#also my girlfriends and i don’t have this issue it’s predominantly dudes

[lilgynt]

i love when people put their feelings on me brother i was just sitting here i literally have no feelings strongly one way or another

[thenixkat]

Thoughts on the cartoon Static Shock

So these notes n’ stuff was part of my 4th? rewatch of the series. I’d watched it once to actually finished the show since I never caught all the eps when it was airing on tv, another time when I was on a Static Shock kick, and the 3rd time streaming it with friends to see what they thought of it. Each time I picked up on more stuff like character and events, but this time I gave it an actual serious watch to get details, timeline, and a solid handle on characterization and abilities, and plots that I can work on for my fanfic. And taking off the nostalgia goggles and giving it a real hard critical look?

It’s not great.

It’s about average like it still makes it to my top ten superhero shows but its like probably number 7 on that list. It is still absolutely my favorite show in the DCAU; but ya gotta take into account that I don’t like Superman, I hate Justice League b/c it’s very much a drama and its ep should have just been released as hour-long things, I refuse to watch Batman Beyond, and I prefer The Batman over Batman The Animated Series. What I’m saying is literally the only other thing in the DCAU that I’ve watched and liked was Justice League Unlimited and even that I have issues with. 

If I’m ranking DC shows that I like I’d go:

1. Teen Titans

2. Black Lightning

3. Static Shock

4. Legion of Super-Heros

5. The Batman

6. Justice League Unlimited

So what do I like about Static Shock?

Black people. Like, holy fuck there’s so many Black people in this show. With different skin tones, hairstyles, eye colors, body types. Got em as good guys, bad guys, and neutral parties. Got a Black girl as the protag’s main love interest. Introduced a slew of original Black heroes and villains to the pasty as fuck DCAU, even if the rest of that universe likes to forget that Static Shock takes place in it. 

Just, I love dorky science types like Virgil and Richie? Also, I like their friendship very much. That is some good shit right there even if I hate the ship and thus don’t interact with most of the fandom b/c of it. And paying close attention to it added a lot more complexity and depth to the characters than I’d known was there.

Also, I don’t normally like female characters, but Shebang is good. I like her very much and I will not forgive the writers for “She-Back!”. Also, Sharon is a boss. Daisy is the best girlfriend and could literally do so much better than Virgil, that boy is blessed to have her.

And I do like to see superhero noobs who have no fucking clue what they're doing and keep trying their best. And I like more stuff where like the hero does more than just fight people? And has a life outside of heroing?

The show is also just, genuinely entertaining to me? Like both as an adult and as a kid its fun to watch. It's something that younger me tried to catch on tv.

My problems with the show?

This show does not do right by its female characters. Frieda drops from the face of the earth for long stretches of time when by all rights she should appear at least as often as Daisy. The show forgets that Frieda and the main boys are very close friends. The main girls are never brought in on the loop as well as their intelligence gets completely underfunded that they don’t figure out the loop exists in the first place. Others like Trina and Shenice just fucking vanish, much like Frieda, even when they shouldn’t. Sharon spent an episode being blatently ooc. Also, Virgil’s mom literally got fridged for drama and male character development. And doing a bit of reserch it also fucked up a femal character from a different show and then killed her off in a brutal graphic manner.

There are plenty of spots where the writing is either noticibly lazy or outright incompetent. Especially in the aformentioned area in handling characters. Other times there’s the plot of an ep being pushed in a direction that doesn’t make sense given what we’re being shown, or don’t make sense going by just... fucking basic ass phsiscs, or doesn’t make sense b/c it contradicts things we’ve previously been shown.

Speaking of that! The lack of continuity very much hurts the show. Characters at the very least should learn from previous experiences. Past events should effect the present and the future.

Also, I’m not sure what’s at fult for it, either the Y7 rating or the writers’ lack of nads, but the show ignoring many many deaths and how they’d logicly effect characters also robbed it of some of what it could have been. For the same reason is probably why the gang and coruption of city officials and such dropped from the show so quickly. Its possible that I would have not noticed this as much if I never watched Black Lightning (which is fucking good btw) and seen it done right.

And as a show for kids some of the episode have fucking gods aweful messages or undertones. I will not forgive the use of the ‘what measure is a nonhuman’ trope in “Toys In The Hood”. Nor will I forgive the narritive fucking around with characters and their relationships to punish Shenice for being a confidant Black girl in “She-Back!”. And I don’t know who the fuck thought that telling kids that people who break the law don’t deserve human rights and its ok to use them is human guinea pigs was ok in “Wet N’ Wild”. And did no one stop to think that maybe they shouldn’t portay a dude poisoning the community of an in-universe predominantly Black comminity with largly untested and potentially dangerous experimental chemicals on the reasoning that “most of them are thugs” as a good guy. Idk, someone shoulda stopped and thought a little bit about that in the entire time it took the ep to get made. WHAT THE FUCK WRITERS.

What I would change?

-Have Frieda and Daisy in on the loop. Frieda either figures it out or is told in the 2nd ep and Daisy figures it out in her debute ep. Sharon figure it out durring ‘Brother-Sister Act’ and she isn’t written wildly out of character. Have the 3 of them become superheros, expand the fucking team.

-Remember that Shenice and Trina fucking exist? 

-Remember that all of the other villians that nly show up in 1 ep still exist and would likely be able to escape from prison about as easily as the onse that do get to make multible apperences.

-Remember that BacPac isn’t a backpack and can act with his own agency.

-Scrap 90% of ‘Toys In The Hood’.

-Have characters actually effected by people they knew dying in the Big Bang? I. E. Hotstreak’s entire posse never showed up again and he should feel some fucking way about that. Virgil and Wade had known eachother for years.

-Do something with the fact that Brainiac did fucky shit to Richie that should have lasting and possibly traumatic concequences. Also all of the nanites, where are they?

-Have Dr. Todd be a villian and the heros and villians working together to stop his plot b/c holy shit its unethical.

-Just... so many things. Little improvements.

[bewareofchris]

My entire dash is posting Tony discourse so here’s mine:

+ I didn’t like Cap in Avengers.  I didn’t like Cap in Captain America (whatever his first movie was).  I thought he was boring.  However, Cap is 100% all about getting shit done and he understands that means people dies and maybe he dies and maybe we all die but the man has already literally committed suicide to save people.  It’s not even a little bit shocking that he wouldn’t like Tony when they first met.  Tony rolls onto the scene brash and arrogant as he usually does.  These are things I like about Tony, he’s confrontational and he’s a trouble maker and YES he also is a genius and he has recently dedicated his life to trying to better the world and that’s are admirable but their core personalities still aren’t people that would get along without effort.  This doesn’t make either of them villains.

+ For that matter, they were supposed to have reached a point of mutual respect for their very different but equally important skill sets.  That was the point of the whole final battle (In The Avengers).

+ There’s no telling how many missions they did together as Avengers, or how much time they spent hanging out together.  We don’t get to see them getting along because the MCU doesn’t show us that.  We only get to see them when they’re at odds; maybe that’s because in the MCU Tony and Steve aren’t pals or maybe that’s because Age of Ultron was predominantly a clusterfuck.

+ Tony doesn’t like Steve (at first, over all) IN PART because his Father did like Steve.  If the MCU spent anymore time giving Tony unresolved father issues it would have to move its genre to Lifetime.  It’s entirely possible that Steve doesn’t like Tony because of Howard too.  Either he feels like Tony is too unlike his father or he feels Tony is very like his father and being around him reminds him of the fact that literally everyone and everything he knew is dead.  I mean take your pick

+ it was abundantly clear in Iron Man 3 that Tony needed Actually Medical Attention.  Whether or not Tony’s friends noticed/understood the symptoms and ignored them/encouraged him to get help remains up to the viewer to decide.  Since the story line of that movie wasn’t “Let’s get Tony to Counselling!!!!” it wasn’t relevant enough to put into the movie.  This doesn’t mean Pepper/Rhodey/Happy didn’t notice or try.  It just means it didn’t show up in the movie so you can argue whether anyone cared canonically or not.  (Except Bruce, who fell asleep while Tony told a story.)  But the end of that movie heavily leaned toward “Tony’s All Better Now!!”

+ I spent all of Iron Man 3 literally screaming about how stupid it was that none of the other avengers are there.  WHY WOULDN’T THEY BE THERE.  WHY WOULDN’T TONY CALL THEM.  WHY WOULDN’T THEY CARE.  Because the writers, that’s why.  Or because the contracts for the actors.  Or some other not-actually-related-to-the-characters/plot reason.

+ BUT THEN THEY DID AGE OF ULTRON, THE CLUSTERFUCK.  I’m speaking here from a purely story-teller’s POV when I say that the only reason that Tony thought up and bullied Bruce into helping him make this World-Killing Machine was the Writers had no No Better Ideas.  They were like: well we only have a few of these guys left and only one or two of them are smart enough to do a thing and we made Hank Pym old and irrelevant so fuck him I guess Tony who was Mostly Better in the last movie has to relapse into crazy-face shenanigans.  I don’t think Tony was wrong or bad to want to create something that helped the world, or that would have acted like a shield.  I think Tony shouldn’t have done it alone.  Or in secret.  Or without telling anyone.  Which is what he appears to do in Age of Ultron (the clusterfuck)

+ I tell my kid like 100 times a month: “If you’re hiding it from people, you know it’s wrong,” when she gets into stuff she shouldn’t and takes things that aren’t hers an tries to smuggle candy to school.

+  Tony is a dick.  I love him but he’ a dick.  Steve’s a dick too.  But we can’t all go around pretending that Tony isn’t a dick.  

+  Or that Tony has trust issues and literally has never shared his toys ever.  I could list examples of Tony hiding his creations and refusing to share them but I think we’ve all seen the movies.

+  None of this makes Tony a bad guy.  Tony just makes choices based on his own personality and his own experiences and his own fears.  Which is EXTREMELY HUMAN.  

+  Cap is not a glorious savior of mankind who is without fault and always right.  He is, however, the Hero Type.  He is portrayed as righteous (which gets annoying) and also Right (sometimes by accident).  My sole beef with people attacking Cap is that they always try to drag Bucky into it.  I’m bias because I love Cap/Bucky as friends, boyfriends, roommates, whatever I don’t care.  But even in MCU Canon, Steve is willing to risk his own life/give up everything to save Bucky.  They established that in Winter Soldier.  He was like: sure go ahead Bucky literally beat me to death that’s fine I’m here for you.  For Steve, Bucky is that cinnamon roll too pure for this world and he must be protected at literally all cost.

+  This brings us slowly around to the shitstorm that is Civil War.  Civil War’s entire plot is stupid.  I’m just going to say that outright.  They never actually established the Avengers as a fully-functioning tight-knit group of friends/co-workers/fellow-heroes.  You know that Sam and Natasha like Steve well enough to work with him/do dangerous and stupid things with him.  They trust him and respect him and you know that because you’ve seen it actually happen on screen.

+ Civil War starts out doing a huge disservice to Tony.  From a story-telling point of view, at NO TIME is Tony’s story line presented fairly.  While he is not the villain (there almost isn’t a villain in this, what’s his face with the sibera plan was too pathetic to count) he is CLEARLY the Antagonist(ic plot device).  They show him trying to cope with his life by spending way too much money on Virtual Reality Toys.  They make sure we know that he still hasn’t properly dealt with his parent’s death.  They set up that he’s exhausted, more or less.  His girlfriend (who was a major step for him considering what a massive fuck he was prior to Iron Man 2/3) has left him, he’s struggling with his PTSD (one could argue stems all the way back from when he was attacked/kidnapped/tortured/etc), he’s struggling with the loss of his parents (and if his parents, you could also so he’s struggling with Obadiah who we all forget because he’s a bitch but its heavily insinuated he was a Father figure prior to that time He attacked Tony and then Tony had to kill him).  Let’s just say it’s no surprise Tony is Struggling.  Civil War takes a man who just needs to get some sleep, a quiet place to think and possibly intense medical intervention and sets him up with the world’s stupidest idea ever.

+  I’m not knocking the Accords, but if i have to read one more post about how Steve Was Very Wrong for not signing them, I might start screaming.  I’m not here to talk about whether or not Steve was Wrong.  But it’s no surprise Steve didn’t sign.  Steve who lied on multiple enlistment forms.  Steve who defied direct orders from the military.  Steve who was a USO performer and an honorary Captain who did Very Fucking Dumb Shit that happened to Turn Out Ok because he was the Hero and for literally no other reason.  Steve who rolled up to Hydra-Shield with like 2.5 friends and thought he was going to save the day (AND HE DID, BECAUSE HE’S A HERO AND IT’S INSANE THAT IT WORKED).  There’s no surprise that Steve doesn’t want to sign a sheet of paper that says he has to follow orders given to him by someone higher up.  It’s just not his personality.  He trusts himself, he always has, in literally every situation he trusts himself and his own judgement over everything and everyone else.  That’s good/bad depending on how you want to look at it, but that’s all it is.

+  Incidentally, Tony usually thinks the same:

+  So lets assume that Tony agreed with the Accords on the basic principles they stand for.  That he was like: you’re right we need these, we need to have accountability.  Because while he’s a jackass and all he did go through that huge moment in the first movie where he discovered he was accidentally supplying terrorists and he flipped his shit.  Tony does NOT want his Legacy to be War and Death.  I respect this.

+  Civil War does not set up Tony to be viewed without bias.  They set him up to be an obstacle that Steve has to overcome.  The language they use is passive-aggressive and desperate.  I’m not saying that Tony is, but (In my case) it’s not even about Tony wanting the Accords for the Good of the World.  He wants the Accords to protect his friends.  And he’s willing to bully/beg to get them.  So everyone signs, Tony gets his Accountability because the Avengers are World-Wide Property now, and he also gets to keep his friends.  For me, personally, the Accords are a steaming pile of shit.  And at no point did I even understand why Tony wanted them.  Or why Natasha signed them.  Rhodey?  Yes.  Rhodey is a Military Man.  Rhodey makes complete sense.

+  a few other disservices that Civil War does to Tony: They have him “imprison” Wanda “for her own safety” but then have Steve & Friends break her out (and then Steve frees all the other Avengers from jail).  They have him COMPLETELY IGNORE evidence that some shit is not right and instead have him focused on begging Steve to join the Accords.  This is my biggest beef.  If Steve/Tony were ever friends, then Steve should have gone to Tony and said: “look this doesn’t seem right to me.”  At which point Tony the Literal Genius and Dude who Created a Flying Suit to Right the Wrongs should have said, “yes it does seem fishy”  Even if Steve didn’t sign the Accords there’s 0 reasons that Tony couldn’t have still seen that something was up and put into motion a plan to do something about it.  There should be no reason (assuming Steve/Tony have actual respect for one another and have worked together before) that Steve shouldn’t have trusted Tony to do that.  

+ I’m not talking about Steve going after Bucky before anyone else could.  There’s no universe were Steve wouldn’t have gone after Bucky once he knew where he was and that he was in danger.  I mean all the shit after that.

+ Tony gets his BFF paralyzed, he enlists an ACTUAL CHILD, and puts half the Avengers in jail.  (I mean not him himself actually but that’s how the movie is set up.)  And then after all that, and after a whole movie of him ranting about this is the only way, Tony goes to Siberia.  Tony does the EXACT THING that all the others were trying to do DESPITE HOW THEY WERE JUST PUT IN JAIL in DIRECT CONFLICT of the ACCORDS.  I don’t care if you’re in love with Tony Stark or not, that shit is ridiculous.  I mean, that is the Single Reason that I walked out of this movie furious at Tony Stark.  It completely eclipsed every shred of sympathy I had for the man.  It made everything that happened before completely meaningless.  

+  But that’s what the story demands.  This whole movie (like Avengers, like Age of Ultron) seems to only care about pitting the heroes against one another.  Like, AT ALL COSTS.  If Loki had met up with What-his-Fuck (siberia guy) before Avengers, that little horned asshole would be running the planet because Civil War is x50 as masterful at manipulating Tony vs Steve as any other movie.  

+  I’m just going to say this: Siberia’s guy plan is bullshit.  That video being queued up for Tony to see is ridiculous.  Steve having never told Tony about his parents was shitty

+ (but a side note here, how many of you would be lining up at your friend’s house to tell them the practically useless news that your semi-frozen brainwashed best friend forever had actually murdered Friend 1′s parents while under the influence of Hydra when you have 0 reason to think that this information will EVER BE RELEVANT.)

+  Steve “Values the Truth, but also disobeys orders and keeps secrets, and chooses his one BFF over all his new friends” Rogers didn’t tell Tony “I’m so emotionally vulnerable and lonely, confused and yet nobody seems to notice” Stark about how his parents really died.  It was set up in the movie to be a Huge Deal and it was meant to Punch You in the Guts.  You can feel about that however you want to feel but at the end of the day, for me, shitty choice with shitty consequences or not, it was definitely a believable choice.

+ The big fight at the end of the movie was fantastic.  It was all kinds of pretty colors.  But as aforementioned in basically every Cap movie ever, Steve is never going to chose someone over Bucky.  Not the world, not Tony, not Himself.  Bucky > all other things.

+  The final, most lasting insult to Tony in Civil War is that it makes Cap the hero.  Cap saves the Avengers, Cap saves his friend, Cap sends that letter.  You can say what you want about the letter, about whether it was a real apology or not.  I thought it was.  Some don’t.  

+  Tony’s story line deserved better.  Tony deserved better.  This movie set him up to be seen as a selfish, thoughtless, desperation-driven asshole while it made all those same qualities seem heroic on Cap.

[sultrysweet]

Lmao then just stop watching. Because just like OUAT the bitching will fall on deaf ears. Me if you're dense enough not to get why she was the one asking him BOTH times if he liked her - than you're just as clueless about this show too. Good thing the writers know what they're doing. (Hook and Emma canon True Love and living together. :):):) #ByeBye

For your information, I don't watch OUAT anymore because the writers DON'T know what they're doing. I don't want to have to be forced to stop watching yet another show because they take a good premise about strong, independent women and turn them in woman only concerned about a relationship that's not right for them.On Supergirl, Kara's basically feeling lonely right now. Alex has a girlfriend and is spending more time with the girlfriend than with Kara, which makes Kara feel like Alex is slipping away. She doesn't want to be abandoned again. At the same time, Mon-El has mentioned his feelings and Kara has the opportunity to not be alone. But it's not right because she's only considering things with Mon-El because she just wants what her sister has and she wants company when she's lonely. I have never once since Kara flirt with Mon-El. I've never seen her once get all jittery like she did with James, and she actually had a crush on James. A real crush that eventually turned into a quick and flawed relationship. There's so much more to get into about Supergirl, but your message seems to be predominantly about Once so I'll switch gears and tell you what's wrong with that. Hook is selfish. His apologies for what he's done in the past have never been genuine. He's still "relapsed" even while he was with Emma and did things she shouldn't have brushed off so easily. He's controlling and abusive. Most of his abuse is psychological. Emma's Dark Swan arc became all about the "boy toy" when he became the Dark One, but he'd turned into something just as nasty as Rumple because of it. Emma did an awful thing as the Dark Swan, but she did it because she thought it was best for her family. Hook just wanted Emma to suffer because she didn't want him to die. He was going to punish her for caring for him just because the situation didn't work out the way he wanted it to. He also threatened to kill him to get her attention because she hadn't been focused on his whining for maybe all of five minutes, and that was because there was a bigger issue she had to deal with than his pettiness. Emma's become more caged and isolated since being with him. He doubts every decision Emma makes and doesn't believe in her. Apparently he'd also rather keep the option of magical sheers around so that maybe Emma will CUT OUT A PART OF HERSELF just because he's too much of a coward to let her fight, like she wants. LIKE. SHE. WANTS. But her suggestions and desires aren't important to Hook. He thinks he knows better than Emma about what she needs and makes that call for her. Or at least attempts to. He's actually used his hook to wrap around her wrist/arm to stop Emma from going after someone to talk about the argument that had happened. He used his hook! To pull her back to him and away from someone she was only trying to help!And now for how this all started. Hook was an unimportant character (and still is because he hinders progress and doesn't help at all). He called Emma "shriveled and dried up" when they first met in the Enchanted Forest and teased that "when I jab you with my sword, you'll feel it." That's not sexy or nice. He also made comments about finding much more enjoyable acts with women on their backs, referring of course to sex when they're in the middle of a battle to get to Storybrooke. He was unpleasant and that's putting it mildly. But then viewers, probably ones like you, decided he was a bad boy and handsome and demanded more. Then Adam and Eddy fell in love with him, too. It didn't matter how gross he was or how little he actually changed. He's a nice face with an alluring accent and that's all that seemed to matter to those two and the "Hookers". It mattered so much so that Emma has become a side note to her own story/journey. She's not herself anymore. She's just Hook's girlfriend. Hook has unrightfully been awarded the focus of the show when he has nothing good to contribute to it. Emma was the focus in season 1. She was the main character. "Was" being the key word. As soon as Hook was brought in the following season, things slowly started to revolve around him and his disgusting self. And let's face it, if Hook had been cast more closely to the cartoon version of the character than no one would have liked his slimy ass. The reality of it is they're catering to fans that bully them into believing Hook is a good fit and the only reason they have viewership. Those same fans, women unfortunately included, have turned a show about a strong woman learning how to come to terms with fairy tales being real and how she fits into them into a show about a weakening women and some dick. I mean, dude. ...no, I don't.

[3one3]

The Sequel - 895

Wardrobe Approval

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea/BVB players, and random awesome OC’s (okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

Christina’s flight from Munich, where she stopped to visit her doctor, got her to Doha at 4:45 on Tuesday afternoon. Juan’s inbound flight from London arrived about an hour later, at 5:50. She wanted to hang out in the arrivals terminal and wait for him, but Jan Tops, the show jumping legend and proprietor of the Global Champions Tour, asked her to meet with him and the editor of the Tour’s new lifestyle magazine at the hotel so that she could sign some copies of the quarterly on which she was the debut cover star. The magazine launch was happening during the competition, on Saturday afternoon, between the Global Champions League Final and the Grand Prix of Doha. Christina wasn’t expected to change out of her riding clothes and get into a dress for all the pictures, or hang around the event for the whole two hours during which it was scheduled, so they wanted her to do a little photoshoot with the editor, someone from the publishing company, the photographer who came to Dortmund to get the art for the cover and her feature story, and the woman who wrote that feature, plus some of the big advertisers who subsidized much of the issue. Rather than wait for her companion at the airport, she needed to hurry to her hotel room bathroom and make herself pretty and put-together.

Some of the advertisers had gifts delivered in advance of her arrival. She found a box of Tom Ford makeup goodies, a bunch of Kiehl’s skincare products, a cashmere glove and scarf set from Loro Piana, a small Nancy Gonzalez shoulder bag, and some clothes from Rag & Bone and Gucci. From the gifts, she selected baby pink high-waisted, tie-front, wide-leg trousers to pair with a loose white crewneck blouse from home that had precious tie-detail cuffs too. Dramatic baby pink pants were a first for her, and that was somewhat exciting. Also, she kind of forgot that it was 80* and perpetually sunny where she was going when she packed black leather pants to go with that top. The pink trousers were much more appropriate for Doha. They were also way too long, so she had to wear them with the soaring sandals she brought for after-hours activities. The details of her pre-launch outfit were important because Juan totally didn’t recognize her in the lobby when he got to the Four Seasons. Christina had to excuse herself from the group of magazine people and click-clack-speed-walk to the elevator to intercept him. His phone didn’t work there yet, but she’d given him their room number when he had wifi in the airport. He was evidently very absorbed in the phone anyway, because she scared him half to death when she stepped in front of him and tried to kiss his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” she laughed at his surprised and defensive reaction.

“Why are you dressed like a wealthy 1970’s housewife?” the footballer questioned as he air-kissed both of her cheeks. He wisely avoided messing up the extensive makeup.

“Am I?” Christina looked down at her outfit and shrugged. She was happy to see him. That negated his skepticism about the wardrobe call.

“Yes,” Juan laughed. “A beautiful one though?” he asked more than stated.

“Do you want to go put your stuff in the room and then come hang out? I don’t know how long this is going to take. I just came down myself a minute ago. We’re doing the pictures outside by the pool.”

“I don’t want to interfere while you’re working. Go have your picture taken and then we’ll have some food, sí?”

“Do I have to change my outfit before dinner?” the rider sassed. Juan looked her up and down, appraising her clothes again.

“Yes. Hakkasan?”

“Yaaaaaassssss.” Her eyes grew big, brimming with excitement and temptation. I totally forgot they have a Hakkasan! We wanted to go last time but the guys decided to do Nobu instead since it’s right here. I want Peking duck.

“Is 8 too early? I’ll call for a table.”

A relatively low-maintenance girl from a wealthy New York family, Christina was the type to love aimless wandering around Paris with no plan or bookings, and then be equally enchanted by a man confidently offering a hard-to-get, sexy reservation for dinner. The princess within her, with her love of Smith & Wollensky steaks, her first-name-recognition of the best personal shoppers at Neiman Marcus, and her lash-fluttering adoration of smooth gentlemen with exceptional manners and perfectly tailored clothes, absolutely swooned for a dinner-date somewhere exclusive, poorly lit, overpriced, and heavy on the classic formality. She went weak in the knees at just the nonchalance in a princely gent’s invitation. She always had. It was a “Daddy Issue”. Anything was attainable for her father, so nothing was a big deal. She looked for that easy attitude in other men as an admirable and desirable trait. No other little girls were celebrating their 4th birthday at Windows on The World, the fine dining restaurant on the top floor of the World Trade Center, when she did. Surely no other little girls knew that the kitchen was in the basement and there were special high-speed elevators to bring the food up to the restaurant. At the same time, that little girl had a thirst for exploration and adventure that made a stroll along an unfamiliar street in a familiar city, or any street in a new one, with a game and curious companion, an absolute delight.

So as romantic and fun as her quick trip to Paris was with André, Christina was excited by Juan’s easy swooping in with the get-changed-I’m-taking-you-to-a-$250-duck-dinner thing within 60 seconds of laying eyes on her in a very, very foreign country. It was the seamlessness of it all. He came with a plan, but it didn’t sound overly curated- with just enough thoughtfulness to prove his understanding of his girlfriend and her travel habits, and that he’d looked forward to their trip enough to have checked out the local dining scene. He was wearing a black t-shirt and really nice medium wash blue jeans, and that meant he was automatically undeniable. He was clearly thrilled to see her too, but not in an outward way that anyone but Christina and his other close friends and family would notice. He didn’t need to go loiter around her while she fulfilled her work commitment. He had standards. He didn’t like her outfit and he didn’t want to take her out in it, but he wasn’t going to say it that way, or be a wimp and try to hint at it. He conveyed a clear but inoffensive message of disapproval. All of it added up to a very specific, “just so” manner that she found totally devastating in the best way. She gave him her room key and went back to the magazine gaggle with a swagger in her step.

She practically ran back to the elevator when they were finished doing photos, making her sign magazines, and schmoozing about the book, the competition, and the title. It was already 7:15 and she wasn’t sure how long the taxi ride to Hakkasan might be because she had no idea where the St. Regis was. Juan was speaking to someone on the phone when she got to the room- a predominantly beige affair with some dark wood furnishings, a nice enough sand-marble bathroom, and a good size terrace with a view of the pool and the sea. He made a hurry-up gesture and she turned around to go to the closet in the square-footage-wasting entrance hallway. There was a pair of light gray skinny jeans in her open suitcase on the stand in there, and an off-white polyester sleeveless top hanging above. Christina grabbed the pants and yanked the shirt off the hanger, then headed into the bedroom to change. Her pink trousers were so wide that she could get them off without removing her strappy sandals. It didn’t occur to her until she’d swapped shirts that she’d need to take the shoes off to get the jeans on. With a groan of frustration at that realization, she dropped the pants on the bedspread again and bent over to undo the tiny buckle on the gold-chain-accented Tom Ford sandal. It would have been much easier to put her butt on the bed too and not try to balance on one white 105mm heel, but haste overshadowed reason. And then the Spaniard on the phone overshadowed Christina.

Oh hello, she said to herself when she felt two hands on her hips and something like denim push into her butt. Those pink pants were fully lined and in no way see-through, but they fit snugly in the butt, so she wore one of the nude thongs she always had on under her breeches. Evidently her behind was too tempting in said thong to go ignored. Juan let go with one hand to adjust the phone held between his ear and his shoulder, and leaned more heavily into the rider. Without his help to keep her steady, she went flying.

“Dude!” she exclaimed in a heap on the floor. He had to pull the phone away from his face to save the ears of whomever he was speaking to from his hysterical guffawing. I guess I can get these off as long as I’m down here, Christina begrudgingly decided. Her dainty sandals included a wraparound ankle strap with a small gold chain stitched on top, and featured really annoying buckles. She’d only managed to get the end out of the keeper before her friend knocked her over. It was work to yank the prong out of the hole. Her Tom Fords were very lightly used, so the hole was still very tight. She mouthed “help” at Juan and made a woe-is-me face until he squatted to use some footballer strength to free her from her designer footwear. He even offered her a helping hand to get off the carpet, but then he was back on her bum again the second she bent over to stick her right foot in her jeans.

At least he’s nicer about it, the cover-girl snorted inside while the Chelsea man kneaded the plumpest part of her butt cheeks. His greedy fingers kept at it even as she shifted to get her other foot in the gray pants, and then moved up to her waist while she shimmied them up. By the time the button was through the hole and the zipper was up, his hands had found their way to her ribcage, just under her bra, and he was telling the person on the other end of the call, in Spanish, that he needed to go.

“I missed you more than usual, this past week,” Juan told her conversationally- that is to say, without sounding flirtatious, or seductive- once he was finished. Christina was fixing her pockets so that they weren’t bunched up on her hips.

“Get your filthy paws off me so I can finish getting ready,” she shot back, feigning more aggravation than she really harbored.

“We have time. I made the booking for 8:30.”

“Oh. Well then why did you tell me to hurry up and let me run around like a Trump campaign coffee boy in Moscow?”

“Because you use up as much time as you’re given. Turn around.” The player withdrew his hands just long enough for her to move, and then replaced them on her cheeks when he leaned forward to give her a real hello-kiss. We never get to have these when we first see each other, Christina reflected after it, while Juan lingered right in her face, his nose almost touching hers. We never get to do hello-kisses properly until we get behind closed doors somewhere. It sucks. You miss somebody and you’re so happy to see him and you can’t wait to touch him and smooch him and you have to do a phony, just-friends greeting instead of the I-love-you-sooooo-much one. It’s like if every time your team scored a goal, you couldn’t clap or fist pump, or yell “yeah!” until 5 minutes later in the restroom. Juan gave her one more little, tender kiss, and then sat heavily on the foot of the bed. “How was your magazine thing?”

“It was fine,” the equestrian star shrugged, plopping down beside him to make her life easier in terms of re-installing her sandals. “I just smiled a lot and then answered some questions about how my ponies are doing and who I think is going to win on Saturday.”

“Are you going to win on Saturday?”

“I dunno. Do you mind if we stop by Al Shaqab after dinner? I want to see Rio Grande and Socks.”

“Why would I mind? Did they just get here too?”

“No. I told you they came yesterday.”

“Should we bring them fortune cookies?”

“I don’t know if Hakkasan even does fortune cookies, but yes, if they do, absolutely,” Christina smiled. I’m glad my “head” coach has finally fully grasped the nature of my relationship with my boys. He finally gets that I treat them like spoiled children. Schü got that right away. He offered to buy Dirk a banana from the crepe tent the first time we had breakfast together, in Florida. It was like four days after we met. I know Juanin has been aware of those relationships but I’m not sure he always fully understood. I think it’s hard for people who don’t have animals to get it. “Should we go? Do you have my keycard? Let me just throw some stuff in a bag.”

They got a ride to the renowned Chinese restaurant and preceded to order way too much food, as was standard with Christina. She wanted the whole applewood Peking duck and the traditional pancakes and accompaniments, but also stir fried vegetables in ginger sauce, wok-fried lobster, fried rice, and sliced pepper steak. Juan pointed out that it wasn’t like being at home, where taking the copious extra food home made perfect sense. His date conceded the lobster and beef, and there was still leftovers. All they took with them after the marathon meal was fortune cookies, which they actually had to ask for. But then the security guards wouldn’t let them into Al Shaqab to give the horses their dessert anyway. Christina hadn’t yet been to the venue, so she didn’t have her credential yet, nor the player’s. Her passport wasn’t enough to get her in, and she was afraid to try bribery because she wasn’t sure if that was a big deal in a place like Qatar. The security officer they were dealing with had already flipped out about her leaning backwards on Juan and dropping her head on his shoulder because it brought her face awfully close to his and that was evidently a no-no in the land of no PDA allowed. It wasn’t even meant to be affectionate. Her feet just hurt from her shoes and the guy was taking a long time checking with superiors or something on the phone and her friend was there to physically support her. He made fun of her on the way back to the Four Seasons, joking about what a great public story it would be if she were thrown in a Qatari prison for being a heathen in public with not her husband.

“Daniel and Christian and the guys are chilling at the bar on the pier. Do you want to go have a drink or something?” the heathen inquired as she got out of the car in front of the hotel. “I know it’s late but with the time difference I feel like it’s early still.”

“The whole two hours.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t care. Whatever you want, cariña.”

“Okay. I’ll tell them we’re coming to say hey. I want to run upstairs first and get a sweater.”

“Mhm,” Juan yawned, holding the interior door for her. It was definitely getting colder out- down in the low 70’s from the afternoon’s mid-80’s, but the blast of the air-conditioning in the lobby was still quite noticeable. Christina put her texting on hold to rub her arm. It took a minute to get an elevator, and she walked up to her friend and demanded he either hug her or take over rubbing her bare arms for her while she tapped away at the phone.

“Who else is here?”

“Daniel, Christian, the other Christian, Marco, Nicola, maybe Janne? And then from not-Germany, Edwina, obvs, Eric, Scott, Simon, my friend from Spain, Kevin, Lorenzo, Bertram, Lauren and Laura and Lillie from the US, Ben, Janika...Most of the best people, except Marcus, because he doesn’t like leaving Europe, and the Americans who stayed home to do World Cup qualifiers at indoors. Oh and all my Belgian friends, who are also in the US to do the World Cup Qualifiers at indoors. Also, I told you all of this already. Do you not remember asking me about the competition and me going through the entire entry list, horse by horse, to assess the odds?”

“Maybe? I don’t know,” he shrugged, his voice kind of flat. She didn’t know how to take that. That’s the second thing he completely forgot or just never heard the first time, she realized. Is he tired, or in a bad mood? He’s the one who suggested coming here with me in the first place. I hope he didn’t wish he could take it back. I know tagging along on a horse show week can be really boring, and he talks to Marcus more than the other guys so that sucks that he’s not here, but I’m going to have so much free time to go do fun things with him. The doors dinged open and Juan’s hands dropped away from her goosebump-covered skin. They stepped out onto the generic blue hallway carpet together, turned to the left, and let themselves into the second door on the Gulf side.

“I think I’m gonna change my shoes too,” the rider announced before taking a seat on the foot of the bed. “Or I could just take these off and not put any on. Do you not want to go to the bar?”

“I don’t mind. It’s up to you.”

“Is something wrong? You’re all...meh, all of a sudden, Juanin.”

“You changed the picture on your mobile,” the Chelsea man replied after staring blankly in her direction for what seemed like a really long time. He sat next to her and pointed at the screen in her hand. Her new wallpaper was a selfie she took with André during a piggyback ride.

“I made Schü carry me up 4 million stairs at Sacre Coeur,” she smirked. “He lost a bet.”

“I don’t feel jealous of him many times. I think I’ve said, when I see you kiss him all day long I used to have that jealousy. Now you kiss me every time you get up or sit down, so not so much anymore. I feel it when you go to Paris with him though,” Juan laughed ruefully. “Remember when you were pregnant and you invited yourself to some dinner I had to go to? We almost didn’t go because you wanted to drive to Paris.”

“And then I said I was kidding and went to Paris with Schü in the middle of the night.” Christina finished the memory for him with a look of resignation about her.

“Twice you go off to Paris for a quick last minute trip with him.”

“Twice I told him I wanted to go wander around Paris and eat in quintessentially French cafes, and twice he didn’t hesitate.”

“Neither did I.”

“I know. And it was really fucked up of me the first time. But why are you mad about it this time?”

“I’m not mad. I’m jeeealouuuuus.” Juan drawled out his answer as if he were talking to someone with trouble understanding, and he smiled. That was a good enough signal to make his friend feel significantly less under pressure in the moment. She hated when she did the wrong thing, and that overnight drive to Paris back in the day was definitely the wrong thing.

“You got upset with me last week for being jealous that you talked to some girl in a nightclub,” she shot back pointedly, but just to be funny. She also flopped backward on the mattress and drew her knees up, then let them fall over to her right, toward him.

“Different thing.”

“Oh is it?”

“Yes. I think, in my official capacity here as your psychological coach, that it would be best for you, with the competition in mind, to start getting ready for bed. No drinks on the pier.”

“And in your capacity here as not my psychological coach, is that opinion based on your need for snuggles in front of the TV, or sexy fun time? Or are you just worried you’re gonna get jealous when I laugh too hard at D’s jokes?”

“To be honest I just thought you were hoping I would say no in the first place, and that you sat down and got comfortable because you don’t really want to go down there,” Juan chuckled. “I don’t care whichever we do. Usually when you want to do something you just tell me we’re doing it. I assumed you were looking for me to say no and give you an excuse.”

“Oh I am done feeling obligated to do anything with my teammates,” Christina snorted dismissively. “I don’t need any excuses. I won them a fucking gold medal.” She did her best “honey, please” tone.

“Well let’s go then,” her scruffy-faced roommate replied, poking at her tummy where her shirt had ridden up as she stretched her legs down straight.

“I’ve kind of lost the motivation to get up though.”

“And is that based on your need for cuddles in front of the television, or sexy fun time?” the Spaniard questioned knowingly. She rolled onto her stomach, and he jiggled one side of her butt as much as was possible in her tight jeans.

“Both, I think. I need to do nothing until the food blockade breaks up, and then I need Juanin love.” Her hips lifted up off the bedspread so that she could shake her butt herself. I need Juanin to fuck me in this position exactly. Well, I would probably sit up on my elbows. Because he does amazing things to me in this position, and because I love how good it feels to stretch my lower back. Nicky needs his chiropractor every other week and I need mine. Mine’s more handsome, she thought, trying to keep the smile out of her eyes while giving him her innocent and nonchalant look. He rolled his eyes at her, pinched her behind, and got up to start changing into more comfortable clothes.

She texted Daniel to cancel her appearance, and confirmed her morning schedule with Tom, whose accommodations were right at Al Shaqab. The royal equestrian facility was designed for hosting international competitions of all sorts, and had a place for everyone involved- equine and human. Organizers of other shows, be they regional show jumping events, breed shows, or the very popular Arabian competitions, put exhibitors and riders up in the same dormitory-like rooms on site that Tom and his colleagues were in. The Global Champions Tour was too fancy for that. The Tour always put riders up in a 4 or 5 star hotel, no matter the city. Getting riders to go to places like Doha and Shanghai was hard enough without then putting them in dorms. The schedule they went over was quite light. Wednesday involved a mid-morning horse inspection followed by a draw for the starting order for the first big event, open schooling in the arena from 4-6, and then a formal warm-up class immediately after that ran like a regular class but counted for naught. Both of Christina’s horses were to be presented for the jog after 11, so there would be plenty of time to sleep in, work out, and have a nice breakfast before heading over. Then there was time to leave the show and go shopping or wandering, or come back to the hotel to relax by the pool. All of that was explained to Juan, with extra emphasis on the free time. He didn’t react in any remarkable way. She didn’t want to see his reaction to her goodnight call to André, so she made it outside on the balcony.

“Are you exhausted from playing?” she asked him, since Borussia Dortmund played a closed-doors friendly at Brackel against Bochum to try to shed the funk of losing and give some of the players returning from injury a chance to get minutes without pressure. André participated for 90 minutes and scored two goals in the 4-2 win.

“Yes. I’m about to go to bed. I’ve got one of your cashmere blankets, and the lights are already off,” he told her. “I want to hear about your night, Prinzessin, but I need to sleep.”

“Aww don’t worry. There’s nothing to hear about. Get some rest. You deserve it. I bet you’ll sleep good. Call me in the morning.”

“Love you.”

“Gooodnight, babe.” Well no reason to have shielded Juanin from THAT, the sympathetic wife and girlfriend commented to herself. This is kind of a weird time for me between the two of them. I had that talk with Schü two nights ago, and lately it’s so easy to remember why I want to be with him. But nothing is changing with Juan. I still want to be with him too. He’s so...We’re so...It’s like a real relationship now. We don’t even pretend to be friends anymore. It’s weird to be in this situation. It’s okay, right now. I don’t know how long that lasts though, she thought, staring out into the Arabian Gulf and zoning out of everything else happening around her- behind, in the room, and down on the ground level, where people hung out by the pool and on the pier. When does it start to feel like there isn’t enough to go round? When does it feel like one takes away from the other? Like I told Schü, it was easy before to be okay with our problems because I had Juan. I put more of me into being with him than Schü in those situations. It’s not- The sound of the sliding door opening startled her out of introspection. A head stuck out.

“What are you doing?” it questioned with furrowed brows.

“Nothing.”

“Do you want anything from room service? I feel like a nice tea.”

“No thank you.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Schü was going to sleep so it was a quick call. I’m coming in,” Christina hastily explained. She turned the rest of the way around from the railing, and Juan pushed the door open more so a whole human could fit through rather than just a head. “Did you unpack anything earlier? I didn’t even notice when I was hurrying to change. I can give up some hangers if you need.”

“I already hung up my shirts. Is the white dress in there for the party on Saturday?” He walked by the human unzipping her pants and headed for the phone, but there was more than a conversational lilt to his tone, and that caught her ear. It made her smile to herself. She loved knowing his tells, and knowing his turn-ons. He was entirely the reason there was a white dress in the closet.

“The black Balmain mesh-sleeve mini dress fresh from Paris is for the party. The white one-shoulder, collar-neck mini dress is for your Kygo thing.” Because you looooove me in white dresses and because you’re gonna dance with me and hopefully you’ll be a little drunk. And maybe I won’t wear underwear. Hmm. The rider stared at the imaginary light bulb in the middle distance for a moment before pushing her jeans down. Everything is backwards. I did the explore-a-city-with-no-plan thing with Schü, and then had excessively romantic sex with him, and he’s been totally chill about Juan lately. Juan did the smooth-guy-dinner-reservation thing, he’s the one that’s jealous, and I just had a mini-fantasy about being naughty with him in a nightclub in the most prude country I’ve ever been in. Usually everything is the opposite. I’ve been having all the romantic sex with him, and dreaming about it, even. I told Juan about my butt thing. Everything is opposite.

“Do you want to have dinner with him tomorrow or no?” The Spaniard had his hand on the receiver already but was looking at the spacey rider.

“Yeah, if you want. I don’t care. I should be done with the horses by 8. I can have a snack or something between the schooling and the warm up so I can make it to late dinner.”

“But do you have another dress?” he teased while pushing buttons. Someone in the kitchen answered before Christina had a chance to. He ordered his tea and she changed into a t-shirt and more comfortable underwear.

[chriswellz]

Dear White People

Dear White People including the actions it applies to: #OneOfThosePostsAgain #FastenYourSeatbelts #TheNWord

Okay! Hello White people! 👋 Chris here. I just want to take the time out my day to tell you that if you're not racist AND you identify as not being racist (see what I did there?) and you love Black people, love Black culture, acknowledge our existence physically, individually, characteristically and aren't a part of the "color blind" BS that's become the popular trend to deny an aspect to someone's existence while covertly and involuntarily contributing to the opposing factor of that movement, you love the music, our style, the way we live, our lingo, etc etc, It is totally alright for you to appreciate that and embrace it. I look at that as a sign of respect. Hell, I'm a big Stone Cold Steve Austin fan and love a good beer so. #Cheers. But I can't speak for all Black people so I want you to keep in mind a few things that you may or may not be aware of (your choice to care or not. But not caring reaps repercussions, unfortunately)

There are a lot of things that White people do that offends certain Black people. And by certain, I mean a huge amount. Whether you care about that depends on where you stand in this whole situation (which is also ironic). A lot of things don't offend me, but that doesn't change the fact that it offends the majority. You may have a lot of Black friends and they gave you "passes" for saying or doing certain things like... I don't know, the N word? And even though it doesn't bother me, my first initial thought the moment it is said, I cringe on the inside. Yes, I know. From your point of view, that sounds like a double standard doesn't it? Well in a lot of ways, you would be right about that. But in a lot of other ways, you would be wrong. See, my first thought pertaining to this is "Well, why would you want to say it anyway? Do you feel a sense of belonging saying it because you lived right down here with us? Maybe you don't and you're from a predominantly white community and you listen to Young Thug twice on Sundays. Maybe you live the same life style as us, listen to the same music, go to the same events? Have the same principles? Maybe your boyfriend/girlfriend is Black and you have mixed children? You voted for Obama or something? Maybe you somehow feel that your struggles resonate the exact same as Black people and feel that you and them are both viewed the exact same and virtually treated the same?"

While all that is cool and dandy (many unrealistic statements in your conclusions, but), that's kind of messed up when you think about it because for 1) What does any of that have to do with Black people? and for 2) It sounds like you're saying that being entitled to use the N word and what it means to be Black means to struggle? That's pretty belittling don't-cha-think? Borderline racist if we're being literal. Anyways, just know, we all have a right to say or do whatever we want, but there are still consequences for those actions. You've been around a lot of Black folks that gave you passes for that word. But I can't speak for the collective, no different than you speaking for White people. You can't, I can't. I can only inform you the consequences based on the data. People get their ass whooped or end up dead because of that word. Black folks who are against it are becoming more tolerant with each generation, but are still thinking "Really dude? You just had to drop the N bomb?" and most of us brush it off and just say "Smh....*raises hands* White people, y'know?" and not meaning that in a racist way, but in a cultural way based on these behaviors that describe a CERTAIN TYPE of white person. And there are many groups of black folks that will tell you "You're straight with me. you can say it. I mean, you my *N word*! Say it with me!"

Giving a non-black a pass for saying the N word will not change the fact that you are endangering your life by thinking it's okay because your peers said it was. That's why I encourage all non-black people to just not say it, for their safety and respect for others. Saying it around the wrong black person could be fatal. Like seriously. I have stories for days pertaining to that topic. And that's not even for instilling fear purposes, but just avoiding unnecessary bullshit. And I encourage all the white people reading this to do the same. Because regardless of how many times you have avoided death and how much you don't give a fuck because you've been in good health all this time, it eventually happens or at the very least, get your ass whooped beyond recognition. Every white person that has ever said it in an endearing way still in the same breath disregards the feelings and hardships of black people who do not like when a white person says it. That's just how serious it is. I admit, times are changing and eventually, nobody will give a fuck. But at this time, it is nobody's right or privilege to say that shit without facing repercussions when faced with the "wrong one". Every white guy I ever met in the past that has said the N word eventually got their asses handed back to them. Some of them dead. And I know white folks are used to feeling privileged because of the way society is set up for them (that's another topic), but this is just one of those things not to fuck with. The black folks encouraging you to say it are willfully turning a blind eye to the fact that you could end up dead for saying it around the wrong one. It don't even matter if you have a black girlfriend with mixed children and voted for Obama and lived in the trap and listen to only hip-hop and support black businesses. It just doesn't matter around the wrong one. So if you're gonna say it, be careful...for the rest of your life.

People get away with the shit most of the time nowadays because of the new era we live in. Technology/Social Media. People will fly out the N word all day online, someone will get mad, but they're not gonna travel across country just to end yo shit. But out there in the real world? Totally different thing. I get heat and I'm lightskin so lol. Shit.

Just a few months ago, I was at a pub where me and 2 other guys were the ONLY black people there and this White guy said the N word like 10 times over the course of 5 mins. All the friends with him were all White. They had to kick him out.

I'm sure there are a lot of things that offends you, maybe a rape joke or people boxing in you and all White people into one category that doesn't apply to you. And I'm sure you expect people to respect your feelings despite how they feel about it, all I'm saying is that maybe it would be a good idea to give back the same in return. Or at least be safe since you are that adamant about using this word in casual conversation.

This whole time you were probably thinking "Well, they say it, why can't I? sounds like a double standard to me" and I see this statement a lot. But apparently, the message just isn't getting through or the people hearing the answer just don't care. So I'll say it here in the most logical way possible on why this happens. Human beings are slaves to language and how culture overtime shapes that language. Semantic change, hyperbole, etymology. From the perspective of a Black person, they turned the word into a word of endearment. And despite that change, when a White person says it, that change in the Black person's perspective has not changed. All they see is their ancestors getting lynched and offensive uncontrollable provoking thoughts whenever a White person says it. And that is for the Black folks it applies to. There are plenty who don't feel this way, but a lot of them feel this way.

Now while all that is said, me pointing out how violent people can be when faced with something that triggers this amount of rage in them does not mean that I condone it. Nor is it suggesting that I don't address the issues that are in Black communities. We are JUST talking about this subject. Comparing other issues does not advance anyone's argument when one subject is still being addressed. When you're faced with a math equation, you don't blurt out in class "BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS ENGLISH TEST!? WHAT ABOUT THAT!?" as a means to overlook the math test. They both still need to be addressed. We're just on the math test RIGHT NOW, got it? Good.

Just be aware, we are not living in a time where that is universally accepted. So if you feel you are entitled to say the word, as ironic as that may be, you're not... Not in this lifetime. And that is something I cannot control, I'm just delivering friendly advice for the White boys/men that wanna talk all hood with Black folks and the White girls/women that think it's all cute and shit to talk like that on their snapchat. And by hood/cute, I am using that as a figure of speech pertaining to the N word, not literally or a means to belittle White people.

#PeaceNLove