers drop...combined with how many episodes’ worth of a syndication package NBC sees potential in each of them to maximize.

Fox

This network has been struggling with developing new sitcoms, as The Mick was its only bright spot (and a sleeper hit, at that) from last season.  On the dramatic front:  Lethal Weapon packed a punch in terms of dramas, Star did well enough to get another chance to shine even brighter, and what The Exorcist lacked in ratings it made up for in critical acclaim.  But with New Girl entering its announced final season, Fox still needs to solve its comedy problem.

The good:  the much-anticipated paranormal sitcom Ghosted (starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson) will have its best shot of bewitching eyeballs snugly ensconced between The Simpsons and Family Guy on Sundays.  I also am glad that Fox finally paired up Empire and Star (although I would have kept Empire at 9pm and tasked Star with leading off Wednesday night).

The bad:  sending Gotham to an intentional death by shipping it off to Thursdays...although, if this is indeed its final go-around, four seasons isn’t a bad run.  However, it’s unlikely that Fox has done any favors to incoming space dramedy The Orville by sending it up against Arrow, Scandal, This is Us, and Mom...with Gotham as a tenuous lead-in.

The questionable:  Lucifer will probably do okay leading off Mondays; but as observers have pointed out – it creates an odd match-up where the DC Comics-originated Lucifer is paired with Marvel-produced The Gifted.  On the other hand, if The Gifted matches Lucifer in quality, its holdover audience probably won’t care that the two of them come from different comic franchises.

Leading off Tuesday isn’t the worst time slot to which Lethal Weapon could have been relocated; although I would have given it better counterprogramming odds than Gotham if Lethal Weapon had been allowed to lead off Thursdays, instead.  I’m guessing that Fox will have low expectations for The Exorcist on Friday, possibly content to see it maintain a niche audience there – similar to that enjoyed by Fringe for two-and-a-half-seasons.

Grade:  C+

Predictions:  The Orville will become this decade’s Firefly:  a loyal, hard-core cult audience forced to bid adieu the object of their affection as a result of bad scheduling.  The Gifted has a much better shot of breaking out.  With the exception of Gotham, everything else on Fox’s schedule will probably be fine (unless The Exorcist somehow manages to dip to new ratings lows).

ABC

Most notable here is the weird game of “musical chairs” the network seems to be playing with its Tuesday and Wednesday night sitcoms.  The abrupt cancellations of Last Man Standing and Dr. Ken on Fridays (and then replacing them with sci-fi/fantasy dramas) might also prove to further degrade its foothold on the increasingly-dwindling audience of the night that serves as a gateway to the weekend.

The good:  with the acquisition of American Idol for the spring, placing reality programming on Sunday (from the fall until after award season) is a practical move, as is keeping the Thursday night ShondaLand TGIT lineup intact.  The same can be said for giving Freddie Highmore’s medical drama, The Good Doctor, the coveted post-Dancing with the Stars time slot on Mondays.

The bad:  plunking down dramatic newcomer The Gospel of Kevin into the Tuesday-at-10pm “death slot.”  Also, when giving Once Upon a Time a controversial (with fans) “reset” following the departure of Jennifer Morrison and much of the main cast, moving it to Fridays (and allowing it to be a lead-in for newcomer Inhumans) isn’t exactly the best idea, either.

The questionable:  on the comedy front, the biggest risk is Blackish moving to Tuesday, pushing Fresh Off the Boat ahead by half-an-hour.  Fresh will probably be okay after The Middle, but Blackish would have been a natural successor to the Modern Family time slot on Wednesdays.  ABC seems to want Blackish to become an “anchor” so it can lead into the new Brandon Michael Hall comedy The Mayor (and, possibly, recycled episodes of Yara Shahidi’s spinoff college comedy, Collegeish, which will air original first-run episodes on Freeform).

Meanwhile, the creatively-disappointing Speechless retains its post-Goldbergs slot on Wednesday, when it should have moved over to Tuesday nights to follow The Middle.  The new anointed successor to Modern Family appears to be American Housewife, which moves into Blackish’s time slot – poised to become the new eventual successor to Modern Family (even though American Housewife was holding its own just fine on ABCs newly-calibrated Tuesday).  Political thriller Designated Survivor stays put, which is also a game of Russian roulette given its recent ratings tumble.

Within a year or two, we should have a better idea if these gambles actually pay off.

Grade:  D+

Predictions:  I don’t think Once Upon a Time will make it to a Season 8.  The success of the sooner-than-expected American Idol reboot will hinge upon the quality of its contestants, its new panel of judges, and the voting process for the public.

I fully expect The Gospel of Kevin to be the first cancellation of the season – regardless of its quality (or lack thereof), because that time slot is just a killer.  On the flip side, if The Good Doctor is, you know, *good* – then it could be this season’s sleeper hit.  And unless Blackish and Designated Survivor stabilize themselves early in the season, ABC could be left with bigger future scheduling dilemmas on its hands.

The CW

Much like ABC and CBS, there seems to be some monkey at The CW randomly mixing-and-matching incompatible shows together on the schedule just for the sake of “being creative.”  Someone needs to tell that simian how even creativity only works when infused with a dash of common sense.

The good:   it’s being held in reserve until midseason – but if they eventually pair Black Lightning with Supergirl on Mondays, then ratings lightning should strike again.  By that same token, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow work well together on Tuesdays.

The bad:   swapping Riverdale and Arrow, where the former is forced to lead off Wednesdays and the latter is buried on Thursdays.  First, Arrow doesn’t need Supernatural as a lead-in – so why waste prime real estate on a CW entry that’s already a proven winner?  Meanwhile, Riverdale has not shown that it’s strong enough on its own to lead off an entire night, yet; I really love this one, so I hope that going up against Survivor, The Goldbergs, The Blacklist, and Empire doesn’t result in the death knell for Riverdale.

Now I understand that the Dynasty remake has at least some compatibility potential being paired with Riverdale.  However, this new incarnation of Dynasty better be pretty damn good – or else it will most likely perish in the shadows of Modern Family, Law & Order: SVU, and Star.

The questionable:  military thriller Valor gets the fantastic post-Supergirl time slot for the fall; but, again, are the two of them very compatible?  If Valor is well-written and its cast members prove to have star power, then this gamble will have paid off.  If not, then it’s another Frequency-, No Tomorrow-, or Containment-style situation.  While I like seeing Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin paired together on Fridays, I would have swapped their placements...letting Jane lead off the night, instead of Crazy.

Grade:  D

Predictions:  I’ll be praying for Riverdale.  Dynasty and Valor are both iffy.  Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are both probably on their way out (if not this season, then the season after that).

If the fall numbers are too disappointing for advertisers, look for The CW to eventually do a midseason reshuffle:  pairing Supergirl with Black Lightning, Riverdale with iZombie, and Jane the Virgin with the new Lucy Hale-led dramedy Life Sentence (possibly taking over for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Friday).  The netlet will also need to find spots for both The 100 and The Originals.

CBS

The Eye Network has taken up the mind-boggling “strategy” of mixing-and-matching multi-camera comedies with single-camera comedies on both Mondays and Thursdays.  In addition, it’s renewed some subpar players such as Man with a Plan, Elementary, and Code Black (all of which are presumably being held back to serve as midseason “spackle”).  Its biggest offense:  being unwilling to give 2 Broke Girls an official farewell season – not even 13 episodes’ worth of one!

The good:  CBS’s Friday night lineup is working, and they aren’t messing with it.  MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0, and Blue Bloods continue to keep Fridays stable.  Kevin Can Wait, NCIS, Survivor, and The Big Bang Theory continue to serve as “anchors” on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, respectively. And if Young Sheldon is going to have any shot of success, placing it after the show it’s spun off from is its best chance of accomplishing that (despite the fact that Young Sheldon is multi-cam and The Big Bang Theory is single-cam).

The bad:  refusing to separate Life in Pieces from Mom on Thursdays.  CBS missed a valuable opportunity here to pair together Life in Pieces with new single-cam peer Me, Myself, & I.  The latter inexplicably gets sandwiched on Mondays between newcomer 9JKL and sophomore returnee Superior Donuts (which really should have been given the post-Mom time slot).  In fact, Life and Myself would have made a great natural pair together in a single-camera comedy hour of their own.

Also, I truly believe that Michael Weatherly’s Bull was already a viable power player to have its chord cut from NCIS and emerge elsewhere in the week to cushion a new show.  And, once again, CBS’s Thursday-at-10pm “death slot” receives another new one-hour sacrificial lamb in the form of the Shemar Moore-led remake of S.W.A.T. (which really needed to be subbed in for MacGyver at midseason to keep up the nostalgic feel of that night).

The questionable:  why is Code Black even coming back at all? (Elementary, I can at least understand – due to syndication revenue).  On Sundays, Wisdom of the Crowd may either sink or swim leading off the night (as Madam Secretary was forced to, three seasons ago)...its quality (or lack thereof) will be the clincher.  David Boreanaz’s SEAL Team feels like it would have been a better fit wedged between NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans...although the post-Survivor time slot isn’t too shabby, either.

Still, so many missed opportunities.

Grade:  D-

Predictions:  aside from Kevin Can Wait and The Big Bang Theory, I think the comedy ratings numbers on Monday and Thursday will see a steep downslide.  Tuesdays and Fridays, on the other hand, will continue to flourish – but is that enough to compensate for CBS’s nights that don’t?   Unless Moore’s star power helps S.W.A.T. break out, CBS’s Thursday-at-10pm problem needs to be dealt with...much the same way ABC’s Tuesday-at-10pm problem does.

Man with a Plan, The Amazing Race, and Elementary should prove to be valuable commodities to fill holes, come midseason – still scratching my head about the Code Black renewal, though.

In summary, no network individually produced an exceptional schedule.  NBC’s was the best – which is ironic, since The Peacock Network has churned out some pretty shotty schedules in the past several years.  But, it seems NBC is gradually learning its lesson and turning things around.   Fox trotted out the most mediocre schedule – while ABC, CBS, and The CW all cobbled together heavily-flawed rosters.  I’d have to give the biggest failing grade to CBS, though:  it had the most to work with going in; yet, it managed to miss the mark on nearly every night of the week.

None of these broadcast networks should be surprised if they see ratings on any night plummet, this fall.  If everything tanks across-the-board...they’re really going to need to use their midseason replacements more strategically to have any hope of salvaging the season.  They’ll also need to intricately reevaluate their approaches to schedule once the 2018 Upfronts roll around.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale Review

Spoiler Warning for the entirety of Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale.

  Some movies are made for a single moment.

  For Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, that moment is when Yui appears in the middle of the film's final battle—a showdown with the boss of the Aincrad Castle's Floor 100—bringing with her all of Kirito and Asuna's friends from stories past. There's a swell of music (the tune's called "let's join swords," and it's a remix of the franchise's most memorable track, "swordland"), and suddenly we see the silhouettes of Kirito's iconic dual blade against the backlighting. Along with back-up, Yui returns to Kirito and Asuna their appearances and weapons from the original Sword Art Online game, and the entire group explodes into frenetic action that carries through until final moment of the battle. 

  If you have even a shred of fondness for Sword Art Online as a franchise, particularly the Aincrad arc, this moment alone is worth seeing Ordinal Scale for. It's the moment the entire film drives toward, a rush of near-euphoric glee enough to make me scream with delight under my breath in the theater. It's been five years since the first season of Sword Art Online began airing and nearly three since SAO II ended, so it feels like we've been without new Sword Art Online long enough for it to feel like an event of the past (despite the continual chatter following the show since then). This, in turn, gives us enough space from the early days of Sword Art Online, the time when it truly felt new, that Ordinal Scale can actually get away with remembering Aincrad, both as an motion within the film itself and outside it with the fans.

    I walk into my local showing of Ordinal Scale about 30 minutes before the film began, wondering what kind of crowd I'm going to see. An awkward pass in front of the screen looking for a seat later, I'm reassured that this won't be like some of my other anime filmgoing experiences, as the crowd is substantial—and boisterous. Occasional laughs about the "super easy" quiz questions rotating on the screen pepper the dull buzz of conversation; I hear one girl mutter "Must get" to herself with a vengeance upon seeing an ad for the recently released SAO mobile phone game. And although less interested in the welcome messages from LiSA, Haruka Tomatsu (Asuna), and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Kirito) before the film begins, by the final corny slow-motion fist pump from Matsuoka, a genuine cheer finally emerges from the crowd before giving way to silence and the movie's opening moments.

  Whatever else was true of my company for Ordinal Scale, one thing was certain: these people were fans of Sword Art Online. And that was good, because this movie—all else aside—is for fans of Sword Art Online.

  I'm no stranger to being a fan of things generally, but as a fan of Sword Art Online (it was one of the first anime I watched once I'd finally figured out what "anime" was and decided I wanted more) it was delightful to see Ordinal Scale speaking a language only those who care about this franchise—warts and all—can understand. In the moment when we see Starburst Stream unleashed once again or Yuuki's spirit embracing Asuna as the Mother's Rosario Sword Skill appears in a burst of purple lights, the film clearly, unavoidably asks but one thing of its audience: "Remember. Because if you remember how you felt when you watched Sword Art Online, this is for you."

    So, that's the fanservice angle, but what's really neat about Ordinal Scale is that it pulls this metatextual conversation with its fans into the actual text of the film itself. The primary conflict in Ordinal Scale is, at its most basic level, one dealing with the importance of memories—specifically those of Aincrad. Memories that are immeasurably painful for some and bittersweet for others. One of Sword Art Online's ongoing themes has been a question of the validity and value of virtual experiences (although this idea's traced an admittedly inconsistent arc throughout the franchise's various stories), and so Ordinal Scale putting Asuna's memories of her time in Sword Art Online (the game) on the line aligns it strongly with this tradition—and, by the end of the film, doubles down on the Aincrad arc's very serious affirmation of the worth of such experiences. 

  So when Ordinal Scale instructs the audience to dig into their own memories, it marries the meaningfulness of the fan's memory to those that Kirito, Asuna, and their friends hold dear. Whether or not the memories were all good or all bad matters little—rather, the key is that they mean something to them (and, ultimately, carry tangible weight in the real world as well). In some ways this parallels the fan act of immersing yourself in a show, finishing it, and then fondly carrying on the memories of your time in the world with you as you move on with your life—possibly even allowing them to affect who you are as a person. Of course, it's not like this kind of unity between fanservice and themes is anything new, but it's certainly enjoyable to experience it with Ordinal Scale if, like me, you do carry some measure of affection for SAO.

  This kind of textual/audience resonance aside, as a film for fans, Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale succeeds because it reaches for and achieves a single peak of unadulterated fan joy. It can be watched, thought of, and loved purely in these terms. That single shot of Kirito once again becoming the Black Swordsman who saved Aincrad justifies the entire movie. It was the only thing the film needed to do.

      On the other hand, there are still 2+ hours of film that aren't that moment, I think it's still necessary that I note that on the whole Ordinal Scale is a surprisingly detached movie. While Ordinal Scale is certainly a more restrained, mature take on the world of SAO, at the same times it feels like it looses some of its charm in the attempt to present itself this way. The crisper, flatter character designs lend themselves less to diverse facial expressions than the more cartoony and moe designs from the TV series, and when paired with the lack of interesting character acting animation, the vividness of these characters had in the TV series finds itself drowning somewhat in the darker, grittier, colder world of augmented reality. It's without a doubt satisfying to see Kirito and Asuna looking and behaving like the young adults preparing to head off to college that they are, but I can't help but feel that the overall effect is one that makes the whole film feel rather cool in a way that lacks the passionate spirit of Kirito's over-the-top video game coolness from the TV series.

  There's also a disappointing lack of immediacy in film's cinematography, which relies heavily on long shots that place the characters in large backgrounds and distance them from the camera. Director Tomohiko Ito and his friend Takahiro Shikama shared storyboarding duties for the film [1], and both have proven to be excellent at the task in past works like the Sword Art Online and ERASED, but the direction in Ordinal Scale is depressingly lifeless outside of the more dynamic action scenes, completely lacking the engaging energy of the TV series. One scene that's emblematic of this problem occurs midway through the film. Following Yuuna, Kirito finds himself on a bridge in the virtual world and talks with her. Framed with a long shot, we can only see the barest outline of each character's face, and even as Yoshitsugu Matsuoka's voice rises along with Kirito's frustration, all we see is Kirito walking in a basic cycle across the bridge towards Yuuna. The direction completely sucks the power out of the encounter—a frustrating pattern that recurs throughout the movie.

    Happily, the story and script have a bit more of a spark to them, although the former is disconnected and the latter somewhat inane. It's fortunate that the key to the story of Ordinal Scale is, basically, that for the first time since Aincrad we finally have Asuna and Kirito's relationship back in the spotlight. Despite many battles that frankly don't always feel like they have actual stakes and the script's amusing failed attempts portraying friendly banter between Kirito and Asuna's group of friends (someone says something vaguely amusing, the rest of the group gently laughs), it's the promise that our two heroes made back on the 28th floor that holds it all together. If the final boss battle is the film's justification for existing, then it's Kirito and Asuna seeing the stars together at the film's end (and having their kiss interrupted by Yui lol) that validates the story.

  Which, really, is just to say that Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale is, at heart, Sword Art Online—a sometimes bumbling, sometimes ineffective, impossibly dorky, and charming invention with nothing but the best of intentions. SAO being SAO, this was never going to be a perfectly crafted movie—but it captures so many of the charms of the franchise whilst also avoiding nearly all of its most aggravating faults. It may be a few dozen minutes longer than it needs to be, undercut its own the drama by putting off the twists until near the end of the film, and lack the personality-driven dialogue that could really have made its characters come to life on the big screen, but it's still trying to be good and succeeding just often enough that I can't find it in my heart to ignore those efforts. 

  And, again: Yui appears, the Black Swordsman and Lighting Flash Asuna return. That was everything. And it was glorious.

[1] Thanks to Canipa from the Canipa Effect for making available his list of the full animation staff for the film. Be sure to check out his video breaking down the film's staff and the paths they took to this movie.

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Isaac eases his compulsive need to write about anime on his blog, Mage in a Barrel. He also sometimes hangs out on Tumblr, where he mainly posts his drawing practice as he seeks to become a renowned idol and robot fanartist. You can follow him on Twitter at @iblessall or on Facebook.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com