#but the track record is not advocating well for him

[icarusredwings]

Can't stop thinking about the scene where Wade takes Weasel to the strip club, and he's like, "How do you know she's here?"

Wade just says, "Cause i'm CONSTANTLY stalking that FOX," like damn, bro was NOT letting that kittycat get away from him that easily.

This leads me to also believe that he's so good at his job that he scopes out spots BEFORE the date of the mission.

That he would be a GREAT spy in the sense that not only can he hide his true emotions extremlt well so he wouldn't be amazing at devils advocate but this fucker is light on his feet. He's 6 foot 2 and still blends into the background when needed, and in the spotlight when he wants to be.

We all know that he couldn't sneak up on Logan since Logan has a wicked sense of smell, but I feel like if Wade ever had to give up Merc work (A COUGH COUGH COUGH like loosing his powers for what ever reason totally not foreshadowing COUGH COUGH COUGH damn I really gotta stop sucking dick so much-) he would be EXCELLENT at Narc work.

The only thing is he SUUUCCCKKKSS (literally and physically) at working for authority figures, so he would probably take up personal private detective cases. Snap pictures of people cheating, get a guy to confess to a crime on recording for a lawsuit, Track down missing persons probably.

But he would be bored. He would be incredibly bored. And a bored Wade is not a happy one. Infact a bored Wade is a DANGEROUS one. He NEEDS a job. A physical job. One that has strict end and strict beginings in which he can do quickly to get that rush of dopamine.

Stake outs that take 2 weeks is not a thrill.

Going to Japan and taking out the entire Yukuza IS infact a thrill. Job? Kill all of them. Done. Compelte.

He would need one that doesn't require blurred lines of completion. He thought that cars salesmen would be easy. You sell a car. You get paid. You go home. Boom. But no. Its more bullshit about being good at talking to civillians. Something he's not good at.

So- my question is.

What is a good job for Wade if he was forced out of merc work? Perhaps one he could do with Logan?

[reading-stains]

I just thought about how Dick was the youngest to be taken under Bruce’s wing. Always the youngest, the most shapable of all the kids because he was the youngest. He was a blanker slate compared to the others in the personal identity sense. He was and always will be Dick Grayson. But it’s different to know who you are before the Bat. You haven’t even started pre-algebra. And it’s not easy, later, to know you’re the one that dealt with all the first trials and all the first mistakes and be the youngest to face them.

And he’s had trouble watching Bruce with the others. Jason died. Tim is driven into obsession time and time again. Stephanie is hurt and they all thought she died too.

So he’s hurting. He’s watching Bruce, a man that he knows is at least trying, but having extreme difficulties keeping the kids he takes under his wing alive, let alone stay okay. He’s watching him fail and fail and Dick feels like getting in the way is losing and staying out of it is too.

And when Damian arrives, he’s eight years old.

Eight. Dick had been eight. Lost and confused and his parents died in front of him.

Damian isn’t like him. He comes from blood. He’s killed before he’s binged a kids show. He’s angry in a way Dick isn’t, but he’s still angry and Dick recognizes that in his bones.

And he’s not doing this again. He’s not letting these problems settle again. He’s not leaving Bruce to make the mistakes he made with him and with all the others. He can’t be the best case to come out of Bruce’s parenting. He can’t.

Eight years old, a kid just like he was. A different flavor of traumatized and emotionally unstable, but a kid.

I just thought is it just love? Later, of course it is. Dick loves Damian and I haven’t read anything stating otherwise.

But at the start. Is it redemption for the other times he didn’t step forward, despite the fact he had every right not to while he was hurting? And again, is it self-love? To stop what had been unfair to him, cruel with him, hard for him?

I just wonder. Dick Grayson, when you look at the child, is part of you seeing you trying to save yourself?

[howldean]

welcome to single-issue voting you’ve come to understand what single-issue voting is

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

Is there a both option? I mean the question is how far would Cartman go and risk alienating Kenny and I think the answer is quite a lot and the track record really shows that he can get away with basically anything and not get disavowed from the friend group 🤔 so there isn’t really a disincentive to not try to break them up, especially if he thinks they will eventually get over it and return to status quo.

Though on the other hand I do think it could go the route where depending on what lengths he goes to…while it might not permanently sour any relationship Cartman has with the two boy separately, but I couldn’t say the same with complete confidence for the Kenny and Butters connection. I think if any dysfunction starts interfering with Cartman’s schemes, he might get fed up and try to fix it somewhat 🤔 Although somewhat as a side note though he already spews vitriolic hate speech and slurs, I would have a hard time believing he wouldn’t find some way to take advantage of the Bunny relationship and be more embolden to start saying even darker more heinous stuff because he believes he would receive less push back as *insert sound bite “How can I be homophobic my b*tch is gay🎶” *

(In reference to this poll)

True, Cartman would definitely take advantage of his friends being in a gay relationship to get out of any accusations of homophobia just to spew even more homophobic crap, but while Kenny is arguably closest to him out of the main 4, I kinda feel like he doesn't need KENNY to be the friend he takes advantage of bc of this. He would just as much say this about Stan and Kyle (even if they aren't even together lmao) and he is pretty much canonically 1000% on board with THEM being in a gay relationship (see "Cupid Me" and "Guitar Queero").

Some people reblogged the poll with some interesting takes, and I gotta say what convinced me the most is the fact that Cartman just kinda has it out for Butters at all times lmao. I'm convinced he would think that Kenny can do better, and especially if Kenny started calling Cartman out on how he treats Butters, he'd think Butters is "corrupting" Kenny and trying to ruin his and Kenny's BFF-ship.

The way he reacted in concern about Kenny's girlfriend being a slut who would just "throw his heart in his face" in the episode "The Ring" has me convinced, that Cartman somewhat weirdly cares about Kenny's relationships, and not just in a self-serving way. This isn't in an attempt to alienate Kenny, but rather alienate the potential partner, and we've seen a LOT of instances in which Cartman does not have any qualms about painting Butters as the bad guy and/or someone to be made fun of.

As much as I'd love to advocate for some kind of compassion Cartman could express for Butters, their friendship is just not built on that. Butters and Cartman get along well enough, but only as long as Butters goes along with everything Cartman says. Once he goes against it, Cartman either goes LIVID or completely dismisses/invalidates his concerns. Some good episode where you can conclude this, are "Let Them Eat Goo", "The Death of Eric Cartman", "DikinBaus Hotdogs", "Poor and Stupid", "The Magic Bush", "Tegridy Farms", "Super Fun Time" and about a hundred more, but when I think of Butters & Cartman's friendship these are the ones that first come to mind.

The only instances where he kind of seems to care about Butters' distress in small ways are in "The Magic Bush" and briefly in "Super Fun Time", but it's not significant enough to qualify for the genuine respect I see him show Kenny (or even Stan). I can write a whole essay about the nuance of Cartman and Butters' friendship, but that's for some other time. In short: Cartman really likes having Butters do whatever he says, and Butters doesn't even need to do anything particularly defiant for Cartman to start putting him down (ex. the ending of the "The Death of Eric Cartman" episode.) If Kenny, who is Cartman's weird soft spot, started going against Cartman in favor of Butters, whose established dynamic with Cartman completely benefits him, I can imagine that this would rub Cartman the wrong way.

I could be convinced though, that once Cartman realizes how sad it made Kenny, if (thanks to one of Cartman's schemes) his and Butters' relationship were to not work out, Cartman would begrudgingly take some kind of pity on Kenny (and maybe even Butters) and recognize that being together is what makes them both happy. He then would do another scheme that gets them back together, and "Smug Alert"-esque not want them to know that it's thanks to him hahahh

So yeah, it could be kind of "both", but, in my humble opinion, only AFTER Cartman damages their relationship almost beyond repair in an attempt to keep them apart. Which is why I, personally, would still go for the "manipulative-anti-matchmaker" option. But I purposely didn't add a "both" option bc most people would go for that without thinking it over too much lmao

Thank you so much for the ask anon, sorry for taking so long to respond but you truly made me think about this a lot ahaha this kinda turned into an analysis of the trio more than an answer to your ask, I hope you don't mind. You made my braincells fire off

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Home - Part One

Word Count: 900

Themes: fluff, pining

Summary: Eight years have passed since Y/N Y/L/N has graduated from Hogwarts and she is now a notorious poacher hunter, along with her best friend Poppy Sweeting. After a particularly nasty injury on the job Y/N receives an owl from Professor Weasley with an offer to be the new Professor of the Beasts class. What could go wrong with Sebastian Sallow as the Potions Professor?

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL. All characters are aged up and around 24/25 years old

1st August, 1900

Dear Miss Y/L/N,

I hope this letter finds you well. In case you hadn’t heard, Professor Bai Howin has chosen to retire from teaching this year, leaving the position of Professor for our Beasts class open. Professor Howin has submitted a glowing recommendation for why you should be the one to take over her position. We could not think of a better person to take over this class, considering your exploits to handle the country’s poachers. Please reply at your earliest convenience to let us know if you are interested in the position.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Matilda Weasley, Deputy Headmistress 

7th August, 1900

Dear Professor Weasley, 

While I’m saddened to hear Professor Howin will be retiring, it brings me great joy to know she advocated for me to be her replacement. I humbly accept your offer to be the new Professor of Beasts.

I look forward to seeing you soon,

Y/N Y/L/N

9th August, 1900

Dear Miss Y/L/N,

We are delighted to hear your acceptance to join the faculty at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as our Beasts Professor. As I am sure you are aware, the term starts on September 1st, but feel free to arrive earlier. We look forward to seeing you again.

Yours sincerely, 

Matilda Weasley (Deputy Headmistress)

Poppy was watching her expectantly from across the kitchen table, practically sitting on the edge of her seat as she waited for Y/N to finish reading the latest letter.

“Well?”

“I got the job,” Y/N laughed as Poppy jumped up to hug her. “I don’t know why you’re acting like it’s a surprise, they practically handed it to me.”

“We celebrate every accomplishment in this house,” Poppy reminded her as she pulled away. “Oh, we should tell Imelda! She’s going to be so happy for you.”

“Happy I’m not risking my life and limbs anymore, you mean,” Y/N stretched her right leg out carefully. A well-aimed diffindo had been shot at her a couple of weeks back by a particularly angry poacher, and even though the wounds had healed (thanks to a lot of essence of Dittany) she had been left with a nasty scar and a slight throb in her thigh if she did too much.

“Yes well, I’d love to say at least you’ll be safer at Hogwarts but…”

“Considering my track record it’s probably not true?” Y/N finished the sentence with a teasing smile. “Don’t worry Poppy, I promise not to get into too much trouble.”

“I take it you don’t know who the Potions Professor has been for the past few years then.”

“Sharp retired?”

“He took a sabbatical to do some consultation work with the Aurors and decided he preferred dark wizards over teenagers.”

“Who took over from him?”

“Sebastian.”

“Sebastian?” Y/N’s hand stilled as she reached for her coffee mug. “As in Sebastian Sallow?”

“Do you know any other Sebastians?” Poppy gave her a coy smile as she took a sip of her tea. 

“I’m surprised Sharp let him take over.”

“It was a rather begrudging handover, but apparently he’s doing quite well and is a favourite amongst the students. Although that could just be because half of the girls have a crush on him.”

“Ah yes,” Y/N rolled her eyes playfully. “The infamous Sallow charm.”

“Remember it all too well, do you?”

“Don’t start, Poppy.” Y/N sighed but there was a small smile playing on the corners of her mouth as she thought about her former housemate and close friend. The first few years after they all graduated Hogwarts Y/N had kept in touch regularly with the friends she had made, but as it often does life got in the way and the contact became less and less frequent. It was hard to keep in touch with someone when she was off-grid for weeks at a time when scouting out poacher camps, and if she didn’t live and work with Poppy she doubted the brunette would be next to her either.

They still got together for the larger life events - they had all attended Ominis and Anne’s wedding a few years ago, and went out to celebrate when Imelda snagged a spot on the Holyhead Harpies - but it had been a while since she had seen them all. She missed Anne’s baby shower the year before; although if she had it her way she would have much rather been there as opposed to in a hospital cot in Saint Mungo’s with a decent chunk of her left arm missing (another scar ran across her forearm diagonally, but the Healers had done an excellent job to regrow the limb, and she was left with no pain in the arm whatsoever). 

Y/N couldn’t help but smile as her thoughts drifted to Sebastian and the mischief they used to get up to when they were at school. Sneaking into the Restricted Section had become one of their favourite pastimes after the events of their fifth year, if only to say that they still could. She supposed they would have to behave themselves now that they were both Professors. 

“I know that smile. Tell me again how you’re not going to get into any trouble this year?” Poppy laughed at the look on her face.

“Oh, shut up.”

[tittyinfinity]

I still can't believe that this election year of all years isn't the deal breaker for a lot of people when it comes to the two-party system.

Not willing at all to organize for another candidate or even protest the fact that many states aren't allowing you to vote for anyone but Biden for the democratic candidate.

You won't even demand that the Democrats put forward a different candidate to vote for? Even though you know that the guy running is a lifelong conservative who only recently put on the liberal sheep's clothing?

Just put your head down and vote for him No Matter What under threat of violence from the other party? No matter who the candidate is? No matter how bad they get, until they come for you? "You'll always have my vote as long as you keep ME safe from the Actually Evil party. Damage control!"

As if telling a political party that they can be as horrible as they want & STILL have your vote is any kind of "damage control." Maybe it's short-term damage control for you. But why would dems be incentivized to give you rights and work for your vote if you tell them that you'll vote for them no matter what policies they have? How will that look years down the line?

Why would they even try to stop republicans if all they have to say is "vote for us because the other party is worse?" Whenever every time something bad happens under a democratic presidency, you say it's not really their fault? How in the hell does that "push the democratic party to the left?" Because I see a lot of "vote for them first, THEN push them to the left!" Well then how the fuck do you expect to do that? Just ask them pretty pretty please? Are you "pushing Biden to the left" right now? How does telling people not to criticize Biden "because it increases the chances of the other guy winning" push him to the left?

Biden is issuing executive orders to send weapons over to Israel but won't do that for Roe v. Wade or trans rights. He's threatening to take away some of our first amendment rights and cut us off from outside information. And if that isn't enough, you know what happened because of the weapons he sent to israel? And how it affects you personally? Look at what happened to Fall and Winter. So much progress towards combating climate change. Lost. The US military is the largest polluter in the world & the military industrial complex will eventually kill us all if we don't stop it.

NOT TO MENTION his fucking track record? If a lifetime of advocating for racist policies that have killed and continue to kill tens of thousands of people doesn't make him as bad as Trump, what does? Trump's shitty 4-year presidency somehow cancels the decades of lives lost to Biden? WHAT? The fuck do you MEAN one of them is the "lesser of two evils"?!?!?!?

It ultimately comes down to "I prefer the violence to be where I can't see it." You're not afraid for the people that the Democrats are currently killing and have been killing while lying to your face about it, you're not afraid for the people who have been watching their family members be blown to bits for months – but you're so terrified of a republican president that you'll put up with tens of thousands of people dying in another country in order to have better domestic policies. Instead of ever fighting for anything different.

"Well then what's your plan?" Are you not embarrassed to admit that you've been actively ignoring every person who's laid out clear options for you? You can't think of anything else yourself other than "vote blue no matter who?" Newsflash, literally anything is better than enabling TWO FASCISTS to run for office.

We stop BOTH of them. Not just one of them. Step the FUCK up.

[racefortheironthrone]

Why is that every Mayor of NYC, regardless of party, becomes some variety of a--hole? Are there examples of non-a--hole NYC mayors?

This seems a bit facile to me, and overlooks the nuances of a lot of NYC history. So let's look through the last fifty years of mayors and see whether it's actually true that they all become an asshole.

John Lindsay (1966-1973):

Like a lot of mayors in this period, Lindsay's main problem was NYC's long-term economic and demographic decline and the knock-on effects on the city's finances and resulting conflicts over public spending. To give him credit, while Lindsay did start the process of borrowing from Peter (the capital budget) to pay Paul (current expenses) and taking on debt to cover the hole in the capital budget, he also tried to deal with the problem by lobbying the state legislature to let him raise taxes and thus increase revenues.

That being said, the hate that Lindsay got as mayor, and he got a lot, didn't come from balanced-budget advocates. It came from white people in the outer boroughs who hated the fact that Lindsay tried to desegregate the city by pushing scatter-site public housing, that he backed a civilian complaint review board, and was otherwise viewed as being too sympathetic to black people, Latinos, and hippies.

Verdict: not an asshole. Fuck the haters.

Abe Beame (1974-1977):

The first (observant) Jewish mayor of NYC, Beame was a man tortured by the contradictions between his desire to maintain NYC's social democratic traditions and the awful economic situation he inherited. Beame became mayor during the 1973-1975 recession, which was at the time the worst since the Great Depression, and pretty much immediately had to deal with the NYC Fiscal Crisis, and was also mayor during the 1977 Blackout because clearly the Fates just fucking hated this guy.

If Lindsay was hated by white people for being too friendly with black people, Beame brought white people and black people together in their hatred of him for his public sector layoffs, his wage freezes, and his cuts to public spending. And while it's true that Beame absolutey adopted the logic of austerity and should be criticized for that, it should also be remembered that he was dealing with a well-organized and highly politicized capital strike that was backed up at the Federal level by the Ford Administration.

Verdict: kind of an asshole, but largely because he got mugged by Wall Street and the White House.

Ed Koch (1978-1989):

I think Ed Koch is the first person so far on this list that I'd call a genuine asshole (albeit a popular asshole for much of his career, hence his three terms). Starting with the fact that he got his start as a crusading left-wing politician in the Village and then abandoned his principles to run as a "law and order" candidate in the 1977 mayoral election, Koch had a long track record of running to the right whenever it benefited him personally, no matter who it hurt.

So what's on Koch's list? Well, we've got more budgetary austerity for working people while hiring thousands of more cops, starting the process of handing over the city to the developers, his opportunistic support for the death penalty, the massive corruption scandals in the Transportation and Parking departments, ettc.

However, I think the single biggest black mark on Koch's record is his abysmal handling of the AIDS crisis. Despite being a (closeted) member of the LGBT+ community, or perhaps because of it, Koch was both inactive and silent on the epidemic for years. Not only did the city spend almost no resources to deal with AIDS in the crucial early years, but a lot of ugly shit happened in NYC public hospitals that mayoral intervention could have put a stop to - but Koch did nothing.

There is a good reason why, if you talk to surviving ACT-UP members today about Ed Koch, they will spit at the mention of his name.

Verdict: asshole.

David Dinkins (1990-1993):

New York City's first black mayor, Dinkins reminds me a lot of John Lindsay, in the sense that his detractors were overwhelmingly motivated by racial animus refracted through the lens of policing. The fact that crime rates in NYC began to drop significantly during his tenure as mayor (well before Guiliani), or that he massively expanded the police force - none of that matters because he tried to make the Civilian Compliant Review Board legitimately civilian and independent of the NYPD.

That was enough to touch off a massive, and openly racist, police riot at City Hall, which Guiliani happily attended to stoke the flames of resentment against a black mayor who dared to tell the NYPD what to do.

Verdict: not an asshole. Fuck the haters.

Rudy Guiliani (1994-2001):

In the wake of the 2020 election, a lot of columnists wrote breast-pounding op-eds, asking themselves what went wrong that America's Mayor had seemingly lost his mind in service to the Trump campaign.

As someone who grew up in Guiliani's New York, let me state with confidence: he was always a fascist loon, he just used to be better at it. Having ridden a wave of racist law-and-order politics to victory, Guiliani took personal credit for the decline in crime rates that was taking place nationally - to the point where he actually fired Bill Bratton for being more popular than him - and established the "Broken Windows" policy that would give rise to "Stop and Frisk."

Guiliani's alliance with the NYPD was based on the understanding that he would vocally take the NYPD's side in any police shooting or brutality case no matter how blatantly unjustified and depraved it might have been, whether that was the shootings of Amadou Diallo or Patrick Dorismond or Gidone Busch, the torture of Abner Louima, the racial profiling of the plainsclothes Street Crime Unit, and on and on.

And then there's the fact that, having made the frankly insane decision to place the Office of Emergency Management headquarters at the World Trade Center (this after the 1993 bombing), Guiliani took a frankly unwarranted level of press adulation at a time of national trauma and used it to try to illegally install himself as the unelected mayor of New York City.

Verdict: fascist asshole.

Michael Bloomberg (2002-2013):

More genteel and a better administrator than his predecessor, Bloomberg nevertheless pursued a raft of policies that were largely harmful to NYC. His housing and economic development strategies were designed to market NYC as a "luxury good" to the world's economic elite - seriously, read up on the history of the Hudson Yards development - to the detriment of affordability, beginning the process of gentrification that has left much of this city unaffordable to the majority of residents.

The main thing that makes Michael Bloomberg an asshole is his record on policing, where he doubled down on the "stop and frisk" strategies of Rudy Guiliani, going to the absolute wall in defense of them even when the courts began to knock them down as blatantly racially discriminatory. Then add to that his creation of a massive surveillance state aimed at NYC's Muslim population.

He routinely used his wealth to bribe would-be critics into silence, and then strong-armed the City Council into letting him run for a third term.

And there's the fact that he still owes me $200.

Verdict: plutocrat asshole. Where's my money, Michael? Where's my fucking money?

Bill De Blasio (2014-2021):

I've gone on record as saying that Bill De Blasio's first term was actually remarkable for progressive policy accomplishments, from establishing universal pre-K to raising the city's minimum wage to capping rents to ending stop-and-frisk, and so on and so forth.

That being said, there were two forces in New York politics that he was never able to deal with: the first was the rampant hostility of the NYPD (I was never much impressed by De Blasio's failure to stand up to the NYPD; say whatever else you will about David Dinkins, but he didn't mince words when thousands of drunk cops screaming the N-word invaded City Hall), and the second was the constant and malicious obstruction of supposedly Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on every single conceivable political and policy issue.

However, at some point very soon after his re-election in 2017, he just lost interest in being mayor of New York City. He still turned up for work, but even his political allies could tell that he had mentally checked out. If you're going to seek the job, you gotta do the job.

Verdict: not an asshole for four years, then an asshole for four years.

Eric Adams (2021-now):

Terrible on every conceivable aspect of public policy, but especially policing (because he's an ex-cop who ran on law-and-order politics and then found that didn't stop people carrying out random shootings) and housing (because he's an absentee slumlord who keeps getting fined for rats in his buildings).

Believes in crystal magic.

Verdict: asshole, possibly crazy?

[loveofmyknife]

Live Blogging the Burrow’s end finale but it’s all in one post because I can’t be bothered to reblog the same post 10 times. So like… pre-recorded blogging I guess

Spoilers. Obviously.

- loving the finale outfits! Especially the caution tape accessories!

- hey girl hey! Poor Teedles is taking all of this very well and we love them for it. I too would rather face possible death than have to babysit my boss’s children

- someone really should go check on Simon

- love how Tula is advocating for a nonviolent solution and ends it with “and we should definitely track down and murder Phoebe”. It’s nonviolent except for one specific person (being?)

- Lucas is just doing his best as a congested little boy. Somebody get him some mint! (Bint)

- “oh, mommy has so much bloodlust!” is an excellent line

- again, Brennan is unhinged, and also maybe wearing pink lipstick, which I think adds to the vibe

- Thorn being concerned for Dr Steel is so indicative of his character. He just wants to protect his people, and even though they’ve only known this human for a few hours, she is one of his people

- I DID NOT KNOW HE COULD DO THAT

- love a good title drop, but this plan seems very hastily put together. I am concerned

- persuasion- “-OR ELSE!” … ok intimidation

- gasoline lasts for however long is narratively relevant

- how many stoats does it take to drive a truck? Apparently at least 5

- I mean as far at Nat 1s go operating a gear shift as a rodent makes sense

- viola is holding this group together by sheer force of will

-oh fuck human magic!

- new map! New map!

- Oh fuck “human” NECROMANCY!

-kinda sad that Carlos isn’t playing Wennabocker on the board in some way but it obviously makes sense from a practical standpoint

- the minis!!! So cool!

-“grandma casts sounding” oh no…

- box of doom strikes again

- 40 points of damage is insane

- Lucas no! I love his little hat but no!

- hate when the BBEG rolls a Nat 20

- 69 hp…nice

- not Lucas!!

- oh Tula is never going to forgive herself for this and I have Thoughts about it

- Phoebe really is just a situation at this point

- That is exactly what a 12 year old would say when beating up an eldritch horror

- yeah I’d say hitting the ground really hard is a reckless attack, Ava

-109 damage! Jesus fucking Christ

- oh it’s some eugenics shit, okay

- Dr Steel coming to the rescue!

- I love using a bunch of skills and mechanics to get the desired outcome. Casting a spell, moving out of range of counterspell, and disengaging an opportunity attack all at the same time just to be able to fireball this meat suit

- I also would not recommend hitting a nuclear reactor with fire

- “no that’s okay” was such a power move

- “I DEBONE THAT MOTHERFUCKER” yes you do, and somehow that invents cooking! I love it

- Nat 20! “THATS! MY! WIFE!!!” Viola has taken out 4 giants in a single round. She is a badass. She is a warrior. She is my hero.

- oh yeah, Dr Steel was just standing there for all that

- We may be experiencing a tragedy but at least they’ve also invented ice cream

- LUCAS NO!

- ok yeah i might be sobbing a little, what of it?

- I like that Ava can have a little magic as a treat

- I personally welcome our new stoat overlords

- babies!

-Get it, Tula! But seriously I like that she really got to process life without being just a widow and a mother before moving on

-baby’s first word: viscera. This is cannon

-Ava’s doing great, and her life is in her own hands. She’s completely overhauling the local law enforcement and creating triple A

- Dr Lila! She’s a nuclear physicist now!

- Did not expect Jaysohn to go for an Airbud plot line but I’m not mad at it

Closing thoughts: I loved it! I think the ending was pretty abrupt but taking out the BBEG in like 2 rounds will do that so I can’t fault them for it. I would have loved for at least one of the party to take over Education, and I think Tula was kind of set up for it but I’m glad she gets to just enjoy life now instead. I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s Adventuring Party and I’m super excited about next season!

[classtrialguru]

Okay here we go.Being a horse jockey must be an exciting profession and I am here to explain the in's and out's of Ace's talent.

Origins

While modern horse racing was introduced in the 18 century, the earliest records of the sport came from the Greeks as they had chariot racing as one of the competitions of that age, so horse racing was inspired by this activity, then it spread to neighboring regions like the Middle East, Africa, Persia, and more . Races in the medieval times were conducted to determine one's speed on horseback. The King's Plate races were introduced by Charles the second which were the first ever races that gave out awarded prizes and when the rules of the sport were first made known.France then established the Prix du Jockey Club in 1836. Betting on the winner has also been around since Louis the 14th.

The Process of a Horse Jockey

Well to become a horse jockey you got to learn how to ride a horse which probably means that Ace learned how to ride a horse prior to becoming a professional horse jockey. The legal age of becoming a horse jockey is around sixteen in America and England. Then you go to an academy like the Bluegrass Community Technical Colleges Equine program which is located in Lexington, Kentucky or the Professional Racetrack Exercise Rider/Jockey Program in Olds College in Canada, and The British Racing School in Great Britain. They also have to have a high school diploma or GED.They are also required to pickup a job in that profession like a stable hand or groomer which means Ace probably knows how to clean a horse in the proper way your suppose to clean a horse. Then you would need to get an apprenticeship license which in the US you would need to pass all their exams and be placed in a racetrack for sixty days by a committee to get hands on training. Another thing that a jockey would need would be a professional and personal reference which personally makes me think. Who was Ace's personal reference like sure he is very talented with riding horses, but with his overall personality assuming that his bark with no bite type of behavior was a thing before he went professional and went like "yep he'll be fine". I mean yeah the reference might be he's parents, but anybody else that was close to him would probably know how he would react in such a dangerous sport, but back on topic. You would then need to compete against schooling race and get your journeyman jockey license. To get your journeyman jockey license you would need to have a two year degree from jockey school and the schools usually limit the amount of students to twelve per year.Next thing to do is hire an agent and join a jockey's guild. The guild's bargain for their members and will provide life insurance, disability benefits, and will advocate for safe working conditions.

On The Tracks

Now that we know the process of becoming a horse jockey, I think we should get into the general stuff they do. The average salary for a jockey is around $52,645 and the crazy things that they only get five percent of what they win. They do a lot of calisthenics like squats and burpees, they're also some weightlifting thrown into the mix. Jockey got a riding simulator to practice how to ride and balance on the horse properly. They usually eat foods with high in proteins and fibers, but they diet themselves and drink little to no water since the weight limit of a jockey is one hundred and twenty five pounds. The horses also have to be one hundred to six hundred. pounds. The colors the jockeys wear are actually for the owners or trainers that employ them and the tradition was influenced by racing events in Italian city communities. Now there are five types of racing that range from flat racing to Steeplechase racing. Flat racing is the kind of usually racing where the jockeys and their horses go around the track to the finish line. National hunt racing or better known as jump racing has the horses jumping over hurdles to the finish. Endurance racing is a fifty to one hundred mile that takes the horses and their riders through different kinds of terrain like forests and mountains. Quarter horse racing is a race that's a quarter of a mile to see which horse can go the fastest under such a short distance. Lastly we got steeplechase racing which is basically the same as national hunt racing, but with different obstacles like water and bushes. There's also a race for horses that haven't won a race. Horses can get over excited because they know they are about to race so the routine in a stable is designed to keep the horses calm.

Betting

Investigation Time

So betting on horses is a complicated system of statistics and the ability of the horse you're betting on. So the least complicated bet would be the straight wagers, which the person would bet on if their chosen horse will win wager it will need to get first place, for place it would need to get first or second place, and for show it would need to get into first to third place. The minimum you can bet on them is $2. Exotic wagers are more complicated and difficult to win since you would be betting on multiple horses. So Exacta is where you bet on which two horses will get in first and second place, Quinella is like Exacta but the places of the horses you bet on can be interchangeable, and for Doubles you can bet on two horses that are in two different races. A technique used by a group is known as show parlay, where the group will bet on the same horse and double the amount they bet on. This is the repeated till they lose their bets.

So now we're at the final stretch. Now it seems that Ace can't do a lot to help solve a murder but he is very strong and stubborn which helps when bodyguarding the crime scene or helping with arguments as an extra insight. He also definitely has a lot of knowledge on workout equipment because of the requirements of his talent, which I will admit is very specific in the case that there's a gym in this chapter and if it was anything else then he would just be a bodyguard. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask at any time.

[thekatebridgerton]

Some say Sophie's hair is dark blonde. I honestly don't like the idea of Lily James fancast because most people chose her cuz she plays Cinderella. Then again, the idea of inter-racial cast for Sophie just doesn't fit me. Please understand that I'm not being racist, I just feel like Benedict's story with Luke Thompson portraying him needs something more like what we see on "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma" (different tropes, obviously).

So the question is, who's your fancast for Sophie Beckett?

YES someone who gets it about how boring the Lily James fancast is!! I’m so tired of people fan casting her as Sophie just because she’s seems to have been the best Cinderella in the last decade (and that’s a seriously low bar) but it’s time to let it go.

Although sorry about dissing Pride and Prejudice for a sec, because I’m seriously bored of P&P too. I mean Keira’s Pride and Prejudice came out in 2005. But for some reason, until Bridgerton came along, that seemed to be the only period drama worth talking about in Tumblr and it’s gotten old. Personally I love Lizzie, but there’s only so many repeats of that movie I can play for 18 years before I start watching Sense and Sensibility. Or the Jennifer Elhe version of P&P.

As a rule, it is fun for me to fancast Jessie Mei Li as Sophie because I’ve yet to see an Asian Cinderella outside of k-drama, and as someone who advocates for fully racially diverse casting in productions like Bridgerton. I want the Asians to have a larger representation…. And also because I like to bet against the odds, and deep down I know that given Shondaland track record of having so few Asians characters in her shows, the likelihood of Sophie being Asian is unlikely. So if it happens, It’ll bring me the highest emotional reward.

That being said, Sophie’s full name is supposed to be Sophia Maria Beckett. We never find out who her mother was, but given her name and what little we know of her mother, who was supposed to be in the theatre business, I assume her mother was a born Spanish or Italian speaker, so Sophie’s mom canonically was either Spanish, Italian, or South American. Since Sophia and Maria were common names for women in those regions at the time.

So if I’m fancasting book Sophie, I would fancast her as a blond haired South American actress. A friend of mine suggested Ana de Armas and now I can’t stop thinking about it. In fact I think I’m going to change my fancast in Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss to Ana, because I would love to see her play Sophie, I saw her in Knives Out and Ghosted, and I think she’s got the mixture of cute and badass that would make her a perfect hardworking Sunshine Cinderella who punches Araminta. There’s a reason it’s not totally believable when she plays role of femme fatales, and it’s because she’s definitely got the type of cute innocent face that just doesn't lend itself well to sexy seductive action roles, even tough she's an excellent actress. In my opinion.

I think that Ana de Armas could in fact pull off the whole 'he didn't recognize her without a mask' scene and make it believable.

But in the end, if we were betting money, and if we were playing with the rules of probability, instead of against them. The most likely thing that’s going to happen, is that Sophie’s actress has already been casted and that she is black, or mixed raced black. And I’m saying this because it was foreshadowed in QC (or so my sources tell me) and also because Shonda is extremely predictable. In the sense that it seems to be what the majority of the viewers seem to want (when it's not Lily James)

So yeah that's the tea. Jessie Mei Li or Ana De Armas for Sophie.

[psalm22-6]

Source: San Bernardino Sun, 13 March 1987 by Donald Kaul

This review from 1987 is too funny and I love that he calls Valjean the student’s uncle but also, it’s too optimistic about American politics lol. 

Save your McGovern buttons, folks; liberalism shall rise again. And soon. You can feel it. It's not merely that the air is going out of Ronald Reagan's balloon, it's that the times they are achangin'. Many liberals these days don't even bother with a secret handshake when greeting each other. Others have taken to openly advocating such controversial liberal ideas as public education, clean water and help for the homeless. You think I'm rushing it, don't you? Well, perhaps, but you'll have to forgive me. I've just seen "Les Miserables." 

Perhaps you haven't heard about it yet? You will. "Les Miz," as we on the fast track call it, is the latest stage phenomenon to hit this country. It is a grandiose musical  — really more of an opera —  based on Victor Hugo's novel. Like the last such phenomenon, "Nicholas Nickleby," it comes from London, and like "NickNick" (fast track again), it is going to be a smash hit. It is a genuine, hand-tooled, gold-leafed, can't-miss, must-see show. 

Overlooked in the hoopla of a hit, however, is the fact that it, again like "Nickleby," is a liberal show. Its story is the triumph of bleeding heart liberalism over hard-hearted conservatism. And people are going crazy for it. 

"Rambo" is out; "Les Miz" and "Nick-Nick" are in. 

"Les Miz" is the story of a poor Frenchman during Napoleanic [sic] times who steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving child (which is, basically, the only reason liberals ever steal). He is caught and given 19 years in prison. Released from jail, Valjean is unable to get work because of his prison record, so he breaks parole and assumes a new identity. He is a great success in business and becomes mayor of a small town. 

Valjean is pursued through the years by a cop, Javert, who wears black clothes and smiles only when he steps on a butterfly. 

Javert keeps rediscovering Valjean and trying to arrest him, but the ex-con is too smart for him; he keeps slipping away. In the meantime, Valjean helps any widows and orphans he finds in his path. He is a sweetheart of a guy.

But does this cut any ice with Javert? Not a cube. He's determined that Valjean pay the price for breaking parole. He reminds one of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, actually. (If Valjean had been arrested for income tax evasion instead of stealing bread, they'd have probably let him off with a warning.) 

Finally, or almost finally, Javert is captured by idealistic rebels during a student uprising and is delivered into the hands of Valjean, who is being a sort of uncle to the students. Javert, naturally, expects to be shot. Instead, Valjean does the liberal thing; he lets him go. Javert later has a chance to return the favor and does, but he feels so unhappy at having violated the conservative code of honor by helping a liberal that he commits suicide.

Anvway, it all ends happily. Valiean dies, but he goes to heaven, where all good liberals go. Javert is conspicuous by his absence.

It is a great snow, the night I saw it at the Kennedy Center, Washington's liberals clapped so hard I thought their jewelry was going to fly off. 

The production is a return to the drama of the late 19th and early 20th century, before movies, when one of the things you went to the theater for was spectacle, crowd scenes, chariot races, waterfalls. The effects in "Les Miz" are magnificent. A pitched street battle with students and troops is reproduced on stage, then within moments we are in a Paris sewer with the escaping Valjean. The next minute we stay with Javert as he jumps from a bridge and plunges to his death.

As I said, it’s a great show and a harbinger of things to come. You still don't believe me? Listen: in his current film, Sylvester Stallone plays an arm-wrestler. Conservatism is being downsized. In his next film he'll probably play a social worker.

Remember, you read it here first. 

[putschki1969]

Hello Puts, how are you?

Thanks always for your hard work.

Here's my question: what do you think of Hikaru's current solo career?

Hello there!

I am okay, a little busy but nothing I can't handle.

Phew, that's a loaded question. I have quite a few thoughts about Hikaru's current situation but most of them are rather negative so I am a little hesitant to share them. But oh well, here goes nothing...

Fair warning though, this is probably gonna sound like a rant, there's just a lot of pent-up frustration within me🙈

Right off the bat I wanna start with something positive before we get to the nasty stuff. I am a big fan of Hikaru's collabs with members of C.C.C. So glad Takeshi Kato (= SPICE guy) brought her onboard. As far as I am concerned, her stage play appearances are some of the best work she has done in recent times. You can tell that she is having fun and everyone seems to have welcomed her with open arms. When she is interacting with her cast-mates, it's like she transforms into a totally different person, she is happy and carefree, no sign of her reserved and quiet self. I also appreciate that HaKA (Kenichiro Hakariya = head of C.C.C.) continues to write solid tracks for Hikaru, so far he has done all of her freelance solo work, I am guessing her newest song "Flow" (debuted during her birthday broadcast) is also by him. Hopefully they will invite Hikaru to join another play in the future, one with a lot of music just like "Ambient Border".

In a similar vein, I very am happy to see that Keiko is taking Hikaru under her wing a little, I think that helps her get some much needed exposure.

Now that that's out of the way, let's address the elephant in the room: Music Champ. There are really no words that can convey how much I hate the fact that Hikaru has chosen a nondescript app as her main platform for almost all private and work-related interactions. I use the word hate very sparingly when it comes to anything Kalafina-related but in this case, nothing else seems fitting. In my opinion, relying solely on this stupid "Music Champ" app really cheapens her status as a serious artist. She might as well be using OnlyF@ns at this point¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The whole purpose of this streaming app is to level up a handful of wannabe idols by throwing "items" at them (which is achieved by viewers purchasing coins in the app). I can't believe that a large portion of each broadcast is wasted on those silly level-up campaigns or "item-times" which have literally no added value. Just a bunch of people sending items and Hikaru reacting to it. Not exactly my idea of fun. And really, you pretty much just finance a shady app, I bet only a fraction of the revenue goes to Hikaru herself. Everyone here knows that I am the biggest advocate of supporting your favourite artists but even I have to draw the line somewhere. I honestly don't trust weird apps that no one uses and on principle, I refuse to feed into this kind of activity ¬_¬

Another thing that really bothers me about the app is more of a me-problem but I'd still like to point it out. It's the fact that I cannot record any of the live streams. Yeah, I know, as a fan I am by no means entitled to a recording, this is complaining on a high level but it bugs me. I am aware of course that this feature might very well be one of the main reasons why Hikaru favours this platform over others but for some reason, that makes it even more annoying. Especially since the timing of her regular broadcasts is not exactly foreigner-friendly (at least not for my time-zone) so I can almost never watch her stuff live. I don't think I've been able to watch any of her more recent Wednesday lives and that sucks.

On a side note, is it just me or does this app consume a ton of RAM and drain the battery way too quickly ? Whenever I watch the broadcasts, I am having some major issues with my smartphone even though I have a relatively new iPhone. Within a few minutes, my phone will overheat and sometimes the app will even crash. Does anyone else experience similar problems or is it really just an issue with my phone?

All right, rant over. There is really not much else to say. Hopefully this didn't turn out too bad, it wasn't my intention to bash Hikaru or anything. I am just sad that she has chosen a path that I am not willing to follow. A lot of her loyal fans seem to be happy to support her on the app though so I am glad she has that backup at least.

[harriswalz4usabybr]

These are four of the surrogates that we plan to lean on heavily during the campaign. We've assigned surrogates to various regions and marked them as main or back-up, but both will be leaned on in ways that speaks to the strengths of the surrogate.

Mid-Atlantic (VA, NC, SC)

Main: US Representative Jim Clyburn—a civil rights icon, particularly in the African American community. His influence was pivotal in securing the Democratic nomination for Joe Biden in 2020, and his support for Harris-Walz will bring crucial credibility and trust to our campaign, especially in South Carolina and among older voters.

Back-up: Governor Roy Cooper—a governor with a proven track record of winning in a battleground state by appealing to both urban and rural voters. His leadership on issues such as Medicaid expansion, public education, and disaster response aligns well with the Harris-Walz platform, making him a valuable surrogate in the critical Mid-Atlantic region.

Deep South (AL, LA, MS, North Florida)

Main: Mayor Randall Woodfin—a vocal advocate for progressive policies, particularly in areas like criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and educational equity. His leadership in a deep-red state highlights the importance of building bridges and pushing for change even in challenging environments, making him a powerful voice for the campaign in the Deep South.

Back-up: Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba—known for his commitment to social justice, economic empowerment, and community-driven governance. His efforts to transform Jackson into a model of progressive policy at the local level make him an ideal advocate for the Harris-Walz vision of inclusive governance and grassroots activism.

[cinamun]

In regards to your poll, I agree with the general consensus that in a typical casual fling it wouldn’t be Jay’s business…BUT this ain’t that. I look at it as, my mom and I are pretty close in age so I grew up knowing her business to an extent and I always say you’re grown, that’s not my business. However, if she were in a serious long term off and on relationship with an ex-con who is currently on the run and has a history of murder (that’s all mercy presumably knows about) and also has a track record for causing her physical harm under the guise of bdsm (no shade at all to my bdsm baddies), as well as mental anguish? Nah that’s my business. My mom and I are extremely close so that dude would be integrated into my life just as much as hers and especially with my daughter coming in a month?? Hell tf no. I’d be making whatever call necessary to rid her of that nonsense or telling her it’s us or him and she can choose where she stands. But she’d have to stand on business cuz if I found out she was backsliding in private we’d have to have some words.

Ok ok ok ok ok bestie BUT!!!!

when we first met Jay, all we knew was he just didn't like what he called her "Problematic boyfriend". Let's take a trip back to the penthouse. We had no idea why, we just knew he didn't like him. Then he comes out the bedroom after rearranging Mercy's cerebral cortex ass nekkid. Now none of us like him.

But what does Jay even know about Bishop other than he'll never be Jackson Carruthers, Jazz Pianist?

I mean, sure, Bishop broke into his room but what happened after that? A threat to his mom with no real communication?

Imma stop playing devil's advocate at some point but the Readers™ used to be REAL loud about Mercy making her own decisions in regards to Bishop and she should lay in the bed she made but now....

all of a sudden.... nevermind.

[archerygun]

Indiana Jones is immortal, hear me out.

Okay, I know the Indiana Jones movies are really silly. I know the fridge scene is the silliest thing in movie history. You can’t survive an atom bomb in a fucking FRIDGE. Right? Well, allow me to make my case.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade shows Indy to be the first person to drink from the Holy Grail, causing the knight to be relieved of his duty. The knight lived for a whole lot of centuries so it’s safe to assume the guy wouldn’t have worried too much if the Soviets dropped a nuclear test bomb on him.

Most of Indiana Jones’ insane feats of survival (and silliness) are done alone. He dodges bullets by running. He survives an atom bomb in a fridge. Maybe he’s not immortal immortal, but that holy grail certainly had an effect on him.

Especially because Indy is a case of Too Much Survival Instinct™️ and everyone in the newer movies is like “Holy shit he’s like 80 how the fuck is he doing all of that. How are none of us stronger than a pensioner.”

And hey that’d actually be a great concept for an animated series or something. Alternative timeline following an ageless, confused Dr. Henry Jones Jr. as he slowly passes through time, watching science progress and having to destroy his war records n shit so nobody finds out he’s been alive for like a hundred years not ageing a day. (Short Round would be happy to have a buddy following him into adulthood I’m sure). Making friends with really old teachers and history buffs. Punching the absolute shit out of neo-Nazis. Becoming an advocate for relocating artefacts back to their rightful home (the British museum hate this guy but they can’t track him down).

And hey I am not late to the fact that a guy becoming immortal because he was willing to die for the dad that was never there for him is y’know… that’s a concept.