#deceit 2.0

[soullessjack]

ok so carried on from this post theres a specific tag i wanna elaborate on which says ‘[jack] isn’t a pacifist he actually has a very complicated relationship with violence’ in relation to how he’s usually (mis)characterized by the fandom.

so first, Jack isn’t a pacifist. pacifism is a total opposition to all war and violence, and a belief that it is never justifiable for any reason or circumstance. He might be averse to violence as a first response or reaction, and he’s frequently shown to want to help the person before anything else—especially people he finds sympathetic or similar to himself (ie Mia Vallens, Sylvia)—but he’s not averse to it altogether.

Jack seems to really only be against violence when it’s used against innocent or undeserving people, including himself. Like in S13, he has no problem using his power to force an angel to stab themself with their blade or going to war with Michael and killing thousands of angels in his army for roughly 6-8 months (and we must remember, it was an effective genocide before he decided, completely out of the original plan, to kill Michael and made it a war) but he still has a total meltdown over accidentally killing an innocent security guard and almost strangling someone who did nothing wrong like he’d assumed. In Ouroboros he states that anyone who could hurt/kill an innocent person is a monster, even if they’re human, which is probably the clearest establishment of his moral code the show could offer.

I think Jack’s particular aversion to violence or even general aggression/anger is also caused by the fact that he, at three days old, was told by Sam that he would need to be kept from hurting other people while his powers were still largely uncontrollable (and therefore, still making him a threat and “evil” if he couldn’t do that). He’s also seen for himself what his power/his overreaction inadvertently causes for other people–like throwing Sheriff Barker into the vending machine (which he apologizes for later)—and is blatantly scared of it at first, so I think it makes a lot of sense that he prefers nonviolent behavior as an initial or default response. However, pacifism is still defined by the belief that no circumstance or reason whatsoever can justify an act of violence, which directly goes against how Jack personally feels about and uses it.

Going back to Ouroboros, he personally defines a “monster” as anyone who would willingly harm or enjoy harming someone who doesn’t deserve it, even if they aren’t actually a particular species of monster. And going back to S13, he has no problem murdering Michael’s army or even torturing Michael himself (which he specifically does because Michael “hurt his friends, hurt his family.” Ergo, Jack does believe in using violence, so long as it’s only used as a justified defense, and I think that is also a part of why him torturing Nick so horrifically is meant to land on us as Something Ostensibly Wrong. Did Nick deserve it? Yes. Mary isn’t even upset about him being killed; she just halfheartedly tells Jack “not like that.” Nick deserved it, but he is still barely a threat to someone like Jack (which everybody knew)—and because he isn’t a veritable threat, none of what Jack does to him can actually qualify as a “defense.”

It’s violence for the sake of violence, with a personal grudge for motivation, and while it’s shown a lot throughout SPN, it hits a lot harder coming from Jack specifically because he, again, is generally averse to [ab]using his power like that—even against other enemies. He believes in necessary and defensive violence and acts accordingly, which makes the completely unnecessary violence he uses against Nick more disturbing; it’s not about defending his loved ones or even stopping a nefarious plot anymore (he literally banishes Lucifer within seconds of getting there). It’s just about making someone suffer and enjoying it. In Absence we also get the vague implication about Jack’s particular fears and insecurities: he’s afraid that he isn’t really loved or wanted for himself, but rather that he’s valued for being “the muscle to take out enemies,”—that he’s nothing more to the Winchesters than a pet monster and easily discardable if he’s no longer useful to them.

On the flip side of that, he’s also canonically very happy to be wanted, needed and helpful to his family/friends—which is to say, again, he’s perfectly fine using violence as a justifiable defense that serves his family (which is also why he chooses to burn Nick to death after Sam indirectly wishes it on him, and why he’s happy to murder all of Dumah’s targets under the guise that it would make Sam and Dean happy). Once he realizes the truth and horror of his actions, however, he tells Dean that he is a monster, by his own definition. But how exactly is this complicated, you might ask? Well I’m glad you did, because I’m getting to it. Throughout his entire short-lived life, Jack has had to be painfully aware of the damage he can and does cause, and what it means for how he’s perceived and the ever present debate about his “true” nature.

I can’t find it now and probably won’t bother looking, but i had another post about how Jack inwardly perceives himself and wants to be perceived in return, particularly when he’s perceived as a threat. To summarize: because of his particular moral code, Jack inwardly knows he would never [want to] use his power against his family or friends, and is therefore not a threat to them, and therefore does not want to be perceived as one despite the danger he still poses with the potential alone. The eggshells that people walk around him are solely based on the fact that he has immense potential and capability to hurt them, all prevented by his simple continuous and impermanent choice to not hurt them.

The only thing standing between them and everything he’s ever done to their enemies is the fact that he considers them friends and has no reason to want to hurt them, and that’s exactly what Jack himself personally lives by. It’s the same blind trust that Sam and Dean have built with Cas; they know what he can do, and they know when he would or wouldn’t choose to do it. It’s a mutual understanding that “I know you can hurt me but I care about you enough to trust you not to do that,” and “I know I can hurt you but I care about you enough to not hurt you and Im glad you trust me to not do that.” I also mentioned it in the post that in Last Holiday, Jack doesn’t deny it when Mrs. Butters says that he’s insanely powerful; he does, however, deny her saying that Sam and Dean should be afraid of him, because “[he] would never hurt them.”

Insanely powerful? ✅

Potentially dangerous? ✅

A threat to be feared? ❌

(This is also what makes Mary’s death by Jack and Sam and Dean’s subsequent actions exceptionally tragic on both sides; their mutual trust is inadvertently, yet still effectively, broken. Jack has also effectively gone against his own morality by harming people he loves and people who don’t deserve it, and now in S15 is struggling with the loss of said trust and the need to earn it back).

That, my hypothetical audience member, is the complicated part. Having to find a middle ground between necessary, defensive, justifiable violence that his surrounding community would approve or appreciate, and the completely unnecessary abuse or misuse of power (ie violence) that would register him as an evil monster and/or a threat to be put down for the justifiable greater good. There’s also the additional middle ground between presenting and maintaining the image of himself as docile and non-threatening (the behavior of which is hugely infantilized by the fandom), while also still being able to defend others with the same violence that could easily lead to him being seen as a threat.

in conclusion (1): Jack is not a pacifist but he has an extremely complicated relationship with violence and the fluctuating justifications surrounding it which he must meet in order to continuously be perceived as safe and trustworthy in spite of his capabilities.

In conclusion (2): this is the truest of jack true forms:

thank you for coming to my yap session, don’t let the door hit you where the good lord split you on the way out 🫶

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Rachel Meghan Markle is Wallis Simpson 2.0

Lauren: wherever you are, you were right.

The Traitor King by Andrew Lownie

The Meghans are following the Windsor Playbook

Wallis:Edward's mother::Meghan:Harold's mother

The 1st Duke & Duchess of Soho House

Murders, Robberies & Comfort to Enemies

Wallis ignored Edward as he died

[positivelybeastly]

"we can do this the easy way... or the hard way." logan!

It's, of course, not quite as nice as the restaurant on the Faroe Islands, but it is still a rather serene setting for them to have this conversation.

"Relax, Logan. I thought you might like to sit and talk for a bit. We can get to all of that in a moment." Beast waves his hand almost affectionately, as if he's looking forward to it, leaning back in his chair as casual as you please. He's actually deigned to wear clothes, so this really must be important.

The entire town has evacuated. Beast had tripped a sensor in the local nuclear power plant, informing the inhabitants that they had only hours before a catastrophic and totally unavoidable meltdown was in process, and the other man had had to move through the detritus of manic humanity that littered the streets to find him.

A rather elegant solution, if somewhat . . . overzealous. But he did want to have a talk, and enjoy some food. In peace, and in quiet. He'd picked a restaurant with dishes that hadn't been so much as touched, even bothered to check the reviews to ensure the chef was up to snuff.

Why, it was almost like it was a date.

He's quiet for a moment, just breathing - heavily, admittedly. Logan can smell the blood on him from where Deadpool's swords found their mark, even if the prattling jester somehow couldn't find it within himself to aim for the head. Then he gestures - at some unfancy piss that he's had chilling in a wine bucket, ready for the man, and smiles.

"This is nice, isn't it?"

[handfulofmuses]

Vervain vc: that backfired hard on me.

[milksnake-tea]

❀ ˎˊ- prompt: he'd wanted to at least see her one last time before his ascension, but it seems that even that is too much to ask of the harmony. ❀ ˎˊ- sunday character study ❀ ˎˊ- wc: 641 ❀ ˎˊ- warnings: set in 2.0-2.1, MAJOR ANGST WARNING, gorey language used like once but it's metaphorical ❀ ˎˊ- a/n: this is all vee and bells fault btw also this tweet that changed my brain chemistry now everyone has to suffer with me. if this had a title it would be "she used to be mine" but its too short so it won't :) ❀ ˎˊ- taglist: @sh0jun , @themoderatelyawesomeninja , @xphantasmagoriax , @rainswept , @lucensei , @akutasoda , @naraven , @scribs-dibs , @apathicace , @flurrina , @tragedy-of-commons , @cakechase , @kiiyoooo ❀ ˎˊ- img credits

She’s gone.

And with her, goes every thought in his mind.

Ringing fills his ears. He can barely hear the voices of his attendant.

His lips move. What he says, he’s already forgotten.

His vision blurs. His eyes sting.

He sits. He stays. He stares.

She’s gone.

Robin’s gone.

The sweetheart of the cosmos, the idol beloved by all, the beacon of light in a night-filled sky-

His little sister is dead, and he wasn’t even there to stop it.

Muttered voices fade into a disorientated buzz that he can’t be bothered to decipher. Clicking of shoes, rustling of papers, all of it- it’s too much, it’s loud and it’s grating and-

Inhale.

Exhale.

Smile.

His cheeks hurt.

His nails bite into his palms. He wants to dig them into his face and tear off the skin and every horrid pretense he’s had to put up for the sake of this damned Family and that damningly weak Aeon who couldn’t even protect their most loyal acolyte.

And now, his sister is dead. Killed in her own home, in the domain of her god.

He’ll never see her again.

He’ll never see her smile, with the brightest lights and flames in her eyes as she sings on the grandest of stages.

He’ll never hear her laugh, with the voice blessed by the Harmony and the voice that had allowed him to continue fighting, even when he wanted to give up.

He’ll never hold her again, the sister who he had vowed to protect and had failed, not once, but twice now, and this time, his mistake, his carelessness was permanent.

Now, she is gone.

He asks his attendant to leave, as gently and as kindly as he can allow. He wants to scream. He wants to shout, he wants to cry, he wants to strangle and rip into whatever bastard dared to kill the only person he had ever loved, the only thing he had ever thought to be precious.

Was this some sort of punishment? For daring to question Xipe, or better yet, to question Ena? Was their devotion not strong enough? Was their actions not kind enough? Were they not enough?

Or were they simply just… insignificant, despite it all?

Then what was the point?

Despondently, his gaze raises from the cold wood of his desk.

Does Xipe even know?

Do they even care?

Something catches light in the corner of his eyes. There, in one of the many bookshelves in his office, a paperback spine stands apart from the rest. He knows it, bitterness and bile rising in his throat, he knows it better than anything.

He stands, and takes it from the shelf. He doesn’t open it.

The cover smiles up at him, the golden text taunting and mocking.

He grits his teeth.

A weak Path. A weak Aeon.

A weak brother.

He tears into the Odes of Harmony, ripping pages upon pages upon pages of lies, false vows, and cruel, cruel delusions. Inked words that had been ingrained into him since childhood are crushed under the sole of his shoe. The smiling face of a deceitful, lying Aeon is ripped into two.

His teeth tug at his lip. His chest constricts with the effort to keep his sobs down, to keep his eyes dry and to keep his grief and sorrow secret from the halls of Dewlight Pavilion. Every intake of air is a struggle in of itself, and it takes every bit of his strength not to break down and wail to the heavens to give his sister back.

It isn’t long before the Odes are reduced to nothing, and Sunday is left there, alone in his office with scattered pieces of paper littering his floor.

Xipe smiles up at him in two ripped halves of a page.

He hates how he sees Robin in Them.

reblogs w comments are appreciated !!

[mariacallous]

A famous parable revolves around the troubled relationship between a scorpion and a frog. A scorpion needs to cross a river. Unable to swim, the scorpion asks a frog to carry him on his back. Listening to the request, the frog responds that he is hesitant because he fears that the scorpion will sting and kill him. After the scorpion assures his new friend that he would never do that, the frog agrees. Halfway through the journey, the scorpion stings the frog. Slowly dying, the frog asks, “Why did you do this?” The scorpion responds, “I’m sorry, but it’s in my nature.”

The story is a classic lesson about how dangerous people don’t usually change. Even when promising that they will act differently, the likelihood is that they won’t. It is also a tale about taking warning signs seriously. The frog understood the risks that he faced, yet he chose to ignore them.

U.S. presidential elections frequently involve warnings signs. Over the course of a campaign, voters learn a great deal about the candidates running and the potential costs of putting someone in office. Sometimes, a majority of voters decide to heed those warnings, yet there are other times in U.S. history when voters end up the frog.

In 2024, there are more warnings signs than usual about one of the major candidates: the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. There are big red flags from both his first term in office and his post-presidential years waving over and over about what Trump 2.0 would bring. Another one came on Wednesday, when the Washington, D.C., district judge handling the federal election conspiracy case against Trump unsealed a 165-page document with the fullest picture of what special counsel Jack Smith had found.

To understand how voters have the capacity to cover their ears to avoid hearing alarm bells, look back to 1972, when President Richard Nixon won reelection in a landslide victory against Democratic Sen. George McGovern. Too often, the story of Nixon’s reelection in 1972 and Watergate are treated separately. The thing is, there were, in fact, many people warning of who Nixon was as a politician and what he would likely do when freed from the restraints imposed by having to worry about reelection.

The familiar narrative on the 1972 election is that, riding high on diplomatic breakthroughs with the Soviet Union and China, Nixon defeated McGovern in a stunning victory that rivaled President Franklin Roosevelt’s coalition-building reelection win in 1936. There were many Americans who didn’t like Nixon or his policies, but it wasn’t until investigations in 1973 that his severe abuses of presidential power were revealed. Had the country only known more, so the story goes, the electorate could have averted the disaster they collectively faced on Aug. 9, 1974, when Nixon stepped onto a helicopter, leaving the White House in the middle of his second term.

In fact, numerous representatives and senators had been trying to expose Nixon’s nature even before that election. After Nixon announced on April 30, 1970, that he had secretly deployed troops to Cambodia and conducted a massive bombing campaign, there was a fierce outcry from Democrats about how he had lied and threatened the balance of power to accelerate a disastrous war. Idaho Sen. Frank Church and Kentucky Sen. John Sherman Cooper began drafting a bill to prohibit the president from using congressional funds for operations in Cambodia. Congressional critics railed against Nixon’s turn to impounding funds that they had appropriated and which he failed to veto. Soon after the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building in June 1972, Democratic Rep. Wright Patman, a Texas populist, attempted to launch an investigation into the connections he suspected between the burglars and Nixon’s reelection campaign. The effort, covered by the press, was undercut by Nixon and his allies on Capitol Hill.

Journalists and public intellectuals were on Nixon’s case long before most voters cast their ballot. In 1971, the administration’s efforts to prevent the press from publishing the Pentagon Papers, a secret Defense Department study exposing the lies told to justify the war in Vietnam, required the Supreme Court to intervene, culminating in the 6-3 decision in New York Times Company v. United States, which allowed publication. The media praised the decision as a blow to a president who was intent on stifling the press. In March 1972, Life published a story based on a nine-month investigation that accused the Nixon administration of having “seriously tampered with justice” to insulate supporters in San Diego from criminal prosecutions involving illegal campaign contributions. “The administration has in several instances taken steps to neutralize and frustrate its own law enforcement officials,” the magazine noted.

By mid-October 1972, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Time were publishing stories about an FBI investigation into whether Nixon’s reelection team was involved in sabotage operations, including the break-in at the Watergate building, against the Democratic campaign. On Oct. 16, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein published a blockbuster story about how Nixon’s personal lawyer, Herbert Kalmbach, revealed that he “was one of five persons authorized to approve payments from the Nixon campaign’s secret intelligence gathering and espionage fund.” Nixon campaign manager Clark McGregor was so frustrated with reporters that he accused the press of acting politically, stating, “the Post has maliciously sought to give the appearance of a direct connection between the White House and the Watergate, a charge the Post knows—and a half dozen investigations have found—to be false.”

And then there was McGovern, who made Nixon’s corruption a major theme in his final months on the campaign trail. In his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, McGovern said, “From secrecy and corruption in high places, come home, America.” In late September, during visits to three states on the East Coast, McGovern called Nixon “scandal-ridden” and “corrupt.” Speaking to labor leaders in Atlantic City, he warned that “If we let this Nixon-Agnew administration have another four years, I think they’ll make Warren G. Harding look like a Sunday school teacher.” McGovern called the Nixon administration the “trickiest, most deceitful” in U.S. history. On Oct. 17, he told a rally in Fort Worth, Texas, that Nixon was attempting to “escape responsibility” for the break-in and, in the process, “polluting the faith of the American people in government itself.”

McGovern’s emphasis on corruption intensified in the final weeks of his campaign. “As the net of truth closes tighter and tighter around the president himself,” he said, “they try to persuade us that the spying, and lying, and burglary, and sabotage will not affect the election because people expect these things of politicians.” If voters chose Nixon, he said, they would be selecting four years of “Watergate corruption.”

The problem was that McGovern was running against the wind. In mid-October, Gallup found that a minute percentage of Americans ranked corruption as a top issue; only 52 percent had even heard of the Watergate affair. The public concluded that both parties were equally corrupt, so it didn’t matter who was in office.

Nixon defeated McGovern by winning 49 states, including a sweep of the South, and 60.7 percent of the vote.

Today, the warning signs about Trump are all in broad daylight.

The first threat is Trump’s embrace of election denialism. The former president demonstrated that he is willing to destabilize the democratic system when election results don’t go his way. Multiple investigations have unpacked the systematic campaign by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the violence of Jan. 6, 2020. Since the insurrection, Trump has continued to deny the outcome—as did Sen. J.D. Vance during his debate against Gov. Tim Walz, when he refused to acknowledge that Joe Biden won. Moreover, the Trump campaign has made several strategic moves, such as supporting a change of rules by Trump-allied members of the Georgia State Election Board that will make it easier for local officials to question and delay the counting of ballots; this could easily create a certification crisis.

During his time in office, Trump refused to accept that there were limitations on what a president could do. Surrounded by advisors who believed in the unitary executive theory, Trump did what he wanted to do until someone was able to stop him. Formal or informal guardrails were not his thing. Trump’s expansive, and dangerous, views of presidential power were clear during the first impeachment trial when the United States learned how he had threatened congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not agree to help dig up dirt on Biden and his son. Trump and his supporters were very clear that he will flex even more of that muscle should he be given another chance to do so. He has often spoken in public about collapsing the firewall that has separated the president from the Justice Department since Nixon’s downfall, and he has threatened to use that prosecutorial power to go after his opponents. In one Truth Social post about Smith’s investigation, Trump said that there would be “repercussions far greater than anything that Biden or his Thugs could understand.” Written by many high-level officials in Trump’s operation, including Stephen Miller, Project 2025 is a 900-page road map to a massive expansion of executive power.

Finally, Trump poses a serious risk to human rights. Between 2017 and 2021, undocumented immigrants were subject to intense and inhumane punitive measures, such as the separation of families, in an effort to disincentivize border crossings. In response to #BlackLivesMatter, Trump asked former Defense Secretary Mark Esper about shooting civil rights protesters in 2020. He famously had peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park cleared out with tear gas all so that he could get a photo-op. Finally, he was the instrumental force behind the creation of the 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

The United States paid a high price for its decision in 1972. Nixon’s second term was consumed by the Watergate scandal, which rocked U.S. politics, traumatized and divided the nation, and resulted in decades of deep distrust of government. In 2024, will voters heed the warning signs?

[lilac-melody]

Anyway, so this was basically Hiyori's anti-fan song and Nonfantasy 2.0.

Most of the song takes place in Hiyori's head- imagining herself as a peasant girl along with lipxlip's Juliettas.

"To every girl, make sure you stay as far away as you can! Make sure you don't catch the infection." Hiyori looks like she's cringing so hard it's physically painful for her...and the lyrics right after are literally "get away from me!"

Followed by this we got the dream of her imagining Aizou and Yujiro doing princely things. The lyrics are as follows:

"This can't be! That's cheating! It's dishonest and unfair!! You don't take responsibility for their feelings for you!! Too much! It's dangerous! So risky and insane!! Cunning is the "power of idols" Still, I can't help it... I need to accept this is how it is."

And then she wakes up with a shocked and mildly terrified expression on her face.

While someone like Chuutan would be crying she woke up from her dream, Hiyori acts as a nice foil against that, knowing what they're really like and, unfortunately, working with them so often she has to see their princely persona and ends up dreaming about it against her will. (And come on, who doesn't have work nightmares?)

The next part of the song is basically Hiyori realizing that, hey, idols get depressed too, they're still people, and realizing that she can't really help them, because...well, I've already gone over lipxlip's relationship here, so if you want to read that, I'd go there afterwards.

This part I think is particularly important because it doesn't take place in her dreams. This is real life. Hiyori tries to offer something to cheer them up (ala some drinks they like). But they completely ignored her, as the lyrics say.

It's sad, but they just won't rely on her for their emotional baggage. You're doing your best Hiyori, just move on...

"Sometimes, their kindness can be a little scary"

I know this is part of Hiyori's dream, but honestly I'm not seeing how this is seen as "aww cute"...anyone showing an ounce of kindness to her, she gets flustered over. To me personally, this reminds me of this moment from HeroineDev...

She superficially fell for Asuka's kindness. And the relationship went absolutely nowhere. Much like how it would be (confirmed by Shito back in 2021 I think it was?) if Hiyori really had actually fallen for lipxlip.

Which, again, who doesn't have nightmares about work?

Afterwards we get more straight bait fanservice while Hiyori sings about how deceitful Aizou and Yujiro are to their fans because their princely persona isn't them. And then it ends off with her singing:

"It's so frustrating but... I'm just as excited as everyone else."

It could be read as "proof Hiyori's falling in love" if you're looking at it through a lhyo shipper lense, but if you're paying attention to the relationship between Hiyori and lxl as a whole, it could easily be seen as "idols are really cool", something that Hiyori has canonically said in the novels. She knows how hard they work and she knows they can charm anyone. That is what Hiyori is referring to.

She doesn't particularly want to be their fan, but she does want to support them. Much like how friends support each other, but still very different from the intimate ways Aizou and Yujiro support each other.

My point is actually proven correct ^ when we see the very next frames.

"This isn't something just anyone can do You need to put in the effort and hardwork."

Hiyori, who is a hard worker herself, admires their hard work and dedication to their fans...which is precisely why the song is her screaming at them for deceiving them lmao.

At the end of the day though, Aizou and Yujiro are still her friends, who get weirded out when she expresses her support towards them.

Or if she's just daydreaming.

The night and day difference between her imagining them doing fanservice in her mind and real life is really...something.

Look how utterly annoyed they look at her for zoning out.

This isn't a cute "I'm falling for my coworkers and daydreaming about them" scenario. This is her trying to imagine them as princes and them not knowing it.

Hiyori is their friend and suspectable to an active imagination. Not just in the MVs but in the novels as well.

And I think it says a lot about their relationship that all of the fanservice is strictly in Hiyori's perspective.

When lipxlip have a fanservice song, they either use Narumi Sena, or just a random girl. But when it's Hiyori imagining them doing the fanservice, it's all in her head. HeroIdol and Nonfantasy are literal proof of this.

It is extremely onesided.

Aizou and Yujiro care for Hiyori- this is undeniable. However, they do not like her in that way. Not only has Aizou canonically stated he doesn't get involved with girls outside of work, but they just don't see her in that light.

I mean, in every single lxl song that included Hiyori, like Kono Sekai or Last Stage, she's there for like 2 small frames and it's her being in the background or trying to stop them from fighting. They never once had a frame where they're talking to her and ignoring the other or venting to her.

She's their "work friend" who they've hung out with like twice outside of work. They only contact her in emergencies.

That's not to say they don't support Hiyori and her dreams, because they do. They support her in finding someone who will take care of her (ie: Nagisa) because they care about her, and they don't see her in that way.

And given that the time skip in HeroHei and Sukiuso shows Hiyori and Nagisa attending the same uni...yeah.

Also, I would like to point out that in HeroIdol, Hiyori thinks of herself as just a peasant girl among the (fake) princes. It's like a metaphor for saying "they're out of my league even though they're really awful". Not a good look for her or for lipxlip, honestly.

But in Herohei, she sees herself as a Cinderella who's worthy of being a heroine. Meanwhile, Sukiuso is about Nagisa saying she's better than Cinderella and she's always been a heroine.

TMK did all three MVs, and I think this was a deliberate choice to show everyone how unhealthy one would be, while the other blossoms naturally.

Not once has Hiyori imagined herself as a princess around lipxlip. Her insecurities come out when she's around them because they poke fun at her too often. (Beat they ass, Nagisa)

The Omoiai album, which is where HeroIdol came from, is about various different relationships. While Aizou and Yujiro's are familial, Hiyori's was a unique one. A, as I've said above, anti-fan song.

Which goes directly against Chuutan's fan songs.

I think it's important to have them both, and I like that we get the perspective of Chuutan, someone who genuinely sees them as princely, and Hiyori, who cringes when she sees their prince-sonas.

And it is important to note that we never get lipxlip's perspective- knowing they find their over excited fans annoying, and only see Hiyori as a friend. Otherwise she would be in more of their MVs and not just a background character.

I think too many people forget to realize that if they were going into a relationship, then we need them to say "yeah I'm falling for her" and not just Hiyori, when she's known to fall into little delusions. (And no, I don't mean that in a negative way)

IN SHORT: No, lhiyo is not canon, and this song was just an anti-fan song.

[dragnsofthread]

I feel anguish for both Alicent and Aegon.

Alicent confirmation biased herself into believing that Viserys changed his mind at the last minute. She allowed this reasoning to propel her to put Aegon on the throne, despite her discontent with how the council planned to proceed regardless. She put in Aegon's head that his father changed his mind and Aegon takes everything his mother says at face value. He has spent his entire life wanting to be Rhaenyra; to be loved by Viserys as he loved Rhaenyra, to be loved by Alicent as she loves Rhaenyra, even to be loved by the realm as they love her ("Aegon, the Realm's Delight"). For Alicent, who he has craved approval from all his life, to tell him that his father, who always put Rhaenyra first, changed his mind at the last minute? And for Alicent to be so persistent in what she's saying? His mother might be a lot of things, but she isn't deceitful. Aegon sees that she believes her story to be true and he chooses to believes it with her.

He becomes king, and tries to be a decent one despite his general ignorance of the way things work and his natural inclination to not take anything seriously. He still has quite a childish nature until the events of Blood and Cheese, and then his immaturity turns from lackadaisical to rage-fueled.

He then starts to make decisions as king that are questionable, and Alicent still reviles her son to a certain extent but she persists because she has convinced herself that this was Viserys' wish. She knows her son is ignorant and unconniving, and strives for him to see the forest through the trees, but he begins to shirk her advice and turn rather to Cole and his desire to fight.

Then, in episode 4, after her meeting with Rhaenyra, Alicent sees her mistake for what it is. She has put a crown on her son's head and sent her faction off to war over a lie. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that her marriage to Viserys and having his children meant something, that it wasn't all for nought, episode 4 is her beginning to come to terms with the absurdity of her life. What was it all for? At this point, as Cole marches to Rook's Rest, all she can do is tell her son to stay put. Don't do anything stupid.

And unfortunately, to prove himself to his mother and to not be seen as weak, Aegon does not heed her advice but rather makes one of his more idiotic decisions.

He flies to battle, gets burned by his own brother, loses his dragon and his body is shattered and burned to bits.

Then Aemond becomes his regent and shit hits the fan. Aemond has no idea what he's doing and is motivated purely by his own rage and legacy. When he becomes forceful with Helaena in episode 8, Alicent knows it's time to go. She then offers Rhaenyra terms of peace - on the condition that she will hand over Aegon's head.

Aegon never wanted the throne, he only took it because Alicent convinced him it was his duty. He was way in over his head. He lost his son for no reason at all, then he lost his dragon and most of the functions of his body. And now when everything comes down to the last, his mother chooses Rhaenyra.

That's not to say Alicent only chose Rhaenyra. I think Helaena is the first thing on Alicent's mind, on Alicent's conscience, and Helaena is absolutely Alicent's ultimate motivation in this. Alicent sees everything Helaena has been put through, first at her own hand by marrying Helaena to Aegon, and then everything she has endured since becoming a wife, mother and queen. She wants Helaena and Jaehaera to be free of the confines she herself was put in. Those seconds of her making her choice ... she is choosing one child over another. Blood & Cheese 2.0. She cannot save both. She must lose Aegon, give him up, or lose everything.

Basically this is all setup for season 3, which will be INTERESTING, because Alicent's going to get home and Aegon will be gone and you know she will feel a sense of relief in that fact. It will look to Rhaenyra like Alicent has let Aegon escape, so all the intimacy from that last R&A scene will now be charged with lots of suspicion and anger.

My theory, Alicent will absolutely give herself and her life up to Rhaenyra if it means she will spare Helaena and Jaehaera.

[carbonated-olive-juice]

tma!sanders sides au bc i’ve been brainrotting over this for the past several days

(@wobblystrawberry helped a lot with this [hiiii])

Remus:

- The Corruption

- the bastard that made me start this whole thing (wanted to make The Stinky Trash Bastard Man, Stinky Trash Bastard Man Squared and it sorta just went from there)

- known as The Duke of The Crawling Rot

- raided the magnus institute with Jane Prentiss (where he meets Logan, they probably start dating sometime in the AU) (both Remus and Prentiss wore raggedy red dresses and Roman got pissy about Remus stealing his color)

- dating Janus and living with him + Annabelle Cane (more on her later)

Roman:

- The Desolation

- known as The Prince of Total Desolation/The Prince of Devastation

- was The Lightless Flame’s attempt to salvage the idea of having a Messiah and all the work that was put into that (a failed attempt at that)

- a lot of “he hurts everyone close to him because of the intensity of his love for them (“also he can’t touch anyone without burning them alive)” going on with him

- him and Jude Perry are lesbian/gay hostility (also Jude pretty much HATES Roman because he’s quite literally the “replacement” for the woman she loved) but sometimes have their moments of coexistence

- him and Virgil have something going on but it isn’t clear to anyone (including me) what exactly it is

speaking of…

Virgil:

- The Dark

- it was close between The Dark and The End but ultimately I went for The Dark

- ascended to Avatar-hood earliest out of everyone else (at like something between 14-17 idk)

- much more on the human-ish end of the spectrum (main thing is his eyes, i’ll drop the design soon i promise)

- Janus (who’ll i get to next) was like a mentor/older sibling figure for him, and tried to get him to become an avatar of The Web (is still trying to do so) which is why 1) Virgil is still closely tied to spiders, and 2) mostly why Virgil Does Not Like Janus

- Virgil still has a pet tarantula that Janus had given him, he’s tried to muster up the will to kill her or get rid of her more times than he can count now, to cut off his ties with The Web, but he just can’t bring himself to do it

- him and gerry (who i’ve decided doesn’t die in this au and instead becomes a fully realized Beholding Avatar) are close friends and most of their interactions go something like:

“You fell in love with the fucking personification of insanity and lies" "big talk for a guy with a crush on the biggest bitch of a fancy dumpster fire" "fuck you" "fuck you" "so you're trying to tell me you didn't name yourself after gerard way?" "i didnt" "bullshit, i bet you heard 'mama' and immediately took his name" (gerry’s trans in this, i make the rules)

- Virgil used to be friends with Julia Montauk before someone got jealous and tipped her off that Virgil’s an avatar (they get less toxic later i promise okay?)

- also he’s sorta friends with oliver banks, they have these “oh hey, it’s you” acquaintances and sometimes sit down to catch up like:

“how’s it going with your vast boyfriend? (mike crew)” “oh yeah a Hunter cop shot him he had to pretend to be dead while Buried for a bit but he’s doing better now, tea?” “how’s your bf in the red?” “my what.” “y’know the Lightless Flame’s Messiah 2.0?” “MOTHERFUCKING ROMAN??”

Janus:

- The Web

- okay yes The Spiral is literally the fear of deception, and yes Janus is literally called “Deceit” but this fits him better imo

- he/she Janus because fuck it

- as i said, tried to get Virgil to become a Web Avatar, still trying, how well this is working out for her is up for debate

- he is pulling all the strings possible to keep Virgil far away from The People’s Church of The Divine Host as possible (whether this is out of genuine care and fear for how being in a literal cult would affect Virgil’s wellbeing or a want to keep Virgil’s connection to The Dark as possible… that’s also up for debate)

- has severe scarring on the entire right side of her face, how did that happen? basically, Mary Keay wanted to test to make sure the Leitner skin book was real, so she hired janus (who also brought Virgil, and that’s how gerry and Virgil met) to help with that, long story short, she then backstabbed him and tried to skin him alive. janus got away but let’s just say she’s pretty damn lucky Virgil was there to get him to a hospital

- dating Remus (and eventually Logan) and lives with Remus + Annabelle Cane

- Speaking of Annabelle Cane, one day while Remus and Janus were just cuddling on the couch, Annabelle just walked in, said “We’re a colony now”, and set up in the spare bedroom s5 style and Janus + Remus were just like “oh-kay?” and went on with their day

- if you’ve ever seen that one “passive aggressive roommate” song on youtube, that’s Janus and Annabelle. both are the passive aggressive roommate.

- spider limbs from his back as well as the several hands thing because why the hell not, it works

Patton:

- The Eye

- mainly the being judged/having your secrets exposed aspects (because in sander sides he is literally the judge over thomas’ morality, his job is to watch over thomas’ actions and tell him whether or not he’s a good person)

- certain people make eye contact with with him and Know that he Knows all the bad things they’ve done, and feel the compulsion to spill their guts, once they start, they cannot stop no matter how hard they try

- after the fact, his victims find a teddy bear sitting on their bed that always seems to be Watching them no matter where they go

- works at The Magnus Institute, where he meets Logan, who, during his transition to becoming an avatar, was one of his biggest supports, since he was going through the same thing, they start dating after a while, and by the time of the Prentiss + Remus attack, they’re engaged (they both fully ascend only a few months after their wedding)

- [insert patton having a moral crisis because he doesn’t want to be a monster that feeds off of people’s fear but he has to and part of him likes it wow this is reminding me of a certain other Beholding Avatar]

- idk how it happens but he still becomes a father figure for Virgil somehow, i’ll figure out specifics eventually

Logan:

- The Vast

- while i absolutely love Beholding!Logan hear me out. the fear of insignificance works so well here.

- he started working at The Magnus Institute a year or two before Patton (and five or six years before the Prentiss + Remus attack)

- i cannot overstate how everyone in the au thinks he’s Beholding: Jon thinks he’s Beholding, Gertrude thought he was Beholding, Gerry, who canonically has an ability to tell if people are marked by an avatar and who, for the purposes of this au is an avatar of The Eye, thinks he’s Beholding, motherfucking Elias/Jonah thinks he’s Beholding, Virgil, Janus, Annabelle, everyone thinks he’s Beholding EXCEPT Remus, who just knows for some reason (at one point when Patton and Logan got engaged Remus was like “damn patton you’re so committed to the eye, wouldn’t have figured you’d marry a vast avatar.” “a what”)

- to be fair, he was like 0.5 seconds away from becoming an Eye Avatar then BOOM BITCH VAST JUMPSCARE (The Eye is immensely bitter) and is partially Eye-aligned

- when Patton and Logan started dating, Logan just kinda assumed that Patton knew he was a Vast avatar

- after Patton learns, the convo goes something like “but- you work with the institute? how are you an avatar of the vast?” “i still need to eat, patton, and rent in central london is not cheap.”“huh.”

- Logan has a tie that Patton got him after learning he was a Vast avatar, the tie has a blue sky that fades into a deeper blue at the top, has some clouds and birds scattered around, and has a colorful sunset at the bottom, he wore that to their wedding and every day after

- there is healthy communication between all parties when Logan starts dating Remus and Janus as well

- probably levitates elias/jonah over the edge of a building for threatening/traumatizing Patton at some point, Elias had no clue that Logan was a Vast avatar until that moment (self-made blind spot, like the one he had around Martin being a threat)

- Jon and Logan would be friends. they just would.

- Logan’s probably the one who convinces Virgil to go to therapy

that’s most of what i have right now, i will probably continue to talk about these bastards + post the designs

[disventure-rewrite-takes]

hopping on the self insert train

if I was in dcas I would be like the 1 person who gets 0 romance drama (bc aro) and that woud be incredibly cool of me. also I'd sweep the flag challenge lol, just nab it and then hide up a tree. watchu gonna do abt it

anyway i would openly be like "yeah romance isn't for me. i do not wana date. i am aro" and the fanbase would be like "what does that mean" and ship me with ppl lol. that could be the Thing In The In-Show Fandom I Complain About. also i'd call out the characters for being dumb bitches, sometimes gently, sometimes. less.

"lmao the attempted murderer is worried about preserving her tv image, give me a break"

"okay don't take this the wrong way. genuine question do you think your beef with the eight year old is justified or are you just upset your pride got wounded."

"ah yes let's all trust the attempted murderer who broke connor's leg she is clearly not being deceitful that's so beneath her" (i would bring up the s2 finale so much just to put things into perspective)

"yul can you die"

"oh my god hes finally communicating honestly with you and you immediately lie about a boyfriend. come on man"

"buddy. bestie. mate. i cannot spell this out clearer. SHE DOES NOT LOVE YOU. NO YOU CANT FIX HER"

"my brother in christ you accused him of cheating on his bf then got said bf voted off for entirely petty reasons why do you think he doesn't like you"

"grett i swear to god you deserve better than this guy"

(btw in that one specifically i would straight up be gabby 2.0 and yul would hurl microaggressions at both of us. except im white and idk if there's any known about derogatory terms for aros but im sure yul would invent some especially for me. although knowing him he'd probably just call me "restarted" and "acoustic". I'd be more offended by the laziness than the words themselves)

"yes i do in fact play an acoustic instrument but somehow i get the vibe that's not what you meant. look if you really wanna add ableism to your pokedex of bigot labels then at least don't be a pussy about it. say the word you really wanna call me. go on. say it. say it you coward."

and in the recent episode (from the peanut gallery, begrudgingly sitting in team ally bc there's more space on the bleachers than team jake and i do not gaf who wins as long as it's not riya) "HEY. HEY KRISTAL. CHECK RIYA AND YUL'S BACKPACKS THEY DID NOT GATHER SHIT WITH THOSE STUPID PLASTIC TOOLS. NO WAY IN HELL DID THEY ACTUALLY MINE TEN DIAMONDS BEFORE SCORPION SHIT WENT DOWN"

- @cornfields-td-nonsense

corn i absolutely love your intern 😭🙏🏼 yul would DEFINITELY make up a new slur for us aros on god

[brokehorrorfan]

The Crow: Salvation has been released on Blu-ray via Scream Factory. Limited to 1,620, the 2000 third installment in The Crow franchise is available for $29.98 exclusively from Shout Factory.

Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) directs from a script by Chip Johannessen (Dexter, Homeland), based on the comic book character created by James O'Barr. Kirsten Dunst, Eric Mabius, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, William Atherton, and Fred Ward star.

The Crow: Salvation is presented in high definition with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo sound. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary by director Bharat Nalluri, actor Eric Mabius, producer Jeff Most, composer Marco Beltrami, and production designer Maia Javan

Behind the Scenes featurette

Behind the Makeup featurette

Production Design featurette

Who's That Bird? featurette

Image gallery

Trailer

Wrongly executed for the murder of his girlfriend, Alex Corvis (Eric Mabius) returns from the dead and sets out to find the real killer. Aided by his girlfriend's sister (Kirsten Dunst) — and under the guidance of the mysterious crow — he unmasks a tangled web of corruption and deceit in his quest for retribution and redemption.

[bluecoolr]

For Life or Until Fault

Alt Timeline 2.0 - Darrell x Odile Part 7

Warnings: Very wordy. I get carried away with descriptions and imagery so 😅

Odile belongs to @solmints-messyocdiary

Darrell is mine ♥︎

Once again tagging my beloved @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better who enjoys this story a lot, I think

Odile carefully stepped over the threshold. That morning marked the first time she had entered the house by the front door. She felt a smile in her heart. No more was she a thief in the night. She was a wanted guest, and she kept cupping her hand to her cheek where a childish blush was burning.

Darrell led her by the hand into the drawing room. Isabelle stood up from her pile of blankets and began to jump around in a frenzy. Her two favorite people had come home after all.

A terra cotta vase stood on the writing desk, holding a boquet of wilted pink carnations. Her carnations. He'd kept them all this time.

She watched him fondly as he bustled about, urging her to sit on the furs and cushions in front of the crackling fire.

"Do you want to have it… like that or do you want me to cook it for you?" he asked, meaning the meat.

Odile managed a weak whimper. She didn't want to be a bother, and he had been so kind already. She took a bite from the steak to show him it was fine. She didn't mind.

"I'll just cook this one, too, just so you'll have options." He threw a sliver of butter on the skillet, and it began to hiss and sizzle. "If you don't like it, that's OK."

The cold, red rag of meat was soon forgotten in Odile's hand, as the smell of good, cooked food filled the room. Darrell looked pleased.

"Here." He placed a tin cup in Odile's hands. "It'll warm you up."

She eyed the mysterious dark drink, swilled it around and took a sip. Oh. She touched her lip with the tip of her finger. Chocolate!

She felt ashamed, and a sour pit in her stomach chased away the sweetness on her tongue. Did she deserve chocolate? Or the jacket thrown on her shoulders? The fragrant, succulent steak that Darrell was setting on a plate for her?

And what of him?

Darrell? (The name tasted so sweet. Sweeter than all the chocolate in the world.) Did she deserve him - his kindness - after she had been so deceitful - coming and going as she pleased?

And what if it was all a trick? Suppose he didn't really mean to keep his word? What if he was fixing her last meal.

She stared at the food and the chocolate as though she had been petrified.

She ought to grab the steak knife and fight her way out. Cut him. Oh, but to cut such beauty would be a sin even she couldn't stand.

He was looking sad again. Oh, dear. However could she resist those eyes? Eyes that begged. Eyes that chose to see only the good. Silly man. This is not Eden, and I have glutted on worse things than God's fruit. Eve hath no shame as I do.

But she drank from the cup and she tasted the meat, having not the heart to see him sad for her sake.

He left her alone while she ate. When she'd finished, he noticed her picking on the blood that had dried on her arms. "You can wash it off in the bathroom," he told her, rising from his seat. "Here."

Once he had led her there, she was unwilling to step out of his jacket - like the earth withstanding the change of the season. She wanted to live in it, if she could. It was the closest thing to being in his arms. This strange, soft man, so impossibly like a fairytale prince.

The bath had been too inviting, and Odile shuffled back into the drawing room bundled up in his towel.

"Oh, one second." Darrell rummaged through his chest of drawers and pulled out a baggy gray t-shirt. "Sorry. This is the smallest I have."

The fabric was cottony soft, worn thin from use. A favorite shirt. And he wanted her to have it.

Odile sat on his bed, her head heavy from her wet hair. Noticing her bare feet, Darrell knelt and gently took them in his hands. "You're cold." and with that, he pulled a pair of wooly socks up over her calf, securing them with a cord of ribbon to keep them from falling.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

He briefly looked up from his handiwork. "Why shouldn't I be?" he said, rising.

Odile's breath hitched and she stopped him from going, grasping him by the cuffs of his sweater. "Don't leave," she pleaded, her heart betraying her again.

"I have to go to work, but I'll be back after sundown," Darrell reassured her. Her olive eyes searched him for a promise, her lower lip trembled.

Darrell pulled her into a comforting embrace. She looked up at him, catching the light off his eyes, wanting to drink him in. He raked her damp hair away from her face, buried his face in her shoulder, whispered, "I'll be back. I'll let Isabelle keep you company. Please, wait for me, sweet one. Please, stay with me this once."

He had to pull away eventually, and when he did there were strands of black hair caught in Odile's fingers. And she sat admiring them, already beginning her vigil for his return.

~

The morning was gray, as it usually was. Tea and breakfast grew cold too soon, spoiling Ilya’s mood. His various rifles were laid out on the scrubbed deal table before him. A near-empty bottle of gun cleaner stood beside his tepid tea. Part of his rag was dipped in his bowl of cemented gruel as he rubbed the stinking cleaner on the gun.

The door swung open and Darrell walked in. He unscrewed the top off his flask and helped himself to the pitcher on the sideboard. “Good morning,” he greeted.

Ilya’s answer was an ill-tempered cigarette puff. The big oaf. He looked chipper.

Ilya had half a mind to give him a faulty gun. Have him kill himself. “You find anything yet?” he asked.

“Nope."

Ilya narrowed his eyes. "Nothing, huh? Not a single disturbed grave since you got here?" he scoffed. "Funny."

"Ideally this would be good news. Unless you're looking for something in particular."

"What would I be looking for exactly?"

Darrell shrugged, his lip curled in disgust. "You tell me. I only work here."

Ilya sized him up. How much did he know exactly?

Before he could say anything more, Darrell went out the door. Ilya snapped the hinge of his rifle in place. What exactly was he doing? The little vandal couldn't just up and vanish. She would have to turn up some time. If Darrell had seen something, he would have said something. That was part of the job.

Ilya didn't trust the little sneak, didn't like the hollowness of his unflinching gaze. It was in his - no, the town's - best interest to keep an eye on this one.

~

Night had long since spread her ink-black skirts when Darrell returned. A frigid drizzle, punctuated by flashes of lightning, warned of more inclement weather. The manor house, with its crumbling walls and rotting tile, was no place to call home, but it had a roof and a hearth. And what's more, it had -

Odile was hurrying to fasten the window latches as the rain came pouring in buckets. She practically flew into his arms as he stepped through the door.

"Oh, hurry! Take these off… O-or you'll get sick."

She pinched the wet fabric of his clothes, blushing hard at the implication of her words.

Darrell did as she asked, leaving on his baggy cableknit sweater for decency. She was still wearing his shirt. The fluffy socks were still tied with the scrap ribbons. But he couldn't help but notice something different. "Did you… clean the house?"

Odile nodded, her soft features turning beautiful with muted pride. "I-I didn't have much to do. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no! I owe you. I'm really sorry about the mess. You must be tired."

Even Isabelle's coat look brushed, he noticed.

Outside, the rain crashed down to the earth. "This is good weather for soup," he remarked.

Odile gave him another vigorous nod. So, Darrell went about preparing dinner, which they took together cross-legged among the rugs and floofs. Between mouthfuls, he asked her how her day went - how she'd passed the time. "We can't have you cleaning all the time." Darrell chuckled. "Mm! Here."

He set his bowl down and went to retrieve his small collection of dog-eared books. Odile accepted them like wounded birds.

Odile went to ladle steaming soup into her and Darrell's bowl, making sure he got more mushrooms than she did. He sat back down bearing his Walkman, and he spent a good part of the evening teaching her how to use it.

When it was time to turn in, Darrell urged Odile to sleep in his bed.

Odile looked mortified at the idea. "B-but where will you sleep?"

He assured her he'd be fine by the fire. There were enough cushions to keep him comfortable, and Isabelle seemed to welcome the idea. She curled up right by his side, looking like a pile of fur.

They said their goodnights and waited for sleep. For a while, there was no other sound save for the steady drumroll of the storm. Then, just before midnight - a soft step on the bloating floor. A rustle among the blankets and floofs scattered by the fire. Finally, a content sigh as Odile snuggled up beside her new Prince Charming, who held her close as the night passed on, lifting her veil to make way for day.

~

"Is this a dream?"

He smiled. "It might just be."

Odile felt Darrell's lips on the top of her head.

"Listen," he told her.

It was as silent as the day God had first made the earth, as though the storm had washed everything anew. They could see nothing from the window but a hazy whiteness. It was as if nothing else existed.

"If it is," said Odile decisively, "then I don't want to wake up." She burrowed deeper into his arms, wanting nothing more than to slip into the cracks between his heart and lungs, to press herself among his ribs. To be with him. To be his.

"We can dream awhile," he assured her.

But there comes an hour that wrests those who yearn for each other apart, heralded by blue skies and prodding sunlight.

Darrell left with a promise to return, and Odile took it without suspicion. She watched him say goodbye at the door and give a stern order to Isabelle to be a good guard dog. As the door closed, Odile felt a giddy fluttering in her stomach. A fluttering that ended in a happy little giggle, and Odile lay back on the furs to embrace Darrell's pillow - covering it in kisses.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Laughter is Good Medicine

Meghan and Harry susSEX are irrefutably the most toxic D list celebrities on the world's stage. Sometimes their stupidity, compulsive lying, and juvenile publicity stunts are exhausting to observe. Thankfully the (creative) content creators have been hard at work to help us all laugh our way through their ongoing worldwide privacy tour.

MEgain and Sparry wish they had a volunteer community of intelligent followers who are willing to sacrifice hours after work to create EXCELLENT content that uplifts hearts and minds; instead they hire low IQ megbots who drag audiences into her sewer of lies and deceit.

1-Leilani of Barbados-she never complains but her channel is definitely shadowband by BB and they have been slow to release her accurate subscriber counts. Not to mention the death threats she's received from the sussex squad.

Can you imagine being as pathetic as MEgain & Sparry? They won't humble themselves to level up their character and become excellent at something...nope, they spend their time & energy terrorizing the little people who refuse to bow down to their grift. They are a modern King Ahab & Queen Jezebel 2.0.

"People of Nigeria I love you but Meghan does not love you. It's OFFICIAL Harry & Meghan's Nigeria Trip Was A FAILURE." ~Leilani

Nigeria Scam 43% BS

2-Proper Wiseguy- Big Brother had mercy on Lion & restored access to his hacked & demonetized channel. All his fabulous comedic content was erased. SMH. Please follow the link to re-subscribe or to confirm that you are in fact subscribed. I suppose the new channel now becomes his official backup channel and the new backup channel becomes...maybe a 2nd backup channel. Google should be embarrassed by their behavior but it's another indication that MEgain & Sparry are morally bankrupt human beings willing to align themselves with any and everyone doing the most harm.

Lion is still demonetized & BB will not allow his subscriber count to grow past 80K (he's been stuck there for 2+ mo).

Despite Queen Jezebel 2.0's attempts to discourage the comedic Lion, he's back with the todays news:

Shiesty shipped her lemons to the home of the "Circle Back Biden Girl," aka "Raggedy Ann" the one and the only compulsive liar Miss Jen Psaki, a former Hillary Clinton staffer.

Keep in mind that nothing is ever as it seems w/ MEgain. This was definitely not about a dumb box of lemons for doctor 🙄 Jill Biden. With every, "hi this is meghan, the duchess of susSEX..." she's desperately trying to make inroads to fulfill her lust for unearned, self imposed political power.

https://youtu.be/RpUhO83z6Ho?si=6DfFDHEyZDjBNmVJ

[constantineshots]

so, me being me and having to read everything and watch everything the man is in, just so i can form my own opinions on it, i went and watched seasons four through six of dc's legends of tomorrow. i saw the first season and some of the second when it was initially airing, but no john in that, so.

i don't think i could ever imagine someone other than matt ryan portraying john, and i think that's? pretty unanimous across the community. i don't think i've seen anyone be like "he's TERRIBLE for john constantine". i watched constantine when it was originally airing ( when i was just a little thirteen year old </3 i blame him for the way i turned out ), which took me down this rabbit hole, but this post is about legends, so here goes.

i think one of the things i didn't like was that john was on a team to begin with. once i got past that, i enjoyed a lot of the characters- like sara lance, who i loved to begin with from arrow and stuff, nate heywood, who just seems to be the guy everyone likes and this general force of positive, "roll with it" kind of energy that i liked and how he took things with stride but this isn't about him, charlie who is a punk rock fate with the coolest outfits and a mostly strong will and incredible defiance and when she left i was kicking and screaming but at least she is happy, and zari 1.0 who became my wife from the moment she started speaking which is partially probably the reason why i really did not like zari 2.0.

anyways, i really like the references to hellblazer, whether they were slim or not. for example, they mentioned the whole "killer" thing from his father. which brings me to the scene that made me like. cry a lot. genuine tears in my eyes. where john is at a bar, and his mother is on the other side of the counter and he went there just to see her. granted, he gets kicked out for trying to kick his dad so hard in the balls that he never has kids, but paradox, as zari so loveily explains ( sorry i am in love with her. it shattered my heart when she almost got married. nate's on thin ice, he's lucky i like him ). BUT THEN MY WIFE GOES AND GIVES HIM A PHOTO OF JOHN AND HIS MOM LOOKING HAPPY TOGETHER. what a lovely woman.

this post is meant to be about john, so forgive my tangents on zari, love of my life.

ANYWAY. there was this. i also particularly enjoyed john's insistence on wearing his own little outfit ( trenchcoat. tie. you know, his usual ) around all the time, throughout time periods, because he's a bit of a weirdo. either he has twenty of the same outfit or he doesn't shower. i am choosing the former. but they do have this moment that i found kind of heartwarming, where he puts on the camp counselor uniform for "the kids" he claims, but then literally within the first twenty minutes of the episode, he's back in his old attire and running around bullying people and hypnotizing children. seems to me he reverted back to his bullying kids self. then he gave his life force to save a kid, and almost died in the process. which he says something like "i'm not letting another kid die" as a reference to astra. i liked this, but seeing john in a camp counselor uniform made me go "whaaaaat".

when ray ended up in hell and john went to go get him, he comes to a choice of saving astra or ray and immediately, without hesitation, he chose astra. this decision doesn't seem to affect ray much later on though, and i am honestly not sure if he remembers it even though it showed both his spirit and young astra's, though it could have easily been some sort of illusion or whatever. honestly, i think he'd do it again. and i liked that there was this little anticipation where everyone is like "oh, he wouldn't, right? he wouldn't leave ray here." yes he would. and he did. even if it was only temporary.

there are references to his lung cancer, but in hellblazer, the man not only smokes after he's cured of his lung cancer through absolute deceit and gets revenge on gabriel afterwards, but he smokes during it, if i recall correctly. nothing could get that man to give up a cigarette. hell, there was a point in hellblazer where he was literally only going to save the world because there was going to be a lack of cigarette shipments if he didn't ( then, you know, everyone showed up and that changed ). which is why i think, even though it'd be great if this idiot stopped smoking, it was weird to have him stop smoking as a result and to have fucking zari 2.0 ( hm. i still really do not like her. i do not think i will be persuaded to like her. ) get him on a juice cleanse. you're going to sit there and tell me he was attracted to this girl who is a social media influencer BUT HE WASN'T ATTRACTED TO THE FIRST ZARI? fake. on his part. i just didn't see their relationship. i didn't like it. but then again, i don't really agree with most john ships. regardless. this one i really did not like.

then the ending of season six, i think they just wanted a way to get him off the show. i know he lost his magic, but the addiction, the fact he went cold turkey, then got? what? taken over by his "evil" subconcious and went and betrayed the legends, even though he's supposed to love zari 2.0 soooo much? yeah, no. i mean, john does do what benefits him, but i don't think he would have so readily injected something into his veins from a guy he knew was not a good guy and would definitely do something to get him out of commission without some sort of backup plan to save himself and scam the other guy, because that's what he does. show me his reputation, because this isn't all it is, heartless betrayals after confessing his love to some random social media influencer. then he became a mushroom, then he died, then he came back, then he ran off and? didn't even go back to his own time? so i don't really know what happened to him or where he ran off to. i am quite honestly so fucking confused about his send off.

anyways, if you don't focus on characterization too much, it's an enjoyable show, and while it's fun, it's really fucking confusing and i'm still not sure i'm quite understanding the plot in it's entirely because honestly that show felt like i was smoking something without actually smoking it. if that makes any sense to anyone.

[sarcasticbambi]

Coffee's Hanahaki Hours 2.0 "For You, I'll Be An Entire City of Flowers In Full Bloom"

He rejected her, and yet, she still couldn't bring herself to stop loving him.

Coffee's Hanahaki Hours 2.0

Day 3: Tulips + Infinite

************************************************************************

“I’m sorry, I can’t reciprocate your feelings. I’m already in love with someone else. And I’m happy with them.”

I’m already in Love with someone else.

Never have seven words hurt more than at that moment.

It was like her whole world had crumbled in that exact moment.

And I’m happy with them.

She was already coughing up almost entire yellow tulips, and with a rejection? What would be of her?

With the meaning of her cursed flower, she thought she’d have a happy ending with him. A life of infinite happiness.

Never did she think she could have misinterpreted the meaning of the flowers and vines growing spreading all over her lungs and holding her breath captive. She only looked up the meaning of the flowers she was coughing up, but now, she regrets not having looked up the meaning of the colour too. 

Maybe there was a way around it, so many people have misunderstood the meaning of their flowers and still ended up with their loved one.

A quick search was all she needed.

UNRETURNED OR UNREQUITED LOVE.

Those words glared at her through the screen of her phone. She was completely and utterly doomed.

Against Tikki’s advice to just leave it, she kept on scrolling down on the page. Maybe Tikki was right, she shouldn’t have scrolled down because now her head was filled with words that further proved her doomness.

Cowardice.

She was a coward indeed. She should have been more confident in herself and her feelings. She should have confessed sooner. 

Jealous.

She was jealous. Jealous of the target of his affections. Affections she wanted for herself and herself only.

Sickness. 

Well, there’s nothing she can say for this one now, is there?

Deceit.

She should definitely receive the prize of most illuded person in the world. Because if there's something Marinette has always done and will forever do (not that there's that much time left anyways), is deceive herself with fantasies of a future that would never be.

But even now, knowing that her life was on the line, she couldn’t bring herself to stop loving him.

He was the one at her side when she was on her lowest, the one to help her when she needed him the most. He was her day to day Robin.

It was almost impossible to stop loving him when so much of her time and thoughts was spent around him.

Would she actually end up dying of heartbreak? She’s seen news and even had some people around her that had suffered the same fate that awaited her.

Her parents were trying to convince her to get it removed, she was already in the last couple of weeks of the infection, it was a matter of time until her body eventually crumbled over it.

They were so desperate they asked her friends to try and convince her - but they would never be able to understand what she was actually feeling, to understand what it felt like to love someone so wholeheartedly you were willing to die for them to have their happy ending. They would never get it because they all got their happy ending after all, having had their feelings reciprocated by the one they loved. 

By the time her body succumbed to the disease - because she would rather die loving him than live without knowing just how important he was to her - Gotham would be comparable to the Keukenhof Gardens, the only difference was the stained red on the petals from the blood caused by the strength with which she coughed.

Laying in bed, Marinette coughed up another blood stained tulip and, and even when she could feel her imminent ending right around  the corner, she could only think of midnight haired man for who she was willing to take over an entire city with the Yellow Tulips representing her love for him.

A tear fell from her bluebell eyes, and, for the last time, Marinette DuPain-Cheng closed her eyes.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Jesse Duquette

* * * *

The GOP plays “hide the ball” with its 2024 platform

July 9, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

Trump knows that if the 2024 election is decided on the issues, he will lose. That is why the Republican Party platform previewed today attempts to distance the GOP from its real agenda. The fact that Trump is playing “hide the ball” with the American electorate is a sign of fear and concern. If the GOP believed its platform would propel Trump to re-election, it would not engage in deceit and sleight of hand.

To be clear, the official Republican platform is horrific, as described below. But the real Republican platform is known as Project 2025—a document that describes a fascist vision for America. But the GOP Platform whitewashes that vision.

For example, the GOP Platform mentions the word “abortion” only once to say that the decision has been returned to the states. Project 2025 references “abortion” 922 times to describe how access to abortion will be denied at the national level through congressional legislation and how access will be restricted in every program possible—from emergency medical treatment to foreign aid to healthcare in the military. (Click the link above, search the PDF for the word “abortion” to confirm the results for yourself.)

But the same is true of other issues. Project 2025 promises to “dismantle the administrative state,” gut the civil service, strip the EPA of its ability to protect the environment, actively discriminate against LGBTQ people (including by excluding transgender people from the military), promote the role of “faith-based” organizations in delivering government services, and more.

Heather Cox Richardson described Trump's recent attempt to distance himself from the toxic Project 2025 in her Letters from An American, dated July 5, 2024. First, HCR notes that Steve Bannon and other Trump allies describe Project 2025 as “institutionalizing Trumpism.” HCR then notes

His social media feed tried to distance the former president from Project 2025. “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” the post read. Despite this disavowal of any knowledge of the project, it continued: “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

Any reasonable reading of Trump's statement above suggests that he understands Project 2025 will be a millstone around his neck that will sink his prospects. The reactionaries behind Project 2025 understand the same thing. One of the co-founders of Project 2025, Paul Dans, canceled an interview with NBC to be taped on Monday. No explanation was provided for the cancellation.

Trump's attempt to soften the GOP platform should fool no one. See generally Talking Points Memo, Trump Team Tries Harder And Harder To Hide What They Will Actually Do During Trump 2.0.

Trump's “hide the ball” routine is not escaping the notice of the ultra-right evangelical Christians who have served as the backbone of Trump's solid core of support.

As noted by NBC News,

Social conservatives pushed to retain the platform’s old language promoting an abortion ban and opposing same-sex marriage, but they lost as the politics surrounding both have changed over the years. . . . “It is fair to say that over 1,000 pastors have emailed, texted and called me about their disappointment over where they saw the platform going,” said Chad Connelly, a former chair of the South Carolina GOP who said he was blocked from the platform committee over "being labeled 'too pro-life.'" “The words I am hearing are shocked, betrayed, trampled, depressed, deflated,” he said. “Most pastors I know don’t want Biden and will still probably vote for Trump, but this hurts the energy needed for those folks to do the things it takes to help elect a president.”

Still, the GOP platform presents a fascist, white nationalist, xenophobic view of America. Relevant points include:

1. Seal The Border, And Stop The Migrant Invasion 2. Carry Out The Largest Deportation Operation In American History 9. End The Weaponization Of Government Against The American People 10. Stop The Migrant Crime Epidemic, Demolish The Foreign Drug Cartels, Crush Gang Violence, And Lock Up Violent Offenders 15. Cancel The Electric Vehicle Mandate And Cut Costly And Burdensome Regulations 16. Cut Federal Funding For Any School Pushing Critical Race Theory, Radical Gender Ideology, And Other Inappropriate Racial, Sexual, Or Political Content On Our Children 18. Deport Pro-Hamas Radicals And Make Our College Campuses Safe And Patriotic Again 19. Secure Our Elections, Including Same Day Voting, Voter Identification, Paper Ballots, And Proof Of Citizenship.

There is more to discuss in the days to come. However, the above points align with Project 2025—although they are sanitized to conceal the essential connection between Project 2025 and the Republican Platform. It is up to Democrats to spread the alarm. A good place to start is with Center for American Progress, Project 2025: The Plan To Seize Power by Gutting America’s System of Checks and Balances.

+

The Supreme Court

Meanwhile, the biggest threat to democracy, the Supreme Court, has glided under the radar in the uproar over Biden’s debate performance. But Professor Laurence Tribe and Judge Michael Luttig continue to sound the alarm.

Professor Tribe has published an article in The Guardian that proposes fundamental reforms in the Supreme Court and executive branches. See US supreme court abandoned the rule of law and triggered a need for basic reform | Laurence H Tribe | The Guardian.

Professor Tribe suggests three fundamental reforms: First, an enforceable ethics code and term limits, and possibly creating several added seats “to offset the way Trump stacked the court to favor his Maga agenda as president;” second, creating a federal prosecutorial arm structurally independent of the presidency; and third, clarifications and limitations on presidential immunity and the pardon power.

As Professor Tribe notes, the process of amending the Constitution need not take long. The first step is taking control of Congress and re-electing Joe Biden (my gloss)!

Also, Professor Michael Luttig discusses the recent immunity decision with Michael Popok on the podcast Legal AF (available on Apple Podcasts). The discussion takes a deep dive into

the dangers presented by the immunity decision.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]