#if you continue to say vote blue no matter who you are an accessory to genocide

[briteredoctober]

See this? This is why 'just vote blue' is not a fucking option. Joe Biden is a fascist. He is a genocidal strongman. He is literally threatening the ICC. He is allowing his fellow fascists in the Israeli regime to threaten to occupy and attack more people (in the West Bank, which is completely outside of Hamas's jurisdiction) if the International Criminal Court continues to investigate their active genocide. Biden is not a lesser evil. He is a fundamental threat to humanity, and continuing to support him makes you complicit in the current genocide of the Palestinian people.

If your options are Hitler or Mussolini, you don't pick Mussolini because he's "the lesser evil." You burn down the system that presented that as your only two choices.

https://www.reuters.com/world/icc-prosecutor-calls-end-intimidation-staff-statement-says-2024-05-03/

[kpop-zone]

Dating High School Blackpink

Jisoo

The valedictorian

She’s by far the most ambitious girl in school

All the high school drama couldn’t be more unimportant to her

She’s only focused on her studies

And on making her report card look better by joining strategically clever extracurriculars

She only keeps a small number of friends really close

Although she still treats the other students politely and helps them out wherever she can (resulting in her being the class president every year)

But she never really lets any of them close

That’s why you were really surprised when you learned that you had caught her attention

You had been in love with her ever since you started high school

But you had never dared to talk to her because she’s not so lowkey scary

There had been countless others who had tried to woo her

Because despite being a huge nerd, her beauty and unapproachability intrigued everyone

No one ever had a chance with her though

She simply ignored their advances or politely turned them down

So you didn’t even bother to talk with her

But one day in class, she came to talk with you

Your teacher had told you to find a partner for your final project

And suddenly Jisoo popped up in front of you

“Do you want to be my partner?”

Her question had totally caught you off guard and you stared at her with an open mouth

After embarrassing yourself for another painful minute, you eventually managed to shake off your trance and accepted her offer by simply nodding your head

“Ok, great. Meet me in the library after your classes end.”

Without awaiting your answer, she walked away but you wouldn’t have dared to disagree with her anyways

Therefore, you nervously made your way to the library after your classes had ended

Jisoo was already sitting at one of the tables, waiting for you with her school supplies neatly placed in front of her

She didn’t waste any time before starting with your project

Although she seemed to be trailing off several times while you were working

“He was involved with the Medici. They are from Italy. Do you like Italian food?”

You hadn’t expected her to ask you such personal questions, but you didn’t question her method and answered everything without hesitation

It wasn’t until two weeks later that you just weren’t able to ignore Jisoo’s weird behavior any longer

You had wondered right from the start why she had asked you for daily meetings although she seemed to know everything about the project already

Your confusion reached its peak on your last meeting one day before the deadline

Jisoo was completely out of it, fidgeting about on her chair and rambling about random things

“Are you ok? Are you nervous because of the project?”

You asked concerned but Jisoo immediately shook her head

“No, we’ll get an A. Do you want to go on a date with me?”

She blurted out, managing to catch you completely off guard

But you couldn’t say that you didn’t find her straightforwardness extremely attractive

Therefore, you -of course- said yes

The two of you agreed that she would pick you up at seven the same day

She ended up arriving five minutes early at your house and introduced herself to your parents (because she’s a classy girl), managing to woo them in a matter of seconds

After you had left your house, she managed to surprise you another time

You had thought that she would go with a safe choice -having dinner or watching a movie- but instead, she took you stargazing and prepared a fancy picknick with homemade food

And you fell for her even harder, so you didn’t hesitate when she asked you for a second date...and then a third and then a fourth...

On your fourth date she finally confessed to you that she had been in love with you forever

But just like you, she had been too shy to tell you

When the teacher had asked you to pick a partner though, she had decided to grab the chance

So she had used the two weeks that you had to work together to find out more about you and to plan the perfect dates (which she had clearly nailed)

You were completely enraptured by her confession

Therefore, you didn’t even need to think when she asked you to make your relationship official

And ever since, you are a dream team

You are a well-balanced couple

Although Jisoo is still very focused on her studies, she never neglects you

She always makes sure to have enough time for you and never stops being the most charming person on earth

Even though you are already hers, she still takes you on fancy dates and flirts with you as if she still needed to woo you

“Excuse me? Have we met before? I feel like I’ve seen your face before... Oh yeah, I remember now. It was in the dictionary next to the word ‘gorgeous’!”

She will hit you with pick up lines like that out of the blue

You always roll your eyes because of her cheesiness but secretly, you enjoy it

Jisoo also helps you to study

You had never been a terrible student, but sometimes you lack motivation

Your girlfriend has plenty of ways to motivate you though

“I will give you a kiss for every exercise that you solve correctly.”

So, since you started dating Jisoo, your grades had gotten exponentially better

In return for your girlfriend’s assistance, you help her to ease up a bit

You force her to accompany you to parties and to go out with her friends more often

She always whines, but in the end, she’s grateful that you managed to lure her out of her room

Everyone else is jealous of your perfect relationship

Never had the two of you ever been caught fighting

You even got voted first in the category ‘Couple who’s most likely to get married first’ in the yearbook

Because you just look right together

Although Jisoo isn’t a big fan of PDA and at most, allows you to hold her hand in public, the two of you still manage to cause some agitated whispers every time you walk through the hallways together

Everyone simply wants to know how you managed to woo her

But just like Jisoo doesn’t care about the rumors about others, she doesn’t care about the rumors about herself either

She’s perfectly content with everything that she has

And you are perfectly content with everything that you have too

Jennie

The rich girl

She’s by far the most popular girl in school

Everyone who’s befriended with her is considered a cool kid

Her clique frequently makes the hallways its catwalk

Because all her friends manage to significantly upgrade their school uniforms with expensive accessories

Especially Jennie looks like she stepped right out of Gossip Girl

Her look is usually completed by a headband, a shiny brooch, and the newest Chanel bag

The moment she steps out of her family’s Porsche in the morning, the head of every single person in the school turns around

There are only two kinds of people on the planet: people who want to be like her and people who want to be with her

You belong to the second kind

Ever since you had first spotted her, you were head over heels in love with her

But of course, you had never dared to talk with her, because you weren’t considered a cool kid

You just stole secret glances at her like all the other lovesick fools at school

Until the goddess of destiny decided to let you find a grain of corn one day

You had agreed with your friends that you would meet in the stadium to watch the soccer match of your school team together

As usual, however, they texted you shortly beforehand that they would be late

So you ended up sitting all by yourself in the stands, grumpily waiting for your friends to keep you company

Just when you thought that you had to be the unluckiest person on earth though, everything turned to the better

“Are you all by yourself?”

You instantly recognized her voice and whipped your head to the side in lightning speed

Jennie was standing next to you with her friends lining up behind her

You were so shocked that she had noticed you that you weren’t able to utter a single word

But Jennie didn’t seem to mind

“I wanna sit here, guys.”

She said to her friends over her shoulder who sat down obediently

“Hi, I’m Jennie. What’s your name?”

She flashed you the most beautiful smile that you had ever seen, making you blush profusely, but this time you were quick to respond to her question to stop making a fool of yourself

“Y/N!”

You blurted out breathlessly and Jennie’s smile grew even bigger

“Nice to meet you, Y/N! Here, cheer with us!”

She pressed a banner and some pom poms that her friends had brought into your hands before starting to cheer for your school team

You were still completely dumbfounded by the fact that the Jennie Kim was sitting next to you right now, but didn’t dare to disobey her wish

So you started cheering for your team too, causing her to grin at you happily

Till your friends finally decided to appear, you were almost feeling like a part of Jennie’s friend group

She had made sure to introduce you to the others and to incorporate you into their conversations

And to your surprise they were actually a lot more approachable than you had thought

If you were honest, they seemed to be fairly normal teenagers

(except when they asked you if you would also attend fashion week next month)

The evening flew by and when it was time to go home, sadness overcame you because you were sure that you would never talk to them again

But everything came differently the next day at school

“Y/N! Come here! Sit with us!”

As soon as Jennie had seen you entering the cafeteria, she waved you and your friends over

Perplexed, you stared at her, but your friends pushed you into her direction

Everyone in the cafeteria stared at you as you made your way over to the cool kids and started to whisper behind your back

But Jennie didn’t pay attention to anyone but you

She patted the seat right beside her and continued to eat as if it were just a normal lunch break

From that day on, your friends and you had fixed seats at the table of the cool kids

They always waved you over during lunch break

And also started chatting with you when you ran into each other in the hallways like you had always belonged to them

Especially Jennie always seemed to make an effort to see you as often as possible

You didn’t really think much of it at first

Until your friends couldn’t take your obliviousness anymore and told you that Jennie was having a crush on you

You laughed at their ridiculousness, but in the following weeks you noticed that Jennie truly always acted a bit shy around you

You began to doubt your certainty that the Jennie Kim could never be in love with you, and you became a nervous mess around her too

(It was pure torture to watch the two of you for everyone else)

So your friends hyped you up until you finally had enough courage and asked her out for homecoming

You had never seen a happier person in your life before

Jennie smiled with her whole face and instantly agreed

The two of you became the talk of the night

But once again, Jennie only had eyes for you

She even fled the coronation of the homecoming queen

Because she didn’t want to dance with anyone else

So the two of you stole away and talked on the stairs in front of the school instead

You talked all night until more and more students left the dance and you figured that it was time to bring Jennie home

But before you could stand up, she stopped you

“Wait, there’s actually something I wanted to do before we leave.”

Expectantly, you looked at her and to your surprise Jennie suddenly leaned in

Your lips met and you completely froze until she pulled away when someone bolted out of the door behind you

You stared at her in complete shock, but Jennie just smiled at you

“Ok, we can go now.”

She held out her hand to you and you took it speechlessly

Together you made your way back home with your fingers intertwined

When you looked to the side, you could see that Jennie was still grinning from ear to ear and you started to ease up

Like two Cheshire cats you walked through the city, giggling sheepishly every now and then when your eyes met

And you were sure that you had to be the happiest person on the planet

Ever since that night Jennie and you are a couple

And you are allowed to see more and more of her world, realizing that people just had way too much fantasy

Not even half of the rumors that circulate about her and her friends are true

Jennie is not at all that scary, arrogant rich girl that everyone always makes her out to be

She’s just a normal teenager who tries to survive high school

Everyone had just put her in a box, because of her family’s money

She doesn’t think that she’s superior to others because of her family’s money at all though

Although you do have to stop her sometimes from spoiling you too much

Because whenever she sees something that she thinks you could like, she simply buys it

And when you’re getting food together, she always wants to pay

But you convinced her at one point to alternate because you want to spoil her too from time to time

Although she doesn’t really want you to spend a lot of money on her

“If you want to spoil me, then give me endless cuddles.”

She usually says and who were you to disagree?

Generally, Jennie is someone who isn’t too shy to show her love for you publicly

She always makes sure to keep you close by her side

As soon as you are together, your bodies are attached to each other in some way

Either your girlfriend will hold your hand, interlink your arms, place her hand on your leg or sit in your lap

Your friends always tease you about it when you go out together

But Jennie couldn’t care less

She loves you with all her heart and she wants everyone to know that you’re hers

Chaeyoung

The choir girl

She’s a sweetheart

Everyone knows her

And everyone loves her

Because she’s in a billion different clubs at school (she can’t say no...)

Cheerleading, prom committee, glee club, choir, creative writing club...

But her only real passion is music

In 99% of the cases when she’s not in class, she can be found in the choir room

Usually, she just strums away on a guitar or plays piano

Often she leaves the window open and her beautiful voice mesmerizes everyone on the schoolyard

The 1% of the time that she isn’t in the choir room, she can be found in the cafeteria

All the cafeteria ladies know her by name

And they are all whipped for her

She always gets an extra scoop or sometimes she even gets some special menu

And as her best friend, you enjoy the same benefits as well

You can’t remember a time that you weren’t with her

She’s your best friend ever since you can think

The two of you live in the same street

And grew up playing together

Ever since elementary school you also attend the same schools

So at one point in your live it literally seemed like you were seeing each other 24/7

That’s why you don’t really know when your relationship had changed

It was more of a creeping process

Even as children you liked to pretend that you were a married couple when you were playing

It was also normal for the two of you to hold hands wherever you were going

Therefore, you can’t really tell when you turned from friends to lovers

Neither of you were simply ever interested in anyone else

And when you moved on to middle school together, everyone assumed that you were a couple

And you didn’t bother to correct them

It wasn’t until the end of middle school though that you actually kissed for the first time

You were having one of your many sleepovers

And all the pent-up uncertainty and emotions that both of you had been feeling finally reached their limit

So when you were facing each other on your bed and Chaeyoung’s gaze flickered to your lips, you just leaned in

It was just a short and sweet peck on the lips

But when Chaeyoung giggled happily afterwards, it didn’t fail to make a million butterflies erupt in your stomach

And you knew that this definitely would not be the last time

Since then you are officially a couple

Although you actually spend less time together ever since you transferred to high school

Because both of you have quite busy schedules

That did not change the importance that you have in each other’s lives though

Chaeyoung is still the first person that you tell every important and not so important thing in your life and vice versa

And both of you are still completely uninterested in anyone else

Although there are of course a lot of jocks who want to woo Chaeyoung because she’s the captain of the cheerleading squad

But she is always quick to turn everyone down

Managing to break a lot of hearts in the process

Because she’s very bad at hiding the disgust in her face whenever someone flirts with her

So you usually laugh away all the advances of her admirers

Plus, most students know that the two of you are dating anyways

After all, you are one of those annoyingly cute couples

You have lunch together every day and wait for each other after school to walk home together

Chaeyoung also holds your hand at all times or interlinks your arms

So sometimes it seems like the two of you are magnets

And someone who doesn’t know you would probably think that you had just fallen in love

Because everyone can see that you’re completely crazy about each other

Especially when your girlfriend surprises you with small, sweet gestures

When you have a test, for example, she always makes sure to slip your favorite snack into your backpack

Or she leaves random cute notes in your locker when you have different classes all day long

In return, you always visit her at the choir room to bring her snacks when she forgets time once again

Often, you also study there instead of in the library, because you can never get enough of your girlfriend’s voice

That’s also why you would never miss one of her performances

No matter whether it’s a singing, dancing or reciting performance

You are her biggest fan

Although Chaeyoung always gets really shy when you praise her afterwards

But of course, you end up praising her even more, just to see her blush

When the two of you are not at school, you usually like to hang out at one of your houses

Often you have “study dates” which are not really used for studying though

You always plan to study, but end up doing other things instead

The longest time you had ever managed to stay focused was 15 minutes

It’s just too distractive for the two of you to be in one room

Usually you end up talking or making out all day long

So sometimes you don’t even bother to bring your books when you go to Chaeyoung’s house

Why should you study if you could have a picnic with your girlfriend and her cute puppy instead or watch some stupid variety show together?

Most of the time your procrastination isn’t too harmful for your report cards either

So neither of you feels too bad for not doing what you were supposed to

After all, time that you spent together is never wasted

Because even after all these years, you could never get bored of each other

Every moment that you spend together is special

Lalisa

The troublemaker

The moment that you had met Lisa for the first time, you knew that she would turn your life upside down

She is not your average high school student

She is just there to have a good time

Theoretically, she is smart and talented enough to join countless clubs (like the Foreign Language Club)

But practically, that’s too much work for her

The same applies to sports clubs

It takes no genius to see that she’s athletic as hell

But she doesn’t like the pack behavior that comes with those clubs

The only activity that she had ever tried was cheerleading because dancing is her passion

But it was way too restrictive for her

She hated following the lame choreographies of her coach

Plus, there had been too much drama for her with the other girls

Many of them had been jealous because they couldn’t keep up with her

So, Lisa simply left the squad again

She just wants to get through school without any stress or drama

Although she unfortunately has the talent to frequently get herself in quite a lot of trouble

Her favorite offense is to fall asleep during her classes

And one of her gravest ones is accidentally blowing up the chemistry lab

She never means to cause trouble

But the frequency of her accidents has earned her a reputation as troublemaker

Therefore, it is no surprise that the two of you had met in detention for the first time

Your teacher had guided you to the gym where Lisa was already waiting

She had instantly caught your eye although she seemed to be a be a bit shy

“Lisa! Nice to see you here...again. You know the drill. Everything needs to be squeaky clean.”

Those were the words that the teacher had said before leaving Lisa and you alone

For a few awkward seconds, the two of you just stole sheepish glances at each other

But then Lisa eventually piped up

“What are you here for?”

She asked while grabbing a mop and starting to clean the old, smelly gym

“I punched a guy for stealing a kid’s lunch money.”

You replied casually, causing her to stare at you in surprise for a second

Eventually she managed to recover herself though and nodded impressed

“Dope.”

From that moment, the ice between the two of you was broken

And you started to chat while mopping the floors

The time flew by as you learned more and more about each other

You found that you had more in common than just your inclination to get yourself in trouble

Your taste in music was pretty similar and you could also not argue with Lisa’s choice of absolute must-watch movies

After a while, your punishment didn’t even seem so bad anymore

If you were honest, you were glad to be stuck in your school’s smelly gym right now

Subconsciously, you had even started to clean slower just so that you could spend more time with Lisa

But eventually, your teacher came back to set you free and it was time to part ways

Both of you hesitated to leave though so you figured that you should not forgo this chance

“Maybe we could meet up some day and watch some movies together?”

You asked Lisa as you stepped out of the gym and she looked at you with a wide smile playing on her lips

“I would love that!”

She responded happily and you could feel your heart fluttering in your chest

Quickly, you exchanged phone numbers before saying goodbye

The following days, you didn’t see Lisa at school though to your dismay

She also never texted

And suddenly you started wondering whether she had just given you her number because she didn’t want to be rude

You were already pretty sure of your theory when Lisa finally sent you a message after four days

That’s Lego

Attached to her short message was a picture of a kitten and you laughed because of Lisa’s randomness

But you couldn’t say that her strategy hadn’t worked

The ice was broken again and the two of you texted every day

You also met up at school and hung out between your classes

It seemed like Lisa had just been a bit shy in the beginning

Because now that you knew each other better, you could barely stop her from talking (not that you would have wanted her to anyways)

You also followed through with your plan to have a movie night

Although you didn’t really watch a lot of movies

At first, you got distracted by Lisa’s cats

Then you stumbled upon her impressive collection of photos that she had taken over the years

And finally, she tried to make fresh popcorn, but forgot to put a lid on

So, when you started with the first movie, it was already past 10 pm

Nevertheless, you considered the night a success

Rarely anybody on this planet had ever managed to make you laugh as much as Lisa did

And you loved that she had allowed you to see a part of her world that not everyone could see

Therefore, your first movie night was followed by countless others

You grew closer every time, but you still didn’t really know what the two of you were

So you gathered all your courage and asked Lisa one night

“What...are we?”

You were a little nervous because you didn’t know whether you would like her answer

But Lisa just kept slurping the ramen that she was eating as if you had asked a totally mundane question

“I’m your girlfriend, right?”

She replied nonchalantly while glancing over the pot at you, causing you to chuckle

“Yes. Yes, you are.”

Everything about your relationship simply exudes strong ‘chaotic neutral’ energy

When the two of you are together no one knows what to expect

Maybe you use your time efficiently and build a darkroom for Lisa or have a study marathon

But maybe you also drink 20 shots of espresso each to watch all Harry Potter movies in one sitting

Everyone who knows you thinks that you are a safety hazard together

But for some reason you still work perfectly fine

You’re both chaotic, but in different ways

So you balance each other out

And both of you also have the same goals

You don’t take school too seriously

But you still have big plans for your future, so you always make sure to have a decent report card

And help each other out when you are struggling

Because you believe in each other

You know that Lisa will be the most famous dancer one day

And she would drop everything at any time to help you achieve your dreams as well

Together, you are an unstoppable force

And you know it

[artificialqueens]

Good Morning Campers, Chapter 4 (Crystal x Gigi) - Gelato

AN: Sorry this is so late but I started on another project that will be posted next week, thanks for the notes I really appreciate it!

“Aren’t you scared someone’s going to walk in, Miss Goode?” Crystal whispered, breathing shakily as Gigi dropped to her knees and lifted her skirt.

Her heart was racing and she hoped secretly that someone would catch them in the act.

They’d been sneaking around for well over two weeks now. Their stint in the disciplinary cabin at the edge of camp had quickly passed and they no longer had a reason to spend every waking moment together.

It was pure bliss for those seven days, spending every minute of the day at each other’s side for camp chores and each night in one another’s arms.

They’d truly gotten to know each other in and out. What they loved, hated, and wanted more than anything in the world. Stories swapped about childhood and life back home. What made each other tick, what turned each other on..

No secrets.

They were hooked on one another.

It didn’t end when they left the cabin and went their separate ways. They were just a mulch covered path away, their new quarters just a few feet from each other’s as they joined their peers as regular campers in overcrowded bunks for the remainder of their stay at Blue Springs.

Gigi was still miffed about her demotion, but wouldn’t change anything if it meant never spending the time with Crystal that she did.

“You want me to stop?” Gigi breathed hotly against Crystal’s thigh before running her tongue to meet the edge of her panties.

“No, don’t stop..” Crystal moaned softly, begging, praying that Gigi wouldn’t dare move as she ran her fingers through her red curls.

Gigi quickly did away with the offending underwear before swiftly hitching Crystal’s leg over her shoulder.

The shower stalls had become their regular meet up. It was mid morning just after breakfast, long after the morning shower rush had passed. They didn’t have much time, knowing their friends would come looking for them sooner or later.

Crystal reveled in the feel of Gigi’s tongue against her, coming undone in just a matter of minutes. She failed to keep her screams of pleasure from loudly bouncing off the shower stalls.

Gigi’s hand snaked up to cover her mouth. Crystal took her index finger between her lips and sucked slowly before pulling Gigi up to meet her lips. They kissed passionately, never wanting this moment to end.

“You.. have gotten so good at that.” Crystal breathed with a laugh, chest heaving and heart beating straight out of her chest.

“I learned from the best.” Gigi whispered hotly before bringing her in for another lasting kiss.

Crystal quickly dropped to her own knees to reciprocate before the echo of the camps PA system brought her to a screeching halt.

“Will all campers grades 10 through 12 please report to the main pavilion for announcements. That’s all campers, grade 10 through 12, report to the main pavilion.” Mrs. Davis’ voice reverberated through out the camp grounds.

The girls quickly scurried to compose themselves and to go there separate ways to meet up with their friends, much to their dismay.

After a rushed kiss goodbye, they left the stalls separately as they came, hoping that no one would notice.

——-

“Why is Creepy Crystal staring at you like that.” Violet leaned to whisper in Gigi’s ear as they sat in the crowded pavilion awaiting announcements.

It took everything in her not to yank her so called friend by the hair and threaten her life for speaking about Crystal that way, but she had agreed to Crystal’s suggestion to ignore anything anyone had to say about one another. They wanted to keep their relationship private for the time being.

Much to her relief, Mrs. Davis stepped onto the stage and began to garner the attention of everyone in the pavilion.

“Shh, it’s starting.” Gigi threw Violet’s way, ignoring her previous statement.

She chanced a glance over at Crystal, who was indeed looking over her way.

The lust in her eyes didn’t go unnoticed. Her cheeks were still flushed from their earlier meet up. She licked her lips and slowly uncrossed and recrossed her legs, flashing Gigi a bit to reveal that she hadn’t bothered to put her panties back on.

Gigi’s vision went hazy and her face got hot. She couldn’t look away.

“I’m still wet.” Crystal mouthed from across the room, biting down on her neon green polished finger tip.

Gigi went weak in the knees.

“Alright girls, settle down.” Mrs. Davis spoke into the microphone at center stage, barely succeeding in taking Gigi’s attention from Crystal.

“As many of you have looked forward to for the last few weeks, this weekend is our annual summer fling with the Blue Mountain’s Camp for Boys.” She began reading from her clip board.

Most of the pavilion erupted with cheers of excitement, aside from the Strange Gang that shared a few gagging noises, earning them a couple of glares from their peers.

“As we have in the years before, we will be tasking you all in preparing for the event. Before leaving our meeting today, please take a look at the sign up sheet. We need plenty of help decorating! Don’t forget to also place your nomination for Summer Fling Queen. You will have until the evening of the dance to place your votes.” Mrs. Davis continued.

This announcement sparked even more excited chatter from the girls, each prattling on about what to wear, what duty they wanted, and who’s name they’d throw in for Queen.

Gigi’s name flew around the room as it had the previous year. She was always a shoe-in for Queen, and although she had been mildly disgraced for being demoted from the Junior Counselors, her popularity around the camp had done nothing but soar.

“We’ll also be offering buses into town this afternoon for the young ladies who would like to do a little shopping ahead of the festivities!” Mrs. Davis shared, earning even more excited buzz from the audience.

“Yes! I’ve had my eye on a pair of earrings at the mall.” Naomi said, leading the girls out of their seats to head back to the cabin and prepare for their awaited mall trip.

Gigi chanced another glance at Crystal, who hadn’t seemed too excited for a shopping trip of her own. Her eyes were suddenly down casted and she stayed seated, twisting her fingers with one another. Gigi made quick of telling the girls that she wanted to stay behind for a moment to speak to Mrs. Davis so they would head back to the bunks before making a b-line toward Crystal.

“I’ll meet you guys later.” Crystal said to her own friends, hoping that they would give her a moment alone as she saw Gigi approaching.

“You don’t seem too thrilled about shopping.” Gigi began, taking a seat next to Crystal as the pavilion cleared out.

“Don’t have a lot of money to spend. But it’s alright, I think I’ll just skip out on the dance all together.” Crystal shrugged.

“What? No! You have to go! It’s camp tradition.” Gigi crossed her arms, in disbelief that she would be missing her chance to see Crystal in formal wear.

“I don’t have anything to wear.” Crystal laughed, leaning into a seemingly pissed Gigi. She found it amusing how worked up she had gotten over a dance.

“Well lucky for both of us, I have plenty.” Gigi smirked, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Crystal bit her lip and began to protest, but was no match for Gigi as she pulled her from her seat and back toward the bunks.

———

Gigi denied the invitation to join the rest of the Heather’s on the bus to town, much to their annoyance.

She had insisted that she already had something to wear, but denying a trip to the mall was extremely unlike her, and this didn’t go unnoticed by Violet in particular.

After some back and forth the group left. Gigi breathed a sigh of relief and waved Crystal over from the cabin across from her own.

“Alright, short or long? I have a thousand options to choose from, baby. Take your pick!” Gigi wasted no time laying out her formal wear that had been hanging in the shared cabin closet until now.

“I dunno, Geeg’. I don’t think I’ve ever worn anything this expensive.” Crystal whispered sheepishly, taking a price tag between her fingers and running her thumb over the offensive numbers.

“Forget about that. I want you to feel as beautiful as you are. I know you don’t need an expensive dress for that. But I’m not going to let you skip out on this dance.” Gigi replied, picking up a shimmering piece toward the top of the pile.

“Try this for me, please. It’s super sparkly and bright and I’ve sort of been imagining you in it every time I see it hanging in the closet.” Gigi blushed a bit, still uncomfortable with sharing just how much she thought about Crystal on a daily basis.

Crystal agreed after some protest, stripping down and slipping the dress on.

It was a baby pink, silk gown with shimmering accents along the bodice. It hugged each of her curves just right, earning her a look of approval from Gigi who sat in awe at how a simple dress somehow transformed Crystal.

“Well, what do you think?” Crystal sighed, secretly loving how the dress fit her body like a glove. She turned her back to Gigi and looked over her shoulder for a pose.

“I think I love it on you, but I’d like it better off.” Gigi replied, pulling Crystal onto her lap.

The two took full advantage of having the cabin to themselves for the rest of the afternoon.

———

The evening of the dance came soon enough, the entire camp buzzing with excitement. After a full day on the lake, the campers scampered to get ready for a night they’d all been looking forward too since arriving weeks prior.

Crystal was a ball of nerves. She couldn’t even afford a prom ticket back home, so a dance was uncharted territory for her.

She admired herself in the single dirty mirror that cabin had to offer, the remaining member’s of the Strange Gang offering a stark contrast to her as they sported punky dresses of various colors paired with high top sneakers and wild makeup.

Crystal decided to forgo too many accessories as she normally would pile on and opted for a single drop pearl necklace Gigi had given her to pair with the dress, along with matching earrings. Her hair cascaded down her back in waves, and her make up was more subdued than usual, her sparkling lip gloss accentuating her plump lips and bringing out the shimmer in her gown.

She truly was a vision, the baby pink silken fabric hugged her perfectly, and her teal blue hair somehow tied it all in like a Barbie fever dream.

“You look stunning, babe. You think she’ll ask you to dance?” Adore piped up from behind her with a raised eyebrow. She was the only one that knew the dress was from Gigi, and the only one that she wasn’t afraid to tell the full truth of their relationship to.

Yvie still held a bit of resentment toward the Heather’s along with Katya, and Crystal had decided keeping them in the dark was better than pushing the envelope this close to camp being over.

“I have no clue. Every part of me hopes she does. But I understand if she doesn’t.” Crystal replied, suddenly nervous at the prospect of holding Gigi so closely in front of the entire camp.

She was just excited to finally see what Gigi would be wearing. During Crystal’s little fashion show in her cabin she had successfully kept her own gown under wraps, intending to keep it a surprise for Crystal. They hadn’t seen each other all day, Gigi having warned her that she would spend the majority of it getting ready for the evening.

A hoard of cheers erupted outside as the buses filled with young men from the Blue Mountain’s Camp for Boys pulled into front entrance of the camp. Many of the girls were excited at the idea of meeting a boy this evening, and some were even reuniting with boyfriends that were attending the neighboring camp.

An announcement calling all campers to the pavilion bellowed over the intercom and sent the remaining campers out of their bunks.

Crystal and Gigi agreed that they wouldn’t be able to spend too much time at each other’s side during the event as not to raise suspicion, so they opted to meet behind the pavilion before the dance for some alone time.

Crystal switched from foot to foot nervously, her toes already aching as the heels Gigi gave her to wear began to pinch. The dance had already started and Gigi was nowhere to be found. Her heart sank as she realized she may not be meeting her after all.

“Hey gorgeous.” An angelic voice came up from behind her. Crystal’s shoulder’s instantly relaxed as she turned to face Gigi in all her stunning glory.

She modeled a shimmering silk dress that was the exact same as Crystal’s, except in powder blue. Her red hair draped gracefully over her shoulders in luscious tendrils, perfectly styled and framing her face. She had gone for a makeup look that only Crystal could have inspired, her blue eyeshadow and bright pink cheeks tied her look together. Her wrists carried clunky multicolored bracelets that she had lifted from Crystal’s personal collection.

“I hope you don’t mind, I swiped these when we stayed together. I was always planning on wearing them tonight. I wanted to keep a piece of you on me.” Gigi blushed and explained the jewelry as she noticed Crystal’s eyes fall onto them.

Crystal couldn’t help but let out an ecstatic squeal and rush into Gigi’s arms, overjoyed that she had wanted to emulate her on such an important night.

“Aw baby, we’re matching!” She bounced excitedly and stepped back only to take all of Gigi in.

“I know, that’s sort of why I had you try this one on first. I already had mine picked out and I was hoping you would love it so we could be a pair!” Gigi bounced along with her.

They kissed and held each other closely for a few moments before the sound of loud pop music interrupted them from inside the newly transformed dance hall.

“I guess we better get in there. See you after, same spot? ” Crystal asked with a pout before leaning in to give Gigi a final peck and the lips.

“Actually, I was thinking we could go in.. together.” Gigi nearly whispered, intertwining her fingers with Crystal’s and gently tugging her toward the music.

Crystal’s smile grew wider and her eyes softened as she fought back tears of joy.

“Yeah?” She mustered, in shock with Gigi’s proposal.

“Yeah. And if anyone has a problem with it, fuck ‘em.” Gigi nodded and smiled broadly before walking hand in hand with Crystal to the front entrance.

They were greeted by many shocked stares from fellow campers but marched on, truly not caring what anyone thought.

The pavilion was dimly lit, a dated disco ball hanging from the ceiling lit up the dance floor as campers from both camps danced awkwardly with one another, well supervised by several counselors.

The upbeat music quickly diminished and transition into the first slow dance song of the night. The opening keys of “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin hummed over the loud speakers. The dance floor cleared, save for a few couples that lingered to dance with one another.

“May I have this dance?” Gigi asked, pulling Crystal onto the floor.

They held each other close and noticed right away how everyone was staring, including members of their own cliques.

The Strange Gang hooted and hollered in surprised shock, embracing the new couple as they drifted across the dance floor.

The Heather’s were a different story. Nicki was surprised but a bit elated at Gigi’s obvious happiness, as well was Naomi. Violet however looked as if she was about to burst a blood vessel.

Gigi waved daintily at them with a smirk over Crystal’s shoulder and pulled her close. Crystal leaned back to come face to face with the red head, their lips close and her voice low.

“Gigi.. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before. You make me the happiest girl alive. I think... I know I love-“ She was abruptly interrupted by a booming voice across the dance floor.

“Geeg’! Babe, I’ve been looking all over for you.” A tall, blonde teenaged boy bounded over cluelessly to the couple, his tux slightly disheveled and his bow tie hanging loosely around his neck.

“Chip?!” Gigi yelped in horror and stepped away nervously from Crystal.

She wasn’t going to let anything come between her and Crystal tonight, but she certainly wasn’t expecting her boyfriend from back home to walk through the door.

[four-loose-screws]

FE Expo II - FE16 Stage Drama Translation

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Fire Emblem Expo II - Stage Drama

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

“A Lively Arts Festival Meeting”

Cast: Claude, Dorothea, Felix, Ignatz

BGM: ‘Everyday Life at Garreg Mach Monastery’

-

Claude: Umm, first, I’d like to thank you all for gathering here today.

Dorothea: We don’t need the introduction, so please skip to the point.

Felix: Could you hurry up and get this over with? And I don’t need these tea sweets.

Ignatz: Hold on, everyone! Let’s listen to what Claude has to say.

Claude: ...I, um, tried to start this groundbreaking meeting that overcomes the boundaries between our classes with so much care that it would inspire all of you, but now it seems like my efforts were lost on every single one of you...

Dorothea: I heard about our task from Eldie. There will be an opening event before the White Heron Cup, and us four will organize it.

Claude: ...Wait, you heard about it?

Felix: Sylvain harassed me and forced me into representing the Blue Lions. Said he was going back into town. Argh, why am I stuck doing something like this…

Ignatz: So Sylvain was the first choice? I agree that he certainly would have been better.

Claude: Those chosen were gathered because they are the most artistic of Garreg Mach’s students. What makes every event stand out is, of course, the arts. Dorothea is the Mystical Songstress, Ignatz’s hobby is painting, and… Sylvain seems like the type to appreciate the arts.

Felix: Then I’d be of no use. And you don’t need me here to watch, either. Let me know what my responsibility is after you’ve decided on it.

Felix tries to leave.

Claude: Hey, wait a second! Um, think about it, you’re, uh, really good at repairing weapons and stuff, right? That, in a way, requires something of a sense of aesthetics, doesn’t it?

Ignatz: Though you only seem to do it to improve how well they can cut…

Dorothea: Don’t say anything more than you have to!

Felix returns.

Felix: ...Hmph. ...Continue. And be quick about it.

Claude: Then allow me to start. In short, this is meant to get everyone excited for the White Heron Cup, but we can’t take it lightly just because it’s an opening act. It’s like the preparations before enjoying a party. Think of it as an important duty that will get everyone excited for the big event.

Felix: The White Heron Cup, huh…? Why that…?

Dorothea: Awww, Felix! It’s too bad you weren’t chosen to be a dancer, isn’t it?

Felix: Ch… Who would pick me to be a dancer? I was just thinking about how relieved I am that I wasn’t chosen.

Ignatz: Hey now, don’t change the subject. That’s not what we’re here to talk about.

Claude: First, shall we try sharing the ideas we each think might be good, one by one? Dorothea, you’re first.

Dorothea: Of course, I think an opera would be best. A burning, passionate love story is sure to mesmerize our audience.

Claude: That’s not a bad idea, but doesn’t it take away from the dancing a little bit? What do you think, Ignatz?

Ignatz: How about we host an art gallery of works from the students talented in art? That would invigorate everyone, and it wouldn’t be a festival without any divine ornaments!

Felix: If there’s a decorative sword… then that’s not a half bad idea.

Ignatz: You think it’s a good idea too, Felix!? Then let’s make something together!

Claude: What are you thinking of, Felix?

Felix: How about a duel to get everyone’s blood pumping? It’ll double as training.

Dorothea: I knew you’d say that!

Claude: Ha ha ha…

Ignatz: So how about you, Claude?

Claude: A duel would injure some students, and then they wouldn’t be able to enjoy the festival we all worked so hard to put together… I know, how about we have a long distance archery tournament?

Felix: You… just want to showcase your archery skills, don’t you?

Claude: Figured it out, huh? Then how about we gather up some food and drinks suitable for the occasion, and make some noise?

Dorothea: You just want to have a feast!

Claude: Figured that out too, huh? Hmm, we can’t seem to make a decision, huh?

Dorothea: Perhaps we should try thinking up what ideas everyone else would propose.

Claude: For example?

Dorothea: Hubie would suggest a tactics seminar. Ferdie would want a horseback riding exhibition. And if Ingrid were here, she’d surely… I know! She’d suggest to open a bunch of different food stalls, or something like that.

Ignatz: Lorenz would likely agree with my art gallery idea. And Hilda seems to like accessories, so I think she’d be on my side, too.

Felix: You’re supposed to be suggesting people who would have different ideas than you.

Ignatz: Y-You’re right. Raphael and Lysithea would agree with the food stall idea Dorothea mentioned. Lysithea really likes sweets.

Felix: Hmph… sweets, huh? ...I wouldn’t vote for that, but Ashe might get excited about it. And accessory related stuff sounds like Annette’s thing…

Ignatz: Felix, no matter what anyone else says, you really pay attention to your classmates!

Felix: Ch…

Dorothea: Petra knows a lot about Briggid’s unique culture, so maybe she would collect many rare items from her homeland, then host an exhibition of them.

Ignatz: And Leonie seems to collect used, worn-out things, so she might have something we could put in an exhibition, too. Each of us would gather up things we want to display, and maybe we’d even critique them.

Claude: Hmm, Marianne would suggest an exhibition as well, but she seems to like animals more.

Dorothea: Wow, we’ve come up with a lot of different ideas, huh?

Claude: We certainly have! But now we don’t have a way to choose which one to go with… hm? Hey, I’ve got an idea! We have the perfect person to ask for an opinion, don’t we!

Ignatz: Yeah, you’re right! We were so slow to realize it!

Dorothea: We really were! They’re almost always quiet, but we’ve always had someone right next to us who leads us to the best decision at times like these. Tee hee.

Claude: Ha ha, we certainly have. The person who usually fishes all day, eats too much at lunch, and is the most reliable out of everyone, was right here all along. Alright then, let’s try asking them. What do you think about that?

All Four: Professor!

All four look at the audience seating.

Claude: Hmm, you seem to be more quiet than usual today. Um, then, for the time being, let’s do this. Could you please clap for whichever of the ideas we came up with together that you like best?

Dorothea: Yes, let’s do that! I’ll start. The opera, combining song and theater, is best, isn’t it, Professor?

All four look at the audience seating.

Ignatz: I’m next! What do you think about the art gallery, Professor?

All four look at the audience seating.

Felix: My turn. Nothing is better than a duel. You think so too, right?

All four look at the audience seating.

Claude: And last is me! A feast!

All four look at the audience seating.

Dorothea: H-Hold on a minute! You wanted an archery tournament, didn’t you?

Claude: Oh yeah, that was it! An archery tournament, Professor!

All four look at the audience seating.

Claude: Hmmmm… There was a difference in how loud their clapping was for each option, but I feel that Professor is saying they really want to see them all.

Dorothea: This is bad! Even if we ask Professor, we still can’t decide! What are we to do?

All four look at the audience seating.

Claude: I wonder… Huh? What is it? You have a really good idea? ...Uh-huh. ...Uh-huh.

All four look at the audience seating.

Claude: What!? You’re suggesting we try them all!?

Dorothea: You mean the opera, and the duel, and the art gallery?

Ignatz: Together with the food stalls, and the rare items critique!?

Felix: Hey, how much work do you think we can do!?

Claude: But in the end, if everyone has their own thing they want to do, deciding to reject their feelings outright wouldn’t be right. Asking each person what they’d like to do, procuring the location and necessary items, then providing assistance from the background in order to not get behind and get everything ready in time for the White Heron Cup, might be all the work us main four have to do…

Ignatz: Yes, I think so too! We don’t have to quarrel over the best idea, and this way, everyone will likely be able to work hard in a positive environment.

Dorothea: It is a good idea, isn’t it! Let’s try it! If we tell everyone about this plan, surely they’ll cooperate with us.

Felix: If I can make it into a competition, then I won’t mind whatever it is I’ll have to do. If possible, I’d like to work with Dimi… I mean, the boar prince.

Claude: Ha ha! Then let’s try it out! Us four, as the representatives, will spread the word. Thanks, Professor!

[athyrabunlord]

A Time for Us

A/N: The other voted blip from the [Mafia AU] to flesh out the dynamic/relationship between Riko and You. Hmm, it turned out.. Interesting, but I think I’ve managed to portray the atmosphere I intended. Words: 1,344 Ship: YouRiko(?)

Riko Sakurauchi made a thoughtful hum, her lone eye staring at the blueprints spread all over the bench. Theoretically, the designs appeared adequate, the improvements as functional as she had calculated them to be. Now all that remained was the practical aspect of her modifications. It was not a matter of being a perfectionist, for a failure in these weapons could mean the death of whoever wielded them.

And so she ran simulations, fired upon dummies herself and meticulously recorded every single test to ensure that there would be no failure, not in weapons modded by the underboss of the Kurosawagumi.

Her new position in the Family meant significantly less time for her to tinker with her toys, therefore she always devoted her rare free time to her workshop. Her creativity was allowed to run rampant and nothing pleased her more than productivity. Perhaps she should indulge herself in another drinking night with Chika. Their highly entertaining discussions about various kills tended to do wonders for her artistry. These blueprints were the proof of that.

Rounds from her enhanced shotgun echoed thunderously in her spacious warehouse as she tested the last of her modified models

The decimated mannequin prompted a small smirk from her otherwise composed features.

She wiped her greasy hands on a towel and slicked back her long bangs before pinning them with some hairclips. She got a long day ahead of her if she wanted to compile all the notes and ran one last series of tests. Frowning, she resisted the temptation to rub at her remaining eye, feeling the strain from overexerting it. She thought that she had more or less gotten used to having her vision cut in half but this was one of the few moments she wished for her lost eye.

Alas, it was gone. No use wishing for the impossible.

Several light knocks on the door broke her out of her reverie. Sighing, she didn’t need to glance at the monitor to know who the visitor was. Few people dared to bother her while she was shut in her lab and, at this early hour, there could only be one candidate. She deliberated for a while, knowing her uninvited guest would politely keep on waiting until she made her choice.

Riko sighed again, opting to deal with this as quickly as possible so she could resume working. Upon her brusque press of a button, the thick metallic door groaned and slid open, closing as soon as the silver-haired woman stepped inside.

“Riko-chan.”

She only spared You Watanabe a glance as she fiddled with the spare gun parts on the bench. She heard You walking towards one of the side tables and carefully placing a plate down on it.

“I brought some sandwiches. I heard you pulled an all-nighter, from Kanan and Chika-chan.”

“Of course those two yahoos are still awake.” Riko scoffed, forcing unwanted images of the Twilight Tigers from her mind. Kill or fuck or both, those two thrived best at night after all.

You chuckled at that as she gingerly sat down on the corner of a couch, the seat full of cluttered junk and broken blades. Silence then fell upon them while Riko busied herself with organizing the firearms and scribbled notes. Such aloof treatment did not deter You, who seemed content at simply watching her work.

Though You had exceeded her welcome, the extra presence in her lab was a mere itch and Riko soon forgot she even had a visitor. It was only when she had to retrieve something from the pile beside You that she remembered her being here.

Prickled by the intensity of those blue eyes, Riko growled softly. “What?”

“You’re not gonna eat?”

Riko glanced at her greasy hands, the many components strewn around the shop and those sloppily pinned notes scattered all over. Her lone amber eye narrowed with a clear unspoken message of ‘really, now?’

“Take a break, Riko-chan.” You smiled easily, though there was a tenor of stubbornness in her tone. Huffing, Riko went to wash her hands and took the plate towards her computer desk. She sat down with an irritated glare at her cup of stale coffee and began to set up the programs to run simulations.

After a while, Riko had enough.

“Stop staring at my scar.”

“Sorry, I was just…” You sounded startled and chagrined, though Riko was unable to see her expression due to her blind spot. “No, it’s nothing. Sorry.”

“Just what?”

“It’s nothing-”

“Speak.” The underboss said quietly.

You exhaled and shifted a bit, the couch squeaking from her movement. “...I thought you dislike showing your scar.”

“I do, but I was alone in my lab, wasn’t I?” Riko said succinctly. “Until you came by.”

It was a clear indication that it was time for You to leave, but either she didn’t catch it or she chose to ignore it. Riko subconsciously clenched her fist.

“...does it hurt?”

“Really?” Riko slowly turned around to face You fully. “After so many years?”

“I was just wondering…” You grumbled with her hands folded in her lap.

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just worried about you.”

The honest answer wasn’t unexpected but Riko still found herself at a loss for words. She unwittingly found her gaze trailing You’s form, from the scruffy silver hair to the familiar accessory tied around her right bicep. The frayed scarf, its pink hue losing color over time, looked so out of place with the rest of the woman’s immaculate outfit. A gift from a blissfully ignorant child to an equally naive kid, now worn by the Family’s most revered capo.The irony was both amusing and disheartening.

So long ago. It was… so, so long ago.

There was a brief tug within her chest, so brief that she barely felt it. Still, she acknowledged the ache and, after a moment’s hesitation, stood up from her seat. She kept her gait smooth, the limp imperceptible, and stopped in front of the capo.

“You.”

You looked up, her expression guarded.

“I can take care of myself.”

A flicker of wistfulness in those blue eyes. “I know.”

“Then why?”

“As your… friend, I can still worry about you, can’t I?” You got up slowly to match their heights. “I’ll always, worry, about you, Riko-chan.”

Riko doesn’t know what to say to that. When You tentatively cupped her cheek, she fought with every fibre of her being not to recoil. It wasn’t as if she disliked body contact, no, but rather the tender touch that lulled her under this sense of vulnerability.

You’s palm felt calloused, no doubt littered with many tiny scars from all the fights, but it was just as warm as her lips. Riko’s eye drifted shut as she returned the kiss just as carefully, as if anything more would shatter this delicate illusion of peace.

However, time did not and could not stop or rewind. The river continued to flow and with it, carried away the past.

They broke away a moment later, breathing in each other’s scent and standing intimately close. Riko gazed at You’s lost expression and wished she could have looked at her properly with both her eyes. Alas, her eye was gone and so was their time. She gently rested her forehead against You’s, her voice nothing more than a murmur.

“I’ve long found my place. You should too… You-chan.”

The silver-haired capo closed her eyes as if savoring the moment. Her hand left Riko’s cheek as she placed a light kiss against the scarred eye. Nodding wordlessly, You walked away and left the warehouse.

It was only after the door clicked shut that Riko returned to her seat, this time not bothering to hide her limp. She brushed her hands through her bangs and stared blankly at the screen for a few moments, her finger tapping half-heartedly on the table.

She soon became absorbed in her work once more, but only after she had finished the sandwiches that You had made for her.

[kbrock9146]

The Democrats at this point could put a busted CRT monitor on the ballot, and I would vote for it. Without hesitation.

If someone standing in front of me says some kind of crap about them doing something with their vote, OTHER than using it for Biden, because they're upset about Bernie.... I will violate every definition of "social distancing" there is so I'm able to lay my hands on them.

⁸We have seen this become a LITERAL life and death situation since the inauguration in January of 2017; to allow this to continue, is allowing one's self to become an accessory after the fact. Biden was not my choice. I don't think the DNC has been honest, nor do I think it has handled this, and some of the previous (certainly 2016) nominations, correctly. I believe that the systemic corruption that permeates most of Washington, can also be found in the DNC - and due to this corrupt, self-serving portion, the 2016 nomination was botched, and we were sent down this path.

I'm not sugar-coating anything.

I haven't forgotten.

Despite ALL of that, and more, I WILL STILL VOTE FOR BIDEN. I WILL VOTE BLUE. We are in a literal fight for our lives, and the lives of all of our fellow Americans. We are fighting to help shape the future of America, our future within that America, and the future of the world - because America does, for good, and for ill, affect the lives of the people on this planet, no matter their country of origin.

This November, I will vote BLUE. Voting for Biden, if nothing else, will at least allow an ACTUAL politician to come back and begin the daunting task of leading us and the country. Having a person that has spent a good portion of their life in the role of politician, back in the Office of the Presidency, will be a welcome relief. We will be able to start down the road to recovery; there will be many starts and stops along the way. Biden will mess up. Biden will do things that we all don't agree with. We will get angry. We will be disappointed. Despite all of this, we will have someone in the White House that respects the Office and all that entails. We will be able to make our voices heard again; and I'm sure that as a career politician, Biden will heed advisors, Biden will acknowledge popular opinion, and Biden will defer to those who know best (i.e. not commandeering briefings where actual doctors should be talking, so he can peddle an untested drug that he has stock in, for off label use to a scared and confused public). Will Biden be the best president ever? Will Biden do exactly what we want, when we want? Will Biden completely change the fabric of America, and send us down a new, better, path?

The answer to all of those, is most probably, "No".

Will Biden do nothing while America is at risk? Will Biden only act if he can be assured that there is some direct benefit to him and his wallet? Will Biden allow Americans to die, because "testing is not the Federal Governments job"?

The answer to all of those will be "No." as well. And I don't know about you, but that is enough for me.

This November, VOTE BLUE. VOTE BIDEN.

Eagerly voting for Biden in November. The alternative is unthinkable.

[mastcomm]

Dog the Bounty Hunter Is Hunting Alone

PINE, Colo. — In September, three months after the death of his wife, Dog the Bounty Hunter was angling under the Colorado sun at a trout pond in the backwoods of the Rocky Mountains.

The pond was close enough to the highway that trucks mashing down Route 285 would roll down their windows to yell his name. To each passer-by, he raised his thumb and pinkie in a trademark shaka sign of good will.

Dog says he has 12 children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He also says he has had four wives, been convicted of robbery 18 times and captured 10,000 fugitives. And he claims God promised to make him famous.

“I need the attention. I wake up every day and say, ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the baddest bounty hunter of them all?,’” he said, with a conspiratorial arched eyebrow before turning serious: “I need love.”

With the pompadour-mullet, jailhouse tats and beet-red tanned skin — lots of it — the only thing missing is the theme song.

Families pulled their minivans over and ran out to greet him. A woman with a graying ponytail and vodka on her breath sidled up as well. “I just want to say I’m praying for you and Beth,” she said, as if consoling an old friend.

Dog squirted fake cheese onto a Triscuit and ate it, then lit another menthol Marlboro and eyed a pickup truck creeping into the parking lot. It’s not all love, he said: “I’m tested once a week, guys looking to see how tough the Dog is. That’s what the Taser is for.”

Behind his wraparound Oakley sunglasses, his blue eyes are marked by deep circles. A cloud of nervous energy comes and goes like a storm. He is 66 and alone for the first time in decades. He is now also without a television contract.

“This is the big moment,” he said, when asked what’s next. “That’s the big question.”

Suddenly, there was a strike on the line. But when Dog lifted his rod from the water, the hook was bare.

The next bite wouldn’t be until hours later, after a Safeway run for supermarket sushi. Back at the lake, Dog finally caught a foot-long trout. Blowing minty smoke, he cackled and reached into the shopping bag. “Want a piece of my spider roll?” he asked, and grinned.

Back in 2004, Duane Chapman, known as Dog, hot-wired a reality revolution with “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” Riding shotgun with his family of bickering bounty hunters, many of whom had done time themselves, viewers were pulled along on fugitive chases as Dog led his crew in pursuit of those who had broken the terms of their bail agreements.

The popular show, broadcast on A&E, spurred what was called a wave of “redneck reality,” bringing America hit shows like “Duck Dynasty” and “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” It lasted eight seasons.

Spinoffs and three years on Country Music Channel followed, but nothing matched his success at A&E. Last year, he returned to television once again with “Dog’s Most Wanted,” on WGN America. In it, Dog and Beth Chapman continued to chase fugitives.

This time, she had a diagnosis of throat cancer. So the show became about her last days riding with “Big Poppa,” as she called him. She tried chemotherapy multiple times and quit. “I want to die in my boots,” she said in the first episode. In June, as shown in the season finale, at age 51, she did.

“Beth was adamant, she wanted everything filmed,” said Matt Asmus, the showrunner. “If anyone wanted the camera turned off, it was Dog.”

Throughout the season, as Ms. Chapman loses hair and weight, Dog and his posse continue to slice through the heartland, quoting the good book and catching crooks. But as she begins to slip away, falling into a coma before being taken off life support, Dog’s grip on reality becomes more tenuous in his grief.

“I don’t want to live,” he says after her death, eyeing her pill bottles. The season’s end shows a broken man — the opposite of the hero that Dog spent years building onscreen.

After Ms. Chapman’s death, Dog had a pulmonary embolism. Testosterone supplements had thickened his blood, Dog suspects. He checked himself out of the hospital against advice, pushing “an orderly up against a wall because he wouldn’t let me leave,” he said. “They couldn’t stop me.”

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the doctor and TV personality, flew to Colorado for an intervention.

“Does Dog want to live or not?” Dr. Oz told me. “Dog told me a dream where Beth said, ‘Big Daddy, what took you so long? Maybe she’s waiting, what am I living for?’”

Dog said he has now been chewing ice cubes to lose weight. His 5-foot-7 frame is down to 187 pounds. He is smoking only two packs a day, placing disposable filters on his cigarettes.

But sunblock and quitting tanning salons aren’t happening; neither are prescription glasses. Eating and sleeping well are still issues for him — so is gout — and what he really wants to do is write another book, this one about Ms. Chapman, he said. And he has plans for a new show.

He is working on a pardon from the state of Texas, which could help him realize a boyhood dream: becoming Sheriff Dog. (In 1976, a failed drug deal led to Dog’s murder conviction. Dog says he didn’t pull the trigger — he was in the car — but, according to Texas law, he was an accessory.) He would be a real sheriff, in a real town that needs cleaning up, he said.

Of course, it could be filmed. “I think it’d be a hit,” he said.

At the Fort, an old adobe restaurant with thick bison steaks, Dog’s wolf ringtone kept howling as his publicist called repeatedly. It was the first day of the president’s impeachment inquiry but what was on his mind was TMZ, which was showing an advance clip of Dog’s appearance on Dr. Oz’s show with the headline “Ticking Time Bomb.”

“Ticking time bomb,” Dog repeated while on the phone with his bounty hunting partner David Robinson, discussing plans to hunt down a fugitive from Hawaii. “Biggest bond I’ve ever written,” he said, picking at his quail.

Dog said he would have to pay $1.5 million if he couldn’t catch the person accused of dealing drugs, who had fled to California.

He needs the money, he said. “I’m broke,” he said. Years of medical bills and being the patriarch of a sprawling family took a heavy toll. If he doesn’t get his man, he said, the bank will take his Colorado home.

“I can go,” Dog told his partner. “I’m three hours away, David. Just got a blood clot, that’s all.”

“You’re on the medication, right?” Mr. Robinson said.

“Yeah,” Dog said. “TMZ burned me tonight, I’m on my last leg.”

“How’d they find out?” Mr. Robinson said.

“Rats,” Dog said. “We live in a rat world — ask Trump.”

Dog won’t say who he voted for, but he did attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. He said it didn’t matter to him who is in the White House. “I feel an allegiance,” he said. “I think Michelle Obama would make a great president.”

His other political opinions include: Teachers should be armed to protect students, and he is open to gay marriage and freedom of religion — he wears a skullcap for Shabbat dinners with Marty Singer, an entertainment lawyer.

“I rarely socialize with my clients,” said Mr. Singer, who calls Dog a great friend and “as honest as they come — sometimes too honest.”

Mr. Singer is also worried.

“Dog’s very lonely,” said Amy Weiss, Dog’s manager at Brillstein Entertainment. “I was there at many points in the hospital with him, and it was very difficult. He’s lost, but he knows he must go on and provide for his family.”

“The irony is,” Dr. Oz said, “he’s a man who everyone relies on for advice. He was crutching so much on Beth — how are you going to show up in your own life?”

When Dog’s mother died in 1995, he spent a year smoking crack, he said. Then he sobered up and started dating Ms. Chapman. They had met in 1986 when he posted her bond after she shoplifted a lemon.

They finally married in 2006 — we saw it in Season 3 of “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” Drama became a Chapman family industry. There were public family disputes and I.R.S. fines for back taxes.

On the eve of the wedding, Dog’s daughter Barbara died in a stolen car in Alaska. Months later, marshals stormed his Hawaii home, leading Dog out in handcuffs — a result of a Mexican extradition case against him, eventually thrown out.

The drama with the most enduring impact began when his son Tucker sold recordings to the National Enquirer of Dog using a racist slur. Friends like Snoop Dogg and the pastor Tim Storey stuck by him, but his book “You Can Run but You Can’t Hide” was pulled from stores. Licensing deals crashed. A&E put his show on hiatus. Dog apologized on Larry King and Sean Hannity.

With the distance of a dozen years, Dog is quick to explain that he came up in the jail system. “I thought I had a pass,” he said, repeating a claim that his mother is Native American. “It was a word I grew up using. I was wrong.”

“I’ll never be forgiven for that one,” he said. “Some people form an opinion of me that I can’t change, but you’ve talked to me and I’m not a racist.” He listed the charities and churches he has visited across the country, and said he himself was a poster-boy image of second chances. “That’s something nobody wants to talk about, people just want to focus on the negatives,” he said.

The movement opposing bail as part of a predatory prison funnel system that disproportionately affects the poor and people of color has strengthened in the last decade. Meanwhile, in early 2016, Ms. Chapman was elected president of the Professional Bail Agents Association, which opposes bail and bond reform.

Dog agreed that the American legal system is particularly hard on black people. “Things could change for the better,” he said, adding that committing crimes is a choice but that nonviolent offenders should not be forced to post bond.

“I am the prime example of the system: The bail bond system, the legal system, of crime,” he said. “I’m a second chance. Guys who don’t have job hopes when they get out, why do you think they go back to what they were doing before they were convicted? If I can change, anyone can. But it’s going to be a lot harder now without Beth, that’s for sure.”

At a PF Chang’s the next day, dressed in a deerskin shirt and knee-high moccasins, Dog laid out his strategy for his newest fugitive’s bond. “Because of my health, Beth’s passing, I’m going to get an extension. I have to catch the bastard.” He laughed. “I love it.”

(The judge, acknowledging his health issues, would grant the extension. The pressure would be off, for now. But the house was still on the line. Even with no cameras rolling, he still had work to do.)

“I got out of prison February 6, 1979. That’s 40 years,” Dog said. “They said, ‘You can’t even get a driver’s license, you’ll have nothing.’ I looked in the mirror to shave and heard my dad saying, ‘Burn your birth certificate, I wish you were never born.’ I said: ‘I’m going to change and be the best at whatever I do in the world.’”

A woman came up and asked for a photo. Dog lowered his sunglasses for the selfie as the check came with a tray of fortune cookies. “You’re not allowed to choose your own fortune,” the waiter said.

Dog ignored the rules and then read his fortune: “You will pass a big upcoming test.” He laughed hard, before coughing. His face got redder and redder, but then he smiled. “I better,” he said.

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[galleryyuhself]

The Worst Design Of 2016 Was Also The Most Effective

Trump's "Make America Great Again" hat was pervasive, potent, and deeply misunderstood. [Photo: Visions of America/UIG/Getty Images]

DIANA BUDDS 12.16.16 7:00 AM Trump's ubiquitous bright red trucker hat, festooned with "Make America Great Again," is now seared into our collective memory. It was the most hated and most loved symbol of the election, the most comical and the most serious. It was a poorly designed product that turned out to be very strong branding. It was the most misunderstood design of the election—for designers and non-designers alike.

But most of all, it's a lesson about the limitations of "good" design. "No one wants to give [Trump] credit, understandably, because it’s not something that was designed," says Lindsay Ballant, a designer, art director of The Baffler, and adjunct professor at the Maryland College of Art. "It should be something that designers think about. Good design doesn't necessarily mean effective design."

As we move on from the 2016 election and contemplate the role of design in subsequent political campaigns, understanding the difference between good and effective design is imperative.

[Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images] THE HAT'S ORIGINS Trump's slogan itself traces its roots to Ronald Regan's 1980 presidential bid when he ran on a slogan of "Make America Great Again." Trump applied for a trademark of the slogan in 2012, and it became a registered service mark on July 14, 2015. He first wore the hat during a press conference in Laredo, Texas, just nine days later.

There's still some mystery surrounding the hat's genesis. We don't know who designed it, though we do know where it's made: In the Southern California factory of Cali-Fame Hats. (The Trump campaign and Cali-Frame Hats did not respond to requests for comment on who was behind the design.) It's a basic product. More likely than not, someone picked red since it's the color for the Republican party, and basic Times New Roman lettering in white so it would stand out against the cap.

"In a way, the fluke success of that hat was a rejection of 'design thinking' and 'design strategy' as a whole." The New York Times style section called it "an ironic summer accessory" in a September 2015 story. Things would change in the months leading up to the election. The hat took on a life of its own, becoming the subject of memes and parody. It metastasized into a hate symbol and incited violence. It was worn by everyone from an elementary schooler to a Canadian college student and became a free speech flashpoint in both cases.

Expense reports filed to the Federal Election Commission revealed the Trump campaign spent a massive $3.2 million on hats between July 2015 and September 2016. And that sum represents just a fraction of the $15.3 million spent on the collateral category, which includes hats, shirts, and signs. The spending strategy worked, and the hats became ubiquitous.

Yet, when the Trump campaign shared those expense numbers, the media didn't interpret it as a savvy strategy—it was puzzled and amused. The Washington Post called it a data point that captured the weirdness of the election. Esquire wrote the hats off entirely, arguing that they "may well go down as the Trump campaign's only lasting contribution to the political history of the Republic. Laugh, clown, laugh."

It was a joke to many. This rankled documentarian Michael Moore, who saw the jokes and jabs at the hat as the embodiment of a liberal bubble that didn't understand the Middle American voters who the Democrats were trying to court. Moore appeared on the MSNBC show Morning Joe on November 11 and told the hosts exactly why dismissing the hat and laughing at it showed how Democrats and the media didn't understand the true gravity of what the hat symbolized to some voters:

I take no pleasure in calling this [election] five months ago. Someone [on this show] was remarking that the Trump campaign spent more money on ball caps that month than anything else. And you panelists were [laughing] 'ha ha ha ball caps.' I looked at that and thought, 'Wow there’s the bubble right there.' They don’t understand. This is where we're from. This is where I live. And to make fun of [people wearing the hats]? We wear ball caps . . . This is the reason [Middle America] had this anger at the media and this elitist thing. Harvard art history professor Sarah Lewis also perceives the hat as a visual symbol of Trump’s appeal, which was misunderstood. "[It’s] a moment that stuck with me on what signals we ignored that are to do with culture that might have given us an indication about how deeply rooted or how animated the demographic Trump was," she said during a recent WNYC panel, Vision and Justice In Racialized America.

Forest Young, head of design in the San Francisco office of Wolff Olins, tells Co.Design that while the hat is not good design, it is good branding. "Ten years from now, the winning charades team assigned the phrase 'Presidential Election 2016' would have simply mimed the motion of someone putting on a baseball cap," Young says. "The presidential theater here is a play with a single prop . . . Not unlike Yorick’s Skull from Hamlet—the prop of death that symbolically eliminated the differences between people—the illusion of an everyman society was expediently rendered by a billionaire wearing a baseball cap."

To the thousands of people who wore them to Trump's rallies and day in and day out in their cities and towns, the hat was a beacon. It was this election's Hope poster. It didn't make Trump, but it did bolster the persona he was crafting for himself as the candidate for Middle America. He positioned himself as the anti-establishment outsider. It didn't matter than he was a silver-spoon billionaire afforded every privilege. By destabilizing the system through lies, the truth didn't matter.

"It’s memorable—even if the implications of what he is saying is terrible," George Lois told the Los Angeles Times in July 2016. He went on to call the hat "infuriatingly good."

THE ROLE OF "GOOD" DESIGN IN POLITICS The "undesigned" hat represented this everyman sensibility, while Hillary's high-design branding—which was disciplined, systematic, and well-executed—embodied the establishment narrative that Trump railed against and that Middle America felt had failed them. "The DIY nature of the hat embodies the wares of a 'self-made man' and intentionally distances itself from well-established and unassailable high-design brand systems of Hillary and Obama," Young says. "Tasteful design becomes suspect . . . The trucker cap is as American as apple pie and baseball."

So what exactly is the hat? A stroke of calculated genius or pure dumb luck? There’s no cut-and-dry answer. But it raises the question of how much designerati-approved "good" design really matters in an election.

"His people understand clean and sophisticated branding; they just chose not to use it for his campaign." "This campaign was not won or lost on good design—at least not the kind of design most people are interested in talking about," says Matt Ipcar, executive creative director at Blue State Digital and a design leader for both Obama campaigns. Referring to the debates designers usually like to have about typography, composition, and color theory, he adds: "We could just as easily be talking about how the Trump hat was an abject failure and how the Pentagram-designed Hillary logo was perfect."

Hillary's branding originated from a logo by Pentagram. (Michael Bierut oversaw the process as Wikileaks emails show; Bierut himself has declined to speak about the work.) Her campaign hired Jennifer Kinon, a cofounder of the New York-based firm Original Champions of Design, as its design director and tasked Kinon's team to build a comprehensive visual system based on the logo. It had many of the same attributes that made Obama's campaign design successful: clear typography and a polished tool kit that could easily adapt for use on television, the internet, and printed collateral.

Naturally, designers rejoiced at Obama's visual identity. It reinforced how their principles of good design were successful. "Everyone I know agrees that Obama won the design race," wrote critic Steven Heller in Designing Obama, a book about the visual identity of President Obama's campaign. "Whatever the reason, his campaign team knew early on that coordinated graphics were beneficial and this modern typography would signal a change."

While Hillary and Obama were two fundamentally different people—Obama was a relatively unknown, young senator and Hillary is a seasoned politician with a decades-long resume—they took a remarkably similar tack with branding. To voters who wanted a continuation of Obama's policy, Hillary's branding signaled that she would be a successor who would continue the work of her predecessor. Her design team built the campaign visuals to reach—and resonate with—every eligible voter, but it really needed to convince the undecided. In hindsight, it came down to the voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—states where Trump had a razor-thin margin of victory over Clinton but whose electoral votes were enough to carry him to a national win.

"Maybe [designers] got too high on our own supply from [the Obama campaign] because the branding and approach was so different," Ballant says. "It all goes back to the idea that I now understand as the creative class as an extension of the professional class and the bubble that exists . . . we’ve blocked ourselves off and we’re not talking to anyone else outside of that. Or we assume there’s enough of us in that we can prevail and it’s not true anymore."

Ballant reiterates that Obama and Hillary's campaigns were rooted in corporate identity design and points out that corporations aren't very popular right now. "Hillary’s branding felt too corporate," she says. "But that also reflected an entrenched reputation she had to push against. And the design, while very good, unfortunately only served to reinstate that fact, especially when you think of how big of a deal it was when the logo was unveiled. It was treated like a Mastercard, Airbnb, or Uber reveal."

While Trump's sloppy branding and (suggestive) logo were written off by the design community as a sign that his campaign didn't know what they were doing, in hindsight it was likely more deliberate than originally thought.

"It was treated like a Mastercard, Airbnb, or Uber reveal." "Like any good confidence man, Trump was highly aware of his audience’s desires," Ipcar says. "Take a look at trumphotels.com. His people understand clean and sophisticated branding; they just chose not to use it for his campaign. There was a clear decision by Trump or someone on his team to make the campaign look like something completely different. It was easy for me, as a Brooklyn-born creative director, to describe the hat as bad design. But the hat was worn. It was simple, unisex, familiar, and practical during a summer of hot crowded rallies throughout the South. Design-wise, it was lazy and loud, but also deceptively brand-aware and unmistakably Trump—a brash and calculated brand extension for a house whose luxury properties are awash in Gotham, understated bling, and lots of white space."

The 2016 campaign revealed limitations of what "good design" can achieve as a communication tool in a political context. "Good design has an elitist bias, particularly because good design is expensive," Ballant says. The role of designers in a political context when capital-d Design is so suspect is no less important, but it will take some retooling.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR DESIGNERS? In October, Ballant presented a lecture to the AIGA NY, which Matt Ipcar moderated, about what design can and can't do in the context of an election. During her talk, she drew parallels between the presidential campaign and the United Kingdom's "Brexit" vote to leave the European Union, and referenced an article London-based Pentagram partner Marina Willer wrote for Eye. In the piece, Willer expressed guilt about what designers weren't able to accomplish.

It’s not that our industry was silent. Many campaigns were crafted for the Remain camp and many things were said. We created clever campaigns, beautiful campaigns, and funny campaigns, but we created them for each other, myself included. By and large we preached to the converted, when what we needed to do was to give those who were undecided some clarity. To change history we needed to directly speak to those who chose to vote leave by communicating simple information and direct implications. Ballant found herself wondering about what can happen when design isn't overthought or overproduced with the hat as a prime example. "The making of the hat, the actual idea of it, might have come from a brand strategist or it might not of, which is kind of the salient point," she says. "It certainly wasn't a 'design first' strategist or thinker. It didn't come from a team of design experts. It's not slick. Its origin seems spontaneous, not thought out. It seemed like it was a one off made on a whim, without any thought as to how it operated within a larger system, or without any expectations as to what its impact was or what system it built off of. It didn't seem like it came from a pitch deck. It was, like Trump, sheer personality."

It’s an allegory about how to interpret symbols, how to deploy design, and why visual fluency is crucial for everyone. While Ballant is far from calling for a revolt against design systems and style guidelines, she advocates a broader tool kit for designers. "In a way, the fluke success of that hat was a rejection of 'design thinking' and 'design strategy' as a whole," Ballant says. "And designers should really think about that, because we've built a whole economy around that as a practice. We've sold ourselves on the premise that this is how things should be done."

She argues sometimes it might be strategic for designers to ignore instincts about the visual aspects of design—like kerning, typography, and a systematic polished sensibility—and embrace an "undesigned" approach since it might be more relevant or effective in certain situations. "Hillary’s direction was universally praised as good design," Ballant says referring to the sophisticated direction Hillary took. "The pundits were all wrong, the pollsters were wrong, and the design class was wrong, too."

A couple months ago in Central Park, well before the election, I saw three women who were clearly out-of-towners and who looked like they had just come from the Trump store, judging from the crisp Trump shopping bags they had in tow. They were wearing the Make America Great Again caps and, as tourists do, were snapping photos in the park. As I saw it, to them, a pilgrimage to the Trump store was as much of a not-to-miss attraction as Central Park. I, too, underestimated the gravitational pull Trump's hat had to his most fervent supporters, and to voters who were were looking for a candidate who could inspire the type of hope they wanted. While Hillary won the popular vote by a landslide—the latest count puts her at 2.8 million votes over Trump—she just didn't come out ahead in the states where she needed Electoral College votes the most. It was the people who would venture to N.Y.C. to shop at the Trump store that Democrats had to convince, and unfortunately, they weren't able to.

The 2016 election probably wasn't won or lost on a hat or a branding system, but the hat serves as a powerful proxy for how blindsided many were by the forces that led to Trump becoming president-elect. It’s an allegory about how to interpret symbols, how to deploy design, and why visual fluency is crucial for everyone—not just designers—as we process, regroup, and strategize for the next round of elections.

[patriotnewsdaily]

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After Roughly Two Seconds, Starbucks Caves on Employees’ BLM Attire

Well, you didn’t have to be Nostradamus to see this one coming.

On Friday, Buzzfeed News reported that despite Starbucks’s rush to social media to support Black Lives Matter, racial equality, and all the rest of the stuff that people are protesting about these days, the company’s management had decided that they didn’t want their store employees wearing pins, armbands, or anything else that would directly show support for the movement.

From the original Buzzfeed report:

According to an internal bulletin obtained by BuzzFeed News, store managers had been contacting senior leadership on behalf of employees who wanted to wear BLM-related attire as protests continued to sweep major cities and small towns across the country.

In response, management, according to the memo from last week, argued that wearing clothing and accessories highlighting Black Lives Matter could be misunderstood and potentially incite violence. The bulletin pointed employees to a video, which has now been removed, in which its VP of inclusion and diversity explained that “agitators who misconstrue the fundamental principles” of the movement and could use them to “amplify divisiveness.”

Well, it took roughly 2.3 seconds for Starbucks to change its mind about THAT particular policy. The coffee chain (which held a national diversity-training day a couple of years ago after baristas called police on loitering, black non-customers), announced this week that not only will they let employees show their support for the movement…they’re actually going to design their own t-shirts for the cause!

“As we talked about earlier this week, we’re designing new t-shirts with the graphic below to demonstrate our allyship and show we stand together in unity,” wrote Roz Brewer, the COO of Starbucks, and Zing Shaw, Starbucks’ vice president for inclusion and diversity, in a letter to distributors.

“Until these arrive,” they continued, “we’ve heard you want to show your support, so just be you. Wear your BLM pin or t-shirt. We are so proud of your passionate support of our common humanity. We trust you to do what’s right while never forgetting Starbucks is a welcoming third place where all are treated with dignity and respect.”

Does that mean employees can wear “All Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter” apparel?

We’re guessing not.

“Together, we’re saying: Black Lives Matter and it’s going to take ALL of us, working together, to affect change,” the letter continued. “That means using our voice to vote in our elections, volunteering in our black communities, joining local peaceful protests, ensuring our diverse slates of job candidates translate into diverse hires, mentoring and sponsoring partners of color so they can reach their maximum potential and taking steps to build greater understanding with empathy.”

Right. Today’s burning of the local Starbucks is sponsored by…Starbucks!

Well, like we said. No surprise at all.

[elizabethleslie7654]

Civic Nationalism is Untenable for the GOP

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I recently was conversing with a typical civnat “I just want immigration to be legal” Republican whose family has long been involved in party politics. He was confounded as to why his black brother-in-law would never even consider voting red despite espousing the typical tropes. “Wow, that’s just really weird,” I replied.

It should be no surprise that Black America essentially views itself as a separate entity and will always vote as an entity. The segment of the population with the lowest average IQ can never be poisoned by an esoteric concept it cannot understand. Such minds don’t entertain abstracts, only instinct and lived experiences.

In America, Whites alone toil to mentally reject human nature in the service of the absurd and destructive notion of civic nationalism. There’s also a sense of compulsion involved. They’d be ostracized as evil for embracing reality. Trouble is, the Ascendant never rejected reality. That’s starting to create some real cognitive dissonance.

The vast majority of Whites, especially those with kids, strive to live around their own kind. However, they seek to do that by purchasing homes in the most affluent area possible in the name of “good schools,” “great restaurants,” and “low crime.” It’s like saying you want a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes but you’ve got no racial preference about who you date.

As the country rapidly becomes less and less white via mass 3rd World migration, that’s becoming more and more expensive. Demographics are exacerbated by economics as middle class jobs that Boomers once used to raise families are becoming scarce. We can see this manifested in sub-replacement birth rates and a variety of other economic indicators.

At a certain point, will enough Whites stop trying to square this circle? The task is getting harder and harder to rationally attempt as they’re being rapidly reduced to a minority in a “nation” with an elaborate and ever-expanding system of racial preferences for the benefit of everyone else at their expense. Other racial groups openly advocate to advance their own interests and yet Whites are expected to refrain in perpetuity?

What about the Republican Party, which is the only political vehicle for their discontent? If it continues to refuse that role, then by 2020 or 2024 it will cease to be viable at the national level. Swift demographic change in states like Georgia, Florida, Texas will prove decisive. The 2018 midterms showed they’re a hair away from flipping blue. Only by appealing directly to Whites can the GOP drive higher turnout to hold ground.

For all his faults, Trump has a good shot at a repeat. He tacitly appealed to White interests in 2016. That’s the only way he’ll win again. If he wins, he’ll probably deliver a House majority to them another time around. Although, post-2020 everything will be up to the GOP. Will they reform and espouse rhetoric for White interests just as the Dems already do for People of Color? They’ve refused so far and paid the price in 2018. If they can’t change their script then, all the Dem craziness in the world won’t matter, because the GOP won’t be able to turn out enough voters to oppose them.

The future’s not looking bright seeing how they’ve done nothing to limit mass migration, and unanimously condemned even mild voices like Representative Steve King. It seems like the party establishment is trying to wait out the Trump era so they can start running Mitt Romney-style candidates again. A President AOC is looking like a real possibility given the dismal demographics of the electoral map in the coming years.

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INDIANAPOLIS | Fate of FEMA leader in doubt as Florence cleanup continues

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INDIANAPOLIS | Fate of FEMA leader in doubt as Florence cleanup continues

INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Braun, the Republican candidate for a crucial Senate seat in Indiana, often refers to his rival, Sen. Joe Donnelly, as “Sleepin’ Joe” and has vowed to wake the vulnerable Democrat from his “siesta” on Election Day.

But as Donnelly barnstorms the state in a used RV, it is Braun’s own sleepy campaign that’s leaving Republicans underwhelmed — and worried.

Groups that typically back GOP candidates, such as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, are sitting on the sidelines. Braun’s recent three-stop “solutions” tour — spread out across three days — was ridiculed by Democrats, who pointed to Donnelly’s seven-day, 40-stop trek in August.

And while Braun, a multimillionaire businessman, took out $6.4 million in loans to fund his primary campaign, he also publicly groused about the cost. Now, with less than two months until the election, he has yet to purchase air time for October, while Donnelly has outspent him by almost double on TV and radio since June, records show.

That’s cause for concern, according to a half-dozen GOP officials, operatives and commentators familiar with the race, most of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to offer candid assessments of the contest. They say Braun appears to be coasting at a time when he ought to be investing more of his own money and rallying the base.

Conservative talk radio host Rob Kendall summed up the GOP’s worries by pointing to Braun’s recent appearance with President Donald Trump at a rally in Evansville.

“He’s in front of (thousands of) people at the Ford Center and it sounds like you’re at a funeral,” said Kendall, who is a producer and has a show on Indianapolis-based WIBC radio. “I would have been like James Brown and the Blues Brothers shouting out ‘Do You See the Light’ to the congregation. And this guy, you have to check him for a pulse.”

Republicans have viewed Donnelly’s seat as a prime pickup opportunity in a state Trump won by nearly 20 points in 2016. The criticism of Braun’s performance reflects a sudden sense among the GOP that Senate contests in several states Trump carried may be tougher than expected and that control of the Republican-led chamber could be at stake — a prospect that was unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

Braun’s campaign dismissed the criticism and insisted he’s winning despite recent polling that suggests a neck-and-neck battle.

“Mike gets things done, and Donnelly is the least effective Democrat in the Senate,” Braun spokesman Josh Kelley said in a statement. He noted that Braun “has held 80 grassroots events since the primary — including two packed rallies with President Trump — reminding Hoosiers of Donnelly’s liberal record of voting for Obamacare and against tax cuts.”

The race was thrown into further chaos this week after an allegation of decades-old sexual misconduct surfaced against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. The development could cut both ways in the race, potentially hurting Braun — who has said he supports Kavanaugh — with suburban women. But the turmoil surrounding the nomination could also sting Donnelly if Democrats are seen as politicizing the allegation. Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.

For years, Republicans have insisted Donnelly’s 2012 victory was a fluke caused by GOP nominee Richard Mourdock’s incendiary comments about abortion and rape. Many now concede they underestimated Donnelly, who portrays himself as a conservative Democrat and often touts his votes for Trump’s priorities.

While commuting back-and-forth between Indiana and Washington, Donnelly has held more than 190 campaign events since May — more than double the number attended by Braun, who resigned from his seat in the Indiana Legislature to focus on campaigning.

Bob Grand, a GOP fundraiser and Indiana powerbroker, said Donnelly has done a “phenomenal job” campaigning, but doubted it will be enough to win in an overwhelmingly Republican state. “He’s even featuring Donald Trump in his ads. What does that tell you?” Grand said.

Still, groups that have enthusiastically supported GOP nominees in the past are uncharacteristically absent.

In addition to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, which opted against issuing an endorsement, the U.S. Chamber was mum over whether it will get involved. In 2016, the group spent at least $3.7 million backing GOP Sen. Todd Young in his race against Democrat Evan Bayh, a popular former Indiana governor and senator who previously worked for them.

Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, interviewed Braun but decided not to directly support him. Two years ago, they launched a door-knocking and phone-bank operation that helped Young win.

On paper, Braun has everything the GOP wants: He built a national auto parts distribution company from the ground up, speaks with a subtle southern Indiana twang and is a virtual outsider to politics, despite his brief stint in the Legislature.

He also has the ability to self-fund.

During the GOP primary, Braun used his wealth, worth somewhere between $37 million and $95 million, to bury U.S. Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer with more than $6.2 million worth of radio and TV spots, Federal Election Commission records show.

But Braun — whose wife once described him to The Indianapolis Star as the “tightest guy I know” — said after his May 8 victory that he wasn’t looking to do the same in the general election.

With November looming, his campaign has yet to ramp up TV and radio spending, records show. Meanwhile, Democratic groups and super PACs are set to spend $22 million, much of it ruthlessly attacking Braun’s business record.

They’ve seized on stories by the AP that revealed his companies racked up safety violations and were sued by employees for unfair treatment, including a worker kicked off health insurance days after he suffered a heart attack .

Democrats also labeled Braun a hypocrite for attacking Donnelly’s family business for outsourcing jobs to Mexico while using Chinese goods for his own brand of auto accessories.

Republican outside groups, including a super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have picked up the slack. They’re on pace to pour at least $19 million into advertising. They’ve attacked Donnelly for being weak on immigration, voting against the Republican tax cut and being indecisive about whether he will support Kavanaugh.

But that may not matter if Braun doesn’t campaign to win. “I think Braun has a good narrative and a great story,” said Kendall, the radio producer. “But he needs to be out there telling it.”

By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press

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by Nathan Karlsen

2016 was supposed to be the year when normie Republicans started to see the world our way. Cracking down on illegal immigration. Ending DACA. No more Zionist wars. Putting a stake through the heart of the GOPe’s unpopular Wall St. agenda and replacing it with a pro-worker, implicitly pro-White platform. It was the first time since 2000 that socially conservative Republicans seemed to have a champion. Sadly, in practice, it’s working out just as poorly as Dubya’s reign.

We were going to fight for a wall, for American first. China and Mexico were going to be put on notice that the open borders and “free trade” surrender of American sovereignty of the past was over.  No more pandering to the LGBTQ freak show. No more “nation of immigrants” drivel. No more fake refugees.

So what did all this winning look like?

Paul Ryan got his Chamber of Commerce tax bill through. Now companies that have made a spectacle of purging crime-thinkers from their jobs and stifling free speech will pay less in corporate taxes. These changes are written as permanent, while the cuts that might help working people are set to expire. There was no simplification of the byzantine tax code. Too many bureaucrats might have become obsolete and been forced to get real jobs.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nimrata Haley groveled to Israel at the UN in the most nauseating show of sycophancy since Trump’s visit to the Wailing Wall. She even had the nerve to claim the embassy move was somehow an expression of the will of the American people. Since when has that mattered? Was it the will of the American people when this rootless cosmopolitan helped launch a jihad against Southern history and symbols?

Talk of better trade deals has gone by the wayside—it’s a global economy, goy. Immigration, legal and illegal, hasn’t stopped. The refugee resettlement racket continues. The Muslim ban that isn’t a Muslim ban is the best we got.  Trump’s military tranny ban has been reversed. More troops are going to Afghanistan, for what purpose no one knows. Meddling in Ukraine to irk the Russians continues.

MAGA is turning into 2004 Bush Republicanism, and the co-opted right’s cheerleading squad is back in business. Trump’s obeisance to King Bibi’s desires is cast as “our President” having “balls.” The tax bill could have come from President Jeb! If there’s any doubt, look at who is praising it. It’s the same rogues’ gallery of Never Trump, Israel first trucons who hated Trump when he looked like a threat to ZOG. Just like bombing Syria made Trump president to the foreign policy elites, the tax bill made him President to country club Republicans. Saying “Merry Christmas” again is a cold comfort.

The major difference between Trump and the previous Republicans is in style more than substance. When he mocks the “fake news” or calls out a foreign leader for pandering to Islamists, it’s easy to remember why we supported him. Unfortunately, his policies are not what the Alt Right voted for. Even Steve Bannon has turned on us. Too many people are invested in the current system to rock it too hard. That could threaten their shekel stream and may even lead to the worst thing that could happen to an American: they might be called ray-cissst!

When Trump called out the Bushes for their disastrous blunders in the Middle East and took on Goldman Sachs, it felt for a brief moment that the old Right had finally shown the Neocons the door. In reality, Trump is repackaging the same policies that made Bush one of our least popular Presidents. Instead of following his gut instincts, Trump has surrounded himself with the same Jewish financiers and warmongers that doomed Dubya. Our erstwhile allies think “this is fine.”

Most conservative White Americans are back on the reservation. There’s no need to shut it down. If the Goyim knew, they seem to have forgotten quickly. The Alt Right hasn’t. 2020 will not go well for Trump if he doesn’t find a way to get back on track. The meme warriors and shitlords, if they are not completely erased from the internet by then, won’t be meme-ing Trump a second term. The razor thin margins that put him over the top in the rust belt will be gone. The White working class in Pennsylvania didn’t vote for the Sheldon Adelson agenda. If the Puerto Ricans who fled the island after Hurricane Maria don’t return, Florida is probably gone. The demographics were already headed in the wrong direction. If they can’t be reversed, Texas and Georgia will go blue too. Enjoy your last Republican president, Kekistanis. We tried to warn you.

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